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everafterkeiji · 3 years

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Song: Easy to Forget Me by Cimorelli

Pairings: Tobio Kageyama x fem! reader

Word count: 2.8k

Summary: When the king's queen was out of his grasp before he can realize

Warning/Genre: angst, toxic friendship, anxiety attack

Symbols: Italics=flashbacks

A/N: um- im very much hurt

Kageyama pants as he runs, pushing his limit with his eyes scanning the street ahead of him. His chest heavily coming up and down with sweat dripping down his skin. Mind empty but theres a certain feeling in his chest that was urging him to come back to a certain period in his life or a certain someone.

As he passes by a certain store, he suddenly stops. The feeling of his legs as if it they were holding him back, restraining his every move along with a voice lingering in his head like a broken record.

"She wasn't there."

Like a rock thrown to glass, his heart shatters, the sharpness of it scattering around his body making him weak to his knees as he stares at the shop that brought back memories he should've cherished. Maybe he should've gone with you when you asked him, maybe he should've took interest in your stories that had you smiling for days.

Maybe he should've chosen to remember.

"Tobio! Please don't push me away." Y/N begs, as Tobio disregards your words as he locks the door, slamming it in front of you. It was right after the match of Kitagawa, where his teammates claimed him the King, leaving him stranded.

"Please.. I'm here. I'll stay with you, I promise." Y/N says, head leaned on the door as she desperately tries to talk to the boy who've built such high walls a person like her can never reach. Kageyama can hear her pleas through the door but only one scene was repeating in his head-the moment the ball dropped, not even a soul was willing to save it for him.

"Kageyama.." she whispers sliding down with tears in her innocent eyes, scared for the condition of the boy, even more scared of what was bound to happen to their closeness.

The door creaks open slightly, and she was off her feet wiping away her tears as she turns around to see the broken boy clutching his shirt. He collapses into her arms and she gladly takes him, both sat on the ground with her hands running through his dark locks. Tears in each of their eyes, Y/N holding onto him while he questions himself. All the words that slipped through her mouth was nothing but sweet whispers and promises, reassuring him that he was no king.

Just a prince surrounded in a kingdom he didn't deserve.

"T-thank you for yesterday. You're the only one I can..count on." He says through the phone and you immediately smile at his words, surprised he believed in your promise. You let your hand rest on top of your heart, gripping on your shirt feeling that your heart was too big to fit into your body with how your emotions were overwhelming you just because of one boy. You wonder how long it'll take for you to break under him, under the kings command.

"It's nothing, Tobio. I'll be here whenever you need me."

"Kageyama! Good morning!" You say as you gladly bring him his usual choice of milk. He nods to you as a sign of thank you, and you smile at him. You walk with him silently, admiring the pleasant air between you two. It was a coincidence you two entered the same school, or was it really just your instinct and you chose it to protect the boy?

"I heard about this new store. Do you wanna come with me? I've seen photos of it everywhere!" She rambles on yet it fell on deaf ears as Kageyama was only delighted about being back on the gym, able to play his passion. When he turned to her, even if she was talking, his slightest care couldn't be given to her. He'd only nod every once in a while to make it seem like he'd understood.

If your heart knew that he didn't care, maybe then you would've realized.

We're in the same town

But you're nowhere to be found

"She hasn't been around for days. Do you think she'll make it to our game?" Hinata asks as Tanaka hands him another ball. Tanaka sighs as he looks over to the empty bench. It was funny how they were all concerned yet one boy couldn't care less. The second year looks over to Kageyama who spiked the ball perfectly, seeing him cheer at his success.

"Worry less about Y/N, she probably has her own problems. We all know that she could never miss our game, especially when Kageyama is playing." Daichi says, looking over to the younger boy. Daichi can feel how cold the atmosphere was with just a glance. He tries not to interfere with whatever happened between you two but after the match no one saw you again. Yet he sees Kageyama, perfectly back in his mindset and not an ounce of suspense as to why you weren't present.

"Plus we missed her birthday! Can't we buy some gifts for her? She doesn't really seem okay to me." Sugawara say and Nishinoya jumps at the idea agreeing completely.

"Seems like he shouldn't be invited." Tsukishima says, pointing at their other setter. Hinata sighs beside him, before shaking his head, in denial of the tension.

"Let's just go after practice!"

He walks inside the record store, seeing a variety of albums and vinyls. He lets his slim fingers run over the texture of each album, wondering which drew his attention. The atmosphere of the store was enough to leave a weight on his shoulders.

It's you, isn't it?

He eyes a poster on his left, enjoying how the colors were spotlighted by the sunlight that was peeking through the window. All the soft hues, having a dark gradient at the bottom he couldn't help but feel how familiar everything was. He carefully listens to the song that was playing, concentrating on every lyric as if he was trying to find a connection.

This is her world.

He watches how everyone in the store was occupied in conversations. Conversing about their interests, debating about different eras, even singing in different aisles. He can only feel sympathy, alone in her world he didn't bother to acknowledge. He should know by now what music you like, what album you first bought, which band poster was hung on your wall, but when he tried he could only hear murmurs and whispers.

I wish I listened.

Do you ever miss me?

You wonder as you sat in your room, knees to your chest in the far corner, listening to the song playing in your earphones. You stood up, walking to your window and opening it, greeted by the cold air. You let you hands dangle from the window while your eyes landing on the night sky creeping a smile on your face at how comforting it was.

The moon stares down on you, feeling helpless for the girl who thought numbness was the right choice. She couldn't even mask the way her world was slowly loosing color. To her, music would always paint her skies with color. All she can do now is envision the colors but in reality they were all desaturating with every passing day. There's pretty smile set on her lips yet feels like a tug of force knowing it was hard to act civil when her heart lost the battle.

"This place is so cool!" Hinata exclaims, eyes sparkling at the sight of the vivid posters and overall aesthetic and aura of the store. Nishinoya joins him on the excitement. Daichi turn to Kageyama who looked like a lost puppy, eyes wandering everywhere. Sugawara taps Daichis shoulder quite cutely holding up a vinyl in his hands.

"This looks like something she'd like!" He says with a smile and Nishinoya joins the conversation, holding out his own album waving it in the air claiming it was more her type. Asahi laughs at the two while he continues to view the albums that were in front of him.

Kageyama glances at his seniors along with the second years. He sees the genuine care they have for her but why is that he feels empty? Like he was numb to any feeling. He did miss her birthday, not even bothering to greet her, focusing on doing better for the next matches.

Hinata notices the dismay from the boy but his lips form a thin line, knowing exactly why Kageyamas clueless. He wonders about the feeling of neglecting a person that's been by your side for years. Kageyama seemed like he was a pro for such things. He always took notice of how Y/N would look whenever he's decline her offers, the way she walks to class disheartened but when she sees the setter, she instantly lights up at the sight.

Seeing her cry that day was enough for him to keep a distance.

How can he even comfort her? The moment she turned her back to Kageyama, she had a hopeless smile on her lips, tears continuously rolling down her puffy cheeks. He could see the way she collapsed that way. How the queen finally let go of her duties from the king.

Kageyama laid on his bed with earphones in, hands to his chest focused on the melodies. It was ironic how he wanted to badly catch up on what he's lost. He was badly trying to find the trail back to you but he was unfortunate. It seemed like he was the one that changed everyone's destination.

The moment she stepped in the gym, so bewildered at the different personalities they had. Hinata was the first one to approach her, asking her questions about their "friendship." The following months went by and Hinata found comfort in her and so did the rest of the team, favoring her for her endless support, always hearing her cheers at each game. After every match, she'd always encourage the others, being the brightest sun to cast upon the team who was discouraged.

Yet he found this unnecessary?

He bites his lip at his old thought. He hated himself for thinking how useless of a habit that was for you. He believed that Daichi was enough to lift up the spirits of his teammates so the team really didn't need you. It's opposite for the others though. They truly appreciated each of your compliments, each pat on the shoulder or head. Even if you wanted to do the same for him, he'd always walk away before you could even reach him. Hinata and Yamaguchi would always try to make you forget how harsh the boy was.

He lets his eyes close for a while. For a second, he was at peace but then words started resurfacing.

"How could you just walk away?"

He tries to ignore the tone of her voice, trying to drown it out by increasing the volume, but his heart was panicking at the memory. Even if he tightly shuts his eyes, all he can imagine was the sight of the last time he saw her. He wanted to sit up, to avoid the anxiousness that was crawling under his skin, but his back remained on the bed, struggling to escape the encounter.

"Is it that easy to forget me?"

Y/N.

(TW! Anxiety attack. Do not proceed if this makes you uncomfortable)

He calls out to her like a whisper, clutching his pillow as he stares wide eyed at the ceiling. He feels the room swirl around him, the walls caving on him as every insult and memory came to him. He sits up and desperately tries to walk but he collapses on the floor, hands quickly reaching the hem of his shirt bringing it over his shoulders. Panting incredibly with his sweat covering his forehead as he tried to calm himself down but each second he was reminded of a moment in his life he could never change.

"Hey..Kageyama it's okay." Y/N tries to reach for his shoulder but he harshly grabs a hold of her hand, gripping it tightly in his as he stares her down with his dark eyes, locking on her terrified ones.

"We fucking lost! To Aoba! To Oikawa! How can you act like this when we lost?!" Kageyama shouts at her and she winces at the volume but she lets her other hand rest on top of his, trying to make sure her eye contact reminded him that everything was going to be okay.

"Tobio- Karasuno will come back and win again.. You have to trust that everything isn't set in stone. Failure-"

"FAILURE? I don't have any fucking time for more failures Y/N! You simply don't know what that feels cause all you've been doing is tagging along and being useless." He spat and you felt your smile crumble at his words. He removes your hands from his as he frustratedly runs his hands to his hair, feeling as if pins went through his hands, blaming it for their loss.

"Kageyama..you don't m-mean that. Stop. I know you're angry-"

"I'm disappointed Y/N for fucks sake! I could've done better! We could've won if I didn't slip up. Stop acting like you can fucking solve everything and leave!" She takes a step forward to him as he extends out a hand, blocking her from moving any further. The gesture completely draining the life out of her, her heart growing more and more in her chest, the admiration for the boy trying to erase his negativity.

"K-kageyama-"

"Fuck Y/N! Can't I have a day without you talking to me? Or even being around me? I don't need you. The team doesn't need you. No one else does.. so please just leave already."

He stares at her for a while before rushing off, annoyance and pride feeding his heart and mind. She sees him getting more and more distant as she lets her last smile fall on her lips. All the love and joy was erased from her heart, feeling how shallow and dark the atmosphere was inside it. It began to feel like every heartbeat was slowing down as her tears painted her a trail as she walked. The tears continuously flooded her cheeks as every function of her body was weakening with every action.

She feels the tension that there was in the bus, while she was stuck in the corner, silent.

Silent but the Kings poison consumed her.

Happy birthday to me then. She thinks bitterly.

She looks at the scenery beside her, appealing dull. She allows her heart to cry at the sharp pieces that went through it, as if it was like a balloon being popped or like the light from a fire was blown out.

