#the way yukio was so so set in his way of thinking that he never once even considered that rin would care about him dying that much

[lesbianpegbar]

also i didnt post about it last night bc it was like 4 in the morning and i felt deranged but thissss interaction. genuinely destroyed me and i'll be thinking about it forever and ever.

[jays-therapist]

I don't know if this a hot take or not but I really disagree with the idea that Yukio is jealous of Rin's power and physical strength? Rather, I think it's Rin's emotional strength that Yukio envies.

I have a lot to say about this lmao, so I'm just gonna put it all under the cut that way people who don't want to read this long ass analysis don't have to. Also, manga spoilers.

Blue Exorcist is a fun shonen manga because it measures strength outside of just "how hard can i punch this dude." Often, when characters talk about getting strong, they're talking about wanting to be mentally resilient; they want the ability to persevere, to be independent and face their fears/emotional turmoil on their own. Shiemi is a good example of this, I think. She constantly talks about being strong, but usually in the context of naviagting the world after living so long in isolation, and struggling to support her friends. Yes, she wants to get physically stronger, but at the core, she just genuinely wants to have a strong spirit (like a weed), and to be emotionally strong enough to help carry her friends' burdens.

Now, back to Yukio.

The biggest reoccuring theme in Yukio's jealousy is how he puts his brother on a pedestal, while constantly downplaying every good thing about himself (they both do this lol). You'll see this a lot in the examples I bring up.

There are four scenes I really want to focus on when discussing just how Yukio defines strength: his flashback in Chapter 29, his inner monologue in Chapter 37, his suicide attempt in Chapter 93, and That Time He Shot Rin in the Head in Chapter 96.

In Chapter 29, Yukio has this five-page montage of flashbacks, depicting specific moments where he felt both admiration and envy for Rin. And each of these moments highlight Rin's empathy, his care-free behavior, his kindness, his ability to inspire others, his desire to protect his little brother. Not his habit of setting things on fire.

This is important because Yukio fundamentally believes that he is not a good person. He believes he is not kind, selfless, or brave. When he, as a child, cries because he can't adopt a puppy he wanted, he's envious that Rin is just happy to see the puppy in a nice home. When his brother rushes to save him from bullies, Yukio's upset that he couldn't do it on his own, that his brother feels he is so weak he can't even take care of himself.

From Yukio's perspective, these are examples of Rin either outshining him inherently or looking down on him. No matter how strong Yukio gets, he will never not be able to feel bad for himself when the puppy is given to a different family. He will never be able to prove to his brother that he can do things on his own. He was born with this weakness and he can't seem to kill it. He can't win, and he hates it.

In Chapter 37, after defeating the Kraken, Yukio and Rin have a little heart-to-heart. Here, we see Yukio's true feelings towards Rin's claims of "surpassing him", which is that Rin already does. Yukio feels that if anyone needs to surpass anyone, it's him. He will always come up short where it counts, whenever he needs to let things go or be more empathetic. Yukio is strong of body, but weak of spirit.

So, with this in mind, when Yukio falls to his knees in Chapter 93 and says, "I was weak, and I couldn't get any stronger," he doesn't mean, "damn. wish i could've harnessed the demon power in my eyes to blow shit up." No, he's admitting defeat. He tried so hard to be strong, both physically and mentally but especially mentally, and he failed. He couldn't carry burdens like his father and brother could, like his friends could. He was cruel and cowardly. He hurt people he loved, and as long as he continues to live, he will keep hurting the people he loves.

What is strength to Yukio? It's resilience. It's taking risks. It's independence. It's Rin.

(Or at least, how Yukio sees Rin. As I've said before, he likes to put Rin on a pedestal.)

In contrast, weakness is cowering. It's waiting for someone else to solve the problem. It's hurting good people who haven't faulted you. It's Yukio.

That leads us to Chapter 96, and this---

This is kind of the crux of it all. Yukio is suffocating on his own perceived weakness and seeking to escape it. Here, Yukio is burning every bridge (the fact that this is literally taking place on a bridge is pretty ironic) that could possibly allow him to return to the Order to ensure he does what he needs to do. To be strong, he needs to be independent. To be independent, he needs to be alone. He can't let his brother solve all of his problems anymore.

So, like. Yeah. In conclusion, I think Yukio is heavily inspired by his brother's strength of character, just as much as he feels abased by it, and that's why his ideas of strength steer closer to broader concepts like bravery and self-determination rather than "let's hit the gym and summon Satan." He uses physical strength as a mask to conceal his perceived emotional weakness.

[tonguetiedraven]

cliche I know, but handholding bonrin?

Thanks for the ask!! I went somewhere a bit different with it, but I hope you enjoy! This takes place during the festival arc.

(｡^^｡)⸝♡♡⸜(｡••｡)

The problem was that Ryuuji didn’t even know her name.

Well, there were probably several problems, but that was the first and biggest one for him.

He didn’t know her name, and he had never confessed it to anyone, not even Konekomaru, that he had never actually felt the desire to go on a date. To go to a dance to be close instead of just spending time with his friends, or to hold someone’s hand for any reason other than not getting separated, or to lean in (down, because everyone was shorter than him) and give someone a kiss.

That one was probably the strangest. He could see an appeal in some kinds of dancing as it being a fun form of exercise or close to hugging, but the feelings that went with it just weren’t really there for him. All the other things people went nuts over really didn’t apply to him and were mostly a mystery. Even finding out from Shima that people meant hot a bit literally had baffled him. Why should attraction make you feel warm?

It wasn’t the first time he’d been pursued despite never giving any sort of sign that it was welcome or would be reciprocated in any way. He’d had people ask him out from almost the beginning and he’d had people bring him Valentines since he was in grade school.

He had seen people get angry or embarrassed, but he had never seen someone cry.

She did so almost immediately. He gave his normal, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in a date right now,” spill, and she’d stepped back, gripped the small package of candies she’d brought him (the kind he never ate because they always seemed to give him a migraine) and before he could really realize what was happening, she was sobbing. Ryuuji immediately jolted in shock and reached out to help and try to stop it, with no idea how to do so.

He had never made someone cry from this. He didn’t know what to do to make it better. Saying yes wasn’t an option because that would make it worse when he didn’t return any of her advances and didn’t keep this up.

“I—” he stuttered, entirely out of his depths and feeling like his heart was breaking with guilt, “it’s—I’m gay!”

He wasn’t. (At least not that he knew. He was nothing as far as he could tell.) It was just better than the crying, and he almost never lied, but maybe this one wouldn’t hurt.

The girl looked up from her hand, still crying more than not, and sniffed dramatically. “You are?”

“Yes,” Ryuuji lied again. “It’s not something I share.” It wasn’t something that was likely true. Ryuuji, whatever he was, seemed to be alone.

“I’m sorry,” the girl apologized, sniffing, and that irritated something in Ryuuji. He wasn’t gay, but it was rude to apologize for the way someone else felt. “I didn’t know.”

The anger dissolved as quickly as it had come, and that brief and poor choice of words was probably the reason he didn’t see a dark-haired boy ducking back around the corner with a shocked expression and a slight blush before he was covering his face with his hands and trying to get his excited and hopeful tail to still.

——♡(´･ω･)(･ω･`)♡——

Ryuuji was sitting under an old oak while he tried to finish his third essay for Demon Pharmaceuticals (Yukio had to be upset about something with the amount of work he was giving out) and was thinking he needed to get some food because he was starving.

“Hey!”

Rin’s cheery voice had him looking up, squinting a bit as his strained eyes refocused, and nodding in acknowledgement.

“Hey, Okumura.”

Rin gave a small wiggle Ryuuji recognized as meaning his tail was trying to wag where wit was hidden under his shirt, and sat down.  Ryuuji raised an eyebrow as a small smile started to lift his lips.

“You need help with homework?” Ryuuji asked, thinking Rin wasn’t likely to have started on this essay yet, but might be working on the previous one.

Rin shook his head and set a bottle of tea and a yakisoba bun on the table before sliding it towards Ryuuji.

“You skipped lunch,” he explained. “Figured you’d be hungry.”

Ryuuji grinned properly and reached for it. “Thanks! I was late getting out and knew there wasn’t a shot of getting there in time to get anything affordable.”

It was still warm. Or Rin had warmed it up for him. (That was more likely now that Ryuuji was thinking about it.) The warmth always made the flavors come through more vibrantly and he’d gone through half of it without even noticing. He blushed a bit when he did notice and made himself slow down and look up.

Rin was beaming and it was hard not to smile back at him. He had a great smile and Ryuuji hadn’t really gotten to see him today. It wasn’t a day they had a shared Cram Class.

“I um, wanted to ask you something?” Rin said after a moment. “I… would you like to go to the concert together?”

Ryuuji stilled in utter shock. Of all the conversations they’d have, he would never have expected that one.

“What?”

Rin swallowed, and Ryuuji realized Rin was blushing, quite a lot, and that his hair had the slightest glitter of flames in it.

“I want to go to the concert with you.” He said, like it wasn’t shocking and he hadn’t been asking most every girl and gotten super excited about the possibility of going out with Shiemi. (And got excited about trying on a regular basis.)

“Me? Since when?”

Rin blushed all the more. “Since the hairclip? I just didn’t think… I didn’t know you were gay.”

Ryuuji blinked and realized that of course people gossiped. That was probably everywhere. He was going to have to figure out how to turn guys down too now. Great.

“I don’t… I’m not. I didn’t know what to do and she was crying and I just said the first thing I could think of.”

Rin flushed all the more and seemed to wilt. “Oh. Shit. Sorry. Just, uh, forget I said—”

“I’m not straight either. I don’t…”

He didn’t think he was anything. He’d never really looked into it. He’d fit in fine when he was younger and then it seemed like everyone was doing something he hadn’t been told about and that entire world had left him behind and confused.

Rin looked up again, seeming curious now. “You’re ace?”

“I don’t know.” He frowned, curious. “Did you actually want to go out with me? Or did you just want a date?”

He’d never actually thought about going out with a guy. He’d have fun hanging with Rin. More fun than going with a stranger. At least as long as Rin didn’t expect a lot more than what they usually did. (Not only did Ryuuji seem to be missing most of what his friends got, he also had no idea what dates even really entailed. Everyone seemed to only be trying to get as far as they could and that wasn’t appealing.)

