#trying my best to make that world feel precious and important to the characters. and the characters to each others

[tenderizedjestersteak]

LOVE your star wars work immensely your characterization is immaculate and such a joy to read

thank you very much! I had a lot of fun writing the fics I wrote and I hope to have just as much fun writing in the future :]

[staristseyo]

⟢ wind breaker boys with a deaf!reader and the soft rules they made. [ not requested ]

ᰋ. SOFT RULES : # 001

premises. you were born with a disability and that disability was not being able to hear, navigating through the world without hearing anything was difficult especially since you’re experiencing everything differently from others.

but— your ever beloved, boyfriend was there to navigate the world with you with a soft, guiding hands. ready for you to take in any moment, as they navigate with you.

they have their rules, soft rules they made just for you.

characs &. warnings. suo, nirei and sakura : out of character (?) , no proofhead , please let me know if i missed anything.

          ◟          𖤝  ⠀ 蘇枋 隼飛! HAYATO SUO

soft rules. never make them feel small

HAYATO made himself that rule to constantly reminds himself that to never make you feel like you’re small (if you’re taller than him then congrats) and by not making you feel small is by—

leaning down to your level whenever you’re signing something or just standing there in general, he wanna make you feel at least taller than him whenever you’re doing and it’s a win-win situation because he gets to see your features more clearly whenever he’s doing it.

sometimes he crouches down too, it happens when you’re fixing your shoelaces and insisted on doing it for you.

and that makes your heart flutter.

          ◟          𖤝  ⠀ 楡井 秋彦! AKIHIKO NIREI

soft rules. never make them feel left out.

AKIHIKO made that rules because he knows what it feels like to be left out or how tough it is for his significant other to join in conversations because of your hearing impairment. That’s why he made it his job to make you feel like you’re never left out and alone.

and by that, he means that whenever you guys are in a big group and people are laughing and chatting, he always signs to you or message you (even though you guys are together) to tell you what the other’s are talking and laughing about.

he always make sure that you don’t feel left out or alone at all, and it makes you super happy to have him as your lover.

          ◟          𖤝  ⠀ 桜 遥! HARUKA SAKURA

soft rules. always be gentle with them.

in all honesty, HARUKA will try, i mean TRY to be gentle with his significant other. not because you’re weak and vulnerable but because he’s scared that he’ll hurt you in any way. he’s trying his best to be gentle with some struggles of course.

he tries to tone down his voice because we know he’s loud whenever he’s flustered, he also slow down his lips movement because he talk so fast and he wants you to understand what he’s saying.

he doesn’t admit it but HARUKA will have a sense of comfort whenever he’s being gentle with you, he always make sure he doesn’t come as someone who’s rough especially to you because you’re precious to him.

the most important person of his life.

⟢  © aesyuki ★ my works aren’t meant to be plagiarized, reposted, copied, translated nor displayed in another platforms with or without my consent

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Editing Part 4: Worldbuilding Pass

Next up, worldbuilding! We're tackling this before structure, because you don't want to get too far into the weeds, realize a critical component of your story is wrong, and then throw your computer out the window in frustration.

Anyway, when it comes to worldbuilding, there's a lot of moving parts. There is no right or wrong way to worldbuild, but my preferred approach is to worldbuild as the story goes along. Any method works, and you can check out the worldbuilding tag for more. In editing your worldbuilding, you want to think about:

Trimming Front-loading/Info Dumps

When writing fantasy/sci-fi, getting down how the world works can take over the story. In first drafting, this is fine! But when you're trying to clean that draft up, it's better to weave this information in as you go.

Need to explain how the giant mechas guarding the city operate? Maybe your main character is trying to steal some precious alloy from one, giving you opportunity to explain how they work and how society feels about them. Have a magic system that relies on singing tunes? Show that off by having students practicing, or dueling rivals taking it too far.

You probably know by now that the thing you should avoid the most is "as you know" dialogue dumps - characters explaining concepts to each other that they both clearly understand. Another, weaker version of this is the "magic class" trap, where things are explained to the main character and the reader. A classroom environment is fine, but pair worldbuilding with action - demonstrations get out of hand, spells go wrong, etc. Make it fun!

Your World Needs Clear Rules (Sorry)

Listen, this is the part I hate. I have a WIP with the word "Rules" in the title and I'm still figuring out what those rules are. Argh. But the sooner you know the rules, the easier editing will be. The more clear those rules are to the reader, the more impactful breaking them will be.

If the rules of the world (you can't use warp speed too close to a planet's gravitational pull, the same type of magic cancels each other out) and the consequences of breaking them are clear, the pay-off will be satisfying for both you and the reader.

Use Your Environment to Your Full Advantage

You've no doubt heard 'make setting a character' and that's evergreen advice. Some of the best books out there are those where it feels like you could step through the page and into a real place, be it your childhood middle school or Narnia. Getting that feeling, however, is more than just describing a place really well.

Mood - How does the location make you feel? Does a dark, cramped room leave the characters with a feeling of dread? How would that feeling change if it was an overstuffed library with comfortable chairs?

Weather - Beyond the 'dark and stormy night' descriptions, weather impacts our daily lives and is often overlooked. A rain-drenched funeral scenes seems like it's the way to go, but how differently would that scene feel if it was a sunny day with birds singing?

City Versus Countryside - These books are a great reference for description, but also take a step back to compare how different situations would feel both in the setting and to your character. Quiet can mean very different things depending on where you are. A morning fog in the countryside might feel comforting to someone used to it, but to someone new to that environment, it might feel creepy. Think about both your environment and how your character reacts to it based on their backstory.

The Empty Room Problem

This is always a big challenge when moving from the first draft bare bones basics to fleshing things out. How much description is too much? (As a note, it's always okay to overcorrect - you'll have a chance to fix it later!) This post from @novlr has a lot of great questions - but you're still going to narrow it down to the most important details.

Escape the Movie Setting - You cannot describe the room like it's a movie set. Trying to do so is going to be overwhelming, and important details will be lost in the attempt. If you were to describe your room or your favorite coffee shop and could only highlight four or five details, what would you focus on? What gives the reader the essence of the place rather than a list of things that exist there?

Establish the Essentials - Is this your first character's first time in this room? Is it going to be key to several plot-important scenes? Some big, sweeping details when entering - how big it is, what's in it, where the windows are, how it feels, etc - are good to start with. Your character can briefly admire a full bookshelf in the first scene, and then study it in more detail in the second. If you have one scene in this place and spend too much time describing it, you're going to make your reader think it's more important than it is.

Engage the Senses - Does an old room smell musty? Does the coldness of the woods have a sharp taste? Does touching a shelf bring up a lot of dust? How does the lighting in the room make the main character feel?

Getting down the description of a room or setting is not something you'll nail in one shot, but if you approach each scene asking yourself "does this feel like a real place or a white room?" you can narrow down what's missing.

[dark-konohagakure2]

This one could be for Tumblr or AO3. Dealers choice <3 bratty girl owes kakuzu some money and shes gotta pay him back somehow ;P. Can he teach her a lesson about the value of settling her debts?

tw: noncon, age difference, blackmail, age difference, financial abuse, groping, size difference, face fucking, choking

All characters depicted are 18+

Kakuzu is in charge of the Akatsuki's finances, and he takes that role very seriously, mainly due to his immense love of money, money is the only thing in the world that Kakuzu loves and trusts. So when he's sent to go collect a debt from someone who owes the Akatsuki a very large large amount of money, Kakuzu is on the poor soul's doorstep almost immediately.

Having someone as scary looking as Kakuzu at her door is enough to scare the living daylights out of her, a reaction that annoys and amuses the miser in equal measure. He'll immediately demand that she either cough up the money or die by his hand. The poor woman is immediately panicking, revealing that she's completely broke, just barely getting by on the food she already has. This puts a wrench in Kakuzu's mission, he needs the money, something she's clearly lacking, so she can't give him the currency she needs. But that's fine, she can pay him back in a different way.

Her cute little body looks like it could fetch him a pretty penny, but Kakuzu doesn't have time to find enough men willing to pay for such a whiny woman's body, so instead Kakuzu will consider her body his payment, although it pains him to lose a single precious cent. He won't hide his unsavory intentions at all, shamelessy palming her large breasts through her shirt as he forces her against the nearest surface.

Kakuzu isn't shy, gentle, or vague about what he's doing, groping her body through her clothes as he rubs his large erection against her backside, his unusual and unforgiving eyes staring into her's as he prepares to teach her a very important life lesson; if someone doesn't settle their debts in time, then they have to face the consequences of their irresponsibility.

"Be quiet, you little tart. This is what happens to bad girls who don't have half a mind to pay their debts. Now either take my cock or I'll be taking your heart."

Once he's done feeling up her body, he'll abruptly push her down onto the ground, undoing his pants and letting his impressive cock spring free from it's confines, his manhood looking just as big and scary as the rest of him. Kakuzu will give no warnings or preparation when he forces his dick past her teeth, letting the thick meat stuff her throat to his limits whilst he uses it like a fleshlight.

Kakuzu is rough in both the way he fucks her face and the way he holds her in place, his large calloused hand wrapped tightly around her slender throat as he pounds it, making it difficult for her to breath with the overwhelming pressure both in and outside her throat. It's of no consequence to Kakuzu if she passes out from this, just gives him more opportunity to use her without having to listen to her whining.

