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shinysobi · 10 months ago

Text

pretty u

summary: when joshua, your best friend gets engaged, you can't help but feel as though you're missing out on something important. jihoon, your other best friend, kindly offers to set you up with one of his many friends. chaos ensues, seungkwan is an observer who knows everything, and unfortunately, mingyu is a hapless victim.

pairing: woozi x fem!reader

genre: crack, fluff, angst

word count: 10k~ish

warnings: alcohol consumption, general warnings apply

A/N: uhh..hi? this is the first time i've written rpf, and it makes all the more sense for it to be centred around woozi, my svt bias. this has no plot at all, and i just wrote it for fun and vibes...also unbetaed, so if you see any mistakes, no u did not :)) shout out to my twitter gc for cheering me on as i wrote this hehe u guys are the best

a/n 2: reblogs and comments are much appreciated! please tell me if you're liking this lmao

chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4

Chapter 1

Whoever said that every love story is universal, was not lying, unfortunately. Every good love story is a mix of tropes that unfortunately work well together to form a coherent plot. And the longer you read books, the easier it becomes for you to identify (or avoid) these tropes.

The enemies turn into lovers.

The friends turn into lovers.

The inn only has one available bed.

Your brother’s best friend is somehow smoking hot and doesn’t see you as an annoying little sibling anymore.

Your one-night stand is your new boss, and he is inexplicably obsessed with you.

Your parents have forced you into an arranged marriage, and your partner is a. incredibly hot and b. also obsessed with you. You get the gist, so on, and so forth.

All love stories go for a trope that becomes the central conceit of the story, no matter how unique they try to be. The small-town girl/boy falls for the hotshot city lawyer/businessman/vague marketing executive and shows them the importance of family, and of course, of love, because without it, business is notoriously low. People need romance to feel something other than hatred in their already terrible lives, and books offer escapism. Escapism and on some other level, a sense of belonging. You can identify yourself with the girl who falls in love with her brother’s best friend, or the man who has feelings for his sworn enemy, or the person who has, surprise, fallen in love, with their best friend. Or their best friend’s brother. Take your pick.

And unfortunately, as a critic, reading romance implies wading through the countless reiterations of trope-y goodness on offer at every bookstore, and trying to find something that strikes a chord. It is a given, that one has to kiss some proverbial frogs in the meantime, and of course, any professional mishap has to be accompanied with a gossip session with one’s friends, where any complaints you might have about your work, is unloaded onto the brunch table, for my friends to laugh about.

Because at the end of the day, everyone is a character in their own kind of romance novel. A victim of the tropes, if you will. In my case, I am the perpetual single childhood best friend, who puts up with every single antic of the main character. In of course, an enemies-to-lovers romance. Apparently unrequited love sells too, if its written well. If not, then it just becomes one of many repetitive marketing gimmicks that frankly, don’t sit well with anyone, let alone someone like me, who critiques books for a living.

“It’s your attitude that’s a problem.” Jihoon says, taking a sip of his coffee, “you’ve been writing for the newsdesk for years and I have never seen you actually be satisfied with a book. There’s always something that could have been better. Maybe this is why you are so—”

“I am so?” I say, eyes narrowed, “finish that sentence, Jihoon.”

“You want me to?”

“Do you really have to fight every time we meet?”

Both Jihoon and I turn our head to the third person at the table, Joshua. Dressed impeccably in a freshly ironed pair of shirt and trousers, he looks far better than either me or Jihoon, because both of us look as though we have been through botched murder attempts. I am in a hoodie and sweatpants, and Jihoon is somehow worse than me, wearing a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt. His abandoned khaki bomber jacket hangs on the back of his chair, and I cannot believe I’m saying this, but he actually looks worse when wearing the jacket. Joshua looks as though he has been seated at our table by mistake. I’m slightly annoyed by this, but it seems as though Jihoon is more annoyed than me, “what do you mean we fight every time we meet?”

Joshua makes a vague hand gesture, “really? Look at us. You both are dressed as though you’ve been through a typhoon. I feel horribly overdressed.”

“I had a long night.” I reply, “worked overtime at the desk for the Sunday paper.”

“I came here straight from the studio.” Jihoon says, “I didn’t even go home to shower.”

“See, this, this is what I am talking about.” Joshua groans, “both of you dress like homeless people, and then when you come to brunch, you fight all the time. Do you guys never get tired of fighting?”

“Never.” Both Jihoon and I say in unison.

Joshua sighs, before picking up his knife and fork, “I give up. I can never get you two to agree on anything apart from the fact that you guys, apparently, don’t fight.”

“She needs to quit complaining about her job.” Jihoon points his fork at me, “she’s got the cushiest job imaginable, and she manages to complain about it all the time. Every week, she’s here complaining about something at her job.”

“As if you don’t complain about your job all the time too,” I reply, not one to back down from a fight, “you complain about the people at your job all the time as well. And it’s not as though your job is shitty; you literally work at the biggest music corporation in the country—”

“Guys!” Joshua half-yells, and I stop. Everyone is looking at the three of us, and unlike the two of us, he looks embarrassed. “Guys, if you have to fight every time we meet, maybe I suggest we stop this weekly brunch. Jesus—”

“Oh, he swore,” Jihoon whispers, and I giggle, “we finally made him take the Lord’s name in vain.”

“—it’s like you’re kids all over again. This isn’t freshman year of university, for heaven’s sake,” he takes an elegant sip of his coffee, “and for your information, Jesus isn’t the Lord. I’m not letting you guys get the satisfaction of hearing me fucking swear.”

“Does he hear himself?” Jihoon mutters. “I don’t think he does.” I whisper in response.

“Yes, I’m aware I said ‘fuck’, thank you very much.” Joshua sits back in his chair, “I’m proposing to Eunseo tonight.”

“Tonight?” Jihoon yells, bolting upright from his chair, and everyone in the restaurant looks at us, “you’re proposing to her tonight?”

Joshua grabs his hand to drag him back onto his chair, “yes, tonight. Are you stupid? Everyone is looking at us now.” He looks at me, “what do you think about it?”

Oh. Oh.

Remember when I said that my role in a romance novel is that of the eternally-spurned childhood friend? The one who has loved the main character from a distance, never really daring to express their feelings? Well, I’ve not known Joshua since my childhood, we met at high school, and it hasn’t been that long since I discovered that I might have a tiny, the most miniscule of crushes on him. But I’m that trope. The childhood friend who gets spurned, and the main character turns away to the actual love of their life, leaving only a broken heart behind. Too little, too late.

Well, who wouldn’t?

He’s tall, good-looking, gentlemanly, with just the right amount of unhinged, has a good, stable, get-off-at-the-right-time government job, and above all, he’s unflinchingly kind to everyone. Yes, including me and Jihoon, even though we make his life a living hell on most days. Realistically, it was only a moment of time before either Jihoon or I had any feelings for him. And I was betting on Jihoon too. Fuck.

“Are you okay?” Joshua’s voice is soft, insisting, and all I can see when I break out of my reverie is the swoop of his collarbones as they disappear under the shirt, and suddenly I feel very dirty. Not just dirty, but also simply awful. Why am I out here thinking about his collarbones when he’s thinking about how to propose to his girlfriend? His very nice, very beautiful girlfriend?

“I’m fine,” I nod my head, “have you picked out a ring for her?”

“Not yet, but I have a kind of ring in mind already.” He says, turning to Jihoon and starting to talk about the different cuts of diamonds that are present at Tiffany’s, and how they suit different kinds of people. Eunseo, I learn, is partial to a pear cut. Jihoon, the idiot, who can’t shut up when it comes to arguments with me, is unnaturally quiet, only offering comments here and there. It’s very uncharacteristic.

And then he gets that look on his face which is a signal for both me and Jihoon that we are about to hear an hour’s worth of praises of Eunseo, and I step in. Making a vague sign towards my completed plate of fish and chips (not that great, the fish was soggy) I say, “before he begins singing praises of his girlfriend, sorry, fiancé, can we get the check?”

“You keep saying it as though you don’t know how much I love her.” Joshua sounds annoyed but unfortunately, I can see through his mask of fake annoyance, “I already paid.”

“Thank goodness, I forgot my wallet.” Jihoon smiles, “for a moment, I thought I would have to use my online wallet.”

“Aren’t you ashamed?” I elbow him lightly in the ribs, and he doesn’t even flinch. Apparently, music producers these days have to be certified gym rats, or they won’t let them into the building, “you’ve mooched off of Joshua and me for the past twelve years, maybe it’s time to start paying.”

“Maybe I do pay, but I just don’t like you.” Jihoon replies, sarcasm evident in his tone, “so I don’t want to pay for your meal.”

“You little—” I’m about to commit a murder in broad daylight, but Joshua, the sweet angel that he is, stops both of us, waving his card in between like a bullfighting matador.

“You guys just don’t stop, do you?” He grins, evidently thinking about how he’s going to propose to his loving girlfriend this evening. Nauseating. It makes me want to throw up. Because Joshua is not going to wake up one morning and decide that he wants to throw away his living relationship of five years to—to pursue his unfortunate best friend, who has nursed an unfortunate attraction towards him for the past year. That is never going to happen. So, let’s scratch that. That should not happen.

Because apart from being unfairly gorgeous and rich and beautiful and did I mention gorgeous? Eunseo is also unflinchingly nice, the kind of nice that leaves other people wondering if the person in front of them is real or not, or if they have some kind of hidden intentions that border on murderous or at the very least, fraudulent. She’s the one who took me under her wing when I was a freshman and had no friends except the two weird guys in my required sociology class, and thanks to her, at the end of four years of university, I had friends in the journalism club, people I come into contact on occasion such as weddings and the odd reunion.

Her niceness is also the reason why Joshua fell for her at first sight.

“I’m out.” Jihoon picks up the abomination of a bomber jacket from his chair, “and before you ask, no, hyung, I’m not helping you with picking out a ring for your girlfriend. You can do that yourself. Or ask her for help.”

And before Joshua can look at me and before I make a fool out of myself (yet again), I turn away, rejecting his proposal for looking at pear-cut diamond rings on a Sunday morning, “I’m ideologically against the institution of marriage. Do it yourself.”

Joshua sighs, because of course he has anticipated this. The fucker. “cannot believe you’re still on your Dworkin streak. Fine,” he says, getting up from his chair and walking out of the café, “I’ll get Eunseo’s ring myself. And when she asks, I’ll tell her that none of you helped me.”

“Ooh, threatening your girlfriend on us, I’m shaking in my boots,” Jihoon replies, sarcasm evident in his voice, digging through his pockets to get his car keys, “when are you planning to get the ring?”

“Later, in the afternoon,” Joshua is opening the door to his car, and looking at me, “do you want me to give you a ride? Your house is on the way.”

“She only takes buses and the subway,” Jihoon grins, “don’t you remember the time in university when she kept saying about how much she likes welfare policies and transportation benefits?”

“Shut the fuck up,” I reply, elbowing him, harder this time, and Jihoon flinches, “I’ll just go to the office. Jihoon will give me a ride.”

“When did I say that I’ll give you a ride?” Jihoon looks like he wants to begin an argument with me in front of the café, but he acquiesces, “ugh, fine. I’ll give you a ride. Your office is on the way.”

—

“I’m still not convinced that you simply wanted to ‘spend time with me’.” Jihoon grumbles an hour later, seated at his studio and fiddling with his computer. “You’ve been lying there and scrolling twitter for hours now.”

“Your couch is much better than my office chair,” I hum a non-committal reply, before making myself further comfortable into the soft plush material of his couch, “and I’m not scrolling on twitter, I’m trying to find another flat to move into.”

“Lease up?” Jihoon asks, “wasn’t your agreement still valid for at least another few months?”

“I’m just trying to get ahead of the curve,” I reply, “if I start looking from now, maybe I’ll get a better flat by the time the lease is up. My current flat is—”

“A shithole.” Jihoon finishes my sentence for me, “seriously, I don’t know how you manage to live there. And you’ve been holding onto that flat for the past seven years. everyone moved out of their university flats, but you managed to hold onto yours for so long.”

“That’s because it’s a good deal,” I mutter, “ugh, I can’t manage to find a single good deal on any of the flats.”

“Because you’re never satisfied with any deal,” Jihoon replies, “your ideal deal is if everything was free.”

“And I still maintain that housing should not be monetised.”

“Why thank you for that insight, comrade.” Jihoon puts a finger to his mouth, “shut up for a while, I’m trying to concentrate on this song.

“Who’s it for?” I sit up, intrigued, “a new artist?”

“The company’s new girl group.” Jihoon says, “I was asked to produce the title track for their debut. I only have four months on hand, and I still haven’t finished the track. The higher-ups are going to have my head for this.”

“No, they won’t,” I reply, “they like you too much. Speaking of—”

“—if you want me to give you an interview, I won’t, I’ve already told you five times,” Jihoon cuts me off, wheeling his chair away from me, “jeez, you’re tenacious.”

“Oh, but come on, it’ll be fun,” with an extra emphasis on come on, I think I’ve got Jihoon’s attention, “people keep speculating on the kind of person you are. I mean, people know Woozi, but do they know what kind of person he is, underneath all that secrecy? You’ve never given an interview, and you keep avoiding any kind of public appearance. One might think you hate the spotlight.”

“Even if I were to give an interview, I wouldn’t be giving it to you. Who knows how you’re going to spin my words.”

“I’m hurt, Lee Jihoon. This has hurt me.”

Jihoon turns around and blows me a raspberry. I roll my eyes. Is he twenty-eight, or just eight? “whatever you say won’t affect the way I think. I still won’t give you an interview.”

“Just so you know, I’m known to be an excellent interviewer.” I say, walking over to his chair, “come on, Jihoon-ah, give me an interview. Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“Pwease?”

He turns around at that, fixing me with a stare, “don’t you ever fucking do aegyo in front of me. I’m going to kill you if you do that again.”

“See, if you gave me an interview like I’m asking you to, then I would not have a reason to subject you to aegyo, but as things stand, you really give me nothing else to work with.”

“Ask Joshua for an interview then, if you’re so desperate for one,” the words coming out of anyone else’s mouth would have given me enough reason to walk out of the room, but Jihoon made them sound softer, almost romantic. It was funny, how he managed to change the intonations of every word, changing them to his whims. I suppose that’s what I do with words, and that’s what he does with sounds.

“Joshua is not the elusive Woozi,” I flop back onto the sofa as I counter, trying actively to not think about Joshua picking out a ring at Tiffany’s for Eunseo right at that moment, “he’s an adjunct professor. Not the most interview-friendly of all occupations.”

Jihoon looks at me, and for a moment, I think he’s going to ask me a very uncomfortable and difficult question, but at that moment, both our phones buzz simultaneously. I check the phone, and it’s a single message in the shared chatroom. Joshua has sent a message, a single picture of a pear-shaped diamond solitaire ring (don’t ask me how I know the cut of the diamond) with an attached message;

joshuji: picked up her ring! <3

“Damn, an exclamation point, and an emoji,” Jihoon says, typing out a reply in the chatroom, “our joshuji is entirely too far gone, isn’t he?”

I don’t say anything. Its far easier to pretend that you’re typing out a reply and can’t hear anything, especially when it comes to Jihoon. He’ll take anything in stride.

hoon: wow Eunseo has you whipped

big dick (canon): hey I think it’s cute

Jihoon sets his phone down with an audible clack, and fuck, I’ve messed up. Joshua is oblivious and blissfully happy in his own little life, but Jihoon? The Jihoon that I’ve known ever since our seats were beside each other in the sociology class that made me develop an irrational fear of surveyors? He’s single-minded whenever it comes to pursuing anything. One doesn’t become the most sought-after music producer in the industry with just talent, they need to be dogged in their pursuit of success. And unfortunately, when Lee Jihoon turns his mind to something, he accomplishes it, whether it’s producing a Billboard Hot 100 hit, or, judging by the way he’s looking at me right now, getting words out of my mouth.

“Okay, spill, I’ve seen this go on for long enough,” he says, getting up from the chair and walking over to the sofa, where I am currently hiding behind a throw pillow, “you’ve been weird for months now, and we need to talk about it.”

“We, don’t need to do anything,” I reply, “I’m perfectly fine. If something happened, I would tell you. Or Joshua. Or both of you, at the same time.”

“Like you inform us after every breakup of yours?” Jihoon laughs, “you mean to say you’re going to hold another one of your ‘meetings’ to tell me and Joshua about how some poor bastard made the mistake of trying to date you?”

“I’m actually nice when I date, and I can hold down a relationship for more than two weeks, Mr I-don’t-like-commitment. Tell me, how did your last date go? Did she walk out of the date itself, or did you ghost her?”

Jihoon blinks at me, and then, a slow, catlike smile passes over his features. Fuck.

“You’re being combative today,” he grins, and fuck, its infuriating how predictable I am, and how absolutely incapable I am of not taking his bait, “so, there is something that you’re hiding.”

“Ugh, I hate this.”

“Then you shouldn’t have taken the damn bait,” he replies, “do you want to tell me yourself, or do you want me to guess your little secret?”

“I’m not telling you anything, and its nothing you can suss out either.”

“I can just beat it out of you,” he smiles, flexing his arms, and I belatedly remember that Jihoon, to my disadvantage, had decided at the early age of twenty-one, that he was going to make up for his height by being The Broadest Man on Earth, and now carried a protein shake in his bag everywhere he went, that somehow tasted more disgusting than it looked. He could easily beat me to a pulp. And he would do it too, the little shit.

“Jihoon, remember the time I carried you home when you were drunk?” I don’t know how to do the specific variant of the thing they call ‘puppy eyes’, but I try my absolute best to emulate the little I know, “and you threw up all over my clothes? Remember? It was at Mingyu’s birthday party, and you got drunk on an empty stomach—”

“Don’t fucking do that,” he throws a pillow at me, “fuck, that’s creepy. Also, I got drunk and threw up on your clothes in my second year of university, damn, how long are you going to milk it for?”

“As long as I can,” I reply, “please, Jihoon, just this once.”

“Damn, fine, weirdo,” he stands up, going back to his chair, his back now towards me, “isn’t as though you like Joshua or something.”

I freeze, hoping that the intake of breath at that last sentence hasn’t been heard by Jihoon. I know I’m an atheist, I pray fervently, to whichever god that’s listening, God, Allah, Buddha, Jesus, if anyone’s listening, please, please, please, let Jihoon not notice—

“You like Joshua?”

Fuck.

“No.” I lie brightly, “I just—stubbed my toe on the table.”

Jihoon looks at me in a way that screams bitch, I know you’re a liar so don’t even try. “You know you’re a horrible liar, right?”

“I am?”

He nods, “its one of the many endearing things about you. But unfortunately, you’ve given yourself away now. Really, Joshua? The Joshua Hong we know?”

“Really, it isn’t like that,” I’m sweating, and praying Jihoon doesn’t notice that I’m sweating, “its nothing, and besides, I don’t even like him in that kind of way—”

“Do you want to fuck him?”

I choke on a breath and begin coughing. “What?” I manage to say, after I recover enough to breathe properly, “I don’t want to fuck anyone!”

“Great, because if you wanted to fuck him, it would have become massively awkward.” Jihoon shrugs, “since it’s one of those passing feelings, you can take care of it; it happens all the time. I once had a crush on you too. It’s bound to happen.”

“You had a crush on me?” I screech, “what the fuck, Lee Jihoon, you’re supposed to wait before dropping this kind of information on me!”

