#not me looking up popular japanese karaoke songs and then not putting them in there

[the-red-thread-that-strangles]

Akai Shuuichi isn't afraid of heights. Like any sane person, however, he dreads the fall.

Though he questions his sanity. Because try as he might to stay away from the edge, it calls to him. Staring into sweet oblivion sends shivers down his spine, the uncertainty of his fate a thrill like no other. Most days he trusts in himself, his ability to walk the razor's edge, but he's fallen before. And it hurt.

Of course, pain is just a part of life he's learned to live with. In his line of work, people get injured all the time. And if you can't handle that, you have to be very lucky to make it out alive. For the longest time, death wasn't an option.

(Now, it wouldn't be so bad.)

So he steadied himself, got smarter, hardier. Better at avoiding situations that result in pain. And better at shutting it out, too, when it did appear, in order to keep going.

Why, then, does his chest ache and burn?

It's quite simple.

Layers and layers of ice, degrees of separation in place precisely to protect him from pain like this, melted through by Rei's blazing heat.

What a stupid thing he's done, to get attached again.

He could've tried to resist, at the start. Before things had gone too far. Before he got to know Furuya Rei.

But maybe, by then, it was already too late. In truth, he probably doomed himself years ago, when he accepted Scotch's offer of companionship. It brought Bourbon into his orbit, and the man's never been any less than doggedly persistent. Once Shuuichi let him in, he was never going to escape unscathed.

Shuuichi let him get too close, and got burnt as a result. Could see it coming, too, for the longest time. But how was he supposed to escape Rei's brilliance? His touch, devastatingly kind? It would be like trying to block out the sun - an exercise in painful impossibility.

So he's stopped trying, and embraced the wildfire that is Rei. Of course he burns, it's his nature.

(There's some things Shuuichi will need to reevaluate about his own, now that he has time. Because he certainly never thought of himself as a masochist, and yet, despite the pain, he knows one thing for certain: he wouldn't want things any other way.)

(Not one that is available to him, at least.)

Thus, he resorts to clinging to the vestiges of patience and composure he has cultivated for years to keep working through the situation with a cool head.

To do what is right.

He's putting back together what he tore apart, unwittingly, some three years ago now. Their struggle is over. They deserve to rest and recover, nurse their wounds - together.

It doesn't matter that he feels like he's bleeding out. He's used to patching himself up, after all.

And he's glad that he can do this for his... friends. The term invokes a foreign, gentle joy. They're no longer team mates, no longer allies, no longer forced together by circumstance. That's in the past, now. They stick to each other by choice, these days. That makes them friends, right?

He's happy for his friends.

Shuuichi pours himself another glass of scotch.

.

He should've picked a different hotel than his family.

Rather, his family should've really looked into a permanent residence already, considering Masumi has decided she doesn't want to go back to Britain. It's not like mother could refuse, after all the things his little sister did for her - not least of which, coming clean to Shiho and convincing her to share the APTX antidote, when all was said and done.

They're certainly not lacking in money, and Shuuichi's sure the Hanedas have connections that would make finding a flat, or even a house, possible, even on short notice.

Then again, Masumi told him they've been living in a hotel for more than half a year - maybe they've simply grown used to the comforts. It's not for him, but he's rarely seen eye to eye with mother.

Regardless, none of this excuses banging at his door at seven in the morning, on the dot.

"Shuu, are you up yet?"

Well, if he wasn't, he surely would be, now. Years undercover have left him a light sleeper out of necessity - it's a habit he won't be able to break for quite a while, even if he wanted to.

Still, the splitting headache and nausea make him consider playing dead. He doesn't feel much better than it, in any case.

Another set of knocks shakes his door. He loves his sister, and her determination is one of her best traits. But some of these days, it's also highly inconvenient.

"One moment."

He drags himself off the barstool, checks the mirror. Can almost hear Rei telling him he looks like death warmed over. Roughly two hours of sleep half-draped over the hotel room bar certainly didn't do him any favours.

He buttons up his shirt in an attempt at modesty, combs back his hair roughly. Part of him wants to send Masumi away - she's idolised him for too long. His little sister doesn't deserve to have the illusion of composure shattered, shouldn't have to see him, like this.

But she told him, at her birthday party, trying alcohol for the first time in their family home, under his watchful eyes. Always direct, but, as it turned out, even more so when tipsy:

'When all of this is over, I want my brother back. Just...you, however you are.'

If Shuuichi waits for a time where he feels ready to talk to her, won't stain her merely by existing in proximity, they'll never get to meet at all.

(He can't have that. He's missed too much, already.)

So he drags himself to the door, dishevelled, morning breath and all. Opens it a crack.

"Morning." If his voice is a little rougher than usual, there's nothing he can do about it.

Masumi pushes the door wide open so she can step in, giving him a wide berth. Inspects him head to toe, worry clear in her scowl and the wrinkle of her nose.

"...is this a bad time?", she asks, a glint to her eyes as she notices the half-empty bottle of scotch on the bar's counter. She can't help it - a detective through and through, and not good enough at feigning nonchalance yet. The evidence at the crime scene is surely forming a rather damning picture - he really should have put the bottle back into the bar before letting her in.

She plops down on the small sofa, makes herself comfortable while he opens the window. That should at least give them some relief from the smells accumulated overnight in the room.

"No. You're just here early. Is something the matter?"

He doesn't bother with pleasantries on principle, but at this hour he finds himself even less inclined. Besides - she wouldn't be here this early if it wasn't important. At least Shuuichi dearly hopes she has more sense than that.

Masumi looks down at the floor, a little guilty. He settles on the barstool and waits for her hesitation to blow over. Must really be looking like shit, if he's managed to curb her usual enthusiasm.

"I was going to ask for a favour, but I'm really not sure-"

He gives her an unimpressed look, from up upon his perch. It's a little too early to beat around the bush.

"Masumi." A single word, aimed to cut her off with calm precision. "How do I help?"

He might not be feeling well, but he's a professional - he's worked in worse conditions, for less important reasons. He'll drag himself out of his slump, if she needs him.

"You don't have to. It's silly." She gives him a sheepish smile, fangs and all.

"That's for me to decide, once you let me know what you need. So?"

She steadies herself, looks up at him, and sighs.

"For context, it's been months now, but Ran's still down about the whole Shinichi fiasco. So, we've decided to surprise her with an outing, tomorrow night."

So far so good, although he doesn't see where that concerns him.

"It was gonna be just us girls, and I'm confident that between Ran and myself, we can handle anyone stupid enough to try and cause trouble. But you know how it is in Beika. There's always a risk."

He does indeed know how Beika has somehow overtaken Osaka in every single criminal statistic there is. If she didn't have friends here, he would suggest moving elsewhere. He hears Nagano is very lovely, all year 'round.

"So we were discussing if there's anyone we could bring for company. And, well-"

"Go on."

"Sonoko somehow - I'd really like her resources - caught wind that Okiya Subaru is back on 'vacation'. She might have suggested asking him to accompany us?"

Not entirely unexpected - miss Suzuki had taken something of a liking to him, for whatever reason. It's a testament to the improvement of his acting skills. Engaging with kids and teenagers is a far cry more difficult and involved than his cover as Rye, somehow.

"...she may also be under the inaccurate impression, you, well, he could be a potential match for Ran."

At least his sister's on the right page there. That's not happening, never in a thousand years. Even if Ran wasn't barely more than half his age, she's too innocent, selfless, kind. If something like love exists in his heart, it couldn't ever be for someone like her - not again.

"You want me to decline the offer, then?" Simple enough.

Masumi shakes her head.

"No, Sonoko's right. It's always good to have an extra pair of eyes, and I'd love to have you with us. Been too long since we last spent time together. Besides, I don't think Ran is even interested in you - or anyone, really, after that disaster..." It takes him a moment to place the bitterness in her voice, uncharacteristic as it is.

"And that is unexpected?"

"No. I get it, she needs time. But she's miserable, and I want her to cheer up already..." Masumi mumbles the latter half to herself, subdued. Shuuichi's not sure he was supposed to hear that, but, well. He did.

"You'll get through to her eventually."

Good back-up gets one out of the toughest of scrapes, he can attest to that. If his sister is determined to get Ran to feel better, her persistence will make it come true, eventually.

"I sure hope so." She smiles up at him.

He finds his lips quirking up in response. "You focus on helping her. I'll cover your back."

He's sure he'll manage not to indulge miss Suzuki's delusions too badly. Rei often let him know how off-putting he can be, after all - finally a good use for his skills.

"Thanks, Shuu."

She gets up. Stops a couple of steps away from him, hovering uncertainly. When he raises an eyebrow, he can almost see the 'ah, fuck it', and then she's hugging him. Shuichi pats her back, a little awkwardly.

"Any time", he says and means it. "If there's anything else..."

She tenses next to him, but shakes her head.

"No, it's...I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Well, now he is a little worried. He'll need to keep an eye out for whatever's troubling her.

"Alright." He won't push her; she'll tell him if she needs to.

Masumi lets go and scurries off, fleeing for the door.

"Text me the time and place, I'll be there."

"Will do. See you tomorrow." She nods and waves her goodbye. He follows to lock the door behind her, the bolt sliding shut with a satisfying clack.

There's just one small problem. He currently doesn't have Okiya's get-up. And Okiya doesn't live in this hotel.

After dropping him off yesterday, Shuuichi had planned not to bother him for a couple of days. Well. That plan has just been tossed out the window rather unceremoniously.

It can't be helped. With a bit of apprehension, he calls Scotch.

.

Under the cover of darkness, Shuuichi scales the garden wall, dropping into the Kudo's backyard without issue. The alarms have been disabled according to the schedule he provided.

He slips in through the unlocked backdoor, shutting it behind himself. The security systems of the place are too familiar; he reactivates them on autopilot. Better to avoid unpleasant surprises, wherever possible.

Clearly, Scotch had a similar idea - Shuuichi can barely see his outline in the darkened kitchen, but the revolver he gave to him gleams in the dim light. It's nice to see he's making good use of it.

Sharp blue eyes scan him.

"The passphrase?"

Nostalgia steals the air from his lungs. Between unsafe safe houses, a trigger-happy Bourbon, and working with people best described as shapeshifters, they needed a way to identify themselves, and quickly, when they returned home.

It's been years since he's last spoken it, but the passphrase comes to him as easily as breathing.

"Eat, drink, and be merry..."

Scotch had suggested the words, years ago. The motto he lived by, when not on the job, in order to not lose his sanity. The motto he'd imposed on Rye, as well, when they became partners.

A cheshire grin in the night.

"...for tomorrow we die." Scotch finishes their creed, lowers the revolver.

"Welcome home, Rye."

.

It's always been easy to find comfort by Scotch's side. Between the greeting, making gyoza together - which goes much better than their attempts years ago - and watching mindless action movies with a glass of bourbon, ripping apart impossible stunt work, it's difficult not to fall into a simulacrum of the fragile peace they'd carved out for themselves, away from organisation work.

Only this time, the peace is real.

Despite his apprehensions about meeting Scotch, Shuuichi's glad he's here - travelling with him is one thing, but he didn't realize just how much he's missed downtime with his ex-partner. Scotch's sharp intellect and easy-going attitude make for pleasant company.

It's exactly what he needs to unwind.

Which is why he doesn't see how Scotch has him cornered until it's too late.

.

The neighbourhood of the Kudo manor is quiet, at night.

As they head out onto the balcony for a smoke in the moonlight, their conversation turns to hushed whispers. Mellowed by an evening of pleasant company and several drinks, the world sharpens into focus between them, illuminated by the glow of their cigarettes.

Standing would be too visible, so they sit on the stone floor, side by side, like so many times before.

"Hey, Akai?" His name, not his monicker. A chilling sense of dread creeps into his chest. Please, no.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Shuuichi closes his eyes. He can take a good guess where this is going. Thus, he takes a deep drag from his cigarette, and braces himself.

"You know. For letting me meet Zero."

He'd been hoping against hope they could avoid the topic altogether. After all, they've made it several hours without addressing it. But unfortunately, it seems his luck has run out.

(Still, having seen Scotch in good spirits all evening makes it worthwhile, just a bit.)

Maybe they can just move along quickly.

"Think nothing of it."

"No. Akai, listen. I know you had to pull some strings to make it happen, and I want you to know I appreciate that. We appreciate that - even if Zero is pissed. First thing he did was slap me; told me I was late."

Scotch laughs, low and sweet in the night air.

They both know he let himself get slapped - Rei tends to telegraph too much, when he's angry, and surely it's even more obvious for someone so intimately familiar with him. The thought stings. And yet, through it, Shuuichi can't help the help the small smile creeping on his face. That sounds like Rei, all right. He would've liked to see it - someone else the target of his anger, for once.

Scotch seems happy to just bask in the memory, but Shuuichi's curiosity has been piqued.

"Did you manage to resolve your issues?" After all, that was the goal. If they didn't, none of this was worth it - several hoops he jumped through, bureaucratic and personal, for nothing.

"It's tentative, so far, but I have faith we'll get there. We've been through too much, together, at this point. This won't break us... I hope."

Shuuichi is reminded painfully of the bits and pieces he's heard of their childhood adventures. Fishing and fighting and being friends. It must be nice, to have found love so early in life. To get to keep it, too.

"I don't think so, it's clear how much he missed you. I'd be surprised if he ever let you go again." It leaves him a little cold, to no longer be the focal point of Furuya's burning determination. Chasing him was always just a means to an end for getting to Scotch. And now his wish has been granted. Shuuichi hopes it's worth it.

When he smiles, Shuuichi is sure this is Hiro, the person closest to Rei. It burns, but at the same time he finds himself glad that Scotch shines with such utter fondness when he talks of Zero. That's what Rei deserves, after all.

"I hope so. I don't intend to leave again, anyways. Every single day when I was hiding, I missed him."

It's a quiet, gentle admission Akai isn't sure how to handle. All these emotions are a bit too much - he's not used to being thanked, unless it's with useless medals, and he's not used to being confided in. He supposes it's nice that Scotch trusts him enough to lay himself bare like this, nowadays. Still, he can't help but wish for the old times, when they were much better at keeping their feelings out of his face. He's already happy for them; isn't that enough?

Scotch turns to look at him, blue eyes burning bright in the moonlight.

"And I missed you, too."

Cold wind tousles his hair. Shuuichi stares at Scotch.

If he didn't know what to say before, he certainly doesn't do so now. How can Hiro say that so easily? It's too personal. It's one thing to have his little sister say it, who only ever saw an idealized version of him to look up to. For Scotch to say this, despite knowing what he did, who he is - it makes Shuuichi nauseous.

Because he can tell Scotch is being painfully genuine.

'I missed you too', burns in his throat. But too many conflicting emotions keep it tightly sealed. His breathing becomes difficult, requires a conscious effort to take air in, hold, breathe out. Repeat.

And Scotch isn't even done yet.

"Akai. I have to get used to that name now, huh? Feel free to call me by my name, too, if you want."

With how his mind is spinning, it's difficult to figure out what he wants at all, besides for Scotch, no, Hiromitsu to stop. He's ripping apart the bubble of warm nostalgia that was enveloping them so nicely, leaving them exposed to the present. The night is cold and uncertain, without its protection.

"...you haven't been meeting my eyes all evening. Please, Akai - let me know what's wrong. We couldn't, back then, but I'd like to be your friend, now."

It's the kindest smile he's seen on Sc- Hiromitsu yet, and it's too much. Shuuichi has to avert his eyes, can't keep looking at his former partner, all earnest focus placed on him. A shiver runs downs his spine.

There's few things he wants more, in life.

"...we are", he manages to tear from his aching throat, choked up with emotion. This is a bad idea. He's not supposed to get attached. He's just making the same mistake, over and over again. He should've kept quiet.

(If he'd told Akemi how he truly felt, would it have mattered?)

"Then why do you seem miserable, whenever you look at me? Why do you try to avoid me? Don't think I didn't notice."

Of course he did, always too sharp. So helpful, on a mission, and occasionally in private too; he'd know they were getting sick before they really felt it, start treatment with soup and tea early. Taking care of them, even then.

"It's got nothing to do with you, it's-" 'me', he wants to say. Fear and bitter envy, the brunt of which Hiromitsu really doesn't deserve to face. So Shuuichi's been trying to avoid them, and, by extension, his former partner.

He manages to catch himself in time, before he gives voice to feelings that can't be unsaid.

"Yes?" Hiromitsu's voice is calm and patient and Shuuichi hates him for the attention he's paying to him.

He manages to correct his course in time, if barely.

"You and Rei deserve some time alone, now that you're finally back together." It's close enough, only a partial lie. They're so important to each other, and he truly wants them to make up. He'd only be in their way.

"Rei, hm?" Hiro smiles at him. Of course he picked up on Shuuichi's blunder.

He's had just about enough of being cornered. Gets up and is about to head inside and maybe hide in the attic for a while. The door can be barricaded from the inside. Hiromitsu rises after him, puts a hand around his wrist in a vice grip.

"Let. Go." It takes all his patience to not just break Scotch's arm and leave.

"I'm sorry for pushing you, Akai. Please, give me half a minute more."

Unfortunately, his best glare stopped working on Scotch several years back. Shuuichi looks at his wristwatch, starts counting down. As soon as Hiromitsu starts talking, he knows his time is better spent focusing on what he has to say, instead.

"Look at me, Akai, and listen up. You can't get between the two of us. I've offered you a place at my side years ago, and Zero... well, he's come around. The offer still stands. It wasn't conditional, but if it was, you would've earned your place easily, by now. I owe you my life, and so does Zero, several times over."

"We did what we had to, and you did the same for me." For the longest time it was that simple, their relationship purely transactional, because Bourbon could only ever deal in exchanges. A favour for a favour.

It's long since stopped working that way, and Shuuichi knows it.

"Oh, please. None us had to do anything more than cooperate on missions, and yet we all chose to do so anyways. You're one of us, Akai. Stop fighting it."

And he wants to, desperately so. The thought of spilling his rotten insides for them to see has him sick to his stomach, and yet, how much worse could it be than what they've already witnessed?

Hiromitsu squeezes his arm, a burning brand of human connection. It staves off the cold, just a little.

When he speaks again, it's soft, but firm.

"You should've joined us for dinner, yesterday. Both of us missed you."

Shuuichi doesn't know what to say to that, too busy fighting his internal battles, but surely something shows on his face, because Hiro laughs at him.

"As amusing as it is to see you flush, no, that wasn't an invitation to a threesome."

...he isn't quite sure whether he's supposed to be relieved, or crestfallen, at this.

"I didn't think-"

"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't." Hiromitsu's smile is too sly and knowing. It's a testament to the fact Shuuichi's spent too much time with Furuya, because wiping it off his face in a fight sure sounds appealing, right about now.

He's always been better at expressing himself through deeds rather than words, anyways.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't need to set the record straight. Zero's furious, by the way. Count yourself lucky that I'm the one breaking the news to you. He doesn't appreciate being set up on a date with his best friend."

