#which is actually not very special but i thought it'd be cool to set the milestone with one of my own posts instead of just a random reblog

[blushinggray]

change of plans: part 11

sero hanta x fem!reader

part 11/12 (part 10 | part 1)

oops. more porn.

cw // nsfw; lingerie, teasing, more recreational drug use (weed), cockwarming, slightly public sex (sorry to their friends here, they did not consent to this 😔), allusions to exhibitionism, crying, comfort

—

You didn't realize that the phrase, "distance makes the heart grow fonder" applied so literally to Sero Hanta.

He has never texted you consistently in the time that you've had each other's contact info. Yet, now that he's several time zones away from you, he somehow can't seem to leave you alone.

Or it could be that he’s technically your boyfriend now and just wanted to keep in regular touch with you.

Either way, you can’t say you mind all of the stable communication and more consistent response times after all the head games you played with yourself before this. All the good morning and good night texts, food and travel pictures, random videos of him and his relatives, and constant requests for video calls are far more preferable to the once a day texts or psyching yourself out to make a phone call.

You only feel bad that you didn’t have much to offer in return in comparison. While he was off traveling between countries in South America to visit different relatives and family friends, you were back in your hometown for the holidays and enjoying what you could of them with your family and hometown friends, so aside from the dinner and family pictures, you didn’t really have anything as exciting to share with him.

He had plenty to be excited about though, apparently. Because of the time zone thing, you didn’t often accept his video call invitations, whether it was because you were asleep or busy or just away from your phone at the time. So when you missed those, he’d ask for a picture or selfie to make up for it.

There was one instance where you both did happen to be available for a call since he got back in late after a night out with his cousins, and you were about to get ready for a shower. When you answered, he was clearly still a bit tipsy as he only spoke in slurred, sleepy Spanish to you for the first five minutes. At which point, you just chuckled and continued preparing for your shower as you listened to him go on.

He only switched back when you told him you were going to hang up to wash up.

“Nooo, don’t go, querida.” He had whined, “Bring your phone into the bathroom with you and let me watch.”

You snorted at that before bringing up, “Isn’t the camera just going to fog up?”

“Just tuck me into a little zipper bag and keep me close.” He insisted.

So you ended up digging around in your room for that water protectant plastic phone pouch you bought for snorkeling during a trip once to bring Sero into the shower with you. He kind of just watched you with a glazed look in his eyes most of the time while you were washing up, which you thought kind of defeated the purpose of bringing him in with you in the first place.

But by the time you were drying off, he just sighed all dreamily, saying, “Wow. I cannot believe that you are my girlfriend.”

And, well. That was nice to hear.

So… you may or may not have let him watch you get off on your vibrator a bit later that night.

You were completely sober, yet you didn’t find it all that hard to say embarrassing things like, “God, I wish it was you. I wish it was you so bad. I miss you so much, Hanta” as you were riding your favorite toy in front of your phone propped on the bed. Probably because he was behind a screen that you could easily hide from, but you didn't really feel the need to hide.

The way that he was breathing hard and jerking himself off as he watched you and occasionally directed you actually gave you a bit more confidence. The fact that he was in a completely different part of the world, able to do whatever or whoever he wanted and probably get away with it, but still only thought of you fanned out your ego like a peacock's feathers.

You never imagined him to be so needy. He was all cool and unbothered when you first met him, and he seemed to let things go easily since he would always brush off your rejections. But now that he has you officially, all the playboy smooth talk and smiles have been scooting over to make room for the goofier, whinier side of his personality.

It’s pretty cute.

All the mischievous smirks, cheesy lines, and cool guy airs have given way for more silly faces, rambunctious laughter, and stupid jokes. And all of them together are much more endearing to you than simply one side of each, because they're all still parts of Sero. And being able to see more of all of them feels like something only you get the privilege of.

And he, in turn, obviously starts to see more of the embarrassing sides of you, too. The sudden bouts of huffiness or jealousy, the pettiness that comes out in French when you don't want him to understand what you're saying, the ugly noises you make when start laughing too hard, your own needy and whiny side that you’ve been toning down until now, the random spells of lust you get for him at the slightest things.

No, that's especially embarrassing; how horny you are for him. While it's not unusual to be attracted to your own boyfriend, he just... you don't even know what he does to you. But just noticing the slightest detail about him — an outfit you've never seen him on before, the way his voice sounds when saying a certain Spanish phrase, a growing tan line on his skin — you find yourself warming at the core or rubbing your thighs together. It's especially pathetic because you haven't even seen him since the morning after the holiday party.

Okay, so maybe you miss him a bit too. And you're looking really forward to what's to come; sex, dates, pictures, music, language and all.

Which is why you're preparing so much for the next time you see him. He's actually heading back to the university area a day ahead of you, so you agreed to meet at his apartment after you got back into the city too. You both agreed to just have a simple date at home first (to keep the horny energy in a controlled environment), so you are pulling a few extra stops to make your reunion a bit more... dramatic.

The day you get back into the city, after stopping by your own apartment to get ready, you head to Sero’s place with a bag of some extra groceries, in case you want to cook something together later. But you almost drop them when your boyfriend swoops in for a big kiss and hug before he even says hello.

You struggle to keep a grip on the bag handles, but you still lean up and wrap your free arm around his neck to kiss him back. Because wow— maybe you missed him more than you thought. It's only been a few weeks since you last met, but suddenly it feels like color has been restored to your vision. There's a lightness in your chest that makes your heart feel like it's floating in zero gravity.

His arm around your waist and his big hand splayed against your back make you feel at home, warmer than you were just minutes ago. And he is still as good at kissing as ever. You can taste a hint of orange from his mouth, probably from a juice or something, and it pairs splendidly with his woodsy cologne that has a touch of cinnamon.

"Get in here." He chuckles against your lips as he pulls you inside, closing the door before he presses you against it to keep kissing you.

You have to fight him off, but you do it with a laugh as you say, "Hey, calm down. At least let me put these in the fridge first."

"You brought something with you?" He asks, letting you go rather easily, as if he hadn't just been trying to suck your face off.

"Just some extra groceries. In case we wanted to make something. Here," you pull out a big, bright orange, "Your favorite."

He hums with a hooded smile, leaning in to kiss the orange in your hand before taking your wrist to trail a few kisses along your fingers, "You trying to feed me to win me over, bella?" he asks as he leans in to peck at your shoulder and cheek as well.

"I still have to win you over?" You joke back.

"Nah," he smiles, kissing you on the lips once more before finally pulling back and taking your bag, "You took care of that a long time ago."

"How long ago, exactly?" You ask, more to keep the light, springy pace of the conversation than out of curiosity. But when Sero hesitates to answer, that suddenly changes.

But he only diverts the question with another smile, walking off with your groceries, "That's for me to know."

You suppose you could pry further, or maybe even use a little promiscuous persuasion, but it's also not something you mind waiting to find out later. Maybe it'll mean something even more by then.

So for now, you're just going to focus on today. And how excited you are for this little at-home date.

Following him into the kitchen, you watch as he organizes the items into the refrigerator, catching up with him about his flight and some of things he did on his trip that he didn't get to mention in your texts and calls. At some point, he brings out a vacuum-sealed package of coffee beans to give to you, "These are the ones I was talking about that time at the grocer a while back."

"You mean that day you dragged me through a storm without so much as a warning?" You recall with a smile as you accept the bag. There's no special print or label on the package, so it must be from a local cafe or something.

Sero laughs as he pulls two mugs out of a cupboard and brings out his own bag of coffee beans. "I guess I did do something like that, didn't I?"

You hum, leaning back against the kitchen counter, thinking back to that fateful day you ran into him and had some of the most fun you’ve ever had in such a moment of spontaneity. Now that you can look back on it from where you stand with Sero currently, it brings out much more fondness than it did before.

“That was one of my favorite days.” You find yourself admitting, though you don’t look at him as you say it.

That doesn’t happen for long, however, as he steps in front you to plant each of his hands on the counter around you, leaning down to bring his face close to yours. Not to kiss you or anything this time, just to kind of look at you and... appreciate your presence, maybe.

As self-conscious as it makes you, you also kind of enjoy having the moment to appreciate him, too. It's only been a few weeks since you last saw him, but there are already some new changes about him. His skin has warmed up with a tan from being outdoors most days. There's a slight glow on his face that must've come his replenishing break from university. Even the lilt in certain words when he speaks sounds a little different after speaking Spanish for so long.

He's sexy.

You don't admit that very often just because you're still too used to underplaying your feelings for him, having tried to "protect" yourself from him at the beginning. But now that you really look at him, appreciate him, you can tell you've got a catch. Not only is he attractive, and charming, and smooth, but he also makes you smile and feel special. Even when you doubt it, he works hard to convince you of it.

You really like him. So much that you can't hold back from taking a kiss for yourself after holding your gazes for a while.

Sero sighs through his nose as he accepts your kiss with hot gratitude, pulling you even closer with an arm around your waist and a hand cupping the back of your head. You both just stay there for a while, making out in his kitchen, until you start letting out small sounds of growing desire and he has to pull himself back.

"I'm gonna make us some coffee so you can try it. Why don't you head to my room and get comfortable first?" He says with a smack to your ass before turning to pull out his coffee grinder.

You huff lightly at his dismissal before checking him with your hip and whipping around to strut to his bedroom. In all honesty though, this works out for you, because now you can really give him a surprise to walk in on.

While you arrived here wearing a long coat and sweater dress under the guise of protecting yourself from the cold weather, Sero's apartment heater and kisses have warmed you up enough to take them off. You're at the perfect threshold of warm and horny to just bring out the lingerie set you picked for today.

After hanging your coat and sweater dress on the empty wall hooks in Sero's room, you take a moment to admire yourself in the full length mirror. You've got on a sheer bustier bra and a silky, mesh skirt that ends just below your mid-thigh. It's only about a tone lighter than your skin, so the sheer material doesn't leave you naked, but still leaves little to the imagination.

It's a rather simple ensemble compared to the many you've browsed through and impulse-bought over the years, but this one immediately reminded you of how much Sero enjoyed the skirt you wore to the holiday party. And it looks pretty damn good on you, the silky material that practically blends into your skin makes you feel ethereal and almost fairy-like, yet still sexy.

Originally, you had planned to just enjoy hanging out and catching up with Sero for a bit before breaking out the fancy underwear for sweet bout of reunion sex. But if there's anything you've learned from being with him, it's that it's fine to switch things up a bit.

You're digging through your bag for the CD that you brought for him when you hear voices coming from the living room.

Huh, you had assumed that Todoroki wouldn't be home today since Sero invited you over. Though it's not like you've abstained from doing the nasty while his roommate was home in the past. Todoroki's always been chill about it, but you suppose if you had the choice, you wouldn't want to subject anyone to hearing the kind of person you become when Sero is pummeling your guts.

But then you hear a few more voices, some of them quite recognizable, and then Sero having some sort of discussion with them. You can't really make out the conversation through the door, but you're already wondering if you've jumped the gun by taking your clothes off too early.

Just a minute later, while you're idling in front of his CD player, pondering whether or not to play the album you just put in, Sero walks into his room with the two mugs of coffee in his hand, "Hey, [Name]. I'm really sorry, but it looks like Todoroki agreed to host our friends' usual movie thing this we—"

He stops short when he catches sight of you, half naked in your sheer lingerie in front of his music shelf, holding the CD case of the album that you wanted to listen to with him. And he kind of just stands there, frozen, with the two coffees surprisingly secure in his hand as he just... tries to make sense of the admittedly ridiculous sight that he's probably seeing.

"Oh." You say, closing the plastic case to place it on the shelf before stepping towards the adjacent wall to pull your sweater dress back on, "Never mind, then." You try to play it off as if you hadn't just exposed how stupidly eager you were to get fucked.

"Wait wait wait." Sero says as he hurriedly closes the door behind him and sets the mugs down on his desk, then pounces towards you to yank the dress out of your hands and hold you in front of him to get a good look at you.

Okay, now you feel self-conscious. He can probably see right through you — in both the physical and metaphorical sense. How you were prepared to get your shit wrecked within the first hour of seeing him again.

"Did- Did you wear this for me?" He says with more genuine awe than the flirty smugness you expected. As if he's received a gift he didn't expect rather than walking in on his embarrassingly horny girlfriend. What business does he have being so damn cute?

"Well— yeah, obviously." You avoid his eyes, trying to shift away from his hands on your shoulders as well. "But clearly, you have guests."

"I'll tell them to leave." He resolves immediately, holding you in place so he can keep staring at you, "Or I'll just tell the guys to watch without me tonight. They'll understand."

"This is like a regular boys' night thing that you guys do?" You ask.

"Yeah, I mean, we all just hang out and smoke while watching movies and stuff. We do it all the time." He sighs, letting you go to run a hand through his hair, "But I guess I was so gassed up about seeing you today that I didn't check the group chat this time when Todoroki agreed to host it today. I honestly didn't even know we were doing it today, I swear. I’m really sorry about this."

Well. That certainly puts a damper on your plans.

You do kind of wish that this was prevented, but you’re also kind of amused by the idea that he'd actually be that excited to see you again that he would completely forget about his usual plans with all his other friends. Especially if they’re close enough that Todoroki can agree to host on Sero’s behalf and everyone will assume it’s okay.

Either way, you are definitely not trying to get it on with even more people around now, so the sexy part of this date will have to wait. You do still want to be with Sero today, so you’ll just have to recover your dignity somehow in the meantime.

Ugh, what a way to spoil your own surprise though. You really couldn’t have waited just ten more minutes before throwing all your clothes off?

"It's okay," you say, reaching for your dress again that Sero had tossed onto his bed, "They're all here already, so we can just watch with them. If I'm allowed to join, that is."

"What?!" He shouts, sounding offended, "No! Fuck that! You really think I'm going to sit through some dumb movies when I know that you're wearing this?!"

"Well, it'd be kind of rude to ditch your friends on a routine hangout when they already know you're here." You point out, "Also, I kinda don't want them to know that I'm getting railed, let alone what I sound like when I'm getting railed."

"Fuuuuck," Sero groans into the ceiling, digging his palms into his eye sockets, "I don't want that either..."

"So let's just go watch with them. You were going to let me stay the night anyway, right?"

There will still be plenty of time to fool around later. Maybe this was a sign to slow down anyway, for your own good.

"Yeah, but..." he sighs, then groans again when he brings his eyes back down to you, "God, you've gotta be fucking kidding me. Baby, look at you. You're like something straight out of a fantasy. Are you—" His brows furrow a bit when he takes a closer look at your skirt, "Are you even wearing any underwear?"

"I can put some on." You offer.

"Don't you dare." He growls, burrowing his face into your neck, kissing it, and letting himself touch your skin and feel the garment for a moment.

His hands roam everywhere, just massaging and getting re-familiarized with your body while he can. Then he lets out a little whine when he drags them up to your bare ass, letting the loose silk of the skirt completely curtain his hands.

"They're like butterfly wings." He whispers into your neck, curving one hand down to the apex of your thighs to tickle your lower lips with his fingers. The soft touch makes you shiver and form a new wave of wetness like he had beckoned for it himself, "And I just know this is gonna taste like sweet ass pollen."

You're tempted by the way he pulls back to make you watch him lick off the thin layer of wetness he gathered onto his fingers. You're tempted to take back everything you just said to let him remind you just how well that tongue can treat you, because his eyes certainly tell no lies.

But at the same time, it's kind of fun torturing him. Despite your initial embarrassment, his reaction is still in the realm of what you were hoping for. So maybe it'll be fun to see how far you can push him. Sure, it'll be hard on you too for the next few hours, but you kind of want to enjoy this while you can.

"Let's just go." You chuckle, stepping away from him to get properly dressed.

"Are you serious, babe?" He looks heartbroken as he watches you put your clothes back on, "You came here all cute and dolled up just for me. Don't you want the nice, long pussy worshipping that you deserve?" He tries one last time to convince you, coming up to the mirror behind you to caress his hands down your now wool-covered sides.

You watch as he noses along your jawline to come up and brush his lips against your temple, but once he finally meets your eyes, you give him a cheeky smile, saying, "Plans can change sometimes."

The dumbfounded look on Sero's face just might be entirely worth this sudden left turn in your day. Because even if you don't get anything else out of today (which you doubt), you'll at least have that.

With a last adjustment to your outfit, you take one of the mugs of coffee on the desk and exit his bedroom.

When you walk out into the living room, you find Kaminari, Kirishima, and Tokoyami on the sofa, setting out food and rolling up blunts, and you see Todoroki and Bakugou arguing in the kitchen.

"Hey, guys." you announce your presence.

"Hey, [Surname]!" Kirishima greets you first, and the others follow after, "Heard we crashed your date with Sero. Sorry about that."

"That's Sero's own fault for not checking his phone." Kaminari says as he perfectly seals up the blunt he was working on, "But hey, you're free to join us if you want. Or if you wanna just make out with your boyfriend in another room, we won't judge. S'totally up to you."

"Yeah, I'll make out with him some other time." You chuckle as you join them, "I don't mind a little movie marathon, as long as you guys are okay with me crashing the boys' night."

"For sure! You're always welcome." Kirishima reassures you, the kind, golden-hearted guy that he is.

"For the record," Sero appears behind you with a hand on your hip, "I definitely voted for making out in another room over another All Might marathon."

"Yeah, I bet you did. Simp." Kaminari snorts at him.

"And actually, we're not watching the All Might movies this time." Tokoyami corrects, "Kirishima won first pick, so we're actually starting with Crimson Riot this time."

"Crimson Riot? Didn't most of his movies flop because they were too boring?" Sero says.

"Hey, don't be a hater." You find yourself defending, "What Crimson lacks in power, he makes up for in story. His character arc is so good."

"That's what I'm saying!" Kirishima thrusts his arms out at you as if to physically indicate how much he agrees, "His powers aren't flashy but his backstory is so good! He's like, the man's man when it comes to chivalry and spirit, ya know?"

"Okay, I get that. But for a superhero movie? If there's not enough action, then people lose interest." Sero argues skeptically, then holds a defensive hand up when you give him a look, "Okay, babe— babe, just hear me out, okay?"

A bunch of debate and discussion jumps about the room until Bakugou and Todoroki join in with some hot lasagna and apparently fresh pizza that they had been reheating. Soon, everyone is settled either on the sofa or the bean bag chairs in the living by the time the movie starts and the blunts are lit.

Despite how big the single armchair adjacent to the sofa is, it's still hardly build to fit two people. Yet Sero insists that you share the seat with him so that he can have you to himself for the movie. One of your legs is draped over Sero's because you can't fit both of your asses onto the cushion.

You tried for some other position where you were perpendicular to him or on the arm of the chair, but he insisted on this one so he could hug you from behind while watching. Which you don't mind, you suppose. Especially since Sero brought you a blanket from his room to cover your legs with, so you can spread as much as you need to without worrying about flashing his friends with your naked pussy.

The movie is good, since you haven't watched it in a few years, so it feels like a refresher. But your focus trails away every so often when Sero's fingers play with your thighs underneath the blanket, slowly squeezing and massaging. Every time his hand moves a little too high, you squirm a little bit, inadvertently scooting yourself closer into his lap. And just when you think he's about to cross the line, he pulls his hand away to accept the blunt passed his way.

You gratefully take a puff for yourself in hopes of calming down from Sero's small touches, but as the movie plays on, and the blunt burns down, and the food disappears, you only find yourself becoming more and more fixated on how Sero's body feels against yours.

Since he’s preoccupied with hugging and touching you, he asks you to feed him from your plate. Each time you reach around to give him a bite of lasagna, he hums in satisfaction and squeezes your thighs in thanks. And since you’ve got a plate in your hands, he’s usually the one who accepts the blunt and holds it to your lips for you to take a puff. And while it’s perfectly innocent, something about pressing your lips up to Sero’s fingers in front of everyone, even just to smoke, feels intensely intimate.

This division of tasks discards any attempt at subtlety you were hoping to keep around the others, but for the most part, they accept it graciously. Some of them even comment on how cute the two of you are. But while you are at least reassured that you don’t have to be embarrassed, you still can’t hide the heat that flushes up your body from Sero’s constant groping.

Maybe he's getting revenge on you for choosing to draw this out. Because you can't imagine that there is anything but ill intent behind every touch that just skims the top of your thigh but doesn't rest on your damp pussy. He keeps massaging your thighs, rubbing your skin, leaving kisses on your neck and face every few minutes, but he never does more than tease. Which you know is the most he should do with all of his and your friends around, but damn... what you would do for even a little finger fuck right now.

