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kozu-chan · 3 years

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synopsis: keeping up with a society that expects you to be perfect is exhausting in every way possible. you're lucky enough to have found someone who relates to navigate this brutal world with.

content warnings: fem! reader, cursing, insults, bullying if you squint, mentions of insecurity, a bit of fighting, mentions of mental health, and sakusa might be ooc but that's just to make the arguments a little more dramatic.

sour masterlist

growing up, you were a perfectionist. although this wasn't necessarily your fault, was it? at the young age of four, your parents discovered that you were, and maybe still are, gifted with talent for music. this led to years of guitar, piano, violin, flute, singing, and even harp lessons. throughout the years, you went through many concerts and hours upon hours of practicing your various instruments. this led you to attend the infamous itachiyama academy in high school and that was only the beginning of your troubles.

as a perfectionist, you dedicate yourself not only to your music, but to your studies as well. sadly, even you can't manage to balance school, music, sleep, and a social life and one of those things have to give due to your busy schedule, so you sacrifice your social life. sometimes you think that this was the wrong move because that just makes high school practically a living hell for you. that is, until about a week ago.

last week, you had a regular morning. you walk through the halls of your school and people do their best to avoid you, to not get in your way. however, that doesn't stop them from gossiping about you. "wow look at l/n. little miss perfect." "i dare you to talk to her!" "she's such an ice cold perfectionist." "i could never be friends with her. she's too serious." "does this bitch even have a life?" you ignore the comments as you make your way to your first class. sometimes you just want to yell at them to stop talking about you. to tell them how much it hurts you and how being such a perfectionist is exhausting. to let them know that their comments only add to how lowly you think of yourself. that you wish that you had even one friend because you feel so alone.

after school, you spend hours in the music room practicing a song you were thinking of performing, something self-written as a way of releasing your emotions. and once you think your practice is sufficient, you curl up against the wall and cry.

once your crying session is done, you get up and walk back to your dorm. on the way back, you see someone in the gym do an insane serve that slams down that just barely makes it in. you hear a groan of frustration followed by the oh so familiar sound of breath getting shaky due to crying. your gaze follows the sound to see the figure on the floor crying and your breath gets caught in your throat when you realize it's not just any player, but one of the top three aces in japan, sakusa kiyoomi.

"sakusa-san?" sakusa looks at you with what looks like a bit of fear but anger replaces his expression before you could confirm your suspicions. "what the fuck are you doing here? this is a private practice." his tone is cold, firm, and piercing. you could feel a chill run down your spine, but you ignore the feeling because other people, especially your parents, have been on the receiving end on your own tone that sounds just as menacing. the only indicator of crying being the red, slightly watery eyes that you can't help but sympathize with. "what are you staring at?" you snap out of your thoughts to respond to him. "i saw you on my way back to my room. i just happened to see you crying and i-"

sakusa sighs again in frustration. "and you what? just shut up and leave me alone!" "i just know what it's like, okay? you really think that you're the only one who's tired of not feeling good enough? the only one who's cried because you just want to get better but you don't see any improvement no matter how much you practice?" your voice is loud and yet on the verge of tears. you glace at sakusa, who now looks angrier but you don't care. "so sue me if i come off as a ice cold bitch who doesn't talk to anyone because i do anything and everything i can to be perfect even if i always fall short and sue me for sympathizing with you."

the room grows quiet, save for the sounds of your shaky breathing as you try your best to calm down before you actually start breaking down in front of him. it takes another few seconds before sakusa stands up and walks up to you. "l/n, right? yeah well you don't know me and you should just get out of my sight. you shouldn't be trying to get someone to stop crying if you're just going to cry yourself. just relax more." relax more? "that's rich coming from you." you're no longer crying and sakusa stops in his tracks.

"you're telling me to relax more when you don't seem to have any chill... ever. and let's not forget that your crying was what brought into the gym in the first place." you take a deep breath to calm yourself. "so... the gym is like your safe space, right?" sakusa doesn't answer, clearly exasperated and silently begging you to leave. "c'mon, sakusa-san! you can tell me!" you smile a little when he opens his mouth to talk, only to be disappointed by his response. "god, you're such an annoying bitch. go find someone else to bother!" you're disappointed but you're also persistent. after all, you are the one that figures out and teaches all the schoolwork you struggle with to yourself. "if it makes you feel better..." you sigh quietly and contemplate whether or not it was a good idea to expose yourself this much to someone you just started talking to. "if it makes you feel better, my room and the music rooms are my safe spaces." "it really doesn't. if anything, it just makes me feel even more pathetic!" a small smirk graces your features as you realize that you got him. "so this is your safe space? i didn't hear a denial!" sakusa rolls his eyes. "would you shut up already" "not until you admit it." he glares at you and you just look him dead in the eye, causing him to break (probably so you would shut up as he thinks you'll do if he admits it). "fine... the gym is my safe space... that you're encroaching on." you back away slightly because he was right. and you know that you would also be pissed as fuck if someone encroached on your safe space, especially while you were crying. "i'm sorry, i just wanted to help. but, maybe we could be each other's safe spaces?"

you mentally sigh in relief as sakusa looks just the slightest bit more comfortable upon hearing that. "i mean, you know what it's like so... i guess i wouldn't be opposed to that." the two of you give each other a small smile as you sit down a good length away from him. "god, it's brutal out here, huh?" sakusa lets out a small laugh and agrees.

"sakusa, are you really gonna go pro like they say you are?" sakusa looks at you for a second and nods. you even notice his eyes lighting up a little. "yeah, that's what i want. it's what i've wanted for as long as i could remember. i wouldn't work so hard for it and get so dirty if it wasn't my dream... what about you? are you going to become a musician?" now it's your turn to pause. you freeze up. it's been so long since someone's asked you what you wanted. "i... honestly? i don't know what i want anymore. it's been so long since i've been asked what i wanted. it's been so long since someone's seen me outside of the "little miss perfect" that everyone else sees... i don't know." you take a moment to recollect your thoughts. "i just hate the thought of disappointing people that i think i've lost myself in the process. i've been pursuing music for so long that it's familiar, it's instinct, and i can't see myself doing anything else because i haven't done anything else..." your voice gets quieter as you speak. this is the first time you've ever gotten a chance to voice out your thoughts to someone and your own revelations shock you.

"yeah, i think i'm getting there too. losing myself to satisfy everyone while trying to stay true to myself. after all, who am i if not exploited?" it takes a minute to digest the words that were so simple and yet so powerful, the six words that could be used to summarize your entire life. "it sucks, doesn't it? like all i did was try my best, and this is the kind of thanks i get? annoyance and isolation? awards and acknowledges of achievement but at what cost? my social life? my mental health? ... my identity?" sakusa looks like he's going to say something but you shoot him a look and his mouth closes to let you continue. "it's literally so fucking stupid! there's literally no actual reward for me anymore, nothing satisfying. it's all worthless - meaningless, even. sometimes i wish i could disappear..."

a small breath is sucked up and you turn to sakusa. "sorry that was heavy. i've just never had someone to talk to about this. at least not properly."

"i get it. i haven't really had a lot of people to talk to either. at least not that honestly. i'm glad we have each other now, because you were right. it is brutal out here and it's good that we can stick together now."

after that, no one really bothered you anymore and it was all thanks to your new friend and confidant.

a/n: sheesh this is one of the longest things i've written. i really hope you like it and i'm really sorry that i suck at endings!!

#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#sakusa kiyoomi #sakusa x reader #platonic! sakusa x reader #haikyuu angst #sakusa angst #itachiyama #brutal olivia rodrigo #god it's brutal out here #olivia rodrigo #haikyuu fic #haikyuu songfic #songfic

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doomfisthero · 4 years

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Dads for Deku: Day 1

Prompt: Hugs or Headpats (Hound Dog, Shishido, Selkie, Gang Orca, other Mutant Heroes)

Setting: Mutant!Izuku AU

As soon as the doors to the banquet hall opened up, Izuku could tell that Gang Orca had spared no expense in assembling everything. The lights high above cast the walls into a golden glow, settling gently upon the darkly decorated room in which Heroes of so many aberrant shapes congregated. The soft classical music that lilted through the air, combined with the sharp dress code that every guest was expected to abide by, firmly established the event as “high-class.”

Izuku shuddered in his tuxedo, struggling not to mumble or run his fingers nervously through his hair. His first Mutant Homecoming – he'd expected to wait much longer, if he was ever so lucky. He'd almost declined Nedzu's offer, but having Hound Dog and Power Loader-sensei with him took away some of the edge.

Still, they'd refused to answer his longstanding questions about the event, admitting that there was something of an unspoken agreement among the Heroes not to spoil it for anyone.

Power Loader noticed Izuku's stress and gave him a firm pat on the back. “Breathe, kid. This is something you should try to enjoy,” he said. “You might just be the youngest guest of honor we've ever had. Lot of people here are excited to meet you in person.”

Izuku swallowed. “W-what if they're disappointed? Or-or if they don't want me here?”

“Then they can keep quiet,” Hound Dog growled. “Orrr else they'll be chased out.”

Izuku tried to take some comfort in that as his teachers guided him inside. The air was cooler on his crimson scales in here than outside; he tried not to shiver, either from the temperature or from the dread of running into whoever recognized him first.

It was quick when it happened – the Lion Hero Shishido appeared from thin air and engaged Hound Dog in prodding banter, then glanced downward from the corner of his feline eye and caught the little lizard standing next to him. “Say, Inui, no one said you'd be bringing a student along. Going soft, old dog?” He said, flashing Hound Dog a wicked, fang-filled grin.

If Hound Dog's hackles raised at all, he didn't show it. The Hunting Hero merely snorted and patted Izuku softly on the head. “Idiot. Didn't anyone tell you who the guest of honor was tonight? This student of mine is Midoriya Izuku.” He glanced down at Izuku. “You know Shishido, I assume?”

Izuku's mouth went dry as he nodded, then remembered a moment later to bow low. “Y-yes! I'm sorry I didn't say anything. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shishido-san! You're--” Izuku cut his babbling off before either of his teachers could do it.

Shishido's wild expression turned to surprise, and then his terrifying smile slid open again. “You're Midokage, kid?” He asked, using the silly name that Izuku had created for himself long ago – his surname plus hitokage, meaning 'salamander'. He didn't look annoyed as Izuku expected, or disinterested or disapproving or like he thought the high schooler before him was a 'fake Mutant'.

It was a little hard to tell, but as Izuku met his gaze, the Lion Hero looked...almost happy. The loud guffaw he let out as he descended upon Izuku didn't help.

“Damn, it's really you, huh?! You're a little guy, ain'tcha?” Shishido growled, tussling Izuku's hair with a gruff but affectionate paw. “Here I thought Nedzu was just shooting shit!”

As the cavalcade of fellow Heroes slowly took notice and descended upon Izuku, Hound Dog and Power Loader stood back and watched with tickled expressions – as tickled as either of their irritated demeanors ever seemed.

Centipeder slipped through the crowd and took Izuku's hand in a glove. “I hope you're doing well, Midoriya. I never expected to see you as tonight's guest!”

Iida Tensei rolled up in his chair and gave Izuku a weary but warm smile. “I'm really happy to see you tonight, Izuku! Tenya wouldn't stop talking about you. He sounded like he was proud, but I think he wishes he could have come too. Either way, it's good to see you!”

Gunhead gave Izuku's hand a delighted shake. “Wow, I can't believe it's really you, Midoriya! I still remember the first time you wrote to me, when I was starting out on my own. You just made me feel so seen. I still have all of your messages!”

Selkie lifted Izuku off the ground and crushed the boy to his chest. “Hah, you kept us all waiting, you damn tease! Can't believe I almost skipped this year, when I could've missed ya!”

Uwabami looked Izuku from hair to shoes and back again. “Well, you've certainly got your boyish cuteness down pat. You'd provide some excellent name recognition for my Mutant Collection, you know? Give me a call sometime.”

One of Hawks' sidekicks – attending on his behalf – told Izuku that his boss was proud to meet another promising young Mutant. It took the green-haired lizard several moments to come back down to Earth.

Godzillo knelt down and patted Izuku's head with a claw so large it covered him entirely. “It's always good to meet a fan, especially one as prevalent as you. I'm glad I had the chance to speak with you while I was here.”

Takahiro, young as he was, bounded forward and hugged Izuku tight. “Hey, you don't know how much it's helped having you cheering me on. Sometimes it feels like it's just me against the world...But you make me feel like the greatest Hero in Japan. Let's rap together sometime, okay?”

As the night wore on, Izuku's attitude slowly shifted from fear to excitement to a calm engagement with the Heroes around him. So young, and yet already so much of the Mutant community was embracing him. It made Hound Dog and Power Loader quietly pleased to see him so comfortable in his own skin.

(Scales, as it were.)

As if timing his appearance for the greatest impact, Gang Orca himself didn't engage Izuku until well into the night, when it was finally time for the boy's formal acknowledgment. He waited until the night's guest of honor walked anxiously onstage and then the Killer Whale Hero loomed suddenly over him. Even with how many people he'd met tonight, Izuku's stomach couldn't help but flutter as he looked up into that villainous face.

“Midoriya,” Gang Orca began, Izuku's chest vibrating from the rumbling bass. “I'm sure you're well-versed in my career by this point. You know how difficult it's been for Mutants like me, like many of us, to progress against a society that sees us as monsters.”

Hesitantly, Izuku nodded. “Yes...but it's gotten better, hasn't it? Especially because of you. You...you've paved the way for other Mutants to become Heroes just like you.”

Gang Orca hums, arms still folded across his bulky chest. “It has improved, you're correct. But there are still too many people who cling to those outdated views of humanity. They persist on causing pain and dragging the world back to what they deem is acceptable.” He paused, as for effect. “That's why we chose to have you, Midoriya. There isn't a Mutant Hero or sidekick in this room that you haven't given support, be it in their first steps or their darkest hours.”

“In the whole country!” Someone shouted from the crowd. People laughed. Even Gang Orca's lip quirked.

“Regardless...” Gang Orca said, quieting everyone. “Midoriya Izuku. Midokage. For over a decade you've shown exemplary support for the Mutant community and proven yourself an essential pillar toward civilians and Heroes alike. Tonight, we are all honored to have you with us and express our gratitude to you firsthand.”

Izuku barely heard the applause as Gang Orca shook his small hand in a far larger grip. Even though the Killer Whale Hero famously resembled a Villain, in that moment his proud eyes and genuine, warm smile made him seem like the greatest Hero in the world.

“And thank you from myself as well, Midoriya,” Gang Orca added softly. He released Izuku's hand and – to the boy's surprise – rested his massive palm gently upon his head. “To all of us, you are our Hero.”

And as Izuku struggled not to cry, even as his grin threatened to light the night singlehandedly, his teachers watched on with their own gratitude borne close to their hearts.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #dadsfordeku #day 1 #hugs and headpats #mutant izuku au #mutant supporter izuku #psychologist hero izuku #fanfiction #dads for deku week

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tundrainafrica · 3 years

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Title: Christmas Eve

Summary: Toru goes out at midnight in the dead of winter to experience her first white Christmas and Kyo gets a little worried.

Part one of my present to @hizashi-yamadas for the Animanga Secret Santa 2020

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Other One Shots:

December 25: Christmas Day (Haru x Rin)

December 26: The Day after Christmas (Arisa x Kureno)

Note: Merry Christmas Elisha and I hope you enjoy! Keep your eyes out for the next installment :D

"You didn't have to stay in, you know."

Toru jumped, once again becoming aware of her surroundings. She had to look back at the clock by the mantle to see how long she had been staring out the window.

"No, I'm happy to stay in!" Toru hoped that saying it out loud would be enough to quell that knot of disappointment in her stomach which only tightened as she looked back at Kyo who was curled up under the kotatsu.

She looked down at Kyo right next to her who was looking more like a cat as he was curled up into a ball under two blankets of the kotatsu. Toru only had to hover her hand lightly over his forehead to feel warmth radiating from it. What alarmed Toru more though was how indifferent he was to her touch.

"Maybe we should see a doctor."

"It's just… really cold…" Kyo answered in between shivers.

Of course it's cold. They were in the northernmost region of Japan in the middle of winter.

It was Momiji who had suggested they spend Christmas in Hokkaido. He first gushed about it one lunch time in late fall and how he hadn't seen one since the last time he'd been to Germany for winter almost a decade ago. When the young blond pitched the plan when he visited their house a week after, Shigure was quick to approve.

Christmases in Tokyo are cold. The trees are bare. The sky is almost always dark, the atmosphere grim. The only things which made the scenery any better were the giant Christmas trees in malls and the Christmas lights that lined the streets.

Tokyo was too near the ocean though to get any snow so early in winter. Having spent every single Christmas in Tokyo, Toru had never experienced a white Christmas in her life. Snow usually came in January or February in Tokyo if they ever got any. They rarely piled up enough though to classify as a white landscape, similar to those she had seen in the figurines at Christmas shops.

Hokkaido was different. The snow piled up by the foot. They were like added decoration, complementing the Christmas lights which shine much brighter against the pure white landscape.

While she kept Kyo company, she entertained herself by watching the colors dance on the roofs, shining for a split second longer than what her eyes had gotten used to watching the Christmas lights on the streets of Tokyo as a child.

Yellow. Green. Red. Blue.

It alternated between the four colors. By the third time, she should have known what to expect. The contrast of the bright lights against the white landscape and the dark night, had only made the colors stand out more. The flashes were brighter and at times, Toru could pick out the small moments where the flashes of red would mix with those of green that had yet to fade.

"I'm sorry for doing something stupid like that, getting sick…" Kyo held the blanket tighter over his mouth. “And now you’re stuck here with me.

Toru noticed a slight blush and wondered if it was from embarrassment at losing to Yuki or the fever that followed being buried in the snow after their fight.

"No! I don't have to be outside every Christmas. Besides it's warm here and if we watch some Christmas specials, we could still get into the atmosphere of Christmas." Toru turned on the television.

“We are now at Odori Park for the Christmas market!”

That’s where Yuki and the others went. Toru thought to herself. She entertained herself by turning her watching TV into a game, challenging herself to maybe find Yuki, Momiji, Shigure or Hatori among the crowd. Do I get bonus points if I find them? Toru thought to herself playfully.

“Looks like a lot of people visiting are couples! Christmas is a time for couples to spread the love after all!” The host walked deeper into the crowd. “Excuse me, may I ask a few questions?”

“Sure!” A girl who looked to be college age answered. Next to her, was a slightly taller, college aged boy.

“Are you locals?”

The girl shook her head. “No, we’re from Chiba.”

“Wow that’s cool! What brings you to Hokkaido?”

The girl looked at the boy next to her and blushed. “It was a surprise actually.”

“It’s our five year anniversary.” The boy chimed in. “And Yuka has never experienced a white christmas.”

“How’s your first white Christmas then?” The reporter turned to Yuka.

“It’s a dream come true.”

The girl’s cheeks turned a little redder, maybe from the biting cold or the questions. As her eyes glimmered when she spoke, Toru guessed it was the latter.

It’s a dream come true. The wonder in her eyes and the words that followed only reminded Toru of herself and another dream she had had decades ago.

Christmas Eve

Along Hibiya park, there was an old man who sold figurine parts of a Christmas town, all displayed on a table for everyone to see. Every year since before she could even comprehend the commute to the center of Tokyo, Toru had always rushed to that small shop on the corner of the market with a frazzled Kyoko trailing behind.

At the start of the morning, it was saturated — or rather to Toru, it was complete. A complete replica of the bustling Christmas market in her daydreams and the fairy tales her mother told her about.

The frozen lake with people gliding on top, the children engaging in snowball fights with snow forts twice their size and to the right of it a miniature version of the Christmas market, a more rustic version at least and a snowier version.

It was only a few years after she started to visit the small shop did she start to go back multiple times a day. First, the shoe shop disappeared, then the bakery then the rink. For a six year old, it was oddly depressing to see the town dwindle into just a few figurines of people walking through. Toru would find herself crying on the way home that night.

Frosty the snowman is gone!

There are no more children playing in the sleds.

How will Santa give the gifts!

It must have been just unintelligible babble to her mother then. On their way home though from the market, as they stepped out of the train and out into the dark streets of their small suburban neighborhood, her mother hugged her tight.

Frosty is fine.

Santa is fine.

Children will still be playing on the sled next year.

Somehow, the conversation had evolved into a little planning. “Let’s go see a Christmas Market like that together Toru! With the frozen like and the snow forts and the sleds.”

They would go through pictures and videos of the towns in Finland, Germany, France, and even in nearby Hokkaido.

“I’ll make sure to save some funds. Maybe we can try for Hokkaido next year?”

Next year never came. There was always something more important than a winter vacation to spend on — electricity, textbooks, hospital bills, house repairs. As Toru grew older she had to forget that dream herself as the reality dawned on her that a single mother and high school dropout was in no position to ever dream of a profound of an experience as travel.

That same dream Toru had forgotten so many years ago made itself known again, manifesting as an ache in her chest and a small tear as she looked out the window the eve of December 24th.

I’ve never had a White Christmas myself. Her mother had mentioned then, as they looked through albums of winter landscapes and Christmas Markets.

Even for just a second. I have to do it. When would she be able to do it again? Life had disappointed her multiple times already. At that moment, it was right in front of her already and Toru was determined to make it come true then.

“Kyo, I’m going to go out for a while if that’s okay?” She went for her coat. “I just need to see something for my mother.”

“Your mother?” Kyo shifted his gaze from the television to her.

“I wanna experience a White Christmas for her.”

“Hey, I’ll come with you.” Kyo offered as he pushed himself out of his comfortable position under the kotatsu.

“You don’t have a coat though,” Toru said looking pointedly at the coat that was still hanging next to the heater to dry. Kyo had soiled his only coat, having been buried in the snow after his fight with Toru.

“Yeah...” Kyo grimaced

Toru took a peek at her phone while she readied her boots

11:00

“I’ll be back in an hour.” She assured Kyo. Just one white christmas. The next few words were for herself.

Momiji had picked a strategic place to rent a house in Sapporo. The Christmas Market was only a ten minute walk away.

Koibito Park. Lover’s Park. Toru had made sure to google the place before going there. It had a bustling market, not as busy as Odori but enough for Toru to be able to appreciate the festive mood.

As she took in the snow lined roofs, the Christmas lights and the crowds of people bundled up in their own coats, Toru was starting to feel like one of the figurines walking through the Christmas Market in that winter wonderland she’d play with as a kid. Just like what she had imagined, there was a skating rink to the side, a bakery stall, a cart selling chestnuts and a small German stall selling sausages and spiced wine.

Toru did not need to buy anything, completely satisfied already by the variety of scents — a mixture of cinnamon, apples and bread — wafting through the air. She had closed her eyes for a second as she focused all her senses on that small yet comforting sign that Christmas was nearing.

People were starting to talk about it too. As Toru made her way through the crowds she could hear conversations of Christmas wishes.

What’s your Christmas wish?

Kiss me under the mistletoe? A joke referencing a familiar song Kyoko had sung to her before.

I love you.

Somehow that was what made Toru freeze on the spot. Koibito Park, Lovers Park. Toru found herself looking at the crowd around her.

I’m used to this. I’ve spent new years alone already. This shouldn’t be a big thing. It could have been from instinct but Toru ended up navigating more quickly out of the crowds and into a less saturated part of the market. And to the corner was a little market with a few tiny figurines, all arranged in a little Christmas market.

The six year old in Toru was crying again.

It had been more than a decade since then but Toru found herself walking away farther and farther and into the almost empty back entrance of the market. She quickly wiped away the tears that she had formed and mustered up the biggest smile.

Why am I crying? The atmosphere around the Christmas town is not something you see everyday! You have to enjoy it! Toru scolded herself. As she peeked back around the corner and back at the park, she could not help but put a hand over her stomach, placating the knot that had built up there. Most of the couples were still walking around, some families were carrying sleeping children on their backs --- a sign that it was pretty late already.

She had spent the past few Christmases in the Soma household over home cooked dinners she had prepared. Years before that, she had spent it with her mother over take out from the nearest fast food chain and Christmas specials.

That was the first time she was counting down alone. She had her white Christmas and she was alone.

From Toru's position behind the park, she could still see some of the Christmas decorations bright across the white landscape. The houses that lined the street had roofs decorated with actual snow.

Just like in the Christmas market figurines she and her mother would admire. Just like in the fairytales her mother would share. Just like in the pictures she and her would look through.

"Merry Christmas mom," Toru whispered to herself. Admiring the view at least, she remembered why she had decided to make that journey in the first place. "It's a White Christmas."

Toru found herself smiling like she always did, overcompensating for that little something that was missing. Like how the Christmas market wouldn't have even the Christmas market without the people, the view in front of her was not a view without someone to share it with.

Toru looked back at her phone. Ten minutes until midnight. So it wasn't even Christmas yet. Toru made sure to circle around the outskirts of the Christmas market on the way back. She had told herself it was so she wouldn't have a bother to anyone. Deep inside her though, she knew that walking through there would probably make her feel lonelier than she would have been walking along an almost empty street.

The path less taken turned out to be the better choice.

As she made a turn towards the entrance of the park, she made eye contact with those orange eyes she had come to know so well.

"Kyo!"

Kyo was bundled up in a scarf, a beanie and a buttoned down coat that Toru was sure he did not own.

"Merry christmas."

