#truly “it's been one of those weeks pass the yuri”

[mimimar]

because the earth revolves around the sun

(prints)

[the-art-of-ancunin]

The Mask & The Mirror [Chapter 8]

Explicit | Enemies to Lovers | Multi-Chapter | Contains BG3 Spoilers

Pairing: Ascended!Astarion x Original Female Character

Chapter Warning(s): Sexual innuendos, slight angst, foul language, Astarion being a bit of a bitch again 🤷🏻‍♀️

Please let me know if I missed anything!

Word Count: 2K

With a gentle touch, Yuri’s fingertips traced the circular scars on her neck, a souvenir from her contemptible keeper. The room was drenched in darkness, the only light being that of the flickering flame atop the bedside table from the singular oil lamp left intact. She sat still as stone on the edge of her bed, her fingers stained with ink, and her mind racing with thoughts she couldn't allow to escape.

"Seven days," she murmured, the words hanging in the cold air like a verdict. "Seven fucking days."

The silence felt oppressive, broken only by the soft scratch of quill against paper as she resumed her scribbling. Her code—a web of intricate symbols and shorthand known only to those who thrived in the underbelly of society—spilled onto the parchment, mapping the palace's labyrinthine corridors.

Another week had come to pass. A week without any word or news from or about Gale and very little interaction with her captor, though the latter's absence she found to be quite agreeable. In the days since the wizard’s arrival, she had been granted access to more of the palace, albeit under supervision, of course. She wondered if Astarion's allowance of her limited freedom was a sign of confidence or a trap. Each step beyond her chamber's threshold might have been over unseen lines drawn by the vampire himself. Yet, the need to act clawed at her insides, an urgency that wouldn't be sated by idleness.

"Fuck," Yuri breathed out, her composure cracking. She glanced at the quill, now clutched so tightly in her hand it had snapped. The truth was, she didn't know the full extent of Astarion's power or Gale's whereabouts. But deep down, she harbored a spark of hope—hope that she wasn't truly alone in this.

With trembling hands, she hid her work and extinguished the flame, plunging the room into complete darkness. Lying back on the bed, she wove her fingers together, resting them on her chest as she had seen the dead do in their eternal sleep. Tomorrow, she would wake and continue mapping this godforsaken prison - hoping and praying to whatever God would hear her that her efforts would lead her back into the light of day and eventually, into the embrace of her loved ones.

After a long while, the quiet was abruptly shattered by the cacophony of roaring flames. Yuri sprung to life, shooting upright in bed as her heart pounded against her ribcage. An acrid stench enveloped the space—an odor that whispered of sulfur and dark promises made in the shadows of desperation. Frantically, she grabbed the notepad from beneath her pillows and swept her coded scrawlings into the bedside table, just as the flames extinguished, leaving behind the figure of Erasmus at the foot of her bed.

"Ah, there you are! Stopped by your old room and found it empty - was almost impressed there for a moment,” The devil teased, his eyes roaming over the disheveled woman before him with a malicious type of glee, “We’ve made loads of progress, I see," he continued, his voice dripping sarcasm like poison from a blade.

Her defenses raised, Yuri clenched her jaw. "It’s slow going, I’ll admit, but I’ve made far more progress than you know. A tenday more, perhaps, and I’ll be free."

Erasmus tsked, mocking disappointment. "That long? Oh, cricket…I’m beginning to think you've lost your touch."

"Fuck you," she spat back, refusing to let him see the tremor of fear his presence ignited within her.

"Mm, don’t tempt me. It was so very fun the last time," Erasmus flashed a predatory smile, his teeth unnaturally white against the dimness of the room as he poked his forked tongue out from between his lips in a foul gesture.  

Yuri shuddered involuntarily, pushing away the vile memories his words conjured. "Why are you here?" Her tone was terse, her lavender eyes hard as amethysts.

"Merely checking in," he said, circling around to where the pall of his arrival lingered in the air. "It’s truly devastating, isn't it? That your dear, sweet wizard has failed to come through for you."

"Stop it," Yuri interrupted, leaping to Gale's defense. "Duty has brought him here, not I. He has greater matters to tend to than my…predicament. And besides, we—" She hesitated, swallowing her pride. "It’s not as though we're bound by any grand expectations, he and I. It was wrong of me to have hoped for such a thing."

Erasmus chuckled, the sound echoing eerily. "Oh, you sweet, stupid little girl. Are you truly so blind that you’ve misread the bond between you so greatly? That silly little man cares for you far more deeply than either of you realizes."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?" Yuri gave him a dubious look as if peering into the abyss and finding it wanting.

"Didn't you think he wanted more? After that dinner..." Erasmus probed, his gaze sharp.

Yuri's jaw clenched; she had pondered that possibility before crushing it underfoot. "No. Gale has never been one to mince words and he made his stance perfectly clear."

"Only after you had insisted that the two of you were - what was it? ‘Romantically incompatible’. Perhaps he lied to ease the sting—for the both of you."

A flicker of uncertainty passed through the woman’s resolve, but she shoved it aside, armor forged of skepticism and self-reliance. "For fucks sake - if you have a reason for this visit, Erasmus, do us a favor and be out with it."

"Ugh, you’re no fun," Erasmus pouted before leaning himself against the nearby armoire, "Have you given thought to our arrangement? To renegotiating our pact?"

"Thoughts, yes," Yuri admitted, her voice steady and clear. "But we’re not there yet. I can do this on my own. I will do this on my own."

"Such a brave girl," Erasmus praised, a grin creeping onto his lips. "But should necessity dictate..."

"Then I'll call." The admission was grudging, weighted with the gravity of what it might mean.

"Very good." Erasmus's satisfaction was palpable. "I'm never far, cricket. Just say my name," he offered, before vanishing as suddenly as he'd appeared, leaving behind only the echo of his soft laughter and the scent of sulfur.

The drow was left alone once more, the weight of the devil's visitation lingering as heavily as her own doubts. She focused on the silence that followed, on the cold stone walls that encased her, and on the determination rooted deep within her soul. "I can do this," she whispered to herself, clenching her fists. "I will do this."

With each step, Gale's boots crunched over pieces of shattered brick and twisted metal remnants. The acrid smell of burnt wood and flesh filled the air, and Astarion's face contorted in disgust. But it was the eerie hum that made their skin crawl as they walked through the ruins of what used to be Duskshore. They were surrounded by rubble, a haunting reminder of the destruction that had taken place. As they navigated through the debris, their eyes caught glimpses of objects that once held meaning to someone. It was a desolate wasteland, an abandoned graveyard of memories.

"Gods," Astarion breathed, taking in the magnitude of the ruin. His crimson eyes scanned the horizon, disquiet etched across his usually impassive features. "Such power...it's beyond reckoning."

"Indeed," Gale murmured, his gaze analytical as he excused himself from conversation with other investigators that had descended upon the site. "We must sift through the ashes, identify the catalyst. This cannot happen again."

"Of course," Astarion agreed, “We need to discover the source. Bring it under control -”

“Make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands,” Gale added pointedly. 

“Oh?” The vampire lord sneered bitterly, “And who, per say, gets to decide which hands are worthy enough to possess such power? You?” 

Gale turned, his expression resolute. "I am the Chosen of Mystra. It's not merely a decision—it is my duty."

Their exchange hung in the air, fraught with the tension of unsaid truths and the harrowing task that lay ahead as they stood amidst the whispers of Duskshore's dead—a chilling reminder of what was at stake.

Astarion scoffed, his voice a sinuous blend of mockery and disdain. "Oh yes, Mystra. You're beloved. How are things between the two of you these days? Do you think she’ll command you to kill yourself again anytime soon, or is that all water under the bridge for now?”

Gale's jaw tightened, a warning look hardening in his large brown eyes. The memory of Mystra’s heinous command from all those years ago still remained a sharp thorn in his side. “Mystra is my goddess,” he stated with forced calm, “but she is no longer my lover. You know that.”

"Ah," Astarion drawled, shrugging as if the weight of centuries was nothing but a cloak he could easily discard. "But you’ve not moved on in the past hundred years. It's not too far-fetched to think that perhaps your old flame had something to do with it."

Gale clenched his fists at his sides, feeling the prick of his nails against his palms. "My bachelor status is not for lack of trying," he countered, a surge of bitterness rising within him. "I simply haven't encountered anyone with whom I've had a strong connection...Well, save for maybe one. But that's been long put to rest."

"Oh?" The elf arched an eyebrow, sensing vulnerability like a shark in bloodied water. "And who might this mystery person be?"

The question hung between them, taunting Gale with its simplicity. He didn't want to say her name, to give this asshole the satisfaction. But honesty, or perhaps spite, won out. "You have her locked away in your palace," He bit out, each word laced with venom.

Surprise flitted across Astarion's features, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by feigned innocence. "Oh my, how very awkward. I assure you, old friend, I hadn’t the faintest idea -" he began.

"Do not lie to me!" Gale snapped, the last of his restraint crumbling. "Your memory may falter. Astarion, but mine does not. I remember Waterdeep, years ago, before you had managed to claim Baldur's Gate. We all met - Wyll, Karlach, Halsin, You, and I - all of us…we met that night at Trollskull. It was a rare evening, even you seemed... happy." Gale's mind conjured the image of Yuri, her laughter mingling with the tavern's mirth, her silvery hair reflecting the golden glow of candlelight as she moved gracefully from table to table, pitchers in hand.

Astarion’s silence pressed against Gale's consciousness, urging him to continue.

"You couldn’t take your wretched eyes off of her. I saw it. Everyone did. And when I asked you about it, well of course you brushed it off." Gale's voice grew harsher with each recollection. "In my drunken stupor, I told you all about her— of how she’s just as stubborn as she is beautiful, of her ventures, and of how she'd slain the mad mage. That tavern was a reward from the city for all she’s done. And yet, you mocked me, mocked her, and laughed in my face when I mentioned that the two of us had plans for dinner."

"Ah, Gale," Astarion said with a fake pout, "That night clearly had a profound effect on you…Apologies, but I’ve no recollection of it."

Lies. Gale knew it. Astarion's falsity stung like a slap, and without thinking, Gale's fist connected with his perfect, pale face. Blood—a mere trickle—spilled from where a fang nicked the inside of the vampire's mouth.

Astarion only smiled, wiping the blood away with deliberate slowness. "Tsk, Tsk…jealous, are we, Gale? Could it be because I’ve known her in ways that you never will, I wonder? The taste of her lips, her blood, her sweet little cunt—"

"Enough!" Gale bellowed, rage consuming him like wildfire. "For your sake, Astarion, she’d better be with you of her own free will. Otherwise, mark my words..." His voice dropped to a deadly whisper, a promise carved in stone, "should I find out anything to the contrary, I will fucking kill you."

[talesfromthebacklog]

Random: A gamer’s diary entry for October 2023!

While I finish writing, and playing, my next backlog games I’m excited to add to the wishlist ‘Little Goody Two Shoes’. Which looks like it’s going to be getting a physical release. (Which I won’t be picking this game up until the physical drops. I already know I’ll like it.)

One of my favorite YouTube channels called Nostalook worked on the trailer (and I think the in game cutscenes as well) and their work is stunning as usual. It really captures the 90s anime look. It deeply reminds me of Princess Maker.

Also it’s a shoujo yuri. Female romancable characters only! (And they’re all so ✨ PRETTY ✨) I can’t explain how HAPPY that makes me. I just hope it stays in an innocent direction.

You know, because in majority yuri isn’t made for women. 😐

I get it, but at the same time I feel locked out of the content because it’s so obviously not for me. But that’s a complaint for a different post on a different day! Makes me wonder if men feel the same way about yaoi.

I was very bad this month. There were a lot of physical sales. And then my preorders for new games rolled in. I always prioritize my physical games over my… “digital” games, so those will be in the front of my backlog!

Let’s take a look at what I picked up! (I paid full price for nothing on this list. I am wickedly good at finding deals and coupons. Which upon review I will attempt to pass onto you!):

Traumatarium

Dredge

Omori

FaeFarm

Inescapable

Sonic Superstars

Coffee Talk 2

Moon A Remix RPG

I’m already playing a few of these games, so my reviews on those should be out next week!

I decided to skip this month’s two biggest releases altogether until about next year. I want the GOTY Spider-Man 2 when it comes with all of the DLC for $20. The first one was amazing. I’m just willing to wait on it. Which is a similar story for Mario Wonder. I mostly use the fall season to get all the titles I’ve been wanting for a freaking sick deal. Why should I have to pay full price?

The older I get, the more I feel like I appreciate weird games and indie titles more anyway. I feel like those other projects have the freedom to take more aesthetic risks than the big companies. Not because of the creatives inside (They tend to always have good ideas), but the stockholders. 🙄

I adore some of these triple A titles to my core, but I crave to see more new things too. Different things.

Dave The Diver is a good example. That seems rad. I like ocean games. I like that we get more of them now. I’m gonna wait and see if that one gets a physical as well. You collect fish to go back to your restaurant to make sushi? Sign me up!

Don’t even get me started on Limited Run’s releases this month.

While ‘Persona 4’ and ‘This Way Madness Lies’ are no brainers for me; I was EXTREMELY on the fence about ‘Persona 3 Portable’. (I did pick it up reluctantly)

The remake of Persona 3 will be upon us soon and I don’t know if I’ll want to play P3P again. The problem lies in the fact that most of these games become much more expensive later. Buying it on “launch” from Limited Run usually IS the cheaper option.

That shit annoys me so bad. I don’t like picking up games for value. But because the game might be value I have to be ahead of the scalpers and pay for it at its maybe cheapest.

I collect games because I like ‘em. I want to play them and love them. I want to use my stuff. I don’t give a fuck about the “value”. I respect the folks that do care about that stuff but I plain just don’t.

But that’s also just kinda life. Not much can be done about other people. You can only truly control yourself. 🙄

Overall October has been an exceptionally excellent month for gaming! We’ve had so much good stuff come out this fall season. I’m excited for next month as well! Super Mario RPG will be making its re-debut and I can’t wait to talk about that one!

[indigowallbreaker]

17 and 65 for the kiss prompts with Yuri/Ashe

(Love that certain characters get the same number over and over. I think this is Ashe’s second go at kiss #17. Good for him <3)

17. Needing to kiss to hide from bad guys

65. One Small Kiss, Pulling Away For An Instant, Then Devouring Each Other 

It took nearly the entire walk back from town for Ashe to gather his courage. “Yuri?”

“Mhm?” One hand holding Ashe’s and the other carrying a bag of supplies, Yuri looked at him. The courage nearly left Ashe again. There were so few truly peaceful moments to be found with the war in full swing. He hated to potentially ruin this one-- taking the long way back to Garreg Mach with his boyfriend on a bright spring afternoon.

But Ashe’s curiosity won out in the end. “Do you remember the first time we met in Gaspard?”

“At some lord’s birthday feast, right? I’d just been adopted by Rowe, he was showing me off.”

“Well, there was that. But do you remember... before that?”

Yuri frowned and looked away just as a trio of soldiers coming from Garreg Mach reached them. Ashe kept a tight grip on Yuri’s hand as they moved aside for the group. Once the soldiers had passed, Yuri kept his eyes straight ahead. “I didn’t think you recognized me,” he said quietly.

It had been such a bizarre event that Ashe could recall every moment of it even now. He had been waiting for his siblings outside a shop in Gaspard when a commotion broke out down the street. Someone a little older than Ashe with lavender hair that was matted at the tips had taken off running in Ashe’s direction. Once he reached Ashe, the stranger had spun them around and pulled Ashe into a kiss. 

On instinct honed from his thieving days, Ashe’s hand dropped to grip the coin pouch Lonato had trusted him with. But the stranger’s hands never wandered. Footsteps sounded behind Ashe, a gruff voice called “Where’s that mongrel?”, and more footsteps stomped away. After a few seconds more, the stranger pushed away from Ashe. “Thanks,” the stranger had said with a wink. Then he sped away.

Ashe had been introduced to Yuri at the feast a week later. He hadn’t said a word, until now.

“In truth,” Yuri went on with a humorless laugh, “I had hoped you wouldn’t recognize me. I’ve always regretted doing that.”

“Why?”

Yuri shrugged, still not meeting Ashe’s gaze. “You mean apart from the whole molestation thing? It didn’t even work. Those guards caught up to me a few blocks later.”

“Oh.” Ashe didn’t want to ask why the guards were giving chase in the first place. He felt like he had soured the mood enough. “I’m sorry,” he decided on.

This time, Yuri laughed in that way that made Ashe’s heart leap. He let go of Ashe’s hand to wrap an arm around his shoulders instead and kissed his cheek. “You’re sorry? Geez, how are you the most compassionate person on the continent? I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Maybe the mood hadn’t dropped as far as Ashe thought. He chuckled when Yuri pressed another kiss to his forehead. “It’s fine, really,” Ashe said. “I was just glad you weren’t a pickpocket. Your plan was pretty obvious once I realized that.”

“Still, I kinda ruined our first kiss. Not that I knew I’d get more after that.”

They had reached the front gates. At those words, Ashe wound his arm around Yuri’s waist and pulled him behind a crumbled bring wall. “Let’s do it again then,” Ashe declared.

“Do what again?”

“The kiss. Let’s have our first kiss again.”

Yuri cocked his head, and Ashe wondered if maybe the idea was stupid. You couldn’t fix the past-- but Ashe also couldn’t stand the idea of Yuri thinking of that as their first kiss. It hardly counted, given the context.

Then Yuri chuckled low in his throat. He leaned in close, murmured “You’re just adorable,” and kissed Ashe.  

It was just as quick as that kiss in Gaspard. All it lacked were the guards running up behind Ashe. When Yuri pulled away, Ashe cupped his face and dragged him back in. 

