I wanted to give thanks at @queenkatluv and Ec Universal/Reed for everything they've done for us and the show. Thank you for bring us wonderful times, happy memories and great characters. I'm already made a gift for Kat, so I have made another gift for Reed. (I know he doesn't have Tumblr, but this is for him).
Thank you, Reed, for being the best Lunar and for bringing life to this character. It was wonderful to see the start of Lunar's character to now. I'm gonna miss him and I hope we see him again and Earth. And I hope they're happy as can be now.
And thank you to @ayyy-imma-ninja for everything as well. I know you've been going through tough times and you've lost motivation over the course of time. But, thank you for being an inspirational to everyone out there and for being you. You have every right to take a break, just like Kat and Reed. Take care and thanks for everything.
And then some appreciation for @theinvisibledavis as well because I just think he's a snazzy guy and it makes me happy the amount of support he gives his friends and Coworkers. Chill dude. Be like Davis.
Thank you to everyone on EALS. Thank you for two wonderful years of memories. I look forward to see what the future holds for the show and you guys.
@cattatonically needed a bribe to get her blog post done so here we go! MatsuAi meet cute featuring bffs Ai and Kou you're welcome
"Hey, Kou-san? I think there's something... living... in the back alley."
Aiichirou looked up at the newest part-timer, gripping his broom a little too tightly as he talked to Kou near the doorway of the office. She whirled around to look at him behind the desk but he already had his finger poised on the tip of his nose. "Nose goes," he called.
"I hate you, Ai-kun," she muttered.
"You're the one who instituted that rule," he said serenely. She glared at him, a fierce look that would have lesser - or even just less-desensitized - men cowering before her. He simply blinked, waiting until she huffed and turned on her heel to stalk out the back door. He waited for a count of thirteen before he stood and followed her. It wouldn't do for her to know he cared enough to follow right away, after all. He was here to be entertained, not to protect. Sure. That would work.
When he opened the back door, lazily peering around it, he found her crouching gingerly in front of a pile of boxes stacked against the building across the alley from theirs. She held a wooden spoon in her hand, using the handle to poke gently at...
"Is that a dog?" Aiichirou asked. Kou shrugged, poking at it again. It was a dingy grey, covered in mats and grime. The third time she poked it, it lifted its head and let out a growl.
"Oh, baby," Kou cooed at it. She slipped the spoon back into her apron pocket and reached out to scoop the dog into her arms. It was small, and it grumbled and batted at her, but it was clearly barely functioning.
"I'll go get the car," he said. "Do you want to come with? We could leave Yoshikawa in charge of closing up."
"Which one?" Kou asked.
"The sister, of course. The walking pile of chaos isn't on shift today and you know I wouldn’t leave our baby in his hands."
"Yeah, that would work," Kou said. "You let her know and I'll make sure this little one is warm."
Aiichirou returned to the kitchen to hand over the keys to Karin and leave a few final instructions, then slipped out into the side parking lot to pull the shitty old station wagon he and Kou co-owned around to the mouth of the alley. She had the dog wrapped up in her jacket as she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled in, positioning it on her lap.
"Can you look up the nearest open vet's office?" he asked, handing her his phone. She used her own biometrics to open it, something he had long given up on fighting. She guided him through the quiet suburban streets until they reached a plain white building with a sign outside that had half its letters missing. Aiichirou glanced at it, then back at Kou.
"It has four-point-seven stars, three hundred ratings," she said with a shrug.
"Good enough for me," he said and turned the car off. He held the door open for her as they stepped inside. "Um, hello?" he called, looking around the empty lobby. There were benches and chairs against the walls, posters and adoption flyers on bulletin boards, and the whole place was clean and well-lit, but appeared deserted. Then a voice, low and beautiful, called from the back:
"I'll be out in a moment!"
Kou was already looking at Aiichirou, but he was extremely good at not looking at her when he needed to. Instead, he glanced at an informational poster about a pet health insurance plan, careful to also not look at the nasty heartworms poster next to it. He was doing a perfectly passable job of ignoring everything that was not this one inane poster when the door opened and the voice came again.
"Sorry about that delay," he said, his voice even more musical when no longer muffled by the door and the wall between them. Aiichirou made the worst mistake in his life to date then, including the day he agreed to go in together with Kou on their bakery startup, including the day he allowed Rin to dump Momo on him in order to escape to room with Sousuke in high school, including the time with the strawberry vodka and the stripper pole.
He turned to look.
The veterinarian, if that was who he was, was the most goddamn beautiful man Aiichirou had ever seen in his life. He was tall, his shoulders were broad, his skin was pale, and he was built like he had been sculpted from marble by a master artist. His hair was dark and fell in unruly curls around his ears and across his forehead. Aiichirou was pretty sure he could see a glint of metal here and there, rings in his ears and maybe one in his brow as well. His white lab coat hung in clean lines on his frame and his hands were long-fingered and gorgeous around his clipboard. He looked up and gave Kou and Aiichirou a polite smile and fuck Aiichirou was gay.
