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romaine2424 · 1 year

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Drarry Fic Recs!

I've written very little the past week because I've been on a reading rampage. Stating up front, I'm a speed reader. Oh my! I usually read something everyday but set it aside at night when I do most of my writing. These stories, though, just took me in and I couldn't stop. They run the spectrum from a Regency A/B/O WIP to a 580K Dystopian Voldemort wins with a Draco and Harry you will never ever forget. These fics are all on AO3. So let's get started...

Let's start Light: Seeking: pet carer for Bartholomew (four-year old rescue greyhound, no special needs) by @gallifrey1sburning (14.5K, 2020). The fic is non-magical AU and features overworked, recently dumped, lawyer!Draco. He and his previous partner had adopted a rescue greyhound (Bartholomew). The poor beast needs care during the day, walking and such. Enter dog-walker extraordinaire Harry. It's lovely and it reads true to their characters. Pansy plays a very Slytherin role in putting these two together. It's not too fluffy but is definitely sweet in just the right amount.

Follow the Water by @xanthippe74 (38K, 2020). The atmosphere the author created for this fic is so gorgeous. You can picture and almost feel the breeze of a spring day. The heat of summer relieved by brooks, forests, and rivers. It starts on a Spring day with Harry taking a long walk from the Burrow because he doesn't feel like going home. He has a boring job and leads a boring life. He comes upon Luna's house, now rebuilt into a one story stone home. He finds Draco, Pansy, and Greg visiting Luna. Soon he is coming every Saturday to work in the garden, cook, and other things as they put together an outdoor camp. The whole fic takes place on these weekend adventures and mostly outside in the fresh air as the group bonds. While this is a light fic, it is not fluffy. They are children recapturing a youth most never got to experience. So come enjoy Pansy reading romance novels, Draco singing, a promise of flying kites, spending the night in tents, and taking long hikes. Oh, and finding Love.

Strawberry Fields (bitter bites) by @eddietoz (54K, WIP 15/18) And now we come to the Regency A/B/O. I mean really, do I need to say more than Omega!Draco who was caught with the gardener in Malfoy Manor being sent away to live with his aunt and cousin in Godric's Hollow, where he quickly insults the most eligible Alpha, one young Harry Potter who is joining the Navy. Captain Harry returns five years later and the fun ensues. Well not for Harry who has had his heart broken by his childhood sweetheart. Draco, still trying to redeem himself after the incident in Wiltshire and insulting Harry, meets with Captain Potter and they devise a plan for Harry to win back his love and Draco be redeemed. This may or may not backfire. You can feel the A/B/O heat in this fic, but given the era, everything is repressed and societal norms of courting must be followed. *fans myself* The author is still updating. The 14th chapter went up a little over a week ago (update...chapter 15 just went up). I haven't found many Drarry A/B/O fics of my liking (besides Embers by @shiftylinguini), but this one is like a Jane Austen/HarryPotter/ A/B/O crossover. Delish!!!!!

Where all the Veins Meet by @saxamophone (146K, 2023) How good is this fic? It's so good I read it despite it being the usual type I normally wouldn't. I'm not a fan of depressed, 'woe is me' Harry after the war. Not that he wouldn't have problems...most definitely. I just usually stay away from depressed!Harry for my own sake. However, the author won me over on this one. It takes place right after the war and through the summer of 1998. Harry's friends are trying to support him by showing up at Grimmauld Place to be with him. They love him. But, Harry, is so confused on what is him, who he is now that Voldemort is not only physically gone but also gone from his head. He becomes...shall I say...dickish. But still they love him. He meets up with Draco by accident in a museum, and this continues. They become almost friends. Draco (on parole having to take Muggle studies) is living with his Slytherin compatriots and they aren't doing so well either. Especially Pansy. Meetings continue, trust builds, friends aren't happy (some furious) when they find out. But in all this confusion, a light appears at the end of this tunnel. Beautifully told, heartbreaking, but resiliency and forgiveness is found.

And now for the beast of a fic I mentioned up top. I'm giving two links as the Completed original is in Spanish and was just completed a few weeks ago). The second is the translation that is not yet completed and I believe will take quite a while to do so. Desolación by SimpleNefelibata (2023). Desolation translated by JhonnyBotello01. (24/67 ~200K). Here is the summary: Harry Potter was dead. The war was over. The whole (UK) Wizarding World was finally under Voldemort's regime. And Draco Malfoy was part of the most inner circle to the Dark Lord. Eight years after the Battle of Hogwarts, and with the sudden apparition of Hannah Abbott at the Manor door, Draco is faced with desmanteling all the hard truths he's learned to live with. The fic comes down to one point, Nagini disappeared before being killed by Neville and one Narcissa Malfoy has been in Azkaban for 8 years for treason (lying to Voldemort about Harry being dead). And Draco has spent 8 years moving up the ranks so he could get her released.

I'll say up front, do not come near this fic if you cannot read torture. The author gives this warning: This story takes place in a dark world. It will touch themes like slavery, torture, violence, sexual abuse, and death in VERY grusome ways, as far as detailing them graphically and explicitly from the start, with the idea to not romanticize these themes. Take this seriously.

