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#i started rewatching naruto from the start & was like WAIT A MINUTE
comics-in-midgar · 2 years
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i just realized something
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neruto · 3 years
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Tag Games!
I’ve been tagged by a bunch of people to do a bunch of different tag games!! (thank you all so much!) and decided to just put them all together onto one post c: so here we go (it’s gonna be long)! 
list my 10 favorite male characters from different fandoms!
tagged by: @wuatsui (thank you so much mandy!) 
naruto (naruto)
levi (snk)
hinata (haikyuu) 
izuku (bnha)
xie lian (tgcf)
lan wangji (mdzs) 
jin mori (goh)
tanjirou (kny) 
tetsuya (knb) 
shion (no.6) 
(as we can see...im a sucker for the main characters...sigh)..
spell out my url using songs!
tagged by: @stfudabi  and @wuatsui (thank you nea and mandy again!!) here we go! 
N: nothing helps by ONE OK ROCK  E: epiphany by BTS R: remembering sunday by all time low  U: UGH! by BTS T: TO THE BEAT by ateez O: outro: house of cards by BTS
this is just me showing im a bts stan...ahhhh ;;~;; there were so many songs i wanted to choose from sdjdjf 
13 songs i’ve been listening to lately 🎵
tagged by: @niwas (thank you mars!! <3) this is in no particular order!
moondust by jaymes young
ultraluminary by phillipa soo (from the movie over the moon) 
stay by bts
i can’t stop me by twice 
wuji (instrumental ver.) (from the untamed soundtrack) 
utter innocence by yu bin (from the untamed soundtrack) 
inception by ateez 
gurenge by LiSA 
we didn’t start the fire by billy joel 
we lost the summer by txt 
wait a minute! by willow 
already over by red 
big girls don’t cry by fergie 
i go through a cycle where i listen to the same like 20 songs on repeat for a month (if not longer) and then i dont listen to them again for a while (this playlist is all over the place dskfk)
Answer 30 questions and tag others 
tagged by: @rumprich (thank you ananya!!) 
name/nickname: alex
gender: g i r l 
star sign: gemini
height: 5′3
time: 12:32 
birthday: june 14
favorite bands: bts, txt, ateez, one okay rock, exo, all time low, fall out boy, wayv, etc...
favorite solo artist: lil nas x, the weekend, ariana grande, billy joel, khalid, halsey, etc. (i listen to more groups/bands) 
song stuck in my head: radio ga ga .... i listened to it today and its been on repeat in my head since ;;~;;
last movie: over the moon (its so cute! and so good!)
last show: jujutsu kaisen. currently rewatching bnha. 
when did i create this blog: july 2018~
what do i post: animanga, disney, things i find cute and aes 
last thing i googled: moon phases for 2021 (i’m working on my bullet journal lol) 
other blogs: lanszhan (my main blog that im mostly on), minsbutt (soft bts sideblog that im on occasionally), fytgcf (tgcf sideblog!) 
do i get asks: uhm sometimes? not really...but only because i haven’t really been active this past year...but more recently i have gotten some! (thank you to all the lovely people who sent me some!)
why i chose my url: naruto is my show...and i’ve been wanting the url for a while and finally on the off chance i checked to save it and it was free...and bam now we are here :)
following: 165 (i need more blogs to follow tbh..)
followers: 900+
average hours of sleep: uhm it depends..i can run on 5 but i prefer to try to get around 6~8
instruments: piano and violin  
what am i wearing: long sleeve navy blue shirt, some hot pink shorts, and christmas socks...(it’s sleepy time!!) 
dream job: uhm im not the type of person to really have a dream job tbh..but maybe either opening a bakery or being able to sell my art 
dream trip: south korea, japan, holland
favorite food: probably any kinda of pasta..
nationality: american
favorite song: hmmm...so far away by agustd 
last book read: tgcf by mxtx 
top 3 fictional universes i’d like to live in: a studio ghibli movie, atla, harry potter 
tagging: all the people who tagged me (to do the ones they didn’t tag me in!<3) and @tanchirou, @ocarinnas, @natsutakashi, @omijime, @kirstein-jean, @sakaguchis and @hyakkimaaru (you can do any one that you want, you can do multiple or all, or you can also completely ignore this and thats fine too!! <3) 
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shewritestheblues · 4 years
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The Elevator Bae x Chapter 4
Chapter FOUR
Erik x Black OC (Phoenix)
---------------------
Reruns of Martin plays in the tv as Phoenix whips up her pancake batter. She has turkey bacon and hash browns done on the stove. A knock on the door turns into a beat brin made on the door.
Ava!
Phoenix swings the door open to find Ava and Mica holding up orange juice and liquor.
“What’s brunch without liquor?” Mica says walking in. She immediately looks through the cabinets for a pitcher and begins missing up mimosas. Ava sits on a stool at the kitchen counter while Phoenix starts making the pancakes.
“Let’s just get straight to it, what’s up with Erik?” Ava asks.
Mica pours their drinks. “Who is Erik?”
“A nigga that she want.”
Mica eyes Phoenix for her to explain. She tries to focus on the task at hand of flipping her pancakes.
“Ma’am, get to talking.”
“He lives here. I met him on the elevator. We’ve run into each other from time to time.”
Ava slams her hand on the counter. “Mica, she’s fucking with us. Coby said they be having moments on the elevator, flirting and shit. But come to find out, he’s messing with Sydney--”
“BIG BOOTY SYDNEY?”
“He’s not messing with her.”
Ava’s head snaps over to her. “How you know?”
Phoenix bites her lip as she makes their plates. “He told me.”
“When he say this?”
“Wait, wait,” Mica intervens, “How y’all know he was allegedly messing with Syd?”
Ava has a mouth full of bacon at this point just spilling the little beans that she has. “We seen her in the garage and she was all asking Philly about if she seen the nigga because he left her place like a theif in the night and never called her back.”
“Damn! This nigga a savage and you like him?” Mica turns to Phoenix with concern.
“That is not what she said, Mica. But, he told me last night, this morning, whatever… that she’s cool but he ain’t feeling her in that way.”
“Let me guess, on the elevator?” Ava sticks her tongue out teasing Phoenix. Phoenix gives her the middle finger. Mica swats her hand, “Focus. What exactly did he say?”
“Well… he mentioned having his eye on someone else,” Mica and Ava share a look as Phoenix continued. “And I told him he should tell Sydney he doesn’t like her.”
“...that’s it?” Mica says stuffing hash browns in her mouth.
“No, he-- well, I told him he looks tired and get some rest when I was getting off the elevator. Then he says, “Goodnight baby girl.” and winks at me all flirty and shit.”
“Oh girl, niggas love throwing in a baby girl,” Mica says refilling her glass. “I wouldn’t think nothing of that.”
Phoenix looks to Ava for her input.
“Honestly Philly, I don’t know. Because yeah, niggas just be talking but at the same time, we dont know who this man is. For all we know, you could be making all this shit up.”
“Why would I make this up?”
“No, no I’m not saying you are at all. My point is, only you can judge the vibe between y’all because we don’t know who he is.”
“What he look like?” Mica says with a mouth full of pancakes.
“He’s tall, brown, nice teeth, dreads.”
“Oh, so he’s a daddy. Yeah, you can’t trust those.”
Ava almost spit out her drink from laughing.
-------
The gold chain with a ring hanging from it that sits around Erik’s neck, swings back and forth as he does his last few push ups. He sits up on his floor, rolling his neck and stretching it. His phone lights up on the coffee table in front of him.
Text: Sydney
He swipes to close it without reading it. He gets up and goes into the bathroom, turning on the shower. He steps out of his sweaty clothes and steps in. The warmth of the water stings the new small scar on his abdomen. Biting his lip until the slight pain fades away. Allowing the water to run over his body, he closes his eyes releasing a long sigh.
After washing his body and face, he puts on fresh clothes and relaxes on his huge sectional couch. It’s been a long week for Erik and a day of just chilling is exactly what he needed and wanted. He searched through Netflix with nothing really catching his eye. So he picked up his phone, opening Sydney’s text. It was the 4th text she had sent him since he left her place a few nights ago.
Sydney: E, What’s up?
Sydney: So you’re not going to text me back?
Sydney: Are you okay?
Sydney: so you’re just gonna go ghost. Most niggas wait until after they hit. At this point, I dont even care.
His thumb hovered over the keyboard. Phoenix’s words singing in his ear, I think you should tell her. Communication is key.
She was right, just letting her know he’s not into to her like that is the right thing to do. But, he definitely took the part about communication being about him being more open about liking her instead. He finally types a response.
Erik: Hey. my bad, i’ve been busy. working.
Sydney: you have some free time now? You just left and i wanted to see you.
Erik: Im free but i dont really wanna chill. I like you Syd, but as a friend.
Sydney: wow. Ok
With that out the way, Erik opened his Instagram app, scrolling up his timeline. He comes across a picture that his friend, Shawn posted. Shawn went out to the opening of Club X the night before. He was one of the promoters. As Erik swipes through Shawn’s pics, he notices one that he’s in with four women. One of them being Phoenix. The caption says ‘ClubX now open. Come get lit with the dopest DJ in the city.’ Erik taps the photo to reveal the tags. @DJPhoenixBlue , @AmazingAva , @Micaxoxo , @CamrenMarie. Did he just find Phoenix’s IG page? Without a second thought, he clicks her page and yes… yes he did find elevator bae’s page. He carefully looked and admired every picture. He found himself looking at a pic from June 2016 when Phoenix was back in Detroit, walking through downtown with one of her old friends. That’s when he knew he was doing the most. He scrolled back to the top of her page, reading her bio. He clicks the soundcloud link that’s attached and takes a listen. He nods his head to the R&B beat. It was definitely a vibe. He let her playlist play. He laid his head back onto the couch, closing his eyes. He was on the 5th beat before he sat up to sounds of his stomach rumbling.
“Shit.” He goes into the kitchen, Phoenix’s music still playing. There wasn’t much left in his refrigerator with him being gone for days. He turns the music off to focus on searching through his various food apps to order something. He found himself back on Phoenix’s Instagram page. He leans back on his kitchen counter, completing forgetting about food. He debates with himself if he should follow her. He stood there with his thumb hanging over the follow button. “Fuck it.” he thinks. He taps follow. He came this far, he might as well like a few pics.
He orders from a cafe he likes that’s not too far from his home. It’ll be there in 20 minutes. He finds his way back into the living room, on the couch. He settles with rewatching Naruto. Only made sense because it was his favorite.
---------
Mica helps Phoenix load up the dirty dishes into her dishwasher as Ava rolls them a blunt. Phoenix gave more than enough detail about every encounter she has had with Erik since meeting him. She even told them about the dream she had about him. Mica doesn’t seem to like the idea of Erik while Ava tried to convince Phoenix to shoot her shot with him. Phoenix figured it wouldn’t hurt to ‘think about it.’
After finishing their breakfast and cleaning up, the women are sitting out on Phoenix’s balcony, smoking and trying to make plans for Camren. Her birthday was the weekend coming up and Camren made it clear that she wanted to do Hoodrat things with her friends. That was her only request. They already have a surprise girls trip that they planned months ago, but the three of them would make her ratchet dreams come true.
“Let’s do a surprise dinner and take her ass to the club,” Phoenix says, passing the blunt to Mica. “I can get us a section.”
“Yeahhhh, get some big ass pictures of her face and bottles.” Ava added.
“That would make her so happy.” Mica says between coughs and laughs.
They finalize their plans for the weekend. They are taking Camren out to eat, the club and will surprise her with their planned vacation when she wakes up the next morning with a hangover, contemplating life. Ava and Mica say their goodbyes to Phoenix and leave out to wait for the elevator. When the doors open, they come face to face with Erik. He’s alone in the cabin. He recognizes them immediately as the girls in the pictures with Phoenix and Shawn. He moves over to the left of the cabin. Mica stands center and Ava to the right. Silence sits over the three of them. Erik could feel that one of them is staring fire into the side of his face. When he turns to them, Mica is giving him the worst death stare he’s experienced in his life. They stare at each other.
“Is your name Erik?”
“Yeah. Do I know you?
Ava’s head snaps quickly in his direction. She hadn’t even thought about who the man was in the cabin with them. Mica remembered every detail Phoenix gave about what Erik looked like. He’s tall, brown, nice teeth, dreads.
“Nah, you don’t know me,” Mica says, turning to fully face him. “But what you do need to know is when it comes to Philly, I’ll kick yo’ ass, you pretty muthafucker.”
Erik is confused and caught off guard. Who in the hell is this woman. Is Philly, Phoenix? He really didn’t know how to respond to this threat. Ava pinches the bridge of her nose. She can’t take Mica, NOWHERE!
“Who the fuck is Philly?”
“Oh my God,” Ava intervenes, “You have to excuse her. She’s high as fuck.” Ava grabs Mica’s arm and pulled her to the right side of the cabin, away from Erik. “We’re friends of Phoenix, nice to meet you.”
Erik eyes Mica who seems uninterested in him. “Nice to meet y’all too… I think.”
The elevator doors open and Ava steps out, dragging Mica with her. Watching the two of them made Erik laugh. As he made his way to his car, it hit him what Mica and Ava said. She talked to her friends about him? What in the hell did she say for her friends to be so protective? Either way, he couldn’t stop the redness from forming on his cheeks.
Once Ava and Mica were in Ava’s car, without skipping a beat, Mica facetimes Phoenix. “Sis. We just seen your pretty ass man on the elevator.”
“What?”
“What?” Mica says in a mocking tone. “You love playing stupid. Ya’ boy Erik. I had to let him know he better be on some real shit when it comes to you.”
“MICA!” Phoenix covers her face with her free hand.
“You’re welcome. And he is fine though. I see why you pressed but I still don’t trust his ass.”
-------
The next morning, Phoenix started her day with some morning yoga. She had a few errands to run before a studio session later that night. She needed to go to the bank, do a little grocery shopping and reup on some hair products. She had used the last of her Miss Jessie’s curl cream the night of the club opening. Her hair has been in that same bun since. Putting on some dark denim shorts and a red one shoulder crop top, paired with some red vans, she headed out.
Luckily, when Phoenix arrived at the bank, her favorite banker, Ms. Kim was there. Whenever she’d have to go to the bank, she loved going to her to handle her money. Ms. Kim was an older, black woman that gave her all of the cool, auntie vibes. Ms. Kim was the one who helped Phoenix set up a seperate account for her business account and tax account. She honestly made everything easier.
“Good Afternoon, Miss Phoenix,” Ms. Kim stands, greeting Phoenix has she approached her desk.
“Hi, Ms. Kim.”
Ms. Kim motions for Phoenix to take a seat.
“How have you been little lady? Busy I take it since it’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen you in here.”
Phoenix smiles, “Yeah, I’ve been working like crazy.”
“That’s good. At least you’re busy doing something you love though, right?
“Yes. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, honestly.”
“I’m glad. Now what can I help you with today?”
Phoenix digs into her purse, pulling out two checks. “I want to deposit these and send a little something to my Mom. She’s been bugging me about a purse.” She shakes her head. Ms. Kim laughs and takes the checks and does her magic. She knows just how Phoenix wanted to break up the checks into each of her accounts, which is why Phoenix loved her so much. She never had to ask too many questions. She just knew what to do.
------
Phoenix made her way to the farmers market, getting as much food as she could fit into her basket. She always did this, knowing the struggles of carrying all of the tote bags up to her apartment. But without fail, she did this to herself, every time. Loading her groceries into her car, she heads home. She didn’t have much on her mind but she wasn’t fully there as she pulls into the parking garage of her apartment. She parks her car and starts grabbing her bags from her trunk when one falls and she smashes her carton of eggs. She pouts, pissed off with herself about dropping the bag.
“You have to be kidding me!” She stands there, holding her face trying not to be too upset about it.
“You need some help?” Phoenix turns to find Erik walking in her direction, his keys in hand. She was a bit frozen when she saw him. He was wearing a fitted white shirt with grey joggers and his dreads were braided back. She just stood there, staring at him until his laugh shook her from her trance. He loved how his presence would stall her.
“Umm, no. I’m okay. I don’t wanna hold you up.” She picks up the bag that fell and tries to grab more bags from the trunk. Erik didn’t say anything, he just reached for the bags in her hands, taking them from her.
“Erik…” she tries to protest.
“Girl, grab the rest of the bags and c’mon. I’m not in a rush.”
She was lowkey shocked but did what he said. She grabbed the rest of the bags and closed her trunk, locking her doors. He stood, holding the majority of her groceries so she hit the call button.
“You really didn’t have to--”
“I wanted to. If I’m right here, you don’t need to be carrying all of this up alone.”
“Thank You.” she says in a low tone.
The elevator doors open and they step inside headed up to Floor 7. Phoenix tried to avoid looking at Erik. One, he was looking damn good right now and two, she never knew how she’d react to him.
“You look beautiful today. I like the whole messy bun flow you got going on.” he finally says.
“OH SHIT! I'm sorry, Thank you. You just reminded me that I forgot to pick up some stuff for my hair.”
“What do you use on your hair?”
“Um this Miss Jessie’s curl cream and this Shea Moisture leave in. I completely forgot and I’m all out of both.”
