#kinda hard to do that when their faces r not shown . unfortunate

[quirkle2]

stargazing w da bestie

[yamujiburo]

Jessie and Cassidy reconciliation fanfic thing

I was going through my notes app just now to just clear out some junk and I found something I'd written like a year ago and totally forgot about hahhaha. I don't usually do fanfics but I guess I was in a writing mood that night. I can't remember why I stopped. I either got stuck, didn't know how I wanted it to end or was just having a hard time figuring out like,,,, the arcs and what I wanted the main focus of the story to be. Anyhow, here it is if you wanna read the set up I made for it haha

Jessie, James and Meowth have once again failed to complete a mission and Matori is TIRED of it. She brings it up go Giovanni who tells her not to worry about them. Matori can’t figure out why Giovanni puts up with them and starts digging on possible reasons why Giovanni would keep them around. She decides to go to HR to find answers. There, she meets Wendy.

“Ah– Matori!”

“Pull up records for Jessie, James and–“, Matori notices that Wendy already has Jessie’s files pulled up and gives her a strange look.

“I see you’re already doing your research on Miss Jessie…”

“N-no! Well, yes. It’s just that Jessie has continuously failed almost all missions she’s been assigned! Not to mention she’s singlehandedly almost made the organization go broke. Well, not really but she still owes a lot of money!”

“And the other two?”

“Huh? Oh yeah them, too I guess.”

“I just don’t understand what Giovanni could possible see in them. They’re not good for Team Rocket.”

“Tell me about it, I’ve been trying to get the boss to fire them for years. But he’s got a real soft spot for them apparently. Tch, to think they were the top of their class once.”

“Hmph, I find that hard to believe.”

“I can’t speak for James and Meowth, but Jessie really was a promising recruit. So much so that when she threatened to quit, she somehow manipulated every exec into fulfilling her demands.”

“Threatened to quit?” The gears in Matori’s head began to turn. Sure Giovanni wouldn’t fire the trio, but if they were to quit, there would be nothing he could do.

“Yeah, she had a falling out with her first partner. And instead of being PROFESSIONAL she wined until she got a new one. Then she proceeded to go through like 10 more partners until James came along. If you’ve ever talked to her I’m sure you can tell she’s not the easiest person to work with.”

“Hm. Perhaps it’s time to switch up some teams.”

“C-can you do that? Is that allowed?”

“I could pull some strings.”

“Isn’t that sabotage?” Wendy asks. Matori shoots her a look.

“Call it what you want, but it’s my job to make sure this organization is successful as possible. Getting rid of some problem lackeys will only benefit Team Rocket. If Giovanni won’t do anything about them, then I will.”

“Matori. You are my hero”

“Are there any potential candidates we could temporarily team them up with? Or members they’ve been known to… not get along with?”

A big, Gengar-like smile creeps on Wendy’s face. “I know just the agents.”

_____________________________________________________________

Early in the morning in Jessie and James’ base, they get a call from Matori. Jessie is already annoyed, knowing who’s calling, but she wakes up her team members just in case it was Giovanni.

“A little early don’t you think, Matori?” Matori composes herself and ignores Jessie’s jab.

“Giovanni hasn’t arrived yet, but I have very important news.” Jessie, James and Meowth’s interests are piqued. “Your success rates have been… less than exemplary. But, you have previously shown you are exceptional agents.”

Jessie is taken aback by the, sort of, compliment from Matori. “So what’s the issue?”

“We have reason to believe that, while neither of you are individually the reason for your constant failures, you are incompatible as a team and you are going to be reassigned to different partners, effective immediately.”

James and Meowth look at each other shocked, and the thoughts going through their head were interrupted by their soon to be, not-leader. “WHAT?! You can’t split us up! We–“

“I apologize for the inconvenience. But this is for the benefit of Team Rocket. I do not have time to argue this. It has already been decided and your new partners have been decided. James, you are to return to headquarters where you will meet your new partner and Jessie, you will remain where you are and your new partner will arrive tomorrow.”

“What about, Me-owth?”

Matori pauses. She hadn’t thought about the cat. “You can decide who you wish to go with. Thank you for your time. Best of luck with your new arrangements.”

Matori hangs up. Jessie, James and Meowth stand staring at the screen, solemn. What doe they do now? Years of working together over, just like that.

“UGH THAT LITTLE FOUR EYED BOWL CUT HAIRED FREAK! I’m gonna do something about this! They can’t do this to us!” James gently puts his had on Jessie’s shoulder.

“There’s nothing we can do,”

James packs up, Meowth has decided to go with James. They say their goodbyes. James and Meowth grab the rest of their things and leave. Jessie is left alone with her thoughts.

_____________________________________________________________

Back at headquarters, we see James and Meowth being led by Matori to her office where she says his new partner is waiting. She talks about how this member is in a very similar situation. They walk in and see short, green hair. “BUTCH???”

“Oh no not you guys!”

“If you’re my new partner, that must mean…”

“Oh no,” they all say in unison.

_____________________________________________________________

Jessie still lying in the same place on her bed. Why was she feeling this way? She’d been through so many parters before. Sure she’d been with James and Meowth longer, but she wasn’t one to get attached. Well, not anymore. In the middle of her thought, she hears the elevator to the base coming down. She gets up and makes herself as presentable as possible (over shirt is off, makeup kinda smeared, boots off). Before she can get her shit together, a pair of white boots click, clack in. Jessie looks up, and the flash of orange, blonde seared her eyes.

“CASSIDY?!”

“JESSIE?!”

“No, no, no there has to be some sort of mistake. I can’t be teamed up with you! I hate you!”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“I can’t believe I going to have to work with your ugly ass every day.”

“You’re one to talk. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Jessie turned to the standup mirror leaning against the wall. She was definitely not looking her best.

“You caught me at a bad time!”

“You sure? I recall you always looking this ratty. I guess it has been a while since I’ve seen you, thank goodness," Cassidy said smugly. Jessie was already pissed off.

“We’re calling Matori RIGHT NOW to fix this.”

“Gee, while you’re looking like that?”

“I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT.” Jessie picked up the communicator, which brandished a large R on the wall. Matori picked up.

“Good afternoon Jessie, are you aware that you’re not in uniform?”

“Cut the crap you clod! You set me up with Cassidy on purpose!”

“Ah I see you’ve met your new partner! Hello, Cassidy.”

“Matori,” Cassidy said with a small bow. Of course Cassidy was trying to stay composed. Just another way to try one-up Jessie.

“We can NOT work together. I demand you put me back on my old team!”

“While I’m not one to disagree with higher ups, Miss Matori, I unfortunately have to side with Jessie on this one. You might not be aware but Jessie and I were partners once in our training days. We simply are not compatible,” Cassidy explained as politely as possible.

“Was there a reason for this, incompatibility? I was looking through your records and it appeared that you two were quite the team back in the day. I had assumed that the executives just wanted two top agents to be on other teams with some less skilled trainees.” Both Cassidy and Jessie blushed.

It was true that Jessie and Cassidy were at the top of their class for quite some time. But the reasons for them being split up were quite… personal.

“Listen, we just can’t work together. Try getting that through that helmet head of yours.”

_____________________________________________________________

~aaaaand this is where i got to~

Anyone wanna finish this for me? /j

I can't remember where I wanted this to go. I think I was gonna have Jessie and Cassidy try to suck it up and work together so they don't lose their jobs. They fight Ash and Goh, trying to get Pikachu as usual and quickly fail because of their bickering. They eventually have a heart to heart, wondering where they went wrong back when they were a team. They say a lot of things that they'd failed to communicate in the past and reconcile.

THEN this is where I kinda got stuck on what I wanted the focus/them to me. There was a version in my head where after they reconcile they like,,, make out and start falling in love again (for those new here, I firmly believe Jessie and Cassidy are bitter exes and had a falling out during their training days). After this their chemistry and communication improve immensely resulting in them succeeding to catch Pikachu. Matori comes to retrieve it but Ash and Goh get it back while it's in Matori's hands (making it her failure). And then I wasn't sure how to end this version. Maybe things going back to normal after Giovanni finds out that Jessie and Cassidy are dating and deems it unprofessional. Jessie, James and Meowth are reunited and Cassidy and Butch are as well. Happy ending were things are as they were but now Cassidy and Jessie are on good terms and still together maybe???

The oooother version was centering the story more around Jessie and her inability to keep her partners/not appreciating them. If I went with this I think I'd start off the story differently with her being a dick to James and Meowth (which she is a lot of the time but this time she crosses a line). After the team switch she finds that she really had been taking her teammates for granted. I think Cassidy and Jessie still have that heart to heart but then it's more about how Jessie hurt Cassidy and Jessie kinda realizes that she's still making the same errors currently. They reconcile buuut the both of them still want their old partners back so they hatch a plan to successfully steal Pikachu but ensure that Ash gets it back when it's in Matori's hands. They request that they be paired up with their old teammates and in exchange, wouldn't tell Giovanni that Matori messed up. Everything goes back to normal the end.

I had too many jumbled ideas and because I don't have the attention span to write for more than a couple hours I just dropped this LOL. Just thought I'd share in case anyone found this remotely interesting or entertaining hehe

[midnightsnyx]

Mathew Barzal - A Year In The Making

pairing: mat barzal/reader

word count: 5.5k

warnings: fluff, angst (me writing sad stuff?? shocker), and there may be a couple swear words? also, this is not edited so i apologize in advance lol

a/n: so this isn’t the soulmate mat fic i am supposed to be writing lol but its still mat! i’ve been working on it f-o-r-e-v-e-r for @hannahmb​ so hannah, i hope you like it!

my masterlist

Mat Barzal

Summary: Y/N looks back on an entire year with Mat.

 January

When you say that meeting Mathew Barzal swept you off your feet, you mean he literally swept you off your feet. It was cold and icy when you were walking to your favorite coffee shop. You weren’t watching where you were walking so when you ran in to him, his foot accidentally (and you question to the day whether it was truly accidental) tripped you up, he managed to catch you before you fell and when you looked at him and saw warm hazel eyes and brown hair sticking out from under his gray hat, you knew you were a goner.

. . .

You knew the reputation hockey players had. They slept around, didn’t give girls a second look after they got what they wanted and you were dead set on never giving Mathew Barzal a second thought but when you ran into him at the grocery store and he asked you to go for coffee, you agreed. 

Looking back, it was probably the dumbest and smartest decision of your life.

Coffee led to lunches which led to a movie night at his place which led you to your first hockey game. You knew absolutely nothing about hockey but what you did know, was that Mat loved to celebrate after a win. Whether it was heading to the bar with a couple of his friends or spending the night home watching a movie, he was always in the best mood after. 

