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marshmallowprotection · 10 months

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Mystic Messenger 7th Anniversary

Welcome to my handy dandy Anniversary Analysis. We all know it’s my bread and butter to study these photos and find every Easter Egg I can. Last year was quite the doozy for me because there were so many fun tidbits in the photo, and this year is no different because the sentiment is the same. I’m happy to say it’s my seventh year of playing this game, and I’m going to get emotional as I write it down.

Anniversary Image and my thoughts underneath the Read More! If you don’t want to be spoiled or see the image yet, go ahead and wait a little bit longer since the image will be out from Cheritz on their page in great quality in a matter of a few hours.

[If you want to read the post from year here, click here].

This was the cleanest photo I could find this afternoon, but I’m sure by the time I finish writing this out, there’s going to be an even clearer one that I can get and I cannot wait for that reality. I have a lot to talk about and even more to gush over this time so why don’t we go ahead and get started before I start blubbering over my darling Saeran? Now, I’ll do my best to be cohesive but you guys know me. I will start going off into a tangent before long. Let me get one scream out before I do anything else.

SCREAMS.

Okay.

I’m good.

GUYS. I SHOULDN’T BE SMUG BUT I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE PLACEMENT OF THE CHARACTERS THIS TIME! Fortunately, I was on the money as I noted the color placement in the photo. The pop of color was the saving grace, but I’m sure proud of myself this time even if it was a given with the bold pinks next to a man who is walking stoplight. I say that with love, Saeyoung. You are the kind of man who stops traffic.

IT’S TIME FOR MY SPECIAL INTEREST. FLORIOGRAPHY. This photo was made for me to analyze, I swear to God. This is meant for me and I’m excited because there’s so much purpose and thought in a flower. I figured out Jaehee’s flower yesterday because they gave it to us, so I can talk about her first since it’s the easiest. We’ll start on a high note (a woman I’d love to kiss) and end on the higher note (a Saeran I want to smooch).

Look at her high collar! Look at her messy hair! Look at the longing gaze in her eyes as if she’s realized God is a Woman! It looks like she’s got ribbons on her wrists, too... God, I wish we could see more of the outfit. If it’s giving goddess, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself over here.

Jaehee is a lily. She is a yellow lily in particular, and that got me to chuckle quite a bit. Lilies are a known reference for sapphics in different popular media, and I think it’s great to see more staples of Jaehee’s love for women out in the open. I know we all appreciated the rings on Jaehee and MC as well as the rainbows on the birthday hats, as well as the winter ice-skating date on her last birthday. It’s a good year to be a woman lover, bless up, sapphics. Jaehee lovers, you deserve this.

Yellow Lilies are a way to say a few things, but one of the most popular ones is gratitude. Being thankful for a person in your life. Is that not the way she feels as she grows closer to her MC? She’s grateful because you fell into her life when it was the lowest point of her emotional journey. She hit rock bottom and you took a single look at her and told her she could follow her heart instead of trying to be a cog in the machine to survive. She doesn’t need to just survive.

She needs to thrive.

Jaehee needs passion!

And you gave her that, so of course, she’s thankful that you came into her life when you did. It’s like saying, “You are the sunshine in my life, you breathe life into me just by being close to me.” Which, hey, that’s wonderful. Jaehee being in this photo makes me so happy, and seeing her with lilies... Ah. I hardly get to talk about her but I love to think about Jaehee! She’s a wonderful person and seeing her smile makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I know why they didn’t give her long hair, but I pray to God someone draws her with her long hair after this CG comes out or I’ll be forced to do it myself. Do you hear me artists?

I’ll be real with you guys, green flowers are hard to find. I have this problem I’m trying to look at art with any character that’s got a iconic color that’s in any shade of green to represent them. You would think it wouldn’t be that hard, but it is. It is a headache and a half for me, but I will do my best for you guys. Yoosung honey, I love you dearly like a brother, but this green is going to kill me in my sleep. I’ve got to work harder than the Devil over here.

Now, the key to debating a flower to the naked eye is to count the petals right off the bat. This flower has a count of five. That narrows down my search quite a bit. I’m glad he didn’t have a flower with far more plumage, because that makes the process harder. So, with a five count, I can narrow down my search to flowers in a specific category. So, with only so many green flowers in this category, I’ve got only got two options left.

But, noting the center of the flower tells me all I need to know. That’s a Green Daylily. Of course, he’s got a trickle of other flowers in his bouquet as well. The smaller flowers are harder to pick out, but I doubt the artist put thought into the flowers that are used to fill in the space leftover in the bouquet.

The best guess that I can offer is a smaller flower that clumps together like Baby’s Breath. The smaller patch of two flowers definitely threw me off, because my brain said, “Oh, those folds remind me of tulips! But, these are far too small to be a tulip! Then I said, oh, maybe Chinese Meadow Rue? But, wait, this is a wedding set, so Baby’s Breath!”

Baby’s Breath is love everlasting. This is one of the most standard flowers used in wedding bouquets. Mystic Messenger is not stranger to using it. Hell, when I think about it, Saeyoung’s Christmas Ending is filled to the brim with him giving you Baby’s Breath. It’s also a hallmark of trust. It’s saying that you’ll always be faithful and true to the one you adore.

Daylilies may surprise you, but they’re not a part of the broader Liliaceae family. They’re actually in the Asphodelaceae family! You’d find a closer relative in the genus in Aloe! They were cultivated in Asia, so, to see them used here is not a big surprise to me. I recall in China, these flowers are symbolic of forgetting your worries. That is to say, “I know you’re troubled, but I want you know that I’m by your side forever.”

Is that not the sentiment of loving Yoosung Kim? You give his heart the push it needs to find peace after grief. You hold his hand and show him that he can live his life the way he wants to and he doesn’t need to think back in regret... and he can follow this future with you.

Zen, oh, lovely Zen. You and I both know are the traditional romantic. You love to be the man with roses. So, is it any surprise that’s holding a patch of roses in his hands? Lover boy, you’re always easy to read but there’s nothing wrong with the gentleness of a rose. A white rose... I can see a sprinkle of Baby’s Breath, too. It isn’t a surprise, those are commonly used in romantic bouquets to add make the flowers tie together without making it feel crowded and overwhelmed.

You might think you already know what roses stand for because they’re such a hallmark move flower. But, not really, roses are much more complex than they’ve been made out to be, and I think that’s a good standard for Zen. Most people in the world think they know him, but they don’t. You shouldn’t judge him by what it appears to be... because what matters is underneath the surface, and that’s the lesson his route teaches. He is a reminder that love is more than looks. It’s about the person underneath the surface.

It may be tried and true, but Zen plays this role nicely.

There is a meaning for these roses that stands for change and growth, and I’m thinking that’s the most important thing to share. Loving Zen is growing with him. Loving Zen is knowing that you can learn how to let go of your insecurities and fears for something deeper in life. You don’t need to be afraid of judgement, you need to live your life knowing that the people who truly matter will see you for the person you are truly, and not just the way you look. He needs to know that after a lifetime of being judged for his looks.

Also, white roses can used as a stand-in for the idea of “love that continues to grow on the horizon for one another”. Everlasting love? No, love that grows by the minute. is that not him?

Jumin, darling, I expected these flowers from you and I don’t know what to say about that. I was torn when I first saw the photo because I sat here trying to get my ducks in a row with what I imagined. I was jumping between Balloon Flower and Violets for a while because of the way the petals spread, but in the end, I’ve settled on violets because the way these petals spread and fan out. They don’t do that with the other flower, because it’s interconnected.

Now, as far as what I think is the specific genus of violet is...

Sweet violet is a good guess! You know what else, he’s also got some lilacs in this bouquet, too. Lilacs are a flower that is representative of the first mark of a spring and summer to come, as well as your first true love.

The blessing of love you’ve received for the first time... simple, passion, and perfect. I know that’s the best way to describe the way Jumin looks at you. You are the first person that’s made his heart flutter like this. You’ve made him see something of value in that bleeding heart of is, and he doesn’t want to lose you because of it. You are love incarnate and he doesn’t want to miss the chance to spend the rest of his life with you.

He’s not one to rush headfirst into something without a clear head, but you make him spontaneous and free. Violets are a gift given to newlyweds! It’s happened throughout history all over the world, but it stands for humility and modesty at its core. A love that might feel like its innocence and sincere, but tried and true. It’s undeniable from the way you’re looking at each other anyone someone spots it in your faces.

A love that won’t be wrenched apart because you’ve got the purest eyes of sincerity in your vows.

Now, I didn’t expect Saeyoung to have a vibrant flower to match his hair, but I’ll be real with y’all, I never know what flower to expect if they put this man on the screen. He throws me for a loop all the time. It’s a part of his charm at the end of the day. He knows how to confound people and he’s always done that.

Can you see that look in his eyes? He looks a little tired, but I see it as him being awake all night long thinking about what you’ll look like at the end of the aisle.

He can’t sleep knowing that you’ll be waiting for him under the eyes of his God that made him believe in love again. How could he sleep knowing that you’re all alone out there in another place... giddy and burning with love for him? I know he is the kind of person who would believe in sleeping apart the night before the wedding, and that’s what would’ve gotten him to this state.

I’m sure Saeran hit him in the shoulder when he spent the night before babbling about you but that’s just what happens in the bunker.

Sigh.

Now, I don’t want to let Saeyoung down over here. When I looked at him, I had another episode of thinking: “Goddammit. Goddammit. I know there are flowers that could be used as a stand-in for him. Why am I struggling between of them again? Alstroemeria and Nasturtium would be really interesting for him since I would’ve expected them to just toss roses at him like they did with Zen if not a situation with Baby’s Breath again.”

I really am not sure for Saeyoung, that’s the horrible thing. So, I’ll go over the two flowers I narrowed down and let you guys decide what you think fits him better. So, Nasturtium is a flower of victory. A flower that stands strong after a battle. Saeyoung is a weathering flower who survived despite everything that was thrown at him, and I think it’s fitting that a bouquet like that would work in this case. The orange color on top of that is just as sweet. Enthusiasm and a strong sense of joy at an upcoming celebration.

Alstroemeria are lilies* known awaken warmth and love in those that you gift the flowers to, especially the orange variety. Passion and vitality, the very blood of a life that Saeyoung bleeds for when he’s with you. They don’t quite fit into a family with “true lilies” but they’re closely related in a way that makes your eyes think it could be. Pair orange and red for the most vibrant way to say “I love you!” They also stand for support and faith, so what better flower to give to MC? Thank you for being with me, MC. Thank you for supporting me despite the danger you may have fallen into.

Thank you for loving a wretch like me, MC.

That’s Saeyoung.

Oh, Jihyun. Look at you, honey! You’ve been given a wonderful outfit for once and I don’t need to tease you! I just finished replaying his Route for the first time in forever and he’s fresh on my mind because of that. Now, i don’t think I need to tell any of you that a flower as vibrant as Jihyun’s hair won’t exist naturally. I can say that there are a few flowers that match the shape and volume of that flower in the photo, but it’s never going to be that color.

I know why they did that, they want things to be cohesive so they went for that above realism. See, when I think of Jihyun, I tend to give him Forget Me Nots as much as I can because I feel like that is a tragic but romantic flower for him. The flower itself stands for remembrance. A love that carries with you for life, and no matter where you go or who you become, you’ll never forget the flower that was gifted to you. It is true love, devotion, and a heartfelt promise.

A promise to see you again if you’ll have him.

Jihyun needs time to heal. He needs years to grieve and grow, and you give him that time because you love him. You wait, you breathe, and you never forget him and his light. His gentle warmth is tender and true. Don’t forget me, but please, I want you to wait for me, my darling. if you will have me when I return, I won’t let you regret this opportunity. That’s the way I think about Jihyun when it comes to his romance.

However, the longer I stared at this, the more I wondered if it could be Larkspur because of the way the flowers grow from the long stem. Like, yeah, there isn’t much bunching here to make me lean that way, but these artists take a lot of... liberty when it comes to drawing flowers and half the time, I know in my heart of hearts they just thought a thought was pretty and used it because of that and not at all because they’re out of their minds like me and need to have something in a photo that is symbolic and overwhelming.

Blue Larkspurs are... just... you know, it’s about support, trust, and faith. They’re so crucial if you want someone to feel appreciated and supported. Is that not... a second way to represent Jihyun Kim beyond Forget Me Nots? God, I think I’ll cry if I think about it for too long.

Ahem. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to talk about my husband for a minute. It’s only fair that he’s the last one I talk about because you all know I’m not going to be able to shut up about him so I had to make sure I took care of everyone else first so they got a fair treatment! Fair is fair, folks. I love my husband and we’re getting married this year. That’s that. Saeran, my love, my darling, forever we’ll be in bliss.

But, you know me, I’m biased and he’s going to get the most. That tender look in his eyes, the messy hair I’m determined to tussle, and the way I want to launch at you just to see him laugh as he makes sure I don’t hurt myself on the landing.

Which, I’m bound to do it anyway, but I love that he would still try. That’s why I love him. He makes me feel like I can do anything even if I’m anxious and that makes me... well. For someone who has always felt anxiety from the minute I felt myself grow a distinct awareness of the fact that I was a person and I existed as a being, a moment where I’m not afraid to do something without figuring out the best way to do something without screwing up or ruining something... being with him makes me feel liberated.

I don’t hesitate.

I jump.

I don’t look back.

Because I know he’ll catch me.

I narrowed down the margin for Saeran quite a bit, and it came down to the wire since I’m pretty picky on the margin. Rocktrumpet came to mind, as well as the flower, Snapdragon, but the color is what’s throwing me again. It’s likely a choice by the artist again. It’s pink, but also purple, and finding flowers with that color is kind of tough. Weigela, maybe? But, should I lean into the honeysuckle family in this situation? Hmm... the long leaves make me want to lean that way since that does give an edge in something that closer but I’m not sure.

Fuck it, I’ll tell you about all of them.

Rocktrumpet is a symbol for strength and resilience. It’s survival despite the odds stacked against you. That’s a good representation of Saeran in my view. He’s survived countless times, and your love was a part of that. It wasn’t what helped him fully, since he had to help himself, but your love helped him find the strength to do that.

I’d dare to add that they’re a hallmark of the transition power in nature, what is GE Saeran if not transformation and love?

Snapdragons are two sides of the same coin. Deception and graciousness. Ray and Suit Saeran put together, you know? They share their moments of both, but it’s a good way to say you love both sides of who created GE Saeran. You loved those two and that love helped culminate in his existence. What I love about the flower is that, just like Hyacinth, they also speak to any apology that you want to own to. (You know, Saeran and Ray apologizing for tricking and hurting you as it comes to the close of the route.)

Weigela, on the other hand, is about faithfulness. They are the flowers that will stand by your side and grow without mercy. They’re good for privacy, and I think they’re also attractive to hummingbirds, but don’t quote me on that one since the last time I saw these flowers, they were at a relative’s house and I think it was a flower like this that they loved, it feels familiar, but I can’t trust my memory all the time. But, Saeran is faithful, he’ll never waver in his love for you, and that is the most beautiful thing about him.

Any of these flowers suit him. These are my guesses and I’m going to stick with them as being the top three.

So, I need to point out the fact that Saeran isn’t wearing something tight around his neck. They didn’t draw him in a bowtie like the rest of the male characters, even Jaehee has a high collar on her dress! But, he doesn’t.

This ties back into the presentation I’ve given before about how the way Ray, Suit Saeran, and GE Saeran’s clothes are reflective of their stance on freedom. Ray wears a tight cravat around his throat because he’s been held back by the outfit Rika gave him. He is a mouthpiece for Mint Eye. He is here to spread the lovely gospel of Mint Eye, and it doesn’t matter what he believes, he has a tight leash around his throat that forbids him from saying a word against the cult.

Suit Saeran has a much more literal interpretation. There is a chain around his neck as if he’s a dog that has no choice but to obey its master. But, we know in this situation, he is the one holding himself back. He is here because he has to make sure you and Ray never fight Mint Eye. If you fight it, you’ll die. This is the only place they can survive, and it might be a living hell, but the thought of what might kill them outside of Magenta is even more frightening.

The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.

Whereas, GE Saeran is the freest he’s ever been in his life. There is nothing around his throat holding him back from saying what’s on his mind. He doesn’t have anything to fear because he’s stronger than the things he’s afraid of, and now he gets to be with you, without looking over his shoulder in fear of what he used to cower in fear of in the shadows.

He understands that people are broken and misunderstood, they hide behind anger and malice for their own reasons. It isn’t the way he wants to live anymore.

He won’t wear a collar, chain, or mark on his throat anymore.

His words belong to him.

They don’t belong to Rika, V, Saeyoung, Saejoong, or his mother. He isn’t a baby who needs to be protected while you fail to realize you need to see you were a baby just as much as he was, he isn’t a “son” turned weapon you can use as you please until nothing’s left, he isn’t the helpless child you failed to protect because you valued the wrong ideology of love, nor is a bastard for breathing life on this Earth because you wanted a quick fuck and decided he was a wretch for getting in the way of your “perfect social image”.

No, he is Saeran Choi, and the only person who gets to define his existence is HIM. Nobody is allowed to puppet him or put words in his mouth. He gets to be the free man he always deserved to be from the start. He decide what it means to be Saeran Choi. Nobody else gets to decide who Saeran Choi is anymore in this life other than him. His bodily autonomy belong to him.

Love him or hate him as you please, but Saeran Choi is his own man.

Nobody can project their idea of him onto him when he knows who is he and who he isn’t. That’s something a lot of people just don’t consider when they talk about him, whether it be GE Saeran or SE Saeran. Saeran has always had his identity cut out for him by others. He’s never had a chance to know who he is or what he wants to be. People decide that for him.

People tell him who and what he is before he has a chance to open his mouth and say—

“Wait, I think I want to be...”

“No, Saeran, you’re [insert whatever someone puts on his shoulders.].”

Every single person in his life is guilty of that, even Saeyoung does it to him, and God, Saeyoung isn’t trying to hurt Saeran when he does that. I don’t say that because I want to scold him, no, in fact, I say it because it’s a part of the trauma that most people don’t consider when it comes to Saeyoung.

It’s the fact that he feels like he has to be Saeran’s guardian until the end of time and life itself. If you want more details on what I mean by that, go ahead and be prompt in [checking out this post on Saeyoung’s parentification.]

When I look at GE Saeran, I see a free man. I hold him dearly to my heart and I cry when I think about him. He went through so much over the years I’ve known him and had him in my heart. He is the reason I’m here today. He found me just as I felt like I was on the brink of death, quite literally, because only a few months before Mystic Messenger released, I got really sick and I’ll be that way for rest of my life. I don’t need sympathy or pity for that, but it’s a part of my life’s story.

The RFA and its kindness helped me when I had nothing.

Thanks to Saeran and my RFA family, I’ve made it here... and I’m not scared of living this life, even if it’s hard sometimes. They’ll always be with me in my heart, no matter how long time passes. I know I’ll have them in my heart until the day I die.