Rin looked a bit insulted. “Yeah I want to go out with you. Not just a date. I like you Suguro. You’re cool and funny and smart and determined. You’re fun to be around and I like competing with you. Of course I wanna go out with you.”

Something warm and strange seemed to spread in Ryuuji’s chest. He liked the specificity of that. That it was him Rin was seeing and not just another person to ask out. He liked Rin, and he found Rin fun to hang out with and compete with and Rin drove him crazy in so many ways, but he knew he could trust Rin, and he knew Rin trusted him, and Rin would call him out when he was being an ass and listen when Ryuuji said he was, and Rin was earnest and loyal, and Ryuuji was starting to think he’d just found a strange new idea.

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. You can just, uh, forget I asked? Forget any of this happened?”

Ryuuji shook his head. “No.”

Rin scowled. “Why not?”

Ryuuji pulled the tea closer and broke the seal with a strangely loud noise as Rin watched him. “I’m going to keep getting asked,” he decided with a frown as he twisted the lid off the rest of the way. “It’s gonna keep happening and I’m tired of it and I don’t want to make anymore people cry. So…”

He took a sip, wondering if this was actually a stupid idea, but he’d rather do this with the promise of actually having fun than keep saying no or crumble under the pressure of some stranger crying and making him feel like a monster.

“I’d go with you, if you’re serious. I can’t… I don’t know what I am, or if I can like you, but it’d be fun.” He looked at Rin over the top of the tea – the brand he drank the most and the type that was supposed to help with migraines and one you could only get at a specific vending machine at this level of the Academy, but one Rin had brought him because he’d noticed that. “If that’s okay with you, then let’s do it.”

Rin narrowed his eyes like he was trying to sniff out a trap, which was rude and made Ryuuji scowl a little, but he held his tongue.

“On a date?”

“I don’t know anything about them. But sure. Just know I—”

“You’re not all feely,” Rin interrupted and flapped his hand like that wasn’t what he was concerned with. “That’s fine. I can try and woo my princess,” he gave Ryuuji a big and toothy grin that made Ryuuji’s entire face feel hot.

“I’m not a princess!”

Rin grinned all the wider. “Don’t get your skirt twisted, princess. I’m gonna be all romantical and no hard feelings if it doesn’t work, okay?”

Ryuuji grumbled but nodded. “Deal.”

Rin stuck his hand out as he stood up, holding it out to Ryuuji like he wanted him to shake it and seal the deal, so Ryuuji did, and found himself entirely confused when Rin took his hand and shifted to sit next to Ryuuji, not giving his hand back. Just holding it in his own warm hand, sitting close enough that Ryuuji could feel the heat of him and peering down at Ryuuji’s Demon Pharmaceuticals homework.

“Shit,” he asked like it wasn’t weird to snag someone’s hand. (Wasn’t it?) “Did we have homework?”

Ryuuji laughed and shoved the book towards Rin. “Yeah, another essay.”

“Another?! We had one?!”

(Ryuuji’s hand was still being held, and he’d never realized how Rin’s hand was calloused. Probably from all the sword drills.)

“We had three.”

“Three?!” Rin looked down at the book horrified. (His hand was smaller than Ryuuji’s. Their fingers fit strangely well together despite that.) “Yukio’s gonna kill me.”

“I’ll help ya out, moron. “

Rin’s smile went all toothy again, enough that his eyes went a bit squinty too, and Ryuuji decided he could use his left hand to finish his own essay. Rin could keep his right one for now.

“Thanks!”

Ryuuji passed Rin a few sheets of paper and a pen and pointed to the first assignment where he’d written the notes for it.

“You take notes for homework?” Rin asked, and snorted. “You’re a nerd, princess.”

“You’re not in a place to judge, ya monkey.”

(His face felt a bit warm, and there was something spreading through his chest he wasn’t quite sure about, but he wasn’t scared and he wasn’t uncomfortable, and it was something he felt might be okay to explore with Rin.

Just without the princess.)

“No,” Ryuuji intercepted, tapping Rin’s hand with his pen. “That’s the wrong word. Check the spelling.”

Rin did and Ryuuji saw his tongue poke out a little in concentration and felt Rin’s leg start to jiggle a little next to his that reminded him of dozens of study sessions like this. Something comfortable and familiar, but the slightest bit different as Rin started to brush his thumb over Ryuuji’s in a steady rhythm that wasn’t distracting, even though it seemed like it should be.

He didn’t know what he was or if he could feel anything like what Rin wanted, but he thought he might be starting to see the appeal in holding someone’s hand.

[readreactrant]

Hello.... If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them...Thanks if you want to answer....

Thanks for the ask and damn I'm always so excited when it comes to these so ofc I don't mind, also warning I'm about to kinda go off. It's a pretty long list so I'll only talk about the ones that left the biggest impression on me.

Warning for mentions of twincest, incest and age gaps.

Starting off with the ship that indoctrinated me into the bl life style *drumroll*

Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter (aka Drarry); enemies/rivals to lovers, blond x ravenette, they basically set the precedent for every ship I pick up like a stray cat these days.

Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku (Bakudeku): Enemies to lovers, plus constantly on each other's mind as a motivation in one way or the other. I love them so much.

Mikage Reo/Nagi Seishiro (NagiReo): one of my current hyperfixations, mainly cuz they're one of the few ships I have that wasn't introduced as rivals from the start as well as being extremely close canonically. They click so well despite their miscommunication (more like no communication but I'll probably get to that another day).

Gojo Saturou/Itadori Yuuji (GoYuu): Most of my blog will you a clue already lol.

Sukuna/Itadori Yuuji (SukuIta): Number one toxic ship rn, but would you believe I prefer their siblings falling in forbidden love trope?

Mikaela Hyakuya/Yuuichiro Hyakuya (MikaYuu): Found family lovers that will give anything for each other? Sign me up.

Tyki Milk/Allen Walker: I walked into the D.gray man fandom late and I will never not regret it, I need more people that at least know who they are (〒﹏〒)

Eren Jeager/Armin Arlet & Eren Jaeger/Levi Ackerman (Eremin & Ereri): Getting these two out of the way at the same time cuz while I think Eren is undeniably his best self a lot with Armin, I love the thought of Levi being there as his inspiration.

Itoshi Rin/Itoshi Sae: Their beef is adorable but they need to fuck.

Roy Mustang/Edward Elric: I love their banter and they've both been through way too much together.

Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent (Superbat): one is batman the other is superman...Need I say more?

Dick Grayson/Tim Drake: I watched Titans and they had me.

Luka/Adrian (Lukachat): I stopped watch Miraculous at like S3 but these two are the only salvageable treasure from that mess to me.

Sherlock Holmes/William James Moriarty (Sherliam): From Moriarty the Patriot not any other adaptations please. There was that one movie tho. I love how they're constantly teasing and trying to outsmart each other like yeah babes, burn that city down to get his attention.

Kageyama Tobio/Hinata Shoyo (Kagehina): I haven't finished Haikyuu S2, spare me.

Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya: what's with sports anime and K names, that aside, I don't know but their separation leaves me in tears everytime.

Yukio Okumura/Rin Okumura: Rin cares so much, Yukio stop being a yandere you closeted brocon! I know you!!!

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji: I have a thing for broody possessive tops and oblivious bottoms and they were my awakening.

Hideyoshi Nagachika/Ken Kaneki (Hidekane): Receiving Tokyo ghoul spoilers of how things ended kept from finishing the show or starting the manga, what even is the point .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.

Draken/Mikey/Takemichi & Draken/Mikey: DraMiTake is something I'd consume if I find it cuz I read this one precious fic I will forever cherise but DraMikey has way too much angst potential on its own. Tugs my heart to know Draken keeps Mikey grounded.

Baji Keisuke/Chifuyu Matsuno: Kazutora I will never fucking forgive you.

Hanma shuji/Kisaki Tetta: psychotic boyfriends, we love to see it (✿ ♡‿♡)

Reinhard Van Astrea/Natsuki Subaru: They are literally my banner plus he's one of the few people that doesn't give Subaru a hard time (I only watched S1)

Sebastian Michaelis/Ciel Phantomhive: Butler x master, what else do I need to add. I do absolutely adore the thought of Sebastian being cheeky when putting his young master in his place. I also love soft Sebastian, go figure.

Carnegie/Jonathan Sterling: No one remembers Darkside so I won't even dive into it. These two are the reason I'm trying to finish the series right now, book girlies, read Darkside by Tom Becker and come find me please ಥ‿ಥ

Dante/Vergil: It just makes sense ngl.

If you made it this far...why did you lollll, but honestly thanks for reading, talking about ships is one of my things and be free to ask again if you want me to expand upon or analyze any of these, that or if you just want recs. I'm down for anything.

[primeministerofantarctica]

A3! reading club: prologue

Starting off with a prolepsis is a nice technique, although I think it's interesting that only Harugumi gets spotlighted here. Probably to avoid spoilers from later troupes.... Either way, I love how Sakuya's observations serve as an introduction to the other members. Masumi's cool-headed, Tsuzuru won't rest until his scripts are perfect, Itaru's anxious about pulling this off successfully (he does care :')), and Citron's a man of mystery.

I never really thought about this before, but I like that the prologue establishes that Izumi has the experience and knowledge necessary to qualify as a theater director. She's not just diving in headfirst with no idea what she's doing.

Also, this whole "street act" thing sends me every time it's mentioned. Veludo Way has to be a tourist destination, surely Izumi's not the first person to freak out over someone faking an illness. You know those horror stories about comedians dying of heart attacks on-stage bc the audience thought they were doing A Bit; this seems like a disaster waiting to happen. What if you got into an argument with someone and a bunch of strangers started clapping.

At least Tasuku's nice enough to come over and make sure Izumi's alright. He's not going to be really relevant for a good long while, but we're already establishing that he does care about other people, despite Godza's "every man for himself" culture.

Oh, Tsuzuru, just be glad you're not a college student in the US. >_>

Sakyo, you JUST recognized the first and only person you had a crush on, the daughter of Yukio himself, and you're telling her to get lost? Why? Are you trying to save Izumi from the heartbreak of caring about something futile? Because if so, you absolutely suck at it.