Hiromitsu pauses, presumably to let that sink in. Shuuichi stares him down. That is supposed to be new information, how?

"Let me be perfectly clear: I love Zero."

He says it easily, with a sweet smile. It stings fiercely in Shuuichi's chest. By now, he thinks he knows what Hiromitsu is playing at, but unfortunately that knowledge doesn't prevent it from being an effective tactic.

(If this is how Hiromitsu treats his friends, he doesn't want to be his enemy.)

"He's my best friend, I love him like a brother. But he's family. Nothing more, nothing less."

There's a small pang of guilt at the relief that floods his system, but he needs it said explicitly to really believe it.

"You aren't a couple, then?"

Hiromitsu raises an eyebrow, as if to ask 'and why would that matter to you?' But thankfully he's done teasing, or Shuuichi really would need to break something, or rather, someone.

"No. I can see how you got the idea, but there's never been anything between us. Zero says you have a brother? Imagine we presumed the same about you two, just because you're close."

The confirmation lets him breathe more freely, even if it will need time to settle. His mind is still spinning, too many thoughts fighting for control. From this mess, of all things, his long-forgotten manners emerge as the failsafe. "Sorry."

Hiromitsu waves it off with a grin.

"I don't mind too much, we got excellent dinner out of it. Thank you for that, by the way. But do make sure to apologize properly to Rei."

Hiro winks at him, then straightens, looks him in the eye.

Squeezes his arm a final time, before he lets go.

"I mean it, Akai - you're our friend. And I hope you rest a little easier, knowing the truth."

Shuuichi does.

.

He's five minutes late to the requested location downtown - through little fault of his own, this time.

Masumi's text arrived a mere twenty minutes ago, and the things PSB liaison Akai Shuuichi might get away with, such as speeding, don't apply to the civilian Okiya Subaru (though that would admittedly be a very nice perk of the job).

He can hazard a guess why Masumi didn't send the details earlier as he drives past the building in question to find a parking spot - she probably didn't want to give him time to reconsider and back out.

Because she's dragging him to a goddamn karaoke bar, and, standing in the huddle of girls waiting for him, is Miyano Shiho.

His instincts tell him to cancel, to take up position on the rooftop bar across the street - it would provide easier surveillance options.

(But he's tried to protect Akemi from afar, and failed her, miserably.)

Besides, he promised, and he really does try to be better, these days.

So he smiles, all awkward and apologetic Subaru, as he joins them. It's going to be a long night.

(He's soothed by the smell of Rei's hypoallergic fabric softener clinging to the sweater he picked. Can't help but feel that there would be a certain appeal to sharing them, if Rei were open to the idea.)

.

The evening goes better than he imagined, all things considered, even if there's crying involved - as is often the case when he meets Mouri Ran.

It's a pleasant distraction, if nothing else.

He keeps an eye on Masumi all night to see what could possibly be bothering her, but as far as he can tell she's genuinely happy to spend the night with her friends. In fact, considering she told him how it had been too long since they'd last seen each other, she pays surprisingly little attention to him.

He prefers it this way.

(Although he would've liked to ask for her advice on how to apologise properly. Alas, this is probably not the right time, or place.)

.

Mostly he stays at their table, watching the girls' drinks and the crowd, occasionally giving guys who seem to consider chatting the girls up cheerful glares. Masumi made her wishes very clear, after all.

It's a good thing he talked to Scotch Hiromitsu yesterday. Enthusiasm permeates the bar, but unfortunately confidence doesn't equate to talent. Several of the loud, out of tune performances would've been torture with a hangover.

He finds himself humming along to the classics regardless.

As it is, it's almost pleasant. Sure, Shiho keeps ignoring him when it's just the two of them left at the table, but that's better than open hostility. Probably.

(It feels a little worse.)

.

Two hours in Sonoko ushers Ran to stay with Subaru rather conspicuously.

Smalltalk is stilted between them, lacking in common ground, and it doesn't really help that their connection is through the Kudo family, the memories of which she's here to escape for the night. She's polite as ever, but without the other girls as buffer, the conversation quickly runs dry.

Thankfully, the girls' singing distracts them soon enough. A cutesy pop song about moving on, dedicated to Ran.

She seems about ready to cry halfway through, and by the time they're done she's sniffling and trying to discreetly wipe her tears. Shuuichi gives her a handkerchief and pats her back rather awkwardly in an effort to try and soothe her. He hopes the girls will be back soon to take care of this. He's woefully underqualified to handle this kind of situation.

When they finally do get back, he plans to excuse himself, but before he finds a good time he's swept up in a group hug instead.

Turns out he might have misread the situation - what with Ran being overjoyed at her friends' continued support, and needing to express that, somehow. How exactly that translates into him also being included in their huddle is beyond his comprehension, but he's not going to struggle and cause a scene.

(It's kind of nice to see her smile again - gloominess doesn't suit her.)

.

It might've been a bit too much excitement for Ran, because around midnight she's almost falling asleep at their table. At this point, the rest of the girls declare their mission a success, and the focus shifts to trying to figure out how to get back in the middle of the night.

Shuuichi volunteers to drive them home.

It's crammed in his little Subaru, but the girls manage, and once he's dropped off Sonoko, things quiet down considerably.

Masumi makes him swear not to tell their mother how long they were out.

He agrees, of course, knowing he got up to much worse as a teen - back when he was still susceptible to peer pressure and living abroad in a fraternity, alcohol made him do very stupid things indeed to prove his worth.

If this is how Masumi chooses to defy their mother, he'll take it - she could be up to so much worse.

She's arranged to stay with Ran; thus, he's released from his services for the night. He watches as they help each other up the stairs, leaning in close, whispering and laughing to each other.

He would make an assumption, now, but Hiromitsu's words are still clear in his mind.

So for now, he refrains, and is simply glad they're supporting each other.

.

In the end, predictably, Shiho is the only one left in the car.

"Didn't dare to join us wearing your own skin, cousin?"

He shrugs. "Masumi requested Subaru."

"Well. At least you didn't creep on us from several buildings away. Baby steps." 'But progress, nonetheless', her small smile says.

He doesn't know why he says it. Maybe because it's late. Because Scotch Hiromitsu has chipped away at his protective tissue. Because it's Shiho.

"Staying away didn't save her." He doesn't need to say who - the same wound is carved into Shiho's heart, after all. And judging by the songs she chose to sing today, it still bleeds just the same.

She sighs, long-winded and too world-weary for a girl her age.

"No. No, it didn't. All it did was rob us of the time we had with her. Utter idiocy, in retrospect."

Shuuichi hums in agreement. Lost opportunities they'll never get back, all thanks to lies and the wish to protect her.

"I tried to push her away, you know? I was too involved - maybe, if she didn't know what I was doing, she could retain her innocence. Maybe she could even leave, one day, I'd hoped. But she clung to me stubbornly."

Never backing down from what she wanted, from those she loved. That's the women he fell for.

Shuuichi finds himself smiling, somewhat pained.

"She loved you dearly, to the bitter end."

He hands her the flip phone that has been his constant companion for almost a year now. Past the lockscreen waits Akemi's last message to him. With its P.S., asking him to protect her dear little sister, if the worst should come to pass.

He never got to reply to her, to promise that he would, of course he would.

It's short, so Shiho doesn't take long to read it. She attempts to hand it back, eyes glistening, but not crying.

Always composed, in front of him.

"Keep it."

It hurts to let go of it, but Shiho deserves to have assurance of Akemi's love, even in death.

(Unlike himself, who only ever lied to her.)

She looks up at him, uncertain, but what she reads on his face seems enough to convince her. She snaps the phone shut, cradles it to her chest.

Smiles grimly at him. "Thank you."

The rest of the car ride passes in silence.

They split up in front of the Kudo mansion.

"...I was planning to visit her grave on the weekend. You should come."

.

Shuuichi knows where Akemi's ashes have been laid to rest - he was the one to pay for her funeral, after all.

(Once upon a time, he'd dreamt of a future with her, of being family. Cruel irony, how that turned out to be true.)

Since her parents were never officially buried, and he hadn't been able to reach Shiho, he'd made the selfish decision to have Akemi's ashes stored in the Sera family grave.

He hasn't had the time to visit, yet - first, things had been too dangerous, then too busy, and by now, he's really just been unable to face her, alone. He's glad he doesn't have to, now.

Shiho sets down an incense stick, and some cut flowers - white gladioli. Shuuichi squats down next to her, puts down his flowers - lilies, also white - into the vase and lights the incense.

"Hey, sis. Look who I managed to drag along."

"Hello, Akemi." Sorry it took so long.

They stand, side by side, in silent prayer.

He's had days to prepare himself, to think about what he wants to say to her. But as he stands before her grave, all that's left is sorrow, a hollow in his chest where she should be.

(Filled with regret, and someone else. Jodie's right. He's a terrible partner.)

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the truth.

I'm sorry I left you behind.

I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.

I miss you.

The gentle smile when she talked about her little sister. The sweet blush when he'd kissed her hand. The way she'd awkwardly apologize for flipping the pancake she was making for breakfast into the sink. The ikebana arrangements she'd spend hours and hours on, decorating her flat. Her kind hands, mending his body and soothing his soul. The way the sunlight would turn her hair into gold.

A thousand small joys she gave to him, and all he had for her in turn were lies.

He doesn't remember the last time he cried - maybe as a child, when he fell and scraped his knee. It feels so far away.

His body doesn't remember how to, either - otherwise he surely would be, now.

How cruel. Even in death, he can't show her his honest feelings.

Shuuichi shows her cold comfort, instead.

Takes out a plastic evidence bag he requisitioned from the PSB, and places it on the altar as an offering. In it, the shattered scope of a rifle, splattered with its owner's blood. Gin's. It was found by his side, together with his Beretta, the instrument of his voluntary destruction. As the PSB forces had closed in on him, he'd chosen to kill himself, rather than surrender.

When Shuuichi lies awake at night, it irks him that Gin had a choice, at the end, where he took it away from so many others. He didn't deserve that kindness. A part of him is furious that he wasn't there to see his enemy's dying breaths, preferably through the scope of his rifle.

But it was probably for the best - if he'd been there, he's not sure he could've reigned himself in. Might've murdered Gin with his own two hands, and become the kind of monster he swore to hunt. (And if he's completely honest, there's another possibility: caught in a struggle with his enemy, he might have lost sight of his surroundings and slipped up. Facing Gin, that would've been a death sentence.)

Instead, and he's got the boy to thank for that, he was tasked with keeping their allies - Rei - alive and breathing. He can't help but feel like that matters.

I'm sorry I couldn't avenge you; you deserved better.

But he won't be making anyone miserable, anymore.

It's over, and they're still standing, in defiance of the bloodlust of their enemies. He's managed to keep one promise to Akemi, at least.

I'll continue to watch over her, if she lets me.

Shiho claps beside him, done with her prayer.

Thank you for everything.

The incense stick's stump turns to ash and scatters in the wind.

I hope your spirit can find peace, Akemi.

.

When he lights himself a cigarette to calm his mind, Shiho holds out a hand, wordlessly, expectantly.

He regards her with mild curiosity, but offers the pack regardless.

"What. You think I haven't done worse?"

She snatches his lighter, and with a hiss of flame, lights up her own cigarette.

"Akemi used to tell me to stay away from drugs, but I deserve this for bringing you here."

She takes a deep drag, managing not to cough. It's clear, from her posture and practiced ease, that it's far from her first foray into smoking.

"I hated you, you know? For the longest time. For playing with her, breaking her heart, leaving her behind, all alone. Leaving her to die."

It burns his lungs, to have his own thoughts voiced out loud, by Shiho of all people. But he deserves every cruel word dropped from her lips - she speaks nothing but the truth, after all. He needs to bear her judgement.

Shiho smiles, grimly. Doesn't look at him, focused on the grave instead.

"But not Akemi. She saw through you, and loved you still. Forgave you, even, because that's the kind of person she was."

A cold spring breeze plays with her hair. The sweater and cap protect him from the worst of it, but it still bites at his face, makes his eyes sting.

"I don't think I can ever be as forgiving as she was. You were, and still often are, an unrepentant jerk."

She turns to look at him, eyes as hard as steel. So familiar his eyes burn. He can't look away.

"But her death is not your fault."

It's cloaked in insults and pain. But it's an absolution he could never have asked for, one no one else could have given him. His breathing stops, then comes a little easier.

"Neither is it Kudo's. Did he ever tell you? He was there, watched her die. For the longest time, I blamed him for not saving her. He's brilliant when he puts his mind to it. Did he care so little, as to not even try?"

She shakes her head.

"It is a cruel thing to begrudge him for having witnessed her death. He was just a kid - small, powerless, afraid. Up against enemies that tried to kill him, too, only failed through sheer luck. I had to first be put into the same shoes to understand that."

As if she's not just a kid now, too. Neither of them should have gone through what they did, and yet it happened, has left them weathered and worn, tired beyond their years. They're still young - he hopes they can recover from the worst.

"I'm trying to tell myself it's not my fault either. She died for me, for us, trying to get us out of there. But I didn't know. She kept it from me, in case something went wrong. And I lie awake, going over conversations, wondering if I missed any signs. If I could've warned her or stopped her. If she could still be here, that way."

He's familiar with the spirals and hypotheticals, repeating the scenario over and over, to look for a way out. It never changes the facts.

"That kind of thinking gets you nowhere."

She gives him a sharp glare, a wordless threat to 'shut the fuck up'. He takes a step back, raising a hand in surrender.

"I know it's useless. Because she is dead, and no amount of analysing can bring her back. At least the one person who truly is at fault will not be a problem any longer. That's a small comfort."

She glares at the scope with barely concealed hatred in her eyes.

"And that's all there is. Akemi was proud and strong-willed - she chose her path. Not reaching out to any of us for help was a choice she made. I can't take away her agency in this matter."

Shiho smiles, pained and beautiful in the setting sun.

"The worst thing is that if she hadn't done what she did, I might still be a prisoner of the organisation. I'd like to think she didn't want to die to achieve it, but she'd be so happy to see me living in the sunlight, once more."

"She would be overjoyed." It's an obvious and simple truth he can't help but confirm.

Oh. Shiho's crying, now, quiet tears trailing down her cheeks, reflecting the sunlight in streaks of gold. It shaves years of her worn face, makes her look as young as she truly is.

He gives her a handkerchief, is glad to see her accept it. She wipes her face, smudging some of the make-up - he'll need to let her know before they return to the public. She doesn't usually like it when people can see past her composure. Shuuichi's pretty sure he, too, shouldn't be here to witness this.

But she doesn't hide from him, today, so he'll take all she gives to him, and treasure it.

"I brought you here because I'm trying to be better. I got a second chance at life, and I want to take it, all of it, for myself and for Akemi. But I won't be able to, if I hold on to useless grudges."

She looks at the handkerchief in her hands.

"You're a jerk, but you're not horrible. And you're trying to be better, too."

She holds out her hand.

"I want to get to know you, Akai Shuuichi. Maybe we could start with meeting for coffee?"

He waits for her to take it back, to reconsider.

She just looks at him expectantly, raises an eyebrow too when he doesn't comply immediately.

Shuuichi is many things, but he tries not to be a coward.

So he fights the vertigo, takes a leap of faith.

"I'd like that."

And shakes her hand.

.

Sweater Weather AU masterpost

[midnightshade]

GojoHime: Evidence and Discussion

Jujutsu Kaisen isn't a romance series. It's a horror action series that focuses more on platonic bonds and camaraderie between its characters. That being said, just as any shounen series, it has its fair share of ships, each with its own assortment of crumbs and small details.

GojoHime is a particularly interesting ship to look at. Being a massive fan of it myself,  it's fun to pick through the evidence that supports it. I'd like to share the evidence that I and many other GojoHime fans have found. I'll be starting with the smaller, weaker evidence first and working my way up to the strongest evidence.

Before I start in earnest, I want to clarify that this isn't made to attack any other ship. People can ship whatever they want, and no ship in the series is canon (aside from exceptions like Hakari and Kirara). I like GojoHime so I want to talk about it. That's really it.

With that out of the way, let's begin.

First, let's start with the evidence outside of the manga itself. This one isn't very compelling, but it is cute. In Japan, there is a chip brand called Bakauke. Bakauke has two mascots known as Borin and Barin, who are girlfriend and boyfriend. When Bakauke collabed with Jujutsu Kaisen, Utahime and Gojo were chosen to represent the Borin and Barin respectively, thus being depicted as girlfriend and boyfriend.

Moving on to evidence found within the actual manga, we see that on the splash page for Gojo and Utahime, the print behind them depicts arrows known as a Yagasuri pattern. In Japan, this is a symbol often used for weddings. It's meant for good luck because "a shot arrow does not return," and therefore, a married woman does not (or should not) return to her parents.

We also see depictions of them under an umbrella often used at weddings. Sharing an umbrella is also a common romantic trope in Japan.

Other smaller evidence exists in the form of their phone call. This consists a beeper code, where the number of their call spells out "I like you" in code, and another interesting detail is that Satoru calls Utahime from his recent contacts, implying that he calls her often.

Gojo and Utahime were made to be opposites. Aside from the obvious "opposites attract" trope, it creates a compelling visual story between them. Man and woman, strong and weak, modern and traditional, blue and red. Satoru hates alcohol and loves sweets while Utahime loves alcohol but hates sweets.

Gege said Gojo only puts down his Technique with people he trusts, which we see him do with Utahime. He trusts her enough to have to actively put his Technique back in place after she throws a teacup at him.

Moving on to some of the strongest and most convincing evidence, we have Waka Inoue, Utahime's very own technique, and Gege's past works.

Gojo had a picture of Waka Inoue as his background as a teenager. He clearly finds her attractive, as is common, considering she's a popular model, but the reason why this is important is that Inoue shares a lot of similarities with Utahime.

Both women have noticeable bangs, they're the same height (166cm), and they share a love for alcohol, karaoke, and sports, specifically baseball. Waka is described once as a "competitive crybaby who hates to lose," and as we see in the Anime, Gojo has a way of firing Utahime up and she is also prone to being a bit of a scaredy-cat and a crybaby. We also see her more competitive side come out during the baseball tournament between Kyoto and Tokyo.

Moving on to Utahime's Cursed Technique, as some Japanese fans have pointed out, Utahime's Soro Soro Kinku (Solo Forbidden Area) is based on a real love song about forbidden love with lyrics about a masked lover. The records from the singer, Akina Nakamori, are called Utahime records, and the singer even does Gojo's unlimited void hand sign during her live performances of her song, "Fin."

The most compelling bit of evidence for me is Gege's past works. Two of his three one-shot manga have characters who are very similar to Gojo and Utahime. The male protagonist is usually cocky and teases the female protagonist, while the female protagonist gets annoyed at his antics but is otherwise down to earth and kind.

In Nikai Bongai Barabarujura, the protagonist, Noroma, reminds me of teen Gojo in appearance and behavior. He is "the strongest" who teases Nodoka, the female protagonist, for being weak but has an obvious respect for her drive and inner strength.