Kyo's scarf was covering much of his lower face. Toru could see though with the way his cheeks rose, the pink in them becoming a little more distinct that he could possibly be smiling.

Either way, she was committed to return his smile with one ten times wider. "Merry Christmas.

As if by magic, the melancholic atmosphere of a while ago dissipated. Toru was finally able to realize the festive mood she had been willing herself to enjoy the past hour.

"Let's go through the market?"

"You're sick though?" Toru put her hand to his forehead.

"It's a cold. I've had worse." Kyo took her hand from its place on his forehead and pulled her into the park. "Besides, it's not everyday you get a white Christmas."

Somehow, the Christmas market started to have a little more color. The lights were a little brighter and being guided through the crowds of people was more exciting than perplexing.

"You want anything to eat?" Kyo asked as soon as they had arrived towards the end of the main path.

Toru's mind was elsewhere. The corner with the stall which sold christmas figurines was almost empty. A few stalls, a few stores and the only human figurines left were a couple on a bench.

Oddly enough, Toru was not fighting back tears. She wasn't lonely. She wasn't empathizing with figurines in an empty Christmas village.

They aren't alone.

"Last one left," The stall owner said.

It was only then did Toru realize she had brought her hand out to touch the figurine. As she looked closer she realized that the boy and the girl were one figurine, molded together and onto the bench below it. "This is so cute!" Toru chimed excitedly, as she ran her hand through the simple yet well placed patterns that made up the lovers on the bench.

"Good thing I prepared a lot of these. It's popular with couples. Christmas is your favorite time after all."

"Our favorite time?" Toru repeated.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Kyo answered the question.

The stall owner grinned. "I hope you're able to have a fun one then. Christmas is a day for lovers."

It had dawned on Toru then, the implications of his statement. She could feel the blood rush to her face, she looked away, completely torn between hiding the truth, consequently lying and correcting him, risking embarrassing him in the process.

"Hey let's go."

Toru realized then that she had spent more than a few minutes pondering that thought a few feet away from the stall.

Kyo guided her back out of the park and as she looked back, she could see the stall owner grinning and waving goodbye.

"Merry Christmas." Kyo pressed the handle of a Christmas bag on her open hand as they made their way out of the park.

Toru peeked inside to see the last remaining Christmas figurine from the stall inside. "This is for me?"

"Who else?"

“You didn’t have to… Really…” Toru tapped at her coat pockets, trying to remember where she had placed her wallet. She started to scramble after a while, her movements a little more chaotic. She dug towards one of the jacket pockets only for it to fall out as she pulled out her hand.

Kyo bent down to get it even before she could move from her spot. “You didn’t have to stay behind either but you did.” He pressed the wallet on her palm. “Besides, you had this goofy smile when you were staring at it. I’d feel bad if I didn’t.”

“I don’t even have a gift yet.” Toru looked away in embarrassment. In fact, she did have the gifts, she had just completely forgotten to take it with her when they were preparing for their trip.

“Just take care of it.” Kyo pulled the scarf further up his face and dug his hands into the coat pocket. “Let’s get back home.” Kyo started to walk a little faster.

Toru found herself trailing behind him. The coat Kyo was wearing started to become a little more recognizable as they reached a part of the streets dotted with more street lights. A blue buttoned down coat that fell too neatly towards the ground, uncharacteristic of Kyo. Toru was aware as well that only one person among them packed an extra winter coat for a two night trip.

“Are you wearing Yuki’s extra coat?”

Kyo didn't look back. “It was the only one I could find at short notice.”

#fruits basket #kyoru #kyoru fanfic #kyo sohma #tohru honda #kyo x tohru #animangasecretsanta

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kurisus · 4 years

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Chapter 89-2 thoughts

HA HA WOW WHAT A FUN CHAPTER AM I RIGHT

Also, hey, it’s me, the blog formerly known as kurisuumakise. I changed my URL slightly since last month! Anyway, spoilers under the cut~

Kazuma used an incantation against Yukine, and I was under the impression they only worked on ayakashi. I think his ayakashi form is coming out because of his emotions acting up (like how when Nora transformed in front of Hiyori a few chapters ago), but weirdly it doesn’t look like the crow from before. More like a cat.

(also want to throw back to my 89 thoughts where I wondered how stable Yukine’s new powers were. fuck.)

Could it also be the god’s greatest secret? Like, Yukine learned his past without his name breaking, but it still seems like his memories are peeking out from the cracks.

“He’s actually crying, isn’t he” stab me with a rusty fucking knife I hate this an unbelievable amount

Yato’s words “There’s only one thing I can do to save him, even if I have to do it by force” concerns me. What is he referring to? The blow he/Kazuma lands on Yukine at the end of the chapter? Something else?? He already apologized, and he’d never release him, so I’m afraid to speculate on What it could be if it’s not the aforementioned blow.

Speaking of, I have no idea what happened there. But I’ll get to that, I want to talk about Ebisu first

Apparently if they can find the sorcerer’s grave and destroy it, they can kill him. This is eerily similar to Yukine destroying his own grave (the fridge) a couple chapters back. But also, hello, Father backstory? ARE WE FINALLY GETTING AN EXPLANATION?

To recap, here’s what we know: He was a human, heaven/gods did some wrong to him, he died with a grudge, escaped Yomi, gained godlike powers along the way (whether it’s directly because he escaped Yomi or something that happened during/after his time there remains to be seen), and can now name shinki with a brush and hop bodies every lifetime.

If they defeat Father, I wonder what will happen to Fujisaki. Is his soul dead? I kind of hope it’s not so he can apologize for all the shit Father pulled while using his body.

anyway back to Yukine sobbing hours

we KNEW Adachitoka went full pain mode on Yukine seeing Yato as his father. but HOLY SHIT the way he insulted him, and imagined even at the beginning that Yato was being condescending and arrogant, just cut me deep to my core. He’s replaced all the fond memories he has with Yato with the terrible ones he has from his life. After all, one year of good memories can’t override 14 years of abuse...

Yukine, my boy, Yato loves you so much, he’s not the piece of shit you’re imagining, PLEASE,

We saw a bit more of his father’s face now, and I think I’m right in saying he looks rather young. It’s hard to tell, but to be the father of a 14 year old? (And however much older Yuka is?) He’s not exactly...aged.

“If I raise my hand against him, I’m no different from my dad!” and all my homies started crying. No, but really--the verbal confirmation that Yato also sees himself as a father to Yukine, and as such refuses to hurt him. Adachitoka has to stop oneshotting me with these sad quotes. “That boy loved people” “So even now my father is still killing me” “Come home, Yukine” and on and on with this FUCKING MANGA

okay so. The Hurt. Let’s start with the positives--Yukine didn’t lose his hand or any of his fingers. Looks like it got cut pretty badly, but I would have screamed if they pulled a Kugaha with him.

Also, he reverted from that weird catboy form and is now back to being emo. Is that because he got his feelings back under control?

I have a nasty feeling “I did it” referred to Yukine thinking he killed his father finally. ughhhhhh.

“I did it” could also refer to Yato attacking Yukine with the way it’s laid out on the page. I hate it here.

anyway Yato got stabbed through his stomach, looks like, and since Kazuma seems to be taking the same injuries, he probably has that wound too.

WHO WANTS TO BET THAT INSANE AMOUNT OF PAIN WAS WHAT WOKE BISHAMON UP. WHO WANTS TO FUCKIGN BE T. I swear if she comes to them only for Kazuma to die in her arms I will scream so loud Adachitoka will hear it in Japan aND THEY WILL KNOW WHAT THEY DID

As stated, I have no idea what to make of Yato attacking Yukine. I really hope Kazuma was the one who did it, since Yato JUST said he refused to lay a hand against him and Kazuma has insisted fighting is the only way. And god knows we love blaming things on Kazuma. But then Yato’s eyes went blank, just like when he lost control and almost killed Bishamon. Plus he said “That tree is...” and most people have (I think rightfully) speculated that’s where he buried Yukine’s body, so naturally he’d want to protect it. But enough to draw his sword against him?

I don’t know but I assume they’ll explain it next chapter

how many times can I say “they’ll explain it next chapter” and then the manga fucking ends and I still don’t know jack shit I’m putting on my clown makeup as we speak

Either way, Yukine still thinks Yato attacked him. And either way, Yato will blame it on himself. they have a LOT of apologizing and therapy to go through once this arc is over

Yato dying right above Yukine’s final resting place is a horrible fucking turn of events and I really wish literally anything Else had happened

anyway. The question remains, where will Bishamon go? Will she be able to track Yato and Kazuma down based on his pain, and save them? Or will she join Ebisu and the others in their research? Or neither? Maybe she’ll get Nana to have a weapon?

I think Hiyori and Nora are heading to Yato anyway, so with any luck they’ll find him and be able to save him. Hiyori becoming a doctor shoutout? anyone?

Or maybe they’ll meet up with Bishamon there and help Yato and Kazuma while she tracks down the sorcerer. I don’t know that she’s in any condition to fight, but [honks my clown nose] we’ll see next chapter

90 is coming a bit early next month, the 3rd for me, and I can’t tell if that’s better or not. Rip the bandaid off early, but also. idk if I can take it. That remains to be seen.

Another thing that remains to be seen is whether this is the most painful chapter of the manga for me. Right now it feels like it’s on par with 71, but time will tell. Especially since 71 at least had Yato and Yukine being ride or die for each other, and this time it focused on the “die” part.

Father naming Yukine was the midpoint of the Nora arc (this arc) to me, so now I think we’re getting close to the end. I really don’t see what else there is to accomplish now that Yato’s gotten hurt so badly. Maybe he’ll be in better shape than we thought and still able to go after Yukine? He got roughed up pretty badly fighting Takemikazuchi in the last arc, and his neck got sliced open that time too. But it’s really hard to tell the extent of the damage from just one panel. Obviously he couldn’t chase after Yukine. Then again, he did also just get concussed.

Yato can you please go one damn arc without suffering grievous injuries this is bad for my heart.

#Noragami #Noragami spoilers #Noragami manga #gonna go drink now #live update

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pixelsandpins · 3 years

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I Get to Be in Anime Sometimes and That STILL Freaks Me Out a Little

Be me, circa early 2000’s. Young teenager, staying up late on a school night, keeping my television as low as possible so my mom doesn’t come in and yell at me to go to sleep. We’re through all the preliminary adult animated cartoons that I saw on Fox, like, a year ago at that point. And then it’s time. The introductory bars of “Ready, Steady, Go” or “I Am” or “Tank” or “Dream Island Obsessional Park” or the opening of whatever show or season was first in the lineup at the moment. Anime. This weird, Japan-based form of animation that, for a long time, I could not get some people I knew to understand past Pokemon or Speed Racer.

“Okay, so they’re alchemists, alright? And they’re brothers and one of them had his soul bound to a suit of armor…are you following?”

And I was in that weird sweet spot of anime fan. Too poor and lacking in the right social connections to import, so I hadn’t memorized all of Final Fantasy: Advent Children like one of my friends in band. Stuck with dial-up way later than everyone else kept my access to online communities limited. Pre-YouTube meant fansubs and video sharing as a whole were more…complicated. But I had Adult Swim. I had Toonami.

And they beamed that sick anime goodness right into my impressionable eyeballs.

As the years went on, the fascination faded. That time that was previously set aside for watching was transformed into studying and marathoning Super Smash Brothers as I aged into college. Then, on my own, I couldn’t afford cable, and the new anime I had access to eventually shifted to the very new Netflix streaming service or whatever I could find broken into pieces on YouTube. By the time Crunchyroll and Funimation streaming arrived, I was an adult. Like…a real one. The kind of adult that has so many adult things to do just to survive that keeping up with new anime gets harder and harder.

Then an incredible thing happened in January of 2019.

I walked into a studio in north Texas and recorded my first ever line as an English dub voice actor for an anime. Now, this wasn’t some overnight thing. I had been busting my butt in indie games and web animation for a handful of years, at that point. I wasn’t even specifically looking to get into anime when I had started voice work, but moved it into my goalposts as I realized it might actually be accessible to me. But that moment? That instant of old and new, past and present and future coalescing? Completely incomparable.

Then something else would happen within the next year. I had started working in earnest, getting my punches in with bit parts and crowds, the essential background matter of anime. I get called in for this new show I had never heard of. First episode. Just some adult women fussing over the main character, explaining his terrible, horrible backstory. Great stuff. The usual. Was happy to be there working with amazing people.

Fire Force would go on to have a a huge premiere event at Anime Expo. Oh wow! Cool!

Coming this summer to Toonami: Fire Force!

Oh! Cool!

…

Wait…

Oh…OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT?!

Has something ever happened to you where you didn’t realize it had always secretly been dream of yours until it actually happened?

But you see…then it gets…weirder.

A year later, middle of 2020. I get called in for a “dub from home,” the thing that’s kept simul-dubbed anime going through the pandemic. It’s Fire Force, again.

What would proceed to occur over the next couple of hours was one of the most physically demanding voice acting sessions I had had at the time.

That episode would stream on Funimation’s site a few weeks later.

That episode would go on to air on Toonami a few months later.

So, there’s exactly one thing weirder (so far) than suddenly finding out your voice is going to be on Toonami. That your dulcet tones will appear on Cartoon Network, a channel you were basically raised on.

And that’s when a character you voice appears on that selfsame channel getting the ever loving crap beat out of him for three minutes straight and watching the reactions to it in real time on Twitter.

Now I’m most assuredly in the “do the work” part of the anime aspect of my voice acting career. I’ve been very lucky to get a few great parts and do some really great work. And I generally don’t freak out about it. It’s a job. A job I love doing every single day I get to do it and take very very seriously but a job nonetheless.

But then there’s that twelve year old.

That twelve year old that tuned in every week to see what would happen to Inuyasha and Kagome.

And I think about who that’s going to be in fifteen to twenty years. Who that kid is now.

And I hope whoever that kid is, that when the time comes they will also call every single one of their friends to find out who has cable so that they can get a picture of their name in the credits.

#anime #voice actors #dubbed #voice acting #fandom

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thestarwrites · 3 years

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All Right, All Might; Ch. 14

This is just a short chapter before we get into the whole Hero Killer arc! Little fluffy All Might stuff.

Rating: PG-13 Word Count; 2,547

———————— CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE PAPARAZZI

When All Might went home to get some things to bring back to her apartment, she made the subway trip by herself, smiling thinking about her weekend with Toshinori. Playing house with Japan’s number one Hero, that was surely something.

Walking up to her apartment building she paused - there was a man standing in front of it, looking like he was a waiting for someone or something. He was tall, lanky, black hai rand glasses. She felt like she had seen him before - but where?

As she approached the building, the man turned his head with a sly smile, “Keri Chairo?”

Her blood ran cold as she looked into the mismatched pupils of the man before her, “Who are you?”

He smiled and chuckled softly, “Taneo Tokuda is the name… I’m a journalist.”

“And what is it you want, Mr. Tokuda?”

“Well, Miss Keri… I just came from covering the sports festival at UA a few hours ago - and something very interesting happened that I happened to see.”

“There were a lot of interesting things happening this afternoon,” she steeled herself.

“Well, I’m talking about this,” the man pulled out a polaroid and held it before her - it was a photograph of All Might kissing her before the award ceremony.

She put her hand over her mouth and she could hear her heart in her ears, “It’s not every day you get the first and only photograph of All Might with his lips on a pretty girl… how old are you Miss Keri?”

She looked from the photo, “What do you want? Money?”

“What ever do you mean?”

Shaking her head her cheeks were red, she was mortified, terrified, she felt like she’d let Toshinori down, “Well this was hours ago, it could be on the news by now. But you found my apartment building and you must want something.”

“All I want is to have a conversation, Miss Chairo.”

She scoffed, “Likely.”

“You didn’t answer my question - how old are you?”

“I have a hero license, you know,” she grunted, “You know everything about me after a few hours I’m sure.”

Taneo smiled and sighed, “Hero name Patho, quirk - pathokenisis. You have the uncanny ability to project the sense of an emotion onto an individual or a crowd of people at will. You can also read emotions. You are 29 years old - almost 30, and you work at UA as the guidance counselor. You attended Ketsubutsu Academy high school in the support course, and University for a Bachelors - and then a Masters in Psychology. You just attained a hero license recently, and never had once before — satisfactory?”

Keri blushed, trying not to feel unnerved, “So. You know exactly who I am. So - again, What is I you want, Mr. Tokuda?”

“Do you love him? All Might?” To say she was taken aback was an understatement, the silence was deafening before he spoke again, something in his voice betraying a sense of emotion, “I need to know.”

“Yes,” she said gently, if she was going to be exposed as All Might’s lover, might as well set the record straight, “More than anything.”

Nodding the journalist looked down at the photo, “You can tell just by his face how much he loves you… its so strange, I’ve never seen that look on his face. Like he was a man going to work instead of Japan’s symbol of peace. How long have you been seeing him?”

The look on her face was one of confusion, but in concentrating, she couldn’t feel anything malicious in the man’s emotional demeanor.

“Considering the glow of your forehead I can tell you’re using your quirk - here,” he held out the picture, “Go on, take it.”

“What?”

He smiled, “I said take the photo. This is the only copy I have.”

“I don’t understand,” She reached out and took the photo, “You know… I don’t… actually have any photos of us.”

Taneo smiled more thoughtfully, “Well, now you do.”

“Mister Tokuda,” Looking up she knit her brows together, “I still don’t understand.”

“All Might saved my father from a bombing at an industrial complex eighteen years ago… I was eight,” He took a breath, “There is no one on this earth that I admire more than him. And I assume… you feel the same way.”

“Would you like to come in for a cup of tea, Mr. Tokuda?”

Now it was his turn to look shocked, “I… I would love to Miss Chairo.”

“Keri, please,” she smiled and opened the door.

He smiled in return, “Then please, call me Taneo."

The two of them went up to her apartment, and already he could tell how much she clearly adored All Might, “Wow… I have some of this stuff too - you were a fan when he was young, too?” He picked up a small All Might action figure off the mantle, “Wow… a young all Might action figure - I wasn’t lucky enough to have this one.”

Chuckling she nodded, "I was six when he came back from America… I thought he was the most amazing person I had ever seen in my whole life… He was always my hero,” she sighed, “He still is.”

“But now he’s your hero?” He smiled warmly.

Laughing gently she nodded, “Yes… to be honest? I still can’t believe All Might is my boyfriend.”

He smiled, “So how long have you been dating?”

Shrugging she put on the kettle, “We’ve been dating for two weeks… that’s all.”

“And you’re still in your position as the UA Guidance Counselor if I read correctly?”

Nodding she chuckled, “Why are you so interested Taneo? I mean… you could have blackmailed All Might. You also could have sold this photo for millions… retired, bought an island - or three.”

“Well, see, one of these days I know he’ll end up retiring. And I want to have the exclusive to writing a really great book about him and his life… because he means so much to me,” he looked down to the photo on the counter, “It… also makes me happy that after all this time, he’s found someone to share himself with.”

Smiling she sighed, “He’s a wonderful man, maybe if you stick around you could say hi?”

His eyes widened, “Oh no… no I’ll save that for another day when I’m ready to start that book, not when I’ve stalked out his girlfriend’s apartment,” he blushed a little and smiled.

Keri nodded, “Fair enough,” setting the teacup in front of him she took a deep breath, “So… What do you want to know?”

Taneo smiled, “What’s he like? I mean- really like.”

“He’s… worried a lot,” she started, looking down into her own teacup, “Worried that he’ll fail everyone. Worried he won’t be strong enough for everything he needs to do. Sometimes he gets down on himself. But - he’s a really good man. He’s kind, considerate, warm, funny… he’s got so many dad jokes it’s so charming. He’s a goofball really. He’s a little clueless sometimes, which is precious… All around, he really just believes in everything he stands for.”

Smiling brightly the younger man nodded, “I’m glad… I’m glad he really is who he seems to be - how did you meet him? No offense but, you’re not in any rankings, Keri.”

“Oh none taken. I only got my hero license about eighteen months ago when I took the job of Guidance Counselor at UA. I have a masters degree in psychology and Principal Nezu wanted to look into therapy for the kids, since they have to deal with so much. I for one didn’t go to UA… as you know,” She smiled.

Taneo nodded, “Why Ketsubutsu? And why didn’t you go into hero work? — I mean if I can get off topic for a moment?” “Well, my quirk is useful - but really not for hero work. Support work, sure. But my quirk wasn’t flashy or useful enough to merit trying to get into UA, as much as I wanted to go. Kids at middle school made fun of me and called me Psycho-path and stuff like that, or like Little All Might Fangirl, you know, normal kid stuff,” the man nodded again as she continued, “So, I decided to enter the support course at K.A., I knew All Might would do what he could so, so did I.”

“So he’s really inspired you your whole life?”

Nodding she blushed, “I went into psychology because I knew how brutal going through hero course work was. And I knew heroes must get scared or anxious or angry… so I decided I could help the most being a hero therapist.”

“That’s a good idea, actually.”

“Thanks,” she chuckled, "Anyhow - one day last year All Might came in to talk to the principal about teaching this year and he burst into my office, not knowing where the principals office was.”

“So it was a bona fide meet-cute,” he leaned on his hand.

Blushing she chuckled softly, “I guess so… we just kind of… hit it off. You know? We became fast friends, and we’ve been best friends since then. In the attack on the USJ a few weeks ago, he got hurt, and I just kind of realized I wanted to tell him how I felt about him. And I guess he felt the same.”

“Adorable. You and All Might, in love.”

“Well… we haven’t used the big L word. I don’t want to freak him out.”

“Freak him out?”

“Well… you know him,” she sighed, “He’s never really had much time for relationships, you even said yourself. This is the first photo of him kissing a woman out there. We’ve been careful. The kids and teachers at school know, but no one else.”

Finishing his tea he smiled, standing and bowing, “Well no one will hear it from me — at least not yet. Maybe one day you’ll let me use that photo in my book,” he smirked, “Until then, I’ll wait for an invitation to your wedding.”

Blushing hard she chuckled, “You’ll get the inside scoop if we ever do end up married. But somehow… I don’t know how that will work.”

He smiled and nodded, “Well, my fingers are crossed for you, Keri,” he winked, “I’ll let you get back to your afternoon. And I’m glad I could give you a photo of you and him.”

Walking him to the door she smiled, placing a hand on his arm, “Thank you, Taneo… truly. It’s not every person who would give up this opportunity for the sake of the hero.”

Nodding he took a breath, “I know I could probably retire on that money… but I couldn’t repay him like that,” with one last look around he nodded to her again, “Have a good night, Keri.”

“You too,” she smiled and closed the door behind her, she rushed to the table and picked up the photo with a sigh and a smile, “Wow… a photo of me kissing All Might… sixteen year old Keri, eat your heart out!” She laughed to herself, going to sit on the sofa and stare at it while she waited for mister number one to walk through her door, “Reminder to take some pictures and selfies this weekend. We look cute as heck.”

————

A knock came on he door, she smiled and got up, opening it to see her Small Might with, of course, an All-Might Duffle Bag, “Hey Sunflower,” he grinned and leaned down to kiss her.

Humming into his lips she wrapped her arms around his neck, “Welcome home, honey. Did you have a good day at work?” She cooed.

“Ohhhh we’re really doing the whole house thing?”

She nodded and kissed him again softly, “I missed you.”

He smiled into the kiss and sighed, “I missed you too, baby, work was okay. I got to do the All Might thing for a bit and it felt like old times.”

Moving to let him in she motioned him over to the sofa, “Well, you just take off your shoes and get comfortable okay? I’ll go get started on dinner.”

“I thought we’d order out tonight? I haven’t had pizza in a bit,” Nodding she came and sat down beside him, “Hey - what’s this?” Picking up the polaroid he covered his mouth.

She patted his hand, “Don’t we look cute together?”

“Ree - honey, where did you get this?!” He looked at her with a shock to his face.

Frowning a bit she wet her lips, “Why… embarrassed to have a picture with me?”

“What? Honey- No. I’m thinking about YOU here. If this photo gets out you’ll be MOBBED, I don’t want that for you, not when we’re still just trying to enjoy each other, I don’t want to make your life difficult.”

She leaned back against the couch and took a deep breath, “A reporter met me here at my apartment when II got home. Taneo Tokuda was his name. He said you saved his father when he was eight. He’s a huge fan of yours and he took it this afternoon.”

“I…. Don’t understand?”

“He said it would be no way to repay you to sell this photo. He feels lucky enough to have captured the first romantic photo of us. And he hopes someday when he writes a book about you, I’ll let him use the photo. He gave it to me, and told me he was happy for us.”

“Tokuda. I’ll have to remember that name,” he nodded and looked back down at the photo, “You look so beautiful in this photo.”

“It reminded me that we don’t really… take pictures together ever. And we’ve been friends for over a year now,” she bit her lip, “Can we take a selfie later babe?”

He nodded and smiled, “Only if you text it to me so I can put your sweet face on my phone background,” Blushing she nudged him, and he pulled her into his lap, “Now… let's play house properly.”

Leaning in he kissed her softly, hands securely holding her hips as their tongues danced together. After a few minutes Keri pulled back for air and giggled, “Oh Toshi…”

Stroking his thumb over her cheek he smiled at her, letting out a soft sigh, “Can I ask you something?” Nodding she smiled, “Yeah of course…”

“I know you want to go over to Hosu, to pay a visit to Ingenium and young Ida,” he paused a moment, “But, before we do that - could we take a visit to my mentor? I really want you to meet him. It would mean a lot to me.”

