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#also i would like to take a moment to add that crow is so pretty it's illegal
cityandking · 3 months
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for the ships thing! how about vesper + which LI you think she'd romance from the other two games? (for bonus points: free space to talk about a minah dynamic that's made you go "oh hmm. maybe")
thanks tabby!! // alt oc ships
vesper + zevran
honestly they'd be really sweet together, especially if they're both origin-aged (little 19/20 y/o vesper, bless). one thing vesper really appreciates in a relationship is someone she can laugh with, so she'd like zevran's good humor. he'd uncover her mischievous streak and they'd have a lot of fun laughing together. I also think they are both maybe a little weird about autonomy and freedom and agency (circle mage + crow assassin) and they'd find common ground there. vesper would feel like she's able to be honest and open with zev and zev would feel respected and understood.
(vesper/morrigan is also very good, but when they're both inquisition age—the two of them get along magnificently well while morrigan is at skyhold and there's a bit of an 'in another life' vibe there)
vesper + fenris
so what I'm learning about vesper is that she's kind of soft for a sad man with a sense of gallows humor and a lot of trauma around autonomy and power. fenris is unfortunately vesper catnip—she likes strong warriors, she likes a sense of humor, she likes someone who's going to give her time and space when she wants it, she likes someone who will take things slow. she'd completely understand his distrust of mages—honestly it would be a comfort to know that he could put a stop to her if she lost control. she'd be furious and protective on his behalf without diminishing his fight or his survival. and they'd communicate well, when push came to shove — they're both pretty level-headed grown ups about most things. I think they'd have a really nice relationship
bonus: minah + ???
it's so funny you would ask this because I've had this post in my drafts for weeks now:
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but also, she doesn't really have her eye on anyone at the moment (she'd have to have a friend first 💀) so it's hard to say. most of the wardens are too tightly strung and it's not exactly like we're meeting a bunch of new people. obv warden recruiter nora is there being a Whole Snacc but she doesn't seem the type for casual flings and minah isn't that interested in sleeping with authority. honestly I think she could have some short-term fun with riya but also minah would rather peel her skin off than be intimate with anyone in the party, so maybe not. damn. can't believe I gotta add "find minah a hookup" to the timeskip to-do list
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mercurygray · 10 months
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More regency AU for @kmk1701d, who prompted "Could we get more Regency AU? I’d love to see Dick and Joan at the first event after launching their scheme. 😍"
These were not his people at all.
Dick could remember the last time he had been at a party like this - in honor of the regiment, at his colonel's house. A chance to show off to the neighborhood, as it were - he remembered dancing with every single girl there, including the colonel's niece, who actually asked him twice. It had all been rather splendid, with the candles and a preponderance of gold braid, and far too much punch. He remembered feeling caught out, unsure of what to say, or to whom, too afraid that the wrong thing would land him in trouble with a young lady's father - or, possibly worse, with the colonel himself.
He survived the night and lived to tell the tale (though Lewis loved to laugh about it afterwards, in the right company) and here he was, back again for more. And he was already attracting some long looks - these families all knew each other and here was an unknown quantity, a figure in their mathematics that they could not solve, just yet. Let them wonder a while, Lewis had counseled, as they arranged to arrive separately so no one could connect them together. It will add to the fun.
But tonight would be different, from the Colonel's party - tonight, he would be in disguise. He had a new suit, superfine broadcloth in such a deep black as to resemble jet, bringing out his shirt and stock in fine, creamy white. The dancing shoes also were new, and the stockings, showing off what the shopkeeper had nearly crowed to the entire shop were extremely fashionable legs. A gentleman of quality, that was what they would say. But who?
He would let them wonder - that was part of the game. He kept to the side of the festivities, quite content (or something similar) to remain an object of speculation until he could hear Joan being announced at the door.
The room turned. This was her first appearance out, she'd said, since the news of her 'engagement' had been circulated, and people were anxious for news, confirmation, denial or both. And she looked the part, for certain.
Joan was radiant in a warm, pale blue, a modest coronet of precious stones perched in her dark hair and sapphires at her throat, and for a bare moment, he forgot who she was to him, or he to her, caught up, just like everyone else, in merely seeing her.
He was almost as startled as everyone else when she came to a stop just in front of him, holding out her hand for him to kiss, and greet her. "Captain."
And how could he not smile, when she looked at him with those eyes, and that expression on her face, the suggestion on her lips of a just-barely-kept secret that pleased her to no end. (She was, he was appreciating very quickly, a much better liar than he.)
"Your Grace." He raised her hand to his lips, and realized, in the moment, that the eyes of the entire room were on them, waiting to have confirmed what they had previously only read - that this was the mysterious suitor who had ensnared a Duchess. "People are looking," he murmured, just for her.
"They are welcome to look," she replied, still smiling as she withdrew her hand. "We shall take a turn about the room, I think."
"And then a dance," he confirmed, holding out his arm so that she might take it.
"My thoughts exactly."
Lewis had warned him about this. People will have three thoughts, when they see you together. The first was that you were a fiction. The second will be that you are a fortune-hunter, who has only ensnared the Duchess with pretty words and your fine face. The third - and this is what they find dangerous - will be that she knows something about you that they do not. We cannot stop the first, or the second - that has been in everyone's mind since the gossip started- but the third is something we can use. Her arm was warm on his own, and the closeness of her body to his was…strange, and unnerving. She was nothing to him, and yet- something, here, with the eyes of everyone upon her. Much is expected of her, as her uncle's heir. They are merely waiting for her to fall. But she has not fallen yet, Lewis had said. Nor do I think she ever will.
His hand came to rest, almost of its own accord, on her arm, already linked with his own, and her face turned towards his, to smile. And certainly not while I am here, he added in his head.
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wraithblogging · 1 year
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Overall thoughts on Shadow and Bone season two:
- They tried SO HARD to make everyone hate the Darkling. It was ridiculous tbh
- Meanwhile, they made everyone else way more likeable, especially Mal, Baghra, and Zoya.
- They did Kanej dirty by taking Inej out of formative scenes like the police wagon scene and the scene where Kaz threatens Pekka and instead made them more physical. They robbed them of their intimacy and that kiss scene... don't get me started
- It was very annoying to me how good Jesper and Nina were with their powers. I guess with Nina it was more established for the show, since she was pretty good in season one already. But Jesper?
- I did like that Matthias did get more of a plotline and we got to see him in Hellgate a bit
- I am DYING over Inej traveling the seas on the Volkvolny. Her being the lookout made everything this season didn't do well completely irrelevant!
- I'm glad they picked up on Inej's brother again, even though it was briefly. I think it served as a good bonding moment for Kaz and Inej without the same magnitude that him finding her parents has (cause that would have been way too early)
- I wish there would have been more Nina and Inej friendship and more bonding between Inej and Zoya. I missed that a lot tbh. Although there were moments.
- I was interestingly not annoyed by Malina in the show this time. It made sense kinda and their communication was better written, making them way nice than in the books. Also at so many parts their lovestory felt so much less fragile than in the books, especially with their split up (but not break up) in the end. It made them more their own characters even though the show was heavily relying in them as a pair
- I'm not quite a fan of the way Nikolai's demon was handled. It's very clear here that it's a setup for the Six of Crows Spin-Off but still, it didn't really vibe with me
- the pacing was kinda weird and there was a bit too much going on storywise imo.
- Jesper's plotline was a bit too fast for me. It was kinda handled on the by instead of showing what a deep issue this is for him. I guess they tried. But meh
- I kinda had some issues with how characters traveled from one place to another in seemingly no time? Especially at first it seemed like Nikolai was in Ketterdam and Weddle at the same time?!? Like mate, that's quite some way
- I did like what they did with Alina as a character. It felt like the showrunners listened to the complaints fans had with her being too passive and how many didn't like her ending, so they turned that around.
- I feel like the Crows got way too much screen time. Especially Kaz and his backstory sometimes made me forget I was watching a show about Alina
- I was kinda missing the whole 'exploring Alina's shu heritage' thing that they teased in some interviews? Like they mentioned it like twice. That wasn't necessarily exploring for me.
- I kinda feel robbed of Nikolina. Like, I did love how their friendship was portrayed but my Nikolina heart did want a kiss at least 🥲
- I'm glad they cut that whole sun summoner cult plotline! That was really annoying in the books imo
- can't believe they killed off Hellen off screen. David too. Like what? Also where were Ivan and Fedyor? Boyfriend grisha were exchanged for girlfriend grisha Tamar and Nadia lol
I might add more when I sorted my thoughts more.
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dansnaturepictures · 2 years
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29/04/22-Blog 1 of 2: Bosherston Lily Ponds and the cottage
It was another lovely morning in Pembrokeshire, taking in the Marloes clock chiming a charming sound this holiday, admiring the oleander, daffodil, ivy-leaved toadflax and other plants and green leaves and blossom and seeing Goldfinch well in the cottage garden, Pied Wagtail on the roof and crows in the field behind. I enjoyed seeing Swallows from the cottage tonight and on our last evening here achieved a goal of getting a photo of them. 
We spent our last day in Pembrokeshire visiting some locations in the Stackpole area we went in 2017 which were new to us then, starting with Bosherston Lily Ponds which we had lovely long walk around today. It was so nice to see the large ponds surrounded by lovely green vegetation and some colourful blossom with some nice looking lilies on and below the surface we saw on another gloriously sunny day we have been so lucky with the weather this week. I took the first, third, fourth, sixth and ninth pictures in this photoset of views here today. The second picture in this photoset shows some lillies below the surface.
On a walk around the lily ponds area it was clear early on it was going to be a really good insect and flower day. I saw my first ever wild garlic a sweet white flower at the car park area which was beautiful and extensive there were many about a flower I had hoped to see for a while. I was excited to see some early purple orchid beside the ponds an amazing flower which I have known for so long and always love seeing it’s such a stunning flower and a strong one for this time of year we had seen some by the road on the way here. Also of note was my first yellow iris of the year another flower I would expect in coming weeks at home that is out here now this is in the ninth photo. I also liked seeing my first ever of nice yellow flower some raddish or mustard a pretty yellow one, many herb-Robert, violets, cleavers, daisy, dandelion, primroses and I reflected on how with trips away combined with home and everywhere a little different for flowers I have been seeing these all year really so far probably seeing them in each month so far which is great and interesting, ivy-leaved toadflax, dazzling lesser celandine and buttercup in the sunlight, bluebells, speedwell, cow parsley and thrift and squill at the beach area in this walk.
It was also brilliant to see some Common Blue Damselfies, my first of the year and first identified damselfly or dragonfly of 2022, another exciting moment to add to this holiday. And we got another exciting moment when we saw two minute butterflies flitting down into vegetation by the ponds, a Small Blue butterfly our first this year of this butterfly we are fond of. I took the fifth picture in this photoset of it.
Alongside seeing friendly Robins as my Mum and her partner finished lunch at the car park on the picnic benches and cracking Blackcap and Whitethroat views, we saw another bird this holiday for the first time this year. We heard the scratchy tune of a Reed Warbler, and then I was so thrilled to see its sun kissed brown plumage and distinctive light white throat. A special moment to see this key spring time bird. Yet another bird year tick this holiday we have got so many and yet another we didn’t expect but would have been a big target when home so it feels efficient. This takes my bird year list to 165. After three hirundine and three tern species consecutively on my year list over the Easter weekend that’s now three warblers in a row I have ticked.
 At the coastal part of the walk centring on Broad Haven South Beach I loved taking in the sand (even taking a closeup photo of it with my macro lens the eighth in this photoset), sand dunes, a pool, cliffs and gorse clad rocks. We also saw here a landmark we loved seeing here last time and it was shown on the brilliant BBC series ‘Wonders of the Celtic’ deep, the distinctive Church Rock towering above the sands. It was lovely to take in this really imposing structure again and enjoy some time on the beach again.
We then had a look at a former quarry type area that we enjoyed seeing last time when we came especially for butterflies and dragon/damselflies with pools and slopes and nice bits of grass. And we were delighted to find via talking to a lovely couple of gentleman who we had a great chat with that it was a great butterfly spot. We were thrilled to see two more brilliant butterfly species for the first time this year here, exciting Dingy Skipper and Common Blue the latter we saw here later in the year in 2017. It was so great to see them still and flying, and also see a Small Copper or two bright red butterflies. This was a special area to explore and it also held smashing flowers like viper’s-bugloss, eyebright, oxeye daisy and pretty bird’s-foot trefoil. The first two some more firsts of the year for me and all what I consider quite later spring/summery flowers. There was some nice little spurge, some dock coming through I believe, a dandelion type flower and possible common rock rose and more here too.
The three butterfly year ticks took my year list to 15, ahead of where I was at this stage last year. The three and Small Copper seen earlier this week at Llangloffan Fen too felt really efficient to see as they are the butterflies we would be looking to see at home this time of year. So in this warm and sunny weather it feels so good to see a few targets. That said I checked and Common and Small Blue were both my earliest ever sightings of the species in a year and both the first time I’d seen them in April in fact which shows the variation in how butterflies behave in different parts of the country which is interesting with these out earlier than we have seen at home. The seabirds were obviously the focus this week but I knew Pembrokeshire has a great mix of habitats so wondered if we might use that to sneak a few needed butterflies in whilst away and I am so happy we managed it with some special species. We got talking to two lovely couples both of whom were on the boat to Skomer with us yesterday which was great. A brilliant day out at this lovely wild place.
Wildlife Sightings Summary for Bosherston: My first Reed Warbler of the year, my first Small Blue, Common Blue and Dingy Skipper of the year, my first Common Blue Damselfly of the year, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, a bathing Linnet, Stonechat well, Robin, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Swallow, lovely Sand Martins on the beach, Mallard, Mute Swan, Small Copper, Peacock, Speckled Wood, possibly Green-veined White, bee, possibly hoverfly and I heard Raven.
It was great to see Pembroke Castle another great part of Pembrokeshire to take in and male Orange Tip on the way here.
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asoulofatlantis · 9 months
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Would you look at two of my four blond angels working together like this? The Trails-Sagas continuity is such a blessing ♥ Without it, we would have never been able to see my dear Tita grow up into such a beautiful young woman an work together with my dear Alisa, who also has become such a beauty over time. Not to mention that we will be able to see or hear if/how their relationships with certain people may or may mot have grown in future games. Fingers crossed.
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CS4 made sure you see Schmidts good side, even if it is a bit uh... less obvious to see then with other characters. But this line is just him telling Crow to come back, even tho that should technically speaking not be possible.
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Even when I am on a schedule I usually do this mission. Because it just feels wrong to leave this situation be after everything we have been through with those two. The game also makes sure time and time again that you see Alan and his situation and it gives you an even bigger sense of urgency and importance.
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I DO absolutely understand Rennes position, but I still wish she will at some point just be honest with her family. I mean, I am pretty sure they got it by now and just accept that Renne doesn’t want to talk about it, but it still would be nice for her to at least be: “Hey. I am your missing daughter. Lets leave the past in the past tho and live in there here and now instead”, because I totally understand that talking about her past would be... causing a lot more problems then one wanted to when finally reunited with their family. But I guess we do still have time for this to happen eventually.
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The game makes sure that whenever you return to hamel, you suffer. This is a hidden sidequest, however, the ending of this quest is worth all the pain, that is why I am doing it despite the time-limit.
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I wonder if Falcoms people thought: “Hm... this might be the last time we can visit Hamel... how do we make it as cruel and painful as possible and yet very rewarding in the end?” XD
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It was truly a great reward for getting through the painfulness that is Hamel one last time.
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I’ve done them all last time and I can tell you that there is no benefit whatsoever aside from some nice moments/scenes if you finish them all. You will see the bad ending even if you have the earthen cage already and it takes a lot less time to get the earthen cage after the bad ending, then actually finishing all sidequest and getting the earthen cage before the bad ending. So... no more sidequests for me.
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Did you know that while a certain part of the church is taking part in Mille Mirage, Ein is actually supporting operation shining Steel? Add her to those “3 more monsters” and I don’t know why we are even worried about possible losing that battle? XD
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Uh... was that here in my last NG+ Game too? ^^’ I guess that means we could... you know... skip a step or two and maybe do avoid the bad ending for once? (And here I was, looking forward to crying to Ai no Uta XD)
Edit: I just noticed that it could not have been there in my last NG+ game, because there I did all the side- and hidden missions and thus had defeated the dragon already and came into the position of the earthen cage before I even go to the fortress. So there was literally no need for that thing to be there then - and yet I had to watch the bad ending.
Edit 2: Ups. Its the earthen prison. I don’t know why I remember it as the earthen cage...
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The voice speaking is said to be the grandmasters. Makes you wonder why it makes Rean feel nostalgic. As far as we know, he never heard her voice before...
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You can say what you want about Claire and Lechter but I always liked them (tho I do prever NOT seeing Lechter in a Hawaiian-Shirt... XD) because in a sense, that they stayed true to their path, even when it hurt them, was also a kind of strength. But despite that, they also caved in, when necessary and showed us that they do have a good heart deep down. Obviously, they are traitors too in a sense, but with them, I do feel they deserved their second chance more than certain other characters. One could argue about that, but isn’t it the same with all our traitors? With Crow, a lot of people say that he had the right to do what he did as C because of his oh-so-tragic past. But people often overlook that he didn’t just try to kill Osborne who may or may not arguably had deserved it, he risked the lived of MANY innocent people in the process of his revenge and while he was doing it, he wasn’t showing much remorse or regret. Even more so, he didn’t even fully stop being an enemy even tho Osborne was dead and his revenge should have been over. With George many people (including my dear Olivert) believe that him showing weakness and thus enabling the possibility of Olivert and his Crew surviving was enough to redeem him, even tho he only paid justice to feeling guilty and the time he offered the Courageous would have been for naught if not for Victors sacrifice and Bs magical intervention and even then people got badly injured in the process. If Victor hasn’t sacrificed his arm and if B didn’t intervene they would all have died despite Georges little stunt. Arios, even tho not being the murderer himself, has backed up the man who murdered his best friend in cold blood with a shot in the head from behind. Yes, he felt guilty enough about it to feel like he murdered him himself, but he didn’t feel guilty enough about it to actually reveal his true murderer, not even when he saw that guys beloved little brother was suffering. Cedric has been called a terrorist himself who deserved a dead sentence for supporting Osborne in starting the war and being part of this mess. But why is he different from Crow who everyone loves? Or George who everyone has forgiven so easily? Or Arios who people still find so damn cool? Is the fact that he was a sickly and weak prince always in the shadows of his stronger and more charismatic siblings not sad enough of a background story? Was the fact that the curse would have killed this young character who is basically still more a child then a man if he hadn’t given in to it not enough reason to give in to it? In all of the storys above there is A LOT of egoism involved. Revenge. The want and need for power and strength. The desperation of struggling to finding ones own path. Curses, manipulations, brainwashing and trauma. And they all had their good and weak moments at some point. They all felt guilty about what they did and said so out lout at one point. They all have been understanding of their mistakes and that they deserve punishment or don’t deserve their position/social standing. So this is the reason, why at the end of the day, when it comes down to it, who is a traitor you will forgive and who is one you won’t forgive, comes down to how much you like a character. It makes us all a bit of hypocrites I guess, especially seeing how we love and support former Jaegers who killed countless of people. But as it comes down to our personal opinions, I guess at the end of the day we are all entitled to have them to some degree. What I do not like tho, is when their sins are whitewashed. Crow shot a man in the heart, point. It was murder. He risked many innocent lives while doing it. He could have missed and shot someone else, for example. There was a huge Crowd there back then. He let comrade G run into his certain death, even tho he was his comrade. He risked the safety of plenty innocent people when he allowed that stunt in Garrelia Fortress. Even if he had always planned for Class7 to stop it, if anything would have gone wrong, Crossbell and with it Zemurias biggest Leaders (including my Olivert!) and people like his beloved Towa would have been dead. That is not something to play down. Not something to fully excuse. They did some real bad shit and thats not okay, no matter what. And yes, the same goes for Cedric. He allowed that his very own father was almost shot to death, he allowed his brother to be blown up, his sister and mother treated as hostages, he almost killed the big leaders of Zemuria and their only hope of salvation too. He was supporting a plan that could have meant the end of the world and the reason behind it was ultimately his own weakness. You can make excuses for that, but that doesn’t make it right or undone. When the times comes, he as to come face to face with what he had done and apologize to his family and prove himself to Erebonia and thank Shirley for not just putting up with him the whole time, but also getting him were he wanted to be in a way that is uncharacteristically selfless of her. But I do hope we get there eventually.
So... but before we deal with our treacherous prince and our bloody Shirley, I have to take a break. Its hot and the pool is crying my name XD
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bluedaddysgirl · 2 years
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Hot Take : Jinx is a DICKHEAD actually~
Before you grab your pitchforks, let me state I'm a big fan of the girl and believe she's the heroine of the tragedy that is Arcane season 1. I hope my works and other meta prove that. She's definitely a poor mew mew and one of my blorbos. That being said, there's a tendency in the fandom to really treat her as a victim, mostly due to her age, her mental illness, and alarmingly, her relationship with Silco.
I was discussing with some fandom friends how much the Silco&Jinx relationship can get skewed, and @book--wyrm pointed out he's a real pushover when it comes to her. It's really the best term, but it doesn't even begin to establish how terrible a person Jinx is.
So let's take a closer look at things...
First off, Jinx has the most insane body count in the show :
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I'm censoring the last picture for obvious reasons.
22 people confirmed on screen. 23 if you count Silco. In the space of like 72h. Add to that the one henchman she shoots in ep. 4, who we never see again and can presume dead, the crow she shoots in cold blood (before collecting its feathers and using them as furniture decor and bookmarks), and arguably Mek, who, although not dead, was a loyal member of the gang since prior act 1 and is now in Stillwater.
At no point in Arcane is Jinx shown to feel or express remorse over any of her killings. The only time she says she's sorry is after shooting Silco, which hardly counts as it was done in a haze, etc etc. Even when Silco screams at her for killing enforcers in ep. 4 and potentially ruining his plans all over again, she nods at him happily and laughs it off. She's extremely casual with human life.
