#uncle Haruki

[movielosophy]

Knuckle Girl |He has learned to smoke elegantly

#just two cool uncles #vice president vs president #the way Shiraishi looking at him ehm... #Knuckle Girl #movie #ito hideaki #character: nikaido haruki #Kubozuka Yosuke #character: Shiraishi Seiichiro #aesthetics #smoking aesthetics #smoking

[lesbiankoby]

ooohghu ur naruto posting has me thinking about my boruto rewrite with a sasuke/sakura lavender political marriage

sasuke/sakura lavender political marriage is an extremely sensible reason for sasuke/sakura marriage that doesn’t end in horrible divorce

also naruto activated the part of my brain that makes OCs and now i have a first shinobi war genin team with a dead uchiha and everything

#uchiha haruki is obito’s maternal uncle alas he croaks #mayumi no-last-name is the director of konoha hospital by absolute default #everyone more competent or less crazy has left. tsunade you bitch #rei no-last-name is a career genin with an insane security clearance and very complicated seal work placed onto her #to ensure she can’t betray the hokage. she’s his personal assistant/ secretary/ what have you. #and married to the ramen guy :) ayame is her step daughter it’s ramen guys second marriage #kushina hooked them up

[thegirlwholeftthefridgeopen]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/18/uncle-vanya-russian-mcdonalds-replacement-logo/

#article #news #russia #ukraine #mcdonalds #burgers #fries #fast food #ryusuke hamaguchi #drive my car #murakami #haruki murakami #uncle vanya #anton chekhov #chekhov #copycat #interesting #the washington post

[twogyuu]

an unfinished tale [prologue]

Pairing: Wonwoo x fem!reader

Synopsis: In an age absent of DMs and dating apps, a year you're not supposed to exist in, you defy all odds and manage to fall in love with the neighbor down the hall from your uncle's dorm. Part of you wishes he feels the same, part of you hopes he doesn't - for the sake of your heart and his.

Genre: Fluff, crack, smidgen of angst, first/last loves, time travel!au, 90s!au, college!au, uncle/roommate!chan, chan has a twin brother who is reader's dad LMAO, fairy godmother!seokmin; featuring friends!seungkwan, vernon, and jihoon too 💙

Warnings: Mentions of Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore(?); references to the films, Past Lives and The Butterfly Effect

WC: ~1k

masterlist || next

Red thread. 

Inyeon. 

Butterfly effect. 

These were only a few of the hundreds of concepts of “fate” out in the world. The idea of fate was fascinating, wasn’t it? Two souls predestined to be together despite the confines of space and circumstances. One way or another, you’d find your way to one another because the universe, or whatever higher being up there, willed it – your stories already penned into the endless constellations of the sky before you were born. The only thing left was for the pages to be turned, eyes lingering across each word like footsteps on an unscathed path. 

The seamless flow of fate makes it natural to think that it only moved forward. Two people’s fate existed in the same timeline and moved in parallel before they crossed, tangled, and knotted. 

What would happen if fate didn’t follow these unsaid, human-made rules?

What if fate transcended the confines of time?

. . . .

With the flick of his wrist, Wonwoo snaps his hardcover copy of Haruki Murakami’s Kafka On the Shore with one hand. The quiet clap of stacked pages is lost amidst the noise of the subway station during rush hour. Businesswomen clatter down the stairs in their heels, hands pressed on the side of their tight pencil skirts; it’s in contrast to the rubber soles of the sneakers worn by the teenagers who heave as they sprint and race one another across the platform to catch the last train before they are late to class. The soothing robotic voice overhead announces the incoming trains; every ten minutes, it is complemented by the warning to stay away from the rails for one’s safety. 

With a heavy sigh, he tucks the red and black book into his satchel, the only question of why he took Kim Mingyu up on his recommendation to read Kafka on the Shore, polluting his mind. His friend had claimed it was award winning and vaguely added that it had an “interesting plot.” Mingyu hardly read, and if ever, he opted for mainstream books, like Me Before You – which took him four years to finish by the way. 

Murakami’s work wasn’t boring per se, but magical realism isn’t really Wonwoo’s cup of tea. Perhaps others would say he lived his life boringly, but he preferred one or the other. Black and white – the right shade of gray was difficult to perfect. 

Wonwoo is fortunate to have a later start time to work than most people. It gives him time to sleep in – or on the days he couldn’t, he could get up early and actually enjoy the leisure of his mornings. Workout checked off for the day, he could grab freshly brewed black coffee and perhaps a simple croissant straight from the oven from the bakery across the street from his loft, before settling on a bench in the subway. His activities ranged from doodling and reading to people watching while listening to music. Indeed, he is an introvert, but for that very reason, he finds solace in the anonymity of crowds during rush hour. In these moments, he didn’t matter and no one questioned him. 

The familiar sound of the rusty metal wheels against the tracts down the strip screech through his AirPods as Wonwoo comes to a halt near the ledge. The last train swept away most of the morning crowd, leaving only him and a select few others loitering in the dreary, gray terminal. The train rushes past him in a blur, creating a wind that rustles his overgrown bangs; he could feel it skimming the rims of his glasses, some strands brushing across the top lashes of his eyes. 

He waits for the cars to come to a halt, then the hissing of the doors sliding open to climb in. Though there were several empty seats, Wonwoo always opts to stand – there was enough sitting in a day. 

One. 

Two. 

Three. 

The overhead voice announces the next stop – the signal for the doors to come to a close and the train engineer to start the lever once more. 

Wonwoo knows this routine like the back of his hand. There was no reason for him to expect it would change. 

But it does. 

It feels like time slowed, everything happening fast, yet slow, all at once. A young woman dressed in a lavender blazer, clinging onto her own work bag like her life depended on it, barrels towards the already closing doors. It narrows and she barely slips through; they snap close behind her, releasing air as the car rocks back, then forward as the train starts moving. 

Without enough time to find a seat, she clings onto the same pole as Wonwoo to steady herself and keep the inertia from sending her sailing across the car too. She collects herself enough to stand tall, lifting her head to come face to face with Wonwoo. 

The young man is awestruck. His jaw grows slack, lips parting, yet no words escape. Excitement courses through his body; his grip tightening around the stainless steel pole, turning his knuckles white and the sensation in his hands growing numb. His heart surges with an unfamiliar, yet seemingly nostalgic feeling. The soft acoustic music flowing from his AirPods grow faint; only the sound of his quickened heartbeat thrum, replacing the gentle plucking of chords. 

The young woman is no less shocked – if not more. Her eyes well with tears, a half-hearted chuckle escaping her lightly painted lips before she presses them together and swallows harshly. Confliction flickers across her pretty features, her chin wobbling as she tries to maintain her composure and figure out what to do next. 

“H-hi.”

“Hey.”

Silence, then a beat. The sounds of the wheels against the tracts roar throughout the train. They’re barely speaking in whispers this time, but they can hear one. It’s as if everyone else on the train evaporated and they’re transported back to the first time they met. Only the two of them, this close in the expanse of the wide and spacely car. The scenery outside blur and blend into an infinity of white. The train could be taking them to outer space for all they cared. 

Where they were going didn’t matter. 

If fate didn’t know distance, then what they had didn’t know time. 

“Long-time, no see, stranger.”

#wonwoo x reader #wonwoo fluff #wonwoo angst #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo imagines #seventeen x reader #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios

[angel-kyo]

Pay it no mind

Part VI

In which reader confesses their feelings to Gojo, but it seems these are not returned (maybe?).

Warnings: reader is on the receiving end of rejection (kinda), and the fact that I'm obsessed with unrequited love is a warning itself. There is an implication of reader dying (but they don't).

Previous: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V

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

When you entered the coffee shop, Haruki was already sitting at a table in the corner.

He got up to greet you when he saw you approaching. “Did you have any trouble to find this place?”

You sat in front of him. “Not really. I actually had been nearby some days ago for work and saw it,” you replied.

He smiled. “Oh, does being a teacher involve much work outside the school?”

So, the work part had not been a lie, but being a little more explicit, you had been exorcising a curse. Of course, you could not tell him that.

You smiled back. “I don’t know about other schools, but sometimes we have to run errands here and there.” Haruki nodded, and you decided to change the subject before he could dig further. “Anyway, should we order?”

Over iced coffee and tea, you and Ikeda caught up on pretty much everything you had missed during your years apart. The elderly uncle he had moved in with years ago had passed away just before he finished high school, so with no family left in the country other than his avoidant father, he had gone to study abroad. He had returned to Japan to work for a big company in Osaka, but then he had been transferred to Tokyo, which led him to getting a small apartment there, which eventually led him to you.

You watched him sip his tea and place it back on the table.

Time really goes by quickly. It wasn’t that long ago we were at a similar place talking about the future and look at us. This is the future.

“You know? Back then, I wanted to come back after finishing high school, but it would have been so…” He moved his hands as if trying to grasp the right word.

“Complicated?” you offered. His lips curved.

“Not that it would have been easier anywhere, but I guess there really is a right time for everything, don’t you think? At least I got to see you again."

Ikeda was looking at you expectantly and you only nodded. He laughed. “Sorry, I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”

“No, not at all!” It was nice listening to him. “I was just thinking how great it is that you have accomplished so much.”

“Thank you, but I didn’t mean to get carried away. I just think it’s nice to be back.” He made a pause. “What about you, though? So, you graduated, stayed here and became a busy teacher… Maybe found your soulmate yet?”

You snorted, almost spilling your drink as you shook your head. “My… No.”

Your own reaction had made you laugh, but what had really gone through your mind was a much more disheartening memory: Satoru's forced smile when you told him you liked him.

Ikeda smiled at your reaction. “What about your friends? Are you still close with those guys you used to hang with? The girl that used to come with you every time and the other two?”

“Shoko is a doctor now.” You smiled and looked through the window; it looked like it would rain. “About Geto…”

They did their best to cover it up, but you might have heard about an incident in a village...

Haruki watched your gazed had saddened, and he could infer it was not a pleasant subject, so he tried to facilitate a response “You drifted apart? That happened to me and many of my friends...”

Your eyes returned to his. “Yes… We don’t really talk anymore.”

That sounded better than saying ‘our friendship became complicated after he turned into a mass murderer and curse user.'

Haruki’s smile was apologetic. In his memory, Geto seemed to have been a nice guy, and from your expression, he could tell that, for whatever reason it happened, letting him go had hurt you.

It must be inevitable that people part ways even when they don’t want to, he thought.

Now, he was not sure if he should ask about the other guy. Would that sadden you too?

“I am still friends with Gojo, though. You remember him?”

He nodded. Of course, how could he forget about him?

You continued. “Actually, we work together. He is a teacher too.”

“Oh, well, that’s...” he was not sure how to put it, “...that’s interesting.”

He could not help but wonder what kind of teacher Gojo had become. Thinking it backwards, Gojo had always been throwing annoyed looks at him. No, that white-haired kid had not looked like teacher material at all back then.

Haruki was not dumb. He always knew Gojo disliked him, and that the reason was pretty much related to you, but it had been only once that your friend had confronted him directly. Would Gojo have told you about it? He figured probably not, and even if he had, the past is in the past.

***

“This was fun,” you told Haruki as you walked to the station.

“It really was”, he agreed. “Maybe we could go to where I used to work next time. You know, for good old times’ sake.”

“You should bring your apron!” You grinned and looked at the sky, “But sure, we should go, if it’s still there, that is.”

At the entrance of the station, Haruki told you he could walk to his apartment from there, so you said goodbye.

The day had been full of memories and, although overall it was nice to reminisce, it had left you exhausted, so you decided to go to bed early.

Maybe tonight you could dream of a softer time, before Shoko looked so tired, before Suguru slipped away, and before Satoru had to shoulder alone the burdens of the strongest.

As the raindrops tapped on your window, you slumbered into the memory of a young group of students laughing and running under the rain.

***

“[name].” Someone was tapping your forehead. “[name].”

Your eyes opened to be met with a pair of blue ones.

“Oh, good, you woke up.” Gojo shot you a smile. He was standing next to your bed, bending over you.

Slowly, your head turned to look at the time on your nightstand watch. It was 6:02 am.

Huh, he started being annoying earlier than usual.

Still laying down, you saw him straighten up. “I need your help with something.”

“It better be urgent, or I’ll have to ask you to return that key I gave you.”

You knew that would not be of much use anyway. Before giving him a spare key to your apartment ‘for emergencies’, Satoru would just teleport inside whenever he thought the situation called for it, which was basically whenever he wanted.