There is a Resistance, there is an Order and there is a BAMF Harry Potter who is now a seasoned warrior. He's surrounded by the most faithful including one Minerva McGonagall and, of course, Ron and Hermione. The Weasleys, Luna, Theo,and Kingsley all play starring roles, too. On Voldemort's side, Greyback, Theo, and an OC are front and center.

When we meet up with Draco Malfoy, he is a member of Voldemort's highest inner circle the Nobilium. Draco, called by the name Astaroth, is feared by all as he is the potion and spell maker of the Darkest kind. He discovers his mother has died at Azkaban and she is his world. The only person he truly loves and cares for. He breaks. He knows the master he's been serving was responsible but his father has been blamed and is in Azkaban, too. Narcissa saw something at the end of the Battle, but couldn't be broken to tell what it was. What she knew would be the turning point for both sides. Draco meets with the Order and despite almost everyone telling Harry not to do it, Harry brings him into the fold...well kind of...

The worldbuilding for this dystopian fic is amazing. The storytelling so very very original. The characterizations of Harry and Draco, masterful. And almost every chapter will have you on the edge of your seat. There is no let up.

I will say, there is one subplot towards the end, I detested and couldn't buy into it. But when you write a 580K fic, you cannot please everyone. I stand by that this fic is masterful despite this issue.

Now, how did I, who doesn't read or write Spanish finish this fic? I read the translation version, which is terrific and then switched over to the original story and read it on my Iphone. You're given a choice there to read it in English. Okay, its a google translation which massacres each and every pronoun and translates Draco calling Lucius PaPa into Potato. LMAO. But I was so hooked, I had to know what happened. If you have patience, I advise subscribing to the translated version. If you can read Spanish, I'm highly jealous of you!

Hope you find something you enjoy reading here. And remember to comment with love on what you read.

I seriously have to get back to my writing now.

#drarry fic recs #long post #romaine2424 recs

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frankhightower · 2 months

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2024 Size Drive: Introduction

Aaand it's March and the page is done! I got a lot to say about this one so let's do a sort of FAQ:

Second drive? Where's the first? The First Size Drive ran from late March to late April 2023. I'd been trying to do it for years but that was the first time I was able to before Macro March was over. This is also why there was nothing for Micro May last year, but I've planned one for this year. And if you're new here, welcome!

What do you mean by "one panel every day"? Last year, I would only make a page when I got a donation. I soon discovered this was terrible for visibility, so I tried a regular schedule for my other drives, which soon proved unmanageable. This time, I'm just going to post a single panel every day that I'm able, and we'll see how many panels I can end up doing by the end of it.

Why are you suddenly un-fluffy? Where's your winter coat? In-universe (even though these events are non-canon), the size drive is supposed to be a 30-ish minute live event that takes place at the end of the month. Although it has been rather cold lately (which, don't get me wrong, I'm happy about!), I'm drawing everyone in "spring" fur for this reason: I'm hoping for "normal" spring temperatures by the end of this.

So how does the "grow or shrink multiplier" work? Each donator specifies if their donation goes to growing or shrinking. If someone donates $10 to grow, 10 is added to the numerator of the multiplier: i.e. my size is multiplied by 10. If they donate $10 to shrink, 10 is added to the denominator: i.e. my size is divided by 10.

What do you mean you "corrected" it? Last year, I wrote the multiplier as "size = size × fraction", which means that I wasn't multiplying my original size, but my new size, meaning the multiplier wasn't being added to, but multiplied to. I didn't realize the mistake until the second donation, at which point I decided to run with it since most growth/shrink drive "stories" are about how the growing or shrinking malfunctions.

So how does it work now? If the fraction stands at 10/5 (i.e. 11 ft since 5½'×10÷5=11) and someone donates $10 to grow, the fraction will become 20/5 (i.e. 22 ft). If they donate it to shrink, the fraction will become 10/15 (i.e. 3 ft). The fact that my size can change wildly is part of the fun, and creates a friendly competition between the viewers who want me bigger and the viewers who want me smaller!

Who are Bobby, Jason and Jeremy and why do you "not have them" this year? Part of the reason for doing the drive was to introduce my characters. They each had a role if certain milestones were reached, and the only milestone we didn't reach was Camila the fairy's. There are in-universe reasons for why they wouldn't return for a second year, but mostly, the reason is because having to draw them all severely upped the drawing time, even when they were just a background blur. We really only "need" two camera operators.

Who's Camila? A childhood friend of Susan. This actually makes her hard to draw because I really only had a solid story design for what she looks like as a child!

Who are Jane and Susan? Frank's in-universe wife and daughter, respectively.

Your "daughter" looks taller than you Yes, she's an adult here, and she takes after her mother (who is taller than me when we're both mouse-sized). Also, she's standing on tippy-toes to avoid damaging the camera.

Is she wearing jeans?! Unlike her parents, Susan prefers wearing pants/trousers. It's her little bit of teen rebelliousness that stuck with her as she grew up. (She was wearing a dress last time because she thought she should look formal if she was going to be in front of the cameras, but now that she's behind them...)

Why does she say "Hullo"? I had a few British teachers in elementary school, so I say some words "the British way" (like "aluminium"). Susan had mostly British teachers in elementary school, but since her mother has a very strong American accent, it had a similar effect on her.

What's that thing behind her? An archway.