"Hi there," Kou said when it became obvious Aiichirou was too busy drowning in homosexual daydreams. "We found this little guy in the alley behind our shop. Do you take walk-ins? We want to make sure they’re okay."
"I'd be happy to," the veterinarian said with another warm smile. "Follow me to an exam room and we'll get the little... one... set up."
Aiichirou followed Kou and the veterinarian back through a set of double doors to a room with a raised metal table and even more informational posters all over the walls. Kou set the dog down on the table and it blinked up at her, clearly smitten in the way that all animals were when they saw her. Aiichirou only just resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Let's see what we have here," the veterinarian said, rolling on a pair of blue nitrile gloves, and—
Nope.
Aiichirou was not going down that road just then. He focused on the dog and on how the veterinarian was so careful when approaching it.
"Well, it looks like you both did the right thing bringing them here," he said. "Definitely in need of a grooming, and they look pretty malnourished. Hard to tell a breed beneath all those mats, but I'd say by the size we're probably looking at a main coon here."
"Isn't that a type of cat?" Aiichirou blurted. Kou turned to him with her eyebrows raised in a way that told him she would absolutely be ridiculing him for this for weeks at the very least, but the veterinarian just nodded.
"You probably suspected dog, am I right?' he asked. Aiichirou nodded, biting his lip and hoping his cheeks weren't as horribly red as they felt. "Yeah, it's hard to tell at first glance, but this is kind of my field," the veterinarian laughed. "But here, you can tell in the paws most easily." Aiichirou stepped closer when the veterinarian held his hand out to invite him up to the table, leaning in. Sure enough, the paw that the veterinarian held up was shaped like a cat's, and when he squeezed gently on the pads a set of ragged, vicious-looking claws extended out, then re-sheathed when he released the pressure.
"Can you tell if it's injured?" Aiichirou asked.
"I'll have to do a more thorough examination, but it doesn't look like anything too pressing. I'd say they probably need food and warmth, and a bath and a haircut once that's taken care of. Let me grab something for them from the back and we'll see if we can get them more settled."
The veterinarian stepped back through the door and Kou and Aiichirou looked at each other.
"No," Aiichirou said, but Kou was already talking over him.
"If you don't let me, Onii-san finds out all about you swooning over the pretty vet," she said.
"Rin-senpai doesn't scare me," Aiichirou scoffed.
"No, but he'll tell Sousuke-nii, who will tell Mikoshiba-kun, who will tell Momo-kun, who will tell Nagisa-kun, and then you're fucked," Kou said, smiling sweetly at him. "The gossip train starts with Onii-san, but it doesn't end there."
"You're a monster," Aiichirou accused. "Using your powers for evil."
"Yep. Now. Are you going to get his number?"
"I'd settle for his name, to start," Aiichirou said. "And I'm not going to hit on the vet while he's just doing his job."
"Coward."
"Whatever. Did you catch a name?"
"Matsukawa-sensei."
"Yes?" The door was opening and the veterinarian was stepping through once more, holding a tin can in one hand, a bowl and a water bottle wedged in the other. "We'll start with the food," he said. "We don't want the little one getting sick by going too quickly after the water, after all."
"Sounds good," Aiichirou managed. Matsukawa sent him a smile as he set the can in front of the cat and peeled the top off of it.
The effect was immediate. The cat surged forward, slamming face-first into the slop inside the can. It let out a low keening noise as it ate, breaking up with each slurping bite and swallow. It was frankly a disgusting noise, but Matsukawa smiled at it, reaching out to stroke along its spine.
"That's it, sweetheart," he murmured. "You're safe now."
Aiichirou watched in silence as Matsukawa poured some water into the bowl and set it in front of the cat, then began his examination. He talked as he did, mostly to Kou, telling her what he was doing and everything he found along the way. Every now and then he would throw a glance in Aiichirou's direction, but neither of them said anything to each other as he worked. Finally, Matsukawa leaned away.
"I can give you the name of a groomer who can help get this boy pretty as can be again," he said to Kou. "Once he's been groomed, bring him back here and we'll make sure he has all his shots. I didn't find a microchip on him, so there's no way to know if he has a home out there."
"Oh he has a home," Kou said, and Aiichirou groaned.
"You're paying for the supplies," he warned.
"Yeah, yeah," Kou said, waving her hand flippantly. "You'll thank me soon enough." Aiichirou just rolled his eyes at her, unable to help the fond smile creeping across his face.
"I asked you to find me a boyfriend, not a pet," he grumbled, then immediately froze. He was so used to making that joke with her that he hadn't even thought of where they were or what cute people were within earshot. But whether Matsukawa thought anything was off about his words or not, he didn't let it show. He just typed something into his computer and scribbled a number down on a pad of paper. Then he handed it and another small slip over.