The first Firelight deaths are the only ones that count as "on the job" but it's debatable if killing was part of the assignment, as Sevika is extremely pissed and says "you were supposed to protect the cargo", which IMO implies that she wasn't supposed to go and "kill everyone". This wasn't a bait operation designed to kill them. Silco defends Jinx's action because he's weak for her.
All subsequent kills (I'm excluding Silco going forward) are for her own gain or her own vicious pleasure. And she is vicious, and even sadistic.
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In the ship she uses her monkey sign to stress out her victims and the "BOOM" on the swing is basically just a joke between herself and her prey.
Likewise when she blows up the enforcers : a fire would be a fine distraction. She could sneak in and out again and steal the gemstone. But no, she wants time to deface the workshop to be dramatic and extra. So she kills a bunch of people in an explosion.
Not just any explosion, but one with again her signature monkey calling card, and on top of that a recording, faking the voice of a little girl to make sure she'll bring in as many do-gooders inside the building as possible.
Then she turns it into an in-joke. A joke between herself and a bunch of soon-to-be-dead people, referencing her own past. As self-centred as it is cruel.
You have to close your eyes and picture her sitting at her workbench in her lair, setting all these bombs on "record" and faking being a little girl... This isn't an in-moment thing. Jinx almost never improvises. Like everything in Jinx's life bar her first meeting with Vi, it is coldly planned and calculated and utterly fucked up. Again, afterwards she shows no remorse and is amused at Silco's ire. Clearly stealing the gem makes everything worth it, because it'll show him she's "not weak". She isn't computing further than that.
Hence this particular episode also shows a pretty strong disregard for Silco as a person. His entire life's work is this long con against Piltover. She doesn't ask or suggest doing this heist, she just does it. Not because she believes it'll be helpful for Silco's plans, but simply to prove herself after freaking out for having "shown weakness". She could have ruined everything, and though she gifts Silco the gem and hugs him, she doesn't apologise. Silco certainly bends in a pretzel to brush the consequences off of her afterwards though, pushing Marcus to blame the Firelights.
Her disregard for life/collaterals/consequences even extends far enough that she nearly shoots her own sister.
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I was originally a little mean to Vi as right after this we're shown Jinx truly defending her life and Vi is all like "Powder, no!" As if she's horrified to see the change she just told Jinx she accepts and understands. Vi felt hypocritical.
Although some of the hypocrisy remains, I think Vi's shock is more directed towards Jinx's clear enjoyment of herself as she gets so into this killing biz that she nearly hits her.
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Again later on the bridge Jinx is shown to shoot directly at Vi (even if you use the argument that she's trying to divide Cait & Vi, nobody sane uses heavy weaponry for that, and they barely avoided being shot).
It's also pretty symbolic that she shoots an enforcer point blank, without even looking at him. She's come full circle, and is now basically the Zaunite version of this enforcer.
She's become what she hates, and a beautiful example of violence breeding violence.
Her actions against Ekko deserve their own meta analysis, but it's still pretty harrowing that after Vi leaves her once more (you know, after Jinx blew her gf up and shot at them), her reaction is to blow Ekko (the only other person she has from "back then") and herself up.
Next up, Jinx shows a constant disregard for people's boundaries, including the people close to her.
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See how Thieram gets forced into that hug? Here's a still of him as he cringes away. He also flinches when she comes reaching for her drink. Clearly this isn't the first time she's crossed his boundaries, or else he's seen her do some serious shit to others. Of course he's given excellent justifications for his worries.
But then you've got Sevika. Oh, Sevika! Jinx rigs her father's office with toxic gas, and isn't it lucky that the next person to step in is Sevika, and not Silco (lol imagine!)
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Then she straps her to a chair, stabs her in her prosthetic, and when she comes around, slaps her and drags her hand across her face before threatening to maim her. Look at Sevika hating being touched and Jinx leaning into it precisely because of it. Look at her grin! Ah, enjoying assault!!
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All of this drama, violation of personal space, straight up physical abuse, etc, just because Jinx wants an answer to a QUESTION. And it's a question Sevika would looove to answer! "No need," she says against the threats to her arm, but honestly there was "no need" to do any of this to her either.
Then Jinx proceeds to deface her father's property (his map, but more importantly Vander's knife, which we presume is dear to him), and hang his second in command to the ceiling, labelling her a liar. And like... Seriously, what if this had been the last straw for Sevika?
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She's bound to Silco by the show's writing, but who in their right mind would tolerate to be knocked out twice by their boss' kid, besides the other abuse? Knowing the kid will face no repercussions? What if Sevika had left and taken some loyal people with her? Another occasion where Jinx acted with total disregard for Silco's plans and operation. Worse, what if Sevika had taken Finn up on his betrayal idea and killed Silco to replace him herself and be rid of Jinx? There's just no good justification for treating Sevika like this (in world. In the story it's to set up Sevika's potential betrayal and Jinx's characterisation, ofc).
Then for more distrust and violation of personal space, let's move to Jinx straddling Silco, trapping his hands under her, and using his medical equipment to torture him as punishment for a lie. In this situation there's a real lie (of omission), and a perceived lie (about knowing Vi was alive).
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It's the biggest case of pushover good dad Silco bar the final scene [Nobody tell me he's a bad dad when after everything she puts him through, the moment she rips the gag off of him his first reaction is to turn on Vi and scream at her to STOP DEADNAMING MY DAUGHTER. Nobody is more team-Jinx than Silco]
Anyway, first she scares him, manhandles him, and he's like "Where have you been" not "WTF are you doing" or "WTF did you do to Sevika" or any of the more... reasonable things to ask her. He treats her like his stray kitten.
Then things get ominous as she traps his hands, grabs him by the jaw... And this tough crime lord lets it all happen without much protest. When Jinx alludes to Vi not being dead, things go like this :
"I can explain" — stab — "Don't move silly, I might hurt you" (classic Jinx playing with her prey) — [explanation] — stab — "but when you found out she came back, you lied" — stab
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She stabs him THREE (3) TIMES instead of listening to his willing explanations! Another pretty dire example of Jinx using violence on the closest thing she has to a "loved" one, to get an answer to a question Silco would most likely answer happily if SHE WOULD ONLY ASK.
Think what you will of Silco's little speech to her, but when he frees his hand, he grabs her arm, and gently moves up to her wrist, but he never even pulls her hand from its grip on him. He just touches her and serves her his "pls recall I'm daddy" talk, which finally calms her down some, though I doubt it worked as well as it should have.
All Jinx knows is how to set traps and ambush people, even the people close to her. Those who let her come near are rewarded with mean tricks. The only person she's showing any kindness to is Silco, yet she also routinely abuses him. It hints that such behaviours are probably common enough.
Silco on the other hand never even so much as pushes her off. His most brutal action against her was to grab a tool from her hand while yelling at her [after she killed 6 enforcers and potentially destroyed his lifelong struggle, might I remind you].
She doesn't trust anyone, not even Silco, but also not Vi. She barely trusts herself.
Jinx seems to have no goals besides gratifying her own needs. She strives for control, always being on top of all her relationships, using tricks when she can't make do with direct violence, pulling the intel she wants out of people like the smallest of interaction has to be a confrontation. She has to know, be ready, have a trick up her sleeve at all times. She also strives for a sense of respect, having to feel useful and "strong".
Yet she doesn't seem to be on board of Silco's Nation of Zaun cause. She is routinely acting against his plans and and against his benefit. Almost every action she takes in act II and III directly opposes Silco's progress, besides completing Fishbones (too late).
Going back to the bridge scene, if Jinx could just take a moment to think, and if a free Zaun was really on her mind, she'd realise that, well, her sister is ALIVE, and even if she retreats to Piltover for now, Jinx could just find her again once the tensions are resolved and Silco gets his free Zaun (which seems to be imminent).
Worse, when Ekko stops hitting her, she could use his hesitation. Could manipulate him. There's no way he'd kill her in cold blood after that moment. Heck, she could just throw him off and run away. She has the gem (and he doesn't know that). Silco has asked her to please complete the weapon, but again, getting the gem to him takes a backseat to a rushed emotional response in the face of rejection and hurt.
Doesn't it suck that Marcus was totally right, and that removing Jinx would be doing Silco a favour?
In conclusion I think it's fair to argue that Jinx is the more abusive of the two when it comes to her relationship with Silco, and her relationships in general.
She manipulates, plays mind games, leans into the terror and discomfort she inspires in others and seems to relish it, routinely displays cruelty, hurts animals and people without remorse.
She's as cold blooded as the enforcers who killed her parents and only ever tied to a higher cause out of her desire for gratification and Silco's approval and perceived respect.
While I'm sure she's not always that terrible (it was a stressful 72h tbf), you don't develop such traits overnight, and people don't cringe away from you if you don't have a history of being a turbo dickhead.
I understand the drive to "protecc" mew mew Jinx, but I wish she weren't so readily excused by fandom, or worse, that her behaviour wouldn't be so often pushed aside to accuse Silco of bad parenting. He was certainly faaaaaaaaar too lax with her, needing her as a buoy in an uncaring sea of betrayal and unresolved trauma, but I don't think she became who she is solely due to him or even her trauma. [insert rant against Piltover and its systemic oppression here]
Also, let's recall this is the face Powder makes when she really hopes her bomb filled with nails and shrapnel explodes and maims her pursuer.
Although she's consistently shown to hate the idea of being directly involved in violence, she's very pro fucking enforcers up and is being validated by her sister for MAKING BOMBS.
I guess I just wanted to rip off the rose-tinted glasses for a moment and really look at Jinx's dynamics without trying to excuse them. I feel like the Silco corner of the fandom has done a great job looking at his actions and his motivations before accepting him for who he is (a dickhead, but in different ways). The Jinx corner just... seems to have a tendency of being blinded by the cuteness, the mew mew factor, and the ready excuses of her psychosis and trauma. And we should definitely look at them and see how they impact her character and inform her actions but...
Unhinged mass murdering dickhead characters are deserving of our love and we don't need to excuse them to enjoy them. Jinx is worthy of being dotted on and being a blorbo. She's the heroine of a tragedy. She doesn't deserve what the show throws at her. But she deserves to be properly seen and understood (for the dickhead she is lol)
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bontenten · 3 years
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The Choosing
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Pairing: Daichi x f!reader (ft. Captain Squad <3 and Sakusa)
WC: 3.2k
Genre/Warnings: Crack/Bad Humor, Smut, Romance, Reverse Harem, Royalty AU!, mention or hints of size kink, exhibitionism, creampie, breeding kink, dick and ball worship, you’re perverted and gross
Summary: You are the Princess of the Kingdom of YoreNaym and you need to choose a husband.
Repost from my main because I say so. Lee... :gru: i miss u
Also, no beta we die like Daichi.
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It’s a tradition carried through many, many generations that the daughters of nobility from the Kingdom of YoreNaym must choose a suitor from the eligible bachelors from the neighboring kingdoms. It’s a show of kinship to the other kingdoms and also a means of securing peace.
At some point, everyone’s sister’s cousin’s second uncle’s sworn brother’s adopted daughter’s nephew twice-removed will be related and connect back to the Kingdom of YoreNaym. In short, the blood of this kingdom’s daughters unite the lands. No incest, there’s enough genetic diversity, if you will. And because you are also a princess of this kingdom, it’s your turn. Yay.
While growing up, you hear the elders say that the youngsters should be grateful that they have the agency to at least pick a suitor. They spin their looms and cackle, reminiscing that, “Back in our days, we didn’t get to have a choice. Our elders appointed a spouse for us from whichever kingdom had a suitor. Unlike you girls who get to choose, ungrateful wenches…”
Does it really matter? It’s just the false pretense of choice, isn’t it? At the end of the day the selection of eligible bachelors are all chosen ahead of time, deemed worthy, and then after the initial picking, you are just allowed to pick. It doesn’t matter who you choose, any one of them will fit the criteria. Maybe you’ll just close your eyes and pick one randomly. Can you actually say, “I’ll choose my own hand and marry myself.”
That’s pretty brave, hell yea that’s a main character move right there. Speaking of which, who are the eligible bachelors you can choose from today? It’s practically your engagement day, yet you really haven’t been paying any attention at all.
“Hey,” you whisper, lifting the curtain of the palanquin. A maid quickly answers to your beckon.
“Yes, my lady?”
“Who are the candidates today again? You have a...list or brochure of sorts?”
“Just a moment, my lady, I’ll retrieve the scroll for you.”
You open the scroll and peruse the contents. Huh, all the neighboring kingdoms are going all out this year. There’s the Kingdoms of Nekoma, Inarizaki, Fukurodani, Aoba Johsai, Shiratorizawa...Wow, even Johzenji and Nohebi have candidates? Funny, all of these are all presenting their crown princes too. As they should, you are the most beloved princess of the Kingdom of YoreNaym, and the suitor you choose will bring you back as a blessing to his kingdom. It’s a total bummer that the Kingdom of Itachiyama isn’t participating this year. Sakusa’s crown prince succession is next year! You have heard so many swoon worthy stories about that princeling, even paid handsome amounts of money for paparazzi paintings of the beautiful man. No one will find out that the princess of YoreNaym actually hoards little pictures of Prince Sakusa in her panties drawers. It’s a shame you aren’t picking your husband next year.
There’s one more Kingdom on the list that surprises you. Kingdom of Karasuno, or more commonly referred to as the Kingdom of “Fallen Crows”. According to legends, they used to be quite a prosperous kingdom, but after a few generations of inept leadership, a drought, and poor trade economy...the Kingdom has mostly faded into obscurity. It’s been years since a suitor candidate has been offered. So who is it?
“Sawamura Daichi,” you whisper to yourself, “Interesting.”
The festival ground outdoors is especially grand. There are a huge number of tables prepared off to the side for guests. Trays of food, fruits and wine are provided for every single guest in attendance. You are led by the attendants to the temporary throne seat as the guest of honor. As you make your way to the throne, all the guests stand up to acknowledge your entrance. It’s so pressuring and a part of you wishes you can just dig a hole and bury yourself on the spot. You don’t even want to think about how many eyes are on you. They are all just jealous because, really. Take my word for it, I’m the narrator.
When you take a seat, the guests reseat themselves. A shaman comes to the center stage and bows to you.
“My lady, the time is auspicious, let us commence the Festival of Unity. At this time, I’ll be introducing the eligible bachelors from neighboring kingdoms near and far. They have passed the arduous tests and come as the best to offer in asking for your hand. Each of the suitors will present to you with a talent or skill, as to show you their excellence. After the demonstrations, you will be allowed to take your pick. Whereupon you will—”
“Okay, I get it! They will participate in a talent show, we clap, and I choose a husband, I got it!” You snap, cutting the shaman’s words off. Your patience is wearing thin.
A number of guests can be heard mumbling in the crowds, probably commenting on your behavior. Your eyes scan the guests, you can care less. Judgmental eyes, scheming eyes, lecherous eyes, disgusting eyes....Your gaze meeting with a pair of eyes that are absolutely blank. Wait, not blank as in emotionless. Non-judgemental? The opposite of unkind? Dare you say, polite? He gives you a smile and returns to taking a sip from his goblet. You scan his clothing up and down to look for his family crest. Black and orange. A crow. Karasuno.
Your thoughts are jumbled as an increasing amount of questions fill your mind. He? Karasuno? That Kingdom of Fallen Crows? You barely hear the shaman announce the first candidate.
“Bokuto Koutarou from Kingdom of Fukurodani.” Bokuto is a very large, very well built man. He is wearing his family crest of an owl across his back proudly. You can tell his chest is incredibly broad, the bulge of his big tiddies stretch the tight shirt he’s in. If you squint hard enough, you can maybe see the outline of his nipples through the training shirt, but maybe that’s just your perverted imagination too. Bokuto comes to the center stage and greets you.
“Hey! I’ll uh, demonstrate my strength to you, my lady.” He easily picks up a huge hunk of metal and lifts it with ease above his head. Damn beefiness, those arms of his. Seeing the bulges flex when he flexes has you dreaming of mouth along that delicious flesh. And when he pins you down under his massive body? Ooh, if this is the first demonstration, you’re excited to see the whole lineup today. Gasps and murmurs can be heard in the crowd. Bokuto grins and drops the load on the ground. You can almost feel the tremors beneath your feet. Truly, a herculean feat.
“Thank you, Bokuto, I have seen your demonstration and all those here are witnesses.”
Bokuto’s demonstration is a showy start of the competition for your hand. The shaman announces the next candidate. “Ushijima Wakatoshi from the Kingdom of Shiratorizawa.”
Ushijima walks up to the stage exuding the regal aura of nobility; a byproduct of his strict upbringing. The twin crests of an eagle decorate his shoulder pads. His expression is quite cold, but there’s a saying, “it’s always the quiet ones.” You lick your lips and study him some more.
“Greeting to the princess,” he says with a deep bow. “I also bring a demonstration of my martial prowess.” Ushijima takes off the bow and quiver of arrows from his back and nods at his attendant who then catapults three apples high up into the air. Everyone’s eyes follow the  trajectory of the objects, squinting to see what’s happening. No way.
Ushijima draws the bow back and calmly shoots one arrow, perfectly spearing the three fruits along the shaft. The crowd bursts into cheers. You also find your tight grip on armrest loosening, the tension from the scene dissipating in a moment. Ushijima’s calmness, accuracy, decision-making...he would make a very suitable partner for sure. Co-workers of sorts, that is.
You know your marriage carries a lot of weight politically and the fate of the whole universe will rest on your decision. Maybe not the whole universe, but close enough. But, marital bliss is important too right? Is Ushijima the right choice? There are still many more candidates, it’ll be best not to make a rash decision. Your gaze wanders over back to the Karasuno prince who is clapping earnestly for Ushijima’s performance. He’s acknowledging a rival’s strength, you think to yourself. Well, that’s certainly a rare but admirable trait. A confident man, he is.
After Ushijima’s demonstration, Oikawa Tooru’s enchanting musical performance offers a much desired change of pace. The rhythm and melody from his zither carries both the energy of fortitude as well as a graceful spirit. Quite stunning, but just not quite the musical vibe you’re feeling at the moment. Bummer, maybe a different day, really. Could be friends?
Kuroo Tetsurou from the Kingdom of Nekoma offers a particularly memorable performance too. Kuroo comes to the center stage with a trough filled with flames. Everyone is at a loss as to what is going on. Kuroo flashes you a grin before taking out a few pouches containing some powders. In a poof, the flames burst alive with colors blending blues and purples. And moments later yellows and greens, even reds. No one has ever seen fire change color like so.
“Witchcraft!” someone gasps.
“No it must be alchemy. Dangerous craft,” another adds.
Kuroo bows to you. “My lady, this is called chemistry, a discipline of science.”
Kuroo’s smiles teeter on the edge of flirtations and you cannot deny that your heart flutters just slightly when you see his crooked grin. He’s intelligent, humorous, and attractive. Definitely also a contender. A union with him might be fun. And especially when you see Kuroo run a hand through his messy, black locks and give you a piercing gaze, you almost wonder if this is the feeling of chemistry. It feels like you are naked under his seductive, golden eyes, completely submitted to his will and absolutely drugged. And you fear that if he sends you another one of his grins, you’ll come untouched. Dangerous, send him off immediately.
“Thank you, Kuroo, I have seen your demonstration and all those here are witnesses.”
After Kuroo, many more candidates also come to the center stage for their demonstrations. Kita Shinsuke from the Kingdom of Inarizaki composes and recites poetry on the spot. His literary talents and mastery of public speech move a very large crowd of the literati officials. Kita is a charismatic leader and commands confidence. But he doesn’t seem to be the best fit. Your brain says ‘yes’, but your coochie just isn’t feeling it. The nerve signals say no.
Terushima Yuuji demonstrates a one-man comedy show, but his storytelling skills, although humorous, fall just a little short after Kita’s. Had Terushima been slotted for a different position, perhaps he would make a stronger impact.
Daishou Suguru. Interesting. But tongue itself will eventually get boring too.
A few more candidates demonstrate their talents to you. Most of them fail to impress you at all. Your blank expression is more than enough to make a few almost shit their pants or cry on the way they exit the stage. It’s really not their fault, you’re just a bit tired after seeing so many performances and demonstrations. You are just trying to find the best fit after all. It’s your duty and responsibility as the muthereffing princess of the Kingdom of YoreNaym.
“Sawamura Daichi from the Kingdom of Karasuno.”
The crowd is silent as Daichi stands up from his seat and makes his way to the center. His shoulder is relaxed and his head is held high. He doesn’t have the large build of Bokuto nor is he decked out in regal fabrics like Ushijima. His hair is simple and clean. His expression is polite and pleasant. Amongst the sea of beautiful and talented men, Daichi is like an ordinary seashell buried in the sand. But like how too many bites of dessert beckon the simplicity of water, Daichi’s humble presence makes him stand out in particular.
Daichi bows deeply. “I send my deepest regards to the princess. I am Sawamura Daichi from the Kingdom of Karasuno.”
“Please rise, Sawamura. What demonstration do you bring to me today?”
“My lady, I have nothing showy in particular. I only bring myself. And please feel free to call me Daichi.” You can feel his piercing gaze on you, confident and assertive. So he has some guts. It beckons you to submit, but you bite back. Grrrrr.
“Just yourself? That’s quite cocky of you Daichi. Others bring talents and demonstrations of qualities that make them fit as my suitor. What do you have to offer for me to choose you? Or is that something you are not looking for at all?”
“Karasuno,” Daichi begins, “Karasuno is a good kingdom. For many years long ago, our people have suffered greatly and we have gained a poor moniker. However, for the last few years, the kingdom has made significant progress and improvements. Alongside my brethren and officers of my court,” Daichi gestures to his entourage sitting off to the side, “We have come a long way. ”
“You tell me much about your home, Daichi, but what about you?”
Daichi pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. He is well aware of the pressures you are putting on him, testing his convictions to the limit. You are a princess after all, so it’s only natural that you test his qualifications. Diachi swallows his nerves and faces your confrontation head on.