This kiss had to be different, it had to be them. Ashe squeezed his eyes shut in concentration. He wanted to kiss that guilt-laden memory away from Yuri, if such a thing were possible. Take away their previous lives and start over here, against this broken wall, with shopping bags forgotten at their feet and spring wind bringing the scent of dinner up from the dining hall.

Yuri pulled away again and Ashe let him this time. “That...” Yuri cleared his throat. “That should do it, I think.”

“A better first kiss?” Ashe asked hopefully.

Yuri grinned. “A much better first kiss.” He kissed Ashe once more on the forehead before picking up the bags again. Turning for the gates, Yuri held out his free hand.

Ashe took the hand, relief enveloping him. His question hadn’t ruined anything. Not their day, not their relationship, not even their walk. As Yuri lead them through the gate, Ashe pushed away the memory of the kiss in Gaspard that had been replaying in his mind all these years, and focused instead on all the kisses to come.

[yourlexicality]

Layla Anaiel

Age: Academy: 17 & War: 21

Gender: Cis Female (She/They)

Sexuality: Pansexual

Ethnicity: Faerghean & Leicesterian

Nationality: Leicester Alliance

Crest: Minor Crest of Gloucester

Height: Academy: 5'7 & War 5'9

Build: Balanced, a small bit of chub

Eyes: Green

Hair: Light Green

Other Physical Characteristics: beauty mark under right eye.

Combat Strengths: Sword, Axe, Faith

Combat Weaknesses: Bow, Heavy Armor, Flying

Hidden Talent: Reason (Black Magic)

Hobbies: Studying the occult, Smoking (Yup she's a nic fiend & a stoner), Theorizing battles.

Likes: Smokes (Cigarettes & Cannabis), The Occult, Cooking, Horses, Training, Alcohol, A Good Book, Being around people.

Dislikes: Overprotecting & Overbearing People, Water Activities, Flying Mounts.

Backstory:

Pre Academy (Game):

Aphros Anaiel & Niul Anaiel:

Aphros & Niul being Layla's Father & Mother respectively were both in the seat of power in House Anaiel a small minor house on Alliance side of the Alliance Kingdom border in Burgundy territory. Due to a crisis House Anaiel had be ran bankrupt & to keep themselves afloat even if just for a few more weeks Aphros & Niul decided to sell Layla to a mysterious person, that person happened to be Thales in which Layla was passed on to Cornelia as she was being dragged by the hair to a chamber she was able to look into some other rooms, Even if for a brief second she caught a glimpse of a pink haired girl tied to a table. Layla was experimented on by Cornelia for several years before her mysterious disappearance in 1177. It took almost 2 years but in late 1178 Layla had found her way to Garreg Mach Monastary, it had been 2 years... 2 long years she was tired, disheveled & sick, she had hoped that these so called "Knights of Serios" could help her get her a clean set of clothes and cure her of her sicknesses, they did not she pleaded her case to a tall green haired man but he heard none of it he dragged her off & threw her down a staircase before she blacked out.

Layla awoke in... A Classroom? Atleast she thought so she had never truly seen one, she stood herself up slowly & guided herself along the wall towards the door. As she opened it she slumped slight her left knee buckling, she slumped over few a few minutes before. "Ah, you're awake." she looked up to see a girl standing across from her with pink hai- wait... a girl with pink hair? This was that same girl she had seen all those years ago. "Where? Where am I?" she manged to sputter out. You're in Abyss, no you're not dead, just a horrible name. But keeping it brief, I'm Hapi & you need to rest some more." Layla nodded and accepted Hapi's help finally a bed had become free in the makeshift infirmary in Abyss.

Layla spent the next year and a bit getting used to her new home & meeting all the people, she built a close bond with Yuri, Constance, Balthus & especially Hapi both having shared their experiences being locked away for so long.

[snowywrites]

Yuri x popular Fem!reader

summary: fluffy fic in which the reader sees Yuri while working at a coffee shop and intends to be closer friends with her.

word count: 2.1k

"Y/N!"

You stop in your tracks, turning to scan the tables around you for the source of the voice; it was kind of familiar, and your eyes fall on a customer that's a regular here at the coffee shop. A young man around your age, usually here with his friends but alone today.

You had been about to go make another coffee for a different customer, but you force a service smile onto your face and hurry over to his table. "Hello!" You wrack your brain for a second to bring a name to this man- it wasn't easy keeping track of so many different people, and not just at your job! You also tried to keep tabs on the majority of your peers from school, too. Fortunately, it clicks a moment later. "Hatsumi, was everything alright?" You ask, noting he's already finished his pastry and drink.

Hatsumi grins, clearly pleased you had remembered him. Customers tended to get really happy over little things like that... if only they knew you did this with all of them. It was no secret you were one of the favorites here at the little shop, consistently getting better tips than many of your coworkers. "It was great!" He answers you brightly.

You nod and inquire politely, "Would you like me to go ahead and bring the bill out now?"

A moment of hesitation, and then, "Oh- uh, yes, thanks." He seems a bit disappointed, but you don't have time to dwell on it right now, not with how busy today's rush hour is. The only good thing is you're hopefully going to be getting off in about a half hour.

You assure him you'll be right back and then flit off to the counter to ring up the items he'd ordered and print the bill. As you're doing so, you feel a tap on your shoulder.

Glancing up, you see your favorite coworker, a girl several years older than you. "Y/N," she begins, a bit of a pleading look in her eyes that means she's about to ask you for a favor.

Biting back a sigh, you push down whatever annoyance you have at being interrupted to look expectantly at her. "What's up?"

"Can we please switch tables really quickly?" She practically begs you.

Switching tables wasn't too terribly uncommon- sometimes when guests came in, the baristas would know them outside of work and might ask a coworker to deal with the order and anything else.

"Sure," you giggle, ever the people-pleaser. You had a reputation to keep, after all! You don't like to brag, but you do enjoy the fact that you have many different friends and are well-liked by just about everyone you know. "Who?"

She gives a hop of delight. "Can I take the bill to Hatsumi?"

You can't help but smirk mischievously. "Ohhhhh, I see."

She lightly smacks you on the arm, instantly blushing. "Nono, I just-"

You cut her off before she can defend herself, knowing the two of you don't really have the time to waste playing around. "It's no worries. And who's that order for?" You question as you point at the circular silver tray in her hands which is holding a cute polka-dotted cup of tea.

"Ah, this goes to table three, the girl with the purple hair."

You nod, exchanging the bill for the tray. You want to watch and see what will happen between your friend and Hatsumi, if anything, but when you look towards the designated table, already heading for it, you realize you recognize the girl sitting there.

You have no trouble recalling her name. One of the members of your Literature Club, Yuri...

You haven't actually been in the club all that long at all, maybe a week-ish, and you feel like you haven't had any time at all to get properly acquainted with Yuri. Part of you feels that it's a shame, because you get the sense she's a very interesting and sweet person beneath her quiet and distant shell. It's just hard when she's always reading, and even in the rare moments she's not, she doubts herself so much during conversations with you that it just ends up being a bit weird.

But not today! No, you're suddenly filled with a sense of determination to get closer to Yuri.

You consider playfully scaring her when you walk up, but ultimately decide against it; aside from being naturally timid anyway, she's also, as usual, reading, and doesn't seem aware of anything going on in the shop around her. So, yeah, best to use a more gentle approach.

"Hey, you," you say, putting all the friendliness in your voice as possible, stopping beside the table to greet her.

In spite of everything, Yuri still jumps a bit in her seat, violet gaze flashing up to you in alarm.

'So much for trying not to scare her,' you think unhappily. Pushing that thought away, you give her a reassuring smile. "Sorry, it's just me! Y/N. We're in the Literature Club together," you try to remind her, wondering with a pang of horror if she's actually forgotten who you are. That would be a first for you.

A second of silence, but at last Yuri's tense grip on her book loosens, and she glances down at it, avoiding making eye contact. "O-Oh, I'm sorry."

Another awkward beat of silence. This was what you meant!! It always went like this with Yuri, and you wished more than anything that you knew how to make her more comfortable around you. Hoping to carry the burden of saving this interaction, you laugh nervously, "It's no worries! But, you didn't forget me, did you?" As much as you're just trying to joke around, there really is a slight feeling of hurt that that may very well have been the case.

Yuri stiffens, quickly answering, "No, I- I didn't!" It's a rushed response, louder than you've ever heard her speak and yet still quieter than most people's normal speaking voice. As if embarrassed by her small outburst, she ducks her head to add quietly, "Uhm, that is- I just meant that... I wouldn't ever forget you, Y/N."

Oh. Talk about giving someone butterflies. You never knew what to expect with Yuri- sometimes she could never get her words out, but then other times she'd say something with such a deep meaning that it would catch you entirely off guard. What's odd though is you know for a fact how truly sincere she is; Yuri is the type of person that's much deeper than most people, and she wouldn't say something if she didn't really think or believe it.

"Thank you, Yuri," you say warmly, setting her tea down near her on the table. "Here you go! I like this kind, too." Truthfully, since you hadn't taken the order yourself or even made the drink, you weren't 100% sure what kind of tea this was, but you were willing to try anything to make Yuri more at ease. It also wasn't unheard of for you to make conversation with customers, even if it was busier than usual right now- for once though, you weren't aiming to make a good tip or secure a regular customer. You genuinely wanted to talk with her. "Hey, is that the same book you're reading at the club?" You question after catching a glimpse of the cover art.

She shakes her head, causing some of her bangs to fall into her face. Brushing them out of the way, she frowns and then nods. "W-Well, kind of. I finished that one yesterday... this is the sequel," she explains.

"It must be pretty good if you want to read the next part already," you comment. "What's it about?"

As predicted, Yuri noticeably perks up. "Oh, I think you would really enjoy it, Y/N. It's about-"

"Y/N!"

You flinch at the stern voice of your shift supervisor, who apparently hadn't realized Yuri was speaking when he cut her off.

You glance back to see him gesturing at you in clear annoyance, motioning to the line of guests waiting for their drinks to be made. You nod, signaling you'll be right over.

Focusing back on Yuri, you're unable to mask your disappointment. "I'm sorry, I've gotta get back to work. I'm supposed to be off in a little bit though."

Yuri seems to also be discouraged, apologizing for keeping you, even though you're the one who had intentionally kept the talk going. She bites her lip, and then, probably overtaken by a brief moment of courage, suggests, "When you get off, maybe then I could tell you about the books?"

You're stunned, but at the same time, this was precisely what you'd been hoping for! "Yes, sure! That sounds great. I'll see you then!" You chirp, hurrying away.

The last of your shift passes by rather quickly, and when it comes time to clock out, you actually have to tell your supervisor no, you can't stay another extra hour even if they are busy, because you have plans! Normally you would have, but not today.

You meet Yuri at the door and the two of you leave the coffee shop together. The sun is close to setting, but not quite there yet. "Thank you again, Yuri! I like spending time with you, I've just been a little busy lately," you say.

Yuri mumbles something you can't quite hear, but then adds more clearly, "I-I'm glad..."

"So," you begin, clasping your hands behind you and beaming at her. "About those books!"

That's all it takes for Yuri to dive into an explanation of the main plot points as the two of you walk side by side towards your home.

You're more than a bit tired from work and standing on your feet for so long, but it's nice to have company on the walk back, especially someone like Yuri. You hum and comment every so often, honestly thinking that they did sound like the sort of books you would enjoy. Full of fantasy and mystery and thrills... and of course, romance.

"So, the main character ditches his friend, who's been with him the whole time, for the new girl? And she's from the enemy's group?" You surmise.

Yuri hesitates. "I don't want to spoil anything for you if you're wanting to read them for yourself..."

"Such a tease," you sigh, pretending to be betrayed. "Oh, we're here- this is my house."

The two of you stop at the gate leading to the front yard of your home, and you're positive you aren't imagining the plaintive expression on Yuri's face. You didn't really want your time together to end either, but alas, you both have classes tomorrow.

"If- If you really would like, you can borrow the first book from me," offers Yuri. "And then... you'll see for yourself how it all goes."

You nod enthusiastically. "Yes, please! Thank you, that's really sweet of you! We can discuss it too after I'm finished reading it. I think I already know who my favorite character is going to be, though."

Yuri tilts her head curiously. "Who would that be?"

"Nope! It's a secret, for now." You pause, glancing up at the darkening sky. "Will you be okay walking home by yourself?"

Her violet eyes soften at your concern. "Yes, I don't live very far from here."

You find yourself unsure of how to say goodbye to Yuri, an uncertain quiet settling over the two of you, but she doesn't seem to find it awkward. "Okay, if you're sure. Do you mind giving me your phone number, though?"

She starts in surprise, a dusting of pink covering her cheeks. "U-Uhm- I- you-?"

"So you can text me when you get home," you quickly defend your reasoning, feeling a bit shy yourself at Yuri's reaction. She really was unique- most people tried to play it cool when asking for or giving numbers.

"R-Right," she stammers, reciting it off for you, and her phone buzzes at the quick text message you sent her so she would have your number.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, at the Literature Club," you finally say, already looking forward to it. "And don't forget to bring the book, please!"

Yuri steps back, her gaze on the ground but you still see her smile to herself. "Yes, I will. Bye, Y/N." She seems like she has something else she wants to say, but then she gives herself a shake and quickly turns away, her long hair twirling to follow her.

You watch her go until you can't see her anymore, partly due to wanting to make sure she was safe.

You couldn't help but admire her for her intelligence and beauty, even if she seemed to admire your social skills in return. Hopefully this was the start of a very deep relationship with Yuri.

[tojisveryown]

𝙸𝚗 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙴𝚢𝚎𝚜 | 𝟶𝟸

© 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚜 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚓𝚒𝚜𝚋𝚋𝚢𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚛

𝙰𝚌: 𝚠𝚃𝟼𝙸𝙳𝟸𝚀𝟺𝙰𝙺𝚄𝟿𝚏𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚠𝚝

𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜: 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝.

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚑𝚘𝚕, 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚎𝚡, 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐 𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 𝟸.𝟻𝚔

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎 𝙰𝚄, 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚖𝚒𝚡𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝

𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 | 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟶𝟸 | 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝

(𝚄𝚗𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍)

⋆ 💌⋆ 

3 am, it was three o’clock in the morning and you woke up to the sound of your phone going off. Who the hell would be up at this hour, especially since there was a lecture everyone had to attend in four hours.

You took a glance at your screen, slowly adjusting to the brightness, you allow yourself to wake up, you check your messages, and realize Gojo has been texting you nonstop 

“Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this guy its three am..” you whisper to yourself trying not to wake up Utahime

“Who would ever wanna fuck you anyway?” 

Sheesh. 

Am I that un-fuckable? You walked over to the bathrooms and gave yourself a long and judgmental stare. “Shit, I am un-fuckable aren’t I?” 

Before you let your insecurities get the best of you, you decided that it’d be best to catch some sleep and worry about your appearance later. It’s not that your body was ugly, or that your face was ugly, it was definitely how you dressed. 

The way you dressed practically presented to everyone what type of vibes you give off, and as of right now you gave off pretty much “Hi, my name is L/N Y/N and I still shop at the kids' section from target.” and that is NOT the impression you wanted others to have when glancing towards you. 

You sighed, “That fucking man whore really did a number on my self-esteem.” You rolled over and checked the alarm clock placed on the nightstand that was sandwiched into yours and Utahime’s bed. 5:38 am 

“Maybe I should go shopping after the lecture.” you rolled off your bed and decided to get an early start. After finishing up you left the girls dormitory. 

6:45 am

Coffee? 

Coffee.

⋆ 💌⋆ 

You hurried to the coffee shop that was a floor below your first lecture, luckily there weren’t that many people waiting in line, after what felt like two minutes it was finally your turn to order.

“Hi welcome, what may I get you?” The barista said, 

“Hi good morning, may I get an iced caramel macchiato?” 

“Of course, that’ll be 5.47!″

You dug in your bag to find your wallet and before the lady could take your card a hand placed itself over your own “I got it, add a white mocha to it will ya’ make it for Y/N Gojo, thanks.” That voice belonged to none other than the pest you dealt with yesterday. “G’morin’ Y/N.” he smiled as he slung his arm around you leading you outside the small coffee shop. 

“Mmm, so about yesterday.. I’ll forgive you if you let me take you out on a date? How ‘bout it?” 

No. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with this guy?

“Huh? I didn’t apologize.” You feel yourself leaning on the pillar that stood outside the coffee shop. 

Gojo scoffed, “That’s exactly why, you won’t have to if you let me take you on a date. Think about it Y/N.” he leaned closer resting his forearm on the same pillar you were leaning against right above your head. He was practically towering over you.

“And if i don’t want to apologize?” He scoffed once more and held your chin, forcing you to lookup. His touch was cold, almost concerning really.. it’s probably from some sort of std.

“Y/N Gojo your coffee is ready! Y/N Gojo!” 

Gojo stepped away to grab both cups of coffee, he handed you yours and walked alongside you. “You know Y/N, so many girls would kill to go on a date with me, you’re really missing out.” there he goes flashing that cheekily smile around again. 

“Guess I’m not like the fuckable bimbos you go after then.” 

“You know you could be if you wanted to,” he walked in front of you, turning on his heels so he was now facing you as he continued to walk backwards. “All you have to do is give me a call.” he pulled his sunglasses down and gave you a wink.

Cheeky bastard.

You shoved the iced coffee into the core of his stomach signaling that you wouldn’t be swooned so easily by his escapades, you held out your arm until he realized you were giving the coffee back. His fingertips grazed over your hand and you flinched at the subtle contact. Before Gojo had the chance to call you out you were submerged into the crowd.