Of course, he did not use his key just for emergencies, but at least you had gotten him to use the front door since then. And he had looked so glad you had given him a spare key and even gave you one to his place, that you did not really have the heart to ask him to give it back despite his unnecessary intrusions.

He grinned. “We need to pick Shoko’s birthday present.”

There was going to be a small gathering that day to celebrate your friend’s birthday. She had insisted on not making a fuss about it, but she did say in a half serious tone that presents were mandatory. You had gotten her a bottle of that rare wine she liked a month ago in anticipation of this day, but apparently, Gojo had waited until the very last minute to get her something.

You turned in your bed and closed your eyes again. “That is not an emergency.”

“I just did not know what to get her. She was not thrilled with my choice last year, so I thought…” Gojo sat on your bed and went on rambling about how he had carefully picked Shoko’s present on a trip last year and how rude it had been of her to call it ‘ugly’ in front of him.

“What is this?” Shoko’s face had been unreadable, but judging by the way she was holding it, she was not pleased.

“I got it during my last trip. It is believed to bring good luck to your home, and you can put it in your living room so it…”

“Of course not. This is too ugly to be left where people can see it," Shoko had sentenced.

You sighed. “Fine. I will help you, but I need some more sleep first.”

“It’s a deal then. We will take a quick nap and then go. What do you think we should get her?” Despite being with your back to him, you could feel him laying down and accommodating closer to you.

It had been a while since you two had shared a bed. Yours was particularly small, so one of you would always take the futon or the sofa if he wanted to 'stay for a nap'.

“What are you doing?” you asked softly.

There was silence for a second and you thought he had caught up with the situation he was putting both of you in, but then he replied “Your bed is more comfortable. Besides, it’ll be just a minute, right?"

You were going to protest, but he continued. “I had a rough night.” His tone was lower now. “Indulge me this time, can you?”

You knew he had been on a mission last night, however, no matter how gruesome, it was not like him to complain about it, let alone seek comfort in others, at least, it had not been like that in a long time.

Would it be okay to comfort him as when we were kids?

You turned to face him. He was laying on his side already looking at you.

When you put your hand over his, Satoru was reminded of how you used to hold hands when things were rather unpleasant at his family’s state. It was a gesture of reassurance; you holding his hand was proof that he was not alone. He had never told you but there were times when he thought your hand had tied him to reality, it had kept him human, and he had loved you for it.

“I…”

“Sleep then. You probably need it,” you interrupted him and closed your eyes.

Would it be okay for him to tell you he loved you or would it make things awkward again? Would it still make you hurt because he had not reciprocated your feelings weeks ago?

In truth, he had not come so early because of Ieiri's present. He had done it because the curse he had encountered last night had gotten to him.

He had been told that thing was not really strong, but it could show people illusions of those dear to them dying in front of their eyes; it was the fear the victim would experience at that time what would make the curse stronger. Gojo had not expected to see you, but he did; and although he had snapped out of it almost immediately, it had been enough to make him rush to you as soon as he had finished the mission and changed clothes.

But now, with his hand in yours, Satoru closed his eyes, feeling a little more at ease.

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

Note: Huh... I thought this one would be shorter. Sorry.

Thank you for reading!

Next: Part VII

@mavs-stuff @witchbybirth @crookedlyaddictedone-blog @tqd4455 @maybe-a-bi-witch @mo0nforme @maliakealoha

#gojo satoru #gojo x reader #jjk #jjk drabbles #gojo x you #jjk fanfic #gojo x y/n #jujutsu kaisen #jjk gojo #gojo fanfic #satoru #gojo fluff

[larz-barz]

Updated Milo info post

Here’s what she looks like as a child!^^

As a chibi! (art by @tokito-dulya20)

And teen (regular) Milo!

Family (biological)

Mother: Unnamed (dead)

Father: Unnamed (dead)

Aunt: Unnamed (dead)

Aunt: Aika Shineeza (alive) (father’s and Haruki’s sister) @uponthefantasy

Uncle: Haruki Suzuki (alive) (husband of unnamed aunt and father’s brother)

Brother: Michio Suzuki (alive)

Great great etc. grandmother: Hatsu Tsugikuni (demon) (married to Kokushibo)

Great great etc. grandmother: Kawa Suzumi (Hatsu’s daughter)

Family (adoptive)

Mother: Yuna Handa (alive) (dies in an au) @kimetsu-chan

Father: Giyuu Tomioka (alive)

Cousin: Shiina Suzuki (alive) (dies in an au) @nothingtoseehere1-2-3

Bother: Zeno Arakawa (alive) (not actually adoptive, they act like siblings tho) @kimetsu-chan

Aunt: Asai Fujiwarma @night-mince0

Uncle: Tengen Uzui

Aunt: Hinatsuru Uzui

Aunt: Makio Uzui

Aunt: Suma Uzui

Sister: Ames @donkeybro

Sister: Hikari Sano @ta-ni-ya

Brother: Hikaru Sano @ta-ni-ya

Brother: Hikaru Eritora (dies in canon and demon au) @risingscorchingsuns

Step great great etc. father: Kokushibo

Father: Hiroto Ichiga @night-mince0

Brother: Gideon Azulyss @ackie-slays

Backstory

tw: abuse, murder, attempted murder

Milo and Michio were raised by Haruki since he killed their parents after Milo was born.

One day, when Milo was 3 and Michio was 6, their aunt Aika tried to take both of them in, but Haruki only let Aika take Michio.

Before leaving, Michio gave Milo her purple bow that she’s always wearing.

Haruki is very abusive towards Milo, and only Milo.

This is because of Milo being a yokai.

When Milo was about 6 years old Haruki attempted to drown Milo which led to her fear of water.

Shiina was adopted by Haruki when Milo was 9 years old and Shiina did everything she could to keep Milo safe.

Also, Milo was forced to live in poverty despite her uncle being rich since he wouldn’t spend any of his money on her.

One day, when Milo was 10 she was digging around in a closet and found various scrolls and letters from her father, who was the starlight hashira when he was alive.

She used those to teach herself the starlight breathing style and how to do total concentration breathing constantly.

She did the final selection with her future adoptive mother, Muichiro, and Aoi at 11 years old then became the starlight hashira at 12 years old.

Personality

Milo is a very kind and selfless girl.

She’s very shy and sweet.

She’ll do anything to protect the people around her no matter the consequences.

She’s very introverted and submissive.

If someone is being rude to her she’s not going to do anything about it.

She’s always willing to help anyone.

Fun facts

Her favorite food is chicken udon.

The first time she met someone who didn’t mistreat her she was stunned to tears.

In Kimetsu academy her best subject is chemistry.

She doesn’t think she deserves to be treated with kindness.

She’s deathly allergic to garlic.

She made her haori herself!

She loves cooking and sewing.

She often has really bad nightmares.

(TW: S/A) Her uncle has s/aed her before.

When she and Michio reunited they both cried together for an hour and they hugged the whole time.

Milo’s birthday is February 3rd and she’s 14! (14 in the show and 15 irl-)

She doesn’t like peppermint.

She’s also deathly allergic to onions.

She has 3 powers: Turning into a cat, shrinking, and healing.

In her small form she is about 2’2

Tagging: @kimetsu-chan @demonslayerdoodles

#random posts from larz #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #teehee #meow #milo suzuki #larz talks #larz draws

[glitter-alienz]

She's a mom now??

His name is haruki and he's a mutant spiny terrapin. He was mutated by the kraang and Leena gets attached to him after finding him on a mission so! Adoption time.

This was a little idea I jad for my 2012 tmnt au/rewrite, where in the future they have/adopt kids (mainly leo adopting haruki and later emi (will post her later), donnie and casey having triplets, raph and mona adopting an alien and mikey being a cool uncle)

#tmnt au #2k12 rewrite #👽 my art #tmnt #2012 transfem leo #transfem leo #tmnt transfem leo #tmnt rewrite #tmnt redesign #tottmnt #tottmnt leena #tottmnt haruki #tottmnt art

[sevenboarproductions]

[IDOLiSH7] [Part 6] Chapter 10: Inherited Melody

6.10.1. - So it reaches you

Nanase Riku: What are we gonna do about the setlist!?

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s made of four songs, right!? Do we go with the ones we like best?

Izumi Iori:  It won’t become a good live if we just randomly choose four songs. Isn’t that right, manager?

Takanashi Tsumugi: That’s true. I think we should consider how we want to excite the audience and also keep a theme in mind!

Izumi Mitsuki: A theme, huh…. What kind of thing would be good? I’d like a bright, festive theme!

Nikaidou Yamato: Avoiding overlap with other groups is important, too.

Nikaidou Yamato: Overlapping is fine, but we need to make sure to not bore the audience.

Izumi Iori:  To narrow down the theme, wouldn’t it be fine to mainly structure it around the new song?

Ousaka Sougo: Uhm, actually, I’d like some advice from everyone about the new song…

Nanase Riku: The new IDOLiSH7 song Sougo-san is making, right!  What kind of advice do you need?

Ousaka Sougo: If possible… I’d like Nagi to help me.

Rokuya Nagi:: Me?

Ousaka Sougo: Yes…. With MEZZO’’, I can do what I want the way I want to do it, but… 

Ousaka Sougo: IDOLiSH7’s songs should be the way IDOLiSH7 does things… I was thinking I want to make a melody that still preserves Sakura-san’s spirit.

Ousaka Sougo: Nagi-kun, you know Sakura-san the best and have a positive attitude just like IDOLiSH7’s songs… 

Ousaka Sougo: I would be happy to have you help me. ….Would that be alright?

Rokuya Nagi: Wow! Welcome! You’re very welcome!

Ousaka Sougo: Really!?

Rokuya Nagi: From the time I was born up until now, I’ve never gotten a proposal that is such an honor to accept!

Rokuya Nagi: Being able to become a composer just like Haruki, that is!

Izumi Mitsuki: I’m glad for you, Nagi! I’m sure Sakura-san will be happy as well!

Rokuya Nagi: Do you think so…?

Nanase Riku: He’ll definitely be happy. When the song you two write is done, let’s sing it as loud as possible so it reaches Sakura-san.

Nikaidou Yamato: And Sou’s uncle, too.

Ousaka Sougo: …Yes.

Rokuya Nagi: Thanks! I’ll do my best!

Yotsuba Tamaki: Everyone’s doing their own way! Iorin started being a producer, too.

Izumi Iori: I’ve been doing that since before you started doing choreography, though.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Ya~y!

Izumi Iori:  Don’t fool around distracting us with high-fives. …So, what would we do? Do we decide by theme? Or by the songs?

Nanase Riku: Uhm, can I ask something just out of curiosity?

Nikaidou Yamato: What? Onii-san’s underwear color?

Nanase Riku: If you’ll tell me, I’ll listen!

Yotsuba Tamaki: Green.

Nikaidou Yamato: How do you know?!

Yotsuba Tamaki: I saw it earlier.

Ousaka Sougo: I saw it, too.

Rokuya Nagi:: I also saw it.

Izumi Mitsuki: It’s because you keep wandering around after taking a bath.

Nikaidou Yamato: Because it’s hot! I end up wanting to open the fridge door right away.

Nanase Riku: I get that! Recently, I also had ice cream and…

Izumi Iori:  Nanase-san, get back on topic. What were you going to ask out of curiosity?

Nanase Riku: I want to know which song everyone would want to include in the four song setlist!

Izumi Mitsuki: MonGen.

Rokuya Nagi: “MONSTER GENERATiON”! It’s our debut song, we should honor it!

Yotsuba Tamaki: I’d also like that. I also like “Sakura Message”. It’s so pretty.

Nikaidou Yamato: I get that. It moves you to tears.

Izumi Mitsuki: What about you, Riku?

Nanase Riku: I also wanna include MonGen! I want to put in “Perfection Gimmick”, too, though.

Izumi Mitsuki: I get that~. I always get pumped up when we sing it.

Nanase Riku: And you, Mitsuki?

Izumi Mitsuki: Maybe “RESTART POiNTER”. I really like “Nanatsuiro REALiZE”, too, though.

Ousaka Sougo: Seems like the venue will have a nice atmosphere. What about you, Iori-kun?

Izumi Iori:  “RESTART POiNTER”, “Mr. AFFECTiON”, “Mallow Blue”…

Nikaidou Yamato: Solid choices... What about you, Nagi? Other than MonGen.