The elevator doors open and Erik follows her to her door. Taking note of the ‘702’ on her door. She pushes the heavy door open and holds it open for him. He follows her into the kitchen, placing the many bags on the counter. Phoenix struggles to get her hand out of the handle of one of the bags, not realizing she’s still holding her keys. Her phone starts ringing in her back pocket. She’s panicking trying to get her hand free and getting her phone. Watching her struggle was a good time for Erik. He walked up to her, taking her keys from her hand and taking the bag from her wrist. His hands were rough and warm and it caught her off guard… as usual.
“Thanks.” She answers her phone just in time. It’s another engineer that she was suppose to have the studio session with. He called to tell her that the artist they were supposed to work with, cancelled so it wasn't a point in going tonight. She was disappointed. She hated when people would cancel last minute being that the studio was her happy place.
The disappointment she felt was all over her face as she hung up the phone.
“Everything okay?” Erik asked. For a moment, she forgot that he was there.
“Yeah, the artist I was suppose to have a studio session with cancelled on me.”
“Oh yeah, you’re a DJ.”
She never told him that. How would he know that? “Yeah… I’m just gonna go by myself though. I have some stuff that I need to get done.”
Erik sways back and forth, debating on if he should ask. Phoenix starts putting away her groceries. She assumed Erik would just leave at that point but he continued to stand there with his hands in his pocket. She stops what she’s doing and eyes him suspiciously.
“This is weird, but would you mind if I tagged along with you? To the studio.”
She was NOT expecting that. Suddenly Ava’s words rang in her ear. Shoot your shot. The thought of that made her nervous but she stopped the nerves in their tracks. What’s the worst that could happen? He wouldn’t ask if he wasn’t interested, right?
“Uh, yeah sure… wait, weren’t you going somewhere before you helped me with my bags?”
Erik leans over onto her counter, rubbing his hands together. “Yeah, but it wasn’t important. Just chilling with some homies.”
“So you’re just gonna bail on your friends to hang out with me? You don’t even know me.”
“You don’t really know me but I’m all up in ya’ kitchen right now.”
He had a point. She just shook her head and finishes putting away her groceries. He watched her every move. It’s still pretty early so Phoenix still has time to go out and get her hair products before heading to the studio.
“Well everything’s put away. I’m gonna go get my hair stuff. You can just meet me in the garage around 8. Is that cool?”
Eriks stands up straight, “Yeah.”
She smiles and grabs her purse, walking to the door. Erik follows. He waits for her by the elevators as she locks her door. When the elevators opens for them, Mya steps off.
“Hey Phoenix.”
“Hey, Mya.” she waves at her. Mya looks at Erik and then back to Phoenix, mouthing to her, “YAS SIS!” Phoenix laughs. Erik is going up to his place to wait for her so she says bye to him and watches him step in and the doors close. She patiently waits for the cabin to come back down to take her down to the parking garage. Making it to the beauty supply, she buys way more than she needed. Getting some new Mane Choice shampoo, a long, curly ponytail (because you never know when you’ll need one), the curl creams she came for and some hair accessories. She could never control herself in the beauty supply store. It was like a candy store for black girls.
She made her way back home and couldn’t resist washing her hair to try her new products and honestly, she couldn’t wait to retire that messy bun.
------
Erik waits in the parking garage for Phoenix. Checking his phone, it’s now 8:12pm. He’s not usually a patient man but he would wait for as long as he needed for her. Finally a ding from the elevators alerts him that someone is getting off. Phoenix steps out with fresh curls that are still partially wet. She had changed into some black joggers and a Snoop Dogg T-Shirt with her backpack hanging on one arm.
“I’m sorry. I really had to wash my hair.”
He smiles at her. “It’s not a problem, baby girl.”
There’s that name again. She stares at him. “Uh, yeah. You ready?”
“Lead the way.”
He follows her to her car. He steps around her, opening her door for her. She smiles a thank you and he walks around, getting into the passenger seat. She holds up the Aux cord.
“This is my only offer. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
“You’re the DJ. Let me hear what you like to listen to.”
Phoenix proceeds to plug in her phone and put her playlist on shuffle. Megan thee Stallion x Cash Shit comes on blasting through the speakers as Phoenix pulls out onto the road. She raps along.
Yeah, I’m in my bag // but I’m in his too.
That’s why every time you see me // I got some new shows. AH!
Erik enjoys the show of Phoenix rapping along to every song that comes on. He even joins in when Dreamville x Got Me comes on.
I got you long as you got me // And I got you long as you got me
----
Walking into the studio building, Phoenix greets the security guy at the front desk. This is her favorite studio to work in so she knows everyone who works out of the building by name.
“Hey, Larry.”
“Hello, Miss Blue.”
She loves that he calls her that. Erik nods at Larry and Larry does the same. They continue to an elevator that takes them to the third floor. Walking into the huge studio, Phoenix flicks on the lights and begins setting up her laptop, pulling out her writing notebook. Erik looks around. Blue and green lights, light up the booth that sits in front of them.
“You want something to drink? There’s all types of stuff in the fridge.” Phoenix asks, sitting in a big, comfy chair.
“Nah, I’m good for now.” Erik sits next to her. He sits and just watches as she finishes setting up everything. She has a few samples that she made in her files so she starts with those first. A very smooth R&B Style beat with drums begins to play through the speakers. Phoenix digs in her backpack and pulls out a bag of weed.
“You smoke?” she asks, taking out a back wood.
“Yeah.”
“When I come here alone, this is how I set the mood.”
He watches her carefully as she breaks the weed down so effortlessly. She bobs her head to the beat, filling the back wood with the weed. He could tell, this was her zone. She seemed so relaxed here. Even he couldn’t shake her up right now.
“So, Erik,” She adds emphasis to his name. “Tell me something.”
“What you wanna know?” he watches as she begins to perfectly lick the blunt closed. He’s mesmerized.
“What do you do?”
“In the Navy… engineer.”
She looks at him as she lights the blunt and takes a drag. She slowly releases the smoke. “You from here?”
“Yeah. Grew up in Oakland. You?”
“Nah… I’m from Detroit.”
“Damn, that’s what’s up. When did you come out here?”
She hands him the blunt. “Last year. My career started taking off. I was flying out here like every other week so I just moved out here.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.”
They passed the blunt back and forth until it was gone. The same beat still playing in the background. Phoenix was feeling her high and the beat. Melodies started coming to her as she sung a series of Ahhhs and Heyyys until they formed into lyrics and she wrote them down in her notebook.
“Damn girl, you can sing?”
“I can hold a note or two.”
“Have you ever wrote and recorded any songs for yourself?”
“I have a few.”
“Can I hear one?”
She’s hesitant at first but she goes through her files and finds a song she wrote when she broke up with her ex. As the song played, Erik paid close attention to every word, every note. He felt like he could hear her pain in her voice. She noticed the focused expression on his face. Like he was trying to figure out the exact story that inspired the song.
“Wrote this last year when I came out here. My ex… he uh, he cheated and had a baby.”
The song ends and she goes back to the beats she was listening to before.
“You’ve been single since?” he asks.
“Yeah. Just been working. If I’m gonna give a nigga my time, he has to understand my work. He can’t get in the way of that, ya’ know?”
“I get it.”
“How long have you been single?”
Erik sits back in his chair, rubbing his beard. “I’ve actually never really been in a relationship.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Life just didn’t seem to allow me to do all of that.”
“Why?”
Erik was never one to open up to people. Maybe it was the weed or maybe it was the vibe, but he felt safe with Phoenix in this moment. “I had to take care of myself growing up. Parents died young so I didn’t have time for distractions. Got into college early. Went to MIT,” Phoenix eyes grew big at that. “Went straight into the navy after that.”
“Do you think things have changed for you now? Like… maybe you would be able to try out a relationship or something?”
“Well, where I am now, if that’s what I wanted to do, I’ll figure it out. But it’s like you said, it has to be somebody that understands my work.”
She nods and turns to work on the beat that’s playing. After making a few adjustments, she figured out just what it was missing. She looked to Erik and noticed he was vibing out to the new, improved beat.
“You like it?”
“Hell yeah. I fuck with this.”
That made her happy. She loved when other people were vocal about her work.
“Can I ask you something, Erik?”
“Wassup?”
“So… what really happened with you and Sydney?”
He looks at her. He couldn’t read her like he usually could. “Nothing. We hung out. Chilled at her place. Got so high, we both passed out and I left. She wanted to do more but like I told you, I wasn’t feeling it.”
She played with her fingers. He rolled his chair closer to her and lifted her chin so she’s looking at him. “You don’t have to worry about her.”
“What?” She moved back. “I’m not worried about her. I was just-- nothing, never mind.”
He didn’t push her to continue. She opted to ask him more generic questions.
“Anyways… um, what’s your favorite color?”
If this is how she wanted this to go, he’d play along. “My favorite color is black. Yours?”
“Blue.” she smiled.
By the end of the session, Phoenix had finished two beats. She even showed Erik how to work a few buttons so he could help her record a few hooks and a verse. By the end of the session, they knew a lot more about each other. Erik’s last name is Stevens and he was 31. He loved french toast and watching anime. Phoenix was 27 with a birthday coming in just a few months. Erik may or may not be plotting to get her something. She loved animals and told him about her most embarrassing moment in high school when she was performing for pep rally and tripped on her own two feet in front of the whole school. They had a good time with each other. It was almost 2am when they left.
As they waited for the elevator, Erik stood dangerously close to Phoenix. She could feel like body heat and she wanted so bad to wrap her arms around him for him to warm her up.
“I had a good time with you tonight, Philly.”
“I had a good time with you too, Stevens.” She poked his chest.
The elevator arrives and they step on, Floor 7 and Penthouse floor as their destinations. The ride up was a comfortable, tired silence. As Phoenix got off on her floor, Erik reached for her hand, stopping her right between the open doors. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumbs. He licked his lips and she watched with her mouth parted slightly. He knew just what he was doing. “Goodnight, baby girl.”
If this nigga dont stop this!
“Goodnight, E.”
He was surprised at the nickname. Sure, most people called him E, but coming from her, at this moment, felt different. Like equivalent to his ‘baby girl.’ He felt a rush move through his chest as she slowly slid her hand from his, stroking his fingers and smiled at him. She stood on the other side of the doors until the doors shut. This time, it was Erik with jelly legs. He caught himself by leaning back on the back wall of the cabin as it traveled up. He has never felt like this with no woman… ever!
When he made it into his place, he stripped out of his clothes and took a hot shower. Thinking of the way her hand felt in his made his dick twitch under the warm water. He stroked it a few times before choosing to just wash up and go to bed. He really didn’t understand this feeling and didn’t want to process it right now. He just wanted to have this moment. Whatever it was. As he made himself comfortable in his cool sheets, he picked up his phone, opening Instagram. Phoenix’s story the first one highlighted at the top of his screen. He clicked it and 4 minutes ago, she posted a photo of the city’s view from her bedroom with the caption ‘Nights like This❤️ ’
There it is… that feeling in his chest again. He locks his phone and drifts off to sleep with Phoenix as the last thought on his mind.
40 notes · View notes
mint-yooxgi · 4 years
Text
The Cutest - Jaehyun X Reader
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Genre: Fluff, Humour, Slight Crack
Pairing: Jaehyun X Reader
Words: 1,370
Slight Spoiler Alert! - For those who haven’t watch Naruto: Shippuden lol
A/n: On the third day of ficmas, Jackie gave to me~ Just a little idea I had which may or may not be totally self indulgent. Oh well, I hope you like it! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Enjoy lovelies~
“Oh my god,” the words escape you in no more than a whisper, an exasperated sigh leaving your lips. You strongly resist the urge to roll your eyes.
Currently, you’re sitting in the living room of your apartment, watching one of your favourite childhood anime. You shake your head in frustration as you hear one of the characters speak.
“Shut up! Just shut up, you angsty teenager,” you practically yell at the screen. “He did this for the sake of the entire village, and because he loves you! Get your head out of your ass and calm down!”
The anime you’re currently screaming at just so happens to be Naruto: Shippuden. You haven’t watched it in a while, but a casual conversation with one of your coworkers about the original series sparked something within you, causing you to rewatch the main episodes leading up to this point right now. The episodes in which the two Uchiha brothers battle it out for the final time.
“I swear, if I could, I’d jump through that screen and kick your stupid ass,” you grumble, taking a sip of water.
“Who’s stupid ass are you kicking?” A separate voice cuts in, managing to pull you out of your own thoughts.
“Sasuke Uchiha,” you reply, eyes barely leaving the screen to flick over to see your boyfriend, Jaehyun, now standing in the corner of the living room closest to the entrance.
He had gotten home only minutes ago to see you sitting on the couch, invested in whatever it is you’re watching. An amused smile tugs at his lips as he moves over to join you on the couch.
“Picking fights with fictional characters now, are we?” He teases, leaning back and relaxing into the couch as he watches you watch the screen.
“Only the angsty, cute, dumbasses,” you reply, not noticing the way Jaehyun’s eyebrow twitches.
“Cute?” He inquires, eyebrow now raised in curiosity.
“Yeah, cute,” you confirm, glancing to him out of the corners of your eyes. “He’s still an asshole though.”
“Geez, (Y/n), if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on him,” Jaehyun laughs slightly, but you can tell he doesn’t find this funny at all.
You don’t say anything at first, opting to avoid his gaze as a heat rises to your cheeks, “maybe so.”
“Wait, what?” He huffs, pausing the episode midway through.
“Hey! I was watching that,” you scold, finally turning towards him with a slight frown on your face.
“You can watch it later,” comes his reply.
“Babe,” you whine. “It was just getting to the good part.”
“Too bad,” he says, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he stares you down.
You simply raise an eyebrow at him in response, noticing the way his cheeks puff out slightly as a frown takes over his features.
“Why do you even like him?” He asks.
“Who?” Your brow furrows in confusion. “Sasuke Uchiha?”
“Yeah, if he’s such an ‘angsty asshole,’ why do you even like him in the first place?” Jaehyun quirks a brow at you inquisitively.
Amusement begins shining behind your eyes as you realize what’s going on, a smirk pulling at the corner of your lips, “wait a minute, Jaehyun, are you jealous of a fictional character?”
“Just answer the question,” comes his blunt reply, only causing you to chuckle.
“Well, he wasn’t always this big of an asshole, and considering the amount of trauma he went through as a kid, it can really pull at your heartstrings as a viewer,” you say with a small shrug, going on to add with a slight shrug to your shoulders, “besides, he’s animated really nicely.”
“He’s animated nicely?” His eyebrows raise as his eyes widen, voice filled with disbelief.
“Yeah,” you hum in confirmation. “When I was younger, I never used to like his character. I thought he was too stuck up, cold, and arrogant towards literally everyone else, but I guess that’s just grown on me. I can see the appeal of his character.”
Again, you shrug as if it’s no big deal, taking another sip of your water. You go to continue to episode, until you’re stopped once more by your boyfriend. This time, it’s because you notice him sitting there with a large pout on his face with his arms crossed, leaning deeply into the back of the couch.
Letting out a chuckle, you move over to cup his cheek in your one hand. He looks at you from the corners of his eyes before swiftly grabbing your wrist and pulling you onto his lap so you’re now straddling him. He grips your thighs as he looks up into your eyes.
You can’t help but let out another small laugh as you shake your head in disbelief, bringing your hands up to squish his cheeks affectionately.
“Who would have thought my boyfriend would be so jealous of a fictional character,” you tease, noticing how his pout deepens. “Sasuke Uchiha no less.”
“I’m not jealous,” he says, shaking his head slightly.
“Sure you aren’t, babe,” you grin, shifting slightly to lean down and place a small kiss on his forehead.
“Besides, I have something he can never have,” he goes on to say, causing your eyebrow to quirk in curiosity.
“Oh?” You decide to humour him. ”What’s that?”
“You,” he hums, pulling you down to attach his lips to yours in a brief kiss.
You pull away with a smile, letting your hands fall to rest upon his shoulders.
“That’s right, cause you’re real and he’s not,” you chuckle amusedly. “Besides, you’re the cutest.”
“Hell yeah, I am,” he smirks. “I’m so much better looking than he is, anyways.”
“Whatever you say, babe,” you laugh, patting his shoulder affectionately as you go to move off of his lap. However, Jaehyun has different plans.
“What was that?” He tilts his head slightly, and in the next moment, he has you pinned to the couch.
“I’m just kidding, Jae,” you grin up at him. “You’ll always be my number one.”
“Damn right,” he grins back, leaning in once more to attach his lips to yours.
The kiss is softer than you expect, but appreciated none-the-less. You enjoy the feeling of his lips pressed against your own, the kiss feeling more like a reassurance of your feelings for one another than anything. A fact which you find amusing, considering you wouldn’t trade him for the world, least of all a fictional character.
Pulling away from you once more, he stares into your eyes. You offer him a warm smile, threading your fingers softly through his hair as he returns your smile.
This entire situation is very amusing to you, as you never thought Jaehyun would be one to get jealous over a fictional character. You still can hardly believe it’s happening right now.
“I love you,” his voice pulls you out of your thoughts, him leaning down to gently peck your nose.
“I love you, too,” your smile widens. “Now, will you stop being jealous and let me finish watching this episode?”
“Fine,” he sighs, pushing himself up into a sitting position so he’s no longer hovering overtop of you.
“Thank you,” your voice singsongs, eyes shining with happiness as you move to start up the episode once more.
