#Yeah it's not parent relationship but Maka Would

[charkyzombicorn]

Found family that is this specifically

#connor dbh #hank dbh #tom holland spiderman #Specifically that one because every other Spiderman is all three at once #mob shigeo #Irondad #Spiderson #dadmight #Izuku #crona soul eater #maka soul eater #Yeah it's not parent relationship but Maka Would

[soul-dwelling]

Do you think Okhubo regretes making Kid be a charachter everybody just found out about a few days into the story and not someone who had prior history with any charachters besides his dad, patty and Liz?

I am way too mean to Ohkubo for a lot of things that are me overreacting. 

(That doesn’t include how he handles girls, women, and fanservice, because, LOL, no, that fucker has that criticism coming.)

(Oh, and spoilers below for Soul Eater and Fire Force. And a content warning regarding potentially disablist representations or arguments.)

It is hard for me not to look at how he handled Kid and not think, “You passed up so many storytelling opportunities.” 

Some of this, I think, is just out of his sense of humor, the equivalent of saying, “I could do this kind of story–but it’s funnier if Lord Death just one day made another child out of nowhere and based it off of the guy from 800+ years ago that brought him into existence.” 

There are at least two reasons why that “joke” doesn’t work for me. 

First, if you keep having joke after joke without moments of sentimentality or just honest affection, the jokes drag, and the serious moments fall apart. We are supposed to care about Kid when he sees his father has died. I don’t ignore that, yeah, that moment of Lord Death dying, and Kid learning about it, both land. But I think those moments would land better if you had more there to make us think Kid and Lord Death had a deeper relationship–which is harder when Kid seems like he barely had a childhood. 

(There is a counter-argument that I will address, as all of this does explain how Kid turned out how he did, and how Kid and Lord Death are just not human–but I’ll get to that in a moment.) 

Second, I get little sense Ohkubo knows how to represent varieties of parenting in his story, or a refusal to show them. It’s not as if there aren’t untraditional families in his all of his works–but those are either ones fans read into (Blair as more of a parental figure to Soul and Maka instead of…whatever the hell that last chapter was about) or ones that Ohkubo confirms in the story (Sid took in Black Star) but doesn’t pay off (Has anyone felt any sense of a familial bond from Black Star to Sid? I don’t mean whether Sid has parental regard for Sid–I mean, has there ever been any sense that Black Star sees Sid as anything other than just another teacher at the DWMA?). 

This isn’t to ignore that there are parents in his works, whether literal (Spirit is a well-developed parent, and I do find Maka’s regard for him to be earned in-story given what was shown to us) or otherwise untraditional (although some of it is either like a “big brother” like Yohei in B Ichi, or just confusing and underdeveloped, like Akitaru’s role towards Shinra in Fire Force). 

This leads to my counter-argument. I am convinced by fans who say, “Kid being introduced so late, and then Fire Force showing his origins in the finale, explains how Kid turned out how he did, and how Lord Death just screwed up as a parent to him and Asura.” Like, Lord Death just makes a child–and skips past baby stage, maybe even preschool stages, so that Kid is formed as more of a little adult rather than an actual baby and an actual child who has to slowly learn about the world and develop mentally and emotionally. Given how Kid behaves in the manga, an how Lord Death regards him, all of this checks out: regardless how much Lord Death did love Kid, and how the story insists he was making him to be his own person, there is still all of this other content that emphasizes that Lord Death saw Kid as his heir, and did handle his creation and development as preparation to be the next shinigami, not to be a human being. 

Which is also part of this counter-argument: if there is any good in Ohkubo’s choices, it lets him show how a shinigami like Lord Death and Kid differ from other people–because Lord Death made choices that a human wouldn’t typically make, and maybe that explains how Kid turned out, both genetically and socially. That being said, while it lets Ohkubo _show_ it, it all still feels half-baked and reliant more on what readers bring into the story than what the creator clearly shows. And I think this all raises really uncomfortable questions (given how Kid has been read as having obsessive compulsion and maybe other mental and behavioral conditions, writing all of that off as “he’s just not human” seems disablist). 

So, no, I don’t think Ohkubo regrets making Kid be a character everyone just found out about a few days into the story–because, sorry, I don’t think he planned much well. He avoided storytelling options: just as we don’t get to see Black Star’s regard for Sid after he dies, we don’t really get to see how the rest of the DWMA, and the world, views Kid. It helps with worldbuilding (if you suppose that Lord Death kept Kid’s identity secret to avoid him being a target, and out of his own desire to focus Kid on training to be a shinigami rather than having a, ahem, “normal” childhood as a student). But then we don’t get canon stories about, say, how Spirit regarded little Kid, or the other Death Scythes, or whether people who were involved with the DWMA since they were babies (Maka and Black Star) may have encountered Kid. Even when he gets the chance to “fix” any of this with the ending of Fire Force, he just doubles down: “Lord Death made Kid a small child at birth, there was no baby kid, all your fanfics are ruined–oh, and I’m going to pretend Kid always looked like Shinra when, no, he fucking doesn’t.” 

#death the kid #soul eater spoiler #soul eater spoilers #spoiler #spoilers #fire force spoiler #fire force spoilers #long post #ask dwells #cw: disablism

[kikyan]

Yandere Soul Eater Headcanons

These are my interpretations of his persona and none of these are 100% accurate. I don't condone any of these actions in real life and all of this is purely fictional. 

Yandere Server 

Black Star 

I probably am gonna butcher all three but here we go! I’ve only seen the anime so I’ll be going off of that instead of the manga. When we meet Black Star we see a loud boy, a VERY loud person with a ‘radiant’ personality. He holds himself to a high degree and is a very funny person with an outgoing personality. Tsubaki is someone who can match with his soul wavelength because she is a very understanding and patient girl. Off the bat I think that his yandere type would be possessive, clingy, and manipulative. 

Let me start at the beginning. It was revealed that his parents were assassins, he never met them but somehow their reputation followed him. People judged him a lot despite him not being like his parents, wrongfully judged but he tries hard not to show it. I think that his personality ties in with that, he wants to alert attention to himself to show that he is his own person. 

Clingy. He is a very clingy person because his personality is in a sense, seeking attention. The first person he would seek attention from would be his S/O. He would always direct himself when he completed an accomplishment. Turn to his S/O and ask for their praise, when he gets it he simply turns to say “Well I’m Black Star after all!” He will constantly want his S/O’s attention in anything and everything he does. He’s about to fight someone? You’re coming to watch. He wants to show up whenever he wants. He’ll leave his own home and show up at his S/O’s home through the window because he’s built differently. 

Possessive. His S/O is his. Simple as that. He wants their attention 25/8 on him only, if his S/O is talking to someone else. No they aren’t. They aren’t. They simply can’t. Would call out to his S/O and grab them, hold them, put his arm around them, just assert dominance on them because that’s HIS S/O. It would get to the point where he would be over their house or would suggest them moving in with them. 

Manipulative. He would be manipulative. If his S/O would be upset about anything he will hype them up. He wouldn’t put them down, but he would question them. “ Well I guess you don’t want Black Star as your boyfriend.” Something like that. He wouldn’t be the biggest with manipulation, but he would drop subtle hints or maybe stop going over making their S/O question what is going on. Make it seem as if it’s their fault he is acting this way, their fault that this happened, etc. 

I don’t really see him as a dangerous yandere, but there is a slight chance that he may say some things that don’t sound the nicest at times. He could unintentionally say things he doesn’t mean, his S/O feels upset and then he may not apologize because he doesn’t understand what he said was wrong. It would take Tsubaki and the others to point out what he said was wrong, which would lead to him apologizing and feeling bad. Offering out to do something for his S/O because he is Black Star, he always makes up for mistakes. 

Soul “Eater” Evans

When I first started Soul Eater, I immediately looked at this man and said "He cute asf <3" and I still stand by that. Throughout the series you can see him two sides of him you can see a very laid back individual or a sacrificial individual who needs to do everything himself (let me explain) 

During the entire show he holds the 'cool' title and wants to be a laid back character who's morals aren't as laid back so he will step in when things aren't 'cool'. It doesn't take much to make him fall in love with his S/O just with enough interaction. With this relationship it's the most normal set up, you're a chill person and we've been friends, wanna go out? As a yandere? This is a tough one because it depends on the side that we're looking at. He, as himself, will do everything to make a normal relationship because I naturally see him as a little possessive guy. If we talk about after the black blood and dark thoughts, along with the little devil corrupting him, he would be a bit more cruel and sadistic in his ways to ensure his S/O will stay with him. With that I think of these, Possessive and Overprotective. Under the black blood's influence? Manipulative, Clingy, Sadistic. 

Possessive. I see him being like this naturally, it's just you're his S/O and he wants to make sure people know that. Will walk close to you and if people get too close, he'll get closer till they get the idea. It's just something simple, has an arm around you constantly. Someone is talking to you? He is about to slide in there and wrap around you, inviting himself into the conversation. Sometimes it can get a little too overbearing but crack a joke here and there and it's all good. 

Overprotective. He has Maka as his meister, but the cool thing about Soul is that he can turn his arm into a blade so he doesn't need Maka in some cases. No matter what you are, he'll always feel the need to protect you and take care of you. You could be dealing with things on your own but here comes Soul ready to help you. I see him either letting you deal with it while commenting, “Yeah, my S/O is a badass” or the one who thinks “ A cool boyfriend always helps out.” Towards the end of it, it seems a lot more overbearing. With the whole Kishin incident happening, he would be very overprotective to the point where he would request to be in the same group as you when you go scouting or after the Kishin. After the Kishin incident, he can’t help but fear something similar happening and wanting to be more overprotective. 

After getting the black blood, you can see that he wants to do the most he can to take care of Maka and ensure nothing bad happens to her. Slowly going insane with the suggestions that the demon gives him. I remember that one episode in the anime where Stein placed them in a room with a scent that makes them reveal their true feelings. Soul wants to protect Maka and Maka wants to protect Soul. Soul wants to be the weapon that he is and protect Maka, even prepared to lay down his life for her whereas Maka wants to protect Soul and avoid him getting hurt. He gets the black blood and the demon starts to exploit his wish by trying to let him lower his guard and taking over him. With everything going on, I can see his S/O siding with Maka and wanting to protect Soul. If he is like this with Maka, imagine him with his S/O. Wanting to protect his S/O is his number one priority, but to what extent?

Manipulative. He would be manipulative with his S/O. He would guilt trip them in some cases if they chose to deny hanging out with him or being a little busy. I think he would gaslight them into thinking that they need him to protect them. They need him, because without him they would be in trouble or maybe even lose their life. If I’m being honest, all he wants is a normal relationship with his S/O but he is very protective over them and will do everything he can to take care of them. 

Sadistic, but not by choice. This is a bit of a stretch, but I think he can. Of course under the influence of the Black Blood he would consider hurting his S/O to ensure that they are safe and sound. Breaking a limb or knocking them out to ensure that they can’t move. They need him and if they can’t see that, he needs to show them. 

I know that these are confusing and probably won’t make sense, but I think that after everything that happened in that show, he would be horrified if he couldn’t protect his S/O and live up to the ideology that he is a cool person. He would not only break down and lose it, doing what he can to make his S/O trust, believe, love, and depend on him. He would be clingy and if these ever got to be too much, he would turn to them for help. He tries so hard to be the ‘cool’ guy that sometimes he neglects his own feelings. Overall, he would be a dangerous yandere. If I could give a rating, I would say a 4 or a 5/10. He would slowly lose his sanity for his S/O. 

Death The Kid

Kid. I would say that he is a complex character but at the same time, not really. When it comes to Kid, I think he would be lowkey kinda scared for a romantic relationship because those require patience which a lot of people lose when it comes to him. Instead of laid back he is those people who go all out in relationships because they want everything to be perfect. With that in mind, I think he would be obsessive, lowkey possessive, and manipulative. 

Obsessive. He wants everything to be perfect but it can only be perfect if he knows how to properly plan things without thinking of the what ifs. One way to avoid that is to know everything about your S/O. He would stop to memorize your entire schedule, what you enjoy eating, how much you eat, how much you sleep, your favorite sleeping position, do you sleep with a plushie, etc. Man is OBSESSED with his S/O. Honestly, it’s those thoughts that consume him in the worst ways and worst times. Fighting a Kishin? ‘ What if they don’t like the way that I wrote my name on the group project sheet?’ Like no, you plague his mind 25/8. It would get to the point where he starts to get so obsessed with their life that he might ‘suggest’ or even take it upon himself to ‘help’ you do something in a particular style. Maybe a bit overcontrolling. 

Possessive. For starters, his S/O is someone who took patience with him. Liked his antics and understood his way of being. Never shamed him because in all honesty, I’m going to get real for a second. Kid has OCD, with symmetry and while some people find his antics funny and cute because they are portrayed that way, in a realistic setting this is the harsh reality. People with major OCD can’t do things they want to do without it taking an extreme, I don’t think I have OCD but I’ll give examples from what I’ve learned. People who don’t feel clean enough will often wash their hands, shower, or groom themselves very often. We know that while hygiene is very good, it’s very bad for the skin when it’s excessive. People would wash their hands frequently to the point their skin is raw from scrubbing or dry from the lack of moisture being trapped in the skin. Where something they did doesn’t feel right to the point they do it over and over again until it does. It’s something that can take time away from people, so while it’s portrayed to be funny in Soul Eater, it would be a real thing for Kid. His S/O would not judge him, would understand him, be patient with him, and genuinely care for him. People like that are very hard to find in the most extreme cases, of course I’m not shaming people who don’t want to be by someone's side like that because at the end of the day, you have no obligation to be there, but for Kid? His S/O would be there for him. Again, his S/O means the world to Kid because it’s someone who wants him for himself and for everything. He would not hesitate to dirty someone’s reputation or his own hands to ensure that his S/O stays with him. He isn’t playing games, he would proudly show them off because he loves them very much. 

Manipulative. Kid is very smart and while knowing everything about his S/O, he can direct his or his S/O’s  act to go into his favor. With this in mind, he can do a lot of damage. He would be in pain constantly but he wouldn’t be above making his S/O feel bad or doubt themselves if he has to. He would see that his S/O would feel bad when Kid goes into his mood where he feels like trash. He sees that makes his S/O lean more to him. If he wants their attention or time with them, he would pull that card to get his S/O with him. 

Kid isn’t a dangerous yandere who means physical harm, but mentally yeah. He can be dangerous, he is literally the Grim Reapers son, he has so much power but he can be so vulnerable. Physically? He can deal a lot of damage, but mentally? He can deal more. Think of it like this, it’s the fear that this man can inflict pain. It’s the fact that this man who is strong, is being vulnerable in front of you, to you. It’s the fact that he knows certain things about, it’s that fact that his man makes it seem like you’re responsible and that he needs you. It’s the fact that this man could do something and it would be all your fault, doesn’t matter if you know, it’s the fact that everyone will believe that you’re the cause of whatever Kid did. He is the son of the Grim Reaper, he was raised and taught well but you? No, you weren’t. 

#yandere anime #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere x darling #yandere x you #yandere headcanons #yandere headcannons #yandere imagines #yandere soul eater #yandere soul #yandere soul eater x reader #yandere soul eater evans #yandere soul evans #soul eater #soul eater x reader #soul evans #soul evans x reader #yandere black star #yandere black star x reader #black star #black star x reader #yandere death the kid #yandere kid #death the kid #death the kid x reader #kid x reader

[infantbluee]

not a manic pixie dream girl

summary: the first time he meets her, she’s stripping naked in his neighbor’s backyard. 

chapter three - death by bikini

"You're heading out?"

Soul pauses on his way to the sink for a brief moment before continuing on his path, rinsing out his bowl then placing it in the dishwasher. He waits until his hands are dried before he turns to face his brother.

Wes is leaning against the doorway, a strangely calm expression on his face. Despite the early hour of the day and no place to be that Soul knows of, his older brother is dressed to the nines like he always is, a crisp white button-up and slacks fitted perfectly to his frame. Both of them share the same lanky height and bizarre coloring, but Wes has always been slightly more filled out than Soul's lazy, introverted ass is, and the four years between them somehow feel much wider—yet at the same time not at all. 

They're not close. They never have been. Wes is the prodigal son, an expert violinist with a brilliant future ahead of him and the charm to boot. Soul, on the other hand, can adequately play the piano but is nothing special compared to his brother and everyone knows it.

Wes has always tried to bridge the gap between them, but his kindness and attention to his brother's feelings of inadequacy only feel like pity to Soul, and it makes the resentment impossible to avoid.

Soul tries not to snap at Wes most of the time, knowing his brother is only desperate for Soul to love him and would do anything to make him happy, but there's only so much that can be done on Wes's end. A relationship is a two-way street. Until Soul is ready to reach for that olive branch Wes has been holding out to him since they were kids, the two of them are never going to have a decent relationship.

Soul knows he should be happy for his brother. He knows that. He should be proud of his success, glad for his kindness, and accepting of the help Wes always tries to give him.

He's just not ready yet.

"Yeah," Soul answers finally. "Maka's picking me up in a few minutes."

"You know, usually it's the guy who has to pick up the girl for dates," Wes says casually. "Mom would have an aneurysm if she knew you were letting your girlfriend drive you around."

Soul scowls. "First of all, Maka's not my girlfriend; we've only known each other for a month, since that party Mom and Dad threw at the beginning of the summer vacation. Secondly, this isn't a date. We're meeting the others at Blake's before we head to the beach together."

"Still, you should at least offer to pick her up instead. Open the door for her. It's the chivalrous thing to do."

"She can open her own damn door," Soul mutters. "To be honest, she'd probably make fun of me if I tried."

Wes smiles faintly. "You might be right."

That's it. "Okay, what's your deal with Maka?" Soul demands. "You've been acting weird ever since you found out I'm friends with her. Do you like her or something? Is that why you're being so weird?"

To his surprise, Wes gets really quiet. He frowns at his hands for a moment before raising his eyes to meet Soul's. "Doesn't matter what I think. What matters is how you feel, and I can tell from the way you look at that girl that you think she walks on water."

"What—you—it's not—"

"I'm not teasing you about it," interrupts Wes. "I'm being serious. You like Maka, and I'm glad that you do. She's a great girl, Soul. Kind, smart, funny, selfless. You couldn't choose any better. It's just..."

"What?"

His brothers rubs a tired hand over his face. "Go easy on her, alright? She had a rough time of it in high school and she doesn't deserve to be led around if you're not serious about this."

"Yeah, I know. She told me she was a bit of a nerd then but I don't see how that—"

"Is that what she told you?"

Soul stares at his older brother, not liking the look on his face. "What? Was she lying?"

Wes grimaces. "No, it's not—she wasn't lying, Soul. It's just an oversimplification, is all."

"An oversimplification? What the hell are you talking about?"

They're interrupted by the sound of an obnoxiously lyrical doorbell ringing through the house. If Soul hadn't been staring intently at his brother, he would've missed the strange look that flickers across Wes's face at the sound, and the equally strange look that settles as he says casually, "Guess that's her," and walks right out of the kitchen, leaving Soul nothing to do but follow him.

"Wes!" Maka is beaming when Wes opens the door, and Soul gets a front-row seat to her smile when his brother presses a kiss to her cheek. Soul is really starting to dislike the greeting. "You're still here. I thought you were headed back to Europe?"

"Nah, decided I had enough traveling for a while. Wanted to stay home, network a bit, spend time with my brother before he starts his senior year."

"And I keep stealing him away from you." Maka cringes. "My bad. I've been needy. I'll leave him alone tomorrow so you guys have a brothers' day together."

Soul jolts to attention. "What? No! You don't need to do that!"

She gives him a chiding look. "Your brother cancelled a tour so he could spend time with you. Don't be mean."

"It's fine," Wes chuckles. "Don't abandon my brother for my sake. He likes you a hell of a lot more than he likes me anyway."

"Oh, I doubt that's true."

But it is. From the meaningful look Wes exchanges with him, Soul knows his brother is aware of what he's thinking. It makes him feeling impossibly worse about the situation yet somehow not remorseful in the slightest.

He won't apologize for choosing to spend his free time this summer with Maka, not when every time he and Wes have done things together, it's resulted in some sort of colossal fuck-up. She's the only person he ever feels remotely comfortable around. Being with Wes just makes him feel wholly inadequate, which doesn't help their relationship at all. If anything, the more time they spend together, the worse it gets.

Especially now.

"Actually," Wes says, "if you're not doing anything near the end of the summer, do you want to go to a concert with us? I was given free passes through my company and I was going to ask Soul to come with me, but I have a few extra tickets."

Soul chokes on air as Maka's face brightens. "Really? I'd love that!" She pauses slightly. "Are you sure though? I don't want to intrude on any brotherly bonding time, especially if—"

"Don't be silly, Maka. I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't want you there." The corner of his mouth twitches. "Besides, maybe now that you're coming, Soul won't make up some excuse to ditch me last minute."

Much to their surprise, Maka merely shakes her head. "That's not Soul's fault. Some days it's just harder than others to work up the nerve to face other people, especially in public settings. I get it; I'm still the same way sometimes, even though I've gotten a lot better since the height of my anxiety." She gives Soul a smile that makes his chest warm far past healthy levels. "He's actually a lot better than I was before. I'm grateful every time he's sweet enough to indulge me by keeping me company. He doesn't owe me anything, but he'll drag himself out of bed for my sake anyway."

Soul can only stare at her in shock.

How is it they've only known each other a month and she already knows him that well? No one has ever—ever—spoken about his tendency to bail on plans last minute as anything other than a nuisance. They call him a flake, unreliable, untrustworthy. His parents still berate him constantly every time his anxiety gets in the way of an appearance at a stupid party or a performance in front of crowds that make him want to hide in a corner and die. Even Blake complains and groans whenever Soul chooses solitude over his company. After all, it's how he's gone this long without meeting Spartoi in the first place.

But not only does Maka show she understands by not berating him for it, but she also defends him in front of Wes. Perfect, understanding Wes who no one ever disagrees with.

Soul has wanted to kiss Maka countless times since he first met her, but this... this clearly takes the cake.

Wes seems just as taken aback as Soul is, but he recovers much quicker, his expression becoming very, very soft. "You're right. I know I'm a little too hard on him sometimes. I know it's not his fault."

"It's not your fault either, Wes," she says gently. "You do your best. Besides, I've met your parents. Trust me when I say how hard it can be to function normally under that level of overbearingness."

"Spirit is still overcompensating by smothering you?"

"He barged into my bedroom with a baseball bat the other day because he had a dream that I was talking to a boy," she deadpans. "A dream."

Wes bursts out laughing before he can stop himself, then laughs even harder when she smacks his arm.

"It's not funny, Wes! I was trying to sleep!"

"Let me guess: you jolted out of bed and laid him out on his ass on instinct." His grin widens when she pouts adorably but doesn't answer. "That's what I thought. You're a little menace, aren't you?"

"I'm cute," she huffs stubbornly.

"You're capable of beating up a man more than twice your size."

"Still cute!"

"Yeah, yeah, she's adorable, we get it," Soul grumbles unhappily. "Can you be all nauseatingly charming and Wes-like later? Everyone is supposed to meet at Blake's soon and I don't want to have to explain that we're late because my big brother likes to hit on my friends."

"To be fair, Maka was my friend first." When Soul growls like a gremlin fed after midnight, Wes flashes a smile that manages to be both innocent and conniving all in one. Soul inwardly contemplates the pros and cons of putting a hit on his brother.

"We'll figure out the details for the concert later?" Maka asks hopefully.

Wes softens. "I'd like that." Then, because life hates Soul, his brother adds, "Hopefully by then my little brother will find his chill and stop acting like an old man who hasn't gotten his rocks off since nineteen-fifty-two."

"Wes!"

"I've been trying to pull the stick from his butt for weeks now," Maka agrees, "but for some reason he still walks around like he has a permanent cramp in his perky little ass cheeks."

"MAKA!"

"Must've left a splinter," Wes says solemnly.

"It wasn't ready."

"We pushed too soon."

Maka nods like she's commemorating a fallen comrade. "Now he'll be backed up for eternity."

"OH MY GOD."

Five minutes later and way too many jokes at the expense of their own personal dartboard to count, Maka and Soul climb into her car with the latter pouting like a child who got the wrong McDonald's toy in his Happy Meal.

She keeps sneaking glances at him as they pull out of his driveway on the way to Blake's, but he refuses to meet her eyes and maintains his crossed arms like a life vest off a sinking ship. With each passing second, he feels more and more like a spoiled brat and less and less inclined to fold for the sake of his stupid, stubborn pride.

"Soul?"

"…What?" he grumbles moodily.

"You really do have a cute butt."

[ read the rest of the chapter on ao3 // ffn ] 

p.s. i know i’m not active on tumblr these days but i love and appreciate you all! thank you so much for your support <3 

#soul eater #soulxmaka #soul eater evans #maka albarn #soma #look i know it's 2019 and i'm super late to the fandom but i will stop writing for soma over my dead body #i love them..... too much #soul x maka #wes evans

[sawyersick]

1 through 69 because you gotta twin with me

OMG ASDFGHJKL

aight here goes bitchez

1. are you religious?

nahh but my parents sent me to church camp when I was in elementary school??? For the cheap childcare I guess???

2. what animal do you think you’re most like?

I haven’t thought about this much but I think a field mouse!!

3. how do you take your coffee?

never……………………… I hate coffee

4. how old were you when you had your first kiss?

my mom’s bosses son forced himself on me when we were 6 lol so I don’t count that……….. so 15 i guess (according to my friend, if there’s no hormones it doesn’t count lol)

5. museum date or aquarium date?

AQUARIUM AQUARIUM AQUARIUM

6. do you have any tattoos or piercings? do you want more?

Just my ears are pierced and I have a whale (badly) tattooed on my hip I’ll post pix if you want but its pretty uggo

I want another whale on the other side so I’ll be symmetrical and a triangle hand tat….. maybe an eyeball tat (a tattoo of an eyeball…. not one on my eye lol)? I’m not really interested in anymore piercings tho

7. favorite fruits?

strawberries!!!

8. favorite vegetables?

when I was 12 I ate so many carrots my skin turned orange and my mom thought I had jaundice

also I heckin love mushrooms

9. i’ll only date you if _____. (fill in the blank)

I’ll only date you if you treat me with respect :(

10. do you cry a lot?

yeah lol at least twice a month minimum

11. who are your closest friends?

I don’t really have any? I’ve felt distant from my irl friends lately so idk probably just demo

12. have you ever been a part of a protest or a march?

I did the walk out for gun violence

13. do you play any video games?

helllllls yeah but I usually only play 3/ds

14. did you ever have an emo or scene phase?

yes and I think I’m still in it rip

15. what color is most of your wardrobe?

I think I wear a lot of blue! and black and white too i guess…… I’m trying to add more reds tho

16. what do you like to do for fun?

I bake and sew and draw! and listen to music

17. what is your biggest fear?

body horror tw for this one rip

being abandoned, being forced to do horrifically gross/unclean stuff, getting my eyes gouged out, getting the bones in my hands broken, getting acid poured on my face, the people around me dying, being forced to eat live slugs, getting my skin peeled off with a knife

18. name a subject you know a lot about.

whales/the ocean in general and baking!! and the band Liily

19. favorite fictional characters?

hm idk? Link and Zelda from LoZ, Clover and Snake and Aoi from 999, rhyme from TWEWY, Maka and Soul from Soul Eater, Storm from the Xmen, Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Chun Li, the Kagamines, Rilakkuma

idk I just thought about characters I have merch for

20. do you read a lot? what are your favorite books?

I used to??? Haven’t had the time for it in a while though and I’ve been reading a lot of how-to books as of late….. I really liked the Legend trilogy though

21. how would you describe your style?

art style and fashion style would both be classified as “cute but tries to be edgy” I think

22. did you have a favorite stuffed animal when you were little? do you still own it?

Yes!! a pastel elephant with a rattle in it named Elephant (very creative I know) He’s in my stuff somewhere now and this question reminded me to go find him again

23. what’s something most people love that you hate?

hmmm…. sports? mustard? airpods???? idk

24. do you think you’re a good singer?

actually yes? I wanna be in a band but I’m lowkey afraid of singing in front of people I know but have no problem doing it in front of an audience of strangers hmu if you’re in the SF bay area I’ve written 6 punk songs

25. who do you live with?

my parents and cat

26. favorite desserts?

ice cream, anything with chocolate or whipped cream, creme brulee, lemon tarts

I’m not too picky though lol

27. what is the best decision you’ve made in your life so far?

realizing that I can actually do mostly whatever I want and most things have fewer consequences than I think

also cutting people out of my life that emotionally exhaust me

28. favorite makeup brands?

uhhhh whatever’s cheap and doesn’t make my eyes burn ig urban decay is good when I can afford it

29. favorite clothing stores/brands?

Goodwill??? I used to shop at f21 but I try not to anymore

30. what was your first job?

working at a lake teaching windsurfing and sailing and I still work there

31. do you take a lot of naps?

n o  I absolutely  h a t e  taking naps and try to avoid them

32. what is your favorite part about your body?

hmm I have pretty good hair i think and sometimes my eyes? I have huge (genetic) eyebags tho which gets me down

33. are you more dominant or more submissive?

In day to day life I guess I’m more dominant??? like I make decisions when nobody else wants to :0 also idk intimately since iM aN aDuLt vIrGiN and pretty sex repulsed but probably sub 

34. are you more outgoing or more shy?

outgoing but sometimes it makes me annoying

35. how tall are you?

short…………………………. 4′8/143 cm

36. what is your body type?

uhh hourglass????? maybe pear I got them Thunder Thighs according to the guy who got kicked out of drama club for peeping in the girls changing room

37. favorite flower?

calendula, sunflowers, lavender and dianthus!!

38. favorite planet?

Neptune??????????????????

39. what do you want to dress up as for halloween this year?

I wanna be the bride of frankentstein but in a shiro lolita coordinate to make her look ~fancy~ or the Nancy part of Sid and Nancy if I’m in a relationship by that time

40. do you prefer to date people the same age as you, younger, or older?

Ideally the same age and I’m wary of dating anyone more than 2 years younger or older than me but I’m more willing to date older than younger

41. describe the person you’re in love with/have a crush on in great detail.

yall know who it is already but

in a band, dark hair, kinda tall, very fashionable, coincidentally happens to be the same racial mix as me, good at art, very humble, really sweet, lives in SoCal, has a hand tattoo of milk and “aye yah” on his arm, paints his nails orange, wears a lot of rings, gets freckles in the summer, prefers vanilla over chocolate, ties his shoes the cool way

42. who is your biggest inspiration?

idk at the moment? I like to draw from many inspirations

43. do you have any kinks?

???????????????????????????????????

44. do you own any pets?

one (1) very loving cat

45. which celebrity do people say you look the most like?

……………………….. myself

I literally had to google mixed race celebrities and STILL none look like me lol

46. do you like sports?

not really except I weirdly like baseball

47. have you ever seen a broadway musical?

Yes!! I won tickets to On Your Feet and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

I also won Hamilton tickets but saw it in SF yall should download the app

48. what is your favorite kind of food?

noodles!!

49. would you rather be a fairy or a mermaid?

MERMAID actually I have a mermaid tail too so

50. what is your instagram?

@wishwhale :)

51. glossy lips or matte lips?

glossy by default because I have chronically dry skin/lips so matte lips are sooooooooooooooo uncomfy but it looks good on other people lol

52. do you like cherry, grape, blue raspberry, watermelon, or green apple jolly ranchers the best?

grape because im weird

53. what are your best personality traits?

I’d like to think that I’m kind and sometimes funny

54. what is your ethnicity?

asian/white

55. what different hair colors have you had?

brown and brown with pink that was supposed to be purple

56. favorite disney princess?

Ariel! bc mermaid

57. favorite album of 2017?

Humanz by Gorillaz  or Deep Dream by Daddy Issues I guess

I was weirdly obsessed with Feel Your Feelings Fool when it came out but I’m not really into it anymore though

58. have you ever had braces?

nah

59. favorite holiday?

Halloween! Because dressing up is fun

60. post a selfie.

how do I make this smaller anyways I don’t normally wear this much makeup but I’m going to a small show tonight

61. are you a good swimmer?

Yes!! I swim once a week at my local pool

62. do you wear jewelry?

I used to wear a lot………. like multiple necklaces and bracelets and rings daily but now I wear my ring every day and a necklace/earrings if I remember

63. can you play any instruments?

I’m learning guitar!!

64. do you have any siblings?

short answer is no but you can dm me for the long answer

65. are your grandparents still alive? how old are they?

just my maternal grandmother and she is almost 90! My paternal grandmother lived to 102 so I’m hoping for those good genes though (I think she would have lived longer because my family suspects elder abuse by my weird aunt)

66. who knows the most about you?

hmm probably Demo or Emily

67. are you a more quiet person or do you talk a lot?

I! Never! Shut! Up!

68. what advice would you give to your 13 year old self?

shut the fuck up you stupid bitch you arent cool

69. how many pillows do you sleep on?

two

#ask #ask meme #my face #shut up sawyer #long post #loooooooooooooooong post

[zxanthe]

hello!! for the au prompts — maybe 14 or 22 or 32 for soma?? (love your writing btw!!)

phew, sorry for the wait, anon! this got a lot longer than i expected it to. have ~3.5k of complete and utter (though fun to write) nonsense. i decided to go with #22, the two miserable people meeting at a wedding au.

(prompt from here)

***

Crona lets her down gently.

“I don’t hate you,” they tell her. Even over the phone, Makacan hear the way their voice gets all high and reedy like it does when they’rereally stressed, and she feels absurdly guilty for a moment before sheremembers she’s in the middle of getting broken up with.

“It’s just, I, I know you want sex, and there’s reallynothing wrong with that, but, but I don’t think I want that, sex I mean, and Ijust feel really bad –“

“Crona, no,” Maka says, because even though she knows something’sbeen wrong for weeks and that something like this was coming and a millionother different, more subtle things, she does love them, really, and so she hasto try. “It’s fine, I’m fine with it, I’m fine with you. I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do. Ifyou don’t want sex I’m okay with it! Really, babe, I am!”

“But I’m not. Not okay with you being okay with not wantingit even though you do, I mean. Maka,” they say, and their voice goes reallysoft and gentle. “I love you and I appreciate you and I’m so glad you werethere for me when…when…when all that stuff happened back then. I just…you neverput yourself first. And. And I really wish you would sometimes, a lot, becausea relationship isn’t focused on what one person wants, but I feel really g-guiltybecause I don’t know if I could deal with a lot of the things you want to do,not just sex, not because they’re bad or anything, but because I still have alot of issues, and I feel like I’m holding you back.”

“You’re not!” There’s something thick clogging up Maka’sthroat. “I swear you’re not, you were never a burden – “

“Please don’t lie to me,” and Crona’s voice is the steadiestshe’s ever heard it. “I think, that we want very different things out of life,and that I can’t keep using you as a crutch forever, and that you shouldn’t letme use you like that anyway, it’s not good for you. I need some time to be bymyself, and figure things out.”

Maka opens and closes her mouth several times, unable to getany words out past the tightness in her throat. The phone line crackles withstatic.

“M-Maka? Are you still there?”

She sucks in a deep, shuddering breath. “Y-yeah. Do you…doyou still need a place to stay? Or…”

“I-I’ve got something l-lined up.”

“Great. That’s…really great. I’m really proud of you,Crona,” and her face splits into a smile, even as the tears spill over down hercheeks. “I can help you move when I get back.”

“N-no, it’s fine, I don’t want to inconvenience – “

“It really wouldn’t be – “

“P-please, Maka, l-l-let me do this myself. I’m sorry,really s-s-sorry – “

“Crona, shh, shh. It’s okay. Really. I get it.”

Through the crackle of a thousand miles, Crona takes a deepbreath. “I’ll be gone by the time you fly home,” they say. “I’ll leave you mynew address. We can mail letters, if you like.”

“Y-yeah. That’d be nice.”

Silence falls again. Maka desperately tries to control herbreathing, to stop it hitching, stop it betraying her, but she never was allthat good at that sort of thing.

“I’m sorry, Maka,” Crona says, very softly. “You’ll alwaysbe special to me. I’m really glad we met, and that I got to be with you. I didlove you, and I think a part of me always will.”

“I love you too,” she chokes out. “I’m. Really happy foryou, Crona.”

“T-thank you. Well. Good night, I guess. Goodbye, Maka.”

“Bye,” she says, and then the line goes dead.

She’s far away in a strange city, in a cold and unfamiliarhotel room in a building full of rooms just like it. She buries her face in theimpersonal white linen pillow and weeps.

//

 Soul’s dreaming that he’s in the band again, sweat runningdown his forehead while lights flash frenetically over a writhing crowd, butthen on the street below a motor tears the quiet of the night to ugly tattersand he finds himself staring wide-eyed up at his ceiling fan, revolving in thedark. He rolls over. His bedside alarm clock reads 2:43 in chunky red numbers. He has work tomorrow. He has to be upearly.

He takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment beforeletting it out, the exhalation deafening in the settling stillness.

In another life, things were well underway at this time ofnight. In another life, he went onstage and played his heart out, fingersscraping over the strings of his bass, wailing in harmony to Liz’s raw vocalswhile Patty’s drums sent him soaring, soul straining against his ribs, shiveringwith the sheer delight of it, ofbeing there, of being truly, completely alive.

