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blahkugo · 4 years

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Omakase

Pairing: Shouto Todoroki x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: 18+, smut, slight overstim, all characters are aged up, ofc.

A/N: Happy birthday to the woman that literally birthed my blog, the writer of the best fics I’ve ever read-- *cough Notice, Seven Minutes, Of Love and Lemons, etc.*-- @lookslikeleese. It’s 5 am right now and my brain cannot come up with the proper words, but just know I love you so much. Thank you for creating our entire friend group. I LOVE YOU.

omakase (noun):

(in a Japanese restaurant) a meal consisting of dishes selected by the chef; chef’s choice.

Thirty minutes into supper with the Todorokis, you think your heart may actually stop beating. It’s not the awkward silence, nor the snowstorm of icy glares traveling across the table. You’ve long since made your peace with the scents of charred leather couches and melted silverware that linger in your hair whenever one of the men gets riled up.

No, it’s an issue far more pressing than the typical family drama, a matter that needs to be resolved with stealth— immediately.

It’s Shouto’s fingers, darting into his pocket and pressing a single button. It’s your heels digging into the cool tile beneath you. It’s every nerve standing on end, every passing second sending a wave of heat to your core. Your knuckles blanche, gripping the oak table with such ferocity that it may just snap, and your thighs shake, overwhelmed.

The issue is that there’s a little pink vibrator pressing against your clit and the bi-colored bastard chews his food as though this night is no different than any other.

It doesn’t matter that the toy’s been placed at the lowest setting all night, doesn’t matter that your fingernails relieve a bit of the pressure every time you dig them into your exposed thighs. The only thought crossing your mind is your impending orgasm. How are you supposed to stifle euphoric pleasure when you’re barely able to hold it together now?

“So, how’s that new job going?” Enji asks more out of courtesy than interest. While you typically humor his attempts at placid conversation, you’re too troubled to speak to the stoic man in front of you. What if your juices seep through your soaked panties right onto the chair?

“It’s— ah- it’s really good.”

And this has been your entire night thus far. Feeble efforts to remain coherent, whines and gasps hidden behind awkward coughs— anything and everything you can possibly do to maintain your dignity in the presence of your boyfriend’s father.

“What was that funny story you were telling me earlier today?” Shouto doesn’t miss a beat, sending a quick slant your way before stuffing another bite of rice into his mouth. He knows precisely what he’s doing, can feel the pointed daggers you dig into the side of his head, but his relaxed smile reveals nothing to the three pairs of eyes gazing intently at you, awaiting your response.

“Oh, Mt. Lady, she— oh my god,” As soon as you begin speaking, he cranks the toy up to a new level. Though it’s only for a second, the sound that leaves your body is inhuman, a mortifying cross between a sob and a choke that has your palm slamming onto the table fiercely.

All at once, the table is bustling with concern for your safety. To their naive eyes, it seems you choked on a bite of food, and Fuyumi hurries to grab you a glass of water. Shouto simply remains seated, a slick grin plastered across his face at the sight of your heated cheeks and teary eyes. What the fuck could have possessed you to agree to this in the first place?

“I-I’m okay,” you mumble out, embarrassment shaking you far worse than any sex toy ever could. And that fact— the way your eyebrows knead together in discomfort as you squirm in your seat— is precisely what Shouto wants. You’re no stranger to humiliation, no stranger to the tugging deep in your gut or the heated flush that darts onto your mattress and makes its home on your cheeks.

But this? This type of shame is foreign; it makes your head spin and refuses to waver no matter how much you silently gripe and plead. “Honestly, I feel a bit—” another pulse, another pained gasp from you, “ill.” The words barely make their way out before you’re gritting your teeth, thighs pressing together so tightly they may leave pretty purple marks.

“Maybe I should take her upstairs,” Shouto sighs, faux apology slipping through his mouth with ease. When did the fucker get so good at lying?

And then he’s helping you up from your seat, rubbing tender circles into your back, like any good boyfriend would. But every graze is unbearable, sends a tidal wave of warmth rushing through your core. The most innocent of touches has become obscene, twisted in a way only you and the cool man next to you are able to acknowledge.

As you climb the stairs with shaky legs, you can only pray that the rest of the family doesn’t notice the slick juices trailing down your thighs.

—

“Who knew dinner and a show could be so entertaining?” He teases, just barely dodging the fist you throw half-heartedly at his shoulder. His supple lips are glued into a smirk, one that probably won’t drop until the night is long over.

“Please– I-” you attempt to stifle your moans, but in the comfort of his childhood bedroom you find yourself slipping into a high-pitched whine. “Turn it off.” He seems to debate the plea internally, slender fingers brushing over the buttons until you grip harshly at his bicep. You’ve endured enough misery to last you months.

When he finally switches it off, you feel your entire body slacken and relief wash over you; however, it does nothing for the throbbing in your clit or the pool of desire still brimming in your core. What you crave is his touch, the warmth that pokes and prods at your every muscle, loosening each nerve until you’re a babbling mess— wholly at the mercy of his lithe fingers.

“Shou,” you mewl, voice dripping with desperation. His eyes widen for a quick second, brows raised and shocked by your blatant come-on with his family only a level down. “I need you.”

Those three simple words have him springing into action, shoving you against the mattress. Pinning you beneath him with ease, he hikes your skirt up to your hips before running a slender digit against your clothed slit.

“You made a mess,” his words carry no weight, only amazement at the juices flowing freely through the thin panties and down your thighs. “Probably made a mess all over your chair too.”

With that comment, your shame is back with a vengeance, tinging the tips of your ears and causing you to cry out. Before Shouto, you’d have never thought this sort of depraved commentary could have you shaking. Hell, you’re not sure he even knew what he was doing to you at first; ever oblivious, Shouto simply speaks his mind.

Only when he noticed the effect of his words, did he begin using those passing observations against you. Now, he lives for your reactions, spurs you on if only to see how far a gruff remark can push you— and typically, your limit is reached in wanton sobs and bright red scratch marks down his back.

He doesn’t bother with removing the lace panties, only tugs them to the side so he can brush his fingers against your naked slit. When he pushes a thumb against your clit, you can’t help the loud cry that escapes you. “Bite,” he offers up his wrist so that your moans don’t carry through the thin walls.

Your teeth sink into his flesh, eliciting a sharp breath at the sudden pain. And he enjoys that part too— the lengths you’ll go to achieve pleasure, the stinging reminders of your desire. “Stay quiet for me, yeah?” He tests a finger, then two, knuckles deep in your doughy walls as you writhe on the bed. “Good girl.”

“Mmph,” you feel your eyes roll back at the soft praise, thighs tensing as he begins to pump his digits in and out. “Faster, ah– please.” Your moans are muffled against his arm, but he complies nonetheless, fingers curling and hitting the spot that drums against your heartbeat, that rattles through your brain.

The second he brings his lips to your clit, you feel the coil in your stomach about to snap. Hair slick with sweat, your hands roam through his own wet strands, gripping and tugging him closer, closer, closer. He suckles hungrily, his last meal long forgotten as he pushes you further over the edge.

All at once, you see stars. You’re unsure whether you’re keeping quiet like he asked or sobbing loudly, the tidal wave of pleasure consumes you whole, stomach going taut and twisting as he allows you to ride out your orgasm. With the toy slowly edging you all night, this bliss feels fully merited— is exactly what you deserve after being subjected to his teasing for so long.

Shouto only lets up when your entire body has gone slack and you push his head away. Bringing his fingers up to your supple lips, he watches hungrily as you slurp at your own slick.

His eyes are the darkest you’ve ever seen them, pooling with eagerness and a longing for more; he brings a thumb to his chin to wipe at your juices— licks a long stripe up the digit to fully savor you. The image is immodest at the least, animalistic at most.

It reignites your own thirst immediately.

Though you’re exhausted, core spasming from overuse, you find yourself tugging at his waistband, pulling him close so he can sheath himself inside you in one fell thrust.

“Fuck,” his voice is husky, groan stifled in the nook of your shoulder. “Still so fucking tight for me.” The only sounds that fill the air are your joint moans, the squeaky springs of the mattress, and the headboard clanging against the wall— sweat soaked skin as his hips snap against you.

“Ah— please, please, please,” it seems to be the only phrase that falls from your loose lips. Every jerk sends shocks across your damp flesh, vision going foggy as he sends your brain spinning. Once again, you teeter at the edge, so close. Your legs wrap across his back, digging into the globes of his ass to pull him impossibly closer.

“What do you want?” He grunts into your jaw, peppering wet kisses down your neck and across your chest. It may leave a mark or two, but it’s something to worry about later.

“I–”At this point, you’re just a teary, blubbering mess, “please, Shou– need your cum.” You manage the words, knowing exactly what effect they have. His movements quicken, pace faltering as he chases his own high.

And then, you’re both seeing stars. With one final shudder, his cock twitches, and then he’s spilling into you. Your groans intertwine, his a loud sigh of your name, you sobbing helplessly.

Once he finally stills, he collapses on top of you, both of your chests heaving. His fingers smooth at your matted hair, whispers of ‘so good for me’ and ‘fuck, baby’ into the shell of your ear as he allows your body— still trembling uncontrollably— time to regain composure.

Now you remember why you agreed to this little game of his.

–

“I hope you feel better,” Fuyumi hugs you goodbye, though your eyes are glazed over in post-coital bliss. Her gaze doesn’t quite meet your own, anyways. But they couldn’t have heard; you were quiet. Weren’t you?

As you stumble into the passenger side of Shouto’s pristine Model S, you catch the gruff comment Enji murmurs to Shouto,

“You two could stand to be a bit less obvious next time.”

#weese's birthday bash #shouto todoroki x reader #bnha smut #shouto x reader #shouto todoroki #mha smut #shouto #shoto todoroki x reader #smut #tw: overstimulation

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touyasdoll · 3 years

Note

Hello again.

I come with a response to your reply of my initial ask and an idea of a thirsting nature to share. Honestly so? Once you mentioned it, I simply had quite the steamy scenario come to mind. No pun intended.

But! First to come — again; those words were selected with no intended joke nor pun and I am rather at a loss as to how otherwise phrase it, at the moment, though attempts were made — shall be the response(s).

To start with, I thank you for taking time in your day/night to actually gift me a reply, as well the compliments and well wishes. For that is what your words are; a gift received most dearly, a warmth charmed through and through.

I do not think I have much of an accent of any sort when I talk, but I have been told I sometimes do start speaking with the accompaniment of one intonation or the other from out of nowhere. At an old job, I even had one ballsy customer who happened to be crass enough to “question” me on just where I hailed from. (Crass because there was not a smidge of curiosity to be found within said questioning, I’m afraid. More the fool was he.) So, all in all, I suppose there does happen to be a sprig in sooth within your personal depictions! Amusing that, how some things just happen to end up translated through alternate means~

A pity they aren’t to be continued, but quite understandable all the same. I do so look forward to your next features containing Aizawa — as if I wasn’t already, but then you words did fan those flames. You write him quite well, projecting his imagine and actions to mind as if by some form of magick. Enjoyable reads everytime, truly.

Which now leads me to share the thirsting idea you inspired. It was meant to be a bulleted explanation but then it ran off, the reigns slipping away from me. Take this and do with it what you will, if you do so please? If not, well, I do so hope it is well enough as is for some enjoyment, at the least.

Untitled. O o p s.

Aizawa hadn’t expected to come home to anything other than an apartment empty of life, just as he had left it, containing a bed that called his name. All in all, his day had actually been quite normal, if draining, between his responsibilities as a teacher and duties as a hero. So, his surprise could be understandable when, upon twisting the key to his apartment and stepping inside, he was led to the sight of You. Shouta’s girlfriend — perhaps more than such, though neither of you had acknowledged that part — of a time that seemed etched in length for intimate heroic relations.

Heroes loved strongly, but that alone didn’t make a relationship work. However, when they did work? They blossomed quickly, as if trying to make every second count with at least one partner in them who may not return from work at any given time. Your relationship was something of an oddity. You had been one another’s for a while, but instead of whirlwinds and gardens on crack, you drifted together like stars reflected in the ocean’s flow.

You both lead busy lives, being underground heroes, lived not quite close enough to see one another every day nor even by chance share a patrol route. The fact that you were both heroes apparently didn’t dissuade you in the least of expertly picking his locks to surprise him, however — you had left your copy of his keys here to replace his own after a student accidentally melted them. You, whom was admittedly more shy in the bedroom (at least to get going) than your everyday personality and heroic persona both would lead others to believe.

A sassy, devious and dominating wild cat you were not. A sweet, passionate and submissive house cat, however…

And, as if to complete the image, tonight you decided to bare that side of you. Literally. In nothing but a pair of cat ears the colour of your hair and matching tail — a tail that Shouta suspected was more than just a costume piece and he would certainly be checking on such to be sure, ensuring a good fit was only logical, after all — you stood boldly in his living room. Blushing, yet bold, like a newly bloomed rose opening up to show its colour, your appearance left everything to the imagination.

All for anyone to see, if he had allowed guests to follow over.

That thought had him slipping from a slightly shocked look, that only those closest would be able to detect, to a frown that meant he was troubled. You bit your lip, a slight tremble running through you from tip to tip, doubts beginning to stir. (And the plug that was the tail was making you squirm, but that was your own fault for setting it on vibrate, even at the lowest setting, and misplacing the remote. Unaware, the remote lay innocently on the table by the door.)

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. He hadn’t asked nor expected you, but you had wanted to surprise him, to give something new to your partner who could use a little… release… for all his tightly held composure that was obviously wearing him out. It had been over a month since you two had even seen each other in person, let alone we’re able to touch… Maybe you should of just offered to pick up take out and curl up on the couch together instead of—

Movement caught your eye. The front door was now closed, but his expression hadn’t changed.

“…Shou?”

ℊ

G, I am drooling oh my goodness. I have no choice but to pick up where this leaves off, but I had to share it with everyone here as soon as I read this 😩

#g anon #just thirsting 🥂#aizawa thirst #Aizawa smut #Aizawa x reader

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themysteriousphoenix · 3 years

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Dawn Breaks

I have temporarily jumped ships because I fell in love with Colin and Penelope! I wrote a little something that is *gasp!* not Newtina. Should I write more of these two?

(Rated T for some kisses and skin)

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The first rays of morning light began to light the room and, unused to the dawn breaking through the curtains that she must have forgotten to close last night, Penelope blinked awake. She knew it must have been very early, and her thoughts were still clouded with the haze of sleep. Her body was tired, almost aching. She took a deep breath, intending to roll over and try to doze for a few more hours until her ladies’ maid came to wake her. Sleep sounded heavenly, indeed.

Her legs stretched out beneath the soft sheets, and it was then that she realized something felt different. The texture of the sheets, the softness of the featherdown mattress, the angle of the early morning sun cascading in through the window… She opened her eyes and her sleepy thoughts aligned almost immediately, jolting her awake. She was Penelope Bridgerton now. She had been married yesterday.

Colin laid at her side.

This was her life, but part of her still wondered if this was all a wonderful dream.

After years of loving him, after years of pining and waiting, dances of pity and obligation, standing to the side while every young woman of her age was married off... here she was. Colin Bridgerton had chosen her for his wife.

The part of her that still lingered inside, that child of sixteen who loved unconditionally without understanding what love was, wanted to pinch herself to make sure this was real. Penelope grinned to herself. This was very real. The past month had been real. Last night had certainly been real.

His hair was wild from sleep, it settled across his forehead boyishly and unstyled. His lashes were long and fanned across his still tanned cheeks as he slept. His lips were slightly parted and he breathed deeply, evenly as he slept. As Penelope’s eyes traveled down his form she realized that, while she had decided to don one of her delicate, ivory nightgowns from her trousseau chest before climbing into bed in the early hours of the morning, Colin had fallen asleep as he was following their wedding night activities. The white sheet had fallen to his waist, and she was privy to a very lovely view of his shoulders and back.

Her emotions began to overwhelm her as she took in the sight before her. She had never awoken next to someone before, and the fact that the person she was waking up next to was Colin was mind-boggling. Throughout their short engagement, she had been looking forward to the wedding night, for being in their own home, and loving each other openly without any barriers or worry.

If their first time together had been about their declaration of love for each other, last night had been about pure pleasure. They had not held back. Penelope, inexperienced as she was, had been curious and determined to give back to her husband every pleasure he had given to her. It had been a wonderful and memorable night. Both newlyweds had fallen into bed spent and giddy with happiness.

She could feel the tightness of her muscles, their pleasant ache after the exertions of the previous night. Stretching again, Penelope rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. She smiled widely, still not fully believing that her life was reality. How, after so many years, did she end up here? The love she had for the man sleeping at her side overwhelmed her and she felt tears pick at the corners of her eyes. He may not be the perfect man she had dreamed of throughout the past eleven years, the Lord knew that she had seen many sides of him that she hadn’t known existed in the past several weeks, but it made him even more desirable to her. His perfection had always been overwhelming to her, but suddenly he was entirely human. He was troubled and conflicted, a bit spoiled, and had a fierce temper that ran under the surface, hidden away. He was a wonderful puzzle and, while their short engagement held many trials that had upended their emotions and caused tension, the moments in between had drawn her in.

She thought she fell in love with Colin when she was days away from turning sixteen. She learned what love truly was in the past month since Colin had reentered her life as a close friend. It was as if they had been given a new start, and in her heart, she knew that things had happened just as they were supposed to. They both drifted alone for so long, longing for the fulfillment that could be found in each other, a home together, the family they would become. They were truly lucky.

Penelope felt a tear roll down her cheekbone and into the soft hairs just above her ear. A soft whisper of fabric caught her attention and she looked over at Colin. His eyes were open and he was watching her beneath sleep-heavy lids.

“Hello,” he whispered softly, the corners of his mouth quirking into a lazy smile. His eyes blinked slowly as he watched her and he took a deep breath in and released it slowly. Penelope turned her head toward her new husband.

“Good morning,” she whispered back, rolling to her side and tucking a hand under her pillow. The movement caused the white, cotton sheet to fall away from her shoulder, exposing the delicate tie that held the garment on her body. Colin reached over slowly to tug the fabric back into place, but he did not remove his hand. His thumb caressed the small sliver of skin that was left exposed, sending shivers through her body. It was that sense of intimacy and familiarity that she was beginning to grow accustomed to. Whispered words, small touches, and fleeting glances, each reaffirming her decision to call this man hers and hers alone.

His green eyes were admiring her now, sleep had fallen away from his face and she only found contentment in his gaze. “It’s early, my dearest,” he said to her in a soft voice, “why are you awake at this hour?” He continued his ministrations and gooseflesh spread over her arm as her body responded to the slight tickling sensation.

“We forgot to close the curtains last night,” Penelope replied with a grin. Colin chuckled and his wide smile matched hers once he caught her double meaning.

“I wasn’t thinking of the curtains last night, I can assure you. I was rather…”

“-Distracted?” she offered cheekily, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

“Mmm...yes. That sounds accurate,” he quipped as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and slid over so that they were face to face, only inches apart. His hand that had been on her shoulder now found the curve of her cheek. His thumb ran over the fading tear track above her cheekbone and he leaned down for a kiss. Softly, tenderly his lips touched her own. It was far from the searing kisses they had shared the night before. This was an expression of happiness and contentment. She could feel the heat of his skin as his chest brushed her own, the thin layers of cotton and satin the only barriers between them. He pulled away slowly, gazing down at her with a smile. “I suppose I don’t mind waking early, at least this time.” Colin settled himself down to the mattress once more, his head falling ungracefully to lay on Penelope’s pillow, his forehead nearly touching her own.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” she replied. She lifted her arm to loosely wrap around his waist, holding his body lightly against her own.

“No harm done,” Colin leaned forward, the tip of his nose just barely touching hers, “this way I get a few more hours with my beautiful new wife before I have to share her with the world.”

Penelope felt her smile widen. Her heart fluttered as she tightened her hold on him slightly. The shift in her face caused a forgotten tear to fall down her cheek.

“Are you crying?” Colin asked, his playful mood shifting to concern as he leaned away slightly to observe her. He thumbed away the errant tear before running his fingers through the soft hairs at her temple. Shaking her head softly, Penelope leaned forward slightly so that they were face to face once more.

“No, not really,” she whispered. “I’m just a little overwhelmed this morning.” Her fingers trailed up Colin’s spine, her cold fingertips a contrast to his heated skin. She watched him close his eyes in response, not fully believing she could have this effect on him. “I woke up and I was...well,” she inhaled, the scent of vanilla and soap with a hint of musk surrounded her. She closed her eyes, collecting her words into a coherent idea before opening them to meet her husband’s concerned gaze. “I couldn’t believe that after so many years of wanting you, that you are here. I woke up next to you, you married me. I—I still feel like I’m dreaming and that I could wake up at any moment.”

Colin shook his head as he pulled away to look at Penelope’s face. “I was an idiot for not seeing you for who you were all those years…”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” she interrupted. “What I’m trying to say is that...I have yearned for this moment for half of my life, but... I am thankful that we came together when we did. Life never felt complete for either of us,” she reached up to slide her fingers into his thick, chestnut hair, “but we needed those years to find ourselves before we could find each other. As lonely as we have been, I’m glad to have you now.”

“It doesn’t mean that I don’t constantly wish I had realized that you were who I was meant to be with a decade ago.”

“Well,” she began, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to lean over her, “how about instead of worrying about the past decade we concentrate on the decade ahead?” Colin, hummed in agreement, his eyes closing as her fingernails raked over his scalp softly. He leaned down to kiss her. This kiss was more pressure and feeling; his lips slid over hers in what was beginning to become a practiced dance. He captured her bottom lip between his own and his fingers began to work the knot on the shoulder of her dressing gown. As the thin strips of fabric gave way, her lips parted in a silent gasp.

“Can the next decade start right now?” Colin mumbled into her jawline as his lips trailed across her cheek and to the creamy column of her neck. Penelope’s eyes closed as she lost herself in the sensations.

“Oh, yes. Please,” she replied breathily. Colin chuckled into her skin in response as he began working the satin bow on her opposite shoulder.

“Excellent,” he replied as the second knot gave way. Some things, he thought, were worth waking up early.

The early morning sun continued to stream in the window of their bedroom as the light grew in the east over Bedford Square. The curtains were entirely forgotten once again by the room’s occupants.

#polin #colin x penelope #bridgerton #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton fanfic #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington #newlyweds #honeymoon #morning after

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wing-ed-thing · 3 years

Text

Cabaret (Might Guy x Reader, Chapter XI)

Synopsis: You can’t stand Might Guy. Honestly, how could anyone be so boisterously unaware and sickeningly positive? Your heart sinks as the both of you are teamed up to infiltrate and collect information from the Hidden Sound’s gritty underground. Maybe losing yourselves in the dark of the the Sound’s nightlife will help you both come to an understanding.

Word Count: 2,198

Tags/Warnings: Alcohol/Alcohol Abuse, Language Probably

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIIIChapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI

Notes: So I originally made a 14 chapter outline and well, it’s been mostly used up. Oop.