“Dude, its long gone,” Jihoon places a hand on my shoulder, a touch that’s meant to be reassuring, but it only suffices to make me angrier, “it was during my military service. I remember that you came with my parents to see me off, and it was—nice. So, I had a crush on you. I got over it when I got out of the military, though. Turns out seeing your best friend live in a hovel really does wonders for your lingering feelings.”

“For eighteen months?” I hold my head in my hands, “you had a crush on me for eighteen months? What the fuck kind of information is that? And you got out of the military three years ago!”

“M-hmm, see, that’s what I mean when I say these feelings will go away.” Jihoon looks sage, as if he’s imparting the secret to life and how to be a good Buddhist, and not bombarding my mind with information I would rather not know, “wait, have you masturbated to Joshua?”

“What the fuck?” I stand up, pacing the room at a speed that would closely rival that of an Olympian, “why would I masturbate to Joshua Hong?”

Jihoon shrugs, “people masturbate. You are a person. Hence the question.”

“Of course, I haven’t masturbated to—wait did you masturbate while thinking of me?” I’m yelling now, yelling and pacing the room like a woman possessed, because of course, Jihoon has made me lose my mind, “Lee Jihoon, did you jerk off to my pictures?”

He shrugs. “What are you going to do if I say yes?”

“I’m going to kill you, and then I’m going to kill myself,” I say, grabbing his shoulders, “you know what, Jihoon, lets do that. Let’s both die.”

“Why would I consent to a murder-suicide with you?” he sounds terribly composed, which again, does not bode well for the numerous murderous thoughts I have currently running through my head, “its just a little masturbation. I was twenty-three, I was bored to tears at the military camp, and I had a crush on you, so, I did what I did.”

“Which was apparently, masturbation.” I flop facedown on the couch, “I want to castrate you, you know that, right?”

“Figures. You’ve always been weird about sex.” Jihoon makes a face, “So, you didn’t tell me. do you want to fuck Joshua or not? Because if you do, then it just means that you want sex. If you don’t, then I can’t help you.”

“How can you help me in any way if I say I want to have sex with Joshua?” I ask, “even if I do, which I don’t, just by the way—”

“You want to jump his bones. Right.”

“—how can you even help me, short of getting me a male prostitute.” I pause, horror spreading through my features, “oh fuck. Jihoon, are you going to hire a gigolo?”

To his credit, Jihoon looks appropriately disgusted, “why would I hire a prostitute? No, I would set you up with one of my friends.”

“Who?”

He thinks for a while, then says, “Soonyoung.”

“No offence, but I’m about 90% convinced that Soonyoung is a furry.”

“Jeonghan-hyung, then.”

“He’s too similar to Joshua,” I groan, “why am I going along with this idea? This is literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Then do you want to help yourself?”

“Masturbate to thoughts of Joshua? Yeah, like that’s gonna work.” I hold my head in my hands, “fuck, I have to sleep with Soonyoung, don’t I? I’m half-convinced he will do a tiger impression in bed.”

“I’m fairly convinced he mimics a roar when he orgasms.” Jihoon mutters.

“Oh, fuck, now I have to talk about orgasms with you,” I say, face buried in one of the pillows, “I have to sleep with one of your weird friends and then everyone will know about my crush on Joshua and I’ll be shunned from our three-person group forever and ever—”

“Calm down, no one is going to spill your secrets,” Jihoon says, “and I have other friends too, you know. They don’t talk as much as those idiots, but they are good people.”

“But I don’t want to fuck anyone right now.”

Jihoon stares at me.

“Okay fine, maybe a little bit.” I concede, “but still, not enough to warrant a setting-up. Maybe I’m just sexually frustrated.”

“Then go fuck someone!”

“It isn’t that easy!” I snap, and Jihoon looks surprised, because its so unlike me to be incandescent over something as stupid as this, but I can’t help the shiver of anger running over me, “it isn’t so fucking easy. If it were, I would have gone and slept with a stranger from a bar. Yes, I know it’s dangerous, but I would have done it. But I’m telling you now, its difficult for me to even know if I’m attracted to Joshua, and if my attraction means I want to jump him or whatever.”

“Then what does it mean?” Jihoon, it seems, is also incapable of not reacting to my moods and temper, he gets angry easily sometimes, “What does it mean when you tell me you’re attracted to someone? We’re twenty-eight, for fuck’s sake. What the fuck else do you mean?”

“I don’t know!” I half-yell, half-sob, “I don’t know what I want, and I don’t know if I want to sleep with anyone, least of all Joshua. I’m confused, and I don’t know what to do, and all I want is a little acceptance, not you rattling of a list of people I should sleep with in order to get over my feelings for Joshua—”

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

“—and you can’t even give me that, Jihoon,” I finish lamely, looking at his concerned expression, “yeah fine, I’m leaving.”

The door is loud when I close it behind me. to his credit, Jihoon doesn’t pursue me, because even if he’s abnormally idiotic in matters like these, he’s got some sense.

—

I deeply regret befriending either of them, because both Joshua and Jihoon have apparently no sense of boundaries between people. Joshua keeps assaulting my inbox with messages along the lines of oh look how much I love my girlfriend and how much I can’t wait to see you guys and celebrate my engagement because I’ve got my life sorted out unlike YOU fuckers, and Jihoon has rewarded me with radio silence ever since I blew up in his face about his idiotic idea regarding me having sex with one of his friends.

And, as a testament to my misfortunes in life, Joshua has decided that his proposal to Eunseo must be followed up with a party thrown in her honour, or at least a dinner as per his last text message; which of course, he has to send to the shared chatroom with a variety of threatening and non-threatening messages.

joshuji: just saying if you guys aren’t here for the dinner, I’m never talking to you

hoon: aren’t proposals supposed to be an intimate thing? For couples??? Why are you asking us to be there????

joshuji: Eunseo wanted you guys to celebrate, too

joshuji: also, I’m proposing to her in the afternoon. I’m asking you guys to come over for dinner

hoon: maybe we should ask Eunseo about her feelings?

hoon: idk if she would want two others celebrating her engagement. Maybe we should stage an intervention and try to convince her to leave you. Its not too late already

big dick (canon): idk if I can make it guys

joshuji: I told u I wouldn’t be forgiving you if you don’t attend

hoon: you also tell us that every other week, I think we’ll be fine

joshuji: please?

hoon: don’t you fucking dare

big dick (canon): send us the location. Also, you’re paying

hoon: that’s the least he can do, after inflicting all this on us, and on her

joshuji: don’t worry, dinner is on me. [location attached] be there.

Fuck. Fuck my life, and fuck the two other people also in my life, and also, fuck Eunseo for good measure, because if it hadn’t been for her coming over to the mixer in third year, Joshua would never have fallen head over heels with her at first sight, and he wouldn’t have asked her out, and then I wouldn’t have had to deal with my conflicting feelings in the middle of a random Sunday. In the middle of me contemplating whether to clean my flat or not, too. If you look at it, its all her fault. Her fault for being so flawless and lovely and gorgeous that even I cannot bring myself to be jealous. The woman volunteers her free time at an animal shelter, for god’s sake. She’s the kind of person you write rambling horrible love sonnets about, and inflict them on your best friends after getting drunk and vomiting on a sidewalk at three in the morning. I should know, because that was Joshua when he was twenty-five.

Everything seems to go to shit at the same time, so of course, my landlord has to make an appearance when I’m in the middle of a neurotic episode over whether or not to do my laundry and contemplating hurling myself out of the window. His knocks are rhythmic, three seconds apart, which gives me enough time to prepare with a butcher’s knife in my hand. To ensure my safety, of course, in all my good conscience, I could never murder someone.

“Ah, yes, if it isn’t my favourite tenant,” he smiles, wide enough for me to see the gold tooth he had put in four years ago, “don’t worry, I’m only here for a routine check.”

“I bet you say that to all your tenants, Mr Kim.” I mutter, not moving from the doorway. If this man can sell me a glorified hovel posturing as a flat, I can disrespect him as much as I want. “I’ll get back to you on the renewal on my lease as soon as possible.”

The nosy bastard (man) that he is, Mr Kim cranes his neck around me to take a look inside my flat, “don’t worry, you’ve been one of my longest-running tenants for a while, you can take your time.” Then he looks at me, and the gold tooth is again on display. Ugh, I fucking hate it, “Is there a man inside? Boyfriend?”

“I don’t know why I’m saying this to you, Mr Kim, but I don’t have a boyfriend.” I reply, suppressing my urge to bury the knife held in my hand in his chest, “I was cooking, if you want to know that badly.”

“No boyfriend?” he tuts at me as though my dating life (or its lack thereof) is a personal slight against him, “but there are men coming over to your house all the time?”

“Those are my friends, Mr Kim,” I grit out, fake smile getting more brittle by the second, “men and women can be friends, you know.”

“Ah yes, I know, I know,” he nods, before clapping his hands like he’s received some sort of epiphany, “I forgot to tell you, but if you do decide to renew,” here he takes a deep breath, as if he’s bestowing upon me some great honour, “the rent will be raised. By twenty.”

“Twenty percent?” I screech, and the student in the flat next to me has probably heard it, “is that even legal?”

From the smile on his face, I don’t have to hear anything else. It probably is.

Mr Kim goes away from my line of sight (my kitchen knife’s line of attack) with another, equally insufferable, smile, and I close the door with a loud enough bang that the hinges rattle. I lied to Jihoon, because I only have two months left on my contract, and I still have had no luck in finding a new flat to move into. Everywhere I go, its either overpriced, or the facilities are too shitty, or the vibes are off.

Back in the room, I try to busy myself with laundry, when my phone rings. Its Jihoon, who’s apparently decided that making me angry is a full-time job for him. He’s making use of the private chat, which is rare for him, and somehow, equally annoying for me.

hoon: sorry about what happened in the studio this morning

hoon: offer still stands though

big dick (canon): that’s not how you apologise to someone

hoon: what? I’m trying to help my bestie get some

hoon: is that such a scandalous thing to ask for

big dick (canon): yes. Yes, it is

big dick (canon): also, fyi, I’m not sleeping with any of your friends. They’re all too weird for me

hoon: Mingyu? I remember you saying once that you’d motorboat him

big dick (canon): platonically

hoon: not sure how you’d motorboat someone platonically

big dick (canon): he’s too outgoing for me. cannot imagine I’d ever have a moment to myself if I ever dated him

hoon: Wonwoo? Everyone liked him back in university

big dick (canon): unfortunately, all he seems to talk about is gaming. I don’t mind gaming once or twice, but talking about it all the time? That bores me

hoon: Chan? He’s younger than you, but you could be a cougar, for all I know

big dick (canon): I’ve seen Jeonghan beg on his knees for him to go home after a drinking session

hoon: Minghao?

big dick (canon): He once teased me for my curtain bangs for a week straight

hoon: fine then, Cheol?

big dick (canon): Too competitive

hoon: Seungkwan?

big dick (canon): Too athletic. Also, isn’t he joining the culture desk soon?

hoon: Seokmin?

big dick (canon): Too outgoing

hoon: Vernon?

big dick (canon): Too quiet

hoon: Jun?

big dick (canon): Too weird

hoon: Jesus, fuck, woman, what kind of person do you want to date?

big dick (canon): ykw, just set me up with Mingyu. If nothing I can still get to say I motorboated some great pecs

big dick (canon): seriously, his pecs are bigger than my boobs

big dick (canon): how does he do it

big dick (canon): can I hold them

big dick (canon): respectfully

big dick (canon): in a non-sexual way

big dick (canon): please

hoon: I’m sure he’s going to appreciate that

big dick (canon): please ask him

big dick (canon): how does one get that kind of pectoral muscles

big dick (canon): wow

hoon: my pecs are bigger than his

big dick (canon): is this some new sort of dick-measuring contest idk yet

big dick (canon): if it is

big dick (canon): you’re losing

big dick (canon): I need to take a bite from his tits

big dick (canon): One

big dick (canon): Teensy tiny

big dick (canon): Munch

hoon: I’m so close to blocking u

big dick (canon): They hated Jesus because he spoke the truth

hoon: maybe you need to consider that Jesus had very bad vibes

hoon: so, you want to go on a date with Mingyu?

hoon: I feel like I should tell you that he eats the equivalent of three people

hoon: at the same time

big dick (canon): As long as he lets me motorboat him

big dick (canon): I don’t care

big dick (canon): He can eat as much as he wants

hoon: why must you be so horny over Mingyu of all people

hoon: he’s not even that attractive

hoon: and I’ve got bigger pecs than him

big dick (canon): congratulations on having bigger pecs, but I’m still gonna motorboat Mingyu

big dick (canon): going to gently hold his tits

hoon: between you going feral and Joshua badgering me about his engagement party dinner

hoon: I can’t help but feel as though both of u are out to make me go insane

big dick (canon): are you gonna go to that?

hoon: he’s already made plans at the barbecue place where we go to

hoon: even got a whole discount coupon and everything

hoon: normally I’d be upset that he’s being cheap, but after researching the price of that ring, I’m prepared to forgive him this once

hoon: next time I’m forcing him to take us out to a good dinner place

big dick (canon): are you planning to spend all his salary

big dick (canon): I’m in

big dick (canon): Ugh I haven’t eaten anything since the morning

big dick (canon): Can you ask Mingyu to bring me food

hoon: you’re incorrigible

hoon: have you been able to maintain eye contact with him?

big dick (canon): UNFAIR

big dick (canon): You know I can only do that with you

big dick (canon): Since you’re exactly my height

big dick (canon): Hehe

hoon: I’m blocking u and this number right NEOW

hoon: cannot believe I’m conversing WILLINGLY with someone who slanders my height

big dick (canon): see u at the barbecue place tonight

big dick (canon): have fun on the song

hoon: I’m trying to finish it

hoon: cannot believe I’ve gone into a slump

big dick (canon): you know how this can be cured?

big dick (canon): An INTERVIEW

big dick (canon): With yours truly

big dick (canon): Please

hoon: ask someone else

hoon: Soonyoung

big dick (canon): he’s an idol, yes but

big dick (canon): I’m terrified he’s going to do at least three tiger impressions

hoon: wrong, he’s going to do at least five

hoon: ugh gotta go

hoon: see u at the dinner

I stare at the dark phone screen for about five minutes after I’ve finished texting Jihoon. His interest in setting me up with one of his friends aside, he’s not wrong. I’m sexually frustrated, which means I’m just projecting my desires onto the closest available person, which in this case, happens to be Joshua.

Okay, fair enough, then why not anyone else? The people at my workplace aren’t that bad, and some of them are fairly good-looking, so why not them?

As soon as that thought comes into my mind, I shake it away violently. To willingly date someone in the workplace is inviting a whole host of problems, HR notwithstanding. And to imagine the fallout when I eventually break up with them, while still having to work with them in the same office—no, I’d rather take a transfer. The only option that remains are Jihoon’s friends, and while they’re all nice, they can also be terrifying, and therefore, not the best options for dating. Or sleeping around, which is what Jihoon wants me to do.

“Ugh, why do I have to have these feelings,” I moan into my pillow. It would have been great if I were born as an amoeba. Or as a plant. No need for my feelings to take centre stage, no need to maintain friendships with annoying people like Jihoon or Joshua. Just peaceful photosynthesis, and being eaten by a random goat on a random Tuesday. I wouldn’t even need to go to university. Nothing required. Just basking in the sun.

And unfortunately, because my mind is a little traitor, it focuses on the one thing that I don’t want to focus on: Jihoon’s offhand comment about his pecs being bigger than Mingyu’s; which, if I know Jihoon as well as I do, is a blatant lie, but even the thought of it is enough to send me into a downward spiral. What the hell does he mean, he has bigger pecs than Mingyu? Its not as if I want to see them, and let this be known, and made into public record, that I’ve never once wanted to see Jihoon’s pecs.

But.

Of course, its not as if I haven’t thought about it. not as far as Jihoon, who apparently masturbated to the thought of me, but of course I have idly wondered, what it would be like. When he came back from the military, its all I could think about for a couple days, before I had to physically slap myself back into reality. Unfortunately for me, his one petty comment about the size of his pectoral muscles, threatens to throw me back into the pits of desperation yet again.

Ugh. I slam my face into the pile of fresh laundry, hoping for it to soothe my nerves. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t.

Its at that moment that the chatroom pings again, this time with a message from Joshua.

joshuji: SHE SAID YES!!!!

hoon: congratulations!

big dick (canon): Congratulations!!!

—

The barbecue place is good enough for us, but for a dinner celebrating Joshua’s engagement to Eunseo, it seems a little too shabby. Although given the amount of money he’s spent on an engagement ring (I saw the prices, and I had to stifle a gasp) it can be forgiven. Just this once, as Jihoon said.

I’ve come here late, on purpose. Between the excited texts from Eunseo, who texted me a picture of her ring, and I had to act appropriately surprised, and Joshua’s infamous enthusiasm for a. showing the world how much he loves his girlfriend and b. to torment his friends, I’m feeling drained. I’m dressed for a night of eating greasy food and drinking cheap alcohol: a hoodie borrowed (stolen) from either Jihoon or Joshua, and jeans. I can’t even lie to myself and give myself a reason to dress up, because even I can’t delude myself into doing that. Jihoon once saw me with day-old vomit on my shirt, and Joshua has seen me dress in my sleepwear for exams week.

The place is filled with smoke, emanating from the meat being cooked on the grills, and it takes me a moment to adjust myself to it all, before I look for the other three. They have all arrived, and according to Jihoon, who’s sent a message out of his own accord on the chatroom in a long time, they’re all eating lots of beef.

“You’re late,” Jihoon grumbles as I approach the table, “I had to sit through half an hour of these two being happy and in love.”

“You’re a liar,” I say, sliding into the seat next to him, “you enjoy romance movies.”

“Wow, that’s something I didn’t know about him,” Joshua says, with a twinkle in his eyes that I don’t want to decode, “how come you know everything about Jihoon?”

“Occupational hazard,” I reply, reaching for a piece of meat, “every time you bailed on us to go on a date with Eunseo, Jihoon and I would be forced to hang out together.”

“It was horrible,” Jihoon agrees, “she’d force me to watch all these romance movies.”

“Says the man who cried while watching Love Actually.”

Eunseo giggles at that, almost doubling over herself. I narrow my eyes at Joshua, “have you both been drinking since the afternoon?”

“No, no, I haven’t,” Eunseo wheezes, and it’s unfair how gorgeous she is while laughing, too. She’s wearing an apron to prevent grease falling on her expensive clothes, and she’s still gorgeous. I snort when I laugh, and once Jihoon saw me with mango juice coming out of my nose, “it’s just funny.”

“What is?”

She points at the two of us, “you know, the both of you keep talking about how annoying you find each other, and yet you’re both closer to each other than anyone else. It’s just so funny to me.”

“Joshua,” Jihoon says, very seriously, “I think your fiancée has been taking drugs.”

“At the very least, she’s insane,” I supply helpfully, “no one in their right minds would date Joshua. Not to mention agreeing to marry him.”

Joshua puts an arm around Eunseo, “stop slandering my fiancée.”

Jihoon puts a piece of meat into his mouth, trying to change the topic, “have I mentioned I’m helping her hook up with someone?”

I cough violently, while Eunseo and Joshua wear twin expressions of confusion. “Wait, Jihoon,” Joshua says, “I thought you—”

“I told you not to talk about that!” I wail, a noise that’s fortunately covered by all the meat-grilling around me, “no, I’m not going to hook up with any of your friends. Jihoon has terrible taste in people, not to mention that all your friends aren’t exactly hook-up material.”

