#it's about this putting a strain on their relationship it's about sans doing a bunch of work to help papyrus like

[illdothehotvoice]

I hope you all know that the King Papyrus ending literally lives rent free in my head I think about it a lot-

[ivyprism]

Dreamswap AU: Skeleton Boys and Sona (Info Dump)

Warning: Violence, death, etc.

Dawn - Dreamswap Dream Sans

Personality: Unlike Bliss, Dawn appears frigid and harsh. When he is upset, he frequently sets fire to the area surrounding his feet. He can be cold-hearted and rude, but he is a good person with children and animals. He is concerned about the state of the multiverse and frequently considers Dusk to be bothersome and not worth the hassle he produces. He adores his brother but is unable to forgive him. He's not sure why he can't let go of something Bliss couldn't, but it enrages him, and his only fear is reliving the terror of what happened to him with the others. He has a grudge against his brother. Despite his outer look, he has a soft spot for certain youngsters.

Appearance: He is a skeleton monster. He has golden spots on his torso and legs. He has a pair of golden wings that sometimes appear to be damaged or covered in some kind of golden goop. When enraged, the golden spots on his bones become flames. He has a large scar on his right eye.

(But more golden accents! :D)

Disaris - Dreamswap Nightmare Sans

Personality: While he is empathetic and kind, this should not be mistaken for an unwillingness to kill and battle if necessary. He isn't afraid to fight people, and he takes advantage of negativity to extinguish the flames of his brother's rage. He has a special place for kids and looks out for them. He has a strained and tumultuous relationship with his brother. He is eager to reconcile with his brother, although it can be tough due to his brother's temperament. He wishes to strike a balance between his brother's enthusiasm and his gloom. He wishes to assist his brother if he can. He backs down very little and knows he's capable of putting a stop to his brother.

Appearance: He is a skeleton monster who can summon goop and tentacles at will. He is covered in spots of negativity and he has a large scar on his right eye. He has a lot of negativity in his ribs.

Lychnus - Dreamswap Dream Papyrus

Personality: He is a fierce and modest individual. He is quite strong and rough when it comes to safeguarding his loved ones. He's a compassionate person who wants to help but is often hesitant to do so. He has a tough yet shy nature. He is a calm, powerful man who values his friendships and family. He usually looks after his brothers. However, he is on the verge of making enemies with some people. He's pleasant and flirtatious, yet he's genuine. He adores his brothers and avoids getting involved in their disagreements. When it comes to safeguarding his loved ones, he's not afraid to get involved.

Appearance: He is a skeleton monster who has a large chunk of golden positivity on his arms and torso. He has a small scar on the edge of his left eye. He has wings.

Obitus - Dreamswap Nightmare Papyrus

Personality: He exudes a powerful, protective personality. He diligently watches out for his loved ones and is not afraid to battle for them. He is a strong, calm man who values his friendships and family. When it comes to someone endangering his family and us, he can be quite cold and icy. He is responsible for his brothers and manages the logistics effectively. He will do anything to defend his loved ones. He is fierce and passionate. He doesn't have as much goop as his brother, but he does have some. It's only that because it's only on his torso, it's hard to notice. He usually hides it until absolutely necessary.

Appearance: He is a skeleton monster. He has a bunch of goop on his torso, legs, and arms. He has one jagged scar on his right eye. He uses his goop at will to fight.

Polyantha - Dreamswap H

Personality: She is an inquisitive and focused lady. She enjoys sewing and making garments. She tells the truth, but she sugarcoats it occasionally to prevent hurting people's feelings, even when they need to hear it. She can control her temper and is not frightened to fight. She is always willing to help and excels at her job. She is highly creative and open-minded, and she approaches everything with care and uniqueness. She is a social butterfly who does not hesitate to approach new individuals. She is brilliant and creative, but she seems to be continually immersed in her thoughts and daydreams.

Appearance: She has hazel eyes. She has shoulderblade-length curly brown hair. She either wears glasses or has contacts. She is thinner than her various counterparts. She's 5'1". She has prominent scars on her shoulders, back, and torso.

-----------

[rarepair-haven]

The last ask got me curious, why do you think horror is the best of the bunch? (horror, Killer, dust) I know this is not a question about a ship but there's so much different opinions about horror's actions I find all the variations very interesting.

Horror doesn’t deserve being lumped in with the rest of those guys and here’s why

Holds this little crackhead in my hands and shows him off to all who reads this

Look I love me a good fic with Nightmare and his group of strays I really truly do. But the fact of the matter is the only reason why people put horror in that group is because he looks scary and isnt the nicest guy around. First of all hes never eaten a human before(he literally set up an agreement with papyrus to bash him with a rock if he ever tried) and he does a pretty good job of taking care of snowdin under Undynes reign. Yes he and papyrus have a somewhat strained relationship-who wouldn’t under those circumstances-but there’s no way thats anywhere near the same level as the rest of the group who have or are doing their best to try to kill their brothers. Each of the “bad sans” have really sad stories that I do emphasize with, but Horror has been and always will be the icon whos done nothing to deserve his place as the multiverse’s worst.

(Of course this does not stop me from putting him in a group with them anyways and of course all interpretations of Horror as a character are perfectly valid, these are just my thoughts on him)

[bbykpoper]

𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓪𝔀𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 🍓

Inspired by this post 🌼

Pairing: professor!jongho x student!reader

Index: Hongjoong // Seonghwa // San // Yunho // Wooyoung // Mingi // Yeosang

･*:༅｡

The early morning sun hit the windows of your small room just as the alarm on your phone buzzed underneath your pilow. A soft groan left your lips as you snaked an arm underneath it to turn of the annoying buzz.

“Wake up sleepy head.” The soft whisper reached your ears, making you stir under the covers. “You’ll be late to class.”

“I don’t wanna.” You mumbled out. 

“But you have to, otherwise I’ll throw you out of my lecture Miss y/l/n.” The soft voice chuckled and it was then that your eyes shot open and widened at the face in front of you.

“Welcome back to the world of the morning people Miss y/l/n.” The softest smile reached your eyes and you groaned into your arms as you looked over to your friends for help. “Come to my office after class.”

“Yes sir...” You huffed as he went on to continue his lecture.

“Why didn’t any of you kick me when I fell asleep?” Your soft whisper reached your seatmate.

“Sorry y/n, but you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t have the heart to.” She answered.

Lucy was the cute clueless blonde that ended up being friends with you after freshman orientation when she managed to trip over your foot on accident. She, just like you was a biology major and you guys were inseperable ever since. 

“I just really wanted to see you get embarrassed so I did nothing.” Your other seatmate snorted through her quiet laugh.

Phoebe was a girl who first befriended Lucy, also through an accident in the student cafeteria along the second semester of your first year. She was such a laid back brunette that you two naturally got along and stuck together in most of your classes.

“Wow, you just really like to watch me suffer don’t you?” You mumbled her way and breathed a sigh of relief as the lecture continued without another incident.

“I just find it amusing how you have this large ass crush on our ecology professor.” Phoebe commented, booping your nose as she picked up her books.

“Hey, Professor Choi is an attractive man. If I was straight I’d go after him too y/n!” Lucy added as comfort to you.

“Gee, thanks?” You laughed at these exchange. “I’m gonna go off now to get a lecture on my behavior and maybe later we can grab a coffee or something?” 

“Yeah, we’ll meet you at Sugarberry’s.” 

You made your way towards Professor Choi’s office, tightening the pony tail on your head and mentally preparing yourself to zone out on his speech and just admire the man’s beauty. Just as you were about to knock on the door, it suddenly opened and a young man smiled at you, excusing himself and leaving. You shamelessly stared after the tall blond man, releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding as the shape of his backside came into full view when he readjusted his shirt.

“Miss y/l/n.” The stern voice of your professor drew your eyes to him only to notice how he was now standing right in front of you. “Please take a seat.”

He moved and you shuffled inside taking a seat in front of his desk. 

“How have you been Miss y/l/n?” He asked.

“Good.” You said. 

“Have you been getting enough sleep?” He chuckled when you blushed intensly.

“Sorry about that sir, I had a project due yesterday and haven’t exactly had time to sleep.” You admited with a really strong blush on your cheeks.

“Well Miss y/l/n, I would’ve liked it better if you listened to my lectures instead of sleeping in the middle of it.” He said looking over at his window. 

You being the curious little thing that you are peeked over to see the array of plants which were situated in his window, especially the one he was looking at.

“Are you growing a fennel in your office?” You giggled out loud when you noticed how his eyes widened in embarrassement.

“You know your way around plants?” 

“Yes, I am planning on working in the greenhouses when I get my degree. I really do like plants and growing them.” Your eyes lit up with love as you spoke about your dream. “Even back in my appartement, I basically grow anything and everything I can and get on my roommates nerves because some of the devil ivy reached the bathroom.”

You stopped yourself when you saw how the man in front of you watched you with so much softness and awe in his eyes that the blush which reached your cheeks, spread out to your ears, burning them in the process.

“Would you be interested to join me on a little excursion this Saturday?” He suddenly asked you. 

“An... excursion...?” You tilted your head and you suddenly spoke out. “As in a date?!”

“Oh God no!” He was really quick to deny that and it hurt you a little bit seeing him so quick to say no. “You are one of my best students, and I would like for you to join a small group of my top proteges this Saturday. We’ll be visiting the National Greenhouse and I think it would be a wonderful chance for you all.”

“Oh, I see.” You said, feeling the humiliation crawling up your neck. “Silly me.”

“Would you like to join?”

“Yeah, sure.” You slumped your shoulders. 

“Perfect.” He clapped his hands together in joy. “If you don’t mind I’d like to get your number so that I can add you to our whatsapp group.”

“Yeah, neat.” You took his phone and begrugdingly typed your number. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?”

“No, that would be all.” He smiled, looking at his phone. “See you on Saturday.”

･*:༅｡

“So what, now you’re going to this outing or whatever it is with like five other students and him?” Phoebe asked clearly pissed off. 

“Yep.” Is all that you could muster.

“But at least you have his number.” Lucy tried to lift your mood.

“But what does that even mean? Nothing.” Phoebe groaned. “She likes him for almost two years, is obvious around him as if she’s carrying a transparent that says ‘marry me’ and the only thing he does is allude to a date but end it as a social gathering for his proteges?” Her eye-roll didn’t go unnoticed. “A bunch of bull if you ask me.”

“Or maybe he is in a position in which he can’t openly ask you out.” A sudden intrusion of another voice made the girls look up and see the waitress come over with their order. “Men are dumb creatures and sometimes they simply need a push when it comes to feelings. My advice to you is to just simply tell him that you’ve liked him for so long and just see where it goes from there.”

“But what if he doesn’t like me back? What if this strains any type of relationship I have with him?” You asked the waitress in the cute and fluffy pink apron. 

“Then at least you’ll know what you’re dealing with and will finally get the chance to move on.” She shrugged her shoulders and thanked them for the money they left her for the drinks, walking back to the inside of the shop.

“You know, that girl actually gives good advice.” Lucy commented.

“Must be nice being in a healthy relationship.” Phoebe muttered out watching the girl inside the shop as she smiled politely to some other customers.

･*:༅｡

Saturday had come by faster than you had liked and you dreaded to leave the appartment. The greenhouse group had decided to meet up at the bus station 12 p.m. sharp and from there professor Choi will drive you guys down to the greenhouse and the tour will begin. 

And right now, it was 11.30 a.m. Your friends were over and had forced you to wear one of your many long dresses to fit in with the flowers you would see in the greenhouse. It was a soft green dress with a pattern of leaves spread out across it. You sighed for the umptenth time as Lucy had braided your hair in a loose fish braid and looked over at Phoebe who was admiring your roommates ability to ignore all the plants inside here.

“It will never stop to amaze me how you put up with all these plants Mina.” She said.

“It’s not that bad.” She smiled. “I have actually grown fond of them. And y/n takes real good care of them so I don’t mind them.” She laughed. “Plus they are a really good background for photos.”

Mina was a photography major who you shared your dorm with in your second year. You two bonded quickly and when you managed to finish the second year, decided that it’d be great to have your own appartment together. And here you were one year later. 

“How are you feeling?” Lucy asked you.

“Nervous. Meh. Disappointed.” You stated turning towards her. “I’ve decided to listen to the advice the waitress at Sugarberry’s had told me. I mean honestly, what could go wrong?”

“The rest of the semester will be pretty awkward if you ask me.” Phoebe nodded her head.

“Like it isn’t now?” You snorted. “I’m just getting tired of having dreamy eyes for my damned professor and being treated like a project for him.”

“A project?” Both Mina and Lucy asked.

“Well this is that isn’t it? His empowering our future or what not. I appreciate the fact that this will help me get my dream job but I literally can’t take this anymore.” You slumped down into the couch.

“Well you better because you have less than ten minutes to get downstairs and to the station.” Mina pointed on the clock and you groaned grabbing your bag and stomping outside of the front door.

“Oh dear, I hope it all goes well.” Lucy commented looking at the other two girls.

Honda Hitomi, Danny Wellbridge, Jackson Wang, Joana Clark. The rest of your outing group was already gathered at the bus station located in front of your appartment complex. You had joined them all just a few minutes before professor Choi pulled up with his car. Joana was the first to call shotgun and sat next to him, while the rest of you evenly pilled in the back. Danny and Jackson in the far back, you and Hitomi in the middle.

“Oh gosh I’m so excited to see all the insects there!” Hitomi squealed in joy. 

“I know what you mean.” Danny added from the back.

“I’m just happy about the plants. I heard they’ve updated their western exhibition and added some new types.” Jackson said.

“Really?” You turned to face him. You’ve seen Jackson around campus a few times before. He was the definition of a social butterfly and sometimes even hanged with Phoebe. But you never got the chance to personally get to know him before this trip. “Do you think there would be some rare types of flowers there too?”

“I don’t know. But it would be awesome.” Jackson said matching your enthusiasm. “Hey, you maybe wanna go together to look around?”

The conversation you two were having was caught by professor Choi and he observed you through the rear view mirror, a prominent scowl on his face.

“Hell yeah!” You nodded with a bright smile.

It wasn’t long before you all made it to the National Greenhouse and were at the entrance waiting for your guide. You evaded talking to professor Choi, directing your full attention to what Jackson was talking about, fearing that if you did speak with him now you’ll loose all your courage to confess later on.

“Students, this is Jeong Yunho. He’s an old college buddy that’s in charge of the Japanese garden in the back and he’ll be our guide today.” Professor Choi spoke up cathing all of yours attention.

“Please call me Yunho.” The man with the pale blue hair smiled at you all and waved. “I’ll give you the main tour and then I’ll let you wonder about on your own. I feel that that way you all will go where your interests pull you.”

The tour was wonderful and you and Jackson managed to bond over every neat little plant you could find. Hitomi and Danny gushed so much when you guys ran accross a caterpillar and you then commented on something stupid drawing Hitomi in and befriending her quickly. The tour had come to an end when you reached the center of the greenhouse area and Yunho turned to them all.

“You are free to go off now, but I’d like it if you went in pairs as to not getting lost. These place is large and it’s quite easy to turn the wrong corner.” He said nodding to professor Choi. “The greenhouse closes at 7 p.m. Have fun. I need to get back to work.”

“Thank you.” You all said in union.

“So, where do you want to go first?” Jackson asked as Danny and Hitomi scurried off towards the insect exhibition. 

“How about visiting the South European-” 

“Mister Wang you should go with Miss Clarck. Your interests seem to be the same and it would be best that way.” Professor Choi cut you off.

“But me and y/n agreed to go together...” Jackson stated.

“Yes, but this is a better suited pair.” He said with a cold smile which made Jackson look at you for help. “Shall we Miss y/l/n?”

This was your chance!

“Sure.” You nodded and looked at Jackson. “I’ll make this up to another day.” You added apologetically and went off after professor Choi.

“So where are we headed?” You asked him.

“A surprise.” He winked at you and it made you blush.

On the way to this ‘surprise’ you have left the greenhouse and moved on to more of a garden scape further back and it just made your heart stop at the beauty of it.

“The interesting fact about the National Greenhouse is that the Botanical Gardens are just a bit behind them, and this is in fact where Yunho works.” Professor Choi stopped and placed a hand on your shoulder pointing in one direction. “See, he’s right over there working on a bonsai tree.”

All the blood rushed up to your ears at the close proximity between you two. The whisper of words made your stomach churn and your legs weak. You needed to get this crush off of your chest soon, otherwise you’ll be stuck fawning over him forever. 

As he guided you towards a small garden a flower caught your eye and you stopped getting a closer look.

“A youtan poluo.” You breathed out in a whisper. “And jade vines.”

“That’s right.” He smiled at your shinning eyes. “Welcome to the rare flower exhibit.” He chuckled. “Surprise.”

You looked around and noticed many more which you’ve only seen in books and on the internet. It was a magnificent sight to see and just the aromas which surrounded you had your head doing summersaults.

“I overheard you and Jackson talking in the back while getting here and I remembered Yunho telling me how they’ve updated their rare flower collection, so I thought you’d be happy if I brought you here.” You looked over at this man and his shy sunshine smile. And you’ve decided. It was now or never. “I was right wasn’t I?”

“I like you.” You stated, looking right at his eyes. Professor Choi looked dumbfounded an at a loss for words. The fast blinks were matching his rapid heartbeat but he was unable to form any words. “I’ve liked you for well over two years now professor. All those times you showed sympathy to me and ignored the fact I fell asleep in your class, or those times you would shyly smile when you noticed I was staring at you regardless of where we were. I know you figured this out already. But I just had to tell you.”

“I like you professor Choi Jongho.”

You looked at him with hope in your eyes as he stood there processing this information you had thrown at him. It felt like the minutes were going by in an eternal stupor of movements, his facial expressions changing as he came in terms with what just happened. You were scared, shaking and nervous. You really didn’t know what to expect. But surely you were not ready to get rejected.

“y/n...” 

It was clear by the tone with which he said your name and the tears welled up in your eyes. Gosh, you were dumb weren’t you.

“Yeah, I figured.” You stated with a sad smile on your face. “It’s okay. I don’t expect anything from you. I was dumb to even say these things to you.” You sighed and gripped your dress for support. “I think it’s better if I go home now. Thank you for bringing me here today and showing me these flowers.” The tears were now feely falling from your eyes, you unable to control them. “It really did make me happy.”

You ran off without stopping. Not when he called after you. Not when you viciously passed by a worried Jackson. Not even stopping to look at the bus number that had just stopped and getting on it. You cried in the back, not caring about all the stares you were getting from the old ladies. 

It hurt. Your heart really hurt.

By some dumb luck you had actually gotten on the right bus and made it back to your appartment complex, you made your way to your appartment and to your room, ignoring the worried roommate who was more than ready to throw hands with a grown ass man. You crawled into your bed, disregarded your plants and just wallowed in your self pitty for the rest of the week.

･*:༅｡

It’s been a whole week and you haven’t left your room except to shower ever since. Jackson and Hitomi had been blowing up your phone, worried after you had just ran out without a word. But you turned off your phone after the fifth call request from Jongho. He had tried calling you that night but you had fallen asleep and the next day when he did call you you cried more getting an earful from Phoebe. 

Hell, you dreaded leaving your room just because you knew Phoebe would make you attend all your classes and yell at you for being M.I.A. for a whole week. 

“She still hasn’t come out of her room?” Lucy asked Phoebe as they both collected their things to leave class. 

“No. Mina leaves food out the door and y/n eats once a day just so she doesn’t die.” Phoebe sighed. “She even neglects her plants Lucy! She never does that. Not even when her grandma died.”

The two were just about to walk out of class when somebody approached them. Lucy’s eyes went wide while Phoebe took on the stance of a dog with rabies. It was apparent he wasn’t welcome.

“Hello girls.” Professor Choi spoke up. 

“No offense, but we don’t want to talk to you sir.” Phoebe grumbled out.

“I know, but please hear me out.” He sighed in defeat. The two looked between each other and Lucy urged Phoebe to let the man talk. “I didn’t get the chance to answer y/n properly and she hasn’t been to my class this week. I’d like for you two to help me so I could talk to her and clear up this missunderstanding.”

“What missunderstanding? Her feelings aren’t a missunderstanding. They’re valid and came from the heart!” Lucy was quick to say.

“I know. But my answer was a missunderstanding.” He said sincerely.

Phoebe caught on pretty quickly by what he meant and narrowed her eyes while she got up in his face. She pointed her insex finger in his chest and harshly jabbed at it.

“I got my eye on you buckeroo.” She stated threateningly. “I know how to hide a dead body.”

Jongho gulpped as he, for the first time, took notice of those fierce eyes this girl had. He nodded furiously, almost cracking his neck. Phoebe pulled back and headed for the door, followed by a confused Lucy. Even Jongho looked defeated as he assumed they were leaving.

“Well? Do you want to talk to her or not?” 

Mina stared at the plate full of food which she had left this morning. It was late afternoon now and she had just come back from her lectures but the plate was untouched. You haven’t left your room at all. 

“y/n.” She whispered out as she knocked on your door. “You need to eat. I don’t want you getting sick...”

No answer. Just like before. She sighed and cast down her eyes as she picked up the tray. A sudden knock on the front door drew her attention and she went to open it, revealing Phoebe and Lucy with an unexpected addition.

“Her room is the one in the corner of the living room.” Phoebe said as Jongho took of his shoes. “He needs to talk with her and I thought you might want to hang with us while he does.”

Mina looked up at the man and nodded, understanding the need for privacy.

“If you manage to get in can you make her eat? She barely had a proper meal this week...” She handed him the tray of food.

“I’ll make sure.”

They left and Jongho went over to your door, noticing how it hand a small potted plant hanging off it. It was cute, something which really suited you. He knocked a few times but there was no answer. With a brave heart and hope that you hadn’t locked you door he tried the knob, happy when it opened. 

The inside of your room was covered in darkness, streetlights seeping in through the large windows. Potted plants were in the window and Jongho noticed how they seemed to be lacking water. He took it upon himself to relive the plants of their thirst, leaving the tray of food on your desk. 

“Go away Mina. I don’t want to eat.” The bundle of sheets spoke and caught his attention. 

It seemed you had made yourself into a taco, some hair sticking out to indicate where your head was. He sat down next to you and placed his large hand on your head.

“Your roommate left a while ago.” He spoke up, catching you off guard. “Before you yell at anybody, I asked your friends to bring me over so that I can talk to you. And I’d like it if you listened to me first before throwing me out.”

Your body stiffened but you kept quiet. You were yet again on the verge of crying but were trying really hard to control yourself.

“I was surprised back at the botanical garden when you confessed your feelings for me. A lot of emotions went through my head and I was dumbfounded for any type of answer at first. I thought how it was wrong for one of my students to fall in love with me, how I should have stopped this crush you had the minute I caught on it... but I just couldn’t do that. I noticed you the first day you had walked into my class, the way your hair swayed with every small movement of your head, how you would soak up every bit of information I gave you like a sponge, even the way you’d chew your nails when stressed.” He sighed when he noticed you calming down and peeked out the covers. “I have liked you since day one y/n. But I though it was wrong and I couldn’t bring you in a situation where you would be involved with your professor.” He chuckled. “To be honest, I would have confessed when you graduated.”

“Really?” You crawled out from underneath the sheets.

“Really.” He nodded with a smile.

“But what does this mean for us now?” You asked, sitting up and letting the covers reveal you whole.

It was only then that Jongho noticed how your hair covered your bare shoulder. The tanktop you were weating hugged your body closely and the booty shorts did not help his eyes to not wander down your bare legs. 

“We can try to make this work. You only have one more year ahead of you. As long as we don’t make it obvious I’m sure we’ll survive.” He stated a deep blush covering his cheeks.

“Are you sure?” You asked with a furrowed brow not understanding why he was suddenly so flustered. But then you noticed how his eyes wandered down your body and suddenly you got self concious. “Are you sure that it won’t be-” You pinned him down onto your bed, stradling his waist. “-troublesome for you?”