“I come to tell you the truth, my lady. I cannot hide these facts about myself or my kingdom. I am truthful, honest, but I have an unshaken belief that my kingdom will prosper because I have my closest and trusted with me. Each of them have their talents and strengths. Karasuno is a band with a bit of everything, and we’re family.”
You inwardly sigh. It seems like Daichi won’t be completely living up your hopes. At first you thought that his confident yet humble demeanor must hide something. Something incredible, because he can sit back and freely applaud other men for their talents. Something remarkable because he doesn’t feel the need to jump out in front of others. Something big. Very big.
“I don’t doubt your family’s bond or strength, but I am here to choose a suitor, a husband in layman's terms. So, I suppose that—”
“Wait,” Daichi cries out, and gestures towards his Karasuno brethren.
A tangerine head jumps up and brings out a scroll. He skips a few steps towards you and passes the document over to the shaman who brings it to you.
“My resume, if you will, my lady. I have no other talents but what is shown there.”
You glance at Daichi, studying him closely. From his clenched fist, you can tell that even in this moment, he’s a bit shaken and nervous. You undo the ties on the scroll and unravel the contents.
All eyes are fixed on you, trying to decipher every microexpression you make. The slight widened eyes, the twitch of the brow. The slight part of the lips and the deep breathes from you trying to calm the invisible fire that’s building in your core. It’s big. If the resume is accurate, Daichi’s demeanor truly is hiding a beast. A massive, humongous, schlong. Finer than any specimen you have seen in banned pictorial books you read and hide under your massive princess bed.
The sheer size and girth of the XL 2d image is rendered in X-TRA fine detail. You brush a finger onto the parchment, tracing the lines depicting the veins running along the shaft. You gulp, rubbing your finger down what is drawn as a big, swollen tip that’s glistening. Artists these days are so detail-oriented, it looks as if precum is just dripping from the tip and shimmering. So realistic, you just want to take it all into your mouth. To gag or to choke. Neither are a question.
The balls, those massive balls that are the storehouses for an endless supply of fresh cum. Organics from the finest the kingdom has to offer. Precious jewels hanging at the base, ripe for your licking. It looks so juicy and plump and you want nothing more than to rub your cheeks, cooing at how cute they are.
You know it’s good. It better be good if the painting is depicting something this sumptuous. If this is the real deal, then you really have nailed the jackpot and secured a brilliant future for yourself. Marital bliss. Bedroom adventures. Bedroom adventures where he’ll fulfill every nightmarish fantasy you ever have. It’ll be hard at first, your cunt’s so tight and he’s so big! But it’s okay, you’ll take him like the royal princess you are because the Kingdom of YoreNaym raises whores and sluts only!
No scratch that. Coital activities can take place anywhere. Maybe you’ll cockwarm him while the two of you hear what the morning court has to say about the affairs of the kingdom. Maybe you’ll find yourself tumbling around in the garden after a cute game of hide and seek, skirt hiked up, as he fucks a grass stain into your back! Okay. That might not be the best idea. Perhaps just once. For novelty’s sake.
But hear me out, when you are sneaking into the kitchen for some snacks, he’ll pin you on the large baker’s table and just take you right there to fuck his babies into your womb. His cock pumping into you as the table creaks and shakes from his thunderous movements. He’ll fill you to the brim with copious amounts of his hot cum, heaps and heaps of them, just like the baker fills the buns with cream custard in the most obscene fashion ever. Watch your belly rise and bulge up like pastries in the oven. Oooh cummies.
You sigh and squirm in the seats as you continue examining the masterpiece of a dick. You feel your heartbeat racing wildly as if you are caught tinkling in the castle fountain. It’s unknown if you ever did that, by the way. Just saying, your memory is failing you just a tad. But oh gosh, you’re wet already. The slick pooling between your folds is just soaking through your princess panties; the ones in the drawer where you keep all your secret prince Sakusa drawings heehee. But Sakusa’s pretty face aside, you are now face to face with the most magnificent dick pic you’ll ever receive. Not really unsolicited, but damn work of art. Literally.
The crowd is silent when you clear your throat and roll up the scroll, taking extra care to not let anyone else touch your new precious treasure. You lean forward and perceive Daichi. Daichi gives you a cocky grin, showing his teeth. Slightly stained with the wine, but it’s just temporary. It doesn’t matter as long as the real deal is...well, real.
Daichi catches your eyes wandering to the outline of the bulge between his legs. The glorious dickprint that he’s casually showing to everyone present. It puts Herculean Bokuto to shame, Ushijima into a blushing mess. Kuroo nearly snorts his colored powders. Daishou’s tongue hangs out and dries. Oikawa is sent to the medics. Kita no longer waxes poetry about the weather. Terushima leaves the party early.
Daichi is smug and casually asks, “My lady, would you like to examine the goods? I am a pure man and would not carelessly offer tastes to anyone. But you are a princess of the Kingdom of YoreNaym. You can have a sampling before you commit. Satisfaction guaranteed.”
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hamliet · 3 years
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The Crows Summon the Sun
Or, Hamliet’s review of Shadow & Bone, which gets a 4.5/5 for enjoyment and a 3.5/5 in terms of writing.
The true heroes of this story and the saviors of the show are the Crows. However, the problem is that the show then has an uneven feel, because the strength of the Crows plotline highlights the weaknesses of the trilogy storyline. But imo, overall, the strengths overshadow (#punintended) the weaknesses. 
I’ll divide the review into the narrative and the technical (show stuff, social commentary), starting with narrative.
Narrative: The Good 
It’s What The Crows Deserve
I went into the show watching it for the Crows; however, knowing that their storyline was intended to be a prequel, I wasn’t terribly optimistic. And while it is a prequel, the characters have complete and full arcs that perfectly set them up for the further development they will have in the books (which I think should be the next season?). Instead of retreading the arcs they’d have in the books, which is how prequels usually go, they had perfect set up for these arcs. It’s really excellent. 
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Jesper, Inej, and Kaz are all allowed to be flawed, to have serious conflicts with one another, and yet to love each other. They feel like a found family in the best of ways. Kaz is the perfect selfish rogue; he’s a much more successfully executed Byronic hero than the Darkling, actually. Inej is heroic and her faith is not mocked, yet she too is flawed and her choices are not always entirely justified, but instead left to the audience to ponder (like killing the girl), which is a more mature writing choice that I appreciated. 
Jesper is charming, has a heart of gold despite being a murderer and on the surface fairly greedy, and MILO THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT GOAT WAS THE BEST THING EVER. I also liked Jesper’s fling with Dima but I felt it could be better used rather than merely establishing his sexuality, like if Jesper and Dima had seen each other one more time or something had come of their tryst for the plot/themes/development of Jesper. 
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Nina and Matthias’s backstory being in the first season, instead of in flashbacks, really works because it automatically erases any discomfort of the implications of Nina having falsely accused Matthias that the books start with. We know Nina, we know Matthias, we know their motivations, backgrounds, and why they feel the way we do. It’ll be easy for the audience to root for them without a lot of unnecessary hate springing from misunderstanding Nina (since she’s my favorite). Matthias’s arc was also really strongly executed and satisfyingly tragic. Their plotline was a bit unfortunately disconnected from the rest of the story, but Danielle Gallagan and Callahan Skogman have absolutely sizzling chemistry so I found myself looking forward to their scenes instead of feeling distracted. Also? It’s nice seeing a woman with Nina’s body type as a romantic and powerful character. 
Hamliet Likes Malina Now
Insofar as the trilogy storyline goes, the best change the show made was Mal. He still is the same character from the books, but much more likable. The pining was... a lot (too much in episode 4, I felt) but Malina is a ship I actually enjoyed in the show while I NOTP’d it in the books. Mal has complexity and layers to his motivations (somewhat) and a likable if awkward charm. Archie Renaux was fantastic. 
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Ben Barnes is the perfect Aleksandr Kirigan, and 15 year old me, who had the biggest of big crushes on Ben Barnes (first celebrity crush over a decade ago lol), was pretty damn happy lol. He’s magnificantly acted--sympathetic and terrifying, sincerely caring and yet villainous in moments. Story-wise, I think it was smart to reveal his name earlier on than in the books, because it helps with the humanization especially in a visual medium like film. Luda was a fitting (if heartbreaking) backstory, but it is also hard for me to stomach knowing what the endgame of his character is. Like... I get the X-men fallacy thing, but I hope the show gives more kindness to his character than the books did, yet I’m afraid to hold my breath. Just saying that if you employ save the cat, if you directly say you added this part (Luda) to make the character more likable (as the director did) please do not punish the audience for feeling what you intended. 
I also liked the change that made Alina half-Shu. It adds well to her arc and fits with her character, actually giving her motivations (she kinda just wants to be ordinary in a lot of ways) a much more interesting foundation than in the books. Also it’s nice not to have another knock-off Daenerys (looking to you Celaena and book!Alina). Jessie Mei Li does a good job playing Alina’s insecurities and emotions, but... 
Narrative: The Ehhhhhhh
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Alina the Lamp
Sigh. Here we go. Alina has little consistent characterization. She’s almost always passive when we see her, yet she apparently punches an officer for calling her a name and this seems to be normal for her, but it doesn’t fit at all with what we know about her thus far. Contradictions are a part of humanity, but it’s never given any focus, so it comes across as inconsistent instead of a flaw or repression. 
I have no idea what Alina wants, beside that she wants to be with Mal, which is fine except I have no idea what the basis of their bond is. Even with like, other childhood friends to lovers like Ren/Nora in RWBY or Eren/Mikasa in SnK, there’s an inciting moment, a reason, that we learn very early on in their story to show us what draws them together. Alina and Mal just don’t have that. There’s the meadow/running away thing, but they were already so close, and why?  Why, exactly? What brought them together? The term “bullies” is thrown around but it isn’t ever explored and it needed to be this season. If I have to deal with intense pining for so many episodes at least give me a foundation for their devotion. You need to put this in the beginning, in the first season. You just do.
A “lamp” character is a common metaphor to describe a bad character: essentially, you could replace the character with a lamp and nothing changes. Considering Alina’s gift is light, it’s a funnily apt metaphor, but it really does apply. Her choices just don’t... matter. She could be a special lamp everyone is fighting over and almost nothing would change. The ironic thing is that everyone treating her like a fancy lamp is exactly the conflict, but it’s never delved into. We’re never shown that Alina is more than a lamp. She never has to struggle because her choices are made for her and information is gifted to her when she needs it. Not making choices protects Alina from consequences and the story gives her little incentive to change that; in fact, things tend to turn out better when she doesn’t make choices (magic stags will arrive). 
Like... let’s look at a few occasions when Alina almost or does make choices. For example, she chooses to (it seems) sleep with Kirigan, but then there’s a convenient knock at the door and Bhagra arrives with key information that changes Alina’s mind instantly despite the fact that Bhagra’s been pretty terrible to her. If you want to write a woman realizing she’s been duped by a cruel man, show her discovering it instead of having the man’s abusive mother tell her when she had absolutely no such suspicions beforehand. There’s no emotional weight there because Alina doesn’t struggle. 
When she is actually allowed to carry out a bad choice, the consequences are handwaved away instead of built into a challenge for her. Like... Alina got her friends killed. More than once. I’m not saying she’s entirely to blame for these but could we show her reacting to it? Feeling any sort of grief? She never mentions Raisa or Alexei after they’re gone, just Mal, and I’m... okay. They were there because of you. Aren’t you feeling anything? Aren’t you sad? The only time Alina brings up her friends’ deaths is to tell Kirigan he killed her friends when they were only there because she burned the maps. She yells at Kirigan for “never” giving her a choice, but she almost never makes any, so why would he? Alina has the gall to lecture Genya about choices, but she herself almost never has to make any. 
Which brings me to another complaint in general: Alina’s lack of care for everyone around her when they’re not Mal, even if they care for her. Marie dies because of her (absolutely not her fault of course) but as far as we know she never even learns about Marie. She certainly doesn’t ever ask about her or Nadia. Alina seems apathetic at best to people, certainly not compassionate or kind. 
The frustrating thing is that there is potential here. Like, it actually makes a lot of psychological sense for an orphan who has grown up losing to be reluctant to care for people outside of her orbit and that she would struggle to believe she can have any say in her destiny (ie make choices). It’s also interesting that a girl who feels like an outsider views others outside her. But the show never offers examines Alina’s psychology with any depth; it simply tells us she’s compassionate when she is demonstrably not, it tells us she makes decisions when it takes magical intervention to do so. It’s a missed opportunity. This does not change between episodes 1 and 8, despite the episodes’ parallel structures and scenes, which unintentionally reinforces that Alina had little real development. 
Inej and ironically Jesper and Kaz embody the concept of “mercy” far better and with far more complexity than Alina does. The Crows have reactions to the loss of people who even betray them (Arken, etc), learn, and course-correct (or don’t) when they are even loosely involved in having strangers die. They’re good characters because they change and learn and have their choices matter. When they kill we see them wrestle with it and what this means even if they are accustomed to doing so. Jesper can’t kill in front of a child. Kaz wonders what his killings do to Inej’s idea of him.
Narrative: The Mixed Bag
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Tropes, Themes, Telling vs. Showing
So the show’s themes in the Alina storyline are a mess, as they are in the trilogy too. Tropes are a very valuable way to show your audience what you’re trying to say. They’re utilized worldwide because they resonate with people and we know what to expect from them. The Crows' storyline shows us what it wants us to learn.
Preaching tells, and unfortunately, the trilogy relies on telling/preaching against fornicationBad Boys. It’s your right to write any trope or trample any trope you want--your story--but you should at least understand what/why you are doing so. The author clearly knows enough about Jungian shadows and dark/light yin/yang symbolism to use it in the story, but then just handwaves it away as “I don’t like this” but never does so in a narratively effective way: addressing the appeal in the first place. If you really wanna deconstruct a trope, you gotta empathize with the core of the reason these tropes appeal to people (it allays deep fears that we are ourselves unlovable, through loving another person despite how beastly they can be), and address this instead of ignoring it. Show us a better way through the Fold of your story. Don’t just go around it and ignore the issue.
The trilogy offers highly simplistic themes at best--bad boy bad and good boy good, which is fine-ish for kid lit but less fine for adult complexity, which the show (more so than the books) seems to try to push despite not actually having much of it.
Alina and Mal are intended to be good, we’re told they are, but I’m not sure why beyond just that we’re told so. Alina claims the stag chose her, but in the show it’s never explained why at all. Unlike with Kaz, Inej, Jesper, and hell even Matthias and Nina, we don’t see Alina or Mal’s complex choices and internal wrestling. 
Like, Inej’s half-episode where she almost killed the guy they needed was far more character exploration than Alina has the entire show, to say nothing of Inej’s later killing which not only makes her leaps and bounds more interesting, but ironically cements her as a far more compelling and yes, likable, heroine than Alina. We see Inej’s emotional and moral conflict. We can relate to her. We see Kaz struggling with his selfishness and regrets, with his understanding of himself through his interactions with and observations of Inej, Alina, the Darkling, Arken, and Jesper.
We don’t explore what makes Mal or Alina good and what makes them bad. We don’t know what Alina discovers about herself, what her power means for her. We are told they are good, we are told she knows her power is hers, but never shown what this means or what this costs them/her. Their opportunities to be good are handed to them (the stag, Bhagra) instead of given to them as a challenge in which they risk things, in which doing good or making a merciful choice costs them. Alina gets to preach about choices without ever making any; Inej risks going back to the Menagerie to trust Kaz. Her choices risk. They cost. They matter and direct her storyline and her arc, and those of the people around her.
Production Stuff:
The Good: 
The production overall is quite excellent. The costumes, pacing, acting, and cinematography (for example, one of the earliest scenes between the Darkling and Alina has Alina with her back to the light, face covered in his shadow, while the Darkling’s face is light up by her light even if he stands in the shadows) are top-notch. The soundtrack as well is incredible and emphasizes the scenes playing. The actors have great chemistry together, friend chemistry and romantic when necessary (Mal and Alina, the Darkling and Alina, Kaz and Inej, Nina and Matthias, David and Genya, etc.) All are perfectly cast. 
The Uncomfortable Technicalities Hamliet Wants to Bitch About:
The only characters from fantasy!Europe having any trace of an accent reminiscent of said fantasy country's real-world equivalent are antagonists like Druskelle (Scandinavia) and Pekka (Ireland). When the heroes mostly have British accents despite being from fantasy Russia and Holland, it is certainly A Choice to have the Irish accent emphasized. The actor is British by the way, so I presume he purposely put on an Irish accent. I'm sure no one even considered the potential implications of this but it is A Look nonetheless.
The Anachronisms Hamliet Has a Pet Peeve About: 
The worldbuilding is compelling, but the only blight on the worldbuilding within the story itself (ignoring context) was that there are some anachronisms that took me out of the story, particularly in the first episode where “would you like to share with the class” and “saved by the horn” are both used. Both are modern-day idioms in English that just don’t fit, especially the latter. The last episode uses “the friends we made along the way.” There are other modern idioms as well.
IT’S STARKOVA and Other Pet Peeves Around the Russian Portrayal 
Russian names are not hard, and Russian naming systems are very, very easy to learn. I could have waved “Starkov” not being “Starkova,” “Nazyalensky” not being “Nazyalenskaya,”  and “Safin” not being “Safina” as an American interpretation (since in America, the names do not femininize). However, “Mozorova” as a man is unfathomable and suggests to me the author just doesn’t understand how names work, which is a bit... uh okay considering a simple google search gets you to understand Russian names. They aren’t hard. I cannot understand why the show did not fix this. It is so simple to fix and would be a major way to help the story’s overall... caricature of Russia. 
Speaking of that... Ravka is supposedly Russian-based, but it is more accurately based on the stereotypes of what Americans think of Russia. Amerussia? Russica? Not great. 
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The royals are exactly what Americans think of the Romanovs, right down to the “greasy” “spiritual advisor” who is clearly Rasputin and which ignores the Romanov history, very real tragedy, and the reason Rasputin was present in the court. The religion with all its saints is a vapid reflection of Russian Orthodoxy. The military portrayal with its lotteries and brutality and war is how the US views the Russian military. The emphasis on orphans, constant starvation, classification, and children being ripped from their homes to serve the government is a classic US understanding of USSR communism right down to the USSR having weapons of destruction the rest of the world fears (Grisha). Not trying to defend the Soviet Union here at all, but it is simplistic and reductive and probably done unconsciously but still ehhhh. 
However, I’m not Russian. I just studied Russian literature. I’ve seen very little by way of discussion of this topic online, but what I do see from Russian people has been mixed--some mind, some don’t. The reality is that I actually don’t really mind this because it’s fantasy, though I see why some do. I'm not like CANCEL THIS. So why am I talking about this beyond just having a pet peeve?
Well, because it is a valid critique, and because it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The Grishaverse is heralded as an almost paragon for woke Young Adult literature, which underlines itself what so frustrates me about how literary circles discuss issues of diversity and culture. Such praise, while ignoring its quasi-caricature of Russia, reflects a very ethnocentric (specifically American) understanding of culture, appropriation, and representation. All stories are products of their culture to various extents, but it bothers me on principle what the lit community reacts (and overreacts sometimes?) to and what people give a pass to. The answer to what the community reacts to and what it gives a pass always pivots on how palatable the appropriation is to American understandings and sensibilities. There’s nuance here as well, though. 
I'm not cancelling the story or thinking it should be harshly attacked for this, but it is something that can be discussed and imo should be far more often--but with the nuance it begs, instead of black/white. But that’s a tall ask. 
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triptuckers · 3 years
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Two Homes (part 7/7) - Nikolai Lantsov
Request: no Pairing:  Nikolai Lantsov x reader Summary: after realising you can have two homes, you rush back to ravka Warnings: none Word count:  3.5K A/N: aaa the last part!! if you’ve read all of the parts I just want to say thank you so much for reading my work, it really means a lot to me! enjoy reading :) PREVIOUS PART  TAG LIST (two homes and/or all grishaverse fics): @godsofwriting@im-constantly-fangirling @ayushmitadutta @mrs-brekker15@dancingwith-sunflowers @thegirlwiththeimpala @parker-natasha @story-scribbler @romanoffstarkovs @daliareads @meiitanoia @itsnotquimey @sanktaesperanza @whymyparentscheckmyphone @aleksanderwh0r3 @ilovemarvelanne1 @marlenaisnthappy (if your name is in bold it means I couldn't tag you) add yourself to my tag lists here 
The trip back to Ravka seems to take longer than the trip to Ketterdam. You kept taking out the tiny watch you kept in your pocket, only to find out no more than a few minutes had gone by. Saints, couldn’t this boat go any faster?
While it is in the middle of the night, you can’t sleep. There’s too much energy in your body. 
On the ship, only a handful of crew members are awake, needed to make sure you were still heading toward Ravka. The rest of the people on the ship are below decks, probably fast asleep.
You’re pacing the ship, your mind running at an alarmingly speed. You think about the crows, and Ketterdam. And Nikolai and the palace. Would he be angry you left in such a hurry? Would he not accept your apology? Or worse; would he send you away? 
Technically, he could. He’s the king after all. You didn’t think he would do it, but if he wanted to, he could make sure you never set foot in the palace again. What if you traveled back to Os Alta, only to be banned from the city?
You’re so lost in thought, pacing around, you don’t see one of the crew members looking at you. Only when he speaks up, you stop pacing to look at him.
‘Hey! You!’
He’s sweating as he’s pulling on the ropes, to keep the sail in place and making sure you sail toward Os Kervo and don’t end up somewhere in Fjerda.
‘If all you’re gonna do is walk around, you might as well help. Get over here.’ he says.
Without even thinking about it, you walk over to where he’s standing. After all, he was right. You might as well help. And it might take your mind off of everything that’s going on. 
You roll up your sleeves, but keep your hood down to hide your face.
‘Grab this rope.’ he says, extending one of two ropes he’s holding to you. You firmly grip it with two hands. ‘And make sure to pull hard. Can you do that?’ he says. You nod and pull harder. 
Immediately, you feel the pull of the wind, and you plant your feet firmly on the wooden deck. For the rest of the night, you make sure the rope doesn't slip out of your hands. 