If she does pass out, he'll take great pleasure in wrecking her other two holes while she's out cold and unable to resist or stop him, she knows this because Kakuzu outright tells her that as he's pounding away at her tear stained face. That's enough motivation for her to try her best to stay awake, even if that's becoming increasingly difficult with his cock down her throat, his hand around her neck, and her nose shoved against his coarse pubic hairs.

Breathing will become even more difficult when Kakuzu finishes right down her gullet, filling her stomach with his thick seed. It takes everything in her not to choke on his cum, or heaven forbid spit it out, Kakuzu will watch sadistically behind his mask as she struggles to gather herself after the brutal face-fucking he made her endure, cold sadism dripping from his every word as he addresses her again.

"That wasn't so hard, was it you idiot? You better get better at taking cock by the next time I come. What? Did you think you'd be off the hook that easily? The Akatsuki always gets what it's owed..."

Kakuzu is still rather annoyed by the fact that he didn't get the money that he came all this way for, but the greedy immortal at least got the next best thing; a much needed stress relief toy he can squeeze after a long day of dealing with Hidan's nonsense and the Akatsuki's seemingly endless ambitions.

[o-sachi]

You're My Sunshine - Various Blue Lock

ᯓ blue lock characters with a cheerful and upbeat s/o ᯓ characters; various blue lock chars. ᯓ tags; fluff, sfw, gn reader, no y/n

[🐟]: Trying out a different format for HCs 'cuz I feel like this works better for this request.

Sunshine x Sunshine

This is perhaps the healthiest of healthy relationships. Being around each other simply feels light and easy because they understand each other by heart. Both of you have a positive outlook on life, wanting to pursue happiness together every step of the way. Most likely, this relationship was a result of a strong foundation of friendship.

You two are always playful with each other, finding ways to keep the spark alive by being spontaneous and adventurous with your relationship. You like randomly bursting into a duet in the middle of cooking dinner or going on picnic dates on a weekend afternoon.

There's a good line of communication between the two of you that keeps the relationship afloat at all times. Although, between important conversations would be a lot of laughter, inside-jokes, and flirty banter. There's never a dull moment between the two of you; that's for sure. And warning: HE WILL TEASE YOU A LOT.

He thinks you're the brightest and most beautiful thing in this world. He'll make sure that you never forget he thinks so. And he will compliment you like craaaazy. He's so downbad for you (wholesome-ly).

Affection—both verbally and physically—are expressed freely and frequently. Neither of you feel the need to hold back on it. You always make it your goal to express your appreciation for each other as you continue to support and push each other forward. It's pretty much a relationship that cultivates growth while being genuinely happy. The type of relationship everyone dreams of, basically.

Isagi, Bachira, Ness, Hiori, Niko, Kurona, Nanase, Charles, Lavinho

Sunshine x Sunshine Protector

Not exactly an opposites attract situation... most of the time at least. But it's more so that he likes to take on the duty to protect you and uphold your well-being at all times. He just thinks you're so precious—vulnerable to the cruelty of the world—and would gladly carry the burden of protecting you from all of that on his back.

It's a bit of mystery to you how he can be closed off to the world but so tender and loving with you. But, hey, why are you going to complain about that? Besides, if you do ask him, he'll just grunt at you and ignore it. Deep down he's having a crisis about it though. The tough guy facade is well-practiced after all.

He isn't the best with words, but he makes up for it through other ways—touch, quality time, acts of services, and so on. He'll gladly sacrifice himself if it meant making you happy. He's so deep down the rabbit hole (which is you), but will never admit it... unless you beg him nicely.

Although, he does offer words of reassurance. They come off as rather... stiff. Their words lack a bit of warmth, but they serve to provide you comfort either way. It's mostly because it sounds like advice—practical words. But sometimes all you need are sweet words to get rid of the fleeting worry. Don't fret; they'll get better somehow.

But there will be the rare times when you give him support and reassurance. Of course, he won't say so—you'll just notice it after being with him for so long. He'll be a bit averted to the idea at first, but will warm up to it soon enough. The strength of your relationship lies in this mutual respect and desire to uplift each other especially in each other's lowest moments.

Kunigami, Barou, Karasu, Kaiser, Gagamaru, Raichi, Sendou, Snuffy

Sunshine x Grumpy

This was one hell of a slow-burn. But was it worth it? Hell yeah. Your dynamic is almost the same as sunshine x sunshine protector, but he's a lot more subtle with his "protecting" and best belief he will deny all softie allegations because of it.

But that's exactly what he is—a big softie for you and for you only. But since he's emotionally constipated, he shows his love in... strange ways, but he swears it's normal. He'll act like he doesn't care most of the time, but he'll always have his eye on you. He'll always reject your silly requests, but will humor you eventually when you start showing those puppy dog eyes (his weakness).

THERE WILL BE TONS OF BANTER. But it will mostly be you laughing and him groaning. You like to tease him a lot, causing him to reward you with the nickname "brat". He says so affectionately, of course. Sometimes he'll even tease you back just to shut you up. It works like magic by the way.

One thing he hates the most is to see you cry and he hates it even more if he was the reason for those tears. As much as you don't want to fall apart in front of him—there are rare moments when his callousness gets to you. Suddenly, he no longer cares about keeping up his icy exterior; he'd drop it all for you. He'll scoop you up in his arms and tell you the sweetest things he had never uttered before in his life.

He sincerely thinks you're the best thing in his life. Even though he's so cold and detached, you managed to melt away some of that ice. You balance each other well and that's what keeps the relationship going.

Rin, Sae, Noel

o-sachi © 2024 pls do not translate/copy/reupload my work on other platforms.

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fanfiction recs: ANBU

AHHHH!!!! I love ANBU fics, especially when they involve Sakura. It was such a cool concept, which was unfortunately never fully expanded upon. However, our lack of knowledge regarding the shadow corps allows for some really cool fic ideas since authors can take creative liberty on the structure and workings of the division.

In my opinion, Sakura had the most potential out of team 7 to join ANBU (at least more than Naruto). It's all about being discreet and efficient and although she wasn't strong during og, she possessed abilities that would be valuable for this. Her clever mind, chakra control, and genjutsu potential would've made her a good fit. Naruto was too flamboyant and Sasuke was too reckless and cocky, but this is just my take. However, with her new skill set from her training with Tsunade, I don't think she would be able to go down that path anymore.

Also, try out my ANBU ROOT list (some overlap).

Started: 2024.08.06

Last Updated: 2024.08.29

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Masks by mads999 || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergent || complete

1. Sakura's Inner is far more diabolical than anyone ever expected 2. Crows prove to be cruel mentors 3. Sakura comes to learn exactly how much she hates Kakashi (as well as how alike they are, in the most terrible of ways)

Kakashi is a hateful turd and Sakura is spiteful! One of the best character developments I've read for Sakura and she certainly becomes of force to be reconned with. The ANBU lore in Masks is absolutely phenomenal and I love the whole system that is put into place as it adds for some drama (lol). Also, can we talk about how awesome crow summons are????

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Five Kingdoms for the Dead - Evil Is A Relative Term || ffn || M || canon divergence || complete

After the Forest of Death, Sakura comes to realize that being weak is no longer an option. However, she finds that change is sometimes painful and that truth doesn't always come easy. Luckily, she'll have some help along the way.

It's been a while since I've read Five Kingdoms for the Dead, but I just remember it being absolutely great! I'll be honest, I found a lot of the mind stuff pretty confusing at times, but it was still enjoyable. Also, some great characters are utilized in this fic such as Neji, Sai, and Itachi. Makes me really wish that we saw more of Sakura and Neji working together in Naruto since I think they compliment each other quite well.

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Trials of Change - Espoiretreves || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

Haruno Sakura made a promise. Looking in the eyes of her Shisou and the reanimated Hokage, she took on the most important mission of her life. Go back in time and try to prevent the 4th Shinobi War. Now, Sakura is back to her 5-year-old body, with all the knowledge and haunting memories of the future. She vows to keep her precious people safe and stop certain events from happening, without altering the timeline too much. The trials her emotions and logic put her through have her questioning her very existence, but for the sake of peace, she has to push forward. No matter what.

Trials of Change is actually apart of a time travel series and I have to say that it is probably one of the best of the genre! Now, Sakura is not in ANBU here, but she works very closely with team Ro (Kakashi's ANBU team) and it's a huge part of the story, so I'm choosing to count it anyway. I really adore all of the worldbuilding and backstories going on here in addition to the fact that there are breaks. Yes, the story keeps moving, but there are other things going on, like playdates, and not just Sakura trying to save the world. Also, if you love Shisui then definitely check this out since he has a huge role and his and Sakura's friendship is just so precious.

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bite me and see, said the fly to the spider - MirrorImage003 || ao3 || itasaku || T || non-massacre AU || ongoing

In which Sakura is not initially a part of Team 7. In which she wears her failures like armor and brandishes her fears like her most trusted weapons. In which I do what hundreds of other authors have done before me, and rewrite Sakura's story. Non-massacre AU. Canon Divergent. Slow-burn.

After Sakura's first team, consisting of the graduating class's "expendables," dies, she joins team 7 and faces backlash along her shinobi journey. Sakura doesn't join ANBU until the later chapters so fair warning that there isn't too much content in that regards (unless it updates). Nonetheless, Sakura views ANBU as vital to her career as it offers her the highest clearance she can get. Gaining her opportunities for information her civilian-born status didn't allow her privy to.