Izumi's reactions are the best. Also, shout-out to Sakai-san for being able to pull off "bad at acting" without dissolving into the 100% flat monotone typical when actors try to play bad actors. You can tell Sakuya's trying, but his pauses are placed just randomly enough to be awkward. From an acting standpoint, that's got to be incredibly hard to pull off.

This makes me wince. In retrospect, it's so obvious how much Sakyo cares about this theater. He was willing to pause the demolition project for the absolutely miniscule chance that Matsukawa had somehow, miraculously, secured a bestselling performance. Of course he hasn't, but the fact that Sakyo was still willing to give him one more chance speaks volumes.

Unfortunately, he's also a realist, and he's right. People love touting "hard work" as the only thing an artist needs to succeed, but without money, most people simply don't have the financial stability to really dedicate themselves to their craft. It's harsh, it sucks, and it's unfair, but it's also true. I don't remember if we get Sakyo's backstory in the main story or a later event, but going off it it makes sense that this is the additude he's adopted.

This hits harder after finding out Sakuya basically ran away from home :(. Not like he couldn't go back to his aunt and uncle, but that's got to be crushing.

I love how Izumi is mentally pspspsing Matsukawa SO HARD to back her up, just like he did with her earlier. There is a single braincell ping-ponging between these two and Sakyo's just watching this trainwreck.

Sakuya's reaction to Matsukawa saying he cooks all the food is gold. Ofc he's too polite to say it outright, but the fact that even Sakuya feels the need to warn Izumi about Matsukawa's culinary skills is just. So funny.

Speaking of which, I think it's interesting how Sakuya's (known optimist and sunshine child) first reaction to realizing Izumi was lying is a despondent "Does that mean the troupe is going under after all?" He immediately cheers up and snatches the smidge of hope offered to him, but this little piece of character writing goes a long way in setting up his hopefulness as something that isn't based on naivety.

I'm running out of screenshots and too far in to consider making another post, but gosh. Masumi, I love you, but you are making it REALLY easy to remember why I didn't at first. I will concede that his blushing and not being able to look Izumi in the eyes is cute, though. If there was more of that and less of...this, I might have warmed up to him a lot earlier.

Also, Tsuzuru agreeing to join after finding out there's free food is an absolute Mood. Five minutes of screen time and he's already a voice for college students everywhere.

The last few minutes are pretty much what we'd expect - Tsuzuru (very conveniently) says he's a scriptwriter, Izumi eagerly accepts the free labor before he can join a union (I'm joking, I'm joking.), they run back to the theater and Sakyo says he'll give them one more chance. The conditions won't be revealed until the next chapter, but it really is a testament to Sakyo's love for Mankai just how lenient he's being. A month might be cutting it pretty close when prepping for a play, but Sakyo's a debt broker in the freaking Yakuza, and almost definitely acting as a middleman between this company and someone higher up. Ofc the Yakuza here are a lot more lighthearted than the ones in real life, but that's still got to be incredibly risky.

[yukiokumura]

I absolutely agree that Yukio has worked hard and had way too much put on him, and I'm not someone who would necessarily call him a gifted kid, but most "gifted kids" are developmentally disabled kids with a lopsided skillset and frequently have to work harder to compensate in the areas they're lacking while their disabilities are not only never accommodated, but often downplayed or ignored entirely. So while I get your frustration I'd be cool if you wouldn't act like kids labeled as gifted, who frequently end up suicidal and with other mental illnesses on top of their pre-existing disabilities, don't work hard. There's a good chance that at least some of the people putting that label on him are doing so because they see pieces of their own trauma in him.

Usually I delete asks like this, but let's break down exactly what you think I mean and exactly what everyone else means.

You think that when I talk about "gifted kids" i am demeaning children who are developmentally disabled.

What I actually mean is that the term "gifted kid" is a bullshit term and should never be used.

I was a "gifted kid." There is nothing else you need to know about me other than that. I was and am exactly the person you describe and I hate that term with a fiery passion. I don't believe in "gifted kid burnout," I believe in depression. I don't believe in "gifted kids," I believe in children who were socially inept due to one factor or another.

Yukio was not fucking gifted. He was never gifted. What you're describing is not a fucking gift. He was traumatized into busting his ass from age 6 because literally from the moment he opened his eyes, he saw monsters that seemingly no one else could see. This kid was born with PTSD.

Yukio was not fucking gifted. He was given an opportunity to claw himself into a space of control where he could kill the things that haunted him on a daily basis and become stronger than his nightmares.

Yukio was not a fucking gifted kid. He is a traumatized teenager who was raised to be a soldier, who was taught by his father in a classroom setting that killing himself in order to save the people around him was the correct thing to do, who was so desperate to value himself in some way that he felt as though snapping at Shiemi and feeling any type of emotion was unforgivable.

Yukio. is. not. a. gifted. kid.

Get the fuck out of my inbox.

[galionne-diging]

MummyAru Digimon AUs: A Non-Exhaustive List

Alrighty, here's a little list of the AUs I've either written bits and pieces for at some point, think about regularly or am working on right now. Tho I keep adding more so there will probably be some extras in the future-

---

Title: Ghost Cycle

Genre(s): Adventure, Romance

Summary: Mummymon and Arukenimon are reborn in the Ghost Game Universe, with no memories of their previous lives as Oikawa’s underlings. Following different paths of life Mummymon becomes a doctor and Arukenimon an explorer (no she’s not the unhinged one we see in episode 21), both having no idea the other exists- until the pair find themselves in the Human World at the same time. Suffering from simultaneous visions and an overpowering sense of déjà-vu, they decide to work together to find out more about their previous lives- and why they had to come to an end.

-

Title: Digimon Adventure 03

Genre(s): Adventure, Friendship, Mystery

Summary: A few months have passed since the events of New Year’s Eve 2002. The second set of Chosen Children finally returns to the Digital World- only to find a new threat looming over them! Thankfully they’re not alone, as a trio of Digimon make their appearance to help them along the way. But who really are Dokugumon, Bakemon and Ajatarmon- and why do they feel so familiar? (Pretty much a “Season 2” to Adventure 02 where the Chosen deal with a new threat, with a subplot revolving around Mummymon & Arukenimon learning about who they used to be and how they came to be)

-

Title: Savestate Refresh

Genre(s): Friendship

Summary: After being killed by BelialVamdemon, Mummymon and Arukenimon are brought back to life by the Digital World- at the cost of their data and biological makeup being altered to allow their rebirth. Mummymon’s human DNA is completely purged from his body to make him a regular Digimon, whereas Arukenimon loses all her data and is left as a normal human.

-

Title: Adventures of Archie & Mumi

Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy

Summary: Digimon Adventure 02 but everyone is gender-swapped, including our favorite Spider/Mummy duo.

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Title: The Family Gathering

Genre(s): Absurd comedy

Summary: “You’re wifeless, swagless, left-handed, 3D, what’s wrong with you?!” (A.k.a all of the canon & oc Arukenimon and Mummymon meet-up, somehow ; X-Evolution gets bullied for being 3D, Aru hugs everyone, Lotus trauma dumps and Festa horrifies the world by existing) (AU created in collaboration with GrimsDeadB0nes)

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Title: The Destruction Chapter

Genre(s): Angst, Drama

Summary: Arukenimon and Mummymon have returned among the living, but Vamdemon and Yukio Oikawa’s treason have left them with scars ; too many to count. Arukenimon seems the most affected- making the snap decision to do ‘better’ than those who used her. She is going to destroy the Digital World, whatever it takes. Even if she has to die with it. And even if the Arukenimon he fell in love with is long gone, how could Mummymon ever give up on her?

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Title: Hathor's Blessing

Genre(s): LGBTQ+, Friendship

Summary: She had never thought much of it at first. It was just a few glances, a few prolonged looks she caught here and there. An eye that stared just a little too long at her makeup set ; hands that held her dress just a little too firmly when they did laundry... But then came the question.. "Arukenimon… Have you ever felt like you were meant to be someone else…?"

-

Title: Bond of Blood

Genre(s): Horny

Summary: Following a sudden and brutal accident, Arukenimon’s data is heavily damaged and begins to deteriorate rapidly. In order to stop this process and help her recover, Jyou Kido determines that she needs to intake new data to repair her system. Unfortunately, pure data seems to conflict with her own and regular human DNA simply won’t do the trick. The only solution is for her to intake a mixture of both- and there is only one other person who can provide her with it. (a.k.a a Vampire AU with no actual vampires)

[randomcartoonbro]

Okay, finally watched the Deadpool trailer and it having a somewhat direct tie-in with Loki is actually really really smart given that, the last time we saw Wade, he was fucking up/fixing timelines. The TVA coming after him makes a lot of sense. Though the TVA we see doesn't fully align with how we saw it at the end of Loki season 2, it makes sense that it wouldn't. Deadpool isn't just in a different timeline. He's in a different universe entirely, so that universe would have it's own TVA with different staff and all that. Sure, there might be some variants of characters we know, but this is genuinely a smart move seeing as this makes this somewhat self contained. Yes, it wouldn't hurt to go in with the knowledge of what the TVA is, but if you don't, it looks like they'll be re-explaining it anyways since Wade likely wouldn't know either based on his reaction to them in the trailer. Also, I love the detail of the 20th Century Fox spotlight logo being in the Void. Based on set photos that leaked, there's going to be other characters and concepts that were abandoned by Fox in the Void as a cheeky way of explaining the inconsistent timelines and retcons in the X-Men movies. It's so clever, actually. I'm here for it. Like, on set, we've also seen the version of Sabertooth from the first X-Men movie on a set that I'm now assuming is The Void. I love this. It's such a a smart concept and I can't wait to see the movie in July!

I also just finished watching New Rockstars' breakdown of The Wolverine (filmed before the trailer dropped) and I actually think I understand where the Logan that we're going to see in this movie came from! In a deleted scene from The Wolverine that would've been at the very end of the movie, Yukio gives Logan a comic accurate version of his costume and we never see it again. That Logan was ultimately pruned. He's been surviving in the Fox Void for a decade! That's why we see him for the first time in the trailer in the Void! That also implies that every deleted scene in all of Marvel that doesn't align with the current timeline, is a pruned branch. It MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!!! Oh my gods!