Rokuya Nagi:: Hm… “Joker Flag”.

Izumi Mitsuki: Ah, that one.

Rokuya Nagi:: Rap is cool. And you can feel like a pirate. What would you like, Sougo?

Ousaka Sougo: Something other than MonGen… Maybe “MEMORiES MELODiES”.

Nanase Riku: It’s the song that won Black or White, after all!

Nikaidou Yamato: Aah! That might be nice. It’s like a piece of IDOLiSH7 history. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: The order is important with things like this, too, right? Like whether we’re putting MonGen first or last, for example.

Izumi Iori: That’s true. After raising the mood of the venue, we should think about where we take the audience, and where we want to land.

Izumi Iori:  Since, depending on the setlist, the excitement of the venue, as well as the feeling people leave with will change, too. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: ŹOOḼ seems like they’d want to go all in with a bang.

Rokuya Nagi:: Hm… TRIGGER probably has the best balance. 

Nanase Riku: What about Re:vale?

Nikaidou Yamato: Re:vale is the hardest to read… They can be really graceful with all their songs, and I think they’re going to try making the crowd laugh, too.

Izumi Mitsuki: They could also take the classic royal road, after all~. Re:vale-nii-san are pretty strong, eh.

Izumi Iori:  I want them to take the comedic route and mess up… 

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s impressive how Iorin wants our enemies to screw up every time.

Izumi Iori:  It is because I respect our enemies and acknowledge their strength. It’s exactly because of that respect I have.

Nanase Riku: So, are we putting in MonGen?

Nikaidou Yamato: Yes….

Izumi Mitsuki: Yeah!

Ousaka Sougo: I think we should…

Rokuya Nagi: Where are the people who want to sing “MONSTER GENERATiON”!

IDOLiSH7: Here!

Izumi Iori:  Well, then… MonGen is decided.

Rokuya Nagi & Izumi Mitsuki & Nanase Riku & Nikaidou Yamato & Ousaka Sougo & Yotsuba Tamaki: Yay!!

Takanashi Tsumugi: Congratulations on deciding! I think this is definitely a song the fans want to listen to, too!

Nanase Riku: Thank you!

Takanashi Tsumugi: I’d like to keep listening to the meeting, but it’s almost time to get moving…

Izumi Iori:  Let’s decide the other contenders later. Everyone, let’s go.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Sure!

Rokuya Nagi:: We’re working fast! We already got one out of four songs on the setlist!

Nikaidou Yamato: No, I’m sure we’ll keep adding and removing things from now on.

Izumi Mitsuki: It's fun no matter how many times you do it! Thinking about the set list is super fun!

Nanase Riku: Then let’s make it a battle of who comes up with the set list I find the best!

Izumi Iori:  MonGen, ResPo, Affection, the new song.

Nikaidou Yamato: How about MemoMelo, Affection, Sakura, new song?

Ousaka Sougo: The new song will be the last, huh…

Nanase Riku: I’m looking forward to the new song! I want to end on a high note with a super good song!

Ousaka Sougo: That… that’s right…

Yotsuba Tamaki: You can do it, you can do it! It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine!

--

Kujou Tenn: What do we do about the setlist?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It’s four songs, right? I’m indecisive… But it’s really fun to think about it by ourselves!

Yaotome Gaku: Yeah! If possible, I’d like to think of them as a full set.

Anesagi Kaoru: My, you should put that to use in the next live. 

Yaotome Gaku: The next live? Is it okay if we decide the entire setlist of a TRIGGER live by ourselves?

Anesagi Kaoru: I think it’s good if you try it out. I don’t think you guys will do a bad job.

Anesagi Kaoru: Before that, do your best with the “New Black or White”. 

Yaotome Gaku: …Thank you! One more fun job on our hands again! 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I’m glad, it’s all fun things! I hope that our guests and our fans will be happy, too. 

Kujou Tenn: Thinking about it from that angle might be good. “What do we want the fans to feel?” 

Kujou Tenn: Do we want them to spend their time immersed in our refined performance? Do we want their hearts to beat so much they can’t breathe? Or do we want them to laugh happily like children?

Yaotome Gaku: I want to give them all of that. I want them to jump into the extraordinary space we create.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Like a movie, right? I want them to enjoy action, but also a crime thriller and a romance. 

Kujou Tenn: Extraordinary… movie… That might be a good concept.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: You think so?

Kujou Tenn: I think it’s close to what we want to express, too.

Kujou Tenn: We want our meeting with the fans to not be a continuation of their ordinary lives, but to be an extraordinary, special experience for them.

Yaotome Gaku: Aah, that's right. We want to take their hands and take them with us. To a once in a lifetime, unforgettable time.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It might be a thing only TRIGGER can do. 

Kujou Tenn: I want them to see this gorgeous, luxurious dream as they fall in love with us.

Yaotome Gaku: That’s a fitting image, yeah… 

Yaotome Gaku: We'll carefully escort the people who followed our invitation to that place, climbing the staircase to the extraordinary together.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Like to a mansion, or a theater… Maybe an atmosphere like an old movie theater could work as well.

Anesagi Kaoru: Isn't that nice. Seems like something we could use for the set.

Yaotome Gaku: If we went with that, would ”DIAMOND FUSION” be a song?

Kujou Tenn: Maybe for the opening. It has passion and could grab the venue's attention. 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: What about Daybreak? 

Yaotome Gaku: I don't know. It does feel “extraordinary”, but maybe not escort-like…?

Kujou Tenn: Conceptually, LastDim might be better.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It might not be the fancy kind of escorting someone, but it does feel like you’re running towards the extraordinary together. 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: The feeling of not letting go of the hand you've grasped… That’s why I’d like to put Daybreak in.

Yaotome Gaku: You’re making some nice points, Ryuu…

Kujou Tenn: Pulling them close and taking them to the extraordinary, not letting go of their hand throughout the storm and finally escorting them; that might be an option as well.

Kujou Tenn: Because having an element of storytelling draws them into the setting.

Yaotome Gaku: That sounds great! A live with a story fits the theme of movies and the extraordinary as well.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That's fun! We still haven't decided anything, but I'm excited!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I mean, it'll definitely be a good live and Gaku and Tenn will look the coolest! 

Yaotome Gaku: That's my line! If we were doing a phantom theme, Ryuu would be the best fit. 

Kujou Tenn: The Phantom of the Opera, huh? There's romance in that, and I’d also want to include sexy songs. 

Yaotome Gaku: I want to include them, too. Maybe Secret Night.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: What about “Leopard Eyes”?

Kujou Tenn: That's right… Ah, wait… That song…

Yaotome Gaku: Eh?

Kujou Tenn: That song by Magechon-san… Doesn't it fit the concept perfectly?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That's true… The image of carefully escorting someone into a luxurious extraordinary world… 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It might be perfect.

Yaotome Gaku: Have you still not been able to contact Magechon-san? 

Anesagi Kaoru: It seems that way. Next time on the radio show, we're planning to make you ask them to message you once more. 

Kujou Tenn: I see…

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I hope we can get in contact with them.

Yaotome Gaku: Right…

Anesagi Kaoru: It certainly was really good. I can already imagine TRIGGER singing it at the “New Black or White”.

Kujou Tenn: When I heard that song… I had the feeling I was meeting our past selves. 

Yaotome Gaku: But at the same time, it felt like meeting our future selves, too.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Maybe it’s because they did say they liked TRIGGER… I don't know how to put it… 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It made me feel that we were in a spot where our fan’s like us to be. 

Yaotome Gaku: That's right, that’s right! I got a feeling of mutual love.

Yaotome Gaku: Both the TRIGGER we are building and the TRIGGER within that song’s soul were…

Anesagi Kaoru: Like, “let's start dating already”?

Yaotome Gaku: Well, yeah… 

Kujou Tenn: If Magechon-san is fine with it, that is, but… 

Yaotome Gaku: They said they wanted us to sing it, right? Though they did add a “(lol)”…

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: If it starts becoming reality, it might be difficult, though. I was kind of scared of the entertainment world at first, too… 

Yaotome Gaku: But isn’t it an opportunity for them? 

Kujou Tenn: It might not be a person who wants an opportunity. There's people who don't want to stand out too much, too. 

Kujou Tenn: If we sing it, there will be quite a few people who say they like or hate it. 

Kujou Tenn: No matter how much we want to sing it, we need to make Magechon-san’s feelings, as an ordinary person, a priority. 

Yaotome Gaku: That's true… I hope they feel the same, though.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: There's still time. Let's wait and see if we can get in touch!

Kujou Tenn: Yes

Yaotome Gaku: Yeah!

~ to be continued ~

--

6.10.2. - Taking our own shape

Yuki: So, what do we do about the setlist? 

Momo: Four songs, huh… I definitely want to win.

Yuki: Right. 

Momo: Can I put in an MC corner?

Yuki: Isn’t that as if we entered the competition as MCs? 

Okazaki Rinto: If you put in a big MC segment, it’ll be too long.

Yuki: There won’t be a turn like, “everyone, sit down~”? 

Okazaki Rinto: This time, it should be like, “attack, attack, attack, finish”. 

Yuki: It won’t, huh…

Momo: Let’s think of a setlist that will lead us to certain victory!! With the godlike setlist I came up with as a Re:vale fan we’ll overwhelm the others!

Yuki: Oh, what will it be like?

Momo: First, our debut song! Ah, but, isn’t that because of my own attachment to it…!?

Yuki: Wouldn’t it be nice? We haven’t sung it a lot lately.

Momo: I wanna put this one in, too. The one where we collaborated with a travel agency for a snowboard commercial…

Yuki: Ah, that one. But isn’t it a little too well-behaved to put in a live? 

Yuki: What about the song we sang at the charity live with TRIGGER? 

Momo: I considered that, too, but I thought it could be unfair since the song is so king-like… 

Yuki: It also doesn’t feel that exciting.  

Okazaki Rinto: Then what do you think about something like this? The one that became a song for an energy drink commercial…

Momo: I like that one, but the hook of the chorus is long, so. 

Yuki: Whenever that song ends, both me and the fans end up exhausted. 

Momo: If it’s just me who’s energetic, you might as well call it a battle royal. 

Okazaki Rintarou: Wouldn’t this one be good? You know, the one you wrote before, the wedding song. 

Yuki: That one isn’t finished.

Okazaki Rintarou: Finish it. Won’t you sing it at my wedding?

Yuki: Definitely not.

Momo: President, you’re holding a wedding ceremony!?

Okazaki Rintarou: Well, if Re:vale is going to make a wedding song, someone has to get married. 

Okazaki Rinto: President, please stop abusing your power. 

Yuki: Ah, but isn’t Momo’s older sister, Ruri-san, about to marry soon?

Momo: Right, right.

Yuki: If it’s for Ruri-san’s wedding, it might be fine to make the song.

Momo: Really!? Nee-chan will be super happy! 

Yuki: You think so? No, I mean, I did think I’d get invited, but what if I’m not?

Momo: I… I don’t think that would happen. 

Okazaki Rintarou: If that happens, you can come sing at my wedding.

Yuki: No, I can’t.

Momo: Even though I promised it earlier, making a godlike setlist is hard… What do you want to sing, Yuki? 

Yuki: Hm, right… 

Yuki: “Re-raise”.

Momo: That one!? Why!?

Yuki: Because it seems happy. 

Yuki: We had it rough at that time, but when we sang that song so carelessly, we were happy. 

Momo: …That sounds so cool…

Yuki: You think so?

Momo: It’s really cool…

Yuki: What are you saying? Isn’t it all thanks to you, Momo? 

Momo: That’s not true! Ah… My oshi is always cool… Did you two know already, too? 

Okazaki Rintarou: I knew it.

Okazaki Rinto: I knew it, too.

Momo: It was cool, wasn’t it!

Yuki: What songs do you want, Momo? I wanted to hear your godlike setlist. 

Momo: Noo, I can’t narrow it down to four songs. I have around 50 songs in my head. 

Yuki: If we sing that many in a live, I’ll die.

Okazaki Rinto: How about deciding the theme first and then narrowing down the number of songs? 

Momo: A theme, huh…

Okazaki Rinto: Yes. Imagining the stage set will become easier, too.

Yuki: How about returning to the start with new freshness? 

Momo: That’s nice!

Momo: And we want to show our current fans a fresh, hardworking Re:vale, too, right! 

Yuki: Right.

