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dukeofonions · 3 years

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So I thought I’d try something a little different (and slightly more fun than my usual saltiness) and do my own little personal ranking of Sanders Sides episodes!

Now I actually haven’t watched anything from the series for awhile so these rankings are going to be based purely on my own memories of each episode and how much I remember enjoying them. I’ll also be splitting the rankings up so I’ll do season one today and season two later on.

Eventually I want to go back and actually rewatch everything but I’ll probably wait until the season two finale comes out (whenever the heck that will be) but until then I think this will cover it.

Also important to note is that I will not be counting Asides in this since

1. I’m salty

2. It’s not supposed to be Sanders Sides anyway so why include it?

and 3. I’m very salty.

Alright, let the ranking begin!

Dang, can you believe season one has seventeen episodes? Starting with My True Identity on October 19th, 2016 and ending with Accepting Anxiety on July 15th, 2017.

These episodes were a lot shorter too. The longest one, Growing Up, is only about 15 minutes long (14:39 to be exact because I already have the playlist pulled up to get all these references so I might as well use the info I have) and the shortest episode was Way Too Adult that barely makes it to the four minute mark. (Okay it’s 4:18 but that’s still closer to four)

It’s really interesting to see how much the series changed just throughout season one alone, especially once it shifts from just being a silly series of one shots to a series with more fleshed out characters and beginning to scratch the surface of dealing with heavier topics.

How did it do for me personally? Well if you made it this far I assume you actually want to know my opinion so I’ll go ahead and tell you...

For real now, let the ranking begin!

*cue drum roll*

#17 I'm in a Disney Show

Yeah this one is pretty forgettable, and it really sticks out like a sore thumb among the other episodes in this series since it’s based on something that happened in real Thomas’s life and later on they try to establish that Sanders Sides isn’t about real Thomas. Not only that there wasn’t much in this episode that stuck out as funny to me. The only bit I actually remember laughing at was when the Sides were throwing around click bait titles.

So yeah, boring episode, feels out of place, moving on.

#16 Becoming a Cartoon

Like with the last one this one is just very forgettable to me. It also features someone who turned out to be a pretty shitty person so I can’t even watch it without feeling uncomfortable.

The only thing I remember laughing at was Patton holding a potato.

#15 My True Identity

Okay I know it’s harsh putting the first episode so low on the list, especially when most of my problems with it stem from it being made before there were any intentions to make it a series, but like the first two it’s also kinda boring. I mean on it’s own it does a good job of introducing people to the basic idea of the series and gives an idea of what the characters are like, but they all basically act like the same person (yes I’m aware of the irony) with just one or two minor things to set them apart.

Can’t really hate this one like the other two since, again, this was made with no intention of plot or character development, so it’s only this low because it doesn’t really stick out to me. But hey, it did its job at getting people interested in the characters so in that aspect it did its job perfectly.

#14 Taking On Anxiety

Oh the second hand embarrassment in this episode is too much to bear. Honestly any episode that has Thomas interacting with someone from real life just feels so weird to me and takes me out of the episode. However, I do actually have a bit more positive things to say about this one. The advice they give is actually helpful, and my gosh I love pre-AA Virgil.

The snark, the sass, it’s easy to see why he became a fan favorite so fast. And fortunately for me, there’s plenty of episodes for me to love him in before I start to hate him.

#13 Way Too Adult

This is gonna sound repetitive but again, forgettable. Doesn’t give me second hand embarrassment or make me feel negative in any way so that’s why it’s higher than the others. And hey, 13 is one of my favorite numbers so that’s gotta count for something right?

The best part of this episode is Patton, I really miss the earlier version of him where he actually took on more of a fatherly figure and had more of a serious side. Not that I don’t like him now and I still think he’s one of the better written in the series (more on that in another post) but it’s kinda nice to see him being portrayed in a way that doesn’t feel like he’s being dumbed down for laughs or is just sad and confused.

#12 The Mind vs The Heart

Or as I like to call it “Selfishness vs Selflessness in Five Minutes.” This episode is way too relatable which is both fun but also I don’t need the reminder that I can’t say “no” to people, but that’s a me problem not the episode’s. I like the format of using cutaways to show examples of how Logan and Patton clash in Thomas’s day to day life and honestly I wish they’d use it more since I think they only do it in this episode and in Growing Up but I could be wrong and I’m too lazy to check.

All in all this a cute little episode (and not cute for the reason you might think) and I enjoy it.

#11 Accepting Anxiety Part One

Honestly not much to say about this one? It’s funny watching Thomas’s antics while the Sides have to try and figure out what’s going on. Which is a nice change of pace from the usual “The Sides are being goofy and zany and Thomas has to try and get them on track” that I kinda notice throughout season one and that starts to change to become the norm in season two, but I’ll get to that later.

Reason this one isn’t as high as others is just because besides that one gimmick of Thomas saying and doing silly stuff is that there isn’t much beyond that, and of course that’s just because this is the first part of a two part episode so I’ll give it grace for that. Still a great set up though and is funny on its own.

#10 The Dark Side of Disney

Alright, we’ve made it to the top 10! Here’s where things start to get interesting.

Personally, I find this episode hilarious because I do this kind of stuff to “kid’s films” all the time. Never to actual kids but to adults, it’s fun to see just how dark I’ll go.

Of course this isn’t really what the episode does, it talks more about the messages in these movies as opposed to talking about how “dark” they are. Which, now that I look back I clicked on this episode thinking that it was going to be a part of the latter and had no idea it was a Sanders Sides episode. Maybe that’s how I found the series? I always forget which episode was my first...

Back to the episode, it also establishes Virgil and Roman’s little dynamic of being rivals and I love it. They have some of the best exchanges in the series and it’s fun watching them go head to head here, and even bonding a little as well. All in all, fun episode that provides some good character moments and some laughs.

#9 A New Year of Lying to Myself... In Song!

Just the song, man. It slaps.

But am I the only one miffed that Virgil technically got a villain song (about lying no less) and Janus didn’t? Not even an evil reprise? Yeah that’s some bull spit right there.

#8 Growing Up

Aw, the first name reveal episode on this list! This episode is a lot of fun, mostly because of the scenarios they come up with and the little cutaways they add in. Seriously. Just use these more instead of going to these great lengths to show us something that can be accomplished in six seconds of footage.

It also has one of my favorite moments with Logan quietly asking Patton what they’re doing wrong after Thomas tries to force himself into the “serious adult role.” I really got a soft spot for this episode and honestly talking about it makes me wanna watch it again, but I’ll hold off for now.

And I think Patton has one of the best name reveals. Like Thomas really thought his name was Pattoncake, and Patton’s reaction is priceless. I still want to know what “Pattoncake” actually is and how it’s played, but part of me also accepts that it’s probably better if we never know.

#7 Making Some Changes

Why are Thomas’s friends so good at acting as Thomas acting as his characters? Seriously half the time when I watch this episode my brain doesn’t acknowledge that the Sides are now being played by different people until halfway through.

This episode is one of the funniest in my opinion, and one I remember coming back to a lot. Do I still want an episode where the Sides pretend to be each other? Yes. Do I know it’ll probably never happen and if it did they’d find some way to just make it full of angst? Yes, yes I do.

#6 Alone on Valentine's Day

The first episode to be officially cowritten by Joan, and it’s great. It’s hilarious, and just seeing all the varying ways each Side tries to portray their idea of romance is the cherry on top. What more can I say about this episode other than I’m curious as to what Janus and Remus would have contributed to a conversation like this, maybe they’ll do another episode like this in the future with their inclusion, but who knows what the heck they’re doing at this point.

#5 Sanders Sides Q&A

Top 5 here we go!!! This is when ranking started to get difficult because I love all of these episodes so much. Especially this one. I think I’ve watched this one more than any of them and why not? It’s just pure goofball shenanigans and seriously, Thomas, why haven’t you done another one yet? Especially with Janus and Remus?! I mean I get if you’re waiting for “all the characters” but come on man! I need more of the energy this episode gives off.

#4 My Negative Thinking

This episode made me realize just how underrated Logan and Virgil’s relationship is. It’s also the second entry in the “Logan Fights Everyone” saga. I do love how this episode has actually helped me with my own negative thinking and I just freaking love Virgil’s sass in this.

Did I mention I also love Logan and Virgil’s friendship? Ah, good times when they all more or less liked each other.

#3 Losing My Motivation

The set up of this episode is just brilliant. Having it be a “mystery” for Logan to solve with Patton as his sidekick provided a lot of laughs and one of my favorite Logan moments with his little bit he does after realizing he was the “culprit” in all of this. Ugh, I really wanna watch some of these episodes now but I’m gonna hold out.

One thing is that I feel like Logan got the short end of the stick with his name reveal. Like Patton just casually calls him by his name like it’s no big deal, yet pretty much all of the other names are revealed after some kind of emotional moment and are treated as a big deal. If Patton was comfortable enough to just call Logan by his actual name and Logan himself was fine with it then why didn’t any of them introduce themselves before? There’s not really an explanation within the series itself as to why this is or why the Sides even have names in the first place, like it makes sense why Virgil or Janus would hide their names but Logan, Roman, and Patton have been there since day one so what gives?

My personal headcanon is that the three of them had a bet going on to see how long they could go without calling each other by their names in front of Thomas and Patton lost because he forgot.

#2 Am I Original?

Look, Roman is my favorite so of course he’s up here! Not only that but this episode resonates with me a lot as a creative person, and I just love watching the Sides trying all the ideas Roman comes up with.

And his name reveal is also great, probably my favorite one, and of course it’s followed by the now infamous, “You’re my hero” line. But I’m just gonna ignore what became of that and focus on the fact that Roman was actually happy at the end of this episode.

#1 Accepting Anxiety Part Two

What can I say other than this was the perfect way to end this season? Virgil has been the outsider of the group since day one, and seeing him go from this snarky antagonist to gradually being tired with the role until he decides that it would be better if he just wasn’t around at all. This episode has some funny moments too, but what sticks out to me are the more emotional ones.

Roman’s entire speech to Virgil is just *cheff’s kiss* perfection. Their relationship has finally come full circle and when Virgil smiles at him? Ah it’s so good!!! Like the music, the acting, all of it comes together so perfectly and it makes my heart happy.

Virgil’s name reveal is also great, after being teased about it over and over again we finally get the real thing and it’s executed perfectly. Although my favorite thing about this episode is probably the end card, it’s so sweet and makes me all sentimental. Why? I dunno, I’m supposed to be heartless but I somehow find my heart melting when Patton gives Virgil the card anyway. Ah, I love Virgil’s relationships with the others by the end of this season, and honestly I would have been satisfied if this had been the end of it.

Just a neat little way to wrap up this neat little series.

Of course we all know that wasn’t the case and oh boy things certainly took a turn, but that is for another post!

And that was the first part of my ranking! Like I said this list might change once I go back and watch the series again, but I’m pretty sure things won’t change much then.

I’m actually surprised at how many happy memories I have with the season, like I seriously want to just go back and watch my favorite episodes again because I’m all up in the nostalgia but again, I’ll hold off for now.

I hope y’all enjoyed this and I’d be curious to see other people’s rankings of season one. I’m glad I was able to have fun with this and just gush about the series for awhile because oh boy I know things are gonna be very different once I get to season two...

#dukeofrankings #new tag for this because why not #long post

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hauntedziosportrait · 3 years

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The Relativity and Connections between Jamaasian Lore and Mirabai

WARNING! ⚠️ Very religious themes. I apologise if I have any incorrect or outdated information, it's very risky writing about something surrounding a certain religion when in fact.. I'm an atheist.

The lore of Jamaa has always been a really tricky and fairly eerie topic to cover. It has themes from all sorts of different cultures and despite the main tale being retold, changed and edited one thousand times, the information we receive is clear about who the certain deities and characters are and what their roles to play give.

Today, we're looking more on the more eerie side of Animal Jam- The relationship between Mira and Zios. Surprisingly, we know more about our enemies the phantoms than we do the entities we're serving. Alot has been told about Mira, but on the other hand, not much information has been provided about Zios and his identity making him more or less a very suspicious character to take heed of. That's why there are so many theories regarding him specifically; the most we know is that...

●He is the spiritual highest point of the Jamaa heiarchy, having created Mira and setting the stars and planets in motion

●He is often depicted as a bodyless golden mask surrounded by intricate patterns and grooves

●He was the lover of Mira

●He dissappeared at some point in time and never came back.

To jog your memory, I'm going to be basing this theory more on the Old Jamaasian Lore. Interestingly, the lore was changed to make it appealing to a younger audience, but in the old lore we get a stronger sense of emotion and alot more information about the guardian spirits of Jamaa.

Zios is practically a God. He sets several plants, stars and seas in motion. Eventually he gets lonely and gives life to a deity said to be the perfect incarnation of humble beauty; a graceful grey heron named Mira. Mira and Zios get on well together and she often tells him how talented and artistic he is.

Eventually, Zios falls for her, and creates a beautiful land for he and Mira to share; Jamaa- as a sign of his love.

Mira is ecstatic and suggests and creates the idea of giving live to mortal inhabitants to the land- us, the animals. However, Zios gets a little snappy at Mira for that. He meant for this place to share just between the two and for nobody else to interfere.

He then snaps at Mira for creating the Animals and the two fall into a fearsome and emotional argument. Mira's tears then, without her knowing, come into accidental contact with the mortal world. Since she is an omniscient deity, mixing such power with normal life would end in ruin- Thus creating the phantoms.

Here's the catch. Mira and Zios are too wrapped up in their argument to notice the phantoms attacking Jamaa. Since the phantoms were created by Mira, they would only obey her. That is why they are after Zios, to avenge Mira. Also a case why we never see the phantoms target Mira specifically.

Then, they notice the peril Jamaa is in and, still angry at eachother, select the powerful and strong remaining animals in their selective tribes as Alphas to defend.

Shortly after, Zios goes missing. We're told the phantoms took him through the phantom portal never to be seen again. However, there is alot of evidence to suggest he fell victim to the phantoms and gave in to their side, furthermore taking control of the Phantom Empire. That may be why, despite their goal being reached, they continue to harass and attack the alphas, Jamaa, and by extent, Mira.

From then, the Alphas succeed, and all is well. Zios, however, is never heard of again.

Despite their argument, Mira is eternally upset. That is why phantoms keep producing, due to her tears. Since Zios left angry at Mira, it may be an extra that she thinks Zios left hating her.

And... That is what is inferred from the old lore. The new lore consists of less knowledge about Mira and Zios, but more information about the Alphas and of course the animal heartstones.

Now, here is the thing. The tale of Jamaa is very familiar sounding to some people. Zios is often seen as omnipotent and very powerful. He's often seen as similar to several different gods in mythology..

●Zeus, the Greek god of sky and thunder (This one is self explanatory, even their names are similar: however I've seen this one cause a bit of controversy as this is comparing Zios to a technically VERY problematic god.. Also, Mira sounds alot like Hera!)

●Viracocha, the great creator deity in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. He's mainly mentioned in incan and mesopotamian mythology as the high creator god (and this one shares more similarities than you may think!) They both had lovers, both dissappeared after creating the world, both had similar powers (examples of heliokenesis) and they actually look REALLY similar, most likely Zios' design being based off of Viracocha's golden armor. Viracocha pictured below!

●And the last one... Krishna. An important religious figure in Hinduism and the final reincarnation/eighth avatar of Vishnu.

And that last one is what I'm planning to talk about today!

The perhaps most important part of this theory is Mirabai. Mirabai, often called Meera or Mira, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She was known for her elegant beauty and poetry, as well as her eternal devotation to Krishna.

Meera pictured below as well as a figure of Krishna in the distance.

Surprsingly, we have our own Mira too. And if we're comparing Zios to Krishna, this relationship makes alot of sense. Meera was in love with Krishna, and Mira was in love with Zios. "In her last years, Meera lived in Dwarka or Vrindavan, where legends state she miraculously disappeared by merging into an idol of Krishna in 1547. While miracles are contested by scholars for the lack of historical evidence, it is widely acknowledged that Meera dedicated her life to Lord Krishna, composing songs of devotion and was one of the most important poet-saint of the Bhakti movement period." That paragraph was taken from Meera's Wikipedia entry, and relates alot to the story of Mira and Zios. Its said that Meera one day miraculously dissappeared just like Zios did and they only things she left behind were her poems, music, and of course, her devotion and husband-like considered relationship between her and Krishna.

Krishna pictured below.

Most of Meera's poems are dedicated to God in the form of Krishna, calling him the Dark One or the Mountain Lifter. "Some Meera songs include Radha, the lover of Krishna, and her jealousy and hatred for them. All her poems have philosophical connotations, mainly centered around Krishna."

The "Dark One" and "Mountain Lifter" terms are certaintly strange. Why would somebody refer to a "Dark One" in such a loving term?

Lets not forget the example of Zios not only representing the light in most cases, but spiritually, representing the dark. There's alot of evidence to actually suggest instead of the common thought that Zios represents the Sun and Mira the Moon, it may actually be the vice versa in a yin yang sort of way. Light and Dark cannot coexist without eachother and Zios and Mira are a great example of that.

I may explain the Zios is the moon thing a different time but you're going to have to roll with me here on this one... Zios is a perfect representation of the dark. Dark gives space and life to the light, but of course light always gives life to the dark.

Also, "Mountain-Bearer"... Not much to say here. Quite literally what Zios did to create Jamaa. "In her poems, Krishna is a yogi and lover, and she herself is a yogini ready to take her place by his side into a spiritual marital bliss. Meera's style combines impassioned mood, defiance, longing, anticipation, joy and ecstasy of union, always centred on Krishna."

Let's take a look at perhaps the most well known poem by Meera... And perhaps the one that relates the most to Jamaasian Lore. I am aware Julian2 has covered this in a video before, but here im going to take a proper analysis.

My Dark One has gone to an alien land. He has left me behind, he's never returned, he's never sent me a single word. So I've stripped off my ornaments, jewels and adornments, cut my hair from my head. And put on holy garments, all on his account, seeking him in all four directions. Mira: unless she meets the Dark One, her Lord, she doesn't even want to live.

— Mira Bai, Translated by John Stratton Hawley

Alot to process here. Let's see what we can compare.

●"My Dark One has gone to an Alien Land"- Zios= Krishna: has gone to the realm of the phantoms/alien land

●"He's left me behind, he's never returned, he's never sent me a single word"- Exactly what Zios did. Never responded to Mira and didn't speak to her again after his dissappearance.

●"So I've stripped off my ornaments, jewels and adornments, cut my hair from my head"- Julian2 suggested this may be about Peck running away but this has been outdated. This could possibly refer to the "jewels and adornments" being the Alpha stones as Mira gives them away.

●"And put on holy garments, all on his account, seeking him in all four directions."- This refers to Mira yet again giving the alphas their Alpha Stones and after that she prepares to go out and find Zios.

●"Meera: unless she meets the Dark One, her Lord, she doesn't even want to live."- Unless Mira doesn't meet her Dark One- in this case, Zios-she doesn't feel the will to live, referencing her sorrow and despair without him.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm very convinced AJHQ may have based their lore on this poem specifically.

There is another poem that can relate to the legend of Jamaa, but there's not much to infer. I'm not going to do a thorough line by line analysis, but hopefully looking back on the analysis I just did you can atleast gather some stuff.

After making me fall for you so hard, where are you going? Until the day I see you, no repose: my life, like a fish washed on shore, flails in agony. For your sake I'll make myself a yogini, I'll hurl myself to death on the saw of Kashi. Mira's Lord is the clever Mountain Lifter, and I am his, a slave to his lotus feet.

"Meera speaks of a personal relationship with Krishna as her lover, lord and mountain lifter. (Sanson Ki Mala Pe Simru Main Pi Ka Naam) is written by Meera Bai Shows her dedication towards Lord Krishna. The characteristic of her poetry is complete surrender." -Quote from Wikipedia

The song of Sanson Ki Mala Pe Simru Main Pi Ka Naam is an interesting one-referring to her "beading the name of her beloved on the garland of my breaths". Interestingly, this song refers to Krishna as a Cuckoo Bird- A little bit of a crack theory, but this may suggest Zios could actually be the same behind that mask of his?

Examples of this bird-referring lyric are this quote from that same song:

"He is a melodious bird

He is a magnificent man

This foolish girl has taken

The beloved’s heart as the Lord"

I will link the full song plus English translation below!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ekta25.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/sanson-ki-mala-pe-simroon-main-pi-ka-naam-on-the-garland-of-my-breaths-i-have-bejewelled-my-beloveds-name/amp/

Intresting... Perhaps Zios IS some sort of bird!

