#specifically drew first twos for them and then my senpai. i was just thinking about them doing heart hands and uh-

[takitori67]

More about Magical-Girl Junas (+ Bhima)

[hitsuackerman]

What in the World? (Akaashi Keiji x Reader) pt.12

a/n: it begins >:)

Akaashi’s lineup: @alluring-akaashi @oikawalmart-hq @extrasugafree @bbykiyoomi @apricotjihyo @awings @simpformiya @sayakaaaaaa @colorseeingchick @demursv1ogs​ @chrisrue15 @beanst0ck @something-that-idk (i have no idea why i can’t tag some of you :( huhu )

links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 13

Time flew by so fast in this dimension. Now that you were well adjusted and loving the new life here, it had not dawned on you that 7 months had already passed. Things were moving smoothly and pleasantly.

“Here you go.” Akaashi handed you a snack bar. The two of you (well maybe three if Bokuto is included) were practically inseparable. The team had finally managed to pin the both of you down and confirm that you two were indeed dating. “Did you sleep well?”

Walking to school was still a thing both of you did. Except this time, fingers were intertwined and barely any distance between the both of you. The only time you two let go was when the school gates were near. Still, walking down the hallways, Akaashi made sure to always brush his fingers with yours.

“I did!” You pulled him in to kiss his cheek. The small smile he gave you still made your stomach butterflies flutter. “I did have a weird dream last night. You and Bokuto-san switched personalities. Seeing you do his ‘HEY HEY HEY’ was just so wrong on all levels.”

“Is there a quirk that can do that?”

At this point in time, you barely relied on your quirk. The feeling of accomplishing things without it’s aid was much more satisfying. Of course, Akaashi still reaped its healing benefits and took note of how his stamina had improved.

“High chances. If we can have a washing machine as a pro-hero, then there’s bound to be a quirk swapping quirk.”

“A washing machine?” He brushed his thumb on the corner of your lip to wipe off a crumb. “Even now, your world still surprises me.”

“It’s great if you hear it.” Leaning on his shoulder, you tightened your hold on his hand. “Living in it is a completely different story. It’s been, what, 7 months since I arrived here and I am more than content with not having to rely on my quirk.”

“What about your combat skills? Shouldn’t you still be sharpening them?”

“I wish I could.” That was true, though. “I’m pretty much useless at 30%. Even if I wanted to lift boulders or shit, I have to maintain at least 40%. The difference is small but the output is huge. I don’t get my quirk’s logic.”

“Well, it’s still early.” The gates were now in sight but he refused to let go of your hand. “I’m pretty sure you can work on your quirk. The others won’t arrive within 30 minutes.”

“It’s been 5 months and you’re still curious to see how I fight?” You giggled.

“Yes.” He nodded. “If my girlfriend trained to be a hero, I’d love to see how you move.”

“Well, you made that sound sexy~” You nudged his elbow. “Think we can have a little action before we head to the gym?”

“It’s 6:30am, (y/n). It’s too early for that.” He teased. Yet his steps were a little faster than before. “But, I guess I can’t oppose the idea.”

The next thing you knew, your back hit the wall as Akaashi hungrily kissed you. With your legs wrapped around his waist, your fingers found themselves coming through his hair. Pinning you even more, Akaashi’s hand undid your ribbon and unbuttoned the first two. Letting go of your lips, he trailed kisses from your cheek down to the crook of your neck.

As he was softly sucking on your skin, you loosened his tie and undid the two buttons as well. Tugging his hair, you were face to face with him again. Lust filled eyes staring back into yours. Leaning in, you gently kissed his lips before returning the favor. Activating your quirk, Akaashi felt his feet leave the ground. Knowing what you were about to do, he could feel you turning the both of you around.

Skillfully placing the both of you on the floor, Akaashi leaned on the wall as his hands began to roam higher and higher up your skirt. Having you straddle him this early in the morning was rather pleasant in all aspects. Tilting his head a bit, he gave you much easier access and felt you sucking on his skin a little harsher this time.

“Make sure it’s hidden under the collar.” He managed to whisper. Hickeys were a common thing to have both your bodies. He smirked at how your only response was a nod.

Caressing your cheek, he admired the way your face glowed even more. Pulling you in softly for another kiss, he felt his stomach fluttering when you smiled.

“We should probably head to the lockers now.”

“Fine.”

“We can continue this in my room later.” He whispered before kissing you deeply.

“Counting the hours~”

Moments later, you were now pumping air into some volleyballs. Morning practice for today would only take an hour so there was plenty of time to freshen up before the homeroom. Now that the gym was packed with your boys, you rolled out the volleyball cart and positioned it beside the net.

Everyone was now used to having you as a ball girl. In fact, some of them even tried to challenge you by purposely hitting the ball too hard or too low. With your hero training, it was nothing but a walk in the park. You did notice, however, that your body began to sweat a bit more. The after effects of not using your quirk for a long time was showing.

Nothing bad happens, though. Just panting and sweating.

“Aghkaashe!” Bokuto yelled. “Can you and (y/n)-chan help with my math later?”

“I don’t mind. What about you, (y/n)?”

“Sure thing~” You approached your two favorite boys. “Bokuto-senpai, how well did you do on your previous quiz?”

The captain’s golden eyes sparkled.

“HAHAHA! Thanks to you both, I managed to get a 32/50! Whatdya think?!” He punched the air and grinned widely. When the both of you applauded he began to jump up and down while shouting his trademark.

“Calm down, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi tried to stop him from jumping up and down. His friend obeyed and gave a cheeky thumbs up.

“God, I love you both so much~” You giggled at their exchange.

“But you love Ahkaashi more, don’t you (y/n)-chan?” Bokuto added as he shouldered Akaashi. This time, his deadpan face was holding a soft smile.

“Of course!”

When Konoha’s alarm sounded, each of you began to clean up and prepare for the rest of the day. With how often you did it, it had now become second nature to you. Yukie and Kaori even admitted that you adapted much faster than they had anticipated. Once all of you were now freshened up, the gym was locked once more and each player looked forward for the after school practice.

“Exams are approaching.” Akaashi said as he let you step into the classroom first. “Have you prepared your notes?”

“I did. But, you do remember that the subjects you have here are way too easy for me, right?” Placing your bag on your desk, you took a seat and faced Akaashi. “Shall we study in your room or mine?”

“we can take turns.” Now that he was seated, he fished out one of his notebooks and placed it on his desk. Not that it was needed, it merely became one of his habits. Watching as you dragged your chair closer to him, he offered you a pen and flipped the notebook open.

“So, what do you want me to draw?” This had become one of your recent traditions. Before the start of homeroom, Akaashi noticed how you liked to doodle on his notebooks. Deciding that a special one was needed, he took the liberty of buying a blank journal for you to fill with whatever it is you saw fit.

“Hmm, I recall you saying that you designed your own hero costume.” He saw how your eyes lit up. “May i see what it looked like?”

Starting the sketch, you began to draw a figure and dressed it with your costume.

“So, my costume isn’t flashy unlike the others.” You explained. “A quirk like mine doesn’t really need a lot of support items so I went with mobility and comfort. I decided that simplicity was key. Just the normal jacket, shirt, pants, and boots. The only support item I had were my gloves.”

Sketching your gloves, Akaashi couldn’t help but adore just how focused you were. Tucking in a loose strand of hair, he felt the butterflies in his stomach churning once again as the corners of your mouth formed a smile and your cheeks turning a faint hue of pink.

“What do your gloves do?” They looked like standard fingerless gloves.

“The material was specifically designed to aid in manipulating my quirk. It concentrates the energy I release and wraps around my hand. Sorta like a human torch~” It was a bit difficult to explain how it worked knowing you didn’t listen to the man who gave you the item. As long as it aided you, it was fine.

“What were Todoroki-kun’s support items?”

“Shoto’s support items were mostly temperature regulators. Wristbands and a big one he wears like a backpack to help even him out.” You drew his support items rather well.

“Can you try to sketch Todorki-kun’s face?” Letting you draw your friends was something he wasn’t so comfortable with. Not for that reason of course. He merely assumed that it would be a sensitive topic knowing the circumstances of how you arrived in his world. When you giggled, he tilted his head.

“About time you asked~” Beginning to draw your childhood friend, you continued. “I honestly wouldn’t mind drawing my friends for you, ya know? There’s no way I can introduce you to them so sketching them would be the best alternative.”

“I’m sorry.” He held on to your free hand. “I just didn’t want to make you uncomfy.”

“You never make me uncomfy. Keiji~”

It was a quick sketch of half and half but a good one. He squinted his eye when he took note of the scar. He had heard of Tokoyami and Mina, but this one merely showed a boy about his age with a nasty burn on his face.

“Shoto’s got one helluva back story.” Your thumb began to brush Akaashi’s knuckles. “That scar was given to him by his mum when he was around 5 or 6 years old. It’s sad but he grew to accept it and is now healing.”

“You were engaged before, right?”

“For a while, yeah.” You handed him back the pen and closed the sketchpad. The bell had now rung and right on time, the teacher entered the room. Just as she was relaying a message, you were rummaging in your bag for a notebook.

“Please introduce yourselves~” The teacher said.

“Bakugo Katsuki”

“Midoriya Izuku.”

- - - - -

a/n: sooo... what yall gonna do now? :’)

[lancermylove]

How Does One...? 101.

Fandom: BSTS

Pairing: Sinju x Reader

Warning: NS/FW fail? Jk, suggestive.

Requested by: Anon

Prompt:  (light ns/fw maybe) Hello Lancer-senpai! I really adore your writing, especially for BSTS, so I wanted to request an one shot with Sinju! The scenario is; the two of you have dated for a bit and now Sinju is feeling it is time to go all the way, maybe (the s/o ofc really wants it too!)? It can be crack, fluff or NS/FW I just want to see what you come up with because I love what you do! I hope this isn't too vague :'D

A/N: Your request is not vague at all! I had so much fun writing this request. So, I decided to make it comical and include the Starless members in the start. I am SO sorry that reader enters much later on, but I couldn’t stop writing the first “half”. 😂

Word Count: 3,892

———————————————

Sinju shifted back onto the park bench, but his eyes remained fix on the shimmering water in front of him. He paid no heed to the people walking by nor to the conversation of the couple sitting next to him.

'What should I do?' The young boy kept asking himself again and again. 'We have been dating for a while, but..'

Shaking his head vigorously, he sighed, "Maybe I should ask someone for help."

He tightened his grip on the white paper cup in his left hand and stood up. Taking one last sip of his vanilla latte, he tossed the cup into the trash can and headed towards Starless.

"Hey, Rindou?" Sinju couldn't think of anyone better to ask for help than his trusted leader.

"What's wrong, Sinju?" Rindou gave him a warm smile, "Did something happen?"

"Do you have a few minutes? I need your advice on something."

The older male nodded and motioned his teammate to sit on the chair across him. Though he trusted his team leader, the young boy was nervous to talk openly about such a sensitive subject.

"So, I have a girlfriend, and we have been dating for a while now. Um...I-I have been thinking about...um, taking things one s-step further." Sinju shyly glanced at Rindou while drawing circles on the table in front of him. "I have n-no experience, so how do I go about it?"

Rindou tilted his head slightly, "Go about what?"

"You know." Sinju hoped that his team leader would catch on but seeing Rindou clueless, he had no choice but to say it, "How do I k-know that she'll be okay with me getting close to her? And...how do I properly m-make lo-love?"

The green-haired man's face turned bright red as he bit the corner of his lower lip. "U-uh...w-well...S-Sinju, I am not s-sure how to answer that..."

The usually cheerful boy lowered his eyes and mumbled, "I a-am sorry."

"Please don't apologize," Rindou spoke in a timid voice, "It's difficult for me to answer such a question, but...you could try asking the others?"

Sinju nodded, not wanting the moment to get any more awkward, "I will do that. Sorry again."

"Please don't apologize. I'm sorry for not being able to help."

Sinju smiled and thanked Rindou again before quickly walking out of the restaurant area. He stopped near the rehearsal room and placed his hand on his chest, drawing in deep breaths.

'Who do I ask now? Menou?' 

The orange-haired man's expressionless face appeared in his mind, causing his eyes to widen.

'Maybe not him. Yakou?' 

The memories of his trainee group flooded his head - his excitement, the company excusing him, his decision to leave without telling his group, his fight with Yakou, and his friend's attempt to overthrow Rindou.

He let out a heavy sigh and mumbled under his breath, "No way, I can ask him. Then, what about Ma-"

Before he could say the singer's name, a vivid image of a hole in a wall flashed in his mind. A chill ran down his spine, "I don't want to die yet."

"Why are you standing here talking to yourself?" A gruff voice called out behind him, causing the young boy to jump.

"K-Kokuyou, s-sorry." Sinju nervously tugged at his jacket's sleeve, "Say, can I ask you something?"

The taller man looked at his questioningly but waited for him to continue.

"U-Uh, well, I-I..."

"Stop stuttering and say whatever the hell you want to say!"

Sinju raised his hands in defense and shook his head, "Nothing! Sorry!"

With those words, he ran down the hall while Kokuyou stared at his back, confused. "What's his problem?"

Sinju ran out to the back alley and leaned his back against one of the walls, catching his breath. While waiting for his racing heart to calm down, he thought about who else he could ask.

'Akira might know, but what if he tells the other cast members about this? They won't let me live it down. Taiga may find this topic awkward. Sin...' Sinju paused and thought of the conversation he had with Sin a few days ago.

--

"Hi, Sin! How are you?"

"The waves sway to the wind's command even if they sought freedom."

Sinju tilted his head to the left and blinked, "What does that mean?"

Sin gave a smile and added a spoonful of tea leaves to a light blue teapot, "The moon may light the darkness, but a single cloud possesses the power to engulf the light."

The young boy felt blood rushing to his brain as he tried his hardest to decipher the poetic male's words.

--

"How does Team W understand him?" Sinju blinked away a few tears trying to escape his eyes. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, "Maybe I could try asking Takami later."

"It's rare seeing you in the back alley."

"H-Hey, Sotetsu." Sinju watched as the tall man sat down on one of the steps and took out a pack of cigarettes.

"Did you join the dark side and start smoking?" He chuckled and lit one of the cigarettes before taking a long puff.

"N-No." Sinju followed the smoke lazily and sighed, "If I ask you a question, will you charge me for it?"

Sotetsu started laughing, "You know me too well." He carefully analyzed Sinju's reaction before speaking again, "What's your question?"

"I can't pay you anything right now." He lowered his gaze, kicking a gray pebble in front of his shoe.

"Don't worry. I am asking to satisfy my curiosity."

"How do you know what woman want? I mean...are there specific signals or signs?" Team P's member mumbled, keeping his gaze on the ground.

He failed to notice an amused smirk forming on the older man's lips, "What do you mean?" Though he knew fully well what Sinju was insinuating, Sotetsu decided to test the water a little.

"I mean, how do you tell if a girl wan-" Sinju suddenly froze when it hit him that asking Sotetsu may be just as bad as asking Akira. 'What if he tells the others?'

"I just remembered that I have to...uh...go help Rindou. See you later." Sinju quickly walked past Sotetsu without glancing at him once.

Team K's member laughed to himself, "You can't even lie properly...you're too honest for your own good."

Once again lost in thought, Sinju absentmindedly turned a corner and nearly ran into Ginsei and Gui, but ended up losing his balance and fell on his behind.

"S-sorry, Sinju," Ginsei held out a hand and helped the blue-haired boy onto his feet, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Actually, no, I am trying to figure something out but can't find an answer."

"What are you trying to find out?" Team K's second inquired.

"Ginsei, how do you properly treat a woman?" Sinju asked, placing his hands inside the pockets of his jacket.

"Well, that depends on the woman, but you have to be nice to her, listen to her words, treat her with respect-"

Shaking his head, Sinju interrupted, "T-That's not what I mean. How do you know what women want?"

"That again depends on the woman. Some like attention, some like their space," Ginsei paused after seeing a disappointed expression on Sinju's face, "Is that not what you're asking?"

Sinju shook his head and drew in a deep breath, gathering courage, "Is there a proper way to have s*x?"

Ginsei's jaw dropped at hearing Sinju's question as his face turned various shades of red. Not expecting such a bold question, Ginsei was at a complete loss of words, "U-Uh, I-I...w-well...um..."

Seeing the silver-haired man stuttering, Sinju bit the bottom of his lip, "I am sorry for being so straightforward." He hung his head and dragged his heavy feet out of there.

"Ginsei?" Gui called him but got no response. He shook his team member gently, "Ginsei?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"What does s*x mean?" Gui asked innocently, leaning his head to one side.

Ginsei nearly dropped to the ground. His eyes grew as wide as they possibly could while his cheeks kept getting redder. "Gui, don't EVER ask that question to anyone. Actually, forget that you ever heard that word."

Back to square one, Sinju trudged his way through the empty halls of Starless. As he made his way back towards the rehearsal room, he heard a faint sound coming from inside. Taking a peek inside, he saw Mokuren stretching his muscles.

"Mokuren." Sinju cautiously stepped inside, but as soon as he saw Moku's glare, he retreated out of the room, "I am sorry to disturb you!"

"Someone seems frazzled."

Sinju swiftly turned around to see Zakuro and Hari standing behind him. He pondered for a second but decided that he didn't know them well enough to tell them his issue. "I'm okay."

Heading into the locker room, Sinju ran down his now nearly depleted list of who to ask. 'I don't want to ask Rico...he's most likely going to make fun of me. Asking Ran and Mizuki is out of the question. Heath might get embarrassed.'

He plopped onto the chair in front of the makeup vanity and stared at himself in the mirror, examining his dark circles and pale face. Sinju slouched further into the chair and closed his eyes. 'That leaves Kei, Takami, Qu, Kasumi, and Kongou.'

----

It was a new day, and Sinju decided to try his luck once again, hoping that he will get an answer or answers this time around. He poked his head into the management office and spoke in a shaky voice, "Kei, do you h-have a minute?"

Kei glanced at him and nodded, motioning him to come inside. "Why do you sound nervous? Did your team members get into another fight?"

Sinju closed the door behind him before shaking his head. "Thankfully, no, but I wanted to ask you something. I h-have a kinda personal question," he raised his hands in front of him, "not personal as in prying information about you."

"What do you want to know?" Kei asked in his signature baritone voice, maintaining a straight face.

"H-How do I know my girlfriend is...um...ready to get c-close to me? And how do I...ma-make love properly?" Sinju couldn't meet the older male's eyes after those words left his mouth.

Kei's lips slightly parted, and his eyebrows rose a notch. Though he was astonished, Kei quickly gathered himself. A smile soon appeared on his lips. Sinju slowly drew his eyes up to see Kei smiling, much to his surprise.

"If your girlfriend wants you to get close to her, you will be able to tell from her body language." Kei paused to allow Sinju to ask any new questions.

"Body..language?"

"Yes. Each female has her way of hinting that she's ready. You will have to figure this out on your own, but ask yourself, is she doing anything out of the usual?" Kei studied Sinju's expressions before continuing, "To answer your second question, there is no proper way of making love. But, make sure to pay attention to her needs."

"I see." Sinju rubbed the back of his head, taking in the information piece-by-piece, "Thank you, Kei."

Bowing slightly, he turned on his heels and headed towards the door, overjoyed that he finally got an answer to his question. Meanwhile, Kei quietly chuckled and whispered to himself, "How sweet."

Sinju skipped to the locker room but stopped upon hearing his name. Spinning around, he saw Takami walking towards him. "Someone is happy today."

The young boy gave a grin, "Hey, Takami."

"Did something good happen?"

"I finally got an answer to my question." Sinju leaned against the door to the locker room and spoke in a quiet voice.

"What question would that be?" Takami asked curiously, pushing his glasses closer to his face with his index finger.

Sinju pressed his lips together, thinking whether or not he should ask Takami as well. 'More opinions won't hurt, right? After all, Kei said there's no right way.'

Before asking, Sinju looked up and down the hallway, making sure that no one was around. "Takami, do you have any tips for...my f-first time?"

"First time?" He asked in a whisper.

"Yes, first time...getting close to my g-girlfriend."

Takami smiled at Sinju's nervousness, "Follow your instincts and have patience."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Takami. I need to get ready for floor duty."

Team W's member smirked a little as he watched his co-worker disappear into the locker room. "That was unexpected."

----

Once Team W started their show, Sinju followed Qu and Kasumi back to the locker room for a short break. He sat on one of the benches and stretched his legs, "That was hectic."

"It's pretty busy for a weekday," Kasumi chimed in while nodding in agreement.

Qu finished touching up his foundation and gazed at Sinju through the mirror, "Sinju, did something happen yesterday?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Hari and Zakuro were saying something about you not looking too well," Qu said in a concerned tone.

"Oh, that? Can I ask you two a question? You promise to keep it a secret?" Sinju asked, looking back and forth at the friends. They nodded in unison.

"I am thinking about taking my relationship with my girlfriend one step further. Do you two have any suggestions?"

A gentle smile danced on Qu's lips, "Well, you could try to set up the mood. Soft music, roses, candles..."

Kasumi leaned back on the bench and added, "You could start by watching a romantic movie."

The corner of Sinju's lips rose little-by-little as he began to picture the date in his mind. "Sounds perfect."

"Good luck, Sinju." Kasumi patted his shoulder as Qu nodded in agreement.

"Now, shall we get back to our duty?" The silver-haired beauty chuckled and warned the men that their break was coming to an end.

----

The day was almost over. Sinju was one of the last ones left in the store. He opened his locker and started gathering his belonging, humming to himself.

"Sinju, you are still here?"

"I had to finish cleaning. Are you locking up the store today, Kongou?" Sinju closed his locker and made his way to the ex-wrestler.

"Yeah. Are you heading to the train station? If so, mind if we walk together?" Kongou asked politely.

"I'll wait for you at the entrance." Sinju smiled and excused himself.

Locking up the store, the two men walked past a crowd of tourists, giving each one of them a smile. Even at a distance, they could hear the females in the group giggling.

"So, how was your day?" Kongou asked, "I heard floor duty was an adventure today."

"Yeah, there were so many demands. I am sure you were super busy in the kitchen."

"It was busy, but at least there were no accidents." Kongou laughed.

Silence filled the air as the two men walked past a usually busy park. A light breeze ruffled a few of Sinju's loose hair strands. "Hey Kongou, do you have a girlfriend?"

Surprised by the sudden question, the tall man turned his head towards Sinju, "Well, n-no, but why do you ask?"

Realizing that he may sound nosy, the young boy quickly apologized, "Oh, s-sorry. I have received a lot of good tips today about how to treat my girlfriend, but I want to ask you for your opinion as well."

"Treat as in?"

"Get c-close to her." He whispered and puffed his cheek.

Though Kongou was taken aback by the question, he found Sinju's expressions to be quite cute. Clearing his throat, he spoke calmly, "Since it sounds like your first time, I suggest you pay heavy attention to foreplay to get both of you ready. Also remember to use protection."

Sinju nodded and thanked Kongou for his advice before parting ways with him. While on the train, he took out his phone and texted you.

Sinju: Are you free the day after tomorrow? You: I have all the time in the world for you.❤️   Sinju: 😀 Then, do you want to come over to my house? Um...in the evening?

Not seeing an immediate reply, almost made Sinju regret asking you. ‘Did I scare her off? Does she think I’m moving too fast? Maybe she isn’t ready.’ DING. DING. DING.

Sinju was startled to hearing his notification going off. He scrambled to unlock his phone, nearly dropping it in the process. An elder lady sitting across from him even asked him to calm down. Apologizing to her, the nervous boy opened your messages.

You: I would love to come over. About time you asked. You: AHHH I can’t wait!!! You: See you in two days! ❤️❤️❤️

Though you sent him three messages, Sinju’s eyes were glued to the first message. He kept reading it over and over.

“...but ask yourself, is she doing anything out of the usual?”

Kei’s words echoed in Sinju’s ears. ‘What does she mean by ‘about time I asked’? Does this mean...she has been waiting for me to make a move?’