In Kamishiro Sosa, we have a similar set-up as before. The male protagonist, Ganji, is very energetic and careless with the female protagonist, Rekko's, feelings, and is seen to have a very similar type of banter as Gojo and Utahime have.

Gege clearly likes that type of pairing, which isn't surprising given the bickering couple and rivals to lovers is a popular trope in romance. It's not unusual for Mangaka to reuse old ideas, and that seems to be what happened with Gojo and Utahime. Even their appearances share similarities.

As you can see, GojoHime has a lot of thought put into it, and it's very interesting to see the little details Gege has put into their dynamic. There's definitely a reason why so many adore this pairing, and I'm glad Gege has paid attention to that.

[sweet-curried-powder]

so I joined a sk8 server recently, and @lo9lziz shared a headcanon involving the sk8 boys doing karaoke, and even though i hadn't been in said server for very long and wasn't very active, i felt like i just HAD to write this fic. i just had to. so here you go dudes

here's the ao3 link if anyone's interested in that!

~~

The karaoke place was loud.

There were a lot of people in the lobby that night, their ages ranging around about late teens to early to mid-twenties. Some of them were squealing and shouting, others were just talking loudly. There was music playing on some sort of speaker that didn’t seem visible to the eyes of the public, some sort of loud, denpa music playing loudly.

It was all way too much, so much noise. It made Langa’s brain hurt, with the loud noises echoing through his skull. He gripped his arms tightly, his fingernails digging into his pale skin.

“Langa?”

The Canadian felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Reki.

“Are you okay? Is it too loud?” Reki’s voice was reassuring, with a caring tone, that reminded Langa of his mother, yet was still his best friend and crush. When Langa nodded, Reki dug in his hoodie pockets, putting some earbuds in his friend’s ears. Music started playing through the buds, one of the songs that Reki would play while they were skating. It might not be relaxing to others, but it was to Langa.

“Better?” Reki asked, taking Langa’s hands in his own, smiling as Langa nodded. “Good. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Langa mumbled a thank you in English before looking around. “I didn’t know there were places like this here in Japan.”

“Oh yeah, there’s tons of karaoke joints here,” Miya chimed in, glancing up from a sort of menu with bright neon colors on it. “This particular place is part of some karaoke lounge chain. Karaoke is a really big deal here for some reason.”

Langa nodded, looking around the lobby. There were lots of neon colors and bright lights, and the carpeting looked like it belonged in an 80s style roller rink.

“Okay kids, does anyone want any drinks before we go up to the room?” Cherry called out, adjusting his glasses slightly. “Feel free to get any drink you want, provided it doesn’t have alcohol.”

“I’m cool with whatever,” Miya mumbled, staring at a poster on the wall.

“I’ll have a cola!” Reki shouted, grinning widely.

“I’ll have what Reki’s getting.” Langa held on tightly to Reki’s hand, which felt warm and comforting.

“Ewww, get a room you two.” Miya teased, smirking as Reki shot a look at the younger boy.

“We are. The karaoke room.” Langa shifted his weight from side to side, still holding Reki’s hand.

“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you.”

“Language, Miya,” Cherry scolded, handing the boys their drinks. “C’mon. We have the room on the top floor for the next hour and a half.”

The earbuds came off once Langa was in the elevator.

~~

The room had plenty of open space, most likely because Cherry didn’t want the gorilla (Joe) to take up a tiny ass karaoke room. There were couches and some tables, and some sort of phone that looked like a common landline on the wall, with a laminated copy of the menu from downstairs hanging on the wall. There were several microphones on the table, which was near a small yet decently sized stage in the front of the room, next to a large TV on the wall. Langa noticed some sort of tablet-like object on a table, and picked it up, staring at the screen.

“How does this…” Langa mumbled in his native language, tapping on the screen. He didn’t even know what did what, he was just pushing buttons, since everything was in Japanese, and reading it was in no way his strong suit.

“Hold on, bud. I’ll show you the ropes.” He scooted over to Langa, pointing out the buttons and translating them for the Canadian. “This button shows you what songs are most popular, and if you click here, you can filter them by language and genre. And this button shows you all the songs they have in that specific language.”

“Wow, you’re really familiar with this, Papa,” Miya noted, sipping his drink.

“Of course he does. The thirsty gorilla probably drags girls here all the time,” Cherry muttered, shaking his head as he sipped his cherry cocktail. Of course, this spiraled into a fight, which proceeded as normal, aside from the fact that Cherry was already slightly tipsy.

“Should we do something?” Reki asked. “I mean, I’m used to them fighting, but I don’t want us getting kicked out…”

“Eh, I’m pretty sure they’ll settle things after—”

“Reki. Miya.”

The sudden, unnatural tone change in Langa’s voice caused the both of them to turn their heads. Langa showed the screen to them, where bright as day, the song Sk8r Boi was highlighted.

“Oh my God, they have it on here!” Reki’s smile was so wide, you would have thought his face was going to split in half. “Miya, c’mon! We gotta sing it!”

“You think I was gonna pass it down?” Miya grabbed a microphone and bounced onto the stage. Langa queued up the song, going onto the stage next to Reki, the opening notes of the song beginning to play. Joe and Cherry stopped fighting, glancing at the small stage. Reki was doing a dorky little air guitar riff, Langa awkwardly trying to copy him while Miya bounced on his toes.

“Oh God, not this song again,” Cherry groaned, rubbing his temples. “I was hoping they didn’t have it here… fuck, are we going to be hearing this for the next hour?”

“God, I hope not.” The muscled man looked at his kids. “Don’t tell Reki I said this just now, but his singing’s kind of awful.”

“I mean, we’ve heard worse,” Cherry sighed, tilting his head back and chugging the rest of his drink. “Remember our freshman year of college? We went to a party in one of the bigger karaoke bars, I think somewhere in Tokyo, and we had a singing contest?”

“Do I? Man, that guy sounded horrible. I wanted to throw up five seconds in.”

Cherry chuckled, leaning back. “That was fun. We were fun.”

“Hey! I’m still fun!” Joe shoved Cherry playfully.

“Yeah. But we have kids now. And two out of three of them are dumber than you.”

Joe decided to let that one go for now, glancing back at the boys.

“I’M WITH THE SKATER BOY!”

“I SAID ‘SEE YOU LATER, BOY’!”

“I’LL BE BACKSTAGE AFTER THE SHOW!”

The three of them were dancing around wildly as they sang, bumping into each other and nearly falling off the stage. Langa clearly had two left feet, his dancing making it look like he was having some kind of seizure, while Reki was fairly coordinated in his movements, though it clearly looked like he was trying to match up with Langa, even somewhat.

Miya sat down on the stage after the song was over, panting softly from the intense singing and dancing. Langa took the little song selector thing, swiping through the songs, looking for something to sing.

“Let’s join the kids.” Cherry announced to Joe, standing up and stumbling slightly, tugging Joe’s giant arms, trying to pull his childhood best friend to his feet. “C’mon, you big assed gorilla.”

“You’re drunk off your ass, aren’t you Karou?” Joe stood up, trying to support Cherry as best as he could.

“I’m just tipsy. And I can be fun again,” Cherry pouted, pulling Joe to the boys. “Boys! We wanna sing.”

“...you’re drunk, mom,” Langa commented.

“A brilliant observation, snow slime,” Miya scoffed.

“C’mon, what’re we singing?” Cherry smirked, grabbing a microphone and flipping it in his hand.

“I was thinking something like—”

“NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP!” Reki shouted, loud enough to make the room shake, maybe. Langa jumped slightly, Miya returning the shit-eating grin that took up almost all of Reki’s face.

“I’ll sit this one out,” Miya giggled. “I wanna record this.” He pulled his phone out, hitting record as Langa searched up the well-known rickroll and pressed play. The familiar tune played through the speakers, and nobody looked at the TV. They knew the words by heart, thanks to a certain snow-haired teenage boy.

“WE’RE NO STRANGERS TO LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE, YOU KNOW THE RULES, AND SO DO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

It was pure chaos on the stage. Langa was doing his weird seizure-like dancing, Joe was taking up a good portion of the stage, and Cherry and Reki were tied for the loudest voice in the room, though the latter was singing horribly, and the former had no shame, being drunk.

Miya was trying his hardest to not laugh his cat whispering ass off. This was going to be pure gold when he showed this to Cherry the next morning, especially if the calligrapher didn’t remember jack shit.

[theonlinemuse]

And me and @freckledpianoman are back with more Beth Chapel content! Continuing from this post, here’s even more headcanons about our favourite Dr Mid-Nite: 

Beth is nearsighted and started wearing glasses when she was three and a half. Bridget started noticing that her daughter kept squinting all the time and eventually took her to an eye doctor, attributing Beth needing glasses so early to all the times that she hid under the covers with a flashlight and read late into the night instead of sleeping 

Her prescription is really strong and while her glasses correct most of her vision, she still needs accommodations like enlarged and high contrast texts and other visual aids 

Chuck eventually becomes another accommodation since he acts as a cross between telescopic and magnifying glasses and a talking watch 

She’s fluent in French thanks to her grandma Beatrice’s influence and she can carry a conversation in Spanish (she picked it up from Bridget, who often talks with her patients in Spanish) and Norwegian. That last language throws people off when they first hear about it, but it comes in handy when four-year-old Pieter Cross and his family (who don’t speak much English) move to Blue Valley from Trondheim, Norway 

Yolanda grumbles about not being able to talk to Beth in Spanish class whenever she’s home sick from school because she's the one decent conversation partner she has in that class

Rick often practices translating for his French class with Beth. Once he goofed and said “madame le docteur”. And poor Beth was close to shaking him and going, “Rick, that's wrong on so many levels” 

He knows by the incredulous look on her face that he’s all sorts of wrong and he blushes all embarrassed. But later he mistranslates on purpose just to see her adorable reactions 

She wants to pick up more languages eventually (she’s deciding if she wants to take both Mandarin and Arabic in college like her dad did) and is currently learning ASL 

Beth is a Star Trek fan thanks to her dad’s influence. She and James would watch reruns of Deep Space Nine while she was growing up and it was their way of bonding. While that tradition didn’t happen as often when Beth started high school, she and Yolanda (who had watched Voyager with her brother and cousins) eventually start a tradition of watching Star Trek Discovery 

Beth and Yolanda’s love for Star Trek is often a point of contention with Rick and Courtney, who are both Star Wars fans. It’s been the subject of a lot of arguments about what to watch for JSA marathons. Pat is usually the tie breaker 

Beth learned how to garden from her grandma Beatrice, who raises African violets in her rooftop garden. Beth’s backyard isn’t big enough for a garden so instead she keeps all sorts of plants in her room, including little teacup succulents on her bedroom windowsill and in honeycomb shelves 

While her backyard’s too small for a garden, there’s a pink dogwood tree and she loves reading and having picnics under it when it’s in bloom. In the summer Beth makes her own butterfly feeders and hang them from the tree and watch the butterflies gather 

She grew up listening to Schoolhouse Rock thanks to her dad, who would play their songs in the kitchen whenever he made breakfast on Saturday mornings while she was growing up. Even now, Beth sings along to them whenever she hears them and Chuck starting adding them to karaoke mode, including her favourites “Three is a Magic Number”, “The Tale of Mr Morton”, and “The Energy Blues” 

When she was in middle school, she started using the melody of Schoolhouse Rock songs to memorize things like country names and the periodic table. She used the latter to help Rick memorize different elements for his chem class. Yolanda actually caught Rick softly singing to himself at his locker when he was searching for his notes for one last read through 

“Beth got you to sing? Willingly?” “I wasn't singing, you’re hearing things.”

Courtney is weirded out by the fact that Beths texts with Mike of all people, but it's mostly through gifs, emojis, and random memes. She has no idea what they even talk about, saying that Beth texts with Mike more often than she does with Rick, much to the latter’s annoyance. In reality Beth and Mike talk about robotics competitions, the latest episode of whatever they were binging (this week was Julie and the Phantoms), and their ongoing bet on when Courtney and Yolanda will finally get together

If Beth wins, Mike has to help upgrade her costume and if he wins, she owes him an ice cream cake 

“It's like their own little nerd language, it makes no sense.” 

Her style icon when she was little was Ms Frizzle. Beth thought that Ms Frizzle’s themed dresses and jewellery were so cool and she wanted to dress up like her. She still loves Ms Frizzle’s style and you can see the influence it has on Beth’s fashion from bright colours, unique patterns, and quirky jewellery 

Beth has a special section in her closet for Ms Frizzle like outfits that she wears to the children’s library she volunteers at. It makes her very popular with the kids there 

She actually dressed up as Ms Frizzle for Halloween in seventh grade 

Despite being on opposite sides, Beth and Cindy have a begrudging respect for each other similar to Betty and Wilhelmina’s relationship on Ugly Betty, Beth being the JSA member that Cindy tolerates the most

Cindy begrudgingly thinks that she does know a thing or two about fashion because she often upcycles clothes. Courtney’s surprised that Beth’s still alive after she said that Cindy dresses like an evil PTA mom within earshot, though she did kidnap Beth a few times for a shopping spree 

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping!” “Did you just quote Mean Girls?”  

The first time they had a standoff, Cindy went “please, I’m Japanese, you’re Black, we’re not talking around this thing like a couple of dull white people” 

Cindy once called Rick a feral raccoon and smirked when it made Beth accidentally burst out laughing 

While Beth is more than confident with her personal style, but she’s still very new to makeup in general. Yolanda and Artemis (even Cindy much to everyone’s shock) have taken it upon themselves to help experiment with makeup and find out what she likes. Beth immediately knows that she doesn’t like mascara, even as Yolanda scolds her to stay still while she’s trying to put mascara on her

“You’re making it seem like I’m torturing you.” “Your superhero costume has claws, that doesn’t exactly scream safe.” “I’ll have you know I’m very practiced with my claws, now stay still!” 

Beth likes the lipsticks and glosses much better, she likes the different colours and how it feels on her lips 

She has to get used to the feeling of makeup on her face in general, but she doesn’t mind it and she’s shocked when she looks in the mirror. It’s still very much her, but it's like she’s glowing. She can’t stop smiling and the girls all look at her fondly 

And they also exchange knowing looks, knowing that Rick is going to lose his mind 

She did a history report on Bessie Coleman in middle school and she eventually drew inspiration for her Dr Mid-Nite costume from looking at photos of Bessie’s pilot outfit 

Beth and her mom often did ceramics classes when she was a kid. They weren’t very good at it at first, but the little lopsided knick knacks they made always made them laugh. Beth and Bridget got better over the years with Beth painting colours and patterns on whatever her mom helped her make before they went into the kiln. She thought they would be plain otherwise and Bridget agreed with her 

While ceramics classes have since stopped, they still use the honeycomb mugs and planters that they made and painted when Beth was in middle school. Bridget uses one for the aloe vera plant she keeps in her office at the hospital 

Beth is allergic to pineapple. She found out during a school trip in third grade when Henry offered some of his fruit salad and she ended up with a swollen face and tongue, which really freaked Artemis and Cindy out. Yolanda and the villain kids ended up taking care of her until the ambulance came and Beth jokes that it was the one time the JSA and ISA kids worked together on something 

She now carries an epipen in her backpack and Rick has taken to carrying a backup one in his jacket in case Beth can’t get to her backpack in time 

She had a stargazing phase that she never grew out of. Her parents got her a mini telescope for her fifth birthday and Bridget started teaching her about the solar system before Beth started learning about constellations on her own. Bridget jokes that if her daughter hadn’t been set on becoming a doctor, she would’ve gone into astrophysics 

Beth still has a telescope set up by her bedroom window. Sometimes when she has trouble sleeping and she’s not in the mood to read, she’ll look for constellations through the telescope while Chuck chimes in with little known star facts 

She also has a starry globe nightlight and a constellation globe

She and Rick sometimes have stargazing “dates” out on her back porch. They curl up together in a patio chair with midnight snacks while they watch meteor showers. Sometimes Yolanda and Courtney will join them, curled up together in the other patio chair  

Beth and Courtney often have karaoke nights at the Pit Stop after Pat souped up Barbara’s old karaoke machine. The usual playlist includes fun 80s and 90s jams as well as modern songs like Bruno Mars, Lizzo, and Janelle Monae. Yolanda often joins them for girl group songs (Little Mix is a favourite), even though she protests that she’s not much of a singer when she’s not singing Selena songs 

Rick gets roped into doing a song too, much to his dismay. Courtney pouts and complains that he has to because there’s an unspoken rule that everyone has to sing

“I don't sing, dammit.” “Oh really, are you forgetting about that little ditty you were singing before your chem test?” 

Beth sees how nervous Rick is and decides to go easy on him, finding a slow, bluesy song that he can keep up with and assuring him that even if he can’t croon those long deep notes, everyone will cheer him on. He ends up giving the best performance of the night, shocking the girls and impressing them all 

He blushes when he sees Beth looking at him all starry eyed 

When Beth was growing up, her family would have game night every Thursday and they were always old fashioned board games like Clue, Scrabble, and Pictionary. Whenever they would play Clue, Beth would always choose to be Miss Scarlett while her dad would switch between Professor Plum and Colonel Mustard. Beth could never beat her mom at Scrabble and it often ended up with Beth’s chemistry words versus Bridget’s medical terms 

While game nights have since stopped, James will sometimes have Beth join him for a card game at three or four in the morning after he comes back from a business trip. He taught her how to play games like crazy eights, gin rummy, and cribbage when she was in middle school and it’s now their way of catching up after he comes back from travelling  

Both her parents are only children. James’ family was originally from California before he moved to Nebraska for work while Bridget’s family are of Louisiana Creole descent and hail from Omaha. Beth is quite close to Bridget’s side of the family, especially with her second cousin Delphine’s family. Beth sometimes helps look after Delphine’s daughter Eliana whenever she and her husband are in town 

Rick once mistook Eliana for Beth’s baby, hilarity ensued

Beth has a love for animals and since the fandom has collectively decided that Beth is a Disney Princess, she has a particular talent for being an accidental animal tamer. During a mission, three of the ISA’s attack dogs made a beeline for her and attacked her with doggie kisses instead of doing their job 

The ISA are torn between being pissed (“when the hell did Mid-Nite become an animal tamer?”) and confused. Sportsmaster is vaguely impressed and takes it as a challenge 

Later they tried scaring Beth with a python, which only really worked on Yolanda (“oh my god, what is that?”) while Beth just boops the snake on its snout. The snake swooned. So did Rick 

After Rick and Yolanda recover from the shock, they look at the trio of attack dogs follow Beth all the way to the Pit Stop and go “we’re not keeping you”. Rick just hopes that the trio are the only attack dogs that follow her back home. He wishes that he had been more specific because he was not expecting an actual maned wolf suddenly coming up and sniffing all over Beth during a visit to the Dugan-Whitmores’ cabin

“What the fuck, where did that come from and why is it all over Beth?!” 