In conclusion, Mirabai's poetry, devotion and songs have alot of connections to Jamaasian Lore! I find this interesting, but this did help us gather quite a bit of information!

#animal jam tumblr #Animal jam #jamblr #lore #ajpc #ajpw #lore analysis

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bansheeoftheforest · 3 years

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Me like a week ago: Oh! Syndicate is being sold here for just 15 dollars! I should buy it because it looks neat and my friend reccomended it :3

My siblings: Ą̸̯͉͍̻̻̿̂̂̍̏̓̑ś̷̹͕̲̰͙̖̮͓͝s̶̥͉̽͆̎̔̔͐̈́̚a̶͎̺̹̭͙̞͆s̴̛̩̝͙͉̱̭̋̓̿͝s̶͍̠̲̙̙̓͑̍͘̕̕i̶͕̻͕̤͓͍̺͎̐̀͐̏̇̐͆̈́n̴̻̹̯̲̻̈́̓ş̸̯̜̥̻͎͎͊̉͗͑͜ ̶̝̮̇̄Ç̴̩̺͚̺̰͆̃̂̆͋͝͝͝͝ṟ̵̛͇̯͉̼͍̳͓́̓̎͋͒͂̾ẹ̶̗̏͛̃ę̸̡͈̥̟͎̀̃́͑́͂͗̇̏̓d̴̨̲̥̫͌̾̈́̊̍͘

Anyway we now own 3 assassins creed games-

Tbh this entire time I've been imagining that Henry's brothers forced him to join! Like he was just walking home from college for the week (as he usually stays in his dorm), and when he gets in the house there's alot of. Rather expensive looking items. And are those guns? Is that drugs?! And then while hes noticing all this stuff (and maybe even considering this is the wrong house) he feels a gun to his head and there's his brothers, saying that he has to join them

Oh gosh if the Jekyll brothers have all been in this since Henry was in college. That's like. Alot of his life in fear and in the gang

I imagine specifically the Jekyll brothers are all pretty low on money because they sorta just, ran away and Henry's in college. So while Henry's away Kent and Rapheal end up joining a gang, and ending up pretty high ranked decently fast, like a few months? The two are a very good team. They also believe fully on the templars cause, whatever that is, I wasn't paying much attention

Also! Here's the database entry on them from the game that I'm tired of having to pull up every time XD

"Born to a long family line of seafarers, the Jekyll brothers, Kent and Raphael, follow in their forefathers' footsteps. All sorts of illegal trade are thus welcomed eithin the London ports, right under the government's nose. All imports go through the Jekyll brothers, and quickly find a home on the black market."

Henry is the youngest brother but I dont know by how much. I've decided that since quests have fun lil names that he's called "The Weeping Templar" because it sounds cool :3c

Ahhh I'm still working on those drawings of Jekyll in his mask, it's rather hard to find references for all these outfits you know. But here's a lil sneak peak

I couldn't decide on an outfit so I decided on 🌟every outfit🌟. Henry sorta just throws em on. Not caring what rank or person is supposed to wear what, as he's just trying to get his templar outfit off as soon as possible

Also. All the gang clothes have the opposite problem of Jacob and Evie. All the guys look like they just stumbled half drunk out of bed, and all the gals I Want To Own All The Clothes Of Immediately

Also also. I just checked the time on the canvas to see how long I've been working on it and ack-. I'm pretty sure I must have left ibisPaintX open or something because no way its actually been 18 hours- I'm not even shading these

My sister started playing syndicate so Soon. We'll know what Kent is truly supposed to look like. As in game I consider more canon than the database

I'm also having fun thinking it's both. Like after that database picture was made he grew a beard

That's exactly what happened to me and I am so glad you are falling into the pit of AC despair that I fell into as well. You better play Origins sometime, that game is absolutely fucking amazing <3

Man... I have such a hard time making up my mind bc at one point, I love the thought of Raphael and Kent falling into bad crowds and forcing Henry down with them (maybe guilt-tripping him by saying that they are all he has bc they are family and shit? And it's thanks to them he managed to get out of their abusive household?) but I also love the thought of like... Raphael and Kent doing it so they can get money so they can actually support Henry through college. And the moment Henry is out of college and maybe learns the truth of how his brothers even got that money they force him to join, or he feels obligated to join because his brothers helped and supported him. I also imagined Henry working at the docks while writing the FK au bc I was projecting so! Man, I wonder how Robert would react if he found out about Henry's family. Or Rachel, for that matter. Like, at one point, she technically can't judge bc of Lucy and the fact that she herself started out as a pick-pocket but at the same time... The Blighters and Templars are so much worse... <3

Oooohohohh now I really want to imagine how the questline for Henry would be. Since he is going to later join the rooks, he wouldn't get murdered with his brothers... Would it be when Greenie tells the Lodgers that there This One Templar that is very much standing out bc they wear a mask that the Twins track him down, or would it be when they try to murder his brothers and find them already dead, their corpses rotting in their offices/somewhere else hidden? Or would it be when they have killed Henry's brothers, realize that they missed the third brother and track him down, only to end up on Dr. Henry Jekyll's doorstep? Bruh, I wish I could mod Syndicate, I would actually have wanted to make this into a playable questline. How would the questline continue to go? Would the twins trust him immediately? Or would Henry be the one to track them down by sending them his templar pendant and the mask, telling them to meet him at X place by Y time like Roth did? sjdfhhAJWHD. Man. I want to know so much more about this sdfsdf

Man, are we having different dilemmas rn. I get so much gender envy from the guys' clothes but the outfits of the gals make me think of a mix between willy wonka (not the original one) and flappers. Don't ask why. I just really want a dress shirt that fits and some nice suspenders <3

BUT WANYWAYS. You are so mean. Now I really want to see the finished art aND. I AM SO CURIOUS NOW. SO MANY PIXELS HIDE TEH SECRETS. AHHHH. How and why are you so mean to me jst giving me sneak peaks sdfjhsdjf >:( XD

Your sister better enjoy this game <3 anyways I am very curious to see what the truth is now lol. That's going to be fun for sure XD

#I have. Little thought today. AI am big sorry darlene if this is a very messy response <3 #ask #banshees au #syndicate crossover au #darling-dolly-darlene

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kazukorre · 3 years

Text

⌗ LIVING DEAD GIRL ‹ ISSEI MATSUKAWA

pairing: m. issei + gn! reader (yes, the title is a misnomer,, it's a song title!)

genre: angst?

warnings: reader is dead but no injuries specified, cursing, angel's shitty writing (let me know if i should tag w/ anything else!!)

word count: 2.1k (wasn't expecting that lol)

In high school, Issei Matsukawa did not see himself becoming a coroner. In truth, the thought the profession was weird, “why would anyone wanna spend their day cutting open dead people?” he would ask, viewing death as a matter to be avoided. This changed following the murder of a close friend, the boy quickly becoming fascinated with death and the mystery of what happens after someone closes their eyes for good. And if he could do anything to make the transition easier for someone, he would.

So here he found himself, spending his days cutting open dead people. He found it to be, well, less depressing than he thought it would be. It could be partially due to the fact that most people he did autopsies on died of natural causes or sustained very few injuries. That was until you came into his lab, no different than others he’d seen before, lying unmoving on a metal stretcher and covered by a white sheet.

Issei began his process as he always did, opening a new report on his laptop then removing the thin fabric that covered you. “Holy shit.” His comment was quiet, almost a whisper as he assessed your body, more gruesome than he had seen before. “What happened to you?” Issei asked no one in particular, something he did often, though this time he received an answer; “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” The man spun so quickly he thought he would snap his neck. Behind him, you stood, looking as you did on the lab table but reanimated and missing your injuries. Issei froze, unsure of what was happening and he watched as you stepped forward to view your own body. “Wow, I look really bad. At least you haven’t cut me open yet, I dunno if I’d be able to handle the sight of my own insides.” Issei stared in disbelief, eyes darting from the dead body on the table to the seemingly alive one standing next to it. “But you’re- how are you- what the fuck?” His voice shook with fear and confusion. “Relax.” You hoisted yourself atop one of the file cabinets before continuing. “You act like you’ve never seen a ghost before.” Your voice carried almost a mocking lilt as if to criticize the man in front of you. “I haven’t!” Issei’s voice raised an octave or two, his comment ending in what almost sounded like a squeak. “Oh, my bad. You can keep working, don’t let me hold you up.” You turned to face the opposite direction on the file cabinet, not wanting to see him perform your autopsy. “I don’t think I can do that while you’re um- here.” He swallowed thickly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. You sighed and turned back around.

“Fine. Then I need to talk to you. Well, actually, I have a favor to ask of you.” A curse of disbelief escaped under his breath before he responded. “Okay. But I have to ask you something first.” You nodded and he continued. “What is this? Why are you- how are you here?” You puffed your cheeks and blew the air out. “I have no family, and I didn’t have any ID on me, so the police don’t know who I am. So, you get to help me solve my murder. Congrats?” There was a pregnant pause before Issei spoke. “I still don’t get it.” “It’s called the coroner’s curse, don’t ask about the name, I didn’t come up with it. Basically, If someone is murdered but the case likely won’t get solved, like mine, then the coroner has to help them. That’s you.” Issei stared at you quizically. “So, I have to solve your murder? But how? I don’t know you.”

You slipped down from the file cabinet and made your way over to the half-empty report open on Issei’s computer. “You don’t have to have known the victim in order to help them. It’s just how the curse goes. But if it’s of any importance, you did know me. Kind of.” You began to fill in empty spaces of information like your name, age, and address. “No, I didn’t.” “That’s why I said kind of. The bar you go to all the time, I worked there. Used to see you come in all the time, I understand now why you do, this job must be depressing. Anyway,” you turned to the man behind you, “I’ll let you finish what you have to do. Meet me at the bar tomorrow night, 9:00, okay?” Issei hesitated before agreeing, feeling foolish and slightly off his rocker for agreeing to help some rando solve their murder, but nonetheless, he nodded. Offering him a smile, you left the lab, just as any living person would do.

Issei stood in the alley behind the local bar he frequented, looking around for any sign of you. “Boo.” The man jumped, his reaction mirroring the one he had when he first met you. “You can’t do that to me!” You simply laughed at how skittish he was and he sent you a death glare as you tried to catch your breath. “Okay, let’s keep the talking to a minimum. Remember, no one else can see me. Let’s go, follow me.” You began walking to the other end of the alley, Issei following close behind. “This is where I was killed by the way, if you were curious.” You pointed to a spot next to one of the dumpsters. When he looked, Issei saw dark stains decorating the brick wall and the metal of the dumpster. “Pretty cool, huh?” He grimaced, “Not really, no.”

Soon, the two of you arrived at your apartment, or technically, what used to be your apartment. Before Issei could ask how you were supposed to get in without keys, the door opened from the inside, revealing you in the doorway. “How did you-?” “I’m a ghost, duh. Catch up.”

You motioned him inside and led him to your bedroom. You handed him a photo of a man then turned to rustle through your desk drawers. “What do I do with this?” “That’s the guy you have to go after. He’s the one who did it.” Dropping his hand to his side, Issei looked to you again as you handed him something else, this time it was a stack of what looked like pages from a diary. “These are his journal entries. I found them one night when I stayed over at his house. I took them just in case I ever- well in case this happened. It’s basically a written confession. I have other stuff too, but these pages should be enough. He was dumb enough to sign them, so his name’s there.”

As you turned again to grab more pieces of potential evidence, Issei began to zone out. He wished that he could have done the same for his friend years back before he became a coroner. He was unaware of how much their death had affected him and how little he had processed it. “Hey, what’s your deal?” Issei blinked a few times before speaking. “Uh, nothing, I just- nothing.” He cleared his throat and looked down. “You were crying. Sure you’re okay?” He nodded. “I guess it doesn’t matter if I tell you this, since you’re dead and all, but. My friend, they- they were murdered, too. The police didn’t do anything about it, said it was probably just gang violence and they’d probably never find the person who did it so…” His voice trailed off and the end of his sentence, eyes burning with tears. “So I guess, by helping you, I’m helping them, too. It sounds stupid but-” “It’s not stupid, it’s sweet. I’m sorry about your friend, though, I’m sure they were great.” Issei nodded and cleared his throat again. “I’m just glad I get to help you.”

“Right. So, what you’ll do is put all of this in an envelope, bring it to the precinct and tell them you have information that could help with my case number, and give them the envelope. Oh! Here’s a photo of me, for identification. And tell them you wanna remain anonymous, you look different from him anyway, so they shouldn’t suspect you.” You handed Issei a large orange envelope and the photo of you. He stuffed the papers and photos into it before sealing it. “Do you need me to walk you home or do you think you can find your way?” “I think I’ve got it from here. But, what about you? What happens to you now?” You chuckled sadly before answering with what you thought was an obvious answer. “Well, I finish dying. Go into the light or whatever. Your job is done, you have what you need to solve this for me, so I’m done here.” Issei swallowed thickly. “So, that’s it. I won’t see you again?” You smirked at him playfully, “What, you got a crush on me or something?” He flushed at your accusation before stammering out an answer “N-no! This just seems anti-climactic, I guess.” “Anti-climactic? You helped a dead person solve their own murder, how is that anti-climactic?” Issei laughed at how seemingly offended you were by his comment. “I guess you’re right. I should go, I’ll let you uh, finish dying, then.”

The two of you made your way out of your bedroom and back to the front door. “Thanks for helping me, Issei. I appreciate it. You helped me get my name back.” Your tone was sing-songy as you said your last sentence. “No problem, it’s not like I had much choice anyway.” You gasped dramatically, causing the two of you to share genuine laughs. “But seriously, you’re welcome. I’m glad I could help you.” You nodded and ushered him out of the door, offering him a wave and watching him walk down the hall of your apartment floor and into the stairwell.

Issei shivered as he stepped into the air-conditioned precinct, sealed envelope in hand. He approached the woman at the front desk, clearing his throat to grab her attention. “How may I help you?” Issei placed the envelope on the desk and slid it gently toward her. “Uh, I have some info in here that could help with a recent murder. Case uh, case number 3386?” The woman nodded, taking the envelope and setting it next to her. “May I ask your name?” Issei rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Could I remain anonymous?” The receptionist hummed in agreement and thanked him for his help. He nodded and stuffed his hands in his jacket pocket, walking out of the precinct.

[# an epilogue, of sorts]

A month had passed since your murder. Issei kept the photo you had given him instead of turning it in to the authorities. He felt some strange connection to you. Despite only knowing you for two days, he couldn’t get over the fact that you saw him nearly every night. How much of his life did you see? He kept it in a frame on his nightstand right next to a photo of his friend, and soon it became a habit of his to say goodnight to you both. Issei hadn’t noticed how lonely he truly was. Of course, he was still in touch with a few friends from high school. But since his friend’s passing the topic of conversation always seemed to shift to them and it soon became too much for Issei to handle. Being a coroner was oddly peaceful to him, but being surrounded by death all day was melancholic still. It wasn’t until he ‘met’ you that he realized how much he missed being around other people. He existed in a world of isolation and loss, so much so that though you were dead, your soul brought light to his life.

Issei saw to it that you had a proper burial, using his connection with the local funeral home to give you the sendoff he felt you deserved. He would visit your grave often, though sometimes he felt strange about it, visiting the resting site of someone he barely knew, but he always knew there was a reason behind it. Something that kept bringing him back to that cemetery, something that told him there was something in there for him. He was glad he did, though, because being in that cemetery during a rainstorm led him to his future significant other, the person he needed to end the dull and lonesome cycle of his life. He prospered in the end, eventually marrying them and beginning a life of his own. You watched from above all the while, cheering on your unlikely friend from the afterlife.

hmm... i dont know if i like this,, but its been years since ive written anything so im probably very rusty (=_=)

tags r such a pain ew

#matsukawa issei #issei x reader #haikyuu matsukawa #matsukawa imagines #matsukawa x reader #haikyu x reader #hq x reader #hq x gn!reader

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apothecarinomicon · 3 years

Text

Spring week 4, part 2

We found the guy staggering down the creek. We heard him before we saw him—he was wading through knee-deep water, half hunched over and groaning in pain. As he got closer, I was able to make out that he wasn’t human but crocodilian, and dressed for fishing. His pants had torn away below the knees, and I could make out bright green vines with vermillion buds snaking up his legs. He was bleeding where they burrowed into his hide. He looked up at us with glassy eyes and weakly called for help, reaching out with both hands.

Automatically I moved to support him but Calder held me back. He told me he recognized the vines as marshbloom, a particularly nasty plant native to Blastfire Bog. An opportunistic parasite, it latched onto any skin that came into contact with it and fed on its host, growing until they were entirely overtaken and drained of their minerals. Once the marshbloom had fed all it could, the buds would open and spread their spores to find new hosts.

This guy already looked to have been wandering for a couple of days; we didn’t have much time—probably only about another 24 hours. I told Calder to watch after him and make sure he didn’t wander off. Since Calder didn’t technically have skin, we agreed he might be able to physically restrain the afflicted man as a last resort. Meanwhile, I raced back to the cottage to scour my predecessor’s notes.

I found that her overall knowledge of the bog and its flora were spotty at best, but she did have an entry on the marshbloom. Her notes said that it should be treated like any other virulent parasite, but with extra focus on healing the skin. With the entry wounds closed, she noted, the portions of the plant inside the host’s body would be unable to photosynthesize and would simply die, and the portions outside would lose the necessary minerals and fall away.

With a little more research, I knew what I had to get. I dumped out the remaining breadcrumbs from my pack, had Ailean hop up on my shoulder, and set out for Hero’s Hollow.

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I told the guards at the entrance that I was foraging and expected to be inside for less than an hour. Then I headed in, map in hand, to find some liquid fire.

It’s not quite lava, this substance (lava is molten rock and this is more akin to superheated magic), but it is quite hot. You need special gloves to handle it. It won’t burn you, but it will certainly feel as if it had. It’s great for clearing parasites if you can get it down—like a flash fire fever. I found it fairly easily, flowing right out of the wall (turns out Hero’s Hollow has a lot of natural deposits), and collected it with little issue. It was as I was headed back out, however, that I heard heavy, clanking footsteps sprinting towards me accompanied by a “what ho!”

I turned and looked to find a suit of armor approaching me fast. The visor was flipped up, showing that the helmet was clearly empty. “I, the Baron, challenge you to a duel, brigand!” The voice sounded more like a jester’s than a knight’s—or a baron’s, for that matter. I backed away and tried to tell this Baron that I really didn’t have the time (or the equipment or the skill) for a fight, but as I said so my back bumped up against the wall. The suit of armor ignored what I’d said, unsheathed its sword (the thin kind with a point, rather than the kind with two sharp sides), took on a cartoonish stance, and cried “en garde!”

I stayed very still for a good long while, and so did the armor. Every few seconds it shouted something like “you shan’t best me, scoundrel!” or “your scourge ends here!” Its accent was all rolled ‘r’s and rapidly fluctuating pitch. After about three minutes of this I finally went to try and just walk away, and the suit of armor immediately lunged forward and skewered my thigh.

I cried out, more out of shock than anything. It was a relatively shallow wound (I wrote “skewered” but it was more like “scraped”), but the sudden movement and prick of pain surprised me. The Baron, for its part, seemed delighted. It immediately turned and began to skip away, occasionally clicking its heels in the air and crying “tee-ha! Tee-hee! I, the Baron, have bested thee!” It disappeared around a bend in the corridor, but I could still hear it for a long while after as I bandaged my wound.

What a blighting nuisance. I supposed though, as I limped out of the dungeon, that it could easily have been a lot worse.

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I headed back to Glimmerwood Grove next, to look for wild roses. The hip seeds promote skin health, and I thought they theoretically should be fairly abundant. But, as is my luck, they proved to be frustratingly elusive. I was already pretty annoyed when I ran into Kendre.

Kendre was a satyr, and (as they volunteered immediately upon seeing me) a druid who lived in the forest. Their arms were wiry, the rest of their human torso obscured by what appeared to be a grass-stained burlap sack with arm and neck holes cut out. The fur on their goat legs matched their russet hair. They wore complex jewelry, with earrings and necklaces and adornments to their curled horns all connected by small chains to form one large piece.

I asked how long they’d been living in Glimmerwood and they said just about their entire adult life. They mentioned a shack deep in the heart of the grove where they lived and gardened and kept to themselves. They said they didn’t normally forage this close to town but they were looking for something elusive.

I asked them if they had seen wild roses around and they thought for a moment before saying that roses had been an unusually rare sight this year. They apologized, and offered instead the location of a different plant: the coffee cap. Though unrelated to the bean (it’s actually a mushroom), it does contain about the same amount of caffeine and releases it into the body quicker when consumed. When added to a potion, its only real effect is to sharpen the patient’s senses—not useful for the task at hand. Still, I thanked them and followed their directions to find some—it’s always better to have more and more varied reagents on hand, just in case.