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The Sixth Shadow - thinknicht || ao3 || kakasaku || M || canon divergent - eventual time travel AU || ongoing

No one seemed to find it odd when little Haruno Sakura threw herself smack dab in front of a Chidori and Rasengan. Not even Kakashi stopped to wonder.(He really should have.)

The story of how Sakura came to be the sixth hogake despite all of the challenges thrown her way. I especially love Sakura's drive in addition to the political aspects. However, be warned that Kakashi is an absolute HATER (in the beginning), but he gets better! The Sixth Shadow is extremely long and I only just recently got to Sakura's introduction to ANBU, so I can't say too much in that regard.

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Daughter of Fire - justjstuff || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergence || incomplete (maybe ongoing)

Sakura got up and didn’t bother brushing the dirt from her dress. She had a feeling she was about to get even dirtier.She looked at the memorial stone one last time, memorizing the characters without even realizing she was doing it. It would serve from that moment on as a reminder of her determination. She wouldn’t let Naruto and Sasuke join the names carved on that stone.That was her nindo.

Sakura's growth throughout Daughter of Fire is great and realistic all while pointing out aspects from the original series which were flawed and dare I say misogynistic. I struggled a bit in the beginning to justify her abilities, but overall the story is really well done and the ANBU aspects are quite intriguing.

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cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done.and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Such a unique take on a time travel AU and Cut the Head Off the Snake executes it perfectly. Sakura decides that her first order of business is to infiltrate ROOT and that's exactly what she does. Sai, Shin, and Shisui are all great characters and team Ro is present as well. Very good!

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Flowers - Idunmy || ao3 || E || kakasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Flowers only bloom just before they wilt When Sakura loses her fight against Ino in her Chuunin exams, she questions her ability to ever become a kunoichi, too weak to protect herself, let alone her village One wrongful promotion later and Sakura gets a second chance in the shape of a mysterious new teacher who against all odds is willing to put her faith in a young girl with potential and a willingness to fight. Or- a fix-it inspired fic where Sakura grows to be the powerhouse she was destined to become.

Flowers is a newer series (which has recent updates) and I love it! Critiques are made towards the medical ninja training, which I believe needed to be discussed and it's refreshing to see. In most ANBU fics I've read, Sakura is immediately put onto the strongest team, but here it's a bit different. She begins on a demolition squad, which not only suits her skill set quite well, but is a realistic approach to how she would be introduced to the corps. Anyway, it's one of my favorite reads at the moment and I really like where the story is going.

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names. - waterpllar || ao3 || T || gen || canon divergence || complete

There are no names or faces in ANBU. Everything is designed to be strictly formal, efficient and professional. A recently orphaned Sakura, however, learns that some regulations aren't meant to be followed, and finds a place in Team Ro after being shunned from her former teammates. (fic prompt from anon on tumblr: orphaned sakura in anbu with yamato, genma, and team ro.)

AHHHH poor Sakura. After her parents' death Sakura seeks Tsunade's help out of desperation to become useful. Under recommendation, Sakura's new goal is to make it into ANBU.

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Equinox - FM_White || ao3 || itasaku || M || anbu AU || complete

ItaSaku (Post Uchiha Massacre) AU: Climbing through the ranks of Konoha, Sakura finds herself with the invitation to join ANBU and a chance to learn from one of the most renowned and legendary ninja in the world. Despite her efforts to grow stronger however, she finds the world isn't as black and white as it looks and that some truths are easier to hide than others.

I don't remember Equinox very well, but I love most works by this author sooo. Anyway, Itachi stays in Konoha and instead it's Sasuke that goes rougue. Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru are newly joined ANBU members and all placed on a team with Itachi and things go from there.

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stars in our eyes as we dream of the heavens (the gods walk among us, sweet child, do not forget) - snickiebear || ao3 || kakasaku || T || age-swap AU || oneshot complete

“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto whispered, staring at his teacher, horror plain on his face. “You’re married?” Lazily, Kakashi looked down at his gloveless hand where his ring rested, “It would appear so.”

Sakura is born in the same generation as Kakashi and turns out as a badass ANBU married to him. This is super wholesome as it's a lot of the two of them bonding with Kakashi's genin team (Sai makes three) in an effort to help them out. It's a series so you can read more of the events taking place prior to the fic.

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Anachronistic Drift  - Elesrea  || ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || incomplete

Her plan was flawless. Save Shisui. Save the world. Time-travel, Sakura-centric AU

Sakura spends years training to be sent back in time and save the world from Sasuke. She isn't in ANBU, but rather poses as one in order to keep an anonymous status on her doings both in and out of the village.

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Sakura - lilac haze || ffn/ao3 || M || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

AU. Non-Canon. Time Travel. Please see inside for full warnings. Cross posted on Ao3. On his deathbed he was granted eternal peace and place to rest for all of time. Of course that was not appealing to him. Ever unpredictable to the end he had a counter offer. One that the Sage had to consider. In which Sakura's going to have a rough time. A really rough time.

Sakura is probably one of my all time favorite fics because the emotions are just spectacular. The story is pretty heavy on ANBU and ROOT aspects, which I always enjoy, but I wouldn't say it's a major focus. However, there is an emphasis on the unfair treatment towards kunoichi. Anyway, the characterizations and storytelling are beautifully done. Please share this author some love.

Check TWs before hand!!

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Hope y'all enjoy these recs, and please feel free to send me some if you have any!!!! I really appreciate when you do :)

[linkspooky]

Hey friend, beautiful metas, you are great at this. I would like to hear your opinion on the one who is the second best antagonist in Bleach for me, Yhwach. It's my favorite manga and I would like to hear the opinion of someone who could understand the message of his character and the final arc of TYBW which for me is also the best of the manga.

Yhwach's philosophy about a world without the fear of death has great value in the work for me and one of the things that makes it so interesting is how he somehow contrasts with Aizen in the arc of the arrancars. Both of them were wrong in their ideologies, and only realized it when they achieved exactly what they wanted. Aizen becoming an infinite existence, and Yhwach becoming a stagnant existence.

So, fun fact Ywach is my second favorite Bleach Antagonist now (not counting Ulquiorra because he's just a precious misunderstood little baby) but when I first read TYBW I didn't like him at all. It really took the anime for me to understand how plot important Ywach is to the story. I usually don't like saying this, but if you think Ywach is a badly written antagonist then you really just don't get him.

The thing is everyone says they want to have nuanced villains but it's okay to have antagonists who are just symbolic forces of nature. The true antagonists in Bleach aren't the bad guys, it's the inability of the ensemble casts to overcome their personal issues, or work together as a team. Bleach has really strong character conflict, it really feels like every character who gets screentime is on a journey that's symbolized by the progression of their powers, whether they be quincy, fullbringer, or Shinigami.l

Therefore it is okay for Ywach not to be a character with a backstory as deep and human as Shigaraki, because he's symbolic of the force of FATE that the main characters are fighting against. Which is why the best way to understand Ywach is by comparing him to Aizen, Bleach's best antagonist. More on that under the cut.

The Fraud vs. The Real Deal

So ironically just like the best way to understand Aizen is also by comparing him to Ywach. Everything Aizen tries to be, a force of fate, the controlling force in the narrative, the one who has everyone dancing on the palms of his hands Ywach just naturally is. Aizen tries to become divine through schemes and plots, Ywach was literally born divine. He doesn't need to call himself a god, everyone already calls him a god. The quincy gave him the name "Ywach."

Before we get deeper into their comparisons, I'm going to give an example of just how Aizen is a fraud. The reveal of Misaki's backstory in thousand year blood war really did salvage Aizen's character for me after I started to dislike him towards the end of Arrancar Arc.

There's a fine line to walk with mastermind characters. You have to ask yourself is the character genuinely smart, or is the author just moving things around in the plot and letting the villain have plot armor and plot convenience in order to make them appear smarter than they already are.

Aizen claimed that he'd had everything in the palm of his hand since Ichigo was born, and that was what made me officially call bullshit. Then, the Misaki backstory reveals that Aizen was in fact just bullshitting the entire time.

Aizen didn't actually engineer Ichigo's birth as he claimed. One of his experiments just happened to attack Ichigo's mom, and Aizen decided to stay back and observe the situation. Then he kept monitoring Ichigo to see if he would be useful later. Which is what Aizen does in general, he puts his fingers in a lot of people's pies and then is clever enough to push situations into his favor.

He claims to be an omniscient planner, but he's really just clever and good at improvising when random things like White attacking Ichigo's mother happen so he can turn those situations into his advantage. When Aizen claims "I had everything planned from the beginning" it's just another illusion he's using to try to control you, and characters who buy that are easy to manipulate.

Because Aizen is a fraud. That is literally his zanpakuto, making illusions that control the senses. Everything down to his zanpakuto the literal reflection of his soul is fraudulent. Aizen makes claims at godhood but he doesn't even believe what he's saying.

Aizen yells at Ulquiorra that people shouldn't accept the way the world is, that they should try to be gods if they have the ability to while at the same time Ichigo called him out that his true desire was to be just another soul reaper.