“You take that back,” he gasps, “weren’t you talking about how you’d like to motorboat Mingyu?”

“That was platonically!”

“I’m sorry,” Joshua interjects, looking at me as though I’ve sprouted another head, “how can you, and I’m just going off on a limb here, motorboat someone platonically?”

“That’s what I said,” Jihoon grumbles, “she keeps asking me to set them up once.”

“That’s because he’s the hottest out of all your friends.” The soju is bitter as I drink it, “if I have to engage in a night of mindless sex, might as well do it with the hottest guy around.”

“Knew it,” Jihoon wags one of his fingers at me, “knew you only wanted Mingyu for his body. How dare you do that to my friend.”

“You once stole his socks.”

“Once.”

“For a whole semester.”

“Fair enough.”

“Both of you,” Joshua says loud enough for us to stop bickering, “explain it to us properly. What do you mean you’re helping her hook up with one of our friends? And why are you letting him hook you up with one of our friends?”

I shrug, “It’s not a big deal. Besides, you heard us. It’s only going to be one time.”

“Do I need to give you the talk?”

Jihoon laughs, “you do realise she’s an adult?”

“I’m not saying she can’t do anything; I’m just saying she needs to be careful!

“If I have to be careful around the rest of the guys, then maybe you shouldn’t be friends with them.”

“What do you mean she should be careful around the people who have known her for so long?”

“All of you!” Eunseo claps her hands, and like kindergarten children, we all turn to look at her, sheepish, “Josh,” she turns to the man in question, who looks sufficiently contrite, “let me have a word.”

As they leave, Jihoon pulls a face. “asshole.”

I take another shot of the soju, “he’s just looking out for me.”

“Then he shouldn’t be so overbearing about it.” Jihoon takes a look at me downing another shot, “should you be drinking this fast?”

“Don’t you start.” I say, shaking my head, “I’m going to drink enough to wipe out Joshua’s bank account.”

Jihoon says nothing, just looks at me, and then, after ten seconds, “do you want to do it?”

“Do what?”

“The date. With Mingyu.”

Maybe its just the alcohol getting to my head, or maybe its all this smoke, but his voice seems different. Is he concerned, or is he joking, as per usual? It’s confusing. Should I blame the alcohol? That seems easier, given how it’s getting to my head. “I don’t know.”

“He’s not that bad, you know. He’s a good listener, and if you want him to shut up, he will. He’s great that way.”

I stare at him. Jihoon has a strange look on his face, one that I can’t really place. Alcohol. Yes. Blame it on the alcohol. I take another shot, but before I can form a reply to him, Eunseo and Joshua are walking back to the table, hand-in-hand, identical smiles on their faces. As soon as it had come, the look in Jihoon’s eyes is gone, replaced by the usual, blasé attitude he has perfected.

“Sorry for being late,” Eunseo breezes as she settles into the table, “Joshua needed to be reminded of adult boundaries.”

“I’m sorry.” Joshua offers by way of an apology, “I overstepped.”

“Damn right you did.” Jihoon mutters.

“Apology accepted,” I smile, picking up a piece of meat, “can you order some more?”

—

Mondays are, unfortunately, the worst. Especially if one spent their Sunday evening drinking enough alcohol to lose half their memories. I slide into my seat at work, yawning as I inspect the things I have to finish working on before the end of the day.

“Morning, sunbae,” a cheery voice says, placing a cup of coffee on my desk, “you look like shit.”

“Not the time, Seungkwan,” I mutter, pressing two fingers to my forehead, “too loud, too loud.”

“Heard you got shitfaced with Jihoon and the others last night,” Seungkwan says louder, “Jihoon texted the chat with the others at two in the morning, saying how he was going to take you home.”

“He did?” thankfully, I have no recollection of this happening, so I just let him fill me in on the details, “all I remember is drinking too much at the barbecue place.”

“Celebrating Joshua’s engagement, right?” Seungkwan’s smile is irritating, and I hate how cheery he is in the morning, “he texted about that, too. The pear-cut diamond was, oof, it was something to see.”

“Why do you know about diamond cuts?”

“I grew up with sisters,” he shrugs, as if growing up with sisters imbued one with all the hidden knowledge of womankind, including, but not limited to, engagement ring diamonds and their specific cuts, “you pick up stuff from listening.”

“Jihoon told you all he took me home?” I ask, “he doesn’t usually say that kind of stuff.”

“You got especially drunk last night, so he made an exception for you.” Seungkwan grins, leaning in, “what do you think about Jihoon?”

“He’s a pain in my ass.” I mutter, switching on my computer, “also, go back to work, Seungkwan. You’re not even supposed to be here until next week!”

“Yoo-min quit, so they asked me to join a week early,” he gives me a grin that again, I try not to decode (what is it with all these men and their mysterious grins?) before settling down into the seat next to me, and promptly jumping up to subject me to a ninety-degree bow, “Boo Seungkwan, at your service!”

“Ugh,” I wince, waving at him, “sit down, for the love of god, no one needs to be that loud in the mornings.”

“You are my senior, as it happens, and I’m very keen on maintaining proper relations.”

“Get me one of those hangover cures.”

“I like the American style.”

—

To no one’s surprise, Seungkwan is a very competent worker. He’s a social butterfly, which means that he quickly endears himself to everyone at work, and by the time lunch rolls around, I have to hear praises of Seungkwan from everyone. It’s terrifying, how competent he is.

Being one of the associate editors, means I have to mostly edit the articles sent in by the reporters on ground, not to mention I get to pick and choose which issue I want to cover. I maintain as much of my professionalism as I can, while having a raging headache.

“Sunbae,” Seungkwan approaches me right before lunch, “will you be going out to cover an article?”

“I have an interview with an author after lunch, so not yet,” I reply, putting the finishing touches on a report sent in by one of our field staff, on some celebrity’s rash driving case, “I have some time.”

“Do you want to have lunch with the rest of us?” he asks, gesturing the group of five waiting behind him, “we’re going to have naengmyeon at the place down the block.”

“I have enough sense to not butt into the affairs of my juniors, Seungkwan,” I say, standing up from my chair, “here, have the card. Since its your first day here, the office should treat you.”

Seungkwan takes the offered card with a bow, and smiles brightly, “oh, but the editor said we’re having a company dinner tonight? Won’t you be joining us for that?”

“A group dinner?” I ask, and the group behind him nods their head, all in unison. It makes them look like little bobbleheads, for some reason. “Sure, I’ll join in.”

“Yes!” he seems unusually cheerful about the company dinner, which in my own experience is nothing but a pain that I had to accustom myself with when I joined the paper, “see you tonight, sunbae!”

“This kid,” I groan, picking up my coat. The prospect of lunch makes my stomach turn, and now I have to contend with dinner?

I text Jihoon while walking out of the offices. Joshua is busy with his new fiancée, and Jihoon’s building is far closer to mine that it is to Joshua’s place of work.

big dick (canon): Are u free

big dick (canon): For lunch

Unless Jihoon texts first, he takes an hour to respond at best, but as soon as I send the message, he’s typing a reply.

hoon: lunch?

hoon: if it isn’t lunch I’m killing u

hoon: dude I’ve never had a block this bad I think I’m going to go crazy

hoon: not to mention the hangover from last night is crazy

big dick (canon): it is for lunch, you idiot, why would I text u otherwise

big dick (canon): and I can agree on that, my head is killing me

hoon: is hangover soup cool with u

hoon: I know a good place

hoon: meet u at the front of your building in five

hoon: please tell me all the details about Seungkwan

“He took five minutes to get the editor to warm up to him?” Jihoon cackles, as the lady serves us two steaming bowls of seollongtang, “of course, it’s Seungkwan. He can make anyone warm up to him in minutes.”

“I fear he takes it as a challenge.” I say, spooning the milky broth into my mouth, “ah! Its hot!”

“Why can’t you just wait for a while, before eating your food?” Jihoon pours me a glass of water, “did you die of starvation in your previous life?”

“I don’t believe in that.”

“Yes, yes, Miss Atheist. Tell me what else our little dongsaeng get up to in the meantime.”

“He’s not been given a lot of work, given that it’s his first day,” I take another, more tentative sip of the broth, “but unfortunately, I’ve got to attend another company dinner tomorrow night.”

“Another company dinner? Haven’t you gone through enough pain to consider drinking again, what, barely twenty-four hours later?”

“Twenty-fours is pushing it,” I say, wincing at the sound of my own voice, “ugh, this damn hangover. I can’t even function. Let’s just eat in silence.”

“You want a cider?” Jihoon asks, looking around for the owner to ask for two cans of cider, but the owner is faster than him, setting down two cans of soda in front of us with a smile on her face.

“Your boyfriend is very caring.�� She tells me, “its so nice to see someone taking care of their girlfriend so well. The sodas are on the house, okay?”

“Oh, but he’s not—” even before I’ve finished my sentence, she’s gone again, tending to her other customers. Jihoon opens one of the cans for me without saying a word.

“We should stop coming here.” I say, accepting the can from him, “why would anyone think that we’re a couple?”

“They can’t accept that men and women can just be friends, that’s why.”

“Too bad the food is great.”

Jihoon pauses for a moment, then a slow, sly smile spreads all over his face. I know that look. That look does not bode well for me, or for anyone else involved. The first time I saw Jihoon have that look on his face, Seungcheol embarrassed himself so badly in front of a group of first-year students, he refused to come out to any events where Jihoon was invited, for almost a month. This look means that he’s got some sort of evil plan in his mind, one that involves another person and their total embarrassment. He takes a look around the restaurant, and sits up straight. The words that come out of his mouth next, however—

“Babe,” Jihoon says, loud enough for half the restaurant to hear, “don’t you think this place is great?”

What the fuck?

“Jihoon, what are you doing?” my voice is a whisper, “they’re all looking at us!”

“That’s the point.” He whispers, before smiling, “you should say something too, you know. Make the whole thing more believable.”

“I don’t want to!”

“They gave us free sodas; they deserve a special performance at least.” He points to the owner, who looks like she’s about to break her face from smiling so damn broad, “sorry, my girlfriend is a very shy.”

“Oh,” the lady waves it away, “anyone can see you are in love!”

In the end, when Jihoon is paying for our lunches, she takes a final look at the two of us, and croons, “you two make a lovely couple!”

“What the fuck was that?” I turn on Jihoon as soon as we are safely out of the restaurant and far enough for anyone to eavesdrop, “Why the hell would you tell her that we’re dating?”

“Thought you needed a pick-me-up,” Jihoon grins, “at least I got you to stop worrying about things so much.”

“There are better ways of going about that than telling unsuspecting diner owners that we are dating!”

“It was funny, you have to admit,” he smiles, and I have to begrudgingly agree, “see, told you we’d make a cute couple.”

I would rather die than tell Jihoon that I agree with him on anything, so I keep quiet. Thing is; it was rather funny. Especially with how the owner reacted to us.

“And later on,” Jihoon says, holding on to my arm as we cross the road, “when you come to this place with someone else, you can just tell her that we broke up.”

“You need to stop talking about how I’m going to start dating other people.” I mutter, “just because I’ve got some frustrations I need to work out, doesn’t mean I’m going to go running into the arms of whoever it is who offers first.”

“Careful with that,” he says, standing at the crossroads where he’s supposed to walk towards his building, “you might end up regretting it.”

And with a single wave, he’s gone. I stand for about five minutes, like an idiot, while the busy crowd walks past me, trying to decode his words. Why would I regret my decision to not date someone just because I need to get over myself? Not to mention Jihoon has been behaving strangely since the previous night.

“Sunbae,” Seungkwan materialises next to me, “penny for your thoughts?”

“Jesus!” I narrowly escape jumping three feet into the air, “give a girl a warning!”

“I did call out,” he pouts. Its disconcerting how adorable he is. “You were pretty engrossed in looking into the distance to even notice my presence.”

“Are you upset?”

Seungkwan smiles, “if you agree to a badminton match with me over the weekend, I’ll overlook this slight.”

I sigh. “You drive a hard bargain,” I say, making my way into the building, “see you at the dinner, then.”

—

420 notes · View notes

poundstonaira · 1 year ago

Text

Yuno Grinberryall x Reader - Shuttle

A/N - It's been awhile so I forgot how to post on here. It's not that I left the fandom, life gets in the way of my hobbies. Now here I am, coding video games :D

Word Count : 1654

To fall in love is weird. Why do we fall in love?

Is it mainly because of the aura of the person that we are in love with? The aesthetic of falling in love overall? The feelings we can’t ignore in our body? The sake of falling in love?

It’s all so strange, uncomfortable, but at the same time it is… enduring.

Right now, there were no missions that were assigned, this means that you guys were in the center garden of the Golden Dawn base doing whatever you guys did, whether that would be Badminton, play card games, board games, reading, or gossiping. It didn’t matter to you guys as long as you were having fun.

And that your crush (the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn) was watching you.

“Come on, Klaus.” You groaned, eyeing him with pure disappointment in your eyes. Klaus and you were playing Badminton since you wanted a challenge. You guys did not have your capes on because they would’ve gotten in the way of you playing. Although the both of you were fairly good at the sport, you were better. “Serving isn’t hard at all.” You sighed, watching him mess up his flick serve.

The two of you were playing on a makeshift court, with Klaus using his magic to make a solid ground for you guys to play on, and the net being brought by you from your manor, you even brought the racquets and the shuttlecocks from your house as well. How dedicated.

“_/_, we’ve been playing for an hour now. Cut me some slack, will you?” Klaus wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He was right, Badminton is an extremely tiring sport, regardless if you’ve been playing for just a few minutes. You kept wondering how Klaus was able to keep this up without his glasses, though. He was pretty blind.

“For a Magic Knight, you have really low stamina.” You teased him, sticking your tongue out at him. “Don’t worry, consider this our training session.”

“You lost the last set.” He retorts, fixing his posture.

“Well…” You sucked your cheeks in. “I got lazy. Anyway, I’m waiting for you to start again.” You got back into your starting position.

“_/_, look who decided to watch us play.” Klaus squinted his eyes then smiled at you, and you felt your heart sink to your stomach. You slowly but surely turned your head around to see Mimosa and Yuno walking towards your direction, talking about whatever on earth they were talking about. You felt yourself going into a cold sweat and then your body went warm.

Your crush was here. Was he about to watch you play?

‘Yuno is here? Oh, I REALLY have to lock in! Act normal, expeditiously!’

“You guys are playing Badminton without us?” Mimosa asked, sticking out her bottom lip, expressing a playful, sad face.

“Yeah, guys. Bad form.” Yuno added, putting his thumb down in playful disapproval.

“Sorry, vice-captain Yuno.” Klaus bowed and you rolled your eyes at the extra, not-needed formalities.

“Don’t apologize to him, Klaus. If he really wanted to play, he would’ve been here earlier. Mimosa’s off the hook because she’s … Mimosa.” You said, masking your feelings easily. You cannot let Yuno know that you like him. That would be so out of character for you.

“Ouch?” Yuno responded in a dry tone, putting his hand to chest while Mimosa giggled.

“Are you ready, _/_?” The pale-blue haired man asked you as he held the shuttlecock in his left hand and his racquet in his right, in position and ready to serve, standing straight. You got into your regular starting position; a light squat, racquet in front of you as you were a little bit below the net level. You heard the grass move as Yuno and Mimosa sat down on the grass, ready to watch in silence.

“Of course.”

As soon as you said that, the shuttlecock was already flying in your direction and you easily tipped it over the net and back to Klaus, and then he tipped it over to you again, and ditto. You realized you weren’t going to get any height playing like this. Tipping the shuttle over the net and having it come back to you wasn’t bad or anything, but it was boring and you wanted to get some action for Yuno to see. You moved back during the boring rally and then tipped it over with a bit more force, causing Klaus to jog backwards and do a smash, letting the shuttle quickly fly over to you.

“Tch.” You let out some air, allowing your body to not get tired. As soon as the shuttlecock landed to your side of the net, you gently swung your racquet down, allowing him to go for a jump-smash.

‘He’s going for a jump-smash already?’ You thought to yourself as you flicked your wrist to let your racquet bounce the shuttlecock back to Klaus in a matter of seconds.

‘No mistakes can be made while the vice-captain is watching me.’

Klaus readies himself to jump-smash again, but he was only able to smash the shuttle back without jumping to you because of how quick it came.

‘Now it’s my time to jump.’

You got into your jump-smash position; you lightly squat with the racquet in front of your body and still in your hand, and then you jump into the mid-air, your other hand guiding you to where the shuttle was going in your direction, and then you smashed it down with honorable speed, with a loud grunt leaving your mouth as your feet touched the ground again.

The shuttle ended up going right behind Klaus, it went so fast he couldn’t get it to connect to his racquet in time.

You were left a panting mess from the amount of energy you exerted in the short amount of time. Then again, you were playing with him for an hour.

“That was… incredible.” You heard your crush say, clapping.

‘He’s praising me? Oh my goodness, this can’t be real.’

“Indeed. _/_ is so fast, it’s amazing.” Mimosa praised you. You wiped the sweat dripping from your forehead and sighed, needing water. Klaus on the other hand sat on the ground like someone who lost a track and field race.

“The two of you should take a break. Save your energy for tomorrow’s assignments.” The vice-captain told the two of you, you then looked at him, studying that charming, youthful face of his. The butterflies in your stomach started to do their silly little dance when Yuno stared at you back with those charming, amber eyes of his. Him squinting his eyes caused you to splutter out a response.

“Really? But we didn’t finish the set yet.” You pouted, pointing at Klaus’ defeated figure.

“How long have you two been playing for?” The red-haired girl asked, eyeing the both of you.

“An hour at least.”

“And you still have this much stamina? I’m impressed.”

‘He’s impressed!? Huh!?’

“Of course you’re impressed by me, I’m the best Badminton player you’ll ever know.” You stuck your tongue out, doing a peace-sign. In return, Yuno gives you a down-ward smile,silently laughing at your childishness.

“Don’t listen to her, vice-captain Yuno.” Klaus retorted.

“Stop being a hater, Klaus. It is not good for the soul and spirit.”

“I was actually going to expose a secret of yours that would force the vice-captain to make his eyebrow raise but honestly, nevermind.”

“I’ll behead you.”

…

“Goodness gracious, _/_. You played so well but were rough at the same time.” You heard Yuno clap as he got up from the grass, Mimosa running to check on Klaus as he sat on the ground, visibly annoyed.

A starfish. A sweaty, exhausted starfish on the floor with your racquet next to you. That is the pose you did after you did the last jump-smash to win the game against Klaus. You even couldn’t look at Yuno’s frame from the position you were in. To say you were knackered to the core would be an understatement.

“Thank you… Yuno…” You breathed out slowly with your eyes closed. Luckily for you, the sun was now hiding behind the clouds as the day was slowly coming to an end. It was what you needed to not feel more exhausted than you already are.

“Need a hand?” Your crush was on top of you, smiling, reaching his hand out to you to get out. He literally had each leg on both sides of your torso which made your body feel warm again. If only the scenario was different. Poor you.

“Please.” You reached your arm to his and he automatically pulled you up with such ease. The strength itself caught you off guard that you almost lost your balance but Yuno stabilized you with his arms. That was so hot of him.