Jongho gulped and you brought your face closer. It was too cute not to tease him seeing how he got so flustered he began fumbling with his words.

“It may be troublesome if another man come up to you but I think I can handle him.” He said, his face suddenly turning serious. With as much as little effort he flipped you over, so now the positions were reversed. “Just as I can handle you.”

You held your gazes steadily as he lowered his face, mere inches from your lips. But nothing lasts forever. Especially when you don’t eat properly for a week.

Your stomach grumbled loudly and you blushed at the sound. You were hungry, and he knew it. He laughed and pulled you up, bringing over the plate of food Mina had left him.

“I think that it’s best you eat first. And then we’ll figure something out.” 

You nodded shyly as you ate slowly, enjoying the comfort he gave you with his caring nature.

･*:༅｡

The early morning sun hit the windows of your small room just as the alarm on your phone buzzed underneath your pilow. A soft groan left your lips as you snaked an arm underneath it to turn of the annoying buzz.

“Wake up sleepy head.” The soft whisper reached your ears, making you stir under the covers. “You’ll be late to class.”

“I don’t wanna.” You mumbled out.

Jongho chuckled as he climbed into bed with you, messing up the sheets even more. He peppered your face with kisses as giggles left your mouth and you finally cracked open one eye to look at him. 

“Did you water the plants?” You asked him, noticing how he had some dirt on his cheek.

“Yeah. Mina asked me to model for her for her graduation project just as I was doing it.” He said, wiggling under the covers so he could hug you. “She wants to portray love.”

“Yeah, she told me last night that she was inspired by us while we were planting strawberries on the balcony.” You reached out to kiss him. “I told her I’d do it, but that she should ask you too.”

“Well good because I answered yes.” He smirked kissing you back. “I’m glad you confessed when you did. Because otherwise I couldn’t be apart of something so wholesome.” He smiled wide. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You answered matching his smile. “I’m just glad I listened to that waitress’ advice. Because you really wouldn’t have been a part of something so wholesome!”

[itsthemoofacewriting]

Burnin’ up

Summary: On a ship as lively as theirs, Zoro should have known there’s no such thing as privacy. Aka Zoro and Nami keep getting cockblocked. Rating: M. Explicit. 

Can also be found on FFN and AO3.

So, this is a sequel to ‘Feel the burn’. It’ll probably help if you read that first, there are a few references from that story in here.

Amazing Pink left a really nice review on FFN, saying they were looking forward to more and I was so adamant that this was a one-shot and at the time, I was so sure too! But my other WIPs are being difficult right now and my mind drifted over to what a sequel to this would look like… at 2am and thus, this was born! So really, we all have Amazing Pink to thank for the gentle prod, I’m not sure I would have given it any thought otherwise.

Also, no, I was not inspired by ‘Burnin’ up’ by the Jonas Brothers (but I did listen to it after I realised… it’s a good song, let’s not lie).

Enjoy.

It’d been weeks since the crew had found out about his relationship with Nami. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting back then when they inevitably did find out. They’d blinked up at the crow’s nest as him and Nami peered down at the crumpled form of Sanji, who was still laying there holding that stupid drink upright like it was the most important thing, and watched as a lightbulb slowly appeared over their heads as they pieced it together.

Well, Luffy took longer but when he finally realised, prompted by Robin and Usopp, he’d shrugged like it was nothing new and asked Sanji if he could have the drink.

They… didn’t care.

Not in the slightest.

Nami had rolled her eyes and said they should go down and get it over with. He didn’t enjoy the knowing looks, but it could be worse. He wasn’t sure what that worse was. They were crewmates… friends, what did they have to actually be upset about?

Instead they’d looked apprehensively as Sanji got to his feet, his eyes had flitted from Zoro to Nami, no doubt trying to decide what absurd reaction to have. The last thing Zoro had expected was for him to kneel in front of Nami, taking her hand in his and press his forehead to it, telling her he’d pray for her good luck, that she didn’t deserve whatever curse had been put upon her to have to deal with that marimo idiot.

Nami had been stupefied for a second but then she’d laughed, head thrown back and Zoro grit his teeth. Neither of them had expected this but of course he should have known that the stupid cook would take this opportunity to take a shot at him.

And just like that, the moment had passed. Everyone was up to speed and watched as Zoro and Sanji duked it out before Nami stepped in.

Nothing had changed.

.

.

.

Considering how easy everything had been up to then, from getting together with Nami and the crew finding out, this wasn’t a hurdle he was expecting.

They kept getting cockblocked.

Whether it was in her room, in the bathroom, in the men’s room… even in the library when she was supposed to be working on maps- they were interrupted. The main perpetrator was Sanji. Zoro suspected he was doing it on purpose, he wasn’t sure how, but he just knew it. It was to get under his skin, the cook was definitely thatpetty and what made it worse was that it was working.

This time was no different.

It was late and Nami had been sitting by her trees when he’d found her with a drink in hand. Dinner had long since passed and they could still hear Luffy and the other’s playing in the distance somewhere on the ship. But it was far enough away that they didn’t have to worry about being interrupted.

Nami’s head settled on Zoro’s shoulder and as much as he put on a show of griping about having to share his alcohol, he still let her have it relatively easily.

“Mm, this is nice,” Nami hummed.

Zoro didn’t respond verbally, but he did hum back at her in agreement. It was rare they could have a quiet moment together. That didn’t last for though as Nami’s hand came to rest on his thigh and started to play with the fabric of his trousers.

He looked down at the hand and although she wasn’t looking, he still raised an eyebrow. “Playing with fire there, Nami.”

“Nothing I can’t deal with,” she said, tilting her head up to look at him and even he knew that was an invitation.

Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers and although he meant to keep it brief, her free hand snaked up to the back of his head to hold him there. Not one to be outdone, he slanted his lips against hers and pulled her into him. She hummed again but this one wasn’t to convey content; it was to spur him on.

It worked.

He was pushing her back after that, so she laid beneath her trees and he was hovering above her. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her hands ran along his back. As he slipped his tongue into her mouth, his own hand ran along her bare thigh to play with the hem of her skirt.

Just as his hand was about to explore further, that’s when it happened.

“Nami-san~”

A voice that wasn’t his, calling after his girlfriend.

“I don’t believe in God, but I’m willing to if it meant he’d leave us alone,” Zoro said, irritated, against her lips. His hand already retreating down her leg.

“This was funny at first but now…” She sighed heavily; her head thumping back against the decking.

“It was never funny,” he hissed. His trousers were always way too tight when this happened, he couldn’t see the humour in it.

“Oh come on! Seeing the normally composed, aloof swordsman all worked up? Pure gold,” she teased, now looking at him and leaning in to press a lingering kiss to his lips. It was a winding down kiss and Zoro knew it all too well by now.

“Nami-san~” The voice sang again, much closer than either of them expected and the loud footsteps told them the interloper was drawing in quickly.  

How the hell did he find her so easily? Zoro was convinced he’d put a tracker on her.

Hurriedly, he was tugging her back up as she was smoothing her hair down to look presentable when Sanji appeared. Sanji didn’t look phased in the slightest, either he didn’t know, or he didn’t care what they’d been doing. It was too early to tell which it was. Zoro glared at him but Sanji wasn’t looking, eyes trained on Nami instead.  

“Sanji-kun,” Nami greeted, although even her voice sounded strained, at least he wasn’t the only one affected. However, that wasn’t the name he wanted to hear coming from her lips right now.

“Nami-san, I’ve made a dessert in the kitchen for both you and Robin-chan, would you do me the honour of accompanying me there?”

As soon as he asked, Zoro knew she wouldn’t refuse him. Nami could be rude when she wanted to be, normally when she was busy, but evidently, she wasn’t now, and she definitely wouldn’t continue where they’d left off. So, it was no surprise when she stood to follow Sanji, telling Zoro that she’d find him later.

When Nami wasn’t looking, Sanji threw an all to knowing smirk over his shoulder at Zoro.

He knew it! Bastard.

Zoro wondered if during the next storm that hit, he could push the cook overboard and make it convincingly look like an accident.

But even that thought didn’t make him feel much better.

.

.

.

Now, Zoro had no shame about being walked in on. In his opinion, it’s the person’s fault for not knocking or for not minding their own business. But that wasn’t the case for Nami. For someone who’s so forward and confident in her sexual appeal, she’s oddly shy. She goes red, either gets angry or fumbles through being caught (depending on who catches them) and then leaves shortly afterwards.

And that’s fine, the mood’s been lost and if she’s not completely into it then even he doesn’t want to continue. But someone needed to tell that to his dick. Because that’s still ready to go afterwards, ready to soldier through and he’s not sure if he can bear having to calm himself down again.

All of that is thrown out of the window however, when Chopper walks in of them.

Things are getting hot and heavy in the library. Nami’s hovering over Zoro, her lips firmly attached to the junction between his neck and shoulder and when he feels her teeth, he knows he’ll be wearing a shirt for the next couple of days. He doesn’t need the heckling in the men’s room.

Both of them are shirtless, having got rid of them ages ago and at this point, Nami’s skirt should join the pile too because his hands have travelled from the back of her thighs up to her behind to play with sliver of lace there. It really served no purpose now other than bunching at her hips.

He’s about to move things forward when she beats him to it. Her lips trace up his neck the same time her hand moves down to rub over the bulge in his trousers. It takes her almost no time to find his length and stroke him through the material. His head’s thrown back and he’s groaning at her ministrations. He could happily come like this.

“Feel good?” She whispers hotly into his ear, but he can’t respond with words. His loud groan is enough though as she laughs lightly.

Feeling encouraged at his heavy breathing, her hand plays with the waistband of his trousers, fingers tracing along the skin there and making his hips jerk upwards. She pushes past his waistband, past his boxers and he exhales loudly as her fingers delicately touch his dick.

But the strangled squeak at the door brings everything crashing to a halt. They both freeze and turn their heads in horror to see the tiny reindeer stood there. Chopper’s expression mirrors theirs, his eyes round like marbles, and they can see him silently panicking, unsure what to do. But Nami and Zoro aren’t sure what to do either. So all three of them, stay frozen and staring at each other for another moment.

Nami seems to realise their position quickly enough and her hand shoots out of Zoro’s trousers. Her mood does a complete U-turn after that. From the confident, sexy woman above him that just had him squirming for her to a blushing mess that is trying to bury herself into him… or through him, he’s not sure.

That leaves only Zoro and Chopper still staring at each other because Nami’s left him to deal with this as she tries to master how to be invisible.

That lack of shame from earlier was a lie in this moment when Chopper darts out, slamming the door behind him without a word.

Nami’s face is still buried in his neck and he can feel the heat from her face on his skin. He’s pretty sure his face is matching. But on the bright side, his boner has instantly disappeared. Apparently, it’s one weakness is tiny, talking reindeers.

At least he doesn’t have to calm himself down now.

“Oh god. That’s mortifying,” She mumbled against his skin after a few silent moments. “Do we… go after him?” She’s finally pulled her head back to peer up at him.

He shrugged back. How was he supposed to know?

“You should talk to him. You’re close, he looks up to you.”

He spluttered. “And you’re not?”

“This feels like a guy thing.” Sitting up now, she gives him a thumbs up, completely over her embarrassment. “Good luck, Zoro!”

He glowered at her cowardice but knew there was no use arguing. Apparently, this had been settled.

Nami had just got her top back on and skirt straightened when the door opened again and both of them turn to gape as Chopper re-entered. Except this time, he inches in with much more caution and a hoof covering his eyes.

“Is everyone decent?” Chopper asked, slowly moving his hoof down but keeping his eyes closed.

Nami’s gurgling is apparently enough confirmation for Chopper to open his eyes and when he does, he looks incredibly determined. Nami quickly scampered off of Zoro’s lap to sit next to him and attempted to look presentable. Zoro snorted but winced at the elbow he received in the side.  

Chopper approached them both and in his free hoof he was holding condoms. Nami’s eyes bulged and Zoro grit his teeth, knowing exactly what was coming.

“Safe sex is really important. It’s dangerous to not be prepared for a number of reasons, mainly unplanned pregnancy but also for sexually transmitted diseases.” He’s looking at both of them as he speaks, completely clinical and in doctor mode. “Even if you don’t sleep with other people, it’s possible to contract them in other ways and pass them on through sexual activities.”

“Oh god,” Nami said quietly, face burning but still nodding.

Zoro has enough sense to stick his hand out and accept the condoms. He almost balked at the amount of condoms Chopper puts in his hand and is that lube in there?! He doesn’t ask, he’s not sure Nami would survive it.

“Do you need a demonstration on how to put a condom on? Because incorrectly done makes the condom useless.”

Nami wheezes but shook her head and Zoro replied for the both of them. “No, we’ve got this covered.”

Chopper seems to accept that and nods.

“If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate.” Chopper paused, giving them both a moment to think it over, before continuing, “I’m the ships doctor and this is important. I’ve already had this conversation with Robin and Franky.”

That lightens the tension and their embarrassment floods out at the knowledge of tiny little Chopper giving their oldest members the talk. At least Nami doesn’t look like she’s going to combust anymore, and he knows that she’ll be getting details from Robin about that later.

Chopper left shortly afterwards, with a final comment to please come to him with anything, and Nami relaxed slightly, letting out a deep breath in relief.

“Well, looks like I don’t have to talk to him now.”

He felt like he didn’t deserve the punch.

.

.

.

“Whoops, sorry guys,” Usopp said, hand covering his eyes immediately after walking into the library and seeing them sat next to each other. “I didn’t see anything.”

“We weren’t-”

“No need to be embarrassed-” Usopp cut in.

“We’re not embarrassed!” Zoro said. What’s there to be embarrassed about, they’re not even touching.

“It’s a completely natural thing between a couple-”

“For god sake!” Nami snapped, “Uncover your eyes, we’re not doing anything!”

“Do you guys need more condoms? Chopper said-”

That was enough for Nami’s temper to snap. “Get out of here!” And then a book’s being thrown where Usopp once stood.

The door slammed behind him and they’re left in the silence of now knowing that there’s no way the crew aren’t talking about this amongst themselves.

Because Usopp had never walked in on them before.

.

.

.

Zoro wonders how Franky and Robin do it.

He’s currently in the crow’s nest and, normally, he’d be completely focused on what he’s doing but he can’t stop his mind from wandering.

It’s apparently no secret in their crew that him and Nami haven’t been able to get very far, much to his annoyance. Annoyance that they haven’t got far and that they’re all talking about it. He knows they are, based on the looks he’s getting from Franky and he hasn’t even walked in on them. The older man keeps giving him looks like he wants to come and talk to him about it. For now Zoro’s keeping him at bay with his glaring but he knows that only works for so long. He didn’t want to have another sex talk.

Maybe it’s all Robin, Zoro thinks, circling back to his original thought. Franky was huge, there was no missing him, but Robin was crafty. With all the hands and eyes and ears. Maybe she uses them to stop people walking in on them… and can’t she duplicate herself?

Zoro suddenly grimaces, catching himself before his thoughts go elsewhere. There is no way he’s thinking about someone else’s sex life right now. Especially his friends.

Maybe he should just suck it up and ask Franky for advice. He could already imagine Franky’s blubbering but Zoro knew he’d keep it a secret… although he’d definitely tell Robin and she’d tell Nami. And Nami would tease him, even if it helps her too.

Urgh.

“You’re doing it wrong,” a teasing voice called from behind and he turned to see Nami grinning up at him from the entrance of the crow’s nest.

Well aware of the familiar scene before him, he teased back, “Enjoying the view? That costs you know.”

Nami laughed sharply, pulling herself up into the crow’s nest to walk towards him. “We’ll call it even from the last time.”

“Oh, so you admit you’re staring now?” And just like that, any of his previous thoughts vanish as they fall into their normal routine.

Although he’s already warmed up, he still waits for Nami to catch up and stops his squats to walk over and correct her stance. They’ve fallen into a natural rhythm working out together. She doesn’t always join him, he works out every day and sometimes she just doesn’t have the time, so she appears whenever she has a moment to spare. He’s come to enjoy this time they spend together and sharing his knowledge with her. Also, from his appreciative glances when he’s not entirely focused, he can see she’s starting to tone up.

“Is there even a point to me spotting you? I’m pretty sure that weighs more than I do.” Nami’s warmed up by this point but she’s taking a small break before going into sit ups.

“No, but the view’s good so don’t move.” And shamelessly his eye flicked from her face to her chest and back. His grin only widening at her flushed cheeks, but he doesn’t miss the way her own eyes linger around his chest and arms. “Helps if you watch the weight though.”

“I could say the same to you!”

Despite his teasing, Zoro’s kept his hands to himself, only touching her when he needs to. A stark contrast from their normal workouts together and so far, Nami hasn’t noticed. As much as he wants to, he doesn’t know if he could face another interruption. Normally they don’t bother him up there, but if Nami’s with him the crew suddenly turn into blood hounds.

He’d back off until he can at least speak to Franky.

Pride be damned.

“Okay, that’s me done here. You’re going into sit ups,” Zoro said, pointing towards the mat in front of the crow’s nest bench.

With no hesitation she walks over to lay on the floor and start. Normally, he was taking orders from her but up here she followed his word so easily. It surprised him at first and at one point he wondered whether he missed her normal bossiness but she more than made up for it with smart remarks.

“You going to keep gawking like Sanji-kun or are you going to do something?”

Like that.

“Unlike the pervert, I can do both,” he said as he sat on the bench in front of where she was laying and picking up the weight there.

There was a peaceful silence between them as they focused on their respective tasks but Zoro found his gaze drifting over to Nami. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her breathing steadily getting heavier, but she was lasting much longer than normal these days. He’d have to switch up her routine soon to keep her on her toes.

When she laid down after her last sit up, he couldn’t stop himself from looking her over. From the blue leggings to the matching sports bra, she was panting on the floor and he had to try and keep himself from imagining her like that for different reasons. He’d made his mind up and getting himself worked up would only come around to punish him in the long run.

“Sorry to interrupt, but the rest of us are stepping off the ship for a bit.” The sudden appearance of a mouth on the wall didn’t faze either of them, they’d been around it for far too long. “We’ll be gone for a few hours… do with that what you want.” Humour was thick in Robin’s voice before the mouth disappeared in a flutter of flowers.

There was a short silence that followed afterwards as Zoro and Nami looked at each other. The atmosphere shifting slightly in the crow’s nest as the words started to sink in.

Except Nami didn’t seem surprised.

“You’ve been speaking to Robin,” he accused, narrowing his eye.

“Maybe.” She sat up and attempted to look innocent. “Can you really blame me though?”

“Desperate for me then?” He smirked and leaned towards her.

“Like you haven’t been thinking about talking to Franky.” She rolled her eyes, leaning back on her arms to stretch out her body. It worked when Zoro gave her a once over.

Well, she had him there. Sometimes he wondered if she could read his mind. He said nothing but that told Nami everything as her smile broadened.

“Anyway, you should be thanking me.” She stood, getting to her feet to stand in front of him and he wasted no time in making a gap between his legs for her to stand between. “We have a free ship. No interruptions,” she said lowly.

“At this point, I don’t think I’d care if we were interrupted.” His gaze darkening as his hands palmed at her hips.

“Big words coming from someone who still can’t look Chopper in the eyes,” she snorted, her hands equally adventurous as they ran along his shoulders.

“You can’t either!” And he pinched lightly at her hip in retribution.

“Shut up and kiss me Zoro.” She’d long since had enough of this conversation but it didn’t matter for Zoro because it’s a command that he can wholeheartedly get on board with.

He wasted no time in pulling her down onto his lap

The kiss is bruising, and it’s with more force than he’d intended, but honestly, he didn’t care. Because she’s kissing him back just as roughly, lips frantically moving against the others and their teeth clash together at one point, but it doesn’t deter them. They’ve both been waiting far too long for this and it’s obvious in the way she’s already pulling at his hair and he’s probing her lips with his tongue.

They pause to breath roughly against the other’s lips but there’s no rest when her hands insistently start pulling up his top. “You never wear a top to work out and you pick today of all days to?”

“You should have told me your plan beforehand and I would have made sure I was wearing as least as possible.”

The moment his top’s off and thrown behind them, her hands are smoothing across his chest and he’s pulling her back into their kiss. It’s less bruising now but still just as desperate, enthusiasm dripping into the kiss. His hands slip up her waist lingering around the dip in it before fiddling with the clasp of her sports bra.

The bra teases him when they work out together and it’s still doing it now.

“Would you hurry up,” she said against his lips, impatient but unwilling to break the kiss properly. Her hands are now playing with the waistband of his bottoms and it’s not helping him focus on the task.

“Well it’s hardly like I’ve had much practice with taking your clothes off, is it?” He grumbled back. His fingers felt far too big for such a tiny clasp, how did women do this every day?

“We’ll work on it, but now’s not the time.” Her hands leave his waistband to meet his at her bra clasp and she pushes them away to unhook it with such an ease that it almost mocks him. It’s hard to still be annoyed when the bra’s off and joining his top of the floor.

With her breasts now free, he aims for her neck, working kisses down it and nipping as he works his way down. Her hands are in his hair, threading through it and encouraging him to continue. He kisses a particularly sensitive spot when she shallowly gasps but it’s nothing compared to the noise she makes when he finally reaches her breasts. It’s louder, less surprised and filled with pleasure that makes him twitch in his trousers.

He’s rewarded with the sound again when he takes her nipple into his mouth and licks. Her hips are grinding into his and it’s hard to focus but he doesn’t stop her. If anything, his free hand is pressing her hips into his even more to increase the pressure.

When she bounces this time, he’s pushing her off of him and onto the mat on the floor. He follows after her quickly to cover her body with his own and this position is much easier to roll his hips into hers. They both moan when he does.

“Zoro- hah- take off your trousers,” she rushed out, breathless when he doesn’t relent on sucking on her nipple.

He just about hears what she’s saying over the pulsing in his ears but he’s more concerned with getting her leggings off. He leaves her nipple then, leaving it with a parting kiss before he’s sitting up and pulling down the waistband of her leggings. He doesn’t need to say anything for her to lift her hips, but he does when he struggles to get the leggings off her legs.

“What are these things made of?” He huffs, now sat back on the ball of his feet and glaring down at them.

Nami doesn’t respond but she does start laughing when he gives a particularly harsh tug and they barely give.

“Laughing isn’t helping here Nami!”

“Sorry- it’s just- your face!” She snorts in laughter. “Actually, take these too.” And she’s pulling her underwear down to meet the leggings now at her calves.

Zoro tried to stay focused but she’s almost naked before him for the first time ever and he can’t look away. The leggings finally give and he’s angrily flinging them across the room, hoping he never sees them again.

The foot on his arm distracts him from lingering on that thought for much longer and Nami’s nodding towards his own bottoms. “Take them off too!”

Something that he wholeheartedly agrees with and he’s standing

Nami’s looking up at him in disbelief and eyebrows raised when he joins her on the floor again. He quirks an eyebrow.

“No underwear?”

He snorts. “Never do. Waste of time.”

He’s not interested in her response, although she definitely does mutter something under her breath and it’s most likely snarky. Instead he’s kissing her again, less rushed as it sinks in that they’ve really got time and there’s no one ready to walk in at any second.

His hand wanders down, skimming over her stomach and all too quickly it’s grazing over wet lips. He bites back a groan when he realises how wet she is when they’ve barely done anything but Nami’s moaning below him as his hand teases her. Stroking up and down, he watches her eyebrows knot and she’s biting her lip to hold in her moans.

That won’t do.

With his free hand, he holds her jaw to make sure she can’t look anywhere else but at him and the thumb on his other busy hand stroke over her clit. She gasps then, unable to hold in the noise.

“Come on Nami, you’re not normally quiet. I want to hear you loud, tell me how much you’re enjoying yourself.”

The pinch in her eyebrows and downward curve of her mouth tells him she’s about to refuse him but when she opens her mouth his thumb picks up the pace and instead of words, a wanton moan breaks free from her lips.

“That’s it,” he praised and as much as he’s desperate for his own relief, hers is far more important to him. He’s trying to take in as much of her face as he can, and he almost wished he still had his other eye in this moment.