“Who do you think was the Leaf’s informant in the first place?” Those words resounded in your head. A shiver worked its way down your spine and your mind went blank. Only those words. The sentence broke apart, rattling around as they bounced against the sides of your skull. Leaf. Informant. Who did you think? First place? And the first thing out of your mouth didn’t include an accusation, but only a—

“Why?” You looked up, forehead scrunched. The flames around you died down to non existence. A puff of smoke wisped into the air, a vague reminiscence of your flaming spirit energy.

“That’s an easy one.” Orochimaru’s smirk morphed into a deep scowl. “We both want the Akatsuki out of my territory.” You snorted and crossed your arms.

“Why would I want the Akatsuki out of y—”

“Perhaps I should rephrase.” Orochimaru cut you off quickly, taking a step closer to you. He cleared his throat, putting his smug exterior back on. “We both want the Akatsuki to take a hit, don’t we? You must know by now that they’re trying to take my army out from under me.”

“Teaming up with you,” You mused with a huff before giving the pair a sceptical look out of the corner of your eye. “How much did Lady Fifth know about this?”

“Enough,” Orochimaru shrugged. “Now, now, dear, Kabuto tells me you’re smart. We’ve left the Leaf alone for quite some time—” You scoffed, once again cutting off the snake Sannin.

“Yeah, after killing our last Hokage and kidnapping a child,” You muttered. Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed, unamused.

“Sasuke Uchiha came to me of his own free will. But that is beside the point.” He was beginning to get impatient. You could tell, feeling the ever so slight shift in his tone. If anything, Tsunade had been right to send an empath. Orochimaru remained ever-cognizant to not let himself falter. “We’ve left the Leaf alone. The question for you is if you want the Akatsuki organization to assume power over yet another village, a shinobi village, or if you’d rather it belong to a Sannin who has no intention of harming you… anytime soon that is.”

“And in exchange?” You found yourself questioning. Orochimaru quirked an eyebrow.

“And in exchange you get to walk out of the Sound alive.” Kabuto stepped forward. His palms faced the ceiling, a gesture of good will as he motioned towards you.

“Your mission will be done quicker. You’ll have new information available to you. We’ll allocate any resources you need.” He pushed up his glasses. “And of course you’ll have back-up whenever you need it.” Orochimaru glanced at his underling.

“Is that what you kids are calling it now?” His jest was ignored and he once again met your eye. “Take some time to think about it, m’kay, dear? We’ll be hearing from you soon, I’m sure.” And just as the pair turned to leave, you called out.

“Wait!” Orochimaru glanced over his shoulder.

“Yes?” He purred, smirking.

“Why me?” You demanded in all cliché. Orochimaru sighed, disappearing from the apartment, leaving Kabuto to answer your question.

“You’re the one calling the shots on this mission, aren’t you? Since you’re the point of contact?” An appeal to your ego. The words sounded familiar to you, but you couldn’t quite place from where. You couldn’t read Kabuto’s features in the slightest. You had a lot to think about.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

***

You needed a drink. You didn’t know a whole lot right now, but that you could safely say that at the very least. The door of your apartment slammed behind you. Darkness enveloped your studio and no you made no effort to turn on any lights. You made a b-line for the kitchenette. As you opened the fridge, the light flooded over your face. Nothing strong enough. You flicked on the lights above the counter island to look in the bottom cabinets. Vodka. That’ll do nicely. You resurfaced, slamming the bottle on the counter and that’s when you noticed the large figure sitting on your bed in the darkness.

“Holy shit!” You let out a string of curses and clutched your chest. “Guy, you scared the shit out of me.” He didn’t say anything and you didn’t wait for him to. You went to unscrew the top of your bottle and took a long, deep swig. The ethanol burned your throat, leaving you with an almost medical aftertaste. But you wouldn’t be a very good hostess if you couldn’t handle that. You put it back up to your lips. The liquid glugged, large bubbles bursting at the bottom of the bottle. You could already feel your stomach begin to heat up, the buzz creeping up on your slower than you would have liked. Worrying about the mission and Orochimaru could wait, you didn’t want to deal with it. You turned your attention back to Guy who remained ever-silent. “Maito, are you okay?”

He sat completely still in the dark. His legs were long enough for his feet to lay flat on the floor. His elbows met his knees and he made no effort to move from his hunched over position. Guy slowly raised his head, face completely emotionless.

“Where were you?” He asked quietly. You smiled nervously.

“I was with Shou, on dohan, remember? I told you that.” Guy shook his head.

“I saw Shou. I served him at the bar and he said that he hadn’t seen you.” He frowned. You didn’t even bother denying his silent accusation. He was right. “I looked for you everywhere. I thought something happened to you.” You took another swig of your sizable drink, leaning over the counter.

“I-I’m sorry.” At best, the apology came off insincere. Guy ignored it.

He repeated himself, “Where were you?” Your tongue ran across the edge of your lip. You weren’t going to insult him further with a lie.

“Orochimaru has a proposition for us,” You opted and Guy’s eyes went wide.

“What?” You sighed, wishing that you could just go to sleep. You took a deep breath.

“I said, ‘Orochimaru has—”

“I heard what you said.” Guy stood from your bed, a single hand gestured towards you. He looked visibly upset. His usual joyful expression had since vacated his features. He clenched his jaw, looking troubled and worried. “And you’re telling me that you went to go meet him alone? We just had a conversation about how you can count on me. And what did you say?”

“No, Guy, I do. I do trust you.”

“You said, ‘I know. I know I can trust you, Maito’. I thought that we were starting to get somewhere. That if you were to talk to Orochimaru, you at least would have brought me to back you up instead of leaving me blindsided to figure it out from some random Sound ninja later.”

Guy didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his voice in the slightest, he was just quiet. You almost wished that he were angry. He just sounded tired.

“We were, we are getting somewhere. I really do trust you, you’ve been a great partner. I didn’t even know that I’d be talking to Orochimaru—”

“Then who did you think you were meeting?” You looked up, meeting his eye from the other side of the counter. He already knew. Guy folded his lips and cast his head down. He sighed again. “I had a bad feeling about him and I had a bad feeling when I asked you about it. But I thought that you had it under control.”

“I do have it under control.” You were beginning to lose patience.

“No.” Guy looked you dead in the eye. “No, you don’t.” He ran his thumb across the corner of his mouth, casting his gaze to the side. “You’ve got a really powerful gift, but it makes you vulnerable. I’ve seen how much you drink. You should have had more time to train before you were thrust into a mission like this.” You glared at him with gritted teeth.

“What are you implying? That I’m unfit for this mission?” Guy turned back to you, serious and emotionless. He refused to answer, so you pushed a bit harder. You crossed your arms. “Say it. Just come out and say it.”

“I never said that you were unfit for this mission.”

“Well, make a definitive statement or back off.” A pause. The tension hung thick in the air around you. You felt heated, perhaps due to the alcohol.

“I’m going to contact the Leaf tomorrow. One of us has to come off of this mission. We’ll need as much help as we can get if Orochimaru is involved.” He turned to leave.

“Don’t you get it?” You snapped, “No one is coming to help us. Godaime knew, okay? She sent us in blind. Orochimaru has been our informant this whole time.” Guy stopped. You continued, “Orochimaru confirmed that the Akatsuki are here or at least trying to recruit. He proposed an alliance.”

“For what?” Guy once again faced you. “Orochimaru couldn’t possibly want something for nothing.”

“He said that he just wants the Akatsuki out of the Sound. What throws me is the fact that Godaime didn’t say anything about it.” Guy sat, his frustration morphing into a puzzled curiosity. He furrowed his brows. “He’s willing to help. Anything we need he’ll provide.”

“You didn’t take it, did you?”

“I didn’t give an answer.” The corners of Guy’s lips drooped father downward. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“‘No’ might have been a good answer.” You stepped back, hands on your hips.

“Orochimaru has information. We’ve been working HEAVEN for a long time and we’ve drawn up nothing. Our original hunch that Orochimaru is behind all of this is completely down the drain now.” You gazed at your large bottle and wanted to take another drink but Guy’s words burned in the back of your throat the way liquor never could.

“How do you know that this isn’t some kind of ploy? He still could be behind all of this and is just trying to throw us off.” You sucked on the inside of your cheek, your hand coming over your mouth.

“You didn’t see his face when he was talking about the Akatsuki. He’s pissed.” You met Guy’s eye. If you couldn’t read him before, you certainly couldn’t now. He remained still and listening. “This mission can be over with even faster than we imagined. We could go home.”

“You can’t stand me that much,” Guy stated, trying not to let his words bite. “So much that you’re willing to work with the man who terrorized our own home?”

“I can stand you perfectly fine. I know it may come as a surprise but I don’t hate you, you know.” You sucked in a sharp inhale.

“Well then what is it?” You became aware of your chest as anxiety burrowed a hole deep in the pit of your ribcage. You cast your eyes away but Guy continued to look upon you expectantly.

“I don’t know.” You went to maneuver around the counter, but Guy swiftly stood from his seat to block you. Your head hung.

“Yes, you do.” He stood, unyielding, above you. “As your partner, I deserve to know.” You dared to look up at him. He felt overwhelming, his scent overcoming you and his emotions pungent in the air. “Please.” You followed his lips as they moved. “Let me in.”

Hardly after a moment of consideration, you nodded and immediately kicked him in the knee. And as he doubled over to around your height, you scooped his face into your hands and planted your mouth on his. His lips felt soft as they gingerly moved against yours and after a moment of shock, his hands found your waist. You poured all of you mixed emotions into his chakra network. His energy spilled into your system, washing over every inch of you and you let it. You let the memories circulate away: news of your mission, nights in training, watching him perform his tricks from the other side of the bar. You loaded it all out: the annoyance, the fear, the comfort. And in exchange you felt his helplessness, worry, and doubt. Guy pulled you closer and you couldn’t help but squeak into his mouth. An unspoken longing.

But when you broke away, you broke away quickly. Guy seemed to be more at peace, happier. His usual Might Guy glow came back and for once that night, you could read a semblance of normalcy on his face. He visibly relaxed as if something in him melted away when he crashed into you.

“I didn’t know how to explain it. How I was feeling.” And then all of that went away. His slight smile dropped. He cleared his throat.

“Okay.”

That was all he said before he left and you didn’t know where you went wrong. You didn’t stop him. You wouldn’t get a chance to talk to him the next day either. You wouldn’t have the time. HEAVEN would be even more frantic than usual and that was because Yuzuki was dead.

Notes: I think I might just post a link to the A03 every time a new chapter comes. Cabaret will no longer have a schedule with my other works. I’ll just double post one day and it’ll be a surprise cause I have no idea where this is going. No worries, though, I’m still planning on finishing it. Expect a new chapter later this month. I might as well make this series it’s own calendar.

Thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, and followed. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

#might guy #might guy x reader #might guy relationship #Maito Gai #maito gai x reader #maito guy #Maito guy relationship #naruto headcanon #naruto headcanons #naruto imagines #naruto imagine #naruto x reader #naruto x you #naruto x y/n #x you #x reader #reader insert

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secretobsessionstuff · 3 years

Note

i’ve missed madix and riley a bunch lately!! so maybe when you’ve got the time (and inspiration ) would you write something for them? maybe with the phrase “hey, you passed out. don’t sit up yet, just relax.” (or something along the lines of rhat) for them? i hope you are staying well & healthy, and happy new year!!!

Sorry it took me so long to get to this prompt. Anyway enjoy this fic that is in no way inspired by my life.

“I know you’re nervous, but you have to eat something,” Madix said to Riley as they drove into the student parking lot.

It was early, around 8 o’clock in the morning, and neither of them had had breakfast yet. There was a coffee shop inside the building that Madix hoped would have his favourite donut. Next to him in the passenger seat, Riley wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs for the millionth time. Riley was certainly not hoping to eat a donut because his stomach was already queasy from the nerves. It was the master’s thesis presentation day, and he dreaded what was to come. A full day of watching presentations was not appealing, especially since he was the second to last person. Riley wished that he could have been earlier and just get it over with, but instead he had to sit through other people presenting their research.

When Riley didn’t respond – too focused on wiping the sweat on his pants – Madix carried on. “There’s still a while before we all meet in the lecture hall. At least get something to drink.”

So that’s what Riley did. He carefully sipped his tea (coffee would simply make his hands shake more) while Madix ate a decent breakfast. He munched on his donut, forever worried about his boyfriend who looked around nervously. Madix reached his hands across the table to grab onto Riley’s. “It’s going to be fine. It’ll be less than an hour and then you’re done!”

“Forty-five minutes is so long.” That is an ungodly amount of time for one person to talk continuously. Riley thought back to his undergrad thesis that was only 10 minutes and even that was terrifying! He did not want to ramble in front of a whole room for an hour.

“And the whole thing is fantastic,” Madix insisted. “You practiced for me a billion times and it always sounded great.”

“I wish it could just be you in the room.”

“Then just look at me the whole time.”

Riley let out a nervous laugh. He supposed looking at Madix for an hour straight didn’t sound too bad. “Okay yeah, yeah. It’ll be fine. It’s fine.”

Madix raised Riley’s hands to his lips and gave them a kiss. “It’ll be more than fine.” Then he pushed a donut towards his boyfriend who was looking far too pale that morning. “Now eat something goddammit.”

Later when that donut and tea were sitting uneasily in Riley’s stomach, they all found themselves in the lecture hall. Riley tapped on the table in front of him, waiting for the presentations to begin. The first half of the day wasn’t terrible. The presentations were interesting enough that Riley could forget about his own. Well, his taping fingers and bouncing legs never really forgot about what was to come, but the panic didn’t start until his time slot got nearer. By the time the lunch break came around, Riley’s stress was rising higher. Of course, he completely ignored eating again because the ache in his belly was more than a little stress stomach-ache.

His time slot was next. Every inch of his skin was on fire except for his hands that were cold and clammy. From beneath the table, he felt Madix put his hand over his bouncing leg.

Madix leaned over so that he could whisper. “Please breathe, you’re as white as a ghost.”

Riley wished that he could be a ghost and disappear. Instead, he settled for a trip to the bathroom. Maybe he could flush himself down the toilet. “I’ll be back.”

As Riley stood up from his chair, he needed to catch himself on the desk in front of him. He reached his sweaty palms out to save him from falling forward as the edges of his vision got dark. Whoa, his head felt funny. And God, his stomach felt worse. As if he were drunk, he swayed out of the door. Madix didn’t follow him but that was okay because he needed a moment to himself.

Riley felt like he was dreaming as he walked down the hallway. Once in the bathroom, he braced himself on the sink and tried to take deep breaths. Sometimes he swears that his eyes have dimmers, and in that moment, he thought for sure that someone was dimming the lights behind his eyes.

The darkness didn’t spread luckily, but the nausea was certainly spreading through his body. Oh fuck, he really did not want to be sick just minutes before his presentation. He also didn’t want to risk presenting with a vomit-stained shirt, so he knelt to the floor in one of the stalls.

The still water in the toilet taunted the choppy seas in his own belly. Actually, he wondered how his stomach could have been anything more than a dried-up wasteland. The only thing he ate or drank that day was a donut and a tea. Still, his stomach was mad and didn’t like the stress that ran through his veins.

A harsh gag came up Riley’s throat, but it was dry. Oh God, oh no! He couldn’t believe this was about to happen. His stomach spasmed again but still nothing came up. His chest burned. He didn’t want to do this; he didn’t want to be here. Another gag grated up his throat.

Meanwhile, Madix was getting more concerned with how long Riley had been gone for. The current student was wrapping up his presentation, and then there would only be the question period before it was Riley’s turn. That’s it. Madix left to find his boyfriend.

Madix opened the bathroom door just in time to hear a strangled noise come from one of the stalls. He could see Riley kneeling on the floor. Riley moaned miserably after letting out that choked gag. Madix swore under his breath and mumbled, “Oh deer…”

He stood behind Riley who left the stall door open. He watched as Riley’s shoulders quaked with each empty heave. “Well shit, Ry.”

Riley was too focused on the roiling of his gut to be surprised by Madix’s sudden appearance. He sniffled as snot ran from his nose. “Ugh – I’m sorry.” He coughed which triggered another rough retch. “I can’t. I – hic.”

“Alright, alright.” Madix got to the floor next to Riley and put his hand on the boy’s trembling back. He needed to calm him down before anything worse happened. “Remember to breathe.”

Instead of breathing, Riley decided to make thing worse for him. “Is it my turn yet?”

“I’m not sure…” Madix bit his lip in worry. “How about you focus on calming down before worrying about that.”

Riley really wanted to get up. His time had run out and no one would care that his stomach was in knots. “I have to get back.” A belch burst from his mouth that left saliva dripping from his lips. He wiped it away. He made a move to get up, but a heavy hand stayed on his back. “I haven’t actually puked yet.”

Madix clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “That’s because there’s barely anything in your stomach, baby.” He hated the fact that he could feel the tension in Riley’s muscles. He hated the way Riley’s legs shook as he tried to get up. “You’re hurting yourself.”

“What else am I supposed to do? I have to do this.”

Madix stayed quiet, unsure how to respond. He had no clue what time it was, but he guessed that the lecture hall would be waiting for the next student. Madix sighed and backed up with his hands in the air. “…If you say so.”

Riley sniffled and stood up with legs that trembled as bad a newborn deer. Once he became upright, those lights behind his eyes flickered for a moment. That dream-like sensation returned and he couldn’t tell which way was up. There came another flicker of his vision before the lights died out completely.

“Riley!” Madix shouted as his boyfriend went limp. The boy’s legs buckled awkwardly, and some unconscious part of Riley’s brain made a last-ditch effort to catch himself before blacking out. His arms came reaching out towards Madix.

“Ah okay, I got you. I got you.” Madix caught Riley before he could fall to the ground. They became a tangle of arms, and Madix wasn’t prepared to untangle the mess. He heard Riley mumbled something in his semi-conscious state, but it was all gibberish. “Shh, You’re okay.” It was good that he only really blacked out for a second.

“Ugh…Madix.” Riley’s eyelids fluttered opened, but soon closed again. There was no way for him to hold his own weight. His head rolled forward onto Madix’s chest as he was being carefully lowered to the ground.

Madix gently sat Riley up against the wall. They were no longer in the stall because Madix had stumbled backwards to catch his boyfriend. He clumsily brought them both to the floor just as Riley’s eyes began to regain clarity. Madix put his hand on Riley’s pale cheek and slightly rubbed his thumb across his dry skin.

“What happened?” Riley mumbled. He squinted in the florescent light of the bathroom and moaned in pain. Everything hurt. His mouth was dry, and the nausea was as persistent as ever. In his disoriented state, the only thing he knew for certain was that his belly was being stirred up. The thumping of his heartbeat was a ticking clock telling him that he was still screwing up. He put his hands on the ground, about to stand, but then he saw Madix’s sweet face.

“Hey, you passed out,” Madix said softly. “Don’t get up yet. Just relax.” He gave Riley’s shoulder a squeeze. His boyfriend really did look awful with dark sunken eyes and a grimace of pain.

Riley groaned and wrapped his arms around his torso. He wanted to say something to Madix, probably sorry or thank you, but the only thing that came out was a wet gag. He followed it with a weak heave, the first one to not be dry. A small amount of pale vomit spilled past his lips and landed on his shirt.

Madix cooed, feeling terrible that his boyfriend had to deal with this. “You’re alright, baby. Let it happen.”

Riley let out a shallow burp that brought with it a thin string of bile and frothy saliva. A hiccupped seized his chest and forced his shoulders forward as another small gush of sick dripped down his chin. Riley wanted to cry but his eyes were too dry. “Ugh, what am I going to do?”

“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do,” Madix said as he ran a paper towel under cold water. He came back with the wet paper and gently wiped Riley’s face. “You’re going to sit here until you feel ready to get up – until you won’t pass out when you try to stand – and then we’ll talk to someone about rescheduling. We’ll see about getting you a more private presentation.”

Riley moaned. “I don’t like any of this.”

“I know you don’t,” Madix said. “I’ll help you fix this. There must be accommodations for mental health.”

That seemed like the best Riley could hope for. He accepted that there was no way he’d be able to go on today. It was irresponsible for him to push himself anymore, and Madix managed to convince him that he didn’t screw anything up. Things happen and most people are understanding.

“However,” Madix began with an intent look, “that doesn’t mean you can just not eat or drink. Like I said, you’re hurting yourself, and I don’t like seeing like this.”

“I know...I’m sorry.”

Madix gave his boyfriend a sad smile. “No need to apologize to me.”

#emeto #emetophilia #emeto fic #sickfic #fainting #pass out #nervous stomach #puking #dehydration #faint #Madix #Riley

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 3 years

Note

1- you know JC stans always try to deflect claiming LQR LXC LWJ and NMJ are all equally at fault bc they didn't stand for trhe wens either but JC and WWX are literally the only two people who know the truth about the wen sibs and he decided not to tell anyone so the public has no means of knowing everything they did and risked for him, they literally committed treason to save the jiang sect and protect them from the wen army but in the eyes of the public they are known as loyal disciples to WRH-

Thank you for the question anon!

Relevant passages in regards to this issue posted first since a lot of it gets very misconstrued with what blame lies where with the Sect Leaders before the events when it came to the massacre at Nightless City and the deaths of the Wen Remnants. This is not necessarily clean cut after the fallout with Jin Zixuan and Jin Zixun's deaths. This is also still with the underlying plot of Jin Guangshan aiming for the Yin Hu Fu. There is a lot of political intrigue that goes ignored with this by manipulation of the Jin Sect and Jiang Cheng being blinded by his own jealousy.

“… Four inspectors were harmed. Around fifty of the remaining Wen Sect members escaped. After Wei WuXian led them into Burial Mound, he summoned hundreds of fierce corpses to patrol the base of the mountain. Our people still can’t get any further.”

When he finished, silence filled the Golden Pavilion.

Jiang Cheng only spoke after a few moments, “What he did was indeed a bit too much. Sect Leader Jin, I apologize to you in place of him. If there’s any way at all to help the situation, please let me know. I’ll definitely compensate for things however I can.”

What Jin GuangShan wanted, however, wasn’t his apology or his compensation, “Sect Leader Jiang, at first, for your sake, the LanlingJin Sect didn’t intend on saying anything. However, some of these inspectors weren’t from the Jin Sect. There were a few from other sects as well. This makes it…”

Jiang Cheng’s brows were knitted. He rubbed the vein that throbbed at his temple and soundlessly took in a deep breath, “… I apologize to all of the Sect Leaders. Everyone, I’m afraid you don’t know that the Wen cultivator whom Wei WuXian wanted to save was called Wen Ning. We owe him and his sister Wen Qing gratitude for what happened during the Sunshot Campaign.”

Nie MingJue, “You owe them gratitude? Isn’t the QishanWen Sect the ones who caused the YunmengJiang Sect’s annihilation?”