Kendre was the second denizen of Glimmerwood Grove I’d met who seemed to have no connection to the human society in Greenmoor or High Rannoc at large. As I plucked a mushroom and put it in my bag, I wondered if there were any more.

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I didn’t have to wonder for long. After retrieving the coffee cap I headed back towards the path. I took a right that should have led me straight back onto it, but instead I found myself in a beautiful (if dilapidated) courtyard. I must have been caught in some kind of dimensional fold, as I surely would have noticed the high, ornate walls that now surrounded me had they been present before.

The walls themselves were ornate but clearly weathered, dotted with tall thin windows and covered with hanging moss and climbing vines. The floor was made of smooth bricks that must have once been an intense shade of lapis or ultramarine, but that had faded to a (still gorgeous) azure. They were cut and laid in a pattern that was symmetrical but irregular. It took a good bit of staring for me to realize it depicted the phases of the moon, running from right to left across the space’s center. At the corners of the courtyard were raised plant beds that may have once been carefully maintained, but now grew wild. Each had a great tree at the center. Three of them had a least one side that had cracked or buckled, allowing dirt to spill out and their tree’s great roots to spread less impeded. The fourth one, the one in the far left corner, held a smaller tree, mostly obscured by—to my surprise and delight—wild rose bushes!

I began to hurry towards them before the sound of a clearing throat stopped me. I had completely overlooked what was clearly meant to be the courtyard’s central feature: along the far wall was a great, ornate throne. It gleamed golden in the light, its high back intricately molded with dozens of humanoid figures in myriad combinations and contexts—probably recounting the plot of some long-forgotten myth. Seated on the throne, still regal and imposing despite being dwarfed by it, was a man. As I approached him I realized he was much taller than me, or for that matter any human. His skin was extremely pale, his form rake thin, his hair a nearly-white blond. He was dressed in a garb unfamiliar to me, though the dense ornamental fur of his cloak and the rich purple of his tunic and pants communicated his status anyway. He regarded me cooly with orange eyes as I took in the sight. Finally, I noticed his long, pointed ears and it clicked: this prince was an elf.

Belatedly I dropped to one knee and bowed my head. I hoped that was the correct gesture of respect for elven royalty; it had been many years since I took politesse classes in primary school, and I’d never had much use for what I learned from them before.

He chuckled and told me to rise. His voice, though a fairly high tenor, had a commanding sense of depth. He told me it had been far too long since he’d had a visitor, and I should feel welcome to stay as long as I like. I asked for his name, and he raised an eyebrow before telling me I could not have it, but that I could refer to him as His Majesty, the Crown Prince of Sovereign Go’ed-Wigg. I quickly apologized for my careless wording, and told him he could call me ‘F.’ Given the Crown Prince’s care with his own name I figured care of my own was in order. I decided to let it be ambiguous whether this was an initial, a random pseudonymous letter, or if I had chosen “Eff” as a name.

I asked the Crown Prince (as I decided to think of him because that full title was simply too much) if I might have one of his roses, so that I could heal a patient. He thought for a moment then said I could on two conditions: I had to give him a gift in return, and I had to listen to a story. I told him that my patient’s time was limited, but that so long as the story was of a reasonable length (I believe I specified no more than fifteen minutes), and so long as I myself got to choose my gift to him I would be happy to agree to those terms. His expression was unreadable enough that I couldn’t determine whether I’d wiggled my way out of some trick or not, but he conceded my conditions.

As the gift, I gave him the coffee cap I’d just obtained, and explained its uses. He told me he had heard of coffee caps before, but seemed satisfied with the gift anyway. He said with my limitation we wouldn’t have time for the full story, but he’d tell me the first part anyway. I can’t recount the Crown Prince’s exact wording—he spoke for a long time—but I’ll summarize as best I can.

Once (he told me), there were three queens. A queen of spades, who ruled over those things on the earth, a queen of diamonds, who ruled over those things below it, and a queen of clubs, who ruled over those things above. The queen of spades and diamonds neither one had a king, but each had one knight. The queen of clubs had no knight, though she did have a king—but he was perpetually absent.

The realm of the queen of spades was verdant and teeming with life, both plant and animal. The queen of clubs’ domain was bright and open and free, always fresh and always changing. The queen of diamonds, on the other hand, ruled a territory rich with minerals, precious metals, and gems, which all things that lived would eventually join as they decomposed and returned to their base materials.

The queen of diamonds, though, was uncaring of these gifts. She surveyed her realm and saw rot, slimy worms and scuttling insects, and tons and tons of dirt piled so much upon itself that there was barely room for plants or animals at all. She looked over the queendom of spades and the queendom of clubs, and all the light and life and variety and air they had, and she grew jealous. She resolved to take the other queens’ territories for herself.

The queen of diamonds knew that going to war immediately would be foolish. Her two rivals (the queen of spades especially) had dozens of subjects in fighting shape, and she had next to none. So, she worked on expanding her population. She promoted immigration, emphasizing the riches to be found in her domain. With her (previously unmentioned) magical powers, she engineered those denizens she already had over the course of generations into stronger, smarter, better fighters. She was raising an army.

What the queen of diamonds didn’t know was that her knight and the knight of spades were in love. They kept their affair hidden from their respective queens for obvious reasons, but met in secret regularly. Wishing to limit the chance that they might have to meet in battle personally, the knight of diamonds told the knight of spades what the queen was doing.

The knight of spades took this information to his own queen, who thankfully didn’t probe too deeply into how he’d learned it. Instead, she immediately set about raising an army of her own, and passed the information on to the queen of clubs personally.

The queen of clubs, then, faced a rather pressing issue: like the queen of diamonds, she did not have enough subjects in fighting shape to raise an army. Unlike her counterpart, however, she did not have several generations’ notice with which to rectify that weakness—nor did she even have a knight of her own.

So, after obtaining permission from her new ally, she searched far and wide in the domain of the queen of spades to find a champion, one who could inspire their peers to fight their hardest, with the knowledge to select the generals and lieutenants and foot soldiers who would be able to defend her queendom.

And find one she did. The champion was such an effective leader, so adept at rallying people to follow her with true deep-seated conviction for the cause, that she would come to be known as the queen of hearts.

It was at this point that the Crown Prince stopped and gestured to the rose bush. I realized that I’d become so thoroughly engrossed in his story that I’d lost track of time, and I was thankful I’d thought to set a time limit. He sensed this too, and as I went to pluck a rose hip he asked if I was enjoying the story. I asked him in turn where he’d learned it. He said that he was the only one in the world who knew it. I asked if he meant he’d made it up, and he didn’t respond.

Instead, he said I’d have to come back later to hear more of it. I told him I didn’t even know how I’d gotten here in the first place, much less how I’d return, but he insisted that I’d find my way. As I left the courtyard, he turned his attention back to the mushroom I’d given him, turning it over and over in his hands.

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I was just about set to head back to Calder’s stream when I realized something all of a sudden: I couldn’t touch my patient, which meant I wouldn’t be able to force him to swallow the potion—he’d have to do it voluntarily, without spitting it out or spilling any. Liquid fire, one of my major ingredients, was notoriously both very hot and very spicy, making it difficult to stomach. I would need something to cover the taste. I remembered that I had the candy rock back at the cottage, but I was honestly closer to Moonbreaker Mountain. So, I decided to just run over and find some on my own.

I took a path I hadn’t been on before. About halfway up the mountain, I came across Mòrag McKinney, knelt at a shrine. It took her a long time to notice me, but when she did she smiled and bade me sit down next to her. She told me this was a shrine to Cernunnos, the antlered god of nature, hunters, druidry, fertility, and warriors. She said those going on journeys often placed offerings at it hoping for his favor. I asked if she was going on a journey and she said no, she’d just started coming here recently. Something about it called her.

She traced little circles in the dirt with her finger as she told me about Cernunnos, his ability to call animals to him, how wild-growing plants were considered his bounty. I had heard of Cernunnos before, even if I hadn’t studied him closely, but I let her speak. When she was finished, I apologized and told her I was on a deadline. I asked her where I might find the candy rocks. She seemed disappointed to see me go, but directed me a little ways up the path. I hurried off and found a large cluster easily. The rocks (crystals, really) were extremely brittle—I could break off a good-sized chunk with my hand. Once I’d done so, I hurried back to Calder’s river.

────⊱⁜⊰────

Here is how I made the potion:

First, I crushed the rose hip seeds with my travel mortar and pestle.

Then, I collected some water (Calder was kind enough to let me borrow a bit of his)

Then, I combined it with the seed powder, liquid fire, and candy rock.

Finally, I shook it until it was all combined.

I decided to call the potion Bog’s Bane—a fitting enough name, as it ended up looking like orange mud. My crocodilian patient was staring vaguely off into the distance, so I gave the potion to Calder so he could help get it down. Once he’d finished it, the patient gasped and his eyes unclouded. Already the visible vines crawling up his legs were withering, their yellow buds falling off. I told him he ought to go see Dr. Ardor-Knox in town, and to tell them that he was seriously drained of vitamins and likely anemic. I didn’t know if the doctor had the requisite knowledge of crocodilian physiology to treat him, but I figured sending patients their way might help smooth things over with them. The crocodilian was still a bit out of it but seemed to understand well enough. He paid me for the potion and stumbled off in the direction of Greenmoor.

When he was gone, I turned to Calder to apologize that my work had cut our picnic short. He said to think nothing of it—the man would have stumbled into his creek anyway, so it was good that someone who knew how to treat him was present when he did. Nevertheless, I asked if we could have a do-over soon, and he said he’d like that.

It was far too late by that point for anything further to happen (though if it’s not wishful thinking there was certainly some tension), so I resigned myself to trudging back home. Now that I’ve recounted the day's events, I’m going straight to bed. Here’s hoping that tomorrow isn’t quite so hectic.

⇦●〇●⇨

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fedtothenight · 3 years

Text

this competition asked to write a short story in the dystopian genre and my entry's below - don't rb!

the sweetest fruit

The boy gasped, straining against the padded frame of the jeep just as the vehicle slowly came to a halt. ‘Look!’ he shouted, pointing at a spot about a hundred feet from the group. ‘Look, Mum! That’s so cool!’

Half-instinctively, his mother had already grabbed a fistful of his tank-top, ready to yank him back. She had spent the entirety of the trip sitting as still as possible, facing forward, eyes stubbornly fixed on the self-cooling top of the car in a pointless effort to fight her motion sickness: her patience was already wearing very thin without her eight-year-old personal safety hazard trying to get himself killed.

‘Ethan, for the love of God,’ she snapped. ‘I already told you to stop leaning over the frame! Do you realise how dangerous that is?’

‘No, Mum, you’ve got to look!’

‘Emma, darling,’ her husband whispered, a gentle hand on her shoulder. ‘You should really look at this. It’s magnificent.’

Whatever it was, even her fifteen-year-old daughter - who had spent the last thirty minutes texting her friends back home without so much as a glance at the scenery - was jaw-slacked, so she slowly got up on her wobbly knees and peered over her shoulders.

In the shadow of a tree, protected from the sweltering heat, two lions were feasting on a zebra. Perhaps belatedly, as it’d taken her a second to drink the sight in, she realised that the poor thing was still alive: writhing as blood, red and hot and pulsing, gushed out from where the bigger lion - the male - had bitten into its back.

The smaller one, the female, soundlessly sank its teeth into the dying animal’s neck, and the latter gave one last weak kick, finally falling limp. When the lioness stood again, it was almost impossible, from this distance, to see her eyes amidst the bloodied mess on her face.

‘Oh, my God, Matt,’ Emma said. ‘This is beautiful. Nature truly is beautiful.’

‘You don’t really get to see this kind of show anywhere else today,’ their guide said from the driver’s seat. He sounded proud, as if he’d hunted and fed the zebra to the lions himself.

Alberto wasn’t wrong, Emma reasoned. Given that they were parked in the middle of the privately-owned biggest North American savanna, he - or rather, his employer - was the one effectively feeding the lions. Like feeding mice to cats. She glanced at her children, glad they could have a window on a reality that was long gone. To think it would have taken a trip around the world to watch this spectacle - imagine the motion sickness then! If only, she considered wistfully, there could be a way of replicating glaciers just as accurately.

‘Honestly, it seems a bit unfair that they get to eat real meat,’ Ethan said at the dinner table a few hours later. He was picking at his plate, moving the fried grasshoppers they’d been served for dinner around, but not really eating any. ‘While we are stuck with insects and microprotein or whatever.’

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. She was tired and sunburnt, her sensitive pale skin suffering under the blistering sun of the region, so different from the temperate weather back home North. She had a splitting headache, too. She was, yet again, at the so-called end of her tether. ‘Ethan…’

‘You should be glad you get to eat at all,’ her daughter said at the same time. ‘There’s a reason it’s illegal to eat meat. These animals are here for show, anyway. They were originally from Africa.’

‘Shut up, Becca,’ Ethan mumbled. ‘Everybody knows there are no animals in Africa. There’s nothing there.’

Becca’s cheeks were tinted pink, eyebrows furrowed. ‘Of course there were animals. There were animals everywhere before the Climate Crunch.’

‘Both of you, stop it,’ Matt interjected. ‘Ethan, your sister is right. You should be grateful that we are here in the first place. That said…’ He leant forward, voice down to a whisper: ‘I have a surprise for you. Or, well, Richard has a surprise for us. When he arrives tomorrow, he’ll bring us real meat. Bovine meat.’

‘But it’s illegal,’ said Becca.

‘It’s technically illegal,’ Matt acknowledged. ‘It’s not if you know how to get some and no one from Animal Conservation finds out. Do you think our president only eats insects? Please, Becca. Use that big brain of yours.’

‘Yes,’ Ethan snickered. ‘Use your brain, Becca.’

‘That is too generous,’ Emma said. ‘Inviting us here in the first place was, when even he hasn’t gotten here yet. Now this. I wouldn’t know how to repay him.’

Truly, all she felt was jealousy. Her guts twisted with the sheer force of it. Yes, she had known that Richard was comfortable. The gated, heavily guarded estate spanned for thousands of acres, comprised the 5000sqt villa they were staying at (five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a cinema, marble floors and solar panels on the rooftop), an indoor swimming pool inspired by vintage photos of Amalfi, two indoor tennis courts, and the savanna they’d explored earlier in the day. ‘The biggest conservation area in North America since they repurposed the Midwest,’ he’d bragged in a video call, two weeks before. ‘You will love it. The holiday you deserve. Make yourselves at home.’

But meat? He could get meat?

Matt’s family had designed DeNuketify, which was basically the only effective way of purifying ocean water from whatever nuclear waste Japan kept spewing so that it could be used and, most importantly, drunk. They had managed to flee the continent with the last handful of greencards about the time her family did, too, taking their precious Queen’s accent with them to found Nova London. She was the governor of Nova London now, for God’s sake. The bloody queen herself was long dead but she was alive, and yet, yet - they had never had meat.

‘We don’t have to, Emma,’ Matt said. ‘We just need to remember how lucky we are to enjoy this meal, this house, this holiday. Look at that,’ and he nodded towards the TV screen again. ‘Actually, Alexa!, volume up!, I think the Italians have finally surrendered.’

The war correspondent’s voice grew louder. She - they, Emma reminded herself: Becca always told her not to assume anyone’s gender - was wearing a dust mask and reading from a bundle of documents. ‘The last military hospital in the island of Palermo was destroyed four days ago by a Canadian airstrike,’ they were saying. ‘The rebels surrendered soon after, followed by the group of extremists in the Nebrodi island. Etna had already surrendered last year.’

‘It’s important to remember that these actions were necessary to finally put a rest on the instability of the region,’ they added. ‘Canada will fund a complete restoration of the Southern archipelago. The remaining civilians will be provided with a shelter and then, when the time comes, a suitable job. Nova Italia will be the sixteenth Canadian state, the fourth offshore. There are also hopes to extract petroleum from the seabed of the sunken city of Gela.’

‘Watch them make it into a holiday hotspot,’ Matt commented. ‘The weather is still nice there.’

‘Ooh, I heard about this.’ Becca picked her phone back up and started furiously typing away. ‘There’s this journal entry soldiers found over there, under the rubble, that’s gone viral. It was translated into English. Wait, I’ll pull it up. Alexa, volume down.’

‘I’m not sure I want to hear it,’ Emma said, uneasy. ‘We’re on holiday. Should we not watch a movie? Something funny?’

Becca waved her away, as if she was an annoying fly. ‘It’ll be good practice for my drama class.’

Matt didn’t help—he simply shrugged, half-apologetic, as if to say: Let her do her thing.

Becca made a show of clearing her throat, too, before she started reading from her phone—her high voice now grave, studied, as if she were speaking to a larger audience: ‘I wonder what peas taste like.’

Right then, the scene on screen changed to footage of what looked like a destroyed village, something out of an apocalyptic movie. Emma found herself unable to look away.

‘Nonna used to say that her own great-grandmother grew them in her garden. Figs, too,’ Becca read. ‘They say they were the sweetest fruit.’

Emma wondered if this journal was actually written by a child or a teenager. It didn’t sound like an adult at all. She couldn’t help but picture a girl, a brunette, not much older than Becca, perhaps a rebel, or a trainee nurse on the sweet cusp of adulthood, holding this journal of hers, or perhaps a gun. It violently reminded her that her own daughter, too, would have to serve her time in the Forces in three years.

On screen, the Canadian soldiers walked among the ruins, zigzagging between torn up clothes and discarded weapons, surely looking for surviving rebels under the rubbles.

‘Isn’t it silly that we can hear the fighters overhead and that all I can do is think about food?’ said Becca. ‘I wish we could also eat figs and be happy.’

On screen, the camera zoomed in on a long-forgotten man's shoe, some crumpled photographs, on a pile of bodies in black bin bags.

‘Grandma - I miss her - left me a poetry book, too, from T.S. Eliot. I hope the book is with me when I die, so I can give it back to her when we meet again, afterwards. So I can tell her that T.S. Eliot was wrong.’

On screen, one of the soldiers approached and showed a little trinket to the camera: a bloody, heart-shaped locket that must’ve once been golden, hiding the miniature pictures of two brunette children that would never have a name.

‘That’s enough,’ Emma said. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. ‘Stop reading.’

‘The world may have not ended with a bang, but it didn’t end with a whimper, either: the world didn’t end at all. Sometimes,’ Becca finished reading, ‘I wish it had.’

‘What a load of rubbish,’ Matt scoffed. ‘Everyone should feel lucky to be alive. I bet this journal is a fake. Alexa, turn the TV off.’

As the screen faded to black, Ethan finally popped a grasshopper in his mouth. ‘I can’t wait to have meat tomorrow.’

#my writing #honestly dystopia is not a genre i'm interested in #lol #this was lazy and i wrote it in one morning while i was hungover on negroni

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doctor-peggy · 3 years

Text

In Which Marinette Takes Charge (Fanfiction, Marichat May 2021)

My entry for Marichat May 2021 (@marichatmay), day 2. Prompt: Ghibli AU

I wrote this late at night, in a rush to finish it on time so... if you see anything that looks like it could have been fixed if I was more awake, please do just let your eyes glide past it and onto the next part.

I did consider Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away but I wanted to do something a bit different for this one. Porco Rosso isn’t my favourite Ghibli movie (see the end for a better list), but I thought it’d make for an interesting Marichat dynamic.

Also posted on Ao3

When Chat Noir got his upgraded plane back, he had not expected a beautiful lady to come with it. Especially not the beautiful lady who had designed the plane herself.

“I’m a wanted man,” he had tried to warn, looking to Tom Dupain for support, to no avail, “it’s too dangerous to come with me. And you’re so… young. You’ve got a whole entire life ahead of you!”

“Chat Noir, I promised I would build you an even better plane than what you had before, and I am going to see it through whether you like it or not,” she had insisted, “And besides, I don’t think I’m any younger than you are, cat-boy.”

Which, Chat had to admit, was a fair point.

So here they were, back at his hideout, Chat carrying their bags as Marinette rushed ahead and shucked off her shoes.

“Finally!” she sighed appreciatively, stretching, “I’d gotten all stiff sitting in that tiny space next to the engine for so long.”

“I thought you said your butt was small enough to fit or something?” Chat grinned.

Marinette huffed, whipping around to face Chat. “I said nothing of the sort!”

Chat chuckled, tossing her a smaller bag.

“So are you saying it wasn’t small enough?”

“You’re insufferable!” Marinette groaned, “And to be sure, I said my hips weren’t so wide that I’d be uncomfortable in there.”