There was a certain part of her that died that day. She wonders if it was her entirely, or just her ability to feel anything apart from the harsh reality. It was the mere feeling of hearing him say the exact opposite of the words you were badly used to. As the person who he counted on even back at Kitagawa, you should've believed it. But every word he threw were all words that should've never been brought to light. You were back to zero to say the least, back at the darkest corner of your mind. Touching in with your negative emotions drowning you with every replay of of his words.

Then she glances at him.

She lets her eyes linger on him for the last time before she sighs, hands forming a ball, nails digging through her skin.

I don't know you anymore.

Kageyama opens his eyes slowly, hands reaching for his phone as he dials a forgotten number. He was panting furiously, desperate to hear the sound of your voice he was late to miss. He dreaded the silence the surrounded him, he wished the silence would be killed by your voice, assuring him that all was forgiven and you were ready to come back to him so he can apologize for everything he's done.

On the other end of the line, you sighed sadly. You the see way your phone lit up the dark room, seeing a name you've yet to see in months. You carefully place the phone in your hands, trying to find the feeling in your chest when he was around. The feeling of excitement to see or hear him has vanished yet you wished that you had the ability to feel for him again.

Love has faded, no evidence, not even a trace.

So you put the phone down, done waiting to be found.

Kageyama hears the way the sound of the phone stopped, seeing his wallpaper flash in front of him. He lets the tears fall from his eyes as he calls out to you one more time, even if you broke your promise, still holding on to it but there wasn't a chance for him anymore.

And the queen left the kingdom, leaving the king to rule by himself.

#kegayama tobio #haikyu x reader #haikyuu sugawara #hinata shouyou #hinata x reader #nishinoya x reader #sugawara x y/n #tsukishima fluff #tsukishima hcs #tsukishima x reader #haikyuu!!#kageyama x reader #yamaguchi fluff #haikyuu yamaguchi #haikyuu asahi #tobio x you #daichi sawamura x reader

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todorokiaimee · 4 years

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Dopamine Chapter 2

Previous Chapter

The next evening, Jada walked down the bustling streets of the red light district, her large black duffle bag over her shoulder. She hummed along to the music pumping in her ears from her phone as she marked a few dance moves, earning a few looks from passersby. “The fuck are you looking at?”

When they quickly made their way past, she scoffed as she adjusted her black Tshirt dress before turning to walk around the corner. Soon she came to the back entrance of her work, nodding to the bouncer patrolling the door as she entered.

Walking into the dressing room, she waved and said hello to the various girls inside until she laid her eyes on her best friend, Ito Sakura. She was a cute and petite woman with long soft pink hair and blue eyes. Sakura was the exact opposite of the kind of person Jada would seek out, but she was also the first person to befriend her when she had no one.

“Thanks for covering for me last night, Sakura,” Jada said as she unpacked her bag.

“No problem, girl. You deserved a night out.” The pink-haired woman smiled as she applied her makeup. “So how was it?”

The ravenette smiled to herself as she thought about the night she had spent with Top Pro Hero: Ground Zero. Dancing with him before he took her home. Spending the night with him underneath her as they both reached epic euphoria. “It was… fun.” I doubt she’d believe me anyway.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, girl.” She laughed, grabbing her friend’s shoulders, shaking them. “I need details!”

“Let’s just say I was able to blow off some steam,” Jada smirked coyly as she brushed her off. “You know I can’t talk about it at work anyway.”

“Fineee…” Sakura pouted, returning back to her makeup routine. “I was just hoping to live vicariously through you. God knows I’m not going to meet anyone worth keeping here.”

“Not true… We get a few high dollar clients.”

“Like who?” The pink-haired woman questioned, looking pointedly at her friend.

“Mr. Sato blew 500,000 yen in one night.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that…. He’s kinda old though. What about Mr. Suzuki? He’s cute and drops mad dough.”

Jada scoffed, rolling her eyes as she changed into a pair of impossibly short shorts and a crop top, “Mr. Suzuki also has a problem with keeping his hands to himself.”

“But if he makes you his Mrs. then you’ll be set for life.”

“And how many girls like us have ever married high dollar clients?” The ravenette asked, crossing her arms.

“Cardi B did it!”

“Cardi actually made her own money and then got her hubby. I’m pretty sure her net worth is much more than his.” Jada clicked her tongue as she buckled a pair of 7-inch platform heels to her feet. “God I hate these shoes. I feel like a fucking horse.”

“Yeah, but the clients can’t get enough of them. Did you know once in a private room, a client asked me to step on his junk with them? Not my thing but he tipped well so whatever.” Sakura hummed, tapping her chin before shouting, “Oh I know! Amber Rose!”

“Did she actually marry Kanye or did they just date?”

“I don’t know but she was with him long enough to tell the world that he likes a finger in the booty!” The pink-haired woman giggled as she held up her little finger.

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, Baby!” The two friends laughed as they playfully shoved and nudged each other until a man popped his head into the dressing room.

“Hey, Jada! You’re up in 5!”

“Coming!” The dark-skinned beauty called as she put the finishing touches on her lipstick. As she made her way out the door the ladies in the dressing room all cheered her on, giving her playful smacks on the ass, but none were louder than her bubbly bestie.

“Pop that pussy, Mama!” Sakura cheered with a laugh. “Make that money!”

As Jada made her way onto the stage, she took a deep centering breath. She got into her opening pose in the dark as she heard the hoots and hollers from the audience surrounding the stage.

“Alright, alright, alright!” The MC of the club said into the microphone. “As our next act gets settled in here’s another reminder that here at The Secret Garden there is no flash photography or flashing of any kind. That’s right, keep it in your pants fellas.” He chuckled as he looked over to Jada, her giving him a nod that she was ready to begin. “Without further ado please welcome back to the main stage… the exotic beauty… with tits, ass, and legs for days…. Nubia!”

As the lights lifted, Kelis’ “Milkshake” began to bump through the club’s speakers, Jada starting her performance. She began to twerk before making her way to the single pole in the middle of the stage. Taking it in her grasp, she gave a few body rolls before launching herself around the pole, spinning with ease as she performed various tricks. The crowd cheered and threw their money onto the stage with each pole inversion, jump split, and discarded piece of clothing until her dance finally came to an end as he panted to catch her breath. (https://youtu.be/Eu8Tyr4B_EA)

After she quickly picked up her discarded clothes and tips and took them backstage, Jada made her way back onto the strip club floor. She walked around her in lingerie until a man called out to her, patting his knee. “Hey, Sweet Cheeks! Come sit on daddy’s lap.”

“You want a dance Mr.?” She smiled sweetly, walking over to him.

“I want much more than a dance but that’s a good start.”

Gross. “It’s 3,000 yen for a dance, 10,500 yen for the VIP lounge, and 27,000 yen for the Champagne Room. Plus tip.”

“Umm…” He chuckled nervously. “Just a dance out here is cool.”

Cheapskate. With a flip of her dark locs, she turned her back to him before lowering herself onto his lap. She rolled her hips against him to the pulsating music, taking her time. As she continued her ministrations the man grew more and more excited. This became even more apparent as she began to feel the hard tent forming in his pants. She sighed, trying her best to ignore it until the strange man began to grab and rub her thighs. “I know it’s very tempting but this is a no-touch club, Honey.”

“Sure, Sure.” He breathed, removing his hands.

The ravenette continued her dance, confident that he got the message. Turning around, she straddled his hips so that she was facing him, hoping that the eye contact would deter him. Unfortunately, his hands once again found his way to her skin, gripping her waist, his fingers playing with the clasp of her bra. “Hey.” She warned in a more stern voice. “Last warning.”

“Feisty! I like it.”

Jada clicked her tongue as she pried his hands off of her. The man smiled apologetically, but it didn't reach his eyes. After another deep breath, the dark-skinned beauty returned to her lap dance, rolling her hips against his lap while giving him a full view of her breasts.

Growing impatient, the man once again laid his hands on Jada, this time harshly grabbing her ass with both hands, pushing her further into his erection, a sick smirk on his lips. “Come on, Baby you can give me more than that.”

“I said hands off!” Jada yelled. Getting up from his lap, she drew her arm back to land a hard slap across his face, the sound of impact heard throughout the club.

“Ow!” He bellowed, jumping to his feet with his face in his hand. With his eyes filled with rage, he raised his hand as Jada instinctively flinched away, “Fuck you, Bitch!”

Jada closed her eyes, waiting for the blow that never came; instead, she heard a familiar calm deep voice that made her stomach churn just the same.

“What seems to be the problem here?”

The ravenette opened her eyes to see the Club Owner and her boss, Yamaguchi Eizan standing by as well as a club bouncer, holding the handsy man in a chokehold. She clicked her tongue as she crossed her arms, addressing her boss. “He grabbed my ass after 2 warnings!”

“I see,” Yamaguchi hummed, his cool expression irking her further. “Tanaka, can you see this gentleman out? After he pays for his dance with a generous tip of course.” The bouncer nodded and he wrestled the man out, ignoring the client’s shouts of protest. Once they were out of earshot, Yamaguchi turned his attention back to Jada, a frown beginning to form on his lips. “Nubia, can you follow me please?”

Jada felt a pit form deep in her stomach as she followed the man into his office, instinctively covering her scantily clad body. The loud music was almost nonexistent as the door closed behind them. He sighed as he sat down behind his desk, tapping his fingers against the mahogany wood.

He was a physically imposing man and classically beautiful. Perfectly coiffed black hair and dark brown eyes. He dressed in an expensive suit, expertly tailored. For all extensive purposes Yamaguchi Eizan was every woman’s wet dream. Jada knew better, of course.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Jada?” He finally seethed.

“What was I supposed to do?! He was groping me!”

“I can’t have you striking my clients.”

“So I’m just supposed to let them touch me?” She argued, only for Yamaguchi to rise from his seat, instantly shutting her up.

“I don’t think you understand the ramifications of your actions,” He breathed as he made his way over the beauty, his frame towering over her. “That gentleman is going to leave this club and tell his friends about his experience. He’s going to tell his friends about how a stripper slapped him for enjoying their dance. In return, his friends will not come here to relax and now that money will not be coming into the club. I don’t get paid, which means you don’t get paid. And...” He paused, taking a single loc of her hair between his thumb and forefinger, a soft smirk forming on his lips. “I know how tight money is for you these days. Keep in mind, my offer still stands to give you some relief.”

Jada fought the urge to look away, not wanting to wilt under his gaze. He was so close that she could smell the sandalwood of his aftershave, “I’m good. Thanks.”

“That’s right. You are good.” He said lowly, letting go of her hair as he stepped back, leaning against this desk. “You’ll do good to remember how good you have it here. I only ask that you dance for clients. If you were with someone else you wouldn’t be as lucky.”

“Okay, I get it,” Jada whispered, still holding herself.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

The two were then interrupted by a knock on the office door. After an acknowledgment by Yamaguchi, the bouncer entered the room and handed him a large stack of cash. “Is this from the gentleman in question?” Yamaguchi asked. The bouncer just gave a nod and left the room without a word.

Yamaguchi hummed as he licked his fingertips before counting out the money. “That’s 8,000 yen for me…” He paused placing the stack on his desk. “And 2,000 yen for you,” He smiled as he offered the money to Jada.