"That one's a coupon for some quality food," he explained. "If you ask the employees at that store, they'll be able to point you to the right formulation for malnutrition, and give you some guidance on feeding times and amounts."
"Thank you, Matsukawa-sensei," Kou said, beaming as she took the papers from him.
"You go ahead, Kou-chan," Aiichirou said as the three of them returned to the lobby. He handed her the keys. "I'll take care of this one since you're buying literally everything else for the rest of his life." She waved him off with a roll of her eyes and carried the cat through the door, cooing at him the entire way. He turned to the counter and offered a sheepish smile to Matsukawa.
"What's the story there, if you don't mind my asking?" Matsukawa questioned as he punched some buttons on his register.
"We met in high school," Aiichirou replied. "Her older brother was my senpai on the swim team, and she managed the team from our rival high school. When we graduated, she shoved me into a culinary program while she took a business degree, and then made me teach her what I learned in the evenings. Then she dropped some real estate papers in front of me and informed me we were opening a brick-and-mortar bakery together. We live in the apartment above the shop, and she's the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met, but I couldn't ask for a better friend."
"Friend?" Matsukawa repeated, his voice a little strained.
"Yeah. People always ask about that one." Aiichirou laughed. "I get it. We're both hot as fuck. But we're also both incredibly gay, so alas, we will never be the power couple we were born to be."
"I feel like the world is lucky for that," Matsukawa hummed. "This exam was on the house. New customer promotion."
"That... doesn't seem right," Aiichirou said. Matsukawa leaned his hips against his side of the counter, his eyes catching Aiichirou's and holding him captive.
"New customers get their first examination free, provided they're beautiful and laugh like the coming of distant thunder. Terms and conditions: one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other offers or promotions. New customers must provide their names and a list of times they’re available for a dinner date over the next week."
Aiichirou stared at Matsukawa as his meaning sunk in, feeling the warmth and tightness in his chest blossom into a smile he couldn't quite keep down.
"Nitori Aiichirou," he said, "and I'm free on Thursday and Saturday."
The smile that spread across Matsukawa's face was even more beautiful than the rest of him. "Meet me here Thursday at six?" he asked.
Character description: Queen of the critically endangered shark tribe. She will do anything to save her people, even if that means killing others and being strict with her son, Siren. Appears in the awesome Webtoon Castle Swimmer.
Bloody Frigjørspyd – Mt: 17 Range: 1
If unit initiates attack, foes within 2 spaces of target that 7 damage after combat. Unit suffers 7 points of damage for every attack.
Shark’s Curse – At the beginning of Turn 1, halves the HP of both this unit and the closest enemy. Inflicts status on all foes restricting movement to 1 space through their next actions.
Summoned: How dare you summon me here! I am Queen Susca of the shark castle, and my duty is to my people.
“Tap!” Quotes: -Siren… Well, as long as someone makes sure he kills the Beacon, I’m sure my people will be fine.
-This spear has been passed down from my great-great grandmother, who killed a horrific beast 100 years ago. It is very important to the liberation of my people.
-Tell me… If you had to kill an innocent person to save your people, would you do it?
-You know a few pretty princesses in this castle, hmm? Well, I hate to tell you this, but my son wouldn’t be interested in a princess.
-*chuckles
-I’m willing to follow your orders… But just so you know, I still don’t trust you. Nobody ever approaches one of the shark tribe with good intentions.
Home: -Some of the “heroes” here look totally out of shape… Do you need my help in training them?
-Ugh, I can’t stand those stinky plants from my world… Such is an abomination of the god of the surface. I hope your castle doesn’t have such putrid plants.
-My son better have killed the Beacon by now, or else I’ll really let him have it when he arrives at this castle.
-Prince Alfonse seems like a honourable prince devoted to his duties. I wish my own son could take a cue from him.
-If you see my son, could you tell me? I don’t want him to have negative influences from some of the… interesting characters of this castle.
-Greetings, stranger. I bring you tidings from [friend].
-*sniff* *sniff* Oh, i-it’s you. No, I wasn’t crying, I just had something in- Ah, you got me. It’s not easy being the queen of an endangered people, and having to be strong while at it. Wanting to do everything you can for them, even killing… But there is no other way. My foolish husband died because he thought otherwise. I admire your mental fortitude and kindness to your soldiers, though… May the god of the surface bless you. (upon reaching level 40, five stars)
-Map: -Ready and waiting. –I’ll take care of them. –Your command?
-Critical/Skill: -You are far too weak! –No more waiting! –Taste my spear! –Feel my wrath!