“I still can’t believe that asshole is your favourite character,” he grumbles, shifting slightly on the couch in order to pull you into his side and wrap his arms around you comfortably.
“I never said he was my favourite character,” you reply. “Hell, he’s not even my favourite Uchiha.”
“Huh?” You can tell your poor boyfriend is confused by your words. The range of emotions he’s gone through in the past ten minutes must be quite something.
“He’s not my favourite character,” you chuckle, “I only said I find him somewhat attractive.”
“What?” You can feel him stiffen slightly against you.
“Yeah, he’s not even the most attractive character in the show,” you confirm.
“Then who is?” He inquires, looking straight ahead at the screen in front of him and avoiding your eyes which are shining in amusement once more.
You simply laugh in response, “wouldn’t you like to know?”
177 notes · View notes
dreamgirl4certain · 5 years
Text
The Elevator Bae
ONE TWO THREE
Chapter FOUR
Erik x Black OC (Phoenix)
Word Count: 5k
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Reruns of Martin plays in the tv as Phoenix whips up her pancake batter. She has turkey bacon and hash browns done on the stove. A knock on the door turns into a beat brin made on the door.
Ava!
Phoenix swings the door open to find Ava and Mica holding up orange juice and liquor.
“What’s brunch without liquor?” Mica says walking in. She immediately looks through the cabinets for a pitcher and begins missing up mimosas. Ava sits on a stool at the kitchen counter while Phoenix starts making the pancakes.
“Let’s just get straight to it, what’s up with Erik?” Ava asks.
Mica pours their drinks. “Who is Erik?”
“A nigga that she want.”
Mica eyes Phoenix for her to explain. She tries to focus on the task at hand of flipping her pancakes.
“Ma’am, get to talking.”
“He lives here. I met him on the elevator. We’ve run into each other from time to time.”
Ava slams her hand on the counter. “Mica, she’s fucking with us. Coby said they be having moments on the elevator, flirting and shit. But come to find out, he’s messing with Sydney--”
“BIG BOOTY SYDNEY?”
“He’s not messing with her.”
Ava’s head snaps over to her. “How you know?”
Phoenix bites her lip as she makes their plates. “He told me.”
“When he say this?”
“Wait, wait,” Mica intervens, “How y’all know he was allegedly messing with Syd?”
Ava has a mouth full of bacon at this point just spilling the little beans that she has. “We seen her in the garage and she was all asking Philly about if she seen the nigga because he left her place like a theif in the night and never called her back.”
“Damn! This nigga a savage and you like him?” Mica turns to Phoenix with concern.
“That is not what she said, Mica. But, he told me last night, this morning, whatever… that she’s cool but he ain’t feeling her in that way.”
“Let me guess, on the elevator?” Ava sticks her tongue out teasing Phoenix. Phoenix gives her the middle finger. Mica swats her hand, “Focus. What exactly did he say?”
“Well… he mentioned having his eye on someone else,” Mica and Ava share a look as Phoenix continued. “And I told him he should tell Sydney he doesn’t like her.”
“...that’s it?” Mica says stuffing hash browns in her mouth.
“No, he-- well, I told him he looks tired and get some rest when I was getting off the elevator. Then he says, “Goodnight baby girl.” and winks at me all flirty and shit.”
“Oh girl, niggas love throwing in a baby girl,” Mica says refilling her glass. “I wouldn’t think nothing of that.”
Phoenix looks to Ava for her input.
“Honestly Philly, I don’t know. Because yeah, niggas just be talking but at the same time, we dont know who this man is. For all we know, you could be making all this shit up.”
“Why would I make this up?”
“No, no I’m not saying you are at all. My point is, only you can judge the vibe between y’all because we don’t know who he is.”
“What he look like?” Mica says with a mouth full of pancakes.
“He’s tall, brown, nice teeth, dreads.”
“Oh, so he’s a daddy. Yeah, you can’t trust those.”
Ava almost spit out her drink from laughing.
-------
The gold chain with a ring hanging from it that sits around Erik’s neck, swings back and forth as he does his last few push ups. He sits up on his floor, rolling his neck and stretching it. His phone lights up on the coffee table in front of him.
Text: Sydney
He swipes to close it without reading it. He gets up and goes into the bathroom, turning on the shower. He steps out of his sweaty clothes and steps in. The warmth of the water stings the new small scar on his abdomen. Biting his lip until the slight pain fades away. Allowing the water to run over his body, he closes his eyes releasing a long sigh.
After washing his body and face, he puts on fresh clothes and relaxes on his huge sectional couch. It’s been a long week for Erik and a day of just chilling is exactly what he needed and wanted. He searched through Netflix with nothing really catching his eye. So he picked up his phone, opening Sydney’s text. It was the 4th text she had sent him since he left her place a few nights ago.
Sydney: E, What’s up?
Sydney: So you’re not going to text me back?
Sydney: Are you okay?
Sydney: so you’re just gonna go ghost. Most niggas wait until after they hit. At this point, I dnt even care.
His thumb hovered over the keyboard. Phoenix’s words singing in his ear, I think you should tell her. Communication is key.
She was right, just letting her know he’s not into to her like that is the right thing to do. But, he definitely took the part about communication being about him being more open about liking her instead. He finally types a response.
Erik: Hey. my bad, i’ve been busy. working.
Sydney: you have some free time now? You just left and i wanted to see you.
Erik: Im free but i dont really wanna chill. I like you Syd, but as a friend.
Sydney: wow. Ok
With that out the way, Erik opened his Instagram app, scrolling up his timeline. He comes across a picture that his friend, Shawn posted. Shawn went out to the opening of Club X the night before. He was one of the promoters. As Erik swipes through Shawn’s pics, he notices one that he’s in with three women. One of them being Phoenix. The caption says ‘ClubX now open. Come get lit with the dopest DJ in the city.’ Erik taps the photo to reveal the tags. @DJPhoenixBlue , @AmazingAva , @Micaxoxo , @CamrenMarie. Did he just find Phoenix’s IG page? Without a second thought, he clicks her page and yes… yes he did find elevator bae’s page. He carefully looked and admired every picture. He found himself looking at a pic from June 2016 when Phoenix was back in Detroit, walking through downtown with one of her old friends. That’s when he knew he was doing the most. He scrolled back to the top of her page, reading her bio. He clicks the soundcloud link that’s attached and takes a listen. He nods his head to the R&B beat. It was definitely a vibe. He let her playlist play. He laid his head back onto the couch, closing his eyes. He was on the 5th beat before he sat up to sounds of his stomach rumbling.
“Shit.” He goes into the kitchen, Phoenix’s music still playing. There wasn’t much left in his refrigerator with him being gone for days. He turns the music off to focus on searching through his various food apps to order something. He found himself back on Phoenix’s Instagram page. He leans back on his kitchen counter, completing forgetting about food. He debates with himself if he should follow her. He stood there with his thumb hanging over the follow button. Fuck it. He taps follow. He came this far, he might as well like a few pics.
He orders from a cafe he likes that’s not too far from his home. It’ll be there in 20 minutes. He finds his way back into the living room, on the couch. He settles with rewatching Naruto. Only made sense because it was his favorite.
---------
Mica helps Phoenix load up the dirty dishes into her dishwasher as Ava rolls them a blunt. Phoenix gave more than enough detail about every encounter she has had with Erik since meeting him. She even told them about the dream she had about him. Mica doesn’t seem to like the idea of Erik while Ava tried to convince Phoenix to shoot her shot with him. Phoenix figured it wouldn’t hurt to ‘think about it.’
After finishing their breakfast and cleaning up, the women are sitting out on Phoenix’s balcony, smoking and trying to make plans for Camren. Her birthday was the weekend coming up and Camren made it clear that she wanted to do Hoodrat things with her friends. That was her only request. They already have a surprise girls trip that they planned months ago, but the three of them would make her ratchet dreams come true.
“Let’s do a surprise dinner and take her ass to the club,” Phoenix says, passing the blunt to Mica. “I can get us a section.”
“Yeahhhh, get some big ass pictures of her face and bottles.” Ava added.
“That would make her so happy.” Mica says between coughs and laughs.
They finalize their plans for the weekend. They are taking Camren out to eat, the club and will surprise her with their planned vacation when she wakes up the next morning with a hangover, contemplating life. Ava and Mica say their goodbyes to Phoenix and leave out to wait for the elevator. When the doors open, they come face to face with Erik. He’s alone in the cabin. He recognizes them immediately as the girls in the pictures with Phoenix and Shawn. He moves over to the left of the cabin. Mica stands center and Ava to the right. Silence sits over the three of them. Erik could feel that one of them is staring fire into the side of his face. When he turns to them, Mica is giving him the worst death stare he’s experienced in his life. They stare at each other.
“Is your name Erik?”
“Yeah. Do I know you?
Ava’s head snaps quickly in his direction. She hadn’t even thought about who the man was in the cabin with them. Mica remembered every detail Phoenix gave about what Erik looked like. He’s tall, brown, nice teeth, dreads.
“Nah, you don’t know me,” Mica says, turning to fully face him. “But what you do need to know is when it comes to Philly, I’ll kick yo’ ass, you pretty muthafucker.”
Erik is confused and caught off guard. Who in the hell is this woman. Is Philly, Phoenix? He really didn’t know how to respond to this threat. Ava pinches the bridge of her nose. She can’t take Mica, NOWHERE!
“Who the fuck is Philly?”
“Oh my God,” Ava intervenes, “You have to excuse her. She’s high as fuck.” Ava grabs Mica’s arm and pulled her to the right side of the cabin, away from Erik. “We’re friends of Phoenix, nice to meet you.”
Erik eyes Mica who seems uninterested in him. “Nice to meet y’all too… I think.”
The elevator doors open and Ava steps out, dragging Mica with her. Watching the two of them made Erik laugh. As he made his way to his car, it hit him what Mica and Ava said. She talked to her friends about him? What in the hell did she say for her friends to be so protective? Either way, he couldn’t stop the redness from forming on his cheeks.
Once Ava and Mica were in Ava’s car, without skipping a beat, Mica facetimes Phoenix. “Sis. We just seen your pretty ass man on the elevator.”
“What?”
“What?” Mica says in a mocking tone. “You love playing stupid. Ya’ boy Erik. I had to let him know he better be on some real shit when it comes to you.”
“MICA!” Phoenix covers her face with her free hand.
“You’re welcome. And he is fine though. I see why you pressed but I still don’t trust his ass.”
-------
The next morning, Phoenix started her day with some morning yoga. She had a few errands to run before a studio session later that night. She needed to go to the bank, do a little grocery shopping and reup on some hair products. She had used the last of her Miss Jessie’s curl cream the night of the club opening. Her hair has been in that same bun since. Putting on some dark denim shorts and a red one shoulder crop top, paired with some red vans, she headed out.
Luckily, when Phoenix arrived at the bank, her favorite banker, Ms. Kim was there. Whenever she’d have to go to the bank, she loved going to her to handle her money. Ms. Kim was an older, black woman that gave her all of the cool, auntie vibes. Ms. Kim was the one who helped Phoenix set up a seperate account for her business account and tax account. She honestly made everything easier.
“Good Afternoon, Miss Phoenix,” Ms. Kim stands, greeting Phoenix has she approached her desk.
“Hi, Ms. Kim.”
Ms. Kim motions for Phoenix to take a seat.
“How have you been little lady? Busy I take it since it’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen you in here.”
Phoenix smiles, “Yeah, I’ve been working like crazy.”
“That’s good. At least you’re busy doing something you love though, right?
“Yes. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, honestly.”
“I’m glad. Now what can I help you with today?”
Phoenix digs into her purse, pulling out two checks. “I want to deposit these and send a little something to my Mom. She’s been bugging me about a purse.” She shakes her head. Ms. Kim laughs and takes the checks and does her magic. She knows just how Phoenix wanted to break up the checks into each of her accounts, which is why Phoenix loved her so much. She never had to ask too many questions. She just knew what to do.
------
Phoenix made her way to the farmers market, getting as much food as she could fit into her basket. She always did this, knowing the struggles of carrying all of the tote bags up to her apartment. But without fail, she did this to herself, every time. Loading her groceries into her car, she heads home. She didn’t have much on her mind but she wasn’t fully there as she pulls into the parking garage of her apartment. She parks her car and starts grabbing her bags from her trunk when one falls and she smashes her carton of eggs. She pouts, pissed off with herself about dropping the bag.
“You have to be kidding me!” She stands there, holding her face trying not to be too upset about it.
“You need some help?” Phoenix turns to find Erik walking in her direction, his keys in hand. She was a bit frozen when she saw him. He was wearing a fitted white shirt with grey joggers and his dreads were braided back. She just stood there, staring at him until his laugh shook her from her trance. He loved how his presence would stall her.
“Umm, no. I’m okay. I don’t wanna hold you up.” She picks up the bag that fell and tries to grab more bags from the trunk. Erik didn’t say anything, he just reached for the bags in her hands, taking them from her.
“Erik…” she tries to protest.
“Girl, grab the rest of the bags and c’mon. I’m not in a rush.”
She was lowkey shocked but did what he said. She grabbed the rest of the bags and closed her trunk, locking her doors. He stood, holding the majority of her groceries so she hit the call button.
“You really didn’t have to--”
“I wanted to. If I’m right here, you don’t need to be carrying all of this up alone.”
“Thank You.” she says in a low tone.
The elevator doors open and they step inside headed up to Floor 7. Phoenix tried to avoid looking at Erik. One, he was looking damn good right now and two, she never knew how she’d react to him.
“You look beautiful today. I like the whole messy bun flow you got going on.” he finally says.
“OH SHIT! Im sorry, Thank you. You just reminded me that I forgot to pick up some stuff for my hair.”
“What do you use on your hair?”
“Um this Miss Jessie’s curl cream and this Shea Moisture leave in. I completely forgot and I’m all out of both.”
The elevator doors open and Erik follows her to her door. Taking note of the ‘702’ on her door. She pushes the heavy door open and holds it open for him. He follows her into the kitchen, placing the many bags on the counter. Phoenix struggles to get her hand out of the handle of one of the bags, not realizing she’s still holding her keys. Her phone starts ringing in her back pocket. She’s panicking trying to get her hand free and getting her phone. Watching her struggle was a good time for Erik. He walked up to her, taking her keys from her hand and taking the bag from her wrist. His hands were rough and warm and it caught her off guard… as usual.
“Thanks.” She answers her phone just in time. It’s another engineer that she was suppose to have the studio session with. He called to tell her that the artist they were supposed to work with, cancelled so it wasn't a point in going tonight. She was disappointed. She hated when people would cancel last minute being that the studio was her happy place.
The disappointment she felt was all over her face as she hung up the phone.
“Everything okay?” Erik asked. For a moment, she forgot that he was there.
“Yeah, the artist I was suppose to have a studio session with cancelled on me.”
“Oh yeah, you’re a DJ.”
She never told him that. How would he know that? “Yeah… I’m just gonna go by myself though. I have some stuff that I need to get done.”
Erik sways back and forth, debating on if he should ask. Phoenix starts putting away her groceries. She assumed Erik would just leave at that point but he continued to stand there with his hands in his pocket. She stops what she’s doing and eyes him suspiciously.
“This is weird, but would you mind if I tagged along with you? To the studio.”
She was NOT expecting that. Suddenly Ava’s words rang in her ear. Shoot your shot. The thought of that made her nervous but she stopped the nerves in their tracks. What’s the worst that could happen? He wouldn’t ask if he wasn’t interested, right?
“Uh, yeah sure… wait, weren’t you going somewhere before you helped me with my bags?”
Erik leans over onto her counter, rubbing his hands together. “Yeah, but it wasn’t important. Just chilling with some homies.”
“So you’re just gonna bail on your friends to hang out with me? You don’t even know me.”
“You don’t really know me but I’m all up in ya’ kitchen right now.”
He had a point. She just shook her head and finishes putting away her groceries. He watched her every move. It’s still pretty early so Phoenix still has time to go out and get her hair products before heading to the studio.
“Well everything’s put away. I’m gonna go get my hair stuff. You can just meet me in the garage around 8. Is that cool?”
Eriks stands up straight, “Yeah.”
She smiles and grabs her purse, walking to the door. Erik follows. He waits for her by the elevators as she locks her door. When the elevators opens for them, Mya steps off.
“Hey Phoenix.”
“Hey, Mya.” she waves at her. Mya looks at Erik and then back to Phoenix, mouthing to her. “YAS SIS!” Phoenix laughs. Erik is going up to his place to wait for her so she says bye to him and watches him step in and the doors close. She patiently waits for the cabin to come back down to take her down to the parking garage. Making it to the beauty supply, she buys way more than she needed. Getting some new Mane Choice shampoo, a long, curly ponytail (because you never know when you’ll need one), the curl creams she came for and some hair accessories. She could never control herself in the beauty supply store. It was like a candy store for black girls.
She made her way back home and couldn’t resist washing her hair to try her new products and honestly, she couldn’t wait to retire that messy bun.
------
Erik waits in the parking garage for Phoenix. Checking his phone, it’s now 8:12pm. He’s not usually a patient man but he would wait for as long as he needed for her. Finally a ding from the elevators alerts him that someone is getting off. Phoenix steps out with fresh curls that are still partially wet. She had changed into some black joggers and a Snoop Dogg T-Shirt with her backpack hanging on one arm.