Momo: But I also want to take the time we’ve spent together and the things we’ve built over the years, too…

Momo: I’m not talking about Re-raise from earlier, but I also want to put in the kind of carefreeness that comes from maturity… 

Momo: Fresh, carefree, without being too reckless, smart, witty… 

Yuki: Like going on a journey?

Momo: Yeah, that might be it! I wouldn’t go far enough to call it an adventure. More like… feeling at ease because you know what you’re in for…

Yuki: The feeling of being at ease and knowing what you’re in for… And also witty and fresh….

Yuki: Like the moment when you unlock a door with a click? 

Momo: That! As if the moments of unlocking just keep going!

Yuki: Opening the lock, freely stepping towards the next door… opening another lock and continuing onwards.

Momo: And as you keep unlocking those doors with a click, you keep becoming freer! You start to feel excited and refreshed like an adult! 

Yuki: That’s nice, it’s like us. 

Momo: Let’s keep going like this and think about the rest of the setlist! And the new song, too! 

Yuki: Alright.

--

Natsume Minami: What would you like the setlist for “New Black or White” to be?

Inumaru Touma: Well, Mina, you’re the one making the songs, so you can decide.

Midou Torao: That’s probably the best.

Isumi Haruka: It should be balanced with the new song, too, right.

Natsume Minami: You think so? Well then, with that: Are there any requests?

Inumaru Touma: Not really, but it'd be nice if it had an exciting feeling to it.

Isumi Haruka: I want the new song to get you hyped-up. It's about time we one-upped the others. 

Midou Torao: I'd like a post-apocalyptic, super flashy set.

Natsume Minami: That’s a lot of requests, isn’t it…? I don't like having the role of the organizer. 

Utsugi Shirou: Then I'll do it. 

Isumi Haruka: You can do that…？

Utsugi Shirou: I ‘ll use a whiteboard to create a mindmap. It’s easy to understand visually.

Inumaru Touma: Sounds like you dropped some business lingo there. 

Utsugi Shirou: The main topic is “Black or White Live Showdown”, right?

Isumi Haruka: Seems right.

Utsugi Shirou: With that as the center, I'll put down the ideas from before while gradually branching out and adding onto it. Uhm, it was… 

Utsugi Shirou: “An exciting feeling”, “Getting hyped-up”, “One-upping the others”, “Post -apocalypse”, “Flashy”.

Natsume Minami: Hearing it again, this starts to sound like the executive meeting of some kind of evil organization, doesn't it? 

Inumaru Touma: When you hear things like “one-upping the others”, yeah.

Isumi Haruka: Isn't that good? I mean, I also like songs about doing your best even when things are hard, but this time I wanna get lost in a feeling of boundless power already. 

Natsume Minami: That's puberty for you.

Inumaru Touma: Post-apos… Post-apscalyp… Post-apocapolyse?

Midou Torao: Post-apocalypse. 

Inumaru Touma: What does post-apocalypse mean?

Midou Torao: Like, the end of the world? A destroyed world where civilization has collapsed?

Natsume Minami: Looks like it will become an interesting set. I’d like to not overlap with the futuristic feeling of “BLAST” though… 

Midou Torao: No, we’re going for something that’s more nasty than that. For example… It could be like an antlion pit¹...

Inumaru Touma: An antlion pit…?

Isumi Haruka: Ah, stuff like that. Like when there’s turned over cars lying around. 

Natsume Minami: I see. We could have a huge cage hung up and things like that. 

Utsugi Shirou: That sounds good. It fits ŹOOḼ’s image perfectly. 

Inumaru Touma: Just what’s your idea of ŹOOḼ, Utsugi-san…?

Utsugi Shirou: It gives you the feeling of a world of outlaws, doesn’t it. Like something coming crawling at your feet. 

Midou Torao: Aah, nice. That’s cool.

Isumi Haruka: Crawling around is cool…? Isn't that scary…?

Midou Torao: It’s cool! You know, crawling around like a giant desert creature. 

Utsugi Shirou: Like a giant centipede.

Isumi Haruka: Centipedes are a no-go! If I was singing and there was a giant centipede wriggling around, there's no way I could focus.

Midou Torao: I would be like “Oh, it's doing that, so we gotta do it, too”. 

Isumi Haruka: No way. What's up with you saying that like it’s a pet.

Natsume Minami: I’m fine with the idea but our main fan base is women. I don’t think that would be popular with them.

Midou Torao: That might be true… I also don’t like centipedes, even if they aren’t giant. 

Inumaru Touma: Well, huge things are cool. Lizards don’t really work for that, but I like dinosaurs. 

Isumi Haruka: Huge animals are nice. Mh, which one do we go with? 

Natsume Minami: Maybe a fish moving around in the cool water, or a snake…

Inumaru Touma: Aren't there a lot of girls who hate snakes, as well?

Natsume Minami: I'm popular.

Inumaru Touma: I'm not talking about you though, Mina… You really think of snakes as your kind, don't you?

Natsume Minami: You see, that's because my true identity is a snake. I'm just disguised as a human to repay my debt to you, Inumaru-san. 

Inumaru Touma: Eh?

Natsume Minami: Do you not remember that time you saved me when we were kids?

Inumaru Touma: … Uhm…

Natsume Minami: Don't take it seriously.

Inumaru Touma: You scared me! I thought you might be the one I met in a field in the countryside when I was a kid!

Utsugi Shirou: Centipede, snake… For now, let's go with “long creatures”?

Isumi Haruka: I like that. This set is cool, like a movie. Especially the turned-over car.

Midou Torao: No, especially the antlion pit.

Natsume Minami: I think the hung-up cage does it.

Inumaru Touma: All of them are good! The other groups aren't going to go for a vibe this dusty, so it seems like a good way to set ourselves apart.

Natsume Minami: If the set is going to be a destroyed world at its end, I want the new song to match that. What were the requests again…?

Inumaru Touma: “Exciting”, “one-upping the others”.

Natsume Minami: Then instead of a theme as severe as “how are we going to survive?”, going for a feeling like “searching for paradise” might be better. 

Isumi Haruka: Like living in a dystopia while searching for a utopia. 

Inumaru Touma: Aah! That sounds nice!

Midou Torao: I'm starting to look forward to the new song.

Natsume Minami: Fufu, I'm looking forward to making it as well. I got a lot of inspiration now.

Isumi Haruka: I wish we could give them the feeling that we’re taking the whole audience along to the utopia! 

Inumaru Touma: Right! I wanna stir up the crowd！Utsugi-san. 

Utsugi Shirou: What is it？

Inumaru Touma: We might surpass RedFes at the “New Black or White”.

Utsugi Shirou: That sounds terrific. I'm really looking forward to it. 

Isumi Haruka: Yeah! You should be! 

Inumaru Touma: Alright! Let’s keep up this mood and decide the setlist!

Midou Torao: Yeah!

~to be continued~

--

6.10.3. - Seven colors

Izumi Iori: But as an impression, that’s… 

Cameraman: Good morning.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Ah, it’s a person from BackMagic. 

Nanase Riku: Hello~ We were given a lot of sweets, so here you go. Eat them, please. 

Cameraman: Ah, thanks…

Nanase Riku: Another one!

Cameraman: Ah, uhm…

Nikaidou Yamato: He doesn’t have his hands free. He’s holding a camera, you know. 

Nanase Riku: Ah, is that so.

Izumi Mitsuki: Pocket, pocket.

Rokuya Nagi: OK! I’ll put it in here.

Cameraman: Ahaha, sorry. Is this really fine…?

Ousaka Sougo: Take it, take it.

Cameraman: Thank you very much. Please, continue talking… 

Yotsuba Tamaki: No, no, you can’t record that! It’s a secret! It’s super secret! 

Rokuya Nagi: It’s top secret!

Nikaidou Yamato: We were having ideas. About the stage set for “New Black or White”. 

Cameraman: I think this program will be broadcast after “Black or White”, so if you don’t mind, can I film it? 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Then it’s fine, but… don’t tell on us, Mister.

Cameraman: Roger.

Rokuya Nagi: Are spoilers OK? You’ll enjoy it more if you don’t know.

Cameraman: Yes…! I’m a bit conflicted, but I’m at work, so I will be filming.

Rokuya Nagi: Alright! Let’s get back to the meeting then!

Cameraman: That… That whiteboard…

Cameraman: The thing that’s depicted there, is that an impression of the set…? 

Nanase Riku: I hope it works. 

Izumi Iori: I wonder if we can do it… But if nobody is on stage, that would be lonely, right? 

Izumi Mitsuki: Then, what if we have the people on the stage and people riding this thing part? 

Rokuya Nagi: Like departing and being sent off? 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Eeh? Isn’t that lonely?

Ousaka Sougo: It’s not lonely. It seems like the new song will be a cheerful one. Probably…

Nikaidou Yamato: Besides, if there is a difference in height, the idea of the sky is easier to feel. 

Izumi Mitsuki: There’s people in a high place and people in a low place looking up, but they’re connected through the same sky. 

Nanase Riku: That’s great! No matter where we are, everyone is together!

Nanase Riku: Summer’s over already, but the cumulonimbus clouds² were really huge. 

Izumi Iori: What are you saying all of a sudden?

Nanase Riku: Hearing all the fans’ voices and singing below the bright lights makes me feel like I’ll become a cumulonimbus cloud. 

Izumi Mitsuki: Aah, I get that! Even when I look up at everyone, I end up feeling like I got a super huge body!

Izumi Mitsuki: Like that, I could reach out to the audience seats and get the feeling of hugging everyone! 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Nice! A kind, huge monster.

Rokuya Nagi: Becoming a big monster and hugging my friends!

Ousaka Sougo: If it’s about a cumulonimbus cloud… then after all, this vehicle might be good. It has a soft form. 

Izumi Iori: I think that’s good. Because a rocket would be too fast, but it also doesn’t  give the feeling of a bird flapping its wings. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Takin’ our time enjoying lightly flying with us, that’s a lot like us.

Rokuya Nagi: Then what do we do with this song? To the blue sky, the starry sky. Aurora, sunrise… 

Nanase Riku: Isn’t that just a galaxy!?

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s space!

Nikaidou Yamato: Don't do something so big! If we’re too flashy, we’ll end up looking like our equally flashy senpai! 

Izumi Mitsuki: We won’t lose! What if during the live, we started flying, broke through the ceiling and kept flying?

Izumi Iori: Destroying the venue is a bit… 

Rokuya Nagi: OH! If we hold back, we’ll get surpassed by Re:vale! 

Izumi Iori: Seems like it’ll work… If we build a pool on the stage and appear on the boat.

Izumi Mitsuki: Seems like it’ll work~! It’s like dancing in a marine colored costume! 

Nanase Riku: The kind that splashes waves into the front row! 

Yotsuba Tamaki: The kind that makes people wear a raincoat! We’ll definitely sell it in Re:vale colors!

Ousaka Sougo: As expected, you’re great at business…

Nanase Riku: Aah! I’m really looking forward to the other groups’ lives, but I won’t lose! 

Nanase Riku: Iori！

Izumi Iori: Yes.

Nanase Riku: Make us win! 

Izumi Iori: …

Izumi Iori: We will win. Us, IDOLiSH7, will reach the top.

Yotsuba Tamaki ＆ Nikaidou Yamato ＆Izumi Mitsuki ＆ Nanase Riku ＆ Rokuya Nagi  & Ousaka Sougo: Yeah…!!

Izumi Iori: We’ll even fly the stage set to the moon.

Yotsuba Tamaki ＆ Nikaidou Yamato ＆Izumi Mitsuki ＆ Nanase Riku ＆ Rokuya Nagi ＆Ousaka Sougo: Yeaaah…!!

Izumi Mitsuki: It’s fine to destroy the venue after all.

Izumi Iori: We’ll obtain the rainbow, the stars, even the sun; without leaving a single thing behind. 

Nikaidou Yamato: You’re confident.

Izumi Iori: Don’t make fun of me. This isn’t like writing on a tanzaku on tanabata; it’s not an innocent, fleeting wish.

Izumi Iori: We who sang in front of an audience of nine people…

Izumi Iori: If we reach out with our hands right now, our wish is within reach. 

Izumi Iori: Nikaidou-san.

Nikaidou Yamato: …

Izumi Iori: Nii-san.

Izumi Mitsuki: …

Izumi Iori: Yotsuba-san.

Yotsuba Tamaki: …

Izumi Iori: Ousaka-san.