The fan turns, turns, turns, there on the ceiling, hummingsoftly. Endless. Quiet. One pull of a cord would make it stop. Every evening hecomes back to his tiny apartment and falls asleep on the couch. Sometimes hecooks, when he’s feeling particularly festive. Sometimes he listens to music,or watches a movie, or smokes a cigar. What friends he has are all the wayacross the country, people he realizes he hasn’t seen in years now, people whohe may not have anything at all in common with anymore besides a smattering ofshared experiences in a past no longer relevant to much of anything. His coworkersare simply and thoroughly uninteresting. The city is neither big nor small andequally nondescript in its forms of entertainment; he got tired of bars and livemusic and meaningless conversation years ago, and there really isn’t much elseto do.

(he wonders when exactly his life got so small and stagnant.he wonders if there was a point to any of it, really. all that anger and joyand despair, all the fear and exhilaration, all the giddy fuck-yous shouted from the tops of buildings. if there was somekind of meaning lurking in all those nights spent sleeping on strangers’ floorsand writing songs, smoking cigarettes and getting drunk and laughing like agoddamned crazy fool. he wonders what would have happened if he had stayed putand played the part of the dutiful younger son like his parents wanted. hemight be just as dead, deader even, asphyxiated by what-ifs and self-loathingand impossible expectations. he lies on his back with his fingers lacedtogether atop his chest. the fan turns in circles and circles and doesn’t movea damn inch; it’s the same everywhere. his heart beats; his lungs fill andempty and fill again; he lies in sodium-tinted darkness and cannot understand whyhis body would keep doing such silly meaningless things.)

On the kitchen counter is a creamy white envelope cordiallyinviting him to the wedding of one Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and Elizabeth Thompson.On the back of the invitation is a handwritten note – Hope you’re doing okay, Soul Eater. It’s been a long time and I hellamiss my favorite bassist – my wedding (don’t laugh!!!) wouldn’t be the samewithout you. Much love xoxo, Lizard Breath.

Once upon a time he thought he was in love with her, but hewas a damn fool kid who wouldn’t have known what love was if it had walked up andgiven his ass a nice firm squeeze. She was beautiful, and when they fucked itwas hells of nice, but there were no fireworks or whatever the fuck wassupposed to happen, and one night sprawled naked together in some hotel roomshe’d told him I don’t think this isworking, and he’d laughed and agreed, and then they smoked half a pack ofcigarettes and watched shitty Lifetime movies until they fell asleep.

Things were always easy with Liz.

He gets out of bed and pads to the bathroom. In the dimlight, he looks at his face. Shadows pool beneath his cheekbones, in his eyesockets, in the hollow of his throat. There are lines forming around his mouthand bags beneath his eyes. Pale stubble coats his cheeks. He frowns and rubs atit and wonders when he got so damn old. He’sthirty-three years old. Maybe it’s his hair, old-man colored, white as snow butthick as ever. It needs a trim. He wonders if Liz will recognize him. If anyonewill recognize him. If he recognizes himself, hands clenched on the cool porcelainof the sink, so very tired and gaunt. He swallows. He looks into his hollow,sleepy eyes, reflected back at him through the glass.

Two days later, he buys a plane ticket to New York.

//

In her wedding dress, Tsubaki is radiant. It’schampagne-colored lace, and it clings to her curves with the precision of aglove before puddling demurely around her feet. Her hair is dark and shiny andpiled in a soft updo, a flower crown woven through its curls.

“Knock knock,” she says.

Tsubaki turns around and smiles. “Maka!”

Pearls glitter in her ears. Her makeup is fine-tuned toperfection. “You look absolutely beautiful,” Maka says, and hugs her bestfriend tight.

“Thank you,” Tsubaki replies. She takes a deep breath, herhands knotted in her lap. “I’m. Terribly nervous. Is that a bad thing? Mystomach’s just all full of butterflies. I can’t believe I’m here.” She laughsshakily.

“Oh, Tsu, it’s okay to be nervous. Getting married is apretty big deal, after all. And Liz loves you no matter what.”

“Yes.” Tsubaki takes a deep breath. Some of the tensionleaves her shoulders. “She does, she truly does. I’m sorry, everything’s just beensuch a blur today. I’m exhausted and I haven’t even actually gotten marriedyet.”

Maka grimaces sympathetically. “You’ll get through it. Justthink, these are going to be some of the happiest memories of your life.”

“So no pressure or anything.” Tsu laughs. “I hope I don’tfall over in these heels.”

“You’ll be fine, Tsu. Pretend it’s another dance.”

“I will. How was California, anyway? You’re looking nice and tan.”

“Kim twisted her ankle in San Francisco, so her understudyhad to step up. Otherwise the performances went really well. Nygus wants toknow when you’ll be coming back.”

“After the honeymoon, probably. Liz is excited about goingon tour with us.”

Maka laughs. “She would be. Wasn’t she in a band once upon atime?”

“Mhm. She misses it. She plans on being our number onegroupie and buying all themerchandise.” Tsubaki smiles fondly. “I don’t think we have any, though. Do we?”

Maka shrugs. “We’re a ballet troupe, not a rock band.Although now that you mention it, merch isn’t actually a bad idea…”

“Hush, Maka, no business.” Tsubaki smiles. “I’ll bet Crona’sglad you’re home. Where are they?”

Maka keeps her face carefully neutral as she desperatelytries to think of a way to respond. In the end she presses her lips togetherand goes for it. “Crona’s…we’re not together anymore, actually.”

Tsubaki blinks, the smile slipping off her face. Maka’s gutstwist. “N…not together? What – “

Just then there’s a knock at the door. A veryharried-looking Kid pokes his head in, a clipboard clutched in his left hand. “Ihate to interrupt, but are you almost ready, Tsubaki? It’s nearly time. I wouldsuggest you hurry; I cannot keep Blake out of the hors d'oeuvres forever. Hello,Maka,” he says, nodding at her politely before withdrawing as quickly as hecame.

“I’m sorry,” Maka mumbles, looking at her friend’s concernedface. “Today’s supposed to be a happy day for you. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Tsubaki shakes her head. “No, no. Stop that. It’s okay. We’lldefinitely talk about this later. Do you know if Crona’s still coming?”

Maka shrugs. “I don’t know. They said maybe. They weren’t sure if they could deal with a wedding, whatwith all the changes in their life. They gave me a card, though, just in case.”

“Well, it’s good that you two are still friends, at least.”Tsubaki stands and pulls her into a tight hug. “I’m really glad you’re here,Maka,” she mumbles. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Maka says, and squeezes her back beforehurrying off to find her seat.

//

The reception takes place in a small dance hall festoonedwith flowers. There’s a DJ, and people crowd the floor, dancing and laughing.Liz’s black dress glitters in the party lights as her new wife twirls herenthusiastically. They both look radiantly happy. When Soul had come up tocongratulate them, Liz’s eyes had nearly popped out of her skull. “Soul?!” she’d blurted, and then she’dgrinned and slapped him hard on the back. “Hey! I wasn’t sure if you were gonnamake it!”

“Figured I might as well,” he said, trying for a smile.“Congrats, Lizard. I didn’t think you had it in you to settle down.”

“Fuck you. People are full of surprises. Tsu, this is SoulEvans. We used to be in a band together once upon a time.”

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa smiled. “So you’re the famous SoulEater. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Have you?”

Before Tsubaki could reply, something slammed into Soul andwhipped him off his feet. It was all he could do to cling on for dear life ashe was whirled around and around. When his assailant finally set him down, hebarely had a chance to say “hello” before he got kissed exuberantly on themouth.

“Soul!” Patty cried happily while he tried to catch hisbreath. “How’ve you been, buddy?! Whydidn’t you ever call us?? Sissy and I missed you so much, we’d thought you’d diedor been abducted by aliens or thegovernment or something!”

“Jesus, Patty, hello to you too. I tried calling, but you gaveme a bad number.”

“Mm, yeah, sorry about that,” said Liz. “We should have toldyou before we changed it.”

Soul shrugged. “S’cool.” Itdoesn’t matter anyway.

“How long are you gonna be in town?” Patty asked

“Mm. Just for a few days.”

“Boo. I was hoping we could all get lunch, but guess it’s justgonna be you and me. No buts about it!”

He sighs. In the present, the party has gotten well underway.Soul can’t remember the last time he was at something like this. He sits at anempty table and sips at his third gin and tonic, wondering if it would be rude toleave right now. Liz and Tsubaki and Patty look like they’re having plenty offun on the dance floor.

“Hey,” says a voice. “You okay?”

He turns. The speaker is a small woman with a cup of wine inone hand, looking down at him in concern. “Yeah, I’m good,” he replies, alittle puzzled.

“Oh, okay,” she tells him. “You just looked so sad for a whilethere. I couldn’t not say something. Sorry. I’m a little drunk.” With that, sheplops into the seat beside him.

“Mm. S’okay, it happens.”

Quiet falls between them, and they watch the dancers for atime.

She takes a gulp of wine. “I always thought that I’d bemarried by the time I was thirty,” she says thoughtfully. “But I’m thirty-oneand my partner just left me and…and I don’t know if it’s ever gonna happen. And.That makes me really kinda sad. Not that I’m jealous of Tsu or anything. Just.”She swallows and dabs at her eyes with a napkin. A few tears escape anyway. “God.Okay, I’m drunk. Sorry.”

“Nah, you’re okay. I’m thirty-three and I haven’t been on adate in years.”

“Really?”

“Mm. Don’t see much point it in, y’know?”

“Why not?”

He shrugs. “People are the same everywhere.”

“What makes you say that?” She’s watching him now. Absently,he notes that her eyes are bright green, the same as her dress. A tendril ofashy blonde hair has broken free of her updo and rests against her cheek. Hishand twitches, as if to brush it away, but instead he shakes his head.

“When I was younger, I thought things would be better if Ileft the house to make my own way, y’know? My parents were dictators. But themore I think about it the more I’m thinking, damn, what was the point? Everybody tells you to followyour dreams or whatever the fuck like that’ll make you happy, but…but I didthat. And nothing’s really changed. I’m still stuck, still the same. No matterwhat I do. People out west can be just as boring and uptight as people back east.We all do the same things.”

“I disagree,” says the woman. “That’s a really silly way of lookingat things, I think. Things can always change. Things always do change. That’s life! My partner had hada pretty bad life before we met and they were hurting but last week they toldme they wanted to break up and move out! That they wanted something forthemselves and that they were acting on that desire and finally being selfishand growing and healing and – and – “

Shit, she’s starting to cry. Awkwardly, he reaches over andpats her shoulder. She coughs and takes a deep breath and noisily blows hernose.

“You can change,”she croaks when she’s done, poking him in the chest. “And grow. People aresimilar, but not the same.”

He shakes his head, smiling a little despite himself. “Shutup, you sound like a motivational poster.”

“Oh my God, fuck you, I’m drunk. Don’t make fun of me.”

“Somebody’s gotta say it.”

She swats at him, and the laugh bursts out of him unexpectedly.She smiles, and party lights dance in her green, green eyes. “Well, you soundlike…like a wet dishtowel. A soggy dirty dishtowel that needs to be thrown inthe washer and then dried in the sun.”

“Damn, nailed it. That’s so me. You’ve got a real way withwords.”

She finishes off her cup of wine in two large gulps. “You’redriving me to drink, you douchewhistle. I hope you know this, and feel suitablyguilty, mister…mister…”

“Soul,” he says. “Soul Evans.”

They shake hands. “That’s a funny name,” says the woman. “I’mMaka Albarn.”

“Ah, so the pot calls the kettle black…”

“This is so unfair, I can never think of any good comebackswhen I’m drunk.”

He laughs again, and he’s laughing an awful lot tonight, isn’the? It’s gotta be the alcohol. He leans his head on the back of his chair andlooks at her. The words are out of his mouth before he knows what he’s saying. “MayI have this dance, Miss Albarn?”

She blinks at him, and then grins. “Of course.”

//

One dance turns into two, then four, then ten. She finds outthat Soul Evans lives in New Mexico and he works as an accountant and that heused to be in a band with Liz and Patty in his twenties. He likes cooking andmusic and movies. He dances really well, for a drunk guy. But then, she’s drunktoo. Still, his form is impeccable; they glide across the dance floor like they’rewalking on air.

“Did you use to be a dancer, or something?” she asks ontheir seventh or eighth turn. Against her, he stiffens ever so slightly. “Nah. Whydo you ask?”

“You just move really well. I’m a ballerina. I know thesethings.”

He shrugs. “I’m just talented, I guess.”

“Or you’ve had lessons.”

“Mmh.”

“No shame in taking lessons! It’s not unmanly or whatever if you want to learn how to dance. Women lovegood dancers.”

“S’not that,” hesays with a roll of his eyes.

“Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, then don’t. Buuut,” she says, a wicked idea comingto her as the song changes, “why don’t we show these chumps what we’re made of?”

“What?” He looks down at her, dark eyes confused.

“I mean,” shesays, grinning excitedly, “that we both know how to dance, so why not bust somemoves? You know how to swing dance?”

“A little…”

“Perfect!” Maka chirps, and then they’re off.

Soul was severely underestimating his own abilities. Makafinds herself unable to stop grinning because she’s finally found a partneroutside her company who can keep up with her, and it’s wonderful. Soul is hesitant at first, but soon he takes the lead,and Maka finds herself being dipped and lifted and twirled with astonishing precision.By the end of it he’s smiling as widely as she is, and when he looks at herthere’s a spark of something wondering and exhilarated in his tired dark eyes.

There’s claps and cheers from the crowd. Someone evenwolf-whistles. Soul only grins lazily, but Maka doesn’t miss the color thatappears in his cheeks.

They spend the rest of the night on the dance floor, separatingonly when Liz or Tsubaki or another friend swoops in for a dance. The last songof the night is a waltz, slow and sweet. They’re both sweaty and hot, but Soulholds her close anyway.

She finds she doesn’t mind.

#soul eater #soulxmaka #soma #soul/maka #se by z #zxanthe writes sometimes #ask fic #thanks 4 sending in a prompt bro :) #this was fun #anonymous #Anonymous

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

Soul Eater SoMa for 6! "Things you said under the stars in the grass"

For those of you who don’t know or are reading this in the future, today is Valentine’s Day, and the precious human who sent this request is one of my favorite people on the planet. He’s an incredible friend, and I’m blessed to call him my platonic valentine this year. I’ve had this little diddy simmering in my inbox for weeks, but I decided today was as good of a day as any to FINISH this sucker. Also sorry not sorry that I cheated because no grass. *shrugs* Hope you like it, friendo. ♥

Summary: Soul’s still on a mission to get his promised date with Maka, even if they have to lose a few degrees to do it.

Word Count: 3,470

Characters/Pairings: Soul “Eater” Evans, Maka Albarn; SoulxMaka 

Genres: Fluff, romance, with a splash of angst; College!AU

Warnings: divorce, bickering (let me know if there are others)

“Good Morning!” Maka breezed up to their usual table in the Commons, a light grin on her lips. 

“’Mornin’,” Soul replied between forkfuls of scrambled eggs.

“As suave as ever, I see.” Maka rolled her eyes good-naturedly, shrieking when the youth flicked said breakfast food in her direction. “Rude.”

“You started it,”the blond breathed out after taking a huge gulp of orange juice.

Maka merely grunted in return, setting off to get her food. When she returned, her table partner snagged a piece of bacon off her tray before she could protest. “Excuse you.” She swiped a slice of apple off of his plate.

Soul chuckled. “Take it.” He slid the bowl of fruit toward her. “ I hate fruit, anyway.”

“Fruit’s good for you, Soul, and you need to eat healthier after that nasty sinus infection you had.” Maka glared when she realized he was mocking her, his hand poised like a hand puppet mouth. “Fine, ignore me, but don’t blame me-”

“What’s got you so high-strung this morning?” Soul interrupted, brow quirked.

“What? Nothing. I’m fine. Why would you say that?”

He just hummed in reply, choosing to let this battle die before it was fought. “Here’s a better question:”

“Hmm?”

“Am I ever gonna get that date?” Soul asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You got your date, multiple times!” Maka replied, huffing and sending her bangs flying with a puff of air.

“What, being sick and going to Waffle House in the middle of the night count as dates?”

“I mean they might as well these days, right?”

“True…Well….What have you never done before? What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?”

“Mmmmm….” Maka sucked in her cheeks.

“What? What is it?”

“You’re gonna think it’s dumb.”

“No I won’t; tell me!”

She fiddled with her fork, staring at her plate. “….I’ve never been stargazing before.”

“Really?…” He mused, suddenly contemplative. “You know, I don’t think I have, either. We should definitely do that, then! When are you free?”

“Soul, we’re in the middle of a cold snap in winter; it’s too cold to go out at night!”

“We’ll be fiiiine! We can just bundle up in as many clothes as we can, hats and scarves, the whole nine, and get some blankets and stuff. I’ll figure it out. It’ll be great.”

“Soul-”

“Pleeeeease, Makaaaa? I’ll take care of everything; I promise!”

“….Fine.”

“Yes!” He grinned in triumph. “So when are you free?”

That Saturday night found her sitting on her couch bundled up in long johns, leggings, ski pants, 2 pairs of socks, boots, a long-sleeved thermal shirt, a sweater, a coat, a scarf, ear muffs, two pair of technology gloves, and a hat, waiting for him to text her that he had arrived.

Her phone finally lit up with the contact photo she’d assigned him (one of him giving her a pointed look when she tried to sneak a picture of him reading), and she swiftly swiped into the call.

“Hey, Soul. You here?”

“Yup, just pulled up. Sorry I’m late; took longer than I expected.”

“‘S fine.” Maka pushed herself up. “Took a little while to get layered up.” She quickly locked her door and set off down the stairs, giving him a wave when she eyed him on the way down. “See you in a sec.” She hung up and slid the phone in her pocket, a grin sliding across her lips. She couldn’t believed she’d let him convince her to do this. He might get sick all over again, or she might catch something, but….the allure of going stargazing, and on a perfectly clear winter night, was too tempting to pass up. “So,” she asked as she threw her leg over the motorbike. “Where we headed?”

“Little area right outside of town; no streetlights and lighter car traffic.”

“Sounds good.” She held on tight as they sped of into the frosty night.

—–

“What’s that over there?” Maka pointed to a strange orange glow a couple hundred yards away. “Not a fire I hope?!”

“How stupid do you think I am?” HSoulcalled back. “It’s a portable heater. I set it in front of our blankets to get them nice and toasty for us.”

They pulled up to their spot, and Maka couldn’t hold in a grin. There was a single, huge air mattress on the ground, blown up to capacity, and a huge stack of blankets sat next to it.

“Wow…” She let Soul take her hand and lead her over to their setup, too enthralled to notice the blush on his cheeks. Once they were settled, he handed her a thermos.

“Hot cocoa.” He explained, popping open his own container to sip at the still-steaming liquid.

“Oh, but-”

“I know, no milk. Just water. I got you covered.” Soul grinned proudly as she smiled back and took a satisfied sip, humming with happiness from the warmth.

“Thank you.” Maka shivered as a breeze passed over them and reached for a blanket, cocooning herself in warmth. “Oooh…this is a nice blanket!” She rubbed her arms absently, looking at what designs she could see with the light of the space heater. Little foxes, it looked like.

“My Granny made it.” Soul smiled, but Maka detected just a hint of sadness in his tone as she looked over at him. Sure enough, though his lips were spread, his eyes were downturned at the edges.

“Oh, is she-”

“No, she’s alive,” Soul reassured her. “Just far away. She’s my favorite person in the whole world. Leaving her was the hardest part about coming to college, but….she wanted me to.”

“She sounds like a good person.” Maka tenderly placed a hand on his arm.

“She is.” Soul agreed, absently placing his own hand over hers as he stared into the space heater. “Anyway, she made that for me when I was little; I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.”

“Oh, well then, here-”

“No, it’s fine-”

Maka sighed not unkindly and threw the blanket over the both of them, taking another from the stack to wrap around her shoulders. “There.” She grinned up at him cheekily, and he stuck his tongue out, blowing a small raspberry. “You’re such a child.” She mumbled under her breath.

“Quit lookin’ at me, then, and look at the stars.” Soul jested, pointing upward as he laid down on the mattress.

Maka complied, staring up from her hunched position beneath the blankets, and she was glad she did. Thousands upon thousands, possibly millions of pinpricks of light hung above their heads, some large and glittering and some small and stable. The sun had just set, so traces of purples intermingled with the blacks and browns of the night sky, leaving tasteful streaks between patches of stars.

From there,Maka could swear she could see whole star systems, though astronomy was not her subject, so she couldn’t tell you which ones. She sighed, watching the bitter air curl before her like smoke, and soaked in the glory of galaxies. Suddenly, another gust of wind swept through the landscape, and she curled into herself, teeth chattering.

“Here.” Maka looked over, and Soul had his arm outstretched toward her, his eyes screwed up toward the stars. Without hesitation, she scooted next to him and snuggled into his side, her thermos cradled between her palms. He pulled her in close, giving her a squeeze before placing a firm, loving kiss on the crown of her head.

And then she froze.

Soul felt her muscles physically stiffen next to him, and he was at a loss for words. “Maka? You okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” He felt her wiggle away from him a bit, placing the drink container between them, and he brought his arm back into his lap.

They sat in silence for a full minute

“I’m sorry if I….if that was too fast.” Soul muttered, his voice low.

Maka inhaled through her nostrils, unwilling to take her eyes from the sky to meet his.

“Maka, I’m sorry; it’s just….we’ve been hanging out for months…a lot….I dunno, I just thought…”

“You thought wrong.” She bit back, still not looking at him, and that comeback broke his resolve.

“Look.” He sat up, turning fully toward her. “You’ve been making weird comments all week. What’s your beef? Did I piss you off again?”

Silence.

“Maka-

“No. It’s not you. It’s….”

Soul waited patiently for her to continue, staring at her for a moment then up at the stars splayed above them.

Maka sat up and sighed shakily beside him. “It’s the anniversary of my parents’ divorce.” She grumbled, pulling the blankets tighter around her. “My mom always tries to send me a present to make me feel better. My dad used to, but now he just gets hammered and drunk FaceTimes me.” She chuckled harshly, bringing her thermos up to her face. “I know it’s stupid, but I just….I can’t help remembering. How they pretended they were okay even though I heard them arguing constantly. They tried so hard to pretend for me, and I just…I don’t know. It makes me cynical, I guess. Wonder if I’ll ever find someone, and if I do, will I be able to keep a relationship alive.”

“Maka…”

“But it’s nothing. Stupid. Just the whiny grumblings of a child of divorce.”

“Hey, it’s not nothing. It’s not stupid. You’re allowed to be upset about it, Maka. It’s a crummy thing to put your kid through.”

“No. Staying married would’ve been crummier. They hate each other.” Maka bit her lip. “They only got married because of circumstance. It seemed like the right place at the right time, and they thought they were in love. It was this whole movie-esque tornado of events. So I just…I don’t know. I’m afraid of things moving too fast. It sucks because I’ve met some really amazing guys, but they all wanted to get serious so quickly and it was just way too much. I’m scared of moving too fast, if I’m being honest with myself. I’m scared that I’ll meet someone great and think I’ve fallen in love really fast and it’ll all just happen so quickly and in some kind of whirlwind but one day I could wake up and realize that I’m not in love anymore. Or that I never even was. Like, how much would that s-su-uck?” She hadn’t realized she was crying until her voice broke, and a chill went up her spine as her felt the tears trailing down her cheeks. She hugged her shins, resting her chin on her knees, and she squeezed her eyes shut as fat droplets squeezed from between her eyelids.

“Maka, I’m so sorry.” Soul’s voice was choked, and her eyes snapped open in alarm. She glanced over and found that his eyes were gleaming dangerously. “I didn’t realize I was pushing things along so quickly or that I seemed like I was coming on too strong. The fact of the matter is…’ He swallowed. “I like you a lot, Maka. I really do, but I want you to be comfortable in all of this. I don’t want you to feel pressured into something you don’t want to be apart of. If you don’t feel that way about me, it’s fine, we can still be friends because I love being around you-”

“Soul.” She cut him off. “O-of course I like you.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “Why else would I be so worked up about all of this right now?”

“Besides the anniversary?”

“That’s….an excuse, really. Like I said, they’re better apart. It’s just…the implications of it all that get to me sometimes. I guess that’s why it upset me…I…like you a lot, too, Soul, but I guess I just….I don’t know, with the anniversary thoughts and how often we’ve been together I guess I just freaked out. I don’t want to hurt you, Soul. Not like my parents hurt each other.”

“You won’t.” Soul murmured, inhaling deeply with his gaze fixed on the orange glow of their heater.

“How do you know, though?” Maka asked, so softly that the words fairly trailed along her breath.

“Because you’re better than them.” Soul deadpanned, looking her straight in the eye now. The conviction in his features nearly stole her breath. “Because you’ve actually thought about this stuff, and you’re more aware than they were. So what if your parents marriage fell apart? I mean that sucks and all, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy one day.”

“You’re really passionate about this, huh?” Maka sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

“I mean….I dunno, I get it in a way. My parents are still together, but only because a divorce would look bad in their social circles. They hate each other, and always have, so it’s not like I had a great representation of what love is, either, growing up.” Soul shrugged, turning back to the starlit sky. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t figure this stuff out for ourselves. I mean, we’ve made it this far in life, and I think we’re pretty damn smart, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Maka giggled.

“So we’ll be fine.” Soul smiled warmly, but it melted into a complacent line too quickly. “Plus, it’s not like I proposed to you or anything. We’re not even really a couple, so no worries.”

“Hey!”

He lifted a brow and peered over at her sudden outburst.

“I never said I didn’t want to be with you.” Maka continued, suddenly shy. “I love our time together. I just…slapping labels on things makes it complicated. Can we just…I dunno, let it be an unspoken agreement?”

“Works for me.” Soul folded his hands behind his head and laid back on the plastic mattress.

“Um, so…”

“Yeah?”

“Since we’re unofficially official….we can still cuddle.” Maka’s cheeks were blazing pink. “But ask me before you do anything, okay? And I’ll…be better about communicating my feelings. Deal?”

“Deal.” That warm smile was back, and she gave him one in return as she settled down next to him. A moment passed before she reached around and guided his arm around her, snuggling in close to his side with a final sigh of contentment.

“Thanks for this, Soul.” She whispered as they stared up at the stars together.

“Only for you, Maka.” He replied before suddenly jerking in realization. “Oh yeah! I have this really cool app that will show us what stars are above us! Hold on-” He pulled out his phone and thrust it toward the night sky, and they both stared intently as the device found their location.

“All those stars, and they can still be identified, one by one. Amazing.” Maka commented as they scrolled through their findings.

“Kinda like the odds of us finding each other, huh?”

“You’re such a sap.” She joked, nudging him lightly before settling her head on his chest, tucking herself in.

“I was thinking clever, but I guess that works, too.” He snarked back.  

“Oooh look, those stars in a row there, is that one of the dippers?”

“Nah, I think it’s Orion, the hunter constellation…”

“But that doesn’t look right….what does the app say?”

“I dunno, it’s taking ten years to load things because the signal sucks out here.”

“Well, shoulda thought that one through-”

“Hey, I was trying to do something cool for us-”

“Chill. Kidding.” Maka screeched when he tried to pinch her side, and she aimed to pinch him back, though neither were successful with layers of cloth over their fingers. Nevertheless, Soul’s phone was abandoned in favor of defending himself against an onslaught of tickling, though he soon discovered he could easily trap Maka’s arms in a tight bear hug. “Sooooouuuuullll let GO!” She shrieked, trying to wiggle out of his hold while suppressing giggles.

“Mmmmm, nah.” Soul rolled both of them over, Maka now snuggled against him like a teddy bear. “I wanna sleep, and you’re the perfect snuggle buddy.” He nestled his nose between her head and the mattress and promptly faked snoring.

“Sooouuulll not funny, let me go! My arms are gonna fall asleep.”

“You’ll be fine. I’m not that strong.” He mumbled, burying his face further into warmth.

“Sooouulllll-” Maka whined.

“Fine, you’re no fun.” Soul released her and rolled onto his back.

“I am so fun. You’re the one who wants to be a pain.” Maka reached across him and grabbed his phone, handing it back to him. “Now tell me more about the stars. It’s getting really cold, and I want to go home soon.”

“Fine.” The backlight of his phone revealed the grin on Soul’s cheeks, and Maka smiled to herself. She searched for a moment, quickly finding his gloved hand before holding it in hers. She laid back down against him, head on his chest and watching as he scrolled through the list of stars above them. “See that really bright bluish one? That’s Uranus! The only planet clearly visible from here right now.”

“Whoa,” She stared intently where his finger pointed, nodding in recognition before snickering a bit. “I had a science teacher who tried to convince us that it’s pronounced “ur-in-is” so people would stop laughing about it.”

‘Well that’s dumb. That only makes people talk about it more.”

“I know, but what can you do with middle schoolers?”

“Ugh, true.” Soul continued scrolling. “I think that’s the North Star, there…but I’m not quite sure…”

“Or there?” Maka pointed to the left of his initial guess.

“Oh crap! I totally forgot-” Soul reached off the side of the mattress, feeling around for a small bag. “I brought a small telescope.” He carefully brought up the drawstring bag and opened it, bringing out a foot-long silver tube. “My Grandpa gave it to me.” He explained fondly. “He loved this kinda stuff. Bird-watching, star-gazing, anything he could do from his balcony. I used to go out there with him, and he got me this when I graduated high school. He said it would let us keep star-gazing together, even though we’re far apart.”

“That’s so sweet. You have great grandparents, Soul.”

“Yeah…I’m sure they’d love to meet you.” Soul’s breath hitched.

“….That would be nice.”

They both relaxed against each other, and Soul picked up the telescope. “Let’s see….ah crap, there’s a cloud in the way now…stupid desert clouds….”

“Point it at Uranus; I want to see its rings.” Soul handed over the telescope, and Maka gasped. “It’s not an incredibly clear image, obviously, but…wow….that’s a whole other planet. It’s nuts.” She swung the lens between planetary bodies, gasping louder each time he told her what it was. “This is so cool…”

“Yeah…” He gazed at her fondly, soaking in the pure childlike wonder and fascination exuding from her voice, her eyes, her posture, and the undisputed joy when she turned back to face him.

“This has been a great time, Soul…Everything included.” Maka squeezed his hand. “But it really is cold out here, and I can’t feel my nose anymore.” She grinned sheepishly, handing him the telescope with trembling fingers. “We should totally do this again, but like, when it’s warmer.”

“Agreed.” He chuckled and sat up, sliding the telescope back into its bag as Maka slowly shed her layers of warmth. “Let’s get you home before you freeze, huh?”

Maka nodded and rose, stretching her limbs before plodding over to his motorcycle and swinging her leg over. Soul followed right behind and sat himself in front of her, revving the engine with an uncontrollable smile when she squeezed him in a hug before settling in.

The drive back was brisk but short. When they arrived outside of her apartment, Maka quickly swung herself off of the bike and stood beside him, waiting expectantly. Soul raised a brow, and the girl huffed in return, holding out her arms.

“Ooooohhhh.” He grinned widely, pulling her against him in a side-hug, and she groaned into his shoulder.

“Noooo a real hug, you doofus.” She yanked him off the bike, nearly sending all three of them toppling over, and they held each other close, holding on for as long as they each dared before letting go.

“Really, this was fun…and good.” Maka smiled, leaning up to place a peck on his jaw before turning on her heel and speeding up the stairs to her apartment. “Good night!” She stage-whispered, waving to him before vanishing into her apartment and leaving a still stunned Soul leaning against his idling motorcycle.

His hand slowly rose to where her lips had grazed his face, and he felt his heart stutter just a bit.

There was really hope for them after all.

With a final triumphant grin, Soul swung himself back onto his bike and sped back toward their date site, hoping that the cleanup would be faster than the setup.

#soul ea #soul eater fanfi #soul eater fic #soma fanfic #soma fic #mine #sefanfics #soma #soulxmaka #asks #replies #itsthatonepunnyguy

[andrewmoocow]

Gravity Soul chapter 2: The Stans Head to Shore, Return of an Old Foe? (originally posted on December 24, 2017)

AN: Oh hello, almost didn't see you there! Anyway, welcome back to Gravity Soul. In today's chapter, Stan and Ford return to Gravity Falls and meet the twins' new friends but something is wrong with Stan. Something...demonic. Can the kids save him before it's too late? Now let us begin.

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After many months of searching for anomalies and women, Stanley and Stanford Pines have returned home finally accomplishing their childhood dream. When they were young boys living in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, they roamed their home's local beach in search of adventure when they got the idea of sailing across the world. They worked on a boat they found in a cave all the way up to their teenage years where an accident separated Stan from his family and forced him to try & make money.

Now decades later after they destroyed Bill Cipher and ending Weirdmageddon, the brothers finally made amends and sailed out to sea on a new boat dubbed the Stan 'o War II to the Arctic Circle. We now pick up where the story left off as they headed to shore. "Alright Stanley, prepare for shore!" Ford exclaimed pointing onward while their great-nephew and niece waited excitedly on the dock.

Finally dropping anchor, they were welcomed with open arms by their loved ones. "STAN, FORD!" the twins cried tossing themselves into Stan's arms. "Kids, I'm so glad to see you again!" the con-artist said hugging them tight. "Feels like forever since we last saw you." Ford added with a smile. "MR. PINES, YOU'RE BACK!" Soos exclaimed joining their hug. "I've hugging people to practice for your return." Then Wendy joined in. "The Shack just wasn't the same without you!"

"Okay then, I love y'all too." Stan affirmed as they all let go. "Oh hey, you're that Melody girl. How's your relationship with Soos goin'?" he asked Melody. "Great actually! We've already gotten engaged." she replied showing off her ring. Stan just looked back at his former handyman and just said "That's my boy." Then he finally turned to notice Maka and friends following close behind. "Now who are these wackos?"

"My name is Maka Albarn Mr. Pines, and these are all my friends." Maka introduced herself to the Stans. "Okay, lemme see if I got this right." the ex-con stated as he pointed to the rest of her group. "Sharkbait, Ninja Man, Ponytail, Stripes, the Twins, Pinky, Holy Cross and Frankenstein." he listed off everyone. "Well he's not half-wrong." Stein snarked.

"Who are you calling Ninja Man old fart? I'm the man who's gonna transcend God!" Black Star boasted getting all up in the great-uncle's face. "Well if you claim to be so, then can you walk on water?" challenged Stan. "Okay then, I'm a wagering guy." the arrogant ninja accepted Stan's offer and rushed onto the water. "See, I can walk on water! Who's laughing n-" He suddenly fell into the water and struggled to escape. "Someone, help me! Damn my lack of proper swimming skills!"

"Oh my gosh Black Star! Somebody help him!" Tsubaki cried. "Don't worry Tsubaki, I was a lifeguard for like a few days last summer." Wendy calmed her down before jumping in and swimming after Black Star. Finally grabbing a hold of him, she pulled him back to shore and laid him out. "Dipper, you know CPR, give it to him!" she ordered Dipper, who was reluctant to do so after last time but eventually gave in before Mabel took a picture. "Haha, more blackmail!" she chuckled.

Black Star immediately bolted right back up gasping before glaring at Stan. "YOU! Do you realize what you've just done?!" he shouted. "It was just a joke kid, no need to get so wound up about it." the grunkle said. "Oh okay, sorry about nearly getting you drowned." he apologized. "Apology accepted, but of course you realize this means war."

"Okay, settle down everyone." said Ford as he split up the two. "I think we should all head back to the Shack. Besides, we got tons of stories from our adventures to tell." The others agreed before all walking back to the house. "Hey Mabel, do you think something might be wrong with Stan?" Dipper whispered to Mabel. "I don't know. He may be kind of a jerk but he would never leave someone to drown." she replied. "I think we may need to investigate. Mystery Twins?" he suggested holding out his fist for a fist bump. "Mystery Twins." She returned the fist bump and they continued on their way.

"And then the Green-Eyed People of San Lorenzo told us about how a football-headed child and his friends saved the adults of their people from a sleeping sickness!" Ford finished telling a story of an adventure he and Stan had in Argentina. "Wow, that La Sombra guy had it coming to him!" Patty giggled sipping her cocoa. "And there was also this giant baby we found in the Arctic!" Stan followed up. "How big was it?" Death the Kid wondered. "Like ginormous! It was the second biggest baby I've ever seen!"

"Who was the first one?" Spirit asked. "My ex-wife Marilyn." Stan answered before bursting into laughter. "But in all seriousness, then it started looking at me like it really hates me or something." he added with a look of dread on his face. "But that was probably my imagination."

"So Maka, how did you defeat this Kishin Asura guy?" Dipper asked Maka. "I simply punched him with the power of courage." she replied. "Wait, a courage punch? That sounds like something out of one of those terrible My Miniature Equine fanfics." Mabel commented. "Oh, my, God! You watch that show too?!" Patty shouted getting incredibly excited. "Heck yeah I do! Surprise Party best horse for life!" The two of them high-fived while Dipper and Liz just watched sardonically. "Oh great, now we got two hyperactive sisters to deal with." he said. "Tell me about it."

"So Crona, tell us your story." Soos said to Crona. He didn't say anything. "Shy little dude, aren't ya? No wait, you're definitely a girl." he wondered. "Wrong?"

Crona quivered a bit before he finally spoke up. "O-okay then. I was born a weapon for my mother Medusa, who implanted Black Blood in my body to create Ragnarok." he explained pulling out a piece of paper from out of nowhere and drawing a picture of a young blonde woman dressed in all black with black dotted tattoos on her arms. "That's your mom? I don't see the family resemblance." Melody commented. "She tormented me for most of my life until she sent me to Italy, where I first met the girl that would become my only friend, Maka."