----

Sinju spent the entire morning jumping from one shop to another. He wanted to make the date night as perfect as he possibly could. After all, this was going to be the best night of your life as well as his. After nearly spending three hours picking out items, he returned to his home and began to decorate the living room.

Evening came around, and Sinju got dressed in his finest white shirt and black dress pants. He dabbed a bit of your favorite cologne on his neck and fixed his hair.

Knock. Knock. 

Sinju nearly ran to the door after hearing the knocking. He took a deep breath and opened the door, "Hey, (Y/N). How-"

The words got caught in his throat when his eyes landed on you. Sinju slowly moves his eyes downwards, taking in your short plunging V-neck, spaghetti strap, red lace dress. No one told him that you would dress this way for the date.

"So? How do I look?" You asked, twirling around, causing the ruffle hem of your dress to lift a little.

Sinju quickly averted your eyes and mumbled, "You look g-great. Come in."

As soon as you stepped in, you were stunned by the effort your boyfriend put into the decoration. Candles were methodically placed to create a pathway leading to a petal covered coffee table. Amidst the red rose petals laid a dark green wine bottle, a pair of wine glasses, and a snack platter. To add to the atmosphere, Sinju had closed the curtains and shut off the lights.

"Beautiful..."

A grin appeared on Sinju's lips as he took hold of your hand, leading you towards the living area. Sitting you on the sofa, he opened the wine bottle and poured the aromatic dark red liquid into both glasses.

Once you were comfortable, Sinju turned on the TV and started the movie he had picked. A few minutes into the movie, Sinju's gaze meandered over at your legs. How he wished that your dress would slide up just a little more so he could get a glimpse of - he caught his wandering mind and forced his attention back to the TV screen.

You leaned your head on his shoulder, making him smile. He leaned over to kiss the top of your head when he saw an unavoidable view - your pushed up mounds nearly spilling out of your dress. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't avert his gaze. His pants were becoming too tight for his liking.

'Patience. Have patience.' He reminded himself, tapping his foot in a rhythmic pattern. You felt his eyes on you but decided to ignore it for the time being. 

Then it came on - the scene Sinju had been waiting for. The actor and actress drew near, pressing their lips firmly together. Not a moment later, their clothes were flying left and right. Both of you were speechless as you gawked at their naked bodies melting together. You slowly shifted your eyes to meet Sinju's orange ones.

'This is my chance.' He leaned down closer to your face, eyes staring straight into yours. You eagerly waited for his warm lips, but instead, his nose collided with yours, causing both of you to pull back.

"S-sorry." Sinju had never felt more embarrassed, but your giggle gave him the courage to try again. Once again, leaning in, he tilted his head and met your lips. 

The kiss that started sweet had now turned passionate. Sinju rested his hand on one of your exposed legs, not breaking the kiss, and began to stroke up. Rip. Sinju broke the kiss and looked down at your dress. His bracelet got caught on the lace and managed to rip a small portion.

'Why does this keep happening?' Sinju apologized to you, but instead of getting angry, you started laughing.

"Don't worry about it. Forget about that." You whispered and helped free his bracelet, "Where were we?"

Sinju smiled shyly and peppered your face with kisses while running his hand to your back. Not being able to control his excitement, he tried to untie the strings holding up your dress.

"Sinju, what's wrong?" You asked breathlessly.

"You dress is a little complicated to remove." His voice had a range of emotions.

"It's okay, take your time. Meanwhile, let me have a little fun." You whispered playfully and pushed him back on the sofa.

Sinju stared at you with wide eyes while you climbed on top of him, blushing deeply. Running your hands up his chest, you began to unbutton his shirt, wanting to feast your eyes on his muscles.

Being too shocked to move, Sinju ran over the list of things the members had told him. Patience, foreplay, pay attention to her needs, follow instincts, and mood. No one warned him that you would attempt to seduce him. No one warned him that you would be undressing him. NO ONE warned him. He was far from mentally prepared for this.

You stopped when you realized that Sinju was not reacting to your touch; instead, he was staring off into space, looking like he saw a ghost.

"Sinju? What's wrong?"

He shook his head and sat up with you, "N-nothing."

The room went silent. Neither Sinju nor you moved from your place. Everything was supposed to be perfect, but everything was far from perfect. Both of you were disappointed.

Not wanting to face you anymore, Sinju went to get up but accidentally poked the side of your waist, earning a yelp from you.

"Sinju!"

A playful smile slowly appeared on his lips.

"What's that smile for? Sinju? What are you planning to do?" You shifted back on the couch in apprehension.

Out of nowhere, Sinju dug his fingers into your sides and began to tickle you. No matter how many times you asked him to stop, he refused to listen. Grabbing a pillow near you, you began hitting Sinju with it.

Laughter echoed through his apartment. Sinju chased you around his home, trying to tickle you while you grabbed any soft item you could and threw it at him. What was supposed to be a perfect, romantic date night had now turned into a cute date.

Though this was far from what Sinju expected, he knew there was always next time.

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

NOTICE: Characters/settings ©2008 Atlus. Story © me. All rights reserved. M for later risque situations and coarse dialogue. Cover art by takethesnowtrain.

WARNING: Rise's views and Ai's views on the LGBT community, and especially those of other characters in this work of fiction, do not always line up with those of the author. Please do your own research! The more you understand, the better our world will be.

CHAPTER WARNING: Bulimia.

NOTE: Happy New Year! Welcome to my particularly long and exhaustive crackship tome that literally no one asked for! What else is new, right? The first scene of this chapter is almost entirely copy-pasted from my other P4 fanfiction, "We'll Face Ourselves", though I tried to spruce it up and shift perspective so it doesn't feel like quite so much rehash. I thought it served as a nice lead-in to this story, with some added focus on the new ship. The second half of this chapter and the rest of the fic is all-new, don't worry. The "Golden" is more a reference to it being additional "dlc" for my other fic, not to me specifically focusing on Marie or any such content exclusive to P4G. Apologies if this dashes anyone's expectations but I hope you enjoy the fic regardless!

As for anyone wishing for that fic to debut... you know the one... well, all things in time. Soon, I promise. In the meantime, check me out at jxsleator dot carrd dot co !

Jessex

                                                  PROLOGUE

Once upon a time, in the quaint town of Inaba… a minstrel girl and a stubborn princess fought over a handsome prince. Very briefly.

"Can't you give me a little kiss goodbye?" the minstrel pulled back to look up into the boy's stoic face, her large doe eyes shining with tears — on purpose. She was a top notch minstrel, after all. "Something to keep me from… from dying from missing you?"

"Oh please," the quiet innkeeper muttered under her breath with a begrudging smile.

However, the prince obliged the minstrel girl with a kindly kiss upon the forehead. She was in awe of his tenderness. Right up until…

"Excuse me? What do you think you're doing, you bitch?!"

The others pulled back to see royalty approaching, hands on her hips. A truly glamorous princess indeed, even though her regal vestments weren't nearly as radiant as they had been in days past. The ever-present lacy pink turtleneck lived underneath a cardigan today rather than her school uniform.

"What is who doing?" the pouting siren protested, clinging a little tighter to her prince's arm.

"You! Little trollop!" The flawless beauty stomped over to the two of them, honey-brown waves bouncing as she got right up in the singer's face. "Take your greedy little paws off my boyfriend!"

The idol stamped her foot and snapped, "HEY! I don't see your name on him anywhere!"

The prince gulped and began to back away. "Uh…"

"Really?" the princess scoffed. "What makes you think you have any claim to him, slut puppy? He went to the festival with me — and spent Christmas Eve with me, too! And for your goddamn information, we got pretty close!"

Though the siren was comely, and manipulative toward many of the young suitors in the land, it was in playful jest; she did consider them friends but couldn't seem to suppress her womanly wiles, so she flirted for sport. Alas, the princess wounded her deeply with such words; her lip wobbled at the princess's declarations, even though that may have been for show.

"Senpai, say that's not true! How could you, when I… I let you… you know!"

"Hey, it doesn't count when I'm just sitting there and you plop your butt down on my hand," the prince said reasonably. "And Ai-chan, we hugged a little; please don't tease her by making it sound like more."

The prince's pair of suitresses were chagrined. The princess seemed a little more genuinely hurt than her rival for his attentions but neither were particularly happy with being called out.

"Whew," the flop-haired jester exhaled, wiping his brow. "Don't know how you get away with it, juggling two chicks like that."

"That's not…" The prince sighed, shaking his head as he facepalmed. "Maybe I'm glad to be leaving."

But in truth, he was not. Nor was anyone else present. As they alternately squabbled and lamented the prince's parting, other classmates and citizens of Inaba began to approach to wish him bon voyage. He really had left an impression in the short year he had lived there. When the train whistle signalled that it was about to pull away, the bickering came to an end so they could truly see their friend off. A lot of tearful hugs and well wishes were offered before the prince was inside, looking out the window at them as it pulled away from the station. They ran after him all the way to the end of the platform until they ran out of space, then stood waving after him until the train was completely out of sight.

And thus the prince's tale gave way to another. One about a minstrel who had lost her way and found it again, and a princess who had not always known she was a princess at all.

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

                                                                CHAPTER ONE

"I just… he really left," Rise Kujikawa finally sobbed now that the click-clack sounds of the train had faded into the distance.

"Geez, turn it off already," Yosuke Hanamura sighed as he clasped his hands behind his neck, pressing his floppy hair hard against his neck. They turned away to start toward home or wherever the night might take them. "You don't have to keep up the act when he's not even here."

"Act?!" She shoved him from behind, and he stumbled a couple of steps as his arms windmilled out to the sides, attempting to regain his balance. "Not cool, Hanamura! I am grieving the death of my relationship!"

"What relationship?" Kanji Tatsumi grunted.

"Boys, you could be a little more sensitive," Yukiko Amagi told them in an even, reasonable tone. She was dabbing at her eyes like everyone else, and leaning a little more heavily than usual on her best friend, Chie Satonaka, but she seemed to be maintaining her composure better than Rise could manage. "We're all going to miss him so much."

"I'm just trying to get Rise to wake up," Yosuke persisted anyway. "She's delusional. We all know Nakamura was trying to scam on that chick at the hospital."

"What?"

"You know. The nurse. Though I think she moved away…"

Kanji cleared his throat. "Actually, I… thought that woman with the kid was his squeeze. Y'know, the one that came up to him a minute ago?"

Chie squeaked, "He was doing what with who?! That's… why? Why chase a married woman?!"

"Oh, I thought it was one of you girls."

The group of them turned to blink at the girl from the drama club. "Who are you again?" Yosuke asked — very rudely, even though they were all thinking it.

"Yumi Ozawa," she said softly with a slight bow. "He gave me a great deal of help when I was dealing with my own family problems, you know. And… well, I revealed I had feelings for him, and he shut me down. Just said he wanted to remain friends, and it's hard to argue with that, isn't it?"

While Chie and Yukiko were chattering to her about that, the boys suffering through a "girly" conversation they had no interest in, the slightly jealous Rise found herself momentarily distracted. Everyone kept moving along as she slowly came to a halt, turned her white sandals off to the side, and approached someone who looked like she could use her company. Even if she wasn't absolutely sure of that.

"You okay over here?"

"Oh… no, no, I'm fine. Mind your own goddamn business."

"Wooooow. I guess that's what I get for caring, huh?"

"Wait," Ebihara suddenly blurted, standing up from the bus stop bench and taking a couple of steps toward her. "All right, I may have been unnecessarily rude. I just have no idea why you would want to talk to me when I was your rival for Narukami's affections."

"Because you looked kind of pathetic over here, all by yourself."

"I did not! I'm not 'pathetic', I'm legitimately upset that my boyfriend left!"

"He wasn't your…" But at least she managed to cut herself off with a roll of her eyes, swallowing down the jab and instead moving to hold onto Ebihara's shoulder. Tears were already rolling down the teen queen's cheeks, and her voice was tight and strangled, as if she were fighting back tears — clearly a losing battle. "He could never stay here. We all kind of knew that, and just talked ourselves out of believing it. I'm so mad! But… I have to get over it."

Clearly shocked by her more reasonable response, the prissy girl took a moment longer to respond herself. By the time she did, she was looking down toward their shoes. "Completely ridiculous. Right? I should have known better, I… ugh, I'm so pissed at myself."

"Right?!" Rise still wanted to slap her for trying to steal the boy of her dreams, but it really felt irrelevant now. So instead she tried for her most convincing smile — which, considering her previous vocation, was extremely convincing — and said, "Hey, um, why don't you try getting to know us a little better? Might as well, since you'll have more time on your hands now."

"Sounds stupid." The words came out so fraught with emotion that they were nearly unintelligible, but Rise still understood. "But I have nothing better to do, so lead on."

However, the closer they drew to the remaining group of students, the more anxious the prima donna became. Rise didn't know why exactly — and she couldn't know until Ai cleared her throat to get their attention. She could tell Naoto had been deep in discussion with Yukiko and Chie, though not what about.

"Yes?" Yukiko prompted her in mild surprise.

"I… thought I should say… I am sorry." She swallowed hard, brows furrowed. The expression still made her look angry and snobby, despite her tone of voice being gentle now; she just had resting bitch face. "Probably too late. But I was really going through some things when I sidelined you two in Aiya, and being rude is second nature to me. Can't be the most stunning girl in school without it going to your head, can you?"

"You say that like I would ever know," Chie snorted.

"Right. And… normally I would be agreeing with you and belittling you, Bowl Cu- I mean, Satonaka. I have a lot of practice." Grimacing, she growled, "Got so used to being queen bitch that it's hard to just be nice."

After a brief silence, so awkward that it felt as if any sound would have been preferable, Yukiko laid a hand on Ai's arm, gentle and reassuring. "Please, Ai-san. We all have darkness inside of us; nobody is a perfect person. So I think it's very admirable you're seeing your flaws and that you're trying to improve. I am the same, and so are my friends."

"Oh yeah?" The girl let out a wet-sounding laugh; indeed, tears were budding at the corners of her eyes. "How the hell aren't you perfect, Miss Goody Two-Shoes? I mean… I've always been so jealous of how the boys talk about you. No 'buts'."

"No butts?!" Chie burst out. "What do you mean? She's got a GREAT butt!"

Ai chuckled a little more heartily at that. Naoto was the only one who tapped her chin while noticing Yukiko's slight blush from the compliment; the others weren't paying it any attention. "No, no, not her ass. Which — fine, sure, it's fantastic. I mean like, they describe both of us as really beautiful, or hot or whatever. Same words for both of us. But with me, it always had a 'but she's such a bitch', 'but she's stuck up', 'but she's psycho' attached. Yukiko… a couple of guys said you were snooty if you turned them down for a date, but the rest of them saw through that. You're a good woman and I'm just a good-looking woman. I did so much work to be beautiful so boys would like me, but I'm just… ugly on the inside."

Though clearly, Yukiko was about to speak up, Chie beat her to the punch. "So that's it, huh? You're pathetic."

"Excuse me?"

"C'mon, Ebihara. You're made of tougher stuff than that. Where's that girl who slammed her leg up on the table in Aiya and demanded we appreciate it?"

Though the teen queen had been firing up, being reminded of that moment in the diner made her squirm and fold her arms tightly over her chest. "That was stupid. Do you wanna know why I did that?" When Yukiko nodded, she pushed ahead, "Thing is, I was a... when I was little, I was nowhere near the adorable Ai you see before you now. Fat and hideous, got told I had pig hooves. So like, I'm sure it sounds really stupid to you guys, but having dainty little feet now is super amazing to me still."

"You were fat?!" Chie demanded, looking her up and down afresh. "No way! I call bullshit!"

"Yep, a total blimp. And I got hella teased because I didn't match up with their…" What a pregnant pause. "W-whatever. Yu already knows all this stuff, but pretty much I decided to reinvent myself when I found out we were moving to Inaba. Obviously it went to my head, but… at least I'm better now. Getting better all the time."

The rest of the Investigation Team was speechless. Rise, for her part, couldn't believe the superficial teen queen actually had some substance under that lip gloss. Certainly hadn't seemed that way when Ai basically bit her head off just for being at the shopping center with Narukami. Maybe he was the one responsible. After all, the stoic boy had touched all their lives, brought about an awakening of sorts to their inner beauty that they likely would never have found within themselves without him shedding that light. It just seemed to be one of his latent talents. Unsurprising that he had done the same for the entitled fashionista.

"There seems to be only one solution for this predicament," Naoto was stating firmly with a small nod, finger tapping her chin. "We must return to Aiya to remember our departed friend, and strengthen our bonds with each other."

"Oooh, a party!" Rise piped up with an excited little bounce, despite the light drizzle that was beginning to fall. "Yes please!"

"I guess that's a plan," Chie agreed as Rise, Kanji and Yosuke joined them. "What do you guys think? We catching the portal to the meat dimension?"

Grimacing, Yosuke demanded, "Do you have to call it that every time, Satonaka?! Geesh! Sounds super nasty."

"Bet you can't even handle it."

"Wha- OH YEAH?! BRING IT ON!"

                                                               ~ o ~

"PHWOOOO! I can't even look at it anymore!"

The ragtag group of assorted teenagers, who would seemingly have nothing in common from an outsider's perspective, were all sitting back and holding their stomachs by now. It was almost painful how much meat was straining to escape the linings of their stomachs. Actually, it was painful for some of them.

"Yyyyeah," Rise groaned in agreement with Yukiko's statement, arms like wet noodles at her sides. "My… I'm pregnant… food baby…"

"Even I'm feeling it a little," Chie was chuckling as Rise staggered to her feet. "And normally I can demolish one of these no sweat!"

"Must be… getting old," Yosuke said as their voices began to fade into the background. She could hear Satonaka clapping back at him, but once the bathroom door shut she could no longer identify words, just noise.

In fact… there was a new noise filling the ladies' restroom. Not a pleasant one. Brow furrowing as her lip curled in disgust, she glanced at the bottoms of the stalls and saw a pair of designer shoes with their soles facing up.

"Is… are you okay… in there?"

"HRRK!" What a weird noise — but not nearly as weird as the sound of pronounced retching that followed. God, how disgusting! Maybe she should just backpedal out of the bathroom… but before she could act, there was some spitting, a clearing of the throat, and a strained tone calling out, "Mind your own business! Do you have to be so fucking nosey?!"

Oh no. "Wait — Ebihara?"

"Yes! And this isn't something I want anybody to…" Another gagging noise. "Ugh… you probably have an Aqua Balance on you, don't you, Risette?"

Her eye twitched. "Just because I did the commercials doesn't mean I have a bag full of them on me at all times, you know!" But she still hated to hear a girl in need, so she forced herself to continue, "Need me to hold your hair back?"

"No, I… I got it. Practice."

"Practice? Just how often do you toss your cookies?!"

Dead. Silence. When it had gone on for a few seconds too long to be normal, Rise began to sense she had broached a topic that Ebihara did not want broached. Her brow creased harder, and eventually she said in a meek voice, "I'll… go get you some water."

"Thanks."

She was so preoccupied as she hit the bar to get some ice water for the prissy girl that she didn't even comprehend the words of her friends calling out to her — though she couldn't even see Chie and Yukiko at the table anymore. The rest were probably asking her what she was doing. And what was she doing? Why was she helping this complete bitch who would never do the same thing for her? There was no doubt in her mind that Ebihara would have completely ignored her if she found her voiding her stomach in a public restroom. Might even have laughed at her. But she still remembered how distraught she looked when they said goodbye to their mutual love interest.

Maybe hanging out with the Investigation Team had revived the conscience of a jaded teen idol who had taken a brief hiatus from the spotlight. No, it definitely had done that; what was in question was whether or not the same could be said of Ebihara's willingness to open up to her peers.

"Okay, here," she sighed as she opened the door — and almost ran straight into the girl's face. "WHOA!"

"Shit!" Ai yelped as she took a step back, then patted down her chest. "You made my soul leave my body — what the hell are you doing?!"

"Bringing you water! Do you need to add a little ginkgo to your diet, Obaachan?! It's been like one minute since I told you!"

"Fuck your water! I'm gone, I don't need this!" And she actually tried to push past her.

"Wha- hey! No, you don't just get to run off like this!"

"Don't you tell me what I can and can't do, you cow! Now get your goddamn cankles and your crow's feet out of my fucking way!"

Holy shit. That was a lot of random venom. Rise knew already that she didn't have either of those things, but she still felt the sting regardless.

"I… was trying to help you, but fine. Go away." And she stepped to the side with a flip of one of her mauve-tinted pigtails. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out, brat."

What a mistake it had been to be nice to Ebihara. They were too much alike. Sure, Rise knew how to be polite, and was always warm and affectionate with her friends, but they both had the Bitch Gene and it ran strong through their veins. Ebi just led with that instead of saving it for people who deserved it.

She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there, looking stubbornly into the corner, before she felt the glass of water being taken from her fingers. She started to grab after it — instinct telling her she had dropped it and needed to catch it — until she saw Ai swishing it around in her mouth, then turning to spit into the sink.

"Oh," she breathed.

"What?" Ai grunted before she tipped the glass up again and started gulping it down. The lacy choker above her turtleneck bobbed with every swallow.

"Nothing, I just thought- I mean, did you leave and come back?"

Breathing a loud sigh as she set the glass down, she turned to glare at Rise. "Nosey. You ask too many questions all the time."

"I do not! They're really normal questions; you're just a bitch."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and her jaw tightened. Rise was absolutely positive she was about to give her a tongue lashing. But then she just snorted and shook her head, looking away.

"Wow. I don't know what I expected from Risette, but it wasn't you."

"I know," she began, making this up as she went along. "You either thought I would be completely spoiled and stuck up like you, or I would be such a goody-goody that I never had anything mean to say about anyone. Those are the two flavours of idols, right?"

Ebi smirked and pressed an open palm to the center of her chest. "I spoil myself. And I told you what I went through as a child; don't I deserve it? Isn't this my time to shine?"

"Not if it means you piss off everyone around you while shining. That's just selfish, you know. Don't you care about anyone but yourself?"

"No. Why should I? They don't care about me." Her haughty tone turned bitter. "Nobody in Inaba. Not anymore."

Most of her ire fading, she said, "You gotta put yourself out there. This whole time we've been at Aiya, you barely said a word. I actually forgot you were here until I heard you puking your guts out."

"See my point? The boys who idolize me are the only ones that remember I exist. And even them… I know they don't care about me as a person. They just keep hoping a strong breeze will show them a little flash of my panties."

"No, that's not right. I'm trying to tell you that it's your fault."

"Excuse me?"

"How are we supposed to get to know you if you just hang in the background and never say anything? That doesn't-"

"Look, I don't need to take this," Ebi sighed with a roll of her hazel eyes. "At this point, I just want to go home and be alone. Is that allowed? Or are you going to block the door again?"

Rise's lips thinned in frustration. It wasn't worth it. She didn't want to keep banging her head against this brick wall anymore. So she didn't even say a word; just turned her back on Ebi before she said something particularly nasty.

"Thanks for the water," the other girl offered shortly as she strode out through the door. And that really was it.

"At least she thanked me," she muttered to herself as she finally took her place in one of the stalls to do her business. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but replay those conversations over and over in her head.

Because none of that blustering truly hid the fact that Ai Ebihara was in pain. And if nobody did anything about it, Rise was almost dead certain she was heading for disaster.

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

                                                 To Be Continued…

[cutietobio]

hi!! I really love your blog =3= could I ask for imagine or text post (whichever one you're cool with!) with Iwaizumi and Sugawara dating someone with a bad reputation (like people are intimidated by them for their delinquent rep?) and when she's being introduced to the team, they're expecting someone angry looking and tough. And she's angry looking until she sees Iwa/Suga and becomes really sweet and affectionate? I'm sorry if this is too specific lol

l-love? stop it, anon. you’re making me blush. I’m sorry this took so long, in all honestly, I did struggle in trying to make both scenarios varied and not repetitive. nevertheless, hope you enjoy it!❤︎ (oh, and also, don’t be sorry about being too specific!)  