Stroking his face she nodded, “Of course we can, honey.”

“Great!” He beamed and kissed her again, “Now… lets get some takeout, and take some selfies and…” he leaned in close to her ear, “We can make love until the sun comes up.”

Keri blushed and giggled, “You’re expecting an awful lot from a man with one lung,” she teased.

Smirking he bulked up, “Why you little…” picking her up in his arms she blushed and squirmed, “AH AH, MISS PATHO, I THIINK YOU NEED TO BE PUNISHED FOR BEING SO SAUCY.”

Keri laughed softly, cheeks bright red, “Oh mister number one! Please! Be gentle with me!”

#all might x oc #all right all might #toshinori x oc #toshinori yagi #all might #all might x reader

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ask-the-phan-site · 3 years

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Phan Cam: The Unexpected Heist

>The Hub. After taking the heart of Sheriff Johnson and Oracle and Violet starting college, we finally have time to keep our promise to the Scorchers and Battle Force 5 to help them reopen the portal of Highway 35 and bring back the World Race.

>We were all gathered together waiting for Oracle’s fellow hackers to make contact.

Me and Sophia have made the necessary precautions just in case the Silencerz attempt to trace us if we are caught.

Good, Sage. We’ll need it.

I just hope the Silencerz don’t realize that the ones hacking them are the people they had to deal with in the past.

Don’t worry. Something tells me they never had to deal with a hacker like me before.

Really? What makes you any different?

Oracle: Ever heard of Medjed?

The hacktivist group? Yeah. Why do you ask?

Brace yourselves. I was the founder.

Scorchers and Battle Force 5: (in shock) WHAT!!!?

You’re Medjed? I can’t believe it. I actually followed their work. Though, I thought how Medjed was doing these days seemed a bit odd. Now I know why. Other hackers were impersonating you. But now, I’m meeting the real Medjed!

Oracle: I was the real Medjed. That was a long time ago. I’m Alibaba now. But Oracle is good, too.

RING! RING!

Oracle: Speaking of Alibaba...

Incoming call from three unknown callers.

Oracle: Patch them in.

>Three holographic screens pop open.

Oracle: Hey you guys, long time no see!

Hey, Alibaba! Still rockin’ the headphones! I like that!

Still loud as ever, Yu-ichi.

Somethings never change, huh, Six?

Six: Yeah, nice to see you again, too, Lunch.

So you’re Fu- I mean, Alibaba’s fellow hackers.

Lunch: Yeah, nice to meetcha. You can just call me Lunch.

Six: I’m called Six.

Yu-ichi: And I’m Yu-ichi.

Six: Which is not much of a hacker name since it’s your real first name.

Yu-ichi: But it’s clever. No one would ever suspect that my hacker name is my real name.

Oracle: Okay, guys, stay with me.

Yu-ichi: Sorry. Hey, are the others coming, too? Spooky? Hitomi? And... what’s-his-name? (Gee, it’s been a long time, so I forgot his name.)

Lunch: They’ve been through enough already. Best to leave them out of this. So, why did you bring us back together?

Oracle: Nothing much. Just hacking into a secret organization’s databanks.

Yu-ichi: (laughing a bit) That’s all? That’s like the easiest thing there is. Give us a bigger challenge.

Six: (a little anxious) Get serious. We don’t even know anything about this secret organization.

Oracle: I’ll tell you about it.

RING! RING!

Oracle: Soon. Right now, our next hackers are calling in.

>Another screen opens.

Are we fashionably late?

I think that’s suppose to be my line.

Oracle: Nope. You four are right one time.

Alright! Let’s get this party started!

Hold on, comrade. I get there feeling there are more guests coming.

Indeed there are.

RING! RING!

Queen: That should be him.

>Another screen appears.

Here I am. Did I miss anything?

Queen: No, Forge san, you made it right on time.

Hold on! You’re Forge of the X-Men. Peter told me about you.

For real? Harry, Makoto, and Captain America told me about him, too.

Joker: And Adi told me.

Mixer: (in awe) Holy- It’s really Forge! Dude, I’m one of your biggest fans.

Joule: Come sono io.

Forge: Thanks. It good to meet a fan and a colleague. Un piacere di conoscerti. Y tú también.

Makoto, how do you know Forge?

Queen: Do you remember that Inhuman student from the school festival? The one who said her friend is a mutant? I looked into those students. The mutant student was visited by Dr. Hank McCoy. Forge san just happened to have come with him.

Forge: We wanted to talk to her before she and her friends left for Attilan. We wanted to make sure that she’ll be ready to go up us or her parents worrying about her getting M-Pox if she’s exposed to the Terrigen Mist. We also wanted to let her know that she’ll always have place with the X-Men.

Joker: That’s good to hear.

I thought you left the X-Men so you could do your own thing.

Forge: I still help them from time to time. Mostly with mutants who’ve just come into their powers.

Queen: I know what you mean. I had to go through Scott Summers and almost the rest of the X-Men to contact you.

Forge: And I still can’t believe you decided to ask me and had to go through all that just to do it.

It was either you or the other Forge. The one who still maintains his youthful appearance from being stuck in another dimension for many years.

Forge: Yes, I know who you’re talking about. I’ve met my Fellow Forge many times. A little rambunctious, but he’s a good person. I even asked him with help on some projects. Including this one I’ve been working on.

>Forge hold some kind of metallic helmet along with his phone which had an app open with the lets “c” and “p”.

Forge: I call it Cerebro Portable. Me and my Fellow Forge created it to help telepaths find mutants within a hundred mile radius. Especially ones who just got into their powers. But it’s not finished yet.

Yu-ichi: Really? How so?

Forge: We tried to design it based on the original concept for the original Cerebro. There’s just one problem.

Sophie: And what’s that?

Forge: There are only two people I know who know more about Cerebro than any and that would be the original creators. Professor Charles Xavier, but he won’t awaken from his coma for eight more years. The other is... Erik Lehnsherr.

Magneto.

Forge: That’s right. And I’m not about to go all the way to Genosha just to ask him to help me create something that he, himself, could use to find mutant to recruit into the Brotherhood or his mutant army. So it may be a while. Hopefully Professor Xavier will be awake by then. But for now, I’ll just settle with getting help from my Fellow Forges.

RING! RING!

Forge: Speaking of which.

>Another screen opens.

Sorry for the wait. Just finishing up with Kurt and the others.

Forge san! It’s been too long.

Queen: Yes, it has.

Forge: I didn’t want to leave him out of it, so I invited him to help out, too.

Other Forge: I’m willing to do what I can.

Joule: I think we’re going to have some confusion here.

Six: Yeah, how do we address one of you?

Other Forge: Well, my Fellow Forge came here first, so I guess we can call him Forge 1. I’ll be fine with being called Forge 2.

Yeti: If that works, we’ll take it.

How did you two meet Forge 2?

Queen: (unsure) Well...

Noir: (smiling) I can tell you. It all started...

>Flashback.

>The streets of Shibuya in the summer before the pandemic. A fast car was driving up wildly. Queen and Noir were coming back from grocery shopping... and Noir was behind the wheel.

Haru, please be careful! These eggs are for a special meal Sis is making tonight.

It’ll be alright. I think I’ve had a lot of improvement.

>The car was zooming around while people try to back off. Suddenly, someone accidentally fell into the street.

LOOK OUT!!!

>The car was about to hit the young man on the street... But it didn’t. The car suddenly was floating in the air. Queen and Noir looked to see that the young man they nearly hit had some kind of device that was creating some kind of gravity field.

Wow! Good thing I came here to show my new anti-gravity generator for situations like this. Hope you girls have your reentry cushions checked.

>End of flashback.

Mona: (unsurprised) That makes sense.

Noir: We exchanged information and we’ve known each other since.

Forge 2: And your eggs were even safe.

Forge 1: And how did that anti-gravity generator work out?

Forge 2: They said they’ll thank about it.

Translation: You were rejected.

Forge 2: Yeah, I figured.

Noir: Why would they? It’s a great invention. It really helped us.

Forge 2: Good question. Either because their minds are too slow or small to handle how advanced my inventions are, or... Well, you know.

Vert: Because you’re a mutant. Now that’s just unfair.

Forge 2: Sounds like you know the feeling.

Vert: (a small smile) Let’s just say, I have secrets of my own.

>For a moment, a small light formed in Vert’s hand which quickly vanished just as I saw something move on his back behind his uniform... I wonder.

RING! RING!

Oracle: Sounds like another fellow hacker’s here.

>Another screen opens.

I’m here and ready for anything.

Joker: Glad you can join us, Player.

Wayne: Yeah, how are things back up there, eh? I haven’t been back in awhile.

Player: Well, things are still quiet because of the pandemic. Other than that, everything’s great.

Joker: And speaking of of how things are, how’s Red chan doing?

WARNING: Spoilers for Carmen Sandiego ahead.

Yeah, ever since V.I.L.E. went down in flames and Zack and Ivy joined A.C.M.E., she’s been pretty quite.

Player: She’s fine. She finally found her mom, but she hasn’t said anything else. But I’m sure we’ll learn more soon. For now, I’ll see what I can do. Thanks again for inviting me.

Oracle: We’re gonna need all the hackers we can get.

Yu-ichi: I know. Hackers are getting younger and younger these days.

Six: (whisper) And yet you ack like you’re getting younger and younger... Don’t change, man.

Player: (smiling) Hey, the Spookies. Nice to meet you. You’re actually one of the reasons I was inspired to become a hacker.

Lunch: Really. That’s good. Of course, our reason for hacking is probably much different than ours.

Player: Pretty much.

Wolf: (a bit surprised) Hold on! Spookies? I thought you three were familiar. I should have realized that when you said Spooky, real name Masahiro Sakura.

Queen: Now that you mentioned it, I think I remember my father talk about a case from another part of Japan. I didn’t think much of it at the time and completely forgot about it.

Yu-ichi: So you know about that? I wonder what he’s doing now. He disbanded our group after some stuff happened and he left to find himself.

Lunch: I’m sure we’ll see him again soon.

Six: Same here. I sort of miss him and the others.

RING! RING!

Sophie: We have another one.

>Another screen opens.

I just finished my start-of-term homework, now I’m all free.

Joker: So glad you could join us, Adi. I just hope the Future Avengers won’t be called away anytime soon.

Adi: No, things have been relatively slow lately, so I think we’re good. But just in case, Mr. Stark and Cap want us on stand by.

Skull: I’m sure it’s nothing you, Makoto, and the others can’t handle.

Adi: I’m sure, too.

Joker: Thanks for helping us, little-brother-may-become-son.

Adi: You’re welcome, big-brother-may-become-father.

>I can sense I made Adi happy inviting him here.

Rank Up!

Confidant: Codec

Arcana: 3

Ability: Technical Act Type 2

Delivers the same effect as Technical Act but to a much greater extent.

RING! RING!

>Another screen opens.

All set and ready to go!

*Chirp*

Oracle: Welcome to the party, Conor. You, too, Chim-Chim.

Mixer: Is that a robot monkey?

Conor: Yeah, I’m allergic to most furs, so I designed him.

Forge 2: Whoa! Robotic technology sure has changed since 1978.

Conor: What do you mean by that?

Forge 1: It’s a long story.

There are so many hackers here.

Joker: I know, it reminds me of that movie Oracle showed us.

Oracle: Yeah, Angelina san was a treasure in Hackers Jackers.

Yeah. So, is that everyone?

Forge 2: Not quite. I have a feeling... that we have a couple more to go.

RING! RING!

Mona: You bet.

>Another screen opens.

Have you guys been waiting long?

Oracle: Just a little.

Thanks for inviting us. We’ve hadn’t had much to do since what happened on Eternia. I guess now that most of the evil of the universe, particularly Lotor, has been defeated, business for the Voltron Force has been a bit slow.

Really? That’s a shame. I’m sure something will come up soon.

Pidge: Well, it’s not totally slow. We do get the occasional bully or mad conqueror. Though, it’s not really the same.

Forge 2: Don’t give up. You guys will see real action again someday.

Pidge: Thanks, Forge-Of-My-Dreams. But for now, the only real action we’ve seen is in our dreams. Like how I dream that I’m some kid with heel problem fighting monsters from Greek Mythology or a pirate kid with a very pirate family or some kid with magical slugs.

Joker: That’s all?

Pidge: Pretty much. But I haven’t been having more actiony dreams. There were two others, but they’re gone for some reason. Though, one of them I’m glad is gone. But the other one I really miss.

Forge 2: Yeah, I think I know. But, you still have me... and our last hacker.

Vert: (confused) Our last hacker?

Queen: Vince isn’t the last hacker we’re expecting?

Vince: No, but Pidge says he knows about him.

Then he knows that he’s just as smart as I am.

RING! RING!

That should be him now.

>Another screen opens.

Sherman: About time. We were afraid you weren’t coming at all.

Yeah, I kinda forgot until I took a siesta and these two reminded me. (he nods to Forge 2 and Pidge)

Pidge: You’re welcome.

Vert: (a bit suspicious) You seem familiar... You wouldn’t happen to know a teen alien who sounds like I used to when I was his age and is accompanied by a little alien robot that sound like you, would you?

Hi-Tech Young Man: (smiling) Maybe.

Spinner: Everyone, this is our cousin, Roberto Martinez. We call him Berto for short.

Berto: Hola, nice to meet you.

Six: Great, now we’ve got three headphones.

Hey, respect the headphones, man!

Mixer: Yeah, dude, don’t start dissin’ the phones.

Yu-ichi: Besides, you’re the one whose only mode of transportation is a skateboard... BTW, you still use for that?

Six: (blushing a bit) ... Maybe... Okay, so I’m still a long ways from getting that fancy sports car I’ve wanted. Business at our family’s store is rather slow these days. Even more since the pandemic hit. But I’m not giving up.

Berto: Hey, no shame in still skateboarding at your age. Look at me. I’m close to your age and I still do it.

Six: Easy for you to say, you look like you have a car. Most likely a high tech one at that.

Berto: Ture, I have a couple, but nothing beats a deck. Plus, it’s good for the environment.

Six: I guess that’s good to hear.

Wolf: So, is that everybody here, or are we expecting more?

Skull: Let me check. Yo, is anybody expectin’ anybody!?

Panther: Well, I did thought about asking Tecna for help, but I don’t want to get her or the Winx in trouble with the Silencerz, so she’s out. But I’ll call her if anything happens.

Skull: Then yup, that’s everyone!

Vert: Now that our team’s been assembled, let’s get on it. Now, I bet most of you are wondering why you’re here. Well, for that... I turn things over to my dad. Take it away, pops.

Thanks, Vert. You’re here because we might have a way to bring back one of the greatest inter-dimensional races ever. However, the secrets to that are locked away in the Silencerz’ mainframe. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (I’ve always wanted to say that), is to hack into their mainframe. In the mainframe, you must find a file containing the research data of the late Dr. Peter Tezla. But be warned, the Silencerz will try every hacker defense trick in the book: Firewalls, anti-virus software, encrypted passwords, security algorithms, even their own viruses and malware. If you do managed to get in and find the file, you have exactly 15 minutes to copy it before the failsafe kicks in.

Adi: Failsafe?

Jack: 15 minutes after the file’s been hacked, said file will delete itself permanently to prevent further hacking.

Forge 1: But if the Silencerz try everything to stop us, it’s going to be hard to get past all that. I think this is going to be much different than hacking into MRD tech.

Sophie: Luckily, that’s where I come in.

>The hackers on the screens (except for Adi, Player, Conor, and Chim-Chim) where confused until Sophie vanishes and reappears on the main screen.

Vince: (surprised) Holy!!!

Pidge: (smiling) I had a feeling that was no ordinary girl.

Yu-ichi: Amazing. An AI with it’s own ego... I wonder if I should tell my cousin Tokita about this.

Sophie: I am Sophia, humanity’s companion. I am going to help you all with whatever I can. That includes hacking into the Silencerz’ mainframe.

Mixer: You know, we have an AI of our own.

Sophie: You do?

??-??: A! I! S! H! A! We! Are! AISHA! ... Sorry, I couldn’t help it.

Sophie: So you must be M.A.Y.H.E.M.’s AI.

Call me In-Su.

Oracle: Didn’t I see you as part of an opening act for August Gaunt?

In-Su: With my sisters, yes. But that was a long time ago. I’m with M.A.Y.H.E.M. now. I mainly help Friday, Mixer, Gremlin, Joulie, and Safeword with cybernetic things, but I have done on-the-field missions... If the field is in Cyberspace.

Sophie: That’s good to hear. Nice to meet you. I guess we will be working together. I look forward to our mission together.

In-Su: I so will I, sachon*.

*”Sachon” is Korean for “cousin”.

Conor: Hey, if you’re gonna do something like this, me and Chim-Chim want to go into the virtual world.

Chim-Chim: *chirp chirp*

Lunch: You can do that?

>Conor shows he has some VR equipment.

Lunch: I guess that works.

>Conor connects the VR headset to his computer and Chim-Chim connects to it as well. Within moments, they were jacked in and something appears on the main screen with Sophie and In-Su.

Conor: Alright, all buffed up and ready for action! (begins singing) Here they come. Here comes Conor and his monkey, Chim-Chim.

>We all just stare... Which of us will be the first to ask?

Six: Oh, god. And why do they both of mustaches?

Vince: I’m guessing to match.

Yu-ichi: (smiling) I kinda like it. It’s actually quite clever.

Conor: (satisfied) Ha, I knew it! Take that, Lucy.

Pidge: Go with what works for you.

Jack: True. But remember what I said, the Silencerz will do whatever it takes to protect its secrets. I should know, I used to be the leader.

Vert: I wonder who took after you when you left.

Jack: (looking a bit down) Vert... I think you have pretty good idea.

Vert: I... I see. Well, we’ll still be able pull this off we work together.

We will. We can do this.

Vert: Thanks, Ren.

Jack: Again, I have to warn you, the Silencerz don’t play around. This is your last chance to back out. If you do, I won’t blame you.

>The other hackers were showing some doubt. No doubt they were thinking about what Jack said... However, their doubt quickly fades.

Player: Our friends wouldn’t have called us here if they didn’t we could handle the risk. We trust them.

Safeword: He’s right. They even helped M.A.Y.H.E.M. with a little something. Time to repay the favor.

Conor: Same with me, Chim-Chim, and our friends.

Vince: And us, too.

Lunch: I know this is the first time we’re meeting Alibaba’s friends, but we will help them.

Adi: Me and the other Future Avengers trust Ren, Yusuke, and the others.

Forge 1: We also just met, but we trust you.

Forge 2: Yeah.

Berto: (curious) Espeda, M.A.Y.H.E.M.? Racer Academy? And Arus? Aren’t those the places the Phantom Thieves... You know what? Never mind. I don’t wanna know.

Taro: (smiling a bit) Good. I don’t think you could keep your mouth shut.

Six: Look, what we’re trying to say is that we’re in. We’ll help you.

Jack: (with a look of gratitude) Thank you all.

Taro: Good luck, you guys. The fate of the World Race and Highway 35 is in your hands.

No pressure or anything.

Six: Believe me, we’ve seen through demons in a cybernetic world.

Safeword: Fight an evil organization everyday.

Player: What Safeword said.

Adi: Ditto, with a side of other villains.

Conor: I think we can handle it.

Vert: (smiling) Then let’s get to it!

Oracle: I’ve already got a lock on the mainframe. Ready when you are.

Conor: Ready as we’ll ever be.

>With that, Chim-Chim transforms into a motorcycle and Conor gets on.

In-Su: How are we suppose to keep up with that?

Oracle: Leave that to me.

>Oracle programs something into her laptop and something appears on the main screen.

What in the world!?

Oracle: I hope you don’t mind. I just thought we’d go with something more appropriate. This Johanna pretty much has all the things the original has for extra protection. Sophia, you’re driving. In-Su, I’m adding a side car for you.

>Oracle types something on her computer and a side car appears on Cyber Johanna. Sophie switches to her Phantom Thief attire.

Are you ready, In-Su chan?

In-Su: (now wearing a purple helmet with M.A.Y.H.E.M.’s fleur-de-lis which was blue on it) Ready.

Conor: Then let’s get going!

>With that, Sophie and In-Su get on Cyber Johanna and they, along with Conor and Chim-Chim, ride off.

>A little later, we were at the mainframe of the Silencerz. It was shaped like a giant tower with the Silencerz’ logo on it.

Sophie: This must be it.

Yu-ichi: You can already tell that they’re hiding something here.

Forge 2: And we’ll find out those secrets soon enough. Time to get to work.

Lunch: Let’s see what we’ve got here.

>Lunch begins hacking into the first line of protection.

>Meanwhile in the Silencerz’ Headquarters in an unknown location, an alarm goes off in the computer room.

We have a problem. Call #1.

>Almost immediately, another Silencer comes in.

What is it, #2? What happened?

Silencer #2: Someone is trying to hack into our mainframe.

Silencer #1: So what else is new? Have you got a lock on where the source of the hacking is from?

Silencer #37: (don’t ask, we’re using their numbers) Not yet. We are still trying to find it. But we have got a lock on the hacker’s virus.

Silencer #5: I do not know what to make of this.

Silencer #1: A virus based on a ghost? Then I suggest you try busting it.

>Some of the Silencerz began typing something.

>Back in Cyberspace, the Spookies’ virus was phasing open a way when something appears near them. They looked like four men in jumpsuits curing some kind of large device on their backs that had guns attached to them.

In-Su: (confused) Are those... the Ghostbusters?

Jack: I told you, every trick in the book.

>The Cyber Ghostbusters begin firing at the Sppokies’ virus ghosts.

Conor: Time to go to work, Chim-Chim!

Chim-Chim: *chirp*

>Conor and Chim-Chim begin fighting off the Cyber Ghostbusters. In-Su and Sophie join in as well. In-Su’s dance moves already makes her a capable fighter and Sophie was swinging her yo-yos. After a while, Sophie, In-Su, Conor, and Chim-Chim manages to beat the Cyber Ghostbusters, but they had completely destroyed the Spookies’ virus.

Safeword: Our turn now!

>Safeword, Joule, Mixer, and Yeti, begin typing.

>At Silencerz HQ...

Silencer #20: This does not look right. What do we do?

Silencer #12: Try typing “cookie”, you idiot.

Silencer #1: Hey, be nice. And I do not think that would work. I have seen this movie before. Try regular anti-virus software.

Silencer #20: Yes, sir.

>Back in Cyberspace, the first few defenses have been broken though. Suddenly, a bright light flashes and the virus is deleted.

Forge 1: (smiling) You ready for this?

Forge 2: (also smiling) You know it!

>Forge 1 and Forge 2 upload their viruses.

Forge 2: Scott, this is for you, man.

>The two viruses begin attack the Sliencerz’ other defenses. Vert was looking at Forge 2′s virus.

Joker: Is something wrong, Vert?

Vert: Something about Forge 2′s virus that reminds me of someone... But I’ll think more about it later.

>Back at Silencerz HQ...

Silencer #3: Now we have viruses based on mutants?

Silencer #2: Be nice. One of my relatives was a mutant.

Silencer #1: Either way, we cannot let them through.

Silencer #3: I know.

>Silencer #3 begins programming something.

>Back in Cyberspace, Forge 1′s virus and Forge 2′s virus managed to break through more lines of defenses.

In-Su: It looks like we’re making progress.

Conor: Keep it up, you guys!

>Suddenly, something appears... Something big.

Forge 1: That can’t be good.

Sophie: I can help them with this. Time to show you my own power. Persona!

Pidge: (surprised smile) Whoa! I didn’t think she had one, too.

Vince: But there are robots who do.

Six: I think I read something about that... And dreamed about it.

Berto: Like I said, I don’t wanna know.

>Sophie and Pandora fight the Anti-Virus Sentinels along with the Forges’ viruses.

Player: With them busy, looks like I’m going up to the plate.

>With that, Player begins typing something and a new virus comes up. It looked like Carmen Sandiego, but a little blue.

Player: I hope Red doesn’t get too upset for changing her colors.

>Player’s virus begins using an enlarged version of her laser cuter to cut through the defenses.

>Back at Silencerz HQ.

Silencer #7: They are still coming!

Silencer #1: This is getting out of hand. Have you found the source of the attack yet?

Silencer #37: It is hard to tell. They are coming from multiple sources.

Silencer #1: See if you can find the closest source. We will start there.

Silencer #37: Yes, sir.

Silencer #40: I will deal with the current virus.

>Back in Cyberspace, Player’s virus has cut through more of the mainframe’s defenses and the Anti-Virus Sentinels have been deleted.

Oracle: There’s only a few left. Keep going, we’re almost there!

Adi: I think I have something that’ll move us faster.

>Then, a virus that looks like a queen bee appears with a swarm.

Adi: I got the idea from some children’s show. I’ll tell you more about it later.

>The bee viruses begin helping Player’s virus cut get through more of the defenses along with the Forges’ viruses. Suddenly, something flies up.

Adi: These guys don’t quit, do they?

>The virus swarm fights off against the security algorithms with Sophie, Pandora, and the Forges’ viruses while Conor and Chim-Chim break through the last of the walls.

Conor: Just a little more...

>Finally, the last of the security walls were gone. But no sooner they were, a blast of flames came and nearly blew Conor and Chim-Chim away!