You get to talking with the other crew member who asked for your help and when you see the first rays of light and the city of Os Kervo in the distance, you realise you haven’t thought of Ketterdam or Os Alta for hours. 
The crew member tells you you can let go of the rope and once you do, you feel your muscles relax. You hand him back the rope and walk over to the edge of the ship, to look at the city slowly creeping closer.
Despite the early hour, it’s already busy on the docks. Fishermen are walking around, loading and unloading their ships. People are waiting for your ship to arrive, probably welcoming home loved ones. 
‘You ever been to Os Kervo?’
You look to your side and see the crew member. He looks young, about your age. 
‘Once.’ you truthfully say. ‘But only passing through.’
‘And today?’ he says.
‘Also passing through.’ you say.
‘Traveling to?’ he asks.
‘North.’ you say. You didn’t need him to know exactly where you’re going. 
‘Ah.’ he says. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Nina.’ you say, blurting out the first name that comes to mind.
He holds out his hand to you. ‘Nice to meet you, Nina. I hope we see each other again.’ he says.
You shake his hand. ‘Likewise.’ you say, but in your head you hope you never see him again. If he would recognise you, and the story would get out that the queen of Ravka illegally passed the True Sea, it would not be very pretty.
Thankfully, you’ve arrived at the docks and can get off the ship, quickly leaving the crew member behind. 
You walk around the city, trying to find some kind of transport so you could get to Os Alta. Normally you’d hitch a ride on a carriage, but it seems too risky. So instead, you head for the small cottages and farms on the edge of the city.
At the oldest, shabbiest looking farmhouse, you stop. You walk around the property, and spot a horse. 
You walk back to the front door and knock. It takes a while for someone to open. An old lady opens the door to you. 
You smile at her. ‘Good morning, ma’am, sorry to wake you at this hour, but I was wondering if your horse is for sale?’ you ask her. 
‘He’s not.’ she says.
‘That’s a shame.’ you say. ‘Your house looks very old. Couple of broken windows, wood rot. You could fix that with a generous amount of money, get someone from the city to help you out.’
‘I don’t have that kind of money.’ says the old lady, already moving to shut the door, but you plant your foot in front of it.
‘I can pay handsomely for the horse.’ you say. ‘I don’t think you ride anymore, do you?’
‘No, I don’t.’ she says.
You pull out a bag and shake it, making the coins inside clash against each other. 
‘You get this, I get the horse.’ you say. ‘It’s enough to fix your house.’
She eyes you suspiciously. ‘Why would you give me this much money?’ she says.
‘Because I’m in a hurry. And I need a horse.’ you say. 
‘Alright, then.’ she says. ‘Give me that money and you can fetch the horse.’
You hand the bag to her and thank her, heading around the farmhouse to the horse. He looks like a strong, healthy horse. You would be able to ride fast, cover a lot of distance. You thank the lady again, and mount the horse.
Without another look at Os Kervo, you start your journey to the palace. You ride for hours without stopping, constantly ushering your horse to go faster. Luckily, he’s a young one, and he can indeed go very fast. 
But eventually, you have to stop. Not only to give the horse some rest, but also because your stomach had been growling loudly for the past hour. And now that the sun is up, it’s getting hotter and hotter. You can feel it burning in your neck. 
You roll up your sleeves and take off your hood. When you’re riding in the fields, you could allow yourself to be a little less afraid someone might recognise you. And after all, you’re in Ravka now, not Ketterdam. You could only hope word of your absence hadn’t spread too fast throughout the country. 
You leave your horse just outside a small village. After finding a bakery, you buy some bread and water with the money you have left. The village is old and charming. Once you finish your bread, you walk back to your horse. You drink half of your water and give the other half to the horse. You then mount the horse again and take off. 
The sun is still hot in your neck but you don’t slow down. You needed to get to Os Alta as fast as you could. Sweat drips from your forehead to your neck. You still had a long way to go.
Hours later, you finally see the city of Os Alta appearing in the distance. It had since gotten colder, and it’s late in the evening. At the outskirts of the city, you leave your horse and find a place to wash up.
After washing off most of the sweat, you run your fingers through your hair and roll your sleeves down. You pull your hood further down and resume your way on foot. 
Most of Os Alta’s inhabitants had retired to pubs or their homes. A few people still walked the streets, on their way home or loudly singing songs, smelling strongly of alcohol. 
You feel relieved when you see the palace’s gates in the distance. As you approach the guard who is stationed in front of the closed gates, you lower your hood.
The cool air feels more than good after you’d kept your hood on for the biggest part of your journey. You smile as you walk up to the guard.
‘Hi.’ you say. 
He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t even acknowledge you. This makes you frown.
‘Are you going to let me in?’ you say.
Now, he does look at you. It feels a bit weird to have him look you up and down and scan your face. 
‘No, ma’am.’ he eventually says.
‘No?’ you say. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean no, I am not going to let you in.’ he says.
‘Do you know who I am?’ you say, thinking he was new on the job and you hadn’t been introduced to him yet.
‘No, ma’am.’ he says.
‘I’m Y/N.’ you say. ‘Y/N Lantsov, I live at the palace.’
He raises a single eyebrow at your words. ‘And I’m the king.’ he says.
‘You don’t believe me?’ you say. ‘Go and get Nikolai or someone else to confirm it’s me.’
‘King Nikolai isn’t present at the palace at the moment.’ says the guard. ‘And how do I know you’ve not been tailored to look like the queen?’
Your mouth falls open in surprise. You knew Nikolai made sure the guard are well trained, but this seemed like he’d done too good a job at it. 
‘Saints, this is going tot take forever.’ you mumble to yourself.
‘Problem?’ says a familiar voice suddenly behind you.
You turn around and see Nikolai on his horse, accompanied by Zoya, Tamar and Tolya.
‘Nikolai.’ you say gratefully as you walk up to him. 
He smiles at you and holds out his hand for you to take, but Zoya speaks up.
‘Wait.’ she says. ‘How do we know you’re really Y/N? She left in a hurry. You could be anyone pretending to be her.’
You look at her. Zoya did have a point. You turn back to Nikolai, who is still smiling at you.
‘When was our first kiss?’ asks Nikolai.
You feel yourself blushing. Of course he would have to ask a personal question to confirm it really is you. But this felt a little too personal for your taste. 
‘Right before our wedding.’ you say softly. ‘Because I was nervous.’ 
When you look up at Nikolai he’s still smiling down at you. ‘It’s her.’ he confirms. You finally take his hand and mount his horse, sitting behind him and wrapping your arms around his waist.
The guard finally opens the gates, and you enter the palace grounds. Nikolai is silent as he heads to the stables. He doesn’t even say anything as the two of you get off his horse. 
Even during the entire walk to your shared rooms, Nikolai is quiet. You want to ask him if he’s okay, if he’s okay with you being here, but a part of you tells you he needs this walk to clear his mind. 
Once you get to your rooms and you shut the door behind you, you barely have time to turn around before Nikolai pulls you in his arms. 
You’re a bit taken back by his actions, but are quick to embrace him. You feel how Nikolai drops his head to your shoulder and shuffles even closer to you. You smile as you hold on to Nikolai.
The two of you stand like that for a while. Just holding each other, glad to be reunited. 
When Nikolai pulls back he smiles at you, and finally speaks up. ‘You came back.’ he says.
‘I did.’ you say. ‘Kaz talked some sense into me.’ 
Nikolai blinks in surprise. ‘Kaz Brekker was the one to talk sense into you?’ he says.
‘Yes. He made me realise I can have to homes.’ you say. ‘And we need to talk about that.’
‘Okay.’ says Nikolai, taking your hand and walking you back to the bed to sit down. ‘What exactly do we need to talk about? Because I can think of a few things, but I want to hear you out first.’ 
‘I thought I’d be happy once I got back to Ketterdam.’ you say. ‘And I was, for a while. It felt so good to see all of them again. And, uh, help them out every now and then.’
If Nikolai knew what you had really been doing during your life in Ketterdam, he didn’t show it. He didn’t say anything, waiting for you to continue.
‘It really felt good to be home in Ketterdam. But the more time passed, the less happy I got. I missed the palace, the life I built here, but most of all I missed you, Nikolai. Kaz was the one to tell me I can have two homes.’ you say.
Nikolai smiles at you after you finish talking. He brings your intertwined hands up and kisses your knuckles.
‘I missed you.’ he says. ‘I thought you weren’t happy here, so when you said you wanted to go to Ketterdam, I felt like I had no choice but to let you go. So I did. But I really am glad you’re back, Y/N. The palace felt a lot bigger without you in it.’
‘How boring were the meetings without me?’ you ask him.
Nikolai sighs deeply. ‘Very.’ he says. ‘I didn’t have to make sure you stayed awake, so I had no choice but to listen to every little detail they said.’ he says.
You chuckle, thinking back to the countless of times Nikolai had to keep you awake during the meetings. 
As you look at him, it’s like you’re seeing him for the first time all over again. You let your eyes roam over his face, taking in every detail. You had really missed him.
‘Nikolai?’ you say softly.
‘Yes, sweetheart?’ he says.
‘While I was in Ketterdam, I realised something else.’ you say.
‘That the food here is better?’ says Nikolai.
‘They don’t have Ketterdam waffles here.’ you point out. ‘But no.’ 
You look at him, taking your time once more to take in his face.
‘I realised that over time, all those days we spent together, I’ve grown to love you. I don’t want to leave you like I did ever again.’ you say.
You watch as Nikolai’s face breaks into a huge grin. ‘You love me?’ he says.
‘I do.’ you say. You hold up your hand, showing him the ring. ‘This should be a pretty good reminder of it.’
Nikolai grabs your face with both of his hands, pulls it towards his and smashes his lips onto yours in a passionate kiss. You can tell he’s still smiling. And when he pulls away, there’s indeed still a big and proud smile on his face.
‘I love you.’ he says. ‘I should have never let you go like that. I should have gone with you, or made sure you had reason to stay. I won’t let you leave again, Y/N, you’re my queen, and I love you.’ 
You smile, leaning in to press a kiss to both of his cheeks.
‘We can make this marriage work, Nikolai. I want to make it work. On one condition, though.’ you say.
‘Name it.’ says Nikolai.
‘I promised I would visit Ketterdam every summer.’ you say. ‘To see all of my friends and spend time with them.
‘That seems like a fair deal.’ says Nikolai. ‘Then I’ve got a condition as well.’
‘Anything.’ you say.
‘You have to accompany me on every boring meeting, otherwise I will fall asleep during every single one of them. And we go for a walk through the gardens every evening.’ he says.
‘Deal.’ you say. 
Nikolai smiles and rises from the bed, offering his hand to you. ‘Shall we go on a walk then?’ he says.
You smile and gladly accept his hand and get up. The two of you walk the familiar route to the gardens, and you can’t help but to sneak glances at him. It was already dark outside, but somehow there was still a twinkle in his eyes, and his blonde hair seemed to glow. 
‘Are you trying to remember every detail of my face by looking at me so many times, love?’ he says after a while. ‘I’m flattered, honestly. But you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life, you can spend plenty of time looking at me.’
‘I know.’ you say. ‘But I missed a few days, I’m catching up on lost time.’
Nikolai chuckles and pulls you closer, pressing a kiss to your cheek. ‘You’re truly adorable.’ he says, making you blush.
You reach the gardens and automatically walk to your favorite spot. When you sit down on the bench, you look at the familiar bush in front of you.
‘I’m on time.’ you say.
Nikolai looks at the bush as well and nods. ‘You are. David says Summers Week will most likely bloom next week.’ he says. ‘And when it does, I’ll get you a new flower, to keep with the one I got you last year.’
You turn to smile at him. ‘I can start collecting them.’ you say. ‘One for each year.’
‘One for each year.’ Nikolai repeats. ‘I really am glad you’re back, Y/N. It felt weird, not having you around. I felt like some part of me was missing. Maybe because it was.’
‘Well, I’m here now.’ you say. ‘And I don’t plan on leaving soon.’
‘Except for your summer trip to Ketterdam.’ says Nikolai.
‘Except for that trip. You should come with me, I bet they’d love to meet you some day.’ you say. 
Nikolai smiles. ‘Some of them have met me.’ he says.
You frown. ‘They have? They didn’t mention it when I was there.’ you say.
‘That’s probably because they didn’t know it was me.’ he says. ‘They also met Genya and Zoya. They were accompanying me but I wasn’t, well, me.’
‘I can’t tell if you’re messing with me or not.’ you say, suppressing a yawn.
‘Oh, darling, I’m not. One day I’ll tell you the story of Sturmhond.’ he says.
‘Sturmhond?’ you say and Nikolai nods. ‘Why not tell me now?’
‘Because you have been trying to hide your yawning since we came here, and I think it’s time you went to bed.’ says Nikolai with a chuckle.
‘You’re right, I should. It’s been a long day.’ you say. ‘I left in the middle of the night and only stopped once when I got to Ravka.’
‘You only stopped once? Saints, Y/N, how come you didn’t collapse on a bed once you got here?’ says Nikolai.
‘Because I wanted to talk to you and spend some time with you first.’ you say.
Nikolai’s features soften and he smiles at you. ‘I appreciate that. But now please let me take you back to our room before you fall asleep in the gardens.’ he says.
You get up and intertwine your fingers with his once more, and you start walking back to the palace. When you walk the halls, you run into Genya.
She looks surprised but happy to see you, as she shoots you a warm smile. You briefly let go of Nikolai’s hand to hug her. She must have noticed your tired state, because she tells you that you’d catch up tomorrow morning. 
You’re grateful when you get to your room. After taking a quick bath to scrub the sweat and dirt off of your body, you change into a comfortable night dress. When you get back to the bedroom, you see Nikolai is fidgeting with a piece of rope.
He shows you the small boat he made when you approach the bed. You smile and take it from him, placing it on your nightstand. 
The second you lay down under the covers, you feel your body already dozing off. You close your eyes and feel how Nikolai lays down on his side of the bed. You knew the bed was big enough to keep your distance, but you didn’t have to anymore.
You move closer to Nikolai, cuddling to his side. He wraps an arm around you as you lay your head on his chest. Nikolai softly traces shapes on your bare arm. 
He moves his head to kiss your forehead and mumble a very soft “goodnight, love”.
You feel yourself drifting off to sleep, a very faint smile on your lips. It feels good to be home right next to Nikolai. And you’re glad that you have two homes now. Ketterdam, with your crows. And Os Alta, with your king.
A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rules Here’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit
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demonslayedher · 3 years
Note
any random trivial thoughts you have about the lives of the slayers? i like to think that nezuko keeps the acorns inosuke gave her in a jar as a collection and that inosuke is determined to fill the jar completely, hehe. also, do you think an official announcement of nezuko’s existence was made to the lower ranked demon slayers or did it travel through word of mouth. imagine oblivious demon slayers visiting the butterfly mansion, only to be greeted/encountered by nezuko
If I may add to that thought about Nezuko having a jar, Gotouge has stated that Nezuko is okay getting tossed around and bumping her head in the box because she heals from it immediately, but one of this days Tanjiro is going to open it and it will pour with acorns and glass shards, and she'll just be sitting there glaring with disappointment. (Hopefully Nezuko keeps the jar in a safe place at the Butterfly Mansion instead!)
As for telling the whole Corp that Nezuko got the OK from Oyakata-sama and the Pillars, I can see that being like a low-key announcement that spreads like a rumor, just kinda whenever the crows get around to that detail between missions. It makes sense that Oyakata-sama wanted to tell the Pillars first, and since the Pillar meeting was coming up pretty soon when Tanjiro passed the Final Selection, Oyakata-sama had probably planned as soon as he got Urokodaki's letter than he was going to have Tanjiro and Nezuko at that meeting. Even if we set the Pillars aside, though, there's wide-spread hatred against demons throughout the Corp. It probably helped to have the Pillars generally on board first. I can imagine the rest of the Corp being very curious (if cautious) about Nezuko, and although we see characters who get the pleasure of spending time with her getting to baby her, most Corp members who meet Tanjiro probably don't get to meet Nezuko face to face. Daytime is problematic, or Nezuko would otherwise be asleep a lot of the time even if Tanjiro is busy in settings when he'd meet other Corp members. Still, I think Tanjiro's reputation as a nice guy would spread even faster, so even people who were iffy about Nezuko would probably get to know Tanjiro and be like, "oh, she's probably fine."
But if we're going to get into trivial headcanons about the Slayers' everyday lives, you know who I think gets babied more than Nezuko?
Inosuke. Most of the Corp members are freaked out by him at first, but as it dawns on them that Inosuke grew up all alone, it may bring out a nurturing side in them, and it makes everyone happy to see him get better at fitting in among humankind. They get to feel proud of him as he picks up on limited amounts of etiquette and gets marginally better at picking up names, but most of them are still likely to make a quick exit when he starts getting too rambunctious.
Zenitsu, however, is someone who should know better and most people find him really annoying until they go through Pillar Training with him, as that's the strongest bonding experience most of the Corp members have ever shared, aside from the really close bonding that probably occurs a lot among members of the same Final Selection batches. However, the Corp members who have witnessed Zenitsu in action (and who were rescued by him) have nearly the same awe for him that they have for the Pillars, so they never say anything to him about how indebted they feel.
Since more of the Corp members have met Inosuke and Zenitsu than have met Nezuko, Tanjiro's saintly reputation mostly stems from how much of those two numbskulls' company he can stand, and how he can keep them in line (keeping a demon sister in line must be easy in comparison). Also, Tanjiro is not just good at tending the fire to make good rice, his sense of smell makes him a master at seasoning food perfectly, and many Corp members have cried thinking of how their own mothers never cooked so well. Tanjiro is also very good at tending to people when they fall ill.
The Pillars are so advanced in Breath technique that they don't generally catch colds unless they are recovering from serious injury or like, poisoning themselves. Normal Corp members catch minor illnesses all the time, though, and that's part of why they're so slow to advance. They tend to have to take time for lots of little things instead of just major injuries sustained in battle. They still train as much as possible to make sure they don't get rusty when it's time to take a mission again. These recovery periods are some of the only times when they can maintain a reasonable sleep schedule, many of the members who survive to old age feel long term effects of sleep deprivation in addition to lingering injuries. Since the Corp members can't very well engage in long-term goals, simple pastimes are encouraged in the daylight hours to help keep them in the moment. The Butterfly Mansion and most of the Wisteria houses are well stocked with board games like Sugoroku and card games like Karuta, as well as tools for shuttlecock and paper for origami.
While many of the Corp members try to be virtuous, and in indeed there are other circles that have their own sort of main-character like Tanjiro equivalent, there are still those who have less polished, or certainly far less positive character. The rougher members tend to spend their salary and free time on vices. Oyakata-sama understands his children are under a lot of stress and turns a blind eye to it (or two blind eyes, I guess).
Different Breaths tend to come with their own cultures, and overtime different Cultivators tend to get different reputations based on the members they send into the Corp. Like, "Oh, Yamada-sensei? Then you must be a stickler for the 10th form" or "Yamaguchi-sensei? Are you okay out there? I heard he's real half-assed on Breath technique." There is a certain amount of awe that students of former Pillars automatically get, and although some of that is due to pride and jealously, people who have been in the Corp long enough tend to get over these notions and just realize that everyone's doing their best. Since they're core Breath styles there may be other Thunder and Flame Breath users throughout the Corp from different Cultivators, but, pardon the pun, they can't hold a candle to the students of former Pillars (or the Rengoku clan in general) and it's highly, highly unlikely any of them would ever get close to the same level of mastery. There's plenty of Muratas in every Breath, basically.
Speaking of Murata, he and others like him probably had an easy time of settling down and getting married after retirement. Years of experience as swordsmen certainly gave them a mature edge over the average Joes they otherwise would be compared to, but they also have the advantage of not being freaks. Takeuchi remains life-long friends with Yushiro.
The young maidens of Wisteria houses get flirted with all the time. Many of the Corp members are starved of TLC, and while the maidens of the Wisteria houses are polite and have deep respect for the work the swordsmen do, they know they likely will not know most of them for long. However, when there is a true connection between a Corp member and a Wisteria House family member, they tend to make very solid matches. Girls make up a slim percentage of the swordsmen in the Corp, and this is why they tend to get sent on undercover missions a lot more. Demons tend to put their guards down more around women, as they'd more likely be on the look out for male swordsmen.
Girls make up a larger proportion of the Kakushi, and traditionally feminine skills are highly prized. Gotou is very proud of his sewing skills, even though he only does small repairs and has never been tasked with tailoring full uniforms. The Kakushi use a lot of code words and have a very insular work culture that is hard for outsiders to break into; even Oyakata-sama finds himself confused by a lot of it, but he appreciates that it makes them efficient and mostly leaves them be to organize themselves as they see fit (his orders are still absolute, though, so none of them are aware how much autonomy they effectively have.)
Hand signs like "don't breathe" and "don't listen" are unique to the Corp (yes, I have looked them up, consensus in the Japanese fandom is that they are unique to KnY), and taught by Cultivators. Inosuke didn't have a Cultivator to teach him so it took him a while to catch on the existence of hand signs. He makes up his own confusing hand signs to impress people with how flexible his joints are.
For many, Pillar Training was harder than undergoing Cultivation (but still less harrowing than the Final Selection). In Cultivation they tend to get specialized attention from someone who cares about them and actually knows a thing or two about how teaching works. Pillar Training does not fit this explanation at all, especially in the teaching department. As mentioned before, this is when a lot of Corp members who used to find Zenitsu insufferable come around and start to appreciate him more, for they survived different stages of training together, and every time he blew his top and complained, they were grateful he gave (loud) voice to what they were thinking but were too afraid to say. Instead of getting down and depressed, it riles them up enough to keep at it, however ridiculous the Pillar's demands are. Suffering under the Pillars also broke down perceived barriers between different ranks, building a more solid level of comradery among a lot of the Corp. However, this was also the most time most of the Corp members ever got to spend with the Pillars, who they always felt were untouchable and who they feared bothering. They feel very genuine affection for them by the time they all enter the final battle.