IWAIZUMI

Iwaizumi was tired of his teammate’s constant gossip regarding his relationship with you. He would easily catch onto their words, despite them having cupped a hand beside their mouth in hopes of concealing them from him, most of the time they were about rumours revolving around you and your delinquent nature.

“Did you hear what she did to that one first year?” Someone whispered into the ear of another, eyes falling on Iwaizumi in the distance,

“What does Iwaizumi see in her? Do you think he’s being forced to date her?”

That drew the line for him. How dare they suggest your relationship was built on manipulation? He had to agree that you did have a questionable reputation, but nothing as bad as the rumours stated. Iwaizumi couldn’t care less, even if your reputation happened to be as the rumours implied, the scary girl people depicted you as always changed around him. It felt special, knowing he was the only one that you couldn’t dare grow angry towards, and he wanted the rest of his team to realize this so their foolish accusations would come to a stop.

“I’m inviting (Name) over after practice to introduce you all to her.” Iwaizumi said, appearing indifferent to the situation as he announced the news to his teammates, many began whispering to the person next to them upon hearing his words. Most likely discussing their suspicions when it came to how you were in real life, nobody had actually met you before.

“Okay, Iwa-chan, that’s fine.” The whispering stilled at the words of their captain, Oikawa. Well, seeing as he agreed, it didn’t look like they would be able to get out of it now.

“Tch, dumbass. I wasn’t asking for your permission.” Iwaizumi scowled before turning on his heel and walking in the other direction.

Oikawa appeared unbothered by his angered nature and turned to look at everybody else, “Make sure you’re all here to meet (Name), okay? I know how much Iwaizumi loves her and I’m sure she’s not too bad.”

Oh, but how Oikawa was proven wrong.

“Where’s Iwaizumi?” Everybody in the gym froze at the icy cold tone of your voice, which still managed to harbour dangerous flames of growing anger, an anger that they’d rather keep anywhere from lashing out at them.

Slowly, eyes fell upon your form, taking you in. You were (Name)? Upon first glance, they would never have thought someone with your looks would…

“Hey! Cat got your tongue? Stop staring at me like idiots.” The sound of your harsh tone broke them out of their shock.

“C-Club room…” Matsukawa managed to stutter out, pointing a thumb over his shoulder in motion towards the direction of the club room, his eyes remained unmoving on your form.

Everyone was stiff in anxiety, unsure of what you would say or even do next. Except for Kyotani, who stared at you with a challenging glare which you quickly returned. The members nervously glanced between the two of you, hoping nothing would escalate before Iwaizumi returned. The last thing they needed was him walking in on a fight involving his girlfriend. They would all most likely get the blame for it.

A laugh sounded throughout the gym as the doors behind the group opened up, emitting a loud bang against the walls. Oikawa came strolling in casually, a smug smile on his face as Iwaizumi trailed behind after him. Your eyes lit up at the sight of your boyfriend, visibly confusing everyone else and annoying Kyotani who hated having not finished your staring contest.

Oikawa, noticing your change in facial expressions, forgot all about Iwaizumi behind him and thought your smile was directed towards him. He undeniably enjoyed the attention of girls but knowing that he made a delinquent like you soft for him was a total ego boost.

“Oh, what’s this? Looks like I have a fa-“

“Iwa!” You ran past Oikawa, who froze upon realizing your loving gaze wasn’t meant for him. Iwaizumi greeted you with open arms, hugging you tightly against his chest as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“I missed you, how was practice?” You ask, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as you pulled away from the hug, completely ignoring the open-mouthed audience as they stared at you in shock. Were you the same girl from before?

Multiple looks were shared across the room, all reading the same thing: What the hell just happened? At one point, you were spitting out harsh words and ready to start a fight with Kyotani and the next, you were cuddling up to Iwaizumi and kissing his cheek. Many wondered if you were bi-polar.

“Everyone…” Iwaizumi’s voice broke them from their thoughts as they looked at him expectantly.

“This is my girlfriend, (Name). If I hear anyone of you speaking shit about our relationship again I’ll castrate you all.” His threat was taken seriously among everyone who paled at the thought of having Iwaizumi do such a thing to them. Really, why were they so surprised that Iwaizumi was with someone like you? The two of you made the perfect couple.

SUGA

His friends didn’t necessarily doubt his relationship with you, they were surprised to find out that he had a girlfriend in the first place and they couldn’t deny their shock when he announced it had been you, out of all people. None of them ever expected him to get involved in a relationship with someone who had a bad reputation.

Karasuno was fully convinced that you weren’t as bad as the said rumours spread around the school. Their own teammate, Asahi, came from the exact same situation as you. Just last week there had been another rumour surrounding him, claiming something absurd like how he was selling drugs on street corners. Asahi was an absolute saint! So they knew better than to believe any gossip before meeting you. Besides, would Suga really fall for someone considered angry and mean? They didn’t think so, expecting you to come waltzing in through the gym doors with a chorus of angelic music filtering in. That’s how they depicted you, pure. But what they got instead…

“Is that really (Name)?” Hinata whispered to Kageyama, yelping in fear as your eyes fell on him.

“I just said I am, didn’t I?” You narrowed your eyes upon him and Hinata paled, hiding behind Kageyama who stiffened at the gesture.

“Hinata, dumbass, don’t hide behind me.” Kageyama turned to push the male away from him, exposing him out in the open. You merely rolled your eyes at the scene, growing impatient, this was seen as you crossed your arms over your chest. Many members of the team took your gesture as a hostile one. Tsukishima laughed at you, failing to grow scared under the pressure you brought with you upon stepping foot into the gym.

Your eyes snapped towards the tall blond who smirked upon having caught your attention so easily,

“Something funny?” You barked, eyes narrowing upon his form. Even Tanaka muttered towards Tsukishima, telling him to back down if he treasured his volleyballs. Tanaka, having a bad reputation himself, knew a lot about you. The rumours may not have depicted you correctly but the things he knew you had done was enough to make him keep his distance.

Tsukishima ignored Tanaka, taking a step forward as to get away from his senpai who stared at his bold movements incredulously. Noya watched in amusement, frantically turning his head between the two of you as to not miss out on the action.

“Yes, actually,” Tsukishima said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

“Please, do tell.” Your voice came out as an angered growl, but before Tsukishima could antagonize your further, the sound of your boyfriend calling out for you caught everyone’s attention. Some sighed in relief, glad he was here to step in before violence could ensue. Others were upset that things didn’t escalate further, annoyed that the unfolding drama came to a rude halt.

“(Name), hello!” Suga greeted, smiling sweetly with a closed-eye smile, his arms wrapping around you in a hug. Daichi followed in after him, as he was the one who took the liberty to find the missing Suga to calm you down. He shared a few looks with the rest of the team, his eyes searching for any sort of answer as to what had happened when he was gone.

“I’m sorry I made you wait, I was getting something from the club room.” Suga apologized, ignoring the eyes glued to the both of you as you hugged.

“It’s okay, you’re here now.” You reassured him, confusing everyone with your sweet tone of words. Your demeanour had changed completely, from an angry Grinch to a sweet dove with gentle hands. It was… scary. The team quickly caught on that Suga had some sort of magical powers, he had to, it was the only logical explanation as to why his presence automatically softened you up. Did he even know how you acted when he wasn’t around? If not, they were seriously debating on telling him.

“I see you met the rest of the team,” Suga said, his eyes averting their gaze to the members of Karasuno that stood like statues, scrutinizing the both of you. Your mood soured for a split second upon the mention of them, turning to give them each a wary glare,

“Yeah…” you mumbled reluctantly, knowing fully well that no actual introductions had taken place. Suga continued making small talk with you and the boys continued on with practice. Although, at times their focus would be stolen by the sight or sound of you kissing Suga gently on the lips or giggling at something he had said. Even Daichi found himself sparing a few glances, he wasn’t as bad as Hinata or Noya, who ended up receiving serves with their faces due to their lack of attention.

As soon as you left, Suga approached the team, his eyes holding a loving daze.

“She can be a bit harsh towards people she doesn’t know but I assure you, she’s the sweetest girl I know.” He sighed out, shaking his head lightly, the signs of a lovesick fool.

“…..right.”

[master-thief-gray-shadow]

A Real Life Coffee Shop Romance

Chapter 2

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Summary: Hina seems to have noticed something going on regarding her sister, and talks to Tsugumi about it. Despite the somewhat tense experience, it does leave Tsugumi with some questions of her own.

Notes: I’m actually managing to continue this thing can you believe it

“Um...Hina-senpai?”

Even as she seemed to be focused on student council work, Hina’s eyes had been trained on Tsugumi since she’d gotten here. Both twins had very intense gazes, Tsugumi had noted, but the type of intensity was completely different between the two. Sayo’s eyes were darker, deeper, opaque windows through which one could possibly, maybe catch a glimpse of her soul, if you just looked hard enough. Hina’s, on the other hand, were always full of light, so much so that it seemed to shoot out of them like laser beams. Sometimes, when Sayo would come into the cafe, Tsugumi almost thought she could see what she was thinking behind her gaze. But the inner machinations of Hina’s mind were a mystery, hidden beneath a brilliant green shine.

“Hm? Something up, Tsugu-chan?” Hina said, leaning in closer. A grin spread across her face. “Are you thinking about something? Maybe about the cafe and stuff?”

“Uh...n-no!” Tsugumi leaned back, Hina’s eyes now threatening to bore right through her like a pair of sparkling drills. With anyone else that would have been weirdly specific and out of line, but this was Hina. As they were in her head her thoughts were downright impossible to read, but every word she spoke came straight from her brain, raw and unfiltered. One could only wonder what sort of thoughts she opted not to voice aloud. “I was...I was just wondering why you were looking at me like that.”

“Oh, no reason.” And then, as if nothing happened, she returned to her work. For about thirty seconds. “Onee-chan goes to the cafe a lot, right?”

“Um...yeah, she...she does, I guess.” Tsugumi glanced at the stack of papers in front of her awkwardly. “Why are you asking me about it, though? You could ask her, couldn’t you?”

“I try, but then she tells me I’m being nosy!” Hina clutched at the sides of her head and whined. “It’s like totally impossible to get her to tell me what’s going on there! Especially when she gets all like that!”

“Like...what?”

“You know, like,” Hina began gesturing wildly and incomprehensibly, “all blushy and stammery and stuff!” In the blink of an eye her demeanor shifted, going from chaotic flailing to her hands over her heart, a slight blush dusting her face as she looked away like she was lost in thought. It brought to mind the image of a flustered maiden. “S-sort of like this, see?”

“I...I think I see,” Tsugumi said. She really was starting to get a grasp on what Hina was telling her, if only a little.

“Yeah, so like, what’s going on with that?” Hina was back to her normal energetic self. “Is she seeing someone?” She leaned in extremely close now, grabbing onto Tsugumi’s shoulders and holding her unsettlingly tight. Tsugumi found herself staring straight into Hina’s eyes, and at this distance the light from them threatened to blind her.

“Does she have…” Hina’s toothy grin almost seemed to take up the entire lower half of her face. “...a girlfriend?”

“Um,” Sweat was starting to roll down Tsugumi’s forehead as she averted her eyes. “N-no, she doesn’t seem to have a girlfriend, a-at least not that I know of.”

“Oh.” Hina backed off and let go of Tsugumi, who slowly released her held breath. “Does she have a boyfriend then?” She rubbed at her chin thoughtfully. “But that would be weird, because I know for sure Onee-chan’s a lesbian…”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend either, I don’t think,” Tsugumi said with a small awkward laugh as she adjusted her blazer. “She always comes in alone, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I see,” Hina said, her eyes narrowing. “Well that’s really weird. If she’s not seeing anyone, why does she get like that when I ask her about the cafe?” A smirk started to grow on Hina’s face, and Tsugumi felt herself getting nervous again. “Maybe,” She said, tapping her chin twice with her index finger, “she’s there to see the cute barista?”

Tsugumi’s face exploded into scarlet as she nearly fell backwards in her chair, only managing to save herself at the expense of her pen and a few papers being knocked to the floor. “N-n-now wait a second! She’s not--”

“Aha, just kidding!” Hina stuck her tongue out and winked, and Tsugumi felt like an electric current had just been briefly run through her body. “Man, you shoulda seen your face, Tsugu-chan! It was really really funny!” Tsugumi just chuckled awkwardly in response, still a little too frazzled to actually say anything. “But yeah, I don’t know what’s up with her lately, so could you like, keep an eye on her for me?”

“I...I guess I could,” She answered, not necessarily meaning it. She was too caught up in what Hina had said earlier. The idea of Sayo going to the cafe every day just to see her...that seemed unlikely, as much as it made something inside her flutter. But that did beg the question: why did Sayo come in every day?

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

An empty yet open cafe. The first rays of sunset. The sound of the bell over the door. Sayo was right on time today.

“Sayo-san!” Tsugumi greeted, smiling warmly as she watched Sayo approach. Something jumped in her chest as she saw Sayo give a small smile back. “Welcome back! Oh, we have those cookies you like today. The matcha ones.”

The lights went up in Sayo’s eyes, in that way that Tsugumi relished every time she saw it. Like twinkling stars poking through the cloud cover on an overcast night. “Oh. Excellent. I’ll have some, thank you.”

“With your usual, right?” Tsugumi said as she retrieved a box containing a few cookies from under the counter that she may have saved for this exact reason. Sayo nodded, her eyes now focused on the box in front of her, before reaching into her bag for her wallet. “Ah, no, don’t bother.”

“What?” Sayo looked up in confusion. Her expression had changed from almost serene to mildly shocked. “But I must pay you for--”

“Don’t worry about it.” Beaming, Tsugumi pushed the box towards Sayo. “It’s on the house for today. Have a seat and I’ll get your coffee ready.” Sayo looked conflicted, her eyes going troublingly dark, before lights filled them up again as she pulled her hand out of her bag. A small but unmistakably genuine smile was spread across her face, and Tsugumi could practically feel the warmth radiating off of her.

“You’re too kind, Hazawa-san,” Sayo said as she accepted the box. “Thank you very much.” She bowed slightly before moving to a table over by the window, and Tsugumi allowed herself one last glance at Sayo, now framed almost ethereally by the gradually reddening rays of the setting sun, before moving to prepare a simple cup of black coffee.

As she measured the beans into the grinder, Tsugumi found herself recalling the conversation--if it could be called that--with Hina from earlier that day. Again, why did Sayo come here at this time every day? Could it be the matcha cookies? Hmm...no, she had only gotten into those after this had become a regular thing. The coffee, then? But Sayo’s order was rather plain, not that Tsugumi was judging her for it. Sayo was pretty clearly not an avid coffee drinker, and Tsugumi guessed that she likely didn’t register any difference between professionally made coffee and something she could make at home. That was probably why she drank dark roast americanos. Glancing up as she finished pouring the espresso shot over the hot water, she paused to watch Sayo, an open textbook lying on the table, scribbling something into a notebook and slowly nibbling a cookie.

Well, finding out would be as easy as asking, wouldn’t it?

Placing the steaming cup on a serving tray, she carefully carried it over. Sayo seemed mostly focused on whatever she was doing, but as Tsugumi drew closer she seemed to perk up, possibly at the smell of coffee getting closer.

“Here,” Tsugumi said as she placed the cup on the table. “It’s very hot, so be careful.”

Sayo looked up at her, bathed in a gentle orange light that served to amplify the warmth in her gaze. “Again, thank you.” She picked up the cup by the handle and blew away some of the steam, but did not take a sip.

Setting aside the serving tray, Tsugumi pulled out the seat across from Sayo. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

The small smile on Sayo’s face spoke volumes. “Of course not. Your company would be appreciated.”

Something about Sayo’s choice of words made Tsugumi feel giddy as she sat down. Folding her arms in front of her, she watched as Sayo once again picked up the cup of coffee, this time taking a small, cautious sip. A small, satisfied hum could be heard as she set it down again.

“Sayo-san?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve been wondering...why do you come here so often around this time? What is it that brings you here? I see you studying, but why do you do that here and not at home?”

Sayo closed her eyes as she bit into a cookie, taking her time to chew. “It’s simple,” She said once the bite had been swallowed. “This place is quieter and more peaceful than my house ever is.” She reached for the cup again. “And…” It may have been a trick of the lighting, but Tsugumi swore she almost saw Sayo blushing. “I like the way you make coffee, Tsugumi-san.” A second passed before Sayo seemed to realize what she had just said. “Ah, may I call you that?”

“Of course,” Tsugumi said, trying her hardest not to stutter or blush at the sound of her name on Sayo’s beautiful lips, and somehow succeeding. “We’re friends after all, and you’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you.” A warm glow seemed to surround them, but whether it was from the setting sun or the peace and contentment radiating off of Sayo, Tsugumi couldn’t really tell. She simply watched as Sayo took another sip, this one longer and deeper. Taking time to savor it. Tsugumi only found herself releasing her breath once Sayo set the cup down.

“The coffee is wonderful today,” Sayo’s eyes met hers, and the glow in them travelled downward and settled as a warm feeling in her chest. “Tsugumi-san.”

[sadwsocc]

Iwaizumi x reader

soulmate au where their first words to each other are tattooed (?) on their wrist/ forearm (depending on the length of the sentence)

word count: 1,630

genre: f l u f f ? 

a/n: this was actually my first ever haikyuu fanfic much to think about. i know theres a canon kaori in hq but i couldnt think of any other names for y/ns friend

"wOrm?", thats the word imprinted on Iwaizumi's wrist in small dainty lettering, a rather simple word, quite hard to understand it. Iwaizumi always got questions about his soulmate tattoo and every single time, all he did was shrug and simply say "i don't know either".

It was something the ace of Seijoh paid little to no mind to, he knew that he would meet his soulmate someday anyways so there was no need for him to rush. His friend, Oikawa was somewhat of an opposite of him, rather he, Oikawa, was rather pumped up about the topic of soulmates as he too haven't met his one and only yet. He just knew he would instantly fall in love with her (or him wink wonk) when he gets to meet them.

"h-HEy, i think it's kinda sweet!" Oikawa retorted, slightly flustered. this was their usual conversation, Iwaizumi would ask Oikawa these questions while Oikawa gets flustered.

"at least mine isn't a one worded sentence!" he continued. it was true that one worded sentences as the first things your soulmate would say to you were rare but it wasn't impossible.

"yeah, fine", Iwaizumi sighed in defeat, not wanting to prolong the conversation any longer. but to his demise, Oikawa continued.

"do you think my soulmate could be a really cute girl? that's like cheery?" he rhetorically asked his spiky haired friend.

"probably one of your fan girls that you've never spoken to, probably loud too. judging by your type." Iwaizumi answered.

"oH, come one! Iwa-chan~ be more serious!" Oikawa pouted, which made his friend roll his eyes in annoyance. "i wonder when we'll meet!" he continued in his ever so cheery tone. "oh, i wonder who you're soulmate would be, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa smirked, continuing, "i bet it's that girl below our year, (h/c)(h/l) hair, (e/c) eyes... (y/n)-chan was it? i've been seeing you looking at her whenever you get the chance to!"

this resulted in a blushing Iwaizumi throwing Oikawa out of the club room.

the other members who were just outside were stunned when they saw Oikawa flying out on their way in.

———

you were looking down on your forearm while waiting for Akiyama Kaori, your friend since they were twelve. the words "did you purposely set those two up?" tethered your forearm in big bold lettering. you, a second year at Seijoh always found it confusing whenever the words ran through your mind.

most students in your school had already found their soulmate which didn't really bum you out but it did bum out Kaori, she for one was one of those lovesick and delusional teens who would go out of their way to read, write and imagine herself with a fictional character or her crush. you too would read and occasionally self indulge in these things but you were no match for Kaori. other than fictional characters, she also had quite a huge crush on your school's star volleyball setter. her love for him grew even more when he once mentioned to a group of fan girls that he still hadn't found his soulmate where you overheard and told her about it.

you looked at her expectedly and zipped open your bag, handing her a textbook. "okay, so i was in the teachers office and while i was on my way out, Ms Nakamura handed me this, Oikawa's textbook. she told me that he handed up his tExtbook instead of his notebook during literature. and i kinda thought you might wanna do the honours of giving it to him so uh here you go."

Kaori looked at you with stars glistening her eyes. she was starstruck. "oH, (y/n)! are you seriously going to make me talk to Oikawa? tHE OIKAWA?" she said as she held the textbook with her dear life, flipping through the pages, looking at little alien doodles he probably drew.

you sighed, "come one he's probably in the gym".

on your way there you thought about Oikawa, or more specifically his rather fierce looking spiky haired friend. you wondered if he had a soulmate or not— not that you were interested in him or whatever. okay maybe you kinda sorta thought he was kinda cute and you may or may not kinda sorta used this opportunity to see him again while asking Kaori to accompany to, it was like killing two birds with one stone.

———

the two of you awkwardly entered the gym as the volleyball club members were almost done with their practice. the two of you knew the other second year players well, you would even go as far as to consider them as friends, you hung out with them quite a lot alongside Kaori but other than the ones in your year, the others were complete stranger to the both of you.

after the match ended, the two of you were noticed by your fellow second years and they walked towards the both of you.

"(y/n)-san! Kaori-san! hi, what are you doing here?" Watari greeted and asked.

"oh uh- Watari-san, hey. Kaori has something to do so i accompanied her here" you smiled awkwardly at him and also earning a small but hard nudge from your friend for pushing the blame on her.

meanwhile, Oikawa nudged his friend and pointed towards you discreetly to Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi felt his heart suddenly beating fast unsure if it was because he saw you or because of the sudden shock from the nudge. he hoped it was the latter.

"Oi!" he growled at Oikawa, scanning around and saw another girl, who was shorter than the (h/c) haired girl Oikawa was pointing at. an idea popped into his mind. "hey, Oikawa, look at the girl over there" it was now Oikawas turn to blush, but only faintly.

Oikawa gasped and whispered to his friend "Iwa-chan, she's adorable! do you think she's my soulmate, do you, do you?" he was ignored by his spiky haired friend.

"iWA-CHANNN" he whined rather loudly. causing the two of you to snap your attention to where the loud whine was produced.

the two boys were rather embarrassed by the sudden attention they were receiving and just kinda diverted their eyes to the ceiling while whistling and shoving their hand in their pants nonchalantly.

you grabbed Kaori's hand and dragged her to where Iwaizumi and Oikawa were and forcibly tried to prop her up as her knees were starting to get weak from the sheer fear from being in front of her oh-so-amazing crush. Kaori finally came to her senses and stretched out her hands that were holding a textbook in front of her crush.

"O-oikawa-senpai, you forgot your textbook!" she blurted out and started blushing madly, you snickered beside her as realisation dawned on Oikawa as he replied, "thank you!... you must be my soulmate!"

there was a sudden pause and everyone in the gym was silent. Kaori pushed up her shirt's sleeve and revealed the words that Oikawa had just said aloud, where as Oikawa was looking at her arm and back to his. Kaori gave a big smile and started giggling while Oikawa hugged her in his sweat filled form but you didn't think Kaori would mind as her soulmate was her biggest crush.

you leaned on one of the gyms walls as you silently cheered for the two newly love birds with your arms crossed. you would be walking home with Kaori after this whole ordeal so you had to wait. sighing intently a small smile etched onto your lips yet you couldn't feel a bit sad that everyone you knew had a soulmate.

"did you purposely set those two up?" a sudden low voice spoke out. you look beside you and realised that Iwaizumi had propped himself next to you, arms crossed.

"wOrm?" your masterful plan had worked, kinda. you didn't expect Oikawa was Kaori's soulmate, at the very least, you just wanted to make fun of your friend after she spoke to her crush for the first time but things had ended up better than anyone had expected.

Upon hearing your word, Iwaizumi and Oikawa snapped at you, bewildered. you looked at the both of them in confusion until Iwaizumi showed you his wrist, making you unconsciously roll up your sleeve and look at your own.

'did you purposely set those two up?'

'wOrm?'

you two had a stare off until the both of your friends spoke up in unison, "IWA-CHAN / (Y/N), YOU FOUND YOUR SOULMATE!!"

you two gave each other a soft smile as the two of your heart beats fastened and your cheeks redden. sure as hell you found your soulmate and you finally understood why Kaori had hugged hers as you jumped towards Iwaizumi, wrapping your arms around him as he did the same to you.