"Aw, that's really sweet." Wendy was touched by Crona's story. "Wow, you had a pretty terrible life dawg. At least you had a parent that was actually around." Soos stated. "My mom died when I was a little kid and then my dad just up and left after that, the only way he talked to me was with postcards he sent to me on my birthday. But don't worry Crona, we'll all be a better family for you." He then hugged the former minion of Medusa. "Oh uh, thank you." he said before Melody hugged him as well, followed by the twins, Maka and everyone else.

"Well, I'm getting' tired. Might as well hit the hay." Stan said leaving the room and going upstairs. "But where are we gonna sleep for the night?" Soul asked. "You can room with us if you want." Mabel implored. "You kids can go upstairs, I'm staying down here." Spirit said plopping down on the chair and instantly falling asleep.

Soon everybody left the living room until Dipper heard a noise, like a snake was hissing. He simply shrugged it off and followed the others. Little did he know that a snake did indeed infiltrate the Mystery Shack, with arrows covering its scales.

In the attic that Dipper and Mabel had made into their bedroom, everybody was already getting ready for bed. "I expected something a bit cleaner and more symmetrical." Kid commented on the space. "Well if you want I can try to rearrange all the mold on the ceiling, like Daryl for example." Mabel replied picking up a duffel bag. "Okay Soul, where do you want this?" she asked Soul. "How about right over there?"

She dragged it to the spot Soul pointed to before hearing a meow coming from the bag. Zipping it open, a black cat wearing a witch hat popped its head out of it. "Aw, it's a cute little kitty cat! And it's got a little hat too!" Mabel cooed picking up the feline and snuggling it. "Wait, how did she get in?!" Maka exclaimed with her eyes widening. The cat turned its head to Soul and squealed in delight.

"OH SOUL!" She jumped out of Mabel's arms, transforming into a beautiful woman with purple hair and yellow eyes, and pounced on Soul smothering her chest in his face. "What're you doing here?!" Soul cried as he was trapped in marshmallow hell. "I couldn't bare to be left alone without you back in Death City, plus I always wanted to get in on the action." the cat woman replied before Soul was Maka-chopped.

"Friend of yours?" Dipper snarked getting into his bed before Stan barged in with a broom. "Hey, what's all the racket goin' on here?!" he demanded before laying his eyes on a beautiful woman sprawled all over Soul. "Not even gonna ask." He finally closed the door. "Anyway, my name's Blair! What's your names?" Blair said introducing herself. "My name's Dipper and this is Mabel. Now can we sleep?" Dipper replied. "All right then, see you in the morning everyone." Maka said as everyone closed their eyes and finally fell asleep. "Laters." Black Star added snuggling into his sleeping bag.

Meanwhile with Stan, he was tossing and turning in his bed. His glasses rested on the sidetable near him. Suddenly his eyes burst open, finding himself in a blank white void. He examine his surroundings, not knowing where he is or how he got there until he discovered a familiar figure standing away from him. That yellow jacket, brown fedora and robust, stern stature was unmistakable. It was his father Filbrick Pines.

"Wait, dad?!" Stan shouted rubbing his eyes in sheer disbelief. The last time he heard his voice was when after he faked his own death and opened the Mystery Shack, but seeing him here now was a complete surprise. "I thought you bit the dust ages ago! What're you doing here?!" he asked his deceased father, who simply turned to him and smiled, something he would never expect from him.

"Stanley, I have to say I'm quite impressed." Filbrick said. "Impressed that you would survive being taken over by me for this long!" His voice suddenly raised an obnoxious cadence as he tore off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of golden peepers with black slits for pupils. He let out a psychotic cackle as his form contorted into a triangular shape while the void started falling apart, revealing none other than Bill Cipher disguised as his father.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you actually fell for that!" the dream demon laughed. "Did you really think ol' Filbrick actually said that to you?!"

"Bill! I thought I smashed you into tiny pieces!" Stan exclaimed furiously. "Not quite Fezhead, there's still a little bit of my essence wandering through your mind just waiting for me to take it back!" Bill said pointing to the old man's noggin, continuing to chortle. "Well you can forget it Cipher, Dipper, Mabel and Ford will find a way to stop you just like last time!" Stan declared. "But how can you get them to stop me if you're not even in your body!"

Stan was immediately forced away by Bill out of his own mind, appearing as a projection of himself while he watched as the triangle woke up in his elderly form. "Good grief, this body smells! Have you even showered?!" the deal-maker wondered sniffing Stan's body odor before he was suddenly tackled by his victim.

"Gimme back my body you three-sided freak!" he shouted wrestling Bill for control. "Fat chance, I can't wait to see the looks on your family's faces when they learn their beloved uncle is gone!" the lying, snappily dressed monster cried punching Stan in the face with his own fist. "I swear to God, if you lay a finger on my family you're done for! They made some friends that will most definitely waste your golden posterior!"

"Mr. Pines, what's wrong!" Soos called rushing into his bedroom wielding a golf club with Melody by his side. "Oh it's nothing Soos, just some old man pains! Say, have you lost weight since last I saw ya?" Bill commented. "Soos, Melody, you gotta wake up the kids and Ford! Bill's back and he's trying to take over my body!" Stan cried trying to get their help. "Wait, you're telling me your pet gopher got a girlfriend? I'm impressed, all this time I was convinced he would've died alone!"

"You take that back Bill!" Soos roared smacking his boss in the face with his golf club. "Oh that felt good! Come on, hit me!" The former handyman hit him again, to which Bill shouted "Hit me!" He continued smacking his boss with the club while the demon continued chanting "Hit me!" while laughing like a madman. "Don't do it again Soos, you're gonna make him want more!" Melody urged her fiancee. "I know Melody, but I gotta save Stan!"

"Don't listen to her chubby, hit me again!" Bill demanded. Suddenly Stan took control once more. "Just leave you two, we can take care of him in the morning." Just then Dipper and Mabel walked in looking very tired. "Hey, what's all the racket going on?" the brace-faced sister wondered. "Dudes, you won't believe this but Bill is back and took over Mr. Pines's body!"

"Soos, it's like two in the morning. Have you been eating paste and green beans after dark again?" Dipper wondered. "Yeah kids, just go back to sleep." Bill said trying to imitate their grunkle as best as he can. "Stan's right, let's just go." Melody stated and they all left Stan's bedroom.

When the door finally closed, Stan got up and stood in front of a mirror, taking in all the bruises he received from his closest confidant and former employee. He also discovered his right eye now resembled that of Bill and his left started to show some blood. "Welp, good thing I have some spare eyepatches for situations like this." He reached into his sidetable drawer and pulled out an eyepatch, putting it on his head and hiding his Bill-eye. "That should do it."

"I don't think so Stanley!" Bill chuckled, now appearing in his reflection. "It won't be long before your kids catch up to our current situation and try to stop me. But then again, they probably won't be alive to foil my plans!" In a blind rage, Stan broke the mirror with a single punch, his knuckles bleeding. "Oh yeah almost forgot. I made a special friend who was put in the same problem as I and let's say, we made a symbiotic connection." the dream demon's voice echoed in his mind. "But all beings need their rest, all that struggling made me beat!"

The next morning, Dipper and Soul were sitting in the living room watching an episode of Ducktective. "By George Ducktective, this man is not an actual man at all!" the constable on the television gasped. "He's...a grasshopper creature!" The program's titular mallard started quacking while subtitles reading "Yes, but where could the rest of his people be hiding?"

"Of all the animals in the world, they picked a duck to be their main character?" Soul asked. "The creator actually based this off his own childhood when he would play detective with his own pet duck." Dipper explained. "That makes sense, but who would really watch crazy stuff like this?"

"Hey kids, anything you want for breakfast? I got toast, fried eggs, muffins and Stancakes!" Stan said walking in. "They're kinda like pancakes, but they probably have some of my hair in them."

"Pass." Dipper deadpanned. "Ditto." Soul replied. "Good morning everyone." Maka greeted coming downstairs. "I've been hearing noises in Mr. Pines's room last night, what was going on?" she wondered. "Oh yeah, Stan was just having a little 'episode' where he thought his body was being controlled." the boy replied, which caused Stan's patch-covered eye to act up again. "Oh sure, it was just an old man spazzing out, nothing about demons taking over his body." Stan added, his voice sounding oddly familiar to him.

"HEYA GUYS!" Black Star shouted slamming open the door. "Been working out in the forest bench-pressing some boulders and I'm starving! What's to eat wrinkles?" he asked. "Oh nothing much kid, but I'll give ya something in exchange for your soul!" Stan replied becoming more menacing. "Whoa. I know you think I'm annoying, but taking my soul? No thanks!"

"Um, I'd like something to eat please." Crona squeaked coming downstairs. "Do you happen to have any waffles?" he asked. "Sure I do, got a few frozen ones left after a bunch of handsome young men dug through my kitchen and ate them all." Stan said taking the Demon Swordsman to the kitchen. "And whatever you do, don't ask."

Sitting the little one down and sticking some frozen waffles in the microwave, the twins sat down alongside Crona. "Oh boy, waffles!" Mabel beamed. "Finally, some good grub!" Ragnarok added bursting from his meister's back. "Okay kids, they're ready!" Stan called setting down some plates with their breakfast on them. "Eat up now, I gotta go do some things later."

"Hey, anyone seen Dad or Dr. Stein anywhere?" Maka wondered walking into the kitchen. "Knowing your father, he's probably out drinking." Kid snarked. "Well, why don't we go look for him after we're all done eating?" Mabel suggested her mouth full of waffles. "Speaking of which, how's your waffles Crona?"

"I haven't eaten them yet. I don't know how to deal with this." Crona winced. "Just try 'em, I'm sure you'll like them." Dipper said. The child of Medusa just stared at his breakfast before picking one up with the fork and sticking it in his mouth, slowly chewing it before swallowing. "So, how is it?" Dipper asked. "I love it!" Crona cheered before chowing down on all his waffles. "Can I have some more Mr. Pines?"

"Sorry Pinky those were my last. But hey, least you're full right?" Stan said. "Well let's go then! You coming broseph?" Mabel said to her brother. "I think I'll pass today. Ford wants me down in the basement for something." Dipper replied. "Okay then, let's go everybody!"

Mabel led Maka, Black Star, Kid, the Thompsons and Crona out the front door as they went on their merry way into town. "Why aren't you going with them Soul?" the boy asked Soul. "Just wanna see what your other great uncle gets up to." the Demon Scythe replied.

The two left the kitchen leaving Stan all by himself. "They're onto us Wrinkles, better play it cool while you still can." Bill commanded from within his subconscious. "Fine, I'll play along Bill but you can't harm the kids while you're jacking my body. Understand?" the great uncle offered. "Okay then, geez! Y'know, it's people like you that are the easiest to manipulate."

The mid-morning summer sun dangled over the group as they walked into the town. The locals were just walking around minding their own business while Mabel searched for Spirit and Stein. "Now if I were Dad, where would I be?" Maka mused thinking about where her father could've gone to. "Maybe he ran off over there?" Black Star suggested pointing to an establishment with a neon sign saying "Skull Fracture" over the entrance guarded by a man with multiple tattoos on his body.

"Are you really sure friends? That place looks quite filthy." Kid commented. "Hey dudes, morning!" Wendy greeted them all riding up from behind on her bike. "Good to see you too Wendy. You seen a guy with red hair walk into that place?" Liz asked her. "Yeah, my dad frequents that place with all the other manly guys in town." the teen replied. "No, we're not looking for your dad. We're looking for my dad and Professor Stein." Maka corrected her. "Right, sorry about that."

"Don't worry guys, Liz and I have walked into places like this before so we can handle this!" Patty stated.

"Sorry, still don't allow miners here." the bouncer said to a miner, who just shouted "Dadgumit, not again!" and stormed off. Just then Mabel and company walked up to him. "Hello there my good sir, any room for Lady Mabelton and company?" she asked before they all pulled out fake IDs. "Whatever." the bouncer said letting in them in.

They were all greeted by the sight of several manly men inhabiting the bar, many of which were weeping while cradling their broken arms. "Looks awfully violent." Crona commented. "Oh geez, I don't wanna know what happened here." Black Star commented before he spotted a large man with a scarlet beard dressed as a lumberjack. "Yo Wendy, would that guy happen to be your dad?"

"Oh my gosh, Dad!" Wendy exclaimed rushing toward her father. "Wendy, what're you doing here? You know they don't allow minors here, but then again their ID policy isn't very good." the lumberjack said. "We're just looking for my father Mr. Corduroy. He's about yay high, red hair, blue eyes, probably accompanied by someone with a giant screw in his head?" Maka said. Just then, Stein walked out of the bathroom looking the same as always aside from a few red bumps on his hands. "Whatever you do, do not go in the bathroom. There are entire colonies of wasps living in the urinals."

"So tell me dad, what the heck happened?" Wendy asked trying to console Manly Dan. "This guy just waltzed in and challenged us all to an arm-wrestling contest, and he's winning too!" Dan explained pointing to a tall, muscular man with pointy ears, black and white striped pants, a tank-top and a distinctive red glow in his left eye.

'What, he's here?!' Kid thought panicking. "Hey, doesn't that guy look a little familiar?" Tsubaki commented. "Yeah, he looks kinda like that wolfman who worked for Medusa." Maka added. "That's because it is that wolfman! How could you not recognize him?!" the young Shinigami exclaimed. They all heard the other Skull Fracture patrons chant his name as the man took down another unlucky opponent. "So, anyone else wanna take on Free?!"

"I'll take you on!" Black Star declared glaring daggers at him. "So, the little God wannabe wants a shot?" Free wondered putting up his arm on the table. "If I win, you'll have to return home in eternal shame! But if you win, you'll get this!" He pulled a burgundy colored book with a monocle within its pages and a golden six-fingered hand with the number 3 on its cover. Mabel and Wendy knew that item all too well.

"No, that can't be!" Mabel exclaimed. "I thought we tossed all three of them down in the Bottomless Pit!" Wendy added. "Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Patti said. "That's a creepy book Dipper found last summer written by our great-uncle Ford decades ago." Mabel explained. "So did he use this to document the oddities of this town?" Stein asked. "Exactly Doc!" Wendy replied. "And speaking of oddities, I think I found your father Maka."

Spirit was currently lying asleep on the countertop surrounded by numerous shot glasses stacked on top one another while the bartender just stood there with a neutral expression on his face. "'Scuse me, is he with you guys?" he politely asked the group. "Yes, yes he is sir." Maka groaned trying to wake up her dad. "C'mon dad, you've been here for who knows how long!"

"I'm sorry Maka, even I don't know how to wake him up." Stein stated turning his screw. "Well, I do now." the Scythe Meister proclaimed Maka-chopping her father, finally awakening him from his drunken slumber. "What? Where am I, what happened last night?!" Spirit exclaimed jumping down from the counter to see his daughter standing before him. "MAKA! What are you doing here, you know this isn't a place for people like my precious baby girl!"

"Dad, you're embarrassing me in front of all these men." Maka said. "Don't worry Mr. Albarn, my brother and I came here before and the ID rules here are pretty lax." Mabel assured him grinning. "Yeah, this seems like my kinda place!" Ragnarok added bursting out of his Meister's back.

"So if you're all here, where are Black Star and Soul?" Maka's father wondered. "I'm pretty sure Soul stayed behind at the Mystery Shack and Black Star on the other hand..." He gestured toward the young ninja in the heat of his arm-wrestling battle with Free. "Don't get too cocky brat, I got more muscles than you can ever dream of!" the wolfman bragged. "Oh yeah? Well if I'm gonna transcend God, I'm gonna need to take down some sinners!"

"This ain't gonna end well." Manly Dan mused watching the fight. "Hey Stripes, you look pretty rich. You wanna pay everyone's hospital bills?" he asked Kid. "Not right now sir. Black Star may be a nuisance, but he's got a real fighting spirit within him that is just itching to break out." the OCD-obsessed Death God proclaimed. The fight continued on with all the patrons spectating and cheering on both combatants, Maka's group supporting their friends and the barflys chanting Free's name once more when suddenly, Black Star slammed Free's hand on the table, breaking it. The building went deathly silent as the man who would transcend God towered over his fallen opponent, huffing in exhaustion.

The silence was finally broken when Mabel beamed in delight before chanting Black Star's name and everyone else joined in. "Fine, you win squirt. Take the damn book." Free admitted defeat handing the journal over to the victor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wallow in my own loss." He glumly walked away as Black Star was being celebrated. "You did great there Black Star!" Tsubaki cried hugging her partner. "Yeah, you got some killer ninja skills there dude." Wendy added high-fiving him.

"Thanks everyone, guess I don't know my own strength." the blue-haired assassin thanked, his face reddening. "Well, we all got what we came here for, among other things, so I suppose we should head back home." Kid announced beginning to take his leave. "C'mon gang, why don't you stay a while? Drinks are on the champ here!" the bartender exclaimed pointing to Black Star. "Ah what the hell! Let's all have a toast for the champion!" The other patrons cheered in agreement and the party began.

Free was now in the bathroom, mourning the loss of his winning streak with the colonies of wasps living in the urinals as his only company. He wept over his fractured arm before he started gritting his teeth with a look of pure anger on his face. "With God as my witness, I will have my revenge on that ninja brat." he declared when suddenly, his ears perked up at the squeaking of mice. A group of rodents scampered up to his feet before suddenly turning into five child-sized individuals with short pink hair, buck teeth and hats resembling that of mice. "Oh, the Mizunes! Then that must mean..."

A small frog hopped into the bathroom when she stopped at one of the Mizunes and turned into a young woman with silvery hair, black circles at both ends of her mouth and an orange hat with the face of a frog on it looking very cross. "So you lost an arm-wrestling match to one of those Academy students and gave him the book we were supposed to hand to the boss?" she chastised him. "Look Eruka, I was just too engrossed in my own hype! Please forgive me for this!"

"Forgive you for what?" a voice rang out from within the lavatory. Everything suddenly turned monochrome, signifying the appearance of none other than Kishin Cipher, looking just as mad as Eruka. "So tell me gang, which one of you idiots lost the journal?!" he roared at Medusa's former minions whimpering in fear before they all pointed to Free.

"It was you wasn't it?! Guess I should've thought twice before picking out minions to carry out my master plan." he said grabbing the werewolf by the neck. "I am terribly sorry Lord Cipher, I promise it won't happen again!" he protested. "Sorry ain't gonna cut it jailbird. Maybe you should change your name to Dead Meat."

He was about to murder Free in cold blood before he got distracted by a ringing noise. "Hang on a sec, gotta take this." he said dropping the werewolf to the ground and shifting his hand into a phone. "Yello?" he said. "Master, my partner and I have finally reached the town and are delivering the journal we found as we speak." the caller announced. "Good for you Pointy but there's gonna be a change of plans. The big furry moron just cost me Journal 3 after stupidly giving it away in an arm-wrestling match." Kishin Cipher replied. "Seriously?! Free may be incompetent, but at least he has some class unlike someone I know! Isn't that right Giriko?"

"Hey lay off me old man!" another man from the other end of the line shouted. "Simmer down, both of you!" he commanded. "Listen, I got a new assignment for you guys. Take out the Pines family, they were detrimental to my plans before and I don't want it to happen again. Understand?" The two men he was calling gulped in obedience and he finally hanged up. "Well gotta jet now! Plan on meeting up with some of my other minions so you aren't of any use to me anymore."

"Wait, why?!" Eruka cried. "I dunno, just wanted to watch over some smarter goons. Until we meet again, NOSTRADAMUS WAS A HACK, THE MOON LANDING WAS ACTUALLY A FAKE, WE ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE, BYE!" He finally vanished from the room, leaving Eruka, Free and the Mizunes utterly stunned. "So he basically just fired us? I kind of expected it to be more bloody." Free wondered. One of the Mizunes chittered in agreement. "Doesn't matter now. What we should do is find these Pines ourselves and terminate them. Hopefully that should put us back in Kishin Cipher's good graces."

Speaking of the Pines, Dipper and Soul were just wandering through Ford's underground laboratory, taking in all of the machinery created to monitor the weirdness of Gravity Falls. "So this is what your great-uncle gets up to?" Soul wondered examining the various computer systems. "Yes, and he's been at it for decades. Speaking of which, there he is." Dipper replied pointing to his great-uncle sitting under a ceiling light dangled over him. "Ah Dipper, just the man I wanted to see." Ford greeted his nephew turning his chair to face them. "And I see Soul's come along too."

"Hey Mr. Pines, good to properly meet ya." Soul greeted him. "Nice to meet you too kid." Ford replied shaking his hand. "Now Dipper, do you know why I've called you down here?" he asked his would've-been apprentice. "Was it about last night with Stan?" the boy responded. "Exactly. I've been told that he may have been possessed by an old enemy of ours. That enemy being none other than Bill Cipher."

"Wait, Bill who now?" the Demon Scythe questioned with a raise of his brow. "Bill Cipher was a dream demon that menaced our family last summer after he was summoned by a business rival of Grunkle Stan's." Dipper explained. "Years ago he made Ford build a portal to other universes that would allow him to bring about the end of the world, but thankfully we all came together to destroy him once and for all!"

"But there's one problem with that. Due to recent events, we may have beliefs that Bill has returned and he's taken over Stanley's body." Ford added. "Plus I think it may be connected to the giant baby we found in the Arctic during our journeys." As he spoke, he pulled out a journal with a golden hand and the number 4 on it. "Wait, you made another journal?!" Dipper exclaimed. "Yes, but this one I made to catalogue the things Stan and I found on our voyage." He flipped to a page depicting a gigantic infant frozen in ice.

"This was the first anomaly we spotted on our trip. For some reason it just kept glaring at Stan from its sub-zero tomb and it just wouldn't stop." the genius stated. "Huh, I think Mabel and I saw something like that last summer." Dipper commented, much to the others' confusion. "Long story, but let's say it involved Soos's birthday."

"So would Bill be like some kind of evil soul or something?" Soul asked. "No, I fear he may be even worse than that Asura fellow you encountered. That's why we must remain vigilant in case this turns out to be true." Ford said boldly before they heard something upstairs. "That must be Stan! We gotta do something!" Dipper shouted rushing back to the elevator. "Right, see ya later Ford!" Soul replied running after him.

Returning upstairs, the two boys tried to locate the source of the commotion until they came across Soos's grandma. "Oh hey Abuelita. What's up?" Soul asked. "Mr. Pines just burned himself on the stove while laughing like crazy. Overall, pretty normal." the old woman calmly said to them before walking away. "That can't be good." Dipper fretted. "Soul, you stay here. I'll take care of Stan."

Creeping into the kitchen, the boy spotted his great uncle sitting calmly at the table with a mug of coffee in his hand. "Hey there kiddo, off doing nerd things with ol' Sixer?" he greeted. "Y-yeah Grunkle Stan. Are you feeling okay?" Dipper asked him. "Oh I'm fine Pine Tree." He got up from the table to face his great-nephew and took off his eyepatch, revealing that his eye was now yellow with a black slit for a pupil. "Just fine."

"B-b-b-b-b-BILL?!" Dipper whimpered stepping backwards. "Oh come on Pines, aren't you happy to see me?! Been so long too!" Bill commented. "Now come on, give me a welcome back hug!" The boy replied by smacking him in the face with a nearby frying pan. "Oh-ho my that felt good!" he cried feeling incredibly euphoric from the pain. "Come on brat, give me another one!"

Dipper smacked him across the face a second time. "Soos has good arm strength and a great throw, but's he nothing compared to you!" the demon cackled. "Give back my uncle or else!" Dipper shouted before Soul came back with Ford, Soos and Melody in tow. "We were runnin' some errands when Soul told us what happened!" Soos exclaimed. "Guess I was right dudes."

"You guys get something to hold him down! Dipper, get away from him! I'll handle it myself." Ford gave out orders while marching towards his possessed brother. "Well well well well well well well well well! Good to see you again after so long Fordsy!" Bill greeted the very peeved genius. "Now listen here Cipher, give my brother his body back or I swear I'll-"

"You'll what IQ? Whip out that ol' memory gun on me again?" Bill interrupted him. "Well actually, it's kinda broken now." Ford replied. "Ooooh my, you just love making yourself look like a complete idiot don'tcha?!" Stanford just replied by socking square in the face, toppling him over.

"Don't think you can keep me tied down forever filthy mortals!" Bill bragged as he was tied to Stan's chair by Soos and Melody while Dipper lit nine candles around him. "Okay, is there anything we can do to stop this guy? Cause I'm just a girl from Portland who previously skewered meat which probably has nothing to do with stopping evil triangles!" Melody wondered. As if she spoke of the devil, the door opened and in walked Mabel with Wendy, Maka, Crona, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, the Thompsons, Spirit and Stein. "Hey guys, we're home!" Mabel said walking into the living room to find her great uncle tied to a chair. "Hark, is that Shooting Star and Ice Bag I see? It's almost like the whole Zodiac is coming to welcome me back!"

"Wait, what's going on here?" she wondered. "Listen Mabel, Bill's returned and he's taken over Grunkle Stan's body! We gotta stop him before he does something terrible!" Dipper cried. "Oh yeah, speaking of which when we were looking for Mr. Albarn and Dr. Stein when we found...this." She pulled the journal they retrieved from behind and handed it to her brother, who was just gaping in utter shock. "T-the journals?! But we tossed them all into the Bottomless Pit!" he stuttered. "That's sort of exactly what Wendy said!" Black Star replied. "By the way, I won it from some wolf guy and everyone had drinks on me."

"Is there anything in the book that can allow us to find him?" Maka asked. "There actually is Maka." Ford responded taking the codex out of his great-nephew's hands and skimming through it to a section about Bill. "If we recite this chant, we can be able to go into Stan's mind and hunt him down! Now everybody put your hands on his head." They all complied placing their hands on his head before he shook them all off. "Okay, that might need some work."

"Do not worry, I got this covered." Stein announced pulling out a syringe labeled "Lullaby" as he put it to Stan's neck. "Wait, what is that?" Bill quivered with his voice full of dread. "Don't worry this'll only sting a bit." the doctor calmed him with a sadistic grin on his face as he injected the serum into Stan's body, finally putting him to sleep. "Thank you Stein for the help. Now then, hands on his head everyone."

Everybody put their hands on Stan's head again, this time while he's still asleep. "Melody, I'm gonna need you to hold down the fort while we're gone." Ford said. "You got it Mr. Pines!" Melody exclaimed leaving the room. "Okay guys, there's no turning back now. Any last words?" Dipper said. "I got some," Tsubaki replied. "how did you beat this Bill guy anyway?"

"Oh yeah, we actually beat him a few times last summer!" Wendy explained. "There was the first time Bill invaded Stan's mind and this other time where I saved Dipper from being possessed by tickling him!" Mabel said. "Tickling may have kicked him out, but the mental pain is eternal." Dipper responded before turning back to Ford. "Alright Ford, go for it."

"With pleasure!" He started reading from the incantation on the journal. "Videntus omnium. Magister mentium. Magnesium ad hominem. Magnum opus." As he continued chanting, everyone's eyes glowed blue and the candles went out. "Habeas corpus! Inceptus Nolanus overratus! Magister mentium! Magister mentium! MAGISTER MENTIUM!"

Everything suddenly went blue and then, they all fell asleep.

"Ugh, my head." Dipper groaned waking up and rubbing his head. Rising from the ground, he noticed everything was grayscale sans him and the others. This was it, their great-uncle's mindscape. "So this is what the mindscape looks like?" Liz wondered. "The mindscape usually varies from person to person, but Stan's centers on the Mystery Shack." Ford explained as he led the group onward. "Now come along gang."

They all took in the monochrome scenery, everything was completely black and white from the trees, to the sky and even a nearby swing set that looked seriously dilapidated. Finally, they came across a mental recreation of the tourist trap which looked like an earthquake ran through it. "Whoa, what happened here?" Patty gasped. "Seems like deep down, Stan is still recovering from having his memory wiped last summer." Soos said. "Okay, be on the lookout everyone. Bill could catch us at any moment, so we should be vigilant." Dipper said.

Just as he warned them, the triangle himself appeared before him just as psychotic as ever. "Yeah, remain vigilant even though you're gonna die soon!" he chortled. "Bill!" they all shouted taking up arms. "This is just rich, most of the entire cast together! Pine Tree, Shooting Star, Six Fingered Hand, Ice Bag and Question Mark!" He pointed at the three Pines, Soos and Wendy.

"And I see you've brought me some fresh blood too! Scythe, Piano Keys, Shuriken, Skull, Twin Pistols, Holy Cross, Cigarette and-" He started pointing at Maka and her companions before suddenly stopping at Crona and wheezing in utter surprise. "Crona, it's been too long! It's me, your uncle Bill!"

"Wait, you know this guy?" Stein exclaimed. "Of course I know Crona doc, the two of us go way back!" Bill explained putting an arm around the child who simply tried to escape. "Yeah, and I'm still pissed off about what you did to him!" Ragnarok shouted putting up his dukes. "And ol' Ragny's here as well! If your mom and aunts were still alive, it'd be a big family reunion!"

"Seriously Cipher, how do you know Crona?" Maka demanded answers from the shape. "Oh, so you want some backstory Scythe? Allow me to demonstrate."

"This is your target Crona. Now destroy it." Medusa Gorgon, the mother of Crona, commanded with her amber eyes gazing down on her son. Crona was pitted against a black dragon that glared at him with smoke puffing out of his nose. The boy was reluctant to kill it and turned to his mother. "I can't do it. I don't know how to deal with something like this." he weeped. Medusa simply replied by taking him into a dark room. "You are a bad child and I want you out of my sight. As punishment, you'll be locked in here for a long time until you can think about obeying me."

As she closed the door, Crona begged to not be punished. "No, please pick another punishment! I promise I can do better, just don't close the door! It's super scary in here when it gets dark!" But sadly, his words went unheard when Medusa finally shut the door. "It's so dark in here. I don't know how to deal with darkness like this." he quietly sobbed before Ragnarok materialized sounding very aggravated. "Damn it Crona, you screwed up big time!" he shouted. "No Ragnarok!" He started teasing her which lasted long into the night.

The next day, Medusa opened the door once again to find her son with tears covering his face. "So then, are you ready?" she asked before he rushed up to her and hugged her leg. "Ragnarok is just so mean! He keeps beating me up and I don't like it! Please just stop him already." he sobbed.

"Come now little one, we have work to do. You will eliminate it this time." Medusa ordered leading him out of the room. "There's no way, I can't do it." he muttered twiddling with his fingers. "I still don't know how to deal with this." With a glare, Medusa just said "Vector Plate." and sent him flying back into the room. "You can stay out of my sight a little longer."

"Ugh, I don't know how to deal with a child like Crona." the witch moaned walking into her study. "If only I can find a way to make him more violent, less of a pushover." He buried her face in her hands before suddenly falling asleep.

When she woke up, she found herself in an utter hellhole of a world with buildings burning, people running for cover and a figure hovering high above everyone, laughing madly. "What is this place?" she wondered. "Why, your mindscape of course!" an obnoxious high-pitched voice answered. Turning around, she discovered a golden triangle dressed in nothing but a black bow tie and top hat taking in the chaos around him.

"What's up babe, name's Bill Cipher!" the creature introduced himself with a mocking bow. "And I suppose you must be some kinda punk rock wannabe! I'm kidding, I know who you are Medusa!" he stated pointing at her. "Who are you monster, how do you know my name?!" Medusa exclaimed. "Oh I know lots of things Snakebite. LOTS OF THINGS." his tone suddenly dropped as his form displayed images of a trio of eyes, mosquitoes, a golem and a world similar to the apocalypse they were in. "Wanna see what I can do?!" He brought forth a man on the verge of death and burned him alive, only leaving behind a still beating heart. "Here, a heart for you lady. Don't mind if it's still living, it's just what I do."

"Agh, you're insane!" Medusa cried dropping the heart to the ground. "I know I am, but what're you?" Bill snapped back snickering. "So, heard you have a problem child on your hands am I right?" he wondered pulling up a chair out of trash and seating her in it. "Yes, my little boy Crona refuses to obey my commands and I have very big plans for him." the witch explained. "Small world, I have big plans myself!" Bill exclaimed. "Hey, how's about we make a deal? I'll whip your brat into shape and you can help me with something I've been working on." he offered lighting his hand in a blue inferno. "It's a deal."

The two of them shook hands sealing the deal. "We can work out the details later but until we meet again, THE MEANING OF LIFE IS 42, UNCLE WALT IS STILL OUT THERE, ALWAYS TAKE THE SHOT BYYYEEE!"

As soon as Bill vanished, Medusa awoken from her slumber. Looking around her room, she discovered a note on her desk saying "Been nice meeting ya Gorgon! You're really quite my type. Say, you got any siblings to hook me up with?" She simply grinned manically looking it over before deciding to turn in for the night.

Meanwhile with Bill, he had found himself hovering in a bright blue sky. "Hm, kind of expected something more tormented. Eh, it'll do." he snarked before beginning to search for Crona. "Now where could that little brat be?" he wondering searching high and low for the child until he came across an orb covered in sand resembling a beach or a desert and its only inhabitant being a youth with pink hair wearing all black. "Jackpot!" Bill exclaimed soaring down to the boy.

Crona was sitting all by his lonesome on the sand with his shadow as his only companion. "So, how are you doing?" the shadow asked him. "O-okay I guess. Mommy locked me in the room again and Ragnarok just kept bullying me." the child replied. "So how are you doing?" he asked the shadow before it suddenly took on a different form. "Just fine squirt! I got a question for you. What's my name?"

Crona simply jumped back in fear, stepping backwards until he bumped into a mysterious figure. Turning around, he found Bill Cipher standing before him. "What's up kid?" he greeted the Demon Swordsman. "W-who are you?! What a-are you d-doing here?!" he stuttered crawling away from him before Bill grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him to his eye. "Easy there brat! Apologies for being so rude," he said. "my name's Bill Cipher and I'm here because your mother made a deal with me."

"Wait, you mean her?!" Crona teared up in horror. "Yeah, she wanted me to beef you up, prepare you for a bright future ahead of ya!" As he continued speaking to the child, he summoned a projection of the moon. "Looks beautiful doesn't it?" he asked. "Well it's about to get even more beautiful!"

Dragging the moon closer with a wave of his hand, the two of them watched as an older Crona absorbing a grey-skinned humanoid creature and a young man in a plaid cap with a torrent of liquid blacker than night. "See this kid, this is what your mom wants you to be! The next Kishin, the embodiment of fear! And if you don't man up, well, her plan is gonna go all boop-boop!"

"Wait, she wants me to become what?!" Crona exclaimed trembling at the thought of this possible future. "Speaking of which, what's even under those clothes anyway?! I've been told you're a boy, but you seem more like a girl to me!" Bill exclaimed rubbing his hands. "Let's see what's hidin' there!" He grabbed the hem of the child's dress and prepared to lift it up before his hands were slapped away. "Okay sheesh, best to keep things 'private'!" He giggled at his own terrible pun. "Well then Crona, I best be off! Got some other things to take care of. But until I see you again, I'll always be watching you!"

He tapped Crona on the forehead and sent himself off with a cackle, while the child began to grow a mad grin on his face.

Once again, Medusa opened the door the next day. "So, are you ready?" she asked him while his head was down. When he raised it to look at her, he was wearing that same sadistic smile and had some black blood leaking out of his nose. "Did you know my blood is black?"

"And that's the whole story!" Bill finally finished telling his history with Crona. "Though it seems one of you may have averted that prophecy by punching the Kishin in the face. But let's face it, he was kind of a weenie anyway!" He let out another crazy snicker before finally letting go of Crona.

"Well we now know the story Bill, but what does my brother have to do with this?!" Ford shouted. "Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that!" the demon responded. "Ever since he punched me into pieces, your grunkle had a bit of my essence nestled deep within his wrinkly noggin. Once I get my hands on it, I can return to my full strength." he explained. "But since you're all here, might as well kill you all so you don't interfere with my plans!" He fired a giant laser blast from his finger to terminate the gang before it was suddenly deflected by Ragnarok, who had transformed into a large broadsword with a pair of lips on the blade. "You leave my friends alone Bill!" Crona shouted preparing to fight him.

"Oh goodness would you look at the time," Bill panicked. "I gotta go...to the bathroom!" He zoomed away inside the Shack obviously just wanting to retrieve his essence and escape. "He's ran into the shack, after him everyone!"

They all ran inside the building to discover various doors all leading to Stan's memories. "Okay dudes, the twins and I have been through this place before which is how we first met Bill, so maybe we know this place like the back of our hands." Soos explained. "I say we all form into teams." Ford suggested. "Dipper, Liz & Patty go this way, Wendy, Kid & Stein go that way. Mabel, Black Star & Soul go over there, Spirit, Tsubaki & Soos can move thataway, etc."

"BREAK!" Maka exclaimed before they all split up into their assigned groups, with Crona accompanying Ford and Maka.

"Bill's essence, come out wherever you are!" Patty called as she, her sister and Dipper traversed through the old man's consciousness. "Good God, how big is Mr. Pines's head?" Liz inquired with a hint of snark in her voice. "I don't know yet, but wherever Bill is searching for his essence, we gotta get to it before him." Dipper determinedly said. "By the way, I got a question for you. What were your lives like before meeting Kid?"

"That's a funny story," the younger Thompson sister replied grinning. "we were once the Brooklyn Devils after our mother abandoned us and became serious criminals before we met Kid, who helped us see the light!" Liz on the other hand told him a more realistic version of their story. "Long before we met Kid, we were the twin daughters of the most beautiful whore in Brooklyn when she ditched us for some reason. We never knew who our father was and became more dependent on each other. Then we tried to mug Kid, who saw the good in us mostly because we were so symmetrical. And that's how we wound up here today."