“2,000? What the hell?” She protested, unfolding her arms.

“For the future revenue you just cost me with your stunt. Or would you prefer I kept it all?” He looked at her pointedly.

“Okay…” She frowned, taking the cash as she turned to leave.

“Remember, Love,” He called out as she stepped out of the room, the pounding music almost drowning out his words. “Things could be much worse.”

Jada sighed as she closed the door behind her, making her way back onto the club floor, “Some days I’m not so sure.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The next day, Ground Zero and Red Riot were out on their daily patrols, walking through the busy Tokyo streets. The red-haired hero smiled brightly as he waved to the citizens, Bakugou holding his usual scowl. Once he was confident no one was listening in, Kirishima nudged his friend, earning his attention, “You’re lucky Mina loves you since you ditched her on her birthday.”

“She’ll forgive me.” The blonde shrugged.

“What happened anyway? I left you at the bar and then you were gone.”

Bakugou once again thought over the happenings of two nights before. How he had bedded a mysterious woman, which he thought they both enjoyed, only for her to leave his side without so much of a care. “Long story short, I met a woman and took her home.”

“Bakugou, you dog!” Kirishima laughed as he slapped his friend on the back. “Now it all makes sense.”

“Yeah, sure whatever…” Bakugou grumbled before rubbing his neck nervously. “Hey… Has a girl ever bolted on you right after sex?”

The red-haired man quirked a brow, surprised by his question. “You let your love interests stay over now?”

“I don’t have any fucking love interests!” He barked before asking again. “Do they ever leave right after?”

“Right after?”

“Yeah.”

“Like right right after?”

“She literally came and went.”

“Like on her own? No coaxing?”

“She hopped off my dick and got dressed to leave.”

“Damn. I can’t say I have...” Kirishima sighed, scratching his chin. Looking over to his seemingly dejected friend, he gave him a nudge. “Look maybe she just had an early appointment in the morning or something? Girls have loads of random appointments!”

“Maybe…” The blonde breathed, avoiding eye-contact with his friend.

“Or you’re just bad in bed.”

“MAN FUCK YOU, SHITTY HAIR!”

Kirishima laughed as he dodged his friend’s explosions and hardened himself to take the hits that he couldn’t avoid. “I’m kidding! You know you do the exact same thing when you have one night stands at a girl’s place.”

Do I? Bakugou paused for a moment before scoffing, “That’s different!”

Red Riot rolled his eyes as he brushed off the soot and ash from his skin. “You said she came right?”

“Of course she did.” The blonde smirked proudly.

“More than once? You were, you know, generous? Foreplay and stuff?”

“Nah, believe me, she was fuckin ready to go.” Bakugou chuckled as he remembered her sprawled out on his bed with her fingers deep in her heat.

“There’s your problem bro! The ladies are all about the foreplay! You can’t get lazy and skip it. Not manly.” His friend only grunted in response but Kirishima could see the wheels turning in Bakugou’s head. “Why are you so worried about it this time anyway? You’ve always preferred one night stands. “Love is a distraction” and all.”

“I don’t know... She’s just different.” The blonde hummed before quickly recovering “And I never said anything about love!”

“Did you guys exchange numbers? Do you think she enjoyed herself enough that she’d let you take her out on a proper date?”

“Kinda...”

“Did she give you her number or did she take yours?”

“She took mine.”

Kirishima hissed in pain while he shook his head in disappointment.

“What?” Bakugou questioned.

“That’s not a good sign bro…” He sighed. “Mina does that when she wants to let guys down easy. She takes their numbers and then never calls.”

Ground Zero blinked up at his friend as he took in the news before a blanket of rage started to overshadow his disappointment. “Man fuck that! She’ll call! No woman can resist me! I’m a fucking catch!”

“Whatever you say, man.” Red Riot breathed as he patted his friend’s shoulder.

“You wish you could have as many women as me!”

“Dude, I’m happily engaged!” Kirishima laughed. “One woman is all I need!”***

“Shut up, Shitty Hair!”

As the pair began to get into another squabbling match out on the street, a loud ringing came from the pants pocket of the blonde hero.

“You gonna get that?” Kirishima laughed as he blocked another explosion.

With one last growl, Ground Zero dug into his pants pocket, taking out his phone and harshly answering the call, “What is it?!”

“Well hello to you too.”

The velvety smooth voice on the other line startled the hero as he cleared his throat, this time speaking much softer. “Who is this?”

“It’s Jada. Up for round two?”

NOTES: ***This is referring to my friend’s Black OC Marina. You can find her fic here.

Chapter 3 | Masterlist

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albedos-experiment-gone-wrong · 3 years

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Drew Tanaka

Don’t be a coward Rick, give her a redemption arc. She would be such a great character IF

RICK DOES IT RIGHT HE CANNOT MAKE HER ANOTHER STEREOTYPICAL CHARACTER DO NOT ADD HER TO THE LIST WITH HAZEL, PIPER, LEO, REYNA, AND SELENA PLEASE.

Wouldn’t she be such a great character? Like, Drew would SO

Help others struggling with literally anything Bad hair day? She got you Dumped? She’s got the ice cream, comedy movies, and punching bag ready. Depression? She knows she can’t magically poof it away but she’ll be there to listen to you and hug you when needed and literally anything else you need. School help? She’s got all the notes, assignments, and can explain and she’ll help you no matter what. Literally ANYTHING.

She’d be pro-people LGBTQA+ RIGHTS? She supports. All lives Matter? She supports.

She’d be really, really sorry for being a bitch to everyone before, and would take the time to apologize to every. single. person.

She’d refuse quests, but because she’d welcome new campers and get them used to camp and make sure they’re taken care of. She’d also help see questers off

Ah, those are just a few of my headcanons lol, but if Rick isn’t chicken, he could make them canon.

Also, making Drew, one of the only Asian characters in the whole series, a bully bitch is rude, disrespectful, offensive, and doesn’t make people feel good (which is called dehumanizing fyi)

#percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #drew tanaka #pjo/hoo #pjo headcanon

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tabloidtoc · 5 years

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OK, October 7

Cover: Matthew McConaughey -- inside his private world

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: Mila Kunis vs. Demi Moore

Page 6: Taylor Swift slams Kanye West

Page 7: Reese Witherspoon going back to school to keep up with daughter Ava Phillippe, Sylvester Stallone gunning for an Oscar

Page 8: Kim Kardashian is Paris Hilton’s dating guru, Matt Damon has stayed true to his promise to his wife to never let work get in the way of quality time with their daughters, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s private friendship

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- black floor-sweeping gowns -- Kate Upton, Jessica Chastain, Dakota Johnson

Page 11: Natalie Portman, Karlie Kloss

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Kirsten Dunst vs. Kristine Froseth, Kat Graham vs. Morena Baccarin

Page 14: News in Photos -- Nicole Kidman, Anna Wintour, Winnie Harlow

Page 16: Tori Spelling, Megyn Kelly, Mariah Carey and Bryan Tanaka

Page 18: Rachel Hunter, Jonathan and Drew Scott

Page 19: Scott Eastwood, Cardi B, Meghan King Edmonds

Page 20: Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, Meghan Trainor, John Legend

Page 21: Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres, Judith Light and Jill Soloway and America Ferrera and Daryl Roth and Bernard Telsey, Jennifer Garner

Page 22: Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Tyler James Williams and Sarah Hyland, Rihanna

Page 24: Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ marvelous manor

Page 26: Jonathan Scott and Zooey Deschanel a perfect match

Page 27: It’s baby time for Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, Kaitlynn Carter’s jealous of Miley Cyrus hitting on Ariana Grande

Page 28: Demi Lovato and Mike Johnson taking it slow, Katie Holmes tells Jamie Foxx to leave her alone, Love Bites -- Jesse McCartney and Katie Peterson engaged, Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney married, Danielle Staub and fiance Oliver Maier split

Page 30: Cover Story -- Matthew McConaughey’s wild ride

Page 34: Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber beating the odds

Page 36: Megan Fox’s dark days

Page 38: Seeing Stars -- these reality show fixtures have been romantically linked to A-list celebrities -- Whitney Port and Leonardo DiCaprio, Carole Radziwill and George Clooney, Wells Adams and Sarah Hyland

Page 39: Brandi Glanville and Gerard Butler, Tyler Cameron and Gigi Hadid

Page 40: Interview -- Mel B spices things up

Page 42: Shape Up Like a DWTS Pro -- Peta Murgatroyd, Lindsay Arnold, Cheryl Burke

Page 43: Witney Carson, Jenna Johnson, Emma Slater

Page 46: Style Week -- Kelly Rowland

Page 48: Fall Beauty Awards -- Lucy Boynton

Page 51: Hilary Duff, Janelle Monae

Page 52: Sarah Hyland

Page 54: Entertainment

Page 55: Q&A -- Maggie Wheeler

Page 58: American Idol’s original judges reunite on Kelly Clarkson’s new talk show -- Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson

Page 62: Horoscope -- Libra Brie Larson

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Anna Faris

#tabloid #matthew mcconaughey #mark harmon #ncis #pam dawber #michael fassbender #fassbender #fassy #alicia vikander #vikassy #kristen stewart #robert pattinson #rob pattinson #twilight #robsten

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blackjack-15 · 5 years

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Secrets and Killing — Thoughts on: Secrets Can Kill/Secrets Can Kill Remastered (SCK/SCK2)

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: SCK, SCK2, episode 1X14 of The Mentalist.

The Intro:

We’re beginning with Secrets Can Kill/Remastered, not only because it’s first, but also because it’s one of the easier games to analyze. The plot isn’t anything especially complicated, the suspects are caricatures, the locations are pretty barren — and all of this is true in both versions. It’s a short, unsatisfying game, which spawned a short, unsatisfying remake that fixed some things and ruined others.

The Title:

The title itself sounds like the murder occurred because Jake was keeping secrets (not because he was blackmailing people with them) — and it’s also incredibly vague — so as a title, I wouldn’t say it’s incredibly effective. The word “kill” is evocative, to be sure, but I think that’s the strongest part of the title by leagues.

The Mystery:

Nancy’s Aunt Eloise is a school librarian whose school finds a student murdered — so her first instinct is to call her plucky 18-year-old niece to come solve it.

The murdered student, Jake Rogers, has left cryptic messages in the school and the nearby diner, pointing towards not only what caused his murder, but also how to solve the crime and catch his murderer. There’s actually a really chilling clue that Jake tells us “will seal [his] murderer’s fate” — meaning that in the course of leaving these clues, Jake knew he’d be murdered.

Perhaps that’s a justification for the actual mystery being so /easy/ — the game can be beaten in under 45 minutes without too much trouble, sadly enough (obviously discounting the time spent in the original version switching discs).

The identity of the murderer/bad guy(s) is…honestly pathetic in both versions as well, with the biggest difference being screen time rather than complexity or plausibility. The remastered version nerfs the ending where Nancy stands for Truth, Justice, and Guns, and instead employs a rather ridiculous ending that’s meant to test you on your recall from the beginning of the game…but fails, because the beginning of the game was under an hour ago.