But, yeah! This is what they meant by "this movie won't have any affect on the movie Logan and won't harm that timeline at all". Because he's no longer in time!!

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Biju has a point!

He might have but he doesn't need to say it, Mr. Hakoda - I understand your wary but the Ultimate Imposter isn't an Ultimate Despair anymore and will be working towards hope.

And? Unless I do see that change for myself I can't trust him.

Kyoko... I think it's fine, he has his reasons to not trust me and I've accepted that; after all, we committed all these crimes so it makes sense to suspect me...

...If you say so.

Huh... seems you don't deny it but if you mind me asking - why did you and your class even side with Junko Enoshima? What did you gain from it?

Well for me, I mostly enroll to gain an identity of my own, to live a normal life and form an identity...

However, thanks to my teacher - I was never allow that at all; in fact I had to pretend to be her to 'work on my talent' it frustrated me and I couldn't do anything...

That school... whenever I had hope, it got taken away from me... I really wanted to drop out but due to the parade and then the death of Yukio Miyahira - our classmate, was what made me side with her...

So you can see why I join Junko Enoshima, that school had given up on our class and taken hope from us far too many times... so while you may not think highly of us but I hope you understand where we are coming from.

I see... so your teacher never help you at all,...? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprise given how staff was towards most students...

My teacher didn't really care what we did and the headmaster allow me to leave class as much as I want due to my talent so I can see why you feel that way.

Oh right... I remember reading that all Future Foundation Heads are former Hope's Peak Academy Students, so what was your talent?

Ah well, you be surprise but I was the Ultimate Hiker from Class 49 back then, often times I left class to go on trips.

A Hiker... but you work in the 15th Division which is commented to the economy, right?

Sorry but I should explain a bit; honestly I mostly do hiking as a hobby more then business unless I want to make a business out of it, in fact I remember a former classmate of mine getting on my case about skipping class way too often for her liking...

...

...

...

Date: September 12th, 1982

*A younger Biju walks back with his backpack*

Well well, seems your back Biju - I really question why you keep going on these trips.

BIJU: Oh... hello, Emina - your as crabby as ever, huh?

I'll ignore your snide comment, anyway go attend Class because you skipping would be concerning for any normal school.

BIJU: But I was given permission and why does it matter to you?

Well some of us want to study in class so maybe take your studying seriously.

Honestly, I really question if you are even deserving of being called an ultimate if you're always skipping class? If you aren't going to attend class then maybe it's better you drop out because honestly you don't deserve to be here!

BIJU: Well I have my reasons that I don't feel a need to tell you; I just figure I get a bit of a head start plus maybe I just want to avoid certain annoying classmates that won't shut up about being married into some art family or whatever, after all - at least I don't need to constantly bring that up all the time, right Emina?

...

BIJU: Anywaaaay, going back to bed and heading back for Palau, see you never Mrs Emina Nijiue.

*Walks away*

Hmph, will see about that - I bet you'll be some homeless man with no future at all!

...

...

...

She thought I was skipping class and just going on hikes but in reality, I was setting up businesses around the world and even created a whole hotel chain - honestly I had a lot of fun traveling around the world and exploring the sights and cultures, honestly not to brag but I do have a tiny bit more wealth then her family.

So if I'm understanding right, your an entrepreneur?

Yeah - I am, I wasn't married and never had kids either but I was mostly focusing on my business.

I should bring up that while Japan had suffer from the lost decade, India saw a period of economic reform and liberalization and was the world's third largest economy before the tragedy so probably unlike my other classmates - I was way more prepared then the others as the seeds were there during the 80's.

I did hear about that, India was one of the countries that had a better chance in the 90's...

I have to say, you surely did think far ahead of your goals - I'm quite envious of you.

Thanks, happy to hear that... even if it's from an Ultimate Despair and seeing what India was like during the 80's; I think I had my reasons...

[bluewindfall]

📝 <3

Thank you so much for the ask!! :D I have so many wips, so it was hard to choose haha. This one is kind of abandoned for now, but I might rewrite it someday when I have time.

Bits of gravel click against the asphalt, shivering in time to the tremors of the train passing overhead. It’ll be several hours before this city sleeps and only a few more until it wakes again. He’s become fond of that restlessness lately, whenever he’s waiting. 

A car honks, and soon, others at the intersection join in its dissonant cacophony. 

It’s summer. The air is ambivalently humid, not hot enough to make him sweat but nonetheless stifling. 

He rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, leaning closer to the alley wall when a pedestrian strolls by. The thrumming bass from a nightclub three streets down sounds like a heartbeat, settling into his bones when he rests his head against the brick wall. 

There’s a gnawing ache to all of this—doubt given a name and a face. He might never get used to it.

“What changed your mind?” 

Yukio twists, snatching the can of coffee thrown his way. 

Kamiki sets a tote of what appears to be library books on the ground. What she intends to find in all of those, he can’t guess.

“I met him the day after you left,” Yukio mentions as he cracks the can open. “He said he knew who I was.”  

Another train thunders by, rattling the links of the metal fence at the end of the alley.

He doesn’t check the can to see if it’s been tampered with, in the same, careless way he let that demon in the cell reach his hands out through the bars. It’s as thoughtless as it is misguided. 

He feels possessed, coming here, harboring these dangerous fragments of recollection. This is a test. He needs answers, but he does not know the questions. 

“What did you remember?”

Kamiki’s deep red eyes look sharper under the shaded glow of the street light. “Someone important to me. I had to leave.” She crosses her arms. “Keep thinking. The more you think about it, the more you’ll remember.” 

Yukio takes a sip of coffee, regarding the label skeptically when the sweetness lingers on his tongue. It must have been expensive. 

“Someone liked that brand before,” Kamiki answers for him. “It probably wasn’t you.” She nudges the sack of books with her foot, and the linen pants she’s wearing swish around her ankles. “I found these in the fiction section.”

Yukio catches a glimpse of two titles along the stack of book spines. “Lemegeton.” The name is familiar like an odor or texture, dampness and metal. 

“Read them if you want,” Kamiki offers. “I borrowed them for two weeks.” 

“Thank you,” Yukio decides, reaching into the bag to take one. Its cover is worn and stiff, old yet unread. 

Kamiki heaves the bag over one shoulder, holding her other hand out for the coffee. “Quit drinking it if you don’t like it.” 

The crescent edge of the aluminum can gleams as Yukio tilts it. Whether it’s the coffee or something else, he doesn’t know. 

“It’s fine,” he decides. “I’ll drink the rest.”

Kamiki shrugs. 

He can tell there’s more she wants to say, but so far, she’s only ever warned him about one thing. 

“Watch out for a guy with pink hair,” Kamiki mutters as she leaves.

[akiiyamashun]

Okamura stopped in the doorway of their room, robe open in order to reveal the pale gold colored lingerie set she wore. "I went to one of the shops that stocks Western clothing specifically," she explained, smiling with child - like pride. Her fingers cupped beneath her breasts to accent her next point. "I haven't bought a bra off of the rack in . . . since I got these enlarged, I suppose. Normally there's nothing shaped for my size ; luckily, there's a good stock online these days."

The heiress squeezed her chest, laughed softly, and then moved to their bed. She climbed into it gracefully, happy to claim her favorite seat on top of the moneylender. Even when he was laying down, she still considered his lower torso and lap area hers to use as a chair. Okamura studied her nails : pink, basic, just a touch too long. This artist would learn her preferences in time, she was sure.

"There was a little girl today who stopped me and asked if I wanted to buy flowers," Okamura continued. "She could be Midori-chan's twin, ichigo. Evidently, her mother owns the business. It's only the two of them. I hate flowers in the house . . . so depressing. Of course I didn't purchase anything, but I did give her all of the yen in my purse. They found me after they closed up, when I was drinking coffee at that cafe I texted you about. Apparently, we're all going to lunch tomorrow. My new small friend insisted."

The heiress stopped fussing and met Akiyama's gaze. "It's almost like home," she said quietly with a slight smile.

After a moment, Okamura brushed her waves back over her shoulders. She leaned forward, hands planted on either side of her lover, and sighed. "Listen to me, ichigo. I haven't stopped talking since you came home. Tell me about you. What was this handsome face up to all day, hm?"

unscripted asks . always accepting

The moneylender had a book in his hands - an old paperback edition and which clearly had belonged to other people first, but was nonetheless successful in holding his interest. Akiyama had always enjoyed reading in bed before sleeping when he was younger, and that habit had been picked up again in the hopes of helping him achieve a more regulated sleep schedule (if only for the benefit of their new life in Yokohama).

However, the very strangely disturbing and yet compelling read of that tome by Mishima Yukio was doing a superb job at keeping him wide awake; Akiyama was repelled by several incidents in the book, but couldn't put it down. Perhaps it was similar to the feeling of watching a trainwreck, but in print - however, all it took was his wife's voice for the spell of the book to be broken without any effort.

The thing was closed and placed on the bedside table - from that moment onward, he had eyes only for the figure of his beloved heiress in a lingerie set that was decidedly new (he knew; these were the things that his brain really paid attention to). Akiyama moved no muscle as the blonde approached, an easy grin taking up residence on his face as Okamura placed herself over his half-naked torso and his hands went to her legs by default, holding the blonde there and appreciating the softness of the skin underneath his palms.

(Impeccably scented, too; there was never a second that he didn't think he would be happy to die with his senses overloaded by everything that made Okamura Azumi so fundamentally her.)

The news about the way she had so freely given all the money on her person to a street vendor caused his grin to earn a softer, tender side; the relationship of his wife with money had always been a complicated one, but their own entanglement had caused the heiress to re-examine a few things. Not without a great deal of pain and guilt sometimes (just like Akiyama had experienced, however under more drastic circumstances), but the loan shark was always thrilled to hear about it. Little by little, the woman of his dreams was turning into the one for many common people around, too.

For entirely different reasons, of course - but to see the woman who believed herself to be nothing much beyond her appearance and material possessions realizing just how good and kind she could be was a lovely development. Okamura Azumi was much more inside, and Akiyama was glad that the precious side of his wife was now getting confident to shine more frequently.