After your first game, he decided that the best way to celebrate was to go for a walk and get hot chocolate with you. Despite only knowing each other for a little under a month, it felt like the two of you had been the best of friends forever. It was something that attracted you to Mat. How easily he was able to get you to open up to him and vice versa - how much he trusted you with his thoughts and feelings. 

It’s definitely how you found yourself standing under a lamppost, snow falling around you like some cheesy romance novel and Mat kissing you softly.

And thinking back, you wouldn’t have changed a single thing.

February 

Things between you and Mat were… interesting to say the least. You weren’t a couple but you know that both of you weren’t seeing other people either. Labels were messy anyways. They caused more tension between the two of you than good. Your friends, however, had their opinions.  

“I just think it’s a little weird that he hasn’t asked you to make things official yet.” Your friend said. “I mean, you don’t know what he does on the road or during the nights you don’t spend together.”

Her words certainly hit a sore spot but you tried to brush it off. “It’s casual,” you said. “We don’t want to jump into anything.”

“If you say so.” She hummed, going back to eating her pasta. 

Her words were in the back of your mind though, no Mater how hard you tried to push them out. You and Mat had been open about not seeing other people, it was a lengthy discussion that made you feel better about not putting a label on anything. But, there’s always the possibility that he would change his mind. You didn’t know what he did on the road. Maybe your friend was right, and even though you and Mat had talked about it, perhaps it was just his way of making sure you stuck around while he was home.

Maybe you were just the pathetic girl that waited at home for him while he did whatever he wanted while on the road.

 March

You’d swept your uneasy feelings about Mat under the rug until a Snapchat video surfaced of him on the internet. It was him with the other guys sitting at a table in a bar with some girls sitting with them. 

They were sitting with Mat and not on him is what you kept telling yourself. He didn’t look like he was interested in them but you couldn’t get rid of the awful feeling in the pit of your stomach that he would take one of them home with him.

You knew that letting your friend’s words about him would ruin things but you couldn’t help it. So you ignored him when he called you the next morning. He knew that you had early classes and wouldn’t call you after games when the time zones would be too different.

You ignored his call and then the texts he sent. He would be home the next day so you decided he could wait until then because you still weren’t sure what exactly to say to him. What would you tell him? That you didn’t believe him when he said that he only wanted to see you? That you didn’t trust him, or that you let your friends words get to you?

You still didn’t know what to say when he showed up at your apartment. He looked worried and mad and you weren’t sure which was worse.

“What’s wrong?” was the first thing he asked. There was no hello, how are you?

“Nothing.” You lied but he shook his head. 

“I know you better than that.” He said. “Something’s wrong.”

You wanted to lie to him again, tell him it was nothing, and to forget about it but you needed to know. 

“Those girls in the video.” You said, and he looked confused for a moment before his expression turned into understanding. “I know we aren’t a couple, technically,” you said quietly and watched as he slowly walked towards you. “But it bothered me.”

You waited for his reaction, watched his face warily. What you weren’t expecting was for him to take both your hands in his and squeeze them gently.

“Can I be honest with you?” He asked softly and even though you weren’t ready for his honesty, you nodded.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you that entire night.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Tito kept asking me why I wasn’t making a move on one of them.” His head tilted a little as he studied you. “But all I could think about that night was how much I wanted you to be there with me.” 

You couldn’t hide the smile that crossed your face and you wrapped your arms around his waist and hid your face in the crook of his neck. 

“I kinda wished I was there too.” You whispered and your smile widened when he picked you up and spun you around. He was laughing when he put you down.

“Let’s go out tomorrow night. A couple of the guys and their girlfriends or wives are going to Joe’s.” He gave you a hesitant look but continued. “I want to introduce you to them.” 

Your brows furrowed. “I’ve met your teammates.” 

“I want-” he cleared his throat. “I want to introduce you as my girlfriend.” 

Your smile could have lit up the room.

April

You quickly learned that being exclusive wasn’t all that it was cut out to be. There was a certain pressure that came with dating a professional athlete and as time went on, you felt yourself begin to crack under that pressure. You weren’t sure if it was the media, intense fans or the fact that it was difficult to spend as much time together during the Playoffs but you started to question things with Mat.

Your mother always told you that you were an over thinker and always managed to think of the worst possible scenarios and though you would never admit it to her, she was damn right.

Your overthinking is what typically caused an fight between you and Mat. You were never one to pick fights but it just felt like every single thing that happened made you upset. Whether it was you feeling that he played video games too much when the two of you hung out or that he thought you made a big deal out of small things, the two of you were arguing all the time.

It left you spending many nights questioning whether being with him was even worth it when all it seemed to do was cause stress. You wondered if he ever thought the same things.

. . .

The loud cheering in the Barclays Centre did no good to your mood on a Monday afternoon game. You weren’t even sure why you went to the stupid game in the first place after a terrible argument between you and Mat the night prior. It might have been Tito’s many, many texts that day asking you to come because “Mat is always in a bad mood when you don’t come to games” that had you sitting in the stands sporting your Barzal jersey. You knew that you were welcomed in the Wives Lounge but sometimes you enjoyed sitting surrounded by random people you didn’t know and not having to socialize.

It definitely was a good idea at the time because yours and Mat’s fight had unfortunately been in front of some of his teammates and their other halves so you didn’t feel like getting questioned about it.

A loud bang caused you to nearly jump out of your seat and when you looked up, Tito was standing in front of you, grin on his face and waving. You had been distracting yourself on your phone so you wouldn’t look at Mat during warm-ups but you caught his eye when Tito had made you look up. You couldn’t really read the expression on his face. Part was probably irritation and the other maybe relief that you had shown up. The door slamming in his face the night before was probably still fresh in his mind.

Tito waving his hand in front of you brought you back from the memory and he had a puck in his hand, pointing it to you. You furrowed your brows at him because you already had a few pucks from games when you and Mat had first started dating because he had a habit of gifting you with a lot of Islanders things. So you caught it when he chucked it over the glass, intending to give it to the kid sitting next to you until you caught sight of some scribbles on the back. You flipped the puck over and your heart warmed when you realized it was Mat’s handwriting.

I’m sorry with a small heart was written messily on it and when you looked up and caught Mat’s eyes, you smiled and nodded and that must have been enough for him because he grinned and winked at you.

It was enough for now.

. . .

Meeting him at the locker room doors was not anything unusual but you were on edge that evening. You were pretty sure Mat had forgiven you for slamming the door in his face the night before but you were still nervous. When the guys started coming out of the locker room, dressed back in their game suits and grins on their faces, you kept your eyes trained on the doors waiting for Mat.

“He’ll be a few more minutes.” Tito said, stopping in front of you. “He’s doing an interview - game winning goal scorer and all.”

You smiled and let him ruffle your hair like you were his little sister despite the age difference between you two being minor. He always treated you like a sister from the moment you met and you liked that compared to some of Mat’s other young teammates who tried flirting with you in the beginning.

“Thanks, Tito.” You said, waving as he smiled again and walked away.

A little longer than a few more minutes, Mat walked through the doors. He was dressed in his suit again and his hair was wet from the quick shower he must have taken before coming out.

“Hey.” He said quietly, hesitating as if he had been trying to decide whether to approach you or not. When you held out your arms, he walked straight to you and wrapped his around you, lifting you off the ground slightly.

The two of you stood there for what felt like longer than it probably was before he loosened his arms and pulled away a little.

“I’m sorry.” He said, resting his forehead against yours.

“Me too,” you told him and stood on the tips of your toes so you could reach his lips. The kiss was gentle and slow and when you pulled away, you took a step back. “The fight was stupid and we both know it.”

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “I know. I just… I feel like sometimes we fight for no reason and it frustrates me. I hate being mad with you.”

Deciding that Barclays Centre wasn’t the right place for his conversation, you took his hand and pulled him towards the exit.

“Let’s go home and talk.” You said and he nodded, squeezing you hand gently and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

As you both walked to his car, you idly wondered when home stopped being a place and instead became a person.

May

The Islanders got put out of the playoffs during the second round and although you knew Mat was upset, he shrugged and said, “there’s always next year.” You wondered if that was what got professional athletes through the losses in their careers.

The end of the hockey season meant Mat going home to B.C and it left you in an odd place. He didn’t directly ask you to come with him for the off season but the way he described his summer plans, made it seem like you were involved.

But you being you prevented you from outright asking if he wanted you to come home with him. It was a big step and you weren’t sure you could handle the rejection.

As the date he was leaving quickly approached, he asked if the two of you could talk and your stomach plummeted at his words. You agreed though and during the drive to his apartment, you mentally prepared yourself for the rejection.

He greeted you at the door with a kiss which eased some of your worries but when he started making you your favourite ice tea, you started getting worried. He was mindlessly babbling about random things until he sat on the stool next to you and when you looked at him, he was uncharacteristically serious.

“You could have told me you didn’t want to come to B.C,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been offended, I know you have friends here and probably had summer plans-”

“Mat.” You said quickly, cutting him off. “I want to come with you. To your home.”

He stopped his babbling and looked at you in shock. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah.”

“But you didn’t say.”

“Well I mean, you never asked.”

He rose his eyebrows comically high. “I didn’t think I had to.”

A smile broke out across your face and you leaned forwards so you could kiss him. He chased after you when you sat back making your grin widen. “I just didn’t want to push. We spend nearly all year together so I didn’t know if you wanted space for the summer.”

“Y/N.” He said seriously. “I want to be with you. Forever.”

And if that wasn’t the sweetest and most romantic thing a man had ever said to you, you weren’t sure what was.

June

Summer with Mat was, well, amazing. Days spent on the lake and nights spent under the stars ended up making that summer one of the best in your life.

Meeting his family for the first time was equally frightening as it was exciting. His father, Mike and mom Nadia were two of the kindest people you met and you quickly bonded with his sister Liana. They took you in as if you were their own and Mat frequently joked that they were stealing you from him.

You didn’t mind though. You loved spending days shopping at the mall or going to the beach with Liana. Brunch with his mom was always lovely and she always managed to tell you the funniest and most embarrassing stories about Mat. It gave you a little leverage when you needed it and on top of that, Mat was overly cute when he would pout at you jokingly poking fun of him.

Every single day, you realized you fell a little more in love with him and that realization nearly knocked you off your feet.

July

“Let’s go out tonight together.” He said one morning. “Just the two of us.”

Not having spent much alone time together as you would have liked, you quickly agreed. Mat didn’t tell you where he planned on taking you but he must have told Liana because she chose an outfit for you. It gave you a small idea of what he might have been planning.