“Y/N stop being so difficult.” 

⋆ 💌⋆ 

6:58 am, you made it on time for your first early morning lecture and sat in the fourth row. As you began to pull your stuff out more and more people started filling up the seats. You were beginning to regret returning the coffee Gojo had bought for you due to the lack of sleep.

“Y/N don’t run off like that, I almost lost you in the crowd.” You turned your head and there he was, sitting right next to you while wearing that stupid grin “Sorry some of it spilled out, but it’s still perfectly fine.” he admitted as he slid the iced coffee towards you. You looked away, you thought Gojo would finally get the hint to leave you alone and yet he just kept going on Until..

“Good morning Satoru!” a girl smiled as she sat down in the row in front of us “Why do you have two coffees?”

He cocked a smile “Good morning Yuri,” he greeted before he took your coffee and handed it in her direction, “Ehh, they gave me an extra drink. But I wouldn’t mind giving it to you.” 

You turned your head to watch the scene play out, that bastard and his cheap tricks. “That was supposed to be my coffee” is what you wanted to say, but you knew it’d be best not to get tangled in Gojo’s business. You turned away looking for a new seat. You packed your things and headed towards the back of the lecture hall.

The girls face lit up in excitement “Of cour-”

“Kidding, this is Y/N’s.” but before Gojo could turn his head back to you to flash that idiotic smile of his you were nowhere to be found. 

⋆ 💌⋆

The lecture was finally over and just as you were finishing up your notes a figure appeared. “Y/N it’s rude to leave without saying anything.” He slid your cup of coffee on the desk.

“Thought you gave it to that girl.” 

“I bought it for you, not her.” he stated firmly, he grabbed your bag and walked towards the door, “Are you coming or not?”

“Huh, where are you and I going? And give me back my bag.” 

Satoru turned on his heels and leaned down to your height pressing his pointer finger on his lips. His crystal blue eyes met yours and you were at a loss of words, his eyes truly were beautiful and you almost let a compliment slip until you realized who those eyes belonged to.

“It’s a secret of course, and its ‘we’ Y/N, say ‘where are we going’, what good if there in having a parter if you aren’t even acknowledging them correctly?” 

“You aren’t my partner, work alone.” you handed him the cup of coffee and  seized your bag out of his arms. For the second time this week Gojo was now staring at your back as you walked away, your figure getting smaller and smaller each step you took before you were one with the crowd. Gojo stared down at the cup and noticed that you didn’t take any sips of the caffeinated drink that he purposefully bought for you. 

“Warm up to me soon will you?” he whispered to himself as he passed by a trashcan throwing the drink away.

⋆ 💌⋆

The next morning you found Gojo patiently waiting for your arrival, in his hands were two cups of coffee, it doesn’t look like he’s noticed you so you take that advantage and walk behind a group of students going to their next class. As you were passing by desperately trying to avoid any form of contact with Gojo you unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation he was having over the phone. Unfortunately you weren’t able to hear the other side of the line.

“Another bet? Sugu’ that’s shitty” He laughed  “No, she already thinks I’m an asshole and making a bet with you involving her would make things worse. Okay okay okay one month right? Okay bye.”

Fucking bastard. Who does he think he is, making a bet to see if he can fuck someone he called unfuckable.

⋆ 💌⋆

Just when you thought you were finally free from the virus known as Gojo, the chair next to you became occupied by the person you thought you’d be able to ignore. 

“G’morin’ Y/N!” he cheered gaining the attention of all the students that had the decency to come early “Got you some coffee, promise I won’t give it to anyone this time.” 

You ignored him and reviewed the notes you took yesterday, as class began the thought of Gojo sitting next to you slipped your mind until he moved his elbow with the intentions of hitting yours but knocked down the coffee he brought you onto your notes. 

“Whoopsies.” He laughed it off and gave you his notes for you to copy off of

“Gojo I can’t read this.”

“You don’t have to be so picky Y/N, who else is gonna let you borrow their notes you don’t have any friends.”

Asshole.

⋆ 💌⋆

The next morning Gojo showed up with two cups of coffee again and this time he brought a couple of napkins. He sat down next to you and placed the cup in front of you. 

“Didn’t you learn from last time?” you questioned as you slid the cup back to Gojo.

“Well maybe if you actually drank it I wouldn’t have spilled it.” he pouted and pulled out a new notebook “Here, since I did ruin your old one.”

You opened the notebook and there was a drawing of a penis on each of the pages.

You took a deep breath and faced Gojo, it took almost everything out of you not to dump the coffee on this man whore again. 

⋆ 💌⋆

As the next day came you expected Gojo to sit next to you but today he didn’t, you finally got to pay attention and take proper notes without anything getting spilled on them. After class ended, you found yourself going to get bread from a bakery near your school, but as soon as you were about to pay a pair of cold hands reached over yours handing his card to the cashier instead of yours.  “’s okay I got it.” he said smiling as he slithered his hand around your shoulder. You slid his hand off and pulled him to the back of the bakery.

“Woah Woah Y/N we can’t do it here there are people from our class watching!” He teased as he threw his hands in the air as a sign of defense. 

“What do you want from me.” 

“What?”

You took a step forward, closing the little space you had between the two of you “What do you” poking his chest with your pointer finger you inched closer “want from me?”

Gojo leaned forward and whispered “Be my partner again Y/N.” Gojo felt you stepping away, furthering the distance you once closed. He pulled you into his chest and rocked himself, along with you following side to side due to his strong grip. One of his arms wrapped around your neck as the other slid down to the small of your back.  “What’s so bad about being my parter? Afraid I’m gonna use you like the chick you saw me in the library with?”

“I don’t want a man whore as my partner.” you huffed. Gojo flinched at the harsh words you used to describe him, nonetheless he still held you close, his cold hands grabbed your wrists guiding your arm to his back wrapping them around himself. 

“What do I have to do to prove to you I’m not a man whore?” he asked rubbing your back and pulling you closer to his chest. God how many layers of cologne  does this man lather on himself. 

“You can start by getting off me.” 

“Mmm.” he pulled you even closer to the point where you two had little to no space whatsoever between your two bodies. “Only if you agree to take me back as you partner.” 

You sighed giving in “Let me think about it?”

“M’kay!” he said pulling you even closer before letting you go.

⋆ 💌⋆

You walked back to campus with Gojo, the walk was quiet and peaceful. The sound of cars passing by along with the birds chirping filled your ears and it was a much needed break after eating at the bakery with Gojo filling your thoughts with nonsense. 

You and Gojo were on your way to the next lecture of the day until Gojo stopped walking. 

“Gojo?” 

“Sorry Y/N I have to take a leak, can you please wait for me? I wanna be able to sit next to you in class.” 

You nodded and waited on a bench that was within a few feat of the bathrooms, moments later you heard footsteps approaching.

“Hey that was fast, did you wash your hands?” You questioned finally looking up realizing it wasn’t Gojo but the girl who Gojo offered your coffee to, Yuri. “Oh.. Can I help you?” 

“Is Satoru really dating you?” She began to laugh and the two girls behind her joined after giving you a hard gaze. 

“What no-”

“Probably one of his bets with Suguru. Like Satoru would ever wanna date you. What are you after? His money?”

“Huh no.”

“Please, save the bullshit, how much did you sell yourself for Satoru to hold you in the bakery like that? Or did you force yourself on hi-”

Before she could continue the stinging sensation that was both on your hand and face shut her up. She held her hand up and you flinched waiting for the contact that her hand would soon make with your face, but instead when you opened your eyes Gojo’s hand had grabbed her wrist before the contact was ever made. 

He shoved Yuri’s hand away and grabbed your hand dragging you to your next lecture. 

⋆ 💌⋆

During the long boring lecture the only thing you were able to think about was everything that happened moments before class began. Losing yourself in your thoughts Gojo slid a piece of paper with the words: “are you okay :( ?”

You replied with: “Yes. I’m fine, thank you.” Gojo smiled to himself as he replayed the scene of him coming to your rescue, cocky bastard.

Ripping off a piece of paper from the corner of your notebook, you wrote down a few words and placed the folded piece of paper onto Gojo’s open palm. 

“I guess, you can be my partner again.”

That day Gojo Satoru wore the smile that you gave to him proudly.

⋆ 💌⋆

𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 | 𝙽𝚎𝚡𝚝 | 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 

𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎: 𝙻𝙼𝙰𝙾𝙾 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚓𝚘 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎. 𝙰𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌!  𝙷𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥

⋆ 💌⋆

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝: @peppytine @enesitamor

𝙽𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚃𝚞𝚎𝚜. (𝟺/𝟸𝟶) 

© 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚜 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚓𝚒𝚜𝚋𝚋𝚢𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚛

⋆ 💌⋆

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Cruelty of man

The command bunker was a flurry of activity as aides and military personnel shuffled between consoles. At the center of the room was a large tactical display table surrounded by commanders discussing the recent deployments of new troops and enemy positions when the doors to the command center burst open. At the noise the guards to either side quickly drew their weapons and trained it on the door until they saw who had entered and dropped to one knee. 

“YURI!!!!”

Royal prince Marsov stormed into the room and made straight for the tactical display. His stride carried him so quickly that he knocked aside aides who had been kneeling before him out of the way as if a child kicking a can down the road. 

“YURI!” The prince continued shouting, “WHERE ARE YOU!?”

The commanders around the tactical display parted aside and revealed the human who had taken command of the war front from the prince. He stood atop a wooden stack of pallets so he could see the display and under any normal circumstance would be comical any other time were it not for how feared the human was by the rest of the command staff. 

The aliens surrounding him stood nearly twice his height making most interactions with the species initially challenging as everything they had was intended for far larger use. 

Yuri continued observing the tactical map, making a few notes and passing them to nearby aides, completely ignoring Marsov’s outbursts.  Maros slammed his fist into the table  making the holographic image shake violently for a few moments before readjusting.  “What is the meaning of this?!” 

“I am not psychic, prince.” Yuri said as he passed another note to an aide and motioned him away with a flick of his hand. “You must elaborate what exactly is troubling you.” 

Yuri’s calmness only seemed to enrage Marsov even more. 

“When you took control of this war away from me you said you would run it better.”  “Yes, I remember.” 

“That was two months ago! What have you done since then!?” 

Yuri set down his note pad and looked up at the prince. Though humans were far shorter than the prince’s species Yuri’s presence was so intense that it made seem as if he was the one towering over them. 

“I have been continuing the war in a manner that will result in our victory.” 

Marov’s laugh at the answer was as loud as it was fulled with a mocking tone. “You have launched only one offensive a week while ordering our special forces to gather enemy equipment, wasting their potential greatly!” 

“These are parts of a much larger plan.” Yuri said as he crossed his fingers and rested his chin on them. 

“A plan that is failing!” Marsov waived his hand and the tactical display altered itself. The image was an aerial view of the front lines with both sides trenches facing each other. 

“Each attack you launched was preluded to by a massed artillery bombardment of smoke. Smoke that i would point out completely ineffective. 

Waving another hand a smaller visualization of the enemy soldier. “Their helmets allow them to see through the smoke with high density filters built into their helmets. The filters remove the smoke particles so they don’t even hinder the enemy soldiers!”

“Yes, I know this because I ordered our special forces to capture in tact enemy gear from the battlefield.” 

Marsov choked on his next words but quickly recovered. 

“You promised a great victory but since you have taken command we have seen nothing.” Marsov turned the surrounding commanders. “Perhaps my father underestimated your abilities.” 

The commanders looked back to Yuri who still clasped his fingers, his expression uncaring as if the insult just made against him meant nothing. 

“Great victories are not won in a single day, but planned out down to the very second.” Yuri stood and hopped down from the pallets and began walking away. 

“Tomorrow I will show you what a great victory truly means.” 

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

The following day the commanders all gathered in the command bunker for the upcoming battle. 

Yuri stood on the wooden pallets while the prince sat on his command throne overlooking the entire room. 

The entire length of the opposite wall showed live feeds from the battlefront as the team leaders moved through the trenches checking on their soldiers. 

Tapping the tactical display table Yuri drew the attention of the room. 

“Today, we will launch a full scale along the entire front.” Pointing to the display it showed several dozen friendly arrows moving across no-man’s land into the enemy trenches. 

“From there we will continue pressing the advantage until we have overrun their forward command bunkers and captured the supply depots at the far rear of their lines.”

The display showed several fortified locations several dozen miles behind the current enemy lines.

“If you believe we can penetrate so far with this attack why stop there?” Marsov scoffed. Yuri nodded as if he had just been asked a question from his favorite student. “As tempting as it would be to continue the offensive we must be mindful of our manpower and supplies. I have calculated that once we have reached the supply depots we will be at the near limit of a front we can successfully maintain. Any farther and we risk over stretching ourselves and risking counter attacks that could encircle entire army group and wipe them out.” 

“All well and good and all, but this attack depends entirely on if you can break the enemy front line to begin with.” 

“Rest assured, that will be the easiest part of the plan.” 

With that Yuri motioned to an aide and the screen turned to the face of a front line commander. “Are your troops prepared captain?” Yuri asked. 

“They are prepared; though i am not sure why we need this additional equipment.” Marsov’s eyes picked up at this but Yuri continued before he could press his questions. “You’re understanding is not required captain, only your loyalty and promise of victory.” 

The captain banged his fist and nodded his head. “Victory eternal.” he said before the line went dead. 

“Begin the bombardment and start the clock.” 

“Beginning bombardment now.” 

The roar of a thousand heavy artillery pieces could be faintly heard throughout the command bunker despite being so deep underground.   

“What is this clock you mentioned?” 

“It is the amount of time the soldiers must wait after the bombardment before commencing the attack.”

“Did your plan not call for speed to overrun the enemy?”

“It did.”

“Then why wait after the bombardment to attack? Why not launch at once.”

“Patience; you shall see.” 

An hour passed before the counter reached zero and Yuri ordered the attack to commence. 

The camera feeds of the soldiers were all over the screen. Pushing through the black smoke the feeds were blurry.  

Marsov watched intently. If the mission was a failure then Marsov could leverage the other commanders to shun the human and regain control of the army; but if it was successful he would still gain the credit but be stuck with the human even longer. 

Suddenly the camera toppled over and showed only ground. The soldier the feed belonged to scrambled back to their feet and raised their weapon at what they had fallen over as his comrades came by.  

Marsov saw the image and instantly stood up as the rest of the command staff let out gasps, some even vomiting on to the floor. 

Laying on the ground was an enemy soldier in full battle gear. To the casual eye the enemy soldier looked completely normal, as if they were fresh off the parade ground. That was until Marsov saw the face of the enemy. 

Beneath their clear helmet the eyes of his enemy were bleeding purple blood from the corners of their sockets, eyes bulging out as if they had been crammed into a container too small, veins bursting from beneath the skin as if they had been pulled out...

Marsov had commanded many battles and had fought in many wars from the front with those he had commanded, but he had never seen anything like this before. 

“What happened to them?” The question was from a commander present as the camera feed panned over countless bodies of enemy soldiers laying dead across the battlefield all sharing the horrific signs. 

“That,” Yuri spoke breaking the silence, “is chemical HZ-94; also known as the Coffin Maker.” 

“How do you know what it is? Have you seen it before?” 

Yuri shook his head. “I know what it is because I had it loaded into the smoke shells we fired before the attack.” 

The room went silent.

“You what?”

“I had the HZ-94 loaded into the smoke shells. As the smoke shells burst over the enemy covering them with smoke it was also laced with the chemical compound.” 

He motioned and an aide stepped forward carrying the helmet of their enemy and gave it to Yuri. He cradled it in his for a few moments before smirking. 

“You see the smoke attack for the last few weeks was intentional. I knew it would have no effect on the enemy as I had studied their captured war gear. You are correct prince that they are built in with filtration systems and density scanners, but did you know that the smoke clogs up their filtration systems?” 

He hoisted the helmet and pointed to a small oval opening at the base of the helmet. “Sure it can filter out some of the smoke, but consistent smoke eventually will form a barrier and block all inhalation forcing the user to swap filters.”

Yuri pried off the oval cap and showed it to everyone. 

“The previous smoke attacks were meant to make the enemy become accustomed to the tactic and treat the smoke as a non threat. What threat would there be when their density displays could see through the smoke and have visuals on our troops?” 

“While this was going on I had my off world associates manufacture the chemical and send it along with the safety gear for our own soldiers which would take roughly two months to arrive.” 

Marsov was trying to piece together what had happened even as the first ranks of his soldiers made it through the smoke and came upon an entire field of dead enemy soldiers. All sharing the same horrific symptoms as those that had been seen in the smoke. 

“The enemy would therefore not realize that there would be a secondary chemical mixed in with the smoke leaving them care free to remove their filters and swap them out as if it was a similar attack as the weeks before.” 

Yuri’s eyes lit up with a devilish glow as he turned towards Marsov and chucked the helmet at him. “My plan was to make the enemy complacent and predictable and therefore easy to manipulate and predict. The moment they swapped out their filters they were exposed to the Coffin Maker and their fate was sealed.” 

He motioned to the giant screen which had panned out to the entire length of the front. “We waited to press the attack not only for the gas to become effective but to also let the wind currents carry it back into their own lines.

“How could you have known the direction of the wind?” Marsov was horrified and amazed at the same time. In a single stroke the human had broken the entire enemy front line opening a massive gap their forces were now exploiting to their fullest. 

“In the time it took for the requested materials to arrive I studied not just our enemy but the planet itself. I found the patterns of wind currents and established today as the offensive as the wind was going in the opposite direction.” 

Marsov looked at the unease of his soldiers and the feeds as more and more dead bodies were found. Some with their hands clutching their throats or having ripped off their helmets as if desperate for breathable air. 