Once Inosuke figures out that Zenitsu can only bring out his full abilities in his sleep, he tries to goad Zenitsu into fighting him at full strength by insulting him in his sleep. He did throw a really good punch at him one time, but usually he only sleep-argues back. Other times Inosuke hits a sore spot and Zenitsu starts sleep-crying, in which case Inosuke gets bored and leaves. Once Tanjiro realizes this about Zenitsu (thanks to Inosuke having point-blank explained it to him), he puzzles over it and figures Zenitsu may not be aware of how powerful and helpful he is, and this hurts his confidence, but then again, how can he not know if he's so aware of his surroundings even in his sleep? As Zenitsu sleeps, Tanjiro has been puzzling over this a long time and how he might best be able to help Zenitsu reach his full confident potential, and by the time Zenitsu wakes up and drowsily looks over at Tanjiro, Tanjiro looks him in the eye and very seriously asks, "Zenitsu, what is your problem?" Naturally, Zenitsu interprets this as Tanjiro suddenly being very disappointed in him, and Tanjiro has unwittingly done more harm than good.
On the contrary, Tanjiro has unwittingly done a lot of simple good for most of the PTSD-suffering Corp members with his little throw-away positive comments, just like he did for Muichiro and Aoi. Most of the Corp members have never met Oyakata-sama, so Tanjiro is to many Corp members what Oyakata-sama is to the Pillars. It's like they all have an Oyakata-sama shaped hole in their hearts and Tanjiro just falls into it like a good proxy. After all is said and done and Tanjiro and Nezuko read all the kind wishes left for them in deceased Corp members' wills, Tanjiro is consumed with some guilt that he can't place faces to all the names, though he remembers the majority of them. While his memory is still fresh he works hard to recall the ones who escaped him, and then he makes sure to refresh his memory every year with annual visits to the graves.
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goldentsum · 4 years
Text
━ jealousy
REQUESTS: (seperately) bokuto, hinata, and akaashi x jealous s/o. say that she isn’t a very jealous person to begin with but there’s another girl who seemed to have taken a liking to the boys and she doesn’t like it. add some angst if you will :) hopefully ends with some fluff. 
🎕 asked by: nonnie 🎕
CHARACTERS: bokuto koutarou, hinata shouyou, and akaashi keiji
GENRE: angst, fluff
AUTHOR’S NOTE: i don’t know if i did it right but D: i’m rlly active rn cus im excited idk why-- also hinata has a lot of dialogue in this one
━ bokuto ♡
bokuto is a jealous baby owl and you know it,, know it too well... he gets pouty if your attention is elsewhere even for a minute!
you, on the other hand, is as cool as a cucumber. well, that what it looks like anyway. 
you get jealous quite a lot, to be honest, but your pride won’t live if you show it so you just try to shrug it off every time
but when kou gets a little too much attention it pisses you the fuck off 
you get snappy and your mood is down for the day but kou is always on his way to make it better~ 
the baby owl may be oblivious but when the topic is about you, he pays attention to your every movement and to what makes you tick
so when someone!! a person you hate because of their flirty attitude and rude remarks gets a little too close to your baby--
oh, it's about to go down!
you’re in the cafeteria sitting on one of the free tables, waiting for your hyperactive baby owl, when you see a certain someone clinging to Bokuto and pressing their chest against his arm
aND WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MORE IS THE OBLIVIOUS SMILE ON BOKUTO’S FACE
you turned around and looked at the juice box you bought for bokuto and grabbed it roughly, stabbing the straw to drink it yourself
you knew how popular bokuto was and how ‘plain’ you were but it still hurt when people never respecting bo’s personal space and your relationship as you two were publicly open with your relationship
akaashi, who was lagging behind bokuto, saw this and quickly rescued the dense captain making a certain someone whines about it but akaashi paid no mind and dragged bo away and towards your table
“hey, babe!” 
you looked at him and rolled your eyes, scoffing a little with the straw still on your mouth as you proceed to ignore him
bokuto’s eyes widen at that and sat closer to you, leaning closer and putting his head on your shoulder, nuzzling at you. 
this usually makes you break but nope, your pride said nope and you ate lunch with bo pouting and whining to you. akaashi who watched the whole scene sighed.
the next time you saw bokuto was at dismissal with him racing to your classroom the moment the bell rang. he went inside when your teacher dismissed you and waited on the side for you even though you were ignoring him. but what slightly shocked you was the serious face he has on. 
when everyone else was gone and you were about to go to, bokuto grabbed your hand and made you stay
“what’s wrong? please talk to me...” He whispered, hugging you close to his body. 
you pouted at that, the gesture cracking your cold demeanor quickly. you sighed and hugged back the sweet boy.
“i’m sorry for ignoring you, kou...” 
you felt his smile on your skin making you smile too
“It’s okay but please explain...” 
his innocent words and eyes made you shy. maybe you overreacted a little bit but your ego is too big sometimes
you averted your eyes and looked at your shoes, bokuto’s arms still around you. 
“cus... you let (h/n) touch you and you were smiling too!” 
you whined a bit, looking up at him. his surprised expression then turned into relief and he started laughing
“who knew you were the jealous type too, (Y/n)!” 
you pouted and hid your face on his chest, 
“shut up... i’m human too, ya know... and you’re not one to talk, you’re the one who always gets jealous..”
“That’s cus my girlfriend is too pretty and too many guys have their eyes on you!”
you scoffed playfully at that, not having the energy to remind bokuto that those guys were just asking for some notes or something to you, knowing well that it would brew into bokuto pulling up his ‘facts’ and arguments on you again that those guys were unto something...
“shut up, you owl”  
“your owl~” 
━ hinata ♡
this small bean is also one of the easily jealous type and he creates a safe and danger distance around you in his mind
there’s only a certain distance a guy can come close to you and if that line gets crossed, he goes pROTECTIVE MODE
tanaka and noya are proud of their pupil as they watch him circle around you like a rabid dog or crow?
he is always with you! ALWAYS! And he always buys you some cold drink or if you don’t bring lunch, he lets you share his bento with the courtesy of his mother as he asks her to make a bigger lunch for him when he knew that you don’t really bring your own lunch.
so when it was lunchtime and hinata was nowhere in sight, that worries you a LOT
you run to the courtyard where you two usually hangs out with kageyama but was surprised to only see Kageyama and his milk box
jogging up to the tall male and you asked him about shoyou and you heard an answer you were not expecting to hear
“some fancy pink letter asked him to go to the rooftop, it said that they wanted to say something to that tangerine” 
(y/n).exe has stopped working
kageyama looked at you with a quirked brow, still sipping on the milk box, he poked you with a curious look
“why did you let him go, you idiot!” you said, surprising kageyama who pouted and glared at you
“why the hell are you yelling? he’s just meeting someone!” 
“you dense blueberry!” you shouted and hit kageyama on the shoulder with a light scowl
kageyama was about to retort when a familiar childish growling caught his attention as you both looked at the side and saw a glaring hinata racing towards you two at a fast rate
“why you kageyama--! don’t get too close to my girlfriends!”
hinata slotted himself between you two and started bickering with the tol blueberry
you sighed at the scene in front of you and a light pink object caught your attention. there it was, a pink chocolate bar in hinata’s hand as he waved it around, trying to punch kageyama. 
you frowned at it and started walking away, leaving kageyama and hinata at the courtyard. hiding from hinata, you ate lunch in the bathroom stall as icky feelings start to grow.
after lunch, you quickly run to your classroom wanting to avoid seeing hinata at the moment 
but luck wasn’t at your side when Hinata dragged you off and got inside the janitor’s closet with you. 
“hinata, what are you doing! lunch is already finished, i’m gonna be late for class!” 
you tried to leave the small room but hinata closed the door when you tried to open it
“no! you left me with kageyama all lunch break!”
“i-i had a stomach ache and went to the nurse’s office--”
“i went there too, you weren’t in there” 
an awkward silence filled the small room while you looked at hinata with surprise
“i-it doesn’t matter--”
“It does matter! If you feel the need to lie to me then it’s a big matter!” hinata said, frowning at you 
you sighed and let hinata hold your hand
“please tell me what’s wrong” 
“i heard you got confessed to”
hinata blew a fuse at that and started waving his hands furiously, “h-how’d you know?! i didn’t accept it, i promise--!” 
“you didn’t?” 
hinata stopped for a moment and looked at you, eyebrows furrowing
“yeah, i got myself the best girlfriend... why would i wanna change that?” 
you went closer to Hinata, letting your body hit his and hugged him
“i-i’m sorry... it’s just that, i thought you would find someone better and leave me...” 
“I WOULD NEVER! You’re the best girlfriend in the whole wide world, (Y/n)!”
“You’re the best boyfriend too, little tangerine” 
━━ akaashi ♡
let’s be real here, you’re definitely the jealous one in the relationship. I mean having a boyfriend who’s too pretty to comprehend and easily attracts a lot of attention can make you like that. but you hide it pretty well, well most of the time anyway...
akaashi always ALWAYS pays attention to you and knows everything that can trigger you to become sad, angry, jealous, and happy
he always makes sure that you’re always fine and happy, that you’re comfortable and content
we stan the perfect boyfie 🥺
bUT he can be quite dense sometimes when it’s not about you or volleyball.. fUKURODANI PPL ARE DENSE 
girls would always flock his classroom before you can get there, snacks and treats in their hands to give it to akaashi and being the petty little gremlin that you are, you were pouty
akaashi sighed because it’s always either you were pouty or bokuto is and sometimes the worst-case scenario happened where both of you are pouty at the sAME TIME! 
akaashi= Mom Daddy
you reached our final form of pouty when you saw a certain someone a bitch dragged akaashi to talk to him or whatever and being the curious thing you are, you followed them and hid behind the vending machine, listening to their convo
“you know, your girlfriend is cheating on you, right?” 
wHY THAT BITCH! She just lied like it’s her common language wtf! 
you prayed that your baby boo won’t believe her cus YOU ARE NOT CHEATING ON HIM! why tf would you cheat on him when you hit the jackpot? tf
“and you must know that spreading rumors and lies about a person can take you off the first string in the track team right?” 
oOF--! YOUR BOYFIE REALLY POPPED OFF HUH
you snickered behind your hands, listening to the lying snake stutter a complain but akaashi cut her off 
“if this is all then I’m going now but if i hear any rumor circling around (y/n), i won’t hesitate to take action myself.” 
the snake scoffed at that and walked away, stomping 
there was silence for a moment but then keiji called out, surprising you
“i know you’re here, (y/n)” 
you stiffened at that and moved away from your hiding spot while coming up with excuses
“i-i wasn’t doing anything! she just dragged you off so i followed--!” 
akaashi smiled softly at you, walking closer and patted your head gently making you feel flustered.
“i know, let’s go? you must be hungry” 
“you won’t leave me for her, right, keiji?” 
akaashi shook his head at your question, a small smile on his face and looked at you, letting his hand fall and held your smaller hand in his
“it’s not like you’ll let me leave”
“HEY! you make it seem like i’m holding you as a hostage or something!”
“hmm”
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yusei-clownington · 3 years
Text
*puts aluminum foil hat on* Let’s talk Kingcrabshipping.
(This is obviously just my take on it. You’re welcome to disagree or share YOUR views as well!)
I personally think Jack has an unrequited crush on Yusei. Nothing he would act upon. But it’s there, at least I believe it to be there, and I think it’s really cute.
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"Look at them. They're probably shipping us as we speak."
Elaboration under the cut.
So the first time Jack and Yusei interact in the series, it’s evident that jack, the guy who wouldn’t stop reminding us he was king every waking moment of his life until he wasn’t that anymore, seemed to think of Yusei as somewhat of an equal. Sure, he seemed to be certain he was going to win, but he never failed to show his acknowledgement of Yusei’s skills.
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At the time, that was all there was to it. Jack was obviously the rival character, and that’s about it. Maybe he wasn’t as gay for the main character as Kaiba and Manjoume were.
Oh but he was.
And he is.
And he will be.
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Hear me out on this one.
The first time I thought Jack’s crush was showing was during the helicopter scene, in which Carly deliberately disrespected Yusei to lure Jack into speaking.
WHICH FUCKING WORKED.
It basically went
Carly: *says something bad about Yusei*
Jack: UM NO *goes on an exposition monologue about yusei’s backstory and how there’s more to him than meets the eye*
Wasn’t it a bit weird that the first time we hear of Yusei’s backstory, was through Jack?
Unlike with crow…which I’m gonna make a whole post about later, I can’t see Jack having purely platonic feelings for Yusei. There’s a bit of a crush mixed in too.
And another thing that stood out was the fact that it was Jack who snapped Yusei put of his misery as he briefly wallowed over kiryu. I mean he did it by punching him, but it seemed to work. After all, Jack knows Yusei well.
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NOW HE'RE ANOTHER GAY SITCH
When Yusei is occupied with his and Bruno’s program, we get to see a more jealous side of Jack. It’s honestly what confirmed the crush thing to me.
Crow didn’t seem to mind it as much, although he’s supposedly the more hot-headed one. Rua was pretty chill with it, even pointing out that they were “like lovebirds”. And Ruka was cool as well.
But Jack and Aki? Oh they were N O T very fine. They were pretty pissed at this new pretty blue-haired boy Yusei’s been ignoring them for.
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Rua seemed to only point out Aki’s jealousy, but I think that just goes back to his sister’s earlier comment, which kinda pissed me off, “You only say that about a man and a woman”
Had she not said that, I think Rua may have been able to conclude that Jack was jealous as well. But that’s besides the point.
What also seemed to stand out to me was Jack’s constant violence and aggression towards Bruno, more so than with the rest of the gang.
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We’ve already established that Bruno is…far from platonic with Yusei. At least far enough not be labelled a “just a friend”.
Did that have anything to do with Jack’s behavior Towards him?
I choose to believe so!
What about yusei? Do I think he has a crush on Jack as well?
I would have to say no. I doubt he does. Yes, he cares for him a lot, but I can’t help but think he views him as a friend. A really close one, but that’s about it.
When comparing the way Yusei acted with Kiryuu, or even bruno, with the way he acts towards Jack, It seemed very platonic in comparison, no? Though I am way too biased towards Treasonshipping, so maybe that's that side of me speaking.
But the other way around, Comparing Jack’s interactions with everyone, including Carly may I add, to his with Yusei, a very loud part of my head screams UNREQUITED CRUSH UNREQUITED CRUSH.
So uh to end this. JACK HAS A CRUSH ON YUSEI, BUT I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING HAPPENING BEYOND IT.
BAM HAVE THIS SCREENSHOT ANYWAY.
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luffles424 · 3 years
Text
Theory into Practice
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☼ Pairing: Yoonji x reader x Jungkook
☼ Genre: fluff, smut, pwp (with some plot), teeny bit of angst, f2l, college au (technically more so grad school au)
☼ Count: 10.2K
☼ Warnings: 18+, drug use (pot), mentions of alcohol use, threesome, dom!Yoonji, dom!reader, sub!Jungkook, big dick!Jungkook, teasing, dirty talk, one thigh smack, thigh riding, fingering, hair pulling, breast play, oral (f & m receiving), face sitting, unprotected (pls stay safe), aftercare
☼ Summary: A normal night in with Yoonji leads to some interesting revelations with her and surprisingly, Jungkook.
☼ a/n: lmao it’s been a while. Hope you enjoy the Yoonji thirst, my girl doesn’t have enough fics out there. Let me know what you think! My ask box is always open ~
———
“Who of our friends do you think is the subbiest?”
You blink. It’s really a testament to how much you and Yoonji have smoked tonight that your immediate reaction isn’t to splutter at her question. Instead, you just blink slowly, the question slowly making its way through your synapses before you can articulate a response. You take another hit, using it to buy yourself a little more time. Holding the joint back out to her, you let the smoke slowly seep from your lips. 
“Who says I’ve thought about it?” 
You know exactly who you want to be subbiest. But you’re not going to reveal that. Maybe not yet. You might be high, but you still have enough of your wits to keep from spilling things you want to keep hidden. You’ve had good practice at that, smoking often with her and never divulging your crush, even when the topic of partners has come up. Which does come up fairly often as you both attempt to navigate dating while in grad school.
There’s a snort from the other end of the couch and Yoonji’s head lulls against the back of it so she can fix you with hazy, unimpressed eyes, though there’s a smirk just barely tugging at her lips. “I didn’t. But we’re talking about it now.”
Pursing your lips, you think of how to respond. In truth, you’ve thought about it a little, but not particularly in relation to your whole group of friends. Maybe just a person or two who you were particularly interested in that are in said friend group. Most notably, the women sitting on the other end of the couch from you currently. 
Yoonji laughs, foot kicking out to nudge you, and you grin at the flood of happiness that always accompanies hearing her laugh. “Damn, it’s not that deep. Why are you thinking so hard?”
Catching her foot, you dig your thumb into the sole of her foot, causing you both to dissolve into giggles. “We have a lot of friends,” you shoot back. An excuse and you both know it. 
You and Yoonji have been friends for too long for you to really be able to avoid answering a direct query. It’s only been luck that has kept your crush hidden from her. You’ve been friends since you met in 2nd year of undergrad, paired randomly as roommates and then continuing to remain roommates until even now when you live off campus in an apartment together. And many of your friends have come together and you both now share a common friend group.
Once Yoonji wrestles her foot free of your tickling grasp, she shifts in her seat, face far more serious than the topic at hand should really call for. “Fine, fine. I’ll accept your excuse,” she gives you a look that’s hard to interpret, though you mostly just don’t want to think too hard about the calculating look she’s giving you. It leaves you feeling exposed, like she can read your thoughts and knows all of your deepest secrets. Which is partially true, you and Yoonji share everything, save your feelings for her. “Which way do you think Jimin goes?”
She’s really going to make you do this? Well, you might as well give some actual thought to this. “With his praise kink? Definitely more sub leaning?”
Yoonji raises an eyebrow. “Leaning?”
“Well yeah. He’s definitely a switch. You’ve seen how he is when he’s focused. But he also likes helping others. Plus,” you pause, mostly just to be dramatic as you smirk knowingly, Yoonji leaning closer as she waits for what you’re going to say next, “Siyeon said he’s as good a dom as he is a sub.”
Scoffing, Yoonji reaches over to give you a little shove. “That’s cheating!”
You giggle, catching her hand before she pushes again. “It’s not!”
“It is! That’s insider information! This is supposed to be our opinion.”
Waving her off, you settle back onto the couch. “I gave my opinion. I would’ve had that before Siyeon told me. All she did was confirm.” You pause thoughtfully for a moment. You don’t want this to be all you, so you pose the next friend to her instead. “What about Seokjin?”
Yoonji drums her fingers on her bare thigh and you have to fight the urge to get lost in staring at the vast expanse of smooth, exposed skin she’s subjecting you to tonight while you’re impaired like this. You want to know if they’re as soft as they look. You know her hands aren’t, not anymore since she started learning guitar, finger’s growing rough and calloused. The first time she had held your hand after had startled you, now you love feeling the slight roughness brush against your skin. Dragging your gaze from her fingers to her face, you watch as she starts to speak, trying to remain focused on her words and not the way her pretty pink lips form them. 
“As much as I’d love to say sub because he would be just absolutely gorgeous all tied up and begging. I think he’s a bit more dom-ish.”
Mulling it over for a moment, you nod. He likes caring for all your friends, you can certainly see that transferring over into the bedroom. You add, “Yeah… But like, a soft one, ya know? He’d be so gentle and caring about it. I bet his aftercare game is amazing.”
Shifting, Yoonji stretches her legs out and echoes your thoughts. “Definitely. You’ve seen the way he cares for all of us, but definitely the younger guys. He’d be so amazing at that. What about Taehyung?”
“Hm, a dom. Maybe a little less gentle than Seokjin, but still a soft-ish dom. Namjoon?”
“Dom leaning switch. Sometimes he just really needs to get out of his head and let go of control. Hoseok?”
“Straight up switch. I think he probably doms more often but he’s all too happy to go with whatever his partner is in the mood for. Jungkook?”
Yoonji’s face lights up. “Oh,” she coos. “The sweetest sub ever.”
You stare at the way her eyes seem to glaze over with her words and something like jealousy swirls with heat in your belly. You can’t tell if the spike of jealousy is about the way she sighed her answer so sweetly, like she’s thought a lot about this. Or if it’s because you have the same thoughts and some part of you feels possessive over Jungkook. “Why’s that?”
She shoots you a coy smile that leaves you feeling slightly uneasy. “He’s just such a sweet boy and always so eager to please.”
You can’t deny that you’ve also thought that, dreamed that were true. You’ve heard rumors of how Jungkook is in bed. Domineering, cocky, rough. But it doesn’t stop you from imagining him beneath you, whimpering and begging. Yoonji nudges you and you blink at her, realizing that you must’ve zoned out for a moment. She purses her lips, barely hiding her knowing smile. 
“One more,” she declares. 
Frowning, you think through your shared friends, but can’t imagine who she might be referring to. “Who?”
Her answering smirk has your heart stuttering in your chest, equal parts dreading what’s about to come out of her mouth and anticipating. “Me.”
You swallow. She’s really going to make you answer that to her face? While you’re both high? You chew your lip, looking her over slowly. You know exactly how she leans, the benefit and downside to living together for so long. The words stick in your throat though, not quite able to bring yourself to voice your knowledge. To give yourself away like that, to show just how much you’ve paid attention. Yoonji says nothing though, looking at you expectantly as she waits for your answer. 
Taking a deep breath, you rationalize that this is just a game. You’re just giving opinions. It doesn’t have to be incriminating to anything deeper. You just won’t give reasons, just an answer which way she leans. “Dom.”
She grins, looking pleased with your answer. “You too.”
“What?” you blink at her, confused by what she means. 
“I think you’re a dom too.”
Your breath catches. You hadn’t thought about the fact that if you knew her preferences then she likely knew yours well. You’ve both talked about your sex lives with each other, but you’ve never delved deeply into what happens when you’re in your room with others. Staring at each other, your mind races. How much has she heard? How much does she truly know? Her gaze drops to your lips for a moment.