“Okay, enough,” Nami panted out and she’s pushing his hand away. Before he can ask what’s wrong, she’s cupping him. “I want you in me.”

Damn.

And he’s all too ready to follow that command.  

“Hang on.” Zoro got up and walked over to the locker across the room. He pushed some stuff out of the way before finding what he was after. He turned back to Nami and smirked as he held up a condom.

“Chopper would be so proud,” Nami laughed. “But you called me desperate yet you’re the one storing condoms around the ship?”

“Saved us time, didn’t it?” He said, shrugging, as he walked back over, throwing the condom down next to her and covered her with his body again. “And don’t mention Chopper right now.” That’s the last thing he needs going through his mind.

He kisses her after that, trying to quickly reclaim the mood and it’s not as lost as he thought it was when her legs start to wrap around his waist. What he doesn’t expect is for her to suddenly roll them so that she’s on top.

“I’d rather be on top if that’s okay with you?”

Oh shit. “Fuck, you’re sexy.”

“I’ll take that as a yes?” She winks at him and moves her hips against his. He can feel her wet heat on his dick, and it makes his head go fuzzy for a second. He needs this to speed up before he loses his load.

“Yeah, you’re sure? We can stop at any time.”

She’s smiling down at him softly and nodding back at him.

After that, she’s picking up the condom and rolling it down his dick. He stops breathing as she does. Then she’s taking his dick into her hand, lining him up and sinking onto him. He grips her hips and shit; this feels better than he could ever have imagined. Nami throws her head back and her palms are spread across his chest to give her some leverage.

He shouldn’t be surprised that she wants to be on top and in charge. It’s no different to their normal daily interactions, where she’s bossing them around and although he’d normally argue back- this he doesn’t mind. In fact, it gets under his skin in a pleasant way and makes him feel even hotter. It’s no secret that her bossiness turns him on a bit and the look she’s throwing at him now tells him she knows it too.

The first time she moves bobs up and back down he almost smacks his head back into the mat but he’s not about to take this laying down. The second time he digs his feet into mat to match her thrust and he’s rewarded with a load moan from her.

The pace only picks up from there and the room is filled with the sound of their moans and skin slapping as they both work towards their high together.

Except, far too soon, Nami’s pace is starting to slow and the way her legs are twitching tells him that she’s getting tired.

He sits up then, more than happy to take over the reins. “More squats for you next time,” he quips in her ear.

She swats his shoulder but buries her face in his shoulder and moans weakly at her last attempt to grind down on him. Gathering her in his arms, he started to stand, refusing to pull out of her and walked them towards the empty wall of the crow’s nest.

He’s well aware of how familiar this scene is, except this time around they’re having sex instead of making out. He presses her up against the wall, her legs still tight around his waist and he thrusted back into her.

“Do you know how good you feel?” He whispered to her.

He restarted the pace, slowly grinding into her and picking it up from there. He continued to whisper into her ear, about how she feels, how he’s going to make sure she sees stars and it worked as her moans start to pick up and she’s moving her hips against him.

She grips onto him, clinging to him in her pleasure and he knows he’s doing something right when he nails start to dig into his shoulders. Maybe it’s the masochist in him but it only turns him on further and makes him work harder.

The way she started to babble nonsense means he’s close to pulling her with him over the edge and he sure hoped so because he can feel his end coming.

“Touch yourself,” he said, his hands too occupied with keeping her up against the wall.

“Zoro.” The way she moaned his name really does something for him and he wants to hear it again. “I’m really close,” she whined.

“Me too,” he panted against her neck.

He kisses her after that and it’s sloppy and uncoordinated and they take more breaks to breath against each other’s lips than actually kiss but it only heightens the feeling.

It’s then, when her moans start to break apart and tumble out of her lips that he felt her tighten around him and he can feel his high drawing in. He can’t last though that feeling of her clamping down of him or her calling out his name. He thrusts in relentlessly to chase after his high and join her and he felt it shortly after, pleasure streaking down his back.

He isn’t even sure how he’s still on his feet or holding her up, but he managed it as he worked through his orgasm with her. It’s only as he started to come out of it that he realised he’s probably crushing her into the wall now instead of holding her up against it.

Stumbling over, he made it down to the mat and collapsed back, pulling Nami on top of him. She moaned weakly when he pulled out of her. Considering how his back stung, he can only imagine the marks he has there.

Nami came to when she started to press kisses against his chest and his hand continued to run a path up and down her back.

“Zoro, that was-”

“Great? Yeah, it was.” He smirked down at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Makes you want to kill our crew members for constantly interrupting us when we could have been doing this sooner? Yeah, it does.”

Nami laughed lightly at that but groaned shortly after. “I feel gross.”

And she had a point. They were sweaty from working out beforehand but mixing in sex with that only made it worse. He grimaced as he peeled off the condom.

“Let’s go get cleaned up.”

“Bathhouse?” She asked, eyes lighting up and it’s evident from her tone that they’ll be doing something other than getting clean.

“The door has a lock too.” His expression mirroring hers and promising other activities.

Nothing more needed to be said as Zoro hauled Nami up and towards the exit of the crow’s nest, clinging to one another as they went.

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

Shout out to Marimoandtangerine from Tumblr. She drew a scene of Nami and Zoro working out in the crow’s nest for the Tumblr event that we both took part in and joked how much our pieces mirrored each other without us even knowing… but now they definitely do because I incorporated that scene when writing this.  

You can see her fantastic art here.

Chopper said safe sex! The moment I had him walking into this cockblocking escapade, I had to have him giving a lecture.

As always, please excuse any errors.

Thanks for reading.

[tessisawriter]

Night Changes (Elias Pettersson)

Request: 72 with Eias Pettersson 🤩🤩

A/N: Lightly inspired by One Direction’s “Night Changes” (link here).

Warnings: One swear word, angst

Word Count: 1.4k

The minute you walked into Elias’ apartment, you sensed something was off.

“El? Where are you?” you called as you closed the door behind you in the foyer and put your backpack down on the floor. Being a second-semester junior at UBC was hard enough with all the work, but your back and neck were feeling the strain from the many textbooks in your bag. When you turned around, you found Elias standing in the living room. He was wearing a Canucks t-shirt and sweats, his usual attire, but his mannerisms were off: instead of smiling, he was just staring at you.

You walked up to him and laughed as you waved your hand in his face and said, “Earth to Elias!”

Elias’ lips curved up into a slight smile. “Hey,” he said, but he sounded odd.

“What’s wrong? Bad day at practice?”

“No.”

You raised your eyebrows. He was acting so weird, and you’d be damned if you didn’t get to the bottom of it. “Seriously, El, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing! Why don’t you just leave me the fuck alone, Y/N?”

You flinched, shocked by his outburst. You had been best friends with Elias ever since he arrived in Vancouver almost two years ago, and not once had he raised his voice at you. It was his polite and kind manner that caught your attention when you first met.

You had been sitting in the travel section at the bookstore at the beginning of your sophomore year reading a book about Sweden when you heard someone speak.

“Sweden, huh?”

You looked up and found a boy about 19 or 20 years old with white-blonde hair and blue eyes looking down at you. You couldn’t help but stare, and you blushed when he raised an eyebrow to get your attention. “Uh, yeah. I’m thinking about going there for winter break.”

“You’re in college?”

“Yeah, I’m a sophomore at UBC. You?”

“Oh, I…I’m not in college.”

“You’re in high school?” You were horrified.

“No, no, I’m 19,” he replied hastily. “I’m Elias, by the way. And you are?”

“Y/N,” you said. “So if you’re not in college, what do you do?”

“I came here to play hockey, from Sweden, actually.”

You couldn’t put your finger on it, but something about him intrigued you so much that you overcame your shyness and said, “These guide books suck. Do you want to maybe have coffee in the café and tell me more about Sweden?”

He smiled at you. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

The two of you ended up sitting at the café talking for hours that day. You quickly learned that you had a lot in common: you both liked to travel, were on the quieter side but still friendly and naturally empathetic, and most importantly, neither one of you was from Canada. Elias had moved to Vancouver only a few weeks earlier to play for the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL, and you moved from New York the previous year to attend UBC. While you had a few friends from school who were very nice, they were either from British Columbia or Alberta, so they didn’t understand what it was like to move 3,000 miles to a new country. Elias was the first person you met who could truly relate to your unique situation.

“Why Vancouver?” he asked while you sipped your tea at the café.

“I have a bunch of relatives from the Pac Northwest,” you replied. “They’re much more relaxed than the people on the East Coast, and I found myself wanting a change in lifestyle and country.”

“Where do they live?”

“All over the place. Portland and Salem in Oregon, San Francisco in California, and Seattle and Vancouver in Washington State…”

“There’s a place called Vancouver in Washington?” he interjected.

“Yeah, it’s right across the river from Portland. Weird, I know.”

“So all of your relatives live in the States?” he asked, and you nodded in response. “Then why did you move to Canada?”

You had to give it to him: Elias was perceptive. “Seattle is the new Silicon Valley,” you explained, “and it’s more established. Did you know that most places in British Columbia weren’t even on the world map in the 1920s?”

“Really?” he seemed genuinely surprised.

“Yep, it’s true. I needed a fresh start, and Vancouver seemed like the right place for me.”

It turned out you were right not only about that, but also in taking a risk and initiating a friendship with Elias in the bookstore that day. In each other, you found the missing piece that allowed you to build happy lives in Vancouver, and the two of you quickly became inseparable. Elias welcomed you into his social circle, and many of his teammates were your friends just as much as they were his. Since you weren’t used to the bubble that was the professional hockey world, you kept Elias grounded.

Now, you took a step back from him and said, “What’s your problem, El? I’m just trying to help you!”

“If you really want to help me, you’ll admit that you have feelings for me.”

You froze. “What?”

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Are you seriously telling me that you didn’t feel anything shift in Sweden this past summer?”

Your heart started beating hard in your chest. While you didn’t end up going to Sweden over winter break, you and your parents went there with Elias and his family after witnessing him win the Calder Trophy for best rookie in Las Vegas. You and your parents went to Stockholm before spending a few weeks in Elias’ hometown. Your parents hit it off with the Petterssons, so you and Elias had a lot of quality time alone together.

After Elias hugged you goodbye and you waited at the gate for your plane to board at the airport, you realized you had fallen for your best friend.

You didn’t tell him how you felt when he returned to Vancouver a month later, though, because you didn’t want to risk losing your friendship. Even if he somehow reciprocated your feelings, Elias’ life was complicated, and who knew whether your relationship would survive all the pressure he was under?

That was why you took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Instead of being deterred, Elias took a step forward and cupped your cheek with his right hand. “Keep talking all you want, but you can’t deny that you want me as much as I want you.”

You tried to keep your face blank and body still so that he couldn’t get a read on your emotions, but his confession made it impossible for you to succeed. You leaned into his touch.

“I knew it,” he breathed, leaning his forehead against yours. You let him stay there for a moment before pulling back. 

Elias looked baffled. “Why are you fighting it, Y/N? I love you, and you love me, too.”

Your lips trembled, but you refused to let yourself cry. “I don’t want things to change.”

“What do you mean?” Even though your foreheads weren’t connected anymore, you didn’t move far enough away to make him drop his hand from your cheek, so he soothingly rubbed his thumb back and forth as he waited for your reply.

“Your life is crazy, El,” you told the truth. “What if you’re under so much pressure that our relationship falls through the cracks? Then I’ll not only be losing my boyfriend, but also my best friend.”

Hurt bloomed in his blue eyes, but he looked you in the eye and said, “I would never let that happen, Y/N. You want to know why? Because I’ve been in love with you since the day we first met, and every day since then has only made me more convinced that you’re the one.”

You let out a shaky breath. “Really?”

“Really. It was fate that put us in the same section in the bookstore at the same time that day. You and I are meant to be together. I promise that I’ll communicate with you, even when things get rough and I’m in a bad mood, and no matter what happens, it will never change me and you. Okay?”

“Okay,” you said, and Elias closed the distance between you again and kissed you for the first of what you hoped would be many times.

[scottybrock]

Petty & Pettier - Colby Brock

A/N: Requested by a lovely anon: “arzaylea rodriguez saying something online or in an interview about reader thus starting a feud between them and the whole gang not really knowing whose side to take? maybe arzaylea is threatened by reader and colbys friendship? ohhh and maybe to add fuel to the fire reader might befriend one of arzayleas exes? just a whole bunch of drama cause I’m in a dramatic mood “

You usually weren’t a petty bitch. 

Okay, so you were. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially because you used your powers for good, for your friends, rather than yourself. When it came to defending yourself, you didn’t really care for it. People could think whatever they wanted about you; you knew what was true and what wasn’t. It didn’t bother you. You didn’t really give a flying shit if anyone said anything about you. You were used to it- you hung out with some pretty big content creators, and you were just a lowly nobody, according to what people said about you. You weren’t a Youtuber, and you kept yourself out of the spotlight. People didn’t understand how you became friends with the people you were friends with, but it was really no one’s fucking business. 

However, when it came to defending your friends, you were a shark that had caught a whiff of blood- earnest to draw even more, if need be. It was something your friends loved about you- how much you cared about them, loved them. Colby, especially, appreciated your fierce and unyielding devotion to your friend group. You loved your friends, and you would do anything for them. Putting a few bitches in place was the very least of what you would do for them.

The bitch in question this time around, was none other than Arzaylea Rodriguez. You knew all about her. She went for the clout chasing option when searching for future boyfriends. Unfortunately this time, she had her sights set on none other than Colby Brock.

 You had heard about what she had done to Luke Hemmings, lead singer of the band 5 Seconds of Summer. She had gotten him into harder drugs, tried to isolate him from his best friends and his fans, and nearly succeeded. Luckily, Luke pulled his head out of his ass long enough to finally dump the clout-chasing parasite on her ass. 

Arzaylea prided herself on chasing after boys who had a following, a steady fan base. Colby was too big-hearted to really notice Arzaylea’s true intentions. His heart was too kind, too pure to be able to really see what a horrid person she really was. She was nothing like the flower of her namesake. The rest of the group had seen the destruction she left behind from all of her exes. 

Tara was all for the speedy destruction of the possible blossoming relationship between Colby and Arzaylea. Sam, being the sweetheart he was, wanted things to end as peacefully as possible. Jake seemed torn between wanting you to end her, and wanting things to remain as un-messy as possible. Corey and Devyn seemed indifferent, but also displeased with the blossoming relationship, especially because it involved Arzaylea. Katrina seemed to want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but was leaning towards discovering that the she-devil was trash. Kevin, Mike, and Reggie point-blank didn’t like her, which was where Aryia, Xepher, and Cassie stood. 

“Dude,” Sam’s voice was one of shock. His bright blue eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, his jaw hanging slack. “She just roasted you.” Arzaylea, threatened by your friendship with Colby, had taken to Twitter as usual. She sent out a slew of defamatory tweets, bashing not only your character, but your looks as well. She called you an attention-seeking whore. “Pot, meet kettle,” You scoffed in response when you saw that particular tweet. 

“It’s not like any of those tweets are true!” Tara protested vehemently, fuming on your behalf. Jake just stared at his phone screen, his jaw clenched with anger. Katrina seemed to be near-tears on your behalf, her lower lip quivering with indignation and hurt. Her glassy eyes rested on you, and she offered you a shaky half-smile. 

You just shrugged, nonplussed with the tweets. As long as she wasn’t going after your friends, you didn’t necessarily give a flying fuck. Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing a rather disheveled looking Colby on the other side. His bright blue eyes were aflame with complete and utter rage. He stalked across the room and plopped down on the couch next to you, his handsome face set into a fierce scowl. 

“She tried to make me choose,” His voice was gruff, and quivering with barely suppressed anger. “She told me to choose either you or her, and I chose you.” His eyes settled on your face, some of the anger leaving it. He offered you a strained smile. “Obviously, I chose you.” His voice softened on the word ‘you,’ Your cheeks flushed, and you ducked your head. “Clearly, she didn’t take it so well.” Colby’s smile dropped, his scowl replacing it. 

You shrugged again. “As long as she doesn’t say anything about-” Tara cut you off, her big brown eyes wide with fury on your behalf. “She’s not going to get away with this,” Her voice was sharp, tight with anger. Jake piped up, “Aren’t you still friends with Luke?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Fight fire with fire, just this once.” He begged, clasping his hands together and tucking them under his chin, wide eyes staring at you. 

Your lips curled up into a smirk. If Arzaylea wanted to play dirty, you could play even dirtier. Katrina beamed, her tears disappearing. “Call him,” She instructed. Sam watched you, looking nervous, but excited. You reached for your phone, your smirk never leaving your face. “That’s your murder-face,” Colby observed, raising his eyebrows. “What exactly is your plan?” 

Your smirk just grew wider, to the absolute delight of Tara and Jake. “You’ll see!” You sing-songed. The glint in your eyes spoke volumes. You were getting ready to win the fucking war. 

Sure enough, Luke had seen the tweets. He was just as angry as your group of friends, and you watched him bemusedly as he threw things around his hotel room, shouting obscenities about what a rat Arzaylea was. He yeeted yet another pillow across the room, storming around like a tornado. Finally, you held a hand up and let out an ear-piercing scream. Luke stopped what he was doing immediately, and turned to face you. His bright blue eyes reminded you of someone else, and your heart panged in your chest. 

“I have a plan,” You announced. Luke stood in the middle of the room, his gorgeous face untwisting from the scowl that it was previously set in, to a lovely smirk. “I’m in,” He replied. You wrinkled your nose at him, smiling amusedly at him. “I didn’t even tell you what it was yet!” You protested playfully. Luke grinned, and his dimples deepened. You stared at him, transfixed. Your heart was set on someone else, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t admire the work of art standing in front of you. 

A few days later, several demands from your friends on when you were going to strike, and a few dozen mysterious smirks from you later, your plan was revealed. “Turn on channel six,” You instructed Sam, who immediately scrambled for the remote. The television flickered to life, and Sam immediately hit the number six. 

Sure enough, Luke was sitting on a plush chair, looking somber. He was sans bandmates, even though Michael begged him to let him come along, so he could roast the absolute shit out of the Krusty Krab. Luke denied his request, ignoring your hysterical laughter in the background during the phone call. 

“So,” Ellen Degeneres began, looking sympathetically at Luke. “You’re here to talk about your toxic ex-girlfriend today?” Luke nodded, his somber expression intensifying. You stifled a laugh. “Yeah,” Luke replied. “Because it’s not only me, that she’s hurt. It’s been several people, and she won’t stop until she’s called out, like she likes to do to so many other people who frown upon her actions.” You bounced on the couch gleefully. Sam was stifling his laughter from behind his hand. Katrina and Tara were outright cackling. Colby looked impressed. 

Luke went on to detail his relationship with Arzaylea, explaining in detail the way she would cheat on him with someone else who she thought had a bigger following, and the way she would beg herself back into his life. The way she urged him to try cocaine, and got him hooked. He went on to detail the way she chased after attention, the way she had left him as soon as there was someone else higher on the food chain. 

Colby’s eyes were wide when Luke was finished with his story. The room was silent, and you swore you heard some sniffles from the audience. You mentally applauded Luke for not only his bravery, but his willingness to do this for you. It was something he’d wanted to do for years, but never knew how to go about it. You hoped that he felt freed from her now. 

You silently clicked the television off, then turned to face your friends. The instant you moved, you were engulfed in Colby’s arms, and he was hugging you tightly. “Thank you,” Colby’s voice murmured softly. “For looking out for me.” You snuggled into his embrace, melting against him. “Always,” You replied, your voice just as soft. “I’ll always look out for you, Colbs.” His arms tightened around you in response. 

You pulled back and looked at him searchingly. “I’m sorry if you really did like her,” Your voice remained soft. “I just didn’t want you to get sucked into her cycle, like Luke did.” Colby’s eyes met yours, and his expression warmed instantly. “It’s whatever,” Colby shrugged. “She wasn’t the one for me. But she helped me pull my head out of my ass, and made me realize that the one for me is closer than I think.” His gaze was meaningful, and you grinned in response. Colby’s lips curled into a soft smile. “In fact, she’s sitting right in front of me.” 

Your cheeks flushed, but you nodded, a sweet smile gracing your face. “Yeah,” You replied softly. “She is.”

[katyatalks]

PASH! February 2019 - Itou Setsuo & Sakurai Takahiro [Mob & Reigen] - Interview Translation

Here’s Itou Setsuo & Sakurai Takahiro’s [Mob & Reigen] special interview from PASH! February 2019. In semi-summary style, includes who the two would choose to be a part of their family from Mob Psycho 100, Itou’s initial difficulty getting back into character as Mob, Director Tachikawa’s more hands-on approach with season 2, and more!

They’re asked how they felt when season 2 was confirmed.

Itou; “I think I knew clearly it was going to happen when we were recording for the season 1 OVA?”

Sakurai; “It was kinda a rumour. ‘Looks like… we’re doing season 2?’. Ever since the latter half of season 1, we’ve all been wanting the anime to continue.”

Itou; “Truth is, when I was shown the final episode of season 1, Bones’ president Minami-san said ‘we’re doing season 2!’ pretty casually to me. But, honestly, I didn’t believe him. But I’d wanted to do season 2 since then.[...]”

They’re asked about their motivation in the lead up to season 2, to which Itou mentions that he forgot how to perform as Mob. “But in the wait for season 2 we had the season 1 OVA, so when I got to perform as him again for that I knew it’d be okay.”

Sakurai; “I didn’t really have that with Reigen. Reigen… his behaviour is conman-like, and he’s an interesting character with how he conducts himself in a pretty aloof way. [...] Getting into character as him isn’t a stiff thing; rather, I’m able to play off the energy that’s present when we all record together.”

They’re asked how they feel now, now that season 2 has started. Itou mentions his love for the first episode with the letter, and the desire he always had to see it animated. “The relationship between Mob and Shishou, and those of Mob and the people who surround him, they’re all nicely depicted. When I performed episode 1, I kinda felt nostalgic; ‘We’re back with Mob’s daily life.’”

Sakurai; “Season 2 has a graceful opening. Sure, it’s the first episode of season 2, but it feels more like season 1 episode 13. Powers are at the base of Mob Psycho 100. In season 1, Mob always has ‘I don’t want powers, I want to be normal’ on his mind, and then his powers are made to explode. But in season 2 episode 1, Mob says, without hesitation, ‘I’m an esper’ - like he’s come to recognise that his powers aren’t anything special, but just another characteristic, as it were. That’s amazing.”

Q: “How about Reigen in season 2?”

Sakurai; “He’s a step behind Mob, isn’t he. I think Reigen has come to a stand-still, in a sense. But when he looks at Mob, who he’s always treated like a child, calling him his ‘deshi’... Reigen looks at him changing in front of his eyes, and various opportunities for he himself to change inside appear before him. We get a good few monologues from Reigen in which he talks about what is happening inside his heart. Please enjoy the unexpected nature of Reigen’s true heart, which he hasn’t shown us before.”

They’re asked how Reigen and Mob’s relationship has changed since season 1.

Sakurai; “Kinda gets awkward, doesn’t it.”

Itou; “Mob doesn’t really realise that he’s changed himself. It’s just, Mob is growing as a person with each passing day, so with the start of season 2 we see that the two of them don’t exactly mesh as well as they once did. The way their strained relationship changes is a huge highlight of season 2.”

***

Q: “If a character from Mob Psycho 100 was to become a part of your family, who would you want?”

Itou; “Tome-san as my big sister. That came to mind straight away.”

Sakurai; “For me, Teru as my little brother.”

Itou; “As your little brother?! I think Tome-san and I would have fun together. I think she’d say some crazy stuff like, ‘Let’s go UFO hunting!’, and take me to a bunch of places with her. I actually do have an older sister, but I think it’d be nice if I had an older sister that’s active like Tome-san is.”

Sakurai; “I also actually have a little brother (laughs). I’ve always liked Teru. He’s a really good kid, isn’t he - he was born with powers and as a result has been stagnant his whole life, but upon coming into contact with Mob, who has powers so much greater than his own, he reforms. Anyway… it’s difficult to choose who you’d want as parents from the Mob Psycho 100 cast.”