He turned his gaze to Yuri. “Have you no honor?” 

Yuri chuckled at the remark. 

“Honor is meaningless if it is unaccompanied by a victory.”

[bxllafanficc]

¡Skate/sing your hearts out! (Yuri Plisetsky x reader)

(part seven)

Part one. Masterlist!

Summary: After last year's cancellation of Figure Skating Grand Prix, Yuri Plisetsky finds himself unable to bring out his inner skater after a year of doing nothing but enjoy life like a regular teenager. That's when you enter the picture; We Are Voice Grand Awards's currently hottest competitive vocalist come first place two years in a row. Just like the other competitors of Grand Prix, it turns out that Victor and Yuuri faces the same issue. With an arrangement between Victor and Yakov, they agree to travel to Japan and hire you as a mutual coach for Yuri and Yuuri to help bring back the emotion into their performances like before, maybe even more intense than ever. Yuri however, who's never experienced issues with his coaches before, for some reason finds this one particularly difficult to coexist along with in their (reasonably) odd partnership. Warnings: none

*Yuri's POV*

(Next week)

A week had passed by in a rather slow pace. Yuri's recovery seemed to never end when it had just been a few days. But those days were spent sleeping and eating, using his phone and sleeping some more. Mostly he had no one to talk to since everyone were busy with their own lives. Especially (Y/n) who had to keep her inner performer alive at all times. Her coach came with the idea of hosting a smaller gig where (Y/n) would perform about two or three numbers for the people of Japan. It was planned out as a small nightclub gig at first but the numbers of interested in Japan rose over the charts and well... (Y/n) said that she didn't want to let anyone down. Though her coach was apparently hesitant into taking more than a hundred people. 'Three numbers are too little for a concert.' They said but the people of Japan insisted on paying for the price a concert ticket anyway.

(Y/n) had told him this two days after his fever started. He remembered it made him scoff at how she decided the ticket would only cost a quarter of what a normal concert ticket would then. He had told her it was a ridiculous way of thinking.

He barely saw her after the first day of his fever. The way Yuri had taken a hold of her hand and fallen asleep... She waited until he woke up. Well, not exactly waited. She fell asleep at the edge of his bed.

And since that, the two of you barely talked during the days. They barely even met before she went to bed because she spent every waking hour to practice her numbers with her backup dancers. She still made you breakfast when she head the time though.

Yuri's glad it would soon be over and he could go back to normal. Everyone had been attending to him like he was some child and he felt like a huge burden. He had told Victor that he wished (Y/n) especially wouldn't just dismiss his attempts at doing things on his own just because he couldn't get out of bed with single effort. 'Right, she told me about that! You fell on your face right after while trying, didn't you?' He had replied.

So... yeah... Yuri wanted things to return to normal real fast. Yakov had promised him that he would get to start his session with (Y/n) as soon as the music for the program was set. And that was what Victor had been helping him with a couple times. It was hard to find something he wanted to use. Everything felt overused and boring. Just another performance. Yuri didn't want it to pass as that. He wanted to stand out and earn his gold medal for real just as last year. Now was also really the year of improvement so the music had to be well thought through. He was certainly going to take advantage of having a coach for emotional performances with him this season as well. Meaning, his free skate program was already set to be something hurtful and strong. Not love, he already did that. Something far more serious. He wanted the audience to cry after his performance. Everyone should be bawling. Yakov, piglet, Victor and even (Y/n).

Most important of all, no one would be expecting him to do a program with such deep meaning. Because he was one to avoid it in the past.

His short program should be something upbeat and flashy. He wanted the choreography so intense that he'd be coughing up blood at the end of the performance, if that was possible. So the music had to make the pulse of the audience rise when hearing it. Meaning, the music would be in the rock genre. And he already had just the song for it.

This performance would show off his skills and flexibility as well as the importance of his stamina since the entire program would be non-stop step sequences and jumps throughout almost the entire music. Since he intended to be in better shape than ever before before the competition started, he felt no point in holding back on anything. If he played it safe, then what was the point?

"Ah! Good morning Yuri! I come bearing gifts!" Victor busted the door open with his foot and stumbled inside the room, balancing a tray in his hand. The tray was set down in front of him and Victor sat down at the end of Yuri's bed.

"Where's (Y/n)?" Yuri was truly surprised to see Victor being the one to bring you the breakfast today. It had been her until now. And he hadn't even seen as much as her face today since she left so early.

"Ouch. I'm replaced already? I can't go on knowing I'm not your favorite anymore, you know." Victor put a dramatic hand to his forehead and fell backwards onto Yuri's legs. The tray with the breakfast threatened to tumble and Yuri made an effort to stabilize it. It was bacon and eggs with apple slices. A part of him felt a little sad that the slices weren't in the shape of stars...

"You were never my favorite, old man. And you didn't answer my question." Yuri picked up the fork and pointed it towards the man slopped unto the bed end. He ignored the sad pout he received and took a bite of the apple cut into pieces. Each slice were to large and it didn't even taste the same even though they were of the same apples like yesterday. The eggs were decent and the bacon slightly undercooked. Victor's efforts to cook for the household during the day were appreciated of course. But there was no wonder why (Y/n) stood for the head of the dinner at days when her schedule wasn't as crazy.

"She's practicing like mad. Called her dancers to say that she would be starting a few hours ahead of time because she got an energy boost. She wants the show to be at her best efforts possible."

"I haven't even seen her today. How can she practice like a maniac when she's probably already learned her numbers flawlessly?"

Victor was watching Yuri with a funny look. Probably wondering where all those questions came from.

"I think the show is a way for her to relax."

Say what? Going out of bed before sunrise and coming back from practice just mere hours before midnight could never be considered relaxation. Yuri would never be able to pull that off. That was an insane view of the word relaxing, definitely.

"The steam and demands from her competition in We are voice are currently lifted off her shoulders like heavy weights, you know. This is probably just fun to her. She doesn't have to compete with anyone. I think it gives her a sense of relief."

Yuri stopped eating and thought a little extra on what Victor said.

Yes. She was always stressed in every video where a fan or a nosy reporter came out of nowhere and started recording. Yuri had seen those videos. Especially the one where the random person happened to record the exact moment her mind broke down and she had a breakdown in front of a large crowd. Now there was no denying that Yuri sees (Y/n) as the most weirdest and ridiculous being alive. The way she is so determined to get her way and how much she cares for strangers she's never met. Yuri kind of still consider the two of them to be strangers, even after two weeks being with each other on a daily basis. Her eyes are also too intense for anyone to be up close with to her face and as if that wasn't enough, she's also a morning person and that's already a big warning sign to stay away from a person.

But even though he had had this mental conversation with him many times. Even though he agreed that he disliked her; he couldn't help but being captivated by her performances.

It felt so weird seeing her cry like that just minutes before her performance and then watching her going on stage having the time of her life. There was no doubt she loved her fans and performing on stage but that was one of those moments where Yuri really got to see the mind behind the happy smile. It was the first time he had seen her crying or feeling a negative emotion. It's still the first but he got a taste of her irritated self not so long ago.

It made Yuri think about her performance that day. It was a remarkable song filled with sheerness and excitement and her eyes were still wet with tears as she got up on stage.

"Remember (Y/n) performing 'Animal' during the acappella collaboration sequence?"

"Yes! One of my favorites. She was so happy on stage that day." While it had been true that she found happiness, it's not to ignore how broken she felt right before. 'Animal' by Neon Trees (A/N: listen to the Glee version of the song for the best acapella dynamic!) Was one of (Y/n)'s best performances, according to Yuri. He had watched it on repeat just this morning. There's really nothing special to the song in itself. It was the way she delivered every word and tune with such bravery after her internal battle like that. Her emotional response has always been on point but this particular song was something completely real and touching with her tears glistening in the corner of her eyes the entire performance. The tears of sadness had been replaced with joy and she had genuinely just been having a great time with the acapella group at her side, cheering and jumping around on stage with stars in her eyes.

'Oh, oh

I want some more

Oh, oh

What are you waiting for?

Say goodbye to my heart tonight'

The chorus were always his favorite part. Maybe it was the interpretation of the love-hate relationship the words of the lyrics intended. (Y/n) was belting out 'what are you waiting for' with such passion even though it was hardly a difficult song to perform.

'Here we are again

I feel the chemicals kickin' in

It's gettin' heavier and

I wanna run and hide

I wanna run and hide'

The short verse got him every time. The way her eyes watered at the end and then were immediately blown away by the chorus once again. The way she let go of her sadness and let her happy thoughts consume her. No, she let the song consume her and gave the song a completely different touch never done before.

Yuri had lost count of the time he'd watched it and he knew the choreography and song in and out by now. It was mainly intended for the purpose of studying her expression and getting some kind of inspiration for his music choice. He wanted his theme of his music choice for the free skate program to be 'to let go'. If there's any theme harder than love, then it's letting go of the thing you love. And not just what you love. Letting go to be able to love as well. Whether it's love for yourself or another person. There are countless interpretations and that's what (Y/n) had performed that day, with no intention whatever of doing it in such a way.

"I have... I have chosen the music for my program. At the inspiration of t-that performance."

Now don't get Yuri wrong. He'd never admit it to anyone that (Y/n) had been an inspiration to his free skate. He would probably had figured out the idea anyway, it would just had taken a little longer. And her performance was his own way to interpret it so he'd been the one to come up with the decision anyway. So in a way, she didn't have anything to do with it. And his choice of song would be far more intense and heartbreaking than anything Neon Trees could produce. And so Yuri told Victor about his music choices even though he had no clue why he put that kind of trust into the man.

"Those are some really clever choices when combined with your own vision. I'm almost a little jealous. Maybe I should just hire (Y/n) as my coach myself. It seems like it did wonders for you already!" The man laughed and patted Yuri on the shoulder.

"Nonsense. She hasn't began coaching me yet. She had no part in this." Yuri pushed away the empty tray to make room for sitting up and crossing his legs.

"Oh, but it seems like you learned a lot by ogling her all day long though." The smirk Yuri received made his teeth grit and his ears flush.

"I-i wasn't ogling her!"

"Then what were you doing exactly? I heard 'Animal' playing for a good 30 minutes from the wall connected to the room beside yours." Victor laughed at the startled freeze of The Russian Punk.

Okay fine. Maybe he went overboard with the video. But a new problem had seemed to appear now as he admitted defeat.

Yuri now had a witness that would have to be taken care of somehow. He leaned forwards and gripped the collar of Victor's shirt in a tight fist. The glare of daggers shot forwards onto the smiling man.

"Tell anyone about it and you're gonna have to reconstruct that pretty nose of yours. That's a promise,not a threat."

"Trust me! You won't hear a peep!"

[haikyu-hoe]

Secret Admirer

Lev Haiba x reader

one shot, fluff

dm if you have any requests, hope you enjoy this valentine’s day special!

———————————————————————

At school you were quite popular, since you were so nice to everyone you met. A couple boys had asked you out (about 3) this semester but you turned them all down. After all you were only a first year and needed to concentrate on your studies. It’s not like you liked any of them anyways.

Today is Monday February 1st, Valentine’s day’s month. Everyone seemed to be in a love mood and eventually that atmosphere got to you too. You kinda envied all the happy couples...

Distracted by all these thoughts you mechanically open your locker, but something pulls you out of your auto-pilot mode.

A letter? How could it have gotten in your locker? You look around but no one seems to be looking at you. Weird. You open it, eager to know who it’s from.

“Dear y/k,

I’ve had my eyes on you for a while now. You’re all i can think about at night, you’re all i can think about in class, you’re all i can think about at practice... From the first time i met you, your [eye colour] eyes charmed me. I can only hope that one day you’ll be mine.”

The letter wasn’t signed. Was it a joke? From one of your friends perhaps? But if it was real... then who? They did mention practice so they have to be on some sports team right?

That was your only clue, so it was no good to try to figure it out. You didn’t even know their gender or their year! It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

You sigh on your way to class, now totally distracted. Your friends seem to think something is off so you show them the letter. Now that you think of it, it can’t be one of them since the handwriting doesn’t match.

They make tons of guesses at lunch but who knows if they’re right? You can’t concentrate on your classes this afternoon as you keep reading the letter over and over.

When it’s time to go home, you pass the gyms on your way to the school gate. The volleyball team is practicing tonight and there seem to be a new player, a tall guy with silver hair. You can also spot Kuroo, the team captain and Tamahiko and Yuki, some boys from your class.

You shrug it off. There’s plenty of teams at school, and there was no mention of volleyball in the letter. The sender most likely doesn’t want me to find them...

You get home and do your homework, but your heart and head are not into it. You can’t stop thinking about that new boy. His name was Lev, or something like that, and he’s half russian. He’s so tall, he must be about 6’5! Anyways it’s probably not him, it’s most likely a weird guy or some creepy stalker.

The next morning, you’re shocked to find another letter in your locker. Your heart starts beating faster as you open it. Maybe there’ll be another hint?

“Dear y/k,

It’s me again... I wasn’t going to write again but you’re the only thing on my mind. I wish I had the courage to confess to you, but you probably don’t give a damn about me, so what would be the point? If only I was man enough to tell you these things in person”

So it’s someone that’s not close to you, but still close enough that they could fall in love with you. And you now know for sure it’s a boy, so that narrows it down a bit. At lunch you decide to show your friends, who all become super excited. Your friend Yuri decides to make a list of “suspects”.

“I bet it’s Ryu, he has a locker close to you no? That way he could’ve spied your lock combination!” says Sakura in an enthusiastic tone.

“Ryu? no way! I’m sure it’s either Giyu or Kaya, they sit close to y/k and i’m pretty sure i’ve caught them staring before!” replies Minato.

“Guys it has to be someone on a team of some sort, since he mentioned practice!” says Aiko, cutting them off.

The table falls silent as they all wonder.

“Perhaps Yuki?”, tries Minato. “he’s on the volleyball ball team and y/k has a few classes with him.” , she explains.

“that would make sens... maybe it’s that new russian guy though, Lev! Or maybe Tamahiko? You have classes with these two too!”, replies Yuri. She writes down those 3 names.

“imagine if it was Kuroo, the captain! He’s so hot...”, says Aiko in a dreamy voice.

“there isn’t just the volleyball team though, our school has plenty!”, replies Sakura.

The bell rings shortly after that and you have to concentrate on a math exam all afternoon.

God who could it be? That question keeps you up that night and you only truly wake up upon finding another letter in your locker. You look around again, and spot Yuki close by, at his locker. It might be him after all...

“Hey y/k,

It’s me again. I’m starting to fear you might find out who i am, and yet i kind of want you to... But what if you’re disappointed? You know what? Here, let me give you a clue: I’m a first year too.”

Now that narrows it down a bit more... you now know he’s a first year, a guy and a team of some sort.

When you show your friends they all get super excited, especially Aiko and Yuri.

They start adding people to yesterday’s list, but your head’s not into it. You can’t keep thinking about who it might be... And if you found out, what would you do? Depends on who it is, for sure.

For the rest of the week and the following one too, you find a letter in your locker every day.

They say romantic stuff like

“i wish you could be mine”

“if only i could be the reason for that beautiful smile of yours”

“the things i’d do to feel your lips on mine”

Is it possible to be in a person who’s identity I don’t know? you think to yourself.

Today is Friday February 12th, the last day of school before Valentine’s Day.

Your head is in the clouds as you walk in the school and go to your locker mechanically. But you stop dead in your tracks upon seeing that someone is already at your locker.

Your heart starts racing as you walk up to them. They close the locker to reveal... Lev Haiba??

« Lev? Wha- what are you doing”, you stutter, feeling your face become warm.

His eyes widen and he just stares at you in total shock.

“y/k i’m- i’m so sorry i- i- uh i can explain! it’s uh i’m just checking if...”, he starts explaining really fast. He’s obviously really nervous. It has to be him.

You glance at your locker, and there’s a letter inside. You pick it up and ask the question you’ve been asking yourself for two weeks now.

“So it’s you..?”

“i- no!!! i mean... yes but... i’m- i know you probably don’t feel the same way and i know i’m just a coward-” he starts rambling again.

“Lev.” you cut him off. “I... was actually kinda hoping it was you.”

He blushes until his face is the same shade as his tie. You feel yourself blushing too as you step closer to him. You kiss his cheek.

“How about we do something on the 14th?” you ask gently. He nods frantically. “alright i’ll see you then, here’s my number” you scribble on a piece of paper and give it to him.

You run off to class year hearth still beating fast. When you reveal the identity of your secret admirer, your friends go CRAZY. They squeal and yell and you have to silence them before people start staring.

[timeskip]

It’s Sunday, February 14th. Valentine’s day, and your date with Lev is in 5 minutes. You’re walking towards the cafe you guys are supposed to meet at. You’re wearing casual but pretty clothes, just a bit of makeup and cute sneakers.

You spot him at a table as you enter the cafe. He looks so cute in a hoodie... You greet him awkwardly and sit down in front of him.

The date goes smoothly and you guys actually have loads of common interests. You agree to come to an official Volleyball match soon, on the 27th. It’s about 3 o’clock when Lev suddenly gets more quiet.

“Are you ok?”, you ask, worried.

“Yes it’s just... you’re so amazing and I wonder if... if... if you’d let me take you out again.”

Of course you accept. How could someone say no to this sweet little bean?

You get out of the cafe and Lev offers to walk you home. When you pass by the park, he offers to watch the sunset before going home.

You sit down on a wooden bench and watch as the sun goes down and the sky turns to a pink shade of orange. But Lev isn’t watching the sunset, he’s only watching you.