Ousaka Sougo: …

Izumi Iori: Rokuya-san.

Rokuya Nagi: …

Izumi Iori: And finally, Nanase-san.

Nanase Riku: …

Izumi Iori: Do you have the resolve to change the world? 

Nikaidou Yamato: Yeah!

Izumi Mitsuki: Let’s do it!

Yotsuba Tamaki: Let’s win together!

Ousaka Sougo: Yeah!

Rokuya Nagi: Yes! We are top idols! 

Nanase Riku: Even if we extended our hands, our selves back then wouldn’t have been able to grasp it, but… 

Nanase Riku: Let’s grasp it!

IDOLiSH7: Yeah…!!

Izumi Iori: Let’s surpass both our rivals and the kings and leap over it.

Izumi Iori: After all, we are the seven-colored rainbow starting the new era. 

~ to be continued ~

--

6.10.4. - The world moves on 

Phone: ♪～

Yotsuba Tamaki: Ah… it’s from Tenten. I wonder if it’s about Aya.

(beep)

Yotsuba Tamaki: Hello.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Kujou speaking. Is right now fine?

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s fine. Is this about Aya?

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Yes.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Is Aya debuting? 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: I didn’t hear anything about that. If it was Aya’s wish, I’d want to grant it though.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Instead of doing it for herself, Aya wants to be an idol for Kujou-san’s sake. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …Both our manager and Rikkun cooperated with him on “Zero”, so I don’t think he’s all bad.  

Yotsuba Tamaki: But why does Aya support him that much?

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Will you listen to me calmly? 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Eh~? I don’t like that start… You’re gonna say something that makes my head spin, aren’t you? 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: …If I was in your place and Riku was my sister, I think my head would spin a little. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: I don’t want that… I don’t wanna hear it… But there’s no use, I’ll listen. Since I’m her older brother… 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: How admirable. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Alright… Tell me. 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: If I said “probably”, it would be rude to Aya. From my point of view, it’s that she admires him.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Hm? Yeah.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Aya likes Kujou-san. In the romantic sense… it seems. She proposed to Kujou-san. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …

Kujou Tenn on the phone: …Are you okay?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Tenten, you’re an idol, right?

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Yeah.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Then what are you doing? Normally, wouldn’t she fall for you, Tenten? Why Kujou?

Kujou Tenn on the phone: …Well… People have different tastes…

Yotsuba Tamaki: Normally I go to Tenten, but Tenten, you’re disqualified from being an idol! You lost to an old man who can’t dance! 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: That’s a bit of a shock… But, look. Kujou-san is kind. Especially to Aya. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Tenten, are you cold towards Aya? 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: I think I’m being nice to her normally like an older brother, though… 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Look! While TRIGGER’s Tenn is sitting by, that old man Kujou…!

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Wait. Don’t just make it my responsibility. Isn’t Isumi Haruka from ŹOOḼ in the same position? 

Yotsuba Tamaki: That’s exactly it! Tenten and Isumin are there, so why Kujou? 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Isn’t it just her admiring an older person? Love-like feelings for someone who’s like a father to her… 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …If you put it like that…

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Getting back to the topic, Kujou-san told Aya they can’t be together after hearing her feelings.

Yotsuba Tamaki: What!? Isn’t that irresponsible!?

Kujou Tenn on the phone: I get how you feel. I got upset when he said that, too, but I understand that Kujou-san is cautious as well. 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Because he cherishes Aya. Because he doesn’t want anything to happen to her. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Even though Kujou-san says he wants to annul the adoption relationship with Aya at all costs, I intend to look after Aya.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Since we cannot live together at Ryuu’s house, I might end up moving out to live together with Aya.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: But before I just decide that by myself, I thought I’d listen to your opinion. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …I don’t think I can live with Aya at the dorm, either. If that’s the case, having Aya alone in a facility is… 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …Aya herself doesn’t want that, either. Well, she does say she wants to be with Kujou.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Yotsuba Tamaki. You are a student, too. You don’t have to carry this burden alone. That’s why, don’t feel too responsible. 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: I want to respect your will. I want to respect Aya’s will as well. That’s all it is. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …You say that, Tenten, but you’re younger than Sou-chan. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: What about your will? I’ll respect it in your place. 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: A happy ending. I like you, Kujou-san, Aya; Isumi Haruka, too. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Isn’t that just about other people? Will you be fine? 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: That’s not the case. Thank you. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …Just think about it a bit. It’s possible the dormitory itself might disappear… 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: Is that so?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Yeah… It’ll be lonely, though.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: That’s true… I think you guys having a place where you can have an exciting life together is a good thing.  

Yotsuba Tamaki: I think so, too. But if you put Aya into that, I would feel sorry for her.

Kujou Tenn on the phone: That’s true... I’ll also try talking to Aya a little.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Yeah, good luck, Tenten. 

Kujou Tenn on the phone: You, too. Well then, see you.

(beep)

Yotsuba Tamaki: …Haa…

Yotsuba Tamaki: I wonder what place we will be in next year… 

--

Woman: …Aah… Today is when I’ll find out whether I won or lost… 

Woman: Idol fans are too amazing. They managed to stand this feeling up until now…

Woman: Haa… I definitely don’t want to lose… God, please… 

Woman: I already bought new clothes since I thought I can go, and I pre-ordered the goods already, so… 

Woman: Since I really plan to go, I ended up watching all the footage from the lives up until now. 

Woman: IDOLiSH7 was amazing… It was totally different from TV. Everyone, everyone was the best stars… 

Woman: Their gazes as they looked over the venue were kind, they made me really happy. 

Woman: It made me think I want to be in that place with them and cheer them on. It made me want to be one of the lights they see. 

Woman: Because I am going to go to the live, I did my best with overtime and took on business trips. I must’ve accumulated some good deeds by now! 

Woman: Please, let me win! If I lost right now, it’d be frustrating~! 

Woman: Ah…! The person I befriended online won! Waaah~, congratulations!!

Woman: There’s people who didn’t win, either… It must be true that they’re crying… I feel like I’ll cry, too… 

Woman: Haa… My heart’s pounding… 

Woman: I can’t believe I’m trying to go to a place that will make my heart pound even more, even though my heart is already pounding…

Woman: What is it gonna be like? A really fun, sparkling and happy time… 

Woman: …Is what I think it will be, but what if I go there and it’s different? …Everything’s just according to my convenient fantasy…

Woman: …I’m so excited, I’m anxious…  I’m really looking forward to it, but I am also a bit nervous… This might be what it feels like to have a wish. 

Woman: So that’s it, I… When I saw IDOLiSH7, I had a wish for the first time in a long time. 

Woman: It’s not a wish like, “No way~”. “I wanna have fun~”.... It’s a sparkling, childlike wish. 

Woman: That’s why my heart is beating and my chest hurts; everything’s so fun, I can’t bear it. 

Woman: …I want to go to the live… 

Woman: …A mail came! There was a notice about the lottery results! 

Woman: What should I…? I’m scared to look at it… 

Woman: It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine… If it doesn’t work this time, I’ll just have to apply again. 

Woman: Since I joined the fanclub as well, it’ll work for sure. I might even win this time… 

Woman: Let’s count down. One, two… 

Clerk: Excuse me. 

Woman: …!

Order: Would you like to have some more coffee? 

Woman: Ah… I’ll dig right in… Ah, never mind, I’m good.

Clerk: I understand. Please take your time enjoying your stay. 

Woman: Thank you very much…

Woman: …

Woman: …Oh, I won…！

~ to be continued ~

--

TL note:

¹ - An explanation on the antlion pit, lit. anthell: click

² - Yes, the same cumulonimbus clouds Kujou was talking about. Different word in JP, though.

I assume most people know about tanzaku and tanabata by now, but if not, click! As for the whole "royal road" talk, it's a kind of wordplay on doing it the classic way and also Re:vale being kings...

...mod riku here!! this is the first time i bothered to translate some of the chapter headlines myself instead of leaving it to mod haruka, and you can tell from the awkward wording, ehehe... that being said, it's done now!

#idolish7 #idolish7 part 6 #idolish7 spoilers #idolish7 translations #idolish7 translation #i7 translation

[intoloopin]

♡‒♡‒♡ LOOPiN'S ROMANCE HISTORY: A SHORT OVERVIEW

[!!!] Possible tws for a brief mention/implication of past physical and psychological abuse (Haruki, J.J and Haegon sections, respectively), as well as the implication of an uncomfortable age gap (Haruki again.)

HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOORA: @hshtag!

♡‒♡‒♡ TAESONG'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ Taesong has compensated for years of extreme failure in all departments of life by scoring the most comprehensible, prettiest woman in all of Seoul - Yunhee, obviously -, and it only took him 1 major breakdown after a bad vocal class at her uncle's shop in 2022 to do it. Ever since then, they have slowly gone steady; Yunhee's organized and lively personality is just what he needs to ease his ways.

➷ Honestly? That's the girl he's going to marry, and there's no doubt on Taesong's mind about it. Maybe he'll even do it soon. Like very, very soon, and- oh my God, Taesong, stop going to the Cartier website and starring at wedding rings for 40 minutes, man, this is embarrasing.

♡‒♡‒♡ MINWOO'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ Ever since Minwoo decided to turn his heart into a synthesizer at the tender age of fourteen, he's been the subject affection of almost no one - if you exclude his former neighbor that basically gave him his trainee dream and he once promise to write music for until their dying days, but she's definely never coming to bite him in the ass, unless uh-oh, she totally is. And she's with Haegon now. Cool.

➷ Not like he cares, because again, Minwoo's never been in love with her. In fact: he's never been in love with anyone, not back then, and not now. He's not in love now. Who even cares that every time he tries to write songs these days they all end up being about a fake blonde guy with long hair, too much money and the loveliest set of brown eyes there ever were, but whatever! That doesn't mean anything! It's not even that descriptive - in fact, he's never met anyone like that ever, and fuck you Dylan if you think otherwise.

♡‒♡‒♡ SEUNGSOO'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ By far the LOOPiN member getting the most action, their resident lover boy if you will, Seungsoo rarely does serious relationships: he likes unlabeled things and having the capability to be a little bit in love with everyone without having to explain himself further about it. He's a feeler, not a thinker, and love is his muse! It brings the best out of him! It just sucks it took him three strikes at trying to communicate successfully to get it right (Never mention The Great Delilah Fiasco. He will cry.)

➷ He's been lucky enough to find Gayoung along the way, who lives very much like him, only smarter, and went on to completely change Seungsoo's perspective of what love can really look like. He's even become besties with her other primary partner, Junyeol! And everything is finally so great and feels so right for once! It would be a shame if he fucked it up for idiotic reasons or something...

♡‒♡‒♡ HARUKI'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ After the years of deep intimacy damage caused by his past manager's sick grip over Haruki's guts were cut short by Sangwon's resignation (and eventual death), he took little venture back into the dating pool, strumbling instead into unbalanced, set for fail situantionships with his co-workers in all the fields he's set in - bandmate? Check (Sorry about all that, Hanjae...); Model he does constant gigs with? Partial check (Sejin is 34 and the lead singer of a comedy band. He has bigger fish to fry and Haruki is so over him, just so over him, really!); Ex-boyfriend of his former Boy Of The Week friend that Haruki was coursed into running over that may or may not still be in love with Kohei while using him to cope with the fact that he's been horribly dumped? He's about to get there, do that, don't you dare try to stop him (Daewon is, after all, very nice. And what's that thing about third times being special?) ➷ To conclude, Haruki has absolutely no idea what a functional relationship should look like - or if he even deserves to experience one to begin with. So let him have his momentary 'fun'. He's learning. And he's certainly going do better someday. Hopefully.

♡‒♡‒♡ DYLAN'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ Dylan's nothing but a simple guy with simple guy experiences. He met a lovely girl in school as a teen, Sasha, and they went on to live a sweet and calm friends to lovers romance. Then he made up his mind about turning into a K-Pop Idol, he passed a trainee audition, and it was over (he and Sasha were very nature about it. He still follows her on Instagram in his private account. She has a whole baby now, goddamn, where did time go?)

➷ Looking back at it, the teenage affair seems a life time away now... And since then? Nothing. Chihoon has never even been to date in South Korea, and it's not by lack of options: Dylan is secretly very popular among female Idols, some might go as far as say he has a bit of a hot bachelor reputation, so why...? Don't ask him, really. He has no clue what's going on. Everything just feels so pointless lately, and romance isn't an exception.