Itou; “Well, Tsuchiya from Claw is pretty motherly, isn’t she? She’s always looking out for Mukai. She seems very caring.”

Sakurai; “I suppose Gouda is also pretty motherly. The training he offers might be tough, but he’s tolerant - I’d say that’s more the nature of a mother than a father!”

***

Itou having performed in the stage play is brought up, and he is asked if he was able to get properly back into character as the anime’s Mob for season 2.

Itou; “Truth is, I went a bit overboard at first. Stage acting differs to voice acting; you perform using your body, too. I tried to pull back a little when I first started recording for season 2, but regardless I was told plenty of times to tone it down.”

Sakurai; “Performing on stage where you use your whole body, and performing using just your voice for an anime… they do differ.”

Itou; “They do! Even though the anime’s Mob-kun and the stage play’s Mob-kun are fundamentally the same character...”

Itou is asked if he was able to feed his stage play experience into his season 2 performance. Itou; “I came to be able to see the relationships Mob-kun has with the characters surrounding him more clearly. With season 1, I only really thought, ‘I have to be gentle when I talk to Ritsu-kun’, but with season 2 I wanted to perform in different clean-cut ways depending on whether Mob-kun was talking to Reigen-shishou, or Dimple, or...”

Sakurai; “I think Itou-kun has changed as a result of his stage play experience. When we started recording for season 2, it was the first time I’d seen him in a while… how do I put it; his face had truly become that of a man's (laughs).”

They’re asked if they became aware of any difference in their performances from season 1.

Sakurai; “Nope! Same old Reigen.”

Itou; “I rewatched season 1 a good amount of times to try and get back the vibe I had when I performed as Mob-kun back then.”

They’re asked how the atmosphere is when recording for season 2.

Sakurai; “Unchanged from season 1; high spirits and fun all around!”

Itou; “That’s thanks to Dimple’s VA, Akio-san. (laughs)”

Sakurai; “That’s true… Akio-san is the mood maker when we record for Mob Psycho 100.”

Itou; “There’s a lot of veterans involved with Mob Psycho 100, so I get nervous, but Akio-san calms me down.”

Sakurai; “Akio-san’s stories and the way he reacts are all amusing - it’s as if he’s truly become Dimple (laughs).”

Itou; “Gouda’s VA, Seki-san, also looks out for me. He’s like Gouda himself - how should I put it... he’s like a kind older brother.”

Sakurai mentions how season 2 has a lot of characters, and there have been days in which there have been more than 30 people in the studio at one time - Itou mentions how they only have 4 microphones, despite this.

They’re asked about any back and forths they may have had with the director when recording, to which Sakurai says this time around Director Tachikawa ordered a good amount of retakes. Itou mentions again how he found it difficult to perform as Mob like he used to at first, but now he’s gotten back into it. “I worried over whether I could perform Mob in a way that suited the image that Director Tachikawa has in his mind.”

Finally, they’re asked what highlights there are for the rest of season 2.

Sakurai; “Naturally, Mob’s growth and the way Reigen changes.”

Itou; “Season 2 has a lot of powerful enemies! For me personally, I find you /have/ to pay attention to Reigen-shishou.”

---

Twitter crosspost here.

[chorusnihili]

I'd love to hear more about the development of your Gaster! :D

BACKSTORY ASK MEME 1. How did you first come up with your muse’s backstory, if you did at all? Continued from here Also asked by @alagaster 

So I left off with the question of just how Gaster's soul ended up in pieces.

I’m actually going to detour at the moment and say that it was around that point that I had decided to make the blog.  I had a vague beginning and an ending, and usually that’s not enough for me to want to start, but I was excited, I had a lot of fun, so I went for it.

Honestly, one of the first things I need to have before I even think of making a blog is a good url.  Urls are super important to me, and generally, whether or not I think of a good one is a key factor in whether or not I actually make the blog.

But in this case, I was too eager to start and I actually just threw together chorusnihil so I could get started on the pages.  The thought process remained the same--the chorus is from Greek plays, the group of characters that narrate the actions occurring in the play.  nihil is Latin for nothing--and I later changed it to nihili, which is Genitive, to roughly make the “chorus of nothing” or “nothing’s chorus,” a reference to the fact that the guy wiped himself out of history, and so there’s no protagonist to narrate.  This was supposed to be a temporary URL, but I got attached to it, for reasons I’ll get to later.  

(And really, isn’t a roleplay blog a modern chorus in it’s own way?)

Also there’s the phonetic pun-- CORE-us, anyone?

So I threw together a lot of the basic bios.  Most of the stat pages are really bland, most of the guts of the story comes from the hidden details, most of which were added on later.  

Something that came up around this point was Gaster’s relationship to Asgore.  A lot of fanon pictures them as really close.  A lot of fanon also portrays Gaster as Gaster as desperately wanting to retake the surface, which...as mentioned previously, my Gaster just, wasn’t into.  

So it sort of put Gaster in between Asgore and Toriel--he wasn’t happy about the decision to go to war with humanity, but he wasn’t going to abandon everyone, even if he did become really reclusive.  

I thought about the idea of the human souls, and I knew that Gaster would immediately hate the idea of working with them.  And that was convenient, too, since it allowed me to further separate Gaster and Alphys’s work.  At first, it was just a heavy disagreement.  The idea that Gaster killed Asgore accidentally came a great deal later, but it honestly served to be a rather critical piece of the story. 

The design of the DT Extractor and Sans and Papyrus were also very vague concepts at this point. 

Revisiting the idea of his fall.  We know from the canon dialogue that he fell into his own invention and that he was scatted across space and time.  

The CORE is the common culprit and it was what I had chosen, too.  But how?  How could an energy source... do that? 

So the idea occurred to me that maybe--maybe that was exactly as it was designed to do.  After all, even in the real world, we have power plants that operate by ripping apart molecules.  So... magic.  Why not magic?  A machine that derives power out of ripping apart magical energy.

And monsters are made out of magical energy.  

Falling into that sounds like a very grisly fate, indeed.      

The idea of how he got erased from reality isn’t one I really have solidified.  G has a couple of theories, and I’m willing to roll with either of them, but, really?  I’m not super interested in making a hard reason for it.  Namely to adapt to other versions of fanon other muns might have. 

Essentially, the theories say that the CORE destroying him released so much energy that it tore a hole in the Determination that pushes the timeline forward, thus allowing the Void to enter and merge with his soul.  

From there, either, 

A., his Determination very briefly was larger than that of the Timeline, and he himself invoked a Reset, but given that he was outside of the timeline at the moment, it was corrupted and only erased certain parts rather than fully resetting.   I think that this was the original theory that I used in the original RP.  

B., the Void acted as a corrective force trying to correct the hole in the timeline.  In doing so, it erased Gaster from the reality, thus replacing the existing timeline with a new one in which certain things never happened.  

C., something involving the power of Rewrite that Gaster has from the duality of Determination and Void.

D., something else entirely.  

And so we had the scattered Unbound Gaster. 

Which, funfact, the name Unbound Gaster for the form was supposed to be temporary, as well.  It’s a reference to Unbound Hoopa for Pokemon.  (Which is why Provoked Form Gaster isn’t called Unbound Form!)

Within the original RP that I developed most of this lore, Refused Gaster didn’t exist.  In fact, that roleplay ended with Gaster’s permanent death--and being permanently forgotten to the world.  A choice he intentionally made because the damage he did to the timeline by falling into the CORE was still present and only getting worse, and the only way to fix it was to allow his Soul to come together and pass on properly, thus allowing the damage to mend.

It was sad.  I cried.  I got emotional.  

I got attached to a traumatic asshole character I literally had for four days.  

Somewhere in here, I began to think about the origins of Gaster.  Like, way way way in the past.  Some people have Gaster being actively involved in the war, but it didn’t work for my portrayal, of having him be so afraid of humans and the surface.  So for it to work out, I had him really young for the war, really young when everyone got driven underground.  

I killed off his parents because ......

Frankly I didn’t want to design them :|

There’s a lot of varying opinions and interpretations about skeleton monsters, and it’s a section of the fandom I’ve decided to stray away from for now.  

But I didn’t want the loss to be traumatic.  Gaster’s been through a lot already, and I have personal vendettas against characters who solely consist of trauma after trauma.  

So I decided to make the loss very distant--he’s aware he probably had parents, or maybe he came to be some other way--but he doesn’t remember them, there’s no tragic “my parents were killed in front of me,” it’s simply something he didn’t have, and something he never needed given the nature of monsters to be kind and caring.  

...

But it felt like it was missing something.

So I started to toy around with this idea of a mentor, one who played the role of a father-figure, one who would plant the seeds to give Gaster the appreciation of science and knowledge.  Someone who could take this lost and terrified boy and start to turn him into the intelligent and steady doctor we end up with.  

Then came the problem of how he and this mentor would actually meet; Gaster’s scar proved to be a convenient excuse, plus it gave me a backstory for that, as well.  A few humans attacked him and delivered the injury, and Gaster’s mentor found the wounded boy and took care of him.  

The mentor is meant to be a vague entity, and you can view this in action in this memory.  (Only partially because I didn’t want to name them.)  Unfortunately, as per the nature of characters created post hoc, their fate was already sealed.  I made the choice to cut their influence on Gaster’s life short.  

(If they were around longer, who knows?  Maybe they could have prevented some of the stupider things Gaster has done.  Maybe they could have changed fate.  But...  as we’ll get to, everything happened exactly as it had to.)  

Again, I made it a very distant loss.  It’s a rather simple conclusion that not every monster would be happy vacating the surface--Gaster’s mentor had lived there their entire life.  It was their home, they were not leaving, even upon threat of death.  And so it was a bittersweet parting, but one with closure, and Gaster said his farewells and departed to the Underground.  

Honestly, what I find really shocking about this character is just how intensely he wants to do good.  I mean, I’m no stranger to good characters, but few of my characters push it as far as Gaster does, and how quickly that feeling came to me, considering he started in the original roleplay as a ruthless asshole bastard more than willing to fuck over and torture a bunch of children just for a chance at being whole again.  

Most of Gaster’s early life in the Underground found in this post was written on the spot as I wrote that post, so it came really late.  

I still find it hilarious that he used to work in therapy.  You’re well aware you need therapy you fucking bastard.  Quit denying it.  

So, revisiting the idea of Gaster and Asgore.  I do like the idea of them being close, and Gaster even calls Asgore his best friend.  The declaration of war put a huge strain on the relationship.  

I originally thought about the idea of him accidentally killing Asgore for shits n giggles.  At my heart I am indeed an angst gremlin, so I was just thinking about what an alternate timeline where that happened might be like.  After all, Gaster’s angry, Asgore’s full of guilt, with the way monster magic works, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to think that it could happen.  

But the more I thought about it, the more it fit eerily well.  The guilt gave Gaster a reason to create Sans (and later Papyrus) as part of his belief in Karma (creating a life to replace the life he took) and to look into Alphys’s research into Determination enough to create the blueprints for the DT Extractor; both of these things were things that I couldn’t otherwise really fit into his storyline.  

And finally...

His declining mental state and despair over the concept of the DT Extractor was what led to him being distracted enough to make such a critical mistake and fall into the CORE.  

And given that the timeline changes when he falls, I realized that...  I could have this happen, and the current timeline be unaffected.  

Now, given that I said that I wanted to avoid more trauma in Gaster’s life, this decision might seem contradictory.  But, it also served a very important point--Asgore returning to life, that mistake being fixed upon his fall gave Gaster something to hold onto.  Something that made his fate not as awful as it otherwise would have been.  A small piece of solace in hell.  

Plus, Gaster’s guilt at the incident caused him to resign as Royal Scientist, further allowing him and Alphys to have their separate stories. 

And pretty much everything snapped together at that point.  Really, strangely well.  I joked before on this blog if I’m really the one writing it.

If Gaster had not killed Asgore, he would have never created Sans and Papyrus, he would have never created the DT Extractor blueprints; if he did not create the blueprints, he would have never been distracted enough to fall into the CORE, if he never fell into the CORE, the blueprints would have never ended up with Alphys, she could have never created Flowey, and if Flowey was never created, he could have never used the souls to break the barrier and the True Pacifist ending would have never come to pass.  

It all happened exactly as it had to.

It feels oddly poetic, given the way Undertale works.  

In some ways, it’s cruel.  Gaster regularly struggles with the idea that for his people to be happy, he had to literally be wiped out of existence.  But in other ways, it’s a comfort--for at least he knows that his suffering wasn’t for nothing.  That there was a purpose--that even if he had to be erased, he played a vital role in ensuring his people found victory. 

Oh.  One final note...  In finalizing this story, you may notice that Gaster follows a classic pattern.  We have a hero, who’s mostly good, but through his own flaws makes a tragic mistake and seals his own grim fate.

It’s called a tragedy and they’re common in Greek plays.

What was that about a chorus again?

I think that’s just about every important point I could cover.  That being said, if you couldn’t tell, this is a very fascinating topic to me, so if you have any further questions or need any clarifications, feel free to send them in.  

[komahinasecretexchange]

Title: For Fools Rush In

Author: @magioftheseas

For: @yesplsnoticeme

Rating/Warnings: T+ due to references of hospitalization/human experimentation.

Prompt: hajime has talant au; professor and student au (kiiiind of but not really lol)

Author’s notes: This is probably the most bizarre piece in the exchange, but I had an idea and this is what happened. It’s also KamuKomaHina. Yaaaaay. The student/professor thing while functionally similar *is* still distinct and I apologize but I still like the idea of Kamukura being in charge of Class 77-B. I’m all about caretakers/babysitters. There’s also a considerable amount of focus on Kamukura and Hinata being brothers. Some family angst. But Komaeda is still very important. I feel like this could’ve been like, a lot longer, and there are some ideas I regrettably couldn’t fit in. Namely more characters. That might’ve ruined the focus even more tho. I hope it’s still good. It’s late-ish and on the long-ish side, so…uh. Hopefully the wait was worth it? I feel like I say that every time. Also due to technicalities with how the timeline works, you could argue it’s “non-despair” because Junko isn’t mentioned, but that feels uh…misleading. Hope’s Peak is ironically full of despair.

“Hajime. Where’s Hajime?”

It’s bright. Blinding. A sick neon green burns into his eyelids. Everything swirls. His head feels stuffed. So stuffed that it’s as if he himself is being pushed out. But, he has to maintain himself, even when being suffocated. He can’t, can’t, can’t lose now. Not when it’s finally over.

“Hajime. Where’s Hajime?”

“Calm down, Kamukura-kun,” a voice croons to him, gently wiping his face clean. Someone else is washing his feet. “You’ll see your brother soon.”

“I want to see him now.”

It comes across as a whine. He can’t help it. Somewhere between the implantations and the crowding, he has forgotten how to be mature and composed. He’s trembling now. The lights are blurring. Cables and cords are rattling.

“I want to see him, I want to see him, please, please, let me see my brother.”

“Kamukura-kun, calm down! Argh, someone get the sedative!”

“Let me see Hajime, let me see, let me see, let me see—!”

He panics when he sees a syringe being pushed into the IV.

“No—”

–

“Hajime? Hajime?”

His brother groaned as he was shaken. Back forth, back forth, back forth, quickened heartbeat, vibrations in the chest and throat, face pinching and twisting, brow furrowing, nostrils flaring, a stray eyelash tumbling off to the side, the body writhes and—

Hajime’s eyes open slowly. The hazel irises are now rimmed with red. They’re bloodshot.

“Is it…over? Am I finally talented?”

Hajime turns to him, exhausted and yet hopeful.

“Izuru?”

“Yes.” He nods. The words come automatically, no need for thought. “We made it, Hajime. Good morning.”

Hajime grins at him. It’s crooked and wrong, but the dimples are the same. Even with besmirched eyes and an unhealthy pallor, this is still his brother.

“Good morning, Izuru.”

I’ve only ever wanted you to smile like that again.

“Good morning.”

–

In the weeks that followed, his hair grew back and to absurd lengths. Due to the sensitivity of the strands, he refused to have it cut. It was now much longer than it had ever been, and meanwhile, Hinata Hajime looked more or less the same in spite of his eyes. He even retained several of his mannerisms from how he ducked his head when confronted by a strong gaze and how his leg bounced whenever he was anxious.

“You two recovered spectacularly,” the headmaster remarked, smiling warmly. Hajime flustered and nodded along, anxious but just as happy. “I think you’re ready to join the main course.”

“T-That,” Hajime nearly choked out. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

Headmaster Kirigiri gave a hum of approval.

“Class 77-A will be a good fit for you, Hinata-kun. I even let a couple of the students know so that they can help you integrate with ease.”

“T-Thank you so much!” Hajime burst with, bowing with deep respect. At least he wasn’t pressing his forehead to the floor, Izuru thought idly.

“You can get started right away,” Kirigiri says. “Kouichi, why don’t you show him the way?”

The man with his hat hanging low over his face smiled and nodded along.

“Sure, sure thing. Come on, rascal.”

“A-Ah, wait,” Hajime stammers and almost rattles the chair when he stands. “Uh, Izuru… Aren’t you coming?”

He remained where he was. Headmaster Kirigiri cleared his throat as the man in the hat had the dignity to look somewhat embarrassed.

“Apologies, Hinata-kun, Kamukura-kun,” Kirigiri said ever pleasantly. “The two of you will have to be in opposite classes. It’s a matter of propriety, you see.”

“O-Oh… Okay.” Hajime seemed a little put-off. But not terribly disappointed. He’s not surprised.

Even with talent, he likely remembers resenting that we were always in the same class to be compared and contrasted. It’s fine. It’s perfectly fine.

“I’ll be fine, Hajime,” he murmurs, giving only the sparest glance. “Please enjoy your schooling to the best of your new abilities.”

“Alright. If you say so, uh…” Hajime does still, looking up at the grinning man in the hat. “Kizakura-san…right.”

“That experiment really worked wonders, huh, kid? Alright, alright.” Kizakura clapped a hand on his brother’s back, not so subtly pushing him out of the office. “Let’s get going. I’m sure the good class is pretty excited to meet you.”

“Y-You think so?”

The door shuts behind them before Kizakura can give his response. Not like there’s any need for it. Izuru can already predict the entirety of that conversation. What a boring exchange it must be—perhaps even Hajime will feel the same.

“Kamukura-kun, as for you…” Kirigiri trails off. It’s here that his smile falls and he lets the nerves show. He’s uncertain. He’s clearly not entirely in favor of the proposition he’s about to offer.

“I know already,” Izuru said, waving his hand dismissively. “Class 77-B have been problematic as of late, yes? I’ve heard the whispers among the staff. While Hope’s Peak is not understaffed, it is difficult to find someone willing to take responsibility for such a destructive group. Even the Steering Committee is quite displeased.”

The headmaster almost seems to shrink, as inefficient adults are prone to do. Izuru has no sympathy, but he also has no reservations.

“Among the talents implanted in me are Coordinator, Tutor, Caretaker, Tactician, and Disciplinarian. While Hajime does also possess talents of leadership, I am the stronger option.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Kirigiri murmurs, almost uncomfortably. “The two of you are equally meant to be seen as Ultimate Hope.”

Yes. We are.

“There is no need for appeals or diplomacy,” he said simply. “I had already sworn my services through contract. This pretense at pleasantries is pointless.”

“I…see.”

Headmaster Kirigiri’s smile strained considerably.

“I suppose all that’s left to do is to properly introduce you.”

“No need.” He stood. He bowed. “I will find my way and introduce myself. A second party will only be a hindrance.”

“I do hope you are not so cold to the class,” Kirigiri murmured after him. “Even if they are a difficult bunch, you should still treat them kindly, Kamukura-kun.”

It doesn’t matter. All you really want is for them to be controlled. But I suppose happy cattle is ideal.

“Understood, Headmaster.”

As long as Hajime is happy.

–

Truth be told, adjusting to his new bloated sense of self still came with growing pains. He had to plug his ears lest the world’s muttering consume him, and while tying his hair back, he had to take care to not aggravate his overly sensitive scalp. It was an exhausting way to exist, but one he had taken on for his brother’s sake.

“Everything always comes so easy to you, doesn’t it, Izuru,” Hajime had spat at him in the past in an outburst. His normally kind-hearted brother, looking ready to cry. “We can’t all be that lucky.”

More needed to be used for the lesser, and thus Izuru was fine with how things turned out. Hajime had little, so Izuru had to sacrifice more to even the field, so to speak. It was fair. Just.

I don’t mind being a tool so long as Hajime can live life to his fullest. Of course, I do still have to be careful. I have to make sure Hope’s Peak doesn’t try to use him. And for that—I’ll take on everything.

He finds his way to the door for Class 77-B. It appears to have been moved recently, given how the building is different as is the floor. Likely not for the first time.

Izuru’s stare narrowed, and he sensed the chatter beyond the doors. A fraction of the class was present. He may have to fetch the others. How irritating.

But, more fortuitous, was the presence making his way from the opposite side of the hallway.

“Ah, excuse me…!”

More unfortunate was when that person tripped, slamming into the ground with an oof and causing several cans of soda to go scatter and rolling across the floor among many other miscellaneous objects. The person—the student whined, having crushed the box that all his belongings were in.

“A-Aha,” is muttered to the floor. “How unlucky.”

Izuru drew closer, picking up the cans of soda as he did, setting them steadily beside the mess. He began to tidy it up without another word as the student pushed himself up with a groan.

“A-And to embarrass myself in front of…” He trails off, and Izuru does not look at him to recognize the spark of interest and excitement. “Oh! Ooh! I haven’t seen you around before!”

“Starting today, I will be part of and in charge of your class,” Izuru answered, reaching out and straightening the box so that it was back in a usable shape. He went to returning the items inside, arranging them artfully. “Kamukura Izuru. My brother is in the opposite class.”

“In charge?” the other echoed. “Eh? You’re our age, aren’t you? N-Not that I mean to question an Ultimate of course! You must really be incredible, then, Kamukura-kun! Or, should I say san?”

“Whatever facilitates our relationship.” He does pause briefly to finally take the other in. Frail, unseemly, with a smile stretched too wide on his face. Long, unruly white curls and a sparkling gray-green gaze. Someone clearly battered by life—and someone that Izuru recognize due to infamy. “Komaeda Nagito. Ultimate Luck. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right! Absolutely right!” Komaeda gasped, the flush especially deep on his pale cheeks. “Incredible! Even for an Ultimate! Kamukura-kun, you’re undoubtedly radiant!”

Hapless flattery. How boring.

He takes the box with a sigh.

“And you’re late. Not to mention unfortunate, seeing as no one had any interest in carrying your things to the new classroom for you. Predictably unpopular, even among your peers.”

“Ah, yes, that…” Komaeda does falter, sheepish and easier to deal with. “That’s right, too. I’m quite worthless, wretched, and undeserving of kindness.”

“What a tedious perspective you have,” Izuru remarked, opening the door with his foot. “If you are any indication, this class much truly be a troublesome bunch.”

“A-Ah…” Komaeda squeaks as he walks in. The fraction of the class glances up.

“Ehhhh? Who the hell invited a cyptid?” one of them complains. Small, loud both in voice and the vibrant yellow of her kimono. Must be the Ultimate Traditional Dancer.

“Ah, Komaeda, there you are,” another mutters, irritated. Rather plain, freckled, impatient, but the camera around her neck was a clear distinction of the Ultimate Photographer. “You’re so late! I was wondering if you’d make it at all!”

“S-Sorry, Koizumi-san,” Komaeda mutters meekly, taking the box of his belongings from Izuru and shuffling to his seat. “Ehehehe.”

“So,” someone speaks up, brow furrowed and frown deepened, feet propped on the desk. A clear and immature attempt at intimidation. Ultimate Gangster, then. “The hell are you, exactly?”