It turns out that Beth didn’t realize that she had a cookie in one of her pockets and the maned wolf caught a whiff of it and was now trying to find it. The way it sniffs her is ticklish and she’s laughing the entire time 

Once the maned wolf brought over a friend to see Beth and Courtney goes, “aww, he met another–oh my god, that’s a panther!” The panther also wanted one of Beth’s treats and it swooped in between her and Rick and started pawing at her like a spoiled kitten 

Rick picked Beth up and carried her inside because “we can’t trust her outside anymore” 

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook: Mr. Jeffrey’s Elegant Life Counseling

Thank you for so many consultations. It was nearly impossible to contact Mr. Jeffrey as he is so busy, but we were able to deliver everyone’s consultations to him and received several replies, thus they have been published. May your worries be resolved!

Sleep hours are said to account for 1/3 of life. Please tell us about your particularities for aromas, beddings and such, as well as which ones we should choose in order to spend this 1/3 of our lives elegantly. (Bijou-san)

Bijou-san, greetings! My particularities about elegant beddings, huh. I fly around a lot due to work, so I often live in hotels. That’s exactly why I am a little particular about aromas. But it’s about their purposes rather than their smell: 1. For before work 2. For after work 3. For when I’m on off days I like being able to change my gears myself. Eh? You heard from an acquaintance of mine that I only have numbers 1 and 2? No way; I also have number 3, I just don’t have any time to use it at all. Well, adieu!

I have been keeping a loach for three years now, but have not named it yet. I think it is about time I do so, but what would be a good name? (Tsuyu-san)

Tsuyu-san and Nameless Loach-san, hello! I see, so you’ve had a loach for three years. Ah-ha-ha-ha! I think any name will do! Eh? What is it, Ricky? “Since we’re at it, just name it Jeffrey”? No way, I might get eaten in Yanagawa! Please choose anything but Jeffrey! I’m counting on you!

(T/N: Yanagawa is a city in Kyushu, known for its traditional loach stew.)

I am the type who fears failing and ends up staying in the same place, so what can I do to be as active as you, Jeffrey-san? (Sorasaki-san)

Sorasaki-san, hello! You seem to have a very high opinion of me, so thank you very much. But I am not at all an active person. I simply work like a Japanese dancing mouse because of my job, and I think all I do is sleep on my house’s sofa if I don’t have anything to do. Maybe you should change your mindset. How about taking the direction not of “wanting to be active”, but of wanting to look for something that you wish to do because you haven’t found it yet? Eh? You have things you want to do? That’s just perfect. All that’s left is for you to execute this desire, and then it will be the birth of a lovely and active Sorasaki-san. If you like that, do try it out. Well, adieu!

This is my first year as a respectable member of society. I earned myself the occupation I wanted, but all I do is mess up and I still cannot think of it as enjoyable. I am blessed with good seniors, so my feeling of guilt is strong in that regard. What can I do to be able to think of my job as fun? (Yoppi-san)

Yoppi-san, hello! Okay, this is sudden, but Jeffrey-onii-san has questions for the working people who are reading this. Is your work enjoyable? Are you positively doing your best? Is there nothing at all that you just can’t see as fun? Hm, feels like I can hear the responses going, “as if” beyond the walls of this dimension. I think one year after you start working is still a period where there are many things you’re not yet used to, and I myself also did stuff that had me feeling sorry at the time. Nowadays, I find myself recalling these feelings as unripe and nostalgic, but there’s just no helping any of it in your first shot.

That’s okay; you will grow used to it soon enough. Might not be BCG, but it’s a road that everyone goes down. If it’s still hard, then go hang out with a friend around the same age as you who you get along with and wash away your irritation! I think trying to force yourself to have fun is a pain, so for now, how about you try to make enduring reality into your main task? Wow, I feel like this has turned out as a very decent reply that isn’t like me at all! May you grow into a wonderful professional. Adieu!

I am a college student, but my image of working is too negative and I am very distressed about finding a job. How can I have hope and work while my future is uncertain? (Misaki-san)

Misaki-san, hello! In this day and age, having hope towards working is very hard, isn’t it? Even I don’t have that much of it. But I spend my days cheerfully! Why? Because I’m rich? That’s not it. Ack, that hurts, Ricky; I keep telling you to stop hitting me with boxing moves!

It’s because I have baseless confidence. Baseless confidence is the best. Because there’s no basis to it. Ya~y!

What you should do to have baseless confidence? Try challenging yourself to do something – anything – that you’ve never done before. If you do this, many things will happen at once. They mostly won’t go well. You will get yelled at and praised, not knowing what is what. Things will either somehow work out or not at all while you have a laugh at it, and as you find yourself in a situation that feels like being jerked around by a storm, everything will be over before you realize it.

You might get into a state of collapse, but at that moment, you’ll have become a different person from before you challenged yourself. Just a little bit. But it’s a big change. If you hadn’t thought of challenging yourself, you wouldn’t have had that experience. But because you decided to do it and tried it out, you’ll have polished yourself when going through said experience. Don’t you think that’s amazing?

To work is to live. I think a challenge is the fastest way to living with confidence. If you have anything you like or are interested in, it might be good to try starting from there as the outset. Adieu!

There are too many things I want, so I never manage to save any money! Jeffrey-san, do you also have these kinds of experiences…? (Karina-san)

Oops, there’s a different fee for money-related consultations, but this doesn’t seem to be that kind of talk. When you think about what I would say, there’s no way that the youngest son of English aristocrats would have had this kind of experience—except I have. Not just me but also my brother and cousin were under a system of restrict pocket money back in our student years, so although they were enough for food expenses, buying all the things we wanted was a dream upon another dream. I think we improved our way of setting our priorities straight thanks to that. Everything is about experience. Adieu!

I do not hate work – I am actually the type that likes it – but Jeffrey-sama, what do you do in those times when you suddenly feel like taking a break from work or when you only want to do fun things? (Tofu-san)

Tofu-san, hello! Hm-hm, I get you. No matter how fun and lively your job is, it’s depressing when you think about having to be there and do work every day, isn’t it? Vacations are far-off, and you can’t go on vacation in the first place or even have the will to—wait, that’s me.

What I recommend to you, Tofu-san, is going on a weekday vacation. I’m not at all telling you to take absence from your company, but to go on a vacation after you leave work. Put on your favorite clothes and go hang out at a club, watch as many streamed videos as you want while eating chips and drinking ale, get engrossed in reading – follow your many desires and do only the things you like! Until the time to go to work on the next day, that is! We’re talking an all-nighter here; an all-nighter.

Of course, your skin will get dry, your eyes will be bleary and your work efficiency will see a sharp drop, so you can’t do it all the time, but this little vacation works surprisingly well for your heart’s health. Try it when you feel like taking a nice break. My personal recommendation is eating as much chocolate and churros as you can overnight. I remember very well that a prodigious acquaintance of mine survived a test week thanks to this. Well, adieu!

Ricky, you didn’t get angry this time, huh? Eh, did you forget to? Can’t remember anything anymore except the taste of Nakata-kun’s pudding? Ah, ouch, ouch, ouch! Sorry; I said sorry! Stirred a hornet’s nest, didn’t I?

In order to become a member of society, I will be living by myself in Tokyo starting from April next year! Jeffrey-san, I would like you to tell me your methods for stress relief and what rewards you give yourself when you do your best! (Ryon-san)

Ryon-san, hello! Congratulations on this big step to becoming a new member of society. “Member of society” is a pretty Japanese-like concept. For your first time living alone, the things that you deem as fun and your troubles will probably change from what they used to be until now, so I believe that thinking while having your eyes set on your desires is the most important. By the way, I like karaoke. Because you can sing loudly in them! Ricky was the one who taught me Shouwa pop music—eh? This topic isn’t allowed? Same for the talk about those popular songs that we’d sing when we were studying Japanese? Ah, I’m sorry. Due to brotherly circumstances, this topic has to stop here. That’s right; anything except sweets is fine as a reward. I know about the touching hard work of a certain someone, after all. Well, adieu… Wait a minute; wait! No boxing!

I am bad at speaking out my opinion in front of others, and I get so nervous that my voice trembles. How can I stop being anxious? Also, Jeffrey-san, in what kind of situation do you get nervous? Please tell me! (Totororo-san)

Totororo-san, hello. Anxiety is a problem, isn’t it? Your voice shakes, your hands shake, and you just feel like taking a break. I was also like that back when I had just become a student, but strangely enough, I was able to deal just fine with nervousness after learning a secret chant. It’s a chant passed down for generations in the Claremont family, which was taught to me by Henry and taught to Henry by our father, Godfrey. What kind of chant is it, you ask? Aah, I’m sorry, but this is off-limits for outsiders. I cannot tell you. But, that’s right, I shall tell you just the atmosphere and the mindset of the chant as an exception: 1. Acknowledge that you are nervous and be thankful for it 2. Because that’s the same as the many big ordeals that our ancestors have gone through until now 3. As you are at the very end of the line, you must be grateful for the grandiose fate of being granted an ordeal as well 4. Express respect for your own courage Okay, it’s more or less this mindset. Whenever I was saying [beep] before an important presentation, well, it was that chant. In my opinion, Totororo-san, it’s okay for you to also create your own version of the chant and use it. According to Henry, this chant has been passed down for generations in the Claremont household, so it clearly gets stronger the more you use it. Was this helpful? Please do your best! Be thankful for your nervousness and have respect for your courage. Well, adieu!

Hey, Henry, that time when I cried before I started going to school because I had to do a speech in front of everyone, I wonder just how you felt.

Hello, Jeffrey-san, who looks lovely in glasses. I do my best every day, all the while being healed by your kindness! My dark history is that I was once super fat… and even now, I cannot bring myself to look directly at my photos from that time. Jeffrey-san, you apparently listened to too much rock in the past and made your father cry because you would run around in punk fashion. It seems your cousin sometimes blackmails you with pictures of it, so Jeffrey-san, how do you face your dark history? If there is any way to deal with dark history from the far past, by all means, I would like you to tell me. (Sechiko-san)

Sechiko-san, hello! From the way that you came in casually gouging your advisor’s wounds, I can see that you are the angelic little devil type of character, just like me. I can’t hate you, damn—! About how to face and deal with your dark history, hmm, this doesn’t restrict the possibility that “the present will be dark history when I look back at it in the future” into an irrefutable condition, right? Human beings change from moment to moment, so if you think that your past and current selves have the exact same personality and nature, you’re bound to get burned. Isn’t it just fine if you act as if you were watching over one of your relative’s children, like, “You used to be like this back then, huh”? So, Ricky, how about you get rid of those photos already?! Hey, hey, hey? Can’t you?

Jeffrey-san, hello. My house is bustling with books. I have become familiar with electronics too, but in the end, I like paper books, and so I wind up collecting my favorite ones in paperback format as well. My childhood dream was to build a library inside my house and put a sofa in it so that I could read books there, but when I think about my housing circumstances, it seems unlikely to come true. Jeffrey-san, how do you keep control of your books? Also, what kind of books do you like? (Oh-gi-san)

Oh-gi-san, hello! Aah, someone who loves paper books, huh? You’re one of Henry’s. I’m on the tech side. The reason is that I’m always moving around, so the short and unappealing option of having as little baggage as possible is better for me. But if I could take time for it, I’d like to read a leather hardcover book in front of the fireplace while having some cognac. I have only been reading newspapers, magazines, reports and essays for the last ten or so years now, so if I had time, I guess I’d try challenging myself to read a thick full-length novel for once. I’m thinking about asking my cousin for recommendations on Japanese literature. Makes me nostalgic; I don’t remember anymore when it was, but I just recalled that I really did think about asking him this before. Books are nice, aren’t they? They’re always nostalgic in some way. Well, adieu!

Jeffrey-san, hello! This is sudden, but I am very indecisive. When I am shopping, I worry over it, like, “Which one is better? Should I be buying this now?”… and in the end, I buy nothing. What can I do to improve my resolution? (YuiKa-san)

You’re asking me!? Just kidding. YuiKa-san, hello. You asked me advice because you want to change your indecisive self, right? I think it’s probably because you already understand that “not having resolution is a type of resolution in itself”. Time passes even while you can’t decide, and things get decided on their own! Just like when I had to choose whether or not to interfere in my cousin’s wedding. I’m sorry; the topic got heavy. I believe, YuiKa-san, that you think you’re the one who has to decide what the range of your choices is at least, even if you know that you won’t get a perfect result out of it. That is commendable. I respect you.

I think the way to improve your resolution is to have many regrets. The more you experience things that will make you think, “I don’t want this to happen ever again”, the more you will be filled with the self-realization that it was better to have made a decision rather than not, so you will become able to make straightforward choices. Bluntly put, if you live your life with your eyes open, your resolution will definitely improve. You’ll be fine. Did that answer the question? It’s an improper advice, so it’s okay if you say it didn’t. Just kidding. Adieu!

What should I do in order to make friends with someone who is apart from me in age and into all sorts of genres? (Ninoka-san)

Ninoka-san, hello. You want a friend with an age gap who’s into many genres, right? What kind of friend would that be? Someone who seems to be having fun with themselves? Someone who has a field of expertise where they won’t lose to anyone? If you have an idealized image that has you going, “This is it!”, then you should try to be like that first! Posting about it on social media while being careful of literacy is also good. If you do that, my, what a mystery – people who want to be friends with you and salesmen will come your way in swarms! If what you want isn’t a “friend” but “personal connections”, this should undoubtedly work. If you really want a friend, then I don’t recommend choosing them like they’re a support item. Because they’ll turn into someone that you can’t see as anything other than a support item, like me. Have a fun life! Well, adieu.

[orbit-intl]

210130 KStyle Vol. 2 ― ORβIT, a strong wish for 2021. “We’d like to see fans at a live event… we have so many things we want to do (laughs)”

Vol. 2 ― ORβIT, a strong wish for 2021. “We’d like to see fans at a live event… we have so many things we want to do (laughs)”

ORβIT is a Japanese-Korean group composed of 7 unique members. They released their long-awaited debut album in November last year, to which many fans responded with enthusiastic support. 

It has almost been a year since ORβIT was formed and announced on February 9, 2020. We asked them about the steps that led to the decision of forming the group and questions about the reason for their career choices as an artist. 

ENG TRANSLATION BY ORBIT_INTL   Source: KStyle News DO NOT RE-USE, REUPLOAD OR RE-TRANSLATE WITHOUT PERMISSION

― How have you been spending this time since the announcement on February 9th last year?

HEECHO: Now that I think of it, it went by so quickly, but a big part of 2020 was the fact that we couldn’t see each other. We could communicate via phone calls or video calls, but I’m sure it was hard for the members and the staff were also worried for the members. We did receive the songs to practice at home and think of the choreography, but there wasn’t much I could do on my own. I just kept thinking “if only I could be with them (the members)”. And Shunya was always crying. 

SHUNYA: I wasn’t always crying (laughs)! But, not being able to see each other was hard. With the ongoing pandemic, there was nobody you could blame for the hardships we went through, so I’d sometimes get annoyed on my own. That’s when the other members would talk to me and that was very helpful. I think we got even closer because we had the chance to speak so much more in this situation. 

JUNE: Yes, because we were able to talk a lot when things were hard. We’d discuss what we should do from now on when things were getting hard, have heart-to-heart conversations at the dorm, and spend time together. I think that’s why we’re so close now. 

SHUNYA: The video calls helped so much. Even though we were separated in Japan and Korea, we were able to speak while seeing each other’s faces, so it was good.

TOMO: Yeah. There are some of us who’d like some words of encouragement when things get hard or some of us who’d rather be left alone for a while, so we respect that and we spend time together, it was great.

JUNE: At the end, we were all like “there’s no use to overthink everything, so let’s just do what we can do!” and that’s how we got here. 

SHUNYA: Even for our music work, we’ve been helped a lot by the internet. We weren’t able to meet the people who bought our CDs to thank them, so we kept thinking what we could do instead. We were able to hold an online signing event, so I hope we were able to convey some of the feelings of gratitude we have.

HEECHO: But because the date of release got pushed back, we were able to spend more time on the production process of the album. There are some parts that we were able to be more particular about, especially because of the current situation.

The 7 of them with each their own different turning points in life

― You started off as an artist with the album “00”, but what were the turning points in your artist life?

HEECHO: I like dancing and I wanted to be a dancer, but my mother wouldn’t agree with it and she suggested that I become a singer instead. But I’m not good at singing, I can’t rap either, so I continued although I wasn’t sure of where I was headed to. When I was in highschool, I got sick and the doctor told me “you might not be able to dance and sing anymore” and I was very shocked. I realized that I must really like the job if I was that shocked. Then, I started taking it more seriously from there on.

JUNE: It was popular at the time and I would listen to Eminem at first because I happened to buy a CD, but I wasn’t planning on starting rapping at the time. Later on, K-POP came in from Korea and I felt a different charm from Japanese music that I had been listening to until then. I like music that mixes up different genres and rap and I found different groups from there. My impression on idols changed and it broadened my horizons. My brother joined a performing arts school and I joined as well. I think that was a turning point as well.

SHUNYA: I’ve always liked dancing ever since I was small, but I disliked singing and I wasn’t great at it. When I saw K-Pop artists in university, I thought I wanted to become someone who would be looked up to as well, so I got very interested in dance and music. Still, I was looking for a regular job like everyone else too. When I went to an interview for a promotion company for artists, I was told “When I hear about your experience and what you like and want to do, it seems like you are more suited to become someone who expresses themselves through art.” It made me realize again that I wanted to become an artist in the music industry.

YUGO: I liked K-Pop artists, so I’d copy them dancing. I usually get very easily bored out of things, but the one thing I’ve been able to continue is dancing. When I became a university student and started considering career paths, I decided to challenge what I want to do. Actually, I couldn’t get into any of my ideal universities and I went to the one where I can get in by recommendation. But if I had been accepted to the one of the universities I wanted to go initially, I would’ve continued studying and I wouldn’t have gone into the entertainment university. That’s why I think that failing entrance exams was a hard experience, but it was a turning point now that I look back to it.

YOUNGHOON: I got into university and I wanted to be part of a band as a keyboardist, but I was asked “do you want to become a vocalist?”. Then, I told them “Huh? Vocalist? I can’t.” and I gave up. After that, I tried getting into the tennis club but the seniors looked scary, and so I gave up (laughs). Then, I found a dancer I liked… Wait, where am I at in the story? Anyways, to summarize, I got into university and I wanted to be part of a band… (He keeps circling around the same story.)

Everyone except YOUNGHOON: It’s ok!!! We get it!! (Laughter)

YOUNGHOON: The seniors at the dance school were all very nice. I didn’t really have hobbies before, but I started having bigger dreams after starting to dance.

YOONDONG: Until I was 20, I never thought I would do a job where I had to appear in public, but my feelings of admiration grew gradually. My parents told me I couldn’t become a singer if I didn’t go to university, so I chose to study acting in university. After that, I attended for 2 months, but I realized I wanted to be a singer after all so I went ahead and got into the industry. That’s my turning point.