♡‒♡‒♡ GYUJIN'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ To the possible surprise of the masses, Gyujin hasn't ever been romantically involved with a single person in his life. He's more of a flirt-with-all, run-from-all kind of guy, and at this point, he doesn't even know why; he's doing great! Why the heck is he so scared of holding hands or going beyond first base and all that crap?!

➷ If only he tried his luck with someone who showed unquestionable love and devotion to him from the get go, or that wasn't spooked by his career, like a fansite or... Wait.

♡‒♡‒♡ O.Z'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ To his and his bandmate's outmost surprise, secluded, very anti romance Zhiming managed to not only find a perfect collab artist that's fully on board with his experimental music, but also a girlfriend that seems to understand him inside and out in Nico. What started as a project with an online singer going by the stage name of 'nicebnico' in late 2022 has now bloomed into an online romance, then an in person romance that's inspired him to not only keep pursuing an even weirder sound as his heart desires, but also to keep himself open to taking risks and opening up to a new world of people - how can he not when Nicola is the biggest risk taker extrovert woman that ever walked the earth. Turns out, the opposites attract myth is the real deal. ➷ With Nico finally deciding to reveal her hidden identity in 2024, they plan to be more open with the public about their relationship as well - consequences be dammed! Zhiming is a man in love and he'll shout it from the roof (quietly) if he has to!

♡‒♡‒♡ HANJAE'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ With two epic fail romances on his back at such a young age - a tip: don't agree to date your childhood best friend's girlfriend a day before they've actually broken up, and for the love of God, don't mess around with your bandmate that clearly is in no mental state to even consider your very real feelings -, Hanjae seems to have finally gotten it right with Yoora!

➷ At first turning to his very good friend with a fake dating scheme to hopefully help end some of Haruki's overwhelming guilty for how bad their whole deal was, Hanjae, being Hanjae, catched feelings - and for the first time ever, it didn't explode all over his face. Yoora reminds him that love is all about who you want to spend your piece and quiet with, and for as long he'll be able, he wants to never make her feel anything but safe.

♡‒♡‒♡ J.J'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ Despite claiming to be "too busy for anyone" because he is "a professional" with "real goals of stardom" and "impossible standards", which are all to some degree true, what kept Jiahang stuck in a loveless limbo thought all of 2023 was the very weird parasitic relationship Dongwook pushed him into - A Secret Third Thing taken up to the max, and he wasn't even into it! Not to mention he wasn't even the only one! Poor Jiyeon has it even worse!

➷ In theory, he's free now, and he can be a guy in his early twenties and not let some psycho from the biggest boy group in the world control his every move. But like... Why bother trying? It's not like he's got much to work with, being famous and all, not to mention kind of rotten to the core (self-observation). And he has Minwoo anyway, which- Uh. What a weird little thought...

♡‒♡‒♡ HAEGON'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

➷ As the saying goes: you had Haegon's heart once, you might as well have it forever. No, he's not proud about it; nothing about his never ending saga with Sunyoung makes him feel anything but frustrated, and pathetic (He got cheated on with Minwoo, out of all people, as well as with DJ that lives in a goddamn trailer. How does a person deal with that?!). Except for when he feels completely in love with her, of course, which is often in correlation to the times he doesn't have her around. Weird how that goes.

➷ But he is very happy to announce that in December of 2023 he said his last goodbye to Sunyoung, and he is for real this time. Haegon is very fucking serious. This is not like breakup 3, or break up 7, or break up 11. This is the end, and he is absolutely ready for something new. And speaking of new, didn't Haruki's sister just start training at New Wave some months back, and she's a 01 liner too and so nice, so pretty, hold on just a minute-

#&& ⠀ [ . . . ] hound on a hunt ⠀⸻ development . #fictional idol community #fake kpop group #kpop au #kpop fanfic #kpop oc #*taking Dylan's hands and waving it up like a flag* WILL ANY LADY JUST LOOK AT HIM PLEASE

[erinshere]

which phantometal, how they’re called, trap reactions and trauma ainana characters would have in a paradox live au or collab.

Iori would have a bunny plush, called “Lonely Bunny”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be the day that his brother would scream at him and his trap reaction would make it happen over and over again.

Yamato would have his glasses, called “Acting Glasses”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be discover about the fact that he was a lovechild from the tv and his trap reaction would be reviving his discover about it and his mother meltdown.

Mitsuki would have a ankle lace, called “Meanless Brace”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be when he discovered that he’s seen less than his little brother and his trap reaction would be reviving that damned day.

Tamaki would have a king pudding pin, called “Melancholy Pin”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be when his dad beat up his own family and his trap reaction would be reviving that fear.

Sougo would have a small kalimba, called “Missing Piece”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be his uncle’s legacy be destroyed and his trap reaction would be reviving that day.

Nagi would have a ring on his left finger, called “Loneliness Ring”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be Haruki Sakura’s disappearance and his trap reaction would be reviving the discovery.

Riku would have a sort of jewel that goes across his face, called “Useless Line”, as his phantometal and his trauma is his twin Tenn leaving him behind and his trap reaction would be reviving that night.

Gaku would have a necklace with a cross, called “Bonded Cross”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be see his grandpa collapse and his trap reaction would be reviving that.

Tenn would have a small crown, called “Selfish Crown”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be see Riku collapsing and flatline because of his illness and his trap reaction would be reviving all over again as a kid.

Ryuu would have a small dragon earring, called “Sacrificing Dragon”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be see his parents divorcing and his trap reaction would be reviving that moment with his brothers.

Momo would have a matching ring with Yuki, called “Founding happiness”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be the day that he had to give on his dream as soccer player and he has to feel the pain all over again.

Yuki would have the other matching ring with Momo, called “Leaving Loneliness”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be Ban’s accident and his trap reaction would be that he has to reviving that day and perfomance.

Haruka would have a small dino keychain, called “Lost childhood”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be his parents’ death and his trap reaction he’d just stand there and see his parents die over and over again.

Touma would have a choker, called “Betrayal Collar”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be the day where his band fallen apart and his trap reaction would be reviving that painful day.

Minami would have a ring, called “Fake Ring”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be lost his only friend, Haruki Sakurai, and his trap reaction would be reviving that night.

Torao would have a small hero mask keychain, called “Masking Key”, as his phantometal and his trauma would be when his brother and parents tell him that he’s “useless”, when in reality it’s a big misunderstanding, and his trap reaction would be reviving that dinner.

#paradox live #paralive #ainana #idolish7

[theangrybooknook]

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Do you ever find yourself with *finally* enough time to read, but then you don't? Do you ever settle for the evening with the determination that you're going to read, but you end up scrolling through Instagram instead, AGAIN?

I have a lot of free time these days. Ever since my last contract ended in July 2023 and my trip to Hokkaido from September-December, I have been looking for a job. The market is tough these days, and the publishing industry in my country seems to be rather reluctant in hiring new people - let alone women in their late 20s/early 30s who might pop out a kid in the near future. And although I have zero ambition to have children anytime soon, they naturally throw me into one pot with other women and decide they'd rather hire a man or no one.

So that is where I am at the moment. Living with my parents, with enough time on my hands, writing job applications, trying to not go insane. You see, I have a lot of spare time on my hands these days.

Then why do I not use it to read through the pile of shame that I have amassed?

My attention span has become ridiculously short and fanfiction is always a safe bet. I know the characters, I know what I am getting into, I know the deal. This is why I also love writing fanfiction so much. But besides reading fanfiction, I should read more of the books I actually spent (a lot of) money on. For some reason, some reading energy came over me, and here we are. I remembered this blog and thought I should just do it. Give it a try. Write about the things that I read and maybe write some reviews, perhaps that will inspire me to read on and on and on.

So here we are with Satoshi Yagisawa's "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop".

Synopsis: The story follows Takako, a young woman living in Tokyo, heartbroken after her boyfriend tells her he is going to marry someone else. Depressed and overwhelmed, she quits her job, and her uncle Satoru calls her from the family's bookshop, asking if she didn't want to stay with him for a while and work at the shop for a bit. At first, Takako is not a fan - she is not a reader, she does not know what the fuss is all about and why people love a second-hand-bookshop of all places. Slowly, she begins to embark on her own reading journey and finds a new footing and new interests, until all of a sudden, her aunt Momoko comes back into her and her uncle's lives.

My experience with Japanese literature is very limited. I tried to read Haruki Murakami a few years ago and threw the book against the wall because I found it too exhausting. I also tried Banana Yoshimoto a few years ago but I cannot remember if I finished it. I have read far more manga, translated into English or German. While I was living in Japan, one of my housemates turned out to be a fellow graduate of literary studies and she had written her thesis about some pieces of Japanese literature. She loved it so much that I was determined to also give it a try, and she told me what to watch out for. I am not sure if I caught all the things that are to discover in "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop", but what I caught was very delightful.

One does not need to know Japanese culture or have been to Japan in order to read/understand Yagisawa's novel. In fact, I find it an incredibly easy way to look into Japanese society for people who have never been there; it is like a window that welcomes everyone to stand in front of it and look through. When one imagines Tokyo, there's usually Shibuya Crossing and lots of people, lots of lights and billboards, lots of noise. The Tokyo that Yagisawa presents to the reader is a surprisingly quiet one: Jimbōchō. I have never been to this part of Tokyo, but after reading the novel, I imagine this book-town of Tokyo as very similar to the other narrow streets and lanes that I have wandered down during my time in Japan. It is the magic that you can find in every large city in Japan: bustling life, lots of noise, a sensory overload; but as soon as you turn around the corner into another lane, the sound of the city disappears, and you are in a quiet sphere. This is the atmosphere that Yagisawa masterfully creates in this novel, allowing the reader to step off the train together with Takako, entering the quiet and musty world of books.

For any book lover, the mere description of the Morisaki Bookshop is a delight. When Takako first enters the shop, she describes the smell as "musty", which slightly embarrasses her uncle. Her naiveté in this utterance is charming as it is almost ridiculous to any book worm: we all know what kind of smell she is referring to, and we would never call it musty. We would simply call it the smell of a book shop or, more precisely, the smell of old books. Although Takako is, in the beginning, "not one of us", she does not make herself unlikeable by pointing out what annoys her about the bookshop. They are fair observations, such as a packed room full of books that is supposed to be her bedroom, or the fact that she can't really find anything in the bookshop. She does not feel superior all of a sudden when she eventually picks up one of the many books and starts reading, and she is not ashamed of admitting that she has now added reading to her hobbies. It expands her world and gives her, as she puts it, the kick in the butt that she needs. She finds a new life, and new love, but most importantly, she keeps going for her own sake. She does not have the perfect happy ending - if the book has a happy end at all. It ends in a rather abrupt way.

I was not sure what to think of the Momoko subplot. Takako's aunt, who has left her uncle Satoru years ago and suddenly returns in an almost dramatic way that screams "tadaahh!!!", seems like a strange intrusion in the second part of the novel that is simply titled "Momoko Returns". Takako pretty much mirrored me, the reader, when Momoko suddenly showed up - she does not know what to do with the woman that is suddenly there and takes over the little life that Satoru and Takako have crafted for themselves, and neither of them are brave enough to ask. Later, Momoko invites Takako to a girl's trip to a place she used to work at, and during their trip, she opens up briefly towards Takako about her reasons for returning. Her reasons make sense but also appear selfish to the reader, which Takako agrees on. She tears the note that Momoko leaves for her after running away again into shreds, then tells her uncle to run after her this time, or it will be too late. She kicks both uncle and aunt in the butt this way, no longer willing to be the intermediary between them (agreed tbh).

The novel often makes it seem as if Takako is merely living for other people. In the beginning, this is most definitely true. She is living for her shitty boyfriend Hideaki, then for her uncle, then for her friends Takano and Tomo, setting them up as a couple. As soon as she receives her own kick in the butt to get her own life back on track, Takako starts living for herself again - slowly, with hesitation, but much less afraid than before. When she finally meets Wada, a customer, fellow bookworm, and nursing a broken heart similarly to Takako in the beginning, she is not sure whether or not to allow herself to think about him. She is not even sure if she has actual feelings for him or if she is just pretending, which is an incredibly refreshing take in literature. Love and romance, and feelings in general, are not always clear-cut, and the novel reflects this. Not even Wada seems to be sure what to think of her, and the way they find together, through some minor misunderstanding, is lovely to witness. Personally, I would have liked to read more of their love story, but that is not the point of the novel.