Within these few years, Jiang Cheng insisted on working late into the night every day. That day, just as he decided to rest early, he had to rush to Koi Tower overnight because of the thundering news. He’d been suppressing some anger under his fatigue since the beginning. With his natural competitiveness, he was already quite agitated since he had to apologize to other people. When he heard Nie MingJue mention the incident of his sect again, hatred sprouted within him.

The hatred was directed at not only everyone who was seated in this room, but also Wei WuXian.

Passage 2:

Using the atmosphere, Jin GuangShan turned to Jiang Cheng, “He’s been plotting for a while to go to Burial Mound, hasn’t he? After all, with his skills, it wouldn’t be too hard to set up a sect of his own. And so, he used this as a chance to leave the Jiang Sect, intending to do whatever he pleases in the bright skies outside. You rebuilt the YunmengJiang Sect with so much work. He’s got a few controversial traits in him to begin with, and still he doesn’t restrain himself, stirring up so much trouble for you. He doesn’t care about you at all.”

Jiang Cheng pretended to stand his ground, “That probably isn’t that case. Wei WuXian has been like this ever since he was young. Even my father couldn’t do anything about him.”

Jin GuangShan, “Even FengMian-xiong couldn’t do anything about him, huh?” He chuckled a few times, “FengMian-xiong just favored him.”

Hearing the words ‘favors him’, the muscles beside the corners of Jiang Cheng’s mouth twitched.

Jin GuangShan continued, “Sect Leader Jiang, you’re not like your father. It’s just been a couple of years since the reestablishment of the YunmengJiang Sect, precisely when you should be displaying your power. And he doesn’t even know to avoid suspicions. What would the Jiang Sect’s new disciples think if they saw him? Don’t tell me you’d let them see him as their role model and look down on you?”

He spoke one sentence after another, striking the iron while it was still hot. Jiang Cheng spoke slowly, “Sect Leader Jin, that’s enough. I’ll go to The Burial Mounds and deal with this.”

Here the sect leaders were aware of the Wen Sect remnants as prisoners of war and saw it as a justifiable reason to keep the remaining Wens imprisoned regardless of age status etc. When Jiang Cheng is asked by Nie Mingjue for clarification on the matter of the debt owed by the Wen siblings it is deflected by Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao with clever wordplay to rile everyone up. This leaves those who either asked for more information, Lan Xichen who is shutdown by not having enough information by the majority and Nie Mingjue distracted by his hate of the Wens already, and Mianmian and Lan Wangji who argued that Wei Wuxian was protecting innocents and was not trying to cause a coup ignored as being irrelevant opinions. Wei Wuxian is eventually labelled a defector and danger due to Jiang Cheng exasperating what they had actually planned in the staged fight.

After this several months pass until Lan Wangji comes to tell Wei Wuxian of Jiang Yanli's marriage in a week's time. Several days later the Jiang siblings arrive with the same news and Jiang Yanli is the one to extend a peace branch to try keeping the three connected with the courtesy naming or Jin Ling. Almost a year's time later Wei Wuxian is in fact invited to the one-month celebration as another peace branch by Jin Zixuan who was the one to extend the offer. Jin Guangshan, Jin Zixun and Jin Guangyao planned the murder of Wei Wuxian in Qiongqi Pass against Jin Zixuan's knowledge. This leads to the mess of his murder and Wei Wuxian being hunted down as well as all of the remaining Wens on order of Jin Guangshan in retaliation after Wen Qing is killed as the remaining leader of the Wens and Wen Ning secretly suppressed. This leads to days later to the Pledge Conference at the city which holds Jin Zixuan's body and Jiang Yanli who is there to keep the death vigils (Shou Ling) as family. It's also why her and Madam Jin are wearing the white robes when Wei Wuxian sees them and by bad luck comes across the sect leaders pact when he tries to flee.

After the the wine had seeped into the dirt, Jin GuangShan stated, “No matter the sect, no matter the surname—this cup of wine is to the soldiers who have died.”

Nie MingJue, “May their souls live on.”

Lan XiChen, “Rest in peace.”

Jiang Cheng, however, still had on a darkened expression. He didn’t say anything even after he poured the wine.

Afterward, Jin GuangYao walked out from the LanlingJin Sect’s array and presented with both hands a square box made of black iron. Jin GuangShan took the box with one hand and raised it high in the air, shouting, “Here lies the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants!”

After he spoke, he sent forth his spiritual energy and shattered the box with his bare hand. The iron box broke into pieces, and white dust drifted alongside the cold wind.

A scattering of the ashes!

A series of cheers exploded through the crowd. Jin GuangShan raised his hands, signaling for the people to be quiet and listen to him talk. When the cheers slowly died down, he continued, raising his voice, “Tonight, the ones whose ashes had been scattered were the two leaders of the Wen Sect’s remnants. And tomorrow! It will be the rest of the Wen-dogs and—the YiLing Laozu, Wei Ying!”

Suddenly, a low laugh interrupted his grand speech. The laugh was too untimely, sounding both stark and jarring. In unison, the crowd turned to look at where the sound came from.

The Palace of Sun and Flames was a rather magnificent palace. A total of twelve ridges made up its roof, and at the end of each ridge were eight heavenly beasts. Yet, right now, the people realized that on one of those ridges, there were nine. The laugh from before came from over there!

The extra beast shifted slightly. The next moment, a boot and a corner of black clothes dangled down from the roof, swaying softly.

Everyone placed their hand onto their sword hilt. Jiang Cheng’s pupils shrunk. Blue veins lined the back of his hand.

Jin GuangShan was overcome with both shock and hatred, “Wei Ying! How dare you show yourself here!”

The person opened their mouth to speak. What came out was indeed Wei WuXian’s voice, but he spoke in a strange tone, “Why should I dare not show myself here? Do you people here even add up to three thousand? Don’t forget that back in the Sunshot Campaign, let alone three thousand, I’ve fought against five thousand on my own before. And by appearing here, haven’t I granted your wish? No need for you to come all the way to my home tomorrow to scatter my ashes.”

A few of the QingheNie Sect’s disciples died in the hands of Wen Ning as well. Nie MingJue spoke coldly, “What arrogance.”

Wei WuXian, “Haven’t I always been arrogant? Sect Leader Jin, how does it feel, having slapped yourself in the face? Who was the one that said he’d let the matter go if the Wen siblings went to Koi Tower and gave themselves up? And who was the one that just said he’d scatter my ashes and the ashes of the rest of the Wen Sect’s remnants tomorrow?”

Jin GuangShan, “Let’s consider things as they stand! At Qiongqi Path, you slaughtered over a hundred of the LanlingJin Sect’s disciples—this is one thing. You made Wen Ning kill at Koi Tower—this is another…”

Wei WuXian, “Then let me ask you, Sect Leader Jin, at Qiongqi Path, who was the one being ambushed? And who was the one to kill? Who was the main schemer? And who was the one being schemed against? In the end, just who was the one that came to provoke me first?”

Keep in mind none of the other sect leaders were privy to the scheme between Jin Guangshan, Jin Guangyao and Jin Zixun. And they believe they are certainly fighting off a crazed Wei Wuxian and what they think are his fodder Wens meant for corpses. After this Wei Wuxian desperately fights against Lan Wangji who is trying to calm him down before it's too late which is unsuccessful leading to Jiang Yanli also trying to calm him down enough to get him away and talk some sense to get him out of there to run and get to the Wens. After her death he mentally blacks out and Lan Wangji is left trying to take him away to safety close enough to Burial Mounds. Lan Wangji then fights off his elders as Lan Xichen gathered the Lans to find them. Immediately after this is in sequestered secrecy Lan Wangji is punished. Lan Xichen presumably stays with his own brother while Lan Qiren is the acting Sect Leader for the actual Siege that the other three are part of as support. That leaves Jin Guangshan with the ulterior motive of getting the Yin Hu Fu, Jiang Cheng who wants revenge for the death of Jiang Yanli, and Nie Mingjue left to think he is killing what he considers disgraceful Wens.

So, in short, each of them had different motivations for actually being there, and different accounts for those reasons. The Jins for more power, Jiangs for revenge, Nies for justice and the Lans in solidarity. And the fault of it isn't meted out equally as all had misunderstandings and manipulated by Jin Guangshan's pull to each of their morals as cultivation sects. In the end each of the four were there to kill the Wens and Wei Wuxian aside from Lan Wangji and arguably Jiang Yanli when she was caught up trying to get Wei Wuxian to run.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #Nightless City and the First Seige #don't mind me #asks #I can never make these short it seems

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sneezefiction · 4 years

Text

coffee n’ conversations

Atsumu x Reader - Scenario

event request: “Congrats on 600!!! You deserve it so much I love your blog 🥺 May I request 5 [”Please don’t go.”] w/ Tsum tsum ty”

a/n: mm because this prompt got angsty last time, i decided to go all out fluff for Atsumu. the guy just needs caffeine. and you. that’s it.

warnings: slight language

wc: 1380

---

Coffee excursions have always been Atsumu’s thing.

He needed it to survive.

Maybe it’s 5am after a chilly morning run just as the sun is peaking over the horizon. Or it could be 2 am, convincing his eyes to stay open as he attempts to finish a shitty finals paper while slowly sipping on a bitter black coffee to get him through the night.

But whatever the matter is, he always finds a way to have a coffee wedged between his fingers, warming him up from the outside in.

Atsumu without energy is like a badly-written, teen angst novel. Tired, irritable, and slow. The sharp, chocolatey tang and the much-needed energy boost, keeps him from collapsing into a soggy, frustrated pile of mush. It was a life and grade saver.

To Atsumu, coffee is delicious when enjoyed in solitude or socially...

But with you? Coffee adventures are a tad different.

Their purpose? A little more personal. The caffeine? For more than just a buzz.

And, in true Atsumu fashion, these coffee dates somehow end up in the evening, walking down a streetlamp lit sidewalk with a to-go cup in hand or snuggled under piles of blankets at his place. Ever since you started dating him, he’s been screwing over your sleep schedule in more ways than one. But surprisingly, this might be your favorite way.

It didn’t matter how tired you both already were, on the weekends, a coffee date always ensued after your initial date ended.

The words would always trickle out,

“Please don’t go, yet. I’ll buy you a coffee if ya stay.” He flashes you a grin, eyes shining with his utmost charm on display.

“’Tsumu… I’ve got work in the morning.” You sigh, brushing his hair off of his forehead only to watch it fall right back into place, every strand faintly lit up by glowing street lamps.

“C’monnn, babe, please. I know ya wanna...” He leans in towards your face, his breath tickling your ear, but you just hum in response. Ignoring his advances was always a little fun. He was easy to rile up.

Cue a sigh of frustration from the blonde, “We can head back to my place after.” He entices, slithering a sneaky arm around your waist, tickling you and causing you to tuck into his side.

You playfully swat at his arm with your free hand and drop your head in resignation, accepting the fact that you were bound to forever be exhausted and simultaneously riding a caffeine high. But how could you say no? He could get you flustered and excited about practically anything with that affectionately mischievous smile.

Minutes later, you find yourself hand-in-hand with the brown-eyed blondie. Your other hand grasps a hot, milky cappuccino.

The proximity of his house to the coffee shop makes the walk back short and pleasant.

This portion of your late-night coffee routine was always especially quiet. The silences allows for your footsteps to echo as the two of you make your way up the concrete stairway to his apartment.

You’re both greeted by his familiar entrance area, kicking off shoes and removing jackets. Gentle shadows vanish after a soft light is switched on and you shuffle over to the couch with your drink in hand. ‘Tsumu follows promptly, plopping onto the opposite side of the couch, but tangling his long legs with yours. But as soon as your soft eyes meet his lively ones, the words begin to flow out of your mouths like a gentle stream.

It’s an unpacking of sorts. From your relationship, to current memes, to trying to convince him to change his hair color… It;s endless and unbridled and cushioned with promises of cuddles, giggles, and sips of coffee. Your conversations are full of running gags and familiar topics. Topics and jokes that then set the tone for deeper, more serious conversations.

“Y/n, if ya coulda gone back and chosen between me and ‘Samu, who would ya really be datin’ right now?” He smirks whilst grabbing your calve and squeezing it a little, prompting this question for what must be the 10th time in the past year.

You shoot him a playful look, your eyes squinting in mock deliberation as you take another sip from the open-topped coffee cup, the foam catching on your lip. Atsumu notices and sits up, reaching across the couch to wipe it away with his thumb, giving you slight smirk.

Instead of moving back to his initial position, he grabs the cup from your hand and places it on a wooden side table. You don’t fight him over it - this is clearly an important question to him. Atsumu then lays across you, snuggling into your chest and letting you pet his hair like a needy puppy.

“I dunno ‘Tsumu… what do you think?” You prod, knowing that this is a far more sensitive topic to him than he’ll ever let on.

He gives you an exasperated sigh.

“I asked ya first, dumbass. That’s not how these conversations work, stupid.” He tucks his head into the crook of your neck, pressing a soft kiss there.

If your coffee had been mixed with a little bit of alcohol, your answer might’ve been teasing. Less thought out - he would receive an answer that could only feed into his insecurities...

But having a clear mind could be good sometimes. Especially when it came down to the twins and your relationship with them.

The three of you had been close for many years, so you’d had crushes on both of them at one time or another. But late into your college years, you realized that you and Sumu fit perfectly together. And it may have also helped that he actually liked you back.

You needed the sense of adventure he brought to the table. To banter back and forth with flirty comments, battling to become the snarkier lover. And of course, you loved that dating him meant more of these iconic coffee outings.

But Atsumu heard about your high school crush on Osamu much later into your relationship. And it shouldn’t have bothered him that you’d been crushing on his brother. That was years ago when hormones and the pressure to date was at an all-time high. Completely in the past.

But you knew it nagged at him. The frequency of the question being the telltale sign.

So you lean your head down, kissing his hair, relishing the way it tickled your nose and chin. Then you grace him with a contented sigh, ruffling the strands, sinking him deeper into the already comfortable position.

“Sumu, you’re my favorite, alright?” You feel him smile against your collarbone and small grin forms on your face. “Is that what you wanted to hear?” You tease.

He rolls his eyes but responds honestly.

“Ya know me so well. Why don’tcha go ahead n’ say it again, y/n?” He presses another kiss, this time to your bare shoulder.��

“Mm, yeah, you’re my favorite person…” You hum, brushing a hand down his back.

“And so handsome. Your jawline? Babe, it’s so perfect. I’m kinda jealous actually.”

He won’t admit it, but your compliments get him flustered. Sumu’s just grateful that he doesn’t blush easily. So he stays quiet, soaking in your sweetness.

“The way you look after a match? I’m always like… damn, that’s my boyfriend.” You stroke his back and his ego.

“You’re definitely my boy.” You murmur while planting a kiss on his forehead, hugging his head.

“But it’s not your looks I’m after, babe.” It’s quiet, but the way your voice carries those words feels heavier than any other comment.

“Because if that were true, I probably could have settled for Samu…”

You pause, looking him directly in the eye. You gaze is gentle, but steady.

“But you? Yeah. You’re the one for me.”

You want to laugh at how soppy you sound. You’re pretty much the epitome of ‘sickeningly sweet.’

But that’s just where these discussions lead. And you both go with the flow.

Coffee is just another gateway to rare, beautiful moments with Atsumu. His filter on the deeper, more personal topics is removed and you’re opened up to green lush worlds of conversation and star-speckled galaxies of thought.

To think there was a time you’d summed him up as a shallow asshole.

Well… sometimes he still is.

But that doesn’t matter, because it’s you that he shows the puzzle pieces of his mind to. And he loves to decipher yours as well. These coffee fueled moments are the least chaotic of your interactions. They’re the calmest. The snuggliest.

And it’s still Atsumu. In all of his glory.

“Thanks for always stayin’, y/n. I don’t know what I’d do without ya.” He says sleepily, sinking deeper into your chest as the buzz finally wearing off in the four o’ clock hour.

“Well, if you keep supplying the coffee, I won’t be going anywhere, cutie.”

---

tags: @cherryonigiri, @yams046, @miss-rin, @shou-kunn, @senkuwu-chan, @super-noya, @stcrryskies, @holaaaf

(comment or send an ask to be added to my general tag list)

#haikyuu #atsumu x reader #atsumu miya #atsumu #haikyuu fluff #atsumu fluff #hq #hq scenarios #hq imagines #hq headcanons #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu headcanons #atsumu scenarios #atsumu imagines #atsumu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #haikyuucreations #sneezefiction

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rurifangirl · 3 years

Note

chile, could ya explain the magic system in yo oc world more? im kinda confused w how it works👁👄👁

Oh boy, here we go bitches.

So as an intro to this, I said bout last oc post in Qiran's part that their fam was full of mages n shit, but also some of em weren't, n since they do have magic istelf Imma do more parts (3 parts)

First part- how does It all work (Humans/Mages)

First of all, not all of em have a connection with magic, for example Evelyn doesn't at all while Lyva does but only through a magical item so It doesn't really count.

Other then that, if you're born you can either be born with some kind of magic, or simply not. It all depends from your family's lineage, for example If you come from a family of mainly rougues it's hard to get some kind of magical power, while if your parents have both some kind of power or even if it's only one of em, it's more likely you'll end up with something really similar, or a mixture of the two. (In case both of your parents have magical powers of any sort.)

It also depends on where you're living, for example If you'd be born from a cold place it's unlikely ya'd have magma magic rather than snow magic.

Between humans/mages the system Is kinda the same, but that does change for Hybrids/Demi gods/anything that isn't born between the same species.

Between humans/mages it's more of how their ancestors managed to treat its powers, as some got even destroyed for not being worthy of its usage, so If anything at this point and time they're lucky about getting somethin.

Mages are far more cautious about It, having both a lot of hidden knowlege about spells or even origins of some types of magic, though that being the most "common" ones, (for example fire, water ect.), because it's not only them of course, there's far more variants and all are different from eachother.

They can also get stronger by the worshipping of certain gods, which I don't think I will really talk about, at least in this post. (And also because they're still a wip of mine)

But the gang until now really never relied on any of them, or at least Lyva/Rui n Naexi never really did, while the others absolutely did. This Is also why I will do another post as a sorta of a part 2.

Anyways back on topic, most people in all parts of my oc world aren't used to worshipping anymore, or at least a great part of It, mainly because of a loss of knowlege about anything about them.

It's kind of taboo even mentioning most gods names, as they fear something will go wrong if they would (*ahem*being suspicious n allarmin the cult*AHEM*). In fact it's hard to get on most religions because the only remains of It are extremely either hidden, or destroyed in the meanwhile.

I wanna say that another reason because the worshipping stopped Is also because of Rui's cult. Yes, remember that?

It's gonna be talked about on its own post, but let's just say that for them, it's a safe way to restrain anyone knowing far too much about how everything works.

They're the only ones owning most stuff about different coltures to avoid having them against their side,

If there's no worshippers, no knowlege, n more weak magic because people don't strengthen them, who's gonna go against em? (It'll turn out to be the shittiest idea they've ever had but that really did work for the longest time.)

Oh I think i forgot to mention this, but since magic goes lineage to lineage, It also weakenens as generations pass by, as THAT'S the reason they absolutely need those texts.

That's also the reason most humans struggle w keepin magic. Mages can manage, though it's a small portion, since sometimes not even what they've learned over generations works anymore.

Second part- how does It all work (Hybrids/Demi gods n stuff)

Oh boy, so, I'm also gonna use Shou n Naexi a lot here, so bear w me. As I said earlier, it's different from em, since it's not about lineage at all.

Apart that the union between different species Is both a taboo n seen as something "ashaming",so even if they had a child It was more likely they'd Hide It or leave It behind. So it's already a really, god-awful situation for them.

The magic works kinda randomly, in the sense that since the hybrid's nature is seen as unstable to begin w, there's no real critere to handle how the child born Is gonna turn out to be.

Sometimes it's really hard to notice, having yeah some features but can be hidden really easly, but other times Is just, a real mess between the two species, n the magic Is also uncontrollable, especially during their first years of life.

For example, in Shou's case he used to really switch a lot between em, that being the reason he later on prefers not to switch, n havin to learn as soon as possible how to learn how his magic n form would work w It, having again a lot of preassure comin from people he knew.

This Is unfortunatly a really common situation between most hybrids. And there's also no choise.

If you as an hybrid can control magic w/o anything to rely on then you can live, while if you cannot do It, it's a matter of time before you'd get zoned out by everyone and everything.

This Is a big issue, other than having everything fucked by the cult but that's another story.

Aight now bout demi-gods, they're also really not seen well. Most of them prefer not to interact at all with anything that Is not godly related, and in fact, most of em even refused to adknowledge their mortal parent, since they all have resentment over the sudden disappereance of all belivers.

If anything Naexi Is a weird one at that, as they did have a suddent interest in humans and ungodly creatures, though still recognized about how cruel any of them could've been, especially she's a demi-god and has a bad reputation at that.

The magic system Is relatively simple, they just get a certain amount of power from their god parent and are actually pretty capable of controlling them in confront of Hybrids.

That mainly comes from a special connection w their god parent's power, so in theory they're sort of devoted to them.

I wanna expand this when I'll do the gods post n finnaly introduce some of em (And potentially Naexi's mother👀), so I'll not go beyond this atm.

Third part- Magical items/weapons

Aight onto another important part, which Is basically how tf would that work. We have that comin from Qiran's sword n Lyva's earrings, so they'll also be later on disscussed bout.

Even though it's a tough and long procedure, you can transport some of your own magic onto somethin as ordinary as an hat or as sharp as a dagger.

This Is being mainly used in emergency situations, as that energy can eventually be re-used later on by its user.

The user can be changed as long as there's a deal between both parties, whether that being a gift, buying It, or anythin up to them really.

It can also be a great way to hide mage's power, since there are some parts where they arent exactly that respected, so they could blend in with normal humans.

In fact, Qiran does that continiously thanks to their sword, daggers and other lil weapons, and they keep a big part of It there, to seem rather a normal knight/adventurer rather than havin somethin supernatural goin on.

They have a great holdo it since their father did make them learn to fulfill their request to be freerly goin round.

With Lyva it's not really different, even if she kinda stole It n there wasn't really a deal at that moment, but before runnin away from everyone n everything she convinced her mother to give her something that she could use to defend herself, since they were never around and when they were, they would've kinda avoided her.

Oh, and to add this, you could also curse an item. It's a way to mainly punish since ,well, it's a curse,

and makes the user either completely obsessed with the object itself or makin them do somethin w/o any type of consent, whether physical or emotional.

In some cases It can also be a torture tool. Though, as some recent stuff happened, they're somewhat hard to find.

