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tatsumessy · 1 year

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Love at first sight - (rin itoshi)

Nagi: come to the game you won’t regret it, and afterwards you can meet the team

you: fine, don’t expect me to like it.

Nagi, your childhood bestfriend (since birth) who you were friends with before Reo. Which was weird, Nagi is a lazy successful bastard who started taking orders from a rich kid who wanted to go against his parents wishes. They became best friends and after they left for blue lock and came back Nagi was different. More determined, independent, he wanted to do things for himself. Because you two are so close you considered each other like brother and sister what helped more was that both of your parents were bestfriend so you basically were siblings.

Once he became a famous soccer player for the national team you stuck to being a business owner. You ran a flower company with my franchises around the country soon hoping to expand further.

Getting ready for the game you didn’t want to seem like one of Nagi’s fan girls and wear his jersey so you opted to wear a long ankle length fitted skirt with a long sleeve crop top pairing it with light green sneakers. It wasn’t a normal outfit anyone would wear to a soccer game but this wasn’t your style so you just wore what you’d wear on a normal work day.

With your bag hanging off your arm and shades in place you watched Nagi and his team win the game with ease which didn’t surprise you. Every morning while setting up for the day you would read all the news headlines and they never seemed to stay out of the spot light with their amazing talent. Especially one player. Itoshi Rin. He was an all star who shine remarkably amongst his team of also remarkable players.

Standing up you were starting to walk down the steps leading to the main platform before heading down the tunnel when your phone buzzed twice.

Nagi: come to the team tunnel

Nagi: instead of taking a right, take a left. Simple enough for you to find.

Mentally cursing yourself you forgot that he wanted to meet so you did what he said and the first room you found you knocked on it, waiting for your lazy brother to step out but instead it was his teammate. Itoshi Rin.

Man was he good looking, the small beads of sweat dripping down his forehead all the way to his chin. His messy damp hair due to the sweat glued to his forehead while his teal eyes stared at your figure waiting for you to speak. “Do I need to call security?” He spoke up and your face started to heat up, not only were you embarrassed but his voice was so smooth and sexy. It fit him to a T and you would openly admit that.

“I’m looking for my brother. Nagi Seishiro.” You spoke up keeping your gaze low, you didn’t want him to see the rising blush on your cheeks. The door suddenly slammed shut causing you to flinch making your sunglasses that were sitting on the top of your head fall onto your nose.

A few more minutes passed and you were going to walk away but then the door swung open and Nagi popped out with his whole team behind him. “Y/N!” Someone shouted from behind Nagi immediately engulfing you in a big hug. “Reo, good to see you.” You said awkwardly pushing him away once feeling his sweaty hair touch the side of your face.

“Guys this is Nagi’s sister, Y/n.” Reo introduced knowing Nagi wasn’t going too, you smiled waving your hand towards everyone. They all introduced themselves and as time passed you could feel someone staring at you. Looking to find the culprit you were met with those same real eyes that bore holes into you just thirty minutes ago.

“We were all going out to eat so celebrate the win, wanna come?” Nagi asked throwing his arm over your shoulder, you accepted and all of you walked out of the stadium going to separate cars. Nagi following you obviously because he hates driving knowing someone better can offer up to drive. What a lazy sob.

Arriving last to the restaurant there were only two seats left and Nagi took the one next to Isagi leaving the last seat next to Rin. “You don’t act like Nagi.” Rin spoke up grabbing your attention, you smiled at the familiar statement. “We’re not actually related. Bestfriends. But because our moms are really close and planned our births days apart we’re basically siblings.” You looked over at Nagi who seemed to be enjoying himself in the presence of his friends.

“I’ve never seen someone wear a skirt to a soccer game before.” He again spoke this time embarrassing you even more, “I-I’ve never been to a soccer game before. This was my first time, I didn’t know what to wear and I definitely wasn’t going to wear Nagi’s stupid uniform.” You responded stuffing a piece of bread in your mouth. “You could’ve worn mine.” He retaliated looking down at you.

Swallowing the piece quickly trying not to choke you covered your mouth trying to respond, “What? I wasn’t going to wear some random players jersey number.” “I’m not random anymore. So next time wear my number, it’ll be better soccer attire. Not that I’m complaining with what you’re wearing right now.” There it is. The way his eyes ran up and down your body and the way they looked into your eyes devouring what dignity you had.

Your have lit up once again for the third time in the time span of two hours because he said you looked good. Any guy could come up to you and tell you that you look good but when it comes from Rin why is it making your stomach do backflips? Why is he making you smile the way that you are.

The two of you talked for a little while about random things getting to know each other a little better when your phone started to ring. “Excuse me.” You spoke standing up and heading outside to take the call in private.

It was your assistant calling to transfer you to another phone call. This call was with a foreign investor who wanted to invest in your company, in order for this plan to be set in motion you need to travel to the states which wasn’t a big deal for you. “Right. I will see you tomorrow. Thank you.” Hanging up the phone you excitedly did a little victory run in place before heading back inside to grab your things.

Rin looked up at you curiosity filling him as you looked back at him figuring out what to say. You leaned down next to his ear and whispered, “Thank you for the company.” Without anyone noticing you placed a small kiss on his cheek and walked over to Nagi.

“I’m leaving. Go home with Reo.” You kissed the top of his head and left the restaurant mentally regretting not asking Rin for his number.

Unknown: Rude of you to leave without a proper goodbye.

You looked at your phone wondering who could be texting you especially with such a cryptic message like that.

You: Who is this?

Unknown: Rin Itoshi.

Dropping your phone on your bed you stared at the message wondering how he got your number in the first place while also trying to figure out what you were going to say back to him.

Your heart was pounding against your rib cage as you picked up your phone fingers froze over the keypad waiting for your mind to give you the right words to say.

You: What we’re you expecting?

Rin: Idk a kiss maybe 🤔

You: So a kiss on the cheek wasn’t enough?

Rin: It was pretty lukewarm.

You laughed at his comment quickly replying back then throwing your phone on the night stand and pulling your laptop back on your lap to continue working.

“Building a faction in the states is a lot of work Nagi. What do you expect me to do, drop everything because my whiny brother misses me?” You spoke standing in the mirro while holding the phone up to your ear so that you could look to see if you looked okay. “It’s been four years Y/n. You gave me a shitty goodbye and you still haven’t come back.” He whined again for the fifth time over the phone. You laughed walking over to the bed to sit down so that you could strap on your heels. “Trust me, after the ribbon cutting and signing event tonight I’ll be coming home last next week. Don’t you have a game? Focus on that.” You responded picking up your binder alongside your bag with your keys.

You finally ended the call with Nagi turning to be met with the half naked figure lying in your hotel bed. Grabbing the pillow you threw it at his face causing him to sit up slightly annoyed. “I’m pressing charges.” He spoke forcing an exaggerated laugh to fall from your chapped lips. “You.” Pointing your finger in his direction, “Go home. Just like I told that punk over the phone. You have a game.” Rin rolled his eyes sitting up slowly while stretching his arms to wake himself up.

“Where are you going?” He asked watching you move around the room to make sure you had everything, “Meetings all day. I’m not joking, by the time I come back you better be gone.” He gave you an annoyed sigh as he sat the staring down at the sheets waiting for a sign telling him to get out the bed and start packing his stuff. Before leaving you walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek ready to leave then but he stopped you.

“Remember last time you left with just giving me a kiss on the cheek?” He said stopping you again in your tracks, “yeah I ended up in a long term relationship. What’s next marriage?” “Maybe.” You laughed and gave him a quick kiss and the lips and left the room locking it behind you.

After a couple weeks of you being gone Rin randomly texted you out of no where and openly pursued you. Even though on tv or whatever it never looked like something he would do but it most definitely is. He straight up told you during a phone call one night that the moment he laid eyes on you and you lack of soccer attire he was hooked.

After a year of just texting and calling with occasional facetimes he decided that he needed to see you. He showed up at your hotel and the two of you spend the most romantic and amazing night together, end ended with his asking you to be his girlfriend and you obviously accepted.

You had awesome staff back in Japan so you never needed a reason to go back especially because your boyfriend was so willing to come and see you anytime he felt like it. Next thing you know four years have gone by and the hard work you had put into this project is finally complete in five different states.

It was finally time for you to come home and the day you were coming back there was a game going on and Rin made sure that whenever you came back you had a jersey to wear. His jersey, like his actual game jersey. You paired it with some jeans and some matching Jordan’s actuall somewhere fitting soccer attire.

The moment you sat down in the seat with your assistant sitting next to you the players walked out and as you were admiring your boyfriend from afar, he suddenly wasn’t so far and was standing right infront of you. Well not infront but right on the field in your general direction, he beckoned for you with his eyes and you obliged standing up and walked over with your arms folded across your chest due to the cool windy air blowing on you.

You stood behind the railing waiting for him to speak but instead he jumped up hoisting himself up to where he was face to face with you then planted a long gentle kiss right on your lips. Everyone in the crowd gasped and screamed in shock, joy, excitement, whatever emotion high intense soccer fans have whenever a cold hearted player like Rin Itoshi kisses some random girl infront of thousands.

He pulls away and jumps down shouting something while running away, “Thanks for my good luck kiss.” You started walking back to your seat trying to ignore the glaring stares of the people behind you. “You’re dating THE ITOSHI RIN???” Your assistant asked covering her mouth out of excitement. Letting out a huge sigh you rolled your eyes and crossed one leg over the other while crossing your arms and straightening your back. “Sadly.” You stared at the field watching the players warm up ready for the game as your face heated up in excitement.

The game obviously ended with their team winning and as you and your assistant stood up walking down the tunnel towards the exit you heard someone calling your name but chose to ignore it because it would be weird for someone to be calling your name at a soccer game. You had kept walking scrolling through your phone stopping when you noticed an article with a picture of Rin kissing you.

“Ms. L/N, there’s someone calling for you.” You hummed at her statement briefly scanning the article some more. Your steps started moving forward once again until you were forcefully grabbed by your waist being flushed against someone’s chest. “I hate when you ignore me.” Rin spoke wrapping his arm around your waist.