She opened her mouth to say more, but stopped, narrowing her eyes and turning towards Chat’s tent just as Chat himself noticed that it looked—and smelled, even from this distance—a bit odd.

“Do you think—” Marinette started, but found herself surrounded by pirates before she could finish her question.

“Guess the rats snuck in while this cat was away, huh?” Chat sighed over the pirates’ calls of ‘we caught him’ and ‘boss, come take a look!’ and such.

As their leader (What was his name again? Cato? Caro? Capo, his brain finally provided) scrambled forward to grab Chat by the collar, one of the pirates in the back gave a startled shout.

“It’s a woman! The kid’s managed to get a woman with him!”

“Don’t touch her,” Chat growled defensively, even though he could see that she was unharmed.

“Shut up!” called Capo, letting go of Chat, “I haven’t even started talking yet! Who cares about the woman? Half the people of the world are women! Now, where was I?”

Chat smirked. “She’s not—”

“I’ll have you know, I’m not just any woman!” Marinette interjected.

“I was about to say that,” Chat muttered under his breath.

“I’m the engineer who designed his plane! And I did a damn good job of it if I say so myself!”

“It’s true,” Chat shrugged at the incredulous looks directed towards him.

“For real?” Marinette turned to him, eyes sparkling, “You liked it?”

“I try not to lie about planes if I can help it. And you lot, show some respect, she did the whole design for the plane herself, and she’s here to make sure I pay up.”

Capo let out a booming laugh.

“You’re in debt too, huh? Ha! Listen up! Break his plane to bits so all he’s left with is the de—”

“Now hold on for just a second!” Marinette said with such authority that even Chat Noir’s jaw snapped shut, “You’re telling me you’re going to break my plane?”

“Well technically it’s my plane?” Chat tried weakly.

“Are you saying you’re going to destroy such a beautiful thing without a second thought?”

“Well… you see,” one of the pirates tried to explain, “it’s sort of complicated and—”

“So you are going to break it! And you call yourself flying boat pilots? Out of my way.”

Chat Noir watched in awe as she marched up to the leader of the pirates.

“All my life I heard stories about flying boat pilots, about how they were the bravest of all seafarers and the most respectable of pilots—that the sea and the sky washed their hearts clean!”

A cheer rose up from the pirates. Capo beamed. “You don’t have to tell me, I already—”

“I thought flying boat pilots flew not for money or for fame, but for honour. Was I wrong?”

“Err, no. Alright we won’t break your plane but—”

“But what? You’ll fight Chat Noir after backing him into a corner in his own home? Have you no shame? You want to hire foreigners to fight your battles and then you want to ambush your enemies without warning? How do you even face your own mothers? How long has it been since any of you even took a bath? I can’t believe you call yourself pilots.”

“Ouch,” Chat Noir winced, even though he wasn’t the one being told off. The pirates muttered amongst themselves, looking properly remorseful, and in the chatter, a laugh from somewhere high off the ground echoed across the walls of Chat’s cave.

“Why?” Chat groaned as his eyes focused on the American pilot perched high between the sides of two cliffs, “And how did you even find a way in from there?”

“Is that Curtis?” Marinette asked as the man in question jumped down onto the sand, throwing in a flip and everything as he did.

“Sure wish it wasn’t,” Chat sighed.

“I expect you want a rematch?” Curtis gloated, “Although I’ve already won once, and I—”

“What are you terms?” Marinette cut in.

“What?”

“Your terms. You can skip the all the posturing and such. Let’s get to it. What do you want?”

Curtis blinked, struck dumb. Chat snorted.

“You’re beautiful,” Curtis breathed after a moment, reaching forward to take Marinette’s hands, “if I win, will you marry me?”

Chat let out a low, threatening hiss, but Marinette yanked her own hands away before Chat had the chance to jump in.

“Gross,” she rolled her eyes, reaching for something in her back pocket, “but I guess it’ll have to do. If Chat Noir wins you’ll have to pay his bills then.”

She tossed the bound stack of papers to Curtis.

“Marinette—" Chat tried to argue.

“Don’t worry, my Chaton, I’m sure you’ll win.”

“Miss Marinette, you won’t be able to reconsider after this,” Capo warned.

“Neither will he,” Marinette shrugged.

“These bills…” Curtis frowned

“What, are you saying I’m not worth even that much?”

“N-no! Of course you’re worth all this. You’re worth more!”

“Well then get out of here and prepare for the fight like you mean it!” Marinette ordered. Chat could only gape wordlessly as she herded the Curtis and the pirates up the cliffs, caught between admiration and panic.

“What have you done?” Chat groaned once the intruders were all gone.

“What have I done, indeed?” Marinette cried, burying her face in her hands. "I wasn’t thinking! Oh god, if you lose, I’ll have to marry that guy!”

“I’m sure I’ll win with the plane you built me,” Chat tried to reassure, caught off guard by her sudden panic.

“And then I’ll have to move to America and give up on my dreams of designing all those planes and having a hamster and—"

“Marinette!”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

“Oh. Well, I do trust you. You won’t let me get married to him, will you?”

“Pretty sure your father will have my neck if I do.”

“I’m pretty sure my father would like me to get married to you at some point.”

Chat grimaced. “Don’t know about that one... but well played Marinette. I’d never let a lady down, at least.”

“Flirt,” Marinette rolled her eyes. She slipped off her jacket, pants and shirt, and Chat tried not to squeak as he turned away as quickly as he could. “I’m going in for a swim!”

And with that, she dashed into the cove.

Chat sighed, readjusting his grip on the bags and turning towards the tent before stopping abruptly at a yelp from Marinette.

“What?” He cried, dropping the bags and stumbling back towards the water, “What’s wrong?”

“We could have padded the bills!” she shouted back, “Oh god, how silly of me to not have realised!”

“Oh” Chat melted in relief, laughing airily, “you’re a shrewd one, Miss Dupain-Cheng!”

“Not shrewd enough!”

And Chat just laughed some more, because Marinette Dupain-Cheng was really something.

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

For the first few minutes after slipping into her sleeping bag, Marinette drifted in and out of consciousness. A whisper of a breeze licked at her cheeks, and she opened her eyes, feeling as though she was floating. Her pupils contracted in the moonlight, adjusting to see Chat Noir’s hands picking up bullets to inspect them. Her gaze wandered up to his face, and her breath caught on the gentle ocean breeze. She could see him clearly, cheekbones sharp and eyes soft, no mask, no cat ears, no slit pupils. His hair, not straw-coloured but golden, all but glowed.

“Chat…” she called out, but as he turned, his mask came back into focus, and his eyes once again turned catlike.

“What is it? Are you uncomfortable?”

“No it’s just… you looked…”

“I looked?”

She shook her head.

“I must be seeing things. I’m really tired.”

“You should sleep, Marinette. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

“Who were you, Chat Noir? Before you were cursed?”

Chat hummed, leaning back on his chair.

“I’ll tell you… but not now. I bet you’re curious, aren’t you?” He teased, “Go to sleep, Miss Dupain-Cheng, worry doesn’t suit your beautiful face. Especially not worry about a stray cat-boy like me.”

“Flirt.”

“Only with you.”

“Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

“Goodnight Marinette.”

Was this really long? Yes. Am I sorry? Also yes. I spent too much of my sleeping time writing this T^T but hopefully it was at least somewhat fun to read. There were a lot of things I wanted to do a bit better with this one, and it doesn’t have nearly as much Marichat as I would have liked... but honestly I’m just glad I managed to finish it.

Like I said in the beginning, Porco Rosso is kind of low on my list of Ghibli movies, though I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I do have a favourite one, though I won’t reveal what it is (let it be the third mystery of this blog or something), but if you have only watched a few Ghibli movies, then allow me to propose that instead of just watching all the more popular ones, you give the slightly less popular ones a try. Honestly, Laputa, Castle in the Sky is just as good as any of the usually referenced classics like Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, and while Whisper of the Heart isn’t a Miyazaki film, it has something special that the other movies don’t, and if you skipped it because it wasn’t as popular and also wasn’t by Miyazaki or Takahata, give it a try.

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lightspeedrobin · 3 years

Text

Found (Chapter 4) - Morisawa Chiaki/Reader

Summary: Chiaki can vaguely remember that time in kindergarten when he saved a girl during a school field trip but he knows that it was the first time he became someone’s hero. With only a dolphin plush and a worn-out handkerchief to remind him of that memory, he finally meets her again.

A/N: ending the year right! it took a while but we've finally reached the end, and just in time for the current event~

thank you to all the wonderful people who have stay tuned and supported me for the past four months. i enjoyed writing chiaki because he's such a pure and honest boy and i love him TT^TT

wishing everyone a fruitful new year and the best of luck for those grinding for 5star chiaki!until next time~

Chapter 4 - Found

The familiar store chimes make a gentle ring as Chiaki enters the cafe. It has been two days since he’d last been there and the quiet and relaxing atmosphere greets him once more. No children running around and the stress of meeting their needs is thankfully gone for the next few days. The kid’s section is almost empty, save for a couple of young adults who chose to sit by the area. It’s a perfect day to talk to the owner without much distractions.

Speaking of the owner, he takes a look around the cafe in search of the person in question, and there she was, engaging in an idle chatter with the barista while putting some final touches on a dish. He quickly looks away when she turns around to deliver the order, setting his eyes on a table at the back. As much as he wanted to stay in the kids section, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself today.

He settles down on his seat and sets the paper bag he’s been carrying beside him. He didn’t bother putting the plush on a different bag, but in hindsight, the owner might recognize the bag when sees it so he keeps it hidden for now. His mind drifts to the conversation he had with Kanata and Kaoru the other day.

‘I think you should just tell her. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you two are meeting again like this.’

‘Oh but don’t just tell her. Be smooth about it. Hmm… I know a few techniques you can do to–’

‘Kaoru, he’s not trying to hit on her, you know.’

‘I know, I know. But what if…’

In the end, both Ryuseitai members listened to Kaoru’s so-called-techniques over coffee at the ES Cafeteria. It wouldn’t hurt to hear him out and the blonde looked enthusiastic sharing his ideas, not that Chiaki would be able to pull any of it off.

On her way back to the counter, the owner spots him seated at the far back, waving at her. Smiling brighter at the sight of her newly-formed friend, she makes her way to his table. He instinctively pushes the paper bag further towards the back of his seat to hide it from view.

“Hey! You’re back!” She greets enthusiastically, handing him a menu. “On a break from work?”

She speaks in a more casual tone to him now that they’re more familiar with each other. He’s glad that she’s able to relax around him.

“Nah, I’m actually done for the day and wanted to come here.” He replies as he takes the booklet. He only had a small errand at ES today so he has the rest of the day to himself.

She nods and her eyes lit up with interest. “Oh I see. If you’re already finished this early then you must’ve been working hard the past few days.”

“Yup! Ryuseitai’s been getting a lot of jobs lately and I’m glad we get to work together more often now.” He says in genuine pride. Ryuseitai has grown so much from when they were first starting out and all those job requests they’ve been getting are proof that they’re reaching the hearts of more people as idols and allies of justice.

“That’s great to hear!” She beams at the news but then puts a hand on her chin as if remembering something. “Ah, so that time I saw you by the cafe, were you perhaps supposed to meet your friends here?”

Chiaki almost chokes on air. “What?”

“The other day, you were hanging outside the cafe, right?” She explains. “Or did I mistook you for someone else?”

He panics for a brief second but he didn’t want to lie that he hasn’t been in the area that day. Or at least, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. “A-Ah yes, that was me.”

“Well, It’s a shame you didn’t come in. We were testing out some new flavors for the parfaits that day. You and your friends could’ve tried them.” She says, her voice mixed with a little disappointment. Chiaki starts to feel bad for not at least saying ‘hi’ before leaving. But he was supposed to be hiding that day. The owner must’ve had a good eye for spotting him, or he just sucks at stealth.

“O-Oh, um… Yeah, I needed to talk to someone so I had to head back to the agency.” He stammers. He’s not a good liar but it technically wasn’t a lie. He had no plans on giving more context to why he was at the store front in the first place and he hopes she doesn’t ask.

“Ah, I see.” Her expression seemed like she wouldn’t press any further, so he mentally sighs in relief. “Well, we still have them available today. If you like, I could put down an order for you now.” She says, pen and notepad at the ready.

Chiaki checks his watch. An hour before lunch. He could probably use a light meal to go with the parfait.

His order arrives shortly after, with the owner grinning as she sets them down on his table. He can clearly see the excitement in her eyes as she sets the parfait on the table, looking just as mouth-watering as ones he had served the other day. She’s in high spirits today and Chiaki hopes he’ll get to see more of her smile later.

As the last of his order is set down, he catches her attention by clearing his throat. “I also actually came today to talk to you.”

She raises a curious eyebrow at him. “Oh...”

“It’s really nothing important, just–”

“This isn’t about that other day, right? The ‘i-made-a-famous-idol-work-at-my-cafe’ thing?” She hugs the empty tray closer as she speaks, voice clearly in panic. It must’ve still been bothering her since then.

Chiaki quickly shakes his head, letting out an awkward laugh for not giving more context right away. “No, no, no. There really wasn’t any issue with that. This one’s actually unrelated so no need to worry. But this might take a while so...” He trails off, unsure what to say next. He’s well aware that she’s still in the middle of work but this might be the only chance he can get, and the conversation might take long considering how this would concern her largely.

“Ah...” She relaxes and now it was her turn to give an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, I tend to think ahead of things so I kind of panicked.”

He knows. At least for the times he visited, he assumed as such. But that didn’t bother Chiaki at all. The way she starts to break her upbeat demeanor in panic, fidgeting and cheeks flushing was adorable in a way.

She takes a deep breath again to compose herself, looking at the clock by the counter before speaking again. “Well, I’ll be having my break soon so if you want we can talk then.”

“Alright, I can wait until then.”

Chiaki slowly eats his meal as the lunch rush passes and soon enough it dies down, resuming into its calmer atmosphere. A good time for a break.

She asks him if he would like to wait in the staff room for a bit while she gives some instructions to her staff and he takes the suggestion. It is more preferable to have some privacy.

The owner steps in the staff room after a few minutes, leaving a few more words to the other staff outside before closing the door. Chiaki patiently waits as she writes down an entry on the time sheet hung on the wall before finally sitting across him on the table. Something catches his eye though: a small stain on her apron.

“Thanks for waiting.” She says. “I had to leave a few things to them before I take my break.

Chiaki feels the nervousness building up but despite that, he was able to keep calm and answer with a cheery tone. “It’s no problem at all. I am the one who wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh um… Before that, you have a little stain on your apron.” He pats his lap to indicate where it is and she makes a surprised ‘oh’ before looking down on the same area on her apron. The brown spot looks small enough to be unnoticable from afar but Chiaki was able to spot it when she sat down.

“Shoot. There is.” She confirms, and starts to rub it off with her thumb.

Just then, an idea popped into Chiaki’s head. Even after all these years, he never really practiced the habit of bringing his own handkerchief, but this day, he had one. And this particular piece of cloth holds a certain value that would bring up the subject that Chiaki had been nervous about for days.

Nervousness, however, was just part of the things he was feeling at the moment. More than that, he was feeling hopeful. Hopeful that things will stay the same between them, if not, improve. And he has Kanata and Kaoru to thank for that.

So with the usual sunny smile on his face, he reaches into his pocket for the handkerchief and presents it to her, who’s still focused on the stain. He makes sure to get that particular corner exposed so she would immediately see it.

“You can use this, if you like.”

She looks up at the handkerchief offered to her, then at him. She makes a bashful smile before reaching out to take it

“Thank you for–” She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she laid eyes on the name on the handkerchief. Surprise and disbelief spread across her face as it finally dawns in on her what the familiar piece of cloth conveys.

She slowly looks up at him and Chiaki nods, as if confirming whatever thoughts have been swimming in her head right now. Yes, it was the handkerchief she gave him a long time ago. Yes, he was the boy who stood next to her on stage in the aquatic show. And yes, he was the boy, who despite not knowing how to swim, still jumped in the water to save her.

“I-I can’t believe it...” She takes a closer look at the cloth, tracing her fingers on the neatly embroidered name and the sunflowers decorating the corners.

“I didn’t realize it right away but that boy who tried to pull you out of the water years ago… was most probably me.” Chiaki finally puts in words. “And I wanted to give that back to you… with this.” He reaches out into the bag and takes out the pink dolphin plush. He did his best to clean it up but the accumulated dust over the years faded out the bright pink color it had from what Chiaki remembered.

She gasps and slowly touches the stuffed animal, as if handling something fragile. Her lips appear to be tugging into a smile as she looks over it. “It’s–!”

“This is yours, right? It all happened so fast at the souvenir shop that even I didn’t realize we switched bags back then.” He explains. He anxiously studies her expression as he places the plush down on the table.

Her eyes lit up at the memory. “I remember! I was so shocked that I got the wrong one.” She then claps her mouth, looking both happy and embarrassed. “That was my bad, I rushed out so suddenly that I forgot to check.”

“No, that’s okay. Really. But i’m glad that you still treasured mine despite all that.” At this point, it didn’t really matter who caused the switch. It was just an honest and clumsy mistake they made, which was natural for children their age. What matters now is this moment, where the exchanged dolphins allowed them to meet again.

“It is from my hero, after all.” She says a little softly. Instead of having that distant look from the first time she talked about her hero, she’s now looking directly at him, and Chiaki can feel the warmth and gratitude of her gaze, along with a strange ecstatic feeling inside him.

“You saved my life back then. And we both wouldn’t be meeting here again if it weren’t for that.” For some reason, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she spoke. Her words seem to bear more weight to him now that there is someone to receive the admiration she has. Now that he is the one receiving it.

She smiles, the same twinkle reflected in her eyes, and this time, that smile was for him. “Thank you.”

“I...” Chiaki is left dumbstruck at those two words, trailing off from what he was supposed to day. Back in the aquarium, they didn’t mean anything big. It just made him happy before because even though they both almost drowned, she still thanked him. Even though he almost failed, she still looked up to him.

'But why does hearing them again now feel different?‘ , he wonders.

She was still looking at him, probably waiting for him to finish his thought. Still unable to think of a proper response, Chiaki lets out the first words that come to his mind.

“A hero never hesitates when there are people in need, after all.”

And she laughs.

“You said the same thing back then too.” She points out, and only then did Chiaki realize it. It wasn’t really his intention to say the same thing but maybe he never really changed all that much from when she met him.

“Now I’m sure it really is you.”

Chiaki pauses in his thoughts, the nostalgic atmosphere instantly disappearing. “W-Wait, were you actually doubting me earlier?”

“No, not at all.” She calmly says, waving her hand vigorously in denial. “It’s just too good to be true that I thought this was just a dream.” And he awkwardly laughs in return with her, having been worried for nothing.

“A-Anyway, here is your dolphin back if you still need it. Ah, but I feel bad for returning this after learning how you took care of mine well so you can keep both.” He gestures to the said animal on the table, smiling all the while. It was the solution he came up with after mulling over it a few days ago. By letting her keep both, she wouldn’t have to let go of the one she took care of all these years while still getting her original one back.

She, however, seems to be against it. “What? I can’t possibly do that. I mean, you’ve also kept mine all this time and that’ll make me feel equally bad for taking it.” And she pushes the dolphin towards him.

Chiaki shakes his head before pushing it back to her. “It’s totally fine, really.”

At the back of his mind, he was anticipating her to insist on giving him the plush and the funny exchange would go on until one finally gave in. He can feel a sense of deja vu as he preps himself for her response. He was determined to not budge this time.

Unexpectedly, however, she pauses for a moment in deep thought before sighing. “Alright. I’ll take my dolphin back… Thanks.” She pulls the dolphin towards her, and for some reason, he felt a little dismayed that it didn’t go the way he imagined.

She then taps a finger to her chin, humming in thought. “But I don’t really have any more space to keep another one sooo–” She stands up, circling around the table to stand beside Chiaki, and places the dolphin on his hands. “I’m giving this one to you.” She states, smiling while Chiaki stares at her in confusion. Only one word escaped his mouth.

“What?”

“I’m giving you my extra dolphin to keep. So now you can take care of him while I continue looking after yours.” She elaborates, having solved the dilemma he had in just a few minutes. By accepting the returned plush and giving it to him after, it catered both their intentions. Chiaki definitely didn’t expect this response.

She looks at him with such a cool and smug expression that he gives a defeated sigh. She definitely wins this time.

“Well then, I guess this one will be in my care.” He gives the pink dolphin a pat, now formally his, and he can only feel warm and happy seeing her smile widening.