"Uh, me? Nothing much, really. I didn't make friends like you did, my star," Akiyama chuckled when the topic of conversation shifted to him, a soft and airy chuckle getting out as he adjusted under Okamura's comfortable body weight and clearly at peace with the rather predatorial position she opted to take - a queen on her throne, a lioness pouncing on defenseless prey, a goddess bestowing favors to a loyal worshipper... All these were proper descriptions of how the moneylender felt where his abilities to resist the blonde were concerned.

"I was out doing some detective work today - there is something weird going with Yokohama real estate prices and apparently that is not a good hobby to have; I ran into the occasional thug here and there," the loan shark grinned up at Okamura - it was his way to reassure her that all was well, despite the asses kicked and the bones fractured earlier; really, Akiyama did not enjoy fighting, but sometimes there was so much he could do with words and charisma alone.

"I found this nice senbei shop, though. Apparently it's been with the same family for years... Best one I've ever had in a while, I feel like going back and taking you with me next time," he asked, a hand moving to touch the silky and lovely tresses of golden hair of his wife, finding Okamura's neck and resting his palm against the back of it just so he could guide her forward gently, a kiss following when they were close enough.

"But you're right, my love. It does feel like home, doesn't it?" the moneylender laughed softly, "At this point, I'm half-expecting to walk into Kiryu-san one of these days."

[catgirl-catboy]

Probably if Valerie dies in chapter 2, lots of the pressure probably comes for Celine lol so yeah I believe chapter 3 would be a mess to her

You remind me my cancelled fanganronpa with my partner, our protagonist was a heart surgeon and clearly something is very wrong with him lol

Mika.. really looks like a snake in raccoon's clothing. I'm hyped!

I think the pair skaters names could be: Male one Yukio means snow boy (how creative for a skater despite he is not classified as ice skater I think this would fitting) and female one could be Miyuki meaning beautiful snow

I LOVE MIYUKI as a name. Rolls off the tounge. Canon to me now.

I'd be happy to hear about your Fanganronpa if you want to share!

The Ch2 deaths are the Conductor and the Theorist, but Ch2 causes Val and Mika to have a COMPLETE falling out overnight, and nobody knows why until Ch3.

Since the food thief is shoved to the back of everyone's minds, a group is formed! Celene and Val get elected as leaders due to kicking ass in the trial and NOT being Mika. Mika, predictably, refuses to join the group, despite Celene's request. She says that it isn't personal, and that she'll cooperate if it suits her interests, but that she'll be working alone.

Everyone else is officially in the group, but the Conductor continues to not get a say due to there being too many people and he gets talked over. Its not malicious, since the group doesn't realize its happening.

Val drags Celene to a meeting with Mika just before nighttime. They discuss potential killers and suspects, but not much happens. Celene again thinks Mika is too suspicious of everyone, and urges him to join the group. She argues that even from a logical perspective, Mika's isolation is only hurting his chances at survival due to looking like a target. Mika admits that is true, but still doesn't trust the group. She thinks about something nice she can do to gather goodwill, but nothing comes out of it.

At one of the meetings, the Wedding Planner (he's a major player for a bit, so... Tom?) Tom asks out Val, impressed with her work in the trial, and wants to get to know her more. He's a good dude, if a bit unhelpful in trials. Val says that she needs to think on it, but it isn't a no.

You overhear Mika warning Val that Tom could be saying this because he wants to kill her, and that the Ch1 fight between them could be an attempt to isolate her. Mika says that she doesn't want to tell a dear friend what to do, but that she doesn't want to watch a friend die because she sat back and did nothing. Val thinks Mika is highly overdramatic, and that a murder attempt is unlikely. Mika counterargues that even if he doesn't want to murder you, that there's no way a relationship begun in such circumstances ends well, and that you'd only be setting yourself up for pain. Due to Val's yelling, this argument eventually draws a crowd. Tom calls Mika controlling, and accuses her of maybe using her talent on her friend. Val denies this, saying she and Mika have been friends for longer than she can remember, and that Mika wouldn't do that. Mika repeats the same warning she gave Val, but leaves out the 'potential murder' part.

That night, Celene gets a vision of Mika approaching Tom at HPA, saying that while they don't like each other, if Val plans to be friends with both of them, they should make an effort to get along. To that end, he invites Tom out fot a night at the arcade.

Thats the first and most important vision, but later in the chapter she also gets a vision of Yukio and Mayuki talking out their differences, and how Yukio feels belittled sometimes due to the difference in personality.

(I'm trying to portray everyone involved as reasonable and sympathetic to a degree. Picture the Heartbreaking! the worst person you know just made a great point)

If you were to do Val's FTEs during this chapter, she'd reveal that Mika was bullied as a kid, but never let Val get involved to stand up for her! Val guesses this is why Mika cannot trust someone her own age.

The Ch2 causes the central area of the airport to be unlocked, and to have motive videos like in Ch1. Celene's is her mother, in the exact same way she foresaw as a kid and then prevented. (Car Accident.) Mika IMMEDIATELY calls this fake, claiming it is obviously photoshopped for X reasons, but that its still concerning that Monokuma knows so much about everyone.

As a precaution, Mika offers a "I'll show you my video if you let me see yours" so he can get more data points. Celene, freaked out, takes her up on it and finds out that Mika's video is of his Dad being brutally murdered.

Mika explains that since his Mother is the SHSL doctor, her dad was the more active parent in his life. And that one day, his mom was working on an absolute nutcase of a patient that threatened to kill his entire family that way. That since he's not the type to talk about his past, its wierd that Monokuma could find out about that. She then studies Celene's video, and seems even more certain that it is fake.

Eventually, the Conductor drags Mika to a meeting, because it is revealed that Mika knows sign, and can help communications. Nobody is happy about this, least of all Mika, but its something only he can do, so...

The Conductor offers Mika a friendship, since theres someone here he can easily communicate with!!! But Mika declines for the same reason she advised everyone else to not get attached. Conductor is disappointed, but accepts this.

An abnormally long time passes without murders, until one morning Mika and Val are at each other's THROATS. Its unclear why, but the two of them genuinely hate each other and are swearing up a storm.

We then stumble upon the Conductor with severe third degree burns all over his body. But, to everyone's horror, he is still alive. Mika gets angry in a way never seen before, (I imagine her irises would get translucent during her suprised sprite reveal at the BDA, as a tool that'll help us later.) and demands that Val get the first aid kit. She snaps.

The Conductor is missing his monopad, and can't communicate with the others.

At this point in time, Celene reveals that she had a kit in her suitcase, since she's paranoid she might need it for a vision, and Mika demands she goes and gets that, NOW. Celene complies, leaving Mika alone with the body for like, 10 minutes.

They both come back, seeing the body not visably disturbed, and watch Mika trying to bandage the wounds for 30 minutes to an hour before the announcement finally goes off. Since the time of injury is more important than the time of death, the monokuma file is useless here.

Mika is the prime suspect for about 10 minutes since he was left alone with the body and won't tell anyone why he and Val are fighting. He is semi-cleared by the monokuma file due to burns being listed as the cause of death.

While Val was trying to solo the trial before, now she's trying to tear down anything Mika says, thinking it must be wrong against all logic. This causes Celene to take a more active role then she did in trial 1.

Eventually, the conspiracy theorist is caught, despite Mika's shock about the culprit. (he thought the theorist was too stupid to commit such a premeditated murder.)

It is revealed that since the motive was a dud, Monokuma told him about the existence of a traitor, which he thought was Conductor due to leaps of logic.

Mika is not happy about this in the slightest, and asks what killing a traitor would possibly achieve, since there's cameras everywhere. He's barely keeping his cool about it, and despite what he claimed he did seem to care for Conductor.

His execution has him run from the goverment and various conspiracy theories, and ends in having him buried alive in area 51 by aliens. Right before he dies, he sees a glimpse of some sort of pod, a la Dr2.

Val guesses that the traitor could have been Competitive Eater from Ch1, since he started the killing game. Mika disagrees, because the Ch1 execution could have been either for Primrose OR competitive eater, implying that Monokuma might not have known who the blackened would be ahead of time.

The chapter ends with a CG of the default blackened look, saying that it was lucky they decided to wait to commit murder.

[tonguetiedraven]

Bon and Rin getting sent on an overnight mission but the inn keeper assumes and treats them like they’re a couple (similar to Rin and yukio during the Aomori arc, except they actually do want to be a couple lol). The boys get progressively more flustered until they finally make use of the inn keepers hospitality

Fantastic @marble-wolf helped me with this one ^^

It's set in the fall/winter semester of their second year, though I don't think that really comes in. There's a sprained wrist, and I'm only posting part of it here. The link to the full story is at the bottom :D

-- -- -- -- --

"A mission with Suguro!" 

Rin had repeated the cheerful words like one of their mantras and Rin couldn't help the excited bounce that made his sword smack him and his boots kick up dirt. But he was excited. 

His first real solo mission with Ryuuji. Completely alone. Nobody lingering around and judging them. Nobody bossing them around. This was all on Rin and Ryuuji. 

The cloudy sky and cool breeze wasn't even a deterrent for his overexcited prance (he enjoyed the breeze) and he was reaching out to shake Ryuuji's arm. 

"A mission with Suguro!" He sang again.  

Ryuuji was trying not to laugh, and he wasn’t even sure why. Rin was always ridiculous, and had been since Ryuuji had stopped thinking he was just another rich asshole, but it wasn’t an annoying kind of ridiculousness. (At least not most of the time.) No, it was one Ryuuji found endlessly charming and amusing, and one that made him laugh far too much.

He gave Rin a light shove, just enough to send him slightly off the path, but not far enough that he couldn’t catch Rin if his clumsy self tripped. 

“It’s not like we’ve never done a mission together.” They’d done far more together than apart. “What’s got ya all excited about this one?” 

They weren’t even entirely sure what they were looking for, so it couldn’t be the demon. 

Rin twisted on his heel and beckoned to the path behind them. 

"Look! No Yukio! No Shura! No Light!" Rin listed off the names of their most helicopter mission overseers. 

He turned back to the correct direction and lifted his tail in a wide wag and hopped over a couple cracks and scattered leaves. 

"We're indestructible!" Rin cheered.  

“You maybe,” Ryuuji mumbled, trying to think of what Rin might have actually meant, because that didn’t make a lot of sense. 