“Rinnie, sorry. I was looking at something.” You smiled putting your phone in your tote bag, he glanced right at said bag but chose to ignore it. “I didn’t know you were coming back today. Did it slip your mind to tell me?” He spoke walking beside you and your assistant towards the exit, “Y/N!!” You flinched hearing the oh so familiar voice call your name. Nagi walked over pulling you into a tight hug smiling brightly at your presence.

“You came back.” “I told you I was coming back.” He scoffed pulling you towards the exit leaving your boyfriend and assistant behind. “Nagi, my assistant and Rin. We’re leaving them behind.” “See, when did that start?” You looked at him confused knowing damn well you knew what he was talking about. “When did you and mr. lukewarm back there start dating? When did my sister start dating, that is so unlike you.” The both of you laughed finally getting out of the humid tunnel, the both of you walked over to your car laughing and joking around about the thought of you dating.

“You know the first night we met, at your game. I gave him a kiss on the cheek right before I left. That was the first time I ever showed interest in someone like more than just, a petty crush. Then when he texted me, I just fell harder.” He leaned against the car watching you fidget with your finger on the verge of crying, you were talking about what you felt when Rin stepped into your life. “He tried. He pushed himself to me, he flew to the states even if it was just to spend one night with me. Four years ago I fell in love with Rin.”

Nagi smiled looking up behind you sighing, “Man what happened to the single duo. Your killing me kin.” He took the keys from your hand unlocking the car and getting in the passenger side with your assistant sitting in the backseat leaving you and Rin alone standing outside of the car. “You love me? That’s crazy.” He spoke using his hand to push some hair behind your ear, “what if I was telling Nagi I loved him, you were ease dropping too hard.” He rolled his eyes at your statement looking into the car noticing your assistant staring at the both of you while Nagi was playing a game on his phone.

“Come home with me, I’m trying to propose to you tonight but I can’t do that if you have to babysit your brother.” “It’s not a proposal if you tell me about it.” You laughed gently rubbing the back of his head giving him a much needed head massage. “Why would I keep secrets from you? I want to propose to you tonight and I want to spend it alone with YOU.” He emphasized letting you go for a quick second, his hand pulled on the door handle opening the drivers side door not for you but for himself.

“Nagi, Y/n is coming with me tonight, can you take her assistant home?” “Uh sure.” Nagi responded not looking up from him game. Rin shut the door and grabbed your hand to bring you to his car. You smiled pressing a kiss on his lips the closing the door behind yourself.

#itoshi rin #itoshi rin x reader #itoshi rin x y/n #blue lock rin itoshi #rin itoshi x reader #blue lock rin #bllk rin #rin itoshi #bllk rin itoshi #rin itoshi x you #rin itoshi x y/n #itoshi brothers #itoshi rin x you #nagi seishiro #reo mikage #bllk x y/n #bllk anime

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fistfuloflightning · 5 months

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Slightly more polished version on ao3 here

They're summoned to a local fishing village to investigate some kind of water demon. Just the three of them, which Shen Yuan thinks is hardly fair. Sure, there’s Shen Jiu, who’s worth at least four decent disciples. Shen Yuan doesn’t think he’s too bad. But Shang Qinghua is so far out of his depth it’s almost funny.

They find out it’s a carp demon, old and hungry and slowly picking off the locals over the span of months. Trapping it is the hard part and it goes wild when it realizes it can’t go anywhere. Which Shen Yuan kinda wishes it wouldn’t, since he’s currently hanging above the thrashing water by one leg and staring down into the gaping maw of the carp demon and wondering why all of this feels so familiar.

Shen Jiu is shouting from the side, sounding panicked. But Shen Yuan sincerely hopes his shixiong (bestie? fbf? boyfriend? what the hell?) doesn’t try to play the knight in shining armor (…again).

But it’s actually Shang Qinghua who frees his trapped leg for him, even though it leaves him cursing the An Ding disciple and plummeting into the disturbed water far below. There’s a glimpse of horrified green eyes, then he’s past. There’s no time to worry about Shen Jiu’s weird hero complex at the moment.

But there is a moment of revelation though, the moment before he hits the water: he knows why this whole situation is familiar. Change the demon, change the people dealing with it. But it’s the same. …Fucking Airplane.

And when the demon is suppressed and Shen Yuan drags himself up into the wharf, he’s spitting water and furious. “You fucking ripped off Journey to the West, didn’t you?”

Shang Qinghua’s eyes grow wide for a split second before the biggest grin practically blinds Shen Yuan. “Do you like that movie too?! I thought I was only one!

“I hated that movie.”

Shang Qinghua has the gall to look betrayed. “But Stephen Chow is a national treasure! It’s hard not to be a fan!”

“And it shows in your writing.”

“What does that mean?!”

Shen Yuan is relentless. “So you don’t deny it.”

“It was a good movie,” Shang Qinghua mutters defiantly, as though that’s going to change Shen Yuan’s mind.

But before he can snap back, Shen Jiu is dropping from his sword and grabbing his shoulders to examine him for injuries. “You absolute fool,” he hisses.

He very easily ignores Shang Qinghua in favor of a much prettier face. “A fool for you.” Shen Yuan’s hazy grin is all that saves him from Shen Jiu’s sharp tongue

“Focus.” His eyes flick between Shen Yuan’s, looking for—what? Concussion? His hands don't leave Shen Yuan’s arms, as if afraid he’ll disappear too.

It’s only afterward in their shared inn room that Shen Yuan fixes a gimlet eye on Shang Qinghua. He’s glad Shen Jiu left to check in with the local magistrate, if only so he doesn’t have to explain more than he has to. “You plagiarized the whole beginning scene—didn’t you. Even the little girl, you sick freak. Is there not a single original thought in your head?”

“The girl lived! You saw it! It’s completely not the same! And you have no room to talk, Mr. I-hated-it. You even remember what happened in such a short scene. Even if you deny that, you liar, I know you like the monsters I made up,” he points out. Now that a scowling Shen Yuan can’t deny. Shang Qinghua’s brow rise pointedly as he adds: “…And my bastard son. When’s the wedding, by the way? You’ve gotta make a honest man of him sometime.” A thought suddenly comes to him and he freezes. “Wait. If you got married, would that make me your father-in-law?”

Shen Yuan gags. “Never refer to yourself like that ever again. I hope Stephen Chow finds a way to kill you in your sleep. And if he doesn’t, I will. We never speak of this again and I pray to any bodhisattva who decides to have pity on your sorry ass, that you have not plagiarized any more of that movie. Especially the pig demon.”

Shang Qinghua’s sweating silence says more than words.

“…Are you fucking kidding me?!”

#svsss #shen yuan #shen jiu #shang qinghua #jiuyuan #cumplane bros #I literally wrote this instead of studying for finals #I love stephen chow #and sqh just gives me stephen chow fanboy vibes sososo much #while kung fu hustle is a classic #I think shaolin soccer and journey to the west are my faves #my writing #stephen chow #journey to the west

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aperiodofhistory · 8 months

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Books to read in autumn

Historical novels

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: England in the 1520s

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: Building the most splendid Gothic cathedral the world has ever known

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: A back-in-time Scottish romance

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland: A novel of the plague in the year 1348

The underground railroad by Colson Whitehead: Enslavement of African Americans through escape and flight

The God of small things by Arundhati Roy: A family drama in the 60s located in India

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank: A powerful reminder of the horrors of world war II

Fantasy

A Game of thrones by George R. R. Martin: A Fantasy epic run by politics, strong families, dragons

Red rising by Pierce Brown: A dystopian science fiction novel set in a future colony on Mars

Babel by R.F. Kuang: Student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: A fresh take on fantasy staring an orc and a mercenary

Jade City by Fonda Lee: A gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: A tale of hope and magic, with brave maidens and scary monsters

The Atlas six by Olivie Blake: A dark academic sensation following six magicians

Mysteries & Horror

The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by various authors: Short stories perfect for the Halloween mood

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon: The story of Vern, a pregnant teenager who escapes the cult Cainland

The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher: A noted cultural critic unearths the weird, the eerie, and the horrific in 20th-century culture through a wide range of literature, film, and music

Holly by Stephen King: Disappearances in a midwestern town

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas: Supernatural western

The good house by Tananarive Due: A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town

Nonfiction

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey: The trail of America's ghosts

What moves the dead by T. Kingfisher: A gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry: A journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South—and a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America

All the living and the dead by Hayley Campbell: An exploration of the death industry and the people―morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners―who work in it and what led them there

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter: Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more

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acheronist · 8 days

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🧛🏻‍♀️⚰️

disclaimer i am not a scholar or a historian or an archaeologist. i just like vampires in a freak way and read a lot of weird articles + listen to podcasts and think about this a lot.

so the vampire burials that i know the most about were done in the general region of like... hungary / slovakia / romania / poland kind of following along the line of the carpathian mountain range. but also then in like, early america as well for some reason. random ass 1700s vampire hysteria panic swept the nation (all 25 square miles of it).

anyways so this area in europe is notorious for vampire folklore anyways so it tracks that where the european vampire folklore was originating = where people are most frightened of it for real. and so the vampire graves that have been excavated and studied are HONESTLY PROBABLY just the graves of like..... normal people who were ill in some way, and therefore cast into a suspicious light, and then died. but it was a fairly common belief that if someone WAS a vampire, especially prior to dying, then they'd return from the dead and attack and kill their family first before moving onto friends and neighbors and the rest of the community. bad for the community. so after the "vampire" in question died, the living would take extra steps to ensure that the deceased would not rise from the grave again and start killing them because well No One would like that! so one one hand its really kind of upsetting that-- essentially-- the dead were being accused and vandalized without the ability to protect or defend themselves AND THEN ALSO having their burial rites get screwed around with. sure you prevented the vampires but now we've got fucking ghosts. great work everyone.