The Suspects:

Hal Tanaka (whose name in Japanese I’m guessing is actually Tanaka Haru or something longer but similar, since “l” isn’t a phoneme in Japanese, and no word can end in any consonant other than “n”) is a student at Paseo Del Mar who focuses very hard on getting the best grades he can possibly get —through both honest and dishonest means.

As a suspect, he’s pretty pathetic; there’s not a single minute where he’s even remotely plausible as Jake’s murderer, and he’s really just there to make sure that there’s “enough” suspects to seem more complex (and to pad out the run time of the game).

He also never pays for his plagiarism? Like the kid is a senior going into college and he just straight up copies the Big Essay? And it’s not really well written — if you’re gonna cheat, cheat well, Hal. It really bothers me that Nancy’s like “and he got his scholarship! Huzzah!” when the dude is a Stone-Cold Cheater.

Jake’s blackmailing him because of the aforementioned plagiarism, which…like, blackmailing is Not Right, but am I supposed to feel like Hal is the Victim here because he’s planning on taking a scholarship that he doesn’t deserve with his plagiarized paper away from another kid who does deserve it because they have the smarts and effort to write their own? Is that what this game is telling me to think? Because the game is wrong.

If Hal has the smarts to do Jake’s homework for the rest of the year, dude has the smarts to write his own essay. He’s a lazy coward, and I’d blackmail him too.

Connie Watson is the official tattletale (sorry, “hall monitor”) of Paseo Del Mar, and spends the game in the “student lounge” (what kind of bougie high school is this?) doing…nothing at all, honestly. I get that it’s the end of the year, Connie, but…go home. There’s no way school is in session, a murder just happened there.

She parades her Judo trophy-necklace around like she’s not being blackmailed for it and that, in 1998 or 2010, no one would recognize it? I mean we definitely know that Connie’s not getting a scholarship, girl is flat out dumb. She comes off better in the 1998 version where she at least gets to use those Mad Judo Skills, but she’s not an important character in either version, to be quite honest.

Connie’s being blackmailed because she won a men’s Judo competition…by wearing…a ski mask…yeah, there’s no defense for this, not in ’98 and not in ’10. Anyway, Jake is blackmailing her into going to the dance with him because he saw her taking off her mask (which she definitely should have done in a more secret location if she wanted it to be a secret?) but like…girlfriend is Flaunting her little neck-trophy, so I honestly don’t see what sway he has over her. It’s Very Wrong of him to do so, yes, yes…but he’s got no power here, and Connie’s an idiot if she thinks so.

She’s an idiot anyway, and once again is never even a consideration for Jake’s killer. What an interesting choice, to have two separate characters as the “dumb muscle” stereotype. And this one’s a girl! #feminism

Daryl Gray is the SBP of Paseo Del Mar, along with basically the manager (from what we see) of Maxine’s Diner, creepy escort, police contact…you name it, Daryl’s your bleach-blond guy.

He’s also super shifty; in the original game, he’s involved in drug trafficking, and in the remastered version, he’s selling his father’s company’s secrets. He also hits on Nancy a lot, but since Nancy never tells him to knock it off, that’s a Mild offense at best.

Daryl is being blackmailed in the original game because of the drug trafficking, and in the remastered version because of the whole leaking company secrets thing. Daryl 100% deserves to be blackmailed for that, as both of those things are Very Illegal, and he’s being Very Stupid about them. Yes, I understand that blackmail is illegal as well.

Hulk Sanchez is a character with as much subtlety as his name would imply, and is the star football player for Paseo Del Mar. Injured on the field and yet still looking to play college (and eventually pro) football, Hulk steals steroids and takes them, putting the “muscle” in “dumb muscle”.

Hulk is, true to his one-note character, being blackmailed for the whole “stealing drugs” thing (which seems to be his only character trait), as Jake wants him to deliver messages for him. Hulk by far got off the easiest, and if I were him and could be busted for both theft and drug use, would be thrilled that I was getting off this easy. Having no sense of perspective, Hulk instead rants to everyone about how Jake Rogers was a “punk” and how it’s a good thing that he’s dead.

Mitch Dillon, the school’s janitor, is the original baddie in the 1998 game, and is Unseen throughout the ENTIRE game, appearing only at the end to wave a gun around and punch Connie before being apprehended.

In the 1998 game, he’s buying drugs off of Daryl, whereas in the 2010 remake, he’s buying company/government secrets off of Daryl and selling them to Detective Beech. In both cases, Jake tries to blackmail him for his crimes, and he kills him. Both games see him arrested, but neither one actually treats him like a character, and he is, ultimately, a plot device that weakens the games.

Lastly, the remake introduces the character of “Detective Beech” (real name unknown), who also goes by “Uncle Steve” in his guise as Nancy’s police contact.

He is, of course, nothing of the sort, and has lost his journal with Gray Enterprises’ dirty little secrets that Mitch sold to him, and “hires” Nancy to find it under the guise of searching for Jake’s killer. Cartoonish and so obviously the Bad Guy that you’ll lose your voice yelling at Nancy to stop telling him things, he tries to kill Nancy when she finds out the truth and ends up trapped in Aunt Eloise’s kinky sex cage intruder cage thanks to Nancy telling him (repeatedly) the wrong combination to the safe. Yeah.

“Detective Beech” in-universe is a TV show mentioned in passing in STFD, VEN, and TOT, which makes the fact that Nancy fell for this disguise even sadder. That’d be like some criminal posing as an officer being like “call me Detective Columbo” and you being like “that sounds Plausible, yes”. Honestly.

It’s interesting that this game sets up a story where most of the suspects are “cheating” in some way or the other — Hal’s plagiarism, Connie’s joining of the competition, Hulk’s steroids, etc. I’m not sure this was purposeful, and I’m even less sure that it really means anything, but it’s interesting to note, regardless.

The Favorites:

There’s not much about this game that I like, to be quite honest. I enjoy Jake (more on him below), and Ned’s cheesiness as a phone contact, and the fact that it’s Mercifully Short.

Also Hulk is SUCH an enormous douche that it’s almost funny. And Aunt Eloise’s kinky sex cage intruder cage.

If I have to choose a favorite puzzle, it’s reading all of the signs Jake hid around the school/Maxine’s diner.

Or the ladle for the sheer stupidity.

The Un-favorites:

Everything else about the game.

The visuals are “blah” (except Remastered!Daryl, who is the stuff of effing nightmares), the characters are cardboard cutouts with a combined IQ of 7, and Nancy comes off weak and stupid as a result.

The villain(s) are one-note and boring, and the attempt to improve the game by remastering it made it easier to play (no disc-switching, faster loading, etc.) and had some campy yet cute easter eggs, but on the whole introduced new problems to the plot and took away Nancy Using an Effing Gun. Boo.

I have no favorite puzzles, as they’re all horrible or horribly easy. Nothing in this game stands out.

Well…maybe one thing stands out, but it’s not to the game’s credit.

The Fix:

The first (and biggest) thing I’d do to fix SCK is to set it in or near River Heights.

Yeah, there’s a throwaway line about this not being Nancy’s first case, but it doesn’t have to be her first case to make more sense in River Heights. It could happen in an adjacent suburb to River Heights as well, I’m not picky – it just should be local.

Now, that takes away Nancy being “undercover”, but honestly that’s not a big part of the game to lose, and setting it in a town next to River Heights pretty much solves the question of why would these kids talk to her if they knew who she was (though I don’t think that’s a problem; high schoolers, especially high school senior, are pretty apathetic about other peoples’ reputations and wouldn’t really care if a small-time amateur detective well-known in her own town but not nationally was there to ask them questions).

This fixes a few things, not the least of which being how Nancy is even allowed to be there in the first place. It’s ridiculous, no matter the time period, to think that Aunt Eloise would be notified of a student’s death, turn around to the police and the principal and be like “Hey, I have a niece! She sure has found some missing dogs!” and the authorities being like “Some lost dogs? A niece? Gee whiz! You got her number handy?”.

It’s a nonsensical way to get Nancy into the game that sticks out because there were sensical ways to ensure she could investigate.

Have Eloise working in a school a town over (and having previously lived in New York, to set up STFD), encounter the murder, think of Nancy, get the River Heights police chief to put in a good word for her with the other town’s police, and you’ve got a logical process of getting Nancy involved.

Make SCK Nancy’s first big case outside of River Heights (even if it’s just by a handful of miles) working with a different police force/school/etc., and suddenly there’s a justification for starting with this case.

The other big change I’d make is in the whole premise of the game.

Nancy Drew doesn’t tackle another murder until DED, and honestly it’s a good thing they waited for a good concept and a competent writer, because the one thing that stands out in the game is the premise: a person is murdered, and no one cares.

It’s one thing to have some of the characters not care, or be actively hostile to Jake Rogers while he’s alive, etc. etc. After he’s dead, no one’s shaken; sure, Jake has been blackmailing all of them, but the characters either intensely don’t care, or (in the case of Hulk, for example) are glad he’s dead, and have no qualms about telling you so.

Outside of your suspect pool, no one cares either; the most the teachers say is a line in an email noting that they’ll have to replace him for bulletin board duties. A student is murdered — a student that these teachers all knew, as he worked administratively for the bulletins at least — and they don’t care. Heck, Nancy doesn’t even care — she’s just there to poke her nose in and say some horrifically cheesy lines.

And honestly? I’m not okay with it.

Jake Rogers wasn’t a people person, and he was a jerk. His dream was to get enough money to go to an island and live a life of solitary luxury. He blackmailed people who broke the law (Connie is the weakest link here, but technically competing in the competition is Fraud because of the monetary prize, even if I don’t condemn her for it) for his own gain, but he was the definition of a temporary problem.

And an adult saw this kid as a temporary problem and used a permanent solution to fix it.

There’s the great episode in the first season of The Mentalist, 1X14 “Crimson Casanova”, where a woman having an affair in a hotel with a pick-up artist is shot to death.

At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that this woman, who cheated on and stole from her husband, was not the target at all — that a hotel employee who was in love with the pick-up artist’s ex-girlfriend tried to kill the pick-up artist in revenge for his treatment of the ex-girlfriend.

The following dialogue takes place between Patrick Jane (the titular Mentalist) and the murderer:

Murderer: “I’m not sorry. He’s dirt. The way he carried on with those other women, rubbing Katie’s nose in it? …I wish I hadkilled him.”

Jane: “But you killed Claire Wolcott instead.”

M: “I never meant to do that…but she shouldn’t have been doing what she was doing, should she? I mean, it’s not like anybody cares. Her husband was going —”

J: “I care! I care about Claire Wolcott! She was a living person!...You took her life!”

When his detective partner tries to calm him down, Jane responds with a simple statement:

J: “I…I just…I think he should be sorry.”

And that’s how I feel about Jake Rogers’ death.

Sure, he was a blackmailer. He, too, shouldn’t have been doing what he was doing. But he’s also a senior in high school involved in, let’s face it, petty crimes at most. He was a living person.

I don’t expect the murderer to be sorry, like in the above example. But a kid was alive, and now he’s dead, because someone murdered him in cold blood.

