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ryukyuan-sunflower · 3 years

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Response to the Moral Question of the MugenxFuu Romance

This is a full response to an anonymous ask I received:

“Can I ask why you ship fuugen? Isn’t Fuu a minor and Mugen is 19.”

This is a rather...complex and loaded question. There’s multiple things to address but I’ll start simple and work up from there. I will first go into my personal feelings on why I ship the pairing, evidence, and then the more complicated concept of the character’s ages both in reality, as well as in the fictional anime. Hopefully it will alleviate some distress on the issue. If it doesn’t, and you consider the age gap morally unacceptable, then it might unfortunately serve to make Mugen out to be a morally questionable character, implied romance aside.

The Simple Question: Why do I ship it?

I ship Mugen x Fuu because it’s implied canon by the creators.

I believe strongly, and have found and provided plenty of evidence in my numerous other posts that support my belief, that Mugen and Fuu were written to have romantic feelings for one another. These feelings were never addressed, acted upon, nor explicitly spelled out for viewers. But the subtle implications of their unsaid feelings added up, episode by episode. The interviews of Shinichiro Watanabe, Ayako Kawasumi and Ginpei Sato only solidify my interpretations and findings.

The actual anime aside, here are the links to my posts concerning the interviews, if you are interested.

-Shinichiro Watanabe about Mugen’s Character.

-Ayako Kawasumi and Ginpei Sato about Fuu’s Feelings for Mugen in the Roman Album.

I adore the entire cast of Samurai Champloo, as much as by themselves as I do as a trio. I love Jin just as much as Mugen and Fuu. However, I do not see any implication of Jin having romantic feelings with either of them. His romance is canonically with Shino and his role for Fuu feels more brotherly and fatherly to me.

Personally, I am not a “crack shipper”. I am not someone who typically likes two characters and pairs them off together for my own amusement. I have nothing against crack pairings, nor their shippers, but it is not my taste. I enjoy romances that have some type of evidence or backing behind it. So it is not as if I simply ship Mugen and Fuu because I like Mugen more than Jin.

If hypothetically, all the things that happened with Mugen and Fuu happened with Jin and Fuu—if Jin saved her constantly, if Jin and Fuu had strange, intimate moments like the wrist grab scene, if Fuu jumped in the way to save Jin’s life, if Fuu cried for Jin seven times, if Fuu’s voice brought Jin back from death, if Jin gave up his sword for Fuu—well, I would not be a fan of the Mugen and Fuu ship. I’d be a fan of Jin and Fuu.

But that is simply not how the anime was written.

On that same note of liking an implied romance, I am not as interested in blatant romance stories either. Implied, subtle romance is so interesting because it leaves enough clues that one has to find themselves, and then you are able to make your own interpretations and “what if” scenarios surrounding it. This is why I enjoy the story types of, say, the Souls video game series and its related titles. (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro). The story lines have to be figured out, and while there is evidence and clues dropped all over, nothing is ever specifically stated. But even so, we can come to solid conclusions that are difficult to disprove, but also never fully confirmed.

Samurai Champloo spells out very little for viewers. Example: Never does the anime state what island Mugen is from. We only know it’s in the Ryukyus. But based on historical evidence, and also symbolism in the show (the paantu and the trees in his flashback) we can assume it’s Tarama-shima or another island in Miyako.

Never do Mugen and Fuu state they have feelings for one another, but it’s in subtle dialogue, numerous times. Most blatant however, is when Sara tells Mugen “It’s as if you’ve never been loved by anyone.” and then Fuu proves her wrong by saving his life by throwing her own in the way, only seconds later.

Their actions fascinate me. Both Mugen and Fuu demonstrate self sacrificial behavior for each other, and show how much they care with actions rather than words. Most of all, I enjoy the romantic trope of “love leads to a character’s redemption.” Mugen’s feelings for Fuu is what redeems him from the sins of his past, and saves him from a life without meaning and only pain, anger and hatred. These aspects of his dark character are highlighted both by the dialogue of Mukuro in Episode 13 and Sara in Episode 21. Fuu being his redemption is also symbolized in her saving him on three separate occasions. The last incident, when she calls him back from death and the Paantu taking him away, is the most symbolic of his “redemption”.

Samurai Champloo is a direct response to the cynicism of Watanabe’s previous work, Cowboy Bebop. Where revenge and the past consumes Spike, ruining his future and love, Mugen is redeemed by love and is able to face his past and press on.

Here is a fantastic article about the concept of Mugen’s love for Fuu being his redemption and also being a direct response to Cowboy Bebop.

All of this aside, because of the second comment, I’m assuming that this isn’t necessarily what you were asking.

“Isn’t Fuu a minor and Mugen is 19?”

I’m guessing you’re implying that either the romantic pairing is impossible due to their age gap, or it’s morally wrong.

I was conflicted how to answer this, at first. I know this can be a triggering topic. So I decided on providing several explanations. I hope at least one answers the question properly, or at least sheds some light on the issue.

Either it will justify why there is nothing morally reprehensible about the Mugen x Fuu romance, or, it will unfortunately show that Mugen is morally questionable, depending on how the evidence is taken.

First, at 15, Fuu is not a minor in her time period. Second, Mugen is either 19 or 20 depending on the source.

Samurai Champloo is not set in one specific year of history, as the anime is not only anachronistic, it historically takes place in multiple years that could not coincide. In essence, Samurai Champloo is not one year, but “a chanpuru of one whole era.” This era is the Edo/Tokugawa era, which includes the years of 1603-1868.

In the Tokugawa Era, Fuu is considered an adult. She is a young adult, yes, but in the eyes of everyone, she is an adult. This is both historically accurate, and is also demonstrated numerous times in the anime. Fuu’s sexualization and her being seen in a romantic way is never frowned upon by any of the characters in the entire series.

Brief disclaimer: Nowhere in my love of the Fuugen pairing or fan interpretations of the characters’ futures, do I see any sort of sexual relationship between Mugen and Fuu developing when she is 15. After they part ways, is where I like to make my fan conclusions on them meeting again when she’s older.

I also want to clarify here and now, that I’m not a supporter of a 15 year old entering a romantic relationship of any kind, let alone a sexual one in real life. I think that teens should work on themselves and not get swept away by romance and sexuality, especially frivolously. It’s irresponsible and dangerous. But, it’s also unrealistic to believe all young people will never fall in love, whether it’s fake or real. If there happened to be a man who was 5 years older than a girl and the two did develop feelings for each other, I believe nothing should be pursued between them until they are both of age.

Adulthood in the Tokugawa Era

I want to first talk about the concept of Fuu being a minor. In short, she is not a minor in her time period.

To begin with reality first, the life expectancy hundreds of years ago was much lower than now. In Japan now, the average life expectancy is in the 80s. But hundreds of years ago, it was estimated to be about 50. Women in particular had the complication of fatality from childbirth. Led makeup, childbirth, and also STDs were a huge threat for courtesans of the time period as well. Many women died in their twenties.

As for the concept of ”adulthood”, the adult age of 18 only started in the Meiji Restoration (late 1800s- early 1900s) when Japan contacted the west and emulated its practices. The age of 18 being an adult nowadays is largely based on the setup of the education system. Whether 18 is too young or too old is a matter up for debate and varies country to country.

Specifically, in the Tokugawa Era, the age of adulthood was considered when one entered puberty. This was generally 15 for a male and 12 for a female.

Here is a link to the full article on the topic of the shifting coming of age, if you are interested.

In the case of aristocratic children, such as boys raised as samurai, the Genpuku ceremony that transitioned children to adults varied in age. During the early Tokugawa era, it was 15-17, while later into the Tokugawa era, during less civil unrest, the age dropped to as low as 13. At this age, these young men could then marry and were likely pressured to do so. Marriages in the Tokugawa Era were very different than nowadays as well. Many nobles and royalty had their daughters married off at young ages such as 8 years old.Though, the sexual nature of these relationships did not develop until the girl was likely of child bearing age, which was in the teens.

Taking the historical 12 year old age into account, Fuu being 15, is then already three years into adulthood.

Fuu’s Depiction as a Woman in the Anime

In regards to Fuu’s maturity, she has no guardian, nor caretaker, which shows she is an independent adult making her own decisions. Yes, Mugen and Jin are her bodyguards, but they are not her legal guardians, because she does not need one. It is her who commands them and leads them. After they part ways, she is fifteen years old (perhaps a year older based on the time span of the anime) traveling the country alone.

She was forced to grow up very fast. Not only is she an orphan, but Fuu’s resourcefulness allows her to survive on her own. She tricks two complete strangers to escort her across Japan. But Fuu is fully functional as an adult, arguably more than Mugen or Jin in some ways. She works, fishes, cooks, sews, tends to wounds etc. Fuu is by no means innocent to mature situations either. She’s seen Mugen and Jin kill numerous people in front of her, which is traumatizing in itself.

In regards to Fuu’s sexualization,on separate occasions, there are bath scenes in the anime, showing Fuu partially nude. There are also scenes of her undressing. Morally correct or not, it is clear she was sexualized like many young anime females.

Aside from that, here are examples of male characters viewing Fuu as an adult woman, romantically or sexually.

Episode 3 and 4: Fuu is thrown in a brothel. While the legality of her being forced against her will just for the sake of paying off a debt is somewhat in question, the fact that she is 15 in a brothel is not. Brothels were not an undercover organization. It was completely legal in Tokugawa Japan, and Fuu being 15 as a courtesan was not illegal. When an ugly rodent man buys her, it’s served as comedy.

Episode 5: Fuu becomes a ukiyo-e model, the backwards beauty, for Moronobu Hishikawa, who was a real historical figure. This grown man, probably around Jin and Mugen’s age or maybe older, also is not considered a creep for his attraction to her. In fact, it’s not even considered wrong that he paints a nude picture of a 15 year old. Again, because she’s deemed a woman in this time period.

Episode 8: Nagamitsu, who is leagues older than Mugen and Jin, asks Fuu to become the “harem of his heart”. He is attracted to her, sees her as a younger version of his wife when he first met her, and even asks her on a date, to which she accepts. This entire interaction is played off as comedy, and not that he’s some creepy grown man attracted to a minor. More like, he’s a bumbling buffoon. His two sidekicks, the beatboxer and Ogura do not intervene, nor make a comment that it’s wrong he is interested in a 15 year old when he’s in thirties or forties. Because quite simply, in this time period, it’s not wrong.

Episode 16: Okuru tells Fuu that “a woman with a healthy appetite is a good woman” when she is devouring fish.

If you stand firm that it is still morally wrong and all these characters were creeps for being interested or saying these words to a 15 year old, that is fine. If you think it is morally wrong to ship Mugen and Fuu because of the age gap, and refuse to believe that the two are an implied romance, that is fine too. I can’t convince everyone.

However, I will make the counter argument then, that liking Mugen as a character means liking a morally questionable character. Romance and feelings aside, the reason for this is simply how he treats and talks to Fuu.

Mugen’s Questionable Dialogue to Fuu

If shipping them is wrong, then what Mugen directly says and does to Fuu is just as wrong. In my opinion, it makes it weirder if he doesn’t develop feelings for her.

Episode 2: In the original Japanese dub, Mugen tells an unconscious, intoxicated Fuu that he’s going to rape her. “Okasu kureru” is the dialogue.

The English changes this to “Let’s strip her and dump her.”

Episode 11: When Fuu asks why Jin needs to go see a woman when she’s around, Mugen then responds “Because you’re flat chested”, not to be confused with “You’re a child.” When she says her kimono makes her look slender, Mugen calls her a liar and then says “Show me.” He asks Fuu to undress for him and show him her breasts...

Episode 20: Mugen stands up naked for Fuu in the hot spring even though she’s clearly flustered. Exposing oneself to a minor is an offense in the modern era. But he doesn’t stop there. He berates her, and then peeks his head out to look at her naked too.

All of these examples are meant as fluff and comedy too, no matter how offensive they can be. It also implies his attraction, interest and his consideration that she is indeed a woman. This is then furthered in his dialogue with Jin.

Episode 12: When they read Fuu’s diary, Mugen asks the odd question to Jin. “Man to man, what do you think of her?” This “man to man”, implies Mugen wants to know how Jin feels about Fuu as a woman.

As for a debatable canon example, I have the need to bring up the Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked video game on PS2. In Japanese, it is entirely voiced by the same cast as the anime: Kazuya Nakai, Ayako Kawasumi and Ginpei Sato. In English, Mugen is not Steve Blum, but Fuu and Jin are the same voice actors as the anime: Kari Whelgren and Kirk Thornton.

In it, Mugen develops an attraction to a girl who looks nearly identical to Fuu: brown hair in a ponytail, big brown eyes, pink kimono, three hairpin beads. The kicker is her name is Yuu. The even bigger kicker is that she is younger than Fuu.

Here are the links to the scenes. Japanese audio is much better, as a warning.

Link to English, Fuu catches them alone and tells Jin “I had no idea Mugen was a cradle robber!”

Link to Japanese: Fuu calls Mugen a “lolicon”.

When the girl asks “Do you like me? You can lie if you want.” he tells her:

Link to Japanese: “Suki da. Uso jane.”

Link to English: “I like you. I ain’t lyin’.”

And the two share a kiss, before she dies. Worth mentioning, Fuu also admits to being jealous about all this and a fortune teller tells Fuu that this is her “heart talking.”

While debatable canon, the video game still highlights this concept that Mugen will even like a girl younger than Fuu (anywhere from 12-14), so long as she resembles Fuu.

If we pretend for a moment that Fuu is indeed a minor in her time period, then that makes Mugen’s actions and comments out to be even worse. Not only is he a pervert, but he’s then a pervert flirting and making sexual comments about a ”minor”.

Underaged Girls and Age Gaps in Other Japanese Romances

If you still believe that there is something morally wrong, regardless of the time period it takes place in, I have more modern examples in media.

Modern Japanese shoujo manga and anime (shoujo being a genre directed at teenage girls) is rife with romance stories of older guys with younger girls. It’s not frowned upon in Japan, and even for its readers in the west.

I will give you some major examples I can think of, off the top of my head.

Inuyasha: Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha is over 150 years old (not counting the other 50 years he was comatose). Yes, he ages slower as a half demon, but that is still 150 years of experience in life. Kagome meanwhile, is 15 years old and does not come from the Sengoku era. She’s from the modern era. If one wants to argue that Inuyasha doesn't count because every decade for him is one year, meaning he’s supposed to be “15 in human years”, then there is the matter of Miroku. Miroku is 18 years old, and fondles not only Kagome who is 15, but Sango who is 16. And he and Sango later become a romance.

Shugo Chara: Ikuto and Amu have an age gap of 17 and 12. While there is a love triangle element, it is debatable that Ikuto is more her true love interest in the manga. This takes place in the modern era.

Dengeki Daisy: Kurosaki and Teru have an age gap of 24 and 16. This also takes place in the modern era.

Incidentally, all of these aforementioned romances share some parallels to Mugen and Fuu in some way. Whether the guy is argumentative with the girl, a homeless wanderer, antagonist by nature, teasing about her lack of a figure, a bodyguard/protector role etc.

These are just a few of the more pure Shoujo examples directed at young girls.This does not include age gaps between characters, or underaged girls in anime meant for men or adults in general. They can get far more morally questionable, in my honest opinion. Mugen and Fuu barely scratches a surface. There is clearly a cultural gap between Asia and the West and the concept of age gaps, regardless of one’s personal moral stance on the subject.

Mugen and Fuu’s Actual Age Gap and Maturity

In the Tokugawa Era, their age gap of 4 to 5 years is incredibly small. Even nowadays, that age gap is very small, if Fuu was a legal adult in modern times.

Tsuru-himegimi, the real daughter of Shogun Tsunayoshi was 8 years old when she was married to her husband Tsunanori of Kii, who was 12 years her senior.

As for the anime’s depiction of them, there was never a sense of “Fuu is child. Mugen is a man”. It always felt like the two were in a similar age bracket.

I must ask the question, if Fuu or Mugen’s ages was never revealed, would it change the context of the story at all? If Fuu was older, would it change it? Personally, I don’t think so. In this case, because she is both physically developed and also deemed a woman in the anime and historically, it changes nothing.

Their interactions, their bickering, their attitudes, and the way Mugen yells at her, and the way Fuu reprimands him, it always felt like they were similar. They both exhibited many immature, innocent qualities, as well as adult qualities. It was Jin who had a more mature demeanor, being the calm, responsible one, who would rather not intervene with their nonsense. This is another reason why I see Jin as a father figure to Fuu: a representation of the samurai who smells of sunflowers that she did not have growing up.

These images here show their similarities in behavior quite well. And there are many more examples.

Conclusion

A good, well developed character is not a perfect one. There is no denying Mugen is flawed, morally questionable and sometimes straight out an antagonist. He steals, he kills, he was an ex-pirate who likely raided and pillaged… Realistically, he would have no qualms about being attracted or developing feelings for a woman who is 4 or 5 years his junior, let alone the other crazy stuff he’s done. Especially when, in their time period, there is nothing wrong about it at all.

Regardless if his morality is in question or not, what makes the implied romance so interesting is the fact that he didn’t act upon anything sexually with Fuu. His actions towards her were selfless, and Mugen developed greatly by the end. But because of his actions and words,and jealousy, it does not come off as simply a sibling or familial relationship that the two have. This differs from how Jin and Fuu interact.

Most importantly, Fuu serves as the catalyst for Mugen’s growth and redemption of his sins. Unlike Jin, Mugen saves Fuu time and and time again, making him her hero, despite being seemingly an ex-criminal that only works in self interest. Jin did not require this change, as he was always an honorable samurai from the start.

Both men found purpose for different reasons.

Mugen needed love.

Jin needed duty.

I think that covers everything. Well, unless your question is simply why do I ship them when the characters are young and I’m older than them.

As of the time of making this post, I am a 23 years old woman. The first time I ever set eyes on the anime, I was 8 or 9 years old. As a kid, I had my first innocent, childlike suspicion of a romance between them when Mugen first went to save Fuu from the “bad place”, being the brothel in episode 4 without any reason to, while Jin didn’t. Also, he saved her in Ep 1 and 2 and Jin didn’t.

The first time I got to watch the whole anime, I was 13 and saw the full story play out. And at that point, I was more convinced. Over the years, I rewatched, looked into a lot of the history and symbolism used in the anime, analyzed the episodes, and I became more convinced. I shipped it when I was Fuu’s age of 15. I shipped it when I was Mugen’s age of 19/20. And, I will likely continue to cherish the beautiful story of Samurai Champloo and the implied subtle romance of Mugen and Fuu for years to come.

Perhaps it is a reminder of the purity and innocent nature of love for me. These two did more for each other, cared more for each other, and were more entertaining with each other than so many cliche, blatant romance stories.

#samurai champloo #fuugen #mugen and fuu #Mugen Samurai Champloo #fuu samurai champloo #shinichiro watanabe

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theyakuzaswife · 3 years

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This is probably a very unpopular opinion among the overhaul simps but I’m gonna say it

I’m gonna use two examples for why I think this.

I don’t think Overhaul would abuse his partner like half the fics of him depict him to.

By the way, I spent a handful of time on this so I would really appreciate if you reblog it if you agree. It’s not proof read so it’s likely sloppy.

For the first let’s focus on the present timeline. If I had to guess how attached Overhaul is to his partner, they are probably on the same level as Hari at the least, and somewhere between Hari and Pops or even possibly on par with Pops depending on how long he has known them. Why? He’s a germaphobia, paranoid, delusional mess. He has a small group of about 10 people in his clan not including you and Pops he trusts and that’s it, which sounds like a handful except for the fact that pretty much all of the eight bullets were people at their lowest he just picked off the streets like a stray cat and ran away with them. For you to be considered his lover, I think you would have to be someone he holds very near and dear, someone he is comfortable with touching and not getting hives at the minimum. We have seen how he treats the ones near to them in terms of doing things to them. I’m gonna assume you are probably somewhere between Pops and Hari for this. I headcanon Pops as quirkless personally, so if you have a quirk I can see there being a very high possibility he would get rid of it. When it came to pops and he rejected his plan, he didn’t hurt or torture him, he put him in a coma using his quirk, and this is the highest form of ‘punishment’ he would use on a loved one, including you, I don’t think he would hurt you or manipulate you till you’re mindbroken. Now that’s also Overhaul before he was arrested, and manga spoilers going on. After the whole Tartarus breakout, I think he, ironically, gets a whole overhaul of his views and personality. He’s had a lot of time to think, and Overhaul is smart enough that he would realize how stupid his plan was and how foolish he was. He lost everything. You, Pops, Hari, the clan, his arms, and the little girl who could’ve been like a real daughter to him who he has now traumatized for life. When he gets out, all he wants is a portion of that back. More specifically, all he wants is you, Pops, and Hari. If he finds you again, he would be to afraid of himself to ever dare even thinking of hurting you like he had again, so there is basically no chance he would be abusive after Tartarus.

Now, that’s also CANON overhaul, so I’m also going to give a second example of a second scenario, hence forth known as an au, for this. I’m gonna say this is an au where Eri either doesn’t exist, or if she does she isn’t abused by overhaul. Well first off, the whole reason he abused Eri was because of his plan, which also was because of his delusional view on quirks, so if Eri isn’t abused we can assume neither of those exist. In that case, he definitely would never hurt you. He would be a completely different overhaul, and in the case he doesn’t have these views anymore that would lead to a lot of other things. He wouldn’t remove your quirk, in this au because he doesn’t have those delusional thought, and also Pops would still be around, and trust me that man would beat it into Kai’s skull that hurting you or his granddaughter was off the table. Don’t ask me why canon Pops didn’t idk.

I decided for my second example I didn’t exactly have a point I was getting to, so I’m going to make one here. None of you I’m sure play it, but I play a game called World of Warcraft. There is a character in there, and alternate universes exist. In the timeline you play in, there is an orc names Garrosh Hellscream, and according to others in the game that Garrosh is one of the worst possibly incarnations of him to exist. I think this is the case with Kai as well. The Kai we got is the worst version of Kai I think we could have gotten assuming he stays true to his general character that Hori wrote. This being said, assuming what I said about canon Overhaul is true, that likely means that any other version of him, the better ones, wouldn’t be toxic either, at least not to nearly the same degree. Also, I think that playing and twisting around characters is very fun, so I don’t mind angsty fics where overhaul isn’t a very nice lover, but at the same time I really don’t want people going around and saying that he is most definitely like this outside of fics. It just feels harmful and wrong if you say that someone’s fave is most definitely toxic and harmful. I could go on for hours about this man and how I think he wouldn’t canonically be toxic, but I will stop here. I do hope anyone reading this enjoys the writing, and I’m very open to other opinions if you want to throw them out.

#bnha #mha #shie hassaikai #shie hassaikai x reader #overhaul #overhaul x reader #kai chisaki #chisaki kai #kai chisaki x reader #mha x reader

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where-theres-smoak-2 · 3 years

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Barchie 5x06 Review.

So I usually just do one reivew for an episode but I have so many thoughts on this episode that I decided to split it in two otherwise it’ll be way too long, I figured two smaller reviews will be easier for people to read than one novel of a review. So in this part I am just going to be talking about the Barchie content. Then I’ll post a second half covering the rest of the episode later on today. As always these are just my own interpretations and opinions and naturally there are spoilers. So if you want to know my thoughts on Barchie this episode read on.