But before the conversation can go any further, there’s a knock at the door. The tension that built between the two of you suddenly breaks as Yoonji crows happily, jumping from her seat to go retrieve the food you’d ordered. Burying your face in your hands, you take a few deep breaths, trying to get your thoughts under control. You really can’t be sitting here, high and horny and thinking about Yoonji and Jungkook. Especially not while one of those people is sitting here with you.
By the time she’s back with food, you’ve got your tangled thoughts mostly controlled and the previous conversation isn’t brought up again. Yoonji complains about something Namjoon did while they were studying earlier in the day and then you’re both complaining about school and theses and classes and thoughts on doms and subs is forgotten about entirely. And you’re all too happy to just forget it happened at all. 
At least for the most part. You can’t help it if in the late hours of night, when exhaustion reigns and sleep eludes you, if you let your thoughts slip to less pure things as you hand slips into your panties. If when you’re alone, you think of you and Yoonji knelt over Jungkook as his big, shiny eyes shine brighter with overwhelmed tears and begs his noonas to let him cum. You don’t let it leave those times though, left in the dark and forgotten in the daylight hours. You ignore the thoughts when you go to lunch with Jungkook, have dinner with all your friends, go grocery shopping with Yoonji, let yourself act as if that conversation never happened.
You assume Yoonji has forgotten it too. Or at least chosen to leave that conversation with that night. 
Until you come home from buying snacks one night for the weekly smoking session to find Jungkook there too. Which in and of itself isn’t too strange. While you and Yoonji are the primary partakers of this night, all of your friends rotate in and out when the mood strikes. Most of the others usually go out drinking. Or study. And everyone rotates between the three activities with whatever strikes their mood (or is required by their grades). 
But Jungkook had said earlier in the day that he was going out with Tae and Jimin. He’s not even dressed for it, like he was just stopping by for a moment and then going to meet up with the others. Instead dressed comfortably in loose gray sweats and a matching sweatshirt, his blond hair still slightly damp from a shower under the hood he still has pulled up. 
You give him a smile as you set the snacks on the coffee table and move to sit on the couch. “I thought you were going out to drink?”
Jungkook shuffles from foot to foot nervously, glancing from you to Yoonji, who’s sat on the other side of the couch. “I uh… changed my mind?”
You frown, unsure of his odd behavior. He’s acting as if he’s never been to your apartment before, despite the fact that besides the two of you, he’s here the most. But Yoonji simply beckons him to sit, which he does so after a moment of hesitation, nervously tugging his hood off his head. Once he sits, you expect Yoonji to pull out a blunt and get the night started, but the silence stretches and she makes no moves to do so. You reach out to nudge her, head tilted questioningly. 
She gives you a quick glance before looking at Jungkook. “I have a proposition. For you both.” Brows furrowing, you’re about to question her when she continues. “Your noonas have a little theory they’d like to test.”
Your heart stops. There’s only one possible thing she could be talking about that would involve both a proposition and a theory that you both had. Is she just planning to ask him? But that wouldn’t involve a proposition…
Oh. 
She’s planning to ask him to let you both dom him. Stomach knotting uncomfortably, you worry that this could ruin the friendship the three of you share. That it could ruin the entire friendship dynamic of the whole group. You could lose a roommate, friends. But even with the bad scenarios running through your mind, you can’t deny the bolt of heat that sears straight to your core at even the barest hint of possibility of getting the pretty boy before you underneath you instead. 
Jungkook swallows, gaze darting from Yoonji to you and back. You wonder what Yoonji said to him to get him to come tonight. “What… What’s the theory?”
She gives a soft smile, but there's a predatory edge to it. You’ve seen it on her when you’ve gone to bars and clubs, wielded against unsuspecting people that she wants to spend the night with. You’ve seen the effects of that look on people and Jungkook is no different, already looking like he’s hooked on her every word, even if there’s still a touch of nerves in the tense line of his shoulders. She gestures for Jungkook to move from the chair to sit between you both on the couch. He hesitates before shuffling the short distance to sit where directed. You can’t help but note that he’s good at following instructions. It makes something hot twist in your belly. 
Yoonji shifts, kneeling on the cushion so she can press closer to Jungkook, close enough to whisper in his ear, though her tone is loud enough for you to hear too. “Your noonas have a theory that you are just the sweetest little sub ever.”
Jungkook tenses up at the words, and though it’s hard to tell if it’s from discomfort or just shock at Yoonji’s bold statement, you slide closer to be a reassuring hand to counterpoint Yoonji’s boldness.  
“If anything makes you uncomfortable, Jungkook, just tell us. We don’t want to cause you any discomfort, okay?” you murmur soothingly, hand rubbing gentle circles on his back. Yoonji peaks around to give you a grateful smile, although you’re unsure if it’s because you are joining her in her proposition or if it’s because you know enough to ensure that Jungkook’s comfort is the most important thing here.
Thinking for a moment, Jungkook gives a small nod and Yoonji takes that as her sign to continue. “Would you let your noonas find out if they’re right?”
“B-both of you?” he swallows, gaze darting between the two of you.
Leaning closer, you let your lips brush his ear, relishing the shiver you feel run through him. “Your noonas have seen the way you look at them when we dance together on nights out.” 
He stiffens beneath you and you pull back just enough to see the flush starting to color his cheeks. In truth, you know he’s not the only one that does. Jimin and Taehyung fairly regularly comment on how you both steal the show. And you and Yoonji aren’t blind, you know the way you both captivate an audience when you’re together, dressed up and putting on a show just for the thrill. But you’ve definitely caught Jungkook staring the most. Eyes hooded and lips parted like you and Yoonji are there solely for his entertainment. The way you’ve seen him have to restrain himself from approaching the both of you. It’s even more thrilling than the eyes of strangers on you. 
Yoonji coos. “Do you like watching your noonas together, baby?”
She doesn’t allow him a chance to answer though because as soon as the question has been asked, she’s nudging him back so he’s more reclined, leaving the two of you staring at each other over his chest. A moment passes, where you just stare at each other, as Jungkook looks between you both. 
There’s a wry twist to her lips and then she’s reaching out to pull you in for a kiss. The sudden press of her soft lips to yours has your brain short circuiting. All thought and reason leaving you, focus narrowed entirely down to the pressure of her mouth on yours. She tastes like strawberry and the sudden, lightest brush of her tongue across your lip has your brain kick starting again just as she starts to pull away. That simply won’t do. Hand tangling in her hair, you keep her close, keep the kiss going as you deepen it and you relish the slick slide of her tongue against yours.
You’ve imagined kissing her so much, but it’s nothing compared to reality. Yoonji is demanding, just as demanding as you are, and there are moments where the kiss turns a little rougher as one of you tries for the upper hand. It’s addicting, the feel of her, the rush, that you get lost in the kiss. So much so, that you entirely forget about Jungkook beneath you until he lets out a soft whimper. Pulling away from Yoonji, you both glance down at him and you nearly coo at the sight. He looks much like he does on nights that you’ve caught him watching you dance. But up close like this, you can see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, the way his tongue darts out occasionally to lick at his pink, bitten lips, how blown his eyes are already and he hasn’t even been touched yet. 
Disentangling yourself from Yoonji, you run an affectionate hand through Jungkook’s hair. “Do you want this, baby?” When he starts to nod again, you tighten your hand in his hair, halting his movement. “We need your words, Jungkook.”
His mouth opens, but no sound comes out. He clears his throat, eyes darting down in embarrassment before trying again. “Yes, noona. Want this… Want you both…”
Pleased, you let your hand drift down, cupping his cheek and thumbing gently along his cheekbone. “Yeah? Have you thought about this a lot? Have you thought about your noonas often?”
Swallowing, his gaze darts between the two of you nervously. And oh, you had just been teasing. But the nervous flit of his gaze, the way he won’t focus on either of you for longer than a moment. He has thought about the two of you. You wonder what he’s thought about, for how long. Has he touched himself while thinking about one of you? Both of you? Yoonji seems to pick up on the implication of his nonanswer too, because her lips are curling into a teasing smirk.
“Have you, baby? What a naughty boy. Thinking about your noonas like that.” Jungkook squirms, mouth open like he’s about to protest the statement, but Yoonji continues speaking. “Noona has too. Thought about how pretty you’d look and how good you’d be.”
Jungkook falters, blinking big eyes up at Yoonji with wonder. Like he never imagined that either of you would think of him the way he thinks of you. A breath shudders out of him as his eyes squeeze closed. You make the decision to move this from the couch if you’re going to go through with it.
Shifting, you push yourself to your feet, glancing at Yoonji to see that she follows your actions with a questioning furrow to her brows. Jungkook blinks his eyes open at the movement, blinking up at you both. You hold your hand out and after a moment, he takes it. Pulling him to his feet, Yoonji grabs his other hand and takes charge in leading Jungkook down the hall to her bedroom. 
The air in Yoonji’s room feels thick with heat. She flips a light on, letting soft, purple light fill the room and leaving it cast in subdued shades. You both release Jungkook’s hands, moving in near perfect synchronicity despite the fact that you’ve never done this before. There’s something unspoken that moves you both together. Standing side by side, you both face Jungkook, gazes slowly trailing over the younger man. He shuffles on his feet under the scrutiny, hands clasping in front of him like he’s a child about to be scolded. 
Yoonji’s head tilts, finger coming up to tap her chin in thought. “Something seems wrong here, doesn’t it?”
Humming, you nod in agreeance. “Yes, yes it does. Jungkook,” the boy starts at the call of his name, head jerking up to stare at you, like a deer caught in the headlights. 
Yoonji snaps her fingers. “You’re right. Jungkook, baby, strip for your noonas.”
“N-now?” His fingers twitch where they’re clasped before him. 
It’s cute how shy he has become. You’ve seen him shamelessly strip his shirt off at parties to do body shots, confidently pick up women at bars, boldly barge into rooms and capture everyone’s attention. You’ve only seen him this shy once, and that was when you all had first met him, before he had come out of his shell and grown close to you all. 
When he makes no move to start undressing, you speak up. “Jungkook,” you wait until he’s looking at you. “Do you know the stoplight system?” He thinks for a moment before nodding, face clouded with confusion. “Color?”
Gaze darting from you to Yoonji and back again, his tongue peaks for a moment. “Green.”
Yoonji grins proudly at the answer. “Aw, are you just shy then, baby? Nervous about being naked in front of your noonas for the first time?”
Ducking his head, Jungkook gives you both a quick nod that you just want to coo over, however inappropriate that reaction may be right now be damned. Instead, you shoot for comforting. “How about we start slow then? Just your shirt. You can do that, can’t you, baby? We’ve seen you shirtless plenty of times before.”
Jungkook fidgets for another moment before his fingers grip the edge of his baggy sweater. Eyes squeezing shut, there’s only only a second more of hesitation before the sweater is being pulled up and off. He clings to it, the fabric hanging in his hands in front of his chest, but doing very little to hide anything. He peaks an eye open and sees the way Yoonji quirks an eyebrow at him and the sweater drops from his hands to the floor. 
You’ve seen Jungkook shirtless plenty of times. Your entire friend group has. There was a period of a few months back towards the beginning of your friendship after he had gotten comfortable with you all that you would’ve sworn that he was allergic to shirts with how often you saw him shirtless. You know how toned he is, have been subjected to his ridiculous workouts on occasion, how diligently he works out simply for the fun of it. Muscles that shift under golden skin that you’ve seen at parties and on beach trips, that you’ve allowed yourself to glance out, appreciate and take in, but never to stare for too long and get caught. 
Now though, you drink your fill of the sight before you. Jungkook is tall, and when he’s shirtless he exudes a cockiness born from the hungry looks of others; his posture always making him seem taller, take up more space. But now, now his shoulders are hunched, like he’s trying to make himself smaller, seem less big even though his muscles make that nearly impossible. 
He glances up at you both through the curtain of blonde bangs and you can see the way the flush from his cheeks starts to spread down his neck and chest. It makes you itch to mark the pretty skin up, stake a claim on the sweet, shy boy before you. 
There’s a pleased hum from beside you. “Such a good boy, Jungkookie. You’re so good for your noonas, aren’t you?”
He nods quickly, eyes positively shining at the praise. Well, you both certainly pegged that one right. Oh, now there’s an idea. That might have to wait though. You don’t want to completely overwhelm him right at the start. 
“Now the pants, baby,” you grin, watching the way he swallows at the command.
Hands trembling slightly as he reaches for the waistband of his sweats, his nerves seem to grow now that he’s about to be fully exposed before you both. He takes a deep breath and then shoves his sweats and underwear down his legs. Your breath catches in your throat and you know Yoonji must be having a similar reaction given the sharp inhale you hear from her. 
Jungkook is absolutely stunning naked. You’ve known that his thighs were thick and just as toned as the rest of him, catching glimpses of the thick, corded muscles whenever he ditched sweats and his baggier clothing for jeans that looked like they’d been painted onto him. His hands immediately come together again in an attempt to cover his cock, already hard and leaking. But his hands do little to cover his long, thick cock, but it’s endearingly adorable that he tries. 
“So pretty,” you murmur, eyes tracing over every inch of skin. You don’t know what you want to do first to him, so many ideas flash through your mind as you stare at him.  
“So good, too. Can you lay down on the bed for us now, baby?”
Shyness seemingly forgotten for a moment, Jungkook nearly launches himself onto the bed, landing with a little bounce before he’s shuffling around so he’s stretched out in the middle of Yoonji’s bed. His eagerness is a good sign, showing that even if he’s nervous, that he very much wants to be here. The dark bedspread makes his skin seem to glow more and he looks absolutely gorgeous spread out for you. 
Yoonji moves closer to the bed and you move to follow suit and stand beside her at the foot, both of you just taking a moment to look at Jungkook. His cock twitches where it rests against his belly and heat pools in your belly at the knowledge that it’s yours to touch. At least for tonight. 
She turns to you then, hands landing on your hips to pull you closer. Chewing her lip for a moment, there’s an emotion that briefly flits across her face but before you can pin down what exactly it is she’s leaning in to press her lips to yours once again. Not letting yourself dwell on her expression, at least not now when there’s a very eager boy spread out for you both and Yoonji’s tongue slipping into your mouth. You can overthink later. Right now, you should just let yourself fall into the feel of her.
Her fingers dig into your hips and you let her get away with it only because you take the opportunity to slip your hands beneath her shirt, gripping her waist just as tightly for a moment before you’re tugging her shirt up and off. Kiss momentarily broken, you take the brief pause to look her over. Her bra is black and lacy, pushing her breasts up in a way that makes you want to get your mouth on them . You also know for a fact that it’s her ‘getting laid’ bra. Meaning she must have been pretty confident that the two of you would agree to this. You’re a little mad that she didn’t give you any sort of heads up to let you wear something better than just a comfy, colorful bra you use for daily wear. At least it’s cute. 
Leaning in, you nip harshly at her bottom lip in retaliation and you know by her giggle that she knows exactly what it was for. What a cruel tease, you’re definitely going to get her back in the future. You don’t know how just yet, but you will. You sooth the bite with your tongue, but you don’t get a chance for another proper kiss because Yoonji takes the opportunity to tug your shirt off as well. She pulls away after dropping your shirt to the floor, hungrily eyeing you up as her tongue wets her lips. You feel a heady rush at being able to pull such a look from the typically collected Yoonji. 
A moan pulls your attention back to the bed, where Jungkook has taken it upon himself to start lazily stroking himself, muscles shifting as his hips flex up into his grip. Exchanging glances, you and Yoonji quickly rid yourselves of your bottoms before climbing onto the bed on either side of Jungkook. This behavior simply won’t do. 
Sitting on your knees beside his thigh, you're quick to let your hand smack against the skin there. The sound echoes in the quiet room and Jungkook jerks, though you don’t know if it’s more from the sudden sound or the heat that blooms across his thigh even if the smack you gave him was fairly mild in terms of punishment. But it has the desired effect, his hand halting on his cock, though he doesn’t remove his hand from himself. His expression morphs into a mix of betrayal and confusion.
“Oh, sweet boy,” Yoonji coos, hand wrapping around his wrist. “Have you ever done this before?”
Swallowing, he looks nervous again, gaze darting around the room, but never landing on either of you before he minutely shakes his head. Yoonji gently pulls his hand from his cock, letting it slap wetly against his belly. 
“Aw, you poor thing. Have you always had to be the one in charge, huh? Do those girls see your big, pretty muscles and tattoos and just assume that you’re going to be domineering too? No one’s ever taken care of you like you deserve?” Yoonji murmurs, eyes burning as she speaks. 
Jungkook’s breath hitches as he blinks up at Yoonji. He shakes his head slightly and you can see how deeply he wants this. Wants to try, to let go and have someone else take control for once. Letting your fingers trail up his thigh, you trace a single fingertip up his cock with a featherlight touch, drawing a delightful gasp from him. He’s so sensitive to touch, it’s going to make this so much more fun. 
“Lesson number one, baby. No touching without permission. That includes your pretty little cock. Bad boys get punished.”
“And punishment can get much worse than a little slap on the thigh, sweetheart.”
His eyes widen. “I-I’m sorry! I d-didn’t know!”
Shushing him, you rub soothingly at the red mark you left on his thigh. It’s light and fairly small, a testament to how tame the smack was, but it makes you want to leave more, make them darker. Marks that remain for days, that remind Jungkook of your hands on him. “It’s okay, baby. You’re still learning. You won’t be punished.” You smirk teasingly. “This time at least.”
Licking his lips, he looks between you both. You can tell he’s thinking about something, but you can’t tell if the thought of punishment might actually be enticing to him or if he’s trying to figure out the rules without being told. Always the overachiever. 
Yoonji releases his hand, letting it fall to rest against the bed once more. “We’ll go easy on you, baby, don’t worry. You’ll be a good boy for us, won’t you?” Jungkook nods quickly, hands clenching at the bedspread. “What do you want, baby?”
“Want…” he licks his lips, seems to think slowly over his wants in this moment. “Wanna see you kiss again.”
You giggle. “Aw, sweet thing,” you glance over at Yoonji, “doesn’t even want a kiss for himself.”
Yoonji tsks, wide grin matching yours. “Someone must really enjoy watching.”
Planting a hand high on Jungkook’s thigh, Yoonji mirrors your actions as you both lean closer to meet over Jungkook once more. This kiss is slow, you take your time and enjoy the feel of her soft mouth against yours. You could easily get lost in the kiss again, it would be so easy. Jungkook’s thigh twitches beneath your hand and you give him a small squeeze, acknowledge that you haven’t forgotten about him and it draws a soft moan from him. 
The sound seems to spark something in Yoonji, as she surges closer, deepening the kiss. Her free hand comes up to rest on the side of your neck, thumb brushing along your jaw. Not wanting to be outdone, you reach out and let your fingers trace her collarbone before following her sternum down until you can palm at one of her covered breasts. That draws a soft gasp from her that you greedily swallow down. 
Her hand tightens on your neck, pulling like it’s possible to pull you closer and her other hand abandons Jungkook’s thigh to grope at your breast. You both get greedy for the feel of each other. Your hand quickly leaves Jungkook’s thigh as well, slipping behind Yoonji to undo her bra. It falls slack on her shoulders, hindered from coming off by her hands on you. Bumping her hands off for a moment, you tug the offending article free from her and toss it off the bed. Yoonji wastes no time in getting her hands back on you once you’ve removed the bra and you’re now free to palm her tits in your hands. 
Jungkook whimpers below you both, his hand bumps your thigh before it’s being jerked away. “N-noona…”
Parting with a gasp, you both look down at Jungkook, his hands fisted at his sides, knuckles nearly white. Your hands fall from each other as you give the prone man your attention. You’re impressed with his restraint, you hadn’t expected him to be so well behaved the very first time. But that’s actually pretty typical of Jungkook, excelling at anything he tries. 
His pupils are blown with lust and he swallows his nerves as he speaks. “C-can… Can I touch too?”
“You wanna touch your noonas while they kiss, baby?” Yoonji asks. He nods, eyes wide and Yoonji’s answering smirk is bordering on mean. “Why?”
“W-what?”
“Why do you want to touch your noonas while they kiss, baby? I thought you just wanted us to kiss and touch each other?”
He looks to you, seemingly lost by the question. But you simply raise an eyebrow and wait for an answer. He squirms a little, cock twitching. “Um… I… I…”
“Have you thought about touching us before?” you murmur, reaching out to cup Yoonji’s breast, thumbing at the nipple and drawing a sigh from her. “Have you thought about noona’s pretty tits and how they’d feel in your hands?”
Whining, Jungkook nods his assent eagerly, eyes fixed firmly on where your hand plays with Yoonji. Yoonji presses a quick kiss to your lips, casting a teasing look to Jungkook before she’s reaching up to unclasp your bra and tug it off of you to toss it behind her. Yoonji raises herself up onto her knees, pulling you with, and she leans you both together until your breasts press together. They’re just as soft against you as they were in your hands. If you weren’t focused on teasing Jungkook, you’d pin her down and get your mouth on them.
She glances to the side to look at Jungkook. “How do you wanna touch, baby?”
His eyes drag down your bodies slowly, gaze darting so quickly like there’s so much he wants to touch and he doesn’t know where to even begin. “Noona…” he whines. 
You chuckle. “Aw, baby. Do you need your noonas to help you?”
“Please.”
“Put your hands on our hips.”
He’s eager and quick to comply, hands coming up to rest hot and heavy against the curve of your hip. His fingers flex against you, like he wants to move his hand to touch more but they remain in place. Yoonji leans in to kiss you again and you think you could kiss her forever. After a moment, you break the kiss, trailing your lips along her jaw and down her neck. Laving your tongue over her pulse point, you relish the shiver that runs through her. You’re overcome with the urge to mark her and so you let your teeth sink into her skin before soothing it with your tongue and sucking kisses. Yoonji groans in the back of her throat and you move down her neck to suck another dark mark and draw more noises from her. 
You know logically that she’s been as affected by all this as you, but hearing the proof is intoxicating. It goes straight to your pussy and the longer you go on, the more you feel drip from you to soak your panties.