Conor: GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

In-Su: You mean great walls of fire. It’s a firewall. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.

Pidge: Hold on, I have something that could help you.

>Suddenly, some big gun that resembles a lion appears in In-Su’s hands.

Vince: This wind blaster will help blow out the flames. But don’t use it now. Wait until you’re on the other side of the wall to use it, or you might blow the flames at the files and destroy them.

In-Su: Right. Here I go.

>With that, In-Su dances her way through the flames until she finally got to the other side.

In-Su: Stand back!

>Then, with a large blast of wind, the firewall was out. Conor and Chim-Chim go in.

In-Su: Okay, we’re in.

Jack: Well done, kids! Now, the file you’re looking for is labeled “200335″.

Oracle: We’re searching now.

>Outside the mainframe, the security algorithms were still coming.

Sophie: This looks bad, we’re running out of room. If only we had at least one more to help us.

Berto: Leave that to me! I’ve got the perfect thing!

>Berto then uploads his own virus.

>Berto’s virus assists Sophie, Pandora, and the Forges’ viruses as In-Su, Conor, Chim-Chim, and the other hackers search for the file.

>At Silcencerz HQ.

Silencer #20: Damn! They are in the mainframe.

Silencer #1: You still have not found them?

Silencer #3: We might be able trace them if they find they file they are looking for.

Silencer #1: Then do it.

>With that, the Silencerz begin their work.

>Back in Cyberspace, the Silcencerz’ security algorithms were finally defeated.

Sophie: We did it! Thank you all.

>The viruses gestured a “You’re welcome” to Sophie and disappear back to where they came from.

Vince: That virus of your, Forge 2, it makes me wonder.

Forge 2: Wonder what?

Vince: If... If I should have asked my dream brother from New Olympia to help us, too... Oh well, I’ll ask him next time.

Vince: You’ll have to get through his Big Buddy, Hunk’s dream brother. And I don’t think my own DB would be too happy. Especially after everything that’s happened in recent months. But I’m sure I can talk him into it.

Panther: Dream brother?

Queen: You mean...

My gift of connecting people’s minds and hearts with my singing strikes again.

Conor: Hey, I think we found it!

>Conor, Chim-Chim, In-Su, and Sophie who joined them, found a file that looked like a file cabinet. One of the drawers was labeled 200335.

Jack: That’s it!

Sophie: We found the file. Let’s copy it.

>Sophie opens the drawer show many files. No sooner did she open it, it starts flashing and making a siren sound.

Spinner: (covering his ears) Yikes, that loud!

Jack: That’s the alarm for the failsafe. You now have 15 minutes to copy the file before it deletes itself permanently.

Oracle: Leave it to me. I’ll just use the same program I created to copy Makoto’s Sis’s computer.

Queen: Let’s hope it works on the Silencerz’ mainframe than it does Sis’s.

>Oracle enters the program and it begins to copy the file.

>At Silencerz HQ, the computer room was now flashing and alarms were ringing.

Silencer #3: They are copying the file! Now, if I could just... Got it! I got a lock. The source of the copying is coming from... some town nearby.

Silencer #1: You mean... Handler’s Corners.

>Silencer #1 begins to leave.

Silencer #9: Sir, where are you going?

Silencer #1: (turning back) To visit an old amigo.

>With that, Silencer #1 leaves. Suddenly, the alarm gets louder.

Silencer #20: What is happening!?

Silencer #3: This looks bad. Someone else is in the mainframe. They are also copying the file.

>Back in Cyberspace.

Oracle: This doesn’t look good. There’s someone else here. Someone’s also copying this file.

>Sure enough, something comes out of the file cabinet. It was a little blue bad... wearing a pair of glasses and had the most ugliest comb-over ever.

It’s Strega! What the hell do they want?

Vert: Who?

Taro: Some cult.

Oracle: If they’re also copying the file, then us copying it will be difficult.

Lunch: So, we may not be able copy the whole file?

Yu-ichi: Well that sucks.

Player: I’m sure I think I might help with that. I mean, I can’t stop Strega from also copying the file, but I think I have an idea what may happen and how to solve the problem.

Oracle: I hope so.

Jack: Hurry, only 9 minutes left.

>Oracle’s program tries its best to copy the file which is difficult as the program from Strega (most likely made by Jin) is also copying the file.

Jack: Only 6 minutes.

Oracle: We’re almost done.

>Before we knew it, only 4 minutes left. Please copy it.

>3 minutes. Not much time left and the copying is still going.

>2 minutes. There’s still more.

>1 minute. Almost there.

>59 seconds... Come on. Come on! COME ON!

>10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

FILE DELETED. CONNECTION TERMINATED.

>The main screen goes to static. Then, Sophie is re-projected back with us, In-Su returns to M.A.Y.H.E.M.’s computer, and Conor and Chim-Chim are back in their real world forms.

Panther: Conor, Chim-Chim, are you two alright?

Conor: (a little dizzy) We’re fine. We’re used to this sort of thing.

In-Su: I’m fine, too. My source code is a little frizzy, but that can be helped with a quick fix.

Joule: You’ve earned it, In-Su. Enjoy your nap.

>With that, In-Su shots off for now.

Vert: So, did we succeed in copying the file?

Oracle: Let me check.

>Oracle checks the copied file.

Well, I’ve got some bad news, good news, and some stressful news.

Agura: I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy.

Oracle: Bad news: We weren’t able to copy all of the research data. Good news: We did manage to copy most of it. Stressful news: Most of it is encrypted. Until we can decipher the code, you guys are going to have to wait a little longer.

Taro: I figured as much.

Berto: But with all of us, we should be able to crack the code.

Mixer: Afraid you’ll have to count us out. We didn’t tell Persephone that we did this and she’s got a strict policy about messing with organizations other than L.E.G.I.O.N. without her permission.

Yeti: (looking down) ...

Mixer: (panicking) YETI, YOU TOLD HER!? SHE’S GONNA PUT ME ON COFFEE DUTY AGAIN!

Safeword: I see. If that’s the case... I’ll take a double shot expresso.

Joulie: I’ll take a mocha.

Mixer: (shocked) Seriously?

>With that, we bid our M.A.Y.H.E.M. friend fair well for now and they leave.

Conor: Chim-Chim and I have to bow out, too. Speed will be back any minute and I don’t want him to know what we did. I wanna keep it a surprise.

Pidge: Me and Vince have to go, too. I have a few castle defenses to upgrade.

Vince: And I’m on standby. I know business is slow, but Keith says peace time is the best time to prepare for anything.

Joker: Right, see you all later.

>With that, Conor, Chim-Chim, Pidge, and Vince sign off.

Adi: The rest of us will stay and help you decipher the code.

Player: With Red on break, I’ve got time.

Oracle: Thanks, you guys.

Berto: Guess I better let Max, Steel, and Ferrus know I’m gonna be busy for awhile.

Sherman: We’ll back you up.

Berto: Gracias.

Spinner: That’s what primos are for.

>With that, Oracle and our hacker friends begin their work to unlock Dr. Tezla’s research to reopen the portal to Highway 35 and bring back the World Race.

Oracle: But I am curious about one thing: What does Strega want with Tezla’s research?

>Meanwhile in an unknown location...

Crap! Of course the Phantom Thieves would be after this file.

Yeah. Talk about rotten luck.

Uh-huh.

Maybe you should have some kind of alert for them.

Jin: I’ll think about that. Right now, thanks to their hacking into the Silencerz’ mainframe for that file, I only copied most of it, but not all of it. Not to mention it’s encrypted.

I wouldn’t say that. I’d say that you copied plenty. And I’m sure with our new allies’ help, we might be able to unlock all of Dr. Tezla’s secrets.

Jin: Why are we even doing this, anyway? Since when are we interested in a long forgotten and completely no longer popular race?

Takaya: You would be surprised by what one can learn from things like this. After all, there are many ways to achieve your goals. Am I correct?

>Someone comes out of the shadows... in a dance-like manner.

That’s right, ghosty boy. I bet even M.A.Y.H.E.M. couldn’t think of something like this.

Jin: (a bit confused) Even though they were just in the mainframe as well.

Gaunt: A minor mishap. Something we’ll fix soon.

Myles: With a voice like that, it’s hard to say he’s wrong.

Evan: Uh-huh.

Gaunt: (with a small bow) Thank you.

Jin: So, can L.E.G.I.O.N. help with deciphering the code?

Gaunt: Maybe. Even we can’t work miracles that quickly. Just look at me. At first, I was only partially restored. I didn’t even have my-

Jin: (quickly with a frown) Okay, okay, we get the picture!

Takaya: Soon, we’ll gain what we’re after... Soon...

>What will happen next?

NOTE: We apologize if this post is a little long. We thought this would be the end of this heist, but like we said, this post was a little long. The last post for this heist will come soon.

#phantom thieves cam

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goodnightkisseu · 5 years

Text

Do Kyungsoo - Delayed

→ pairing: kyungsoo x reader

→ genre: fluff, single parent!au

→ word count: 3168

→ warnings: n/a

→ summary: while you’re stuck at an airport waiting for your very delayed flight, maybe you’ll meet someone that catches your eye...

→ masterlist // exo masterlist

note: Happy Birthday, @prettywordsyouleft!!!!! Today is my lovely writing wife’s birthday and I found no better way to celebrate it than to write you some Kyungsoo for your birthday! ^o^ I hope that you enjoy this and that you have an absolutely wonderful day~ You deserve it!

- ash <3

"Are you absolutely sure that you'll make it back in time? I heard your flight got delayed again, and I refuse to get married tomorrow without my closest friend here," the male on the other end of your call stated. The call grew silent before he spoke again. "You know... maybe... maybe we could postpone the wedding until you get back? Like, once you've landed and had enough time to get ready. Hmmm... she may just be okay with that..."

An exasperated sigh left your lips, the sound so loud that a handful of the people around you turned to stare. You had forgotten how crowded the waiting area had gotten here since your arrival that morning. You quickly apologized for your outburst before turning your attention back to your phone to figure out how to deal with your friend and his evident wedding jitters. If you were there, you would have just slapped him in the head and told him what a stupid plan that was. The problem was that you were stuck in an airport, still unable to get home.

Earlier in the week, you had flown out to Japan to work on a publishing deal for your company. The deal had taken a bit longer to close than you would have liked, causing you to extend your trip by about two days. It was fine. You had built a buffer to get back in time for Chanyeol's wedding. What you hadn't counted on was equipment failure. The plane you were supposed to take that morning didn't pass the safety check, and the airline was now scrambling to find a replacement. That had all started about eight hours ago, and here you still were, with the entire crew and passenger group, grounded. There had been a handful of times where the airline staff said that everything was sorted out, though that was only to be met with another announcement saying that it was still being delayed. It was tiring being in an airport for this long, but as long as you got home in time for that wedding that was all that mattered. You'd be devastated if you missed out on Chanyeol's wedding. Granted, postponing the wedding as he was suggesting, was not the option.

"Chanyeol, Sera is not going to let you hold of your wedding for a day because I'm not there. She's been preparing for this for months. Do you really think she'd let you do that?" you inquired, eyes absentmindedly looking at the clock on the nearby wall. Honestly, if you were able to fly out at the next estimated time, you had a chance. You'd be tired during the wedding, but you would at least make it there.

"I mean, Sera does like you, and she knows that it's important to me that you at the wedding. So there's a chance she'd let me?" he explained, and you could tell that the more Chanyeol talked about it, the more he began to consider it. You knew you had to put your foot down. His pre-wedding jitters were far worse than you had expected.

"Yah, Park Chanyeol. You are not postponing your wedding. The two of you already have the venue booked, and guests have been flying in and commuting in since the beginning of the week. You are going to have a beautiful wedding, and I am going to be there to see my gentle giant of a friend get married. Don't you dare try to weasel out of it after how long Sera had to wait for you to finally pop the question," you warned, hearing him chuckle on the other end.

He grew silent on the other end before he chuckled. "And here I thought you were my friend," he teased.

"I am, but that lovely woman is a goddess for marrying you, and she isn't the one freaking out right now. You are," you countered, getting him to laugh again. Chanyeol seemed calmer now, and that was good.

"Alright, I won't postpone the wedding, I promise. I just really want you here, you know? I don't think I can do this on my own..."

You smiled a bit at his words. Your friend was the type that seemed a bit rough around the edges, but he was sweet and sentimental. "You'll be fine. And both Baekhyun and I will be there to make sure you don't make a fool of yourself, I promise. Now, go get some rest. You have your big day tomorrow. I promise I'll message you when I get on the plane," you reassured him before he said his goodbyes and hung up.

Gently, you leaned back against your seat, not realizing how exhausted you had been. It was a long day, and having to deal with Chanyeol also freaking out didn't make your day any simpler. Slowly, you started to close your eyes, hoping to rest them for just a minute. If you could just get a bit of rest before you got on the plane...

"Oh, wow! These are really cute pins. Dad, look at them!" a happy and very high voice exclaimed, knocking you right out of your drowsy state. Your eyes quickly opened, and you sat up a bit, looking to your left. You saw a young girl, no older than five years old admiring the pins that you had on your laptop bag. Her eyes practically shined as she looked at each one, and you couldn't help but think that her expression was adorable. The simplest things made kids happy. Everything was magical to them.

"Hyemi, don't bother the nice lady. Let her rest," her father said, and immediately your eyes shifted from the little girl to the man sitting just on the other side of her. He looked young, almost too young to have a child as old as the girl sitting next to you, but you weren't one to speculate as to why. Still, though you weren't the type to usually think these things, he was incredibly handsome.

"I get them every single time I travel. I usually have to go for work, but I try to always pick up a pin somewhere to remind me of where I've gone," you told the young girl, watching as her eyes shined at your explanation. She then looked back down at your, counting them.

"Wow, you've been to so many places!" she exclaimed. "I want to be able to travel like that when I grow up. Do you think that I can, dad?" she asked, turning back to her father, looking hopeful.

He gave her a small smile. "My little bear can be whatever she wants to when she grows up," he reassured her, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Hyemi turned back to you, as if ready to ask another question, but before she could, one of the airline's personnel got onto the loudspeaker and announced that the plane was ready to board. The young girl hopped onto her feet and grabbed her bag, waiting for her dad to do the same, and you followed suit as well, glad that you would finally start on your journey home.

"I'm sorry if she bothered you earlier," Hyemi's father said when the three of you were in line and waiting to board. You weren't expecting him to speak to you again but smiled gently when he did.

"It's quite alright. Your daughter was just interested in the pins. I get it a lot, actually," you said with a soft laugh, making the male smile.

"Hyemi did stop you from getting some rest though, and for that, I apologize," he said, before turning his attention back to the moving line.

As the boarding process proceeded, the airline staff apologized for all of the delays as passenger after passenger got onto the plane. Your eyes were absentmindedly looking down at your ticket when you heard Hyemi pipe up again.

"Dad, our seats are 10D and 10E, right?" she asked, looking up at her father as she held their tickets in her hand.

Your eyes naturally scanned your own ticket, wondering where you were sitting, and you couldn't help but chuckle gently when you saw the seat number. 10F.

The little girl's father turned to look at you, and you giggled. "I guess I'll be your seatmate if you're alright with that. I'm sitting in 10F," you explained. Before her father could say anything, the little girl was already in front of you, practically exploding with joy.

"You'll be sitting with us?!" she asked.

You gave her a small nod as the three of you proceeded onto the plane. Her father boarded first, putting his and his daughter's things into the overhead compartment before gesturing towards yours and helping you to put it up there. You then slid in first, followed by his daughter, and then him, before you situated yourself, pushing your bag under the seat in front of you. Quickly, you sent Chanyeol a message, letting him know that you were on the plane and on your way back and that he wasn't allowed to make any drastic wedding changes while you didn't have access to your phone. You had just hit the 'send' button when Hyemi's peppy voice caught your attention again.

"Who were you talking to? That was a really long message," the girl asked curiously. Before you could answer, you heard her father gently sighing beside her.

"Hyemi, you know you're not supposed to be reading people's messages..." he said, and you couldn't help the giggle that escaped your lips. Being a parent was tough.

"I was talking to a really close friend of mine," you told her. "He's getting married tomorrow."

"To you?!" she exclaimed, your eyes going wide, and you could see her father's going wide as well.

"Oh, no, no, no. To his girlfriend," you explained, watching as the little girl nodded in understanding.

After everyone was boarded and seated, the flight attendants went over the safety procedures before doing one last walk through the cabin. The plane took off not long after that, and part of you was relieved that you were finally on your way home. To keep yourself awake, you had started flipping through the book you had in your hands, hoping to get through some of it. However, about two pages in, you realized that you were being watched. Slowly, you pulled your eyes away from the pages and found Hyemi beaming up at you. You couldn't help but smile back. She was a really charming little girl.

"Whatcha reading?" she asked curiously, eyes momentarily looking down at the book in your hands. "It looks like a lot of words," she added.

You could see her father looking at you out of the corner of his eyes, silently thanking you for putting up with his daughter. "It's a book about dragons. A young boy finds out that he can speak with dragons telepathically, just using his mind. It's the story about his adventures," you told her, making your words very dramatic as the girl's excitement grew.

"How about I read you a bit from it? I'll have to be really quiet since other people are trying to sleep, so listen carefully, okay?" She nodded eagerly, and you proceeded to read from the passage where you had stopped, your tone and voice shifting to match each of the characters in the story. Though she had been really excited at first, you could see her eyed growing heavy, and in about twenty minutes, Hyemi had fallen asleep, her father reaching over to pull her to his side.

"Thank you for humoring her," he said, his features gentler now. He had such a soft expression. It suited him.

"It's not a problem at all. Hyemi is very sweet. Adorable too," you told him, gently placing your bookmark back into your book. "Were the two of you in Japan for a vacation?" you asked, deciding that small talk would more effective at keeping you awake than the book you were reading.

He gave you a small nod. "I've been really busy with work, so I haven't been able to take Hyemi on trips. She spends a lot of her time with the babysitter while I'm working. This is the first father-daughter trip we've been on," he explained. "She must be a bit tired of me though because she's taken such an interest in you. She doesn't usually do that," he added with a chuckle.

"It's probably just because I'm a new person. She definitely still loves her dad the most," you reassured him, a smile forming on his lips.

After so many hours together, he finally told you that his name was Kyungsoo. He worked at a small company in the city, and as they ran their team pretty lean, there wasn't usually time for vacations. He had been working non-stop, and now that there was a lull, he was finally able to spend some time with his daughter. Truthfully, you found it sweet. He cared a lot about his daughter. A lot of young dads, in your experience, weren't quite like this and you saw his love for her very endearing.

Eventually, the two of you moved on from him and started talking about you. You told him about your publishing job, how you would often travel to work out deals with local publishing houses for books. Kyungsoo then asked about that wedding you mentioned earlier, and all you could do was giggle. "My close friend is getting married to his bride tomorrow. Because of how delayed our flight was, he had considered postponing the wedding. I've been spending most of today telling him it was a terrible idea."

Kyungsoo chuckled. "He's a loyal friend. What did his bride think about that?" he asked.

"I'm honestly hoping that he didn't actually ask her. Though, knowing his future wife-to-be, she probably would have reprimanded him for it. He's silly, but you're right. He is a good friend," you replied with a gentle smile.

"You seem to have known each other for a long time," he stated. Kyungsoo couldn't say that he had many friends like that. Being a single dad, it was hard to keep up with friends. Most of weren't even married yet, and here he was with a kid. Still, he had some that stuck by him.

"Since we were kids. We've been through a whole life of rollercoasters and terrible relationships together. Now that he's getting married, I think he's just freaking out because this is part of his life that I can't fully navigate with him. Hence the pre-wedding jitters," you explained.

"You must have had Hyemi at a young age. I mean, if you don't mind me asking..." you said quickly, realizing that this could have been a touchy subject. But Kyungsoo shook his head.

"Hyemi's mom was my high school sweetheart. We had been by each other's sides for years, even going to college together. We thought of getting married, so when she got pregnant with Hyemi, I didn't know it was a big deal. But after giving birth to her... she changed. I couldn't say exactly what it was, but her mother just wasn't the same. And one day, out of the blue, she just... disappeared. She left Hyemi with me and never came back. Sometimes navigating life can be hard..."

You gave a small nod, though you couldn't help how much your heart hurt knowing that Kyungsoo and his daughter had already gone through so much. "You're doing a good job raising her. She's a good kid," you said softly. And for the first time since the two of you started talking, he gave you a real genuine smile. You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks, and you were happy that it was so dark in the cabin and that he wasn't able to see it.

The two of you continued to converse, learning that you had some common interests with each other. You found it very easy to talk to Kyungsoo, in the way that you had only been able to speak to a handful of other people. He knew a lot, but he was also willing to listen to what you knew. It was comfortable, simple, sweet.

However, as with most good things, your conversation came to an end when the captain mentioned that you would be landing soon. There was a bit of a bump when the plane finally did land, waking Hyemi up from her nap. She was a bit groggy as she rose her head, asking her dad if they were home yet. Kyungsoo told her that they had landed and were on their way to the gate, so she should get up. The young girl did as she was told, stretching before she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

Everyone was quick to get up when the plane finally stopped at the gate, and the seatbelt sign turned off. Kyungsoo helped you retrieve your things before the three of you headed off of the aircraft.

"We need to head this way to baggage claims," Kyungsoo stated, and you gave him a small smile, a bit regretful that you weren't headed off in the same direction. He had been a good companion... but maybe this was where that ended. How unfortunate.

"I need to head over to ground transportation. It was really nice meeting you both," you said, and you could see it in Kyungsoo's features, that slight look of disappointment. Did he enjoy your company as much as you enjoyed his?

"Maybe we could play together again, sometime? I'd love if you could read to me again, and show me more of your pins," Hyemi said hopefully, her father a bit shocked by her words.

"Hyemi, you can't just ask her –"

But before he could finish his thought, you were already kneeling down in front of his daughter. "Well, if your father is okay with it, but you would have to ask him. For now, I'd like you to take this though," you told her gently, bringing your purse around and pulling off one of your pins, gently placing in her hands. "Think you can take good care of it for me?"

Hyemi nodded vehemently before looking up expectedly at her father.

Kyungsoo couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief. Slowly, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out one of his business cards, holding it out to you. You did the same, rummaging through your purse for one of your own. "I'll let you know when we have some time," he inquired, hopefully.

A smile formed on your lips as you exchanged your card with his. "I'll make sure I'm available. Just give me a call," you told him before the three of you parted ways. You slipped Kyungsoo's card into your purse, hoping that, maybe sometime soon, you would receive a call or a message from such a wonderful person...

#exo #do kyungsoo #kyungsoo #exo scenarios #kwritersworldnet #kpop scenarios #exo imagines #exo fluff #kyungsoo scenarios #kyungsoo imagines

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steve0discusses · 5 years

Text

Yugioh S4 E3: So Many Dragons in This One

Y’all so I’m like getting over a pretty nasty cold that’s pretty much wiped me clean like a hard reset and this episode coinciding with it is something else because this episode is essentially a fever dream start to finish.

First off:

If your mind didn’t immediately start playing ska-like alt rock and go through every lyric from “Escape From the City” then I can’t help you. Because that’s where my mind directly went and stayed for the entirety of this episode.

Back in the museum, Yugi learns about some more crypto-history.

Because Y’all, Yugioh just LOVES to screw with history. I mean we’ve already seen what they did to Seto Kaiba’s timeline, but get a load of what they’re about to do with world history.

(Arthur now has the USA gradient because I was at a loss of how else to describe Arthur. If Bandit Keith comes back then I’ll be mixing fonts, yet again.)

This was done mostly to recap the last 3 seasons, but also to drop in some brand new lore that came out of freakin nowhere.

Atlantis.

Yes, he said Atlantis.

(read more under the cut)

In the actual dialogue of the show, Tea mentions she read a single book about Atlantis once in her life, and then Joey and Tristan go “Tea, you nerd!” and it’s like wow the standards are low in this group. One single book, boys? That’s all it takes to be a nerd? When you have any of the KAIBAS right over there? One single book is the requirement?

Starting to think no one in this universe knows what a nerd is.

So the underwater cave dwelling from a few episodes back is none other than the Atlantis ruins. I feel like this should be a way bigger deal in terms of like all of history, since in this universe, Atlantis is time wise at the dawn of (checks wikipedia)...proto-writing...and yet they seem to really have their math and large construction science down.

The arch wasn’t really utilized (I hesitate to say “discovered” as it is an arch) until about 2000 BC or so. Good on the Atlanteans, I guess?

Don’t know why we’re getting so sidetracked by cards when a civilization 10000 years ago could make immense underwater 60 ft castles that don’t immediately collapse under the pressure, but this is the Yugioh universe and everyone’s card addiction runs strong and true.

It just seems funny to me that Hawkins, who devoted I want to say like 60 years of his life toward becoming a walking encyclopedia about Egypt, got super sidetracked and ended up 10000 leagues under the sea in Atlantis. He just threw all that Egypt work completely to the wind and basically changed his career at age I dunno 70 or so. Or maybe this guy is only 50 but he just seems super way old to me.

(And raising his granddaughter for some reason? Hell knows what happened to Rebecca’s parents, but knowing Yugioh, it will probably be really, really tragic.)

So then, although Atlantis is in our world and under the sea, Hawkins decides to throw another fast one on us.