-Defeat: But… my people…
-I am Queen Susca of the shark tribe, and nobody shall lay a finger on my people. (5-6 stats up)
-I wouldn’t mess with me if I were you. (3-4 stats up)
-Well… This isn’t very becoming of a queen. (1-2 stats up)
-Thank the god of the surface for this newfound power. (new skill learned)
Send me a color and a ship and I’ll write you a ficlet that feels like that color.Featuring Poly First Year Crows and NagiGouRei.
“Andthen you just twist the two yellow strands like this, and repeat!”Kou mirrored what Yachi had just done and, like magic, the knot fellinto place. She grinned.
“That’samazing! You’re so good at this!” she said. “So much betterthan Rei-kun anyway. He gets all technical and perfectionistic andruins all the fun.”
“Tellme about it,” Yachi giggled. “Kei-kun is the same way. He has tohave everything just so, or he won’t do it. He’s a real killjoysometimes. But so cute.”
“Howare your boys?” Kou asked, tying another knot in her friendshipbracelet.
“They’reboys,” Yachi said.
“There’sa story behind that,” Kou prompted. “Spill.”
“Youknow how our first date was to play volleyball, right?” Yachiasked.
“You’vetold me,” Kou said.
“WellI thought it would get better. I really did. And I told them, flatout, I wanted a beach date, with no sports and no showing off andgetting into fights with one another, just a relaxing day at thebeach. And do you know what they did?”
“What?”
“Theystarted a pickup game of beach volleyball. And made me referee.”Kou tried to hold back her laughter. She really did. But Yachi lookedso distressed that she simply couldn’t help it. “Don’t laugh!”Yachi shrieked, but there was laughter in her own voice. “It’snot like your boyfriends are any better!”
“No,no, they’re not,” Kou agreed. “I enjoy dates with each of them.The arcade with Nagisa-kun and the museum with Rei-kun, that sort ofthing. But when it’s both of them together, they try to findsomething they both like, and it’s usually shopping. My poor walletcan’t handle much more.”
“Youcould try taking them somewhere you like, instead,” Yachi said,tying off her bracelet.
“Icould, but they’ll find something to complain about,” Kou toldher. “Unless…”
“Unless?”Yachi prompted.
“Icould try the aquarium. It’s colorful enough for Nagisa-kun andeducational enough for Rei-kun, plus I get to look at all the neatfish!” Kou beamed, pleased with her ingenuity.
“That’sa great idea!” Yachi cried. “Here, hold out your wrist.” Koudid so and Yachi tied her bracelet in place. “There! All done.”
“Yourslooks so much better than mine,” Kou said apologetically as shefinished hers off.
“Ilove yours,” Yachi said. “It’s got character.” Kou giggledand held the bracelet out. Yachi slipped her wrist into Kou’s holdand let her tie the bracelet on. “I think it’s perfect,” Yachisaid. “Just like you.”
“No,just like you,” Kou said, reaching out to poke Yachi on the nose.Yachi giggled, and Kou settled into the feeling of hanging out withanother girl. It was a nice feeling.
Send me a color and a ship and I’ll write you a ficlet that feels like that color.This turned into TanaSeiKou and I’m not even a little sorry about it.
Seijuurouwas pacing the waiting room floor and making nurses and other waitersnervous. Ryuunosuke sighed and reached out on Seijuurou’s next passto catch him by the arm.
“Babe,”he said softly. “Relax. This is the best hospital in the city.She’s going to be fine.”
“Youdon’t know that,” Seijuurou said, but he let Ryuunosuke guide himinto a chair. As soon as his butt touched the fabric, the door openedand a nurse walked in.
“Mikoshiba?”she called. “Any one here for baby Mikoshiba?”
Seijuurouburst to his feet, followed closely by Ryuunosuke. The nurse led themdown the hall through the maternity ward and into the room where Kouwas lying on a bed with Rin at her side, holding a beautiful,red-haired baby. She smiled sleepily at them both, and Ryuunosukestopped short at how beautiful she was.
“Hey,”she said. “Sorry I had to kick you guys out. Wanna meet your son?”
Seijuuroustarted to rush over, but remembered himself and slowed to a morereasonable pace. Rin stepped aside to let him sit next to Kou’sbed and hold his hand out to the baby. Ryuunosuke watched the entirescene unfold, his heart too full to move.
“Ryuu,”Kou said, looking up at him with that look on her face that she onlygot when he was being especially stupid. “Come here and meet thebaby.”
Ryuunosukewalked forward as though in a dream. He stepped up to Kou’sother side and bent down.
Thebaby had his eyes.
Immediately,Ryuunosuke burst into tears. Kou smiled sweetly at him and held thebaby towards him. Ryuunosuke took him in his arms and smiled down athim.
“Hey,little one,” he whispered. “I’m your papa. It’s good tofinally meet you.” He looked up at Seijuurou and Kou, at the loveshe had never thought he would deserve, and smiled wider. “Welcometo the family,” he whispered to the baby.
