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ilikemesometaetaes · 3 years

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Forbearance

Kim Seokjin Oneshot

•••> Author: @ilikemesometaetaes

•••> Summary: Give him a break, okay? Finding out his girlfriend’s bias wasn’t him is a pretty hard hit to the man’s ego. He has a right to be a little... possessive.

•••> Pairing(s): Seokjin/Reader

•••> Requested by Anon: “Hey love, I was wondering if I could request a oneshot where the reader is dating Seokjin, but he accidentally finds her old fangirl stuff and discovers he wasnt her bias and jhope was? And ya know he gets all jealous and possessive;) btw I love youu”

•••> Word Count: 4.41k [Unedited]

•••> Rating: 18+

•••> Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), forced orgasms, oversensitivity, dirty talk, our jin is a jealous boy, possessive!jin, idol!jin, cursing, alcohol use

Thank you for the request, anon! I thought it was just going to be a drabble, but I guess not! I hope you enjoy :)

~#~

Seokjin called for you from your old bedroom, feeling insecure about going through the things in your closet.

“It’s okay, babe! It should be in there somewhere!” You yelled back, obviously busying yourself with tonight’s dinner before you moved your stuff into your boyfriend’s home.

Seokjin’s lips spread into a tight line, clearly uncomfortable with the action of prying into your life before you met him. He was never one to judge character nor the one to actively seek out every detail about you. He respected your privacy and your boundaries enough to never ask, waiting until you were the one speaking about it.

It was what sparked the relationship between you two in the first place. A respect for privacy and the skill of having patience.

You had met him at a fishing beach; the sun was almost fully set and it seemed that Kim Seokjin needed some time away from the boys and the spotlight.

You were sitting in a camping chair, waiting for the telltale signs of a fish nipping at your line when you noticed the man walking over to the next open slot of shore rocks just five yards to your right.

Conversation was minimal, but being in a setting where patience was what kept a person sane meant that you were fully capable of waiting.

It was strange how you hadn’t noticed it was him. Of course, he wore a mask and sunglasses along with a baseball cap, but Kim Seokjin’s personality was seemingly unique and quite noticeable. The man who sat next to you was someone completely different.

He was quiet, patient, reserved, and outright plain. After a short conversation with him about how the fish were biting that day, you understood that the man went there for quiet- same as you. So you gave it to him.

You just couldn’t help but notice that he continued to sit next to you for the days to come. He would come out every other day or so and sit next to you, regardless of the amount of spots available around. You would talk about the weather affecting the fish, ponder over the current position of the moon to judge the tide, and then resume the silence. It was almost as if you were basking in each other’s quiet presence.

His voice, a familiar tone of inflection, was evasive. It seemed as if he was purposely lowering his voice to distort it, but you could never bring yourself to ask why. Instead, you settled on listening to him speak as his beautiful brown eyes cast a wistful gaze into the bay.

From what you could see, he was handsome. You could see his eyes when he took off his sunglasses at night and the occasional tuft of hair that stuck out from under his ball cap. His shoulders were incredibly broad, stretching every jacket and sweatshirt he wore almost to the extreme.

He sat in his chair like he had run a marathon, slouching so far that his long legs were almost entirely off of the seat. It looked as if the man was dreadfully exhausted.

Light conversation seemed to pick him up from his slump but you didn’t want to press too far, knowing that the man was undoubtedly hiding his identity. You were okay with this, practicing the patience you had learned from fishing throughout your everyday life.

Each time you spoke, the conversation slowly got further and further. The day that you got to talking about what he did for the day, you learned that he lived an active and busy lifestyle. He came to fish for the calm and relaxation- a break away from it.

After a little over a month of meeting with the man to enjoy the silence, he disappeared.

You never got a name; never got an age; you knew next to nothing about him.

You continued to show up in your usual spot, hating when someone else sat where he would, but you couldn’t be rude and tell them to move.

You weren’t going to stop your hobby of fishing just because he did, but it seemed as though your reason for going to fish had shifted. You had gone expecting to see him walk up with his tackle box and fishing rod at his usual time. You only found yourself disappointed when he didn’t.

Several months passed with no sign of your mystery man. Eventually, you had forgotten about him, his presence a mere, fleeting thought whenever you looked at his old spot.

The day he returned, he was almost unrecognizable under the light of the moon.

The cool spring weather had morphed into hot summer evenings and transitioned to chilly, late-summer-early-fall nights while he was absent. Instead of the basic black street clothes of the usual fashion that the young men of Korea wore, he was dressed professionally and warm.

A long, beige peacoat hung from his shoulders in a way that the width of the shoulder seams did not stretch and, instead, looked perfectly fitted as the length fell to his knees. He wore a black turtleneck that was tucked into black skinny jeans, secured into place by a brown belt with a pair of brown leather dress shoes to match.

He didn’t even wear a hat, revealing his light brown hair. All that remained of his old style was the black mask that he wore to cover his face.

The man held no tackle box in his hand; a cooler hung from his fingers and a camping chair was nudged under his arm. In the place of his fishing rod in the other hand was a small bouquet of flowers.

“Oh, thank god.” He breathed. “You’re still here.”

“Of course I’m still here.” You chuckled. “I’ve been coming here for years.”

He sat as you spoke, repeating the same actions with his chair as you had pictured him doing countless times in the past months. Your fishing buddy was finally back and looking as handsome as ever.

“Have you?” He huffed as he sat back in his chair. “I only just found out about this place back in April. It’s quite nice.”

“Yes, it is.” You agreed, turning your gaze to watch the lights from the nearby city reflect off the surface of the water. He wasn’t changing his voice anymore and you couldn’t help but recognize it immediately.

For a moment, you processed his presence- he was actually here. Then, you turned to him again with your eyes trained on the cluster of yellow flowers sat atop his small cooler, attempting to keep your cool.

“What’s the occasion?”

“A celebration of friendship.” He laughed to himself as he grabbed the bouquet and raised it to you, avoiding your gaze.

“A friendship?” You asked, taking them from his grasp and looking down at them. “These are very pretty. Thank you.”

“I figured it’s been a while since we met and you seem to be incredibly kind, so why not be friends?”

“I don’t mean to be rude- I’m totally cool with being friends with you- but I don’t even know your name.” You laughed, hoping that this would finally be the day he revealed himself.

“I’ll only tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

“Easy.” You laughed. “My name is Y/N.”

“Please don’t... freak out or anything...” He muttered, raising his hand to take his mask off his face. Your heart beat wildly in anticipation.

As soon as he peeled the loop from his ear, your mouth slightly fell open on its own accord and you were suddenly starstruck by the fact that Kim Seokjin sat next to you.

“My name is Seokjin.” He kept his gaze lowered as if he was ashamed of his identity.

“I’m a huge fan.” You were speaking impulsively, unable to think about your words with the beautiful man so close to you. What else could you say?

“Oh, are you?” He asked, slowly lifting his gaze to meet your own.

“I am. It is very nice to meet you, Seokjin.” You were keeping yourself under control and you had no idea how, practically vibrating in your chair.

“And it’s nice to meet you too, Y/N.” Reaching into his cooler, he plucked out a bottle of soju and two shot glasses. “Care to share a drink over our newfound friendship?”

Grateful for the distraction, you took one of the glasses. “I’d love to.”

Your friendship with the idol bloomed. Under the strict condition that you never told anyone of your meeting spot- not that you wanted to or anything- you and Seokjin would continue to meet up on occasion and fish, sharing a drink or two and learning about each other.

When he found out about your love for his own band, he laughed and teased you for being a fangirl. When he continued to show up after the revelation, it exhumed ultimate trust that you couldn’t resist returning.

The other strict condition of your friendship was that you couldn’t meet anywhere but the beach. Six months of seeing the man you were gradually falling for in one spot became exhausting, but you couldn’t complain. Sure, you couldn’t go out for coffee or see a movie because of the fact that there were eyes everywhere, but you were okay with having your own little secluded paradise away from society.

It seemed that patience wasn’t one of Seokjin’s better traits, because even he came to complain about hanging out with you anywhere away from the brackish water.

One signed confidentiality agreement and an established set of rules later and he was being sneakily rushed into your already open front door so that the neighbors wouldn’t see him. It sort of reminded you of your younger days when you were sneaking a boy in so that your parents wouldn’t catch you.

His schedule wouldn’t allow you to see him more than two times a week, but it allowed for the two of you to retain a certain level of privacy that taught him more patience. Despite the lack of consistency, each time he came to see you sent butterflies into your stomach and a need to grow closer.

It only took a month of him visiting you before the media began getting suspicious of Jin’s whereabouts. His disappearances from his home to undisclosed locations drove the world into speculation of a solo career or a new music video- or a woman.

The more the rumors ran around, the less you saw of your friend.

It was hard to be apart from Seokjin, fully aware of the fact that you were falling for him. The idea that he could possibly have feelings for you was next to impossible to believe; all you were to him was a break away from the fame and cameras. Even as he rest his head on your shoulder with an arm around your waist while you watched a movie from your couch, you found it hard to believe there was a possibility for more.

You had the world in your embrace. How could you possibly ask for more?

A year of being friends with Seokjin proved to be the ultimate trial to test your patience. You never stepped out of line, hardly ever let yourself dream of being with him, but always imagined what it would feel like to press your lips to his gorgeously plump ones.

To say you passed the test was a decently literal way of putting it.

Exactly one year and two months of knowing Kim Seokjin, not including when he was a nameless man who you sat with, was all it took for him to start showing signs of more.

You sat in your usual spots on the beach, drinking soju, when he turned to you and asked if you ever thought of dating him.

“All the time.” You blurted in response, cursing under your breath immediately afterwards at your lack of hesitation.

Instead of responding, Seokjin burst out laughing. He tipped his head back and guffawed to the night sky but all you could do was laugh cautiously with him in confusion. Worry raised in your heart at the chance that you finally crossed the line even as you swooned over his endearing laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” You built up the courage to ask after he calmed a bit.

“I promise you that I am not laughing at you. I’m actually laughing at myself.” He wiped a building tear from the corner of his eye.

“Why?” You asked.

Instead of responding to your question, he turned to you with all hints of joking wiped clean by the serious expression on his face.

“Do you want to date me?”

You stopped breathing for a moment at his question, heart seemingly skipping a beat and fingers gripping your chair tightly in disbelief.

“W-what?” You stuttered.

“Please let me know if I’ve crossed the line, but would you like to go on a date with me?” He grabbed your hand in his and held it close to his body. Even in the cold weather, his hands were as warm as ever.

Kim Seokjin thought he was crossing the line? He thought he was shooting his shot to someone he had a minor possibility of dating? Being patient couldn’t have been more rewarding than in that moment.

“I’d love to.” You smiled.

Of course, the media was all over your first date with the man.

Even from inside the fancy restaurant you sat in, you could see the camera flashes from across the room in your secluded corner. Seokjn simply waved them off and continued to sip on his wine, telling you to pretend that they weren’t there.

For you, the pressure was intense. The entire world sat on your shoulders as they tried to scare you away from the man you loved.

Despite the harsh scrutiny and the offensive comments, your time of waiting on Seokjin had thickened your skin and reinforced your resolve. Your ultimate test of patience left you with a sense of serenity in the tense world.

You could wait for the attacks to die down. You could be patient- Kim Seokjin was worth it.

As time went on, people cared less and less about your relationship after realizing that you weren’t going anywhere. You had predicted as much.

To celebrate your two-year anniversary together, your boyfriend finally asked you to move in with him.

He was nervous, to say the least. Seokjin wanted you to live with him because he found your apartment to be quite small- it was about time to give you more.

Now, two days after the proposal to move in- on his free weekend- he was helping you move out of your apartment.

Everything was going smoothly, as he expected, up until the moment you told him to go into your closet and grab the box of clothes you had set aside to donate.

He wasn’t expecting to find a small box stuffed into the back of your closet with BTS in large sparkly letters decorating the top. After he pulled it out and dusted it off, he opened it to find photocards and trinkets of his brother, Hoseok.

Gingerly, he dipped his fingers into the box and pulled out a tiny, pink pouch that perked his interest- Seokjin never faired well with fighting his curiosity of material things.

Pulling out the small chain, he let a grimace riddle his features whilst he surveyed the six silver letters of Hoseok’s name adorning it.

“Oh.” He heard from behind him, causing him to jump and quickly drop the pouch and bracelet back into the open box in his lap. “So you found those.”

“What is all this?” He asked while gesturing to said box, an ugly inferno of jealousy beginning to curl inside his stomach and snake its way up his throat. All Seokjin could think about was the fact that Hoseok was your bias and not him. Sure, he never asked, but you could have at least told him that he had competition.

“I- uh-“ You stuttered. Your hesitation to answer warranted him to stand and approach you with an eyebrow cocked and a storm brewing in his eyes.

“Am I just a ploy to get to him?” Seokjin’s anger was obvious, yet you couldn’t help the lick of excitement as he became possessive over you- a trait you rarely saw on the man.

“No!” You were quick to answer his question, closing the space between the two of you to grab his hands in your own. “Babe, I swear! Those are from years ago! Before I met any of you!”

Although Seokjin knew that you were telling the truth, he still seethed in response and let his jealousy show. You seemed to like the jealous side of him, so he decided to maximize his advantages of the situation. It was also hard to ignore that he was growing slightly uncomfortable in his pants.

“Then why do you still have them?”

“Because my friend made them for me and they’re special!” You defended, wanting him to hold your hands. His fingers wrapped around yours tightly and pulled you so that your body was flush against his. You were left to stare up at his towering frame.

“Well,” He chuckled, letting go of your hands and bending down to throw you over his shoulder. You squealed in surprise but he only growled and smacked you on the ass with so much force that you yelped out in pain.

Seokjin threw you down on your tiny bed and you looked up at him in anticipation when you noticed the sly smile thinning his plump lips. He leaned down, placing a knee between your legs, as his gaze locked with yours.

“I’ll give you something fucking special, J-hope stan.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the nickname, bringing your arms up to wrap around your shoulders as he pecked you on the lips and trailed his lips down the side of your neck.

Once he placed a kiss on top of your clothed nipple, Seokjin wasted no time in lifting your shirt over your chest to press his tongue and lips against you. You sighed, letting your eyes flutter closed as you tipped your head back and let him work over your areola.

“Does Hobi know how sensitive you are here?” He asked, licking your nipple immediately after. He brought his thumb to the other one as he kissed it again. “Would he even figure it out?”

Instead of answering, you threaded your fingers into his hair blindly, wrapping your legs around his waist while he lowered his mouth further down your body. The notion left you quaking in its wake.

His nose feathered down your stomach while he whispered his next question.

“Does he know how soft your skin is?” Seokjin pressed his lips to the skin of your waist and you craned your head up to look down at him, catching his gaze promptly. Seeing his lips against your skin had your legs pressing against his sides even tighter. “Would he even appreciate it?”

He backed up and pulled your underwear and shorts down your legs to bare your pussy to him, not wanting to tease you at all. He was on a mission and you wouldn’t stop him.

By the time he got his face between your legs, you were already spasming and dripping.

Your boyfriend looked at you with a smirk on his lips. “Could he get you this wet?”

His tongue pushed between your folds and flattened to rub against your clit to lap up once with a groan building in his chest before he pulled away. “Would he even taste you?”

You whimpered, dependent on Seokjin for pleasure as he pressed his tongue on your clit and slid two fingers into your depths to scissor you open. For a good minute, he pumped his two fingers into you and shoved his tongue onto your bundle of nerves as if trying to completely lick it off your body.

Your first orgasm was sharp and intense, causing you to cry out and dig your fingers into your boyfriend’s scalp. He pulled his lips away from you for a moment to look up at your heaving body.

“Could he even find how sensitive you are right-“ He brushed his fingers against the spot that had your mind reeling. “-here? Could he make you feel good? How would he even begin to try?”

The oversensitivity had your senses dulling and your lips babbling. “He wouldn’t. God, Jin. He wouldn’t.”

He continued to sink his fingers into you, harshly laving over your clit with his tongue in between his words as if he were fucking you already.

“You just-” Slurp. “-taste like-” Suck. “-fucking candy, baby.” You gasped at the loss of contact and squealed every time he returned his tongue and covered you with his plump lips to wildly swirl the hot muscle into you.

Being forced into more orgasms wasn’t new for you, however, it was always on his dick that you sobbed your way through countless climaxes. The pleasure of being pushed over the edge by his tongue was completely new and unabashedly erotic.

You screamed and writhed against Seokjin’s hand splayed possessively over your stomach, trying to get away from the contact but helplessly struggling against him. One after the other, you were painfully shoved into cumming, but it’s only when you squirted onto his chin that he finally let up.

“I bet he couldn’t make you squirt like that.” He darkly chuckled.

You, sweaty and breathless, lay under him with a bead of drool beginning to collect at the corner of your mouth. Mindlessly, you affirmed his statement.

“He couldn’t. He couldn’t.” It was almost as if you were chanting now.

“You’re damn right, he couldn’t.” Seokjin stood on his knees and quickly pulled his jeans down just enough for his dick to pop out before eagerly settling himself between your shaky legs once more.

Pussy raw and throbbing, you needed him to fill you properly to balance out the sensitivity on your clit. It was almost painful.

“This pussy is mine.” Seokjin grabbed his dick and looked down to slap his tip against your clit repeatedly. Your legs jerked in result, body responsive to the slightest touch on your nub. “You’re all mine.”

“Jin,” You whimpered. “Please.”

“I know, baby. I know. Be patient.” And he slid in slowly.

You dug your nails into his shoulders and threw your head back into the pillow again. The pleasure was blinding and you tensed your entire body at the sensation of him stretching out your insides.

“He could never know how tight you are.” Seokjin grit his teeth as he bottomed out. “How fucking warm-” You gasped and your eyes rolled back as he nudged his hips to try pushing himself further inside you, succeeding in dipping slightly deeper into your walls and crowding himself against your womb almost uncomfortably. “-you are.”

At this point, all you could do was sob in confirmation. “He couldn’t.”

“I’m not gonna lie.” He pulled out and thrust into you once, then twice, and then paused while heaving above you. “You got me all worked up with how cute you sound so I won’t last very long. I’m going to need you to cum one more time. Can you do that for me, love?”

You nodded almost immediately, knowing that all he needed to do was toy with your clit to send you over the edge.

With a harsh beat, your lover ferociously fucked into you and grabbed one of your thighs to widen your legs. With each clap of his skin into yours, you let out a small huff while he literally fucked the air from your lungs.

“Cum, baby. Cum right now.” He strained.

“I-” You cried, holding onto him for dear life as you desperately needed that last nudge to send you hurtling towards ecstasy. “I can’t. I n-need-“

“Hobi can’t fuck you like this, Y/N. Can’t fill you up and make you scream like I can. But you can’t cum for me?” He smashed his swollen lips onto yours and messily pushed his tongue into your mouth. When he pulled away, a string of saliva connected the two of you. “What do you need, baby? What do you need me to do?”

Your clit practically screamed for attention from your prior orgasms, but you were too focused on not actually crying to tell him. Instead, you snaked your hand down your body towards yourself and Seokjin followed your trail down to where your bodies joined, noticing immediately how swollen and red your clit was. His expression softened in realization.

“Oh, does my girl need her pussy touched?” He crooned roughly.

You nodded feverishly, sniffling.

“Okay, love. I’ll touch.” And he did.

Your orgasm was almost instantaneous. Your body, battered and exhausted, trembled as it seized up to accept his thrust for the last time that evening. In all its pain and bliss, your climax was glorious.

“Oh fuckfuckfuckfuck-” Seokjin growled as he dropped his head to the crook of your neck. “Squeezing me all tight like that. You’d never squeeze Hobi like that.”

Even through your pleasure, you felt him clutch onto you tightly, slowing his thrusts and sinking himself deeply to empty his release into you.

“That’s my girl.” He groaned after he stilled, slumping against you. For a moment, the two of you breathed and relaxed in each other’s presence.

You chuckled, turning your head to kiss his head. “That was pretty hot, babe.”

His head shot up from your shoulder immediately. “Not at all! How could you stan Hobi and not me?”

“Babe, I was so much younger. Of course, the one who is a literal ball of sunshine was my bias. You can’t get enough of Hobi.”

“But I’m your boyfriend…” His eyebrows turned up at you and pouted all the while his dick still lay wedged between your legs. Slowly, you pushed him off of you so that you could go clean up.

As you stood, you walked to the bathroom and laughed again. “Yes, you are.”

Even as you were walking away, you heard him mutter under his breath.

“Hobi would never walk away from me like that.”

All you could do was giggle at his statement, knowing that he would eventually get over it.

Kim Seokjin was the one you loved. Who was Jung Hoseok?

~#~

If you’d like to read more of my work, feel free to check out my Masterlist!

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beifongsss · 4 years

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love amongst the dragons [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Requested?: Yes! By an outstanding anon!: “hiya there I saw that you’re open for request and i’ve read all of your Zuko fics and they are incredible! I want to request a Zuko x reader too please in which it’s several years after his coronation and he’s back on vacation to Ember Island with the Gaang and Uncle Iroh, as it happens his favorite play “Love amongst the Dragons” is being performed and Zuko dragged them all to the theater, just for him to become mesmerized by the leading female performer which is the reader :) thanks xx”

i changed the request just a bit i’m sorry anon :(

Summary: When Iroh dragged everyone to the theatre while vacationing on Ember Island, Zuko did not expect to be so entranced by the lead play.

.masterlist.

Surprisingly, it hadn’t been Sokka’s idea this time.

Instead, it had been Iroh who had suggested that they go see “Love Amongst the Dragons” as soon as they got to Ember Island. It had been a few years since the Gaang had been on Ember Island but the stress of being Fire Lord was getting to Zuko so Iroh had written to all of his friends, inviting them to a week long retreat at the famed island. They had all accepted of course, especially when Iroh promised to bring them some of his favorite tea leaves.

Aang was undoubtedly the most excited, agreeing with Iroh’s idea almost immediately. Everyone else was a little hesitant, remembering the last time they had gone to see the Ember Island Players.

“C’mon Zuko,” Aang said, walking up to the older boy with a pleading look on his face. “Didn’t you say that it was your favorite play when you were a kid?”

“No,” Zuko snapped, looking away from Aang. “It was my mother’s favorite.”

The conversation had ended there, or so Zuko had thought. Halfway through the week, he had agreed to let Katara plan out a day’s schedule. He hadn’t expected her to give in to Aang’s request so easily although looking back on it now, he wondered how he expected her to deny her boyfriend anything. Especially when he had those big, sparkling eyes.

And so Fire Lord Zuko found himself being dragged into the theater by Toph, who was the only one he was scared of disobeying.

“C’mon Sparky Pants,” Toph said, tugging Zuko along as she made her way to the front row. “We got good seats this time so I can actually see what’s going on.”

Zuko huffed and rolled his eyes as he sat next to the small earthbender, Sokka sitting on his other side. Suki filled in the end of the row while Iroh, Aang, and Katara filled the second row. Toph turned to talk to Iroh, who was sitting directly behind Zuko, about the play and proceeded to ask him various questions. Zuko tried to ignore the girl, pouting as he realized that he was going to have to watch another butchered play.

After a few minutes, the lights dimmed and the theater’s manager stepped out on stage. His eyes quickly flickered to where the Gaang was sitting and Zuko sunk in his seat as he realized what was coming.

“Good evening everybody,” the man spoke, a wide smile now on his face “Thank you for joining us tonight for a very special showing of “Love Amongst the Dragons”. Tonight, we have our very own Fire Lord and the Avatar joining us. Please enjoy the show.”

The audience applauded as they all shifted their gazes to where Zuko was sitting. After receiving an encouraging kick from Iroh, he straightened up and forced a smile onto his face as he looked around and waved. Once the lights fully went out, he slumped in his seat, letting out a loud sigh as Toph snickered.

He elbowed her softly, the two of them bickering quietly before Sokka suddenly began to repeatedly slap Zuko’s arm.

“Shh! It’s starting. Look!” Sokka was already invested in the play even though there wasn’t anything remotely interesting happening. Zuko let out another angst-filled sigh as he focused on the play, barely paying attention as the Dragon Emperor took the stage and the play began. Zuko couldn’t deny that the play wasn’t as bad as he remembered it being, but that still didn’t mean he was enjoying it.

Zuko’s eyelids were drooping as the play continued, the young Fire Lord barely paying attention as the Dragon Emperor was bound to the mortal world by the Dark Water Spirit and forced to take the name Noren. In fact, Zuko was about to give in and sleep through the play when his attention was caught by a loud, clear voice. He jolted up, his eyes landing on the actress who had just appeared on stage.

The entire theater went silent as you emerged, speaking your lines so smoothly that it seemed as though you were merely having a conversation and not acting. You were wearing a gorgeous blue dress, the hem swaying as you walked forwards. Your steps were swift but gentle, making it seem as though you were gliding across the stage.

Zuko was so entranced by you acting that he didn’t look away from you once, not even when you subtly looked over to the area where they had told you that the Fire Lord and his friends were sitting in. Your eyes swept across the audience as you spoke, and you had to take a deep breath when you accidentally made eye contact with a pair of piercing golden eyes. You mentally thanked the makeup artist, glad that your blush wasn’t visible.

Back in the audience, Zuko’s jaw dropped slightly as his eyes met yours and he mentally thanked the spirits that Toph had gotten front row seats. You were gorgeous, ethereal. Your (H/C) hair was styled perfectly and your eyes were sparkling. Zuko felt a bit breathless.

“So,” Toph whispered, leaning in towards Zuko. “I take it the leading actress is hot?”

Zuko stayed silent, looking at Toph with a panicked expression as he wondered how she knew that if she was blind. Snorting, Toph explained. “Your heart rate shot up when she came out Sparky. You’re not the most subtle.”

A scowl formed on Zuko’s face but before he could reply, Sokka did it for him.

“Hey Zuko, buddy,” Sokka said, looking at the boy. “Maybe you should close your mouth before you catch any flies. Not that I blame you, she’s beautiful.”

“Who is?” Suki asked, leaning in close so that she wasn’t too loud. Zuko stuttered for a moment before Sokka once again spoke.

“The lead!”

“Oh yeah, she’s gorgeous,” Suki agreed, leaning back in her seat.

“If only I were single,” Sokka and Suki sighed in unison, giving each other slightly offended looks before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Zuko rolled his eyes at their antics before focusing on the play once again.