(I just chose a random number, but Buzzfeed decided Washington was 34th. Which is wild.)

Bro took this moment to explain to me in great and excruciating detail that the Atlanteans in Aquaman did in fact invent tanks. Aquaman is his favorite. Ya, I know.

So I thought “ah, this is the Shadow Realm” (since we have seen Bakura just make a monster a real boy before) but then it became kind of unclear if the Shadow Realm is a different realm than this other realm which is just where the nice monsters live. So um...I’m still not sure about that one, I’ll get back to you when it’s made clear (I may never get back to you on that one)

Then Rebecca decides to drop this lore about the ghost that lives in Yugi Muto’s head that we’ve been *pretty Sure* up to this point was strictly Egyptian dealing with strictly Egyptian things.

I am not entirely sure how we’re going to take a guy who lived 5000 years ago and explain why he’s living now in AD 2002 Yugi Muto’s head because of some guy 10000 years ago. But they’re going to try.

Like I’ve heard this referred to as a filler season, because it uh did not happen in the Manga. So, legally, they can’t really touch the manga at all (and I assume they were probably waiting for the manga to finish at this point), and so we’re just gonna...pull Atlantis out of nowhere because the nice thing about Atlantis is that it is so freakin old that it is well outside of copyright. Completely fair use. But it’s still kinda wild.

Also, Yugi made sure to off-handedly tell us that most of the monsters who’ve invaded their world have been very, very, nice, and that’s why everyone has been so chill.

I mean. OK?

You still have literal dragons flying around but apparently only some of the dragons are mean and attack, the rest just chill and float around like a fish or something. Personally, I wouldn’t be thrilled by this.

Hawkins notices Yugi’s enchanted dead guy necklace, and without asking “so...does this belong to a dead guy? Did you get this from the dead guy’s corpse? Yugi? Yugi, look at me. Yugi, young man, is this another dead guy necklace you’ve been carrying around in your pocket because I feel like I see a problem here, buster.”

Hawkins suggests, instead:

Oh OK...that’s a lot to take in.

Didn’t expect giant possessed lady statues but it’s a nice spooky touch. Can’t have enough giant possessed lady statues in your anime, honestly.

Also, I’m really glad they gave this skinny lady statue a double chin.

And after all that, Hawkins decides he’s done with his one single afternoon in Japan, and he’s going to go and travel 16 hours back to the US stuck in a plane within hearing distance of Rebecca. Worth that 32 hour round trip for that one afternoon in Japan (or actually one way is 4 hours longer than the other way or something? I forget the details.)

And like the show had him blush and then Tea got mad, but like Yugi also blushed when Mai gave him a note once that said “thanks for the help!” so I feel like Yugi just shuts down completely whenever he has to deal with girls.

Maybe this is just the face Yugi makes when he quickly enters the pyramid zone and is like “Pharaoh, it’s getting mad weird out there!” And Pharaoh’s just sitting on his throne eating cheese whiz straight out of a can in star pj’s with matching bootspants and he’s like “My Gods, Yugi! If I’m here, and you’re here, who’s driving the plane!?” and then they just start shrugging at eachother about who has to go on the date this time until Yugi snaps out of it.

ah, a disembodied voice.

Literally thought it was my own voice.

It keeps Yugi up for a while, but when has Yugi ever fallen asleep right away on this show?

After Yugi calms down enough to go the hell to bed, we zoom back to our Xtreme sports boys who have finally decided to stop Tony Hawking all over this island long enough to deliver the sober news that Gurimo is freakin dead.

Which they barely brought up at all because who freakin cares about Gurimo? This guy sure didn’t.

Cool. Good plan.

Hard to rebuild civilization without people. Just throwing that out there.

But ya. Lets go end mankind on Episode 3. Thought it would take a little bit longer for him to get enough soul juice but apparently he’s good on the soul juice from these three juicy cards that have no souls (I thought).

3 God Cards + 1 Gurimo - 1 Rex - 1 Weevil = Destroy Humanity

First, a dream sequence.

This is one bizarre ass dream sequence and like...I don’t even know if I have much to say because it’s like...so out of left field and both out of the lore of this show and just barely inside the lore enough for it to work.

Still feels hella out of nowhere though.

That may be just the Dayquil talking.

Either way, we get to have Yugi run around in pjs again, but unfortunately they have no stars so I just don’t freakin care when see it. I get that stars are hard to animate and he’s a year older and maybe grew out of the star pj’s but c’mon. We had a good thing going, show.

But they hear a voice within the pyramid, and I’m using Tea’s font color here but it’s not Tea, it’s another girl who is...a lot like Tea honestly.

So up to this point we’ve accepted that the puzzle is all of Pharaoh’s mysteries and also mixed with the memories of Yugi as well. We have a room of short term memory (that pharaoh never uses) full of little clones of Yugi’s friends. We have a room full of all the lego pieces that Yugi lost over his young life (and 2 very cursed tamagachis.) We have a room that has a gigantic guardian Dark Magician who almost killed Shadi once. We also have several rooms that are just traps that can basically kill you, or if you are Shadi, just totally set you on fire, because screw Shadi.

Also it has this room:

But we find a new room that is like an entire fantasy realm and it’s like...so what memory is this?

Somewhat confusing if you’re me and you’ve assumed up to this point that everything in the puzzle has something to do with Pharaoh’s past. Apparently there’s just a door to another world in here they just never knew was here.

Just this entire time Yugi and Pharaoh were completely unaware that they had a DOOR TO ANOTHER WORLD in their necklace. Which, as I mentioned before, is where all the duel monsters live, but looks nothing like the Shadow Realm, which we’ve seen before.

And like honestly I kinda just figured at first that the giant eye was supposed to be there eating dragons, as if this was some sort of cycle of life for the duel monsters, to be a dragon, grow old, and then get devoured by the eyeball in the sky to start over again as nutrients to feed the baby dragons.

But in fact the eye is Not Normal and we should be alarmed by it.

Very hard to know what should and should not be normal when I’ve never seen this place before, also it has three crystal dragons that I guess the other monsters MUST be worshiping or something because check out the purple tile palace they made just for these crystal dragons.

Like this made me ask a LOT of questions about the civilization of duel monsters. Like who made this? Did a bunch of Kuriboh make this? Hell does this civilization works and is it a monarchy and are there castes?

Do they do taxes?

And then we meet her, the voice asking for our help, it’s this girl. Dark Magician girl. Nice to finally meet you. Wish it had a little more build up and made more sense.

We’ve talked to this chick before. She was digital at the time, but she kind of pretends that she already knows Pharaoh and Yugi and they kinda just...take this as it comes. I mean there wasn’t much time to deliver this dialogue so they were like, if the lady in the cornucopia hat says so, I guess we have to do the thing.

It is nice that we do finally get an explanation for why Pegasus could make all these cards but could not resurrect his dead wife--being that she is...not from this world.

But like now the puzzle not only dives into Pharaoh’s past but is also just a straight up a dimension portal. You can just...visit these people whenever? I guess?

I was getting used to the puzzle being a very large metaphor, and I wasn’t actually prepared for it to have a utilitarian use like a Stargate. This asks a lot of questions, but put those questions aside because we have to adopt this dragon by pulling a huge ass sword out of it’s right eyeball.

This show is SO mean to eyeballs.

She explains that there was some lore that lead to this sword being plunged into this buddy’s eye over here but I forgot it already. It was like half a sentence and then it was gone and I’m on Dayquil and I’m sure it’ll come back. At some point they’ll bring it all full circle, I’m sure.

Like if this happened in a dream then does this place even exist on a mortal plane at all? Can it only be accessed through dreams and being dead? It’s kind of a fascinating concept since these duel monsters have to be summoned through paper, which has all sorts of relevant meaning in a lot of Eastern mythologies.

Stuff I’ll never know because say goodbye to the Duel Monster Land that Apparently-Exists-Now-And-Absolutely-Always-Existed,-Stop-Thinking-About-Who-Invented-Tanks,-It-Was-Obviously-The-Atlanteans-10000-Years-Ago, we’re gonna go and take this huge ass dragon we have no business inheriting but are anyway because the dumbass ghost in our brain has this grand reputation that he banished some sort of evil 5000 years ago but has absolutely no memory of how the hell he did that or what even occurred, and because of his completely wiped bean, this makes him a complete idiot at best and a complete psychopath at his absolute worst.

But yeah, lets take this dragon and see what happens.

You gotta bring furniture, but the dragon is free. 2 bedrooms, no rugs, it’s free.

I just realized we got a dragon and not the sword. Only in this anime.

And then he wakes up to the last thing I expected.

It was nice of Yugi to take the time it took for him to get entirely dressed and ready, but I guess if the world has to end you gotta go out in style. Which for him means his school uniform because, although Yugi absolutely hates this school for some reason, he has a lot of pride for it. Just a crazy amount of school pride for how rarely he attends school and for the lengths he went to get out of soccer practice that one time. But will Yugi be caught dead in anything but his school colors? No.

HOW IS THIS CITY STILL STANDING.

Also Kaiba must be having a wild time on the top of Kaiba Tower but maybe he took a helicopter a while back to go on a world dragon tour because we didn’t hear a peep out of him this entire very Very VERY dragon-centric episode.

Really weird how many dragons there are with so few Kaibas. It’s like the moment they turned around, every dragon on Earth came out of hiding to throw a huge ass dragon party.

PS get a load of this dragon.

Why would you ever give a dragon an ass?

I don’t even know how this is possible because it doesn’t have a butt crack, but it’s got serious ass going on. It’s the Lizzo of dragons, when you set it to defense mode, it probs just twerks to intimidate the other side.

(Yugi’s friends are so freakin patient OMG)

Also how the hell can Yugi play this card on his duel disk if neither Kaiba or Pegasus have any idea this card exists? Magic, I guess? The duel disk is part magic?

Not like it matters much, we know from Bakura that you don’t need a duel disk to make real boy cards if you have a millennium item anyway.

So at this point I’m like...I think I watched the last episode of the season, I think it’s...out of order and bro was like “nope...it’s Episode 3. We’re still on Episode 3.”

And so after that it closed the...dimension joining portal, which was a Golden Compass style aurora borealis, then Dark Magician Girl returned to her home planet.

...Which is also dangling around Yugi’s neck.

This was a lot.

I have a lot of questions.

Everyone in domino SHOULD have a lot of questions but I think they all went back to bed.

A tornado with a GLOWING EYE tried to destroy their city, and they just rolled over and went back to bed.

This season sure takes off really quickly holy crap.

Now fair warning, because I’ve been hella sick the next recap is uhh...a huge mess so it will probably be a week or so before I post it/even get to it. At some point I started numbering them completely wrong and I either saved 10 caps to a different folder or I never made them in the first place and I honestly am not entirely sure. Last week is kind of a blur and it’s a mess on my desktop right now, so my pacing is gonna reflect that because I am...behind...on everything.

Oh dude and actually now that I look at what date it freakin is, I have to go to one of my best friends weddings real soon so can we just say...it might be a few weeks before I can steadily update again? I have to learn a whole dance routine for this giant wedding and y’all, I am not a dancer. And, while my friends have had dance classes since they were like 5, I’m like...low key extremely certain I will fall completely on my ass. Anyway, there is no way out of this situation I thought would never actually happen, and thought was just a funny idea they invented when they got drunk at the bachelorette, but nah, they remembered, and this is really happening but the bride will think it’s funny so here we go.

PS this dance is to the only existing mashup of Bollywood and N*syncs Bye Bye Bye (which, yes, it is a breakup song) I hope you feel the second hand embarrassment through your computer, I am dancing for 300+ people. Directly following the groom’s parent’s dance, which is 10 minutes long, and for which they hired a professional choreographer. We are the only dance out of four epically spectacular dances that is from the bride’s side, and our dance is...2 minutes and the equivalent of a high school lipsync.

TBH I'm low key excited to do it because potentially it could be a really great story depending on the reaction of what happens.

Anyway, so if I disappear for a while only to post fanart I’ve drawn out of stress, that is what I’ve been doing in the background. I’ve just been trying to remember how to do the Bye Bye Bye dance correctly for 2 straight weeks while feverishly trying to catch up with all my other work.

Also, because I mentioned George Washington, I had to go and find the horny grandma clip from Gilmore Girls and I’m so glad that two people on the internet managed to clip it, and I can’t believe the only two people who’ve clipped this did it with their phones. In fact, kudos to this youtuber for videoing a Tablet with his phone, because there’s no better way to watch a show from the 00′s than to make you feel really illegal about it.

youtube

#Yugioh #ygo #photo recap #episode recap #Yugi Muto #dragons #Joey Wheeler #Tea Gardner #Tristan Taylor #Arthur Hawkins #Rebecca Hawkins #Grandpa Muto #The Eye of Sauran or something #Again this episode is kind of a blur and I'm amazed I managed to cap anything this week #Oh yeah #The lost city of atlantis #s4 ep3

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surveys-at-your-service · 4 years

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Survey #259

"i went straight to heaven, but i kept on knockin’.”

What's something that makes you feel more creative? Music. What are the last three nail polish colors you wore? Wow, idk the last time I wore nail polish, but probably black or maroon. What's the last thing you binge watched? Avatar: The Last Airbender w/ Sara. Do you watch youtube videos or tv shows more? YouTube is essentially my TV. Quite literally - I don't have a television in my room because I never watch it. What's a DIY project that you don't think actually works? Oh dude, plenty. I have DIY-obsessed friends online as well as a Pinterest, I know this shit, lmao. I can name one though with total certainty because I was with a friend when she tried that disgusting "YOU CAN MAKE cuPCAkES IN A C uP!!!!!" crap. It's the most eggy shit you'll ever try. Do you collect Mason jars to use for crafts? No, but I think those crafts are generally super cute. Have you ever gotten rid of something and then regretted it? If so, what? (or what's one thing?) Oh yeah, one of my biggest being my senior prom pictures, but not for the reason you'd expect (save for two pictures of us that're just REALLY fuckin cute): I want them back because goddamn I was pretty ok and I miss that now that I hate my body every waking moment of every day. :^) What color is the zip-up hoodie you wear the most? Don't have one w/ a zipper, they're ugly. Do you live in an apartment that has inspections? No. Do you hate taking naps during the day? Nooo I love naps and usually take one a day. I tend to feel really tired all over again a few hours or so after I wake up. Who in your immediate family has the best natural hair? MEEEEEEEEEEEE. Would you ever audition for American Idol? Hell no. Do you know anyone who thinks they're more talented than they are? Lol wow, this is mean. I don't think so. Do you buy gum? Rarely, even though I like it. What's your favorite dollar store? I don’t have a favorite, I'd say? But I think we normally go to Dollar General. How many cell phones have you had in your lifetime? Maybe like, six? Have you ever been inside a Victorian mansion? BITCH I WISH!!!!!!!!!!!! I would kill to get married in one, omfGGGGGGGGGGG. What was the most boring field trip you ever want on? I don't remember a bad one. I loved going on field trips. The last time you went, what were your favorite rides at Cedar Point? I’ve never been. Which country would you most like to visit? Eeeeek idk, but probably South Africa. What are your favorite types of videos to watch on YouTube? What I watch on YouTube has become pretty diverse, but I know my favorites are easily Mark's actual big projects w/ egos 'n shit alksjdflk;w gOOD SHIT MY FRIENDS. I still love let's plays, of course! Are you a hoarder? No. Is there a guy (or girl) that you wish things had worked out with? Yes. If you were to start a collection, what would it be? I'd loooove Shadow of the Colossus stuff, particularly the amazing figures they used to have only in Japan. And World of Warcraft stuff; all I have rn is an Illidan poster and a fae dragon plushy hanging from my ceiling that Jason got me. If you were rich, what things would you get done cosmetically? Mother of god, a lot. #1, make me skinny again for the love of fuck. Which would result in loose skin being taken off and probably a breast lift because being overweight ruined my comfort with them laskdjfw. Whiten my teeth and give me laser hair removal surgery on my legs, please. Are your parents too controlling? Not at all. Who is your favorite fictitious redhead? VOL'JIN Blizzard what the FUCK give him BACK What shows have you seen on Broadway? None. Who is the prettiest Asian YouTuber that you can think of? Bitch Mark is Korean and he's gorgeous as fuck goddamn it ain't fair. But this is a weird question. What is the best news you've heard lately? When my mom got a follow-up blood test, things looked good!! She especially needed to level out her sugar, which she did well on. She also didn't lose or gain any weight, so that's wonderful. Have you ever flown first class? Hunny I am v poor. Have you ever had food SO bad in a restaurant that you sent it back? I don't believe so, anyway. Do you talk in your sleep? Very regularly now. Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? OOF, yes. Are you the type of person who can shake insults off easily, or do they tend to stick around in your brain & bother you? They stick with me for a long, long time. At least two I remember from years upon years ago. Who was the last person you cut out of your life intentionally? My old therapist that I trusted and loved when I fucking shouldn't have. Where were you raised? By who? Eastern NC, by my parents. What were your first words? "Dada." What were some of your favorite things when you were young? DINOSAURS, Webkinz, Pokemon, and Spyro, to name a few. What did you grow up listening to? Mostly country and pop music. What games did you play in the past? Spyro was my obsession, and I also loved hunting games (ironic, as irl I would never even consider it???) as well as fishing ones, plus Crash Bandicoot. What was the best birthday party you ever had? I'm not sure. How about the best vacation? I'm unsure; I haven't really been on a lot. Do you have any secrets you never intend to tell? Yup. What memory would you like to disappear from your mind forever? A nightmare I had about my dad. If you were someone else, would you be friends with the person you are now? Yeah. Do you consider yourself a smart person? No. What friend in your life has been the greatest influence to you? I don't know. Where is the scariest place you’ve ever been? What made it so terrifying? I shared a bedroom with an EXTREMELY volatile, violent woman once in the mental hospital. As in she had to go in solitary when she had a violent episode, during which she became very destructive to her surroundings, so as you could guess, I was worried about my own wellbeing. She was eventually moved because I was that uncomfortable. Did you celebrate Easter? Are there any holidays you are more inclined to celebrate than others? If so, which? Well, Easter hasn't come yet, but we'll probably go to my sister's house for the kids. We'll celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving without fail. We don't pay much attention to others. I'd LOVE to do something for Halloween, we just never have anywhere to go/anything to do. What was the last thing you deleted? Pictures. What colors make up the majority of your wardrobe? Is there any color you like, but don’t wear often? There's black there. Oh, there's s'more black. What's that???? More bLACK????? MAN, I wish I could pull off pink. When was the last time you were in any amount of pain? I had a pretty intense headache yesterday. Who was the last person to hug you? Do you hug this person often? My niece, and yeah, every time I visit. What are you most likely to argue or debate about? The fact I almost never leave my pajamas lmao. What was the last show you watched? Have you seen it before, or is it something you’re watching for the first time? A few days back, I was reeeaaally bored and actually watched TV deliberately, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?????? It was The Witcher; wasn't bad. I'd be willing to watch more. How would you describe your taste in clothing? What would a dream outfit look like to you? uuuuuggggGHHHHHHHH let me be GOTH. Give me a corsette if they weren't notoriously uncomf with plenty of chains 'n stuff. BIG, SPIKY BOOTS. SKINNY LEATHER PANTS. UUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH. Have you ever tried snowboarding? No. What’s your favorite planet besides Earth? Saturn is dope. Would you ever be a coach for any sport? Nope. What color of eyes do you have? Blue. Do you like tacos? NOOOOOOOOO. White or red wine? Wine is gross. Do you prefer foxes or wolves? Foxes. What’s the youngest you would consider dating? No younger than 21. Do you think suits are sexy? mmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Did you go to high school with your current best friend? No. What is your boss’ (or school prinicpal’s) name? N/A Were you a fan of Michael Jackson before he died? I was never really a fan. Respected him immensely as a musician, I just didn't care much about his music. Turkey or ham for Thanksgiving? Ham. Turkey is always too dry and stringy. Do you look good in hats? I wouldn't know, I haven't worn one in forever. Never with short hair. Colons or equal signs for your smiley face's eyes? Colons. Do you like architecture? If so, do you have a favourite style or structure that you’d like to make note? Yes, and I should really have an answer for this, as architecture was a big part in Art History... Ummm Etruscan stands out, and of course Roman/Greek (even after the class I don't remember their differences well...). I love Middle Eastern architecture, too. What is one of your favorite words, in any language, and why? I just love the sound of "serendipity," as well as uhhhh "sakura" in Japanese and "kanji" in Chinese. I'm trying to think of a German one, as there certainly are some, but they're evading me right now. Where is the farthest you’ve travelled on foot? JESUS FUCK probably going to get Sara's brother from school, mother of all that is holy. But it might just feel like it because it was during the peak of my muscle atrophy in my legs. Are there any songs that you perhaps like but avoid because it makes you sad when heard? A good number. Do you like the area that you live in? What do you like or dislike about the area? NO. There's not shit to do and it's not aesthetically pleasing at all. Do you have a memory of when you really thought that you have lucked out on something? If so, what was it? Uhhhhh. A handful, I guess? Oh, uh, the suicide attempt to name one and probably the biggest. I took way too many of those pills to experience almost zero symptoms of an overdose; I did look up what "too many" was, because I wanted that. I'd say I was pretty fuckin lucky. If you have apps on your mobile phone, which one do you use the most? Facebook. Which do you like better: fantasy or science fiction novels? Why? FANTASY!!! I think it allows more creativity and possibilities of something magically "making sense" because yeah, it's fantasy. Science fiction has more "realness" to it, more, obviously, scientific elements versus make-believe. Do you like opossums? Do you think it is ethically right for others to keep opossums as pets? OPOSSUMS!!!!!!!!! ARE!!!!!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They're my second-favorite animals kdsja;lkdjaw. BUT ANYWAY, no, unless it's for rescue reasons. When was the last time someone asked you a huge favor or advice? Do you get asked often by this person? Oh I have no idea. Probably my mom? And no, definitely not. She hates asking for help. What are your thoughts on nihilism? I definitely get it, but it's not my personal outlook. Do you like the snow? More like love. What are your thoughts and feelings towards work/jobs in general? I don't know? I've never even had a real, steady job, so it's hard to really answer... I've only had bad experiences. It's kinda weird to me how you have to work your ass off (usually) to get a job you enjoy, as well as slave for some stupid green paper until the day you die just to stay alive and healthy. But at the same time, it offers a sense of fulfilment and is as well something productive and beneficial to the masses to do. Civilization would be very, very different and unadvanced if we were without them, so I guess it is a necessary thing. Humans gotta work together to keep where we're at. Do you believe in astrology? I've never actually elaborated why I don't believe in it so there ya go: not in the slightest. All it does is offer extremely broad characteristics that, in some light, almost anyone can relate to so they feel included in something. We naturally want to "belong" within something as social creatures, and astrology is an easy one with it being so vast. It gives equally indirect advice that can be applied to a multitude of situations, so people just mold what they read to fit their world. Don't base your goddamn life choices on the random positioning of shit in space. What is something that you’ve made/created? Do you take pride in your creations? Well, way way way too many OCs that I do indeed love a hell of a lot. If you have a Tumblr account, do you have any followers that you wish would not follow you? Well I'm sure there are bots. What kind of books do you generally enjoy to read? Fantasy stuff, mostly. But I also love novels with deep meaning, particularly about life in general. A good plot is mandatory. Does the quality of a video, on YouTube or a television, matter to you? I mean of course in some situations, like if I'm watching something educational/something to gain visual knowledge from. What is one situation that may cause you to become shy (if there is any)? Don't don't don't don't don't point out that my serious interests/things I massively love are "weird" like it's been years and I can still barely explain why my biggest tattoo is a tribute to some fuckface on the Internet lmao. When one is depressed, what can a friend do about it? Do you find that there is a good method to approach people in helping them combat depression? It is SO important to, first, ask them what they want. Do they want advice, an ear to just listen, just your presence, to be alone? As for combating depression, that greatly depends on the origin (if any) of theirs. There are so many factors in answering this question, but what I mentioned should, imo, always be the start. Do you tend to listen to music that embraces your mood or does music dictate your mood? Is it a little bit of both? Definitely both. When I'm sad though, I'm almost definitely listening to somber music too. Do you find yourself to be generally a forgiving person? I'm too goddamn forgiving. Do you have an embarrassing memory that you now look back at and can laugh? If so and if you’re comfortable, could you share one here? Omg I have a Bible-length collection of those suckers. I'd prefer not to. What is one skill that you have worked hard to develop? Is there still room for improvement on that skill? Damn, anxiety-coping mechanisms and actually trusting them to help me through attacks. I used to be convinced that they were useless because it just wouldn't work and weren't immediately effective, but you've gooooooot to trust the process, friends. What do you consider to be your main passion(s) and how did they come about? Spreading awareness of the seriousness of mental health and the comfort of knowing there's hope. You can never stop pushing. My own experience with mental health struggles is definitely the deeeep roots of that. Who do you think influenced you the most in your life so far? Why? Jason changed my life in many ways. Trauma does that. He taught me a lot about the necessity of having faith in yourself to survive on your own, a shitload about love and how it's not some fairy tale, and that people change, even those you least expect to. What is something that you have overheard people talk about that really bothered you? I could name more than a few things about race stuff, living where I do. What do you normally say or how do you normally act in response to a compliment? I usually do this shy laugh and say "thank you" with too much enthusiasm. How many books do you own? Do you have more physical books than electronic books? I've no clue where a lot of my old ones are. I have no electronic ones; I strongly prefer to read a physical book. What are your thoughts on higher education? Is it really necessary? In your opinion, what changes can be made? Depending on your aspiring career, it can be necessary, but just as easily, it can be unnecessary. I know for a fucking fact it should not be NEARLY as expensive as it is. Maybe even free, but I have no idea what monetary concerns that could cause with whoever runs the place. Have you ever received a heartfelt compliment from a stranger? Probably at some point. How many people would you consider to be extremely close to you? "Extremely"... like three lmao. Maybe one more or so. When was the last time you had to speak to a crowd? How well did that go? When I was taking pictures at a wedding last. It went okay. How would you describe your general outlook towards humanity? We by no means deserve to be the apex predator and Earth would be a shitload better without us. How long do you think you could last without any contact with your significant other, best friend, or a person whom you consider would be the closest to you? I'll use my mom here, in which case idk. I don't particularly want to find out. I talk to her at LEAST by text daily. Every day now that she can't work/is always home with me. Have you ever realised that someone was lying, but it was too late to confront them? Nope. Eventually speaking up is how I lost her, but.