and then on the other hand morbid freaky trivia is so fascinating to MEEEEEEE so here some of the most dramatic methods that i can recall from the top of my head:

dismembering the deceased's corpse ( with an emphasize on decapitation)

and for the decapitation, sickles or hand scythes were placed over the deceased's neck, so if they lived and sat up again, they'd cut their own throat

also rearranging the dismembered body (pieces) or the body (whole) in specific patterns

padlocking the deceased's feet together

placing bricks or rocks into the deceased's mouth, either breaking their teeth or making it impossible for any postmortem vampire zombie bite damage to be inflicted upon the living

pinning the deceased's corpse into the ground via steel or iron stakes to keep them from getting up. often stakes were stabbed thru the heart which is where the motif in media today comes from

but also sometimes removing the heart from the deceased completely and burning it also happened

burying the deceased with wreathes of garlic and poppy seeds and paprika peppers to act as wards to keep them where they were. which is hilarious also when you take into account how much garlic and poppy and paprika gets used in eastern european cuisine

and i might be making this part up LMAO but i feel like in my heart. and brain. that i remember a colonial american(?) story where an autopsy was performed on a recently deceased girl(??) whose organs still looked "fresh" and functional, as it were, and not like the organs of someone dead. because she was obviously rising from the dead and drinking the blood of the living which we can tell from her remarkably fresh organs. this was another great instance of vampire organ harvesting but i for SURE need to go try and find my source for this again.

and similarly, i also am like 90% sure I've read about exhuming someone who had been accused of being a vampire, and judging how their rate of decomposition was going, and if they looked too fresh and alive then they were a vampire and we can brutally kill them again. obviously differences in burial climates and situations would have no bearing or affect upon the body's rate of decay btw.

but then as we work our way up thru history, illegal body snatching also became an incredibly common thing as anatomists and doctors and surgeons needed the bodies to learn from. and I'm SOOOO so certain that grave cages / mort safes were invented because normal people did not want their corpses to be body snatched and turned into underground med student dissection homework. BUT ☝🏻 i have also seen claims that cages over the graves were put in place to keep the vampires IN the grave, not to keep body snatchers OUT of the grave. and then I went hmm. where have I seen big elaborate grave cages before?

mother fucking henry ford has a mort safe cage on his shit, so the only reasonable conclusion to all of this is that henry ford was a vampire. amen. my edible is hitting now and i cant think of a good conclusion to this post sorry. someday i will write an essay. or finish making my gay ass zine about this.

#vamp

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cheesecakeluvs · 5 months

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Damien x Priya, I need to talk about them

Right now Damiya shippers are lying dead on the ground and eating whatever scraps they can but I have hope for season 2, I have hope

Why would they make this perfect dynamic just to throw it all away

First off there is the obvious brains and brawn dynamic. Damien is obviously super smart going on rants n stuff about random facts and Priya is one of the most strong people on the show

Then there is their reason for joining. Priya had been training her whole life for this moment knowing exactly what she is getting into while Damien’s friends just dated him to sign up with him knowing absolutely nothing about it (such cruel friends)

Even season 1 gave us some good scenes and hints. With her blushing when he compliments her and even calling him “The love of her life” when in a time of panic. We also had Priya convincing the team to vote him off (It was sweet in the moment lol) and him helping her out at the end (which they were both very happy that Damien was picked) and trying to calm her down

Season 2 has given us… nothing… yet. The most we had were Damien making weird faces when Caleb and Priya were interacting but he also did those faces before they did so… yeah we have nothing. My one and only hope is that they do something with Caleb. To be honest I don’t really want Caleb to like her but I guess I wouldn’t be too opposed to a love triangle. Everyone thought there was going to be a Scary girl and Priya love triangle, obviously didn’t happen. Then people though Millie and Damien, didn’t happen. I don’t even like love triangles I just want Damiya. Doesn’t even have to be a love triangle Caleb could just be used to stir up jealousy

Something must be a wedge between the partnership of Caleb and Priya and I think it will either be Mk and Julia or Damien

Please we need something in the next few episodes because I know Priyas’s getting eliminated soon and if Damiya isn’t canon I don’t know what I’ll do with my life

Anyways, Damiya nation rise, we shall never give up, Damiya IS canon and WILL be real

Also if anyone has any other theories of stuff to add please tell

#damien x priya #damiya #priya x damien #total drama #total drama 2023 #damien td #priya td #pramien

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fate-magical-girls · 4 months

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Comparing fairy tales with their inspirations from legendary sagas produces a weird effect, because you can see where the stories have been simplified and the behavior of the protagonists sanitized.

The Goose Girl whose position was stolen by her handmaiden and was reduced to speaking to her beheaded horse Falada was a club-footed princess who originally agreed to switch places with her maid because she was self-conscious about her feet and feared her prince was short and ugly. She was also mother of Charlemagne.

The Goose Girl at the Well who was exiled for saying she loved her father like meat loves salt was a British queen who led an army to rescue her father who had been driven insane by her abusive sisters.

Sleeping Beauty, who was cursed to sleep for a hundred years, was a Valkyrie who masterminded the death of her prince when he was brainwashed into marrying another woman, and then threw herself onto his pyre so she could die with him.

The youngest brother of the Wild Swans, whose arm remained a swan wing because his sister ran out of thread to make the tunic that would break his curse, became a knight in a swan boat that avenged a noble maiden's honor and had children with her that would give rise to the royal line of Bouillon.

Cinderella was a successful courtesan and a self-made woman, who had no fairy god mother, but did have a fling with fable-teller Aesop as well as an epic rivalry with her sister-in-law, who happened to be one of the greatest poets of their age. Alternatively, she was a queen of Egypt to died before seeing her family enslaved by the mad Persian king Cambyses.

The mystical husbands of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Iron Stove, and the Feather of Finist the Falcon were originally the god Eros, and the Beauty that had to find her husband after losing him was his wife Psyche.

Often the animal husband takes the form of a snake. In certain myths among the indigenous Taiwanese, the animal husband is a snake and the ancestor of their people. In Baltic and Slavic stories, the snake husband is never accepted by his wife's family, who kill him through deceit. Meanwhile, a 9th century Chinese story makes the husband into a Yaksha, and the lovers are eventually parted because the wife cannot stay in the realm of the Yaksha.

Related to the animal husband theme, the Beast was a tragic man from Tenerife with hypertrichosis, and Beauty was a noblewoman who was married to him almost as a joke. Though they lived a long and happy life together, four of their seven children were stolen away and sent to live in foreign courts because they shared their father's condition.

The Girl Without Hands was a Mercian queen who ruled her nation with iron fists, and was involved in more than one assassination.

Maid Maleen's original name was Brangaine, the maid of Tristan and Iseult. In most variants of the tale, it is the guilty bride who substitutes her maid in the bridal procession to hide her loss of virginity that is the actual protagonist. When the prince questions her about the children she has born, she is forced to reveal the tokens that her lover left with her, and the prince realizes that he himself is the lover in question, and apologizes and proceeds with the wedding.

The speechless Little Mermaid's beloved prince was a Swedish duke, brother to the king, named Magnus Vasa. He was afflicted with psychotic episodes throughout his life, and had assistants assigned to look after him. He never married but had a longtime affair with a commoner woman who cared for him. During one of his episodes, he jumped into a moat, claiming to have seen a woman there. This became the basis for a class of ballads called Herr Magnus and the Mermaid, which describes how Magnus lost his heart and then his mind to the mermaid after initially rejecting her. This then became stories of the tragic mermaid's rejection and revenge.

#mythology #history #fairy tale #little mermaid #sleeping beauty #cinderella #beauty and the beast #the goose girl #king lear #brothers grimm #hans christian andersen

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nagito-kissmaeda · 11 months

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if it isn't real, why does the sun still burn?

CHAPTER ONE: Rise and Shine CHAPTER TWO: i guess its all up to me now CHAPTER THREE: Predictably, everything gets worse CHAPTER FOUR: good morning CHAPTER FIVE: Something to eat CHAPTER SIX: a start CHAPTER SEVEN: the party don’t start ‘til CHAPTER EIGHT: your full hospitality CHAPTER NINE: visitation rights CHAPTER TEN: gamer girl moments CHAPTER ELEVEN: prank patrol

Summary : Like most people visiting this tag. You have always dreamed of meeting Nagito Komaeda for real, what you would do, what you would say? Things don’t go as planned.

AKA: Reader from our universe ends up in danganronpa and is just trying her best to keep everyone alive. and maybe to make komaeda kiss her.

Contains: she/her pronouns, negative body image ment, cringe national treasure jokes

Read on Ao3

After Komaeda leaves, it suddenly becomes incredibly clear just how uncomfortable it is to sit in the gravel. Your sundress is long enough that you are saved from a potential ‘rocks in the panties’ situation, but it’s still digging into your thighs pretty badly.

You sigh, appreciative of the cool metal of the arcade machine at your back in the otherwise very sweaty weather. It’s weird being alone out here, you’ve been stuck inside Komaeda’s cottage for what feels like an age and you are instinctively nervous about what is to come next.

“Wait.” You whisper, quickly fishing the strange envelope out from the pocket of your dress, “What even is this?”

Only the manilla envelope containing the motive photos was present in the game, or at the very least, that was the only piece of evidence found in the game. It’s highly possible that Kuzuryu found something else that never came to light during the trial. Either way, the unknown is scary and you hate that.

The quickest way to make the unknown less scary is to make it known instead. So you quickly tear open the envelope.

“Huh.” You whisper, squinting at the notecard inside. Whatever is printed on it is completely illegible, a smattering of bright red and blue ink in the shape of what might be words. The longer you look at it the more it makes your eyes hurt.

“It’s colour code.”

You yelp aloud when someone else speaks, thwacking your head backwards into the arcade machine with a clang that rattles right through to your teeth. The notecard falls from your hands as you instinctively clutch at the back of your head, “fuuuuuuck……oww…..”

The other person drops to a crouch beside you and rests a warm hand on your shoulder, “You should be more careful.” they chide.

You dismiss them with a wave of your hand, “M’fine, it just-” You blink up at him. Him being Togami, “Oh. It’s uh…it’s you .”