About two-thirds into the movie, your dress and lingerie skirt have long been bunched up at the top of your thighs, leaving the blanket as your only cover for your bare legs and now sopping pussy. It's start to become unbearable, and at this point, you've just shimmied your ass onto his waist. God, you are so strung up right now, and you think the weed is only making it worse. Because fuuuck, your brain is so clouded and light, you’re really contemplating just straight up grinding on that bulge you're sitting on right now.

Sero is still leaving kisses on you every so often, which must look innocent enough if your friends ever happen to glance this way. But the slight dampness his lips leave on your skin paired with the tender squeeze of his hands underneath the blanket only makes you drip even more. You swear you let out a little moan once or twice.

Once the big, climactic fight scene starts playing and captures everyone's attention, you let out a sigh as you spread your legs out to hook over each of Sero's knees, all but inviting him to stick his hand down the middle.

You can feel a low thrum in Sero's chest against your back as he leans into your ear to whisper a raspy, "I swear to god, I'm this close to just fucking you right here in front of all of them."

You gasp at the prospect, images already blooming from the seed he planted in your head. You, spread out and riding his lap without any more pretenses, letting all of your friends see exactly how you look when you're being pleasured, how good Sero pleasures you. Or Sero pushing you onto the coffee table to fuck you from behind, letting them hear just how loud you scream when he spanks you. Or Sero showing off his incredible upper body strength by holding you up in his arms to just fuck you like that until you've become the entertainment for the night instead of some pointless, superhero movie.

"Joder… estás tan mojada," Sero curses into your ear, breaking you out of your dazed imagination by finally cupping his fingers around your cunt.

Fuck… you’re so wet.

He hasn't even dipped them inside or anything but just having his big, warm touch there, finally in direct contact with your sopping core, makes you sigh in relief. Yes, thank god. That's really all you needed, you just needed his hand on your pussy, to keep it warm while it's leaking. His physical presence is enough to get you through the rest of this film.

That's what you're convinced of in the first minute. But as he starts slowly rubbing his fingers up and down the length of your wet lips, massaging them and occasionally dipping into your slit, the tension in your gut starts to build again. Because as he kneads at your sensitive flesh and rubs against that little bud of nerves that sets off a shock inside of your body, you start to feel the harrowing need to be filled up.

You need to sit on something, to have a sizable object inside of you. If he would just slip a couple of those fingers into your hole, you'd be right as rain. You know it.

Turning your head back to look at him, you give him your biggest, most begging eyes, sending a strong telepathic message of, "fill me up, daddy, please, please, please fill me up."

Whether he understood it or not though, he only leans down to hold your chin in place with his free hand and kiss you on the lips now that you've tilted enough for him to reach them. Shit, this is like poison, being kissed so sweetly while his fingers are secretly rubbing at your pussy underneath your clothes. You feel so naughty, sitting in his lap and getting pleasured like this. You’d probably feel guilty for letting yourself get touched in front of everyone if Sero hadn’t wound you up so much that you stopped caring.

But you do let go and face forward again once you hear the music for the ending credits start rolling. You adjust the blanket as subtly as possible to close your legs and pull your dress back down as the discussion starts up again. Both you and Sero try to contribute as naturally as you can, and you eventually stand up to help clear away some of the trash and used dishes before they get the next movie queued up.

After they've decided on a popular Hollywood movie, Kaminari lights up yet another blunt as he directs a question at you and Sero, "You guys gonna watch this one too, or do you need a little lovey dovey break?"

"Shut up." You roll your eyes at him. Even though you could actually use it right now...

You've calmed down a bit after distracting yourself with a task, but you have yet to clean up the mess that's formed between your thighs.

"Hey, I'm just tryna be considerate since Sero's been having a hard time hiding his boner and all." Kaminari raises his arms defensively in the air, clearly babbling from all the smoke that went to his brain and unscrewed his already loose filter.

"Hey, who's telling you to peep my chorizo anyway, bro?" Sero throws a few chips from the coffee table at Kaminari, who tries (and fails) to catch at least one of them with his mouth.

"You did not just call it your chorizo..." you groan, looking away.

“No shame, dude.” Kaminari says as he reaches over to pick up the chips that landed on the sofa and toss them into his mouth anyway, “You should be proud of your grande chorizo. But there’s no hiding that thing from anyone.”

"'Chorizo' means sausage, right?" Todoroki turns to ask Tokoyami.

"I believe so."

"I heard it's also supposed to be slang for—"

"Everybody shut the fuck up about cocks and sausages and just start the goddamn movie already." Bakugou is the one who interrupts the tangent everyone starts to spiral off of, "If you're gonna stay and watch, then just watch."

"We'll watch." Sero decides, surprising you.

He wants to stay for another one after all of that teasing? Was he really working you up all that time just to drag it out longer? Was it because he got called out by his friend, so he doesn't want to confirm his suspicions?

When Sero pulls you back into his lap, you try not to wince at the feeling of sitting on your own wetness. Then he tilts his head over to meet your eyes, an easy smirk decorating his face, "If that's okay with you, bella."

Oh, okay. Now you see. It's because he's challenging you.

That face he's got on is all but a proclamation, that he can hold out longer than you. That you were the one who decided to join the group, so now you have to play along with his little game. Likely until you give in and drag him back to his bedroom like he originally wanted, or one of you comes while everyone else is still in the room.

Well, if he's going to light the fire in you, then he better be prepared to stoke all of the flames.

"Yeah, of course." you say, raising a haughty brow at him before turning to the screen.

He hugs you closer against his chest, subtly rolling his hips up into your ass like he's signaling with a checkered flag. You pretend to readjust the blanket over your lap as you rub back, dragging your ass along the slope tenting his sweatpants. The corners of your lips automatically tilt up in victory when you hear the hiss echo into your ear.

Both of you are pretty good for the first twenty minutes of the film, still joining the occasional conversation about the plot with the others as the new blunt goes around. Sero still holds it up for you to puff from before bringing it up to his own lips, never missing an opportunity to turn you slightly in your seat so he can hold eye contact with you as he inhales.

Sometimes, after he blows out the smoke, you take his wrist and bring the filter back to your lips to suck in another puff for yourself as you return the sticky gaze, maybe even leave a kiss on a knuckle. Only to turn back towards the TV after you've drank in his expression. It’s a painstaking rally of sexy little stunts, but you’re not going to drop the ball if you can help it.

The burning in your core is mild, still controllable, but so very present. It only gets warmer with time and touch, as the movie plays on and Sero's hands return to your thighs. This time, he keeps skimming his fingers along the bottom hem of your skirt, not really reaching any higher than that with his squeezes and caresses.

You think he's going to keep at that pace for a while, but then he starts grabbing hold of your hips on occasion, manually dragging you across his bulge when he's sure that no one's looking. You hold in your surprised breaths as much as possible, just letting yourself feel the deep-seated friction as he uses your body to get himself harder.

Your dress and skirt are riding up again, but it almost feels like a relief to be able to sit directly on his dick, even if it's hiding behind his sweatpants. They're black, so you can only hope that the stain from your pussy juices don't show when you eventually have to stand again.

At this point, you're kind of lost on the plot. Your dazed eyes are facing the TV, but all that's going on in your head is how much you wanna feel that raw, heavy cock again. It's so close, you could literally be sitting on it right now, if only it weren't for those sweats and this movie marathon and so many friends in the room.

However, while you think you're only stuck daydreaming about it, it seems like Sero doesn't let any of those things stop him. When he adjusts his sitting position beneath you this time, he must pull his sweats down just enough to let his dick out, because you really are sitting on it now!!

You clench your jaw to keep hold of your expression, fisting the blanket in your lap as you feel that undeniably warm, thick, and smooth flesh line up against your wet slit. Oh my god, there it is. That enormous, heavy cock that you've been longing for these past several weeks. You cannot believe you're finally touching it again under these circumstances...

For a minute, you convince yourself that Sero is just teasing you again, that he's just going to rub your hot flesh together like this for the rest of the film. That there's no way he'd be stupid enough to try and sit himself inside of you while all of your friends can very easily catch you.

Until you feel him lift your weight up slightly so he can press his tip between your lips, pushing in enough to breach your opening.

Putting a hand on his forearm that's wrapped around your waist, you turn around to whisper, "Are you fucking crazy?!"

"It'll be fine, baby. I'm not gonna move anything. I just wanna be inside you." He murmurs back with a face that is way too calm and innocent for what he's doing underneath this blanket.

"They're gonna notice!" You argue, still whispering as subtly and quietly as possible.

"They won't. Look, everyone's already faded. Some of 'em are already asleep." Sero subtly points his chin over to the guys who, when you look over, are indeed glazed over.

Bakugou and Todoroki both have their eyes closed and heads lulled to the side on their bean bags, out like lights. Kirishima’s eyes are hooded and blinking slowly as he leans against the arm of the sofa, like he's about to quickly follow after the sleeping beauties. Tokoyami is staring blankly at the screen and nothing else, sunken into the sofa like he's become a part of it, inanimate and all. And whatever focus is left in Kaminari’s brain seems to be concentrated on his phone, his thumbs moving slowly as he texts through his smoky haze.

So while you suppose you could possibly get away with letting Sero slip the tip in — or a bit more than that — without the others realizing it, that doesn't really mean that you should?? Because??? That would be so wrong??? And totally uncalled for, especially when they gave you plenty of outs to fuck in private already.

But... you do kind of want it.

Again, it's literally right there, pressed against your skin and already waiting at your entrance. The perfect size, the perfect temperature, a magnificent density to it that you can practically taste…

And... fuck, you would be lying if you said that it didn't excite you a bit, the idea of secretly taking a full dick right in front of all of your friends. Just playing a role as a flesh doll for your boyfriend while he's hanging out with his bros. The exaggerated thought of Sero casually having a conversation with his friends while he’s got you riding him leisurely or bent over a piece of furniture for him makes you shake with arousal. You can already feel another drop of wetness leaking out of your cunt as if to prove it.

"Come on, baby, lemme inside." Sero whispers again, pressing kisses into your neck, "Just for a bit. Promise I won't give it away. I won't even come, I swear."

"Are you fucking serious?" You quip back, more just to say it and buy time rather than because you're genuinely opposed to it at this point.

"I can already feel your pussy twitching against me," he teases with a quiet chuckle, "If I didn't move my pants out of the way, you've would've soaked right through them."

You shiver at his increasingly persuasive words, knowing more than anyone just how ready your pussy is to take him in. You've already been toeing the line of appropriateness this entire afternoon, but are you really ready to cross the border?

"Don't lie to me, querida." He says while rubbing your thighs this time, totally cheating, "Do you want me?"

"Yes, obviously. But..."

"I want you, too." He kisses your cheek this time, then pulls your chin to turn towards him so he can kiss your lips, "I want you so fucking bad. So will you let me? I swear, I just wanna be inside. I wanna feel close to you."

Wow, he really knows how to tug at the heartstrings. Stupid fucking playboy.

After taking in a deep, contemplating breath through your nose, you grumble out, "Fine."

He thanks you with a kiss before letting you pretend to adjust your seat and the blanket, when he's really just guiding you by the hips to sink down — slowly, slowly — inch by inch onto his stupidly large cock. Your eyes dart around the room, watching for any suspicious reactions as you get seated on your forbidden throne. But you can't keep them from closing in bliss when you feel yourself completely filled to the brim.

And your most immediate thought is, thank goodness.

The sigh that escapes your lips as you lean back into his chest is also against your will, but already, you feel changed. Grateful to finally have something to hug your walls around. Relieved after you see that no one seems to have noticed a thing. And somehow, safe, even in this dangerously scandalous predicament because you've got Sero's strong, warm arms wrapped around you.

You can't help but use your inner walls to give him a squeeze of appreciation out of the pure bliss you're feeling, but that doesn't seem to be the right thing to do, because Sero hisses and scolds you, "Careful there, [Name]. I said I'd be good, but you gotta behave too."

You have half a mind to tell him not to threaten you with a good time. But you figure that he’s right. It’s just to feel close, not to come. This is already crossing a line; you don’t need to take his cock and orgasm with all your friends around.

"Fine," you agree, "I'll be good. I can be good."

You say it almost like a chant to yourself, to convince yourself that you can do it. You can just sit here for the remainder of the film, completely calm with a hard dick inside of you, and not try to get yourself off on it.

You can do that.

You will do that.

Only it’s hard. Just the slightest thing triggers a tease of pleasure that only makes you seek out more. A twitch, a breath, a touch, adjusting your seat, even something that surprises you from the movie makes your walls contract in surprise, and Sero receives the direct blow of that reaction. Sometimes you even feel him twitch inside of you.

He’s pretty good at hiding it, just hugging you like he’s been doing all afternoon, still leaving innocently light kisses on your skin every so often, and keeping a casual demeanor even as he stays completely erect inside of you for the remainder of the movie. You’re rather impressed at his self control. He really did keep his promise to just be inside of you without doing anything else.

And you admit, past all of the sexual torture of this endless tease of a movie marathon, you do feel close to him. You’re learning about Sero’s more wild, daring, borderline criminal side, and he’s really been treating you like a girlfriend in front of his closest friends. While this is a rather unexpected turnout of events for a date, you have been enjoying yourself. And it only makes you more excited to spend time with him again. To find out what else you can learn about him.

Until you learn that he is actually a liar after all.

His claims about ‘behaving’ seem to have been forgotten as you feel his hand travel across your thigh to reach for your clit with his fingers. And when he starts gently rubbing at it without a word of warning, you know that he’s up to no good.

“What happened to ‘just being inside’?” You accuse, turning your head back enough so that only he hears you.

“I’m not moving, am I?” He has the gall to ask as he gives your clit a little pinch, making you gasp in surprise with a buck of your hips.

“Fuck, Hanta.” You rasp breathlessly, collapsing back against his chest and fisting the blanket into your hands to bring up to your chest, “D-Didn't you say you weren't gonna try to come?”

“Yeah. But that has nothing to do with making you come.” He points out, speeding up his fingers just a tad, “And I wanna feel you come around me, mami. Want you to fucking fall apart on top of me, right here, while you're warming my cock in front of all our friends."

The speed increases with the intensity of his dirty talk, and you find it harder and harder to believe that he's really just saying all of this in front of the everyone, whether they're barely conscious or not. What if one of them wakes up? What if they hear the sounds your wet clit is making under Sero's fingers and wake up to the sight of you coming right in this open living room?

"You f-fucking jerk..." you tremble, completely at his mercy. You aren't even keeping watch on anyone else anymore, having closed to your closed and brought the blanket to your nose with a hopeless prayer that no one will bear witness to your growing desperation to come.

"I know, baby, I know." He kisses your cheek before going down to start sucking harshly at your neck, making you muffle a squeal into the blanket bunched at your mouth now as you're attacked on two fronts.

The more Sero plays and swipes at your clit, the more your inner walls just start to pulse and tremble on their own around his dick, dancing from stimulation. Which makes him rub even faster in turn, using your clit like a dial to increase the pleasure for himself. He really is just trying to make you come around him like this, when the movie's just about to end.

"Fuck, fuuuck, don't do this to me..." You whisper breathlessly into the air as you lay your head back on Sero's shoulder, still clutching tightly to the blanket.

"Mmn... it's okay, bella." He rises to nip at your ear again, "Come for me. Come all over papi's big cock."

With a whimper over his words, you hide your face into the blanket as you roll your hips onto his cock and into his fingers, finally chasing your high for yourself. And it only takes a few seconds before you hit that long awaited peak. But all the pain of the buildup, teasing, anxiety over getting caught, embarrassment, and overall relief (mixed with all the pot that amplifies it all) also purge from your body at the same time.

Through your eyes.

You break out into tears — as quietly as possible — as you come, muffling your sobs as much as you can through the blanket as you orgasm intensely around Sero's cock. The pleasure is so good, but you're simultaneously so concerned about keeping quiet that you can't completely enjoy it, which only feeds into your tears even more.

Eventually, Sero notices something wrong, and he's quick to take action, pulling you off of his dick and scooping you up in a princess hold to hurriedly carry you back to his room. He speaks in a soft, soothing voice to you as he gets the door closed behind him and sets you down on his bed.

"Baby, baby what's wrong? [Name], I am so sorry, I went way too far, didn't I?" Regret laces his voice as he hovers over your body, holding your face in his hands as he gives you an apologetic kiss, "I'm so sorry, querida. Are you really upset? Talk to me."

You cry it out for another minute or two, waiting for the overflow of emotions to drain out of your body. All while Sero gives you kisses and comforting words and touches in the meantime. And eventually, your body calms down enough for you to speak again.

"I'm n-not upset," you hiccough a bit as you wipe at the tears, "But that was definitely a lot... More than I expected."

"Oh my god, I am so sorry—"

"No, I thought I could handle it." you admit, sniffling as you wipe away the last of the tears. You don't feel any more forming behind your eyes, so you should be good now. So you continue, "You didn't do anything wrong, I still enjoyed it. I would've stopped you if I really didn't want you to do it."

"Are you sure?" He asks, eyes worried and thumbs caressing your cheeks. This is yet another face you're seeing on him for the first time. He really does care about you.

"Yeah, but... maybe we shouldn't do that again." You suggest with a bloated laugh.

"Agreed." He presses a kiss into your lips that feels like a vow, "I really am sorry about all of that. I just got so caught up in you. I... I've actually never done something like that before."

"You've never stuck your cock inside someone in front of your friends?" You raise your brows playfully at him, as if you find it hard to believe.

"Call me a prude." He shrugs, coming in for another apologetic kiss. He kisses you for a while longer, taking it slow but moving freely without the barrier of other eyes on you.

His clothes and your sweater dress finally come off, and he marvels at you as he lies on his back with you straddling his waist. The way he drags his hands up your thighs to slip beneath your translucent skirt, you'd think he was working with cake fondant or something equally delicate.

"I cannot tell you how much I fucking love this on you." He sighs, playing with the soft material.

"I was hoping you'd like it," you confess, a sultry smile on your face as you rise to your knees and maneuver yourself to straddle him in the opposite direction instead. Your smile only grows wider in triumph when you hear Sero's pained groan as he drinks in the view from the back.

His hands are already drawing up your sides to help support your weight as you lift and lower yourself back down to sheathe his cock again. Then, making a show of arching your back and sticking out your ass, you plant your hands down on his lower thighs to start gently bouncing on him.

"Mmm... your pussy is even silkier than this skirt. Fucking perfect." He praises, pulling his hands aside for once, just letting you show off and enjoying the view for himself a while longer.

You only turn your head halfway around to look back and say, "Mm, it missed you, daddy."

And then you squeeze him as you drag your hips back up the length of his cock, earning you a playful smack on the ass in return.

"Oh, I know." He reassures you, "Your pussy is probably the most honest thing about you, mami. It's been dripping for me since the moment you stepped foot in the door, hasn't it? Sweet, pretty, little thing..." He praises, massaging and spreading the globes of your ass as he speaks. As if trying to bare the sight of said pussy to his eyes, even while it's swallowing cock.

"Always. For you." You sigh as you adjust your legs, bring them to lie between Sero's legs this time as you lean back, "Hold me up."

His hands are quick to support your weight at your sides as you lean back, hovering above him as you continue to stay sheathed on his dick. After planting your hands on the bed beneath you, you engage all of your ab muscles to start dropping yourself down on his hips again, fucking yourself on his cock that you're sure is going to burst soon.

Sero is moaning behind you, lifting his own hips to meet yours while still supporting your weight. And once he's gotten used to the rhythm a bit, you lift up one leg to cross over the other, effectively tightening your pussy around him as you continue to ride him this way. Admittedly, it's a lot tougher trying to balance your weight on one leg when you're trying to fuck yourself on a cock, but Sero's loud, helpless groan is entirely worth it.

"Holy fuck, hoooooly fuck." He practically sings, slipping out a few Spanish curses as well, "God, baby you are so— so fucking tight. Feels so damn good."

"Yeah, papi. It's all for you. So you can fill me up again." You return his dirty talk in stride, getting lost in yourself, emotions awhirl from the pot and the orgasm earlier and all the excitement from the afternoon. You just need to get your fill of Sero, and everything will fall into place later.

"Fuck, baby. You know I love that shit—" He growls as he hugs you to bring you down to lie completely on top of him, taking completely control of the pace.