However, in the world of Bleach godhood isn't all it's cracked up to be. The closest thing to a god, the Reio, the lynchpin of the unvierse is a limbless being, sealed in a crystal, that was not only betrayed and backstabbed and brutally massacred by the shinigami who supposedly worshipped them he's also like completely helpless.

He's eternal and all powerful and the very being that holds the world together, and also all he can do is passively observe reality. Destroying the soul king is a mercy because it releases him from his eternal suffering.

This is where we finally reach Ywach, who is what everything Aizen pretended to be. Aizen had to rely on the Hogyoku entirely to give other people power, whereas Ywach naturally can gift the quincy with his power. Aizen wanted to become the soul king he was a mortal who tried to ascend to divinity.

Ywach is heavily implied to be the soul king's literal son. Unlike Aizen he can actually claim to be a divine being, and he's worshipped as one taking the name of the christian god.

Aizen claims to be behind Ichigo's every fight in the manga, while Ywach actually is behind Ichigo's every fight because he's been there all along, pretending to be Ichigo's zanpakuto spirit. Ywach as Zangetsu even admits this, he was limiting Ichigo from his true power while also convincing Ichigo he was an ally because he never wanted Ichigo to become a full fledged sorcerer since he's not only a fragment of Ywach but the embodiment of his quincy powers.

Ywach is responsible for ichigo's desire to protect others, because his decision to terminate all impure quincy killed Ichigo's mother. Ywach has been with Ichigo since birth, since all quincies carry a fragment of Ywach's power in them. When Ywach calls Ichigo his son, he's not bullshitting either, because Old Man Zangetsu the fragment of Ywach inside Ichigo was in a sense a mentor and a father figure to him.

Ywach is a force of nature, in this case he's fate. The same fate that Ichigo wanted to shatter with his sword. Unlike Aizen's claims to be in control he can actually back this up. He controls Ichigo to slay the soul king, and his literal ability "The Almighty" is to rewrite the future to bring whatever future he wants into being. He can peer into every possible future and see millions of possible variations fo the future like grains of sand and then just make the one he wants happen. He literally, creates fate.

However, as I said it's not actually a good thing to be god in Bleach. Ywach because he is divine, can't live in the world with everyone else because of his fear of death. He's terrified of death probably for two reasons, one because he existed in a world without death, he watched his own father get butchered in the worst way possible, and he was basically stillborn. He fears returning to the state he was at birth unable to itneract with the world. A state ironically that was much like his father when he was sealed in the soul palace.

He's also experienced the deaths of every quincy he gave his power to over and over again. So Ywach is the force of fate itself, but just like fate which cannot be controlled, Ywach is an entirely stagnant entity.

The exact opposite of Aizen who was someone who wanted to be just like every other soul reaper. It's why even though Aizen's a fraud, between the two of them Aizen is the ideological victor in the end.

Since Aizen was saved by Ichigo in a way. By giving him the worthy opponent that he always craved, Aizen was knocked back down by the pedestal he always stood on. He became just another soul reaper as he always wanted to be. That's why he was able to believe in humans in the end and give up his notions of becoming a god.

[shiraishi--kanade]

Point A: Taiga never actually wanted to stop VBS from pursuing Rad Weekend.

Point B: Taiga massively lost the idgaf war with himself with that one.

I promised I would not be LUtF posting but it seems I'll end up LUtF posting anyway. Oh well, here's a short-ish one

Taiga is one fascinating fucker of a character, but I feel what most people get wrong about him is that he never actually went into LUtF with genuine malice.

Most importantly, Taiga is a character who vastly prefers to speak with his actions rather than words; this is somewhat canon and is referenced in On Your Feet!:

With that in mind, you have to consider the things Taiga did for VBS (+ team) prior to LUtF. And it's actually... More than anyone else aside from maybe Ken.

1. Probably the most important one, letting them see COL venue (Legend Still Vivid)

This is both a precious memory for Akito and An and an important experience for Touya and Kohane, who have not been there before. He does this entirely on a whim by Kohane's request, but it's important to see that he is genuinely touched by Kohane's resolve, as well.

(It's heaving implied that literally the only people who would be able to give VBS that opportunity would be Taiga and Ken, but Ken was at that point still massively hitting the brakes on how much he wanted to involve himself into the mess that would later become LUtF - although we can see him starting to crack, as well)

2. Giving actual, genuinely good advice to Kohane that pointed VBS in the direction of "you need to connect with people of the town to be able to surpass RW" (Kick it up a notch)

Taiga and Kohane's mentorship relationship were genuine to some degree; even before that, in Awakening Beat, Taiga also gives Kohane the advice she needed.

Bonus point: he also gave this same advice to Arata, a kid he barely knows (Power of Unity)

This is genuine and valid advice; you can see how it ties into Nagi's story and how RW came to be. Why would Taiga be giving out free tips if he was opposed to anyone trying to surpass RW? Let's mark that down for later.

3. Helping out Akito as well (Fina a Way Out). Whether is intentional or not is up for debate, but it's important that it took Taiga to talk to Akito for him to finally find inner peace.

While he's at it, Taiga gives almost the same, if not more, amount of support to VBS. So why?

Because of VBS' third event, RISE. it's a pivotal moment for their story, and it changed a lot of things... But most notably, it showed Taiga that they are serious.

Keep in mind that Taiga never entertained Nagi's idea to pass their dream on to the next generation in the first place. It was something Nagi wanted, and what Ken wanted to see through, but not Taiga (Light up the Fire, Episode 7)

Taiga: (...Nagi. This isn't for you.)

Shortly after:

Taiga: after everything, no matter what you say to me, my resolve won't change.

Taiga: no matter what, I will make our music the best in the world.

Taiga: this if for nobody's sake - I'm doing this for myself.

Through the event, Taiga is strongly against the idea of giving up on their dream - on his dream. While he doesn't appear to harbor any grudge towards Ken in particular, he is very unhappy - and is downright cynical - about the idea of someone following in their footsteps.

So for the most of his presence in the story, what he does is just entertain the idea of VBS actually getting on that level. He's tentatively curious, but he's not exactly emotionally invested in it. He's taking a "wait and see" approach towards VBS as a team, nudging them on, but without any particular serious intend behind his actions - he doesn't believe they're strong or willful enough.

And hoo boy he waited and saw.

After the absolute hell VBS brought up at Crawl Green and most of the audience seeing Nagi in Kohane (basically confirming his suspicions), Taiga realised that oh shit, those kids are actually doing it... Which meant it was about for him to show them what they're actually getting into.

(please refer to the first picture again. I'm working with limitations here)

This isn't an attempt to kick them down as much to give them a reality check. Remember, for the entirety of their 3-4 rotations, VBS have been pacing in circles trying to figure out why they host an even after an event and basically achieve nothing. Moving forward, yes, but they still don't understand why the RW was the way it was, and Taiga wands to give them the answer, because they would never progress themselves without it.

Which is: a) Nagi's story 2) the skill difference between VBS and Radder. Caucasian Destination aside. Please suspend your disbelief for a moment. This is a shounen anime about rap. Still with me? Okay, moving on.

But why a battle?

Well, aside from him being a calloused old bastard who also likes to scratch his ego, because he knows that the harder VBS lose, the higher they rise.

Don't get me wrong, he's downright cruel to Kotarou and antagonistic towards the rest of them and talks a lot of shit, but all of it is to make VBS hit the ground harder and test their resolve.

Because losing and then getting back on top is how VBS thrive - their frustration from losing is what drives them to work harder. This is part of Vivid Street's battle culture, as well; they kind of weed out the "weak", depending on how the loser react, and good sportsmanship is encouraged - so trying to "get back at ya" after losing is entirely normal and a part of the culture Taiga and VBS both were practically raised in.

He's seen the way Akito behaved after battling Shephard, and he knows An well enough to know she's an extremely sore loser and will always push herself to work even harder. It's not hard for him to deduce the rest of the team will react similarly. He simply sees them losing, and losing in that way, as a necessity for them to realise their limits and find strength to move forward. And they do.

( ^ On your feet. Make no mistake, this is An's "I'm being a little shit right now" face. The "I'm about to rub your fur entirely the wrong way and enjoy it" expression if you will).

The entire 3rd episode was an - callous and assholey, yes - attempt by Taiga to rile VBS up enough so that they want to challenge him again, now with the whe context behind the story and what will it take of them. It was never, at least, not intentionally, attempt to stop them - Taiga is putting his whole trust in VBS as the only ones he respects enough to actually show the them the wall they're claiming to challenge, and he fully believes that when he does, they'll just come back stronger for it.

Which is why, as they call him out and threaten to go beyond his dream, to be even better than he is, he is smiling.

[theworldofkree]

I love your story and your babies SOOO much, I am also in love with you version of Harpies!! Thank you so much for making them and letting us be apart of their world, it's the absolute best part of my life haha, I cant stop thinking about them I've had a ton of questions...can I ask more about a harpies life span, their mannerisms and mating rituals in general?

Do they dance like other bird in addition to presenting stuff? (I would give my kneecaps to see Kree attempt to dance for Clara <3) Are there cross breeds or different types of harpies? How are mating feathers made? Do harpies have to be a certain age to make them? If they get older and have no mate what happens, can they still make mating feathers? Are harpies more solitary or hang out in flocks? How strong are their family ties/bonds with each other, would you say their bonds are stronger then humans (since they mate for life unlike most humans) How many children do harpies have in their lifetime? What happens to orphaned Harpies? Is there any difference in mannerism in offspring depending on their parents coupling? Can I ask more about lesbian harpies? If Kree had been a female would Clara still have caught his attention? How would his life have been different if Kree was a female? Would he still be considered unattractive by his own kind?