His brows pull together, “Were you expecting someone else?” Yes. You had been expecting Kuzuryu. Though thinking on it, it does make sense that (with him not, ya know dead ) Togami would be the first person to come and investigate the motive. Especially knowing how quickly he arranged that party after getting the anonymous letter from Komaeda. If you weren’t so blockheaded you probably would have foreseen this outcome a lot sooner.

You swallow, “Um, no. Not really.” Togami raises an eyebrow, “You weren’t expecting Komaeda-san ?” he asks, probably noticing how instantly red that accusation makes you, “I noticed that the two of you were the only ones who didn’t show up to the urgent meeting I called.”

Damn. He’s so organised. You are not organised.

“I was um, already here?”

Togami rests his forearms on his knees. He’s surprisingly dexterous, you wouldn't be able to hold a squat for that long without falling over, “After all the effort the others went through to prove your innocence, it would be very inconvenient for you to do something suspicious now.” he gives you a long stare, “So please, a sensible excuse would be appreciated.”

The real Togami wouldn’t say please , but he still manages to make it sound like a threat, “Yes, sorry.” You start, hands fidgeting in your lap, “I came here to check on the motive, same as you. I thought maybe if I got here first I could make sure it wasn’t dangerous.” “And Komaeda-san?” Even the mention of him makes you turn pink again, “Y-yes, he followed me, but he’s gone now.” You gulp a breath and try to meet Togami’s eyes, “I was just trying to help, Togami-san. Please believe me. I can tell that you aren’t the sort of person I want to make an enemy of, and I just want to make sure no one gets hurt.”

Togami stares at you appraisingly for a moment, and you feel your heart kick into high gear. After what feels like an age, he sighs and hangs his head, “I suppose there is little reason for me not to believe you, especially after so many of my classmates came to your defence.” he looks back up at you, he seems tired, “I will be keeping an eye on you, as I will with everyone else, but I’ll trust you for now .”

You nod desperately, “Yes, th-thank you. You won’t regret it.”

Togami joins you on the ground, sitting crosslegged in the gravel, it doesn’t seem to bother him, “So. This machine that you hit your head on is key to the motive, I take it?” You wince at the reminder of your recent injury, but manage a nod anyway, “Yes. The game it uh, well in short it recounts events that occurred during everyone’s missing high school years. The events aren’t pleasant.”

Togami nods and rests his chin on his palm, “That is troubling. I won’t ask who it involves, the safest thing would be for as few of us to view the motive as possible.” He glances at you from the corner of his eye, “The notecard you were holding when I arrived. Is that part of it?” “Oh, maybe? I’m not sure, I can’t actually read it. There was something else too, but I gave it to Komaeda-san already.” You shrug, “With his whole deal no one is going to find it unless he wants them to.”

“So the two of you are working together? That explains why Komaeda-san defended you so staunchly this morning.” “O-Oh?” You ask, trying to sound coy and not at all desperate for more information, “What um…kind of…things…did he say?”

Togami eyes you suspiciously, “He spoke to your tenacity for the most part, that and his unwavering trust in you.” Unwavering. Unwavering unwavering . The word circles around and around in your head until it becomes the only sound you can hear. You know that Komaeda was likely just posturing, but even still the warmth of the word settles low in your chest and you have to bite hard on your lip to stop yourself from smiling too widely, “That’s uh…that’s good.” “More importantly. That note of yours.” Togami says, pointing to where it is nestled in amongst the gravel, “It’s colour code. You need to view it through a coloured lens.” You pick the card up again, eyes widening, “Oh! Like in National Treasure!” Togami stares at you. “You know like, when he has the glasses that change lens colour and he-” You wither under Togami’s continued stare, losing confidence instantly, “Nevermind. It’s a dumb movie.”

Togami scoffs and pulls himself from the ground, dusting any dirt from the back of his slacks with his hands, “As defacto leader, I’ve been focussing on figuring out who is behind this whole ‘killing game’ as Monokuma has been calling it.” He looks down at you, “For now I don’t believe you had anything to do with it, and since delegation is a key part of good leadership-” he gestures to the card in your hands, “-I’ll leave solving that up to you.” “Yes of course! Thank you!”

“I’ll also guard this machine for the time being, to make sure no one else uses it.” He holds his hand out to you, “And you should go back to your cottage.” You gingerly take his hand and are surprised at how easily he pulls you up from the ground. Once you are standing you duck your head in a bow, “Thank you for trusting me, Togami-san.”

He chuckles quietly, “Don’t thank me. Though maybe when we get out of this you can show me that National Treasure movie of yours.” You say, “Maybe I will.” even though you know full well that you will not be getting out of this. ***

You don’t take Togami’s advice, making a beeline for the supermarket instead of going straight back to your cottage. Much like with everything, you hadn’t really thought about what effects Togami still being alive would have on the narrative.

Narrative? Is it weird to call life a narrative?

You dismiss the existentialism with a shake of your head and keep walking, you’ve become quite good at ignoring it.

Either way, Togami being alive is a net good for multiple reasons. Mostly because he’s a swell guy and you hated seeing him go so soon in the game, but also because he is smart and good at keeping a handle on things. You had just been planning to sit in the dirt in front of the arcade machine all day, and hope that Kuzuryu didn’t try to throw hands with you when you had to stop him from playing the game.

This is just like the situation with the party all over again, and that time you managed to get yourself framed for attempted murder. You need to be more thoughtful about all this, which is hard because you aren’t smart, but in the meantime, knowing that Togami is still around takes a weight off your shoulders.

For now, you need to figure out what the mystery note says. Lacking a set of the cool glasses from the hit film National Treasure, you are going to need another way to replicate the same effect. You had for a moment considered that the movie theatre might have a supply of 3D glasses, but the second island still isn't open so that's a moot point. So the supermarket was going to be your best bet.

Your legs are already aching from that serious sprinting you did earlier in the day, so it’s hard to keep up the brisk pace, but days are only so long and the last thing you want to do is waste any time. So you are almost out of breath when you finally half stumble through the sliding doors of the supermarket.

The cool air is utter bliss after the hours you have already spent in the hot island sun, and it’s hard to resist the urge to lay face-first on the cold tiles, but somehow you manage. As in the game, the Rocketpunch Market is full of every terrible diet choice that a person between the ages of 15 - 21 is liable to make and as tempted as you are by a packet of chips nearly the size of your torso, you force yourself to be a little more productive than that.

As you browse, you stop for a moment in front of the display that holds all of the tactical gear, chewing nervously on your lower lip when you notice that the knife Komaeda took several days ago has been quietly restocked. While it makes sense for Monokuma to want the stock of knives to never run dry, the fact that someone could take one and then it would be immediately replaced is not good. There could be so many loose knives about and there’s no real way of knowing.

Before you can get even more stressed, you finally manage to spot something potentially useful on a shelf closer to the back of the supermarket. Abandoning the knife selection, you break into a grin at a small supply of powdered drink mixes. They come in a variety of tooth-rotting flavours, but you are particularly interested in blueberry and raspberry. As you grab one of each, you also pick up two clear water bottles from another nearby shelf and pack them into a plastic shopping bag.

Feeling newly invigorated, you get ready to head back into the heat, when you are suddenly frozen in place at the sound of the doors sliding open behind you.

“Yo!”

Turning on your heel, you are met with Owari’s very wide grin, “Oh. Hi.” She comes walking over to you before crossing one leg over the other and leaning one shoulder against the shelving unit. You can hear a few chocolate bars go clattering to the ground on the other side from the impact. Owari doesn’t seem to notice, “You looking for a new swimsuit too, or what?” Your brain fails to process the question, “Huh?”

Owari grabs a random packet of chips from the shelf and starts munching, “Did the shrimp not invite you? He said he did.” Your brain finally catches up, “Oh! Souda-san! The beach! Yes, sorry, I totally forgot.” Owari shrugs, “Nah I’m not mad, don’t apologise.” she shoves another handful of chips into her mouth, “Anyways, if you forgot, I guess you’re not here for a swimsuit, huh?”

“Um, no. I was just uh, grabbing some drinks.” You raise your bag up to show her.

“Tha’s cool.” She tilts her head back and pours the last crumbs of chips into her mouth, “Since you’re here though, wanna look together?”

The last thing you could ever want to do is go swimsuit shopping, even in normal circumstances, “Oh, um, I dunno, maybe I should just-”

Owari wraps a huge arm around your shoulders and tugs you up against her side, “C’mon! It’ll be fun, we’re going to look fucking hot, dude!”

Before you have a chance to squirm out of her grip, Owari drags you over to the small clothing section on the far left side of the market, “Are-Are you sure you want to do this with me? I’m sure that any of the other girls would look a lot nicer in a bikini than-” Owari mercifully releases you, standing with her hands on her hips in front of the women's swimsuit display, “S’that what this is about? Did someone say somethin’ mean about you?” she punches a fist into her open palm, “Who was it? I’ll fuckin’ deck ‘em” “Huh? Oh no! God no!�� You flounder, gesturing far too wildly with your hands, “I just have self-esteem issues, no one said anything, everyone is nice, please don’t deck anyone!” “Hm.” Owari says, her shoulders softening, “Well, then I guess you gotta be nicer to yourself, but it isn't any of my business unless you want it to be. So I’ll leave it at that.” “Oh, uh, thanks?”

Her smile returns in full force, “Your welcome!” she jabs a thumb in the direction of the swimsuits, “You happy to jus’ hang out while I pick out a swimsuit, then? We can chat.” You should go, but Owari’s enthusiasm is infectious. You give her a half smile, “I mean, maybe I can…pick out something too. Anything will be more flattering than those uniform swimsuits Monomi gave everyone.”

“Right on!” Owari exclaims, quickly moving to the racks to start rifling through the options, “You do gotta get out more, you know?”