She didn’t pick out a fancy dress which told you that he wasn’t bringing you to a high end restaurant which you were secretly pleased about because you never quite felt like you fit in at places like those. You much more preferred to go to a small diner so when she chose a cute romper with a pair of sandals, you had a bit of an idea of where you might be going.

“Any hints?” You asked, placing a hand over his which was resting on your thigh.

He shook his head and grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

You pretended to be bothered by it but you felt giddy inside that he was putting so much thought in to your date. It was also fun playing a guessing game, throwing ideas at him of where he was taking you even though you knew he wasn’t going to tell you. You had carefully watched his reactions to your guesses so you weren’t overly surprised when your ride ended at a park.

It was pretty late in the evening, getting close to dark so there were very few people out and around. He parked his car and reached in the backseat to grab a bag before climbing out of the car.

You knew he liked opening the door for you so you waited until he opened it before getting out as well. He took your hand and lead you to a park of the park that was empty and then dropped the bag on the ground and dug around, pulling an old blanket out.

“Picnic?” You asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“Is it okay?” He asked and you sat down when he spread the blanket out.

“It’s perfect.” You told him, watching as his face lit up. He sat down next to you and started pulling different snacks out of his bag, handing you some of your favorites.

“Mom helped pack the lunch.” He paused. “I had to stop her when she tried to cook a three course meal for us.”

You couldn’t help but laugh because it was a very Nadia thing to do.

“I love your mom.” You said. “I love your entire family.”

He smiled, looking at the ground as if he was concentrating on something. You knew the look enough that it meant he was going to say something but was either nervous and was working himself up to saying it or would decide not to say it at all.

But you wanted to know what he was thinking so you nudged him.

“What’s going on in your head?”

His cheeks were red when he lifted his head and he shrugged, smiling.

“I love you.”

Your smile was as bright as one of the stars and he met you halfway when you leaned towards him.

“I love you too.”

August

August was one of your least favourite months because it meant that summer was coming to an end. It also meant that off season was coming to an end and it meant that you and Mat would soon be heading back to New York. You loved it there, you really did. You missed your friends and your job but you knew you would miss B.C even more so when the day came that the two of you had to leave, you weren’t ashamed of the tears that were shed. Nadia made you promise to visit again soon and it was an easy promise to keep.

As soon as you got home, Mat was right back at training for the new season. It was a big change from spending basically every single day together to having to share him again with hockey. You loved Mat and you loved that he did what he loved but sometimes you did wish he had a normal nine to five job. He knew you felt that way some days and you could tell he sometimes felt a little bad about it but what you came to learn throughout your relationship with Mat, was that hockey nearly always came first. It was something that you struggled a lot with in the beginning of your relationship but it got a little easier as time went on.

On your best days, you would watch Mat train and feel pride in how determined and hard working he was.

On your worst days, you laid in bed at night and tried to think of your first kiss with the snow falling softly around you, warm sunny days at the lake and late nights under the stars.

Sometimes it was enough but sometimes, it wasn’t.

September

Wake Me Up When September Ends is the most played song on your playlist for an entire month.

October

You never know the biggest fight of your life is coming until it happens. It’s something that starts as the smallest of things until suddenly it hits you like a freight train and the impact is devastating.

That’s what the biggest fight of yours and Mat’s relationship was like.

You hated shouting and screaming. You hated threats to give everything up and walk away. You hated how easy it felt to do just that.

But what you hated most of all, was feeling like you were never enough. Like no Mater how hard you tried, failure was bound to happen and there was no way you could stop it.

And that was exactly what happened.

Slamming doors was your thing. It was childish and immature but it was a way of you making a point when you were angry about something so when Mat slammed a door, you knew he was past anger.

Mat rarely got angry with you. It could be counted on one hand the amount of times he even raised his voice at you but that night, the two of you yelled at each other until your voices were hoarse.

“Why can’t you understand where I’m coming from?” You snapped, watching him pace back and fourth across the living room. His hair was a mess, he had been running his hands through it and tugging enough that you thought he would tear it out.

“Because it makes no sense!” He yelled, “you knew what you signed up for when we started dating! I can’t be your typical nine to five boyfriend who comes home every night.”

“I’m not asking you to be that! I’m asking you to try and put more effort in to this relationship!” You shouted, not caring about the noise complaints you received from your neighbors a week later. “Do you know what it feels like when you feel that you’re the only one putting any effort in? What it feels like when you look at your friends relationships only to realize that yours isn’t even close to how good theirs is?”

“So you’re calling me a terrible boyfriend.” He said dryly.

“That’s not what I said and you know it. Stop putting words in my mouth, Mat.”

“I’m not putting words in your mouth if that’s what you’re saying. If you’re so unhappy, then why are you still with me, huh?”

His words stopped what you planned to say and you stared at him in shock. A small part of you wondered what the answer to his question was. Were you really that unhappy that you considered leaving?

“I…” you began but trailed off as you watched any emotion leave his face. The hurt and even anger disappeared and you didn’t realize how quiet the room was until he shook his head.

“I’ll make it easier for you.” He said, grabbing his coat and keys. “I’m done.”

You felt like you were frozen in place as you watched him leave, slamming the door behind him. Minutes passed before you slowly walked towards the front door, opening it in hopes that maybe just maybe he was standing on the other side but when you opened it, the hallway was empty. It was dead silent and when you looked at the floor, you saw Mat’s key to your apartment laying there, the little heart and smiley face you had drawn on it staring up at you as if it was mocking you.

You knelt down to pick it up and suddenly it felt like you couldn't breathe, like all the air was pulled from your lungs and your heart was cracking open.

If meeting Mat felt like breathing for the first time, then losing him felt like drowning.

November

You thought that heartbreak was something that passed eventually, that it got easier every day but it was a lie. You didn’t get over Mat quickly, in fact, it felt like every day got harder and you always told yourself you wouldn’t be that girl. The girl who gets her heart broken and can’t get over him. You wouldn’t cry yourself to sleep some nights or be afraid to turn the TV on in case it was the sports channel and you saw his face.

You scrubbed your apartment clean of him, everything he gave you and anything that reminded you of him sat in boxes on the top shelf of the spare bedroom. It didn’t help though because the memories, those were impossible to forget. They were engraved in your brain forever.

You hated him for how easily he left, how easy it was for him to walk out of your life as if he was never here.

Tito texted you a few time in the beginning, first asking what happened and then asking if you were okay or if you needed anything. You guessed he got the message when you didn’t answer because you haven’t heard from him in weeks and you weren’t sure if that made you relieved, or sad.

Falling in love was easy you realized.

Falling out of love was impossible.

December

A year passes swiftly. Especially when it’s both the best and worst year of your life. You hated yourself for it, but when December hits, you wondered how Mat was. You wondered if he got over you quickly or if he struggled the same way you did. You suspect it was the former.

At the end of every year, you liked to go through your things and donate what you don’t need or want. You started with your clothes and as you went through it, you noticed that you were missing several of your favourite outfits and your heart sank when you realized they were at Mat’s.

It left you with a dilemma. Leave them, or be a big girl and go ask for them back. You could go through Tito to get them back but you don’t know if he’s upset with you for ignoring him just because you broke up with Mat. He was your friend and it was unfair what you did but at the time, you were hurting.

But still, you decided to do it yourself and go get the clothes from Mat’s apartment and whatever else you might have left there. You did your best to get ready and look presentable and when you felt ready, you grabbed your keys and headed for the door. When you opened it, a hand nearly collided with your face as the person standing there was starting to knock. They jumped back and when you looked up, you found yourself staring in to the eyes of the exact person you were going to see.

“Mat.” You whispered, feeling like you needed to reach out and touch his face to make sure he was actually standing there and you weren’t hallucinating. But you didn’t because that would just make you look insane.

“Hi.” He said quietly and the two of you stood there for an unknown amount of time staring at each other.

Eventually, you found your voice.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, not harshly but confused.

He opened his mouth to say something but it was if he couldn’t get the words out. Like they were stuck in his throat.

“I’m sorry.” He finally said and you looked at him in shock.

“What?”

He scratched the back of his head and looked at the floor. “What I said to you… it was unfair. I know I fucked up, and I don’t deserve a second chance but these past two months, I missed you like Hell.”

You were lost for words. You couldn’t lie and say you didn’t miss him too but were you really willing to put your heart on the line again and it got broken so easily last time? Could you even handle another heartbreak like that?

“Can we… can you give me a second chance?” He asked so timidly and quietly that you barely heard him.

You let yourself think back over the past year, remembering every single detail. All the joy, laughter, love and heartbreak. Was it worth it? Risking everything again even though you could end up broken again?

You found yourself looking at Mat again, hazel eyes warm and hopeful and it makes you think of the very first time you met. You were faced with the same decision - to let him in or let him go?

You knew you could live without him but you realized standing there, thinking about the past and what the future could be - you didn’t want to live without him.

So you stood up on the tips of your toes and pulled his lips down to meet yours and it felt like you were whole again.

“I can.”

(a couple years down the road, you’ll be saying I do in front of your friends and family with the love of your life and you’ll realize that yes, the risk was worth it.)

[dartheclipse0816]

Trollstopia Season 3: My Review

Okay, everyone. I’m sure you all know the drill by now. I’ve seen Trollstopia Season 3, and here’s my review:

It was pretty decent, but… well, there were some things about some of the episodes that made me, well…I’m not saying I hated the season, absolutely not! No, what I’m saying is, well, I’ll have to elaborate on that a little more down below.

To start with, there’s plenty of positives. I liked that reference to the 1980 horror movie, The Shining, (based on the horror novel of the same name by Stephen King) in Extreme Sleepover (is that what it was called?), and, Surprise-O-Tron FINALLY proved to me that video games do in fact exist in the Trolls world. I also thought R&B in R&D was pretty nice, as well as Daylight Ravings, since those episodes put more light and attention on more of the characters made just for this show and got to show more of their personalities and whatnot. I also like Branch getting along well with others in Clash of the Battle Pinatas.

Unfortunately, even though I never thought I would ever get to say this, but when the whole season comes together, well, I’ve been more indifferent and dissatisfied with a lot of the decisions made with some of the characters in this season than satisfied.

Like, I’m not sure if this is because I’m getting older or because of experience with cartoons and whatnot, but…it seems to me that the outcomes of episodes are becoming, well… more predictable than before. More often then not, I would go into an episode, and expect a big whiplash in tone at some point in the episode, and then that would prove to be true near the end. Like, in Surprising Gust, I predicted that Poppy would trick him into being surprised, and that’s what happened at the end.