She then walks over to a row of lockers on the other side of the room and opens what he assumes is her locker. Inside was her own dolphin in it’s fading blue color. She takes it out and places it on the table, right in front of Chiaki’s. “I’ll be looking forward to more playdates then.” She says in a higher tone, as if giving the animal plush its own voice, and waves its fin. It was playful and silly, but it was cute.

He gives a small chuckle as he plays along, waving his dolphin’s fin back at hers. “Yeah. I’ll come visit some time.” And they both broke into a hearty laughter.

When she looked up at him again, her eyes showed a gentle glow and her cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink as she beams at him. For a moment there, he can only stare in awe at the sight.

“I hope we can get to know each other more too.”

Chiaki feels a rush of joy welling up in him. All the pleasant emotions are mixing up inside him from her words that it was natural for his face to lift into a smile. “Me too.”

They were silent for a few more seconds, and almost instantly, an awkward atmosphere started to build up. Rubbing a hesitant hand on the back of his head, Chiaki breaks the silence. “So… I was wondering if we can, you know, chat a little more?”

He had a lot of things he wanted to talk about with her. Somehow, after all that has happened today, he feels refreshed and eager to learn more about her. But all those thoughts were flushed down the drain at her immediate response.

“We can’t."

And Chiaki is again thrown into a spiral of surprise and confusion. Her brows were slightly furrowed so he couldn’t tell what they meant. A swarm of questions started to fill his head, unable to determine whether everything had really worked out. He might have gotten carried away with his request.

“–At least not now when my break’s about to be over.” She follows right after, peering at the wall clock by the time sheet with a guilty look. He snaps his head towards the clock as well. It’s been almost an hour since her break started. He terribly lost track of time.

“Right… Totally forgot about that.” His sigh came out as a stammered laugh so she chuckled in amusement. It really did end well. She may have just been teasing him a bit.

“Why don’t we take a walk around the city later after we close shop for the day?”

“That... sounds great.”

Chiaki never expected to meet again someone from his childhood memory, not to mention, one that admired him all this time for saving her. The thought that he was able to be someone’s hero at such a young age, gives him a new-found determination to grow more as a proud member of Ryuseitai.

While he doesn’t know what their friendship would become in the future, what he does know is that spending time with her gives him an unusually pleasant and light feeling. And he’s looking forward to that walk later, and, of course, the other meetings to come.

this fic is also up on my ao3, @lightspeedrobin , feel free to give a follow~

Ch.3

#enstars #ensemble stars #morisawa chiaki #chiaki morisawa x reader #cafe owner! reader #fluf

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sole-cuore-amore-e-droga · 3 years

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Belgium brings their ex-vocalist back to Rotterdam 2021

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Here we chop chop boys like we chop chop wood

This review space would’ve been reserved for Belarus. Unfortunately, their broadcaster was not ready to make nice, and ultimately refused to serve EBU with anything but not-even-so-thinly-veiled propaganda, so much so that EBU, after all they’ve given the time for them for to snap out of it, finally had to be like “bye bitch” (- Lizzo) with enough push from the fandom, and informed everyone that Belarus will miss this year’s contest <3

Which means that I don’t have to deal with 41, but with 39 writeups to do overall, if my timing permits! The Roop could’ve always used a little less competition, anyway /j

Speaking of The Roop’s competition, time to aim at another one of their semifinal folk with a review. Come forth, Belgium!

ARTIST & ENTRY INFO

Hooverphonic, eventhough they’re not as big of a name as Flo Rida, is the biggest act to compete in this year’s Eurovision, and even had lasted longer as a thing than Flo Rida. He barely even got his proper famous kickstart around in the 2000s. Hoover have been around at least for 5 years more than him, if “Years active” section on Wikipedia is anything to go by. And back then they were just known as Hoover, correct. Their lineup of singers has changed for quite some time, but otherwise the band since its inception is rooted in basically two men: Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts. They used to have a keyboardist too but was he a part of their glory years in 2000? No? Thought so, he’s irrelevant then. In fact, their first vocalist wasn’t even present on their first album, so they went to have another one, who did just one album with them before 2000 and left. Now I’m only constantly and consistently bringing up 2000 because that’s when they had their break out moment in relevancy - after they changed their singer once more before they found someone called Geike Arnaert - the woman you’re seeing on the MV’s thumbnail right now, and not someone certain for whom there was a public outcry for she is the only Hooverphonic component that’s not coming back from 2020 to 2021. But more on that later. I’m here to present you the break-out hit, for those who just don’t know:

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I used to like to think of Hoovers as trip-hop sensations, well not in the style of Massive Attack because they have their trip-hop sound with actual hip hop thrown in, Hooverphonic’s style is that but with a tinge of symphonic.

Well, “Mad About You” wasn’t really the only hit they had, before that they got a bunch of minor and domestic hits, and their music was used for soundtracks. So it’s a little bit cheating still to think of “Mad About You” as their breakout hit, but that’s still the biggest song of the band. If I were to recommend you stuff from them that aren’t necessarily the biggest hits but still, “The Night Before” with yet another one of their vocalists is pretty good.

So when I tell you that Hooverphonic is a band of a very long career. Well some bands do survive a lot without having their lineup change for 10+ years, but Hooverphonic vocalistes come and go sometimes, and for 2020 forray, when they were first announced, they came in to that talk show studio where they were guests in with a promising little starlet Alex Callier found at The Voice Belgium (for the Flanders region) and was her mentor there, Luka Cruysberghs, as their current vocalist.

Is it just me or her and Stefania Liberakakis look like they could be cousins?

All went smooth and dandy, until Alex started spouting stuff about Eurovision the fans found not amusing, such as calling Eurovision a circus or something, later begging and pleading to medias that his statement was “lost in translation” - now I would say it happens to the best of us, like for Tornike, but deep inside I think I know Alex meant what he meant, inside or outside context. Because everything just went even more sour when everyone found out Hooverphonic were missing from the common song “Love Shine a Light” for the 2020 consolation programme in place of Eurovision, and when they were forced to explain, Alex just straight up said he didn’t like the song, so he decided to not do it. Fuck, I myself don’t adore the 1997 winning song, but I like it, and would’ve still done a piece of that song out of respect. Take it or leave it, god damn. Also they were noted to be the only people plugging in their other material in the time when Eurovision 2020 artists on the consolation programme were either saying inspirational stuff or “hope to see you soon!” or a combo of both, once again, courtesy of mostly Alex. Now I’m not saying his ego is bigger than Kirkorov’s... of fucking course not, no one has an ego bigger than Kirkorov’s. The only thing that can beat him in that regard is if someone booked Kanye West for Eurovision last minute.

Following 2021, they were very excited to jump on the “leave 2020 songs behind” train, while a few artists like VICTORIA and The Roop rallied for to keep their entries in tact if they were allowed to. And with that, in late 2020, they went ahead and celebrated the 20 years of “Mad About You” by getting rid of Luka as a vocalist and bringing back the aforementioned Geike to reprise her part. Seems pretty reasonable, but for the Eurofandom it was simply seen as a dick move, and mostly for the reason that all 2020 artists deserve a 2021 chance, even if they’re band members. What felt more dickish is that Luka was straight up told “byeeee u’re no longer our bandmate xo” on a Zoom call between band members. Like, it’s fine to be told you’re fired in person, even if still humiliating, because what’s the other better way? What’s equally worse is to be told this via email, but the email you were sent was sent like a few months ago and you only read it NOW. At least I guess that proves we know what the “sad and losing game” was that Luka asked to be released from now, heh.

Not to worry Luka-stans, as Alex will still have her, just as not the part of the band anymore. But instead give her a solo career. Yeah well we’ll see how long that lasts.

With the 2000 glory heydays lineup of Hooverphonic we have their entry be “The Wrong Place”, as the completely quite different song they promised (or didn’t) when saying that they will certainly and absolutely get rid of their old one for the 2021 if they had a choice. What they didn’t get rid of is the theme of the worse part of relationships - “Release Me” is about probably wanting to be let go of and released rather than kept by the side when it’s probably not working out. “The Wrong Place” is one of those episodes that probably happened during then - they had a house conflict, she chose to have a smoke to forget about it, the man’s after her Johnny Cash T-Shirt. Not much else to say about the song’s technicality fortunately than I’ve already said so much about the band, so how does it fare in the Hoover-lore, for me?

REVIEW

See, I would like to root for Luka ever having her chance to get to experience Eurovision if she wishes, but maybe it’s lowkey for her own benefit she wasn’t the chosen vocalist for the song, as Geike could do “Release Me”, but Luka wouldn’t be able to do “The Wrong Place”.

“The Wrong Place” is well-suited to the first vocaliste’s melancholic blend-in timbre, and a singer like Luka would sound a little too light on this with her soft-spoken sound of her voice. Besides, I don’t think she could be old enough to relate to the lyrical subject’s domestic struggle issue. Not to say 20 year olds don’t smoke and drink, it’s just that “The Wrong Place” feels a little bit too much mature enough.

Although I think that both of them could absolutely rock the music video visuals.

The song itself is very Hooverphonic. They used to do this kind of standout triphoppy sound back in the days, but as of lately they kind of grew out of the label to do more of the music that kinda sounds like movie soundtrack music. Idek the exact label I could give it to their music so move soundtrack music it is I guess. It has a decently paced structure (could’ve done without the overly repetitive ending where they repeat “you’re in the wrong place” over and over, like ffs I know where I am!!), and interesting lyrical choices. Such as “organic cup of... tea”, as in, WOW! HOOVERPHONIC HAS ENOUGH WITH THE TEABAGS FULL OF GROUND AND GRINDED TEA! THEY WILL ONLY MAKE TEA FROM PURE HERBS AND FLOWERS, AS IT WAS USED TO BE DONE! and acting like her Johnny Cash T-Shirt is the kind of prized possession her man is not allowed to wear to rub it in her face. Imagine if it was something more mundane. “Don’t you ever dare to wear my... pink polka-dot T-shirt”? Damn right it doesn’t seem to suit the mood lol.

It’s not what I exactly wanted from Hooverphonic, but probably what I subconsciously needed from them anyway, ever since they were announced for 2020. I only got into “Release Me” sometime AFTER the contest, “The Wrong Place” is a bit more instant to stand behind. So well done to them to commit to their craft.

Approval factor: I guess I do have to stamp this with my stamp of approval. It’s nice and all. Follow-up factor: “The Wrong Place” follows up as a more of a Hooverphonic discography track after the fairly average and overlookable “Release Me” (eventhough the latter has the tinge of theirs as well because it’s a more symphonic ballad, and they do have symphonic stuff on their discog afterall). As a Eurovision entry, it comes across as even better somewhat, and even slightly more standout, but that might not necessarily work in their favour. Qualification factor: And that’s because they’re absolutely stranded in the semi with too many qualification choices to name. Belgium gets to be a bit quasi-obvious, but they’ve failed with a Hooverphonic-penned song before, plus, the pop girlies of this semi are more likely to eat out a band like this alive, but I wouldn’t exactly say Belgium is doomed to fail either, because I am positive Hooverphonic will think of something. I’m just saying that shocking things can happen every now and then.

INTERNAL CORNER

Well, considering Alex Callier is not running his mouth this time as much as he did so last year’s season, I think it’s safe to say that Hooverphonic have had nothing to write home about.

No, wait...

Well I did mention that Luka got replaced as one of the events that happened to Hooverphonic’s lifetime, but thank God that Alex promised her a solo career, right? Right?

Well, apparently, we’re getting towards it.

And the first lyrics of her first solo forray post-Hooverphonic-vocalist-duties features the lyrics about possibly her making someone “regret it”. Lol now watch this song to be a karma kick into Hooverphonic’s ass if Belgium happens to not qualify this year. Luka forewarned y’all with sharp precision.

Annnnnd that’s pretty much it, besides the band jumping on the trend of turning their entries into a Festivali i Këngës 59 acoustic night European version by presenting their own acoustic version of this track. I did not have the kind of courage to link to the Azerbaijan’s “slow version” on their review in fear of overruning my post even longer than they would usually be for these reviews, but at least it moves people to a certain degree

Well, my question of the days is, does “The Wrong Place” in acoustic make you sad twerk?

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ANY LAST WORDS?

Belgium’s big weakness is when it comes to stage their entries, notably for the last two years where the Eurovision actually happened. Sennek was awkwardly put in the middle and succumbed to the curse of Lucie Jones of grimmacing too much and therefore ruining her score in the process, possibly. Eliot was just simply upstaged by the decision to include big drums on stage. Alex Callier acknowledges all that sort of thing, so if anything goes absolutely right and Hooverphonic manage to make it to Rotterdam (which I think they can do because Belgium and Netherlands are neighbours lol? unless their lockdown rules get super strict in May), he should get on to mending all the flaws that Belgium had in the past for staging, and have a spectacular vision. Because it’d be sadly hilariously ironic if Hoovers miss out on the final due to the staging again. Can’t just constantly blame the vocalist - Geike would be flawless live, if Hooverphonic trusted in her for so many years. Can’t blame the song - it’s not too bad. So staging, I guess.

Good luck Hooverphonic, you’ll certainly need it. Also can RTBF consider that they could send anything else from the Wallonian music scene other than The Voice Belgique acts~

#eurovision #eurovision 2021 #rotterdam 2021 reviews #belgium #hooverphonic #the wrong place

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duhragonball · 3 years

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BEGIN: Battle Tendency Liveblog. JJBA Ch. 45-47

🇺🇸🗽🧗‍♂️🧼🪀🌵Part 2, Hell Yeah!🌪️🎈🛩️🌋🚬

I'm pretty friggin' excited for Part 6 anime, and Part 6 is one of my faves, so one could understandably assume that Part 6 is my favorite. And I post a lot of other JoJo stuff on this blog, so it's probably not obvious, but Part 2 is the best.

I got into JoJo in 2017, watching Parts 1-4 in anime version, then reading the scanlations of Parts 5-8 while I waited for the anime to catch up. Then I re-liveblogged the Part 5 manga because there was finally a proper translation available. And technically the Part 8 liveblog never ended, since the manga is still ongoing.

As I developed an appreciation for the manga, I started to feel like I should go back and check out the comic versions of Parts 1 through 4. Where better to start than my personal favorite? But I never got around to it, until now.

There's a few things I want to explore with Part 2. First, I want to go through and work out why exactly I like it so much. It's kind of tough to articulate, but usually I just say that it's fast-paced and something's always happening. Part 1 takes a while to get going, and Parts 3-8 rely on the Stand concept, which means that each of them occasionally fall into the trap of becoming formulaic. Part 2 doesn't have the hassle of introducing all the lore, and it doesn't have the luxury of just doing a gauntlet of Stand Battles to pad out the story. But I think there's more to it than that. Battle Tendency has a charm all it's own, and that's what I want to talk about.

Second, now that I've become familiar with Parts 1-7 (and most of 8), I want to go back and see how 2 holds up as part of this mythos. BT sort of gets overlooked, I think, and that's fair, since it doesn't involve Dio, Stands, or the more outlandish costumes of the later installments. A lot of fans write off Parts 1 and 2 for being "boring", but at least Phantom Blood carries the prestige of starting it all, and providing the origin of Dio. Something I think a lot about is whether or not Part 2 "connects" with the later entries in the JoJo series. It forms a trilogy with 1 and 3, and Part 4 features Joseph's legacy in an important way, but what about the later ones? Parts 5 through 8 owe a huge debt to Stardust Crusaders for introducing Stands, and to Phantom Blood for introducing JoJo's, but what does Part 2 give them, if anything?

Third, I'm interested in seeing how BT holds up in isolation. It's a direct sequel to Part 1, and it ends with a prelude to Part 3, so it's clearly designed to function as part of a larger saga. But Parts 4 and 5 really don't operate that way, and that got me thinking that maybe Part 2 is more self-contained than I give it credit for.

But enough about that, let's get this started.

There's two plot threads in these opening chapters. One reintroduces Robert E. O. Speedwagon, now a 70 year old oil tycoon, and Straizo, who has succeeded the late Tonpetti as the Ripple Master. Speedwagon has been using his oil fortune to fund a research organization called the Speedwagon Foundation, and it discovered something major during an archaeological expedition: an engraving of the stone mask, the same one Dio used to turn himself into a vampire 50 years earlier. Note that the mummified corpse lying on the slab with the engraving has vampire fangs. Whoever this guy is, he didn't just know about the masks, he used one personally.

It might get revealed later in the comics, but I'm pretty sure the anime version had Speedwagon explain that he primary purpose of his foundation was to learn more about phenomena like the Stone Mask, which is probably why they were digging up an Aztec temple in Mexico to begin with. As I recall, the Stone Mask was discovered in that part of the world, and taken back to Europe, where it eventually came into the possession of the Joestar family. Speedwagon would know this tale, and so if he wanted to find out more about the mask, he would have known where to start. Fifty years later, he seems to have hit paydirt.

But the mask engraving isn't why he called Straizo all the way in from Tibet. Deeper in the temple, there's a weird looking area that looks like something from out of an H.R. Giger painting. In the center stands this column, or pillar, if you will, and mounted on the pillar is...

...This guy, surrounded by more stone masks. When I first watched this part of the anime, I though the big reveal here was that there were lots and lots of Stone Masks, which would be a big problem, since Part 1 made a big deal out of destroying the one Stone Mask that started all the trouble. And maybe the guy in the pillar was the one who invented the things, I thought, but the bigger problem is that he made so many of them. But no, Speedwagon explains that the "Pillar Man" is not an image carved into the stone, but a living being, in some form of suspended animation. He even has a pulse.

So who is this guy and why did he create the Stone Masks? Speedwagon does not care. He only wants this Pillar Man destroyed before he wakes up, and that's the sole reason he called in Straizo. The two of them were the only survivors of the battle with Dio 50 years ago, and Straizo's Hamon power, also known as the Ripple, can destroy vampires that were created by the Stone Mask. So he's desperately hoping Straizo can finish off the Pillar Man the same way. But Straizo doesn't seem as concerned about it, and he asks about Joseph Joestar instead. So I guess I ought to circle back to the other plotline...

Fifty years after Jonathan Joestar sacrificed himself to defeat Dio Brando, his wife Erina and his grandson Joseph have moved to New York City. Joseph tries to buy a Coke, but this kid swipes his wallet. Kind of funny how Joesph's first and last appearances in JJBA are him getting robbed.

But the kid runs afoul of the local corrupt cops, who bludgeon him with their batons and threaten to put him in jail for 20 years unless he agrees to give them a cut of whatever money he makes from pickpocketing. When Joseph catches up to this scene, the cop even says he's going to keep Joseph's wallet "as evidence". I gotta say, not everything from Battle Tendency has aged well, but this police brutality stuff has become incredibly relevant. This could be 2021, except the cop would have had a gun, and he would have shot Smokey, then Joseph because he mistook the Coke bottle for a rocket launcher.

Joseph tries to defuse the situation by claiming he gave the wallet to the kid as a gift, but the cop doesn't believe that story, and he wouldn't care even if he did. He even smears boogers in Joseph's face just to prove that he can say and do whatever he pleases. Up to this point, Joseph looks and seems a lot like Jonathan. Later artwork tries to downplay that resemblance, probably just so it's easier to tell them apart. The anime gave Joseph different color hair, and Hirohiko Araki himself started drawing young Joseph with aviator goggles all the time, even though he doesn't wear them that much in this story. But starting out, the idea was that Joseph is the spitting image of his grandfather, and it almost looks like this is just an clever way to sneak Jonathan back into the story and transport him forward in time, except....

Coming through, coming through, coming through now

Coming through, coming through, coming through

Shake it like it's heat, Overdrive!

Yeah, so Joseph can do Hamon/Ripple tricks just like his grandfather, and all the others guys who could use Hamon back in Part 1. The difference is that when Joseph does it, it looks coooooool. After breaking Officer Hulk Hogan’s trigger finger, Joseph takes a big swig of soda, because it’s awesome.

To Smokey’s surprise, Joseph did all that badass stuff a second ago, but he’s terrified about his grandmother scolding him for it. So Joseph wants to run for it, and that suits Smokey, so they rush off together, beginning a long tradition of JoJo’s running from things. Enemies, consequences, you name it.

Smokey asks Joseph how he learned how to do that trick with the coke bottle, and he says he has no idea, he’s just always been able to do it. He knows his grandfather had the same power, but he’s dead, and so are his mother and father. Curiously, Joseph’s father did not have Hamon powers, so it seems to have skipped a generation.

And that sets up the other side of the plot. Speedwagon wants Straizo to destroy the Pillar Man immediately, but Straizo first asks about Joseph. He had heard some time ago that Joseph had innate Hamon abilities, and he had used them once to rescue Speedwagon from a kidnapping attempt in midair. A flashback shows us this moment, with guys threatening to ransom and kill Speedwagon, but Joseph is just chilling in the back with a Superman comic.