TOMO: Me too, just like Shunya, I never liked singing and I hated going to karaoke, but I became very passionate about it after I got into high school. I started to think that I’d be very happy if I could do a job where I could sing, so I attended many auditions after graduating high school, but never made it. Every time I’d go to an audition, I kept telling myself “If I don’t make it for this one, it’s going to be the last one”. After that. I decided I’d start working on myself and started a ship job to save up money for two years. Even then, I knew I still wanted to be an artist, but I couldn’t say it to my parents. I didn’t want to worry them about the tuition fees or the instability of the job. Still, I couldn’t give up in the end and I gave up my job completely to go back to doing auditions. My grandparents both came from musician families, so I was hoping I had some of their DNA flowing in me too.

HEECHO: Tomo definitely has some of it! (the DNA)

TOMO: It’d be great if I really did.

The 7 are now together as ORβIT - “We’d like to meet fans at a live event in 2021.”

― You came together as a group and you are now ORβIT, but could you please tell us about how and why you got together?

HEECHO: I had been listening to everyone’s concerns for a while, but “what we should do from now on” became a topic one day. That’s why I suggested we all work together with these members and that I’d take responsibility for it. Then, I started talking to people, looking for people who could help, and it became like this,

YUGO: When we became a group, I was mostly very happy to be able to do this with the people I like and I was hoping we can do what we want to do.

TOMO: When the talk about doing something with the 7 of us came up, all the other options I had previously were gone for me. Heecheon-san took the lead to do things like setting up an agency, but we try not to put all the weight on the leader. We each have our responsibilities which we established altogether.

― You started your activities in 2020 and 2021 will definitely be an even busier year for you. I’m sure EαRTHs are excited as well.

HEECHO: First and foremost, I hope everyone in the world can have a healthy year this year. As ORβIT, we have the general outline of the year set, so it would be great if we can follow those plans.

SHUNYA: I hope we can spend more time altogether compared to 2020. The time we are spending together right now makes me so happy, I keep wishing everyday that if only this time could continue forever.

JUNE: When we look back at 2020, the fact that we are together right now feels like a dream.

YOUNGHOON: I hope the virus will be gone in 2021.

TOMO: Yes, and I really want to do live events too.

― You haven’t been able to hold live events yet. I bet your feelings of wanting to be on stage must be blowing up?

Everyone: Yes, that’s true.

SHUNYA: We definitely have a lot of ideas (laughs).

HEECHO: It’s part of a singer’s job to sing at live events, so I’d like to work soon. It’s really just that.

TOMO: We haven’t been able to perform in front of EαRTHs yet, so it’d be great if we could soon.

― Is there anything you want to do at a live event?

SHUNYA: I want to throw signed balls! (Throwing pose)

YOUNGHOON: I want to jump into the audience! (Everyone: No you can’t do that~!)

JUNE: I want to throw water to the audience! Like in summer festivals! It’d be great to do our own event, or to be part of an outdoor event too, I hope we can be part of one.

YOUNGHOON: I want to do an outdoor concert during daytime.

YOONDONG: I want to do a night time concert outdoors. The lights will be very pretty. I can’t wait to be able to do concerts.

(Younghoon and Yoondong discuss whether day time or night time is better, while the other members laugh.)

Everyone: So it’s 24 hours! We want to do it all the time (laughs)!!

― We’re very excited for you to hold a live event as well! We also heard you are preparing for a mini album in April. Can you tell us about the theme and the songs?

HEECHO: I think there are many songs with mature themes. The release date is in spring, so there might be many sad songs. I hope we can show a mature side with the performance, including dance. “00” was a very complete album, so there is a little bit of pressure that pushes us to make something even better. Outside of that, considering what we want to express, we’d like to show a mature side as we are getting older. 

JUNE: Even as we are preparing the songs, we do feel like we all matured.

SHUNYA: There are also plants because it’s April… It isn’t set in stone yet, but I’ll keep the hint hanging (laughs).

TOMO: It’s still in preparation, but we’d like to practice a lot and bring up the overall quality since we have the chance to see each other like this.

ENG TRANSLATION BY ORBIT_INTL Source: KStyle News DO NOT RE-USE, REUPLOAD OR RE-TRANSLATE WITHOUT PERMISSION

[thesunnyshow]

Name: Ezralia Vali, but all my friends call me Elv

Writing Blog URL(s): @ezralia-writes (@haylo4ever was my OG writing account 5 years ago)

Age: 19

Nationality: Asian American

Languages: English and un poco Espanol

Star Sign: Aries

MBTI: INFJ

Favorite color: As of now, red

Favorite food: Pasta

Favorite movie: The Golden Compass, but Howl’s Moving Castle and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time are close choices too

Favorite ice cream flavor: Vanilla with chocolate syrup or caramel

Favorite animal: Narwhals

Go-to karaoke song: Uh, Who Do You Love (Monsta X)

Dream job (whether you have a job or not): TBH, my dream job is being a manager/CEO of a tech job (realistically) or a backup dancer for kpop groups (unrealistically)

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? Neither, hot coco (coffee in the future to keep me sane)

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? Mind-read 

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? Sengoku Japanese period or in England when kings and queens were bloody powerful 

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you? Yes

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? 100 chicken-sized horses

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? Please, I wanna be in the nerdy girl and jock romance but honestly, I’m probably just the side, hermit character.

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? Yes but I know they don’t exist 

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? Uh, I talk a lot about myself but I have trypophobia - there should not be holes in things that are supposed to be whole.

What fandom(s) do you write for? As of now, I write for BTS, GOT7, NCT, Monsta X, and Stray Kids

When did you post your first piece? May 26, 2020 (Dec 7, 2014 was my OG post on ff.net haha)

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? I write fluff, angst (lots), and sometimes crack. While I can rec some awesome smuts, I don’t feel comfortable writing explicit smut as of yet, although I will elude to some smexy time. I do have a WIP that I will one day write that will definitely include smut because it’s part of the story.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? I have some OG OCs and my starter fics on Tumblr were third-person female reader. However, recent works include x you (reader) and I find that really fun and easier to write! I don’t really write any ships for Kpop.

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? Having read so many awesome works on Tumblr made me want to write and hopefully have other readers experience the same feelings I do when I read that great piece. However, my original goal was just to write for Monsta X since there aren’t a whole lot of fics for them but also because I have too many ideas running in my mind. Lastly, I just write for myself.

What inspires you to write? The groups I write for, other things I read (like mangas and/or shows), and especially songs!

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? I write best fluff for established relationships because otherwise it’s all just angst, which is a lot of fun to write while keeping it not too toxic unless stated otherwise for plot. I also love silly fics for giggles. As for Au’s I enjoy regular day to day life with a spin or fantasy based Au’s.

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? I hope they just feel a strong emotion - depending on the genre. I hope that they get to the end and find all the nuances I try to sprinkle throughout the story hinting to clues or plot devices. That’s always what I try to aim for.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? Cry. Jokes aside, I take a break/breather to refocus and take time for myself. I also read professional works to take my mind off things or get inspired. 

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? My personal favorite of my published works would be my Han Jisung x reader, Promise. It was my first kpop fic and a gift to my friend. I think it’s a hallmark of my return to writing and I look forward to publishing more of my favorite plots! My most successful is Spiderling, a Jeon Jungkook x reader fic, not surprised at all that my first official BTS fic would be the most popular one of my current works haha.

Who is your favorite person to write about? Honestly, I have so many ideas for Changkyun haha. I feel like he’s totally boyfriend material and can fit different roles from a total fratboy to a soft boyfriend. But I’m trying to expand both my writing and pairings and it’s a fun challenge to write for the different boys.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? I actually do! In my honest opinion, fanfiction is work about an already established character/person/universe. It’s easier for me to think up ideas for characters already prepped because I personally get lost in the details already of thinking up terms/universes to place the story in. I have a character that’s already established and people know about without having to elaborate on those finer details.

What do you think makes a good story? Proper formatting goes a long way. While I don’t judge on grammar and spelling mistakes, it is a much smoother read if people follow basic narrative-writing skills. I feel like anyone who can embody their own style and ideas (without being discriminatory or mean), then they’ve really got me hooked.

What is your writing process like? A mess. I know a lot of people outline, and I try that sometimes. But, normally I just get straight into writing what I’ve brainstormed, maybe adding some notes for future events here and there. If I get tied up at a certain part, I make a messy line break and start another scene.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? Yes. Funnily enough though, I repurpose my original storylines for fics, but if I could, I would write an original story.

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? I can’t stand cliches but I WILL cry over them if they’re well-written and/or have a spin on them. So, ultimately I’m down for anything. Enemy to lovers isn’t always my favorite but @gukyi​ does a great job, since that’s her renowned trope.

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? A lot! I have a few lovely mootz that always have something nice to say, but I would love more reader interaction! Of course, I’m a newer writer and haven’t blown up so it is to be expected that I’m a little lonely right now. I hope that’s not a long-term thing.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? Who I write for. I hate to be blunt about it, but certain members and/or groups truly are more popular which is a shame at times. Plus, interacting with more mootz and authors as well as joining discord chats and networks helps by meeting new people who will interact with you and your content.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? Yes, at times and with certain topics. We all know people will go on anon and tear anyone down for whatever reason.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? Definitely! Writing for the public,(especially fanfic and reader-based fics) especially in these times, means you have to adapt and adhere to the ever-changing times. We have a role to play in how people perceive things, whether that’s regarding an IRL person or how we view others with representation.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? Huh, as of now, I feel like I’m writing for myself. Without a lot of interaction, I don’t feel pressure. I do want to write for other groups, but as of now I’m trying to pick up speed with certain groups. I have a lot of WIPs, so we will see where I end up.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? Not that I know of, haha.

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? No, haha.

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? I love you!

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? Don’t be afraid! It’s scary, but the worst that can happen is not writing!

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? HAahaha, only because the site’s interaction roles have drastically dropped and a lot of the features suck. But the people I’ve met… priceless. I love them all and a lot have impacted my life so positively.

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? Yes! All of them!

Pick a quote to end your interview with: 

Stan yourself first! <3

[justdyingslowly]

1. Name justdyingslowly obviously come on

2. Nationality Australian

3. Age 22

4. Birthday nnnah dont feel like it

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign) Libra/Scorpio cusp

6. Gender wamon

7. Sexuality very very hetero

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself) androgenous

9. What do you/did you study? Psychology (focus on sexology) and art.

10. What’s your current job like?/What job would you like to have? I am disabled you think I can work ha sexologist would be awesome. When I was a kid I wanted to be a fireman but Australias always burning

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11. Your birth order head first

12. How many siblings do you have? 1

13. Do you have good relations with your family? yeah dads finally out of his abusive relationship, nearing age 70 and his emotions and his sexuality are finally opening up for the first time and that makes me SO happy.

14. How many friends do you have? what kind of fucked up question is this.

15. Your relationship status relationshipped. Fiance? got the marriage papers in a drawer somewhere with the car rego but can’t be fucked filling them?

16. What do you look for in a SO? empathetic, mature, calm. Always open to discussion. Prefers to be blunt rather than secretive. Emotional age over 14 (incredibly fucking rare apparently). Puts an importance on context and understanding other views above all else.

17. Do you have a crush? Hellll yeah Crush on my partner and got a crush on a mutual friend of ours who don’t even know hes cute af hehe one day partners gonna accidentally spill the beans and embarrass me coz hes shit with secrets RIP me.

18. When did you have your first kiss? You think I can remember this bullshit? Its not that big a deal

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands? One night stand sex almost exclusively sucks. Just. SUCKS. Because neither of you know what the other likes and it ends up being an awkward mix of trying to please yourself while trying to also be considerate.

20. What are your deal breakers? Plugging your ears to anything that feels gross, uncomfortable or disagrees with you. How can you grow as a person without introspection? How can you mold what you think and believe without taking in other arguments and comparing them to your beliefs to see how they stack up? Its pathetic.

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21. How was your day? cute mutual friend had a fall this morning and were both worried about him. His back is bad and he’s getting a little older, he can’t be getting dizzy and having falls like that. other than that im anxious about seeing my gastro. He’s lovely but... specialists are specialists. Good at knowing what they know but not always great at listening.

22. Favourite food & drink you think im allowed to eat or drink? water and... foods a touchy subject.

23. What position do you sleep in? Usually on my side with a body pillow to grip so I don’t end up choking my partner in his sleep.

24. What was your last dream about? uuhhh...going to italy and being unable to get into this tiny basket boat properly.

25. Your fears does PTSD to medical shit count haha

26. Your dreams ... going to italy and being unable to get into a tiny basket boat thingy?

27. Your goals - get some sort of diagnosis eventually. Its been 3 years of trying and im tired. - get back to studying art part time for my bachelors. - pass JLPT N3. - go back to university for psychology. - do the dishes when I get home.

28. Any pets? two budgies. we also take care of any orphaned or injured birds.

29. What are your hobbies? feeling nauseous drawing writing a little bit im making a little gameboy game in C atm too

30. Any cool places in your area? i live next to a national park with waterfalls and koalas and emus and stuff

31. What was your last awkward situation? mutual friend made a comment on his chest i playfully smacked it (related to the comment) it was surprisingly hard “O-oh wow, thats... I didnt expect that” my partner laughed at me. it was awful.

32. What is your last regret? getting embarrassed at friends pecs stop making me think about it 33. Language/s you can speak english. N4 Japanese.

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.) of course not what the fuck

35. Have any quirks? Quirkless. I do wiggle when im happy though apparently.

36. Your pet peeves open doors.

37. Ideal vacation spend a months chilling in an old japanese house in autumn hokkaido oooooof that sounds nice

38. Any scars? internal? yes

39. What does your last text message say? peepee poopoo ustinky

40. Last 5 things from your search history how do i find this

41. What’s your [device] background? Sam Porter Bridges walkin around Sam Porter Bridges cuddling BB-28 Louise while he sleeps my chicken

42. What do you daydream about? all might

43. Describe your dream home an old japanese house in autumn hokkaido oooooof that sounds nice

44. What’s your religion/Your thought about religion its a comforting thought having a parent-figure who cares about you and looks after all the big things you can’t manage yourself, but institutionalizing it runs a severe risk of becoming harmful cults. And it often does.

45. Your personality type me

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done i saw the lost bunny that was on all the posters in the neighbourhood looked thin and patchy so i grabbed him to take him home. im allergic. sent me to hospital and I almost died.

47. Are you happy with your current life? feeling sick sucks and partners having a depressive episode but things are pretty good

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life living

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49. What does your wardrobe consist of? blacks, reds, whites and pinks

50. Favourite colour to wear? at the moment pink. Red is always comforting though.

51. How would you describe your style? mix between lazy alternative punk, teenager with band shirts and harajuku peach kawaii uwu

52. Are you happy with your current looks? kinda wish i was a bit shorter but what can you do

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be? bit shorter

54. Any tattoos or piercings? lol no PTSD

55. Do you get complimented often? by who? partner constantly, family haha are you kidding im australian so a friend’s version of showing affection is calling you a cunt and slapping your ass in public

56. Favourite aesthetic? all might

57. A popular trend that you dislike blocking because you disagree or find them distasteful. Ignoring all context to opposing thoughts and arguments. taking a personal feeling of disgust to mean something is evil. Blocking your ears to anything that isn’t a circlejerk of what you already think - and trying to isolate anyone who even just listens to something other then the noise of your sloppy dicks to have a thought of their own.

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58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with? The Machine by Low Roar

59. Song you normally wouldn’t admit you like. why wouldnt i admit i like a song

60. Favourite genre? probably enka haha

61. Favourite artist/band/genre? probably enka haha oh and tatsuro yamashita

62. Hated popular songs/artists? why the hell would I hate something like a song? I hate aspects of the music industry as a whole I guess?

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5 which playlist they aren’t all together in one place

64. Can you sing or play any instruments? piano, saxophone... uh... partners good at making music and playing shakuhachi

65. Do you like karaoke? no.

66. Own any albums? yes? many?

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations? no. but triple J, ABC Jazz and Classical. sometimes they even play final fantasy and JRPG music on classical which is pretty neat. -

68. Favourite movie/series? can i make this about games because then the answer is Metal Gear Solid

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc ...shounen?

70. Your fictional crush/es if they’re over 40yrs old, male and happy and bubbily or grumpy and sad then there’s a big ol fat chance I wanna bone. Solid Snake from MGS4, All Might and pretty much anyone drawn by Tarou Madoromi.

71. Which fictional character is you? uh

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so what does this even mean what language is this

73. Favourite greek god? idk hades seems chill

74. A legend from where you live that you like the story of Tjilbruke is funny and good. all Kaurna stories are good.

75. Do you like art? What’s your favourite work or artist? im in a big egon schiele mood atm.

76. Can you share your other social media? no i am incapable

77. Favourite youtubers? many

78. Favourite platform? not too high up. actually i like being a little lower than ground level in corners.

79. How much time do you spend on the internet? too much

80. What video games have you played? Which one’s your favourite? look i just want to say that MGS4 is the best one in the series and Death Stranding is phenomenally engaging.

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts) these are all so goddamn definitive how can I pick? Oh wait the answer is One Piece

82. Do you play board/card games? I play DnD atm and know 15 yr old rules to Yugioh

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema? that shit dosn’t happen here

84. Favourite holiday golden week coz its a week also easter because thats when all the glucose based sweets come back

85. Are you into dramas? what kind

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86. Would you use death note, if you had one? no. thats called being a murderer.

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to? chill people out a bit. when people feel unsafe they get really depenfive and territorial and block their ears to everything, making in-and-out groups for themsevles that end up putting them in more harm.

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse? im disabled with a disabled partner. we arent funny sure we can survive normal everyday life when society is angled so sharply against us.

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be? id like to be a mimi spirit

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death? spooky time

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick? toshinori yagi

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week? anyone healthy

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo that cursed one with the intense eyes and the hand

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true im me im not me im pee

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95. Cold or hot? cold.

96. Be a hero or be a villain? both are distasteful ideas in reality

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme? i can’t do either partner speak sin bad puns and its hell, these both sound about equal

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time? shapeshifting. controlling time is eithe rmanipulative or lonely. shapeshifing is every other superpower at once.

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death? both are deeply upsetting ideas

100. ….. or …..? jiji or ossan? generally Jiji, but ossans can be lovely too.

[devil-kindred]

Get to Know Me - raisinghellinotherworlds

Saw @pd3 do this and though I’d give it a go!

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1. Name : Siren (it’s a pseudonym!)

2. Nationality: American

3. Age: 27

4. Birthday: January 29th

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign): Aquarius

6. Gender: Female

7. Sexuality: Heterosexual

More below the cut

[[MORE]]

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself)

For the record this is the only recent picture of myself I like and this is about as much of my face as you’ll ever see bc I know my angles.

9. What do you/did you study?: I went to school for a Bachelors in Arts with and emphasis on Sciences but never finished it bc 1) college is expensive and 2) I don’t know what I want to do career-wise so there’s not a point in going back anymore.