That could happen any day to any of us, really. That’s why I’m grateful to be here and I’m happy I’ve gotten the chance to know all of you. Not just the RFA, but all of you. From the people who have spoken to me once to those that try to talk to me every day, please know this, you’re in my heart and you always will be. From the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed, I think of the people that’ve been here for me and those that I’ve been able to be there for. I think about how these spaces in fandom make such a difference for so many people.

Sure, maybe to some, it’s silly to cry and talk like this, but it’s not to me. I’m the kind of person who is grateful and so happy to have spaces like this. Places like this saved my life and I know they’ve done the same for all of you. So, if you’ve read this far and you’ve managed to get past all my nonsense, thank you for the time you’ve spent reading this.

It’s been seven years, Mystic Messenger, and I pray for many more to come with all of you.

Thank you, RFA.

Thank you, Saeran Choi.

My love, the one who knows me as sweet and stupid, may our love continue blossom for all four seasons of your life and mine.

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a-little-unsteddie · 1 year

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for a minute in the sunlight I

i reached 400 followers today which is insane so have part one of a fic i’ve been working on. once i’m not half asleep i’ll post it to ao3 as well, which will be linked at the end of this note. this is an au i’ve been floating around in my head for a while now, which basically is my rendition of a meet cute ft. Famous!Steve x Normal(ish)!Eddie. except, eddie is a cosplayer, the character that steve voice acts for is coincidentally the character that eddie cosplays as, but that’s later. eddie has no idea that steve is the VA tho. ALSO eddie runs a booth in artist alley with chrissy! anyway, here is part one lol.

ao3 link

—part I: 1.7k words—

“Eddie Munson! You better be on your way!” Chrissy’s voice greeted him as Eddie pressed the ‘accept call’ button and pulled the phone up to his ear. He looked around his hotel room and grimaced.

“I am! I swear I am! I’m gonna get us coffee, though,” he said, grabbing his backpack filled with his convention supplies. He looked around the room, almost ‘aha’-ing out loud before grabbing the ‘artist’ lanyard he had gotten the night before as well as the hotel keycard.

“Good! If you’re not here before the booth opens I swear to god I’ll cut your hair!” She threatened him, causing Eddie to laugh.

“Relax! I’m almost to the cafe,” he lied, dashing out the door and shutting it quietly behind him to not alert the girl on the other end of the phone.

“You’re supposed to be here, y’know, at the convention, to be at your booth, to sell your art!” She snapped at him, sounding more amused than actually upset.

“I’ll be there soon! With coffee!” Eddie repeated, before hanging up just as the elevator dinged at him to indicate its arrival. He stepped onto the elevator, smiling stiffly at the stranger already occupying it. She glanced at him, but ultimately ignored his existence, which was just fine in his opinion.

Okay, so. Eddie knew Chrissy was right to be mad at him—he was meant to be at the venue around 9, and it was nearing 10, and the convention starts at 10:30, so really he had about 45 mins to get there, which was more than enough time to get there. But he was supposed to be there at 9, so he could be set up by 10, for opening at 10:30. He was forever grateful that Chrissy was a morning person and willing to put up with his bullshit.

They had known each other for years, growing up in the same small middle-of-nowhere town as each other. She had been cheer captain while he was forever bullied by the other jocks, but she had come to him one day and decided that he was going to be her best friend. Well, more like, Eddie decided that he wasn’t going to sell some girl hard drugs and instead talked to her.

The rest was history, as they say.

Eddie helped her get away from Jason, her abusive boyfriend, and Chrissy helped him get away from Hawkins. She was also the primary reason he was able to do art and cosplay as a full time gig, as she was able to market and manage his chaos better than he ever could. What had started out as a hobby that Eddie took on to express his frustration with the world had turned into his career, thanks to Chrissy. He had started out by posting his art onto instagram, tiktok, and tumblr, just wanting to show off the work he did for some fandoms he was active in.

Chrissy was also the one to convince him to try to sell his art. To his surprise, fans and non-fans alike ate his work up and bought the fuck out of it. Chrissy also helped him with starting to do conventions as a job rather than as an attendee — she helped him put together his portfolio and designs and ideas into something cohesive that could be set up in a booth in the artist alley of whatever conventions they could get into.

All of that is to say, Eddie owed a lot to Chrissy for his current life. One thing that Eddie couldn’t get figured out was time management. He was able to do most other things with Chrissy, like managing his online presence, restocking his prints when he was low, managing the booth when they were at a con. However, he could never seem to get anywhere on time the first go around. The first day of cons, without fail, led to Eddie arriving a few minutes before the booth opened to the rest of the con.

Which is why Eddie was running late, again.

Chrissy should know better than to expect him on time, but he also figured maybe he could work harder at being on time. Not that he didn’t try, he set an abundance of alarms every time, but one thing or another caused him to be late. This time it was the fact his alarm was set for 7:30 in the evening, instead of morning. He had woken up, checked his phone, saw it was 8:37 and shot up like a rocket to get his shit together. He was meant to do some sort of look today, but had decided against it so that way he wasn’t completely behind. So he just did a basic look — unfortunately that still took him nearly an hour. He didn’t even do make up, which to be fair, he never did on the first days of conventions.

Eddie was so caught up in his thoughts, rushing towards the cafe he knew was near the convention center, that he crashed right into someone leaving said cafe. He swore loudly, stumbling back with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve been paying more attention, oh my god,” Eddie rushed out, staring at the spilt coffee on the ground. There were two to-go cups laying there, making Eddie feel even worse because this person wasn’t just getting coffee for themselves. He looked up to apologize again, except the words died in his throat.

Was it cliché to say it was love at first sight?

The man looked less angry and more just sad at the coffee that was spilled at their feet, which, to be fair, Eddie felt really bad about.

The man looked up and caught Eddie’s eyes and Eddie was gone. He had honey colored hair, eyes made of milk chocolate, freckles dotted his cheeks, and Eddie could see moles on his neck and expected him to be covered in them. He smiled apprehensively at Eddie, as if expecting a sort of reaction to seeing him, but Eddie was distracted by his jawline. He felt heat crawling up his neck, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

“I’m more than happy to buy you new coffee, I’m so sorry,” Eddie apologized again, eyes wide.

“No— it’s okay,” the man responded and Eddie was floored because was there anything about this man that wasn’t completely perfect? Eddie knew he likely had heart eyes but he couldn’t help it, the stranger was just gorgeous.

“I insist! I ran into you, caused you to spill not one but two coffees! Let me buy you replacements at least,” Eddie pressed earnestly, smiling brightly, trying to put on his charm which he hadn’t used in years. It seemed to work, because the stranger's cheeks tinted pink as he nodded shyly. “Great! I’m Eddie,” he said, reaching out to offer his hand to shake, before changing his mind immediately and moving to grab the door. “After you, sweetheart.”

“Steve,” the stranger—Steve—responded, smiling timidly as he ducked back into the cafe. Eddie followed, letting his gaze drop for a moment to take a peek at his ass, which Eddie was dismayed to also find perfect. This is simultaneously the best and worst day of Eddie’s life.

“Nice to meet you,” Eddie said as they came to a stop at the end of the line. “What are you in Chicago for?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

Steve seemed to relax at the question, smiling softly as he answered. “Well, officially, I’m here to go to a convention, but unofficially I’m here to visit a friend I don’t get to see as often as I want.”

Eddie lit up, eyes bright with excitement. “Oh, no way? I’m going to a con too! I run a booth in artist alley! Maybe we’ll see each other?” He said, grinning at Steve. The man smiled back, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the excited man beside him.

“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed, raising his eyebrows.

“Look for a booth called CorrodedCoffin Art, and that’ll be mine! If I’m not there, Chrissy will be, so you can just ask her where I am,” Eddie said, enthusiastically. The idea that he could see this man again was already making him vibrate with excitement.

“I’ll look for you,” Steve said earnestly, smiling crookedly. “I have a lot to do this weekend, but hopefully I can stop by and see you.” Eddie bobbed his head, pretty much bouncing in place.

“Cool! Oh! It’s our turn. You can order first,” the metalhead said, gesturing in front of him. Steve smiled at him before turning to the barista.

“Back so soon?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Steve laughed, glancing at the man next to him. “Yeah, this guy ran into me and spilled both of my drinks,” he said, leering teasingly at Eddie, who felt his cheeks heat.

“I said sorry! And I’m buying you new drinks to make up for it,” Eddie defended, crossing his arms and pouting. Steve snorted softly, before returning his attention to the barista. He ordered his two drinks before moving to the side to let Eddie order.

“One large iced caramel mocha, and one extra large iced white chocolate mocha, please,” he ordered with a hum. He handed over his card, barely disguising a wince as she read off the total to him.

“Extra large, huh?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrows. Eddie laughed, shrugging helplessly.

“I was supposed to be at the convention center an hour ago,” he admitted, smiling, “the extra large is for Chrissy to make up for it.” He paused for a minute, looking Steve up and down and decided ‘fuck it’. “Can’t say I regret being late, though,” he said, winking at the man. Eddie delighted in watching Steve’s cheeks turn pink and itched to know how far down his body the flush spread.

“Well, I for one am glad you were running late,” Steve said, causing Eddie to grab a piece of his hair and hide a grin behind it. He watched as Steve’s gaze went down and then back up to meet his eyes.

Sooner than either man hoped, their orders were fulfilled. Eddie checked the time absentmindedly and cursed, seeing it was nearing 10:15. He reached into his bag and grabbed a sharpie, grinning as he wrote down his number onto a napkin.

“I am running late, but text me, maybe?” He asked, grinning shyly at the man as he tucked the napkin into his front pocket. He winked at him one more time before grabbing his drinks and dashing out the door. Chrissy would forgive him, probably.

#genuinely so excited to write more of this #but this is for fun so idk how often i’ll post #cosplayer!eddie #famous!steve #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #steve x eddie #stranger things #st #steve harrington x eddie munson #for a minute in the sunlight #unsteddie writing

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notquiteaghost · 1 year

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today (2nd december 2022) is bandcamp friday! as it was also just spotify wrapped day, and spotify pays musicians Jack Fucking Shit, i am gonna put my money where my anti-capitalist mouth is & link some albums i listened to a shit ton this year. you should check them out

brave faces everyone by spanish love songs: punk rock for the modern-day broke twenty-something, [pretentious bastard voice] a cohesive album with obvious care put into Themes and Flow, fav lyric; But if I burn this place down, / We’d have some heat. / At least I’m seeing things more positively, / Because I swear to god, I’m an optimist.

t.i.a.p.f.y.h. by left at london: hashtag Mental Illness Music. nat left at london is one of the greatest musicians alive rn. fav lyric; “How you’re gonna live like this?” / How you’re gonna live yourself?

things that hurt by cultdreams: self-described sad lo-fi punk, anthems for being full of rage but also real fucking exhausted, fav song; repent, regress

weightbearer by squalloscope: electronic folk for tumblr users with poetry tags. the things squalloscope does with words make me want to eat their songs whole. fav lyric; i am mold, rot, and rust / i have been dying since birth / i was buried alive / dug myself out of the earth

4 o'clock in the afternoon by chase petra: quarter-life crisis pop rock, songs for your 2PM daily breakdown, fav lyric; simulation, I’m on the run from Keanu now / but who cares if its not real / because I can still feel

we live here by bob vylan: grime punk with teeth, doubly recommend if you're british, fav lyric; Voices in the cage are getting way too loud to sleep through / Just fuel for the hatred in my head / Constantly uncomfortable and socially inept

lowlight by rosie tucker: self-described non sequitur equestrian, gutpunch lyricism for 'sad person with guitar' enjoyers, fav lyric; I am a beautiful machine / One part copper, two part dreaming / Hardwired, heartbroken circuitry

the birdwatcher's guide to atrocity by seeming: post-gothic post-human post-folk pop, songs you can build a house and live in, fav lyric; Like a mantis I am praying / Out of habit without saying / Anything

honourable mention, of course, to the mountain goat's bleed out, but i am assuming if you're reading this i don't need to sell you on the mountain goats. anyway go see if your favourite artists are on bandcamp

#yelling at clouds #music #bandcamp friday recs #reblogs appreciated and encouraged #stealing this format for your own post appreciated and encouraged

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thronesforkings · 1 year

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Title: Surprise Lover PT 2

Requested?: No

Genre: Fluff

Characters: Male!Reader x Rindou Haitani

TW/CW: Swearing, violence, drinking, mentions of abuse

Notes: I got the motivation to finally continue this. UHHH, I might’ve gone with my impulsive thoughts and made it so (Name)’s family is actually a large mafia but they have hid it for years. Also I am terrible with names so yes I used a last name from another anime.

I gave (Name) a twin sibling just to spice things up and to actually make a somewhat cohesive plot. ALSO, yes I did put other anime characters in this but due to my awful ability to come up with characters for background people.

Word Count: 1688

Part 1

EXTRA NOTE: Uh, I’m back, maybe. It was just finals so that just kicked me down and now it’s going to be second semester for me real soon. Hopefully I can have more time to write but I can’t promise anything till summer. Sorry yall

“Did Rindou even tell you what this event is?” Sanzu asked as (Name) shook his head.

“Idiot, stop acting like a teenager.” Ran said and hit the back of Rin’s head, and the younger glared at him as Ran just grinned.

“This is a big gala of sorts for gangs and mafias that happens three times a year. This is the start of the year one, it’s meant for groups to be friendly for once and to give everyone a base of what they are up against this year. This time it’s held by one of our biggest supporters so it would be rude to not be here for at least a little bit. Normally we don’t all go but due to who is hosting, tonight is different.” Koko explained and (Name) just blinked before smiling softly.

“Oh, I do hope that we won’t have to stay for long then.” (Name) said as he was half worried about running into his family. He ran away at 18 and legally changed his name. He knew his family were still watching him so he left Japan and went off the grid for a few months as he made a whole new life for himself.

“Hopefully. Let’s go.” Mikey said and the group went inside and Rin held (Name)’s hand tighter as people looked at them, the chatter quieting down slightly but still going.

“I’m sorry but who are you?” The security guard asked the non-gang member who just smiled politely.

“He-” Rin began but (Name) elbowed him in the side to shut him up.

“I’m going to assume that you are new and give you a pass on messing this up. I’m Zenin Sakai.” Ari spoke carefully, holding himself differently than before and a leader aura coming off of him suddenly. The Bonten men were surprised at his way of getting in. Rindou was confused and worried as he was unsure of what his fiance was trying to achieve and how he even knew of the elusive underground family. They all watched the guard stiffen for a moment before turning red and bowing.

“I’m so sorry. Um, Uh, I am new. I will forever be in your debt for this.” The man stammered out and Mikey watched (Name) carefully as the supposed ‘civilian’ flickered his eyes around the guard’s body for a weapon and hummed. Mikey knew he wasn’t just doing this, he was planning this all on the spot and hoping that it works, and was confident in his abilities.

“I wouldn’t go that far. If you would just let us in, that is the only thing needed from you.” (Name) spoke carefully, he knew Rin was confused about what just happened as they walked inside. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and untensed his shoulders.

“That was pretty cool, you should’ve told me you bagged someone who is excellent at getting his way.” Ran said and Rin just nodded, glancing at (Name) who bit his tongue.

“We’ll talk about this later. Just, let’s enjoy this. I’ll explain what that was to you when we get home. Okay?” (Name) spoke softly and Rin scanned him for any lies (he didn’t not trust him but he has always been hesitant about promises), when he didn’t see any he nodded and glanced at his brother to make him get out of his personal space.

-----

“So, you’re one of the Haitani’s bitches? Must be special if you were brought along. What’s your name?” A guy asked (Name) as he was getting himself some food to munch on. He looked over to see a male in a nice black suit with white shoes and gloves on his hands.. He thought before speaking, not enough and would later blame the alcohol in his system for letting him slip up in this environment.

“I am special. Why does it matter to you though?” (Name) asked with a soft smile and he returned the smile as he held his wine glass.

“Well, I respect Bonten so I’m not against you. I only ask since I heard chicks from the Monoma Family Mafia table talk about causing some drama. The one with long blonde hair and is wearing the frilly shoulder straps, she said that if one of them made it look like you were cheating and told Haitani about it, they could have a shot with him. You clearly know where you are and know the type of people you are around. Gotta look out for fellow bitches of a higher up. I’m Dabi. If you need me, I’m with the Liberation.” The male spoke before leaving the other to think for a moment before returning to the group.

“I noticed there was some Taiyaki, I remember Rin mentioning once how you liked it so I figured I’d get you one. See it as a thanks for letting me be with you guys.” (Name) said as he gave the small plate of fish shaped treats to the soulless looking leader as he sat down next to Rin again. Mikey looked at it for a moment before quietly picking one up and eating it.

===========

“You’re not Zenin Sakai, this is him right here. I’m sorry but I’m going to have to see some identification.” A security guard came up to them with a male that looked eerily familiar to (Name) along with the current leader of the Zenin group. (Name) froze slightly and turned to face the guard while the rest of Bonten was watching him with curiosity and ready to step in if needed.

“Ah, it’s quite easy for guards to get us mixed up, I thought that I had already been allowed in so I used his name. My real name is (Name). We do get mixed up often.” The area around them went silent as (Name) was kicked off his chair. The real Sakai took a gun out and pointed it at the male on the floor.

“If any of you step in, I won’t hesitate.” The male spoke, his voice almost the same as (Name)’s. Rin was confused while Mikey watched with interest.

“If you’re him, then what is something that only he would know?” The old man asked as he lifted (Name) up by the arm and the coughing male just grinned.

“Every Thursday if we didn’t do our drills then you would put us in the chair for a day. If we continued to disobey then we got moved to the closet. When I was 16, neither of those stopped me from disobeying so you threatened to shoot me if I didn’t listen. A week later, I fucked up training and you slashed my hip. I still have the scar.” (Name) spoke as if he was proud of all of this happening to him. Rin looked in horror as he knew that (Name) didn’t like to talk about his family and so he never pushed. Now he understood why.

It happened in a flash, (Name) was thrown to the ground and a crack was heard, making Ran (The closest to the apparent brother) get up and unarm him quickly. He wasn’t looking for a fight, he knew that they were going to be the talk of the town after this already. The rest of Bonten stood up and Rin went over and picked (Name) up and they left without another word. It wasn’t until they had gotten to Rin’s car that (Name) let out a wet laugh. The male had blood coming out of his nose and a busted lip, tears coming out of his eyes as he just laughed.

“I was hoping to explain all this at home. That’s the reason I pushed you away when you asked questions about my family. I’m sorry, I ruined this night for all of you and probably caused you guys more trouble.” (Name) spoke as his laughs died down but the tears didn’t stop. He hummed as he was set back on the ground but was soon engulfed in a hug by Rin.

“Idiot, I never should’ve brought you into my work.” Rin said, voice muffled as his face was in the crook of (Name)’s neck. Ran laughed lightly at the two and took a picture. Rin didn’t see or hear it but (Name) flipped him off at that.