And I think someone should be sorry.

So how would I fix SCK?

Set it in or near River Heights, flesh out the characters, acknowledge the wrong that all of them do.

Make the culprit an actual part of the case.

Have actual puzzles in the game.

Acknowledge how terrible it is that Jake Rogers was murdered and that no one seems to care.

Have someone on his side, even if it’s only Nancy — Nancy, who shares so many similarities with Jake, who spies on those around her, who gathers evidence of their wrongdoings and, yes, holds it over their heads to get them to tell her what she wants to know.

Give Nancy sympathy for Jake, wanting justice for Jake, and you’ve won half the battle.

#nancy drew #nancy drew games #clue crew #secrets can kill #SCK #video games #my meta #nancy drew meta

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alexswak · 6 years

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On Animation

These are mostly some personal views and experiences, you are welcome to read but don’t hold high expectations. In the last 2 years or so I didn’t watch as much anime as I used to, probably because I don’t find anime as entertaining as before. My interest in sakuga and Japanese animators was the first time I found value in animation itself, regardless of other aspects such as the story. The sheer expressive power of Ohira’s drawings, or Kanada’s unique timing, all brought me joy and still do.

Yet even this joy I find in sakuga won’t last forever, and I can say that rarely does any scene amaze me like my first contact with works from not only legendary animators such as Ohira and Kanada, but even Ebata and Tanaka. I didn’t lose my interest in commercial sakuga that’s for sure, most what I watched lately were obscure shows I wanted to see what X animator or X director did in them. It’s just that I’m looking for something new, and I knowingly didn’t experience basically anything the wide medium of animation has to offer.

I think the majority of anime fans, animation fans in general even, just watch animation because it’s “anime” or maybe “Disney”. If an anime with a somewhat good story and almost still good-drawn images was to be produced, I bet it would gain some following and popularity among non-japanese fans at least. I also bet such a thing already happened. This reminds of a funny phrase I heard from a friend: “people think that animation isn’t important in animation”.

But then, everyone is free to prefer whatever they want in my opinion. I just think that people who have this view don’t see the real merit of animation and its real beauty, to a big extent at least. Works with outstanding stories and fascinating themes such as Ghost in the Shell receive praise mostly due to that aspect only, the story and themes, with maybe mentioning “good and smooth” animation as a side point. But such works exhibit what really makes animation what it is and takes of advantage of the capabilities of this medium, just look at the Hollywood adaptation to compare(regardless of the fundamentally different execution).

Maybe the main approach of commercial animation takes most of the blame here. Ask any random person “what is special about animation?”, and probably the answer would be something along the lines of “unlimited imagination” or “fascinating imaginary worlds”, referring to Disney’s princesses or Ghibli's fantasy. Yet live-action movies are capable of creating such worlds thanks to modern and even kinda old technology(if we ignore the ongoing controversy regarding the definition of these works), while other more realistic animation works such as Satoshi Kon’s show animations’ features and perks, the features that are the reason why he famously prefered to use animation in all his movies despite being more of a live-action director in nature. What I’m trying to say is this: animation isn’t just a container with the sole purpose of conveying a story or a message, nor is the importance solely in the content conveyed, but in the way it’s conveyed. That’s why a lot of people who work in animation refuse the idea of mimicking live-action, for example.

After sakuga my interested shifted towards independent and experimental animation especially the japanese ones, like Koji Nanke and Youji Kuri. The story of independent japanese animators is a long one, better covered here. Watching their works made me realize more and more how diverse animation is, and the different exciting ways to transmit an idea through animation. You may say that everything I said till now was just cretesizing commercial animation and praising independent/experimental animation because I love them, yet I didn’t deny that Ghibli and Disney(2D) movies, which are commercial for sure, are some of the best animation works from a technical and artistic standpoint. What I’m criticizing is the narrow outlook on animation, even among the commercial works. Animation isn’t only hand-drawn or 3D, you have collage and stop-motion and puppets and others. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the former Association of Japanese Animations(AJA) president, the late Kihachiro Kawamoto, never drew anything, he was but an amazing puppet animator. Before Kawamoto was Tezuka, a person who plainly hates commercial mainstream animation and whose experimental works probably outnumber his commercial ones. Kawamoto’s successor, the current president Taku Furukawa, is a renowned independent animator and one of Youji Kuri’s students. Movies such as Isle of Dogs getting a wide positive reception makes me happy.

A famous use of collage was in Madoka Magica’s labyrinths, which Gekidan Inu Curry duo handled. It consists of Shirashi Ayumi(former Gainax) and Anai Yosuke(former defunct studio named Tanto). Their participation in Madoka Magica and many other Shaft shows came probably due to their relation with the director Yukihiro Miyamoto. I went a bit off track, but all this was to say that I enjoy Kihachiro Kawamoto’s collage works especially such as The Trip(1973), although he is better known for his puppet works, that are great nonetheless. This isn’t because I don’t enjoy puppetry, Jiří Trnka amazes me- for example. I bet that his magnum opus, The Hand(1965), would astonish any animation fan not only in its visuals, but in the way it handles and presents its themes as well, which led to banning this movie that obviously opposes the communist occupation of Czech.

from right to lefr: Madoka Magica, The Trip, Kenju Giga.

Now that I mentioned Czech, it’s one of the richest countries when it comes to animation and animation history. Many other east-european countries as well. Trnka is enough on his own, but even with other animation arts it’s a region that has a rich and old history of experimentation and early works. Tezuka’s inspiration for his short Jumping(1984) came from none other than a hungarian short called The Fly(1980). The animator behind Jumping, Junji Kobayashi, reminds me always of a fun fact about Tezuka. Kobayashi himself has a deep passion for insects and wildlife in general. Alongside being a member of multiple insect societies and organisations, including The Japanese Association for Insects, he wrote a book on how to animate animals based on Mushi/Tezuka Pro's principles. But if there's a bigger insects nerd than him, it's Tezuka, who deliberately added the kanji for insect(虫) in his pen name(same reading to his original name). Tezuka also has some books on insects or animals, in a fictional or realistic depiction. The last book I want to mention, the most interesting probably, is Kobayashi's "Osamu Tezuka That No One Knows - The Mess of Mushi Pro", an interesting title especially when you consider that Kobayashi is one of the oldest Mushi Pro members, having spent about 23 years with Tezuka till his death. Kobayashi joining Mushi Pro in the first place may have been due to Tezuka sharing him his insects passion, as "Mushi" is the same "insect　虫" in Tezuka's pen name after all.

Anyway, what I was trying to say is this: If you are looking for something more than just "brainless fun", try watching different kinds of animation, the world of animation is vast and diverse. Some works that I like(not necessarily a good start for everyone):

Aru Machikado no Monogatari(1962, Mushi Pro)

The first project by Tezuka's Mushi Pro. He tried different styles in this movie, demonstrating his intentions from the beginning. Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, whose start was in another experimental studio named Otogi Pro, with animators such as Gisaburo Sugii, it is one of the best works the studio produced. It contained a variety of interesting and beautiful styles, even limited animation was used although there is no economical constraint here, what makes me think that it was an experiment before going all limited with Astro Boy later. A great movie overall.

Jumping(1984, Tezuka Pro)

There is a nice interview about this short and experimental works in general with Osamu Tezuka here.

Machikado no Märchen(1984)

The Hand(1965, Jiří Trnka)

Tabi(1973, Kihachiro Kawamoto)

Kenju Giga(1970, Kihachiro Kawamoto)

The Fly(1980, Ferenc Rofusz)

#osamu tezuka #Junji Kobayashi #Mushi Pro #Trnka #Kichachiro Kawamoto #Taku Furukawa #Youji Kuri #Experimental Animation #Independent Animation

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recentanimenews · 7 years

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A Q&A With the Anime Staff of "URAHARA"

Out of all the shows airing next season, URAHARA is the one I’m looking forward to the most. I was completely charmed by the trailer’s quirky and colorful aesthetic, and I’m also intrigued by the fact that it’s an original anime loosely based off an illustrated web novel written by Crunchyroll’s own Features Editor, Patrick Macias. I have no idea what will happen in URAHARA, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.

I got my first taste of the URAHARA anime at an advance screening of the first episode inside a theater in Fuji Television (the TV network that will broadcast the anime in Japan). I won't spoil what actually happens in the episode, but I do want to share a brief Q&A with the creators!

A Q&A WITH THE CREATORS OF URAHARA

After the screening of the first episode, the main staff got on stage to talk about the show. Here’s a very rough translation of what they shared:

Q: What went into the key visual?

AMICA KUBO (director): It’s based on the Harajuku vibe. I felt that it needed to be colourful and fashionable. I hoped that foreigners would see it and feel like they want to visit Harajuku for themselves.

Q: How did you create the story?

NATSUKO TAKAHASHI (script writer and series composition writer): The key themes of this series are "otaku x fashion x creation." I thought that the idea was fun, but at the same time it looked hard to do. I hadn’t really been to Harajuku much myself, so I thought I’d approach the show like a challenge. I also wanted to portray the dreams of these girls as creators. I hope that others will be able to relate to the human relationships.

AMICA KUBO: Takahashi-san is amazing, the way she’s able to create such a great script for this series. She’s really a pro.

Q: What did you think of while designing the characters?

MARIKO FUJITA (Anime character designer): I liked Mugi Tanaka’s original designs for the illustrated web comic, but it was also hard to capture their unique vibe. The director asked for a lot of revisions.

AMICA KUBO: The girls’ eyelashes and the thickness of their hair were key points to focus on.

MARIKO FUJITA: When designing the clothes, I was often like, “Do people really wear this?” (laughs)

Q: What did you think of while drawing the mecha designs?

TAKAHIRO YAMADA (Mecha designer): I needed a lot of help for the contraptions that the girls ride on. I tried a lot of different things. Sometimes, I didn’t even know what the heck I was drawing.

AMICA KUBO: He drew a lot of different versions.

TAKAHIRO YAMADA: There’s a trend these days to create robots in CG, but in this anime they’re hand-drawn. I often wondered if I was overdoing it.

AMICA KUBO: There were so many little details he thought about too. He thought hard about how the machines would function.

Finally, the creators also emphasized that they were striving to make something unique, something that only their team could do. Let’s wish them all the best!

---

Kim Morrissy (@frog_kun) is a freelance writer and Tokyo correspondent for Anime News Network.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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redroseworks · 7 years

Text

Young Gods 03: Fourth Week Part One

Calypso looked up as soon as the doorbell chimed. Drew Tanaka had come to the shop. Calypso found her cheeks heating up a little at the sight of the model/actress.

Three weeks ago Calypso spent an hour reading articles on Drew. Drew was a model who was also an actress and activist. Calypso found her interesting.

“Hello, how can I help you today?” Calypso said.

“I need a bouquet that means fuck you.” Drew said.

“Excuse me?”

“Flowers have meanings yes? While I want to get a bouquet that means fuck you.” Drew raised her left eyebrow.

“Okay. Alright so you need a bouquet of geraniums, which men stupidity, foxglove, insincerity, meadowsweet, uselessness, yellow carnations, you have disappointed me, and orange lilies, hatred.” Calypso smiled.