His arms keep you caged to his chest, so you can only watch and hold on as Sero plants his feet on the bed and lifts his hips to just start fucking up into yours. All of the patience, teasing, and tension you've piled up throughout the day has all crumbled into this avalanche of desperate, carnal desire. His playfulness is lost on you as he growls through this last spurt of pummeling through your guts to finally come inside you.

And you barely manage to muffle your scream in time when he fucks you into a more freeing orgasm. One where you can come without worrying about who might catch you shaking like an electric current has passed through you, or seeing what kind of slutty, wanton face you're making, or watching you desperately grind and milk Sero's cock for all he's worth even after he finishes coming.

"Fuck, daddy. It's so fucking good. I love it..." You babble mindlessly as you come down from your high, already searching for your next one.

Neither you nor Sero offer even the slightest thought to your friends outside for the next hour as he eats the cum out of your pussy, feeds it back to you with open-mouthed kisses, fucks you with your feet above your head, lets you suck him off until you can paint yourself with his cumshot, takes a few nasty nude photos of you, fucks you while just sitting down on his bed, fucks you on the floor, and finishes you off with the sweetest, honey-thick kisses.

By the time you wake up from your post marathon nap, the moon is bright in the sky and everyone is long gone. Todoroki seems to have turned in for the night when Sero leads you into the bathroom for a shower.

You feel awkward about the whole thing, but Sero reassures you, "The group chat's full of eggplant emojis and shit. So you know they're super supportive."

As if that's supposed to dissolve how deeply embarrassed you are for likely exposing them to all of your embarrassing sex noises. And somewhat sorry for keeping Sero to yourself on their boys' night. Even though it was technically your date night in the first place.

But your boyfriend soon kisses all of your worries away again, washing you clean, whipping you up a late night meal to share with the groceries you brought, and holding you close as he cuddles you in his bed with his laptop open to actually watch a movie together this time. And as you're huddled into Sero's blankets and arms, wearing only one of his t-shirts, bantering back and forth about the characters and actors that appear on the screen, you realize something again.

"You know," you say during some random lull in the film, turning to look up at him, "I really like you."

Sero blinks for a second, like he's in shock, but he reels back quickly and pulls in you closer by the waist, face calm but eyes deeply serious, "Well, I really like you, too."

You share the sentiment with a soft kiss, one that feels far gentler than any other kiss you've shared today. His lips only pucker and smack quietly against yours, barely pushing. Like he's purely focused on the sensation of your lips and trying to savor exactly how they feel and taste in this particular moment. It doesn't get any deeper even when he brings a hand up to cup your face, but the atmosphere does feel delicate when you both pull away to stare into each other's eyes.

And somehow, miraculously, the two of you only share one more short peck before turning your attention back to the movie. As if that moment didn't just remove the feeling of gravity from your body. Whatever was keeping you tied to earth has gone out for a smoke break.

Yet, it feels good to enjoy and savor a moment exactly as it is. While you wouldn't have been upset if that kiss went further, there is something to be appreciated about keeping it pure and clean. It’s almost magical. That la vie en rose type of feeling.

Your heart stirs in your chest, keeping you awake even when Sero’s fallen asleep beside you. You just listen to the even sound of his breathing, feeling his heart beat soundly against your cheek, waiting. Waiting until you’re sure that he’s really asleep. Because you want to say it just once. Just to see how it feels. You might not be able to sleep until you get it out.

So maybe thirty minutes after you’ve both said goodnight, when Sero’s arms have slightly relaxed around you, you lean up to leave a soft kiss on his jaw just below his ear, whispering, “Je t’aime.”

Once it’s done, you curl back into your place against his body, trying to get a hold of yourself as your heartbeat actually increases for a short wave before lowering once again. It actually takes you a while to fall asleep after that, but eventually you relax into the lull of Sero’s heartbeat until you drift off into a dream where he kisses your head and tells you “Te quiero” back.

—

tbc

a/n: lmao i know they literally just got together but if u know me then u know i can't finish a slow burn fic without at least one (1) dramatic ily confession

part 12

[riswippiesx]

Love & Care | Toji Fushiguro X Fem! Reader

🌷 Part two

•The confession and aftermath🌸 Part one(headcanons)

Theme: mild angst, fluff, slightly suggestive at the end(very mild, just some hint)

Warnings: ooc Toji, age gap(Toji is in his early 40s and reader is in her early 20s), suggestive jokes, nervousness, not proof read[I'm lazy asf😐]

Notes: Finally the part two is here. I'm sorry if Toji doesn't sound like Toji😭 I didn't want to make him a rude bratty guy here. also so sorry for the delay. This Toji has no filters and says suggestive jokes. I have portrayed Megumi's relation with Toji in a frank manner. They are like friends more than typical son and dad.

Also long stroy warning!!⚠️ I just love to write long fics! So don't mind. I hope you enjoy🦋

Oh the nervousness! It was ruling over your mind and you hated it. Once you even decided to ditch the evening meet up and put some excuses later on when Megumi would be furious at you. You could handle it, you were great at calming Megumi down all the time. It'd be piece a cake. But again, you knew you would regret in future thinking everything was already fallen in places except for one single piece, The confession.

The dilemma was draining but a faint possibility of getting together with a man whom you actually wanted, was keeping you up and thus you decided to shrug off all the thoughts of ditching the meet up and went to take a shower.

And the shower worked like charm for you. Your mind was finally working straight and you did all the routines you needed. You pampered your hairs and your body just the way it seemed right. After all, the evening might turn into something really special. Well there were chances, at least.

You dried yourself after shower and texted Megumi if the date was still on and he reassured you everything was fine. He didn't forget to warn you about the scary circumstances if you dared to back off in the last moment and the last thing you wanted was to offend determined Megumi. So you assured him that you won't back off.

You mothered Megumi, but sometimes he turned into a strict guide towards you and this time wasn't any exception. So you chose a outfit, suitable enough in your eyes. You decided to keep your look subtle. You were almost done when your phone ringed once. It was Megumi, who texted you the address of the beautiful cafe where he decided to bring his dad. You texted him back and left for an uncertain but exciting evening.

"Are you sure that you will be okay with me? I mean you said it was a hang out with your friend.. So..?", Toji asked, buttoned up with black shirt.

"Of course dad. Will you stop asking me the same question for like tenth time now?", Megumi looked at his dad's direction with a tired expression. He purposely didn't mention your name. He said that his friends wanted to meet his dad, since they thought his dad was so cool, which was quite a truth but Toji barely believed that. But Megumi somehow convinced him.

He felt like a dad, who was trying to set up two children. It was too much to deal with but if the whole thing turned out in the way he thought, it would be worthy enough. But he didn't have any plan about the opposite results at all.

He brushed off his thoughts soon after and hurried his dad, "C'mon, why are taking so long to get ready, dad? Hurry up already..or we will be late"

"Oh boy. Don't rush me up. I'm an old man. Spare me", Toji smirked at his son while fixing his waist belt. Megumi sighed in response.

"You? Old man? Yeah sure", Megumi mocked back. He wasn't as old as he claimed. After all, he was the one who was getting a girl, while Megumi barely had a talking phase with anyone. Anyway.

It took you 30 minutes to reach to that certain cafe but you were the one who reached first, actually. You stood outside and noticed the ambience inside. Being honest, it was really beautiful and eye catching. The dim lights added an extra charm to it. You smiled. Megumi did a great job in finding a proper place.

You waited for near 10 minutes when you heard a familiar voice calling for you.

"Y/n?"

Yoy looked back and found your dream man with a bouquet of your favorite flowers. And that was enough to melt your heart. Moreover, he looked extremely handsome in his all black look. His black shirt, black pants and that gorgeous black overcoat— oh he looked expensively glorious. You couldn't look away.

"T-Toji san..", a smile appeared on your lips as you stated his name.

"I didn't expect you...to be that friend...?"

"....what friend?"

"The one who said that I was cool and wanted to meet me..?"

Oh so that was Megumi's excuse huh.

"Yeah..I well..actually they will arrive soon.."

"Alright...is there any other female friend?"

"No...?!"

"I see...so here...." He offered the flowers to you. "Megumi told to give these flowers to the his female friend and since no other female friend of his is coming, I hope these are meant for you..?" He smiled and you died at pretty his smile.

"..thank you...these are my favorite.."

"Oh? Great. But Megumi couldn't give it to you..sorry for that..he said he left his phone at home and he needed it contact with that certain friend..so he went back to take it and I came here....that boy is so clumsy.." He laughed.

What a great actor you are, Gumi! You praised him in your mind and smiled. "That's okay.."

"Yeah let's wait here till he arrives."

"It's fine, let's.. Go inside if you don't mind..he will join us later..? Or...well the tables might get all booked..."

Toji was silent for while before he agreed and you two entered the cafe. If it looked great from outside, it looked heavenly once you entered. The light music in the background was putting everything together.

The two of you were guided to a pre-booked table and sat there. You had plenty of topics to chat about but this evening wasn't for chitchat. You needed to get to the point but it was scary. You couldn't bare rejection, not from your dream man. Toji was speaking to you but it was hard for you to focus when so much was going on in your head.

"Y/n..you are not responding.. Are you okay? Feeling alright?", he sounded worried and you realised that you were zoning out the entire time when he spoke.

"Well..sorry I was zoning out.."

"That's fine..you are okay right?"

"Yes", you smiled. He sounded so soft and caring. Was it real? Or were you being delusional? You couldn't tell. Then you forced yourself to engage in the conversation. You needed to divert your mind before actually confessing. It was just some basic chitchat when he mentioned.

"I can say some boys checking you out"

"Oh?"

"Yeah but let's ignore them. But you..do look pretty." A nervous giggle was the only thing you could do as a response. Your heart was pounding so hard that it might come out. Even Toji might hear it. Shit. You needed to get yourself together.

"Y/n are you really okay? Are you feeling uneasy? Want to go back? We can..."

"No..it's fine..no worries."

"You look like I need to worry. Your forehead is sweaty..it's kinda chilly today..you must feel sick.."

"No I..I am totally fine trust me..."

"Are you hiding something? Or you want to say something?"

You looked away. Your heart rate never became this fast. You knew it was the right time. You had to tell him your hearts content. Megumi worked hard to bring you two this far. You won't let him down. You won't let your future self regret. But you wasn't sure how to start.

At that moment of extreme nervousness, you felt Toji's hands on yours.

"It's okay Y/n..you can tell me pretty much whatever you want. I know I don't mind much. So calm down first and then say it."

Your eyes drifted back to his and his eyes hinted some care. Care for you. He was trying to comfort you. He was trying to help you. And it actually worked. Your extreme nervousness reduced a bit. You grabbed his hands back and closed your eyes. Yours eyes were shut untill you were again in control of your nerves.

You slowly opened your eyes. The peace you were feeling in your heart was so soothing. Your dilemmas weren't that much bold anymore. Your lips parted to form a few words.

"Toji san...I...like you...not as Megumi's dad..as..you..yourself.."

Toji took a moment to process the words you stated. You liked him? You? Such a gorgeous woman liked him? Was it a joke? You eyes didn't seem like one though.

Both of you stayed quiet and took your time. Your hands were still in his hold. But he took back his hands. And that was the last thing you wanted to happen but you imagined this a thousand time in your head. Rejection. Rejected by your dream man. Rejected by Toji Fushiguro. Was he refusing your feelings? Of course he was. Why would he ever be with a younger girl like you? He wasn't that fallen to consider his son's friend as his partner.

Your heart and mind was getting bitter.

"..excuse me..for a bit..y/n..I need to go check if Megumi is coming..."

Part of you wanted to yell ans say that he won't come. This evening was meant for you and him and him only. But another part kept your lips shut together. You just nodded in approval and with that Toji left the cafe.

You were certain that he partially rejected you. He didn't like you. Megumi was wrong, so wrong. You shouldn't have listened to him. You could have faced the longing but this..this wasn't something you could bare. All the times you spent with Toji, made you fall even further for him. His laugh, his jokes..you laughed a lot. His eyes, so deep to even drown you. His noticable scar, which he stated to be sign of his daring younger life's stunts- you adored that a lot. His face even looked better with it. You loved all of it but it was all for your own self. You didn't have to confess it. Dumb! Really dumb!

You looked down. The bitterness was consuming you. You wanted to cry but some strong determination in you didn't let you embarrass yourself any further in a public place. You just sat there with you head on your both hands.

Toji quickly came out. He really hoped that you didn't notice the faint blush on his face. He couldn't recall the last time he blushed like this. It was overwhelming. He wasn't sure when things turned into something more than just some chitchat about Megumi's well being. He ignored it all untill one day, when he found himself thinking about your pretty smile while working or making dinner or taking a pleasant shower.

He was ashamed of himself when he found that he had fallen for a girl half of his age, and she was literally his son's best friend. How could he? But he did and it was hard to sallow that fact. Everytime you stopped by to chat or met up to hang out, he was mesmerized by you. You brought a ray of sunshine in his dull days. His heart was filled with so much love after many years. Your memories, smell, words lingered around him for hours after you left each time.

But he thought it just one sided. Sometimes he felt you might like him back but he scolded him for thinking that far.

It was all proven actually right when you confessed. His heart stopped, ears perked up. You felt the same as he did? How could the world be so perfect. His heart told him to accept right away but a person appeared in his mind's mirror. Megumi. His son. How would he react if he found out his dad with his best friend?

And that was when a lot came in together. He got a faint clue about Megumi's consent in all this. Almost every time you two met up cause Megumi brought you two together. You two were all in meet ups while Megumi left each time with some weird excuses. He guessed something but certainly not this far. He needed to confirm if it was all in his brain or Megumi was actually involved in this. Thus he excused himself and came out of the restaurant. He knew that it was rude of him. He noticed how your face darkened when he excused himself but he couldn't afford to make a mistake in taking his further decision where you two were linked.

He brought out his mobile and dialled Megumi's number. He didn't pick up. Toji kept on calling and in the seventh attempt, Megumi finally picked up the call.

"Yeah I just got back and grabbed my phone, dad. Don't worry i'll be..." Megumi's fake statement was cut by Toji.

"Megumi be honest with me. Did you willingly set me up with Y/n?"

Megumi went silent. He had nothing to say as a reply to that.

"Megumi, I want an answer." Toji again spoke.

"Dad..."

"Yeah I'm listening"

Megumi sighed in disappointment, "...yes...I did..sorry..."

"How many times?"

"Pretty much all the time..."

"Wow"

"Are you upset?"

Toji didn't reply to that. He couldn't. He wasn't upset bur he was confused.

"Sorry...if you are...just don't blame her-"

"I'm not..just tell me one thing. Why did you do all these? Are you okay with... Your best friend being with your...dad?"

"I am always okay. Even I want you two to date"

"Why do you say so?"

"Why? You two literally talk about each other all the time. You have no idea how Y/n just keeps praising you all the time. And then at home, you do the same about her. You two didn't know how to keep things up, so I did the favour. Now tell me one thing. Did she confess?"

"She did."

"I hope you accepted"

"I came out of the restaurant without saying much"

"Dad...you are a game spoiler..."

"How on the earth would I know that you were this intrigued about us.."

"What?"

"I thought you would creep out if you get to know about I was dating your friend-"

"No I won't. When you two go so well with each other, why would I?"

"Right...so should I ...accept..?"

"You are asking? Yes you should! Geez!"

"Alright."

"You old people are so dramatic"

"Still your best friend liked me over you", Toji grinned over the call and Megumi could heard the sarcasm in his tone.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Just go back and accept."

"Sure, thanks"

"Go!"

And the hang up. Toji was sure about his next move. He would confess as well that he liked you, he loved you. You were the woman who made him gasp from time to time. You were the woman who fluttered his heart.

Thinking about you brought a smile to his face. He took a deep breath and turned to go back inside. That was when you came out. You looked tensed and upset. He knew he screwed up. He had to fix it.

"Y/n..."

"You were right.. I am actually not feeling well. Don't worry I talked with the manager. They cancelled the booking. You can go back. Sorry for wasting your time. Also, Toji san..forget what I said. Please. It was just a....well don't mind", you forced a smile.

"Y/n no..you're getting it wrong.."

"Please don't push yourself Toji san. I totally understand."

"No you don't. Y/n listen to what I want to say"

You were silent. He took that chance and spoke.

"Y/n.. I didn't mind. Not at all. Why would I..when I felt the same.."

You looked up at him. Your eyes were slightly widened.

"Yes..I like you too..and not just as Megumi's friend. As you. Y/n you amaze me. You're an wonderful woman. I just didn't accept right away because..I wasn't sure what Megumi would think of me..if I did..."

"Gumi knows about-"

"Yes I talked to him already. Actually I came outside to call him. Didn't expect my boy to go that far" he laughed a bit. "But I'm glad he did. Because I didn't have that courage to make a move on you. It felt so wrong to think about you as my partner at this age..I thought it was one sided. But your words cleared my thoughts and I'm really so glad that you feel the same for me."

"Are you...sure?"

"One hundred percent" he stated confidently which was enough to make you chuckle. Oh how pretty you looked with a smile on your face. "So ......is the proposal still valid?"

"It is always valid." You smiled. Toji's eyes softened a bit more as he grabbed your hand and kissed it.

"Great. Now let me ask you out this time..okay?"

"On a street side?"

"For now, yes."

"The people?"

"I don't really mind"

"Well..okay"

Toji got on his knees and hold your hands close to his heart. "Y/n..will you...will you do a favour to this old man and be his girlfriend?" You giggled at his goofy confession and replied, "I'd love to" and with that he kissed your hand once again.

Since you cancelled the booking, Toji decided to take you to his favorite bakery and you tried some of the cookies and desserts, so did he. You two were like two birds in love. And it was actually pure love. The adoration was so content in your relationship that you both felt at home in each other's presence.

After hanging for a bit more, Toji stopped at a flower shop and bought your favorite flowers for you, as you left the previous bouquet at the cafe. Also he didn't buy that with the intension of giving it to you in with his consciousness. So it was needed. You were delighted, so was him.

You walked as you talked. His car wasn't there since he told Megumi to drive back to take his phone. Well he didn't know things were all planned anyway. So you two decided to walk to your home.

It was a long walk yet that felt so less. Distance never seems enough when you are with your favorite person.

"Well, we are here..", Toji spoke with a smile.

"Yes..thank you..for today..Toji san.."

"Just Toji.."

"It'll take some time to adjust", you laughed.

"No problem"

"Good night. Let's meet another day, soon"

"Sure.." Smile never left his lips. You nodded and turned to get inside of your apartment but he again called you. You looked back while he stepped closer

"Forgive me for this but..." He didn't finish his sentence when you felt his lips on yours. That heavenly feeling, which you imagined so many times, was actually happening to you. Your soul jumped and shivered. You were quick to close your eyes aa you got lost in that one kiss. It hold so many emotions. After so many days, you were finally being kissed by the man you loved and adored a lot, by YOUR man.

He, on the other hand, found the peace of the world on your lips. His heart raced yet it bought peace to him. Your lips felt soft on his and his hands cupped your face. He just couldn't let your lips go.

Finally he let your lips go and looked at your face. You looked even more gorgeous up close. He admired you. Your eyes were closed yet he could tell your eyes would speak of happiness and excitement.

His breath fell on your face as you opened your eyes again. You eyes met his and his gaze brought the very common yet sweet factor of love to you, shyness. Your gaze drifted to the ground and your lips were slightly swollen from the kiss. He just wanted to kiss you again but he had to control himself. He didn't want to over do it. So he slowly let you go but stayed close to you.

"Did I cross the limit?" He smiled.

"No.."

"Glad to know" he kissed your cheeks and your heart just almost stopped. You wanted to hide your face. His direct gaze was piercing your through your soul. So you hugged him and hid your face in his embrace. Your action made him giggle softly and he hugged you back.

"There there..did I make you shy?"

"Didn't know you were such a tease"

"Well sweetheart, there's a lot you will learn from now on"

"..looking forward to it.."

"Yeah?" He slowly pulled you back and looked at you. "Sure?" and you nodded. A mischievous grin appeared on his features. "You will learn how far my teasing can go...soon" and he winked as he grabbed your waist. Your face was burning with shyness.

"Toji san! It's getting late...you should go back now..good night !" With that you made yourself free and ran inside your apartment with your racing heart.

The whole thing made him laugh hard. His phone rang and it was his son.

"Yeah..Hello"

"How did it go..?"

"Very well. She is now my girl"

"Thankfully."

"Yeah I even kissed her.."

"Well I didn't need to know that much dad....but yeah good for you two" Megumi smiled.

"I know. Just a show off"

"Old man!"