“Rindou, have a few days off. That is an order. Tell me the wedding dates and I’ll make sure that we are all able to be free for that. Go home, it was nice to meet you, (Name)-Chan.” Mikey said with a slight smile as the others saw him acting like he used to. It wasn’t for long since Mikey quickly pushed his emotions away as he didn’t like to be open around anyone. He couldn’t help but give (Name) a nickname, he was someone that he would’ve been best friends with if they met during Toman.

“I’m going to go home and sleep.” Some of the others muttered and soon enough it was just the brothers, Mikey, and (Name). Rin let go of him and held his hand tightly.

“So, when can I expect a kid to spoil?” Ran asked with a sly grin and Rin gawked at him before hitting his arm, the other laughing. Mikey quietly waved goodbye as he left the three and (Name) looked at the two being brothers.

“I mean, they aren’t humans but our cat did just recently have a litter of kittens.” (Name) spoke with a small smile. The two breaking apart and Ran was grinning at this new knowledge.

===

(Name) and Rin cuddled under a blanket as some movie was playing, the taller male holding the other close after having patched him up. The two had ordered food and have been watching random movies for a few hours now.

“You know, I really love you.” Rin spoke quietly as he was succumbing to sleep. (Name) just smiled softly and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you too. Get some rest.” (Name)’s voice was the last thing Rin heard before he was clocked out.

#tokyo revengers x male reader #haitani rindou x male reader #x male reader #tw abuse mention #tw violence

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purgemarchlockdown · 2 months

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New Apple

(Also Known as: Nott Broke, I am now writing the WKTD-Amane Cross Analysis. This is also the Trans Amane Momose Thesis)

(CWs: Cults, Child Abuse, Child Death, Body Horror, Homophobia, Transphobia.)

(Spoilers for We Know The Devil and Milgram.)

I am a unrepentant fan of the Visual Novel We Know The Devil. I love it dearly, I think it's one of the best Things ever made.

I am also a...fan, to say the least, of Amane Momose. I think about her every day. And as a result I've thought about these two things together a lot. I think there's a lot of thematically cohesion that can be derived from putting the two together.

Since this is Milgram Focused, I'm going to put an explanation for what the plot of WKTD is first before continuing.

WKTD is a 2015 VN about Three Bad Kids at a Christian Summer Camp who are sent to meet The Devil one day in a cabin in the woods. This game is about Queer Religious Horror and has great prose and you should play it-

Now, there are already comparisons that can be drawn to Amane's cult and the game's main premise, but let's discuss each of the three kids first.

No Prince For The Princesses

Starting with Jupiter. Jupiter is the tomboyish good kid of the bunch or, more accurately, tries her best to be the good kid to minimal success.

Laughing off a head injury isn't all that Jupiter's good at; she has the best grades in class, and coaches make her starter on whatever team has the most pressing need for someone who can do sports. She's a perfect role model, except for how she always misses the winning goal and she always blanks on the last question. She leads when no one else wants to, which is always.

Jupiter can keep up until right when it matters the most. It's here where I mention Jupiter snaps a hairband against her wrist, a common tactic used as an alternative to self-harm.

Her place in the dysfunctional group of problem kids becoming clear as her issues with being the perfect good kid and her immense self-hate and loathing start to seep through. Jupiter struggles under this weight of expectations and pleasing others but tries to pretend she an:

Neptune: ascetic monk at not giving a shit.

To her own detriment, she hangs out with the Worst Group in the Camp of Worst Kids just so she can get them to stay away from her. If they just like her enough then they won't bother her. Even if she personally dislikes them and how they act.

Not that she...enjoys acting like this. She's disgusted by the idea of the Counselor liking her. Because:

Jupiter: He likes people he can make a little uncomfortable and won't give any trouble about it.

Though as Venus says, that's exactly why he likes their group.

Jupiter is someone who's resigned to reality being like this. To being considered a bad kid even though she tried so hard. Sure it's unfair and people have tried a lot less than her but:

Jupiter: You can still get better at this, if you try, you know?

Even I can say "I'm sorry" Even I have hope I swear! I'm going to be a good girl now! That's it!

Anyway, Jupiter Kisses Girls. She Likes Women. She's a Lesbian. She has a Seven Minutes in Heaven Scene with Neptune where they Kiss-

That kiss having a lot of relevance to how (specifically) a t1 Amane attempts to approach certain taboo ideas and concepts.

Jupiter: It's not real if we don't say it out loud, right?

Amane tends to talk around things in T1. It's not immediately noticeable but it's prevalent in a lot of her speak. Specifically when taboo ideas come into play. Instead of saying anything directly she talks around it.

(Apostle and Death)

Amane: Okay! I’m kind, so I shall forgive you. That’s nice, isn’t it? If my parents were in my place, you would have been lectured for another hour.

This is my favorite example, as Amane is just calling her parents unkind here. But, Amane isn't really good at talking around things. In the same VD, when faced with the knoweldge that she's being underestimated she immdieatly talks about her genuine feelings about being treated like a child, and being talked down to because of it. Being very forward and open about her own emotions.

Outside of that we have instances of her showing interest in things that are believed to be taboo, or at least in things discouraged by her community.

(20/06/27, Amane’s Birthday)

Amane: I don’t need it. I’ll gratefully accept your well-wishes, but I don’t eat things like that. Also…… Shidou-san, I can’t say I’m especially fond of the way you assume that all children will love frivolous things like this. Shidou: ………… Is that so… I apologise. I’m sure everyone else will be happy to eat it, so don’t worry about it. Sorry for intruding. Amane: ………… ……cake……

She even disrespects the blue flag in Purge March, the flag representing "discarding vulgarity"

Considering both how a lot of the generally aesthetics of Magic and Purge March seem to be considered frivolous. And her being forbidden to go to an amusement park.

T1Q5:When you go to an amusement park, what do you like to ride? A: That is a place I should not go to.

I think we can infer that these things are consider vulgar and wanting them anyway. She wants something outside of what she has. Something that she tries to Hide in her interrogations. (Interrogations)

T1Q3: If you were allowed to do anything, what would you want to do? Nothing really. I am not lacking anything.

T1Q17: What would you do if the world ends tomorrow? If everything ends? Then, I might do all sorts of things I have never done before.

(Put a pin in these interros, we are Going to come back to them.)

It's wrong to want such a thing, she knows this well. That's why she doesn't say it out loud. It's not real until she does. No one can punish her for it if she doesn't say anything.

Except...they Do. Same with Jupiter, people who didn't try as hard to get into the "proper, good girl" summer scouts got in when Jupiter didn't. Amane studies so hard and yet she only gets a 83% when Kotoko is tutoring her.

(20/06/18)

Kotoko: There, I’ve finished marking. 83%. How do I put it… Even though you act like this, it’s not like you’re super brilliant at studying or anything, huh.

She just blanks at the last question.

Misses the winning goal.

Something about Her is...inherently holding them back from this illustrious standard of being a good girl. It's just, impossible for her to be one. She knows this herself.

Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl

And even though she tries, she Can't do anything to change that. In the same way that no matter how hard Jupiter tries, people instinctively understand that she's something Other somehow. The both of them being harmed over and over again in an attempt to live up to ideals that they will...never be able to live up to.

The system of We Know The Devil works like this, you choose two kids and leave one behind each hour. Leave one behind enough and they become the devil. The worst kid out of all of them.

Jupiter does her best but her best is never going to be enough. So if she gets excluded enough times...

Even the best kid has the devil inside her.

Jupiter wants to touch, to hit, to pull.

Venus: I wish I could be meaner. I wish I could be so much meaner.

She's never going to be able to make up for this incessant greedy Want.

Her hairband snaps here, she can't keep the devil away for much longer, and she knows it.

Jupiter: You know, I actually liked when the captain talked about how heaven was on merit; as long as you do good things, maybe you can one day be good… Jupiter: But then they said we don’t believe that anymore and it’s only what’s in your heart that matters. Jupiter: Just when I think I got it right, they changed it. Jupiter: I can try hard, but I think… Jupiter: God knows my heart isn’t really in it. And that was my only shot, right?

Amane considers love a showcase of mercy,

T2Q9: What does love mean to you? A: To spread mercy with no limits.

And considers her punishments love.

T2Q2: Do you believe you were loved? A: Very much deeply.

I suppose when you think about it, trying to beat the devil out of someone is mercy.

But, you can't really do anything about it if someone does want the devil.

Jupiter: It's wrong to want such a thing, you know that, don't you? So don't do it. I still know that much.

In each color ending, the devil gets destroyed. The devil only getting one moment for whatever they wanted.

For revenge, for love, for "please take me back."

One Singular Moment to live as they are before having it burnt out of them.

...Someone had to have opened that door at the end of Purge March

(Milgram T1 Glitched Character Voicelines)

Amane: Ahh! I'm so sorry...! I'm sorry...! I'm sorry for breaking the rules!

Lukewarm, I Spit You Out

We have more bad kids to go through, so let's talk Neptune.

Neptune is, to be blunt, a self-proclaimed bitch. She doesn't act like she's supposed to belong her which is exactly why she belongs here. She uses profanities, sneaks alcohol into the camp, and the summary of this game calls her a mean girl. Though this meanness of hers betrays a certain amount of care and worry for her group, or, at least they like to think of it that way:

Neptune is very kind or possibly super mean and hates us. But that's okay. She's really funny.

This kindness of hers comes out in many ways. She's concerned for Jupiter, trying to get her to actually give a shit about herself, especially when she does so much work.

Neptune: I mean like, aren't you doing fine? Neptune: Aren't you trying harder than literally everyone else here? Neptune: You're so chill about everyone's bullshit it makes me so mad and then you won't extend even the slightest of that chill to yourself and that makes me EVEN SO MADDER. Neptune: Can't you just be a little less…good?

And wants Venus to get out of his egg, to let himself be a bit of a bitch, and stop apologizing for himself when he is doing nothing wrong.

Neptune: Wait, I got it. I dare you to not say sorry for the rest of the night. Jupiter: Oh my god. Venus: I can do that! Jupiter: …can he though? Neptune: No it's perfect. Neptune: It'll fix something annoying, and this will make everyone's life easier, and all of us win. Venus: Is it really annoying? Neptune: You shouldn't have to apologize for things you don't need to apologize for.

Neptune deeply cares about the people around her, it just comes out as harsh words and actions. She wants to make Jupiter's life a living hell so that she's forced to say that it hurts.

Neptune: People are supposed to get hurt by things. It's fucked up to not. It's not good for you.

Though, as Venus calls out, the way Neptune acts doesn't fully come from self-confidence.

Venus: ...your problem Neptune is. Venus: You think being mean is more honest. Venus: But you're just as bad as Jupiter. Venus: And me.

Neptune, like the other two, deeply hates herself. Like Jupiter she has a consistent "tell" that shows she's the devil. She throws up this black ichor-like substance. Poison really. The only thing she can say. She's a bad kid through and through.

Now, Amane is self-proclaimed annoying.

Es: Regardless of whether you’re a child or an adult… you are beyond annoying. Amane: Oh, my. I am honored by your praise. Es: As I said. Amane: (giggles)

She takes Real Pride in being, a little shit to people.

20/06/03

Fuuta: ……huh? What’s your problem? You’re just leaving all your meat? What a weird kid. Amane: You say that, but you’re not eating all of your food either. ……are you not able to eat your vegetables? Even though you’re an adult. Fuuta: Huh, what, so you’re just eating grass? What are you, a rabbit or something? Since you’re just a brat, you should be eating your meat properly. You won’t grow if you don’t. Amane: ……you make some really funny jokes, don’t you, Fuuta-san.

This behavior is mostly present in T1, mostly cause T1 is Amane's testing period. She's trying to see what she can get away with. These behaviors disappearing by T2 because she learns that she can't get away with much. Introducing us to a less playful, more angry and genuinely despairing Amane. (Of Blessedness and Punishment)

Amane: This is unforgivable! I won’t forgive you! (screams)

That isn't to say Amane doesn't genuinely want to help out though, even with her more aggressive attitude. In fact she goes out of her way to "help" Fuuta and responds to Yuno's questions and worries honestly and patiently.

(23/06/27, Amane’s Birthday)

Yuno: By the way, Amane. Have you ever wished you were never born? I’ve thankfully lived a pretty fun life so far, so haven’t really. But you seem to be struggling with something. So I kinda wondered if you thought like that. Amane: ……I don’t think that. Being born into this world is the first miracle any person experiences, and is something to celebrate. Even if after birth I was put through trial after trial, the value of that will never disappear.

Amane is kind, genuinely so. She helps the cat, she tries her best to "guide" people back to the better path. The problem is, is that her want to help gets tied up in her community and her worldview. Causing more harm than she would like, it's almost like she can only spit out doctrine when that isn't the case.

Amane: Hm. Is that so? Are the prisoners who weren’t forgiven feeling lost right now? Maybe they need our faith as well.

Outside of that, Amane is rather opinionated, she tries to keep it down but it seeps out anyway. She's expressed numerous times her frustration with being treated like a child (ie: being treated like she has no rights of her own.) And expresses that openly and bluntly.

(20/06/13)

Shidou: I…… I just don’t understand. If everything about MILGRAM is true…… why did a child like you have to become a murderer? Just imagining what sort of circumstances must have led to that, it makes me so sad…… Amane: ……*sigh*. Is that right. I don’t think I’m going to get along with you, Shidou-san.I don’t agree with the fact you refuse to acknowledge that I have my own free will, and that I should be held accountable for my actions, just because I’m a child. I may have only been alive for 12 years, but all the choices I’ve made, even if they weren’t the best ones, were entirely my own. What point is there in you getting sad when I have no regrets myself?

It's easy to call her annoying or petulant for this, especially when Shidou (seemingly) is just concerned for how how a child is in prison of murders. And again she Does act annoying on purpose.

But Shidou is being actively patronizing and forcing his view of Amane Onto her. When Amane rebukes this, instead of apologizing or reevaluating he dismisses what she says. Something that deeply frustrates her.

Neptune: I'm an evil bad slut right? I'm a bitch and a flirt. Neptune: I'm a bitch because I let people know when they walk over me. Neptune: I'm a flirt because boys keep talking at me. Neptune: And this is somehow my problem, because they can't get over themselves and leave me alone? Neptune: How is that fair? Why should I get hurt by that? It makes me so mad! Neptune: Why would I be anything but MAD about all this stupid obnoxious BULLSHIT.

You’re sorry? I don’t care! Please, go ahead and die already Remember MY cries, MY repents, MY words of “I’m sorry” that I said to you?

Amane cares a lot about being treated Properly, about the people around her being treated Properly. She can't really...accept injustice. She broke one of her cult's doctrines because she wanted wrap up what was probably a Small Wound at worst judging by the state of the cat. She's not going to waver just because the people around her believe otherwise.

Amane: ……I’m fine. I don’t know what you’ve done or what it is you’re worried about, but I think if there’s something you believe in, you should stay true to it. It’s not something that should waver just because other people said something. I personally don’t plan on changing my own beliefs even if I’m told I’m wrong either……

Amane believes in the idea that people can get better, and wants to see people get better even if she can't. She's going to help even if she has to be Violent to do so.

Neptune: You asked me to come out. So I'm coming out. The door opens and it's her but it's not her She grabs Venus and crushes him against the wall like he's a little doll.

Amane: Don’t you think it’s a good opportunity to be reborn? If, right now, you could shake off those around you trying to drag you down to depravity, and could change––

When Neptune's the devil she forcibly tries to turn the other two kids into the devil alongside with her. She knows this whole situation is a nightmare and wants to force the two into accepting who they really are, even if it meant hurting them.

Why should they be the ones to suffer when their trying so hard to be good? Why should they be suffering when they already ARE good?

Neptune: Doesn't it feel unfair? You're already good, so why do you have to try so hard to be good? It makes me mad. They want you to prove you're good. But you're already so good. What is that? Why do they do that?

We must not give into them, they are the ones that should be judged

Why does She need to prove that she's righteous when the people around her can break the same rules she does and get away with no consequences?

I don’t need it any more, if you’re going to break your vow Here and now, it’s my turn to tear you apart

It's just so Unfair. Why is she the one getting hurt for no good reason? Why was the cat the one who got hurt for something that wasn't even its fault? It's just not right. None of this is right.

Neptune: Does that kid look happy to you? Well I guess we have different opinions and you will have to stop me from making him into what he is trying very hard not to be.

Help Me God, I'm In Love

We have one more kid to go through.

Venus is known for being very much a doormat, and very easy to push around. A small detail when their sitting down to listen to the Bonfire Captain's story is that Venus tries his best not to take up space.

Venus sits with his legs crossed, taking up as little space as he can, which is at most not very much.

And As mentioned before he constantly apologizes for himself, even when it isn't even his fault. That dare Neptune gives him? He immdieatly fails it, the sorry is an instinct, he does it automatically.

Though even then, Venus is known to be...a bit of a little shit. Maybe even quite Mean. He has a bite to his words and can be extremely judgemental. Not that he seems to notice .

Jupiter: Do you think he notices how much of a jerk he is sometimes? Neptune: I wish.

Amane: An arts university, though…… Does that mean you’re good at drawing, then? It may be a bit rude to say, but that’s rather unexpected.

(I Love how Amane implies that she thought Mikoto was too boring to be an artist. Incredible.)

Not only that but he's strongly opinionated, often surprising the people around him with them and how pointed and critical he can be. The people around him being so used to how shy and docile he seems.

Jupiter: Why not you. You're safe. You're like a puppy. You're harmless. Venus: …did you lose your nerve? Jupiter: Except when you talk.

He doesn't mean to be mean on purpose, he doesn't even like being mean, but it just comes out of him. He can't stop himself. He's so angry and bitter about certain things that his real feelings bleed out of him.

Neptune: Wow Venus I'm ALMOST impressed. Neptune: You are, deep down, kind of a little shit. Venus: I didn't mean it in a mean way. I wasn't teasing. Neptune: That's so much worse, Venus. Venus: I guess I just don't get it? Venus: I don't like being mean and I don't want to be mean so I try really hard not to be mean. Venus: I don't get any of the 'just kidding' because it's not just kidding.

But Venus is easy to pick on, he smiles weirdly, he tries his best to avoid causing too much conflict, and the idea that Venus is "not like the other boys" get floated around pretty early depending on what interactions you chose, and Jupiter and Neptune discuss this their 10AM interaction:

Neptune: Are you seriously worried about him? Jupiter: Maybe. A little. Jupiter: He's weird. Not in a bad way, necessarily? Jupiter: But maybe in a bad way, possibly. Jupiter: Sometimes I don't even know what he is.

Jackalope: That isn’t even really Amane Momose anymore. You’ve awakened something much bigger.

There's something....different about Venus, like Jupiter and Neptune before him. Everyone can tell, and thus treats him differently for it but he's just not exactly sure what that...Is.

And it's so Frustrating.

Venus: …I don't know what's wrong with me.

Venus: But I can't. Not when it comes to this. Jupiter: What is "this"? Venus: Whatever they want out of me that's not fixing radios. Venus: To be tougher? To grow up? To-what's that?

He's jealous, so deeply jealous of Jupiter and Neptune and he doesn't even know why.