“Damn. Really? Awesome. Get me that bouquet.” Drew said.

“Will do. But may I ask, what for?” Calypso asked.

“My sister’s engagement party and I’m running a bit late and decided I should pick something up to apologise for being late. But we had an argument about something stupid yesterday so…” Drew smirked.

“That’s pretty petty. Through I would send the same bouquet to some of my older sisters so I can’t blame you.” Calypso laughed.

“Siblings are a pain, yeah?”

“Yeah, especially if you’re the youngest of seven.”

“Yikes. You should try nine siblings and being somewhere in the middle.” Calypso already knew this about Drew. Hell, millions knew about her family. They were all famous. Drew’s mother, Aphrodite was a model and an actress who owned Ten Modeling. Her eldest brother, Cupid, was a model. Her twin brothers, Phobos and Deimos, were both pro fighter. Her older sister, Silena, was a known activist and soccer player. Her little sister, Piper, like Phobos and Deimos, was a pro fighter and was getting married to Annabeth Chase, one of the greatest architects ever. Her other little siblings Valentina, Mitchell, and Lacy were models at Ten Modeling. Calypso had meet the last three weeks several times.

“Sounds pretty crowded.” Calypso said as she began to grab the flowers. First the foxglove. Calypso liked foxglove even if it meant insincerity.

“Not really. Big house growing up. And we got along at times and we’re not too far apart in age.” Drew smiled.

“I see.” Calypso picked up a few orange lilies. It must be nice to have older siblings to grow up with, sure she had Zoë but the fact that her other, older sisters didn’t like her… well it hurt. Just because she had a different mother. Just because she was Autistic. They thought she was a burden. They thought she wasn’t their sister. But at least she had Zoë. Zoë who may baby her at times, who may get frustrated with her sometimes but always apologized and treated Calypso as an equal, as a person, as a sister.

“Wow. Those flowers look amazing. Piper is going to love them and I will be snickering, thank you so much. Callie right?” Drew smiled at her.

“Calypso, actually. That’ll be $75. Cash or credit.” Calypso said as she handed Drew the bouquet.

“Calypso. Lovely name.” Drew pulled out her credit card and handed it to her.

“Thanks. Make it a great day.” Calypso smiled.

“You too, Calypso.”

❤❤❤❤

Zoë sighed as she lifted up another stack of papers. Artemis planned to take a trip after her family reunion in two months. The trip was to Tasmania to observe Tasmanian devils in the wild and took a lot of planning including getting Artemis’s research organized since she need her last papers on Tasmanian devils from about two and a half years ago. The person who ran the zoo wanted to know how much research she had done beforehand so the two of them going through all the papers.

Zoë was getting pretty tired of looking through paper after paper. She had a few small paper cuts and some of the papers were dusty and made her sneeze.

“Zoë?” Artemis said from her own stack of papers.

“Yes?”

“Do you want to run and picked up some lunch?” She asked.

“Yes!” Zoë stood up. She blushed realizing how excited she sounded.

“I don’t care where, just grab something good. Ya know? High in carbs is my only request. There’s plenty of cash in my purse, about $83. Should be enough.” Artemis said.

“Alright, I’ll be right back.” Zoë said.

Zoë walked up to the counter of a food truck. It was where she had been getting lunch for the last few weeks since it normally parked really close to the building Artemis worked and lived in. Literally, her apartment was only a few floors above her office.

“Zoë, you’re back again. Same as yesterday?” Leo asked her.

“Make it double, my boss wants me to pick up lunch for her too.” Zoë said.

“Alright hot stuff. Yo, Neeks two number fours, two number nines, and two sluttly brownies!” Leo said.

Zoë rolled her eyes. Leo and his boyfriend, Nico ran this food truck during their spare time to help pay for college. Leo liked to hit on her and probably every customer who he thought was hot and after the third time she came Nico left her a note telling her to ignore him. She saw them kiss while waiting for her order on the tenth day so honestly she didn’t care. Anyway Leo wasn’t saying anything bad just calling her hot or cute or pretty.

Anyway they made some pretty good tacos and fried raviolis. And their brownies were the best Zoë ever had.

Zoë counted out the money she would need for the food and $2 for two sodas. Artemis liked Coke. Zoë preferred Pepsi personally but she wasn’t a weirdo who judged people based on which one they liked. Seriously, who care if someone liked Coke or Pepsi?

“Anything to drink?” Leo asked her as he handed her her food.

“A Coke and a Pepsi.” Zoë said.

“Got it.” Leo reached down where Zoë knew there was a drink fridge and pulled out two cans of soda.

Zoë set the money on the counter and took the drink.

“Have a nice day boys.” Zoë said before heading back towards the building.

#drewlypso #zartemis #calypso pjo #drew tanaka #zoë nightshade #artemis pjo #leo valdez #nico di angelo #valdangelo #pjo #hoo #toa #red rose fanfic

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ivory-peaches · 7 years

Note

Cabin 7: Apollo

Heyyyy, i have good relations with this cabin, being in and out of it over and over and over and frickin’ over. Alas, I am still unclaimed. I’ve figured that if I tell y’all this, that might change but, you never know. Maybe I just don’t know what to do to get claimed. These posts are like a therapy session, y’know? *sigh*

Alright, you have your six main types of campers (a lot i know) and sometimes, the campers can meld into several groups because hey, Apollo is basically the god of Awesome, ahem. ANYWAY.

The first group you have is your musical group. These kids are expert prodigies in playing any instrument, sight reading music, writing music, and performing with A+ efforts and execution. They’re known for the singing time at the bonfire at night and even have a small Gospel Choir, made for fun until it actually became something. Their favourite song to sing is ‘I Won’t Say I’m In Love’ ironically, because messing with small, confused, crushing/pining campers is fun.

Group two is your Arts group. Technically, music would fit into this but, the group is so broad already, yadayadayada. This is art and poetry, which is a lot of fun for the entire cabin. The Apollo cabin leads crafts and is in charge of painting every single damn bead for the necklaces by the end of the summer so, yay... They’re proficient in several different types of poetry and have a poetry slam under the pavilion every Thursday during lunch just to rock out and snap their fingers as someone describes how the wind is their brother (very deep, man.) Also, Rachel is good friends with these peeps because Art is Life.

Group Three is the annoying group that can see the future or predict it. It’s kinda fun sometimes but the constant, ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you’, gets on everyone’s nerves because the Apollo cabin is terrible at specifying details on why you shouldn’t eat the strawberry cheesecake. You eat it anyway but get a sick stomach flu sooooooo. The oracle and knowledge part can come in handy sometimes, especially when they’re in the infirmary and prepping for a terrible victim to come in. If they can prepare fast enough, your patient will survive.

Group four is medicine and plague, Will Solace’s powers. These kids are natually talented in treating patients, know several medicinal songs, and are good friends with the Demeter cabin just because they can get herbs and other medicinal crops for healing. The medicinal part of the cabin is excellent at anatomy, biology, and all things medical, always taking their spare time in the infirmary to heal dangerous and clumsy demigods (like Percy Jackson).

Group five is the sun/light demigods. These ones can control light and sunlight and do cool stuff with it. Some weapons are made from light, sometimes you can blind monsters with it, etc. Will Solace has a sun whip (because he’s awesome, note that’s just a hc) and it’s made from sunlight. These kids are immune to sunburns (as well as most of the cabin), and always have freckles. Constant adorable freckles.

The last group is archery. These kids are pro at arching and kinda suck at the rest of the weapons, only because they’re so gifted at pulling a string back and firing arrows 200 feet away. It’s pretty cool. A lot of them have bruises on the insides of their arms but, every single one of the Apollo kids that can arch are ambidextrous and can shoot with both arms, making it easier on the arms to not constantly have bruises. Many of the Apollo girls that can arch are actually in the Hunters of Artemis because their bowman skills are so amazing.

Apollo gets along with basically all of the other cabins and each Apollo camper has a best friend out of their sibling group. Will is best friends with Drew Tanaka, Piper McLean, and Percy Jackson, Kayla is best friends with Nico di Angelo, Austin is best friends with the entire Hecate cabin, etc.

[send me which cabin you’re in and i’ll do an analysis of what i think about that cabin]

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detroittigermania · 5 years

Text

4/1/2019: Tigers fall to the Yankees, 3-1

New York spoiled Tyson Ross’ Detroit debut by using the long ball, and the bats continue to falter for Detroit. Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner tagged Ross with a pair of solo home runs, and Ross was handed his first loss of the season as Detroit could only manage one run to cross home plate. Ross went 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 walks, and 2 earned runs while striking out 4. Detroit only mustered up two base hits (both from Jordy Mercer, his first hits as a Tiger), and scratched out a run due to a throwing error from Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez that sent Christin Stewart home from third. Over five games, Detroit has only scored 7 runs, being shutout completely in two of them. The batters strikeouts continue to pile up as they have recorded 59 strikeouts in the first five games of the season. Though two of those games went into extra innings, the high rate of swing-and-a-miss outs is quite concerning. There were some pros to this game, however. Though there weren’t many base runners from the bat, there were plenty from the eye as Detroit drew 7 walks. Detroit has shown to grind out at-bats so far into the 2019 season, but are looking to patch up the several glaring holes in their swings when they finally decide to lift the bat off of their shoulders. The outfield defense has been messy to say the least, but Jeimer Candelario, Jordy Mercer, and Josh Harrison have had plenty of success with the glove at their infield positions of third base, shortstop, and second base, respectively.

The first run through the starting rotation has also proved to be rock solid. In the first five games of the season, the rotation stats look like this:

ERA: 2.48 WHIP: 0.82 K/9: 9 BB/9: 2.89

The bullpen has also done very well, only allowing 5 total runs to score over 16 innings. Their first five game rundown is as shown:

ERA: 2.81 WHIP: 1.06 K/9: 7.9 BB/9: 2.81

The Tigers sit at a record of 2-3 to start the season, and will look to make it back to .500 when they take on the Yankees tomorrow: Jordan Zimmermann will look to build off of his spectacular opening day performance, and Masahiro Tanaka will attempt to get New York over the .500 mark after losing a three game series to the Baltimore Orioles.

#detroit tigers #baseball #mlb #tyson ross #gary sanchez #brett gardner #jordy mercer #christin stewart #jordan zimmermann #masahiro tanaka

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itsomgitsgreenblogging · 7 years

Text

New Perspective: A Solangelo Fanfiction

Drew’s the best and also the worst, and also I haven’t written a lot of witty dialogue lately, I missed that. So you know I had to bring back some of the snap. Also all the lube available and Nico with a ponytail. Cause you know, those things should never be mutually exclusive in fanfiction ;)

(this fic takes place after the events of Lover-Cares)

Enjoy!

Read on AO3

Preview:

“Nico, what the heck?” Austin said, looking rather startled. “Did you seriously just refer to yourself in the third person.”

“It’s never too early for some good old fashion dissociation and self-hatred my guy,” Nico said with a probably terrifying half-smile half-baring of teeth he cheers his coffee and downed it. Noting Kayla and Austin’s genuinely unamused faces, he scoffed. “My comedic skills are lost on you people, I swear.”