The rest of the play passed flawlessly, and Zuko found his attention captured by you every single second you were onstage. For once, he didn’t feel bored. It wasn’t only because you were attractive (he had given up denying that statement after Sokka had elbowed him for the fiftieth time), it was because after years he was finally seeing his mother’s favorite play being performed the way it was meant to be.

Even on stage you didn’t remain oblivious to the gaze that followed you around. Sure, you had whole audiences who watched you, but the stare that the Fire Lord was giving you was intense and you began to wonder if he wasn’t enjoying the play. Your fellow actors had noticed as well, and during the intermission you found yourself being teased about your new “admirer”.

It was also during the intermission that the manager slipped backstage and informed the cast that the Fire Lord and his friends would be coming backstage after the show. The cast all slipped into a panic as you tried to clean up the space as best as you could. The rest of the play passed by in a blur, everyone anxious for what was to come. Even with the nervousness, you never messed up once and Zuko’s eyes stayed on you the whole time.

On stage, Noren managed to defeat the Dark Water Spirit and reunite with your character, who ended up being the Dragon Empress. In Zuko’s opinion, the play ended way too quickly. He found himself clapping a little too loudly, causing Sokka to give him a sly glance as he stretched slightly and began to make his way out of the row. He didn’t get too far before Iroh gently grabbed his arm, causing him to stop and look at the older male in confusion.

“We are not leaving yet Zuko,” Iroh said, a suspicious glimmer in his eyes as he smiled at the boy. “The theater manager is an old Pai Sho buddy of mine and he agreed to give us a tour backstage.”

“You mean we’ll get to meet the actors?” Aang asked, exchanging excited glances with Sokka. Iroh nodded. The group began to walk towards the stage, Toph staying behind slightly as she noticed that Zuko hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Try not to embarrass yourself Sparky,” she teased, punching his arm as she walked past him. Grumbling, Zuko followed the small girl backstage and came to a stop next to Sokka.

“Ah, Sotar!” Iroh exclaimed, embracing the theater manager. The two men laughed and greeted each other before he turned and bowed to Zuko.

“Fire Lord Zuko,” Sotar said before turning and bowing to Aang. “Avatar Aang. It is an honor to have you here. I hope the play was to your liking.”

“It was awesome!” Aang replied, bringing a smile to Sotar’s face. He turned to Zuko but before he could answer, someone bumped into him. Zuko turned to face the person, coming face to face with the lead actor.

“Forgive me, Fire Lord Zuko,” the actor said, bowing deeply after regaining his balance. “I lost my balance.”

“It’s alright,” Zuko replied quietly, shifting closer to Sokka. “Your performance was great.”

“Jenor is the finest actor we have,” Sotar boasted, smiling proudly at the actor. “We are truly lucky to have him.”

The actor, Jenor, blushed lightly at the praise before speaking. “Thank you, but I’m afraid the real star of the show is (Y/N). I wonder where she is.”

“I’m right here.”

The group turned around as a quiet voice spoke. Zuko’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes landed on you. Spirits, you were prettier up close.

“Um, thanks,” you said, the blush dusting your cheeks visible now that you had taken off your makeup. You ignored Jenor’s gaze as you remembered the teasing from earlier.

Zuko’s eyes widened in embarrassment as he realized that he had spoken out loud. He immediately avoided your gaze, instead shooting a glare at Sokka as the boy tried not to choke on his laughter.

“Good going Sparky,” Toph whispered, a smirk playing at the edge of her lips. Zuko rolled his eyes at the younger girl before focusing on you as you walked up to him.

“Fire Lord Zuko,” you said, dropping into a dramatic bow. You proceeded to do the same thing to Aang before giving slightly smaller bows to everybody else. “I am (Y/N) (L/N), lead actress of “Love Amongst the Dragons”. It is truly an honor to be in your presence. I hope you enjoyed the show.”

Zuko didn’t trust himself to speak without embarrassing himself again and instead chose to stay silent, merely bowing his head in response.

“Zuko, where are your manners?!” Iroh spoke, coming up behind his nephew. “My apologies Miss (Y/N), my nephew greatly enjoyed the performance. He was so impressed by it that his eyes didn’t leave you for a single second!”

This time, Sokka couldn’t hold back his laughter, resulting in Suki grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the group. “We’re gonna go look at the ummm, at the costumes!”

Aang engaged in a conversation with Jenor, and the two of them began to walk away slowly, trying to escape the awkward situation created by Iroh. Zuko stood in Iroh’s grasp, trying his best not to shoot a glare at his uncle as Katara stared as him.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” you finally said, smiling softly at the retired general’s words. “We all put in a lot of work.”

“It was most impressive indeed,” Iroh said, straightening up and looking around. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have quite a bit of catching up to do with Sotar.”

You gave Iroh one last bow before he hurried off, trying to locate his old friend. It was silent for a few seconds before Toph finally spoke up. “Hey Katara? Where did Aang go? He promised me he was going to be my guide for the night!”

Katara smirked slightly at Toph’s words, knowing that the girl didn’t need a guide. She reached over and grabbed the girl’s hands before looking at you and Zuko apologetically. “I’m sorry, we really have to go find Aang. It was nice to meet you (Y/N), you are an amazing actress.”

You thanked the Water Tribe girl as she walked away before facing Zuko, who was currently struggling as he tried to figure out what to say.

“So,” he finally spoke, losing his train of thought as he noticed the small smile on your face. “You like acting?”

The smile on your face widened at his words. “Yes I do, Fire Lord Zuko.”

Zuko’s face scrunched up at the use of his title, not liking how formal you were being. “You don’t have to call me ‘Fire Lord’. Just Zuko is fine.”

You nodded silently before speaking again. “Alright Zuko. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you choose to come watch the play? I’m certain that as the Fire Lord, you have more exciting things to do.”

Zuko smiled at your teasing tone, relaxing slightly as he realized that you were treating him as normally as you could. “We’re on vacation. My uncle remembered that this was my mother’s favorite play and Aang insisted on watching it.”

“Oh?” you asked mildly surprised. You vaguely remembered Fire Lady Ursa and you felt your heart ache slightly for the Fire Lord. “It was?”

“Yeah,” Zuko nodded, still not meeting your eyes for fear of freezing up. “She would make us watch it every year when we came here on vacation. I always begged her to leave me at home.”

“Why?”

“Because the Ember Island Players always butchered the play,” Zuko said immediately, his eyes widening when he realized what he had said. He glanced up to meet your eyes, prepared to apologize for offending you.

Instead, he was met with eyes full of mirth and his panic subsided faintly as you began to chuckle.

“I-I’m sorry,” Zuko said, trying to take his words back. “I didn’t mean t-”

“No, no,” you cut him off, sending him an apologetic smile. “You’re absolutely right. Not to sound rude or anything, but I think that was partly due to the fact that the previous lead actress was so hard to work with. I think that the play has become somewhat better since then.”

“Definitely,” Zuko said, chuckling along with you. “They certainly made the right choice when casting the lead actress. You did an amazing job.”

It was your turn to blush as Zuko kept speaking.

“You’re very talented, (Y/N). You have such a powerful stage presence and the delivery of your lines is flawless. You truly stole the show. I think that the audience was more focused on you than they were on Jenor and you managed to keep everyone captivated.”

“Including you, my Lord?” you asked, a flirtatious lilt to your voice as you spoke. Zuko’s next words faltered as his eyes met yours and you felt yourself smirk lightly as a deep blush spread across his cheeks.

“Especially him!” Toph’s loud voice rang as she leaned against Zuko’s shoulder. You burst into laughter at the young girl’s words and Zuko found himself speechless at your laugh. Apparently everything about you was beautiful.

“I thought you were going to find Aang,” Zuko said through gritted teeth, pushing Toph off of him.

“I was but Iroh sent me to tell you it’s time to go,” Toph said, a wide grin on her face. “Oh, and he also told me to tell (Y/N) that he’d love it if you joined Zuko here for a cup of tea at the Jasmine Dragon next time you’re free.”

Zuko groaned at her words and shot a glare at his uncle, not wanting to meet your eyes for fear of rejection.

“I’d be honored to,” came your reply. Zuko’s head whipped around and he stared at you as you grinned at him. “That is, if it’s okay with the Fire Lord.”

A little starstruck, Zuko simply nodded. You stepped closer to him, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. “It’s a date then.”

Zuko grinned dazedly as he was pulled away by Toph, a teasing smile on her face as she led him to the rest of the group. You looked after them for a few seconds before walking away, only pausing to laugh at their conversation.

“I can’t believe your uncle has to set up your dates for you.”

“Shut up!”

taglist!

@musicalkeys, @mywigglybaby, @bubblebars, @iguessthefloorislava, @dekahg, @boxofteenageideas, @bottledcostcowater, @butterflycore, @coldlilheart, @the-firebender-girl

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hualianff · 3 years

Text

More Than This VI 《V》

It’s no surprise XL gains his own taste of fame after walking the red carpet with one of the most sought-after actors in the country. He doesn’t mind it, going as far as to create a few social media accounts to interact with fans and scroll through their photos and edits of him. He has a few fan sites too, but only for fancy events where he chooses to be recognized in public.

XL and HC agreed before sharing their relationship with the public that they would maintain a strong sense of privacy when it came to their personal lives. They only share what they want to. The paparazzi who manage to take photos without permission are immediately disciplined so it doesn’t happen again.

(“I can’t believe you did it.”

“Hmm, Gege said he was okay with it.”

“I know! But I didn’t expect you to actually....” XL stares at a recent selfie of them HC had posted on his Twitter, taken the night HC won his award. “We look like we just had sex.”

“Nobody’s gonna know.”

XL raises an unimpressed eyebrow at his boyfriend. HC insists again.

“Nobody’s gonna know-”

“They’re gonna know,” XL says with a sigh, pointing to the hickey marks clearly visible on the photo. HC rolls over closer to XL in their bed, scrutinizing the image on XL’s phone.

“Oh, I didn’t see those when I posted the photo.”

“San Laaang!” XL cries, pushing at the taller man’s shoulder before burying his face into his pillow. HC makes XL breakfast in bed as an apology and promises to not drunk-post anything again.)

Eight months after officially dating–which is over two years since they met–HC asks XL to move in with him. XL doesn’t even need to think about his answer, a simple “Yes! Yes please!” escaping his lips. Both HC and XL’s faces light up with overjoyed smiles.

They seem to have had the same idea about where to live, purchasing a home they’ve been eyeing for months! The best aspects include a massive yard (front, side, and back) for XL to tend to, a hot tub, and a spacious living and dining room area to entertain guests. It’s not the grandest or most impressive residence by size or feature. In fact, the first months have them living in a half-finished, rusty house with the prettiest garden you’ve ever seen.

It gradually gets better. HC and XL knew they would have to do a lot of work to improve the shape of their home. Over the next year, they repair and remodel the house themselves, simultaneously adding value to the property and curating the style to fit their dream home. XL makes sure to post progress photos on his social media. His most recent selfie of HC and himself in hardware glasses got over 500k likes! He pinned HC’s comment that said, “Gege is my own very handyman!”

(HC, in a sleeveless tee, shorts that show off his ass, hair pulled back into a high bun: “Gege, you’re the boss now. Tell me what to do.”

XL, struggling not to gawk at HC’s side boobs: “O-okay, first, can you smash those cabinets-”

Cue them making out against the counter when it’s the only part of the kitchen that is fully done.)

***

Having a partner who considers the outdoors as a second home is a special experience. XL often takes HC on dates to national parks and plant nurseries. They go on weekend camping trips where XL teaches HC how to properly filter water, summit long stretches of terrain, and stay warm during cold nights with below-freezing temperatures.

(HC, trying to fit into XL’s sleeping bag: “Hi, gege-”

XL: “San Lang, you have your own sleeping bag that you can actually fit in.”

HC: ‘But I’m cold. Gege helps keep me warm.”

XL: “Fine. But let’s use yours because it’s bigger.”

HC, kissing XL’s forehead: “Thank you, my love.”)

On their hikes, XL points to different plants, explaining their origins and why he finds each one particularly beautiful. At first, HC picks up random flowers on the way home and then he asks XL about what flower fate gave him that day to gift his beloved. (“San Lang, that’s not allowed!”) HC eventually stores all the random facts in his mind, always eager to listen to XL talking about his passion. He also learns to keep his hands from digging up “poor, helpless plants from their home soil.”

However, this unfortunately doesn't prevent HC from accidentally squishing some plants in their yard that he thought were just weeds.

(HC, thinking he’s a good partner: “Get out, stupid weeds. CHOP CHOP!”

XL: “SAN LANG STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

HC: “Gege always works so hard. I just wanted to help you in the yard today because you deserve it.” 🥺

XL: *sigh* “I appreciate the gesture, San Lang. But those particular grasses took months to grow, and you just killed them-“)

***

Countless media outlets try to stir up trouble like they typically do with celebrities. Especially when HC has roles that involve romance, articles claiming HC and XL are on the brink of breaking up receive lots of attention. However, what gains more attention are the videos the couple posts on Youtube or Instagram live of their reactions to their “scandals.”

(XL, reading a headline: “Actor bachelor Hua Cheng and co-star Yushi Huang seem to be cozying up after a late-night shoot.’”

HC: “I’m not a bachelor, the fuck?”

XL, smiling: “You could be. Me as well. We can be bachelors together.”

HC, chuckling: “All right. If gege is, then so am I.”

The comments: “That doesn’t make any sense!?”

HC, reading another headline: “HC’s lover found with a mysterious third party??”

XL, exclaiming: “Oh, that’s Shi Qingxuan! You know, the designer for all our red carpet outfits!” 🥰🥰

HC: *nodding along*

XL, cheekily: “-and my secret second-lover”

HC: *blanches* “What.”

XL: “Kidding!!!! San Lang is the only one for me, hehe.” *kisses HC’s cheek* “Okay, next one!”)

Everyone watching the videos is 50% confused and 50% entertained as HC and XL make light of any drama the media portrays them in. Viewers accept that of course, the rumors aren’t true; HC and XL are still very much in love.

They’re in love with each other and will continue falling for many years to come.

***

HC doesn’t like watching himself on screen. However, he does enjoy previewing his own movies for the first time with his boyfriend.

While XL watches the new movie, HC observes XL’s reactions. It helps that XL is a conversational movie watcher too. XL’s narrations consist of horny comments during the sexual scenes (“Ooh, that’s hot. Nice tongue.” “Thank you?”), side remarks about the plot and characters (“San Lang, your character is very rude.” “...”), and dramatic reactions to the huge reveal scenes where HC becomes a human punch bag. (“Oh my goooosh, San Lang!! It was him all along- AHH!!”)

As a perfectionist, something you have to be in HC’s field of work, HC is incredibly self-critical of his performance. Which is another reason why it’s nice to have XL watch alongside with, who never has a shortage of praises for his boyfriend.

(HC: “Fuck, why did they leave this shot in the final? I’m supposed to be mourning for my dead lover but instead, I look like I’m crying out of daddy issues. Why did no one tell me!? It looks so bad-” *pointing to himself on the screen* “-stop looking so constipated-!”

XL, squeezing HC’s nape and massaging his shoulders: “San Lang, no one thinks that except for you. You did everything perfectly. Please acknowledge your hard work and just enjoy the movie.”

HC: *sigh* “You’re right. Okay. Thanks, gege.”

A beat of silence. HC cuddles closer to XL.

HC: “Love you.”

XL: “Love you too.”)

***

XL now knows HC’s movies well enough to quote HC’s lines in his movies to make him laugh. HC happily indulges him, questioning after breaking character, “Gege, are you sure I’m the actor out of the two of us?”

One time, HC and XL are in their kitchen re-enacting a scene with HC as the investigator going to a bartender for more information on his suspect. HC has XL caged against the counter, asking in a teasing manner, “How can I repay you for your help tonight?”

XL lowers his eyelids, looking up through his lashes, flawlessly depicting his character. “Any restrictions on your offer?”

“No, darling. Name a price, a brand, a desire. Right now, anything is on the table,” HC says huskily. XL slyly bites his lip.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

XL brings a hand up to cup HC’s jaw, then smooths it down his neck, traveling down his bare chest. XL tilts his head to expose his neck, wanting to build up his boyfriend’s anticipation. But before he can say his next line, HC effortlessly throws XL over his shoulder like a bag of rice.

“San Lang, wait, this is not how it went in the movie!” XL shouts, a little dizzy from the sudden lift turning him upside down. HC takes long strides to their bedroom, plopping XL on their mattress and blanketing him with his larger frame.

HC only utters a husky “we’re improvising” before diving down to devour XL’s lips. XL’s arms hook around HC’s neck, holding him impossibly close.

***

After a filming shoot where HC’s character gets beaten up–HC performing his own stunts–he heads home beyond exhausted. He just wants to take a relaxing shower and cuddle his boyfriend in their warm bed.

HC arrives at their house a little past midnight. He opens the door and finds XL’s back facing him, quietly humming a song as he takes care of the vase in the living room. The sight makes HC smile.

However, as XL turns around, the vase slips from his hands and explodes into pieces on the ground.

“San Lang! What happened to you!?” XL cries out, the panic in his voice only comparable to the day he had confessed. HC stands in the doorway confused. Was something wrong with his appearance?

XL is on him in an instant, his pupils shaking as he frantically asks, “Does it hurt a lot? What happened!?”

HC blinks, expression blank as he still doesn't understand what has freaked XL out. But as the shorter man gently caresses HC’s face, it suddenly hits him.

The make up!

HC urgently starts rubbing the fake bruises off his face. “Gege, I’m okay! It’s just make up, none of this is real. See?” He holds his hands out for XL to see as the pigment stains HC’s palms. “I’m so sorry! San Lang is dumb, he didn’t mean to make you worry,” HC murmurs as he takes XL between his arms. He really loves this man too much.

XL’s teary eyes shine glimmer as HC embraces him. “Y-you’re sure you’re okay?”

HC nods, leaning into the slender hand that cups his cheek.

“Thank goodness,” XL breaths out as he buries his face into HC’s neck. His next words are slightly muffled. “It looks…so realistic.”

“Yeah, the make up artists are all quite talented, aren’t they?”

XL clings tighter to HC.

“Very much so. Let’s shower so we can properly wash it off.”

“All right,” HC says. “Wait, we?”

XL tugs HC toward the master bathroom.

“Hush, let’s go.”

***

They lay in bed together after four long months of separation. Both of them had been in different parts of the country; HC filmed a drama series while XL traveled for several high-profile projects. Their respective busy work schedules limited communication to brief video chats and text messages, which never seemed enough.

Now, with his head resting on HC’s chest, their legs overlapping comfortably, XL finally feels like he’s where he belongs.

“Why did you choose me?”

Tactical fingers massage XL’s scalp, lulling him into a serene state of bliss. XL nuzzles further into his boyfriend-sized pillow.

“It’s not like I can choose who I fall in love with, Gege,” HC states with a light chuckle. “But if you want an answer, it’s because you are everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner.”

XL looks up at his boyfriend, mouth forming a shape of an O.

“That simple? Even when we made a deal to have no strings attached?” XL asks. HC groans at the reminder of their initial agreement.

“Yes, which was a dumb decision on my part.”

“I agreed to it too. We were both dumb.”

They are silent for a moment. It’s not the first time they’ve talked about or referenced their insecurities when it came to confessing their feelings. XL’s luck when it came to dating someone who could love him for every part of him was practically nonexistent. HC’s constant grappling for his self-identity and worth rendered most of his relationships superficial. And temporary.

Always temporary.

“I can’t believe you thought I didn’t like your plants though. They’re so pretty. And fascinating.” HC says, breaking the silence.

“They take up half our living room space.”

“So? You work with plants all day. They’re bound to be a part of your personal life as well.”

XL’s heart bursts with a sudden fondness. It’s a wonderful thing to be appreciated for the little things.

“I’m glad you think so,” he says happily. HC hums in response, sending vibrations to where XL’s cheek lays on his chest. “I can’t believe I didn’t know you were a famous actor for the first three months we…”

“Met up for sex?” HC finishes with an impish grin.

“Yes,” XL laughs.

“It was nice not to be recognized for once. With you, I could just be myself,” HC says with ease he never thought he would be able to do. He’s struggled with letting himself be vulnerable his whole life. It turns out, HC just had to find the right person. And thank god he did. XL is more than HC’s outlet from his career. He’s become HC’s closest friend who knows him the best; he is HC’s number one supporter in any endeavor he pursues; he makes HC feel important. XL sees and loves HC for who he is. No amount of fame or wealth could come close to comparison.

“Gege?”

“Hmm?”

“Does it ever bother you that my life is always everyone else’s business?” HC softly asks.

“Well, the fame can be a bit…uncomfortable,” XL admits. “But you’re an amazing actor. And a remarkable person. I can’t blame your fans for loving you so much, you know? I also got to ride in a limo-“

“Which you rode very well-”

XL flicks his boyfriend’s forehead.

“You’re so predictable.”

“You would’ve said the same thing given the chance. Don’t lie, gege.”

They go back and forth a little longer, never once creating unnecessary distance between each other as they roll around until they’re on their sides. Facing each other in their bed that’s been vacant for months, HC and XL are inseparable.

“As I was saying, fame is something that comes with your job–your passion. You can’t control it, nor does it solely characterize who you are. Besides, I get to be a part of your life! That’s all that really matters,” XL continues. He shifts forward so their bodies are closely pressed together. XL plants a kiss on HC’s chin, then whispers a confession that tilts HC’s entire world on its axis.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone like you.”

HC’s world spins and spins until all that he sees is his beloved, gleaming brighter than all the galaxies without the power to disrupt their orbit. He wraps his arms around XL and kisses the top of his head.

“Me too, Gege.”

Bonus:

HC watches wearily as XL salivates at a showering scene where HC’s bare ass flashes in the frame. XL turns to HC with a serious look in his eyes.

“San Lang! Hiking has done your ass wonders.”

XL sneaks a grope to a meaty cheek. HC chokes.

***

“You can’t be late to your own premiere!” XL cries incredulously.

“Try me,” HC purrs into XL’s ear, delicately kissing the lobe.

XL gasps as teasing hands roam around his torso, one of them slipping down to cup his behind. He vaguely thinks about how SQX is expecting them in the next hour to help with their red carpet outfits. But when hungry lips attach to the sensitive column of his neck, XL is a goner.

“Gege doesn’t have to do any work. Just lay back and look pretty.”

(Brainchild with @no-one-says-hi!)

#tgcf #heavenly official's blessing #hualian #hualian au #cerdrabbles #fluff #Actor HC #Landscaper XL #fine.

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jayeray-hq · 3 years

Text

He’s My Best Friend: Miya Atsumu

The start of a new series celebrating having 50+ followers thank you all so much! 😊💖 Post Time Skip/Manga Ending Spoilers!

Warnings: None all fluff

Choose your own ending platonic or romantic!

He’s My Best Friend Masterlist - Character Masterlist

Big thanks to Bri from our Haikyuu Headquarters discord server for beta reading for me she’s amazing! 😊💖 The Past : How You Met

The day you’d met Miya Atsumu for the first time, you never would’ve guessed he’d become your best friend. After all, you’d been at an age where you were utterly convinced that all boys had cooties and were absolutely gross and boring. However, you’d just moved to Hyogo prefecture with your family and you’d honestly been feeling a little lonely.

It was the end of summer break and you were going to be starting school in just a week, in what would technically be the middle of the school year as a second grader, and the whole thing had made you more than a bit anxious. Luckily one of the perks of your new house was that it was right next door to a nice park, which meant your parents were more than happy to send you out to distract and entertain yourself.

You’d done so with aplomb setting on to one of the swings and deciding to see if you could break your personal best for how high you could go, fully believing that if you just pumped your legs high enough you might actually be able to go over the bar the way some older kids had told you and your friends from your old school.

There’d been a few other kids at the park that day, but you hadn’t felt the need to approach them, though nowadays you couldn’t remember whether that was from shyness or because you’d been too focused on your aerial goals. What you did remember though was him, or them actually; the Miya twins.

They’d caught your attention because they’d taken up seats on either side of you. They hadn’t had a choice because there were only four swings, you’d chosen one in the middle, and the other one on the far-right end was clearly broken, the seat dangling from one of the chains. It wasn’t until later that you’d learn that the broken swing was their fault in the first place.

The two boys had barely seemed to notice you, swinging in between them, shouting over your head about how one of them was going to beat the other. You weren’t sure who’d said what, all you could remember was how incredibly annoying the two of them had been, so much so that you’d quickly gotten over your awe that there were somehow two of them that looked just alike.

It had been especially annoying because, despite their argument, it was very clear that you were the one who was going the highest, being the lightest of the three. Finally fed up with them ignoring you, and shouting over your head you’d decided to perform the neat trick you’d always done with your friends back home.

With all the absolute fearlessness of youth you let the swing get to the highest point of its arc and leapt free, landing in a perfect crouch in the sand. Your little maneuver had managed to shock the twins into complete silence, and you’d turned to look at them in surprise as you dusted off your shorts, freeing them of sand. Both had been gaping, and you’d managed to catch the eye of one of them, the twin you now knew as Atsumu. You’d given him an absolutely haughty look before sticking your nose in the air and stalking away, completely ignoring their shocked cries, and their calls to wait up, figuring it served them right for ignoring you in the first place.

Much to your dismay it turned out the loud twins lived nearby, and ever since your little stunt they’d been determined to befriend you. Atsumu in particular was relentless, chasing you everywhere and insisting on being your friend. You’d even ended up in the same class as him once school started, much to his delight.

In the end his persistence had paid off, and the two of you had become good friends once you’d gotten used to his loud, unabashed, blunt personality. The two of you just fit together well, though it helped that you were far more willing to be dragged into Atsumu’s schemes than his much more realistic twin. While you did become good friends with Osamu, an inevitability given the twins were practically attached at the hip twenty-four seven, you were always Atsumu you were closer with, who you considered your very best friend.

The Present : Your High School Days

“What happened to your face?” you demanded shocked and a little appalled that your friend had shown up on your doorstep his face covered in scrapes and a nice bruise forming over one eye, “Did you try to receive a volleyball with your forehead again?”

Normally you walked home every day with the twins, as you still lived close to one another, but you’d had a doctor’s appointment earlier that day and so had left school early. It just figured that somehow in the scant hours between the time you’d last seen him and now he’d somehow gotten himself into trouble. Honestly, trouble probably should’ve been his middle name; bold and brash Atsumu could be entirely too impulsive at times and Osamu tended to either egg him on or ignore him entirely. You, on the other hand, had taken the firm stance of compromise and while you did allow yourself to be dragged into his schemes far too often you also did your best to discourage some of his wilder ideas to keep both of you safe.