If you still have somethin unclear lemme know cuz idk If I covered everythin or if somethin ain't clear enough😭

Tags undercut:

@a-chaotic-dumbass @spoopy-fish-writes @dopesaladlady @damnfoxx @audre-falrose @nadi-117

(If you want your tag removed/added either dm me/go in the ask thing or do the tag thingy in the pinned comment‼️)

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shinxeysartgallery · 2 years

Note

What’s ur opinion of fma 03

Well, I might as well do a full opinion piece, eh? I've seen the entirety of FMA '03 (including CoS and the OVAs), and I honestly didn't really care for it that much overall. I can't really say it was bad or anything like that, though. There were things about it that I honestly hated, but stuff about it that I liked, too. I'll go through them both here under the cut. (Spoilers for likely both animes and the manga.) Also, this is gonna be a bit long, so brace yourself. And before I begin, I just want to say that this is my own personal opinion and isn't meant to hate on '03 nor its fans.

I think the main thing I disliked about FMA '03 was how it seemed to focus way too much on drama at times and it made the story kinda drag, imo. I'm not saying that having drama is bad at all, but there were several points when I was watching the show where I just got bored because literally nothing was happening other than characters talking. It was enough that it made the pacing feel really off, imo, especially around the 5th Lab arc. On the contrary, the first two episodes in particular seemed really rushed to me. The ending was the next part I didn't like. Whether you count the 52nd episode or CoS as the series finale, it just honestly wasn't a satisfying ending. There were still loose ends that were never tied up or acknowledged, and it just wasn't really a good ending overall (not necessarily a bad one, but not a good one, either). CoS was also like a fever dream, I swear.

Other than those two main things, the rest are tiny gripes, mainly about changes.

-The fact that the Gate is tied to the real world and the entire plotline surrounding that was really weird. That whole plotline is part of what made the ending so crappy to me, tbh. I think removing that part from the plot would seriously improve the overall story.

-The Homunculi's origins. Granted, the storyline surrounding that was done well, I just honestly wasn't a big fan. I do much prefer their origin story in FMAB/the manga. Despite their story being done pretty well, there were still some holes that were left unanswered by the end. One in particular being that Envy mentioned that Lust was the "new Lust", and that was brought up several more times within the show. I believe it was mentioned with Sloth and Wrath, too. So that brings the question: What happened to the old Lust? The old Sloth? The old Wrath? Also, since in this version, they're created when someone attempts human transmutation and then fed red stones and they're all named after the Seven Deadly Sins (relating to the sin of their maker), what happens if eight people attempt it? What happens to that eighth Homunculus? When Scar's brother made Lust, did Dante go and kill the old Lust to have room for the new one? You never do see the old one or get mention outside of them existing at some point, so is it possible there's two Lusts, and if so, where IS the old Lust? Well, we'll never know, because that was never answered! :D

Also in regards to their origins, most of them have an origin story; Wrath was Izumi's baby, Sloth was Ed and Al's mom, etc. But what about Pride and Gluttony? We know Dante created them, but who were they? Where did they come from? Why did Dante "revive" those two? How is Pride able to age, while the others can't? At least FMAB/the manga gave an explanation for that because FMA '03 sure didn't.

-Also the fate of some of the characters/alternate characterizations. Most notably, what happened with Shou Tucker. And my god, some of the changed character designs were UGLY, ngl. I get that they changed the art style and coloring a bit because of budget (or at least that's what I've been told), but man... Like Dolcetto, for example. I love the guy, but my god, his '03 design is ugly. What did they do to my poor boy? :(

-And finally, sometimes the soundtrack seemed to drown out the voices, and that got kinda annoying. But that's minor.

Well, this wouldn't be a full opinion if I didn't also talk about what I liked about the show, now would it?

-For starters, I REALLY loved Lust's character arc. The mystery of her origins? The questioning of humanity? The eventual betrayal of Dante? Chef's kiss Beautiful. I actually prefer this characterization to her canon one, ngl.

-On the subject of the Homunculi, I also really loved this version of Sloth and Wrath. They were cool. And this version of Sloth is more interesting than the canon Sloth, ngl

-I like several of the other '03-exclusive characters, too, but especially the Tringham brothers. They're precious... <3

-I also like how Martel got to do more in this version. I wish the same could be said for the other chimera, but I'll take what I can get. lmao

Also I know I said I hated a lot of the altered character designs, but I actually kinda prefer Martel's '03 design. IDK I just think the pink tattoo especially suits her more than the green.

-I also really loved the dynamic between Mustang's group. Not sure which version I like more, tbh, they're both great.

-While bits of it are kinda shaky in places, I do think that '03 adapts the beginning better than FMAB in several cases, most notably, the Dublith arc minus the second half of Greed’s arc (ESPECIALLY the part about Ed and Al's time on the island). It actually includes the train and Youswell episodes, too, so that's awesome (still dunno why FMAB cut those, especially considering the important context of the latter, but whatever). Granted, other things, like the 5th Lab arc, I think FMAB did better, but it didn't do EVERYTHING better.

-The overall soundtrack is awesome!

Overall, I still think FMAB is the better anime, but they both have their flaws. After all, we know the manga is the best version! Still, though, I don't think the original anime should be ignored because there are some good things that you miss out on by not seeing it. Who knows? You might decide you like the OG anime more. And if you do, that's awesome.

#anon ask #shinxey's asks #fullmetal alchemist #opinion piece

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sewellsheart · 3 years

Text

Merciless Haze - Part 2/3

Summary: She was ripped from her unconsciousness with such ferocity that she thought she must have been comatose as every one of her senses rushed towards her with agonizing vividity. Her typically sensible mind was left flailing, finding itself too incapacitated to focus on any single thing.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Warnings: Mentions of blood, death, vomit, detailed pain, and mental instability.

Word Count: 2.3k

Pairing: Nate Sewell x f!Detective (Sophie MacNamara)

Read on AO3

“What if I was definitely going to die? As in, no ifs, ands, or buts, I was going to die?”

It had been a late night in mid-December when the topic had first been brought up. Sophie’s drunken mind had never had much of a filter, and after the near year she had spent knowing Unit Bravo, she felt more open to asking the hard questions she knew they did not want to answer. Well, all except Farah.

“I’d do it for you, I think we all would.” She had chirped, her voice almost too cheery for the conversation at hand, but gave a lightness Sophie appreciated.

Judging by the faces of the rest of the group, Sophie was not so sure the others necessarily agreed with the answer Farah provided for them. Her eyes wandered over to meet Nate’s. The gentle smile that had graced his face for a majority of the evening was now gone, replaced by a light frown and a furrowed brow, his fingers gripping the body of his wine glass so tightly she was worried he would shatter it. She could see the questions floating in the back of his irises. Adam spoke before him.

“It would be a rash decision to make in a moment's notice.” He stated plainly before lifting his own glass to his lips, but even she could see the touch of caution he held in his stance.

“Then we can avoid that by making a decision now, no?” She pushed.

“I would hardly say you are in any state to be making choices as detrimental as those.” His statement had been meant to put an end to the conversation, to allow someone else to jump in and change the topic. Sophie persisted once again.

“For all you know I could die tonight and you would be regretting the fact that you allowed this conversation to be brushed off.”

“Surely you have more faith in our abilities to protect you than that, Detective.”

“You’ve failed before.” The words had flown out of her mouth before her mind could catch up and process them. Rarely was she so forward, and never would she intend to hurt those she cared for most, but it appeared she had done just that.

The room had fallen almost completely silent, the only sound being the crackling fire that Morgan stood by, her face unreadable but her body tense.

“We have.” Nate broke the silence, his voice hesitant, just above a whisper. “That is something I’ll hold guilt for for the rest of my existence.”

A sentiment she had been aware of, but one she had never wanted him to hold. Yet, there she sat in a drunken stupor, reinforcing his regrets and ripping every consoling word she had given him to shreds. He had never liked it when she tried to comfort him about what had happened on that dreary early-spring night, but she meant every word she told him. She felt like she had just taken it all back.

“You know I don’t blame you for that. Not for a second would I ever believe that that was your own fault.” Her words were sincere, but not enough.

“So do you blame us or not?” Morgan had cut in. Her voice was sharp, a tone that had become almost unfamiliar to Sophie in the past months since their trust for one another began to develop.

“No, I’m sorry I just-”

“Sophie.” Nate’s voice was firm but held no aggression, only meant to gain her attention. His expression softened once more. “Let’s go to bed. We can talk about this another time.”

She had nodded, knowing that he would likely never bring it up again if he could avoid it. Nevertheless, she stood, taking his hand before making her way out of the room, but not before Farah offered her a reassuring smile. Sophie could not bring herself to return it as she felt Morgan and Adam’s eyes follow her out.

Her sober mind would have brought the topic up gently, not try to turn it into some kind of morbid joke. She wished she had never brought it up, especially in her drunken state, but the thought had been taunting her endlessly, and so she had allowed the whiskey to speak for her.

Her and Nate walked to her room in silence, his hand had moved to her waist, both to balance her and to keep her close. This time, she broke the quiet just as they approached her door.

“Nate, please don’t think I meant it that way. I was only-”

He silenced her briefly with a soft kiss, a gentle reassurance, both of his hands holding her face. He rested his forehead against hers. “I know what you meant, darling. I know your heart.” Another kiss, another interruption, another attempt at changing the subject. “You need rest.”

“No, Nate, I’m not sleeping until you let me say what I need to say.” She knew her words were slightly slurred, that her accent was thicker than usual, but her tone told a different story in regards to her coherence.

A pained smile of acknowledgement crossed over his handsome features, “Of course.” He turned to open the door to her room and entered, Sophie following close behind, attempting to gather her thoughts. Nate closed the door behind her, his movements as tense as his tone had been, before he turned to face her.

Sophie was suddenly struck by his expression. He almost looked tired, obviously dreading the conversation she was forcing them to continue. A soft pang of guilt settled in her chest. She knew he had been avoiding the subject, perhaps thinking that if he brought it up himself he would put thoughts in her head, and he had always valued her independence. Almost as much as he valued her humanity, her mortality.

“I’ve been thinking a lot.” She started. From there she did not know how to continue, how to tie every thought that had kept her awake at night, had her dreading even the thought of leaving the house alone. “I just - I’m so happy Nate. I have never been this happy in my entire life and I’ve never been so fucking afraid because of it.”

As a look of confusion claimed his face, he took a step closer to her. “You’re afraid of being happy?” His eyes were soft as they gazed over her face.

“No, God, no.” She rushed to correct him. “I’m afraid it’s going to end. I’m afraid that one day I’m going to walk outside and someone will decide it’s the perfect moment to slit my throat, or shoot me in the head, or beat me bloody and then it will all be over.”

He reached out to hold her hand once again, disturbed by her words yet seemingly familiar with the thoughts. She wondered if the same thoughts had kept him awake during the occasional times he chose to rest. He let her continue.

“Nate, I’ve never cared more about my life than I do now. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of eternity with you, and Farah, and Adam, and Morgan, and…” She trailed off, her voice beginning to crack as her emotions built up. “ ...and I’m scared that I won’t ever get to do that.” She felt the sting of tears in her eyes, and she let them fall.

She had cried in front of Nate before, but not like this, not out of a rare genuine sense of fear. She had cried about her lonely childhood, her near non-existent relationship with her mother, and the death of her father. She had cried about things far more inconsequential, like too much stress at work, her dishwasher breaking while she was PMS-ing, and her car breaking down for the third time in a month. Never had she felt so uneased, so disturbed by what should be the happiest time of her life.

He pulled her close to him, embracing her by her waist as her own arms entangled themselves around his neck, and leaned the side of his head against her’s.

She felt him open his mouth to speak, but this time she was the one who stopped him. “I’ve never been afraid of death before.”

Nate pulled his head back to press their foreheads together once more, his brows knitted in thought and his eyes shut tightly. He opened them after a few long moments, revealing his own earthy brown eyes to be as wet as hers. Sophie suddenly felt achingly sober, the dullness that came with her intoxication stripped away as everything became far too present. Nate’s hand brushing against her cheek pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Why must it be that the thing I wish you would cherish is the very thing that strikes the most fear in us both?” He gave a shallow sigh. “How long has this been bothering you?”

Too long, she thought, but simply settled for “Awhile.”

He gave a hum in response, processing his own thoughts, carefully choosing his words. “I don’t want to… get into too much detail, but the process and the pain it brings is beyond description.” He paused, pulling back just enough to be able to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want to see you go through that.”

“But it ends, doesn’t it? The pain?” Her words were soft.

Nate studied her gaze, holding nothing but adoration in his own. “Yes, it does.”

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

She was ripped from her unconsciousness with such ferocity that she thought she must have been comatose as every one of her senses rushed towards her with agonizing vividity. Her typically sensible mind was left flailing, finding itself too incapacitated to focus on any single thing. She did not know where she was. She did not know who she was with. She did not know if she was even alive.

Bile rose with the panic in her throat, she could feel herself thrashing, attempting to grasp onto whatever she could find. Sophie felt a firm hand place itself in between her shoulder blades and push her upwards, holding her in place as she heaved into a pot placed in her lap. She was not sure who had put it in front of her. When she finally raised her head in an attempt to ground herself, regret swallowed her whole. The room was spinning, her body so off kilter it may have been warping the shape of her soul.

The hand on her back moved to the front of her shoulder to guide her back down onto what she now realized was a bed, her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and caught a glimpse of blond hair, then a distinct smell of cigarette smoke before her eyelids forced themselves shut.

If the fire she had felt in the forest was the beginning of her being lit aflame, the pain she felt now was what it must feel like to be completely engulfed. Her body felt cold despite the pressure of what must have been a dozen blankets on top of her. Cold and hot at the same time. It took her mind a moment to find the word. Fever.

Sophie had never felt less like herself than she did in that moment, degraded to a sick woman in bed pleading for the endless pain to finally grant her mercy. She knew she was crying, wailing even, reciting Irish prayers that had not passed her lips for nearly a decade. She was the weakest she had ever been in front of the strongest people she knew, people that her mind was finally able to identify.

Adam and Morgan were by her side, the two people who were easily the least capable of comforting a writhing woman, but most capable of bearing the sight of what was undoubtedly a disturbing scene.

That was the most reasonable explanation as to why Nate wasn’t by her side, they probably would not have let him in if he tried. They wouldn’t let him see her in the state she was in, covered in sweat and blood, smelling of vomit, begging for relief in the few words her tongue could form, completely unrecognizable from the typically strong and silent woman she was.

She knew that he likely fought with them in a way that was as gentle as it was demanding, asking to at least be with her in her moments of silence when unconsciousness overtook her once again, and she knew that the other two would have sternly, if not vehemently denied his request. She longed for him to be with her, keeping her close as she worked her way through the storm.

She heard the hushed words of her friends, but could not understand them. Still, she found comfort in the familiarity of their voices, Morgan’s low and languid, Adam’s deep and taut. She wished that comfort was enough to distract her from the electric pain running up and down her spine, weaving itself between her excruciatingly tense shoulder blades and down to her tailbone. Sophie felt as if she had no control over her own movements, her muscles twitching endlessly, accompanied by an agonizing ache in her mouth. She was not sure how much more of this she could take, how much longer she would last before her thoughts returned to the darkness she had felt in the forest.

She was beginning to fear that death may be the only way to make it all stop.

She did not want to die.

All she wanted was Nate, and as she felt herself begin to slip back into the relief of an unconscious mind, she imagined him wrapping his arms around her waist, enveloping her in the safety of his strong arms. Wherever he was, Sophie took solace in the fact that he could not be far. He would be there to comfort her, to hold her, when this suffering finally ended, when she was finally granted clemency, when this burning crescendo came to a halt.

For now, she would let the darkness caress her once more.

#woooooo part 2 lads #this went a far different direction than i had originally intended but like.. im happy with it :)#hope you all enjoy <333 #re: merciless haze #twc #the wayhaven chronicles #n sewell #nate sewell #f hauville #twc morgan #a du mortain #adam du mortain #farah hauville #my writing #twc fic

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warmau · 4 years

Text

{Regular Inspired!AU x NCT} Sicheng

tw: weapons mention, violence mention, n*fw elements, be warned. everything written here is a work of FICTION, it does not in anyway reflect reality, nor do i condone any of the extreme behavior. ♢ introduction ♢ pick mark instead | pick haechan instead | pick yuta instead | pick johnny instead | pick doyoung instead | pick taeil instead ♢ special route: pick ten

“don’t fall in love with sicheng, everyone always does it and everyone always ends up the same.”

“sicheng?”

“are you asking for him or are you confirming him as your pick?”

the way jaehyun phrases that questions makes something coil up in the pit of your stomach

should i not pick him? it’s just he said he’s going to beijing which means ..... ill be far from people who could possibly hurt me ...... right?

before you can formulate another thought, let alone even look up at jaehyun

you feel a soft hand turn your cheek the opposite away

sicheng’s beautiful features come into full view and you nearly topple backward off the desk

you swear you see him smirk a little at your fumble, but you can’t really be sure if he wasn’t just wearing it the entire time

“ill take care of them”

he puts emphasis on each word. a slight accent slips its way through and you swallow.

take care of me?

“well - are we done here then? they’re going to be packed up and shipped to china and we’ll NEVER see them again!”

haechan spews, crossing his arms over his chest and eliciting a glare from mark

“they’ll come back fine, sicheng i trust you know what you’re doing?”

jaehyun puts a hand on sicheng’s shoulder and out of everyone in the room, he looks most comfortable with the gesture

because doyoung’s eyes narrow and taeyong doesn’t look up from where he’s chipping away at his nails but stops the small action as soon as the temperature shifts

“poor thing, couldn’t you have picked me~ now you’re going to china and i haven’t even gotten a chance-”

johnny sings, swishing around the wine in his cup

you assume he’s just doing it to break the ice blanket that seems to have quilted the room

but then sicheng’s warm hand travels down from your cheek to your wrist

as he gently tugs you up and off the desk

“of course jaehyun, you and your father know how i am.”

sicheng says a string of words in mandarin and you can’t for the life of you even begin to guess what is being discussed

all you can focus on is his skin on yours - you aren’t used to being touched by strangers

well, it’s been much more than just touched hasn’t it?

you sigh to yourself and try just slightly to see if you can wiggle free-

you can’t. sicheng’s hold was soft at first but now it’s like you’re grounded beside him without much of a choice

“you are meticulous, i will give you that. when do you leave for beijing?”

sicheng’s gaze is on you now

he has brown eyes like everyone else in the room, but they don’t look human when they’re only mere centimeters away

they seem to be speckled with foils of gold, as if they’re reflecting light from an unknown source

the power almost leaves you unable to speak and you assume sicheng must be aware of this overwhelming effect he has on people

because once again, the small smirks blossoms and he answers easily

“whenever they’re ready.”

“m-me?”

you feel him squeeze your palm

“shall i drive you home so you can get your bag?”

your hands shake as you reach for your toothbrush - acutely aware of the presence that’s occupying your living room

sicheng had commented, after getting out of the car and opening your side of the door like a gentleman from a movie, that your quaint apartment building was “cute”

he had seemed almost amused by the fact that you still used keys to get in

“you don’t have a keypad?”

“the building is a bit old so ,,,,,,,, “

he had hummed - shadowing after you into your cramped living space

you had invited him to sit down, but he had taken right away to the window

realizing it now as you tried to pack without going into full-blown panic about the situation, that window looked right out onto the street he’d parked

meticulous,,,,,,,, that’s the word jaehyun used to describe him,,,,,,,,,i wonder if that’s a good thing?

your train of thought is cut off when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket

you thank your past self for putting it on silence and pick it up, trying to mask your whispering with turning on the sink water

a friends voice crackles to life on the other end

“hey, are we still on for lunch tomorrow? i wanna hear all about your new job!”

you want to match their enthusiasm, but with everything that’s transpired - you can barely work it up

“ah- i can’t i -”

you rack your brain for a believable excuse as to why you can’t keep the date - oh my grandma’s sick, oh i have to do overtime even though it’s my second day, oh i accidentally stumbled into the inner business of an illegal ring of criminals who said my life is in danger now!

but another thought dawns on you

couldn’t i just tell my friend im in trouble? couldn’t she call the police for me and then this nightmare would be over?

your pause leaves your friend confused on the other end of the line

sicheng is in the other room, but you could take him on - couldn’t you?

you swallow - a nervous feeling like cold ice flows through your veins and you start

“hey, actually - “

you stop short

won’t she just laugh at me? whose going to believe me - a lowly intern - that the biggest family name in south korea are actually a bunch of criminals?

“actually, i got a little sick. i’ll text you when i can do lunch again, anyway - gotta go!”

you hang up before your friend can even protest. you stare as the screen ends the call and your background photo pops up instead

a knock on the bathroom door nearly makes you jump out of your skin

“all ready?”

“y-yes, im coming out.”

you turn your phone off and place it in your pocket again. you gather your toothbrush and some other necessities

you give sicheng a weak smile as you pass him, not sure if it’s because you’re terrified he might know about the call or if you’re trying to calm yourself too by putting on this act that you’re fine

that you’re not ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, scared

“that’s a light bag. do you have everything you’ll need?”

sicheng’s words come out slow and calculated as he looks at your duffel bag

you nod, slinging it over your shoulder

“we will be in bejing for some time.”

he looks you up and down and again those inhuman eyes seem to eat you up whole

he then says something in mandarin - leaving you staring at him stupified from lack of understanding

but he seems to think you don’t need to know what he’s said as he ushers you back into the car

you watch the cars pass you by on the way to the airport. you try to take in details because you’re worried you’ll never see this country again

who knows what will happen in bejing? but sicheng can keep me safe, right?

suddenly you feel a hand on your shoulder - you look back over and see sicheng is still watching the road ahead

but his large palm is resting on the material of your shirt

“you did a good job.”

“w-what?”

“you lied to your friend, that was the right decision.”

he pulls his hand back and onto the wheel

even though he’d been speaking to you - he hadn’t even bothered to initiate the eye contact

though you don’t know if you could stand it, feeling your face pale because how had he known? had he been listening in on your when you were in the bathroom?

the care turns the bend leading up to the doors of the gates, the switchboard lists numerous asian countries and the destination flights and terminal numbers

laos, thailand, india, indonesia - so many other places than china, than beijing

sicheng swiftly walks in the direction opposite the ticketing booth and you catch up to him only after you’ve noticed how many strides away he is

“shou-shouldn’t we check-in?”

he simply smiles over his shoulder and you don’t know what the feeling coiling up in your stomach means

you clutch the strap of your bag and follow him through the large, unfamiliar airport

don’t we look suspicious together? sicheng is so tall and walks with such refinement - and im carrying this duffel bag ive had since freshman year of highschool,,,,,,,,,,,isn’t someone bound to notice us?

but it doesn’t happen - instead, the security seem rather cordial even friendly toward sicheng

tipping their heads or smiling when he flutters by

is this the jung influence? or is sicheng something of a powerhouse himself?

you’re lost in your thoughts when suddenly a gust of air hits you - the automatic doors at the end of a long hallway you didn’t even notice you were passing through open

and sicheng saunters up to one of the many small, but sleek jets that are parked in a quartered off section of the airstrip

a pilot greets sicheng in mandarin, they begin discussing something as you stand with your eyes wide open

a private JET?

you run your eyes along the white body before reaching one of the wings. spanned over it are chinese characters you’re not familiar with.