"Hey! Don't insult me like that..your mom won't like it.."

"Huh?"

"Y/n..she would certainly not like it if you insult her boyfriend and her possible future husband"

"I would never call her mom! No way"

"Someone else will..."

"Yikes. Can you please be careful about what are you saying and whom you are talking to! You are disgusting! Y/n would be so mad if she knew that you were saying such weird stuff to me about you two"

Toji laughed in response. "Sorry sorry..just kidding. Will be careful from now on don't worry.."

"Come back soon"

"Yeah"

Well...sorry for being so late omg💀 the college works are just..anyway..anyway...I hope it was okay? Cause I typed for so long lol☠️

Also, Requests are currently closed! I'll inform when they will open again. I'm keeping my chat box open but I would just delete all the requests if I get anything from today untill I open my request box again. sorry💗

Thanks a lot for reading!

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated ♡

[whimsical-sonic]

@sonic-oc-showdown

well, i said that i'd make a post breaking down stings design if he made it to round 2 and so! this is it! this is that post

without further ado, let's talk about how i designed my boy!

warnings for (drawn) close-up images of scorpions:

let's start off with his head!

the vast majority of sting's head comes from scorpion anatomy! his eyebrows are based off of a pair of a scorpion's walking legs. scorpions have 4 pairs of walking legs which are attached to the head/thorax. i can't represent all 4 pairs but i could at least represent 1, hence why his eyebrows are Huge and stick off of his head

the pair of darker red tubes that go from behind his eyebrows to the back of his head, those are meant to be pedipalps! pedipalps are actually part of a scorpion's mouth, but for sonic character design purposes i used it to resemble hair. as for the actual pincers, thats what the two things on the back of his head are. if you were to translate it to hair, it'd be like a tight, messy bun

the other part of a scorpion's mouth are the chelicerae! his mouth originally took more inspiration from how a scorpion's mouth is supposed to look, but due to how difficult it was to consistently draw + emote in general, this was changed to be more beak-like (using mimic for reference). his "tusks" are still reminiscent of the tip of the chelicerae, only they turn up to help his mouth look more distinct!

as for the 2 pairs of dot markings on his head, those are meant to represent eyes! scorpions have at least 6 eyes, 12 at most. the 2 pairs of markings are meant to give the impression that sting has 6 eyes!

next up is his clothes! since sting specializes in close-combat fighting, he doesn't really wear loose clothes as he doesn't want to risk tripping over himself or getting caught on anything. that's why he wears a simple torn tank top and some pants

his belt is fashioned after the segments on a scorpion's abdomen! thats why there's all those lines on it

his shoes, the golden edge of his shoes with the two little protrusions, those are meant to resemble a scorpion's paws!

as for sting's tail, the reason why it's so thick is because he is a highly venomous scorpion! it's also why the pincers on his head are so small: scorpions with thick tails and small pincers are Very Venomous while scorpions with thin tails and big pincers are mostly harmless! i went for a more spherical shape with his tail because i thought it looked cool. he originally didn't have a set number of segments but ultimately i landed on 6, which is the same amount of an actual scorpion (5 metasomal segments + the 1 pincer)

lastly, his palette! sting's palette is actually inspired by the deathstalker scorpions from kipo and the age of wonderbeasts! actual deathstalkers are more orange/brown, but the mutated ones in kipo are various shades of red. you can really see the inspiration in this image here

his tail has an alternating color palette for readability! it'd be harder to make out more action-y poses if it was all the same color, or if it was half lighter half darker, so the alternating colors help make it more distinct

this art is from august! it helps show the color breakdown

(flat + shade)

AND THATS IT! that is all the thought and inspiration i put into my boy. if you took the time to actually read through all of this thank you so much!!! it genuinely means a lot to me 🌟

if you really like sting, please consider voting for him in the oc showdown! you can vote here

[chromotps]

uhhh thoughts on alabasta ratman sleep-deprived and weed fueled ace vs peak chad energy fuckboy prime wano ace?? like which one do you prefer, do you have any thoughts if he’d treat/think of luffy any different? in these two periods of his life?

(also ugh I adore both and there’s something special about alabasta ace who went after luffy to drum island, made sure everyone knew he would be waiting for luffy in alabasta, then went and sat there for 10 days with no other purpose but to wait for luffy. bc he just wanted to see him so so much. brocon alabasta ace is uhhhgggghh insane vibes but. there’s also something about wano graciously giving everyone big tits and a healthy layer of fat tissue on top of all that muscle. also the fact that portgas d “i hate when little children follow me around” ace willingly befriended and took care of tama. also promised her the same thing he promised luffy. idkidkidk I just like to think luffy was on ace’s mind 90% of the time, wherever he went, and he often just thought about him bc a lot of thinks reminded him of luffy. like things luffy would like, things he’d like to eat, things he’d find funny etc)

I thought this would be easy to answer but then I had like a whole essay typed up in my head. so. thank you for this ask, I have a lot of feelings about it apparently. 😂😂

they really do feel like 2 different characters, maybe bc Oda was still firming up the details of marineford/wano when Ace first appeared in alabasta? In any case it's always fun seeing which "version" of him fans lean into in fanart/fic/headcanons hahaha. like do they make him more scrungly and sleazy (but maybe also secretly doting)? you got yourself a greasy Ace fan. do they make him all upstanding and softly affectionate and soulful? wano ace wano ace wano ace

(a lot more rambling from here)

I have to admit...... and I'm ashamed to say it............... but I was only half-aware of Ace in Alabasta—like at that point, he was just another "wacky cool shounen guy" to me. It took Marineford breaking my brain down to its component parts and rearranging them for my full Ace brainrot to set in, and at that point he was closer to Ethereal Fridged Wife wano Ace, so I'd probably go with that one? God I do need to rewatch Alabasta tho, I feel like it'd be such a trip of fawning over greasy ratman Ace this time around ahahahah

I think it took until Marineford for me to really latch onto Ace bc it was outwardly like: Alabasta Ace: I'm cool Marineford Ace: I'm cool [ironic][hiding INTENSE self-worth issues]

I agree with everything you said though... I love wrinkly, wrung-out-to-dry Alabasta Ace and his devil-may-care coolness. His vibes of being just a bit more of a rebel than any of the Strawhats even, the thing that makes people cast him as a guitarist or artist in modern AUs. that fuckin,,,,, crouch/perching thing he does,,,, The WAITING... he's so understated with his devotion, like, this panel??

he's trying to be so cool and older brother-y but really he just wants his little brother to visit him sometimes!!! he waited for luffy for 10 days when he's been prioritizing this mission over everything else, even being with his other found-family crew, and I just!!! sigh

"any thoughts if he’d treat/think of luffy any different" I so agree that Wano Ace is pre-Whitebeard Ace, meaning that even though he's presenting himself as independent and a leader/captain, there's a part of him that's still very angry and searching for acceptance. And yesss, bc of that he was probably holding his memories of Luffy so close all the time, seeing his brother who loves him in the innocent, trusting kid he helps, and unable to stop bragging about his brave little brother to the brash, impressive club-weilding guy he runs into.

meanwhile I feel like Alabasta Ace is actually more mellowed-out in his feelings toward Luffy, in a way? like idk, maybe—I might be completely off—but he's more secure in himself and his attachment to Luffy... or at least he tells himself he is. I just feel like that explains why he's shown to be so openly brag-y about Luffy in his Wano days, but seems way more laidback in Alabasta, haha (but the brocon devotion is still there, just better-hidden, lmaoooo) (and it gets ripped to the forefront during Marineford—he's forced to confront all that fear and attachment when he sees Luffy hurtling through the air toward him AH)

god tho. wano ace. wano ace and this gif

the things. the things i want to do to this man. the morals i would abandon. unspeakable.

and this???? him??????????????? sunkissed angel backlit like the once-in-a-lifetime love interest in a twee indie film???

yeah I... in summary, I feel like I have 60/40 preference for Wano Ace over Alabasta Ace, but really it's that mix of all those qualities that I like to bring in when i can.

(my secret third answer is Marineford Ace. the blorbo who started it all, lmao)

[finallydelight]

Hello! I sent this ask a while ago so I'm pretty sure Tumblr decided to nom all the asks I sent that day since it seems like none of them went to any of the people I sent them to 😓😓

Anyways, I was just wondering if you'd ever do something based on The Tag and/or Mousebusters? Those were such fun episodes so I think it'd be cool to see your take on them and where Ming fits in!

Have an awesome day/night! <333

Hi!

Thank you so much for the request, I'm sorry that your asks didn't go through, tumblr is a bitch.

Thanks for showing interest in Ming, it warms my heart.

Have a great day/night yourself <333

lots of love from Jenny :)

EP. 31 MOUSEBUSTERS #1 | Ming Going Seventeen

a/n: what's in between [/] are captions :)

''Our last rat is Kim Ming.'' Seungkwan announces, pointing at the screen next to him.

Her profile:

MING (Cutie)

master at aegyo

very smart

The members make 'aw' noises upon seeing Ming's profile and picture of her in the mouse outfit.

Seungkwan interrupts them. ''She might look cute, but she is the most dangerous rat of them all!'' He tells the members, making a lot of hand gestures.

''How come?'' Joshua asks, going along with Seungkwan.

''She will lure you in with her charms and then BOOM!'' He yells, making some of the members flinch by the sudden loudness.

''She'll eat you.'' He finishes.

Dokyeom gets up from his chair. ''EAT US? We have to stop her!''

''No, how come someone so cute, can be so dangerous?'' Jeonghan says.

Seungkwan gets closer to Jeonghan. ''See! That's her trap! People don't believe someone like her can be a mean rat, but once they get closer to her, she takes them!'' He tells his older member, as dramatic as possible.

''Then we have to send someone after her who can resist her charms!'' Mingyu orders.

All the members look at each other and a silence falls.

[ERROR FOUND]

Dino breaks the silence. ''I can do it!''

[Brave Maknae]

''She'll kill you first.'' Seungkwan denies Dino. The members laugh at the quick reaction, while Dino just accepts it.

Vernon comes up with a strategy. ''We just have to get her to run, then we can catch her.'' The members agree.

''Yeah, she's not a very good runner.'' Mingyu says.

''But she's smart, so she'll have a good hiding spot.'' Coups argued him.

Seungkwan finishes up Ming's profile. ''She'll be the one to look out for.''

While the busters decided on nicknames and strategies to catch the rats, the rats went over their abilities.

''We need to set the rats' abilities.'' Wonwoo started.

Hoshi chimed in. ''We have to divide the skills and...'' He got interrupted by Jun imitating the sound that a rat makes.

''There's the mass exodus which you can take everyone out of the jail.'' Woozi reminded.

''And three long distance escapes.'' Wonwoo added.

''And summoning!'' ''Summoning!'' Ming and Jun said at the same time, they gave each other a high five.

Hoshi also explained that after an hour has passed, the rats will be able to use their special abilities.

''Let's all lie.'' Hoshi laughed.

The five members joked around with the secret abilities, making each other laugh.

''The 96s are really good at it, actually?'' Hoshi stated.

Ming stopped laughing and looked at Hoshi, with a very (jokingly) serious look on her face.

[Ming-noona]

Woozi chuckled. ''Come to think of it, the 96s didn't get to gather well.'' He continued.

''What is the year of mouse? Kyungja-yeon?'' Hoshi asked the staff in front of them.

''Hey! If you're gonna tease me, at least do it well.'' Ming countered.

The 96-liners laughed at her reaction. Hoshi clinged onto Ming, finding her facial expressions hilarious.

She turned to the staff. ''Why am I here actually? Or did my age change without my knowledge?'' She asked.

''We just needed a fifth rat.'' Their producer said, casually.

''And their first thought went to you.'' Jun added, although it came out funnier than he intended to.

Ming turned her body to look at Jun. ''Are you saying I look like a rat?''

He waved his hands in front of him and shook his head. ''I don't think you look like a rat, but the staff obviously do.'' He clarified, again much funnier than he intended.

After everyone calmed down a bit from the laughing, Hoshi suggested a team name.

''I know what suits for rat. How about 'No Kidding' for our name?'' He suggested.

The members agreed and they did a little greeting, saying the name in sync.

Then, they heard one of the staff members announce through the microphone that the rats should go find their hiding spots.

The other rats started running, while Ming just slowly walked. ''Why are they running already? We have enough time to hide.'' Ming complains.

''Where should I hide?'' Ming said to herself, while looking around the area, she had been walking for a few minutes already.

She looked at the big white veils that were used as covers, so the products of the place they used were protected.

She slowly looks at her camera man. She points at the white veil, as to say ''Should we get under here?''

He simply shrugged and Ming pulled the veil up for him to go in first. Ming quickly made herself comfortable and sat herself down, next to one of the pallets under the veil and she leaned her head against it.

''Now we just wait.'' She said to the camera.

A few minutes passed by and her camera man informed her that the game had officially started, meaning the mousebusters had started looking for them.

Suddenly, she heard people close by her hiding spot.

''Do you want to search here then? I will stay here, they may come out.'' She recognized Vernon's voice.

''I will find them quick. Stay here.'' The other voice was Chan.

She motioned for the camera man to be quiet, but after a while Vernon also went away.

She sighed. ''Wow, I can't believe they didn't look under here. They're idiots.'' She told the camera.

[Tough Maknae Love]

Ming honestly didn't have any plans to move, she realized the members weren't going to look under the veils and she wasn't in the mood to be chased by them.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Jeonghan speaking. ''It seems hard to find them but we should try,'' She smirked at Jeonghan's words. ''I think they went this way earlier...'' Jeonghan stopped talking. He had stopped right in front of Ming's hiding place.

''THERE'S THE RAT!'' He yelled, loudly. Ming panicked thinking she got caught, but was confused as she heard Jeonghan running away.

She took a couple of big breaths, visibly relieved that it was another rat.

''Woah, oppa, I really thought they had found me already.'' She said to the camera man. He chuckled at the girl's words.

Ming and the camera man had a hard time holding in their laughter. They would hear the other members close to their hiding spot, running and yelling trying to catch one of the rats.

She had a proud look on her face when she heard the busters talk about how they failed to catch Jun. She held up a thumbs up to the camera.

[Proud Rat]

During the first 10 minutes of the game, she had heard a lot of commotion outside. When she heard more people running outside of their hiding spot, she smirked at her camera man.

''Oppa, you must be happy you're with me, right?'' She teased him, referring to the fact that they had just been chilling, instead of running.

He nodded. ''I'm very happy, Ming-ssi.''

-----

Back at the headquarters of the busters, they felt frustrated.

''I think Hoshi-hyung an Ming-ah are hiding somewhere where nobody knows about.'' Chan said.

Mingyu sighed. ''I really thought I would catch Ming, but I don't think that's going to happen.''

[Outsmarted by a rat]

-----

''I think the game has started again.'' Ming's camera man said to her. She nodded at his words, she thought about something.

''Can I take a nap?'' She asked him.

He shrugged his shoulder. ''Because I have a photoshoot later and I need some beauty sleep.'' She explained to him.

He nodded. ''If there's danger, you can just wake me up.'' She told him.

He nodded again, slightly laughing, finding the girl's antics funny.

Ming put her head on one of the pallets and closed her eyes.

While Ming was doing her beauty sleep, Woozi had used his summoning skill for the second time, sending the busters back to their headquarters.

''Hoshi and Ming are still not here.'' Minghao exclaimed in frustration.

''Where is Ming?'' Chan asked the members. ''Has anyone seen Ming?'' The camera cuts to Ming sleeping in her hiding spot.

[Sleeping Beauty Found]

''Ming and Hoshi must be hiding somewhere deep.'' Jeonghan noted.

The members agreed. ''I want to catch Ming and Hoshi.'' Chan said, full of determination.

Taglist: @lunarxsun @cosmicwintr @mythicalamphitrite

[justatalkingface]

What are your thoughts about One For All?

By that, I mean the power itself, the story surrounding it, the connections to All For One, the person, all of it. You spoke extensively about Izuku and now I'd like to hear your thoughts about his quirk. Yoichi Shigaraki seemed very suspicious, and his quirk being a death curse at first seemed like it was setting up for a really morally ambiguous OFA. But it turns out the guy's a saint and he's trying to take down the devil. As far as I can tell, One For All kills people just to justify Izuku being the current holder and to make him special. We also got the typical shōnen power escalation of Izuku ending up with a bunch of new powers out of nowhere. Many of which seemed to exist just to have him surpass All Might quickly enough so he could handle fights against super powerful foes, because this series takes places within a year. The story rushed this dude's development, so his powers had to rush him to where he could handle things. And he also became a genius who could master a bunch of new quirks in a very short amount of time. Many of the abilities felt very redundant with his power set or go mostly unused, such as smokescreen. Float and Black Whip were cool and added a lot to Izuku's kit. The OFA vs AFO plot line eventually took over the series. I prefer the battles against AFO's forces in comparison to the earlier parts of the series, where the kids fought each other in battles with no stakes. The academia part of MHA was always the weakest part, but some people preferred it. What do you think?

One For All... well, let me get this almost mandatory part out of the way: he suffers for being introducing during The War Arc, and by dint of it means we'll probably never have a satisfying amount of information on him.

Quirk wise... it actually tracks? If family Quirks are similar, both AFO and OFA both, then, have a Quirk that is based around 'transfering Quirks', the same way that Asu's family all have Quirks based around frogs, yet they are all expressed in different ways.

I've seen people argue that the mysterious door he's helping hide is AFO, since the stockpiling Quirk passed through AFO himself first.

I just, let me.... alright. Honestly? I could see it. I really wouldn't be that surprised at this point if they did that. Logically? That makes no sense. The power stockpiling Quirk was just that, stockpiling power. It was only special when it got fused with OFA's nameless Quirk, and they fused into something more, a Quirk that is apparently specialized to act as a mental arc, in his body. Moreover, it should mean that AFO would have a Vestige there, and I just... really hope they don't do that, because I can't see a way it ends well, you know?

More recently, I'm wondering if that BIg Mystery they're clearly hiding has to do with why AFO was crying when he was killing(?) the Second; did The Second kill OFA? Was that a revenge kill? Did OFA plan that? Did he go, 'My brother is too powerful to stop, so we must sacrifice ourselves until someone is strong enough to do so, and act as fertilizer for their eventual rise' and that's why the first couple of generations are edgy and the later ones, who didn't get that memo, or who were thought to be that theoretic final product, are more open?

I... could see that. It's not something I think would be done well, with MHA as it is now, but I could see that.

Really though, when you think about it the fact that each of them have suicidally went up against AFO in his prime means that there's no way that OFA should have been able to be transferred throughout the generations, because AFO has so much stacked in his favor that he should have easily been able to hunt them down and kill them (and when does he even realize they have that Quirk? Early on, especially, it couldn't have been easy, with how weak it was; it'd probably be easier to identify it based off behavior more than power).

The thing I've realized about OFA is that the early lore for it is really kind of questionable, just because they explicitly went up against AFO with barely any power ups, which is basiclly suicide. Even if AFO wanted them alive to keep the Quirk alive (and why? Before his 'development' you could argue it's because he wanted his brother back, and thus his Vestige in it, and later it's a strong Quirk, but there's a good period where it was a Quirk with potential, not power, and AFO has been developed into a two dimensional caricature who would kill for the lulz, who has no depth or moral attachment to anything. Before his 'development' you could argue that he wanted even a small part of his brother back, and it would explain things, but now? Was he just... letting it live to refine it so he could steal it when it was strong? It'd fit with how everything is AFO's fault these days), it would be dead ass easy for him to capture the current Holder and then keep them imprisoned, maybe after crippling them, until he can get what he wants from them.

The fact it's kind of incompatible with a person with a Quirk... kind of tracks, since, you know, Nomu, but if this was always a thing, under that logic everyone who wasn't Quirkless with this thing should have rendered brain damaged like, you know, the Nomu. The fact that they kind of... fall apart? That feels like bullshit. It has the energy of trying to make Izuku a True Destined Hero in a True Shonen by making him the only one who could use it safely, instead of, you know, just being chosen on his heroic merits, and goes blatantly against the themes the manga was talking about from the start, that everyone can be a hero. Because 'men aren't born equal' is wrong, and even a Quirkless kid can be heroic, can save someone. But, you know... Everything Changed When The War Arc Attacked. I'm not surprised it got fucked up.