“I only ever tried ta do that once,” Atsumu protested in response to your accusation, as you stepped back to let him into your house and ushered him toward the bathroom.

“Once was one time too many,” you informed him dryly, “Especially since you’ve accidentally received with your face before and should’ve been well aware that it was an incredibly dumb idea.”

“A man screws up once and ya hold it over his head fer ever,” he grumbled unhappily, as he hopped up on to the counter at your urging, folding his arms over his chest, a slight pout on his lips that had you rolling your eyes in fond amusement.

“So, if you weren’t practicing receiving with your face, what were you doing?” you asked as you dug in one of the cabinets for the first aid kit. You’d had more experience with the thing than you cared to remember, patching up both yourself and the twins after all the scrapes you’d gotten into over the years, and made sure to keep it well stocked.

Of the twins Atsumu had always been quicker to anger, though he was also quicker to cool down and forgive, unlike Osamu who was a bit of a grudge holder. It meant you had lots of practice patching him up, not that you could complain as half the fights from when you were younger were started on your behalf. Despite how he would tease you at times, often viciously, only he was allowed to do it, not even Osamu was allowed to make fun of you without Atsumu taking extreme offense and getting vicious on your behalf.

It was why you never got angry at him when he got a bit snappy or came to you to be patched up. You knew you could always count on him to have your back though you were infinitely grateful he’d gotten much better at using his words over using his fists as the two of you got older, saving the physical fights almost exclusively for Osamu.

He grumbled something unintelligible in response and you pulled your head from the cabinets to give him a look, one that long experience meant he interpreted perfectly as ‘spill your guts or else’.

“I got in a fight with Samu,” he repeated a little louder so you could hear the words properly.

“What did you do this time?” you asked as you set the kit on the counter, flipping it open and pulling out some disinfectant.

“What makes ya think it was me? It coulda been Samu, it’s not always me!” he protested annoyed.

“Because if it was Samu you’d be with him gloating over what a terrible person he is and whining to your parents, but instead you’re moping around here at my place and clearly hiding,” you informed him bluntly, ignoring his indignant spluttering as you demanded, “hands.”

He offered the appendages without complaint, letting you gently clean his scraped knuckles, even as he sulked over what you’d said. You’d cleaned him up after fights both with his brother and with others he didn’t get along with more than once, so you knew despite how utterly vain he could be his priority was always his hands. Which was why you always started there, and were most careful with them.

He’d told you more than once that a setter was nothing without his hands, and he was always incredibly meticulous about their care. Funnily enough it was also only you he’d ever trusted to help him with his hands. Not even Osamu was allowed to touch, and certainly no one was allowed to wrap his fingers or put bandages on them but you.

“So, what did you say to Samu that ticked him off bad enough to try to break your face?” you asked, as you carefully dabbed his hands with the antiseptic.

“He was bein’ scrubby,” Atsumu protested clearly still moping, “My sets were perfect, he shoulda been able ta get them.”

“And let me guess, instead of just shrugging it off as him having a bad day, you decided to tell him he sucked to his face,” you finished with a sigh, already able to predict how your best friend would’ve behaved in a scenario like that. Honestly you wouldn’t be surprised to look up the definition of tactless in the dictionary and find a picture of Atsumu’s face next to it considering how utterly inconsiderate and blunt he could be at times. It was a good thing you’d managed to grow a thick skin over the years, otherwise your friendship probably never would’ve lasted as long as it had or been as strong as it was.

“So, what if I did?” Atsumu protested, annoyed, though he didn’t pull his hands from your grip as you carefully bandaged them, doing your best to ensure he’d maintain proper mobility of his fingers.

“Pretty sure Osamu would know he was having a bad day Tsumu,” you told him with a sigh, finishing up with his hands and moving on to his face, “He didn’t need you to rub his face in it.”

“What so yer takin’ his side then?” he demanded petulantly, eyes flashing with a mix of hurt and anger, his quick temper rearing its ugly head.

“Don’t be stupid,” you told him flicking him hard on an undamaged part of his forehead, “You’re my best friend Tsumu and you know it. I’m always on your side, even when you’re being a scrub.”

“I ain’t a scrub,” he muttered sullenly, “An ya shouldn’t go beatin’ on me. M’ already beat up enough, what kinda best friend are ya anyways?”

“The best kind,” you told him completely unbothered by his whining and well aware he didn’t mean it, amused at the pout he gave you in response, even if he would vehemently deny ever doing something as unmanly as pouting at you, “The kind that tells you when you’re being an inconsiderate jerk to people.”

“Nope,” you cut him off before he could open his mouth, “You were a jerk and you know it Tsumu, otherwise you wouldn’t be here moping.”

“I ain’t mopin’,” he protested half-heartedly, the fact that he didn’t protest the other part of your statement was as good as a confession and you both knew it.

You hummed in amused agreement not saying a word, simply patching up his face with infinite care, and absently ruffling his hair when you finished, laughing at his protests off with practiced ease.

“Can I hang out here for a little bit?” he asked quietly, the words almost inaudible as he refused to meet your gaze.

“Of course, you can,” you told him fondly, “You don’t even need to ask.”

He slumped forward, nearly making you stumble as he leaned on you, his forehead pressed to your shoulder in a rare moment of vulnerability, the ones that as his best friend you were privy to, his quiet ‘thanks’ muffled into your shirt. You rolled your eyes at him fondly, and gently pet his hair for several long moments until he lifted his head up and hopped off the counter fully prepared to pretend the moment of weakness hadn’t happened and loudly challenging you to defeat him at videogames.

You huffed in amusement but allowed yourself to be sucked in, well aware that this was what it meant to be best friends with Miya Atsumu.

The Future : Platonic

You grinned down at the court, decked out as usual in your MSBY jersey that had Atsumu’s number on the back. These days you didn’t always get to go to every game the way you had in high school, even if Atsumu always made sure you had a ticket if you wanted one. You honestly just couldn’t, as the two of you were living very separate lives. Still that didn’t stop you from trying to go to every game you could, even if it took you a little out of the way at times.

Your lives after graduation had been pretty hard on your friendship, what with Atsumu deciding to go pro right away and you off to fulfill your own dreams as well. Atsumu in particular had, had it rough as neither you nor Osamu could be there all the time for him anymore, and you knew he’d struggled to find and stand on his own two feet.

You’d done all you could for him at the time, keeping your door open and your phone on you, ready to talk him through his temper or chew him out if he needed you to, the same way he always made time for you when you needed a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear, even if his advice wasn’t the greatest.

Honestly, you’d been a little worried that your friendship would fall apart, that the two of you would grow apart because of the distance between you. You should’ve known Atsumu would never let that happen. He held on to your friendship with the same dogged persistence he’d used to procure it in the first place, reminding you of his presence and his support, brutal though it sometimes was, at every moment he could.

In turn you could do nothing but return his fervor, reaching out to him and ensuring you scheduled things like meet-ups, phone calls, and more. The two of you had a snap streak that had lasted almost five years and counting, and neither of you had any intention of breaking it.

The only small bit of trouble you’d had over the years was when the two of you had significant others. You’d noticed right away that the people surrounding Atsumu could be incredibly jealous and suspicious of you, the same way you’d had a partner or two who hadn’t liked how close you were to the nationally ranked pro athlete.

However, Atsumu had always been possessive and protective of what was his, and your relationship was something he treasured just as much as he treasured the one with Osamu. It meant that if his partner so much as hinted that they wanted him to stop talking to you or hanging out with you, he dropped them, oftentimes ruthlessly and with no remorse.

You did your best to do the same, hanging on to your friendship, and telling the people you dated flat out that if they had a problem with Atsumu then you wouldn’t continue to date them. After all you’d been friends with him for over a decade at that point, and there was no reason why you should put more value into a new relationship over the one you had with him even if one was strictly platonic and the other romantic.

Your combined stubbornness meant your friendship was still going strong even now, enough so that Osamu often referred to you as his twin’s other twin, because the two of you had proved to be inseparable.

Yes, he was rude, blunt, and still a little temperamental despite maturing a lot in the past few years, but he was also fiercely loyal, supportive in his own way, and goofy adorable dork. He was your best friend, one you knew you’d someday be sitting with side by side in the future, the two of you old and wrinkled as you argued over whose grandchildren were better as you reminisced about the good old days. Honestly you wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Future : Romantic

The fact that your relationship had bloomed from a steady strong friendship into something romantic had surprised absolutely no one except for you. Even Atsumu, who you’d thought to be completely and utterly oblivious to pretty much everyone’s feelings, had known before you had, much to your eternal shame.

You weren’t exactly sure where it had started. If it was in the moments where he’d lean on you physically and emotionally showing you the vulnerable moments he went out of his way to hide from everyone else. Maybe it was the way he’d go out of his way to touch you, ruffling or gently tugging on strands of your hair, an arm over your shoulder or around your waist, hugs everywhere in public and in private, completely and utterly shameless. Or it could be the times when he’d listen to you, simply making time, even when the two of you were busy, even when he wasn’t close by, pursuing his career as a professional athlete while you chased your own dreams, to hear anything you felt you needed to say. Whatever it was it had all come together in one moment, hitting you with startling clarity.

You remembered it clearly, you’d been sitting in one of the booths of Onigiri Miya, you plus the team and their significant others, all celebrating Osamu’s success at finally opening the restaurant of his dreams. Atsumu had been sitting next to you, a casual arm slung over your shoulders, gesticulating wildly with the onigiri in his other hand, talking with his mouth full as usual, and showing no table manners whatsoever.

Despite that you’d seen the way the light had caught in the gold of his hair, the brightness and clear joy in his eyes, and the wide smile on his lips and your heart had flipped over in your chest and squeezed near painfully as you looked at him. It had hit you then with all the force of a freight train. You loved him, you were in love with your best friend, with Miya Atsumu, the man who’d been by your side since that very first moment you’d met on the playground over a decade ago.

You must’ve had an odd expression on your face because Atsumu had abruptly stopped talking, and turned to you with clear concern in his eyes, and demanded in his usual tactless way to know what was wrong with you.

In a stunning moment of sheer blunt bravery and absolute recklessness that proved Atsumu had probably rubbed off on you a little too much over the years, you’d turned toward him looked him in the eye and blurted out ‘I love you’ right then and there.

Osamu would later congratulate you on managing to do something no one had ever managed to do before by stunning his twin absolutely speechless, but in that moment, you’d been too focused on Atsumu’s eyes to notice how quiet both he and the rest of the restaurant had gotten at your confession.

No matter what, Atsumu’s eyes had always given away exactly what he’d been feeling, and in that moment, he’d been staring with such blatant hope, and longing in his face as he searched yours for any sign of deception that you hadn’t been able to look away. Though you couldn’t help the way they fluttered shut as he leaned forward to press his lips to yours, cupping your face sweetly and holding you more tenderly than most probably would’ve thought he was capable of.

The kiss was everything you’d looked for in previous relationships, warm and sweet, with a feeling of rightness and familiarity that made you feel safe and completely and utterly loved. You’d broken apart to the sound of cheering from the rest of the restaurant’s occupants, all of whom had been extremely happy for the two of you, even if Osamu and Suna did tease you rather relentlessly over it.

Apparently, everyone knew the two of you were head over heels for one another, and Osamu had been listening to Atsumu pine over you since high school. That you’d finally realized your feelings had come as a major relief for the younger twin and you and Atsumu had been together ever since.

It was almost strange how easily the two of you fell together, years of experience meaning nothing surprised you. There were no ugly habits or dirty secrets to hide. You knew all about his temper, how blunt and vicious he could be, you knew everything about him, and he knew everything about you. It was comfortable, warm, and everything you could’ve asked for because there wasn’t anything better really, than being in love with your best friend.

#miya atsumu #atsumu #miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu x y/n #miya atsumu x you #atsumu x reader #atsumu x you #atsumu x y/n #haikyū!!#haikyu imagines #haikyuu!!#haikyu fluff #atsumu fluff #atsumu imagines #atsumu headcanons #miya atsumu imagines #inarizaki #he's my best friend #JayeRayWrites

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scoutception · 3 years

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Yet again ranking the 5 animes I’ve watched most recently

After losing the will to just sit down and watch it for quite a while, I’ve finally gotten through 5 anime series yet again, and, as is tradition for me by now, I’ve decided to just type out my thoughts and rankings of them, with my first two posts of this nature being here and here. As usual, this is just my personal thoughts, and the only other thing worth noting before I start is that, unlike last time, I do think everything listed here is at least decent on its own. With that, I’ll just get to it. 5. Robotics;Notes

Number of episodes: 22. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation. Robotics;Notes is an adaptation of a visual novel, which I actually just wrote a review on, which can be found here. Long story short, it’s the third entry in the Science Adventure series, the same series Steins;Gate is part of, unknown to most people, with Robotics;Notes technically being the sequel to it. Originally aired in 2012, the same year as the visual novel was released, and made by Production I.G, Robotics;Notes is in an interesting middle ground between the acclaimed and popular Steins;Gate animes and the downright awful and obscure Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child animes, and until 2020 was the only option those who didn’t speak Japanese had to experience it at all. Since I went into so much detail in said visual novel review, I’m mostly going to focus on how the anime holds up both by itself and as an adaptation. Ever since its creation nearly ten years ago, the dream of the Chuo Tanegashima High Robotics Research Club has been to finish Gunbuild-1, a lifesize recreation of Gunvarrel, the titular mecha of an insanely popular anime that’s credited with starting a “robot boom” within Japan, and the club’s current president, Akiho Senomiya, the little sister of the club’s founder, Misaki Senomiya, is extremely determined to see this dream achieved. Unfortunately for her, the club has fallen on hard times, with its funding being cut, its advisor being completely unreliable, and the few other members it has, namely Kaito Yashio, Subaru Hidaka, Junna Daitoku, and Kona Furugoori, aka Frau Koujiro, being quite difficult in their own ways, and often more than Akiho can handle. While Akiho puts her all into finally bringing the club to greatness, the otherwise apathetic Kaito finds himself involved with a mysterious AI called Airi, who exists within the augmented reality app IRUO. Airi’s creator, the deceased Kou Kimijima, turns out to have also created several AR annotations scattered throughout Tanegashima, titled the Kimijima Reports, which warn of a grand conspiracy that will utterly devastate humanity if unopposed. I’m not the most unbiased viewer, since I had played, and enjoyed, the visual novel months before watching this anime, but generally, it’s actually an enjoyable time. Some of Robotics;Notes’ biggest strengths were always its cast of characters and lighter tone, and for the most part, the anime preserves both well, keeping it mostly silly, but endearing early on. The artstyle actually matches up fairly well with the VN’s CGs, and the dub, which I watched just to spice things up, since I already knew the Japanese voice cast was quite good, is overall solid, with Clifford Chapin as Kaito, Lindsay Seidel as Akiho, and Monica Rial as Junna especially sticking out to me. As an adaptation, on the other hand, it falls short in quite a few places, namely when it comes to characterization. While obviously, no adaptation could feasibly fit in every detail from its source material, the Steins;Gate anime managed to preserve almost all of its cast’s characterization, whereas in Robotics;Notes, several characters lose prominent details to their backstories or personal conflicts, or act differently in scenes unrelated to that, making quite a few of them come off different. While instances of the latter case, such as Junna coming off as less shy and hesitant, don’t necessarily worsen anything for the most part, the former definitely does, as it makes the affected characters much less developed and interesting. Nobody suffers from this worse than Kaito himself, who loses most of his backstory, motivations, and arc, to the point of one of his best moments being changed from something intentional to completely accidental, with the end result making him come off as a completely different character, and an inferior one, at that. Additionally, around episode 16, the anime starts diverging pretty significantly from the VN, and not in ways that are improvements, to the point it even leaves a few otherwise preserved scenes in earlier episodes without context. Overall, I can imagine the Robotics;Notes anime still being a decent, if unremarkable watch on its own, and was certainly an interesting and fun way to reexperience the story, and definitely fares better than many visual novel adaptations, but I can’t quite say I’d recommend it. If Robotics;Notes interests you, the visual novel is very much preferred. 4. Nichijou

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming options: Funimation. Here we have one of the most acclaimed anime comedies out there, an adaptation of Keiichi Arawi’s surreal sketch comedy manga series, produced by Kyoto Animation, a name that’ll be showing up here again later. Nichijou mainly focuses on two different trios of characters. There’s the ordinary high school girls Yuuko Aioi, a rather dim and reckless girl with terrible luck, Mio Naganohara, the most relatively normal one of the cast, whenever she’s not having explosive freak outs that involve beating people up, and Mai Minakami, a stoic girl who enjoys messing with people just for their reactions. On the other hand, there’s the far less ordinary Shinonome Laboratories trio of Professor Shinonome, an 8 year old girl who happens to be capable of building incredibly advanced machines, Nano Shinonome, a robot built by the Professor who desperately desires a normal girl more than anything, and Sakamoto, their pet cat who, thanks to a special scarf also made by the Professor, is capable of talking. The series focuses on their would-be ordinary lives, were it not for the seemingly daily chaos they get involved in, from witnessing the school principal wrestle a wild deer, to being trapped in an elevator for hours, to the school science teacher attempting to capture Nano for study. It also follows the antics of several other side characters, such Koujiro Sasahara, the seemingly upper class student who is actually just the son of a family of farmers, to Misato Tachibana, a very typical tsundere towards Sasahara, whose tsun side manifests as assaulting him with military-grade weapons, to little effect, to the equally quirky teachers of their school. Needless to say, it’s a very silly and chaotic series, and that’s exactly what makes it so memorable. The humor is pretty hit and miss in the first half of the series, but from episode 14 onwards, they thoroughly master it, with every episode having at least a few scenes that got me laughing. Beyond the silliness, though, the series actually has a lot of heart to it. There’s a few moments that change up the status quo, or even develop the characters just a bit, and some scenes are surprisingly sweet, if still played for laughs more often than not. There’s also a lot of continuity, which in later episodes often provide the punchlines to some of the best gags, which definitely encourages watching the whole series. The Japanese voice acting is fittingly crazy for each character, and the animation fits perfectly, as while the character designs are quite simple, there’s many would be mundane moments that have contrasting overly impressive and exaggerated animation that makes them very memorable. All in all, Nichijou is a very enjoyable series once it finds its groove, and about the only reason its not higher on my rankings is just because pure comedies aren’t really one of my favorite genres. Still, if you ever want a good laugh, you can’t go wrong with this. 3. Soul Eater

Number of episodes: 51. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Funimation. Soul Eater is yet another adaptation, this time of a manga by Atsushi Ōkubo, produced by Studio Bones, who also did the Fullmetal Alchemist animes, and is quite similar to the original FMA series in that it outpaced the manga and, rather than simply overloading itself with filler, decided to go in an entirely different direction by the end. The Death Weapon Meister Academy is a school founded by Death himself, dedicated to the training of Meisters, who wield Weapons, humans with the ability to shapeshift into weapons, for the purpose of destroying Kishin Eggs, evil beings who have consumed the souls of others, and pose the risk of transforming into extremely dangerous demons. Any Meister who can collect the souls of these corrupted beings, as well as the soul of a Witch, can transform their Weapon into a Death Scythe, the personal arms of Death. Among the students of the DWMA are seven Meisters and Weapons who stand out in particular: the teams of Maka Albarn, a kind hearted and responsible, though temperamental, girl, her Weapon, Soul “Eater” Evans, a laidback and snarky wannabe “cool” guy, Black Star, a prideful and loudmouthed ninja who’s seemingly always out to make a spectacle of himself, regardless of how it hampers him, his Weapon, Tsubaki, a humble and levelheaded woman, Death the Kid, the son of Death and one of the top students in the cool, held back only by a crippling obsession with symmetry, and his Weapons, Liz and Patty Thompson. While these seven gradually come together as a team, a Witch named Medusa begins to put an ambitious and destructive plan into motion, one involving her “child”, Crona, and the strange, insanity inducing black blood that courses through their veins. Soul Eater has a lot going for it. A likeable and crazy cast of characters, even the side ones, like the maniacal Doctor Stein, or the surprisingly goofy and casual Death, or the tragic Crona, or the hilariously egotistical Excalibur, to a lot of fun action scenes, to its great animation and overall unique visual design, including the sun and moon having giant, creepy laughing faces. It has a lighthearted, comedic tone that doesn’t detract from the serious moments, and the main characters get some pretty good development as the series goes on. The dub is also great, with Laura Bailey as Maka, Micah Solusod as Soul, Brittney Karbowski as Black Star, and Todd Haberkorn as Death the Kid especially sticking out to me. In general, I don’t have a lot of significant criticisms, besides how the story is handled once the villainous organization Arachnophobia is introduced, which is also about where it begins to deviate from the manga. Most of the villains part of it never really feel like a threat, and the story becomes much more simple and typical compared to how the manga went, and when the ending arrives, it just kinda, happens, with several notable subplots just kinda left unfinished. It definitely feels like an underwhelming ending, and is a big reason why I place this lower on the list, but Soul Eater is still a pretty entertaining watch that’s worth a try if you want a decently lengthy, but not horribly long shonen. 2. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Number of episodes: 28. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation. Here we have the big one, an extremely memetic and famous series by Kyoto Animation, based on a series of light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa, a series that was finally completed back in November 2020 after its start in 2003. Kyon is a lazy and down to earth high school student who wishes for little more for himself than an uneventful, normal high school life- a hope that’s abruptly shattered when, on a whim, he becomes involved with Haruhi Suzumiya, an eccentric, hyperactive, and thoroughly self centered girl, who claims to have no interest in ordinary humans, and instead wishes to discover things thoroughly unusual, such as aliens, time travelers, or espers, and forces Kyon to form a club, the SOS Brigade, with her to achieve this. Haruhi quickly pulls three other students into the brigade, those being Yuki Nagato, a stoic and quiet bookworm, Mikuru Asahina, a shy and passive girl often subjected to humiliation and abuse by Haruhi, and Itsuki Koizumi, a calm transfer student who acts extremely subservient to Haruhi. While Kyon initially writes off the club as an unreasonable use of his time, his fellow members reveal an unexpected truth to him: the subjects of Haruhi’s fascinations actually do exist. Yuki is an alien, of a sort, created and controlled by an entity known as the Data Overmind, Mikuru is a time traveler from some point in the future, and Itsuki is an esper, and member of an organization of similar people. All three of them have been sent to observe the oblivious Haruhi, who appears to have the unconscious ability to change reality itself according to her desires, and is at threat of remaking the entire world if not placated. With Haruhi apparently having taken a unique interest in Kyon, he finds himself taken along for all sorts of supernatural adventures spawned from Haruhi’s whims. There’s a lot I could go on about regarding Haruhi, but in the interest of not turning this into a full on rant, I’ll keep shortish. It’s more or less an insane mishmash of several different genres, from slice of life, to science fiction, to fantasy, just depending on what each individual story feels like being. The episodes are mostly adapted from the early light novels, mostly the multiple stories from the third and fifth novels, The Boredom and The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya, respectively. It’s not often you’ll have any idea just what to expect from each individual episode, which makes the series very chaotic, but interesting. The characters are likeable and memorable, including the side characters, and the sheer ridiculousness of what goes on makes for many amusing moments. At the same time, the series is surprisingly complex, with many possible interpretations of its characters and the events they go through, furthered by the antics Kyoto Animation pulled when it was originally airing, such as airing the episodes out of chronological order, meaning the plot would often jump from the middle of an arc to something else. The end result is a very unique and enjoyable product, helped by the fantastic dub, with the actors capturing each character perfectly, from Crispin Freeman as the grounded and snarky Kyon, to Wendee Lee as the aggressively energetic Haruhi, to Stephanie Sheh as the gentle, yet secretive Mikuru. That said, there is one pretty disappointing part of it all, and that’s the second season, mostly thanks to the infamous Endless Eight arc, an eight part arc that’s more or less the same things happening over and over, with only the first and last episodes having anything noticeably different. Regardless of its own uniqueness, more than half the season is taken over by this, and something that may have worked if cut down to three or four episodes instead singlehandedly killed off the series’ goodwill. About the only redeeming factor of the second season is the five part adaptation of The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, which has some of the funniest moments in the whole series. Overall, Haruhi is still a very fun series, and I’m really gonna have to watch its movie, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, one of these days. 1. Trigun

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation, Hulu. Finishing off this list is an adaptation of a manga series by Yasuhiro Nightow, produced by Madhouse and another adaptation that overtook its source material. Compared to how Soul Eater handled it, however, Trigun went down much, much better, to the point Nightow himself had nothing but praise for how the anime turned out, and the series is generally considered one of the best animes of the late 90′s. On the harsh desert planet of Gunsmoke lives a wandering gunslinger known as Vash the Stampede, the “Humanoid Typhoon” with a large handgun known to leave tremendous destruction in his wake, who amassed a bounty of $$60,000,000,000 after destroying the city of July, leading to an endless trail of bounty hunters out to collect the price on his head. In the middle of all this, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two representatives of an insurance society which is often forced to pay for damages caused by Vash, track him down for the purposes of minimizing the chaos he causes. Upon catching up with him, however, the duo discovers that, contrary to his reputation, Vash is a kindhearted goof, and self proclaimed hunter of love and peace, who absolutely refuses to ever take another person’s life, even at great personal risk to himself. Vash continues his travels carefree, helping out whoever he can, with the occasional assistance of Meryl and Milly, as well as a traveling priest known as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, only to one day have an encounter with a mysterious and cruel man known as Legato Bluesummers. Vash soon learns that Legato has hired a group of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns to kill Vash, and leave a trail of bodies wherever they go, seemingly for the sole purpose of tormenting Vash. As Vash hunts down Legato, he is gradually forced to face his past, and consider whether he can truly stay committed to his pacifist ideals. In general, Trigun is just a very, very well made series. It has a likeable and developed cast of characters, with special mention going to Vash, who is a very compelling and sympathetic character, and Wolfwood, who makes a great foil to Vash with very interesting development of his own, with characters outside of the main cast being memorable as well, from Legato himself, to even some of the more minor villains, such as the varied members of the Gung-Ho Guns, or Brilliant Dynamites Neon, who makes an inexplicably strong impression for a one off villain not even important to the overall plot. The space western setting is quite good, and the designs are great, with many villains having distinctive looks that further help them make an impression. The action is great, and the animation is also quite good, and has that 90′s anime charm. The dub, while a bit rough around the edges, is generally solid too. From Lia Sargent as the ditzy but kind Milly, to Dorothy Elias Fahn as the hotheaded Meryl, to Jeff Nimoy as the weary Wolfwood, to Richard Cansino as the calculating and disturbing Legato, with special mention needing to go to Johnny Yong Bosch as Vash. Despite it actually being his first voice acting role ever, he does a great job in portraying the many sides to Vash, and absolutely sells many of the biggest moments in the story. Speaking of which, the series started quite lighthearted and wacky, with the first four episodes actually being filler, but gets gradually darker as it goes on. The earlier episodes are still quite enjoyable on their own, though, and manage to slowly reveal new aspects to Vash in each one, before finally setting his nature in stone in episode 5. What really sells the series and makes it so memorable, however, are the themes it explores, of the practicality of unwavering pacifism, and whether taking a life, whether for heinous crimes committed without remorse, or with the purpose of protecting others, is ever justifiable. While quite a few series have touched dilemmas like this before, what makes Trigun stand out with it is the emphasis placed upon it throughout the whole series, with many episodes touching upon it in some regard. It genuinely fairly looks at the different sides of it all, and the consequences of each, with many emotional moments coming from it as a result. While the manga did ultimately take a very different turn from the anime, the anime actually preserves several of the most important plot moments, and manages to come to a satisfactory conclusion of its own regarding the themes. Ultimately, Trigun makes for a very fun and interesting watch that I highly recommend. And with that, my ranking is complete. With the exception of Robotics;Notes, I can pretty confidently recommend every show on this list. Got some more shows I plan to get through soon, so another ranking like this may be soon in the making. Either way, till next time. -Scout

#anime #trigun #nichijou #haruhi suzumiya #the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #soul eater #robotics;notes #long post

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diavolodigitale · 3 years

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L’appel Du Vide: 01 What a Way to Start

Not that anybody is really reading it here, but I decided to follow through with this story no matter what.