"Wow, kinda reminds me of Stan and Ford's relationship," Dipper said. "Only they weren't criminals from birth and couldn't turn into guns." He then turned to a nearby door. "Hey, you think this might be one of Stan's memories?" Patty wondered opening it to happen upon a projection of Stan playing with his stomach in the bathroom. "Hey Mr. Tummy!" he greeted. "Hey Mr. Stan!" he made his gut reply before Patty abruptly shut the door. "Well, I know what I'm puttin' in my eyes tonight!"

Meanwhile with Ford, Maka and Crona, they were searching their part of the mindscape. They were in a hallway of doors all relating to Stan's past. "That part of Bill could be anywhere! We've got to find it before he does." Maka declared. "Simmer down Maka. We'll find it soon," Ford said. "but right now one of these doors could lead us to him."

Examining the various entryways, some of them were slightly ajar showing various parts of the Stan twins' lives from discovering a boat in a cave to Ford winning a science fair project. "Ah yes, I remember those days." the scientist reminisced. "Back when Stanley and I were around your ages but kind of older, I built a perpetual motion machine for our school's science fair that would've won me a scholarship to one of the most prestigious universities in the country. But Stan broke it because he didn't want us to be separated and was kicked out by our dad as a result."

As he finished, another door opened showing that fateful night where the Stan twins' father threw him out of their home. "You ignoramus! Your brother was gonna be our ticket out of this dump! All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother's coattails." he scolded quite harshly. "Well this time you cost our family potential millions! And until you make us a fortune, you aren't welcome in this household." The three watched this memory play out, Ford just looking away in resignation, Maka covering her mouth in shock but Crona just backed away before running off with tears in his eyes. "This is so much like Medusa!"

"Wait Crona, come back!" Maka called for her friend before racing after him and Ford following suit.

"Here Bill's essence, I totally got a human sacrifice for you!" Soos called, which echoed throughout the hallway. "Uh Soos, I don't think it can hear us." Tsubaki commented. "I mean, it's just an itty bit of some bigger monstrosity." Spirit replied. Suddenly they all heard a crying noise which came from Crona who came running up to them in tears.

"Hey, you all right there little dude?" Soos wondered wiping a tear from the swordsman's face. "Mr. Pines, Maka and I were looking through memories and I found one of Mr. Pines' dad tossing Stan out of their house, and it was just so horrible!" he bawled into the manchild's arms. "Sh sh sh, it's okay Crona. It's okay."

"Yes, our father may have been a bit rough but at least he didn't use Stan and I to further his own evil plots." Ford tried to lighten the mood before Bill suddenly appeared before them with a cackle. "Oh isn't this just precious? Someone actually caring about Crona for once!" he chortled cruelly. "Listen Bill, this is where we end this! Leave my brother's mind immediately or I swear I'm going to end you in the most painful way a dream demon can feel pain!" the polydactyl exclaimed. "That's what you think, cause I've already made a new friend during my time in the void. Say hello Asura!"

He motioned for his partner to make himself known. The Kishin Asura appeared seemingly from out of nowhere looking down upon the group with a smug grin on his visage. "Well well well little humans, it seems we finally meet again." he said. "Wait, you teamed up with HIM?!" Maka screamed in shock at the dream demon. "Oh course we did Scythe, turns out he and I had a lot in common."

"Beings of extreme power with unusual eyes," Asura said. "hatred for children, dreams of conquering the universe! It's like we're twin brothers!" Bill exclaimed. "Only difference is I make three sides look good." he added with a shake of one of his points, much to the gang's disgust. "Now then, allow us to show you what we've got now!" The pair soon began to align and finally fuse into Kishin Cipher, still retaining his manic grin. "They can fuse now?!"

"And now to destroy you once and for all!" Kishin Cipher exclaimed bringing forth Mabel, Black Star & Soul, Dipper & the Thompsons and Wendy, Kid & Stein. "Oh my God, what is that thing?!" Black Star howled. "Guys, what's going on?!" Mabel shouted to her brother. "It turns out Bill teamed up and actually fused with this Asura guy to kill us all!" Soos explained fearfully.

"Now then, which one do we start with?" Kishin Cipher wondered glaring at everyone. "How about...YOU?!" He fired a laser blast from his finger at Maka only for it to be deflected by Crona carrying Ragnarok. "Come on Ragnarok, Scream Resonance." Ragnarok let out an ear-piercing shriek from his lips and his Meister threw a mighty slash at the fusion, slicing his arm off. "AGH, what was that for?!" he cried reeling in pain. "Now's out chance! Weapons everyone!" Maka ordered as Soul turned into her scythe, Tsubaki into Black Star's shadow weapon, Liz & Patty in Kid's twin pistols and Spirit into Stein's own scythe.

All the Meisters lept forward and dealt serious damage to Cipher. "What do you suppose we can do?" Wendy asked. "This is the mindscape, meaning we can imagine pretty much anything to help us out here!" Dipper responded before firing lasers from his eyes. "Likes turning your fists into kittens!" Mabel added transforming her hands into cat heads and fired rainbows from them. "Soos Love Stomach Beam Stare!" Soos exclaimed launching a question mark shaped energy beam from his stomach. "Anything, eh?" Ford wondered before spawning a staff with a golden hand on the tip. "Let's finish this!"

Kishin Cipher was not doing fine here. Scythe & Piano Keys slashed him in the face, Shuriken blinding him with smoke bombs, Skull & Twin Pistols kept shooting him in the eyes, Black Blood had already sliced his arm off and Holy Cross & Cigarette were doing the same as Scythe. "ENOUGH!" he screamed, finally fed up with their futile attempts at fighting back. "This has gone on for far too long, so now it's time to get rid of you and conquer everything there ever was!" He hovered high above the group with his hands clasped together and between a pair of circles. "WEIRD VAJRA!"

A giant laser beam shot down from above aimed towards the heroes. "Well dudes, guess this is goodbye!" Soos began to say his prayers and bid his friends farewell. "What are we going to do?! He's going to kill us and completely take over Stan's mind!" Dipper fretted. "We're not completely hopeless!" Stein declared pulling something out of his pocket, that something being a small yellow triangle that fit in the palm of his hand. "Bill's essence? But how?!" Mabel cried. "We managed to retrieve it from one of Mr. Pines's memories. Maybe we can use it to get Bill and Asura to leave." Kid suggested.

"Are you nuts, this is Bill's essence! If he gets his hands on it, he'll regain his full power!" Ford shouted. "Hey guys, can we just give it to him because that giant laser beam is getting awfully close." Wendy said. "How long has it been since he fired it anyway?" Spirit wondered. Stein boldly stepped forward to the monstrosity and held out the triangle. "Here's your essence. Now leave here." he simply ordered him. "Good choice Stein." the villain commended him disappating the laser. "Now just give it to me and I'll be on my way!"

"Sorry, changed my mind." Stein snarked, crushing the small triangle in his hands. "NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Kishin screamed trying to piece it back together with what little pieces remained. "Okay, I'll leave your great uncle alone!" he regained his composure. "You're all quite worthy opponents, especially the fat one."

"I still think he's talking to you." Soos whispered to Mabel. "I'll see you again soon, BUT KNOW THIS! When madness takes over and inner strength fails, the only sound left will be your wails!" he declared summoning a circle that surrounded him. Ten symbols circled him and ten more were outside of those. "Until then I'll be watching you! I'll be watching you!" With that, everything finally disappeared.

"Did we win?" Dipper asked groggily as everyone woke up. "Yeah, we saved Stan!" Mabel cheered just as Stan woke up. "What just happened? And why am I tied to my chair?" the old man asked. "You would not believe what happened Mr. Pines! You were taken over by Bill and we had to go inside your mind again to stop him!" Soos exclaimed. "Yeah yeah, more of your weird mystery stuff. Now can someone untie me? I'm starving!"

"I knew somebody would say that!" Blair called walking into the living room wearing nothing but an apron. "So then, what does everyone want for dinner?" she asked everyone while Soul fell down all bloody-nosed. "Good grief madame, put some clothes on!" Ford said covering the twins' eyes. "Yeah, I'm getting' hungry anyway." Mabel said when everybody walked to the kitchen. All except Crona. "Aren't you coming Crona?" Maka asked her friend. "I'll catch up with you later, I want to talk with Mr. Pines."

The room was now completely empty except for the swordsman and the con-artist. "So, what did you want to talk to me for?" Stan asked Crona sitting him down on his lap. "C'mon, tell me." he beckoned him. "I just want to ask you. Was your dad that mean to you?" Crona asked sheepishly. "Kinda. He may've been hard to impress and kind of a jerk, but deep down he still loved me and Ford." the great-uncle replied. "This is about your mom isn't it?"

"Yeah, when me and my friends were in your mind I came across this memory of your dad tossing you out of your house, it just reminded me too much of Medusa." Crona explained shedding a tear. "Hey, wipe those tears Pinky. At least neither of our parents used us as tools!" Stan laughed before the boy started to chuckle as well. "Listen, if you need someone to talk to other than Maka or any of the others, just come to me."

"T-thank you Mr. Pi-" Crona thanked him before being interrupted by Stan hugging him. "Please, just call me Grunkle Stan." he corrected. "Okay. Thank you Grunkle Stan." He returned the hug.

"You idiot! Do you realize how much our plans have been screwed up?!" Bill screamed at Asura from within Kishin Cipher's body. "Not only did we lose the journal and my essence, I lost a way to break back into the physical realm!"

"Oh be quiet you three-sided twit!" Asura snapped back at him. "If it wasn't for your arrogance, we would've succeeded!" Bill was quite honestly angered by his partner's comment. "Now listen here Pasty, I'm not the one to blame here! You're just thinking I'm the cause of our failure just because you're a complete coward!" he shouted turning his back on him. "Some embodiment of fear you are."

Asura finally snapped and the two prepared to fight before Bill suddenly stopped them both. "WAIT! Just because we lost two parts of our plan doesn't mean we still have the others." He created an image of a brown-haired young man with metal piercings & a pair of gloves reaching up to his elbows and a miniature senior citizen dressed in all black with a pointy nose carrying a book with a golden hand & a number 2 on it. "Time for Plan B."

And that's Chapter 2 everyone! What secrets will our heroes uncover? Can Bill and Asura be stopped from accomplishing their goals of world domination? Who will be a good parent figure for Crona?! Find out on the next chapter of Gravity Soul! Until we meet again, merry Christmas and happy holidays!

#gravity falls #soul eater #fanfiction #crossover #gravity soul #dipper pines #mabel pines #maka albarn #soul eater evans #stanley pines #stanford pines #black star #tsubaki nakatsukasa #death the kid #liz thompson #patty thompson #crona gorgon #ragnarok soul eater #soos ramirez #wendy corduroy #spirit albarn #franken stein #bill cipher #kishin asura #free soul eater #eruka frog #mizune

[tigerlover16-uk]

Anime I need to watch (August 2017 update)

Sooo, yeah. Two days late this time. I really want to apologize for this one, it wasn’t entirely my fault this time. While I was in the middle of writing my thoughts down on the shows I’d seen, my computer suddenly decided to refresh the page so I ended up losing everything, and it took me a while to catch up to where I was and finish everything since I had a lot of stuff to talk about. And stuff kept coming up when I tried to write it all again.

So, yeah, my bad for not being more careful with this stuff and all. Either way, here it is at last, read it below.

Okay, so to start things off, the first new show i watched this month was Outlaw Star. It's a pretty popular anime from what I've heard, while it apparently bombed in Japan it's widely beloved in the West and considered a benchmark for early 2000's anime. It's to the point that it's still the most heavily requested show to be re-aired on the reinstated Toonami block by it's regular viewers. No small feat to have that much fan devotion for so long. So, what did i think of it?

... Meh. It's okay.

Really, it's just... okay. It was probably one of the most average anime I've seen in a while. The characters are okay. The overarching story is okay. The humour, well, occasionally i got a chuckle out of it, but only a few episodes really made me laugh hard. There were a lot of episodes I liked, some I really liked, and some I didn't care for. The action was alright. The soundtrack was pretty good. None of the villains weren't really that interesting.

I'd go into greater detail, but I don't really know what to say overall. The show for me was just the definition of okay. Not bad, it was certainly enjoyable and I'm glad I watched it at least once, but I really can't think of any reason why I'd want to ever watch it again. Which, yeah, a little disappointing.

But oh well, that sort of thing happens. Sometimes certain classic works of fiction just don't resonate with some people the way they do with others, and I guess Outlaw Star is one of those cases for me.

After I finished with that show, I decided to catch up on Soul Eater. I mentioned in another update a few months ago that I found Soul Eater a slightly above average show, but not all that great. Well, after re-watching some of it and then finishing the show, I'll admit it's grown on me and I'll admit it's really good for the most part.

It admittedly took me a little while to get into it, since the first few episodes... while not bad, feel like they thrust you into the middle of a story that's been going on for a bit already rather than being the start of a story. I think maybe that's the point, but that sort of thing is usually a bit jarring for me personally. And I maintain that much of the show's first half was simply okay. But once it gets going, it really gets going.

The comedy was good, the action was mostly pretty decent, and the animation was great. The story progressed at a pretty good pace once it found it's groove. While a few of the major characters, namely Soul and Tsubaki, didn't really interest me that much, the main cast were all a likeable bunch (Favourites probably being Crona and Death the Kid), and the supporting characters were all fun and quirky in their own rights.

Though honestly I felt a little disappointed that Spirit and Maka's relationship didn't play more of an important role towards the later parts of the series. I mean, with how much time the show focused in it's first half on their strained relationship and Spirit's failing's as a parent and as a husband, it feels like it was meant to be more crucial to the plot or at least Maka's character arc and that things would progress at least a bit more than they did towards the end. But then as the show went on it felt like that subplot just lost relevance, so I'm kinda left wondering what the whole point of that was.

And while the story was well told, there were some things I found underwhelming. The fight between Lord Death and Asura in the middle of the series felt anti-climactic for what was described as a battle of Gods, for one.

Medusa was a great villain, I didn't think much of her at first but she won me over with what a malicious, scarily competent and savvy scheming monster she was, and her fighting style was honestly pretty unique and something I haven't seen before with an anime villain. But I felt like Crona should have had more of a role helping Maka finish her off. With how very well done Crona's character arc was handled up to that point, it felt like they should have done more in that final confrontation than get beaten to help spur Maka forward. Her unlocking Genie Hunter to finish Medusa off in one hit felt a bit cheap, really.

And the ending was a huge cop out. While I like what they were going for, in practise it just felt lazy and kind of silly, and honestly reminded me of the ending of Digimon Adventure 02 a bit. The fact that the show then ended so suddenly didn't really help much.

That all sounds like it's leaning a bit negative right? Well, yeah, but while I had a few gripes, the overall experience was still really great. The series has a great premise and sense of style, and is really fun to watch. Most of the character development was decently handled, and I can confidently say that it was a really good show, and definitely something I'd be willing to come back to again soon. Next up is Bleach, the only one of the legendary "Big 3" of anime that i have never watched before in any form. Because I really wasn't interested, and eventually I heard it had gone really down hill, so I wasn't willing to go through a repeat of what I went through with Naruto towards the last few arcs of that series.

But, I'm a curious sort, so I decided to look into it anyway. I don't plan to watch the whole series, because that seems like a lot of investment for something I can expect to go off the rails at some point and never even got finished due to a cancellation, but I want to be able to say I'm at least partially informed on all of the Big 3. So, part of my plan right now is to just watch it up to the end of the Soul Society arc. Maybe if I enjoy that enough I'll watch a bit more to see how it is for myself, but for now that's the plan.

I watched the first 20 episodes this month, the second season DVD set wasn't available at an affordable price on Amazon though so I don't know when I'll get around to watching that and season 3. Hopefully relatively soon. But for the moment, I'll just talk about this season.

All things considered, it was... pretty good. Not great, but a bit above average, if kind of mundane in places. Definitely took a few episodes before it started getting good, and I'll admit I'm not all THAT enthusiastic about most of the characters, but they are all at least likeable and I'm curious as to where things are going by the end of the season. So, good enough job there.

The premise was pretty good, and there was some good comedy and action scenes in these episodes, though admittedly not much that's truly spectaculr yet. I imagine that comes next arc when the story really picks up. A lot of the episodes did seem just okay for a while, but when I got invested I found myself really enjoying the show. I don't know what else to say in detail, and I want to get this update out quickly already, so I'll just leave it as saying I enjoyed it, but I'm waiting until I watch the next arc to make any solid opinions on whether I really like the show all that much. Hopefully Soul Society is as good as people say it is.

Next up I decided to look into a series that, honestly I now really wish I'd gotten into a lot sooner. The 2012 anime adaption of the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure series. This is one of those popular and influential franchises where I knew OF it, in the sense that I'd heard the name, knew it was popular and knew what the protagonist of part 3 of the series looked like... but I knew literally nothing else about the series before I went into it.

With a lot of series I tend to have a good idea of what to expect before I start them, but here I was really figuring everything out as I went along, you could say. Admittedly I expected it to be a lot sillier and harder to take seriously from the title, but after watching it... well, while it's definitely pretty crazy in a lot of ways... it's pretty amazing how dramatic it can be at the same time, I'll give it credit for that.

I watched the entire first season that consists of the Phantom Blood arc and the Battle Tendency arc of the series. So I'll be discussing them seperately here now.

I'll be honest, watching the first episode of Phantom Blood, I wasn't all that into it. Not that it was bad, but the pacing was really fast. So much stuff was happening that the whole thing felt rather rushed, and knowing that the arc was apparently only 9 episodes as I was watching it, I thought the rest of the arc would feel the same way. Thankfully though episodes after that felt a lot more even, and while the arc does feel rushed in a lot of areas, it turned out to be a very enjoyable story.

Most of that probably comes down to the 2 main characters. Jonathan Joestar admittedly may not be the most dynamic protagonist ever and in some ways feels like a standard shonen hero, he was still very likeable and sympathetic, so it was very easy to root for him throughout. And Dio was such a well written malicious, self-serving complete scumbag, I thought he was a bit much at first but with just how over the top he got with his evilness that he was fun to watch, and it was always highly satisfying whenever Jonathan gave the creep his commupance. The whole arc revolves around these characters and their conflict with one another, and thankfully it works well to the story's favour because of how well established their relationship is.

All that said, the show does have a number of flaws that really highlight the age of the manga it's adapted from. A lot of stuff in the second half of the show felt rather standard, pretty generic shonen stuff, mostly in the fight scenes which... I really wasn't all that big on them, being honest. And while Zeppeli and Speedwagon were both good characters (Even if I wish we'd had more time with the former before his death, though that's a story problem more than anything else), the rest of the supporting characters introduced in the final act of the story to help out all felt underdeveloped and... kinda pointless and uninteresting. I only really remember one of them due to what happens next arc.

And while again, the pacing did get better, the story did feel too short for it's own good and I wish there had been more time taken for more character building moments with characters besides Jonathan and Dio and longer fights, among other things. There are a few other nitpicks, but honestly this is going on long enough.

In a lot of ways, Phantom Blood feels like a pretty standard shonen story. But it's a well told standard shonen story with a lot of great moments, a compelling if basic story and a really tragic conclusion, that was a ton of fun to watch. It may not have held up great, but I was still really invested in the story and to see what the show could do from there.

And on that note I'm glad to say, Battle Tendency was a huge improvement in pretty much every way. Apart from just having more room to breath thanks to having more episodes than Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency had a better story, a much more dynamic and, frankly, interesting main character (Even if the cross dressing scene was cringy and the perverted moments were annoying) in the form of Joseph Joestar, great villains (Particularly Wamuu) and better, more creative fights.

Honestly this whole arc was just a blast. It was full of great tension, brilliant action scenes and great animation, the supporting cast was better utilized for the most part and there was a good group dynamic between the major characters, the stakes kept getting higher, and yeah, it felt like a truly "Bizzare" adventure. And all the while feeling like a natural extension of the story started in Phantom Blood.

I'm really struggling to find any weak points to this arc, other than it felt awkward that one of the supporting protagonists was a nazi soldier and he was more or less one of the good guys. I mean, Von Stroheim was an entertaining character sure, but I honestly just feel uncomfortable with the idea for a number of reasons. The stupid political climate we're in right now probably isn't helping with that though.

But other than that tidbit, the show was fantastic. I don't really want to say too much and risk spoiling anything, just go watch it yourself if you haven't seen it or go watch Super Eyepatch Wolf's video about the series on YouTube, he does it much more justice than I ever could.

Needless to say though, I'm now a Jojo fan. I think I might wait until the dub for Stardust Crusaders is done or at least further ahead before starting that series, since I have some other shows to be watching right now, but it's something I really look forward to.

I also got a hold of the third DVD set for One Piece, taking me up to episode 78 of the series. This is where things got interesting for me, since the 4Kids dub I watched as a kid cut out a lot of stuff around the crew actually reaching the grandline and just after it, which I was aware of going in, and I really don't remember much of what happened after the Straw Hats reached the Grand Line and before they got to Alabasta, or at least before Trace (Aka Ace, what was up with that change?) showed up. I remember my watching the show was a bit more erratic at the time since I kept missing episodes and having to make sense of what was going on at several points while waiting for the episodes I missed to re-air.

Needless to say I'm not fully sure what to expect going forward whereas I knew almost everything that was going to happen to most of the episodes of One Piece I'd seen before. And I had no idea about what happens in most of these episodes I just watched, so this was a relatively fresh experience. And overall, while I don't think a lot of these arcs were as good as anything between the arc introducing Usopp and the Arlong arc, they were all good in their own right, and I'm sorry some of this stuff got cut by 4Kids. The Warship Island arc was a surprisngly good filler arc with a likeable new character in the form of Apis, and a really great conclusion that I didn't see coming. Pretty fun and moving, honestly above the standards of what I usually expect from a filler arc. The stuff with Laboon the giant whale was pretty good too (Though, any story that lets me look at a flashback involving an adorable baby whale is automatically going to be good in my mind). And the last several episodes involving the giants had some really great conflict and action.

So, yeah. For a set of episodes where I was really unsure what to expect going in, I had a pretty good time watching all of this, and I look forward to more One Piece episodes whenever I get my hands on the fourth DVD collection.

And rounding things up as far as anime shows go, I also watched the first 13 episodes of the series Tenchi Universe.

I have had a weird experience watching Tenchi stuff. I remember watching Tenchi related shows as a kid, but my memory is really hazy and I only remembered bits and pieces, like Ryoko arriving on earth being chased by someone in a big robot suit (Which I thought was Ayeka for a while for some reason, but when actually watching the first episode of universe it was Mihoshi... I seriously wonder what wires got crossed in my head to make me think that was the case for all these years whenever the Tenchi series crossed my mind), and a moment at the end of episode 8 with Ryo-ohki.

But, after looking into the Tenchi franchise further and plot synopsis for the series and clips, I realize that as a kid I also watched a few episodes of Tenchi in Tokyo. So, for years I guess I basically thought Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo were the same show, and since I had so few memories of anything Tenchi related, I didn't realize until just recently.

Yeah, this has been a weird experience for me. But not one I regret. So, bits of weirdness aside, what did I think of Tenchi Universe?

Kinda meh so far to be honest. On the one hand, the plot is a lot less clunky and better handled in places that the ova series. But on the other... I think some of the charm of the ovas was lost in the transition to tv. Mainly because some of the characters, mainly Ryoko and Ayeka, don't feel as endearing or likeable as they were there. Most of the cast is fine, but a few of the changes to motivation and personality felt weaker than their original selves, Ryoko and Ayeka's bickering certainly comes off as more annoying and less creative than it could be in the ova's. Though I guess Kiyone was a good addition, though her being glad in her debut about the possibility Mihoshi was dead did bug me for a bit. Yeah I understand that Mihoshi could be a very frustrating person for anyone to have to put up with, but come on now.

The show could be hit or miss. Most of them are entertaining, a few of them were great like episode 9 though some like episode 8 felt a bit lacking. The Time and Space Adventures arc espeically felt very hit and miss and wasn't really as interesting as I thought it would have been, and I was honestly glad it didn't last too long.

Honestly as a whole, I'll say it's not bad, but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the experience so far. I hear the second half of the show is really good though, so I'll get around to finishing that as soon as I can and give my final thoughts next month. So far though, while it has some things over the OVA's which have a number of flaws, I think I still enjoy the original story more.

Now, getting around to the anime movies I watched this month, first we have the first film in the Digimon Adventure Tri series, Reunions. I really loved Digimon growing up, admittedly I always prefered Tamers as my favourite series, but the original series is what I watched first like many people and it holds a special place in my heart as one of my first anime. I actually recently re-watched the whole series since it finally came out on a full season DVD set here in the UK, and while some parts show their age I honestly think the show still holds up decently well. At the least, I still love it.

So, you'd imagine I'd have gotten around to watching these movies sooner right? Well, I thought about it, but honestly I always much prefer watching my anime dubbed whenever I can help it, so I've been waiting a while now for the UK DVD releases of the films to make a start on the series. The first film only very recently came out here.

Ah well, better late than never. So, what do I think of the movie.

Well, it's a pretty decent start to a film series all things considered. Though admittedly not great, it’s a really slow start. But I attribute that to it being the first in the series and having to re-introduce all the characters and their current situations, and set up the plot. In which case, it did a... mostly good job. Everyone was still pretty likeable and mostly how I'd expect them to act at this point (Except Izzy apparently having a crush on Mimi now. That I don't know where it came from), and while it doesn't feel like all that much really happened, it was still pretty fun seeing everyone again and I am interested to see where everything is going.

The animation was mostly pretty good, though the fights themselves all felt a little too short and generic for me. Though hey, this is Digimon, I kind of expect that. The action alone isn't what makes the show fun and worth investing in, character stuff was always more important and the film still seems to focus on that. Though admittedly even if I wish the final fight had gone on longer, Agumon and Gabumon shifting through all of their digivolutions before becoming Omnimon was pretty darn awesome.

I do have some complaints. Like, Tai apparently having some kind of PTSD, or some other trauma in regards to all the destruction caused by Digimon battles felt poorly handled. I dunno, watching him in the original series again recently and with how he was in 02, his suddenly being afraid to have agumon get involved in the final fight felt a bit contrived to me. I could have bought it if the movie actually explored Tai's mental state more and did something interesting with it, but apart from the frequent flashing back to the same rubble over and over again it only seemed to have been done as a convenient excuse to keep him and Matt from merging their Digimon into Omnimon straight away and cutting the battle with Alphamon short. Maybe the other movies explore it more and handle the idea better, but it felt half hearted here.

Also, from what I've heard the apparent decimation of the 02 cast in the opening apparently goes about as unnadressed in most of the next few movies as it does in this one. Soooo... yeah. What the heck Toei!?

If you want to know how I feel about Meiko, the new digidestined... I have no opinion. She barely appeared in the film and did nothing but have her partner be chased after by Alphamon, so I'm just going to see how she plays out in the next movie. Fanfictionny as it sounds though I am on board with another Digidestined, especially if it means one more girl on the team, just so long as she's a worthwhile addition.

So, yeah, pretty good start, fun bit of nostalgia though nothing really special yet. Though certainly better than the frankenstein's monster of a movie cobbled together from short films they tried to sell us last decade. I am interested in seeing where things go from here, though things could go either way with whether I enjoy the other films or not.

Next up we have another Naruto entry, Naruto Shippuden 3: The Will of Fire. I'm going to keep this one short because, honestly, I don't feel like I have a lot to say about it. he story was decent, I like how all of the Konoha 11 got at least one cool moment and a chance to be useful in this movie, some jokes were funny, the story was decently told and I didn't find it too preachy like so people did, probably because I do try as hard as I can to remain an optimist, the action was good, and the ending was a lazy cop-out followed by a dumb joke. Still an enjoyable movie, glad I saw it, but it could have been more and that bit of laziness really hurt the film.

And rounding it all up, I also finally got around to watching a film I ordered the DVD to a month or two ago but never got around to watching until three weeks back. The critically acclaimed 5 Centimetres per second... and it was boring. Like... really, really boring. I can't remember the last time I was so uninterested in something boring.

I mean, I don't know, maybe I'm just not the type of person this movie was made for and if people like it, okay, fair enough. But this entire thing felt like a pointless waste of 60 minutes. The whole thing was just an hour of these boring characters pining over people they like and moping about "Oh, we can't be together" because they're either too afraid to spit it out, or for other reasons I don't care about.

No, I don't care if it's "Atmospheric" or whatever. Nice animation and cinematography alone do not a good movie make. I didn't care about any of these characters, the story was boring, almost nothing here was interesting, and it all just felt pointless by the end of it like absolutely nothing was accomplished at all in the whole film.

And it's not that I don't get a lot of the things it was trying to do, I do have an idea. But the problem is, I don't care, because it wasn't entertaining and I kept thinking that my time could have been better spent watching a Miyazaki movie instead.

Maybe it is just me. If you like the film or see it's merits better than I did, good for you. But personally, I was just glad when it was over and I don't plan to go back to this movie for a long, long time.

And, well, that about covers it I think. Again, sorry this update was so late and if I didn't go into as much detail as I could have about some things, I was rushing. Either way, it was an interesting month for me, with a lot of different experiences. Hopefully I'll have another month as productive as this one soon. Anyway, if you read all this then thank you very much. As always, please leave whatever suggestions you can for the list below and i'll see you all again with another update at the end of the month this time, hopefully.

Series:

Mobile Suit Gundam

Cowboy Bebop

Digimon Frontier

Digimon Data Squad

Digimon Fusion

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal

Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V

Sailor Moon (Watched the entire first season and was about halfway through season 2. Should really get back to watching the full series)

Sailor Moon Crystal

Yu Yu Hakusho (Up to episode 94)

Ranma 1 ½

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Jojo’s bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

One Piece (Up to episode 78)

Bleach (Up to episode 20)

Astro Boy (Any series. I just want to be able to say I’ve watched something from this franchise).

Kill La Kill

Gurren Lagann

Fairy Tail (Up to episode 203)

Little Witch Academia

Tenchi Universe (Up to episode 13)

Death Note

Yuri On Ice

Fist of the North Star

Code Geass

Food Wars: Shokugeki No Soma (I watched about 9 episode, need to catch up)

Your Lie in April

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Mob Psycho 100

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Phoenix Wright anime

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Natsume’s Book of Friends

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Eureka 7

Black Cat

Black Shooter Rock

Gunbuster

Afro Samurai

Space Dandy

Vision of Escaflowne

magical girl lyrical nanoha

Shin Sekai Yori

Baccano

Cyborg 009

Gaogaigar

Danganronpa

Yo-Kai Watch

Pretty Cure

Future Boy Conan

Yona of the Dawn

WataMote

Space Patrol Luluco

Rurouni Kenshin

Steam Detectives

Death Parade

Movies:

Your Name

Garden of Words

Paprika

Tokyo Godfathers

The Boy and the Beast

Millenium Actress

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro

The Digimon Adventure Tri Movies (Watched the first one)

Yu-Gi-Oh: The Dark Side of Dimensions

Pokémon: Genesect and the Legend awakened

Pokémon: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction

Pokémon: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel

Pokémon: I Choose You

Ghost In The Shell

Memories

Perfect Blue

Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

Naruto Shuppuden: Bonds

Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower

Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison

Naruto: Road to Ninja

Boruto Movie

Fairy Tail the movie: Dragon Cry

Godzilla: Monster Planet

Mary and the Witch’s Flower

Princess Arete

Tekkonkinkreet

#Outlaw Star #soul eater #bleach #jojo's bizarre adventure #one piece #tenchi universe #digimon adventure tri #Naruto shippuden #5 centimeters per second #anime

[elliotthezubat]

DEATH CITY DAYS CHAPTER 26

things are sure lively for the dokeshi house, eh?