No, the other thing! Stairs. The fountain is in a lower area.

What's with the permit? Jane is a lawyer by trade and one of the milestones last year was "getting so big the police gets involved". It would be fully in-character for her to file for a permit as soon as she knew we were doing this again: she's good friends with the police captain and wants to keep it that way. Note that getting a permit for this requires authorization from three separate entities: The Human Government, The Mouse Government, and The Magical Government so she is properly proud of having procured it!

What's this about the dentist? Due to (among other things) genetics, most of my teeth have had to be filled and this means the fillings periodically break and need to be redone (periodically meaning each tooth breaks about once a decade, don't panic yet). After about, wait for it, a decade of not being able to go to the dentist, last year we tried to fix all my teeth in one go... and quickly ran out of money. The situation was made worse by a combination of other factors which I hope to explain later, but the priority was paying off the debt to the dentist so she could finish the job.

For this reason, the previous Size Drive's stated reason was "to pay off my dental bills". It was a big help, but didn't quite reach that goal, and the "combination of other factors" has been keeping me from paying it off since so I haven't been able to go back to her.

What do you mean you'll be "showing us the kingdom"? If the first size drive was to introduce my characters, the second one is to introduce the world. There's a branching script of sorts in my head so that, especially on days when there's no donations, there's something for the characters to do. (Branching because "what if I get too small by the time we get here? what it happens over there?" etc.)

What's with the church in the background? It's a town square. Town squares have churches.

I suppose you'll explain more about the setting as the month goes on? Yes.

So... where can I donate? The donation link is http://PayPal.me/FrankHghTwr and any amount is much, much appreciated!

#shrink drive #growth drive #size drive #mouse #furry #anthro #donation #worldbuilding

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giggles8899 · 1 year

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1.7 Live Tweeting the Party

Everyone's Drip for the night

Written Section Under Cut

You 5 arrived at around 8:15, and boy was the place absolutely packed, Childe was not kidding. Two stories packed full of party goers, music blaring throughout the entire house. You all entered the house and was immediately bombarded by Venti, who seemed extremely happy to see you all. You could tell that he was very much a few drinks, but so were you thus you seemed to match his energy. Venti ends up dragging you 5 over to the bar and gets you guys a round of shots as an apology for serenading you at last year's party (much to Diluc’s displeasure). The twins took it without question, but it took a lot of convincing and pleading out of you to get Scara and Xiao to take a baby shot with you. As you down the drink in one fell swoop, stunning everyone except your two emos, the next song started. That is when Venti tells you all that there's a popular singer performing in the basement, and only certain people were allowed down there, only Venti’s friend really. He told your 5 that you could downstairs since they were his friends and he wanted them to come listen to Kazuha. It was also less crowded, and you could tell Scara and Xiao were getting antsy being around so many people. The music that Kazuha was singing played all around the house, even though a good ¾ wouldn't actually see him singing it in person, speakers throughout the house. The basement was less crowded, and the majority of people were either singing along, dancing or both. The singer, Kazuha you recalled, was singing on a makeshift stage in the corner. You and your cousins joined the people dancing, while Scara and Xiao ended up talking to Childe. Well, more like Scara couldn't get too far before being blasted with all the questions that Childe had, poor boy. (Note: Kazhua singing Fight Back by Neffex, it's not integral you listen to it, but it might help get a sense of how I think his music would be like. I didn't put the lyrics in because they aren't integral to the story.)

You eventually threw off your fancy boots when they started to hurt your feet dancing, and when you went to set them down by Lumine's bag, when Kazuha announced that he was taking an hour break, and that there would be karaoke if anyone wanted to sing. You stood off to the side, fighting with yourself if you really wanted to sing or not as a couple people sang karaoke, some of them were good, though many of them were too drunk to read right, and thus it ended up being pretty funny. Eventually, after a few songs, you finally got some courage to get up there and sing.

You were stretching your very much tipsy brain on what song you want to sing, when your favorite artist Neoni popped into your head. Luckily they had “Haunted House”, and once the song started to play, you knew there was no turning back

Lights they flicker and the candles glitter

Like you′re in a thriller, heart goes pound, pound, pound

Ghostly figures, they can get so bitter

Sure you want to enter? You can turn back now

You don't, you don′t know where I've been

What's going on inside, where

The monsters like to come alive, come alive

Do you really wanna know me?

I′m really not that cozy

It′s up to you so you decide, you decide

Could you love me at my worst

'Til the coffin′s in the dirt?

Or try to break me like a curse?

You know that will never work

I'm a little bit absurd

I like dancing on the verge

Anyone can love a pretty little mansion

But could you love a

A haunted, haunted house?

Oh, could you love me now?

A haunted, haunted

I′m a haunted house

A haunted, haunted house

If you're too scared, get out

A haunted, haunted

I′m a haunted house

Na, na, na, na, na

Na, na, na, na

At this point, Kazuha has just come back from getting a drink when he becomes enchanted by you singing on the makeshift stage where the karaoke machine is. Your voice was like an angel singing to him, your deeper register, well deeper than a normal woman, stirring something within him. He couldn't take your eyes off you for the rest of the song. He could tell you were singing from the heart, the lyrics hitting him in a way most people probably wouldnt understand.