"holy shit, i cant believe you're my soulmate" you whispered.

"yeah" was all he replied with.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Yuumi the Magical Cat build (and a test of Tumblr formatting)

So I have no idea how this website works but I mostly made this account to post DnD 5e character builds based on characters I like. Ever since the latest UA came out I’ve been ecstatic over the fact that we finally got another Support-based Warlock that isn’t Celestial. The fact that it’s a genie Warlock is awesome and there’s tons of roleplay that can be done with a pocket wish-granting elemental walking around with you... good thing we’re ignoring all that for the sake of B O O K!

Yuumi! To be honest I haven’t played League of Legends in ages but Yuumi was a character who drew my attention immediately because she’s an UwU Kitty-Cat... who had like a 36% win rate on release. She’s better now though! ...Probably. Regardless Yuumi was my immediate thought when I saw the tether mechanic from the latest Warlock UA. Constructing a build for The Magical 7th Item Slot Cat was something on my mind for the longest time, probably because the only other character I could replicate is... what? Io from DOTA?

I got the OK from Tulok the Barbrarian-senpai to make some DnD builds which is why I’m using his format. All these builds will keep away from Homebrew and can all be made on D&D Beyond... as long as your DM allows Unearthed Arcana which this build heavily relies on.

GOALS

Shield, heal, cuddle! - Yuumi is a support, through-and-through. Probably one of the most support-focused supports in the game. While this build will still have good damage output the main focus is on keeping your teammates alive and well.

Book, do something! - Yuumi is a dynamic duo between the cat and the book. Hopefully your DM is okay with you not really having a “patron” and instead having a sentient book fly around instead. I mean, it’s basically just a Hexblade right?

Lost Chapter - Yuumi honestly has a pretty basic kit. Replicating 4 spells is easy as cake in 5e so a lot of this build will be focused on replicating Yuumi’s typical item build as well.

RACE

Well as you can tell Yuumi is clearly a Bugbe-Ah who am I kidding she’s a Tabaxi. You’re welcome to pick whatever race you want but Tabaxi is honestly a good pick for this build. You get an increase to both DEX and CHA, some useful skills (be sure to ward bush!), and probably the most important skill: Feline Agility. Much like Yuumi you don’t want to be caught off-guard so a quick self-use of Zoomies can help you get away from the enemy and back to your team. For your language of choice... is Yordle an option? Halfling is probably the closest you’ll get to Yordles in 5e so just opt for that instead.

ABILITY SCORES

Much like Tulok I’ll be using Standard Array for ease-of-use. Roll for stats if you want but this is a general guideline for where to put your highs and lows.

15; CHARISMA - You’re cute, cuddly, and oh-so snuggly. Yuumi in-lore is an innate spellcaster and that translates into Charisma; helps that this also impacts Persuasion for head scritches.

14; DEXTERITY - Yuumi isn’t the fastest champion in-game (it’s on Book to do the “walking”) but she’s still a cat, and cats are fast. Dexterity affects AC as well as several other useful things.

13; INTELLIGENCE - Your best friend is literally a floating book it’s bound to know something.

12; WISDOM - You’re a smart kitty and you know a thing or two about Yordles... doesn’t stop you from dissing everyone else though.

10; CONSTITUTION - It’s technically in-character to dump Constitution but I don’t recommend it. Intelligence and Wisdom are higher on this list but you don’t really need them - feel free to get some Ruby Crystals.

8; STRENGTH - Here’s something that’s in-character to dump and I do recommend dumping. Strength is almost completely redundant in this build so don’t be afraid to ditch it.

This would be the point array I’d use if I was RPing Yuumi but if I wanted a more functional character I’d go CHA / DEX / CON / (INT / WIS) / STR for my stat spread. But much like in League you’re more than welcome to buy some health boosting items (notably an Amulet of Health) to compensate for bad stats.

BACKGROUND

Yuumi spent most of her time in Nora her master’s hut which would technically make her a Cloistered Scholar? But Sage works better if you’re teaming up with Book. You gain Arcana and History proficiencies which are honestly the two I’d pick for a magic cat that has a sentient Book as a best friend. You also get the Researcher feature which lets you know where to find any information: Book knows everything and can bring you anywhere - ask them to tell you where to go! You also get two languages and... uhhh who synergizes well with Yuumi? ...Yasuo? Is there a monkey language in 5e? Jokes aside just pick whatever language you think will be useful.

(Art by EmeraldParrot on DeviantArt)

THE BUILD

This may come as a surprise but despite the fact that this build was made almost entirely for the sake of using the new UA Warlock patron we’re actually not starting with Warlock! While half of Yuumi’s power comes from Book (who I’d consider the “patron” in this relationship) the other half of her power is innate. Now I could make her a Sorcerer to reflect the magic within her or I could perhaps make her a Wizard to get more value out of Book but I had to ask myself a question: which class in D&D would be the best for a character who regularly insults and sasses other characters and thinks too highly of themselves?

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

Yes this build is a Bardlock build, and the only reason we’re going Bard first is for the extra music instruments as well as the choice of any skill we want.

Your choice of instrument doesn’t matter much (it’s mildly important for Instruments of the Bard or if you have an Artificer, but other than that don’t worry) but I’m contractually obligated to take a Lyre every time I make a Bard. Other than that you synergize with Yasuo so steal his Flute, and I’ve always been a fan of Pentakill so I’ll take the closest to a guitar. (Lute)

For skills take Acrobatics, Persuasion, and Survival. You’re a cat which means you need to be quick on your feet and are adorable as hecc, and you need some survival instinct when you’re constantly hopping between dimensions. (Truthfully though as a Bard you should be picking skills that your party lacks, though I’d argue that Acrobatics and Persuasion should always be taken to remain “in character.”)

For cantrips take Message to coordinate with your party in team chat and Vicious Mockery; Yuumi is a cat of sass so feel free to diss your local god by calling him a dog. Or alternatively this could be you flaming the enemy team in /all - I won’t judge.

Cure Wounds and Healing Word are absolute musts for any support - in particular Cure Wounds is good for you since you can cast it from wherever your You and Me (tether) target is located. This means that whoever you’re tethered to can get the full value of Cure Wounds instead of you being forced to pop Healing Word instead. Other than that Longstrider lets you replicate Zoomies’ movement speed boost, and you can never go wrong with Featherfall. (The only spells that are really “mandatory” here is Cure Wounds. Maybe Longstrider too. Healing Word is always useful but both it and Featherfall are just suggestions.)

LEVEL 2 - WARLOCK 1

And from Bard we immediately jump to the meat of this build: The Noble Genie Warlock! You get your Collector’s Vessel which hopefully your DM will let be a book with cat-sized portals inside of it?

You also get some cantrips and guess what? Eldrich Blast! Yeah it’s a Warlock build you’re going to take Eldrich Blast. Other than that take Minor Illusion to pull something scary out of Book at the right time.

For main spells Hex is great to deal extra damage and also lets you debuff some of the target’s ability checks. Sleep is more of a Zoe thing but it’s still an insane pact-specific spell so there’s no reason not to take it.

LEVEL 3 - WARLOCK 2

We’re going to keep going in Warlock firstly for Eldrich Invocations. The main one you want here is Lance of Lethargy so you can replicate Prowling Projectile’s movement speed slow and help set up some kills for your team. The other invocation slot will be left open for now as we wait for level 4, as will our spell choice.

LEVEL 4 - WARLOCK 3

Hello Book! Of course we’re taking Pact of the Tome for the Book of Thresholds Shadows, or just Book for short. Again be sure to ask your DM if the book can be sentient for RP purposes. Or alternatively have it not act be sentient and make your party think your crazy when you talk to it! As for cantrips take Guidance to buff your ADC with some Adaptive Force (note: Guidance will not increase damage), Mending to fix any tears Book may receive (don’t want any more lost chapters!), and even though you’re not really a melee fighter being able to magically scratch nearby champions enemies with Shocking Grasp will give you a fighting chance if you get stuck in the middle of combat.

Note: While it would be more in flavor to use Primal Savagery the reason I opted for Shocking Grasp is because you can cast it through your ally to cause an enemy to be unable to take Reactions. It’s more in flavor to scratch at your enemies but Shocking Grasp is far more useful for this build. Truthfully you can take any cantrip you want though these are just recommendations; I know having 3 damaging cantrips is a little excessive but I like having an attack roll cantrip, saving throw cantrip, and backup melee cantrip.

Now for the Invocation we skipped. I think most 5e veterans have identified what we’re looking for: Book of Ancient Secrets. Book is a resourceful... book and the value of Ritual spells can’t go unmentioned. Take Comprehend Languages and Identify: flip through Book’s pages until you can find the info that you want! And don’t be afraid about picking bad rituals because you can just inscribe more rituals later on!

Now for Spells! Once we get to 2nd level spells we get a lot more stuff to choose from but let’s just choose the main spells we need:

Misty Step - You’re a noob if you’re not packing Flash. Also since this is a multiclass build the problem of Misty Step taking Pact Magic slots can be negated, as you can use your Bard slots to cast Misty Step.

Hold Person - Hit a snare with Final Chapter so your friends can clean up!

Truthfully though all your 2nd level spells open up a huge array of possibilities and I’d recommend picking up any one of them. The Noble Genie gets Enlarge / Reduce which is one of my favorite spells thematically: feel free to pop an Elixir of Iron on your tank!

LEVEL 5 - BARD 2

Feel free to take Warlock 4 for the ASI but I’d like to get the Bard features up-and-running. At level 2 you get Jack of All Trades which means that Book can always help you out of a jam. You also get Song of Rest which further solidifies your role as a support.

For your spell of choice Charm Person lets you use that cute kitty face of yours to get a bunch of fan art on DeviantArt.

LEVEL 6 - BARD 3

Let’s start by picking out our Expertise because that’s the easy bit: Arcana and History - straight from your background. You’re a magic cat with a sentient book you should know these skills well.

Now for your Bard College. There are several good choices: Lore gives you more Magical Secrets to let you “itemize” better, College of Valor lets you buff your allies’ attacks with some Adaptive Force, but at the end of the day the question is this: what subclass lets you shield while also increasing your allies’ movement?

College of Glamour yes really! The main reason for this is Mantle of Inspiration which was the most Yuumi-esque ability of the bunch. You can expect a Bardic Inspiration die to give all your allies temporary HP as well as allow them to move as a reaction without provoking opportunity attacks. You also get Enthralling Performance which is certainly a nice bonus: distract a crowd with your feline charm while the rest of your team does their work.

You also get another spell and... I’ll be honest throwing all the spells on this guide is making this post far longer than it needs to be. I can give some general advice but I’m only here for the class features - not the spells. Pick spells that will help your team, the same way you’d itemize to help your team in League.

LEVEL 7 - BARD 4

Mostly taking Level 4 Bard now for the ASI. Bump Charisma for better spellcasting.

You also get another cantrip: get Dancing Lights to summon some moon moths to chase!

Note: One more level in Bard will get you Font of Inspiration, which allows your Bardic Inspiration to come back on a Short rest. It will also buff Mantle of Inspiration. If you think you’ll need to use Mantle of Inspiration more feel free to take another level in Bard earlier than suggested in this build.

LEVEL 8 - WARLOCK 4

And another ASI! Bump Charisma again for a maxed out spellcasting modifier!

LEVEL 9 - WARLOCK 5

At this level you get another Invocation as well as 3rd level spells. There are quite a few good invocations to pick from but as a squishy support you’re going to want Zhonya's - or in this case Tomb of Levistus. While not quite Zhonya's this invocation will give you a phat health buff in exchange for making you completely stationary until the end of your next turn. Pop it if the enemy Assassin ults you and pray that your team saves you.

Now that you got 3rd level spells there are some obvious choices. Counterspell? Fly? Maybe Dispell Magic or Gaseous Form? Honestly if your DM is allowing UA spells Psionic Blast from the psychic UA works great with the Genie patron. Those are my picks for some good level 3 spells - unfortunately the spells from the Genie Patron aren’t that good besides maybe Create Food and Water, which is only really useful for specific adventures.

Oh and you get another cantrip! I’d recommend Prestidigitation to pull more things out of Book.

LEVEL 10 - WARLOCK 6

This is the point that this build really starts to shine through. Is it bad that this build needs to get to level 10 before it really starts working? ...Eh...?

Anyways you get Elemental Resistance at this level which lets you give your You and Me (tether) target resistance to one of four elements. You can only choose one resistance per long rest so try to pick the damage type you think you’ll run into a lot. Pro tip: Fire damage is really common. Ignite is a powerful Summoner Spell.

LEVEL 11 - WARLOCK 7

At this level you get access to Level 7 invocations which are all... ehhhh? There are some cool ones here but none of them are really great for Yuumi so instead we’re going to go back a bit and pick up Exhaustion. ...The Summoner Spell, not the D&D debuff. Mire the Mind lets you cast Slow once per long rest: slow is a really powerful spell that you can pop on the ADC so your team can wail on them. Just make sure you don’t lose concentration.

You also get access to 4th level spells and while this is technically a spell Lulu has: Polymorph! Turn your allies into T-Rexes, turn your enemies into Fish (don’t try to eat the fish or they’ll turn back), and most importantly you can now become an actual cat! Truthfully though there are several great 4th level spells too and I recommend you look at all of them.

LEVEL 12 - WARLOCK 8

Ability Score Improvement but you should have max spellcasting by now which is the only thing that matters so... how about some Feats? I’m not going to choose any one particular Feat and instead focus on some of the better ones for you to take.

Alert - Along with Jack of All Trades this will almost always guarantee that you’re the first to go in initiative, meaning that you can tether to someone and start applying buffs.

Inspiring Leader - Lets you use Bop and Block early and give all your allies a nice health buffer to start the day.

Observant - With your Charisma and your proficiency buffing your Perception score this should guarantee that you don’t miss anything with those feline eyes of yours. Be sure to ping incoming ganks!

Resilient (CON) - You don’t really need the other effects of War Caster in this build and Resilient is just more useful overall.

Spell Sniper - Read this spell over and ask “does this sound useful?” If yes then take it, because you’re in a game with a DM who actually likes using cover mechanics.

Tough - Yuumi isn’t tough; that doesn’t mean you can’t be.

Lucky - When in doubt break out the OP bullshit perk.

You also get another spell: Dimension Door lets you recall back to base or somewhere similar.

LEVEL 13 - WARLOCK 9

At Warlock 9 you get access to another invocation, including your 9th level invocations and... oh oh there it is boys! Ascendant Step! Now you can be a proper hovering kitty cat! (Note if you took Fly at earlier levels it might be a good idea to drop it. Or not: you can still buff your allies!)

You also gain access to 5th level spells and here’s where it gets fun: Bigby’s Hand! Honestly this is just a fun spell but you can also justify most of the effects as being part of Yuumi (and Book)’s magic.

Clenched Fist - A full damage Prowling Projectile against a target.

Forceful Hand - More of a Janna thing but still very useful.

Grasping Hand - Hit your snare with Final Chapter. "I am TOTALLY doing this!"

Interposing Hand - Again more of a Taliyah thing (or perhaps Jarvan) but still very useful!

This would be my immediate pick but other than that for 5th level?

Creation is your other patron-specific spell and it is awesome. A little situational maybe but that’s the nature of Book! Pull out something useful: unfortunately it can’t be fish but still!

Hold Monster is like Hold Person but better. It’s a big spell slot though so be wary.

Synaptic Static is like a combination of Leona and Alistar, which is to say it’s a big nuke from the sky that makes all your enemies do less damage.

Contact Other Plane is not my first pick for a number of reasons but if you don’t know what to pick being able to ask Book for directions can be helpful. And it comes back on a short rest too! :) Just make sure Book doesn’t break your mind. (Maybe invest in the Resilient feat for Intelligence if you plan to use this spell.)

(Artwork by sakkiye on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 14 - WARLOCK 10

And now we’ve reached the capstone of our Warlock levels and we get two very powerful abilities. Firstly there’s Protective Wish which lets you use your reaction to swap places between you and your tethered target if either of you get hit. Tank hits for your allies... or alternatively don’t do that and have them shield you from baddies trying to spray you! Just make sure that you aren’t teleporting into a more dangerous location and as a word of advice: don’t throw your allies into danger without their consent.

The other ability you get is Genie’s Entertainment which is far more useful. As an action you can make Book pull a target within 90 feet to a harmless dimension where they’ll be stuck for up to a minute. They can make a Charisma saving throw every turn until they either succeed or a minute passes before they’re ejected where they just were or in the closest available space. This is effectively a one-time use of the Banishment spell (which you can take as a Warlock) but it doesn’t require Concentration which means you can put your focus on other useful buffs for your team.

You also get another cantrip so invest in Mage Hand so Book can pick up things you can’t reach with those paws of yours.

LEVEL 15 - BARD 5

And now we’re bouncing back to Bard and finally getting Font of Inspiration. Honestly if you need more use out of Mantle of Inspiration then feel free to get this level earlier, but you already have plenty of short rest value with your Warlock spell slots.

And speaking of spells: 3rd level Bard spells, anyone? I’d argue that Sending would be quite in-flavor, and Hypnotic Pattern would make for a strong utility, even if you don’t have an AoE stun. Honestly I’m going to skip the spell talk and only cover the last few levels of Bard for completion’s sake.

LEVEL 16 - BARD 6

You now get Countercharm which is poo poo garbage and will make you want to die. But to be fair popping cleanse would help your ADC. (But why are you bringing Cleanse and not Exhaust?)

You also get Mantle of Majesty which will let you play the backseat gamer role you’ve always dreamed of being. As a bonus action you can start to command (the spell) anyone you please to do as you say. Approach, Drop, Flee, Halt... awn there’s not Pet command!

LEVEL 17 - BARD 7

At 7th level you get... nothing! :D Okay you get 4th level spells to be fair but I’m far too lazy to talk about spells anymore.

LEVEL 18 - BARD 8

ASI. Check my suggestions for Feats to take from Warlock 8.

LEVEL 19 - BARD 9

Your Song of Rest increases to a d8 now which honestly probably doesn’t help you much at this point. You do get 5th level spells now though, which you can cast through your Warlock slots.

LEVEL 20 - BARD 10

And for our capstone we finally get Magical Secrets! There’s one specific spell we want: Haste. It’s super zoomies! Other than that you can buy Redemption with Aura of Vitality (which kinda works more like Fiora’s ult but w/e) or maybe an Ardent Censor of sorts with Spirit Guardians? You can grab Mikael's Crucible with Warding Bond, or perhaps contract some help from Zillian and grab Death Ward! There are literally dozens of spells to choose from and I recommend searching online if you don’t know what to take.

Your Bardic Inspiration also increases which means more Mantle of Inspiration health, and you get 2 more skills to give Expertise! Honestly at level 20 it’s a little too late to really choose between Expertise but know that any skill you have Expertise in will have a +12 modifier! You’re essentially guaranteed to succeed at any check with a skill you have Expertise on at this level unless your DM is Twisted Fate and is using Loaded Dice on you.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Cover to Cover - You’ve got a comedic amount of utility between ten cantrips and the ability to cast any ritual spell you can get your paws on. Along with Jack of All Trades and Expertise covering any skills you may need you’ll never be without a cat trick.

You and me, we got this! - Between Bardic Inspiration, Song of Rest, Elemental Resistance, Protective Wish, and a decent array of buff spells (tbh I kinda wish I took more :P) you can be an incredibly useful asset to your teammates.

You look like unscratched furniture! - One place this build particularly excels is in the crowd control department. Between Enthralling Performance, Mantle of Majesty, Genie’s Entertainment, and a huge array of debuffs you’ll never be lacking in a way to keep your allies safe and the enemies away from you.

CONS

Oh! Sunbeam ahead! - While I tried my best to avoid taking too many Concentration spells I have to admit that a lot of the nicer stuff will demand your attention: Hold Person, Haste, Polymorph, Bigby’s Hand, and Mire the Mind (Slow) all require concentration, so you can only have one up at a time. While you still have options the concentration requirement is heavy.

We’ve got 6 left... or was it 5? - If you’re roleplaying the build properly you’ll have absolutely horrendous health. No additional Constitution modifier combined with a d8 hit die means that you’ll have about a hundred health at level 20, and a Power Word Kill is all it’ll take to end you. Additionally your ability modifiers (with the exception of Charisma) are rather low which means low saving throws and a low AC with only Light armor. Know that you can sometimes sacrifice roleplay for the sake of a more viable build - having good skill checks is great and all but it doesn’t matter if you’re dead.

Full AP? - This build is pure support and I skipped on a lot of the strong damage options that you could’ve taken. In particular this is a max Charisma Eldritch Blast Warlock which doesn’t take Agonizing Blast, a concept most would consider an act of treason. A lot of the invocations I picked more for flavor than actual utility and you’re more than welcome to change Mire the Mind or Tomb of Levistus for something more useful.

But you’re not here to steal all the fame: tag along, help your team, and they’ll help you find your master! Just don’t ask the Triton what they taste like or else they’ll give you the spray bottle.

(Artwork by Chelserella on DeviantArt.)

ALTERNATE BUILD OPTIONS

More Warlock Levels?

The only thing we really get out of level 10 Bard is Magical Secrets, but if you’re not interested in getting Haste all you really need for this build is 3 levels in Bard for Mantle of Inspiration (though 5 levels is ideal for Font of Inspiration.)

You can take more levels in Warlock to get Mystic Arcanum, more Warlock slots, and more Eldritch Invocations. You also get Collector’s Call which is a very strong ability that’s sadly held back by its casting requirement. If you’re planning on going heavier on Warlock instead of splitting this build 50 / 50 than get expertise in Persuasion! You’re absolutely going to need it to cast Collector’s Call reliably.

The other important thing to note is that Warlock honestly doesn’t have that many supportive spells in its kit, especially when you’re not playing Divine Soul. Dropping Bard levels means you’ll lose spells like Mass Cure Wounds. You’ll also have far fewer spell slots to cast your lower level Warlock spells, which does mean more 5th level spells but it also means less fun with spells like Misty Step, Dimension Door, and Polymorph.

[franklyshipping]

Our Masterpiece ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

This is another WONDERFUL anonymous prompt which I am just so hecking excited to write because it's gonna be cute! LEEEET'S DO THIS!

TAGGING: @silvlee-shepherd @yandere-ipli-ler and @thehostofleetrature

Silver Shepherd was comfortable....and yet nervous. It is a rare state, but it can be a wonderful one depending on the circumstances and situation. In this case, it was an absolutely wonderful state, and one which Silver was more than happy to be in. The sweet superhero had his wrists in padded cuffs above his head which were attached to the headboard of a comfy, lavish double bed. He was shirtless, barefoot, and wearing a flustered smile....because he had the two people he loved and trusted the most in all the world....smirking down at him.

'Oh Hosty....doesn't our Senpai look so pretty all exposed for us?'

Silver blushed when he heard the sensual purr from Yandere, who was on their knees on the bed to Silver's right. Their crimson eyes flicked over him hungrily, and their blood red lips were stretched into the most gleeful grin. The exposed hero blushed even more when a chuckle came from his left.

'I'd certainly say so....'

The Host smirked amidst his own purred words, and was also on his knees so, like Yandere, he could have that wonderfully intimidating stance in place as he continued.

'.....however, I find that my mind's eye is not working so well with him being so still and so silent. Would you be a dear and help me rectify that hindrance?'

Silver let out a soft whine, looking between the two loves of his life as Yan let out a soft gasp. This was it....this was the start. Yandere crooned lovingly to the Host.

'Oh of course my darling, we cannot deprive you of this pretty scene!'

The Host smiled when Yan leant in to kiss him, and he smiled even wider when Yandere leant down to Silver so they could softly kiss him too. It was gentle and reassuring. Then the Host did the same, relishing in the happy mewl that he coaxed from their sweet hero.

'Mmm....he already sounds happy with this turn of events....'