The Teacher’s Lounge

The first scene we get of Barchie is the one where they are in the teacher’s lounge. Now I have seen some people who are disappointed or using the argument that Barchie have become only sex and that they never talk. To me though I don’t think that is true at all and this scene is proof of that. When Archie first approaches Betty they are talking about the Polly situation. Betty is confiding in her friend about what is going on in her life and is sharing her worries with him. In return he tries to reassure her and comfort her when he reminds her that Alice had said Polly would disappear for days at time before showing up again. Another thing I’ve seen some people worry about is that Barchie are just using each other as a distraction. Again I totally understand why some shippers might be worred about that. But to me I’m kinda like well yeah they are. I mean maybe I misinterpreted the situation but I kind of thought that’s what their whole friends with benefits arrangement was about. It’s a friend that you can use to help you work out your frustrations and to be a distraction for a little while. Also this idea of using sex as a distraction and coping technique is hardly a new thing to riverdale both v*rchie and b*ghead have used sex in the past to distract themselves from their problems and they were both long term established relationships, them using sex that way didn’t negate from their very real feelings for each other. So I don’t think that just because Barchie are sleeping together in an attempt to escape for a moment, that means they are doomed or that their relationship is shallow and only about sex. If anything its a good thing because it shows that when they are feeling stressed and worried its each other that they choose to turn to. I think we often get so distracted by the sex part of the arrangement that its easy to forget about the friends part of friends with benefits.

What I did love about this scene was how cute it was. Like when he calls her Ms Cooper and just the fact that he came to check up on how her day was going in the first place was adorable. And of course I loved that little hand touch it was just so soft. I also thought their smiles and that playful look Betty gets when she’s thinking about a plan for where they can hook up was really funny.

The Titanic Sails Again.

Growing up Titanic was my favourite movie and in my young mind it was the most romantic of movies, so naturally I was thrilled about that iconic titanic moment being recreated for Barchie. At the same time I couldn’t help but laugh a little at it too. That being said there is no denying that the scene was on fire.I mean I don’t know if its just Barchie and their chemistry or if its because they’re depicting adults now or a combination of both but is it me or do these sex scenes seem so much more explicit than they used to be? I mean holy firecracker.

I also thought the song choice was perfect. I’ll be honest I had never heard it before but I do think the lyrics and also what the song is about is significant. I talked about songs a bit before and how in tv shows the lyrics can often hold significance because the producers have to shorten the song to fit the scene, therefore they have to chose not just a song that will fit the scene but which lyrics specifically work for the scene. Obviously it was a sexy scene so they wanted a sexy song to go with it. But the song, by the writers own admittion, is a love song. Bazzi said this about the song and I just think it is so in line with Barchie at the moment "It became more than just a love song to a girl I was with…Lyrics were just flowing out, because I had felt this certain love and acceptance from this girl, and I wanted to take that and on a bigger scale give that back to people." This is exactly how I see Barchie’s relationship, its about love and acceptance. They have always loved each other, whether that’s romantically or as best friends or both. Also they have always been supportive and accepting of each other.

So what about the lyrics that are actually in the scene. Well like I said some of them I just think are because they go with the whole sex of the scene. I mean lyrics like ‘hit it from the back and drive you wild’ and ‘hands on your body.’ Those don’t really need much analysis, pretty damn obvious why those lyrics were chosen. I mean you can look at it as simply its a song about sex and they are having sex, its not that deep. But I actually think there are some lyrics that could indicate that there’s something deeper to Barchie. The lyrics ‘girl I lose myself up in those eyes’ for example is actually a rather romantic line about how he is enamoured with the girl and I do feel like that’s how Archie feels about Betty and always has. Also the line ‘I just had to let you know you’re mine.’ Again this to me seems deeper than just sex. I do wonder if on a subconcious level they both see each other as theirs but that they aren’t willing to admit to themselves or each other. My favourite lyrics though are ‘feels like forever even if forever’s tonight.’ To me this makes me think that when they are together they let themselves feel all of those feelings they have for each other. Just for those moments they aren’t hiding, they just feeling it all and it feels like something that can last, it feels like forever. But neither one of them is ready to confront that so instead they just settle for tonight, they are willing to take what they can for now.

I also feel like when they choose a song they probably do so knowing that either the audience have heard it before or that they will go and listen to it in full. So maybe there are some more clues as to where Barchie are heading in the rest of the song? (Probably not, its probably me just over analysing everything as per usual but hey let me live in my land of denial a little longer, its fun here.) In the full version of the song it starts out with a speaking part where the guy announces that he’s had a bit too much to drink and now he needs to tell her how he feels. I do wonder if this will be how Archie ends up confessing how he feels, like he has a bit too much to drink maybe at this point Glen has shown up and he’s feeling some jealousy and so he just goes to her and admits to how he’s feeling? Anyway back to the song, he then goes on to talk about how much he loves her smile and how he gets lost in her eyes. Again really romantic notions that we often associate with being in love. Later in the song there’s another similar lyric ‘Even when it's rainy, all you ever do is shine.’ Again this idea of someone being the sunshine in the rain is a very romantic notion and again I do feel like this is how Barchie feel about each other and kind of ties into what I was saying above about how when things are bad they turn to each other. I mean those scenes when they are together they look happy, they are both each others sunshine when things are getting stormy.

Throughout the song there is also alot of the idea of belonging with the other person and this idea of a long term relationship. Outside of the obvious ‘you’re mine’ lyrics and the title of the song itself. I talked a little about the feeling like forever lyrics too but there are some other lyrics that I think are important. For example ‘Man, this feel incredible, I'll turn you into a bride, you're mine.’ Again this lyric isn’t about sex its goes deeper than that this is talking about being together forever not just a fling. But I think another even more interesting lyric in the song is ‘Swear to God, I'm down if you're down, all you gotta say is right.’ I’ve said before that I think that Archie is the one that is more willing to explore a relationship than Betty right now. I do feel like this line reflects how Archie is feeling like all Betty would have to do is say the word and I think he would be all in. Now I am fully aware that I could be reading way too much into this but I just find it interesting that they chose a song for a Barchie scene that is talking about how in love a guy is with the girl he’s with and how that guy is longing for more.

So like I said earlier there is no denying that this scene was all kinds of hot so naturally I was very amused when the fire alarm started to go off. I don’t know I just found that really funny, like a literal fire broke out whilst they were doing it. Of course this is because some Stonewall Prep footballers set a fire in the school. One thing worth noting though is that obviously those two guys saw both Archie and Betty there at the school I can’t help but wonder if they’ll go back and tell Reggie this. I mean I don’t think they will but its possible they could do some scenario where Reggie tells Hiram and considering how Archie later tells everyone that he was alone and out running when he discovered the fire, Hiram is going to know that Betty and Archie are wanting to keep things quiet and maybe he or Reggie will use it to try and blackmail Archie. Like stop what you’re doing or we’ll tell everyone about you and Betty. I mean Betty didn’t do her blouse up all the way when they came out so I think the students probably would be able to guess what they had been doing. I’m not entirely convinced on this theory but the thought did cross my mind. Speaking of Betty’s state of dress, that leather skirt and the heels with the blouse, our girl came all dressed up for Archie and I loved that outfit. Also I really loved the scene where Archie was trying to explain why he was at the school in the middle of the night to see the fire. I mean Archie does go night jogging, he has in the past at least so the excuse was a believable one but his delivery was far from smooth.

On a less fun note I have seen some people comparing the Barchie car scene with the one with Miss Grundy and that’s just not ok. They are very different situations one scene is between two consenting adults and the other was a person of authority and an adult manipulating a teenager into having sex with them. The fact that people are using that scene as a way to prop up their own ship or to try and say its evidence that Barchie are wrong is quite frankly disgusting and disturbing so please just stop.

The Shallows.

So this was on the surface such a small scene but in truth I actually think in terms of Barchie’s relationship it was one that held the most significance. Whilst Veronica sings the lines ‘Tell me something boy, aren’t you tired of trying to fill that void.’ It zooms in on Archie’s face and you can see he is feeling some things. He is clearly got some things on his mind that have been stirred up by those particular lyrics. I said before the episode aired when I saw the clip of them in the teacher’s lounge in the promo that I wondered if Archie was already beginning to get tired of sneaking around and after seeing this episode I do think that’s the case. I think Betty and Archie have been in love with each other since the pilot, maybe even before, but they’ve spent so long pushing down those feelings and ignoring them that I’m not sure they know how to do anything else. But as a result, I think not acting on these feeling has left a void in their lives/ hearts. Now they’ve reunited and they are both single and they’ve realised those feeling are still there, but like I said, I think they spent so long denying their feelings its become second nature to them. I think they both fear losing the other if they take it to the next step and it doesn’t work out, then they’ve lost their best friend. But I also think this void they’ve created is becoming too much so they instead try to fill it by sleeping together hoping that it might be enough to make them feel more complete.

When Veronica sings the next line ‘Or do you need more?’ this time it zooms in on Betty who you see gets a little sad and looks down at the ground, like Archie those lyrics have got her thinking and feeling things. Again these lyrics are so significant and I think the mesage is pretty clear. Barchie want more with each other, as much as they are enjoying the whole FWB thing they’ve got going on they’re realising that its not enough. They are also probably feeling a lot of fear and uncertainty around that revelation. The next line Veronica sings is also very meaningful. ‘Is there something else you are searching for?” What’s really interesting to me is obviously I think this lyric is suppose to indicate that yes Barchie are searching for something other than the FWB deal they’ve got going on. But I actually think the writers show us exactly what it is Barchie are looking for. At this moment they zoom in on Kangs. I think its important that at this moment they show us a happy, stable couple, who have a deep relationship and who fell in love when they were in high school and who still had those feelings for each other all these years later. This is what Barchie want with each other.

Also the song talks about the shallows. Shallow water is indicative of safety as oppose to being in the deep end which makes you think of being out of your element or in danger. Barchie has always been associated with safety, Betty on several occasions has talked about how they feel safest with each other. I also feel like they feel safe with the whole FWB arrangement. The song continues to go on to say that they are ‘far from the shallows now’ and talking about ‘I’m in the deep end, watch as I dive in.’ This line is talking about willingly throwing yourself into the deep end, to embracing the unknown and just going for it. I do think this is suppose to tell us that this is what Barchie will do. That eventually they’ll take that leap of faith for each other and just dive in. A large part of the reason why I think this song is about Barchie despite it being sung by Veronica and Chad (well truthfully I think it had signifcance for a few couples but I’ll cover that in the other half of the review) is because one the fact that they zoomed in on them both. But two because right when the song finishes Archie immediately turns to look at Betty and she flicks her eyes to his. I think this shows that they were thinking about each other during that song.

The Porch

Ok so now I want to talk about the scene that seems to have caused some differing opinions within the fandom. A lot of shippers are saying that the scene where Betty comes to the door and they kiss, that Archie had a strange look on his face as he closed the door after she suggested they go upstairs. Now I agree there was a strange look on his face. I did see a lot of people speculating that this was because Archie was jealous over Veronica and Chad and was distracted by that so wasn’t really that enthusiastic about hooking up with Betty at that moment. Respectfully I am going to completely disagree with that reasoning. I was actually kind of surprised when I saw so much speculation that Archie was jealous of Chad, particularly over on twitter because me personally I didn’t see any indication that Archie was jealous. He was definitely wary and suspicious of Chad and obviously still protective of Veronica but I don’t think that situation was the reason for the conflict Archie seemed to be feeling. However whilst I don’t think that Archie was jealous I do think that at some point some element of V*rchie is going to come back into play and that was being set up in this episode. One thing I noticed as I’m sure many others have is that so far the time jump has had a lot of parallels and throwbacks to season 1. But the interesting thing about these parallels is that they each have different outcomes then the original parallel. For example the scene in 5x04/05 when the core four reunite at Pop’s. This scene parallels the one, I think is in 1x02, where the core four sit together for the first time, the one where Betty and Veronica are there and then Juggie and Arch come in and Betty offers for them to join them. Both scenes are very similar but the outcomes are different, in the original scene the four of them are relaxed and laughing together, in the season 5 scene they are a little tense and its awkward. Well I think the V*rchie and Barchie storyline is going to parallel the one in season 1. I think Betty will once again feel jelaous of Veronica and Archie. I could also see Archie get confused about whether his concern for Veronica is old feelings returning or just a friendly kind of concern and whether or not what he feels for Betty is deeper or just an attraction. Basically Archie is going to find himself in the same situation he was in in season 1 but in reverse. In season one he was confused about whether what he felt for Betty was just a friend thing and whether what he felt for Veronica was something deeper or just attraction. Now I think it’ll be the other way around. Back in season 1 ultimately Archie chooses Veronica, sort of, especially after Betty shuts him down during his ‘a part of me always thought’ speech. What else I find interesting is there is another kind of role reversal here between Betty and Archie. In season 1 it was Betty who had feelings for Archie and believed he didn’t have feelings for her. I think in season 5 its Archie that has feelings for Betty but believes she doesn’t have feelings for him. I think they’ll hint at V*rchie but I don’t actually think they will put them back together. I think how it will go is Glen will show up and Archie will feel jealous when he realises that there was something between Glen and Betty. As a result he’ll start spending more time with Veronica which in turn will make Betty jealous. Evenutally in 5x10 it’ll come to a head and Archie having one too many will show up at Betty’s door and declare his feelings. But I don’t think anything will happen right there. I think Betty will just look after drunk Archie and it’ll be the next day that they’ll talk about their feelings and then get together because this time Archie will choose Betty.

Speaking of parallels that brings me back to this porch scene. Obviously I feel like this porch scene is a parallel to the porch scene in the pilot where one has shown up at the others door. Last time it ended in rejection but this time they kiss and sleep together. Also I couldn’t help but notice that during this scene and the one where they a laying in bed together the theme playing is the same one that was played during that first porch scene, which can’t be a coincidence. Ok so what about that strange look? If its not about Veronica then what was it about. Well I think it was because Archie wants more with Betty but feels like she just sees him as a hookup.

There was another parallel between this scene and the one earlier in the episode in the teacher’s lounge. In both scenes it starts out with Betty talking about how she is worried about Polly. Again this is showing that friends element of their relationship and how they still go to each other for comfort when things are troubling them. Archie in turn confesses that he himself was feeling crazy and frustrated and whilst I do think some of that relates back to Veronica and Chad, I mean Chad had been a huge dick to him right before this, some of it also probably had to do with Reggie and that situation, but I also think some of it is that he is frustrated about where his and Betty’s relationship is, which was brought on by him hearing Veronica sing shallow. Another parallel between the two scenes is in both it is mentioned that Jughead is out and at work. In the first scene Betty says its too risky for them to be together at Archie’s even if Jughead is out. But this time she doesn’t seem worried about it. I think she just wants to be with Archie and so just doesn’t care what the risk is. I do think this is a small indication that things are changing between them. There are more little hints in this scene too. For example unlike after the scene in the teacher’s lounge where we next see them going at it in the car, in this scene they don’t show them in the act. Instead they show them after. I actually really loved this scene, even more than the car scene. Because here they were just cuddling together, it wasn’t about sex in this moment, they just wanted to be near each other and were taking comfort in each other. I am going to come back to this moment in a bit but first I want to go back to the porch and talk some more about that.

After talking about how he is feeling frustrated, Archie and Betty kiss. But this kiss to me seems different from the others they’ve had post time jump. For one the others were during their hookups and so were passionate and urgent. This kiss however was just so soft. I also think its worth noting that when I first saw the scene I thought it was Betty that initiated it but I actually think it was Archie. Archie takes a small step towards Betty but also as Betty moves forward you can see Archie’s shoulders move almost like he is pulling her too him. Now I feel like if it was a case of he was distracted by Veronica and wasn’t that into being with Betty he wouldn’t be the one pulling her too him for a kiss. Also Archie is the one that deepens the kiss too. Another thing worth noting is that despite Betty’s concerns about the risk and that they up until now have been very careful about not getting caught. Well they kissed each other on his porch with the door wide open. Literally anyone could have seen them. But again in that moment I don’t think they cared, I think they just wanted to be together. Also despite Betty aksing to go upstairs after I don’t feel like that kiss was meant as a prelude to sex, or that it has anything to do with sex. The kiss wasn’t passionate or heated. It was a much more romantic kiss and maybe I’m projecting but to me it seemed to be more fuelled by their real feelings for each other than by desire or lust. And this is exactly why I think Archie had that look on his face as he closed the door. I think he poured his feelings into that kiss hoping she would know and to me the look on his face was one of frustration and I think its because when she wanted to go upstairs he felt like it was a case of her only seeing him as a hookup option. However I think judging from the look on her face as she looks at him after they kiss I don’t think that is true. Again I could be projecting but to me she just looked so in love with him.

Ok so going back to the scene where they are cuddling in bed together. Like I said they both have pensieve looks on their faces but the really sweet thing is that Archie is stroking Betty’s shoulder and Betty is stroking Archie’s side and I don’t know why but those little details made me feel all soft and gooey inside. When Betty’s phone goes off Archie is just staring at her the whole time with such a loving look, he looks completely besotted by her. Also there is that moment when Betty says that she has to go and then says ‘but this... was really nice.’ That hesitation before she says really nice, to me, showed that Betty was trying to think what ‘this’ was exactly and it seemed like she couldn’t quite find the right words to define it. Again they both just looked so in love when she was saying it. Also as a FWB type arrangement I’m not sure it was necessary for her to kiss him goodbye like that. Like the kiss on the porch it wasn’t a heated or lust fuelled kiss it was soft and tender, again as if there were real feelings behind it. Also as she goes to leave you can see Archie almost reach out to stop her and say something. It’s pretty obvious in this moment that Archie doesn’t want Betty to go and wants to say something, maybe about his feelings for her, but he changes his mind and again looks deep in thought.

Overall I thought this was a really good episode for Barchie and I do think that they are moving more towards becoming something more than just friends with benefits. I know that there is a possibilty they might go back to the original couples but as of right now I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I do feel like as a fandom us Barchies have been let down so many times that we just expect to be disappointed but for now I’m staying optimistic and I’m just going to enjoy speculating and enjoy any scenes we get.

#barchie

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takerfoxx · 3 years

Text

Here's the next part of the Walpurgis Nights girls watch The Rebellion Story, this time stretching from that upside-down reflection conversation to Homura and Kyoko's wacky bus trip.

Reminder:

G=Gretchen

H=Homulilly

Op=Ophelia

Ok=Oktavia

Ca=Candeloro/Mami

Ch=Charlotte

...

Ca: Okay, so, is everyone ready?

Ch: Yeah. Yeah. Sorry about losing my shit. I’ll try to keep it together.

Op: No, by all means. I’d say you’re entitled.

G: I mean, if I found out that I was a tiny, living doll that turned into a giant worm, I’d be upset too!

=Charlotte sighs deeply=

G: Oh. Sorry.

H: It’s a fake.

G: Eh?

H: All of it. The whole scenario. We’re caught in a super-witch’s labyrinth, or some kind of virtual reality simulation, or a shared dream.

Ok: Like the Matrix?

H: The what?

Ok: Oh, I’ve got to show that one to you. It’s this old movie from the world of the living about how all of humanity are trapped in this virtual world because machines have taken over the planet, and they use people’s bodies as living batteries or something. And-

Op: Tavi, starting to ramble.

Ok: Sorry. Anyway, there’s like three different recreations out there. Personally I like the one from Madd Dogg Studios the best.

Op: Because of all the sex.

Ok: Yeah, the other two don’t have those. Shame, really.

Ch: Okay, hold on though! If all that is some kind of weird simulation, then why am I there? By rights if you guys never turned into witches, I should be dead! You should’ve killed me, and then I would be comfortably here in Freehaven while you guys sit around singing songs to severed heads inside of demented teddy-bears!

G: Well, if there’s no witches in this world, then maybe we never fought you in the first place.

Ch: But I’m clearly a witch!

G: Yeah, that is weird.

Ca: Let’s find out.

…

Ok: You think that all of this being in an upside-down reflection means anything?

H: Yes. That it’s a fake.

Op: You are not going to let that go, are you?

H: Just watch.

Op: Have you seen this before?

H: Obviously not.

Ok: Well, this version of Candeloro is just as on it with her tea game, I see.

Ca: Some things never change.

Ok: Like Ophelia’s dislike for sour stuff, apparently.

Ca: It’s her tradeoff for her ungodly tolerance for spicy.

Ch: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s not as high as she makes it out to be.

Op: Hey, who exactly ate those dockengaut viper peppers without flinching? Me, that’s who!

Ch: You literally had to the hospital and grow your tongue back.

Op: But I didn’t flinch.

…

Ok: They really like showing us around the town.

G: Do any of these locations mean anything?

Ca: Well, that’s the school, so I suppose-Huh?

G: UM!

Ok: Why is everyone’s faces suddenly horribly disfigured?

Ch: Are they melting? It looks like they’re melting.

Op: Yeah. And…ours are fine?

G: See! You two are sleeping in class! I told you that having a party right after fighting that Nightmare was a bad idea! Growing girls need sleep!

Op: Honestly, I’m more concerned about the horrific burns on everyone’s face than I am about our counterparts’ unhealthy sleeping habits.

H: HA! Called it! It’s a simulation! None of those people are real! We’re the only actual people here!

Op: Hey, credit where it’s due, you did call it.

G: Looks like Hitomi’s real too.

H: Oh, goody.

G: So’s that guy with the silver hair? Who is he?

Ok: Oh, so that must be Kyousuke!

Op: That was who I was up against? Huh. Well, he’s…pretty.

Ok: I always wondered what he looked like.

Op: …so?

Ok: I’m sure past me thought he was good-looking, but I still think I traded up.

Op: Darn right, you did.

…

Ch: So who took the time to make food in the shape of your heads?

Ok: You know, between this and Hitomi, there’s a lot of severed heads going around.

=Candeloro frowns and feels her neck=

Ch: You okay?

Ca: I’m fine. I just got the weirdest feeling of déjà vu all of a sudden.

Ok: Who wants to bet that the one with all the bags of junk food for lunch is Ophelia?

Op: What? Why me in specific?

Ca: That one must be mine.

Ch: Well, at least I get my own severed-head snack now.

G: Right next to Kyubey.

H: If there was any justice in the world that would be his actual head.

G: Still. Those soul-gem treats are pretty creative.

Ca: Oh, wait! Never mind! That’s Homura’s lunch.

Ch: Homulilly? Why are you eating my face?

H: Don’t ask.

Op: And of course I snatch Blue Raspberry’s soul-gem!

Ok: Even then, you couldn’t keep me out of your mouth.

Op: AAANNNDDD the rat just ate it. Huh.

Ok: Oh, that makes me so uncomfortable.

Ch: And we get a close-up of me looking like a lunatic. Thanks, movie.

Op: I mean, that is a pretty accurate depiction of your face whenever you get anywhere near a piece of mozzarella.

H: All of this making me incredibly uneasy.

G: What is?

H: The slow pace. The lack of audible dialogue. The somber music. Something is up.

Ch: That’s all kinds of deliberate.

H: Well, at least this other me can tell that something’s wrong.

Op: I for one am incredibly disappointed in the rest of us. Everyone in the city has their faces burned off. That ought to at least raise a few red flags.

…

Ok: AAANNNDDD it’s gone all weird again!

Ca: Okay, this is obviously a witch’s labyrinth. They’re not even hiding it anymore.

Ok: Except from us. Like, are we blind?