All chapters: 00 - 01 - All stories in PDF

Rhys is the CEO of Atlas and Jack’s AI is back, surprise, surprise! Now Rhys is dismayed, Jack doesn’t care much, and the events of Borderlands 3 are just beginning to unravel. Is there any way to fix the plot of this game? Would it be any better if Rhys had to cooperate with Jack this whole time? Well, this is your chance to find out!

Spoiler: yes, dammit, it would. Everything’s better with a bit of Handsome Jack in it.

Genres: Fix-It, Developing Relationship, Alternate Canon, POV Third Person, Humor, Drama, Plot-driven (kind of? well, it has plot)

Pairing: Handsome Jack’s AI/Rhys (they’re still just talking, dammit)

Characters: Handsome Jack’s AI, Rhys

Rating: M for Mature but not in this chapter lol

Size: around 3000 words (chapter 2/11)

Sun set and rose, another day began. Rhys shaved off his moustache.

“Mornin’, sleeping beauty,” said Jack, who was sitting in Rhys’ chair when the latter one entered his office wearing only red bathrobe and home slippers.

“Morning,” replied Rhys, eying Jack wearily. Jack almost expected him to be surprised by his presence all over again, but it seemed like Rhys did not, after all, convince himself that the events of the previous day were just a dream, which, depending on how one looks at it, might even be considered personal growth. “Let me say how much I appreciate you not stalking me while I sleep. Just so you knew,” he said, painfully aware of Jack’s realness and determination to stay.

“Actually,” began Jack, idly following Rhys’s movements around the room with his gaze, “I watched you for some time, but your face looked so stupid that I started having these fits of hysterical laughter, so I left not to wake you up accidentally. I care for you so much, after all, and… Hey!”–he suddenly sat upright in the chair and pointed at Rhys’s hunched miserable figure–“that thing from your face disappeared! I could’ve sworn I saw it yesterday...”

“And now it’s gone,” concluded Rhys with a sigh.

“Phew, great job, pal. It was so awful, I cannot even begin to describe.”

“What? I thought you liked it,” said Rhys, nonplussed.

“Yeah, about that… I lied. Didn’t want to tell you this, but with that moustache, I wouldn’t let my kids anywhere near you,” said Jack and cackled.

Rhys scowled. He got rid of his moustache precisely because Jack told him he liked it, even despite the fact that it was particularly hard for him, considering the meaning it supposedly held. Since the day before he had this strange desire to do everything in opposition to Jack. Perhaps, it was deeply rooted in his former traumatic experience with the AI. Or in the fact that he had always been kind of mischievous, either one of those two.

“I see you’re in a good mood today,” said Rhys, making himself a morning coffee. He couldn’t say the same thing about himself – half of the night he spent persuading himself not to bang his head on the wall until Jack left for good. As a temporary means, it was as good as anything, but certainly wouldn’t be a reliable way to get rid of the AI forever. In any case, it seems not to have worked for Rhys previously, so he had to come up with something else. Changing the prosthetics took time, and he didn’t have that precious resource at his disposal in the needed amount.

In the end, when he finally managed to fall asleep, it was at the thought that he was actually a little sorry for what happened with Jack’s hologram during their last confrontation. Despite all the evil Jack had done, he used to be a significant part of Rhys’s life and helped shape him into what he was now. Most importantly, he taught him not to trust anybody and to always swing for the fences. Now, being the CEO of Atlas, Rhys could clearly see that this strategy worked perfectly.

“Oh, by the by, I took some time to look through your files and check out this Kawatagi guy we talked about yesterday. Must say, he’s a very promising candidate. Maybe, I should’ve chosen him as my successor instead of you-know-who,” said Jack in a conspiratorial tone, stroking his chin and narrowing his eyes. “Instead of you, I’m talking about you,” he added in a normal voice.

Rhys sighed, gently lowering two sugar cubes into his coffee. Here we go again.

“First, why the heck did you rummage in my computers without my permission? Second, his name’s Katagawa, more precisely – Katagawa Junior. And a candidate for what? Wait, don’t say anything, I don’t even want to know. Now get out of my chair,” said Rhys and proceeded to try and shoo Jack away with a few careless waves of his hand.

“It’s not like you can’t sit here. I’m just a hologram, you know.”

Jack was grinning, of course. Rhys looked down at him with his tired sleepless eyes and sighed the fortieth time this morning.

“Remember when we first met, you called me weird? Now you’re the one being weird, congratulations.”

“Oh, come o-o-on, don’t be so bo-o-oring.” Jack disappeared from the chair and reappeared on the sofa, lying on his side with his head resting on his hand. “You know, I think I’ve now seen enough of you to bet with confidence that you don’t have any friends. I bet I was your closest friend (and don’t forget that I was your imaginary closest friend), ‘cause I don’t see how someone can tolerate that attitude for long.”

Don’t worry, Rhys, he won’t get to you, you’re thick-skinned now, you know that, thought Rhys and put his mug on the table. He sunk into his chair and turned on the ECHO device to check for any new messages.

“Actually, I do have friends,” he said in his best I-am-not-offended tone.

“Yeah? Anybody in particular?”

“Zer0, for example. I am proud to call him my friend and I’m sure he’s proud to be called mine.”

“Zer0, yeah… wait, who’s that again?”

Rhys rolled his eyes. Some things just never changed.

“One of the vault hunters who… took part in your elimination, so to put it,” he answered carefully.

“Oh, yeah, that filthy bandit, I remember him! Well, not him killing me, of course, but I think I saw him somewhere. Didn’t he have that mental condition? I remember him saying some gibberish instead of speaking like normal people do. Yeah, right,”–Jack laughed–“I can see you two dorks being friends.”

“How could I have survived this long without you trying to offend me all the time? Unbelievable.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking! Or was that still your thought? I always forget I’m in your head. Anyway, to summarize our conversation so far, we’ve established that you’re a pathetic loner with only one creature in the whole world you can call a friend of sorts. You never seize to amaze me, Rhys.”

“There’s also Vaughn,” said Rhys through his teeth, beginning to lose his patience.

“And that is…?”

“You remember Vaughn, don’t you?”

“If I’m asking who that is, then, apparently, I don’t,” answered Jack, making the irritation in his voice sound as blatant as possible. “Why do you carry around that thing people call a head, huh?”

“He used to work for Hyperion with me.” Rhys threw a quick glance at Jack, looking for any sign of recognition on his face, but there was none. “Is short, wears glasses?” Still no signs. “Has a six-pack?” he said in his last desperate attempt to make Jack’s memory serve its purpose.

To his surprise, it actually worked. Jack snapped his fingers and rolled over on the sofa.

“Oh, that ne-erd, yeah, I remember him. Where’s he now?” he asked, not even trying to pretend that he really cared about the answer.

“He’s on Pandora, doing some bandit stuff. Guess he is working for the…” Rhys suddenly stopped, hastily thinking about what he had almost let out.

“For whom?” asked Jack indifferently. The answer still didn’t matter much to him, but he just couldn’t bear the thought of Rhys keeping something hidden from him.

“For the… err… for, well, you know… coughmson coughders,” replied Rhys, sounding like he was choking on something, and started loudly typing on the table, pretending that he was incredibly busy with his emails.

“What? Didn’t quite catch that.”

“Rimzon raide-ez,” indistinctly said Rhys into his fist and cleared his throat.”

“God dammit, Rhys, what the fuck are you saying there?” shouted Jack with annoyance and jerked up from the sofa. “Should I stand right behind you all the time to know what comes out of your mouth? Even your thoughts are more distinct than that.”

Perhaps, scared by the prospect of Jack constantly following him closely, even closer than he already did, Rhys gave in.

“It’s the Crimson Raiders, for god’s sake!” he yelled and landed his fist heavily on the table. He then took a deep breath to calm down and added, “He works for the Crimson Raiders. I just didn’t want to tell you.”

“O-oh. O-o-o-oh, I see how it is. He’s with team idiots now, isn’t he? Well, good to know. Now we’ve proven that all your friends are either stupid or nonexistent. Great.”

Rhys’s left eye was glowing as he was interfacing with the devices in his office. He took a sip of his coffee, scrolled down the list of new casualties reports and tried not to take what he had heard close to his heart.

“Now that I got my daily dose of humiliating you, let’s talk business,” said Jack and laced his fingers together as if he had a very profitable offer for his interlocutor. “I think we can squeeze something out of this Katamaga,” he began, and Rhys immediately exerted himself. He did not like the sound of that. “I think there’s more to him than you see. He doesn’t just want Atlas, you see, he very obviously wants you to work with him. What a fool! That’s a perfect opportunity for us to rob him of everything he has, including his pathetic corporation. I mean, I never liked Maliwan, but if it’s a gift horse… Who am I not to take it on your behalf, right?”

“I appreciate the thought you put into it, but I already have another plan, and it definitely isn’t allying with Katagawa Jr. He’s an obsessed psychopath and I don’t want anything to do with him,” replied Rhys confidently. He shivered even at the possibility of having another Jack-like associate.

“Enlighten me then. What genius idea has your corporate mind produced?”

“First, you have to promise not to yell at me. My head aches and I won’t endure any more than you already being here and talking to me,” said Rhys patiently, already predicting Jack’s reaction to what he intended to share. There was no way to keep it a secret, so he wanted to at least soften the blow.

“Yeah, whatever,” said Jack and yawned.

Rhys braced himself. Discussing this would surely be no easy matter.

“I want to make a deal with Lilith. She helps me defeat maliwans, and I give her something she wants in return.”

There was silence. Then there was a snarl and a nondescript squeal.

“WHAT. THE FUCK. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! MM, RHYSIE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?” Jack appeared standing on Rhys’s table right before him. The sight made Rhys spit out a bunch of his coffee. “You’re joking, right?” Jack squatted down to see Rhys’s face when he spoke. “Out of a-a-all people in these 6 goddamn galaxies you choose her? I see you’ve been a very bad boy in daddy’s absence, completely out of your mind!”

Rhys raised his index finger and burbled, “You told me you won’t yell. I specifically asked you not to yell, Jack.”

“What am I supposed to do then, huh?!” Jack disappeared and in the next second was already standing at the window with his arms crossed, thoughtfully observing the Atlas soldiers running around outside. “I thought you can’t disappoint me more than you already have, but it seems like you always manage to conquer new heights.”

“Look, there’s really no point in talking about this. I’m my own boss now and this is my decision. I was the one to rebuild Atlas from ruins, so I’m sure I’ll be able to take care of it. Please, Jack, I’m tired and sick and I don’t want all this.” Rhys sighed wearily and rubbed a coffee stain on the table with the sleeve of his bathrobe.

“Okay. Okay-okay-okay-okay, hear me out. Just this one time, just once, let me tell you something.” Jack turned to Rhys and Rhys gave him a little nod after considering for a few seconds. It’s not like he really had a choice, he just liked to think he had a firm grip on the situation. “Tell me, do you remember Lilith doing something, anything for the sake of somebody else?”

“Um, yeah, she killed you, actually,” replied Rhys confidently.

“No-no-no, honey, she didn’t do it for somebody, she just wanted to have her revenge on me,” said Jack, stressing what he viewed as essential pieces of information to make sure Rhys REALLY got what he wanted to say. Were he not a hologram, he would probably be shaking with rage as he did it. “She wanted to destroy me, because I destroyed her boyfriend who just wouldn’t let me wipe those bandit asses, which, by the way, included his, off my planet. She couldn’t care less about all those people that died, about Crimson Raiders, about her other “friends”. She is a murderer, just like you, me, like any other person on that goddamn planet. The only difference is that she, unlike us, didn’t have ANY good will.”

Jack’s intense stare made Rhys turn away. AI’s words made him consider what he knew of Lilith, but he felt almost wrong when doing so. He shook his head, trying to scare the thoughts away.

“You just hate her, that’s all. She may not be the best option, but when choosing between her and Maliwan, I believe, the choice is obvious.

“Is it? Is it, though?” asked Jack furiously with his eyes almost bulging out. “Let me tell you one thing. Two things, actually. Despite how surprising it might sound to you, I’m actually happy that she killed me. You know why? Of course, you don’t, otherwise we wouldn’t have this conversation now, dummy. So, I’ll be kind enough to explain. Even after her betrayal, I didn’t finish her off, which means I am better than her. “What is the second thing, Jack?” you might ask. Well, here goes: she is a stinking bandit. A bandit, and the only thing you should do with bandits is kill them, but I’m sure this much you should know by now.” After finishing his rant, Jack exhaled loudly and adjusted his unmoving hair with a swift motion of his hand. To top his speech off, he asked, “Still better than Katagawa?”

Rhys, however, still remained unimpressed.

“Jack, he killed his entire family to become the CEO of Maliwan. I imagine you would think it’s a reasonable thing to do when you want to run the corporation so bad, but I’m sure you know I disagree with that.”

“And what do YOU know about his family?” asked Jack, clearly upset by the lack of expected reaction. “Do you even know anything about the way he runs Maliwan? The only thing I know is that now they are more successful than ever (even though I hate to say it). Use your brains, kid, and you’ll go further than you could’ve hoped. One of these two alliances will bestow endless opportunities upon you while the other one will almost certainly get you stabbed in the back.”

“I hear you. I hear you and I disagree. I’m sorry, Jack,” said Rhys and shook his head apologetically. He was already imagining what would such a start of his day lead to.

“Oh my god, how can you not see that you have more in common with him than a skag and a grinder! He sees something in you, and that something makes him crave for your favor with such persistence. Just imagine how much you can squeeze out of him if you give him the tiniest thing in return. It’s simply a gold mine!”

“He wants us to merge, that’s enough of a reason for me to refuse him,” said Rhys with utter disgust.

“So what? Don’t worry about that, cupcake, you’ve got me, and I’m here to help. Who says we’re gonna merge?” Noticing how Rhys was shaking his head again, Jack leaned closer, trying to make the atmosphere more… companionable, and continued in a calmer voice. “Believe me, I know that Atlas is your child and you would never sacrifice it. We’re gonna… adjust the conditions a little, little tiny bit. No merge, only the alliance. How does that sound?”

Rhys thought that Jack was once again confirming what a masterful negotiator he was. No matter what objections Rhys had, he always did his homework and learned his weaknesses. The long-forgotten feeling of a threat sitting right at his side returned to Rhys as he caught himself thinking over the possibility of allying with Maliwan. Don’t budge, Rhys, don’t let him see that you have second thoughts, he’ll eat you alive.

“Completely unachievable,” he was only able to utter.

“Come on, stop screwing around, will you? You’re wasting time with your fidelity to stupid principles. Have I ever given you any bad advice?”

Rhys chose not to say anything. It was as good an answer as any other. The leftover coffee in his mug already went cold and he frowned in disgust when sipping on it.

“Okay then, I’m beginning to grow real tired of this, so you better listen here, you little dipshit, and listen carefully…” Jack’s tone was once again peremptory and his eyes were drilling into Rhys’s soul. “I’m tryna help here, so stop pretending you’re a princess who lives in a tower filled with her little cute ponies and chooses to believe there’s no filth around her. Just do what I say and you’ll be on your road trip to success. And you’ll thank me later, believe me. If you choose not to do this, however, I’ll follow you around all the time, saying what a sore loser you are. All day, all night, Rhysie. You know me, I’m restless, and I can come up with millions of ways to make you hate your life. You won’t sleep, you won’t talk to anybody, you won’t eat your fucking lunch without me standing one centimeter away from your ear, whispering how much you suck. Now let that sink in. Once it has, give me your final answer.”

Jack’s eyes were glowing. His whole body was glowing because he was a hologram, that’s just what holograms do. Yet even though it was his permanent state, an unchangeable condition, his eyes looked different.

He really is serious, thought Rhys to himself. Well then, guess I’m going to die of starvation, sleep deprivation, and lack of human contact.

“Fuck you, Jack. Fuck. You.”

“Is that a yes?”

#borderlands #borderlands 3 #tales from the borderlands #handsome jack #handsome jack's ai #rhys #rhys strongfork #handsome jack x rhys #fiction #fanfiction #fix-it #alternate canon #drama #humor #romance #l'appel du vide story

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pagingevilspawn · 3 years

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The Way I Loved You

hey there! i wrote this on Friday, but i heard the song “The Way I Loved You” for the first time on Thursday and immediately thought of jolex. When i listen to this song the on Friday after the whole jo and jackson thing i knew that i HAD to use this song. idk if anyone has used this song already, but i hope not lol. this is pretty short but i wrote it really quickly lol. and i just realized that @odd-birds-and-booksellers has a similar thing with a photograph in one of her stories, so i’m sorry about that, it was an accident.

on a side note... happy bday to me hehe. i wanted to post a fluffy one-shot, but i’m too lazy to finish writing it.

~*~

He is sensible and so incredible

And all my single friends are jealous

He says everything I need to hear and it's like

I couldn't ask for anything better

In everybody's eyes, Jackson Avery seemed like the perfect guy, especially for her. He was funny, smart, caring, and handsome as hell. He was pretty perfect, there was no way she could deny that. He told her she was beautiful, how brilliant she was, and he held her and whispered sweet nothings in her ear in the morning while the sun cast gentle glows on them through the window.

He always somehow knew the right thing to say, but it wasn’t always what she wanted to hear. Sometimes she didn’t want to hear she was amazing and she had no reason to be worried. Sometimes she just wanted to hear ‘shut up, get over it’ followed by an I love you and a quick peck on the lips.

He was every girl’s dream; he just wasn’t hers. No matter how much she liked him or wished he was, he wasn’t.

He opens up my door and I get into his car

And he says, you look beautiful tonight

And I feel perfectly fine

He was such a gentleman. He complimented her, showed her off proudly to his richy-rich family, but not like a prize. He was proud to call her his girlfriend. He drank in the sight of her in tight dresses and boring scrubs like she was the last glass of water on a scalding hot day.

He never makes her feel second best.

He was falling, but she was still on ground, content with how she was. She wasn’t soaring in the clouds like she had been once before. She was at peace with standing on the concrete streets below her feet.

But I miss screamin' and fightin'

And kissin' in the rain

And it's two a.m. and I'm cursin' your name

You're so in love that you act insane

And that's the way I loved you

She misses the rush. The rush of fighting. The rush of getting so mad at someone that you wanted to just punch them, but kiss them all at the same time.

She misses him getting agitated over stupid things. She misses seeing the lust in his eyes when he was mad at her. She misses the angry sex. She misses feeling the thousands of emotions flowing through her body when they kissed, even if it was just a simple brush of the lips.

She misses him acting crazy over a cut she got on her knee when she tripped, or when she complained about accidentally slicing her finger when she attempted to use a knife. He always hated to see her hurt.

How ironic, considering he was the one who hurt her the most.

Breakin' down and comin' undone

It's a roller-coaster kinda rush

And I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you

She misses how they could just yell at each other. For hours, days. They could yell at each other about their crappy surgeries or patients that deserved better than the cards they were dealt. They could take out their anger on each other, trusting that it wouldn’t affect them. And it didn’t.

She misses the way he looked at her like she was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, unable to grasp that fact that she was his. She misses that crooked smile that seemed to brighten her day, no matter how bad it previously was.

She misses how she could go from wanting to yell at him to holding him in a matter of seconds. She misses feeling like she had no control over herself whenever she was around him.

She misses him and the way he made her feel.

He respects my space and never makes me wait

And he calls exactly when he says he will

He's close to my mother

Talks business with my father

He's charming and endearing, and I'm comfortable

When she asks for time alone, he doesn’t push her. When she is feeling down, on the brink of another episode, he lets her lay in bed and doesn’t bother her. And if she wanted him to get pizza in the middle of the night, he’s ordering it before she even needs to ask twice.

He never left her on read or ignored her voicemails. She never needed to call or text him twice for an answer about their upcoming date.

She liked being with him. She felt safe, knowing that he wouldn’t hurt her. She liked knowing that somebody loved her, even if she was currently only capable of saying she liked him a great deal.

But I miss screamin' and fightin'

And kissin' in the rain

And it's two a.m. and I'm cursin' your name

You're so in love that you act insane

And that's the way I loved you

She misses how in the middle of arguments he would pull her into a searing kiss, pouring all of his emotion into it. She could feel them best then, his emotions. She could tell by the way his kisses were needy and frantic as he pressed his lips to her neck, sometimes biting just a little too hard on her sweet spot, a bit of both pleasure and pain.

She misses seeing the look on his face when he would catch guys at the bar staring at her, trying to deny that he was jealous.

She even misses how insane he acted sometimes, whether it be making animal noises at couples going at it, or how he beat up DeLuca when he thought the man was taking advantage of her.

She misses being able to look at him and everything seemed alright, that even though people were dying and the world was heating up, as long as she had him, she felt okay.

Breakin' down and comin' undone

It's a roller-coaster kinda rush

And I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you

Jackson doesn’t like to argue much. He doesn’t really yell. He’s good at expressing his emotions and talking about them. He doesn’t bury them like her, but at times she wishes that he did.

She wishes he knew what it was like to have all these feelings build up inside until they break, shattering everything you worked towards.

But he makes it better. He helped her talk and now it’s easier. She doesn't feel the need to combust with anger.

Sometimes, but not all the time.

He can't see the smile I'm fakin'

And my heart's not breakin'

'Cause I'm not feelin' anything at all

When she’s at Meredith’s she is happy. It had been a while since he had left, more than a year actually. And she was getting to be fully okay. She still smiled, but it wasn’t the full-blown grin that could once light up an entire room. She’s back to laughing more now, but it’s not the same one that would come out when he said something stupid and she was belly-laughing as tears streamed down her face. But she could easily say that she was okay. She was doing well. She was happy.

It was when she wandered into the hallway and started randomly opening drawers, looking for a pen to write down an idea she had that she came across a photo Meredith has shoved in her drawers. It was of him. His son was on his left knee, while Izzie sat next to him, their daughter on her right knee. They were smiling, his looking awkward because he tried to smile straight and not crooked, but he was smiling nonetheless. It looks to be a selfie of some sort, the woman holding the camera flashing a dazzling smile.

They look so happy. She's glad that he’s happy, but she’s jealous. She hadn’t smiled that wide in a long time.

When she heads back down the stairs she plasters on a smile, knowing that nobody would be able to see through it. She didn’t really feel anything, all she really felt was numb.

It’s selfish, but she wishes she was the one in the photo instead of the blonde.

And you were wild and crazy

Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated

Got away by some mistake and now

He drove her crazy. She wanted to smack him upside every second of the day. He made her mad and he hurt her, but at the same time she was only able to see him as perfect. He was so screwed up, but it fit so perfectly alongside her. His crazy fit her crazy.

He always drove her mad. But she could never get enough of him. She could never get enough of the feeling of his skin on hers, the taste of his lips, the smell of his clothes, she never got tired of hearing his voice and the sound of his laugh. It was like she was constantly high on him.

If only he had talked to her, maybe things wouldn’t be this way.

I'll be screamin' and fightin'

And kissin' in the rain

It's two a.m. and I'm cursin' your name

I'm so in love that I acted insane

And that's the way I loved you

She wants to fight with him one more time. It’s been a long time since he left. Over two years. And she’s loved again. The perfect man loves her, and she can truthfully and whole-heartedly say that she loves him. He took her broken heart and pieced it back together. But the wounds were still there.

But she wants to fight with him again. She wants one more chance to call him a stupid moron. She wants to be arguing with him late into the night about who’s a better character on that latest TV show they were binging.

She wants to shove him like she did before the storm, finding some way to exert her anger.

She wants him to pull her into a supply closet while the rain pounds on the window as he tells her that he loves her, kissing her with a passion she had never experienced before.

Breakin' down and comin' undone

It's a roller-coaster kinda rush

And I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you

She remembers what it was like to love him so much it was like she couldn’t breathe. That he was the oxygen she desperately needed to survive. She remembers what it was like, the fear, the longing, the need. It was all there.

She never knew then how much this man would affect her.

She never knew that feeling all of those things was possible.

And that's the way I loved you oh, oh

I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you

Jackson Avery was perfect, and she loved Jackson Avery.

But he wasn’t perfect for her.

Because the only person perfect for Jo Wilson was Alex Karev.

It was a shame, the life they could’ve lived if only he had answered her calls.

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dazais-guardian-angel · 3 years

Note

Tell me about your egg man :D

Just for you K, just for you and for the 10 people who actually know egg man. You tempt me to spoil but I shall try to be as vague as possible, for I insist on letting you have a semi-fresh experience with his case.... DGS is just so incredible, it deserves to be gone into as blind as possible.