#survey #quiz #questions

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bobbichoicesfeedback · 4 years

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Okay, so Bloodbound is over. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending, but to be fair it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I have an alternative ending I wrote to it.

It’s dark, but no darker than the ending you got if you chose to absorb Rheya’s goddess abilities. I hope people enjoy this alternative telling. Please give me feedback if you like it or if you don’t like it. It’s just a different perspective for the story, I guess.

***

Life force drained from Rheya, her blood pouring out of her body and floating into the air like DNA helix. I stared at it, the power inside me almost intoxicating, as the life force of The First was absorbed into my veins.

“Wow,” was all I could say, sensing every heartbeat in the huge room. Adrien, Kamilah, and Lily were staring at me in horror - I could tell without even having to turn - and the cattle… the humans in the auditorium were coming out of the trance Rheya had put them under. The screaming started immediately.

“Bobbi!” Lily’s voice was suddenly all I could hear. Her hand was on my wrist, “You’re scaring me.”

“Do you know what I can do, now, Lily?” I asked, pouring sardonic contempt into my words. I could sense everything Rheya had been planning, all the good sense her aspirations to godhood represented. I felt fangs digging into my lips as I grinned.

“No, Bobbi,” Lily sounded terrified, but more upset. Saddened by what the woman she loved appeared to be turning into, “I don’t know what you can do now, and it scares me. But I know you’re still in there. The girl who cries when dogs die in movies, the girl who always tries to save everyone- urk.”

She stopped talking as my hand gripped her throat and I lifted her as though she were made of paper.

“It’s sweet that you think you know me,” I purred, pouring as much as I could into sounding seductive, knowing I was sounding like my great-et-cetera-grandmother who I’d just killed, “But you proved you didn’t two months ago, when he killed me.”

I hurled Lily across the stage, where she collided with Gaius. Both vampires crumbled to the floor in pain. Kamilah attempted to step towards me, but Rheya’s memories were in my mind now. I stopped her and Adrien with a simple thought.

“Bobbi,” Kamilah’s voice sounded hard and brittle. She’d always known what to say when I was alive, but had struggled to get through to me after I was resurrected. She didn’t know why. She was jealous of Lily for having my love, but had decided to back away gracefully, “You sound like Rheya now. You don’t want to do this…”

“Rheya was a fool,” I snarled, “She wanted a world where humans and vampires wouldn’t be a threat to each other anymore? She overlooked the obvious. I can’t do it yet…”

I turned to the auditorium. None of the humans or vampires had been able to escape, the doors would not open for them.

“I need more power…”

I heard gasps of shock, horror, disgust… Lily, Gaius, Kamilah, and Adrien had worked out what I meant at the same time. I didn’t blame them. What I had to do now sickened me. But there was no choice. I could save the world.

“I wonder if Machiavelli was a vampire,” I mused aloud, deliberately putting a childish, sing-song cadence into my voice, “The ends really do justify the means.”

I forced myself to keep my eyes open. I needed to know every death I caused. I could not absolve myself of this guilt, even if my actions were necessary. Every human in the room screamed as the blood was drawn from them, merging and vaporising into some ethereal energy which merged with my undead body, elevating my power even closer to godhood. I reached out with the psychic powers granted by my Bloodkeeper heritage.

“Not enough, yet,” I said. In an instant, I realised what needed to be done. I released the vampires in the hall from my power - the four who had accompanied me surged forwards. Lily plunged a stake into my heart. I just smiled, reached out, and booped her on the nose as the stake evaporated and I flew through the roof without blinking.

Flying was incredible. I’d reluctantly enjoyed the sensations my vampire body had given me when I’d been able to leap from building to building in single jumps, but this made that look… pedestrian.

I soared high into the air, above the peaks of New York’s skyscrapers and looked down at the city below me. The most densely populated area in the United States - more than eight million people had lived here before Gaius’ ill-thought-out war. The population hadn’t all returned, but there were still millions of humans down there.

Eyes wide open, I began to feed. For the first time since I’d become a vampire I truly enjoyed the sensation, instead of my body just lusting for more. Men, women, children. Evil as it was, I couldn’t spare anyone. The screaming reached my hyper-sensitive hearing even up here. Then it fell silent. The only heartbeats coming from the whole of New York City were from baffled vampires, reeling from the loss of their goddess and now the sudden emptiness of their home.

I reached out with my mind. It had worked. I was now psychically aware of every living being on Earth - Vampire, human, other supernatural beings - even Ferals were now in my mind, thanks to my great-umpteenth-grandfather. I clenched my fists and allowed a burst of power to soar west.

A woman in Los Angeles ran down an alleyway. Her taser hadn’t worked, the man following her had just laughed and then his teeth had grown. She was sure he was toying with her.

“You can’t run any more,” he growled, eyes glowing red. The woman, out of options, plunged the spikes of her taser into his chest again and pulled the trigger. At first, the monster seemed to shrug it off. Then his eyes went wide, fading from the red to a much more ordinary blue. His teeth retracted. He convulsed as the electricity pumped into his human body.

On an island, lost in the south Pacific, feral vampires in every form of twisted mutation, ran around in panic. One-by-one, in an east-to-west wave, they exploded into ash.

A malformed tree in the centre of the island spontaneously ignited and inside the spirit of Demetrius was finally freed. He smiled sadly, but accepted the end of his days.

“Well done, grand-daughter,” he said, as he dissolved into the aether.

The four survivors of Japan’s vampire council were gathered around in their cyberpunk nightclub, watching whatever news was coming out of New York in horror. Kano, the young, gifted psychic was there, unusually. He screamed and dropped to his knees.

“I can’t believe she’s done that,” was all he whimpered to himself, as his heartbeat slowly accelerated back to normal human levels.

Three of the four felt their bodies warming, returning to the humanity they’d lost so many years ago. They didn’t notice much, though, because the screams coming from The Evolved drowned out every thought. Her once-again human body was rejecting the mechanical augmentation she’d put herself through. There was no chance to save her now.

In Outer Mongolia, a vampire was running as fast as he could. Dusk was coming and he’d had to abandon his hiding place early.. Suddenly he felt dizzy, tripping and falling. He screamed in terror as the light of the sun shone down on his body but, to his surprise, it just felt warm.

He stood up, blinking in the unaccustomed light. He tried to flex his muscles but no longer had the unlimited strength he was used to. In a moment, he realised. He wasn’t a vampire. The sunlight wouldn’t kill him anymore. Now he just had to get back to civilisation…

Three of Dracula’s brides, imprisoned in the dungeons of his castle, dropped to their knees. The irresistible compulsion to seek out the blood of the living had passed from them. They clutched each other, weeping tears of mixed regret, relief, and horror, as they finally understood their lives were human again.

Across Berlin, Paris, and London, dozens of vampires who had been trying to work out how to live in a world without The Order suddenly felt their supernatural powers fading. A world without The Order had suddenly become a world without vampires.

In the opera house below the blazing goddess, Kamilah, Lily, and Adrien held each other closely, gazing up in horror at the shape of what had once been their friend. Gaius screamed in pain - when they turned to look, the mortal wounds that Rheya had inflicted on him started bleeding again.

Lily realised first.

“I can’t smell his blood,” she said, waving a hand in front of her face, “Why can’t I smell his blood?”

All three of them tried to draw on their senses. The terrific truth dawned on them with awe.

“She didn’t,” Adrien said, quietly, realising that his teeth were now immobile, “Surely, she couldn’t…”

Simultaneously around the world every former vampire heard a psychic scream, the last utterance of the vampire goddess. Bobbi. The last Bloodkeeper.

“I am become Death. The creator of worlds…”

At Rheya’s mansion outside the city, the last example of the tree of blood caught fire, burning into ash. The sap flared like burning oil, evaporating and removing any chance of a vampiric bloodline being reborn.

I gasped as the power withdrew from me. I had felt every moment. Every vampire who had died because they weren’t safe when they lost their abilities, their pain was my pain. Every sensation of rage at becoming human again, I knew. Every feeling of relief, mostly from older vampires who had learned the price of immortality, was a mild balm.

Gravity reasserted its authority over me. It would have been interesting to say that I hadn’t thought of this part. But it would also have been a lie. The small part of the dead goddess that had still been me knew I’d be returning to my human life more than two thousand feet above the ground.

I had accepted it. Even without the mind-perverting influence of the power I had absorbed, I felt I had done the right thing, but that didn’t change the fact that I had just become the most prolific mass-murderer in history.

I hugged myself closely and closed my eyes. I sacrificed an entire city, to save a world. I had made a world where humans and vampires would never threaten each other again. I assumed I would never know if it had been worth the appalling cost.

The sun was rising over New York. Kamilah, Adrien, and Lily blinked owlishly as they stepped out into the eerily silent streets. Drawn by some sense they didn’t understand, all three stumbled through the daylight towards Fifth Avenue.

Lily began to sob uncontrollably as they saw the crater. Just in front of the Empire State Building lay a crumpled heap that no-one would have been able to identify, if they hadn’t instinctively known who it was.

“Why did she do that?” Adrien asked, aghast, “She could have landed before relinquishing the power.”

The thought on all their minds went unspoken - why had she killed so many and then cured the vampires?

“She hated being a vampire,” the voice was Serafine’s, but it sounded hazy, “When she knocked me out, our minds met for a moment…”

Kamilah caught Lily clumsily - she had thrown herself forwards with hatred in her eyes, hands extended to punch the psychic woman who had just arrived on the scene.

“Why would you lie about that, now?” Lily screamed, struggling against Kailah’s grip. Both women were unused to the weakness in their muscles without vampiric blood, “She didn’t hate it, she would have said!”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Lily,” Serafine replied, calmly, although tears were running down her face, “The past three months, she’s loathed herself. Every second of life as a vampire. Every drop of blood she had to drink. Every tale from a vampire elder about how they regretted their elongated lives…”

At that last line, Serafine made eye-contact with Kamilah who trembled. Sadness was writ large on every face.

“She’s been harbouring resentment since the moment she woke in that coffin,” Serafine continued, slowly walking up to the pulverised mass in the street. Her breath caught as she saw the extent of the damage, then she swept off her scarf and covered Bobbi’s remains as best she could, “Her hatred of becoming one of us twisted and perverted Rheya’s goal. She wanted to make a world where humans and vampires wouldn’t threaten each other any more. I guess she managed…”

“Has she killed all the humans?” Adrien asked, his voice croaking, “I can’t hear anything in the city…”

“There’s news coming from outside…” Lily said, robotically looking at her ‘phone, “I think it was just New York… but… she killed every man, woman, and child in the city…”

“Good god,” Adrien sat on the hood of an abandoned taxi, dropping his head into his hands, “What did we create?”

“Why didn’t she tell us she was unhappy?” Kamilah asked, stalking in paces out of habit, “Why didn’t she say that this was hurting her?”

“She… ah…” Serafine suddenly looked nervous and stepped away from Lily again, “She didn’t want to hurt Lily. Since Lily admitted she Turned Bobbi, Bobbi had been lying to her. I saw… painful amounts of sadness and hatred. She couldn’t forgive your Turning her, but she couldn’t admit that because the love she’d once felt meant she couldn’t hurt you either.”

Former vampires were coming out into the sunlight. There had been a few hundred left after Gaius and Rheya’s purges. Lulu had been following Serafine. Kamilah realised just in time and caught the little girl in an awkward hug before she could see the mess in the crater.

Adrien managed to rally some assistance to remove Bobbi. Kamilah reverted to type and began to wrangle the survivors into bands to find all the former vampires left in the city.

Lily and Serafine remained at the crater’s edge, not talking. Instinctively, people left them alone. It was almost midday before Lily finally spoke.

“So…” her voice was firm, despite the tears still flowing down her cheeks, “Bobbi told you all that in the moments she knocked you out?”

Serafine smiled enigmatically.

“Even though she didn’t know that she could absorb Rheya’s power before it happened?” Lily glared at Serafine, accusingly. Serafine chuckled sadly.

“I knew you’d work it out,” she said, running a hand through her hair, “Serafine was the only psychic nearby. She was the only one who could help me. Let her link minds with you? I need to say goodbye.”

Lily gasped as the world blurred into an ethereal mindscape. She looked around and her imagined breath caught when she realised that the projections of Serafine and herself had been joined by a projection of me. Still, she wouldn’t be Lily Spencer if she didn’t have a facetious comment.

“So, is this like Doctor Strange?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, “Astral projecting?”

“Just telepathy,” I said, smiling sadly. I turned to the projection of Serafine, who looked shell-shocked and a little angry, “I’m sorry Serafine. I will be gone soon. I needed to explain why I did it…”

“What did you do?” Lily asked, drawing back a little, “We’re trying to look, but there don’t seem to be any humans left…”

“I…” I closed my eyes. Admitting this to myself had been easier than admitting it to the woman I’d once loved, “The whole city… I needed the power to make sure there was never a chance of vampires coming back… I know I’ve become a monster. Everything we were fighting against. But I wanted to make sure you could all have true lives, lives you deserve.”

“Why did you get to make that decision for me?” Lily snapped.

“The same reason you made the decision to Turn me and start all this in motion,” I said, and quickly continued before she could bring up her perfectly valid objection, “The same reason that I asked Adrien to Turn you last year. Because I love you.”

“Don’t tell me you committed genocide because you love me,” Lily recoiled, in horror, “You do realise that’s not a good thing, right?”

“I know. But, for a moment, I knew everything any vampire knew,” I closed my ethereal eyes, but could still sense every molecule of Lily’s astral projection, “All the older ones were unhappy. Eternal life is not a gift. The powers you all had were not repayment enough for the suffering you would eventually experience. Just ask Kamilah. She told me once, how only the memories she made while she was a human felt truly hers. I wanted to give that back to her. I didn’t want you to suffer the way she did. The way Takeshi did. The way even Gaius did.”

“I loved being a vampire,” Lily groused, but there was a tone to her voice, a sensation of understanding, “You killed children to take it away.”

“Lily, if there had been any other way, I would have done it,” I admitted, honestly. I realised that I was being one-hundred per cent truthful, “When I was a vampire I couldn’t love you anymore. Why do you think we never made love? I didn’t sleep with anyone else either. But, when the tree burned, and I became human again… I could feel the love. I wish we could have had more time. But I need to let Serafine have her body back.”

Finally, Lily stepped towards me. We reached out and held hands for the last time.

“You have the chance for a normal life now,” I said, feeling phantom tears stream down my face, “You, Kamilah, Serafine you could all have children if you wanted. Adrien can eventually rejoin his family.”

“Without condoning, or condemning, I understand,” Lily quoted to me, reaching up and brushing the tears away, although they were streaming down her face now, “I will miss you, Bobbi. I love you, even now…”

“Please, promise me…” I choked on the words, knowing this would be the last time I ever spoke to Lily in this life, “Take my ashes and spread them in Greece. Go to those beautiful ruins, see them in daylight. I wanted nothing more than to go back there with you one day.”

“I promise,” she said. I felt a lightness in my heart, although it would never efface the guilt I deservedly felt.

“I love you, Lily.” I said, leaning forwards to kiss her. Then my soul dissipated as I truly died.

#bloodbound3 #bloodbound #choices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #vampire #finale #dark ending #world changing #bhagavad-gita

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todorokiaimee · 5 years

Text

Blues In The Night 2. I’ll Be Seeing You

Previous chapter | Chapter Song

Todoroki Shoto. THE Todoroki Shoto was talking to me. What is life? Aimee chuckled to herself as she walked down the busy Tokyo streets. The cool fall air tickled her nose as she adjusted her coat tighter around her body. The walk from the coffee shop to her apartment wasn’t very long, but she somehow dreaded it just the same. With every step she took, every swish of her wide hips, there was a new pair of eyes looking her away. She was different. She knew that.

Even after over 10 years of living in Japan, the looks never got any easier. Maybe it would have been different if they only stared because she was Black. Usually, the only Black people walking around in Tokyo are visiting celebrities. Hell, no one would complain if the reason people stared was that they all thought she was Beyonce. But the truth was, she was no Beyonce. However, she was quite bootylicious. Maybe too much. Most people were not ready for this jelly. And that was the most difficult part of her walk.

As she made her way down the street, people would divert their path walking towards her. When she was a young girl, she thought they were just being polite. She realized the truth would she would hear snickers from behind her after she passed. Ever since then Aimee did her best to just keep her down, try not to call too much attention to herself. Now don’t her wrong, she loved herself. She loved her skin, she loved her hair, and she certainly loved her big black ass. But above all, she loved herself too much to put herself in a vulnerable position without a good cause.

Walking up the stairs to her second-floor apartment, she unlocked her door to be greeted by a rather loud meow. “Well hello to you too, Mochi,” She giggled as she picked him up, closing and locking the door behind her. Mochi was the first friend she made in Japan. She found him starving in the street as a kitten and she instantly took him in. Perhaps Aimee was a bit overzealous in her feeding him and nursing him back to health. Now Mochi was no longer a skinny kitten, but a very fat cat.

Flicking on the light switch, she walked into her bohemian paradise, kicking off her shoes. A soft light filled the room, illuminating the many tapestries that lined the walls of her modest home. Her apartment is what a real estate agent would call cozy, aka fucking small, but she lived alone and the rent was cheap so that was a-okay by her. With Mochi in tow, she walked into her bedroom, dropping him on her plush four-post bed, the antique frame creaking as she sat down on the edge. Aimee wasted no time getting undressed, opting for a cozy kitten onesie instead of her signature high waisted jeans.

After getting comfortable she shuffled over to the large wardrobe opposite her bed. Upon opening it she was met to the familiar sight of her voodoo altar, on the top shelf sat a picture of her late mother, Annette. “Hello, Mommy. You will not believe what your little girl got herself into today.” She smiled as she kissed her fingers, and then brought them to her mother’s lips. Draped across the frame was a string of pearls, a family heirloom passed down from mother to daughter, the last gift she ever received from her mother.

Just as she was about to light the incense on the altar, Aimee heard a loud sound from outside the door. She jumped as a hush fell over her, looking around the room she noted that Mochi was in the bedroom with her, the only other inhabitant of the home. Steeling herself, she grabbed the small saber from the altar and crept out the bedroom door and down the hall. Her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears as she tried desperately to control her breathing. Peeking around the corner, she eyed someone behind the refrigerator door. Activating her quirk, she took a deep breath, lifting the sharp saber up high.

“Hey you got any of those donut things left?” a familiar female voice rang out and a pink mess of hair popped up from behind the door, eyes hidden behind a large pair of goggles.

Aimee sighed in relief and whined, “Hatsume! I nearly killed you!” She huffed, laying the saber down on the kitchen table. “And they’re called beignets.” The ravenette clutched her chest as she willed her wildly beating heart to calm down.

“Well do you have any? I skipped dinner because I was so excited about working on my new baby! Your father is gonna absolutely love it!” Hatsume closed the fridge door and plopped down in the seat across from her. The two had met a few years ago at a local craft store of all places. Hatsume was picking up fabric for a client’s hero costume and Aimee was picking up yarn for a little crochet project. The two started talking and once Hatsume found out that Aimee’s father was in the military, she couldn’t get rid of her even if she wanted to.

“Pause on that. First, let’s talk about how you got into my house. I know I locked the door.” Aimee crossed her arms eying her friend expectantly.

“Psh locks? Locks cannot deter the genius that is Hatsume Mei!” She cackled. “Besides, you were late. Would you have me wait outside in the cold? What kept you?”

Aimee blushed and tried to suppress a small smile. “Well... about that.”

“OH STORY TIME!” Hatsume laughed and rested her chin in her hand, staring wildly at her friend. Aimee filled her in on all the happenings at the coffee shop earlier that evening, having to stop many times for Hatsume’s surprised reactions and comments. “You know, Todoroki and I went to high school together.”

Aimee gasped. “What? I mean I knew you went to UA but you never said anything about going to school with THE Todoroki Shoto.”

“Wow, your fan girl is showing there.” Aimee blushed and bit her lip, sinking into her chair. “And you never asked. Besides I was in the support course and him in the hero course, obviously. We rarely crossed paths. I really only knew him through Deku.”

“Casual name drop.” The dark-skinned beauty smirked as she got up to pour herself a glass of sweet tea. She offered some to her guest but she politely declined.

“Hey! Don’t tease me about the one that got away. Besides this about you and Todoroki!”

Aimee scoffed and sat back down in her seat. “Um excuse you, there is no me and Todoroki. Just one chance encounter.” She paused, sucking her bottom lip cheekily. “One chance encounter that is permanently etched into my brain and will someday tell my grandchildren how the sexiest pro-hero of my time almost barbequed me and I would have provided Tabasco had I known.”

“All I’m saying is, the Todoroki I know, doesn’t go out of his way to talk to people unless he has to. Total strong silent type. For him to go through all of that, means something.”

Aimee shook her head and chortled. “Quit trying to make something out of nothing. I’ll probably never see him again. Now hush up and let’s get you something to eat.”

Hatsume clapped her hands in excitement, ready for a meal. “Yes, ma’am! And never say never!”

—————————————————-

Todoroki stepped into the lobby of his luxury high rise building, nodding politely to the doorman. “Great job today, Mr. Todoroki. I saw you on the news again,” the doorman jogged up to him pressing the button to operate the elevator. Shoto gave the man a small thank you while stepping inside the doors, his mind wandering off thinking about the day's past events.

After the ride up to top floor, he walked across the hall and unlocked the door to his quiet penthouse apartment. He tossed his keys on the end table by the door while taking off his shoes. Out of habit, he scanned over his spacious apartment. The minimalist sleek and modern decor greeting him just the same as always. Nothing was out of place and everything was spotless.

Shoto trudged over to his home office, sitting down at his desk. He sighed at the paperwork left there that seemed a mile high. Opening up his laptop, he got to work on his reports, or at least he tried to. He had every intention to, really he did. But his mind just kept wandering, remembering his fateful meeting with a certain raven-haired beauty. Aimee. Shoto smiled and shook his head at himself. He finally got the nerve to talk to her and he went and thoroughly embarrassed himself. Yet, remembering her sweet and caring face, she didn’t seem to mind all that much.

Focus Shoto. He sighed and got back to work, typing away. Unfortunately, that resolve lasted all but ten minutes. Somehow he found himself on Google, typing in her name in the search box. He didn’t know what he expected to find, but he was genuinely curious. Instagram huh. He clicked on the link to find a page, covered in pictures of Aimee. Her at festivals, her with a comically large cat, her in… is that a classroom?

Just as he was about to lurk deep into her page, his cell phone rung, pulling him back to reality. Checking the caller ID, he quirked a brow at the name listed. “Midoriya, what can do for you?”

“Todoroki, hi um.. Sorry to bother you, but did you ever get a chance to look at that case file I sent over to you? Uh, no rush or anything!” The green-haired boy had grown leaps and bounds from the time they had met in high school, but he still had that some nervous disposition.

Shoto huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No sorry. I was... distracted.”

His old friend hummed knowingly, a smile in voice, “Ah, too busy getting wrapped up with a little lady?” He laughed as Shoto’s eyes widened.

“What? No, we just met.”

Deku shrieked on the other end of the phone. “Wait! I just saying stuff to be funny! You actually met someone?!”

Todoroki, couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on his face. “Yes, I suppose I have.” He winced as he pulled the receiver away from his ear, Midoriya shrieking once again.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so happy for you! So where did you meet her? What’s her name? What’s her quirk? Is she a pro-hero too, or is she in support? Not that she has to be in the hero business at all, I’m she's a great catch no matter what her profession. I mean she has to be if she caught your eye after all this time.”

Shoto sighed as his friend continued his barrage of questions without pause. That’s another thing that never changed about Midoriya, constant muttering and word vomit when he’s excited about something. “Midoriya… Midoriya!”

He suddenly stopped talking with a small squeak. “Sorry. Did you catch any of that?”

Todoroki chuckled lightly, “Somewhat. Her name is Aimee and we met at that coffee shop I like to frequent on my days off.”

“What’s she like? What does she look like?”

Todoroki smiled, looking back at her pictures on instagram. “Well, she’s nothing like any woman I ever met before. She has this long curly black hair and clear dark skin...She has these large kind eyes… a smart mouth which might actually be my favorite if it doesn’t get me in trouble first.” Todoroki could go on but he suddenly felt embarrassed all over again, thinking about what transpired.