Inde… hmm… indecisive—oh! 

“Independent.” Ryuuji said, rolling his eyes a little but smiling anyway. Rin’s energy was irresistible. (A lot of Rin was annoyingly irresistible.)

But Rin was right. They were independent. No one to tell them how to do anything or when to do anything. Just the two of them figuring it out. 

“We still gotta follow protocols, but yeah. Just us.” And the way that immediately made Ryuuji’s cheeks go a little warm was not welcome. Not when they were going to be spending so much time together. 

"Independent." Rin repeated, smiling at Ryuuji's gentle correction. "You always follow protocol. You keep Light from breaking protocol, so we're gonna be fine." Rin encouraged him. 

Ryuuji's cheeks had gone a bit pink and Rin could imagine several instances that could be running through Ryuuji's head where Lewin (and even Shima) did not follow protocol and the aftermath of those times. 

They were almost to the ryokan they would be staying in. It was a quaint, quiet ryokan, painted with rich reds with deep darker shades of wood. It wasn't bad despite the Order paying for it. 

But it was a little jarring. The silence was "peaceful" but Rin had found peace in the sheer amount of noise in Torako's ryokan. Rin gawked at the designs carved into the wood and his head was tilting back, causing his hair to slip further out of the hair clip that had been abused by his jumping around.  

It wasn’t as big as Torako’s Ryokan, but clearly well cared for and there was a bit of protective magic around it — Ryuuji hadn’t seen a ryokan without protective magic — but more important for their current circumstances, he didn’t see any obvious sign of demonic activity. Nothing scratched, no evidence of rot, no shadows that didn’t belong…

Ryuuji stepped forward and toed off his shoes, leaving them in the shelf just inside the door. The scent of tatami filled his lungs as he stepped properly inside, and that with the scent of wood and tea had a small bit of homesick welling in his chest. It was almost exactly what home smelled like. 

“Okami? Ma’am?” Ryuuji called, not seeing the manager at the desk. He motioned for Rin to follow him, carefully unwinding his prayer beads and wrapping them between his fingers instead. 

Rin followed after freeing his feet from his boots. He stayed close to Ryuuji, nearly pressed to his side as they stepped closer to the vacant desk. 

They hadn't experienced it yet, but Rin had heard stories of entire ryokan's becoming possessed and exorcists getting attacked so he couldn't blame Ryuuji for the preparation to have his beads. 

Rin could hear slow steps coming from behind one of the sliding doors and he swallowed the urge to growl. He couldn't sense anything malicious. 

The woman was old and walked slowly, and she appeared to be completely harmlessly human who seemed content and she gave them a polite smile.   

“Guests,” she greeted, bowing at the waist respectfully. “I’m sorry I was late to greet you. Please, come inside.” 

Ryuuji returned the bow and took two pairs of the slippers, passing one to Rin before going forward to the front desk. 

“I’m Ryuuji Suguro, ma’am, and this is my partner Rin Okumura.” He waited for Rin to join his side and gave the okami a smile. “We’re form the Order of the True Cross.” 

Her expression immediately morphed into surprise as she looked between them, and then crumpled a little in intense relief.

“True Cross?” She asked, voice wavering a little. “You’re the Exorcists?”

Ryuuji shared a glance with Rin. “Yes, ma’am.” 

Rin echoed Ryuuji, standing taller and right next to Ryuuji to appear professional. (As if he hadn't bounced his way down the path.) 

"We can fix any demon problem you got!" Rin said with a smile and a polite bow.  

The Okami bowed again. “Oh thank you.” 

Ryuuji felt a twist of worry in his gut. They didn’t know much about the demon, the file had been thin and just mentioned a few vague sort of haunts and the mention of ghostly apparitions, but that could be anything or even imagined. Nothing even mildly unique or definitive. 

“Here,” she hurried before Ryuuji could say anything else. “I’ve already got your rooms—” She paused and looked up at them again. 

“I’ve got your room.” She said with a nod. “Here,” she reached under the desk and pulled out a box of keys. She took one out of it and set it on the desk. Two matching yukata followed, deep red with gold and blue flowers. “These are yours, and you will have complete access to the ryokan and baths.”

“Thank you, okami.” Ryuuji pulled the items a little closer, a bit confused why they’d only been given one room, but this was True Cross and it was always cheap as hell. 

“Could you tell us where the demonic activity is occurring?”

“The ryokan and baths.” 

“The entire place?” Ryuuji asked, hoping for anything but a yes.

“Yes.” She answered, and Ryuuji felt a little twitch of pain in his head. That was hardly helpful at all.

She continued with a, “only at night though.” 

Rin barely held back the urge to groan at the vague words and knew that they were going to spend a lot of time wandering around. He couldn't sense anything malicious so surely the demon wasn't particularly dangerous. But Ryuuji would stress himself out with however long it takes to find the demon.  

"Okay. We will check it out for you. Thank you, Okami." Rin said with another bow.  

Ryuuji pulled the items off the counter, passing one of the yukata to Rin and frowning a little. 

“Thank you, ma’am. We’ll take care of —”

“We have the banner system, but I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”

Why would that matter—oh! They weren’t the only ones here. Ryuuji shared another look with Rin. They’d have to watch out for that.

“Thank you,” Ryuuji said again and stepped back, reaching for Rin’s arm and gently pulling him along. They’d need to set up their work station and lay a few basic wards around the place to see if they could track anything or at least figure out a kingdom.

“This way,” the Okami hummed, looking decidedly happier. She eyed the hand Ryuuji had on Rin’s arm, and he almost dropped it but he let it linger for a moment longer, because he tried and never let looks dictate what he did. They were rarely encouraging and almost always controlling, and he didn’t know enough about this okami to know one way or another.

They were led down the hall and towards a room nicely tucked away with an opening to the garden. It wasn’t particularly bed — none of the rooms looked to be particularly big (and Ryuuji couldn’t help but compare it to his mother’s, and he was going to suggest any innovative ideas he saw. He didn’t want to take it over, but he wanted to help.) 

The separate futons had been traded for a single large one, and there was a basket of amenities and toiletries by the futon.

It reminded him of their couple rooms. 

The Okami was backing up and sliding the door shut before Ryuuji could turn around and ask. 

Rin stopped at the entrance, slipping off the slippers before walking further in. He propped his hands on his hips and considered the one bed. 

(That was going to be a problem… wouldn't it?)

"Damn, this place didn't sound busy. Ya think this is all they had?" Rin asked before shrugging and moving to sit down on the futon. It was comfortable at least.  

Ryuuji did not think this was all they had. He was fairly certain it had been a deliberate choice, if not a strange one. His mother only gave this sort of room out for couples that requested it. 

He’d simply sleep on the floor. The tatami mat was enough for him. Rin could have the bed and he’d take one of the pillows and his coat. Or maybe request a second blanket. 

“Maybe she wanted to make sure we could work together or something. Or didn’t want to waste resources on us.”

But no, that didn’t make sense either since she’d said they had access to everything. 

Ryuuji set his bags down with a shrug. “We can set up our operations here either way. Maybe get something to eat after we set up the wards?” They’d need the energy for the night and he’d need the nutrients back after casting all those spells. 

"Sounds fine with me!" Rin would just… offer to share the bed. Neither of them  could afford a bad sleep while on a mission. Too much at stake. 

"I can't sense anything really bad and nobody has died, right?" Rin said before standing back up to help Ryuuji with the bags.  

“No. There weren’t any reported deaths.” Ryuuji pulled the ‘report’ out of the bag as he straightened. It was the smallest one he’d ever been given. It had mentioned moving objects, broken objects, strange sounds, and bad luck.

It could be any of a number of things. The information didn’t really narrow it down at all. Half of it could be explained away simply because the building was old. 

“Honestly, I don’t have any idea what it is. It could be anything. Or nothing. There hasn’t been a real sighting of anything.” He shook his head.

“We’ve got nothing. We’re going to have to gather the intel and just… wait.”

"Great. Waiting is my favorite!" Rin sarcastically said, peeking at the pitiful report. 

He could hear the sound of trees blowing in the breeze and the tap of slippers on wood. The cool air wasn't rotten so definitely not Astaroth Kin. 

"We can walk around after we eat." Rin suggested. He wouldn't just wait unless he seriously had to. (He was bad at waiting.)  

Ryuuji snorted and put the useless report away. Then he paused in consideration. “Do you think we should change to not stand out?” It could be some kind of cloaking or intelligent demon. They had no information on it. 

(But also the idea of wearing a matching yukata to Rin was making him blush a little. Not that he’d really stopped blushing.) 

Rin looked down at his uniform, compulsively brushing a hand down the front. "Probably."

The black coated uniform stood out with the shining Order emblem and it was recognizable for what it meant. That didn't matter for mindless demons but the intelligent ones (most demons were surprisingly intelligent) knew with just a glance.  

“We don’t want to stand out to the guests either.” 

Ryuuji shrugged his coat off, pulling his spare beads and sachet out. He wouldn’t need anything else. Rin would handle the offense and Ryuuji didn’t need more than this for their defense. Besides, the goal was just to get information. At least for now. They weren’t going to fight what they didn’t know. Ryuuji was not letting them get anything like a bad report for this exorcism.

He moved to take off his shirt and paused before deciding to hell with it and just shrugging that off as well, neatly folding them and setting them aside to join the rest of his clothing. 

The yukata was soft, if not warm, and had a pocket, so he hid the sachet and spare beads in there along with the key. (He trusted Rin, but not with a room key. His friend would lose that in a second.)

Rin followed Ryuuji's lead ( not staring at Ryuuji's warm and smooth looking skin and damn Rin just wanted to… nope, nevermind) stripping off the damning evidence that they were exorcists and picked up his own yukata with a happy, "oh!" He tossed his clothes aside in a clump. 

"I like this one." Rin said as he wrapped himself up in it. His tail poked out the bottom and he reluctantly wrapped it around himself. He liked how Ryuuji looked in the thin red material but he couldn't exactly say that and he really shouldn't stare and, shit, he was planning on sharing a bed with Ryuuji and this would be a problem. "These are nice."  

“My ma has all different colors and designs. I should let her know —” Ryuuji cut himself off before he could say this Ryokan matches couples. He was entirely sure that’s what she’d done (Nirvana did it ever look like she had) but he wasn’t going to say it one way or another when it was Rin he was partnered with.