Broken windows and a warning scribbled on my walls

Saying that you better turn around

Wouldn't be the first to try to burn me down

Your move, you choose

Could you love me at my worst

'Til the coffin′s in the dirt?

Or try to break me like a curse?

You know that will never work

I'm a little bit absurd

I like dancing on the verge

Anyone can love a pretty little mansion

But could you love a

A haunted, haunted house?

Oh, could you love me now?

A haunted, haunted

I′m a haunted house

A haunted, haunted house

If you're too scared, get out

A haunted, haunted

I′m a haunted house

Na, na, na, na, na

Na, na, na, na

Why did you feel like you were a haunted house? And who in their right mind would even try and change you for who you were? All these questions stirring in his head and heart, as he becomes completely enraptured in you.

Do you, ooh

Na, na, na, na, na

Know me? (Ooh, ooh)

But could you love a

A haunted, haunted house? (House)

Oh, could you love me now? (Now)

A haunted, haunted

I′m a haunted house

Ooh, the haunted, haunted, I've been (house)

If you′re too scared inside but

A haunted, haunted

I'm a haunted house

Could you love me at my worst

'Til the coffin′s in the dirt?

Anyone could love a pretty little mansion

As you finish the song, the people who were downstairs listening went absolutely wild. You looked out into the crowd and saw your cousins being the loudest, probably in the whole crowd, followed by Scara and Xiao smiling the biggest you probably have even seen in your life. As you scan the crowd, you end up locking onto a pair of ruby eyes, wider than anyone else's, seemingly entranced. You shake your head. As you put down the mic and started to walk away from the karaoke machine, people started coming up to you complimenting you on your singing. Eventually you made it back to the other 4, where you cousins ended up basically glomping you in a hug, saying how happy they were hearing you sing one of your favorite songs. Even Scara and Xiao gave you hugs, saying they were happy for you to finally have let loose a little bit.

You still couldn't get the feeling that someone was watching you, but as you excused yourself to go and get yourself another drink to shake the anxiety of performing in front of people away, you felt a hand on your arm. You turned and were met with the same ruby eyes as before. That's when your drunk brain realized that it was the guy who had been singing earlier in the night.

“You sang beautifully,” Kazuha said, a gentle smile on his face. You immediately blush red like a tomato, shaking your head and laughing. “Oh no,” you replied, “you honestly are a lot better than me, i'm sure people will forget about me when you get back up on stage and start singing again. I'm sure more people would love to hear you sign more.” He simply shakes his head, “I don't think so, I don't think I've ever quite catch the attention of the audience quite like you did.” As he smiles at you, the lights of the party dancing off his platinum blonde hair, which you now noticed has a red streak in it, you simply stare at him like a fish with your mouth open. “Ah sorry,” you apologized, quickly collecting yourself once you realized you were staring, “never quite had somebody compliment me like that before.” His expression then turns to hurt for a split second, before going back to his beautiful smile.

“Were you headed somewhere? I didn't mean to distract you” He asks, his gaze gentle, though there seemed to be a bit of curiosity behind his ruby eyes. “Oh shit yeah,” you quickly replied, “I forgot I was going to get another drink, I’m sure the other 4 are wondering where I've wandered off to. I should go grab it before I get hunted down.” “May I come with you,” Kazuha asks before you fully step away, “That is, if you don't mind that is.” You stopped and turned to him, staring for a good long second, a million thoughts running through your head before you responded.

“Sure.”

Masterlist - PREV - NEXT

Author's Notes

I HAD WAY TOO MUCH FUN MAKING THE OUTFITS

I may do it more often tbh

Also hopefully my writing isn't too trash

ALSO IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST SEND ME AN ASK I DO NOT MIND LOVE YOU ALL

@starryeyedkoko @phyot @tokkishouse

#kazuha x reader #genshin smau x reader #genshin fanfic #genshin impact x you #genshin impact x reader #genshin smau

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electrasev5nwrites · 8 months

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Ninja Daily: AIC 15

Konoha kind of sucked.

At least, it sucked when you were pretending not to know any one in town or how to locate any key locations. Being under constant surveillance by an ANBU team didn't exactly help Aiko get jollied up, either. By the day before the test, her nerves were strung out.

It wasn't so bad for her genin team, as far as she could tell. Konoha must have determined that they weren't high-level plants. Or, like, higher level plants than was expected. So the three-man ANBU patrol team (she wasn't fucking bitter that she apparently didn't merit a full-team with a captain. Of course not. Why would she be bitter about that? Being underestimated was a tactical advantage that someone who was fucking stupid enough to accidentally become the Mizukage wouldn't get often.)

- anyway, the team stayed on her ass like a tight pair of pants and occasionally signaled to each other in super-secret Konoha chakra pulse code which she definitely didn't detect or understand and wasn't fucking irritated about, okay?

She may or may not have spent nearly half the day in her hotel room glowering at the staticky tv while one of her ANBU watchers pointed out something that wasn't actually suspicious in what had to be a fit of optimism that something exciting would happen soon. Apparently they had a long shift. God, she remembered that grind. Patrolling at nights, under the open sky, sprinting over the rooftops- that was fine. But daytime surveillance of some dignitary or other mildly important personage was tedious.

"Poor bastards," Aiko said to herself.