“Wow… You’re stronger than I thought.” You muttered, your arm feeling a bit sore. You could really do with a massage right about now.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He smiled and you raised your eyebrows at your backhanded compliment.

“Didn’t mean to call you weak but…” Yuno looked at you right in the eyes, practically staring into your soul. Your face heated up and lost your train of thought. He was so handsome with lovely amber eyes and the small specks of brown which hid around them. His eyelashes were so pretty and long, they curled at the tips. You were staring into his eyes so intensely which made you feel very weak in the knees. “You’re so…”

“Hmm?” Yuno’s scent engulfed you, it engulfed you too much. His musk smelt fresh, like sandalwood and vanilla.

“Nevermind… I’m just in love with you.”

And strangely enough, he didn’t push you away. Instead, he laid a warm kiss on your temple.

“And I’m okay with that.”

#black clover x reader #black clover scenarios #badminton #klaus lunettes #mimosa vermillion #yuno grinberryall #yuno #yuno x reader #yuno grinberryall x reader #black clover #black clover headcannons #damn how do i tag?

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impactedfates · 1 year ago

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Letters Unsent - Genshin + HSR Boys x GN! Reader

★ Summary: After their death, you find a letter. A letter he wrote. A letter he wrote for you, a letter he wished he could’ve given to you personally. A letter describing his feelings.

☆ Characters Included (Separate): Diluc, Wriothesley, Cyno, Argenti, Jing Yuan + Gepard

★ Genre/Trope: Angst + Hurt/No Comfort

☆ Warnings: Major Character Death (Not the Readers)

★ Extra: Angst is fun, angst is nice :)) // Might make another part with different characters if this does well // Not fully proof read // Motivation came back cuz of sad tunes/hj

He said he'd be back, that it'll be quick. Despite your worry, you knew he was strong, so he'd be able to protect himself right? So you trusted him. Trusted him so much that when his co-worker showed up to your door with an expression you couldn't exactly read, you were confused. It was about him but...he was fine right? Then why were they telling you he had passed? The injuries he sustained was...to much for his body to handle? The healers couldn't help him? But...he said he'd be back...you were snapped out of your thoughts when they handed you a letter with your name on it. "I think he knew he wouldn't be able to make it...so...he wanted you to have this...even if he couldn't hear your answer"

"To My Dearest,

If I'd ever be lucky to even call you that. Although this isn't ideally how I wanted to do this. I believe I can only get these things on paper, it's much too difficult otherwise. I was never good with words so I hope this alternative is alright for you.

Ever since the day I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were different. Not in a bad way. It took me way too long to figure out the reason for this was due to the fact I loved you.

I loved seeing your smile.

Hearing your laugh.

Loved the small talk we had that would end up with me taking you home. You made me feel something I didn't think I would ever feel, and I'm unsure if I even deserve it.

If I even deserve you.

Whether or not you feel the same way, I hope we can stick together as long as time allows us.

Sincerely

Diluc."

"To Y/N

Hope you're doing well, life in Meropide is still as dull as ever. Well, unless you decide to visit, you really do light up the room when you come by don't you? Or maybe that's just for me.

Anyways, preferably I would be telling you this in person, but more work has piled up. That's also why our little tea sessions have to be put on hold for now. Don't worry, as soon as this all clears up and I investigate this one area, then we can go back to the usual.

I have this one blend I think you'd really like!

Anyways, enough beating around the bush.

I like you.

Like like you.

I love you.

So much.

I can't even begin to describe how much I love you, and even if I did I feel you'd be gagging at how cheesy I was being haha!

But really, I love you so much. I want to be with you, of course I understand if you don't feel the same. But Sigwinnie would have my head if I postponed this confession any longer.

I hope to see you again after my work.

Yours Truly

Wriothesley"

"Hello Y/N

I never thought I'd be writing this kind of letter in my free time. Unfortunately for me, it seems as though fate likes making things harder for me and whenever I want to even try to talk to you about this, it's much more difficult than it was when I practised in the mirror.

Or...

Well...

Practised to Tighnari.

We can ignore that for now though as I'm still trying to put this all together in words.

I would let you borrow my TCG set, you can use it as you please and I'd even let you touch my limited edition cards.

If that's not making any sense then how about a joke?

How does a fruit confess?

They say "Olive You"

Get it, because an olive is a type of fruit, and olive sounds like "I love"

I love you"

"My beloved rose

As much as I'd love to tell you all these words in person, my search for Idrila is still ongoing and I am unsure when I'll be able to see your beautiful face once again.

Ever since my eyes laid on your beauty, I thought I had found Idrila herself, but once I got to know you. Even if you weren't the Goddess, you could almost rival her.

The sparkle in your eyes.

The pretty little smile.

Your wonderful personality.

All those things you think are flaws? I love each and everyone of them. They are not flaws to me and it pains me knowing you think of yourself like that.

Once we meet again, I want to make sure you know how deserving you are of these words, how your 'flaws' aren't flaws and how much I love every bit of you.

Though I am aware I find many things worthy of praise. I want to let you know that you're different.

I don't just want to praise you, compliment you. I wish to love you, hold your hands and protect you with my life, no matter what it takes.

I love you so much, and if I could be so lucky to call you mine. Well, I think I'd be the happiest man alive.

I will return soon,

Signed

Argenti"

"Morning, Afternoon or Night

I'm not too sure when the Cloud Knight will give this to you, or when I'll give this to them. Whatever the case, I won't beat around the bush too much.

I love you.

Nothing could compare the feeling in my heart when I see you.

The smile that will never fade as long as you're there by my side.

You are just amazing. In all my years of living, never would I have thought to have met someone as perfect as you.

Even Fu Xuan herself can see just how enamoured I am for you, although for her. She's been using it as an advantage to do work.

'If you finish now you can see them quicker'

'How would they feel knowing that you're not working?'

'Stop dozing off or they won't come to see you ever again!'

I must admit, they all do work. Even if in hindsight, not only would I still see you even with work uncomplete, I'll see you plenty of times and more to come but I don't think you care all too much about my sleep.

But I digress.

I hope this letter finds you well, take as much time as you need to consider my words and think about your own feelings.

I'll be waiting where I always am.

Jing Yuan"

"Dear Y/N

Aeons this is embarrassing. But it would be even more embarrassing if Serval kept teasing me about this. I've been putting this off for so long, worried about how you'd react.

Your answer.

And if this would change your view on me...but you're not that kind of person. I know you're not. And after a bit of thinking, to save me from stumbling on my words. I decided to write a letter.

Serval should be the one giving this to you, so I hope she didn't say anything to you, I would nearly die of embarrassment if she did. Anyways!

So...I know it's probably not much hoping Serval wouldn't say something actually, knowing her, she gave it away with one sentence but...

I like you, a lot. More than you could ever know.

And I'm more than happy to talk to you about this in full once I'm back from my mission.

I can only pray you feel the same, but even if you don't.

I hope we stay friends.

Until next time,

Gepard"

WOOO FINALLY GOT THIS DONE AFTER FOREVER.

Sorry if any characters are OOC, I tried my best with writing what I think they'd write in a confession letter, but I hope you enjoyed this anyways!

#Diluc x Reader #Diluc x You #Wriothesley x Reader #Wriothesley x You #Cyno x Reader #Cyno x You #Argenti x Reader #Argenti x You #Jing Yuan x Reader #Jing Yuan x You #Gepard x Reader #Gepard x You #hsr x reader #Genshin x reader #hsr imagines #hsr x you #genshin x reader #honkai star rail x you #genshin impact x you

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kyouka-supremacy · 2 months ago

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Asagiri-Harukawa panel at the Naples Comicon (2025) - transcript

KA: Kafka Asagiri SH: Sango Harukawa I1: Interviewer 1 (Angelo “Sommobuta” Cavallaro) I2: Interviewer 1 (Alessandra Marchioni) Interpreter: Serena Musella

Translation is from Italian and not Japanese. My notes are in [].

[Before the panel began, I1 informed that it was strictly prohibited to take photos. Harukawa and Asagiri entered dressed the same way as they looked in their greetings before the Dead Apple screening a few hours beforehand. Harukawa set behind a white divider, which kept them hidden for the whole duration of the panel. There were enthusiastic clapping and cheers after every answer for the entire duration of the panel.]

I1: I would like to ask the senseis Harukawa Sango and Asagiri Kafka whether they’d like to introduce themselves.

KA: Benvenuti [welcome]. Thank you everyone for being here; I see there’s also a lot of people who were at the autographs session, I am very happy to see you again; have fun.

SH: Ciao, grazie [hello, thank you]. Hello everyone, I’m Harukawa, I take care of Bungou Stray Dogs’ character designs and drawings. I’m very glad to know you, and I’m especially extremely happy for being here, coming for the first time in such a far place and seeing just how many people are here to hug me with their warmth.

I2: I would like to start with a series of questions to break the ice, to get to know a little more about our extremely welcomed guests: how did the fly from Japan go, have you ever been in Italy and Europe and how many times, and are you enjoying this travel in Naples?

[Asagiri looks confused about the question. He turns around in a goofy way (questions are written on the screen to their back), and everyone giggles.]

KA: I’m sorry, I can’t see very well. This is the first time I come to Italy and in Naples, I’m extremely excited and glad, especially for the beauty of the city and for the delicious food. And also thanks to the warmth that I received from all you fans, I now feel completely reinvigorated, thank you lots.

SH: Just like Asagiri sensei said, for me as well it’s the first time in Italy and in Naples, and I was extremely struck by the beauty of the city, and I had the impression like Japan’s colours were a little darker and sadder compared to Italy’s. Italy is so colourful and, just like I thought, the land of art.

I1: Before diving in our talk about Bungou Stray Dogs, I would like to ask the senseis if there’s anything they would like to share with us Italian fans.

KA: This is the second time I’m participating to a panel of this kind: the first time I was in America, but in Japan I already had the chance six times. Although, this is the first time I’m joining a panel in collaboration with Harukawa-sensei, so it’s really an historical moment you’re all being part of.

SH: Asagiri-san stole my words.

[I2 invites the audience again not to take photos.]

I1: I would like to ask Asagiri Kafka sensei what brought you to write and create Bungou Stray Dogs, how did the idea come to you, and what did you want to convey to us readers?

KA: The reason that pushed me to write Bungou Stray Dogs is very easy: I was unemployed.

I2: At this point we have a question for Harukawa sensei: when you started drawing Bungous Stray Dogs – since you take care of the artistic aspect – what guided your artistic approach? And how did you find the right drawing style for each character of the manga?

SH: In Japanese manga, there’s no colours and everything is black and white. So what pushed me the most to write was creating silhouettes that could work [??] in this world in black and white.

I1: This is a question for Harukawa Sango sensei and Asagiri Kafka sensei: what are your favourite authors, favourite books, and how did these preferences influence you in Bungou Stray Dogs?

KA: I forgot what I said during rehearsal, so I’m going to come up with another answer now. My biggest inspiration comes from movies, especially American superhero movies like Avengers. Especially, which movie inspired me the most? It could make you a little mad, so I’m not going to tell.

SH: I don’t know how well-known it is in Italy, but in Japan it’s incredibly famous: there’s this game called Persona, so principally from the artist, who’s Shigenori Soejima.

I2: At this point as good Italians we must ask whether you have any favourite Italian writer or illustrator; and if you had to add an Italian artist to Bungou Stray Dogs, who would they be, and what special ability would they have? You wouldn’t have drawn them, obviously. [not sure about this last sentence, I think they’re rhetorically asking “unless you have already drawn them”]

KA: [Pause] Dante! [Audience goes wild.]

KA: I’ve always wanted to add Dante in the story, and if I had to think of an ability, I would like it to capture Italy in its entirety.

SH: I wouldn’t know how to answer on who’s my favourite writer, but I certainly have a favourite Italian artist, who is Giorgio de Chirico, who’s very famous in Japan as well.

I1: A question for the both of you, I would like to know how much research you made on the life or real works of the great authors that share the same name of every character of the manga, that is, the great writers, the great artists. And, do manga characters reflect their personalities, or their works?

KA: When I imagined the characters’ creation, the first thing I wanted to convey was respect for the original authors. That’s why I dedicated a lot of time to research the works and especially the lives of these authors. Even then, I never thought of making the characters the same of the original authors. The reason why is because if I had done this, 70% of Bungou Stray Dogs’ authors would have been horrible people and drunkards.

SH: I also made a lot of research regarding the original authors, for example, the character of Izumi Kyouka, she always brings with her a rabbit plushie, and this derives precisely from a story of the author.

I2: What are your favourite scenes and characters in the manga; how much did characters change with the story’s progression; and do you think today Bungo Stray Dogs’ characters have a will of their own?

KA: I forgot the rehearsal’s answer again. The most fun thing to write were fights between adversaries, enemies. For example, the one between the Port Mafia and the Guild; or the Hunting Dogs and Sigma. The reason is very simple: when there’s a fight between good and evil, it’s obvious good is going to win, but when the fight is between evil and evil, it gets a lot more interesting. And it’s in these moments that one can write a real conclusion.

SH: I also forgot the answer from rehearsal, so I’m going to think about it now. I’m not going to speak of a scene, but of a character. Since I found it very interesting to draw western clothes, one of the characters I had the most fun drawing was Lucy and Nikolai.

I1: Now we have a little surprise, because we will make the sensei Harukawa Sango comment some pages from the manga. So, now we will see some pages, and the teacher will comment them to us.

SH: In this scene in particular, I had to draw the room of Lucy Maud Montgomery, and at that time, I couldn’t find the inspiration. So, it was my assistants who helped me, and it was a nice moment of cooperation. Especially when I then saw this scene again in the anime transposition, it was exactly the same of how I had drawn it, and that made me very happy.

SH: For what concerns the picture in the center, where lemons come out from the character’s face, I received a memo from Asagiri sensei where they told me to draw it extremely frightful, and that’s exactly what I tried to do.

SH: For what concerns the panel of Demon Snow, I said before that one of my greatest inspiration were the Persona characters, and indeed Demon Snow is inspired exactly to these characters.

SH: Here I draw a chainsaw for the first time.

SH: Of this episode in particular I don’t have many memories, because the deadline was super tight and I worked like crazy, so I don’t remember very well what I did. I am very thankful to Asagiri sensei who, since they saw me in great struggle, told me that the scene of the battle on the top of the whale, I could leave all white [???]

I1: I would like to ask a question for both of you, that is, I would like to understand how does the behind the scenes of a chapter creation works; Asagiri Kafka sensei writes the script, Harukawa Sango obviously draws, but, how does their collaboration work, I mean how does the work between illustrator and script writer work? And above all I would like to know what’s the thing one likes about the other.

KA: I take care of the script, while Harukawa sensei takes care of the drawing. I respect a lot, we both respect a lot one the expertise of the other, so we try to never enter in the work [of the other] nor to influence each other.

SH: They again stole my words.

KA: It’s a little embarrassing, now on the spot like this, saying what’s the thing I like the most about her; but to be honest, working with her has been one of the most beautiful things of my life. And if I were to say what I love in particular, it’s the colours, the way of drawing, but especially the characters’ design.

SH: If I had to tell what I like about him is that he never projects himself inside his characters; characters are independent entities, different from him. This is something I like a lot.

I2: And just to Asagiri sensei we would like [to ask] a question in particular: can you tell us some more on the character abilities’ nature and on their connection with the Book? What are exactly abilities, and why do some have them, and others don’t? As of late the story delved more on the Book, can you tell us some more on what it really is, and of its role, the role of the Book in the world of Bungou Stray Dogs.

KA: For what concerns the Book, you’re going to find out soon; the only thing I can tell you, is that the Book is the world.

KA: Instead, for what concerns abilities… I don’t think there’s the need to actually decide where they come from. There may exist works where it’s necessary to reveal what abilities are and where they come from, but I don’t think it’s the case of ours.

I1: Once more, I would like to ask you both what were your impression when you received the proposal of realizing the anime of Bungou Stray Dogs, so, an animated adaptation of your manga.

KA: If I had to say in one word what it is to transpose in anime the manga for a mangaka: it’s a dream. For a person, to see their dream become true, it’s truly indescribable. [Everyone starts clapping, but Asagiri gestures to stop in a funny way.] However, when I was told that my manga would have become an anime, I had published only two volumes, so I thought the timing was a little wrong, and it surprised me. That’s all.

SH: As a mangaka, I think anime can reach a lot more people; compared to those who exclusively read the manga, anime reaches where the manga can’t reach. And thanks to this, even people who would have never read the manga, like my friends, and especially my parents, complimented me, and told me “you did very well”; that made me very glad.

I2: What role did you have in the phase of production of the anime, and how did you help the anime staff?

KA: For what concerns the writing of the script, which is also my job, I joined every meeting, and I was even a bit nitpicky in deciding what to say, what to put in, what to not put in. For everything else, I left it to the animation experts: it’s not my job, so I left things to them.

SH: On the other hand, for what concerns the drawing part, the manga is black and white, while the anime is in colour, so I mostly took care of this part. However, I didn’t give specific directions on which colours to pick; the only thing I focused on was the brightness and the shading aspect. That’s what interested me above everything else. Like Asagiri sensei said as well, I take care of the manga, so everything else, for what concerns the animation, I left it to the professionals.

I2: What were your impressions when you saw the finished anime for the first time?

KA: Of a breathtaking beauty. I was truly moved. In particular, seeing how Dazai threw away his coat [I suppose how his coat flows to the wind in season 1 episode 1].

SH: I will again give an answer that is completely different from rehearsal. In my illustrations, there’s a lot of images where hair fly to the wind, or clothes fly to the wind; seeing those animated was very interesting. And because of this I was very happy.

[Shortly after, the panel drew to an end. Explanation on Asagiri waving the Soukoku Italian flag here.]

#I tried to stick to the Italian interpreter as close as possible‚ except for when they slipped and mixed up pm and Poe...#bsd #bungou stray dogs #mine #A friend said Asagiri sounds just like Atsushi's va pffttt honestly I see that.........

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mcdonaldsnumberone · 1 month ago

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CHOCOLATE!

❤︎‬ touching! (+ prompt list) ❤︎‬ bachira meguru, sendou shuto, noel noa, michael kaiser x gn! reader ‪ ❤︎‬ wc: 2k/~500 words per character

BACHIRA MEGURU!

dancing with each other!

Bachira has learned to embrace his spontaneous nature. He’s aware that others don’t see life the way he does, and while it makes him stand out for better or worse, he’s learned to accept that part of himself and to roll with it. He finds joy in the mundane, color in the monochrome, sparkles in the dull. When he’s learning to love you, he draws you into that wondrous world of his, and you find yourself indulging in his shared sweetness and letting go of your inhibitions.

Love, seen through your eyes and his, is Bachira sneaking up behind you on a lazy weekend while you’re fighting with some pancake dough. It’s him tickling your sides briefly, and then you letting out an indignant screech out of surprise before melting away into a fit of laughter. It’s you swatting at him with your mixing spoon before he’s drawing you into a little impromptu dance around the kitchen. You’ve seen Bachira dance before; it’s one of the things he picked up more formally after seeing how nicely it’s worked out for him during his training at FC Barcha, but the dances he likes to pull you into are less formal and more fun.