May be a little off topic, but I'll point out since AFO has vestiges now (suddenly), that that's going to be important for whatever end game there is, and, you know, that's going to be bullshit, since OFA only has those from a Quirk that was specialized in making them, and even then they only started communicating with him at the War Arc, after generations of that one Quirk being powered up to allow it to happen. Meanwhile, AFO just takes the Quirks, and even if Quirks keep, well, a vestige of their former owner, why did it take so long to happen if it was just a thing that happened when you moved Quirks? Why didn't any OFA user before Izuku have this happen? Why aren't the Nomu filled with the traumatic impulses of their parts; not the main body, but the minds of however many extra Quirks are stuffed inside them? There's no reason for that logic to apply to AFO, since he just takes them, but... yeah. ECWTWAA.

....So, is the reason he's such a two-dimensional character is that he can't get a good night's sleep because god knows how many people are just constantly screaming at him, in a ironic own goal on their part that is making him more and more evil as he slowly loses his mind over the years, doing more and more terrible things they don't want him to? Or is that just me putting more work in AFO's characterization that Hori has actually done?

You want to know my prediction? That was introduced as the way to beat him, in the end: Izuku and OFA are going to lead a revolution in AFO's body/mind and purge him, or... something stupid to beat his mind once and for all, since AFO is apparently studying Orochimaru style immortality and we're reaching a point where killing any one body, and maybe even both, won't be enough to kill him, so they have to go deeper to finish him!

Which totally makes sense.

SIgh.

On the Vestiges, and the powers? In theory, I'm fine with it, Hori clearly was hinting about them way back when, but in practice the way that's been handled is ass. Either A, these guys all have buttons to unlock their Quirks, in which case there should have been a Team Meeting with Izuku rather than him randomly shooting out combat tentacles out of nowhere, when he could have killed someone with them, just like... you're in a fight; surprise super powers! What could go wrong, or B, it just happens, in which case them making noises about proving himself or whatever sounds... dumb when what they think about the situation has nothing to do with it.

More than that, though, the way they're being used to power up Izuku? The way that they're just his Stands now, more than actual characters? Only showing up behind him to show how serious Izuku is? The sheer fucking disrespect of it irks me; Hori, if you're going to introduce actual characters who are people, then treat them like people. If you just want to give Izuku powers, don't give him a mindscape full of people with opinions, just give him powers. One or the other Hori; you can just give Izuku a weird Animus style flashback without a personality you actually need to manage being attached.

On the powers themselves, it's clearly something that got dropped on the wayside. Black Whip, obviously, is Hori's favored child, lovingly used at every possible chance and drawn out in great detail (I hear he really likes Spiderman?) but after that? The first couple were utility skills, chosen to give Izuku some soft support while he wandered on his own without readily available support tech, beyond those.... Hori just used them as crutches to skip over all the development Izuku never had the time to do to master AFO itself. No matter how they phrase it, no matter how complicated they make the explanation, they're just there so he can punch harder.

As a person, it's hard to tell much about OFA. He has morals, he opposes his brother, he's keeping secrets from Izuku.... let's be honest here, he's more of a plot device than a human being at this point, and I have zero faith in his future development. It's kind of frustrating since there's a lot of interesting potential there (is he a Good Guy(TM)? Did AFO just go too far, and before that he was fine with his brother the warlord? Was he cowardly like Izuku, but also went through character development once he gained the ability to stand up for himself? There's a lot of ways his characterization could be spun, but that has more to do with his lack of characterization than anything) that I'm sure he'll never live up to than anything.

Beyond that... there's this symbolism with hands that keeps coming up. Shigaraki has it, of course, that's mostly his trauma being expressed with his hand based Quirk (and strengthened by AFO using hands to condition him, actually...), to the point where it became his theme. Later on, though, when they started expanding on AFO and OFA mentally, there's thing where both of them are reaching out to people, with this focus on their hands. Both of them do it, and it's always drawn in this ominous sort of way, even for OFA, the apparent good guy. Sometimes, usually (or only?) for AFO (who also has a Quirk focused around his hands; it's not surprising his mind would orient around that to some extent) it's even the only thing we see of their mental silhouettes. It's... very interesting to me, and makes me think there was probably going to be more to him at some point, that there was going to be some, any, depth to his character.

On the academia part, here's the thing: compared to later on, the early stuff was better, not on the merits of school vs fighting, but because early on, even with its flaws, it's clearly something Hori put a lot thought into, had a plan. The later stuff? Well, there's some sort of plan, but the later we get in the timeline, the more it feels like Hori is backpedaling from some original concept, and changing it to something else as we go along. And in itself, his ideas changing isn't a bad thing, but those changes are still built off the foundation of his older plans, and it leaves more and more plot points hanging out in the wind, without proper support. If this manga was a house, the higher Hori built it, the more floors he added, the more he started shifting the house to one side, while everything he had already built stayed where it was. That's not how you get a solid house, and no matter how much fancier those higher floor may look, it doesn't make up for the fact that it's only barely staying in place.

At the same time though, it's clear that, for all that this series is called My Hero Academia, the actual school part of it is something Hori doesn't seem to be all that interested in, or have put thought into. UA, narratively, isn't a school, it's an excuse, and the times when Hori puts in things like class presidents, or normal, actually academic tests and the like, it's because he has to put them in, and so it's understandable when you look at the actual school parts of this 'school', it feels awkward and out of place.

When people talk about liking it, it was probably less, 'Man, Izuku and friends in school, doing school things, was great' (though, there are are probably plenty of those as well, to be fair; again, My Hero Academia; it's not surprising to see interest in that school setting promised in the actual title) and more that, 'Wow, it was nice to focus on Izuku and the main cast we were introduced to from the beginning, and watch them actually talk to each other and interact!', since the farther we got into the actual hero stuff, the less we had of all that, and of all the characters we got attached to originally, when we first started the story.

[violetsareblue-selfships]

wahhh i have so many thoughts; special program recap utc :3

first of all 'don't look into my eyes - you may not like what you see' tell me why my first thought was 'bet' like of course I'm gonna look into my wife's eyes

also hearing about her fighting style - the contrast to lebranche's is fun! arle is very elegant but deadly whereas my harbinger fights with hands & feet (probably wouldn't be considered elegant but it's effective) - though when she uses her vision, that's when they'd look good fighting together

also the fact that arle can't be healed by anyone other than herself - i was like 'what if the only other character that could heal her is lebranche?' like it'd be in an in-game reason for them to be in the same team set-ups and everything (i need to figure out which of her attacks is the healing one - likely her elemental skill but idk)

also she looks so cool in her boss form like what!!! (tell me why i was like she'd have different voicelines if you use lebranche during her fight & she'd be less likely to land as many attacks on her - like she'd be fine fighting her children (they even alluded to it when talking about it) but her gf/wife?? she doesn't want to actually hurt her)

also unrelated - every time they say 'remuria' for the new area we're exploring; my mind's just going to l+ds's 'lemuria' which is also an underwater kingdom thingy so hehe (games are completely unrelated but it feels like they took their myths from a similar place to get a similar name :3)

also i'm excited for another set of rhythm games in the music event :3 that's gonna be fun

[vendetta-if]

1K Followers Celebration Q&A, Part 2 🎉

The next part of the Characters' Q&A Session for the 1k followers celebration! It seems I have to add another part since the first ask's answers are very long.

『I would like to ask all the characters what their favorite animal is + if they had a pet, what animal would it be :)』

Ash: "Favorite animal, huh... I'd say snakes, just in general. I dunno, they just look cool. I even got one as a tattoo on my biceps. And if I were to have a pet, I'd like to get one of those long-ass pythons. If MC doesn't mind, of course."

Rin: "My favorite animal would be the red panda, simply because they are adorable. As for pets, I wouldn't mind having a cat. Somehow, I can relate to them on some levels..."

Santana: "Hmm... Favorite animal... I would say stags. What can I say? They are such majestic animals. But for pets, I would love to have a German Shepherd! I'm very busy at the moment, sadly, so I have to settle with just petting the K-9s instead for now..."

Skylar: "Ooh! I have so many favorite animals that I can't list them all. But, if I have to pick one, it'd be dogs! I would really love to have one, especially a Golden Retriever, and just go on a hike with them and enjoy nature! Hopefully, my schedule will clear up more the higher I climb up the rank..."

Viktor: "Favorite animal? Wolves, no doubt. Such a loyal animal, protective of their packs and families. I can relate to that... But sadly, they won't make a good pet at all, of course. Ha ha. For pets, I'd say anything that MC would love to have as a pet is good enough for me."

Luka: "Hawks. For both questions. Maybe I should start researching on where and how to get one..."

Jackal: "I must say that I have grown fond of the animal I'm associated with. But for pets, I think those wolfdogs look badass. You think I should subtly ask Luka about it?"

Grandpa: "My favorite animal would undoubtedly be bears. Such strength and ferocity... Of course, I'm not crazy enough to even think of having one as a pet. I would love to have a Friesian horse though, even if I think I might be already too old to be riding a horse."

Grandma: "Those majestic white tigers are my favorite. But for pets, a thought had crossed my mind to try and get my hands on one of those exotic peacocks as a pet once."

Yvette: "I really love those elegant white swans ever since I first watched Swan Lake! But, I would love to have those cute cockatiels as pets!"

Takashi: "Favorite animal? Tigers, of course! I have one as a part of my horimono tattoo on my back! Wanna see it? No? Alright, your loss. But for pets, either a cute Shiba or the loyal Akita would be enough for me."

Cara: "Foxes! They are soo cute! And their red furs are reminiscent of my own fiery hair, right? Also, I heard they started domesticating foxes in Russia decades ago. Maybe we can already have one as a pet by now?"

『For Viktor: How would you react on seeing your child becoming the next Morozov Head ?』

Viktor: "I used to think that I'd be pretty disappointed, but the more I thought about it, the more I actually believe that I might have supported them. I feel like they would be the safest as the head, especially with Luka and Ash at their side and with the Aikawas' support and alliance. Plus, they would never want for material comfots. I just hope they can maybe finally begin to shift the family business into something more legit..."

『Ask for grandpa!! What's your proudest moment of Viktor and Luka? 👀 anything special?』

Pavel: “Both of my sons have always made me proud. But for Luka, the proudest moment for me is when he finally stepped up as the head of the family branch in Elysium City. He had really managed to set a firm root there that allows our family to flourish there as well.

As for Viktor, it was when he killed the head of… which gang is it again? I can’t remember its name anymore. They were not really a big gang in New York, but they were one of the vilest. Anyway, my son hated them so much that he personally hunted the leader down like the rat that he was and killed him with his own power. It was very satisfying, of course, and it also boosted his and our family’s reputation nicely.”

[purplekoop]

@daylightcommand3 Explaining this in its own post because it's very much its own topic separate from the other figures

I actually don't remember any official life-sized Bastion statue (there were official life-sized statues made for stuff like cons and such, just not one of Bastion), but what I was referring to in that last post was, as far as I'm concerned, the "white whale" of Overwatch figure collecting.

The incredible, the elusive, and the unauthorized:

DX9 Freeman

A fully articulated and transforming translation of bird-loving bot into roughly 1/12th scale figure form, this is a godly Bastion figure.

It comes with everything you'd expect and hope for besides maybe an alternative welding hand. There's a little plastic Ganymede, and even treads and a cannon to you can swap out the gatling gun and legs for to replicate their Tank configuration, though now it'd be more accurate to just swap the legs for Assault mode and swap the cannon for Artillery mode, which like. the design was accidentally future proofed for the OW2 rework, I just find that neat.

Aside from the tank parts though, the transformation is completely legit. You bend the legs to form the stand, fold up the arms, retract the head, and swivel the torso around and pull down the back cannon to get it into turret form, just like the in-game animation. It's a testament to both the exceptional amount of thought and effort put into the character's original design, and the engineering required to make it into a functional model.

So... what's the catch. Obviously the perfect Bastion figure doesn't come without a catch, right?

Well. Notice how I called this figure "DX9 Freeman". Why isn't it just called... y'know, Bastion?

You might've been able to deduce by this point that this figure is in fact: Unofficial. DX9 is, from what I can gather, a Chinese company that specializes in making high-quality unofficial transforming figures for stuff like Transformers. Naturally, when a mega popular and relevant new game comes out with an iconic transforming robot, they decided to make this figure.

And this was back in 2017 or so, well before the Hasbro line, with I think the only thing out by then being maybe the Tracer Figma. It was slim pickings if you wanted an Overwatch guy on your shelf back then, so "Freeman" here caught on. Even when other figures started rolling in, there were no official figures of Bastion. There was a Lego set and an above-average Funko Pop in terms of both looks and size, but nothing else would just about perfectly fit in line with the proper action figures.

Sadly though, it was a spark short-lived, as it is basically impossible to find the figure now. The direct site to find it has been out of stock for years, and I doubt many people who already have one are willing to part with theirs for cheap, if at all.

So yeah. This is by far the best but most elusive Overwatch figure out there as far as I'd say. It's a basically perfect recreation of the character (save for a flat paint job, if you wanna be picky), but by nature of being an unlicensed figure from 6 years ago now, jesus christ, it didn't stick around for long and is nearly impossible to come across today, and even if you miraculously somehow find a secondhand seller today, I have a feeling it ain't gonna be cheap.

If I could magically wish for any mundane object that wouldn't technically benefit my life in any drastic way, it'd be one of these. Bastion's one of my favorite designs in a game full of fantastic character designs, so having a big ol' unit of a figure that offers a physical way to showcase the coolest part of that design with the game-accurate transforming feature would be... more personally exciting than I'm willing to admit.

Anyways yeah, full breakdown of every figure line and what characters are in which coming soon. Wanted to clear up Bastion first anyways, both because it's such a cool figure and also such a specific asterisk that's worth bringing up but not totally fair to include in a breakdown of official figures that are more easily and consistently available for most people without getting lucky.

[hyeahgaku]

Jump Festa 2024 SAKAMOTO DAYS Special Stage

(Part 2) Here are some of the things that were discussed, & exchanges that the guests had, which i manage to understand from the panel. I did not include those that i couldn't quite catch. Apologise if i misheard anything cuz my listening for Japanese isn't top-notch 🙏

3rd Segment - Behind the Scenes Footage, featuring Suzuki-sensei's Workdesk & Manga Collections

Ishikawa-san managed to get these exclusive photos from Suzuki-sensei, with permission, & shared them with the audience.

Ishikawa-san generously provided a walkthrough of some of the stuff here. The handgun replica & sniper rifle replica are those that Sakamoto's gun and Heisuke's rifle were modelled after. The white drawer on the left is where Sensei keeps the fans' letters that he receives. He also has Vaundy's "Replica" limited edition album which he joyfully talked about in one of his weekly comments (the orange one on the top shelf above his drawing board). There's also a bunch of manga collection on the right shelf -includes Dōmu by Katsuhiro Otomo-sensei, who is one of Sensei's favourite mangaka, as well as Mugen no Juunin, etc.

Ishikawa-san told the audience abit about the story behind Sensei's drawing desk (those who have read the manga would already know it, he said). This desk was originally used by his wife back when she was a junior high school student. Suzuki-sensei felt that it was just right for him so he has been using it from then on until today. Additionally, Ishikawa-san also shared a cool story behind Sensei's drawing board. Suzuki-sensei went to the hardware store to buy one but he found this piece of wood apparently thrown away. So he took a look & thought it'd be a good fit if he used it as a drawing board and so he took it home. Ishikawa-san added that it costed Sensei 0 yen! The host commented, "That's what we call Recycling!" Suzuki-san later praised Suzuki-sensei for being such a talented person & he proudly stated that he's a fan of Suzuki-sensei.

A funny bit: When the host pointed out about the elbow rest pads on the sides of the drawing board as she wasn't sure if they were, Ishikawa-san answered, "Yes they are elbow rest pads. It's for you to rest your elbows on them." and then Suzuki-san just burst out laughing & he said, "That's why they're called elbow rest pads! You're supposed to rest your elbows on them!" lmaoooo.

Moving on to the left photo first, Ishikawa-san stated that those tools that Suzuki-sensei labelled '1st Military Set' are the ones that Sensei very often uses to draw the manga. There are different types of pens, which include G pen, Maru pen, Milli pen, etc). I'm not sure if I got this right but I thought Ishikawa shared that originally, Suzuki-sensei drew the series using G pens but now he has changed to use Milli pen.

When the host asked about the coins on the ruler, Ishikawa-san explained that some artists might tape coins especially to the underside of a flat ruler to help create a gap or a bridge so as to prevent the ink from bleeding onto the edge thus messing one's artwork.

As for the right photo, Suzuki-sensei's bookshelf is filled with manga series like Naruto, One Punch Man, Hunter x Hunter & so on. There's also a long, black stick on the right but none of them knew what it was lol. Suzuki-san wondered if it was the opponent's rifle (Kamihate's sniper rifle) but then they all just brushed it off as just a stick lmaooo even though all of them are curious what it actually is. (Idk, I thought it was a katana haha)

Suzuki-san once again praised Suzuki-sensei for arranging his manga & JUMP magazines so neatly while the host personally feels that Sensei really knows how to take good care of his belongings & use them with great care.

At the end of the photo-showcase, Suzuki-san asked Ishikawa-san if he had by any chance accidentally said anything weird or odd to him, but Ishikawa-san responded that if Suzuki-san had done so, then he would have imagined killing him. Suzuki-san was like, "Scaaary" & then immediately went full mode in-character & spoke Shin's dialogue, "Why did you imagine killing me?!" And then he went on, "I had to say it." lmaooo

4th Segment - Lucky Draw

(left photo) So the 5 Lucky Draw winners have won this entire set of SAKAMOTO DAYS original goods. Yea, each person gets the entire set! Congratulations to them!

(right photo) As for those who did not win the Lucky Draw, they also received a gift (bonus, rare sticker) for attending the SakaDays panel!

5th Segment - Collaborations

Collaboration with Bandai Candy. SAKAMOTO DAYS wafers, with special metallic cards, will be available in Japan stores in June 2024. There will be a total of 28 types of cards, 6 of which are the rare cards. Please look forward to further information in the future!

Suzuki-san revealed that he used to buy a lot of wafer cards & it made him so happy. This time he has to be careful not to eat too much wafers, to which Ishikawa-san responded that he's already thinking of going on a diet just to get himself prepared for June 2024 lmaooo.

Collaboration with Tower Records Cafe. The collaboration cafe is set to open some time in 2024 & Ishikawa-san stated that he could not reveal any further information yet so kindly look forward to future updates!

Final Segment - Volume 15 Reveal

Volume 15 features Kumanomi, and it will be released in Japan stores Thursday, January 4, 2024.

Suzuki-san commented that the cover is amazing & he love the colour choices, whereas Ishikawa-san was kinda fanboying over Kumanomi; he said she's really beautiful! (Ishikawa-san is a man of culture indeed.)

Closing

Message from Ishikawa-san: Thank you to those that came today & those who watch this broadcast. Thank you very much also for always looking forward to & reading SAKAMOTO DAYS. Suzuki-sensei & the entire team are deeply motivated by everyone's support! From here on out, SAKAMOTO DAYS will be more action-packed & have interesting developments as the final battle against the formidable enemy, Slur, is about to begin. Kindly look forward to it! And as always we look forward to your continued support. Thank you very much!

Message from Suzuki-san: I, Ryōta Suzuki, am truly honoured to be on stage here today, as one of the fans of the series. I can really feel how great SAKAMOTO DAYS is, seeing how so many people have gathered here today to watch the event & we also got to know a lot of things, even stuff from behind-the-scenes. Thank you very much for having me!

《 back to pt.1

[staringdownabarrel]

Okay, so I've just seen Rebel Moon, Part Two: The Scargiver. It did pretty much everything I was expecting it to, which is primarily wrap up the story and have a sequel hook. Beyond that though, I have some mixed thoughts, which are contained below the cut.

On one hand, this is still one of the best movies Zack Snyder has ever made. I wrote that when Part One came out and I was hoping it'd still be true for this one. It is. This has avoided that kinda grating style over substance feel a lot of Snyder movies have, and it continued to have an interesting visual style.

It also manages to stay on point basically the entire time. I feel like a lot of the time Snyder movies will try to have certain elements to them where they're never really wrapped up in any satisfying way or they're just forgotten about halfway through. That didn't happen with the Rebel Moon movies. Everything gets wrapped up in a way that more or less makes sense.

Still, I think this is an easy thing to do when the entire plot of the movie is Seven Samurai in space. That's a pretty durable plot that can be done in most genres and still work. So while for the most part I did enjoy these movies, I'm not exactly gonna run off and become a Snyder cultist because of it.