Silver giggled bashfully, squirming with embarrassment at how effortlessly they both managed to tease him. He loved it. He loved it when they all played together like this, no matter who was being ganged up on it was always amazing for all of them. Yandere let out a soft, yet slightly malicious, giggle before they spoke once more.

'Oh! I just thought! I've been wanting to practise my calligraphy lately, and I think Silver would make the perfect canvas, don't you? And with how naturally restless he is, it's a win for both of us!'

Yan squeaked with delight and clapped their hands at the ''revelation'' of this ''completely and entirely spontaneous idea that they totally only just came up with right now this second''. Silver squeaked softly to himself and hid in the crook of his arm...he couldn't believe this was actually happening.

'What an excellent idea my dear....you know, I think I may join you in that. Continued practise of a craft as complex as calligraphy is very important after all.'

Silver's heart was just pounding, he couldn't believe how mean Host and Yan were being with dragging out the anticipation like this! Silver was flustered beyond belief, only able to watch with wide eyes as Yandere and Host each picked up a feather quill and a pot of ink that just so happened to be conveniently near them on the bed and wasn't planned at all....ahem. Silver watched as the nimble fingers of his lovers twirled their quills before dipping the...wonderfully sharp tips, into the ink pots. They both flashed Silver a smirk....before they both began.

'I think I'm going to focus on words with the letter ''t'', what about you dear?'

The Host mused as he started working on eloquently noting the word ''ticklish'' at one side of Silver's ribcage; Silver was already giggling and twitching....and that only got more intense when Yandere eagerly copied the Host's technique.

'You know, I think I'll do the same-'

'Ohohoho my gahahad!'

Silver ended up cutting off Yandere's enthusiastic input with his giggles, which of course to Yandere was just the height of rudeness. Her crimson lips parted in a gasp as she looked down at Silver, not stopping her writing as she exclaimed.

'Uhm EXCUSE me we're in the middle of a conversation here!'

Silver of course, couldn't stop giggling no matter how much he tried. The meticulous scratching of those quills was just impossible to ignore, and the only reason that Silver wasn't in hysterics was because of how Yandere and Host were being gentle to ease him in!-ah....not that this scenario was....planned....

'I-Ihihihi'm sahahaharry Ihihi'm sahaharry!'

Silver squeaked adorably as he looked between his ticklers, his eyes wide and imploring and innocent. Of course, even though the Host and Yandere were in love with that look and expression...it didn't mean that they always succumbed to it. The Host snickered a little as he now started writing the phrase ''ticklish baby'' up Silver's ribcage, making the hero arch his back and titter as Yandere hummed with pursed lips.

'Hmmm, you don't sound like you are.'

Yan fluttered the feather end of her quill over Silver's nose as she spoke, making Silver whimper and gaze up at her even MORE imploringly.

'I-Ihi ahaham bahaby Ihi ahaham!'

Silver whined through his giggles, which made Yan let out an affectionate ''aww'' as she surrounded her calligraphy with little love-hearts. The Host smirked at how deliberately cute Silver was being, and crooned in a tone that dripped with sarcasm.

'Awww he called you baaaby, he MUST be sincere! Poor thing....'

Silver's face went a dark, embarrassed pink as Yandere hummed musingly again, dipping her quill back in her inkpot as she seemed to contemplate something.

'Mmm....although, he COULD just be playing to our sympathies in the hopes of us stopping our treatment. Which is honestly rather rude of him since all we're trying to do is help your third eye perceive him properly....'

....the Host had never been more impressed in his life. Yandere's magnificent, imaginative ability to come up with the most amazing excuses to tickle Silver like this were truly unparralleled! The Host straightened up for a second as Silver lay with his mouth gaping, both of them taking a few moments, before the Host smirked.

'.....well, that reasoning of yours just makes complete logical sense, it is rather rude....all the more reason for us to continue really.'

Silver, amidst all this, had been spluttering and squeaking and looking between Host and Yan, trying to find some way of interjecting, and finally he did. Whether it was a good idea though...is questionable.

'Y-Yohou guhuys ahare juhust bullshitting! Y-You c-can't even think o-ohof an i-intimidating, flustery r-reason to tihickle me! Y-You're bohoth reeeeally losing your edge....'

Silver giggled residually amidst his stuttered reply, since Yan's and Host's tickling had become a little lacklustre amidst their conversation of....bullshit. Silver, as you can imagine, at first felt very empowered by calling them out like this, and felt good at the thought of demeaning them as ticklers. Then however, reality kicked back in. Reality being Yandere and Host's heads snapping in Silver's direction as they gritted their teeth and loomed over him....yep, big mistake, big mistake Silver.

'Oho.....so Senpai thinks he's a clever brat does he?'

Silver gulped. Yandere only ever called him Senpai when he was in super deep doodoo.

'Maybe we should just cut away the façade, hmm? Clearly our little hero doesn't want us to be nice and creative with our tickle treatment....'

...and the Host only ever called him ''little hero'' when he was riled like a hurricane. Be teasy? Fine. Be cheeky? Sure....but criticise Yandere and Host's tickling abilities? Boy, Silver was for it; specifically at the moment though...Silver's armpits were for it, since Host and Yandere had started swiping their quills in Silver's hollows.

'EEEE! N-Noho w-w-wahait I-Ihi dihidn't mean it!'

Silver let out a nervous squeal as he tugged at his wrists, spluttering to try and remedy his mistake....but it was too late. He broke out into a wide, mirthful smile as his hollows now endured ticklish swipe after ticklish swipe from those dastardly quills.

'Here we were thinking you wanted us to make a pretty game out of the tickles.....but no....you just want us to torture you don't you?'

Yandere purred, grinning devilishly as she interspersed swipes of her quill with drawings of pretty love-hearts; they were kinda her thing. Silver shook his head frantically at Yan's words as his giggle fit became a hysterical giggle fit.

'NOHOHOHO NOHOHOHOHO!'

Yandere giggled at that, and the Host laughed softly under his breath.

'Oh Silver my love, if you simply wanted us to cut straight to the tickle torture then you only had to ask.'

Silver squealed with embarrassment at the Host's teasy, baritone nonchalance; whenever he spoke like that it just sent so many tingles down Silver's spine, and he already had ENOUGH tingles thank you very much! As the Host and Yandere happily drew hearts and little feathers and cute geometric shapes in their hero's underarms, Silver just became frantic. He was wriggling like an insane earthworm....but he was seriously happily within that. Silver couldn't deny that he loved scenarios when ticklers made up stupid little excuses to tickle....but right now he didn't want that. Silver just wanted to be absolutely wrecked. Sometimes a scenario doesn't need elaborate reasoning; ticklers can tickle someone...just because it's what everybody WANTS.

'NAHAHAT MY PIHIHITS AHAHA IHI CAHAN'T MOHOVE MY AHAHARMS!'

Yandere smiled with pride at Silver's exclamation and squeaked happily.

'Awww I'm glad you approve of my knot tying skills! I've been practising!'

Yandere giggled as Silver continued to wail from all the tickly doodling he was being subjected to. The Host smiled....just at everything. At the waves of happiness he could feel from Silver being tickled, and the happy giddiness Yandere felt at all her hard work paying off. He leant in to peck Yan on the cheek as he murmured teasingly.

'Oh I think he more than approves, look at how happy our sweet Silver is.'

Yandere giggled, chastely pecking the Host on the lips before they had a little mercy, they didn't want to over-do things too early after all. Silver gasped and tried to catch his breath, weakly mumbling as he buried his face in his arm.

'Shuhuhush ihiiiiit....'

As they set their quills and ink safely aside, the Host and Yandere both awed at him because I'm sorry but how could they not?!

'Oh what a pretty colour his cheeks have become! It almost seems strange given how pale the rest of him is....'

Yandere exclaimed....but as she trailed off, she let her fingers casually drop onto Silver's very exposed torso....specifically, onto his belly. Silver trembled when he felt Yandere's nails trail over his skin, his breath hitching as Yandere's eyes gleamed with sadistic intent. Silver trembled even more though...when the Host suddenly held up a number of felt tip pens that had spontaneously appeared and had absolutely not also been next to the quills and ink used previously. 

'I'm sure we can fix that.'

The Host mused, and Silver could only whine and struggle as his lovers readied their new, evil implements....and got to work. Silver's belly was such a wonderful canvas, so smooth and pale which meant that any artwork would stand out so boldly and marvellously; Yandere's little pink fruity doodles were already looking lovely.

'I feel like drawing these raspberries is more than appropriate, don't you think dear?'

The Host chuckled, though it was only just heard above Silver's jumpy cackles.

'I think it's a wonderful idea darling.'

Thus, the Host set about drawing some cutesy fruits of his own. Keeping with a similar sort of palate as Yandere, he elected to go for doodles of strawberries so that the aesthetic would be consistent and pleasing to the eye. It was a little difficult with Silver writhing non-stop beneath them of course, with the felt tip pens being really rather tickly.

'NAHAHAHA PLEHEHEASE!! MY BEHEHEHELLYYYY!!'

Silver's tummy was a serious tickle spot for the hero, so this was definitely a step up in tickly intensity. Silver was arching his back as cackles literally leapt from his gaping mouth, and his cheeks were certainly leaning from a raspberry hue to a strawberry one. The Host cocked his head at Silver, his expression entirely innocent as he replied to his exclamation.

'Hmm? What was that? Please draw on my belly? Well, with such manners like that how can I refuse!'

This, of course, was the only valid interpretation of Silver's words that the Host could perceive, and he'd be damned if he didn't see to Silver's desires! The Host switched to now drawing beautiful cherries, making sure the stems flicked against Silver's belly which I'm sure the hero appreciated.

'IHIHI DIHIDN'T SAHAHAY THAHAT IHI DIDN'T I DIHIHIDN'T!!'

Silver squealed desperately, making the Host grin amusedly as he shrugged his shoulders.

'I can't help how I heard it darling!'

Silver let out a flustered cry, trying to hide in the crook of his elbow as he smiled a wonderfully bright, flustered, Silver Shepherd smile. Yandere smiled too, she smiled lovingly at both her boys. She paused her artwork to peck Host on the cheek with a purr.

'You're so evil. I love it.'

The Host smirked proudly at that....he always liked being evil in the right way.

'Oh I know you do....I know you both do....'

Even Yandere ended up blushing a little at the Host's purr....particularly so when the Host pecked her lips, and then leant down to peck Silver's. His love was so effortless and perfect that it only served to make Silver more desperately flustered and happy...and did I mention flustered?

'BAHAHAHAD HOHOHOSTY BAHAD NAHAHAUGHTY!!'

The Host and Yan both let out soft laughs at Silver's giddy cry as the Host purred amusedly.

'If you say so angel.'

A wonderful as it was giving Silver's belly so much attention though, soon another round of mercy was doled out when Silver started to let out the softest of sniffles. The pens were set aside in favour of fingers carding through Silver's raven hair, and the Host and Yandere just sighed as Silver hummed at their touch....they were so content.

'The prettiest angel.....'

Yandere murmured happily, which was followed by a hum of agreement from the Host....and there Silver thought his blushing was going to die down. Silver could feel Yan's eyes and the Host's mind focused on him, and he was flustered because sometimes he just couldn't actually believe he was lucky enough to be in this beautiful relationship....with the two people that he loved more than anything in the world.

'....y-y-yohou're b-bohohoth prehettier....'

His lovers smiled fondly, but of course, some playfulness could not be overlooked.

'I hope that's not any self-deprecation I detect.'

Silver smiled warmly at the Host's soft tease....Silver had to admit to himself, that in the past he did used to self-deprecate on a level that was just not good for him. He didn't do that anymore though, oh no way mate. Silver could look in the mirror now and see his pretty eyes and soft, good-looking complexion and cute wit and kindness. Yandere and the Host had shown him how to see all the good in himself. Silver whispered happily in his reply.

'Neverrr....'

Yandere and the Host's hearts swelled at that, and Silver got a kiss on each cheek for his inhuman perfection. Now though, the Host grinned and slipped away, and the only reason that Silver's eyes didn't follow was because of how Yan stroked his hair....and had his attention transfixed with their dastardly, yet loving, smirk.

'Ready for a little more?'

Silver felt the heat from his cheeks creeping down his neck as he nodded at Yan's whisper, making Yan giggle and eagerly join Host at the foot of the bed...then Silver saw them. Biros. The Host was holding biros. Biro pens. At the foot of his bed....near his feet....oh no.

'Shall we?'

The Host purred, spurring Yan to pluck a pen from his hand...before they both took ahold of one of Silver's feet...each. The sweet superhero gulped, sitting up as much as he could as his sweet brown eyes darted over the scene. He licked his lips nervously, his voice sounding particularly squeaky as he stammered.

'Y-You're g-gonna go one a-at a time righ-AAAAHHH OH MY GOD NOHO!!!'

Silver shrieked....and laughed....because no, they were certainly not going to go one at a time. Yandere and the Host chuckled at they focused their artwork at Silver's heels, working perfectly in sync.

'I think I'm gonna draw lots and lots of pretty love hearts up Silvy's footsie, what about you Hosty?'

Yandere asked sweetly, making sure to go over each and every love-heart they drew....just for good measure. The Host smirked, feeling warm as he perceived Silver's mirthfully writhing form and Yandere's giddy wiggles of joy.

'I plan on keeping with the fruit theme with some doodles of strawberries and grapes, things that I feel really relate to our Silver right now.'

The Host mused, because honestly he could have mistaken Silver's face for a radiator with how much heat it was giving out. At this point, no metaphor alluding to the colour red was good enough; there was red, and then there was Silver's face. He was a blushy, thrashy, hysterical mess of a man.

'PLEHEHEHEEEASE IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES SOHO BAHAHAHAAAD!!!'

Silver arched sharply as he tried to scrunch his feet, because the feeling of those biros was just insane. They were MORE than just tickly. They were sharper and more precise than any manicured fingernail could ever be, and it was like tiny shocks of ticklishness were shooting through his feet rather than just staying at his skin. That's how bad it was. Silver's tormentors chuckled together as they kept on drawing.

'Oh? What makes these pens tickle so much worse?'

Silver wished he could have articulated his more detailed thoughts in response to Yandere's question, but as he felt his lovers' doodles move up to his soles....he could only really cry out. 

'THEHEHEHEY'RE POHOHOHOINTY!!!'

Yandere and the Host chuckled once more, leaning in together so Yandere could rest their head on the Host's shoulder happily. This was such a beautiful series of moments that was making this into a beautiful, perfect day. As the Host added little dots to his strawberry doodles to make Silver yelp though....he came up with an idea to make it all even more perfect, whilst making it even more torturous for Silver.

'Your....''point'', being?'

That's right. Throw a pun into the mix, and let me tell you, it really did have the desired effect. The Host heard Silver groan with utterly defeated despair....Silver had been thinking that it couldn't possibly get any worse, but the Host's puns were just diabolical. Silver theorised that one of the Host's puns was the last thing people heard before they died. Silver desperately tried to cover his ears as he laughed, for fear of hearing more horrid humour, as Yandere grinned at the Host.

'Darling that was absolutely disgraceful.'

The Host let out a short, sharp laugh of satisfaction. As he and Yandere focused their doodles at the tender centres of Silver's soles, causing hiccups to erupt, he drawled.

'Why thank you dear.'

Tickle torture....and bad puns. Silver Shepherd was in hell.

'WHAHAHAT YOHOHOU'RE DOHOING TO MEHE IHIS DIHIHISGRAHACEFUL!!!'

Silver practically yelled through his screeches, and Yandere seriously had to put effort into looking offended instead of bursting out laughing at how indignant Silver sounded. They managed to keep it together though.

'Well I think our art is rather delightful thank you very much!'

Silver spluttered at that, squeezing his eyes shut as he cackled and wheezed at the ''artwork'' reached the balls of his feet. Yandere and Host had such good grips on his feet that he couldn't hope to tug them free, and his mind was just getting more and more frazzled by the second....the tickling was really destroying him.

THAHAHAT'S NAHAT WHAHAT IHI MEHEHEEEE-!!'

Silver's laughter was at its most intense, especially since Yandere and Host were being VERY firm with their tools of torment against Silver's poor sensitive skin. As Silver dipped in and out between hysterical babbles and silent mirth, the Host cooed with a happy, taunting tone.

'What a sweet thing he is.....I understand that some people become speechless in the wake of great art, but this is truly off the scale...'

Yandere and the Host giggled to themselves....and that was when Silver truly lost it; he couldn't handle a single second more, and finally screamed.

'DOHOHOHOHOHOOOOOVE!!!'

The Host and Yandere straightened up, and ceased their onslaught. Then it was a matter of the Host snapping his fingers. Upon hearing the safe-word, the first snap was to de-materialise all the tickle tools and send them back to their proper places, and the second snap caused Silver's bindings to become undone. Silver was free. The hero weakly gasped and coughed softly into his pillow, wiping his eyes and forehead, and Yandere and the Host were there in a flash.

'It's over Senpai, it's okay you did so good, you were so strong and fun to tickle....'

Yan whispered as they and the Host lay either side of Silver snugly, thus allowing the hero to snuggle into them both with a bashful smile in place. With Yan's kiss on his temple and their fingers in his hair, he started to relax....but though his laughter had dimmed, his smile certainly had not.

'I know I speak for both Yan and myself when I say that that was ever so much fun....thank you for trusting us....'

Silver hummed happily at the Host's tender words, and purred when he felt the Host hold his hands and kiss them, making sure his fingers weren't cramped from how much he'd clenched his fists during it all. Silver let out a soft yawn, mumbling sleepily as he felt his body and mind relax....he'd really needed all of this. Sometimes people need to be hysterical and thoughtless for a little while, because it's fun and uplifting and in those moments you never feel more safe. Silver felt safe....and uplifted.....and loved.

'Mmm...'ll'alwayss trust yousss....'

Silver's loving tormentors exchanged loving smiles at that, and as soon as the blankets were drawn over them, they too slept. And ah....I must say, it was all a rather wonderful masterpiece....and I'm not talking about the doodles.

AAAHHH HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS FICCU LEMME KNOW IF YA DO WOOOOP LUV YOUS XX

[kryptsune]

Senpai! Any tips on world building? :D

🌼Whooooo boy, that’s a lot of talk about Mambo X’D and I love you so I will do my best!

Worldbuilding is a lot of work and is constantly an exercise of questions and answers. A lot of times worldbuilding happens at random. I never thought that I would worldbuild half the universes I was messing with. I just have this drive to connect the dots, so to speak. It usually starts with a character for me. I will use Nova as an example since he seems to be the catalyst of my now fully fleshed out Outertale. Nova was just design at first but with every design I do, I have a need to tell a story. A lot of times people overlook the importance of clothing in their storytelling and being from that background I definitely put hints and lore into what the characters wear. 

Sometimes even scrapping old designs to fit an overall narrative later on or fitting it to that mold. I originally drew Nova in a varsity jacket and as I developed the story I realized that I either had to make that choice believable or scarp it all together. I decided that his personality would be more rambunctious and trickster like this also led me to make him based off Loki. I decided to keep his jacket because his kind of uncaring and aloof attitude toward how the Monsters conduct themselves and their traditions made him a huge contrast. He prefers comfort over symbology basically. 

The first question you have to ask is why. That is super vague but why are you making this world? What purpose does it serve? Is it something that answers questions about characters? There are four specific pillars for storytelling, plot, setting/ environment, character, and emotion. All of these are used to make a lot of the stories we see and hear today. 

Nova, my OT Sans, needed kind of a purpose. I wanted my Outertale to be different in that way. I wanted to answer the question of why the monsters would leave in the first place. It turned into a rabbit hole of constant back and forth. It doesn’t really matter where you start on these four pillars but questions are so important. I know I keep saying that but it’s true. I will give an example.

Starting with Character/Environment: Characters are important to any story. They are the ones that your readers or watchers will be attached to. They are a mirror almost. Someone relatable. Now that doesn’t mean they have to be this pure bean. I would argue that making those kinds of characters actually makes it difficult to relate to. We all mess up so having a character with flaws that overcome them are even more relatable. Not to mention it will add to the emotional component. Our responses and our social skills revolve around our environment. This includes the “mechanics” of the world and genre. 

WTU is a great example of this, though the world of Undertale is relatively well established there are a lot of loose ends. Even more so when you make a Fell variation. In order to be a little more unique with how I handle my verses, I tend to start at ground 0. The original. I will use Grillby’s as an example. Grillby Magmaran is one of my favorite side characters in the story but due to his personality and the world, he is set in I had to change some things around. The setting of WTU is odd. Most people tend to make Underfell this gritty, dark, and violent place but I wanted to add a few more... let’s say real-world layers to it.

Grillby to me was always kind of set in stone, character-wise. I wanted him to be kind of a playboy. One who just seemed to care about only his own self-interest, on the surface. A lot of characters I have “re-written” have this mold. That they can’t outwardly express what they want to because it makes them vulnerable. A vulnerability that is mirrored in the fact that Asgore doesn’t really rule over the Underworld like most think. (A side note on calling it the Underworld as well is this idea of underground and shady dealings.) The most power is actually given to three characters. The third I will stay quiet on due to spoilers but the other two are Muffet and Grillby. Each with their own industries capitalizing on the hopelessness of the inhabitants. 

 Grillby is all about vices which is why I changed his usual restaurant into a multistory nightclub and bar. A place for the monsters to blow off some steam so to speak. It also plays into his kind of sleazy outward appearance hiding behind liquor and vices. Muffet’s Black Widow Casino plays on greed. A rather fitting industry for her character since the original is also obsessed with profit. It is little things like that I would continue to dig deeper on. Why is Grillby this way? Heck, why would he stay in Snowdin? The answers sometimes take some time to really think about but it’s something I really enjoy doing. The answer I came up with was simple. Contrast. Grillby and Muffet used to have a very 1920′s don and mistress vibe in their original relationship but Muffet’s personality was a little too much to take for Grillby who fell into vices after his own grief. Snowdin vs Hotland. I think you can pick out the contrast. He wanted to be as far away from that spider as possible.    

The town of Snowdin is actually a place that monsters can find sanctuary. It is not like Undyne’s monopoly of Waterfall or Muffet's rule of Hotland, why though? Well sticking with the original source material I still wanted Papyrus to be a character that you could love even if he was a little more rough around the edges. He is Head of the Royal Guard already so that decision led me to think more about how he would use that power. He basically becomes the protector of Snowdin Town and the townspeople reward him by placing a statue of the Captain in the town square. That boosts his ego but he still has noble intentions, protection. This also adds to his character since Papyrus in my version is the older of the two brothers. The only reason he is harsh on Sans (or Red in this case) is that he knows of the cruelty outside their little town.  

This also explains why there are so many deadly traps all over the place leading into town. Very few monsters live outside the center of the town. It is his way of putting up defenses against any of the monsters that may be entering from outside the town. They have been used to kill humans, sure, but their main purpose is to create a blockade. 

I am going to kind of get on a soapbox a little bit in this so just bear with me. I think that a lot of Underfell creators do a huge disservice to the universe and its concept. *shakes head* It is one of the reasons that I decided to finally put my story into the public. It took a long time to muster up the courage to do that. Making things for the sake of darkness or edginess to me is... very... uh... how do I put this? Well, it’s a huge pet peeve of mine. Dark storytelling can be talked about effectively if the elements are there and other things balance it out. I see this a lot between Red and Boss. Specifically their relationship and how that is handled. There are plenty of stories with characters being close in a dark and harsh environment. They don’t turn into abusive a-holes. WHY!? Why would you take something like the original skele-bros and their relationship and do that? Granted. If there is some reason behind it. If there is a well thought out answer to the question of why then that is perfectly fine. What I find more and more, however, make these kinds of choices just for the sake of it. IT DRIVE ME BANANAS. 

Now I am not saying my story and verses don’t have plot holes. Most of the time when you dig deeper into a project you realize that closing one could open a few lesser ones but it just upsets me that people just randomly make these choices just for the sake of it. Shock value. There has to be a purpose. Good storytelling is about relatability and believability. Small things can sometimes take you out of it if they seem out of place. Remember that everyone goes about these kinds of creative choices differently. Mine is pretty much all question based or design-based. I am by no way saying that my way is correct. It is just something I have worked on for a very long time. I can kind of come up with my answers on the spot. 