The pancake dough is quickly abandoned as you slip your hands in his. Maybe you stumble over your own feet just a tad, but Bachira’s always there to smile encouragingly at you and help you find your rhythm. There’s no music save for your shared giggles and the mechanical hum of the fridge, but it’s all you need. His hands are warm and tender, squeezing at your own palms. Bachira loves you in a way that’s so tender and heartfelt, almost innocent in the way that he’s so boyishly devoted to you, but it runs so deep in his soul that it’s impossible not to feel as if he’s enveloping you whole in it and letting you freefall within the depths of his psyche.

His stomach growls while you try to memorize whatever complex dance step he’s improvising on the tiled floor. You raise an eyebrow at him before bursting into another fit of loud chuckles.

“Sounds like someone’s hungry,” you teasingly remark. “You know, if you let me go, I can go back to fixing us something to eat.”

Bachira pretends to think for a second before he pouts slightly. His eyes shimmer and shine like that of a cat’s nonetheless, and he doesn’t seem keen on letting you go anytime soon. “But what if I want to keep dancing? I’m having so much fun with you right now.”

“Who says we can’t dance after we’re done eating? We have all the time in the world to ourselves,” you laugh breathlessly when Bachira draws close to you. He has a way of making all the troubles fade away into the distance, like only the two of you exist in your happy little world. He presses a gentle kiss to your cheek before he bites the soft flesh gently, gnawing at it affectionately.

“Choices, choices… Helping you make food or dancing in the kitchen together… I wish we could have clones of ourselves so we can do it all simultaneously,” he sighs happily against the shell of your ear. His hands squeeze lovingly at your sides. “Alright! Back to pancakes! Let me give you a hand, so we can get back to our little dance session faster!”

SENDOU SHUTO!

putting a hand over the other’s mouth to shut them up!

Sendou gets really giggly whenever he’s next to you. For someone who’s determined to come across as this super cool, totally untouchable ace of the Japanese U-20 team, he can’t seem to hold it together when he’s next to you. Even though he’s maturing the best he can as a professional soccer player and has the salary to match, you’re so stunning and such a good partner to him that he always feels as if you’re way out of his league no matter what he does. It doesn’t make him insecure per se, as much as it makes him all chatty and sheepish, like he’s a shy schoolboy approaching his crush for the first time.

And you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t flattering. After all, you’re incredibly lucky to have someone as dedicated and as successful as him as your boyfriend, but to have someone like him wrapped around your little finger? It’s the perfect cherry-on-top. It’s fun to have him compliment your ear off about how cute you look even though you’re dressed in nothing but your raggedy pajamas, and it makes your heart skip a beat when you catch him going on and on about how much he likes you to his poor, fed-up teammates.

But right now, it’s putting you in a bit of a difficult place. The players’ locker rooms are strictly off-limits for anyone that isn’t a part of his team, but you just wanted to see him so badly that Sendou agreed to sneak you in! No one should be around the locker room at this time of day, so it should be a piece of a cake, but leave it to your luck to be shuffling around the locker room trying to hide while Sendou unsuccessfully attempts to gulp down all of his boyish giggles.

“Sendou? You there?” Aiku’s voice rings across the locker room, and you duck behind a set of lockers and hold your breath. Sendou’s turning as red as his hair from holding his laughter back, and he looks like he’s about to burst.

You hold your finger up in front of your lips. “Shhh…!” “...I’m trying! Swear I am!” He whisper-laughs, hearts practically forming in his eyes. Leave it to him to be lovestruck while doing something as silly as sneaking a visit when you shouldn’t be. His shoulders start shaking, and he doubles over. You can feel a mix of both endearment and panic shoot through your body when you can hear Aiku’s footsteps approaching, and as a last ditch effort, you slide your hand over Sendou’s mouth. You can feel hot puffs of his breath against your palm as he chokes down another wave of laughter, but thanks to your quick thinking, it remains quiet in your corner.

Aiku’s footsteps quickly disappear, and the coast is clear. You finally exhale deeply and let go of your hand, and Sendou basically collapses in your arms, turning into a pile of boneless putty as he giggles out your praise in between short breathless chortles.

“You’re- ha! You’re the best- Haha, did you know that?” He purrs, gazing up at you as if you had strung up all the stars in the night sky. Words can’t seem to express just how much he tugs at your heartstrings, and instead of a verbal answer, you reward him for his efforts with a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

How could you not love someone like him? It was simply impossible.

NOEL NOA!

stroking their leg!

“You… are quite the pervert, did you know that?” Noa’s voice is deep and stern, as it always is, and despite what might be implied as disapproval in his words, he doesn’t make any effort to actually discourage your actions. And, honestly speaking, you don’t think you’re doing anything that odd either: you’re simply sprawled out next to him on the couch while one of his match tapes blare on in the background, and while he’s occupied with watching the tape to prepare for an upcoming game, you’ve made yourself busy by running your fingers up and down his bare legs.

If anything, you would say it would be more egregious for you to not be obsessed with his legs. He’s the world’s best striker and a professional soccer player, and you think it’s your duty as his devoted lover to shower his buff, muscular legs with as much attention as you can muster. And if that makes you a pervert in Noel’s eyes… Well, so be it. You can take the blow to your dignity if it means you can continue squeezing and stroking and smothering yourself in his legs.

Noel tilts his head curiously towards your direction, as if he can’t fathom why you’d be so obsessed with him. “You aren’t going to defend yourself?” “What is there to defend?” You beam cheekily up at him. As if to emphasize your point, you reach over to his calf and give it a tight squeeze. Your heart skips a beat when you can feel the sinew and tendons of his muscle tense up in response. You could spend all day drooling over just how strong he is.

Noel sighs deeply and shakes his head, but he pulls you closer and lets you continue your little actions. He’s gotten used to your ways a long time ago, and his quips are really just his own way of giving you permission and telling you he likes the attention, even if it makes him a bit shy.

“You’re a strange one,” he hums. He moves his head to press a kiss to the crown of your head, light and loving. “But I don’t dislike it at all.”

MICHAEL KAISER!

tracing the lines on the other’s hand!

Sometimes, as you absentmindedly fiddle with Kaiser’s hand, you think about the countless lifetimes he must have led before he got himself where he is today. There’s his childhood: cold, crushing, and battering. Then there’s the period of time where he was training to be a regular at Bastard Munchen: chaotic, desperate, and lonesome. And then there’s Blue Lock: crushing, revolutionary, and purposeful.

You follow the direction of his veins and draw small circles into his rough fingertips. His palms are rough with callouses and hardened flesh. To think he’s only nineteen. Whenever you think about how far he’s come, your heart squeezes painfully inside of your chest. You wish you could take even a fraction of his pain, anything if it meant he would hurt less.

You sigh and drop his hand, and it falls silently. Kaiser, from his spot by your side, immediately turns his head and frowns deeply. “What did you do that for?” “What did I do what for?” You blink innocently. His frown only deepens slightly, and he raises his hand back to your chest level.

“You stopped holding my hand.” He says it so plainly and so obviously, as if you letting go of him is the equivalent of you breaking a law in broad daylight. In his mind, it might as well be. You’re his lover, which means you’ve spoiled him by feeding his endless appetite for love day and night. Evidently, he misses your touch, even if it’s something as simple as you messing around with his hands.

He shakes the hand in front of you, as if he’s a treat and you’re the dog that’s supposed to take it. “C’mon. Hold my hand again.”

You bite back a smile. Deep down, he really is just a small little boy chasing after your love, and you’re prepared to give it unconditionally to him. As much as he wants. As often as he wants. However he wants.

You grab at his hand, and you lose yourself in aimless thought once more. Your fingertips ghost over the pale skin on the back of his hand, and you run your fingers over the outline of his knuckles. Only after every inch of his hand has been lavished with enough attention do you finally intertwine one of your hands with his, fingers interlaced tightly like an unbroken promise holding you firmly to him.

“Happy now?” You remark towards him. Kaiser pretends to think, tapping his chin with his other hand and his gaze swirling somewhere upwards. He taps his foot like a petulant child, but after a few beats, his characteristic smug grin returns to his face.

“Oh yes. Muuuuuuch better. You’re so cute when you’re being obedient,” he answers you. He gives your hand an adoring squeeze, only to then lift both your entwined hands to press his lips to them. A single kiss, lingering and loving.

That, that simple kiss, is his way of returning the favor.

#blue lock #bllk #bllk x reader #x reader #bachira meguru #sendou shuto #noel noa #michael kaiser #my writing #new baekhyun album which means im SNORTING the fuck out of my yume cocaine

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space-mango-company · 1 year ago

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Stranger | Chapter 5

← CHAPTER 4 | ✦

TW: Descriptions of Violence, Mentions of Cannibalism

Tags: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x Atreides!Reader, Arranged Marriage, POV Second Person, No use of y/n, Original Characters, Canon What Canon

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: Not proofread!! Holy moly. Here it is, folks. The scene that inspired this whole fic. I had fun writing this so I really hope you enjoy it. Once again, I appreciate everyone who likes, comments, and/or leaves kudos so much. I really started this fic for myself but good golly, that dopamine rush whenever I get a notif might be more addicting than spice. I'm glad to be part of the bald man brigade.

Also, I can't believe I'm only now questioning why I decided to write this in the second person? I guess maybe I thought this fic would be a lot shorter and not that deep, lol. At this point 'y/n' probably has enough personality to just be a straight-up OC. It's funnier because I don't even find second-person or y/n fics any more engaging either. I always detach myself by giving 'y/n' her own name and only seeing her as a character in the fic.

ANYWAY, sorry to ramble. Stay safe and have a good one, ya weirdos.

You step out into the dark cul-de-sac of the guest hall, illuminated only by the large suspensor lamp in the middle. Feyd-Rautha looks you up and down, seemingly entranced by how the dim light casts his shadow on your modest dress. Atreides green, he recognized.

"Trying to sneak into my rooms again?" you say arms crossed, leaning on your door. "I didn't appreciate the last time, by the way."

"It's my house," he says cooly, "and I did knock this time."

You stare at him indifferently.

"Quite the display from you yesterday morning, using The Voice on me." His voice low and raspy, "I should have you drawn and quartered."

You scoff in his face. "You almost choked me to death. Are you trying to start a war?"

He takes a step closer and his face is inches from yours, you can feel his breath on your cheek, "I didn't think I'd like you this much, little hawk."

"What do you want, Feyd-Rautha?" you had no patience for him right now.

"Ah," he steps back, a dark smile on his face, "I've been waiting to hear my name from your tongue." His hand reaches for your lips. "I've grown quite tired of 'na-Baron'."

You grab his wrist before he can touch you. "If you're only here to toy with me, I would rather be left alone to prepare for bed." You release his hand and turn to open your door.

Feyd-Rautha props an arm against the doorway to block you. "We're to be married in three days," he says, "and I just can't seem to bring myself to let go of my 'harpies', as you called them." He meets your gaze. "You said you'd kill them. Did you mean that?"

You look up at him with steely eyes. He towered over you but your heart felt no fear, "Yes."

His coy smile returns. "Good. Come to my training hall tomorrow," he says, walking away.

"What?" you call after him.

"Dress to fight," he says over his shoulder. "I want to see what you can do, Atreides."

You needed no help from Zora in putting on a loose shirt and long pants. The plain beige outfit certainly wasn't as elegant as the dresses you had been wearing so far. But it was comfortable and you could fight in it, which was all that mattered. Still, you look yourself in the mirror. The soft, airy fabrics draped over your figure well but perhaps you were not in the best shape as you once were. Your muscle mass is much less than your brother's and he wasn't particularly built himself. You admit you did wane off your training sessions with Gurney and Paul leading up to your departure from Caladan. Nevertheless, you were still a skilled warrior. Another secret you've been keeping from the Harkonnens.

You were 14 when you started learning the blade. Watching Paul, 2 years your senior, practice with the Atreides Warmaster lit a fire in you. You didn't hesitate to pester your father to let you train with them and of course, there was nothing he could deny his darling daughter. You were a fierce and determined student. Gurney Halleck was a man you genuinely believed to be one of the best fighters in the Imperium, along with Duncan Idaho. Gurney would train you and Paul on even days. On odd days, your mother would teach you the Weirding Way. These lessons, much like the rest of your mother's teachings, your father wanted to know nothing about. After becoming decently adept at Prana-Bindu and gaining almost complete physical control of your body, Lady Jessica insisted that you also be skilled in the Bene Gesserit style of combat.

You were far from mastery in either but the combination of both trainings made you a formidable fighter. Despite this, you could never seem to beat your brother in a sparring match. A fact that frustrated you to no end, though you appreciated that Paul never went easy on you. You'd always blame it on him having trained for longer than you have. But in truth, you knew there had just always been something special about him.

"Are you ready, my lady?" Zora's soft voice wakes you from your thoughts.

"Hm? Right. Yes, let's go." You quickly tie your hair out of the way and grab your father's dagger from atop your dresser.

There was no fanfare when you entered the hall. On one end, the na-Baron's concubines sat chained on the steps of the shallow recessed pit in their leathers, their glares piercing through you. Your eyes linger on them as Feyd-Rautha and his Warmaster greet you.

"I was starting to think my lady bride was bluffing," Feyd-Rautha says as you approach him. The older man beside him offers you a polite bow.

"Perhaps she wasn't so keen on your brutish games," you bite back. "Your lord uncle won't be joining us?"

"No," Feyd-Rautha crosses his arms, "but he'll be hearing about your victory. Or your demise."

"Right. Well, I assume you'll be releasing them from those chains," you nod towards his pets "Not sure why they're necessary."

"Oh, trust me, little hawk. They're necessary." Feyd-Rautha motions to a servant.

"Your blade and shield, my lady," they bow, presenting you with a knife and a small device you recognize as a Holtzman shield.

"I've brought my own," you unsheath your father's dagger. You contemplate taking the shield but remembering that the na-Baron forwent it during his gladiator fight, you decide to do so as well. "They've no weapons anyway, the shield seems pointless."

Feyd-Rautha shrugs, "If you insist."

You take a deep breath, "Let's get this over with."

You lightly stretch as you walk down the steps of the shallow pit to stand opposite the na-Baron's concubines. You had come into this on the pretense of righteousness. For Iassa, you told yourself. But you've known her a mere two days. A part of you wanted to show off. You were good and you knew it. You could probably kill anyone in this room, even Feyd-Rautha. You craved the respect of the people here: the Harkonnens, the people of Geidi Prime. You figured this was one way to get it.

Feyd-Rautha walks around the pit to one of his concubines and kneels to whisper something in her ear. You assume a fighting stance when he moves to release her from the chains. When you meet her eyes, they are filled with feral bloodlust.

Suddenly, you weren't so bold. The veil of courage you have maintained since you arrived, even when Feyd-Rautha had your neck in his grip, is torn apart when you face this woman. You could tell no part of her would hesitate to rip your throat out with her bare teeth. You were almost relieved they were unarmed, but you weren't sure if that would make them any less lethal.

Fear grew in your chest and you had less than a moment to recite the Litany in your head before the concubine lunged at you.

You crouch down in time and slash at her abdomen as she approaches you. You turn to face her on the other side of the pit and she wastes no time in attacking you again. She attempts to grab your armed hand but you take hold of her wrist first and move to pin it behind her back. Quickly, your blade drags across her throat and she falls to your feet.

The kill has not yet registered in your mind but your heart is racing. You can almost hear your blood coursing through your veins. You held your arms outstretched, your eyes focused ahead, ready for the next one.

Across the pit, Feyd-Rautha licks his lips, smiling as he releases his second concubine. This time, you walk toward her while she moves to attack you. You clock her head with the pommel of your dagger and knock her a few steps back. She reaches a hand to wipe the blood beginning to drip out of her nose. After examining it, she snarls and bares her sharp teeth at you. Your mind is blank now. She dodges your first slash then manages to land a blow to your jaw. You seethe from the pain. You spit out the mixture of blood and saliva filling your mouth. The anger at the hit drives you to rush at her. Seeing an opening, you duck down to her waist and stab her twice. As she falls to her knees, the look of determination doesn't leave her eyes until the very last moment.

When you turn around, Feyd-Rautha has already released the last concubine. The ruthless scream she lets out disorients you. She pounces and knocks you over. She straddles you and pins your arms to the ground, your blade sliding inches away. She screams again in your face at the death of her sisters. You wedge your right knee between you and her abdomen, the only thing keeping her teeth from reaching your throat. You grunt as you struggle to free your hands. In your periphery, you see Feyd-Rautha, wielding his own blade, take a step into the pit.

"GET BACK," you roar, and he is powerless to refuse.

You turn back to your opponent still on top of you and you butt her head with your own. She loosens her grip and you kick her off to hastily crawl to your weapon. When she reorients herself and attempts to grab you again, you hook a knee under her arm and flip the both of you over. With your weight on her chest and both your knees pinning her arms down, she thrashes underneath you, claws digging into your right ankle. You take your blade in both hands and her screaming is silenced when you sink your knife deep into her heart.

When you rise, the room is quiet. Your chest heaves. The stark white ceiling lights don't help the lightheadedness that begins to wash over you in the post-adrenaline rush. Feyd-Rautha says something from behind you but his speech is garbled as you reel from the thrill of what just transpired. You were electrified. You almost... wanted more.

Then, the realization of the revolting scene you are in settles upon you and you are knocked off your high. You look at the leather-clad bodies scattered around you, the grotesque way they lay on the floor, the red blood pooling around them made brighter by the sterile grayness of the room. You did this.

A hand on your shoulder snaps you out of it. In reflex, you turn and raise your blade at the offender.

Feyd-Rautha holds his hands up, "Whoa, easy, Atreides. Trying to kill me? Don't want to start a war, do you?"

You yield your weapon. Your eyes dodge his as you look to your feet and try to steady your breathing.

"Enjoy your first taste of blood?" Feyd-Rautha says, the look in his eyes indecipherable to you. He raises a hand and swipes his thumb on your cheek. It comes away covered in crimson.

You gasp and reach for your face with your own hand. You don't even know if it's your blood or theirs, or when it got on you. Your heart pounded, unable to decide whether you were repulsed or proud.

"Look at you," he says licking the red off his finger. You could not help but stare at him through the strands of your hair that had come undone in the fighting. "You're beautiful like this," his hand reaches for your face again.

"No," you say low and quiet when you swat his hand away, "you're sick." You didn't know if you meant him or yourself. You calmly turn to leave. No one stops you when you make your way up the shallow steps of the pit. As you pass Iassa—no, Zora—by the doorway, you tell her flatly, "Prepare a bath."

You had never taken a life before. Today, you took three. You were glad you didn't know their names. You decided you'd never find out.

After Zora pours a final pitcher of hot water into the bath, you tell her, "You may go. I'll dress myself later, thank you."

She bows and makes her way out of your rooms.

In your solitude, you bring your knees to your chest. You had been quick to wipe the blood off your cheek before you even reached your quarters. Now, you cup the water into your hands and rub it into your face, the slight sting of the heat comforting you.

He was a cruel man, your betrothed. This is what you've decided. Having you kill the concubines he claimed to want to keep so much. But wasn't it you who threatened to kill them? He started it, you argue with yourself, when he had Iassa killed. You felt like a child.

When you used to hear of Feyd-Rautha's exploits, you had to mask your disgust. And yet now, you had killed so easily in that pit as he had in the arena. What was this place doing to you?

When you left Caladan, Paul had never killed anyone either. You wonder if he ever does, would he feel the same exhilaration you did when you slit that first concubine's throat. No. Your brother was fierce but, like your father, he had a good heart. You beat him by three. You hoped it would stay that way.