For the most part, what Rebel Moon does well, it does very well. It looks very pretty, the special effects are good, the action sequences are good, and this is a setting with an interesting visual style.

The action sequences really are what this movie does best. I wouldn't say they're original because "set traps to defend the poorly armed village against the coming invaders" is a pretty well mapped out style of action sequence, but it does do that very well. The defense of the village is basically the entire second half of this movie, and it manages to do that while keeping the tensions high and the fighting interesting.

I know these movies do get a fair bit of flack, and I think some of it is deserved, but this aspect actually is impressive. There's a lot of movies where the final battle is mostly just there and it gets a bit dull after a while. This is especially the case nowadays when people aren't as impressed by heavy usage of CGI as they were twenty or thirty years ago, so it's not like a lazy filmmaker can just sit back and rely on CGI explosions everywhere the same way Michael Bay would.

The example of this that I'd give is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Seven Rings. The final battle has a similar set up: the bad guys are attacking a village, the good guys are defending it, and the main protagonist has run off to have their face off with the main village. The difference is that the battle over the village in Shang-Chi clearly hadn't been thought out beyond the fact that it needed to be there to give the supporting cast something to do, so it was mostly just shots of a busy-looking battle with no discernible major strategy or tactics being employed by either side.

That isn't really what happened with Rebel Moon Part Two. Both sides of the final battle had their goals, their strategies, and their tactics. So while it would have been easy enough for this to just be a mess of CGI, it ended up working well.

I think also, having a movie like this where the visual style is a mix of retro-futurism and cyberpunk is pretty cool. It's a compelling visual style. It would have been very easy to just go with some generic dystopian look and fall back on, "Well, at least it's not another Marvel movie." Instead, the visual style allows for some real wonder, which is an important thing for a sci-fi movie to have.

All of that being said, my actual issue with this movie is twofold. One, I don't think it really needed to be in two parts. I think it would have been fine to edit out some parts of this and have Rebel Moon just be a three or three and a half hour movie.

My issue with the two-part movie is that I really wish this trend would stay dead. It's the kind of trend that made sense at a particular point in time with a particular style of film. That point in time was the late '00s to the early '10s, and that style of movie was YA book adaptations. It's a trend that should have died down completely as younger Millennials graduated high school. It doesn't need the resurgence it's been getting in the last few years.

Plus, it's not like Rebel Moon had a particularly complicated plot. Nobody's going to get lost and wonder what the overarching story of these movies is going to be. I get wanting this to be a fairly long movie because that's how the source material was and the action scenes in these movies were generally pretty good, but I would have preferred to just have the long movie.

The second part of my issue is that I don't think these movies have really done anything thematically interesting with the format. This is a waste of the format because there is a lot of room to be adding some stuff thematically to it. I think it also just needed to do it if it's going to have any diehard defenders for longer than a year or two.

Let me give you an example of what I'm thinking of. Avatar--as in the James Cameron movies, not the cartoon that people on this site are so fond of--gets a similar criticism. Usually detractors of the Avatar movies will take the line that they're just Dances With Wolves or Pocahontas in a science fiction setting.

There is some merit to that criticism, but Avatar is also doing some interesting things thematically as well. Along with the criticism of colonialism and genocide of native peoples, which it shares with these earlier movies, there's also a criticism of corporate greed and environmental destruction. Humanity's interest in Pandora isn't a matter of setting up a colony there; they could dump a colony basically anywhere with a breathable atmosphere in that setting. It's a matter of getting unobtanium, which limits the places they can go a great deal.

Now of course, you can debate back and forth whether or not the Avatar movies do a good job of leveling that criticism. I take the position that while they aren't exactly philosophically sophisticated movies, they generally do a good job in that regard.

That isn't really the case with the Rebel Moon movies. There isn't a whole lot here that you can make a similar thematic defense of. Yes, it does have themes of self-organised people fighting off a major empire, but plenty of science fiction movies do that and do it better.

Plus, a lot of the thematic weight of this movie gets bogged down in its sequel hook. The reasons why the King wanted the Princess dead aren't fleshed out in these movies; only that it happened. That leaves room for the reason to be either she wanted to abolish the monarchy and democratise the empire, or that she wanted to usurp him and be the one on top.

Obviously the intended takeaway is the former, but that's just the implication. The next movie could still do a fake out where it's revealed she really is a would-be usurper but with surprisingly good PR for a monarchist.

So what we're left with is a pretty straightforward genre swap of Seven Samurai that has some very bare bones thematic development, but is mostly just the plot. That's fine and I like it for what it is, but I don't know if there's really enough there for it to be the new sci-fi megafranchise that Snyder and Netflix apparently want this to be.

[animatedrapture]

"𝖐𝖎𝖘𝖘 𝖒𝖊 𝖘𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖑𝖞" — suna rintarou ;

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: suna rintarō is so much more than his bored eyes, the blunt between his lips, and his tendency to slack off—luckily, you're one of the very few people who know this; especially after he comes home to you sullen after finding out he didn't make it to the olympic players.

𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: female reader. fluff—established relationship. angst if you squint. comfort. mention of drug use. like, one swear word.

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 2k

𝖛𝖎𝖔𝖑𝖊𝖙'𝖘 𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊: in lieu of the influx of toxic stoner!suna content, i offer you a piece of appreciation towards him and all that he is. i was meaning to post this in my new blog but i thought there's so much of you here who would appreciate and need this more. written on a whim at 1AM and didn't proofread so for any errors, gomen. repost because tumblr tagging hates me. cross posted on ao3 under the same username. original post here. this was written before we got information that he actually made it to the olympic team. furudate really told me to stfu, huh?

It's you who find out first that there is truly so much more to Suna Rintarō than his expressionless exterior, sleepy eyes, and bored gaze towards even the most ridiculous situations. It's when his self assured stance dwindled as he walked towards you once upon a time, introducing himself first before asking you for your number.

"My number?" You echoed his request, trying your best not to gawk at his attractive features and six foot two stature towering over you so easily; making you feel oh so small. (Which is funny, given that you were already standing straight on your heels.)

"If you don't mind, 's cool if you say no," he replies, tearing his gaze from you as if he was actually anxious you'd say no.

It's funny, really. It's not every day a famous pro-athlete known for both his good looks and skills walk up to you, asking for your number and actually considering you'd say no to him and his pretty features—in fact, nevermind that he was pretty, it was more the fact that he wasn't so full of himself to actually think you wouldn't say no.

That's what makes you nod your head; your heart already beating right out of your chest as he gives you a lazy grin and his phone to press your number in. When you're done, you hand it back to him and you mentally pat yourself at the back for not visibly trembling.

"Y/N?" He reads your name from the contact information, and good God, did your name sound so beautiful coming out of his mouth. He doesn't wait for your reply anymore, looking back at you from his phone, the lazy smile still across his lips as if he knew it was a heart killer.

"Thanks, I'll text you later," is the last thing he said before he walked away from you.

It didn't take long for you to fall in love with someone like Suna Rintarō—underneath his detached personality also lied someone who was truly passionate with the things he set his mind to, gave his time to. Like you or volleyball or the video game he's been waiting to release for a whole month—it only had to be something or someone who was special enough, then, he would give it his all.

The smoke that filled his lungs occasionally did nothing to lessen your own intoxication of Suna Rintarō and his passions—because every exhale, his dark green eyes would meet yours and oh so easily, he offers you that same lazy smile yet one that was dripping with affection.

"Should you even be smoking that, Rintarō?" You had questioned him before, about the second time you've seen him put the rolled blunt in between his soft lips, inhaling it.

"It's a once in a while kinda thing, you don't actually think I'd sacrifice my career for this don'tcha?" He grins at you, amusement flooding his usually bored eyes — now glazed over with the effects of the weed—from the way he gazes at you with an eyebrow raised.

It's when you realize that Suna Rintarō was independent and knew what he was doing—did what he did with full awareness, full control, full flexibility. It's as if who he was in court was who he was in person as well.

"You're really interesting, y'know that Rin?" You had mumbled against his chest once before, it was at the first few months of dating—he had one of his arms around you with you cuddled on his side, watching a movie from his couch.

"Yeah?"

"I mean—you've always been so good at what you do, huh? But you still work for it."

"What makes you say that?" You can feel him looking down on face against his chest.

"C'mon, don't be silly. You were scouted at middle school and you only got better as you grew up!" You say, finally moving your head to meet his gaze.

But all you get is a flick on your forehead and his low chuckle, "'s not that deep, y/n," he answers.

But you already knew better.

Suna isn't one for words, and no matter how much you insist that he was beyond the description of words, he only rolls his narrowed eyes at you. You find out Suna Rintarō, your boyfriend, was a huge inspiration during your sixth month together when you finally met his little sister.

It's hard to say it wasn't amusing how snarky she was, just as he was to his friends whom you've met a few times before—Atsumu and Osamu Miya, you remember. She's quick with her tongue, easily retorting back to her brother's comments.

"Are you sure you didn't just pay Y/N-san to be your girlfriend, nii-san?"

"Nah, you still jealous I came out prettier than you?" Suna bites back, a teasing grin plastered across his face. His sister only scoffs, looking back at you.

"You can tell me if he blackmailed you to come here!" She attempts to whisper. You're not sure whether you should be worried or continue to laugh, but you do neither as you choke on the drink you were sipping on right as she told you this.

"Shit, Y/N," Suna curses as you cough, your throat burning at the drink's intrusion, but Suna's quick to rub soothingly against your back as he offers you his water, his eyes glazed over in panic.

"You okay?" He asks when you stopped coughing, and you nod in response—throat remaining slightly sore. Suna lets out an aggravated groan, "Be careful next time," he manages to scold you, but oddly enough, his words remain saccharine.

There's something about the way that his little sister doesn't seem the least bit surprised with his reaction that somehow lets you know that perhaps, Suna Rintarō might just be quite the caring brother behind closed doors.

After that, it was when Suna excused himself to take a call from his manager, leaving you with his sister.

"Hey, nee-san, promise you'll take care of Rin-nii? You won't break his heart, will you?" His sister asks, eyes gleaming with something akin to hope, expectation, wonder. It easily takes you by surprise.

"Don't you worry, I'll promise I'll take care of him, promise I won't break his heart," your voice easily softens, nodding. His little sister's gaze remains on you, as if she's assessing you and as if she would easily tell whether or not you meant the words that came out of your mouth.

It makes you hold a breath until she nods slowly, smiling at you lightly just as Suna comes walking back, eyebrows raised, knowing he must've missed something.

"Whatcha girls talkin' bout?" He asked as he slipped back on his seat beside you.

"None of your business, obviously," his sister quickly answers.

They're truly quite similar, it's enough to make you smile and get through meeting his little sister until both of you dropped her off back to the train station.

"What'd she tell you?" Suna nudged you after seeing her train leave.

"Nothing, Rin," you answered with a wide smile, leaning up to place a chaste kiss against his lips—yet just as you pull away, one of his hands has found its way behind your neck, pulling you back to him.

You never thought a kiss could feel so loving before—but it really seemed as if Suna Rintarō had a knack for proving you wrong, over and over again.

It was the day that the Olympic team was announced when you see so much more of Suna Rintarō. Quick like the blink of an eye, or lightning that leaves the thunder chasing it; Suna felt the exhaustion, the pressure, the burnt-out feeling that's been repressed in the back of his head. It comes to him, crashing down like boulders not just on his shoulders but weighing down every part of his body.

Did he lack somewhere? He wonders. Where did that lacking end and start? What could have he done? Was it training, where he spent most of his time now? Suna had end up seeing you less and less since the drafting of olympic players started and you've been nothing but patient.

What was he supposed to tell you? After all the time it has stolen away from you—that he didn't make it?

When he opened the door to your shared apartment, he doesn't look up at you with a relieved sigh as he usually would—he avoids you gaze entirely, he avoids your observing eyes from the couch you sat on, watching him slowly shrug his shoes off.

"I'm just gonn—" he started, about to make an excuse to avoid looking at you.

"Prepared your bath, Rin. C'mon," Suna hears you say but it doesn't sink in his head, watching you take his hand, leading him to the bathroom.

Suna remains silent as he looks down on the bath you prepared for him, warm and inviting.

"Meet me in the kitchen when you're done, okay?" He hears you say, followed by the echo of your footsteps walking away.

You easily understand that Suna Rintarō was more than his talents, his efforts, and every little thing about him when you feel his large arms wrapped around you, his broad chest pressed against your back and his face buried on the crook of your neck. His fresh scent right out of the shower engulfing you and invading your senses, flooding you with him.

"'m sorry, bunny," he mumbles.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ri—"

"It's odd, thought I'd pull it off, thought it'd be nothin' if I didn't make it. Don't know why I'm so upset right now," he continues, cutting you off, "Been so patient for me too, bunny. Thought I'd be nice to make you proud, ya know?"

Your sigh comes out sharp from the heavy feeling from your chest, not knowing what to do to make him feel better—like he did with you, always knowing his way around your low moments.

You wriggle out of his arms, making him grumble until you fully face him. He looks back at you with a small frown, eyebrows furrowed, watching your expression.

"I'm always proud of you, Rin. Olympic player or not, you make me so proud," you speak softly, your hands cupping each side of his face.

"Don't even get why it matters to me this much, it's just—" it was your turn to cut him off, tipping your toes to press a lingering kiss against his lips. Suna smiles against your lips, carrying you to sit on the kitchen counter like he always did—knowing you always would have to tip on your toes to reach him.

Soon, the lingering kiss turns slow and passionate—lips softly grazing the other, and it feels more like pouring the heavy weight of love out of your chest and into the other. A kiss so loving, so reassuring, so passionate—the kind that easily takes your breath away and makes your mind go blank. When Suna pulls away, he rests his forehead against yours, breathing heavily. You smile at him because it's all you can do when your heart feels like it's going to leap out of your throat just to offer itself to him entirely—and Suna smiles back at you, pecking your lips before wrapping his arms around you again, resting his chin on your shoulder.

You run your fingers through his hair, hoping it would help soothe him, and then you say, "I promise that you'll make it next year, Rin. I'll be with you now, and I'll still be with you then."

It only makes him hold you tighter, closer to him, "I love you, Y/N."

"I love you, Rintarō. You deserve the world and all the stars in the galaxy."

"'s too bad there's nothin' more I need than you, then."

That's what Suna tells you—Suna, who was smoke in his lungs, dumb videos of the twins to blackmail them with, little mistakes, bored eyes, and lazy attitude. The same Suna who was slow kisses, passion, and genuine smiles reserved for you—the same Suna who gave his passions his all, the same Suna who held you securely in his arms every night, the same Suna his little sister admired. Most of all, the same Suna Rintarō you loved with every beat of your heart, every fibre of your being.

📞 violet is calling... all content featured belongs to ©️ animatedrapture. do not plagiarize, repost, or modify.

[dystopiandilfs]

Dream's discord podcast. Basically him answering questions for 2.5 hours. This will sort of be in order but I fucked up my notes so it might not be in order completely. (From 13th May 2021)

For reference the photos at the end are: A prototype of fidget spinner merch as loads of people asked, a reference photo of his favourite merch and a photo he sent of his hair to prove he wasn't a brunette.

•He said his teeth are mostly straight but he's thought about getting Invisalign. He's never had braces. He has a tiny gap in the left side of his mouth and his canines are longer and sharper (vampire arc). He's never had teeth surgery so has his wisdom teeth still.

•He thinks pineapple on pizza is good.

•He likes seafood like lobster and crab. He had crab made in an air fryer last night. He like peas. He thinks quesadillas are good and likes most food.

•He hates Coffee and most drinks

•The Dream Shorts team is Ken who is his personal reminder (Ken's main job is to spam him with texts so he doesn't forget things as he's got a habit of reading texts and not replying) and also comes up with a list of sets for Dream shorts. The builder is a friend and munchymc builder "his talent gets wasted on Dream's shorts but we pay him so"

•His editors are currently Dizzy, Firesale and Mjcr. Willz doesn't edit for him anymore

•The mask animation isn't done but Mask should be released May 21st. He wants to release them together as "the whole song is a double meaning and the whole nuance will be lost without the animation" but no matter if the animation is done the song is getting released on the 21st.

•He and Sapnap eat together often.

•He and Sapnap prefer medium rare Steak

•He wants a home gym it's something he's willing to splurge on. They currently have a weight rack but they haven't even set it up.

•"Eat the rich? Shut up shut up" - Dream

•Talked about money basically saying "Most people don't understand how money works I don't have millions in my bank account it's in assets like merch, land and warehousing for that stuff" (He's not in his landlord arc)

•He's been debating Pride Merch because of Rainbow Capitalism. He doesn't want it too be seen as a money maker and if he does most proceeds would go to charity. He's currently super busy merch wise with Sapnap joining and George in the middle of joining. He did say "Only if the LGBTQ+ community in this community wants it" He thinks he's going to at least change the merch website to a pride one. Sapnap wants to make pride merch including a rainbow flame on his.

•He wants to create a charity that's centered around helping LGBTQ+ one day because he thinks that there's a lack of them. He mentioned that creating a charity was expensive and took a lot and was a complicated process including a board of directors but he wants to do it someday.

•He wanted to buy a bunch of houses in Florida which was a service to house mostly LGBTQ+ youth and people stuck in abusive households for free to get them out of bad home environments. But he didn't because he didn't want people thinking he was profiting of of abuse victims and LGBTQ+ community.

•He said he's terrible with time management and replying to people which is why Ken helps him (and also helps George and Sapnap). He mentioned how Sam messaged multiple times and Dream just forgot to answer but felt bad "I feel like people think I hate them..... Cause I'd be mad if people did that to me"

•He tries to reply to a few texts a day (community number). He also can't do birthday messages everyday because you can only reply at certain times so it's not abusing the system so if you get one it's special. He said he does try but it's got a weird time gap.

•Him and the manhunt winner are trying to come up with a good time to film

•He wants to stream this MCC on twitch and says his team is good.

•He talks about why he's not partnered with Twitch. Basically Twitch has a lock rate (in which you make money) and you legally can't stream on YouTube. So legally if Tommy wanted to stream on YouTube he couldn't. Someone then mentioned how Bad is a twitch partner but still streams on YouTube "Bad streams on YouTube but he has for a while and I don't think that he cares" - Dream

•He likes to reply to every donation he gets on stream and feels bad when he doesn't so he'll turn them off when he streams and wants a platform deal where he can be payed to stream (not twitch). If he gets a streaming partnership he will stream a couple of times a week. He looked in to Facebook but they don't have an alias system meaning you can see everyone's actual Facebook account and personal info, he doesn't like seeing real names on Facebook so it would require a lot of altering if he was to stream there so he's thinking it's probably going to be YouTube.

•He was asked about if his demographic was what he expected and he said he went in with no expectations, he didn't even know what stans were, wasn't really on social media so he wasn't aware of the fan culture. "You guys are a handful sometimes but it's worth it"

•He also mentioned how he and the DreamSMP changed the twitch audience demographic. It used to be male dominated in both streamers and audience and now it's almost split which is unheard on.

•He has 5 fidget spinners in his house. Two in his bedroom. Two in his office. One in the living room.

•He likes his Minecraft skin as he thinks the arm is cook and you never see the rest of his skin really. He says it's unique and different and "me". Dream: You can't even tell half the skins apart on MC.

•He's not lost the motivation to stream. Most of the times if he wants to stream he gets George or Sapnap to do it and he just turns up. It's more beneficial to them as they have donos and subs on. (Don't we fucking know it "can you say hi to")

•He has listened to Lovejoy. Says the ep was great and they're very talented and awesome. Doesn't know what his favourite song is but probably would pick One Day because the chorus slaps.

•RIP to acoustic Roadtrip. He said instead of acoustic Roadtrip we get Mask so no losses today for Dream stans.

•"With Roadtrip I went to Parker and I said Hey I have a story I want to tell through music. I have no experience with that can you help me" He said sure. He crafted the music and melodies and how things are formed where it's catchy. I have less comfort singing that. I love the song and it's my song, it's very representative of me and I'm sure I could sing it but it's a song I'd be kinds of scared to sing live, with Mask I basically did everything. I sat there the entire time and maybe an hour out if the 100 I wasn't in the call. Dream came up with the lyrics and main melody for Mask (First one he's ever come up with) "That was just notes in my fucking voice memos"

•The clip we heard of Mask was a prechorus not the actual chorus. He thinks he'd be more comfortable to do a mask acoustic and it's more melodic than Roadtrip. The chorus also has a lot of instruments similar to Roadtrip. Mask starts of slow and guitar with minimal reverb and is more raw.