I get it, this show is meant for kids, but, as a Trolls fan, I thought it could’ve been done a bit better and perhaps unpredictable?

But that’s not what bothered me when compared to my biggest criticisms about this season. No, it’s not that it has less content than seasons 1 and 2, as that isn’t true. They were, well, Branch being humiliated and embarrassed on end throughout some of the episodes, more so than in seasons 1 and 2. Not to the same level as the early seasons of Trolls: the Beat Goes On! (I still don’t like that show, because of its unlikable first impression, despite the later seasons being better), but still. Like, in Nowwhere to Fun, Nowhere to Hide, he’s shown constantly getting frustrated throughout the whole episode, it made me feel sorry for him.

I know he’s known for being grumpy and all, but I at least know what it’s like to be like him, and trying to accomplish something and it getting frustrating and aggravating when you can’t. And yes, Branch did feel better at the end, but less than 15 seconds of satisfaction, while it was a little easing for my heart, it doesn’t really undo 7 minutes of mass frustration you’d feel when playing a very hard game like that, kinda like a hard game of Fortnite filled with players more skilled than me. Despite that sort of easier-feeling ending, the damage had already been done, and it takes time to fix that.

But by far the episode that disappointed me the most was the last episode, The Fabrinth. I know this is my own opinion, and others may criticize me for saying this, and I may be the only one thinking this, but……I thought Poppy, Holly, and Val…weren’t very nice to Branch in that episode. Forcing him to say things he doesn’t want to say and being smug about it complete with "Deal with it", in both the beginning and ending, I’m sorry, but that just made me feel…

AAAAAAARRRGHHHH!!!!😡😡😡😡😡😡

AAAAARRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!😡😡😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

I’m sorry, guys. That episode… that felt like a massive downgrade to an early TBGO episode, once again making the characters smug and just not nice or helpful to Branch for the most part and humiliating him like that, *massive sigh*… I just wanted confront those three to throw a supernova in their faces, Sephiroth-style……

Alright, alright, I’m sorry. But that was the best way I could describe how I felt. I know there was that drawing Branch made while he was trapped, and it looked like he was drawing himself and Poppy under a tree, which I thought was really cute, and I also liked that little talk Branch had with Poppy at that moment when she was trying to find him. But, again, that all felt undone when Poppy, Holly, and Val once again made Branch annoyed. I never felt this angry and bitter about the end of a seasons since the ending of season 2 of TBGO, which, if you didn’t know, was just about one of the things I hated the most about the Trolls franchise.

I’m sorry, guys. I’ve ranted and ranted, but don’t you understand? I thought that episode could’ve ended and taken place in a much better way. It talked about BFFs and becoming best friends and whatnot, and I thought it could’ve ended with Poppy saying Branch was a BFF as well. It’s like that episode completely ignored the ending TWT, and their relationship there, along with undoing their character developments there.

I know, Branch and Poppy's relationship being ignored also happened in seasons 1 and 2, but at least those seasons were still enjoyable for not making Branch such an unlucky person who can’t catch a break like he was in the early seasons of TBGO.

As much as I wanted to enjoy The Fabyrinth, while I did enjoy some things, those got overshadowed by the things I didn’t like, and it’s like Poppy had been downgraded to her early TBGO self, the version I absolutely despise, because she, along with Holly and Val, humiliated him and got away with it. Like I said before, they tried to add some sweetness with Branch and Poppy, but like I said before, the damage had already been done. And even more damage was done at the end. I had more fun playing through Labyrinth Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 1, which is very hard and difficult, but much more satisfying and complete to complete it than to watch this episode.

Again, I know this purely my opinion, and countless others will disagree, but I at least put this up to let them know it’s my opinion, and my opinion alone.

So, as a final verdict, this season…is just okay. It has a little more content, but Branch deserved better than how he was treated here. And, once again, some of the premises of a few of the episodes were kinda silly and predictable, even though it’s for kids, and of course, there’s that final episode that left a bad taste in my mouth. If you want to watch this season, go ahead, but I’d say approach it with caution, but that’s just me. This season is like the Mega Man X3 of Trollstopia, or the Sonic Forces of the show. It’s okay I don’t hate it, I just thought it could’ve been better.

Tagging: @poppibranchlover @tealbull81 @toki-trolls @happyqueenandgrumpydork @lovenotesworld @gabi-trollastic @sapphirecanvas @pinkaylaortiz

[sailorspazz]

10 Dance Vol. 6 Special Edition overview

Volume 6 of the 10 Dance manga was released in Japan on March 18th, 2021. As with volumes 4 and 5, there are both regular and special editions available. In this post, I will provide an overview of the release, including observations on changes that were made to the chapters compared to how they were printed in the magazine, plus summaries and select scans of content from the special edition booklet.

It is often the case that when chapters come out in the manga magazines, they aren't always fully polished, and since I became highly familiar with this run of chapters from the summaries I made, several things immediately jumped out at me as I went through the book. First of all, though chapter 29 was split into two parts and released in subsequent months in the magazine, these two halves were combined into one chapter, with no indication they had ever been separate. I assume that they were always intended to be one chapter, but since the full chapter was not completed before the deadline (and it was a month when 10 Dance was being given the cover image, so not possible to delay its release), it was simply split over two months instead.

For visual changes, the most common alteration was scenes that originally had little or no screentone having it added in:

There were also some instances of either slight panel redraws, or complete replacements with new panels. None of these were from particularly important scenes, so it could just be Inouesatoh or someone on her team didn't like the look of the original panels and wanted to change them. The following example has a bit of both, with Suzuki in the upper left corner being replaced, and his eyes being redrawn in the lower panel:

Personally, the most amusing addition I noticed was when Max was thinking about throwing a party. Originally, we didn't see what he was envisioning, but in the volume, an addition has been made in the background: the New Year's piece Inouesatoh drew with sexy men dressed as cows, except now they're bunnies!

As for dialogue, it appeared to be almost the same in both versions throughout. Some minor exceptions include a spot I found where the dialogue was put in a different order, swapping Sugiki’s lines between this panel and his first line on the following page (in addition to another altered panel example):

As well as in this shot of Suzuki describing how they tug at the thread that connects them through their dance. Whereas before it put the word “dance” next to the part about tugging on the thread to specify what was meant by that, it was deleted in the volume. And while it was originally described as “affirming that we’re connected”, this was also tweaked a bit to be, “affirming our connection”.

There were a couple instances of character names being different from when they appeared earlier in the story. In this volume, two characters who were last mentioned back in volume 2 (Lucas Calvo, one of the champions at the table in Blackpool, and Deeks, who Ernie said hated Sugiki because he "stole" his girlfriend), either from typos or intentional changes, weren't the same as before. Lucas' last name was written with a 'g' sound (ガルボ) instead of a 'c' (カルボ), and this change carried over to the volume. On the other hand, Deeks' (ディクス) name got transposed as Disc (ディスク) in the magazine, but was fixed in the volume.

There was a typo that unfortunately made it through to the volume (but could perhaps be fixed in future printings). In chapter 34, when Norman is testing Suzuki's skills, he flashes back to Sugiki taking the national title from him several years earlier. The text in this scene, written in English, incorrectly states that Suzuki won the championship, rather than Sugiki.

The volume also includes the usual additions that are not present in the magazine, such as the under the cover flap comic, and Inouesatoh’s notes about each chapter.

The cover flap comic (which looks very much like a sketch, compared to previous ones that have had more complete art), features the Shinyas during a practice session earlier on in the series in December, where Suzuki complains that Sugiki’s Latin just isn’t sexy. Sugiki suggests that he can practice being sexy by wiggling his butt around to write a message in the air. Suzuki worries that if he starts writing out “love” or something, he’ll have to run away and escape. Sugiki gets started, and Suzuki calls out each letter that he can make out from his elegant butt bouncing. After figuring out he’s written “M-E-R-R-Y”, Suzuki guesses that he’s writing “Merry Christmas”. Sugiki gets mad that he said it aloud before he finished writing his message, and says he’s going to leave. Suzuki says, “Wait, I love you,” as narrative text says that this somehow turned into a love story in one panel.

And here are some tidbits I found interesting/amusing from the chapter notes:

She thinks readers who are fans of pecs will like Saichi.

She’s not sure if readers will love Max or hate him, but she personally likes him (sorry Sensei, I kinda hate him lol)

As of chapter 32, a portion of the art is now done digitally.

The epic “last dance” scene from 33 was something that she had planned since the beginning of the series, and it ended up being 8 times the cost for a typical chapter.

Special edition booklet:

The special edition comes with a 48 page hardcover booklet that includes a variety of different extras, divided into 8 sections called “heats”.

Heat 1 is a newly drawn, 12 page parody manga. Back in September 2020, Inouesatoh put out a request on Twitter for fans to send in their suggestions for an erotic side story. Putting the characters in a high school setting was the most requested scenario, so she chose this idea as the basis for the story. The title is “And All That Jazz” (the premise makes this somewhat confusing to summarize, so keep in mind that I’ll mostly be describing their actions based on the soul rather than the body, but will use quotation marks if it’s about other characters and who they think they’re addressing. It’ll all make sense, I promise...I think :P)

(The title page actually depicts the ending of the story, so I’ll come back to it later). It starts with Suzuki narrating his introduction, saying that he’s a transfer student to the Standard Academy. He really doesn’t get along with a guy named Sugiki, but for some reason, the two have now switched bodies with each other. Sugiki opens his shirt and inspects his new physique in front of other students, as Suzuki yells out asking what the hell he’s doing to his body. They look at themselves wearing each other’s expressions, Sugiki seeming surprised his mouth can gape open like that, and Suzuki wondering what happened to his body’s facial expression muscles. The bell rings and Sugiki heads off to class, as Suzuki is baffled that he can act so calm about this.

Sugiki perfectly reads a passage aloud in English class, something everyone (including the teacher, who looks like Norman) find unusual coming from “Suzuki”, as they wonder where his usual hearts are. Suzuki makes the decision to enjoy living as Sugiki for a bit, and is shown getting flirty with several girls. He notes that the more serious personality in his regular body is also strangely popular, though with a very different crowd.

A student named Alberko (Alberto in a girl’s uniform) shows up and says that “Sugiki” was supposed to have lunch with her(?) today. Suzuki says that he thought Alberko was going out with Dorou (a masculine alteration to Dolores’ name). Ernie and Suzuki watch as his harem falls apart with Alberko running amok. Ernie comments that both “Sugiki” and that transfer student have been acting weird all week, and he asks if something happened. Suzuki internally reflects back to one week earlier, when he was relaxing in bed in the infirmary. Sugiki comes in and accuses him of skipping class, and Suzuki tells him to mind his own business. He thought this would turn into one of their usual fights, but he can’t believe that actually happened instead...