“I’m sorry. I really had to wash my hair.”
He smiles at her. “It’s not a problem, baby girl.”
There’s that name again. She stares at him. “Uh, yeah. You ready?”
“Lead the way.”
He follows her to her car. He steps around her, opening her door for her. She smiles a thank you and he walks around, getting into the passenger seat. She holds up the Aux cord.
“This is my only offer. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
“You’re the DJ. Let me hear what you like to listen to.”
Phoenix proceeds to plug in her phone and put her playlist on shuffle. Megan thee Stallion x Cash Shit comes on blasting through the speakers as Phoenix pulls out onto the road. She raps along.
Yeah, I’m in my bag // but I’m in his too.
That’s why every time you see me // I got some new shows. AH!
Erik enjoys the show of Phoenix rapping along to every song that comes on. He even joins in when Dreamville x Got Me comes on.
I got you long as you got me // And I got you long as you got me
----
Walking into the studio building, Phoenix greets the security guy at the front desk. This is her favorite studio to work in so she knows everyone who works out of the building by name.
“Hey, Larry.”
“Hello, Miss Blue.”
She loves that he calls her that. Erik nods at Larry and Larry does the same. They continue to an elevator that takes them to the third floor. Walking into the huge studio, Phoenix flicks on the lights and begins setting up her laptop, pulling out her writing notebook. Erik looks around. Blue and green lights, light up the booth that sits in front of them.
“You want something to drink? There’s all types of stuff in the fridge.” Phoenix asks, sitting in a big, comfy chair.
“Nah, I’m good for now.” Erik sits next to her. He sits and just watches as she finishes setting up everything. She has a few samples that she made in her files so she starts with those first. A very smooth R&B Style beat with drums begins to play through the speakers. Phoenix digs in her backpack and pulls out a bag of weed.
“You smoke?” she asks, taking out a back wood.
“Yeah.”
“When I come here alone, this is how I set the mood.”
He watches her carefully as she breaks the weed down so effortlessly. She bobs her head to the beat, filling the back wood with the weed. He could tell, this was her zone. She seemed so relaxed here. Even he couldn’t shake her up right now.
“So, Erik,” She adds emphasis to his name. “Tell me something.”
“What you wanna know?” he watches as she begins to perfectly lick the blunt closed. He’s mesmerized.
“What do you do?”
“In the Navy… engineer.”
She looks at him as she lights the blunt and takes a drag. She slowly releases the smoke. “You from here?”
“Yeah. Grew up in Oakland. You?”
“Nah… I’m from Detroit.”
“Damn, that’s what’s up. When did you come out here?”
She hands him the blunt. “Last year. My career started taking off. I was flying out here like every other week so I just moved out here.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.”
They passed the blunt back and forth until it was gone. The same beat still playing in the background. Phoenix was feeling her high and the beat. Melodies started coming to her as she sung a series of Ahhhs and Heyyys until they formed into lyrics and she wrote them down in her notebook.
“Damn girl, you can sing?”
“I can hold a note or two.”
“Have you ever wrote and recorded any songs for yourself?”
“I have a few.”
“Can I hear one?”
She’s hesitant at first but she goes through her files and finds a song she wrote when she broke up with her ex. As the song played, Erik paid close attention to every word, every note. He felt like he could hear her pain in her voice. She noticed the focused expression on his face. Like he was trying to figure out the exact story that inspired the song.
“Wrote this last year when I came out here. My ex… he uh, he cheated and had a baby.”
The song ends and she goes back to the beats she was listening to before.
“You’ve been single since?” he asks.
“Yeah. Just been working. If I’m gonna give a nigga my time, he has to understand my work. He can’t get in the way of that, ya’ know?”
“I get it.”
“How long have you been single?”
Erik sits back in his chair, rubbing his beard. “I’ve actually never really been in a relationship.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Life just didn’t seem to allow me to do all of that.”
“Why?”
Erik was never one to open up to people. Maybe it was the weed or maybe it was the vibe, but he felt safe with Phoenix in this moment. “I had to take care of myself growing up. Parents died young so I didn’t have time for distractions. Got into college early. Went to MIT,” Phoenix eyes grew big at that. 
“Do you think things have changed for you now? Like… maybe you would be able to try out a relationship or something?”
“Well, where I am now, if that’s what I wanted to do, I’ll figure it out. But it’s like you said, it has to be somebody that understands my work.”
She nods and turns to work on the beat that’s playing. After making a few adjustments, she figured out just what it was missing. She looked to Erik and noticed he was vibing out to the new, improved beat.
“You like it?”
“Hell yeah. I fuck with this.”
That made her happy. She loved when other people were vocal about her work.
“Can I ask you something, Erik?”
“Wassup?”
“So… what really happened with you and Sydney?”
He looks at her. He couldn’t read her like he usually could. “Nothing. We hung out. Chilled at her place. Got so high, we both passed out and I left. She wanted to do more but like I told you, I wasn’t feeling it.”
She played with her fingers. He rolled his chair closer to her and lifted her chin so she’s looking at him. “You don’t have to worry about her.”
“What?” She moved back. “I’m not worried about her. I was just-- nothing, never mind.”
He didn’t push her to continue. She opted to ask him more generic questions.
“Anyways… um, what’s your favorite color?”
If this is how she wanted this to go, he’d play along. “My favorite color is black. Yours?”
“Blue.” she smiled.
By the end of the session, Phoenix had finished two beats. She even showed Erik how to work a few buttons so he could help her record a few hooks and a verse. By the end of the session, they knew a lot more about each other. Erik’s last name is Stevens and he was 31. He loved french toast and watching anime. Phoenix was 27 with a birthday coming in just a few months. Erik may or may not be plotting to get her something. She loved animals and told him about her most embarrassing moment in high school when she was performing for pep rally and tripped on her own two feet in front of the whole school. They had a good time with each other. It was almost 2am when they left.
As they waited for the elevator, Erik stood dangerously close to Phoenix. She could feel like body heat and she wanted so bad to wrap her arms around him for him to warm her up.
“I had a good time with you tonight, Philly.”
“I had a good time with you too, Stevens.” She poked his chest.
The elevator arrives and they step on, Floor 7 and Penthouse floor as their destinations. The ride up was a comfortable, tired silence. As Phoenix got off on her floor, Erik reached for her hand, stopping her right between the open doors. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumbs. He licked his lips and she watched with her mouth parted slightly. He knew just what he was doing. “Goodnight, baby girl.”
If this nigga dont stop this!
“Goodnight, E.”
He was surprised at the nickname. Sure, most people called him E, but coming from her, at this moment, felt different. Like equivalent to his ‘baby girl.’ He felt a rush move through his chest as she slowly slid her hand from his, stroking his fingers and smiled at him. She stood on the other side of the doors until the doors shut. This time, it was Erik with jelly legs. He caught himself by leaning back on the back wall of the cabin as it traveled up. He has never felt like this with no woman… ever!
When he made it into his place, he stripped out of his clothes and took a hot shower. Thinking of the way her hand felt in his made his dick twitch under the warm water. He stroked it a few times before choosing to just wash up and go to bed. He really didn’t understand this feeling and didn’t want to process it right now. He just wanted to have this moment. Whatever it was. As he made himself comfortable in his cool sheets, he picked up his phone, opening Instagram. Phoenix’s story the first one highlighted at the top of his screen. He clicked it and 4 minutes ago, she posted a photo of the city’s view from her bedroom with the caption ‘Nights like This❤️ ’
There it is… that feeling in his chest again. He locks his phone and drifts off to sleep with Phoenix as the last thought on his mind.
-------
Tags: @purple-apricots @abeautifulmindexposed @lostennyc @missshae @tip222u @janelledarling @lushloaded @chaneajoyyy **If anyone would like to be tagged in the next one, let me know.
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mysterylover123 · 5 years
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BNHA Rewatch: Episode 54 “Shiketsu High Lurking”
mysterylover123
Aka the one with the naked blonde girl 
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I guess he can’t call it “hardening” since that’s Kirishima’s quirk. Honestly, Ketsubutsu’s quirks are kinda meh compared to UA’s and Shiketsu’s. Aside from Ms Joke, they all feel like less interesting versions of pre-established quirks.
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KYOKA JIRO FUCK YEAH!!!! HEARTBEAT DISTORTION!
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ACID VEIL! My fave of the Ultimate Moves so far. It’s just awesome and really versatile, a great application of Mina’s quirk.  
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Wow everyone really does think Class A is a class full of Bakugous don’t they?
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Yeah yeah Shindo it’d be really cool if Jirou hadn’t done the same thing a few minutes ago.
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“Although his air bending may be great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Inasa can save the world.” Cue theme music.
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So Inasa the bald airbender is the rival of the scar-faced fire bender? I’m really starting to doubt Horikoshi’s claim that he’s never heard of ATLA now. (OK admittedly ATLA probably based Aang and Zuko on Naruto and Sasuke, wind and fire, so maybe it’s just the common connection, but still.)
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Deku is stranded on his own and being a total snack once again. Plus a total BAMF.
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Holy crap Toga is fast. Oh, right, just remember, unmarked spoilers everywhere.
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Uravity the Sneak!
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“You talk too much” Hypocritical much Deku?
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I am so freaking jealous of Toga right now.
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Really, no response from Deku to this at all? Your gay is showing, Deku.
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Toga really loves getting into people’s heads, doesn’t she? She’s trying to figure out Deku’s motivation here, get to know him better…which to be fair, is more than Uraraka has done. Seriously, does Ochako know anything really important about Deku, beyond the surface level? Has she ever even asked?
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Anyway, Deku is surrounded on all sides by powerful opponents. Does he panic? NOPE! This is Deku Mk 3, bitches! He laughs in the face of danger.
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TogaRaka!
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 How I somehow didn’t guess that this was a fake Ochako when she didn’t  float herself instantly is beyond me. I seriously didn’t guess, first time around. I was thoroughly bamboozled. Bravo Hori.
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FUCK YEAH DEKU
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I’d get shippy about this if I didn’t crack up each time I remembered that’s actually Toga and Deku knows it isn’t Uraraka. I was really annoyed at this scene the first time around, when I didn’t know it wasn’t Ochako, because ‘why are we neutering Uraraka’s power just to push this damn ship along’. But whoa, Deku noticed it too! Yay!
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I actually thought for about 2 seconds that maybe this was a twist and Uraraka was actually gonna take Deku out of the running so she could win. But nope, different plot twist. Same “gasp” result, though.
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I like stuff like this for Izuku and Ochako better than her obsessing over him. Though at the same time, I could see him knowing this much about, like, anyone in class, this being Mr. Notebooks and all.
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He’s so nice he even saved a potential enemy. I wonder if this tendency will actually be the thing that lets Deku truly overcome the LOV. I mean, with niceness instead of fists. His version of Talk No Jutsu. Toga’s already on board.
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“He really trusts you” trying to make me think she’s the traitor, are you Toga? you’re doing a good job.
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Teamwork time I guess. Next time Shoto vs Kenosha’s rejects.
Episode 54 was where I caught up to the series on the first time through and had to wait a week. To be honest, it made me really irritated with the PLE. It was where I started whining about it - I found this arc boring because of it, and wished we could just get it over with. On a rewatch, I honestly still find it kinda dull. The Toga stuff is fun in hindsight, knowing who she is, but the rest is just…action. Ah well. Still great animation, still BNHA.
BKDK CORNER:
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“I’m getting kinda excited at the chance of fighting the best of the best” Yeees good. Nurture that inner Kacchan voice within you, Deku. Let it out. Don’t be afraid.
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Guess who also blamed himself for All Might’s end because he wasn’t strong enough?
BEST GIRL OF THE EP: Camie Utsushimi! (though Camie isn’t actually in this ep. Season 4 though!)
RANKER: Least Favorite BNHA Eps
5 Episode 36 “Stripping the Varnish”
4 Episode 5 “What I Can do For Now”
3 Episode 10 “Encounter with the Unknown”
2 Episodes 53-54 “the Test”/“Shiketsu High Lurking”
1 Episode 58 “Save the World with Love”
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gotmilk5101520 · 4 years
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Miraculous Ladybug Rewatch Episode 54 Animaestro
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Time for the premiere of the Ladybug and Chat Noir movie!
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“And his teen idol son, who voice Chat Noir cause he is Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste” “Tikki let’s ignore that part”
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“Who would want to see Ladybug and Chat Noir as cartoon characters” We’ve been called out.
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Marinette in a maid outfit and a bun is the best.
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The Ladybug Miraculous has the power of good luck.
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The best way to shut someone up.
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“Don’t ever touch me again”
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“Don’t ever speak to me again”
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“Don’t ever look at me again”
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“She’s scary and i was kinda turned on”
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Adrimi is cute and anyone that says otherwise are weak.
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Chloe has four arms.
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“Fine keep on being not to sure about and tomorrow Adrien and Kagami will be on plane heading for Japan”
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“Adrien? Japan? Wait you do realize that going to Japan is a dream come true for Adrien right? He be surrounded by manga and anime. Hell i would like to go Japan too!” “So do i!”
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“Well i’m more of a dog person” “Aren’t you Chat Noir?” “Wait what? Me Chat Noir? That’s funny! Who told you that? Cause i’m so not Chat Noir!” “Dog person?! After all we’ve been through together! You should’ve gotten the Dog Miraculous! I’m leaving!” “Wait Plagg! Don’t leave me!” “Uhh...” “Anyway i’m not Chat Noir” “From the looks of it, not anymore”
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Question: Is Thomas Astruc really allergic to almonds?
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“I should’ve known. How could one of Chloe’s plans ended in anything but disaster and someone gets akumatize because of her plans”
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“I knew it was good idea to not go to the premiere of the movie of my enemies. If i did, then i would have to stay in the bathroom. That would’ve been embarrassing”
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Adrimi is a cute couple you guys are just mean.
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“You got a crush on Adrien!” “Wait you’re just realizing this now? Wait a minute you didn’t know till now? I thought you always knew and that was why you decided to team up with me”
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“Ugh he already left to transform” “Actually he needs to find his Kwami” “What happened?” “Adrien told me he was a dog person and then his Kwami got mad and left” “Wow. This is bad” “Plagg! Where are you!? I’m sorry for saying i was a dog person!”
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“You haven’t even seen the movie and you’re already slamming it!”
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“He does have a point you know?” Agree. Don’t start judging till you seen it.
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Voltron.
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Naruto.
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“If nobody watches it, it’s as if it didn’t exist” Yeah that’s true. Like that Velocipastor movie -Which is about a priest that can turn into a dinosaur and he fights ninjas and i think robosts- that for some reason exists.
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“Whoa. This is the craziest show i’ve ever seen!” Mood.
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Dragon Ball.
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“Don’t watch!” Best way.
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Sailor Moon.
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“Come on pick up!” “Hello” “Nathalie! I need you to transform into Mayura and-” “This is the voicemail of Nathalie. Leave a message” “Nathalie!”
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“Forever there will be this division between us Dupain Cheng. Which is why you and i will never be a team” *Laughs in French*
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This episode was big metaphor and i like it.
Time to visit my grandfather.
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poppymadness · 6 years
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💖 HQ, Knb, All Out, Free, BNHAand DnA I think you watched at least a little bit of it, didn't u? And since I know who some of your favorites are already u can just rant about why u love them
@naturalpeaches said:💖 can i be an ass and say twdg even tho ik the answers p much OH the last kingdom. bring it to ur blog amber. talk about it. accept it.