Takako is an interesting main character as she seems to follow the reader in their experience. I was often taken aback and shocked, only to find that two lines down, Takako expresses the same feelings. At the same time, it does not feel as if the reader is taken by the hand by the narrative to come to certain emotional conclusions. If anything, it shows that feelings and emotions are valid, even if it takes a while to understand them, like Takako does. It takes her several chapters to finally realise how angry she is with Hideaki and the way he treated her, and she allows her anger to come through fully when Momoko runs away yet again. It was interesting to check on myself during the reading process: "What does this scene do with me? Alright. I feel anger. Let's read on and see how Takako thinks about it." Personally, I don't think I have experienced something like that before in reading.

The world in the novel, and the society in it, is a Japanese one. I am somewhat familiar with the culture due to my stay in Sapporo, and due to my (albeit limited) understanding of the language. It enhances the experience of reading this little gem of a novel, but it is absolutely not necessary. If anything, the novel takes the reader to a Japan that is not the one we always see represented in Western media. The Japan that Satoshi Yagisawa presents us is quiet, calm, peaceful, with a musty smell, a strong sense of community, women who don't give a shit about what old people think of them, and an incredible serenity in the form of Uncle Satoru that makes the reader want an uncle like him to talk about books with.

#days at the morisaki bookshop #satoshi yagisawa #books #bookblr #books and reading #literature #review

[asouefanworkevent]

woevember is coming!

what is it?

woevember is an asoue fanwork event week, that will take place from november 13th through november 19th, 2022. each day of that week is dedicated to a different group of characters from a series of unfortunate events and all the wrong questions.

what do i do?

the character groups will be revealed now, so everyone has time to make something. between now and the week of november 13th, you’ll create fanworks about the characters, and then post it on the corresponding day during november 13th - 19th!

don’t forget to tag this tumblr (asouefanworkevent) in the post so i can find it and reblog it, and tag the post with #woevember !

what do you mean by fanwork?

everything! fanfic and fanart are of course allowed, but also edits, gifs, analysis posts, even just headcanons!! super short fics!! your sketchiest drawings!! i want people to be encouraged to and be able to create even something small that didn’t exist before for the snicketverse, and share it with other people!

are there any rules?

to keep the event open and comfortable for everyone, no explicit content. also, this should go without saying, but in case it doesn’t, sibling romance and age gaps are not allowed and will not be tolerated.

do i have to make something for every day?

only if you want to! feel free to just make something for one day if you want :) the point of having a different character group for each day is so everyone’s favorite character (or a character you like or find interesting) will hopefully come up at some point, so everyone’s covered, and you can at least make something for one of the days.

what are the prompts?

i tried to get a good mix of characters we already love a lot, and characters who you might not have thought about before!

november 13th – sugar bowl gen siblings

the best siblings. the worst siblings. they’re going through a lot, at all times. "the schism has turned many brothers into enemies."

character options include: snickets, denouements, anwhistles, calibans, sebalds

november 14th – firestarters

what makes a “firestarter”? (besides needing to find seven broad categories in which to fit many, many characters.)

character options include: olaf, esme, the bald man, fernald, the henchperson, the white-faced women, the man with a beard but no hair, the woman with hair but no beard (also related characters, like ernest, georgina, olivia)

november 15th – the city

there is so much in The City! and so much with a deep vfd history, that every aspect of the city must’ve crossed paths with vfd or the baudelaire’s story at some point, in some way.

character options include: jerome, eleanora, geraldine, esme squalor’s fanclub, honestly anyone you would like to stick in a specifically City location

location options include: the punctilio, the banking district, the herpetological society, the hemlock tearoom and stationery shop, the taxi, the opera, the fountain of victorious finance, 667 dark avenue, veblen hall, orion observatory

november 16th – unseen characters

there’s plenty of characters we hear about in the series, but never actually really see. give us your takes on them!

character options include: lemony's editor, the snicket parents, olaf's parents, haruki, the baudelaire's uncle elwyn, madame dilustro, gina sue, whoever beatrice and bertrand invited to their dinner parties besides mr. poe, moxie's mother, ellington's mother, violet's friend ben, lemony's friend playing the sonata on the pipe organ in the cathedral of the alleged virgin

november 17th – stain’d-by-the-sea

what becomes of stain’d-by-the-sea and all the people still living there, after lemony leaves? what happens to wade academy? what happens to ellington?

character options include: moxie, pip, squeak, jake, cleo, kellar, ornette, lizzie, ellington, prosper lost, stew, the mitchums, the talkie brothers, any character from 13SI (theodora can also be included here)

november 18th – the unfortunate generation

what are they up to, post-canon? or what were they up to, pre-canon?

character options include: violet, klaus, sunny, duncan, isadora, quigley, fiona, carmelita, friday, the second beatrice

november 19th – free space!

is there a character you want to make something for that didn’t necessarily fit in these categories? (and my deepest apologies for who didn’t. the duchess? miranda? ishmael? the islanders? widdershins? hector? the village of fowl devotees? jacquelyn? larry? phil? beatrice and bertrand, technically????) is there a character you wanted to do but you didn’t like the group they were in? (you’d rather talk about esme outside of her relation to the firestarters?) do you want to do something centered on a ship? (lemony/beatrice/bertrand? dewey/bertrand? kit/beatrice? violet/isadora? jacques/jerome? olivia/jacques? beatrice/bertrand? monty/gustav? sally/r?) put it here!

can i do ships for other days?

you absolutely can! i’m just giving options in the free space.

can i include other characters that aren’t a part of the group set for each day?

yes, as long as the major focus of the work is still on the designated group! for example, for sugar bowl gen siblings, you could definitely make something about, say, beatrice interacting with the snicket siblings, as long as the focus of the work is still on the snicket siblings. or, for stain’d-by-the-sea, you could definitely write about those characters interacting with vfd characters, or the unfortunate gen, or even mr. poe, as long as the focus of the work is still on the stain’d-by-the-sea characters.

if you have any questions about anything, feel free to drop me an ask or a message!

happy creating and i hope to see lots of you november 13th - 19th!!

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #atwq #all the wrong questions #lemony snicket #woevember

[afterthegreatunknown]

List of Snicket-Verse Characters I headcanon as Asian Descent, Fully or Partly, with the One (1) Book Canonical Asian Character

The One (1) Book Canonical

Haruki [Murakami]: Japanese. Originally born in Kyoto in the Fushimi-ku ward, Haruki and his family moved to the City when he was six due to his father’s job (in the organization). When it comes to reading and writing Japanese, it isn’t as perfect as people assume, for Haruki spend more of his childhood reading and writing in English. Speaking Japanese though, Haruki can 100% do.

Headcanons Characters, ATWQ

Dashiell Qwerty: Chinese descent. Qwerty is an alias surname his family uses when out in the field for VFD. His real surname is Qiao, and whenever not in the field, volunteers call him Qiao. Or ‘Q’, if they can’t pronounce it. Dashiell has a technical middle name; his Chinese given name, Qiang. Dashiell is (was) only call Qiang by his parents.

Jackie’s Grandfather: Korean. Jackie’s grandfather full name in western order, is Pyong-ho Ahn, nickname in his youth as Moray. Phyong-ho used to manage Moray Wheels in the past in addition to racing, before retiring and allowing Jackie to take over. Phyong-ho by the present no longer goes by Moray, unless you’re a very close friend of his.

Jackie (Ahn): Korean descent. Jackie is really Jackie’s first name, though they do accept the Korean name their grandfather gave them: Jae-kyung. Jackie only answers to Jae-kyung if it’s spoken by their grandfather, their parents (now decease), and their aunt and uncle and cousin who lives in the City, finding it something special meant for family only.

The Talkie Brothers: Asian descent of different nationalities. Arthur Takei is of Japanese descent. Amit Sharma is of Indian descent. ‘Talkie Brothers’ came because many couldn’t pronounce Takei. They thought about going by “the Sherman Brothers” for some couldn’t pronounce Sharma correctly either, but that is used by a real pair of musically talent brothers.

Alice Lost, nee Takei: Japanese descent. The younger sister of Arthur Takei, Alice has a great talent of doing origami. She can make anything out of a piece of paper, but her specialty was making paper cranes. In fact, before her death, Alice was aiming to create 1,000, and had reached 1,000 exactly when the fire broke out at the Lost Arms.

Ornette Lost: Biracial. Japanese descent from her mother Alice, Irish descent from her father (Prosper immigrated to SBTS as a child with his parents). Ornette’s talent of (paper) sculptures came from watching her mother folding origami paper into cranes. Ornette feels connected to her mother when making origami cranes, and aims to fold 1,001 in her memory.

Headcanon Characters, ASOUE

Captain Widdershins: (French) Chinese Cambodian on Father’s side, and native Cambodian (Khmer) on Mother’s side. Widdershins does his best to feel connected to his former home country, be celebrating holidays that he can barely recall celebrating, making meals if the ingredients available, or speaking Khmer to himself and sometimes around Fiona. For that last one, Widdershins gave Fiona a Khmer [nick]name, though after an interaction with a volunteer, had Widdershins stopping it. Post-canon, he starts saying Fiona’s Khmer [nick]name again, usually when it's just the two of them.

Raymond ‘Q’ Quagmire: Chinese descent. Raymond is an adopted Quagmire due to his brother Dashiell’s death/murder. Raymond, like Dashiell, has a technical middle name that is his Chinese given name; Jiahao. However, for reasons, people assume Dashiell’s Chinese given name is Raymond’s, made worse because many had forgot Raymond and Dashiell are related.

Joan Quagmire [nee Morstan]: Chinese descent. Joan’s birth surname is Lau; Morstan is the surname of her adopted family. Two of Joan’s favorite games to play are Mahjong and Wei Qi (Go). While she’s not the best player of the latter, she’s brilliant in the former. Joan likes making her children (all together) play a game with her once a week; they never won.

Alex and Lindsey Morstan: Chinese descent. Being Joan’s triplet sisters, they were forced to play Mahjong and Wei Qi with her, with the latter being the game they’re best at. Alex and Lindsey are fonder of reading (translated) Chinese novels; Alex loves Journey to the West, while Lindsey enjoys Flowers in the Mirror.

Duncan, Isadora, and Quigley Quagmire: Chinese descent. Duncan, Isadora, and Quigley, pre and post canon, do their best to gain insight and feel connected to their identity, in their own ways. Duncan does it by researching Chinese history, particularly of the Chinese Dynasties (the Tang Dynasty is his favorite). Isadora does it by watching Chinese opera (she loves the costumes, and the singing style). Quigley does with the hands-on approach of preparing and cooking traditional Chinese dishes with help (parents and aunt pre-canon. Post-canon, Quigley get Hector or Widdershins’ help, sometimes the two adults together if needed).

Charles: Vietnamese descent. Charles’ full name is Charles Nguyen, the son of two Vietnamese people who lived half their lives in France before moving to the Land of Districts. Charles worked with his parents at their swanky restaurant, Nguyen Bistro; it serves traditional Vietnamese dishes as well as French dishes as an alternative. Charles took business (and cooking) classes to fully take over, but a mysterious fire that burned the restaurant and the apartment home, as well as killing his parents, changed his path.

Sir: Thai. An immigrant that came to the Land of Districts to escape his past, Sir found work at Lucky Smells Lumber Mill as a regular employee, before getting promoted to foreman. When the owner Smogface Wiley died, the mill was doom to close. However, Sir managed to get a trial run as boss, and later became the new permanent owner. Sir’s cousins working at the Mill is true; they’re the ones who made Sir escape his past in the first place. Sir had no qualms on the conditions they’re working, seeing how he survived it and worked his way upward (and maybe revenge).

(Regarding Sir’s unknown name, his first name at least, it’s Chalermchai. When he was a regular employee, Chalermchai was usually referred to or call by that didn’t require the foreman or anyone else to say his name. But when Chalermchai became foreman, people discover they were unable to say it, so Chalermchai became ‘Sir.’ Not many people call Sir by his first name nowadays. Charles says it, and even then, it’s rare.)

R, Duchess of Winnipeg: Biracial. Japanese descent from her father, Ryutaro (Second generation Japanese-Canadian), and French from her mother, Sabine (French from France and French Canadian). R is a naming pattern from her father’s family, for in Sabine’s family, no one ever had an ‘R’ name before (Sabine does have the alias of ‘Rhea’ though). R isn’t connected to her Japanese heritage as much as she likes; the most she knows of is Japanese theater, mainly Kabuki. The R engrave ring was something Sabine did herself, much to her mother (R’s Grand-Mère Thea) disapproval, for Sabine wanted the ring to be special for R when she gets it.