You think about your future here, marrying Feyd-Rautha. Producing heir after heir under the Baron's watchful eye. You were a broodmare. Despite all your fancy training and education. Despite your little demonstration earlier. It was the bitter truth.

You missed home. You missed walking along the beach at night with your father. You missed your mother's gentle hands brushing your hair. You missed the banter and teasing with your brother. You missed Gurney, and Duncan, and the cold breeze on your balcony, and getting to roam free and going anywhere you pleased. When the tears come, you sink deep into the bath so they might fade away in the water.

← CHAPTER 4 | ✦

Taglist: @torchbearerkyle @austinswhitewolf @dreamlandcreations @emeraldsgirl @strawberryfieldsforevermore @bornslippys @vexis-world @aoi-targaryen @alexandrainlove @mamawiggers1980 @sstardussty @aboutthenabaron

#feyd rautha x reader #feyd rautha x you #feyd rautha fic #feyd rautha #feyd rautha harkonnen #atreides reader #dune #dune part two #space-mango-company #fic: stranger

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matteglaze · 5 months ago

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waitwaitwait relating to the can shigaraki read ask i feel like he would need glasses? but ofc no glasses for the might leader of the LOV (+ dragging this man to the doctor is harder than one may think...) so his vision is just getting worse and so y/n just reads for him. idk i get soft when i think abt reading/cooking/doing chores that kurogiri would do for tomura.

Shigaraki makes you read questionable things

I think because of the lack of sleep Shigaraki gets, his eye sight becomes more and more strained. This is probably exacerbated because of his late night gaming sessions.

It's not a big deal, he reasons. Many people don't get enough sleep, it's not just him.

I actually think Shigaraki could get a doctor to prescribe him glasses or eye contacts with AFO's help (the man's pretty influential let's be real), but I think the reason Shigaraki doesn't is because he won't say anything about it.

He's taken loss, after loss, after loss. Sensei doesn't need to know he's struggling with his eye sight,

Sensei doesn't need to view him as something weak.

It's embarrassing, but Shigaraki is just quiet about it. However, I don't think his eye sight is necessarily bad, I feel like he's still able to read, just not if the text is really small, plus it's better if you do it for him.

"If you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll kill you.." Shigaraki grumbles, scratching at his neck as he glares your way.

You look down at him, pumping up your fist with a small grin "sure thing, boss!"

And that's how you find yourself standing next to his gaming chair, reading the dialogue from a busty girl on Shigaraki's screen. One look at her, and you can tell she's supposed to be some sort of Yakuza love interest. (actually, you know this for a fact, because her nickname is literally Yakuza-chan.)

You clear your throat and read, "Uh... Well, boss, I'm sure you need my protection— so don't worry about a thing, boss!"

This love interest sure does use the word 'boss' a lot, huh?

Shigaraki definitely does this on purpose, choosing characters that either look like you or have your mannerisms. Then he gets you to read their sickenly sweet dialogue, and it's almost like he's getting the real thing.

A cheat code that he managed to find all by himself.

"Now you guys just moved to a beach date." You start to describe the images on screen, but you're cut off once Shigaraki pinches your wrist with his pointer finger and thumb. You let out a pained grumbled, but Shigaraki just clicks his tongue at your antics.

"I can see that, idiot, I'm not blind"

"Okay...whatever you say...wait, hold on, choose this option" you lean over his body and press your finger against the screen, "this will definitely score you some love points"

Shigaraki turns your way, faces inches apart, "huh, you're pretty good at this.."

You turn your attention from the screen to him, a smug look overtaking your features.

"What can I say? The ladies love me"

"I take back what I said." Shigaraki grumbles, turning his head to the side and leaning back into his gaming chair, trying to put a distance between you two; blush on his pale face strikingly prominent. He can only hope that you don't notice.

And you don't— because after awhile you've also found yourself invested in this game, because if you're really going to stand around and read for him you may as well have fun doing it.

"Ok, now choose this option"

Shigaraki hovers his cursor over the option you suggested, 'compliment her swimsuit', but instead he chooses the other one, 'what do you think about my swimsuit'

What do you think about my swimsuit, Yakuza-chan?

"Eugh Boss.. I told you to pick the other one... No girl wants to compliment a guys lame shorts." You grumble, slightly grabbing on Shigaraki's shoulder and shaking him.

"All of our progress! Wasted!"

Even though you complain, you end up reading Yakuza-chan's (stupid name, by the way) dialogue, anyway.

"Ah, boss, I think it's really cute— because you're realize cute, wait I messed that part up, because you're really cute. My little boss, who's a... A what"

You blanch at the next words, 'who's my good little boy', and feel yourself scrunch your nose up. It took such an adrupt turn, you reread it again to yourself.

Well, you weren't aware of the fact that it was this type of game, but that's on you for assuming Shigaraki would waste any storage space downloading a wholesome otome game.

".. What, read it." Shigaraki grumbles.

You awkwardly clear your throat, averting your gaze from the screen and instead looking at the floor.

"Well, you said you aren't blind...can't you see this part.. It's not important to the story or anything"

"It's blurry"

You have a feeling he isn't being too honest, and you think to yourself, perhaps you indulge Shigaraki too much.

i know you meant reading as in like, cute wholesome reading and theyre both sitting together and Shigaraki eventually dozens off or something, but i just can't resist otome nerd tomura

#mha shigaraki #boku no hero academia #bnha #mha #my hero academia #bnha x reader #todoroki x reader #shoto x reader #bakugou x reader #denki kaminari #mha fanart #Shigaraki x reader #tomura x reader #dabi #touya todoroki #shigaraki tomura x reader #tenko x reader #tenko shimura x reader #tenko shimura

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bedoballoons · 2 years ago

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Awe thank you!! I hope you're having a great night/day as well!! I've never written anything like this before so I hope you enjoy it!! Thank you for your request!!

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️

{༻~Hes mine~༺}

CW: Fem! Reader! Readers friend tries to sleep with character, reader is described as normally being sweet and kind, cursing and slight simping on the characters part for their possessive girlfriend~

(Includes: Lyney, Tighnari, Xiao, Wanderer, and Freminet!)

𑁍༄Lyney:

"She doesn't have to know Lyney. It could just be our little secret~"

You felt your face heat up to your ears, anger spiking in your heart...you knew your best friend had their eyes on him for awhile now...but you never thought they'd actually try anything. You took a deep breath and threw open the door you'd been standing behind, making your friends almost jump out of their skin.

"Ah! H-hey bestie! How's it goin?"

You scowled at their voice, how dare they act like they hadn't been trying to get with Lyney just two seconds earlier. "How's it goin! IT WAS GOING REALLY NICE UNTIL YOU TRIED TO FUCK MY BOYFRIEND! HONESTLY ARE YOU SUCH A WHORE YOU HAVE TO TRY FOR EVERY GUY INCLUDING MINE?!?"

You stepped closer to them while Lyney shrunk back into the corner, his eyes wide with shock...and a light blush coating his cheeks. "Mon amou-"

"NOT RIGHT NOW LYNEY, IM CURRENTLY DEALING WITH THIS STUPID BITCH I USED TO CALL A FRIEND. ANSWER ME. DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO SLEEP WITH EVERY GUY YOU SEE? CANT KEEP IT IN YOUR FUCKING PANTS?"

"I...Im not a whore! You know if I had met him first, he would have picked me instead!"

"LEAVE RIGHT NOW. COME NEAR HIM AGAIN AND I WILL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU! GET OUT OF NY FACE AND SUCK SOME OTHER GUYS DICK!" You pointed to the exit, glaring at them as they ran out. It took a couple minutes for the room to settle, your heart pounding in your ears...when suddenly it dawned on you that you'd just acted like that...in front of Lyney. You turned to look him, surprised to see he was staring right back at you with this glazed over look, "Lyney...sorry you had to-"

"Do not apologise mon amour, just now I'm forever yours~"

𑁍༄Tighnari:

"Tighnari, please. I promise I'll make it fun~"

You felt your heart sink, rage making your hands ball up into fists...you'd always been so nice to them, you considered them your best friend and the second your back was turned they stabbed you in it. You shook your head, pushing the door flat against the wall as the noise reverberated throughout the house, "Well, well, well, if iT ISNT THE ROYAL BACK STABBER THEMSELF. SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOUR LITTLE FLIRTING SESSION WITH MY BOYFRIEND! DID YOU REALLY THINK HED GO FOR YOU?!?"

You looked at them with a glint in your eyes that could send people scrambling for safety, unaware that Tighnari was right behind you...watching you with his tail wagging aggressively behind him.

"You weren't supposed to find out! It's not my fault you walked in! And yeah, he could have gone for me! Do you see how you're acting right now friend!"

"ME? ACTING UP? REALLY? YOU JUST FUCKING ASKED THE PERSON IM IN LOVE WITH, THE PERSON I TOLD YOU I LOVED, TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU! AND IM ACTING UP? NO FUCK YOU, YOURE A STUPID BITCH AND YOU NEED TO NEVER COME NEAR ME OR HIM AGAIN OR I SWEAR ILL MESS YOUR FACE UP SO BAD, EVEN HUMPTY THE FUCKING DUMPTY CAN'T PUT IT BACK TOGETHER!"

You felt tears well up in your eyes as they slowly walked away from you...all those memories down the drain...and Tighnari not far away probably considering you a horrible person by now. "Tigh-"

"I love you too."

"I- what..."

"I. Love. You. Too. More then I think I can really express..."

𑁍༄Xiao:

"Awe Xiao, don't just say no right away, I have so many things to offer. I can show you everything she couldn't even think of~"

You slumped against the wall, feeling like you were about to throw up...of all the things you expected to hear as you walked up to your date with your boyfriend...your best friend asking to sleep with him wasn't one of them. It was like being punched in the gut..., "Wow..didn't even wait to make sure I wasn't around huh..."

You could hear your friend gasp, their demeanor instantly changing, "I-i don't know what you're talking about. I w-wasn't doing anything. Isn't that right Xiao? It just sounded bad!" You pulled yourself away from the wall, your anger bubbling inside of you as you looked at Xiao. He seemed surprised for some reason and it only egged you on, "Well Xiao?"

"They were trying to get me to break my loyalty to you. I would never fall for such things though. My desires are for you only."

"Xiao!"

You smiled evilly at your friend as the shouted at him, "Well look at that. I only have a few things to say to you. TAKE YOUR HORNY ASS BACK TO THE WHORE HOUSE AND LOOK FOR SOME HOOKER LOW LIFE INSTEAD. HE'S MINE AND EVEN IF HE WASN'T, HE'D NEVER FALL FOR YOU UGLY SELF! GO! NOW!" If steam could shoot out of your ears it would have. You could forgive so many things, but that wasn't one of them.

"I...fine! I never liked you anyway!"

They ran out the door, leaving you feeling like you needed to punch the wall..., "How did I ever become friends with them....Xiao you oka- mph!" You blushed madly as he interrupted you with a kiss. His lips meeting yours as he pulled you close to him, you could feel his heart racing and the warmth radiating off of him. He wouldn't even let you pull away till you were gasping for air, "X-xiao?"

"I don't really understand this feeling...but I liked seeing you fight for me. It made me want to kiss you..."

𑁍༄Wanderer:

"I could turn you into my own little brat baby boy, don't you want that~"

It felt like a switch flipped in your mind as those words left your friends mouth...your normally nice sweet personality gone cold and bitter. To think you'd taken the chance to friend this person..."Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the only one who can call him that is me. In fact, pretty sure since he's MY boyfriend you shouldn't even be trying to fuck him. That just isn't who you are is it."

"I wasn't going to-"

"Wanderer, hush." You stared daggers at your ex friend as they backed towards the exit, their hands shaking with fear. "Trembling are you? IS IT CAUSE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ME ANGRY? CAUSE HONESTLY, IVE NEVER FELT THIS MUCH RAGE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE SO CONGRATULATIONS FOR FINDING A WAY TO PISS ME OFF THAT BADLY. FUCK YOU!"

"Look just calm down, he said no anyway alright. I was just kidding! If I wanted to fuck him I would have by now!"

"WOW. YES YOU WERE DEFINITELY JOKING, IS THAT WHY YOU WERE TRYING TO PRESS UP AGAINST HIM?! IM NOT A IDIOT BUT CLEARLY YOU ARE. NEVER. TOUCH HIM. AGAIN! FUCK OFF!"

They slipped outside, leaving you alone with your breathing uneven and your face bright red. You were never one for yelling or cursing and in seconds someone you called a friend changed that...

"That was hot."

Your eyes shot open as you spun around. Wanderer was leaning against the wall, smirking at you under the brim of his hat, "I never would have guess my girlfriend could get so nasty. I'll only say this once, but I like seeing you loose your shit. Kinda a turn on~"

𑁍༄Freminet:

"Don't worry, I like when guys are shy in bed and she will never find out~"

"I-i said no. Leave me alone."

You bit your lip, listening to the fear in Freminets voice...the flirty tone in your friends. It was like some type of twisted joke, the ones that make your skin crawl...not only were they hurting you even though your were their best friend, but going after a taken guy who wasn't the best at defending himself in social altercations...that was a whole different kind of low.

"You should probably take the hint. He said no. That means no. He's not a cheater and he doesn't want you." You revealed yourself from your hiding spot, taking satisfaction in the suprise painted on your friends features. Did they really think they were going to get away with it...did they really think he'd sleep with them?

"How long have you been there?!"

"Long enough to see who you really are and I hope I never have to again. Neither of us want anything to do with you now. Take fucking flirty words and advances and go find someone just as terrible as you to sleep with instead!" You threw their bag at them, standing in front of Freminet protectively as they glared at you.

"It's fine, I didn't really want him anyway! You two can keep eachother!"

You watched them leave, your body shaking with anger..."How fucking dare they..."

"A-are you okay?"

You looked at Freminet, shocked to see him staring back at you with a blush that matched your own...he couldn't look at you in the eye..."Yes I'm alright...are you?"

"I-im better then alright. I feel very w-warm. Thank you for defending me...but even if you hadn't shown up, I never would have been with them. I...I only like you."

"I only like you too Freminet."

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day!~*⁠.⁠✧

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novlr · 3 months ago

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I'm really struggling with motivation and haven't touched any of my WIPs in a couple weeks. Do you have any tips on staying motivated?

Every writer knows that feeling of demotivation, when the words just won’t come, and opening your work-in-progress feels like an insurmountable task. It’s hard not to feel the draw of the TV show everyone else is watching or that book that everyone is raving about when you’re faced with a blank page. So how do you stay motivated to write?

It’s completely normal to experience periods of low motivation, but there are always strategies you can try to help you get back on track.

Understand what’s really blocking you

When we’re not motivated to write, we often label it as writer’s block. It’s a catch-all term that lets us put a label on how we’re feeling. We get to blame our lack of motivation on some ephemeral writer’s malady, when usually it’s something concrete and fixable. Before trying to force yourself back to writing, take a moment to identify what’s really holding you back:

Are you stuck on a particular plot point?

Has your inner critic become too loud?

Are you overwhelmed by the scope of your project?

Have you lost connection with your story’s core idea?

Are you physically or mentally exhausted?

All of these are valid, and very real reasons why we might experience writer’s block. But understanding the root cause can help you choose the most effective strategy to overcome it and stay motivated.

Create a sustainable writing routine

Motivation is unreliable, but habits are powerful. We can trick our brains into staying motivated just by having a routine that we expect to follow. It stops us overthinking things and keeps us grounded in the physical activity. Instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, you could try to:

Set aside a specific time for writing each day, even if it’s just 15 minutes.

Create a dedicated writing space that’s free from distractions.

Develop pre-writing rituals that signal to your brain it’s time to work.

Track your progress to build momentum.

Celebrate small wins along the way.

Remember, you don’t need to write for hours. Consistent small sessions are often more productive than irregular marathon writing. You can build a routine that works for you. If you can only write for 20 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, then that’s fine. But set aside time that is there for writing that isn’t just “when I feel like it.”

Connect with your story again

Sometimes we lose motivation because we’ve lost touch with what excited us about our story in the first place. A fresh idea might come along and pull us in a different direction. We might even find ourselves in a different mental state that means the original idea isn’t as appealing as it once was. When this happens, first, examine whether you genuinely want to continue with the project you’re working on. If the spark is really gone, then there is no shame in shelving the project and working on something new. But if you know you want to continue, then you can try these techniques to rekindle that spark and stay motivated to write:

Reread your favourite scenes.

Write character backstories and do some worldbuilding, just for fun.

Create a mood board or playlist for your story.

Set a timer, and freewrite about why this story matters to you.

Imagine telling someone about your book in an interview and write out your answers.

Revisiting your story in a way that goes beyond the work of it can make a world of difference when trying to reconnect.

Find your community

Writing doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit. Having support can make a huge difference in staying motivated. Seeing someone else get excited about your story, or genuinely helping you to improve it can be a massive part of staying motivated. You could try to:

Join a writing group or find a writing buddy to bounce ideas off and give each other critiques.

Share your goals with someone who will hold you accountable. There’s no bigger motivator than having to justify your lack thereof to someone else.

Participate in writing challenges or events. A deadline and a shared goal can be a great push to get some writing done.

Consider working with a writing coach or mentor. This won’t work for everyone, but for some people, the structure really helps.

Change your perspective on motivation

Instead of viewing motivation as something you need before you can write, try seeing it as something that comes from writing. I’m often not in the mood to write when I sit down at my desk, but once I get started, I almost always get in flow. Some ways to shift your mindset might be to:

Focus on process over product. Enjoy the act of writing and worry less about the finished product.

Give yourself permission to write imperfectly. There’s no such thing as a perfect first draft. Hating your writing is the biggest demotivator, but just remember, everyone’s first draft is terrible compared to what gets published.

Set achievable goals that build confidence. This means keeping your goals realistic and not setting yourself up to fail. A goal as simple as 10 words a day means you can see progress, instead of having something huge and unattainable looming over you.

When motivation simply isn’t there

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, motivation remains elusive. And sometimes it’s ok to not stay motivated, and there are usually good reasons for that. If you really can’t get back into the swing of things, then be gentle with yourself and try the following to make sure that this is really the project for you:

Take a deliberate, guilt-free break.

Set a specific date to return to your project.

Use the time off to refill your creative well through reading or other activities.

If journaling is something that works for you, write about your writing struggles and try to interrogate them.

Consider if your project needs to evolve in a new direction.

If you’ve tried the above (or some personal variation of it) and you still don’t have the motivation to keep going on your project, then it might be time to shelve it and move onto another project that does excite you. Sometimes you just can’t force creativity.

Practical exercises to boost motivation

Write a letter from your future self celebrating completing your project. Seal it, and only open it when you get to the finish line.

Set a timer for 5 minutes and write anything. Starting is often the hardest part.

Create a “done list” instead of a to-do list to recognise your progress and take focus away from the tasks still ahead of you.

Interview your characters about where they want the story to go. It’s fun and helps spark ideas.

Write something else for a little while to give yourself a break from just working on the one project.

Remember, motivation isn’t a constant state. It’s normal for it to come and go. The key is building systems and habits that help you continue making progress, even when it’s hard to stay motivated. Trust that your story is worth telling, and keep showing up for it, one word at a time.