Okay, time out. This panel rules and all, but the Superman comic book didn’t start until 1939, a year after Battle Tendency begins. Superman was featured in the 1938 magazine Action Comics, but this scene on the plane is a flashback to Joseph from his early teens. Also, the earliest DC bullet logo didn’t appear until 1940, so what is this? Some kind of magic, time travelling comic book? I hope someone got fired for this blunder!

Anyway, Joseph was content to ignore the hijackers until one of them struck him, and even that wouldn’t have upset him except he got his own blood on his clothes, which Erina bought him, so that sends him into a rage. Speedwagon was worried that Joseph might clobber the hijackers, but instead he knocks out the pilot, then drags him and Speedwagon out of the plane before it crashes. The main thrust of that story was that Speedwagon was more worried about what Joseph might do than the hijackers who had already threatened to murder him. Joseph is slow to anger, but once you piss him off he’s going to go to war, and he doesn’t always think things through.

But he’s never been trained to use his powers like Straizo’s order. Upon hearing this, Straizo kills his own disciples, and all of the Speedwagon Foundation guys, then knocks Speedwagon himself out. This will anger Joseph when he hears about it, but Straizo is counting on this. As he explains, Hamon power can slow his aging process down considerably. He and Speedwagon are both about 70 here, but he looks much younger. Even so, he’s feeling his age, and he confesses that he always admired Dio for his immortality and power. So now that there’s Stone Masks available, he’s decided to use one on himself, become a vampire, and become “a being that surpasses all”.

And that’s a theme that runs through all of Battle Tendency, along with the rest of the JoJo franchise. The main villains always seek power to position themselves above the rest of humanity. At first, it seems kind of random for one of the men who opposed Dio to suddenly switch allegiences like this, but in truth, it’s human nature to be tempted by this kind of power. Dio succumbed to the lure of the Mask, and now we find that Straizo would have done the same. He just didn’t have the opportunity until now.

But the reason he’s concerned about Joseph is that he’s thinking this through. Dio was defeated after all, so Straizo wants to eliminate anyone who could potentially defeat him. Aside from himself and Speedwagon, the only others who know about the battle with Dio and the Stone Mask are Erina and Joseph. Once he eliminates them, he’ll be free to do as he pleases.

Back to New York, this is a pretty sweet drawing of a car. I’m not a car guy, but even I can get behind this. By now, Smokey has met Erina Joestar, and he finds out some of the backstory from Part 1. Erina’s husband died at sea, and she was pregnant with their son, Joseph’s father, and had a baby girl whom she rescued from the same incident at sea. The two children grew up, married, had Joseph, and died, the father in World War I, and the mother of some unspecified illness. Perhaps out of loneliness, Erina is “unflinchingly kind” even to someone like Smokey Brown, who doesn’t seem to think he’s worthy of her favor.

Anyway, Erina wants to take Smokey out to dinner at this nice Italian restaurant, but this racist mafia guy makes a big stink about a Black person being allowed to eat there. Joseph gets up to kick his ass, but first he has to check with Erina to make sure it’s okay, and she’s like “Yeah, destroy that guy,” because even though she doesn’t approve of Joseph beating up people, she can’t abide disrespect to her friends. This leads to the memorable fight scene where Joseph is like eight steps ahead of his opponent. He goes for his brass knuckles, but can’t find them, and Joseph deduces where they are because of some bloodstains on his shirt. He even suggests what this guy is about to say next because he’s so predictable.

Then he dodges every blow, moving so quickly that this jerk thinks he was hitting Joseph, when in fact he was punching a hat rack behind Joseph, and somehow he didn’t notice that he impaled his hand on broken wood until Joseph explained it to him. And honestly, this feels like the prototype for a lot of Stand Battles down the line. I’ll have more to say on that later.

What puts Battle Tendency over the top is how Joseph not only outwits this big lummox, but the rest of the diners at this restaurant all start applauding him for doing it. They’re just honored to be present in this insane comic book where literally anything can happen. “He made that asshole punch a hat rack! This is awesome!”

Then this dude suddenly speaks up. He’s not only the mafia guy in charge of the first guy, but he’s also heard a hot tip about Speedwagon getting murdered in Mexico by a Tibetan man. He knew Erina would be interested in hearing this, but he’d never met her before. Small world, huh?

How would this guy already know about it, though? I guess Straizo deliberately leaked the story, specifically so Joseph would find out about it sooner, but it seems awfully convenient. But that’s how Battle Tendency rolls. This thing’s only seven volumes long, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover...

#jojo's bizarre adventure #battle tendency #joseph joestar #smokey brown #erina joestar #robert e o speedwagon #straizo #santana

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hajimewhore · 3 years

Text

Falling ⛈️ (Matsukawa Issei/Reader)

on [Ao3]

➸Rated T, fem!Reader, 7k+words ➷Part 1 of the Haikyuu Song Fic Collection ➷Angst, depression, fluff, humor, Makki is bestest friend ➷When you met Matsukawa for the first time, you were immediately drawn to him. He’s tall, handsome, has a mysterious air to him. The more you got to know him, the more you saw firsthand how caring, loving, and passionate he could be.

After getting to know him longer, you also began to see how self-deprecating and hard on himself he could be.

[Masterlist] [part 2]

A/N: This is the first part of a two part Matsukawa/Reader piece! It’s also my second fic here, and the first entry to the song fic collection I’ll be doing. Per the title, it’s based on Harry Styles, Falling, ENJOY! ♡

Hanamaki Takahiro, previously ‘between jobs’, was a classmate of yours that recently started working at the restaurant you served at. It was upon your recommendation, something you might’ve come to regret given how much of a smug bastard he could be. Regardless, you enjoyed his company, and morale was boosted whenever he worked.

Currently, you find yourself taking back that sentiment.

The entirety of your Saturday night shift was spent with Hanamaki hovering around you, attempting to convince you to come out to drink with some of his friends and other coworkers.

And by the time you clocked out to get the hell home, Hanamaki was perched at the break table outside ready to pester you some more.

“Hanamaki, can I at least go home and change first?”

You whine, folding your apron and tucking it under your arm.

“No way, that’s the classic ‘I’m just going home to change but I’m actually going to stay in and “forget” to text you’ move, I’m not buying it.”

He loosens his tie with a knowing look, and you grimace at how easily he caught on to your plan. You make sure to chalk ‘perceptive’ before ‘smug bastard’ in your mental description of Hanamaki.

“Besides, there’s a perfectly fine sweater in your backseat and I know you’ve got an extra set of shoes somewhere in there.”

You trudge to said car, regretting giving him a ride to work the other day. You swing open the door with a little more drama than intended, before tossing your apron carelessly to the passenger side.

“I’ll make it up to you, how about next week?”

“Don’t be like that. It’s the weekend, enjoy it before Monday is here.”

He leans back against his car parked besides yours and you sigh. You just finished exams, so you don’t have any material to study. And you haven’t spent much time with your coworkers outside of work. One or two drinks wouldn’t hurt.

And judging by the way Hanamaki is looking at you expectantly, he already knows you don’t have a shift tomorrow or any plans.

“Fine!”

You huff, taking a seat behind the wheel. Hanamaki tilts his head in your line of view to flash a bright smile,

“Great, see you there!”

Perceptive smug bastard.

Downtown is lively tonight, you note, but luckily you were able to snag a good spot close to the bar. Hanamaki should be grateful you didn’t have to circle around for spaces or park by some seedy alley or lot. You might’ve just ditched him if it came to that.

Then again, you’d never hear the end of it if you did.

When you check your phone, you scowl at the texts in your work group chat.

Kazami- Can’t make it, I got a shift in the morning! Hashira- me either :( Hanamaki- laaaaame Iwasaki- sorry man, next week?

“Those flakes!”

You lock your phone without replying. You can’t exactly blame them, you heavily considered bailing too. Hanamaki just happened to be enough of a persistent, perceptive, smug bastard. You note the addition of ‘persistent’ to the growing list of adjectives that describe Hanamaki.

You trudge along the street, dreading the intense socializing you’re about to go through. Since the aforementioned flakey coworkers won’t be there, Hanamaki is the only person you’re going to know.

He’d mentioned some of his friends from high school were meeting up, and that he hadn’t seen some of them in awhile. If you had one, you’d bet your left nut that Hanamaki was going to forget to talk to you and give them all his attention.

You steel your resolve as you step into the bar, scanning for that obnoxious strawberry blonde. Is he not here yet?

You shoulder past some strangers, stealing a seat at the bar. You might as well grab something if you have to wait on him.

“Baybreeze please,”

You smile at the bartender, who nods and promptly snags the liquor off the glowing shelves. You watch, momentarily mesmerized by the shifting colors illuminating the liquor and sleek countertops.

He places the cocktail onto a beer napkin, and you hand him your card to close the order.

Where the fuck is Hanamaki?

You pull out your phone to check for any texts, sipping at the drink.

Your brows furrow, nothing from him. You shoot him a text asking if he made it yet, and he’s quick to respond that he’s looking for parking.

You scowl, the night hasn’t technically started if he’s not here yet, and the dread you were feeling before doubles.

“Here you are, miss.”

When the bartender hands your card back you note there isn’t any receipt.

He shrugs at the questioning look you give him,

“Guy over there covered it.”

He tilts his head and you follow his eyes to the other end of the counter.

You blink when you catch the gaze of the culprit.

He’s tall with dark hair, his curls are perfectly styled tapering to the right side of his face, dark eyes to match. He’s illuminated by the neon colors adorning the bar, highlighting his sharp jawline. You feel a bit nervous under that sharp gaze, and a little lightheaded at the smile he flashes. Did you mention he was really tall?

You flush when he rounds the bar and makes his way towards you.

“Hey.”

A simple introduction, his voice is deep and it sends a shiver down your spine. He cops the empty seat beside you and you find yourself straightening your posture.

“Hey. You didn’t have to buy my drink, you know.”

You take a sip from the cocktail to busy your hands with something.

“I needed a good icebreaker.”

He shrugs, taking a swig from his own beer.

“I think ‘Hey’ is just fine.”

You tease and he laughs lightly at that, and the sound of it alone makes you blush. Hopefully you can blame it on the alcohol.

“Meeting someone?”

He raises a thick brow, and you can tell he’s testing the waters with you.

“Ah, yeah. My friend is on his way right now.”

Though if Hanamaki is inevitably going to ditch you for his other friends, you might as well see where this road is taking you.

You note the contemplative flash on his face and you feel the intense need to clarify,

“Just a friend. He’s my coworker.”

You don’t miss the way his eyes shine at that, and you can’t help but feel a little excited by the way he’s so interested in you already.

“Noted.”

“So—“

You pause, realizing you don’t even know how to refer to tall, dark, and handsome,

“Sorry, I don’t even know your name,”

You introduce yourself and a grin spreads across his cheeks, laughing again. He places an elbow on the counter and rests his chin against his palm, and you once again note how attractive he looks with the shifting colors of the bar highlighting his features like a silver lining on a cloud.

“No, that’s my fault. I should’ve probably started with that. I’m—“

“MATSUKAWA!”

His eyes widen briefly before lifting his head from his palm to see whoever yelled that at the top of their lungs.

You follow the familiar voice to the best of your ability through the cacophony of voices and music, to see none other than your favorite bastard coworker, Hanamaki.

He quickly makes his way before you, slinging his arm around presumably ‘Matsukawa’. He also makes great work of physically and mentally cutting off the momentum that was building between the two of you.

....don’t get the wrong idea though, you are still very, very, interested in who this guy is exactly.

“Hanamaki!”

You both voice at the same time, and the two of you share an equally confused look.

“I see you’ve already met my friend,”

Hanamaki comments so very astutely, and you’re not quite sure which person he’s referring to. He raises a brow at the fact the two of you are sitting together, mid conversation before he barreled in.

At this current moment you’d like nothing more than to swipe that shameless and knowing look of his face.

“This is Matsukawa Issei. He’s one of the friends I told you was coming tonight.”

Hanamaki continues, he pats his shoulder roughly and Matsukawa slaps him on the back to return the gesture.

“Nice to meet you, Matsukawa.”

You smile, and he glances over with those dark eyes you’d love to get lost in if Hanamaki wasn’t here to ruin your fun.

“Likewise.”

A similar shy smile crosses his lips, and it almost looks out of place on his striking features.

“Did Makki seriously just butt himself into Mattsun trying to pick up a girl?”

A different voice jumps in, and it’s attached to a tall brunette with a handsome face.

“Asshole, don’t talk about people when they’re right there!”

Another guy enters the commotion, and to your astonishment he doesn’t hesitate to wack the guy in his gut.

“Ow, Iwa-chan, you brute! Mattsun deserves it for ditching us like that anyways.”

The brunette brushes back a perfect coif in his hair before nursing the wound in his side.

Matsukawa’s cheeks redden, and you can tell it’s not because of the red light the bar lights transitioned to.

“Mattsun, huh?”

You cover the soft laugh that escapes your lips and his lips turn down. Is he pouting?

“Aww, gang is all here now!”

Hanamaki grins, introducing you to ‘Oikawa Tooru’ and ‘Iwaizumi Hajime’.

You’re sneaking glances at Matsukawa, and you can tell he feels grateful the attention of his friends are off of him now.

The five of you make your way to a booth, letting the guys catch up for a bit. Oikawa just flew in from Argentina, Iwaizumi has a break from school in California. Matsukawa actually attends the same college you and Hanamaki attend, to your surprise. The campus is relatively small, and you’re left wondering how you never spotted the tall, attractive man, even in passing.

Initially, you’d felt like the night was going to be a drag, not wanting to get left out of Hanamaki’s circle of friends.

....but at the time, you didn’t know the handsome guy at the bar that paid for your drink was one of them.

You find yourself easily wrapped up in conversation with them, losing track of time, and practically in stitches laughing through their banter.

You’ll apologize to Hanamaki later for making such a fuss. You make it a mental note after wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of your eye.

“Hanamaki surprisingly gets a lot of numbers written on napkins, actually.”

You recount to Matsukawa, who at some point started a conversation with you that broke away from the group’s antics. The other three are still chattering away across the booth, but they’re paying no mind to your end.

Oikawa shouts something unintelligible at Iwaizumi, causing Hanamaki to practically bust a gut.

Matsukawa slides closer to you, and you’re knees brush against each other. The close proximity allows you to converse with a little more ease over the deafening noises surrounding the bar, but it doesn’t help your rapidly increasing heart rate.

“‘Surprisingly’? What, Hanamaki not your type?”

He tilts his head, and you’re able to catch all the little features of his face you weren’t able to at the distance you had before. Beauty marks, imperfections, childhood scars you’d love to question at a later date, but it all comes together to make the man before you seem that much more appealing.

“Mmm, no. I like someone taller. He’s good looking, but I’m not too into the strawberry blond. I like dark hair.”

Realistically, you’re not that nit picky about what features you like in a guy, but you couldn’t resist the opportunity. And the way Matsukawa lights up just fraction, with that self assured expression, makes you bite back a blushing laugh.

“I’m not that much taller than him, you know.”

He responds with confidence, and you narrow your eyes ready to tease him.

“What makes you think I was talking about you?”

You reach over to poke his chest, no longer able to resist touching him. Your hands had been fidgeting at your sides, toying with your sweater sleeves and brushing your hair the entire night. The touch wasn’t even anything special, a fingertip to the fabric of his loose tee wasn’t anything to brag to your friends about, but it sent a wave of excitement through you nonetheless.

“My bad, how presumptuous of me. Forgive me for being so rude.”

He laughs at the set up that played out perfectly for you, resting a hand to your shoulder in his exaggerated apology.

His gesture definitely covered a bigger surface area than yours had, and the contact a little less brief. For some reason, you feel a spike of competitiveness surge in you.

You rest your palm on his knee, using it as leverage to shift closer to him on the booth.

His gaze flicks to your hand briefly, to your thighs that gently press next to his, and he deftly accommodates your intrusion of his space by resting his arm around the back of the seat.

“I’ll forgive you if you tell me what type of girl you’re into. It’s only fair, you know!”

You flash your most innocent smile, eyes catching his when they shift back to you.

“My type hm? Well currently, I think I’m—“

“Mattsuuuun,”

Oikawa takes that exact opportunity to sling his arm around Matsukawa, and his brow ticks at the second interrupted moment of the night.

“Oikawaaaa,”

He mockingly whines back, peeling his friend’s arm off his shoulder. You momentarily feel disappointed for the loss of attention from Matsukawa, but soon find yourself laughing at the display before you.

“Mattsun, ‘m so drunk. Can we please head back? Before I throw up? I might just throw up if we don’t. And it’s gonna be all over your lap. You don’t want that right?”

Thinking back, Oikawa did mention he was crashing at Matsukawa’s place before heading back to Argentina.

“If you throw up in here I’m beating your ass, you hear that Shitty Oikawa? Drunkawa? Learn your limits!”

Iwaizumi scolds with a scowl you’re beginning to think is always present on his face, but he hoists Oikawa’s arm around his shoulder for him to lean on anyways.

“Alright, alright. You don’t have to manipulate me in to taking you home.”

Matsukawa sighs, before tapping your thigh apologetically to slide out of the booth.

“Should’ve made him stay with Hanamaki.”

He mutters under his breath, but you’re able to catch it over the music somehow.

“Good seeing you Hanamaki,”

Matsukawa turns to Hanamaki, throwing a peace sign.

“Don’t give me that, we’re in the same town but I hardly see you! Hang out more often, okay?”

Hanamaki huffs, before pulling him to a brief hug.

“I’ll definitely try.”

He glances back to you, and you’re dying to know what he’s thinking while he’s giving you that smirk.

“Come on big guy,”

Matsukawa aids Iwaizumi in dragging Oikawa out of the booth, wrapping an arm around his side.

“It was nice meeting you.”

He turns to face you with an exasperated look, and you wonder in that moment why you two hadn’t exchanged numbers yet.

Now would definitely be the most inopportune time, considering his hands are full with.... well, Oikawa.

You bite your lip, could you just ask him for it and you could just enter it in your contacts?

No, that’s much worse. Not in front of his friends, especially Hanamaki, and it’ll definitely make you sound desperate.

“You too. I had fun tonight. Get that one home safe, okay?”

You force out a laugh, and he nods at your instructions before saying his goodbyes to drag Oikawa back with Iwaizumi.

You collapse back onto the booth, pressing your hands to your burning face.

Augh, you should’ve asked for his number sooner!

When you pull your hands back, you squawk at the sight of Hanamaki with that shit eating look before you.

“Shut up!”

You blush, this time you might actually smack the look off his face.

“I didn’t say anything!”

He snickers, and you give him an angry stare, but it’s definitely coming across as a red faced pout.

“You didn’t have to. It’s all over your face.”

It’s indeed all over his face. He’s doing a poor job of hiding that smirk, he’s got one eyebrow raised, arms crossed, and that patented, all knowing Hanamaki look in his eyes.

“...I’m just sayin’, the sexual tension between you two was astronomical.”

“Aaaaahhhh! Shut up, shut up!”

You jump from your seat, very animatedly waving your arms frantically in an attempt to physically blast his words out of existence. You can’t believe he just said that. Hanamaki laughs heartily, and your blush reaches maximum red.

“If you want, I can give you his number? You kinda looked like you wanted to ask but—“

“Stop talking, please!”

He throws his hands up in defense, and you do your best to scowl under the embarrassment filling your entire being.

“I’m out, see you Monday. Makki.”

You stick your tongue out and he snorts,

“I heard enough of that during my high school career from Oikawa, please don’t make that a thing.”

You wave him off flippantly, making your way for the exit.

“Then I’ll be sure to tell all our coworkers about it.”

You can’t help but smirk when you hear the groan that escapes his lips,

“And get home safe, okay?”

“Yeah yeah, you too.”

He waves, heading to the bar to close his tab.

It’s been a week already, and you’re still thinking about Matsukawa.

You wonder if you should’ve taken up Hanamaki’s offer at the time for Matsukawa’s number. At the time, you’re certain he would’ve handed it over with only a minimal amount of teasing.

Minimal is still a lot for Hanamaki, but you think you could’ve handled it better back then.

And though you only had two drinks the entire night, you definitely could’ve played the ‘oops I guess I was a little tipsy’ card with him.

But now, the only thing keeping you from asking is the sheer embarrassment that’ll come with it.

‘You must really like him if you’re asking for his digits a whole week later!’, your inner thoughts do an excellent job of replicating Hanamaki’s smug voice.