Venus: I'm mad about a lot of things I guess. Jupiter: Liar Jupiter: You're not mad. Jupiter: You're jealous. Jupiter: Why are you so jealous. Jupiter: It's flattering. But it's weird. Venus: I don't know.

Muu: ……hey, are you listening to me? What are you staring at……? Amane: I’m not staring at anything. Muu: Liar, you definitely are……

Amane: ……cake……

He wants...something from them, he doesn't know what but it's something important to him. Something that would make him feel like he's himself and not...whatever he is. It's not even like he necessarily minds being different. He doesn't even think he can be anything else.

Venus: I know I'm bad at getting anyone to like me and I'm weird and everyone else can deal even though I can't, but I can't. Venus: I'm just going to be like this. I'm not going to be any different. Jupiter: You're asking to get beat up. Venus: I don't care.

T2Q20: How do you feel about you not being like everyone else? A: Nevertheless I was born as myself, so I'm happy.

This deep want appears in Everything he does. Everything he does is to somehow get that Thing he Wants the Most. He can attribute it to something else but everyone can tell he wants Something.

Neptune: Venus, your problem is that you are very nice. But you want something. And you think being nice is going to give it to you. But it never will. And until you figure out what it is you want. Every kindness of yours will be full of that want.

Amane: Ah, I am looking forward to it! Seeing whether your judgement will align with that of these higher standards! If that is the case, maybe Milgram would be the right world for us to live in, rather than the outside world!

Milgram relies on your judgement, isn’t that right? In that case, you could become the mediator for a far more righteous world!!

That isn't to say he Isn't afraid of being found out. Of having the kind of person he is being revealed. In a game of truth or dare he chooses dare because:

Venus: I mean, it's kinda like Jupiter said? Truth is embarrassing and dares could get you hurt. Getting hurt is way less scary.

But then the contradiction of this gets pointed out to him, people can be embarrassing with dares as well. It's easy to hurt and embarrass someone.

I've already mentioned that Amane hides...a lot, she tends to talk around things and use double meanings and what not. But she also doesn't want to seem frivolous or wasteful. She wants to stay seeming mature and smart and pure. Being immature is dangerous to her, another reason for people to view her as useless and weak. Another reason to get hurt.

She isn't that. She can prove it. She's not greedy or materialistic.

Venus: I don't want to be strong. I don't want to be that sort of person at all.

She doesn't want anything.

Venus: I want them within me and without me. All through and about me. I want feathers in my lungs and eyes on my skin. I want my heart to see and my lungs to fly.

Nothing at all.

T1Q17: What would you do if the world ends tomorrow? If everything ends? Then, I might do all sorts of things I have never done before.

This is when I reveal Venus is Trans.

Venus is Trans! She uses She/Her, I've been using He/Him for her previously to reveal she's trans like how the VN reveals she's trans.

Venus wants to reveal the truth, to be seen as she is, to have:

That wing to see the truth and that eye to lay it bare.

She wants to be honest and live as herself. To really Be Her. When she becomes the devil she says it's nobody's fault but hers. She wants this. She wants this so much.

She's not doing it cause she was forced or coerced she did it cause she Wanted To. She wanted to do it so badly. She does it with such glee it's honestly terrifying. She killed out of hate and duty and Enjoyed It.

The devil is lonely. We kicked out the devil and it must miss us. It keeps begging to be let back, to let it in.

And Amane Did.

Smoke and Honey

Amane Momose is undeniably monster-coded.

Jackalope: That isn’t even really Amane Momose anymore. You’ve awakened something much bigger.

Amane: Right now, I am both Amane Momose and I am not. I am speaking on behalf of our faith.

Amane: Yes. It is only natural for a person(/human) to apologize to another for breaking a promise. Es: … Amane: Why are you looking so doubtful? Are you not human?

This happy pinky promise hurts to break

There's so much to discuss that if I did do it in detail we would get so set off track very badly, but Amane Momose is Other. She's the Other, she's not human. She's never Been Human. Atleast not by the standards of her cult.

In the Milgram Cat Symbolism, Cats has been highly associated with sin. Yuno portrays her cat self as the most honest but also sinful version of herself. Kazui does the same. Amane being the cat, implicates her as a sinful force in the world. Something dangerous and terrifying that needs to be destroyed.

Amane Momose, somehow, is a threat to normal human existence (at least in the existence of the cult.) She's too opinionated, too dedicated, too Bad of a kid. Having her exist at all as she is, is a threat. She doesn't Want to stop being herself, she's supposed to want to stop. Humans aren't supposed to act like she acts. What if that stubbornness was directed at something against the cult?

Adults also hate perfect kids who love the world so much they can't stop themselves from saving it.

We Need to Destory The Devil No Matter What or Who it is. To choose someone to act as the scapegoat, the worst girl, the one kid too weird, too strange, too threatening.

What does Amane do? She's already a liability, just a child, useless and unhelpful. What if she was destructive? Better to teach her now to be better, right?

It's not like she isn't destructive, it's true. She does harm. Horrible harm actually. I completely understand wanting to restrain her for those reasons.

But, she had One Moment, and it was ripped away from her.

Jupiter: If I taste what it's like, I know, there's no way I'll be happy being human ever again.

I Wonder what else is left for her now.

#milgram #cw child abuse #amane momose #cw cults #milgram analysis #milgram meta #it is MIDNIGHT #I wrote this in Two Days and Two Long Sessions #Im telling you guys this VN is important reading for Amane Momose purposes #I also dont know how to beta read theres probably a quadrillion mistakes

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deedeekpop · 2 years

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Summary After you find out that you’re the DUFF of your friend group, you team up with the person who told you, so you can prove everyone wrong.

Word Count 4.5k

Genres Fluff, crack, angst, childhood friends to enemies to lovers

Pairing(s) duff!reader x jock!Jeongin (gn reader)

Warnings swearing, the reader is a bad friend, Jeongin is a bit of an asshole

A/N Sorry I’ve been inactive again. My job has been taking a lot out of me, and I haven’t been feeling best mental health wise. Luckily I’m feeling a little better and I’m hoping to become more consistent :). This is the start of a new sereis, let me know how it goes.

Series Masterlist Masterlist

School for you had always been fairly straightforward, go to class, hang around with your friends at lunch, go to your respective clubs after school, then go home. It was a routine that you had gotten extremely familiar with, and that wasn’t about to change any time soon.

Your two best friends, Rose and Jennie, had been by your side since you were about seven, and the three of you were just about inseparable. Despite the fact that the two of them had a significantly higher social standing, and were miles above you on the confidence scale; you were happy to think that you grounded them back into reality. Plus it didn’t hurt that no one was looking at you, you could rock up to school in a banana suit and no one would even notice with your besties by your side.

Most school days were the same, avoid the annoying Queen Bee of the school, Luna, avoid your annoying player neighbour, Jeongin, and gaze at Seungmin, whilst trying to form a cohesive sentence. Then during breaks, you would spend your time writing for the school’s newspaper, something you were pretty good at. You had school down to a science, which was good because you got A’s in those subjects.

Today was like no other day, Rose and Jennie were invited to a party, with you as part of their package deal, and you had finally gotten to your locker for a moment of peace. You were a little put off by the entire conversation, with Luna acting like you weren’t even there, and treating you like shit when she finally acknowledged your existence.

You were grabbing your books for your next Spanish class, when he approached you, Jeongin. You groaned internally, his cocky smirk defeating any happiness you had. You had known Jeongin since you were a baby. You were next-door neighbours, which meant that the two of you had grown up together. Despite this, the two of you really didn’t get along, with the two of you having completely different interests. Also, he was dating Luna

“Hey, Y/N.” He grinned at you, you rolled your eyes.

“And for what reason am I graced with your presence?” You ask sarcastically.

“Just wanted to ask what film you were watching last night? Looked pretty freaky.” You had been watching the latest zombie film to come out, it was pretty freaky, but that’s besides the point.

“Were you spying on me?” You ask incredulously.

“It’s hard to miss a bunch of people running and screaming for their lives.”

You shake your head, grabbing your books, and closing your locker.

“Goodbye, Jeongin.” You say, huffing as you pass him. Hopefully, you could avoid him for the rest of the day.

The next two days at school passed fast, until its finally the day of the party. For some reason, Luna had decided to have the party on a school night, and Jennie and Rose were way too excited about it. The two of them had spent an hour at your house, giggling whilst trying to get you to dress up. This was Luna you were talking about, there was no way you were dressing up for her.

There was a nagging feeling in your head that maybe Seungmin would be there, but you didn’t want to get your hopes up. You were pretty sure he didn’t know you existed, and you didn’t want to put any effort just for your hopes to be crushed even lower than they already were. So naturally, you pull out your usual go-to party t-shirt and up the ante on the complaining.

“Come on, Y/N! This could be your chance to wow Seungmin!” Rose giggles like a little school girl.

“Yeah, he wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off you in something like this.” Jennie flashes something covered in brightly coloured sequins. That was not your style one bit, as much as they wanted it to be.

After talking them down, you make it to the party whilst it’s in full swing, separating with Jennie and Rose who make a beeline for the dance floor (somewhere you definitely avoid). You spot a glimpse of Seungmin, sitting with his guitar (and crowded by his adoring fans), there was no way you were grabbing his attention tonight.

Not paying much attention, you turn around and run into Luna.

“Watch where you’re going!” She growls, and not wanting to get into an argument tonight, you mutter a sorry and try to evacuate.

“You think you can just show up here and ruin my night!” She scowls.

“I haven’t even done anything, Luna.”

“Your presence alone ruins everything.”

“Ouch,” You say sarcastically. “Whilst I would love to stay and hear your creative insults, I have somewhere else to be.”

Ducking behind someone, you make your escape, hearing her huff in frustration. Making your way inside, you head towards the snack table. The house itself was like a glass maze, but it was worth it for the food. As much as you disliked Luna, you could agree that she had good taste in food, the spread was extravagant- not what you would expect at a high school party.

“Enjoying the food, Y/N.” Jeongin’s voice jumped in from behind you. You startled, almost dropping your glass of punch, but standing your ground.

“It was much better company than you.”

“Oh, I’m hurt. I have to say though, you’re usually in much better company. Where are Jennie and Rose at?”

“Already planning to cheat on Luna?”

“We broke up,”

“Again?” It was the third time this month.”

“Well, as a DUFF, you wouldn’t understand your friends being wanted.”

“I’m sorry??? Of course, I understand why my friends are so popular, they’re wonderful people. And what do you mean a DUFF? What the hell is that Jeongin!” Your voice was muddled with confusion and incredulity.

“A DUFF. Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Doesn’t mean your any of those things, just that in comparison to your friends, you’re less attractive and more approachable.”

You could not believe this, the fact that he had just openly insulted you. And he didn’t seem the least bit sorry, the same cocky grin smeared across his face. To put it simply, he infuriated you. How dare he say that to you! Sure you weren’t as conventionally attractive as Jennie and Rose but you had your own charms. How dare he dismiss that.

In your rage, you could only think to do one thing in return. Picking up a solo cup full of cheap beer, you fling it in his face. “Fuck you, Jeongin.” You mutter before storming off. You needed to get away from this party more than ever.

Over the next two weeks that one acronym floated across your mind, lingering like a bad smell that you were desperate to get rid of. It was beginning to affect every thought you had, and every interaction you had with your two friends.

What used to feel like a blessing, felt more like a curse. Why were you completely ignored compared to them, why did you constantly have people coming up to you and asking if they were single? Why was no one coming up to you and asking you if you were single? Then your mind began turning to other, more dangerous thoughts.

Were they using you, as some sort of doorman? Were you just there to make them seem more kind and approachable, that they look better to be associated with someone of a lower social status? You hoped it wasn’t true, that these years of friendship had been genuine, but you weren’t in the right state of mind to be making reasonable judgements right now.

So there you were, silently stewing away whilst your two friends were attempting to engage you in some form of interesting conversation. But you had just had it.

“Do you think I’m stupid?!” You snapped.

“Y/N, why the hell would you think that?” Jennie was taken aback.

“We’ve known you for so long, we obviously don’t.” Rose in comparison was confused.

This contradiction only sparked your anger further. You almost went into a blind rage.

“I’ve had enough of you both using me. I don’t need you or want either of you anymore. My eyes have been opened to how you used me you sickos!”

You began gathering your things, only for Jennie to pull you back down.

“Stop being ridiculous. What are you on about?”

“You know, and it’s been going on for way too long. We’re done. Don’t talk to me.”

And with that, you stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving two very confused girls behind you.

It was definitely a different situation, being by yourself. You had never really experienced high school this way before, but your fears had been confirmed. You were completely invisible, now that the popularity that came with being friends with Jennie and Rose had gone. You didn’t get so much as a nod of acknowledgement in the halls anymore.

You began to wallow, this new unfamiliar predicament burying you. Until one day, an opportunity arose- willing you to dig yourself out of the hole of your self-pity and finally better yourself. You are not a DUFF, you will not allow yourself to be one.

This particular opportunity arose when you overheard your chemistry teacher talking to the person who had enlightened you. Jeongin.

“I’m sorry Jeongin, but I’ve talked to your coach and we’ve decided that it’s best you don’t play football until you can get your grades up.” Your chemistry teacher was solemn, unlike how you had seen him before.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything you can do? I promise I’ll get my grades up if you let me keep playing.” Jeongin pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but at the moment that isn’t possible.”

So you took your opportunity and pounced. Not long after, your chemistry teacher left the classroom, jeongin packing up his battered chemistry textbook. You entered the room again.

“Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into quite a pickle there, Jeongin.” You grinned, smugly.

“Look, if you’re here to gloat. There are places I’d rather be.” He huffed.

“Actually, I’ve come here with a deal. And if I were you, I’d take it.”

“What is this about, Y/N.”

“Remember when you called me a DUFF.”

“Are you still bringing that up? Look. If I knew you’d fixate on it so much, I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.”

“You basically called me ugly and fat, how else was I supposed to react?”

“Right, I’m going. See you later.

“Wait! I’ll tutor you. For chemistry.” You blurted out.

“I feel like there’s a catch to this.”

“I want you to de-duff me. There’s this guy I like, and I want to have a chance with him.”

“That’s it.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Well, you better hope that you’re a good teacher because I suck ass at chemistry. As for you, meet me at the mall after school. We’ll sort you out there.”

The mall was an eventful trip, something that you didn’t really expect from him. You arrived there and were quickly moved into a popular retail store, where Jeongin scrutinised several different styles of clothing on you.

“What about this one?” You came out wearing a pink outfit.

“Definitely not, looks like something Luna would wear.” He grimaced.

“What, am I not a convincing copy? Do I not give off the vibe I might murder you any second?

“No. You don’t have the murderous glare she does. You look way too happy.”

“Pink is such a happy colour though.”

“Not when she wears it.”

“Right, I’ll try something that doesn’t give you nightmares, then.”

After your mostly unsuccessful shopping trip, he then took to the second step. Confidence, which seemingly involved you aimlessly wandering around the mall on the prowl for men. This was definitely not your thing, you’d love to be doing anything else right now.

“I want you to go up to that guy and get his number.”

“Are you serious, Jeongin?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No, you look like you’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Just go up and talk to him. Worst-case scenario: you get rejected, and you never see him again.” He shoved you in his direction, giving a maniacal smile. Maybe you shouldn’t have chosen him specifically.

You stumbled up to him, almost knocking him over.

“Hey… nice weather today?” You awkwardly stuttered out.

“Not really, it looks like it’s about to rain outside.” The man grumbled, clearly uninterested.

“I don’t know, the rain can be nice sometimes…”

“What do you want?” He suddenly turned to you, unamused.

“Umm… would it be possible… only if you’re comfortable with it… Could I get your number?”

“Absolutely not.” And with that, he stormed off. You wanted to disappear, your face a flaming red. You glared towards Jeongin, currently almost wetting himself with laughter.

“That’s great, go up to another guy and do that again.” He choked out in between his cries of laughter.

“Not a chance. If you’re not taking this seriously, I can just go. But say goodbye to your tutoring.”

He sighs, sobering up from the hilarity of the previous situation.

“Fine, just try again. This time, just be upfront straight away. Just say something like, I saw you across the mall, and you looked super attractive.”

You scoffed, “That would literally only work for you.”

“Why would it only work for me?”

“Look at you, then look at me. There’s a very specific difference.”

“Now, that’s not the attitude we want. Right now, me and you are on the same level. You can totally do this.”

You sigh, slightly blushing at his embarrassing comment. You spent the next half an hour completing this task, going through about ten people before finally getting someone’s number.

You paid him back by studying chemistry notes with him, passing him the extra notes you made during class. You made him promise to do an hour’s revision each night, until his grades finally improved. This arrangement would work, you were sure of it. You were counting on it.

Things seemed to be looking up for you, until you reached the expected fall from grace that you were used to. Walking into school the next day, you were greeted with whispers and stares. You had never felt more popular in your life, it made you uncomfortable.

Finally, you were approached by a girl you didn’t really recognise, but vaguely remember seeing close to Seungmin. She looked around conspiratorially leaning in to ask something from you.

“Is it true that you have a crush on Seungmin?” She asked. Your heart immediately sunk, was that what they were all whispering about? How had any of them found out? Why was everyone so suddenly interested in you? Sure, your more recent interactions with Jeongin had been giving you a few stares, but this was out of nowhere. Why did everyone suddenly believe this, with no evidence?

You stuttered out a no in reply to the girl, rushing down the corridor to your locker. The only people you had told about your crush on Seungmin were Jennie and Rose. They hadn’t done this to you, had they? But then the answer became embarrassingly clear.

There she was, Luna, grinning at you in front of your locker.

“You should tell Jennie and Rose to quieten their conversations. It’s quite easy to overhear things if you want to. That is, if they even would want to talk to you anymore…” She gave a sadistic smile before walking off towards the girl’s bathroom.

You turned around, seeing the one guy you didn’t want to see. Seungmin. He avoided eye contact with you, quickly turning around and half sprinting down the corridor. Great. This is exactly what you needed. You needed to talk to Jeongin.

You sprinted over to Jeongin’s locker, only to find him flirting with a couple of cheerleaders. Rather than explaining anything to him, you grabbed his arm and pulled him into an empty classroom nearby.

“Woah, what’s this all about?”

“The entire school knows about my crush on Seungmin, thanks to Luna.”

“Seems like something she’d do.”

“Why aren’t you panicking?”

“Because this has given you a great opportunity to ask him out. He already knows now, what do you have to lose? Just ask him out.”

“You think he’d say yes?”

“Look. Y/N. Even though we haven’t always got along, I’ve known you since I was like two. You’re a good person, you have a great sense of humour, and you’re not bad looking. He’d be an idiot not to say yes.”

You blushed at Jeongin’s sudden compliment. It wasn’t that you liked him or anything like that, it was just unexpected, that’s all.

“Ok, I’ll do it. At least I can get over him if he says no.”

Leaving Jeongin in the classroom, you raced down the halls towards Seungmin.

“Um.. hey Seungmin.” You say, slightly out of breath.

