the12thnightproject

[the12thnightproject]

Happy Birthday Yoshimoto!

Snowglobe

For the second round of @flash-exchange my victim was @cottonfluffballofdoom

And many thanks to @lorei-writes for putting this together. I always enjoy these events.

Character: Yoshimoto

Theme: Summer/Winter

“A… snow-orb?” Yoshimoto shook the unfamiliar object. He was entranced by the sculpture inside: a young woman, face tilted to the sky, her mouth in an ‘O’ of delighted surprise at the sudden flurries.

“Snowglobe.” Sasuke often disappeared for months, returning with gifts – usually saké and something called ‘chocolate.’ A gift of art was … unexpected.

“Thank-you. I’ll treasure it.” Her. He’d treasure her.

Magic, blessing or curse, has no explanation…

She’d been walking home, planning to curl up with a book, when the storm began. “Maybe I’ll make cocoa and watch the snow!” She looked up, hoping to taste the snowflakes on her tongue.

Then…

Time stilled…

Like Snow White, spellbound until awakened by a kiss…

Blurred images… a store… a bag… and now… a man with blue-black hair and sad amber eyes. Glass dome… ‘I’m in… a snowglobe?’

The sad-eyed man made the flakes swirl around her.

Was he her prince? How could he kiss her when she was trapped inside?

She willed him to see that she was alive, she could feel… but he set the globe on a shelf, shuttered the lantern, and went to bed.

Days passed…

Weeks…

She observed the sad-eyed man as he sat writing poems that he later threw into the fire. Sometimes he played the biwa, a tune so full of despair it hurt her heart. Sometimes, he picked up the globe, shook it, and watched her through the snow.

No… she was not Snow White, trapped under glass. It was him… his heart… that was imprisoned. Numbed.

One day he set the globe too close to the shelf’s edge. Finally, a chance to escape... she rocked her prison with all her strength, until it tumbled to the ground…

…shattering on impact.

Yoshimoto saw it fall, heard it crash. He shut his eyes, afraid to see her in pieces. ‘Nothing good lasts,’ he thought.

Then a voice rusty from disuse, a quiet, unexpected, “Hello?”

She was alive.

The young woman sat on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. Laughing. Laughing! “I’m glad my clothes grew with me, or this would be embarrassing.”

Before she could stand, he gently picked her up. “Careful. Don’t cut yourself.”

She wrapped her arms around him and smiled into his eyes. “Wake up,” she whispered, then kissed him softly with lips warmed by laughter and affection. Startled, he kissed her back. She tasted of fresh snow, but her touch was a gentle summer breeze.

Treasure. No, not so static. Radiance.

The wall inside him shattered, flooding his senses with alternating waves of grief and happiness. He clung tightly to her, pressing his forehead to hers, body tingling as feeling returned.

He was alive.

[the12thnightproject]

Mai: Yoshimoto, look! This birthday message from Kenshin just came in for you.

Yoshimoto: Oh? Let's see. It says...

Yoshimoto: Roses are red. Soon the violets will be too. I'm having trouble washing blood off my sword. Here's some sake for you.

Mai:

Yoshimoto:

Yoshimoto: It is... exquisite in intent, but... rather wanting in execution.

Mai: I don't know, I feel like it was at ALL execution.

Mai: Also, I think someone got to this sake before us.

Yoshimoto: Oh, yes, that's usually what happens. He uses our birthdays to gift himself.

Mai: Riiight... That totally doesn't defeat the purpose of a birthday gift or anything.

Yoshimoto: (quietly frames the poem and puts it somewhere he can always see it)

Mai: Or not.

[the12thnightproject]

not allowed to say Harry Potter, but what was your book series obsession as a teen

mine was definitely Eragon

[the12thnightproject]

Spin the wheel. That's who's trying to kill you.

Spin the wheel again. That’s who’s trying to protect you.

(If you have zero idea about the name you got, spin until you see someone you recognize.)

(Six months ago, I did a version of this poll with about five hundred options on the spinner wheel. For this one, I more than doubled it.)

[the12thnightproject]

Ikemen Series Rollcall!!!

Hello everyone!! I’ve really been in the mood to listen to some people gush about the Ikemen Series!! So I decided to make a template!!! Feel free to repost this with yours!!

You can also just post this alone with the hashtag #ikeseriesrollcall

Feel free to make your own template as well!! I know mine isn’t perfect. You don’t have to use a template if you don’t like, just type away!! Also please lmk if you want any changes or see anything missing!!

🌸I really wanted to make this to learn more about everyone, meet new people and to connect!🌸

✅PLEASE NERD OUT

❌HARASSMENT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED

[the12thnightproject]

➢ First Time For Everything Ikemen Fan Zine Interest Check

Is your heart beating for a warlord? A vampire? A prince? A... villain? Now is the time to celebrate with your fellow fans! Join us on the team of the First Time For Everything Ikemen Fan Zine!