One of the ANBU's chakra honed in on her, apparently augmenting their hearing to catch what she said next. Perhaps they thought she had some kind of communication device.

That kind of ability was a clue she latched onto out of boredom- that meant there was no one on the team who had augmented hearing normally. So there no Inuzuka around. But being able to temporarily sharpen senses with chakra implied practice in a similar skillset or above-average ability in chakra manipulation. A Hyuuga? A medic? Maybe even a Nara, actually. The team was either a bit green or a bit relaxed, judging by the fact that they hadn't seen fit to go chakra dark. Someone must have pegged her as lacking sensing abilities.

To be fair, that was true- but she was attuned to the type of cues that Konoha used from years of personal experience. Still. A truly cautious, paranoid team would have gone to the extra effort. She wasn't exactly being tailed by veterans here. Again, she was being underestimated.

'Or maybe', Aiko thought optimistically. 'Maybe Konoha is intentionally pretending to underestimate me in order to slip something more covert past my attention, or to try to pinpoint my abilities. Maybe-'

She sighed.

'This is getting stupid. Those are all possibilities, but I'm just wallowing now. I've got to get out of this room.'

Telling herself that didn't make venturing out to be a pariah in her hometown any more attractive. If she'd worn nearly any other headband, the reception would probably have been less pointed. But no. She'd had to fall in with Mist. She'd pledged to protect and serve the country with the honorable distinction of producing the most basketcases per capita in the goddamn continent.

'Well,' Aiko thought with dark humor. 'I commit like a motherfucker, at least. I ruin lives like nobody's business. Mostly mine, but hey.'

That didn't exactly bode well for Kirigakure, but she couldn't possibly be worse than Obito.

Probably?

Whatever.

It was the scent of spices and heated sauces clawing their way through her window that finally drew Aiko out into the streets. She followed her nose to festival-type stands set up for the exams. Aiko slipped into the crowds with only a flinch at the press of bodies. She was aware, too aware, that proximity to strangers was made even more alarming and dangerous with her reduced vision. Her heartbeat climbed from the effort of concentrating enough to offset her blurry, dark vision with what she was hearing to navigate. More than once her reflexes were tested by the effort of quickly but smoothly retreating from the brush of fabric or the heat of skin when she accidentally stepped too close to someone else.

It was unexpectedly exhausting. Unless she was pretending to be in such a bad mood that she was purposefully bumping into people, she had to be careful. She was being watched.

'They probably can't see that much.' Aiko felt a muscle flex in her neck. She suppressed the urge to look around and pinpoint where her observers had moved to as a vantage point- they would know that she would suspect she was being watched, but confirming that she was aware enough of her observers to locate them would provide data about her abilities. They'd probably send a better team.

That would be better for her pride, to be honest, but it was safest if she could be semi-certain that she could ditch the observers if needed.

Dried fish and the scent of octopus steaming in batter rose temptingly above the crowd, but she found it too hard to pinpoint the takoyaki stand. She took a chance on a queue where the air was tantalizingly mingled with savory scents. By the time she was close enough to pick up on the warm notes of soy sauce and frying chicken, it was a bit late to duck out of the line unseen.

That was fine. Festival karaage was the best. There was absolutely nothing like it. Her mouth watered.

She was nearly at the front of the line when something changed. Aiko kept her face blank, but her attention was turned backwards.

The noise of the crowd had changed- louder, although the tone and quality of the sounds hadn't changed. It was closer? Yes. Something on the far edge of the road was causing people to crowd away, forcing the slow stream of bodies to press closer.

Aiko focused on the area, just for a moment.

'Ah,' she thought simply.

The man in front of her moved away. She stepped forward unthinkingly and chose the medium-size serving when prompted.

'Now that I've noticed him, it's hard to imagine I didn't sense him approaching before now. He's not subtle, is he?'

Seeing -or detecting, rather- Gaara as an adult, Aiko reflected, made it difficult to believe that anyone had failed to notice he was a jinchuuriki. He oozed bad news. Even civilians could tell, judging by the way the crowd parted around him as he skirted the edges of the street on the way to the training grounds allotted for the foreigners. She didn't look at him as she left coins on the counter tray, but the grip of her left hand on the steaming cup was a bit too firm.

It was quite likely that a more obvious jinchuuriki had never obvioused. Gaara was, like, the prototypical jinchuuriki. Looking up the definition of a jinchuuriki would lead to a list of his most distinct traits and a warning to stay away.

How had he slipped by unnoticed?

Gaara was a classic case study of weak sealing- the steady fog of malevolent intent incongruous with his calm-faced exterior was a bit of a giveaway. The obvious fear displayed by his teammates made it painfully apparent that something was amiss, if absolutely nothing else.

What the hell was Konoha doing? Had they all collectively forgotten how to ninja, or was there a reason that they would allow an obvious jinchuuriki to wander the streets, undeclared?

No. Konoha had to know. Maybe… maybe it was a case of him coming into Konoha unremarked, rather than undetected. That fit the evidence better. But why would Konoha tolerate that?

'Sand is a traditional ally,' Aiko allowed. She stabbed a piece of karaage with the wooden pick and lifted it to her mouth. Hot juice spilled across her lips when she bit in, hastily licked away before it could make a mess. 'Maybe they're willing to go further than I thought to preserve that relationship.'