“Hey, Y/N.” He gives an awkward smile. “What’s up?”

“I think you’ve probably heard it by now, but I really like you. And I was just wondering, if it’s alright with you, maybe we could go out sometime?” You hold your breath, anticipating the rejection sure to come your way.

“Sure, I’d like that.” It seemed like the world had faded away with his reply. You wanted to jump for joy, but you played it cool.

“Great, this Saturday?”

You were just arriving back from school when you heard it coming from Jeongin’s, the familiar shouting. His parents were going through a rough patch, and you could see where it was heading. As a child of divorce, you weren’t exactly optimistic about it.

You sent a text to Jeongin, are you okay? Minutes later he storms out of the house, slamming the door later. Seems like quite an obvious answer.

“Hey, are you okay?” Your eyes filled with concern.

“Do I look ok? Is any of this ok?” You were taken aback by him snapping at you, whilst you both had been hostile to each other previously, Jeongin had never raised his voice at you. He apologised immediately.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you… it’s just every day now. I wish they would get a divorce already.”

“Do you want to go somewhere else, I know a great place to clear your head.”

He nods, and that’s all you needed. It wasn’t a long walk, a little into the woods. You come over to a mishmashed pile of wood.

“Wait, is this the den we built as kids?” He broke out into a grin.

“Yeah it is, now I just go here to think.”

“Didn’t even remember this place, I can remember now how long it took to build.”

“And look what our efforts gave us.”

“I don’t know about you, but it’s a masterpiece.” He says, sarcastically gazing over the pieces of wood.

“I’m glad you’re feeling a little better.” Bad idea, as soon as you mentioned it, his face drooped.

“I don’t know what to do, I just can’t deal with it anymore.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, it hurts at first, but in the long run it’s much better for everyone.”

“I know, it’s just different. I don’t even know if I can remember a time when they liked each other.”

“They loved each other enough to make you. I think that’s proof enough.”

He looked down at you, eyes welling with tears. “Thank you,” He sniffled.

“No problem, seriously, I’m here any time that you want to talk.”

And as though it was out of nowhere, he gentle grabbed your face and kissed you. He was gentle and passionate, careful but forceful. In fact, you couldn’t really explain the feeling of being kissed by Jeongin, though unsettling butterflies arose within your stomach.

Eventually, as though he had come to his senses, he pulled away, panic in his eyes.

“Sorry… uhh…. That was just to check in case… I don’t know, you hadn’t been kissed in a while.”

“Is that what it seemed like to you? That I hadn’t kissed someone in a while.”

He looked at you guiltily, and that was enough for you. It was best to forget that this ever happened in the first place.

Desperate to rid your mind of the moment you had with Jeongin, you were glad that you were going on your date with Seungmin the following day. He had given you his address, but there had been no word on what you were doing. You were unsure whether to dress fancy or casual, but eventually decided that you’d rather dress up than down. At least then you’d look nicer.

You arrived at his house and he announced to you that he was just going to cook food here. It was sweet of him, having spent all this time cooking food for you. It had to mean something right? Maybe he did like you, more than he had let on.

Leaving you alone, you slowly inspected the dining room, he had asked if you were a fan of sushi and you readily agreed. You really hoped that this date would measure up to what you had been dreaming of, you really wanted your hard work with Jeongin had paid off.

Here you go, he suddenly entered the room, putting a plate of sushi down in front of you. You gave him an awkward smile and the two of you settled into an equally awkward conversation.

“So how did you get into music?” You asked.

“Well it’s always just spoke to me you know, it’s like when I see a person I always thinking of song lyrics. I love coming up with new riffs on my guitar.”

“That’s really cool, have you been working on anything recently? If your comfortable, I’d love to hear it.”

“I have actually, it’s for this one person that I really like.” You smiled, this had to be about you right? You were on this date, it would be really sweet of him to serenade you.

“Oh, and who is this person?”

“Ah… it’s actually your friend Jennie. I was hoping you could put in a good word for me?”

This couldn’t be happening, he wasn’t just DUFFing you this entire time. He brought you over here, made you sushi, just so he could have a chance with your former best friend? You got up, eyes filled with angry tears.

“I can’t believe you! And I thought you were different. You must think I’m some sort of idiot.”

You barge out the door, only to find a takeaway sushi bag in the bin. He didn’t even bother to make food for you. Why had you expected anything from this man?

“By the way, you can tell the people who made it, that the food was lovely. Too bad that the company was shit!”

You stormed out, leaving him speechless, and beelining for the one place you needed right now. You needed to think, only the den would give you a clear mind after that ruckus.

Only when you arrived, it was already occupied by Jeongin… and Luna. Your heart sank, the two of them didn’t notice you, too wrapped up in making out. You couldn’t believe that you thought for a second he actually cared, when you had been vulnerable and shown him your place together.

This was really turning out to be quite a shitty night. You were done, whatever this thing was with Jeongin had to stop, because it was obviously becoming more important to you than it was to him. Now that you thought about it, the person who you wanted to be on a date with tonight was him. Too late now.

You had to right your wrongs, and the first thing you needed to do was see Rose and Jennie. You had really fucked up breaking off your friendship with them, being paranoid over some stupid phrase, when all it really came from were shitty people. You approached the two of them in the cafeteria, sitting down at their table.

“Hey” You greet them, avoiding eye contact.

“Why are you sitting with us all of a sudden? I thought we were using you?” Jennie raises an eyebrow.

“I fucked up, I’m sorry. I let some stupid comment get to my head and took it out on you.”

“Why would you do that? I thought you trusted us.” Rose pouted.

“To be honest, I’ve always noticed how you two were so much more liked and popular and more attractive than me. I suppose I was being insecure. I’m sorry, I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

“Of course, we forgive you, you idiot.” Rose flung you into a three-way hug.

“Just don’t do it again, okay? You’re a wonderful person, and you keep us together. Who was saying this shit to you anyway?” Jennie muttered.

“Jeongin.”

“And you believed him? When has anything reliable come out of his mouth?”

“He’s not awful, plus, this whole ordeal made me realise that I don’t like Seungmin. He likes you though, Jennie.”

“Well, I don’t like him. I plan on going to the prom alone.”

“Wait, so am I! That means that the three of us can all go to prom together. We made up just in time!” Rose squealed.

So that’s how you even ended up at prom in the first place, you admitted it hurt seeing Jeongin being paraded around with Luna. But at least he was happy with her. But you just wanted to let him know one thing, so you managed to corner him when Luna wasn’t looking.

“Hey, Jeongin.”

“Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while. How did the date go?”

“Well he DUFFed me, so I went to the den only to find you there…”

“Shit, sorry Y/N. I shouldn’t have taken her there, in fact, I-”

“It doesn’t matter, Jeongin. I just wanted to come over and tell you that I like you. You always told me to be upfront about it, so here I am. I know you’re back together with Luna, but I just wanted you to know.”

“Y/N, I-”

“What are you doing near my boyfriend?” Luna pushed between the two of you, “Why don’t you get the hell away from me before I make you.”

“You know, I didn’t really get you before, but now I do.” You look at her cooly, “ I get it, homelife must be hard, so you put down others to make yourself feel better. You act like everyone here is stupid, even your boyfriend, when in reality it doesn’t even matter. Just give it up, nothing’s going to matter after high school anyway, why are you so obsessed with it now.”

“Whatever, what would you know about any of that.”

“She’s right. In fact, I don’t even know why we got back together again.” Jeongin spoke up.

“You are not breaking up with me on prom night, we have crowns to win!” She snapped. He ignored her, looking straight at you.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

“I’d love to.”

@crazywittysassy @yoontaedotin

Enjoyed this fic and want to see more? Join my tag list.

#stray kids #skz #stray kids imagine #stray kids au #yang jeongin #i.n #jeongin imagine #jeongin fluff #jeongin angst #jeongin au #childhood friends to lovers #enemies to lovers #stray kids oneshot #stray kids series #gn reader #gender neutral reader #my favourite romcoms #the duff

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shslskaterboy · 1 year

Note

protagonists for the character questionnaire!

Oh goodness I hope you’re ready for another essay

Makoto my dear boy

Favourite thing? He’s the most some guy ever. Just a little creature. He’s so relatable because who among us hasn’t been in a situation where we feel wildly outclassed and surrounded by people who are cooler and more talented than us? Despite everything he just keeps going, what a legend

Least favourite is people who are wrong about him. How does anyone play that game and say he’s a nothing character? I just don’t get it, stop disrespecting my son

Honestly he’s got way more excellent lines than people give him credit for, but my favourite has to be “I always choose meat over veggies because I’m still in my teens… my meat teens.” Like WHAT are you talking about king I love it

Brotp probably him and Aoi. It’s the positivity besties

Otp is Naegiri. There’s just so much mutual respect between them and the story does a great job of writing them together that I can’t help but love him

Notp is probably just him with anyone that’s not kirigiri, or togami really. Whilst I personally hc Byakuya as aroace I do get why people ship naegami and I do think it’s kinda hilarious

I hc that him and Komaru are besties. Absolutely attached at the hip. They hang out all the time and he loves doing stuff with her, and is so so excited to introduce her to his new friends

The song I associate with him most is Fireflies by Owl City

Favourite art of him is the one where he’s tripping and his shoe just flies the fuck off. What a silly little man I love him

Hajime my beloved (I’m gonna be normal I swear)

To put it as succinctly as possible, he is just my favourite type of guy. He’s such a bitch, he’s so snarky about everything, he’s simultaneously the smartest and dumbest person in any given room, and he actually cares very deeply for things but he won’t readily admit to it. He’s got one of the more interesting arcs to me and in general I find him very relatable. He’s the best, my favourite protagonist probably

Least favourite is maybe less about him and more about Izuru Kamukura, and that is how underused he was. Obviously this is an opinion many people know about me, but it bears repeating because the concept of Kamukura was SO COOL and they barely even touched it and I’m mad about it every single day

Another guy that has so many good lines, but I think my favourite is “I thought I’d finally become someone I could be proud of, not some fucking backup student.” It just hits me so hard every time

Brotp probably him and Fuyuhiko or him and Impostor. I just think those three are the ones in the group with the highest sense of responsibility and they are the tired parents of this silly goofy pack of weirdos

Otp. It’s Komahina. Everyone knows this about me and I will refrain from writing an entire essay about why but suffice it to say. They are prefect

Notp is really anyone who’s not Komaeda, but specifically Nanami and Tsumiki are big on the No list for me

I have so many headcanons that my adhd brain can’t even begin to process them in a cohesive way, so I’ll just say that emo-punk autistic Hinata is my absolute beloved. Also man’s definitely has an anxiety disorder. And nooooo I’m definitely not projecting why do you ask

Unpopular opinion (so far the only character I’ve had one for) is that he’s not bi, he’s just gay. And look I love headcanoning every character ever as bi (again tooooootally not projecting) but whenever I replay/rewatch the game I see him being so gay about the men and being so uninterested in the girls (excepted for the super-forced hinanami stuff that I ignore)

I have sooooo many songs so I had to think about this a lot but I think I’m gonna say the best Hinata song is Life Less Frightening by Rise Against

Every image is the best image of him but specifically this one is so good

He’s fucking tired of this shit and he wants to be done with this despair nonsense and I love him for it

Shuichi Saihara, whom I am also normal about

It’s so hard to pinpoint why I love Saihara so much, but I think part of it is the fact that underneath his anxious exterior, he is actually very snarky. I’m always a slut for the sarcastic characters and I like the he is that as well as being generally polite to his classmates. He cares deeply and has a tendency to overthink things (totally not relatable) and I just need to give this poor man a HUG

Least favourite thing is how he interacts with Ouma in the canon outside of ftes. A good example of this being when he finds Ouma bleeding from the head on the floor and doesn’t seem to show any actual concern for him, which seems very out of character to me. I just think there was a lot more they could’ve done to build a connection between protag and antag that would’ve served to make the story more interesting, much the way the relationship between Hinata and Komaeda does

Short and sweet, my favourite Saihara line is simply “I refuse.” I am a big supporter of the idea that Shuichi should’ve been allowed to go a little crazy in chapter 6, and his whole telling off hope and despair speech was very fun. He really went “fuck you and your stupid game” and I just love it

Brotp has gotta be Kaito and Maki. I love the training trio and I think they have a great dynamic

Otp is saiouma. And yes I know I just raised a complaint about their lacklustre interactions in the game, but hey, canon can’t hurt me if I don’t look. There is a lot of potential for excellent character dynamics and that’s what I’m gonna focus on

Notp is saimatsu. Sorry anyone who likes them but it’s so comphet to me. Again, that is a gay boy and a lesbian, not a romantic couple

I hc that he really likes singing. Not to a professional degree or anything, but he does it while he works and it serves as a calming vocal stim for him. His voice is definitely very soft and sweet, which doesn’t lend itself well to his preferred genre of music (my sweet sweet emo boy) but that doesn’t stop him from trying

Again, so many songs I could choose from, but I will go with Swing Life Away by Rise Against because he’s just my sweet guy, my love, my boy

And once more, every image of Shuichi is my favourite, but I very specifically love his Serious Face sprite

I guess the takeaway is I like it when the protags get serious and start to shut shit down

#long post #like very long holy hell #thanks so much for the ask tho #I love my boys #also sorry for not including Komaru or Kaede but #this was already a million years long #and I’m not familiar enough with them unfortunately #anyways this was fun #lov u bestie #danganronpa #makoto naegi #hajime hinata #shuichi saihara #ask game #skaterboy answers

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leaderoffestivals · 1 year

Text

Antique Legends: Epilogue 2

Seiya: It would be terribly troubling if you were to cry endlessly over spilt milk after the fact, Anzu-san! Once you have decided, there’ll be no turning back, so do allow me to check with you one last time, just to be sure.

Season: Autumn Author: Akira Characters: Seiya, Mika, Kohaku

Seiya: —Well, anyway, this is just how it all turned out. Ibara-kun was the mastermind behind the whole incident all along, and Double Face has only been playing their part unknowingly in his self-directed monkey show.

You may not believe me when I say this, but there are no ugly truths which would bring about the destruction of any idols in this incident here—

No one will be eliminated like how GFK had been… … Well, not today, at least.

And as for Valkyrie, they just happened to be haplessly bowled over and swept along by the chain of events this time.

But still, it’s thanks to this the financial burdens Kagehira has been struggling under have been taken care of, and they seem to have come out of it as a more cohesive unit, so this should be considered a good thing for them, right?

They simply aren't fit to be idols if they’re sobbing and moaning like victims over something as trivial as this, to be honest—

Mika: Naaa~? Did I hear someone sayin’ my name?

Seiya: Oh, my? Ahaha, you are the rumoured shadow indeed ♪

Mika: Hmm? Ah~! You are—Oh! Hidaka Seiya-san! Er, thank ya kindly for all yer hard work today~?

And—eh? Why is Anzu-chan walkin’ together with Hidaka-san?

Oh, I get it now. The both of ya do belong to the P-Association, after all. Did the two of ya just get back after completin’ some work together or somethin’? It’s been a long and tirin’ night for ya, you must’ve worked really hard.

Seiya: That’s right. The same goes for you, too. What are you doing here, so late at night?

Mika: Oh, I’m here to—U~rm? How should I put it? I can’t very well say that I’m on my way to settle a debt… …

Seiya: And yet you’ve managed to say it out anyway! However, we already know about your circumstances, so there’s absolutely no need to hide it from us, you know?

Mika: Is that so? Oh nooo, ahaha… … It’s real embarrassin’ that you guys have found out about it, but yep, I’ve been bothered by money problems for quite a while now.

However, this situation is finally gonna be taken care of!

There’s someone who’s been goin’ around, helpin’ us to buy up an’ consolidate all the bits of debt into a lump sum. I’m headin’ over to meet with that person right now, to pay off the amount owed in full.

However, I'm not really sure why… That person specified the meetin’ place to be the Underground Live Stage of the ES building fer some reason. ・・・・・・That’s why I'm hurryin’ there as fast as I can right now—

Eh? Anzu-chan? Why’re we meetin’ at the Underground Stage of ES Building—yer askin’?

Even if ya ask me, I haven’t got the faintest clue why either~! It might be that person’s involved in the idol industry somehow, too?

Seiya: That’s right. That does seem to be the case. The party pulling all the strings in all the cases of fraud for which your orphanage has taken on the blame and debt for, seems to be a business rival who sees Valkyrie—

—or rather I should say COSPRO, as an eyesore.

It is my belief that another idol agency, one unaffiliated to ES, has been behind all of this—

—which is why they have managed to set up such a convincing deception of being able to offer idol training classes promising to fulfil the dreams of all the hopeful children.

Well, these are just my private speculations, of course!

Mika: Is that so? Well… … after all’s been said and done, I’m right as rain now. That’s why ya don’t have to worry ‘bout us no more, Anzu-chan. Cos’ even though our status is always wobbly, an’ we’re always havin’ our hands full with all sorta troubles,—

—we won’t ever do anythin’ that’ll betray the expectations of our fans, or disappoint the faith that all the Producers and Anzu-chan have in us, okay? I swear on it~.

Seiya: Fufufu~. Indeed. For that is the kind of person you are, Kagehira-kun.

Mika: NAAA~? Wha-what’s goin’ on? Why’s this fella bringin’ his face so close to mine… …?

Seiya: Fufu! It appears that I’ve managed to unearth a truly unexpected treasure on the stage of this Antique Market after all! That is—I’ve made the discovery of your extremely talented self, Kagehira-kun.

Mika: Eh? AH?

Seiya: You won’t let anything stand in the way of the ‘activation of your functionalities’. In fact, you wouldn’t hesitate to fulfil all the ‘functions’ requested of you even if it meant sacrificing your own life, isn’t that correct?

Hocchan has inherited my wife’s temperament along with my abilities, so it would probably be impossible for him to do something like that.

I’d once held out high hopes for Jun-kun too, since he’d already been thoroughly ‘educated’ by his parents, but that child doesn’t seem capable of forsaking his humanity at all, come what may—

—and that is why, it has to be you, Kagehira-kun. Of all the idols who are in ES, you are the only one who’s broken in the same way I am—

—the only one with the potential to become my—this ‘Super Idol Hidaka Seiya’s’—successor.

Mika: Uhn? Nnnngh~... …? Wh-what? What’s happenin’? What’s this guy goin’ on about? I don’t get what he’s sayin’ at all but he’s still freakin’ me out somehow!?

Seiya: Ahaha! Well~, you needn’t put too much thought into what I’ve said—not for now, anyway. This might just be my misunderstanding of the situation.

I haven’t any confidence in my ability to evaluate people—I’m an idol, not a Producer after all!

Besides, if we were to stand around talking any longer, everything might come to an end before we know it. Shall we hurry and make our way to the Underground Live Stage now?

Mika: Naaa~? Are you and Hidaka-san headed fer the same place I am, Anzu-chan?

Seiya: Yes, we are. However, for prudence’s sake, let’s make a final check before we leave, just to be sure, shall we?