10. What’s your current job like?/What job would you like to have?: I’m a service desk associate at a department store. Something where I could deal with less people bc boy does this job push my patience sometimes.

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11. What is your birth order?: Firstborn/Oldest.

12. How many siblings do you have?: Technically four, but only two living.

13. Do you have good relations with your family?: My immediate family. My siblings are closer to each other (but they’re only two years apart) but we get along. I also have a good relationship with my parents though I’m not as close to my mom as I could be it’s hard to forget the not nice things your parent say to you as a kid.

14. How many friends do you have?: Lots though only a few I see/talk to on a regular basis.

15. Your relationship status: Single.

16. What do you look for in a SO?: Intelligent, kind, has a sense of humor.

17. Do you have a crush?: I guess.

18. When was your first kiss?: WHY *sighs* I was... 25.

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands?: I’ve... never been in an actual relationship? I’d like to say serious.

20. What are your deal breakers? Being rude, cheating, and treating me like a child/you know what’s best for me/someone in need of saving (new flash, i am not your princess peach/some damsel in distress. If you need to rescue someone I am not your girl).

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21. How was your day?: It’s still early into the day and I go to work in about an hour and a half and I get to close so we’ll see!

22. Favourite food & drink: French Fries. Or anything with potatoes. I’m a fiend. And Dr. Pepper or Coffee.

23. What position do you sleep in?: On my side/stomach on the part of the bed that’s against the wall.

24. What was your last dream about?: It was... highly NSFT and no, I will not go into detail.

25. Your fears: I’m not a fan of spiders or bugs of any kind really, I hate clowns, and I don’t like thunderstorms. Or tornados.

26. Your dreams: Move, either out of state or out of the country.

27. Your goals: See above.

28. Any pets?: A bird, Momo.

29. What are your hobbies?: Writing, playing video games, and reading (fanfic or books)

30. Any cool places in your area?: I’m sure there are but I live in a town surrounded by corn and other farmland so... it’s anyone’s best guess.

31. What was your last awkward situation?: The other day when a customer stared at me for a solid three minutes when I explained that due to the pandemic we’re no longer offering one of our services in an effort to reduce contact.

32. What is your last regret?: That I didn’t realize the true nature of some people who I no longer speak to sooner.

33. Language/s you can speak: English, Spanish (I’m so rusty though), a little bit of French, and a teeny tiny bit of Japanese.

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.): I believe in my many things so yes.

35. Have any quirks?: Uh... I mess with my hair when I’m nervous? & the more nervous I get my (already high) voice gets higher and will go up several octaves the more nervous I get?

36. Your pet peeves: People in my apartment building slamming the front door all the damn time.

37. Ideal vacation: Somewhere with nice scenery and where it’s calm.

38. Any scars?: Quite a few small ones on my head from a car accident when I was just a baby (I went through a window- got a few scrapes but other than that was unharmed) and one on my hand (it’s on both sides of my hand too) from when I was toddler and got bit by a dog.

39. What does your last text message say?: “I’ll let you know when I get some gameplay posted!” I have a sideblog for casual TS4 gameplay. Was telling a friend that I was going to post new stuff soon.

40. Last 5 things from your search history: No thanks! It’s all just checking if a word is really a word and spelling anyways.

41. What’s your [Device] background?: Lockscreen is a wallpaper from FFXV ft. The Chocobros; Hope Screen is Sam & Evie.

42. What do you daydream about?: Writing mostly.

43. Describe your dream home: Decent amount of space, a library room to hold all my books... good lighting, comfy.... preferably NOT in the middle of nowhere.

44. What’s your religion/Your thought about religion: I am not a fan. Particularly of Christianity but everyone has their own beliefs and in that regard, to each their own. Just don’t try to convert me bc the answer is f*ck no.

45. Your personality type: INFP.

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done?: Climbed onto the roof of the shed when I was little because I got something stuck up there.

47. Are you happy with your current life?: For the most part!

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life: Gymnastics, Ballet, etc.

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49. What does your wardrobe consist of?: Lots of t-shirts, jeans, shorts, flats, boots, etc.

50. Favourite colour to wear?: Black or Blue.

51. How would you describe your style?: Extremely casual.

52. Are you happy with your current looks?: Kinda? I really need to cut my hair because it’s gotten so long it’s annoying. But I can put up with it until it’s safe again bc pandemic. My hair is not that important I assure you.

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?: Oh God, could I be taller? Like at least 5’3”? Which is still teeny but better than my 4’9” ass.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos?: I have 3 piercings and three tattoos (two finished, one in progress)

55. Do you get complimented often?: Maybe? I’m oblivious to the point that you could have a flashing neon sign with the compliment written on it and it would probably still go over my head.

56. Favourite aesthetic?: Biker Chic!

57. A popular trend that you dislike: Neon.

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58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with?: Blessed Be - Spiritbox.

59. Song you normally wouldn’t admit you like: If I like a song, I like it. But if I have to pick one, I know everyone hates Despacitio. I know, ok but I really like the original version bc I like the sound. Latin music always has a fun groove to it.

60. Favourite genre?: Rock & Metal.

61. Favourite artist/band/genre?: Type O Negative, Pallbearer, Ice Nine Kills. Give me all the goth rock/metal and just fun metal in general.

62. Hated popular songs/artists?: Oh boy... don’t hate me but I um... don’t care too much for T Swift? And I’m not a fan of country.

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5: Devil’s // Door - VCTMS, Karasu - The GazettE, Path - Apocalyptica, I Walk the Line - Halsey, Drumming Song - Florence + the Machine

64. Can you sing or play any instruments?: I can kinda play bass but I’m still learning so it’s just like... the very bare basics.

65. Do you like karaoke?: I’m very self-conscious so no.

66. Own any albums?: Yes, though majority are digital.

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations?: Yes. I have it on for background noise in my room in which case I don’t pay attention to it, but I have XM radio in my car where I listen to Octane/Liquid Metal/Turbo.

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68. Favourite movie/series?: The Dark Knight trilogy or Hellraiser or Nightbreed.

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc: Horror, Sci-fi, and fantasy.

70. Your fictional crush/es: Too many. Look at my OCs and their SO’s and you’ll find a bunch of them.

71. Which fictional character is you?: My friends would say Mira Jane from Fairy Tail. My bestie says Mercedes from Fire Emblem Three Houses (minus the devout part bc... I do not have nice feelings re-religion. You do you though!).

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so: Yes, and once again you’ll be reading for eternity. So I’ll sum it up as too many to list.

73. Favourite greek god?: Apollo.

74. A legend from where you live that you like: It’s said that before big disasters happen in the town I live in + the surrounding areas, that you’ll see a panther. Supposedly one has been seen before at least 4 different bad things that have happened over the years. I’m in the midwest though so take that as you will.

75. Do you like art?: I do but I don’t really have a favorite. ... I am kinda partial to Van Gogh though.

76. Can you share your other social media?: I have a Pinterest but since my other social media has my name (which I also share with an OC whoops. That’s what I get for being indecisive and going the first name the name generator gave me) I’d rather not. If you ask and we’re friends I’ll probably give it to you but...

77. Favourite youtubers?: I don’t really watch too many anymore but I’ve been watching a lot of jacksepticeye’s gameplay. Aside that I tend to just watch channels like PlayStation Access or Outsidexbox.

78. Favourite platform?: Instagram

79. How much time do you spend on the internet?: More than I should, I’m sure.

80. What video games have you played? Which one’s your favourite? Uh, if I had to list them all you’d literally be reading this for eternity. To sum it up, I mostly play RPGs/JRPGs, open-world, survival horror (my fave), and a few (emphasis on few) FPS. Favorites are (once again with a limit): Bioshock, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Until Dawn, Silent Hill 2, and Fatal Frame.

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts): do you know how f*cking hard this question is as someone who’s a bookworm? Ok, ok um... Gotta have a limit or I’ll never shut up... um... Three favorites: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Horns by Joe Hill, and American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

82. Do you play board/card games?: On occasion! They’re best with bigger groups but alas, my apartment is rather small and I don’t have a lot of space for multiple people so I don’t play them often.

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema? No, but it sounds fun.

84. Favourite holiday: Halloween!

85. Are you into dramas?: As in, tv dramas? Kinda? I have a friend on lived in SK for a time and got into K-dramas so I watch them with her from time-to-time when she visits.

Would you use a Death Note if you had one?: No.

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?: Oh boy... make everyone get along, ensure everyone could live their life to the best possible, etc.

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse?: Possibly.

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be?: I’m going with mythical instead of strictly paranormal but... a vampire!

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death?: As in to my body? Cremate me. To my stuff, give my books to a good home and take care of my bird.

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick?: Most people call me by my middle name already since I got tired of people calling me the wrong name (& I like my middle name better) and insisting my first name was actually a nickname (it’s not, it’s the same as the musician I’m named after) so if I were to eventually be bothered enough, I’d have it legally changed to my middle name.

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week?: I don’t know to be honest. I’m fairly happy with my life so I think I’d just not switch.

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo: 🌊

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true: I took karate classes for several years, I’ve never dyed my hair, I’ve had two jobs thus far.

-

95. Cold or hot?: Cold I guess? If we’re talking in reference to seasons give me cool (aka Fall).

96. Be a hero or be a villain?: Hero because being a villain would mean I’d have to be mean to people and I can’t even pick the mean options in video games without feeling guilty so...

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?: um... no? I’m not quite certain what this means but I’m going to go with no?

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time?: Shapeshifting!

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?: Immortal.

[glassprism]

What (if any) is your favorite of all the POTO instrumentals that are out there? They each have their strengths and weaknesses (i.e., beautiful but not full show, full show but bad quality, vocal bleed-through, etc.) I love the 1999 Japan version but its quality is a lamentable mess. I know instrumentals probably isn't a priority on your list of things to listen to, but I was curious if you had a favorite or not.

I have a whole bunch of instrumentals, some of which I have no idea the source of, so I’ll do the best I can.

The Japan backing tracks is pretty nice, though I agree about the quality; additionally, the Japanese production is old school and never added some things that are now a regular part of other productions, and the instrumentals reflect that (e.g. no second “Help me say goodbye!” at the end of ‘Wishing’). I’ve also seen this called the “Vienna backing tracks” and a “Complete Show Instrumentals”, but they’re all the same.

The two other backing tracks that I have from specific productions, the Hungarian backing tracks and the Polish backing tracks, suffer from the major problem of being incomplete. This is especially so with the Hungarian one (it’s only three songs!), but the Polish one also only has the major songs. But hey, at least you can really hear that electric guitar. I might as well put in a slightly mysterious instrumental that is just called the TER recording instrumentals, which sound all right but again has the problem of only featuring the most popular songs but nothing from the smaller scenes.

In terms of official releases, there is the karaoke album and also a Stage Stars Accompaniments. Again, same problem as the above in not being the full show, and since these are not backing tracks taken directly from the stage productions, their orchestrations are somewhat different. Also, I don’t know if it’s just my copy, but the quality of the karaoke album is pretty darn bad. In contrast, my copy of the Stage Stars tracks is really good, so there is that.

Next I have the 2004 movie instrumentals, but I believe they are fan-made, and it can show (I believe if you listen very carefully, you can hear the vocals in the background). It’s also not quite the full show (movie?), and it does have background sound effects, which some might like, but others won’t if they just want the music only. Plus, the 2004 movie did alter and cut down on some songs and scenes, and that will be reflected in the instrumentals.

The restaged UK tour soundboard orchestra tracks have a similar problem, in that you can hear the vocals at certain points, and it’s far more obvious than the 2004 instrumentals. (Like, I don’t even have the sound turned up much and I can hear Katie Hall belting it out in the background.) It is the full show, or close to it, as far as I can tell. And while I’m on here, I have another mysterious one called the MT Pit, which I have no idea what it is, though it’s not a copy of the Japan tracks or the UK tour orchestra tracks. It appears to be the full show and it’s quality is okay, but some of its orchestrations don’t sound quite like it (it’s title song especially).

EDIT: An anon replies with this regarding the MT Pit tracks:

In regards to the instrumentals post, MT Pit is a company that specializes in musical theater backing tracks for commercial use. I think they generally use a full orchestra and have tons of shows available. As far as I can tell, they are one of the more sought after items among traders due to their completeness and are generally great sounding.

So which is my favorite? Honestly, I still go back to the Japan one (I even have it’s version of ‘Think of Me’ as my ringtone), but when I’m looking to hear how the show sounds like now, I’ll generally go to the UK tour soundboard, and if I want high quality, though not necessarily accuracy, I’ll take the Stage Stars Accompaniment. So kind of a weird mix of all of those, depending on my mood.

(Also, if anyone has more info on some of these, please tell me, because a lot of them I basically downloaded willy-nilly from sites or people with no further info. Some of them I have no memory of how they even got on my computer...)

[xopinkmilk18xo]

Get to know me!

1. Name

Courtney Jane Smith

2. Nationality

Australian

3. Age

18

4. Birthday

11th December 2001

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign)

Sagittarius / Ophiuchus

6. Gender

Female

7. Sexuality

Bisexual💙💖💜

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself)

Ew I know

9. What do you/did you study?

I will be going on to study Children’s Nursing at University but in school I studied Sociology, Photography and Childcare

10. What’s your current job like?/What job would you like to have?

I currently hold a part time job at my local corner shop, but will hopefully end up with a job as a children’s nurse or something to do with childcare:)

-

11. Your birth order

Aaron, Charlotte, Abbey, Me:), Lacey

(I think that is what this means)

12. How many siblings do you have?

4

13. Do you have good relations with your family?

Yes but not with my first oldest sister

14. How many friends do you have?

Like 2 lol

15. Your relationship status

Taken🥰

16. What do you look for in a SO?

Good personality, being good looking helps (dont want to date a troll u know) and well I guess that’s it really

17. Do you have a crush?

Yes on my boyfriend

18. When did you have your first kiss?

When I was 14

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands?

Serious and meaningful

20. What are your deal breakers?

I’m not really sure:/

-

21. How was your day?

It was okay, could’ve been better but overall it was meh

22. Favourite food & drink

I love pasta like I could marry pasta haha. And my favourite drink is probably either fresh orange juice or something fizzy

23. What position do you sleep in?

On my side, hugging my pillow with my leg out as if it’s straddling someone (I’m lonely, my boyfriend needs to stay over at some point)

24. What was your last dream about?

I honestly wish I could remember but they are so fucking crazy right now

25. Your fears

Spiders, snakes, heights, large crowds, death (morbid I know) and being lonely:(

26. Your dreams

To travel the world with my baby🥺 as well as buy my own house, get my dream career, get married and have babies (basic I know but this is what I want in life and will feel so lucky and blessed if this happens)

27. Your goals

Same as the above I guess? To travel the world with the loml, become a child nurse, get my dream house then get married, have babies and live a happy long life:)

28. Any pets?

Yes! A cat called Binka and a dog called Shiro (Japanese for White as he is a white Japanese Akita)

29. What are your hobbies?

Cooking, baking, cleaning (weird I know), singing, dancing and sleeping haha

30. Any cool places in your area?

Um, I mean I live about 30 minutes from the beach and it has a “hidden cave” (it’s quite easy to spot if you know where it is) that I go to with a few friends some nights and watch the sunset. So that’s pretty cool

31. What was your last awkward situation?

They happen so often I don’t even know which one to write about I’m such an awkward person lol

32. What is your last regret?

I don’t know really

33. Language/s you can speak

I can speak Italian, Spanish, Russian and some French

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.)

To a certain extent, yes

35. Have any quirks?

Um I’m not sure?

36. Your pet peeves

I have so many but my BIGGEST pet peeve is the people who like to one-up a situation so I have a friend like this but she’s like one of my only friends so I don’t want to say anything woops but for example I could say to her “I only got 5 hours sleep” she would then turn around and be like “oh well I went to bed at 11 and woke up at 3am and couldn’t sleep” it’s like okay cool but stop trying to one up me thank u bye

37. Ideal vacation

DisneyWorld or Bora Bora (two complete different places I know but I’ve been to both many times and they’re both amazing)

38. Any scars?

I have a scar on my chin from when I hit it on the stair rail when I was a child and I have a surgery scar from when I had my appendix removed

39. What does your last text message say?

It’s me texting my email to my boyfriend because he needed it for something (kinda personal nothing bad tho)

40. Last 5 things from your search history

Majority of it right now is me googling Birthday presents for a family member as well as flight times because I was curious what the time from LA to Texas was haha

41. What’s your [device] background?

Lock screen is me and my boyfriend and my home screen is a flower picture I took

42. What do you daydream about?

A lot of different things, it all depends on how I’m feeling

43. Describe your dream home

Something small and quaint yet modern and big enough to raise a big family

44. What’s your religion/Your thought about religion

I have nothing against religion and what people believe in. I personally am not religious but I do believe in something. Not God or Jesus but I believe that something like that HAS to exists (sorry if I offended anyone I really did not mean to:/)

45. Your personality type

Really shy and quiet (social anxiety tings😚dont worry I have actually been diagnosed) but ince you get to know me I come out of my shell a bit more

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done

Went sky diving (it was terrifying)

47. Are you happy with your current life?

Yes but no

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life

I don’t really know how the hell to answer this question I’m sorry🥺

-

49. What does your wardrobe consist of?

A lot of different colours but I wear mainly grey and black clothes hehe

50. Favourite colour to wear?

Black or grey🤪

51. How would you describe your style?

I don’t really know, definitely not trendy I can tell you that but all the styles I want to try I just KNOW will look bad on me

52. Are you happy with your current looks?

Not really no lol😚✌🏼

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?

I honestly would change my entire face, especially my nose, if it was smaller I’d feel slightly better about my appearance (nothing against big noses lol I just don’t like mine)

54. Any tattoos or piercings?

I had my ears and nose pierced but took them out and just forgot to put them back in and now the holes have sorta closed up.

I then also have a small turtle on my ankle - for a close friend (still alive lol but it’s just a nice thing to have) and I have plans to get a few more just need to decided when I want them because I keep chickening out

55. Do you get complimented often?

Yes sorta but only by my boyfriend

56. Favourite aesthetic?

I’m not sure?

57. A popular trend that you dislike

I’m not really aware of any popular trends as of right now tbh

-

58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with?

Adore You by Harry Styles and for some reason Feel so Close by Calvin Harris

59. Song you normally wouldn’t admit you like.

Mr Brightside - I hate the song (dont attack me pls) but it lowkey, high key is a BOP

60. Favourite genre?

Mainly throwback songs so I guess pop songs? Tbh my genre of music is all over the place

61. Favourite artist/band/genre?

I love 5 Seconds of Summer and One Direction but that’s it really

62. Hated popular songs/artists?

I HATE Dance Monkey and High Hopes (they get on my nerves so much idk why)

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5

September - Earth Wind & Fire

Truth Hurts - Lizzo

Jealous - Labrinth

Bad Romance - Halestorm (such a bop)

Break Free - Ariana Grande

64. Can you sing or play any instruments?

I can sing, I also play piano and guitar (strings have broken though and so haven’t played in a while)

65. Do you like karaoke?

I LOVE karaoke

66. Own any albums?

Yes, mainly 5SOS and One Direction haha

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations?