“Kamukura Izuru. I was assigned to all of you as Kizakura-san is now too busy to deal with your antics. I suppose my title in this case should be…” He does ponder briefly before writing it down. “Ultimate Class Representative, I suppose is the most suitable, since I am still considered a student. However for you all, I shall take the role of instructor as well. I am aware that there are no lesson plans, but I shall discipline all of you regardless.”

“Ooh my!” a young lady exclaimed, prim and proper, so clearly the Ultimate Princess. “What an interesting arrangement indeed! I had no idea that students could also be professors!”

“N-No, actually Sonia-chan, that’s weird,” Koizumi tells her. “It’s not normal at all.”

“They really got so fucking desperate that they saddled us on another student?” Ultimate Traditional Dancer wondered. “Wow, this great Hope’s Peak is going to the dogs, huh?”

“Don’t say that, Saionji-san!” Komaeda exclaimed. “As unorthodox as this might be, Kamukura-kun is still an incredibly talented individual! I’m sure he’ll lead us well!”

“If Komaeda says so, I’ve got all the reason to doubt it,” Ultimate Gangster huffed. “This whole setup feels like a fucking joke.”

“You are free to find as much humor in this situation as you are able,” Izuru said. “Not everyone is here, however, so I suppose we should fetch them.”

“How exciting!” Ultimate Princess squealed. “How very, very exciting!”

Only Komaeda shared that excitement. Izuru noted this dully.

And this is only a fraction. I suppose, then, what transpires might actually be interesting.

Somehow, he doubted it.

–

“So, how was your first day, Izuru?”

Hajime is asking him a normal question. Inquiring normally as he used to do when the two of them spent time separated. Touching base, as people would call it. This kind of normalcy—was heavily missed in its time of absence.

“It was,” he said. “What it was.”

“Rough, huh?” Hajime does laugh, rubbing at his nape. “Sorry to hear that. For what it’s worth, one of the guys did give me a lot of trouble. Uh, the neurologist, I guess? Murasame was pretty nice but him… Not so much.”

“I am also sorry to hear that,” he replied. “Are you at least enjoying yourself, Hajime?”

“I… Um.” Hajime flushes. His eyes are twinkling. “Y-Yeah I think so.”

Then, everything is fine. Just fine.

“I had to gather up my class,” he goes on to say. “They’re quite rowdy. I had to break up a fight between two of them. Cancel the impromptu concert of another. Detain a cook. Deactivate a robot. Console the nurse’s crying assistant.”

All while Komaeda Nagito stuck by close. Avid and engrossed.

“That—sounds like a lot.” Hajime makes a face. “You sure you’re willing to handle all that?”

“While unquestionably troublesome, it is not too difficult.” He pauses. “I might even call it interesting.”

“If you find yourself struggling, you’re free to call on me for help, y’know,” Hajime said. “Since class isn’t required, I do have a lot of free time. Maybe I’ll check on your class at some point. I do just want to explore the campus a bit…more…”

He trails off, perking. Izuru, too, has already noticed. In unison, the two of them turn to the corner from where Komaeda flinches, nearly jumps.

“Aha! Of course I’d be noticed!” Flustering, he quickly bows. “S-Sorry, sorry! I was just passing by! Honest! Ah!” He smiles brightly. “Kamukura-kun, is this your brother, per chance? It’s very nice to meet you!”

“Oh, you’re…” Hajime scans him, eyebrows raising. “Are you alright? You’re pretty sick.”

“I-I’m fine! I’m still able to be out and about!” Komaeda exclaimed, now flummoxed. “While it’s incredible you can tell from a glance, I assure you that I am almost as capable as any independent individual should be!”

“O-Oh, right, sorry.”

Komaeda’s cheeks are puffed now. He’s pouting.

So, he is capable of various reactions.

“Komaeda Nagito,” Izuru speaks now, to get the lucky student’s attention. “Is there something you’d like to say?”

“Ah, I do truly apologize for my rude eavesdropping, it really was accidental, but…” Komaeda scampers up to them, eyes wide as he takes in Hajime. Hajime, predictably, blushes at the attention. “Your brother is amazing, of course, but you’re similarly impressive. I can tell at a glance.”

“C-Can you?” Hajime almost squeaks.

Oh. Izuru realizes it, and he’s struck. Hajime is flattered.

“Ah, right! It’s rude not to introduce myself! Kamukura-kun said my name already, but ah, it’s Komaeda Nagito. Ultimate Luck. So, should I call you Kamukura-san?”

“N-No, no! We have different surnames, actually, because of our parents… It’s a long story, you don’t need to hear it.” Hinata shook his head. “Hinata Hajime. Ultimate… Uhhh…”

“Hinata-kun! I actually happen to know my way around campus quite well!” Komaeda’s beaming. “I can show you around if you want.”

“Hajime,” Izuru speaks up, stepping in. “Is this alright?”

“Uh, is it?” Hajime blinked at him, confused. Even now he was dense. “Right, he’s like, your classmate, right? Do you mind?”

“He is…a member of my class, yes.”

“I-If you’re not okay with it, Kamukura-kun, I can back off!” Komaeda hurriedly exclaimed. “I-I just wanted to be helpful. I swear my motivations aren’t self-serving much less self-indulgent!”

“I—do not mind you helping Hajime.” Ultimate Conversationalist was not one of the talents I received. “I was merely making sure because I care about you both. In different ways.”

Komaeda’s cheeks flared as Hajime snorted, rubbing at his nape.

“Geez, Izuru, we’re not kids anymore. If it’s not a big deal, then, alright. Let’s go, Komaeda.”

“A-Ah, u-um, yes, of course… I’ll lead the way.”

Komaeda is wobbly now, knees shaking and ears red. Hajime frowns but Komaeda quickly laughs, waving off his concerns.

“Hinata-kun, a must-see is the old building! It’s a historical marvel for one thing, and the greenhouse still sees a lot of use!”

“O-Oh yeah, I might’ve heard of that. Shikiba apparently tends to it a lot.”

“The Ultimate Botanist, right?! But did you know that greenhouse was actually established twenty years ago by the Ultimate Farmer of the time? There’s even a little notice about how to care for the plants—although no one can make heads or tails of them. In fact, ah, they might not even be instructions. Something about stopping mangos from ruminating. And how porcupines shouldn’t wrap kale around apples.”

“Eh?”

“Bandai-san is still…a really peculiar person.”

“Aah, okay. That’s just characteristic of the former Ultimate Gardener. Impressive that you know so much about Hope’s Peak, Komaeda.”

“Ehehe, what can I say?” Komaeda seemed positively delighted. Izuru watched the two of them go, taking in those easy smiles. “I’m what you could call the Ultimate Fanboy.”

“I’m a huge fan, too, haha.”

Is this alright?

Izuru watched the two of them go, taking in how Hajime chuckled at Komaeda’s antics.

Surely, it must be.

–

Again, he has to incapacitate two students to keep them from being destructive. Unfortunately, he cannot do the same to the bear that now joins their class. It is docile for now, but a contained classroom may prove a stressful environment, and thus, Kamukura decided it would be best to have class outside.

And now those two students can fight to their hearts’ content. Kamukura can only hope that the bear is kept under control.

Hajime is the one with the talent of animal trainer, he thought. And I do not want to trouble him.

“So tense, Kamukura-kun!”

He doesn’t flinch as Komaeda flutters around him, innocent and inquiring.

“Even someone as incredible as you gets anxious, huh?” Komaeda brushes his hair back, tucking ivory strands behind his ear. His smile is bright. “You needn’t make a face like that, you know.”

“My expression is the same,” Izuru retorted. “It does not change.”

“How upsetting to hear, then, considering the expression you’re making.”

Saionji is twirling around, showing off to Koizumi. The bear does eye the yellow of her kimono, but it remains still as Tanaka mediates. Mioda is laughing, and she tumbles down trying to imitate the dancer. Tsumiki frets. Saionji rants. Peace is still overall maintained.

“Kamukura-kun.”

Komaeda prods him once more.

“Kamukura-kun? It’ll be alright. It’s Tanaka-kun’s talent, after all.” Komaeda pokes his shoulder. “You’re way too tense. Maybe we should sit by the fountain? I’ve always found the cold spray to be rather calming.”

He could only sigh.

“Try to be careful with how you speak to me, Komaeda Nagito,” he told him, pulling away. “While too much formality is dehumanizing, being too casual is simply dangerous.”

“Ah, sorry!” Komaeda waved his hands before frowning. “But I don’t think someone as clumsy as me can understand such a delicate balance, so don’t hesitate in punishing me for impertinence!”

A more typical response would be to request mercy, Izuru thought, deciding to just follow him to the fountain without another word. But Komaeda Nagito, used to scorn, must find it more comfortable.

“You put yourself down a lot, don’t you?” he asked once they seated. “No confidence at all? Is that because you feel like you do not belong?”

“I, well, I don’t belong,” Komaeda admitted. “I’m well aware of my inherent inferiority. While I admire Hope’s Peak for wishing to research luck as a viable talent, I… Even if it’s considered Ultimate Luck, it’s a sad thing to shape your life around, right?”

“Luck…” Izuru pondered that. “I have luck as well. The field of research on it is still quite premature, but…”

From what I heard, Komaeda Nagito could actually be considered instrumental in its progress. And yet. He’s still disdained and detested.

“Simply graduating from Hope’s Peak gives you the reign to do as you please,” he went on. “If your talent is truly that vague, you have choices, then, unlike any other graduate. Shouldn’t that be considered quite the privilege?”

“Ahaha. Haha.” Komaeda’s shoulders tremble. “You must be right, but… I do wonder.”

He’s utterly unconvinced. Does he—

Does he suspect that he doesn’t have that much longer to live?

“I can help you come up with a plan for your future,” he found himself saying. “It is among my talents—and you are my responsibility.”

“Oh, no, I could never ask Kamukura-kun for such…” Komaeda’s hands cup his face, eyes downcast. “Special treatment.”

“You’re a special case,” he pointed out. “For everyone else, their future is set.”

Komaeda wheezed. It might’ve meant to be laughter. Izuru wondered if Komaeda himself knew.

“It will be alright,” he said, then, recycling the words of before. “It is among my talents.”

Komaeda was quiet, mouth opening and closing. Like a koi, uncertain if it was going to be fed or not. Similar to a koi, it was possible Komaeda did not understand what was happening. That was—

A little endearing, perhaps?

“I-ZU-RU-CHAAAAAAN!!!”

Mioda nearly tackled him into the fountain, squealing.

“You’re supposed to be the big chief of our class, right?! Then quit being such a loner and join us!!” She grinned at him, sparkling with glee. “When I get a good look at you—I think drummer! Come on, come on!”

“Drummer is one of my talents, but…” He glances towards Komaeda. “Mioda, I am…”

“It’s fine,” Komaeda whispered, laughing softly. “I’ve monopolized enough of your time, Ultimate Class Rep.”

Huh?

“Come on, come on, come ooooon!” Mioda chanted, yanking him along. He doesn’t resist upon noting Komaeda’s flustered, insecure and diverted gaze. “Hiyoko-chan and I are going to braid flowers into your hair!”

“No promises on whether or not I’ll stick dead ants in, too!” Saionji added cheerfully. “Not like you’d notice with how mucky yucky the color is!”

“I would still notice,” he can’t help but mutter, but he hears another one of Komaeda’s laugh carried softly by the breeze. He’s much more complacent after that, but the feeling that consumes him is—significant. He’s sure of that if nothing else.

–

Truth be told, despite being destructive, Class 77-B is almost naturally social. Even with his added presence, he can tell they have taken to the idea of another person to bounce off of. Some of them are more reserved, of course. Komaeda was a weird mixture of the two. Outgoing when Kamukura seemed closed off and too quiet, but a lot more reticent when Kamukura did reach out to him.

A tricky case, but unsurprising, given that Komaeda Nagito truly had no friends. Even the other, more outwardly standoffish students still had at least one person whose presence they tolerated if not outright preferred. Kuzuryuu tolerated Souda. Tanaka preferred Sonia. Saionji adored Koizumi. Even the unnamed Imposter—who was imitating an animator at the time—was at ease around Mioda and Tsumiki.

Komaeda Nagito, however, was not so fortunate.

He did notice that the distance was maintained mutually. But also that Komaeda was often treated with a considerable amount of ire for his poorer social skills and utter lack of charisma. That he didn’t have any passions to share outside of Hope’s Peak itself was likely another factor.

Because. He seemed to get along with Hajime fairly well, as both of them shared that admiration.

“Matsuda-kun in particularly is definitely amazing! A neurologist at age seventeen! A real star-shattering genius!”

“Too bad he has a horrible attitude to go with it. He’s as cold as the vacuums of space. But, Murasame’s a pretty nice guy.”

“Ooh, Murasame-kun! There’s actually a former Ultimate Class President who just graduated! Munakata-san! He’s going to be in charge of the international branches of Hope’s Peak. He might even be the future headmaster!”

“Ooh, wow, for real? He’s only like…three years older than us, too.”

“He’ll be even younger than Headmaster Kirigiri was! Hope’s Peak is really full of incredible people! Ah, Hinata-kun, what are you going to do when you graduate?”

“Being a headmaster too might not sound so bad…even if Munakata-san has a head start…”

“Uwah! Such fire! I’ll root for you!”

“Ahahaha, t-thanks…”

Hajime was laughing, soaking in Komaeda’s passion and admiration. He was happy too, for what it was worth. Happy—and a little embarrassed with how open Komaeda was.

Hajime wanted to be validated for so long, he thought as he observed them from a safe distance. From behind the trees as Hajime pointed out a jet flying overhead and rattled off a bunch of facts and observations, to Komaeda’s delight. Obviously, just talent hadn’t been enough. He also needed someone openly encouraging.

He does wonder if this is alright. But with how at ease and content the two are, how could it not be?

Then, I—

–

I need to take care of this Komaeda Nagito, who makes my brother smile like that.

“A-Ah, um.” Komaeda blinks down at the stack of career files, shivering a bit from nerves and perhaps fear. “Kamukura-kun, this is surprisingly…aggressive.”

“The privilege of choices,” Izuru said, straightening the pile to keep it perfectly in order. He takes the first file. “Based on your interest in literature, there are many choices there. Agent, editor, writer… You could even study the subject more seriously. In that case, I have acquired many examples of solid capstone papers that you could learn from by example if essay-writing is not a strength.”

“Writing in general isn’t a strength,” Komaeda murmured, still staring rather dumbly at the pile as if it’d growl or consume him in a second’s notice. “My handwriting is terrible.”

“A symptom of dementia or dysgraphia?” Izuru asked, raising an eyebrow. He perked, realizing the tactlessness of the question. “You do not need to answer that.”

I can just find out through reading his medical records. But I must take care to not overwhelm him with attention.

“Um.”

Komaeda randomly selected a file and tried to carefully pull it without disturbing the others. Izuru assisted him, tugging it out with ease and without even shifting anything else out of place. Without even looking at it, he knew what it was.

“Painter,” he said. “Not the most economic choice but money is not a concern. And it can be quite therapeutic. Included in the file are styles that may suit you. Of course, that is a matter of subjective preference, but I did try to assuage what you would like.”

Komaeda nods along, flipping to a particular one.

“I do like this recreation of a tiger done with masking tape…but I definitely don’t think I’d be capable of something like that.”

“Some of them are more for inspiration than example,” Izuru admitted, and he does stop to wonder for a bit. “I apologize. They might not all be to your tastes.”

Komaeda laughs.

“I can appreciate these on principle, at least…” Searching through, he lights up at a particular one. “Ooh! This one’s nice! Way out of my capacity but very nice!”

Izuru looks at the painting indicated, and keeps his reaction internal.

It was a rather simple piece of several goldfish mouthing at the surface. They were in a dark cave, the only real light reflected off their orange scales. Despite the viciousness of their stares, they were pressed together stubbornly. Securely.

Hajime, too, had a strange fascination with this very work.

“What do you think it represents?” he asked, because back then Hajime had shrugged and unable to give an answer.

“Hope, obviously!” Komaeda chirped immediately. “Even in the darkness, the school shines together! Isn’t that beautiful?”

He wondered.

“It’s as good an interpretation as any, I suppose.”

Mine was not as charitable. To me, it’s a school of foolishness. Art is not meant to be objective. I suppose that can make it frustrating.

“Ah, this piece is from the Ultimate Painter who just graduated as well… How radiant…” Komaeda rambles on. Izuru lets him.

They do not get much done, but while Komaeda is apologetic, he still looks—content. Happy. Just to have been spent time with.

Ah.

–

“Peko-chan, Peko-chan! It’s gotta be you next!!!”

“I must decline, I apologize. Such things would hinder my training.”

“Awww!”

“I guess I’ll try it out, Ibuki-chan.”

“Yaaaaay Mahiru-chan! Okay, Izuru-chan, you have to make her nails extra, EXTRA pretty for both her and Peko-chan!”

“Alright, alright.”

Somehow, he ended up in this position. But it was as good as any to ask questions, especially when there was also Saionji and Sonia crowded around to admire. Tanaka, too, seemed curious as he got to work on polishing Koizumi’s nails.

“I don’t get this kind of thing done a lot,” she admitted, flustered. “But it’s not exactly a thing I’d expect a guy to understand, either.”

“Komaeda keeps his nails clean,” he says, almost idly as he picks out the dirt in the nail beds. “And this just happens to be a talent of mine.”

“You might have too many talents,” Souda griped. “Especially girly ones.”

“Don’t get all pissy because you’re a jealous, ugly slob,” Saionji sneered. “Beauty is something that everyone should appreciate, you know.”

“I-I wish I didn’t bite my nails so much,” Tsumiki murmured.

Komaeda’s name was ignored. Well, then.

Koizumi flinches as he shapes her nails.

“It does depend on your preferences, but aesthetic is a common ground that all people appreciate, albeit in different ways,” he goes on. “From the purity of untouched nature to the progress represented by sprawling technology. Just about any sight or sound can move a particular person.”

For Hajime and Komaeda, it’s Hope’s Peak.

Pausing, he indicates the selection of nail polish.

“Which color would you like?”

“I guess the light yellow?” Koizumi flusters. “Would that suit me?”

“Sunny yellow for sunny Mahiru-chan works!” Mioda chirps. “I agree!”

“We’d match, Mahiru-onee!” Saionji squealed, to which Koizumi smiled. That had—likely been her intent, given her personality.

Izuru got to work.

The color that would suit Komaeda Nagito is green but also red. Colors he already has a preference towards. But when I offered, he vehemently refused as it’d be a waste. Bad luck would surely result in the paint being chipped before long. Hajime, meanwhile, wouldn’t go for it at all.

He does blend the yellow into a brilliant orange, knowing that Koizumi did not care much for flower designs. She was called sunny, so it was appropriate. He was delicate in adding the flares of white.

The sun is a symbol of life. An inherent good. And, yet.

“For the other hand, would you prefer the same or something different?”

“Ah, what you’re doing looks fine, so…the same, I guess?”

I do wonder about symbols that are supposedly inherent goods.

“Komaeda should be with my brother right now,” he finds himself murmuring. “If any of you are curious about his whereabouts.”

“We’re not,” Mioda chirped. “I’m more curious about your bro, though!”

“Ah, yes, he is in the other class, isn’t he?” Sonia asked. “You must introduce him to us!”

“If he’s hanging around Komaeda though, I wonder,” Souda muttered. “But if he’s Kamukura’s brother, uh…”

“He must be a fine specimen indeed!” Hanamura exclaimed.

“Another singularity,” Tanaka murmured.

“Hajime is a kind person,” he says. “Komaeda likes him.”

“That creep drools over everyone with a talent,” Saionji snapped. “It’s suuuuuper off-putting.”

“B-But he must be a kind person if Kamukura-san says so,” Tsumiki murmurs.

“He is kind,” he reaffirms. “He…”

May like Komaeda as well.

His lips press into a straight line.

“He may like to meet all of you as well,” he decided to say instead. “However, please do not crowd him. He can get overwhelmed even if he likes the attention.”

“He doesn’t sound terribly reliable,” Koizumi said.

Izuru didn’t respond.

It is not as if he is unreliable, but… I…

–

I am aware that he is fragile.

“How do you think this looks, Izuru? Argh! This is one of my talents now, right?! Although thinking really hurts right now.” Hajime rubs his temples with a groan, he stares down at the bento he has prepared. Izuru, too, stares.

“It is perfectly decent and likely delicious,” he said. “Have you not tried it yourself?”

“I had while making it but sometimes so much information runs through when identifying the flavors that I just…get overheated. I guess all these talents have to have some level of drawback,” Hajime closed the box and began to wrap it up. “For Komaeda, it should be fine.”

Izuru blinked.

“For Komaeda, you say.”

“You don’t have to be an Ultimate Nutritionist to know that Komaeda’s diet could be better, although it helps.” Hajime bristled, then. “When I asked him about breakfast, he said he was fine just eating plain toast every morning!”

“Yes,” Izuru recalled. “He does tend to even get small servings when Hanamura cooks a meal for everyone. Though he says that’s because he wants the others to enjoy as much as they can. To his credit, there are quite a few who do.”

“He’s so careless,” Hajime griped. “I’m only making this to thank him for giving me a tour, but maybe I should…”

“You really like him, don’t you, Hajime?” he asked.

In that moment, Hajime stiffened, a flush spreading across his face.

“Wha—w-we still barely know each other, Izuru! And like, that might make things a little weird since he’s super attached to you, too.” Hajime scoffs. “He does fawn over you, by the way. He fawns over everyone in that class. It’s…everyone else says…”

“I am aware of my class’s reputation,” Izuru said. “It cannot be helped, what others continue to think.”

“Are they really that destructive?” Hajime asked. “Weird things do happen around Komaeda but that’s—not his fault.”

Weird things?

“What kind of things?”

“Oi, you’re just going to ignore—fine. Weird as in one time a truck crashed and it happened to be a food truck full of the rice crackers that Komaeda really likes. We got some for helping the driver out, and…apparently that wasn’t the first time a truck crashing resulted in Komaeda getting free food. No one got hurt, but Komaeda was still pretty shaken up. Another reason why I…” Hajime trailed off. “Well, I answered your question.”

“Yes,” Izuru did answer, nodding. “At times they are, but considering I can incapacitate them physically, they are less so. And I do give them other ways to burn that excessive energy.”

“P-Physically?!”

“They do not hold it against me,” he said. “A worthwhile opponent, I am called. I gain respect not resentment.”

“Geez, Izuru, it’s almost as if you have your work cut out for you,” Hajime said, grimacing. “That’s unlucky. Murasame’s so good at getting others to follow him that I never have to worry like that.”

“It is his talent, and it is also mine, so it is fine.” That said. “I do worry about Komaeda Nagito, but… He is happy with you, is he not?”

“Eh, happy? I mean, he’s pretty much always smiling but…” Hajime shook his head, laughing just a little. “Come on, Izuru, it’s not like you to be that concerned. But, I guess you also know what people say about Komaeda… And he’s really not that bad. I’m starting to think the people spreading those rumors have no clue what they’re talking about. Or—were you told to keep an eye on him?”

What answer are you expecting, Hajime?

“Is it that strange for me to worry?”

“A little.” Hajime shrugs. “I distinctly recall you being completely unwilling to talk to your peers before this. I remember some guys thought you were a mute.”

Yes. I remember, too.

“I suppose I’ve matured, then.”

“Yeah?” Hajime offers a wry smile. “Well, that’s a good thing. And I should be glad to see you making friends.”

Friends. No. That’s not my intention.

“Komaeda’s actually pretty nice, he’s just a little weird,” Hajime went on to say, brighter now. “I’ll keep a good eye on him. Don’t worry.”

I feel—unsettled. Why?

“Thank you, Hajime.”

Why, why, why? Shouldn’t I be happy, too?

–

Truth be told, he’s never been the best at understanding emotions, even if they were his own. They were intangible and vague. They could never be determined through logic. Even, so.

He had always been at least content with his brother even if he wasn’t terribly interested in everyone else. If he truly felt anything—he felt dull. Murky. As if everything was washed out and faded, the colors and faces leaking and blurring together into a muddle of grays.