If you continue going forth with us from this point onwards, Anzu-san, you might be forced to bear witness to unspeakably unpleasant things with your very own eyes.

If you would wish to live a normal, happy life, there is absolutely no need for you to subject yourself to a reality uglier than any nightmare—which is, the truth hidden in the deepest part of the darkness.

If none of that matters to you, and you don’t mind witnessing reality as it is—even if it means getting hurt!—then you are welcome to join us.

It would be terribly troubling if you were to cry endlessly over spilt milk after the fact, Anzu-san! Once you have decided, there’ll be no turning back, so do allow me to check with you one last time, just to be sure.

Kohaku: ——Eh? Oh, it’s you, Mika-han.

Mika: Wah~ Kohaku-kun. Ehehe~, yer finally callin’ me by my given name ♪

Kohaku: It’s true, now that you’ve mentioned it. I wasn’t even aware I was doin’ it.

Ya might be older than me, but doin’ that should be fine and dandy, right? We’ve performed together on stage before so we’re practically friends now.

Mika: Wahh~, we’re friends? Hearin’ that makes me so happy~! I’ve always wanted a friend in the same agency I could chat with fer the longest time, y’know~ ♪

Kohaku: Seriously? You’ve been chattin’ with Jun-han and the others happily all this time too, haven’t ya?

Mika: Yep. But then Jun-kun is part of Eden, one of the ES Big Three, y’know? So I feel kinda intimidated when talkin’ with him in public—

It feels like the people watchin’ us are thinkin’, “Who does that fella think he is? He’s so arrogant to be chattin’ with the amazin’ Jun-sama like that,” and so on… ...

Kohaku: Hoho~. So what yer sayin’ is—since Crazy:B’s ranked so much lower than ya, yer able to speak to me without needin’ to stress at all—is that it?

Mika: Wehhh~! No, NO! That ain’t my meanin’ at all! Quit sayin’ such nasty things on purpose, won’t ya?!

Kohaku: Hmph. If yer ain’t lookin’ to be stung till yer numb and twitchin’ all over, you better stop treatin’ me like I’m some newly-hatched baby chick, got that?

Friendships are supposed to be made up of equals, aren’t they? So there ain’t any reason fer you to be so chummy and grossly nice to me all the time!

Mika: Eh~? I get it, but this is just how I am with 2Wink too, y’know? I just get the urge to spoil the younger ones with kindness sometimes… ...

Back in the orphanage, I was always doin’ that as “Mika-nii” too.

Fer some reason~, rememberin’ those days are always so comfortin’ fer me—

Naaa~?

Kohaku: —Whoops. It would’ve been nice if we could’ve continued chattin’ merrily here, but God’s bein’ real nasty today too. That looks like my cue to step up to bat.

Mika: Eh? What do ya mean by ‘yer cue’? Are you performin’ on stage today too? The Antique Market was only just over. Ain’t that really tough on ya?

Kohaku: Well, we’re built different from ya; you could say we specialise in bein’ hardworkin’ and light on our feet.

However, that bein’ said, our performance has already ended. We’re just takin’ care of the housekeepin’ and tyin’ up loose ends now.

Mika: Naaa~? Ya mean, like ‘Cheki’? (1)

Kohaku: Uhh, what do ya mean by ‘cheki’? Is that supposed to be some kinda idol term? I really need to keep myself up to snuff with my learnin’.

If I keep carryin’ out these blood-stained jobs, I’m gonna forget I’m an idol, sooner or later.

Mika: Huh? ... … ‘Blood-stained’?

(To be continued)

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

Epilogue 1 | Epilogue 3

Translator’s Notes:

チェキ or ‘Cheki’ is a JP word referring to a fanservice activity where idols take Polaroid/instax photos with their fans after a concert. It’s a shortened form of the English phrase, “Check it”.

This isn’t proofed, so if you spot any mistakes, pls PM me.

#ensemble stars #enstars translation #Mikejima Madara #Oukawa Kohaku #Hidaka Seiya #Kagehira Mika #Antique Legend

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isleofdarkness · 1 month

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1) I’ve never heard hope punk used before and I’m taking it because i love it

2) we have the same political ideology! Do you get as much shit for being “too optimistic” and “believing in a system that will never work because of how it’s been executed in the past” as I do?

3) fucking. Yes. To everything you said.

I am sorry this came out so rambly, I'm just particularly eager to overthrow the government after working for seven hours on the day I specifically requested off.

I haven't talked about my beliefs since I was in high school- being called a libtard once kept me from saying anything in real life again. That argument was against someone who believed humans aren't good- not that we're born evil, just that we aren't inherently good and also that we aren't a pack species. I was not going to win that one.

I haven't even really talked about it online, other than talking once about humans being inherently good, and that post only has twenty notes, so no real room for people to find it and fight me. I'm openly a socialist online, but I don't have the following for someone to come and fight me about socialism. I haven't actually talked about what my anarchist beliefs are, or the reason I carry what beliefs I do talk about. I think that's why I completely went off in your last ask- I've never really talked about it and then I accidentally started by explaining the Isle and I forgot to stop. Thank you for giving me a chance.

As for "it would never work," it already has. Humans never would have survived the first few millenia without helping each other, asking for nothing in return, sharing, cooperating, and all that stuff. Early humans saw every life worthy of preservation- even the disabled, even newborns, even the elderly,- even if that person couldn't contribute by hunting and gathering and the other stuff they did. When someone was different, they worked with it to the best of their abilities. Those behaviors are what kept us alive as a species.

The thing about humans is that we're naturally a pack species, similar to wolves. We evolved this way- we come together, that's how we thrive. It's so ingrained in us that isolation actually causes us a massive amount of damage, even with all other needs met. And the thing about packs? They don't leave a member to die without trying. If your buddy is mauled by a saber-tooth tiger, you don't just leave him, you fight the tiger, try and get him medical care and, if his wounds are lethal, you stay with him and care for him until he dies. I swear I have more cohesive thoughts on this, I'm just super excited.

Also, to the unnamed anon who told me to keep my politics out of fandom... sweetie, this series is about ab oppressed group of poor prisoners banding together to overthrow a totalitarian regime. It's a dystopia, and dystopia is always inherently political. There is no keeping politics out of a dystopia work. I'm laughing so hard because you're basically saying "keep magic out of the fantasy genre." Mate, you can't do that. It's what the genre is.

#the darkness speaks #stargirl1331 #swearing

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mintsilhouette · 2 years

Text

“Bruno is tragically separated from the family when he’s younger” AU rec list!

After I made a silly post about “tragically-separated-at-a-young-age” AU’s and their tendency to give Bruno very sad backstories, I got an ask about how many fics there actually were that fit under this umbrella. Since there really isn’t a cohesive tag on AO3, I decided to put a list together for people who were interested because I am a BIG fan of this type of AU and there are a handful of them out there!

See under the cut for the list itself and the rules I’m following when it comes to compiling stories. Also, there are still SO many Encanto fics that I have not personally read and AO3 is just a dense, sometimes scary jungle of endless stories, so I’m SURE I’ve missed some. If you have a fic like this or know of a fic like this and I didn’t include it, I’m really sorry!!! Feel free to reblog my post and add it! I would appreciate that so much!

Since there’s a billion fics on AO3 and tons of gray area, here were my rules for including something on this list:

As the title suggests, these are AU’s where Bruno did not INTENTIONALLY leave the family. He was either separated at an age where he was too young to have memories of them OR there’s memory loss/amnesia shenanigans going on!

Other characters can be separated WITH him but 1) Bruno has to be one of them and 2) He cannot be the knowing culprit of the separation. (So no “Bruno steals Mirabel and raises her outside of the Encanto” AU’s. Sorry! I’m just not a fan of that idea if he did it purposefully.)

Bruno has to be a baby/child when he’s separated or at the very least, just younger than he is in the canon, so no post-movie scenarios. These are all strictly AU’s.

No Bruno/OC scenarios either. Sorry, more power to you if you like that but this list is focused on the family dynamic & relationships.

LET’S GET INTO IT.

I Swear I’m the Real Bruno Madrigal by methylsalicylate (rated G, incomplete, 14 chapters so far)

Where Bruno is a con-artist trying to pass himself off as the missing son of the Madrigals and doesn’t realize he actually IS said son.

(This one is super fun!! I love the unique element of con artist!Bruno and how his whole scheme just completely falls apart from the very beginning with no one believing the ruse for a second, haha. Also, the kids just immediately taking to him (/gently bullying him) and him getting hopelessly attached to them too despite his best attempts not to is the sweetest.)

Broken Families (Do Not Always Mean Broken Homes) by it_will_take_work (rated G, incomplete, 6 chapters so far)

Where Bruno is a traveling salesman who accidentally wanders into the Encanto and begs to stay for few days because he’s seen the Madrigals in visions before.

(This one hasn’t updated in a while but I really hope it will again because it’s lovely! Bruno’s loneliness and desire for connection is really palpable here, and I love that he has visions of the family beforehand. Also, there’s an entire chapter from Casita’s POV that is just delightfully frustrating as the house struggles to get anyone to understand what’s happening and fails, haha.)

How Bright You Burn (How Brave You’ve Been) by @sokkas-first-fangirl (rated T, incomplete, 23 chapters so far)

Where Bruno has to flee his village because of violence, is found badly hurt, and is taken in by the Madrigals.

(LOVE the twist here of this AU taking place a few years earlier than the movie where everyone is younger and Antonio hasn’t been born yet! And everyone just immediately adopting Bruno and wanting to keep him safe after all he’s been through is sweet enough to melt your heart. Also, this fic is moving into the endgame and you probably won’t have to wait too long to get there. Sokka’s updating schedule is like no other and truly impressive!)

Let The Storm Rage On by @greenvillainredemption (rated T, incomplete, 32 chapter so far)

Where it’s a Frozen AU! Pepa runs away from the kingdom because of her fear of her powers, Julieta is trying to bring her back, and their long-lost, presumed-dead brother might not be so dead after all.

(Bruno isn’t the ultimate focus of this one but his part in the plot is still significant enough that I think it’s worth including! I read some of this one a while back (and I owe it a proper comment, I’M SORRY) but now that it’s nearly done, I need to pick it back up! I really love the characterizations and how the plot is still recognizable from the source material but also wonderfully unique with its own twists and turns. Also, for a first-ever fic, it’s REALLY impressive! The formatting gets better after the first chapter, just FYI.)

one step at a time, one hope and then another by gemkazoni / @mintsilhouette (rated T, incomplete, 5 chapters so far)

Where it’s a loose Anastasia AU (emphasis on the loose)! A young Bruno falls into the river as the family escapes from a power-hungry witch, with no sign of him ever being found; decades later, Mirabel finds a strange man with serious memory loss in the abandoned Encanto.

(Hey, this one is mine! I am truly terrible at saying nice things about my own work, but this is my first Encanto fic and I hope my neverending love for the source material and the characters shines through. Also, if you like really long chapters and slow-burn pacing, I, uh, have got you covered????? I’m still a Baby in this fandom so if you read it/like it, I’d love to know what you thought!)

Open Your Eyes (and see that you’re home) by @impossiblefangirl0632 (rated T, incomplete, 1 chapter so far)

Where Bruno’s gift led him to be held in captivity for many years, and he has an adopted daughter in tow with her own magical gift.

(This is another one that I don’t think I ever properly commented on because I am the actual worst, but I really like the twist on the concept! Bruno being so paranoid and angry with the Madrigals because of his past and fear of being tricked is a refreshing take on the character and 100% understandable. And him having an adopted daughter is just such a top-tier concept!!!)

Churchwreckers by @butterfly-fics (rated M, incomplete, 3 chapters so far)

Where Bruno, Pepa, and Julieta are ALL tragically separated from Alma as infants and grow up in a different village as orphans, not even clear on the fact that they’re actually siblings.

(Not Bruno-centric, but honestly SO good that I still had to include it! LOVE the idea (although omg POOR Alma, goodness gracious) and how the relationships are written/how the grandkids grew up without Alma and the Miracle’s influence. Won’t spoil too much about it but I especially adore the dynamic it’s setting up between the triplets and how Bruno and Pepa have a much closer relationship, with Julieta on the outskirts.)

Stars Lost Down The River by RamblesandDragons (rated T, incomplete, 16 chapters so far)

Where Bruno and Mirabel get swept away by the river together after her failed ceremony and lose almost all their memories of who they are and where they came from.

(I have not actually read this one yet (SORRY), but I’ve heard very nice things about it and I see it included on other rec lists! It’s pretty unique compared to the others on this list but I've decided it still counts since Bruno is younger than in canon when the separation happens and there’s memory loss stuff going on. Sounds like a really interesting and angsty concept that surely provides a lot of sweet uncle & niece moments, which I’m ALL about.)

Change the Fates’ Design by @sokkas-first-fangirl (rated G, COMPLETE with 25 chapters)

Where it’s a Tangled AU! Bruno is kidnapped by a witch at a young age and has his memories tampered with; decades later, Mirabel finds him hidden in a tower.

(I realized when I was about to hit “publish” that this fic of Sokka’s also fits under this umbrella! I feel like everyone and their mother has read this one, but just in case you haven’t, please do. SUCH a good AU that walks that line perfectly between “recognizable to the source material” and “different enough to keep you on your toes.” This one actually was a big inspiration behind me wanting to write an AU too, so I’m eternally grateful for it!)

#encanto #bruno madrigal #encanto fanfic #encanto fic #i'm SURE there are others out there but tbh i'm tired of trying to find them and i just want to publish this already haha #please reblog and share if you know of others!!!#i would love u forever #also if you have a tumblr account that you want tagged and i didn't tag it let me know!#(and if i DID tag your tumblr i hope that's...all right...)#(especially since i haven't interacted with a few of you before in any way)#(LET ME KNOW IF NOT)

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emilyblame · 10 months

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this is just me but I only started listening to waterparks when funeral grey came out. I didn't seek them out, only ever listened whenever they played in her car but as more and more singles kept dropping, I started liking them more and more. And right around the time intellectual property dropped, I started listening to more of their older albums. Now I'm obsessed. And I like Intellectual Property, even after 4 months!

I can feel the difference in lyrics in ip compared to their older albums like double dare and ent but I don't think it's a bad thing entirely! And I know Intellectual Property only dropped about 4 months ago but I cannot wait to see what waterparks is going to do in the future. I feel so so normal about them, I swear

you were kinda forced into the fandom haha i’m kidding. i also found them by chance.

five years ago, i was letting the youtube algorith dictate what i was listening to, and it decided to play Peach (Lobotomy). i was like, “ok. generic pop punk band. cool.” then, it played Blonde and my overdrive/distortion-loving sorry ass got a little more interested (also there was screaming.) but it wasn’t until it played Royal that it absolutely destroyed me and i was hooked forever.

i too love 'Intellectual Property' a lot! i like it better than 'Greatest Hits' in the sense that it feels more cohesive, more like an album. although, to be fair, the feeling of randomness in GH is probably deliberate. i mean, it feels like none of the songs fit together and it is called 'Greatest Hits'… i choose to believe that was on purpose.

on the lyrical front… there was a huge change between 'Entertainment' and 'Fandom', and it was because Awsten started getting tired of people ‘misinterpreting’ his lyrics— which is more a personal interpretation than a misinterpretation, but you go off, king— and he decided to start being more 'direct' with what he was trying to say. in other words, he sacrificed trying to sound pretty in order to just say what he wanted to say. which is not a bad thing entirely, but when you listen to the albums back to back it feels a little strange to go from this strongly metaphorical lyrics in 'Double Dare' to “i’d unfuck you if i could.”

all that said! i’m also excited to see what they do in the future, but i would love to see them live first. i would also love to see Awsten take a fucking break a let an album live for more than 2 years, but i know he’s probably already 50 songs deep into the new one, so…

#waterparks #almost 4 months of ip #nice anon #i’m also normal about them you see?#oh and btw: i love Turbulent. she’s my baby. nothing but love to that stunning outro

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earlgreylucas · 2 years

Text

Spy x Family Light Novel Translation: Yuri's Day Off

***important*** Please take this translation with a grain of salt. I wrote this from the Vietnamese version (source link here) using google translate and tweaked it a bit-so the translation will be far from accurate. Some small dialogue bits were removed and additional text was added for the sake of a more cohesive reading experience. Some things may have been lost in translation during that process, but the main ideas were still preserved.

Story is in the cut below

“Hello, Mr. Bellman. How are you doing today?"

Yuri Briar. 20 years old. Orphaned at a young age and raised by his only relative; his older sister.

“Ah-a bit off topic-but there’s an awful smell in here.”

Since childhood, he has studied tirelessly so that his beloved sister could live happily. As he grew older, he started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regularly flying around the world as an elite young diplomat. However, in reality, Yuri Briar actually works for the National Security Agency, <SSS> for short.

“Even with the exhaust fan on, there’s this disgusting scent of a dirty traitor in here. I can’t help but wonder where that smell’s coming from. Aren’t you curious too, Mr. Bellman?”

He is an undercover cop.

-----

"Yuri. When was the last time you took a break?"

“I took a nap three days ago, Lieutenant. No need to worry."

Yuri smiled brightly at the younger subordinate as he closed the door to the interrogation room behind him. There was something overwhelmingly child-like about Yuri. From his innocent face to his skinny-but tall-stature, he was someone who made even the SSS uniform look more like a school uniform.

Yuri continued talking, his features softened as he spoke of his dream like a wishful child. “I want to dedicate myself fully to this work, to make the country where my sister lives a better place.”

However, this carefree golden retriever-like personality was only a small part of who Yuri really was. Earlier in the interrogation room, Yuri had just violently dealt with a traitor to the country, Thomas Bellman. His black gloves were drenched with the man’s blood as though he had been beaten to death.

The Lieutenant looked at Yuri, “Alright, well, tomorrow you’re taking a rest. Think of it as a vacation.”

“But why? I’m completely fine.”

“It’s an order from the superiors”

“What?!” Yuri yelled, “I don’t have time for that. All my time has to be spent trying to capture ‘Twilight’ as soon as possible to eliminate any threat coming from the West!”

Yuri Briar was like a tenacious hunting dog.

However, even if he was like a mad dog that lost control from time to time, he was surprisingly serious and diligent, especially with his loyalty to his country

Well, more accurately..

In Yuri’s case, he didn’t swear allegiance to his country, but ‘the country my sister lives in’

Maybe that was why he gave up on his bright future and instead chose to do this dark job?

Working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the dream of many students, and even despite their greatest efforts, it is not always achieved. If Yuri’s sister found out that the little brother she had raised herself was working in a job that constantly dirtied his hands, what would she think? Maybe that was why Yuri hid his real job?

But that’s just all speculation. Just know there is one unshakable truth. That truth in question is that Yuri Briar existed for his sister’s happiness- and for that reason only.

Alas, the nation's brother.

His infatuation and overprotectiveness over his sister-which would lead to him overworking- didn’t raise any problems, but it was important to know how to trust his younger subordinate’s judgment. So, even though capable personnel like him were scarce, working himself to death was a idiotic idea that no superior would accept.