After school, Sugiki asks Suzuki if they can go home together today. As they’re walking, Suzuki asks if Sugiki realizes what it was that made them switch places, and Sugiki says he does. Suzuki says that in that case, they know how they need to fix it, and they should go over to his house. Sugiki asks for clarification of whose house exactly he means by that.

As they start to get undressed, Suzuki says that he always thought his mom and sisters were annoying, but after a week apart he really misses them. Sugiki promises that he’ll make sure he can see them soon. Suzuki claims that he’ll be the one making Sugiki come, and Sugiki asks how he can talk like that when he was the one who looked like he was about to cry when Sugiki first touched him in the infirmary.

Sugiki peeks into Suzuki’s pants and wonders if he won’t get hard unless he touches him. Suzuki thinks it’d be weirder if he could get hard while looking at his own face, and wonders if Sugiki has AI in his crotch or something (Sugiki contends that it’s not his body). They fool around with each other until they finish, and Suzuki wonders why they didn’t change back yet. Sugiki suggests that maybe it needs to be just like the last time to count as a complete set, when they went at it until they fell off the bed, so both agree that they need to go for one more round. This then ties back to the title page, where they’ve finally managed to get back into their old bodies, but have now sprouted cat ears and tails.

Heat 2 of the booklet is 8 pages long, and contains short comics and illustrations that were not previously included in the volume releases. The comics include “How to 10 Dance”, a one-page comic with the Shinyas demonstrating the tango. Their privates end up touching, and Sugiki seems highly amused, gleefully asking Suzuki how it feels. Suzuki says that he was the one who got all bent out of shape over that back in volume 1, and tells him to lay off the sadist mode since they’re not dancing Latin right now. The second comic is “2nd Step”, and shows a glimpse of how the Shinyas were with each other after Suzuki gave the go-ahead for kissing. In fact, Sugiki ends up kissing him so much that Suzuki’s lips get sore and swollen. Sugiki then tries to kiss his neck as an alternative, but Suzuki’s not having it. The third comic depicts Suzuki’s first time in a public bath, where he realizes that Japanese people aren’t fully shaved everywhere like he is. Some of the old guys talk to him and slap their balls with their towels, and Suzuki, seeming a bit confused, gives his own balls a slap, too. After the comics are a selection of illustrations that were never used in the volumes, including this one from a Real 10 Dance event in 2018:

Heat 3 is 18 pages, and contains a variety of colored versions of both chapter covers and scenes from the manga, a couple of which I’ll share below:

Heat 4 includes 3 pages of insight from the professional dancers who consult for the manga, in which they explain the moves shown in specific panels.

Heat 5 is a single page look at Inouesatoh’s work space.

Heat 6 is 3 pages worth of advertisements that have been used to promote the series, including things like ads that were posted in subway stations:

Heat 7 is a single page look at the storyboard for chapter 1 of the manga.

Heat 8 is a single page showing the covers for foreign editions of the manga (Taiwanese, Korean, North American, and French).

Finally, there’s one last page with a thank you message from Inouesatoh, including an absolutely precious illustration of the Shinyas in happier times.

And that’s that! This really is an incredible release, and I’d definitely recommend picking up the special edition if you can. CD Japan offers direct international shipping, and I’ve also seen that Kinokuniya lists it as “available to order” currently (though they don’t appear to have stock on hand, so might take longer).

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 30 - 'Attento'  Adult daiper/nappy commercial and Guitar cover contest.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru starting this week's episode of the Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san, welcome. Well, well, well...haha.

T: Well well.

J: Yeh, well, well, well. Its kinda hard to know what to talk about in this opening section when its the third recording of the day.

K: Yeh, there is nothing to say.

J: There is nothing, haha. Should we just get on with the topic?

K: Isn't there anything?

T: Well, I was watching youtube, and came across your new song.

K: Ahh, yeh, yeh.

T: There were videos of people playing it by ear already. It was incredible.

K: Yeh, they wanna post before anyone else.

J: Yeah.

T: But it looks really hard to a layman like me.

K: Playing by ear?

T: Yeah.

K: Yeh, I think it is hard.

J: Doesn't that make you happy though, seeing people do that?

K: Yeh, should we ask people to do these?

J: Oh, yes, lets!

K: Like ask on this show for people to do covers played by ear, and then choose some...like, Joe's favourite, or Tasai's favourite ...

J: Kaoru's favourite..

K: Kami's favourite...

J: Lets do it!

K: Yeah, should we?

J: We could make an assignment.

K: What should we say?

J: Yeah, what?

K: Like, with singing, this might sound a bit rude, but it can be kinda funny sometimes.

J: Yeah, it can. This kinda of performance is better.

K: Yeh, I feel like it might be ok....Ok, should we ask for people to do youtube guitar covers of the new song, 'Ochita koto no aru sora'?

J: Yeh, lets do that. Its ok for people to do individualistic covers then?

K: Of course.

J: Their own interpretation of it?

K: Thats totally fine. That would be more interesting anyway.

J: Yeah, it doesn't have to be a perfect copy. Of course, a perfect copy is still ok though. This is  interesting! This is freedom of expression.

T: Yeh, its good isn't it?

K: People can send us the url of whatever they upload to youtube, or they could send us the video directly, or....Let's get some entries.

J: Absolutely.

T: We'd need to have permission to show them.

J: Oh yeh.

K: Yeh yeh yeh.

J: Yeh, like or hide the faces of people who don't want their faces shown and stuff. Ah, its a good plan!

K: We're waiting to see what you've got. Ok, Tasai san, if you please..

T: Yes, well, its quite shocking news...

J: What is it?

T: Former SMAP member Kusanagi Tsuyoshi is taking part in a new venture. He's been appointed the new face of 'Attento' adult nappies.

J: Eh?!

T: Yep.

J: But he's still young!

T: Yeh, but its about whats coming. The company that sells 'Attento', Daio Paper, is trying to raise awareness of this issue that everyone faces, and make welfare more mainstream. Nappies have a kinda embarrassing image don't they? For adults? But by using Kusanagi they are trying to make the issue more recognized and open.

J: I see. I've read this article, and it says that, not just Kusanagi, but all the staff working on the CM were wearing nappies.

T: Yeh.

J: I understand the desire to get everyone on the same page, but..haha.

T: Well, I don't know if they were forced to.

J: Well, yeh.

T: I mean, its serious, but its kinda interesting...imagining everyone wearing them.

K: It says here they fit really nicely, but it was ages ago since any us last wore a nappy, right?

J: Yeh

T: I don't remember it.

K: We don't remember, right? So, I wonder what its like?

J: Right?

K: I kinda wanna try, haha.

J: Should we all wear them next time?

K, T: Hahaha

J: The viewers would never know if we were talking with them on. Just...Ahh!

K: Cause they're inside, right? They wouldn't show.

J: Right. If wear them we would only go, Ahh! if anything happens.

T: Oh, pants for that reason?

J: Yeh, and then after that we could know how they feel to wear. The company could sponser us to do it, haha.

T: But this is quite serious. Even in my family, there are some who say they don't want their grandchildren to know they wear them.

J: Ahh, I see.

T: There is this issue too.

Kami: So, all the staff were wearing nappies? I bet they peed in them.

J,T: Haha

J: You're going there, Kami?!

Kami: Well, the reason I say this is because, didn't you suggest that you guys could wear nappies on this show?

J: Yeah.

Kami: If you did, wouldn't you say you should all try to pee in them?

J: Well, yeh. Cause if you wear them...

Kami: You would, yeh.

K: I wanna try it.

J: Yeah, me too.

T: I see.

Kami: You would! So they were definitely all peeing.

J, K: Hahaha

T: I think so. He's really emphasising that.

J: Yeah. But you have to in order to see if its a good nappy or not, otherwise you wouldn't know.

K: You wouldn't.

J: Right?

Kami: Thats right.

J: Its the same as if its a guitar, you have to play it to test it out, check the sound...so with this..are they?

K: Probably...if you think about it calmly.

J: Thats it.

K: I think I want to try it.

J: Right?!

T: For sure.

Kami: Yeh.

T: It might be good to try it once, thinking of the future

Kami: You wanna try it, right?

K: Doing it in advance is a whole different conversation, haha. Im not sure whether I need to do it like that..But, I bet they are. (peeing in them)

J: They are, yeh.

J: Like Kami said, I mean, we were laughing at first, but..

Kami: Yeah.

J: Will it be the first time to wear one? Or the first time in a long time? And the amount that comes out will be a lot different from when you were a kid, like urine etc.

T: I would try it out once at home. So I can say I did it at home, and say how it was.

Kami: You pee in a nappy right? Like, how many times can you do it in the same nappy?

J: You'd have to change after once, right?

Kami: Oh, you have to change it?

J: How much..I mean, doesn't Tokyo Sports know? Its your article.

T: Don't kids wear one all day?

J: Ah, well..yeh.

Kami: Wouldn't it be great if you could wear them for ten days without changing, urine and feces?

K: Would it be great? haha. It would all be there the whole time. haha

J: Eugh, no. I'd want to change. I'd rather change sooner than later. Its awful if its full.

K: Is it ok not to change for ten days? haha. Did he really say, 'Wouldn't it be great?'? haha

J: Its the same mindset that makes him wear smelly t-shirts.

K: Hahaha

Kami: Well, it might be impossible with feces, but with urine, it would evaporate in a nappy, right? So you could use it a few times.

K: Like, you wouldn't have to go to the toilet?

Kami: You wouldn't have to go to the toilet, so it would be really easy.

T: Well, yeah.

K: R-really? hahaha

J: Nah, I'd want to stay refreshed, basically.

Kami: I'd really like a nappy where it evaporated, and I could be finished without ever needing to go to the toilet. I'd buy it.

K: We're seeing the real Kami here.

J: We are! No, Kami, I don't think that would be very popular...unfortunately for you.

Kami: Really? I had hopes for this company.

J: Well, there may be a chance for us to try this out on this show, because this is 'The Freedom of Expression'.

K: Haha, like do a braodcast and say, 'Actually..'

T: Haha

K:'Today we're gonna..'....I don't know when that time will come, but....maybe.

J: By the way, is that coming from you in a Dir en grey's leader kinda way?

K: Nah, I don't know about that...I'd have to check with the managers.

J: You have to check? haha

T: Talk with the office about it

J: I mean, there is a point to it, in terms of the future, with this kind of long term care society coming. The number of old people is getting bigger, and we ourselves will be like that in a few decades, so there is a meaning behind using an idol like this in the CM.