He almost forgot Deku was on the line until he heard a squeal through the phone. “Oooo Shoto you got it bad! You are so smitten!” He giggled giddily while Shoto blushed, still scrolling.

“Of course not, how could I be? I just met her.”

“Well did you ask her out a date?”

“No… Well, I’d like to…” Todoroki paused, looking at picture she posted with a certain pink haired woman. The hell? “Midoriya, who was that crazed woman with the pink hair that created your support items while we were at UA?”

“Huh? Oh Hatsume, but what does she have to do with you asking your crush on a date? Are you trying to change the subject?” Midoriya asked quizzically.

“No, I’m looking at her instagram and she has a picture with Hatsume. They look like friends.” Todoroki studied the picture closely trying to figure out how the two would have crossed paths.

“Wow, really? Small world. And jeeze, you really do have it bad if you’re already lurking on her instagram. Just call her and ask her out. I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

Shoto hummed before something donned on him, groaning loudly. I’m a dumbass. “I didn’t get her number,” he mumbled.

“Well, you obviously found her IG so just send her a DM.”

Todoroki thought on it and sighed again. “That’s no good. I don’t even know the password to my account as my PR assistant runs it. Plus doesn’t that avenue carry a certain stigma? I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about me.” He could always just look her up in the police database since he has access as a pro hero, but that would be an abuse of power. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. “Midoriya, can you call Hatsume and ask her for her info for me?”

Midoriya clicked his tongue and replied in a small voice, “I would… but Uraraka would probably kill me,” He giggled nervously thinking of his girlfriend’s angry face. “Look, you said you met at the coffee shop you both like right? Just hang around there and I’m sure she’ll turn up sooner or later. Plus I think it will go a lot better if you ask for it yourself.”

Todoroki hummed in agreement before closing out of Aimee’s instagram page. “You’re right. That’s the proper thing to do. Hopefully, I’ll see her again tomorrow. Now about the actual reason you called. You said it was a string of missing persons cases that you suspect are connected, correct?”

———————————-

The next day after his usual patrols, Todoroki set out for the coffee shop with a new purpose. He was going to ask Aimee out. Even if it killed him. And it just might with her quick wit and sharp tongue. Wanting to make a good impression, he dressed in dark wash jeans and paired it with a cream cashmere sweater. He figured it was best to keep it simple and not appear like he was trying too hard, but he also wanted her to know, he looked quite different out of his hero costume.

Walking inside, he scanned the room for her trademark black curls to no avail. Damn, she isn’t here. His face noticeably fell, as he walked up to the barista, giving her his order. “Everything okay, sir?” the barista gave him a quizzical look as she prepared his americano. Todoroki nodded and paid, taking his coffee to a booth with a clear view of the entrance. He resigned to wait around for a bit. Surely Aimee will come by before too long. Right?

Two hours later Shoto groaned to himself, staring at his long-finished americano. That’s it. She’s not coming. She probably went and found a new place to get her coffee where she wouldn’t be subjected to my dangerous flirting. A ping from his cell phone alerted him to a text message. Seeing it was from his father, he reluctantly opened it, as it could be something work-related.

Flames for Brains: Come back to the agency asap.

Flames for Brains: I read over the files you sent me from Deku.

Flames for Brains: There may be something to this.

Shoto: Okay. Be there soon.

Shoto got up with a huff and threw away his cup, heading for the exit. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Although, I suppose I could try again tomorrow. He hummed to himself as he walked out onto the sidewalk, headed towards his father’s agency when he saw her. Aimee. She was slowly walking toward him, her eyes cast down into a book. He took a moment to really take her in while she was otherwise preoccupied. Her usual curls now rested on top of her head in a loose bun, a few tendrils escaping to frame her round face. The generous curves of her body were dressed in a crisp white tee paired with a brown leather jacket. Her jeans hugged her hips like they were made for only her. He looked at his watch, knowing he only had a few minutes and it may be now or never. This was his chance. “Miss Faurie? Miss Faurie!”

Aimee looked up from her book to find none other than Todoroki Shoto, calling her name. HER name. In public. Actual real life. Heat rose to her cheeks as she stopped and took in his form as he towered over her. Fuck he’s hot. “Oh um.. Hi. How are you doing this fine evening?” This fine evening? What are you doing, talk normal you dummy! She cursed herself internally.

“I’m doing well and yourself?” Todoroki cringed at how formal he sounded.

“I can’t complain.” Aimee and Shoto looked everywhere but each other, too nervous to say anything else. Aimee was the first to buckle. “Well you must be a busy man, so I’ll get out of your hair...” She went to sidestep around him to leave when Shoto panicked.

“No, wait!” Aimee blinked in surprise at his sudden outburst as Shoto cleared his throat. “I would like to take you out on a date... If you would have me that is,” he said in a much softer voice.

“Why?” The word slipped out of her mouth before she could think to stop it, her face getting hotter by the second. But what would Japan’s most eligible bachelor want with her? Could anyone really blame her for being a bit skeptical? “I’m sorry, I just don’t know why someone like you, would want to go out with someone like me,” she said in a small voice.

Todoroki looked down at her angelic face and saw a look in her eye that he thought he’d never see. Doubt? It was almost heartbreaking to see coming from the woman who could reduce him to a flustered mess in five words or less. Shoto gently took her free hand, looking into her eyes for any cue to step back. A soft smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Actually, if I’m being honest, you’ve been on my mind ever since you left the cafe yesterday, and I would personally love the opportunity to find out all the reasons why.”

Hot damn, now that’s just not fair! Aimee could have melted right there at his feet, if she weren’t trying her hardest to at least seem cool and collected. Mama always said ‘a girl had to play hard to get, or else her man will play hard to keep.’ Shoto nervously rubbed the back of his neck, unintentionally giving Aimee a front seat view of his bulging bicep.

“Consider it a do-over for yesterday. I can’t let that be the last impression of me.”

Aimee thought it over like she wasn’t obviously going to say yes, just to make him sweat a little. With a curt nod and smile, she pulled out her phone, handing it over to the duel quirked hero. “Deal. Put your info in and I’ll text you so you’ll have mine.” Todoroki eagerly keyed in his info before passing her phone back to her. “And by the way, you don’t have to call me Miss Faurie. Aimee is just fine.”

Todoroki gave her a small smile and a nod before checking his watch. “My apologies but I really need to get going. I’ll text you.”

Aimee smiled to herself as she typed away on her phone. “No worries, I’m sending you my info now.” As they bid each other goodbye, and started to walk in their opposite directions, Shoto felt his phone buzz in his hand.

Unknown Number: Let me guess, you like your women like you like your coffee? ;)

Shoto’s cheeks flushed a dusty pink as he looked back just in time to catch Aimee shoot him a wink in real life. This is gonna be fun.

Chapter 3

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mirkwoodshewolf · 5 years

Text

Meeting Jack; Queen x reader

*Author’s note*

Hello all! First of all I would like to apologize to those who have sent me anon requests. I have been in SUCH a writer’s stump that I couldn’t figure out what to do. And school starts for me in 2 days and I’m afraid I may not be able to get to those requests again till either spring break if not by the end of this semester. Again I am so sorry but I hope this makes up for my lack of updates.

Now this chapter of my Rock Angel series doesn’t really include the boys as the other parts have (sorry *dodges TVs and drum sets being flown at me*) but I PROMISE this is an important story arc for you readers as the Rock Angel. I’ve also included a face cast for this person you will read about and yes I used the same name as it is in the TV show, but I will let you all read about it and you can comment and like to your hearts desire. I promise the next part I write will include the boys more.

Warnings: Usual swearing, some derogation insults, pictures W/O consent (ALWAYS ASK BEFORE YOU TAKE SOMEONES PICTURE. DON’T JUST TAKE IT without their permission. It’s a total DICK move.), some fluff.

Taglist *open*:

@isabella-bby

@onebigfangirlworld

@phantom-fangirl-stuff

@dj-lowkey

@mr-badguymercury

@labessieisallama

@starswin

@naturalswifty89

_______________________________________________________

*May 11th, 1983*

After recording my 5th album I decided that I needed a break. Some time to myself and hope and pray I can manage to sneak away from the annoying paparazzi that are always stalking me in the day. So at around 11pm, I headed to a club that was in downtown London that I knew where the paps never really go to. Plus I needed a distraction since my boys were on their Japan tour and I was missing them.

I got dressed in a normal pair of jeans, simple black high heeled combat boots, a white Aladdin Sane t-shirt and a jean overcoat. I took my motorbike instead of calling my driver Louis as to not bring about attention.

Once I got to the club, I parked my bike aside and placed my helmet under the seat trunk and headed into the club. With my shades over my eyes I walked towards the club so that I could escape the silence of the streets.

I entered inside and the club was still pretty crowded, the current song that was playing over the speakers was Deacy’s song “Another one bites the dust”. People were dancing close to each other, grinding their bodies together and just getting hammered. I walked up to the bar and I told the bartender.

“Just get me a cold beer please.” He nodded and handed me a tall bottle of beer. I uncapped it and took a swig of it as I observed the crowd. As a musician and as Queen’s personal ‘eyes of young audience’, I wanted to see what really got the people moving. Of course Roger and Brian say that most of the music is either disco or the rising “Pop”, which really isn’t Queen.

After only having one beer and staying at the club for about another hour, I let out a soft yawn and looked down at my watch to see that it was 12;45am, so I decided that it was time to head back home and get some rest since I needed to get ready for a radio interview tomorrow, plus a music video shooting of my song ‘Bridge of Light.’

But as I went outside, I was suddenly bombarded by camera flashes. However it all came from one camera and I heard a very familiar voice say.

“Come on (y/n) darling give me the dirt. Are you really gonna drive while hammered? Were you here meeting someone? Give me the dirt darling!” Duke Weasleton, my current annoying one man paparazzi stalker. He started stalking me around four months ago, trying to always get the dirt on “the Rock Angel”, just to see what gossip or rumors he can spread about me.

I’ve tried to be nice to him and tell him to go away but he keeps coming back like an annoying mosquito, draining me of my patience. One time when Deacy, Brian and I were out catching up for lunch, he came in with camera flashes and calling out accusations that I was having an affair with the two of them, asking if they were my “Sugar daddies”.

That just got Deacy and Brian riled up and they almost went to town to beat the shit out of Duke but I told them to not get caught because he could easily ruin all of us if we try to start something, and I didn’t want my boys getting into trouble, so we walked away from the restaurant and I had my bodyguard Big Rob take care of him.

“Duke I really don’t have time for this. I’m exhausted and all I wanted was one night off of no press or annoying paps like you, so please leave me alone.”

“Why? Are you meeting your secret date? What’s his name? Come on Angel give me everything!” He kept taking pictures all the while walking closer and closer to me. I was now backed up against the building of the club while the flashes of his camera were still going off and him hounding me with accusations and questions. I was almost about to snap when I heard a soft male’s voice say.

“Hello.” The flashes stopped and we both turned around and from the lights above the club plus the streetlights there stood a young man a few years older than me but definitely not in his 30’s, he had short sandy blond hair that slightly combed over his forehead. He wore a simply white t-shirt, a dark blue jacket and jeans. “Sorry to interrupt, but the boys sent me here to come pick you up, (y/n).”

Based on his accent, I could tell that he was American with a slight tang in his voice, maybe he was from one of the southern states but I couldn’t tell which one.

“Excuse me, but who are you exactly?” Duke asked as his camera hung over his neck. “And this is a private chat between me and her.”

“Really? Because it didn’t seem private to her. And it also seemed that she didn’t want to talk to you” The boy stated narrowing his brow and seemed to be glaring at Duke. There was silence in the air as I looked between Duke and this boy. “Listen I’m…..”

“Duke Weasleton. Yeah I heard. But see the way I was raised, in order to get pictures of someone you need to first ask for their consent, not lay in wait before ambushing them with false accusation. But then again your paparazzi so what would you know about that?” Wow, this guy’s hitting all the right places when describing Duke at this point.

Duke grinned icily and said as he walked up to this boy.

“Okay, why don’t you back off kid?”

“No you back off, old man.” The boy stated lowly as he stood his ground and stared Duke down.

It was at that point Duke got a look of shock and humiliation. For you see, Duke Weasleton is always self-conscious about his age, even though he’s around his late 40’s he looks like he’s in his 50’s if not 60’s. This guy just did not age well.

I softly coughed out a laugh as I stared at this kid literally giving Duke a sucker punch straight to his ego.

“Old man?” choked out Duke.

“Yeah, that’s right.” The boy said in a light, challenging tone. Duke turned towards me and I hid my smile behind my hand as I cleared my throat. Duke turned back towards the boy and growled lowly.

“Okay, alright, this isn’t over.” And without another word, Duke walked away and disappeared into the darkness of the London streets. Once everything had calmed down I walked up towards the boy and I said.

“Wow, so American chivalry isn’t dead.”

“Nope, you just gotta know where to look for it, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Thank you, you really didn’t have to do that.”

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I can’t imagine what it’s like for celebrities to get hounded day in and day out when they’re just minding their own business by press or photographers.” He told me.

“Just the price of fame, the one downside unfortunately. Wish it wouldn’t happen but it does.”

“I’m Jack by the way,” the boy now known as Jack extended his hand out to me and as I took it he fully introduced himself. “Jack Kline.” I took his hand and we shook hands as I introduced myself.

“(Y/n). But then again you might know that cause otherwise why would a one man paparazzi hound me like that if I wasn’t famous.” Oh god that sounded so arrogant of me. What the bloody hell (y/n)? “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to sound conceded I…..”

“It’s alright, besides I already knew who you were the minute I saw you at the bar.” Wow, so he knew who I was and yet he didn’t come up to me and hound me for an autograph or ask for a picture or even try to sit by me pretending to be my date (you do not want to even know how many guys have tried to do that to me).

“Well Jack Kline, is there any way I can repay for your chivalrous act?” I asked him.

“Oh no I couldn’t as that of you. All I wanted was to be sure you weren’t being harassed by that guy anymore.”

“Please, I won’t take no for an answer. I must repay you, no one but my boys would’ve done that for me. And I was just about this close from ripping Duke’s head off. Please I know a little coffee shop just a few blocks away.”

“Well, okay. Just one cup of coffee, then I pay for the rest of the drinks we may have.” I smiled then I lead him towards my bike and we both got on it and I drove down to the coffee shop.

We took a booth at the coffee shop, minus about 2 other people, the café was pretty much a graveyard shift. Jack ordered a plain coffee while I got sweet coffee.

“Now I hope you don’t mind me asking but, just so I can officially confirm this without making assumptions but you’re American right?”

“Yes, I am from a little town called Lebanon, Kansas. It’s definitely a lot smaller than London is.” We both smiled softly and then I continued,

“So what’s a small town boy from Kansas doing here in London of all places?”

“Just thought I might have a bit of fun. Been wanting to see London for some time so I thought, what the hell pick up a passport and spend a summer here and see what the British people are like.”

“Well I can tell you that we’re dull and very boring.” I teased which made him laugh. “The weather is also terrible and some of the food is bland even to me, a born and raised British girl.” We both continued laughing.

“So….what exactly were you doing at the club anyway?” he asked me.

“I just needed a break. I’ve been recording my 5th album for months now, endless TV and radio interviews and a music video shoot. I thought going to a club just to clear my head would be best. Going late at night since press don’t typically stay so late. But Duke is a different case and I guess I should’ve known better. Or had at least called up Big Rob my bodyguard.”

“I can understand why you did. If I were in your shoes I’d probably do the same thing.” He said. I looked up at him.

“So Jack, what type of music do you like? Or whose your favorite artist?”

“Will it increase your ego if I said you’re in my top 5 favorite female singers?” he teased with a smirk and a mischievous glint in his light blue/green eyes.

“It just might. Am I number 1?”

“Sorry but you’re close. Joan Jett’s my number one.”

“Understandable, she is pretty cool, never got to meet her yet but I hope to someday. She’s in fact my inspiration.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she’s showed me that when it comes to women performing, you don’t need to show much skin just to put on a good show. She can dress in such casual punk rock clothes like any other man and still give a good show.”

“True. As for my music choices, I tend to stick with classic rock thanks to my cousin for introducing me ever since I was 5. Other artists I like are Bowie, AC/DC, George Michael, my guilty pleasure is Michael Jackson.”

“Hey, he’s no guilty pleasure. Even I the Rock Angel am a slave when it comes to the King of Pop. He’s actually a real sweet guy too, gave me some good tips when it comes to dancing.” He looked at me in shock at the fact that I actually got to meet Michael Jackson himself.

“You’ve met Michael Jackson?”

“Yeah, three times actually when he came to London to do some recording. In fact he told me to make ‘So good’ my second single, and said that it would be even more popular than ‘Set it all free’. In a way he was right.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.” I shrugged and then I asked him.

“Okay so who would you say your all-time favorite rock band is?”

“Oh Queen hands down. Even though my cousin and I get into disputes about whose better them or AC/DC, I’ll still pick Queen. Their music is just unlike anything I’ve ever heard. And I really love John Deacon’s bass playing, and the songs that he’s made already. I don’t wanna sound too much like a fanboy but—he’s my inspiration for picking up a bass guitar in the first place.”

“Really?” I asked astounded.

“Yeah. After hearing Queen for the first time back in high school with their song Bohemian Rhapsody, it helped me into wanting to study more about music composition and song writing. But it wasn’t until I first heard the bass solo for ‘Liar’ that I picked up my first bass guitar and would practice day and night till I got it right. Now anytime I play that song on my record player, I have to pick it up and play it, imagining that I’m playing alongside my hero.”

And Deacy thinks he’s not the most important person in the band. He underestimates himself most of the time, and I respect his shyness when it comes to being out in public but he’s written so many great hits for Queen, that he too can inspire people, not just Brian, Roger or Freddie.

“He’d be honored to hear you say that.” I said solemnly. We stayed at the café and continued to just talk for what felt like hours until I noticed that it was a bit pass 3am and I knew I had to get home and get at least 2hrs of sleep before my radio interview all the way in South London.

“You sure I can’t give you a lift to your flat Jack? It really isn’t safe this late out on the streets.” I asked him as we left the café.

“I’m sure, the cab’s almost here. Plus I’ve already taken too much of your time, you should get some sleep. I bet your today is packed in the next few hours.” I nodded then as the cab drove up to the café I told him.

“Thank you again Jack. For what you did to Duke for me.”

“Again, it’s no trouble at all. You probably would’ve done the same thing if it were me.” He went to open the door and I suddenly blurted out,

“When can I see you again?” He faced me and he said.

“When are you free next?”

“I’m free on Saturday, or I could give you a pass to come see me film my music video later this afternoon?” He smiled and he said.

“I’ve always been interested in how music videos are filmed.” I smiled and said.

“Great! I mean I’ll send my friend’s driver Terry to pick you up tomorrow. Just be sure to be ready by around 12:00, filming will begin at around 1:30 once I’m done with my radio interview.” He nodded and then he got into the taxi and drove off. I waved bye to him before I got on my bike and drove on home.

The minute I got back home, I immediately collapsed onto my bed and didn’t even bothering to change into pajamas. I quickly set my alarm clock and then fell right asleep.

The next morning I was at BBC radio station being interviewed by Freddie’s good friend Andres. He’s probably one of my favorite interviewers because he loves to spice up the talk show and makes asking questions fun.

“So (y/n) dear you’re known as the youngest woman inspiring artist but let’s get a bit personal. Any plans on finding a future man in your life?”

“Oh Andres you cheeky little boy, always wanting to know if I’ve got a man yet. Sorry to say but my answer is still no, I haven’t found Mr. Right just yet.”

“Not according to this morning’s paper, come on darling what’s his name?” I looked at him confused and said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Ohh, ohh honey you didn’t know. It’s all over the papers and the tabloids.” He said in pure concern, realizing that I had no idea what he was talking about. He then handed me a copy of this morning’s gossip tabloid and written in bold caps print was.

SPARK FLY WITH THE ROCK ANGEL:

Super Star (Y/n) (l/n), also known as the Rock Angel been spotted with a mysterious American man. The two were cuddled up at a local café very early this morning at around 2am.

And the heading picture was a picture of me and Jack sitting at our booth through the see-through window of the café.

“Duke.” I sneered under my breath. I took a deep breath and I calmly stated in order to protect Jack’s privacy and not drag him into this insanity. “He’s an old childhood friend of mine that went to America. I hadn’t seen him in so long, so we met at the café just to catch up. Told him all about my rising fame that he’s heard so much about. He says that he’s very proud of me.”

“Ohh well that’s very good. Although if I might say that if he wasn’t your friend, then you two would make such a cute couple. Now then I’m told of rumors of a tour with you and Queen are about to be in order, is that true?”

“You will have to find that out for yourself darling.” I teased as I literally downed my champagne all the while cursing and thinking of ways to torture Duke for this story.

The interview went on for the rest of the morning and then by around 11:45am, it was all done and I had met Louis outside and he drove me to the studio where I would film the Bridge of Light music video. All the while I kept glaring down at the tabloid before slamming it down to the ground and turning towards the window.

“The press is really milking this story out (y/n), you sure inviting him over to your film shoot was a good idea?” I heard Louis asked.

“I don’t know. But Louis you should’ve seen it. He’s the only boy who talked to me like I was just (y/n) (l/n). Not just (y/n) the Rock Angel like most guys who see me do. All those douchebags either use me for a chance to knock me up or get close to the band, but Jack he—we just sat in that café and just talked and talked and talked for hours on end. God I just hope I haven’t screwed up his life now by being associated with me.”

“The price of fame love, but word of the wise; If this Jack boy is as kind as you claim he is, then he won’t let the press or paparazzi get to him.”

“You really think so?” I asked him hopefully.

“I’m sure love, plus this boy has made you more happier than I’ve ever seen you ever since I started working for you.” I smiled softly and thanked him and he continued driving till we reached the studio.

I walked on in and got into hair and makeup department first and as I was now walking to costuming, I had been told that someone was trying to get in claiming that I was allowing them in. Having received a call from Terry while I was in makeup I knew that it was Jack.

I raced up to security to see that my assumption was correct. I raced up to security and told them that he was allowed and that I gave him my permission to be here. As I gave him a quick tour of the set and once we reached the costume trailer, I turned to him and said.

“Look Jack about the tabloid picture…..”

“You don’t have to explain anything (y/n). I’ve got a good feeling of who it was that took that picture of us anyway.” Jack interrupted me.

“I promise I will try to get the publisher to take that photo off or at least try to come up with a better story than what I did this morning with Andres…..”

“It’s fine (y/n). Besides if you keep changing your story it’ll end up ripping your reputation apart. And I don’t want that to happen to you. Besides I don’t mind being the old American friend.” I smiled.

God this guy was such an angel. I mean I knew that Mary, Dominique, Chrissie and Veronica were understanding of their husbands living like this but never would I expect a guy to be understanding when it came to having a female superstar as a friend/partner.

“Jack Kline you are a literal angel. Now why don’t you go over to set and I will meet you there once I’m done getting fitted into my first costume.”

“Alright, can’t wait to see what the director comes up with for this song.”

“Me neither.” I then stepped inside the costume trailer and Susanna was getting me fitted into my first angel costume.

What Director Silvester Favarou had in mind is that I am the angel singing to an unhealthy, suicidal young man. I am the light that helps guide him when he is un utter darkness. I’m also the leader of a whole guardian angel choir towards the end and at the very end I end up having to wear these beautiful handcrafted and sewed angel wings that literally stand about 7ft from tip to tip.

The whole day was restless and endless as we did take after take, after take of the music video. By the time the clock struck 10pm, the video finally wrapped and surprisingly Jack had stayed for the whole thing.

After the filming, I treated Jack to dinner for being such a good sport about staying so long before having Louis take him home.

Once we arrived at his place, he bid me a goodnight and thanked me for allowing him to see the studio and having a first look at my upcoming music video. I smiled and told him it was no problem before bidding him a goodnight.

Finally after a seriously long day, I finally reached home sweet home. I opened my door and let out a yawn ready to hit the sack.

“You’ve got some serious explaining to do young lady.” I froze in shock. Oh shit it can’t be them. As I turned around there they all stood at the entry way between my front corridor and the living room. Each of them with their arms crossed over their chests staring me down.

Looks like my long night is about to get even longer.

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makeste · 6 years

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BnHA Chapter 026: Obstacle Course Part 2 (Conclusion)

Previously on BnHA: The kids of class A busted their way through the sports festival obstacle course like the young gods-in-the-making they are. Everyone was like, whoa, these kids are kicking ass. Momo made a gun and I may have cried a little. Some girl from the support course macguyvered her way through with moon shoes and a utility belt. Fucking Deku tore through the entire thing carrying a giant metal plate and just whomping robots left and right and shimmying across the floating islands of Pandora like fucking Spider-Man. He then catapulted himself onto a bunch of mines in a fucking minefield and fucking surfed the resulting explosion and I’m fucking done you guys.

Today on BnHA: Deku nearly commits a murder but it nets him first place. Todoroki spits in the face of continuity. Everyone in class A advances to the second round of the festival. Midnight announces that round 2 will be a cavalry battle. Deku has a target painted on his back because no good deed ever goes unpunished.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 48 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

oh my god look at these huge text boxes. are these all Deku?? this kid is fucking twacked out on something right now I swear

yeah I guess this is Deku’s POV from when he was like “RARRRRRRRR [BOOM]” from before

seriously this kid is out here channeling the Hulk or something

holy shit he actually dug up the mines in order to jump on them??