You join her, trying your best to find anything in your size, “Um, I guess so. Though I’ve kinda been on house arrest, so it’s not completely my fault.” “Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that whole thing. I told four-eyes that you seem cool though.” She grabs a bright red one-piece and holds it up against herself before shaking her head and returning it to the rack. “Wait.” You say, “You defended me? I-I don’t think we’ve even talked before.” Owari shrugs, “Don’t have to. M’not good with names and stuff, but I’ve got a nose for this sort of thing. I can smell out a good person a mile away.” She pulls out a pale pink bikini with high-waisted ruffled bottoms, “And you’re a good person, I know it.” That gets a real smile from you, “Thanks Owari-san.” She grins, “Don’t mention it. Also-” she tosses you the swimsuit she’s holding, “I’ll bet this is your size.” You catch it from the air, ready to correct her but find that she is absolutely right, “Huh. You got it in one.” “Yeah, you seem like you’re into pink stuff.” She smirks at you, “Now you gotta help me find my swimsuit.” ***

You have to stop by Komaeda’s cottage before heading back to your own so you can grab all of your stuff. He isn't there when you open the door, which is the best scenario given your nervous disposition. It doesn't take you long to grab all of your clothes, and your Switch is still sitting on the couch from earlier in the day, so you are in and out within a couple of minutes.

It’s kind of weird unlocking your own cottage for the first time in days, it still looks exactly the same as you remembered it, but it feels empty and lonely.

You shake your head and toss all of your clothes onto the bed to be dealt with later, quickly sitting on the couch and pulling out the bottles of water you grabbed from the supermarket. Uncapping both of them, you grab a packet of strawberry flavouring and tear it open with your teeth before carefully pouring it through the opening in the bottle. As the water slowly starts changing colour, you do the same with the blueberry flavouring and watch with bated breath. It only takes a few minutes before you have one bottle filled with bright blue liquid and another with red.

You heave a shaky sigh and pull the illegible notecard from your pocket, “I really hope this works.”

Grabbing the red bottle, you hold it in front of the note and almost squeal with delight when the red shapes disappear, leaving clean, legible blue letters behind. Temporary Monobeast Deactivation

Your heart nearly skips a beat at those words. The deactivation of a Monobeast would mean access to a new island, and if that happens to be the second island this whole thing is done and dusted. Your stomach is in knots, and you try to calm your breathing. While you had expected any updates from Naegi and Co to come directly from Monomi, there must be a reason that they decided to send the message this way instead.

Holding your breath, you switch over to the blue bottle and do the same thing as before.

Five Thirty in the Evening

You half scramble, half tumble off the couch as you try to find any sort of clock in your stupid bedroom before coming to your senses and whipping your handbook out of your pocket. Fuck. It’s already quarter to.

Despite the heavy aching pain in your legs from what feels like a full day’s worth of sprinting around the island, you work up enough adrenaline to make the run to the central island for the second time. Luckily the sun isn’t as hot at this time of day, only just starting to descend down towards the horizon. Your breath heaves and chokes in your throat with each pump of your legs and every muscle in your body is burning.

But you’re going to do it, you’re going to save everything, and you are going to be worth something for once in your goddamn life.

This is what powers you forward as you finish crossing the bridge and cover the final stretch to the gate for island two, still firmly closed, but as promised, with no Monobeast in sight.

“Yes! YES!” You cry out, running towards the gate and grabbing onto the hard metal, “Now I just need to figure out how to--GUH!”

Something whips hard into your gut, sending you flying backwards onto the unforgiving gravel and skidding a few metres back on your ass. Unfortunately not avoiding a ‘rocks in the panties situation’ this time. It takes you a second to get your breath back after having it knocked clean out of you, and when you look back up, you see the Monobeast is back. “Huh, what…but it-” You are cut off by a cacophony of irritating laughter and see that Monokuma himself has mounted the beast. “You- oh my god-” he breaks down in laughter, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes, “You actually fell for it, oh my god .” Dread rises like bile in your stomach, “...what?” “Fucking hell. If you’re the only help these kids have got you might as well bury them right now to save them the trouble.” He clutches his stomach, doubling over with another bout of laughter, “There ain’t even a ceiling out here, but I bet if I told you I’d written gullible on it you’d look right up, wouldn’t’cha? Upuhpuhpuhpuh~”

You manage to drag yourself to your shaking feet, feeling hot tears of anger rolling down your cheeks, “So was this just a joke?” You yell, “A fucking prank? ” Monokuma’s laughter stops instantly, and he jumps down from the Monobeast, “Sure was! I got you great didn’t I?” “Why would you do that?” You ask desperately, whole body aching and sore, trying everything not to burst into sobs, “I mean, what do you even have to gain?” “Oh?” Monokuma tilts his head to the side, “Did you forget my whole MO, did the nasty tiger hit’cha too hard?” You sniffle, “Huh?” “Despair, obviously! Watching you run across this whole island on your sore little legs just thinking-” your own voice starts coming out of his mouth, like he had just ripped the sound files from the code, “Oh! If only I could get to the second island! Everyone would be saved, and Nagito Komaeda would finally stick his-”

“JUST SHUT UP! STOP DOING THIS TO ME!” You cry out, hands balled into fists at your sides, unable to fight back the stream of tears escaping your watery eyes.

“Aw shucks, I could never stop. It’s just so funny!”

You cover your face with your hands, openly crying now and too embarrassed to let Monokuma see how thoroughly he has hurt you. It makes sense, in retrospect, leaving that card in the arcade machine was such a convoluted method of contacting you, and Monokuma was the one who arranged the whole motive, he was the only one with access inside the machine. You might have realised if only you weren’t so stupid .

“There there.” Monokuma says, patting one of your legs with a stubby paw, “Just let it all out.” You jerk away from him, “Don’t touch me!”

“Yeah yeah, Alright. All this crying is starting to make me sad, so I’m gonna head off.” You lower your hands to glower at him. Monokuma winks.

“I’ve got one last thing for you though, just a little present for being such a good sport.”

He leaps up off the ground and thwacks you in the chest. When you look down, you realise that he has stuck the dreaded ‘I'm sorry I was born stupid’ sticker on the front of your dress. You’re so far gone that it makes you start laughing a little bit. You suppose it is pretty apt.

“Real funny.” You say

“The actual funny thing is that if you take it off I get to kill ya.”

You freeze, “What.”

“Check your handbook, I’m not kidding.” You wipe your dripping nose on the back of your hand and pull out the handbook, quickly swiping through the rules section. There’s no point checking, you know that Monokuma doesn’t lie about this sort of thing, but even still, you feel cruel irony dripping down your spine like ice water as you see the new rule: Idiots must not remove their identification stickers for at least one day after assignment

When you look back up from your handbook. Monokuma is already gone.

Great.

#komaeda x reader #nagito x reader #nagito komaeda x reader #komaeda nagito x reader #danganronpa x reader #isekai fic

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rock-swag-tournament · 11 months

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i just found this blog but sadly its now the quarterfinals. hyped af for this!!

(im also a rising geo major (freshmen) and was wondering if you had any words of wisdom?)

It is the quarterfinals, but I do still plan to have a rock tournament (no minerals) and another funny rock/mineral/etc tournament which you can submit things to here!

As for words of wisdom...I've had this sitting in my inbox for a couple days and the best I can do is someone else's words. One of my favorite professors has a saying. And this man, I think, is legally considered a dinosaur. That is to say, he got his degree before plate tectonics became the widely accepted theory. Anyway, he would constantly tell us "You're only as good a geologist as the amount of geology you've seen."

Rocks are WEIRD. But the more weird shit you've seen, the better you are at identifying (or at least coming up with a hypothesis about) weird shit in the future.

And I used to be like "I can never be a good geologist because I have not seen that much geology. I can't afford to travel the world, or even the country, to see more geology!"

The good news is, you don't have to travel the world to see more geology. Chances are, there are some weird and cool rocks where you are. Or at least pretty close by. Museums, parks, outcrops on the side of the road, stream beds, field trips, university hand samples, etc are all ways to see more geology.

This professor had a couple other mantras and things, some of which were his and some he borrowed. "All models are wrong but some are useful" (George Box) and "No rock is accidental" (which may be original) but I wont get into those unless anyone is dying to hear more geology philosophy.

My own advice would be 1) Have fun. It's so dumb and cliché, but it's true. In particular, field trips were some of the most fun I've ever had. Even when I was wet and/or cold and/or miserable and/or exhausted (and/or a bit hungover), they're a good time. You get to see real rocks (that sometimes aren't accessible to the general public)! Stand on the edge of highways (and sometimes people stop and ask what you're doing)! Go inside caves or ford streams to see rocks if you're extra lucky!

Also, I haven't met a geology major who stayed with the major who didn't like it. I mean there were times that I was in the basement of the geology building at midnight like, "I have to memorize the names of 155+ rocks for a test tomorrow and I am going to fail why did I ever do this?" but I passed those tests, and there was always at least one other girl in my class who would show up and put on Studio Ghibli lo-fi and we'd study together.

It isn't all fun field/lab work and licking rocks. There is a lot more math and chemistry and physics (and even biology) than most people might anticipate. But it's all more than manageable. And it's COOL to see those fields interacting. So if you hate every second of it, something ain't right!

Which leads me to 2) It's okay if the plans change. When I showed up to campus as a freshman, I was CERTAIN that being an archaeologist was my calling.

I changed my major before the end of September.

Now, I was taking both geology and archaeology classes that first semester. I intended to get a minor in geology or maybe even double major. But I switched to a geology major with an anthropology minor (and a few other minors thrown in for fun). And the best part was, I was able to do both! My capstone project was using geophysics for archaeological investigation!

So, words of wisdom: See all the rocks you can. Love the rocks. Have fun with it! I don't know any other majors at my school that had field trips! I went to museums, outcrops in the middle of nowhere, and National Parks (and Greece for my research) for FREE. I got to play with rocks and acid and big machines and draw pictures and color stuff (the stuff I was coloring was a completely incorrect cross section of the local geology, but still).

And if all that ends up NOT being what you wanted, change your mind, but try and keep your love of rocks. You can always get a minor!