“You need anything?” he motioned towards their supplies and hoped Rin didn’t ask for clarification.  He tried not to stare too much at just how much of Rin’s neck and collar were now visible. He’d managed to avoid looking when Rin was pulling it on, but he hadn’t expected the outfit itself to look like that. (Good and thin enough to show off Rin’s natural form.)

Rin laughed at the mention of Ryuuji's mother and flapped a hand. "I'm trying to not be biased about my favorite ryokan. And no, I don't need anything. I've got everything I need!" 

Rin spread his empty hands and beckoned to himself as if he was fully decked out with weapons. 

"I wonder what's for food!" Rin cheerfully said as he adjusted his tail around his middle.  

Ryuuji could feel himself getting ready to rattle off a list of possibilities that his mom served and managed to stop himself. He was not going to spend this entire trip rattling off facts and gushing about home. 

They’d find dinner and set everything up. He’d figure out the bed problem later.

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

The full story can be found here!

[kuyuminato]

Neapolitan Valentines date

It was about five or so in the morning when Adonis attempted to get up from Aku’s nest, but getting away from a sleepy Yukio is a difficult task. Struggling to get the sleeping monstrals arm from around his waist he decides it would be easier to just teleport away. So he does, with a poof of soft golden pollen he disappears from the pile of soft pillows, pelts and blankets and reappears a few feet away by the door. He takes a moment to look back at his boyfriends, admiring the two sleeping forms. Adonis quietly makes his way down the steps of Aku's house/bakery to begin his Valentine’s Day gift for his partners. Making his way to the kitchen he gets everything he needs for the breakfast in bed he has planned. “Flour, eggs, milk, chocolate, butter, bacon, vanilla beans, butter and now for the strawberries” He whispers, checking through Aku’s pantry and ice box. He set down his gathered ingredients and heads outside to the garden in the backyard.“Fresh strawberries are always the best.” He picks a few handfuls from the vines and greedily stuffs some into his mouth.

Adonis makes his way back into the kitchen and gets started on his “Sweeties for the sweeties plan”. He has heart-shaped pancakes, strawberry syrup, chocolate tarts and maple and bacon sweet rolls planned for breakfast. Only the best of the best for what’s mine, he thinks to himself. Simp. He makes sweet after sweet till it’s a little after six and takes his tray of treats to his resting partners. Up the stairs he goes to greet his lovers with the smell of several freshly made baked goods.

Aku wakes up to the smell of pancakes, bacon and various other tasty smells. “Mmm, what are you doing up so early, Love?” Sleepily he looks up at his lover and his tray of baked gifts, Aku’s pink orbs shining in the dark. All he gets as an answer is a kiss and a fork as Adonis goes to wake up Yukio with an indecipherable whisper. Well whatever he said woke up the sleepy man and earned him several kisses to his cheek. “Yeah, yeah I love you too sunbeam. Now come on, I didn’t spend an hour cooking for you to not eat it.” Aku sneaks in one more kiss before they all dig into the sugary spread. All enjoying every bite of the mouthwatering breakfast arrangement that was so lovingly prepared.

“Alright, what’s the catch birthday boy?” Yukio knows Adonis too well to think something this extravagant would come without any strings. “What? I can’t just make us all a delicious meal to start off our days?” Adonis attempts to hide any idea of a goal outside simply being nice but he does have something planned. It’s simple, distract his partners from their work so he can spend his whole birthday and Valentine’s Day with them by his side. Nothing but romance and his lovers is on his mind, but that’s nothing new.

“Mhmm, I don’t believe you. I’m pretty sure this is your new villainous plot. Poison or seduce the hero with your deprived delights.” Yukio jokes now but he’s done nothing but further fuel Adonis’s plot to spend time with them. “Seduce you say? I would never… But would you say the food made you want to skip all that guardian work and go on a date?” Hoping he can convince Yukio to leave protecting the town to someone else. Yukio just raises an eyebrow and sighs. He takes some time to think about it but eventually decides.

“Sure, why not.”

“Aku, what about you? Think you can skip a day of non-stop working for a day-long date with us? It could be my birthday gift.” Adonis knows how Aku feels about ‘handouts’ but there is nothing being given but time and affection. “Hmm, fine. I’ll take a day off for you two.”

Success!

“It’s settled, how about we go to a garden? The Nightingale Plaza in Oxbell is absolutely stunning this time of year.” Aku glares at his partner, he knows Oxbell is known for being a high profile city. Everywhere you look there is some expensive shop or a high class nobelmen. “No way, do you know how expensive that place is?”

“Yeah, but being the owner gets you some perks, like free entry.” He really thinks being a cute smart ass will make Aku change his mind, and it will, it always does. Aku fidgets with a strawberry on his plate trying to ignore Adonis’s face. He knows Aku can’t resist a cute pouting face, he’s a conniving villain after all, knowing how to manipulate a target is all a part of the job. “Pleeeeease my darling, it’s just a picnic date. There won’t be any money spent and it would be the best present if today could be just the three of us.”

Not the begging and pet names! Aku knits his brows together and sighs. “Fine, but we have to make lunch.”

“Oh, can I help with making food this time?! James was telling me about this recipe for this eggplant rollatini thing the other day and I really want to try it out.” Yukio always gets excited when he gets to cook, especially with his partners. Yukio collects the plates, utensils and tray from the nest and makes his way down stairs, his partners in tow. Aku attempts to steal the tray of dirty plates from his towering mate but fails.

“Why do you want to steal the plates from me so badly peachy?”

“I’m trying to help you clean up.”

Aku again makes an attempt to jump up and steal the plates so he can bring them over to the sink before Yukio can. Adonis, ignoring the amusing sight, looks for Aku’s cookbook to choose some meals for the three’s lunches. Yukio seeing Aku’s determination to help wash a few plates lets him take some, as funny as them trying and failing to reach the tray is. They clean the plates together as Adonis debates if more sweets is a good idea.

“Ok, so adding Yukio’s eggplant rollatini to the list, what should we make for lunch?”

“I think some sandwiches and maybe some smoothies would be nice.”

“We should make meatballs!”

“Meatballs with what Yukio?”

Yukio shrugs. “Nothing really, I’ve just been craving them since the last time we used granny Mary’s recipe.”

“Better than Aku’s? Yukio you traitor!” The vampiric deamond sighs and lies back against the counter. Adonis has to be dramatic, Aku swears it’s in his dna. Yukio just sticks his tongue out at his extra partner. Adonis sticks his flat split tongue out as retaliation. Aku just shakes his head and lays the dishes out to dry before walking back up the stairs.

“Hey don’t leave just yet, we still have some planning to do!”

“We can plan upstairs, you two aren’t allowed to argue around my counters anymore.”

“Uh we’re sorry about that peachy.”

“I’m not.”

Aku shoots Adonis a warning glance. Adonis knowing being a minor annoyance to his lover leads to nothing but entertainment and pondering if he should push. “You know-“

“Adonis whatever you have to say better be yes ma’am or we’re staying home.”

“…You’re mean.” Yukio holds back his giggle as he joins his partner up the stairs. Adonis follows, cookbook in hand. They settle into the living room where Adonis lovingly redecorated Aku’s homey little living space into a jungle, roses and lilies lay in bunches all over the room and vines with glowing golden flowers line the corners. The familiar magical pollen lights up the still dark room.

“As beautiful as this enchanting redecoration is, you know you don’t have to go all out like this every time love?”

“This is not his all out, you remember the forest we went to for your birthday? That was all out.”

“Ok yes that was way more extravagant but this is still a lot of effort.”

“Not really, plant manipulation is kind of my thing. Honestly this was holding back. I had some much more planned but for the sake of making this a relaxing series of dates I went with a more casual look.”

Aku shakes his head and picks up a bundle of roses and the lilies twisting them into a flower crown, Yukio and Adonis gladly joining him. They work on making crowns for one another and plan their picnic date. The ‘kings of plants’, as Yukio jokingly dubbed them, they talked and talked for hours. Until it was time to make their lunch and spend the rest of the day in the Nightingale Plaza.

Adonis is double checking the picnic basket before they head out. He walks over to the bedroom where Aku is trying to get dressed in peace and knocks. “You still alive in there my love?”

“It’s only been five minutes! I just need some time to pick between these outfits.”

“You know you could let me in and I could help.”

“NO. You will not ‘help’, you stay out there with Yukio.” Aku’s not gonna fall for that, Adonis has to stay outside the room for a reason and he knows that. Trying to sneak in will not work.

“Suit yourself, but if you need help just yell.”

Aku’s been struggling to pick an outfit for one simple reason. You can’t go to a place like Nightingale Plaza and not dress in a proper outfit. But which one? The low cut pink dress that blends into a warm orange, dubbed the ‘sexy sunset’ by Sylvia, matches his pink hair. The white coat with orange and gold details would match Adonis’s outfit. But the black and gold dress has a beautiful and elegant look that the other two just don’t have. “Why does dressing up for fancy places have to be so hard?”

“Love, you know we’ll be the only ones there right cream puff?”

“…”

“We’ll be the only one at the gardens today, I have it closed ahead of time so we could have a just us day.”

“…” Aku tosses the black dress and suit back into the closet. “Sexy sunset it is.”

“The what?”

“Uh nevermind, I’ll be out soon. Are you and Yukio ready?”

“No, Yukio won’t come out of the bathroom. He’s fussing over his liner.”

“You have no room to be so judgmental, not everyone can snap their fingers to have perfect makeup and hair.”

“I don’t use magic to look like this good darling. I’m always this damn beautiful.”

Aku rolls his eyes at Adonis’s continued foolishness. Dressing into the dress and styling his hair only take a few minutes before he’s ready. Walking out he’s met with Adonis green orbs, well they were green, but now they are a familiar golden. He’s wearing a simplistic version of his usual kingly outfit, a white and gold jacket over top, a gray shirt and black jabot the green jewel he always wears on it. They stare at one another for a bit, both lost in admiration for the other.

“Um, where is Yukio?”

“Uh, oh he’s downstairs with the basket, he insists on carrying it.”