I just love love LOVE “Egg Benedict”, and how he perfectly encapsulates the themes of the first DGS, how London of that time was such a miserable place for the unluckiest of people, of which he is one of the absolute unluckiest. Of course, like all of us lmao, I’m a sucker for pretty boys with tragic backstories that wear a confident facade to hide how truly broken they are inside, and though we don’t get to see much of Egg’s true self, it’s so evident that all of his over-the-top, ridiculously exaggerated mannerisms and poses and name choices and clothing choices are him overcompensating to look and act the way he believes he needs to in order to get attention and fit in. It’s all a role he’s playing, a coping mechanism, to hide his true self, that he considers inferior.... but it makes him colder, and standoffish, and cocky, and a lot of this is headcanon territory but in reality I just know that is so far from his true self: the him that is caring and empathetic but so broken and scared and alone. Desperate people make mistake after mistake after mistake, even if they started out with good intentions and just wanted to protect themselves and the people they love, and that’s what happens with Egg, and it’s so heartbreakingly relatable. So many people in this game just want to find homes, and families, and be loved (at least that’s what I took away from it), but if you give in to your madness and turn to the dark side, there may be no one there to save you, in the end, and you may accidentally do things you can never, ever take back. The game even parallels him with someone else, to make a point that he might have been saved before it was too late, if he’d only had people to help him. But after it all, I still think there’s a chance for him to be redeemed, because he does care and he does have regrets and I just.... want to see him happy 😭🥺 happy and loved and safe with the people he has left to care for (despite how tsundere he is in the game lmaooo). Just.... his real self. He’s such a compelling character to me, so tragic and impactful and passionate and dumb with his stupid poses and antics smh, and provides such a touching story for the first game... He captured my heart and I can never go back. I love watching him in the game, and I love imagining all the potential for him after the game even more. He’s just fantastic, one of my top AA characters now, and I dearly hope he will get more fans if and when DGS1 is localized 💙🥚✨ his real name is not Ashley though I REFUSE to use capcom’s stupid localization changes

#ask meme #ace attorney #dai gyakuten saiban #dai gyakuten saiban spoilers #sorta #.....I ended up giving a lot away anyway sigh #it was pretty much impossible not to #but you still don’t have any context so I guessssss that’s good enough #and yes he IS a lot like Clive and I DID try to describe him like Clive cause I mean It Ain’t Wrong #forever love my dumb sad egg man :’)

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mountphoenixrp · 3 years

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We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

Cao Yiyang, who is known by no other name, a 23 year old daughter of Cao-Guojiu. She is a maid at Sakura Host/Maid Club.

FC NAME/GROUP: Xu Yiyang (Soloist, was part of Legal High) CHARACTER NAME: Cao Yiyang AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: September 12, 1997 PLACE OF BIRTH: Nanchong, Sichuan, China OCCUPATION: Maid at Sakura Host and Maid Club HEIGHT: 170 / 5’7 WEIGHT: 48 / 105 DEFINING FEATURES: Slightly round face with a high nose bridge and big round eyes, tall with long limbs, mole on her right cheek (like actress Sun Qian), light and old scar on her left foot from when she was portraying a chef and accidentally dropped a knife

PERSONALITY: Who is Cao Yiyang? It’s a complicated question with an even more complicated answer shrouded in mystery. She was born so lively and energetic, always enthusiastic about everything but now if you happen to catch her out of her characters she is nothing but a blank canvas waiting to portray the next picture. She has always loved people and stories and her personalities embody those. The characters she loves are who she becomes. But what truly lies under it all? Is there any motivation to it or is it just compulsion? Frankly she doesn’t particularly care for these questions. The answer though is both. She wasn’t like this but the many personas has made Yiyang diabolical at times and even though she understands the many perspectives she doesn’t necessarily feel anything for the real people going through things around her. She’ll stand by and do what she believes necessary for those she cares about to keep around. Is it love or because you amuse her? She doesn’t think it matters. But really, deep down, there is still that ever happy girl who has but one simple wish. To see smiles and for everyone to be whoever they want to be.

HISTORY: Cao Yiyang is the daughter of the patron of theatre and actors, Cao-Guojiu, and born to him and her mother, a theatre lover and regular office worker, in Nanchong, Sichuan, China. As a kid she was a little ball of sunshine, smiling at everything around her and always making little and eventually also big excited noises. However as years passed her heritage started to change her. The happy sunshine kid was reduced to half her enthusiasm by the age of 8, though an avid fan of books and movies. She would bury herself in one after the other and whenever her mother was at work or busy she knew she could count on the stories to watch over her little girl and keep her out of trouble. Yiyang in turn didn’t mind her mother’s late nights and never bore any resentment to her father who couldn’t be there as her mother said. However, the shift in her character continued and by the age of 12 hardly any of that sunshine was left and instead buried. The ball of sunshine had almost become like a zombie, a blank canvas… Until she met someone new outside her direct network or when she was engrossed into a character in one of her books, shows or games. Suddenly, it was like she was them. She adopted the personalities of the fictional people like a sponge and made them her own, and by this time it had buried her original character, herself. It had started in periodical bursts but quickly ramped up the more personalities she took on. She took jobs to fulfill her characters to their true potential, dressing as them with the clothes and make up she bought from her salary. School? She did remember that was a part of life but it was hard to contain her in the institution. Teachers and authority figures did not understand the girl one bit and had no way to help for everytime they thought they had a grasp of how to deal with her she was totally different. Schoolmates grew distant as she quickly was outcast as the weird kid and after fruitless attempts of bullying by some even became somewhat feared. Yiyang didn’t dislike her school though, but when her character didn’t fit school she didn’t stay. She’d simply leave during a break or said she needed to go to the bathroom and went to be whoever she was in that moment. It became uncontrollable not only for the school but also her mother who worried for her daughter and received calls of her disappearing or the advice to send her to a psychologist for diagnosis of a personality disorder or even schizophrenia. She briefly also thought her child had fallen into a mental illness but one evening as she asked Yiyang about it she learned it was not the case, for Yiyang just looked at her and for just that moment smiled like she did when she was 4 years old. Happiness and light in a single beam. “I’m okay. And I’m happy, so you don’t need to worry about me. I like living as whoever I feel like whenever I feel like.” Perhaps to some these words would not be as comforting, but just seeing her smile one more time her mother felt it was her daughters truth. Knowing however that the situation wasn’t containable and how it was impossible for her to finish school she made the heavy decision of what she knew would be best for her daughter. She sent her to Mount Phoenix to a dear old friend, Sun Wukong, who had occasionally checked in on Cao-Guojiu’s behalf and adored her girl. The god had even treated her anytime the girl had gotten injured when she was too engrossed in a character. This way, she wouldn’t have to worry about their little secret coming out or humans claiming she was crazy and mentally unstable, attempting to institutionalize her which was her greatest fear for Yiyang. While she didn’t think she fully understood her daughter, she accepted her as whoever she was. She told her the secret of her father before she said her goodbyes and waved her off one last time for the forseeable future. Arriving at Mount Phoenix at age 16 with Sun Wukong was weird but an adventure altogether, and Yiyang loved adventure and new paths for it was the best to widen her collection of personas. The first weeks were rough for she was in one place and then the next as someone else and picking up god and demigods their characters alike. Wukong however proved to be capable of handling her tricks and shifts and managed to get her through the last bits of schooling. He suggested for her to take up acting and try out for it at the university on the island but Yiyang saw little purpose in this and instead started taking all kinds of jobs, changing from one to the next over time. One day after watching a hospital drama she showed up in front of the god to tell him she was going to be a nurse at his hospital, but thankfully even the monkey king saw that was a rather terrible idea and a few days later she was again off on something else. Keeping jobs wasn’t easy, either because she couldn’t fit the job any longer when another character didn’t fit it or more often because she got bored of it. That was until Wukong introduced her to Jennie Kim, owner of Sakura. Being a maid sounded wonderful! Especially when it was so perfectly described to her as the place where she could employ her characters to entertain the host and maid clubs customers.

PANTHEON: Chinese CHILD OF: Cao-Guojiu POWERS: Born to Cao-Guijiu, Cao Yiyang is a natural when it comes to both deceiving and manipulating those around her, said positively she is highly insightful of other characters. She uses this by employing the different characters she discovers as if she is them, having the ability to change her whole character in the snap of your fingers. (non-magical, it is her talent at acting and deception that allows her to) STRENGTHS: Changes her whole persona in the blink of an eye, adaptable, extremly high insight into others, doesn’t get emotionally or mentally hurt easily, incredibly hard to truly know WEAKNESSES: Lack of care for others despite empathic abilities, lack of sincere individuality because of hidden true character, fickle in relationships with others and herself, few constant hobbies and gets lost in her head and the outside world easily

#cpop rp #crp #xu yiyang #mp; welcome

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dearchikkie · 4 years

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Blue Knight

MARICHAT MAY 2020

Day 7: Disguise

A/N: SORRY!! This is a day late, I know. But my wifi went out yesterday and only went back online, well, now! I'm so sorry about this: I will be posting a day late now, which will probably annoy most of you, but I hope you forgive me, enjoy :)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"Princess look! It's finally out!" on a warm Saturday morning, Marinette's peaceful routine of eating breakfast atop her rooftop was abruptly interrupted but Paris' own superhero, Chat Noir.

"Chat, I'm eating breakfast!"

"Just look!"

Marinette grumbled and placed her plate beside her. When she focused on the poster, she realized just why he was so excited, "Blue Knight is out? Are you sure?"

Chat nodded eagerly, "They have three showings today: one in an hour; another at 3 and a midnight showing!"

"We have to go!"

Chat nodded profusely, his eyes practically star-shaped as he grinned at Marinette. "I can get us good seats!"

"And then you can come back after and we'll read all the theories about it!"

"And you could bake snacks for us after!"

"And drinks!"

"Yes! This is perfect!"

The duo collapsed onto Marinette's beanbag, grinning at seemingly just the sky. Suddenly, Marinette stood up with a solemn look on her face. It seemed quite strange for a girl practically bursting with excitement five seconds ago was now suddenly looking so glum, "But we can't."

"What?" Chat stood up now, his smile replaced with on of concern, "What do you mean?"

"We can't go together,"

"Why not?"

"Because you're you!" Marinette waved her hands, gesturing towards Chat.

"I don't understand, me being a superhero never bothered you before,"

"It doesn't! I'm fine with it, but..." Marinette led Chat back to the beanbag, running her hands through his blonde waves, "Imagine what would happen if they saw Chat Noir watching a movie with a civilian? We'd get mobbed! My family would be put under scrutiny by the media and everyone I know would start asking about you. Alya doesn't even know how close we are!"

He didn't wanna admit it, but Marinette was right. When they went to the movies in his civilian form girls still flocked him. Adrien Agreste was a celebrity, reporters would swarm him for questioning, then leave if he didn't have any gossip to share.

With Chat Noir, ANYTHING was enough for them. He was a superhero! A protector! The only time he was out [to their knowledge] was when everyone was in danger, so there was barely any time to talk to him before he dipped.

If anyone got wind that Chat Noir was watching a movie with a civilian, the media would go wild. Marinette's family would be harassed daily, Chat couldn't do that to them.

"...I guess you're right,"

The pair sat back to back, weight pushing against each other. "Maybe I could go with you in my civilian form?"

"And reveal your identity?"

"Point taken."

The once exhilarating air surrounding them had turned sour. Chat wished he could just ask Marinette as Adrien to go, but he doubted she'd agree. She was so carefree with Chat or Alya, even with Nino!

But with Adrien, she always seemed on edge; stuttering, tripping over herself, sometimes she wouldn't even look him in the eye. She seemed more comfortable with him now, but still wasn't as close as he wished they were.

"You should just go with, Alya. I can watch it detransformed with someone else,"

"I know, but I don't think Alya likes this series, and I really wanted to watch it with y-" Marinette quieted. Her head now turned away as she covered her face, "It just makes more sense for us to watch it together."

"Then we should!"

"Chat!"

"There has to be a way for us to go! I don't want to go with anyone besides you!"

Marinette blushed at the revelation, but smiled none the less, "I want to go with you too, but how?"

Her words hung in the air as Chat mauled over them, his mind traced back to a similar scenario, "We could disguises!"

"Disguises?"

"Yeah! Thick glasses, heavy coats, face masks..."

"That could work..." Marinette paused in thought, then sighed, "It'll take the attention away from you as a person, but only attract attention to us both. If I saw two heavily dressed people going to the movies I'd pay more attention to them than some random teens walking around,"

Again, Marinette was right. As she always was. "There has to be some form of disguise we can use. Think back to the last Blue Knight opening, was there anyone dressed weirdly? Some kind of "Royal-League" jacket we could wear?"

The noirette thought back to the last opening; it was in winter so everyone was decked out in thicker clothing, a few girls in matching Royal-League dresses, one with a wig, normal attire, normal attire, normal attire... oh.

"There is something we can wear, but I don't know how you'll feel about it,"

"Really? What? I'll wear anything!"

"I made them a while ago, but mine still fits me and I can tailor the other to fit you-"

"I'm sure they're amazing, Princess. Now tell me what I'll be wearing tonight!"

"You promise not to think it's dumb?"

"Trust me, It's impossible to look dumb in anything you make,"

✧✬✧

"We look dumb."

"What?" Chat spun around and glared at Marinette, "No we don't. We look amazing!"

Marinette had been reluctant to tell Chat her plan, but it was the only thing she could think off. Now, standing in the middle of Paris' centre movie theatre was Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Only, they weren't. Marinette was dressed in an Egyptian blue medieval gown with faded white ruffles splitting down the middle. In a dress this beautiful, you'd assume the wearer would be overjoyed at the honour of wearing it. Marinette took to instead keeping her flushed face shoved into her hands as she scowled at Chat from his side.

Chat, on the other hand, was dressed in a linen black shirt with thick matching pants tucked into his navy boots. Marinette made sure to include the signature weapons belt, a matching cloak with its hood hanging over Chat's head and a black bandana that covered his nose and mouth, as well as his identity.

Now that Marinette saw him wearing it, he truly did look like a rogue thief, perfectly in line with his character.

Cosplay was something neither Marinette nor Chat [despite prancing around in a leather cat suit] had done before, but Chat had seemed delighted at the thought of it. He'd pulled the cloak and shirt on with no hesitation and didn't blink an eye when he was forced to tuck his pants into his boots.

No more was Chat Noir and Marinette. Today, they were Ash 'Shade' Carter; an on-the-run thief accidentally mixed up in royal business; and Cecilia North; a girl forced to marry royalty on her mother's wishes.

"We should go pick up our tickets, you got the link?" Marinette was pulled out of her trance at the sound of Chat's voice. When she looked up, it took a few seconds for her to realize that it was really Chat in front of her and not some friendly akuma.

"Yup! Let me get out my phone," the pair approached the front counter as Marinette fiddled around in her purse. Finally, she took out her phone and pulled up the online booking page.

The woman at the counter smiled warmly at the two, scanning the screens QR-code, "That'll be 24 euros. Want any snacks or drinks?"

"We'll have two soda's and one jumbo popcorn,"

"Gotcha, butter or caramel?"

"Uh..." Marinette looked back at Chat, "Which do you prefer?"

"Is Caramel ok?"

Marinette turned back towards the woman, who nodded and started shovelling popcorn into a large container. "You both look pretty great, Blue Knight I'm guessing?"

"Yes, we're Cecilia and Shade!" Chat excitedly answered, once again forming his star-shaped eyes, "Mari made these herself!"

"Chat!" hissed Marinette, eyes narrowing at the energized superhero. The woman stared at the to with a knowing look in her eyes, mouth upturned almost to say 'Ah. I understand completely!'

"She did an amazing job then, they look professional! And what affectionate nicknames you both have. 'Chat', got anything to do with the Chat Noir?"

The pair stilled at her words, Chat gulped rather loudly as he looked to Marinette for help, "No! No, no. It's related to, to uh..."

"His name is Chatwyn! Yes, that's it! His mother is English, very proper you know?"

If the woman was suspicious, she didn't show it, merely handing over their drinks and popcorn along with two tickets. "Your total is 42.60 euros,"

Chat reached into his pockets but Marinette pushed him aside, handing over an orange bill, "Here you go,"

"Marinette! I'm told you I'd pay for this,"

"No way am I letting you pay, I'm the one forcing you into a costume!"

"But I like being in this costume! I look good-- We both do! Now let me pay," Chat shoved another orange bill onto the counter while the woman grinned at them both. Marinette tried to push her bill forward, but the woman had already grabbed Chat's money and rung it up. Chat gave a smug grin, to which Marinette only scowled.

"You two go enjoy your movie, now."

The teens nodded in thanks then left towards their cinema, "I don't know how I'm going to last. My arms are so itchy," complained Marinette, extending her arms to show off the long velvet sleeves, "I should have added a softer inner material,"

"Princess, look at me," bandaged arms wiggled in front of Marinette's face as Chat pointed towards the many straps crossed over his chest, "You wrapped me up like a mummy, I can barely walk without feeling a strap pull me back!"

"I thought you liked your costume."

"Of course I do! But when I take them off and my skins turned red, you're the one that's gonna have to heal me back to health,"

Marinette laughed, "Whatever you say, Chaton."

✧✬✧

"Oh my god." Marinette stumbled out of the theatre, hazard rocking back and forth, a dazed expression coating her face.

Chat followed behind her, tripping over himself in a similar manner, "That was..."

"That was..."

"That was INCREDIBLE!" no longer was Chat alone in his star-struck grins. The pair smiled wider than anyone had ever seen before, cheeks flushed as they babbled on and on, "I can't believe they did that! Cecilia looked so amazing in the Red Knight armour!"

"I know!" gushed Chat, "her and Shade's fight scene is probably the best thing I've ever seen!"

"The cliffhanger though! What's gonna happen in the next movie?"

"They have to make Cecilia dump Matthew. I didn't think the wedding would actually go through!"

"Me neither!" giggled Marinette. The pair's heated conversation came to a halt when a boy their age blocked their path. Chat tried not to stare at the poorly died purple hair, but he could only resist so much, "Sorry, could you move over?"

"Ah! Of course, but do you mind if I as you a few questions first?"

A picture? Why would he- Oh! Marinette stared down at her and Chat's costumes, she had been so enthralled with the movie she had forgotten the over-the-top disguises they'd used to even get in.

"I'm fine with that, but it's really up to Mari," Chat glanced over at Marinette, unease settling over his face.

Thankfully, the noirette painted a small smile over her face, "Sure! We can answer a question or two,"

"Great!" the boy handed his camera to a girl behind them. She angled herself a few feet away then did a thumbs-up, "This is all live on my twitch, by the way, so don't answer anything... inappropriate."

They both tinged pink, "O-Of course not."

"Ok! So, I love your cosplays, where did you buy them?"

"Mari made them herself!"

"Really? That's really impressive, do you have any social media for my viewers to see you on?"

"Ah! I..." Marinette tried to think back to all accounts, but none of them were for her fashion, "Not at the moment, but maybe in the future!"

The boy seemed unsure, but soon after reapplied his smile and winked at Marinette, "I hope to see it when it's launched! Speaking of your cosplays, do you mind pulling down your hood? Why don't we see Shade without his entire face covered?"

The colour drained from Chat's face as he automatically moved back, "I, uh, would prefer to keep the hood on, if that's alright?" the boy stilled, his smile straightening out into a thing tense line.

"Ah." silence surrounded the trio, Marinette and Chat staring unsurely at each other as the boy narrowed his eyes at the blue hood. Eventually, the girl behind the camera snapped her fingers, gaining the boy's attention,

"Ok! We've gotta run soon, so get in tight for a picture with you all!" a sinister smile reappeared on the boys face as he threw his arms over Chat and Marinette's shoulders.

"Ok, Carrie! Make sure you get us all in," Chat and Marinette plastered wavy smiles across their face, then stared into the camera.

"Say cheese!"

"Cheese!"

Just as the words left Chat's lips, he could feel his hood ve ripped off the top of his head. Marinette turned just as Chat's ears were revealed and instantly clung to the fabric. Unfortunately, she grabbed too low and ripped off his bandana.

People around them gasped, Chat could feel his eyes widening as he wordlessly begged Marinette for help. She tried covering his face, but it was too late.

"Oh sh-"

"CHAT NOIR!" instantly, Marinette and Chat turned to each other mouths wording the same thing:

"Run!" Chat grabbed her hand and leapt into action, sprinting towards the nearest exit. A group of fans ran in front of them, phones out as they recorded the scene. Marinette pushed Chat to the side, side-stepping the group and reuniting with Chat on the other side.

When they escaped outside, they were greeted with an even bigger crowd of fans, all searching the area for them,

"There's nowhere to go- they're everywhere!" Marinette glanced down at her purse, where Tikki stared back up, her panicked face matching Marinette's own.

"Ok. You're not gonna like it, but there's only one way we can escape,"

"Chat, where would that be?"

"Trust me."

"What do you mean trust yo-" Chat grabbed Marinette and swung her legs up, holding her bridal position, "Chat?"

"Hold on tight!" Chat grabbed his baton and extended them both up. Marinette screamed as the ground rapidly got further and further. She'd been at heights much more dangerous than this as Ladybug of course, but without the safety of the suit and her yoyo, this suddenly become increasingly terrifying.

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, arms gripping Chat's neck as tight as she could manage, "Princess, it's ok. Open your eyes,"

She desperately didn't want to. But she was Ladybug; a superhero who feared nothing, she could manage to muster up some bravery without the suit.

When she opened her eyes, she was met with thousands of lights all glowing in the night air. Windows shone with warm light, reflecting in the et streets. Chat led them towards the Seine river, the water glimmering under all the bright lights. Marinette reprimanded herself internally for not going out as Ladybug enough.

"Chat, it's beautiful,"

Chat glanced down at Marinette, eyes focusing in on her deep blue, then at the small smile now formed on her lips, "Beautiful is an understatement."

BONUS:

Alya sat alone in bed scrolling through Tumblr, occasionally reposting ladynoir fan art. Suddenly, a flash of blue caught her attention:

CHAT NOIR SPOTTED COSPLAYING AT BLUE KNIGHT PREMIER [LIVE]!

Wait, didn't Marinette like that series? If this movie is such a big deal she'll hopefully have gone today. Alya reminded herself to text Marinette about it later.

Despite her excitement, Alya knew clickbait when she saw it. There was no way Chat Noir was just casually hanging around a theatre in costume. Most likely, Chat Noir probably would be seen dropping from out a window, and maybe with all the blue around him, it would look like he was dressed up.

Alya clicked the link and was brought to a reupload of a Twitch streamer's latest stream. It started with a purple boy walking around the theatre, asking people questions about the movie.

Alya scanned the footage with reporter-trained eyes; if she was going to see Chat Noir she had to be focusing on the background. A flash of blonde outside a window, or even just shiny black leather somewhere.

The young reporter started skipping over the interview segments and nearer to the end where [approximately] Chat Noir would have been 'spotted'. But a flash of blue stopped her in her tracks.

Oh. My. God.

It was Marinette. No, it wasn't just Marinette. It was Marinette cosplaying! Cosplaying with some other guy! Who was he? It wasn't Nino, they'd been together all day. So who was this mystery man? Why hadn't Marinette told her about this?

Alya was thrilled Marinette was stepping out of her comfort zone; dressing up in her designs in a public place was something Alya never expected the noirette capable of, but she should have known better than to underestimate her best friend.

After bookmarking the page, Alya was about to skip forward again, when suddenly the masked figures hood was pulled down.

Two leather cat ears peeked out. A matching mask covering the male's face. Emerald eyes with slits instead of pupils.

"Holy sh-"

Alya was again silenced as she watched Chat grab MARINETTE'S ARM AND RUN AWAY TOGETHER.

What was going on? Marinette knew Chat Noir? Since when? Why didn't she tell Alya? And they were close enough to cosplay together?

Her mind buzzed as all the thoughts and confusions spiraled. She definitely was going to make Marinette tell her everything.

She clicked the 'Cosplay Noir' tag and scrolled down the feed. Most of it was just the same live video, clipped to show the exact part Chat was revealed, but then a certain picture showed up; Marinette being held bridal style as Chat leapt over Paris' rooftops, her dress billowing in the wind.

She looked just like a real princess.

She was going to kill Marinette.

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spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia · 4 years

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SpongeGuy Reviews Every Disney Cartoon Ever!: Sofia The First (1.1): “Once Upon A Princess”

yeah, it’s been a while, life is hectic and i have two shows backlogged because my bros want to see it but we never get to. Anyway, gonna try to get a lot of reviews done this weekend.

Sofia The First is a little children’s show that actually tries to be good, created by GOD HIMSELF Craig Gerber, a man who has portrayed blended families, latino rep, disabled people, diversity, death, grief, depression, guilt, familial ruin and more with utsmost perfection.

So yeah, even in a simple pilot like this which still isn’t as complex as his later work, still deals with the troubles of fitting in with a new family, especially when it’s blended, and yeah, I nearly adore it!

SUMMERY: The pilot movie introduces Sofia, the daughter of a shoe-shop owner named Miranda. Both of them have been living happily together in the kingdom of Enchancia for as long as Sofia can remember. On a fateful day, her and her mother are called to the castle to help King Roland II for a shoe fitting, who soon marries her mother, crowning her Enchancia's new Queen and Sofia as its new princess. With the help of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, now headmistresses at a school for royalty known as Royal Preparatory Academy, Sofia tries to adjust to royal life. She is also gifted a beautiful purple amulet as a welcoming gift, soon realizing that it is in fact the power of the Amulet of Avalor that grants her magical powers, such as the ability to talk to and understand animals. However, this amulet is coveted by the kingdom's royal sorcerer Cedric, who wants to use its power to take over Enchancia. Combined with the stresses of royal life and fitting in to a new school, Sofia has to deal with her jealous stepsister Amber, who feels that her father loves Sofia over her.King Roland soon announces a welcoming ball for Sofia, where she has to dance in front of everyone. Sofia has no clue about Cedric's evil plans and consider him a good friend, borrowing a spell from him to make her look like a good dancer after missing out a dance class thanks to Amber. The truth is that the "dancing spell" is actually one enforced to make everyone in the ballroom fall asleep, and that is when Cedric will trade the antidote for the amulet with Sofia. Before the ball, Amber accidentally rips her dress, and stays in her room due to her embarrassment and her brother James berating her for her schemes. During the ball, all the guests at the ball and the royal family present (excluding Sofia and Amber) fall asleep, including Cedric. The Amulet of Avalor summons Cinderella to give Sofia the courage to step forward and resolve matters with Amber, who teaches her how to dance. The two girls infiltrate Cedric's tower and find the counter-spell after Sofia sews up Amber's dress for her. Waking up everyone, Sofia dances proudly at her ball, as her new father anoints her the title of Princess Sofia the First.Songs: "I'm Not Ready to be a Princess", "Royal Prep", "A Little Bit of Food", "True Sisters", and "Rise and Shine (end titles)"Disney Princess guest: Cinderella from Disney's Cinderella trilogy

COMEDY: 2 Out of 5

I hate starting off negative, this was so wholesome and pure and lovely and deep! But, sadly, the comedy, even for a little children’s show, is a bit lacking.