• He doesn't want music to be his main thing. It's something fun to do and he's passionate about it as it's a way to express emotions. He wants to release mask then go from there. He wants to release at least one more song but has nothing on his mind currently. His two ideas were Roadtrip and Mask.

•He wouldn't quit his job to become a pizza delivery man.

•His favourite features on himself are eyes or freckles and he also confirmed that he does have eyebrows.

•He was told that Parkour warrior would be bought back some time in the near future and he got excited for it. "Even if I don't win, which I will, it'll be fun"

•Went on about his MCC team but I'm not going to put that in as we should be getting them today. He did say he wasn't on Pink but he did sound confused. (For reference he's always in Pink as it's the last team announced and keeps the hype up by announcing the biggest streamer last)

•Said he and his mum had the Mr Beast burger. He recommends because he likes the avacado. He mentioned how Mr Beast uses "Ghost Kitchens" which is basically where he gives restaurants permission to cook his food so it's restaurant quality food.

•His favourite piece of merch is the circle smile. (The pool photo on Instagram). He said the quality was bad (he worked with a different company and didn't have his own company) and it was elasticy feeling and he's planning on re-releasing it again but with good quality.

•He's started to send merch out in custom packaging. So his bags have the smile and will mostly be green. Sapnap's has the flame and is either black or white. He's also trying to make it so every order has the sticker packs for both him and Sapnap.

•He loves the coins as it's cheaper than a hoodie but still celebrates the milestones and will last a long time. He mentioned how the old coins are getting removed off the site and how if you have any of the coins your special because only a few thousand get made. He's kept around 100 of each coin that he wants to give away in person.

•He wanted to have a cool store where you could access computers that give you access to the DreamSMP in spectator mode. But it's too costly and would require too much time and isn't safe fight now. He doesn't think it'd be worth it financially.

•Most of the hoodie are black instead of multiple colours because of limited supply and covid. Getting the colours are harder because if the pandemic which hopefully won't be an issue soon.

•He wants to do a short meetup tour with Sapnap and George with a few locations in the US (and if others nearby want to join like Quackity or Karl they can). He also wants to visit Australia, UK, Canada, Mexico and Philippines and do something like that there but definitely at least visit with George and Sapnap.

•He's never been to the Philippines but his mum has. He wants to set up a place in the Philippines where he can ship merch in bulk and it would help to reduce shipping. However it would probably be big milestone merch.

•He's not got the vaccine yet but will get it when he needs to. He doesn't leave the house so he doesn't see the point.

•He's the ideas man. George's footcam video was Dream's idea. The T-shirt video was Dream's idea. Most if not all of the Dream Team's videos are Dream's ideas.

•Said he's got a similar/the same hair colour as Froy (Dream buddy at this point the only difference between you and Froy is that one of you is dating Richard Madden /lh)

[razrbladekiss]

Tyrants | Chapter Four - Peril

WORD COUNT: 5.1k

WARNINGS: Mentions of death, drug use, Tig being Tig. The usual SOA shit. Sorry Donna..

She always saw the beauty in darkness. The lugubrious belle that came alongside the moon and stars and whatever else lurked amidst the murk of nighttime.

Isla was cliche in that sense.

She was cliche in the sense that she adored watching the sun set, swallowed by the mountains and high-rise buildings as the evening fell and Charming was painted black.

And maybe it was mostly melancholic because of the horrors that swathed that small town, but it was still beautiful nonetheless.

She still liked to bask in the scenery, to discern the marvel of her home, from the highest point she could access. And, sometimes, she liked to take somebody along with her so she wasn't completely alone.

"Why'd you still come up here?" Ope asked, pulling himself onto the roof as she sat with her back to the wall--puffing on a cigarette.

"Because it's quiet." She was content, comfortable with her response. "And whenever I'm looking for Jax, or Gem, or my dad--or they're looking for me--this is where we're almost always found. Just people watching, or reminiscing, or having a few minutes to ourselves away from the chaos downstairs."

It wasn't an unknown safe space--Gemma had told her that JT and Clay would climb up there during the earliest days of the club--but it was special.

Jax, Opie, and Isla spent time up there as kids, too. Because they were bastards and were always running from their fathers--and den mother--and the roof of the clubhouse was their go-to.

She never really got out of that habit. She'd spend hours up there if she could, just watching as Charming bustled beneath her. And she liked that it was separate to the garage, but everyone knew where to find her if they needed her.

"It clears your head, being up here." She added. "I have got so much shit going on right now--between work, and my personal life--but coming up here is like a refreshment, I guess."

Opie understood what she meant because he was also seeking comfort in the night. Riding through dusk, spending time alone on his bike as he cruised the streets of his quaint town, relishing in the darkness because it was strangely comforting to him.

He liked to be alone. His thoughts were brutal and they seared his brain left and fucking right, but he liked his own company.

"Wish I thought about comin' up here when I was released from holding." The man chuckled, balancing a cigarette between his lips. "Stahl grilled the fuck outta me."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She really fuckin' did." He added, grunting as smoke blew from his nostrils. "Did she get you? I know she got Gemma."

"Nope, she didn't. I don't know why, though. She interrogated everyone else. Starting to feel a little left out."

Opie chuckled, smiling a bit. "Be glad. It's obvious that she's used to getting what she wants."

"And did you give it to her?"

"Fuck no." Isla smiled. Proud. "She can cross-examine me all she fuckin' wants—I'll never sell the club out."

"They know that, Ope."

"I know." Half confidently, he nodded. "Just—Stahl made me second guess it all, y'know?"

Nobody in Charming--aside from the PD--knew where that despicable bitch came from, and nobody cared to ask.

What they did know, though, was that she had her heart set on making that town a living fucking hell as she strived to eradicate the Sons of Anarchy by getting to its members.

She'd grilled everyone she could've. She cornered Gemma when she was out running errands, leaving the grocery store with a sour taste in her mouth when Teller told her where to fucking shove it.

Same went for Jax, and Clay, and Chibs, and Tig, and...Well, all of them told her to get fucked, actually.

None of them caved. None of them wanted to sell the club out because there was no reason to.

Well, there was a reason to, but no desire to.

There'd been murders. Three, to be specific. And one of them just happened to be a police officer--which was quite unlucky, but it wasn't awful.

They hated cops.

What they hated more, however, was the idea of getting caught by them. And Clay was. Somehow, anyway.

Piney's old "friend"--Nate Meineke--needed quality, albeit illegal, guns with no traceability to attack the convoy that was transporting one of his friends from point A to point B. And it went as swimmingly as possible...

Until June Stahl was put on the case and found that idiot's phone at the scene after dropping it mid-ambush.

Clay just happened to be the last person he had called. Which then caused the investigation to point toward Charming.

They all knew the Sons were guilty of supplying those weapons. Who else would it have been? They were known for running illegal firearms without batch numbers from a quaint Californian town whose name didn't quite fit its image.

It was blatant, though nobody gave it up.

But Stahl tried her damndest to get answers. And when she didn't, she targeted the member that she saw to be the most vulnerable--after a hit went wrong and he failed to cover his tracks--and Opie just happened to be that guy.

She questioned him for hours. She practically held the man captive in that little cell until he caved. But he didn't--and he wasn't going to, either.

He was loyal. That's one of the reasons why Jax wanted to patch him back in.

"Yeah, I know." Isla got to her feet when she heard Tig yelling for her downstairs. "But you're the strongest guy I know, Ope. I don't think Stahl, of all people, is gonna get to you."

He shrugged her off, flicking the butt of his cigarette to the gravelly ground of the roof.

Opie had changed. Not much, and it wasn't very apparent, but he'd changed. Chino had changed him, she thought.

He was still dedicated to his club, still in love with the reaper and the responsibility that came with the patch--but Opie Winston lacked that flicker of enthusiasm now.

"How does your dad feel about you being back at the table?"

"Said he's proud of me."

He was a man of very, very few words. But the tone that he took--the sheer relief twined into contentment--spoke a greater volume.

Piney would always support his son, feel a sense of gratification from his involvement in the club. And, of course, Ope felt grateful to be back--but it was different now.

He'd served time for his club. Donna consistently argued that they sold him out and that he was fucking stupid for running back into the arms of SAMCRO.

But it was his brotherhood. The Sons of Anarchy were his family--his lifeline. He was nothing if not blessed to be patched back in.

"And I guess that wife of yours isn't too happy about it?"

"How'd you reach that conclusion?"

"Well," she ignored that Tig was waiting for her, standing directly in front of him. "If she was genuinely thrilled about you being back here, she'd have been coming to Gemma's dinners, and spending more time at the clubhouse with us. But she isn't, and I'm starting to realize that she probably hates me now."

His head shook. "She doesn't hate you. It's just...It's just raw. Weird being back, I think."

"She didn't even have to leave. She knows that."

Donna did know that. But there was always something about Gemma. About the way she let things slide so often, how she felt that she had Clay so pussy whipped that he'd be at her every beck and call--but, really, that was redundant. Because Gemma let him get away with fucking murder.

Literally.

"Is she gonna be there tonight?

"Of course. She wouldn't miss Jax's son coming home." He got up, reaching for her hands. "Sorry that she's been so distant with you, Isla. But she's just been stressed out--money worries and the kids and stuff, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know."

Donna wasn't traditionally a worrier. But five years worth of finances, being a single mom, and fretting over her husband potentially not making it out of prison alive, just did that to a woman.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so." Grateful for her offering, though recognizing how damn stubborn his wife was, he conceded. "Thanks, though."

"Anytime. And if you change your mind, or need me, you know where I am--"

"Isla!"

"He is getting on my last fucking nerve today." She groaned, flipping Tig off as she looked over the ledge. "I'm coming! Give me a minute!"

"I've given you plenty of minutes! Just get your ass down here!"

"Just go," Ope chuckled, leaning down to peck her cheek. "We can have this talk another time."

Isla turned back to him, frowning. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Go 'n talk to him--I'll see you tonight."

He was such a nice guy. So considerate, kind.

She loved him a lot.

The flouncy sundress rose to the middle of her thighs as she sauntered through the clubhouse, hearing Trager talking--rather conspicuously, though slightly muffled--to somebody on his cell.

"C'mon, Tiggy. Why'd you yell at me?"

He waved his hand to shut her up, gesturing for the blonde to follow him out of the clubhouse and toward his bike.

"Yeah, cool. K, brother--see 'ya later. Bye." He hung up and slid the phone into the pocket of his cut, swiveling to face Isla with a smile. "You ready?"

"For what?"

"The party?" Tig told her, watching confusion sweep over her face. "I'm taking you over 'cuz you want a drink and don't wanna drive home after? And that you're probably gonna end up heading home with Juice, or something--"

"Juice?"

"It always happens," he shrugged, pointing at the helmet he set out for her at the back of his bike. "We all head out, you get too drunk, you take a liking to Juicy, and you try to ride his dick."

"What?" Isla got herself situated behind him as he got on first, her arms wound around his waist. "That was one time. I've only slept with him once, and I told you it'd never happen again."

"And why is that?"

Her cheeks flushed red, the engine revving sending vibrations through her entire frame.

"Because he was too gentle." Tig's foot collided with the kickstand.

"And the little Catholic girl likes it rough."

She felt the solid gold crucifix burning a hole into her chest.

"Yes. I like it rough." He groaned, leaning into her. She swatted at his chest over his shoulder, laughing heartily. "Just take me to see the baby, dickhead."

The bike sped out of the lot and Isla was loving the thrill of being on two wheels. She'd always liked being stuck to the back of somebody's Harley--but she'd never own one herself.

Isla was like Gemma. She felt stable enough riding with somebody, but riding alone--being in control of the motorcycle--was fucking terrifying.

Jax and Opie had encouraged her to take a ride at one point, but it didn't end very well, and Chibs spent the best part of two hours trying to stitch his daughter back up whilst Gemma castigated the two imbeciles who thought it was even reminiscent of a good idea.

Weaving through traffic gracefully, freely, was appealing to her, however. But she wouldn't be caught dead--alone--on a fucking bike.

Plus, she quite enjoyed being taken places. Escorted by a member of the club. It was safe.

The wind whirred and whipped around them, and she wished she didn't make the effort with her hair tonight. It was ruined, tousled to within an inch of its life, and she dreaded the thought of having to brush the knots out in Jax's bathroom.

Still, commuting via Harley was a hell of a lot quicker and had a few more benefits than commuting via car.

But the looks that they got were piercing. Horrible. Mainly from Hale stationed beside his squad car, watching as Isla and Tig raced down the freeway.

"He likes you." He spoke over the roaring engine when he hit the first stop light all night. "He hates that you've never given him a chance--"

"He's a cop, and I'm the outlaw's daughter. I've been raised to hate his kind."

Tig nodded his approval, setting off once again when the light switched to green and all opposing traffic stood still.

At one strange point in time, David Hale had his sights set on Isla Telford. He was in love with her. Completely besotted.

And she never gave him a second glance because, for one, she wasn't interested. He hated that she was so close to Jax and Opie, but not him, and he wished that she'd push herself away from the bad guys to grow closer to the heroic law-enforcer.

But he was a control freak above everything else, and Isla was just a free-spirit. She was loyal to her friends and family but she didn't want to get tied down, and she didn't want to become friendly with a fucking cop.

The only cop she liked was crooked. And Unser was in a similar spot to her--a little too affiliated with SAMCRO, but not completely doted on. Though, they were both strangely essential fixtures, and Clay would've been lost without them.

"Juice is here." Tig taunted as he helped her off the bike, holding her hand when she stumbled over herself a little. "Try to keep those panties on."

"Can't make any promises, Tiger." Her growl was seductive, though he knew that she was fucking with him.

She'd given up rebuking his claims, instead feeding into them because, with Trager, she couldn't seem to win. He was sleazy, and she loved that back and forth.

What she loved more, though, was that he was comfortable. He was a strange man, and nobody really understood just where he came from, but Isla liked that she could make jokes of any kind around him. He was easy to get along with. Easy to love.

And, man, did she love Alex Trager.

"If you do fuck him, though, would you make a video?"

Isla stepped into Jax's front room, turning on her heels. "Who said that we haven't already got one?"

She chuckled and wandered into the party, leaving Tig with a few convoluted thoughts and even more raunchy questions.

"Fuck. Gemma taught her well." He grumbled under his breath, reaching for the beer in Half-Sack's hand.

He slumped on the couch, motioning for his usual lay to sit in his lap as he watched Juice fawn over his little blonde friend making conversation with some other random woman already.

"Yeah, totally..." she agreed with whatever the girl was saying, but her eyes were glued on Tara. Just floating around the party.

She felt bad that the doctor was alone. Despite all that she thought of her, being out of ones depth in such an intimidating setting wasn't very nice. And Isla was an empath.

"D'ya think anyone 'round here has any nail glue?"

"Gemma might." She smiled, pointing toward the kitchen.

Grateful that she managed to shake that one off, Isla weaved through the small conclave and sat beside Tara, offering a friendly face during a time of such discomfiture.

Her heart was aching, the sheer nervousness was palpable, and she knew that Tara felt the same way too.

But Isla just sucked it up. Because she wanted to talk to her, and had to be the one to initiate it.

"Thanks for coming." Her smile was wide, genuine.

She offered a beer to the brunette, hoping that she'd take it.

"Thanks for asking me here." Tara accepted it, glad that Isla remembered she wasn't particularly a wine girl like herself.

Christ. This is awkward.

"Trust me, you were the first person I asked to come tonight."

"How so?"

"Well," a little bit more comfortably, she faced her completely, "you've literally nursed Abel back to health. You've been there every step of the way. You've been the best surgeon. And, as much as I hate to say it, you helped Wendy so much, Tara. I'm really thankful for all that you've done for this family."

"It's my job." She tried to brush the comments off, but her heart definitely fluttered at the praise.

Isla never changed. She was still the sweetest soul, she thought.

"I know, but you've had it rough with this lot--with Gemma, I mean."

"She isn't anything I can't handle." Confidently, she asserted.

"I know, and I'm glad that you're able to stand your ground." Reluctant, a hand landed against Tara's palm.

She jolted a little bit, but softened into the embrace.

It was comfy, warm. Prosperous, perhaps, because it meant something. Tara not jerking away and leaving once Isla offered a friendly embrace, was promising.

They spoke about the baby for a little while, and shared a few laughs at Tig's expense. It was strange, really. To be talking to her ex-best friend was strange, but she'd missed it.

Donna joined the mix, too, and it was starting to feel like old times. Isla recognized that they'd never slip back into that routine, the dedication to one another that they'd known when they were kids--but it was nice.

The conversation stuttered and it wasn't able to flow as freely as what she might've liked, but it was a start.

To know that she had something resembling an acquaintanceship with two women she admired, was nice.

And Jax introducing his baby to his brand new home, to his extended family that were already so fucking dedicated to him, was just the most wonderful thing ever.

"What about a beer?" Clay joked, holding the bottle close to Abel. Jax laughed, though he shook his hand away. "What? Grandpa can't give him his first beer?"

"No, he can't."

"I'll take it, though. If you're offerin'." Chibs grabbed the Budweiser and twisted the cap with the leather grip of his glove.

He gestured to Isla, tipping it toward her. "Want some?"

"No, you're alright." She went back to her wine, smiling at that little bundle of happiness in Jax's arms, wondering how the hell he'd gotten to be in this position now.

But it was because of Tara. Her commitment, her talent, and sheer want to help that angel through the roughest patch that a baby could have possibly been thrust into.

How Gemma could still loathe that girl--after everything she did--was beyond her completely.

Tara was the unlikeliest hero in Abel's story.

"Why is it that every time I see you, your highlights get more chunky?" Gemma smiled at the comment, turning to see her favorite girl, flaunting the most beautiful smile.

She handed Isla the bottle of whatever wine Chibs could get this evening, unable to quit beaming at the thought of her grandson finally being at home. Where he belonged.

"I told you I'd do them for you, Gem."

"I know," she nodded, playing with a few strands of hair, "I was gonna ask you, but you've been a little distant this week--didn't wanna add to your workload, baby."

"That's super considerate of you. Are you alright?" Isla teased, holding a hand to Gemma's forehead.

She slapped it away with a laugh. "Fuck you. I'm always considerate."

"Sure you are. That's why Wendy is here, right?"

"No," her head shook, "she's here 'cuz this is her house. If I had it my way, she'd be out on her ass faster than what you could even say 'crank whore.'"

Isla wiped at her lips with the back of her hand, tipping her head toward the blonde in the living room.

"I thought you made sure she was gonna be here tonight?" Confused, she quizzed.

She was under the impression that Wendy was starting to grow on her. After she'd tried to kill her, of course.

"I did," Gem confirmed. "But only because I knew it'd be awkward between her and Tara."

Amazed, or maybe fucking horrified, Isla simply glared at her.

It should've been obvious to her--plain as day--that Gemma Teller doing a good thing was simply a bullshit facade, built in order to take away from the fact she wanted to do an inherently bad thing.

But Isla liked to see the good in people, so it wasn't. And that really was one of her mot fatal flaws.

"She thanked me for letting her stay, too."

"And what'd you say to her?" Almost as if she didn't want to know the answer, she asked.

Black nails danced along the rim of her wine glass as she leaned against the counter, watching everybody enjoy themselves as they bitched and moaned.

"That she's lucky to be alive."

"Jesus, Gem," her head shook disparagingly, disappointed perhaps.

But being surprised that the woman made a threatening comment toward Wendy, was just as stupid as being surprised at Tig for fucking another hooker during his free time.

"You've gotta keep her close, ma. She's the mother of your grandson, the woman your son did love at one point."

Ma. The word rolled off her tongue unintentionally most of the time, but she didn't hate it.

Gemma was the mother figure in her life--hell, she was the mother figure in a few of the Sons' lives--and it didn't feel weird using that around her. It was affectionate. She adored it.

"Jax never loved her," matter of fact, she retorted. "They got drunk together. They smoked dope together. They didn't love one another--"

"They got married." Isla reminded her. "They have a kid together. They have a lot of history."

"Just because they have history, doesn't mean they love one another. You've got history with him."

Her chuckle was throaty, almost a full-on splutter. "We have not got that same history--we're friends, Gem, you know that's different."

She supposed the blonde was right.

There was hell of a contrast between friends for life and friends with benefits--and Gemma knew that. She just didn't like that Jax gravitated toward Wendy when he'd always had Isla right there in front of him.

Though, she was more than aware that the pair didn't look at each other that way--she still lauded the thought of the two together.