You turn to him. He blushes as he puts a hand to your face. As he strikes your cheek, you both lean in slowly until you’re only 2 inches apart. You feel his warm breath close to you as you slowly close your eyes. His soft lips come crashing on yours.

When you finally break the kiss, he looks at you like you’re his entire world.

“y/k, i’ve told you before in my letters but i wanted to tell you face to face.” he takes a deep breath. “i love you”

This catches you off guard. You catch your breath before replying “i love you too, Lev”.

You kiss him again, for what seems like an eternity, but it’s still painful to have to part.

“will you... be my girlfriend?”, he says while fidgeting with his hands.

“i will”, you reply softly.

You spend 5 more minutes kissing in the sunset before your boyfriend walks you home. His hand is gigantic compared to yours, it feels so safe. The hug he gives you before saying goodbye is the most loved you’ve ever felt.

~the end~

[sawadeekannyeong]

Thailand: Southeast Asia’s unexpected epicentre of K-pop

How Thailand contributes to South Korea, and how South Korea gives back in return

i. Intro

Video: Clip from Thai entertainment show hosted by Moddam Kachapa. (Source: YouTube)

On September 11, 2021, Thai MC Moddam Kachapa talked about the solo debut success of Blackpink’s Lisa.

“This is what we call world class, truly world class, it’s finally happened to our country.”

Lisa (real name Lalisa Manoban), a K-pop idol who was born and raised in Thailand, got her start under YG Entertainment in 2016, as a member of girl group Blackpink. The group itself has achieved worldwide success, even being credited by South Korean president Moon Jae-In for spreading K-pop content across the globe. Lisa is the only member of the group who is not Korean, and the third to break out into solo endeavours.

Her debut single album Lalisa was considered a huge success. With 736,000 copies sold in South Korea within the first week, it broke the all-time record for most sales in a single week for any release by a female musician — leaving her more than worthy of a celebration.

But in acknowledging Lisa’s success, Kachapa discredited the success of other Thai K-pop idols in the industry: namely, 2PM’s Nichkhun and GOT7’s BamBam.

“We’ve never seen a (Thai) superstar go this far - back then we had Nichkhun, but he wasn’t successful to this degree. We also have BamBam, but he too didn’t manage to get this far.”

Photo: Screenshots of netizens’ tweets regarding Kachapa’s statements. (Source: Twitter)

His statements struck a chord with long-time fans of both artists, who felt there was no need to bring them down in order to praise Lisa. Many even acknowledged that the three are friends, and did not see one another as competition.

Photo: BamBam, Nichkhun and Lisa with one another. (Source: various)

This incident proves one thing – Thai fans of K-pop are proud of all the success their own citizens have achieved, and actively acknowledge that debuting in the K-pop industry is an achievement to laud over. It reflects the level of respect Thai netizens have for K-pop, revealing just how popular K-pop is in Thailand.

ii. The import of Thai idols

A survey conducted with 500 Thai citizens in 2019 revealed that 45.6 percent of respondents considered K-pop to be very popular in the nation, with an additional 27.2 percent considering it to be quite popular. The Korean Wave, specifically the rise of K-pop, has been present in Thailand for more than decade now.

The import of talents like Nichkhun, BamBam and Lisa are both a result of this rise, and also help to maintain this popularity. The respect they are treated with in their home country is nearly unparalleled.

Nichkhun (2PM)

In 2005, when he was just 17, Nichkhun was scouted by JYPE Entertainment representatives while at the Los Angeles Korean Music Festival with some friends. He admitted to having no knowledge of Korean culture, and did not understand why he was scouted. 

“I didn’t know any singers, I didn’t know what JYP was and when I was scouted, I was really skeptical about it because I don’t really speak Korean, I didn’t know anybody there.”

The Los Angeles Korean Music Festival (now known as the Korea Times Music Festival) was launched in 2003 to give Korean-Americans living in Southern California a taste of “home”. The festival grew increasingly popular among non-Koreans, due to the widespread recognition of Korean culture in the United States, and in 2013, 95 per cent of tickets were purchased by non-Koreans.

Video: 2PM performing at the 2014 Los Angeles Korean Music Festival. (Source: YouTube)

The booming presence of the Korean community in Southern California and the rise of Hallyu in the United States were both factors that contributed to Nichkhun’s recruitment into JYPE. His debut as a member of 2PM in 2008 cemented his status as the world’s first K-pop idol from Thailand.

He is incredibly popular in his home country, earning the nickname “Thai Prince” for his good looks, wealth and talent. He also acknowledges that as a foreign K-pop idol, he helps to globalise K-pop, and spread awareness of it beyond just South Korea.

I think I’m the international bridge that connects the group to places outside Korea. If the group were only Korean members, the reach would be very Korean. But because I’m there, I make the group a little more international.

BamBam (GOT7)

BamBam (born Kunpimook Bhuwakul), is a member of GOT7, formerly under JYP Entertainment. Growing up in Thailand, his interest in Korean culture was primarily because his mother was a huge fan of singer Rain. The two of them even attended some Rain concerts together in Thailand, a testament to the singer’s popularity in the region.

BamBam actively took part in K-pop competitions growing up in Thailand, like a Rain cover dance competition, and the Thailand LG Entertainer Competition (which 2PM’s Nichkhun and Blackpink’s Lisa were coincidentally both present at).

Photo: BamBam, Nichkhun and Lisa at the Thailand LG Entertainer Competition. (Source: YouTube)

At 13, BamBam passed the JYP World Tour Audition in Thailand and subsequently moved to South Korea to become a JYPE trainee. Debuting with GOT7 in 2014, his popularity in Thailand soared and BamBam went on to receive the nickname “Thai Prince”, just like his predecessor Nichkhun.

He endorses many brands in Thailand, including mobile network operator AIS, Yamaha, and Vivo.

“Someone had called me “nation’s treasure” before. I felt really good when I heard it. I want Thai people to be proud of me. I am proud of being Thai. I always say it wherever I go. We’re K-pop idols or whatever, we’re still Thai.”

Lisa (Blackpink)

Lisa’s story of how she debuted is similar to that of BamBam’s. In 2010, she attended an open audition held by YG Entertainment in Thailand, and was the only winner out of approximately 3000 contestants. Moving to South Korea at the mere age of 13, she proceeded to become YG’s first non-Korean trainee.

Since Blackpink’s debut in 2016, the group has achieved constant success. Lisa’s fame is nearly unparalleled – she is the most followed K-pop idol on Instagram, boasting 61.9 million followers (as of October 2021).

The star, who like Nichkhun and BamBam is highly respected in Thailand, made sure to boast her Thai roots in her debut single.

"I wanted my album to give a Thai feel as its gem, and YG's producer, Teddy, arranged the lead track in the way I expected. I also sported Thai outfits in its music video and made traditional Thai dance movements.”

The ever growing globalisation of K-pop, like Korean music festivals and idol auditions held in other countries, contribute to the growing pool of non-Korean K-pop idols. K-pop is becoming increasingly accessible, not just for fans, but for those aspiring to join the industry.

Other Thai idols have sprouted in the K-pop industry since, like NCT’s Ten, CLC’s Sorn and G-Idle’s Minnie. All of them contribute to growing cultural relations between Thailand and South Korea, as South Korean President Moon Jae-In said himself.

“ In particular, the peoples of our two countries are curious about each other and share a mutual affection. A number of talented young Thais are making a name for themselves on the world stage as members of K-pop acts, including Nichkhun of 2PM and Lisa of Blackpink.”

iii. Getting what you give

Where K-pop has benefitted from Thailand, Thailand has benefitted from K-pop.

All of the “Big 3” labels – JYP, YG and SM – have expanded their businesses to Thailand: JYP launched JYPE Thailand in 2010, its official Southeast Asian branch. The following year, SM launched a joint venture called SM True with Thailand’s The Visions Group. And just this year, YGMM was launched as a joint venture between YG and Thailand’s GMM Grammy.

Korean music festivals and conventions are also commonplace in Thailand. In 2011, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, South Korea’s Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) held the MBC Korean Music Wave in Bangkok. It featured the biggest groups of the time, like TVXQ, Miss A, Girls’ Generation and SG Wannabe, and was hosted by 2PM’s Nichkhun, alongside Yuri and Tiffany from Girls’ Generation. MBC Korean Music Wave returned to Thailand two more times, and its last iteration received a turnout of 20,000 fans.

Photo: Tiffany, Nichkhun, and Yuri at MBC Korean Music Wave in Bangkok 2011. (Source: Soompi)

More recently, in 2018 and 2019, Thailand became the only Southeast Asian country to host KCON. The convention, held to celebrate all forms of Korean culture, originally began in 2012, in the United States, and has since expanded to eight countries. Thailand’s KCON was hosted both times by 2PM’s Nichkhun, and saw performances from artists like Stray Kids, Iz*One and GOT7.

Photo: GOT7 at KCON 2018, including BamBam (3rd from right). (Source: Tofupop Radio)

Now, the COVID-19 pandemic might have halted K-pop concerts and conventions in Thailand for the time being, but the craze shows no signs of stopping. The K-pop phenomenon has trickled its way down to Thailand’s grassroots, benefitting blue collar workers like tuktuk drivers and roadside hawkers.

Photo: Thailand’s popular tuktuks are now adorned with K-pop idol advertisements. (Source: Reuters)

The drivers of Thailand’s distinctive tuktuks have been hit financially by the pandemic, with most of their income normally coming from excited tourists. According to Reuters, avid K-pop fans have been turning to these tuktuks as a way to advertise their favourite idols. As part of a larger anti-government protest, teenagers stopped paying for their K-pop idols to be advertised on public transport, and instead mobilised tuktuks to celebrate birthdays and album launches.

Samran and many others now drive their empty tuk tuks around Bangkok with a banner of a different K-pop sensation each month, stopping for young Thai fans to take pictures and use their service, often with tips.

Similarly, meatball vendors in Lisa’s hometown of Buriram in Thailand have seen a rise in sales of up to 1000 per cent since an unexpected shoutout from her. In an interview on popular Thai talkshow The Woody Show, Lisa mentioned missing the meatballs sold near the train station in her hometown.

Photo: Meatballs being sold in Lisa’s hometown in Thailand. (Source: Bangkok Post)

“People buy and eat them right there at Buriram train station. They’re really popular. The highlight is the sauce found only in Buriram.”

Business had struggled for these vendors as a result of the pandemic, with many people afraid of eating out. Some vendors even had to shut down stalls.

"Now some shops have about 2,000 orders a day. This is unprecedented and business is even better than pre-Covid 19," said Bordin Ruengsuksriwong, the provincial Tourism Industry Council president.

It is no doubt that when pandemic restrictions ease up, more Thais will find themselves flocking to South Korea to follow in the footsteps of Nichkhun, BamBam and Lisa, while K-pop groups will be marking Thailand down in their tour dates.  

[ignorantsanonymous]

Leaked notes obtained by the Telegraph say that when Theresa May asked for Trump to take a strong stand after Russia poisoned Sergei Skripal, Trump replied “I’d rather follow than lead.”

Everybody works for somebody; we all know who Donald works for now. There is no benefit for him in this behavior because it doesn’t help his base or his donors, so he must owe Putin big time for something else. He’s been funded by Russian money since 1984:

Trump was over a billion in debt and the Russians bailed him out.

► Trump was first compromised by the Russians in the 80s. In 1984, the Russian Mafia began to use Trump real estate to launder money. In 1987, the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations, Yuri Dubinin, arranged for Trump and his then-wife, Ivana, to enjoy an all-expense-paid trip to Moscow to consider possible business prospects. Only seven weeks after his trip, Trump ran full-page ads in the Boston Globe, the NYT and WaPO calling for, in effect, the dismantling of the postwar Western foreign policy alliance. The whole Trump/Russian connection started out as laundering money for the Russian mob through Trump's real estate, but evolved into something far bigger.

► In 1984, David Bogatin — a convicted Russian mobster and close ally of Semion Mogilevich, a major Russian mob boss — met with Trump in Trump Tower right after it opened. Bogatin bought five condos from Trump at that meeting. Those condos were later seized by the government, which claimed they were used to launder money for the Russian mob. (NY Times, Apr 30, 1992)

► Felix Sater is a Russian-born former mobster, and former managing director of NY real estate conglomerate Bayrock Group LLC located on the 24th floor of Trump Tower. He is a convict who became a govt cooperator for the FBI and other agencies. He grew up with Michael Cohen--Trump's former "fixer" attorney. Cohen's family owned El Caribe, which was a mob hangout for the Russian Mafia in Brooklyn. Cohen had ties to Ukrainian oligarchs through his in-laws and his brother's in-laws. Felix Sater's father had ties to the Russian mob. This goes back more than 30 years.

► Trump was $4 billion in debt after his Atlantic City casinos went bankrupt. No U.S. bank would touch him. Then foreign money began flowing in through Bayrock (mentioned above). Bayrock was run by two investors: Tevfik Arif, a Kazakhstan-born former Soviet official who drew on bottomless sources of money from the former Soviet republic; and Felix Sater, a Russian-born businessman who had pleaded guilty in the 1990s to a huge stock-fraud scheme involving the Russian mafia. Bayrock partnered with Trump in 2005 and poured money into the Trump organization under the legal guise of licensing his name and property management.

► In July 2008, the height of the housing bust, Trump sold a mansion in Palm Beach for $95 million to Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch. Trump had purchased it four years earlier for $41.35 million. The sale price was nearly $54 million more than Trump had paid for the property. Again, this was the height of the recession when all other property had plummeted in value.

► Semion Mogilevich was the brains behind the Russian Mafia. Mogilevich operatives have been using Trump real estate for decades to launder money. That means Russian Mafia operatives have been part of his fortune for years. Many of them owned condos in Trump Towers and other properties. They were running operations out of Trump's crown jewel.

► From Craig Unger's AMA: "Early on, a source told me that all this was tied to Semion Mogilevich, the powerful Russian mobster. I had never even heard of him, but I immediately went to a database that listed the owners of all properties in NY state and looked up all the Trump properties. Every time I found a Russian sounding name, I would Google, and add Mogilevich. When you do investigative reporting, you anticipate drilling a number of dry holes, but almost everyone I googled turned out to be a Russian mobster. Again and again. If you know New York you don't expect Trump Tower to be a high crime neighborhood, but there were far too many Russian mobsters in Trump properties for it to be a coincidence."

► So many Russians bought Trump apartments at his developments in Florida that the area became known as Little Moscow. The developers of two of his hotels were Russians with significant links to the Russian mob. The late leader of that mob in the United States, Vyacheslav Kirillovich Ivankov, was living at Trump Tower

► According to a Bloomberg investigation (3/16/2017) into Trump World Tower, “a third of units sold on floors 76 through 83 by 2004 involved people or limited liability companies connected to Russia and neighboring states.”

► In 2013, Federal agents busted an “ultraexclusive, high-stakes, illegal poker ring” run by Russian gangsters out of Trump Tower. They operated card games, illegal gambling websites, and a global sports book and laundered more than $100 million. A condo directly below one owned by Trump reportedly served as HQ for a “sophisticated money-laundering scheme” connected to Semion Mogilevich.

► The Russia Mafia is part and parcel of Russian intelligence. Russia is a mafia state. that is not a metaphor. Putin is head of the Mafia. So the fact that they have been operating out of the home of the president of the United States is deeply disturbing.

► Rudy Giuliani famously prosecuted the Italian mob while he was a federal prosecutor, yet the Russian mob was allowed to thrive. Now he's deeply entwined in the business of Trump and Russian oligarchs. Giuiani appointed Semyon Kislin to the NYC Economic Development Council in 1990, and the FBI described Kislin as having ties tot he Russian mob. Of course, it made good political sense for Giuliani to get headlines for smashing the Italian mob.

► A lot of Republicans in Washington are implicated. Boatloads of Russian money went to the GOP--often in legal ways. The NRA got as much as $70M from Russia, then funneled it to the GOP. The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee lead by McConnel got millions from Leonard Blavatnik. In the 90s, the Russians began sending money to top GOP leaders, like Speaker of the House Tom Delay. Unger's book alleges that most of the GOP leadership has been compromised by RU money.

► At the Cityscape USA’s Bridging US and the Emerging Real Estate Markets Conference held in Manhattan, on September 9, 10, and 11, 2008, Trump Jr. was frank about the tide of Russian money supporting the family business, saying "...And in terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets."

► Eric Trump told golf reporter James Dodson in 2014 that the Trump Organization was able to expand during the financial crisis because “We don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.”

► Russian oligarchs co-signed Trump’s Deutsche bank loans.

Trump now gleefully takes cues from Putin:

► At the end of 2018, Putin and his allies started making a strong push for a resolution that would justify their country’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan and reverse an 1989 vote backed by Mikhail Gorbachev that condemned it. The Putinists’ goal was to pass the resolution by Feb. There is no one on this side of the Atlantic who thinks the USSR was justified in invading Afghanistan. And out of nowhere, on January 2nd, Trump came out strongly supporting Russia's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

► Trump went against American intelligence on North Korean missiles. He told the FBI he didn't believe their intelligence because Putin told him otherwise. "I don't care, I believe Putin"

► Trump met in secret with Putin the G20 summit in November 2018, without note takers. 19 days later, he announced a withdrawal from Syria. As a note, Trump conducted FIVE completely private meetings and conferences with Putin, and has gone to great lengths to prevent literally anyone, even people in his administration, from learning what was discussed.

► Trump refused to enforce sanctions legally codified into law - and in some cases reversed standing sanctions on Russian companies.

► He has denounced his own intelligence agencies in a press conference with Putin on election meddling - and publicly endorsed Putin's version of events.