Op: Oh, hey. It’s me. A lunch date?

H: I doubt it.

G: Is any of this normal? I mean, I know Freehaven is strange to newcomers but normal to us, so in this world, is it normal to just hang out on a floating island filled with chairs and tables with really long legs while blimps fly by in formation?

Ok: To say nothing of that freakshow going on down there. What are those? Those creepy little girls and the guy with the wind-up box?

Ca: Witch’s familiars.

=everyone looks to Charlotte, who is nonplussed=

Ch: You know, I’m actually okay with being the villain. At least that would make sense!

Op: You better get some kind of redemption arc and a weirdly sexually charged gunfight with Candeloro.

Ch: That would honestly make up for everything else that’s happened so far.

Ca: I don’t know. All of this looks very witchy, but it wasn’t what I remember from your labyrinth.

…

Op: Hey. Teenaged me. Wake up and smell the bad drug trip.

Ch: Why do you guys have so many cups on that table? Do you have a drinking problem or something?

Op: Look, shit is weird. Don’t judge our coping mechanisms.

G: Is it just me, or is there a bunch of random objects just falling out of the sky all around you?

Ok: Is it just me, or did that blimp have to come literally out of the river to fly at that angle?

H: This is getting progressively more dream-like.

Op: Nice crotch-shot, movie. How come I don’t get the boob or butt camera like Candy and Tavi?

Ch: Do you really want us to answer that question?

Op: I’d prefer if you didn’t.

H: Anyone else notice that the number of cups keep changing?

Op: Like I said. We all have our own ways of coping. Don’t judge.

…

H: Well, at least I’m noticing that something’s off. Even if I’m completely blind to the obviously bizarre stuff going on all around me?

G: Oh, so it’s going to be like a mystery story! And you’re the detective!

Op: And I get to be the sidekick. There are worst roles, I guess.

Ch: I guess that means you’re the main character after all, Lilly.

H: Thank you, but I’d really rather be the lead of a completely different movie.

…

Op: And off we go, on our wild adventure!

H: Beneath endless stone bridges. I mean, seriously. If either of us wanted proof that something was wrong, all we have to do is look up.

G: If this is a fake world you’re trapped in, you’re probably programmed to not notice that anything’s wrong. You know, like how we never really how strange dreams are until we wake up.

Op: Oh, what the hell. The bus is dropping us off in this fever dream? WAKE UP, IDIOTS! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE FREAKY!

Ch: They’re not even hiding it anymore.

G: You know, I can’t help but wonder if this world was always this strange, but that since the first few minutes were from our point of view all the weird stuff not having to do with the Nightmare wasn’t shown. But now that Lilly’s noticed, the weirdness just keeps coming out more and more.

Ch: I would not be surprised.

Ca: I think we can all collectively agree that despite whatever the witch turns out to be, this is all Kyubey’s fault, right?

Op: Fine by mean.

Ok: Agreed.

H: I wonder where all those fake people are going.

Op: I’m just going to assume that there’s a big meat grinder at the bottom of those stairs.

G: Ew.

…

Op: Oh, that’s not right? THAT’S NOT RIGHT? YAH THINK?

Ok: Of course you would be tipped off by the wrong destination but not by the field of hazy red filled with windmills.

Op: Turn left? We were supposed to turn left? HOW CAN YOU TELL? THERE’S NOTHING THERE!

Ch: That does bring up an interesting point. I’m assuming that you’re just blind to the weirdness because it’s got you trapped. So, what is it that you’re seeing?

G: Probably just a normal road, I guess.

Ok: Well, what did you expect taking the loop line?

…

Ch: Okay, so there’s a clear divide between the big, empty, red field with the windmills and the mostly normal looking city.

H: A very loose definition of the word “normal.”

Ch: Well, yeah, but you know what I mean.

H: Like I said. It’s not real.

Ch: We know, I’m just trying to pick out details.

Ok: Hey, girls. Don’t get on the creepy bus.

…

G: If at first you don’t succeed…

Op: Come on, other me! Get a clue!

H: I notice the field is blue now.

Ch: Probably to signify the change from day to night.

Ok: That bus driver is weirdly okay with a couple teenaged girls jumping onto the front of his bus and yelling at him.

H: He’s a fakedy-fake-fake.

Ok: We know! It’s called commentary!

H: Sorry.

Op: “Crossroads”? “Left fork”? How can you tell the difference! It’s a bunch of shiny tiles and windmills!

G: Plus that giant tower made of pipes!

Op: That was probably where we were heading. Giant tower made of pipes.

Ok: Wonder where the ramen shop was.

Op: Third pipe cluster from the bottom.

Ch: Hey, girls. Word of advice. Don’t walk into the scary, blank void.

Op: I know they can’t see the weirdness, but I still feeling like yelling at them.

G: Oh, hey! It’s normal again!

H: They were brought back to the city.

G: Well, relatively normal, at least. With a really tall bridge and giant moon.

…

Op: So…are we about to kiss or something?

H: Obviously not.

Op: I don’t know. You’re holding me awfully close.

H: I’m just trying to keep you from doing something stupid.

Op: If you say so.

…

Op: Oh, hey. If we didn’t have enough problems, it’s a zombie apocalypse.

H: All with our faces, I see.

Op: Somehow, that’s freakier than if they were just the classic rotting kind.

Ca: Obviously a defense system put in place by the witch. Once one of its prisoners start to notice that something’s wrong, the familiars come in to stop them.

Ch: You know, as much as the early parts weirded me out, I am really starting to dig this! I mean, sure, the cake song was…a thing that happened, but now there’s a reason for the weirdness! There’s a mystery! There’s set-up and atmosphere! It’s not just weird for the sake of being weird!

Ok: I’m pretty sure there’s some of that.

Ch: Well, sure.

H: You do remember that with the way things are going, you’re probably going to be revealed as the villain, right?

Ch: I am okay with this.

…

Op: And the zombies leave after I change my stance?

Ok: Those hips don’t lie.

H: More of they sensed that you weren’t resisting anymore.

Op: Might want to rephrase that.

H: You made it dirty. Not me.

Op: At least this me is starting to wake up. So you have at least one bad bitch supporting you.

H: I feel so much better.

G: Oh, hey! Even then you did that thing where you give people candy as a sign of affection!

Op: I’m honestly surprised that more people don’t do that. Honestly, most problems would be solved if people just gave each other candy all the time.

#WN Rebellion MST

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night-raven-dorms · 5 years

Note

Scenario where the reader is a quiet yet sincere person and wishes to express her feelings towards the one she loves, aka: Vil (can she be a part of Heartslabyul and Riddle is like a brother to her; he wants what’s best for her, but doesn’t trust Vil enough to be her guy? He also catches Vil speaking w/ another girl and assumes he’s leading the reader on? Something along the lines of Romeo and Juliet, but w/ no bloodshed)? Hope this is a good enough request, GW. BTW, keep up the good work!

Apple Blossoms

Vil Schoenheit/Reader

Love will always bloom. Not matter the circumstances.

It had all started because of a tea party.

It wasn’t a grand and magnificent party. Simply a small one, specifically one for six people. Even more specifically, it was a rare tea party hosted by the dorm leader himself and the attendees were his for aces and you. His darling little not-sister. The four were shocked to say the least. Riddle Rosehearts, the second year dorm leader with anger issues, had a sweet, sincere, adorably quiet best friend that he considered a little sister. What was even more shocking was how quickly you were able to calm him down after Ace jokingly gave you a wink. It was like watching a fluffy white rabbit taming an angry chihuahua.

When the tea party was over, Riddle had ordered the four to “clean up the mess” while he allowed you to go explore the rest of the dorm grounds (all while a certain Ace of hearts was whining about special treatment). After giving your not-brother and his friends a polite curtsy, you went straight to the place that intrigued you the most: the rose gardens.

The Heartslabyul dorms had an impressive rose garden that was properly cared for and perfectly grown. The beauty of the roses wasn’t the thing that attracted you in the first place. Rather, it was the mysterious hedge maze that winded away into oblivion, and you were determined to find the other side. Upon arriving at the entrance of the maze, you noticed a large black dog with it’s back towards you. Noticing your presence, the dog looked at you, back to the maze, and back at you before running in. You called out to it before chasing after it wondering where it came from.

After several twists and turns, you made it to the other side and into an apple orchard. You looked around trying to find the black dog. However it seemed to have just disappeared into the forest of apple trees. Sighing, you knew you had to head back, but you turned and slammed face first into someone’s chest. You would have fallen over too if it wasn’t for that someone to catch you and keep you steady. “My, my, I must apologize if I startled you miss,” a smooth voice said.

When you were able to get your bearing back, you tilted your head up to see the most beautiful man you have ever laid your eyes on. He let you stand on your own and you took a step back. He spoke up before you could, “Well, you’re a face I haven’t seen before! You must be new here. My name is Vil Schoenheit, and it is a pleasure to meet you.”

He gave a bow. “If I may ask, who are you?”

You gave your own curtsy to him, “My name is (y/n). And you’re right. I’m a new transfer here... um, what is this place exactly?”

Vil gave another charming smile, “This place is the apple orchard in the Pomefiore dorms. It seems like you’ve found the connecting area between the two houses.”

You wanted to ask more questions. A lot more, but you suddenly became aware of how late it was getting. Not wanting to worry Riddle about your disappearance, you both exchanged your good byes before you sprinted back out of the maze and into the familiar territory of the Heartslabyul.

Riddle was waiting at the front of the maze by the time you found your way out. “I had a feeling you were in there.”

“Sorry Rid, I was just-“ he shook his head, cutting you off from continuing.

“Don’t worry I’m not mad at you, I just came looking for you since break will be ending soon. Come on, we can walk back together.”

As the two of you walked, you looked back to the maze. Sitting patiently at the entrance was the black dog that lead you to the Pomefiore dorms. It seemed to smile as it happily wagged its tail. Riddle noticed your gaze and looked back at the hedge. Nothing was there but you continued to stare as if wanting to go back. “Hey, is everything okay?” He asked.

You looked at him and blinked. “Yeah I’m fine. I... I thought I left something there but I guess not.”

He raised his eyebrow. You smiled and shook your head, “Let’s just go back, you need to show me around the dorms right?”

“... yeah...”

You continued to walk side by side until you made it back to the dorm. While you walked into the giant castle to find your bedroom, Riddle went to find Trey. He needed someone to check the maze.

...

For the next couple of days, the you had fallen into a routine with Vil. Everyday you would sneak away after class with small hand made goodies – ranging from baked goods to flower crowns to trinkets – and meet Vil in the apple orchard. The both of you would spend time together and talk about anything.

Today you were sitting in his lap as he played and styled your hair. Next to you, was the basket of heart shaped baked treats you had baked in the morning. In all honesty, you would be lying to say you hadn’t developed feelings for the Pomefiore dorm leader. He was so gentle with you and treated you with so much care, and in all honesty, Vil was also falling for you as well. Those hours spent together soon became both your favorite past times. “Vil, can I tell you something?”

“You can tell me anything my sweet little apple.”

You blushed at the nickname. “Vil... Thank you for spending time with me.”

He hummed, “I should be saying that to you.”

You smiled as he finished with your hair and wrapped his arms around your waist. “You’re one of the only people that has looked passed my beauty. You actually cared to ask how my days are and made it an effort to see me everday.”

You leaned back into him enjoying the comfortable silence. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, “I better get going, Riddle will be worried.”

Vil laughed and helped you to your feet, “He must care about you a lot to be worrying this much.”

“Well, I am his ‘little sister’ after all.”

“Or so you say...”

You pouted as he pushed a stray hair behind your ear, “I’m only kidding. I’ll see you again tomorrow?”

You nodded in response. He walked you to the entrance of the maze where you traveled back to the dorms. Unknown to you that a couple of cards were watching your retreating figure.

“What do we do now?” Ace asked.

“We report it to Riddle,” Deuce replied, “he trusted us to find out where she goes everyday remember?”

“Yeah, but doesn’t she look happy with him?”

Deuce only stayed quiet and walked away leaving Ace standing there.

...

The next morning you were woken up by Riddle angrily yelling at you through the door of the bedroom. You were confused to see Riddle, Deuce, and a pretty guilty looking Ace on the other side. “Huh? Whas going on?”

“You’ve been sneaking off to see Vil?”

You froze on the spot. How did they... you looked between Ace and Deuce and groaned. “You were spying on me?”

“Yes I have because I’ve been wondering where you were whenever you disappeared. Tch, had I known you were seeing Vil I would have stopped you a lot sooner.”

You squint your eyes at him, “What do you even have against him Rid?”

“What I have against him is the fact that he’s particularly popular with the girls. I just don’t want you to be heart broken if you find out he’s leading you on.”

“He’s not leading me on.”

“And how can you say that so confidently?”

“How can you not trust me?”

“Listen (y/n), I’m only trying to protect you. Besides, a first year and a third year? Sis, do you know what people would think of you? I’m only trying to make you happy.”

You were getting frustrated and screamed out, “WELL MAYBE I’M HAPPIER WHEN I’M WITH HIM.”

You slammed the door in his face and he stood there stunned. You were always so sweet and nice. You never, if only rarely, raised your voice to yell. The look on your face is what shocked him the most. After all his years of knowing you, you had never looked so betrayed. It was at this moment, he knew he may have messed up. May have. Okay, he did a big mess up. He stood there and rubbed his temples. He hadn’t meant to make you upset (and more than likely cry), he was just trying to keep you from being heartbroken.

He sighed, “Ace, Deuce.”

The two first years looked at him. “We need to go shopping.”

...

Sam the mysterious shop keeper was more than just the go to guy for goods. He was also, surprisingly, a wonderful advice giver. He simply smiled when the three walked into his shop. “How may I help you gentlemen today? Wait, let me guess, is this about the little princess of Heartslabyul?”

Riddle deadpanned. Sam laughed, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

The shopkeeper pulled out a deck of tarot cards from under his counter. He gave it a good shuffle, making a spectacle that left Ace and Deuce awed. He fanned out the cards for Riddle to pick. “Pick three,” Sam said with a wink.

Riddle grabbed them and handed them back to Sam who put the thick deck away. He flipped each card over. The first one depicted the vice dorm leader of Pomefiore, Rook Hunt, with a black dog. The second depicted a heart with a tiara wrapped in thorns and roses to protect it. Upon closer look, the heart was bleeding. The third showed an apple tree with small apple blossoms in bloom. Sam explained, “The past, present, and future. It seems like the little princess first met Vil through Rook. Now it seems like she’s heart broken. Not because of Vil...”

Riddle furrowed his brows, “It’s because of me isn’t it.”

Sam only gave a nod, “based on what I see, she feels trapped. She knows you care, and she knows you protect her. Just a suggestion, and it’s up for you to take, but I believe you should let their love grow.”

He gestured to the third card with the apple blossoms which magically changed to grow ripe red apples. Sam picked up the card and handed it to Riddle who stared at it. The dorm leader abruptly turned around and began walking out. Sam quickly asked before he could leave, “Where are you going?”

Riddle stopped at the door. “I need to have a talk with Vil.”

...

Later that day, you were called into Sam’s shop only to find Riddle waiting (rather impatiently) with Sam. Your figure slumped a bit as you walked closer to them. “Am I in trouble?” You asked.

Sam gave a laugh, “Far from it! We called you here because you’re transferring dorms.”

You were shocked to say the least. Transferring dorms? Where would you go? You looked at Riddle for answers. “Riddle... where am I going?”

Before you could answer, the door of the shop opened. Vil had walked into the shop. “I apologize for being late.”

“You’re lucky my patience didn’t run out Schoenheit.” Riddle said glaring at him.

If you were confused you were even more confused now. Riddle sighed and began explaining the situation, “I had a talk with Vil and we came to an agreement. From this day forward you’ll be transferring to the Pomefiore dorms... so you don’t have to keep sneaking off dorm grounds to meet with him.”

You blushed from embarrassment at the last part, but you still hugged him and thanked him with all your heart. Sam had sorted everything out and gave you your new uniform for you to wear, and soon enough the three of you traveled to the Pomefiore dorms. Waiting at the entrance was a tall man with a bobbed haircut; next to him was an awfully familiar black dog. The three of you stopped so you could give your good byes. “Thank you Riddle. I promise I’ll visit you so you don’t miss me too much.”

“You had better,” he demanded, “and you better come over when I host tea parties. Or if I invite you over in general. If you don’t I’ll Trey or Cater to bring me your head.”

He turned to Vil, “You better remember our deal.”

The blonde replied with a smile, “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of breaking it.”

You and Riddle shared one last hug before walking you walked away hand in hand with Vil. As Riddle walked back to his own dorm, he took notice of the countless apple trees the bordered the dorm. All of them in full bloom, showcasing their beauty.

A/N: This came out longer than I expected. Still, I hope you enjoy it and hopefully I did it correctly! Also, thank you for the compliment – and I’m talking to everyone when I say this – they really keep me going.

-GW

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland scenarios #pomefiore #heartslabyul #riddle rosehearts #vil schoenheit #disney #reader insert #reader is female #rook was playing cupid #sam is the college wingman #raven request

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laughingpinecone · 4 years

Text

Trick or Treat 2020 letter!

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

All requests are art or fic - for art, the stuff I like is the kind that depicts the characters doing something. I’ll always be happier with a very simple drawing of two characters walking together or sharing a cup of coffee than with an ambitious composition that looks like an Avengers poster. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s).

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships), emphasis on inhuman traits of characters who were human once and have sort of shed it all behind

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings, consent issues

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Hurdy

I love the game’s world and all the little stories and legends that fill it. Great atmosphere, great lore, so if you feel like getting a little worldbuildy and indulging in the scenery and its story, please do! A focus on the sense of camaraderie in a caravan would also be great (like people could do on Gamecube.....). Hurdy’s a bit of an odd duck for that theme, but maybe he hitched a ride at some point? With whom? Amidatty or De Nam maybe, among the nominated characters? I love the whole cast so anyone goes. Do they travel together enough for them to cotton onto the weirdness of the whole Gurdy situation? Got any run-in with Lady Mio? Or what’s his status after the miasma is lifted, can he go back to Tipa, can he/they begin to heal? What does healing even look like for him and Gurdy?

Ghost Trick: Cabanela

You know.. him. Dazzlingly OTT, untiring, rock-solid self-esteem, loyal to a fault, following a rhythm of his own, flawless intuition until it fails and it all burns down... him. I just want to see more of him doing stuff! The way he’s chill and open toward new people (like Sissel and Missile in ch15) makes him perfect to throw at most other characters and see how they react to the sparkles... I’d love some focus on how ridiculous his aesthetic is, half Saturday Night Fever half hardboiled detective half bubbly preteen (for a total of 150%) and yet he makes it work. Or how ruthless he can be, possibly for the sake of the people he cares for. The quote “The intimacy of big parties”. Him and Alma in the new timeline bonding over knowing (once Jowd has spilled the beans) but not remembering that terrible timeline. Some tropey scenario on the job. Snark-offs with Pigeon Man, by which I mean PM snarks and it bounces off him like water off a spotless white goose’s back. Dreaming Sissel but he’s strange... and wrong?

Ship-wise it’s only Cabanela/Jowd whenever it’s not infidelity, Cabanela/Alma in what-ifs and Cabanela/Alma/Jowd for me (and Lynne/Memry and Yomiel/fianSissel on the side). There are a bunch of shippy prompts in all my past letters - I would however reiterate here that Jowd. is. the worst tease. always.

Conversely, Cabanela/Lynne and Cabanela/Yomiel are NOTPs especially from Cabanela’s side. So while I appreciate the thick tension of a good Yomiel VS Cabanela confrontation like everyone and their cat, and also really appreciate a roughed-up Cabanela, and I do love Yomiel in his own right... I don’t want Cabanela being into it. Adrenaline junkie he may be but this hurts and his coat’s a mess and there’s no perfect winning scenario so he hates every second of it. (JOWD being into it is another matter altogether and he should probably mind his own business)

Kentucky Route Zero: Carrington, Cate

Act after act, intermission after intermission, I somehow didn’t see the arts rising to such a dominant theme in KRZ and it’s stuck with me since the ending finally hit. It’s great and moving. So! Who better than good ol’ antler man to linger in those feels! Carrington’s playwright adventures or Carrington&anyone you fancy, either way I’d listen to him ramble for a week and I would like to know more about his big dramatic plans. Or maybe him helping someone, more or less accidentally, by offering his unique takes? Overriding my “no canon retellings” DNW for a hot second, did he ever figure out what was going down in the Death of the Hired Man (or Nap of the Hired Man as the case may be) interlude?

For Cate, I’m mostly interested in two things: life on the river and mushrooms. Maybe both! The Echo river ecosystem is intensely fascinating to me as opposed to life on the surface and life on the Zero, and yet all these environments are permeable. So what’s a moment in her daily life that encapsulates the river? Someone they picked up on the Mammoth, a strange island that popped up at some point? Cate&Will bonding extremely welcome, I’m love Will. And then there’s the mushroom hunting. I don’t know much about mushrooms, but I do know that they’re cool. Cate seems to agree, so if you’ve got a story or pic in you about her and them mushrooms, I’d love to see it.

Pyre: Volfred Sandalwood

This is a Volfred solo, Volfred&literally anyone or Volfred/Tariq, /Oralech or /Tariq/Oralech request. If &Manley or &Brighton, I am not interested in more lenient takes on their characters than canon’s. fwiw I also enjoy Jodi/Celeste and Bertrude/Pamitha a lot!

I feel deeply for all of Pyre’s main themes - literacy, degrees of freedom, the fragile time that is the end of a historical cycle, nobodies rising up to the occasion, building a better society, and of course found family, “distance cannot separate our spirits” and all that jazz, and Volfred is squarely rooted at the center of all of them. Just please tell me things about my fave. His relationship to the Scribes (as a historian, a some kind of vision, via *ae or once he’s a star himself)? A ‘forced vacay’ Downside ending where he looks at the Union from afar and keeps living in this strange transformational place? Life in a cramped Blackwagon that was meant for like 5 people tops and is currently eight Nightwings, a herald and an orb? Since he picked him for the job to begin with, does he respect and cherish Hedwyn as he dang well should? What does it feel like to try and Read a herald? Was he ever in danger, in the Commonwealth or in the Downside? Does he puff up as prime minister because he’s nervous, and who can see past his hyper-professionalism and lend a hand? Please roast him big time about the votes he assigns to the various Nightwings in his planner? What’s his attitude toward the flame’s purification (what with being a tree but mostly like, as a general concept. He did nothing wrong!) (well he definitely said some things wrong and sometimes oftentimes the ego jumps out, but his intentions did nothing wrong)? When did his calculating approach fail him? Something with Pamitha along the lines of that edit that goes “Can we talk, one ten to another?"/"I am an eleven, my girl, but continue."? btw that ‘emphatically yes xeno’ from my general likes is only applicable here I guess so: emphatically yes xeno to both shippy interactions at all ratings and to gen explorations of what a Sap is like...

Shenmue: Qiu Hsu, Xianzi Bei

Cormorants... kung fu... cormorant kung fu. They turned out to be my faves in a very likeable cast and I’d love to see either or both of them slice-of-life-ing it up in Niaowu, or anywhere up or down the river. The rest of the cast is welcome to join! Did Ren end up at Liu He Hall for whatever reason, or did Shenhua chat up a cormorant, as she does? Id love to see a spookier mood too! Ghost story time in Liu Jiao shrine maybe?