“What do you want next, baby?” Yoonji pants, hand reaching to cover the hand on your hip. His gaze drops to where your breasts are pressed together, but he doesn’t say anything. “Do you wanna touch noonas’ tits? Greedy boy,” she chuckles breathlessly, ending in a gasp when you nip at her collarbone. 
His hands twitch against you like he is fighting the urge to just do what he wants, to do what he’s always done with women. But he remains diligent and keeps his hands where he was told too. Pressing one last kiss to Yoonji’s neck, you pull away, staring at the darkening marks while a possessive heat curls in your belly. You shift then, nudging Jungkook’s thighs slightly apart and then you’re throwing a leg over to straddle his thigh, dropping down to press your clothed pussy against the corded muscle. The damp material drags deliciously against your pussy and any other time, you would ride his thigh until he was begging you to touch him or let him touch.
Gasping, Jungkook’s hand tightens enough to bruise and you grin down at him. “Can you feel how wet noona is for you, baby?”
He nods a little dazedly, looking down where you’re pressed against his thigh like he can’t believe what he’s feeling or seeing. Giving a little grind, you feel a rush of desire run through you at the breath that rushes from Jungkook’s lips. 
“Baby,” you purr, “didn’t you want to touch noona’s tits?”
“Please…”
“Go ahead, baby.”
His hand quickly abandons your hip once he’s given permission; big, warm palm cupping one of your breasts like it’s the most precious thing he’s ever touched. You have to fight down the urge to giggle at the unexpected tenderness. Yoonji moves beside you, straddling Jungkook’s other thigh and she takes the opportunity to move Jungkook’s other hand for him, placing it over one of her breasts. 
Gaze darting from one hand to the other, his hands remain frozen for a long moment before he’s tentatively squeezing. Then he quickly grows more confident, seemingly more familiar with at least this part as his fingers tease at your nipple. Leaning slightly to the side, you press a kiss to Yoonji’s shoulder until you have her attention and then you’re pressing your lips to hers once more. Letting your hand slip into her hair, you tilt her head, deepening the kiss. Her hand lands on your waist, fingers tracing a burning path down until they can grope at your ass. 
Your hips jerk, clit dragging across Jungkook’s thigh and a moment later, you feel his muscles shift as he flexes. Breaking the kiss with a gasp, you glance down at him with a smirk. Jungkook looks perfectly debauched beneath you both. The flush dusting his cheeks stretches down his chest, his bright eyes burn with want as his hands work on both you and Yoonji. His cock rests heavy against his belly, tip dark with neglect, but he seems wholly oblivious to it even as your attention zeroes in on it.
“What a good boy you’re being. Giving noona something to grind against?”
His dick twitches at that and you let a finger brush gently down the length. A loud gasp leaves his lips, hips straining upward but he can’t get very far with the combined weight of you and Yoonji pinning his legs down. You give a deliberate grind down, Jungkook’s eyes quickly zeroing in on where your clothed pussy meets his bare thigh. Hands falling still on your breast, he licks his lips before his hand is slowly sliding down to timidly tug at the waistband of your panties.
“Can… Can these come off?”
Yoonji hums. “Wanna see noona’s bare pussy, baby?”
Nodding quickly, he looks up at you both with wide eyes. “Yes, please. Wanna see.”
The hand on your ass slides around to rest just on the waistband of your panties. “You wanna see just how wet our pretty baby boy has made us?”
Breath shuddering, he nods again, eyes trained on Yoonji’s hand as it finally slips into your panties. You groan as her fingers slip between your folds, fingertips teasing across your clit before dipping lower to gather your wetness. Before she can do much more than leave a few teasing touches, she’s pulling her hand from your panties and holding her hand up for you all to see. Jungkook’s gaze bores into the glistening digits, licking his lips slowly. 
“Open,” she commands and his mouth falls obediently open, hope shining in his eyes when her fingers inch closer to his lips. “Do you want to taste noona?”
“Yes,” he breaths out, tongue extending like it’ll get Yoonji’s fingers to his mouth faster. 
She stops just before she reaches his tongue and when he strains closer in an attempt to touch, she pulls her fingers away, keeping them teasingly just out of his reach. “Answer noona’s question first, baby. Good boy’s always answer when asked a question. And you wouldn’t want to be bad, now would you?”
Blonde hair flies as he quickly shakes his head no. “No! I’m good! I promise! Please, I wanna taste noona!”
Yoonji’s smile softens. “What a good boy.” 
With that, her fingers press against his tongue. Moaning, Jungkook’s lips close around the digits as he sucks enthusiastically. You wonder if he’s as enthusiastic when he’s eating someone out and your pussy clenches at the thought. A few moments later, she pulls her fingers free and Jungkook’s lips purse in a pout, drawing a laugh from both of you. You shift, finally tugging your panties down to discard over the edge of the bed. Jungkook’s eyes are drawn back to your pussy, now bared for him to see. 
His hand twitches where it rests against your hip, but it doesn’t move and there’s a rush of heat that accompanies the fact that he’s doing so well already. Turning to Yoonji, you begin to tug at her panties, earning a laugh from her as she moves to help you get them off of her. 
As much as you want to take in Jungkook’s reaction to you both being naked before him, you can’t stop the greedy part of you that reaches out to slip your hand between her legs to touch. A soft sigh leaves her lips and you can’t help but lean in to smother the sound with a kiss. Your fingers find her just as wet as you are yourself and you relish in the moment to tease your fingers along her pussy. 
Whining, Jungkook squirms beneath you both, thigh inadvertently bumping your hand harder against Yoonji and further smearing her wetness across your palm. You pull your hand away and Jungkook follows the movement with laser focus. 
“Want to taste your other noona, baby?” you tease. 
“Yes, please,” he murmurs.
Biting your lip on a smile, you move your hand slowly closer to his open mouth, watching the way his eyes light up with excitement. But before you reach his lips, you stop, drawing a pretty pout from the boy. Then you wink and you quickly bring your fingers to your own mouth instead. Twin gasps greet the action as you slip two fingers into your mouth and moan at the taste of Yoonji on your tongue. Your eyes slip closed as you suck your fingers clean and when you pull your fingers free and glance down to Jungkook, you’re met with a look that is equal parts jealous and hungry. 
Hand dropping to the bed beside him, his eyes widen as you lean over him. “Still want a taste, baby?”
His gaze darts to your lips as he nods. You seal your mouth over his, taking advantage of the surprised part to his lips to slip your tongue in. He whimpers, hands coming up to rest on your hips as he chases the taste of Yoonji on your lips. 
Kissing Jungkook is nothing like kissing Yoonji. He’s like putty beneath you, following your lead where Yoonji fought you for control, kept you on your toes. Not necessarily aggressive, but Yoonji kisses you with a consuming hunger, burning you from the inside out. Jungkook is like a breath of fresh air, he’s soft and needy, making these quiet little huffs with each brush of your tongue. You wonder if he realizes that he’s moved his hands, that he’s touching you when he’s not supposed to be, but you decide to let it slide just this once. You’re much more interested in drawing out more of those sweet, little sounds from him.  
A moment later though, his hands are being pulled away and Yoonji is tutting him as she leans against you to pin his hands to the bed. “Naughty boy, what did we say about touching?”
With a whine, he pulls away from your mouth. “‘M sorry... “
You snicker. “Is noona so good at kissing that you forgot the rules, sweet thing?”
Jungkook lets out a low whine again. “Noona.”
Yoonji shifts against you, hands adjusting her grip on Jungkook’s wrists and you’re momentarily distracted by the press of her breasts against your back. Pressing again, she forces you to drop fully against Jungkook as she hooks her chin over your shoulder. 
“I’ll just have to hold you while noona kisses you, hm?”
He squirms beneath you and you see him strain feebly against Yoonji’s hands. You all know that he could easily break her hold; that the strain he shows is feigned and exaggerated. But his acquiescence to her grip, to you both taking control, is the most telling thing to his desires. He wants this, just as much as you both. Even if he’s new and inexperienced in this aspect, he wants. 
His lips part with small huffs and you can’t help yourself when you dip back down to kiss him. He squirms again before melting entirely into the kiss, letting Yoonji hold him still while you lick into his mouth. A heady rush fills you at his pliancy, you always imagined him submitting, but it was nothing like this. Jungkook behaves like he’s been subbing for you both for ages, like he knows the routine, that the momentary lapses in following the rules is nothing more than being a little bratty to provoke a reaction. 
The kiss stretches, you don’t know for how long, getting lost in the feeling of Jungkook beneath you and the softness of Yoonji’s breasts pressing into your back. Jungkook’s hips twitch, his cock brushing wetly against your side and you finally decide to have some mercy on him. Lifting slightly, Yoonji gets the hint and sits up fully, allowing you to do the same. You smile at the way Jungkook is laid out, eyes lidded, lips kiss swollen and flush sitting high on his cheeks. He looks fucked out already and barely anything has happened yet. 
Taking Yoonji’s hand in yours, you lift it to your lips to press a soft kiss to the palm. “I think it’s time to reward our baby, hm? He’s been so good for his first time.”
Her fingers brush your cheek as she smiles. “He does.” She turns her attention back to Jungkook. “How do you want your noonas, baby?”
Swallowing, his gaze flicks back and forth between the two of you. He takes a long time to answer, seemingly nervous. “I… I don’t know… I’m s-sorry…”
“Aw sweetheart, there’s no need to be sorry. You’re just overwhelmed, huh?” He nods, lips pursed in a pout, and you continue. “Do you want your noonas to pick something for your reward for you?”
“Yes, please… There’s too many things… I can’t pick…”
You pat his side affectionately. “It’s okay, baby. Noonas will take good care of you.”
His eyes shine at your praise as he nods eagerly. You and Yoonji exchange looks and seem to be thinking the same thing as you move off Jungkook’s thigh to move further up the bed and Yoonji shifts to fully straddle his hips. 
Yoonji grins as she sees the way Jungkook follows your movement. “Ever had someone sit on your face, baby?”
Eyes widening, his gaze darts to Yoonji before turning back to you and you raise an eyebrow when he doesn’t answer. “N-no…”
“Pinch my thigh if you need to stop for any reason, okay, baby?” You wait for him to murmur a quiet ‘okay’ before moving to throw your leg over his head.
You feel his breath hot against your wet folds and when you glance up at Yoonji, you see her focus is trained where you sit just above Jungkook’s mouth. With a lick of your lips, you lower yourself until your pussy presses to Jungkook’s mouth, which instantly falls open, tongue darting out to lap at your slit. Groaning, you grind against his tongue, giving yourself a few seconds to enjoy the pleasure sizzling in your belly. 
Then you’re reaching up for Yoonji, grabbing her hips to tug her until she’s hovering over Jungkook’s cock. One hand slides from her hips and you let your fingers trace lightly along her slit, knuckles brushing his cock as you do. 
You hold Yoonji’s gaze as you begin speaking, fingers dipping between her folds to tease at her clit. “Gotta get noona ready for you, baby. Get her nice and stretched for your big, pretty cock.” 
Jungkook whines against you and Yoonji lets out a low moan as you slip a finger into her. Yoonji is warm and wet and tight around your finger and your breath stutters as she clenches around the digit. Letting your finger curl, you rub against her walls, searching for that spongy bundle of nerves. 
It takes a few seconds, your attention being pulled by Jungkook’s tongue as he enthusiastically eats you out. But you find it quick enough, signaled by the sharp gasp that leaves her lips when you finally brush against it. Grinning victoriously, you tease at the bundle until her thighs begin to quiver, pleased to have wrung such a reaction from her.
Her hand darts out suddenly, gripping your wrist tightly. Her gaze is dark when it meets yours and she arches an eyebrow at you. “I think you’re enjoying yourself more than getting me ready for our baby,” she teases.
Your body heats. She’s not wrong, you maybe did forget what you were doing a little bit. Grinning, you slide your finger out until just the tip remains before thrusting back in with two. “Guilty.”
She opens her mouth to speak again but you let your thumb brush her clit and it effectively silences her retort. She glares for only a moment before letting her head fall back with a groan and letting herself enjoy the slow pumps of your fingers. 
Slipping a third finger in, Yoonji’s hips start to move, little grinds that push your hand against Jungkook’s cock. You lift your hips slightly, giving Jungkook a moment to breath. 
“Are you ready for noona to ride you, baby?” you ask as you pull your fingers from Yoonji. 
All you get in response is a whimper as you grasp his cock with your wet fingers, other hand settling on Yoonji’s hip and you guide him to her entrance. You give her hip a squeeze and she lets herself drop, pulling your hand away so her hips can settle flush to his. You can feel Jungkook’s breath panting hot against your pussy, his hands squeezing tightly at the sheets.
“How does noona’s pussy feel, baby?” you murmur. He whines and you give his nipple a pinch, making his hips jerk. “When noona asks a question, she expects an answer.”
“‘M sorry… Noona feels good…”
You let your free hand settle on Yoonji’s other hip. “How’s he feel?”
“Fuck… so good. He’s such a good boy.” 
Jungkook’s hands suddenly wrap around your thighs. You jerk in surprise, ready to reprimand him, but before you can say anything, he’s pulling you back down onto his mouth. Yoonji laughs breathlessly, hands coming to rest on his belly as she starts to lift her hips. 
“How’s his mouth?”
Giving her a groan in response, you grind against his tongue, toes curling as his fingers tighten against your thighs. Both of you fall quiet, save for pants and moans, letting yourselves be consumed with chasing your own pleasure for a moment. Heat simmers in your belly, building with each swipe of Jungkook’s tongue and teasing suck to your clit. Jungkook’s efforts combined with the view of Yoonji riding his cock has your orgasm building until one harsh suck pushes you over the edge. 
Head falling back, you moan as your orgasm spreads through your veins, igniting like fire and leaving you shuddering as Jungkook seems to get even more enthusiastic below you. You vaguely hear Yoonji swear under her breath, but you don’t have it in you to look at her as Jungkook draws your orgasm out. 
Finally you lift your hips, overstimulation beginning to creep in, and you and Jungkook pant together as your high slowly ebbs away and you come back to yourself. Blinking your eyes open, you see Yoonji’s have slipped closed as she moves and you find your gaze glued to the way her tits bounce with each movement. 
Seeing an opportunity, you reach forward, letting your fingers find her clit and her eyes shoot open with a gasp at your touch. You grin, shifting so you’re knelt beside the pair. “Baby,” you coo, “look how pretty noona looks sitting on your dick.”
It takes him a moment, but Jungkook’s head lifts and your pussy clenches at the sheen of your slick covering the lower half of his face. His lips are parted as he makes sweet, little noises, soft moans and whines, and his hazy eyes trail over you both like he doesn’t truly know where to look. You swirl your fingers, drawing a wheezed gasp from Jungkook and you can’t help the teasing grin that forms. 
“Aw, baby. Did noona tighten up? Is she close? Are you gonna be good and let her cum on your cock?”
Jungkook’s nodding before you even finish speaking, hips twitching in small little thrusts and you pick up the pace on her clit. Leaning forward, you take one of her nipples in your mouth, teeth teasing the bud before you sooth it with your tongue.
“Fuck… gonna-” She cuts off, moving faster until her hips slam down as she starts to cum. 
You keep your fingers going, gradually slowing down as her orgasm shudders through her. Jungkook whines and squirms beneath her, but remains more still that others would. She tugs your hand away finally as she continues to shiver with aftershocks. You bring your fingers to your mouth with a teasing glance and lick them clean as she watches through hooded eyes. 
Jungkook whimpers, drawing both of attention to him and Yoonji lifts herself off his cock, drawing an even louder whine from him. 
You pat his side soothingly. “Don’t worry, baby. We’re gonna take care of you. Want your noona’s mouth?”
He blinks wet eyes at you both, cock twitching where it lays against his belly and Yoonji laughs. “I think that’s a yes.”
She takes him in her hand and his hips strain up into her grip. He’s so desperate already and you have barely even teased him or drawn this out. He’s definitely going to be fun in the future. Leaning down, you let your tongue swirl around the tip, licking up the taste of Yoonji and Jungkook together. They taste wonderfully divine. His hips strain upwards again and you and Yoonji each use a hand to hold his hips down as you continue your slow, teasing licks. Once you’ve licked all traces of Yoonji from him, you take him into your mouth, humming in content at the way he stretches your lips.
“‘M g-gonna… please… please can I?”
“Aw, you’re asking permission? You’re such a good boy. Of course you can cum, baby. You’ve been so good to your noonas.”
It takes only a couple bobs of your head for his back to bow as the first spurt of salty fluid hits your tongue. He cries out, body strung tight as he cums down your throat. You let your tongue rub at his frenulum as you and Yoonji work to draw out his orgasm as long as possible. When he begins to tremble and whimper, you finally pull away, licking your lips clean as you do. 
Jungkook’s eyes are shut tight, shuddering through the last aftershocks and he looks beautifully debauched. Glancing at Yoonji, you see the same fond look on her face that you know to be on yours. Leaning down, you pepper a few kisses to his lips and cheeks before stretching out beside him and cuddling up to his side. 
“You did such a good job, baby. You were so good for us,” you murmur, letting your hand rub his belly. 
Yoonji mirrors you and after a moment, halts your rubbing by interlacing your fingers with her. The look on her face is hard to read, but she gives you a reassuring squeeze. 
“The best baby,” she agrees, turning to Jungkook and giving him a kiss on the cheek. 
Jungkook gets a goofy grin, seeming to melt between the both of you at the praise. At the rate he’s going, he might have a bigger praise kink than Jimin. You all fall silent, breath evening out and simply enjoy the afterglow. You assume Jungkook at the very least has fallen asleep as your mind begins to swirl with the implications of what just happened. 
Leave it to your overthinking to ruin a nice postcoital cuddle. But you can’t help but wonder where this leaves the three of you. Was this just a one time thing? Does it mean anything deeper? You want so badly for it to mean more, but you also know that getting your hopes up leads to more hurt in the end. 
Jungkook surprises you by breaking the silence, voice rough like he’s fighting sleep. “What does this mean?” 
He sounds so small when he says it, it makes your heart ache a little. You’re not sure how to answer him though, because you also don’t really know what this means. You know what it means for you, but you can’t speak for Yoonji, or even Jungkook. 
Yoonji pushes up onto her elbow so she can look at you both and you see that same fond look in her eyes again. It makes something warm and content twist in your belly. “I thought I had made my intentions clear, but I guess not. I like you.” Before the hurt you feel can stretch too far, she looks at you. “Both of you. I had intended to get that done first tonight. But, uh, well things got a little carried away.”
Jungkook snorts. “Only a little?”
She pulls her hand from yours, giving him a quick pinch. “Hey! Don’t go getting mouthy now.”
Grinning in response, he wraps his arms around you both, tugging you somehow closer. “I like you both too… I have for a really long time…” he pauses, seeming to think for a moment before continuing. “And I really liked tonight… What we did… I’d like to explore more of that…”
They both look at you and you can’t help the giddy grin that spreads across your face. You push yourself up just enough to lean across to give Yoonji a kiss and then turn to give Jungkook one too. “Of course I like you both. God, who couldn’t? You both are so wonderful.”
Jungkook giggles happily and then in the blink, he’s managed to get you and Yoonji pushed together as he hovers over you both. He gives you each a kiss to the forehead. “So does this mean you’ll be my girlfriends?” Laughing, you give him a nod and he glows with happiness. “I have the prettiest girlfriends.”
You and Yoonji both reach up, each cupping one of his cheeks. Warm floods you, feeling happy and content with them both. 
“And we have the prettiest boyfriend.”
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kanerallels · 2 years
Note
Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers (◠‿◠✿) (if you feel like it!!)
Ooooh thank you!! Don't mind if I do! I had a hard time narrowing it down, but here we go, in no particular order:
1. "This Is The Story of How I Died", my Tangled inspired Star Wars Rebels fic! I love the parallels between Flynn Ryder and Kanan Jarrus, and it's one of the longest things I've ever actually posted on AO3! Plus it has a kinda angsty really fun sequel!!!!
2. "How Kaz Brekker Saved The Galaxy (And Charged Them An Arm And A Leg For It)". I'm trying to not make all of these Star Wars Rebels fics (most of them are gonna be, though), and this one may be a Star Wars/Six of Crows crossover au, but it's more Clone Wars/Revenge of the Sith-y. It's not finished, and it might not ever be, it's not that kind of fic, necessarily. It's just really fun to think of Kaz and the rest of the Crows finding out about Order 66 and going "why don't we prevent an evil Sith Lord from taking over the galaxy for fun? We don't have anything else going on this weekend and it would be awesome to have an entire government indebted to us"
3. "Rion, or I Think I'm In Love". And FINALLY the Steve Miller Au shows up (my most beloved of aus.) This one is almost entirely fluff, very fun, and kind of a pivotal point in Kanera's relationship in this particular au. So I had to add it!
4. Well, I almost added my one and only Jyn x Cassian fan fic, but instead let's go with my first Mackelena fan fic, "A Moment Together". Because soulmates. Also that's when I found out "hey I really like writing Mackelena and I'm pretty darn good at it!"
5. "Look, Sometimes A Woman Just Wants Some Kanan And Ezra Feels, Okay?", which probably needs a shorter title. But I just really liked how it went, it was one of those fics where it just flowed so well and also I made myself feel many many things. It's not one of my most popular ones, but I still adore it!!
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kuromantic · 3 years
Text
Tales of Zombish: Haikyuu Light Novel Translation
*This is my translation of the Zombie Knight Zombish snippets from the light novel. It’s split into 5 parts, and inserted between each chapter of the light novel. Don’t copy this to another site. The translation is under the cut!
Zombie Knight Zombish
 1: Zombish is Born!!
Nightfall. A lone swordsman wakes up. A swordsman that does not know of true death, because of experiencing a false death. 
“...Wait, it’s still evening, you stupid crow!” 
The man yells at the small crow beside him, having just woken up by a thin bush. The man’s body was wrapped up in an old, tattered cloth—which must have been a cloak some time ago—which covered his entire body. 
“I could have gotten burned by the setting sun…” The man blocks out the sunlight with the tattered cloth, and the crow caws apologetically. 
“Well, it’s okay. I don’t even have a body that can be burned.” 