Not completely, mind you! There are some decent gags, some fun dialogue between Sofia and Cedric the Sorcerer, the whole woodland animals wanting food as payment for helping princesses song is witty.

But, well, there aren’t many jokes attempted, as the focus is more on the story and the characters and Sofia’s problems fitting in, which is totally ok! We respect that here, which is why it’s getting a still sort of decent score here, and why the pilot movie will receive a really good score once we move on to the next sections!

CHARACTERS: 4 Out of 5

While we are only at pilot mode, and many characters (Roland, Cedric, Baileywhick, the other students, Miranda, heck, even the animals) are yet to show their true depth, we do have a great emotional plot between the three new siblings!

We have Sofia, our optimistic and wonderfully kind but lonely protagonist; James, the slightly too fun loving but very caring older brother; and Amber, the flawed and mean older sister who has a heart deep down despite her first impression.

Sofia is an absolute gem, a moe girl who doesn’t care for all the “perks”, and is only wants to help and love, but also to be loved in return. One can tell that she is afraid of letting everyone down, that her new family won’t love her if she’s not a perfect princess, so she works her hardest to be one. It’s honestly heartbreaking everytime she’s sad, and her kind deeds are so genuine you’ll just d’aww at her every time! She earns your sympathy immediately, and that’s BEFORE all her TRULY kind deeds!

James is an interesting bridge between Amber and Sofia: While he can be naughty like his sister, he’s a lot kinder and nicer to Sofia, willing to welcome her immediately. I love that he doesn’t really understand that pranking her is mean, and when he does he works super hard to make it up to her, even giving Amber a “Reason You Suck” speech to make her understand she was wrong to prank Sofia. He plays to his role perfectly, and I am a lot more interested in him than I was when I watched the show!

And at last we have Amber, the pseudo antagonist (more a foil) of the special. Amber acts like a total jerk for nearly the entire runtime, I wouldn’t blame anyone for disliking her, I did too! However, her motivations (while vain) are understandable. We all hate feeling left out, replaced, forgotten. Amber knows that everyone loves Sofia more, and she is determined to be loved too, but it just doesn’t work out. That is, until Amber realizes she did a wrong thing, more than makes amends, and accepts Sofia as her sister. I honestly LOVE characters like this, so I have a good feeling about her!

And while they don’t get to play deep roles, everyone else fills up the cast remarkably, from the fun antics of Clover, Mia and Robin, to the parental love of Roland and Miranda, to the incredibly joyful “evil” that is Cedric (can’t WAIT to talk about his arc!).

STORY AND HEART: 4 Out of 5

A lot of critics like to bash wholesome whimsey as childish, as useless. True art is angsty, after all, and nothing good can come out of optimism, childlike wonder, or love.

Those people are wrong.

A show doesn’t need to be a heavy drama or a deep exploration of the darkness of men to be good. Sometimes you just need a fairytale with a good message.

Sofia The First may seem like a cutesy girl show, but it isn’t. It’s a show about treating others the way you would want to be treated, of being kind and caring to everyone, of learning to overcome your flaws and mistakes, and becoming a good person.

I felt really happy watching this. And in these hard times, where good people are being oppressed for the most trivial of reasons, it’s nice to remember that there ARE kind people out there.

So I will be like Sofia: I will stand with those who need help, and may the whole world hate me, i don’t care. We are a family, and those who want to destroy it will back down.

For I stand with George Floyd.

Yeah, I know this is an odd place to put that, but IDC. BLM!

FINAL SCORE: 10 Out of 15

A damn good pilot! Can’t wait for the rest!

Next time we have Nightmare Ned, a slightly incomplete show (tho i might be able to find the rest), and it should be interesting!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/194d3gsPrhlOsFPYsXU-lJirY4sWncrBl/edit

#disney cartoons #disney channel #disney junior #craig gerber #sofia the first #ariel winter #cedric the sorcerer #princess amber #princess sofia #prince james #flora #fauna #merryweather #spongeguy #every Disney Animated Show Reviewed #george floyd #blm #blacklivesmatter

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drariellevalentine · 4 years

Text

Hello and Good Morning!

I decided I wanted to write a little fluff piece of Ethan x MC(Aria Valentine)This is my first fanfic so sorry if it wasn’t to your liking!

Jealousy and Gelato:-

Characters/ Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey(E), Aria Rose Valentine(A),Naveen Banerji(N),Adrian Raines(R),Sienna Trinh(S)

Disclaimer- All characters belong to Pixelberry except Aria Valentine

* takes place somewhere between OHSY

Aria’s POV:-

A-Wearing heels for 5 hours and my feet are killing me, why does Ethan have to be so damn tall!

S-So you’re telling me you wear heels because you’re intimidated by Dr. Ramsey’s height?

A-Well, June, Baz, and Ethan are way more experienced and way taller then me; heels are like my secret weapon of confidence,and make up for my height!

S-Well, I’m perfectly content with my 4 feet and 11 inches.

A- Hold that thought, Dr.Banerji just paged me. Apparently, there’s someone here to see me?

S- Are we still on for dinner-(Aria had already run off) Dear God, that girl needs to catch a break!

Adrian’s POV:-

N- “I just paged Aria, she’ll be here in few minutes.You know she’ll be very happy to see you.”

R-“ I know, it’s just I barely get to see her in accordance with both of our demanding schedules; I definitely am lucky that my latest case was in Boston and the hearing was delayed for a few days.”

( Aria’s brother, Adrian, is a world renowned criminal justice lawyer.)

N- “Nevertheless, she’ll be happy”-( Aria enters)

A- “Dr. Banerji, you wanted to see me...Adrian!” Rose leapt into my arms and in return gave her a bone-crushing hug. “How?...Why?...When did you come?”

(Adrian calls Aria ‘Rose’.

R-“My latest case which was in Boston was delayed so I decided to pay a certain workaholic sister a visit!”

A- “ Me! Workaholic?Ha, that’s definitely you!”

R- “Alright, you told me about an amazing gelato place around here over the phone.Shall we go, for old time’s sake?”

N- “You two with your incredibly crazy love of gelato!”

A- “We are part Italian,after all! Join us?”

N-“Ethan is expecting me for coffee, you two carry on!”

Naveen’s POV:-

N-Ethan swiftly enters a few minutes after Aria and Adrian leave. “You were trying to eavesdropping weren’t you?”, I ask him with a slight smile.

E- “ Who was that?”

N- “You decide to pull Ethan’s leg and say “I think that was one of Dr. Valentine’s old friends, I think that they are very close.” You can see the curiosity and jealousy overwhelming him.”

E- “Alright, let’s go.”

N- “Did you know Aria’s middle name is Rose?” I stifle a laugh at the sight of Ethan, he thought he knew almost everything about her.

( We enter Ethan’s preferred coffee shop, only to see the line tremendously long)

N- “You know what, this line is too long. Aria mentioned a nice gelato place around the block. Let’s go there.”

Aria’s POV:-

A- “This is nice, it’s been a long time we did something together.”

R-“Yeah, now are you going to tell me who’s the lucky man or should I start guessing?”

A- Knowing my cheeks just turned 50 shades of red, I try to tell him there’s no one.

Adrian’s POV:-

R- Oh really! Smirking, I pull out my phone and show her the series of pictures and texts she accidentally sent to me instead of Sienna in the process of venting.

=========================================

(This first part, Aria is texting Sienna)

A- Who the HELL does he think he is?!!!

S- Who?

A- Ethan Ramsey, of course! He acts hot and cold but has the sheer audacity to comment on my outfit!

S-Woah, slow down! What did he say?

A- “ It was your idea to solicit wealthy patients, the least you can do is make an effort to dress adequately!”

S-WTF?!

A- IKR, I’m getting revenge.

S-How?

A- Just wait 😈!

( Aria steps into Victoria’s Secret, buys a Mediterranean blue set of dare I say provocative lingerie; then enters her favourite boutique filled with clothes that fit her aesthetic- chic, stylish, sexy and feminine. She picks out a winter trench coat, perfectly matching with her lacey lingerie. Going home, she slips the set of silk and lace on, pairing it with high heel boots of a shimmery blue hue and drapes the coat onto herself. Strategically posing, she takes a few pictures in front of her bedroom window.)

Aria thinks she’s sending this to Ethan, but fate had different plans.

A- Didn’t have much time to completely button my outfit, but we all know who’s fault that is!

A- (She sends the photos she took)

A-Hope this is at least “adequately professional”!

A-😤

——————————————————————————————————————

R- Before Rose could come up with a response, her eyes flitted back to the opening door, widening at seeing who it was.

Ethan’s POV:-

E- As I entered, I saw Aria blushing and sharing a huge chocolate gelato tub with another man. Who the hell was this man?Wait what, why should I care, it’s not like she’s my girlfriend...Nice going, Ethan.

N- “ Ah Aria, I hope we’re not interrupting anything;you see, Ethan’s favourite coffee shop was packed so I decided to take you up on that offer to join. Hope you don’t mind.”

(Naveen makes a point of sitting near the man so I would have to slide in between Aria and the man.)

E- As Naveen spoke, my eyes started scanning the man beside him. My eyes widened in recognition! That man was Adrian Raines, world renowned criminal justice lawyer. What was he doing with her? Was she in some kind of trouble or they were just good friends? I thought of innumerous amount of reasons except the obvious one. Was she romantically involved with him?

A- “No problem Naveen! Dr. Ramsey, let me introduce you to one of the world’s greatest criminal justice lawyers who also happens to be my brother!”, she said with a smirk.

E- I almost choked on hearing her reply. “What?,He-he’s your brother? But how?” I asked in astonishment noticing the huge grin plastered on all their faces.

A- Adrian is my older brother, as soon as he began receiving fame and recognition, I always knew I would travel on a different path and carve my own. Hence, I took my mother’s maiden name as my last name.

N- “Enough of that, order more gelato and Adrian, tell me more of what your and Aria’s childhood was like.”

E- I could tell Naveen was trying to save me from embarrassing myself even more and I was glad.

Aria’s POV:-

A- I was grateful for Naveen as he cut in. As for Ethan, I think he has embarrassed himself enough! The conversation continues until Ethan and I are paged by Baz.

R- “Bye Rose, I’ll see you this weekend.” He gives me and Naveen a big hug and shakes hands with Ethan.

A- I guess one way or another, “Mission Accomplished!”

Thank you for reading my humble fluff piece.

#ethanjonahramsey #playchoices #open heart #ohsy #ethan x mc

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commentaryvorg · 4 years

Text

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Bonus 2 - Demo

This is a commentary of the demo of DRV3 from the perspective of someone who is coming back to it after seeing the entire main game. There will be significant spoilers for the main story.

Welp, turns out that covering the demo is going to be more of a pain than I anticipated, because I didn’t already have it, and it’s no longer available in the UK store. So I’m going to have to use a Youtube video of it, which is a lot more annoying than you might think, because you have no idea how useful the game’s backlog function has been for this commentary.

I suppose I should preface this by mentioning that I did see the demo of this game before experiencing the game proper, but it was a fan translation of the Japanese demo something like a year or two earlier, so my memory of it by the time I saw the main game was pretty fuzzy. I only remembered a few things: that Kaede was the protagonist and the Ultimate Pianist, thinking it neat that we had a protagonist who was female, and who had a talent rather than being ordinary. I vaguely remembered Tenko, Himiko and Ryoma’s character quirks – I suppose thse were the ones that stuck in my mind. I remembered Kokichi being kind of a dick who kept trying to make the trial about himself and was therefore clearly this game’s answer to Nagito, because of course Kokichi had to try and be the centre of attention even in the demo and so that stuck in my mind.

And I remembered an astronaut dude who at least superficially seemed to have the kind of personality I generally like in a character – but I very firmly told myself not to get too excited about this, because this is Danganronpa and there is every chance that the narrative won’t give a fuck about how likeable he is and he’ll just get randomly, gratuitously killed off and I would regret ever getting attached to him. This, uh, may have partly influenced my belief during the main game that the narrative considered Kaito expendable and was totally going to kill him off at the slightest provocation, even after he started being very clearly important to the story.

It also very obviously did not stop me getting attached to him as the actual story progressed. I remember desperately trying to rein myself in throughout the first half of chapter 2 as Kaito became more and more adorable and good and Exactly My Kind of Character in his support of Shuichi. Then I got to the part during the investigation in which Kaito gave his speech about believing in people just because he wants to while acknowledging that there’s a risk to it that he’s simply choosing not to worry about so that he can believe wholeheartedly. This was so perfectly applicable to what had been going on in my own head with regards to getting attached to Kaito himself – I so desperately wanted to believe in him and care about him and get invested in his story, yet I was so afraid of what might happen if I did. But thanks to Kaito’s own words, I decided right then and there to not let that fear hold me back any more.

…That’s a first-time-me story that I really should have told at the time during chapter 2 but didn’t, so you’re getting it here instead. Anyway! The demo.

“Daily Life”

Kaede: (My last name roughly means “passionate red maple tree”. It doesn’t really fit me, but… I still like my last name.)

Kaede starts us off with an introduction of herself, probably trying to make this reminiscent of the DR1 opening. They can’t exactly do that in this game’s real opening, what with the whole pregame-and-reset thing. It’s pretty awkward here that she’s telling us about her last name when nobody’s going to be calling her that in English, so it’s probably for the best that didn’t stay. I think “passionate red maple tree” suits her at least a little, though – she is very passionate!

Kaede: (Huh? Wait, who am I even talking to?)

That’s a good question! There’s going to be quite a bit of sort-of fourth wall breaking in this demo. But… this is Danganronpa V3, in which a lot of what seemed like fourth wall breaking wasn’t really doing that at all. So maybe this is actually Kaede just being pushed into being all self-introductory in her inner monologue by the Flashback Light that created her, and here she’s having a brief moment of realising that makes no sense.

She finds herself waking up at a desk – again, like the original DR1 opening and less like the actual DRV3 opening. There’s no falling out of a locker and no Shuichi (not here, anyway).

“Makoto”: “Oh, are you awake? Good morning, Kaede.”

Instead, there’s… Makoto.

So here’s the thing about this demo. Makoto, and later Hajime, are randomly in it. Going into the demo with the assumption that DRV3 is in a different universe from the Hope’s Peak story makes this just seem like a silly fourth-wall-breaking thing. It also wouldn’t work to imagine this is set in the Hope’s Peak universe, because then Makoto and Hajime should both be much older than high school age, not to mention whatever shenanigans should be going on with Hajime. So it’s easiest to assume that, oh, this is just some silly uncanonical nonsense because it’s a demo and it doesn’t need to make sense.

But! Having finished DRV3 and gone back to this demo knowing the truth of the V3 story, this actually can make some kind of sense within the V3 universe. Because this is a universe where Makoto and Hajime exist as fictional characters. This whole demo could in fact be some show set up by Team Danganronpa to build hype for their new series before it properly starts, including pandering to those genwunners and twoers in the audience by featuring Makoto and Hajime – which is to say, people cosplaying as them. Hence me using inverted commas for his name in the quotes here like I did for everyone Tsumugi cosplayed in trial 6. It’s not really Makoto Naegi at all.

(This still doesn’t totally work in the canon DRV3 universe, because, given the reset and the fact that they were accidentally their pregame selves at first, it seems unlikely that Team Danganronpa would really have done this “demo” in between the reset at all. This isn’t quite something that actually happened in canon before the story we saw began – it’s more just an AU scenario that could have hypothetically happened before the main killing game started, if things had gone a little differently.)

Makoto introduces himself as the Ultimate Lucky Student and even gets a proper Ultimate title card for it.

Kaede: “Only one student in the entire country!? That’s amazing! You must be really lucky!”

No, Kaede, it doesn’t mean he’s always really lucky; that is not how luck works. He just got incredibly lucky this one time but is otherwise entirely ordinary. Luck as an actual goddamn superpower like it supposedly was for Nagito still grates on me (and there’s no convincing proof to me that Makoto also had that superpower).

Makoto mysteriously already knows Kaede’s name and talent. He explains that it’s because information about the students here is on public record – that is how the real Makoto learned about everyone in DR1, after all – but that’s probably not really the truth here, is it.

There’s a very genuinely-fourth-wall-breaky letter on the desk telling Kaede that to progress the story she just needs to come to the gym, but she can wander around and have the other students introduce themselves to her first if she wants. Obviously anyone doing this demo for the first time would want to do that – the whole point is getting to know the characters!

The layout of the school has been changed a bit in the demo to make things simpler and keep some locations a surprise. Kaede was in not Classroom B on the second floor, but Classroom A, aka the lookout classroom. Or what would function as a lookout classroom if only there was a basement, but the stairs to the basement have instead been replaced by a big red door that will lead to the trialgrounds. The stairs to the second floor are completely blocked off with an opaque shutter, so that all you can access is the first floor, and they moved the gym closer than usual to cut out the part of the corridor containing the locked things leading to Himiko and Kaito’s labs. Apparently they didn’t want to give any kind of tantalising promise of further areas that you’ll get to fully explore in the main game. Meanwhile, the front door that would lead out into the courtyard instead connects directly to the dorms, so that the demo never even shows us that they’re trapped inside a dome.

Everyone’s introductions are more or less the same as they will be in the main game, with Makoto filling in the part in the conversation that Shuichi would have played, if need be. Certain parts are left out if they were less about the character and more specifically about the main story in a way that isn’t relevant in the demo.

Rantaro is the first person we meet. Makoto says he doesn’t know Rantaro’s talent because it wasn’t on public record, but is still insistent that he definitely has a talent. This is totally because he’s just being good old hopeful Makoto and definitely not that he knows exactly what Rantaro’s talent is and why it’s being kept a secret right now, right.

Hajime is also hanging around in the corridors as if he’s a regular student. He gets “Ultimate ???” as well in his title card, even though he goes on to admit that he doesn’t have a talent. He doesn’t mention the Reserve Course, though. I guess the Ultimate Academy isn’t supposed to have one of those.

“Makoto”: “Well, Hajime, we have seniority, but… She’s the protagonist this time around.”

Ahaha, here we go. One of the things the demo very gleefully does is make a big deal of how Kaede is the protagonist. Did you know Kaede is the protagonist of this game, guys? Because she is very definitely the protagonist of this game.

This would also sort of work with the whole fiction thing, except not so much, because the in-universe protagonist is supposed to be Keebo. So this is a thing that really is just out-universely here for the sake of the demo and doesn’t quite make sense in-universe with what Team Danganronpa are doing here.

Kaede: (And also… what did they mean by ‘protagonist’?)

At least, for her part, Kaede is very confused by all this.

Shuichi is also just hanging around in the corridor like a totally regular student and not the actual protagonist of this game. I didn’t remember him from the demo at all until seeing him in the main game jogged my memory, because without him being Kaede’s investigation partner, he kinda just blends into the background like the introvert he is.

Shuichi: “I don’t even remember enrolling in this academy. But it seems I did…”

Bonus dialogue you get from talking to him again after his main introduction shows that he’s very much thinking about the important questions, though. In the main game, while nobody remembered being kidnapped, everyone’s general assumption was that they were brought here against their will and forgot how. However, in the demo, it seems most people are assuming they somehow got enrolled in this academy and are just having a slightly odd version of a school introduction. Only a few people are questioning this idea.

(Kaede actually mentioned at the very beginning that she remembered being kidnapped, but then the writing apparently forgets about that, because she never mentions it to anybody else. Nor does anyone else mention remembering something similar.)

Since there’s no outside in the demo and therefore no wall to be thinking about trying to get over, Kaito is just in the dining hall here. Everyone whose introduction in the main game is in a location that doesn’t exist in the demo just gets put somewhere random instead. Kaito’s lines about getting over the wall are therefore also removed from his introduction, which means that we sadly don’t get as much of a sense of his unshakeable determination and philosophy about not complaining when you could be trying to make things better.

Kaito: “But now that I’m thinking about it, why am I at this academy? I wanna blast off into space ASAP! Weird situations like this are only gonna slow me down…”

Kaito is also asking the important questions. Why is he doing this thing that isn’t working towards going to space? That doesn’t make any sense as something that he’d choose to do! He should be in astronaut training, not enrolling in some weird academy!

Maki immediately introduces herself and her cover-story talent rather than not wanting to do so at first. She also doesn’t have any of her lines about how she doubts they’ll be able to escape this and they shouldn’t be working together with strangers, so a lot of the hints towards her interestingness are gone from the demo, boo.

Maki: “I don’t even remember enrolling in this academy, but… Do you know what’s going on?”

At least she’s asking the important questions, too! I wonder if that “but” is a hint at her thinking “but at least this isn’t as bad as having to kill people”. Or so she thinks.

As Kaede finishes meeting everyone and is about to head into the gym…

“Makoto”: “Sorry, but this is where we part ways. I can’t go past this point. …Because you’re the protagonist now, Kaede.”

Kaede: “What?”

“Makoto”: “From here on, you’re the one who’s going to learn about this situation we’re in. You might feel despair… but I don’t want you to throw away hope!”

Oh man, the buzzwords. I’m pretty sure that even post-DR1-ending, despite literally being declared the Ultimate Hope, Makoto did not throw around these buzzwords as meaninglessly as this. This really is just someone desperately trying to sound like him, isn’t it.

It’s also very strange that apparently Makoto can’t be with her for the explanation of the killing game. You’d think, even if he already knew what was happening (which, fair enough, Makoto has done this before), he’d want to be there with Kaede to reassure her through the bad news. But he has to leave for no particular reason.

(Also, reminder, Kaede is the protagonist, you guys.)

Kaede: (Protagonist? Hope? Despair? What does any of that mean?)

Heh, I like how she’s also bewildered by the sudden buzzwords and not just the protagonist part.

For some reason it’s only Kaede and not all the other students here getting this announcement about the killing game. I guess, since this is not remotely how it happens in canon, writing sixteen characters having new reactions to this would be too much of a pain for what’s only here to justify the demo having a trial.

It does also mean that most people – including Kaede herself, since Monokuma alone doesn’t count as a witness – don’t have alibis for the “murder” that’s about to happen.

Monokuma: “While you live together, you’re all responsible for maintaining the harmony of the academy. But if someone was to disrupt that harmony…”

Geez, is this the game scrambling to justify the Killing Harmony subtitle again? I wonder what this was in Japanese. (But I’m not quite curious enough to actually check, because this is only the demo.)

Kaede: “D-Don’t mess around with us! I would never… murder anyone!”

Hee, that’s also there even though this is the demo.

Monokuma: “Don’t you see, Kaede? This is how your story begins.”

Kaede: “‘My story’? What does that even mean?”

They really are dropping hints to the whole fiction thing even in the demo. Although, again, this doesn’t work so well in an in-universe sense because Keebo is the in-universe protagonist (and because Tsumugi was definitely planning to have Kaede get herself killed in the first chapter, probably largely for the sake of Shuichi’s story.)

Monokuma then tells Kaede to go and check out her room in the dormitory. It seems he already knows that she’s going to find someone dead in there.

Kaede’s door awkwardly has Makoto and Hajime’s portraits slapped onto it as well. Monokuma shows up to explain to her that this is the “Protagonists’ Room”, for all three of them! (Did you know Kaede is the protagonist.)

Once she goes inside, everything’s a mess, with slash marks all over the furniture and walls, kind of like in the first case in DR1.

And Yasuhiro Hagakure is dead in the shower with a kitchen knife in his stomach.

“Deadly Life”

Monokuma: “Geez, this is like the second time he’s died already… Eh, you guys can just ignore that.”

As Monokuma cheekily alludes to here, this is an amusing little nod to the original demo of DR1. Apparently, to keep Sayaka’s death a surprise for the main game, they instead made Hiro the victim there. Looks like they decided to make him the victim again here!

Given the reality of the situation, this cannot really be Hiro, because he doesn’t exist. Which means that most likely, nobody is actually dead at all – this is just a Hiro cosplayer doing their best impression of a corpse.

Hajime is here to help investigate the dorm room. Kaito, Miu, Kirumi and Ryoma also show up in the room to investigate. (But apparently nobody else thought that confirming if a murder has really taken place and trying to figure out the culprit so they don’t get punished was important? Not even Shuichi?)

It’s also relevant to note that nobody looks very closely at Hiro’s “corpse” to confirm whether he’s actually dead.

Kaito: “So does this mean someone believed that the only way to get out of here… was by killing someone?”

Ryoma: “Hmph… The dead body is proof of that. There’s no way a body would end up quite like this by accident.”

Kaito: “Damn it… why’d they kill him? Why didn’t they just talk things over with us?”

Kaede: “Yeah, we haven’t searched the whole school yet. There could still be a way out of here.”

Kaito: “Yeah, that’s exactly right! And they resorted to this, right off the bat… When we find the culprit, I’m gonna punch some sense back into them!”

I love how Kaito this is. He can’t get his head around the fact that anyone would give up so quickly. He realises that they most likely just did it because they were scared and wanted to escape and therefore it’s somewhat understandable, but even then, he can’t see why they would resort to it so soon without having tried every other possible option first, including talking to everyone else and trying to co-operate. He’s not angry at the culprit for being a cold-blooded killer, but rather for being so weak, in the sense that they didn’t even want to try and get stronger, and so they did something this awful out of cowardice.

And also look at him and Kaede clearly being on the same wavelength about working together to escape and not giving up!

Kaito doesn’t contribute any Truth Bullets to this investigation, but I’m delighted that he’s here in this room anyway so we could have this little insight into the way he thinks about things like this. This is nuanced enough that people playing this demo before the main game just to get a basic sense of the characters probably aren’t really going to think much of it – but it’s here anyway, because Kaito is this nuanced and complex of a character and he would react like this in this situation, regardless of how unnecessary him doing so is to the purpose of this demo. I love Kaito so much.

Ryoma: “Going straight to an investigation? That’s pretty forward-thinking of you. Even if you’re used to seeing dead bodies, it’d be stupid not to feel anything.”

Meanwhile, Ryoma is already being perceptive and making observations about Kaede’s character, which is a very him thing to be doing.

Kaede: “But we have to do this. I don’t want everyone else to die…”

Ryoma: “Hmph… You’re rather motivated to stay alive. I wish I had… No, never mind.”

There’s also a little hint at Ryoma’s lack of motivation to live and desire to find one, which is neat!