T: I mean, its a success that we're even talking about it.

J: Yeah.

K: Oh yeah.

J: Talking about nappies openly.

T: If it becomes a talking point and stays in your head, its a success.

J: I see.

T: They got what they were aiming for.

K: Ok, well, I think we'll leave it here. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

J: Thank you.

[ya-like-space]

Snowstorms and Cocoa

Snow is cold. Snow is really freaking cold, which is something that Souji finds out after moving to Inaba. In the city, he never really had to deal with it. But now that he's in the country, it’s now so much bigger of a problem. He’s had to shovel snow three separate times this week alone. That’s too many times! Also, did he mention how cold it is? Because it's so cold .

The bright side was that he got to see Yosuke in winter clothes. Which is how he ended up here, walking aimlessly around town with Yosuke in a goddamn snowstorm. Normally, he’d be holed up in his bedroom, or underneath the new kotatsu he and Nanako had picked out. Nevertheless, when Yosuke had shown up at his door, asking if he wanted to go on a walk, he didn’t have in his heart to turn him down.

They only been out for 15 minutes, and Souji was freezing, and he was sure everyone within a 15 mile radius would be able to hear his teeth chattering. He was just so cold. But when he looked at Yosuke, it didn’t even seem like he was bothered at all.

“Yosuke? Aren’t you cold?”

Yosuke turned to look back at him. Shaking his head, he continued on.

“Of course not partner! Are you?”

“Yes! I’m freezing!”

Suddenly, Yosuke stops in his tracks. He moves back to stand near Souji, and grabs his hand, intertwining their fingers. Souji and him’s relationship was still pretty new, and Yosuke doesn’t really know how to do the whole “PDA” thing. So whenever he tries to do things like these, he always ends up chickening out. But not this time. Blush spreading across his face, Yosuke looks away from him. Even so, he can sense the smile on Souji’s face.

“Better?”

Souji grips his hand tighter, shifting even closer to him.

“Mm. Definitely.”

The snow continues to fall around them, covering the streets and sidewalks in a soft white blanket. They were the only ones outside, the world calm and motionless around them. It felt like walking around in a dream. There was something about it that made them feel serene. Souji no longer felt cold. The warmth surrounding his hand was making him feel content. Being close to Yosuke like this, in such a peaceful state, was wonderful.

They slowly start making their way back to the Dojima household, as the snow starts  falling harder and harder, till they’re walking in a full on snowstorm. By the time they reach the house, it’s reached blinding levels of snowfall.

It wouldn’t be safe for Yosuke to walk home in this, so Souji insists on him staying over. He calls his parents to let them know what happened, and console a crying Teddie, who’s upset that he doesn’t get to see Sensei. It takes 5 minutes to convince Ted that he can’t come over right now, only managing to persuade him after promising to buy him a box of topsicles.

When Yosuke finally hangs up, Souji’s moving around in the kitchen, and that’s when he gets an idea.

He waits until Souji turns around before quietly making his way inside, his face softening as he watches Souji moving around the kitchen with a happy little smile as he hummed quietly to himself, stirring a small pot on the stove.

Seeing Souji like that wasn’t going to stop Yosuke from being a massive shit and messing with him.

Taking advantage of the fact that Souji’s guard was down, Yosuke snuck up behind him, making sure that he wasn’t holding anything dangerous that would accidentally hurt either of them before leaning forward and putting his hands on Souji’s shoulders.

Souji let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeal,  and Yosuke was almost entirely convinced that Souji was in some part a cat, from how he practically hit the ceiling when he jumped.

Yosuke was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, and it was so unbelievably worth it.

“Yosuke!”

Souji turns around and Yosuke traps him in his arms, preventing him from moving.

“Hey partner.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to trap Souji’s arms, and ended up getting bopped on the head.

“What did you scare me for?”

“You were an easy target! It was the only logical thing to do.”

Souji smirked.

“Of course of course. And I assume you don’t want any of the hot chocolate I’m making?”

Yosuke would never  turn down anything made by Souji, least of all his fantastic hot chocolate. One of the best things Yosuke’s ever had. He lets Souji go back to what he was doing, leaving the room to go and sit under the kotatsu.

He watches Souji in the kitchen, standing over the stove, making the hot chocolate from scratch because he doesn’t use hot chocolate mix. Of course he doesn’t. That would be blasphemy. Subconsciously, Yosuke walks back into the kitchen and wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, resting his head on Souji’s shoulder. He cranes his neck to sniff at the pot on the stove.

“Mmmm. Smells delicious.”

Souji turns to nuzzle his cheek, setting down the wooden spoon he was holding. “Good. Could you get some mugs?”

They walk into the living room hand in hand, carrying their cocoa, and cuddle up on the couch under a blanket. Yosuke takes a long sip of his drink, leaning back into Souji’s chest. It really is delicious. He never understood how Souji can be so good at cooking, even with simple things like this. Honestly, it only makes Yosuke love him more.

After they’d finished their drinks, Souji had flicked on the TV, putting on old Featherman R reruns. Yosuke flipped over to lie on Souji’s chest.

"I like this."

Souji chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that Yosuke felt resonate against his chest.

"I'm glad you do, Partner ," he said, moving his hands up to tangle themselves in Yosuke’s hair

Yosuke felt himself heat up at the rare use of his own nickname back at him.

"You ass," his words muffled against Souji’s shirt. "Quit making me feel all embarrassed."

"Payback for scaring me in the kitchen"

Yosuke groaned, burying his face further into Souji’s chest. "I hate you."

"Nahhhh, you love me."

Now even more embarrassed, Yosuke pulls himself closer to Souji, intertwining their bodies completely, nudging his head into Souji’s neck.

“Mm. Yeah. Yeah I do.”

“I love you too, partner,” Souji replied softly, drifting closer and closer to sleep.

Moments later, Yosuke felt Souji move against him, and he shifted to look up at him. He had fallen asleep entirely now, and was breathing softly, with a gentle smile on his face. He looked so peaceful, lying there, and Yosuke couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he curled himself around Souji. Yosuke fell asleep soon after, to the beat of Souji's heart, his breathing, and the sounds of gentle snowfall outside the window.

@souyoweek2020​ Day 5 | snowstorm

Day 5!! For this one i had like, 2 other ideas for this, but i ended up picking this one. This one combined the other two ideas i had, one was gonna just be the snowstorm, the other was the hot chocolate. I did kinda give Souji my views on snow. it really cold. I also looked up a goddamn snow calendar for this thing. which is something that exists. in 2011 in japan it snowed for like 2-3 months straight apparently. which is neat. i imagine this takes place like late december early january.

[thebladeblaster]

Pokémon: the Vanguard Descends The Movie: Celebi Lost In Time (Part 4)

“W-we are not s-scared of you!”, the taller one stuttered.

“W-we h-have more than just us h-here!”, the shorter one stuttered.

They suddenly squealed when they had blades to their throats. Aichi held Alfred to the taller one and Ahmes did to the smaller one. Gancelot noted the strange black Poké balls that the rare hunters carried and quickly destroyed them with the staff. The rest of his Pokémon faced the altered Pokémon in battle positions in case they attacked. To their surprise the Pokémon turned back to normal instantly and were free again after the mysterious Poké balls were destroyed. The other rare hunters sweated nervously as the Pokémon then looked very angry at the rare hunters and attacked them.

“Who sent you here?”, Aichi asked.

“W-we’ll never t-tell you! W-we’d rather d-die!”, the taller one replied.

“That can be arranged.”, Alfred said menacingly, hoping to scare them into revealing their secrets.

“O-okay! Okay! We were sent b-“, the shorter one was about to confess.

“S-shut up! Are you insane? Y-you can’t betray the master!”, the taller one interrupted.

“I-I would rather b-be sent to the shadow r-realm than permanently die!”, the shorter one replied.

“A-are you stupid?! T-the shadow realm is w-worse than the d-distortion world and Hell c-combined!”, the taller one replied.

Aichi raised his eyebrow having no idea what the two were talking about.

“Shadow realm…”, Alfred whispered in confusion.

“W-we were sent by-“, the shorter one was cut off again as a watery bullet shot through his chest.

Gancelot jumped distracted by the Pokémon fighting the rare hunters and launched his staff at the source of the shot. Suddenly from where the staff collided a Intellion was visible, which fainted. He then shot a focus blast revealing another.

“Golisopod?! Golisopod?! Golisopod?! Golisopod?! (Woah, how did you know they were there?!)”, Llew questioned.

“Lucario. Lucario. Lucario.Lucario. Lucario. Lucario.Lucario. Lucario. Lucario.Lucario. Lucario. Lucario.Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. (I could sense their aura. Unfortunately I was distracted by the multitude of auras around us so I couldn’t stop them before the attack.)”, Gancelot explained.

“Haxorus. (It’s okay.)”, Soul Saver assured.

“Somebody get a doctor quick!”, Aichi yelled, as he stood over the injured cloaked man.

Nurses from the Pokémon center rushed over to heal the people and Pokémon. The uninjured cloaked man was captured by the Kakusa government who likely wanted answers from him. People were sent to repair the damage caused by the rare hunters. He would be contacted if anymore rare hunters show up.

“Why didn’t you use absolute lock?”, Shuka asked, causing Aichi to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“What’s absolute lock?”, Aichi asked, as Shuka gasped in shock.

“Uh...it’s your move. How do you not know your own signature move?!”, Shuka questioned awkwardly.

Aichi blinked in confusion.

“I have never heard of that move in my life.”, Aichi replied awkwardly as Shuka face palmed.

“Well...we didn’t even know about any of this stuff till a month ago.”, Emi chuckled awkwardly.

“You know you like...point your finger then... you like...yell ‘absolute lock’.”, Shuka tried to explain.

Aichi looked at his pointer finger and tried to do what she said. He pointed out his finger and focused some of his power.

“Absolute lock!”, Aichi called out.

They all sweat dropped as a massive beam of energy poured out of his finger which he quickly turned to the sky. The clouds in the path were split. Bits of smoke came off of Aichi’s pointer finger. Emi gawked a bit, still not used to her brother being so powerful.

“Is that it?”, Aichi asked.

“Lycanroc. Lycanroc. Lycanroc. Lycanroc. (Nah. Aichi, I think you used spirit gun…)”, Wingal replied.

“N-no...it’s kinda hard to explain since I don’t fully get how it works myself, but it's like...binds things. You know it makes it so something can’t move.”, Shuka explained.

“That makes a lot more sense and sounds pretty useful. I’ll have to figure that out somehow.”, Aichi replied awkwardly as he sweat dropped.

“Gallade. Gallade. Gallade. Gallade. Gallade ...(Good thing you aimed it towards the sky…)”, Ahmes commented.