But, Hajime was a bright presence back then. Eyes alit and more energetic, more excitable. He had always been happy to show off, and he had an infectious smile. Their parents were different. Distant. Caring for them at an arm’s length. They would praise Hajime blandly, and would pat their heads disinterestedly.

They were people who had children due to societal expectation. Because their own parents had insisted. And once their grandparents died, so, too, did the pretense and the purpose.

Izuru had been fine with that, having learned to never expect more. Having never really cared for it as long as Hajime was still smiling.

And then, Hajime stopped smiling.

–

“Aha, I’m so sorry for all this trouble, Kamukura-kun.”

“You should not feel guilt for fainting. It was out of your control. But, I had thought you were eating, Komaeda.”

“I was, um, I ate toast and also this bento Hinata-kun made…” Komaeda touches his lips. With his hair fanned out across the pillow and the soft blush on his face, there was something tender in his expression. “It was so good I ended up crying and I think—I had difficulty sleeping.”

“Nightmares?” Izuru guessed. He does note that Tsumiki is not here to listen in, although if she were, nothing would come from it. “Perhaps some medication is in order.”

“I already take so much,” Komaeda whined. “And they can make my head feel all foggy! I think maybe I’ll try something more…relaxing. Like a new scent or something.”

“You can rest now,” Izuru said. “I will watch over you and make sure you do not have another night terror.”

“You don’t have to!” Komaeda exclaimed. “I’m sure our class is already missing you! Haven’t I said before that I don’t want to monopolize your time? The fact that you’re still trying to get me on a career path is more than enough.”

“That’s just business,” Izuru said. “I am offering my presence here as a gesture of consideration.”

“Aah, what a weird wording.” Komaeda turned to bury his face into the pillow. Both the tips of his hair and his ears are pink. “I don’t deserve such consideration!”

“Why do you believe that?” Izuru asked. “Is it because of your talent? Your illnesses? Neither of those detract from your worth as a person, Komaeda Nagito.”

“Not a lot of people are worth much in a world like this,” Komaeda mutters, the words muffled and yet Izuru can still hear them perfectly. “The world worships talent, and most people aren’t talented.”

That’s true, isn’t it.

“Societal values are not absolute, Komaeda Nagito.”

“But hope is! Hope is an absolute good!” Komaeda huffed, pushing himself up. His arms tremble from the effort. “And hope comes from talent! The Ultimates are symbols of hope!”

“That is only what this school will have you believe.”

“Eh, what are you saying?” Komaeda kept wobbling. “Kamukura-kun, for some reason that expression on your face—ah!”

He’s tired of the shaking. He only acted because of that.

Komaeda’s wrists really are thin, all that said. So easy to grip. Just one hand would be enough. Komaeda Nagito really does look frail when pinned down. Izuru wonders if it’s a good thing his hair is tied back, because if the long black strands fell over him like a curtain—it might look like a horror movie scene.

Not that his reflection in Komaeda’s wide gaze doesn’t still look intimidating. He can even hear Komaeda’s heart pounding.

“G…Gross,” Komaeda managed. “T-That expression. It’s really, really gross.”

“What’s repulsive is Hope’s Peak Academy,” Izuru found himself saying, eyes narrowing sharply. “I am the one grossed out by hearing you and Hajime fawn over it.”

“Is that so?” Komaeda frowns, putout but not alarmed. It seemed he had no intention of struggling.

Have you been in this position before? Had struggling or screaming only made it worse?

He should get off. This is inappropriate.

He keeps talking instead.

“If you only knew what they had done… The lengths…the extents of their crimes… Bleeding the reserve course dry, for one thing. It’s despicable. Beyond so. But, that’s just how adults are, isn’t it? Youths are a resource to use and exploit, like cattle.” Izuru sneered. “But Hope’s Peak is even worse. They think they have the grounds to control everything. And the public is all too happy to let them.”

He remembers. Hajime watching programs focused on it constantly. Not just on the main campus and its graduates, but also its other branches. The elementary school for instance. Izuru remembered how he was pushed for being considered ‘gifted’—and remembered how he was told it would be so much worse if his parents sent him to Hope’s Peak.

“This world thinks it is making progress but the route it takes is one to an ensured destruction. Hope’s Peak Academy will be the end of it. That’s what I predict, and considering the extent of my knowledge, it is something I am certain of.”

“You don’t get it, Izuru,” Hajime had said, with a sigh and a wave of his hand. “I just—I want to be important.”

“You are important,” Izuru replied innocently. Stupidly. He had known it even then, which was why he never clarified ‘to me’, he simply added, “Everyone is.”

“But there are those more important than others, right?” Hajime shot back. “Like, those from Hope’s Peak.”

“Certain?” Komaeda blinks owlishly at him. His lips part. “Y’know, Kamukura-kun—I suppose there is something about you and Hinata-kun that could be considered…unnatural.”

“That is only scratching the surface,” Izuru replied coldly. “You have no idea. You could not begin to comprehend… Hajime may not remember, but I do.”

“Remember what?”

Izuru stopped himself.

What am I doing? He’s a student. An innocent. No matter what he says and what is said about him—he is only another means to an end.

“…I apologize. This is inappropriate.” He releases those wrists, and although he gets off the other in a flash, Komaeda still quickly grabs the back of his uniform. Izuru had predicted that, of course. It was only allowed because Komaeda would have fallen out of the bed otherwise. “I do still suggest your change your perspective from here on out.”

“Seriously?” Komaeda shook his head. “Just like that?” He tugs on Izuru’s uniform. It’s with as much strength he can muster, and still barely anything at all. “It’s not fair of you to say so much and so little at the same time, Kamukura-kun!”

“It was reckless of me to speak at all.” It’s easy. So easy to pry off Komaeda Nagito’s grip. He doesn’t even need the strength he has. He knows that even a child would be capable. “You are intelligent. You can figure out the rest. However, you must not delve into depths beyond your comprehension. You are already dancing a delicate line.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Komaeda asked, irritated.

“It means Hope’s Peak Academy will have no qualms if you need to be removed.” Izuru squeezes his hand. “Actually. It’s too dangerous for you to know, isn’t it? Given your personality.”

Komaeda’s head tilted. Izuru takes his chin, staring deeply into that dull, aggravated gaze. When Komaeda’s eyes narrowed, Izuru spoke in a low voice.

“Forget what I just said.” He draws circles into Komaeda’s hands. Manipulatively soothing motions that make Komaeda lull. “None of this concerns you.”

Cupping Komaeda’s jaw now, he brushes his thumb over the curve of the other’s cheek. Komaeda shivers, and then.

“You need rest anyway. Go to sleep.”

Silvery lashes flutter. Izuru moves to gently usher him down, lying him back on the patient’s bed. Komaeda is limp and pliant in his grasp, eyes falling shut.

Izuru tucks him in with a sigh.

Careless. So careless.

He brushes the hair from Komaeda Nagito’s face.

And yet—I’m still aggravated.

–

When Komaeda Nagito wakes up later, it’s dark out. He’s still bleary-eyed—and then he’s startled.

“Ack, how long was I asleep?!”

“It’s only a little after seven,” Hajime tells him. “Now your sleeping schedule is going to be even more messed up.”

“H-Hinata-kun!”

“Everyone else has gone to their dorms,” Izuru says, lingering by the door. “Even the school nurse has retired, but it is my responsibility to watch over you. Hajime is also here, because…”

“It was that or wait home alone,” Hajime griped at him. “And I don’t need to study—nor did I feel the need for a late-night stroll. Too much sound, honestly. It’s unsettling.”

“I’m really am sorry,” Komaeda hurriedly rambled. “I’ve caused you a bit of trouble.”

Hajime waves him off with a laugh.

“Nah, it’s fine. Watching you sleep was something to do, at least. Sometimes, you mutter in your sleep though. Uh. Something about toilet ghosts?”

“I was having a dream about someone as a ghost, I think,” Komaeda murmurs, scratching his cheek. “At least I didn’t seem to have a nightmare.”

“Toilet ghosts aren’t considered a nightmare, huh. Good to know.”

“It’s a common legend, Hinata-kun.”

“Yeah. I’m aware.” Running his hand through his hair, Hajime was giving Komaeda quite the look. “Uh, let me—walk you back to your dorm, alright?”

“Would you like me to accompany you both?” Izuru asked, and he saw his brother flinch.

“Oh, right, Izuru, uh—you can go back home, if you want.”

Hajime doesn’t look at him as he says it. Komaeda’s gaze darts between them.

“Oh, I don’t want to cause more trouble.”

“I insist,” Hajime almost snapped. “It’s fine, Komaeda. Just, uh…let me?”

“Mm. Okay.” Komaeda took Hinata’s hand. He had to steady himself on the other as he was pulled out of the patient bed. “Sorry, still a little woozy. It’s fine, it’s fine.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hajime repeated. “Just grab your blazer, slip on your shoes—and let’s go.”

“Aha, so pushy. Okay. I deserve it anyway.”

Hajime stiffens, but he says nothing more.

“See you tomorrow, Komaeda,” Izuru says.

“Ah, see you, Kamukura-kun!” Komaeda chirps.

Komaeda smiles brightly as always, and Hajime is quick to pull him close to lead him along. Komaeda protests a bit, but he’s just as quick to let it be.

Hajime does glance briefly back at Izuru. His stare is unmistakably narrowed into a sharp glare.

–

“You what?!”

“It was necessary,” he had said simply. “Komaeda Nagito knew too much. It was mild hypnotism, nothing more. While he may be drowsy and cloudy-headed—metaphorically speaking—for a couple of days, he will be fine.”

“Just a mild—Izuru! You can’t just brainwash people!” Hajime shouted at him, furious. “That’s way out of line!”

“He knew too much,” Izuru reiterated. “And Komaeda Nagito can be quite inquisitive. Were he to do his own research and end up caught by Hope’s Peak personnel, the results would have been far more dire.”

“What did he even know?!” Hajime demanded.

“He knew enough to suspect.”

Hajime’s gripping his collar now. His knuckles are almost white. His skin has lost some of that pallor from the experimentation—but not much.

“It was for his own safety,” Izuru murmured. “I promise, Hajime.”

Hajime’s teeth grit. His nostrils flare. He’s unconvinced.

It’s because you don’t remember. You don’t remember any of the things they did to you. And that’s a good thing, too.

“I’m just trying to protect him.”

Hajime releases him with a huff.

“You still can’t mess with someone like that, Izuru. Especially not Komaeda who fucking reveres you.”

“I understand.”

“If you do it again…”

“I understand.”

He knows Hajime might punch him, but that’ll be the extent of it. Hajime is still a gentle person after all.

It’s good…for them to not carry these burdens.

“I’ll look after him these next few days,” Hajime went on to say, turning away from him. “To see if Komaeda does as fine as you say he will.”

“I understand.”

It’s fine.

–

It’s fine because Hajime can still smile.

Izuru watches them leave the next day, watches Komaeda bounce after him, watches Hajime’s smile at his antics. He remembers—watching Hajime watch others leave him behind.

At some point in their childhood, Hajime stopped smiling. He could still make friends but he had difficulty connecting on a deeper level with others. Izuru noticed, but he thought that since they had each other, it would be fine.

Except, others began to notice him because of his ‘natural’ aptitude. Others began to flock to him. Even with his poor social skills and lack of interest, he noticed that there were those who admired him. Those who were attracted to him.

Hajime noticed, too.

Back then, Izuru thought that Hajime being important to him would be enough. Because for Izuru, it had been. He didn’t hate the attention of others, but he didn’t need it. He was happy without it.

But Hajime wasn’t.

Perhaps it was partially his own fault, for not wanting to accept that. For thinking that Hajime would grow out of it. That Hajime would one day turn back to him with a smile as easy as the days of old.

It was wishful thinking. A part of him knew that—but he still wished. He still thought things would be fine.

It may have been his fault, then, that Hajime grew more and more distant. That his smiles went from erratic to completely absent. That Hajime’s fixation on Hope’s Peak flourished.

He pretended that he understood. That he accepted those feelings. And Hajime pretended he didn’t resent him in return, that he didn’t hate him even a little.

When Hajime was accepted as a candidate for Hope Peak’s project, he was elated. Izuru read the terms—and was horrified.

But Hajime was happy. He was happy.

And Izuru only ever wanted his brother to be happy.

–

“Sorry, can I borrow my brother for a while?”

“Only if you promise to scream tomorrow!”

“Alright, alright. It’ll have to be in one of the soundproof rooms though.”

“Woohoo!”

Hajime tugged him along from them, over to where Komaeda was waiting patiently. Komaeda give him a sweet smile, and Hajime looks only a little embarrassed.

“If you feel like you’re being crowded, you should tell them off,” Hajime grumbled at him. “I get that you spoil them so that they listen to you more but at this rate, Mioda’s gonna convince you to do something crazy like dye your hair.”

“They’re just like that,” Izuru said. “They crowded you in the beginning, too.”

“Yeah…and it was overwhelming until you stepped in. Kinda like dealing with toddlers, huh?”

“Don’t insult our class!” Komaeda scolded. “What they lack in reservation, they make up for in spirit!”

“That’s kind of the problem,” Hajime pointed out. “Although I guess being passionate is pretty important, huh? I envy that a little.”

Komaeda nodded happily in agreement.

“You want a drink, Izuru?” Hajime asks him. “Komaeda knows a trick on how to get several cans at once from the machine.”

“It’s just good luck, Hinata-kun.”

“Still feels like magic when you do it without soft-hacking the circuits like I do.”

“You really shouldn’t treat the vending machines as personal playthings! They’re for all students, Hinata-kun!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Izuru watches them, at how ease they are at bantering.

“A drink…would be nice, yes. Thank you.”

I want him happy.

–

He ended up with a cold coffee. Hajime picked something heated, and Komaeda ended up with what wasn’t an energy drink. He was already dozing a bit from a few sips.

“Still having trouble sleeping, Komaeda?”

“Mm. No, I’ve been getting better. Although I was looking through career files the other day.”

“Eh? Really?” Hajime blinked. “This soon? You weren’t thinking of being a gambler or something?”

“Aha, I have enough money,” Komaeda said, shaking his head. “Also, I don’t like smoke or alcohol so the atmosphere may not be for me.” A pause. “Has Hinata-kun made progress towards being a headmaster, yet?”

“W-We’re still pretty early in the year, y’know!”

“Being a headmaster requires a variety of skills, so you should get started early!”

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine!”

“Are you really and finally concerned about the future, Komaeda?” Izuru found himself asking. “I am relieved, if that were the case.”

“I…” Komaeda flustered. “It’s just because Kamukura-kun worries.”

“Don’t push him too much, Izuru,” Hajime reprimanded lightly. “Komaeda is actually a lot flightier than he looks.”

“Aha, it’s not that I’m flighty, I just…have difficulty shifting my priorities.” Komaeda hummed, taking another sip. “Right now, I do want to enjoy Hope’s Peak to its fullest and support the other Ultimates with all I have.”

“Maybe you can join the staff next year?” Hajime suggested.

Izuru tried not to flinch.

“I think that ship has sailed,” Komaeda replied dryly. “I don’t have much good will left here. I’ll have to go overseas and work for Munakata-san, probably. And I…” He trailed off. “I get seasick…and I’m no good with flights.”

“Huh.”

“It’s fine,” Komaeda insisted. “I’ll be fine.”

Fine. It’ll be fine.

Hajime didn’t seem convinced. Even with Komaeda’s smile.

“I’m hungry,” Izuru announced. “Hajime, retrieve food.”

“Hah?! You can’t get it yourself?!”

“I’ve been on my feet all day.” Izuru’s frown deepened. “Food. Please.”

Hajime groaned but stood.

“Fine, fine, I’ll be right back. Jeez, Izuru, you can’t expect me to keep pampering you.”

“Thank you.”

“Ehe, good luck, Hinata-kun!” Komaeda chirped, waving.

Hajime grumbled but he did wave back as he jogged away. Komaeda giggled even long after his figure had disappeared.

“You and Hinata-kun must be quite close. I can tell you’re attached.”

“He is my brother,” Izuru said. “It is understandable.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Komaeda replied, shrugging. “Seeing as I’m an only child and all. It must be nice, having someone so close.”

“It has its pros and cons, I suppose.”

“Aha, Hinata-kun said the same thing. Although, he said a lot of things.”

Komaeda is smiling, but there is a significant undercurrent to those gray-green depths. Izuru stares back, and he wonders.

“I asked Hajime about you,” Komaeda went on. “You two had quite the complicated relationship, as I suppose siblings often do. He was actually upset with you—although I couldn’t figure out why. He didn’t say that, by the way, it was just obvious.”

Can anything truly be done about this person?

“It is none of your concern,” he said simply rather than snapped.

“Oh, no, I understand. I just can’t help being curious about the both of you. Lately, Hinata-kun’s been more attentive…and you’ve been more intense. I’m not used to that kind of attention, you see.” Komaeda’s legs begin to swing. “What is about me, I wonder?”

“You’re just a concerning person,” Izuru said. “That’s all.”

“It must be, since I can’t think of anything else.” Komaeda sipped at his drink some more. His eyelashes fluttered. He seemed to be calming down. “Do you take me for a fool, Kamukura-kun?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t even hesitate. “You’re quite foolish.”

“Wow. Cold. You might be right, though. I’m beginning to suspect as much.” Still, Komaeda laughs. “I can’t help but excited for what’s to come.”

Excited? For what, exactly?

“I also had a dream about you,” Komaeda added. “It was fuzzy and foggy but you seemed to be telling me something really important. I wonder what it was?”

“It was a dream,” was the bland retort.

“Mm.”

“Komaeda Nagito.” Izuru inhaled. “What is to be done to keep you out of trouble?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” was the honest answer. “Trouble seems to follow me wherever I go.”

“You also seem to seek it, wherever it may be.”

“You think so? I’m not a thrill-seeker, I assure you. I’d like to live a normal, peaceful, unremarkable life—it’s just impossible.”

A normal life. Hajime could never be satisfied with that.

“What is possible, then?”

Komaeda hummed thoughtfully.

“What a question. Well—I wouldn’t mind dying if it’s for your sake! Hinata-kun’s, too. And the rest of the Ultimates. Death would be fine as long as other lives flourished as a result.”

“What a horrible thing to say.”

“Is it?” Komaeda frowned. “Because, Kamukura-kun, it feels like you understand. To an extent. The importance of sacrifice.”

“That’s projection,” he said. “You’re a lonely person, after all.”

“And you’re not? Kamukura-kun, even when surrounded by people, you look so lonely! It’s despairing!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Just denying it isn’t healthy you know—”

“The more you talk, the more difficult things will be on you, Komaeda Nagito.”

Komaeda’s frown deepened. He finished his drink with a sigh. He then leans against him.

“What have you sacrificed already, I wonder? I wish I had something to give for someone else besides my life.”

Izuru said nothing.

–

“Please. Please. Don’t take my brother away.”

“It’s not a matter you have any say in, Izuru-kun. Apologies.”

There’s no sincerity to this person at all. On that day, Izuru learned what it meant to hate. But desperation still warped him beyond comprehension.

“This experiment—it’s risky, isn’t it? Is one test subject truly enough? Wouldn’t it be easier—more convenient—to have two?”

A cold blink. There would have been more expressiveness in the gaping maw of a koi.

“If complications arise, you can have a backup in place. Isn’t that more economical?”

“Izuru-kun, you are a gifted child. Not Ultimate material, of course, but capable of success nonetheless. Just what are you doing, exactly?”

“I’m gifted, but I don’t have any particular talents. I’m still a viable candidate, right?”

“Hm.”

“All I ask for is that my brother’s sense of self be retained. That you give him what he wants—a talent—but you don’t take everything from him in exchange. I’ll offer everything in his place.”

“My, what devotion. Not a talent, but remarkable nonetheless.”

“Please. Please. Don’t take my brother away.”

“Very well. I can’t say no to such a face anyway.”

“…”

“You’ll suffer the brunt of the experiment, but for Hinata Hajime-kun’s sake, that’s alright, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“Very well, then. It will be a pleasure, Izuru-kun. You’ll save your brother and the world someday.”

–

“D-Did he fall asleep?!”

“He dozed off. His drink made him sleepy.”

“Is that all it is?”

Hajime was frowning at him, face pinched and eyes narrowed. His arms were full of the snacks that Izuru was partial to.

He doubts he’ll enjoy them as he once did.

“I didn’t do anything to him,” Izuru said. “I care for him as well, Hajime, even if it may be a different sort of relationship.”

“R-Relationship?”

Finishing off his own drink, Izuru tossed it into the nearby trashcan. He’s careful not to stir Komaeda Nagito in even the slightest.

“I’ll carry him back. No worries.”

“O-Oi, Izuru…”

Komaeda Nagito was light and pliable, and with one arm under his shoulders and another tucked under his knees, it was easy to pick him up. Hajime predictably flustered, seeming all shades of conflicted.

“I do not wish to disturb him,” Izuru told him, as if that served as an innocuous explanation. “Would you rather carry him, Hajime?”

“No, uh, it’s fine. It’s fine.” Hajime does look Komaeda over. “He’s—pretty peaceful when he sleeps, huh. Komaeda’s good about acting calm, but this is…yeah.”

Hajime tosses Komaeda’s empty drink without another word.

“You are fond of him, aren’t you, Hajime?”

“I don’t want my brother asking me questions like that.” A pause. “How do you feel, though?”

Truth be told—it’s difficult to tell. Everything is crowded. Everything is suffocating. Even now, I want to curl up and disappear. But. But.

“I care for him as I should, I suppose.”

“You suppose.”

Hajime snorted.

“Izuru, I worry about your humanity sometimes.”

“A valid concern.”

“P-Please don’t say that so easily.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Urgh.” Hajime’s eyes rolled as he grimaced but he lightly bumped shoulders with him. “Way to make a guy worry. I should go to your class more often and take on the brunt of that class of yours. It can’t be more difficult than dodging everything Matsuda throws at me. Not to mention having Kamishiro follow me around… I think he suspects something, Izuru.”

Izuru said nothing to that.

“I guess I shouldn’t worry. If he digs too much, he’s just risking himself.”

Hajime walks with him, keeping with his stride. It’s nostalgic. Familiar. Even with Komaeda in his arms, it’s comfortable in a way few things are these days.

It’s also a cold reminder of how much things have changed and distorted. How they’ll be that way forever, with Hajime’s red-rimmed gaze and the blinding radiance of Hope’s Peak Academy.

Komaeda’s hand smacks his face. It doesn’t hurt anymore than paper. But Komaeda’s curling towards him, mumbling into his shoulder.

“Don’t…cry…”

Hajime takes Komaeda’s hand to set it back on his chest. Hajime’s smile is instinctive.

“What are you even dreaming about, Komaeda?” he asks, with undeniable fondness.

“Who knows,” Izuru said, ever quiet.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Hajime laughs now. “It didn’t look like he did.”

“He didn’t.”

We’re all together. Isn’t that a wonderful thing?

…

It hurts.

[fluorescentpipedream]

Oookay...didn’t actually mean to make a bunch of pictures (and people) but I’ve been sick all night so I had to do something to distract me from the pain in my intestines. 

Getting started I’ve got the guys with new pictures before the actual new guys, so here we go: 

Brian Jenkins - Brian has been around for a while and changed avatars a few times (he started out as Nikki Sixx but, it just didn’t fit after a while). Anyhow, he’s an author who generally writes about the world unseen, like fairies and their kingdom but more recently started writing a more modern, real-life love story. If I’m remembering right, Brian was in an accident when he was a young child that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He lives in a duplex with his younger sister Courage. 

Synyster Gates - His real name is Sam Daniels but he took the name Synyster when he wound up on the streets. I don’t remember exactly what Syn’s story is, other than he’s a member of the street gang the Slayers in New York City and is the lead guitarist for the band Avenged in the 3rd generation with Eir (a former Slayer that’s blind in one eye) and I think her name is Maddox, but I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about them in SO long. 