(It’s a shame that, even though Kaito is also here and presumably overhearing this, he doesn’t comment. I’d have liked that a lot.)

The lack of any hair in the room was a clue in this case in DR1, but this time, there’s a single short brown hair here, about the colour and length of Makoto or Hajime’s. This is despite the fact that Hajime claims he’s never been in the room before now and that Kirumi cleaned all of the dorms shortly before the murder was discovered. Kaede also notes during this conversation that it’s odd she hasn’t seen Makoto since she went into the gym. Hmmm.

Just as Makoto finally shows up and is about to help Kaede investigate everywhere else, the Monokubs appear. They have not been in the demo until now. Why did they need to be in the demo at all. It would be a more favourable advertisement of the game to pretend they don’t exist, you know, demo writers! They literally do not contribute anything of value to the narrative by showing up here.

Kaito: “Buncha cowards… Trying to interrupt my investigation with their stupid crap.”

Oh, Kaito. This is basically chapter 1 Kaito, who has no sidekicks yet and is instead desperately trying to feel like he can make a difference by doing something. Hence him making a point that this is his investigation. He leans towards this kind of attitude a couple of times in the main story, too, particularly in chapter 1 when he has no sidekicks, and in chapter 4 when he’s feeling like his support of his sidekicks isn’t enough and wants to be more of an action-oriented hero. This is bound to be the reason he’s here in this room at all despite not contributing anything to the player’s investigation – because he’s trying to do something about this, even though he doesn’t really know how!

Kaito: “Whatever… If I get serious, I can solve this case in no time flat!”

I don’t like this, though. It implies that he’s currently not being serious and would ever willingly slack off from something this important. That’s not in character. Kaito is always trying his hardest and always wants people to know he’s trying his hardest; he’d never use “oh but I just wasn’t really trying” as an excuse for the gap between how much he wants to make a difference and how much he actually can. It reads like some writer is superficially trying to get across the fact that Kaito talks big without backing it up, without truly understanding why he’s that way and keeping it in line with that. It’s odd, since the conversation just earlier showed quite a nuanced understanding of Kaito’s character, as opposed to this.

(If I were playing this demo myself, I would immediately talk to Kaito again after this to see if he has anything else to say on this matter, but because I’m forced to use Youtube, I can’t see if he does. There are words that Kaito said that could have been interesting that I’m unaware of dammit this is why I’m mad I had to use Youtube for this. Admittedly it’s most likely just him repeating those lines, or continuing to be written badly… but what if it isn’t.)

Kaede asks Makoto where he went off to, and he claims he was wandering around the school trying to find a way out or at least a map to help Kaede out. That does not properly explain why he insisted he couldn’t come into the gym with her in the first place, but okay.

Hajime stays behind to guard the crime scene while Makoto accompanies Kaede out of the dorm to investigate elsewhere. Makoto is getting a lot more screentime than Hajime in this demo. Still more genwunners than twoers in this audience, apparently.

Maki: “The crime occurred in the Protagonists’ Room. Stupid name aside, that’s your room, isn’t it?”

Aha, good old Maki, always Done™ with everyone’s nonsense.

Maki: “I don’t intend to just go with the easiest answer… But at the same time… I have no reason to trust you guys either.”

This is very Maki, not wanting to trust people without a good reason but also not being so stupid and hasty as to jump to any conclusions just because she doesn’t trust anyone.

Himiko: “Kaede, is it true? Did a murder really happen?”

Apparently some of these people really didn’t actually go and check out the body for themselves. You’d think they’d want to confirm it… but to be fair, it is very believable that Himiko in particular wouldn’t.

Kokichi: “Why’d ya kill him, Kaede? Did you really wanna escape that badly?”

Of course this is Kokichi’s immediate greeting to Kaede upon seeing her during the investigation. Of course.

Kaede: “N-No! I didn’t do anything!”

Kokichi: “So you’re saying the culprit has to be either Makoto or Hajime… Because if you didn’t do it, then that’s what you’re getting at, right?”

And of course he’d also think that she’d happily turn on the two people apparently closest to her and throw them under the bus to protect herself.

He really does (most likely, not that you can ever be sure with him) seem to believe it’s one of the three of them simply because it was their room. Look who is jumping to conclusions because he doesn’t trust anyone.

(I should point out that the room was unlocked the entire time and so there is literally no concrete reason to suspect the room’s owners above anybody else.)

“Makoto”: “Did you see Hiro?”

Tsumugi: “No, I didn’t. I think I’d definitely remember seeing hair like his.”

If the students who aren’t in the room right now didn’t see the body, how does Tsumugi know what Hiro’s hair looks like? This might be a very subtle clue as to the mastermind’s identity, because of course Tsumugi would know what Hiro’s hair looks like anyway.

(I’d say that actually she could have seen him from the Monokuma File, but based on Himiko’s comment earlier, I’m not sure if everyone necessarily has a Monokuma File to even know for sure that someone’s dead?)

Shuichi: “One of us killed Hiro… That’s what Monokuma said… But… I don’t think that’s the only possibility.”

Indeed it isn’t. There’s also the possibility that nobody killed anyone.

…I still don’t know why Shuichi isn’t in the dorm room to actually confirm whether or not Hiro is dead and do a proper investigation himself. Then again, if he did, we’d immediately know this class trial is bogus, so.

Kaede: “Shuichi, do you suspect me, too?”

Shuichi: “Ah, you don’t seem like the kind of person who would kill somebody… But… until I find evidence that proves you innocent…”

Kaede: “That’s true…”

Shuichi: “S-Sorry, it’s not that I *want* to suspect you, I just…”

Kaede: “No, it’s fine… That’s what the Ultimate Detective is supposed to do…”

Aww, Shuichi. He’s caught between the part of him that hates suspecting and accusing people (even when he has no particularly strong reason to trust Kaede in this universe) and the detective side of him that knows it’s the right way to deal with this situation. I complained about him not investigating, but maybe it’s simply because he’s afraid to thanks to his issues, and without the bond with Kaede that he has in canon, he can’t overcome that fear and manage to investigate anyway. Shuichi really does only manage to be a hero with others’ help.

Kaede: “Don’t worry about me, just do your best to investigate. That’s what’s going to save us.”

Shuichi: “… …Okay.”

Kaede: (Huh? That was a dull response… What happened?)

Kaede is noticing that he doesn’t seem enthusiastic about the idea of investigating to save them! A tiny, tiny little hint at his issues, since for the most part this demo really doesn’t want to focus on Shuichi at all. (Kaede is the protagonist, after all.)

During a conversation with Kiyo, he notices something about the way Makoto is talking about the investigation and trial.

Kiyo: “…You speak as if you are familiar with the process, yes?

“Makoto”: “That’s… also something that we can talk about later.”

…

Kaede: (Does Makoto know something…? I can trust him… can’t I?)

Of course, this reads perfectly innocently to anyone who knows Makoto is the protagonist from a previous Danganronpa game, but it genuinely must look pretty suspicious to Kaede. It’s a big testament to her general optimism and belief in people that she does still trust him even after all this.

One of the knives in the kitchen went missing while Tenko and Himiko were having tea in the dining hall. This is still really brazenly ripping off the first case of the first game.

And that’s the whole investigation, so everyone abruptly assembles in the trialgrounds which are right behind the red door, no elevator or Shrine of Judgement or anything.

“Hajime”: “Monokuma… I don’t know what you’re scheming, but… I won’t let you do whatever you want!”

Monokuma: “You’re an upperclassman protagonist… I think you can come up with a better line than that.”

“Makoto”: “Hajime’s right! You can’t just do whatever you want with their lives!”

Monokuma: “Geez, that’s basically what Hajime just said! You two need punch-up writers or something! Whether this demo is exciting or not depends entirely on you!”

Bahaha, this is such a deliberate attempt at pandering on the parts of Makoto and Hajime’s cosplayers, and is also so blatantly Monokuma calling them out for being kind of bad at this.

They have an awkward situation with this trial, given that there’s eighteen students here and only sixteen podiums. Obviously the game devs didn’t want to remodel the trialgrounds to have two extra podiums just for the demo.

Monosuke: “I know! Let’s just pick two people at random and rip ‘em apart with the Exisals!”

The Exisals have not been shown or otherwise mentioned in this demo. This line must rather confuse people seeing this before the main game.

Obviously there is no actual Exisal-murdering and two people simply have to sit out. Kokichi decides out of nowhere that Keebo should sit out because of course he does, lol Keebo’s not a person or anything, and then it conveniently turns out that Rantaro was with Keebo the whole time so they can vouch for each other not being the blackened and both safely not take part. Rantaro not being part of the demo trial is probably because he’s not a part of any trials in the main game either. Keebo sitting out is… just because Kokichi is a robophobic dick, apparently. (In an in-universe sense, you’d think Monokuma would have more of an issue with this, because isn’t Keebo supposed to be the audience’s camera? More indication that he really isn’t the only camera they have, then.)

Rantaro demands that at least he and Keebo are each allowed to ask one question at the end if they don’t agree with everybody else on who the blackened is, and that in doing so they could potentially restart the discussion. This doesn’t ever matter because the demo’s going to end before the trial reaches a conclusion, but it does show that Rantaro is a very smart and cautious person.

Kaito: “I’ll be carrying your lives, too! I’ll definitely do something about all this!”

But don’t worry, Rantaro and Keebo, Kaito is going to do something about this! You know, about this whole trial. Of course he is. Definitely. Even though it’s just the demo and it doesn’t really matter, his tendency to insist this out of his desperation to be able to make a difference is still here and it’s great. I also love the way he says he’ll be carrying their lives. Like he’s bearing that burden for them.

Kaito: “And don’t worry! We’ve got the Ultimate Detective on our side!”

Also this!!! Kaito doesn’t seem to have interacted with Shuichi at all this whole demo, but that’s not going to stop him from believing in him, because with a talent like that he’s bound to be awesome, right? It is very delightfully reminiscent of the main story that Kaito says this immediately after his own bold declarations. Despite his big words and how much he genuinely intends to do his best to fulfil them (because Kaito is always trying), he knows that Shuichi’s really the one most able to save them in this situation. Kaito’s relying on and believing in Shuichi’s ability to be the real hero here. I love this tiny tiny nod to their delightful friendship dynamic in canon.

Shuichi: “Huh?”

Shuichi is not used to people believing in his detective skills. Kaito really does mean it even though he’s only just met you, Shuichi!

Class Trial

In the trial, Makoto has Rantaro’s podium and Hajime has Keebo’s. I’m quite surprised that they didn’t do it the other way around – Keebo is after all basically meant to be Robot Makoto, and that would have been one reasonable excuse for leaving him in particular out.

Things start with people throwing out some baseless ideas. Tenko of course decides someone male must have done it.

Shuichi: “We can’t rule out suspects that way… We need to look at all the possibilities.”

Shuichi, at least, is being rational about this. He doesn’t say much in this demo, but what he does say is always quite sensible.

Tenko: “Kiyo looks creepy! That’s suspicious enough for me!”

Aaaaagh coming from Tenko in particular that’s just painful. Demo why would you do this.

By the way, fun fact: the English voicework for this demo was almost certainly recorded after that for the main game. How do I know? Because of Kaito’s voice. For the earlier trials in the main game, Kaito’s voice sounds a lot rougher and growlier, which becomes less of a thing as the game goes on. It’s gradual enough that you don’t notice it while it’s happening, but going from trial 4 Kaito back to trial 1 Kaito gives quite a noticeable difference. I assume this is because his voice actor started out consciously trying to emulate his Japanese voice, which is indeed quite gruff, but then as things went along he got more into the character and developed his own instinctive feel for Kaito’s voice, one which wasn’t as growly as it started out. And here in the demo, Kaito’s voice isn’t growly at all; it sounds like his lines from trial 4, not trial 1.

(The voice actor getting more into the role has to be the only reason for the gradual shift, because really, in-universe, Kaito’s voice should have been subtly getting more rough and growly as time went by, thanks to his illness getting worse. It’d have been really fun if that had been a thing. Alas.)

Kaito: “He didn’t even have a chance to resist!”

Like in the main game, Kaito is the first person to be refuted. In trials where Shuichi is his sidekick, Kaito doesn’t tend to make any arguments at all and just sits back and lets Shuichi handle it (with the exception of trial 4, for chapter 4 reasons). But in trial 1 he didn’t have a sidekick and was instead trying to feel useful by actually contributing to the discussion despite knowing he might be wrong, kind of like in trial 4.

In the actual trial 1 in the main commentary, I explained why Kaito wasn’t being stupid even though he was wrong, but in this instance, he has simply been very rudely handed the idiot ball. Kaito was one of the people who investigated the dorm room! He saw the signs of a struggle!

Obviously, this argument is also mirroring the very first argument you refute in this case in DR1. But then they should have given this line to someone who actually wasn’t in the room and didn’t see the state of it, of which there are plenty of options. In DR1, the person who makes this argument is Chihiro, who didn’t investigate the room out of fear – and in fact, him making this assumption despite not knowing the facts was likely a sign of his issues about feeling weak, because of course he’d have been afraid of being killed by someone stronger without even being able to fight back, so he projected that onto Sayaka.

But Kaito making this argument here? Doesn’t make any sense or have any good reason for it. They’re apparently trying to have Kaito be the first person to be refuted like he is in the main game (and perhaps for similar reasons), while also having the first refuted argument in this case be the same as it was in the DR1 case. Either callback (or call-forward) alone would be fine, but doing both of them at once does not work and ends up very uncharitable towards Kaito.

Kaito: “Okay, so that room wasn’t such a mess to begin with, then.”

They try and justify this by having it so that apparently Kaito thought the room was always that messy, but no, that doesn’t justify anything. Sure, I can potentially imagine Kaito as someone with a messy room himself (though if so it’s probably the “organised chaos” type in which he knows where everything is even if nobody else would have a clue), but this was more than just a messy room here. There were slash marks everywhere! Things were outright broken! Kaito is not stupid, and it is very rude of the demo to twist him out of character in order to give people a first impression of him that makes him seem like he is.

Kaede: (The two people who fought in that room were…)

- Kaede and Shuichi

It’s ridiculous that the demo is making us do a multiple choice to figure out that Hiro fought with the culprit, what the hell, that’s a Psyche Taxi level of stupidly obvious question there… but it’s interesting that this is one of the obviously-wrong answers. There’s been absolutely no indication of any kind of connection between Kaede and Shuichi in the demo, except for this.

Kaede: “Of course, it was Hiro and the culprit.”

Kaito: “Huh!? Really!?”

No! Stop it! Stop making Kaito seem like an idiot! He is not stupid! This one doesn’t even have any kind of excuse of trying to be a call-forward to the main game! There is no reason for this!

Kaito, I am so sorry you got handed this idiot ball, please just throw it away and pretend you never saw it, you don’t deserve this.

Miu: “Who else would it be, dumbass!?”

If that was supposed to be setup to give someone an excuse to call Kaito an idiot for the further bad writing that’s about to ensue, then, this is still uncalled for. When people call Kaito an idiot, they are not meant to be actually literally right about it!

Kaito: “Who you callin’ a dumbass!? I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!”

…

Kokichi: “Hey, you two idiots over there… Stop chit-chatting and keep this discussion moving.”

Miu: “Hey! Don’t lump me in with that idiot! You’re talkin’ to the gorgeous girl genius, Miu Iruma!”

Kokichi: “Yup, you two should be lumped together. Your statements are on the same level.”

No, they really, really shouldn’t be, and this is still doing a horrible disservice to Kaito. Kaito usually reacts strongly to being called an idiot, sure, but he does not do so by talking himself up, because he is not actually insecure enough to need to “prove” he isn’t one (unlike Miu, whose boasts always reek of insecurity). Comparing him to Miu like this is making it look like Kaito only talks himself up to save face for himself and protect his own ego when it’s being battered, like she does, and that he actually is just a useless idiot beneath these empty words, especially when he really just was one thanks to that undeserved idiot ball. That is so incredibly not even remotely the point of Kaito’s character, oh my god. Please stop, demo. How can you get some of the Kaito parts so right but others so horrendously wrong.

(It makes me feel better to imagine that Kaito’s actual main writers, the ones who created a very carefully-crafted character arc full of all of his delightful issues and principles and complexities, were just, I dunno, on lunch break or something, and some clueless intern with only a very superficial knowledge of Kaito as “an idiot who talks big” got to write some of his lines here while they were out. That clueless intern is probably also the one responsible for the tiny handful of Misogyny Bullets that hit Kaito and briefly forced him out of character for one line each throughout the main story, right?)

Moving on, Kokichi begins making a big point of how he suspects everyone whom the room belonged to, because of course he does. (Look at him acting all high and mighty and more intelligent than the two supposed “idiots” and then immediately turning around and jumping to unfounded conclusions. Clearly the smartest way to handle a class trial there.)

“Makoto”: “The discussion won’t move forward if we all just point fingers. Like Shuichi said, we need to talk about all the possibilities.”

He may just be an actor pretending to be Makoto, but he’s got a goddamn point. Kokichi’s accusation flinging is never actually helpful.

Kaito: “Yeah, what he said! No way Kaede’s the culprit!”

Welcome back, Kaito, it’s good to see you again! This is a very Kaito thing for him to do. He’s barely spoken to Kaede or seen much of her in the demo, but he did have that conversation with her at the crime scene where she agreed that the culprit should have tried to work together to escape before giving up and resorting to murder. His instincts are telling him that she really meant that and really is this kind of person! He has a hunch, and he’s right, because his hunches always are!

Kokichi: “Kaito! This trial won’t go anywhere if you don’t suspect anyone!”

And this is a character dynamic involving Kaito that’s actually correct and relevant in the main game such that it makes sense to hint at it in the demo, thank you.

Shuichi: “What we have to determine now… is the murder weapon.”

And of course Shuichi is the one who’s focusing on the actual logic and getting the trial back on track instead of arguing. This was a very trial 4 exchange we just had here.

Despite Shuichi’s attempt at being sensible, everyone else then starts arguing over whether certain people could have killed him with their bare hands, because it seems that nobody who saw the body feels the need to tell them it was a goddamn knife and also apparently no-one read the Monokuma File. I guess at least Kaito smashed his idiot ball into several smaller pieces and shared it around the group.

Shuichi: “There was no indication the body was punched. I don’t believe fists were the murder weapon.”

Shuichi I know you’re hesitant about doing this detective thing and you maybe didn’t go to the scene but you clearly read the Monokuma File just tell them it was a knife please.

Ryoma: “Then our murder weapon is… the knife stabbed into his gut?”

THANK YOU RYOMA I don’t know why you didn’t say this sooner but.

Kaede: (I wonder… Was the murder weapon lodged in Hiro’s abdomen really a knife?)

Yes, Kaede, it was a fucking knife! But apparently the game wants us to be more specific about the fact that it was a kitchen knife. I don’t know if this works better in Japanese in that the word for kitchen knife doesn’t include the word “knife”, but even if so, it is still a type of knife! This is something else that was an argument made in the original DR1 case – someone says the culprit used “some random knife they had on them”, and Makoto counters that it was a kitchen knife because the more relevant point is where it came from. So really, to make this be even remotely sensible here, that should also be the question Kaede is asking herself. Not was it even a knife. What the hell.

This is specifically an excuse to demonstrate the Mind Mine minigame, which is a pretty bad example of it because the other two images that are options in it aren’t even knives. Not that Mind Mine is ever really a super justified minigame that doesn’t point out something rather obvious, but.

Another thing I remember about the fan translation of this demo that I originally watched was that this part apparently made the translator flip tables, because they broke immersion to have Kaede’s line announcing her answer also include something to the effect of “oh my god Kaede I can’t believe you had to do a whole minigame just to figure out it was a kitchen knife what the hell”. Same, though, random fan translator from years ago. Same.

Kaito: “Yeah, I caught a glimpse of it too… That was definitely a kitchen knife.”

Oh hey, look who’s capable of observing and understanding basic facts! Yes, hello, we would like to apologise for our previous misinformation and inform everyone that Kaito is, in fact, not stupid, please disregard everything you may have heard in the past few minutes implying that he is, thank you.

Shuichi: “A knife… I do remember seeing a knife in the kitchen. That could be it.”

Angie: “I see, I see… An excellent deduction from the Ultimate Detective. Well done.”

Yes, clearly, Shuichi is the only person in this room capable of realising that kitchen knives come from the kitchen. I know I said Kaito isn’t stupid, but he still obviously pales in comparison to this detective genius right here.

Shuichi: “Ah, it’s not because I’m a detective… I’m still in training…”

Shuichi is also apparently the only person sensible enough to realise that it wasn’t even a clever deduction. This is supposed to be a hint at his insecurity, but also he’s just making a very valid point.

Maki: “You really don’t need to be a detective to know that the knife came from the kitchen.”

Thank you, Maki, for being one of the only other sensible people here. God, Maki is always such a breath of fresh air.

Kokichi: “Geez, who cares about the murder weapon?”

Kaito: “What do you mean, ‘who cares’!?”

Kokichi: “We can already guess who the culprit is. There’s a super-duper huge hint already.”

Yeah, who cares about actual concrete evidence when we can randomly sling accusations around based on completely circumstantial stuff! This is so very Kokichi. I also appreciate that Kaito’s the one to question him.

After some discussion in which the three protagonists insist it wasn’t them, led largely by Maki, who of course has no qualms about suspecting them even though she’s not going to conclude it definitely was them yet…

Kokichi: “Ugh, I already told you it’s not Kaede. Suspecting her right off the bat is so mean!”

Of course, the demo’s got to also have some of Kokichi’s transparent two-faced insincerity in an attempt to make everyone else’s belief in and defense of each other sound hollow and empty. Wouldn’t be Kokichi without that.

Kaito: “Hey! You’re the one who brought it up!”

And Kaito’s the one to call him out on that, because of course he should be!

“Makoto”: “We need to talk this over more to uncover the truth. This is a test.”

Kaede: “Huh?” (This is a test…?)

The way it lingers on that comment makes it seem relevant. Maybe this is just another nod to this being a demo, which is meant to “test” players’ skills in preparation for the main game. Which could also potentially be the idea in-universe, if this is indeed being done as a test-run before they wipe everyone’s memories of this and put them in the real killing game (though as I said before, this still can’t have been quite what happened in real canon given the whole pregame reset thing).

Gonta: “Gonta not good at tough subjects… but Gonta will work hard for everyone’s sake!”

Kaede: “That’s right! We need to work together so we can overcome this class trial!”

Yaaaay, Gonta. He hasn’t really done much of note in this demo but he’s still here and doing his best! And also here’s some Kaede being very herself.

“Makoto”: “Everything’s gone smoothly so far, but…”

Kaede: “Huh? Did you say something, Makoto?”

“Makoto”: “No… it’s nothing.”

Hah, Makoto really is acting quite suspiciously now, isn’t he.

Ryoma: “Either way, we’ve got three main suspects now…”

No, we haven’t, we only ended up on this topic because of Kokichi’s random accusation slinging, can we get back to talking about the knife, please. Ryoma, you are meant to be smarter than this.

Kaito: “It’s not any of them! I believe in these guys!”

Oh, Kaito. I’m a little more surprised that his intuition is giving him a fully positive read on “Makoto” and “Hajime”, but he hasn’t interacted with them that much either and their acting has been fine so far and made them seem superficially heroic, so, eh, fair enough.

Shuichi: “If we can determine who took the murder weapon from the kitchen… that would clear Kaede of suspicion.”

Yes, thank you, let’s talk about the evidence. Shuichi’s is always the most sensible voice in the room. I also like how he’s thinking of it as clearing Kaede of suspicion – he really doesn’t want to think she did it.

Kirumi: “First, we should listen to Kaede and the others’ testimonies.”

This whole thing of awkwardly veering the topic onto these three suspects in particular (thanks to our convenient Kokichi in the room just wanting to be overly suspicious of everyone) is actually an excuse to demonstrate a Mass Panic Debate. Which is a horrendously bad example of one of these. They’re supposed to happen when people get so riled up at being suspected that they all talk over each other, but Kaede, Makoto and Hajime have been quite calm and level-headed about this, and each happily agree to Kirumi’s suggestion to let them testify. So they shouldn’t need to talk over each other!

And then, to make things even more confusing and distract even more from what’s supposed to be the point of a Mass Panic Debate, Monokuma and his cubs awkwardly interrupt to declare that Kaede can’t participate and they’re arbitrarily going to make someone else testify about their alibi instead of her. This is of course because Kaede is the protagonist and so can’t participate in a playable debate, and it’s also because the person they’re having testify instead is someone who actually has testimony about who took the knife and is therefore the relevant thing to shoot at. But my god, does this end up giving a completely unclear and misleading impression of what a Mass Panic Debate is even supposed to be for. When I first saw this demo, I remember being confused as hell and thinking it was pointlessly gimmicky to have three Nonstop Debates at once for no apparent reason. It completely fails to communicate the idea that these are supposed to be less about the gameplay and more about narrative tension (even if only one of the Mass Panic Debates in the main game really pulls that off to its full potential).

The third testimony in question is from Himiko, who was having tea with Tenko when somebody took the knife. Specifically, she was lecturing Tenko about the difference between real magic and a magic trick, because of course she was. It’s cute that Tenko was happy to listen to her.

Tenko doesn’t know who it was who came in, because it was a dude, and so, being Tenko, she didn’t pay him any attention beyond that. This jogs Himiko’s memory, though…

Himiko: “Nyeh… now that I think about it, someone was in the kitchen. Someone who’s no longer with us…”

…and then she decides to tell us all who it was in the vaguest possible way instead of just saying “it was Hiro” or “it was the victim”. Which is in fact a very transparent way to shoehorn in, drumroll please, the actual stupidest Psyche Taxi segment in the game, for real this time! At least if you count the demo as part of this game.

Credit to them, they actually did put Kaede in the car and not Shuichi. I think her car might be a little different, too? The idea of driving through Vegas to pick up sex workers is… basically just as out-of-character for Kaede as it was for Shuichi, given that she’s a huge piano nerd without many friends, not that that part of her character has been illustrated at all in the demo. (She’s still picking up women, but then there are a few comments Kaede makes that strongly hint she’s bi, so hey.)

The two (at least it’s only two; even they couldn’t stretch this out into three or four) questions asked here are: “Who is not here?” [Victim/Culprit] and then “Who is the victim of this case?” [Hajime/Hiro/Makoto]. Yup, they actually thought those were questions that anyone ever would have to think about at all.

…I mean, they probably didn’t really. And to be fair, this is pretty similar to how stupid actual Psyche Taxis are, so, uhh, representative demo gameplay???