“—I’m just saying, Drew Tanaka can shove it up hers if she has enough room besides the giant stick up her butt,” Kayla fumed, and Nico couldn’t help but look up from where he was absentmindedly stirring him cream of wheat. “I swear sometimes I just want to smack that girl upside the head, and the Stolls, and—“

“—and Nico di Angelo, by the gods he’s such an asshole am I right?” Nico said irritably as he took a sip of his coffee, watching as Sebastian from Aphrodite Cabin and Malcom from Athena Cabin got into an argument about if Beyoncé was or was not the most influential philosopher who tackled the properties of love and relationships in modern time.

“Nico, what the heck?” Austin said, looking rather startled. “Did you seriously just refer to yourself in the third person.”

“It’s more like you have a really screwed up sense of humor but alright man whatever floats your boat,” Kayla said with a shrug.

Nico stewed in his general daily angst, definitely not upset that he hadn’t seen Will all morning because he was in charge of taking care of a camper, no, Nico was not that petty. Or at least, he was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t as he sat in the shadow of a tree that was diagonally across from the infirmary, a book laying on his lap that Nico wasn’t reading. He hadn’t managed to get any alone time with Will in so long, he was actually missing Will even though he had seen Will every single day, and his head wasn’t feeling so great.

Pathetic, Nico thought at himself angrily, wanting to bash something or break something to get the raw feeling out from beneath his nails and his head. Get used to being around people and suddenly you are clinging again.

“Oh hey there lover-boy, what’s the reason for the doom and gloom and the fact you obviously haven’t combed your hair?” Drew Tanaka said as she placed one hand on her hip and looked down at Nico as if he had walked out of his room wearing only orange from behind her pink eyeliner.

“Oh wow, it’s almost like I can hear something…but I can’t quite make it out over the sound of all the hot air escaping your face,” Nico said saintly.

“You are lucky you are hot and an asshole,” Drew Tanaka scoffed. “Otherwise being around you would be a chore.”

“I’m gay, Drew.”

“First off sweetie,” Drew said with the inflection she would give “cancer” or “Walmart clothing sale”, “did I say I wanted to suck face with discount Brendon Urie from circa 2005? No I did not. Stop projecting your insecurities onto me, every time you do so another fabulous bitch like me gets a blister when walking in heels to the club. Secondly just because you are gay does not mean you stop being hot. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive. “Mutually exclusive” meaning two things that cannot both be true at the same time, like eating bread on the Atkins diet or Ellis Wakefield not wanting to suck Markowitz’s dick when he walks into a room. Being gay and attractive can definitely both happen so deal with it, and it makes your shitty attitude worth it because I can appreciate good bone structure when I see it.”

“Drew you are an awful human being,” Nico told her seriously, rubbing his temples adamantly. “Like really, is something wrong with you?”

“What can I say, I’m just keeping it real,” Drew said with a toss of her hair. “So what’s got your panties in a twist? Is it Will?”

“Drew, if you seriously think I’m going to talk to you about relationships you have another thing coming,” Nico said with a vague ache starting up behind his eyes.

It was when Drew and Nico were about to have their version of a heart to heart (which was basically them insulting each other) when it sounded like the Asphodel Fields broke out in the center of camp. It looked like Butch from Iris Cabin was barely holding back Sherman as Lacy, Mitchell, and Sebastian milled on the edge of the archery fields. Julia Fiengold, who was good friends with Lacy, had planted herself by Lacy’s side but looked concerned as Alice casted a few solid glares in Sherman’s direction (and Nico wouldn’t have been surprised if she was carrying some serious prank artillery with her). Clovis had somehow fallen asleep on one of the white lines in the center of the archery field, and Nico found himself somewhat glad for it as Will had emerged from the infirmary to try to drag him off with the intervention of Lou Ellen and Cecil Markowitz—though they had all apparently dropped Clovis mid-carry as the fight broke out as he was snoring, looking rather at peace on the grass.

“So what’s going on?” Nico asked in general as he and Drew approached the chaos.

“Oh, you know, the daily life at CHB,” Will said weakly. “Honestly they had been arguing when I got here, I think things started escalating.”

“What you are saying is disrespectful to all the warriors—!” Sherman half-screamed, looking very much like he wanted to shove Lacy out of a moving car. “Get off me Brony!”

“Ugh, man, do not make me regret this or I swear!” Butch snapped at him.

“I was just saying…!” Lacy half-sobbed, her brothers who were comforting her looking like they were planning to switch out Sherman’s spears with makeup brushes and for Cover Girl makeup and lots of highlighter to be in Sherman’s immediate future.

“Wait, can we all hold up a hot second! What is happening and why is Tweedle Dumber threatening Lacy?” Drew said, holding out her hands and flipped her dark hair out of her face. There was charmspeak laden in her words, and with the threat of physical violence gone, the actual situation came out.

“So I was Iris messaging with Piper and she said that her dad told Jason he knew a plastic surgeon that could fix his lip and how Jason thought that was funny. But I said, oh that might be a good idea for scars, and then Sherman overheard me!” Lacy blurted out, her words a tumble of panic.

“A warrior should take pride in his scars, anything else is a weakness!” Sherman snapped back at her. Drew looked like she just rolled her eyes so hard she might have sprained something, and Nico just sat back and let the madness start as Drew opened her lipsticked-lips.

“Okay so I hear that Jason’s got some scars. I wouldn’t really know because like Medusa I try to avoid eye contact with him on the account of someone cough cough Piper cough cough being absolutely sure I’m a homewrecker. I don’t know what the big deal is. If you don’t like something about your body, you should just change it. Or maybe not, maybe Jason needs his scar to get into some lesbian biker gang or maybe he’s leaving Piper and going on an Eat-Pray-Love style self-discovery vacation and the scars will help him sell his memoir as “a man with a troubled past takes the road to new enlightenment”. Anyways, it’s not like we haven’t all thought about something like that. I’m convinced every time that Jackson opens his gab Annabeth reasons over the pros and cons of mouth reduction surgery. I’m sure Butch’s thought of getting that rainbow tramp stamp removed because let’s be honest he’s not slaying the ladies with it—“

“Drew I am going to kick you in the head—!“ Butch threatened.

“—Cecil has probably rifled through pamphlets about fixing that huge beak of his because he isn’t really using it to break nuts and seeds over here. And Alice has definitely thought about getting an eye-deslanting.”

“Screw you Drew, that’s racist,” Alice Miyazawa scoffed, as Cecil suddenly turned to Lou Ellen who gave him an apologetic look in return.

“Self-hating Asians oughtta stick together,” Drew retorted with a shrug.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily true, Drew. I mean, sure, everyone has insecurities, but it’s also good to try to embrace them,” Will told Drew as he placed a hand on Alice's shoulder to keep the girl from giving Drew a probably well-earned knuckle sandwich.

“Oh please, Solace, you’ve got a weird spiral belly button. You could frost it and pass it off as a cinnamon bun,” Drew said with a roll of her eyes, Nico had to cover the laugh of surprise that came out of him with his hand, and Will gave him a long-suffering look. “I’m just saying, there’s this thing called plastic surgery. It’s science. And if you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see and also have the means, you should go for it. If you don’t want to, don’t. Simple as that. Passing judgment is so un-hot, and who knows? Maybe Jason will wake up from general anesthesia and realize who the hotter child of Aphrodite that he could be with is. Either way, what people do or do not decide to do with their bodies is no one else’s choice,” Drew said before with a final hair flip and sway of hip, Drew was off to terrorize another section of camp. With Hurricane Drew now over, the campers who had gathered dispersed to mutter amongst themselves, Sherman and Ellis and Butch grabbed Clovis by his appendages and dragging him off the field as he slept talk about Great White Sharks, macaroons, and a tennis racket.

“I hate that girl with a fiery passion, but by all the Gods she’s a freaking insult-genius,” Lou Ellen said with a sort of strange awe.

“And she really loves what she does,” Cecil said just as quietly. “She has a gift.”

“Yeah she’s something alright,” Will noted before looking to Nico with an almost shy grin, bumping his shoulder against Nico’s. “Hey there, long time no see.”

“Oh yuck, mushy feelings. We’re out,” Lou Ellen called as she and Cecil made kissy faces at Nico and Will before also walking off.

“How’s the infirmary?” Nico asked him as they began to walk, he tried to pat his hair down absently.

“Not so busy, were you really busy? You look like you just rolled out of bed,” Will noted and Nico sighed heavily.

“I desperately need a haircut,” Nico groaned, twisting a lock of hair around his fingers and trying to get it out of his eyes.

“Well, why don’t I at least get you a hair tie? Kayla keeps a whole bunch on the desk,” Will offered.

They walked to Apollo Cabin in companionable silence, when they got there Nico sat down on the bed as Will grabbed one of Kayla’s dark hair ties from her desk and his own brush. Kayla and Austin were spending their free period helping Nyssa and Harley with some new target practice gadget, so for once in a long time Cabin Seven was quiet.

“My hair’s pretty thick,” Nico warned him as well approached with a few things in hand, a brush among them.

“I’ve got some spray in stuff,” Will offered, holding up a very suspicious slender bottle filled with what Nico would have assumed was a cream based dessert.

“Isn’t that Aphrodite stuff?”

“Personal grooming is not just an Aphrodite Cabin thing,” Will scoffed and Nico resisted making a son-of-Apollo-joke before Nico allowed him to do whatever he was planning on by motioning to the spot next to him, and he couldn’t help but sigh as Will’s fingers ran through his hair. “You have really nice hair though.”

“It’s so dratted thick,” Nico scoffed, tugging at a renegade curl. “And it curls weirdly. I was thinking of maybe shaving it.”

“Really?” Will asked and Nico felt the gentle tug of the brush through his hair.

“Yeah, when my dad first gave me my card I tried to go to the hair dresser’s, but when they were shampooing my head and they started rubbing my scalp and stuff I really couldn’t take it. I almost kicked the lady in the leg,” Nico admitted awkwardly with a shudder at both the memory and how nice whatever Will was doing felt. “I’ve been trimming it myself ever since, I sort of forgot to though.”

“That sounds like you,” Will laughed, and Nico could almost hear Will’s smile. That was the nice thing about Will’s voice, it didn’t hide anything, it was pure and genuine. “You aren’t a huge fan of other people touching you, are you?”

“It’s hard when you don’t know them,” Nico groaned. “I’m normally fine when it’s people I don’t hate. You’re just too laid back.”

“Maybe,” Will chuckled good-naturedly and Nico leaned his head back so he could see Will’s bright and slightly sheepish smile. “Hazard of the healing arts. I’ve gotten used to people touching me out of the blue because I heal them. I think your hesitance is one of your cute features anyways.”

“You’re a weirdo,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes.

“You’re the one dating a weirdo, what does that say about you?” Will asked, and with gentle fingers his pulled the hair that was about his neck up into a tie. Immediately, Nico felt his warm lips press against the back of his neck, making Nico jump slightly at the unexpected sensation. Will immediately moved back, but Nico grasped his arm and kept him close.

“I know things have been awkward since…since last time,” Nico said quietly. “But I want you to touch me, I do.”