That… that possibility certainly fit in with what had happened after the chuunin exams invasion, that was for sure. Aiko frowned.

She needed to think more deeply on that. Just in case. She'd taken Konoha's quick assent to mended bridges as proof of Konoha's forgiving nature, as well as their desperation for any ally among the great nations when the largest two countries were Fire Country's dedicated enemies.

If that hypothesis was false- if the treatment of Suna was due to something intrinsic about their relations rather than desperation- then her goal might be harder to meet. It might require more drastic action than simply leaving Suna out to flap in the wind.

Well. There was always the several hundred kilometer long conclusion about why Konoha would prefer Suna to Kiri.

Her jaw clenched. The street food felt dry and tasteless in her mouth.

'I should go make sure my team is ready to go. The exams start in 14 hours. Is there anything I can do for them at the last minute?'

Aiko considered possibilities and discarded them just as quickly. With team 7, she'd sponsored bonding time- dinner, a sleepover, and one last check of equipment. But that didn't seem appropriate now, with a team that was nervous around her. It would be counterproductive. She'd already had her genin confirm their prepared status at the local office and….

Huh. She couldn't sense her ANBU team. Aiko felt an eyebrow raise, hidden in her bangs. Had they fallen back to a distance? Had her guard been lifted- no, that was ridiculously unlikely. It was possible that the team had simply been given shift relief by a more experienced or paranoid unit.

Well. It shouldn't matter. If she didn't 'know' anything about her observers, than she certainly shouldn't react to changes in their patterns.

After the karaage, she managed to find takoyaki hot enough to burn her mouth and make the proprietor joke about her having a cat-tongue. It settled in her stomach and left her feeling lazy and satisfied. She could go back and lay down, but it seemed like the spell would break and she'd go back to feeling like a caged animal in a place that should have been hers. Aiko was already walking, so she tossed her trash and let her feet carry her unthinkingly.

She did make one errand that lifted her spirits when her wanderings took her past a bookstore. Clever, clever Jiraiya. It really was a good time to schedule a release of a special edition- people would be in Konoha from the many countries with embargoes on his work. He'd make bank, not the black market that moved his work across borders.

'To be fair, he's probably involved in the black market as well.'

Aiko admired Jiraiya's business acumen even as she purchased her copy and sealed it away in a scroll. The proprietor gave her an odd look and put away the blue plastic bag she'd offered, but Aiko was done fucking around with the security of her Icha Icha.

The Icha Icha situation was, quite frankly, becoming ridiculous.

The last copy she'd dared to carry around had been confiscated by Suna when they captured her in the desert. The one before that she'd been forced to abandon due to Obito's sudden onset of jackassery, and then it'd been taken as evidence by Konoha before she got back.

Frankly, she didn't fucking trust anyone to leave her books the hell alone. What was up with that, even? She loved her books, but they weren't that valuable or unique. There was no reason that this should keep happening to her. It was weird, that was what it was. Just plain weird.

Walking became easier as the dinner rush ended and people streamed home. She haunted the streets until curfew forced her in, although she kept to back streets to avoid the crush of bodies. Surely she was still being watched, but merely wandering the city wouldn't betray excessive familiarity, as long as she avoided shortcuts and retraced her steps to return to the hotel instead of taking another route.

Her genin were already abed when she checked in. Yuusaku stirred when she slid the door open and counted bodies, but the others were fast asleep. He blinked heavily and made eye contact. Then he made a displeased sound and disappeared back under the covers. Aiko smiled wryly and closed the door.

It was all rather endearing, but it didn't bode well for their survival odds.

Well.

'Let them rest,' Aiko decided. 'They'll need it. And perhaps they just feel safer here. They should be more alert sleeping outside. If nothing else, they'll set a watch.'

If nothing else, the following morning brought the relief that her brats were at least sensible enough to make it to the exam room. She stood outside the exam center just long enough to see the poor fools who'd failed that pre-test stream out, dejected.

It took a surprisingly long time for events to commence. She didn't remember that, but then, she'd been busy with Anko at this point in her.. She'd been with Anko at the time before.

The foreign adults mostly milled around, waiting for further information. When the jounin were finally invited to observe the proceedings of the first event, Aiko joined nearly all the other teachers. She fell to the back of the line filing into a room that resembled the jounin lounge.

There was something a little odd, though, she noticed. There were certainly Konoha jounin in the room- but most of them weren't the genin teachers. There were a few teachers for older teams, she saw, but.. Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, Asuma… nowhere in sight.

'Why would they separate the Konoha sensei, I wonder?'

Aiko slowly unwrapped a piece of gum and bit into it. She crushed the silver wrapper in her fist before tucking it in a pocket. Genma, who happened to be standing next to her, gave her a curious look.

His lips worked where he would normally have a senbon, and something brightened in his face. "I'll buy you a coffee in exchange for a piece of gum," he offered casually. He leaned into her personal space, just close enough for her to feel the heat of his body through her left sleeve.

Aiko was already reaching for the pack when his words registered. She glanced up at him incredulously. Was he flirting-

oh.

Oh.

Her gaze fixed on his smile, slightly crooked and displaying teeth that perfectly straddled the boundary of 'white' and 'too white'. Her heart shuddered uncertainly in her chest.