“come, it will take maybe two hours.”

sicheng steps back as the ladder extend from the jet’s one entranceway

the pilot and he wait as you make your way up the stairs - legs barely holding you up from the utter shock

the jet is just like you imagine it to be - everything is so unnecessarily fancy

and you sit stiffly in the oversize chair - eyes wavering on the flatscreen tv that hangs above the partition to the pilots cabinet

sicheng follows after, patting your shoulder again

“relax”

he says - or commands - it’s all a blur and you close your eyes softly and to yourself begging that this is all a dream - it has to be ,,,,,,,,,, it just has to be

when you land in beijing it’s already early dawn - you’re exhausted to no end, even though you think you took a nap on the plane

either that or spent the whole time sweating about how this was really happening - really, really happening

from waking up this morning, going to your first day on the job, spotting mark and jungwoo, ending up in the basement of jung enterprises, packing your bag

and now here

with sicheng

in beijing

sicheng doesn’t seem phased at all, he looks like this is another day on the clock for him as he takes your duffel bag off your tired shoulders and heads off the jet with a nod toward the pilot

“it’s ok i can carry-”

“your eyes are tired. you need sleep.”

well,,,,,,he’s not wrong but -

“are we going to your house?”

it’s probably the most childish thing you could ask right about now, but sicheng doesn’t seem to mind

he simply shakes his head

your exhaustion makes it hard for you to be as scared and as nervous as you were before. the panic you’d felt had drained you

so even though your mind was blaring alarms, you followed behind him like a puppy

what else could you do? he was the only person you had in this new place

as you two walk out through the airport, you’re surprised to see the beijing is still bustling even though it’s so early

the clock on the switchboard glares that it’s about 5 in the morning, but business people and travelers are already making the rounds

sicheng glides through them with ease, but unlike before - he keeps his head down

sort of using your duffel bag to shield the view of his profile

you scamper to keep up with his long legs, and finally, you end outside again

sicheng brings his phone out and makes a call, and nearly a minute later a motorcycle pulls up before you two

sicheng drops the duffel bag back in your arms

“yukhei. take care of them.”

“why aren’t you speaking man- oh oh i see~”

the rider takes off the matte black helmet to reveal a handsome, young face underneath

“im yukhei!”

he introduces - but sicheng just pushes you gently forward and clicks his tongue at yukhei

“go. they are tired.”

yukhei huffs but beckons you closer. you turn to sicheng and open your mouth as if to say “are you insane? im not getting on the back of some random dude’s bike!”

but sicheng’s eyes swirl a little colder and you decide to keep your queries to yourself

plus,,,,,,,,,,,yukhei seems nice? he doesn’t have a,,,,,,taeyong or a jaehyun vibe,,,,,,,,,,

“you will see me again, don’t worry.”

“oh sicheng - look at you being all caring, wait till hendery hears about this!”

yukhei teases and you give an understanding nod as you back up toward yukhei

he grabs your duffel bag, slinging it over himself and confidently tells you to get on and cling to him as hard as you can

sicheng rolls his eyes before he’s gone back into the crowd of the airport

what’s going on? i thought he was going to “take care” of me?

you assume yukhei’s going to take you to his home - or to someones home - not to the ritzy hotel lobby you stop in front of

decorated in old decdeance and gold

“um -”

yukhei waves to the desk girls who all giggle into their palm and then tugs you up behind him

for some reason, even though you can’t understand it, their whispers smell like jealousy and your cheeks start to burn

he brings you up to the 9th floor and there’s a room with the same chinese characters that were on the jet

you take the moment to ask yukhei, “does this say jung enterprises?”

he laughs, “no - they say dong sicheng!”

you blink back confusion, but then he’s pulling you into the grandiose suite and pointing out that the bedroom is down that hall - that sicheng said you were tired and it’d do good to get some rest

“where did sicheng go?”

yukhei shrugs

“probably to deal with his parents, anyway ill be here! so you’ll be safe - that’s a wong man’s promise!”

you nod - turning on your heel to go toward the room but stopping to ask one more question

“is sicheng,,,,,,,, famous here?”

yukhei almost doubles over with laughter because he genuinely thinks you’re joking

but when the blank look on your face doesn’t change he straightens up

“well, yeah - he’s the only son of the dong family. they’re basically chinese royalty.”

you hit the hotel pillows and for a second you think your body is melting into the sheets

you had wanted to pry yukhei more about sicheng - but the weight of the world had pushed you right into bed

you curl up and try to remind yourself to ask later, later - after a little nap

you think it’s part of your dream, the insistent shaking and the screaming, you think it’s just a bad dream cultivated from the rollercoaster of emotions you’ve been on today

but then you wince - because the yell is loud and gruff and the hand on you is cold to the touch

with a gasp, you wake up and see yourself staring up at a man

he’s unfamiliar, with a gun pointed directly at you

he’s telling you to do something in mandarin but you have no idea what and you pull away, eyes big and frightened

you can tell he’s getting frustrated, he leans over to grab at your ankle and harshly pull you off the bed

when a hand wraps its way around his neck and turns it to the side with a loud and perfect crack

the gun that had been in his hand goes falling onto the sheets and you scream

sicheng is standing behind the crumpled over body and he reaches toward you

afraid you coil up, threatened and shaking, but he soothes in his slow voice

“i won’t hurt you, i need you to trust me.”

you want to scream again - trust him? trust him? everything is ruined because of him and whatever stupid fucking scheme you got caught up in

but you know you can’t - whatever is happening is wrong - and when you feel him pull you toward him, it’s like your instincts are telling you this is the safest place right now

beside sicheng

you hear his name being called from the next room, you think the voice is yukhei

there’s another voice - maybe two or three and as sicheng leads you back into the suite’s main hall you see that there are multiple of these masked men

all restrained on the ground with rope - or being held back by who you can only assume are sicheng’s accomplices

“kun - are there anymore?”

“no, this should be all of them.”

the exchanges are quick and in mandarin - you can’t understand and you desperately bunch up the fabric of sicheng’s shirt as your knuckles go white from clinging to him

his broad back keeps you nearly out of sight from everyone when you feel it -

something swats at you - in an upwards motion - it almost knicks you

but sicheng’s reaction is fast and he spins you both so that you end up in his position and he ends up in yours

the small pocket knife cuts the left side of his cheek and the blood streaks down onto his chin

not even taking note of it - sicheng reaches out - hand on the face of the assailant as he tugs him down by the hair and delivers a strong knee to their face

they tumble backward - and you realize it was another one of those men

they’d been aiming for your back with that knife and instead - sicheng had taken the blow

you look up and sicheng barks something out - but you aren’t even mentally in the room in anymore

instead you’re looking up at him, his beautiful skin is stained with the red from the gash

you want to ask first if he’s ok - if he needs a bandage, but that’s ridiculous the answer is: of course he needs one

but the second question stays with you for a long time - why? why are you protecting me? wouldn’t it be easier if i get hurt and then you and the jungs don’t have to worry about me anymore?

either way - when you come to - you see that those men are gone and instead

you’re sitting on the coach beside sicheng and yukhei and a group of other men

“sicheng - seriously, why would you volunteer to take them here? you’re already a target yourself - isn’t this just doubling the risk?”

“isn’t it obvious kun - look how cute they are!”

“oh my god hendery is THAT the only thing that ever crosses your mind?”

“im just saying, isn’t that the reason sicheng - huh? huh?”

you can’t catch what’s being said - but suddenly the eyes are all on you

sicheng’s cheek has been cleaned up and patched - he explains that you don’t understand mandarin all that well and the mood in the air shifts

“that’s fine! ill use english - im hendery, and the rest of these idiots are not important! soooooooooo tell us, how’d you woo sicheng?”

someone makes a sound of disdain and you look in the direction away from hendery, this person is sitting up straight - posture absolutely immaculate and glasses perched on the end of his nose

his arms are crossed and he looks defensive

“that’s kun! he absolutely suuuuuuuuuuuuucks!”

hendery sings and falls back against the shoulder of another boy who shoves him off

kun directs his eyes onto you and then narrows them

“so - you’re sichengs new plaything?”

“kun.”

sicheng starts and kun doesn’t glance his way

“what? am i wrong?”

the tone of voice is condescending and judgmental - he doesn’t even know you and yet he’s saying something so rude?

“who cares, sicheng - did you tell your parents your back? chances are they sent those goons after you.”

“hendery ,,,,,,,, why would his own parents try to have him murdered?”

the boy throws his hands up in exclaim

“i don’t know? for the drama! they’re entertainment moguls - imagine the press stories!”

you sit up a little at the new fact - so sicheng’s parents are in the entertainment business? what’s he doing working for the jungs?

“no, they don’t know. but right now, i need to ask you guys to help me.”

“is something wrong?”

your voice is shaking as you ask, but sicheng gives you a soothing smile - it’s not very much effective with that huge gash on his cheek though

“no. i just thought our entrance to beijing would be safer. kun and yukhei - will you keep them company while i clean up this mess?”

kun is about to say: absolutely not

but yukhei jumps up and winks

“of course - you just be careful ok sicheng!”

sicheng turns to you and tells you he’ll be back soon.

that’s a lie.

he vanishes for over a week and during that week you end up being moved into the almost dubiously normal apartment where kun lives

on the outside, it looks normal - middle class

it’s nice, but not fancy. the neighbors are all either hardworking youths or families

kun is known to them as a graduate student with an interest in tech

but the reality is, it’s a money-laundering den set up under the jungs

when you’re first dropped off there by yukhei - kun refuses to acknowledge your existence

he sits behind his computer - wiring checks through different banks and forging signatures

another side business you figure out from your hours of observing is money fraud

kun spends great time looking at foreign bills and reproducing them to perfection

one day you lean over and look at the sample bill he’s made

pointing out the serial number on the left

“you can’t keep it this way.”

you point out and kun tosses a look at you over his shoulder

“excuse me?”

“there would never be a chain of numbers starting with this - it’s a misplaced pattern and tellers will now it’s fake.”

“how do you-”

you shrug, “i went to poland when i was younger and i just remember this detail.”

you turn the bill around and then pass it back to kun

he stares at you - once disinterested and even angry expression turned rather intrigued

“are you usually interested in details?”

you sit down beside him and look at his screen, it’s in another language - polish you presume - so you don’t get any of it

but you nod

“details always make sense - people in my program back in university would say im a perfectionist, but i just don’t want to make-”

“mistakes?”

kun finishes your sentence, pushing his glasses back up by the frame and you nod

“yes. this is why all of this is so nerve-wracking. it’s too bizarre. the details don’t add up.”

kun snorts, “details usually aren’t supposed to add up in this business. otherwise, the wrong people will come looking for you.”

“you mean like the police”

kun gives you an almost sympathetic side glance - although he can’t blame you, you’re not used to this - sicheng made it worse by bringing you here as a part of some stupid deal with the jungs

and then sort of tossed you into the corners

“here, let’s see how detailed you are.”

kun shuffles through a pile of folders and places them in front of you

“they’re various fakes i’ve made before - it’s really wasting time but if you can find the problems it should keep you entertained for a while?”

you smile, taking the folder and for the first time there’s almost a little bit of warmth coming from kun

even when yukhei swings by with lunch - he seems peppy about the change in the “temperature” of the room

the days get a little better as you wait around for sicheng to come back

kun is actually quite,,,,,,, tolerable of you,,,,,,,,and he’s impressed that you didn’t lie

you pick out some of his fault bills and he seems to respect you a little more for the way you carefully handle the nonsense, but welcome tasks he gives you

one afternoon, yukhei is back with lunch - this time with hendery in tow

“hey if you’re bored you can come take a ride with me-”

he starts to ask, slurping up his noodles before receiving a whack on the head from kun

“taking them out would be dangerous yukhei, think before you speak.”

“OW! I BURNED MY TONGUE KUN!”

you look down into the broth and sigh

“is kun being super mean to you still?”

hendery whispers when he hears you - but you shake your head

“i just wonder,,,,,,where is sicheng anyway?”

hendery sits back up and shrugs

“if you wanna see him so bad - we can make it happen. hey kun, can i turn on the tv?”

your eyebrows furrow

“why? did something happen - was it on the news?”

you get up, almost spilling your noodles - your look of alarm only humors the two boys as they reassure that’s not it

when hendery fishes the control out from one of the bookshelves he clicks through the static and the channels before settling on one

you stare at the screen - it looks like a movie? or maybe a drama?

the setting reminds you of your university, the library, the students and then -

“s-sicheng?!”

you lean forward and your jaw nearly drops because sicheng pops up on the screen

his lines are all in mandarin and he’s being pulled around by what is probably his love interest in the drama

but that’s not why you’re in disbelief

not only does he work for the jungs - he’s ,,,,,,,,,,,, he’s an actor?!?!

“he’s super popular here too - his face is on like every brand of ice-cream.”

hendery chimes in and you want to ask something when kun marches back in - shutting the tv off

“they didn’t have to know that”

he hisses and yukhei rolls his eyes, “if they’re going to be here for six months - they’re bound to find out!”

hendery nods in agreement

“the dong family are all famous actors, but they also own a number of the big fine arts theaters in mainland china. sicheng acts, but he’s probably going to take over one of the departments soon.”

“h-how if he works for the jungs?”

yukhei taps his chin and hendery shifts sort of uncomfortably like there’s some kind of truth that everyone knows except you

you want to call it out, but suddenly the door clicks open and sicheng comes in

he’s wearing all black, hair stylishly done up and he slips the mask off his face as he greets you with a gleaming smile

“see, i said i would be back.”

you don’t have to ask him where he’s been or what he’s doing anymore - you’ve sort of pieced it all together

he comes closer and closer until he’s putting a hand on your head and giving it a little pat

“sicheng you can’t just pet someone like they’re a -”

kun starts, but you don’t hear the rest

is this what jaehyun meant - meticulous? organized? so well - that he could live a double life as a beloved actor in china and a criminal in south korea?

the stars in your eyes are apparent to everyone in the room, kun tenses up, but sicheng is used to it

he turns after “greeting” you and asks kun how the transfers are coming along

hendery and yukhei snicker and venture into the kitchen

you’re not sure how embarrassed you’re supposed to feel - but you are sure that something on your skin feels a little hot

sicheng sticks around, he even moves you back out of kun’s apartment front and into a nearby hotel

less fancy than the other one and this time, he requests that the back entrance be available for him to come and go

one evening you’re sitting beside him as he finishes a call with jaehyun and you ask the itching question on your mind

“why did you join the jungs if you’re so successful here in china?”

his mouth twitches up a little

“ah - so you found out?”

“that you’re the son of famous actors and are on every makeup brand ad in beijing? yes - i found out.”

he laughs

“you’re being sarcastic - right?”

you blush, you don’t know why, and look down at your feet

“well - i don’t know. i joined because i was bored?”

“b-bored?”

he leans back against the sofa and looks up at the ceiling

the angle highlights the strength of his jaw and glistening of his skin, the scar on his cheek is healing and even it can’t take away from his beauty

“yes. being famous isn’t all it’s cut out to be.”

he grins

“don’t i sound selfish?”

you shift

“were those men who broke into the hotel, were they after you - or after,,,,,me?”

“oh, they were after me. i havent been in beijing for over a year. my parents put out a reward if i was found.”

“a year? then that drama hendery showed me -”

he tilts his head your way and his gaze alone makes you feel a shiver in your spine

“was it where i played a university student?”

“yes”

“ah - it was a rerun. i shot it two or three years back.”

“and it’s still on air?!”

he humbles himself with a shoulder shrug, “maybe it’s that popular?”

part of the way he talks so languidly about all of this irritates you - but the other part of you can’t help but be mesmerized

what kind of person finds boredom in a life born into stardom? what kind of person doesn’t pick up a hobby to help it - like video games or crocheting

instead choosing to be the overseas link for a gigantic company like jung enterprises

so many questions fill your head, more than when you were basically forced to come here in fear of your life

sicheng grins and says something carefully - as if he’s cautious about the right words

“i can hear it. the gears in your head turning. you are curious, right?”

you try to shake your head, but it has to be obvious - sicheng’s read you like an open book since you made eye contact back in the basement of the jungs

“it’s just ,,,,,,,, a lot.”

he suddenly leans in close - pretty face mere inches from yours

“i know what can take your mind off of it.”

the thoughts that had clouded your brain seize - everything in your body seems to come to a screeching halt

he’d always had this power of overwhelming you, but now he was - he was tipping over that border

“sich-”

you can’t even say his name, not when he’s looking at you like that and talking to you in that voice

what does he mean? what does he have in mind? is it what im thinking-

the moment where he’d saved you from the attacker in the hotel room seeps back into you

the feel of you pressed into his back - the fact that it didn’t make sense for him to protect you like he did, to take the pain for you

he’d known you for less than 48 hours and he’d done that - what were his motives? it didn’t make sense

and on top of that, he was china’s it boy - he really - he would never put the moves on,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you?

sicheng laughs because it looks like steam might come out of your ears

he takes your hand in yours and goes

“i was suggesting i take you out to see beijing, so you can stop having all these questions and see the beauty of the city.”

something inside you pops with relief, but another part - deeper away - deflates

exactly. he’s an it boy, a dream boy, so you need to stop thinking that stupid little act of kindness meant anything. especially not in the grand scheme of things.

you chuckle, as a way to push past your nervousness and nod

“s-sure”

you inch a little bit away from him and sicheng thinks it’s amusing

“but - are you sure you can just gon on the street? won’t you be,,,,,,, mobbed?”

sicheng fishes a black facemask from his pocket - “hiding in plain sight?”

you don’t know why your stomach does a little flip like you’re on some first date back home, but it does

as sicheng tugs you through the busy streets and you can tell that no one really looks twice at him - not with the mask and the baseball cap

and you’re inconspicuous in general, blending in among the talkative tourists and rushing native trying to get to and from all the places sicheng wishes he could show you

you can’t see all of beijing in two hours - and sicheng is definitely trying to play it safe - so he takes you wangfujing, buying up snacks and pointing out the crafts and decorations the hang between the malls

you spot his face on advertisements left and right - kind of thrilled by the act that no one even knows that their favorite actor is pulling you behind them right under their noses

sicheng explains that his parents own a theater nearby, that if he could he’d love to show you some of the productions they put on

and you ask in the busy, loud street if sicheng likes acting on stage or on the screen the most

he astonishes you once again when he picks neither

he takes your hand and twirls you around, much to the utter annoyance of some older women

and pulls you in close

“i like dancing the most.”

the whole experience feels like a fever dream of some sort - from the moment you two sneak out the back door of the hotel

to when you’re back and standing in front of the bed holding a panda sicheng had bartered to buy you

it says beijing loves you in bold letters on the tshirt it’s wearing and you don’t know why but you hold it close to your chest

beijing doesn’t love you - it doesn’t even want you to be here - and you wish you were home, feeling the lack of familiarity starting to grow

but something warm lingers, from where sichengs hands passed the bear onto you

and your tears dry up on your cheeks and you think - it’s fine, it’s only six months

sicheng explains the next day that he needs to be gone for a bit, just to do some small parts in order to please his parents and keep off the radar of anyone looking for the jungs here in china

he leaves you in kun’s care - and after time has gone by, you can tell kun has warmed up to you

actually letting you do tasks that would help him - and even offering to cook you lunch one afternoon

the only thing that seems to irk him as much as when you two first met is the mention of sicheng

but it’s not like you can help it - there’s so much you don’t know

you set the pile of highlighted documents down near kun

“you’re done?”

“yep, i checked them over twice - you don’t have to ask.”

you laugh and kun even seems to give you a twinkle of a smile in return

you shift a little, looking around the room

“do you know if sicheng is shooting another drama?”

kun’s fingers stop typing and he looks at you for a second

the coldness is back in the dark brown of his eyes and he clears his throat

“you need to be careful.”

“what?”

kun looks back at this screen and then at you, taking the time to slip his glasses down on the file you’ve put before him

“don’t fall in love with sicheng, everyone always does it and everyone always ends up the same.”

“the same?”

kun clenches his teeth

“do i have to spell it out for you? they end up heartbroken and feeling like an idiot.”

you don’t understand the spite, aren’t he and sicheng friends?

“i -”

“there are other men in the world. men that don’t live double lives, running around eating up the spotlight. don’t get me wrong, i respect sicheng. he works hard to make everyone happy. but he isn’t - “

kun searches for the word as you stand there feeling more and more pathetic by the second

“but he isn’t reliable. you should know that, with the way he comes and goes.”

you think, well you know, kun is right.

to be honest - you don’t think you’re in love with sicheng - how could you be? you’ve only known him for a bit over a month.

although you think it’s strange, that the moment he saved you replays in your mind more than the moment when you woke up in the jung’s basement

more than when you met all of sicheng’s friends

or even more then when you got to run around beijing with him for a little while

you go to sleep now, every night thinking back to it, thinking back to the image of him standing between you and danger

blood dripping down his cheek - not a seconds of hesitation when it came to protecting you

with kun’s logic, he’s right - sicheng probably did it because of some impulse or even worse - because he wanted to be a hero

he’s an actor after all, the limelight is a specialty, but you can’t help but buck against the ideas

it had felt like sicheng did it because he didn’t want you to be the one hurt

was it because jaehyun would get on his case? but why - having you gone eliminates the problem

was it because he’d look cool in front of his friends? his friends didn’t even know you, and kun didn’t even seem to want to know you back then

so why? why? why?

you don’t look at kun - you just sort of nod and ask if there’s anything else you can do

kun waves you off, but an hour or so seems to feel slightly bad for blowing up on you

offering that you two go out and buy some groceries for a nicer dinner than instant ramen or fastfood that yukhei could bring back on his bike

you agree, mostly because you don’t want to revert back to the awkward and hateful atmosphere that you’d first had to stew in when you met each other

and to your relief, neither does kun

you guys talk naturally - even confusing the cashier who kun shyly explains to you called you his significant other on accident

you laugh it off and are too busy rummaging through the bags to see the way kun’s eyes linger on you

as you’re walking back to the apartment - kun stops under on of the streetlights

you turn back and ask what’s wrong

“i want to ask you again, well i didn’t ask the first time - i just made the assumption, but are you in love with sicheng?”

you feel your hands sort of twitch in response - you thought that conversation had been buried away

“i-”

you start, wanting to explain to kun where you are right now - what you’re thinking

hendery, xiaojun, yukhei - they were always kind to you. but kun had spent the most time with you and you were getting to a point where you thought you could see him as a sort of confident about all this

you obviously didn’t want to worry sicheng with your doubts (or your emotions)

so telling kun might actually make it better

“kun, i just i think i-”

the sound of tires reveing against the street cuts your sentence off

you both turn to see yukhei’s familiar motorcycle and he waves as he pulls up onto the curb

tugging off the helmet he greets you two with his usually goofy smile and points to the grocery bags

“is mama kun making something good tonight? can i join?”

you giggle and kun rolls his eyes, but invites him anyway

the weird moment and the weird question kun had asked melt away, at least they do for you

as you listen to yukhei excitedly explain one of the new upgrades on his bike

kun slinks a little behind. he wonders what you were going to say.

for a while everything seems to be “normal”

normal meaning no one attacks you in the hotel room or comes raiding kun’s apartment

you think surviving this isn’t going to be that hard - not the horrible nightmare you had thought it was when you were getting on the jet to fly over here

when sicheng is around, he’s always got a way of keeping your attention. you usually don’t focus on anything but the work kun gives you

but when sicheng is there - you kind of feel like another fan watching one of his dramas - he’s just ,,,,,, he’s like living artwork

and you know he knows you peek - because sometimes he’ll look back at you and wink

the mindless flirting sort of makes you feel sprinkles of joy, but you try to level it out with what kun had said

maybe you are another “plaything” - something sicheng thought he could keep around for when he’s bored

but he’s otherwise,,,,, respectful,,,,he never crosses a boundary or does something that might make you feel like a toy - or like less of a person

if anything, he’s done more to keep you safe and happy

when he isn’t around though - you help kun out with small tasks which you say aren’t really criminal right?

most of the money, according to kun and sicheng, is just from “sales” the jungs makes

you don’t ask - they don’t tell and plus you’d rather do these tasks than sit around being useless

you’re scared that’ll make kun hate you again

hendery will sometimes come over and make you laugh, yukhei keeps pestering about that ride on his bike that kun refues him from giving you and xiaojun - though reserved - tries to make you feel comfortable too

you think it’s crazy, such sweet boys work for the jungs - but for some unknown reason they don’t mention it

and they never help kun or sicheng with this work? actually you’re not sure - do they also work for the jungs? do they work for sicheng’s parents?

still many questions - but it somehow feels like you’ve fallen into an ok groove

one call from jaehyun ruins all of that

sicheng had been around, making you feel giddy and safe for the past few days

you, him, and kun had been working on printing money for an upcoming trip doyoung was going to take under the guise of a “marketing meeting”

when the phone had wrung and the color had seemed to drain out of sicheng’s face

you didn’t know why, but you gut said it had something to do with you - and you were right

immediately after hanging up, sicheng had called out your name

“get up, we have to leave. now.”

instead of scrambling to your feet first - kun beat you, grabbing sicheng by the arm

“what’s happening? where are you taking them?”

sicheng shrugs him off

“don’t be concerned. make sure yukhei knows im taking his bike.”

panic starts to make your mind go fuzzy, the room spins as sicheng starts collecting your things

“the hotel has my -”

“no time, let’s go. i need to get you to safety. it’s part of the deal.”

the deal?

you follow after him, as confused and scared as the first time he’d lead you into this unknown place

but this time kun takes a hold of your wrist and tugs you back toward him

sicheng turns on his heel at the sound of your back hitting kun’s chest

“tell me where you’re taking them sicheng, im not joking.”