I know I got away from this ask a little bit but I am happy that you are interested Mambo! If you want to know more specifics then just ask. There is so much more I can talk about. I was actually was asked to make a video on it so I may do that in the future. Just remember to have fun while doing it. Stories are fun to read but at the end of the day the world is yours and you should enjoy it! 

[ladyanatui]

Ultimate Daiken Playlist, Pt. 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

This is the abridged version of my Spotify playlist for all things Daiken, mostly in order from the start of 02 to...eventually. Even so, this is still a pretty damn long list. My original aim was for 30 songs, but...uh, yeah, I surpassed that pretty quickly. It’s around 75 now. Yikes. So I split it up.

I have problems with self-control. Especially when it comes to my babies.

Part 1 specifically covers from the start of 02 to just after the defeat of the Digimon Kaiser.

TRIGGER WARNING: This post discusses depression, suicide, emotional abuse, and PTSD quite a lot. Take care of yourself, folks!

Spotify Playlist

Click the song titles for YouTube links (apparently you can’t have more than five videos in a post), and otherwise, enjoy me rambling about Daiken...as I am wont to do.

One final note: Within the lyrics, I’ve emphasized meaningful words, such as night/nightmare, dark/darkness, miracle(s), kind/kindness, courage/bravery, friend/friendship, sun/star/light, fire/burn/ignite, angel(s), and words related to water/drowning.

“I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan

I think I got a lot of friends But I don't hear from them What's another night all alone When you're spending every day on your own

I envision this as Daisuke’s life before becoming one of the Chosen, before meeting Ken. It’s pretty well established that Taichi and Hikari are the only legitimate friends he has during that time, aside from (possibly) his soccer teammates, but he’s not close with any of them. And worse, his home life is obviously not great: His parents ignore him, and his sister irritates him just to irritate him. That may seem like a normal brother/sister relationship, but a 17-year-old slapping her 11-year-old isn’t normal or healthy.

The truth is, Daisuke has no legitimate example of healthy family interactions, and in some ways, his home life is as emotionally abusive as Ken’s was. His parents insult him (his father calls him his “stupid son” when Ken first visits) and ignore him (Daisuke repeatedly says his parents wouldn’t notice if he didn’t come home and lies to them to avoid spending time at home), so he has no idea how to respond to compliments.

This also means that he latches on to the people he cares about, much the same way Jun latches on to attractive boys. He idolizes Taichi (calling him senpai when speaking with him directly), and he constantly seeks attention from Hikari. Since we don’t know what Daisuke and Hikari’s relationship was like before Takeru shows up, it’s all speculation, but Daisuke was probably way less aggressive and possessive of her before someone came to try to take his one friend away.

So Daisuke has no idea how to show affection (whether familial, platonic, or romantic) in a normal, healthy way. He’s never had a close friend (or any real friends probably), and he’s never been close with any of his family. He’s actually lived an incredibly lonely life.

“Dark Blue” by Jack’s Mannequin

This flood This flood is slowly rising up Swallowing the ground Beneath my feet Tell me how anybody thinks Under this condition So I'll swim, I'll swim As the water rises up Sun is sinking down

Similarly, this functions as Ken’s theme song for events prior to the start of 02. There are a lot of references to water--“flood,” “swim,” and I believe there’s talk about drowning as well--which is very fitting because of the Dark World (Ocean), but also because Ken obviously suffers from depression and the idea of drowning is one of the most used and most accurate descriptions of what chronic depression feels like (trust me, I know!).

But my favorite part of this is the last two lines from the quote. Let’s be real, the sun is a huge symbol when it comes to our goggle boys--they are bright, cheerful, energetic, and so fucking bright they could rival the sun itself. When Ken is so incredibly surrounded by darkness, Daisuke is the sun. There are so many things that support this, but most importantly:

The Crest of Courage is shaped like the sun. It doesn’t get more overt than that.

When V-mon evolves to Magnamon, it’s described as: “It was a miraculous evolution. As beautiful as the rising sun shining brightly on the world.”

Daisuke is the sun. Ken is the world. And Ken needs his sun to help him out of the darkness.

“Send Me an Angel” by Highly Suspect

Open fire on my burning heart I've never been lucky in love My defenses are down A kiss or a frown I can't survive on my own

Send me an angel Send me an angel Right now, right now

Before they met, before 02 actually starts, both Ken and Daisuke are effectively alone. Yeah, they’re surrounded by people (Daisuke more than Ken), but never of them have any real friends or close relationships.

This song is something I see Daisuke feeling in his more introspective moments (rare, I know), as what he needs more than anything is true love and companionship. When I say love here, I don’t necessarily mean romantic. While, yes, Daisuke has poor luck in romance (Hikari, hello!), he has poor luck with platonic love as well.

And I’m all for anything that references Ken as being an angel. Obviously, Ken would never agree to that sentiment, but a lot of the time, it feels like that’s how Daisuke views him. To Daisuke, [post-Kaiser] Ken is this amazing, beautiful, even verging perfect person, and you can see he feels that way just from the way he looks at Ken.

I also chose this song because it’s a small reference to something I drew not too long ago, which itself is based on a Lilo & Stitch meme.

“Duality” by Set It Off

I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways Or explain why I'm not sane All I can say is this is your warning

It's a cloak or disguise unleashed, gonna get it off No, I'll never get away Cause if I try to stray It only holds me closer No, I'll never get away I'll have it any way

Okay, this is very obviously a Kaiser song. But it’s also a Ken song. The whole thing about this song is that Ken is trapped as the Kaiser and doesn’t have full control over himself. And can he actually explain why he does the crazy evil shit he does? His explanation is that he thought the Digital World was a video game, but that’s obviously not the full picture. He can’t fully explain because the Dark Seed is what makes him evil as opposed to simply sad and lonely and traumatized.

“Numb Without You” by The Maine

You are my last, you are my first You kill me for the better You are the rising tide You're every fucking thing inside me now

You are the violence in my veins You are the war inside my brain You are my glitter and my gloom I am so numb without you

This is another Kaiser/Ken song. To an extent, this song has a sort of sadistic romantic aspect to it, but I’m choosing to ignore those undertones in favor of just the creepy sadistic part. This is sort of Ken singing to his Kaiser persona and also to depression in general. Because the Kaiser is the “rising tide” (oh, look another reference to water!) and the manifestation of his grief and trauma and mental illness.

But as the title of the song suggests, the Kaiser persona is also what allows him to still feel something. Without it, he’s in the complete numbness of his depression (which sucks, trust me), and he would rather have the Kaiser, who is violent and angry and bitter, instead of the absolute numbness of his grief and depression.

“Deer in the Headlights” by Owl City

Tell me again was it love at first sight When I walked by and you caught my eye Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights

Met a girl boy with a graceful charm But when beauty met the beast, he froze Got the sense I was not her his type By a black eye and bloody nose But I guess that's the way it goes

Note: I (obviously) changed a few pronouns in the quote. It should be apparent what I altered based on formatting.

Here, we see the first time Daisuke and Ken meet. And I’m talking Ken (although evil Ken), not the Kaiser. Yes, this is referencing the soccer match they play against each other in episode eight.

It’s pretty damn obvious that eleven-year-old Daisuke is completely enamored when he meets the famous Ichijouji Ken. He blushes and stumbles over his words, and he is so overwhelmed and happy that Ken remembered his name after the match was over. He admires him, and when Ken tells him that he’s the first person to ever stop that move in the match, Daisuke just looks so pleased to hear the compliment.

Also, bonus points for any song that references the sun or light: “Didn’t you know love could shine this bright?”

“Love the Way You Hate Me” by Like a Storm

You say I'm insane I say You're afraid I get stronger from the pain I love the way you hate me

I'd rather be a sinner than a slave I'd rather be an outcast than just bow down and obey When it's all done there's only one Name upon my grave I'd rather be a freak than be a fake

Another Kaiser song. While the previous song could be placed pretty much any time during the first fifteen episodes or so, this one is distinctly set after they find out the Kaiser is Ichijouji Ken. The focus here is on the way the Kaiser (emotionally) gets off from how much the Chosen Children, Daisuke especially, fight against him and hate him. He enjoys watching them try so hard and keep failing because, while he desperately wants to have an opponent, he loves to win more--he does think it’s a game, after all.

“Lock Me Up” by The Cab

Why don't you Lock me up with joy and kisses? Lock me up with love? Chain me to your heart's desire

I don't want you to stop Lock me in and hold this moment Never get enough Ain't no way I'm ever breaking free Lock me up

This song is mostly in reference to the serious foe yay aspect to Daisuke and Kaiser Ken’s relationship for the first half of the series. The homoerotic subtext in their relationship is ridiculous, especially since they’re two eleven-year-old boys, one of whom (theoretically) has a huge crush on a female friend for the first half(ish) of the season. But you can bet that, if the Chosen Children had a second enemy during the Kaiser’s days, the Kaiser would be pissed and pull the whole “No! Motomiya’s my enemy. Only I can defeat him!” bit like he’s Kaiba Seto or something.

“Fallen Angel” by Three Days Grace

How can I take the pain away? How can I save...

A fallen angel in the dark Never thought you'd fall so far Fallen angel, close your eyes I won't let you fall tonight Fallen angel

But then there’s comes the very important part where Daisuke has a revelation. When he and V-mon meet Wormmon on the Kaiser’s base, Wormmon is determined and takes them to the Digimental of Miracles in an attempt to help them defeat the Kaiser and bring back his kind-hearted best friend. The moment Daisuke touches the Golden Digimental, something changes: It’s connected to Ken because it’s borne from his Crest of Kindness, and Daisuke is able to see that there’s more to Ken than his Kaiser persona. He knows that there’s good in him before they’ve even defeated him, and he wants to help him.

And seriously, bonus points for a song from Daisuke’s POV that refers to Ken as an angel. I’ll fight anyone who says he doesn’t see Ken that way. Legit.

“Breaking Down” by I Prevail

Lies, every time they ask me I just tell 'em that I'm fine Try to hide my demons, but they only multiply Keep me running from the voices on repeat inside my mind Everybody fucking hates you

I guess I never noticed how it came creeping in My enemy emotion but I can't sink or swim I say I'm feeling hopeless but no one's listening But no one's listening, but no one's listening

This song is in reference to the way Kaiser Ken’s psyche is falling apart. He’s having doubts. Creepy voices are talking to him. He’s confused about how the Chosen Children are actually defeating him. Chimairamon is a freaking nightmare and totally uncontrollable. And Ken is about to have a goddamn breakdown.

“Goner” by Twenty One Pilots

Though I'm weak Beaten down I'll slip away Into the sound

I've got two faces Blurry's the one I'm not I need your help to Take him out

Look how far we’ve come! We’re almost to the Kaiser’s defeat! (Dear god, this is a long playlist...)

Ken isn’t aware of how much he needs Daisuke to help him at this point. He’s too busy being the Kaiser and, you know, having a mental breakdown. But it’s important that Daisuke is the one there to help bring everything down. V-mon evolves to Magnamon and defeats Chimairamon with some badass moves (he is a Royal Knight after all), and Daisuke and the rest of the Chosen Children are finally able to get through to Ken.

“Not Gonna Die” by Skillet

Break their hold Cause I won't be controlled They can't keep their chains on me When the truth has set me free

Only when he realizes that the Digital World isn’t a game is Ken able to break through the hold that the Dark Seed (and Oikawa and BelialVamdemon, etc.) have on him. He tears off his Kaiser clothes and goes back to being just Ken. Just sweet, kind-hearted, adorable Ken.

Parts of this song, though, would be from Daisuke’s perspective. He’s determined, even though they have defeated their enemy, to help Ken, even that simply means sending him home to his family instead of letting Ken just waste away, which is frankly what it looks like he’s about to do during this scene.

“Tell Me Why” by Three Days Grace

Tell me why Does everything that I love get taken away From me? Why does everything that I love get taken away?

How come nothing ever lasts? It goes from good to bad to worse so fast All it takes is one and I'm gone, and you can't erase the past How come nothing ever lasts?

Obviously, this is a Ken-centric song, the focus being on his past when he saw his brother’s death, though Osamu’s death is nowhere near his fault. Yet again, Ken goes through a traumatic experience (Wormmon’s death), and for the first time, this is (somewhat) his fault.

While I linked the subs version, the English dub of this scene actually has a line almost exactly like this song: “Not again. Wormmon’s gone. Just like my brother. I was helpless to save him, and now I can’t save Wormmon either. Why do I keep losing people?”

Sorry, were you not wanting to cry today? ...Oops.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[yourhero404]

yo!! idk if you'd be up for this, but could you write a scenario with Amajiki where he has a crush on a first year who looks pretty emo with medium/short dyed black hair that covers the right part of her face a lot? it's a bit personal pft,, but she has a quirk that enables her to turn her stuffed animals into real versions of themselves. i was wondering if you could do some kind of scenario where she gets to show him her rottweiler as a real dog? if it sounds too specific, i'm sorry!!

A/N: No worries! It wasn’t /too/ specific, but I hope it’s okay! I was gone for a bit because I hit a rough patch of writers block, sorry about that ^^;;; so im not quite sure,,,, if this is my best work;;; :’)

TAMAKI

“Ah, (Y/n)!” Tamaki called, his lips quivering at the attention he gained for his outburst, “You… uh, you left this.”  

He pointed to the fairly large, stuffed dog in the chair across from him that she had left behind. Her expression shifted through both confusion and relief fairly rapidly as she rushed back over to her senpai’s desk. He enjoyed spending time with her and started to realize how rapid his heart rate would rise and drop depending on her distance- she was adorable, honestly, the way she hid behind her hair was similar to his and the fact that her arms were constantly wrapped around some sort of stuffed animal. His thoughts about which type of stuffed animal would be a good gift were swiftly interrupted as she reached his desk.

“Thank you! It would’ve been bad if I left him!”  

“Oh, I would’ve taken care of him for you…”

“Oh, no no, that’s not what I meant!” her face lit up with a blush as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck, “I trust that you would’ve taken care of him, it’s just that… what if I needed him on the way home, you know?”

His head tilted in confusion, but let it slide as her bright smile distracted him. The day was over and he knew the two of them had to go home, but he was feeling fairly bold today and wanted to stretch out their time together as long as possible.

“W-well,” he stumbled over his words as well as his feet as he stood up too quickly, “I can walk you home. I mean- both of you!”

“Are you sure? Don’t you have to go to Fatgum’s office today?” She started to walk to the hallway with Tamaki by her side and her stuffed rottweiler in her arms.

“Well, yeah…” he started, keeping his eyes glued to the ground, “But I’m sure he’ll be okay with me being late as long as it was for a good reason. So… what do you say?” his voice grew quiet by the end of the question, afraid of rejection.

“Mmm,” she hummed, playfully twisting her lips to the side in faux thought. “If you won’t get in trouble, then sure! Justice and I could use the company.”

“J… Justice?”

“Yeah!” she grabbed her shoes from her locker and placed her dog on a nearby bench, taking a leash out of her bag and clipping it onto its collar. “That’s his name, Justice! He’s one of my best warriors after all!”

“Warriors?”  

He was lost and it showed through the influx of pitch in his voice. He thought it was cute- how she treated her stuffed dog as though it were real. It was endearing and gentle, and most definitely something he admired about her seeing as she was unbelievably kind to not only her stuffed animals, but those around her. Tamaki had to admit, however, something was off about her treatment of these toys, and he hoped he was getting closer to the answer this afternoon.  

“Yup, warriors!” she scooped the dog back up and carried it off of campus with a small pep in her step, “They’re like my own little army.”

“They? Meaning… all of the ones you bring around?”

“You’d be correct,” she smiled, “I pick which ones are best suited for the day, depending on what I have to do and where I have to go!”

“Oh,” he stared in the distance for a moment before turning back to her, “Like… a sort of security blanket? But with animals? I can understand that-”

“No no, I think you misunderstood and have the wrong sense of security there.”

“What?” His eyebrows drew together as he tried to process what she was getting at.

After putting her stuffed dog and the ground in front of her, she stepped back to focus on it. With a quick flash of her eyes and a slow growing black tint on her fingertips, the dog suddenly sprang into action and jumped towards Tamaki, barking frantically. He jumped back with an embarrassingly loud squeal and run a few feet away to avoid the dog’s teeth.

“See, they’re literally my security!” she had to yell over Justice’s bark. “Justice, sit!” Her voice boomed with something dark behind it, causing it to have a deep echo.  

Tamaki watched as the dog sat at her feet, practically melting into happiness as she scratched behind his ear and suddenly seemed much gentler than he previously did. The darkness at her fingertips slowly spread up the rest of her fingers, settling on her knuckles for a moment; His attention shot between this and the previously stuffed dog.  

“(Y/n),” he started, pointing in her direction, “How did- what is- You just- What?”  

“Calm down!” she giggled, holding her hand out to call him towards her, “It’s just my quirk! Come here, he won’t bite you!”

With his body shaking for another reason rather than fear from the dog, he let his hand rest within hers as she pulled him closer, crouching down to the dog’s level, prompting him to do so as well.

“Okay Justice, be nice! Tamaki is our friend, okay? We want to preserve his cute little face,” She held Tamaki’s hand out to the dog, allowing him to get his scent before Justice used his nose to lift his hand up, allowing it to land on his head as a sign to begin petting.

“N… Nice dog… Good boy…” Tamaki stammered, “We’re friends! I’m… probably not good tasting, after all…”

Her giggle soothed his nerves, allowing him to boldly start petting the dog, watching as he quickly started to pant and offer up kisses as he licked his hand. He sat on the ground then, allowing the large dog to crawl in his lap and lay down for some cuddles, despite the size differences.  

“He likes you! I knew he had good taste” She beamed.

“Eheh…” he nervously giggled, scratching behind the dog’s ear, “So, (Y/n)… All of your stuffed animals… you can do this to them?”

“Mhm! They all come to life and fight in my place with their own set of skills!”

That changed everything- at least he now had the idea to find a stuffed animal that could be of good service to her. She stood up, calling Justice off of his lap and released her control over him, causing him to turn back to a toy before picking him up and smiling up at Tamaki. With his face warming up into a blush, he quickly made his way to his feet and brushed himself off, walking her the rest of the distance to her home with nothing but questions and answers about her quirk; It was a strong quirk, and he honestly wanted to see it more in action- maybe he could get out of class and watch one of their first year training sessions? It’s activated by the flash of her eyes and the darker forces that start on her fingertips serve as reminders for her time limit- he’d certainly like to keep on her good side after knowing this.

All too quickly, they arrived at her door and he felt himself pout a bit. With a longing stare, quivering lip and a red face, he stuttered out a goodbye after she had leaned in to kiss his cheek as a thank you. As he turned away, he heard a soft growl and sharp bark behind him that caused him to jump a few inches off of the ground and take off running in the direction of his mentor’s office, screeching as he did so.  

(Y/n) couldn’t help but laugh, patting Justice on the head as she watched her senpai run away flustered and spooked. A soft, red hue crept up to her cheeks while she settled her laugh down to a smile and her hand reached to pat Justice on the head.

“Maybe I should have introduced him to a smaller one first, huh?” The dog barked to agree.

Once she made it to her room to rest, she felt her phone vibrate as she checked to find a message from the timid senpai himself.

‘So, if you had to choose…’ The picture attached was a wall complete with various species, sizes, colours and types of stuffed animals, ‘Hypothetically… which would you prefer?’

She smiled to herself, typing her reply and sending it off- she imagined the flustered look on his face once he read it. Would he drop to the ground and hide himself like he did when she got too close? Something within her wished she could see.

‘The small, black kitty one in the corner. The one in the hood and the blush marks- it looks soft. Reminds me of you.’

[moonraccoon-exe]

Hi, dear moonracoon ! May I ask for your advice ? How do you think an artist can get noticed in the ffxv fandom ? I really wanted to ask you since you're so kind and amazing ! ( >^

HELLO, MY DEAREST BEAUTIFUL ANON!!!! ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ♡♡♡

First of all, I’m sorry that I took longer to this than expected, at least for a personal ask. I didn’t mean to make you wait. (｡•́︿•̀｡)

Okay, let’s check your question!!

Hm! 

First off, I want to tell you that I’m not an artist. So the advice I’m giving you is the best I can think about, but thinking about what I write/post, and what I’ve heard other artists say, but it’s not entirely from experience. So know that if none of what I tell you works, it’s not on you, I may have missed an important advice that didn’t cross my head!

If you’d like, you could ask someone from the drawing/painting world. Yuu-senpai, Hana-senpai, even Solaris-senpai, or many others are very friendly and open and they could give you advice from experience if what I tell you doesn’t convince you. c:

1. The first 5 tags

The first 5 tags under your artwork are the most vital and important, because they’re the ones that actually show up in the Tumblr search section!

You want to use the first five tags under your artwork as the best. Final Fantasy XV and FFXV would be the first two I used, and then something more specific (if your artwork is an Ignis one, then next comes the Ignis and/or Ignis Scientia tag, etc.).

If you want to/like to talk in the tags (like yours truly!), use the last tags or, at least, start from the 6th tag and ahead. The rest of the tags won’t show up in the search section when peopel browse the tag; the rest of the tag space are there for personal use (so you browse the tags in YOUR blog, not in the Tumblr site). 

WARNING: I HIGHLY advice you to NOT use the first 5 tags to fish for attention! If your artwork is a Gladio solo artwork, you have NO REASON to use the Ignis tag or a Noctis tag or even something like a Lunafreya tag!! DO. NOT. USE. UNRELATED TAGS. 

It may work to catch the attention, sure. Someone that follows the Ignis tag may see your Gladio artwork because you used the tag. You’ll catch their attention, but it will be NEGATIVE ATTENTION.

This IS from experience. You do make your artwork reach more people, but all you get is for people to go “Ugh” and scroll past your stuff because you’re spamming artworks unrelated to the tag in the tag. So do NOT!

2. Reblogs

Reblogs are possibly the most vital, most important part to be noticed.

While tagging is GREAT and the first step to make your art go somewhere, I’d dare say the majority of people don’t necessarily follow a tag. I don’t; all that I reblog, all were reblogged from another blog. I only follow the Corqi tag because of how scarce material there is for it, so I don’t want to miss anything. But, for example, I don’t follow any Ignis or FFXV tag (mostly because I want to keep my dash as short as possible lmao, but also) because I follow enough blogs that reblog enough artworks, so why follow a tag if the rest of the people are doing it for me?

Reblogging is a very, very vital part to get noticed because your art is reaching those blogs that don’t follow the tags.

This is, however, not on you. You need another blog to reblog your artwork; one reblog opens many chances so someone else reblogs, and so on and on. The more reblogs, the more chances for more reblogs, and hence, the more people will see it. 

You know what I just thought and I have no idea why it never occurred to me before?

Let’s say you have your art blog. Do you have another one where you reblog stuff? Do you already have followers? Reblog your own artwork; post in your art blog, reblog in the fandom one. That way, you’re your first reblog, and because your reblog/fandom blog will probably have more followers than the art one (at least in a beginning), it has more chances of reaching more people. 

So it’s very important that someone else reblogs your work. This is not on you, as I said, but rather in people giving you a hand at it. Except we don’t always reblog everything we see. 

So why not try to get a friend that starts doing it? 

You’re on anon for a reason, but if you want, you can tag me in your art, or tag me in it pretending to be someone else who happened to see the artwork and thought about me, so I won’t know it’s you (and don’t worry, I won’t get suspicious; I have no way to know it’s you, and I often get tagged in other artworks by people even if we don’t talk often, so I won’t look at the tag and say “Ah! It’s that anon from the other day!” I’ll just think it’s cool someone tagged me in something. Your identity is safe with  me, whether you keep it anon or not

To be honest I don’t reblog EVERYTHING that I see, but there’s big chances I will do it. I really like all the art in this fandom, it’s crazy how skilled you people are! But yeah, showing me can lead to me reblogging it, and there you could find that beginning of the reblogging chain.