Unrelated but I was curious, what happens if a human were to consume magia? would they get sick? or would it give them light magical properties?

Sorry about all the questions, I know it's a lot and only if you feel comfortable answering, I just really really love your lore and you, I can't wait for the comic!! Thank you again for including us in your beautiful world and precious characters! loveyouokaybye

That's a lot of questions! But I'll try my best to answer them.

Harpies can live up to 200 years old, so twice as long as humans do. Since they are people and not animals, they have various ways of trying to woo partners, but it's typical for the males to seek out the females and for the ladies to ultimately choose who becomes their mate. The process can involve dancing, gift giving, singing, showing off useful skills, etc. There are yearly festivals/celebrations held in spring to allow for males and females to meet and woo each other, but I honestly haven't dived too deep into what those entail.

Harpies tend to stick to their own species so there's not really any cross breeding with other magical creatures, but there's a large variety of bird-like traits within their own species like color and feather placement that makes harpies able to look very different from one another.

Mating feathers are made by focusing the magia within a harpy to one particular location of their body and infusing a newly growing feather with that power. Only adult, fully developed males can create mating feathers and they magically attach to their chosen mate in a place she/he chooses.

They can make multiple mating feathers, but once someone has accepted one, they lose the ability to, making harpies mate for life. It's possible for them to make mating feathers again if their partner dies, but most wouldn't want to. Harpies can spend their lives alone without mates if they choose, but since harpies stick with immediate family and kick out siblings/ children when they're old enough, it's a more dangerous life to live alone having to provide and fend for oneself. Harpies can make friends with others, but "flocks" aren't really a thing for them. Their family comes first always, but their partner is the most important of all.

I don't know if their familial bonds are 'stronger' than humans, I think that's a bit unfair since humans can love deeply. But they are less likely to hurt/betray/take advantage of the ones they love than humans since they mate for life.

Harpies can have many children in their lifetime and can have anywhere from 1-5 children every spring. Unfortunately, many harpy children don't make it into adulthood due to the dangerous areas they live. They get eaten, injured, and lost very often despite constant vigilance from their parents. Orphaned harpies simply don't make it unless they're old enough to fend for themselves or if they get adopted into another family, most likely by a mlm harpy couple.

I don't know about the mannerisms thing, they all have their own personalities that have more to do with their experiences rather than who their parents are. As for lesbian harpies, they're practically non-existent. Harpies are being actively hunted by humans, and females have the most dangerous job of being the family protector. They die young often and there’s much less of them around now than there used to be. If a female happened to be a lesbian, she would have a very difficult time finding another like her. Harpies also have a stronger, instinctual urge to breed than humans do, so they have a stronger inclination towards males naturally.

If Kree had been a female, he and Clara would have never met. He would have easily gotten a mate despite being smaller, and his lack of fancy colors or patterns would have been within beauty standards, since female harpies are typically duller.

Most humans get temporarily sick when consuming magical plants or animals and tend to stay away from them. The only ones who consume magia regularly are southerners who, over time, have built up a resistance to the ill effects of magia. They get sick because non-magical bodies are not equipped to process magia through them. But, if a human can get past the initial sickness, magia can have a preventative medicinal effect similar to eastern medicine.

Phew! I did it! Hope this all makes sense and helps you understand Kree's world a bit better. It's funny when folks like you seem more interested in my harpy culture than even I am, but it's super nice to see.

[rinski]

SH2R Review

I don't usually do this, but we live in extraordinary times and I have Opinions.

So here is my review of the new Silent Hill 2 Remake. (tl;dr: when it's not bad it's... good? kinda?)

If you go into this game holding up the original and looking for all the ways the remake falls short, like that Bobvids reaction video, you will have no shortage of material to work with. The remake is inconsistent and I legitimately do not understand what they were attempting to achieve with some of the changes they made. This game is incredibly easy to make into something profoundly disappointing if that’s what you want to do. Like Bobvids points out, almost all of the most iconic or emotionally-powerful scenes from the original were fumbled. Not like “they tried to do something different and it didn’t quite work,” no no, no: They were fumbled. They dropped the ball and it shattered like glass upon impact. It's ironic: The game has what it calls "Glimpses of the Past," which are little shrines to iconic scenes and objects from the original game, with their own bespoke camera angle and a little jingle, but then they somehow manage to fail at preserving the scenes people care about most.

If you're reading this, we have both probably been passionate about this game and franchise for a huge chunk (if not the majority) of our lives on this dumb planet, and seeing someone botch something we’ve managed to hold precious for so long can be very painful to watch. 

But there’s also a lot to legitimately like about this game that using that lens will obfuscate. And I’m generally of the mind that we should try to scavenge for whatever joy we can find, wherever and whenever we can, because the world fucking sucks in general. And besides, it’s not like we haven’t had to endure other SH games over the years that ran the gamut from “aggressively mid” to “well at least it’s funny in a bad b-movie kinda way.” I think the best way to enjoy this game is to go in with the assumption that basically everything you care deeply about is going to be butchered in some way, so that you won't be hyper-focusing on those mistakes when the game actually manages to do something good. By all means jeer and throw popcorn at the screen whenever they mess something up—that's a lot of fun too!—but don't let the bad completely shadow the good, especially if it's only bumming you out.

To be clear: I'm not arguing that anyone should buy the game. Other people already have, and their playthroughs are free to watch.

The game is overly long, which leads to some pacing problems. They fill up some of the extra space with places and story beats that feel on point, but a lot of it is filler with only the faintest, somewhat-sour Silent Hill flavor. They do some interesting new things with the combat and enemy AI, but that also gets old quickly because combat is more mandatory, more frequent, and there's only like 3 different enemies in total.

The characters are all different enough that I think comparing them to the originals is just going to make everyone sad. I do not love most of the new takes on the characters. But I also do not hate most of them. At times, they’re even surprisingly good. 

I like the new James most of the time. He's different, sure, but he feels more like a pathetic worm man hiding behind a facade that he's only barely able to maintain. His voice cracks with exertion and desperation as he kicks downed enemies, and after he hears a spooky noise he asks a wavering, "hello?" There are times where his facial acting is incredibly well done and there are times where he basically doesn't react at all, like his "k bye" exit from Angela's final scene that's worse than if they'd just teleported you to the next room with no transition.

The first two Eddie encounters made me roll my eyes, because he feels like a caricature of the original. They made him look and act a lot grosser in the remake, like they imported the original into a character creator and pushed all the middle sliders to one extreme or another. But despite nothing about his design or initial characterization saying “this was made by someone who appreciates subtlety and nuance” he still managed to have some legitimately subtle and nuanced character moments that are their own thing, separate from the original version. When James asks him, "You're gonna go out there alone?" and he gives that slight smile and a distant, barely audible "yeh"? That's good shit.

I think my hottest take is that the new Angela is Good, Actually. I love the original Angela. I think she was perfect. This is not her. Trying to draw any comparisons between the two is a shortcut to feeling depressed and disappointed. There are several interactions with her that actually hewed too close to the original version, which didn’t work *specifically* due to these changes. And her finale is nowhere near as good. Despite all that, I like the new take. She stands on her own as a different (but obviously similar) character. I like her new VA, I like her new scenes, and the new Abstract Daddy boss fight is, I think, the absolute highest point the remake manages to hit. 

Maria is the one character where I legitimately don’t understand what they were going for. Even putting the original aside and letting the new Maria be her own thing… what… *is* that thing, exactly? To start, she’s barely in the game at all—she's absent during many of the scenes she was present for in the original. When she does interact with James, she’s so inconsistent that I can’t get a sense of what they intended her character to be. Hot, cold, charming, socially awkward—in any case it definitely doesn’t seem like they intended her to be “the Mary James fantasized about,” so then… what *is* she? James and new Maria’s overall vibe is “people who only barely tolerate each other because they have a shared friend group." In fact, one of the better interactions between Maria and James is the lead ring scene, where instead of being flirtatious, James dejectedly accepts the ring with a flat, “Oh… thanks...” like she just spat in his hand. So ok fine, they don't like each other this time around. But in the finale she still claims to be able to provide James with everything Mary couldn't, which... no? I don't get what she's attempting to provide, but whatever it is, James certainly doesn't seem into it.

Overall, the environments and music were amazing and on-point, but there were also times where neither was true. The non-otherworld hospital in particular struck me as generic to the point where I’d believe it was made from asset store prefabs. And the newer version of Promise (Reprise) that plays after the video tape is… weirdly up-tempo? Like, to the point where it undermines the tone of the scene (don't worry, it wasn't great anyway). 

Look: being a SH fan has been tough for *multiple decades* now. And I have no love for Bloober Team. They most certainly did not stick the landing here, and even if they did, I would be reluctant to give them credit for it.

I understand feeling passionate about the original. *I* feel passionate about the original. I understand how someone could experience this remake while hating every second of it. I believe I understand how Bobvids feels too, because he’s objectively correct: The remake does not treat any of your most precious memories with care.