All Might what have you done. look what you’ve created

more like blasting shounen maniac

also I forgot Kacchan’s arm was frozen and I had to stare at it for a sec before my memory filled in the blanks there

so we’re all in agreement that Deku has actually gone crazy right?

“yup this is intense” totally fucking bananas

Kacchan has such an over the top wtf expression that for a moment I actually thought Deku had hit him in the head on the way down

he didn’t think about the landing. of course not. shounens never think about the landing

well maybe this guy can inadvertently help you out with that somehow

wow look at his face. Deku what have you done

now Todoroki’s making an ice path

by the way, so Todoroki apparently doesn’t need to physically touch whatever it is he’s freezing, then? because here he’s just stomping on the ground and it’s immediately turning to ice, but he’s wearing shoes. I can’t remember if he’s done this before, but I feel like up till now it’s always been his hands

in fact, I just went back and checked his intro in chapter 11 and it specifically said he freezes things with his right hand (left hand is the fire one). so I consider this panel a plot hole unless Horikoshi decides to come along and explain it later

(ETA: not only did they not explain it, they didn’t change it for the anime either. WHAT KIND OF GARBAGE IS THIS. I CAN’T BELIEVE THE ENTIRE SERIES IS RUINED JUST LIKE THAT OMG.)

Deku seems more worried about losing time on his landing than he is about, you know, landing badly and breaking every bone in his body. I guess once you’ve already done that a few times, you kind of become accustomed to it and it’s no big deal anymore

(ETA: let’s not talk any more about Deku not giving a shit about his own broken bones holy shit.)

why do shounen people always take such a long fucking time to fall

lol the other two are rushing past him while he’s slowly drifting into the frame upside-down

grab onto them and use them as your sled dogs!

holy fuck what is he doing lmao

this kid is really out here with his HEEERE’S JOHNNY face deadass about to commit murder live on camera in front of 100,000 people

oh thank god he didn’t actually hit them. though I feel like it wasn’t for lack of trying

he hit the ground again and of course, more land mines

I feel like he ended up murdering them anyway tbh

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TEACHING THOSE KIDS ERASER HEAD” lmao sob this chapter is epic

and EH is all “I didn’t even do anything they’re just like this”

Deku actually made it back first! holy shit. and all he had to do was go completely off the deep end and murder two of his classmates to do it

oh my god his mom is watching

I mean, of course she’s watching, but it only just occurred to me. is he actually going to use his quirk here at some point or what? and if he does, just what the hell is she going to make of that?

I hope he comes clean with her afterwards, honestly. I have faith in her ability to keep a secret that would put her child’s life in jeopardy otherwise

(ETA: Deku is a liar and a thief and his poor mom deserves better)

and speaking of that, scrolling back up to the panel above Izumama, there’s this other random guy watching Deku who seems to also recognize him

what’s this about exactly? a year ago would be right around the time of the Sludge Incident. does he remember him from that? or does he somehow know Deku from back in his middle school days?

(ETA: it’s the former, I overthought this)

actually there are a lot of people who went to school with Izuku and specifically knew him to not have a quirk, come to think. what are all of them going to think if he suddenly busts one out here in front of the entire country? I feel like that’s going to seem really fucking suspicious and raise a lot of questions

anyway, moving on here, it seems Tomura is watching too. what a creep

and his hands are gone, just like when he visited the school that day and (presumably) broke in

aww. Deku sought out All Might’s face in the crowd and he’s grinning at him and he looks so proud. he’s crying again sob. and All Might looks fucking ecstatic

now All Might is having an internal monologue about how so many modern heroes are in it for the fame and so they’re selfish, but Deku isn’t like that, and that’s why he chose him. and interestingly he says he thought that quality would be a potential weakness, but he’s happy to be proven wrong

“but you gotta stop crying all the time!” aww, let him be, he’s emotional, there’s nothing wrong with that. I was gonna add “and he’s still a kid”, but that implies that there’s anything wrong with an adult being emotional which isn’t the case either. I know he’s all about the whole “smiling through the pain” thing, but Deku’s not the type to keep his feelings so hidden, and honestly I think that’s also a strength rather than a weakness

people from the business course are discussing Deku’s draft stock now, and speculating on how they would market him

yeah All Might I kind of see what you mean here. it’s all about the PR, and the actual hero stuff has almost been taken out of the equation

there’s a panel explaining how the business course members don’t participate in the sports fest directly and instead they just walk around doing boring business things. I’m not at all interested in this but I am dutifully making a note of it

(ETA: though I would be interested if they did some more shit dealing with sudden fame and celebrity and marketing deals. it’s still ridiculous to me that a country with as huge an idol culture as Japan would not be attempting to do this with at least some of these U.A. kids.)

(ETA 2: finally in the latest chapter I read we at least had someone filming a commercial.)

Kacchan and Todoroki have arrived back at the stadium out of breath as losers. sorry losers

poor Todoroki. IN FRONT OF YOUR FAMOUS DAD AND EVERYTHING

Kacchan’s super pissed but what else is new. is your arm okay bud. also you probably could have blasted your way across that final part of the course similar to how Deku did, but you didn’t. you literally have only yourself to blame

oh wow, Ochako and Iida rounding out the top five! what a pleasant surprise

(ETA: yeah this misconception will be rectified shortly, so I’m leaving it)

Iida’s depressed because being fast is His Whole Thing and he still came in like fifth. honestly I feel like that does hurt him a little more than the rest, because if any heroes out there are on the lookout for a speedster, they’re probably going to be less taken with a guy that didn’t even manage to make the podium in the speed competition. but you still have the rest of the festival, Iida. and if all else fails, you’ll still have two more chances after this

Deku is literally hiding his face because Ochako came right up to him and started talking about how great he was

it was not close, Deku

now he’s saying he got lucky. that was part of it, sure, but dude you were a fucking beast out there. honestly it was scary

Momo made it in sixth! along with this piece of drifting garbage that seems to have gotten stuck to her somehow

I’m sorry you had to see this, everyone. Momo is brilliant, but I feel like she missed a golden opportunity to make another gun or something and solve our Mineta problem for good. they did say no rules, after all. any lawyer worth their salt should be able to work with that

oh wow, I thought Iida and Ochako were fourth and fifth, but apparently that Poison Ivy girl came in fourth! Ibara, huh? I like her a lot

and this Dia de Muertos guy came in fifth!!

MY GOD IIDA, SIXTH?? YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB

and Ochako is #16?? EVERYONE, WE’RE GONNA RIOT

class B seems to only have a few standouts, really. thank god tbh. it was hard enough trying to memorize the first twenty kids’ names

(ETA: for a brief moment it looked like this might not be true, but then it was true again lol)

can’t believe Kaminari’s all the way down at #24. what happened?

are there... two invisible kids here?

(ETA: this literally never came up again??!)

and Aoyama barely made it. the cutoff was at #42 for some reason. they could have easily set it at the much more normal number of 40, but they just liked you that much, Aoyama!

Midnight’s about to announce the second event, but she’s dragging it out so damn much and I can’t take it

“Cavalry Battle”! yay! what’s that

Tsuyu says they’re teaming up but imma need more deets

“participants will form, on their own, teams of two to four members each” okay I can already foresee a few problems here

-- and get into a horse and rider formation, oh my god

I LOVE IT

for a brief moment I was like “wow this is really tame compared to the first event.” but then I remembered that they all have powers and will presumably be trying to kill each other and I can see this getting really fucking violent actually

that said! I’m definitely here for it lol

damn she’s still going on. apparently each kid has been assigned a point value based on the results of the previous event. so that means Deku has the highest value I guess. well, he wanted to stand out

TEN MILLION POINTS wow. this seems a bit broken to me

Deku’s face is

pretty good

what kind of fucked up olympics punishes you for doing well though

ten million points, though. damn. and meanwhile that lucky s.o.b. Aoyama is only worth five

and wow, we’ve reached the end of volume three already! well that sure was fun

BONUS:

Mt. Lady again?

she’s ordering takoyaki

she’s trying to get it for free omg

it worked omg

that’s it. that’s the comic

wow

now there’s a second comic that seems almost identical to her first comic from an earlier volume. this accountant guy is complaining that she’s lost them so much money

she can apparently grow from her normal size up to about 67 and a half feet. and that’s it. nothing in between

aside from that slight bit of additional detail, this is literally the exact same comic strip from before. I want those twenty seconds of my life back damn it

#bnha #boku no hero academia #makeste reads bnha #can anyone tell me whether that second invisible kid ever shows up again?#there's some potential for laughs there even though we already have a 'kids with the same power' thing going on with Kimi and Tetsu #honestly it would make that gag even better #because they can't even have the 'we have the same power' thing be THEIR thing #poor kiddos #can't catch a damn break

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acehotel · 6 years

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Interview: Justin Strauss with Kasper Bjørke

Kasper Bjørke is something of an electronic music octopus — the Danish-born DJ has had his hand in everything from production, performance, curation, art filmmaking and composition. Influenced by the burgeoning New York club scene in the early aughts and the likes of Giorgio Moroder, The Cure and Run-D.M.C., Bjørke’s eclectic range spans techno, new wave, disco and what he calls “music for DJs.”

For this edition of Just/Talk, resident DJ and longtime Ace friend Justin Strauss chats with Kasper about finding his feet in the shapeshifting electronic music scene, playing shows in old bowling alleys, his love of New York hip-hop and needing a license to dance.

Justin Strauss: Here we are in Copenhagen. Are you originally from here?

Kasper Bjørke: Actually I was not born in Copenhagen, I’m from a small city like an hour from here. I moved here when I was a teenager.

JS: And had you already been into music as a teenager?

KB: I was always listening to music, yeah. When I was around 22 in 1998–99, I started to produce music with a friend of mine on an old Atari computer and an Akai mono sampler. We were sampling loops from old disco records, and we were very inspired by Masters at Work and Daft Punk.

JS: Were you able to get music released fairly quickly?

KB: Yeah, I don't know if we were lucky or if it was a curse, but we got signed to the same label that released Laid Back, well, the same A&R that signed Laid Back and Ace of Base. So he had a big vision for us, in terms of what we should do, and we were so young, that we just kind of followed his instructions. Somehow we ended up doing these vocal-based disco house tracks and got a radio hit that brought us to Japan three times in a year and around Europe, touring a lot. So quite quickly, the label started to put a lot of money into us.

JS: What was the name of the band?

KB: It was called Filur, named after a Danish ice cream, a popsicle. So silly. We made three or four albums together, and then in the mid 2000s, my friend started a band called WhoMadeWho, he was the drummer, and I started doing solo albums.

JS: And was there a scene, like a dance music scene going on here in Copenhagen at that time?

KB: Yeah. It was pretty small. I think that’s partly why we were quite successful, because there was not much competition at the time [laughing], there were not that many people producing electronic music here, so we had a head start somehow. And that also made us able to live from making music quite early. Because of the crossover commercial success, we both were able to do more “left field” stuff, after our project ended.

JS: And what were you listening to growing up? What were you influenced by?

KB: As a teenager, from 87 to 92, 93, the only thing I was listening to was hip-hop and I was collecting vinyl at that time. When I was even younger, I was listening to and collecting soundtracks, I was really into John Carpenter, Vangelis, Giorgio Moroder, and I ended up listening to electronic music in the mid-90s after a detour of being heavily into Britpop, Depeche Mode and The Cure. I started going to raves and parties in CPH, and that's how I got inspired to produce electronic music.

JS: And had you started to DJ at this time?

KB: No, DJ'ing came after I started making music, actually. We had to tour with our band project to promote the releases, and we actually started playing live before we were DJ’ing. We quickly found out that logistically and financially it made much more sense to DJ, because then we were just two guys traveling instead of five or six people. So yeah, then DJ'ing became the thing — and I was very bad at it at first and very nervous as well.

JS: You started DJ'ing with vinyl records?

KB: Yeah, vinyl only… I did that up until my record bag got stolen one time after a gig at Iceland Airwaves Festival, I think maybe in 2005, 2006. And then I was forced to, quickly for my next gig, burn some CDs and try out those CD players that I had been hating on for so long [laughing]. And then I got caught up in that. I am still buying some vinyl, I still collect vinyl, but I don't travel with it anymore. Then the whole digital USB thing started up, I tried that as well and I was like, “Okay, wow, let's just do this.”

JS: And then you started to travel internationally, DJ'ing and started releasing Kasper Bjørke records.

KB: Yeah, my first solo album got signed to Plant Music which was based in New York, and I produced the biggest part of that album in New York, actually. I was collaborating with a few people from New York as well, like Kap10kurt, as he was called at the time, who is still a close friend of mine today. Allison Pierce from The Pierces, which is a band from New York as well, was singing on one of the singles. And Dennis Young, the percussionist from Liquid Liquid was playing percussion on some tracks... I was finding my feet on that album and New York was definitely a big influence.

JS: What year was this?

KB: 2006.

JS: So around the same time DFA records in New York was starting to release records, and this whole new wave of things in New York was taking shape.

KB: Yes, I was majorly influenced by DFA, and I was friends with Dominique Keegan from Plant Music, and he took me to the Plantain building at the time where DFA had their office there, and where he had his office as well. So I got all the early DFA promos on vinyl. Still treasure them to this day.

JS: Did you go to the Plant Bar?

KB: I think Plant Bar had recently shut down at the time. But I heard a lot of stories about how things went down there, and how they lost their dance license, which to me sounded like the most insane thing ever, that you needed a license to dance.

JS: It's always been some sort of plague in New York that it was illegal to dance in certain situations. There was a huge campaign against it and recently it was repealed.

KB: What a relief. I do remember back then, there were some really fun unofficial illegal parties. I recall playing at one out in Brooklyn somewhere called Gunther — together with Max Pask, James Friedman, Andrew Potter — it was in an old bowling alley in a basement. So much fun.

JS: So you spent a lot of time in New York then?

KB: I did, yeah, and I came back for recordings on the next albums as well. I also just spent a lot of time in New York hanging out with friends, partying and DJ'ing, I played at some of the fun clubs around at that time like 205, Annex, Love — at Tribeca Grand, I played at a really great Modular Party. In the more recent years, I played quite a few times at Le Bain and after that I had a sort of residency at Output in The Panther Room for a couple of years, when they opened up.

JS: New York, it seems like, had a big influence on you.

KB: Yes for sure, as I said, even as a kid when I started listening to hip-hop music, New York was the center of it all.

JS: You were listening to New York hip-hop?

KB: Yes mainly. As soon as rap became too gangster, I lost interest. I mean I was a fan of NWA, but never really listened a lot to East Coast rap, Tupac and Wu-Tang and all that — I was more into Tribe, Jungle Brothers, Run-D.M.C., Black Sheep and so on. Anyway, later in my life, the whole house scene from New York was the most inspiring thing and, of course, also the whole post-punk and disco new wave scene with ESG, Liquid Liquid, Suicide, Talking Heads, etc. They were so inspiring — and then to be able to actually go there and make my own music and DJ there, it was really important for my development and self-esteem as a solo producer. Up until just a few years ago, I would go to New York at least two times a year. But after Trump became President, I just didn’t feel like going to the States. Around the same time, I became a father, and I still don’t want to travel too far away from him, not yet. I also try my best to keep my carbon footprint to a minimum, so it’s probably going to be a while before I will go back.

JS: So how many Kasper Bjørke albums have you released now as a solo artist?

KB: Five solo albums up until now, and now there's the sixth album, which is actually credited as Kasper Bjørke Quartet, because I recorded it together with some friends of mine that really added a lot to the music. The album just came out on Kompakt.

JS: And the previous albums, do they have a sound connecting them or each time you went for a different style or vibe?

KB: I really tried to refine my own sound on each new album, a kind of post-disco, new wave sound with a more commercial approach, using feature vocalists on the singles. I guess that stayed with me from my first project, that I had with my friend — I wanted to try to build a bridge between radio and club music, and also do albums that you could listen to at home. I also liked ambient music at that time, like one track on an album would be ambient or downtempo... But yeah, I was refining my own sound up until a point where I was like, okay, now I'm just kind of sick and tired of listening to my own sound, [laughing]. So the fifth album was a little bit of a detour, which was called Fountain of Youth. It was more a “straight for the club” kind of album. Music for DJs. I've always had remixes done for the singles from my album. They were really important to my music, because I needed those remixed versions for the DJs to play out.

JS: And you've done a lot of remixes yourself for other artists?

KB: Yeah and many of these ended up becoming swaps, where you do remixes for each other, which I think is great, it's a great way to collaborate.

JS: What are some of the artists whose work you have remixed?

KB: Hmm… There are so many… Sascha Funke, SONNS, Trentemøller, The Golden Filter, Rebolledo... I can’t remember [laughing]. I think I did around 40–50 remixes these past 10–12 years…

JS: And do you enjoy it when people remix your stuff?

KB: Yeah, especially because I have always been the curator, I’m the one that picks out the remixers, it’s not the labels. So I also got to know a lot of great people through that, like Axel Boman, Moscoman, Marvin & Guy, yourself and Bryan Mette aka Whatever/Whatever, Superpitcher, Michael Mayer, Nicolas Jaar, Mano Le Tough, Gerd Janson… I also think it's a great way to expand your network in the scene in that way, and it's so much fun to have people that you admire interpret your music. Nicolas Jaar for example, I was lucky enough to reach him via MySpace at that time, when he was still just getting started with Wolf + Lamb, and I wrote him and he said yes to remixing the cover version I did of “Heaven” by The Rolling Stones — and then he totally blew up right after.

JS: That's one of the great things about the internet. I mean there's a lot of things that maybe aren't so good, but the way you can connect with people. I've just met so many people that I never would have met, that I never knew, who liked what I did. And have become friends in real life with people that I respected, just by writing them a note.

KB: Yeah, you can reach out to basically anybody and get a reply, even if it's a “no,” it's all good...

JS: And in the age of the internet and DJ'ing and where it's gotten us to this point, what are your thoughts on the current state of dance music in general?

KB: Well it's a little bit stale, isn’t it…? I mean there's definitely still great stuff going on out there, but somehow it's the same labels that I've always been following, that I still like the most. Of course there's new things like Moscoman's Disco Halal or Soulwax’s DEEWEE label, but it's usually the people who really know what they're doing and have been around for a long time. There's so many new labels and generic sounding releases. I got to say, I only go to Beatport maybe twice a year to buy a few tracks, if I don't get them some other way. It doesn't really appeal to me, the whole tech house, deep house scene that is out there. And I think it also reflects a little bit in the way that some clubs book their lineups, it seems a little bit watered down somehow. But there are, of course, still great parties and great clubs around, but somehow most of them are the same that have been great for many years, you know.

JS: Do you miss the days of like going to a record store and buying 10 records and like really knowing them instead of getting inundated with thousands of promos and online purchases?

KB: Totally! I loved going every week to the two local record stores in Copenhagen called Street Dance Records and Loud. I think it was on Tuesdays that we got the new records here, and all the DJs in Copenhagen would stand in line and fight for those three to five copies of each release. I spent all my money on it every week — and it was amazing.

JS: Did you have a DJ residency here in Copenhagen?

KB: Yeah, I've had many through the years... These days I don’t want to have a residency as much, but I host two, maybe, three nights a year at a little club called Jolene. It is 150 people in a small space, and it's free entry, and there's a smoke machine, a laser and a great sound system, and it's a really great party atmosphere. Then I invite friends, like yourself and Tim Sweeney, Axel Boman and Marvin & Guy to come and play with me. It’s seven hours back-to-back. A complete trip from open to close. I enjoy that a lot. Then I, of course, also play regularly in clubs around Europe that invite me back every year. Which kind of feels like a residency... But yeah when I'm home, I try not to play too much.. I'd rather spend that time with the family, to be honest.

JS: And you're involved in the business side of things for other artists as a manager. So you get to see things from both sides of the spectrum, as a manager for Trentemøller, who is a huge artist, and you have a few other acts you're working with as well. How does that work with your own career?

KB: Sometimes it's hard to find time for going into the studio and work on my own projects. Because I'm always prioritizing the interests of the artists first that I work with, I'm never putting them aside to do something for myself. So when I produce an album or a track or an EP, I have to schedule it around what’s going on with them. So I wouldn't sit down and produce an album at the same time that Trentemøller would be launching a new album, because I know there is going to be a lot of work with his campaign. So there is definitely some compromises in that way - which I am totally cool with. I really enjoy this other aspect of my career. It makes me happy to see other artists do well and succeed and advance in their career. Maybe more so than myself actually, or at least it makes me just as happy to see the artists that I work with have success.

JS: Have you ever worked with other producers for your own material and have someone produce your work?

KB: No, no, never, no. I would never let anyone else touch it [laughing].

JS: Tell me about how your new album project on Kompakt came about and your interest in ambient music.

KB: Ambient is something I listen to a lot actually. I've had trouble sleeping and it helps me relax — and also when I’m flying, which I am super scared of, it calms me down. So I've listened to ambient for many years… Then seven years ago, I got a cancer diagnosis which was, of course, a life-changing experience. I was very lucky though, in the sense that I didn't need any chemo or radiation, I just needed an operation. After a five-year checkup period of regular CT scannings and blood work, the doctors let you go. During those five years, I decided that I needed to process the whole experience of having anxiety of a relapse, creatively through music. So, I decided that I wanted to make an ambient album to document my experience through instrumental ambient soundscapes. I didn't want to start making the music until after I was done with the checkups at the hospital. So after I had my last test results, I put together the Quartet. First of all, my friend Claus Norreen, who has an amazing analog studio with all the old synthesizers you can dream of, everything's set up amazingly. I went in with him and recorded these long synthesizer atmospheres, all recorded live, no MIDI or software. We didn't use the computer as anything else, except a recording device. We just hit record and then multi-tracked the synthesizers and reverbs and delays, space echo… It was a trip and it all happened very naturally.

Afterwards I asked another friend of mine called Jakob Littauer, an amazing pianist and musician, and I recorded him playing piano in a concert hall on a Steinway Grand Piano, and also on an old upright piano in a studio space, where you can really hear the body of the instrument, the noise it makes, the hammers. Finally I asked an old friend of mine, the Italian string composer Davide Rossi — who has worked with everybody from Coldplay to John Hopkins and Ennio Morricone — and Davide then played the cello and violin on the compositions, and that's how the whole album came about, really. Then I mixed and edited everything in my own studio, but tried to keep it as live and as free and spontaneous as possible. I named it The Fifty Eleven Project, after the department 5011 at the hospital where I was going for checkups those five years.

JS: And how long did this whole process take from when you started it to when it was finished?

KB: Recording the whole thing took maybe like six to eight months. Putting everything together, mixing everything. And then I sent it to Michael Mayer from Kompakt, as the only label actually. And he wrote back that he loved it and he wanted to release it. But the only problem was, that he didn't have time in his release schedule until October 2018 — this was like a year ago. But I decided to wait, because I thought that Kompakt was the perfect home for this album project.

JS: This kind of music doesn't really have an expiration date.

KB: Exactly. Then another idea came into the project and made it much bigger. I spoke to a friend, a director from LA, called Justin Tyler Close and asked him if he would like to make a music video for one of these super long compositions that I recorded, the whole album is two hours long. Instead we came up with the idea that actually it should not be just one music video, but one film for each of the 11 compositions. So 11 art films — that’s two hours of film, shot on 16mm here in Denmark this past summer. It’s been a crazy project that’s taken so much time and effort from everybody involved, but it came out amazing, I think.

JS: Will we be able to see these films?

KB: Yes - as an exhibition for now, not online yet. It just showed here in Copenhagen for 10 days in a huge space on 11 screens with headphones. The exhibition will travel to LA next, then hopefully New York, Paris, Berlin… We will see. We are still setting up the logistics. In the meantime, just one of the films will go online which I am very excited about — the film made for the composition, "Dur For Vitus,” which is my favorite track from the album.

JS: It's quite an ambitious project.

KB: It's very ambitious.

JS: And one thing I know about you is your interest in art, and how that relates and intersects with music, or doesn't sometimes. But it certainly was a big part of this project.

KB: Yes. I have been working with the American artist Landon Metz, who is based in New York. I’m a big fan of his work. Landon said, “Yes,” to paint three unique works for the album cover after I sent him the album demos. He was actually listening to the music in his studio when he was painting these works. The vinyl box, with the three vinyl sleeves inside and a poster, has turned out so beautiful and I am so happy and grateful that Landon would be part of the project.

JS: It's a beautiful looking and sounding project, and I’m looking forward to experiencing the exhibition when it comes to New York.

KB: I hope it does, yes.

JS: What's in the future for you musically after this?

KB: After setting up the exhibition and the album release, I haven't had any inspiration to do new music for myself, to be honest… I’m just currently working on some advertisement music. I’ve recently done music for Nike, Prada, Mazda and other brands, which is something that I can do with a different kind of mindset than having to do new music for myself. The next thing will probably be an EP, that I hope will come some time next year.

JS: Okay, we'll look forward to all of it.

KB: Me too!

For more information about Kasper’s The Fifty Eleven Project, go here.

#justtalk #just talk #ace hotel #ace hotel new york #ace hotel nyc #kasper bjorke #kasper bjørke #justin strauss #interview #yes #dj #electronic music #kasper bjørke quartet

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