Black Star: *passing out breakfast orders* liz: yum! Patty: "So hungry--" *bites into her breakfast burrito* "Mmm~" takeru: *enjoying his hashbrowns* Izuku: *having yogurt with fruit and a bagel* -on the road again- Patty: "But Roswell would be so much fun to go to--" Kid, Black Star, Izuku: "NO!" -back home in death city- Yumi: *holding Shiori* shiori: mama! lord death: *phone rings* oh! we got a video chat from kid! Kid: *on video* "Hello? Father?" lord death: hey kiddo~ shiori: kid! kid! *bouncing with excitement* Kid: *waves* "Shiori! Hello!" Yumi: *smiles* shiori: hehe! kirika:........ Kid: *waves* "Hello, Mother, Kirika." kirika: 7-7; how's the trip, nerd? Kid: *small friendly smirk* "Alright. Heading back and trying to figure out whether there are any stops we want to make along the way." lord death: ah...*he nods* Kid: "Were there any souvenirs you wanted while we were on our way back? We should be back in Dallas soon." -elsewhere- Photographer: "Hibana, turn this way! Who's that with you?" Hibana: "My assistant, Gabriella!" gabriella: *waves* hello. Photographer: "Those are wonderful dresses, ladies! So, why bring your assistant and not a date, Hibana?" Hibana: *smirks* "A smart woman keeps her best colleague by her side, dear~" gabriella: >////////< -at the 8th- Arthur: *trying to fix his hair* shinra: you look fine man. Arthur: "...What if she doesn't like it?" shinra: well...... shinra: she didnt have any problem with your hair before, did she? Arthur: "Not that I remember...Maybe she just didn't want to say..." shinra: *multi slap-pap attack* get a damn hold of yourself! Arthur: "Ahh! Okay, okay! I'm calmed! I'm relaxed! I'm--" tamaki: hey! Arthur: o\\\\\o "...Hey." tamaki: sooooo, you ready? Arthur: -\\\\- ("So cute...") *nods* "Yep! Ready!" tamaki: neat. -and so- Arthur: *walking with her to the restaurant* "You haven't eaten here before, have you?" tamaki: no, not really. *looking at the sign that says 'Ippudo ramen'* Arthur: "It's really good ramen--not too expensive, either." tamaki: neat. Arthur: *pushes the curtain back to let Tamaki enter* tamaki: *sniff* wow. smells nice. Arthur: "Tastes even better." *points to two seats* -elsewhere- Yohei: "How's work treating you two?" mono:....alright. kepuri: just great! Yohei: "That's good, Kepuri." *glances at Mono* "Something wrong at work?" mono: i'm doing fine, shut up! stupid yohei! *goes to her room* Yohei: "...Well, my confidence in my parenting skills just got bruised." chie:...*pats his back* Yohei: *nods to Chie* -elsewhere- Spirit: "How are you and Christa holding up?" marie: doing well. *she smiles* christa: *playing with blocks* Spirit: *nods* "We were lucky Kami was here..." marie: yeah.... Spirit: "And I wanted to thank you for taking Sachiko out--it meant a lot to her." marie: of course. it was nice to get out and enjoy our time together. *she smiles* Spirit: *smiles, looks at Christa* "So, is Christa spelling complicated words yet?" -the blocks spell 'meow'- Spirit: "Hee hee...What animal goes 'meow,' Christa?" christa: kiddy! Spirit: "Kitty! 'Meow, meow'?" *pretends to paw like a cat* christa: hehehe! Spirit: *sighs happily* ("...Maka...") marie: *smiles* Spirit: *wipes his face a bit* christa:....?? Spirit: *wiping away a few tears* -elsewhere- Hibana: *wiping tears from her eyes while watching the film* gabriella: QwQ Hibana: *pulls tissues out from her purse, passes one to Gabriella* gabriella: my emotiooooons.... Hibana: "Yeah...This film..." *holds Gabriella's hand* gabriella: *blush* Hibana: *sniffs, still wiping tears, clutching Gabriella's hand for some security* -elsewhere- Tuhl: *asleep, with Io still awake in his arms* io: buu? Tuhl: *snore* io:............zzzzzzzzz Tuhl: *in his sleep, instinctively holds Io carefully as he is lying in his bed* saki:.......*she smiles* Shotaro: *hands Saki her smartphone* saki: *takes a pic* thank you. Shotaro: *nods* -elsewhere- grunt: *knocks on the door* lord emine? i heard a noise, is everything ok? Emine: "ROAR!" grunt: o-o;;;;; -blood seeps from under the door- grunt: O_O;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Emine: *wail of pain* -a brutally mangled body of....some grunt...lay splattered on the ground- Emine: *huffing, grunting* grunt: s....sir? Emine: *inhuman growl* "Hunger...souls..." grunt: *gulps and dials* Emine: *shudders, clutching himself, pulling at his clothes* lin: *over the phone* emine?! are you alright?! Emine: "Lin...Help..." Emine: "Hunger...Fear...Souls...Cold..." *rips at his clothes, tearing them off himself* lin: *tearing up* lin:....*humming a soft melody* Emine: "..." *starts crying* lin: *still humming* Emine: *collapsing, sobbing...slowly falls asleep* lin:........ Emine: *deep breathing in his sleep* lin:.....rest well..... Emine: "Zzz..." -elsewhere- Black Star: "Dallas just isn't as interesting the second time, but at least the hotel should be good." liz: yeah. Kid: "This hotel should be enjoyable: pool, spa, arcade..." stocking: *looks around* Izuku: "Anyone up for the arcade?" soul: sure. mina: heck yeah! Black Star: "Beat all ya all at those games!" Patty: *tugging on Liz's hand* "Spa! Spa!" tsuyu: yeah, i could use a nice soak. Ochako: "Sounds fun!" -elsewhere- NoFix: "Hey, Death City is only a few miles away!" mimeca: *claps* NoFix: "Yeah, now to ditch this vehicle and get new wheels. This car's kind of hippie-ish now." mimeca: *nods* Sunflower: x_____x NoFix: "Man...Whoever gets this car next is going to need a ton of those pine tree air fresheners to clean the dead hippie smell out." mimeca: Xp NoFix: *points to a parking lot* "We'll pull in here and trade cars..." mimeca: *nods* *In the parking lot* NoFix: "I think we need something big..." mimeca: *points to one* NoFix: *shiny eyes* "Yeeeeeeeeees..." mimeca: *griiiins* NoFix: *spins along the door to open it* "Now, just to hotwire with some powers of spin, and we are back on the road!" mimeca: ^o^ *Engine starts up* NoFix: "Woot! We are going!" *peels out of the parking lot* -elsewhere- Hibana: *at the after-party, hands a drink to Gabriella* "That was sadder than I was expecting..." gabriella: at least the food is yummy.... q-q Hibana: *sniff* "Yes. Very rich food." *smiles lightly* "It was a good film, and at least the couple had a happy ending." gabriella: i knoooow qwq Hibana: "Man, when they finally kissed--phew! That was cathartic!" -elsewhere- Arthur: "Hmm...That was satisfying." tamaki: *she smiles* Arthur: "Don't suppose you wanted dessert here or elsewhere?" tamaki:....sure. Arthur: *pulls out the menu* "Hmm..." *shiny eyes, shows her a photo of the menu* "Check this out--cat eclairs!" *Someone enters the restaurant* tamaki: o///.///o Arthur: 'Want the cat eclairs? I think they look cute~" tamaki: well- ???: *waves at Tamaki, but he is right behind Arthur* Arthur: "???" tamaki: O.O;;;;;;; Aoyama: "Bon jour, chaton!~" Arthur: >-< "No..." tamaki: um....hi.... *meek wave* Aoyama: "Hello yourself. Is this seat taken?" *sits down beside Arthur* "Oh, hello! You are the boy who was standing with no pants outside the hospital, oui?" Arthur: "...My name is Arthur. I have a name." tamaki: hi...aoyama....*sweats* Aoyama: "Fancy meeting you here, mon cheri. How have you been?" *leans across the table and stares intently at her* Arthur: ⊙·⊙ tamaki: doing good.....you? Aoyama: "Quite well! Have you not read my social media page?" *holds his phone up to her* Arthur: *small growl* tamaki: wow..... Aoyama: "Yes! I managed to get one million notes in one hour! Most of them positive!" *flips through multiple photographs of him posing around town, including shots of him in swim trunks at the pool* Arthur: ಠ益ಠ tamaki: ^^;;;; Aoyama: "Have you finished your meal, Tamaki? I was just here to get take-out--" Arthur: *DEATH GLARE* Aoyama: "--and I could dine with you." *reaches out and holds her hand* tamaki: um....*sweating* Arthur: "We already had dinner, thank you." Aoyama: "Oh...Who are you again?" Arthur: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I JUST INTRODUCED MYSELF--AGAIN! THE BOY WHO WAS STANDING WITH NO PANTS OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL!" tamaki: he's arthur boyle....one of my brigade members at the 8th. Arthur: *nods vigorously* Aoyama: "Ah...Tell me, Tamaki, is he your boyfriend?" tamaki: e-eh?! O/////O Arthur: .\\\\\\. "We-we-we--" tamaki: *cat ears* >////////< Aoyama: " 'Oui'? Oh, my...I did not realize I was dating someone who was already dating another man." *places his hands to his cheeks, blushes, squirms* "How scandalous!" tamaki:.....wat? Aoyama: "If I had known that, I would have asked differently when going out with you. I'm sorry--I should have been more upfront. So, is this an open relationship?" Arthur: *muttering into his hands* "I just wanted to have dinner with her..." tamaki:...................................................what? Aoyama: "An open relationship. You know, where two people agree that they are allowed to date other individuals." *looks up and down at Arthur* tamaki:............excuse me for a second. *goes outside to scream for a whole 5 minutes* Arthur: D: Aoyama: "She is quite the screamer~" Arthur: *puts money down on the table, exits* "Tamaki! I'm so sorry about--" Aoyama: *pops up in between him and Tamaki, holding a saucer of tea* "Here, this will help ease your throat." tamaki:.....um.....is there anything in this?! Arthur: "Yes. Is there?" *cracking his knuckles* Aoyama: *giggles* "Just lemon and honey, the way to help a throat after loud screaming." tamaki:.......... -later- tamaki: .//////////////////.;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Iris: ._____. "Wow." shinra: tamaki, you ok- -STOMACH PUNCH- shinra: *collapses* whyyyyy???!! Iris: D: Iris: "Tamaki! That was incredibly cruel!" *helps Shinra up* nozomi: m-miss tamaki..... tamaki: im going to take a shower. NO ONE. FOLLOW ME. Iris: "..." *looks at Nozomi* "Maybe, you know, go talk with her? I'll tend to Shinra's abdominal pain." nozomi: i-i could try..... -elsewhere- Hibana: *rubbing her feet while sitting on a bed in her hotel room* "Jeez, Gab, I did not know you could dance like that." gabriella: i didnt even think that kind of dancing was allowed at fancy parties..... Hibana: *smile* "You'd be surprised what happens at fancy parties...I had a lot of fun, though! You are really good." gabriella: thank you. Hibana: "Now I know to bring you more often when I go clubbing." *stretches* "The photoshoot is tomorrow, yes?" -elsewhere- Izuku: "Huh. New high score--" Black Star: "This machine is fixed! The buttons were stuck! I demand a rematch!" Izuku: -_-; "We've played 20 rounds..." -winner!- mina: great job ochako! Ochako: "Yay! Thanks!" tsuyu: *claps* Black Star: "HOW DARE YOU DO BETTER AT ME IN A DIFFERENT GAME! FIGHT ME!" tsubaki: easy now. Ochako: "...Okay! Air hockey?" Black Star: "YOU'RE ON!" Ochako: *devious smirk* Izuku: "!!!" *jots notes in his notebook* stocking: *watching* *ROUND 1* Black Star: "Ha!" *slams the puck* Ochako: *effortlessly blocks, knocking the puck at the right angle to sail directly into Black Star's goal* Black Star: o_o Ochako: "I know angles and gravity, Black Star..." Black Star: "...I'm gonna lose badly, aren't I?" soul:........yuuuuup stocking: i recommend padding. that way your ego isnt _too_ bruised. Black Star: *growls* *Ochako beats him 4 to 0* tsubaki: *back pats* Black Star: T_T "Damn it..." -elsewhere- Gopher: "...What does one do to be a good big brother?" eibon: hmm? well, i cant really say for sure...i didnt really have any siblings of my own. Gopher: "...She got really hurt by N--...That monster." eibon:......the best we can do is look after her and make her feel welcome and safe. Gopher: *nods* "I also think it is important to introduce her to other people--gradually." eibon:...*he nods* perhaps enrolling her into the academy might work? Gopher: "I think so..." -elsewhere- Giriko: "How was the doctor's appointment?" arachne: it went well. *she smiles* Giriko: "Good." *sets some papers aside on the dining table* "I'll start dinner." *hugs her* -elsewhere- Iris: "How is she?" nozomi: she seems rather flustered....but i think she'll be ok Iris: *nods* "I don't envy her. As awful as Arthur's experiences are, it's not fair to Tamaki to put her under that pressure. And...that Aoyama guy is rather forward." nozomi: y-yeah.....*awkward blushing* Iris: "Nozomi, maybe we can do something for Tamaki? Like a girls' night? Some movies, snacks..." nozomi: that sounds- nayumi: that sounds great! Iris: *smiles* "Great!" sayu: yay! Iris: "Maki, how does that sound?" maki: *she nods* Iris: "I'll put together the shopping list and assign who picks up what." -elsewhere- Patty: *satisfied sigh* "That spa is so good!" liz: yeah. *streeetch* stocking: *nods* Patty: "Can't wait to lie down and sleep on clean sheets in a comfy bed~" tsubaki: yeah. Patty: *looks around, whispers* "I made sure Stein would be distracted, so the room arrangements should please everyone~" stocking:....*grins* liz:...oh. tsubaki: o////o Patty: "Heh heh heh..." *Knock knock* liz: hmm? Ochako: *opens the door* "S'up!" *holds up basket* "We got food!" stocking: neat! Ochako: "Fancy cheeses, chocolates, drinks--" Patty: *opens bottle of fancy soda* "Neat!" -elsewhere- soul: *listening to his MP3 player* Stein: *asleep in bed* soul:........*dozes off* ???: "Soul?" soul: *he smiles* hey maka *hug* Maka: *hug* "It's good to see you." *pulls back, but still holding his hands* "How are you holding up?" soul: pretty well....we're heading back from our trip to new orleans. -he tells her about all that had happened since last time they spoke- Maka: "Wow...That's a lot happening...Kid and Stocking are okay?" soul: yeah. alright and closer than ever... Maka: "..." *brushes hair over her ear* soul:........*hug* its not fair maka....... Maka: *holds Soul, bringing his head down to rest in her lap, strokes his head* "We can't change the past...But..." soul: you should have been able to have those experiences too.... Maka: "Soul..." *continues stroking his head* "Do you remember when we kissed here?" soul: *blush* y-yeah, of course i- Maka: *she lifts him up to her eye level* "..." *brushes her lips along his cheeks, then pulls back* soul: o///////o Maka: *blushing* "If I had lived...would you...would you have..." soul:....?? Maka: "Would you have wanted someone like me as your girlfriend...to..." soul:....um.... .//////. Maka: *small pout, blushing* "Yeah, I thought so." soul:....*leans in and hugs her* Maka: "!!! ..." *returns the hug* "I wish I was with you. Not just here..." -morning- Stein: "Get up." soul: mmmmn..... Stein: "Soul?" *pulls blanket off of him* "Get up." soul: *muttering* Stein: *leans down, whispers in his ear* "Stop touching yourself and get in the shower." soul: GAAAH!!! Stein: "Good, you're awake. Now get showered and dressed--breakfast is in 20 minutes." soul:....*shudders* -back on the road- soul: .__________________.;;; Stein: "We're driving all day with stops to Roswell, then to...'Truth or Consequences'? What?" Kid: "Oh? Truth or Consequences is known for its hot springs and spas." stocking: neat. Patty: "Yay! Hot springs, hot springs!" Stein: "Fine. We stop at Roswell tonight, arrive at Truth or Consequences the next day." Black Star: "With a stop for food, though!" -elsewhere- Photographer: "Smile!" Hibana: -_-; "I am not feeling this outfit." -elsewhere- mono:.............*walking home* *Someone running towards her from the other end of the street* ???: "Got to get back! Have to hurry!" mono: ??? Ashi: "I forgot I had to--" *spots Mono, runs by her--then trips* mono: *wince* oooh.... Ashi: *springs back up, upright* "Hello! I was running and fell!" mono:......at least your glasses didnt break. Ashi: *blushes, smiles, scratches the back of his head* "Well, these A-Plus Glasses are durable! Can handle anything! In fact, when Zuno would hit me, he--" *stops...looks sad* mono:....?? Ashi: "Um...An old friend." mono:...................... Ashi: "...He got hurt. Badly." mono:................ Ashi: *shakes his fist* "It's why...I don't want those Fear Factory bastards to hurt anyone else." mono:.....................even dokeshi hunt? Ashi: "??? Dokeshi Hunt?" *shakes his head* "I've seen Dokeshi Hunt hurt Dokeshi, and Fear Factory hurt humans. I don't want to see anyone hurt, human, Dokeshi, or otherwise." mono:........... -screams could be heard- Ashi: "?!!! What's that?!" mono: *arms herself and goes to check it out*......... !!!!!!! *she is frozen in place* ....... Ashi: *doesn't get there until quite a bit after her, struggling to catch his breath* "Wh-What is--What is--?" mono:.......*trembling* .....y......you...... *wide eyes, shrunkin pupils....tearing up* -several random people lay dead and bloodied around two figures- Ashi: D: "Oh my God..." *fumbles for his phone* mimeca: ~?? NoFix: "...Dude, why are your socks all different and a-symmetry or something?" mono: ........... *she screams and charges at him with her knife* NoFix: *lets her stab him* mono: ......*her eyes are shut tightly* NoFix: "Ah, that tickles!" *pulls the knife out--and jabs it into his head* mono: *horrified* ........ -her fearful expression.....it almost looks familiar....- NoFix: *looks down at her* "Hey...Is it the brain damage talking, or didn't I kill someone who looks just like you? Or two people who kind of looked like you?" mono: ..... *trying to fight back* i-i'll kill you!....i-i wont ever forgive you! y-you.....you murderer! NoFix: *pulls out knife, tosses it back to her* "I've killed a lot of people, so you're going to have to be more specific." *glances at Ashi* Ashi: "!!!" *scuttles to the side, trying to get out of view...* mono: you....you killed my parents, you monster!! NoFix: "...Do you realize how many people that could apply to? Mimeca, what's my kill count up to?" mimeca: ........*shrug* Ashi: *on phone* "Hello?! We got a problem! It's him! NoFix!" mono: i wont.....i wont let you hurt anyone else! even though i joined dokeshi hunt.....the only dokeshi truly wanted dead....the one i want to kill is you! NoFix: "..." *smirks, holds out his arms* "Ah, you sound just like Ho-Yay Yohei! Come at me, bro! I'll give you a fighting chance..." mono: *picks her knife back up and charges again* NoFix: *doesn't move* Ashi: (on phone) "Please! Hurry!" mono: just go down!! mimeca: *kicks her into the wall* >Xp NoFix: "..." *giggling* "Nice one, Mimeca!" Ashi: *watching Mono, whispering* "Get back! NoFix is a madman!" NoFix: *ear twitch* mono: *struggling to get up* mimeca: *takes the form of yohei and pins her to the wall by the neck with a gun to her head* >:) NoFix: "I'm getting bored with this. Mimeca, make it painful for her." Ashi: "N-No!" *runs at NoFix, punches--and it does nothing* NoFix: *unimpressed* "Nice glasses, ass." Ashi: " 'Ash--'" *PUNCH* NoFix: *seizes Ashi's glasses, having just punched him so hard he broke his nose and knocked him to the floor* mono: stop it! Ashi: *screaming, clutching his face* mimeca: *pistol-whips her across the face and grins* NoFix: *smirks, as he marches to Ashi--and stomps on his chest* Ashi: *crying loudly* NoFix: "I should cut your fucking balls off, you waste of a boy! In fact, I think I'll do that..." mono: !!!!! Ashi: *crying* NoFix: *hand moves down to Ashi's testicles, and--" *FLASH* mono: ?! NoFix: *his arm is sliced off* mimeca: ?? *wind passes by Mono, as a fist repeatedly slams into Mimeca's torso, legs, and head* mimeca: X3X *Momo is picked up in someone's arms* NoFix: "...You fuckers..." Tuhl: *still near NoFix, blade to his neck* Shotaro: *holding Mono* mono: eh....p-put me down! stupid dokeshi! mana: 7-7; Shotaro: *furious frown at NoFix* "Mana, get ready to run..." NoFix: "..." *sneer, as his arm is growing back--* mana: *preparing stance* Tuhl: *slices off NoFix's head* "Run now!" Shotaro: *tosses Mono to Mana* mana: kepuri! kepuri: on it! *grabs mono and exits* NoFix: *headless, swings fists at Tuhl, connecting* Tuhl: "Ah!" Shotaro: "Mana! Go for chest, I'll get the legs!" mana: *she charges in* Yohei: *on a nearby rooftop* "Saki, percentage of the projectile's charge?" saki: *she nods* Yohei: "Okay...Hold it steady..." *looks through the scope at NoFix's headless body swinging at Tuhl, Shotaro, and Mana* Shotaro: *goomba stomp on NoFix* NoFix's body: grabs Mana's ankle* mana: *kicks with the other foot* Yohei: *on radio to the trio* "Get away from him, now!" Shotaro: "Bone of the Mantis!" *bites down on a mantis' claw, causing him to grow a claw that slices off NoFix's hand, then he grabs Mana* Tuhl: *leaps back, wraps chain around Shotaro, and pulls him and Mana back* NoFix's headless body: "?!!!" Yohei: "Now, Saki! Fire!" saki: sayonara motherfucker. *FIRES HER LAZER* Yohei: *fires the gun* NoFix's body: *tenses, sweatdrops--* *KA-BOOM!* mimeca: D8 Yohei: "Okay...We got him..." NoFix's head: "Oh, fuck no!" Yohei: o____o NoFix's head: "Mimeca! Throw me at them! I'm going to bite their kneecaps off!" mimeca: *toss!* Yohei: "Aw, craaaaaaap--" NoFix's head: *collides into Yohei's face--and his tongue whips along his face* Yohei: D: D: D: saki: *picks up the head and stares it in the eyes, completely poker faced* NoFix: "...Oh! Sweet cheeks! How ya doin'?" Yohei: *pouring hand sanitizer all over his face* saki: *punch....punch....punchpunchpunchpunchpunchpunchpunchpunchpunchpunch* NoFix: "Aw! Fuck! Shit! Bitch! Cunt! Cock! Crap! Pussy fuck asshole motherfucker shit stop that! I'll fuck--Ow! Fuck! Fuck! Stop--Ow! Ow! Ow!" Yohei: "..." *sits back* *One of NoFix's teeth flies and lands by Yohei, who calmly crushes it and then lights it on fire to kill the skin cells* saki: *poker face* whats wrong, i thought you liked it rough~? ^^# NoFix: "...Ha! That is a good one! How 'bout you slip me into your pants, and I can go d--" -PUNCH- saki: *poker faced* NoFix: *spits out his teeth* "So...How's our baby?" saki: *punching resumes* dont. you. DARE. mention my child... NoFix: "_Our_ child--" saki: *punching intensifies* NoFix: "Shit! She's for real! Yohei! Save me!" Yohei: "..." NoFix: "Yohei?!!!" Yohei: "I'm thinking. I thought about it. And no. Go die." NoFix: o_O "Fuuuuuuuck..." saki: *gun arm in nofix' mouth* ..... Yohei: "..." *smirks* NoFix: *sweating* ("This would be so hot right now if I didn't think she could actually kill me before I can finish regenerating...") saki: *gattling gun mode* -RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA- NoFix: *blood splurting, chunks of flesh flying off* "AAAAAAH!!!" Tuhl: *holding down Mimeca, notices Saki's gunfire* "Jeez, no kill like overkill..." saki: i can give you some thanks for giving me these robotic implementations....and thank _you_ yohei for giving me the upgrades ^^ Yohei: *salute* NoFix: "I LOVED YOU BOTH, AND THIS IS HOW YOU FUCKERS REPAY ME?!" Yohei: *snaps* "LOVE?! YOU CALL WHAT YOU DID 'LOVE'?! Saki! Fucking kill him!" -something dark emerges and grabs the head- Yohei: "?!" -the dark arm slams nofix's head into the floor.....at rapid pace- Yohei: o__O -the watch beeps- chie: *on the watch screen* can i watch? no pun intended. *she's holding baby io in a baby carrier* Yohei: o____o *turns watch to face the action* NoFix: *sees Io on screen* "B-Baby?" io:....... NoFix: "..." *growls--and bites through the dark arm* "NO!" io: .........Q-Q *she starts crying* chie: *slams hims into the ground with the dark arm* NoFix: "NO! YOU FUCKS JUST DON'T GET IT! My kid! My offspring! MY PROPERTY! And now I got a new mission: KILL ALL YA FUCKS AND TAKE MY CHILD FOR MY OWN!" chie: *punchpunchpunchpunchpunchpunch* saki: *shooting* NoFix: "EEEEEENOUGH!" *spontaneous blast of cells--forming some weird cancerous looking octopus monster* chie: !!!! saki: !!!! NoFix: *slams down Saki with the quivering cells* "You...You finally pushed me to the edge of my regeneration abilities...Thank you..." *sharpens cells into a blade* "Now die, bitch." Yohei: "!!!" *fires weapon again at NoFix--* *KABOOM* saki: *flinch* NoFix: *half his cancerous body is blown apart, quivering* "I will devour you..." Yohei: "Oh, just die already..." *tosses a grenade to Saki* Tuhl: *on the roof, ready to slice Saki away from NoFix* saki: *shoves the grenade in nofix's mouth* chie: *casts dark shield around yohei* Tuhl: *slices through NoFix, grabbing Saki and running back* NoFix: *gulps* "Shi--" *KABOOM KABOOM KABOOM!!!* mimeca: !!! *SPLAT* *Bits of NoFix litter everywhere* Yohei: *panting* "God..." mana: is....is he dead? Yohei: *taps his watch, getting a read* "No...the cells are still living. I already alerted DWMA clean-up team. Hopefully they contain him..." Shotaro: *administering first-aid to Mono and Ashi* Ashi: *sobbing* mono:........ *DWMA Officials arrive, clean up the remains of NoFix for quarantine, and take the injured to the hospital* -later, elsewhere- Yumi: "How bad is the damage?" official: only a few civilian deaths, but most of the deceased were crossbone gang members. Yumi: "Where in the neighborhood did it take place?" -the official points to a more...less than pleasant part of the city- Yumi: *deep sigh* "This is not good. Who is the murderer?" -the official explains the situation- Yumi: "I want to speak with the injured." official: of course ma'am! Yumi: *follows* mono:......................................... Yumi: "Hello, ma'am. I am Yumi Azusa with the DWMA." mono:.................. Yumi: "I wanted to see how you were and to ask a few questions." mono:......... Yumi: "..." *sits by her* "How are you feeling?" mono:...... Yumi: "...May I get you anything? Water? Food? Is the staff treating you well?" mono:......*staring out the window*............... Yumi: "...Okay." *removes a business card, leaves it on her chair as she stands up* "If you want to talk, I'm available to listen. Call any time..." mono:......................(thinking:........mom............dad...............) Yumi: *exits--and spots Chie and Saki* chie: how is she? Yumi: "I was hoping you could tell me: she won't say anything to me." chie:....i dont know her that well personally, but...*she looks at yohei* Yohei: "She lost her parents to that monster your team just scooped up--thanks for that, by the way. Mono...is going to need some time. And family with her." Yumi: " 'Family'?" Yohei: *arms crossed* "That's going to be us." chie:....it wont be easy... Yohei: *shakes his head* "But we got time." chie: *she smiles* Yohei: "Maybe we should talk with her now..." mono:.....what do _you_ want? Yohei: "Make sure you are okay." mono:........ *looking away, teary eyed* Yohei: "...I'm sorry." mono:..... chie: do you need a moment? Yohei: "Mono..." mono:......... Yohei: "...I know we can't replace your parents...but can we...can we help you? Be a home for you right now?" mono:..............how can i know you wont just run away again? Yohei: *small smile* "Ask these goofballs I got with me: I haven't been able to shake them off for years. Now I'm married with a kid on the way. I'm not going anywhere without them--or you." mono:.......*whimpering* Yohei: "Hey, it's okay..." mono:.....the others.........hina......kevin.....nick.....akira..... Yohei: *nods* "I still...I still have nightmares." mono:......................... Yohei: "...We have to watch out for each other, you know..." mono:....................*sniff* Yohei: "Can I have you watching my back out there, and will you let me watch your back?" mono:.....*she cries* Yohei: "Mono..." *hands her a tissue* mono: *trembling* chie:...... Yohei: "..." *moves a hand closer* -later- chie:.....*hugs him* Yohei: *holding her* "I was so scared." chie:.......*she kisses him softly* Yohei: *returns the kiss* "It's over...I hope for good." chie:.....*rubs her stomach* its going to be ok, sweetie.... Yohei: *nods, speaks to her stomach* "We're going to be here, and we can't wait to see you healthy and with us." chie: *she smiles* Yohei: *holds his wife* chie: U//////U~<3 chie: yohei? i think now might be as good a time as any to tell our families about our little bun in the oven. Yohei: *nods* "How do you think they'll react?" chie: .... -and so- papa kagehime: SAY WHAAAAAAAA?! mama kagehime: YOU BETTER NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO MY BABY! Yohei: *hiding behind Chie* chie: it's alright mom. it was our decision to have a child, and besides, we're married now, right? mama kagehime: hmmm.... papa kagehime: she does have a point... Yohei: *peeks over Chie* mama kagehime:...............yohei! you take care of my daughter and grandchild, ok~? Yohei: "Yes, ma'am! Always!" -later, when calling the nanami family- mama nanami: how wonderful! Yohei: "I'm glad to hear that, Mom." mama nanami: we're gonna be grandparents~ isnt that wonderful, hideyoshi? Yohei: ^^; Papa Nanami: "Congrats, son! You're going to do great!" Yohei: "Dad..." -\\\\- -in another room- io: *crawling* Shotaro: "...He was so creepy..." io: guuu....da.....da.... mana: hmm? io: *points to tuhl* dad! Tuhl: ^^; "...Fine, whatever, sure..." *picks up Io* "How you holding up, kiddo?" io: dad! dad! ^o^ saki: hehe~ Tuhl: "Yeah, yeah..." *bounces Io a bit* io: ^o^ Tuhl: "..." *smiles at Io* "Aren't you just so happy..." mana: *smiles* Shotaro: "Hee hee..." *flexes his arm* "Man...That was some fight..." -wind blows outside, and something sticks to the window- Shotaro: "???" -it appears to be a letter addressed to tuhl- Shotaro: *picks up the letter, hands it to Tuhl* Tuhl: "?!!! Wh-What..." *hands Io to Saki, opens the letter* -the letter reads; tuhl, i hope this letter has gotten to you safely. the winds can be unpredictable at times, at least, thats what hakuo says anyway, haha! anyway, i heard about your friend's mission to find someone important to him, and i think i know someone who could help. she's a dokeshi who can tell the exact location of a living person, but she has to see a picture of them within a year or it wont work. she should be arriving in death city sometime in the month, so keep an eye out. also, kaoli says hello. keep in touch, minato. (or in your case, mom)- Shotaro: "What's it say, Tuhl?" Tuhl: *shaking* Q_Q mana: ??? *peeeek* Tuhl: "Shotaro...Do you have a photo of Emine?" Shotaro: "...What are you...?" mana: ????? Tuhl: "You may be able to find him..." *shakes the letter* "Someone may be able to help..." Shotaro: "..." *collapses into his seat* mana: wait, what?! Tuhl: "Someone I know has written about a Dokeshi who can trace someone by photos! This could be the lead Shotaro needs!" Shotaro: "..." *shaking, covering his face* mana: for real?! Tuhl: "That's great news, right?!" Shotaro: "No..." Tuhl: "???" mana: what? Shotaro: *shakes his head* "No." *stands up, runs up to his room, slams the door shut* Tuhl: "...Okay, that's just a tease!" mana: ah-......hmmm.... -outside- kepuri: *on her laptop, making blue prints* *Yohei exits* Yohei: "What you up to?" kepuri: still working on my pet-project. Yohei: "...It's not going to kill people, is it?" kepuri: no! its more of a 'companion' bot this time...im thinking the name 'Kabumaru' Yohei: "Hmm...The design looks do-able but intricate...Good work." kepuri: thanks. it reminds me of kabuto-ranger! *shiny eyes* Yohei: *wide-eye* "You watch Kabuto Ranger?" kepuri: *blush* a-as a kid yeah. my sister kokona always preferred 'Magical Ribbon, Pinky Heart', but eh. Yohei: *awkward blush* "Do you...remember the theme song?" kepuri: *looks around and plays the song on her laptop* Yohei: *goofy childlike grin as he starts singing along* kepuri: blue beetle punch!! XD Yohei: "Red Beetle Kick!" kepuri: green beetle tornado spin attack! chie:....... kepuri: o-o;;; chie:....*breaks into a chuckle fit* yohei you are such a cutie. Yohei: o\\\\\\o "W-We're just being nostalgic..." chie: i think its cute. kepuri:...*blush* w-whatever, i have to work now......hmm? *she spots showtaro walking away*.....excuse me a moment. Yohei: "???" *watches Kepuri following Shotaro* "Um...Okay." Shotaro: *sees Kepuri following...looks downcast* -later, outside, it begins to rain- Shotaro: "..." *shaking* ???: there you are..........kyokotsu... Shotaro: "!!!" *turns around, looking* "Wh-What?!" akaderu: .........*eating a red apple* Shotaro: *backs away* ("I'm getting a bad feeling going through my bones looking at this guy...") akaderu: so you can gain animal abilities by biting bones, eh? well kid..........i've got a bone to pick with _you_. Shotaro: "..." *frowns, fighting pose* akaderu: *smirk* jeez, whats biting you, kiddo? get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?...... Shotaro: "Who are you?! Why do you look all evil and like you're wanting to fight me?!!" akaderu: you should know why.....you say you do good deeds, right kid?......you know murder isnt a good deed, right? Shotaro: "??!! What do you mean?" akaderu: *dry chuckle* listen kid....in any other circumstance, i wouldnt even waste my time with a brat like you.....but the thing is....you killed someone important to me.....i cant forgive that....i want you to suffer....like you made _her_ suffer..... Shotaro: "B-But I never killed any 'her'!" akaderu: ha...ha.....i know what i saw........back then at the death city robo tournament.....you goddamn monster..... Shotaro: "The Robo...Tournament..." *flashbacks to Kepuri...he starts shaking from the memories* "N-No! I didn't! I was trying to--" akaderu:...........*throws his apple to the side* enough bullshit....we're ending this. now. *pulls out a knife* Shotaro: *backs up, frowns, pulls bones from his satchel* "You're making a mistake! I didn't kill Kepuri! In fact, she's--" akaderu: *charges* do you have ANY FUCKING IDEA what she meant to me?! she was the only thing keeping me going! before i met her, i was hated and neglected. my own family only thought of me as a lazy bum, and when i became a dokeshi? they started taking all their anger and stress out on me. they reduced me to nothing more than a walking punching bag! Shotaro: *dodges* "Like I don't know what it's like to be a Dokeshi! But Kepuri is ali--" Kepuri: "?!!! Akaderu?!" akaderu: *he freezes* ......!!...*he turns* ............!!! Kepuri: "...Back away from Shotaro." akaderu:...ke....puri? -he drops the knife- Kepuri: "Yeah! And why are you trying to attack Shotaro?!" akaderu:.....but....i thought you....y-you were- Kepuri: "???" akaderu: i thought he killed you......but.... Kepuri: "Well, he didn't, as is apparent! In fact, Shotaro was trying to save me, but I..." *looks down* akaderu:....but what? *slowly walking over to her* Kepuri: "...He was trying to get me not to give up on my...my life." akaderu:........like....you did for me.....? Kepuri: "..." *nods* akaderu:........*he hugs her* im sorry......i....its my goddamn fault...........its my fault you got turned into....that thing......*he begins to cry* Kepuri: "..." *hugs* Shotaro: "...I'm so lost." \kyoukotsu; still, you brought these two back together, so....indirect good deed complete! \ Shotaro: *pout* /Yeah, I guess.../ Kepuri: *pats Akaderu's back* \kyokotsu:.....will you be ok?\ Shotaro: /I don't know...I feel weird about all this./ -later- Kepuri: "Where have you been all this time?" akaderu: around mostly....hell if i'd know.... *eating another red apple* Kepuri: *pouts* "A bit vague there...Were you just around Death City?" akaderu: yeah....i always made time to visit you........ Kepuri: o\\\\o "When I was in a coma...?" akaderu: yeah. not to be a creep or anything, just to talk to you.... Kepuri: "O-Oh! Right...The hospital let you in?" akaderu:...yeah. said i was close to you.....or _are_ close to you? Kepuri: -\\\\\- "Akaderu..." akaderu: 7///////7;;;;; Kepuri: "..." *pushes herself into his arms* akaderu: *blush* ah- Kepuri: "Just shut up..." *wraps her arms around him* "I...I want to be held for a bit." akaderu: .....*hug* sorry....im not an expert at romantic stuff....but this is nice. Kepuri: -\\\\\\- "Y-Yeah..." akaderu: .....*small smile* Kepuri: *strokes his arm* "Akaderu...Being a Dokeshi..." akaderu: hmm? Kepuri: *small smile* "There is hope...Being a Dokeshi is not so bad, when you are around people you care about...even around humans." akaderu:......heh.... Kepuri: *looks up at him, smiles* akaderu: *blush* Kepuri: *closes her eyes, leans closer to him* akaderu: *leans in, blushing* Kepuri: *brushes her lips along his* mana: awwww. akaderu: O////////////////////O Kepuri: O_O "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!" -morning, on the road- Ochako: "At least Roswell didn't have any more aliens--" Izuku: *violently shaking* Ochako: "And we get to go to hot springs today!" Izuku: *MORE VIOLENT SHAKING* tsuyu: midoriya? are you feeling alright? Izuku: "NO MORE ALIENS!" *slaps himself in the face* "I AM CALM! HOT SPRINGS WILL BE RELAXING! I AM NOT IMAGINING O--" Black Star: *covers Izuku's mouth* "He's fine. Just had trouble sleeping." soul: *yaaawn* Patty: "Still tired, Soul?" soul: im good. Kid: *holding Stocking's hand, smiles* -elsewhere- Hibana: *reviewing a map of San Francisco* -elsewhere- Tomura: "Update on our target's location?" ???: seems a training session will take place later in this week...what do you think, kurogiri? Kurogiri: "I could get you to that location. It'll be up to you to complete the task." ???: and the others? Kurogiri: "They will provide support, and a distraction..." sachi: and us? Tomura: "Have you had any progress locating that New Orleans witch?" sachi: currently, nothing came up. Tomura: *scraaaaatch* "Disappointing, but not surprising. In this case, maybe you should join the rest and attack the students..." sachi: sounds good. hopefully i generate some good quirks while there... Tomura: "...Game on..." -elsewhere- Meme: *pouring glasses of ice water for everyone* mio: *drinks* phwaaaaah.... =w= so refeshing.... tsugumi: i cant believe that autumn is just around the corner.... ao: and that means autumn enrollments will take place.... Anya: "Which means the pumpkins will be ready..." *shiny eyes* "...Wait, what about autumn enrollments?" mio: you mean like new students arriving? ao: *she nods* Meme: "Then we get to mentor them! Yay!" tsugumi: *shiny eyes* (imaginary student: tsugumi-senpaaai~!) *drooling* Anya: -_-; "Wipe your mouth, Tsugumi..." tsugumi: *does so* Anya: "In any case, let us hope these students are not obnoxious and need to have their hands held..." *secretly imagining mentoring students in the ways of commoners' life* mio: yeah..... *imagining playing video games* -w- *All the girls are reduced to reveries about mentoring new students...drooling* kim:.............*sigh* i'll get the mop. -_-; Kana: *waves hand across their faces...then steals Anya's wallet from her purse* -elsewhere- Yumi: "Kirika, I need some help with Shiori's diaper." kirika: do i have to? Yumi: "That depends: do you want to smell baby poopies all afternoon?" kirika:...alright give me a sec.... *puts on a kitty plague mask* Yumi: -_-; "Oh, sure, that's not going to terrify Shiori in the least..." -after that- Yumi: *holding Shiori* "Don't you feel all better now that Mommy and your sister Kirika gave you a fresh new diaper?" shiori: ^o^ *looks at kirika* ............. *poker face* Yumi: "...Where do you even get a mask like that?" kirika:.....found it at a pawn shop. Yumi: "...Huh. You were at a pawn shop?" kirika: yeah. Yumi: "Hmm...Please tell me you aren't pawning anything yourself..." kirika: nah. Yumi: *nods* "Did you find any good bargains there?" -elsewhere- Spirit: *looking through checklist* "Okay, that takes care of a lot of the back-to-school shopping...Izumi, do you need a new backpack?" izumi: yeah, the one i have now is kinda getting old. Spirit: *looks at ones in the department store* "You want something kind of plain, or something with a character on it?" *holds up an All Might backpack* izumi: *looking around* Spirit: "???" -elsewhere- -a blue haired woman is looking through the shelves of a bookshop- Cashier: *spots blue-haired woman, approaches* "Hello! May I help you find anything?" woman: i-im fine..... child: look at this. they actually made a teary blue lunchbox! child 2: seriously? she's kinda lame compared to other heroes, and she doesnt even do that much. woman:........... q.q Cashier: "Well, let me know if you need anything..." Cashier: "...Are you okay, ma'am?" woman: im.....o-ok..... Cashier: "..." *spots the children* "You know, I've thought Teary Blue is pretty courageous..." woman: -she already left- haha..... Cashier: T_T child: OW! MY EYES! namiko: .....q-q i got scared again.... Cashier: *sobbing* person: MY EYES FEEL LIKE THEY ARE LITERALLY ON FIRE RIGHT NOW!! Security Guard: *into walkie-talkie* T__T "I need medical help, now!" -namiko ended up hiding in an alley way- namiko: i screwed up again..... ???: "It happened again, huh?" namiko: *she turns around*....hi aizawa.....got any spare blow? Aizawa: *sighs, sits down next to her* "Haven't you had enough?" namiko: i just had a rough morning.....i got evicted from my apartment again. Aizawa: "Neighbors complaining about burning pain to their eyes?" namiko:.......yeah.....i'll just have to live in the spare dumpster behind the school for a little while. Aizawa: "That's stupid..." *sighs* "Look, my couch pulls out into a bed...but I'm not going to clean the apartment..." namiko: ....thanks. Aizawa: *nods* "...I got some pot." namiko:....i could use some right now.... Aizawa: *opens baggie, pulls out pipe* -elsewhere- Kid: "So warm..." soul: *streeeetch* Black Star: *splashes Takeru and Izuku* takeru: eep! Izuku: "Ah! That's really hot! Stop that!" Stein: *annoyed grunt* soul: ........ Kid: "Soul? You okay?" soul: yeah....just relaxing.... Kid: *smiles* "These springs are rejuvenating. The mineral water is good for the skin, and of course that has benefits for the body, the mind, and the soul..." soul:....was that a damn pun? Kid: *nervous laugh* Black Star: *looking down at Izuku and Takeru* soul:.........hey....whats this? Stein: "???" soul: I AQUIRED KID'S TOWEL! >:D Kid: o\\\\\o "Hey!" *standing, trying to get his towel back* "Give that back!" soul: haha! Black Star: "Ha ha ha!" *rips Takeru's towel loose* Izuku: "G-Guys! Stop! You're being kind of loud--" takeru: EEK! >/////< Stein: "..." *slumps lower into the water* Kid: "How dare you!" *rips Soul's towel off--and snaps it at him* takeru: waaah!! *BOOOOM* -the wall got knocked down- -awkward silence- Izuku: *towel on fire* "Ah!" *throws it away...then sees the wall is gone* stocking: ............ tsuyu: ribbit? tsubaki: eh? Patty: "..." *thumbs up* liz: o-o;;;;;; soul: *covering himself up* Ochako: o\\\\o *covering her face* ("That's the second time I've seen Kid's...thingie") Kid: D: mina: dang. Izuku: o\\\\\\o -SCREAMING- -on the road, no one said a single thing- Stein: *driving* Black Star: "..." *glancing at the girls...* stocking: *snuggling kid* Kid: T_T *holding her* Ochako: *glancing at Soul and Izuku..." o\\\\o soul: q-q (thinking: maka forgive me for i have sinned.....) Izuku: Q_Q Patty: "...So, I see you boys sure are long and in charge!" mina: its official, no one hears of this and we take this to our graves. Patty: "But I was just about to tweet this--" liz: NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NONONONONONONONO!!! Izuku: *smashes Patty's phone* Patty: "..." *glare* Izuku: Q_____Q "I'll buy you a new one!" -elsewhere- Mineta: "I feel like I just missed out on something incredible..." -SLAM DUNK INTO THE GARBAGE- Mineta: *head first into banana peels and expired dog food* "AAAH!" Iida: "...Well, trash does belong in the garbage can." kyouka: *snerk* Iida: "In any case, we need to prepare for the new mentor-mentee program. Volunteers for mentors to the new students?" Mineta: *muffled* "I'll take the hot ladies--" eijiro: im in! momo: i'll take part. Bakugo: "I'll transform those tiny maggots into actual fighters!" hagakure: what about you, todoroki? Shouto: "I promise to try not to burn or freeze any of the newbies." denki: *playing on his game* Iida: "Kaminari! We will need everyone to pick up the pace on mentoring the new students!" denki: hmm? oh, right right. Bakugo: *looks over Denki's shoulder* "Are you doing multiplayer or something?" denki: yep. AGH! are you kidding?! this 'scorpion bitch' is such a damn griefer i swear! Iida: *gasp* "Such language to use in a user's name!" Bakugo: "BWA HA HA! Don't get your panties in a wad! Losing that badly, Kaminari?" denki: Q-Q why meeeee? Bakugo: " 'Cause you are the minorest of minor characters!" -elsewhere- Ponera: "We need to consider another option...another target for affecting Death's awful organization...Did we acquire anything useful from New Orleans?" milia: shaula got some of these. *she puts out some potion ingredients* grunt: isnt this stuff usually for n-n-ne-necromancy?!?! Ponera: "And what can be made with these?" shaula: it can bring back dead bodies for starters. Ponera: *leans in closer* "Ooooooo...That would be useful~" Medusa: *eyeroll* shaula: ^^ -elsewhere- Stein: "We'll be stopping at Tonto National Forest for the night, then we'll be back in Death City tomorrow afternoon." mina: neato! Stein: "We'll be staying near the Lost Dutchman's Mine, at Superstition Mountains." Ochako: *tapping a finger on her chin* "Tonto...Tonto...What does that word mean?" stocking: depends on what language your speaking in, i guess. *shrug* Ochako: "Why? Which languages can you find the word?" liz: *texting* [liz: hey wes! we'll be back by tomorrow hopefully ^^] [wes: great! miss u. how did yesterday go?] [liz: pretty well] liz:........ [wes: how is soul doing?] [liz: he's going pretty good. also did u see the vid i posted on GB?] [wes: i was so proud of him] liz: *she smiles* [liz: BB soon. <3 u~] [wes: love u too] -elsewhere- Hibana: *slides a map to Gabriella* "I want you to find decent locations here in San Francisco for me and another person." gabriella: um....ok? *she looks* Hibana: "And make sure they are good places. I want to impress this person." gabriella:...yes princess... *sad smile* Hibana: *holds up her fan...covering a small smirk* -elsewhere- Shotaro: "..." lady: thank you for helping with my bags. *she smiles* Shotaro: "Huh? Oh..." *forced smile* "Happy to do a good deed, ma'am." lady: *she nods and exits* Shotaro: *frowns* ("Kepuri...Emine...") -at the house- chie: *looking through movies* hmmm.... Yohei: "Anything good?" chie: well.... -there is a mecha movie, a sci fi, a western, a cartoon about a caveman, a kung-fu movie, a street fighter esque film, and a movie about ninjas- Yohei: "Hmm...Caveman cartoon? What the heck...? Um, what do you want? They all have quite a bit of action..." chie: im not sure.. mana: kung-fu movie! Tuhl: "Yeah, kung-fu sounds good." -knock knock- Tuhl: "???" *walks to the door, looks through peephole* -a woman is there- ???: excuse me, does a kappa named 'Tuhl' live here? Tuhl: "?!" *opens the door* "Is that...?" Tuhl: "Um, I'm Tuhl." ???: may i come in? Tuhl: *stands aside, gesturing for her to come inside* "Of course." -she sits down on a chair- Tuhl: "You're who she said would be coming to see us...to see Shotaro..." ???: *she tenses* *she looks at him* (thinking: im sure its just a coincidence...the name is very common...) Tuhl: "You're who Minato said would be coming?" ???: yes. you can call me 'Setsuna'. Tuhl: *nods* "This is Mana, Chie, and Yohei. Shotaro is out right now..." setsuna:.... chie: *she nods* its good to meet you, miss setsuna. Yohei: "I'm sure Shotaro will be grateful for your assistance: it's really important to him." mana:..... *Door heard opening* mono: we're back... Yohei: "???" Shotaro: *quiet as he enters...looks around the room* "Um..." setsuna: ............... mono: who the heck is she? Yohei: *death glare at Mono* Tuhl: "Shotaro, this is the woman I told you about, the one who can find Emine..." Shotaro: "..." setsuna:....showtaro..... *she is tearing up* Shotaro: "???" Tuhl: *glances at the two...* "That scarf...and Shotaro's...!!!" Yohei: "...!!!" Tuhl and Yohei: ("Holy shit.") mono: ???? setsuna:....you've really grown... Shotaro: "??? Um...I've only been standing here for a few seconds." *looks at Mono, compares his height* "Did I grow that much more, Mono?" mono:...... uuuhhhh..... setsuna: *she just hugs him* Shotaro: "!!! Um..." Tuhl and Yohei: T_T mono: im confused. mana: now that i think of it, she and showtaro....they look a lot alike, huh? Yohei: *sniff* "Um, Chie, I think we need to put some food away..." chie: ah! right! Tuhl: "Saki, I think Io needs a changing...Come along, Mono..." mono: h-hey! mana:....miss setsuna....you.......you're showtaro's mom, arent you? Shotaro: "..." setsuna:.....*she nods* Shotaro: "..." *sobbing* setsuna:...showtaro...i understand if you hate me.....it was unfair of me to abandon you.....i was.... *sigh* i didnt want to burden you with having a dokeshi for a mother... chie:........................................ Shotaro: "J-Just..." *hugs Setsuna tightly* "You're here..." setsuna: ......*she hugs him tightly* my baby... Shotaro: *crying, laughing--with a bear hug on his mom* Yohei: "..." *hugs Chie* -later- Shotaro: *bouncing in his seat* "Where did you get that awesome scarf?!" setsuna: i've had it for a while. actually, i cut it in half and gave the other half to you. Shotaro: "...Woooooooow...That's so cool!" mana: where have you been this whole time? setsuna: just wandering. helping people from time to time. Shotaro: *squeeing at Mana* "You heard that? 'Helping people'!" mana: yep, just like you. chie: i guess the fruit doesnt fall far from the tree. Shotaro: *blushes, chuckles* "Mom, I have so much to ask!" *pulls out a list from his pocket--which unfurls down and along the entire floor, into the hallway, and the kitchen* setsuna: oh... o.o; Shotaro: "First off, how old was I when you left me? Second, what's my middle name? Third, why is the sky blue--Oh, wait...Sorry, I've kind of been writing this for years, so there are some dumb questions in here. Let me cross out the middle name one--" setsuna: well, for the first one, you were just a baby. Shotaro: "...Oh. That young?" setsuna:....*she nods* Shotaro: "...Mom? Did people try to hurt you for being a Dokeshi?" setsuna:.................................. Shotaro: "..." *holds out his hands* "They've tried to hurt me, too." setsuna: ......*she hugs him* Shotaro: "Mom..." *hugs her* setsuna:...... chie: *tearing up* Yohei: *holds her hand* io: ?? Tuhl: "..." *holds Io, passes them to Saki* saki: hey sweetie... *snuffles* Shotaro: "Mom...I know we have a lot to talk about with finding my friend...but maybe we can talk about it in the morning?" setsuna: *she nods* Shotaro: *nods* "Th-Thank you..." -elsewhere- mina: zzzzzzzz........ Ochako: *tossing a bit, hands covered with gloves* Izuku: *clutching his notebook in his sleep* tsuyu: *by the lake, getting a quick swim in* Kid: *kisses Stocking on the cheek* stocking: mmmm.... *snoozing while she sits in his lap* Kid: ("She's incredible...") stocking: zzzzz...... Black Star and Patty: *shoveling near the Lost Dutchman's Mine* Patty: "Gold has to be here somewhere in Tonto!" Black Star: *holds up something* "I FOUND IT!" *holds up gold...fool's gold* tsubaki: *learning to work the grill* Stein: "Got the grill going yet?" tsubaki: i think so...ah! there we go! Stein: "Good...Glad you're doing this and not someone fire-crazy like that weird grenade kid." tsubaki: ^^; takeru: *shudders* Stein: "...Takeru, why don't you help me set up one more tent while Tsubaki and Soul start cooking?" takeru: o-ok. Stein: "Hold the posts, I'll hammer them in..." Kid: *nodding off* -later- Ochako: "Yummy fish, Tsubaki!" Black Star: *pouting, because Stein told him the gold was fake* tsubaki: thanks. ^^; Izuku: "Just another day and we'll all be back home..." liz: yeah... Kid: "Back in our own beds, then back to classes...with some new students entering, I'm sure." soul: *he nods* -ochako's phone rings- Ochako: *looks* "Amazed I get a signal out here..." Ochako: *answers* "Hello?" Ochako: "Hey, Yuu! How are you?" liz: ?? Ochako: "Really?! Great! Do you know where you're living yet?" Izuku: "..." *looks at Tsuyu* " 'Cousin'?" tsuyu: *shrug* Ochako: "Uh huh...Okay! Great! I'll see you then! Say hi to the family for me!" liz: relatives? Ochako: "Love you! ... Okay, bye!" *hangs up* "Hey, my cousin is coming to Death City!" liz: awesome! Izuku: "Y-Yeah! That's...great!" Ochako: "I know, right?! She's so hardworking all the time! You'll love her! I mean, not love-love love her--that would be weird!" tsuyu: do you need some water? Ochako: "Sure!" -elsewhere- Hibana: *studying the map and lists of suggestions* "Gabriella, are these the best locations in San Francisco that you would recommend for me and my guest?" gabriella: *she nods* Hibana: *looking sincere* "I'm not sure this is the best you could offer." *leans forward* "I want you to tell me: if it was you instead of me going out around San Francisco, what would be the places _you_ would want to visit? What would be the perfect day in San Francisco for Gabriella?" gabriella: well....*she checks the map and points to a few places, like a library, a few coffee places and shops, etc* Hibana: *smiles* "Just what I wanted to hear: thank you. Oh, that reminds me: Gabriella, I can't do this on my own, so my guest and I will require your services during our outing tomorrow. Be sure to dress comfortably and stylish to accompany us--I can always have my tailor help with that~" gabriella: oh, um....ok. Hibana: *smiles* "Well, I'm going to have a bath before ordering in something to eat." *points on the map at a coffee shop* "I'll see you right here tomorrow morning at 8 AM." gabriella: right! -elsewhere- Spirit: *asleep on a couch* "Zzzz..." sachiko:....*puts a blanket over him* Spirit: *smiles in his sleep as the blanket lies over him* -elsewhere- -BANGING ON THE DOOR- yuuji: OI! SHITRAG! TURN YOUR F*CKING MUSIC DOWN YOU STITCHED FUCK! Dabi: "...I _like_ it this loud." yuuji: well its keeping sachi and me awake, so shut the fuck up! Dabi: "...Nah, I don't think I will. If it keeps you awake, too bad. And since you can't sleep, why don't you two do something else?" -something is heard inside- yuuji:....what the hell was that? do you have a hooker in there _again_? Dabi: "...If I do, what would be your reaction?" yuuji:......there's a hooker in there, isnt there? -_-; Dabi: "...Want in?" yuuji: no! D:< Dabi: "Then do kindly go back to your room, and fuck Sachi--or yourself. Because I don't care." yuuji: *flips him of and exits* asshole. Dabi: *shuts the door* "Now, where were we?~" yuuji: -_-; Kurogiri: "Dabi is quite the difficult one..." yuuji: no shit. Kurogiri: "Let him be--you don't want to get on his bad side." *offers earplugs* yuuji:...thaaanks. Kurogiri: "Could always drink yourself to sleep--" *THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP* yuuji:....yes. yes please. all the drinks. all of them. Kurogiri: -_-; "I'm on it..." sachi: T_T Kurogiri: *passes a drink to Sachi* sachi: thanks kurogiri. Kurogiri: *nods* -elsewhere in the building- Tomura: *tossing* "N-No..." -noises are heard in the room above- Tomura: "..." *grabs a random broomstick and pokes it up at the ceiling* "Please...quiet..." -moans- Tomura: "..." *scraaaaaatch* "Do I have to make a point to you up there?" -elsewhere- Kid: "Zzz..." stocking: zzzzz....... Izuku: *outside the tent, looking at the stars* tsuyu: cant sleep? Izuku: *shakes his head* tsuyu: want to talk about it? Izuku: "..." *nods* "Just thinking about this trip..." *looks at his fist, then up at the stars* "How to go further..." tsuyu: ah. Izuku: *puts his hands together* "It helps to know there are other people trying to do the same..." *looks at the sky* "But it still can feel isolating." tsuyu: perhaps. but just remember we're all here if you need us, ok? Izuku: "..." *smiles at her* ("One for all...") "Thanks..." tsuyu: its not a problem. Izuku: "How about you? Trouble sleeping?" tsuyu: not really, just seeing if anyone else was up. Izuku: "Hmm...Want to look at the stars for a bit?" tsuyu: sure. Izuku: *quiet, looking up...smiles, rest his hands to his sides* tsuyu: it's peaceful out here. Izuku: *nods* "Have you gotten to see much of the forest and park?" tsuyu: yeah, the lake is really clear. *she smiles* Izuku: "Oh, that's good. Wish I had walked to it." tsuyu: there's always tomorrow morning. Izuku: "You're right. I'm sure my mom would love a photo of it." tsuyu: sounds like a plan then. Izuku: *smiles at her, then yawns* "Thanks, Tsuyu--Tsu." -elsewhere- Meme: *snoring* Anya: *struggling to sleep* ("Ugh...That noise...") mio: *asleep at her laptop* Anya: *sits up, glares at Meme...puts on her coat and exits to the kitchen* Meme: *tosses a bit...then stands up in her sleep* mio: zzzz...... ao: .......*follows* Meme: *follows Anya in her sleep to the kitchen* Anya: "What on eart--?" Meme: *lifts Anya in her arms and cradles her like a baby* Anya: o\\\\\\\o ao:....*taking something out of the drawer* Meme: *muttering a lullaby* ao: *she takes out a kitchen knife* Anya: *whispering* "Put me down, Meme! You are sleepwalking! Sleep-lullabying! Sleep-annoying-me!" ao: *smiles* Anya: *spots Ao* "?!!!" ao: *raises it up* Anya: "AO! WHAT ARE YOU DO--?!" ao: *slices into some bread* good evening. i'm just making late night snack. do you want any? Anya: "...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF" Meme: *wakes up to the smell of bread* "Oh, that would be lovely!" *looks at Anya* "Why are you in my arms?" Anya: "I'D LIKE TO KNOW AS WELL!" -morning- Hibana: *waiting at a table at the San Francisco cafe* gabriella: i'm here. Hibana: "Oh!" *looks up, smiles* "Happy you arrived." *gestures to the other empty chair at the table* "You look lovely this morning." gabriella: um... thank you. *blush* Hibana: "Ready to start this day? I'm so happy that my special guest has arrived~" gabriella: *she looks around* ???? Hibana: *rests a hand lightly over Gabriella's* "You." gabriella: ah.... O//////////////////////////////////////////////////////O Hibana: *smiles* "I think that someone who works as hard as you do for me deserves a day. Whatever you want today, it's yours." gabriella: *she blushes and smiles* Hibana: "So, you take the lead today...What would you like to order?" -elsewhere- Izuku: *holding up his camera, motioning to classmates* "Get a bit closer--I want to get more of the lake in the photo." tsuyu: *nods* soul: everything ready? Izuku: "Yep! Three...two..." *SNAP* "Got it!" stocking: great. Izuku: *shows it to classmates* "That water really is beautiful." soul: *he nods, noticing something along his head* Ochako: *small smirk* "Admiring yourself in the picture, Soul?" soul: ?! j-just looking.... (thinking: maka....) *Small bit of wind passes by Soul's ear* Ochako: "???" Izuku: *notices something in the distance* (ﺧ益ﺨ) stocking: ?? Izuku: "I know now why this park is called 'Tonto'..." *points to the distance, where there is a set of mountains that looks familiar* *Loud Echo*: "FOOL!" -on the road- Stein: *driving, sipping coffee* Patty: "Just a few hours, and we're home!" liz: O-O;;; Black Star: "What's with you, Liz?" liz: *shakes her head* i-its nothing.... Kid: "???" Izuku: *emailing photos to his mom, then checking social media...* [boom-boom-bass; neat. cant w8 2 C U guys soon.] [deku: same! hope you all are doing well] [countexplode18: WHEN R U GETTIN BACK HERE U NERD?! I'M GONNA KILL U!] Izuku: "Kyouka sent a nice message, and Kacchan...um...he's doing okay." [shroomyshroom; dude, thats rad] [deku: ^^; Thanks!] [yuuraka; So. You're the 'Deku' my cousin told me about? I look forwards to working with you and the others.] [deku: oh, ochako's cousin?] [yuuraka: Yes. I shall introduce myself proper during the autumnal entrance ceremony.] [deku: okay. well, look forward to meeting you then!] Izuku: "Hey, Ochako! Your cousin--" liz: ah, looks like we're here. Ochako: "???" Kid: *looks out the window* "Nice to be back..." mina: neato! Black Star: "YOUR GOD IS BACK, DEATH CITY!" tsubaki: ^^; Stein: "Good. Sooner we get in and find a place to park, the sooner you all can leave." Patty: "Awwww, we love you too, teach!" *cheek pinch* Stein: -_- tsuyu: actually, you can just drop me off at my house. Stein: "...I'm going to have to do that for all of you, aren't I?" *All hands go up* Stein: *grumble* "Tsuyu, give me directions..." -after tsuyu, mina, and ochako are dropped off at their residences- Izuku: *staring at his phone still...* soul: *looking out the window* Patty: "Hey, Sis, you okay?" liz: yeah. Patty: "You sure? You seemed surprised about something earlier." liz: nothing..... (excalibur's voice: foooooool!) *cringe* Patty: "???" Kid: *hugging Stocking* stocking: cant wait to get home. takeru:...ah! -they have arrived to the 2nd brigade base- yasunoki: *salutes* Patty: "Bye, Takeru!" *hug* takeru: s-see you in school patti!.....*salutes to the commander* Patty: *waves* "Later, cutie!" Honda: "??? You have a girlfriend, Juggernaut?" takeru: uh...ummm.. >//////////////< yasunoki: *sweatdrop* c-commander... -_-; Honda: "It's a fair question! I bet Juggernaut is a real lady killer! Am I right?" yasunoki: commander, we should probably help private noto unpack -_-; Honda: "Very well..." *winks at Takeru and proceeds to help unpack* takeru: ./////. -later- stocking: we're back! Yumi: "Welcome home!" *hugs Stocking and Kid* Patty: "Julie!" julie: *hug* lord death: *hugs kid* hey kiddo! heather: good to see you're all safe. Patty: *smiles at Heather* Kid: *hugs Lord Death* "I missed you..." *looks for Kirika* kirika: yo. Kid: *waves* "Hi. How have things been?" lord death: good. shiori missed you. Kid: *smiles at Shiori, waves* shiori: *her eyes light up* kid! kid! Kid: *reaches out to Shiori to hold her* "Missed me?" shiori: *hug* Kid: "Hee hee..." shiori: ^o^ Kid: "We brought souvenirs!" shiori: ?? Kid: *leans down, picks up a small skull-head plush doll for Shiori* "Who does this look like?" shiori: ....dad? Kid: *laughs* "Yes! And you can say 'dad' so well!" shiori: *huuug* dad! hehe! Kid: *smiles at Death* Yumi: *small smirk at Death* "Looks like a plushie is stealing your thunder..." -elsewhere- Arthur: *flexing his arm* tamaki: *timing* Arthur: *loud grunt* "How was that?" tamaki: better than last time. nozomi: nice job, arthur. *claps* Arthur: "Th-Thanks." *smiles at Nozomi* "I'm back to about full strength." miwa: not bad kiddo. Arthur: *blush* "So, I guess I'll have to ask the Commander when I go out on patrol." tamaki: speaking of....where even is he? Arthur: "The Commander had said something about a new shipment of weights that he--" Akitaru: "Yo." *Akitaru is on a unicycle, lifting weights* nozomi: O-O;;;;;;;;; Arthur: -_-; Akitaru: "Working on balance today. And it tones the core muscles." tamaki: that seems....dangerous. Akitaru: "Like our usual days at work aren't? Besides, how hard can this be?" -elsewhere- Hibana: "This was a good choice, Gabriella! How did you hear about this place?" gabriella: i did a bit of web browsing and reading reviews. Hibana: "Always so thorough." *takes a lick of her ice cream cone* "How is your flavor?" gabriella: delicious~! Hibana: "Mind if I have a taste of yours?" gabriella: um...i-if you want... Hibana: *leans over, licks her cone, picking up a dollop of the ice cream before licking her lips* "Delicious indeed~ Feel free to have a taste of mine." gabriella: um.... ./////. Hibana: *holds her own cone in between them as she takes another lick of it* "What did you want to do after this?" -elsewhere- Shotaro: *hands his mother a photo from a newspaper clipping* "This is him..." setsuna: hmmm....there's a church building. on Japonshima. mana: so back where we started then.... Shotaro: "..." *curling his knees up to his chest on the couch* setsuna: hmm? showtaro? is everything ok? Shotaro: "...I don't know that I can do this." mana: hmm? setsuna: what do you mean? Shotaro: "Emine...He's not the same person I knew...When I last saw him, he..." *buries his head in his knees* setsuna:..... Shotaro: "...He killed Charisma Justice." setsuna: ?? Shotaro: "We tried to stop the Masked Assembly, these bad Dokeshi...and we were doing fine--until Emine...He had some mask with three eyes...and I couldn't move. I just froze. Justice threw me out of the building--just as Emine stabbed him through the head. ...When I could move again...I just ran away." setsuna:....showtaro..... Shotaro: "I couldn't save him, Mom. I couldn't save him..." setsuna:.....*she hugs him* Shotaro: *holds onto her, sobbing* setsuna: *humming softly* Shotaro: *cries himself until almost sleeping* setsuna:....*rubs his back* Shotaro: "Zzz..." setsuna:...... Shotaro: *stays asleep* mana:.... Yohei: *small knock on the door* "Setsuna? I can take him off your hands for a bit..." setsuna: its fine... Yohei: *nods* "Want me to bring you anything?" setsuna: i'm alright for now. Yohei: "Okay..." *looks down the hall* chie: ..... *concerned* Yohei: "..." *walks up to her...hugs her* chie:....*she hugs back* Yohei: *strokes her back* -in their room- chie: *she snuggles up to him* mmmm..... Yohei: *kisses her cheek* "I love you." chie: i love you too, babe. *leans into his chest* Yohei: *holds her, sliding his hand along her lower back* "You are amazing...incredible...and loving..." chie: *blush* i could say the same for you....i can tell you're going to be a great dad... *looks down at her stomach* Yohei: *holds hand gently over her stomach...leans down, kisses lightly* chie: hmhm~ ^^ Yohei: *hugs at her waist, resting his cheek against her stomach* "...You feel warm." chie: *she smiles and ruffles his hair* Yohei: "I love you, Chie." *kisses lightly up her stomach* chie: i love you too, yohei. Yohei: *reaches her neck, a light kiss there* chie: ahhh.... u///u Yohei: *kisses where her neck reaches her cheek* "You're blushing." chie: mmmm.... Yohei: *lets a hand slide under her pajama shirt, resting on her hip* chie: mmmmm Yohei: *massages her hip before moving up her side...* chie: *nuzzles* Yohei: *lets his hands rest along her skin, as he holds her, feeling her breathe as her chest rises and falls chie: mmmmm.... Yohei: *moves a finger along one button of her pajamas* -elsewhere- Hibana: *wiping away tears, at the San Francisco LGBTQ Museum* gabriella: ......*faint smile* Hibana: "So much history I didn't know...Thank you for recommending this...Gabriella?" gabriella: hmm? i just, wanted to pay respects and everything. *faint blush* Hibana: *nods* "...Can I tell you something?" gabriella: hmm? .////. Hibana: *wrings her hands* "When I was at the church...even when I was a little girl, it was pretty obvious to me that I wasn't just attracted to boys..." *blushes* gabriella: .... O//////////O *steam coming off her head* Hibana: "??? Do you think less of me for being bi?" gabriella: no, of course not. i dont feel anyone should be judged for who they are attracted to. (thinking: if i did, it would just make me a hypocrite...) Hibana: *crying* "Thank you..." gabriella:...*hug* Hibana: *returns the hug, letting out a small laugh* "It's silly...I must have been so obvious to people..." -elsewhere- Kid: *lies down in bed* "Aaah..." stocking: *lays next to him* so good to be back. Kid: "Agreed..." *holds her hand* "This trip...It was fun, exciting...embarrassing...and I was so worried..." stocking: hmm? Kid: "If you had been hurt...or worse..." *hugs her* stocking:....*rubs his back and head* Kid: *stays in her arms, mewing lightly* stocking:...i love you kid. Kid: "I love you, too." *kisses her wrist* stocking:..... Kid: *closes his eyes, inhales* "Please don't leave..." stocking:.....i wont, kid.... Kid: *smiles lightly...his breathing slows down as he starts to fall asleep* stocking:.....*holding him close* Kid: "Zzz..." *rests in her arms* stocking:.....zzzzzz *They fall asleep...and dream* -morning- Kid: *yawn, opening his eyes to see Stocking with him...smiles* stocking: zzzzz Kid: *watches her sleep, getting comfortable in bed* stocking: .....*hugs* Kid: *hugs her back, kisses her forehead* stocking: ......... Kid: *smiles* "Sleep okay?" stocking: zzzzzz Kid: "..." ("She must be really exhausted.") -later- Kid: "Feel better?" stocking: yeah. *streeeetch* nice to be back home after so long. Kid: *looks at Stocking's summer packing* "Agreed." *hugs her as she stretches* "A bit more privacy." stocking: *she nods* i think that should be everything now... maid: your autumn wardrobe. *she hands stocking a luggage container and takes the other before vanishing* Kid: o__o "She's fast." stocking: well, when your dad is called 'the king of time and space'.....*shrug* Kid: "True..." *smiles* "I always love your autumn attire." stocking: *she rolls her eyes* you say that about all my clothes, you little dork. Kid: "It's true! You look great in anything~" stocking: hehe. *she smooches him on the nose* Kid: *blushes, smiles* "May I help with unpacking?" stocking: sure. -later at school- mina: we got gifts for everyone~! -at lunch- Iida: *bows* "I look forward to your gift from your road trip on my birthday!" Bakugo: -_-; "Stop yelling...My head is killing me..." hanta: *flustered over an earlier incident* .//////. Mashirao: *looking at Hanta* "You okay?" hanta: YES! FINE THANKS! Mashirao: *backs up* hagakure: ?? Iida: "You seemed troubled, Sero. What's that paper in your hand?" Bakugo: *glancing over Hanta's shoulder* hanta: *he eats it* O-O kyouka: O_O sero what the shit? Iida: "If you need fiber, the cafeteria provides much better dining options..." -at another table- Jacqueline: "It sounds like you had an eventful roadtrip." Patty: "You have no idea." kim: yeah, but im pretty jealous. Black Star: "How so? 'Cause you were stuck at work?" kim: yeah. Black Star: "At least you made some money--and work has to be more normal than the kind of people we were traveling with." Patty: *smirks* "Some aren't that normal. Kind of below-average." *holds up a pinkie finger* Black Star: o\\\\o kim: ???? Patty: "So, Kim, make any new friends at work?" *ignoring Black Star* -elsewhere- Hibana: "All bags are packed, we're out of the hotel room...When is the limo arriving to take us to the airport, Gabriella?" gabriella: should be here within fifteen minutes. Hibana: *smiles* "That's good. You're always so organized...Hey, listen...If you're not busy this Friday, could you free up some time for me...and for you? There's a restaurant I've been meaning to dine at, and I'd like for you to join me. Not for work--just for...us." gabriella: oh. um...o-ok. sounds nice. .////. Hibana: *nods* "The restaurant is called La flamme bleu. Don't let the name fool you--it's not that fancy." *smiles* "I look forward to having dinner with you." -elsewhere- Ponera: "Progress report on the potions?" shaula: test subject 1 is being prepped as we speak. Ponera: *happy clap* "Yay!" *looks at Test Subject #1* shaula: *she watches* lets see how this turns out... Ponera: "Um...Why the glass?" shaula:...safety precaution. Ponera: "...Very well. Begin the experiment." -elsewhere- Spirit: *on phone with Sachiko* "Okay, so I pick up Izumi at 3...Any errands to run?" sachiko: that should be everything. Spirit: "Great. Hang in there tonight--I'll have dinner ready when you get home." sachiko: thanks. *she smiles* Spirit: *smiles* "Okay, I'll let you get back to work. Love you." sachiko: *tiny blush* love you too. Spirit: "Bye." -elsewhere- *There is a cylinder containing...a mass of cells...It lets out a noise, like that of a thud, before what sounds like someone's name..."Yohei"...* guard: ?? Cells: "Yohei...Hi..." guard: ?! Cells: "Yo...Hi...Where?" -elsewhere- Kid: *stretches* "That was quite a day...Where would you like to go?" stocking: *streeetch* yeah. good to be back.....how about deathbucks? Kid: *nods* "I could use a bit of coffee to wake up. And I do wonder whether they have added new desserts to their menu since we departed~" stocking:........ =/////= *drools* Kid: *pats her mouth with a tissue* "Even your drool is symmetrical~" stocking: >////< liz: yeaaaah, thats _totally_ not a creepy thing to say to a girl... Kid: -_-; "I'm just--I just...I mean, if Stocking has put up with me after all of my...Let's just move on." stocking: *pats his back* Kid: *small smile* stocking: dont worry kiddo, i still love you~ Kid: "I love you, too." -later- Kid: *they are seated at the table* "Hmm...What to drink...?" stocking: i think i might have some of the rose tea. Kid: *nods* "I want something a little stronger, so I'll have a small coffee." lin: coming right up~ Akua: *leaning against the counter* mono: ....... 7-7 Akua: "What's your problem, tiny?" mono: that guy....he annoys me. Akua: "??? Why's that? Seems like the usual annoying customer." mono: i know him from school, he has this weird symmetry fetish. its so irritating! people like that are the 7th worst kind of person there is. Kid: *laughing at something Stocking says--then spots Mono...and frowns* mono: *glaaaares* stocking:...? Kid: "You..." mono:...hmph! *turns to another customer* Kid: *grumbles* "Evil asymmetry..." stocking:........*holds his hands* Kid: *inhales* "Sorry...I was distracted." Akua: *small lightbulb* "Hey, Mono...Maybe you should give that guy a special something..." mono: like what? Akua: *whispers* "Make that guy's order asymmetrical..." mono: *smirks* -and so- Kid: *twitch twitch* "..." *twitch* "I have complaints about the food...and service." -mono was put on janitorial duty after that stunt- -later- Kid: "..." *inhale* "I wish I wasn't so fixated..." stocking:.....*hug* want to do something else? Kid: *nods* "Where to?" stocking:....maybe we could pay your mom a visit? Kid: *nods* "That sounds nice." -at the graveyard- Kid: "Hello, Mother. It's me, Kid. I'm here with Stocking." stocking: *she nods* Kid: "...Overall, I'm getting through life well." *holds Stocking's hand* "We have had some challenges, some scary moments...but we survived." stocking:.... Kid: "I know Father misses you, and he continues to be a great parent...He and...Yumi have tended so well to me and now Shiori and Kirika..." stocking:...... Kid: *rests hand along the tombstone* "I love you, Mother. Thank you for all that you have given me." stocking:.....*she puts a soft hand on his shoulder* Kid: *holds her hand, wiping away tears* stocking:....*hug* Kid: *hugs her, crying but smiling* "Thank you." -later- Kid: *walking with Stocking, holding hands* "That meant a lot to me. Thank you for being there with me." stocking: of course kid. *she smiles* Kid: "Did you want to return home?" stocking: sure.... Kid: *smiles at her* "Okay...Any craving for dinner?" -elsewhere- Arthur: *completes practice with his sword, slicing through all the targets effortlessly* nozomi: excellent timing, arthur. Arthur: .\\\\. "Th-Thanks...I was worried I was going to screw up." Takehisa: *resisting urge to criticize Arthur's form* ("He could have been a bit faster...") tamaki: you certainly are doing better now. Arthur: *blushes more* "That means a lot..." *avoids eye contact* tamaki:..... padma: *sigh* *she has confetti in her hair* Takehisa: "Hmm...That will be quite a mess to clean up after the birthday festivities..." padma: no kidding..... -_-; Takehisa: "At least it was kind of you to host a birthday for Misora so..." *awkward shoulder pat* "Good work." -elsewhere- Kishiri: "So, Gab, how did work out in LA and San Fran treat you?" gabriella: it was a wonderful trip. Kishiri: "That's good. Given how much the Commander works you, thought you'd be exhausted. But you've been smiling so much and seem so happy and shit." gabriella: yeah, but i'm happy as long as she's happy... Kishiri: "Yeah, and she seems _really_ happy. Whatever you did, keep it up--makes working around here easier!" -elsewhere- Ponera: o________o "Goddess help us...Shaula...What have you done?" shaula: ooook.....that didnt work as well as i hoped. hey, its just one, we can just gun it down and work on test subject 2. Ponera: " 'Gun it down'?" *facepalm* "This isn't one of your video games...*Sigh* I'll send Grimoire and others...What have you changed to make Test Subject #2 actually work well?" shaula: *shows her notes* lets see how this one works after we clean this mess. Ponera: "...Very well. I also will be increasing reinforcements. I don't want a repeat." ("At least I have one wild card...but I hope it doesn't come to that...") -elsewhere- Shotaro: *looking at photos* mana: *studying* Shotaro: *photos of Yohei, Chie, and him on the road; a few with Tool and Chie; then...a selfie with Charisma Justice* *frowns...turns off his phone, stands, starts pulling a suitcase out of the closet* mana: showtaro? Shotaro: "If we're going to find Emine, we'll need to pack..." mana: ?? Shotaro: "Who knows where he'll run to next if we don't stop him..." *looks at her* "...Are you going to be with me?" mana:....*she nods* yeah. i did promise to help you, didnt i? Shotaro: "..." *smiles* "Thanks." -elsewhere- Wes: "I saw the video Liz sent to me, Soul..." soul: oh...um.... .////.; Wes: *pat on the shoulder* "You were awesome! Great work!" soul:....mom and dad didnt see it......did they? Wes: "..." *pulls his hand back* "No..." ("Thank goodness for privacy settings...I hope...") soul:....... Wes: "...I did share it with some friends--" soul: ?! Wes: "They don't know Mom and Dad! And they are other musicians who--" soul: ....................... Wes: "Soul...You're really talented. And I think you should share that talent with others..." soul:....m-maybe.... 7///7; Wes: *smiles* "Okay..." *one arm hug* "Take your time." soul:............. Wes: "So, what else happened on the trip? Liz seemed a little reticent about some topics." -soul explains what all happened- Wes: o_o "...That was eventful...I'm just glad you, Liz, and everyone is safe..." *small laugh* "It also sounds like some embarrassing circumstances, too." soul: .////////.;;; Wes: "Kind of envy you: you guys sound like you are all so close." soul: yeah..... Wes: "...Maybe you and I could go with some of your friends and some of mine--just a night out." soul:...um...sure. Wes: *smiles* ("...Maybe he'll meet someone...or maybe he already has...He seems to be hiding something else.") soul:........ Wes: "Well, almost time for dinner! Hope you like the meal." soul: ok. -elsewhere- Kid: "Delicious meal." stocking: mmmm~ roxanne: we worked extra hard on this one. Kid: "We appreciate it--thank you!" Patty: *patting her belly* "Yum~" kirika: zzzzz...... *curled up on the couch like a cat* mocha: zzzz.... Yumi: *puts a blanket over Kirika* kirika:....... -w- Yumi: *smiles, kisses Kirika's forehead lightly* lord death: ....*picks her up and takes her to her room, tucking her in* pleasant dreams. Yumi: *smiles at Death* shiori: zzzzzz..... Yumi: *checks on Shiori, adjusting her blanket* "Sleep well, too, cutie." -morning- Kid: "Mmmm..." stocking: *nuzzles* Kid: "Morning, beautiful~" stocking: morning~<3 Kid: "Sleep okay?" *kisses her cheek* stocking: yeah...had some nice dreams. Kid: *nods* "I can't remember mine..." *takes her hand, kisses it lightly* "Was I in your nice dreams?" stocking: yeah.... Kid: "Glad to hear." *small smooch on her lips* "Anything in your dreams that you wanted to do today?" -at school- Iida: *stiffer than usual* mina: you alright, tenny? Iida: *squeaky voice* "Ye--" *clears his throat* "Y-Yes...Just get nervous..." mina: ok. *shrug* Iida: ("Please don't let this birthday be embarrassing for me...") *shouts* "I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS DAY OF CLASSES!" Izuku and Ochako: ._. -silence- Iida: "..." *runs out of the room and down the hall* momo:........... kyouka: well _that_ was weird. Bakugo: "Tch. Switch him to decaf already." Ochako: "...So, my cousin will be in classes soon!" momo: thats wonderful to hear. *she smiles* mina: she's going to start this september, right? Ochako: "Yep! It's going to be so cool to have family here!" denki: ^^..........todoroki? you alright? Shouto: "...No." denki:...wanna talk about it? Shouto: "...He has been trying to call me again. My father." denki: oh...um..... >->;;;; Shouto: "Yes...I will be changing my phone number. Again." denki:.... say, did you hear about the new movie showing later this week? Shouto: "No. Which film?" -at lunch- Kid: *presents a cupcake to Stocking* stocking: mmmmmm~<3 Kid: "I had asked the cafeteria to special order these before we left New Orleans..." stocking: awwww. *kiss* Kid: *kisses back gently, pulls back, licks his lips slightly* "I can taste the frosting." stocking: hehe~ Kid: *holds her hand* -elsewhere at lunch- Arthur: "Still sore, Shinra?" shinra: just a bit... Arthur: "At least you got in a lot of running--and your flame feet got you a long distance." shinra: yeah...i could use a bath when i get back... Arthur: "Yeah...Just wish the showers were in better repair. When the cold water kicks in--ugh." shinra:....maybe we should get part time jobs too? Arthur: *smiles widely* "HISTORICAL REENACTMENTS! AT THE RENAISSANCE FAIR!" shinra: ….loud q-q; Arthur: "And what of you, squire? Where will you seek employment?" shinra:....*shrugs* Arthur: "We'll pick up a list of jobs from the DWMA help center--I'm sure there will be something there for you." shinra: ok... Arthur: "Just think: we get money, hot water, better showers..." shinra: yeah, and then i wont have to use the girl's showers anymore! Jacqueline: *at a nearby table, hearing that shouting* "???" Arthur: "No more awkward events of people walking in on us showering!" shinra: shhhhh!!! tamaki: or vice versa..... ^^~ *she has a smile, but a dark aura around her* Arthur: o\\\\\o *inches back a bit from Tamaki* shinra: *hiding behind arthur* Arthur: "In all fairness, by this point, we've all seen each other naked so often that we can probably memorize every last inch of each other--" Jacqueline: *chokes on her drink* -SMACKED- tamaki: >//////< shinra: *wince* fang-hua: even _i_ felt that... Arthur: *knocked to the floor* Q____Q ("It's still true...") nozomi: 0-0;;;; Tsukiyo: *whispers to Fang-Hua* "Just what on earth goes _on_ at that Brigade?" fang-hua: i have no idea... Tsukiyo: *small smirk* "Then I'll just have to imagine~" fang-hua: -_-; Tsukiyo: *sneaks up to Tamaki, taps her shoulder* "So, which of those boys are you dating?" tamaki: NYAH!! -PUNCH- haaaa...... nozomi: o-o;;;;; shinra:............*exits* Tsukiyo: *sent flying towards Fang-Hua* Arthur: *still on the floor* "So much pain.." fang-hua: o-o; you ok? -later- Stein: "...Can I have one lunch break without numerous students coming in injured just from a meal gone badly?" nurse: its the DWMA, what do you expect? Stein: "Point taken." *looks at the patients* "Arthur, we'll give you another cold compress. Tsukiyo, your nose isn't broken, and--Kim?! How did you get injured?" kim: im a nurses aid today. Stein: "...Oh. Sorry. So many people coming in here, lost track. Kim, Madoka, tend to Arthur and Tsukiyo." madoka: yes sir. kim: on it. Arthur: "I just want day without getting injured..." Tsukiyo: "Hello, cuties~" *winks at Kim and Madoka* madoka: um... kim: yo. Arthur: "My head hurts." Tsukiyo: "Make me feel all better with your healing touch~" madoka: here.... *she gets him a compress* kim: O-O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Tsukiyo: *winks at Kim* "I'm not sure I've seen you around here. You a weapon?" kim: meister actually. Tsukiyo: "Oh, darn. I've never had a chance to wield a weapon before..." kim: maybe one day? *shrug* Tsukiyo: "I'll just have to ask around...There any cute weapons around here without meisters?" kim: hmmm.... -later- Black Star: "What answer did you get for #4, Soul?" soul: ....... Black Star: "Yo, Earth to Soul--you there, buddy?" soul: hmm? Yeah… Black Star: "I was asking about a worksheet question. Something bothering you?" soul: im doing fine. just thinking. Black Star: "...Something you want to talk about?" soul: nah. Black Star: *shrug* "Well, back to my question: what did you get for Number--" *SHOVE* Tsukiyo: "Hey, there!" soul: ?! what the heck? Tsukiyo: "I'm Tsukiyo Usada, with the Lucky Number 7 Brigade! And you're Soul Eater, right?" *Tsukiyo's foot is holding Black Star face down on the floor* soul: um....yeah? Tsukiyo: "Neat! And you're a weapon, huh? I've never wielded a weapon before! Mind if I try?" soul:....sorry, not interested. try asking someone else. Tsukiyo: "Oh, come on! It'll be fun! Don't you want some cute girl with her hands all over you, swinging you around the room?