At night…

Shizuka let Shuka stay with them and she borrowed Emi’s old pajamas. The pajamas we’re a pink onzee. She sat down onto the floor.

“What are you doing down there Shuka? You can sleep in my bed with me.”, Emi said, motioning Shuka to come over.

“There’s no way I could do that…”, Shuka replied, with an embarrassed blush looking down.

Emi was completely oblivious as to why. She looked over to her pillow and grinned. She threw a pillow square at Shuka’s face.

“Don’t be so stiff Shuka! Your a guest here it’s perfectly fine.”, Emi replied as she grinned at Shuka.

Shuka took the pillow off her holding it and pouted at Emi.

“What wanna pillow fight?”, Emi asked as she held up her other pillow.

“Your on!”, Shuka replied.

Emi got off the bed and they hit each other with the pillows. As they did Emi giggled and Shuka ended up joining in.

Later…

Emi had gotten tuckered out from their pillow fight and was now asleep. Shuka blushed a bit nervously as she laid next to Emi under the covers. She looked up to the ceiling having a hard time sleeping.

“I can’t believe they just let me stay here. Mrs. Sendou is really nice. This world is so strange...Having pillow fights. Soba. Going to a normal school. To think Emi and 00-I mean Aichi are able to have a semi-normal life like this...”, Shuka thought as she rubbed her eyes.

She ended up getting out of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and wandered around a bit.

“Maybe something to drink would help.”, Shuka thought.

As she walked around she noticed a very small balcony, like closet size. The light of the moon that creeped from it drew her attention to it. She walked over to the balcony. She looked up at the moon which looked beautiful tonight.

“It’s pretty isn’t it?”, Shuka jumped as she looked over noticing Aichi leaning on the railing to her left.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”, Aichi apologized.

“What are you doing up?”, Shuka asked.

“...Just a hard time sleeping. How about you?”, Aichi replied, Shuka looked down as he mentioned that.

“Sorry about before. This is just...all weird to me.”, Shuka replied.

Aichi frowned, noticing how gloomy Shuka looked.

“It isn’t your fault. I’ve...had a hard time sleeping for awhile. Ever since I started to find out about everything. It just keeps me up at night sometimes...thinking about...what if.”, Aichi replied.

“...For what it’s worth your nothing like the 003v I knew. That’s a good thing. You seem much more human.”, Shuka replied as Aichi raised his eyebrow in confusion.

“Human?”, Aichi questioned.

“The 003v I knew was a complete monster. No a devil in a human form. He had no compassion, empathy, fear, or conscience. A complete sociopath in the few hours I’ve known you have shown more humanity than I’ve ever seen from him.”, Shuka explained.

“Even still though...it’s hard not to think about him whenever I look at him...dang it! He’s not the same person, Shuka! (Sigh) This will take some getting used to...it’s not fair to judge him on the actions of a different version of him.”, Shuka thought.

Aichi smiled, seeming a bit reassured by Shuka’s words. However...he briefly frowned.

“I might not be the 003v she knows but...he isn’t completely gone.”, Aichi thought, he quickly returned his smile so Shuka didn’t notice anything amiss.

The next day...

It was Saturday, Emi and Shuka went back to going around town with their guard up from the previous attack. And Aichi...was trying to figure out absolute lock. He kept trying over and over again only to become very exhausted. He sat down as sweat ran down his face.

“We’ll probably have to try it another time. Especially if what the rare hunters said is true.”, Alfred said as Aichi fanned himself and pulled his turtleneck collar back.

“Y-yeah...that’s probably for the be-“, Aichi was saying before he fainted from exhaustion.

Alfred sweat dropped seeing just how far he had pushed himself.

“Now how to get him up without possession...I’ll just get the others.”, Alfred said.

Oracle town…

“Gahhh!!!”, a trainer screamed dramatically as his Incineroar was knocked out by Kushinada.

Misaki sweat dropped at the dramatics. She had her hands on her waist.

“Man, first that hellish quiz now this! This gym is impossible!”, the trainer complained.

“No, it’s not. It's hard but it’s possible.”, Misaki replied with a sigh.

The trainer sniffled.

“Ah, whatever I don’t need this stupid challenge anyway!”, the trainer replied as Misaki’s eye twitched.

Misaki just sighed as the kid ran out after recalling his Pokémon.

“You know after Team Asteroid threatened the region I thought trainers would get more serious about the gym challenge...”, Misaki thought.

Misaki lounged in her chair and pulled up her phone as she waited for the next challenger. She scrolled through the news section. Assista Eevee walked in and jumped into her lap. She petted Assista Eeveee as it cuddled up to her.

“Looks like things in Kanto and Johto are getting a little better with Kai there, but still bad overall. If I didn’t have the responsibility of the gym I’d…(sigh) From what I’m reading it really sounds like another person like Aichi is leading the invasion…”, Misaki thought.

She noticed how Assista Eevee suddenly stiffened looking to the exit warily.

“What’s wrong?”, Misaki questioned.

Assista Eevee jumped off her lap and motioned her to follow with its tail. Misaki followed Assista Eevee to outside to see Pokémon going berserk. Misaki gasped in shock wondering what’s going on. Misaki threw out the rest of her Pokémon.

“Stop them and try to save anyone being attacked. I’m going to see what’s causing this.”, Misaki commanded as her Pokémon nodded.

Assista Eevee jumped onto her shoulder wanting to go with her. Misaki went off as they all split up. As she looked up into the air she noticed an unknown type of Poké ball flying through the sky. Assista Eevee looked at the balls warily, sending something ominous about them and shot a wave of psychic energy at them, destroying them. Misaki followed where the mysterious Poké balls were coming from and came across some cloaked men; rare hunters. She looked down noticing the trainer from before on the ground in tears. She glared at the rare hunters.

“What do you think you're doing?”, Misaki questioned.

“Ah, so you’ve appeared Tokura Misaki. We’ve heard you gave Team Asteroid a lot of trouble when they invaded this region.”, a cloaked man said.

“What’s it to you?”, Misaki questioned.

“We are the rare hunters. You could say we’re business partners with Team Asteroid.”, the cloaked man replied.

“Is that so?”, Misaki questioned menacingly.

In another part of Oracle town, Shin flew on top of Valkriyan shooting lightning down on the berserking Pokémon. Many of the people kept inside to avoid the danger.

“Go, giant automation of the distant past Valkriyan! Use thunderbolt again!”, Shin ordered.

The hooded man threw out one of the mysterious Poké balls revealing a Incineroar. It was covered in a purple aura and it’s eyes glowed red. It grinned sinisterly and raised its claws.

“Incineroar!”, the trainer cried out.

“Wait...that can’t be...that...that’s the same Incineroar he had?!”, Misaki gasped in shock.

“It is indeed that’s one of the many powers of these special Poké balls. After we defeat you we will be taking all your Pokémon.”, the cloaked man said.

“Not if I have anything to say about it! Assista Eevee use dazzling gleam!”, Misaki ordered.

“Incineroar use darkest lariat!”, the cloaked man ordered.

Assista Eevee was narrowly able to dodge the swing filled with dark type energy. It quickly released the pink light as quickly as it could, but it couldn’t stop the second swing. Assista Eevee gasped in pain as it was hit repeatedly by the dark type’s blows.

“Don’t do this Incineroar!”, the trainer cried out.

“Whatever they did to that Incineroar made it way stronger than before.”, Misaki thought.

Misaki sweated nervously before looking over to see her Gardevior Sakuya come up.

“I will not fail! Not again!”, Misaki thought as she activated her mega bracelet.

Sakuya became mega Gardevior and quickly caught Assista Eevee as it fell. Incineroar quickly launched itself and Sakuya who emitted more fairy light at it. It was slightly pushed back by the light, but stubbornly clawed forward to Sakuya.

“Sakuya use focus blast!”, Misaki ordered.

Sakuya held out one hand and shot a wave of energy at Incineroar pushing it back. Assista Eevee leap out Sakuya’s arms and broke Incineroar’s block allowing the blast to engulf it. The Incinerator fell to its knee and struggled up.

“P-please stop this Incineroar! Don’t you r-remember our dream! We were going to become strong enough to protect Tachikaze town!”, the trainer pleaded.

The Incineroar twitched a bit at what it heard.

“Please Incineroar!”, the trainer begged.

“It’s pointless kid!”, one of the cloaked men said.

“No, it's not pointless! The bond between a trainer and their Pokémon can be a strong thing!”, Misaki replied as Assista Eevee struggled up despite its wounds.

“You really believe that childish nonsense?”, another cloaked man questioned.

“Perhaps we should show you why such things are meaningless.”, another cloaked man said as he raised a Poké ball.

Before he could however, Valkriyan threw a punch and the powerful air pressure from the punch sent the rare hunters flying back, knocking them out. The Incineroar doubled over damaged and clutching its head. It grunted in pain, tossing and turning.

“You can do it Incineroar!”, the trainer said.

Eventually it stopped. The aura around it disappeared and it’s eyes went back to normal. The mysterious Poké ball that previously contained it sparked before exploding.

“Whatever these things are people have to know.”, Misaki said as she looked at the broken Poké ball.

The trainer hugged his Incinerator while sobbing.

“T-thank you! S-Sorry about b-before!”, the trainer said.

“It’s nothing, you're like 10. 10 year olds have temper tantrums all the time.”, Misaki replied, before she grabbed her phone to make a call.

At Palesville…

Kamui slumped still saddened that he couldn’t take on the elite four yet. He had gotten all his gym badges too. Kamui laid his head on the table he sat at outside.

“I hope Reijj and Eiji got those presents…”, Kamui mumbled.

He suddenly jumped when he heard screaming. He was beyond surprised when a bunch of ‘wild’ Pokémon started flooded the streets and started attacking people. Kamui quickly threw out his Pokémon. He then mega evolved Kaiser and Buster.

“Kaiser use blizzard! Buster, Mr.Invincible use close combat! Shout use hammer arm! Hatred Chaos use shadow ball! Tough boy use mega horn!”, Kamui ordered.

[airanke]

I can't remember, but i think it was you who said you were changing Wows storyline (not that I blame you lol) but I'm curious what it is? I'm mostly writing excerpts for my characters during Legion and I've been thinking a bit on what they'll be up to during Bfa. I'm debating changing some things to fit my version of bfa lol

Yes, it WAS PROBABLY ME.

I’m changing it specifically for Amita’s “canon” story (Lascivious Ophidian, as I’ve named it). She follows WoW storyline pretty closely up until the beginning of Legion.

Umm because I’m long winded, I’ll put it all under the cut!