#writeblr #writing tips #writing advice #creative writing #writing resources #writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writing community #writers of tumblr #creative writers #writerblr #writing inspiration #writer #writers block #ask novlr

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toning-seros · 2 months ago

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selfless to self-care: reki's character development summarized into one track

i think one of the most underrated aspects of sk8 the infinity is its soundtrack. as a (totally sane and normal) fan of the anime, i've been listening and relistening to its soundtrack to the point where its become a little game of mine where i guess what track plays in a portion of an episode i'm rewatching.

anyhow, the choice of music that plays in sk8 also holds a deeper critical meaning besides it sounding cool. and i wanted to discuss about that today with my home sliced bread sliced no. 1 all-time favorite redheaded kin of all time: reki kyan. because upon rewatching episode 5, i recognized a certain track that played during one scene that also plays later on during one of the most iconic scenes nearing the end of the series, and i don't think enough people are talking about it.

early on in episode 5, reki drops hints that foreshadow his disregard for his own wellbeing (that later gets addressed post-beach episode), prioritizing langa's safety above everything else, even though it was him that was physically recovering and experienced trauma from ad*m. from his unserious attitude when he exited the ER, to him just flat-out saying that his own problems don't matter, he selflessly ignores his own problems to focus on others.

then in the middle of the episode, reki reveals that the reason he's so protective over langa is because his unnamed childhood friend got seriously injured from skateboarding--an event that traumatized both of them, to the point that his friend quit skateboarding, and presumably caused their close friendship to fall apart.

judging from reki's constant need to protect others, his lack of care towards himself, and most notably what he says here as he averts his gaze with a look of guilt on his face, it can be theorized that whatever happened to his friend that caused him to be hospitalized, he was atleast in some way involved in it. maybe he pushed his friend to do a really sketchy trick or something? (i hope this gets addressed in season 2 im begging) whatever it was, it dramatically changed reki's beliefs of himself and his self-worth that made him want to completely ignore his own problems in exchange of helping everyone around him. (until they inevitably build up and come crashing down on him [i.e episode 7])

but we already knew all of that. what i'm really here for is the music that plays in the background during the flashback scene. and the track that played, interestingly enough, was none of than…

change our lives

now, for the more seasoned viewers, you might have already recognized the name of the track as it also plays in a later episode. but if you haven't, then give it a quick listen and tell me if it sounds familiar to you…

that's right, it's the same track that plays in episode 10, when reki and langa finally began talking things out with each other after falling out, and they realize how much they meant to one another in a late night skate session that is the second gayest scene to ever come in a sports anime. however, since this is a reki-centered essay(?) and i'd already yapped enough, i'm only going to explain about how this scene meant for reki (forgive me, langa).

from manager oka (the goat) telling him he was special in his own ways and how it's okay to focus on his self-worth too, even if it feels like doing so would only drag him down even further, to when reki argued with tadashi about how skateboarding is about having fun and persevering through the rough patches because the hard times are what make one appreciate the progress it took for them to get where they are now, episode 10 was about Reki coming to terms with his own problems and allowing himself to address them, and learning how to move forward from them by firstly learning how to love and take care of himself.

so why is this relevant, you may ask? why compare two drastically different scenes from the series that seem to have no connection with each other?

well, it's because the track both scenes were used in serves as a symbol for reki's arc in the series. it highlights reki's character development from being unhealthily selfless, to realizing he needed to love and prioritize himself too in a way that comes full circle. even from the name of the track itself, "change our lives", it signifies how reki's life has been changed twice, both in a harmful way and in a positive way.

in episode 5, "change our lives" marks reki's shift in his mindset pre-series, putting others first and protecting them all the while disregarding his own well being, all because of the hospitalization of his friend that traumatized them both so bad that it caused his friend to quit skateboarding entirely, and leading him to question his own self-worth.

contrastingly, in episode 10, "change our lives" marks reki's realization that his wellbeing and health (mentally and physically) matter just as much as everyone else's, leading to him being more willing to appreciate himself. and he couldn't have done that without langa shower him with compliments that affirmed his self-worth.

two scenes, two people reki loved the most who changed his views of himself, all tied together with one track.

#sk8 reki #sk8 the infinity #sk8 anime #renga #sk8 renga #essay #analysis #DON'T MIND HOW SCUFFED THIS FORMATTING IS #NOR ACKNOWLEDGE HOW IN COHERENT THIS PROBABLY SOUNDS #i'm still new when it comes to essays #BUT I NEEDED TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST #reki kyan #media analysis #character analysis #tumblr fyp #heheh i've always wanted to make a short essay about sk8

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mechncheese · 3 months ago

Note

Wait you’re in an animation program at a school? Do you have any tips for someone about to go into a 2D animation course?

I wish I could offer more good animation-related advice but my experience has been a lot of allnighters, grinding, and endless balancing on top of being the number one procrastinator. Here are some general tips I've learned </3 Looking at this now, this is just advice rather than tips oops

Manage your time-- It sounds like very surface level advice but please.. Do not end up like me with 33 scenes to finish in 2 days. I wish I had time management advice but I have the worst management on the planet. I keep everything on a written to-do list taped on the wall and sometimes I forget about it.

You will learn that not everything you make will be up to your own standards or satisfaction. Balancing several classes on top of animation is not easy and sometimes you will end up with work you are not proud of and that's okay. We keep pushing forward and there's always time afterwards to revise. Part of the learning process is accepting that sometimes we flop and sacrifice quality to finish something. Time constraints are something we just have to deal with and it doesn't make us bad animators.

Take video reference for character animation-- It helps a lot. Don't know how a character would bow, jump, or run ? Take a video of yourself doing the action and reference it as you go !

You may be tempted to go above and beyond with every animation assignment given, and that's a good drive to have ! Do not push yourself to burnout though, nothing is worth burnout or carpal tunnel.

Speaking of carpal tunnel, stretch your hands. During long work sessions, stretch at least every hour. Stretch your wrists, back, and legs. Take a walk once in a while, go outside, look at the sky. Looking at a screen for a long period of time will give you crazy headaches. Do not destroy your body for school. PLEASE. Also drink water, too many sweet treats will make you feel sluggish, tired, and icky.

20 minute naps/breaks.. When I'm stuck on a scene and can't get it looking right I straight up nap for like 20 minutes and come back to it. It refreshes my head and I find that I work better after a quick break. Staring at your animation for too long will make you second guess yourself and get frustrated when things are not working out. Take a break and come back, it's gonna be okay, you just need to not look at it for a bit. Adjustments and edits are easier to see and make after a break.

Be open to critique. ask for help if you're stuck-- also sounds like a given but when I first started I was a little stubborn and wanted my ideas and my way of doing things to work really bad. You will find yourself a lot happier with your work when you start taking suggestions and changing your perspective !

Remember you're here to learn ! No one expects you to be a professional animator right off the bat. And don't compare yourself to your peers, we all go at our own pace and we are all students. Make friends, live life, have fun ! I find that the worst years were the ones where I isolated myself working to death trying to get my work to look just right. I'm about to graduate and I wish I learned sooner how green the grass is on the other side of constant grinding. Animation student life is so hard and difficult but it doesn't have to be miserable ! GOOD LUCK OUT THERE SOLDIER !

#ask #long post

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thewertsearch · 7 months ago

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Ask Comp 28/12

Anonymous asked: In the same vein as the Seer of Light/Witch of Space fakeout in the human session: do you think any of the trolls seem to not fit their assigned classpects, to reject it and imitate another, or to trade classes or aspects with another troll?

It's hard to tell if a given character fits their Title, when I don't know what each Title is supposed to symbolize.

Eridan, for example, didn't originally seem to evoke Hope. When I realized his 'hope' was essentially romantic delusion, it started to make a little more sense - but I have no idea if that's actually compatible with the Aspect's true meaning. We've only seen one Hope Player, so we don't know which aspects (lol) of his story are Hope-themed, and which are just Eridan being Eridan.

@relaxxattack asked: COMPLETELY unexpected coming from me (lol); but i doubt scratch, omniscient as he is, completely misunderstands slick’s motivations. i read it that perhaps slick’s emotional investment really is preventing him from killing snowman, despite all his lip service otherwise. i mean why else would scratch resort to auspisticism, the role made for breaking apart inconvenient pitch couples? plus all the brawler-like violence and threats of death— it really seems like he does need to force slick to cooperate and kill her

I kind of like that, actually. It would be pretty fun if Slick, of all people, managed to ruin Scratch's plans - and by having a heart, to boot!

@manorinthewoods asked: Proposal for the future: Whenever a flashback occurs, you take a guess as to whether or not it is a Dream Bubble. ~LOSS (14/12/24)

Yeah, I might actually give this a shot. I feel like I could do a pretty decent job of discerning whether a flashback is a Bubble, just based on whether the characters involved are currently unconscious or dead - although I can clearly still be fooled.

Anonymous asked: If Terezi hadn't been convinced beforehand (by Gamzee somehow?!) that Vriska was killing at random and absolutely had to go, I couldn't help but imagine at the time that Terezi COULD have saved Vriska if she tried, proving luck doesn't matter… by pulling a Harvey Dent and swapping her coin for a clean double-sided scratchless one just before flipping it, which her luck-stealing couldn't possibly make land scratched. It even would have proved to Vriska that she can't account for everything.

That would be pretty crafty, and I really like her hypothetical style - but honestly, I think Vriska was too far gone to be talked down. The fact that she stole that coin's luck in every timeline makes me think it was probably impossible to make her stay.

@caliquill asked: early in the liveblog you identified a Strider Ramble as a stress ramble. so it delights me that you have finally seen a TRUE Strider Stress Ramble. everything comes full circle.

Oh, true! Man, that's a deep cut.

I should have known, really. It's a pretty consistent character trait for Dave to get less ironic as he gets stressed - we already saw that at play in Davesprite's timeline.

@martinkhall asked: A lot of people seem to miss that he found his quest bed. Reading through his posts again this time I find myself wondering between his "dear departed family" and his imps being described as "sportitive rascals" if he prototyped a dead son. That sounds like a phrase that could descibe a young boy.

Aw man, that's heartbreakingly plausible. If we don't see Fedorafreak's story concluded in-universe, I will absolutely be looking for good Fedorafics when I'm done with the comic.

@bellcarved asked: you know, with the mention of a server player, i'm now imagining somebody else watching through the build menu and sending fedorafreak messages during this whole thing. "ff, i have the code for a bottle of water, and it only costs one unit of build grist. stop drinking your urine and generally treating this like a wilderness survival show, you are going to die. ff please respond."

Our man chose 'freak' as his handle for a reason. <3

@morganwick asked: Note that when Fedorafreak combines his pants with his shirt, it produces a "useless, excessively tall pant". This was after Pantskat had already become a meme.

It's so funny that this one wonky panel became so much of a meme. You just know that if Homestuck was ten years younger, it would have turned into an Among Us joke.

Anonymous asked: I think at one point Hussie said that fedorafreak's title would be the "gent of piss" but it's rather likely that they were just being silly. I also think that the title of a hope player would befit fedorafreak :) @marinerofthestars asked: for some incomprehensible reason hussie did in fact give us canon/‘canon’ fedorafreak lore on his formspring. he has the Title Gent of Piss and his server player (who survived at least long enough to get him into the medium) is 2busy4this (iirc they don’t actually appear elsewhere in the comic. guess hussie was. too busy for them) @morganwick asked: I believe Hussie has said that Fedorafreak's title is Gent of Piss. @skelekingfeddy asked: according to hussie fedorafreaks classpect is the Gent of Piss

Disrespecting our king! I have to assume that was a joke, because FedoraFreak deserves so much better than the Piss Aspect. I like Gent, though.

I was going to say I hoped that 2busy4this was able to enter the session - but really, that just means they'll die by Tumor, rather than meteor.

@morganwick asked: It was actually Fedorafreak's appearance on page 2918 that arguably made him a meme with the fandom.

It's been fun checking in with our king as we progress through the comic. I assume his memetic status is due to drinking his own urine - hence, the 'Gent of Piss' title that Hussie apparently saddled him with.

@clueless-rarito asked: Damn when I first read it didn't really sink in how fucked up the whole derse suicide mission situation was and how heartbreaking their whole conversation about it was. It's really the kind of thing you get a lot more from seeing someone else react to it

It's so twisted, isn't it? These poor children just want to protect each other, but each of them is convinced that the only way to do so is to die. Homestuck is so fucked sometimes.

@morganwick asked: Not to be too alarmist or presumptuous, but: did you not have anything to say about pages 3918-3920, or did your post(s) on those pages get eaten or otherwise lost?

Honestly, I just didn't have any commentary about them. They really just continued to depict the gradual return of John's memories, which I'd already talked about.

Sometimes I simply don't have that much to say about a given panel, even when the current arc is as exposition-heavy as this one. They can't all be mini-essays, y'know?

@wickedsick asked: Do you think Ghost John x Davesprite would count as…. Doomed yaoi?

Ayyyyyy!

@suroboro asked: So what you're saying is… that Terezi has gone Blind with Rage? (0;

Ayyyyyyyyyy!

Anonymous asked: after you finish homestuck you should 100% check out tumblr user meraki-sunset's crow strider au - it's wildly spoilery but i think as a davesprite lover you will enjoy it

Ah, yes, I'm pretty sure I know about this one! I've also been sent some of the artist's (non-spoilery) art, which looks absolutely gorgeous. It's definitely on the list!

Anonymous asked: This whole section is one of my favorite parts of Homestuck. All the conversations are so genuine and emotional, quiet and intimate, building anticipation but also savoring the moments they have before the end… ough. I gotta say, though it's probably the aspect I've understood the least since my classpecting phase, you really do strike me as Life oriented with a lot of the things you say :P

I still really llke the idea of being a Life Player - partially because I tend to gravitate towards healing, regeneration and resurrection abilities in games. I love getting tanky as fuck in Terraria, for example.

@manorinthewoods submitted: You know who, specifically, could have prevented Perfect Jack if she'd listened to her Denizen? Vriska. Vriska made the Choice that caused Bec Noir, unwittingly. If she hadn't, and if Denizen Choices truly do allow you to alter your own fate, then Jack never would have entered the troll session. Of course, whatever choice Vriska made to ensure Bec Noir's creation must have been earlier than the Veil. Potentially even in the presession! But if she just hadn't been Vriska, then… ~LOSS (19/12/24)

Wait, does it have to be earlier than the Veil? I don't think Vriska should even know about the kids' session until the game has already ended. Did I misapprehend some aspect of that plotline?

@krixwell asked: Worth considering in light of these revelations about Denizens and Typheus in particular: the parcel pyxis system, which fairly consistently takes things where they need to be. If Typheus controls the Breeze on LoWaS, he's basically the local mailman.

Heh, I like that. Perhaps that's why the Breeze will 'carry you to where need to go' - because it's being controlled by a postman, and a postman knows the destination of every package they handle.

@ramdomartkid asked: What do you think about the theory of the kids being homeschooled? As mensioned before, John never talks ab other ppl that aren't hs characters, (and aren't his neighbors) but he also never mentions why he's not at school at the beginning (or a b-day party with classmates) Same goes 4 Dave but Bro doesn't rl have that much motivation to put Dave in school in the first place. Less time for training. Rose…idk same as John And then Jade bc it's canon But that's just a theory…a webcomic theory (sorry if there are errors in grammar, english isnt my native language)

16:13 is fairly late in the afternoon, so John might have just returned from a day at school. I do think the homeschooling theory has merit, though - particularly with Dave, for the reasons you've already stated.

And yeah, Jade sort of had to be homeschooled if she was going to have any formal education at all. It would have ended pretty early, though. :(

@corporalotherbear asked:

LMAO

I feel like an identical exchange has occurred between Rose and Mom Lalonde.

@necrowyrm asked: In the past I thought of you as "thew" due to those being the letters I typed into Tumblr to search you. Recently, Tumblr has demanded an additional letter, so you are now "Thewe" (pronounced completely differently)

From thoo to thooie. It feels like I'm going through a Pokemon evolution!

Anonymous asked: You know that dream Dave talked about? Someone decided to illustrate it and GOODDAMN did they cook!

God damn, you were not kidding. This is such a macabre interpretation of the description he gave, and I love it.

@skelekingfeddy asked: ok im finally continuing with this quadrant ask series lol. i do think theres a side of propaganda to the quadrant system, despite what ive said about it. because even though its based around biological/evolutionary impulses…so is humanity’s concept of heteronormativity. the quadrants are a rather rigid, inflexible system, which is enforced by threat of DEATH. im willing to bet that, for example, certain trolls may feel only red attraction, or only black attraction, or only concupiscent attraction, or only conciliatory attraction, or zero quadrant-based attraction at all, or feel attraction completely outside of the quadrant system. the taboo against polyamory in one quadrant, like you’ve said several times already, is another flaw with the system. the quadrants system is predicated upon biology, sure, but so is cis/heteronormativity. i dunno, this is just my analysis of the quadrants xp idk if hussie was actually thinking about any of this when he was writing hs haha……

I pretty much agree with your take on quadrant propaganda.

In my opinion, any rigid framework of relationships - be it ours, Alternia's, or another - will inevitably fail to describe the full spectrum of possible relationship dynamics. Not every human is straight, gay or bi, and not every troll wants hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds.

Anonymous asked: wanna uh, put in my input on that kismessitude thread someone else sent to you. i disagree for a lot of spoilery reasons but mostly i just want to point out some things regarding a few specific assertions "jack and the queen's romance is tragic and meant to be compared to mom and dad, and the tragedy is unrelated to their romance" yes, mom and dad getting killed by jack noir is like, completely unrelated to their romance. they were literally just vibing and they got murked, would have been the same if it was a platonic hang out and they werent flirting at all. i buy that. we can't really compare that to jack noir and the queen, though, since jack kills the queen over the harlequin costuming. jacks and black queens are constantly attacking each other (over their several incarnations at this point i think they've lost like, 3 limbs between them and an eye. and of course jack killed her too in their like, third scene together). i just don't know how we're supposed to take that as 1. tragic given that a lot of the time it's played for slapstick comedy or "lol look at how much they hate each other" or 2. unrelated from their pitch romance. the dynamic of their pitch romance is them tormenting each other and in one case it ends with jack murdering the black queen. that's not equivalent to dad & mom. also, a few other points: i don't know how we're supposed to take the tavros & vriska stuff, because while they are definitely toxic, they seem to be pursuing each other in the RED quadrant, not in pitch… and it feels like the standards for toxicity are different there. also, something really important: eridan doesn't say anything about 'kismessitudes ending in death' in that conversation on page 2343. he says "CA: you could either play along as our auspistice and do a little mediating like you wwere fuckin hatched to CA: or wwatch she and me devvolvve into fuckin full fledged kismesisses the kind like you dont get once in ten thousand swweeps". the only mention of death here is in terms of COLLATERAL damage, not of them killing each other. eridan talks about killing all landdwellers (but not his friends, because theyre not like other girls i mean lowbloods! man the writing was on the wall with him). not about killing vriska. and this tracks way more with what alternia is like, for me personally- they don't care what two individuals do to each other, but when it begins to interfere with empire on a larger scale, then they would like a mechanism to break it up. ultimately, quadrants are something that WILL come up again in homestuck (spoilers, but i feel like that's obvious, lol. you have another what, 5000 pages?), so you'll get to form your own opinion on it. i just felt really baffled about the arguments because they… felt like they were missing contexts or taking leaps, so i thought i would weigh in. no hate to the other commentator! homestuck quadrant discussion is fun to me.

Interesting thoughts here, in response to a submission about quadrants from earlier in the year.