“kun let them go.”

“tell me.”

the hold tightens and you stare up at kun - something is different about him, he could be cold and unagreeable but this was just downright,,,,,,,,,,, frightening

“im sick of it, what was the point of bringing them here in the first place? did you get tired of playing around with the stars - wanted to ruin someone innocent?”

sicheng’s eyes overcast

“kun - what are you accusing me of?”

“they’re a person, sicheng. a person whose life you put in danger by getting them involved with you - with us - with the fucking psychopath jungs. don’t you remember what they’re doing to ten and yangyang?

two names you’ve never heard of pop up and you want to ask what the hell is going on

but then the two of them switch into fast paced mandarin and you’re stuck in an absolute limbo

“of course i remember, that’s why i started this. i thought it would help ten and yangyang.”

“and what about now? what about taking them out and frolicking about the city like you aren’t famous? like your parents wouldn’t blow a lid on you and this whole thing if they found you out on a date with someone they’ve never met before?”

“kun, it’s my life. i can do wh-”

“it’s THEIR life too sicheng - people are not toys! stop treating them like they are!”

sicheng’s hand suddenly wraps around your other wrist

“they aren’t a toy to me. you wouldn’t understand.”

“tell me sicheng, sicheng who was born with a goddamn gold spoon in his mouth - what wouldn’t i understand? the way you take people and use them up?”

sicheng jerks you, and out of fear of hurting you, kun lets you go

you fall back against sicheng’s side

“they’re just like me kun. they ended up in a situation they didn’t want to be in. they were scared and couldn’t tell anyone. it’s simple, i saw myself in them and want to keep them safe.”

“you? keep someone safe - sicheng you’re more selfish -”

sicheng leans forward, you look up into his eyes and he ignores kun as he presses his lips tenderly to yours

he pulls away - your body frozen over as he locks eyes with kun again

“i can be selfish, just like you’ll always think i am, and that’s why im taking them right now. somewhere safe.”

he turns and you barely follow behind - knees shaking

kun commands sicheng to turn around and explain, but sicheng shakes his head

“you can’t think straight right now, it’s the jealousy talking - you won’t hear me out.”

you are still trying to process what the hell happened as sicheng throws a leg over yukhei’s motorcycle

he beckons you over and before he slips the helmet over your head - you ask him, words barely audible

“wh-why did you kiss me?”

he gives you a small smile - but it’s not the one you’re so used to seeing

so used to being struck by

it’s almost,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,sad

“because i might not get the chance to ever again.”

he turns on the engine and motions for you to hop on

you do, because you trust him, wrapping your arms tight around his waist

sicheng speeds off into the streets at a pace even yukhei hasn’t gone at

you suddenly wish he’d have worn the helmet instead - but you somehow know he wouldn’t have allowed that

you think you might be suffocating sicheng with how hard you’re clinging onto him - just like that time in the hotel ambush

you don’t know where he’s taking you or what’s going on - you don’t know anything and yet what scares you the most is what he’d said

why won’t i ever see you again? is it because you’ll die? or because i’ll die? is there trouble? i just want you to tell me you’ll keep me safe again,,,,

to motorcycle pulls up to the gates of a large open field - in the field you see the jet that brought you to beijing

in front of it is the pilot - who doesn’t waste time getting the stairs down from the opening of the jet

sicheng gets off the bike first, helping you right after and slipping the helmet off your head

gently he fixes the strands of your hair that have gotten all messy and you talk a mile a minute

“sicheng what’s going on? why was kun so angry? and why do i have to lea-”

“one question.”

he goes

“ask me one question, and then you must leave.”

you swallow - your throat is dry and you stare into his beautiful eyes - those golden specks rotate hypnotizingly around his pupil

why did you kiss me?

why were you and kun fighting?

where am i going?

what happened?

“why,,,,,,,,did you save me on my first day in beijing - wouldn’t it have been easier for me to,,,,,,,to have just been hurt?”

he smiles, tilting his head a little as he keeps his eyes locked on yours

“because i said i would keep you safe. that’s a silly question.”

“but you didn’t have to - you didn’t have to - no one is forcing you to keep that stupid promise to jaehyun,,,,,,”

he runs a hand down your cheek

“it’s complicated. but ill tell you something. even if it really didn’t matter, even if i had just met you. i still would have protected you.”

he leans in and once again you think he’s going to kiss your lips - leave you frozen and unable to think for yourself

but he doesn’t kiss your lips - he kisses your forehead and mutters

“because we’re the same.”

the words are cryptic - you can’t ask what he means because the pilot is gently pulling you toward him instead - toward the jet

when you get on - you rush to open the window and see as sicheng gets back on the bike

he looks over his shoulder and it makes your heart stop for a second in your chest

before he’s gone

the plane flys you back to korea, where mark and johnny pick you up from the airport

you ask them what’s the issue and mark explains that a criminal rival of the jungs in china had been suspicious of sicheng for a while

that one of his informants had caught a glance of you and sicheng on the street - confirming the suspicion that he’d been working for the jungs

“technically we asked sicheng to come back with you - so we could protect him too, but looks like he said he’d take care of it himself.”

“so,,,,,,,,so it’s my fault,,,,,,”

you whisper and johnny tries to play it off - “of course not! it’s not your fault - plus jaehyun trusts sicheng can handle himself! now c’mon, how can we turn that frown upside down?”

you look out of the window of the car - lost in thoughts, and mark taps johnny on the shoulder - motioning to leave you alone for right now

a couple of days pass and you’re allowed back in your apartment - of course a member of jaehyun’s team is always there to keep an eye on you

you don’t really know what to do but wait and see if someone - anyone - will give you an update

did that person see me and sicheng when we went out together? was it when we landed? if i had never chosen him and went to beijing then he wouldn’t have gotten in this trouble!

it’s when the door opens and instead of haechan or jungwoo, yukhei comes in and mark springs up in confusion

he pulls his gun - “who are you?!”

“yukhei!”

mark turns to you, “we said not to tell your friends-”

“hey hey, what’s the problem little dude - im with sicheng!”

mark blinks “you’re with sicheng?”

from behind yukhei steps out just the man of the hour

you notice a cast wrapped around his arm, but other than that he’s relatively unharmed

you rush toward him - nearly tackling him

“are you ok? im so sorry - if it wasn’t for you having to take me with you back to beijinig-”

sicheng puts the other hand on your cheek and gives it a little squish

“shh. im fine. aren’t you happy to see me?”

mark look between the two of you, bewildered and yukhei elbows him in the side as if they’ve been friends for years

you bury your head in sicheng’s chest and he laughs, gently running the fingers from your cheek into your hair

“let’s go dude - they need their space!”

yukhei exclaims, pulling mark after him and through the small door to your apartment

mark protests, but yukhei overpowers him easily and suddenly it’s just you and sicheng

you think you’re going to start crying - from the happiness and the confusion

“why didn’t you just come back with me? why did you stay?”

sicheng waves the cast around

“i wanted to personally deal with the problem.”

“why?”

“because that bastard threatened to kill you and sicheng actually went crazy on him.”

you look back at the door - where kun is leaning against the frame

“kun! you’re ok!”

you jump to your feet and kun kind of half smirks at the sound of worry in your voice

you don’t see sicheng roll his eyes behind your back, but kun doesn’t step closer

he looks at sicheng and on purpose tells him in mandarin

“i believe you for now, but if you end up tossing them to the side like everyone else - just know ill be waiting. and i won’t forgive you.”

“thanks, but that’s not in the plan.”

you huff

“can you guys please speak so i can understand - you two were in dire danger and the last time you did this you almost killed each other so please, im begging, don’t spike my anxiety through the roof.”

kun lets out a sound, sort of grumbling as he turns to follow after yukhei and mark

you look and see sicheng has stood up

“i now have time to answer any other questions.”

he laces his fingers with yours and you think - where should i start?

“why did you kiss me?”

“wanted to.”

“why did you kiss me in front of kun?”

sicheng grins, “to teach him a little lesson”

“why?”

sicheng shrugs, “just so he knows, that i like you.”

“why do you like me?”

“why - do you not like me?”

you scrunch up your nose and sicheng laughs again -

“fine, it’s because of what i said - you are a lot like me. we’re the same.”

“how?”

you don’t understand - you’re a uni student with an otherwise boring as hell life

how could you and dong sicheng - an actor, a boy born into richness with this starvation for adventure - be even remotely similar

“because even when you were thrown into all this. even when you were scared - you did it.”

“but - how does that make us the same?”

he leans in and suddenly his forehead is pressed to yours

“because i got thrown into this too.”

“i-i- i thought you joined because you were bored!”

he shakes his head, “there are other reasons. one day we’ll talk about them. for now, do you want to go back to beijing with me?”

your stomach twists

“it won’t be safe for you-”

“it will be. it will be safer there than here. plus, kun told me you are quite good with details.......the word jaehyun uses-”

“meticulous?”

“yes. meticulous. what do you think?”

you would agree - you think you are pretty meticulous yourself, but instead of saying anything or asking any of the million questions you still have you hug him again

because sicheng had said before that he’d be afraid he’d only get one chance to kiss you again

and you just are scared of thinking that that could have been the reality of this situation

“ah, xiaojun brought this back by the way.”

sicheng pulls the panda he bought you at the beijing markets and drops it in your hands - you stare at it

the shirt on the panda had said ‘beijing loves you’ before - but, in what you presume is xiaojun’s handwirting, there’s a post it over beijing it says ‘sicheng’

you giggle - but then look up at him

he tkaes the post it off and taps the panda’s head

“so - do you want to come back with me? or do you want to switch and pick someone else?’

“that’s a silly question.”

you copy him and tip toe up to press your lips to his own

he grins against your lips and then goes, “we’re going to have to convince jaehyun though - he was a bit mad about this situation.”

“that’s fine - doesn’t he trust you.”

sicheng nods, looking deep into your eyes

“he does. but i hope he knows that if anything, just say the word and ill always pick you over my allegiance to him.”

you can’t believe what he’s said - you just look at him and see something in those words

“sicheng?”

“yes”

“i don’t know what jaehyun has over you - or how he forced you to work for him - but let’s get it back and let’s make sure you never have to see the jungs again.”

something sparkles in his eyes and he nods, slow and quiet

when you guys rejoin everyone outside, mark is too distracted with yukhei to notice the change in your expression

hendery and xiaojun who are also waiting realize it, yukhei does too when he looks over his shoulder. kun smirks to himself. finally

with your help

they’re all going to get back at the jungs.

spoiler: to know why sicheng joined the jungs - read ten’s special route!

#ok .............ok ................i want feedback on this please i expanded so much energy on it please tell me i cried writing it #i love sicheng so much #also it interlocks with ten's story so please read to understand the ending #regular au #blood/#violence/#sicheng scenarios #winwin scenarios #nct scenarios #wayv scenarios #member: winwin #passes out #winwin #sicheng

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midshipmank · 3 years

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These Violent Delights Review (contains spoilers)

Where to begin with this book? I finished it almost two weeks ago, but I put off reviewing it because I had a lot of thoughts about it and a lot of ranting to friends to do before I felt calm enough to write an actual review. I personally dislike rant reviews and didn’t want to be the author of one. And it’s not like I hated this book! It had so much potential! I still think the concept was great! But I had so many craft problems with this book that I actually started writing notes and using page flags to keep track of everything that bothered me. I don’t normally do that!

So here we go. TLDR: Brilliant idea, terrible execution.

I split my page flags into 3 categories while reading: language, character, and gang-related (which ended up becoming worldbuilding in general). All of these informed my thoughts on what I found to be the biggest problem with this book in the end, which was the fact that it was a retelling. Or rather, it was supposed to be. This book is marketed as “Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai,” but it really, really does not want to be Romeo and Juliet. It is fighting that framework with everything it’s got. It makes me think that the idea of retelling Romeo and Juliet, regardless of setting, was probably the original inspiration for the book, but it definitely outgrew the play. The author needed to just let the retelling go and let the story be free.

What really firmly convinced me that this should not have been a R&J retelling was actually the author’s note in the back of the book. Gong talks about how, though there was no blood feud between two gangs at this time, she tried to keep the story as true to history as possible. So she lists all of the groups that were vying for power in 1920s Shanghai, all of whom were featured in the story in some way. And that’s exactly the problem. From a political perspective, Romeo and Juliet is a very simple play. There are only three groups with power: the Montagues, the Capulets, and the Prince. In 1920s Shanghai, there were always at least four (counting all the foreigners as one group) and, with her added blood feud, there’s always at least FIVE. If you have three other powerful groups running around causing problems, it pretty much takes all the intensity of your blood feud out of your blood feud. With everything else that was going on with the Communists, Nationalists, and foreigners, whenever the blood feud between the gangs came up, I was always sort of like, “Why is this here? It feels so pointless. What could it possibly add to the story?” All it really did was slow everything down because the gangs refused to work with each other, and add a layer of ~forbiddenness~ to the main romance. The actual plot of the story, about a British businessman unleashing a madness-inducing insect upon Shanghai, had literally nothing to do with the blood feud.

It would have made more sense to insert Roma and Juliette into two of the existing powers of historical Shanghai, and, indeed, Gong almost did: Roma could have been part of the “foreigners” block, like Paul Dexter. But for some reason the White Flowers were treated as separate from the foreigners for reasons I don’t totally understand. In the author’s note, Gong talks about how the Russian refugees in Shanghai never actually held much power, but that there was a reason she made them equal in power to the Scarlet Gang in this story. She doesn’t ever actually give that reason. Basically, as I read the author’s note, I kept thinking, “Then why didn’t you write about this? Or that? Or that? Why did you add all this stuff, when the actual history is more interesting?”

The other things that made this feel really unlike Romeo and Juliet are all character and gang-related. The thing that makes Romeo and Juliet WORK is that the characters, even when foolish and impulsive, COMMIT to the foolish and impulsive decisions they make. And those decisions have MASSIVE consequences. In a short series of fatal moves, they bind themselves to their fates. But halfway through this book, in the middle of yet another argument about what should be done (if anything) about the madness, I stopped and thought to myself, what has been done? What have these characters actually been doing? I was halfway through the book and it felt like nothing had happened. Sure, people had died and guns had been fired, but what were the consequences? Had anything actually CHANGED? It was at that point that I began to add page flags and take notes. I was tired and frustrated by the endless pages of characters waffling around Shanghai, having the same arguments over and over, and not accomplishing anything. This book was paced like it was written by the seat of Gong’s pants during NaNoWriMo, and then never underwent any significant structural edits. (The meanest my rants about this book ever got was after I finished it and described it to my twin as “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” But that’s still what most of it felt like.)

One of the best examples of what I mean is a persistent problem I had with Juliette that was both character- and gang-related. Basically: there’s a point in the book where she thinks that everyone in Shanghai can recognize her on sight (and indeed, this does happen) because she’s the heir to a very powerful gang and she dresses in American clothes. So far so good. But on another occasion, she raids some place in pursuit of the Larkspur with Roma at her side in front of at least a hundred witnesses, and then….nothing. She doesn’t find the Larkspur, and later when talking to one of her cousins, she worries that her cousin might have learned about what she did. But then she thinks, no, it’s not possible that anyone knows I did that with Roma! And she’s right. SHE’S RIGHT. She waved her gun around and shouted in front of at least a hundred people, and was clearly working with Roma while she did it, AND NO ONE FOUND OUT. Things like this happened over and over with Juliette. Normally I’d love an interpretation of Juliet who’s so hot-headed and driven, but she got away with SO MUCH without ever being recognized or experiencing any consequences. In the end, my suspension of disbelief broke. Juliette’s antics, and consequently all the rest of the gang-related drama, became melodrama. It made me roll my eyes. I just couldn’t believe it anymore. This whole thing with Juliette wasn’t the only gang-related thing that frustrated me, but it was the biggest one.

In an effort to give Gong the benefit of the doubt: Romeo and Juliet can be read quite melodramatically. Maybe this is the effect she intended? Maybe she wanted us not to take it seriously?

But that brings me to my next point: at times, this book seemed to take itself TOO seriously. I got this impression mostly from the language. My initial reaction to the prose was, “Wow, this is so beautiful!” Eventually, though, it mostly just seemed purple. I kept wanting to cut sentences in half. It was like it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a normal YA book or if it wanted to emulate William Shakespeare. So in the end, it mostly just seemed like an overwritten YA book in which the characters spouted needlessly flowery lines that just sounded silly. Again, it became melodrama. This was actually the first thing I started page-flagging.

The problem with the language wasn’t just silly though; it also had a detrimental effect on the plot and characterization. At times, the book was written in third-person omniscient and at times it was in third-person close. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but with the confusion of the plot I described above, it became difficult to keep track of who knew what. There were two separate times in the book when the characters discovered something about the monster and I thought, “Wait….didn’t everyone already know that?” One of these times was within the last twenty or so pages. I’m trying to stay calm right now, but it was unbelievably frustrating for something that had been obvious since the first page to be realized by one of the main characters at the very end of the book. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw the book across the room. But it is very pretty, so I didn’t.

The detrimental effect the language had on character was mostly that I never felt like I knew any of the characters. They’re fond of reminiscing dramatically on the past, but all we ever get are random details and no actual story. I kept waiting for a flashback that never came. I’m not a huge fan of flashbacks, but this book really, really could have used one. Both Roma and Juliette are very poetic about their shared history, but it all rang hollow because I felt like I had nothing real to grasp onto. They played games by the docks and killed each other’s loved ones? That’s pretty much all I got. By the end of the book, I still had no idea why they even liked each other. It’s mentioned several times that they thought they could end the blood feud, but, given how the blood feud pales in comparison to the actual history of Shanghai, that didn’t seem like much. The blood feud is not Shanghai’s biggest problem historically or in this book! So why should I care?

So we come back to the main problem of this book not feeling like Romeo and Juliet. It doesn’t want to be Romeo and Juliet! It is begging to be something else! The real causes of turmoil in Shanghai at this point in history were the foreign powers and the workers’ strikes. Gong says that herself! She made the foreigners the villain, which I think was a very good choice, but the workers’ strikes and growing Communist party just ended up feeling like set dressing. Background scenery. It added nothing to the plot but a red herring. In the authors’ note, Gong says that if she had followed history more closely, there would have been strikes in every chapter. I can understand why that would seem overwhelming, but if she didn’t wanted to include the workers’ strikes, then maybe….this should have been set….in a different time period….because this time period….has too many political elements….for an R&J retelling to work…. Just a thought! Or maybe she should have tossed R&J, which is the option I prefer, because the actual history is, as I have said before, much more interesting than a fictional blood feud between gangs.

In an effort to not be entirely negative about this book, I do have a mild interest in reading a comparison of this book with The Beetle by Richard Marsh. The Beetle is a Victorian novel and, like many Victorian novels, it’s about Britain’s fear of reverse-colonization, or being infiltrated by one of the countries’ they’ve invaded. In The Beetle, the infiltration comes in the form of a scarab from Egypt that carries some curse. I don’t remember all the details, since I read the book several years ago, but I found it interesting that this book had a similar concept of foreign invasion via insects. I think it would be interesting to compare the two, especially since they have opposite perspectives on British imperialism.

So, in summary: I think the idea of this book was great. I would have loved to read a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai that worked; unfortunately, for a variety of craft problems related to pacing, worldbuilding, characterization, and language, I don’t think this book worked at all. It wanted to be so much more than a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and the author should have let it.

Am I going to read the second book? Maaayyybe. I might get curious enough about the backstory to see whether she puts it in that book. But if I do read it, I’m getting it from the library.

#these violent delights #books #booklr #well here it is #i tried to be calm about it but this was the most frustrating book i've ever read #i know most people loved this book but i did not #& i spent so long thinking about why i didn't that i might as well explain it

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itsuki-minamy · 4 years

Text

FOUR SEASONS OF K: “UNCLOUDED BLUE”

Translation: Naru-kun

Raws: Ridia

"Can you recruit new recruits?"

"Scepter 4". In the captain's office, Fushimi shook his eyes as he listened to Munakata next to Awashima.

"What are you talking about? Captain, you can't install anymore."

At the end of January of this year, the Dresden Slate that chose Seven Kings and gave them strength was destroyed after the battle with “Jungle”. As a result, the Kings lost Damocles' sword, a symbol of their power and much of their power.