~" soul:......*writing something down* here, directions to the training room. go bother someone there. Tsukiyo: *pigtails droop* "Aw, that's mean." *playful smirk* "But I'm not about to give up." *waves* "Later, cutie~" soul:..... *siiiiiiiiigh* fuckin hell.... Black Star: *sits back up, his face flat* "What is it with crazy girls wanting to be your partner?" *rubs the back of his head* "Especially with painful heels..." soul: ........maka wasnt crazy..... Black Star: "...Well, yeah, obviously she wasn't. I meant all the weirdos after Maka." soul:........we should get to class now. Black Star: *nods* -in class- Spirit: "We'll be discussing combat options involving teams of two. I need a volunteer to--" ???: "I volunteer!" Black Star: "...?! Oh, shit...Soul, crazy stalker girl is back..." soul:.............fuuuuck. Spirit: "Um...Tsukiyo, you're not a meister--" Tsukiyo: "Temporary registration change! I'm a scythe meister now!" Spirit: "..." *glances at Soul* soul: i volunteer mizuki amano as my proxy. mizuki: WHAT?! D : < Tsukiyo: "..." *shrug* "A cute weapon is a cute weapon~ Come on, Mizuki!" Spirit: "Whatever. Kim, Jackie, come on down as well." kim: right. mizuki: ...... *glares at soul* you owe me for this sharky. bailey: go get 'em mizuki! Spirit: "Weapons, transform!" Jacqueline: *transforms into Kim's hands* mizuki: *changes into her scythe form* Tsukiyo: *SQUEE :3* *Mizuki is too heavy for Tsukiyo, who promptly collapses on the floor* Tsukiyo: *scythe staff over her throat* "GAK!" Spirit: -_- mizuki: -_-;;; Black Star: "FORCE YOUR SOUL WAVELENGTH INTO HER, STALKER RABBIT GIRL! That'll mean you can lift the scythe then!" bailey: tsukiyo do you want to switch places? Tsukiyo: *can't breathe, slapping her hand on the floor as if a wrestler asking to be tagged out of this fight* Jacqueline: -_-; "This is just sad." bailey: *she takes a hold of mizuki and spins her around* alright! mizuki: thanks bailey -_-; bailey: no probs! Tsukiyo: *gasps, flips over and rolls away* "Jeez! Scythes are heavy!" -after class- Jacqueline: *puts a bandage on Kim's arm* student: i thought bailey was a weapon too...? Student #2: *shrug* "Can be two things." student 3: weirder things have happened. Student #2: "Like flame beings, people with Quirks--" *holds up mineta* "Whatever the hell this thing is." student: ew put that away you dont know where thats been! -elsewhere- Kid: *tapping his finger* "I think you forgot to carry the 2." stocking: ah! right.... Kid: *smiles* stocking: *sigh* just when i think ive got it. Kid: "Hey, we all make mistakes--even people as perfect as you." stocking:....*blushes* Kid: "I'll check the answer...Yes! You got it!" stocking: yay! Kid: *small kiss on her cheek* -later after school- Kid: *removing and adding items to the locker* "I'll need this, this...Leave this..." stocking: *fixing up her own locker* ok, i'm ready now. Kid: "Likewise." *shuts his locker closed--and a note flies out* "???" stocking: ?? *The note is sealed with a kiss* Kid: "???" *opens it* "...*sigh* Another request to be my partner..." stocking: ......... *griiiiiins* Kid: "??? What?" stocking: nothing. *looks and frowns* oh. stocking: did you check your algebra book? Kid: "Check it?" *opens his locker again, removes algebra book, and finds--* "!!! What on..." *opens the note...smiles* "Ahh..." stocking: *grins* wellll~? Kid: *smiles...puts the book back in his locker, holds the note to his chest, leans forward, and kisses her* stocking: hehe~ [the note reads; sweets are delicious, but you're the sweetest one of all <3 stocking] Kid: *smiles* "I am happy to be the sweetest for you..." *holds her hand* "You make me sweeter." stocking: ^^ -later- Kid: *holds a strawberry to her lips* stocking: mmmm~<3 Kid: *lets her bite into it, before leaning down to kiss, licking the strawberry juice from her lips* -elsewhere- Yohei: "Ready to head out?" mana: yeah. Shotaro: *nods* saki: we'll keep everything in check here at the house. Shotaro: "..." *hugs Saki* Kepuri: "Don't die out there." *small punch to Mana's shoulder* mana: we wont. Tuhl: "Well, better get going--don't want to miss our ride." *awkward shuffle in front of Saki...hands Io to her* saki:.....*she hugs him* Tuhl: "!!! ..." *small pat on the back* "We'll be back." io: buu! *sad face* Tuhl: "Hey, don't look like that...We're coming back." *strokes hand over Io's head* setsuna:.... Tuhl: *hands Mana her bag and follows them* mana: maybe if we get a chance, we could go to kaoli's for lunch? Tuhl: *small smile* "Sounds good." -elsewhere- Arthur: "I finished my job applications. How about you?" shinra:...... qwq curse you tamaki.... Arthur: "??? What happened?" shinra: *he shows his application..........to a crossdresser cafe* Arthur: "..." *trying to hold back...* "BWA HA HA HA!" shinra: Q-Q (thinking: tamaki's terrible luck... yet _i_ always seem to lose the punishment game....) Arthur: "I didn't know you liked that kind of thing! At least you'll make a buck at it!" shinra: Q_________Q Arthur: "BWA HA HA HA! This just gets better and better! You got such a good job waiting for you, buddy! I so envy you!" Akitaru: *shiny eyes* "Well then..." Arthur: "???" Akitaru: "YOU TOO SHALL APPLY FOR THE CROSS-DRESSING CAFE!" Arthur: "...What?" shinra: TTwTT (thinking: at least i wont suffer alone...) Arthur: "!!! I was using sarcasm, sir!" Akitaru: "I was born without sarcasm." Arthur: "But sir--" Akitaru: *DEATH GLARE* Arthur: "..." *glares at Shinra* -elsewhere- Hibana: *on the phone* "Yes, that would be good. Thank you!" -a few days pass buy- Izuku: "..." tsuyu:... Izuku: "Are you okay, Tsuyu? After all that happened..." tsuyu: i was going to ask you the same thing. Izuku: *nods* "My legs still ache, and my arm will need another day to finish healing..." hagakure: i think we're getting a substitute teacher until aizawa recovers... Nedzu: "Hello! I am here!" hanta: um....is that mr nedzu? he's- mina + hagakure: SO CUUUUTE! Nedzu: "Yes, I am very cute! I make sure to keep a shine to my fur! But the first question for you students: which species am I?" -silence- tsuyu: a mouse? Izuku: "A ferret?" Iida: *hand raised high* "A weasel!" kyouka:.....a something. hagakure: sure lets go with that. hanta: totally something. Nedzu: "No, no, no, yes, yes, and yes! Next question: who is your new teacher?" -more silence- -a woman is in the hallway- Nedzu: "Come in! Your students are waiting to see you!" namiko:....*scoot scoot scoot* um....h-hello..... eijiro:...who is she? denki: beats me. Nedzu: "Say hello to your temporary instructor, Teary Blue!" Izuku: "!!! Oh my God, it's Teary Blue!" namiko:....um..... Q-Q *cowers* kyouka:...is she ok? Nedzu: "Just shy! Treat her as well as you would Professor Aizawa!" Ochako: "...Flee in terror at the next way he will torture us?" -silence- namiko: *hiding in the corner* i'll just be over here....not bothering anyone... Iida: "Um...Should we do group study, ma'am?" namiko: dont mind me at all. im probably just wasting everyone’s time... *tearing up and whimpering* kyouka:....well isnt _she_ a ball of sunshine? Shouto: "...Wow, she's emo." Bakugo: "Seriously, dude? Like you're one to talk." denki: hey teach its ok... *pats*...................*tears up* AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OWOWOWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWWW!!! MY EYES!!! Izuku: "!!! Um..." *muttering* "So for her condition, we'll need eyedrops, so someone who is fast should run to the infirmary--" *shouts* "Iida! Please run to--" Iida: TT_TT "MY EYES." Izuku: "..." *sniff* "Nevermind. I'll go..." -only three people were effected- -lunch- denki: my eyes still hurt..... Izuku: *hands him another bottle of drops* denki: thanks. Izuku: "Teary Blue is...interesting." -elsewhere- Ponera: "Yikes." shaula: not as big of a trainwreck as last time.... Ponera: "Does it even listen to commands?" shaula: i think so? it did the first time i checked. Ponera: "..." *speaks into the microphone* "You there!" creature: ?? *looks back* Ponera: "Stand up straight." -it does so and screams...but all that comes out is static noise- Ponera: *covers ears* "What the heck?!" shaula:....freaky. Ponera: "...Why is it making that noise? It can't speak? Is there anything useful about that noise?" -elsewhere- Kid: "All those injuries...Who were those villains?" liz: not sure.... Patty: "It's a good thing people got there in time...wish we had." liz:...hmm? Patty: "Maybe we could've helped." liz:....... Patty: *hugs Liz* liz:...*hug* Kid: "Right now, our classmates and teachers will need our support. And we can be working to find where these villains are hiding." liz: yeah. stocking: *she nods* Kid: "We'll be commencing with additional searches tomorrow. For now, let's focus on today." liz: right. Kid: *opens his book* "Shall we begin our assignment?" -and so- Kid: "Hmm...Harder than expected." -elsewhere- Yumi: "How is Aizawa?" nurse: he's recovering. but he needs to rest right now. Yumi: *nods* "All Might?" nurse: he's doing well. Yumi: *nods* "Please keep us updated." *turns--spots someone* "Sachiko!" sachiko: *she looks up and waves* Yumi: "How's work?" sachiko: busy as always. Yumi: "I can imagine. How is Izumi?" sachiko: she's doing well. she's getting ready for the new school year. Yumi: *smiles* "Same with Kid and Kirika...Won't be long before they're done with classes." sachiko: they graduate next year, right? Yumi: *nods* -elsewhere- Dabi: "What's that look for?" yuuji: ...... sachi: zzzzz...... *asleep at the bar* yuuji: you didnt even help us out back there, ass. sachi and i risked our asses out there and you didnt even show! Dabi: "I was busy. I think the real question is, why couldn't you handle yourselves better." yuuji: *tightens fist* sachi:..... yuuji:.....if you excuse me, i need to get sachi to a better place to sleep. Dabi: "Looks like what she really needs is a better boyfriend." yuuji: *GLARES* Dabi: "Maybe someone who can actually pleasure her." sachi: *eyes snap open as she gives him a death glare* Dabi: *winks* sachi: ^^ *flips him off* Dabi: "Hmph. You don't know what you're missing--both of you." yuuji:.................. sachi:................. Dabi: "...Well? You gonna stand there looking stupid, or go back to your room and look stupid?" -elsewhere- Kishiri: *snooping in the hallway...heading to a certain room...* worker: *checking on the angel clones* Kishiri: *trying to sneak past the worker's clone lab* -elsewhere, in another lab- luka: *taking notes* luka: look at how much you've grown in such a short time.... Assistant: "Here are the additional instruments you requested." luka: thank you. Assistant: *studying the clone* "Growth seems to be coming along. Should not be too long before it may be removed from the chamber and put it on respiratory and nutritional systems." luka: good... and the learning bed? Assistant: "We ran a diagnostic with a...volunteer. After we make the adjustments, it will be ready." luka: excellent. Assistant: *smiles, studying the specimen's number* "He will need a name...What was that of the original Death Scythe?" luka: *she looks at the sample.* Justin Law. the holy executioner. Assistant: "Hmm..." luka:....*smirks* blood drives are wonderful things, arent they? Assistant: "Yes...Such a good young man..." luka: and that good hearted intent will be his downfall... Assistant: *small laugh* "Good is dumb, after all." luka: good? evil? it doesnt matter, i only do what i do for the sake of knowledge. Assistant: "And I admire that from you, ma'am." *lays a hand along the clone storage vessel* "Just upsets me how so-called do-gooders don't want to take knowledge to the logical conclusion." -elsewhere- Wes: "Right this way, Liz." liz: *she smiles and follows* Wes: *he has set out a meal of rich food, lit by candles* liz: wow. this looks great! Wes: "I don't know how good it'll be...I've been practicing but it still kind of isn't as good as other meals..." liz: its the thought that counts. Wes: *pulls chair out for Liz* liz: *sits down* Wes: *sits across from her, smiles* -elsewhere- Kid: "Father, could I ask a silly question?" lord death: hmm? what is it kiddo? Kid: "When you claimed you were 'making birdhouses' as a cover for visiting Eibon..._have you_ ever made birdhouses?" lord death:..... >w>;;;;;; Kid: "...If not..." *brings up a birdhouse kit* lord death:..................*cracks knuckles* lets do this sh*t Kid: "Fuck yeah!" -and so- Kid: *holding balance* "I think it's about right..." lord death: looks good. now to let it dry... Kid: *nods, stands proudly, looks at Lord Death, smiles* lord death: *smiles and pats his back* Kid: "Thanks." *small hug* lord death: *hug* Kid: "I love you, Father." lord death: i love you too, son. Kid: "...May I ask you something else?" lord death: hmm? what is it? Kid: *squirms a bit* "How...How does someone become a good parent?" lord death: what brought this up? Kid: "...Just thinking about the future, and what I can do now, long before I have a child--if Stocking and I were to have children." lord death: ah. well, i suppose taking care of them, letting them know they are loved, and just supporting them through their life. Eventually they will mature enough to find their own path in life. no matter what happens, always be happy for them... Kid: "..." *looks down* "Are you...happy for me?" lord death: of course i am, why wouldnt i be? Kid: "...I'm not perfect." lord death: no one really is kiddo. Kid: "...I think you are." lord death: ..........*small smile* thank you kiddo... Kid: "..." *sniff, wipes eyes* kirika:...............*looks down* Kid: *spots her* "K-Kirika?" kirika: !! *looks away* 7///7; lord death: kirika, you come join us in the hug too. Kid: "..." *pulls back from Lord Death, approaches...Hug* kirika: o-o;.............*awkward hug* Kid: *awkward hug* -elsewhere- Shotaro: *looking out the window* mana: i think we're here now. Shotaro: *nods* "I'll be glad to get out of this flight attendant uniform..." -upon landing- intercom; now landing in tokyo airport. mana: all we need to do now is drive down to the coast, hop a boat to japonshima and we're good to go. Tuhl: "Been a while..." setsuna:....showtaro... Shotaro: "Hmm?" setsuna:..we'll find him. *she smiles and puts a soft hand on his shoulder* Shotaro: *sad smile, nods* "Right." -elsewhere- nea: we're baaaack~ Shinoda: T_T *panting huffing* nea: shinoda, i thought you could handle this much heavy lifting? Shinoda: "You are not a normal shopper..." nea: UpU Emine: "..." grunt: lord emine? Emine: "What?" grunt: are you ok? Emine: "I'm fine. Stop asking." grunt: sheesh.... *squeltch* -the grunt falls to the ground- Emine: "Clean this up." grunt 2:....ok. Shinoda: "Hmph. We cannot keep all of these grunts around if you keep killing them." Emine: "It's not like we pay them that much..." nea: do we even pay them at all? Grunt #3: o____O ("I've been stealing the change from the 'take a penny' tray...") -elsewhere- lin: *worried* Akua: "You keep pacing like that you're going to put a hole in the floor." lin: what if emine needs me right now? is he ok? Akua: *tosses phone to her* "Call him. Maybe it'll stop your fretting." lin: *dialing him up* Emine: "...Lin?" lin: how are you holding up? Emine: "...I hate the help here. They are stupid." lin: i really wish i could be there with you....i really miss you. Emine: "...You're the one I tolerate here." lin: *she smiles* Emine: "...Get back soon. I don't know how long I can tolerate these idiots." lin: i'll try. Emine: "Good. Do so." lin: and the mission? Emine: "Hurry and find what we need as soon as you can...I'll try to wait..." lin: ok. -elsewhere- Wes: "Was it okay?" liz: it was great. *she smiles* Wes: *smiles* "Thanks. I wanted to make something good...I want to do whatever I can for you." Wes: *holds Liz's hand* liz: *she kisses his cheek* Wes: *blushes* "I love you." liz: i love you too, cutie. Wes: *small squeeze of her hand* "You're cuter." -elsewhere- Iris: o____o shinra: *blushing* tamaki: ...... maki: (thinking: his moe level just dangerously spiked up!) Arthur: *struggling to pull down his skirt* "Too short..." nozomi: you look nice. Arthur: -\\\\- "This is not attire befitting a knight like me..." Iris: "...I think you look nice in that, Shinra." shinra: um...thanks. Iris: "At least the wages should be good, yes?" shinra: i guess. Arthur: "Let's just work long enough to earn the money for fixing up the bathroom, then we can quit." shinra: ....... Iris: "Do your best, you two. We're happy that you are trying to earn us more money!" nozomi: we'll work hard too! Arthur: "O-Okay..." -elsewhere- Kid: *lying in bed, reading* stocking: *already asleep* Kid: *writes a note about the book, puts in a bookmark, closes and sets aside the book, turns off the light, lies down and holds Stocking gently so not to wake her* stocking:...*small smile* Kid: *yawns, smiles* ("I love you...") -morning- Kid: *turns in bed* stocking: zzzzz..... Kid: *as he turns, his hands instinctively wrap lightly along her* stocking: mmmm.... Kid: *holds her closely, yawns...kisses her shoulder* stocking: *she opens her eyes and smiles* Kid: *smiles* "You know what is good in the morning?" stocking: what~? Kid: *gentle stroke of her cheek* "Waking up next to someone you love...so much." stocking: *she smiles and kisses him softly* Kid: *kisses back softly, hugs her* -at school- Stein: *his eyes are red* soul: O-O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Stein: "Our new teacher here is...interesting." nygus: fortunately, she's kept the damage to a minimum. Stein: "I don't consider my eyes 'minimum'..." *hands Soul a slip of paper* "You have a new assignment." soul: hmm? *he examines the paper* Stein: "You'll be mentoring first-year weapons and meisters who have not yet been assigned partners." soul: ...alright then. Stein: "You'll have to plan out days for them, activities, who to introduce them to...who to avoid." soul: right. ???: "Maybe Soul could use some help, Dr. Stein?" Stein: "???" soul: ?? Tsukiyo: *waves* soul:..........*siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighs* Stein: "...Don't kill each other. I don't need any more sample cadavers." soul: TMI DOC! Tsukiyo: "Oh, I won't kill Sugar Shark!" soul: i make no promises. Tsukiyo: "Watch that teasing, cutie--" *produces a small flame along her finger* "You can look, but don't get burnt~" soul: .......................................................................................................... -_- *Stein's note lists names of meisters and weapons entering the school* soul: *looking over* Tsukiyo: "I think those students need to see all the school offers. How about an orientation party?" soul: that doesnt sound like a bad idea. Tsukiyo: "I heard about this cute cabaret where we could hold it! This cat girl told me--" soul: OH GOD NO! Tsukiyo: "Huh?~" soul: i need to take care of something. excuse me. Tsukiyo: "Looking forward to working with you, Soul!" *waves* -at lunch- Izuku: *looking through a recent history book* kyouka: *writing* -in class- cementoss: good afternoon everyone. Izuku: "Kyouka, what do you know about this guy--" *picture of Charisma Justice* kyouka: .....he's a cartoon character? Izuku: "I thought so...Just wasn't so sure." *looks at Cementoss to listen* mina: where did miss teary go? cementoss: miss oribe asked for a pardon from the class, due to feeling her quirk may be disruptive. so i have been chosen as her proxy. Bakugo: "At least we'll stop crying--except all y'all at how you are all such losers compared to me." -cement pillar'd to the ceiling in slo-mo as 'brave song' plays in the background- Izuku: D: Bakugo: *ACK!* rikido: wow that had to hurt. Ochako: "Wow...Katsuki usually doesn't get that high except...well, nevermind." kyouka: yikes. Mineta: Q_Q ("So glad it wasn't me...") -elsewhere- Ponera: "Such a weird creation...but powerful." shaula: lets see how this one reacts... Ponera: "Proceed." -in another room- neian: zzzz.... Medusa: *small smile* ("At least she is largely healthy...") neian: *yawn* mama... Medusa: o____o "H-Hi..." neian: ^^ Medusa: "..." *picks her up, kisses her forehead* neian: hehe! Medusa: "You are...such a happy child." neian: ^.^ \chrona: mother...\ Medusa: "...Am I going to fail you, too?" neian:....? Medusa: "Will I give you up...to make you just another experiment?" neian:.....zzzzzz Medusa: "..." *sniffs, cries* -elsewhere- Hibana: *opens the door for Gabriella into the restaurant* "After you." gabriella: thank you. *Their waiter greets them...* Rin: "Hey, I'm Rin! You have a reservation--" *covers his mouth* "Holy crap, you're Hibana." Hibana: *smirks* "I see my reputation precedes me. Yes, we have a reservation." *holds Gabriella's hand lightly* gabriella: h-hello. Rin: "Cool! Well, I'll bring you to your table...Right this way!" Hibana: *small whisper to Gabriella as they follow* "It'll have a great view of the city." -elsewhere- Knight: "I fear the 8th is getting too close." sister: ...........*she ponders and opens her eyes* lord sho... Sho: "What is it?" dahlia: it will soon be time... Sho: "...All preparations have been made?" dahlia: soon. in due time. Sho: "This will be the point when our light shines--and extinguishes all others." -elsewhere- Akitaru: *staring at the night sky* miwa: nice night out. Akitaru: *nods* "Quiet out." miwa:....and a lot colder. Akitaru: *small laugh* "Yeah...Need a jacket?" miwa: i'm good. *she smiles* reminds me of when i was younger, my family and i would roast sweet potatoes over a campfire. Akitaru: "We actually did a camping trip a while ago. Good times." miwa: sounds like fun. did you make popcorn too? i always burnt mine a little, but something about it just made it taste better, you know? Akitaru: "Heh...Yeah, that happened...Still happens. Now I'm hungry." miwa: hinawa still awake? Akitaru: "Probably?" -morning- Arthur: *yawns, dragging his feet to the bathroom* shinra:........*he's only in a towel* Arthur: "Hey." *waves to Shinra* "Heading in or coming out?" shinra: i just got out of the shower -_-; Arthur: "Hope you didn't use up all the hot water--" shinra: i didnt! Arthur: *pulling off his own shirt* "You better not. Cold showers suck." *makes his way into the bathroom* shinra: ...... -at school- Ochako: "I'm starting to get worried for my cousin...What if something like this happens again, another attack?" eijiro: .....im sure she'll be ok. she has a levitation quirk, right? Ochako: *nods* "She's just...I mean, she's not used to this like we are. I mean, we're still newbies, too, but we're the kind of newbies who have still seen some serious shit!" Izuku: ._. "That's...a blunt way of putting it." eijiro: yeah.... Bakugo: "Uraraka, stop over-thinking this: wait for your cousin to get here and then you can worry." Ochako: "??? Um...You still have a slab of cement up your nose." Bakugo: "I KNOW!" hagakure: do you need to go to the nurse? Bakugo: *grumbles* "Tch. No, _Mom_, I don't need to go to the nurse." -in another class- misono:....... Patty: *slowly rises behind him...her fingers are nearing his spike of hair ever so slowly...* misono: dont. Patty: o_O "How did you know I was--?" misono: i can smell your awful breath from here. Patty: *frowns* "Your hair is awful." misono: it's just fine. now leave me alone, you're bothering me. Patty: "No! I was here first. You leave me alone!" *tries to shove him* teacher: settle down you two! Patty: *frowns, glares at Misono* "This isn't over..." *slowly slides down out of view* misono:...hmph.... Patty: *slides back up next to Liz* "What's that guy's deal?" liz: i dunno. Patty: *crosses her arms, pouts* "Stupid guy, not letting me touch his hair. You know how many people let me touch their hair without having to ask?!" liz:........... Patty: *opens book, starts reading* -after school- Kid: "Any plans for this afternoon?" stocking: how about we check out the mall? Kid: *nods* "I would like that. Liz?" liz: yeah, lets do that! Patty: "Yay!" -and so- Kid: *looking at teapots* stocking: *trying some of the drinks* mmm... Kid: "Maybe this one would be good for Father...How is the flavor?" stocking: it tastes nice. Kid: *takes a sip from another cup* "Mmm~ I think this would be good." stocking: ^^ Kid: "Let's buy this for Mother and Father...Which one would your parents like?" stocking: i think i might go with this one. Kid: *nods* "I hope Liz and Patty are having good luck with their shopping--" -click- Kid: "???" girl: oh, dont mind me. i was taking pictures of the tea sets for my photography blog. Kid: "Oh, okay. Let me get out of the way--" -click click- stocking:....? girl: thank you. *she smiles and leaves*............ Kid: *watches Stocking* stocking: *shrugs* -outside, the girl gets a phonecall- girl: yes? ???: "Found them?" girl: no, but i did find something interesting...the girl isnt quite human. ???: "What do you think she is?" girl: let me ask you something. do you believe in angels? ???: "...I don't believe anything that I don't see with my own eyes." girl: ....i'm heading back now. ???: "Okay. Keep an eye open." girl: right. ???: "Over and out." -elsewhere- Joker: (smoking) "Bloody hell." ivy: whats our next move? Joker: "..." (Slams his piece forward) scarlet: hmmmm.... *moves her rook forwards 3 spaces* Joker: (moves bishop to take rook) scarlet: hmmm.....*smirks and moves the knight to take the bishop* Joker: "Shit..." (Moves a pawn toward the bishop) scarlet: *grins and moves her own bishop in position* you've left your king right open. Check. Joker: (grumbles, moves his pawn to take her bishop) scarlet: hmmmm.... *observing the board* Joker: (puffing in annoyance) "You know we got to make a move soon..." scarlet: hmmm... i heard haijima hired some new interns... Joker: "..." (sneers) "Would anyone miss them?" scarlet: doubt it. Joker: "Then let's go over and say hi." -elsewhere- Hibana: (lying in bed, groaning) gabriella: i brought you some ginger ale if it helps at all. Hibana: "Thanks..." (Whines) gabriella: ...*pats her back* Hibana: (weak smile to her) -elsewhere- mana: *looking out the bus window* Tuhl: *texting* Shotaro: (frowning) [chie: any progress?] Tuhl: [should be at last known location soon] [chie: you guys be safe ok?] Tuhl: [we will. Take care of saki and io. Maybe yohei] [chie: can and will do.] Shotaro: "Mom? You okay?" setsuna: *she nods* ......we'll be there soon.... Shotaro: *hug* setsuna:....you're afraid. arent you? Shotaro: *nods* setsuna:...im afraid too. but even though its scary, i have to find the courage inside me to keep going. Shotaro: *bites lip, nods* intercom; now arriving at grave hill pass. now arriving at grave hill pass. Shotaro: *gulps, holds Setsuna's hand* setsuna: *she smiles warmly* Shotaro: "...I'm ready." mana: we're right behind you guys. Tuhl: *nods* -the bus has made its stop- Shotaro: "Onward to our destination..." -elsewhere- Kid: "I hope you enjoy the tea, Mother, Father." lord death: it's quite delicious~! ^^ Yumi: "Quite." stocking: ^^ Kid: "We're glad." (Holds Stocking's hand) stocking: *she smiles* Yumi: "Oh, Kid, Stocking: could you babysit Shiori this weekend?" stocking: of course, we wouldnt mind at all. Kid: "Agreed." Yumi: (smiles) "Thank you." shiori: ^o^ Kid: (laughs, kicks up Shiori) "Ready for fun time with us, Sister?" shiori: kid! kid! stocking: hehe! Kid: "Shiori! Shiori!" shiori: hehe! ^o^ lord death: he's a real natural... Yumi: "Indeed." Kid: o\\\o lord death: its true though. Kid: "...You don't know how much it means to hear that, from you both." -elsewhere- Arthur: "I hate this skirt...The color is just awful." shinra: *blushing* i feel like everyone is staring at me. Arthur: "Oh, that's not true. After all, I'm sure I get way better tips than you." shinra: -.- some of the customers have been hitting on me. Arthur: "...Still more flirting than people usually do with you." shinra: s-shut up! >/////< Arthur: "Just roll with it. Maybe you'll get a boyfriend out of it." shinra: T-T *A teenage boy enters the cafe and spots Arthur and Shinra* shinra: *smiling* hi, may we- Izuku: "Shinra?!" Kishiri: "..." shinra: O.O *screaming on the inside* Kishiri: *looks Shinra up and down* "Nice skirt." Izuku: "You work here, too?!" Arthur: ("Was he asking me? Then why is he still staring at Shinra?") shinra: O///O; erm..... its a long story. really long. you wouldnt believe me even if i told you. Izuku: "I-I've heard crazier stories about working here. Not personally, though. Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha..." Kishiri: "Well, you gonna seat us, cuties?" Arthur: -_- shinra:....right this way. Kishiri: *follows* Izuku: *looking around...* ("Please don't let anyone here recognize me...") shinra: here you go. and here _you_ go. Kishiri: "???" shinra: *smiles awkwardly* (thinking: i feel like someone is watching me...) Izuku: *looks around...spots someone looking at them* ???: "Eep!" *buries his face back into his menu* shinra: ......?? do you need anything sir? ???: "N-No?" *his glass of water is empty* shinra: can i get you more water? ???: "S-Sure? That would help. Thank you." -later- ???: (places money and tip with receipt) "Th-Thank you." shinra: have a nice day sir. ???: "Y-You too..." *small smiles and blush* -after work lets off- Arthur: *changing in the locker room* "Glad this day is over..." shinra: *still surprised by the large tip* Arthur: "Jeez, why did that guy give you such a big tip?" shinra: not sure. Arthur: *light bulb* "Oh my God...He likes you." shinra: w-what?! Arthur: "Why else would he give you that tip? I give much better service, so it can only be that he's attracted." shinra: how should i know? Arthur: "See how he acts the next time he arrives--since I bet he's coming again." shinra: well, we should head home now. Arthur: "Yeah." *shuts his locker* "Look forward to getting some sleep." -on the path home, shinra still felt uneasy....like someone was following them- *It sounds like someone knocks into a garbage can--then curses himself* ???: "Damn it!" shinra: ?!?! ???: "Eep!" *tries to disappear--and runs into and falls into the garbage can* shinra: *walking faster* ???: "W-Wait! I'm sorry for stalking--er, following you..." Arthur: "...I'll just stab him now..." shinra: arthur! D:< ???: "Don't kill me, please! I just--I mean, I--I just wanted to see where Shinra lives! I mean, in which brigade he--BOTH OF YOU-- are in!" shinra: wait, how do you know my name? *uneasy* ???: "Um...It was on your nametag?" shinra:.....*looks at arthur*........ excuse us a moment.... *whispers* what do we do? he seems decent enough, but im still kind of on edge... Arthur: "Well, since stabbing is out of the question--" *looks at him* "Right?" shinra: T_T Arthur: "Just lie about which brigade we're in." shinra: *whispering* you do it! Arthur: "We are most certainly not in the 8th Brigade! We are in the 12th Brigade!" ???: "...There is no 12th Brigade." shinra: *glares at arthur* Arthur: "That's what people _want_ you to think! That's how important we are! We have to pretend we're nobodies to the world!" ???: "Um..." -BONK!- Arthur: "I-I meant the 3rd! We're in the 3rd!" shinra: yeah! now if you excuse is, commander giovanni is waiting for us. Arthur: o_O "BUT HE SCARES ME, SHINRA!" shinra: come on! *drags him along* ???: "Oh...Um...See you around! I hope..." -later- shinra:.... i feel kind of bad for him. Arthur: "Why? He had creep written all over him." shinra: yeah, i didnt really know him, and him following us was really creepy...but he didnt seem _too_ bad, unlike some other people. Arthur: "People who are so clingy are the worst." *pauses* "I'm going to go see what Tamaki is up to." shinra:........................................*facepalm* -arthur would recieve a shoe to the face. why this is is open to interpretation- Arthur: *voice muffled from foot to the face* tamaki: -_-;;; Arthur: *voice still muffled* "I said I was sorry..." shinra: yikes. -elsewhere- mana:..... Shotaro: *looking around* "Kind of feels...dreary around here." mana: no kidding..... Tuhl: *looks at an overturn garbage can* "Yeah. All letting off a low morose noise...Setsuna, you notice anything?" setsuna: *she is looking at the picture* we arent far now... Tuhl: *nods* "If the trash here is this depressed, it's going to get worse moving forward." *holds a hand to his head* setsuna: ....... Shotaro: *sees a baby bird fallen out of its nest, unable to fly up to it* "..." *scoops up the bird, leaps into the tree, returns it to its nest* setsuna:...*she smiles* Shotaro: *climbs back down* "Its parent should be back soon..." *smiles at Setsuna* setsuna: ..... -a slight fog covers the ground- Shotaro: "???" mana: *she looks ahead* -a large chapel building looms in the distance- Shotaro: *inhales* "Okay..." Tuhl: "Really beat up looking." setsuna: you can feel that... cant you? mana: hmm? setsuna: deep in the darkness, theres a feeling of loneliness... Tuhl: "Yeah..." Shotaro: "Emine?" setsuna:....yes. Shotaro: "...I never thought this would happen again..." mana: perhaps....things will go differently this time. Shotaro: *nods* "Yeah...It will." -inside- Tuhl: *holds his scythe, whispers to others* "Walls are crying..." Shotaro: (Bone of the Tiger) *sniffs the air* mana:....!!!! *she spots a grunt* grunt: e...mine.....he.....he's gone on a rampage......*dies* Shotaro: "..." *sniffs...takes off and runs in that direction* Tuhl: "Shotaro, wait!" mana: *runs after him* Shotaro: *rounds a corner, finding blood along the walls* "No..." *growls* "Not now. Not again..." setsuna:....*she puts a hand on showtaro's shoulder.* -in another room- nea: *trying to hold emine back with a chain* im not about to let you hurt him! Shinoda: *struggling to stand up, his arm slashed* "If I did not have my daily apple, he would have taken the whole arm off..." nea: emine, snap out of it you idiot! Emine: *growling* "I must be fed! Give me your fear! All of it!" nea: (thinking: this isnt good....) -the chain is beginning to break- Shinoda: *glaring at Emine* "You brat..." Enime: *roars, leaping forward* nea: shinoda!! Shinoda: *glares at Enime, too injured to move* *WHOOSH* nea: ?? *Shotaro has swooshed by Tool, attached to his chain scythe, and kicks Emine in the face* Shotaro: "Bone of Flying Squirrel! Bone of Kangaroo!" nea: w-wha? mana: hey! mind helping me out? *she is helping shinoda up* nea: !! *she runs over and helps him up as well* Emine: *knocked to the floor, pulling himself up* "Who dares strikes--?!" *sees him* "...Shotaro?" showtaro: hey emine, its going to be ok buddy. *smiles* Emine: *shudders* "No...Get away from me!" *slashes at him* showtaro: -shell of the crab- *blocks with a claw* i know last time we met....it didnt end well, but its ok buddy. i forgive you. Emine: "Shut up! Go away! We can't be near each other...We can't, you...you hero!" setsuna: ....you must be emine, right? Emine: "I am the Bai Ze!" showtaro: yeah mom, thats him. setsuna: ah, i see. Emine: "DON'T INTERRUPT ME, SHOTARO!" setsuna: showtaro's told me quite a bit about you emine. you've been through quite a lot, havent you? Emine: "..." *stands upright, less bestial and speaks more calmly* "I survived." setsuna: from what showtaro told me....your mother....she wasnt very kind to you, was she? Emine: *shaking* "I have no mother..." setsuna:....*small smile* maybe we could change that? Emine: "You can't change anything..." setsuna: its ok emine. i understand you're scared of what you are...what you can do...is that why you shut others out? Emine: "I eliminate all that gets in the path of progress..." *flashes his claws* "I see one obstacle before me..." showtaro: !!! mom! setsuna: ..... Emine: "Now back away, or else." setsuna:............*she says nothing...and hugs him* showtaro:....*small smile and joins in on the hug* Emine: *struggling to loosen himself, but he is not attacking* "Unhand me!" setsuna: its ok... showtaro: even though you have to do one bad deed a day, that doesnt make you a bad person. Emine: "I am! And if you don't let me go--if you don't let me leave--I will lose everything!" setsuna: and what would 'everything' be? Emine: "..." *wails* "Shotaro!" showtaro: but emine, i'm right here, and im still your friend, right? *he smiles* Emine: "You know we can't...a person who does only bad deeds...only good deeds...We cancel each other..." setsuna: emine. you arent defined by your actions. Emine: "I am! I do bad deeds! That is what a Bai Ze does!" showtaro: .......you only have to do a bad deed at least _once_ per day, right emine? Emine: "...Yes." showtaro: then maybe the bad deed can be really small, like punching someone, stealing someones food, or even worse.... _spilling food on the floor!_ Emine: "..." *pulls back his fist, aiming for Shotaro's face...holds his fist back...he's shaking* setsuna: ....we can help you emine. we can be your family. Emine: "...What family do I need? I have been fine on my own..." *sadistic grin* "I am making a world where Dokeshi thrive." setsuna:........... setsuna: and how do you intend to do that, hurting more people and making people more fearful of dokeshi, or opening up to people and live with humans as equals? Emine: " 'Equals'...Why would they ever do that? When would they ever do that?" showtaro: i have an idea! come with us to death city! they can help you fit in! mana: well, death city is considered a city of second chances... Emine: *glares* "You'd have to drag me before I budget an inch..." showtaro:......... -leg of the big ant- *lifts emine over his head* lets go home. Emine: "Unhand me! I will not be moved! I am the Bai Ze! I am formidable! I am--" showtaro: *cradles him like a baby and puts a finger to his lips* shhhhhh, its ok mr crankypants. Emine: >\\\\\< "If I wasn't so injured, I would rip off your arms and beat you with them!" *glares at Setsuna* "Who the hell are you, anyway?" setsuna: i'm showtaro's mother. Emine: *frowning at Shotaro* "You forgive this bitch who abandoned you?" showtaro: she's here now, isnt she? setsuna:............ Emine: "And she'll abandon you like any human--" showtaro: but mom isnt a human, she's a dokeshi like us! Emine: *sneers* "You debase yourself, associating with humans? Gross." setsuna: true, there are some cruel humans in this world, but a lot of them arent that terrible. showtaro: yeah, mana and yohei are really awesome! saki's really cool too! Emine: "...Yohei Nanami...of the Dokeshi Hunt?" showtaro: he isnt in dokeshi hunt anymore, neither is mono. actually, yohei's actually _married_ to a dokeshi. her name is chie and she's really really cool! she's gonna be a mom soon too! Emine: "..." *squick face* "They are breeding." mana: what showtaro is trying to say is that people can change for the better. Emine: "...Aren't you that small girl who smashed Dr. Agei's robot?" mana: Mana Hinoki, nice to meet you. and this here is Tuhl. Emine: "...The kappa." Tuhl: -_- "The asshole." nea: .....emine, what about lin's mission? mana: lin? Emine: *looks away* "Can't we leave her out of this...? Sh-She doesn't have to be taken in by these weirdos..." (*small sneers in his mind* "Perhaps she and Akua can still complete my second objective...") nea: if your being taken to death city, she should at least know about this. she really cares about you, you know... showtaro:..... :3 *grins at emine* nea: i mean, if shinoda got captured, i would want to know too...i worry about him. Shinoda: -\\\\\- "So you could torture me?" Emine: "..." -\\\\\- nea: shinoda, as much as i cant stand you, we still had something you dummy. -_- mana:.........(thinking: best not to ask) Emine: *glares at Shotaro* "Your smile is laughable." showtaro: hehe....hey mom, when we get back, could you adopt emine? Emine: "WHAT?! I don't need a parent!" setsuna:...*she smiles* i think i can do that. showtaro: emine, i know your old mom wasnt very nice to you, but mom is really nice. Emine: "Like any mother, she will hurt you, again." setsuna:..... *she hugs emine* Emine: *grumbling* "Stop that...I am not to be hugged! The only person who is allowed to hug me is--" Shinoda: "..." *smirks* nea: ....... >:3 mana: ???? showtaro: 8D Emine: *steam coming off his head* "All of you stop talking!" -and so- Emine: "..." nea: do you want to talk to her? *hands the phone to emine* Emine: "..." *snatches the phone, dials* lin: yes, this is lin-kimpur speaking~ Emine: "Lin...Hi." lin: is everything ok? Emine: "...I have been taken into a family of silly people." lin:....eh? o.o Emine: "I think I am being adopted by the mother of my long lost friend Shotaro." *whispers* "Help." lin: WHERE ARE THEY TAKING YOU IM GOING TO SAVE YOU! Emine: "..." *looks at Shotaro* "Where do you live, anyway?" mana: death city. Emine: "Death City." lin: !!! WHEN THEY GET BACK HERE I'LL RESCUE YOU! Emine: -\\\\\- "I am sure of that." Shotaro: *Bone of the Bat to get ears to eavesdrop* lin: if they do anything to hurt you, i wont forgive them! i....i dont want them to hurt you. *blush* Emine: "...Thank you." *whispers* "Find me when I get there..." lin: of course i will! dont forget to do your daily bad deed either, ok? Emine: "..." *looks at Mana* mana: .....?? Emine: *takes her water bottle and spills it over her head* mana: h-hey! Emine: (to Lin on the phone) "Bad deed complete." mana: TnT; Emine: *smirks at Mana* mana:..... (thinking: just grin and bear it mana.) -elsewhere- shinra: 32.....33......34......35....- hmm? Arthur: "???" maki: mail call! Iris: "Anything for me?" maki: you got some free samples on perfume. Iris: "Hmm...I wonder whether these will work..." Arthur: *looking at mail* ("Wait...What's that letter?") shinra:...*he sees a note* hmm? no return address? weird.