Obviously I hope it is what you want and it stays what you want! I want every person I meet to LOVE geology. So even when you are confused and there's too much shit to memorize and you want to change your major, see if you can't find some of the really fun shit about this amazing field.

Also, if you get the chance to use a rock saw, fucking take it.

#and if my ramblings are not enough i'm happy to elaborate #i am nothing if not long winded and passionate about geology #ask #geology

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blasphemecel · 1 year

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Oikawa Tooru — Jersey #2

PAIRING: Oikawa Tooru/Reader WORD COUNT: 6k TYPE: Angst, Fluff, Humor, Rivalry, Emotional Constipation (we laffed and we smiled and we crode) WARNING(S): Injury, There are no specified pronouns or identity for reader, but they are on the shiratorizawa boys volleyball team for plot reasons.

There are several truths in life.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The Earth orbits around it by spinning on its axis. Oikawa Tooru hates geniuses.

He hates Shiratorizawa, hates all natural talent, hates Ushijima Wakatoshi, and hates everything he represents. It's kind of his drive, the loathing, but really, he just wants to be something. And people like Ushijima and Tobio just seem to wall him.

His time as a first year student in Aobajousai is fine. He has his admirers, and Iwaizumi still slaps him on the neck when he pisses him off, and that guy Hanamaki punches him on the shoulder and calls him a heartthrob in a sarcastic tone when girls come around to watch them practice after school.

Sure, his upperclassman is still the regular setter, but that's normal. Maybe if he puts in some extra thirty minutes every afternoon, things will be different.

When it comes to sports, Shiratorizawa is inevitable. They're always going places, be it the junior teams or the high schoolers. Like when Ushijima washed them when they were in Kitagawa Daiichi. It's a school that upholds individual talent and prestige, so Oikawa goes to Aobajousai and it's fine.

They arrange a practice match against them two weeks after the season starts. None of the first years from Aobajousai make it on the line-up, and Oikawa's sitting on the bench next to Iwaizumi, and he heaves a theatrical sigh. "Only watching is so boring. I hate this."

"Quit whining," says Iwaizumi.

"But it's not fair, Iwa-chan! Look, they're all first years on the other side. Is Shiratorizawa bragging or something?"

Ushijima looks like a big lumbering idiot as usual, Oikawa thinks, but he's not even going to acknowledge his presence. Yeah, that'll show him.

"I've heard most of their players don't even get to, well, play," Iwaizumi says. "Maybe they're trying to scout 'em out." Coach Washijo does have a reputation for being high maintenance.

"So they are flexing," Oikawa cries.

Iwaizumi punches him on the shoulder. "I said stop whining."

It is not Ushijima who gets the first serve. Instead you stand there, and you look like you don't know what the hell is going on, but when the whistle blows, you jump high and smack the ball straight to the nationals. Their libero doesn't even twitch to touch it — hadn't expected it — and you score the first point, even though someone receives your second one.

Oikawa's immediate thought is to wonder if his serve is this powerful. And if it isn't, how much practice he needed to make it so.

His gaze stays on you after that, and it comes to his attention that you barely know the rules of the game. You're all sharp reflexes and raw power and high jumps, but the only time you make correct plays outside of serving is when the guy with the weird hair tells you where to block.

It has become apparent to everyone else, too, and most of the wing spikers target you since you're bad at receiving. Float services fuck people over all the time, too, and the guy in front of you fumbles when the ball changes trajectory at the last second. You extend your leg and kick it to the other side of the court with something like amusement in your eyes and that's another point.

Aobajousai takes the game, but it doesn't matter because Oikawa is wondering what that was. All of it. So he stays up late that night searching up Tendou Satori and Semi Eita and [L/n] [Y/n] on Facebook like a man starved for attention, looking for a victim to torment with the poke function.

He doesn't infer much about this Tendou fellow except that he had a bowl cut until not long ago. And Semi Eita seems to think being mysterious is cool because his wall is empty except for the strange messages Tendou has written on his board and occasional birthday wishes.

You're not discrete like them, but maybe you have no reason to be. Photo after photo after photo of you posing with trophies — first place, almost always — with this stupid, guileless smile on your face, but it's all for soccer.

What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you in the volleyball club now?

It's not like Oikawa's never won an award. He just acts like it.

Then... Then, he realizes, ah. You're one of those people he hates.

___

This is their first time at the Inter High as high schoolers. It's prime time to get bullied by Shiratorizawa for anyone unfortunate enough to play against their team. In the corridors, after Aobajosai's first win, Oikawa doesn't mean to eavesdrop, not really.

"Man, we got our asses handed to us," whines some guy to another teammate of his and a boy who's probably the manager, judging by his attire. "Shiratorizawa's totally unfair."

"I thought we'd have an easier time if we targeted number twelve because Ushiwaka is too overpowered-"

"Overpowered?"

"-but that kid's got demonic spikes, too."

"Number twelve is a meathead and if you guys worked harder, we wouldn't have been humiliated like this," says the manager before he lets out a yawn.

"Oh, shut it!"

"That asshole's asking for a shattered wrist hitting the ball that hard every time."

"Oh, so your spikes suck 'cause you're concerned for your safety? How convenient."

Number twelve, the other wing spiker. So you're a regular, huh?

It's stupid, anyway. No one can win against Ushijima by ignoring him.

No one can win against Ushijima, but that kind of goes unspoken.

___

He bumps into you and deems it rational to assert himself. "We're gonna win, you know?"

You turn around to face him and you appear confused. "Who are you?"

Oikawa's eye twitches but his lips curl up in a phony smile, anyway. "Oikawa Tooru," he says. "From Aobajousai."

He watches the way you squint at him until recognition flashes across your face. "Oh, you're that guy."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ushiwaka has his eyes on you."

He fakes a shudder. "And that's totally not a creepy thing to say."

You shrug and pivot on your heel to leave since your teammates are probably waiting for you inside the bus already, but for some reason he can't quite explain, Oikawa blurts out,

"You play soccer."

"Used to, yeah," you say. "You a fan? I'm planning on starting tennis in university." Then you rummage through your pockets until you pull out a marker and aim it threateningly at his forehead like you're about to autograph him.

"What? No! Not my beautiful face!" Oikawa shields himself with his forearms and once you appear to have stopped moving, he deems it safe enough to expose himself again. He thinks about how every word you said during the last minute pissed him off. Who the hell switches sports for every academic establishment they enter? "Tell Ushiwaka to mind his business."

You smile. "Sure, I'll let him know."

"... Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" You pull out your phone and dial someone, and he flails his hands around as he wonders once again what the fuck is wrong with you, but you're adept at ignoring his urgent gestures. "Hi, Ushijima. No, I didn't get lost, it was just a tough shit to squeeze out. Yeah, yeah, tell Coach I'm coming in a bit. Listen, some Oikawa Tooru said you should mind your business. Ah, okay, I'll let him know."

When the call is over, you tell him,

"He said you should've come to Shiratorizawa."

Oikawa clenches his fist and chokes, "Ack." Then he sticks his tongue out at you. "Whatever. Hmph."

You seem to find some amusement in his theatrics.

___

Before the match when everyone's doing their warm-ups, a hard smack echoes across the gym when a stray ball whizzes past Oikawa's head while he's setting before it bounces off. For a second he thinks Iwaizumi has finally decided to assassinate him, but then he glances towards Shiratorizawa's side only to see you panicking with wide eyes and frantic waves of your hands. You rub your head, still grimacing. "I'm so sorry!"

"You blockhead! What's the point if the ball makes it out of bounds?! That's ten extra laps next practice," Coach Washijo reprimands, shaking his fist in the air while you shriek and duck away from him before you skid to the other corner of the room.

Oikawa stares while Tendou points and laughs at you. Did you do that on purpose? Are you picking a fight? It didn't seem that way, but the thought of a Shiratorizawa member being endearing to him makes Oikawa sick.

___

He can't help it; Oikawa is always looking at different spikers and thinking about how he'd utilize them. Even on opposing teams and even about Ushijima once or twice, but it's more of an ego thing. He likes the idea of everyone reaching their full potential when he's pulling the strings.

Unlike Semi Eita during the practice match, Shiratorizawa's regular third-year setter doesn't toss to you or anyone else much at all. Not that it stops Ushijima from stomping all over them throughout the first set — like usual, really, since Oikawa and Iwaizumi are the only ones who can even attempt receiving those left-handed spikes — but Shiratorizawa has all these tall heavy-hitters, and only one of them gets to shine.

You're the kind of useful idiot who's running all across the court to make sure Ushijima has enough energy to spare for all five potential sets. And you don't stop or think because with people like you, of natural talent and ability, flinging yourself at the ball wherever it goes is about enough.

Up front, he gets to face you head-on and it's better because it doesn't seem as impossible. Again, taking notes is something he does almost unconsciously, even if only to help him read the game better. He likes to think he knows he's good enough of a setter to hone a sense for these things. The two third-years rush to attempt to wall Ushijima, but from the toss, the only person who spikes that high, from that position, is...

When Oikawa blocks you, it feels like you're trying to break his arms. His hands sting, but it doesn't matter because the ball makes it back to your side of the court, and the pain doesn't matter either because he's endured worse just to make this happen.

He lets out a dramatic ouch before he flicks his fingers and your mouth parts open in surprise. Do you have to be so shocked that he managed to stop you. How conceited-

"Woah, that's awesome," you say, looking at him through the net.

"Eh?"

You point at your teammate. "You read his ass!"

He blinks. Once more, "Eh?!"

Begrudgingly, days after that stupid, familiar, devastating feeling of losing a match right at the finals, Oikawa admits to himself he finds it a shame that someone like you has to play second fiddle to Ushijima. But maybe he just hates him and hates you a little less.

___

"Could you stop staring at their number twelve like a pervert all the time?" asks Iwaizumi. Casually.

It's another practice match. Tendou Satori tells you something while you're holding your water bottle, then you squeeze it and water squirts straight into your eye. Tendou all but dies laughing until Semi Eita smacks him on the neck and scolds him, though it hardly seems to phase him.