And that’s why I wanted to write this. Because it’s very easy to view this game through a lens where it sucks shit, is disappointing, ruins your enjoyment of the original, and spells doom for the future. This game provides a scenic vista full of eye-catching trash fires where all the famous landmarks should be. But if you choose to look elsewhere, away from all the hot garbage, there’s a lot to see that’s perfectly fine or even beautiful. And it makes me sad to imagine all that going ignored because the trash fires burn too brightly.

And also: trash fires can be fun too, right? When they're not bumming you out, at least. Given the choice between "mid" and "trash fire," I'd choose the latter every time.

Silent Hill 2 came out in 2001. Since then we’ve had SH3 in 2003, SH4 in 2004, Origins in 2007, Homecoming in 2008, Shattered Memories in 2009, Downpour in 2012, PT in 2014, and, most recently, Short Message and Ascension. 

We have been scrounging for food and sustaining ourselves on dumpster crumbs for a very, very long time. So let’s not throw away this opportunity to eat a bite or two just because the chef is a piece of shit and the food is partially spoiled: A lot of what’s on offer is perfectly edible. It’s not the best food, no, but we're already used to picking through garbage for a few savory morsels. And within that context, SH2R is a smorgasbord for anyone willing to eat around the moldy bits. 

I recommend we eat what we can, while we can, because we're not likely to get a better meal any time soon.

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️ Ranking Richonne

#21: Rules Keep Changing (S5E11)

This scene right here - so beautiful and also very telling. I love this heart-to-heart that shows how much they can reach each other. Scenes like this remind me that we really watched two characters so wholly fall in love with everything the other is. And not only fall in deep love, but deep respect, appreciation, and trust. They really saw each other, understood each other, and changed the game for each other. And of all their bonds in the show, Rick and Michonne were always the most emotionally vulnerable with each other too. The way they became each other’s best friend plays an important part in the way they became each other’s other half...

I love the staging of this scene with Grimes 2.0 staying by their car from a distance while team family fix the RV. Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith are so clearly a four-person family right here and now. Like Michonne is Rick’s best friend at this time, but she's his future wife too, make no mistake. And I just appreciate that when their group got bigger upon reuniting with the rest of tf in s5, Rick and Michonne still kept super close to each other.

I love that Michonne shares some wisdom with Rick. She tells him the fight is over, and it’s so vital that Rick has someone in his life like Michonne who sees him so clearly and can breathe life into him and remind him that while the fight keeps you warm and fed it can turn on you if you don’t learn to let it go.

Rick needed to hear that because, as we see, he still was in that Terminus train car mindset which was making him go a bit mad. It’s precious the way Michonne softly says she knows it’s hard cuz Rick needs someone to be this gentle, compassionate, and understanding with him. 

And the way that Rick, even in this PTSD state, really tries to hear her out. The best. Rick and Michonne always communicate from a place of vulnerability, leveling with each other and sharing their own experience to resonate and relate with the other. It’s a beautiful thing.

Michonne looks at him so sweetly in this scene. And when she says the fight turns on you - Rick will learn how true that is because not releasing the fight in ASZ leads to some messy situations.

Rick tells Michonne that the concept of letting go is similar to what Bob was trying to tell him back at the church. "What to risk. When it’s safe." Rick will always pull my heartstrings because, at the end of the day, he’s a family man who just wants to keep his family safe at all costs, and that can lead him to be on high alert, which is stressful. 

You can just feel how much he carries the weight of the world in this scene. But having Michonne here to offer a refreshing reminder that it’s okay to let go, shows he does not have to carry the weight alone. Rick and Michonne now have a true partner and someone they can be fully human with.  

And then y’all, it gets quite interesting when Rick says, “When to let someone in.” I’ve always liked that he says "someone" and not "people." It’s like Rick's been pondering a more intimate level of letting someone in. Even the way he pauses, it’s like he deep down knows that “let someone in” means something more personal than just letting strangers like Aaron into the group. And right now, he’s confiding this to someone he has let in and wants to let in even more. 

And again, Rick is the type of guy who seems to really value a soul-level connection, and he seems to be the type who wouldn’t act thoughtlessly when letting someone into his heart (unless suffering from extreme PTSD). Letting someone in would need to have a deeper meaningfulness for him, and I know that at this point, Rick is slowly but surely coming around to the fact that it’s the woman right here on this car with him that he most needs to let in.

Then Rick says, "The rules keep changing." And it made me think about how I've always felt that because Rick is such a dutiful guy, it seemed to be such a stirring rule change for him when he was so captivated by Michonne in their early days of meeting each other. I really think that was a part of Rick's s3 hostility with Michonne at times because he was shaken that he had this draw and attraction to her so soon after losing Lori when the "rules" would suggest he should just be grieving.

All that to say, rule changes aren’t always easy for him, but it’s sweet how he acknowledges they’re changing and is coming around to being more open to it.

And then Michonne just puts the ultimate cherry on top of the scene by saying, “It did for me.”

Now, y’all, watching this back rn um…I’m surprised Richonne didn't become official the very next episode. Like what? I’m sorry, but there was nothing platonic about this exchange...

The way she says that and smiles at him. The way he stays looking directly at her after and then stays quiet and looks away cuz you know he had some thoughts that weren't platonic. This was giving 'I’m in love with you' energy from both of them. Can’t tell me any different. 😌

I just need to take a moment to unpack what this could mean. R: The rules keep changing. M: It did for me. Like wow. I guess if I had to be completely un-Richonne-minded (which admittedly ain't easy) then Michonne could just mean, 'I never thought I’d learn to let go and let people in but the rules changed and I’ve took the risk to let all of you in and embrace team family as her family.'

Sure. But like come on, I feel it’s not pushing it too far to say that there’s an element of this being about the two of them specifically. Rick changed the rules for her and opened her heart up in a way she didn’t think would happen again, and Michonne absolutely did the same for Rick. There's an intentional reason this exchange is between the two of them and not anyone else from the group.

Plus, while I'm always unsure of exactly how much time has passed during any given season in TWD, I'd venture to say that this moment occurs less than two months before Richonne becomes canon so it feels like this scene does want to start setting up that these two are coming closer to fully realizing their feelings for each other.

This really felt like one of the closest Rick and Michonne ever came pre-canon to acknowledging the love they’ve developed for each other. It was a beautiful scene, and to this day when I hear their moment interrupted by that RV starting to work I’m just looking over at the RV like...

Lol just cuz I wanted Rick and Michonne to get to stay in this very telling private moment a little longer and elaborate. But I understand their precious slow burn had to continue its steadily rising flicker before the wildfire could truly ignite in season 6. So this scene instead concludes with Rick excusing himself. He says he needs a moment as Michonne watches him with this loving compassionate expression.

Rick then goes to hide weapons before they take the leap that Michonne motivated and go to ASZ. Rick hiding the weapons shows that he clearly still doesn't know if this Alexandria stuff is legit, but even still they pull up to those ASZ gates (oh we're gonna talk about it 😋) And why do they still pull up? Because Rick trusts Michonne. Even over his own hesitancies. Love it.

And I adore the lingering shot of Michonne watching Rick as he goes. It’s so evident that he means so much to her, and I love that she is the one who most gets to see Rick the human being. And Michonne is so equipped to love and support him in all his humanness, just as Rick is with her.

This scene is just gold and genuinely meaningful to Richonne and their soulmate connection if you ask me. Rick and Michonne changed each others' rules and each other's lives. Oh, and changed mine too. 😌👌🏽

[swordbreakerz]

14 and 15 for my mi asks!✅ (sry if you got this multiple times, i had a little trouble w my asks lmao)

HI sorry for the delay my school term ends on friday and ive been dying badly from studying but i always have time to think about ethan hunt

14. Do you have any mi headcanons?

BOY DO I!!! same as my dear friend @astrallouis i am Firmly of the opinion that ethan has so much brain damage, and in particular:

muscle tremors (particularly hands, flares up most when hes not under pressure)

brain fog

migraines

slight vision issues (everythings kinda bright and has a bit of haze in his periphery)

as well as various types of chronic pain from injuring and healing and reinjuring and rehealing various parts of his body, disabled ethan is soooo important to me, and also ive transgendered him bc these are the two things i do to most characters i love (and if u want to read a fic about those things and benji helping him out with them i wrote one). also adhd benji bc look at him

15. What's your favorite mi ship?

rubs my aromantic hands together. preemptive apology for my long windedness. obviously benthan, ship of all time, and i DO think there is romance involved for them but it is like so the least important part of their relationship its like a bonus fact bc THE TRUST!!!! THE BEING PSYCHICALLY IN TUNE W ONE ANOTHER!!!!!!!! AAUEUHG the back and forth explaining the plan scene in mi8 killed me bc theyre SO in eachothers pockets and theyre just so..... holds them........