► Trump pulled out of the INF treaty with no explanation, which allows Putin to create long-range hypersonic missiles that threaten Europe with impunity. The US already has all the weaponry that the INF would ban the development of, so this offers us literally nothing, while allowing Russia to develop powerful new weapons to challenge our allies.

► Demanded Russia get invited back into G7

► Pushed the CIA to give American intelligence to the Kremlin.

► Withdrew from the Open Skies treaty

► Received intelligence in 2019 that Russia was paying bounties for dead American soldiers, and hasn't done anything about it by the time of this writing.

► Announced troop withdrawal from Germany (America's missile defense from Russia and forward operating base against Russian aggression)

► And of course, Trump continues to threaten to pull out of NATO, a move so catastrophically stupid, so inconceivably cosmically myopic, I truly can't express the profundity of the idiocy. Suffice to say, pulling out of NATO would be like the only guy in a prison yard with a shotgun just throwing it over the fence for absolutely no reason, suddenly giving the people with crude homemade shivs complete power.

[httpjeon]

— 01. bunny blues: leaving | yoongi & jungkook

min yoongi/reader/jeon jungkook ― ft. namjoon | angst | hybrid!au

wordcount: 1.6k

content warnings: namjoon is kind of a dick im sorry, separation

― synopsis: you hadn’t noticed the way he’d slowly been getting rid of everything

note: this is the first part to bunny blues! reader is a bunny hybrid, kook is a dog hybrid, and joon+yoongi are humans!

blog masterlist ɪɴᴅᴇx ― 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08

© httpjeon 2019. do not repost, modify, or translate.

The first thing you noticed was the fact your belongings began to disappear. It started as your old clothing disappearing, things you didn't quite care about. Then, your shoes began to disappear to just your essential ones. Your favorite toys were gone and when you asked, you were just told they weren't good anymore.

It took about a month for you to realize your clothes were disappearing again, this time your favorite dresses and sweaters vanishing. You had one pair of shoes and only a fraction of clothes you once had. Your owner, Namjoon, was home less and less as the days passed. You were lonely, not used to being alone so much.

When Namjoon adopted you from his local shelter, he had been a perfect owner -- following all the bunny nutritional guidelines he needed too, buying you things you needed and even wanted, gave you all the attention you could have.

Now, almost a little over a year later, it was all falling apart.

Then everything came to a head one night when you overheard him on the phone. There was a time once when you would be snuggled in bed with him watching a movie to fall asleep.

As you heard the muffled voice, you crawled out of bed and snuck closer to his door. It was open just a crack and as you peeked, your sensitive ears were able to pick up on his words loud and clear.

"Look, the flight to Japan is in just a week, I have no one else to ask!" He sighed, knee bouncing as he sat on the edge of his bed.

Flight? Was he going somewhere?

"No, Yuri is insistent that she doesn't want another--" He muttered, heaving a big sigh when he was cut off. "Yeah, I know but I can't do anything about it!"

There was a beat of silence, you could hear the voice reply, though you were unable to make out anything from your distance.

"Please, Yoongi, if I can't find anyone I'll have to--" He was cut off again, the voice on the other side shouting loudly that he had to pull his phone away from his ear. "Alright, let me know if you change your mind,"

With that, he ended the call and hung his head. You took the moment the finally crawl into the bedroom, unnoticed until you were kneeling in front of him on the carpeted floor.

"How long will you be gone, Joonie?" You asked, causing his head to snap up in shock.

"_____, h-how much did you hear?" He asked, not answering your question.

"That you're going on a flight," You replied, shrugging innocently. As you looked up at him, you noticed the sad smile on his face.

"Yeah but, it's going to be a long trip," He mumbled.

"Like a month?"

"No," He sighed, reaching forward and placing his large hand on your head, petting your hair before moving to stroke the soft fur on your ear. He had always enjoyed petting your ears, when he got you he said you had the cutest bunny ears he'd ever seen.

"Who're Yoongi and Yuri?" His petting paused at your question.

"Yoongi is my coworker and Yuri is my girlfriend," You gasped at this, sitting up on your knees now, using his knees to balance.

"You have a girlfriend? Can I meet her?!" You grinned but it disappeared when he stopped petting you and fixed you with a stern stare.

"I guess I can't hide anything from you anymore," His words had you sitting back down on your heels, his touch now gone as he leaned back on his bed. Apprehension began to fill your heart at the distant, empty look in his eyes when he gazed down at you. "Yuri lives in Japan and we agreed to move in together. So I got a transfer from my company there, my position starts in two weeks so I'm leaving next week,"

"Y-You're moving there?" You asked, giving him a nervous smile, clinging to his sweats with tight fists -- hanging onto him. "I can come too right? Right, Joonie?"

"_____," He shook his head, prying your hands off of him and stood up. You remained seated and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "She has a cat-hybird already and the landlord has a one-hybrid policy. She's has Nuri longer than I've had you, so we came to a decision,"

"Y-You're leaving me here?" You choked out, sniffling as your nose began to run. "I-I can't take care of myself, Joonie! You can't go!"

He went to walk away and you panicked, clinging onto his leg with a sob. He froze in his tracks, looking down at you with those same detached eyes. You had hoped you'd see some sign of sympathy in them, but there was nothing.

"I'm not leaving you here alone," He replied, earning a budding smile from you.

You knew he wouldn't just abandon you like that! He had a plan to keep taking care of you! His next words, however, shot your hopes down faster than they appeared.

"I'm getting rid of you," The cold, harsh words immediately had you crying again. He jerked his leg out of your grasp, and you were sitting there crying as he watched. "I couldn't find anyone who would take you in, no friends would. So, in a few days I'll finish giving away your things and then I'll take you to a shelter,"

With that, he turned his back to you and walked out of his room. With him disappearing, you began to panic and immediately scrambled to your feet to chase after him. You caught him in the living room, clinging to him from behind as you sobbed.

"P-Please, Joonie!" You wailed, crying into the back of his t-shirt. His familiar, comforting scent filled your nose but it offered you no real comfort. "I-I'll be good, I promise! Take me with y-you and I'll be good! Don't give me away! I wanna stay with you, Joonie!"

"No _____," Namjoon snapped, tearing your arms off of him and turning to look at you in the eyes. "Yuri doesn't want you and I don't want you anymore,"

You felt your heart physically shatter in your chest at his words.

"Y-You don't?" You squeaked, reaching up to tug at one of your ears -- attempting to console yourself.

"No, I thought I could handle taking care of a bunny hybrid, but I can't," He sighed, running a hand through his already messed up hair. "You're too much work, _____. You're needy, too clingy for me, and you get on my fucking nerves so much. I really shouldn't have gotten a hybrid that needed as much care as you but that was my mistake. Just understand that I'm happy with the arrangement and that's all that matters,"

"B-But I thought you loved me, Joonie," You whimpered, earning only a sigh from him.

Then he turned his back and went to the kitchen. You thought he was just gonna leave you standing there but he returned only a moment later holding a box of trash bags.

"Here,"

"W-What for?" You asked tearfully.

"Put your belongings in them for me," You took the box, noticing your hands were trembling.

With your head hanging low and tears falling down your cheeks, you went to your room. However, his voice stopped you right before you entered the doorway.

"_____?" You turned to find his looking at his phone, not even looking at you. "When you're done, put them by the door so I can get rid of them later,"

"Yes Joonie," You replied, your voice empty but wobbling.

You didn't say anything more, just shut the door behind you and took a seat on the bed.

Your room was more barren than it was a year ago. It was then that you noticed how long he'd been preparing for it. Slowly removing your belongings so it wasn't noticeable. It wasn't until now that you truly realized it.

Finally slowing the tears, you opened a new trash bag and began to empty your toy box.

Yoongi's heart was heavy in his chest as he hung up the call with Namjoon. He had been pestering for a while about adopting a bunny hybrid. Namjoon had explained the situation and truth be told it pissed Yoongi off.

Adopting a hybrid was a big responsibility -- they relied on their owners and depended on them for everything. Most times they grew attached and loved with all their hearts. He would know, owning a rescued puppy-hybrid named Jungkook. It was a shitty thing to get rid of his hybrid because his girlfriend didn't want her.

"What's the matter, hyung?" Jungkook asked, immediately picking up on his owners shift in demeanor.

"Namjoon," Yoongi replied easily, carding his hands through Jungkook's hair, making his tail wag happily.

"That goofy guy you work with?" Jungkooks question was met with a nod.

"He needs someone to take care of his hybrid--"

"Why don't we?" Jungkook immediately perked up.

"Really?" Jungkook's tail was loudly thumping against the hardwood floor he was sitting on.

"Yeah! I mean if he can't do it!" Jungkook grinned, making his nose wrinkle.

"I don't know how long it would be, Kook," Yoongi was honest, he didn't want to hide anything from the pup.

"That's okay! We have a spare room!"

"You really mean it, Kook?" The boys hair bounced with his happy nod and Yoongi smiled.

"You're a good boy, I'll call Namjoon,"

Yoongi got up and exited the living room, heading for his own bedroom. Jungkook was left in the living room, resting his head where Yoongi once sat. There was apprehension in his thoughts -- he wanted to help the hybrid, he really did. He just didn't know how well he could handle sharing Yoongi's attention.

But it wasn't permanent...right?

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Dec. 21)

I postponed posting this for a while because I wanted to wait until the Fall 2020 season was over. Now, it’s almost Christmas. Some parts of the world are snowing, and as I feel the HUGE 2021 WINTER ANIME SEASON APPROACHING, I will reminisce about the anime that I will miss (or not).

Half of these aren’t even seasonal.

Anyway, I’m going to make some sort of “TOP ? ANIME OF 2020″ even though I haven’t watched half the seasonal anime I set out on watching HAHAHA!

Not Seasonal

As usual, I am periodically watching Gintama (which I’ve watched 106 episodes) and Hunter x Hunter (2011) (which I’ve watched 13 episodes), but I won’t finish those anytime soon. 

Gangsta (ON-HOLD - 3/12)

I feel like I have to be in the right mood to watch this, and I just haven’t been. However, I can’t say it’s a bad show at all. In fact, it’s quite good, especially considering that it was done by a studio that went bankrupt. Seriously, they closed up the season after this anime aired. Surprisingly, they’ve done a lot of good anime in the past. Samurai Champloo, Ergo Proxy, and some other ones.

Space☆Dandy (COMPLETED)

I was on and off in terms of dropping this. I didn’t enjoy a good chunk of the episodes because... a lot of them rely on fanservice. To be quite frank, this anime’s motives can be boiled down to being h*rny. However, some random episodes/segments are good. And the animation... the animation of the non-fanservice scenes are masterful. I’m actually going to dive into this a little bit to justify why I’m actually watching this.

Studio Bones is amazing when they commit themselves to an anime, and looking at the staff, you can certainly see that this anime will be fun to look at. It’s a spectacle. 

Sayo Yamamoto has done some incredible stuff in her career. Despite her role in Space Dandy season 1 being small (episode director of episode 2), I wanted to still cover her works. Her portfolio is massive, and she’s only 43. She did the storyboard for some really stylistic and unique openings like Arakawa Under the Bridge (both seasons), Kakegurui (which despite being heavily sexualized, is incredibly fluid and eyecatching even for me), and Psycho-Pass. She also did some storyboarding for the Attack on Titan ending and Samurai Champloo. Not to mention the obvious: She’s the director of Yuri!!! on Ice.

Shingo Natsume is a director for this series, and he has a lot of works too. For one, he was the director of One Punch Man season one which was really well-animated. He has also worked on some Masaaki Yuasa works, Gurren Lagann, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Last but certainly not least, Shinichirou Watanabe is also a director here, and even to someone who isn’t that versed in animation staff, he is incredibly well-known and skilled. He’s the director of many incredible works including Kids on the Slope, Zankyou no Terror (also the original creator), Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, and Carole & Tuesday (also the original creator).

There are even more amazing directors and contributors to this series, so rest assured, this anime looks good.  

But once you get past all the wonderful visuals, the characters are meh and the story is... not that good. The voice acting is great. Junichi Suwabe is amazing as Dandy, Hiroyuki Yoshino plays a good wimp as Meow, and Uki Satake actually surprised me because I haven’t heard of her really but she plays the perfect QT. This anime is like having great icing on the cake, but the cake is actually a cowcake.  

Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited - Hyoubu Kyousuke (COMPLETE)

This anime is meh. Everything is meh. This was also done by Manglobe which went bankrupted shortly after Gangsta aired. The animation was alright. I thought this anime was older than it was because I wasn’t that impressed by the visuals. Cowboy Bebop looks better than it despite being almost a decade-and-a-half older. The voice acting was alright. I’m not the greatest fan of Kouji Yusa, but it’s mostly because I don’t like his voice. I’ve heard Junichi Suwabe portray other characters better because there was more substance in those other characters. The rest of the cast was forgettable. I didn’t even bother watching the parent series of this spinoff because it’s not needed, and after watching one episode of it, I wouldn’t be able to sit through the rest of it. There were some redeeming points to the story, but when your biggest plot twist is sticking out going, “LOOK AT ME, I’M A PLOT TWIST!”, you start to go, “I would be more surprised if they didn’t pull that plot twist.” And I guess it goes without saying, but the main guys do not end up together despite some of the hints they dropped. 

Another funny thing is that they put a disclaimer that “this is not based on real events”, but they put in a ton of references to WWII which can be... troublesome? I don’t know how to put it, but after watching Hetalia, I’m very apprehensive about any anime trying to portray real-life events like that.

Seasonal

Munou na Nana

Honestly, I found the manga better. The anime captures just a portion of the suspense and stuff that goes on in the manga, and the manga holds a lot more suspense. It’s kind of like how Junji Ito anime usually have a hard time. Horror is just like that in general though. It relies a lot on the psychological effect, and the anime just didn’t have it for me anyway.

[I also don’t like this show’s comedy and find it lacklustre]

Kamisama ni Natta Hi

You know how in my previous post I sensed this really going downhill? I was right! This anime got really shitty halfway through after Izanami’s dad had his touching episode. Next week is the final episode, but we all know half of Jun Maeda’s anime end off a cliff.

Tonikaku Kawaii

This anime got boring after a while. You know they did it off-screen. Puppy love is okay in small doses for me, but a whole anime about that and only that? It was... alright. I’m not the target audience, honestly. BUT, if you’re tired of stupid love triangles and misunderstandings, this anime is a breath of fresh air. Not to mention, it’s canon from Day 1. 

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 4

This anime took no commitment, and some of the episodes were enjoyable, so I can’t say I wasted my time, but they truly only peaked in season one.

Jujutsu Kaisen

While I’m still not incredibly sold on the series, it’s really starting to take shape. The OP and ED are reasons to watch alone... and Gojo seems to be a popular choice for ladies who are into white-haired anime guys. Either way, it’s still a solid watch, but they need those character arcs to come in fast because the only thing I feel is really holding this show back is character depth (and I know they have it in the manga). The art, the voice acting, the music, everything else is there, and the story is, as I said, starting to take shape.

Maoujou de Oyasumi

I saved this one for last because this anime was so pure and wholesome, and it was definitely the biggest surprise of the season! I know some of the people I know are into those dating sims with the demon kings and whatever, but consider this demon king from this show. He’s an utter wreck, can’t be evil half the time, is a himbo, and you really wonder how they managed to keep their own castle together. The princess isn’t trapped in the castle with the demons, the demons are trapped in the castle with her. She commits burglary, assault, genocide, and mutilation is the name of a good sleep. Her name is also a pun on sleeping.

[forkanna]

WARNING: I did tell you that Rise and Ai will have some views on gender and sexuality that I don't agree with. Well here they come in the next few chapters. Please take everything my characters say with a grain of salt; these are simply very realistic reactions and opinions, even if less than ideal.

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

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

Why could she suddenly hear "Purity" playing in the background again?

"You… huh?" Rise finally managed. She had no idea how long it had taken her to say that much, even though it was practically nothing and she had already said that.

"Maybe… ugh. Now I'm embarrassed."

"What- now you're embarrassed?"

"Yes! Because clearly, it did something for me and it didn't do anything for you, so I'm all alone in caring about this, and I feel so stupid!"

Frantically waving her hands, Rise scooted a little closer as she hissed, "Wait, wait, slow down for a sec! I never said it didn't mean anything to me!"

"You did!" she sniffled, trying to recover from her emotional outburst.

"No, I said it wasn't the end of the world, and it's not that big a deal! But I… I'm not going to pretend I didn't feel anything at all. I did. You just seemed really upset about it, so I was… trying to let you know everything's okay."

Ai was glancing over at her occasionally now, clearly unsure of what she should do. Her mouth opened and closed a few times indecisively. "Ugh. I'm ridiculous. This is ridiculous, I don't know why we can't just be normal friends. What is wrong with me?"

"Um… can I ask you a question?"

"Might as well."

"Is this… Class S yuri, or… did you really…?"

They both looked at each other in shock for a moment. Rise was positive that they both were feeling the same thing, as well: the same sensation one gets standing at the edge of a deep precipice, fighting down vertigo and the unhealthy urge to throw oneself down. She couldn't help tracing the contours of Ai's stunningly beautiful face with her eyes, her proud chin and soft lips…

"O-of course it's just a Class S phase. I've never had a close friend, and everything got mixed up. It's probably similar for you, so we just… we have to work on not getting carried away. Right?"

"R-right! Yes, I…" Rise tried to get ahold of herself. This was too silly; they barely knew each other, all things considered. Brand new friends, fresh out of the shrinkwrap. So what was the use in going so crazy about them misreading signals and sending the wrong ones? They could sort this out.

"Great! Glad we settled that." Ai cleared her throat. "And I'm sorry for trying to blame you for everything."