He's not ogling you or anything. You look stupid, is all.

"Wh- I never did such a thing! Stop being trashy."

"Says Trashykawa."

Oikawa pretends to flip his fringe. "You don't have to be jealous."

With his usual pout on his face, Iwaizumi looks a touch more incredulous than usual when he raises his eyebrows. "Jealous?"

"I understand you want my attention all the time." He grabs Iwaizumi by the shoulder and sighs like this is some kind of Shakespearean play. "But you don't need to act out-"

Just before Iwaizumi is about to call him a dumbass, which is his usual repertoire when it comes to insulting him, Mattsun and Makki join the conversation with intentions of ruining Oikawa's day. Apparently they'd overheard all that. Hanamaki whistles and says, "Fraternizing with the enemy, aren't we?"

"No fraternizing is going on," Matsukawa says with a shit-eating grin. "I think that's the kinda thing that's supposed to go both ways."

"Ooh, savage," supplies Makki with a snicker. Jerk. It's not funny.

"Like I'd want [L/n]'s Shiratorizawa cooties." Oikawa crosses his arms, and he means it in full seriousness when he says this.

"Shiratorizawa cooties," repeats Iwaizumi, like he's trying to get him to understand how ridiculous he sounds. "Why are you an overgrown baby?"

"Besides, I didn't even know that person's name, but you do," Matsukawa adds.

"Wah! Stop ganging up on me!" Oikawa covers his ears and Iwaizumi gestures towards him with a shake of his head as if to say, 'See, an overgrown baby,' and Matsukawa and Hanamaki nod as if to answer, 'Yeah, an overgrown baby.' "You big bullies, I'm telling!"

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes.

"Telling?" Hanamaki asks. "Are you twelve?"

___

Oikawa never had any expectations to see you outside of a court, much less at this time of night. He's a few steps away from school when you appear into view, running, and then you halt when you notice him. At least you're as quick to recognize him as he is to you, so Matsukawa could eat that.

He's not sure if greeting you would be appropriate. It'd be cordial, yes, but you're on opposing teams and he's kind of notorious for being unable to stand your ace. Not like you leave him any time to think about his decision because you make your way in front of him. "Why are you out so late?"

"You are, too!" he says, though he doesn't have much reason to sound annoyed.

"I was out on a jog."

"All the way out here? Are you stalking me? Are you a fan?" he taunts, even though it's obvious you've crossed paths with him by accident.

The cleverness of him throwing back your words at you seems to escape you, and if it doesn't you don't care enough to acknowledge it or be impressed. "You're still wearing your uniform," you say. "Were you practicing 'till now?"

Oikawa doesn't see how that's any of your business. "Observant, aren't we?"

"Not really," you say with an impish grin. "I'm pretty dull."

You seem like such a happy person, but he figures it must be easy when you're on the side that wins all the time and when you've made it onto the list of most promising rookies despite playing for less than a year. Not that Oikawa's name isn't there, but this is different.

"What do you want?"

"I'm curious about you."

He's a bit dumbfounded by that.

"You talked to me at the Inter Highs before."

"So?"

"So," you say. "That means you're curious about me too, right?"

"No, I'm not. You're projecting," he whines and his tone is all defensive. "I'm going now," he finishes lamely.

"Bye-bye. Take it easy, alright?"

Like you're one to talk. You make some of the most exaggerated movements he's ever seen and put too much force in both your spikes and your serves and it's probably not even a big deal. Your concern pisses him off.

___

Oikawa makes it to second year without ever going to nationals. But it's fine, they'll get two more chances to try, or at least that's what he settles on telling himself. Another year means another practice match, and another, and another, and what that means is more chances to see Ushijima's annoying mug. He scoffs when Iwaizumi tells him to behave.

"I'm not your dog, Iwa-chan, you brute," he pretends to cry.

"Please spare me the embarrassment."

There are some changes, of course. High school teams rarely resemble what they used to be by the time another season rolls around. He watches you hound some newbie along with Tendou during break. The number on the back of your shirt now reads seven instead of twelve. You push yourself up and down the bench with your leg while Tendou is having the time of his life bothering whoever this guy is.

"You can't seriously be doing homework right now, Shirabu," you say.

"Not all of us can stay in this school with a sports scholarship," he says as his pen flits across whatever exercise sheet he's filling out even faster than before, maybe just to spite you.

"You're such a nerd." Tendou covers his mouth to laugh.

"You're a smartypants," you add, and then you high five each other, much to Shirabu's chagrin.

"Oh, you thought you did something," he says before he throws his pen at you, or at least he tries to, but you catch it before it can poke you in the eye. That's some killer aim, you think.

"A souvenir! From our precious underclassman!" Tendou exclaims before he comes closer to examine it like it's a mystical artifact. "Lucky."

"Hey, actually, can you give it back?" asks Shirabu, flustered, and it doesn't suit the stern expression he's trying to pull off at all. "I don't have anything else to write with."

This isn't at all riveting. Oikawa doesn't know why he's always observing.

___

Oikawa hatefully watches Semi set for Ushijima across the field even though what they're doing is innocuous. Everyone else went back already, but he finds himself sitting on his ass in the middle of Shiratorizawa's open yard, taking dramatic sips of water here and there, maybe waiting for someone to notice his sulking. What his reasons for staying are, even he doesn't know. Perhaps he's waiting to discover Ushijima's secret weakness.

He was tossing to you before this, actually, just to see what it was like, but then you started kicking the ball around, not letting it touch the ground. His gaze flickers back to you, and he thinks you're an asshole because you've been at this for longer than ten minutes.

"Do you like my moves?" you ask, once you notice his attention is back on you.

Oikawa considers it. "No," he says, then drinks some more water for emphasis. "Why'd you quit soccer?"

"Wanted to try something new," you say. "Why do you care so much about me playing soccer?"

"Doesn't it piss you off being in Ushijima's shadow? You seem like such an attention hog on the court."

He bursts out laughing when your legs tangle and you almost lose your balance and trip over nothing. Though you're still on your feet, somehow, the ball falls down and rolls away. "Ushijima is," you start, like nothing happened, and Oikawa laughs at you some more, "the best." And then he stops laughing.

"I'm sure he is," he settles on, but makes sure his tone is sarcastic enough so that you know he disagrees.

"I love it."

He pouts. "You love it?"

"Yeah," you say. "I like to compete with him. He doesn't take me seriously, though. It was so boring in soccer. I was the best player in the prefecture junior leagues."

Oikawa's eye twitches.

"I know you hate Ushijima."

"And? Everyone knows that," he says, not unlike a petulant child.

"You don't need to get so wrung up over some losses."

Oh yeah? That's easy for you to say, he thinks with a scowl, before he figures it must be a good time to leave.

___

Semi is a much more competent setter than the old one, but Oikawa can't say that brings him any comfort, exactly. When they lose finals again, he can only see Ushijima staring at him with the same distanced look on his face. Like it's natural, like it's not a big deal.

You got six service ace points overall and goaded about it until Ushijima outdid you. Tendou told you to take your sausage party to the locker rooms before going out to celebrate later, and Oikawa had to listen to you argue with him about whether he's a twink or not on the way out of the gymnasium.

You're... competing with Ushijima in your own way, just like he is, aren't you?

___

Oikawa can't say Iwaizumi didn't warn him. Even wrestled and dragged him out of the gym a few times, but that's beside the point. He trained harder because it was obvious there was something he was lacking. Overcompensating. Still, he has an injured knee now, and he's going to be out of commission for a few weeks.

There is nothing he hates more than sitting back on the bench and watching a practice match. Too lost in thought, he almost bumps into you on the way up the stairs, and when he snaps out of his trance, he sees your hand is hovering in front of him. Then his focus adjusts completely and he sees the seven on your shirt is now a two.

He looks at you like you're an alien.

"Heard your leg got fucked up," you elaborate, though you don't see why offering help is something that needs an explanation.

For a second his face seems blank, until he reaches out to wrap his fingers around yours and announces, "Sure. I love getting treated like a prince."

You tilt your head because you really do not understand his character sometimes, but then you smile as usual. "Like a prince? Just for this? You're so silly."

"Hey! Are you laughing at me right now? I dare you to tell me you're laughing at me."

You help him up nonetheless, and Mattsun and Makki make scandalized expressions at him in the background just to be annoying.

___

"What are you doing here?" asks Oikawa in an accusatory voice like he just exposed you for doing something incriminating.

Like it isn't obvious what you're doing.

"Uh," you gesture at Minako, who's holding onto your sleeve and who Oikawa knows because she's friends with Takeru, mind you, "walking my cousin to volleyball practice?"

Minako cranes her neck to look up at you and asks, "So you know the creepy man?" while pointing at Oikawa.

"Hey!" Oikawa protests.

At the same time, Takeru snickers and says, "Is this your dumb older cousin, Minako?"

"Hey," you protest, too, looking the tiniest bit embarrassed for what feels like the first time.

"Yeah!" She beams at him in confirmation, which isn't really helping your case. "I'm gonna be even better than [Y/n] at volleyball, believe it."

"Sure, Naruto," you say with a roll of your eyes.

Oikawa is pretty eager to pretend the toddlers didn't just have a roast session on both of your asses, so moving swiftly on, he squints and asks, "How come I've never seen you around?"

Minako and Takeru rush to greet Coach Ukai, who they find cooler than you and him combined.

"I don't really hang around."

He rubs his chin as if you're suspicious. "Then what do you do?"

"Go to the gym or go for a jog. Come back. Pick her up." Then you raise your eyebrows, wondering why he's acting like you just committed a crime. "What do you do?"

"Take photos, duh," he says in his usual snotty tone.

For some reason, you struggle when trying to picture him doing that, but you lower your eyelids before your lips quirk up in something more teasing than usual. "Well, aren't you sentimental," you say and adjust the strap of your gym bag around your shoulder. "Sure, you know what? I can watch, too."

Your thigh is pressing against his on the bench. Affection feels bitter in Oikawa's stomach, and so, he asks, "How were nationals last year?" even though he knows full well Shiratorizawa didn't win. Not that you'd care, anyhow.