Vartan Renyolds - Matt Renyolds older (step)brother, Vartan acts like an idiot but he actually has a law degree from Princeton. The two of them are from California and started the band after Vartan had walked out of his first job at a law firm, being turned out because he didn’t quite look the part. Vartan seems to be the one that has his head more on his shoulders and was the one who took the time to look over the contract with Revolver before he put pen to paper. Following Matt’s vocal strain and rather public breakup with his girlfriend, Quinn, the band remains on the label though is quietly working to reform themselves as something stronger. When the twins are hired, Vartan takes over playing bass for the band rather than guitar, allowing the boys to play lead and rhythm guitars in his place. Vartan is quite a bit more open than his brother Matt is when it comes to gay people and tries his best to make sure their fans realize Matt has nothing against them, but more their oldest brother, Kevin.  

Nikolai Wolfe - Nikolai didn’t get a new picture but I did find out something about him the other day...he’s actually married to Faith Draven. Following the opening of Rose in San Francisco, his and Matthias’ mother died of a prolonged with stomach cancer. Her death was harder on Nikolai than his younger brother and he ended up falling off a wagon he didn’t even realize he was on before, slipping into heavy drug use and ultimately while in one of these hazes he and his longtime girlfriend, Faith, got married in Las Vegas. When he started getting his head on straighter, the two of them realized they were really only together because they were both druggies and separated. He thought they had gotten a divorce but he never processed the paperwork for the annulment and after all these years, they’re still married. Nikolai has had both male and female partners over the years, though he’s actually pretty choosy about who he gets into a more serious relationship with. He was with another chef while in Las Vegas, apparently, it wasn’t a woman like I’d thought before, but a man named Antonio, his former head chef at his restaurant in the Bellagio. When they broke up, Antonio took a job with one of Nikolai’s competitors, and very verbally dissed him and his restaurant, leaving him to train a new head chef for Duo before leaving. Antonio left him a bit burnt, so he’s not particularly looking for anything serious when he first gets to New York. 

Jeremiah Turner - the owner of Rising Sun in New York City, Jeremiah is a self-taught chef with big dreams of becoming something more than what he usually winds up. His first take at Rising Sun was a small cafe in San Francisco with a specialty in cheesecakes and coffee though after his twin brother Jack suffered a harsh divorce at the hands of his ex, Jeremiah left his restaurant in the supposedly capable hands of his head chef, who ended up running the cafe into the ground. Floundering, he took the name and what little was left of his pride and followed in his brothers’ footsteps to New York. What he had left of his savings went into purchasing a building and turning it into the new Rising Sun, this time a full restaurant. Though they struggle at times, the restaurant is becoming a staple and its popularity grows by word of mouth from tourists in leaps and bounds. While doing better, Jeremiah is still unwilling to take his hands off of the restaurant, even at the chance of losing his girlfriend. He finally decides to take the chance and hires four new chefs, allowing them to tweak the menu a bit more than he would normally. 

Jack Turner- Jack is Jeremiah’s twin brother and an artist, specializing in natural portraits and murals. He was married to John DeGrazzi but after getting dropped when John suffered a bit of a personal crisis, Jack was left to pick up the pieces of his life and try to start over again in a new city. Jack met Michael Beaumont quite by accident and fell in love with him harder than he had been expecting to as well as Michael’s two children, Aisling and Sean. Once it was legal, the two got married quickly and Jack has never been so happy in his life. Michael is an elementary school teacher and Jack had another stroke of luck when one of his paintings was “discovered” by a local art dealer, he’s slowly working towards his first show. 

Finally, on to the new guys! 

Andrew Lloyd - Andrew is one of Dakota’s friends in the 2nd generation. The two met when Dakota joined the Boy Scouts, but they became closer on a more involved camping trip that Ryki and a few of the other fathers took their sons on when the scouts turned out to be a little too soft. (The scoutmaster was against taking the boys camping in the woods, or teaching them how to start fires or...really anything you’d expect them to learn) Andrew is a very athletic, active young man, preferring to work with his hands whenever possible and has been training to be a UFC fighter, I think he’s been training at Gabriel’s gym though I’m not entirely certain. In order to pay for college and his training, he’s been working as a stripper at one of the nicer clubs, though no one knows about it. 

Calvin Hideaki - Calvin was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan and grew up working in his family’s restaurant which specialized in making ramen and dim sum. After graduating from business school, Calvin took his act on the road, wanting to go to the United States and teach them what real ramen really was. With his grandmothers’ dumpling recipe handed down through the generations and the acceptance of his father, he left the family business in his brother’s capable hands and traveled to the US, starting to work first at a few local places around California before finally making his way to New York. He had been a head chef at Naruto Ramen before seeing that Rising Sun was looking for new chefs. Expressing his amusement that a place named Rising Sun didn’t have an Asian flair to their cuisine, he gets the job as one of the four new chefs by making his family’s signature dish for Jeremiah and Hannah. Calvin is married and his wife just gave birth to a little girl. 

Arin Reyes - Arin is the new lead guitarist for the band Silex. Following Matt Renyolds’ vocal disaster and the unfortunate death of their original drummer from complications with AIDS, Arin and his twin brother Davin audition for Silex, hoping that one or the other of them will be able to join the band. Because of how well they play off of one another, the boys are both hired. Arin is a bit more vocal than his brother is, and will occasionally speak for Davin, though not all the time. 

Davin Reyes - Davin is about 5 minutes younger than his brother and tends to be more silent, choosing to watch most people before he decides if they’re really up to his caliber and he wants to interact with them. He and Arin tend to play dueling guitars with one another, back to back when they perform and though they’re similar in styles, they barely have to speak to one another. Though not identical, the brothers are very close. 

@musesnotebook

[taste-in-music]

My Favorite Songs of 2018 by Genre

There was a LOT of music this year that I still wanted to talk about but didn’t get put on the other posts I made, so I decided to put yet ANOTHER list together. (Read my top albums and EPs of the year lists if you want some context.) Buckle up, because it’s going to be a long one, folks. Here are the rules for eligibility:

The songs on this list most likely a) weren’t on an album that I loved in its entirety/didn’t feel that strongly about, b) were on an album that I didn’t have time to listen to, or c) were released as singles. 

No songs from the albums or EPs I’ve previously mentioned are eligible. 

I’ll try my best not to include singles that are for albums coming out next year (for example, I’m not putting Light On by Maggie Rogers or Party For One by Carly Rae Jepsen on the list.) Those songs will be eligible if I do a list next year. If I accidentally do put an album single on the list, it’s because I didn’t know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now, presented in no particular order, let’s get to some tunes.

POP

Used to You by Dagny: If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I’m obsessed with Norwegian pop star Dagny, who I learned about through a recommendation from a friend. This song is one of her best: uptempo but melancholy, with honest, vulnerable lyrics about a strained relationship. 

Crush by Tessa Violet: On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we’ve got a bubbly sugar-pop song about having a crush on someone. It’s quite simple as to why I love this song: it’s just so joyfully adorable.

Sweet but Psycho by Ava Max: Okay, why is this not a hit the U.S.? It’s already gotten to number one in Norway, Finland, and Sweden, and is making a splash in the U.K. While I’m iffy on the lyrics, this song has one of the catchiest hooks of the year. It’s a giant guilty pleasure of mine. 

Sucker Punch by Sigrid: This was named the eighth best song of the year by Time magazine and it’s easy to see why. It has all the elements that make up a Sigrid song (catchy melody, her signature raspy vocals,) but has just enough quirky touches and eccentric details to it that set it apart from the rest of her discography. 

Do Right by Glades: Glades are so underrated, and I’ve mentioned them in a bunch of posts before. This song is them at their best, with one of the stickiest choruses of the year and a sweet synth riff. 

Batshit by Sofi Tukker: I first heard this song in an iPhone commercial, oddly enough. I’m not going to say that this song is good, because I’m fairly sure that it isn’t good. The chorus is literally the word “batshit” said over and over and over again. But somehow, it’s perfect? It’s simple while at the same time having so many cool elements that it’s never boring. The funky bass riff, lowered vocals, electronic drop are all so infectious. Sofi Tukker are my guilty pleasure band, so check them out if you’re into strange dance club music. 

Chasers by Bahari: This pulsating, electronic groove from California based trio (now duo :/) Bahari is like a dangerous lullaby. The twinkling production and harmonies keep the tone tense but enjoyable. I hope they release more music soon. 

Cause You Did by Willa: Willa exploded onto my radar with her powerful, ass kicking anthem Swan, which she released back in 2016. I was so excited to see that she had released new music. This song is a bit different from her previous work, swerving more into the pop lane, but is still charming as hell. (Fun fact, she was in an episode of Supernatural. 10.13 Halt and Catch Fire. The more you know, am I right?)

San Francisco by Fickle Friends: This is my favorite song off of the Broken Sleep EP (I think it’s an EP? It’s only three songs... Check it out regardless.) Fickle Friends’s sound is so summery and tropical, it never fails to put me in a good mood, and this song is a perfect example of that. 

F**k U by Kailee Morgue: A whole tell off anthem. Like her other material, this song balances darker material with a sweet and innocent sounding vocal delivery. Just make sure you listen to the uncensored version. Listening to the clean version is like listening to the radio edit of IDGAF by Dua Lipa or “Forget” You by CeeLo Green. It has no bite to it without the title word being said.

Emotion by Astrid S: When I first heard Such a Boy, I knew that Astrid S had the potential to be a pop starlet in the vein of Zara Larsson. This song is a lot of fun, with a whistling hook and Astrid S’s usual sassy delivery.  

Cherry by Rina Sawayama: This is a whole BOP, from the whispery intro to the rushing production to the melodic, get-stuck-in-your-head chorus. This song is much like its title suggests: bright and sweet with just enough of a twang to keep it interesting, just like a cherry. 

Baby Don’t Talk by LÉON: Of the two singles she released this year, I can’t help but like this one a little bit more (but don’t get me wrong, Falling is a whole bop and a half.) This song is just so likable, from the snappy percussion to the “ooOOooOOhs,” to the unforgettable melody. LÉON is so underrated, I can’t encourage you enough to listen through her three EPs and other singles. They’re all gold. 

Daughter by L Devine: I can’t tell you how shook I was when I first heard this song. It’s L Devine at her finest, with a catchy melody, relatable lyrics, and just the right amount of electronic elements. This song is the wlw bop that no one’s talking about that everyone should be talking about. 

Carousel by Skylar Spence: I found this gem thanks to Spotify’s Indie Pop playlist. The pulse to this song always makes me want to tap my toes. It’s like if the color yellow was a song. The lyrics are super cute, and the glitchy, robotic chorus just works somehow.  

R.E.M. by Ariana Grande: While I found Sweetener as an album a bit uneven in quality, it’s still by Ariana fucking Grande. She could sing What’s The Fox Say and it would sound beautiful. This track is my personal favorite, with the cute little “bum bum bums” and the all around dreamy atmosphere. There’s also a funny amount of self awareness in this song, with the whole “’Excuse me, um, I love you,’” and “does this end?” It adds a layer of charm and personality that elevate this song. Ariana Grande is definitely the pop idol we need in the hot 100 right now, dear Lorde.

Sue Me by Sabrina Carpenter: What a fricking BANGER! This song rocked me to my core. Sabrina Carpenter is one of the best singers to come out of the Disney machine, and she’s always had potential for greatness (remember Thumbs? That song slaps.) There’s something visceral and inexplicably powerful about this song, I feel it right in my gut. It’s my favorite off of Singular Act 1, @eleanorschidis thank you for convincing me to listen through the album.

Love The Lie by Call Me Loop: I don’t feel like I can communicate why I’m so obsessed with this song, but I’ll try. It’s catchy as fuck, the twinkling guitar riff, the beat and melody... it’s all just so perfect. You know what? I can’t do it justice. Just listen to it. 

Drink About by Seeb ft. Dagny: This might be my favorite pop song of the year, and I both do and don’t know why. On one hand, the lyrics are repetitive, it’s simplistic, and it’s just another club dance song. But on the other hand, there’s something about it that elevates it beyond that. First off, there’s Dagny, who I’ve said before I LOVE, and her performance brings so much emotion and pain and personality to the song. Then there’s Seeb’s production, managing to make an unforgettable drop and chorus out of only a handful of lines. There was a period of time where I would just listen to this song on repeat, and it never got old or tired despite its repetition. It’s like a rush of euphoria whenever I hear it, and I can’t recommend it enough. 

R&B/HIP HOP

Honey Dew by LION BABE: Like Say Lou Lou, I first learned about LION BABE by reading about them in Teen Vogue. I put off checking them out for a while, and when I finally did, I wasn’t disappointed. This songs is one of the chillest I’ve heard this year. Jillian Hervey’s smooth voice and the twinkling pianos and shuffling percussion of Lucas Goodman’s production just meld so perfectly together. 

After the Storm by Kali Uchis ft. Tyler, The Creator and Bootsy Collins: There’s something about Kali Uchis’s voice that is so unique and so sultry, I can’t help but get sucked into her music. This song mixes together her lovely crooning, a rap verse from Tyler, The Creator, bubbly production, and uplifting lyrics, and I can’t help but feel happy whenever I hear it. This song feels like emerging from a cold lake, it’s that refreshing. (Also, count In My Dreams as an honorable mention, that song is great too.)

The Kids Are Alright by Chloe x Halle: The song is awe-inspiring, from the powerful harmonies of the opening to the rhythmic switch-ups present all throughout the song. I love the “we are we are we are” mantra that repeats all throughout the song. It almost sounds like a poem put to music. 

Blue Lights by Jorja Smith: Mixing a spoken word style hip hop and reggae elements into her usual graceful sound, Jorja Smith manages to craft a pretty sounding R&B song with a meaningful message behind it. Her debut album Lost & Found isn’t what I usually listen to, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Also, can Jorja Smith drop her skincare routine? How does she get it so dewy and smooth? She’s so hecking pretty, I can’t even. 

Honey by Raveena: YouTube played this song as a commercial before a video I was watching, and I fell in love with it. Raveena’s voice is so delicate, fragile even, and just lovely paired with the simple but glistening production. 

Summer Pack by Childish Gambino: Okay, I’m putting both songs on here. My only explanation for this EP is that Donald Glover took the entire season of Summer and managed to distill it into two R&B songs. Summertime Magic has a watery, tropical mood that’s always refreshing to hear (am I the only one that is reminded of Wii Sports Resort?) and Feels Like Summer makes me feel like I’m sitting on my front steps in the middle of August with a melting orange popsicle. 

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE/ROCK

Baby by Bishop Briggs: While more pop leaning than her usual content, the blatant sexuality, personal lyrics, and Bishop Briggs’s usual powerful vocals sell this song. Also, the music video is AMAZING. I’ve put it on my animated music videos that give me life series, but I can’t reiterate enough how great the animation is. Holy hell. 

Gold Rush by Death Cab for Cutie: This song is downright ethereal. It sounds like it’s lulling you to sleep, but in the best kind of way. It isn’t boring, it’s soothing. Hearing this song on the radio is what got me into this band, and while I haven’t heard their entire discography, I know that this song will remain one of my favorites.

Hand It Over by MGMT: Just like Gold Rush, this song is so soothing it’s practically therapeutic. Every time I hear it, I just melt right into my chair. I’d say I’m a casual fan of MGMT, (I haven’t heard their less mainstream albums,) but I really like Oracular Spectacular and Little Dark Age. This is one of my favorite cuts off the latter album.

Idaho by Gorillaz: While The Now Now didn’t leave a big impression on me, this song makes me glad that I decided to listen to it. The production has this swell to it at the chorus, which is just so calming. I really like how the song is dappled with nature sounds, too. It makes me feel like I’m in a cabin next to a lake in the middle of the woods and it’s raining outside but I’m cuddled up in a cozy blanket with a cup of peppermint tea.

Baby You’re A Haunted House by Gerard Way: I’ve never listened to My Chemical Romance, so I didn’t know what to expect from this song, but holy crap. It’s a total banger. The guitars on this track are so fuzzy and aggressive in all the right ways. This was what I had on repeat all throughout Halloween. 

Blood and Bones by TRACE: The only word I can use to describe the song is entrancing. TRACE’s smooth vocals and the laid back production always make me feel so relaxed, and the funkier electronic touches and glittery piano riffs add just enough to keep it all interesting. 

Nobody by Mitski: I told y’all I be mentioning Mitski on one of these lists! While the entirety of Be The Cowboy was lovely, Nobody stands out as one of the catchiest, strangest, and most depressing songs of the year. How can a song about crushing, isolating loneliness that literally has a lyric about the hypothetical aliens living on Venus bop to the gods? I have no clue, but Mistki pulled it off. 

Fruity by Rubblebucket: Speaking of weird lyrics, this one takes the cake: “I said I’d make it to the party / But I’ve got a lot going on / The lioness gave a feast for forty off her body / Then slept on the ground till a flower grew out.” I have no clue what the hell that's supposed to mean, but it works. The little “lalala”s and the whispered vocals make for an interesting listen. Thanks, Spotify’s Discover Weekly!

Pristine by Snail Mail: The brain child of nineteen year old Lindsey Jordan, Snail Mail is one of the most intriguing indie rock acts I’ve heard this year. Her debut album, Lush, is full of awesome songs, but Pristine has got to be my favorite. The lyrics about the monotony of party culture, accompanied by an upbeat guitar riff and communicated through her raw vocals, all come together to form a song that you can both headbang and relax to. 

She’s Kerosene by The Interrupters: I don’t listen to ska punk, but this song is a just a ton of fun. There’s a sweet saxophone solo, and holy crap does Aimee Allen have a ton of personality on the vocals. Even my dad liked this song.

Body Talks by The Struts ft. Kesha: AND I MEAN THE KESHA VERSION. The original is fine, but when you’ve got a version of a song with Kesha on it, do you really need to hear the other one? This song has such an explosive and rocking chorus and Luke Spiller of The Struts and Kesha have great chemistry. I hope Kesha ventures more into the rock genre in the future, because she, well, rocks at it.

Midnight by Black Honey: A grimy banger complete with bold vocals, a chorus that will get. stuck. in your. head, assertive guitars, and a kick ass synthesizer solo? Yes, please. I loved Midnight from the first time I heard it. I might have mentioned before that I heard of this song through YouTube recommendations, and I’m so happy to have come across this song and this band. 

Lavender Bones by Stand Atlantic: As I mentioned in my artist recommendation post, this song is the update to Misery Business by Paramore that I never knew I needed. It’s noisy, it’s angry, it’s so goddamn catchy. I’m not always into the whole punk sound, but this song surpasses its genre. It’s just so good. 

Shame by Elle King: Since hearing Ex’s and Oh’s back in 2015, I’ve been obsessed with Elle King’s debut, Love Stuff. It’s one of those albums that I can put on and listen to all the way through. Her follow up, Shake The Spirit, was also pretty good, showcasing her gritty, powerful voice intertwined with rock, blues, and country elements. This song is the standout, explosive, boot stomping, and a whole lot of fun. 

Uh Huh by Jade Bird: This song is the epitome of a headbanger. It was a tossup between this song and her other singles, Love Has All Been Done Before and Lottery, for this list, but this one just had to be on it. This is one of my most listened to rock songs of the year. The energetic guitar gives the song an electric pulse, and Jade Bird’s vocals... holy shit does she have pipes. Her voice reminds me of Alanis Morissette. This song sprints at full speed, as over as quickly as it started, and a hell of a rush too. 

Fireworks by First Aid Kit: I’m not a big fan of country/folk music, but this Swedish sister duo have surpassed my usual genre bias time and time again. This song is my favorite off of their album Ruins, (they dropped the EP Tender Offerings this year, too. It’s a lovely little slice of folk that I’d definitely recommend y’all check out.) This is a grand, soaring ballad, showcasing the sisters’ harmonization and a showstopping string instrument. Just gorgeous. 

Reasons Not To Die (Demo) by Ryn Weaver: Ryn Weaver was one of the first artists I listened to when I was first defining my taste in music. Her album The Fool is what got me into the indie pop and alternative genres. While hopeful that she’d drop more music, I was also pretty sure that it wasn’t going to happen for a long, long while because she doesn’t currently have a label. Then this song came along. Everything about it is beautiful: Ryn’s vibrato-rich voice, the melody, the lyrics, guys. This song’s lyrics are so personal and authentic. As the song continues, it builds up to this crescendo, and Ryn’s voice gets more powerful and yet more vulnerable at the same time, the music swells... and then it drops back down again. This song makes me teary whenever I hear it, and that doesn’t happen that often. Please, Ryn. Drop more music. Lorde knows we need voices like yours in the current music scene. 

Listen to the complete mix of all these songs HERE. What were your favorite songs of 2018? Any artists, albums, singles, etc. I should know about? Leave your thoughts and recommendations down below.

[argentdandelion]

Papyrus is Probably a Better Boyfriend than Sans (Bonus List)

←Previous Bonus List Next (Summary) → (This post series has an introduction, five parts, a bonus list here, and a summary at the end. To get to the other posts, use the navigational links at the top.)

According to an article from Futurity, when considering someone as a potential romantic partner, people give more weight to negative qualities than positive ones. In other words, if a person has several positive qualities but one or two negative ones, the negative ones may act as a "deal breaker" and doom the relationship's chances.

In the words of the article:

“A lot of times, just by avoiding negative traits, people will probably be fairly well off—maybe even more well off—than if they were trying to optimize the best potential partner,” Gregory Webster says.

Sans has only a few positive traits, and many bad ones, whereas Papyrus has many good traits and few bad ones. Mathematically, Papyrus is probably a better boyfriend than Sans.

Papyrus

For fairness's sake, very similar pros and cons have been merged into a single item.

Pros:

Has a strong inclination for cooking.

Is hardworking and persistent.

Always answers the phone within the first two rings.

Very friendly.

Easily pleased by others. (e.g., saying “I can make spaghetti” leads to him saying: “Oh no! You’re meeting all my standards!”)

Cannot be offended, even by obvious insults.

Keeps the house clean.

Is very fair. (i.e., won’t make something too challenging for the target)

Has incredible magical control, to the point he can make his attacks do 0 damage. (Good for nervous girls and dealing with vulnerable things like pets and small children)

Is humorous/has a great (and refined) sense of humor.

Capable of creative, versatile puns, wordplay, and other forms of humor.

Adjusts seriousness depending on the situation.

Responsible. (e.g., feeding Sans’ pet rock)

Good with children. (based on interactions with Frisk)

Neutral/Significant Perks Only For Some

Great at photorealistic painting, possibly Trompe-l'œil.

Might be handy at home repairs where the principles overlap with puzzle construction (e.g., fixing a toaster or wiring in the house)

Has impressive magic attacks he is eager to show off.

Appropriately respectful towards authority. (e.g., Undyne in the “Papyrus’s report to Undyne” sequence)

Can drive. (though if Undertale takes place in the future, his convertible may very well be self-driving)

Values having friends. (for those who want to borrow Papyrus’s friends for socialization or have sufficient people for big parties)

Apparently requires little sleep, which would be good for consistent promptness when going to work and potentially making coffee/breakfast for the Romantic Interest

Cons:

Wears one outfit all the time, even in the shower (well, at least it won’t stink then)1

Is apparently loud all the time.

May spontaneously invite strangers to his house after befriending them (see Frisk)

It is purely speculation whether his cooking will ever be beyond just “edible”.

Adjusts his opinions and apparent scope of knowledge (i.e., selective naivete) depending on who’s around, leading to the impression of someone who’s two-faced and/or a liar.

May have too much faith in others. (e.g., his death in the Genocide Route)

Will probably repeatedly mention his brother, Sans.

Sans

Pros:

Willing to work multiple jobs to pay the bills

Is almost always cheerful and laid-back

Is humorous (or “humerus”)

Is (mostly) good with children (based on interactions with Frisk)

Neutral/Significant Perks Only For Some

Rarely says anything negative about anyone.2

Cons:

He almost never puts effort into doing something, (e.g., the snow sculpture) and goes with the most low-effort solutions to something whenever possible. (e.g., using a flashlight for a desk lamp rather than changing the bulb) (People have speculated this could be a symptom of depression, not strictly his personality)

Will ignore/fail to stop a problem from progressing for as long as possible. (if he showed up in the Judgment Hall and can teleport, why didn’t he warn Asgore with “a kid in a striped shirt is killing everyone, absorb the SOULs"?)