💖 listen those 2 weren’t enough. give me the raven cycle. give me the foxhole court. give me six of crows. giVE ME CRIMINAL MINDS HAAAAA BITCH. why not throw the 100 in there too. also talk abt ur boo in the sun is also a star. give him some lovin
💖 N A R U T O
hope it’s cool just to throw ya both in here bc i’m lazy
haikyuu: (3) kuroo tetsurou - iiiiiiiiiiii fucking love kuroo sO much, a huge tall not so dumb dumbass god. i don’t know what to say dfkhka i fuckin Love him thanks dude. i nEVER FORGET THE FUCKIN LAUGH GOD FUCK FOR FUCKS SAKE skjfd. whenever i get in Kuroo Moods they last SO long i can’t get a break. and gamer au kuroo is killer it’s too good. listen he’S A BIG FOOL and i LOVE him want the best for him bc he’s great, good, good dude. i also rlly fuckin love terushima man ooooo my god, imagine him and kuroo bein buds hORRIBLE
kuroko no basket: (1) kiyoshi teppei - mY BOY KIYOSHI AAAAA. hE’S EVEN T A L L E R mmmm 6′4″ the fuck mann. we know my love for this dumbass i love him so so muuch fuck. thought it was kuroko at first, bitch no. I LITERALLY DIDN’T KNOW I LOVED HIM TILL AFTER I FINISHED THE WHOLE SHOW. like, just, the more i saw stuff involving him the more i was like ooo no no waiT i LoVE HiM i screamed when he showed up in the second opening when we rewatched it oooommggggg. he’S SO GOOD I HOPE HIS KNEE IS HEALED I HOPE HE GETS TO PLAY BASKETBALL AS A LIL SIDE HOBBY OR SOMETHIN HOPE HE’S FUCKIN HAPPY!!!!! whY DOES HE SELF-SACRIFICE SO MUCH BOY OOO MY GOD WHEN HE REALIZED THE TEAM GOT HIS BACK TOO BITCH HE SO CUTE. mmmmm  i love hiiiiim bois. also love akashi i keep finding it funny ur intimated by him cj
all out: (4) ebumi masaru - i can’t. i can’t explain why i love him oR WHY HE’S SO HIGH A FAVE GOD. this whole fandom is like Those Thighs and make ebumi all about fuckin sex like what a Tough Boy like yA HE BUYS (rents? whatever) PORN THAT’S FUCKIN SO FUNNY TO ME BUT MMMM he. more. i nevER STOP THINKIN BOUT THE EP WITH ISE THAT EMO SHIT DO U SEE HOW MUCH EBUMI CARES BOUT HIS FRIEND GOD Fuck. like yeah, just take the money. this is what was left for me but idc here take it u need it i stg season 2 better be in the works i want more of his backSTORY. oh hE FUCKIN BLEACHES HIS HAIR WHAT A PUUUUNK, HE TRAINS SO HARD HE CARES SO MUCH ABOUT RUGBY GETS P I S S E D WHEN PPL HALF-ASS IT LIKE?? FAIR ENOUGH. OH THETY ACTUALLY DREW HIS HAIR DOWN RIGHT ADJHF A OoO FUCK TAHT. i’m good it’s cool alright bye gion, raita & ise are my best friends thank
free: rin matsuoka - i. thought it was nagisa at first. i wanna cry fuckin nagisa jesus. good boy but hell no. rin?? is so sweet i’m sorry fuckin flew haru to australia & shit he’s so good i love him. i gotta do this i’m srry FUCK whoever thinks rin would be abusive with haru thx. i havE A RIN POSTER G O D
boku no hero academia: todoroki shouto - i literally didn’t have a fave in this show until one (1) specific episode in season 2 with him. thought i was gonna live forever not having a fave in this show. i had actually been growing to like him and was like No, i told myself to not like him bc he’s so popular hdkfa. and then that ep came and i was like,,,oof i Love him, love love love what a goOD BOY. he’s…so cute..comin to terms with his powers still can’t get over he interned with his dad he just…..wants to improve…is improving…..so good.
daiya no ace: ? - ok, i never developed a fave while watching it, at least not where i got to. i don’t even remember where i stopped oof that’s bad. but i had thought at that time that i rlly loved chris?? eijun is precious, i fuckin love him. miyuki is great i love him too. also really loved kuramochi?? so if i had continued i think it would’ve been one of em.
the walking dead game: kenny, luke, clem, gabe - pls don’t make me choose… kenny…tried his hardest to be good, worked his ass off till the last moment to improve himself and didn’t get the redemption he deserved. that man is good, he was just pushed to his max and couldn’t get back down. luke, luke is a sunshine boy who was too good for the world, a positive outlet could make anyone happy, did his best, didn’t deserve to die. cleM MY BADASS B A B Y HAS GROWN SO MUCH I LOOOOVE HER AND CAN’T WAIT FOR HER HAPPY ENDING TELLTALE YOU FUCKS I AM BEGGING YOU1!! gabe…annoyed me at first…stole my heart….just a boy thrown into the apocalypse tryin to be happy…he’s doing his best, he’s learning, truly not such a brat as assholes make him out to be. nick my boy i’m so sorry i would’ve included you ur so close
the last kingdom: uhtred & alfred - i love uhtred the godless and king alfred of wessex very much indeed. uhtred is just a wreck honestly, this danish bro got a lot goin on he just wants the land he deserves i just say he’s bein greedy, go be happy under alfred’s rule i still love u tho uhtred u dumbass. alfred! got the peace he wanted! i love alfred so much he wants to be a king without war unless he’s not given the choice, cares about his family so much, afraid he’ll be punished for the crown that’s not rightfully his own. alfred is so good, i love this man.
the raven cycle: (5) adam parrish - mmmmmmm what a good boy. an important boy, a very much loved boy. iiiii hate havin his pov sometimes, some relatable things in there, i love him so much. he’s not. his father. thanks. gotta say that a lot wanT HIM TO KNOOOOOOOW. he’s so good he’s improving himself he’s doin it!! go adam!! goD ASHLETY I KEEP THINKING OF THINGS YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN TOOOOOOOO. mmmm it’s ok to still be stuck and to have bad days he doesn’t have to get over it right away!! it’s not somethin that’ll just be over!! dhfad smALL STEPS my boy i love u…. all bc, he…legally free (tryin not to spoil dfhjdaf).. don’t mean he has to be over it…take ur time adam. i’m thinkin of the emo thing in trk fuck wrong devil dkhfad. i just wanna cry he’s so good worth so much ronan & i will fight any and all fucks who wanna Go. i!! love him!! he deserVES TO FEEL LOVED AND TO FEEL HOW TO LOVE MMMM COOL i’m gonna stop i’ll just repeat myself - i just thOUGHT OF THE ‘FUCK YOU GANSEY’ WOW FIRST BOOK FUCK B YE
the foxhole court: …andrew minyard… - idk man?? it’s so lowkey?? it’s chill i literally don’t even have anything to say. nicky, neil & dan are my squad love em.
six of crows: jesper fahey - idk what fuckin bitch ass mood i had to be in when i read soc but if i wasn’t in it jesper would totally have been my fave. i wouldn’t take him away from wylan anyways (statement kiiinda counts for the two aforementioned also whoop). jesper?? deserves the world, but so does everyone else they all deserve the world even u bitch ass brekker who would not deal with my bullshit ever. 
criminal minds: aaron hotchner - god ashley screw off askin me for cm. love hotch, would die for him, too good of a guy.
the 100: bellamy blake - is a fuckin whore. iiiiiii love bellamy so much. bitch ass goes from a punk i hated to a good dude to a punk ass influenced by some huge ass prick dick and then struggles with himself for the next season and will now hopefully feel a bit better at least for gods sake. all bc you’ve done bad things doesn’t mean ur bad bell… i still never get over fucking pike taking advantage of him when he was vulnerable fuck off i just want him to feel better!! take responsibility but don’t let it push you down fucking get up!! you’ll get up!! mmm he’s so good he just wants to make everything right but clarke makes everyTHING FUCKIN GO WRONG. i just…not everything is excusable but he can make up for it he will and he’s worth it,,,, people gotta forgive him at some point he’s trying his hardest to make up for everything and he keeps beating himself on it mmmmdfahdf i love him
the sun is also a star: daniel jae ho bae - idk what to say about him ashley god fuck. he’s so cute though?? what a cheesy dude. ugh literally so cute i gotta reread it
naruto: kiba inuzuka - what a prideful ass i fuckIN LOVe him thx. i mean i was fuckin doomed from that start he has best boy akamaru & fuckin has a jutsu where he turns into a wolf?? and his fuckin mom and sister have wolves?? doomed before i even fuckin knew it. he’s soooo cute, never take his fuckin hoodie off idk what’s cuter him trying to look tough in that hoodie that everyone literally thought was hair or havin the hoodie off and showin his actual hair that somehow makes him cuter,,, what’S HORRIBLE IS THE LEATHER JACKET OR WHATEVER IT IS HE WEARS IN SHIPPUDEN fuckin idiot. imagine him as hokage i can’t believe he wants to be hokage it’s so funny i’m sorry kiba i’ll support u just give me a minute to catch my breath. guys he’s just so cute, trains so hard, he’s so good i love him enthusiastic boy
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recentanimenews · 5 years
Text
THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Has Come To An End!
  Welcome back to the final edition of THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH. I'm your host this week, Daniel Dockery, and after 200+ of episodes of high stakes ninja battles, low stakes ninja filler, and medium stakes ninja fart jokes, we've come to the end of Naruto. Every week since the beginning of the year, we've watched seven episodes of the show and every week, we've come together to discuss our feelings on them. Whether we were basking in the wonderful glow of Rock Lee or begging to be done with another filler escort mission, we did it together. We're like a family that gathers on a weekly holiday to complain about Sasuke. That's truly a family that we should all aspire to have.
    But it is now over, which means that it's time for reflection. It's time to look at the series as a whole and see what we liked most, what we got out of the whole experience, and what we want in the future. If this was a movie, "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" by Green Day would be playing as the school year ends. We'd all give each other hugs and cry a little bit and then Joe Luster (played by Miles Teller, probably) would say something like "Same time next week?" and we'd chuckle, because it's only kind of a joke. We'll be starting a few new series soon before we jump into Shippuden, and you'll just have to wait to find out what they are.
We're gonna START this week with the HIGHS and LOWS from the last few episodes:
Joseph: The high point for me was seeing this series of corny battles wrap up and finally, FINALLY send us packing toward Shippuden. The low point was... I just can't believe this filler story was the finale.
  Kara: The high was the very end... seeing how far Naruto and everyone else have come both in their own skills and their estimations of each other. I think I mentioned before, but it's wild to realize we've gone from "tie Naruto to a post and make him skip lunch because he failed that hard" to his peers talking completely unsarcastically about trying to measure up to him. Low point was the fact that I couldn't focus when I realized this series was going out on a story where Naruto tries to teach Japanese Merlin the power of friendship or whatever.
  Kevin: High - I actually kind of liked the last scene or two, where everyone realizes that Naruto's about to leave with Jiraiya, and Naruto stops for a ramen lunch with Iruka before heading out. It's a nice bit of counterpoint to the beginning of the series, showing how Naruto's succeeded in getting people to recognize and accept him.
Low - Gaara's basically out of chakra to the point that the enemy doesn't think he can even fight. Clearly that means he has just enough power left for three major attacks, the likes of which we've either never seen or would almost certainly exhaust him if he were at full strength. I guess this arc really is taking ideas from Shippuden, because willpower is apparently more of a factor in battle than actual physical limitations.
Dishonorable mention - Admittedly, I don't think anyone ever explicitly stated how Gaara's sand works, but I was always under the impression that Shukaku was in control, or at least powering it, rather that Gaara using his own chakra. Also, when I heard that the armor absorbed chakra, my first thought was that Lee was a great match, because Taijutsu doesn't use chakra. I guess I was wrong. Either that, or the people writing this last arc were making some assumptions about how Naruto works.
  Carolyn: I would have to agree; watching everyone actually care about Naruto leaving was very sweet. He's spent so much time caring for his friends and feeling like an outcast and now he's found a family. That's a definite high point. My low point would be the fact that the final episodes weren't really about Naruto at all. They were about Gaara. Which, while I like Gaara, seems like a weird choice.
  Jared: That last bit with Naruto leaving was real good. Seeing how everyone was reacting to him heading off with Jiraiya, although it's kind of funny that Jiraiya gives him the whole spiel about training and it takes him 80+ episodes for him to actually do it. There was also a small scene where I liked how Neji was basically trying to wingman for Hinata by having them stop training so she could see Naruto off. Low point would be just how bland the final villains were for this last arc.
    Noelle: I'm with everyone else, Naruto leaving was definitely my high point. After all, this is his home, and he's leaving all he's familiar with in a bet to possibly get stronger. It isn't just hollow either, because he has people who will miss him and come see him off. It's very touching, especially considering how Naruto has always been framed as being alone. Low point... this last arc felt so dull? Surprising, considering I adore Gaara but I really wasn't feeling it.
  Paul: My high point is the realization that Sakura's Medical Ninja training consists of using her Chakra to revive progressively larger and more expensive fish. My low point is related: Sakura and Ino have now both been relegated into roles as healers. I think Kara previously brought this up many, many episodes ago: that sort of power, while crucial, is a fundamentally reactive power rather than a pro-active power. I worry that going into Shippuden, the girls will still be playing second fiddle to the boys.
  Danni: The high point for me was the final few scenes. Seeing Naruto say his goodbyes to the Leaf Village while everyone else vows to get stronger as well got me real excited for the impending timeskip. I really can't wait to see how much they've grown when Shippuden begins. The low point for me was how underwhelming the villains turned out to be. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish this arc had been longer so there could be more time to flesh out the Artisan Village and the Four Celestials. The inexplicably magical Voltron armor gets an honorary mention.
  David: My low point is similar to last week: despite liking everyone involved in this arc, all the best parts mostly felt like the show nudging my shoulder and asking if I remember this cool stuff from forever ago. High point seems to be echoing most everyone else: finally saying goodbye before we come back to see how everyone has changed.
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Welp, that's it, y'all. How are you feeling? Relieved that it's over? Ready for a break? Eager for Shippuden? Frantically writing Sasuke fan fiction?
Joseph: I'm somewhere in the middle. I'd say I'm eager for a little bit of a break, but I also desperately want to wash this taste out of my mouth with some sweet, sweet, main storyline action in Shippuden. I wanna watch Naruto get good again!
  Kara: It's about the same for me. As excited as I am about Shippuden, that was a lot of filler and I need a few minutes.
  Kevin: Honestly, I'm ready to go to start Shippuden. Throughout this rewatch, I kept remembering just how much changes between the two series. Naruto starts with actual ninja techniques and ends up with Naruto being accepted by the other genin and a selection of higher ups. Shippuden starts with Naruto trying to save a world leader, and (without spoiling too much) ends with fights to save the planet and a war that takes over 200 episodes.
  Carolyn: I'm very happy to have a break in between Naruto episodes.
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    Jared: It's going to be real weird not having Naruto in my weekly schedule, but I think a break is going to be good. I'm pretty excited to get back to non-filler writing though.
  Noelle: I have been in filler jail for so long, I'll take that break.
Paul: I'm ready to move on to Shippuden, and I've even added it to my queue. When I was in college, among my social circle, Naruto was held in low regard. People treated it as a series for babies, and being a Naruto fan was synonymous with having questionable (or at least very "basic") taste. I never thought I'd pick it up so many years later, or that I'd enjoy it as much as I have.
Danni: I'm not gonna lie, as soon as I finished episode 220, I considered secretly starting Shippuden right away anyway. It's been the light at the end of the filler tunnel for me for so long that I'm actually bummed I can't dive right into it just yet. I just bought my first Naruto t-shirt from the Crunchyroll Store, and now I have to wait to break it in until [redacted].
David: Despite the last few months of disappointing filler, the actual show up until the retrieval arc turned out to be some of the most fun I've had watching anime every week, so count me in with those who kind of wish we were just going straight into Shippuden.
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  What is one character that you desperately wish had been given more to do?
Joseph: I would have liked more Kakashi in these filler storylines. The fact that it was a shocker when he occasionally showed up speaks volumes. Instead it felt like we were getting the same or very similar teams on each mission.
  Kara: Hinata. She got to do some awesome stuff, granted, but I'm so tired of her one line being "Naruto-kun..." I mean I know how they end up, and it's kind of a gateway spoiler for even knowing what Boruto is about. But considering her capabilities, it's a little annoying to see her constantly fall into the role of Girl Who Likes Naruto instead of that being, you know, just one of her things. Because it's okay to have a crush on a boy. It's okay to have an embarrassing crush on a boy. It happens. But I'd love that to be an aspect instead of a good chunk of her identity.
  Kevin: Tenten, absolutely. She's a bit of an obvious choice, since most people know the joke about how little screen time she gets, but her abilities are legitimately interesting and could be extremely versatile, she's just not given any time to show off her prowess.
  Carolyn: S A K U R A
  Jared: Basically any of the girls. I don't know if the last bit with Ino was an actual tie-in to what happens in Shippuden, but to have her just do the same thing as Sakura really feels like a "hey we have no clue what to do with you" type moment.
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    Noelle: We all know that Kishimoto is really not good at writing women, but it just stands out so, so much with Sakura. She has a couple of moments and that's it, versus Naruto and Sasuke who are consistent all throughout. Give her something to do, it's not that hard. Please.
Paul: My first instinct is to say Kakashi, but I'll echo the others and say Sakura, and I'll add a little Hinata into the mix. I'd like to see them given a chance to shine, too. Sakura and Hinata have had a few iconic moments, but not to the same degree as Neji, Choji, and Kiba, who not only got dramatic death scenes but also got to survive their heroic sacrifices by pure plot fiat.
Danni: As much as I missed Kakashi in all this filler, I'm gonna have to go with Sakura as well. Despite being one of the three main characters, she's done next to nothing at all. Her main roles have been victim and healer, which are some really disappointing tropes to fall into when writing a female character.
David: It feels weird to say this since everyone including me loves him, but Rock Lee actually? After his big moment he gets relegated to a hospital bed with no discernible improvements made until suddenly he's ok now, I guess. I wish that were handled a little more gracefully.
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Have any favorite moments from the series? Favorite fight scenes? Favorite quotes? What sticks out to you as the curtain (momentarily) closes on Naruto and His Amazing Friends?
Joseph: I miss the tournament arcs during exams. Those were really fun, and it was always exciting to see who would emerge victorious and how the animators would handle it. For sheer animated splendor, though, I have to go with the battles during the whole attack on Konohagakure village.
  Kara: As messed up as their individual stories can be (especially Jiraiya), I really love the older generation. I like the feeling - not just the feeling, the fact - that the story didn't just magically begin with Naruto, and that there are several levels of information we're still unpacking. My favorite moments tended to touch on those multigenerational elements in some way.
  Kevin: If I had to pick a single high point in the series, something that would be an exemplar of how good Naruto can be when it isn't bogged down by endless filler, I would probably go with Naruto's Rasengan training into the Kabuto fight. It shows off Naruto's dedication, ingenuity, and willingness to put himself in harm's way in a fight to save those he cares about, and also opens up the world more by revealing some of the history of the Leaf. It's not quite as emotional as some of the character deaths, like Zabuza and Haku or the Third Hokage, but it showcases some of the best aspects of the show in quick succession.