The power that only the "King" possessed, the power to perform the installation as his own clan member, is gone.

"That's right. I still call myself the 'Blue King', but I can't get any more Clansmans."

"If that's the case. For logistical support, you can use the police."

"Captain, I also wonder. Certainly, in January, humans around the world temporarily became Strains, and many people still retain their power, and it is a fact that the number of Strains related cases has increased dramatically since last year. However, it is too dangerous to hire an ordinary person as a member of "Scepter 4" because it requires personnel. As Fushimi says, strengthen cooperation with the police.''

"No, they are average people."

Gently obstructing Awashima's words, Munakata said. Fushimi and Awashima open their eyes.

Munakata got up from the office desk and went to the window. Gaze at the outside world, filled with bright spring light.

"As Awashima-kun says, the number of Strains in the world has increased significantly in January. The existence of Strains, who had long been under wraps for control of the information of the Golden Clan, came to light, and the Strains' case became familiar to people. However, are all the talented people and survivors the cause of the incident? The answer is no. There are many people who want "the order to be an appropriate member of society by controlling the extraordinary power that has arisen over themselves". Don't you think giving them a sword of justice helps us and helps to form an orderly society?"

Fushimi widened his eyes.

"You mean, trying to get Strain as a member of Scepter 4?"

It is common to find Strains and make them a member of the clan. Good examples are Anna Kushina, the Red Clan, and Miyabi Ameno, Neko of the Silver Clan.

But when it comes to accepting Strains without being able to install, the story is completely different.

Awashima was also confused.

"Physically, it would be possible for a compatible Strain to physically act as a member. However, it does mean that those who do not belong to the Captain's blue power are called members of "Scepter 4" and a member of the Reisi Munakata clan. The definition of clan will be broken."

"You can collapse."

Munakata replied in a low voice.

"I no longer have a Damocles sword in my head. The definition of "King" has already collapsed. Although the responsibility for "Scepter 4" has increased, the support of the organization "Scepter 4" is being lost. We have to change."

Awashima took a deep breath, then hardened her expression to change something inside of her, and corrected her disposition.

“A person harboring the Captain's cause, even if the Captain does not live, is called a member of the Blue Clan. "Scepter 4" will change to such an organization.”

Munakata is deeply framed in Awashima's words.

"That's right. The new members are no different than the "Scepter 4" members. I think our blue doesn't even have a single cloud.''

"Okay."

Awashima stretched out her back and saluted. Munakata's line of sight turns to Fushimi, who remains silent.

"…I get it. Well, originally, I'm not in a position to call different people.”

In response to Fushimi, Munakata laughed.

++++++++++

The registration ceremony was held in early April, as was the general opening ceremony.

It seems that the star of the human eye drawn as a member was already attached when I speak to Fushimi and Awashima. Three days after Munakata went to the scout and Fushimi and his friends spoke, they were all there.

The new members, dressed in brand new blue uniforms, are now meeting at the barracks with Strains. There was a burning air that flowed between the members of the special body of "Scepter 4" that watched over there.

"How will we deal with the Strains members?"

Kamo crossed his arms with a difficult face. He laughed because Domyoji was empty.

"I think it's okay to do normal. Right?"

"Oh, yes. We will serve as a role model for young people doing our job as usual."

"Well, there are probably a lot of boys with different types of abilities than us, so I have to think about how to teach for each boy."

Akiyama and Bensai make serious comments about each other. Fuse asked the new members to be vigilant.

"Wouldn't you put your ability out of control...?"

"Fufu. I wonder if you didn't come in so it wouldn't happen. It's an orderly clan, so it's just a matter of teaching how to control."

"As Goto said, at least coming here is a guy with guts trying to control his power and help the world."

"They are the right people for the Captain's glasses."

On the side of Goto, Hidaka, Enomoto and others, Fushimi was reviewing the resumes of the new members with a tablet. They have a variety of backgrounds, but they are all young people who have been tense due to the January madness.

"Oh!"

One of the new members rushed in and made a strained voice.

A young member who looks like a child. However, when he reviews the resume, it was older than Fushimi. Although he decided on a job offer for a major company due to a new graduate of four top graduates, the job offer was canceled due to the effects of Strain. After that, he called Munakata and decided to join "Scepter 4".

Fushimi looks at the new member with some pity. He blushed slightly on his cheeks and bowed to Fushimi in a quick posture.

"Fushimi-san. Do you remember me?"

"I do not remember you."

"Oh, yes! Well, Fushimi-san saved me!"

The new member had a shocked face for a moment, but immediately recovered and smiled.

“In the case of the Strains in January, my power got out of control, luckily I didn't hurt anyone, but I was shopping, so I did a lot of damage to the store at the time. I was not supposed to be arrested or claimed for damages because the property damage caused by the outburst of powers could not be dealt with.''

The government promulgated from the beginning that "criminal punishment would not be necessary for the damage caused by the outbreak of powers", due to the swift action of Isana Yashiro, the Silver King and the Golden Clan.

He thought that it would not be so if he were grateful, but the new member laughed with a slightly bitter look.

"But I didn't lose my ability even after that day. So, the eyes of the people around me saw me as a dangerous person when I was wrong, even the company that gave me the job offer told me that they couldn't run the risk and they couldn't hire me. If I was lost, it was because I was confused and the powers exploded. I was wondering what to do, what should I do when the overflowing power destroyed the surroundings, and Fushimi-san rushed towards me and grabbed my hand to stop the insurrection of the powers."

There was such a thing when told. Fushimi frowns as he recalls the story of a passionate new member.

"Think of a sword. Drop the image that power is runaway. It is not something you can handle. Think of a sword that you can control and put in your scabbard." You told me to try to imagine my power to spread like a single sword, and then the power would fall within my will and the sword would fit into my scabbard. As you can see, the power has stopped coming out. After that, Fushimi-san gave me a valuable tutorial.”

The new member smiles with a big smile. In the background, Domyoji yelled, "Hey, Fushimi-san!" It made him want to hit.

"Then I started to think that my power was not just a nuisance, but something that, if controlled, could do something. At that time, you helped me and I never got lost. Thanks to Fushimi-san. I am very grateful to you!"

The new member tilted his hips at a right angle. Fushimi inadvertently clicked his tongue due to the situation.

"I was just doing my job."

"And during the January paranoia, there were many people who were helped by people dressed in blue. I wish I could be one of them..."

In response to Fushimi's naive response, the new members raised their heads and turned bright faces towards Fushimi and the members behind them. Fushimi, who became troublesome, left Akiyama's place behind him and pressed the newcomer's response.

Akiyama steps forward and touches the new member's shoulder with a refreshing face that Fushimi cannot.

"Our job is to keep order with the cause in mind and help people. Now you can become someone who helps."

"Yes."

Awashima, who was reviewing the saber to be delivered at the enlistment ceremony, giggled a little as she looked at Fushimi and approached the edge of the floor while listening to the heat sensitive exchange on her back.

"You did a good job."

"I don't remember saying that."

It is uncomfortable. Fushimi is not good at teaching people things. At that time, he feels like I've been thinking about how to lead him. He was really cursing.

Munakata, Awashima, narrowed their eyes and looked at Fushimi, then they looked at the sky. It was a clear blue cloudless sky.

"The sword will no longer float in this sky, but the path we have taken, led by the Captain, will be the mark of "Scepter 4" in the future."

Awashima briefly closed her eyes longingly for Damocles' blue sword.

They can hear the sounds of Munakata's shoe.

Recognizing Munakata walking slowly from the barracks building towards them, Awashima shouted out loud, saying, "Line up!"

++++++++++

Although he was unable to empower the clan member, the enlistment ceremony was carried out as before.

The new members are called one by one, and they walk in front of Munakata to kneel down. Awashima hands the sword to Munakata, and Munakata releases it from its scabbard. Munakata places the sword on the new member's shoulder and speaks quietly.

The saber is clad by Munakata and presented to the new members.

"Promise to act with the pride and belief of a swordsman, and take up the sword."

The new member vows and receives the sword to wield it. Until now, at that time, Munakata's blue power was bestowed with the sword, and blue light was transmitted from the sword to the entire body, but now that phenomenon does not occur.

This ritual has no special meaning; it is only one way. However, Fushimi knows that Munakata values "form". He believes that for a human being it is worth the formal weight and makes clear the will of a person.

After the sabers had been awarded to the new members, Munakata slowly looked at each of the new aligned members.

"As of today, you are members of "Scepter 4". One day, suddenly, you were given some powers, unlike the other members who had the ability to be prepared and willing. Fufu, in that sense, you can be more like a "king"."

The new members are looking at Munakata.

A breeze blew and the lined cherry blossoms scattered petals across the ground.

"You who have gained power regardless of your choice, however, have decided to obtain a sword of blue order by your own choice. Not a sword to hurt, a sword to control and protect. You are like-minded, members of the Clan. Blue. Get ready."

At the same time that Munakata slightly admired, Awashima ordered.

"All the staff, Batto!"

The members draw the sword one after another. New members do the same. The blades shining in the sunlight received a forest and turned towards the sky.

"Control the sword with your sword. In our cause, there is no cloudiness!"

Under the clear blue sky, Munakata's voice sounded high.

#K #k project #k fan clan #k stories #scepter 4 #Saruhiko Fushimi #reisi munakata #awashima seri

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katyatalks · 4 years

Text

MP100 “Characters & Such Official Guidebook” - Interviews ENG Translation

The Characters & Such Official Guidebook was released mid-April 2019 as a guide for all things related to MP100 season 1 & 2. The guidebook also includes interviews with the voice actors of the main five characters (Mob, Reigen, Dimple, Ritsu, Teru), followed by interviews with Director Tachikawa, Series Coordinator Seko, Character Designer Kameda & finally with ONE himself.

Contains a bunch of interesting trivia and conversations (eg. Tachikawa and Kameda looked at fan art before they began the anime, an alternative past for Reigen was once considered, plenty of references to S3 & broccoli arc.) This is a pretty long read, so please enjoy!

Original thread on Twitter here. TN = Translator’s Note "Bold denotes a direct quote of a question,” & “italics denotes a direct quote of an answer.” I’m a little bit inconsistent with where I decide to give full question and answers rather than summaries here...

ITOU SETSUO [Mob]

On being asked how he approached voicing Mob during the audition, he says that he went for something flat as Mob doesn’t really inspire “main character” vibes in him.

He takes it as a compliment when he is told that he’s like Mob as a person.

Initially he didn’t think too much of himself in the role as Mob but after being told by co-stars just how well his voice and performance suit the character, he began to believe it too.

On being asked what’s so charming about Mob, Itou says his honesty, and that he doesn’t take a negative viewpoint. Brings up that when Mob is against a foe, rather than “are you my enemy?” he’ll ask “what are you doing here?”.

Itou’s favourite character is Teru, as he thinks the way Teru behaves with his powers originally is the most realistic in terms of standard human nature.

He says the same thing applies to Shou & Touichirou.

The fact that Mob is different is his strength; the fact that he doesn’t think of his powers as anything special. He gives credit to Reigen for Mob thinking this way about his powers.

“At first, Mob-kun suffered because of his powers. But then he meets shishou, who tells him that his powers are just one part of him - this is linked to why Mob-kun is so charming now.”

Mob considers “you shouldn’t use your powers against people” a given fact.

Itou originally found it difficult to know how far he should go adding emotion to Mob’s voice.

Since MP100 is the first show Itou has been a regular & leading part for, he wanted to be the first person in the recording booth for episode 1, and as a result ended up arriving 45 minutes early.

Asked about his favourite scenes from S1 & S2, he mentions the scene that’s stayed with him is when Mob first appears in S1E1.

Has a few scenes he mentions as favourites; he loves the whole Teru vs Mob fight, but especially when Teru is shouting while using his powers as he recalls the passion Matsuoka [Teru] had when recording it.

He mentions when Mob saves Ritsu in S1E8, also mentions that’s something they covered in the stage play, and that it makes him emotional thinking about it.

Says he loves the scene when Mob shouts “Shishou!” as Reigen is ‘killed’ by Sakurai in S1E11.

Mentions S2E1 as well. “Mob-kun doesn’t express his emotions much, but he does then. Showing his powers to another while crying. I remember being glad when I first read the script for episode 1 as it’s a scene I wanted to do. I think of it as the moment Mob-kun starts to change.”

When asked about the stage play, says he thinks the Mob he portrays in the stage play is slightly different to the one he portrays in the anime.

Asks the fans to please continue to watch over MP100 and Mob’s growth, and it would be good if we could all continue to support MP100 as much as we can, from a stage play angle as well.

SAKURAI TAKAHIRO [Reigen]

Sakurai says if he were to have powers he’d probably use them to commit wrongdoings with.

Asked on his impressions of Reigen, says he sees Reigen as an “unbalanced person”, but thought he was mysterious in season 1.

Thought of Reigen as a fraud and not a good person in S1, but with S2 we see his uchizura (private, more ‘real’ self) and real emotions, so his feelings re: Reigen changed from S1 to S2. “It was hard to know who he was, back in season 1.”

“So you felt pretty strongly that he was simply a fraud?” Sakurai; “Well, he lies to people, but at the same time he does actually put some work in (laughs). Clients go home feeling refreshed, so he definitely gives a good massage.”

Calls Reigen eloquent, and that the things that he says are sound. Calls him a good speaker. Brings up his speech to the “claw guys” (likely referencing S1E12). “He can be irresponsible, but he’s got a mysterious intelligence.”

Says that from the middle to the end of S2 there would be as many as 20-30 people in the studio.

Asked about his favourite episodes S1+S2 inclusive, says S2E1 and that the transition from the end of S1 to S2 is smooth with it. “A really fantastic episode”, “you can also see signs of Mob’s growth.”

“On that note, when Reigen hears that Mob got a girlfriend...” Sakurai; “It’s a shock (laughs). His mind goes blank. ‘There’s no way Mob managed to get a girlfriend,’ is what’s running through his mind. He doesn’t celebrate it. Actually, it’s an upsetting thing for him - since Mob would be all over her, Reigen’s business would end up in trouble (laughs).”

Sakurai describes the “Shishou and Deshi” relationship that Mob & Reigen originally have as something that’s quite fabricated and disregards a lot of truths.

“Reigen was an adult floating in limbo for some time, and starts a business in a calculating move. And it starts going well once he meets Mob in their chance encounter.”

“The nickname ‘Mob’ signifies him as a boy without a presence, and yet it’s from that point that Mob starts to grow, and something like a desire for recognition sprouts within him.” [TN: This appears to be implying that Reigen began the ‘Mob’ nickname.]

Sakurai considers Reigen arc 1) a story in which Mob's popularity skyrockets 2) a story in which we see a more raw side of Reigen and start to like him more.

On being asked if there’s any part of Reigen that he sees in himself, starts off with saying that he tends to give out advice to those younger than him (he’s in his 40s and implies he can’t compare himself to someone who’s young in their 20s). Then after knowing what’s running through Reigen’s head in S2; “I suppose we do overlap in one way or another.”

Sakurai says he was very much one of the “mob” (a nobody) in his 10s.

Finally, asked to give a message to fans; “I’d like to do a Season 3, so please continue to love Mob Psycho 100.”

OOTSUKA AKIO [Dimple]

Asked about his thoughts on MP100, Ootsuka says that the art style of the manga caught his eye - he thought it was fun that the anime doesn’t lose the style of the manga while making it more stylish.

Finds in modern manga, the trend is an ordinary kid will get powers by some chance & the adventure starts from there, but found it interesting that in MP100 Mob has had powers since he was tiny & the adventure begins after he comes crying to Reigen with “I don’t know what to do”.

Also enjoys how Mob isn’t exactly the “main character” type. Thinks that it’s a breath of fresh air in the shounen manga genre.

On being asked about Dimple’s charm, Ootsuka; “He’s bad, but you can’t hate him.”

Says that Dimple is ugly but that’s fun, since most of the time mascot characters are cute.

When asked what was running through his mind when preparing for the role of Dimple, he says “dishonesty, slyness.” Acting as if he’s smarter than people but he actually isn’t.

“Speaking of dishonest/sly adults, I feel Reigen is a different type.” Ootsuka; “I’d say Reigen is more dishonest/sly than Dimple... nah, actually they’re about the same. (Laughs)”

When asked if there was anything he finds difficult about playing Dimple, he says that with other acting jobs he finds it hard to play a character where he can’t connect, but “there’s a similar kind of guy to Dimple that lives inside me. So I just go, ‘oi, come out’ (laughs)”.

Says he thinks we all have a bit of Dimple in us.

Ootsuka is also the narrator in MP100. Said that originally he felt there was a difference in the way he played Dimple & the narrator, but that difference kind of became smaller.

He was told to no longer put on a voice that sounds similar to the person Dimple is possessing for season 2, which disappointed him as he wanted to put on a Mob-like voice for when Dimple possesses Mob in S2E4.

Discussion of how director didn’t like Hoshino’s [Serizawa] original takes as they were too silly. [TN: this is mentioned again by Inoue [Suzuki] and Hoshino [Serizawa] in this interview.]

He recalls bursting into laughter over Iwasaki Hiroshi’s performance as Ishiguro in S1E12.

“Reigen becomes able to see Dimple as well in the last bit of Season 1, so he gains another conversation partner.” Ootsuka; “Reigen and Dimple, they both view the other as unnecessary (laughs). So the back-and-forth they have with that in mind is pretty fun.”

Asked about his favourite scenes or episodes, he says the end of S1E3. Dimple’s “Great morning, isn’t it, partner?” line really stuck with him.

Compares Dimple to a dog by Mob’s side.

“Dimple has the kind of face that you just might want to slap (laughs).” Ootsuka; “Well, that’s why I was careful to not give him a too audacious manner of speaking.” Says the interesting thing about his line of work is really having to think about how to say lines.

Also voiced Dimple for the live action adaptation [TN: AKA Netflix ver]. Says it was fun but found it a massive shame that he wasn’t able to bounce lines off of anyone.

“I really didn’t do much in middle school. I was just a chuunibyou (laughs).”

When asked to give a message to MP100 fans, “You guys wanna see more, right? There’s still more to adapt, isn’t there ;) (laughs). So, we can make a sequel to S2 a reality if everyone works together. A ‘if you speak up, then your dreams might come true!’ vibe (laughs).”

He makes a sneaky reference to Broccoli Arc and wanting to see it animated.

IRINO MIYU [Ritsu]

On being asked his initial thoughts on MP100, Irino states he originally thought it was a lighthearted jokey manga based on the art style and the way the story was introduced, so he was surprised as the story progressed.

States that Ritsu is a relatable character with the issues that he faces (eg wanting something that’s out of reach so hiding your want).

Asked about anything that was difficult to perform as Ritsu, he states his two-sided nature; his general honour-student self and the other side of him.

Says that when Ritsu enters into his darker side, rather than playing some kind of bad guy Ritsu is simply more frank with how he expresses himself. “He lets the emotions in his heart be heard one by one.”

Irino is asked if he personally admires Mob, to which he replies that he’s jealous of the fact that Mob is so unbeatable.

He says Ritsu must also have the experience of looking at Mob and thinking something like, “Compared to him, I’m just...”

States he himself, Ritsu, and just about anyone has likely yearned to become something overwhelming, but we don’t believe in our ability to achieve that.

Following this, interviewer comments that Mob carries feelings of unease in his heart even though he’s so unbeatable. Irino comments that something fun for him with MP100 is that Mob doesn’t really realise how unbeatable he is.

Something that Ritsu admires about his brother is that he doesn’t show off the fact that he’s unbeatable.

“Even with powers, there’s plenty of things you can’t do.” Irino; “Such as not being able to confess to the girl you like (laughs).”

“Seems like even if he abused his powers he’d still be able to turn heads.” Irino; “Because he’s charming - that’s something good about him. That’s why everyone loves him, and why he gives off main-character-of-a-shounen-manga vibes.”

Asked about his favourite scenes/episodes from seasons 1 & 2, Irino says around when Ritsu's powers are awakened in season 1. He found it interesting to watch how his heart becomes disturbed.

"He finally obtained the thing he'd been longing for, but everything around him that was once so calm gets thrown into disarray."

He also liked it when Ritsu stands atop the telephone pole in S1E7.

Speaking in terms of Power Rangers & character colour association, ever since he was a kid Irino has admired characters that are more blue or black rather than red.

Interviewer comments that Ritsu holds the ‘blue’ role in MP100.

After Mob & Ritsu reconcile, Irino states that he feels Ritsu has come to understand his brother more.

“How should I put it; Ritsu is overprotective, or there’s a side to him that’s too fussy over his big brother...” Irino; “but that kind of brotherly love is pleasant to see.”

“In Season 2, Ritsu and Shou go through a joint struggle.” Irino; “Shou’s father has tremendous powers, and he has one fear with that; he doesn’t know when his father will go on a rampage. Their circumstances are similar, in that sense.”

“Truth is, in parts MP100 is quite like your typical shounen manga.” Irino replies that there’s a bunch of great lines in the manga, and importance hidden within casual words.

Following this response he’s asked if there’s certain line(s) from MP100 that have stuck with him, to which Irino replies quite a few of Reigen’s. “During the last part of season 1 when he marches into Claw’s hideout, you get to hear a lot of his thoughts. It’s hard to tell if he’s being truthful with the things he says or if he’s lying, and on top of that he says quite a few important things. That unbalance is interesting.”

“The broadcast of season 2 has already come to an end...” Irino replies that he’d like the MP100 anime to continue and adapt the manga to the very end.

“I’m sure all the fans feel the same way.” Irino; “Everyone worked together as one to create the MP100 anime. For it to continue, we need your support; so please continue to give that to us.”

MATSUOKA YOSHITSUGU [Teru]

Asked his initial thoughts on MP100, Matsuoka says it was that it’s a piece that you can easily empathise with; regardless of if you’re in primary school, middle school, high school, an adult, an old man or woman...

Matsuoka thinks of the anime as something you watch and go, “I’ll try my best tomorrow, too.”

Matsuoka voices both Teru and Tokugawa in MP100. He was first offered the voice of Teru, and then it was decided he’d also voice Tokugawa.

It’s brought up that Tokugawa appears earlier in the show than Teru. “They’re two very different people, so in that sense performing both roles was easy. If they’d been similar characters I think there would be some confusion.”

Regarding Tokugawa, Matsuoka describes him as being quite firmly in the “student council” role with how strict and resolute his character is, in a way that Matsuoka himself very much isn’t.

Describes him as a cool-headed person, but given the way he interacts with Kamuro and is able to persuade him, says he has a hot-headed element to him as well. Matsuoka uses this as an example of how MP100 shows us the multifacetedness of human nature.

Regarding his other character, Teru; describes him as the personification of ‘chuunibyou’. “I think of him as the embodiment of the answer to the question, ‘if you had powers, what would you do?’”

One line he still remembers from S1 is Teru’s “Muscle training? Studying? That’s for ordinary people!” Matsuoka says that there’s a part of him that agreed with that line, and he says that if he were to get powers he’d likely be as conceited as Teru was.