im ALSO a huge ethan/julia fan, and having just established my aromanticism they are one of very very few fictional couples that make me believe romantic love is real and not something made up by big romcom to sell more movies bc are you KIDDING ME. wasting PRECIOUS seconds in mi3 to kill the bomb in his head to tell her he loves her?????? julia TRUSTING HIM to come back after throwing that switch and then in fallout being IMMEDIATELY on board with trying to help and literally no one being able to pry her away??? they make me crazy. love is real. they make me feel the same way as love of my life by queen does, a song i cant listen to because it makes me cry like a baby

now into the weird zone. im weirding it. ethan and luther make me Crazy bc they have known eachother for So Long, luther has seen ethan at some of his worst points and ethan Literally nearly enabled a nuclear winter to save luthers life and im!!!! that is ethans BEST FRIEND that is the guy he shares his life with both literally and figuratively luther will Always be there for him, hes ethans guiding light and. im about to be a huge nerd for a second but you know how earths moon is tidal locked to the planet? it doesnt have independent spin, thats why we can only see one face of it, why theres a 'dark side' of the moon. the dwarf planet pluto, 9th solar system body, has a moon called charon and they are tidal locked to eachother, charon has no idependent spin of pluto and pluto has no indepenent spin of charon, they are their own smaller closed orbit as they orbit the sun and THAT is luther and ethan to me (AND ALSO luther is the only member of the team to ever tell ethan he loves him on screen. weeping and wailing) (and piggybacking on this benji and luther!!!! theyre United in Getting Ethan and close in their own right but like trulyyy nothing will ever be on the level of ethan and luther just due to circumstance and time)

and in a similar vein ilsa and ethans relationship is also soooo fascinating to me bc its So self recognition through the other but ilsa got out where ethan never can, and of COURSE she comes back to help him when he calls but she can never and will never stay bc she values her freedom too much AND ETHAN WOULD NEVER ASK HER TO!! he sees that in her and wants her to stay free SO BADLY bc he will never be able to truly escape the imf, they are The Same Kind Of Person and they have a deep understanding of what that means and what lengths theyd go to for the world and eachother

im cutting myself off bc i could go on AT LENGTH about the platonic and Somewhere Inbetween relationships in this series but my parting thought is that ilsa and the white widow have definitely fucked, go women

[steampunkhobo]

It’s my birthday, so I’m sharing by far my most self-indulgent post. I have two all encompassing interests- O Brother, Where Art Thou of course, what this blog is dedicated to, and ballet, which I’ve been involved in for many years and for all of my free time. So I’ve made the natural but very silly choice of combining the two- and not by commissioning the soggy bottom boys in tutus. I’ve gone through my favorite dances and picked the ones that I thought suited the characters best- or as good as you can get with these hillbillies.

I’m only doing variations and not pas de deux stuff or anything with a corps- the solos show greater depth of character, and group dances are more usually embodying a concept than a specific person or energy. These are NOT dances I think they would perform or dances I even think they’d particularly like, but dances that I think embody their energy and spirit. Written an explanation with each for the non-dancey people or people who can perceive these characters in normal ways. And because I can’t shut up about them ever at all.

Anyway:

Delmar:

This is not a particularly showy dance. She’s not getting into any crazy leaps or doing 20 fouetté turns- just a lot of really simple but clean and delicate footwork. It’s easy to underestimate this dance (read: Delmar) but not right to. The things that she gets, she really really gets. And the dance has a spirit all its own. She is in her own little world, something flowery and lovey-dovey, and it’s clear in the dance. She’s dancing for herself (if not textually), and the energy is so entrancing that you get caught in it too. And all that liveliness makes it feel like she’s being silly. Delmar is nothing if not silly.

Pete:

This is a dance that embodies strength- enough strength to get you through 13 years of prison and nearly getting murdered multiple times. (Surely that’s equivalent to dancing nearly an entire piece en pointe!) It’s a strength that’s been worked on and drilled in that it looks natural. To a casual observer, it seems easy, and even when you know it isn’t, it’s easy to forget just how much work it is. Everyone has a breaking point but she is fighting to make sure you can’t see hers. I also just love the confidence. I’d say sass, but that implies it’s unwarranted. She’s earned her confidence. That’s the attitude of someone who is right about most things and isn’t precious about saying it. You can make the choice not to listen to her, but it’s your own damn fault when you miss something or things go screwy for you. She commands attention. She commands respect. After all she’s been through, (Raymonda or Pete, take your pick), that’s the least you can give her.

Everett:

I’m trying to be indiscriminate with the genders, but there’s no way Everett doesn’t get a male variation. There is entirely too much swagger and arrogance in every male variation to go for anything else. And I’ve danced this one, so I know too well how pompous this one feels. Besides that obvious bit, though, this has a lot of flair, especially for a male variation. The peasant dances in Giselle are supposed to be a little less grand, based on folk dances and traditions, and that’s still here, of course- like Everett, a fancy hick is still a hick. But lord, is he trying to be fancy. And to his credit, it works. It’s just. Super transparent. But hell, if you got it, flaunt it. This is a dance that’s being used to court and charm the royals, and lord is Everett a charmer.

Tommy:

I love Tommy and think he’s a really underrated character, but god, we know so little about him. It was not easy to pick one for him 😭 Strangely enough, that works to Dulcinea’s advantage, however. She’s an important but mysterious presence, symbolized and discussed more than seen, appearing out of nowhere and returning just as easily. She’s going to do her thing, and if it behooves her to join your party or meddle in your affairs, she will. But she’s not beholden to you. Just kind enough to help. Also, supernaturally gifted. Just unreal talent. And of course, both performers had to put in a whole lot of work to seem that mystically talented.

Penny:

It’s hard to articulate why this one’s a match. Words are not a dancer’s strong suit. It’s just very light and feminine, fickle and girlish like Penny very often is- but this in no way signifies weakness. She is just as bosterious and strong-willed as Penny should be. Hell or high water, she’s going her own way. Everett’s being a shithead when he says it, but the truth behind him calling her a succubus is that the same traits that are so alluring on her can just as quickly be frustrating when she wants it to be. She’s nobody’s fool. Plus, that last bit with Romeo reminds me of that bit in the Woolworth’s when Penny loses herself a bit too much in Everett.

George Nelson:

The pointed fingers in this dance are supposed to symbolize electricity. And that’s all I have to say about that.

[spotsupstuff]

hi

you've mentioned that sparrows would have reincarnated as a slugcat?

would you mind elaborating on that?

also would they have met caper again after becoming all scuggy?

heehee

hoohoo hee :)c of course i'll elaborate! it is Her ✨ Fish's little best animal friend

wonderfully enough, Sparrows and the Tinkerer were developed completely removed from each other in my head, so Tinkerer still feels like a rather separate character from Sparrows even though they somehow wound up havin a lot of similiarities. exactly how the reincarnation stuff should feel like

the Tinkerer is Sparrows! and no character in-universe will ever find out. it isn't important. nobody but Tinkerer is affected by this, and Tinktink doesn't really have the means to speak about it. but for us behind the screens that know about this it will make Tinktink's interactions with the world just a lil bit more juicy

you've sent this at a good time, too! the day ur question came in i was actually pondering how to somehow make use of this reincarnation fact and not just let it float about as a lil bonus for the people that would know about this lil tiny ultimately unimportant connection

so, the idea: as we (probably) all know, Euros is going to end up developing the Rot. this is distressing for a large amount of reasons, but the main point rn is that Euros is also a secret archive of folklore of the lower circles in the Eo group, plus maybe even a little bit over the range's borders to the east (after all, there's two more groups right next door to him n he's a phone operator chief). Euros is going to die a slow painful death and he won't be able to care for or save his collection of knowledge, which somehow manages to hurt him more than the reality of his impending doom

maybe not so surprising, considering that in his archive are the stories, the history, the spirit of his late lover's home- a place he clung to for as long as he could, the one he spent the most time in with his overseers, the one that held people he constantly wished could be his citizens instead of the vile and fake *things* soiling the streets of Ales

so one day after the Fish has properly reconnected to the Eo group, is caught up on current events and trying his *damnest* to revive Mission Self-preservation even though it is guaranteed to be useless, Euros mentions the nightmare that he's living through

"I'm a dead man walking, carrying precious treasures of people that were never heard crying out. I've held them close and safely within myself for over two thousand years. And now, when I'm fated to rot through and splatter on the ground, I fear all this time will be for nought. That I will kill what I've been protecting for so long."

"Even if nobody ever reads these- learns of them, hears them out from above their graves- I can't bear the thought of losing them."

and well Fish DOES have a lot of beef with Euros, but at this point this bitterness is starting to give away to desperation and horror of the terrible torment waiting for them in the future. he might be stubbornly still trying with the Mission, but he would go against what makes him himself if he didn't acknowledge that they are all damned for good no matter what he tries. so he gives in to the pity and hails Tinkerer to his chamber

he explains to her what he needs her to do and tells Euros about the plan. Tinktink has to travel all of this distance

to get to Euros (basically walk through the whole Europe), but dammit, she helped one Iterator that became her closest friend, she will help another one (a different Gen 2 that she loved and dedicated her whole life to in a different life)

Fish sends her on her way with a hug and a plead to keep herself safe

it takes her over a month to get there even with the help of vehicles like the barely working trains and a remshackle sky-sail that Fish guided her through fixing in their free time together. when she gets on top of Euros' structure, the dejavus start to hit. she visits the Mechanics' home, her feet carrying her to the bedroom as if it was just another end of the workshift. she looks in the cupboards she- opened millions of times- never even touched. she walks outside and then down the path to the entrance into the Iterator she's- taken countless times- never set a foot on

she saw these halls so many times she can pin point where every screw is- she's never been here, she can't understand these giant beings, they are too complex for her animal brain. that specific rhythm of beeps and pumps and water rushing through metal veins has haunted- comforted- her in many of her dreams. the Tinkerer makes it to the chamber almost like on an auto-pilot

when she enters the chamber, the slugcat finds itself disappointed, scared, confused- this isn't what this place is supposed to look like (but how does she know what it is supposed to look like-?), this isn't how she left it (this is the first time she stands here, what are these thoughts). it's supposed to be brighter. warmer. why is the puppet's plating and skin damaged by time, where is it its vibrancy, why are its eyes so tired? there are panels missing from the walls ("it's got to be the results of that Fever i once made a proj- i can fix thi-! what?"), glowing artificial bronze robins fly about or sleeping on his shoulders, tiny Rot cysts pulsate from the cracks in the umbilical arm. where has the firebird in that halo gone off to?