  Carolyn: I think I'll always be partial to Rock Lee training outside the hospital. He's such a good boy.
  Jared: I came into this knowing relatively little about the series and leave knowing that Rock Lee is the best boy. That fight against Gaara is just something else, even if that was one of things things I actually knew coming in. When this show is good, it's amazing, which is kinda hard to remember when you're locked in filler jail.
  Noelle: I think overall, my impressions stayed fairly consistent from when I first watched it to now. I think I definitely enjoyed the Chunin arc more, since I thought it dragged when I was young, and I really appreciate Rock Lee. I can't believe I used to think Rock Lee was annoying, this kid rules.
  Paul: My favorite moment is still the scene where, while training with Sakura and Sasuke under Kakashi, Naruto gets caught in a rope trap, escapes from it, then immediately gets caught in another rope trap. Another scene that really stuck with me was when Naruto and Sasuke teamed up against Zabuza and together they hide Naruto (disguised as a shuriken) in the shadow of another shuriken. Finally, a phrase that stuck with me is: "A ninja is one who endures." That phrase is the thesis statement for what defines heroes and villains in the world of Naruto.
      Danni: The battle between Naruto and Sasuke in the Final Valley, for sure. Their relationship is the backbone of the entire show in my opinion, and that fight was an incredible turning point and moment of understanding between them. It also just looked really freaking cool.
  David: The scene where Sakura tries one last time to stop Sasuke from leaving. It's sort of understated but there is a lot of emotional complexity going on there, down to her 'confession' hail mary that is completely ineffective. The show isn't usually great at writing women, or even emotions in general that aren't loud and clear, but that's definitely a place it got things right and sticks out to me even now.
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I want you to sum up your experience with Naruto in three words.
Joseph: Always Craving Ramen.
  Kara: My Queen Tsunade.
  Kevin: Ninja wizard president.
  Carolyn: I like Naruto?
  Jared: So much ramen.
  Noelle: Power of friendship.
Paul: Not Kid's Stuff.
Danni: Only just beginning.
David: Please less filler.
    What advice would you give to someone that hasn't watched Naruto but plans to try?
    Joseph: Don't be stubborn. Listen to what longtime fans say about the filler and don't bother with it. Don't feel the need to absorb every bad episode and just follow the main story through both this and Shippuden. Failing that, read the manga.
  Kara: I know the main advice is "seriously, skip the filler," but my friend circles are made up of a lot of completionists and telling them to skip it would just make them watch it harder. So whatever. Honestly, even without the filler, Naruto has highs and lows. So I guess I'd say don't expect all 220 episodes to be fried gold, but enjoy it as a chill watch and just appreciate when those really solid stories come along.
  Kevin: If they already want to start, my advice would be to binge the first season to get to the Zabuza arc. The earliest stuff is important, but not necessarily the most interesting. If I need to show them something to convince them to watch, then I'd probably recommend the Chunin Exams. Some of the details might be confusing, but it's some of the best self-contained storytelling in the show.
My general advice is honestly to go back and keep pace with the Rewatch if you want to watch the entire show. There are over 200 episodes, around half being filler, so you're not going to watch the entire show over a weekend. The Rewatch keeps a brisk pace that gets through all of the less interesting bits without going so quickly that you accidentally skip the emotional resonance of the better arcs. If they just want to watch those better arcs and skip the likes of Filler Jail, then watch from around the Genin Exam or Land of Waves arc to episode 130 or so (it'll be obvious when the filler starts).
  Carolyn: Yeah, skip the filler. Watch until Sasuke leaves and call it a day.
  Jared: You don't have to watch all of the filler. There's certainly a few arcs that if you wanted to check out as a buffer for Shippuden that would be fine, but going through it all isn't necessary. Although if you're liking things and get to the filler and want to keep going, who am I to stop you? I'm not your dad.
  Noelle: It's a lot less compact compared to more modern shonen, but it's still got plenty of substance. Naruto, at the end of the day, is a good kid that's worth rooting for. Also, skip the filler, you won't miss anything.
  Paul: When you're going through Filler Hell, keep going. A ninja is one who endures.
  Danni: Just skip the filler. I'm saying this as someone who endured all of Dragon Ball without giving in to everyone telling me to skip certain batches of episodes. Skip the filler.
  David: Don't watch too much at once! This show doesn't exactly have a reputation for solid emotional or thematic setpieces but I think that's because there is so much content people lose the details, so watch a little at a time and let it sit with you.
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    And before we depart from our journey, we have a question from a reader:
  "What were some of your favorite Opening and Ending Theme Songs (or intros and outros, respectively)? Are there any bands/groups/artists you are now a fan of, but weren't previously, because their work was featured in Naruto?"
Kara: "GO!!!" by FLOW is absolutely my favorite opening. I envy everyone who gets to see them live at Crunchyroll Expo this year!  As for endings, "Yellow Moon" by Akeboshi really hits me. I also liked "Wind," but this is the one that sent me looking for more music by him. "Parade" by CHABA is a close second, but that's mostly because it sounds like it's by The Killers.
  Joe: I'm gonna go classic with Far Away as my favorite OP, and Wind as my favorite ED.
  Noelle: Far Away is probably my top fave op because of how absolutely rad it is, but I'll be lying if GO!!! isn't the first thing I think of when I think of Naruto openings (fighting dreamers!). I'm also feeling Wind for my favorite ed, because it's very touching, but it's also so radically different compared to the rest of the endings? A top fave.
  Jared: "GO!!!" and "Wind" are definitely top tier when it comes to openings and endings. I also actually went and purchased "Far Away" and "Pinocchio" so those would be up there too.
  Kevin: Interesting that someone asked this actually. Since we're nearing Shippuden, I've been occasionally listening to all of the Shippuden themes together, and it is quite an experience to go through 500 episodes of content in a half an hour via song.
  To the actual question, for openings my favorites are probable Far Away and GO!!!. Between the two, I'd probably have to go with Far Away as my favorite, because while I didn't know the artist when I first heard the song as a kid, it technically introduced me to Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and I don't think I've heard a song of theirs yet that I don't like.
  For endings, to be honest I had to go back and relisten to literally all of the Naruto endings, because I seriously don't remember any of them. As a result, I guess the first ending, Wind, wins by default since it is the only one that I've actively sought out and listened to outside of the show. That being said, I actually found that I liked Mountain-A-Go Go-Two and Speed much more than I thought I would.
  David: I really couldn't believe how good Wind is as it had somehow left my mind but now it's my favorite ED in original Naruto by far. GO!! is unsurprisingly my choice for OP both because it is very good and how much it represents the feeling of watching Naruto in general.
  COUNTERS:
Week Ramen: 2 bowls Hokage: 0 Clones: 0
Total Ramen: 210 bowls, 20 cups Hokage: 62 Clones: 940
And that's all for the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH. Once again, thank you for joining us and we hope you'll accompany our merry team on our next adventure!
CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!
Episodes 211-217: Nearing The Finish Line
Episodes 204-210: Escort Mission Time
Episodes 197-203: Solving a Mystery
Episodes 190-196: Matchmaking Gone Wrong
Episodes 183-189: No Laughter Allowed!
Episodes 176-182: Reach for the Stars!
Episodes 169-175: Anko’s Backstory At Sea
Episodes 162-168: The Tale of the Phantom Samurai
Episodes 155-161: Quickfire Curry
Episodes 148-154: The Forest is Abuzz With Ninjas
Episodes 141-147: Mizuki Strikes Back!
Episodes 134-140: The Climactic Clash
Episodes 127-133: Naruto vs Sasuke
Episodes 120-126: The Sand Siblings Return
Episodes 113-119: Operation Rescue Sasuke
Episodes 106-112: Sasuke Goes Rogue
Episodes 99-105: Trouble in the Land of Tea
Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin
Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision
Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend
Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow
Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam
Episodes 57-63: Family Feud
Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally
Episodes 43-49: The Gate
Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods
Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed
Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff
Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves
Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle
Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!
Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 218-220? Let us know in the comments! 
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------------------------
Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. You should follow him on Twitter!
    Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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citrusandbergamot · 5 years
Text
legit compiling a list of anime’s to watch/rewatch when the semester is over. I’m so in the mood for anime. 
Rewatch:
-Evangelion (the original series run and the End of Eva movies. Did you know, that outside of a few eps of sailor moon and glimpses of DBZ, episode 19 of Eva was the first episode of anime I ever watched? What a fucking introduction, goddamn. We didn’t have cable, so we didn’t get anything but the first season of sailor moon (which aired at 7 am on saturdays for one brief, magical season). No DBZ, no pokemon, no nothing. And my brother was like, this show is amazing, so I sat down and watched it with him. I really don’t recommend starting Eva in episode 19. There is some... context missing there. And it was goddamn strange as fuck to go back to the first couple episodes after seeing episode 19. WRT the Rebuild: I’ve seen 2.22 in theatres actually but I’d prefer to wait for the final movie to be released before watching the rest of the Rebuild. (Was 3.33 ever released in NA?) I mean, I hope it gets finished. The creator deserves to be free of Eva.)
-Gundam Wing (+ Endless Waltz)
-Slayers (!!!!! Lina Inverse 4eva)
-Trigun (+Badlands)
-Perfect Blue 
-Akira (yes I know I just watched it, I want to watch it again)
-Kill la Kill (I frigging love this anime)
-the Animatrix (I haven’t seen that since 2004...? I hated it at the time? We’ll see what it feels like 15 years later)
Watch for the first time:
-Ghost in a Shell
-Metropolis 
-Elfen Lied 
-Paranoia Agent (and other non-Ghibli movies)
-Redline
-One Piece (I’m really not sure about this one, it’s so goddamn big and the art style is hard to get used to. But a ton of people like it and it sounds like something I would like.)
-Revolutionary Girl Utena
-HunterXHunter
-JoJos (I promised a friend I’d watch it)
-Yu Yu Hakusho (I tried to get into it before and I couldn’t but I’d like to try again)
-Maybe Gundam 00? 
I’m going to make a list, I think, and plan this shit out. It’d be cool to watch the Gundam Wing and maybe the movies with other people, like, that’s a thing that people can do right? Or at least with the GW generate some episode discussion, do a couple eps a week, maybe on the discord server or send a post with links through thisweekinGW.  I think it’d be fun to really see what the characters are like as an adult, and free of the weird ooc characterization that took up residence in my brain from the fandom. I didn’t pay nearly enough attention to Hilde and Dorothy and Noin and I just, did not understand Treize like at all the first time I watched it. So, I’m looking forward to that. 
Anybody else have suggestions? It’s been so goddamn long since I’ve really watched anime, like a long long time. Might as well take advantage of youtube and crunchyroll and not having to wait for stuff to seed through fucking kazaa and limewire and azureus. My brother had a anime sharing server back in the day (like around 2002ish). Waiting for new eps of Naruto to be translated was fucking agony and then you’d get like, 5 minutes of new content after the recap, the intro, and the all the goddamn reaction shots were done. The experience of watching that chuunin arc was painful. 
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tigerlover16-uk · 7 years
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You and all the other people that enjoy anything about dragon ball super disgust me. You fake fans are enabling the ruination of Dragon Ball and you should all hate yourselves for DARING to think that garbage is as good as DBZ. Pathetic shill. You and all the other worthless, spoilt, brain dead scum need to get off the internet and stop worshipping garbage.
(Insert gif of Frieza sipping his wine)
I’ve left this and the other angry ask insulting me for liking Goku sitting around in my ask box for a while now, because I honestly didn’t have the energy or patience to deal with this nonsense at the time you left it here, and after that I just didn’t think an obvious troll was worth giving the time of day. But you know, whatever, I’m up for it right now.
First off, way to be ableist with the brain dead scum comment, that and all the comments about how us fans who like Super should hate ourselves make you sound VERY reasonable and intellectually superior. Bravo, good chap.
Second… explain how I’m a shill who “Worships” Super? True, I’m more positive about it than some people on this site, but that’s because I don’t really care to complain about the flaws in things I enjoy when I could instead be having fun with them. If it’s something I hate, like GT or the DCEU movies before Wonder Woman, then oh boy I’ll be harsh if I have to talk about them, but I do prefer to avoid talking about them lately unless I’m directly asked.
I’m not a person that cares for discourse. The times I do get involved I often end up saying stupid things and don’t handle it well, so I prefer to maintain a “look on the bright side attitude” where I can involving the things I like. And that includes Super. I think there’s honestly more than enough negativity directed at it by the vocal minority of fans who dislike the series already, so I don’t think I need to bother chiming in complaints when there are others who could do that, and I can instead be having fun and gushing about the things it does right (And yes, I believe it does plenty more right than bad).
But that doesn’t mean I think it’s perfect. I’ve been honest about the fact that the show is flawed plenty of times and I’m not afraid to comment on them where I have to. The animation in the second half of the Resurrection F arc was HORRIBLE. Majin Buu, even if I loved the fight with Basil and the fit Buu thing, has been shafted way too many times and it’s getting really annoying. Gohan’s character arc is progressing really well this saga, but it’s been annoyingly stretched out and inconsistent before that. And the ending to the Future Trunks saga, while I don’t find it irredeemably awful like some, was still nonsense.
I acknowledge that the show has flaws. It’s just that for the most part, I actually think the show is really fun to watch and does a lot of good things, and many of it’s issues have been ironed out over time especially with the current saga, and I think it still has a ton of potential going forward. So I just prefer to wait and see what comes next and enjoy myself now.
So I don’t let the flaws ruin Super for me, any more than I let the flaws with Z or the original Dragon Ball take away my love for those shows. Heck, if I did I would have cut my rewatch of og Dragon Ball last year short the minute I got to the horrific homophobia that was General Blue, the misogynistic gay pedophile drawn to look like a Nazi (Still the worst thing the franchise has ever done, by the way).
I think Dragon Ball Super is a good show, that does a lot of good worldbuilding, tells some fun stories, gives some interesting development to several of it’s characters like Krillin and Gohan, is usually very funny, has tons of adorable and touching moments, and while it’s action’s not as good as Z’s, it does have some great memorable fights here and there.
It’s not as good as Z, but I never expected it to be. Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were a masterpiece, the kind of on the job miracle that only happens once in a lifetime, you can never fully recreate everything that made it so magical. And you don’t need to as long as you make something else that’s enjoyable in it’s own right with the property. I’m just glad I finally get to see more of these wonderful characters and this universe I love so much. And for now I’m pretty satisfied with that.
So no, pal, I’m not an entitled shill. That would require I put the show on a pedestal and declare it God’s gift to Dragon Ball while beating down any criticisms I find with unintelligible whinging. And clearly I don’t. I don’t agree with all the criticisms the show gets, but while I’ve occasionally said something stupid but then immediately apologized (Something I don’t expect from you at this point if you bother to read this anon), I don’t have an issue with people personally not enjoying it. Heck, I’m a guy who thinks Batman is an uninteresting character and the Dark Knight Movies were boring and awful, while liking the Star Wars Prequels more than the original trilogy, which I find just okay. We all have different tastes and opinions, who am I to judge.
You know what would make me a spoilt, entitled scumbag? Telling the people I disagree with that they’re worthless, disgusting fake fans and they should hate themselves for having the AUDACITY to like a fictional show! And trying to chase those people off the internet with petty ramblings in their personal space just so you don’t have to hear opinions you don’t like (Man, I’d hate to see how you react to political debates).
Also, how is Super “Ruining” Dragon Ball? Here’s the thing pal… Dragon Ball had a complete story. The manga is the only definitive canon in this franchise, and it ended two decades ago. The actual, classic story of Dragon Ball is complete, any other works based on it, whether people choose to view them as canon or not, are supplementary at best. It’s not actually possible to truly “Ruin” the franchise.
If anything, Super has helped in keeping the franchise from falling into relative obscurity, considering how in the latter half of the last decade Dragon Ball in general outside of it’s fandom (And in some cases, IN it’s own fandom) had become a bit of a laughing stock among much of the anime fandom and the internet. It’s been down to Kai, the Xenoverse games and other spin offs, the two Toriyama penned movies and yeah, even Super that the franchise has started getting more recognition again and more support. They’ve brought in new fans, and brought back many lapsed and casual fans.
And yes, that’s come with it’s own share of problems, particularly on the fandom side of things. But TFS is FAR more responsible for creating the toxic atmosphere of much of the modern Dragon Ball fandom, the toxic underbelly of which had been growing larger for years before Super debuted, so I don’t think it’s fair to blame Super specifically for the fandoms current state when at worst it’s responsible for bringing back a flood of casuals who absentmindedly buy into fandom stereotypes a little too heavily. The current atmosphere of the fandom would have been largely as bad whatever the quality or kind of new show we got.
So no, I don’t think Super has “Ruined” the franchise any more than GT did years ago. Anyone who wants to argue that Super ruined Dragon Ball for them as a whole is either being melodramatic, taking it too seriously, or maybe even never cared about Dragon Ball beyond being a casual fan in the first place.
I mean, I still love Spider-man even despite the abomination that is One More Day, and I’m still watching Boruto despite hating the majority of Naruto Shippuden with a burning passion. And I didn’t let GT lessen my love for the Dragon Ball franchise in the slightest, if anything it just made me appreciate the stuff I love about it instead a lot more.