The Silver Case: Catherine, Kodai Sumio, Kuroyanagi Shinko, Kusabi Tetsugorou, Macalister Edo, Morishima Tokio

I‘m all for the surrealism, big things being introduced and never picked up again, Rashomon’ing it up with six explanations for the same thing where no single one can be true, people dying and then popping up again like nbd... maybe the thing I like the most is characters transcending their humanity and looming over the dystopian world like ominous avatars. Correctness’ first ending had me swooning, that kind of mood is unparalleled. I have played TSC, FSR and 25W so far and have vague memories of K7. I’m aware of the “everything’s connected” readings but that’s not my main interest in these games. Mainly I see Lospass as a real island but also a metaphysical place of transformation first and foremost, where strange things happen that don’t make sense elsewhere, but I’m good with anything that works for your story! There are a few & prompts for these fine folks in my Press Start letter [here].

For Catherine, I’d love to see something along the lines of her YAMI appearance, on Lospass on her own or hanging out with another character of your choice (or Tokio again). Sumio leaves me at a loss for words... if you’ve played 25W, maybe an expansion of his [intense ethereal whooshing] moment? He’s a gust away from vanishing from existence altogether... &Sakura and/or &/Tetsu if you want. Or his time in prison or a return to Lospass or whatever’s going on with that one, really. For Shinko I’m itching for different team-ups! Throw her at anyone you like and see what happens! FSR-era Tetsu could be cool, or off-the-grid Tetsu, or Tetsu&anyone... as for Edo, I’d be curious to see his pov on anyone and anything! WAS the Flower Sun and Rain the friends we met along the way? And Tokio... oh Tokio. Something about older Tokio and his gaggle of tulpas (Slash and whatshisface from YUKI who looks suspiciously like YAMI Tokio himself?)? Any...thing...about any part of his life from Lifecut onwards? Any portentous encounters?

#here we go again!#letter

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lisatelramor · 4 years

Text

Seeing Double

AN: So I was glancing at the old DCMK kinkmeme on LJ for funsies and this happened. From the prompt: so saguru has twin kink from quite some time, imaging kaito and shinichi (and himself too) in some not proper situations. but because he's british gentleman, he won't admit that. well, he's lucky, because objects of his imaginations are too much observant and... not only saguru has kinks, right?

Merry Christmas early I guess?

o*O*o

He’s reluctant to call it a kink. A kink implies that it applies to more than one scenario, and for Saguru, he’s only ever found himself hot and bothered by certain individuals in his acquaintance. He’s tried, a few times, looking at media depicting twins, but honestly he gets nothing from it. But then Saguru generally isn’t into pornography at all, people at all, unless there is something else about them that he can appreciate beyond a pleasing aesthetic.

It’s just that since meeting Kudo Shinichi, it’s been on his mind. A lot.

The attraction to Kuroba was one thing. A thrilling battle of wits, the constant one-upping, the excitement of chasing down Kid knowing that he would be met at every turn with a challenge. He’s always found competence an attractive trait, and finding a mental equal was just another weight to the scale that tipped him toward attraction. Kuroba having a pleasing face and body were certainly other things to seal that particular crush, but he hadn’t expected to fall for Kudo.

Kudo Shinichi, elusive and mysterious detective of the East. Japan’s modern day Sherlock Holmes. The frequent comparisons in the media to Holmes honestly would have drawn his attention, but when Saguru got to Japan, Kudo was nowhere in sight. ‘On a case’ as everyone seemed to agree. Saguru had hoped to meet him when he was invited to Detective Koushein, but all that he’d found there was a child who knew Kudo and an annoying Osakan detective who apparently considered Kudo one of his best friends. (Hattori Heiji did turn out to be Kudo’s friend, but, well, Saguru supposed he couldn’t fault Kudo for befriending him. There truly weren’t many people their age who could think on the same level at a crime scene as they could. He refused to admit that he was a bit jealous that Hattori had managed to befriend Kudo first.)

Saguru had eventually met Kudo properly rather than just hearing rumors about him about a year ago.

That, Saguru knows, was his swift decline into a personal state of depravity.

What had somehow escaped Saguru’s knowledge in all the time he’d known of Kudo’s existence, was that he was almost identical to Kuroba Kaito right down to the abnormal blue of his eyes. They weren’t actually identical. Kudo had a slightly more square jaw, finer hair that allowed itself to be tamed, more reserved smiles and body language. Kuroba had a wilder smile and rounder cheeks, hair that refused to submit to a comb and was forever fidgeting with anything he could get his hands on like he’d vibrate in place if he couldn’t find an outlet for his energy. But for all those differences, they could have been brothers. Could have been identical twins with a bit of makeup and hair gel, and had brilliant minds to match.

Saguru wants to say that it’s not a thing, but it kind of is. It kind of most definitely is and he’s sure that if Kudo or Kuroba ever found out that he has a crush on them both, and more specifically the concept of them both together, he’d never live it down.

The only good thing is that Kudo and Kuroba, occasional Kid heist aside, have never met. So Saguru can have his guilty pleasure picturing them together without ever actually having that bleed into reality.

He’s worked so hard on keeping his interactions with them both perfectly platonic and friendly—well, sort of friendly in Kuroba’s case—so at least he has that one blessing for this entire issue.

Until he suddenly doesn’t.

o*O*o

Kaito lets Aoko drag him to meet her new friend because a) it is his duty as her best friend to give every new person a once over and make sure they weren’t some kind of creep, and b) because he still owes her so many friend points for hiding Kid for literal years. All the friend points. Of course he also goes along because she’s his best friend and he enjoys spending time with her, but her new friend is a girl, so he’s a little worried he’d end up being the odd one out.

Naturally he invites Hakuba to avoid that. Worst come to worse he figures he can alleviate boredom by poking Hakuba if Aoko and her friend turn to girl talk. (Don’t get him wrong, he’s fine having girl talk sometimes, but he prefers to leave it to Aoko since she’s not going to look at him weird for talking about makeup choices these days).

He isn’t expecting Aoko’s new friend to be Mouri Ran or for Mouri to have brought Kudo Shinichi along for the ride.

He kind of should have been paying more attention. Then he’d have realized who she was planning to meet in the first place. Ran wasn’t the most common name.

Kaito meets Kudo’s eyes as Aoko cheerfully introduces everyone and he knows that Kudo puts two and two together in a handful of seconds. There’s this split second surprise followed by that ‘aha, I know it’s you, Kid’ face he always gets when Kaito is in disguise, only he’s not in disguise right now. Such is his luck, Kaito supposes. He can’t win a gamble when he doesn’t even know it’s going to happen.

He pastes a smile on his face. “A pleasure to meet you both,” Kaito says, bring out a flower for Mouri and, because that has Kudo’s lips twitching down like the over protective person he is, a flower for Kudo too.

Kudo takes it with a look of bemusement.

“And you know Hakuba,” Kaito says, turning to his other biggest arrest threat, “since you’re both people who chase Kid.”

Only Hakuba has a very strange expression on his face and is staring at the flower Kaito gave Kudo a bit too intensely.

“It’s good to see you,” Kudo says, and Hakuba pulls himself out of…whatever is going on in his head.

“It’s been a while, Kudo-san.”

“Wow,” Mouri says looking between Kaito and Kudo, “they really do look like each other. When Aoko-chan said her friend was your doppelganger I thought she was exaggerating.”

“See!” Aoko says. “That’s why I was so surprised by that photo!”

Kaito decides, what the hell, and plays into it, walking up to Kudo and makes a show of sizing him up. “I dunno, I think I’m the better looking clone here.”

“Excuse me?” Kudo says.

Kaito grins and leans close to poke the furrow in between Kudo’s eyebrows. “Y’see? You look too serious. A dashing smile would make you look better.”

“If by dashing, you mean manic, then yes, you fit the bill,” Kudo says, pushing Kaito’s hand away.

Hakuba makes an odd coughing sound and they both glance his direction. He’s looking away, face a bit pink. Weird. And a bit suspicious.

Kudo takes a step away from Kaito and Hakuba’s shoulders relax minutely. Hmm. Kaito glances at Kudo, but he’s already directing his attention back toward the girls. So Kaito drops back a step to walk shoulder to shoulder with Hakuba instead as Mouri and Aoko start exchanging stories about their university classes and probably stuff about their best friends being dumb boys or something; Kaito’s paraphrasing, and they do have a lot in common on that end he guesses. Again, he’s not going to take offense. Aoko has earned any irritation she has toward him, and at the end of the day he knows for sure that she loves him a lot more than she hates him or he’d have been arrested ages ago. Kudo looks content to listen as a third wheel to that conversation. Kaito’s already starting to get bored.

“So,” Kaito says conversationally to Hakuba. “You know Kudo very well?”

Hakuba glances at him sidelong. “About as well as you do by this point I imagine.”

“Harsh. I’ll have you know today’s the first we’ve met.”

Hakuba raises an eyebrow.

“…You’re never getting that verbal confession.”

“A man can hope. Besides, considering Kudo’s penchant for finding you at the heists we’ve both attended, I’m sure he already knows.”

“And Mouri-chan doesn’t,” Kaito says keeping his voice light so the girls won’t look over. “Buuuut, I guess I do know Kudo decently by this point huh? He’s a worse critic than you are. But he’s got better flair and showmanship.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You,” Kaito says with mock solemnity, “can be a stick in the mud.” Kaito jerks a thumb in his direction. “He’s serious but also an adrenaline junky.”

“Is he now.” There’s something speculative about how Hakuba glances at Kudo’s back.

Kaito smiles slowly. “Something we have in common. You know, besides our face.” He pretends to be pensive. “I could totally pretend to be him.”

“I believe I’ve read accounts where you have. Along with all those times wearing my face.”

Kaito shrugs. “I mean if you can get away with not using a mask…”

“Kudo’s going to start having more invasive pat downs at heists if you keep wearing his face.”

Kaito grins. “Hmm, are you going to be the one to search him?”

Hakuba sputters, going red and Kaito cackles as Hakuba swats at the back of his head. It’s an easy dodge.

“I don’t even want to know,” Aoko says as Kaito dodges around her. He catches Hakuba flicking a nervous glance at Kudo before scowling over at Kaito. “Kaito quit being a nuisance.”

“But that’s what I do best,” Kaito says fluttering his lashes at her.

Aoko rolls her eyes indulgently and Mouri giggles. Kudo watches like the detective he is, probably slotting away different behavioral cues and comparing them to Kid’s. Kudo’s such a critic.

Kaito drops back to walk next to him instead, still grinning, feeling Hakuba’s eyes on him more intense than even his usual intensity. Yeah, something is definitely up there, and it totally involves Kudo. Maybe a crush on Kudo considering how red he turned. Usually he’d just brush that sort of comment off as Kaito being inappropriate.

Kaito amuses himself the rest of the way to the shopping mall by flitting between people and baiting the detectives for all he’s worth. There’s just something that gets his heart pounding about seeing two logic and law-driven people get more and more emotional.

He gets Kudo to blush once too and it’s a nice little victory.

Hakuba’s not meeting Kaito’s eye by the time they start shopping. So maybe what’s going on involves Kaito too.

Well. He has at least an hour to figure that out for sure. Kaito smiles to himself. If he saw the smile currently on his face, he’d know that it was very closes to Kid’s at his most enthusiastic.

o*O*o

Shinichi has the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Considering he’s currently at home in his parents’ library, it’s more than a little disconcerting. Shinichi casually reaches for the improved stun-watch Agasa made for him since he’s returned to himself. It’s not paranoia when you’re an internationally famous detective that took down a crime syndicate before you turned twenty. The prickle between his shoulder blades reaches a higher level for a moment before there’s a soft laugh from the upper corner window space.

“Relax, Kudo, it’s just me.” Kid drops smoothly to the floor like he hadn’t been two floors above the ground. Or should Shinichi say Kuroba, because Kid isn’t dressed as Kid at the moment.

Shinichi lets go of the watch. “What are you doing here?” He doesn’t ask how Kuroba got in; he likely wouldn’t get a straight answer anyway.

“I wanted to talk,” Kuroba says. “One on one since we’ve finally met face to face properly.”

Shinichi rolls his eyes. “I’m surprised you weren’t worried I’d blow your cover. Considering you were there with Hakuba and the daughter of the head of Kid’s capture division.”

“Oh that wouldn’t have been a problem. They’re both in the know.” Kuroba grins. “Seeing you come clean was actually really motivating. Consider me grateful for prompting me to take the plunge and show a bit of trust.”

“Is this you showing trust as well?”

“Maybe.” Kuroba sits next to Shinichi with a grin that is all Kid. “Maybe you already had it.”

“I still try to catch you at heists,” Shinichi points out, setting his book aside.

“So does Hakuba. He’s still a friend.” Kuroba’s nose wrinkles slightly, like he never thought he’d be so on the nose about it. “Actually it’s Hakuba I’m here to talk about.”

“Hakuba.”

Kuroba leans casually into Shinichi’s personal space in a deliberate sprawl along the couch. “A-yup.”

Shinichi could move. It’s not like there isn’t more couch to escape to, or even to a different seat, but it’s Kid, and honestly he’s pretty used to him being both dramatic and lacking any sense of personal anything. He’s been picked up and carried by Kid so many times as Conan and tackled at least a couple times by Kid as Shinichi, not to mention the whole shopping trip recently, so he’s pretty much removed Kid’s proximity as a discomfort by this point. Also, he’s warm and Shinichi’s a little chilly so he’s not going to complain.

“What about Hakuba?” Shinichi asks finally as Kuroba keeps smiling.

“Did you notice how odd he was acting?”

“During the shopping trip?”

“Unless there’s another time you’ve seen him since then, yes, the shopping trip.”

Had Hakuba been acting strange? Shinichi hums. He’d kept looking between Kuroba and Shinichi, which was a bit strange since he had to have known how similar they looked by this point. He’d known both of them for ages. Then there was the way he kept getting flustered… Although maybe that could be explained away by Kuroba’s blunt teasing. “Well, he was more relaxed and emotive than usual.”

“And?”

“And he was a bit fixated on our similarities, I think. I can’t see any other explanation for why he kept looking between the two of us like that.”

“Good, you did notice it then. I already double checked with Aoko, but I was kind of wondering what you thought about it.” Kuroba’s eyes gleam expectantly and Shinichi has no idea what Kuroba wants from him in this exercise.

“The similarities make him uncomfortable?” Shinichi hazards. Hakuba hadn’t been able to look at them directly when they were side by side for very long. Honestly in the same position, Shinichi would have been categorizing all the minute differences and finding it all more interesting than the similarities, but he isn’t Hakuba. Who knew what was going on there.

Kuroba gives him a disappointed look. “You really missed it?”

“Missed what?” Shinichi huffs. “If you mean his crush on you, that’s blatantly obvious. He was blushing every time you even got close to an innuendo and got nervous whenever you were too close to him. Although I’d think he would be better at hiding it if he’s known you so long.”

“How are you this observant and also not at all,” Kuroba sighs.

“Oi.”

Kuroba waves his indignation away. “One, Hakuba’s usually great at hiding what he’s feeling. He’s got his ‘I am a gentleman, but also brilliant and I know it’ front going on most of the time. I’m sure you’ve seen it. I mean, he acts his age with me, don’t get me wrong, we bicker a lot when it’s just the two of us and Aoko. So anomaly number one is that he wasn’t even pretending to put up his usual front.”

“And the other anomalies? I’m sure you know him better than I do if you went to school with him.”

Kuroba smirks, and it’s actually a pretty similar expression to Hakuba’s when he’s found a game-changing clue. Shinichi wonders if it’s something he’s acquired from spending so long around Hakuba. Kuroba holds up two fingers. “Anomaly number two: very little eye contact. Hakuba’s usually pretty good about not being in your face about Western ways, but he’s always been really direct about eye contact with people he has a sense of rivalry with. Me, for example. And possibly you?”

“Not too much?” Shinichi hasn’t really given it much thought.

“Either way, real trouble looking me in the eye that day. Either a guilty conscience or an embarrassed one is my bet.” Kuroba holds up a third finger. “Three, he was more put together when interacting with us individually, but much less so when we were side by side. Meaning the change in behavior is because we were both there.”

“You don’t think part of it has to do with you being Kid, do you?”

“Honestly? Not at all, which is a first. Usually everything goes back to Kid.”

“But he has to have seen us side by side at least once at heists.”

“But,” Kuroba points out, “heists are a totally different mindset and scenario, and I’m usually not wearing my own face.”

“Kuroba,” Shinichi says, nudging him in the ribs. “Just get to the point.”

“My point, dear detective,” Kuroba says with obnoxious emphasis, “is that seeing us together like that got a flustered reaction. Which, as you so helpfully pointed out, is a sign of interest.”

Shinichi raises an eyebrow.

Kuroba rolls his eyes. “Hakuba’s got a twin kink for us, Kudo.”

He chokes. “He what?!”

Kuroba smiles like he won a prize, laughing at Shinichi’s expense. “Twin kink. You noticed his interest in me, but you totally failed to notice he did the exact same things when it came to you. He’s into both of us.”

“What?”

“Seriously.”

Shinichi smacks him on the shoulder. “Shut up, I’m not used to men being attracted to me.”

Kuroba blinks slowly. “Are you kidding me, because I can think of three men off the top of my head, myself included, who’ve found you hot.”

“What?!” Shinichi flails. Kuroba does absolutely nothing to stop him from falling off the couch, grinning at his mortification.

“All those times I’ve flirted,” Kid—because he’s definitely wearing Kid’s grin right now—says, “and you’ve never noticed.”

“That was banter!”

“Banter with flirtatious intent is still flirting.” Kid leans down. “Hint. I’m flirting right now.”

Shinichi pushes him away, face on fire.

“Aww, is that a rejection then?”

“I! You!” He’s beyond sentences at the moment.

“Pity. Cuz I was going to suggest we team up and blow Hakuba’s mind.” Kuroba settles back on the couch like he hasn’t just caused Shinichi’s brain to do a record scratch. “I think that would be the thing to finally break him. I would love to see that expression.”

There’s Kid’s ridiculous, childish, vindictive glee in the giggle that comes from Kuroba’s throat. A giggle and a grin thrown Shinichi’s way inviting him to join in with it all. To joke. To… to what, flirt back?

“Do you even like Hakuba like that?” Shinichi asks, baffled. “Or me?”

“Kudo,” Kuroba says, slouching. “Kudo. I’m friends with both of you. I’m attracted to both of you. I’d be up with having fun with both of you. Now anything more than that would depend on how any of you feel.” He winks. “But trust me, interest isn’t a problem.”

Shinichi’s blush was starting to die but it flares up again under the intensity of that sincerity. Shinichi fumbles for words. “I don’t. I’ve mostly only liked Ran that way.”

“Mm, I kind of figured. You don’t react much to other people.”

It’s not a failing, Shinichi tells himself. He just. He’s not attracted to many people. He has to like them personally or they’re just another pretty face among a crowd of others, just a body like any other, and no more interesting for it. Ran was different because she was Ran, his best friend and confidante for years before anything like hormones happened. But even if he does still like her that way, it hadn’t worked out. Trust is hard to rebuild after it’s broken and he’s glad enough to have her friendship remain as strong as ever even if the romance has mostly died.

Ran’s a woman, and he’s always thought of her if he lets his mind go down routes of physical intimacies. And Kuroba is a man. A man that Shinichi knows pretty well, despite most of the time knowing him being knowledge entirely about his alter ego. Kid is a man who is playful and spiteful and creative as hell. He thinks around things instead of in patterns and loves to surprise people—in all ways. He’s, at his core, a good and caring person with a strong moral compass, criminal activities aside, and Shinichi’s come to respect him even if they can’t always agree on things. He’s someone Shinichi can trust with his life—has trusted with his life—and knowing Kuroba now, seeing the playful and cheerful side of him that gave off wonder and joy instead of Kid’s mystique, he can’t help liking him more.

They’re friends by this point. Even Shinichi can admit that.

More than that…? “You look too much like me,” Shinichi mumbles, red-faced.

“Not interested in your own face?” Kuroba jokes. “Hmm, now I feel narcissistic saying I’m into you.”

“You are a narcissist.”

“Ow,” Kuroba says, reeling back dramatically. “So cruel.”

“But.” Shinichi bites his lip, taking in the long, lean line of Kid’s body stretched along the couch. A gymnast’s body. He’s always liked athletic builds aesthetically. It’s… not actually a turn off to consider the male form the same way. He’s just never had reason to think to do so before Kuroba pointing it out. “But your face isn’t what makes you you.”

Kuroba blinks before a fond, genuine smile unfolds across his face. “Are you saying you like me for my brain, detective?”

Shinichi flushes harder. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re cute,” Kuroba says like it’s no trouble at all to put his feelings out there. He props himself up and leans over. “Can I kiss you?”

“I’m not running away, am I?” Shinichi shoots back and Kuroba grins, keeps grinning right into pressing their lips together.

It’s just lips, no different than any other pair, but they’re Kid’s lips and they steal his breath just as much as kissing Ran had.

Shinichi licks his lips as Kuroba pulls away, like he can chase the taste of him.

“Hmm,” Kuroba says. “Yeah, that’s pretty nice.”

It’s more than just pretty nice, but like hell is Shinichi going to stroke his ego.

Kuroba dips in again. And again. Shinichi loses count of how many kisses they exchange or how they end up on the library floor, curled into each other and short of breath, heat caught between them. He just knows that at some point Kuroba laughs, eyes sparkling with lust and happiness and says, “This wasn’t even what I came here for.”

“And what was?” Shinichi says, mind ages away from their earlier conversation.

“Hakuba,” Kuroba says, kissing Shinichi’s jaw.

“Oh.” Right. Hakuba. His mind almost gets lost again in the pleasant feeling of Kuroba’s teeth nibbling beneath his ear. “Twin kink?” he says, dragging up the last thing he remembers from that line of thought.

“Twin kink,” Kuroba confirms. “What sort of expression do you think he’d make if he saw us now?”

It’s weird to think of another person while being intimate with someone, but the idea seems to turn on Kuroba, which really shouldn’t be surprising. Of course Kid would have an exhibitionist streak. Shinichi humors him though. Hakuba, watching from the couch. Hands clenched in his lap, not touching because they haven’t said he can yet, just hungry hazel eyes devouring the picture of them tangled together in front of him…

Shinichi shivers. It’s not a bad mental image at all.

Kuroba nips a little harder, drawing his attention back to him. “It would be fun,” he says, “wouldn’t it?”

“You just want a threesome,” Shinichi accuses breathlessly.

Kuroba laughs. “I mean, sure? But c’mon, detective, it’s a rush having both your attention at a heist. I can only imagine how it’d be in bed.”

Mmng. Ok, Kuroba wins whatever it is he’s trying to do here. Shinichi’s considering it. He’s considering it very seriously. From the slowly growing grin on Kuroba’s face, he definitely knows he’s won Shinichi over.

“You have to get Hakuba to agree.”

“Kudo, we both show up dressed as each other and Hakuba will throw himself at us.”

“I’m not role playing you.”

“Eh, you couldn’t act me well enough anyway.”

That’s a challenge and he scowls at Kuroba for it because Kuroba knows exactly what he’s doing, damn it. He just grins and grins unrepentantly. “I hate you,” Shinichi grumbles.