Or if you’re too shy to show me, show someone else!!

Any of your friends, or someone you feel confident with, or comfortable with. The point is getting one first reblog that can lead to a few more, and the artwork will start eventually travelling across the FFXV fandom.

Speaking of reblogs, don’t be afraid of reblogging your own work in your own blog itself!

A lot, a lot, a lot of artists do it. A lot of writers too; I do it often!!

What I mean is, think about the world. It’s not the same hour everywhere. I can post something during my evening because everyone is online on evenings, right? So it wil reach everyone.

Nope. To some, it’s night; to some, it’s bedtime; to some, it’s morning. It won’t reach everyone simply because of timezones.

So what I do is, I post something, and then I queue a reblog of the same post but it’s my “12 hour reblog”. If I posted at 6 pm, I’ll queue it for 6 am. I like to do the 12 hr one because I think it’s more chances of reaching many people, with the not-so-literal thought of “if it’s day time here, it’s posting on nighttime in the other side of the world, so in 12 hours it will be this hour tomorrow for them”. I hope it makes sense.

And sometimes I even make a 3rd reblog. Sometimes I do feel shy about it because I fear to be annoying, but 99% of the times it works and it reaches people it hadn’t reached before. 

It’s a way of sending your own work back to the top of the dashboard, and sometimes a way to give a 2nd chance for people to see it; sometimes we scroll past something without noticing, so a reblog will give us a 2nd chance to see it.

3. Posting silly stuff sometimes

It’s not a secret that sometimes a silly stickman comic you drew in 5 minutes gets more attention than the profound artwork you worked in for 10 hours. It can be annoying, disappointing, even discouraging at times. But it is, nonetheless, a good way to get attention. 

I’m not saying you force yourself to think about jokes; most times forced jokes don’t work. But if you ever get a silly idea, don’t be afraid to draw it!

People won’t think about the art and judge it. They’re just looking at the joke. And if they find it funny, they may check your blog for more, and maybe you won’t have more silly comics, but maybe, from 10 people that look in your blog for more comics, 3 will think your other work is AMAZING and will fave and maybe even reblog some of that too. It can even get you a couple new followers.

Again, this is not NECESSARY. I follow artists that have never once in their lives (of this fandom) posted any joke or silly thing, and I still follow and ADORE their work to bits. The only thing I needed was to find them once. 

4. Asks and requests

If you’re up for it and have no troubles, you could also be open for quick requests in your ask box.

Have you seen some of those memes/charts, with many facial expressions/prompts, and people request something? “Could you please draw (X character) in A3, please? Thank you!” That sort of prompts. That can be very useful!

People really like free art. Some of us don’t have money for big commissions, so sometimes, when an artist can make a 15 minutes sketch or doodle of something we like, that’s amazing, and it can lead to earning followers and/or reblogs here and there. 

NOTE: Remember, however, that you’re not WORKING FOR US. You’re not getting paid. Do it for fun, when you can, and don’t stress or overwork or take 100+ requests and try to answer them all in 2 days. It’s only for fun. Alrighty? 

But yeah; sometimes, requests can lead some people to your ask, and hence tto your blog. And it’s fun! A lot of people in this fandom have some damn amazing creativity for prompts (and boy, do I know this!!)

5. Collabs /Drawing for a fic

This works better for writers; people look at artworks way, way, way more than they read fanfics, simply because it’s less time consuming and immediate. 

However, collabs can be an amazing way to get both artist and writer to be known.

There are some that follow the artist; some that follow the writer. So when a writer posts a fic linked to an artwork, people will find out about the artist’s blog that way. And when an artists posts an artwork with a fic linked, people will find the writing blog. It’s a good way that gives and receives equally. 

There are people that are REALLY passionate about a fanfic, so you can be sure as heck that they will check out any artwork about it. That they like it or not, that’s on them, but they will at least check it out. 

So you can also draw for a fic you like, no collab needed.

This works just fine, maybe even better. With this, you not only get to be known, but you also make a writer HYPED AND ECSTATIC. There ain’t a feeling in the world like getting art drawn for your fic. So you can be sure that 99% of chances are the writer will reblog even if it’s not a collab (unless the writer is some FREAK, I can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t reblog an art of their fic???). And so, the people that follow the writer will see it too. 

This can work very well because it’s a way to get at least one reblog for sure, which is a beginning. :)

6. Join fandom weeks/weekends

This is a good way to have fun and get yourself to get known.

That is because this is a way so you will for SURE have at least one reblog. And what’s best is that that reblog won’t be from a blog who has 1 follower, it will be reblogged by a fandom blog who has dozens of followers.

If someone is a lot into Gladnis, chances are they will follow the Gladnisweek blog. Maybe they won’t participate, but they follow it to see the entries of other people, and they have it for sure that the content will be exactly what they’re looking for. 

There is no way your artwork goes unseen in a fandom week! 

7. Be true to yourself; have fun

I know, I know. The most cliché of the clichéd advices. But it’s very important that you remember that.

Don’t draw for the attention; draw for yourself.

This IS another one from personal experience. I honestly never thought I’d write for this fandom, even less have this many followers or this many requests! And you know how I got here? Because I only had fun, shared my ideas, shared my passion for the game with others, I was honest and literally, literally only had fun.

Indeed, what pushed me to fame was literally just joking around. It was the Gladio’s pick up lines series. Which I did not because I wanted followers, I just wanted to make people laugh, and I wanted to share my jokes. 

All that I did was have a lot of fun and do what I wanted, not what I thought other people wanted, and eventually ended up here.

Drawing for attention is like drawing for money; it’s empty art.

You don’t dance, sing, paint, or write thinking about how much money and fame you’ll make. You dance, sing, paint, or write thinking about what your story will say, what you want to transmit, how you want it to look. You’re thinking about creating and sharing, not about the fame.

It’s as I said about making silly things or comics sometimes; it’s only if you want to and if you’re having fun, you don’t have (and must NOT) force it!! (Think about a gas; if you force a gas out, it’ll come out as poop. It must come out naturally. Same with everything else, art included!)

So stay true to yourself. Draw what you want to draw, as you want to draw it. True, you’re not drawing just for yourself; if that was the case, you wouldn’t post it online. You’re posting it because you want to share with others. But do so like that; draw for you and share with others, don’t draw what you THINK the others want or what you THINK the others will like. Draw what you want and what you like, and show us; you’ll find someone that likes it too.

Don’t stress about what people will like or not. Think about what YOU like, and that’s it. 

I understand the concern about getting your art to be known, but that comes later. 

And that’s all that I can think of right now! Gee, I sure hope I’m not forgetting/not thinking about something more or else. But I’m sure maybe some raccoobo can have advice too, so, while I can’t tell you for sure it will happen, maybe someone will drop a comment under this, so make sure to check the notes if you see any. My raccoobos are smarter and have more experience than me, so they may know something else! ヽ(・ω・)ﾉ

Of just draw the boys in lingerie, for some reason most fandom seem to like that? Lol. I honestly rarely like that and prefer them in fancy, but maybe I’m just old fashioned or a NERD. But really, draw what you like, this sentence was a joke c:

Anyway, buddy, that’s that!!

[I’m gonna add a read more; it’s not more, just my personal thanks, but as this is already lengthy, I’m gonna add this under a cut. Hope that’s okay, buddy :)]

Thank you so, so, so immensely much for asking me. I feel flattered that you decided to put this bit of trust in me. I don’t know what I did so you felt comfortable and asked me, but I’m happy about it!! 

Thank you for coming to this raccoonie for advice. I’m not the best at it, but I try. I hope any of this can be useful, buddy. Thank you again for the trust, it’s really valuable to me and I feel very honored that you asked me. :’)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW, and thank you SO MUCH for saying such kind and nice and sweet things about me!!! YOU’RE SO NICE, AH, YOU STOP THAT! Now I’m a blushing and giggling MESS, I’m too weak at handling praise aklsdj dfskljf klsdjf d (*ﾉ▽ﾉ)♡♡♡ 

The raccoonie is here for any question or struggle that you have, buddy! I may not always have advice, but I can always share thoughts and ideas, or just read you and give you warmy and fluffy raccoonie snuggles, alrighty? c:

Thank you so much again for asking me and for the bit of trust, and for being so sweet with me

Whether you decide to show me or not, I’ll anyway be sending you some of my most powerful, strongest MAGICAL RACCOON VIBES so you get success and the fame and followers you deserve!! And I don’t know if you’ve followed my blog for a while or if you’ve read my other personal asks, but my magical racc vibes... ALWAYS WORK!! So now you ust gotta work hard, have fun, share, and that’s it. :3

So. *grabs pompoms* This raccoon will be HYSTERICALLY CHEERING ON YOU, OKAY. Greatest of lucks, buddy, I know you can do this!! GO, GO, A-NON, GO GO, A-NON!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! o(≧▽≦)o

Thanks again for everything, buddy! I wish you the absolute BEST and I give you lots, and lots, and LOTS of magical raccoon vibes so it works phenomenally!!! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

Greatest of lucks!

I hope you’re having a MOST FANTASTIC day or night!! Hugs!  \(^ヮ^)/

[ahiddenpath]

Regarding the stage of Digimon, in your opinion, what are the characters with better and worst development or characterization?

Hmm, good question!  As you say, I can only give my opinion- everyone’s interpretation of characters and their growth is subjective- but I will try my best below the cut :)  Spoilers for the digimon stage play below the cut!!!!

I would argue that most of the cast didn’t develop or change during the play, not really.  Mostly they acknowledged existing truths and fears that were already causing tension inside of them, partially because of that all-important anniversary, partially from exposure to the other Chosen and sensing that they’re all facing similar tensions, and partially because of... being literally held prisoner by their own desires.  But then, maybe opening your eyes to something you refused to acknowledge before is growth, even though the pieces were already in your hands!  I think the distinction is probably unimportant?

In a way, the pains of growing up showcased in the stage play are relatable to anyone who has gone through that difficult stage between childhood and adulthood.  During one of my writing classes as an undergrad, the students had to submit two stories each for peer review, and about 70% of them dealt specifically with the fear of facing a life beyond our schooling.  The difficulties the Chosen face in the play are painfully familiar.  But as Koushiro points out, it’s truly the weight of August first bowing their backs, and as Yamato admits, the fear of being unable to spend time with his digimon partner plays a huge role in his fear.

Basically, the Chosen are normal kids, but they’re also not.  Although the viewers know and love this about our babies, I think the stage play showcased this idea beautifully.  I’m not sure how to rank everyone’s growth by number, so let me try talking about them one-by-one and seeing where things land?

Taichi

As most of the Chosen point out in the first act, Taichi has been subdued since the events of Saikai.  Even so, he leaps on the idea of a camping reunion on August 1st, surprising Hikari and placing her on the alert.  His over-enthusiasm indicates that he’s eager to step back into his fearless leader role, if only for a few days, especially in a safe setting.  

Taichi spends most of the play pretending he’s fine (when he clearly isn’t), and it even seems that he considers remaining hostage in Etemon’s... ‘playing house’ scenario rather than start a fight.  He also offers himself as a sacrifice if the others are spared and begs for mercy, hoping to protect his friends by taking the fall for them.  Eventually, with prompting from Sora, Hikari, and Koushiro and help from Agumon, Taichi realizes that his new ability to consider consequences and ask questions before he fights is growth, not regression, and he regains the ability to fight, with the implication that his methods will be more effective than ever.

Taichi probably has the clearest ‘before and after’ picture from the stage play.

Yamato

It was really fun to see Yamato hang out with his band!  There’s a sense that his band mates simultaneously look up to him and take every opportunity to tease him, lol.  

Although he says little of consequence during the group campfire talk, Yamato opens up more when he’s alone with Taichi.  There’s a sense that he’s trying to draw information out of Taichi by offering some in turn, but it doesn’t really get anywhere.  He gets to the good stuff towards the end, when he admits to Jyou that his fears aren’t really based in becoming an adult, or even in growing apart from the Chosen.  His biggest fear is that, some day, he won’t be able to see Gabumon as much.  Part of me isn’t sure why he’s bringing that up now- my understanding is that the gates to the Digital World have been opening and closing beyond their control mostly all along, unrelated to Yamato growing up.  But his point still stands; Gabumon is his most precious friend, and it must often feel like Yamato’s ability to spend time with him is out of his control.  

I got the sense that Yamato mostly needed to speak his fears aloud, but Jyou also assured him that his fears were normal, and that the best thing to do is to make his time with Gabumon count and move forward with courage.  I’m not sure how much Yamato grew...  But I thought everything he said in his scene with Jyou was interesting and loving, and reflected that teddy bear nature hiding beneath his outer tundra. 

Sora

I’ll be honest, while the girls had nice moments, I was a little put out at how comparatively little they were showcased.  Like everyone but Jyou, Sora was not forthcoming at the campfire scene, and she “slept” through most of the “girl talk” scene.  The play gave the sense that Sora is worried about her fellow Chosen, especially Taichi, and communicated her protective and loving nature, but she wasn’t given much opportunity to shine until her final heart-to-heart with Mimi.  Mostly she talks about the self she’s always been- preferring quietly supporting others to thinking about her future and understanding herself.  After musing about herself a bit, she decides that it’s time to start tackling the issues of learning who she is and what she wants.

That’s a beautiful realization and decision for anyone!  i would have liked to see a lot more Sora, though.

Koushiro

Compared to the others, I don’t think Koushiro has a moment where he stands up and makes some kind of discovery unique to himself.  While he (awesomely) points out that all of the Chosen are stuck in this Digital World pocket because they don’t want to lose August 1st and everything it means to them, he doesn’t say much about himself and his individual struggles.  All he really says is that, while he likes computers, he’s not sure what he wants to do in the future, and he’s interested in attempting to explore the world around him without the help of computers.  (Although I guess you could argue that last bit IS a Big Deal).

I don’t mind, though, because his characterization was so great during the play.  He was sassy (“You’re the closest thing we have to a cave man, Taichi-san!”), an intelligent planner (sensing an initial problem, understanding the nature of their plight, and even uncovering the psychological component), supportive towards everyone (especially Taichi, something conspicuously absent in Tri), proactive, polite, sweet, and a bit socially clueless.  The things that I dislike about Tri!Koushiro are absent: perviness, fashion disasters, occasional uncomfortably weird behavior, a lack of proactiveness compared to Adventure, and a tendency to cut himself off from the group instead of working together with them.

I don’t know if he developed over the course of the play, but for what it’s worth, stage play Koushiro soothes my tormented soul, lol.  

Mimi

In the first act, she seems preoccupied with... making the camping trip harder than it should be.  We later learn that she wants to echo their circumstances during their adventures by leaving supplies behind (I think she actually brought supplies back then, though, which is kind of funny).  During the “girl talk” scene, Mimi seems to be pushing for light, stereotypical subject matter: crushes and ghost stories.  While the dialogue itself doesn’t contribute much, it does create a sense that Mimi’s trying to distract herself from her thoughts.

Mimi later says that the future is difficult for her to think about, because she wants to do so many things.  The more she grows, the more she questions her ability to explore her many interests; isn’t it more realistic to focus on one thing?  Palmon convinces her that she can do whatever she wants to do.  It’s a sweet and very Mimi-esque moment.  I enjoyed it a lot, and I thought Mimi’s actress did an incredible job, but Mimi’s initial pushy and actively unhelpful behavior combined with a comparatively short payoff scene pushes her characterization and arc towards the bottom of my personal ranking.

Jyou

Jyou didn’t ‘grow’ in the sense that he was the one Chosen who is calm about his future, but the fact that he’s in that position during the stage play is amazing to me.  You guys probably know I have a huuuuge soft spot for Jyou, but...  Just the fact that he went on the trip without an argument, even for one day, was a victory.  And he put so much effort into helping Taichi and Yamato, which is wonderful, too!  

I loved his scene with Yamato...  While Yamato did most of the talking and discovering, Jyou supported him and listened.  It’s kind of... like the opposite of what happened between them in the diner?  That isn’t a perfect metaphor, but this time, Jyou went out of his way to help Yamato, instead of vice versa.  Senpai is so grown up now ;__;   At the same time, he’s still strung too tight about his grades and achieving his goals, so he still feels like our beloved dork face.

Senpai, notice me *___*

Takeru

In my opinion, Takeru drew the short straw in the stage play.  He is upfront about his fears about everyone parting ways, and he seems willing to talk about his hope that he can write in the future without ending up hating it (although he tends to get cut off when he tries).  We glimpse his sweet and mischievous sides, but he spends most of the climax looking lost and near tears while Hikari remains calm and reassures him.  I finished the play without much of an impression from him.  I think he mentioned that he used to feel stronger and more single-minded, and now he often feels more frightened and unsure?  I don’t recall any closure for him, though.

Happily, I find Takeru’s Tri persona lovable and fun enough that I don’t really mind his comparative lack of presence here, but I do kind of wonder why he got left out like he did.

Hikari

Hikari was interesting in that her role as a concerned observer, and someone comparatively grounded in reality, was very visible in the play.  Although she mostly remained in the background, Hikari was vocal about her worries for Taichi, and she was the first to point out that something was wrong with Etemon’s ‘playing house’ situation.  But despite giving off a sense that she is calmer and more aware than the others, she wasn’t given much material to work with in the play.  I was happy to see her interacting with Taichi- in my opinion, Tri pushes her away from him and towards Takeru to a way that sometimes feels like a stretch- but I would have liked to see more from her in general.  Again, the “girl talk” scene featured the gals, but didn’t actually give them much meaningful material.  Did she talk about her hopes for the future, beyond affirming that she wants to teach kindergarten?  

I guess overall, it looks like Taichi was the main character of the stage play.  Yamato, Koushiro, and Jyou have roughly the most influence after that, followed by Sora, followed by Hikari, Mimi, and Takeru.  While I have complaints, I think the stage play did a great job portraying the characters.  Ultimately, though, I think they could have fit more material for some of the characters if they didn’t spend so much time on dialogue that hit dead ends over and over, and if the “girl talk” scene was less about... crushes and ghost stories and more about... the girls.

Thanks for the ask!

[taintedkibou]

Couldn’t Endure - part four

[part one] [part two] [part three]

Ryuji slowly began distancing himself from everyone. He still laughed when he was supposed to, but the sound was hollow. Most of his outbursts and antics were just for keeping up appearances. Funnily enough, no one reprimanded him for his actions and behavior, which hurt even more. They don’t care about you.

x

Skull got his wish of being brainwashed and seemed to have his sights set on Queen. After the first two attacks—the lightning still tingled—Queen set about making her own fan. When she had the chance, she stormed over to Skull and slapped him upside the head with it. He shook his head, muttering a quick “thanks”, all while avoiding her piercing gaze. Queen glared him down before deciding she would take up post right beside him. 

Joker exchanged a glance with Fox, who merely lifted his shoulders in a fluid shrug.

At the end of the battle, Queen curled her fingers around the crook of Skull’s arm. There was no hiding her surprise when he snatched his arm back. “Skull?”

“Leave me alone,” the blond huffed, shoulders hunching defensively after he shoved his hands into the pockets of his outfit.

“Ryuji,” Joker admonished. If that wasn’t the icing on the cake.

“Of course you’d take her side. It makes me wonder… did you even like me? You obviously don’t.” Joker’s eyes widened, but Skull charged ahead, like he was prone to do, “You two are dating after all!”

The silence that followed Skull’s outburst made the howling wind of the underground subway system even that much louder. It also made the sound of Queen’s slap echo.

’Again,’ Joker thought, remembering that time in Shinjuku.

“I think you should sit the rest of this trip out until you clear your head,” Queen instructed, her voice soft but very deadly. Why would he assume such a foolish thing? Akira was clearly in love with him.

Skull didn’t need to be told twice. “Mona!” he yelled, yanking his mask off as he turned his back on the rest of the Thieves. Ryuji winced as the edge brushed his obviously swelling cheek.

“Ha?!” Mona was ripped from his stupor and stood rigid.

“Get me out of here.”

Mona looked to Joker, who nodded, and quickly transformed. “I’ll be right back. You can still walk around without me.” Ryuji climbed into the van and Mona took off in the direction of their last platform.

Queen stared at her gloved hand and clenched it into a tight fist to stop it from trembling. “Sorry,” she whispered to remainder of the group.

“The Makoto special attack,” Joker quipped.  

Queen’s shoulders relaxed as she laughed. “Please don’t. Oh.” She drew herself upright, pounding her fist into her open palm, and spun around to face the group. More specifically—Joker. “Eiko! Ryu—no. That’s why Skull’s behaving like that!”

You two are dating after all! Joker pressed a gloved hand against his face, closing his eyes. ’Ryuji…‘  x

“Be careful,” Mona told Ryuji before driving away from the entrance.

Ryuji waited until he could no longer hear the purring roar of an engine before releasing an anguished scream into the empty space. He punched the nearest wall then sagged against it. “…pathetic." 

Skull was nowhere to be found when the rest of the Thieves returned to the entrance after reaching the lowest level of Mementos. He ignored their constant messages in the group chat, and Joker reported that his messages went unseen as well.

Morgana refused to let any of them do anything other than go home and rest, and the small group could only hope their missing friend was doing the same.

Akira made his way up to the third floor just in time to see Makoto walk out of the Student Council room. “Ma—Niijima-senpai,” he called out, quickening his steps. There were too many students loitering around for him to call his upperclassman by her first name like he normally did while away from Shujin.

Makoto’s expression remained somber even after spotting her friend and teammate. “Kurusu-kun. I was just about to come find you. Have you heard any word from Ryuji? Ann said he wasn’t in school today.” She frowned, adjusting her hold on her school case. “He still isn’t answering our messages. This is all my fault,” Makoto finished with a sigh.

“It’s not, but we shouldn’t talk about this here.” The spying eyes never left them and the whispers were starting to grow louder. “Let’s go,” he suggested.

Makoto nodded.

Akira decided Lala needed a break from seeing his face and led the way to Leblanc. When the duo walked into the empty café and Sojiro caught a glimpse of Makoto’s crestfallen expression, he lifted a hand and pointed behind them. Akira paused a moment to flip the sign to CLOSED. Makoto bowed deeply in apology, but the owner merely waved her off.

“What’re you having?”

“An iced coffee, please?”

Sojiro smiled and set about making Makoto’s request.

Morgana hopped out of Akira’s school case, onto the floor, and carefully made his way to the end of the bar. He peered around it to watch the Master work. Sojiro caught the feline staring and assumed he was hungry. One sec, he mouthed. Morgana happily sat, his tail swishing behind him. Once his guests were served and the cat fed, Sojiro decided it was time to clean up a little early and slipped off to the side to begin washing dishes

Makoto kept both hands cupped around the cool glass after taking a sip and exhaled deeply. “I never stopped to think what would happen if word got out about our fake relationship.” Straight to the point. “I never considered Ryuji’s feelings the entire time I dragged you around with me. I’m a horrible friend.”

“You’re not,” Akira argued. “You were looking out for your friend. And you did consider Ryuji’s feelings, but you had no idea that it would affect us the way it did.”

“He usually brushes things off and just keeps on going. I guess I was wrong to make that assumption,” Makoto whispered, ducking her head. It startled her to hear Ryuji dismiss his relationship with Akira so flippantly. Her hand moved on its own before she could think her actions through. Makoto lowered her hands from the counter to clench them together in her lap. “I would like to apologize to him and explain the entire situation, but I can’t if he keeps ignoring us.”

Akira shifted on the stool, digging his phone from his pocket. He opened his contacts app and clicked on Ryuji’s name before holding the phone out to the older teen.

xxx

Ryuji knew he was being an idiot, but he didn’t want to face the truth that Akira no longer liked him. ‘It’s my fault. It’s always my fault. I want to be open about us, but…’

The more he thought about Akira, the more his past reminded him that they could never be. He thought he’d broken free from the mental shackles of his father’s abuse, but his fears now worked together to remind him that he had no future. Every time he closed his eyes, Ryuji saw that man. Standing beside him was Kamoshida, a hoard of shadowy students behind him; all taunting him with sneers and jeers because of who he chose to love. Love?