R’s heir, Ramona Q, and the Q stands for Quach (Quách): She's the daughter of two Vietnamese refugees who were very good friends with R. They confided to R about the odd interactions Ramona had with her local librarian, leading to R telling them things to do to keep their daughter safe. When Ramona’s parents died in a fire, R decided to adopt Ramona to lessen VFD’s influence. R loves Ramona very much, being an honorary aunt to the girl before adopting her, and does her best to let Ramona be connected to her culture (clothing, music, food; food is most common and accessible one of all).

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #atwq #all the wrong questions #dashiell qwerty #alice lost #ornette lost #captain widdershins #mr. quagmire #mrs. quagmire #quagmire triplets #duncan quagmire #isadora quagmire #quigley quagmire #charles asoue #sir asoue #duchess of winnipeg #haruki [murakami] #headcanons #book verse #tagging only those that i feel are more noticeable/known #charles #sir #r

[harveyb-wabbit92]

[Made using Rinmaru's anime avatar maker which can be found on this site here: (Link) in case anyone's interested.]

I re-did two of my ultraman ocs Akari Yuri and Nieve.

Akari Yuri (left): the teenage daughter of Anne Yuri and Dan Moroboshi (Ultraseven) her age is 54 but but due to her being half alien she ages very slowly, so physically she looks around 15 years old.

When she was around 6 Anne passed away; no one knew who her father was since Anne kept it a well guarded secret.

Akari was put into the foster system until they found out she was an alien or at least half-alien, when they noticed she wasn't aging like a normal human would; And Akari was quickly transferred to the Alien Refugee District, She grew up in the slum's orphanage where she was often bullied and ostracized by the other kids and staff due to her human appearance. The scar on her face is from fighting with the older kids at the orphanage before running away at 13.

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

On the right we got Nieve: Z's childhood friend. She's around 5,000+ years old. and is a Cyexian-Ultra hybrid but takes heavily after her Cyexian mother. Nieve is Ultraman Hikari's niece and is an amputee she lost her left arm in an accident. She crash landed on Earth (10 years before Z arrived) after following her twin brother who had pulled a Tregear and ran away from home, She was found by a young Haruki and his mom they took her in and helped her recover from her wounds and they've been close friends ever since.

Back at the Land of Light Nieve mainly works as a lab assistant for her uncle Hikari.

(My oc aliens: Cyexians are species of of humanoid aliens who are renowned for being for being some of the best scientists and doctors in the galaxy.)

#ultraman #tokusatsu #ultrawoman oc: akari yuri #ultraman alien oc: Nieve #afab ocs #my ocs #avatar maker

[socoolinmypajamas]

[SPOILERS] D4DJ side;nova stories

I know a lot of people didn't like the whole thing about Lumina's secret, but hear me out: it also opens the door for a very creepy yet very interesting theory about her:

After Neo's mother died when she was a child, her dad tried to train her into becoming a singer just as good as her. Eventually, he abandoned Neo after she couldn't reach her dad's impossible standards. Assuming he never gave up with this idea of training someone who could sing just as well or even better than his late wife, imagine if he just... gave up on FINDING someone he could train.

What if he CREATED a girl for this very specific goal.

There are a few things that support this theory:

1) There's a bit in the first side;nova chapter where Neo mentions that Lumina's voice seems "familiar".

2) It is implied that Lumina can't remember who created her. It is also implied that there are things (like blackouts due to electrical storms) that can seemingly affect her memory banks.

3) Lumina has a surprising level of authonomy. Why is this important? Because she may not be just an AI but a ROGUE AI. It is possible that Neo's dad created Lumina, lost control of her, and then decided to monitor her progress from afar, after she turned out to be quite capable on her own. (She did become viral and got a massive ammount of followers in a short period of time after all).

If this theory turns out to be correct, that would mean that Neo's father was indirectly responsable for UniChord, while Michiru's grandpa (Mitsuhashi Sho, former member of LMO and father of Mitsuhashi Ku, Michiru's uncle and the guy who revived D4DJ in Japan after an 8 years hiatus) is directly responsable for Abyssmare, as he was the one who recruited Neo as a child and then became the current manager of the group.

What do you guys think?

[EDIT: KJJJJ I always confuse Haruki Kaibara and Ku, so the last thing is more like a half-ass thought that came up in the middle of the brainstorm. Still, is interesting how both bands have conections with LMO. I can't wait to see how that plays a part in their stories]

#d4dj #d4dj groovy mix #unichord #michiru kaibara #neo #elsie #sophia #weronika #abyssmare #kokoa shinomiya #hayate tendou #lumina ichihoshi #side;nova #dig delight direct drive dj #bushiroad

[angel-kyo]

Pay it no mind

Part XVI (kinda? Idk. Explanation in the note.)

In which reader confesses their feelings to Gojo, but it seems these are not returned (maybe?).

Warnings: reader is on the receiving end of rejection (kinda), and the fact that I'm obsessed with unrequited love is a warning itself. I would say reader is ooc in this one, or it might feel like that. I don't know. There are also mentions of a difficult family situation (awful father, deceased mother, etc.)... Oh, and this almost makes me look anti-Gojo (I'm not, though).

Previous: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part IV, Part XV

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

“Aomori?” you repeated in disbelief. Isn’t that like…?”

Haruki leaned forward on his elbows on the table and placed his head in his hands in frustration. You watched his fingers bury themselves in his brown curls and tug them.

“It’s about a ten-hour bus ride or four hours in the train...” he said without looking at you. His eyes were on the table, and you could only see the top of his head. “That if I’m lucky… Which I am not, obviously,” he grumbled and lifted his head to look at you.

You two were at the coffee shop where he worked, or rather, used to work. He had submitted his resignation the day before.

“That’s far.” You were not sure of what else to say. The notice of his departure was coming in too sudden. Only a few days ago you had been talking about maybe meeting up on New Year’s Eve, and now he was leaving? “For… For how long?”

Ikeda looked outside and shrugged. “He’s transferring me there so I guess he means at least until the end of high school, and then…” he frowned. In fact, he was not sure of what would happen after that. “I’m sure that jerk will come up with something else.”

Haruki looked back at you and, realizing what he had said, quickly apologized for speaking like that in front of you.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t believe he did this behind my back. I knew he could not stand seeing me, but I never thought he would plan something like this and ambush me any other Tuesday.”

He sighed, and you looked at him with sympathy. It was the most distressed you had ever seen him, and the most upset too.

Haruki, who always looked happy and unbothered when he was with you, had only ever appeared uncomfortable, and sometimes even angered, when he spoke about his father. At first, you had believed they just did not get along, but it was more than that; Haruki had told you once that his father seemed to resent him since his mother left.

“I’ve never blamed her,” he told you one day while you waited for his train, “she was sick and he was never at home, but when he was, he was horrible to her.”

He had then showed you her picture. A beautiful woman with long brown hair and bright eyes a few shades clearer than her locks, smiling and hugging an eight-year-old Haruki; he had definitely gotten the looks from her, and it was evident she had loved him dearly.

Due to her illness, Haruki’s mother had passed away just a couple years after leaving her husband, before she was able to fulfill her promise to his son to come back for him. Hence, Haruki had ended up stuck with a resentful father who was almost never at home, but when he was, he was as horrible to his son as he had been to the mother he resembled. And now, he was sending him to live with his uncle in a distant prefecture to attend a new school.

He had given Haruki little less than a week to, and the boy quoted, “wrap up any business in Tokyo.”

Apparently, that included you, who did your best to comfort him, even if there was not much you could say or do.

“I will miss you,” Ikeda said after you assured him it would be alright and that two or three years would sure fly by, and then he would not need to listen to what his father or his uncle said. It seemed his mood had improved a little at that.

“I will miss you too,” you told him, still wrapping your head around the idea of not seeing him anymore.

If only you could see curses, maybe there would be another way out for you, maybe we could have more time.

You pushed that thought away. That was selfish thinking, was it not? Of course, you would not want Haruki to live in gore and pain as a sorcerer. There had to be better, more peaceful options for him somewhere.

“I like you a lot.” His words pulled you out of your head, and when your eyes focused on him, you noticed his face was flushed, but he was looking right at you. “I think I could have loved you. Not that I don’t now,” he smiled softly, “but in the way I wanted to love you.”

There was a tinge of sadness in his voice, but your heart was beating faster as he spoke. Did that mean you wanted to love him too?

“I…” you started, but he shook his head and smiled.

“It’s fine. I thought we had more time, so I did not tell you sooner, but now, I just realized I wanted to let you know in person.”

Haruki had not planned to confess that day. He was only going to tell you he was leaving and ask you to stay in touch but realizing that it might be the last time he was going to see you in, perhaps, a long time, he felt he needed to tell you. He had wanted to tell you since the first time you had accepted going out with him that summer, but he then thought it was better not to rush and just let your friendship take its course.

At the end of the day, people should honor their feelings.

That he believed whole-heartedly. That is why Gojo’s attitude had annoyed him, acting as a jealous boyfriend around you if he was nearby but still claiming to be just your friend. If he wanted more, he should admit it instead of doing whatever he thought he was doing that day he accompanied him to the station.

“Haruki, I like you too,” you said sincerely.

But do you like me as I like you? the boy wondered.

He would not ask you that as he would not ask for more at this point. What could he ask, that you waited for him? He was not that arrogant to believe you had to do it nor that idealistic to make promises he knew time could swallow. Knowing that you had cared about him was enough.

He gave you a closed-eye smile. “I’m so glad.”

***

But saying it had not changed anything. You and Haruki had agreed to staying in touch and he had hugged you tightly before letting you go.

Maybe he knew we would drift apart.

You had kept texting and calling each other after that. Once he was with his uncle, he had given you his address, so you could exchange letters; he even sent you a few postcards with some pretty views around his new city. For a little while, you thought you could remain friends and just live on it, but his absence became increasingly painful, and when you both got busy with school again, and he was barely replying to your messages and his letters felt distant, the realization that maybe you had truly loved and lost was devastating.

It happened slowly but not painlessly. There was just never a good time for a quick call anymore, the messages were fewer and shorter, and you probably did not reply to the last one because there was nothing to say, and finally, the letters. Oh, the letters... Once funny and vibrant as your friend had been, they became nothing but curt and disappointing. It was hard to believe that two people who once had so much to talk about could barely bring themselves to write more than a few lines for each other.

I guess people can enter your life seamlessly, but they can hardly leave like that.

Your friends comforted you to their best, and Satoru made it his mission to ensure you would not feel lonely doing the things you liked anymore. Despite your protests, he attached himself to your hip as he had done it when you were kids, even on the days when you did not want to leave your room.

And when, months after Haruki’s departure, you sat down in front of the training fields, tired of waiting for a letter that would not come, Satoru held your hand firmly as you accepted your loss and stayed by your side unfaltering, the same way you would do for him when Suguru left you all later down the road.

That was how, as the seasons changed, you quietly let go of your friend who had been a child of the spring himself.

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

Note: I almost did not want to include this part? I mean, I felt like the other guy needed some explaining, and as much as I enjoyed it, I would say this is almost a filler, so I'm sorry of it's bad. Anyways, if the next part is not the last one, it will sure bring us quite closer. I've not forgotten where I left Satoru, promise!

Thank you for reading!

Next: Part XVII

@mavs-stuff @witchbybirth @crookedlyaddictedone-blog @tqd4455 @maybe-a-bi-witch @mo0nforme @maliakealoha @zacatecanaaaa @blushhpeachh @astriarose @missesgojosatoru @ba-ks @sukunasleftkneecap @songbirdlully @cole-silas @heijihattorisgf @chokesonspit @hersheyzzz @smolbeanzzz @luciledreamz @avidreadee123 @moonmalice @ratscandaler @sadmonke @allie-jay @username23345 @spin-garden @ashehateaccount @kayzens @blehtotheblehtothebleh @stellasloth @bloopsstuff

#gojo x reader #gojo x you #jjk fanfic #jjk drabbles #gojo x y/n #reader x character #gojo fanfic #fluff #jujutsu kaisen #pay it no mind #i might delete this later #or maybe not #gojo satoru #jjk gojo