You tie your apron on, shaking your head of the thoughts. You’ve got a long night ahead of you, and you don’t even really feel like working tonight. You only came in as a favor since Iwasaki had to call out. You’d much rather be at home studying.

By that, you mean procrastinating with video games and/or browsing through shows you won’t end up watching. And what a wonderful night in that would’ve been, you let out a melancholic sigh.

Despite your hopes of a slow night, this Saturday is as busy as the last.

“Hey, you got a one top at 22!”

Hanamaki’s voice calls from down the line, and you briefly wonder why he sounds so shit-eating, or if he’s just always sounded like that and you’re only just now noticing.

“Heard! Thanks, Makki.”

You stick your out tongue at him, and he rolls his eyes at the return of his high school nickname.

A one top is exactly what you needed. Normally, you’d be all for taking bigger tables, but since you weren’t even supposed to work tonight, you’re alright with taking it easy.

“Hey, welcome to—“

When you round the corner of the table, you lock eyes with Matsukawa.

“Hey.”

He gives a short wave, and you briefly panic, ditching the whole specials menu monologue that was readied in your brain.

“Hey.”

You’re proud you didn’t stutter, but it’s not much to pat yourself on the back for considering it was only one word, and ‘Hey’, no less.

“Someone told me you’d be happy for me to take up one of your tables for awhile, and I needed to get out of the house and study so....”

He gestures to his school bag and his laptop with a ‘here I am’.

“And who’s this ‘someone’?”

You glance to the section beside yours, catching Hanamaki’s gaze. He has the audacity to wink before turning to take a table’s order.

“Who else?”

Matsukawa smiles, and you find he looks just as attractive in the restaurant’s warm low light as he did in the neon lights of the bar.

“Well, I’m glad he did then. What can I get for you then, Mattsun?”

“I’ll grab a black coffee. And Matsukawa’s fine, please, only drunk bastards call me Mattsun.”

You laugh at the dig towards Oikawa,

“One black coffee then, Matsukawa. I’ll be right back.”

And black coffee seems so him. He’s probably one of those guys that advocates the natural taste of ground coffee beans, you snort to yourself as you warm the cold ceramic of the mug with hot water. You tend to lean towards more towards lattes and flavored specialty drinks, but you’re not complaining about his tastes. In fact, you’re eager to learn something new about him even if it’s just his coffee preference.

Well, he’ll have to deal with the shit no-name brand your restaurant settles for.

“You’re welcome!”

Hanamaki bursts in the kitchen, nearly dropping half the dirty plates precariously balanced on his arms. He’s obviously referring to the fact that he’s the one who tipped Matsukawa off about tonight.

“Use a tray next time! ...and thank you.”

You blush, shuffling out of the kitchen before Hanamaki can tease you.

Despite Matsukawa’s help camping at one of your tables, it’s still a busy night. So you find yourself flitting between tables and conversation with him.

You also find yourself too chicken to ask for his number, despite the perfect opportunity Hanamaki has orchestrated for you.

“Thanks for coming in again, Matsukawa. You didn’t have to do that.”

You smile nervously, watching him pack away his notebook.

“Not a problem, thank you for giving me a place to get some work done.”

He shoulders his bag, and you work up the courage to ask for his number before he goes.

The way he towers over you, looking so handsome with that cool expression makes you think twice though, and you find yourself far too intimidated to make the first move.

“Have a good night, don’t work yourself too hard.”

He waves, and you bite back the question that’s been weighing at your mind the past hour or so.

“You too!”

You spin around as soon as he’s out of sight, hands pressed to your face. How could you let that opportunity pass you by?!

Aughh!!

“Wow, Hanamaki isn’t the only one getting numbers on the napkins now, huh?”

One of your coworkers snickers, plucking said napkin off of a table.

You peer up to see her by... wait. That’s your table. That’s the table Matsukawa was sitting at. Holy shit.

“Holy shit!”

You run over, practically snatching the napkin out of her hand.

“He seemed kind of scary, but in a handsome kind of way. Lucky girl, nice!”

She pats you roughly on the back as a smile overtakes your features.

Matsukawa actually left his number for you.

You manage to rush to the back storage room to squeal out your joy, before you could startle any customers with your excitement.

Carefully, you tuck it into your book so not to lose it.

Thank you Hanamaki...!

You fell into a relationship with Matsukawa with ease, as if it were the most natural thing for you.

Late night texts turned into prolonged phone calls, which turned to hanging out in person, and those hangouts turned into dates. Eventually, you and Matsukawa found yourself in a comfortable relationship.

Matsukawa went from a stranger you met at a bar to your boyfriend of two years and roommate.

You’d finished your degree, and quit the job at the restaurant for a job at as a graphic designer.

Matsukawa ended up dropping school to help run his father’s funeral home business, eventually he’d take over entirely. It wasn’t exactly what he’d intended, considering he was studying sports medicine. In the end, a career is a career, and it’s honest work.

He’d been mildly upset at the prospect of it, but you’d convinced him it was admirable of him to help with the business, and you’d support him regardless.

“You’re too good to me.”

He kisses along your neck, and you giggle at the feather light touches tracing up to your jawline.

“What are you talking about? If anything, I could do more for you.”

You blush, preening at the attention. He shifts your weight onto his lap, and you wrap your arms around him to balance yourself.

“Exactly, you’re being so modest. Too good for a good-for-nothing like me.”

He seals your lips with a warm kiss before you can complain, and you let him get away with it.

“Hush, you’re perfectly perfect. Come on. Let’s grab coffee at the cafe.”

You stroke his cheek gently, before stealing an extra kiss from him. And two more for good measure.

Despite the plan you tried to initiate, you wind up tangled in the sheets. Lips meeting lips and skin, lingering longer with every new kiss.

He whines in complaint when you finally pull back to ready for your outing. You smile at the cute noise, though you can’t get the conversation from earlier out of your head. Pulling out a new set of clothes, you eye him carefully.

Matsukawa’s been awfully self deprecating lately. He’s always had a dry, witty humor, but the self deprecation has been leaning more towards critical than humorous these days.

You think maybe showering him with a more words of affirmation and affection will do him some good, especially some coffee from the his favorite cafe.

You grab his hand, threading his fingers with yours before walking hand in hand to the cafe near by.

“You know I love you right? So much.”

You swing your hand with his, peering up at him with all the feelings of love and care you can muster, and he returns your words with a soft smile.

“I know.”

He strokes the back of your hand with his thumb.

For a moment, you thought he might’ve been improving. But his mood is quick to drop at any given moment, dipping far more often than it rises.

The worry you felt initially don’t even compare to the concerns you have now.

You can tell he tried to brush it off to start, remembering an incident awhile back.

“Hey, Issei.”

You put away the leftovers from an awfully quiet dinner.

“Hmm?”

He doesn’t bother to glance up from his work book, overviewing a client’s paperwork.

“Are you alright?”

You can’t think of a better way to ask, so you settle for the vague question.

“Yeah, I’m great.”

You bite your cheek, at the comment. Nothing was particularly out of the ordinary today, you haven’t had a fight or anything, and as far as you could tell his work has been tiresome but relatively normal. You know for a fact he’s not ‘great’.

“You just seem... off, lately. Is something wrong?”

You press on the matter, you don’t want to keep prolonging it.

“I work with dead people and sad people all the time, sorry I’m not exactly feeling stoked.”

He sighs, closing his work book and you open your mouth to respond but nothing comes out.

“Issei,”

You warn after a beat of silence. You know it bothered him to start, but he’d grown accustomed to the field quickly and adapted well to handling clients experiencing grief. He’d even confided in you once it gave him fulfillment helping people overcome their heartache.

“What, is it depressing to be around me?”

There’s that self deprecation, rearing it’s head back in.

“What?”

You’re shocked he’d even imply it, you’ve never felt that way. You were a little disappointed he hadn’t been as affectionate as he used to, but you never held it against him. You’ve been worried about his mental health these days, but you never felt depressed to be in his company.

“You can say it. I won’t blame you.”

He runs a hand through his dark locks, exhaustion etched across his features.

“We talked about this Issei! I love you, and I support you. I’m not ashamed of what you do for a living, or who you are.”

You cry out, knowing full well what he’s getting at. In the past, he’s commented on such things in passing. That he’s a guy with a scary face, and someone as sweet and cheery as you looks out of place with him. That your boyfriend is a funeral worker, and it must be so awkward for you to deal with.

The comments had always been nonchalant, and you were sure to shut them down, but you can see now it’s always been at the back of his mind.

“I know, I know. I just keep thinking you’d be happier with someone else.”

He mutters, eyes shifting away from your hard stare.

You sigh softly, closing the distance between you two and wrapping your arms around him. For once, you’re taller than him due to his seated position. You press your nose to his hair, and he tucks his face into the junction between your neck and shoulder.

“If I cared about petty things like that, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Issei, I love you.”

You’re sure to repeat it again, and you’ll do it as many times as you need to,

“I love you, I love you.”

You press your lips to his head, holding him tight. You feel his hands trail up your sides to lie tightly around your waist.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

His face stays pressed to your shoulder, and you rub his back comfortingly.

“Don’t, it’s okay. I love you.”

You won’t even hold it against him if he can’t say it back.

And you wished that was a sign for better, but it was a steady decline from there.

You never ended up talking about the incident, and he always brushed off your concerns, quick to change the topic. You held your tongue most days, not wanting to put any pressure on him.

But you just wanted to understand what he was going through. You wanted to help him, support him, like you said you’d always do.

“Can we talk?”

You know it’s a phrase anyone in a relationship dreads hearing, but it’s the most straightforward way to convey how serious you are on the matter.

“...”

He doesn’t give a response, but he takes a seat at the edge of the bed to give you his attention.

“If you aren’t happy, I want you to be honest with me.”

Matsukawa narrows his eyes, a wash of anxiety overtaking him. His hands fidget, shaking as they clutch at his knees. Was this your way of trying to tell him that you were unhappy with your relationship?

“I’m not happy. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

When the words reach your ears, you bite your lip. Hesitating briefly, you stride towards the bed to sit beside him. You rest your palm overtop his shaking hand, nervously running your thumb along the edge of his knuckles.

“Of course I don’t want to hear that. But I’m glad you’re being honest, I just want to know why you’re hurting.”

“I don’t think this relationship is working out.”

That was the last thing you expected to hear. Your whole body freezes and your eyes widen, unsure how to respond. It feels like someone’s dumped a bucket of ice down your back, and your lucky your sitting or your legs would’ve given out then and there.

“It’s not what it used to be.”

“I-Issei, come on. I know you don’t mean that—“

“We should end things.”

“Why?”

You don’t know the cause for all this turmoil. Your relationship had been fine, almost perfect. Hanamaki had made jokes about the two of you getting married even. You always smacked him for teasing you, but each time you hoped that would be the outcome of your relationship with Matsukawa.

You saw the signs of depression appearing day by day in Matsukawa, but you didn’t think confronting it would lead to this. We’re you wrong? Had you misinterpreted everything completely? Was he bored of this? We’re you really just that bad of a girlfriend?

The intrusive thoughts start to snowball out of control, and you look up to him with watery eyes for a sign of a joke. A tell that he doesn’t mean it. But his face is neutral, and the only thing you can see is him contemplating his next words.

“I cheated on you.”

The tears drip down your cheeks without your permission, and you pull your shaking hand from his to wipe them away.

You think about how he’d always be the one to do it for you, but you quickly dismiss the thought before you have more reasons to cry.

“You’re lying.”

He has to be. He’s not that person. He wouldn’t have the time, he wouldn’t have the lack of care, the lack of composure, he loves you—

“I’m not.”

He shuts you down immediately.

“Then how come I don’t believe you?”

“You’re in denial, it’s the truth. I’m sorry. It was when me and Hanamaki went out for drinks last month. He left early, I stuck around. I met someone. I drank too much, I wasn’t happy with our relationship, I couldn’t help it.”

That night he’d stayed the night at Hanamaki’s, he’d told you himself. Hanamaki had made jokes about it on one occasion. Was that a cover up? Is that the real reason Matsukawa has barely touched you in the past month or so? You can’t believe it. You refuse to. Matsukawa wouldn’t do that to you.

His eyes are trained on yours, but there’s no emotion behind them.

“What ever self destructing thing you’re trying to pull, knock it off.”

“I’m being serious, stop looking for excuses!”

He’s raising his voice now, and you’re practically shaking at this point.

“I’m not! I know you, and you wouldn’t do that! You’re always looking for ways to put yourself down. You need to stop trying to destroy everything good for yourself because you don’t think you deserve it!”

You wish you could’ve told him calmly, gently, like he deserved, but you’re so infuriated and confused you can’t control the way the words spill out in anger.

He clicks his tongue, averting his dark eyes from your heavy stare.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought, I fucked up, it happened.”

“But why?”

You can’t believe you’re even entertaining the blatant lie, but the more he affirms it the more you feel your confidence slipping away.

“Because I don’t love you anymore!”

His own words rattle in his brain, stinging and heavy in his chest. He knows he doesn’t deserve to feel that pain when he’s the one intentionally hurting you.

‘I lied, I’m sorry, I love you’

He wants to take it back immediately, but he forces down the words, keeps his face stern. Why is he doing this?

Your eyes well up with more tears, and his hands ache and itch to reach up and brush them away, tell you that you were right. Caress your face and kiss you softly. That he’s just fucked up, that he just wants the best for you.

You deserved better than him, and this was the only way he knew how to make you leave him.

The tears spill down your cheeks, dripping from your chin and onto your knees. You tell him to quit the act already, and he presses his forehead against yours and screws his eyes shut. It takes everything he has to maintain it.

“I’m sorry.”

He stands, and his heart aches more when you try to pull him back in.

“Issei...”

Your voice is rough, almost a whisper and he clenches his jaw and forces himself to look away.

“I’m gonna crash at Hanamaki’s. I’ll get my things in the morning.”

Before you can say anything else, he’s closing the bedroom door and grabbing his keys.

He quickly toes on a pair of slides and shuffles out the door, but not before he hears the broken sobs coming from the bedroom you shared.

He grits his teeth, biting back the tears.

He almost expected you to chase him out and grab him by the hand, hug his back, anything, something.

But why would you? He’s such a piece of shit for even thinking that, not after how he lied, the hurtful things he said.

For Matsukawa, this only proves he was right to think he wasn’t good for you.

He waits til he’s in his car to lean his head back, willing the tears away. He doesn’t deserve to cry, he repeats to himself, but they’re falling regardless.

“So are you gonna tell me why you came to my door step looking like shit, or am I gonna have to keep sitting here awkwardly pitying you?”

Hanamaki cuts straight to the bullshit, but to his credit he lasted a solid five minutes without saying anything.

Hanamaki lets out a long sigh at the continued silence,

“Fine. You can crash here as long as you need to, but at least tell me if you need anything.”

Matsukawa nods his thanks to him, as Hanamaki shuffles the room. Laying back on the couch, he rests his arms across his eyes and attempts to sleep, but it’s all in vain.

When he went back to your apartment, you hadn’t been around. Simultaneously to his relief and disappointment. As much as he wanted to see your face, it was for the best.

For longer than he’d intended, he found himself laying back in the bed you shared. Your scent fills his nose, and the familiar sheets give more comfort than the couch he’d been crashing on before. The comfort doesn’t last long, considering you’re not laying beside him like he’d gotten so used to.

He can almost hear the words of affirmation in your soft voice, affectionately whispered against the shell of his ear. The light kisses pressed to his lips, his cheeks, nose, brows, eyes as you both laugh in each other’s arms.

He desperately wants to call you, or for you to come back home so he can tell you to forget what he said.

He forces himself out of bed with a sigh, slinging the bag he packed over his shoulder.

The crisp air outside fills his nose, and the warm sun beats against his skin, but the pleasant weather only serves to make him miss your scent and warmth instead.

Hanamaki’s ‘As long as you need to’ turned out to be a week so far.

Work had been hell for him. His father scolded him for acting more depressed than the guests coming in, and the comment alone made him feel like shit for treating his breakup like a loss of life.

Matsukawa finds his feet carrying him to the cafe the two of you frequented. A part of him desperately craving the coffee, but most of him wondered if he’d run into you.

A stupid wish really, what could he possibly even say to you? Why would you want to see him?

“Coffee, black please.”

The barista gives him a expression that reads faux apology,

“Sorry, we didn’t get any in today unfortunately. Can we offer you something else?”

He settles for tea instead. He’d normally feel disappointed and whine about it you, the coffee here is his favorite after all. He can’t feel bothered to at the moment.

A notification sounds from his phone, and he checks without thinking.

‘I miss you’

His grip around his tea tightens, it’s from you.

He locks his phone and pockets it before he can do something dumb like respond with an ‘I miss you too’.

Pitching his nearly full tea, he strides out of the cafe. He heads back to Hanamaki’s apartment, knowing full well he’ll be around since he’s not at the restaurant anymore.

For the most part, Matsukawa tried to stay out of his hair, staying longer hours at the funeral home or eating out. Sometimes just walking or driving around to stay out, feeling sorry for himself. He’s grateful for Hanamaki’s kindness, and didn’t want to burden him anymore than he had been.

But right now he really wanted to see his best friend.

“We broke up.”

Matsukawa finally decides to enlighten him, and Hanamaki doesn’t even try to hide the disbelief from his features.

“Ahh. She wouldn’t talk to me much when I messaged her. I thought you might have had a big fight or something, but breaking up?”

He gives Matsukawa an apologetic look, but he can tell that he’s still skeptical.

Is it really so hard to believe that you could have better than him?

“I told her I cheated on her.”

At that, Hanamaki is quick to switch gears. He grabs Matsukawa by the shirt, nails scratching through the fabric into his chest, but he can’t feel bothered to care about the sting.

He returns his best friend’s manic glare with an indifferent stare.

“You what?! Matsukawa, are you fucking kidding me, how could you do that to her? Are you that much of a piece of shit you’d throw away the best thing that ever happened to you?”

The words hit home, and Matsukawa averts his gaze, not sure he can handle the anger bleeding out of his friend.

He berates himself for his cowardice, for not being able to withstand it when he deserved the harsh words that Hanamaki’s right to dole out.

He’s right, you were the best thing that ever happened to him. But how could he be the best thing that ever happened to you? He’s pathetic, he’s depressing to be around, he’s got an intimidating face, he quit school to work at a funeral home for god’s sake.

“I didn’t, I lied.”

Hanamaki’s sour expression contorts to a baffled one,

“Huh?”

“It was the only way she would leave me.”

Hanamaki’s grip loosens from his tee, and Matsukawa presses his hands to his face.

“Why would you do that?”

Matsukawa doesn’t respond, rubbing his palms against his already red rimmed eyes.

“Matsukawa... talk to me, man.”

His hands drop between his knees and he glances back up to catch Hanamaki’s worried expression.

“What if I’m someone I don’t want around?”

Matsukawa voices the thoughts that have been plaguing his mind for months, the words sounding so familiar to his ears despite never having said them out loud.

Hanamaki’s lips draw into a thin line, unsure what to say to his friend.

“If I can’t even stand myself, how could she be around me?”

“Matsu—“

He cuts off Hanamaki, ignoring his terse tone and stern expression,

“What if I’m someone she won’t talk about?”

His breathing starts to become more labored, and it feels like the walls are closing in on him, he can’t meet Hanamaki in the eye. His chest tightens even more, and he didn’t think that were possible.

“It’s what I wanted, I know that, I was a selfish asshole for keeping her stuck with me. I pushed her away because of it, and I get the feeling that she’ll never need me again,”

He’s almost in a full blown panic attack, his palms are shaking and Hanamaki tries to reach out to him, but he flinches away. Hanamaki is at a loss for words and what to do, he’s never seen his friend like this before. He’s been always cool and composed, never one to wear his heart on his sleeve.

“And I don’t know what I’ll do after that. I miss her too—”

“You idiot!”

Hanamaki sighs, flopping onto the couch beside him.

Matsukawa quiets after Hanamaki’s outburst, lightly panting after his rambling, not used to talking so fast and much in a short span of time.

“Just be honest, tell her how you feel.”

A/N:

Don’t hate me for that guys! Look forward to the next part, I promise I’ll make it better 😭

Leave your thoughts, I’d love to hear them! ¯\_(ツ)

[Masterlist] [part 2]

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu reader insert #haikyuu x y/n #matsukawa issei #matsukawa x reader #matsukawa x y/n #matsukawa issei/reader #matsukawa issei x reader #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu angst

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what-a-treat-nz · 3 years

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World Book Challenge: China

Officially, the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion. It covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, and is officially divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

The areas in dark green are under direct Chinese control; the areas in light green (Tibet and Taiwan) are contested. For the purposes of this challenge, I’m treating China, Tibet and Taiwan as three separate countries. Because I can.