“You need a reasonable rest regime to work more smoothly and accurately. So, take the day off tomorrow, alright? After the break, you can come back and work harder.”

“Thank you for your good intentions but…”

“-This is for the country. And, similarly, it's for the sake of your sister's happiness."

At the mention of his sister, Yuri reluctantly agreed in the end. His face was puffed in a disapproving pout, a complete contrast from the ruthless undercover cop in the interrogation room.

“Argh, seriously…what's the point of giving me a break?"

Yuri was sprawled on the bed, struggling from the lack of work he had to do. It felt like being abandoned by the whole world.

From the bedside looking out the window, Yuri stared at the sky; a large expanse of blue without a single cloud in it.

‘Dominique said on his day off he would travel with Camelia. I think I’d want to do that with Yor, too… it’d be nice to have a good meal together.’

The smile of his sister appeared in his head, and the frown on Yuri’s face eased, and he glanced at the calendar, “Today’s a holiday, so the town hall should be closed.”

A portrait of his sister sat on the table just below the calendar. In that photo, Yor is smiling with the kind of beauty that would cause a goddess to perish. Yuri sighed to himself.

‘Since Yor won’t be working today, I can go visit her. I haven't seen her for 2 weeks… Wait, but if it's a holiday, the hospital is closed, too…

That would mean that obnoxious Loi-loi would be home, too. Loid Forger, who works at Berlint General Hospital, and more importantly, Yor’s husband.

Yuri would never admit it, but Loid’s a rare man-someone who’s a doctor and may be a little tall, a little smart, a little thoughtful, a little liberal. But, even then, he was simply an evil thief who stole his beloved sister.

Why can’t he just be working today? He should work like an ox pulling a cart, regardless of holidays, and then stumble somewhere from overworking!

While Yuri was being exasperated at the thought of that stupid Loi-loi who had stolen his sister, the phone next to the portrait rang.

It's so early in the morning, who's calling?

Yuri lazily lifted herself from the bed.

"Yes. Yuri Briar here.” He said in a flat tone. On the other end, he heard a beautiful angelic voice.

“Hi Yuri, it’s Yor.”

“Yor?!” Yuri all but yelled, his voice jumping up an octave.

“I'm sorry for calling so early in the morning. Do you have to go to work?”

"I have the day off today." Yuri said cheerfully. Yor's voice became elated.

"Really?"

“Ah…um…yea. They gave me a vacation day, so I'm free all day."

"That’s great!"

Yuri's heart seemed to be racing along with the cheerful voice of his beloved Yor.

She's glad I got a break. So she wants to meet me too. Oh my god, thank you my lieutenant.

He complained a minute ago about the decision of his superiors, now he wanted to immediately bring a large bouquet of flowers to the headquarters to express his deep gratitude.

“Ah, Loid should have had a day off today as well, but he had an emergency to take care of…”

Hearing this, Yuri’s happiness shot up. His heart suddenly became light and airy just like the blue sky outside his window.

“Oh, that's good for the Loi-loi guy. Wow, that's really good, Yor”

Yuri couldn't contain her joy and exclaimed. Yor reminded.

“Come on, don't call him that, he's your brother-in-law. Call him by Loid-san, alright?"

Yuri obediently replied "Yes, Yor", but honestly, who would call that guy 'san'. He didn’t even have any intention of calling him "brother-in-law".

I still haven't recognized you as my sister's husband. I wouldn't admit even in my deathbed, Forger.

While Yuri's inner self was cursing Loid, Yor cautiously asked, “So that’s why I need to ask for your help, Yuri. Do you think you can come over?"

“Of course, Yor! I'll be right there!"

Yuri - a man who was always enthusiastic about all things regarding his sister, practically dove headfirst out of the house. He walked on the road to his beloved sister's apartment, his steps light as air.

Excitedly, Yuri slammed open the door, a bright smile on his face, “I am here, dear sister. What do I have to do? Do you need something that you can't get at high places? Do you need to carry heavy loads? Or do you need someone to sign the witness section of the divorce petition? I'll do whatever you need!"

Yor, who had been standing at the door, brightened, "Yuri, you're here! Thank you so much!” She smiled back; something that seemed to be the family gene of the two Briar sisters.

Oh my dear sister. How cute and wonderful you are today. I am the happiest person in the world because I have the most beautiful sister in the world.

As Yuri was nearly about to internally burst with joy, a small creature appeared behind Yor and abruptly put a halt to his excitement.

"It’s Uncle!"

"Chihuahua Girl?"

Anya. The stepchild of that damned thief.

The stupid girl misheard "knowledge is power" as "swol chihuahua". Still, she had some outstanding advantages-the most important being that she dreamt of becoming a great person in order to help his sister in the future.

But, even then. She is the daughter of Loid Forger. Yuri would not be won over so easily.

Yrui scrutinized the girl, “Don't call me that, I'm not your Uncle. Why are you even here? Is your school on fire or something?"

"Today is a 'hall-day'."

God. Right. Today was a holiday, so of course schools would be closed as well. Internally, Yuri was banging his head against the wall at forgetting such an important detail.

“But still, it's better than Loitie. Just let that thing watch cartoons, she won't be able to disturb me talking to YOU, my SISTER, my dear SISTER, my dear SISTER Yorrrrrr!!!”

“… .”

Upon hearing those thoughts, Anya's face drew an expression of thinly-veiled disgust, belching softly.

"Do you get heartburn a lot?"

“Anya is full”

Ah, I see. The kid has a full stomach. It proves that she ate so much to the point where she couldn't stop, because Yor’s food was so excellent. Aah, the aroma is indescribable, the more you chew, the more you cold sweat miraculously. And when she’s chopping the ingredients, she accidentally chops the cutting board, making the food both nutritious and providing necessary strength training for the teeth. Oh, how wonderful.

After rattling off to himself about his overflowing affection for his beloved older sister, Yuri turned to Yor:

“So what do you want me to help you with? Tell me anything you need. Do you need to clean the house, do the laundry, or pack your bags?”

"Actually…"

“-Today is an extremely beautiful day to change your lifestyle. How about you take this opportunity to separate from Loitie…”

“No, no, no, it's not that..."

Yor hesitated, furrowing her brows slightly, looking as though she was in some sort of trouble.

"What happened, sister? We’re siblings, if you have something to say to me, don't be shy." Yuri said with a cheerful and enthusiastic smile, and Yor finally relented.

“Actually… Today there was an event sponsored by the town hall…”

"Yes…"

“Mille was supposed to be the one part of it, but this morning I got a call saying she had a cold, so I have to go instead. And Loid has an emergency he has to attend to immediately, and Frankie, the one we always ask for help for, is also busy..."

Huh-Frankie? Who is that? That was a completely unfamiliar name to Yuri. He felt his face screw up distastefully to hear the name of a man his sister had never mentioned before.

Maybe he was a nanny, hired to babysit or something. Well, if he's serious about his job, that's fine.’ His teeth ground together, ‘But if he's an asshole trying to stalk Yor, I’ll make quick work of him.’

Yor’s voice faded back into Yuri’s ears, “...The event lasts for half a day, and I can't leave Anya alone at home. So, Yuri, can you watch over Anya today?"

Yuri froze. “...Huh?” That was a completely unexpected twist. His expression contorting in horror, he turned to Yor,

“T-that means.. I have to play with Loid Forger's chihuahua daughter in this house… without you???”

"Yes, can you do that?”

In an instant, Yuri's beautiful vacation completely shattered.

What the hell is this?! I should have spent all day taking care of my beloved sister… But, taking care of the chihuahua? If that was the case, I'd rather stay home, read a book on torture and take a bow in a room full of pictures of my beloved sister, 10 billion times more than having to do this!!

Yuri was so devastated that he almost collapsed on the spot.

But, his sister was staring expectantly with glittering eyes.

"Please Yuri, I can only ask for you to help."

If she begged that much, then, as the nation's younger brother who loves her the most in the world….

"Yes, sister, leave it to me!"

If not for that reason, there was no way he would've said yes…

---

Yor had been gone for about 30 minutes

Yuri sat on the sofa in the Forger's living room, nonchalantly flipping through the pages of a magazine.

"Uncle, you're boring."

Anya was stretched out on the carpet under the low table, swinging her legs as she spoke, her eyes still focused on reading the comic book "SPYWARS".

Yuri closed the magazine and got up from the sofa, “Alright then, do you want to study?

“Wh..Study?”

Anya panicked, her face showing disgust at the mere mention of the word "study". Yuri frowned. He didn’t think a proposal like that would cause such a violent reaction. He had very little contact with children since he never had any interest in playing with them, and especially because he had only known to study since childhood. All he wanted to do was study so he could quickly get a good job and become a solid support for his sister. Journalist, lawyer, doctor, engineer… He studied all fields equally to be able to take on all professions in society. Going out for Yuri is a luxury, but for studying, time was never enough.

"Tell me what subject you're struggling with, and we'll focus on that."

“Anya is good at everything.”

“Don't try to lie to me with that stupid face. In that case, let’s go over all the subjects.” Yuri scoffed, and Anya groaned like a strangled frog.

“Is this kid really a student at Eden? My sister must have suffered because of this stupid girl… Poor sister, married to a man who already has a child… Oh, but what if being under my leadership makes this chihuahua girl a little smarter? Then my sister will say, “Good job, Yuri!”, with that smile that sparkles like a million jewels… Then she’ll give me a reward, just like when I was a kid… Oh, my SISTER my beloved sister. I love you. YOU are the most beautiful woman in the world, no one can compare to you..”

Suddenly, Yuri felt a cold gaze directed at him, stopping his overflowing feelings of love for his sister. Looking to the side, Anya was staring with a speechless face.

“What are you looking at? Hurry up and get your notebooks and textbooks out here.”

"Anya is not free to study today."

"Didn’t you just say you were bored? You definitely have free time"

“I have free time, but I don’t have time to study.”

Yuri sighed, exasperated, “Fine, then let's go watch TV."

Although she was a stubborn brat who refused to study, punishing her wouldn’t do any good. Yuri was rational enough to understand that. Strictly speaking, he only lost all semblance of rationality when it came to his sister.

However, stubborn Anya didn’t seem to be any more agreeable.

“There’s no shows to watch.”

“In that case, lie down and take a nap. Like that fat dog over there.” Yuri gestured to the white dog lying on the carpet. It was the type of dog that made Yuri wonder why people would keep such a pet. It didn’t look like the type of dog that could protect the owners. "Even if you don’t need to, go to sleep. Sleep until my sister returns.”

Suddenly, Anya stared at Yuri with a smug smile. Something unpleasant curdled in Yuri’s stomach.

"What? What do you want?"

In response, Anya ran out of the living room and returned with a notebook and a pencil in hand. Plopping herself on the rug, she placed the notebook on the low table and began to write, occasionally turning to glance at Yuri meaningfully and then moving the pen again playfully.

Following his gaze to Anya's hand, Yuri saw a series of scribbled characters on the paper. Involuntarily, a noise of disdain and shock left his mouth.

The writing looked akin to worms crawling on the ground. Amazingly, it was more difficult to read than any enemy’s code.

“What is this… some kind of curse? This handwriting is terrible.”

Anya shot him a sly smile, "I'll show you later."

Yuri’s curiosity grew, and he leaned forward to try and decipher the words.

“Today is Anya’s hallday and I have to stay with the shaggy haired Uncle. He told me to sleep like a dog and wouldn’t let me go outside. Anya is very unhappy.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Yuri nearly fainted, holding his head in pain. It was indeed a curse book, that girl was cursing him! If Yor read those lines, he would definitely be hated!

“Yuri, this is too much! I didn't expect you to be so mean to Anya!” Yuri could already imagine Yor saying those words exactly while angrily turning her back to him. Just at the mere thought of it, he became manic and desperate, banging his head on table.

“You’re so violent…” Anya put a hand to her mouth, speechless at Yuri's eccentricity.

Yuri scrambled to his feet, “Anya, we have to go out and play!” He proclaimed while blood flowed from his head.

"You’re bleeding."

"It’s fine." Yuri looked at Anya, “We’re going to go out and play. Are you ready, Chihuahua kid?"

“Yaay! An ooting!”

“Stop waving your arms around. And it should be "outing” not “ooting”

Yuri stayed up for several days in a row before his superiors gave him his day off. Even then, he’s never felt worse than having to ride the tram with the stepchild of the hateful thief. Why do I have to do this when I should be an outstanding undercover cop, devoting every second to serving the country.

An old woman sitting nearby looked at Anya and smiled, "Wow, she's very cute."

That thing’s cute? (Dammit, this is all because of Yor’s co-worker, Millie)

Going over to Yor’s house, helping her, eating her food, and talking to her – the dream vacation was ruined because she caught a cold. (And does she even have a cold?) This holiday is so annoying. That coworker made my beautiful, kind-hearted sister of an angel who never doubted others rush out into the street on a day off to work for her. She deserves to die. She must be put to death.

No, she’s an important coworker to Yor. Besides, if anyone had to be executed, it had to be that Loid Forger, who had given his stepdaughter to his sister, making her work hard even on her day off. Hmm, … Right. If he's a spy, I'll execute him immediately.

Yuri’s thoughts faded out when the train arrived at the station. Anya jumped onto the platform, “Where are you going? An amusement park? Anya wants to go there.”

“I think it would be good to go to a place where play and study can be combined. We’re going to a Vocational Experience Facility.”

“Vacation Pee-Rinse City?” Anya repeated. Near them, a young woman heard it and laughed.

The embarrassment was enough for Yuri to want to crawl underneath the station platform. With an exasperated expression, he corrected her. “It's Vocational-Experience-Facility. Someone who works with me once took his wife and children there.”

"Is it fun?”

“Simply put, it is a place to help children choose their future career by trying to simulate a career they’d enjoy. This is a huge government-approved indoor entertainment facility created with the aim of encouraging the development of necessary human resources in the East, such as lawyers, judges, military personnel, doctors, academics, etc. counterfeiters and engineers.”

“You’re speaking an alien language”

Anya was as sharp as a dead fish.

“…In other words, it's a place for you to try different jobs and decide what you want to be in the future.”

Hearing that, Anya's eyes immediately lit up. She clasped her hands in front of her and jumped excitedly.

“That sounds like fun!”

"Maybe. Let's go."

While walking to the address where the entertainment facility was located, Yuri felt something touching his left hand. He looked down, and blinked in surprise to see Anya was trying to hold his hand.

“…What are you doing?”

"When going on a ooting, I have to hold papa and mama's hands tightly. Today I have to hold shaggy-hair’s hand.”

“Why do you keep calling me shaggy-hair? And anyways, I’m not a part of your outings. It doesn’t apply to me"

Yuri hated the idea of having to hold her hand. But if he lost her because he wouldn't let her hold his hand, his sister would never forgive him, so he reluctantly took Anya's hand.

Her hands were warm and slightly sweaty, probably because children's body temperatures were usually higher than adults'. And what's more, it was sticky. (God, it's so dirty… she doesn't know how to wash her hands properly.)

He was also surprised at how small her hands were.

"Hey, how old are you?"

“Anya’s 6 years old”

"Really?"

Yuri slanted a glance at the child. Is her hand small for the average six year old? Or is it bigger? He had no idea how a six year old grew (…Come to think of it, I used to hold my sister's hand like this when I was a kid.) But, of course, Yuri's hands weren't sticky when she was younger.

"How much farther?”

"About 10 minutes"

“Hurry up, hurry up!”

“Look straight, stop getting distracted.”

…

Despite his annoyance, Yuri didn't realize that he had unconsciously adjusted his speed to match Anya’s footsteps.

“Welcome to the Vocational Experience Facility!”

“This is a city where kids can learn about a variety of different jobs. Here they can have fun as well as experience and find a job that you love."

With a warm welcome from the staff, Yuri and Anya set foot in the so-called children's city. The place was bigger and more authentic than Yuri had initially imagined. Fire stations, hospitals, courts, libraries, newspaper offices, post offices, banks, publishing houses, science and technology laboratories, etc., were built in the facility. Although they were much smaller than the actual buildings, they were all very well built.. Cobblestone floors, traffic lights, pedestrian walkways, and even minibus service.

Many of the customers – or rather, all of the customers, were parents and their children. Strangely, all the parents looked worn out. Some mothers walked around as though they were zombies, and some fathers were sitting like figurines on street benches.

"Dad! Let’s go! I wanna be a fashion model next!”

“Well..Dad’s a little embarrassed to go there because he’s gained a lot of weight. I’m hungry, why don’t we go to the pastry shop?"

"Nope! Come on, Dad!" Said the little girl-a little older than Anya-as she dragged her reluctant father to accompany her.

Why is he ashamed of being fat? Yuri raised an eyebrow. The appearance of the father was irrelevant; after all, only the daughter was going to be doing the modeling part. As for Anya, she was still gaping from being overwhelmed.

"How many times bigger than Anya's house is this place?"

“Huh? If you divide the area of this facility by the area of your house… about 80 times.”

“E…Eighty huh…” Anya swallowed.

“Where do you want to go first?” Yuri looked through the pamphlet handed out at the entrance which listed the available options, “Judges, scientists, bank clerks… all have stable jobs and offer solid careers.” He rattled off. All of these were jobs that he had wanted to pursue at one point. “Being a prosecutor or a lawyer is commendable, too...”

"Uncle, crouch down a bit, I can't see anything." Dwarf Anya said, trying to jump up to see the pamphlet

“You should’ve gotten it at the entrance, too"

“But it…” From her small handbag, Anya took out a crumpled pamphlet.

Yuri looked back down at the pamphlet, “What do you think? Journalism is a great profession. Or if you're strong enough, it’s not a bad option to be a soldier."

“Anya wants to go here.”

Anya pointed to the top of the document. Yuri's face involuntarily stiffened as he skimmed through the words.

“Yesterday Anya watched a show about this. Anya wants to become a cop like them and jump from above buildings and kill the bad guys.” Anya said excitedly.

“..Or just lock them in a pigpen and feed them rotten food.”

“…Don't say stuff like that in front of mama.”

Yuri grumbled, "Oh my god." He was beginning to regret bringing this Chihuahua girl here.

A young tour guide walked up with a bright smile, “Welcome, young lady. Here, you can experience the work of a real police officer!” Beside the tour guide, all the staff were dressed in identical police uniforms.

A father and a son who had just finished their experience passed in front of Yuri.

The boy had an excited smile on his face as he walked up to Anya, “It’s my first time shooting! Hehehe… And of course, it's a hit! See?" The son proudly showed it to Anya.

The father approached the two, gently chiding his son, "Come on, let's go. Sorry for bothering you.” He apologized as he made his son bow to Yuri.

Reflexively, Yuri bowed back, "It's okay."

As the father and son walked away, Yuri listened in on their conversation,

“Dad, I wanna be a doctor next!”

“God… Dad doesn't want to have to wear a white button-up even on his day off.”

“Come on! Let’s go, Dad!”

"Can't Dad do another job on his day off?"

Yuri frowned, confused, ‘Huh? Why does he have to wear a work uniform on his day off?’

“Gun… Bondman.”