The man laughs, and the crow flaps its black wings, flying ahead up into the sky. The man follows it with his gaze, squinting at the brightness. He stands up. 
“Oh, well. Guess I’ll go.” 
The man starts to walk. His frame was thin and delicate, which could be seen even when it was covered with the tattered cloth. And on his back, was a sword. 
The sword, which is large enough to not be recognized as one at first glance, does not suit the lean man. 
“Man, I wonder if a car will pass by… Eh, I guess no sane person would have gasoline now.” 
There’s no road where the man looks ahead. 
In the dead world where smokey, dried up wastelands stretch out for seemingly forever, the man continues to walk alone today.
“Yeah, isn’t this good? Isn’t this good? It sounds like the story’s just begun, right?” 
The rookie mangaka, Udai Tenma, stands up with an excited face and gets another drink from the self-service fountains. He returns to his table with a glass of cola in his hand. He continues working on his storyboard. 
The only equipment on the table is a notebook, a pencil and an eraser. On the open page, there are scribbles that nobody else could decipher. It’s the storyboard Udai made with all his effort. 
I wanna try and make a manga. I like it. With that, Udai had drawn a manga during his college years. And it had won an honourable mention in the rookie awards. He had gotten an editor and debuted as a mangaka. But the reality was, he wasn’t quite reaching serialization. 
But now, “Zombie Knight Zombish”, is being created in the restaurant. And there’s a confidence that hasn’t been there before. 
“‘Everything but death is nothing but a scratch’? He needs to get over himself… No, maybe ‘Mortal bodies, they make me jealous.’...” 
Udai mumbles dialogues to himself, changing his expressions to suit the main character’s. The other customers at the restaurant glance at him. 
But he can’t afford to care about those gazes.
Zombish needs to help the heroine attacked by the enemy, in an extremely cool and overdramatic manner. 
And the enemy has to be a fated opponent that Zombish has known before turning into a zombie. The heroine needs to be a key person, for Zombish to return from zombie to human. And of course, she needs to be cute, a little strong-willed, who tries to join in on the fighting sometimes. But also a girl who you just want to protect…
A flash. 
The girl’s eyes can only capture the white hand, emerging from the tattered cloth and gripping the sword on his back. 
She feels wind brush past her cheeks, and closes her eyes. She opens them again, and the bandits have already collapsed onto the dry ground. 
“Huh? What…?” 
As the girl struggles to comprehend what had happened, Zombish is already starting to walk away. 
“Hey, don’t leave me behind!” 
She grabs the knight. At that moment, the tattered cloth on him rips and falls to the ground. 
What appears is not the handsome knight she expected. Nor a fighter that’s big and well-muscled. It’s a skeleton. 
“...Wait, bone?! Why bone! Bone? Wait, do bones even talk?!” 
“Yeah, I’m bone! So sorry I’m bone, sue me!” 
The knight picks up the truly tattered piece of rag, and hides his body. It truly looks like a skeletal model. He turns his back to the girl. 
“Anyway, I’m bone. So I can’t go with you. Protect yourself, you’re on your own.” 
The “bone”, that had slain a crowd of bandits instantly, tries to walk away from one single girl, as if to escape from her. 
Staring at Zombish’s lanky, weak-looking back and the huge sword on it, the girl shouts over at him. 
“Hey, bone! Can you eat?” 
Zombish turns around, lifts the tattered cloth, and points around his stomach with a laugh. 
“You wanna see me eat? It’s hilarious.” 
“If you don’t eat… That means I don’t have to share my food or water with you, right?”
“Huh?” 
“It doesn’t matter if you’re bone or not, if you can defeat these guys. You’re pretty strong.” The girl points to the iron-clad, muscular bandit with a mohawk. “And I should sew that cloth I ripped back together…” 
Zombish laughs, his hard skull distorting a little. “I’m not strong. Those guys are just small fries. But I guess I’ll have you fix this cloth for me.” 
At those words, the girl runs up to him. 
In the dried-up world of death, two footsteps mark their paths. Up above in the sky, a crow flies around in circles. As if to watch over them. 
Zombish’s journey has just started!! 
“I wonder what my editor will say…” 
 The man, once the “Little Giant”, leaves the restaurant and returns home. And without changing his clothes, collapses into his futon for the first time in a while.
2. VS Editor A!! 
“Zombies aren’t usually skeletons, right?” Akaashi Keiji opens his heavy mouth, holding his coffee in one hand. It makes Akaashi heavy-hearted to meddle with a work an author brought to him. 
Kanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo. 
In the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Vie, there’s an extreme lack of people in the afternoon. 
The rookie mangaka, Udai Tenma, freezes momentarily in the meeting space. And he attempts to brush it off with a laugh. 
“Yeah, I thought, ‘Is a skeleton okay?’ for a bit. But maybe a Japanese-style zombie would be new, and I thought I could pull it off. We all get cremated in Japan, too. Hahaha.” 
“I see.” 
Akaashi looks at the copy of “Zombie Knight Zombish” on the table, and Udai laughing in front of him. And he says one more time, with force behind his words. That this is the last time he’ll say this, and he won’t say the same thing again. 
“Zombies aren’t usually skeletons, right.” 
The question mark had disappeared. 
It’s not a question, but a confirmation of fact. 
“...Yeah.” Udai replies weakly. He drops his shoulders, and bites the straw of his cola. 
 It’s tough. 
It had been his best work. He had a confidence in it, that he hadn’t before with his other works. But his concept had been fundamentally criticized. 
The editor continues talking to the crestfallen Udai. 
“And one more thing.” 
“...What is it?” 
Udai hunches his shoulders, looking up at Akaashi like a scolded child. Akaashi sips his coffee, adjusts his glasses and lets out a breath. He opens his mouth slowly. 
“We’ve established that a skeleton is not a zombie. But I think this skeleton’s design is a little lacking, in the first place. It’s no different to any old skeleton. For the main character, I want a quirk that will tell you it’s Zombish with just one look.” 
“Any old skeleton?” Udai says, and draws a normal-looking skeleton into his notebook. 
“Yes. For example, he could be wearing glasses, or he could have a large scar. I want a unique design. Even if you draw him simply, you would know it’s him. If I were to ask for more, I’d even say make his silhouette recognizable. That’s how strong his design should be.” 
Udai adds a scar to his skeleton, and mumbles, “I guess it can’t be a scar, if his silhouette has to be recognizable.” 
“The scar is just one example.” 
“I’m sorry…” 
Udai slurps the cola at the bottom of the glass, which is pretty much melted ice. He laughs disappointedly. 
“I thought the skeleton was fine, since he was cremated. Like a Japanese-style zombie. Well, there’s no zombie-ness, I guess…” 
At those words, Akaashi’s glasses shine. 
“Then… How about you make Zombish look more Japanese? It could link with his sword, too.” 
“What?” 
“Well, this is just one what-if scenario.” 
“...No, I think it could work. I’ll think about it! Then maybe he can look different from any old zombie!” Udai grabs his pen, and draws a Japanese-style zombie in his notebook. “If it’s Japanese clothes and a sword, he’d just be a samurai… How do I give him the zombie knight feeling…”
Watching the pen move busily and create many versions of Zombish, Akaashi feels a weight lift from his heart. 
It makes him heavy-hearted to meddle with other people’s works. But sometimes, his words make the author take a step in a good direction. That must be why he can continue with this job. 
“So now, please brush up on the work. And, depending on the edited manuscript, I may bring it up during the serialization meeting.” 
Udai’s pen stops moving. “Wait, why?! You’ve been talking about my work so harshly and tearing into it this whole time!” 
“...I haven’t been tearing into it. It’s entertaining, so I just want to make the story even more entertaining.” 
Udai’s face crumples, as he looks up at Akaashi. “Akaashi-san, you weren’t just an unpleasant person, after all!” 
“I’m an unpleasant person…?” 
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean it that way! I meant it in an um, good way!” 
Akaashi doesn’t ask what exactly he means by that, and organizes the manuscript. “Zombish is very entertaining, compared to the works you have brought me so far. I think you have a chance.” 
“Thank you!” 
“Oh, and lastly…” 
“There’s… still more?” Udai tenses. 
 Akaashi chuckles, before talking. “I’ve been thinking for a while, but this bit on the edge of the page, saying ‘Zombish’s journey has only just begun!’. You don’t need to write that. It’s the editor’s job.” 
“...!!”
4. Get Serialized!! 
It’s just past noon. Noticing that the phone is ringing, Udai reaches out from under the futon. He checks, and realizes it’s Akaashi. He gets out of the futon in a hurry, and answers. 
“You were asleep.” Akaashi says, in the same straightforward tone. 
“...I’m sorry.” 
“No, I’m sorry too. I’m going to get into it. Your one-shot is well-received.” 
At those words, Udai’s hand begins to sweat. He had been told to make a one-shot for the extra issue, and had made “Zombie Knight Zombish” with everything he’d got. 
He had changed Zombish’s design into a young man with patchwork skin, after Akaashi’s critique. He likes the way the bandages show around his collar. It can’t have been a skeleton, he thinks. It’s hard to relate to a skeleton. 
The “recognizable by silhouette” task had been cleared with the axe on his head. The zombie knight element was incorporated, by making him detach his left arm to wield his sword. Maybe they’ll make a movable figure out of the character. 
Above all, it was a work he’d been confident in. If it had still been absolutely hopeless, Udai wouldn’t have been able to recover from it. 
“Thank god…” Udai feels the tension drain out of him, and Akaashi continues. 
“And now, I would like to brush up Zombish to prepare for serialization.” 
“Of course! With pleasure!” Udai answers with gusto, almost like an izakaya employee. 
“Firstly, your heroine.” 
“Yes!” 
I should probably fix up the heroine a bit more, Udai thinks. Make her cuter, better… But Akaashi doesn’t steer the conversation in that direction. 
“In the one-shot, Zombish saves her, and they decide to go on a journey together, and it ends there.” 
“Huh? Oh, yes.” 
“If the one-shot will be chapter one, are they going to be travelling together in chapter two and beyond?” 
It’s not anything fun, like about making the heroine have a good figure or about how revealing her clothes should be. 
And really, Udai hadn’t been thinking what would happen once it got serialized. Well, he supposes it would be like what Akaashi just said. 
“Wouldn’t the readers grow bored of that?” As if to read Udai’s mind, Akaashi says. 
“What?” 
“The main character and the heroine go on a journey together the whole time, an enemy appears, he saves her, he defeats the enemy, and then moves on. And they continue like that until the final boss.” 
“Yeah…” 
“Wouldn’t that bore people?” 
Wait, am I getting given out to? 
No, he’d only been thinking of the one-shot as a base, so he hadn’t set anything beyond that in stone. He had only thought that leaving the readers hoping for more would be enough. 
“...Um, if it’s possible, I’d like to talk about this in person.” Udai says, wiping the sweat off his palms with his t-shirt. 
“All right. When are you free?” 
And so, in the editorial department the day after, the brainstorming session in the meeting space had continued for more than two hours. 
“So then, instead of a heroine that just keeps getting saved…” 
“She’d be like a buddy that also gives witty comebacks.” 
Udai draws a bunch of expressions for the female character. Flustered, angry, glaring… He stops his pen, and looks at Akaashi. 
“Then maybe Zombish will have a goofy side, instead of just being cool?” 
“But please don’t make it into a gag manga. Looking at the survey results, there are a lot of people saying that the manga is interesting because Zombish is cool.” Akaashi answers, looking at the survey chart. 
“I see… Balancing it out is hard.” Udai draws out a bunch of Zombish’s expressions in his notebook, and laughs. “But it’s fun. It feels like I’m making a manga.” 
“It’s good to hear that.” Akaashi smiles for a moment, and continues. “And also, about the enemy. Instead of them being a group of bandits in the harsh world, making them an organization would add depth to the story.” 
“Oh, maybe they’re the reason Zombish turned into a zombie?” 
“Sounds good.” 
Udai’s mood lifts from Akaashi’s acknowledgement, and opens up a page earlier on in his notebook. 
“Look here! The final boss is a fated opponent from before Zombish turned into a zombie. And the heroine is a key person for Zombish to turn back into a human. So I thought right now, maybe the heroine is the daughter of the final boss.” 
In contrast to the excited Udai, Akaashi lets out a low groan of uncertainty. 
“...So what, exactly, is Zombish fighting for?” 
“You always ask questions that can make the whole thing fall apart, Akaashi-san.” 
“Well, isn’t that the most important part?” 
Expanding ideas simple-mindedly is fun. The more he expands, picking up the pieces and making the story coherent will be hell, though. But knowing that, talking about final bosses and rivals is genuinely fun. 
“Secret hideouts are great, aren’t they?” 
“If they’ve taken over this world, isn’t there no need to keep it a secret? Something that would display their power…” 
“A castle!”
7. Secret Technique: Bolster Up! 
Just after serialization, the response had been very good. It had been. Udai had been in a good mood, asking “This will definitely be turned into an anime, right?” 
But now, it had gotten to a point where they couldn’t let it get any lower on the survey rankings. 
“........” 
“Are you okay?” Akaashi’s senior sees him with his head in his hands, and speaks to him. 
“...Oh, yes.” 
“It’s about Zombish, right? You should bolster it up with something. Like, with a pretty girl or a handsome guy,” the senior says. “Well, I don’t know.” He returns to his seat, after saying his part. 
“Bolster it up…” 
Akaashi’s brows knit together. 
Would that be enough? Could such a hasty, superficial solution entertain the readers? Well, the current results point to the fact that they’re not entertained. But even so, shouldn’t they be charming the audience with the protagonist’s appeal, or how interesting the story is? 
“The protagonist’s appeal, huh…” 
But what are the features of a protagonist that will be loved? 
What kind of story makes the readers want to come back for more? 
“.....” 
It would be the anticipation the readers have for the main character. What will happen next week? What will he show us next? Expectations as such. There must have been a lack of absolute protagonist strength, if he thinks about it. 
But that was the result of trying to create a dark fantasy, painting a delicate picture of emotions. Precisely because it was an absurd world with a zombie knight appearing in it. Was that what they had done wrong? Was it impossible for his literature department-aspiring self to make an entertaining manga, after all…?
After pondering for a long time, Akaashi lifts his head with a start. 
“....!” 
Wait a minute. 
Am I making the same mistake again? 
Am I thinking I could control the author and the readers? 
“...No. Pour your spirit into each ball, pour your spirit into each ball…” 
Yes. Focus on the next point, the next ball. Focus on this week’s story, the obstacle the protagonist must overcome. 
His desk becomes messier each day, as if to reflect inside his heart. Akaashi closes his eyes, and focuses his mental state. 
“Don’t think about what’s easy, think about what’s fun. What’s fun…” 
The survey rankings going down, getting discontinued isn’t fun. Then what is he meant to do…?
“Give feedback… Connect it to the next step… The next…” 
The seniors look at Akaashi worriedly, in front of the printer. 
“Akaashi is muttering to himself again, is he okay? He won’t quit, will he?” 
“He always comes back to life afterwards, you can leave him alone.” 
“Yep.”
“I want an absolute, strong main character.” Akaashi says to Udai, during their meeting. 
“Absolute?” 
“Yes. Like a star that hits any ball with his utmost ability.” 
“Am I going to get discontinued?!” 
Udai stands up with a clatter, face growing pale. Akaashi shakes his head quietly. 
“...Please calm down. It’s not getting discontinued, yet.” 
“...Yet…” Udai shrinks, and sits back down. 
“It’s a tough situation, but let’s turn things around.” 
They’re burning their bridges behind them. 
On the walls around the meeting space, there are many posters of works that had been turned into anime and movies. And the cardboard boxes blocking the corridor are packed with samples of goods. 
They have to join the ranks of those popular works, at all cost…!
Akaashi brings his gaze back to Udai, and starts to summarize the things he had thought about for the past week. 
“The main character… Zombish is a ‘star’. The readers have expectations for the star. What will he do next? What awesome moves will he show us? What kind of crazy risks will he take?
“We want the main character to amaze us with unexpected, yet charming actions. Whether Zombish sinks or swims will depend on how he overcomes next week’s desperate situation.” 
Akaashi lifts the paper bag on the floor. “And there’s a favour I want to ask from you.” 
“What’s this? I was wondering about it for a while.” The paper bag handed to him is unexpectedly heavy. Udai glances inside. “A blu-ray?” 
“Yes. I picked out swashbuckler films of all types, that have useful scenes for composition and pose references. At this point, we should take in anything cool and flashy.” 
“Thank you!”
“Also, it will be hard for you to watch it all, so I wrote the times for scenes I want you to watch.” Akaashi gives him a note. 
“I’ll definitely watch it! I’ll use them as references!” 
“I’ll do anything I can as well. Let’s both try our best.” 
There’s no way Akaashi can control what story the author will bring to him, what the other works will be like, how the readers will react. 
So, he should think about what he can do, what he should do. 
Avoiding discontinuation— it’s hard, but it shouldn’t be impossible.
10. Our fight has only just begun! 
“Zombish is getting discontinued… You have seven chapters left…” 
After getting the phone call informing him of the discontinuation, Udai had gone outside. Staying in his room felt too painful. But why, and how he’d come to the editing department, he doesn’t remember. 
Akaashi had been taken aback, after Udai had come without contacting him. But one look at his face, and he knew he couldn’t leave him by himself. And so he had taken him to a nearby coffee shop to talk to him. It was just his luck that he hadn’t gone outside the company. 
“Please order anything you like.” 
Akaashi gives the menu to Udai sitting opposite to him, but Udai drops it onto the table, not having enough energy to hold it. 
Akaashi pulls the menu closer to himself, trying not to show his shock. “Is coffee all right, then?” 
“........” 
There’s no answer, but Akaashi asks for two cups of coffee from the waiter. He chooses his words carefully, and begins to speak. 
“We had unfortunate results this time, but…” Akaashi continues, to the dejected Udai. “And as a suggestion from me…”
“........”
“I would like to get a fresh start with a new work. We should solidify the concept more for your next work, and compete with a work only you can make.” 
“Next…?” Udai raises his head at last, only to slam it back into the table. “There’s nothing! There’s no such thing that only I can make!” He lifts his crumpled face, and yells. 
“That’s not true. There must be something…”
“It is too! There’s nothing!”
Akaashi can only bite his lip, while his assigned author descends into total panic. 
What should he do…
He can’t just say “Bye, then,” and leave him feeling downcast. He had wanted to part ways with him in a positive manner, connecting him to the next step. That might just be his own ego talking, though.
“...I’m sure there’s a good theme for you. Is there anything you liked as a child, or something you put your heart into?” 
“I’m just a jack-of-all-trades, average guy. I’ve just gotten by in regards to study, sports, art and music…” 
When Udai had been in good form, he had preened about it, saying “I can do pretty much anything!”, but now he’s totally dejected. Well, that can’t be helped. He’s getting discontinued, after all. 
The only thing Akaashi can do, is to tell him his completely honest thoughts. 
“I don’t think a serialized author is just a jack-of-all-trades, average person.” 
“I’m not a serialized author anymore, I’m a discontinued author…”
At that moment, the waiter arrives. He shows a slightly intrigued face at Udai’s words, but immediately puts on his professional face and turns on his heels. 
Akaashi takes the cup, and inhales the aroma of coffee to calm himself down. He thinks. Maybe he should make some small talk, and change the mood. 
What should he talk about? Not about his work, or about what lays ahead. Then, about Udai himself? He wonders what he had talked about with him recently. What club had he joined in college? Where was he from? 
And he remembers. 
“Udai-san, you told me before that you’re from Tohoku. Were there any unusual traditions there? That you can write a manga about.” 
“...Yeah, I’m from Miyagi. But I lived in a normal estate, it was all pretty normal.” 
Udai says with a hoarse voice, and absentmindedly puts sugar cubes into his coffee. Many, many sugar cubes. Akaashi thinks he’s adding a bit too much, but there’s an atmosphere around them that makes him unable to say that. 
“Well, maybe where I live is in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, to you. You’re from Tokyo, after all.” 
“That’s not…”
Akaashi thinks that Udai is getting a little too dejected with him, but he can’t be blamed. “Zombie Knight Zombish” is Udai’s first serialization, and his first discontinuation. 
Food, sleep… Udai had sacrificed such human necessities, and yet his work had not been well-received. Of course he would be dejected. 
And as a new employee, “Zombie Knight Zombish” was Akaashi’s first work that he had launched from nothing. Due to being emotionally invested in it, Akaashi had felt deeply disappointed about the decision made for Zombish. 
Which is exactly why he had wanted to end it on a positive note. Surely there’s something in common with them, that they can talk about…
Akaashi, feeling cornered, opens his mouth. And starts to talk about something unexpected, even to himself.
“...Actually, I have someone I know in Miyagi. It was in relation to the club I was in during high school.” 
“I see.” 
Udai stirs his coffee with lifeless eyes, not picking up the conversation at all. He doesn’t even drink the coffee that is surely too sweet. 
“........” 
Of course. Someone else’s high school years is the most irrelevant subject to Udai right now. But really, what should he do? Telling someone they’re being discontinued, and thinking of what happens afterwards, is a first for Akaashi. And it’s a big job. He isn’t sure what the correct thing to do is. 
Akaashi falls silent, and Udai opens his mouth. “...What club were you in, during high school?”  He asks, not sounding that interested. It feels more like he asked out of obligation, because there was a break in the conversation. 
Akaashi feels regret, after realizing he’s made Udai read the room for him. But at the same time, he feels relieved that some of Udai’s energy has come back. 
“Volleyball.” 
“I see. I did volleyball, too.” Udai says. “During my years, we went to the Spring High nationals, too.” 
At those words, Akaashi places the coffee he had lifted back onto the table. 
“Oh, me… too.” 
“Really?! That’s amazing, Akaashi-san!” 
“No, you too.” 
And with a light premonition, Akaashi asks. “...Which school did you attend in Miyagi?” 
“It’s not a powerhouse, so I don’t know if you’d know…” Udai laughs, before answering. “It’s called Karasuno.”
Please look forward to Udai-sensei’s next work, “Meteo Attack”! 
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