Number of Chinese people in New Zealand: As of the 2013 Census, there were 163,104 people of “Chinese (not further defined)” ethnicity in New Zealand - 10,008 of those were in Wellington City.

Have I been there? Yes! I visited Shanghai with my Dad in December 2011. I bought a really nice coat, had tea that tasted like warm Fanta (it was oddly addictive), and got hugged by Dave Grohl. So, the usual Chinese experiences, really.

I also had Peking Duck for the first time in my life, and holy hell I didn’t know what I was missing. I’ve tried to make up for it by eating copious amounts of it since.

The books

For “China” on my reading challenge, I read three fantasy novels - Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, and the final two books of the Poppy War trilogy (The Dragon Republic and The Burning God) by R. F. Kuang, a Chinese-American author.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (魔道祖师 / Mó Dào Zǔ Shī)

(Book 30 of 2021)

Given the fact that I have an entire subsection of my blog about how much I love the live-action TV show based on this book, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that I had Mó Dào Zǔ Shī at the top of my list of Chinese books to read.

Mó Dào Zǔ Shī tells the story of Wei Wuxian, a loathed cultivator of dark and demonic arts who resurrects 16 years after his tragic death. His return to the world brings him to reunite with the people in his first life, including his soulmate, the honored Lan Wangji (who mourned him for 16 years, during which he branded himself with the same mark as Wei Wuxian and kept his memory alive and I’m okay, I promise). Wei Wuxian then begins to remember his time before his demise 16 years ago, from his beginnings as a young cultivator to his descent to dark magic. Together, they solve a mystery linked to a dark tragedy from Wei Wuxian’s first life, then live happily ever after.

This novel was originally published on the Chinese web novel site JJWXC from October 31, 2015 - March 1, 2016, with additional side stories that continue to be released sporadically. The revised version of the main story was later published online until September 7, 2016. A paperback version was released on December 12, 2016, with a total of four volumes in traditional Chinese. The first of three planned volumes in simplified Chinese, titled Wuji, was released in 2018, but release of the following installments has stalled after the locking of the novel on JJWXC since January 2019.

Mó Dào Zǔ Shī isn’t officially available in English, and given that it depicts an explicit danmei relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, I don’t think we’ll ever see an official version. Though there are official translations into Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Russian, Japanese, and Burmese, and the tour for the TV traveled to Toronto, Los Angeles and New York, so maybe one day there will be an official translation.

For now though, you can read the entire novel for free at Exiled Rebels Scanlations, where it has been translated in full by a then-highschooler called “K-san”. It’s hard to actually judge the merits of the writing of the original novel, given I was reading an unofficial translation, but that was actually half of the sweetness of it. It was kinda rough - K-san tweaked the terms they used as they gained more confidence with the translation, and I enjoyed reading the translator and editor notes that accompanied most chapters - especially notes such as “we’re translating as fast as we can, stop asking for faster updates!”. It felt really organic and friendly, and the story is good (though much gorier than the TV show and good god boys, learn what lube is, it’ll make your lives better I promise).

I read the book more as a companion to the TV show though, rather than a novel on it’s own merits, so I’m not sure I can judge it as a novel on it’s own merits. Though the book did teach me one very important piece of information: Lan Wangji canonically smells of sandalwood.

Would I read it again? If an official English translation comes out, I’d probably read that. I’m more likely to watch the TV show again, or dive into one of the sesquillion Untamed fanfics on AO3 ( Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn was the most popular ship on AO3 in 2020, with 12,878 new works about these characters being published that year).

The Dragon Republic and The Burning God

(Books 34 and 35 of 2021)

I read The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic back in September 2019 (when I wasn’t counting how many books I was reading, but I did have a record of them), and I decided to re-read The Dragon Republic because I couldn’t exactly remember where the story was up to.

And it’s a good thing I did, as something I thought happened at the end of The Dragon Republic actually happened at the end of The Poppy War, so oops?

The Poppy War trilogy is a grimdark fantasy novel set in fantasy China, with a Chinese protagonist and written by a Chinese-American author. It’s spectacular. The trilogy draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, though it’s atmosphere is more inspired by the Song dynasty. The conflict in the first book is based on the Second Sino-Japanese War (though this time, it’s the Chinese empire against the Japanese empire), in the second on the start of the Chinese civil war (Chinese empire against nascent Republican movement), and in the third on the end of Chinese civil war (Republicans versus not-Republicans).

It’s a massive trilogy. It’s incredibly complex, with a huge scale and massive numbers of characters, though the fact it’s all seen through Rin’s eyes (with the occasional first and last chapter from the point of view of other characters) helps.

The story follows that of Fang Runin, better known as Rin, a poor war orphan in southern Nikara who trains in secret to test into the elite Sinegard Academy. Throughout the trilogy she deals with racism, sexism, elitism...most of the isms, really. Author R.F. Kuang said that Rin's life is meant to parallel the trajectory of Mao Zedong, and I had fun trying to match events in Chinese history to the events in the book (the easiest ones to spot are the Rape of Nanjing, the nuclear bombing of Japan and the Long March).

I don’t remember Mao Zedong having the power to call on a fire god, however. It’s probably a good thing that’s not something that happened in real life China, as Mao’s policies killed enough people without him literally being able to spit fire.

I described the first book as “If Kvothe from The Name of the Wind was female, Chinese, and allowed to say fuck.” Those two books felt really similar to me - they’re very much your “outsider is accepted to elite academy, winds up pissing off most of their classmates and chooses an obscure major to specialise in before being thrown into a conflict they are key to winning.” But honestly, I preferred the Poppy War trilogy, even if the final book did get super dark.

Rin is a really refreshing character, and the world seen through her eyes is a very different place to one I’m used to reading about. Kuang said that she "chose to write a fantasy reinterpretation of China's twentieth century, because that was the kind of story I wasn't finding on bookshelves", and I’m so glad she did. The world needs more books like this. I’m as pasty and as white as they come, and I loved reading a book where the heroine was authentically Chinese. This isn’t a pakeha author trying to fit themselves into someone else’s shoes - this is someone with a deep understanding of Chinese military history and collective trauma using that understanding and pain to build a new fantasy world.

I loved it, and if you can stomach war scenes, I recommend this trilogy.

Will I read the Poppy War trilogy again? I might do. It’s a bit darker and more desperate than I usually read - particularly The Burning God - but I did enjoy them. So that’s a firm “never say never”.

Bonus book!

These Violent Delights

I read NZ-Chinese author Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights earlier this year (book number 20 of 2021), before I set myself this challenge, so it doesn’t technically count as an entry for “China” in my book challenge. But it is amazing, and I love it, so I wanted to give it a quick shout out here (because if we’re talking fantasy reimaginings of Chinese 20th century history by Chinese diaspora authors...).

These Violent Delights relocates the story of Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai, casting the two leads as the heirs to rival gangs. It’s brilliant, it’s beautiful, there were sentences that made me stop and gasp for the sheer delight of having read them, and there’s a monster made of bugs driving the citizens of Shanghai insane. The way Gong has woven the characters from the play into their 1920s counterparts is delightful (I say this as someone who’s never actually read the play, though I think I saw the Leonardo DiCaprio movie because it was difficult to be a tween in the late 90s and not be exposed to his films).

15/10, would definitely read it again, it’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks for a very, very good reason. Stop reading this blog and go get a copy. Now.

The feast

I admit, using China as my first country may have been a bit of a cop out, given my familiarity with Chinese food - though, living in a Western country, I’ve probably eaten more Westernised Chinese food than authentic Chinese food.

Which is why I was chuffed to learn that spring rolls are, actually, authentic Chinese food. I always thought they were a Westernisation, like sweet and sour pork or fortune cookies.

For my Chinese feast, I turned to The Woks of Life, a delightful Chinese cooking blog that I can’t open without being inspired to cook like 9 million things.

When I started this project, I originally was only going to cook one dish from each country. I figured I’d go easy on myself for China, and make 花生酥 (hua sheng su), a traditional sesame peanut brittle.

It’s something I’ve made before - I make little bags of it for my colleagues each lunar new year.

I don’t follow the Woks of Life recipe exactly - for example, I’ve never once roasted and shelled my own peanuts. I tend to use a mix of blanched and pre-roasted peanuts in my 花生酥, and I think it comes out okay. Next time I’m going to increase the amount of sugar I use - I find that 270g of rock sugar is not quite enough to cover the peanuts totally. Which is a pain. Next time I think I’ll use 300g, and turn the heating on in my kitchen so it’s warmer, to stop the brittle from hardening before I can properly get it into the tray to cool.

But then I changed my mind, and decided to throw a full on feast.

For the feast I threw, I made two more dishes from the Woks of Life - Easy Peking Duck with Mandarin Pancakes, and 年糕 (nian gao), or stir-fried rice cakes (though I did them with chicken, not pork, as that’s what I had in my freezer). I also cooked up some spring rolls, as I had them leftover in my freezer from my housewarming (for which I over catered, because I cannot do anything but over cater any event I throw). I should have marinated the duck longer. That one was on me.

I also made some 核桃酥 (he tao su), walnut cookies, which were delicious and I definitely want to make again. I think I’ll add some hazelnuts in as well for additional crunch, and make them slightly smaller - they were 12 very big cookies.

But delicious cookies.

Kisu was most distressed that we did not feed her anything from this feast.

The Playlist

I ended up finding this “Chinese Indie & Rock” playlist on Spotify, which I really enjoyed. I could understand none of the songs, but I enjoyed the heck out of a lot of them. I’ll probably keep listening to this playlist - they were definitely my sort of jams.

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wrestlingisfake · 3 years

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All Out preview

Here we go with AEW's annual Labor Day weekend show in Hoffman Estates, just like the original All In show three years ago. I have been going to wrestling shows for days, and it all comes down to this!

The show starts at 8pm EDT, streaming on Bleacher Report (in the US and Canada) and Fite.tv for $49.99. A free pre-show will be available at 7pm EDT.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin - This is CM Punk's first pro wrestling match since January 26, 2014, when he spent 49 minutes in the Royal Rumble working with a staph infection and a possible concussion. The following night he walked out of WWE, leading to seven and a half years of debate about what is next move would/should be. Two weeks ago he debuted with AEW and declared that he wanted to help the younger talent, starting with a match against Allin. Allin, for his part, took some exception to being the first opponent, as if he's just a stepping stone to bigger matches.

The big issue here is seeing how well Punk, 42, has held up after seven years away. I've seen reports that he's looking good in training, but you just don't know until the bell rings. Regardless, I expect the hometown crowd to be very forgiving to Punk, and Allin is good enough to carry the match if he really has to.

I feel like I ought to have more to say about this, but it also feels like everything's been said. I can't believe Punk would lose his first match in. But I can believe that if Punk insisted on doing the job, AEW would let him do that. It'd be unusual for the returning guy to come up short, but New Japan does that sometimes and it can work as a longer build to the first win. Still, it is Chicago (sort of), so my gut says Punk wins to let us feel special.

Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage - Omega is defending the AEW men's world title. For months, Omega held four different belts, representing championships in AEW, AAA, and Impact Wrestling. But on August 13 Christian defeated Omega for the Impact/TNA world title (and later retired the TNA belt), leaving Kenny more vulnerable than ever. The AAA and Impact titles aren't at stake in this match, so no matter who what happens the winner will be a double champion.

Cage is a great wrestler, but not a great challenger for this match. For months the storytelling pointed towards Hangman Page in this spot, but Page was abruptly written off television so he could take paternity leave. I don't think anybody resents Christian for filling in, but nobody really expects the 47-year-old, recently returned from a seven-year retirement, to win the big one. It's also a rematch of something we already saw a few weeks ago, which isn't a big deal but it's a bit of a talking point when everyone is always dogging WWE for excessive rematches.

The big go-home angle on September 1 was that Omega, the Young Bucks, and their buddies destroyed Christian, the Lucha Bros., and their buddies. After the show went off the air Tony Khan promised that this kind of bullshit interference wouldn't happen in the Bucks-Lucha Bros. cage match. Well, okay, but this match doesn't have a steel cage, so I have a feeling there will be plenty of bullshit interference. And I'm willing to bet that interference gives Omega the win while somewhat protecting Christian.

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix - The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick) are defending the AEW tag team title. The Lucha Bros. won a four-team tournament to earn this shot. The Bucks have relied on a lot of outside interference from their entourage lately, so to counter that this match will be held inside a steel cage. In AEW, the only way to win a cage match is by pinfall or submission.

I was at All Out 2019 when these teams last met in a crazy ladder match (which feels like a million years ago). Everyone raved about it, and also worried that the Bucks damn near killed themselves. Personally I had a really shitty view of the ring, which made it hard to follow the match. This time I've got a much better view, so I'm looking forward to some good karma.

In theory the Bucks have sworn off doing the dangerous shit from the ladder match, but technically this is a cage match so maybe they'll just do different dangerous shit. Personally I'm more intrigued by seeing them change their game to fit in the confines of the cage, which doesn't lend itself to springboard flips off the ropes. But the cage has places to stand at the top, which will encourage the idea of setting up crazy highspots.

I feel like a title change is possible, but I could just as easily see the Bucks hold the belts for another six months. Santana and Ortiz seem to be next in line for a shot, and honestly I think that would work with either of these teams. But I guess I'll lean towards the Bucks retaining.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF - MJF defeated Jericho on November 7, 2020, to earn entry into Jericho's stable, the Inner Circle. MJF inevitably betrayed Jericho and formed his own stable, the Pinnacle, which beat the Inner Circle on May 5, 2021. Jericho was so determined to get revenge that he accepted MJF's terms to perform five "labors" to earn a rematch, but MJF beat Jericho once again on August 18, 2021. So now MJF is 3-0 against Jericho. (For some reason we're counting the ten-man match on May 5 but not the other one on May 30, which Jericho's team won, but whatever.) To get this final rematch, Jericho has put his career on the line.

Suddenly everything else in this storyline has taken a back seat to the idea that this may really be the end of Chris Jericho's 30-year in-ring career. There are plenty of fans who think Jericho, 50, should hang it up, but now that it might actually happen I think people aren't so sure they're ready for it all to end. The timing for Jericho to tease this is perfect, because he could easily just win and go another couple of years, or he could easily just finish today.

Part of what makes this work so well is MJF. I think everyone recognizes that MJF is going to be a top name in the 2020s, and that Jericho wants to make this guy. So it's like, if Jericho can get retired by anyone he wants, why wouldn't he pick MJF? I think the match will feel a little flat if Jericho comes up short yet again, but if it's the end of his career it suddenly doesn't matter if he's lost too many times, y'know?

Still, something tells me this isn't the end. Something tells me Jericho has more he wants to do. And something tells me, in a few years, we may be wondering if it would have been better if he retired on this show.

Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander - Baker is defending the AEW women's world title. I expect to like this match but there's not really much to it. Baker was feuding with Red Velvet a while back and then Statlander made the save for Velvet. Baker and her crony Rebel have brought in Jamie Hayter to stack the deck against Statlander and Velvet. I think it's way too soon for Baker to drop the title, and I don't expect Kris to be the one to take it from her. So this is kind of a formality to kill time until Baker vs. Thunder Rosa down the road.

Miro vs. Eddie Kingston - Miro's AEW TNT championship is on the line. Somehow in the past year Miro has gone from Kip Sabian's gamer buddy to a monster heel who thinks God has anointed him to beat the shit out of people. Kingston has gone from a gutless heel to the most beloved guy in AEW. Wrestling is great.

Anyway, I love both of these guys, but I can't just bet that all the wrestlers have a good time. If Eddie's going to win a championship, it really ought to be in New York. I realize Chicago is AEW's favorite and we get all the good shit, but I've had my CM Punk ice cream and I'm maaaaaybeee going to get the Bryan Danielson debut too, so I'm willing to let New York have this one thing. Just this one time.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima - Moxley is the new GCW world champion following a surprise appearance at last night's GCW show; I assume that does not turn this into a title match. Moxley told top contender Nick Gage "you know where to find me," and it's anyone's guess if Gage will show up here to accept that invitation.

Mox is a busy boy making friends everywhere he goes. For a few weeks he was angling for a match with a top New Japan Pro Wrestling star on this show. The leading candidate was Hiroshi Tanahashi, but several other interesting names were discussed by fans and pundits alike. After that buzz, Kojima is a bit of a letdown.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool to get a guy who's held the IWGP heavyweight title, the All Japan Triple Crown, and the NWA world title. Kojima's a legend. But at this stage of his career, he's the guy New Japan sends when the real stars aren't available. Besides which, my cup runneth over when it comes to 50-year-old guys showing up to prove they can wrestle like they're 40. And I don't think anybody really believes Kojima can beat Moxley.

Ideally, this match should end with a video message from a bigger New Japan name calling out Moxley. I'm not confident that will happen. Then again, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Moxley showed up in NXT UK to pick a fight with WALTER.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall - Formerly the Giant in WCW and the Big Show in WWE, Wight debuted with AEW earlier this year as a color commentator. QT and his goons were picking on Wight's broadcast partner Tony Schiavone when Wight intervened, setting up this match.

I was actually kind of into the idea of this until Marshall showed photos of Wight's recent hip surgery. Up to that point, they'd managed to keep me from noticing if Wight could move okay, and I was willing to accept he could do a basic squash match without a problem. But now I just assume he's broken down and he'll need a lot of smoke and mirrors to do even a simple match. Maybe that's the plan, to get me to lower my expectations and be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope it works out.

I'm about 95% sure Wight clobbers QT and just wins handily. There's a chance QT's squad pulls enough shenanigans to get a bullshit win, but I'm not sure what the point would be.

21-woman Casino Battle Royale - This is AEW's funky concept for a gauntlet battle royale. Five women start the match, and then every five minutes another wave of five enters; the 21st entrant gets to come out alone. Eliminations can occur at any time, by exiting the ring over the top rope to the floor. The last woman left after the others have been eliminated is declared the winner, and receives a future title match against the AEW women's champion.

AEW has announced 20 participants: Abadon, Anna Jay, Big Swole, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Jade Cargill, Jamie Hayter, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Leyla Hirsch, Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, Rebel, Red Velvet, Riho, Skye Blue (a late substitution for Julia Hart), Tay Conti, The Bunny, Thunder Rosa.

The 21st spot has been left open for a surprise. Ruby Soho (formerly Ruby Riott in WWE) is widely expected to join AEW, and this would be a sensible spot for that to happen. But there are other women who could potentially debut here as a swerve.

I always want to pick the surprise entrant to win these things, but they really haven't done all that well in AEW battle royales. I could see them giving the win to, say, Big Swole, and just having Britt Baker beat her a few weeks later on Dynamite. Or Thunder Rosa could win to set up a major program for the next pay-per-view. They have a lot of options, which makes it hard to predict but fun to watch.

Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA & Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy & Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy & Jack Evans & Angelico - This is booked for the pre-show. Hardy's heel group has been feuding with most of the midcard babyfaces for months. I don't expect this match will blow off the feud, but it'd be nice if it did so we could move on to something else. Orange's team should probably win.

#aew #all out #cm punk #darby allin #kenny omega #christian cage #the young bucks #lucha bros #cannot *believe* i managed to get this done

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juliandev0rak · 3 years

Text

Happy Vianan day!

It’s been exactly a month since the first Vianan fic, Wine and Education was posted! In honor of Vianan’s one month anniversary I am here to offer an exclusive look into Beatrice’s diary.

Words: ~1630

Warnings: prepare for pining

Beatrice Viano belongs to me, Lysander Lonan belongs to @leila-of-ravens

note: there are links to the various fics we’ve written spread throughout the entries so you can see where they fit into the timeline

January 10th

Dear Diary,

I met Leila’s brother today! I suppose I met two of them, but one was a bit more memorable than the other. His name is Lysander, and I can see why Leila loves him so much. After knowing me for only a few minutes he offered to help sponsor the school, can you imagine that? In a few seconds all of my worries about the school were solved by this near stranger! We had such an interesting conversation, and I must admit it made the masquerade much more enjoyable.

Leila suggested I show him the library and I was more than happy to get away from the party. I only go to those events to make Nadia happy, if Leila and Ella hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have gone at all. As it was, I brought a novel with me, it’s really quite good- but I’ll leave my notes on the book for my reading journal instead.

We went to the library and I’ve never seen someone so excited to be surrounded by books before, it was a bit like looking into a mirror. I remember how excited I was to visit the Palace library for the first time. Lysander offered to help me research curriculum for the school as well, and we’ve decided to meet up tomorrow to begin work. He’s here on a diplomacy visit from Umbra, and I’m very glad Leila thought to introduce us.