Euros greets her joyfully ("oh what are you trying to play at, you goof. i've known you for so long, i can tell when something's wrong. what's hurting? why are you tired? i'll get you back into shape, doncha worry love.")

"Ah, you made it! Welcome to my chamber, adroit little thing."

"Please. Your journey was a long one. I hold no doubt a very dangerous one, too. I won't march you into the job immediately. Rest up."

Tinkerer thinks he's strange. but her legs are indeed hurting, the bag strapped to her is heavy. she curls up in the corner of the room and tries to get some shut eye. she almost falls asleep when Euros starts mumbling under his breath, shooting nervous glances towards the birds. five fingered hands tremble so badly the joints rattle like a child's toy. he's scary, when his shoulders hunch up like that and those tired eyes turn frantic. but it hurts so much to see him like that for some reason, more so than it is scary. so against the better judgement of a survivor, she softly coos at him

the puppet's head snaps to her, gaze cold. the mumbles increase in volume, allowing her to understand

"...I'll tell you what. I have another mission for you, little messenger. But it has to stay a secret between the two of us. Nobody would approve, especially not the one you belong to now."

something whispers that the puppet closing in is supposed to be a comfort. the larger part of the Tinkerer instead finds itself wishing to run away

"Are you aware of the Memory Crypts that lie beneath all of us City Bearers?"

cautious nod, back pressed against the wall

"Good."

[fangirling-heart]

Hello!! Here’s an ask for the sleepover Saturday game: since it’s pride month maybe top five queer characters/ships? (Or just in general if you’d like!)

Have a nice day!! <3

Hello hello! And thank you for the ask! Hope your day is going well too! :)

Now, I have spoken about my favorite characters a lot of times and a good bunch of them are queer, so I'm gonna talk about my top 5 queer ships this time. So, in no specific order:

Lumity

The batatas, the awesome girlfriends, the cotton candy-haired goddess and her Luz, Azura and her Hecate. Those two are so freaking precious and sweet and they deserve all the good things in the world! The progression and development of their relationship feels incredibly well-paced and natural and literally every part of it is beautiful! But one of the things I love the most about them, is how good they are at communicating with each other and that is so good and important, especially considering the directions other shows or movies tend to take (most notable example being the phone thing in FATCDP).

2. Caitvi

Good lord, these helpless lesbians.... I do love a good opposites attract story, but what I really love in this specific story is that it doesn't go out of its way to have Vi and Cait annoy each other at any given chance. It does this for a while, but it doesn't dwell on it too long or all the time and makes it seem more like banter than arguments or deliberate attempts to piss the other off. On a similar note, I love how understanding they are of each other and try to help and protect each other and that makes their falling out feel so painful and tragic. But when they meet again, they fall back on each other so quickly and while it could be a bit weak and quick, it still somehow works. And it's shown on the next time they meet, where things are not all perfect between them. Their relationship may not be perfect all the way, but they both do their best to keep it alive and they love each other so much. Watching them sit by the fire together at the end was the perfect ending to their story.

3. Soriku

Oh those boys... Childhood friends to rivals to enemies to friends again and now we're all waiting with baited breath to get to the lovers part of the story. There's so much subtext here and some of it could basically count as just text. Despite everything that has happened between those two, they still care for each other so so much, they spend basically two games trying to find each other, and no matter what keeps them apart, they fight it tooth and nail to find each other again. Even when Riku tries to distance himself from Sora, ashamed of everything he did, thinking he doesn't deserve to be in Sora's life, Sora shuts that shit down and instantly welcomes him back with open arms, falling to his knees and crying when he realizes they're together again. I want a repeat of that in kh4! And also a kiss! And a slow dance to Dearly Beloved, which is the title song pf the series and canonically the music the hearts of those two make when they're together and it's a waltz!!!

4. Nick x Charlie

They're so precious!!! I love them and their relationship so freaking much!!! I love how adorable they are! I love how supportive they are of each other, how they always try to be there for each other and I can't wait for the movie to come out!!!

5. August x Jane

(They're from a book so this isn't actually them, but it was fitting)

I know I'm repeating myself, but like the other couples I loved literally everything in their story and relationship! It genuinely felt so real and strong, as the electricity coursing through the trains. The joy those two felt sharing stuff and facts from their lives, the thrill of discovering something new about Jane and her life, the dread when they are confronted with Jane's situation and what it could mean for her and for them both... all of it is beautiful and sweet and tragic and... ugh!!! I'm running out of words at this point!

[taiyou-torikomu]

NAME: Kitsu❍Guru

PRONOUNS: He/Him, They/Them

MOST ACTIVE MUSES: Getou Suguru & Jujutsu High Students @jujutsu-fantasy

EXPERIENCE: Let's see, my first tumblr blog was a world of warcraft oc in 2015. But I've been roleplaying for two decades or more. I was there when go-gaia was born! As it happens, I met Sensei @mukagenborn online in the fandom I was in at the time, around '09? 2010? We starting writing together back then and now we're Best Friends. So be careful who you talk to online!  I started playing Megumi with Sensei in the Summer of 2021 after we watched season 1 together. I only played off and on when Gojo or Yuji came up in our rp. Much later, I was watching JJK0 with Sensei, because I wanted to know Okkotsu's character better, and realized: I need to be writing Getou immediately. I've been writing Getou since... September 28th, 2024. lol. But truly, these have been the most enjoyable 6 months and 2 weeks I've ever had with a muse, so expect to see a lot more of him!

FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT: My favorite genre to write is Adventure-Romance! And I like to rotate all three of those themes in circles throughout, like delicious rotisserie.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: I'm partial to longer, but I can work with brevity if we're short on time or collective braincells.

PET PEEVES: I have two. Let fiction remain fictional and make sure that in offline life, a person acts with the same - or higher - integrity and social activism that they extol when it comes to another person enjoying their creative hobby. My creative space is not a platform for someone else's virtue signaling. I'm writing for fun, for self-expression, to explore my muses, and to entertain my writing partners. And two: “Comparison is the death of joy.” Embrace unique. Celebrate perspective. Resist total homogeneity. There is always an open invitation for discussion and clarification, but a person's writing is like their thumbprint - it was meant to be recognizable but relatively distinct to the individual. I won't imitate you, so don't imitate me.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE: It would be a pleasure and an honor, imo. I also obsess over meaning, the human condition, my best friend and my found family. In my birthchart, it warns that I can be too defiant and inflexible in my views, but because I like to take up and stand for righteous causes, that I should try not to become a cult leader or an eco-terrorist. Lmao. So in that, Getou offers something like... 'If I had leaned into the extremism degree of my values, would I have done the same things? What would those drastic measures feel like?' Thinking like that gives me so much to write because I can see how someone so soft would develop so much edge.      Possibly? There are some similarities, as I like my main muse to have a degree of compatibility with my thought process, values, and relationships. I like to take a look at life through a different but relatable perspective, to see things I might have missed about them - or myself, because sometimes I can miss forest for trees and all that. A fresh take can help add a little dynamism to creativity, but if the muse is a good fit, it can also help me express facets of my nature that are a little shaky because in our daily lives, sometimes we are severely limited in what we can demonstrate, and when, and for whom. It's within my nature to prioritize other people right along with my own importance. I think uplifting another person can be restorative, if it stems from the heart and not the ego. If I see someone suffering, and I can take the weight of a 'curse' off of someone, I will. If I can use that curse later, in defense of something precious or invaluable, I will. It took me a long time to learn how to survive my own empathy, and what to do with the burdens that I collected from others out of a sense of responsibility and compassion.     Getou has been a fascinating muse to me, in that the trait I was trying to refine in myself, was built into his character as his operative ability. If nothing else, it's been helpful to me when I start to feel overwhelmed by what needs to be done in regards to another person's situation, to pause and consider whether I want to take on their curse or not. Putting it in a voluntary sense helps realign my purpose for being involved in the moment. Are any of these similarities between mun and muse? That's so subjective, who can really say. But I do enjoy the hell out of his character and the insights I associate with him. I also like that Getou has a soulmate who just happens to be compatible with Sensei. We're at work together, on the phone with each other, writing to one another, playing online with each other, living together and reading or watching JJK together - we spend most of the day IC, and so sometimes it feels like we're just getting to live out a softer chapter of a long, enduring love story.

TIME TO WRITE: During the workweek, all bets are off, I am too dead even for Kenjaku to pilot. On my days off, though, I write best at about 2am-10am CST. If I get started on my drafts as soon as I wake up, I'll have the most success. If I get distracted by a single leaf outside and the weather is nice?? I'm gone. I'll be outside playing all day, gomen.

TAGGED BY: @musecurse TAGGING: @norowaretamuses and anyone else who notices this 7000 foot long essay unroll up to their feet.