States that Mob’s “From my perspective you’re just ordinary” line also stuck with him.

“From S1E5?” Matsuoka; “Yes - and then Teru replies, 'shut up!', and strangles Mob.” He says that he was really able to project his own emotions during this part and mix them with Teru’s own.

“People can’t change so easily” - Matsuoka says the things that Teru was saying to Mob, he was also saying to himself, like looking in a mirror. Uses this as an example of Teru’s own multifaceted nature.

Matsuoka says that the original Teru we see (who the interviewer describes as having a "poisonous nature" & putting on airs) is simply playing the role of what he considers to be an 'ideal' person, but then that comes away and we're left with the real Teru.

Interviewer makes a joke that Teru gets his personality trimmed along with his hair.

Is asked about Mob & Teru's rivalry, and says "No way, no way - there's no way they're /actually/ rivals." Says the power difference between Mob and Teru is way too big for that to actually be the case - "compared to Mob, Teru is ordinary."

Calls MP100 a work from which you realise "Everyone is a hero, and everyone is ordinary".

Asked on his opinion on MP100 season 2; says that there's more moments that get to you emotionally than season 1. Brings up S2E8 as an example (when Mob's house burns). "Say if that was actually Mob's family who burned in there... I think he'd destroy the world."

Asked about his favourite scenes from season 1 & 2, he says (as previously mentioned) the part where Mob says “From my perspective you’re just ordinary”. He also likes when Teru says to Onigawara, "it must be sad to be ordinary."

He likes the whole of S1E4, and calls Dimple a "famous-saying-production-machine".

Continuing on the topic of Dimple, interviewer says that Dimple is an ally, but teeters between good and evil. Matsuoka; “Setting aside his actions for a moment - the things that he says are essentially evil (laughs). He tries to tempt Mob and the other characters.”

He is asked if he has anything to say to fans of MP100. Matsuoka; “Season 2 is over, and now you’re holding this Character Guidebook in your hands. The fact that we’ve reached this point is thanks to the support of you all, the fans.” [...] “Season 2 brings an end to the grand fight between Shou and his father, but as those of you who’ve read the manga know, Mob Psycho 100 doesn’t end there. The giant broccoli is yet to come (laughs). I personally would like to do the whole of Broccoli Arc. As for when we can do that, I don’t know - I don’t even know if it’ll be possible to do it - but I’d like to believe that we’ll do it. I think that if you all believe in it too, then it’ll become reality.”

TACHIKAWA YUZURU [Director]

On being asked why he decided to work on MP100, Tachikawa; “Naturally, it was because of how charming the characters are.” There’s a lot of main characters who hold immense power, but Mob doesn’t want those powers, which is rare - this is why he finds Mob charming.

He compares and contrasts to Reigen - “[He] has no powers, but puts on a bold front and deceives people… well, that’s a misleading way to put it (laughs).” He thinks Mob and Reigen’s combo is amusing as a result.

He’s asked about MP100s character design, to which he describes Kameda drawing up a whole bunch of ideas. There’d be designs that were similar to ONE’s, and designs that made Mob a bit more handsome, “since at the time, if you looked at Mob Psycho 100 fan art on the internet, there were plenty of depictions of Mob being all sparkly and good-looking.”

“But looking at that, Kameda-kun and I decided we both wanted to go for something more akin to ONE-san’s art. When we showed ONE-san the rough sketches of the more handsome designs, he said ‘they’re attractive - I'm good with that’, but Kameda-kun and I replied ‘no, no - ONE-san, your art leaves more of an impression than this, so let’s go for something more like what you draw.’”

Tachikawa wanted to include the more ‘catchy’ kinds of stories in the anime. He brings up that Mob and Reigen dressing in women’s clothing and infiltrating the school happens in Volume 7 of the manga, but they decided to bring that to S1E2.

Asked about convos that happened with ONE regarding scenarios in the anime - Tachikawa mentions how in S1E11, there’s a segment where a younger Mob and Ritsu are lost in a forest. “I expressed to ONE-san that I’d like to witness why Mob respects Ritsu, to which he gave this idea.”

“In the manga, what Reigen did before he began S&S isn’t shown to us, but we get an implication of his past based on a line he says to do with businesses. I said the following to ONE-san; ‘An insurance salesman, or water marketing?’, to which ONE-san replied ‘water marketing.’”

Also mentions that Tsubomi coming to S&S in S2E8 wasn't something they adapted from the manga, but something ONE specifically created for the anime because Tachikawa expressed he wanted to see that kind of scenario, and then ONE added it as an omake to the manga. [TN: This is mentioned again here.]

He thinks he would have had the choice to handle both the screenplay and the series coordination but decided to ask Seko to handle Series Co-ordination instead.

He is in charge of the screenplay for S2E6-7 (Reigen arc). It was decided that Tachikawa would be in charge of storyboards for S2E7 before it was decided he’d handle the screenplay.

“Do you feel you have an emotional attachment to Reigen?” Tachikawa; “Yes, I do (laughs).” Calls him a character surrounded by mystery back in S1, and other than his courage and the occasional line that would resonate with Mob there’s a lot about him that’s unclear. “But with S2E6-7, we step into his uchizura (more private, “real” self). It’s interesting to see who a character appears to be on the outside, and their uchizura.”

Tachikawa finds stories in which someone falls to their lowest point and then recovers charming - thus, Tachikawa was charmed by S2E6-7 which depict Reigen’s fall and his subsequent recovery. Says that Ritsu and Teru also go through something similar (fall and recovery).

He loves when you can feel the humanity of characters. Says that when you show character development the charm of that character increases, and so does the popularity of the whole work. “I suppose it’s not just me who likes that, it’s all the fans, too”.

Makes a point of mentioning that all the characters have reached a turning point by the end of season 2, apart from Dimple.

Asked on his opinion of Mob, he says he relates to him and he was the type of kid in school to be in a position removed from everyone else. “He’s a character I really like, though I’m told by others that I’m ‘Reigen-ish’ (laughs).”

“I think there’s a few ways you could take ‘Reigen-ish’...” Tachikawa; “To put it another way, ‘shady’. Kameda-kun made that clear to me (laughs). As if I’m feigning friendliness.”

Tachikawa handled the rough layout of the illustration cover (Kameda finalised it). “It’s something I could imagine happening that wasn’t shown to us during S2E8. I thought to myself, it would be nice to show Dimple, Reigen and Ritsu working together for Mob’s sake. A theme of season 1 and 2 is Mob’s growth, so I thought the marathon episode would fit as a cover for this guidebook. As a result of his growth, he’s got people gathered around him…”

“I think Reigen would’ve run with them on the first day they trained together, but then he’d start using the bike instead. Since his muscles hurt (laughs).”

Asked to give a message to fans, he says that all the support from fans gave them a lot of energy throughout the production of seasons 1 & 2. Tells the fans to enjoy the OVA.

SEKO HIROSHI [Series Co-ordinator]

Asked on his thoughts of the MP100 manga, Seko; “it’s a work in which the characters are all charming. This is a misleading way to phrase it, but they’re a hopeless bunch; yet, the way ONE-san deals with them is very warm.”

“They’re not just characters, they’re much like us - nothing but human.”

Asked about how he wanted to deal with coordinating the series; “At the time of season 1 discussions, the most recent volume was around 9. I’d read up to that point and thought that if the anime is covering 12 episodes, then we should reach up to the fight with Claw’s seventh division in volume 6. My thought process from there was, ‘in what way can we make it so season 1 ends there?’, and with that I began.”

Asked if there was anything he fussed over, “making sure to not tar what makes the manga so charming. For example, when Mob reaches 100% for the first time in S1E3, that’s a highlight of the story, and I wanted to keep it that way.”

Reason for the movement of the high school infiltration from Vol 7 of the manga to S1E2 was to help build up to Mob’s 100% in S1E3.

The “student council” part of the manga spans S1E6-7 of the anime. The decision to condense it was due to the anime having only 12 episodes.

Reigen & Mob’s initial meeting being portrayed in S1 is brought up; “In a screenplay meeting with Tachikawa-san, we discussed depicting their initial meeting from Mob’s point of view, whereas in the manga it’s from Reigen’s. It comes up a little later in the manga but we thought it would be good to show their meeting in S1. And, if we ever got the chance to make a S2, we’d have the scene again much like it appears in the manga from Reigen’s perspective. So they wouldn’t be entirely the same scene.”

To being asked if there were any requests from ONE regarding the screenplay of the anime, Seko; “We had a discussion in which he said that while the final part of S1 has a serious atmosphere due to the fight, he didn’t want it to end that way. For that reason I proposed that we could end S1 with the tsuchinoko segment. I think ONE-san is uncomfortable when there’s nothing but seriousness.”

Seko says he had a feeling that they’d get a season 2. Much like season 1, he finished off season 2 in such that way as to give off the impression that there’s more to come.

“Did you struggle figuring out how to start S2E1?” Seko; “Regarding that, I’d already decided that if we were to make a S2 we’d start it off with Wriggle Wriggle.”

A deliberate choice was made to start off S2, and finish S2, with the broccoli (Mob receives the broccoli seeds at the start; broccoli becomes the giant broccoli at the end).

The interviewer describes an important part of S2 as being “hold your emotions dear to you”.

Seko; “Wriggle Wriggle is a pretty silly story, so I thought having a pleasant story after that would keep the balance. I think that balance between silly and serious is representative of what Mob Psycho 100 is.”

“Season 2 has one more episode than season 1, making it a total of 13 episodes. Could you tell us why?” Seko; “The original plan was 12 episodes. Had we kept to that, the scene in which Mob’s house burns would come at the end of part A of episode 8. But Warner Bros. producer Matsuda-san said, ‘I’d like that to come at the end of the episode.’ However, doing that would mean we’d have to give the battle with Claw that follows that a squeeze... so Matsuda-san said, ‘let’s go for 13 episodes then.’” [TN: This is mentioned again here.]

“Are there any scenes from S1 & S2 that you feel an emotional attachment to?” Seko says when Reigen is invincible in S1E12. “The scene in which he scolds the 7th division embodies what Mob Psycho 100 is all about.”

Says that in typical shounen manga the situation would be resolved with a fight but MP100 isn’t like that. “The things that Reigen says are completely justified, realistically. The things an evil organisation does are a crime; the clothes that they wear are weird... (Laughs)”

“Speaking of Reigen, a phrase of his that leaves an impression in S1E11 is, ‘When things get tough, it’s okay to run away!’” Seko; “In conventional shounen manga, there’s the belief that the protagonist shouldn’t run away, but with ‘it’s okay’, ONE-san’s personality shines through. Reigen is truly an intelligent person. The things he does are questionable, yet he has common sense that comes out at strange times.”

“You can’t sum up his character in a single word.” Seko; “I think he’s a respectable person, but he also cons people (laughs).” He enjoys the back and forth Reigen has with clients, and his stinginess and the way he edits ghost photos. “He’s both eloquent and skilled, which is unbearable (laughs). Despite that, he doesn’t rip people off with what he charges. You get the idea that he’s got some sense of ethics, which is calming.”

“He’s simply a difficult character to understand.” Seko; “Honestly, at first I couldn’t understand him at all. It was difficult to think of things that he might say when creating scenes that weren’t in the original manga. But when it became clear to me that he has morals, it all fell into place. I’ve forgotten when exactly this happened - it was at some point near the start or middle of season 1 - but I came to understand the kind of person Reigen is.”

Speaking about Mob, “He’s introverted, quiet and bad at socialising, but he has this immense power inside him... when you hear that, some other works will probably spring to mind, but when you read MP100 you realise this is different. Mob is Mob[.]”

“It’s interesting to see a character as powerful as he is work very hard at training his muscles.” Seko; “And his incentive for that is that he wants to be popular (laughs).”

Seko was in charge of the next episode previews (which Reigen would announce in a meta-ish way). He says that he ran out of ideas of what to end them with by season 2 so they start repeating a little.

Asked to give a message to fans, he says thank you for watching S2 and look forward to the OVA.

KAMEDA YOSHIMICHI [Character Designer]

Asked his thoughts on the MP100 manga, Kameda says he didn’t have much of a clue what direction the story would take upon finishing the second volume. “After Claw gets introduced the story takes on an action-like atmosphere so I thought it would carry on that way, but then the story starts digging deep into uchizuras. I was surprised at that. That’s a true-to-life middle school boy being depicted.”

Kameda says that he took on working on the MP100 anime after reaching the part of mob psycho that explores uchizuras. “The way I felt was, ‘I want us to make a season 2, so we can definitely animate this part. I’m doing season 1 for this purpose.’ (Laughs)”

“What were your first thoughts with the character design?” Kameda; “In the manga there aren’t really any illustrations that are coloured. Even the front covers of the volumes aren’t too expressive with how they use colour. The way lines are drawn is dependent on colour, so the first decision to be made was on that subject, while checking my choices with ONE-san. In the manga, Reigen’s tie is black. But in the anime Mob is painted all black, so I thought it’d be a bit too heavy to leave his tie that way. Reigen was the only one with a coloured illustration in which his hair is painted yellow, so based on that I tried creating a whole bunch of tie patterns - purple, green, blue, pink, etc. ONE-san wanted to go for a blue tie, but I thought that was too salary man-ish, and didn’t give off fraud vibes. The final decision was made based on a colour necktie that the average person wouldn’t buy - it would be pink, wouldn’t it.”

Asked if there was anything difficult after colours, he describes having difficulty trying to figure out how to convert ONE’s style to the screen. “It would’ve been interesting to leave his art as it was for the anime, but it seemed like it would’ve been very difficult to do so.”

Describes ONE’s talent as being the way he applies shadow, calling it very real.

Interviewer follows on this by asking anything else that marks ONE’s art as ONE’s, to which Kameda replies the shape of ears, and describes his struggle trying to replicate the way ONE draws them.

Kameda would correct the ears drawn by the other animators to try and match ONE’s style. Leading on from this the interviewer mentions hearing that Kameda would touch up any cuts that caught his eye. Kameda; “Around 10 cuts an episode.”

Calls Mezato a favourite character of his, to the extent that he volunteered to do the part that she appears in S2E13 (and did so).

Says that S1E5 was the only episode in S1 he didn’t touch, which Fujisawa Kenichi was animation director of. “The character design in that episode is a little different but I thought that episode would be better off with Fujisawa-san’s style.”

Kameda proposed the scene that happens at the start of S1S1 (Mob fighting the “evil apparitions”) by saying he wanted a depiction of a middle school boy fighting with his powers as our start, but he actually proposed it in anticipation of the kind of action we’d see in S2E5. [TN: I think it’s been a rumour for a while that the start scene is from Mogami arc and this sorta confirms that the line of thought there is correct]

The first episode in S2 that they started drawing production work for was S2E5.

When Kameda watched S2E5 what he was most surprised by was Part A of the episode (ie. Mob’s day to day life), rather than the action scenes. “The layout is good, as are the use of bugs as an expression device[.]”

Kameda speaks of S2E7 as a part of Mob Psycho 100 so important to him that if it didn’t exist he wouldn’t have chosen to work on MP100.

He fussed over the press conference and Reigen’s expression(s) when he talks to Mob by the river at the end of the episode.

Interviewer mentions that we don’t see Reigen’s face in the manga when Mob calls him a good person, so seeing it in the anime leaves an impression. Kameda; “we struggled with that cut, but we struggled with Reigen’s expression when he’s walking alongside the river more so. Originally his expression was hidden as he approached, but when the camera pulled in close you could see his face.”

We end up seeing his face the whole way through. Kameda calls Aoyama Hiroyuki (who animated the whole end segment) a “super(hero) animator”.

Kameda makes an edit to Reigen’s expression upon being told by Mob that he’s a good person, with respect to the expression Reigen pulls in the final volume, “when [he] lays bare his real emotions to Mob.” [TN: This appears to be implying Reigen was originally drawn with tears in his eyes that were removed to make sure that the scene in which Reigen finally cries maintains its impact.]

“The performance by Reigen’s VA, Sakurai-san, was amazing... and I loved Mob’s ‘By the way, Shishou. Happy birthday.’ Itou-kun’s way of speaking is so gentle... I can’t quite express the feeling properly, but hearing him say those words, I was brought close to tears.”

Kameda is asked if there’s anything that proved a lot of work, to which he says, “Hmm... there’s a lot of characters in MP100, aren’t there. (Laughs)”.

Describes that he designed ~90 characters for S1. “I thought I’d get to relax a little for S2, but in the end I ended up having to design around 90 more. (Laughs)”

“Some of the main character designs that were established in S1 changed a little for S2, didn’t they.” Kameda; “Ritsu changed a little with S2. In S1 he had a bit of antagonism toward Mob, so I had the hair that frames his face be a little longer to try and hide those emotions.”

“A character’s state of mind is something that can be expressed through their hair.” Says that Ritsu’s hair gets a refresh in the final part of S1 when he’s talking to Kamuro in the park, to represent that the “demon plaguing him is gone”.

He’s asked if there are any characters in the huge cast of MP100 that are memorable for him. He mentions Tarou and Hanako as two characters that were fun to draw as they set the trend for the other “guest characters” in the show.

Also says he likes Mitsuura as a character with high energy who was fun to pose, though he’s unpopular with the animators due to the patterns on his clothes being a pain.

“I’ve mentioned this here and there before, but I really love Shinra Banshoumaru. The reason why I was the animation director for S2E2 is because it’s his entry episode (laughs).”

“Why did you want to draw Shinra Banshoumaru so much?” Kameda; “Because he’s chubby!! The swell of his cheeks, his tummy, his large butt... I’m obsessed (laughs). I was so charmed, thinking, ‘I want to make him even bigger and move him around!’”

He’d do things like add extra belly sways to the storyboards. “I didn’t intend to go as far as I did, but I think I went overboard in a lot of ways (laughs).”

Asked to give a message to fans, Kameda; “I’m happy that you all continue to involve yourselves with Mob Psycho 100. Since we’ve come this far, I want to finish off animating what remains of the MP100 manga. A television season 3 - no, wait, perhaps even a film...? Please be sure to continue to support Mob Psycho 100.”

[TN: this marks the fourth mention of a MP100 film I’ve seen from Kameda, and also marks him as the only member of production staff interviewed in this book to explicitly state anything to do with season 3.]

ONE [Original Author]

He is asked how Mob Psycho 100 came to be. ONE; “I love psychic powers as a theme, so I thought to myself, in what way can I make the most of that theme? How can I add colour to it? Through that thought process, I incorporated puberty, stress, ‘being used’, complexes, unrequited love, ‘shishou’, lies, the dual nature that exists in many things, and so on… then, the protagonist; a passive, introverted person, but someone who is able to become the eye of a hurricane, someone who through the influence of their relationships changes, grows… it was with that foundation that I began developing the plot, and through that process I solidified the setting; this protagonist would have their heart burdened by a buildup of stress and the shift of their feelings, and after passing a certain boundary they’d explode, and their powers would run wild… I thought it would be nice if the manga was a little strange, with the buildup until the boundary crossover being shown to the reader via a numerical percentage value. Ideas for titles included things like, ‘Mob Psycho’, ‘Psycho Helmet’, and ‘Mob Psycho 100%’.”

He is asked to recall how he felt when the MP100 anime was confirmed. ONE; “I was delighted. A lot has happened in relation to Mob Psycho 100, but for me the anime has been the thing to make me the most happy.”

He is asked what he hoped for with the anime, to which he replies the happiness of the fans, and for MP100 to bring a smile to the faces of the staff working on the anime.

What he looked forward to was the way the voice actors and animators would approach the characters, and how they’d flesh out the MP100 world as a result.

“What kinds of conversations did you have with director Tachikawa?” ONE says he doesn’t really remember their initial conversation(s) but he knows that he told Tachikawa that he has the freedom to be as creative as he wants. “I didn’t want to be a nuisance.”

He recalls being told by series coordinator Seko that he may need to shift around a few of the chapters to make the story in the anime flow a little easier.

Asked his thoughts on Kameda’s character designs, ONE; “Amazing. I’d resigned myself to the fact that the characters would get an overhaul for the anime and become more handsome, but Mob has remained Mob, Reigen has remained Reigen. Their anime designs are charming. I was moved.”

He says he holds several pages of character designs drafts that Kameda drew up dear to him, and mentions that the Body Improvement Clubs designs were perfect from the get go.

ONE says that he feels blessed with the amazing voice actors giving depth to the characters, describing how when they’re given voices it feels like they’re alive, and regrets that he didn’t go to recording sessions more.

“How did you feel when season 2 was announced?” ONE: “Season 1 was amazing, so I expected there’d be a season 2.” Describes Tachikawa and Kameda’s hard work, to which he responded with his own. “It was around the time that I was ending the manga, so I buckled down to finish it.”

He looked forward to seeing how the anime would deal with adapting the more “drama” feel of season 2, with human emotions being explored.

He describes his process with writing problems and their solutions in MP100. “Mob & Reigen each have their own way of dealing with a problem, so I’d say, ‘this is how this problem would generally be dealt with’, and from there I’d explore different ways of solving that problem.”

“I let the characters start thinking for themselves - that kind of delusion awoke within me. Like, ‘Hey, Reigen, I’m going to sleep, so think it over for me.’ With that, it became easier to plan.”

He is asked his thoughts and feelings on the anime; he states he doesn’t really watch anime but was reminded of how interesting it can be, and the power of anime as simple entertainment. “I was able to recognise anew just how amazing the production team is. [...] I felt so grateful that they chose to work on Mob Psycho 100, devoting their precious time to really putting their all into the production work. It’s how I’ve felt with every episode. Right now I’ve watched up until the end of S2E5, but I’m already running out of tissues.”

He is asked anything that’s left an impression on him during the broadcast of MP100; “The amount of correspondence I’d receive from overseas Mob Psycho fans increased with the anime broadcast.” Says that it’s amazing that even with a translation foreign fans are able to laugh at the same things, be moved by the same things, etc.

Finally, he is asked to give a message to the fans who purchased the guidebook. ONE; “Thank you for always supporting Mob Psycho 100. The way I see the situation regarding Mob Psycho 100 as a work is as something that overlaps with Mob’s own development. Mob Psycho’s value as a piece of entertainment greatly increased with the powerful aid of the anime, and with everyone who offered a hand, gave their opinions and support, and reached out. I’d always thought to myself, ‘I want to create a manga that’s able to influence those who read it in some way, if only even a little,’ but as it turns out it’s Mob Psycho 100 that has become what it is now thanks to all of you. I’ve still got my eye on what Mob Psycho 100 will become in the future. Nothing would make me more happy than for all of you to continue enjoying Mob Psycho 100.“

Thank you for reading!

Posted on twitter here.

ONE & Director Tachikawa’s comments on the main five are here.

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #kageyama shigeo #reigen arataka #dimple #kageyama ritsu #hanazawa teruki #tachikawa yuzuru #seko hiroshi #kameda yoshimichi #one #ekubo #my stuff #this is a long one!

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