Sometimes, no particular station as I only listen to it to fill in the silence in certain situations

-

68. Favourite movie/series?

I love the Frozen films but also the Harry Potter films sooooo much

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc

I don’t really have a favourite tbh

70. Your fictional crush/es

I know it’s typical but I have the biggest crush on Harry Potter lol

71. Which fictional character is you?

I don’t know?

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so

No not really

73. Favourite greek god?

I don’t have a favourite Greek god but I like Athena purely because I like the name haha

74. A legend from where you live that you like

I don’t really know of any legends however there is a myth that a Panther is on the loose in the Blue Mountains

75. Do you like art? What’s your favourite work or artist?

I like to look at art and admire it however I do not have a favourite artist or anything like that

76. Can you share your other social media?

I sure can:)

Twitter       Instagram      Wattpad

Snapchat - cjmushmush (you don’t have to add it and also don’t question the name I was 11)

77. Favourite youtubers?

Shane Dawson, Ryland Adams, Morgan Adams, Jeffree Star and The Dolan Twins

78. Favourite platform?

I am obsessed with Tik Tok so I’d say that’s probs my fave

79. How much time do you spend on the internet?

Far too much I can tell you that

80. What video games have you played? Which one’s your favourite?

I used to play minecraft and now all I do is play Sims 3 and 4 which are my absolute faves

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts)

I don’t really have any

82. Do you play board/card games?

Yes but not very often

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema?

No I didn’t even know that was a thing

84. Favourite holiday

I LOVE CHRISTMAS SO MUCH❤️💚❤️💚

85. Are you into dramas?

Yes

-

86. Would you use death note, if you had one?

I don’t know what a death note is?

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?

I wouldn’t choose world peace because then everything would be the same and it would be boring but if I had the power I would make sure everyone had a stable home with at least hot clean water and a nice warm bed, as well as curing world hunger because I’m nice like that

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse?

Probably not

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be?

A ghost

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death?

Become a ghost haha

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick?

Anything but Courtney - my name was almost Octavia so that would also be out of the question

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week?

So many people I’d love to do this with so I’m not sure

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo

🦥 (only because I love sloths)

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true

(these are the most random things I’m sorry)

I was born in the UK (not true, born in Sydney)

I am not single (True, I am in a relationship:))

I love avocado (I actually DESPISE IT)

-

95. Cold or hot?

Cold because that can = snuggles duh

96. Be a hero or be a villain?

Be a villain because I hate the attention (hero would probs get a lot of attention) and everyone hates me anyway lol

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?

Probably sing everything considering I do that a lot anyway

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time?

Control time because I’d go back to the past a change some things then go back to today so I can still be with my boyfriend❤️

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?

Be immortal that would be pretty fun

100. ….. or …..?

What does this one even mean?

[kenkamishiro]

Ishida’s Q&A comments from YJ compilation, Part 10

The final set of Ishida’s Q&A comments! Even though I ended up 10 days past my personal deadline, I’m still happy because tbh I didn’t think I’d get them done in time before the May 31 contest deadline. I relate to Ishida on a spiritual level whenever he mentioned that he wants to be on time...

To anyone who wants to participate in the Questions for Ishida Sui contest and has bought a physical copy of zakki:re, please read here for instructions. You can start from Part 1 here to see if your question has already been asked by YJ. If you want a question translated into Japanese, send me a message, but please make it private so that I don’t have to spam my blog with questions.

Once again, the deadline for the contest is May 31.

The recent set of zakki:re and interview translations take a lot of time and effort, so if you enjoyed it please reblog or leave a like. Thank you!

2018

No. 1

The first issue of a new year! Please tell us what your goals are for 2018 that you want to accomplish!

I just want to be punctual.

Yeah, same.

No. 2

Sensei, please tell us which words are popular for you this year!

Double Cross (a table RPG).

Yup.

No. 3-4

You can only spend up to 500 yen for snacks on an outing. What would you buy right now?

Haribo gummies (cola flavour).

McD’s.

No. 5-6

Sensei, please share with us your favourite smell, or a smell that makes you want to sniff it without thinking!

The scent of coconuts.

I’ve got memories of Pour Homme by Bvlgari.

No. 7

Sensei, on New Year’s Day what do you want to end up eating besides osechi and ozouni?

Ozouni.

I don’t eat osechi in the first place.

[T/N: Osechi is traditional Japanese New Year’s food served in bento-like boxes. Ozouni is a New Year’s dish with soup containing rice cake and vegetables.]

No. 8

January 25 is Apology Day! So Sensei, please tell us if there’s something you want to apologize for, or were apologized to!

I’d like to apologize and thank everyone who I’ve kept waiting.

Don’t put yourself in a hole like that.

No. 9

February 1 is Celebrating TV Broadcast Day. Sensei, please tell us which TV program you went crazy over!!

Uchimura Summers.

Agreed.

No. 10

Sensei, please tell us what you bought as an impulse buy early in the New Year!!

A humidifier.

I don’t use it anymore.

No. 11

Sensei, please share with us a time when you experienced culture shock!

I haven’t really had any, so I'd like to experience all different kinds of cultures.

You might get the experience if you go abroad.

No. 12

Sensei, please tell us about a recent incident where you thought you either got lucky or used up all your luck!

I got average luck for this year’s fortune slip.

I play the convenience store’s lottery. I win pretty often.

No. 13

March 1 is March[ing] Day! If you have a theme song in mind for your series, please tell us!

I do have one.

I love all the songs from the anime, but if I had to pick just one that captures the essence of the series, it would be “You of Paradise”.

No. 14

Sensei, please tell us what your favourite one-liner is!

Red Yoshida’s jokes.

I understand.

[T/N: A Japanese comedian.]

No. 15

Sensei, if you've got a way of giving yourself a small refreshment that you put into practice, please tell us!

I buy hot tea at the convenience store.

My favourite is houjicha.

No. 16

Please tell us what your favourite imaginary creature or object is!

Doraemon.

Ugh, another one of these random answers!

No. 17

Sensei, is there a riddle you’ve never been able to solve?

I solved it.

Tell me.

No. 18

April 5 is Debut Day! Then Sensei, please share with us who your favourite mangaka/author was when you first debuted!

Togashi Yoshihiro-sensei.

I wonder how many times I’ve mentioned this in the ToC comments.

[T/N: This makes it the 8th time now.]

No. 19

Sensei, please tell us if there are any features you want your home appliances to have!

A heat retaining function for the refrigerator.

Oh that’s a good one.

No. 20

Sensei, please share with us a surname that you thought was cool or wanted to take!

Satou.

Even Yamada is okay.

No. 21-22

Sensei, what was the first manga that you ever drew?

Something similar to Dragon Quest.

Yeah.

No. 23

May 10 is Street Sign Day! Sensei, please tell us what you consider the most important when choosing a city or place to live!

A gym nearby.

There has to be a gym nearby, a lot of restaurants, a supermarket, and a karaoke place close by.

No. 24

Sensei, please share with us a trivial secret that’s not important to you but that you never cared to mention!!

I have a younger brother.

Indeed.

No. 25

Sensei, please share with us a game/video game that you want to play for the first time in forever!!

Persona 4.

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines.

No. 26

Please tell us what your favourite attraction at an amusement park or a theme park is!!

The food court.

Huh...? Somehow I managed to give the same answer...!

No. 27

Sensei, please share with us what the biggest news of the first half of 2018 was for you!

“History of the World: Manga Version - Complete Set of 10 Volumes (Shueisha Paperbacks)” was super interesting.

Right now I’m reading the part on Japanese history. (Update: I finished reading it.)

No. 28

Sensei, please share with us your favourite saying!!

Fundamentally, everyone misunderstands themselves.

That’s right.

No. 29

Sensei, if you reconstructed your entire face, whose face would you want to look like?

Will Tudor.

But I’m fine with the way I am now.

No. 30

We’ve still got another half of the year to go, please tell us what you want to do with what’s left of this year no matter what!

Look for a part-time job.

Good luck!

No. 31

Sensei, please tell us what your favourite smell is!

The smell of coconuts.

Those were my last words, “The smell of coconuts”.

previous || end!

[teababe27]

Notes From the 2019 Myanimelist.net Challenges - Part 1: Anime

Health problems have laid me up a little, but now I’m finally posting this.

As you can tell by the title, this is a post in the vein of last year’s notes about the Myanimelist.net Anime Watching and Manga Reading Challenges. While I didn’t complete everything by the deadline, I had some fun with it and saw/read some good things, some okay things, some things I’ve been meaning to watch anyway, and some things I probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for this challenge.

This post will deal with the anime side. Part 2, dealing with the manga side, will come soon.

I will mention some notables/honorable mentions and then some of my favorite things I watched for this challenge.

Let’s do this.

Honorable Mentions/Other Notables: Millennium Actress - completed for the task “Watch an award-winning anime”

Two filmmakers interview Chiyoko, a retired, reclusive actress from long ago. She brings the two filmmakers through her memories.

As far as I’m concerned, anything Satoshi Kon does is great. A movie with an interesting concept and an interesting art style. I teared up a little at the end, ngl.

RIP Satoshi Kon.

My Neighbor Totoro - completed for the task “Watch an original anime”

Two little girls move to a house in the countryside with their father. While at the house, they discover forest spirits and go on adventures with them.

As expected from Studio Ghibli, the art is gorgeous. The story was fun. I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t seen this until now.

While not my favorite Miyazaki movie, this was still beautiful and also fucking adorable.

It was also pretty cool to hear the Fanning sisters in early roles.

Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They? - completed for the task “Watch an anime in which your favorite character’s voice actor participated”

Three kids, each with a different special ability, are whisked away to a world called Little Garden. They are called upon by Kurousagi (Black Rabbit in the English dub) to win “Gift Games” and help the community regain its former glory and resources after a demon took them away.

I’d put this under the group of “Things i probably wouldn’t have watched if not for this challenge”.

I’m not normally into isekai anime (I feel it’s been way overdone lately), but I had fun with this. I honestly didn’t like a couple of the characters at first, but then I realized it was kinda the point. They did get better, though.

Automatic props for having Josh Grelle in there voicing one of the titular problem children.

I had fun with this one overall.

Aoi Bungaku Series - completed for the task “Watch an anime with more than 16 minutes in total and tagged as Mystery, Psychological, and/or Thriller”

An anthology adapting several classic Japanese books and stories.

This anime was different than a lot of what I have watched before. Bleak as hell a lot of the time (especially in the first story), but I found this anime interesting. I might try and read the books that these stories were based on.

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor - completed for the task “Watch an anime suggested by Myanimelist or Anime+”

Justy Ueki Tylor is a bit of a lazy bum. He signs up to join the space military because he wants to live a relatively easy life and get a good pension when he retires. Through sheer charisma and dumb luck, he helps diffuse a hostage situation, leading him to be promoted to Captain of a ship with a bad reputation. An evil space empire and higher-ups looking to get rid of Tylor are also involved.

I found this show funny, but I also feel like this is one you need to be in the mood for. That being said, this was a fun watch.

A lot of zany hijinks and watching Tylor get by through sheer luck and charisma. Gave me some mixed feelings at times.

I have a weakness for things that came out in the 90s, as I grew up with that animation style and shows from that time period. As such, it was very cool to hear voice actors from my childhood, like Rachel Lillis and Lisa Ortiz, in this anime. (I was internally going “OMG it’s Misty!!” every time Yuriko talked.)

Favorites from the Challenge:

Hanayamata - completed for the task “Watch an anime that began airing between 2010 and 2015″

An ordinary student, Naru, wants nothing more than to be pretty and dazzling like in her fairy tale books. One day, she meets a mysterious girl, Hana, who dances with her one night. Hana turns out to be an American transfer student who ends up transferring into Naru’s class. Hana then introduces Naru to Yosakoi dancing and forms the Yosakoi club.

I thought this was a cute and fun slice-of-life anime. Premise can be a bit iffy if you really think about it, but I had fun with this show. I love how everyone slowly opened up with each other and was able to make their club work.

Also, I couldn’t help but have this thought: I feel like the first couple episodes had so much lesbian subtext that I had to check if this anime was made by KyoAni (it wasn’t, it’s made by Madhouse).

Tatami Galaxy - completed for the task “Watch a Noitamina anime”

A third-year college student runs into a mysterious guy at a ramen shop. The student reflects on his past 2 years at college, mostly spent with his friend Ozu trying to break up happy couples. The student wonders if he’s wasted his life and resolves to do better. Then a time loop starts happening and more chances arrive.

*clasps hands like Gendo Ikari*

We meet again, Masaki Yuasa.

No better time than this challenge to work through more of Masaki Yuasa’s filmography, especially after watching the decent Mind Game and the excellent Kaiba for last year’s challenge.

While watching this anime, I felt myself going back and forth on whether or not I really liked this anime. Whether it was overrated or underrated. Whether it was a good idea on what the Endless 8 could have been or something that kept going unnecessarily long because the Student couldn’t see what was in front of his face. Whether it was style over substance.

The answer?

Yes.

I honestly liked it, but I do understand the criticism. I feel like the confusion about my feelings can be a good thing and this anime still had some great points and made me think.

I also thought the art style and soundtrack were great, as usual from Masaki Yuasa.

One Outs - completed for the task “Watch an active staff member’s favorite anime with 10 episodes or more”

A struggling baseball team recruits Tokuchi Towa, a pitcher who is more of a gambler than anything. Kojima, the team’s veteran player, hopes that Tokuchi will lead them to the championship. Corrupt ownership and unethical opponents also add problems.

Tokuchi was a great character. He’s a genius, but also a huge troll. His method is basically trying to psychologically get to the other players and go from there. I liked seeing him work through situations and outsmart people. This was one of the few anime from the challenge where I could watch several episodes in one sitting and not even realize it.

Basically, this was a take on sports anime I didn’t know I needed.

Aggressive Retsuko (aka Aggretsuko) - Season 1 completed for the task “Watch an ONA,” Season 2 completed for the task “Watch an anime with more than 16 minutes in total and a popularity lower than #700″

Retsuko, a red panda, is an average office worker. Unfortunately, she hates her job. She is harassed by her boss and given unreasonable amounts of work. To relieve the stress from her life, she secretly goes to karaoke and sings death metal to scream everything out.

I love this. I love Retsuko. I love the little songs sprinkled in. I love Retsuko’s relationships with several of her office-mates.

I feel like I can relate so hard. Not necessarily with the heavy work load, but just the general stresses of life in your 20s. Being stuck in a job that isn’t the best, and also liking metal.

I had a ton of fun with this show. Season 1 was slightly better than Season 2, but I loved this show all the same.

Girls’ Last Tour - completed for the task “Watch an anime that finished airing with more than 10 episodes and has a synopsis by MAL Rewrite”

In a post-apocalyptic, war-torn landscape, two girls, Chito and Yuri, travel the world for answers, with only their motorbike/tank, their supplies, and each other.

This, by far, wins Best of the Challenge this year.

This anime gave me a mix of emotions that I don’t know if I’ve ever felt before. A strange mix of existential dread and sadness and going “aww” at the slice-of-life adventures the two girls have. It made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think.

Watch this one, please.

[pasteltofus]

1 Year of Learning Korean

One of the most popular questions I’ve gotten since coming back from Korea is: Are you fluent in Korean now??*

*Spoilers: I am not. 🙃

Looking back, I probably would have become more conversational if I had just done a 3-month intensive program. Although, compared to just learning by myself in the Bay Area, being in Korea definitely gave me more opportunities and motivation. I was placed in the high intermediate class for orientation (switched to low intermediate), but I would say that I’m now truly at an intermediate level. I think my Korean’s more or less the same as my Japanese (which has regressed a lot, and I only took 3 semesters in college) but with very shaky foundations. 

Anyways, here’s a brief timeline of what I did this grant year. Let’s go~

[Initiate lock n’ load montage]

July

Korean Intensive Program (8-12pm, 1-2pm M-F) 

Because of how the program was structured, I didn’t feel like I learned very much. This is partly why my foundation is so full of holes...we skipped around here and there. 

August

Korean Intensive Program

September

Korean was put on pause due to troubles adjusting to homestay

October

Occasionally did a few chapters of Billy Go’s Korean Made Simple at school 

Studied some Korean vocab 

November

???

December

I don’t think I studied Korean at all

January

Got a wakeup call when I spent 5 minutes trying to read the back of a sign at a smoothie shop and realized how slow I was at reading

February

Vocab grind (1000 Essential Korean Words), plan was to finish by the end of March. Two weeks of intense vocabulary cramming on Quizlet (did nothing in the end lol don’t try that)

Bought the Real Life Conversations Intermediate book

Studied Korean in Kpop lyrics

Started a side coding project to help my touch typing (K-pop lyric typing game)

March

Memorized dialogues from Real Life Conversations book with Lauren

Improved reading skills slightly by listening and following along with the audio recordings that come with the book

Read through the dialogues with the Korean literature teacher in my gyomushil

Continued to learn song lyrics

Wrote sentences with each new vocabulary word, got my co-teacher and the Korean literature teacher to check them (<-this was probably the most helpful game changer...it helped a lot with my spelling too)

Continued working on the K-pop typing game

April

Stopped learning new vocab at around Chapter 11 of Essential Words, focused on retaining old vocab through Anki flash cards

Finished the Go! Billy Korean Made Simple book that I bought ages ago (tbh it was too easy for me at this point but I was just too lazy)

Finally sat down and “learned” Korean verb conjugations (I’d just been going by gut instinct before…tbh I still kind of do 😅)

Kind of dropped the typing game after finishing the MVP 😅but I’m gonna try to finish it up now that I’m back

May

Started to panic about leaving Korea in 2.5 months but still sucking at Korean

Signed up for private lessons once a week for 90 minutes (My tutor asked me to give her a shout out. Her name is 서영심 (bwv830@gmail.com). If you’re in the Cheongju/Ochang area, she comes to you! She’s very professional and you’ll get your money’s worth.)

Started at the intermediate book that focused on grammar

Learned ~5 grammar points every week

Started writing and reading a lot more and actually seeing how words are spelled. The first time I saw 여기--a super common word (yogi) that means here--written out I thought it was so strange...not that I had thought it was 요기 (also pronounced yogi) but I just didn’t have a visual of it in my head, I guess.

June

Depressed about lack of improvement

Continued with private lessons but felt like I wasn’t really retaining the grammar dump from each week

At the very least, Korean homework kept me on track and made me practice even when I didn’t want to

Started Anki again since I hadn’t actively studied vocab since April.

An old K.Will song that I hadn’t listened to for a long time came up and I realized I could suddenly understand the lyrics. That was pretty cool and one of my small win moments.  

July

Feeling pretty hopeless with Korean

However, hung out with more Korean friends that only spoke Korean and felt like I was actually able to contribute to the conversation. (3 hours of Korean Listening ...🙃)

Was able to understand 70% of the conversation at my gyomushil’s final farewell lunch for me. I contributed to the gossip! 