#death city days

[soul-dwelling]

What was the relationship between Vulcan and Lisa even supposed to be? At first when Lisa was just shown I though she was like his girlfriend, but later the whole story of Vulcan taking her and the kid (forgot name lol) in seemed to be more of a family in a kind of siblings type of way. But then later it seemed like it was romantic after all, so I guess its like they are parents to the kid in a way, but still eh

LOL, Vulcan and Lisa’s relationship is about the only thing I didn’t have a problem with in Fire Force. 

And that’s saying something, because it’s not like it isn’t problematic (she gets revealed as a honeypot / covert agent before realizing she actually likes Vulcan and joins the good guys) but because any problematic stuff is mostly fully explored (Lisa still ends up carrying a ton of trauma) and gets somewhat of a payoff (Lisa helps stop Giovanni…sort of--I’ll get to why that didn’t work for me in a moment). 

Vulcan and Lisa is pretty much the only adult coupling we get in the story that feels healthy. Again, it’s based initially on a lie--yet Vulcan’s treatment got to Lisa and convinced her that the White Clads were in the wrong. That is itself problematic (“all she needed was love and family,” “we’re going to avoid using Lisa to interrogate how what the Clads want and what they did was wrong”). 

So maybe I’m just a sucker, or maybe the standards are so low with Fire Force, that we have two people who have an excellent rapport with each other, seem to bounce off of each other well--and, oh, look, they’re 18, this doesn’t become creepy and weird. I guess that’s why I didn’t read Vulcan and Lisa as a sibling-like relationship; although I think that choice would have worked as well (and give the story something missing, non-sexual relationships between a same-age man and woman that is lacking in a lot of the series), I also think there is a dearth of adult writing in this series, and handling Vulcan and Lisa as being in a relationship, however subtle it is, works. It’s again Ohkubo accidentally falling into good romance writing, as he did with Soul and Maka, that is so understated that you can believe if it was unintentional. 

So, I guess if I had any criticism with the Vulcan and Lisa relationship as it appears in the manga, I would have liked it to be more obviously a romantic relationship. It’d be nice to break up how cynical this story could be by showing one couple that makes it work, instead of leaving it so awkwardly written that, yeah, I get seeing a sibling relationship initially before Lisa is blushing at Vulcan complimenting how the White Clad attire fits her. 

And it’s not like I don’t ignore how weirdly conservative and nuclear family the set up is, that Vulcan and Lisa are like the parents and Yu is like their kid. But it is dismantled enough: Lisa is revealed as a spy, Giovanni mocks them for having played house--it’s enough of a setup to be subverted later. It’s like an early Spy x Family…only it’s Ohkubo’s usual screw ups…and the latest Spy x Family chapter kind of sapped a lot of the charm that series has had up to now--but that’s a topic for another time. 

I also appreciate that we mostly explore how traumatizing Lisa’s time with the White Clad was. We still have some disturbing imagery in the form of how close Giovanni gets to her physically--but this is an instance where it doesn’t come across as fanservice or fetishizing view or titillating poses and trying to accentuate Lisa’s figure. I’m going to try not to read into Giovanni’s presence too much: if you read rape-like imagery in the scenes, or even read into the potential that Giovanni assaulted Lisa, I think the imagery reinforces that reading, even if you don’t want to go there and read it as mental coercion (itself already a violation, hence the phrase “mind rape”). It never came across to me as crossing a line and was one of the rare cases where this series, and this overall oeuvre by Ohkubo, took the moment seriously and didn’t reduce it down for titillation: it was a set of moments to emphasize that Giovanni groomed this child, put her into a position to lead Vulcan on, then when she falls for him Giovanni gets way too close to try to get into her mind and coerce her back into his service. It works. 

That being said, I think there are missed opportunities with Lisa, or at least poor treatment of her. We really needed another woman added to the cast who, upon introduction, is reduced to a dumb sex gag by Shinra--and then calling back to it again upon her re-introduction? We really couldn’t let her be the one to defeat Giovanni, to symbolically get back at her tormentor and get some catharsis? If you really have to have Arthur be the one to stop Giovanni, you can’t make it into a combined attack, complex and intricate, between Arthur, Lisa, and others to stop Giovanni? 

(And it’s weird, too: there is headcanon I had that could have tied Arthur’s dilemmas into Giovanni’s overall plan, stuff my friend and I have explored in plotting out ideas--but that isn’t what happened here.) 

But no, we instead have Arthur show off how OP he is so that the Giovanni fight ends as a joke to set up the fight against Dragon as what will be truly impressive. 

(Sidebar: Yeah, I’m still bitter about Fire Force, but there is nothing in that Dragon fight that I thought was cool. Maybe it’s the black and white artwork: I’ve seen colorized artwork that kind of makes it more engaging when Arthur is standing atop the video game lettering. But this was so stupid--and not in a fun “Black Star vomited back a laser” way. This is Arthur taking time off from a major problem in the series, as the world is coming to an end, to play Dragon Quest then getting into a Scott Pilgrim-esque fight in space that tears his body apart. Reading that in writing, that should be amazing--and it just came across as so boring visually, and not a decent payoff. It is just a gag, and not even a particularly funny one, just one that clashes with the tone and visual style up to now--and, seeing as I just said Scott Pilgrim did this kind of stuff, but better, it also comes across as derivative, which wouldn’t be a problem if it was well done, and it just never looked good to me.) 

If there is any other flaw to having Lisa and Yu here (and I’ll talk about how the series screws over Yu), it’s that a lot of the role of Vulcan’s crew in the story feels under-utilized. Granted, I could say the same about Viktor when it comes to the science side of this story: Dr Stone this isn’t, this is a series that is about fighting, with the science and tech sides just in support roles and exposition roles. It’s not to ignore the cool tech Vulcan makes--but I’m blanking on what he makes beyond Maki’s owl shields and eventually the new Excalibur. I wanted to see more inventions and tech by Vulcan, Lisa, and Yu. I wanted to see characters get tricked out with more gear that gave them advantages against the Clad--and had the Clad ramp up their work, maybe even their tech, in response. It’s not as if Ohkubo doesn’t have mecha designs from B Ichi to Soul Eater, and it’s not as if this manga and its anime adaptation didn’t draw from steampunk. It would have made illustrating that much harder, but I almost wonder whether it would have made fights more engaging, the stakes higher, give the 8th some victories that showed that their work recruiting people paid off. 

Now, as for Yu: the poor boy got screwed over so much. I like Yu--he’s a proto-Gopher, only likable. But he’s underserved by the story. He’s here just to be the victim: he gets injured by the White Clads to make Vulcan and Iris desperate; he’s taken over by Giovanni to make Vulcan worry, to see his student possessed by his greatest enemy. It’s one reason why I think showing Yu and Lisa designing more tech with Vulcan would have made his presence feel more needed to the story, so that he’s not just Side Character Number Five in a cast that was getting way too big by the series finale. It almost makes me wonder if that is why the anime waits until the Vulcan arc to introduce him--because it’s bizarre, seeing Ohkubo obviously had a plan with Yu, having him appear so early in the manga, during the Hibana arc, but the anime doesn’t bother. Did Ohkubo realize he had next to nothing to do with Yu except make him a prop whose injuries motivate Vulcan, so don’t do more with him? It robs a lot of the really good setup for how Shinra’s intervention to protect Yu is what helps them get an audience with Vulcan to begin with. 

#long post #dwells whines about fire force #spoiler #spoilers

[soul-dwelling]

Yeah those questions that soul eater left open are interesting, but are there any specific fanworks that explore them in depth? I may have seen a few about Makas mother but not about the other things. But maybe thats just my own ignorance.

I'm not sure how much "in depth" some examples are I can offer, and I admit that I haven't done well at keeping up a list of fan works that I think have done really good exploring questions left open.

I freely admit that anything I recommend would suit my tastes more than it would some other fans: no two people probably will enjoy 100 percent of all content. But I think Soul Eater was most fun when it could be wacky and silly while having the relationships mean something to the characters, and characters who are developed with personalities and not bland. (Jeez, did Iris at the end of Fire Force seem bland, and did Harvar and Jackie seem so lacking in personality, whereas at least NOT made Jackie a more realized character.)

Let's go through the list I posted before:

Wes and Soul's family: In some cases, it's just nice to be able to say, "Oh, Wes is in this story--finally, let's see some Evans brothers interactions!" My friend @elliotthezubat and I write a bit of Wes in some content, and at least to me, I like to imagine, for how serious he comes across in Soul's flashback, there is something a little bit airheaded to him that helps make Soul come across, not as the more responsible brother, but definitely more grounded, as he has faced life and death situations, while Wes has been an accomplished musician largely removed from that sort of world. Wes comes into the supernatural stuff Soul deals with fascinated, with curiosity, and with a ton of good humor, whereas Soul has been glomped on by a magic cat so many times and almost died from Black Blood that he just doesn't see the same wonderment.

Maka's mother: When it comes to Maka's mother, I have thoroughly enjoyed @kamiscythemeister's approach. It does delve into some crossovers with other manga/anime and some ancient lore, but the ancient lore definitely enriches a lot about who Maka's mother is until she is her own unique character while still tying back, in a surprising way, to the history of another Soul Eater character.

The Death Scythes: I am guilty of not reading enough content that develops these characters. Tezca at least is fun to write, but he's already such a goofball that there isn't much more you need to do to get more mileage out of him. I have failed to look up good fics featuring Dengu and Jinn.

Arachne creating weapons: Again, I am guilty of not looking up those stories and sticking to my own headcanon of what that must have been like. There was a great post a long time ago (that I can't find now) pointing out how Tsubaki looks like Arachne (I failed to cite that post when I wrote this)--but after how annoying it gets when everyone thinks everyone in Ohkubo's various manga are related to each other, that's likely more a case of the style not changing significantly across his works (aside from the evolution of that art style) rather than Arachne and Tsubaki literally being related.

The many crimes of the Star Clan: Again, I have not looked up enough fics to find a story that really sells this. The anime tries to tell its own version, involving White Star versus Mifune, but that's "canon" rather than fanwork.

Lord Death's influence on international politics, where Death Scythes work, and Anya's home country: Again, I am blanking on other fanwork addressing all of this, aside from stuff elliotthezubat and I have worked on. And that's a lot to get into that is complicated and ends up crossing over with stuff not strictly from Soul Eater...Same goes for the other questions about Ragnarok's previous form, the Mizune Sisters' last form, and the fate of the werewolves.

Witch family structures: There has to be a fanfic about Angela's parents that would answer this...

How do souls and zombies work: I never completed the fic I had in mind for this, but I did have an idea how Sid could be made into a zombie without breaking the rules established up to that point about souls of the dead being retrieved.

#long post

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: A Lack of Armor

Last week, we held our first AMA in the discord chat with @amberlehcar​, @peregr1ne​ and @thesockswhowearsfox​, where lots of people stopped in to ask about their work on A Lack of Armor! Here’s some of what went down:

Q: Amber, could you take me through your process of conceiving/planning out this fic? What inspired it originally?

AmberLehcar: Oh man okay, so there was a post floating around that was like "I headcanon Soul as trans and here's why" and I just really dug it. 

Peregrine: Wait, was it mine? 

AmberLehcar: I don't remember who it was, but they said things like him being hypermasculine to appear more "manly." 

Peregrine: I did say that in mine. That's crazy. 

AmberLehcar: This was supposed to be for last year's Resbang, so I've kinda forgotten exactly what was all there, but it probably was yours.

Q: So what you are saying is that you and Pere were destined to work together?

AmberLehcar: Pere claimed me last year too! I had to back out after fic claims because life was becoming too much. 

 Peregrine: I mean you did come to me before that. 

AmberLehcar: I did ask Pere a lot of questions. I'm cis/het, so I had a lot to learn and was really lucky that Pere was open and willing to teach me along with being an overall great partner. 

Peregrine: I tried my best ^^; It's not like it was hard, just talking about myself pfft.

AmberLehcar: It was helpful though! 

Peregrine: I'm glad it was. Was there more you wanted to say about the process? 

AmberLehcar: I did a ton of research and was really invested in it. I see a lot of posts about the lack of representation for the LGBT+ community and really felt like I wanted to add. 

Peregrine: Yeah, lack of representation really gets to me, especially because what representation there is is highly fetishized and honestly i'd rather have no rep than fetish rep.

Q: For all parties involved, where/how do you feel like you grew the most during this Resbang?

Peregrine: This was my first event where I did more than one fic, so working through that was hard, but I'm glad I did because I really wanted both. 

AmberLehcar: I think when I've written in the past, I've been really "this happened then this happened" etc. It was a lot more introspective this time around, so I focused a lot more on the feelings of the characters and evoking feelings in the reader. When I tried to enter this last year, I got to like 6k words but really struggled to get there. With a new direction, I got to 30k fairly easily. 

Sox: Well, it was my first Resbang and the first song I'd written since I was....18 I think. Just managing to write and record the song was a lot of growth for me.

Q: Amber, I am always interested in fic titles. Did you come up with the title of your fic beforehand, or did it develop as the story was created?

AmberLehcar: Okay, so I take all my chapter and fic titles from songs or lyrics. But A Lack of Armor made perfect sense to me because of my therapy. A few times in therapy we'd talked about putting on armor that was representative of support and good things in my life. The song "A Lack of Armor" has a line that says "like a knight without his armor I don't know who I am" and this all kinda spoke to me and fit really well with Soul and his depression/anxiety. I came up with the idea pretty much from the start and it's been with me since.

Q: You said it was a Motion City Soundtrack song, right?

AmberLehcar: All the chapter titles are from MCS songs, because I am trash lol. But they sorta go with the mood of each chapter if you go back and look at them. 

Sox: Can confirm Amber is MCS trash.

Q: There's a sick playlist somewhere right?

AmberLehcar: I do have a playlist! https://open.spotify.com/user/1266385830/playlist/3xN37XwvUGsVqZNuhpRtng

Q: Most of the time it seems the usual characterization for the Evans fam is for Soul's father to be the 'worse' parent, either that or both of them being equally bad. (At least that's my view.) So I am wondering: was your decision to make Soul's dad the more accepting one an intentional subversion or did it just happen? 

AmberLehcar: It just sorta happened? I am not a Mama Albarn fan. Aside from Marie, there are no good mamas in the series, so I just kinda went with that. 

Sox: Blair begs your pardon. 

[insert chorus of screaming about everyone's love for Blair] 

AmberLehcar: Blair takes such good care of her kittens. Okay I lied, Blair and Marie are good. But yeah, I didn't want him to have absolutely no support from parents, and someone had to have taught Wes to be a good person. So Papa Evans eventually came around. 

Q: For Pere: was there a scene that you knew immediately you wanted to illustrate and/or was it difficult to choose scenes to draw? 

Peregrine: I definitely wanted to draw the first hug scene when I read it, when Maka was accepting, because the feelies. And then later Amber had mentioned how there was going to be a scene where soul plays his song for Maka, and I knew I really wanted to draw that too, but it wasn't written yet, so I asked her to describe the scene more for me in advance so i could draw it. She didn't have a solid idea though, so some stuff I made up, and she wrote the scene to fit my picture later actually ^^; 

AmberLehcar: Your art definitely helped flesh out the scene there, thank you. 

Sox: I love when Pete draws things. 

Sox: *Pere 

[Lots of people yelling about Pete] 

Sox: God damn it. 

Peregrine: The first pic with the hair I also just thought would be cute to draw, and then just for visual concepts, I wanted to draw the different stages of Soul as a bonus even if they didn't actually ever appear in the story ^^; 

AmberLehcar: That first pic with the hair cutting is probably my favorite. I love them all, but that just made my heart flutter. 

Q: Sox I have sort of the same question for you, did certain scenes inspire certain lyrics? 

Sox: Uhhhh no not so much. I tried to write around the Mood of the fic and I talked to a local Atlanta musician about her experiences being trans with a bad family as a kid and tried to fit those to where Amber had Soul coming from. (Originally I was trying to write a SoMa Romance song but then... it came out as a Self Love Fuck you Mom song). 

AmberLehcar: I'm glad it changed. At some point when writing I realized the fic was more focused on their relationship than him, so I tried to change it up. I'm glad the song evolved that way too. After I got one of the last drafts of the song, I included it in chapter 8 in case people were wondering. 

Q: For Amber: what made you want to put Kim as Soul's neighbor out of any other character? What made you want to do the neighbor sub plot in the first place? 

AmberLehcar: Representation mostly. I love me some JacKim and thought that having a grump next door that Soul ends up kinda befriending and/or helping would be interesting. Kim was kinda a weird facet for me to write through. As someone who feels everything 110%, being in love can be kinda scary sometimes, so her thoughts on love are pretty darn close to my own: wanting to love someone wholeheartedly but being afraid of exactly how deeply you can really love someone. 

Sox: I FEEL. 

Q: There's a scene where they're watching a Youtube video. Is that video significant to you in some way, Amber? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wWBLbQInqk) 

AmberLehcar: Not at all. I was talking with Brian about assignments for the first day of class, and he mentioned he had to do that exact assignment and chose that exact video. The song's not bad and the video is... interesting? 

Q: For Pere: What program do you use and whats your general process for art? 

Peregrine: I use FireAlpaca because it's free lol. I usually do like, a base sketch that's really scribbly and focuses on like motion lines, if that makes sense. And then i decrease the opacity of that one and draw the actual lineart on a different layer on top, and then colour. Very rarely I'll keep drawing on the base sketch and just clean it a little but that's mostly for more actiony gestural stuff, or highly detailed things where I'm not bothered about solid lineart. 

Q: How long-ish did each of your drawings take? Do you tend to draw faster when you're feeling inspired, do you have a creative process or anything? 

Peregrine: Ah, I never know what to say when someone asks how long it takes, because it varies so much. But yeah, usually a drawing will take a few days if it's something average and not like the fricking Pacific Rim art I did way back when, which took like a month. I can do most pieces in a day if i'm properly inspired but it's like: yes, I can get this done in only a few hours, but those are completely straight drawing hours - no food or bathroom breaks or chit chats to be had. Honestly the longest part of the drawing process is actually the sketchy first part because I need to plan it out perfectly until i can see the end product in my head and then i can start actually working, and that can take weeks. 

[insert group yelling about how great Pere's art is] 

AmberLehcar: The boys brought me to literal tears every time they updated me. 

Sox: Lies. 

AmberLehcar: EVERY TIME. 

Peregrine: I spent 5 hours drawing Soul's hair even though I finished the entire rest of the picture in 2. 

Sox: I just had a mental image of Pere screaming the lyrics to Maroon 5's "Misery" while drawing. 

Peregrine: That's me. 

Q: For Amber: what were your easiest/hardest scenes to write & why?? Were there any that were easier/trickier to write than you expected? Bonus: favorite scene to write? 

AmberLehcar: All of chapter 4 is crap and I'll fight anyone who disagrees with me. For some reason writing just general happy, normal life was really hard. The pain though, that was kiddy stuff. The first full scene I wrote was Soul's accidental confession. The idea just messed me up and I couldn't stop writing until it was all done. It's probably my favorite scene too, followed closely by Maka's acceptance. 

Q: You super did not write linearly. That's so cool, I have to go in order. 

AmberLehcar: No, I rarely do. 

Peregrine: Man it was kind of tough reading your drafts, tbh. 

Sox: SAME PERE 

AmberLehcar: I'm so sorry!! 

Sox: "How am I gonna write a song none of this is in order" XD 

AmberLehcar: I need to give people an instruction manual for how to read my WIPs. 

Peregrine: There were so many scenes that were like, great scenes on their own, but then I'm like wait, how did we get from point A to point ? Also, reading updates was hard because everyone else I've fic'd with was like 'oh just scroll down to wear you last read' but in this fic it was like... I know something was added... but where tho... 

Sox: Slide to the left 

Sox: Slide to the right 

AmberLehcar: Never beta for me, it's a nightmare. 

AmberLehcar: (That's a lie, please always beta for me, I need all the help I can get.) 

Sox: Yeah but working with you is a dream tbh. 

AmberLehcar: The nice thing about not writing linearly is that I could really easily work with my partners to add in ideas they had. I don't know that it was easy for them, but making it more of a collab that way was really neat for me. 

Q: Do you outline everything out beforehand? 

AmberLehcar: As much as I can. I derail if I don't.

Q: AmberLehcar, how did you decided where to put scenes/order them? 

AmberLehcar: I have an outline template I wrote up based on a youtuber's outlining method! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eP73LMnphqEUn20mKd78_EB_qPlbXjklvkXLknxl5R0/edit?usp=sharing. This is the outline that I've been using recently, it's been really helpful. You guys are welcome to use it! 

Q: Amber, would you say this outlining method helped? Just in comparison to past fics etc. 

AmberLehcar: Definitely. I have so many incomplete fics simply because I didn't outline or didn't outline enough. 

Q: So was the end planned? That is the hardest part for me. 

AmberLehcar: More or less. It definitely changed a lot. I don't have any versions of the original ending, and there's still stuff from the finished product I don't remember because I literally finished at 3 a.m. the day of posting. I always have a very clear image of how the opening to any chapter or fic goes, but the end is always weird. 

Q: Do you remember anything from the first version? How'd they differ? 

AmberLehcar: I know the first half was a little different at the start of Resbang last year, but I have the worst memory... There was definitely supposed to be more NB Crona. Crona was supposed to be kinda the comic relief, making comments about their computer sciences classes that Soul does not understand. They named their laptop Nora and talk about it like it's a person. "Sometimes when Nora doesn't do what I want, I have to hit her" or something like that, make Soul concerned for this poor child. The "octagonal day" joke made it to the final cut. I think there was a scene at the end where Crona and Soul were supposed to be good friends after the "there's 10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't." Because it's a math joke and a binary joke.

Sox: Amber Sox: Is Sox: A Sox: NERD 

Q: What was the funnest part of the fic for you to write, Amber? Or the part you were looking forward to the most? 

AmberLehcar: Writing Black Star was fun. There's a few one liners that I love. My favorite bit is when Maka asks for his name and the next bit is "Nervous. Stupid. Sweating." I needed that smooch like life itself. I played with them kissing when Maka apologizes and they made up, but it didn't feel right. So I saved a sweet normal smooch for the end scene. 

Sox: I literally cackled out loud on a train reading "no party like a floor meeting party because a floor meeting party is MANDATORY." 

AmberLehcar: That was one of my other fave lines. My goals for the fic were representation, make it as realistic as possible, and make people feel things. I like to think I did a good job? 

Sox: You accomplished all. 

Peregrine: Man the parents thing hit me so hard, you did a good job. 

Q: I'd love to hear about your process/writing rituals? 

AmberLehcar: When it was a scene I was particularly excited to write or just suddenly inspired, I can just sit and write. But most of the time it's me sitting at the computer with tea asking myself why I do this to myself and then I just make myself write. 

Q: Is there anything else you wanted to add other than more NB Crona, Amber? 

AmberLehcar: When Pere showed me art of Soul's physical progression, I kinda wanted an epilogue of Soul post surgery, but time and lack of confidence in writing it well... I don't think anyone understands exactly how nervous I was to write this. I waffled a while with "you have no business writing this, you are cis, please stop." 

Peregrine: Nooo it's cool because you asked. I definitely didn't think I could write trans Soul but I hoped someone would, if they asked and did it right. Which you did. 

Sox: One of my close friends is trans, and when I sent him Eden, I thought he was going to tell me he hated me. And then he didn't and I was v relieved. 

AmberLehcar: I definitely wanted to be as respectful and real as possible. Again, representation matters, and I wanted to help create a thing I hadn't seen done in our fandom. 

Sox: You did good. 

AmberLehcar: I'm really glad. I stalked the boys' tags on their work along with my own, and someone had reblogged Pere's art and was really grateful for trans Soul. I was glad to be a part of that. 

Q: Did you make any playlists or anything like that to get into the writing mood? Or headspace of a character? 

AmberLehcar: For headspace, Soul and I are very similar. I too am a bag of anxiety and depression trying to pass as a human. A lot of my college and therapy experience went into the fic. There's little bits of me in pretty much everyone. 

Peregrine: I have my trans boy song i listened to a lot pfft. It's from Treasure Planet. 

Q: Ooo which song Pere? 

Peregrine: I'm Still Here. If you look at it through a trans lens its super fitting. It's like my fave song ever.

Some additional post-AMA discussion: 

Q: Amber, I think that's a sign of a good writer, to take from one's own experiences and such. 

AmberLehcar: Write what you know, right? And what you don't know, you find out. The whole experience definitely gave me a new appreciation for the LGBT+ community, that's for sure. I knew some stuff, but I learned so much. 

AmberLehcar: To go back and slightly change my answer for difficult scene to write, while all of ch4 was like swimming in syrup to get written, Mama Evans outburst was so difficult to write. There was just so much anger and I felt icky writing a lot of that chapter in general. Writing Maka having to purposely misgender him hurt. 

Peregrine: I really liked the parents thing actually even though i hated it. It felt raw and real. 

AmberLehcar: So much pain, the whole time I'm just like "why would I hurt my son like this???" 

Q: Noticed you guys were still talking and guh I loved your collective art/story!!! I now know the gap between dimensions can't be breached because if it could I'd have reached through the screen and force-choked Mama Evans. I was kind of mad at Maka too though like... I can understand that Soul needed some time to himself, away from her, to really figure things out, but ;-; 

AmberLehcar: Yes! Maka was an interesting situation to figure out. 

Peregrine: Yeah I loved what you did there actually, because as much as I wanted her to be perfect, she wasn't perfect. 

AmberLehcar: I didn't want her to just immediately come back like "sorry you startled me, let's get married." 

Peregrine: As much as I want people to immediately accept me, they don't, even if they do eventually. It wasn't fantasy perfect world, it was real world. 

Q: I think... that's good. At first I thought Maka would be more likely to start off rough around the edges and then end the story gracefully. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if you're going to relate realistic stories about trans people/anyone in a similar situation, you probably have to... I don't want to say "break the reader's heart" because that would imply that those stories can't have happy endings, which they can and should at least as often as any other kind of story, but it put me in Soul's shoes and made me accept how likely it is that someone who is trans/lgbt/otherwise oppressed will be badly hurt by someone they think the world of, someone who's hard to leave behind. I dunno if I spoke out of turn there, but i think it was an empathically-written story. In my inexperienced opinion. 

AmberLehcar: That's definitely what I was going for. I wanted Maka to be his closest friend, for his sake and for my shipping heart's sake. But she was just too good to be true when I was writing her, so her running away happened. I was so stuck after I wrote his confession, I didn't know how to have her react. But when I thought about some of the internalized transphobia I know I've been guilty of, it made sense to add for her. It felt real. 

Look out for some more transcripts, coming soon!! Thanks again to Amber, Pere and Sox for their awesome AMA <3

#a lack of armor #rbbc #resbang AMAs #AMA transcripts