I don't think I'd ever personally call Jack/Black Queen 'tragic' - but I wouldn't use them as a model for troll kismessitude either way. They're a different species, so they're going to have different standards.

As for Vriska/Tavros…. to be honest, I don't think you could really quadrant them in a way that makes sense. Vriska hated Tavros too much for hearts, but didn't respect him enough for spades. As for Tavros, I don't think he's ever wanted anything to do with Vriska.

Anonymous asked: You might have noticed the unique Strife artstyle in this section of the story. These sprites were created by the art team for a Strife flash that never came to fruition. Now that you've seen the content that was made in place of that flash, I believe it's not a spoiler to send Hussie's commentary on his original plans. What are your thoughts on this alternate path and do you prefer the way the story was ultimately presented? What do you feel about his discussion of pros and cons? (1/2)

Sadly, I don't think we received the second half of this submission. I have been enjoying the artstyle of the recent arc - and if you resubmit Hussie's commentary on it, I'd love to take a look!

Anonymous asked: What mystical powers would the Dave of Guy title give a player? What insane abilities would the class of 'Dave' and the aspect of 'Guy' have?. ~DJ

David means beloved, and Guy is the name of a famous revolutionary.

Therefore, I believe the Dave of Guy would be 'beloved' by the very concept of disagreement, revolution and rebellion. In other words, the Aspect would always favor them, causing situations involving it to resolve in their favor.

If they argued against you, they'd win. If they fought against an institution, that institution would crumble. As long as they were fighting against some status quo, fate would smile on them.

Anonymous asked: If stuff about voice actors blows your mind, Casey Mongillo and Kira Buckland both got their start voicing Karkat and Vriska respectively in Youtube animations. Also "The idea of a work of fiction that subverts or wholly rejects the notion of ‘canon’ is pretty interesting, and on an academic level, it would be kind of cool to analyze it." Have you heard of this little show called Doctor Who? Because "there is no canon" is the position of the brand. I can elaborate on why if you're interested.

Oh, interesting! I was actually thinking about Doctor Who while answering that ask, because the idea of a story that stopped caring about its own lore was an unwelcome reminder of Moffat's era on the show.

I'd be really interested in hearing your thoughts on Doctor Who re: canon discourse, if you're willing to send!

Anonymous asked: i think you should talk about moffat

I was very tempted to compile a full essay summarizing my thoughts on Moffat, but I don't really have the time right now. Rest assured, some day I will absolutely go off on the Moffat era of Doctor Who - and let's not even talk about Sherlock.

@manorinthewoods asked: You may not be able to imagine Nepeta and Eridan being pals, but all the Erinep shippers certainly could. ~LOSS (15/12/24)

Please tell me their ship name is catfish.

@bladekindeyewear submitted: Now that the clock has “landed” on Just for Vriska, I wanted to talk a bit about how a WHILE back you pointed out Terezi’s coin flip as a crucial moment of morality… to me at the time, I believed that if any moment doomed her to a Just death, it was Vriska’s actions around that coin flip, that it was more important than just a narrative performance: Terezi was begging Vriska to leave even a SHRED OF CHANCE in the hands of the trolls to have her stay instead of leave, to give the other trolls even the last of a gambler’s luck of a collective say in whether or not she pursued this course of action that endangered them, and she stole it. Made it a constant across all timelines. I think that’s what crossed the last line of moral ambiguity, that she would not allow her friends a shred of agency over how reality unfolded… except to kill her. I felt THAT is what forced it to be Just, and that injustice is indeed perhaps a matter of trampling over the rights of others.

Perhaps, perhaps.

Mind you, I don't know if it's necessarily always a good or heroic thing to allow a Sburb Player full agency over their actions, nor is it necessarily a bad thing to restrict them, in certain cases.

If Eridan, for example, had been allowed to live his truth on the Veil, no lowblood would have made it out of there alive - and I wouldn't necessarily bet on the highbloods' survival, either. Kanaya was absolutely in the right when she cleaved his agency into two roughly equal pieces.

Vriska was definitely in the wrong when she rigged the coin, but I don't think it was because she didn't allow her friends agency - it was because she was going to get everyone killed. If Vriska had rigged a game against, say, Gamzee, and stopped his rampage as a result, she'd absolutely be doing something heroic, no matter now much she was trampling on his agency to do so.

@manorinthewoods asked: I am rereading my favorite HS fanfic, Like One Sundered Star, to research for Slurb (Sally Sburb), and I have determined that it may be viable liveblogging material, at least towards the second half. Unfortunately, it's image-poor, incredibly long, has a slow and almost a bit weak beginning, is less blog-dense, and also requires a different fanfic to be read first if you want to understand what happened at the start. ~LOSS (14/12/24)

That's the one that's as long as Worm, right? I'm definitely not saying no, but I also think I'd need a lot more free time to do it.

Plus, the lack of images, I think, would throw me off. That said, I did consider liveblogging Worm itself, back when I was reading it. I do think I could liveblog an entirely text-based story, but I'd probably have to rethink my approach.

@securitycapecreature asked: John kissed rose to save her live, same with jade kissing dave, karkats shipping chart is coming true before our very eyes

For a bisexual alien, his shipping is awfully straight, isn't it? I still think Rose/Jade makes much more sense than Rose/John.

@elkian asked: Game rec for Sally: I think you'd enjoy In Stars And Time, a tragicomic timeloop game. There's a handful of Homestuck references (including in the SASASAP artbook) and the humor+gameplay concepts are reminiscent of Undertale but it stands on its own. I'd actually strongly rec playing Start Again: A Prologue first, it's about 2-ish hours and sets the stage for ISAT. Both are really funny which I didn't expect from glancing at the promos so putting that there

I saw that one trending on Tumblr recently, and I'm a sucker for time travel stories. It's on the list!

Anonymous asked: Theres been fun discussion of the way homestuck uses the word play in meta gaming sense but noone's mentioned the word act yet have they? That's not a game word, that's an THEATER word. entire narrative of Homestuck is structured like a play script: it's separated into acts, narration is stage direction, all the dialogue is PLAYER DIALOGUE bc all the characters are actors playing their roles. and if you fuck up your role you get kicked out and REPLACED. exiles arent just npcs theyre STAGEHANDS

Ooh, I like these musings. It reminds me of how the Locked Tomb short story The Unwanted Guest plays with the idea of theatre as a metaphor. Taz Muir's Homestuck phase strikes again!

@bladekindeyewear asked: As we edge ever closer toward this Act’s inevitable conclusion, you asked if for a theory recap we could compile some of the DISPROVEN theories for you— and I’m sure we’ll find a good few to run by you for fun. Though the original Homestuck forums and threads are irrecoverable so much has been lost. But one of the things troubling me is this: Homestuck’s mysteries can be DEEP, leaving much implied. What about theories we formed at the time that were NEVER fully confirmed, might still be important, and which we shouldn’t even be implying to you whether there was any more evidence later because THAT would be a spoiler in and of itself? I think that’s what’s been getting me to hound you the most about opportunities to suggest more theories about stuff from past pages and thoughts we had SOLELY based on evidence we had AT THE TIME or earlier, because sometimes there may be shit amasses circumstantial evidence so many layers deep without EVER being confirmed, because as Andrew liked to put it, “Homestuck is a story that is also a puzzle”. And this onion has some deep effin’ layers we wouldn’t have even THOUGHT we might have reached without working together for years rereading this beast. If you’re still going about it solo, I thought at the end of this act you could use some of the keys we THOUGHT we found DURING this past act that we believed were finally unlocking deeper layers to squeeze twice as much juice or more out of every page.

See, the main problem here is that if a theory was never confirmed, then knowing about it sort of implicitly spoils parts of the comic. The more I know about what won't happen, the closer I get to knowing what will happen.

Therefore, I'm going to say 'not until much later on'. The kind of meta you're talking about would be absolutely fascinating to me, but I think it'd change my perception of the comic too much while I'm still liveblogging.

Anonymous asked: Jade on the page 3946 looks like those weird worms (worm on a string) :D

It's time to come off the string, Jadesprite. Release your true power!

Anonymous asked: You probably have a hundred of these by now, but at some point, those mini-side-story banners get hover-over Alt Text, so keep an eye out for that. Anonymous asked: don't forget to look at the top panels in this section :) rockernator2 asked: Don't know if anyone else has told you this, but there is (or is going to be) alt text on the upper pictures. Anonymous asked: make sure you keep an eye on what's happening at the top of the page! Anonymous asked: You've probably gotten at least one mention of this already, but if you haven't noticed it, it's worthwhile to look at the "banner" at the top of the page starting on page 3797. @bananonbinary asked: psst in true doc scratch fashion, the top panels actually have some alt-text if you hover the mouse over them. he's gotta make you work for it. @bananonbinary asked: oh dang oh shoot oh no thats not for a little bit yet i misremembered rip sorry Cat

[probably good to know early so you can watch out for it - C]

Noted! I just took a look back through the entire Scratch Sequence, and there's been no alt-text thus far. I have been worried about missing stuff in this sequence, given that there's so much going on.

@elkian asked: The Mendicant's Mauler Monologue took me the fuck OUT xD @metroid-fusion asked: hey sally the mailbox description joke was really really funny. youre good at homestuck

Something that is both normal to want, and possible to achieve!

I think PM herself would approve, too. She loves choosing violence.

Anonymous asked: "At some point, I'll have to check if any other lands feature musical symbolism." You mean like that giant record turntable thing in LoHaC? :P @sanctferum asked: "At some point, I’ll have to check if any other Lands feature musical symbolism." I don't remember if there's anything like that on LOFAF other than like, frog croaking (and what a musical genre that is! their albums are already sold out on whatever remains of Prospit, I'm sure), but boy does LOHAC not only have a giant CD, but one that's also the session's scratch construct. Dave's destiny must be to drop the sickest mixtape of all time, while trapping the pimp within his crib like it is hot. @wickedsick asked: "At some point, I'll have to check if any other Lands feature musical symbolism."

Yeah, it's definitely a possibility. (in all seriousness, Dave manipulates the stock market through time travel the way a DJ manipulates and mixes songs (represented through vinyls)?)

fucking LOL. This is what I get for liveblogging at 2am, I guess!

@garnetduodecim asked: Technically what doomed the time line wasn’t John dying, it was Dave prototyping Lil’Cal @bladekindeyewear asked: Doomed John said if he hadn't gone to see his Denizen, Dave(sprite) wouldn't go back and fix things so they could exist… but Dave THOUGHT John's death was why he needed to rewind. So what "doomed" the timeline before John even reached his denizen? One frightening possible answer: CALSPRITE. A prototyped Lil Cal wouldn't have been sent to Alternia in the wallet to be the base for Doc Scratch and guide their universe's creation. LIL CAL'S temporal necessity may have killed the timeline!

The order of events isn't entirely clear here, but you're right - Cal might very well have been prototyped before John flew through that Gate.

Future Dave immediately prevented both events when he travelled back, so it's impossible to say for sure - but I like this theory. That damn puppet is just... inescapable.

@pineapple-temporarily-moving asked: jsyk, you seem to have misinterpreted the line about trolls' eyes changing color when they grow up! only their irises change from gray to their blood color, their sclera do stay orange. mindfang is, indeed, old Anonymous asked: Trolls' /irises/ fill in with their blood pigment as they get older, not the orange part. Mindfang probably had blue eyes, we just don't generally get to see characters' irises. @abysswarlock asked: The eye color thing Vriska was saying was that the grey irises fill in with the troll’s blood pigment color, similar to how the kids iris colors match the color they type in @elkian asked: I always read Vriska's "fill in as we age" thing refer to the irises mentioned previously, but it's kind of just interpreted however. And Homestuck has so much symbolism and stylistic choices that it's not really clear lmao. @skelekingfeddy asked: im pretty sure the ‘eyes filling in with their blood color’ refers to their irises not their whole eyes

So no red-eyed Karkat?

0/10. Literally unreadable.

@krixwell asked: You mentioned in the ask compilation you just posted that the Aspects might operate on a meta level as well as a physical. You've already covered Void, but what do you make of the other Aspects through this lens? @heliotropopause asked: "Maybe Aspects can work on a meta level, as well as a literal one. Like, perhaps Void is the aspect of author uncertainty, […]" the meta level is honestly the most interesting aspect to aspects to me, and i'd love to see you have a go at it; there's definitely some analysis to be done there. @ariamaki asked: "Maybe Aspects can work on a meta level" AN IMPORTANT LESSON WAS LEARNED THIS DAY. I would love to hear your (current) thoughts as to what this would mean when expanded out to the other Aspects, because this is something I think about a lot.

So, this is a type of meta interpretation that I do like analyzing - but to be honest, I don't have many other meta interpretations for specific Aspects. Not yet, anyway.

That said, Sburb is essentially a story that forces itself on its Players, so it would be kind of cool if the Titles were part of that forced story, in some abstract way. I have started to wonder if Time and Space might represent plot and setting, respectively - but so far, that's only a half-baked idea. I'll definitely be returning to this idea in the future, when we've seen a little more of the other Aspects.

@galaxa-13 asked: "GT: my feathers are all ruffled, and i can no longer tell my ass apart from a big orange earth vegetable!" The joke here is "I can't tell my ass from [blank]" which is a pretty common saying when you're frustrated and confused. So John is basically saying "Oh yeah, you sure trolled me good! Because that's clearly what you're doing, trolling me. I am so ruffled!" Anonymous asked: For your information, an orange is not a "big orange earth VEGETABLE". Now, try and use your deductive skills to figure out what orange vegetable is being talked about. ~DJ

I know it was referencing a pumpkin, but I've honestly never heard that saying before. Perhaps it's a lot more popular in the US - or perhaps I'm just one of today's lucky 10'000.

Anonymous asked: Based on what you like about the comic (the same stuff I like) I doubt you would like any of the homestuck sequel/continuation stuff other than [one thing]. There's not much technical stuff, and I personally was really put off by the content of the sequels. I know some people like them but homestuck and it's sequels are very different types of stories. Anonymous asked: Regarding the epilogues (and Beyond Canon) to me, they feel like an interesting story - not necessarily things I would think the characters “would ‘actually’do”, but the themes about growing up, young adulthood, and friendships really resonated with me. A lot of the talk about “canonness” went over my head until it was pointed out to me, and I think that enhanced my enjoyment of it - I related to the story being told, and sort of regarded it as less what I thought would “really” happen and more an interesting idea telling me deep truths about myself. @manorinthewoods asked: To chime in on my view of the Epilogues - honestly, I think they are not particularly good, and until James Roach takes over 2 it's not particularly good either. I don't know whether I'd be sure in saying that reading them detracts from Homestuck, but I think I'd be comfortable saying that they are a continuation of what I feel to be a slow downward swing in quality after Act 5 - and an understandable one, given how Hussie must have been going through the mother of all burnout. ~LOSS (10/12/24)

Sounds about right. We had a bit of a chat about this on the Discord, and came to the conclusion that the tie-ins are probably going to be less appealing to me than the comic proper.

I'm going to default to a 'liveblog-lite' format for them, but reserve the right to do a deeper dive if I'm enjoying myself enough to warrant it!

Anonymous asked: In order to make 'Hostess' fit 8 letters, you'd have to use a typing quirk like Mindfang did with the Expatri8. As an example, the Condesce could have named her )(ostess, assuming that all ancestors share their typing quirks with their descendants. ~DJ Anonymous asked: If the main source for the Hostess' life is Mindfang, then yeah she'd probably have an 8 letter title. Otherwise, her title can be whatever number of letters you want. People do like sticking to the 8 letter rule for OCs, but compare - do real humans not often have given names with a different number of letters than 4, and surnames with a different number of letters than 6 or 7? Almost makes you question if all trolls really have 6/6 names.

Plus, the idea that Homestuck humans all have 6/7 letter surnames is a little weak anyway.

Four-letter first names might be a rule, but is a '6/7 letter surname' hypothesis really that much more likely than the hypothesis that there is no rule, and our four surnames are just between six and seven letters long by random chance?

@armchair-factotum asked: "Like, how does Rose’s chalk relate to bringing life back to her oceans? Did Hussie have different Quest in mind for her, back then?" Well, high concentrations of chalk in soil and water raises the pH, which might make it dificult for some plants and animals to live in? The "sand" on her island was all white and potentially made of chalk after all Anonymous asked: To elaborate on how the grist types/WV's items relate to the land quests: Oil is clogging the pipes that are integral to the salamanders' culture, preventing the Breeze from freely blowing through and delivering things, and the clouds trapping the fireflies are either smog from the oil or would normally be kept dispersed by the Breeze. Most of Rose's basic grist types (chalk, lime, marble) are forms of calcium carbonate, which is mostly formed through biological processes in the ocean, particularly through the accumulation of the shells of dead sea creatures like mollusks, corals, and foraminifera; chalk is formed from the skeletons of millions of dead plankton, and other forms of limestone also often contains fossils. Her beaches are the bleached bones of what once swam in the seas. Amber and rust are gumming up the gears of Dave's land, and the winter of Jade's land is implicitly a nuclear one. Last one is kind of ironically resolved by igniting a volcano, given sufficiently powerful eruptions can in theory create a similar winter effect. Not directly relevant, but I invite everyone to look up Verneshots, fun concept related to volcanoes and meteors. I feel like in the alternate Homestuck where the land quests are more explored, Hussie might have worked those in. Even less directly relevant, the term Siberian Trap(s) refers to both a volcanic event and a chess opening, which again I think could have been a fun Battlefield element in a story more focused on Sburb mechanics. @galaxa-13 asked: Rose's chalk related to her quest of bringing life to the ocean in that it was chalk that poisoned the water to begin with. By killing enemies and collecting the chalk grist as loot she was removing the poison.

I really like the implication that the chalk the Imps were dropping actually came from LOLAR's soil - almost like the Underlings themselves were born out of the ground.

And fuck, LOFAF's a nuclear winter! That's so good!

Anonymous asked: just want to take the time to HIGHLY recommend Homestuck Made This World ("a podcast about the critical analysis and contextualization of homestuck") its done by 2 media studies guys and its really great! they end up talking about doc scratch as one of an ongoing series of author figures, starting with the narrator of the comic (obvious), then dave (literally has a conversation that is an edited version of one of hussies chatlogs), bro (shares hussies interests + some anecdotal stuff related to smuppets (listen to the pod)), then hussie the self insert (an escalation of the narrator), and now doc scratch… (spoiler it keeps hapening) Anonymous asked: If you're into podcasts and people discussing Homestuck, you should at some point check out Homestuck Made this World. A podcast by two literature PHDs, one a long time Homestuck fan and one who's never read it before, discussing the comic a couple hundred pages at a time! They have a lot of great discussions, and the longtime fan also provides a lot of context for what was going on in the fandom at the time the pages originally posted.

Noted! I might listen along to it when I finally get around to rereading Homestuck. That's what I did with We've Got Worm.

Anonymous asked: i dont think anyones mentioned yet that the "hiding in an attic from bullies with a scary-ass wolf head" is also a never-ending story reference. Specifically in that thats literally the entire meta narrative the book was built around that the movie left out. the "puking on bullies" thing is also only in the movie and not in the book. Hussie Knows his references. @pages-in-movies asked: Congrats on hitting the milestone of being introduced to the main pillars of Homestuck: Jungian shadow, Gnosticism, The Never-ending Story, and the quote "nothing new under the sun"

At some point, I'm going to need to host a NeverEnding Story movie night. That, or Con Air.

#or both #asks #full liveblog #act 5.2

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