Aku lets out a chuckle and takes his partner's hand as they walk down the steps, together they’re met with a pacing Yukio. He’s wearing a red dress shirt and black pants.

“Well I feel underdressed.”

“I think you look great, baby.”

“Yeah but who goes to a fancy place dressed so plainly?”

“You look amazing smokey now lets get going. We have a long rest of the day ahead of us.”

[daisyachain]

Question 39. What comic plotline gives you brain worms? for the comics ask thing

Too many.

Shatterstar's origin story gives me worms of the my-brain-is-breaking-down-while-reading this variety. Mojoverse is something that I can't think of too often because if I go down that rabbit hole then I'll be thinking about how underused the setting is, a meta media satire planet going totally ignored in a day and age where franchise superhero media is the dominant cultural output (except for Leah Williams X-Factor in a really tasteless way) for the rest of the week.

Dani’s off-screen Asgard adventures, there’s plenty to dig into about joining the pantheon of a religion and a culture that isn’t yours. What did she do to get kicked out? How did it feel to reap souls for a few months as a teenager? How does that affect her connection to Illyana, always ambiguous and sometimes charged? The hellgirl and the taker of the dead? Also the idea that Dani is Cyclops’ chosen successor, she is and should be and it never ever gets picked up by anyone ever. Please. She’s the pragmatic tactician who can still follow Xavier’s dream.

Doug's storyline drives me both mad insane and mad angry because of how juicy it gets with his post-resurrection morality crisis and how Hickman stopped any and all of his development in its tracks. It's fun to have a resurrection gone wrong, where Doug-after is missing something and has to try and get it back. It's intriguing how lopsided his relationship with Warlock is; Doug both can't live without him and is eager to be rid of him, they're bffs and Doug resents him for causing his bad-future self, Doug can never truly be satisfied with his own existence once he's tasted technarchy, meaning that he'll never be truly satisfied as himself.

X-Men homoeroticism is its own category. Richly-sown fields of 'I'm sorry, what?' that make up a significant part of a character's plotline and are never ever addressed. 'Moira loves you and I....'. Sam saying he'd rather die with 'Berto if he has the choice. Kitty Pryde hanging out with Illyana the day she leaves her brother at the altar and then smooching a woman who looks exactly like her later on and having it never acknowledged again. Storm having Yukio be in the parade of love interests in her solo book but never being canonically in a relationship. 'I love you and you are breaking my heart.' No one does it like them.

That said--on to the main brainworms: Rictor's off-screen fight against his family. The guy wages a one-man war (well, two-man) on a gun-smuggling operation a) armed only with swords, b) against people who raised him. His cousins are as good as siblings to him, how on earth did he reckon with staring them in the face? How did he even manage to corral everyone with the mandatory X-Men non-fatal approach? How were his ideals tested, how close did he come to giving up, what did he think about in the long hours of the night? Apparently it's not for us to know!

Bonus mention for The Authority v4 balloon arc. The concept is great, the execution so-so, which is the perfect blend for remembering something forever. I don't think of it often but when I do, I do.

Postscript: the entirety of MTMTE/LL is brainwormfood for me, but I've posted about that proportionally far more than I've posted about other comics. Needless to say I'm obsessed with pre-war Cybertron + Megatron and Ratchet's arcs, Chromedome and Rewind's wonderful horrible toxic mutually beneficial and affirming romance, season 1 in general, and Issue 47, oh and also the way the ending sucks (in a good way) and makes you feel sick (in an effective way)

[ourneverendingpossibilities]

When you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while

Anime: Knb Pairing: Kasamatsu Yukio x reader Rating: K+ A/N: Can also be found on my AO3. The long awaited chapter!! Where you meet the rest of Kaijou as not only Kise's sister, but Kasamatsu's girlfriend.. But you're caught off guard with how beautiful Kasamatsu's smile is.. As he is with yours. (Title is based off Bruno Mars', Just the Way you Are.)

________________

Kasamatsu has a beautiful smile.

You remember pointing it out to him one time, during a practice game the two of you shared.. You remember how his face went from that stunning grin, to shocked, caught like a deer in headlights, to deep red in a matter of seconds.. Until his handsome scowl made its appearance, as he ran after you. You couldn't escape him, laughing with a squeal when he picks you up, and you hold on tightly, burying your face in his neck as he tickled your sides into submission.

Your heart went 'thud thud' just thinking about it.

Which leads you back to this situation, where you're watching Kaijou's practice for the first time. Kise has been hounding you to come, to the point you expressed your annoyance to your boyfriend.

xxxxxx

"W..Well... If you want to attend a practice... I... I won't say no..." he mumbles, trying not to stare at you for too long. A soft hitch leaves your lips, before you grin brightly, resting a hand on his.

"Y...You're okay with introducing me as your girlfriend?"

His cheeks burn brighter, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"W....Well... Would you r..rather be introduced as... K..Kise's sister? O...Or my g...girlfriend?"

The word has a nice ring to it, and your smile grows, before a soft laugh leaves your lips...

"Hate to say it, Yukio-senpai... But I feel Ryouta will introduce me as his sister anyway... Or throw a fit until I do..."

He grunts, before tugging you into his chest, resting his face in your neck... You try not to stutter, not used to his display of affection. But it makes you feel warm, and hot... Everything about Kasamatsu Yukio sets you on fire...

"I...I get to introduce you first..." he mumbles, though it comes out as a half growl. You giggle in his ear, running a hand through his hair as you hum softly, golden hues softening.

"Anything for you, Yu-ki-o."

xxxxxx

You're brought out of your thoughts when the whistle blows, and you watch from the door as Kasamatsu gathers his team. His voice is stern, but you can see the smile twinkling in his beautiful blue hues... And then that grin appears, and you find your cheeks burning up, not realizing someone took notice of your presence..

"Come to watch Kise? He always gets the beautiful girls' attention!"

Your eyes widen, turning your head to look at the taller male, almost stumbling backwards.. His grey hues stare at you with a twinkle, as if he's making a secret joke.

"Or perhaps... Someone else has caught your attention?? There's a lot of handsome men on this team after all."

From Ryouta's words, you can only assume this is Moriyama-senpai.. But you can't find the words to reply back. Before you can say anything, or even find a rebuttal to his words, you're off the ground, staring down at the boy who acts like an over-active golden retriever.

"_______-cccchhhiii!!~ You made it!!"

The commotion draws the rest of the teams attention, and the hood you wore to cover your golden locks, falls down and exposes you. Never have you felt so naked when the other three males stare at you in shock, and you can see Kasamatsu trying to find the words.. He's not just stunned, but angry at how reckless Ryouta is handling you, and it's with that one glance, you finally snap out of your daze. The shock wears off and turns into embarrassment and anger, grabbing hold of your bag and slamming it down on his head, causing the blond to not only drop you, but yelp in pain.

"W...What did I say about grabbing me Ryouta??? You idiot!"

His lips turn into a pout, and he's immediately wrapping around your legs, burying his face in your legs.

"______-ccchi!!! I thought you came to see me play!! Why are you so mean??"

"I didn't come for you! I came for Kasamatsu-senpai!"

There was a brief silence, before Moriyama's voice cuts through..

"Y...You're here for Kasamatsu?"

You look up from your brother, noticing two other players in the circle, along with your boyfriend. He's trying not to shift uncomfortably at the question, or the teasing from the taller male. But you huff, ignoring the whining blonde beneath you.

"Why wouldn't I come see my boyfriend play?"

If Kasamatsu was going to faint, it would've been in that moment, when you said that word to his team. His heart wouldn't stop drumming in his chest, trying to find his voice.. But his throat was dry, and he watched the whole interaction between you and his team with a stunned but mesmerizing stare. He could feel his hands begin to sweat, and the way you smiled at them, before yelling at your brother for being clingy, sent him into cardiac arrest... It should be illegal for you to smile so brightly, as stunning and gorgeous as it was.. He preferred to see that stare in private, directed at him..

It wasn't until Kobori placed a hand to his forehead, did he realize he was completely out of it.

"You okay, Kasamatsu? We all know how you are around women... But to think you and ____ are dating..."

He coughs into his hand, ignoring the blush on his cheeks as he swats Kobori's hand away..

"I... I'm fine..." he grunts, walking up and wrapping his hand around yours, ignoring the gasps and whispers from the others.

"Yes... _____-chan is my girlfriend. Got a problem with that?"

You feel your cheeks burn at his assertive voice, but it also calms you in ways you can't explain... Instead, you rest your head on his arm, squeezing his hand in comfort, before you nod at the blonde.

"R..Ryouta is also my twin brother... I... I'm Kise ____... But PLEASE just call me ____ . I don't want the unwanted attention that comes with being associated with him."

You ignore Ryouta's whine, though it's immediately silenced by Kasamatsu's other hand before he barks orders at him. The other three just stare at you, before nodding.

"Oh don't worry.. Your secret is safe with us. But if it ever comes out, we'll protect you from his fangirls... They can be crazy sometimes."

You roll your eyes, "You don't have to tell me twice.. Why do you think I don't wanna be associated with him?"

"_____-cchi!!! So harsh!!"

"Since you're here, ____." Kobori starts, sending Kasamatsu a quick glance, "Why don't you sit down and watch from the bench? I'm sure Kasamatsu would love having his own personal cheerleader."

"K..Kobori!!"

"I'd love to!"

You watch your boyfriend look down at you, cheeks red and burning from embarrassment. You give him that bright smile, only reserved for him, before he makes a noise, pulling you to the bench. He carefully drops you there, a hand holding his nose, before he turns away.

"Y..You sit... I... I'll be right back..."

You tilt your head, eyebrow raised as his words before Moriyama gently nudges your side.

"Your beauty caused his nose to bleed... He'll be okay, but he's embarrassed.. Just cheer for him!"

You find your own cheeks burning at his words, feeling Ryouta ruffle your hair playfully, as he walks towards practice.

"We'll play for you ____-cchi!! So just sit there and watch how we practice! We'll beat you next time!"

As Kasamatsu comes back in, he sees the challenging grin on your face as your eyes twinkle,

"I'd love to see you try Ryouta! Seirin will kick your ass!"

It's then he finds himself back in his previous state, shaking his head at their brother/sister dynamic.. Anyone could tell at this point...'

"Alright! Back to practice!!"