Not sure what a zine is? Check our pinned post to learn more about it! [Link] We're open to all questions too.

Please help us spread the word around. Boosting would be very appreciated!

[the12thnightproject]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Dumb Banana ®️ (@thedumbbananas)

Canada, wut?

[the12thnightproject]

Wordle was cruel and inhuman today.

[the12thnightproject]

@bestbryn I guess if they were in fact snapping turtles she could have claimed they were clamps or tassels.

This came through my Ground News alert, and "Florida Woman" is really all I needed.

Alsr, really hope those weren't snapping tutles.

[the12thnightproject]

This came through my Ground News alert, and "Florida Woman" is really all I needed.

Alsr, really hope those weren't snapping tutles.

[the12thnightproject]

@importantcatpics

[the12thnightproject]

The day after the party - (2025)

Sherlock and John, the day after solving a big case. The celebrations were wild, apparently. 😁

[the12thnightproject]

Detective AU it is!

Choose my Adventure...

While I continue to try and finish my longfic, I've decided to attempt to write something shorter for @lorei-writes and @violettduchess AU event (linked at the bottom).

From their prompt list, I see four AU's that I'm most interested in writing. Help me decide.

I do know that it will be an Ikesen AU, since I'm most comfortable writing for Ikesen, and it will probably be my OC Katsuko x either (Shingen, Mitsuhide, or Mitsunari), or Mai x Any suitor.

But what AU should it be?

The event is here.

[the12thnightproject]

3 hours left to vote!

Choose my Adventure...

While I continue to try and finish my longfic, I've decided to attempt to write something shorter for @lorei-writes and @violettduchess AU event (linked at the bottom).

From their prompt list, I see four AU's that I'm most interested in writing. Help me decide.

I do know that it will be an Ikesen AU, since I'm most comfortable writing for Ikesen, and it will probably be my OC Katsuko x either (Shingen, Mitsuhide, or Mitsunari), or Mai x Any suitor.

But what AU should it be?

The event is here.

[the12thnightproject]

Choose my Adventure...

While I continue to try and finish my longfic, I've decided to attempt to write something shorter for @lorei-writes and @violettduchess AU event (linked at the bottom).

From their prompt list, I see four AU's that I'm most interested in writing. Help me decide.

I do know that it will be an Ikesen AU, since I'm most comfortable writing for Ikesen, and it will probably be my OC Katsuko x either (Shingen, Mitsuhide, or Mitsunari), or Mai x Any suitor.

But what AU should it be?

The event is here.

[the12thnightproject]

Drawing Prince Clavis with Lord Krishna’s (A Supreme Hindu Deity/ Lord Vishnu’s Avatar) attire/looks💜🦚

A close friend’s creative ideas pushed me to draw this🥹🌹

[the12thnightproject]

New Year's Ask Event

I'd also love to see Keiji with my OC, Bryndolyn. (She has red hair, green eyes, and freckles, curvy build. She's happy/giggling and blushes easily. She'd do anything to help someone else, but she's no pushover. She understands the importance of standing her ground when necessary and she'd stand by her man to the last.)

Sweet/Spicy

A sparring session leads to a very minor injury on Bryndolyn, which leads to one overly attentive warlord. 😉 Kisses heal everything, right? 😁

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 🥰

And I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Ooooh Keiji fluff! With a sprinkle of spice! Like a mango mousse ^_^ Approx. 1200 words of our favorite red heads! This came out more fluff than spice, but it's got a sprinkle!

The shinai cracked as Keiji parried one of Bryndolyn's strikes. The bamboo staves slid off each other and met again and again. Though she was a novice at swordplay, her movements were fast and precise. She was a good student, he thought. And that wasn't just bias toward his lover. 

Her practice sword nearly caught him in the side. "Hey!"

"Pay attention," she laughed, sounding a little out of breath. "You were staring off into space with a smile. What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," he protested. "If you have time to imagine things, I'm not pushing hard enough." Keiji launched a lightning fast series of strikes, putting Bryn on the defensive.

She stepped back, trying to move out of range. Bryn managed to dodge the first few strikes, and caught one with her practice sword. Then she slashed toward his legs in a counterattack. 

Keiji hadn't expected the attack, and brought his own shinai down to parry. His wooden blade clacked hard against Bryn's wrist and she dropped her weapon with a shout of surprise and pain.

"Oh!" He let out a panicked breath. He had not meant to connect with her skin. A thin trickle of blood streamed down her hand, dripping onto the floor. Keiji dropped his shinai and took her wounded hand. He felt light-headed at the sight of the split skin, already beginning to swell. 

"That hurt." Bryn studied the injury with watery eyes. "I think I need to bandage this up." 

Keiji could tell she was putting on a brave face. He felt even worse. "Let me." He gestured for her to sit down. 