If anything is ruining the Dragon Ball franchise for people, it’s jerks like you who feel the need to attack and insult people for liking stuff about it that you don’t. You’re no better than the scummy anons who harass the Gochi fans on here, or the people who constantly lie about, demonize and demean Goku’s character to prop up and shill other characters like Vegeta and Piccolo, when it’s completely unnecessary and stupid to try and undermine other characters to prop up others who are already great on their own.
It’s okay if you don’t like the show. I’m sorry if you feel it’s somehow ruining Dragon ball for YOU specifically, and I encourage you to go back and watch the previous series to remember WHY you like Dragon Ball so much. But buddy… NOTHING gives you the right to act like a ravenous jerka## to the people who DO enjoy it. Screw off with that elitist, childish nonsense and grow the (Bleep) up, child!!
This goes to EVERYONE who’s feeling even the slightest bit resentful to the people who are having fun with Super, or any other base breaking series connected to a franchise a lot of people like (Did I mention I prefer the 3D era Sonic games to the genesis classics? Oh boy, do I not get along with the Sonic fandom). You not liking it doesn’t make you superior to other people, nor does it make you objectively right while everyone else is just a moronic fake fan. to heck with that line of thinking.
I could go on, but it’s late and I’m tired and you’re not worth any more effort than I’ve already spent here, anon. Don’t bother coming back into my inbox with this nonsense unless you want to do the mature, adult thing (Assuming you’re an adult, and not a kid) and apologize. Good night.
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recentanimenews · 5 years
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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Leaves The Forest With Episodes 36-42
Welcome to THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Daniel Dockery aka That Dude That Won't Shut Up About One Piece, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 29-35, and we continue this week with episodes 36-42.
This week, the theme is Leaving The Forest For Some Rad One-On-Ones. The next stage of the Chunin exam starts as the passing teams leave the Forest of Death and are now randomly placed in a series of one-on-one fights. Those that have watched the show know that we're basically counting down to Rock Lee's classic fight against Gaara, but there are some fights here that shouldn't be ignored, particularly the one involving Sakura and Ino. But we'll get to that soon. For now, let's dive right in and talk about the hot button political issue that's on everyone's minds these days: shadow clones. 
How do you feel about the use of clones in Naruto? I remember not liking them for some weird reason back in high school, but now I like how dynamic they can make the action scenes sometimes. Do you think they're overused? Have a lot more potential?
Paul: I wouldn't say Naruto's Shadow Clone technique is over-used. They keep allowing enough time to pass that I forget it's his main technique, and they also keep coming up with creative ways to use it (exploding a giant snake from within, disguising as a giant shuriken, disguising as his team mates to get the drop on an enemy, etc.), so I like how it's a fairly well-defined power that is made interesting by the versatile ways Naruto uses it to solve problems.
  Joseph: Yeah, it's used creatively enough and it's a cool technique to begin with. I just feel bad for the animators who realize they need to draw a dozen of the same character fighting a dozen of another character for an upcoming scene.
  Kevin: I am literally counting every single shadow clone each week, so clearly you were not alone in thinking that they are overused. Personally, I quite like that Naruto actually tries to be clever with how he uses them, transforming them to overcome an otherwise difficult situation several times already. Later on, we'll see other uses, and both Shippuden and Boruto expand on the idea even further, so there is a lot of untapped potential to come.
    Kara: I've seen them used creatively, which is kind of neat. At the same time, that creative use of them has made me super paranoid. We've seen Clone Jutsu combined with the Transformation Technique on multiple occasions already. It's made for some cool diversions and unexpected wins, but I'm getting to a point where I'm not even sure who's really onscreen in battles. If that's the point, fair play to the creators.
  David: For now it's ok, used sparingly and diversely enough that when it is the "twist" in a fight I'm usually into it. Genjutsu as a whole is more what I have a problem with, especially as the series goes on - when nothing you are looking at is ever necessarily even real, it can become hard to get invested in fights.
  Peter: I'm noticing a lot more my second round though how Naruto uses them only exclusively for deception. Just about every real threat can KO Naruto pretty easily so it's all about misdirection. One thing I'm loving about Boruto is that he uses them a lot more kinetically, redirecting and accelerating himself in various ways using his clones and wind jutsu as springboards. It's a cool twist.
  Jared: If the clones were an overpowered ability, it'd probably be much worse, but as it stands, I think they're fine. Especially since for the most part they've been used for deception in Naruto's case. The only times when it feels excessive is when Naruto creates a butt ton of clones and they aren't that effective, outside of blowing up a big snake.
  Danni: I wouldn't say they're overused. Every ninja in this show seems to have their one "thing" they're great at, we just see the Shadow Clones the most since Naruto is the protagonist. I do hope he develops more techniques as he gets more experience as a ninja, but for now I'm content seeing how creatively he uses his clones.
  Nate: I always love seeing simple abilities used in creative ways, and since the idea of Shadow Clones are so synonymous with the idea of a "ninja" in fiction, it's cool to see Naruto use them so extensively. Also as Peter pointed out, it's really cool to see the different ways Naruto, and later Boruto, individually use Shadow Clones.
  Carolyn: I don't mind them, for the most part. It does occasionally become a bit much, but I think they generally do a good job of creating danger without simply overwhelming the scene with nothing but clones.
  Noelle: I think they're pretty alright. I feel like a 'special move' only becomes repetitive when it's used in the same way, over and over again, but the series is doing a good job of avoiding that. Every time Naruto's clones come out, he uses them in a different way, so it's still unpredictable how they will be used. As long as they don't become one-note, I don't have any issue.
  Well, the Forest of Death is over. How did you like it? Think you could pass it? Have any recommendations for streamlining or expanding the next Forest of Death phase?
  Paul: There's no way I would pass The Forest of Death; I'd get eaten by leeches or a giant snake within the first 10 minutes. My only recommendation for streamlining the experience would be not to stuff a recap episode right before it gets going, because it breaks the rhythm of the story arc.
  Joseph: If anything, the anime could have built upon this test without venturing too deep into filler territory. I would have liked to see more of the natural dangers of the forest, AKA more of those massive centipedes. The one thing Naruto's world is missing so far is a sense of peril outside of the ninja-versus-ninja action.
    Kevin: Easiest answer first: I'd die immediately. As for whether I liked it: it is enjoyable to watch, but it is probably the weakest of the tests, largely due to the overlapping stories making each individual thread more difficult to follow. For streamlining the test, I would recommend introducing Orochimaru earlier, maybe as the leader of the Sound ninja like how he appears in the third test preliminaries room, so that all of his plot stuff can start before the Forest of Death, and so more time can be devoted to the Genins' actual survival and tracking.
  Kara: I can't pretend I wouldn't have tried to sneak a peek at my scroll and thought I was being super stealthy about it. I'd just be lying out there like a free snack for the forest critters.
  David: I enjoyed it overall but if I were to change one thing it would actually be to put Orochimaru later; the intensity of that conflict incidentally wound up mostly overshadowing everything that came after it. Really a nitpick though, because other than that I have nothing but good things to say. The Sound Ninja sure are cool.
  Peter: Lowkey love the forest more than the subsequent tournament(s). Putting characters against one another in a featureless room is one thing, but juggling multi-person fights in a massive, multi-level forest environment is something else. You absolutely cannot skip this arc. Sasuke vs Orochimaru is one of the best fights in the series and Sakura gets one of her best moments. OK, maybe after the Sound trio fight...
  Jared: I'm a goner like thirty minutes into this test. Some big bug's gonna come across me and I'm just gonna fall over and tap out. The only thing I could see being expanded upon is just the actual forest being more of a threat since most of those kind of just get taken care of fairly quickly and moved on from.
    Danni: If you told me that I have to spend five days in a forest I would give up before the test even began. I really enjoyed this part of the exams. It not only had some fantastic fights but also some of the best character moments in the show. It really gave more of the rookies time to shine, which I appreciated. I think the one change I would make would be to stop letting super murderous legendary ninjas infiltrate it and attack the genin. Someone really should have said something.
  Carolyn: I mean, I've never even been camping ...
  Noelle: I think I enjoyed Forest of Death better upon the rewatch than I did originally. My first run as a kid, I knew plot-important stuff happened, but it wasn't what I was interested in, so I didn't care for it much. That's still pretty true- it's not my favorite portion of the Chuunin Exams, but looking at it with an analytical eye vs purely consuming it has done it some favors. Would I survive the exam? It's not impossible, but I can't say my chances look good.
  We're now beginning a string of one-on-one matches, which is honestly something that I've been waiting for since Naruto began. First time watchers: Did you think that there would be more at this point?
  Paul: I didn't know what to expect, but I'd like to point out that putting another preliminary test in the form of elimination style deathmatches in between The Forest of Death and the final test of the Chunin Exams seems like a really crummy thing to do. But, hey, ninja aren't exactly known for playing fair...
  Joseph: Ah, the requisite shonen pseudo-tournament. I'm a sucker for these, and there's a lot of battle variety in what we've seen so far here. Also, we finally got our first really gross power in the form of parasitic chakra-eating insects. More gross powers, please!
  Kara: I'm not a big watcher of shonen anime, so the whole drawn-out story arcs/fights thing has always been kind of a joke at best for me. Now actually engaging with it? I... really kind of like it. I come primarily from giant robot and magical girl fandoms, and I love over-the-top fights. I was worried I'd be bored by this long string of one-on-one matches, but I'm actually digging it a lot.
    Peter: This is just Kishimoto flexing all over other shonen authors. "Yeah, I think I've got like 20 unique fighting styles I can break out for all these side characters." One thing I love in particular is how gross/horrifying a lot of powers are and the characters react appropriately. No one is getting anywhere near Shino for the foreseeable future.
  Jared: Having watched/read shonen series in the past, I'm not too surprised we haven't gotten a ton of one-on-one fights. Given how many characters we've been introduced to, it makes sense it's been a lot more group fights. Plus, with some of these early prelim fights basically being jobber matches, maybe it's a good thing this didn't happen until now.
  Danni: I have been a bit surprised at how many of the battles thus far have been group affairs. My understanding is this is the tournament arc-equivalent for Naruto, and tournament arcs are always the best arcs.
  Carolyn: I was also surprised that it took so long to really get into the one-on-one type battles because I remember that arc as being my favorite on my first watch. I'm actually quite glad there haven't been too many up to this point, I feel like that makes the tournament arc stand out even more.
  And, because I love asking people what their favorite fight in a particular anime is, I'll ask it here: Favorite fight in Naruto thus far?
  Paul: There are so many great fight sequences to choose from, but I'll be basic and say that my current favorite is the Sakura vs. Ino match because it offers another opportunity for Sakura to shine and because I'm a sucker for anything involving a cross-counter punch or a double-knockout finish.
  Joseph: I love me some puppet trickery so I gravitated toward Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankurō.
  Kevin: ... Any chance you can ask again next week? If I have to answer for the fights thus far, probably Haru versus Sasuke/Naruto. I ragged on the fight when it happened because the characters could literally just run 20 feet to get away, but it showcased various character motivations, advanced Naruto and Sasuke's relationship and gave the audience a glimpse of the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, all while being one of the highest stakes fights thus far.
  Kara: Sakura vs. Ino. I feel like I'm finally getting all that Sakura characterization I've been wanting for weeks, and I enjoy the way it's paced between the action sequences. Plus I'm a fan of getting creative with jutsus, so Ino's hair rope got me. Mainly, though, it's cool to see two people so equally matched that they just straight up knocked each other out.
  David: I can't decide between, well, literally any of Sasuke's fights. The animators love that boy, and his style itself feels more like actually choreographed combat instead of the big power plays that require another character to spend the next five minutes explaining what I just saw. Sometimes when they really don't even need to - glaring at the end of Shino's recent battle here.
  Peter: Depends on what we're talking about. Action and animation it's definitely Sasuke vs Orochimaru. Narratively, the Haku fight. If we're just talking about the tournament so far gotta go with Sakura vs Ino. I forgot how hype that finisher was. Actually completely forgot about this subplot... not sure if that indicates how much they follow up on it later on...
  Jared: I really dug everything about the fight against Haku and Zabuza on the bridge, but I was real surprised how much I dug the Sakura vs. Ino fight. This really felt like a good way to continue Sakura getting her push finally, but also it was kind of neat to see how it was built around Ino's mind body switch jutsu, but really just boiled down to being an old fashioned fist fight with a great rivalry and build attached to it.
  Danni: Sasuke vs. Orochimaru for sure. There have been a fair few fights that I've really liked parts of, but that's the first full fight that blew my mind from start to finish.
  Nate: Seconding Kevin here, but I'll gush about that next week. So far, it's probably Sakura vs. Ino, since we get one of the most straightforward ninja fights, using multiple levels of technique even at a small scale like this, and ending in an awesome cross counter. Good job, ladies.
  Carolyn: So far, I'll have to agree with the Haku fight, just because of the emotional ramifications that came out of it. We still haven't gotten to my favorite favorite fight, though.
  Noelle: Also agreeing with Nate and Kevin, can we get this question next week? I think as of right now, it has to be the Haku fight, because it was really meaningful. A lot of the fights have been fun but just alright, where that one and the fallout of it gave me a genuine emotional reaction. It's a good fight. Animation-wise, Sasuke vs Orochimaru takes the cake.
  Sasuke's "grim n' edgy" character is Naruto's equivalent of the "Characters spend years charging up their moves" joke about Dragon Ball Z. It's something people make fun of even if they haven't seen the show. But honestly, I don't really mind Sasuke. How do you feel about him now that you've gotten to know him a little better? Be honest.
  Paul: I was going to say that I hope Sasuke has more interesting development to his character than just his role as an avenger struggling to grow more powerful in order to defeat his evil older brother, but instead I'll just say: 
    Kevin: If I'm being honest, he's actually less edgy than I remember. Sure, he scoffs a lot and goes off to do things on his own, but even now things can catch him off guard, he emotes more than I thought he would and he sees Naruto as someone he actually wants to fight, showing that they see each others as equals, instead of Sasuke thinking that he's better than everyone like when he was first introduced.
  Joseph: Sasuke comes off as more of an antisocial loner than someone who is particularly edgy to me. I don't have strong feelings toward or against him, so I'll just say "he's fine."
  Kara: Sasuke isn't as bad as he's made out to be in jokes and fandom, but I can absolutely see where those jokes come from. Also, it really feels like Sasuke is meant to be the star of this show but Naruto just kinda grabbed the camera from him. Which is not a complaint - I really dig the idea that our lead even has to fight the show itself to get noticed.
  David: It's weird, he himself is fine, so I think upon this watch I've realized his reputation comes more from how the other characters talk about him. How many times has he or someone else called him an "avenger" so far?
  Peter: I remember him being more obnoxious and his constant styling on enemies really sells his super cool persona. Obviously the animators, and probably Kishimoto, really love it when Sasuke fights people. He still hasn't broken out his goth romper yet though, so...
  Jared: I honestly thought he'd be worse than he has been, but he really hasn't been too bad. There are certainly times where he feels like a character of that late '90s/early '00s time period, but that's just what was in vogue. Plus, anybody who does a piledriver is alright in my book. Although, I was playing the latest Code: Realize fan disc and his voice actor is in that, so I can't escape him.
  Danni: I expected him to be very single-minded in his edginess before this watchthrough, so I've been pleasantly surprised by how much personality he shows, both exhibiting fear in the face of enemies like Orochimaru and camaraderie with Naruto.
  Nate: You kinda need this sort of character--the quiet, cool guy--to play off a hot-blooded shonen main character. You see it all the time--Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Kageyama in Haikyu, Yuno in Black Clover--and it really helps balance things out in terms of story and action. I've always seen Sasuke as the necessary edgelord--Naruto wants to see the good in people, but Sasuke's just there to do work.
  Carolyn: He's not so much edgy as super standoffish and that can be off-putting. It really does feel like he's the main character at times, but that's OK with me. Naruto can be a bit overbearing at times.
  Noelle: I have very mixed feelings on Sasuke, but the meat of that comes later. From who he is at the moment, he's a very troubled kid who's fairly smart, but is still kind of awkward when it comes to dealing with other people worming their way in. There's nothing wrong with that. Later is when my complaints will start to roll in.
  Okay, so this has nothing to do with Naruto, but I like the fact that our Slack channel momentarily discussed what Shakespeare adaptations would be like in anime. What Shakespeare play do YOU think would work best as a shonen anime.
  Paul: First off, I'd just like to apologize for steering the conversation in that direction. As the resident English/Creative Writing major with a background in theatre focusing on Shakespeare, I am fully to blame for that. That being said, I stand by my original assertion, which is that there should be a Shonen Jump version of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, set in OUTER SPACE, with transforming giant robots.
  Joseph: I haven't read Shakespeare since college and I was also an English major. How about Romeo + Juliet as directed by Baz Luhrmann and depicting the forbidden love between Naruto and Sasuke. Oh wait, that wasn't the question. I'm gonna leave my answer as is, though.
  Kara: Twelfth Night. Romance plot and mistaken identity sound more shoujo, but hear me out. Plenty of B plot to work with thanks to Sir Toby and the servants, fictional setting (Illyria) so the character designer can just go off if they want to, and an underdog (Viola as Cesario) getting thrown into fight scenes constantly. Also Malvolio is a massive scenery-chewer.