Ryuji’s eyes flew open at the sharp trilling and he fumbled for his phone. He stopped himself from answering after seeing the name on the screen. The call rang out and the screen went blank. A few short moments later, he was alerted to a voicemail. That was new.

Ryuji put the phone on speaker after deciding to check the voicemail immediately. He was not expecting to hear a girl’s voice after “Akira” called him.

Ryuji, Makoto’s voice started, tinny through the distant speaker. I won’t chastise you for your actions. In fact… I’d like to apologize for mine. I never should have raised a hand against you like that, but what you said about us—Akira and I, was wrong. You, more than anyone, should know how much he cares for you. In case you’re thinking ‘yeah, right’—he’s keeping his distance because he doesn’t want to push you even farther away.

There was a lull in her speech and Ryuji wondered just how much longer the voice mail was going to be. He knew there was a time limit.

Makoto sighed softly through the phone and resumed talking, I would explain everything to you myself, but I doubt you’d want to hear it from me.Talk to Akira if you won’t  talk to any of us. He’ll be at Leblanc. Again, I’m sorry, and I hope you’ll accept my apology.

Ryuji stared at his phone, mouth hanging open. He fumbled to save the message when the automated voice told him to, and checked the time. He could still make it before nightfall.

xxx

"He’s still at home,” Futaba murmured, staring at the map on her phone. She lifted her head, confusion written plainly across her face. “In my opinion, I thought you did a good job wooing him. You were so happy after your movie date, too.”

Akira smiled, adjusting his glasses. He’d been on top of the universe after that day. Morgana had to threaten him to stay away from Mementos after he declared he would beat every Shadow singlehandedly. But now Ryuji was trapped in his head, all because of a lie someone told him or he overheard. Akira wished the other boy would talk to him, like he used to do. He figured it would’ve been easier now, especially since they had gotten closer.

“Oh,” Futaba chirped. “He’s on the move.”

Brushing his fringe aside—it fell back over the bridge of his glasses—Akira sat forward to see what their wonderful Oracle saw. The little gold dot she dubbed as “Ryuji” was indeed bouncing along the map.

Futaba snatched the phone back suddenly, pressing the screen almost against her nose. “He’s on the train… going to Shinjuku!?” Her eyes grew wide and worried behind her glasses. “Why is he going there? Didn’t you say Queen told him to come here?”

Sojiro raised an eyebrow at the television he tried to pay attention to. ‘Queen?’

“She did.” Akira easily slipped free of the booth but stopped himself at Leblanc’s front door. He looked over his shoulder at the Master. “I’m heading out to rescue Ryuji.”

Sojiro hummed around the cigarette between his lips. “He’s in Shinjuku, right? Be careful, and try not to get into any more trouble.”

Akira opened the door, the bell jingling, but stopped again before stepping out into the evening. “Morgana?”

The blue-eyed feline didn’t bother showing himself as he responded, “Boss said it all already. Don’t stay out too late.” All Sojiro heard were a series of “meows”.

Akira slipped outside. He broke into a run the moment the door closed behind him, glad not to have the weight of Morgana on his shoulder holding him back. What was Ryuji hoping to gain by going to the Red-light district? Mishima no longer loitered there, though Akira wished the boy would pick a prefecture and stick with it. Futaba sent him short update texts as the train sped along. It wasn’t moving fast enough for Akira. Ryuji was terrified of the men always hitting on him, so what had driven him to that area?

xxx

Ryuji slapped his phone against his head after stepping out of the train and into Shinjuku station. There was no logical explanation for how he ended up at the Red-light district, other than him being an idiot. He’d been so preoccupied with checking all the messages he’d ignored for the past two days that he let the largest crowd guide him. Now, Ryuji was down a few yen and in the one place he didn’t want to be.

On one hand, he could get back on the train and go to Leblanc like he should have, but the latest text from Futaba was in all caps. AKIRA IS ON HIS WAY. DON’T MOVE BLONDIE! D:<

On the other hand, he could sacrifice himself to gain some information while he waited for Akira. Ryuji removed his phone from where he still had it pressed against his forehead, now slightly reddened from the impact, and shoved it into his pocket. If he recalled correctly, the terrifying duo often walked the streets of Shinjuku. Their sixth senses were probably tingling like crazy now that he’d finally started making his way out of the station.

Ryuji would fight for his virtue and emerge from the battle victorious, with more knowledge and guts. ‘Please don’t take long, Akira…!’

xxx

Akira did not run around Shinjuku looking for Ryuji. He walked briskly through its streets. After passing Chihaya twice, he stopped to ask the fortune teller if she could do a reading.

Chihaya smiled sweetly and pointed across the street. “Crossroads. The owner rescued him.”

Akira wanted to kiss her, but he was saving that for Ryuji. He thanked the woman before jogging the distance from her setup to the bar. Taking a deep breath, he composed himself before entering. Lala met his eye before sweeping a hand in the direction of the lone figure sitting at the counter. The blond head was bowed low, oblivious to the world around him. Lala cleared her throat very loudly, and Ryuji sat up with a start, looking from the bar owner to where she pointed. His eyes widened and Akira could see flight rather than fight kick in, which wasn’t like Ryuji at all.

Akira sighed deeply, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Lala. I’m sorry that I keep inconveniencing you like this.”

The bar owner waved a hand, a small smile on her face. “I told you the last time you were here, it’s refreshing and welcome to hear about youths in love.”

Akira shook his head frantically, but the damage was already done. Ryuji forced a grin onto his face as he thanked Lala, and hopped down from the bar and stormed past the bar stools to reach the door. Ryuji glared at the obstacle named Akira that was blocking him from the exit. “Move,” he growled.

“I’m not moving until you listen to me. You’re only hearing what you want to hear and that’s not good enough.”

Ryuji clenched his fists at his sides. “You brought Niijima here last time and you talked about how much you love each other. That’s what I’m hearing!”

Lala drew everyone’s attention with her hearty laughter. “That’s not what happened. Maybe you two should sit down after all.”

“Thank you, Lala,” Akira groaned as he made his way to the counter. Ryuji reluctantly followed, still sulking. “I feel like I need a drink.”

“Water it is, then.”

Akira pouted as he climbed onto the bar stool.

“That won’t work on me,” Lala scoffed, moving to the end of the bar to prepare her recurring guest something to drink. Ryuji’s old glass of ginger ale still untouched, but Lala would replace it as well.

Akira turned his head once Ryuji settled beside him, a small smile settled on his face. “You are a hard man to win over, Sakamoto.” Ryuji clicked his tongue, glaring at his hands as he wrung his fingers together. Akira took the fact that Ryuji had no comeback to mean the other teen was willing to listen. He sat up straight after remembering Chihaya’s words. “You rescued him?” Akira inquired when Crossroads’ owner placed a tea on the countertop in front of him.

Lala frowned as she remembered seeing the teen get manhandled by the men she dubbed as troublemakers of Shinjuku. The blond was trembling something terrible when she finally managed to free him from their clutches. “Yes." She wouldn't go into details, since she only saw half of the incident. Besides, it was his story to tell. "He said he was waiting for you, so I told him it would be safer to wait at the bar.”

Akira faced the quiet boy beside him. “Ryuji—”

“I wanted to talk to them,” Ryuji snapped, nails digging into the palm of his hand. “But they refused to listen to what I had to say.” Their touch—he didn’t want to add that to the list of nightmares he already experienced. “I couldn’t very well beat them up… I’d probably have gotten arrested.”

Akira slipped his fingers beneath his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Lala. I think it’s best if we took this conversation home. I feel like it’s going to be a long night and I’d rather not inconvenience you any more than I already have.”

“Ichiko does a better job of that than you,” Lala chuckled, but the love she held for the journalist was quite obvious.

Akira smiled and took a sip of his tea before climbing down from the bar seat. Ryuji made to follow, but Lala lightly tapped the back of his hand, which was pressed atop the counter to stop him. He was surprised he didn’t flinch away from the touch.

“It’s not my business to meddle in anyone’s affairs, but I will say that your friends love you. The headstrong boy waiting by the door and staring at me suspiciously—” Ryuji’s lips twitched into a grin and Lala counted that as a win. “He probably loves you even more than all of them combined.”

“Everyone tells me I’m an idiot,” Ryuji sighed. “And I kinda proved it to them with the way I’ve been acting, but I think I see that now.” His grin widened, growing brighter. “I’ll come back and let you know how things work out. Maybe you’ll let me rent a room in the back?”

“Not a chance.” Lala dismissed him with a flick of her hand.

Ryuji was laughing as he made his way to where the other teen stood, and Akira enjoyed the sight and sound he’d greatly missed.

xxx

Ryuji walked into Leblanc first. Akira didn’t want him bolting at the last minute and stood guard over the door. Ryuji was not expecting to be ambushed by Futaba and Yusuke. “What’re you doing here, Inari!?” he yelled, an accusatory finger pointed at the tall, glaring teen.

Sojiro rubbed the back of his neck, idly wondering where these names were coming from.

Yusuke quickly shuttered his worried expression to one of indifference as he crossed his arms. “Futaba invited me to keep her company. I merely used that as an excuse to enjoy Leblanc’s wonderful coffee while admiring “Sayuri”. I guess I lost track of time. I was certainly not waiting for Akira to bring you back so I could tell you that your behavior has been very troublesome. I worked too hard,” he muttered beneath his breath, though everyone still heard him loud and clear.

Futaba shot him a bewildered side glance before rolling her eyes and glaring at the blond. A jab to his chest accompanied her words, “Don’t ever do that again!  You’re not allowed to run off, especially to Shinjuku. You never shut up, so what’s different about this time?”

“Futaba,” Sojiro chastised.

“Sojiro,” Futaba whined, cheeks inflating before she released a sharp puff of air. “If Akira and Ryuji were to get together, what would you think?”

Ryuji took an aborted step towards the shorter teen, drawing back to stare wide-eyed at the café owner.

Sojiro hummed thoughtfully, his steely gaze locked on the two teens darkening the entrance of his café. The blond stepped back, shoulder brushing Akira’s chest, but Akira made no attempt to put any distance between them. He was the first one Akira brought by, second only to the cat. “I’d think… it’s about damn time,” he muttered.

Futaba turned back to Ryuji with a look that screamed See?! Yusuke nodded in agreement.

Akira didn’t think Ryuji’s eyes could grow any wider. He worried they might pop out of the boy’s head. He slipped an arm around his waist, guiding him away from the duo and farther into the café. “I think that’s enough for now. Futaba, thank you. Yusuke. Do you need money for the train?”

“Nope.” Sojiro was already removing his apron. “I told him I’ll give him a ride back to his dorms.”

Now it was Akira’s turn to look stumped. “But you told me—”

“That was the passenger’s seat,” Sojiro reminded him with a warning glare as he walked around the counter. “Futaba’s coming along for the ride.”

“Shotgun,” Futaba giggled, hands clasped together. Yusuke stood beside her, a smile on his face. He was always glad to save a few yen.

“Okay,” Akira mumbled.

“Hurry up and go to sleep,” Sojiro told him. “I think the boy’s suffering from shock.”

Akira’s arm tightened reflexively around Ryuji, who had yet to say anything about the impromptu intervention. He leaned around Ryuji to see his face as he asked, “Do you want to spend the night?”

Ryuji blinked slowly, turning to stare at Akira. Akira, who he stumbled over trying to chase down one of his demons; Akira, who helped him confront those same demons. Akira, who was always at his side until Ryuji pushed him away. A little life returned to his eyes and he began fidgeting in Akira’s hold. “Yeah,” he murmured “Just let me tell my mom.”

Akira slipped his hand away and gave Ryuji his privacy by seeing the small group out of the café. Sojiro ushered the children out, pulling on his hat as he followed. He nodded at Akira before closing the door. Akira locked it after the sign was flipped. When he turned around, Ryuji was nowhere to be seen. He crossed to the stairs, climbing them quickly, and found the missing teen sitting on the sofa.

Ryuji grinned at the brunet’s frantic expression. “What? You thought I climbed out the window? Nope, just being creepy and watching Mona.”

“Very creepy,” Morgana mumbled, curled up on the other end of the sofa. He’d left his usual perch and joined Ryuji there.

Akira relaxed and went to collect the clothes he’d dubbed as Ryuji’s after their first sleepover. It was time to get ready for bed. Morgana claimed the couch. He’d made an exaggerated display of stretching his body as far across the cushion as possible. Ryuji made sure Akira was looking the other way before making a rude gesture. Morgana sputtered to gain Akira’s attention, pointing a paw at the blond. Akira arched an eyebrow at Ryuji and received a blinding grin as a response. That was all the answer he needed and brushed Morgana off as tired.

Akira climbed onto the futon first, pressing as close to the wall as possible to make room.

Ryuji sat down, hesitating. “I’m sorry—”

“Ryuji,” Akira sighed. “Tomorrow. We can talk tomorrow. No. We will talk tomorrow.”

“I won’t run away anymore,” Ryuji promised, swinging his legs up so they rested alongside Akira’s.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Akira yawned.

Ryuji startled at the arm being wrapped around his waist, but eventually relaxed into the embrace and closed his eyes. Despite the warmth of the summer month, he enjoyed Akira being pressed against his side. 

[part five] [part six] 

[xox-hitorabu-xox]

Hi , just want to know what kind of relationship between izaya and kadota ? Are they friends ? And if i remembered correctly someone said that izaya used to sleep in kadota lap in their high school days. Is that true? Thank you

|| Thanks for the question, Anon-san! (*ゝω・*)ノ

Izaya is the first one that started calling him, ‘Dotachin’, which Kyouhei is a bit irritated at(But I have not seen where he actually started calling him that). So Karisawa started calling him Dotachin after Izaya did.

I think Kyouhei is weary of Izaya to some degree, and knows how he is, but doesn’t really have much say beyond that, unless he were to mess with his friends. In Shizuo gaiden( http://anni-fiesta.livejournal.com/63116.html ), there’s this scene:

——-

Silence reigned again in the library after Shizuo had left with Shinra.

However, it was soon broken by a voice that addressed Izaya from between the shelves.

“Don’t make too much of a rumpus in the library.”

“Oops, Dotachin, I didn’t realize that you were here.”

The male student who had just been called “Dotachin” looked around to make sure nobody was in the library except Izaya and himself. Turning his gaze back to the book in his hand, he asked matter-of-factly:

“…So, what are you up to this time?”

“That hurts. You’re making it sound like I’m always up to something.”

“'Sound like’? You actually are behind those things, aren’t you? You were behind the trouble our sophomores got into recently with the ‘Dragon Zombie’ clan. Also, Shishizaki-sempai wasn’t down with influenza. He got injured fighting the head of the other gang one-on-one, didn’t he?”

Upon hearing this, Izaya wiped his smile off his face. Instead he asked with a provocative look in his eyes:

“You sound very well-informed…but do you have any proof that I was behind those things?”

The student who had just been called “Dotachin”, however, continued to speak with an air of indifference, not moving his gaze away from the book.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to accuse you of anything. I don’t give a damn what you do as long as you don’t get me or people around me into trouble.”

“……”

Izaya fell silent for a moment before letting a smile creep over his face again and narrowing his eyes.

“Haha, if Shizu-chan is the Shadow Boss, you would definitely be the Light Boss.”

“I’m not interested. It’s true we don’t have any seniors who could take that title, but still, if anyone should be called the Light Boss, it would be the sophomore, Shishizaki-senpai. Either way, it has nothing to do with me.”

“There, there, don’t be too modest. To express my gratitude for your apathy, I’ll tell you exactly what I’m up to today.”

“Hm?”

Izaya continued to talk in his calm tone to “Dotachin”, who never looked away from his book.

“Well, now that I think about it, I’ve already used those senior sempais on a quite a lot of occasions for different purposes. It looks like they’re starting to figure out that I was behind it all. I think they already put my name on the list of people they’ll pay friendly visits to after the commencement.

“That’s why I chose to, well, cause them some confusion today.”

——-

Izaya appears to tell him the reason behind his prank and is a little honest with him.

In novel 2, Izaya says: “The real question is, how do the other cards who aren’t my pawns move now? Yumasaki’s group, ShinraKishitani, Simon, Shiki from the Awakusu-kai…the cops… But I suppose Shizu’s got to be the king. And Celty’s the joker…no, the queen. Then thejoker is…Shinra’s dad with Nebula…? Know what, I don’t really care.“

So, according to him, Yumasaki’s group are not his pawns.

And then there is this scene from Epitome of Eighteen Histories (translation by xcaneolupusx):

——–

“Ah, that’s right. Did you come to visit Dotachin?”

“…You’re here to visit Kadota-san, too?”

Kazane asked with her eyes directed cautiously at Izaya, who answered honestly.

“Nope? It’s just that I hit my head, so I come here for a slight inspection, that’s all. And it seems Dotachin is refusing visitors anyway. If you don’t meet in person, there’s no point in expressing sympathy.”

“…So you do have the concept of visiting someone.”

——–

And there is this scene with Izaya and Karisawa in Durarara!! Light Novel 11(translation by Mizaya):

——

“Is it so unexpected that I visit Dotachin at the hospital?”

Karisawa answered his remarks instead of Anri.

“It’s not surprising, Izaiza.”

Karisawa noticed the change in Anri after she saw Izaya and moved to a position between the two of themand kept talking.

“It would be reasonable to think that I came here to tell Dotachin unnecessary things or to see how he isdoing since you people think I was involved in the hit and run.”

Although she is smiling, her smiling eyes were slightly more narrow than usual, which may be becauseshe thinks to herself that it’s possible.

“Don’t say that. I don’t even own a car and I don’t have a reason to hit Dotachin. Well, I still am aninformant so I will contact you if I get any information about the suspect. I would like to charge you 50000yen but since you are my acquaintance, I will discount it to 40000 yen.”

“Are you going to give the 40000 yen to Dotachin as a present?”

“Don’t say that. 40000 yen for a present would be a violation of etiquette.”

——–

Also, in the Sunset Novel, Kyouhei says to some interviewers, “If you want his love, you have to be a friend first. Start with your own, to love him on the line, go to him as a friend on the line, and you will see he was unexpectedly the type of guy who had the strong bond of friendship. I think this is my earnest answer to you now.”. I can’t remember if Kaedesan721 was planning to translate Kyouhei’s entry or not, but he talks a lot about Izaya in it. (trying to place this off the top of my head)He says Izaya is a really good listener, but that he’s liable to tell you things to push you in different directions. And from what I read, he also says something to the degree of telling the interviewers that most/a lot of the people that were messed up by meeting Izaya were ones who were going already through dark periods of their lives(or something like that). I’m not really sure what else to say, but I think Izaya is fond of Kyouhei a bit, but also weary of him(knows that it isn’t a good idea to test him, therefore typically just leaves him alone, but, again, partially out of respect as well). Izaya specifically sent those interviewers to ask those people their opinions on him. Coincidentally, most of them are people Izaya had claimed were not his pawns.

In Epitome of Eighteen Histories, about Kyouhei, it says:

It was true that his light-heartedness brightened the surrounding mood, but one had the sense that he drew a line between himself and others. Not to mention he hung out with Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya, both highly unusual people; though due to Shizuo and Izaya’s disastrously bad relationship they were almost never seen together.

….

And then there’s this from Durarara!! no Subete(http://nomimushi.livejournal.com/2330.html):

—-“I-ZA-YA-KUU-N. I-’M GO-NNA- CRU-SH YOUUUU-!”

That low voice echoed throughout the park, and in the next instant - a vending maching flew into the air, tracing a parabola directly towards a man in a black coat.

The vending machine, which in a way was a symbol of good governance, turned into a chunk of violence and attacked a man - Orihara Izaya.

From one end of the park, Kadota, watching the scene from afar, shook his head and said, “It’s started again, huh?”

It seemed that Izaya and Shizuo had been waiting for different people - by some chance, they found themselves in the same place, noticed each other at practically the same time, and turned the Ikebukuro park into a battleground without any warning.

Next to him, Yumasaki, who had been watching, smiled as he spoke.“Kadota-san, you were in the same school as those two, right?”

“……Yeah.”

“Karisawa-san isn’t here to force her BL fantasies, so, was there never an occasion where those two helped each other as rivals to stand up against a great evil?”

“No there wasn’t.” He answered in less than a second, and sighing deeply, continued. “I can’t even say they were rivals. From the day of the entrance ceremony, they’d been trying to kill each other. It seemed a student had seen Shizuo get hit by a truck, and because he still appeared at school the next day, the word that Shizuo was a monster spread. ……I thought at first that Izaya, who had caused a truck to hit someone, should be feared more, but that information didn’t spread.”

“A typical black curtain type, huh?”

“He’s good at not making enemies. Even though he sometimes is on the receiving end of grudges, he carefully avoids anything that will direct hostility to himself. ……See, just like that-”

“Eh?”

Following Kadota’s line of vision, Yumasaki saw Masaomi watching with a complicated expression Izaya and Shizuo’s battle at the park entrance.

“Oh, isn’t that Kida-kun?”

“With regards to that incident, it’s not strange to think Kida would stab Izaya. But it didn’t turn out that way. ……The anger directed towards Izaya, was directed towards himself. Izaya had controlled the direction of his anger.”

“! That is, Accelerator’s Vector Change! Izaya is a Psychic, right!”

“Shut up.”

As he watched the fighting in the park, Kida Masaomi thought of his past.

Under the wildly blooming sakura, Shizuo’s angry yelling reached his ears.– If I had as much strength as Heiwajima Shizuo…… . Maybe I could have done something differently then.

He’d realized that when he couldn’t save someone precious to him, Izaya had been doing something in the background.

But in the end, the one who couldn’t save her was himself. An anger comparable to the hate he felt towards the human called Orihara Izaya rose in him, directed at himself.

– Heiwajima Shizuo’s really amazing.

Feeling envious of Shizuo, who was able to direct his animosity at Orihara Izaya without hesitation, Masaomi left the area.

While he held an uncertainty that he might be able to make the first step one day.

“Well, the two of them would start fighting when they met, practically every day then…… . Even though there were people like Shishizaki-sempai who could stop their fights, I guess there wasn’t a reason for them to be able to get along……Once, a barrel filled with gasoline and chemical fuels was found in the school you know, and the students who had good sense realised that it must have been something Izaya brought in to blow Shizuo away.”

“He’s a dangerous person, huh.”

“In between the two of them, there was that guy Shinra. In a way, that guy was pretty amazing, so they said. Because he could stand between Shizuo and Izaya and laugh, and say random things. Even the seniors had to take their hats off to him……”

“I’m sorry, Celty. It looks like Shizuo and Izaya are brawling in Ikebukuro, could you go stop them for me?”

“Why me?”

“Er, that guy Izaya, it seems he was there waiting for people from the Awakusu-kai, and if I’m a friend of those two I should do something. I have work to do now, so please, Celty. Although you can forget about it if you really don’t want to.”

“Really…… . You’re in quite a spot of trouble. Isn’t it a problem if anything happens to you, while you’re being a friend of those two?”

At Celty, who shrugged and showed him the words on her PDA, Shinra smiled and shook his head.

“That’s not true. It’s not actually a huge problem to stand in between the two of them. See, isn’t it safe in the eye of a typhoon? And also……”

“And also?”

“I didn’t have many friends. The only ones I can call my lifelong friends are only those two. I’m actually a little happy to think of myself as one of them. Though of course, I’m happiest to be close to you, Celty.”

Thinking of that conversation, Celty, who had reached the park and was now in front of the ruin Shizuo and Izaya’s fighting had caused, sighed deeply in her heart.

– Just what is the eye of the typhoon. ……isn’t it a tornado.

Thinking of this, Celty imagined Shinra exclaiming “Wow, I’m flying!” while laughing, swept up by a tornado - and with a Shinra-like calmness, stepped in to mediate.

However, in the end, Celty alone could not stop them, and it becoming a riot that dragged in Simon and the observers Kadota and company-That is another story altogether.

—–And here is one other link: http://mizaya.tumblr.com/post/95319511239/gaiden-6-durarara-x-20-a-sudden-coming-of-age