“You really don’t,” Kuroba says. He pulls him in for another kiss that Shinichi pretends to be annoyed about. Kuroba whispers in Shinichi’s ear. “If we’re going to seduce a man, we’d better get a bit of practice.”

Shinichi groans.

He doesn’t get back to reading his book that night.

o*O*o

It’s been a long day between university classes in the morning and working on an ongoing case in the afternoon and evening. Saguru had barely managed to fit in dinner between running around interviewing witnesses and he’s rather looking forward to a hot bath and some pleasure reading before bed.

He steps into his room, shedding his suit-jacket out of habit before he’s even fully in the room, only to turn and find two people lounging on his bed.

Saguru freezes.

It’s Kuroba and Kudo—or Kid and Kudo?—sitting comfortably with their backs propped against his headboard, watching him with identical smiles on their faces. Like he’s about to trip one of Kuroba’s pranks or Kudo is going to put forward the vital piece of evidence to pull a whole case together. At first glance, he can’t tell for sure who is who, though considering that one of them is wearing Kid’s white suit it should be obvious. But a second longer stare has him sure that it’s actually Kudo wearing the suit. Saguru swallows, his suit jacket slipping through his fingers.

“I expect breaking and entering from Kid, but I’m surprised you went along,” he says, keeping his voice level through strength of will alone.

Confirming his guess, the man in Kid’s suit shrugs. “He’s really convincing when he wants to be.”

Kuroba snickers, his hair tamed into Kudo’s smoother hair style and looking terribly comfortable in one of Kudo’s sweaters. “Like you don’t have a rebellious streak. You’re totally morally gray when you want to be.”

“Generally not for selfish reasons.”

“Well this is entirely selfish.”

Kudo snorts. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“What’s going on?” Saguru asks hoarsely.

Kuroba and Kudo look at him at the same time. “We had a thought,” Kuroba says.

“And we decided to test it out,” Kudo continues.

“For example…” Kuroba leans even closer to Kudo than he was before. “How many of your fantasies is this hitting?”

Saguru flushes then pales. “You, that is I. Kuroba.”

“Relax, if we were going to be weirded out by it, we wouldn’t be here dressed like this,” Kudo says. He’s not trying to tease Saguru at all, just letting Kuroba do whatever he wants. Kuroba is definitely teasing, a smirk on the edge of his lips as he places a kiss underneath Kudo’s eye, just below the monocle. Kudo does tilt his head so Kuroba can access more skin though. It’s terribly distracting.

“We put together the clues,” Kuroba says, eyes half-lidded. “Twin kink isn’t one I’d have thought you had, Hakuba.”

“I don’t!” Saguru sputters. Both Kudo and Kuroba give him identical disbelieving looks and it doesn’t help his attraction at all. “It’s not like that. It’s just.” He doesn’t even know why their mirrored images make him feel so flustered, just that they do, and it’s only because they’re them that he’s attracted at all. “I’m not attracted to anyone that looks the same other than the two of you.” His face burns. “I.” He feels horribly vulnerable. “I find you both attractive on your own in the first place. For different reasons.”

Both of their eyes soften. “Aww,” Kuroba says. “You like us.”

“I thought that was a given,” Saguru murmurs.

“We like you too,” Kuroba says, all but draped along Kudo by now. “You don’t think I’d arrange this kind of show for just anyone do you?”

“That depends, is this an invitation or is this just…confirmation and potentially something to hold over me for the rest of our friendship?” Saguru asks, only half joking. He doesn’t think Kuroba would be that cruel, but he occasionally has a sadistic streak in his humor and Saguru can’t let himself be any more vulnerable than he already is until he’s sure that this isn’t another joke.

Kuroba and Kudo exchange a glance. “We’re serious,” Kudo says, speaking because he probably knows that Saguru will trust his word a bit more than Kuroba’s. He holds out a hand and Kuroba mirrors it. “Join us?”

“Oh.” Saguru shivers. This doesn’t feel quite real.

His feet carry him to the bed like his body isn’t under his own power and he reaches back. Two hands clasp his and pull him in, two lithe bodies bracketing his. Saguru stares at them with disbelief and wonder before Kuroba takes the initiative to lean in to kiss him. He smells a bit like hair product and Kudo’s aftershave. He kisses like an invitation, light and teasing and lingering like he’s daring Saguru to kiss back, to chase and take more than light presses of skin together. If it’s an invitation, Saguru takes it, letting himself drown in the feeling of Kuroba’s lips after years of trying not to think about them or the muscles Kuroba hides under doubled shirt layers.

It’s better than he imagined it being.

Then Kudo is there, tugging him around with a palm on his cheek. He smells like Kuroba’s cologne and if Kuroba’s teasing, Kudo is sincere, straightforward. He doesn’t hesitate to kiss Saguru deeply with a startling intensity Saguru hadn’t expected. He should have expected it. When Kudo thinks something is worth doing, he doesn’t hesitate to follow through. Saguru’s eyes flutter shut with the kiss and Kuroba at his back, Kuroba’s hand in his hair, Kudo’s at his hip. He’s not sure where his own hands are just that he’s holding on for dear life because he hasn’t been this aroused in his entire life. It’s overwhelming.

“Is that convincing enough that we mean it?” Kudo says against his lips.

Saguru whimpers, beyond words.

Kudo huffs a soft laugh against his mouth and kisses him again. Kuroba kisses the back of his neck. One of them has a hand inching up under his shirt. It’s probably Kuroba because he hadn’t even noticed him untuck it. He shivers at rough fingertips against sensitive skin. Definitely Kuroba. Kuroba pressed against his back, his leg slipped between Saguru’s own. Kudo pressed against his front, hand on his face to control the angle of their kisses. Saguru has one hand on his chest it turns out. He isn’t as muscular as Kuroba there, but Kudo’s thighs.

Saguru groans.

“Did we break him?” Shinichi asks as Saguru has to press his forehead against his shoulder before he loses himself completely.

“Hmm, maybe a little bit.” Kuroba pulls his hand from under Saguru’s shirt to rub at his side a bit less intimately. “You okay, Hakuba?”

“Mm.”

“No words?”

“Words are hard,” Saguru says. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Kuroba laughs. “You don’t have to. This is really just about doing what feels good.”

Kudo brushes Saguru’s bangs back from his face and it’s too gentle and platonic for the situation. “If this is too much too fast, we don’t actually have to do more than this. Kaito just wanted to surprise you and see how you would react tonight, but this isn’t a one-time offer.”

“Oh. That’s…” He hadn’t expected that.

Kuroba tugs on his hair lightly and Saguru looks at him. “What part of ‘we like you’ didn’t make it clear that this wasn’t just a fling?”

Saguru huffs. “Pardon me if my brain isn’t up to my usual standards. I wasn’t expecting either of you to be interested at all, let alone together. I… have spent a long time trying not to think about this sort of situation because it didn’t seem possible.”

“Because we didn’t formally know each other?” Kudo asks.

“Because you both have shown preferences for women,” Saguru points out. “And I wasn’t sure how you’d react to Kuroba.”

“My relationship with him’s not too different than it is with you,” Kuroba says. “Only less antagonistic and more random showing up with his face because I can.”

“How isn’t that antagonism?” Kudo asks, exasperated.

“I’m not pranking you,” Kuroba points out. “And you proved you had gray morals way before Hakuba did, with a flare of showmanship that made you a bit less of a critic.”

Kudo snorts. They’re relaxed around each other, like they’ve been interacting for years, and Saguru wonders how much Kudo has interacted with Kid outside of what is publicly known. He’s clearly closer to Kuroba than Saguru first thought. “He’s kind of a brat and annoying but he’s not too bad when it comes down to it,” Kudo says.

“Wow, high praise,” Kuroba says, deadpan. He curls around Saguru’s back, warm and comfortable.

It’s nice. Being here between them is nice and for all that it’s arousing, it’s soothing too. It’s been a long time since he’s been held so intimately and it’s even better with two pairs of arms. It would be hard to disentangle himself if he needed to, but he doesn’t want to.

“Why is Kudo wearing Kid’s suit anyway?” Saguru asks after a moment.

“I hoped you’d need a moment to figure who was who,” Kuroba admits. “I would have had him pretend to be me, but he’s kinda bad at acting.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“Prove it,” Kuroba says.

Kudo reaches past Saguru to catch Kuroba’s chin. He tilts his head and grins like Kid. “Who can’t act, Detective?” he says with a purr in his voice. It’s actually a pretty good impression of Kid being flirtatious.

Kuroba chuckles at Saguru’s back. “Nice try, Kid,” he says with that slight shift in voice to match Kudo’s voice perfectly, because of course Kuroba can pull it off perfectly. “I’m not that easy.”

Kudo snorts. “Aren’t you though?” he says, breaking character.

“You or me?” Kuroba asks.

Kudo shrugs. “You? You’re the one that proposed all of this.”

“You said yes.”

“I can count on one hand the people I’d say yes to.”

“Same,” Kuroba says.

“How about none of us are easy,” Saguru cuts in, “we just have specific taste and are willing to pursue it if the person we like is receptive?”

“Fair enough.” Kuroba snuggles close and Kudo rests his chin on Saguru’s head. It’s all terribly cozy and domestic. It’s a complete turnaround for a short while ago, but Saguru finds he’s kind of glad that they’re not diving into sex all at once. He likes this better even if Kuroba and Kudo did show up looking like one of his deepest fantasies come to life.

“Can you both stay the night?” Saguru asks, not wanting to move at all.

“That was kind of the plan,” Kuroba says against his neck.

“If it’s not assuming too much,” Kudo adds.

Saguru grips Kid’s white coat and Kuroba’s hand where it rests on his hip. “No, I’d like you to stay.”

“Then we’ll stay,” Kudo says.

“And maybe have some fun in the morning,” Kuroba adds with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Kudo smacks Kuroba lightly, on wherever he can reach. From Kuroba’s hitch of breath, it was probably his ass. “Nothing he’s not comfortable with.”

“I’ll consider it in the morning,” Saguru says, heart beating a bit too fast all over again. He certainly wouldn’t mind things going that route. Tonight is just… a little much after such a long day and the shock of finding them here at all.

“Good enough,” Kuroba says. He reaches over Saguru to tug at one of Kudo’s pockets, pulling out Kid’s iconic card gun. He shoots without looking and the lights go dark. “Go to sleep, Hakuba. We’re not going anywhere.”

Saguru squeezes his hand and closes his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Kudo says, kissing his head and Kuroba’s lips on the back of his neck. He should feel trapped, but instead he feels cradled, held with affection, and safe. Saguru drifts to sleep with a smile on his face.

o*O*o

Saguru wakes to a blue-eyed face watching him with a lazy smile and the feeling of hands rubbing gently along his back and sides. …Too many hands for the person in front of him, and his memory of the night before snaps back to the forefront of his mind as he recognizes Kuroba.

“Morning,” Kuroba says.

“…Good morning.” If Kuroba is in front of him, it must be Kudo behind him, hand tracing a lazy pattern against Saguru’s thigh.

Kuroba kisses him, and he doesn’t even mind the stale morning breath.

“It’s definitely good,” Kudo says against the back of his neck. There’s the tickly of fine hair as Kudo kisses the knob of his spine at the base of his neck.

Saguru is very awake and very aroused. Kuroba can tell because he chuckles and presses his whole front to Saguru’s, matching hardness brushing against each other’s hips. Kuroba’s a bit further along than Saguru, but then he has been awake for an unknown amount of time longer.

“Have any opinion about that morning sex?” Kuroba asks against his lips.

“Please,” Saguru says and feels Kuroba’s smile turn into a predatory grin. Kudo presses close against his back and he’s as interested as Kuroba in the proceedings. Saguru doesn’t resist as hands tug at his clothing, undoing buttons and working their way along bare skin. Touch is followed by lips and tongue and teeth. It’s easy to get lost in, to surrender completely to this. In some of his fantasies, he’s the one who calls the shots but Saguru can’t say he hasn’t thought of it this way too. Thought of letting two strong willed people slowly pick him apart until he can’t string two thoughts together and can only attempt to press as much of the experience as possible into his memory.

By the time he’s lost his clothing and Kudo and Kuroba have removed most of theirs, Saguru’s a mess. There has never been someone he’s wanted as much as he wants the both of them, and they are well aware of the power they hold over him with their matching faces alone.

Kudo and Kuroba lay between his legs, looking up at him like he’s something between prey and prize and he can’t even contest that since he feels like it. He wants them to devour him. He wants them to treat him like something precious and touch them the same way. Unable to gather the brain power to do anything other than watch and hold on to the bed beneath him, he can’t look away as Kudo and Kuroba go down on him as one, like they’ve practiced this though he knows they haven’t.

Two mouths on his cock, almost kissing around it, and blue eyes looking up, teasing, taunting. He shudders and moans and is desperately relieved that his father isn’t in the house at the moment or this could be very embarrassing very fast.

They work their way up to the tip, then Kudo works back down, Kuroba fitting his lips around the head and sinking down with agonizingly perfect suction.

“God.” Saguru wants to tip his head back and just revel in the feeling, but at the same time, he might just die if he looks away.

“Not quite,” Kudo quips, “but if you keep stroking his ego he’ll think he is.”

Saguru laughs, startled but not at all displeased as Kudo grins back and Kuroba smacks ineffectually at Kudo’s shoulder with the hand not holding Saguru’s erection steady.

Yes, they’re both absurdly sexy at the moment, but they’re still themselves and Saguru feels terrily fond of them in that moment, breathless with the emotion as well as with the way Kuroba seems determined to get him to climax as quickly as possible.

“Ah. I’m going to—if you keep doing that with your to—oh, fuck.” Kuroba continues mercilessly and Kudo just grins and moves up Saguru’s body to occupy his mouth with sloppy, devouring kisses.

Saguru surrenders. They have him exactly where they want him and he’s just going to die happy there. He grounds one hand on Kudo’s back and the other on Kuroba’s shoulder—not head, he doesn’t want to control this, he’s trying so hard to not move and if he grabs his head, that will go out the window—and moans into Kudo’s mouth.

It takes three more bobs of Kuroba’s head and the brush of his cock against the back of Kuroba’s throat for him to come, body wrenching with the force of it as both men hold him down and he can do nothing but gasp and groan as Kuroba works him into oversensitivity.

Saguru pushes at his shoulder frantically. “Enough, please, for all that is holy!”

Kuroba snickers, nose pressed to Saguru’s thigh. “Everything you dreamed about?”

“Fuck,” Saguru says eloquently.

“Next time,” Kudo promises.

Saguru groans. “You’re trying to kill me aren’t you?”

“Nah, if we were trying to kill you we’d fuck each other while you watch, then tease you mercilessly,” Kuroba says, propping his arms on Saguru’s stomach. He’s still hard, they both are, and Saguru should do something about that. Just as soon as his body starts responding to his brain again.

“God,” he repeats.

“We broke him again,” Kudo says.

“Is that you saying you don’t want to exchange hand jobs?” Kuroba asks.

“Hell no, get over here.”

Saguru watches them shift just far enough away to no longer be on top of him and reach out to touch each other like they already know each other’s bodies intimately. Well, considering how smoothly this all went down, there’s a high likelihood they do know each other intimately though when this first happened is something he hasn’t the foggiest about.

There’s something perverse in enjoying the picture they make, mirror images, all flushed and panting and needy kisses pressed back and forth between bodies. If Saguru hadn’t just come, he’d probably come again just watching the way Kuroba matches Kudo’s pace as they jerk each other off, fast and needy.

It isn’t a perfect mirror though, and Kudo tips over the edge first, curling into Kuroba’s body as cum spurts over Kuroba’s knuckles. He doesn’t lose grip in Kuroba though and it’s only a few jerks more of Kuroba’s hips before he’s spilling too, silent compared to Kudo’s low moan.

God, now Saguru knows what they both look like when they come. He’s never going to be able to erase this from his mind, nor would he ever want to.

Kuroba flops back, boneless, like a particularly happy cat. “Mm, that was fun.”

Kudo wrinkles his nose at the mess and goes to grab tissues from Saguru’s side table.

“You back to the land of the living yet?” Kuroba asks Saguru, lifting his head just enough to crane his neck in Saguru’s direction.

“Mmn.” Saguru blinks heavily and accepts the tissue Kudo offers to clean any mess on himself that Kuroba didn’t manage to swallow. “More or less.”

Kuroba laughs, content. “That was great and we should all totally do this again sometime.”

“Sometime,” Kudo allows, “but only if it’s not going to interfere with work. I can’t drop everything all the time just because you want me to.”

“Would I do that?” Kuroba asks.

Kudo and Saguru exchange a long suffering look of people who have had Kuroba insert himself at Kuroba’s capricious whims into their lives on the regular. “Yes,” they say together.

Kuroba sticks his tongue out at then both. “Rude. I definitely check before I interrupt people.”

“Stalker,” Kudo says, but it’s fond, and Kuroba preens a little almost like he takes it as a compliment. It has to be the shared history of Kid’s madness at work there.

“I need a shower,” Saguru says after a long pause. It’s a comfortable pause, but one of them has to move first.

“Is your shower large enough to share?” Kudo asks, only half joking.

“Yes,” Kuroba answers for him.

“Only if we’re actually getting clean though. Regrettably, I have things I need to do today.” Saguru kind of wishes they could just stay like this longer though. Kuroba’s hair tickles against his ankle and Kudo’s hip is warm against his knee and he’d be entirely content to curl up with them and sleep for another hour, but he already slept in.

Kuroba’s the one to actually move first, stretching like the way human bodies are meant to fit together is optional. “C’mon,” he says holding hands to Kudo and Saguru. “Shower time.”

Saguru takes his hand. Kuroba gives him a bright grin.

“So, I’m taking you guys on a date sometime soon.” Kuroba squeezes their hands.

“Are you now?” Kudo asks with fond amusement.

“Yup. You saw me naked, so dates are happening.”

“How backwards. And ‘dates’ plural?”

“There’s two of you, so I should get at least two dates.”

Kudo snorts. Saguru feels something warm settle in his chest.

He can’t remember why he was so scared to consider this when it’s all he could ever hope for.

“So long as none of those dates are heists, you have a deal,” Saguru says.

“How about a scavenger hunt?”

“Acceptable.”

Saguru lets Kuroba drag him to the shower, hand in hand, and stops thinking about what a risk it could be and lets himself hope for what this could become.

*******

Basically:

Hakuba: I like attractive men who can mentally stimulate and challenge me.

Kaito: If you’re a friend and fall into range of what I find attractive, I’d be down to mess around at least once. Gotta romance me if you want more than that ;) Bonus points if you don’t put up with my bullshit ;) ;)

Shinichi: Look, I have a very narrow list of what makes a person attractive and you’re either on it or you’re not, and if you’re on it, we’re already friends. Also, you’re probably physically fit. (Holy shit, I’m attracted to Heiji too I didn’t even realize--)

#detective conan #magic kaito #saguru/shinichi/kaito #fanfiction #my writing

15 notes · View notes

femchef · 5 years

Text

Suffer Bitch Ficlist

What This List Is: A collection of fics that I’ve read that absolutely fuck me up emotionally, and that I appreciated/loved/needed/have impacted me enough that I’ve saved them for re-reading. If these were paperbacks, the pages would have started falling out long before now.

That said, everything on this list has an emotional resolution (even the few incomplete ones I’ve chosen to include). Nothing on this list is the kind of emotional devastation that leaves the reader feeling empty and used* because honestly I need resolution, and I hate the type of #realism that makes me go “Well what was the fucking point, then”. This list is not comprehensive; if you’re in these fandoms, you’ve likely brushed up against them before. The majority of these authors are well-known, and some of these fics have been around longer than I’d like to be reminded.

So - what qualifies a fic for this list, anyway?

Tears and snotty sobbing. Everything on this list has made me cry and also given me emotional chills to some degree in order to make the cut.**

Before You Read: Take any warnings I list below seriously. If it’s something that will fuck you up in a bad way, then don’t read it. Don’t open the link. We all have things that are no-go’s. Full disclosure? I can’t read anything with graphic depictions of sexual assault, though mentions, allusions to, or mild/non-graphic depictions (ex. fade to black scenarios, fuzzy memory recall, etc.) don’t bother me. I take those tags and author’s notes seriously when I’m choosing what to read. Similarly, I’m pretty blasé about a lot of gore or body horror - except, specifically, when someone is rolling around in a pit of used needles (thanks for that, Saw movies). Guess what I avoid reading? In short: be a responsible reader. Don’t be self-destructive and proceed with however much caution you require.

*a life of smoke and silvered glass is an outlier and should not be counted.

**As a baseline, please keep in mind that the first time I read JRRT’s The Two Towers, I threw my book across the room when I got to the end. Also, the scene in Whale Rider where Paikea is on stage is the one time I started gross-sobbing in a movie theatre. Make of that what you will.

On to the list!

Suffer Bitch Ficlist:

(Presented to you in order of least impactful to most)

Invitation/Complication

It’s Green

Skin Deep

a life of smoke and silvered glass

Practicing Liars

Family Night

A Wicked Game

A Piercing Comfort

Loud and Clear

Humans and Ghosts

Digging for the Bones

Chivalry

In Care Of

A Year Like None Other

Stay

Under Wing

Distorting Equivalency

I’m Not Broken (I Can’t Be)

[The following are in no particular order because I couldn’t decide]

19. Sacrifices Arc

20. Phantom of Truth/Shadow of a Doubt

21. Like One Sundered Star

1. Invitation/Complication Series [Homestuck]

By saffronHeliotrope

You don’t need reminding that everyone is pairing off while you have village-bicycled your way through this group of morons as if you’d never run out of time.

It occurs to you that maybe you need new friends.

Word Count: 8,033

Status: Complete

This series contains two works, one taking place immediately after the other. Have fun angsting with Dave because he can’t seem to wrap his mind around this whole ot3 thing with John and Rose (on their wedding night, ofc). Consenting (if slightly dumb) adults and polyamory all around.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/132165

2. It’s Green [Harry Potter]

By Doodled93

Harry grows up working on his Aunt’s Garden and develops a love for it, meeting Samuel and eventually Max, who gives him a Mark of his own. This Mark is changing him, making him more different than he already was, and he loves it.

Word Count: 88,549

Status: WiP

This is marvelous kidfic - lots of good fluff. Except. You know - that one OC death that was so heart wrenching that you start bawling. The concept of magical tattoos in this fic is really nice, and Max - a prickly, rough and gruff tattoo artist is the best kind of unintentional parental mentor. The author hasn’t updated in some time, but they’ve also made a note that they’ll come back eventually when they’re ready to update to completion.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/411709/chapters/683216

3. Skin Deep [Fullmetal Alchemist]

By Batsutousai

Trisha and Van’s first child, Edith, was born a beautiful, healthy girl. The only problem? Ed knew he was a boy.

Word Count: 17,083

Status: Complete

As you may have guessed from the description, this is a mostly canon AU featuring a trans Edward Elric. I love it, I appreciate how it was written, especially that it’s not a romantic plot - and not only was I crying after the first read, but rereads still give me the sniffles.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8197400/chapters/18779738

4. a life of smoke and silvered glass [Harry Potter]

By dirgewithoutmusic

Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet, smiling at them in that way of his, like he knew something you didn’t and he was proud of you for it. “Friends,” he began.

The door thudded open and the Marauders burst in, late and pink-cheeked with cold. The headmaster smiled at them, too, and Sirius gave a cheery little salute back.

Severus sunk lower in his chair, staring witheringly over his butterbeer. “You told Potter about it, too?”