  Peter: Definitely Othello. Main character and his partner try to hold everything together fighting all their friends who have betrayed them. Even the love interest he has yet to kiss seems to betray him. Then you find out it was his best friend the whole time and cue final battle with them repeatedly yelling each others names.
  Jared: If you really want to get a lengthy shonen anime that spans generations of characters, the Henriad tetralogy of Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V would be perfect. Plus, I'd love to see how they'd adapt the bizarre French language cursing scene from Henry V. Considering there really aren't that many Japanese manga adaptations of Shakespeare outside of Requiem of the Rose King and a few others, this is a market that I would love to see get fully explored and expanded regardless if it was shonen or not.
    Danni: Is now a good time to mention that I never did the reading in my Western Literature class and just spent every period reading off of Sparknotes?
  Nate: For a senior year English project, we remade the third act of Macbeth as a kung-fu story, so I'd probably be down to do that again, this time in shonen form with 1000% more yelling.
  Carolyn: The Tempest and Macbeth are my favorites. The Tempest is so magical I could easily see it working as a fantasy type anime. It would also make a pretty great "Hero's Journey" type thing. But really I would just kill to see the three witches from Macbeth show up in an anime series. That would be awesome.
  Noelle: I really and truly love Macbeth, and I'd love to see it in anime- especially since things like the witches would be great horror fodder. Also Hamlet, since Hamlet also has things like ghosts and pirates inbetween all the stabbings.
    COUNTERS:
"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 14
Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups
Shadow Clones: 121
And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!
Here's our upcoming schedule!
-Next week, on MARCH 1st, we’ll talk about EPISODES 43-49 as NATE MING returns! The elimination tournament continues, and we start one of Naruto's most legendary fights!
-Then, on MARCH 8th, the Chunin Exam finals begin in EPISODES 50-56, with CAROLYN BURKE hosting!
-On MARCH 15th, DANNI WILMOTH covers EPISODES 57-63--Naruto settles a grudge as the finals heat up!
Have any comments or questions about episodes 36-42? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 43-49?
--------------
Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. He has a Twitter that he uses. 
Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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recentanimenews · 5 years
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THE GREAT NARUTO REWATCH Finishes Our First Real Fight in Episodes 15-21!
Welcome to the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I'm Kevin Matyi, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 8-14, and we continue this week with episodes 15-21.
In these seven episodes, we wrapped up the first big arc of the series, including the first reveal of the Demon Fox’s power and some exposition about Kekkei Genkai, and after a touching scene for the main antagonists of the arc, Team 7 went back home, were recommended for the Chunin Exam, had some filler to prove they were ready and are about to start the actual Exam.
For those either not following along or who may have forgotten, the ranking system in Naruto is:
Hokage (the leader of the village, it’s a different -kage for each village)
Jonin (elite ninja like Kakashi and Zabuza, do not fight if you want to live)
Chunin (your average jobber ninja, including Iruka and a bunch of nameless extras)
Genin (rookies, like our protagonists)
So graduating from Genin to Chunin is a pretty big deal in the show. (Hey, if Naruto can have 9 minutes of recap before the end of the first arc, we can have 3 sentences!)
Before we discuss these episodes, let's check out some questions and comments you had from our last installment!
Skip filler
Nope, we're going through every episode of the show.
"Dattebayo" doesn't have a literal translation
And that's why I said that if we're going to make a counter for it, then someone who actually knows Japanese would be a better choice than me. Also, thanks for the lesson! I've been genuinely curious about that for years.
The power of Recap-jutsu
Some of the comments when we got to episode 14 last week were literally "man I forgot how these episodes really leaned in on the whole thing where the first 10 minutes of an episode is mostly just the last 10 minutes of the previous ep" and "I recommend doing some light housework whenever starting a new ep."
Remember, you can leave us questions in the comments for next week’s edition set of episodes, and we’ll answer them together in the next update!
Now, let's see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!
  Now that we’re through the first arc have gotten to know Team 7, what do you think of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the overall group dynamic?
Kara: I really enjoyed seeing how Naruto and Sasuke grew as allies throughout the Land of Waves… but then it all sort of weirdly disappeared once they got home. Even so, their rivalry now seems to stem from an increased knowledge of each other’s abilities rather than just straight-up schoolyard dislike. I feel like we may be seeing a little peek into an increased role for Sakura, but still just a peek—her character building is still so rough, even Iruka-sensei just pre-tested her based on her crush on Sasuke.
Joseph: The return home definitely did feel like a soft reset on that dynamic, but for the most part Naruto and Sasuke showed some growth in the Land of the Waves. Sakura, not so much, but her time has yet to come.
Paul: I'm not entirely sold on the group dynamic yet. Sakura hasn't had a chance to contribute much yet, and while I like it when Naruto and Sasuke cooperate, the “hot-and-cold shonen rivals” thing is something I've seen dozens of times already in similar shows. I'd like to see more of what makes Team 7 a team, rather than just a group of teens that are stuck with each other.
Danni: I think the dynamic between Sasuke and Naruto has gotten pretty interesting following the battle against Haku where Sasuke seemingly sacrificed himself for Naruto. I’m glad Sakura is getting to know Sasuke to a point where she isn’t letting her infatuation cloud her judgement as much, but I’m still waiting for her to do anything of consequence.
Noelle: Overall, the Team 7 dynamic seems to be mostly concentrated on Naruto and Sasuke, who really did have some genuine bonding moments in the Land of Waves. They’re still no doubt rivals, but they’re still rivals who have each other’s backs in a dangerous situation, and that battle showed that pretty well. As for Sakura, well… Kishimoto’s writing for women has never been the best thing ever, so her story is pretty clunky. We get this tiny peek, but it is still just a meager glimpse when compared to something as dynamic as Naruto and Sasuke’s bond.
Peter: I really love it. Glad we got in some goofs before the Chunin exams started up. Couldn’t remember how much of a breather there was between the arcs. That said, nothing lasts forever…
Jared: I was really enjoying how Naruto and Sasuke were working together as a team, albeit slightly reluctantly. The way they came together during the Haku fight was a good culmination after the snippiness they’d had previously. Although, when they return home and it’s back to just being rivals, it felt like a weird step back. Sakura has really been getting the short end of the stick, but it at least seemed by the end that she isn’t going to just be clamoring for Sasuke all the time.
Carolyn: I have to agree, it felt like two steps forward, one step back on this one with the squabbling after they all spent so much time trying to get to know each other better, connecting and showing respect for each other last time around. It’s a little jarring to go back and forth like that.
We have seen that Chunin are the middle tier of ninjas, not as powerful or skilled as elite Jonin but more experienced than rookie Genin. As we go in to the Chunin Exam, what do you think the Genin should be tested on to prove that they’re ready to go to the next level?
Kara: In the previous episodes, the make-or-break attributes needed to win fights have been observation and adaptability. Knowing your stuff and having skills is important, but everything so far has come down to deconstructing new things on the fly, like Haku’s ice mirrors. To make a weird metaphor, if the Genin Exam is music theory, the Chunin Exam ought to be jazz: you know the basics, now it’s time to prove you have them at your fingertips and can use them creatively. The “observation” bit looks like it’s already being tested a little.
Joseph: I think they should be tested to some extent on their abilities to be, you know, ninja. Other than the tools of the trade, the closest they’ve really come so far is practicing the type of Chakra focus that the newly-introduced Gaara has clearly mastered. We saw as much when he was able to get close to Sasuke without him noticing, and that’s a skill none of our heroes have put on display yet.
Paul: I hope that the Chunin exams aren't so much a test of skill as a test of character. I'd like to see Naruto's resolve – his willingness to continue forward in forging his own Ninja path – challenged in a meaningful way. I'd like to see Sasuke receive a shock that leads to an attitude adjustment so that he can grow as a character and not be so laser-focused on revenge. And I'd like to see Sakura prove that she's capable in her own right.
Danni: Based on what I’ve heard about the Chunin exams I’m guessing it’ll essentially be a tournament arc where they’re pitted in one-on-one battles. We’ve seen some of their training always revolving around learning techniques or teamwork, but the fights against Haku and Zabuza showed they’re a little green when it actually comes to fighting other shinobi. Genin missions seemingly aren’t meant to involve combat, so I think it makes sense that moving in the ranks would require Genin to learn how to defeat their peers.
Noelle: Considering what’s been shown so far, I’d say instinct and flexibility would be the strong suits. The series hasn’t ignored that these are life-threatening situations that these kids are being put in, and having some form of flexibility in the face of danger is incredibly important. Ninja in this world are mercenary soldiers, at the end of the day. If they’d want to move up the ranks, they’d have to show the ability and fortitude to survive. Also, since this is a shonen series, teamwork is a necessity.
Peter: I forgot how ridiculously young Kakashi was when he graduated. I’m actually curious if Gaara sticking to that tree branch was supposed to show how badass he also was. In retrospect that’s pretty funny considering how base expectation that is by the next arc. In the manga Gaara didn’t even discorporate into sand… so I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not even sure if Kishimoto knew what he was gonna do yet?
Jared: Their general ability and fighting skills is probably a must in terms of what is tested to see how they’re doing. Teamwork is another since it’s been a key point throughout that working together is important. I also want to see if they test them on anything regarding leadership or how to get your team out of dangerous situations. Sort of like a test on quickly improvising a way to get out of trouble.
Carolyn: I mean, after Zabuza and Haku I’d say they get an automatic pass. That being said, I’d like to see more than just fighting and ninja tricks and see them apply critical thinking in the middle of battle. Things along those lines. Show how they would fare mentally.
When the Rewatch started, there was a fair bit of discussion about how good the ending song “Wind” is. How do you feel about the music overall? Any standouts, good or bad?
Kara: I may go to hell for this, but the opening doesn’t really do it for me. It’s all right, but it doesn’t get me pumped for fighting. “Wind,” on the other hand, I absolutely love. I was only familiar with it from back when I hosted anime convention karaoke and at least one person a year would do it—I totally see why now. The music overall, I don’t have a huge amount of opinion on. It fits the bill, but none of it (save for the ending) has really bowled me over yet.
Joseph: I love the first OP and ED, and some of the incidental insert music is great, too. The rest of it is really forgettable and corny, though, especially the repeating track with all the crunchy guitar riffs
Paul: I'm the wrong person to ask about music, but I do like the insert song where they start chanting Ninja invocations in a death metal voice.
Danni: There’s one particular selection of background music that sounds near-identical to the title screen music in Sonic Adventure 2, so I’m pretty satisfied.
Noelle: I’m honestly surprised that there was debate about Wind because from what I remember, people seemed to like it. The fact that translations took a long time to circulate back then made it easier to digest for english-speaking fans. I was always under the impression it’s held up, even after all this time. As for the OP… well, it’s not FLOW’s "Go."
Peter: The guitar riff in "Raising The Fighting Spirit" is legendary. I think we’re about to hit my second favorite OP in the next block, but my favorite Naruto OP will always be "Turning Sadness into Kindness." "Wind" is the best ED, full stop.
Jared: I was actually kind of down on “Wind” initially thinking it’s just alright, but it really has grown on me as we’ve gone through these episodes. The insert songs from the original soundtrack really have a “of their time” sound, but they really seem to work when they’re placed in fight scenes or any dramatic moment.
Carolyn: The very '80s metal riffs that occasionally pop up have had me laughing quite a bit. But in a good way. It’s just a lot of fun.
  What were your high and low points of the week?
Kara: High point was absolutely Zabuza going HAM on Gato and his guys. I’ve seen other people in the Rewatch talk about the “moment” for which Naruto clicked for them, and that was it for me. It was when I finally went, “Hell YES, oh my GOD this SHOW.” It was just so over-the-top, it was exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping for when I heard there was cool action in it. Low point is probably things just going straight right back to normal with Naruto and Sasuke after all they went through together… that and Moegi talking about her “adult” allure. No. No no no.
Joseph: My low point is the second half of the showdown against Zabuza and Haku. Once the ice mirrors are in place it really drags, but at least it’s all wrapped up with a solid emotional bow in the end. Speaking of which, my high point is the same as Kara’s. Everything in this batch of episodes is more than worth it for the spectacularly-animated moment in which Zabuza goes absolutely wild.
Paul: High point – Naruto going “Beast Mode” on Haku. Pierrot's animators really outdid themselves for that sequence, and the idea of Naruto contending with the nine-tailed fox spirit sealed within himself hooked me in ways that earlier parts of the story did not. Low point – That bit with the little girl in Konohamaru's group bragging about her sex appeal. I realize she's a kunoichi in training, but that gag rubbed me the wrong way.
Danni: This sequence surprisingly didn’t have a real low point for me. The lowest it ever really got was all the reused animation in the mirror fight leading up to Sasuke learning how to use his Sharingan. It’s hard to choose a high point because there are so many high points in this selection for me. It’s kind of dead heat between Beast mode Naruto and the death of Zabuza, though. The former was the best action the show has had up to this point, while the latter is the most choked up I’ve gotten so far. This was a spectacular set of episodes.
Noelle: I remember being sad about the Zabuza and Haku ending and I can say that hasn’t changed, at all! Naruto sticking up for Haku even after Haku died and Zabuza breaking his cold ruthless facade to show that he really cared about Haku all this time- yep, that still gets me. Naruto does sympathy for the villains fairly well, and that definitely comes full swing here. Also, Zabuza ripping through a crowd of mercenaries, even as he’s critically wounded. As for low points, going back to semi-normal life after having such a dynamic arc feels really off. It’s necessary for arc transitioning, but after that ending, it really felt like mood whiplash.
Peter: Since I’m already acquainted with the story beats I’d have to say the high point is Kyubi Naruto’s battle with Haku. This has probably been the anime’s biggest departure with the manga elaborating on that fight in a few ways. Haku jumping out of the shattered mirror was sick. That said, that death and the conclusion still hurts. Low point was probably realizing truth matched my memory regarding Sakura’s complete lack of participation in that battle.
Jared: This is only because of how we’re watching this and having just general knowledge of this show, but the drawn out Sasuke death bait and switch didn’t have the feel of a true death. Mostly because despite having not watched this show before, I didn’t think they would kill him off this early. The extreme tonal shift from the end of the Zabuza/Haku arc to the beginnings of the Chunin Exam was also strange, but I get why you need a break from the intensity. There were some incredible highs this week though with Naruto’s transformation and Naruto getting through to Zabuza about the way he truly felt about Haku were really, really good.
Carolyn: The moments of real, emotional truth have been high points for me. Kakashi showing Naruto actual death and reminding him this is the path he has chosen as a ninja. Naruto yelling about the way Haku was treated, his lessons about bullying. There were some really great lessons in this batch. The low point, probably Sakura still just having basically nothing to do. She’s kind of sat around for the past several episodes.
Are there any other moments or details that you want to draw attention to?
Kara: Those black and white shots of Naruto using the Nine Tails Chakra for the first time are super trippy… doubly so if you’re on painkillers.
Joseph: While I still think they drag like hell, I kind of dig how these earlier fights are somewhat of a puzzle. In episode 20, the way Naruto says, in English, “Good morning, Sakura-chan” belongs in a dang museum. For my money this is when Naruto really starts to pick up, as they introduce ninja from surrounding lands, some of which are key players moving forward. Also: ROCK LEE!
Paul: I should point out that I legit shed a tear for Zabuza, which is not something I expected to do. It's one thing to make villains that are sympathetic, but it takes a great deal of craft to create a villain that evokes genuine feelings of sorrow and pity, such that despite their evil actions, you can see the damaged person underneath, and you realize how their life could have turned out differently had they not been so hard-done by fate.
Danni: Rock Lee posing like Dwayne ‘The Fannypack’ Johnson
Noelle: Even without my fox bias, Kyubi Naruto is still some really, really cool stuff. Also, Rock Lee. I can’t believe I didn’t like Rock Lee during my first watch, he’s a truly fun kid.
Peter: Something to definitely keep an eye on that I’m noticing way more this time through is just how sociopathic every aspect of ninja society. Haku’s decision to kill his own heart wasn’t him being dramatic, just the base expectation of anyone in their profession. Naruto’s ideals are considered outlandish only because the rest of the world is insane.
Jared: The change in style for Naruto’s transformation during the fight with Haku where it became black and white was awesome. Konohamaru’s Metal Gear Solid tribute was real goofy as well.
Carolyn: How does Naruto want to be a Hokage so bad and have no idea about these exams?
COUNTERS:
"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 12
Ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups
Shadow Clones: 73
And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!
Here's our upcoming schedule!
-Next week, on FEBRUARY 8th, we'll be covering EPISODES 22-28, hosted by JARED CLEMONS, where we’ll finally see the start of the Chunin Exam and the end of season one! THIS IS THE ONLY INSTALLMENT WE'RE ACCEPTING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS WEEK!
-Then, on FEBRUARY 15th, it's EPISODES 29-34, hosted by DANIEL DOCKERY, where the teams that passed the first exam enter the Forest of Death!
-On FEBRUARY 22nd, DANIEL hosts again with EPISODES 35-41. After the Forest of Death, what could possibly be waiting for the surviving teams?
Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!
Have any comments or questions about episodes 15-21? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 22-27?
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Kevin Matyi is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. He's been watching anime for as long as he can remember, and his favorite shows tend to be shounen and other action series.
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