"Oh, it's okay, we were both a little… y-yeah." Rise chanced a nervous giggle. "Sorry I smacked you."

"Hey, it's not like I didn't deserve it. You were right. Do… you want to…?"

When she didn't finish the thought, Rise prompted, "What?"

"Aiya? We, um, could stop by Aiya for a couple of beef bowls. O-or something." She grimaced. "I already feel like we wasted enough time fighting because I'm an oversensitive asshole."

Rise smiled and moved close enough to put her arm around her. "You're fine. And look; we're fine, too. Nobody's dying!"

"Yeah," Ai laughed very quietly. Rise could swear her cheeks were rosier, but that could easily have been from all the crying.

"I would love to go with you to Aiya. Like, we're friends! We should totally start hanging out like normal friends and stuff. Like, you could even come with me if I'm meeting up with Yuki-chan or Naoto-kun sometime."

For whatever reason, that made Ai stop smiling. But she cleared her throat and shook her head hard. "No. It's fine."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to… offend, I ju-"

"Wait, wait. I meant… it's fine for you to ask me. I should hang out with other friends besides just you. This is normal. I was… kind of…"

Why did she look so embarrassed? "Go ahead."

"I was talking to myself. Stupid. Trying to reassure myself that normal people hang out in large groups, and it's not you trying to ditch me. I'm sorry."

"Awwww, no need to be sorry." She cuddled her closer, and felt Ai stiffen briefly before letting out a sigh. She could hear it, her ear was so close… "We'll figure this crap out, buddy!"

"Buddy," she snorted. "Don't go too crazy, Risette."

"And you're not a fan." They both laughed and they embraced — really, truly embraced this time, no holding back, no letting the awkwardness hold them back. And it was good. Rise still felt her heart beating a little faster, but that was definitely the kind of thing that could be ignored. And she would — until such time as it went away. Even if it didn't, she could take it; she was tougher than she looked.

"Okay, let's go before I get grosser," Ai half-laughed, half-hiccuped as she drew back. Rise could see she had been crying again — and was already trying to wipe the tears away before she realised what she was doing. "Wh-what?"

"Just… trying to help." She pulled back and got a handkerchief out of her bag instead, handing it to her. "Sorry. Here, this is probably better."

Nodding, she started dabbing at her eyes with one hand while the other fished out her compact. The sound of lamentation as she saw her mascara was loud, but she still just nodded and put the compact away. "Well, I did promise myself I'm going to be less vain. Let's go to Aiya."

"You got it! And it's on me!"

"Wha- no way, I will fight you for that check!"

"BRING IT!"

                                                    ~ o ~

Everything was fine. Rise had been a little worried about how the evening would turn out, given how anxious they both were after their odd brush with lesbianism. No such issues. They were still just getting to know each other, and what better way to do that than over a steaming bowl of rice and beef?

Ai was a pretty interesting girl. She really didn't seem the type to like daifuku — Rise liked them, too, the sticky red bean paste and rice dough was so much fun to chew. But they were so very traditional, and Ai was a thoroughly modern girl who revelled in trends. Between that, her love of Korean dramas and old city pop, retro games, and hatred of aromatherapy, it was interesting how much they had in common even though a few things they definitely didn't. She loved uncovering this more well-rounded picture of the girl she wanted in her life more and more.

The week wore on, and Rise tried to track Ai down whenever she could to help cement their growing bond. They even hung out with the others a few times, and though Kanji and Yosuke kept getting nervous when she would snap at them for making some off-colour comment, generally everything went well. And by much the same token, Rise hung out with Ai's friends — or what passed for them. Kou and Daisuke had seemingly decided to give her another chance as manager. Yu had told her before that she basically just sat in the corner doing her nails, but she was doing much better at actually engaging with the team, by all accounts.

Thursday was different. Ai was gone again, and didn't respond to texts. Eventually, she did get a message back in the evening…

EBI: Sorry I just needed a day

RISE: What's wrong? RISE: Anything I can do? ;-;

EBI: No I'm…

RISE: Ai-chan?

EBI: Listen it's really dumb but my mom called. EBI: And I just needed a little time to get out of my head

RISE: Oh you ditched again? RISE: You're going to get in trouble you know…

EBI: Listen I know you're going to lecture me but just save it EBI: Oh too late you sent yours before I could send mine

RISE: I'm sorry, I just don't want you to fail and get held back

EBI: Yeah I know. EBI: Thanks. :heart:

RISE: You could have told me and I'd ditch with you

EBI: What? No. I wouldn't want you to miss class because of me

RISE: Are you ditching tomorrow?

EBI: …probably

RISE: Where are we going?

EBI: Come on I told you that's not necessary. This is my damage and my weird thing and I have to face it EBI: And sometimes I need to be alone.

RISE: OKAYYYY okay

EBI: Fine. I'm probably going into Shinjuku this time

RISE: I'm really sorry for pushing RISE: Wait what? RISE: ALL THE WAY TO SHINJUKU?!

EBI: Hey I said I needed space and Okina isn't cutting it EBI: And I promise I'll be fine

RISE: ...when and where? Straight to Yasoinaba Station?

EBI: Rise… EBI: Alright I guess I can't stop you

RISE: Really?

EBI: Pain in the ass EBI: Yeah fine… 8AM don't be late or I'll leave without you.

RISE: YAAAAAAAAAAY~ RISE: We're gonna have the best time just you wait!

EBI: Uh huh EBI: Lol you're amazing.

RISE: Huh? Why?

EBI: Nevermind EBI: See you tomorrow.

RISE: Can't wait Ebi-chaaaaaaaaaaan~

EBI: UGH

And that was that. The pop star curled up in her bed with her big plush Jack Frost, grinning into the stuffing as she contemplated what the next day could bring.

                                                    ~ o ~

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"SHH!" Rise hissed at her as she strolled up to Ai on the train platform. "I'm incognito!"

"Uh huh. Can you take those big sunglasses off? It makes you look like a cartoon character."

Rise pouted as she pulled her shades off. At least most of her hair was still stuffed up into an oversized cap; no trademark pigtails to tip off Shinjuku residents that a famous idol had gone truant for the day. "Don't make fun of me. I'm not used to skipping."

"Weak. But I guess it still looks okay, it's just very… Parisian?"

"Whatever. You look cute, though."

"Oh, this?" Ai said airily, swishing out her long bohemian skirt around her heeled boots. Also seemingly suited to colder weather, but her top was a light blue babydoll tee; somehow she pulled it off, even though it was so much less ornate. Her bag was also a little simpler than usual. "I just rolled out of bed and was this fabulous."

"Right," she giggled, bumping her with her hip. The formerly-grumpy girl finally cracked a smile. "This is cute, but you usually have super pricey Prada or Anello or whatever."

"Hm? Yeah, I like this kind of bag. It is Anello — well, Legato Largo. It's more functional."

"Totally." The train pulled in just then, and Rise stepped forward to board once the doors opened, following Ai's lead. "Where are we off to?"

"Shinjuku."

"Well, I know that," she laughed. "But I mean, did you have anything in particular in mind? I mean, it's kind of… a rough neighbourhood, a little."

"Not if you stay out of Kabukicho. And we will," she reassured Rise with a raised hand. "Believe me, I'm even less interested in being jumped than you are."

"Why do you think I'm 'interested' in being jumped?!"

Ai snorted as she held onto a strap and the train took off. "I didn't say you were! Just… because I'm- nevermind, I just meant I don't have a death wish."

It didn't take them long to get to the bustling streets of Tokyo, and switch train lines to run up to Shinjuku. The same way Rise had been relieved to get to Okina, she was even more full of life now that they were really in a thriving metropolis again. So many sights and sounds! Grinning, she turned and grabbed Ai's hands, dragging her forward.

"H-hey, slow down!"

"You're the one that wanted to come here!" she giggled. "So why so slow?"

"Okay, okay, GOD." Taking a deep breath, she brushed down the front of her clothes needlessly, even though they had barely been rumpled, if at all. "Wherever you want. But I do want to stop in somewhere eventually."

"Where?" No response. So instead of dwelling, Rise just sang out, "Okaaay, then let's goooo!"

                                                    ~ o ~

The day was everything she had secretly been hoping for. They dipped in and out of lots of shops, buying one or two things but mostly browsing. Took advantage of the big city to grab foods that weren't readily available in a small town like Inaba. Stopped to speak to some of the more colourful inhabitants. Rise knew vaguely that a lot of gay men hung out there, but she didn't expect to see so many in flamboyant colours, openly acting so, so… feminine. It was both bizarre and exciting. Were there really this many people in the world who bucked societal norms so openly?

All along the way, Ai was becoming more and more comfortable with her. She still sniped and snarked but there was a playfulness to it that surpassed her previous efforts. They further eroded their anxieties about the accidental lip-lock and started to hold hands and pull each other over to see something instead of being horribly shy all the while. Progress was progress.

Finally, a little after they had enjoyed steaming bowls of udon for lunch, Ai dragged her down an alley unexpectedly. Rise asked if this was where she was finally going to get them "jumped", but Ai only laughed that off.

"No, but seriously, where are we going?"

"You'll see… okay… here."

"'Crossroads'? Okay, cool. Is it a karaoke bar?"

"Not… quite. But I promise we won't be long."

The interior was dimly lit, and everything seemed tinted red. There was a sort of warm atmosphere, combined with a raciness because of the low mood lighting. Rise was fascinated; she had been to a few more upscale places because of her work, and some of the venues she had performed at had bars inside, but this was the first standalone public house she had entered. Mostly because she was a couple of years too young to really be doing that…

"Hey, sugar. You lose your way?"

While Rise was still goggling at how deep the voice was that had come out of the kimono-clad woman behind the bar, Ai was smiling and turning fully in her direction, hands clasped so politely in front of her. "Not yet. But you did help me find it once."

The woman squinted for a moment, then gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. "Little Ebi-chan? Is that you?!"

Rise half-expected them to run together like in a movie and embrace, but they didn't; Ai just smiled wider and plopped herself down on one of the bar stools. "It's me, Ai. In the flesh."

"Whooo! I see that, wow. Well heck, you got no business in here; you're no performer."

"No, definitely not," she admitted with a laugh. "And you helped me see that, Escargot-san."

"PFFFFF," she scoffed very loudly, waving one of those meaty hands. Rise couldn't help thinking that this bar definitely didn't need a bouncer because the hostess herself was so strong-looking! "You'll call me Lala or you'll get outta here. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna serve you two a drop, since your little friend there doesn't look any older than you. Want a lime-and-tonic?"

"Sure. One for both of us."

"Oh! I…" Rise cleared her throat. "Can I have a cherry, if you don't mind?"

"Sweetie, for you? Two cherries." Rise giggled a little, pleased at the concession. While she made the drinks, she asked, "What brings you back to the neighbourhood? Haven't seen you for a couple of years."

"Oh, I heard from Mother again." Even while Lala was sighing, she passed over Ai's drink, and she stared down into its sparkling depths. "Had to get out of my head. I tried bumming around Okina yesterday, but it's just too…"

"It's the sticks, honey. Of course that's not gonna be enough of a distraction. You need flashing lights, dancing, drinking- well… not drinking," she said firmly, pointing at her. "And I'd better not hear you started trying to sneak booze at any of the other places around here, neither. Everybody knows everybody in this neighb-"

"Okay, okay, wow," Ai cackled before taking a sip. "Mm. I promise not to try to scam drinks from other bartenders."

Lana nodded firmly, satisfied for the time being. Then she turned to Rise. "What's your story, sugar? In the same club as your gal pal?"

"Huh? Oh, I… no, I haven't joined her club; they already have a manager."

For some reason, Ai looked worried about this. Why? They both knew for certain that she had no interest in the basketball club — even just being their manager like Ai was. But her answer seemed to satisfy. "Really? Well hell, that's quite a performance you're putting on, queen! All that contouring, and those are fabulous!"

She had gestured to her chest. While Rise was blushing and looking down, Ai cleared her throat and hastily said, "N-no, Lala, she… don't you know her? This is Risette! You've probably, um, probably seen her v-videos, or heard her songs?"

"Oh, it's Risette, is it?" Lala chuckled, waggling her fingers like she were casting a magic spell or sprinkling glitter. "I used to have a thing for Cher — don't even say it, I know, I know. Walking cliché. But I'm sure you can guess how well that went over; I gave that up eventually, settled on this." She fluffed her violet-hued hair… which shifted. A wig?

"No, I mean she's really Risette. Rise Kujikawa? Like, we're going to school together." Nothing. "The Quelorie Magic ads?"

Now Lala was blinking and looking at her again. "Hmm, really? The hair's not right." Hoping to help clear this up and move things along, Rise took her cap off, letting her pigtails fall. They were messier, but she was still more comfortable with them that way than with her hair down. "Ahhh, there it is! Well I'll be- you two ain't kidding, are ya? This would be a pretty weird prank if you were."

"Nope, it's me," Rise laughed awkwardly. Still a little thrown off by some of their word choices — what contouring? What performance, and why were her boobs being complimented?!

"And no, we're not in the same clubs. In fact, I don't think she knows much about my club at all."

The way those words were emphasised threw Rise off even more. Conversely, Lala's eyebrows shot up, and she looked between them for a moment… before gasping. "OH! Ohhhh, well then, that's fine. Just found a famous friend when you moved to the boonies!"

"Y-yeah," she finally sighed in relief. If Rise didn't know any better, she would swear her friend was sweating now; maybe that shine on her temples was just a trick of the light. "It's pretty wild; I mean, she grew up there, but I don't think anybody expected her to go back after she made it big."

"Nope," Rise said distantly.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I, um… I probably shouldn't tell your whole life story."

"It's fine! So, um, Lala, you have a wonderful bar here. Crazy good atmosphere!"

The bartender was still smiling at her and chuckling as one of the curtains rustled that led to the restrooms, Rise assumed. She barely glanced over. "Well, thank you much. Real lovely soul for an idol; they usually end up kinda bitter." Then she did turn to the side properly. "Hey, you'd better stop stinking up my back room, gaijin."

"Whaaaaat?" called out the lively redhead in the yellow dress. Not that her bobbed hair could possibly have been that vivid shade of crimson naturally — though she was an American, so it was entirely possible. Rise had a hard time telling Westerners apart, but there was no way someone that gaudy couldn't be from the States. "Come on, Lala-san! I have to get on my perfume, where else will I?"

Her Japanese was just quirky enough, both in terms of word usage and her bizarre accent, that the others laughed. "You're a riot, sweetie. But congrats, I guess you're part of Ai's club for real now."

"YES!" The woman saluted, other hand on her hip. Then she laughed. "What club is that? The Love Club?"

"Close enough. Erica, this is… Ai-chan?" Ai nodded. That was funny; Rise could have sworn they were old friends of some kind, and she forgot her name? "Ai, this is Erica… An… Andeshi…"

"Anderson," she provided in her normal accent. "Boy, it's weird using English again after all that time Nihongo-ing!"

"Uhhhh, right," Ai laughed, clearly having no idea what she was hearing.

"Hey! I'm Risette, and I want to be the star of your heart!"

That single line made the woman's huge brown eyes shoot even wider. "Whoooaaaa! Holy Schnikes, your English is really good, like you sound like a Yankee and shit!"

Stammering, she managed, "Sorry! I do not… understand…" Then she switched back to her native tongue and hissed, "I just learned that part for a show and like, a handful of other phrases; I'm really sorry."

"Ohhhh, it's okay," she laughed with a huge grin. Something about this woman instantly set Rise at ease; like she was almost as used to doing that as Rise herself. "Why did you learn that?"

"You missed it, honey," Lala laughed. "Risette here's a big idol. And yes, I have seen you strutting your stuff on the news; you're killing it, girl."

"Oh, thanks," she laughed, having already forgotten about that thread of conversation. "But yeah, that was one of the phrases I had to learn for my New York City concert — even though that's the only one I performed overseas. I also learned, 'Everybody having fun tonight?' and 'I love you all!' and a few more."

Erica laughed and applauded, as if she were performing a particularly impressive trick. "Amazing! You might know only a small English but you sound very good!" As the others chuckled again, she turned back to Ai. "So what did she mean? Lala-chan. You and me in the Love Club."

"O-oh, um…" She glanced at Rise, who arched her eyebrows at her. "Ugh. Come on, I'll tell you back here."

While Rise blinked, Ai led the redhead over to a booth in the corner. They were both roughly the same height, though Erica was taller by a hair. Figuring there wasn't much point in watching them whisper to each other, she turned back to smile at the host of the bar.

"Ai-chan didn't tell you why she brought you here, did she?"

"Nope," Rise offered lightly as she tugged one of the cherries out of her glass. "Just that she wanted me to see this place. Maybe you were some kind of tutor? Helped her pass some class? I don't know."

Lala laughed heartily as she wiped down the bar. "Close enough. You know, I'm honestly kind of relieved."

"Huh?"

"Back when I knew this little squirt, she didn't know which way was up. And I could tell she was heading for a fall; she lucked out with her parents, but she was going to throw herself so hard into her new life that she would forget who she was. But it looks like that straightened out eventually."

"Uh… huh," she said dubiously, turning to look at Ebihara again. Now those two were hugging tightly. She would hug some complete stranger and not her? Though the longer she looked…

Erica's expression was taut and pained. It looked like a couple of things they had talked about were less than fun.

"You've got a pretty special friend, Risette. Just go easy on her."

"I will, Escargot-san," she said right away, turning back so she could bow properly.

"Woweeee, everybody's so formal today," she chuckled as she turned to head into the back. But just then, footsteps approached, so she paused in her action to wait and see what happened.