[Pre-post Edit]: Also I’m really sorry, I JUST finished typing it all and uh. It’s long. Ahahahah;;;;

Some of my points below are subject to change but I’ll give you the gist of the differing things that happen in Lascivious Ophidian vs. Canon WoW.

Vol’jin and Varian not dying (now, I know Varian dying is important to Anduin’s development, but you don’t need to kill a parental figure to push forward a child. BNHA is a very good example of not needing to KILL the mentor to push forward the student, same can be applicable to Anduin and Varian). Sylvanas actually uses her quick reflexes and her experience as the previous ranger general of Quel’thalas to fire an arrow at the fel guard before it can stab Vol’jin (also I won’t go into how BS it was that he died of Fel Poisoning, but I won’t do that here LOL). If Blizzard wants to write “strong women”, they can start with actually having them use their skills to help their allies (cuz don’t get me started on how Jaina just disappears from the Alliance cinematic along with Mekkatorque so that Blizz can milk the whole Genn / Varian scene).

Quickly following this, Varian and Vol’jin fight the Fel Reaver together while Sylv / Jaina more or less team up to evacuate all Horde / Alliance fighters. Some ofc refuse to leave their High King / Warchief, and both women also provide long range support. Baine has to carry Thrall off battle because Thrall is completely spent. Eventually Vol’jin and Varian take down the Fel Reaver, but not before both of Vol’jin’s tusks break (he loses one to some trash mob that he needs to dodge with little time to think about it - the other he loses because Varian notices that Vol’jin is now off-balance with one tusk missing and listen, Vol’jin has big tusks, bigger than how I draw them, so he’s off-center because of that. This leads to Varian running toward Vol’jin with a hand out, Vol’jin nicks his tusk and in a moment of absolute trust, Vol’jin lowers his head enough to let Varian grab, and snap his tusk. And then kill something with it. Because that’s badass).

Varian unfortunately gets either his spine broken or knocked out (haven’t decided yet) and Vol’jin has to carry him to safety because he’s down for the count, and right before Gul’dan can Do Some Bad Shit the Aspects show up with a large force of dragons. Gul’dan nopes the fuck out. Khadgar manages to make it over to and teleport the remaining people to safety (not sure what entirely happens to Amita during this yet, I originally had her scripted to throw her all into making a wall of roots and get left behind, but I already have a plot similar to that with her disappearing for three years and Vol’jin Will Not Lose Her Again so… that’s still up in the air. She’s present during Broken Shore, though).

Then, instead of leaving cuz she’s Angery at the Horde, Jaina instead recognizes that she still has trauma / pain from what the Horde did to Theramore, and then Dalaran (kinda sorta) during Garrosh’s reign. So she leaves Dalaran to Khadgar because she’s like “y’know what, I can’t bring myself to trust the entire Horde again yet, if you want them in Dalaran, then I can’t be here, in Dalaran. I still need time to heal” something like that. Everyone is understanding of this and doesn’t try to make her stay, and Amita does what she can to help her BFF find some solitude. Something along those lines. Cuz y’know Jaina’s anger and distrust toward the Horde is still valid and understandable, but Blizz REALLY needs to do better with nuance instead of having characters Rage Quit every ten seconds.

Most of Legion stuff otherwise is normal, with the whole class hall thing (the Dreamgrove, in Amita’s case), Genn still pursues Sylvanas into Stormheim but instead of destroying her chance to enslave Eyir, Vol’jin pulls a hard stop on that plan. She rage-vents at Vol’jin about it and he claps back that she never actually asked him if she could go off on this little personal mission of hers, and so robs Genn of the closure he needs in regards to Liam’s death (this is important for another plot point I have further down). Vol’jin promises that he’ll help her find a way to sustain her people through more natural means (l i t e r a l l y). So Vol’jin and Sylv have a pretty strong bond, and also because Sylv actually follows the development Blizz was giving her up until Teldrassil happened, which was her developing past her obsession with keeping ONLY the Forsaken alive (re: “we are the Forsaken, we will slaughter anyone who stands in our way”), and starts to care about the Horde and wanting to keep the Horde alive (which was still hinted at until, y’know, recent shit which I don’t understand).

Argus related stuff is pretty much the same.

Sargeras still stabs Azeroth, and so there’s Azerite everywhere, and Vol’jin is entirely unamused by Gallywix because the Azerite shows Vol’jin a vision that Bwonsamdi has shown him before, so he just shrugs it off, because Vol’jin doesn’t care about becoming the ultimate legendary saviour all-powerful all-mighty whatever the fuck. Silithus is pretty similar but after some ACTUAL TALKING, Vol’jin and Anduin agree to split who harvests Azerite from where so that Horde miners aren’t being killed and Alliance troops aren’t being killed in retaliation (Vol’jin sends Sylv to “deal with” the problem at first, and then has a chat with Anduin to p much show Anduin that “every action has a reaction, did you really expect me to loaf around while you killed my miners?”) Yeah. Learning moment yay.

As for BfA, instead of Teldrassil being burned down by Sylvanas (because she obvs CAN’T do that since Vol’jin is warchief and he would fucking never), Genn is the one behind it. So Sylv WANTS to march on Teldrassil because she doesn’t believe the peace between the Alliance and Horde will last. Vol’jin, while agreeing that it would, in fact, be smart to attack Teldrassil, tells Sylv “no, we can make this work. Sure, peace might not last forever, but so long as I’m in charge, I can make it work. We’ll start with Ashenvale. We’ll start with having our druids restore what we’ve taken”. Sylv eventually agrees that this is a good idea, so then stuff between the Horde and the Nelves is a bit better.

Now, I haven’t ironed out EXACTLY how I get to Genn making the decision to burn down Teldrassil, but he’s very consumed by his anger toward Sylvanas (re: him not getting his chance to ruin HER chance at getting a future for her people because Vol’jin both ruins that chance and proposes an alternative - more or less leading into Forsaken learning druidic magic so that they can use plantlife to sustain and heal their bodies, and we get the orcs of Draenor, so there are other rituals that can be put in place of… FUCKING VALKYR. Please note this is also something else that I’m still working on, but I find it frustrating that we just always forget that the Horde has druids and shamans and there are other ways to preserve the Forsaken than the Blight. Because perhaps Sylv is just going to have to make due with what she has, and IDK ACTUALLY TALK TO HER PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM A CHOICE AND SHIT. Sylv is p much driven by fear of death when you think about it LMAO).

Anyway, Genn burns down Teldrassil but also does it in such a way that the Nelves still blame the Horde. Malfurion has an inkling that Vol’jin wasn’t behind it because he / Sylv / Saurfang show up when they get wind that this is happening and apparently it was Horde troops and the LOOK VOL’JIN WOULD GIVE SYLVANAS AND THE PANIC IN HER FACE LMAO anyway, Genn had made the mistake of capturing a druid, who quickly escaped Worgen eyes and went right to the Dreamgrove, and then immediately went to Amita to tell her what was happening, so Amita immediately goes to Darnassus and starts evacuating people and basically she barely manages to escape in her dragon form and Sylv and her Forsaken pull Amita and a lot of the civillians out of the water yaddyadda fun stuff.

Sylv immediately knows that Genn did this because he wanted an excuse for the Alliance to march on the Undercity, and yeah, kinda goes from there with Undercity plot, and Vol’jin allows Sylv to use the last of the Blight to Blight the Undercity, because there’s no way Sylv will let the Alliance take away her people’s home from them, esp not since they WERE the humans who had lived and died there.

Anyway, my BfA stuff is still kind of a mess becuase while I absolutely loathe Genn’s guts, I don’t want his decision to burn Teldrassil to be on a whim, or to seem non-tactical (personally I thought it would be interesting if Teldrassil was an inside job because then it would be taking away the Horde’s chance to turn it into a Horde stronghold, kind of like how I interpreted Sylv’s choice to Blight the Undercity as her taking away the Alliance’s chance to turn UC into an Alliance stronghold, y’know?)

ALTERNATIVELY I CAN ALWAYS THROW THE TWILIGHT’S HAMMER IN THERE BECAUSE I WANT TO GIVE THEM MORE PROMINENCE ANYWAY BECAUSE BLIZZ ALWAYS FORGETS ABOUT THEIR OTHER VILLAIN FACTIONS IN FAVOR OF RED VS BLUE FOR SOME REASON THAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND and I already have an incredibly high ranking Twilight’s Hammer lady in the works, she’s v horny and frisky all the time but she will destroy you make no mistake.

Cuz then Genn could just try to pin it on the Horde anyway, and like… what you gonna’ do bout that, it’s a fire, it will burn all the evidence anyway. Genn’s word against Vol’jin’s. Depending on who you talk to, will depend on who they’re more inclined to believe, no?

I’d go into more but it’s SO MUCH, so I’ll just list a few other things (this is only Horde side related because I STILL haven’t finished Alliance side, my apologies):

Shadra does not die.

Rezan does not die, but is out of commission for a while, therefore still allowing Zul to take over the city.

Mythrax is killed before he can destroy the third seal.

Rastakhan does not die in the Raid on Dazar’alor, for multiple reasons I won’t go into.

He does however step down as king so that he can mentor his daughter, and because he’s ready to let himself die if that ends up being the case.

Katherine and Rastakhan may or may not have a few years together before Rasta finally dies peacefully.

Probably some other things that I forgot, but before anyone comes after me about “reversing” these deaths, listen. From a story only standpoint, they are pointless. In regards to Shadra in particular, the ONLY REASON she even dies is because we, as the player character, cannot attack Yazma. You can bet your entire ass that Amita would go charging down there and bite off Yazma’s head (which is foreshadowed earlier in Amita’s story after Vol’dun stuff but I don’t want to spoil EVERYTHING haha!).

However, these deaths make some sense in regards to the way that Blizzard has plotted their dungeons / raids. They need Yazma to be empowered for a dungeon, just like they need Rezan to die for that same dungeon. Mythrax needs to break the third seal and live for the Uldir raid. Rastakhan needs to take on a deal with Bwonsamdi because there’s a whole death plot aspect thing in BfA and so Bwonsamdi needs to be in that position of power.

For Amita’s story, however, these deaths hold no merit, they DON’T need to happen. Technically you don’t need them to happen in game either, but I digress, I understand the decision that Blizzard made in regards to them even though I obviously strongly disagree with these decisions. 

That’s kind of all I’ve got for now. I need to finish Alliance stuff because Amita DOES spend a lot of time on Kul Tiras as Jaina’s support, because Jaina just needs her BFF there to lean on, since going back to a family that thinks you were the cause behind your father’s death is not easy my dude.