Went home and immediately lost 50% of my Korean skills upon touching U.S. soil. 

So basically, after my burst of inspiration in February, my confidence and motivation in Korean just kept plummeting. Even now as I write up this post I feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. But I do want to highlight the progress that I’ve made since orientation.

Korean Reading

We were all supposed to be able to read Hangul before we came to Korea. Being able to recognize the alphabet is different from being able to read and also different from knowing the pronunciation rules and where to pause in your reading. During my first semester, my eyes would automatically glaze over whenever I saw Korean text. When the second semester started, I tried to force myself to read everything I came across - storefronts, street signs, advertisements on buses, etc. Even if I didn’t know what it meant, I would force myself to read it. Right now, I can navigate a Korean shopping website and read a menu semi-comfortably. I’m still waiting for the day when I’ll see English sounding hangul and be able to read it as fast as English. Although, I will say it’s really nice to be able to read the Korean titles in Kpop videos on Youtube, especially when I come across really old songs (like Super Junior’s No Other 너 같은 사람 또 없어) and realize I now know what it means. 

Also, a new world that has opened up to me is...노래방!! Karaoke is such an adrenaline rush. I’d compare it to sight-reading or DDR/rhythm games where you know something is coming up and the satisfaction you get when you get it right with the beat of the music is 👌. It’s so gratifying to be able to sing along...거기 너 I FANCY YOU 아무나 원하지 않아 HEY! I love you (LOVE YA)!! 

Korean Writing

Back during orientation, I couldn’t spell anything on my own. I knew words every koreaboo knew like 어떻게 and 괜찮아 but I couldn’t write it because I didn’t know how spelling worked. It’s no wonder my spelling didn’t improve since a) I didn’t write and b) I didn’t even read. Even now I still make a lot of spelling mistakes, but I pay attention to words when I see them. It’s still a very slow process, but now I can picture the hangul in my head when I think of the word. 

Typing: I started orientation with around 15 wpm, then by the end of orientation I got to around 30 wpm. Currently, I’m at 60 wpm when I start cold and after I get warmed up I can go up to 80wpm. Being able to touch type is so useful, especially when I’m typing up long sentences from my textbook and I don’t have to look up.

Korean Listening

Dare I say...my Korean listening is my strongest point??? I remember when I took French listening tests in high school, I would always lament with everyone else that they spoke too fast for me to understand. But interestingly, for both Japanese and Korean, I never had that problem. If it only contains words and grammar I know, I can understand it perfectly fine even if it’s fast. I intuitively understand most Korean verb endings and exclamations so it’s not hard to know which way the conversation is flowing or when to interject with “세상에,” “맞아 맞아,” or “말도 안돼.” I used to think my poor lack of vocabulary was the number 1 thing blocking me from understanding, but then I learned more grammar and realized the things I didn’t know. I do feel like parts of the fog are being lifted...sometimes...

Korean Speaking: 

I still feel pretty embarrassed when I speak Korean because there are some sounds that I can’t pronounce. Compared to orientation, I have a few more stock phrases tucked and ready to go, but I still feel unable to express myself. Every conversation will start out fine, but they’ll all stagnate to the same topics and sentences after a while. 

Complications with other languages

I talked about how knowing some Japanese and Chinese was both an advantage and a disadvantage during my beginning stages, but this is true even now. 

Ever since I started getting more comfortable with typing and spelling Korean, I’ve started seeing the actual Hangul in my head when I think/hear Korean. I’ve also started to associate the locations of the Hangul characters with their locations on the Korean keyboard. 

One day, I was trying to text back my mom with “那是什么?” (Na Shi Shen Me/What’s that?) but was confused because those characters weren’t showing up. Then I realized I was typing “sk” instead of “na.” Some of you guys might get it....because “s” is where ㄴ(n) is and k is where ㅏ(a) is on the Korean keyboard. Clearly, my brain can’t handle it. It’s interesting because both the Japanese and Chinese keyboard uses the same alphabet placements as English.

Another time: I was watching a Talk To Me in Korean video where Hyunwoo talked about how 하다 is a very versatile verb. I immediately thought about how the Japanese equivalent is 수루 and even mentally mapped it out on the Korean keyboard...before realizing this is WRONG, WRONG, it’s する not 수루 LOUISE WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING. (They are both pronounced suru)

What’s next? 

Now that I’m back in the States, it’s going to take even more determination and self-discipline to keep up with my Korean. But I really don’t want everything I’ve worked towards to just wash down the drain. I’ll aim to finish my intermediate grammar textbook and grind anki flashcards. Hopefully, I can find a language partner or a study group. We’ll see! 

[huxlingmags]

Karaoke Date

Fandom: Overwatch Pairing: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada Word Count: 1643 Rating: Explict Warning: Public sex, drinking 

A/N: This started out as crack with @lulu-bugg and just bloomed to gratuitous Mchanzo from there xD

 Talking Hanzo into going out with him was not as difficult as Jesse was expecting. For a man that has been capturing the eyes of both Overwatch and Talon, he was inclined to think Hanzo would do what he could to keep out of sight from either party. Clearly that was not the case. The two were getting to know each other more over the course of several days, beyond the knowledge that Jesse was once a part of Overwatch’s black ops division. That was in the past. Jesse hardly had any official affiliation. They want him back, but he was fine doing his own thing for now. Had he been busy doing work for Soldier76, he possibly would not have met Hanzo on his own volition.

With a grin, Jesse led the man inside the smoky bar. The bouncers nodded at them, clearly knowing the two men were grown enough to be there in the first place. Hanzo’s nose wrinkled at the onslaught of tobacco smoke, but he soon ignored the smell entirely. He had his fair share of dealing with McCree’s bad habit and had grown more used to the cigar smoke on Jesse. It was welcoming to say the least. Pool tables and bar games lined the walls of the large bar as they walked to the counter. The two men took their seats and a pretty blonde cheerfully approached them.

“What can I get y’all?”

Jesse winked at the woman. “Whiskey straight.”

Hanzo wet his lips and muttered “Tequila sunrise.”

She nodded and sauntered away to get their drinks.

Jesse grinned and nudged him. “Never pegged ya for a pretty drink kinda guy.”

He huffed. “Sake is not usually prepared in your bars.” He reminded him. “But these ‘pretty’ drinks of yours tend to have a generous amount of alcohol with a good taste.”

“Yeah? Then I guess I’ll give yours a try.” Jesse hummed.

It was not much longer until a woman came with their drinks and the two men toasted each other before drinking. For a good while, the two chatted between each other about anything that came to mind while having their cups generously refilled every so often. Eventually, the bar lit up with lights and a DJ came over the microphone to announce karaoke was starting. Both men perked up and gave each other a look.

“Thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Jesse asked with a chuckle.

“Depends. Where I come from, karaoke is immensely popular. Do you have what it takes?” Hanzo said with a challenging wink.

Jesse tipped his hat and immediately slid off the bar stool to give the DJ his request before he returned to Hanzo. “Wait and see, handsome. It’ll knock ya dead.”

Hanzo only smirked and sipped his drink. “We shall see.”

Incidentally enough, Jesse was not the only one who put a song request in and they listened to three other songs before McCree was called up to the stage. The cowboy in question flashed a grin at the eldest Shimada and made his way to the stage. Of course, the bastard had the audacity to call out a dedication to his date in the bar, which made Hanzo huff and turn a few shades of pink. Hopefully, no one noticed. Once the music started, people immediately started to whoop and holler at the choice.

Oh no.

Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road. I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more

I got the horses in the back Horse tack is attached Hat is matte black Got the boots that's black to match

               Hanzo shook his head and buried his face in his palm. He expected the cowboy to sing something country, but this was—entirely unexpected. It did not help matters at all that Jesse was dancing the entire time like a professional. It was, perhaps, the longest 3 minutes of embarrassment Hanzo had ever experienced. Yet, he did enjoy the show and felt a sliver of pride for catching the attention of a man like McCree.

               Jesse bowed dramatically following the cheers, wiped his brow, and headed back to Hanzo. “What’d ya think?” he hummed as he downed his drink, noting the shades of pink the flushed Hanzo’s face.

The former yakuza only shrugged to feign off any hint of embarrassment. However, that did not erase the look Jesse gave him. With a huff, he finished his drink and moved off his seat. “Impressive, but I can do something better.”

There was a list of songs Hanzo could choose from, but the one he selected was due to the lack of any Japanese songs and his wavering sobriety. Hanzo was already humiliated by Jesse, he might as well own it. Luckily, the wait was shorter and he was sent on stage sooner than Jesse was. The lights blinded him momentarily, but hardly minded. At least he could scarcely see the audience, save for Jesse in the back by the bar with a cheeky smile. Clearing his throat, he prepared himself to sing, which got a louder cheer from the crowd.

Yeah You are my fire The one desire Believe when I say I want it that way

               Jesse was dumbfounded with the way Hanzo sang, and it hardly helped that the man was making direct eye contact with him as he sang. God. Damn. Perhaps it was the whiskey talking, but he had to have him and he was going to, possibly right after the song.

Tell me why Ain't nothin' but a heartache Tell me why Ain't nothin' but a mistake Tell me why I never want to hear you say I want it that way

               Hanzo teased Jesse as much as he could, swaying his hips and making eye contact with Jesse as if they were the only two men in the room. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Luckily, no one around them was none the wiser. The rest of his song went by almost too quickly and he breathlessly wandered off the stage, barely registering the claps from the other bar-goers. He gravitated toward Jesse, who appeared to be getting up and heading to the bathroom. All Hanzo could do was follow.

               Exactly what Jesse hoped he would do.

               The moment Hanzo was in the bathroom with him, he locked the door and pushed the man against the door and crashed their lips together for a hot kiss that Hanzo melted into. He meant it when he sang that he wanted it that way. Hanzo’s hands moved up Jesse’s body to his hair, knocking his hat back in the process of him tangling fingers into his thick hair. Their bodies pressed close to each other, indicating their need. Jesse was first to part from the kiss to nibble along Hanzo’s jaw and down his neck.

               “How much ya want me, darling?” Jesse whispered against the shell of his ear.

               Hanzo bucked against him and slid out of his grasp. Clearly, he had no time to waste. They were in public and had to be quick with this lest he gain further humiliation. Luckily the alcohol blurring the edges of his self-control did nothing to affect his dexterity. Jesse’s belts were undone and his pants opened just enough to get his cock free. He earned a throaty groan in approval from the cowboy, who took his cock in hand to guide it to Hanzo’s willing mouth.

               “Ya want this, babe?”

               A nod of his head and Hanzo leaned in, swallowing Jesse down with ease. The cowboy let out a sigh of approval and settled a hand on Hanzo’s head, tugging lightly on his hair to encourage him. The reserved, Japanese man was holding out on him. Each time his tongue rubbed along his cock just right way, he bucked his hips into his mouth and caused Hanzo to almost sneer with his mouth full. Cheeky. He was entirely at Hanzo’s mercy at this point, but damn did he trust him. His mouth worked along his cock, head bobbing the more he got into it. At some point, Jesse cursed and pulled Hanzo up.

               “You too.” Jesse muttered as he got Hanzo’s pants open and his own cock out. The former yakuza stared at Jesse’s hands, unsure of what he was doing until he wrapped his hand around both of their cocks and started to rub up against him. This drew the most beautiful sounds that only Jesse had the pleasure of hearing. God, he could only imagine what he was going to sound like when he got a chance to fuck him. Hanzo’s hands gripped Jesse’s shoulders as his hips rocked into Jesse’s hand and against his cock. Both men panted and moaned with increasing intensity the closer they each got to their orgasm. Jesse was already close thanks to Hanzo’s mouth, but he had control enough to hold out just enough to make Hanzo come first.

               After all, he wanted to hear those delicious moans of his before he lost his focus.

               “J-Jesse…” Hanzo whispered breathlessly as he suddenly came between them, his body twitching from the sudden orgasm. The poor man was not so composed after all when it came to sex. Poor man clearly did not indulge as much. Jesse was going to have to break him in. If allowed, that is. It was not much longer until Jesse came himself and leaned against Hanzo, breathing against his neck. The leaner man was enveloped in Jesse’s scent of whiskey and cigar smoke, almost like a protective blanket

               “What do you say we clean up and continue this back at my place?”

               Hanzo could only nod and clutch at Jesse’s serape. “I would like that.”                

[kachuwritings]

NCT 2018 ideal dates

anonymous asked: please do a nct 2018 ideal date!! like how or what’s their perfect ideal date? Thanks sm🔥

a/n: I tried to keep it interesting with different date ideas and also tried to see which would fit which member the best imo. I hope you like it!~♡

Disclaimer: This is the last nct 2018 reaction I'll post. It's just too hard on me to write a different reaction for 18 members, that's why I decided to only take requests for units from now on and finish off this little nct 2018 journey with their ideal dates.

warning?: it’s a bit cracked up sometimes?! xD

- gender neutral -

Taeil:

Taeil is a main vocalist and he loves singing above anything, so I think his ideal date would include his greatest passion. He always sings their own songs and it's always serious and professional, so he'd love to let loose for once and just sing his heart out to whatever song he wants. That's why Taeil's ideal date would be going to a karaoke bar with you.

Johnny:

Johnny is known as the most romantic member (at least within 127) and that's why I believe he'd want a traditional and romantic date. He'd take you out to a candle-light dinner at a fancy restaurant and like the gentleman he is, he'd pay for you and after you'd go on a walk through a park together.

Taeyong:

We all know Taeyong loves cooking and that he's the best cook in NCT. Therefore he'd love to invite you over to his place and cook a full course meal for the both of you to enjoy in intimate togetherness. And of course he'd end up blushing when you'd compliment his food, hoping you couldn't see the redness on his cheeks in the candle-light.

gosh, look at his smile uwu my heart is bursting

Yuta:

For Yuta I could imagine two different kinds of ideal dates. Either he'd love to take you on a concert with him, preferably going to see his favourite Japanese rock band One OK Rock (their concerts are lit btw I love them so much) or he'd want to go shopping with you, either to a mall or to the city, so he could see you trying on different outfits and spoil you like the sugar daddy gentleman he is.

Kun:

Kun is another member I wasn't completely sure about. I could see him loving a quiet date at the bookstore together, where you'd be rummaging through various books and reading together or he'd also love to take you on a road trip with him, where you'd drive through the whole Korea just for fun and blast your favourite music in his car.

Doyoung:

Since we know that our little Doyoungie practically never leaves his room during their days off, I felt like he'd love a cosy stay at home date, where you would cook dinner together, fool around and later watch some movies while cuddling.

Ten:

Ten is a very energetic baby as we all know and since he loves dancing, I bet he'd love to go dancing with his date to either impress them, dance together with them, watch them dance or all of the above. Therefore he'd probably take you out dancing and either you'd just dance together or he'd offer to teach you. If both of you were up to it, you might even take some slow dancing classes together.

Jaehyun:

Jaehyun seems to be the type of person that loves everything soft, romantic, relaxing etc. I can totally see him doing a spa night together with you. When you arrived at his place, he'd prepare a nice bubble bath for the both of you, while you'd be enjoying some expensive champagne and later you'd give each other back massages while having scented candles placed all around the room so the both of you could just lay back and rest for once.

wow look at him, I’m in love :)))))))))))))))

Winwin:

Sicheng is such a soft and shy baby and for some reason I associate cosy winters and playing in the snow with him. I feel like he'd love to take you out on a date to go ice-skating. You would both help each other to get comfortable on the ice and when you felt anxious still, he'd keep his arms draped around your waist to keep you from falling until you felt stable enough to ride alone but that still wouldn't be a guarantee that he'd let go of you then. ;)

Jungwoo:

I associate everything aesthetically pleasing with soft Junguwu and that's why I picture him wanting to take you out to a small and cute café, one that was less popular and hidden away from the center of the town, so only those with taste would know about this place. Either you'd go there for simply having a cup of coffee or in the morning for brunch. He'd love having a quiet place with you to go to talk and share your passions with.

Lucas:

When I was brainstorming for this post, it didn't even take me a whole 2 seconds to know what Xuxi would love to do with you, hell, I even wrote it down in all caps. I hope we can all agree on that this loud, big baby would absolutely love to go to an amusement park with you. He'd want to see if you get scared on rollercoasters or the haunted house, so he could protect you.

Mark:

Mark is a very busy boy and I can imagine he feels exhausted a lot and would just prefer not to go out for once. He'd love a quiet night in when you'd come to his place and the both of you would order some take out food because let's be real, neither of you knew how to cook for life. After dinner, he'd get his guitar and play some songs for you while you'd lean against him with your eyes closed, enjoying the moment. You'd finish off the evening with watching movies until the both of you fell asleep in each other's arms.

I feel attacked :)

Renjun:

Renjunnie is our local art hoe™ so I think he'd love if his date would be just as much into the arts as him. If you happen to be like that, he'd love nothing more than to either visit an art gallery together with you or meet up so you could draw each other. Or even better, you'd visit the art gallery first and after go to his place and spend the night away drawing beautiful portraits of each other. aEstHEtiC

Jeno:

Just recently I posted a little imagine (I put the link if you want to read Jeno's ideal date in an more aesthetically pleasing way) on my blog @fluffyheadcanons that I think would suit Jeno so well. Like in that post, I think Jeno's ideal date would be going to a park on a sunny afternoon and having a nice picnic there while he would be able to feed you with chocolate glazed fruits.

Haechan:

Our full sun would love going out with you, especially during the warmer months. That's why I could imagine him wanting to take you out on a stroll around town until you'd get to your favourite ice cream shop where the both of you would buy an ice cream in your favourite flavour, with him insisting on paying for you and then going to the Han River to relax and take silly photos of each other.

Jaemin:

Jaemin is such a supportive baby he'd literally love everything you wanted to do and would agree on anything. But if you let him decide and tell him that you wanted to go on his ideal date with him, he'd take you bowling and together you'd have so much fun and laugh at each other for failing and hitting the gutter all the time.

Chenle:

Our Lele is such a playful and childish baby so he’d definitely want to take you on a date to a place where you'd have the time of your lives. And is there a better place than going to an arcade together? I don't think so. You'd try out all the different games, from air hockey, to basketball, to car or motorbike races and dancing games. You'd enjoy yourselves so much that you'd forget about the time and get home late, so eomma Taeyong would end up scolding the both of you for staying out past curfew.

Jisung:

Since maknae Jisung is still young and might feel a bit embarrassed to go on dates in public, and since he's also an introverted bub, I think he'd love a stay-in date. He'd probably ask you to come over when all the hyungs would be gone for practice or individual schedules so he'd have the dorm to himself. Then he'd prepare all kinds of unhealthy snacks for the both of you and you'd end up playing videos games together until everyone would get back and be shook at seeing their youngest member having his date over while no one was there to watch over them. (Taeyong eomma will snap)

uhmmm can you,,, NOT??? pls,,,