“But you…you really hated it,” Will nearly whined, sitting back on his heels. “Honestly, I’m fine being on the bottom for the rest of my life if it makes you so uncomfortable.”

“I didn’t hate it, I just froze,” Nico corrected him, before sighing heavily. “I’m…there’s a thing about me I wish I could change I guess.”

“If you want to talk about it I’m open ears?” Will asked, and didn’t push. There was no trace of judgment in his features, and somehow that made Nico feel even more desolate.

“I just…I’m always worried I’m being selfish.”

“Nico, you are the most unselfish person I know,” Will said, eyes wide with shock, as he sat back on his heels thoughtfully. “I mean, holy Hera, you almost killed yourself for your friends and everyone else. You are constantly putting other people before yourself.”

“I…” Nico tried to begin to explain, but just shook his head. “It’s just hard for me is all. Sometimes I feel like I don’t see you as much as I want to, but I know you’re busy. And then when I do see you, I’m uncooperative.”

Will was quiet for a moment, before he felt Will’s hands slip beneath his shirt, Will’s mouth tenderly pressing against the back of his neck. Nico gasped as Will’s fingers brushed against his nipple.

“Nico, this doesn’t feel uncooperative. This feels sensitive,” Will sighed as he continue to tease with loving mouth and hands in a way that made all of Nico’s blood travel south. “And I would never want you to change that. So what if it takes a bit for you to get used to my touch? The fact I get to touch you at all makes me happy and then you make these noises that turn me on so much.”

“Greedy asshole,” Nico snarked, turning to meet Will’s lips, opening his mouth so he could pull Will in deeper. Nico reached over to palm the very obvious heaviness in Will’s great sweatpants and smiled against Will’s lips. “Someone else is pretty sensitive too.”

“Oh, yes, sometimes it’s good to be selfish,” Will told Nico with a sweet look that could have melted Nico, and Nico lay down and let Will lay his body on top, reveling in the delicious weight. “Especially when you have someone like me who could be happy spoiling you for the rest of your life. But please, give me a head’s up? I’m not a mind-reader so I appreciate specific directions.”

“I can be pretty demanding,” Nico said somewhat weakly, reaching up to trace Will’s cheek. “If you give me a little bit, I’ll just want more.”

“And I can be pretty stubborn, anything you want, I’ll be happy to give you,” Will promised him. “Just let me, Nico. Tell what you want.”

“Can we try…again?” Nico asked, but his words stopped as Will caught his hand and kissed it, perking up immediately as Nico’s gaze drifted over to the left.

“Of course,” Will asked him and Nico nodded and reached over to the bedside table Nico had been eyeing and opened up the drawer.

“How should I…um?” Nico asked him and Will shrugged.

“Do whatever you think will make you the most comfortable,” Will said as he unscrewed the bottle and almost doused his fingers in it, warming the lube between his fingers.

“Alright,” Nico said, laying down on his stomach, helping Will place a pillow beneath his hips.

“You can be selfish with me, Nico,” Will promised him as he kissed Nico’s neck and shoulder comfortingly, and Nico shuddered as he felt Will’s fingers gently rub against his entrance. Nico couldn’t understand why it felt so good, his whole body jolted as Will’s slick finger slid inside, the intrusion not entirely pleasant or unpleasant as he moved it. “Relax, as much as you can.”

“It feels…weird…!” Nico admitted between clenched teeth, forcing his body to remain relaxed despite what urges he felt. He wanted to try this, Nico reminded himself.

“Does it hurt?” Will asked worriedly and Nico shook his head. “Here, I’m going to add another one. Try to stay as loose as you can, alright?”

Nico nodded and gripped the pillow, just as a second finger pressed inside of him with the help of ample lube. Nico fought and lost against the desire to clamp down, and his lack of control over his body’s reaction was damn near infuriating to him. As if sensing this by Nico’s stiff-lipped reaction Will reached down to slide his hand along Nico’s length, which had softened considerably at the previous activities. The smooth, almost comforting sensation of Will’s hand on him, and the gentle probing finally got Nico to relax.

“It’s okay, Nico. You’re doing so good right now,” Will promised as he kissed Nico’s back.

“Ugh…this feels so bizarre,” Nico couldn’t help but groan as he turned his head and gave Will a look.

“Does it hurt?” Will asked as his fingers continued to move inside Nico, and with him massaging and rubbing him on the inside and outside, a thankful sigh escaped Nico’s mouth. It was beginning to feel vaguely pleasant now, and he naturally relaxed against Will’s touch.

“Trust me, you would know if it hurt,” Nico promised him. He could do this, Nico thought very rationally. It certainly didn’t feel bad, and judging by the hooded expression and the evidence of Will’s desire pressed against his thigh, if Will wanted to do this then—

Suddenly Will found something inside of Nico that made him surge with pleasure, and his breath caught harshly in his throat. Will’s fingers hit it again more adamantly and Nico moaned into the sheets as he pressed back against Will’s fingers as he searched against for that feeling.

“There!” Nico moaned demandingly. “Oh Gods, is that what I hit in you? Oh—that feels so good.”

“Nico, allow me to introduce you to your prostate,” Will chuckled good-naturedly, as close as they were Nico could feel that rumble in Will’s belly, and it made Nico’s face get hotter.

“Don’t be a dork,” Nico groaned. “Just do whatever you just did again.”

“Alright then, needy,” Will teased, as Will’s fingers continued to scissor and rub and hit the plac inside of him that felt so good that Nico’s vision swam. His cock ached with desire, and Will removed his hand to grab the bottle and add a third very slick finger inside and Nico felt so full and so good that he couldn’t think straight. He wanted—needed more.

“I want you inside,” Nico blurted out, his hand reaching blindly and clamping on Will’s wrist. “Will, I want to feel you on the inside.”

“Shit!” Will said sharply, and Nico stared at him in concern. Will answered it with a delightfully embarrassed expression. “Sorry, that was—that was just really sexy, like whoa.”

“Um…sorry?” Nico said, feeling himself blush hard because had those words really come out of his mouth? He couldn’t believe it himself.

“Don’t be sorry, I feel like I deserve a pat on the back,” Will said with a wide smile that Nico returned before turning, hooking Will’s hips with his legs, and pulling Will down on top of him. Both of them laughed into their mouths as they kissed with more intensity, Will fumbling with the foil on the condom. He rolled it on and slicked it with lube, before reaching back to Nico with newly spread fingers.

“No, I don’t need anymore more,” Nico complained half-heartedly, but spread his legs as Will’s fingers sank inside of him with relative ease. Oh Gods, Nico thought before his thoughts went fuzzy as Will crooked a finger and found a weak spot that had his jaw hanging open. He could get addicted to this, and now he totally got why Will was totally into this.

“We have to make sure it doesn’t hurt, don’t we?” Will teased as he kissed Nico’s neck.

“Just put it inside me,” Nico half-begged, half-growled.

“Are you ready? You sure?”

“Yes,” Nico agreed, his head nodding vigorously.

“Alright then, your wish it my command,” Will chuckled, and Nico felt him line up and slid inside.

They both moaned, the sensation was intense to say the least. There was the barest twinge of discomfort, but he had been so thoroughly prepared that it disappeared quickly as Will seated himself fully inside. What mattered most was the divine sensation that was making him tremble.

“Oh Will,” Nico gasped breathlessly, wrapping his legs around Will’s hips as Will trembled. “I can feel you.”

“I feel you too,” Will moaned, his eyes fluttered, and Nico couldn’t help but find his expression to be utterly adorable. “Oh gods you are so perfect, Nico. I love you so much.”

“Yeah? Does it feel good?” Nico asked, unable to stop himself from smiling an odd grin as Will nodded desperately. “You can move, Will. I want you too. If it hurts I’ll tell you, I promise.”

“You promise?” Will asked, faking being very obviously suspicious.

“You’ll be the first to know, scout’s honor,” Nico said making a Live-Long-and Prosper sign with his hands. Will laughed and leaned down to press a kiss to Nico’s forehead.

Will began to move in gentle controlled thrusts, Nico suspected it was half for him and half to keep Will from coming. But he couldn’t help but enjoy and be frustrated by the movements in equal measure because while it didn’t hurt, Will’s broad shoulders and larger chest was making Nico feel oddly caged. Finally, Nico pressed up on Will’s shoulder’s.

“Will, I can’t breathe,” Nico told him between kisses. “Maybe change position?”

“Yeah, uh, what do you want to…?” Will asked with a hitched breath as he pulled up, Nico let Will sit himself against the headboard and settled himself firmly on Will’s lap. “Better?”

“Yeah, I can—oh,” Nico groaned as he latched onto Will, arms wrapped around Will’s back. In this position he could feel Will’s length, pressing in deep and filling him. Will bent down and their mouths melted against each other, and they rocked together, slightly unsteady as they worked together to find the perfect angle, or when Will reached down to grasp him, or Nico bucked up unexpectedly as Will once again struck his prostrate. Finally something was building up, white hot pleasure that Nico almost wished could keep building inside of him forever so he could keep burning with it, but it couldn’t happen. Nico moaned into Will’s mouth and felt himself come into Will’s hand. Will continued to move for a moment or two, thrusts uneven, and Nico felt a pulsing inside as Will came into the condom.

Nico lay down as Will removed the condom and threw it out, falling back on the bed with an exhausted huff.

“So what did you think?” Will asked, as they both tried to catch their breath and curling his arms around the pillow in front of him. Nico normally would have chastised him for getting sweat all over his pillows, but with Will stretched out looking so content and with those golden arms of his Nico just couldn’t fault him. Instead Nico grabbed the nearly empty lube bottle and held it up with a crook of his brow.

“Are you kidding?”

“What, you were totally into it and you were super hot and it helped, you’ll be thanking me when that wow-that-seat-was-uncomfortable ache doesn’t turn into a holy-shit-was-I-hit-by-a-train ache,” Will told him as he gave Nico a grin and a thumb’s up as he placed the bottle on the bed side table.

“You are insufferable did you know that,” Nico sighed as he turned over to kiss Will’s shoulder and give his back an absent scratch, which had Will sighing in pleasure. “But yeah, that was pretty hot.”

“Mm, I must have done something right for you to be so good to me,” Will said as he turned his head to look at Nico, eyes a deep hazy blue, a warm grin glinting across his teeth.

“You are an idiot,” Nico sighed as he leaned down to kiss him. “But you are also disgustingly sweet.”

“Don’t say it like a compliment or I’ll believe you like me or something,” Will teased as he pushed up to meet Nico’s mouth again.

“How embarrassing that would be,” Nico murmured between brushes of lips. “It was good, Will.”

“I’m totally down if you want to torture me with those sexy pianist fingers next,” Will told him, and Nico honestly couldn’t tell if he was being serious or joking. “I have more lube in my cabin—“

“Will, seriously—?“

Nico sat down to get his hair cut by Mitchell, and could see Drew smirk at him from the corner of his eye. Nico immediately flipped her off.

Just another day at CHB.

#Solangelo #Solangelo fanfic #Nico di Angelo #Will Solace #pjo fanfic

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