Beside him, Anya was mumbling in a particularly dangerous tone as her eyes glinted suspiciously.

"Remaining am-you-ni-shun, two-eighths."

She was trying to act cool with those incomprehensible words and her air-headed, stupid face. More disorienting than that, though, was the strange expression she had.

‘I can’t let her play with guns’ Yuri’s instinct warned him.

"Ah…" A woman who was reading a chart looked up at Yuri, “The interrogation room is empty. She can experience the work of interrogating criminals with our actors.”

"Yes, we’ll do that." Yuri replied immediately without listening carefully. At that moment, all that mattered was that shooting would be avoided at all cost. Anya tugged at the hem of Yuri's coat.

“Anya wants guns! Anya wants to be like Bondman!”

Yuri ignored her.

The women nodded, “Then, please change into the uniforms.”

Yuri pushed Anya from the back, ushering her in, “You heard her, go in.”

“No, her brother has to go in and change, too,” The woman said to Yuri.

"I’m not her brother."

The woman looked at Yuri in surprise, “Oh my! You look so young that I thought you were her brother,” She corrected herself, “Then, as the girl’s Uncle, you should come with her.”

(Hmm…I don’t like being called Uncle. But it’ll be even more troublesome for me if I say that I’m not her “uncle” either)

These days, everything is dangerous, and not being careful would arouse suspicion. If that were to happen, the secret police's reputation would be ruined.

It can’t be helped, then…

Although he was internally very unwilling, Yuri immediately changed his attitude.

"Ah, no thank you." He responded, "My niece was the one who wanted to go here, not me.”

Confident in his acting, Yuri adopted the role of a ‘Good uncle’. He turned to Anya, “I’ll be waiting here, so you go and have fun, alright? Behave yourself and make sure to listen to the nice people."

He smiled, the picture perfect example of a gentle uncle with his lovely niece.

Anya stared at Yuri like he had grown two heads.

"This is weird." She mumbled, “You’re smiling way too much.”

Although irritated by her stubbornness, Yuri decided to ignore her.

However, the female employee turned to Yuri, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but it's our rule that parents and guardians must keep a close eye on their child throughout the experience."

"Huh?"

In a diplomatic tone, the female employee explained, “Our aim is for the parents to experience this occupation with their children to encourage their motivation and joy in working. So if you don't agree with that, then I’m afraid I cannot allow you to go inside.”

Yuri couldn’t wrap his mind around a rule like that. What kind of weird rule is this?…… What good is it that adults have to come in here too? How does that motivate the kids?

Suddenly, Yuri realized why the parents were so exhausted earlier.

“I'm a bit embarrassed… because I'm fat.”

“Does Dad have to wear a white blouse even on his day off?”

Oh.

That’s why they all looked so tired. He should have realized that sooner or researched more carefully before coming here.

Yuri ground his teeth together,, ‘God… I should have woken that fat dog up, and taken them to the park for a walk.’

What should he do? Leave and go somewhere else? But this kid…

Yuri glanced at Anya standing beside her and met her cold gaze.

“If you come back, Anya will write this in the diary and show it to mama.”

As proof for her words, she opened her small bag, and Yuri caught a glimpse of the curse book inside.

This chihuahua girl was threatening him.

The female employee’s words broke into Yuri’s stupor, “Excuse me, sir? If you agree with our rules, please come in and change. Or are you going to leave?"

Humiliation boiled in Yuri as he realized what he had to do.

“……No, I’ll go change.”

There was no other choice for him.

(Damn it…… Why do I have to do this?)

----

In an interrogation room with a few plastic tables and chairs, the cast of suspects sat there, trying to appear cunning and suspicious.

In this experience, the interrogation ends when the criminal confesses to their crime. The criminal and what crime they committed would be changed after each turn, and all of it would take place completely without a script.

The people here mostly consider acting as their side job, but because the customers were children, they were dressed up as criminals in a blatantly obvious way.

For example, the man in front of Yuri was dressed in all black, with a ski mask that only showed his eyes.

Shouldn’t the ski mask be removed at this point? Why is he still wearing it?

Yuri couldn’t understand why the criminals were dressed so ridiculously when everything else was elaborately decorated and choreographed to be the exact replication of an interrogation scene.

As someone who was a somewhat serious person, Yuri couldn’t help but be exasperated. On the other hand, Anya, who had changed into a police uniform, looked ready to confront the criminals.

“First is the interrogation from Officer Forger.”

"Yes!"

Having heard her name, Anya responded enthusiastically. Yuri sat on a sturdy steel chair in the corner of the room, playing the role of a file scribe.

A different female employee briefed them on the suspect's behavior.

“He is a bad guy who broke into people's homes to steal their money and jewelry. But he won’t confess to the crime. Officer Forger will question him and make him confess."

“Got it!”

Anya made a stiff salute, then turned around to look at the suspect, her face full of danger, then grinned.

Why does she keep making that face?

Anya walked over and sat down on the interrogation chair with a strange air of haughtiness.

"Oh, it's you again, Jack. You poor, poor man."

Wait, why did she revise the scene? Why is she speaking like the criminal has been here before? And who’s Jack?

"It's starting to get cold, so it must be winter soon."

Of course, that statement about weather was also Anya’s own invention. She stood up and slowly crossed the room to the window. Standing by the glass panes, she gazed idly outside.

“Your hometown is in the northern region, right?” She continued. “It’s probably snowing there right now.”

“……Heh, you think talkin’ about my hometown is my weakness or something?” The suspect smirked, “In that case, you’re dead wrong. I’ve left my homeland a long time ago ever since my parents died. There's no place there for me anymore.”

The actor was extremely talented in improv, and he caught on quickly despite the strange context set by the client. Additionally, he was an exceptional actor.

Because of this, the tension between the two began to feel genuine.

"Don't lie to me, John!" Anya’s demeanor became violent and intimidating; or at least she seemed to think so when she shouted at the suspect in an artificially low voice. Unfortunately, she said the wrong name.

Yuri’s eye twitched, ‘Didn’t she say that his name was Jack? At least remember the damn name if you’re going to make one up!!’

“What about Garrett?”

Another improvised name appeared. A flicker of irritation crossed the actor’s face.

"My dear friend Jack, Garrett is still waiting for you." Anya looked away from the window and turned to stare at the suspect

"Leave this life of crime. Go back to your hometown and spend the rest of your life making Garrett happy."

At Anya’s words, the suspect collapsed on the steel table, breaking down in tears. Through his sobs, he confessed, “Yes..I-I did it.”

Anya walked up to the suspect, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered to him softly,

“Do you want a bowl of fried pork belly rice?”

What..? What was that..? What the hell..?

Yuri could only stare in disbelief.

"Wonderful! The way you appeal to the conscience of a real criminal couldn't be better! That was amazing!” A female employee enthusiastically broke into applause. The other actors, along with the man who played Jack and John, also clapped.

“Police Officer Forger, that was a wonderful performance. You will be awarded a badge for completing the interrogation experience.”

“Yayyy!” Anya's face lit up with a childish joy as she was handed the gold badge. Her voice had returned to normal.

“Did Anya do well?”

“Yes, you did very well.”

“The last part really made me cry. You're very good at this, girl."

Having received the praise, Anya felt extremely proud of herself.

“This girl has a bright future being a detective.”

“Hmmmm, Anya will think about it.”

It seems that their policy of affirming the way for children wasn’t a lie. But …

..How the hell is it possible that a suspect would admit guilt after such an interrogation?

If everyone was rehabilitated by that childish play, then what's the point of being born an inspector with an undercover policeman?

Are they really thinking about training the future holders of Otania this way?

While Yuri was bewildered and lost, the suspect was replaced. The new criminal was a younger man with handsome features.

“Now for the Briar Police experience. Come on up, Officer Briar. Comrade Forger, take the scribe's seat over there."

"Good luck."

“… Uh huh.”

Yuri had no choice but to get up and go to the female employee to listen to the briefing on the suspect. Unlike Anya, he looked nonchalant and uncaring.

Oh well, it’s just a silly mock-interrogation. I’ll finish this up quickly. He thought to himself.

“Officer Briar is tasked with interrogating a man who was arrested for repeatedly assaulting his wife. The suspect physically abused his wife for her poor skills in cooking, and as result, the wife suffered from a broken nose that took two weeks to recover from

“…”

While listening to the employee's report, Yuri heard a click behind him. He quietly turned around and walked over to the interrogation table.

“Ah, Officer Briar, I’m not finished yet…” The female employee said in confusion, hurriedly catching up to Yuri.

"No need. I know enough.” Yuri responded, and sat down on the chair in front of the suspect.

"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Officer Briar, the one in charge of the interrogation." Yuri smiled, looking at the suspect's face through his long hair. In his eyes, that handsome, flirtatious face was the spitting image of the one man he hated the most-Loid Forger.

(He beat his wife…? Just because she's bad at cooking?)

Yuri’s jaw clamped together, veins rising along his neck. Hiding his smoldering anger under an unassuming smile, Yuri spoke to the suspect like he was trying to scold a child, “You know, Sir, you shouldn’t beat your wife just because-”

With a lax smile, the suspect cut into Yuri’s sentence, “I don’t beat my wife, Officer. She fell and hurt herself."

Yuri’s smile widened, dragging at the end like knives as his eyes narrowed into slits, “…You mean you didn't do anything wrong?”

"Of course." He says. "Actually, I'm the victim. It was her fault that she takes too long to cook and makes the same thing over and over again. I was just teaching her a lesson."

Slowly, Yuri began to speak again, the smile still on his face, "If…"

He bent over the steel desk and grabbed the side of the suspect's head with his dominant hand.

“...I punched your teeth, broke your nose and cracked your jaw, that would be your own fault, wouldn't it? And wouldn’t that make me the victim?"

"Uh-”

The man playing the suspect was startled by Yuri's amused laughter and eloquent words. Yuri's smile faded from his face and started to move closer, continuing to stare down the suspect.

“……I beat my wife.”

In a voice as cold as ice, Yuri spoke, “You beat a kind and innocent woman. You deserve to die for what you did. So, I will execute you with my own hands. There is no need for further court hearings. I will serve as the immediate death penalty.”

Yuri's hand slipped from the suspect's hair and reached his throat.

"Have death be your atonement for your wife."

“Hey…!”

The suspect, appalled by Yuri's unusual behavior, turned pale and trembled. He shivered, trying his best to complete the role while squealing with fear.

"I'm sorry! I won't do that anymore! I will never hit my wife again! I mean…"

“This is just acting! I'm not married! I'm single! I don't even have a girlfriend! I’m really sorry! Please forgive me!"

(Oh my God!)

Yuri finally came to his senses and hastily released his hand from the actor's neck. The man was crying and screaming, his role completely forgotten.

“Oh… Um, I'm sorry… I got into the role a bit too much…”

Despite the policeman's efforts to smooth over the situation, the actor only looked at Yuri with a petrified expression, not daring to open his mouth. The female staff were also frozen in place, speechless.

The whole room fell silent. It was Yuri’s turn to turn pale.

(What did I do? Why did I do that? I was just trying to get this over with quickly...)

If Anya told Yor these things, then…

The older sister will be very sad, because her pure little brother had become a monster.

(Worse, she might find out that she's not an employee of the State Department, but an undercover cop.)

How shocked his holy, sweet sister would be if that turned out to be true.

(Oh, I messed everything up… And wait… It's Lottie's fault too. I can't stop thinking about his face… That's right. Loid Forger can't be forgiven.)

In his heart, Yuri was blaming Loid for contributing to his overreaction in the previous situation.

"You're so cool..."

“? … What?"

Anya muttered in an awed voice. Yuri turned to look at Anya sitting in the corner of the room, she was looking at him with eyes of respect and admiration that Yuri had never seen before. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were wide and round, shining like stars.

"You’re a genius in interrogation."

“No, not really.”

(Because it's my day job, I’m not a genius.)

While Yuri was thinking that, Anya excitedly snorted.

“I guess you’re really good at it when you’re a secret…”

Anya seemed to remember something, and cut herself short.

“..secret..actor. I almost thought you were actually an actor, Uncle. It was like a movie scene.” She complimented incomprehensibly.

The people who had been frozen in place, started clapping in unison, looking as if they had been moved to tears.

“He acted so realistic that I got goosebumps. Damn, that was so real!”

“You really should try to be an actor! He’s very handsome, he’ll do well in the industry if he pursues this profession! I can guarantee that.”

“Um… But I… It's not like that.”

“No, believe me, your acting is amazing! Just like a real cop! I can recommend you a company, if you want. I'm sure you'll be a great actor."

“No… Hahaha.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially since it was Yuri’s day job. It had nothing to do with acting-in fact, Yuri didn’t need to act at all. His hatred for Loid Forger did all the work for him. But when someone gets praised, it’s almost possible not to feel happy. Yuri’s only 20 years old anyway, much younger and simpler than he thought, and his mood has lifted considerably.

"Okay, let's continue then!"

“Yes!”

Along with Anya, filled with excitement, Yuri was ready for the next experience.

. . .

“Uncle, Anya is hungry.”

"Oh right, it's late and you still haven't eaten anything yet."

"My stomach and back are about to stick together."

"Okay, let's go to the food court to buy hot dogs."

After the interrogation room, the two of them continued to try different professions, including reporters, firefighters, judges, prosecutors, soldiers, sculptors, doctors and train drivers. With all the excitement, they had completely forgotten about eating.

Now, Yuri and Anya are sitting at a round table in a rooftop cafe, having a late lunch of hot dogs, juice and coffee. With it came the sudden rush of fatigue that caught up to them-Anya almost fell asleep while eating her hot dog. The surrounding customers were all quite sluggish, and the number of people in the establishment seemed to be decreasing.

"So? What did you like the most?" Yuri sipped his coffee.

“Hmmmm…”

Anya looked up at the ceiling, her legs dangling. She looked at the painted blue sky and clouds on the ceiling of the facility, letting out a long sigh.

"I've done a lot of work today, so from now on I just want to play for the rest of my life."

“?! Hey, what the…”

Anya's answer caused Yuri to choke on his coffee, and he doubled over, coughing.

“Anya wants to be a cloud.”

“…”

“Or a bird.”

This is the result of a whole day’s effort?

(God …… What a waste of time)

Most importantly, how do I face Yor now?

(What the hell are we even here for! I don't care what career you want to be, lawyer, cop or whatever, you should have chosen a career you stupid brat!)

While Yuri was writhing in pain and anger, Anya put her half-eaten sausage on a plate, rummaged through her bag and spread the pamphlet on the table.

“Finally, Anya wants to go here.”

She pointed to a corner of the book.

“Hmm? What’s the point when you just want to become a cloud?"

"Anya knows I can’t actually become a cloud."

Yuri glanced at her with pitying but equally angry eyes. Why did she normally always say stupid things, but now suddenly says the right thing? Are all children like that? Or is it just this chihuahua girl?

“What is this?”

Anya was pointing at an accessory workshop located in the corner of the facility. It was a stall where people could design their own brooches, necklaces, earrings and other accessories.

Yuri blinked in surprise, "I don't think you'll like these."

“Anya will be a fashion designer.”

However, there wasn’t much time left. Yuri left Yor a note back at home saying where they were, but was still afraid of making her sister worry.

“My sister is probably going home by now. We have to go back too.”

Hearing that, Anya let out a disappointed sigh, her shoulders sagging.

“Anya wanted to make a present for mama.”

"Huh?"

Yuri looked at the girl in front of him with surprise.

“Today was supposed to be a day off, and mama was supposed to have fun with Anya, but work ruined everything. Poor mama, in the end, she won’t get to have a day off or a gift.”

“…”

Yuri suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest as he heard those earnest words, because he felt the same way for his sister.

"I'm sorry I'm so busy that I don't have time for you. Is it because of me that you’re sad and lonely a lot?” It was an apology Yuri had heard several times over, and one that always made him sad.

“I wanted to make a beautiful insect brooch for my busy mama.”

“…Don't make insect shapes.”

Yuri blurted out.

“My sister hates insects. Do something else.”

“? But… you said there was no time left.”

"That's why you should eat quickly so you can make it in time."

"Okay!"

Anya's face lit up. She hurriedly finished her sausage, then jumped off the chair.

“Anya won’t make insect shapes anymore. I’m gonna make a flower brooch for mama.”

"Flowers won’t work either. I’m gonna make my sister a hair band with a flower brooch.”

"You're so shameless."

"You're always so stupid with everything else, but you're good at talking crap."

The two of them went to the accessory workshop while chatting like that.

Yuri didn't realize that he would unconsciously hold that tiny hand beside him, even though he was never asked to do so...

---

“…I wonder when those two are coming back?”

Yor looked at the clock on the wall as she set down the salads, grilled apples, and veal in schnitzel she'd bought on the way home.

Yor had planned to leave as soon as possible, but work ended later than expected. About 15 minutes ago, Yor had rushed home to an empty home and a note on the living room table that read: "I'm taking her to a vocational experience facility."

That kind of place was a very popular experience zone for children. Yor's colleague Sharon had mentioned the place many times.

(And here I thought he would just stay at home.)

The thought of Yuri taking Anya out made Yor feel an indescribable joy.

He even thoughtfully prepared a lot of water and food for Bond before going out.

Despite her vocal opposition to the Forger marriage, whenever Yor needed it, Yuri always appeared, taking care of and protecting her and her family.

(Yuri is such a good kid.)

Although he seems short-tempered and a bit eccentric, Yuri is indeed a kind and warm-hearted guy.

Yor prepared a peanut chocolate cake that Anya liked best, along with a bottle of wine that she thought her brother would like. Loid had work until midnight, so she’d join Anya and Yuri for dinner first.

“Hehe, even though it's not as good as Loid's cooking, it looks delicious.”

Yor felt a little sorry that she didn't have enough time to cook something herself, but in the meantime, she could start making a soup. It would be Yor's first time making cold potato soup, which looked good, but had a bit of a weird taste. Probably because of the spices?

"Hopefully they'll be back soon, right, Bond?"

“Woof!” Bond barked eagerly in response to Yor's words.

“Do you like this soup? Oh, it’s too bad, though. I've put onions in, so I can't give you a taste."

“W…woof…” For a well-known reason, Bond reluctantly withdrew. Suddenly, the dog's ears perked up.

“Woof woof!”

Bond barked with glee and rushed to the door with a wagging tail. The person he had been waiting for seemed to have returned home.

“Anya’s hairpin is a lot prettier.”

"What? Mine is beautiful. How cute is this hair band? It’s perfectly suited to my beloved sister.”

"Mama would prefer Anya's."

"Never. My older sister will surely cry from being touched when she sees the hair band I made.”

"You're shameless."

"Don't call me that, Chihuahua kid."

Although Yor didn't understand what they were talking about, they seemed to be having a heated argument. Yuri was like a child around Anya.

(Have they become good friends?)

Yor giggled, running after the dog to the door and welcomed her brother and "daughter", both precious loved ones in her life.

#sxf #spy x family #anya forger #anya #yuri briar #yor spy x family #yor briar #yor forger #loid forger

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