Is persistently immature in several ways.

Is fairly irresponsible. (e.g., repeatedly forgets to feed his pet rock...though it’s unclear if he even needs to)

Won’t fix his irritating behaviors/the products of those behaviors, not even for those he cares about a lot. (e.g., Papyrus)

Is practically3 always smiling (his face may be naturally limited) which may be highly irritating or un-empathic in certain situations

His pun-based jokes are often terrible.

He makes lighthearted jokes/puns in situations inappropriate for them.

Works just well enough that employers (e.g., Undyne) can’t fire him; promotions are very unlikely. (lesser flaw)

Persistently eats unhealthy food. (which may be okay for a skeleton, but not good for a human)

Chooses the worst, greasiest things on the menu, consistently.

Eats many “midnight snacks”. (Undyne is probably exaggerating when she says “100s of midnight snacks!!!)

Allegedly constantly emits slime, (what about clothing stains?) which probably has a very niche appeal at best.

There is no in-game evidence he ever cleans up after himself.

Seems to go to Grillby’s every day,4 which may be a strain on the budget. (unless the restaurant is remarkably cheap or he has a lot of money)

Doesn’t make promises.

Will probably repeatedly mention his brother, Papyrus.

Papyrus's biggest con is that he's probably a package deal with Sans. It would be difficult to live with him long-term without Sans, at the very least, dropping in multiple times a day. It's likely anyone who wants to date Papyrus will have to endure Sans leaving messes and making bad jokes whenever he visits, and not insult Sans too much when Papyrus is around.

The dealbreakers mentioned in the article are merely the top deal breakers, as measured from information in six independent studies. They are not necessarily universal deal breakers, or all possible deal breakers. Furthermore, according to the Futurity article, what may be a deal breaker for one person may be a dealmaker for another. The article gives the example of impulsiveness: some will be attracted to that quality and consider it a dealmaker, while others who prefer predictable people may not like it.

Thus, Sans would likely prove unappealing to most, not all, potential girlfriends. Sans’ most likely appeal is for people who really like/have a high tolerance for lazy, possibly narcoleptic, possibly unhygienic slobs who eat greasy, unhealthy food, want someone who is really laid-back, and want someone who makes attempts at humor almost all the time. (A very niche market)

Body/facial attractiveness/unattractiveness could be a pro or con for either one, depending on individual preferences. Since it's a trait either of them could have based on subjective evaluations, it hasn't been included in the bullet point list.

This might not be a problem in a situation that occurs years after the Pacifist ending. Perhaps, by then, his outfit will have simply disintegrated, and he'll swap out outfits. Still, he can always repair it or make a new replica, so this is just speculation. ↩︎

He's remarkably untroubled by mass murder, and speaks so casually about it that it's almost like Frisk merely made a bunch of spelling mistakes in an essay. In certain Neutral endings in which a lot of monsters are killed, he will end the call to the human with “go to hell”, which may count, but this is a very severe, improbable scenario. ↩︎

When the final (and only) blow is struck in the Genocide Route, his smile becomes more of a grimace for a few seconds, before returning to its typical shape. To be fair, this potentially irritating facial expression limitation may not be his fault. ↩︎

According to Papyrus, Sans usually eats out every night, and only recently began attempting to cook. Grillby's is assumed to be the "out to eat" Papyrus was mentioning. ↩︎

[retrauxpunk]

tagged by @sardoniyx THANK U HUN XX 

when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?: I categorically Do Not have cereal. ...but it’s pretty much been milk in the past because i like the cereal much more than the milk.

do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?: i mean i think i did sometimes when cold weather was a novelty rather than the five-year-long winter that this current winter in london feels like 

how do you take your coffee/tea?: coffee with a shitload of sugar and milk and sometimes flavourings ... tea with milk and one sugar.

do you keep plants?: nah

what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?: writing (poetic prose/poetry if it’s a particular brand of romantic/romance-adjacent feeling) ... sometimes drawing

do you like singing/humming to yourself?: yeeeees

what’s something that made you smile today?: oh man. i haven’t had a good day. but something that made me INTERNALLY SMILE was this excellent message @cheapskate-bleeding-queer sent me :)

what’s your favorite pasta dish?: spaghetti/penne with GARLIC and CHEESE and sometimes CHILLI and (usually but not a necessity) a meat like chicken or cured meats, in a cream/egg sauce UGHHH GOD. also bolognese is pretty Rad. with heaps of herbs/spices. unghhhhhh

what’s your favorite eye color?: i don’t know if i have one? my first fave as a kid was green. i used to not think very highly of dark brown eyes (which i have) bc it’s basically never lauded in popular media etc but then i got crushes on a series of guys with dark eyes and now i see they’re PRETTY RAD TOO

what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?: peppermint/spearmint

what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks: SOCKS ARE FUN AND NICE AND WARM. I LIKE SOCKS WITH FUNKY/CUTE DESIGNS. wearing mismatched socks is FUN. socks that fit poorly are deeply bad. i don’t sleep with socks. i used to when i was a kid.

what’s your fave pastry?: anything with cheese and bacon. at work they have these cheese and bacon turnovers which are kind of puff pastry and they are the most fucking delicious thing ever every time i eat one i’m like jesus fucking christ how can something taset this good oh man

tell us about your pet peeves!: when people put their bags on seats on public transport and DON’T MOVE THEM when others approach to sit! when people sit on the outer seat of a two-seater on a bus/train and DON’T MOVE IN OR GET UP WHEN SOMEONE WANTS TO SIT! When someone is playing music through SPEAKERS in a PUBLIC PLACE and they are not some kind of busker/paid musician and especially if it’s shit music! people who roar down busy/populated/suburban/urban areas in EXTREMELY LOUD CARS AND MOTORCYCLES WHY? is this necessary? if it isn’t -- DO YOU FEEL REALLY SECURE ABOUT YOUR EGO? IS YOUR JUNK MONUMENTOUS? IS YOUR DICK SO BIG YOU CAN SWING IT ROUND LIKE A FIRE HOSE? also, fuckwits who open conversations with me by asking “excuse me, what part of china are you from”. if anyone presumes my ethnicity again (i don’t care if they’re correct) i’m going to make up some bullshit like “i am white, with a rare strain of jaundice” or just speak german to them and pretend i don’t know english at all.

think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you?: a gold/enamel pendant that’s a disc with a hole in the middle that looks like a segmented colour wheel. i bought it in the Exploratorium gift shop in San Francisco, I was not having a great time and bought it to cheer myself up a bit? and i turned it into a symbol of overcoming unpleasant thought spirals or something like that, in my head.

do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!: i like the tom n toms chain in sydney. i go to the one in central or the one in town hall and i’ve been there so many times with so many people and have basically always had a great time, drinking the peppermint hot chocolate. many hours of bitching/moaning about my love life has been spent there. it’s been great. i was even there with an ex once but the place CANNOT BE RUINED because i’ve also been there with like all of my best friends. and it’s always a stellar experience. yum. also, brainwave cafe which was right near the design building at my uni. a cute aesthetic, nice food, and i love the proximity to my alma mater, and i had nice experiences at uni overall, therefore GOOD ASSOCIATIONS, etc.

do you trust your instincts a lot?: i did, but lately they seem to have gone on a leave of absence so ........... like ........... yeah i dunno.

what food do you think should be banned from the universe?: anything that necessitates inhumane/cruel slaughter or treatment of animals e.g. foie gras, lobster that had to be boiled alive, whales killed by being dragged through the sea by harpoons, those sadistic dishes from asia (don’t google if you don’t want to learn about actually graphic/disturbing mistreatment of animals)

do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?: records yes because i have a record player and kind of want to be a Vinyl Person because aesthetic and i hate having money apparently HAHAH. the last one i bought was Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life by The Wombats -- I preordered it -- there were a series of fiascos about the delivery but I think I’ll have it in my hands by the end of the week FINALLY 

think of a person. what song do you associate with them?: literally anything by the killers (you know who you are). Waiting For The End by Linkin Park reminds me of my first bf (though not in a bad way). 

do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?: yes, but i have very specific taste. i like Kelsey Rakes and a bunch of others whom I found on deviantART back when that was my life. 

what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever received?: a couple times i was regifted the gifts that i got those people in the first place HAHAH not a hug deal though

what’s winter like where you live?: currently london. from the perspective of a sydneysider, it is ....... ......... GREY. you wake up and if you have a commitment like work, you just push through. if you don’t and you’re in the house, you open the curtains and see how the light level inside basically doesn’t change and you think WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEING ALIVE. also in the middle of winter the sun literally sets BEFORE FOUR P.M. WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK. the cold isn’t too bad, but the lack of sunlight is depressing. on the other hand, mulled wine is nice.

what are your favorite board games?: INNOVATION, HANDS DOWN. i also really like Monikers.

is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?: i don’t think so ... sleeping, maybe?

are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?: in isolation they’re pretty cute and in movie context they’re funny but oversaturation/inappropriate usage makes them a little tiresome. also i read a tweet of minion smut and it was hilarious and i loved it.

are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?: i have one tattoo which is one half of a super dumb in joke/relationship meme that i came up with .......... so i want to get the second half at some point. it’ll be a couple inches square, on my right leg. i also want to get a big one on my upper arm of some kind of bird, in a bit of an industrial style.

are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?: i rather enjoy dadaism as a concept ... man there’s one i think is on the tip of my brain but i... can’t think of it ...? i like luminism. i like warhol and lichtenstein’s pop art. roccoco is fun. 

talk about your one of you favorite cities: y’know, i do like london. i love the shit-ton of theatres, the fact that musicians/performers ACTUALLY COME HERE, the WONDERFUL ABUNDANCE OF LIVE COMEDY, the fact i can go see studio recordings of TV shows, the PROXIMITY TO THE REST OF EUROPE OMG, the general aesthetic/vibe, the pleasant accents, the general feeling of safety/cleanliness. also you know what? SYDNEY. SYDNEY FUCKING ROCKS. the weather is beautiful, every fucking sydneysider who complains about sydney weather honestly doesn’t know shit. the harbour/seaside is GORGEOUS. there is a GREAT foodie/hipster cafe scene. it’s relatively clean and safe. it’s wonderfully multicultural. it’s lively but not too busy/crowded. (oh man the weather!!) ....yeah both are also crazy fucking expensive and i seem to hate living in affordable places haha kill me

where do you plan on traveling this year?: i don’t want to go anywhere. i know my family wants me to go to china but considering how my last trip went, i am Not Really Keen? but i probably should, to see the rellies

myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?: either INFP or INFJ i think? depending on the test, aries, ravenclaw/gryffindor

oh yeah tagging: @cheapskate-bleeding-queer @dandelionwyne @soapbubblepopper @whyteraven91 @watching-the-fire-dance @monkiponken @themythicalgarden + anyone who wants to do this ^_^

[mediocreronpas]

Nagito, Sonia, Makoto, Leon, Akane, Mukuro, and Sakura with an Ultimate Voice S/O. (Singing, Voice Acting, Voice Imitation.)

You can probably tell where I stopped writing and started procrastinating on this particular piece. I just hope the requester doesn’t mind.

- Mod Teruteru

Nagito Komaeda

- He was walking to school covered in tire marks and animal bites.

- Don't ask.

- Anyway, he was walking to school covered in a bunch of injuries.

- Behind him he heard running, then his friend's voice.

- “Whoa Komaeda, are you okay?”

- “Don't worry, I'm just fine Haji-”

- Hey that's not Hajime.

- Your voice then suddenly got high pitched and very familiar.

- “The Ultimate Nurse is in your class isn't she? Maybe you should ask her for help.”

- He's pretty confused at this point.

- “... Mikan?”

- You nodded your head and turned to your own voice.

- “Sorry if that seemed weird, imitating voices is the only way for me to break the ice.”

- Imitating voices huh?

- That's cool.

- In class he loves watching you switch between made up voice characters when the tensions high.

- When you imitate him you say compliments about him left and right.

- “I’m Nagito Komaeda! My hair looks cool and my voice sounds really nice.”

- “You know you don’t need to compliment me in such an indirect way.”

- Then you returned back to your normal voice again.

- “But you won’t listen to any compliments I don’t say like thaaaat.”

- Komaeda laughed. “Why would you think that? I’ll always listen to my S/O when they talk to me.”

- “Because you always turn the compliment around and call yourself trash?”

- “But that’s because I am-”

- You stood up and switched to Komaeda’s voice again.

- “My name is Nagito Komaeda and I will not call myself trash!”

Sonia Nevermind

- She wanted a few lessons on how to sing a bit better so she can perform for her friends.

- So she asked you to help tutor her.

- Wow singing was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

- Though most fictional princesses were basically known for their beautiful singing abilities, Sonia the real life princess was a bit tone deaf.

- Training her took longer than you expected as well.

- But you were able to get it done.

- You went to her performance she had promised her friends in her class.

- But before she began, she asked that the first song was a duet with you.

- Tears almost started forming out of your already sparkling eyes.

- Your little duet thing for just the first song turned into a full on two person singing performance immediately after the first song was finished.

- It started with a simple duet of “Good Little Girl” by Rebecca Sugar, then “Back Side of the TV” by Lotus Juice, and then you started spiralling into the deep dark pit of Disney songs. Each time you changed songs you would change your voice into the male singer of the duet, or just the one you knew Sonia couldn’t do.

- By the end, everyone was clapping and cheering for you two.

- You both think you should do it more often.

Makoto Naegi

- He caught the sound of a strange voice on the way to school one day.

- It kind of sounded like a goofy cartoon character, but it didn’t sound like it was coming from any sort of device.

- When he found the source, it was a girl/boy talking to their friend.

- He was pretty weirded out by this.

- But when he saw you walk into Hopes Peak Academy, it made sense.

- He struck up a conversation with you during lunch after sitting next to you.

- After a bit of talking and laughing, he asked what kind of Ultimate you were.

- “Oh, that’s right, I’m the Ultimate Voice. I’m the master of all things speaking related, *ol’ timey announcer voice change* that includes but is not limited to, Singing, Imitation, and Voice Acting.”

- Ah, voice acting. That explains what he saw earlier.

- He started hanging out with you almost immediately after that.

- You learned how to imitate his voice and started talking to him and others with it.

- “Hey Togami-san?”

- “What do you want Naegi-”

- And then he would turn around and a girl/boy that wasn’t Naegi would be behind him.

- “What?”

- “Naegi?”

- Then you would turn your voice back to your own.

- “Sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

- Then he would turn back to what he was doing and wonder about what happened all day.

- You and Naegi would begin to hold in laughter when he asked him about it.

Leon Kuwata

- You recently found a way to yell and make it sound like you were a huge crowd.

- Oh boy were ready to use that on Leon.

- You were following him as he was walking to the baseball field.

- You suddenly jumped into a bush and yelled “HEY!” as over 50 people.

- He jumped out of his skin and whipped his head around to see no one there.

- “What the f*ck?!”

- You started holding in your laughter as tears started forming in your eyes.

- “T-the hell? How many of you are there?”

- You continued to hide inside your bush as Leon started searching for someone.

- When he finally found you, your smile hurt and tears were pouring down your face.

- “Woah, S/O? You okay?”

- You stuttered as you kept your laughter bottled up.

- “Y-yeah! I-I’m fine.”

- “You sure? You look like you're crying.”

- All at once, your laughter poured out the a waterfall.

- “Hahahahahahaaaah! Y-you never even suspected me!”

- “W-what!? What are you talking about?!”

- Then suddenly you made your voice sounded like 100 people were laughing at once.

- “AHH! That was you?!”

- You turned your voice back and started calming yourself down.

- You were breathing heavy, but you said “I’m sorry. Ever since I learned how to do that I wanted to use it.”

- “So you decided to scare me out of my jeans huh?”

- “He he, yeah.”

- Leon laughed. “Well then you wouldn't mind if I got REVENGE!”

- “Ahh!”

- Then you ran as Leon started chasing you around the school.

- Your such a good couple.

Akane Owari

- Your impressions turned you into her Nidai substitute when he wasn't around.

- Though it strained your voice to an extreme level.

- You tried not to let it bother you, until one day it interrupted your impression.

- “YEAH! KEEP GOING! SHOW SOME SPIRI- *Cough Cough* Agh, okay.  I'm gonna have to take five for that.”

- Akane stopped what she was doing and looked at you.

- “Really? Why?”

- You held your neck as the pain started pulsing across its inside.

- “Nidai's voice is too much for me. My throat is really starting to hurt.”

- Akane then started dragging you by the wrist saying that she has a home remedy for a sore throat like yours.

- You entered her cabin, and she told you to stay inside and ran off to the island’s kitchen.

- When Akane came back, she was holding a steaming mug of something white.

- She handed to you, and a sweet honey scent wafted into your face.

- You gave Akane a questioning look, and she gave a big smile back.

- “Whenever my younger siblings got scratchy throats, a mix of honey, milk, boiling water, and cinnamon always brought them back up from the dumps!”

- You smiled and blew the edge of the mixture.

- You took a sip and felt the smooth drink sooth your throat.

- Akane smiled when she saw the stars in your eyes.

- Then you two sat together on her bed talking softly as your throat healed.

Mukuro Ikusaba

- She didn’t like admitting it, but she admired your singing like you were an idol.

- It was similar the relationships tsunderes had with their clueless main character counter parts.

- She generally tried avoiding you in case she was caught admiring you.

- But at the same time, you were wherever she went.

- She didn’t know why.

- That was until you had approached her.

- You were blushing a lot and making quick glances at the floor.

- “Um, m-my name’s F/N.”

- “Yes I know.”

- “Huh? H-how?”

- Mukuro quickly put a hand up to her mouth and blushed a bit.

- “N-no reason, please continue.”

- You laughed softly and looked at her again.

- “I-um-I know you don’t know me that much,”

- Wow that was a lie.

- “But, would you want to hang out sometime? I-it doesn’t even have to be a date! We could just start as friends, i-if you want…”

- Mukuro was very confused.

- So much so, that she kind of just blirted out the first thing that came to mind.

- “I-I love your singing!”

- Your ears perked. “You...listen to my songs?”

- You both stared at each other until you smiled.

- “...because, I can do more than sing.”

- Mukuro continued staring.

- Then she spoke.

- “You can continue talking about it on our date.”

Sakura Oogami

- She is heavily impressed by your abilities.

- You found your goal to be to make her laugh legitimately.

- And it’s a goal you practiced annually.

- “*Goofy voice change* Well howdy Sakura-chan! Gosh do you look perty today.”

- “Mm, thank you S/O.”

- Damn it.

- On some days, you would just quietly give up.

- But your hope did not die that day!

- You still had one more chance to beat her!

- You approached her in the hallway, knowing this was your only chance.

- “Sakura, can I talk to you about something?”

- “Sure, what do you need S/O?”

- You made yourself blush and scratched the back of your neck.

- This put Sakura on her toes.

- “There’s something I have to tell you…”

- You looked at the ground.

- “I-I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time now. I was so nervous, but I-I’m not going to nervous anymore. Sakura I…! I-I!”

- You looked her in the eyes.

- “*Johnny Bravo voice change* Well I love you darling.”

- You held your breath, waiting for a reaction.

- Then you heard something beautiful.

- Sakura’s laughter.

- “Ha ha ha ha, you got me S/O.”

- You were absolutely glowing.

- You hugged her.

- “I love you Sakura!”

- “Hm hm, I love you too.”

[blue-means-stop]

So that 2nd anniversary showed up out of nowhere. I just got home from work and need to shower, eat and go to bed, but I just wanted to say a little something about Undertale. I’m going to put it under a read more since I get a little personal about my RL and there’s some sad stuff there and I don’t want to bum anyone out. Double check my tags, please.

I first heard about it from Steam Train when they did a Let’s Play of it and they were about three episodes in when I started watching and it only took one episode to get me hooked. I watched the entire run of it, they did a Pacifist Run first (I also watched the Genocide Route and cried like a child)  and I don’t think I’d ever been this enamored with something new in a very long time. I’m a huge Marvel and Hellboy fan and I’ve been in those fandoms since I was a kid. That’s a long time as I am an old fart.

When Undertale came out, I was in a bad spot. I was still dealing with the death of my mother and the recent passing of my bachan, being unemployed and the strained relationship between my father and I became even more strained because of a lot of bullshit that he pulled. We’re working on that now. Health problems I’ve had for a while crept up on me and I was literally bed bound for a lot of the time. I was eventually forced to go to the dr, without insurance or any real money to do so, but my grandmother was threatening to call an ambulance and I live in the US, I can’t afford an ambulance. I ended up being fast tracked to the ER for emergency surgery (I’m fine now!) and was stuck in bed for about two weeks recouping.

That’s when Undertale came out and I watched Steam Train’s run of it and later JackSepticEye’s run of it too and thought holy shit, this game is too pure, I love these characters and I was emotionally compromised. When I was able to hobble around on my own power, I scrapped together a little bit of money, got myself a STEAM account and bought Undertale. And I played it. And it was just as magical as ever. This pure little pixel sprite game helped me drag myself from the edge of giving up. I saw myself in so many characters, Sans and Alphys mainly. I talked briefly about this last year on my SFW tumblr but no one who follows me there is really an Undertale fan, so the connection was never really there. And I joked and said, this game didn’t change my life but it certainly fucking helped.

I knew I had to make a change, I had to claw my fucking way out of this depression like it was the GD Underground and it started with me childishly pumping myself up to take better care of myself and my health issues. I still couldn’t afford medication but I had a little help from my father and it was a nudge in the right direction and from there I set my eyes on the work field, eventually going back to an old job I had quit because I couldn’t handle it anymore. November will be one year of rock solid employment.

I immersed myself into the fandom during this time, but I didn’t write or draw back then, only admired other people’s work from afar. I found out about the AUs and read fanfiction till it came out my ears. It stirred an old passion in me that I had truly given up on. I thought, hey Blue, what if you start writing again? I then inwardly rolled my eyes at myself. But then, I was given a little money for a past birthday and I dropped it on a cheap tablet because that was something I had given up early in my life in order to take care of my family.

I was discouraged from drawing (And writing) early on, even if it was for fun, I had family who thought it was frivolous and I sadly believed them. Better to focus on working and family. My mother couldn’t take care of herself, my father was never around and my brother was and still is a bit of an asshole. No one seemed to understand my mother’s health and mental problems and as eldest, it fell on my shoulders when I was a young teen. People complimented me on being so “grown up” when I was 13  and I had to fucking be, I had to grow up fast and I hate that saying. I hate it so much.

So bringing us back to present day with a bunch of responsibilities dumped on me once again, I thought fuck it, I’m an adult and I want to draw again and write and do whatever the fuck I want to do. And I did. I also started working on some voice acting stuff, mainly dubbing Undertale comics because this was something I wanted to do as a youngster. I admired voice actors and was like wow, this is an actual job I can do?! Again, discouraged from it and now it’s a fun little hobby that I enjoy. I haven’t been able to dub anything new in a few months but I’d like to start back up, I have a brand new ICE mic that needs me to yell and spit at it. I started drawing, doodling and lord I have so much to catch up on. And then writing, I was so nervous, I don’t have much of an education under my belt but Undertale and it’s wonderful community had given me so much, beautiful art, writing, VA, the AUs and I wanted to give a little something back as a thank you.

As much as I love my other fandoms, they’ve never really inspired me to write and draw like Undertale has. And sitting hunched over my tablet, complaining about tense fingers and color theories, I found an outlet. A quiet place that I’m still building, but a place to call my own. The game holds such a precious time in my life and when I get a day off next week, I’d like to replay it.

Undertale helped me. When I felt like throwing myself into a hole in the side of a mountain, hoping to never be found, Undertale was just enough brightness to keep from taking that leap. It helped spark the confidence I lacked, helped me grow a little more and remind myself that even if I fuck up, even if I’m not always a good person, I can always be better.