"I still hate her."

"I know," Isla laughed at Gemma's irritability, sipping on her wine, enjoying the sight of everybody having a damn good time.

"She's checking into rehab, too."

"Really? Where?"

"Some place in Oakland, I think." Gemma added, smiling at Clay when he wandered over to the pair. "But you didn't hear that from me."

"You think she's gonna stick to it?"

"Couldn't tell 'ya." He answered for his wife, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Isla's cheek. "She's determined though, I'll give her that."

"Yeah?" His nod was optimistic--strange for Clay Morrow. "Well, I'm glad she's working on herself, anyway. She's got potential."

"You hate her."

"I know." She didn't refute the assertion. "But I'm still happy for her."

At least somebody is.

She wasn't lying. Wendy was a good girl, a woman tortured for no good reason. And she felt for her, she really did.

It'd been a shock, finding out that she was pregnant. But it wasn't like they weren't expecting it--what with the rate she and Jax were going at it.

From the start, Isla and Gemma were worried. She was notorious for her crank habit and the girls thought she was going to kill herself before she had the chance to see her son into the world.

And that almost happened, didn't it?

The doctors at St. Thomas were fucking miracle workers--Isla was on pins and needles waiting for a call to say that Wendy and Abel were okay.

But she tried not to dwell on that, now. They were both as healthy and Abel was as happy as he could've been, so Isla was content. She wasn't pleased, but she was comfortable with the way that things were going.

Tara, however.

"No!" She yelled, backing out of the nursery. "No, fuck you, Jax."

Juice stumbled backward when she nudged him out of the way, pulling her purse from the kitchen counter.

Isla and Gemma couldn't not stare.

"Tara, c'mon!" Jax called after her, but it was too late.

The front door had been slammed shut and the party came to a complete standstill. A thickening tension was shrouding the group, and things were only just starting to simmer.

"What was that all about?" The blonde asked Juice, leaning against the island.

She didn't want to prove Tig to be right but, after a few glasses of wine, Juan Carlos Ortiz was starting to pique her interests.

He swallowed thickly, watching Clay leave the room. "He said something about Wendy--wanting to keep whatever it is that he and Tara have going on the down low so it doesn't set her off, or something."

Makes sense.

"He has a point. She's doing really well lately." He continued. "Jax would hate to stunt her progress by shoving his relationship with Tara in her face."

Isla was rattled.

Jax hadn't talked to her in days, and she wasn't aware that so much had changed. She wasn't aware that he had established a relationship with Tara Knowles.

Again.

You know what they're like--like two fucking magnets or something. They always find a way back to one another.

She was too irritated to reside in that same room as Gemma, now. Knowing the conversation she'd initiate the second that Juice left was too fucking much. So she left first, instead.

The living room was almost empty. Just Clay, Bobby, Tig, and Chibs sat around the couches as Donna, the kids, and Ope were preparing to set off.

Everything was annoying her, now. She hadn't made the effort with Donna all night, but she was pissed that she hadn't started to say goodbye to her yet.

Isla was so fucking irritated that she didn't even want to talk to Tig, or her father. So she didn't.

"Where're you going, petal?" Chibs asked, hindering her plan to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the night. He knew that she'd crack a smile at the nickname.

"I was just wandering. Not really sure what to do with myself."

"Come sit down," he gestured to the space between himself and Tig, and wound an arm around her when she met the leather. "I've missed 'ya."

"Tonight? Or just in general."

"In general. It's been a few days, love."

"I know, I'm sorry." Her head rested against his Sgt. At Arms patch, and she sighed. "Work has been so fucking busy and I feel like I haven't gotten a moment to myself this week."

Isla only worked a part-time gig at some shitty salon just on the outskirts of Charming--edging into Stockton--but she hated her job.

She hated driving into the city every morning and evening, wasting a fuck ton of her paycheck on gas when, really, there was no point.

She hated her cunt boss.

Hated her cunt clients.

She hated that nobody really spoke to her because of who her father was. And when they did speak to her, it was almost like they were scared. Of Isla.

Gemma had always promised her that there was a space at the auto shop for her had she needed it, but she couldn't think of anything worse than having to answer to Gemma and Clay every single day.

Well, more than what she already was, anyway.

"Who'd 'a thought that being a hairdresser was so demanding?"

"Me, apparently." She joked, watching Tig get up and leave the room.

It'd turned somber. A little too bleak for her liking, but she guessed that everyone felt a bit awkward after Tara stamped out and Jax sat on his porch. Alone. With a bottle of whiskey.

She hated the hold that woman had over him sometimes. The way he was so fucking devoted to Tara Knowles that she could literally slap him, scream in his face, and ruin his son's homecoming party--and he would still pine for her.

She'd never understand that.

And she didn't understand how such a lively bunch of individuals had mellowed out over the course of two hours, either.

The party had disappeared. Dissipated into nothing and the atmosphere she once lauded was completely dead in the water.

It was fucking grim, and she couldn't wait to head home.

"Can I come with you tonight?"

"Why'd you even ask? Y'know you're welcome to come home with your old man whenever you want." Chibs told her a little bit stern, though it was essentially full of love.

She just smiled up at him, a bit buzzed. But she was having a good-ish time and who was he to chastise her for drinking a little too much tonight?

"Wanna head off now?"

"Yeah--lemme just say 'bye' to Gemma."

"Alright, I'll be out front. Don't forget your purse." He reminded, knowing she was too ditsy for her own good.

Chibs helped her to her feet, letting go of her hand only to part ways for a few moments.

Her mood was perking up, now. The prospect of being able to spend a few hours with her dad after a long fucking day, was just the best.

And she'd really missed him. Missed the time they once had an abundance of. Missed the evenings that they'd spend talking, drinking, watching movies, doing the generic father daughter activities.

They hadn't had that for a while, and it was truly a blessing that it was within reach tonight.

Well. It was within reach for all of five minutes.

"Oh my God--" Gemma's cell slipped from between black nails and bounced across the table. Saturated hues were locked on Isla, and her head shook.

"What?"

"There's--there's been an accident." She managed to muster out. "Or, maybe a drive-by, I don't know, but Donna--"

"Donna?" Piney's attention was snatched at the mention of his daughter-in-law. He stood up. "What about her?"

Isla knew the answer. She knew what Gemma was going to say because it was just the usual now, wasn't it?

Being affiliated with SAMCRO just did that to somebody. Man, woman, child. They didn't fucking care.

"She's--Piney, she's dead."

[rsmrymnt-tea]

I'm pretty tired so maybe there will be stupid typos here but that's not gonna stop me lol

The weird thing is that they say it's a Sports Festival but we immediately start with a scavenger hunt? Which definitely feels more like last day we've gone through all the official sports competitions and now we're wrapping up with some fun children's game-esque stuff.

Honestly I feel like any regular person would be sick of playing mediator by then too. MC's been with the brothers for a couple of years now, there's no way they're not tired of it. And also with RAD too, first year they're forced, second year it isn't a full school year so maybe they're more willing to tolerate, but now when they've fully been told that they can be in the Devildom as a guest?? Then immediately get shoe-horned back into being a student??? Maybe I'm just not academic enough but uhhh I'd be very upset about that tbh

And I've definitely heard people comparing Raph to Belphie!! Thing is that to me he doesn't really have vibes?? He's reminiscent of Belphie but otherwise he's got like.... Nothing??

Oh I hadn't thought that it might be a translation issue. If it is Barb's grimoire we're tasked to get, then from a story standpoint that's kinda good. They set it up as a thing last season. But then also if you think about it, it gets really squicky. Two strangers (one who is likely prejudiced against demons, the other who seems to enjoy mischief at other people's expense??) and MC who Barb is indifferent to at best?? Getting ahold of the thing that allows them to override his autonomy?? What does it mean for Barb and Solomon if they can actually get it?? Definitely isn't better if it's a grimoire that controls all 70-something other demons he has pacts with too but, less impactful to our cast ig??

The meeting in the council room was actually brilliant. Letting the characters actions and reactions tell the story, especially when there is a lot of emotions around is so tasty!! Despite it being an interesting hint about his former apprentices, I don't really like the implication that MC gets to be special again, as the only student he's taken that isn't awful?

Oh and Thirteen's reaction to Solomon is super interesting!! Definitely gives me the idea that maybe he's been misrepresenting their relationship, despite what little info he's given. And definitely reinforces why she'd be upset with MC for helping him break back in. I hope they expand on that instead of just.. Forgetting.

And Raphael!! I feel like seeing Lucifer might actually help encourage his character development. I do think it'd be kinda funny if every angel they send out of the celestial realm just comes back radicalized. MC and Simeon encourage the angels to form a union against.. Michael? God? Idk ajdks

I think it could've been cool if this season was sort of more focused on the side-characters. If we could have explored MC rejecting Diavolo's offer (that one chapter last season with Belphie was not enough for him to be okay with people not just doing what he wants). Or even get a peak at the brothers standing with MC as they stand against him? Give us some good character conflict followed by growth?? Bringing Simeon's stuff to the forefront so we can have some relationship development with him. Let the characters drive the plot rather than the other way round?

(we're a quarter way through????? A quarter???? Oh boyyy I feel like they haven't been making the most of their time if that's the case)

- 🐝

Yeah it’s super odd? Seems like the most lukewarm way to open a sports festival… But it seems like the game’s favorite way to have a game going but also have plot because I feel like half of every challenge MC’s had has been a scavenger hunt, or a scavenger hunt with a slight twist lol

AND honestly the thing about going back to school for further learning is that it’s usually by choice… And while we might have wanted to in S2 because it’s been established that the main reason for MC to be in the Devildom with the brothers is because of the exchange program, S3 has revealed that we don’t need that anymore (because the brothers can just come up to the human world on break + we’re working on being able to summon them) and it’s either the brothers + other characters come to MC in the human world or as per what S4 has given us, MC can just show up in the Devildom for a visit whenever they want now.

No need to be a student anymore for a reason to be with them or the other characters. Yet we somehow have no choice but to be a student again :/ A student who’s actually tasked to go babysit a reaper and an angel sigh

Lmfao Raph having just no vibes at all >.<;;; He’s like Belphie + and even more boring Lucifer since he’s such a sticker for rules… At least Lucifer’s fun and interesting? But this is his introduction so hopefully we eventually see that he has a personality… Thirteen and Mephisto are outshining him by a long shot so far

AND YEAH to all those points about getting a grimoire… Like I don’t understand lol?? I just want them to get it for some Solomon content but the premise is so… huh. Especially in contrast to what Levi’s team’s item is (which is just MC) and the odd clue that Lucifer’s team has (which according to @still-a-morosexual-help is a haiku that’s probably referring to Simeon last I checked?)

Tbh it might just be that Thirteen doesn’t like people who don’t fall for her traps and pranks, and his students have just been keen enough to like… Not fall for her traps and pranks because they know Thirteen doesn’t like Sol, and by extension the student themself. I’d love to think that they turn out actually nasty, but… This is OM… They made Raph sound nasty, so far we get a pathetic little meow meow lmfao

And to be fair he seems to keep dismissing the fact that she hates his guts lol so I think he’s just bound to misrepresent their relationship all the time. Right now my thought on why she seems fearful is that she’s had more than a millennium to take his soul but he wins every single game… What insane magic must you have to be able to evade every effort the reaper makes to kill you? That, and since he wins every game he could theoretically ask for anything as a prize, and Thirteen seems competitive enough to actually take him up on any challenge he proposes if he presents it the right way for the slight hope that she’ll finally get him.

But she won’t. And Solomon could ask for some rare magical item she has that can fuck shit up big time.

Really hoping Lucifer’s current existence encourages change in Raphael too, Nonnie. I like to think the reason why Lucifer’s all buddy-buddy with him is for that reason? What better revenge than to destroy your former ally’s perception of demons? Of the world? That being turned into a demon didn’t turn Lucifer into some kind of vile monster like the Celestial Realm probably says it did?

(Wishful thinking I guess. I really want more angst and more… Idk just more heavy shit in this game because Raph did, you know, side with God against Lucifer.)

AND MAN. I too want some fucking proper conflict but noooooo we’re here to go through the same shit MC always does, this time with new people who currently have beef with them, one of which should be someone we actually should’ve met ages and ages ago since apparently MC’s been mingling with the Newspaper Club as per chat… But whatever ugh I just want to get the Lessons faster >.< Having the last several chapters be all setup is making me mad disappointed even tho it’s literally all setup lol I wanna get to the meat of the season already

(And yeah… In S3 we found the angels working in the cafe by Lesson 43 and in 44 MC was sent to the past to when the brothers were still angels. Hefty stuff compared to what we got in Lessons 63 and 64 lmfao >.>)

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes

Sequel to A Forgotten Memory

Now facing an internal battle between her heart and mind, Samantha faces her fears and searches for the truth. Will she accept the past? Will she listen to her heart? Or will she let her memories get the best of her?

Chapter 10 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Roach - A SurPRICE Visit

What is this o.O

The Heart knows what the Brain Doesn't

Samantha Coleman

141's High Value Individual

Task Force 141 Base - General Shepherd's Office

The base was quiet. Everyone else fled off to their mission and all Samantha could think about is Alex. But why? Maxine told her he wanted to meet him, but Alex told her it's because she dropped her pendant. Whose story is she going to believe in? She could feel her heart beat differently ever since she saw him with General Shepherd. Her whole body except for her brain reacted to his presence. She even felt weak after slapping him, it's like her brain commanded it but her hands wanted to disobey. Who is he?

Maxine passed by with an apple she got from the kitchen counter.

"Sam, you okay?" she asked, biting the fruit and sitting in the chair across from her.

"I've been thinking… about how you knew Alex and how she knows me…" she sighed, it was relieving to let out all her bottled thoughts, especially that now they're both alone.

"Well, we met in a bar. Had a few drinks then showed me a photo of you." she said, holding her hand.

"I honestly believed he did know you and tried to lengthen the conversation, just so I know he's good enough and knows a lot. He actually aced the test but he was very drunk when I told her to meet again. After that He showed up the next day and I had to work. Whatever happened after my shift was- ow." she interrupted herself because of a minor pain from recalling her memories. She still hasn't been able to remember all of them, even after a lot of sleep.

"Yeah. That's about it on your side. Mine's just that… He looked creepy, his eyes felt like he was looking for me in a weird way and so I ran. After that life continued. You went on a leave and I resumed working." She supplied, staring at the grey walls of the mess hall.

"I wish I'd remember where I went on that vacation. It'd be cool." Max commented, crunching on another bite.

"My heart… beats differently when he's near. It's like he's really familiar." She whispered.

"Oh. Someone's been struck by the Cupid. He is attractive though. Without those ink, he'd probably be your type." Max teased, winking at her and nudging her. Samantha was serious, though.

"Look. I admit my heart feels something for him. It's a mix of guilt and longing. But why would I long for someone I just met?" She sighed and dropped her head on the table, groaning as her mind and her heart battled against the inconsistencies.

"Look. It's not too crowded here. Maybe we could do some research by their library!" Max suggested, creating finger guns and humming the Mission Impossible theme song as she stood up and went to the library. Samantha chuckled.

"So we're spies now?!" She placed a hand on her forehead as she followed her wacky best friend.

Maxine typed down Alex on the search bar, his public profile appeared and they began reading his file. It was all basic ideas, Nationality, Height, his name was redacted and they couldn't bypass it so they just ignored it and headed to the next term.

"CIA Agent Alex helped locate and detain CIA Mole." Samantha read with her mouth. Maxine quickly clicked the article and photos of her appeared on almost every page.

Unlike Maxine, these notes didn't hurt her mind except it hurt her heart that she treated him that way, after all this time. He was there to save her. He located you through Maxine to save you from the same captors that played with your brain months ago.

"Ooooh. It says here you two were safely housed in a remote safehouse for almost a month. Really Sam? Maybe something happened within that time? Can you please remember how he looked underneath those clothes. For me?" she giggled. Samantha knew she was joking but it was an honest possibility.

Could it be that she fell for the guy that saved her and sat with her for almost a month? Or the two of them fell in love? Her heart was racing as the possibilities overloaded her brain, her cheeks started to blush as her thoughts consumed her. This wasn't her mind talking to her, it was her heart. It's reminding her of Alex.

"Oh. Shit." Maxine muttered and Sam snapped back to reality, putting her hand on Max's shoulders and looked into the screen once again.

Due to a special favor promised by Samantha's father, he has authorized to apply an MK Ultra procedure to her, whose main intention is to Alter her memories of the IP Address along with the events that happened prior to kidnapping.

"You agreed to forget him?" Max looked at her, a frown formed as she started to console her.

"I guess so… Maybe something happened between us." She sobbed. She didn't want to cry, but the realization set in on her. They met, they bonded and she forced herself to forget him. No wonder Alex felt sad after being slapped.

"I want to ask him about us." Sam said with determination. Maxine liked the confidence but was also concerned about her feelings.

"What if you wanted to forget him, that's why you did it? Would you be ready to feel the sadness all over again?" Maxine asked. Samantha paused for a while. She made sense but her gut is telling her to push through her initial plan.

"I'm sorry Max, but I made my choice. I have to know everything about us, Whatever it Takes." she said.

"I'm here to support you. After all, you're the only memory I have left. They took everything. I don't know why but my memory began when I moved in. That's where my story started. Maybe there's a reason for it so, here I am for you. You're my family." she said, hugging her tight.

"Well, you could add a few more people in your family." she smiled.

"Yeah. It's full of tough looking brothers ready to protect us. And one soft Gary." she noted.

"He is a sweetheart, huh?" Samantha asked, getting a hint of something else from her.

"Well, he talks a lot and he gets me sometimes. It's a shame he's always out there saving the world." Max chuckled. Samantha froze.

"I know you want this to work..."

"This is our proposed digital art for our ad…"

"... and I know in my heart that I do too…"

"The colors need to be more vibrant!"

"...but I can't live loving you with worry in my heart..."

"I'm staying a little bit longer, See you tomorrow!"

"... and I don't want to be the reason that you'll stop saving the world. I know you want that. It's your job to. It's what you built your whole life to become..."

Her head started projecting two realities, it confused her. Which was right and which was wrong? She knew the work one was right, but the memories she just made right now while crying in front of Alex made more sense. Which was real? Which was fake?

"Sam! You okay?" Maxine snapped her fingers and Samantha blinked rapidly.

"I'm going crazy Max." she panted.

"What's wrong?" she consoled.

"My memories. They're all wrong. Why did I agree to this?" Samantha continued breathing heavily.

"Well, for starters. It's to forget that IP Address you memorized as a kid."

"But why did they change the recent ones too? Did I decide that my time spent with Alex is worth forgetting? Did he break my heart or did I break his?" She sighed. She knew for herself that she was unable to love again because of her loss, but what if Alex made it right for her? Alex did something that helped her move on? That's why her heart felt yearning for him?

"Sam. I'm no love doctor but if this really bothers you, you should talk to him. I have no idea when they'll get back but I'm looking forward to your resolution." She patted her shoulders and gave her a soft hug. Samantha felt like crying, but why?

~

After a while, Samantha actually had the courage to ask about Alex's whereabouts. Word has it that he's being redeployed to Germany to investigate another alleged Augustus base and that they had no idea when he'll be back.

This worries Samantha because they already heard about a transfer of authority, which in simple words meant : You're leaving the base. And that meant she won't see Alex anymore.

Maxine and Samantha sat on their beds at the infirmary to recover once again, both of them fell quiet as the news they got started to bother them. They already got attached to the people in the base and were sure that they're going to miss them. All they could do is hope that the team gets home before they leave the base.

“You think Alex will be okay?” Samantha shifted her sleeping position to Maxine, who was still awake humming to soothing melodies. Maxine shifted to face her too and smiled.

“You’re worried.” She teased, making her smile and giggle.

“Well, my heart told me I have to worry…”

“That’s normal. And don’t you worry ‘bout a thing… He’s a tough guy, remember? He’s trained to survive such harsh conditions. That’s what his file said, right?” She reminded Samantha, giving her an assuring smile. Samantha shrugged off her worry and closed her eyes. She started to imagine what it felt like being with him, based on information from his file. She can’t help but smile at her crazy idea. She felt like a teenager all over again, obsessing herself on fictional characters she watched on TV, since she could only base his personality on words alone. But she did remember how his cheeks felt, from the slap, and placed her palm on her cheek as well. It felt like he was with her and her heart felt excited as she awaited for his return.

Next Chapter : The Berlin Tower

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