“He might as well put all that energy to good use,” said Lily. “And to be accurate, I told Remus.”

“But Potter, really?” said Severus.

“He and Black cooked up a jinx that gives you a boil every time you say a slur to a Muggleborn,” said Lily. “It was either invite them to Alice’s war club or bake them cookies, and I know where my skills lie.”

Severus sniffed. “Don’t come crying to me if he tugs your pigtails.”

“Come crying to me if he pulls yours, and I’ll deck him.” said Lily.

(Slight AU in which Severus apologizes, tries harder, and stays friends with Lily.)

Word Count: 22,794

Status: Complete

This is the Severus Snape that canon wanted. The greatest tragedy that never has to explicitly be spelled out (and the reason this fic is so heartbreaking and infuriating) is that the end results are the same.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11457669

5. Practicing Liars [Harry Potter]

By Lomonaaeren

AU of HBP. Harry found out that he was Snape’s son two years ago, and he’s carefully concealed it. But now Snape is his Defense teacher, and Draco Malfoy is up to something, and Dumbledore is dying, and the final battle is coming up, and everything is getting very, very complicated.

Word Count: 206,306

Status: Complete

Oh boy, bring on the angst. A Severitus fic with a lot of bitter, petty feelings. Half Blood Prince is such a popular point in HP canon to veer off into AU territory (for good reason), and just - the timing, the missed opportunities, the growth. Lots of feelings. Also drarry.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/990947/chapters/1955931

6. Family Night [Harry Potter]

By Celebony

As Hogwarts starts a quarterly Family Night, Harry is determined to take part. Facing the heartache of looking in all the wrong places, he’ll have to discover the true meaning of family, and that sometimes it comes from where you least expect it.

Word Count: 33,000

Status: Complete

Eventual Severitus fic. Unhealthy coping mechanisms, emotional abuse, anxiety, self-destructive behavior, angst, grief, and (eventually) healing and recovery - this fic has it all. To me, I think this is the author’s best work, but obviously I have a preference. Fans of Remus tread carefully, this story may not be for you.

Read here: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/2682144/1/Family-Night

7. A Wicked Game Series [Fullmetal Alchemist]

By Tierfal

Roy has lucked into the all-expenses-paid vacation of his dreams - all he has to do is convince a bunch of happy couples that he’s head-over-heels in love with Ed Elric. What could possibly go wrong?

[Modern!AU].

Word Count: 64,884

Status: Story is Complete, but Series is still open for possible future oneshots/additions

Currently three completed works in the series. Roy and Ed as struggling grad students who share lab space stuck in a cabin full of obnoxious couples. This story resonates so well for me, because it was the first time I read something where a character actively struggles with depression where I really felt like someone GOT IT. So, be warned - suicide mentions, depression, angst, and a lot of puns. Safe Roy/Ed, though if that’s not your jam, better take a miss.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/372113

8. A Piercing Comfort [Harry Potter]

By talithan

When Harry Potter hits the lowest point of his life so far, it is not his friends who keep him honest. With Draco Malfoy’s patience and guidance, Harry learns to stand on his own. The thing is, after the fact - he’s no longer sure he wants to.

Word Count: 44,566

Status: Complete

This fic has art by onthecount! It’s lovely. Anyway - Oh my god. When I talk about things resonating on some, soul-deep level. The way depression, and trauma, and PTSD is handled is... Well. I don’t go back to this often, but it’s because (for me) reading this fic is cleansing. Draco and Luna as therapists running a burgeoning wizarding practice is pretty great. If you couldn’t guess by reading the summary, this is an eventual drarry fic - and I’ll be upfront, if the idea of dating your former therapists squicks you out, don’t read. I like how it’s written out, it doesn’t feel inappropriate, or like any sort of power imbalance to me, but I can see where that wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea either.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/857495

9. Loud and Clear Series [Fullmetal Alchemist]

By Tierfal

The thing with Roy is founded on coffee snobbery and stupid text messages and seriously awesome makeout sessions in the car. Oh, and the love of a lifetime, or whatever.

Word Count: 280,924

Status: WiP

Currently there are six completed works, and one in-progress (with at least one more slated by the author). Also known as ‘The modern!AU Roy/Ed fluffball fic (of doom)’, there is emotional baggage/angst throughout that hints at darker things but nothing too dreadful until the fourth entry in the series, “Another One of Those Heartbreak Songs”. Anxiety, depression, war crimes, rape and consent (and, fyi, one of the best descriptions of what exactly enthusiastic consent IS, is in the current entry of the series, “The Boiling Point”) are all being dealt and felt in this story. Safe Roy/Ed fic that starts with a coffeehouse!AU style meetcute and follows the deepening relationship between Roy (established lawyer who works with veterans) and Ed (making the transition from struggling grad student to frazzled professor), and has a delightful dose of Al/Win tossed in. One of the most relatable things about this series is how all the terrible things about your worst relationships don’t really hit you until you’re smack in the middle of the best relationship you’ve ever had, and it’s ROUGH. Consider this your explicit warning: if mentions of rape/sexual abuse, or abusive ex’s set you off, don’t read.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/167693

10. Humans and Ghosts [Danny Phantom]

By RedHeadsRock1010

If there was one thing Danny Fenton perfected since receiving his powers, it was how to pretend.

Word Count: 26,751

Status: Complete

ANGST. Angst and neglectful parents. Angst and neglectful parents and two siblings doing the best they can. Jazz is a real MVP in this story. Also blood and gore. And torture. Oh my god. Still makes me cry. Consider this your explicit warning: if mentions of torture, or neglectful/abusive parenting set you off, don’t read. While it’s not a religious fic, the impact of the parenting codes like some of the horror stories you might have heard about being in the closet and growing up with religious parents. You have been warned.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12315771/chapters/27999459

11. Digging for the Bones [Harry Potter]

By Paganaidd

Rather than allowing Harry to stay at Diagon Alley after he blew up Aunt Marge, the ministry sends Harry back to the Dursley’s. Harry returns to school after a terrible summer, to find that he’s not the only one with this kind of secret. A student has been killed by his family. New screening measures are put into place by the Ministry: Every student must be given a medical exam and interview to look for child abuse. With Dumbledore facing an inquiry, Snape is entrusted with the task of making sure EVERYONE receives one.

Word Count: 203,178

Status: Complete

As the author warns before the fic, there is a character death in the first chapter. The story is an AU of Prisoner of Azkaban. Suicide, attempted suicide, and suicidal ideation are a big part of the story. Child abuse, death by child abuse (and the aftermath), ptsd, and the appalling effects of dementors on a castle full of kids are pretty central to the plot. Eventual Severitus. Also accidental necromancy. This is a monumental hurt/comfort fic and there are a LOT of feelings. And angst. Consider this your warning: if explicit attempted suicide, or suicidal thoughts set you off, don’t read. If mentions of physical abuse/child abuse set you off, don’t read.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/598019/chapters/1078847

12. Chivalry Series [Harry Potter]

When Harry appears at the Welcoming Feast wearing a glamor only Snape notices. Snape decides to find out what the glamor is hiding.

You, the guiltless, will pay for your father’s sins,

Roman, until you repair the decaying

Temples and shrines of the gods, and their

Images, filthy with blackening smoke.

When you act as servant of the gods, you rule:

From them all beginning, leave them the ending.

Horace, Odes III-6

Word Count: 123,467

Status: Series is marked as Ongoing, though individual stories are Complete

Welp. Angst, some explicit child abuse (specifically physically violent Vernon Dursley), grief and mourning, ptsd, accidental potions class disasters that lead to more angst, sickfic, hurt/comfort, blood, gore and violence, child neglect, and eventual found-family by way of Severitus and a developing sibling relationship between Harry and Luna. There is a lot to unpack here. The interactions between Harry, Luna and Severus are especially endearing and heartbreaking. This is your explicit warning: if explicit child abuse /physical abuse set you off, or if accidentally forced (yes, I know how that sounds) flashbacks set you off, don’t read.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/12306

13. In Care Of

By Fangs_Fawn

During the summer before sixth year, Harry finds an injured bat in the garden and decides to try to heal it... and an unwilling Snape learns just what kind of a person Harry Potter really is.

Word Count: 45,319

Status: Complete

I’m gonna be upfront with you. Vernon and Dudley Dursley are very sadistic in this story. Tread with caution. That said, along with the angst this is a very solid hurt/comfort fic that is also a reciprocal hurt/comfort fic (in that, first Snape is helped, and then Harry). It’s a nice emotional exchange. Violence - explicit child abuse and torture, grief, and a very petulant animagus. This is your explicit warning: if physical torture/violence sets you off, don’t read.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1023625/chapters/2036909

14. Like None Other Series [Harry Potter]

By aspeninthesunlight

A letter from home? A letter from family? Well, Harry Potter knows he has neither, but all the same, it starts with a letter from Surrey. Whatever the Dursley’s have to say, it can’t be anything good; so Harry’s determined to ignore it. But then, his evil schoolmate rival spots the letter and his slimy excuse for a teacher intercepts it and forces him to read it. And that sends Harry down a path he’d never have walked on his own.

It will be a year of big changes, a year of great pain, and a year of confronting worst fears. It will be a year of surprising discoveries, of finding true strength, of finding out that first impressions of a person’s true colors do not always ring true. It will be a year of paradigm shifts.

And from the most unexpected sources, Harry will have a chance to have that which he has never known: a home... and a family.

A sixth year fic, this story follows Order of the Phoenix and disregards any canon events that occur after book 5.

Word Count: 1,465,418

Status: WiP

Currently there are two completed works in this series, and one ongoing. This is a ROLLERCOASTER, omg. Terminal illness, child abuse, explicit, agonizing torture, grief and mourning, bad coping mechanisms, self-harm, self-destructive behavior - hurt/comfort out the wazoo. Eventual Severitus, this is a good, substantial found-family fic with a developing sibling relationship between Harry and Draco. I really appreciate that Severus, Harry and Draco continue to step on each other’s toes as the story moves along. They get as much wrong as they get right, and the familial development is natural. Harry does struggle a bit with the newer experience of a paternal Severus weighted by the previous years of his antagonism and petty behavior. Severus struggles with balance, Draco struggles with extremes - behavior, feelings, intrusive thoughts - it’s a very well-rounded story. This is your explicit warning: The torture is incredibly graphic, and there are needles involved. If that sets you off, don’t read.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/41198

15. Stay [Danny Phantom]

By jaeger_soul

Dash Baxter is finally a senior and this year isn’t supposed to be hard. With nothing waiting on him after graduation, he might as well sleep through his classes. He’s already got a job after high school’s over, what’s the point of reaching for anything more? He’s fine with what he has. But when ‘more’ comes in the form of a black-haired boy with similar problems to his own, can Dash really not try for it?

Word Count: 817,287

Status: WiP

This is technically a series, since the author has written one companion piece from another character’s perspective for chapter 27 of the story. Oh my god. Dash is a sweet, sweet cinnamon roll who’s just trying to muddle his way through, and terrible things happen to him. This is not Dash the bully from the canon series. The endgame ship is Dash/Danny, and it is very slow-burn. Lots of hurt/comfort in this fic, and the author’s OC’s are incredibly fleshed out and wonderfully developed. Anxiety and panic attacks are pretty heavy in this story. Small town-typical homophobic slurs, make an appearance. Teenagers having sex with other teenagers is a thing. Mentions of abortion and teen pregnancy and unwanted pregnancy all happen later on. Mentions of suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide are plot points. Abusive and abused ex partners. Child abuse - emotional, mental and physical - is the heavy hitter in this story. It is explicit and painful and heartbreaking. Consider this your warning. ABUSE. Explicit, agonizing depictions of trauma, and being used as a bargaining chip between two different but equally terrible parents - if any of that sets you off, DO NOT READ THIS STORY.

Read here:https://archiveofourown.org/series/646532

16. Under Wing [Harry Potter/Katekyou Hitman Reborn Crossover]

By Reighost

Prophesies were tricky things and lies are even trickier. Sirius’s death becomes a catalyst and Dumbledore’s lies crumple like a house of cards. Harry is left with a burning question... Who is he really? Crossover with Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

Word Count: 145,771

Status: WiP

This story goes hard on the angst right out of the gate. And I do mean hard. Oh my god. A literal mindfuck that will leave you gasping. Psychological manipulation and torture, mind rape, body horror, and non-sexual indecent treatment of a corpse to start with. However, there is a lot of good content in this hurt/comfort fic. The author has not only brought HP and KHR together but has blended elements and characters from Spirited Away, Cardcaptor Sakura and xxxHolic together in such a way that despite all the horror, there’s actually a lot of redeeming charm. You will never find a better interpretation of the Hibari family than the Hibari’s that Reighost writes about in her universes, and this story contains a flashback to the Hibari parents meetcute and it is adorable and hilarious. While this is a wip, it’s at a very good stopping point that’s more or less the end of a story arc - so don’t let the thoughts of a slow wip put you off. This is your warning: Mind-control and mind-control recovery, and gore, all quite explicit. If that sets you off, DO NOT READ. There’s a reason this story is so far down the list.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123387/chapters/2264363

17. Distorting Equivalency [Fullmetal Alchemist]

By Ranowa Hikura

All Ed knows is that he’s been kidnapped by a madman.

Word Count: 173,000

Status: Complete

Go hard or go home. This is 27 chapters of kidnapping, explicit torture, and unethical alchemical experimentation with chimeras. All those feelings you have about Nina? Dial it up to eleven (to point out, Tucker and Nina are not featured characters in this story - unfortunately that disaster has already happened). A hurt/comfort fic with a very good resolution. Also becomes eventual Paternal!Roy and Ed. This is your warning: If explicit, repeated torture and body horror set you off, AVOID THIS FIC.

Read here: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12116762/1/Distorting-Equivalency#end

18. I’m Not Broken (I Can’t Be) [Homestuck]

By [orphan_account]

Guys don’t get raped.

Okay, so maybe they do, sometimes. But that’s only when they’re ganged up in an alley way and shoved against a wall and get some other guy’s dick in their ass without permission. It’s forceful and bloody and masculine. At least, that’s how the media sells it.

But this isn’t rape.

When a girl buys you drinks and takes you home and crawls on top of you - well, that’s every guy’s wet dream.

When she’s grinding down onto you and her hands are holding yours to her breasts and she’s whispering filthy, filthy things into your ear, that’s not rape.

That’s not rape no matter how many times you say no.

Word Count: 33,386

Status: Complete

This is your explicit warning: Rape. The scene is non-graphic (lead-up with fade-to-black scenario) and takes place in the first chapter. Trauma, self-harm, suicidal ideation, destructive behavior, mentions of homophobia. If the summary of this story isn’t enough of a warning, then here you go. DO NOT READ if this is what sets you off. Hurt/comfort and ANGSTANGSTANGST aside, the aspect that I appreciate most about this story is how it deals with trying to come to terms with a trauma you don’t know how to articulate (to yourself or others). I don’t generally do stories that rely on miscommunication, but in this case, it makes sense: it’s less about miscommunication for the sake of plot, and more the lack of ability to articulate effectively, which. Yeah. Dark, angsty hurt/comfort that eventually ends on a positive, hopeful note. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777171/chapters/1462358?view_adult=true

DUN DUN DUN - THE BIG THREE

Let’s call it a three-way tie, because there is SO MUCH PAIN in each of these stories, honestly I really can’t pick an order for them.

19. Sacrifices Arc [Harry Potter]

By Lightning on the Wave

Harry’s twin Connor is the Boy Who Lived, and Harry is devoted to protecting him by making himself look ordinary. But certain people won’t let Harry stay in the shadows...

Word Count: 3,081,000

Status: Complete

Wrong Boy Who Lived. Severitus, Slytherin!Harry. Drarry. If those are on your radar, this may be the story for you. Just beware literally everything else. Torture, mind-control and manipulation, child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, neglect, rape, cannibalism (is it cannibalism when it’s a werewolf eating a human child), trauma, destructive behavior, violent loss of limb, blood, gore, viscera, necromancy - these are just some of the explicit things that take place in the series. There are eight works in the Sacrifices Arc, and they mirror the canon Harry Potter series in that they start at mild and slightly odd and become darker and more horrifying. This is a very, very long series, and it hits a lot of milestones within the HP fandom. There are lovely moments of tenderness, the OC’s are magnificent and well-developed, and while heavy-handed from time to time, the author explores notions of morality and spends a lot of time on magical theory and world-building. If you haven’t read Sacrifices Arc and want more information, google it’s tvtropes page. I would recommend doing so just to determine whether or not the story is safe for you to read if you’re concerned about it, because there is a LOT going on. Otherwise, start with the first story in the series (“Saving Connor”) and proceed with caution. You will absolutely be wrung out before you finish.

Read here: https://m.fanfiction.net/u/895946/

20. Phantom of Truth/Shadow of a Doubt [Danny Phantom]

By HaiJu

Locked away in a secret government lab with Phantom as her subject, nothing stands between Maddie and the truth... except, perhaps, herself.

Word Count: 366,000

Status: Complete

Do you want to get fucking wrecked? Because this series will do it. Holy shit. I still can’t believe I got through it. This is so well-written and so. Fucking. Painful. The first entry in the series, Phantom of Truth, absolutely GOES THERE. The second entry is... everything that comes after. I don’t feel like it spoils anything to tell you that Maddie is not the person who captures Danny Phantom, or that she does not know he’s her son. Make of that what you will. Also, the first story does have a good resolution and does not end on a cliffhanger, so if you need to take a break after, you should. Bonding happens, and I wouldn’t call it Stockholm Syndrome, since it’s between Maddie and Danny, but I also wouldn’t say it doesn’t overlap. This story is absolute fucking angst. Shadow of a Doubt explores not only the traumatic repercussions on Maddie and Danny and their relationship, but on their friends, family, acquaintances and even enemies. There are some very good OC’s that come into play later on. You know, between all the angst and pain. Tread carefully: If you think you’ll be set off by torture and abuse, DO NOT READ THIS FIC. I cannot stress that enough.

Read here: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/7476808/1/Phantom-of-Truth

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/9683169/1/Shadow-of-a-Doubt

[It’s worth mentioning that HaiJu has an ao3, but they haven’t finished crossposting Shadow of a Doubt to their account]

21. Like One Sundered Star Series [Homestuck]

By oriflamme

Who are these shining like one sundered star?

[Like kindled lights in untempestuous heaven,

Fair flower-like stars or the iron foam of fight.]

———

Teenage superheroes deal with hormones, mental illness, and extremely secretive guardians in a world of Horrorterrors, giant mutant lucii, mob violence, nightmares of a past life, warring anti-heroes, and asshole carapacians. Sburb AU divergence from Real Men Wear Tights.

Word Count: 1,712,155

Status: Complete

Welcome to the AU of an AU that did a double reach-around back into canon and became a reincarnation AU. It’s fucking excellent and also fucking traumatic. Body horror, blood and gore and viscera, torture, emotional manipulation, mind control, child abuse, emotional abuse, unhealthy coping mechanisms, attempted suicide/suicidal ideation, codependency, alcohol abuse, just to name a significant few. This is a huge pale-tango clusterfuck and it’s glorious. The world-building is insane. Richly developed OC’s, good use of languages, images that a slowly incorporated into a story of increasing breadth and complexity - and a fucking bombshell that will hit you really, really hard about midway through the story. So much pain. Again, this is another series with a tvtropes page that you should visit if you have any concerns before reading, because there is just that much going on. There are three works in this series, two are companions to the main body of work. Proceed with caution, because this will squeeze the life out of you.

Read here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/56682

Welp.

#fic recs #violence tw #rape tw #abuse tw #literally think of a tw and insert here #proceed with caution

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johnny2071 · 5 years

Text

F is for Family - Bill’s Letter and Apology (Deconstructed)