"Not bad," you say, then you smirk and glance at him from the corner of your eye. "Same old, same old."

He frowns and huffs.

"You took a dig at me first."

"Yeah, but gallows humor is only funny when you're in the gallows, you know?" Oikawa punches you on the shoulder with a cry.

"Maybe," you allow. "Your team's good. I think we played worse guys there once or twice."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, in case you're wondering."

"Sometimes," you fiddle with the drawstrings on your shorts, "when Coach puts me out, and I'm looking at the game from the sidelines, I kinda root for you instead."

At this, Oikawa punches you on the shoulder even harder, then whines some more. "I don't need your dumb pity either."

You've got a charming smile and he really, really hates that about you. Among other things.

___

It doesn't stop Shiratorizawa from winning Inter Highs again, but Oikawa thinks they were in their prime last year, with Semi as the setter. Not that Shirabu is bad — he's not — but it's like he's always shielding himself behind Ushijima. So it makes their loss feel all the more despairing.

Oikawa really doesn't need your dumb pity. You talk with him every week when Minako and Takeru go to Lil' Tykes, so what? That doesn't mean he hates you any less for always winning, or for jumping higher than him, or for being more flexible, or for hitting harder serves, or for having a stronger block.

So why you're trying to hug him right now is beyond him.

"Away with you." He waves his hand to shoo you and backs away with this grimace on his face that almost convinces you you're diseased. "You're all sweaty and gross."

"Be nice," chides Iwaizumi before he slaps him on the back of his head with a towel and disappears down the hall. He's probably hurrying to cry in the locker rooms. Not that Oikawa doesn't do it, too.

"A girl from cheer told me she likes it when I get all sweaty after a game."

Oikawa covers his mouth in abject horror and disgust. "Ew?"

"What? I'm sure someone thinks that about you too."

"You're appalling," he says in the most distressed voice he can muster, ducking out of the way again once you attempt to go for a second embrace.

___

There are several ways something can go wrong. Actually, Oikawa isn't ready for things to go so wrong this soon.

You're going down the stairs to leave the building after your win, Tendou and Semi trailing behind you. Oikawa is going up the stairs to look for Hanamaki, who had disappeared to god knows where. He didn't cry in the locker rooms, so it was possible he chose the toilet as his brooding spot. Or maybe if he's feeling cinematic, he could be on the rooftop. Though that isn't really his style.

You reach out to give him a high-five in passing and he's reluctant to return the gesture.

Oikawa doesn't quite see how it happens.

Maybe you slipped? All he knows is that you lose your footing and barrel down seven sets of stairs mid-step, landing straight on your left leg, and then stumble onto the other one. Oikawa and Tendou both reach out their hands like they're trying to catch you, but you already fell.

You jostle a little where you stand, but it doesn't occur to you that something might be wrong after the initial flinch. If any noise came out, the impact must've drowned it out.

"Shit, are you okay?" Semi asks, hurrying down.

"I'm cool," you say, then you take a step forward, and sharp, searing pain shoots up your leg. Immediately, you fall down to your knees and start sobbing like you can't bear it.

Tendou joins to help you up and they support you with their shoulders on the way to the nurse. Not that she could do much to help with that, probably. Oikawa gawps at the spot long after everything has passed like he's in a stupor.

But it's going to be fine, right? You're one of the most physically resilient people he has ever met. Surely he's overreacting.

___

You feel kind of stupid laying down in a hospital room with a cast on your leg. Like when something of exaggerated destructive force happens in a cartoon and then two characters who hate each other have to occupy adjacent beds. Actually, you feel kind of stupid all the time, so maybe this isn't that different.

Tendou visits you a day after your surgery. Almost like he's mad at you, he throws something and you catch it before it can smack you in the face. "You've got an admirer. Which, fuck you, by the way."

"Oh, is it from Yui?" You wiggle your eyebrows since you know this will piss him off. The two of you have been having this debate for half a year.

"No!" Tendou says, giving you the stink-eye. "And you keep your grubby paws away from her. If you scare her away like Saeko-chan, we'll never get a cute manager to pass us bottles before we graduate."

Yui is the latest candidate for the manager position. The last one, Saeko, tucked in tail after the first half of her trial week, though you think it was unlikely Coach Washijo would approve her application. He's always nit-picking.

"You freaked her out by showing her your Goku voodoo doll. I didn't do anything."

"No, you scared her away by showing her the rotten sandwich in your locker," Tendou argues before he pulls the chair backwards and sits on it with his arms crossed. You laugh when you remember the incident. She looked kind of confused when you first told her to 'come smell the sandwich,' but you're pretty sure she ended up thinking it was funny. Maybe. "Anyway, that's from Oikawa."

"Yeah, I can... tell," you say, examining the envelope. Not that you're the guess monster between the two of you, but it's pretty obvious since it's labeled 'From: Oikawa Tooru ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭*' on the front.

He sighs and slouches almost all the way down his chair. "I wish Iwaizumi would dote on me."

"You've got a thing for aces?"

"What'd he get you?"

"Chocolates," you say. You're not sure if you're allowed to eat that. You certainly didn't when you were on an eating regime for sports, but that's not relevant right now. 'Get better soon (╯3╰)' was written on the inside, so he hadn't even bothered to get a piece of paper. It's pretty shoddy, all things considered.

But you appreciate the gesture... Kinda.

"He came during practice looking for you and I was on the way, so." He shrugs. "Anyway, how's it lookin'? When are you coming back? The old man was bugging me about it."

"Oh," you say with a wry smile. "I'm finished, I'm afraid."

Seeing genuine surprise on Tendou's face, of all people, is rather rare. Maybe you would've eviscerated your ankle earlier if you knew. He sits straight up again to stare at you. "Wait, huh?"

You stare back at him.

"That's really not funny," he says with a forced laugh before he pats you on the shoulder. "You're always such a jokester. Now tell me, really, when's it gonna heal?"

"They said 'cause I was already under a lot of strain before it happened, it probably won't go back to the way it used to be. So."

Tendou isn't really sure what to do. He's not good at these kinds of things.

"Would it make you feel better if I drew a dick on your cast?"

"I mean, shit. Maybe you should write me a Hail Mary, too."

With a salute, he promises, "On it."

___

Oikawa sees you for the first time again after a little over a month following what happened. You're about to leave with Minako and he hadn't noticed before because you were sitting next to him on the bench, but he can see it in the way you walk.

It's not like it's hard for him to make observations. You're easily the most dynamic person in Shiratorizawa alongside maybe Tendou, while the rest of them are stiff. Quick on your feet, what-have-you.

Your limping isn't as bad as he expected it to be considering apparently they took off your cast not too long ago, but his gaze lingers on the way you're slightly dragging your foot across the pavement.

Minako pulls on your fingers and yells out your name.

"Hm?"

"Can you carry me?"

"Sorry," you say. They told you to lay off the weights, and you're already carrying both of your bags. "Can't."

"You suck!"

You laugh at her and flick her forehead.

"Uh," Oikawa starts. He thinks about the time he had a sprain and you helped him up the stairs, and he wants to offer to do the same, but the words don't wretch their way out of his throat. Besides, he has to get Takeru home, and... "See you around."

At finals, preferably.

"See ya." You give him a peace sign.

"What was that?" asks Takeru in a judgemental tone. "Lame."

___

There are several ways something can go wrong in life. It always has to be all ironic and shit.

This isn't how this was supposed to go.

You're sitting on the steps outside, hunched over with a fizzy drink in hand. Oikawa plops down next to you and he can recognize the Shiratorizawa uniform shorts anywhere, but you're wearing a random shirt and some tracksuit along with it. "Isn't it a bit cold to be sitting out here like this?"

"Whatever," you say, eyes flitting over to him. "The fuck are you dressed like a journalist for?"

"Gah! Don't be mean, I couldn't find my contacts in the morning," Oikawa cries before he adjusts his glasses.

You always seemed like such a happy person, smiley and cheery and air-headed.

"Why weren't you on the bench?" he asks when you don't follow up with anything.

"I guess you wouldn't know," you say. "I got kicked out of the team a few weeks ago."

This isn't how the finals were supposed to go — it should've been you and him playing inside, and then Shiratorizawa would've lost, and Ushijima would've bowed down to him, and you would've put your head in your hands and said, 'Oh, damn!' or something.

He traces your leg with his eyes and stops when he sees the way your knee cap juts out way more than it did before. "I'm sorry about your... injury," he says, because there really isn't much else to make of this.

You purse your lips and shrug. It goes without saying that you've lost, well, everything. Your biggest hope of getting into university was the stupid sports scholarship, and Oikawa has overheard those morons Tendou and Semi tease you for your abysmal grades more than enough.

"I think I'll try chess next," you joke and your smile doesn't quite reach your eyes.

"You'd probably be good at it. Maybe Shiratorizawa would have won if you were there," he concedes. He doesn't have any preferences on who wins between the two pains in his ass, so speculating isn't any more miserable than the current reality.

"Probably not." You pick your ear. "I really hate how Shirabu sets."

"Semi's better than him," agrees Oikawa in a mild tone, and you take another sip of whatever crap you're drinking.

Oikawa isn't half as cruel as he likes to believe he is. He thought — had really, really hoped in a way that's selfish and naive — if this were to happen, he would've felt vindicated. To see someone with an advantage over him get punished for it. But it did and he doesn't, and he thinks if it was Ushiwaka instead of you, he wouldn't have been content with it either.

You're just some dumb kids with dreams, after all. Be it your stupid desire to conquer every sport you can get your hands on or his desperation to make it to nationals at least once, to prove himself.

And really, Oikawa isn't as wronged by fate as he makes it out to be, either. He can still go for it.

You can't.

___

I got my leg fucked the same way reader does in this fic, broke both of them actually, and while one of them is fine, the other one that took the brunt of the it never healed properly lmao

#oikawa x reader #oikawa imagine #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x reader #oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa x you #oikawa tooru x you #one shot

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