Kaede: “Are you saying Hiro’s the one who went into the kitchen?”

Because obviously Kaede had to drive a taxi through her mind to figure this out, and nobody else in the room figured it out in less time than it took her to do that. And she also couldn’t possibly have just asked Himiko to clarify who she meant in the first place.

But hey, the one who took the knife from the kitchen was in fact the victim. More references to the DR1 case! I wonder if we’re supposed to think that Hiro was secretly planning murder and not just taking it for self-defence. Honestly I wouldn’t entirely put that past him; if anyone would be the kind of coward looking for an easy way out that Kaito was denouncing back in the investigation, he seems a reasonable candidate for it.

Having realised that the one who took the knife isn’t the culprit after all, suspicion falls back on the three protagonists, particularly Kaede as she discovered the body.

“Makoto”: “No, that’s wrong!”

“Hajime”: “Yeah! You’ve got that wrong!”

Monokuma: “Oh? The two leads just said their catchphrases! Finally, this is getting exciting!”

Man, this is apparently some genwunner-audience-shallowness worthy of trial 6 if they’re supposed to think that a couple of people just yelling “no, that’s wrong!” somehow makes things the height of entertainment. Admittedly the rest of the trial has not exactly been riveting, but still.

“Makoto”: “Kaede… don’t give up hope. Keep going and you’ll be able to reach the truth!”

He can’t just tell her to not give up – he has to throw in that buzzword and make sure everyone knows that this is about hope. Look, guys, he’s totally Makoto.

Kaede: “But, how do I prove my innocence?”

“Hajime”: “That’s…”

…But neither of them actually know how to do this and are just spouting meaningless protagonisty lines.

Kokichi: “Fine! I guess my decisive testimony will help us find our culprit!”

Oh boy, it’s Kokichi Making Everything About Himself time.

Gonta: “You know who culprit is? That means everyone not have to get punished!”

Aww, Gonta. Look at him naively believing everything Kokichi says, this is totally not foreshadowing for anything important and tragic in the main game, not at all.

A couple of the other slower characters also go welp, great, this means the trial can be over soon.

Shuichi: “Kokichi… if you had information like that, why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

Kokichi: “Well, if I said something that important right away, that wouldn’t be much fun.”

But at least Shuichi is still being the most sensible and realising exactly what is so fishy about this. (This is also the question he has to worry about himself with regards to his own lies that he tells in canon.)

Kokichi’s response is “lol, for fun”, though, because of course it is, and that is exactly what he would do if this testimony he’s about to give weren’t a lie. Especially considering that that’s the usual reason why he really does frequently withhold important information from everyone else in canon.

Kokichi: “Anyway… the culprit is Makoto.”

From just the text alone, this could seem like it’s deliberately being reminiscent of Kokichi’s “Well, then… the culprit is Gonta” line in canon. But alas, the delivery is completely different – which I guess is fair enough, since here he’s just lying.

Kaede: “Huh? Wh-What are you saying?”

“Makoto”: “…”

Interestingly, Makoto doesn’t immediately try to deny this.

Regardless, Kaede decides she’s going to believe in Makoto, and so she’s going to lie for him. Finally, a mechanic introduced in this demo that, A, is an actually interesting new mechanic and not a pointless minigame, and, B, is represented properly!

(There’s no Debate Scrum in this demo, sadly. I’d say it’s because they couldn’t come up with a proper excuse for one, but honestly they could probably have scraped together a short one about whether or not Makoto did it, similar to the one about Shuichi in canon.)

Kokichi: “I saw Makoto leave that room by himself! I swear!”

Wow, that totally doesn’t sound like a lie at all.

“Makoto”: “I didn’t go into that room even once… so Kokichi must be mistaken.”

“Kokichi is lying.”

There’s eight different white noise lines for this last statement, most of which are quite easily identifiable. Even though this one is less obviously so, I bet it’s Maki. It sounds like her.

So Kaede lies that she was with Makoto the entire time until the body discovery.

Kokichi: “Hmmm… Kaede, you’d rather choose a lie than the truth, just to protect Makoto?”

Kaede: “Do you have any proof to show that I’m lying, Kokichi?”

Kokichi: “Nope, none at all. I lied about seeing Makoto.”

Welp, that didn’t last long at all.

Kaito: “Why you…? Don’t mess with us!”

Again I love that Kaito is the one to call him out on this! He hates that someone would be this insincere and selfishly mess with their lives just for his own petty entertainment.

Kokichi: “I just wanted Makoto to talk, so I simply tricked him into speaking.”

Kaito: “Why beat around the bush like that?”

This is so Kaito – he’s not using the word here, but this is his concept of manliness! Don’t beat around the bush, just come straight out and tell people what you want from them! If he wanted Makoto to testify, he should have just asked him instead of being insincere and indirect and manipulating him into it.

Kokichi: “Cuz it’s still not clear where Makoto was before and after the indicent, right? Aw maaaan… I totally thought Makoto would talk if we started accusing him.”

And your lie didn’t help us clear anything up any more than just asking him directly would have done, so good fucking job, as usual. It almost seems like Kokichi’s actually acknowledging here that his lie didn’t work, but really he’s probably telling himself it totally would have worked if Kaede hadn’t jumped in with her own lie, because Kokichi can never be wrong about anything.

Some of the others point out that Kaede is also lying because she was on her own shortly after the body discovery and it’s weird that she and Makoto would split up after finding a body. Since Kaede’s lie is so provably false, it’s surprising to me that Kokichi backed down so soon on his own lie rather than just trying to disprove Kaede’s. Maybe his actual intent was that he thought Kaede was the culprit and expected her to throw Makoto under the bus to protect herself, and then when she didn’t, he realised she’s probably innocent and backed off? Maybe? But then again, Kokichi expects people to throw others under the bus to protect themselves even when they are innocent, like he was trying to get Kaito to do to Maki in trial 2, so, eh, I kinda doubt he’d see anyone not doing that as actual proof of anything. There’s too much selflessness and trust involved in that idea.

Gonta: “Huh? Kaede… tell lie?”

Aww, Gonta.

Kaede: (I need to be more convincing if I want them to believe me. I’ll remember that next time I need to lie… Of course, I hope that time never comes.)

Heh, that sure is a rather transparently this-is-just-a-demo thing for her to be thinking.

Kaito: “We just got dragged around by Kokichi’s lies… We didn’t clear a single thing up!”

Exactly! God I love like 80% of the Kaito in this demo. All of the bits that aren’t horrendously out of character are so wonderfully him.

Everyone awkwardly laments that they still don’t have any more of a clue who did it other than maybe the three owners of the room and maybe in particular Kaede for no good reason. (Come on, guys, the rooms weren’t locked, literally anybody could have seen Hiro wandering into that room and taken their chance to kill someone.)

“Makoto”: “It can’t end like this. No one wants an ending like that.”

Wow, that is so hilariously trial 6 of him. I am very sure the demo writers are doing this on purpose at this point.

Hajime decides he can prove it wasn’t Kaede, so he starts talking in very vague terms about “it” that was on the floor in the dorm, and something off about the crime scene. I’m not sure what the latter thing he’s supposed to be referring to is – Kaede’s comments in the investigation suggested there was supposedly something suspicious about the blood on the knife handle, so it might be that, but I couldn’t tell myself what was off about it. (There might not even be anything off about it, because this is about to go precisely nowhere. Then again, maybe it was the fact that it’s actually a prop knife because “Hiro” wasn’t really dead? Although “Hajime” probably wouldn’t want that to be known, would he.) The former thing is clearly the short brown hair found on the floor after Kirumi had cleaned, which suggests it is not Kaede but is instead either Makoto or Hajime.

But before Kaede can actually properly mention either of these things Hajime is vaguely alluding to, Monokuma interrupts and declares that the demo is over, and the trial abruptly ends.

So we never actually find out who supposedly killed Hiro – but I think the clues make it pretty clear that it was supposed to be Makoto.

On my first time seeing the demo, I was certain it couldn’t be Makoto because I already implicitly trusted that he’d never kill anyone. But that’s only if it was the real Makoto. Since this is just a cosplayer, and this is just a show being put on by Team Danganronpa for some very superficial demo entertainment, anything goes. I can totally see them pulling out the shocking twist that Makoto murdered someone, just for the hell of it.

All the clues point to Makoto – the hair that’s either his or Hajime’s, his extremely unexplained disappearance, plus a couple of moments in which he acted quite suspiciously, such as the way he didn’t immediately fervently plead his innocence when Kokichi claimed he had proof. And even if it had actually been a real murder, none of the people here who are real people and not cosplayers just acting would snap and give up that quickly on getting out of here without resorting to such drastic measures, just like Kaito said.

Then, right at the end of the demo, over a blank screen, there’s this.

“Makoto”: “Hey, how was… our acting?”

Monokuma: “Puhuhu, it wasn’t too shabby! I especially liked how convincingly you wasted everyone’s time!”

“Hajime”: “I was a little worried about the end there… Hope it was exciting enough. Welp, since we got through it smoothly, that’s it for today!”

Monokuma: “Smell ya later!”

“Makoto”: “Good job, everyone!”

“Hajime”: “Good job! See ya!”

…………

“Hiro”: “Heeey! Wait for meee!”

This sure is a thing. I’d actually forgotten this bit was here while coming up with my theory that the Makoto, Hajime and Hiro we see in this demo are just cosplayers and nobody died – and this basically completely proves that this idea really was what the out-universe writers were going for here.

On a first viewing of this demo without having seen the main game, Makoto asking about their acting would potentially just seem like him referring to how he and Hajime hid the fact that they’d already been in another killing game – and, perhaps, the fact that they knew Hiro wasn’t really dead and this was all staged. But even then, it’s kind of odd that they’re asking this to Monokuma, like they’re in league with him, which doesn’t seem right for them at all.

But it makes every single bit of sense after finishing the main game if you assume that they really were cosplayers just putting on this demo as a teaser for the in-universe audience. When “Makoto” asks about their acting, he’s asking if they were convincing enough as Makoto and Hajime in the first place. They work for Team Danganronpa, so of course they’re in league with Monokuma and having a casual conversation with him. And everything about the way they’re talking comes across like actors or directors being all “welp, that’s a wrap, good job out there on set today, guys, we sure made an entertaining show!”

This bit didn’t need to be in the demo at all, but it’s really fun that they put it here anyway. It’s a very subtle, cheeky little hint to the real truth of everything that nobody’s going to be able to piece together without already knowing the truth and is just going to assume is meaningless demo shenanigans until then.

Also, while obviously nobody actually died, Team Danganronpa was still presenting a fiction in which Hiro totally did die, and within that fiction they apparently still totally had it in mind that Makoto killed him. They didn’t really have to hint towards anyone having done it at all, but they still had Makoto’s actor go out of his way to put in deliberate hints that it was him. I wonder how many of the audience picked up on the hints, and how shocked they were if they did. Gasp, their precious Makoto did a murder!! How could he fall to despair like this!?

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #ndrv3 #bonus content #demo #commentary

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cardboardqueen · 4 years

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I love the idea of Zolfs big "NO! NO NO NO NO NO," at being assumed to be in a relationship with Wilde, was him just seeing Hamid looking apprehensive and panicking. and after everyone's left Wilde says "so we're Not telling them" and Zolf, sounding deeply pained, going "Hamid looked hurt and he's still really cute leave me alone" and then Wilde makes fun of his bf for the next week.

I’m assuming this is re: my tags on that ohallows prompt (post/190543747664)

“#im sorry their ship name is riverbank?#incredible#see now i'm thinking about polyray#polyangle?#idk#hamid/zolf/wilde#zolf is dating both of them#they are not dating each other#chaos ensues#rqg#riverbank#apparently“

answer: yes

tbh i don’t ship very strongly in rqg (i’m open to most things), but I can just imagine zolf’s general emotional constipation (& genuine growth) interacting with wilde’s suave facade and hamid’s charm in interesting and hilarious ways

combined with the fact that it can be difficult to communicate with old friends after you’ve had some personal growth, I can definitely see that kind of panicked miscommunication happening. zolf has grown a lot (they all have) and we saw zolf making an effort to be emotionally transparent with hamid and azu on the walk to cel’s village. But the last time he and hamid saw each other they were completely different people, and it’s easy to accidentally adopt old patterns. so the gut instinct of ‘no he cannot know’ fits weirdly perfectly alongside the ‘oh damn but i do actually want to be honest with him about this’.

this started out fun and funny but now I want a character study of zolf learning to be open and honest with himself and the people he cares about, including but not limited to he and wilde messily breaking each others walls down in the 1.5 year interlude, and going through the process again with hamid (whenever these kids get a fucking break alex come on).

can’t quite find the words right now, but I think there’s a lot of potential for parallel with zolf’s exit in prague and what must have come after off-air, wilde’s minor breakdown in damascus (and everything that changed him in the interlude), and the cracks we’re starting to see in hamid now. that combined with the fact that zolf and wilde have a year (or more) of each other’s support and hamid has had maybe a month(ish?) since zolf left in prague, I think that if there’s ever a moment where hamid actually has time to process the things that he’s gone through and people that he trusts, zolf and wilde are perfectly positioned to be the scaffolding around that breakdown.

did you guys see that post where someone did the math and zolf is basically human late-20s? and canonically hamid is like human 19-20? and wilde is idk but irl wilde was imprisoned @41 and died @46, so like, not ancient. they’re all just having quarter life crises at the end of the world.

(on a completely different note, azu also makes an incredible emotional support structure, but she needs to the time, space, and security for her own breakdown & rebuild and as much as they love, support, and need each other, neither she nor hamid is in the right place to be the other’s sole support for the fallout of all that’s happened. they each need other people bc sitting in a 2 person stew of traumatized codependency is not healthy for anyone. that’s part of why i’m intrigued by cel and zolf’s clashing of attitudes, I think there’s an opening there for a discussion of everyone’s trauma and varied coping mechanisms that could provide a very helpful alternative perspectives for everyone, but that’s a whole other post.)

this got way longer than intended and it turns out i have some feelings about the emotional growth of these characters (surprise surprise). i haven’t written fic for rqg yet & classes just started so this is bad timing but. i am feeling a pull.

anyway yes please talk to me both about hilarious polyam awkwardness and also the hard won emotional growth of beloved characters, I love both

#rqg #rqg meta #cardboard answer #riverbank #yall what's a cutsy shipname for the trio #hamid saleh haroun al-tehan #zolf smith #azu #cel sidebottom #no im not spelling their full first name #Anonymous

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dirtyahs · 5 years

Text

Future Mrs. (Rory Monahan x Reader)

hi guys!! this one was requested by @cheerocracyx

I love u girl i hope you enjoy this story!!

Prompts: “Is that my shirt you’re wearing?” + “You’re so pretty.” + “Mine. Only mine.”

Word count: 2,634

Warnings: very slight power play, unprotected sex, i think thats it??

You couldn't help but smile when you caught a glimpse of your ring glittering in the lights of your makeup table, looking down at your hand. You were the future Mrs. Monahan. Rory had proposed about a month ago. It was amazing, he had taken you on a surprise vacation to Hawaii for a whole week, and one night when he had scheduled a private beach dinner for you two, that's when he proposed, right at sunset. It looked like something straight out of one of his movies. His acting career had really taken off in the last several months, and he'd been enjoying spoiling you since.

Tonight was the premier for "My Roanoke Nightmare," and although Rory had offered to find you a whole styling team, you politely turned down his offer. There was something therapeutic about spending the day doing your hair and makeup by yourself. Although you did let him pick out your dress - frankly, you still weren't exactly sure how to dress for these sorts of things.

Your eyes returned to your mirror, sliding your flat iron down a piece of your hair, mouthing along to the song you had playing through your speakers. "Hi baby," You heard Rory's voice enter the room, looking at him in your mirror. "Hey! Is that my shirt you're wearing?" He flashed you a toothy grin, and you nodded. You had stolen one of his white and blue baseball shirts and tied it at your waist to fit you, nothing on your legs besides a white thong hugging your hips tightly.

"You put a ring on my finger! That was you silently also handing away all of your clothes." You grinned, spraying your hair with some hairspray, finally finished flat ironing it. Rory walked up behind your chair, hands meeting your shoulders, rubbing them lovingly. "How are you feeling about tonight?" You asked, watching his face in the mirror, each of you illuminated perfectly from the bright lights.

"I can't wait." He grinned. "Mostly because I finally get to brag to the world that I'm getting married!" He brought his hand up and wiggled his fingers to show off the silver band on his finger. You couldn't help but giggle, making him lean down and press happy kisses all along your cheek. "You're so lucky I haven't done my makeup yet!" You squealed, laughing as his lips tickled you. His kisses slowed and he smiled against your cheek. "Why? I'm going to ruin it later tonight anyways." His tone was cocky and playful, and your cheeks went red. "Excuse me, Mr. Monahan, are you flirting with me?" You teased, reaching one arm up to brush his cheek lightly.

"Maybe I am, but don't tell my fiancee." He winked at you, kissing the top of your head with a smile. "I'll let you finish getting ready. We have to leave by 6:00!" He grinned and you nodded, pressing play on your phone once again when he left. He still gave you butterflies.

A few more hours had passed and you were slipping into your dress. It was dark red, the fabric cinching in at the waist, thin straps, and fairly low cut. It had small maroon glittering studs covering every inch. Rory had been talking about how excited he was to see you in it since the day he had surprised you with it. Your hair was done, long eyelashes were on, and your lips were painted with your favorite nude. You slipped into your tall black heels, looking at yourself in the mirror with a smile. You felt so incredibly confident, and honestly couldn't wait to see all the pictures of you and your soon to be husband on social media. You stepped out of your walk in closet to see Rory looking in his own mirror, straightening out his matching maroon bow tie, his jaw almost visibly dropping when he saw you walk out. "Holy shit!" He turned around to face you, taking a few steps towards you before snaking his arms around your waist. Your cheeks got hot. "(Y/N...)" He started, "You look absolutely amazing." His eyes kept on scanning you up and down. "You're so pretty." He whispered, pressing his lips into yours, pulling your body tighter against his own. He deepened your kiss, forcing a chill down your spine. "Rory, if you keep kissing me like that then we're not going anywhere." You teased him, running your thumb along his cheek, making him smile. "Okay then, let's go." He beamed, "Our car is waiting."

You couldn't manage to wipe the smile off of your face as Rory's hand was wrapped around your waist and you had cameras flashing for you two in every single direction. Every chance Rory had to announce you as his fiancee, he definitely did. Always grabbing your hand to show off the stunning diamond on your finger, pressing a kiss into your cheek. "So, (Y/N), how do you feel about Rory being so close with Ms. Audrey Tindall?" One interviewer asked, raising an eyebrow. Rory had talked to you about this - they'll try to stir up drama for more views. Don't fall for it. "Oh, I love Audrey! I'm so glad that Rory gets along with his cast mates." You grinned, seeing Rory do the same out of the corner of your eye. "It doesn't bother you that she's been named as a flirt?" They kept pressing, you never let your smile falter.

"Flirting is just flirting. I trust Rory with my life and Audrey is such a sweetheart." You stated, "It's been a pleasure." And with that, you grabbed Rory's hand and pulled yourself out of the situation, making your way further down the red carpet. "Your answers were perfect baby." He whispered in your ear, giving your hand a squeeze. You'd hadn't even met Audrey yet. And you'd never heard of her being a flirt on set. But even if she was, your answer was honest; you trusted Rory implicitly. That interview had marked the end of the picture taking red carpet stuff, it was time for the actual event. You were sat at a table with the rest of the cast, finally meeting Audrey in person - you two clicked immediately. She couldn't help but laugh when you told her about the interviewer, "Yeah, they'll try to stir up drama wherever they can. I'm sure Rory told you that, though." She grinned between the two of you. The premier went by quickly, it was mostly just chatting with whoever was at your table, a short trailer for the series, and listening to the directors talk up on stage with the cast and crew behind them. The whole time you were unable to take your eyes off of your fiance. He looked amazing - that goofy little smile on his face, he looked like he was glowing.

You were sure that you screamed the loudest at every glimpse of his character - you were going to have to tease him about his powdered wig get up when you got home. Soon enough the premier was over, and Rory linked your arm around his, walking you two back out to your car. He'd turned down all the after party offers.

"We can go out tonight," You looked up at him, "Don't feel obligated to go home just because I'm a little tired." You said, giving his hand a squeeze. "It's not about you, babe. I can't stand looking at you and not being able to rip this dress off." He whispered against your ear, planting a secret kiss on your neck just below your ear, making you shudder in response. He helped you into your car, smiling at you as you two began the drive home.

"Home sweet home." Rory sighed when you two walked through the large front doors. It wasn't long before his hands were wrapped around your hips, pressing you tightly against the doors he had just locked. "I can't explain to you how fuckin' beautiful you look." He said quietly, pressing his lips to yours as if his life depended on it. His hands held you tightly through the soft fabric of your dress as he kissed you hungrily. You tilted your chin up, silently telling him how badly you needed him. His lips traveled to your neck, gliding along it softly, moving to bite at your earlobe. He smirked and turned so you had him against the door. "Let's go upstairs." You smirked at him, kissing him once before kicking your heels off and stepping up the stairs, Rory following close behind, giving your ass a playful smack.

You two made it to the bedroom in record time, accidentally slamming the door behind you. Instantly, your hands were all over each other, you worked at the buttons of his shirt as he pulled at the zipper of your dress, kicking all your clothes to the corner of the room until you two were each left in your underwear. You pushed your hands against his chest, forcing him to fall back onto the bed, immediately crawling over his lap. The excitedness had worn off and you two were both equally desperate for each other. You tangled a hand in his red hair and tugged it back, pressing your lips firmly against his neck, grinding into his growing length that rested between your thighs. He moaned loudly as you sucked a hickey into his neck, knowing you would get shit for it later. But that didn't matter right now.

You could feel his breath getting more and more shallow as you kissed along his neck and down to his chest, moving down his stomach to play with the waistband of his boxers, ever so slowly sliding them down your legs, making him squirm with desperation. It was a fun little power exchange you two had going on in the bedroom. You threw his boxers to the pile of the rest of your clothes, looking up at him from between his legs, dragging your tongue from the base to the tip of his cock, watching him throw his head back and let out a satisfied groan.

"I've been waiting for this all night baby girl, don't tease me." He sounded breathless and it only turned you on more to know how badly he needed you. "Mm, or what?" You teased, swirling your tongue around the tip, nails scratching down his stomach. Something about making him feel submissive was such a big turn on for you. He was so dominant and bold in every day life, it was nice to see him let go once in awhile. "Please..." He whimpered, hands moving to hold your hair into a pony tail, getting a good look at your face as you smiled, slowly taking his length into your mouth, teasingly beginning to bob your head up and down over him. He couldn't take his eyes off of you, a few obscenities falling from his lips mixed with quiet praise to you.

"Good girl..." He hissed, thrusting his hips upwards a bit, "You make me feel so good..." His voice was raspy and he picked up his pace, his cock sliding down your throat effortlessly, his moans unrestrained. You let him control your speed for awhile before he pulled you up by your makeshift pony tail, smiling when he heard you gasping now you could finally breathe freely. He leaned up and pushed you onto your back now, taking no time to push your legs up to your chest and holding them there, moving between your thighs and brushing your clit with his tongue - just once. "Hey, you don't get to tease me now." You whined, closing your eyes. He kissed your thighs a few times before returning to your clit - he could never make you beg for very long. He got off on making you feel good. You gasped when he began batting his tongue over your clit quickly, squeezing your legs he still held in place. "Fuck..." You moaned, only encouraging him to go faster. Much sooner than usual, you felt yourself getting close, his tongue working expertly against the little bundle of nerves.

"Rory I'm gonna-" You mewled, legs twitching involuntarily. You felt him smile slightly against you, moving your legs so they were resting over his shoulders. He didn't slow down though, he only moved harder and faster, desperate to make you cum. And you did, quickly. You arched your back, hands seeking for something to hold on to as that tight coil in your stomach finally burst, making you cry out in ecstasy. Rory helped you ride out your orgasm, not stopping until you were breathless and shaking. He leaned up from between your thighs, that cocky little smile spread across his lips. You couldn't let him stay this cocky though, so before you were even done coming down from your high, you shoved him onto his back, taking his jaw in your hand and straddling his hips. You ground your soaked pussy against his length, quickly forcing his cocky smirk away. You ghosted your lips over his, almost kissing him but not allowing it, making him audibly whimper before leaning up right. You grabbed the base of his cock, holding it steady as you slid down his length, the two of you moaning in unison. Rory's hands tried to move to your hips but you stopped him, grabbing his wrists and pinning them down next to his head. "Don't touch." You hissed, holding him tightly as you began bouncing your hips against his. You knew he could easily over power you, but he loved being dominated as much as you loved doing it. You picked up your pace, riding him quickly. The room was filled with his loud, needy moaning and the sound of your skin hitting his. You were riding him as deep as you could, watching his face twist with pleasure. "How's that pussy feel baby?" You growled, watching as his eyes met yours, jaw hanging open.

"You're so amazing...you feel perfect." He hummed, fists clenching as he got closer and closer.

"Cum inside me." You commanded him, now riding him as quickly as you could, each of you breathing hard. All he did was stare at you with a mix of shock and desperation.

"Did I stutter? I said cum inside me."

You finally released his wrists and leaned back a bit, grinding circles against his hips as he bottomed out inside of you. With this, you felt him finish, his hands attaching to your ass, groping at it roughly as he came inside of you, filling you up, making you moan from the sensation. You two looked at each other, chests heaving. You smiled when he pulled you down on top of him, chests pressing together. One hand came up to play with your hair, sitting in silence for a few minutes as each of you calmed down a bit. You felt him turn his head and you looked up to meet his eyes.

"What, why are you looking at me like that?" You smiled, his eyes looked happy.

"You're going to be my wife in a few months. I just love you so much." He kissed your forehead and pulled you down once again to snuggle into his neck. You felt his breath get even, and yours did too, moments away from sleeping when you heard his sleepy voice, quiet against your hair.

"Mine. Only mine."

And you smiled, cuddling closer into him, his hands tightening around your body. How you got so lucky to end up with him, you weren't sure, but you thanked whatever God there may be for him every day. A few more months and you were going to be Mrs. Monahan.

#ahs #american horror story #ahs roanoke #ahs6 #rory monahan #ahs rory #evan peters #evan peters imagine #ahs imagine #evan peters fan fiction #ahs fan fiction #ahs roanoke fan fiction #lady gaga ahs

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