He smelled like the reinforced padding in his flak jacket and the same weapon's polish she'd always favored, paired with the 'scentless' Konoha type soap that actually had some notes of pine. He smelled like home and safety.

There had always been rumors about Genma being a flirt, but she'd never seen evidence before. Of course, he was… what, fifteen years her senior? So that previous lack of evidence made sense. Only a true, Jiyaiya-level creep would be so shameless as to flirt with someone who he should see as a child.

'Well. Actually. He's not that much older than me now,' she reasoned. 'Four years isn't a significant different for two people in their twenties.' When Genma reached out to take the candy from her, warm, calloused fingers accidentally brushed over hers. He was quite attractive, actually. God, look at those shoulders.

The look he gave her was entirely too pleased. That snapped her out of it.

It was probably far too late, but she rearranged her expression back into studied disinterest. "No need. Sometimes a person really needs gum." Pointedly, she wrinkled her nose and turned away from his breath slightly.

Genma's eyebrows rose slowly. Someone nearby snickered but she couldn't see who.

That was when the lights dropped.

Aiko tensed, shoulders drawing in. She cursed the reaction immediately but it was too late to do anything about it. How dark was it? How impaired was normal vision? She had no idea from her own senses. But logic told her the room was probably only dim enough to make viewing a screen easy.

…Genma, at least, had definitely seen that reaction.

Well.

'He won't know what to think about it. He'll probably just think I'm easily startled. Maybe even that I'm on edge about sudden environmental changes when in a small room full of high-level shinobi without a single ally.'

Actually.. yeah. That was a much more plausible explanation than secret night blindness.

A screen flickered to life- no, it was wavering, undulating along a loosely hung sheet. It was a projection. Aiko leaned back against the wall and watched what she could see. The display was bright enough- the problem was more that taller jounin were blocking the bottom part of the screen. Still, she saw her genin file into view, along with a whole host of others.

Her eyes darted across the distant room, cataloging genin mostly by hairstyles and what little could be discerned of their clothing from the ceiling camera. Team 7 bounced in near the middle of the group, in a mob of Konoha shinobi. Others filed around, spilling into the corners of the room and perching on desks.

Her genin had been some of the first in, and secured a desirable position against the wall. It was pointless, since Ibiki would split them and make them move, but Aiko still felt a little proud of how sensible her brats were being.

Ibiki entered like a hurricane, sending genin scattering in fear. She repressed a snort.

'Pity that there's no sound. I wonder what he's saying.'

The genin took seats according to verbal instructions. As Ibiki paced and pontificated, Aiko felt her attention wander. Her eyes were adjusted enough that she could make out darker silhouettes in the room around her, but not much more. The assembled jounin were quiet, breathing nearly in unison with nary a fidget. She could smell-

Aiko didn't let herself still, turning her face in continued perusal of the room she couldn't actually see.

She smelled mint. Genma was breathing in her direction, which meant he was watching her even as she was turned away from him. Surely the back of her head wasn't too stimulating, no matter how much of a flirt he was. She focused her attention on him without looking over. Aiko tried to hear his breathing, to pick up on the subtleties of his chakra to guess at his level of agitation or interest. Nothing came of it- he was too good, of course he was.

'Well. Of course the Konoha jounin are here to watch us. Is he here to monitor me in specific?'

The skin on the back of her neck prickled. She had the oddest impression that she could almost hear someone talking in the distance, a voice distorted and low. Aiko swallowed. Okay, that was weird. There shouldn't be anything wrong with her hearing. Was it her imagination acting up? She was more than a bit on-edge. God, she was so paranoid that she was trying to convince herself that she was hearing things. She needed a break, desperately.

She turned her attention back to the screen, portraying obliviousness to Genma's attention.

The test had started. Ryuusei was staring down at his sheet, pencil still as if he was waiting for the answers to the universe to bubble up in the answer space. Yuusaku was making lazy, sure markings that would certainly draw someone else to cheat off of him. If she knew him at all, he was marking wrong answers. She felt her lips curl into a smile. And her last duckling, Keisuke, was-

Aiko felt a deep sigh rise in her chest.

Keisuke had flipped his sheet over and was drawing a slightly wobbly kunoichi with improbably shaped breasts and… demon horns. Her hair and clothes were uncomfortably familiar, although shocking liberties had been taken with the neckline. The hip holster was spot-on, though.

'Little shit. Honestly. He seemed so quiet and well-behaved.'

That phrase caught in her mind, ringing like a bell. Shit. That was classic, wasn't it? Textbook misdirection. Aiko tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling mournfully.

'I can't believe I fell for that crap. I didn't notice a genin leering at me because I thought he was the least troublesome one.'

Pride aside, it was… It was kinda gross, Aiko reflected. Children are gross.

"Children are gross," she said aloud.

Someone gave her an odd look. A few people might have taken a step away from her. Probably wasn't personal. Certainly they were just trying to get a better view of the projection as it cycled through camera feeds.

Her brats made it through the test, along with about half of the teams. When the screen focused on Sakura's beaming relief as results were announced, Aiko looked away.

'She's going to be dead before the end of the day.'

It would be nice to forget that. It would be really, really nice to forget that.