Bryndolyn sat, cradling her wrist. She let him take it and rinse the wound, then carefully wrap it. Every wince made him want to crawl into a hole and just die. Here he was, a man with nothing to his name, lucky enough to have the love of a princess. And he'd done this. He felt like the world's biggest idiot. "What was that?"

Keiji realized he'd said the last bit aloud and shook his head. "I was just saying you should take the rest of the day to recover."

"Oh?" She raised a brow. "It's really not that bad. I won't be lifting anything for a few days but I can -"

"Rest." He smiled and stood. "Here, I'll help you to your room." With that, Keiji bent down and scooped her up, one hand under her knees and the other behind her back so that her head rested on his shoulder.

Bryn's eyes went wide. "What are you doing? I can walk!"

Keiji chuckled at the heat flushing her cheeks. "I know. But this way you don't need to hold onto the stair rail or anything with your hurt hand." 

She grumbled under her breath, but relented. Bryn laid her head on his shoulder. "I guess this isn't so bad. I mean, we are dating. So if someone sees us, I can just tell them you decided to be romantic."

Which definitely sounded better than admitting Keiji had injured her. He felt a sharp little dig of guilt. "I'll tell them the truth." He couldn't help the disgust in his tone as he said it.

"Hey! Don't say it like that. I know it was an accident." 

"I should have been more careful." He kissed her forehead. 

Bryn frowned at him. "I'm the one that got hurt. Don't I get a say in who's to blame?"

"Nope."

"So what you say goes then?"

Keiji nodded. "About this? Absolutely."

Bryn's frown deepened. "And if I don't agree?"

"Then you'll have to pout about it." He kissed her cheek. "You're very cute when you pout."

"Stop making it hard to be mad at you," she grouched. 

Keiji grinned. "Be mad at me for the right things, then." He set her down in her room. "I'm going to get you some tea. Don't move."

"Sure, boss." Bryndolyn stuck her tongue out at him.

He was glad to see she still felt feisty. That was a good sign. It meant she wasn't in too much pain. Keiji headed to the kitchens to get a tea tray and then back upstairs to his beloved. When he opened the door, she was sitting up, opening a poetry scroll. "Hey! You're supposed to be resting!" 

Bryn looked up at him, blinking in confusion. "I am?"

Keiji set down the tea and took the scroll from her. "Here, If you want to read, I'll hold it for you." He was going to make sure she didn't strain her wrist if it killed him. 

"Okay . . ." She watched as he set the scroll aside to pour her tea. Bryndolyn's brows rose as he held the cup toward her lips. "Ummm. Keiji. Are you trying to hold the tea while I drink it?"

"I don't want you to hurt your hand." He gave her an earnest look. "You need to rest it."

Bryn looked like she was on the edge of saying something, but just sighed and took a small sip of the tea.

Keiji set it aside and then held the scroll for her. "Let me know if you want another sip."

She laughed, light and silvery. "Alright. I'll tell you if I get thirsty." Bryn patted the spot beside her. "Want to cuddle while we read?"

He was fairly sure there wasn't much in this world he wanted more than to cuddle his lovely Bryndolyn. Keiji scooted to her side and wrapped an arm around her. She nestled into his shoulder, hr curves fitting perfectly against him. 

After several quiet moments enjoying her closeness, Keiji kissed her temple and murmured, "I'm sorry."

"Hm?" Bryn blinked at him.

"For hurting you. I'm apologizing. I should have been more careful." 

She sighed and looked up a him. "Keiji. We were sparring. It's normal. Expected even." She held up her wrist. "And honestly, it doesn't hurt much. You don't need to apologize." 

He shook his head. "But I do! You deserve . . . so much better."

"Keiji." She took his chin in her hand. "Stop beating yourself up. I'm fine. And even if I wasn't, it's not your fault. I wanted to spar. I still want to learn. Sometimes, that means getting hurt, but a little pain now means less later, right?"

"Right," he admitted grudgingly. Then he smiled. "Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" 

"Mmmm . . . I'm not sure. I mean, there was that one time but -" Bryn didn't get to finish teasing him as his lips captured hers. The kiss was slow and sweet and hotter than a late summer afternoon. 

Keiji broke the kiss for a breath, wanting more but unsure if she felt the same. He studied her face intently.

Bryn ran a hand through his hair. "You better not be thinking of stopping."

"Are you sure it's ok? Your hand -"

"Is just fine." She pulled him into another deep kiss and he lowered her back onto the futon. There was no space between them, only heat and desire.

"Are you sure," he whispered, deft hands already unknotting the ties of her hekama.

Bryn didn't answer him with words, but with touch. Her eager fingers seeking his skin, sliding beneath the fabric of his clothes as she pulled him closer still.

Keiji felt a surge of joy, his heart beating fast and hard in his chest as it had the first time they'd touched. He was sure it would every time, because every moment with his beloved was as new and precious as the first.