Bill running away and finally calling out his parents is a major turning point in his character arc, and hopefully, the entire family. In these connected scenes, there's a lot of deep contexts, and I will be analyzing each of them. If anyone here has ever watched Mystery Science Theater 3000, Rifftrax, or any Channel Awesome reviews, you should understand what I'm doing here. Pay close attention to everything written in parenthesis within the transcript, as I will explain each note at the end. Bill's Letter: ----------------- Dear Mom and Dad, By the time you find this note, I will be long gone because I'm running away. Dad, I'm sure you won't care too much being that I'm such a big disappointment to you and I'm always bothering you with my problems. And I know you think I'm a pussy. My reasons for saying this are A, I heard you say it to Mom (Bill was there during the bedroom argument). In conclusion, I'm sure you will all be better off without me (Bill has been burned or neglected by all four members of the family). Mom, I'll remember to brush my teeth (No ill will?). Maureen, even though I'll be gone forever, you still can't have my room (Bill's less-than-kind sister has been moved into his bedroom space). And Kevin, you were doing something (Bill is that turned off by his masturbating, followed by his usual excuse). Sincerely yours, Bill. P. S. Watch out for Phillip (Who has a murderous mind and has gone ballistic twice). Bill's Calls Out His Parents & Rescue: ----------------- Frank: Bill, we're here! Daddy's gonna save you! Bill: Go to hell! (Bill strikes!) Frank: What the fuck did you just say to me? Bill: I'm fucking mad at you! You don't care about me, Dad! You never cared about me! You didn't take me to hockey tryouts because your stupid fat boss was eating chocolate in your truck. Pogo: (*"Now, there comes a point where a reasonable man will swallow his pride and admit that he's made a terrible mistake. The truth is, I was never a reasonable man"*) A Puerto Rican forced me to do that! (Pogo proves that he's not a reasonable man to own up to his mistakes) Bill: All you ever do is yell at me and call me a pussy. A guy exploded in front of me and you told me to shove it down. And when I needed you today, you told me, "Not now." Well how about now, Dad? (Bill has called out his old man) Frank: Jesus Christ, he's right. Son. I'm I'm sorry. I have been a terrible father lately. (Frank finally gets it, ….for now) Sue: Your father is very sorry, Bill. (Latching onto someone else's apology like a captain's parrot) Bill: I'm mad at you too, Mom! (You ain't off the hook, honey!) Sue: What? (MGS alert sfx) Bill: You spent all your time with that stupid scissor-spoon that I cut my fingers on! (Bill clearly holding back for some reason) Sue: (*cue Shopping Jaunt music*) It was called the Forkoontula, and it's still in the development stages, but you're right. It's just this new baby coming really threw us for a loop and then we got all wrapped up with the new neighbors. (How to construct an legitimate excuse over an apology to a very upset 11-year old boy) Mrs. Vanderheim: Well, I guess I ain't such a bad mother after all. [BLOWJOB] (Crass humor fodder insert) Sue: But that's all over now. (What's over? The pregnancy? The dead/arrested neighbors? The Forkoontula? The abuse?) Frank: And we're sorry. (Frank either hijacks Sue's "apology" for more .temp glory, or spares her the burden of responsibility) I told myself I'd be a better father than my own dad, and that starts now. You kids mean…. you mean a lot to me. I love you people. Just please come on home. We'll talk about it. (Which is either forgotten, or a discussion is had among the parents, while the children are elsewhere having zero-input) Bill: Can I have my old room back to myself? (A wish off the top of his head) Sue: Of course! Frank: Jesus, Sue, the house is a fucking mess! Sue: Frank! Frank: Sure. Your own room again. (Wish granted) Bill: I just want to go home. (Bill is back) Epilogue: ----------------- Frank: Well, I know things got a little crazy this summer. But now your mom and I, we got our priorities straight. Sue: Our most important job is being your parents. And I swear to you, we'll never forget that again. (Good luck with Frank's jerk father and your pregnancy still a thing) Notes: -Bill was there during the bedroom argument - Bill's parents knowing this is important, because the last time he mentioned this, the entire matter was preempted in favor of Major going missing. It should also tell them that he fully knows about their sex act right afterwards, and raise the question of why was Bill underneath the bed in the first place and not in school? He was suspended that day. Why was he suspended? He got into a fight with Jimmy Fitzsimmons. Why did he get into a fight? Fitzsimmons harassed him on Halloween night, when he was left home alone. -Bill has been burned or neglected by all four members of the family - Frank has been abrasive towards him, like every else he screams at. Maureen has zero-respect for him, blackmailed him, and was the first one to push him over the edge. Even Kevin (who isn't the friendliest guy) has begun to sour towards Bill as early as Season 2. And Sue, the one person you think would be closer to Bill (unlike of rest of Frank's personal juniors, Boy-Frank and Girl-Frank), has been nothing but hostile towards him in the rare moments they actually interact, for next to nothing. -No ill will? - After the way Sue has been hostile towards Bill, including this season, all the Bill has to say is that he ensures her of proper hygiene, a response so generic, he has nothing notable to say specifically to her in his goodbye letter. -Bill's less-than-kind sister has been moved into his bedroom space - After the way Maureen has treated him in the past, Bill is not fond of sharing his bedroom space with her, or giving her the satisfaction of ownership of his room. -Bill is that turned off by his masturbating, followed by his usual excuse - Given Kevin's boy-ish nature and questionable means of pleasure, and the fact that Bill's mind hasn't sexually matured yet (since he's barely in double digits), close encounters with sex-related matters make him squick very hard. In short, Bill is disgusted by Kevin for this. -Who has a murderous mind and has gone ballistic twice - Bill has already seen Phillip's kill book, depicted horrible acts of torture and murder to anyone who upsets him. Phillip himself has also flipped out at Bill for so much as liking a girl. Not to mention Phillip completely losing it on the Hobo Jojo Show. -Bill strikes! - After all the abuse both his family and the outside world has finally put him through, Bill finally lashes out at his father, all while hanging on for dear life. Frank and Sue finally come face-to-face with Bill's rage, something that's been long overdue since episode 5. -Pogo proves that he's not a reasonable man to own up to his mistakes - A reference from a quote from Big Fish. This was originally meant for Frank, except he does just that. Sue is a good alternative, but not only would the quote not make sense out of context, but Sue actually dances around this. Naturally, Pogo has been as much (if not more) of an asshole as Frank. I got the whole quote idea from a YouTuber's video. -Bill has called out his old man - In this season alone, Frank has been horribly dismissive towards all three of his children, especially when they needed his attention/any helpful advice the most. Here, Bill actually succeeds in calling Frank out on just that. -Frank finally gets it, ….for now - Frank, who's been extremely close-minded of anything his children say, actually has his mind opened by Bill, and is nearly left speechless. For the first time ever, Frank sincerely apologizes the Bill for being a bad father. However, this Frank we're talking about. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time Frank has made a passionate speech or apology. In fact, he has done this for each season final up to this point. By now, you would think that he would've because a better person by now. However, this show brands itself on bitterness and misery, and unfortunately, gets nothing but praise for it. In order for the show to keep its bitterness, Frank has to remain an over-the-top salty, powder keg, jerkass. Based on what resonates with this show's audience, it's Frank's defining trait, down to his threatening catchphrase, which is used towards the people he spends most of his interaction with: his children. Based on this and his track record of resetting back to default each season, it seems impossible and and out of character for Frank to change, much like Bojack Horseman (a character who actually tries to change, despite many characters in that show closing their doors on him). -Latching onto someone else's apology like a captain's parrot - Rather than apologize herself for her own mistakes, Sue decides to chime in and repeat back to Bill what Frank had just said, like a parrot or a one-dimensional yes man. -You ain't off the hook, honey! - It's good to know that Bill has resentment towards his mother as well, considering that she was actually worse to him than Frank was, even though the show tries to pretend that these moments never happened, yet throw off people (especially those hoping for better) by giving us more when we least expect it (or when scenario do not call for it at the slightest). You can tell that Bill (despite his situation and limited rage) is using this opportunity as his best bet to call BOTH parents out (since he's been a victim of bad timing and has run out of steam before he can get started, leaving him vulnerable). -MGS alert sfx - A sound effect from Metal Gear Solid that should've played alongside Sue's ridiculous reaction. what's baffling here is the fact that she's that shocked that Bill is angry at her, as if she's done nothing wrong to him, as if she's been nothing but kind to him, as if one of her children holding hostility towards her is such an outrageous out-of-the-left-field concept. It just sounds so fake coming from her, almost as cartoonish as The Simpsons, in a show trying to be as dark and real as possible. -Bill clearly holding back for some reason - Out of all the things Sue has said and done to Bill up to this point, THIS is the thing Bill decides to call out on. It's almost as Bill had a brief flashback of all the Sue-Bill moments and intentionally held back, by only referencing the most immediate she's done during the summer, or at this point, he's literally running out of steam and doesn't have enough stamina and anger to call her out on everything else (like he did with Frank). He isn't WRONG about all her time going into the Forkoontula, and the invention DID amplify Sue's ugly side. However, Bill was unintentionally spared from any instances of Sue's wrath pertaining to the Forkoontula. The only who wasn't so lucky and got the cold shoulder/venom is Maureen. "The Stinger" and "Punch Drunk" are prime examples. -*Cue Shopping Jaunt music*/How to construct an legitimate excuse over an apology to a very upset 11-year old boy - Shopping Jaunt is a public domain stock music piece often associated with assembly line production sequences. This is a reference to Sue/Laura Dern's lack of sincere emotion and patronizing/near-robotic delivery in her line. It's the equivalent of a someone making an announcement over an intercom in a professional environment, as opposed to a mother deeply apologizing to her son. Hell, she doesn't say "I'm sorry" to the the boy, not even once. Instead, she just brings up the news of the baby, as well as the new neighbors as the cause of their problems. The baffling thing is, it's not like Sue/Laura isn't capable of delivering a sincere apologetic tone. She did in episode 4 of this season after she learns the truth of what the other wives though of her invention, and actually apologizes to Marie for yelling at her. -Crass humor fodder insert - Did we really need this? This is supposed to be an emotional moment where the family finally sees first hand how upset Bill truly is, and finally gets his dues. But the impact is muddled by an insert scene of yet another crude one-note, one-dimensional, one-timer character taking up already limited screentime (given Bill's situation, how late in the season it is, and how late in the act it is). -What's over? The pregnancy? The dead/arrested neighbors? The Forkoontula? The abuse? - In a show like this that tries to stay faithful to its branding and reputation its built up, what exactly does Sue even mean by that? Last time we checked, Sue's still pregnant, and they only have a few months left. Will she decide NOT to have a fourth child and get an abortion, even this late? If she's referring to the new neighbors, of course that's over, since Nguyen-Nguyen poisoned Chet and got arrested. Will Sue finally give up on the Forkoontula (and future inventions), considering how it's bought out the worst in her and caused problems or everyone else, and focus on improving as a person and communicating with her children (which brings us to the "end of abuse" factor)? -Frank either hijacks Sue's "apology" for more .temp glory, or spares her the burden of responsibility - We've seen Frank constantly attempt to make up for his recent mistakes enough times already (spoiler alert: Someone like him, especially in this show, can never change). Why not have Sue be a person for once and own up to her mistakes. Just one apology to her children (in this case, Bill, and to a further extent, Maureen). "Sue: And I'm very sorry, Bill, for the horrible way I've acted as a mother." Is that honestly too good for Bill, or the viewers? We get it. Frank is the main character, but when you have a character like Sue act that scary and hostile towards the ones that don't deserve it, they have to take responsibility for their actions and amend for it so they can be sympathetic/likeable again, especially if they're part of the main cast: the family. -Which is either forgotten, or a discussion is had among the parents, while the children are elsewhere having zero-input - The phrase "we'll talk about it/we'll talk about this later" has been used very loosely in this series, with almost no promise, delivery, or payoff behind it. In the Murphy family, do they even HAVE family discussions? Do they actually talk with the children, instead of just barking orders and threats? Do Frank and Sue actually care about their opinions and how they feel, or just how they APPEAR to feel? At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't "talk about it" at all, especially after five months of dead silence after the events of season 2, only for similar mistakes to return and get as bad as they did in this season. -A wish off the top of his head - Bill sees that his parents are desperately pleading for his return, so he uses this opportunity to ask them for anything as a reason to come home. But considering who his parents are, Bill simply asks for the first thing he can think of in reason. -Wish granted/Bill is back - With this request granted, Bill is ready to return home, and his resentment towards his family has faded. With that said, is this the end of Bill's character arc? Will Frank and (mainly) Sue get along better with him, and the rest of their children? -Good luck with Frank's jerk father and your pregnancy still a thing - Despite Sue's promise to never forget that "being their parents is their most important job", there's still the matter of Sue's pregnancy, and all the hormones that make an already volatile person worse. Also, the introduction of Frank's jerkass father, who will have no problem driving everyone in the house crazy with his baggage (based on Frank's experiences with the man). And even without those glaring issues, what exactly does Sue mean by that? More work specifically for Frank (the least-suited man for the job)? Or does it mean simply mean paying more attention to their kids, but without improving communication/reasoning with them, and being more hostile towards them, over the slightest infraction at the wrong time/mood? In conclusion, I was initially ecstatic over S3E10 (since it was the closest we were going to get to a true happy ending, especially after all the crap that went down in season 2), but after I did more research (since I actually didn't sit through this season and skipped to a transcript of the season finale) and learned about everything else that happened, I learned that this ending wasn't enough to make up for it.

#f is for family #bill murphy #bill burr #frank murphy #sue murphy #analysis #breakdown #frank the father #bill murphy's night off #season 3 #season 4 #netflix #2018 #critical thought

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scyllua · 5 years

Text

As chap.204 would be more of an interlude chapter (a breather after the events of Thursday the 13th and a very intense fanart-sharing moment between amateur artists), the Japanese fandom's reaction to it hasn't been noteworthy. (Bad joke: but it's been a boost nonetheless in comparison to last week! If only because the manga was in hiatus last week and therefore, there was no chapter to speak of! I thought of mentioning this because I noticed my blog at my personal domain had many more visitors last Thursday, I'm assuming, because fans were searching online for the weekly GK chapter and most likely, wondering why they couldn't find it.)

That doesn't mean there aren't highlights in this chapter, though. I'd say chap.204 feels oddly subdued in tone and pacing -in spite of a Wild Wolverine Attack! in the latter half-, but that'd be mostly because the previous three have been rather action-packed. I wrote chap.201-203 would serve as the introduction to the arc to unfold in this volume (which would encompass chap.201-210), and while we've been given more than enough hints about what to expect in the near future (the still ongoing plot with the Partisans and the reappearance of a certain one-eyed sniper), this chapter seems to introduce more subplots while still pointing in the same direction. My usual warnings about mistakes and mistranslations applying as usual, onto CHAP.204! EMPHATICALLY APPALLING!! JUST AS SUGIMOTO AND ASIRPA SHOW US IN THE PANEL AT THE TOP OF THIS POST!!!

In short, Tsukishima gets a telegraph message from Tsurumi informing him that the business he had in Noboribetsu has been taken care of and he'll be heading to Karafuto then. As Tsurumi will rendezvous with them in Oodomari (the same port town in southern Karafuto they arrived in back in vol.14) in two weeks time, he tells the group to stay in Toyohara until then. Koito comments they're to stay in Toyohara because it's a large town with better lodgings, and since there's nothing else for them to do until then, they should just take things easy. While in the town outskirts, Cikapasi and Tanigaki meet a couple of Ainu men who question the boy about where he comes from and who that big guy standing over there is. Cikapasi explains they come from beyond the southern sea, and introduces Tanigaki as his uncle. The Matagi then comments about the extra marginally important information Cikapasi gave the Ainu men about how much endowed he is, and tells the boy how useful and supportive he's been through their journey in Karafuto. As both ponder about Inkarmat in Hokkaido, Enonoko approaches them and asks Cikapasi if he's going back already. In the nearby forest and as Asirpa and Sugimoto get ready to hunt a kuzuri (a wolverine), Tsukishima tells Vasily (who's still following them) to go back to Russia. The wolverine hunt is interrupted by a couple of photographers who seem to have an interest in Asirpa, but just in cue, the little and irascible animal attacks one of the men. After they take care of the wolverines -in a moment vaguely reminiscing of vol.7 and the adventure in the cabin in the woods, there were two of them- and Asirpa cooks them (the very reason she wanted to catch one), the photographers explain the device they're carrying is a cinematograph, and that they're interested in documenting about the Ainu culture.

The chapter's title is 残したいもの (nokoshitaimono), a term I'm having some trouble with. Since the term 残す means "to leave behind", "to save" or "to reserve", and given the group's current activities, I'm understanding the title in the sense of "things we're doing to cherish later" (it literally translates to "things I want to save/leave behind"). Remember how in manga and anime the characters will sometimes state they want to try doing things as to have good memories of them? Asirpa says so in this chapter as she spots wolverine's tracks and decides to catch one... to eat it, of course (and cherish its taste for ages to come, that's it). They're in Karafuto, so they won't be going back to Hokkaido without having a bite of everything that is to munch on in that island! Some random fan comment here: While I understand the social and cultural importance of food in Japan (similar to the culinary traditions we have in my country), I can't but frown a little at just how this girl is in her way to try every possible edible animal that pops up in the story. At the very least, I think I can feel sorry even for the little demonic wolverines they eat in this chapter.

...but starting from the beginning! Plotwise, an important highlight of this chapter would be the piece of information regarding Tsurumi; specifically, that he's making his way to rendezvous with the group in Karafuto. Since he sends word to Tsukishima that the business in Noboritsu has been taken care of, I think that'd be our confirmation that all events in the manga occur in a chronological order; that's it, in the order and within the same timeline as we're shown in the story. I'm mentioning this because I was wondering whether Kikuta's showdown with Toni Anji's group in Noboribetsu (chap.190-195, to be compiled in vol.20) was taking place at the same time as Sugimoto's entourage lost sight of their sniper in northern Karafuto: this indeed seems to be the case. Back then, I also pondered how author Noda would then "speed up" things, for the manga had taken 7 volumes to depict Sugimoto and Kiroranke's groups' journey through Karafuto: either he used an ellipsis, or fast-paced the narration as not to spend other 70 chapters to show us how they went back to Hokkaido. In my previous chapter summary entry as well, I wrote I thought the current arc could wrap up while in Karafuto before all plotlines seemed to be aligning in that direction: Sugimoto's group is still in that island, Vasily is following them (providing us with a good excuse expedited reason for Ogata to make a comeback and have another duel with the Russian sniper), Sofia is making her way back to Hokkaido (via Karafuto? We don't know yet, but that could be a possibility - and a viable reason for her to cross paths with the protagonist cast)... and now Tsurumi is traveling to the northern island as well. I must say I hadn't thought of this scenario (as I'd assumed Noda would favor Hokkaido as the setting for most if not all future and pivotal events), but it'd certainly pace up the plot forward quite considerably.

Some fan pondering here: So, what do you think Tsurumi's arrival in Karafuto will be like? Because of the way the original text is phrased and of just how Japanese grammar is, it isn't that explicitly stated that Tsurumi will be personally going to rendezvous with the group, but that can be implied from the sentence. ...Now, let us remember he hasn't made an appearance in the flesh -and outside a flashback- since chap.171 (vol.18); there's no need for him to show up in a grand and remarkable way with an equally large entourage at the time (but it's Tsurumi: one can never know for sure with this man), though I'm looking forward to seeing him flanked by some of his trusted and skilled men a the very least. Random pondering #2: Since everything turned out just well in Noboritsu -for everyone involved... save Toni Anji's group, that's it-, I'm assuming Usami didn't get that scolding in the end. Good for him. Random hopeful thought: It'd be pretty nice if we could get some more of Kikuta and Ariko then.

A small caption for the chapter reads, "it's golden time!" The term is given in English (and it's an actual expression used in education in this language), but the connotation it has in Japanese, if I'm not wrong, would refer to time spent in leisure or pleasant activities that are meant to be enjoyed and cherished: the accompanying kanji precisely read, 自由時間 (jiyuu jikan, lit. "free time"). And, of course, the term would also serve as a pun for the manga's title for including the word "golden" on it. Well, that's just what our protagonist group will do for the time being.

...starting with Tanigaki and Cikapasi, who meet a couple of Ainu men. When the men question the boy about where he comes from and who the big guy over there is (my phrasing, by the way: they simply ask about "that man"), Cikapasi tells them they come from beyond the southern sea, and refers to Tanigaki as his ojisan. Note that this term in Japanese means "uncle", but it's also a colloquial way to refer to any older man, akin to saying "an old man" or "a mister". I'm going with Cikapasi as literally introducing Tanigaki as his uncle, though, because the word he uses in Ainu is achapo: my knowledge of Ainu being so obviously zero, I do remember acha meaning "father" in this language. Hence, I think the boy is genuinely referring to Tanigaki as an uncle: probably not in the strictest sense, but as a person close to him and with a family-like tie. Explanations over, Cikapasi then adds Tanigaki has... big balls, er, yes. I'm going to take his word for that, as the only adult male character who's gotten clear and full frontal shots in this manga so far has been Shiraishi: we wouldn't know for sure about the rest. He says 金玉, a colloquial term literally translating to "golden ball" and meaning "testicles". Speaking of another Jump-serialized manga and being the irreverent author he is, Sorachi Hideaki titled his best-known story 銀魂 (Gintama, lit. "Silver Soul") as a play-on-words with precisely this term, kintama; given the franchise became so popular as to encompass the manga, several anime series, live-action movies, and a ton of merchandise that was referenced to even in the story canon, it's probable nobody will raise an eyebrow at Gintama's title now, but at the beginning of its serialization some did have a thing or two to say in Japan. Guess Sorachi got away with it in the end... and his detractors had no idea as to what the manga would give them through its publication.

Tanigaki and Cikapasi then have a moment to reflect on their journey in Karafuto. As the boy's (and our loyal Shiba dog, ie. Ryuu) presence has been both useful and supportive through their adventure, Tanigaki is glad they didn't send them back as soon as they were found out as stowaways; Cikapasi thinks back of his family in Hokkaido and in quite the high spirits, wonders about Inkarmat (or more specifically, would think of her, as he refers to Tanigaki, Inkarmat and himself as a family). In equally a good mood, Tanigaki says he's sure Inkarmat recovered and is doing well, and that they should go back to see her. However, a sad moment arises when Enonoka, upon overhearing them, asks Cikapasi if he's really going back now.

Cut to Asirpa calling out to Sugimoto to take a look at something she's just found. But fear not, it's not some more excrement (because even Sugimoto assumed so), but wolverine's tracks. Asirpa hasn't seen one yet, so she asks Sugimoto about the tracks (as he told her he'd meet one of the little diabolical things before); upon the immortal's confirmation that they belong to a wolverine and the animal is worse than a wild bear in some aspects, she decides to hunt it. Well, they're in Karafuto already, so why not catching one and eat it? Another random comment here: we Peruvians have an expression stating that "someone got all the stickers in their album" in reference to completing a trade card album, still a popular activity in our country among adults and children alike. As an expression, it broadly means that someone has done everything in a list, or have completed a collection; in a very negative example, the last person I remember using it was a journalist talking about how a government official was found to have committed a long list of crimes related to corruption. That's to say, the corrupt official had all the stickers in his album, from perjury and malpractice to bribery and running away from the country when he was issued an arrest warrant. Okay, for my Golden Kamuy example, I won't obviously talk about politics here, only how Asirpa has a figurative edible flora-and-fauna album ("Everything You Can Hunt Down Or Find... And Have A Taste Of!") she must have 3/4 full at the very least by now, counting her gourmet experiences in both Hokkaido and Karafuto.

(As it's customary and part of the narration in Golden Kamuy, there's a passage detailing Ainu traditions in this chapter, but... Sorry, I'm skipping all the cultural references as not to incur in any translation inaccuracies.) As Tsukishima is presumably scouting and watching the surroundings (and I'm going to fan-assume here Koito is off somewhere trying to find more reindeers... or any equally cute small wild animals), he finds Vasily doing, well, pretty much the same, it seems. Tsukishima curtly tells him to go back to Russia... and I'm afraid I do have several fan comments to make.

First off, let's take another look at the panel of Vasily turning to face Tsukishima. The small sign by his head (at the left side of the panel) is meant to show he's surprised or just caught on something -in this case, it'd be Tsukishima looking at him-... but taken out of context, and as RavenTears pointed out, it makes him look as though he's shining. Dazzling Russian snipers, indeed. On a personal note, Vasily looks to me as though he somehow aged 10 years or so in the interlude from the previous chapter to this, as he has a slightly more mature appearance now (but not as old-looking as he was in vol.17). Until the next chapter is out and we can hopefully get more panel shots of (and some more interaction with) him, I'm just going to fan-assume the excited moment of fanarts-sharing with Sugimoto in chap.203 had some sort of age-regression effect on both him (physically speaking) and the immortal (mentally emotionally speaking in his case, something not that surprising at all given the hard life Sugimoto has led until now).

Also... is nobody really keeping track of the Russian that's following the group? Since people in this manga have never seen too keen on holding grudges for the most part (as I could argue that Tanigaki, for example, invoked retribution against Kiroranke instead of exacting revenge), I can understand the group isn't worried about a sniper who already targeted them twice and is currently tailing them. Said sniper also merits a mention for tailing them under the same circumstances, ie. apparently not concerning himself with the possibility of a member of the group deciding to be proactive and taking him down as not to risk being targeted by the same marksman for a third time. But Tsukishima's startlement at finding Vasily by his side makes me think they might not be that watchful as one could expect or wish. That said, if a silent Russian sniper can stand by their side without being too much conspicuous or alerting them, I won't be much surprised if the group ends up being ambushed by a Japanese one-eyed sniper making a comeback in the near future. I'll be actually looking forward to it. I mean the sniper's comeback, of course; not the characters being ambushed and targeted and shot down all over again.

And lastly... Tsukishima's line written horizontally in his speech bubble instead of vertically would indicate he's speaking in Russian, which would be relevant in a metalevel (because it makes perfect sense that he's speaking in this language to Vasily). Japanese is traditionally written top-to-bottom and right-to-left, but it can also be written in a horizontal orientation and left-to-right. Until World War II, if I'm not wrong, Japanese was written horizontally for small portions of text (such as in signs or newspapers headers), but from right-to-left. One example in GK would be the Yamamoto Barbershop in the Barato arc (vol.6) which, by the way, it's based on an actual building with the same name preserved for historical reasons:

The sign reads 山本理髪店 (Yamamoto Rihatsuten), but you'll notice the kanji are oriented right-to-left instead: 店髪理本山. Nowadays, horizontally-written Japanese follows the left-to-right orientation, and it's mainly used for aesthetically or design-related reasons (such as in printed matter or ads), but also for practicality (eg. movie subtitles placed at the bottom of the screen or, as a standard, in traffic signs and similar). In manga, however, horizontally written Japanese is usually used to indicate the lines are spoken in another language, such as with Tsukishima's in the above panel. In the Golden Kamuy manga, dialog spoken in Russian is usually given a Japanese translation in the same speech bubble, but written in a horizontal orientation because of space issues. (Ainu is written using the katakana syllabary with a top-to-bottom orientation, just as in Japanese). In several instances, though, no Russian text is written, and only the Japanese "translation" is given, such as Tsukishima and Svetlana's exchange in chap.185: we know they're speaking in Russian, though, because the lines are still oriented horizontally, and that's the importance of this detail.