"…and don't you be worried," Erica was saying, her arm around Ai's shoulders. "I wish I could stay and help but I have to go back to Chicago. And I promise, it will get better. Look at me, over thirty years, and I am very happy! And strong, like a wrestler! And beautiful!"

"And humble," Ai laughed, and the others laughed with her. Then she reached up to rest a hand on Erica's upper arm. "But seriously, I could never thank you enough. It's so… nice knowing I'm not alone. Even if I would have to move to the USA to be less alone in a literal sense."

"Oh, you're alone. I'm in a class all by myself — Boss always says this. He even loves my feet because I am so special." When the others exchanged curious glances, she cleared her throat and said, "No! I mean, he takes care of them, with nice shoes! Sneakers?"

"Ohhhhh," Rise said, laughing a little too much to try to hide her confusion and discomfort. She felt like Yukiko. "I was about to say, that seems a little over the line if he's your boss!"

"Yes! Though I am sure he would love them if I gave him a chance. Look!" She slammed her leg up on the bar, and Lala was already rolling her eyes in mild exasperation. "See? Beautiful!"

While Rise was politely examining the pedicure shown off by Erica's strappy sandals, she caught sight of Ai out of the corner of her eye — and noticed she was blushing hard. So either she was a candidate to love Erica's feet instead of this Boss character, or she was being powerfully reminded of something embarrassing. Rise tried to recall a hazy memory, some story about Yukiko and Chie… she only wished she could remember what it was.

                                                    To Be Continued…

[fangirlshrewt97]

Yuri on Ice Fic: Now’s My Curtain Call

Author(s): Fangirlshrewt97

Fandom: Yuri on Ice!!!

Pairing: Victor Nikiforov / Yuuri Katsuki

Characters: Viktor Nikiforov, Yuuri Katsuki, Others mentioned but don’t appear

Rating: General audiences (1 curse word)

Warnings: None apply

Additional Tags:  Retirement, Reminiscing, Introspection, Insecurity, Songfic, Yuuri being Awesome, Yuuri not taking Victor’s crap, Angst and Comfort, Fluff

Summary: Inspired by the song “Stole the Show” by Kygo ad James Parsons. 

Basically, Viktor brooding before his retirement party, and Yuuri being the fabulous husband he is getting him out of his funk.

Link to A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23852626

                                                         *****

Yuuri felt his breathing grow slightly heavier as he made his way up all the bleachers to the top most row. He wrapped his hands around his elbows and rubbed them up and down to warm himself slightly. Even after spending an inordinate amount of his life in an ice rink, the cold never failed to bite him. He saw his breath coming out as a mist, a testament to the temperature of the huge rink that didn’t have the thousands it was made to hold occupying it. He walked slowly, not in a rush to get to his destination, but he walked with a purpose. They did have a party to be at after all.

There he was.

Viktor was sitting facing the ice rink, the stage of all their victories and failures, their jumps, their spins, their lives. The Russian man didn’t even react when Yuuri came to a stop beside him. Yuuri turned to look in the same direction as his husband, wanting to find what had him so captivated.

“This is it Yuuri.”

Ah, that’s what all this was about then. Yuuri would be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting this at some point. Well no, he was expecting it tomorrow morning to be exact.  

“Viktor.” Yuuri replied, an unvoiced question and plea all wrapped in one. The two of them still did not look at each other.

“Sit down.”

Yuuri sat automatically, sinking into the rink chair, a slight shiver passing through him as the cold of the plastic chair seeped through his suit trousers.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Everything.”

“Oh?”

“It is hard to believe this is it.”

“Oh Viktor, you idiot.” Yuuri said, voice full of the fondness he felt in every cell of his body.

Viktor turned to look at him for the first time since he sat down beside him.

“Idiot?” The incredulity was evident in his voice.

“Idiot. So you are retiring. That doesn’t mean this is the end.”

“Yuuri that is exactly what it means.” Stubborn to the end, his husband.

“No. The end is when there is nothing left for you in the ice. Touch your heart and tell me there is nothing left in the ice for you.”

Viktor stayed quiet, speechless for a minute.

Yuuri tilted his head, resting his cheek against Viktor’s shoulder. “Vitya, you still have so much left to give. So what if you are not out there competing? You will still be there as a coach, a teacher, and most importantly, a friend. And what, you think just because you retire, people will forget about you?”

Yuuri pivoted his head, close enough to feel Viktor’s breaths on his face, before leaning back to sit up straight. Turning fully towards his husband, Yuuri grabbed  his hands into his own. He flipped them palms up and slowly traced his fingertips over the palms, making them twitch. A small smile crept into his face, and he moved to lace their hands together, the contrast of his warm hands to Viktor’s cool ones, giving him goosebumps.

“Are you going to answer?” he asked softly. He didn’t want to push after all.

Viktor was the most expressive man in the world, but he was also someone who had grown up with the spotlight pointed straight at him for half his life practically. When they had first started training together, Yuuri had been astonished that Viktor was so cheerful and energetic, so different to his own quiet life. Then they moved to Russia, and in his own home, Yuuri saw a different aspect of Viktor. And realized that he has been playing for the cameras, for the expectations the world had of him so long, he had driven himself to an unattainable level of perfection. Punished himself when he failed to meet them. They had been working on it, Yuuri pushing Viktor to realize he is so much more than an ice skater. He guessed the sudden reality of his retirement finally hit Viktor. He sighed internally, he really should have seen this coming.  

“I’m scared.”

“Of retiring?”

“Of what comes next.”

“What comes next?”

Viktor gave him a glare but Yuuri just quirked a small smile and squeezed their entwined hands.

“What comes next Vitya?”

Viktor seemed to deflate, seemingly trying to merge into the chair he was sitting on, and the only thing tethering him to his body being Yuuri’s hands.

“I don’t know.”

“Of course you do.”

“No Yuuri, I don’t. Why are you doing this?” Viktor snapped, feeling annoyed with the Japanese man’s cryptic answers and seemingly useless prodding.

“Why am I doing what?”

“Repeating all my questions back to me for a start.”

“Because I don’t know if you are genuinely clueless or being purposefully being dense.”

Viktor made an incoherent noise of frustration. Yuuri let out a big sigh and shook his head before smiling at Viktor as though he were a slow child. Viktor felt his pout getting bigger.

“Vitya, you big baby. Listen to me ok? You are retiring. You know what you are doing next? You are joining Yakov as a junior coach. You are coaching me for my last season next year. You are coming with me to Japan and working in the onsen where okaasan is going to teach you to make katsudon in about a week’s time. You are going to go on a holiday with Chris through Europe and leave me to train while you have fun.”

When Viktor still looked dissatisfied, Yuuri decided it was time to pull out the big guns.

“Fine. Let’s say everything I said is wrong. Let it be. Why don’t you tell me what is actually bothering you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Bullshit.”

“Yuuri!”

“Bullshit Vitya. Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Why are you being so mean?”

“Because my incredibly brilliant and charming husband is acting like a surly child who didn’t get the Christmas gift he wanted.”

Viktor just grunted and removed his hands from Yuuri’s and turned back to his original position, slouching and sliding in the seat till he was sitting on its very edge. “So mean.”

“What are you really scared of?”

“I don’t know.”

“Vit-”

“No Yuuri, I am not being difficult.I really don’t know. I have been skating for almost two thirds of my life now. And that year long break with you was the best decision I made, but I always had this feeling I was coming back to the ice. And now, I am never going back and I just-” Viktor choked, finding it hard to breath as tears flooded his eyes and slipped out. He tried to bite back the sobs threatening to overwhelm him as he was tugged into Yuuri’s side.

“Oh my love…” Yuuri whispered as he rubbed small circles into his husband’s back, hugging him tighter and he pressed a kiss to the top of his head. He didn’t know how long they sat there like that, but eventually, Viktor’s sobs subsided and the man dislodged himself from Yuuri’s side to sit up straight. Yuuri handed him a handkerchief before he wiped his eyes with his suit sleeve.

Yuuri looked at his husband, feeling his heart tighten in sympathy at the struggle Viktor was going through. He was a little angry Viktor had just kept this all inside him for so long, because these feelings were obviously not brand new. But he understood why his husband didn’t share them if he himself didn’t accept them as something he was feeling. And hating a part of yourself and feeling helpless was a feeling he was too intimately familiar with.

Sighing softly, he turned his body and hugged his husband properly, one hand cradling the back of Viktor’s head, tucking it into his neck. Viktor was stiff for a minute before he went boneless, sagging against him, arms wrapping loosely around his waist. “Baka Viktor. How many times have you told me that whenever I am feeling down I should tell you? That if I ever feel less than, to let you know so that you can fight against my malfunctioning brain? Am I not your husband? Do you not think I would want to be there for you too?”

“I’m sorry Yuuri.” Viktor said, looking truly pathetic with his eyes puffy, and ears and nose red as a tomato. Yuuri melted, his hand moving from the back of Viktor’s neck to his cheek, his thumb caressing the tear tracks on the Russian’s face. He tugged his face close and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“My love you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“Still…” Viktor started, only for Yuuri to cut him off with kisses peppered all over his face.

“Nothing” over his eyelid, “to” the other eyelid, “be” forehead, “sorry” other cheek “for” lips.

They lingered in the kiss before breaking apart, but still staying close enough feel each other’s breath shared between them. Yuuri moved back enough to see his beloved’s blue eyes, that icy blue which makes his heart race.

“Tell me a memory.”

Viktor obviously wasn’t expecting that based on the bewildered look on his face. “What?”

Yuuri smiled, leaning back. “A technique I learned while in collage was to think about something that made me happy. My therapist told me about this where when everything felt hopeless, I should remember a good moment in my life. And then another, and another, until I remember that happy moments are not a finite. Viktor I almost quit figure skating because I thought I had hit my peak and it was bleak. You were the one who helped me see that I still had a long way to go, you showed me higher peaks, pulled me along into the spotlight with you. You gave me the world Viktor. You gave me the world when I thought there was nothing left for me. So you are my living reminder that no matter how much my brain tries to convince me otherwise, I have happiness in my life. That people care about me. That I am not a burden. God, you know how much those things seem like lies to me, how much my mind tries to convince me that there is no one in the world who cares about me. You are there every time willing to fight for me against my own demons.” Yuuri stopped to take a deep breath, he had gotten more into that then he had expected, and got back to what he had actually wanted to say, voice backed with steel. “So I am asking you to tell me a memory of something that makes you happy. And then another, and another, until you realize that just because you had all these great memories doesn’t mean you won’t have anymore. I promise you now, just as I did during our wedding, I will by your side for as long you will have me. And I am just as ready to fight for you as you are me.”

Viktor looked speechless at the end of Yuuri’s declaration, eyes shining with tears again.

Yuuri leans in for another kiss, pressing this one to the corner of Viktor’s lips. “Your turn.”

Viktor gaped at Yuuri for another moment before closing his eyes and nodding. “Ok.”

Viktor’s voice was soft, afraid of haunting his own memories, infecting them with the misery he was feeling, but Yuuri had asked this of him, and Yuuri asked for so little, so he would give Yuuri what he wanted. “I…um… I remember winning the local ice skating competition when I was 7, I was leagues above them, and I knew it. After the competition and the awards ceremony, I got off the ice and changed before going looking for my coach. I was confused because normally he was always waiting for me at the edge of the ice rink, but this time, only Mama and Papa were there. I found him talking to this stranger, he was short, and chubby, and I didn’t like his face. But my coach called me forward and introduced him. It was Yakov. He told me that he thought I could do so much more if I came with him to St. Petersburg, and told my parents he would even take me on for one year for free. My parents were worried, but ultimately decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Plus I remember asking them over and over again, I did not know exactly how big a deal Yakov was, but my coach had showed me some footage of some of Yakov’s students. Yuuri, I liked figure skating, but watching those videos, they made it look like magic, like they were fairies or that they had wings, like it was no effort at all. And I wanted to do.”

Yuuri was smiling warmly, and nodded for Viktor to go on.

“I remember that first year with Yakov, being pushed beyond what I could take. My seniors would … not bully but they each were more concerned with their own issues than looking out for their juniors. If you weren’t willing to push your body beyond it’s limits, Yakov was not meant for you. I hated them for a while, and I can still feel the bruises and the bloody mess my feet were. Mama had moved with me to the city, unwilling to leave me alone so young. That first victory at Russian Nationals, I had never been so happy in my life Yuuri. Papa had come to see me in competition, and Mama made me all my favorite dishes after the competition. Yakov told me good job Yuuri. Which we both know is the ultimate praise coming from that gruff man.”

“That’s a good memory.”

“I can recall that dinner so clearly.”

“Tell me another?”

Viktor thought for a moment before a smile graced his lips. “My first Gold at the Junior Grand Prix. I was at the top of the world. It felt like every moment had been leading me up to that victory. The eyes of the world were on me and I felt like I could fly. I moved up to seniors after that, and my seniors actually respected me. Georgi was recruited at the same time. I had never really had a lot of friends my own age, considering that I had basically  grown up competing and just training. We didn’t get along a lot of the time. But this one time, Yakov had yelled at Georgi really bad and he had been in tears. And looking back, I was lonely. I found Georgi waiting outside the steps of the ice rink that day for his mother to come pick him up. It was the beginning of winter, and snow was starting to fall, so I told Georgi I would wait with him inside till our moms came. We sat there and talked for two hours Yuuri. I don’t even remember what we talked about but for the first time I could recall, I was happy in a new way. Thinking about it now, I was almost even happier about having a friend and confidant than about winning the gold medal. After that we helped each other, and we stood up for each other. Georgi was still in Juniors for another year before joining me in Senior level, but I am so grateful for the time we had.”

Viktor’s smile dimmed. “I’ve not been a good friend to Georgi for the past few years have I?”

Yuuri made a noise in the back of his throat. “None of that Viktor. Georgi told me when he retired that he was so happy with what he had accomplished. I know you and Yuri have developed this mindset where winning is the main goal, and the only one that matters. And there is nothing wrong with that Viktor. Others like Georgi and I? We want to win just as badly, don’t mistake me, but we are also grateful for the chance to compete, to perform. I love competing, it makes me push myself to do better, to learn, to be more. But what I love most is figure skating itself, not the medals and titles. True he may not have won as many medals as you, but he is also a figure skater who accomplished a lot in his own right. He is proud of what he did. You don’t get to make him feel insufficient.”

Viktor looked horrified. “No Yuuri, that isn’t-”

Yuuri silenced him with a hand to his knee, eyes still steady and determined. “I know baka. You are far too kind to think that, besides you would not have spared me a second glance if you actually thought that way. Could you have been a better friend to Georgi? Maybe. Probably. But you did not treat him like someone you had to be better than. You have only ever pushed yourself to be better than you.”

Viktor remained silent.

“Tell me one more memory?”

Viktor stayed silent for a long time, just twisting his wedding ring again and again. Yuuri gave him the space he needed to think.

“When I first started skating Stammi Vicino, I knew there was something off about the choreography, but technically it was perfect, and I trained and trained. I came into the rink at all hours, and nearly wore a hole into my skates with how much I practiced it, but it never felt right. Hell, even the gold I won for it made me feel like I didn’t deserve it. And then I saw you skate the same damn moves I had Yuuri, and it was breathtaking. I knew right then that I could not let you slip away again. And then, we danced Stammi Vicino together. Yuuri, when we performed it in front of the world, the routine felt complete for the first time to me. I had finally made it into what it was always meant to be, without even realizing it. It was a dance meant to be shared, a dance of love. And doing it with you,” Viktor choked, eyes glistening with tears again, but when Viktor looked at him, his eyes were twinkling with happiness. “That routine is my favorite out of all the routines I have ever done. And that memory is one of the best in my life.”

Yuuri’s own eyes started to get wet, so he rubbed his eyes before pulling Viktor in for another hug, holding his husband close. This time, Viktor held him just as tightly.

“It is my favorite too. Although I am really partial to Yuri on Ice.” Yuuri smirked. Viktor choked out a wet laugh before punching him with no strength. Yuuri laughed before rubbing his nose against Viktor’s. “You are my favorite.”

Viktor just smiled brightly at him and reciprocated a kiss to his cheek. The two stayed like that for another minute before Yuuri wiped off Viktor’s tears and cupped his face with both hands. “Now, if you are feeling good again, what do you say we go to the surprise retirement party that is not really a surprise but everyone is excited so indulge them anyways party?”

“That’s a long name for a party.”

“Baka Vitya!”

Laughing his usual bright cheer, Viktor laced their hands together and stood up. He then released one of Yuuri’s hands and pressed it to his side, stretching. “Come along then. Let’s go to the party with the really long name.”

“Yes, one I promised all our friends I’d bring you to about an hour ago.” Yuuri swung their hands between them, letting Viktor lead them out of their seats to the rink below, a comfortable silence settling between them.

As they went to leave the gym, Viktor stopped, one hand resting on the edge of the rink. Yuuri squeezed his hand.

“This isn’t your last time here Vitya.”

“Yes it is Yuuri. It is as a competitive ice skater.” Viktor said, voice far away. But then he turned to Yuuri and grinning. “Isn’t that wonderful?”

Thrown off by the sudden change in attitude, Yuuri gaped at him, but Viktor just chuckled. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

Yuuri’s eyes were warm. “Always.”

When Yuuri tugged Viktor towards the hotel where the party was being held at this time, Viktor went easily. After all, he had a bright future to look forward to. One not illuminated by spotlights and expectations. Stepping out of the building, Viktor felt like he could fly all over again. Letting out a shout, Viktor started running, he could hear Yuuri calling his name out behind him, footsteps pounding the pavement, but the warm breeze enveloped him in a hug, and he started running.

After all, you need a running start to take off.