I can only speculate, but I'm assuming those dialogs aren't always translated into Russian probably because of problems related to time issues or the availability of the consultant/translator at the time of the publication of the chapter. In some other instances, I suppose the text is so short (...such as Tsukishima "go back to Russia" line), it's not deemed necessary to translate them for the sake of the manga's sense of realism: after all, we can watch an English-spoken movie based on feudal Japan and won't be bothered by the fact that they aren't speaking in the intended language. Also, one might argue that they could always use an automated translation for such small lines... but I personally prefer those lines to be left as is, in Japanese and using visual or narrative devices (as the orientation of the text) to indicate readers the text is meant to be in another language: details such as those don't detract from the plot or the feeling of the manga and, most importantly, they might also prevent the manga from making very glaring translation mistakes. Trust me, I've seen enough terribly rendered lines in Spanish in American comics to insist authors and editors better get an actual translator, or not dare use Google Translate at all. Speaking of comics and Russian! A comic I remember where a similar visual device was used is one of Marvel's Winter Soldier series (the original run by author Brubaker, if I remember correctly). The one difference was that many lines in this comic had an asterisk at the end which led to a footnote stating that... they were being spoken in Russian. At the opposite end of the example, I also remember a Vampirella comic that featured some lines written in such a mangled Spanish, it took a couple of rereadings (even for a native speaker such as myself) to make sense of them. And in not-so-awful but still rather bad example, there was the Witchblade comic in which I vaguely remember at least a character having a name in Japanese... written in incorrect Japanese, most likely because the author seemed to have just looked up the terms in a dictionary to put them together without checking even for grammar.

Getting back to the chapter: a couple of men make an appearance and one of them asks for Asirpa to repeat what she was doing from the beginning. Just as they identify themselves as photographers, or more specifically, cinematographers, the wolverine attacks.

Sugimoto gets it off the man it attacks, but as another wolverine appears, Asirpa takes it down with an arrow as he shoots the first one, though he doesn't instantly kill it. It's again Asirpa the one who must finish it with another of her arrows, all of this as the man carrying a curious-looking device keeps revolving a crank on it (or you'd better say, an old-fashioned device... only that in the Meiji era it wasn't old, naturally, but rather pretty innovative).

Fast-forwarding a bit, we now have the leading-and-now-reunited protagonists eating the poor devils -I mean the wolverines, of course- while asking the men about their business in the vicinity.

They explain the device they're carrying is called a cinematograph (the model would suggest it's the one created and patented by the Lumière brothers in the last decade of the 19th century, as there were other similar devices patented before theirs); after detailing how it works, they add they're interested in documenting about the Ainu culture. End of the chapter!

My first fan-comment here about this passage would have to do with my taking back some of my fan-comments here, specifically those making fun of Sugimoto's poor aiming. I was obviously exaggerating when stating he never hits anything, as we've seen how he's shot several animals when hunting through the manga, and chap.204 would be another example. Still, my comments had to do with him primarily using his rifle to strike or stab instead of actually shooting it whenever it came to attack a human target, so to speak; given he's a melee hand-to-hand fighter, this comes as no surprise (and snipers all around the globe in the Meiji era dread nightmares with the looming figure of the Immortal Slayer Of Any Unfortunately Soul That Dares Attack Him In Vain And So Obviously Fails, Otherwise He Wouldn't Be Immortal, be it on a Thursday the 13th or any other day of the year, actually). But it just turns out Sugimoto does shoot his rifle, and does accurately hits his target one summary entry after I wrote I wouldn't stop making fun of him until he managed to do so, meaning... I've been proved wrong by the immortal in quite the expedited way. ...since I still believe his aiming is awful when it comes to human targets, I'll keep making fun of him, just... not that much. As a counterargument to Sugi's aiming and intended use of his rifle in this chapter, please let us remember that, in his first encounter with Ogata, he almost indirectly kills the wildcat when knocking him unconscious after hitting him in the head with the butt of the rifle; in their latest encounter, Sugimoto almost kills him (oh, again) when he nearly hits him when trying to shoot down the horse he was riding instead. Well, yes, come to think of it, it might also be that I'm very biased against Sugimoto's use of his rifle because of the levels of violence he's shown towards a certain wildcat.

My last general fan comments about the chapter have to do with the introduction of the cinematographers. Their appearance made me think of Hijikata looking for journalists all the way back to vol.13, if I remember correctly (really, it might be time to go back and properly reread the whole manga by now), because he was looking forward to using the media for propaganda purposes in his goal of declaring a second Republic of Ezo. Well, while the cinematographers don't seem to have any propagandist intentions, their interest in filming about the Ainu culture is making me think of them as the equivalent of early National Geographic writers (the first issue of the famous magazine dates back to 1888, after all): the manga's very National Hokkaido Graphic documentary filmmakers, in any case. At this point in the plot I couldn't say for sure if they're going to have a more relevant role to play, but since they've filmed Asirpa and Sugimoto killing the wolverines already, it does seem to me they could stick with the group a little longer to register some of their activities, sort of a Golden Kamuy documentary within the Golden Kamuy manga. Such material would have cultural and historical importance in the plot since, for starters, Sugimoto's group is a good example of multiethnic cooperation and coexistence, featuring Japanese, Ainu, Hayato, Matagi and even a Russian traveling and working together at the time just fine.

...plotwise and theoretically at the very least, the cinematographers have two weeks to follow the lead of a certain Russian sniper and stick to our multiethnic and multicultural group. We know already anything and everything is bound to happen in very short periods of time in this manga (Koito's rescue mission in chap.199-200 began with horses refusing to gallop down a steep path, continue with a drift race in the streets of Hakodate, featured a couple of gentlemen losing some clothing due to an unfortunate transit accident, and included a homage to Freddy Mercury near the conclusion, if you'd remember), so I'm sort of suspecting the days until Tsurumi's intended rendezvous with the group might be... full of eventualities. From more cultural moments to possible ambushes by snipers with hidden agendas -or probably, no agendas at all- and face-offs with Partisans, I wouldn't discard even the idea of the cinematographers filming the first Meiji-era Japanese cam movie, if anything of the aforementioned actually takes place and they happen to still be around to record it.

#golden kamuy #fan talk

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rays-of-fire-and-ice · 6 years

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Hitsuhina Weeks 2017: Day 14 - Nobody but You

Here it is, folks. The fruits of five months of labour. The condensed version of the Hitsuhina bond and the important moments for them as individuals. I worked on these in the spare time I had during studies, and seeing as we organised the two weeks of Hitsuhina, I figured that would be a good time to post this. I’ll put explanations of what’s going on in the background panels below the ‘keep reading’ for anyone who’s interested.

Otherwise, it’s been a great two weeks, and I wish everyone a happy new year. Let’s keep Hitsuhina alive next year too :D

Please DO NOT repost this anywhere outside of Tumblr without my permission.

Childhood – I had the most fun drawing this one out of all the five. It’s the one I had the clearest vision for from start to finish. The pattern on Momo’s kimono was inspired by this material.

1st panel: This is one of the many scenarios I have imagined for how Toshiro and Momo first met. Basically, Toshiro would go out during the Winter season while it was snowing (as very few Junrinan residents dared to brave the cold weather), but one day, he see a girl he doesn’t recognise standing under a tree, looking at the silhouette of the Seireitei in the distance. She notices him and starts talking to him, and the whole time he is confused about why this girl would talk to him.

2nd panel: This is just a depiction of Junrinan, specifically Toshiro’s house. It’s meant to be a part of the coloured piece of them in the foreground (I guess you could take it as a typical day in the lives of Toshiro and Momo prior to the latter going to the Academy)

3rd panel: I never realised how much I needed to draw Toshiro as a baby until I started this XD I headcanon that Granny found Toshiro as a baby and decided to raise him as though he were her biological grandson. Ha to use a lot of anime references for Granny.

4th panel: This is one of the many times they’ve watched the sunset together.

Academy Days – I couldn’t think of many Academy moments they’d share together, considering Momo was in a different year to Toshiro and graduated before Toshiro finished (according to this track), and Toshiro was only in the Academy for a year. I based Momo’s pose in the foreground on her colour cover for the Academy chapter with Renji and Kira.

1st panel: This is based on track 8 and was partly inspired by Tama-chan’s rendition of the scene. I had planned to draw this moment much earlier in the year, but I never got around to it. Thankfully I got to do it for this!

2nd and 3rd panels: These from the same moment, where they just happen to pass each other in the hallway. I wanted to make use of the gaps between the panels, so I used it here to show that, despite being in the same place, they’re growing distant…at least, I hope that’s what it managed to convey ^^; Also decided to include a Kusaka cameo for anyone who likes the DiamondDust Rebellion.

4th panel: Momo getting her Shinigami uniform, a day Toshiro recalled while confronting Aizen and was a massive turning point for Momo herself.

Soul Society, Arrancar, & Fake Karakura Town arcs – This was the hardest one to do. This is the period of in the series is where they had the most moments together and it was so hard to choose from the many scenes these two had on and off screen/panel. Ultimately, I went with the moments that I was able to fit into the narrow spaces.

1st panel: Chapter 224/ episode 126 from Momo’s perspective when Toshiro forgives her and tries to brush off the weight of what happened between them. Didn’t quite turn out how I wanted, but I’m happy enough with the result.

2nd panel: Chapter 131/ episode 47 where Momo expresses her grief and confusion to Toshiro about Aizen’s final wish. It is also a redraw of a panel from one of the first fanart pieces I posted on here. I was very close to drawing the scene where Aizen reveals his true nature to her, but I found it difficult to crop that moment into the narrow panel.

3rd panel: Out of every panel I drew, this was hardest to draw because of how emotional it got me (the angst, the angst!) and it challenged me with trying to fit the moment into the panel ;_; Chapter 392/episode 293...gosh darnnit!

4th panel:Toshiro working away at becoming stronger for Momo’s sake in the cave from chapter 423. I forgot to add in the vapour for his breathng now that I look at it >o<

Lost Agent & The Thousand-Year Blood War arcs – Only one on-screen moment between these two during these arcs, so I had to get a little creative with this one. For the coloured part, I used the anime scene in episode 34 where their bond is first introduced for reference.

1st panel: It’s the moment I wish Kubo had drawn – the moment where Toshiro and Momo reunite months after the Winter War. I imagine it was an emotional moment, to say the least, with several tears shed from both parties and a long discussion about what happened and where they’ll go to from there.

2nd panel: This was a hard one to decide on, but in the end I went with Toshiro’s Vizard form, because leading up to this scene, Toshiro went through the trauma of losing one of his closest companions, trained to compensate for the loss, only to lose his battle and Rangiku, but then regains Hyourinmaru and defeats the person who took one of the most important beings in his life away. Other moents I considered for this were Zombie Hitsugaya, Momo’s reaction to Toshiro’s reiatsu disappearing, and Toshiro and Rangiku coming out the tanks.

3rd panel: The one moment where they’re in the same scene...and I just end up drawing Momo XD I tried to find a way to fit both Toshiro and Momo in, but nothing worked. In the end, I figured just Momo [carrying Shinji] was enough to represent the scene. Ever since BLEACH ended, I got the impression that Kubo had intended to have a big moment for them during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc (i.e. perhaps Toshiro making a more obvious effort to protect Momo, who sees how far he has come since Aizen’s defeat, or maybe a flashback on how Momo recovered and reconcilled with Toshiro); but because of his declining health, he wanted to wrap up BLEACH and gave us the small moment in 659 instead. I’m grateful for this scene and only wish it were animated T_T

4th panel: Momo healing Toshiro, a moment I headcanon happened after Yhwach was defeated; I was tempted to draw Toshiro in his matured form, but decided for his original form because it felt right for this scene. Also, I tried to make his hair a bit fluffier because of all the action he just went through XD

10 year timeskip and beyond – Got creative for the final one. I came up with way too many scenes, but some of them I knew I wouldn’t be able to draw with my current skill level at drawing. In the end, I decided to show them during the seasons (i.e. the first panel is in Summer and the last one is in Spring) in moments of peace and quiet.

1st panel: Toshiro’s reaction to Momo’s new haircut. I imagine he was a little surprised at how matured she suddenly looked, and basically said something along the lines of [while blushing] “Uh...yeah, it looks great! Why the heck do you want my opinion? Can we just get out fo the sun? It’s hot out here!” Momo’s hands didn’t turn out how I wanted them to, but oh well.

2nd panel: A typical autumn day when they can spend time together. The Soul Society is finally at peace, so they can now chill out and take long naps under the trees :P Momo’s reflective here, thinking about the long peace they’ve had and happy memories of her childhood.

3rd panel: This is meant to represent a lot of momets. This is the moment after they confess their feelings for each other. A typical moment on one of their first dates. The moment after they’ve shared their first kiss. More specifically, the tender and sweet moments that come between them as their love each other grows and grows.

4th panel: The two of them a century later as adults. Their love for one another is fully realised and they now spend everyday together [outside of work] as a married couple. I was hoping to show a wedding ring somewhere, but I wouldn’t think of a natural pose for it. Also, I have a few interpretation about how Toshiro would look as an adult. As you can see, the one I ended up choosing involved him having long hair, mainly inspired by Hyourinmaru’s design.

#hitsuhina #hitsuhina week #hitsumomo #toshiro hitsugaya #momo hinamori #hitsugaya x hinamori #bleach #my fanart #I realise there's several anatomy mistakes #but I'm happy with all of these

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rwboi · 6 years

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How about team RWBY, Velvet, and Winter with an S/O that adores horror fiction?

Team RWBY, Velvet, and Winter with an s/o that adores Horror fiction. I did some bullet points and a shortish scenario for these. These headcanons are really headcanons any more are they? (where they ever?)

THIS IS ONLY A PARTIAL I’LL POST THE REST WHEN I’M DONE

Under a read more cause it’s a lot of writing

Ruby⦁ She saw the big stacks of books when she first introduced herself as their neighbor from down the hall. The were stacked evenly and formed a short wall that separated what she assumed was their reading spot and the rest of the room.

⦁ The books are actually her go to conversation starter. “So you like books?” “Yeah, hard to tell right?” “Haha, yeah…” “…” “…”

⦁ She’s impressed once she gets to see the collection up close. S/o reads 10x’s more than Blake and owns at least 100 more books.

⦁ Ruby will be curious and ask what their favorite is and why. She’ll ask them how they amassed such a large collection and then ask how many suit cases it took to get them here to which s/o will respond ‘too many’

⦁ She noticed the common theme pretty quickly and asked if there were any other types of books they read. 'Unless its for school, I only read books in the horror genre.’

⦁ She likes the ones with monsters and villains that end up losing in the end but not many of s/o’s books are like that. Ruby will rarely read any of their recs because their just to much in so many different ways.

⦁ “Hmm…Oh! There’s this one called 'Encounters of a Grimm Kind.’ It’s a collection of peoples encounters with Grimm!” She’ll read the heck out that! But then also be kinda saddened that not all of these end happily…

⦁ All in all she supportive and will always think of s/o when she sees any book.

She was in class when her scroll started ringing. She frantically searched herself for it as Professor Oobleck stopped his lecture to look at her, the rest of the class following suit. She grinned nervously and tapped at the screen before it shut off. He just sighed and continued with the lecture.

Ruby looked at the screen to see who was calling. It was s/o, who was apparently sick according to their roommates. She was tempted to send them a text but a glare from Mr. Oobleck stopped her. There was only a few minutes left of class, it could wait.—-Ruby zipped out of class and immediately called back. She strayed off to the side of the hall and headed towards her next class.

“Hey, s/o, wha-”

“I need you to go to my dorm and get the green and blue hard cover book on my bed and the-!"

Their tone was rushed and they even sounded just a little bit breathless. There was a light chatter in the background.

"What? Where are you?!”

“I’m at a book signing but I forgot one of my books.”

“What?! You ditched class for a book signing?!”

Her loud voice attracted some passerby’s attention but she continued to flail. She walked into the closest girls bathroom and leaned against a wall.

“I know, I’m sorry. I ju-”

“Without me?!”

There’s a noise of confusion coming from s/o.

“Huh? You would want to go?”

“Of coarse I’d want too! We could’ve made it into a date! We could have gotten ice cream afterwards! Did you not think of the ice cream.”

They panic and apologize but are quick to make an offer.

“Get the book and meet me at the bookstore near the dust shop and then we’ll go get ice cream.”

“What, I can’t leave now!?”

“Ditch.”

Ruby contemplates her options for a moment, weighing the good and bad.

“…Ok, but your paying.”

There’s a snort from the other line and an 'ok sure’ from s/o.

“I’ll be there in a bit, don’t wait up for me!”

She pushes off the wall and runs towards the exit but is scared by the sudden noise behind her.

“Miss Rose.”

She screamed and turned to face the source of the voice.

“O-Oh Miss Goodwitch….hey….”

Blake⦁ She knew s/o had the entire section of their dorm room covered in books. She only ever saw them from the doorway, to far to read the titles

⦁ Blake got the chance to when s/o invited them over specifically so they could share with her their ever growing collection

⦁ Blake never ran so fast in her life. Talking about book with her s/o? It’s her favorite thing to do with them.

⦁ 'When you said you loved horror, I didn’t think it was the only thing you read…’ 'Oh, it’s not, I’ve read all the books you’ve recommended, you’re such a hopeless romantic, Blake.’ She blushes but smiles none the less. They read her suggestions!

⦁ Horror is not even on her list of favorite genres but she’ll read any that s/o suggests. Well…she’ll try to. Some of her partners books are just…to much

⦁ 'These ones are more mystery than horror but they do have a spooky element to them. Now these two are a part of 5 book series but the other 3 suck so-’ She loves to see them so excited, it throws her off just how enthusiastic they can be

⦁ 'This one! Is my favorite, it was the very first one I read. I guess it was the one that started it all.’ Blake took the faded book in her hands and looked over the faded cover. It was a very worn paperback just over an inch thick. 'Would you mind if I borrowed it?’ 'You want to read it?’ 'Of coarse.’

⦁ Books are a big part of their relationship and they both love it

Blake’s ears twitched just the smallest bit from under her bow, she could hear s/o from down the hall calling out.

“BLAKE! GUESS WHAT!”

They were shouting even though they couldn’t see her yet. It must be important if it brought out this kind of behavior from s/o.

They rounded the corner and made a dash for Blake, skidding to a halt just a few feet away. Giddily, they held out the book in their hands, waving it a few inches away from Blake’s face. Recognizing it as her partners favorite book she just returned a week ago, she asked what this was about.

'It’s getting a live action adaptation! FINALLY! Can you believe it?! We have to go see it! I’ll buy the tickets as soon as possible! Oh! It’s gonna be so good, you’ll lov- oh…uh.’

S/o stopped their dance and faced Blake but casted their gaze to the carpet. Sheepishly they rubbed their neck.

“Sorry, of coarse you don’t have to, I know it’s not exactly your cup of tea. I’m just really excited for thi-”

“I’ll go.”

She gave a small smile at s/o’s stunned expression turning into a large smile.

“REALLY?! You won’t regret it! I’ve already seen who was casted, and let me tell you, they’re all spot on-”

Winter⦁ At the start of their relationship Winter rarely went of to their house but when she did there was always a stack of books on the corner of their coffee table.

⦁ As time went on she noticed that the books were never the same ones as before. She came to the conclusion that they were rentals when she saw the white slip of paper being used as a book mark.

⦁ She never knew that they were such an avid reader. She herself read on occasion but all of the had to do with work. She was never one that really liked to read.

⦁ She picked one up and turned it over to read over the summary. It seemed like this one was about a series of hauntings. She picked up another and gave it a once over. 'Another ghost story?’

⦁ Soon enough she read the summaries of all 5. One of them was the third in a series that was about a string of related but yet to be solved crimes. Two of them were ghost stories and the other two were supernatural creatures.

⦁ Just as she went to open the first one she had picked up s/o had walked into the room with a handful of groceries. Feeling like she was invading her partners belongings she put the book down hurriedly.

⦁ 'It’s ok, you can read it. I finished that one yesterday.’ 'Yesterday? You got these two days ago, you finished that in two days?’ They all were over 800 pages. That one in particular was about 1,300!

⦁ S/o gave a sheepish laugh. 'I can’t put 'em down once I start. Do you like horror?’ 'I’m not much of a reader.’ ’…would you like a recommendation?’ ’…sure?’

⦁ With that s/o pulled out folded pieces of paper from in between one of the books. and jumped to sit next to Winter. 'We could start with murder mysteries! You’ll probably like those the most, their suspenseful, make you think and not to unrealistic! Unless you’re ok with graphic depictions of gore? Cause I’ve read few that have made my skin crawl. Some real spooky shi-’

⦁ Winter ends up staying curled up on the couch with an excited s/o with a recommendation list that goes on for hours. But she enjoys getting to learn about something with so much importance to them

“Winter? You in here?”

Poking their head into their bedroom they sighed again.

“Of course you’re not.”

Turning to leave the doorway they bumped right into their girlfriend. She gave small chuckle and reached out to steady them.

“Looking for me?”

“Duh, where you been?”

“Not important at the moment, what is important at the moment is that it’s your birthday. I need you to stay here for a few minutes.”

She didn’t give them time to question, just gentle shoved them into the room and closed the door on her way out.

“But-Hey! Wai- I said not to get me anything!”

Winter’s short laugh could be heard from the other side.

“Really? I don’t recall.”

Letting out a scoff they plopped down onto the bed and waited for Winter to come back.—–Winter’s voice broke the silence from the other side of the door.

“You can come out now.”

Pushing up off the bed s/o giddily ran towards the door and swung it open. They rose a brow when they didn’t see Winter anywhere. Turning their attention to the light shuffling from the living room. They walked down the short hall smiling to them self.

“What are you up to Winter? I really hope you didn’t spend tha-”

They stopped in their tracks when they saw the large rectangle covered in a light blue sheet. It was taller then it was wider and stood just a foot about Winter’s head. Wiping the shock from their face they glared at Winter halfheartedly.

Winter stood beside it with a soft knowing smile. And gestured for s/o to come closer.

“Happy birthday, I believe you’ll like what I got you.”

S/o reached out and grabbed the sheet. Giving a soft pull it fell to the floor without sound.

“Oh-Oh my-! That’s….wow! Are these all?”

Winter gave a nod, her exited grin growing.

“Yes, all hard copies of the books you’ve read either online or have rented from the library and then what ever books I thought you’d like. Those ones are on the bottom two shelves.”

Dropping to the ground, they scanned through the titles. Eyes growing wide at the site of so many unread books.

“I haven’t even heard of half of these!”

Spring up from the floor, s/o latched onto Winter peppered here with kisses.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so, so much! I love it, I love this!…I love you..”

Winter looked at them with a loving gaze. She felt the sting of water starting to collect in her eyes. These are the moments that keep her going.

#rwby imagines #rwby headcannons #rwby scenarios #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #velvet scarlatina #winter schnee #incomplete #rwboi

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