An anomaly in the crowd drew her eye. Genma. He was too still in her peripheral. He was definitely watching her, not the screen. Had he caught the image that had prompted her to look away? He shouldn't have, but she had shit luck. Who else had been displayed at that moment? Could her motion be attributed to boredom or distraction, given her careless statement minutes ago about distaste for children? How should she play this off?

'Deflect. Make him think that something else is going on in my head, that it wasn't about the video feed.'

Deliberately, she turned her head and made eye contact as if sensing his attention had been what prompted her to look away from the screen. His features started to shift into false sheepishness, a hand moving to the back of his neck. Aiko tilted her head minutely, let her mouth twist into a wicked little smirk, and then slowly, obviously, ran up and down his body. When she made it back up to his eyes, the pretense of embarrassment at having been caught staring was gone, replaced by something sly and hungry.

She had just thought to deflect by leering- not to actually do anything. But.

He looked like he wanted a chance to get her naked and mouth at every centimeter of her flesh. He looked like an excellent distraction.

A warm thrill simmered in her body, too low for her to pretend the sensation was in her stomach. She lifted her head just slightly in challenge, flashing her neck.

Then she broke the stare and walked for the door.

Her pulse quickened when he followed.

His gaze was towards the exit when he stepped into the hallway, clearly looking to follow her out the building. He was looking the wrong way. She shut the door and slammed him into the wall, one hand in his collar and the other curled around the wrist that had reached for a weapon. There was a tense moment, then he let her press his wrist against the wall by his head.

"Not that I mind-" his amused tone hitched when she put her teeth to his neck to shut him up, deflecting from his mouth. She didn't want to kiss him-that was too personal. She licked. He made a sound she wouldn't have heard if she hadn't been against his throat. Something fierce uncoiled in her chest even as she was pressing a knee between Genma's legs.

She could feel his pulse jumping through her lips. She'd done that. The knowledge was intoxicating. Aiko smiled, and then scraped her inhumanly sharp teeth gently against his Adam's apple. Casually, she moved a finger to the underside of the wrist she held, checking at his pulse. It was just as fast- of course it was, but that was somehow thrilling. Was he intimidated, or just excited? Did he know that she could rip out his throat with her teeth, if she wanted?

"Uzu.-" He swallowed.

She smiled against the skin. Instead of answering, she squeezed his wrist.

It took Genma a moment to gather himself. "There's a- room upstairs," he managed.

Aiko really did not give a single shit. But she liked the way that his breath hitched. "What kind of room?" She moved her hand from his collar to the zipper, pausing a moment to check his expression. Genma's pupils were blown wide open and fixed on her hand. She tugged it up pointedly, then tilted it down as if she was going unzip the jacket.

"Yes." Genma twitched against her, as if he wanted to push her off and take control. He seemed to remember that hadn't been the question. "Control room. Or something."

Aiko huffed. "Konoha," she drawled, the irritation of the last months welling up again. "How welcome am I near classified material?" She pulled the flak jacket open and pushed it halfway off his shoulders. Yes. They were as nice as she'd thought. Aiko ran her fingers up and greedily squeezed at the muscles.

Genma sucked in a breath, and that was when she realized it'd been a test. God only knows what would have happened if she'd taken the chance to get close to sensitive equipment. Little shit. It was probably a trap. She'd walk in and ANBU would drop from the ceiling, and she probably wouldn't get to get anyone naked at all. Aiko bared her teeth and pushed him further into the wall, irritated. He finally spoke up again. "Utility closet." Genma jerked his head left.

That was a better suggestion.

"Come on." Aiko tugged.

"I have to disagree with Hatake. She's definitely an aggressive personality," Genma described. He slumped against the wall , picking idly at his teeth with his senbon. A truly brutal bruise was starting to bloom above the collar of his flak jacket, but he didn't seem to care. "Maybe she was having an off-day in Wave, or sticking to a role. She's quiet enough to get the drop on me and put me against a wall. Fast enough to catch me from reaching for a weapon- the thing with Gai wasn't a fluke." He nodded in acknowledgment to the other jounin, who was looking uncharacteristically serious. "I agree that she's dangerous, in theory at least."

"You did take a long while to report. I suppose she was also strong enough to keep you captive," Kakashi drawled without looking up from his book. "Next time we'll send a rescue team into the utility closet. Did she use the mop to incapacitate you? I bet it was the mop."

Genma shrugged. "It isn't fraternizing with a target if they initiate. I was told to get close, not how." He paused. "She's fairly hot, too. How certain is the Sandaime that she's secretly fifty years old? I don't buy it. There's no illusion that holds up to that much contact, unless she's got a Tsunade-level physical transformation going on." He sucked air in through his teeth. "If so, don't tell me. I want to keep that memory the way it is."

Kurenai made a disgusted sound at the crude basis for his analysis, but didn't disagree. She wouldn't know, really. She'd been watching the real-time exam with Asuma to call out camera shots to look for while Gai and Kakashi watched the foreigners watch the time-delayed version. But she'd paid enough attention to tune in when Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. She'd watched disbelievingly as Genma had followed his target away from the cameras too eagerly for a semi-public makeout session like a horny teenager. She'd nearly laughed, though, when Genma tried to trick Uzumaki into walking into the control room. That would have been… Well. It hadn't happened, in any case.

"While I, too, am overjoyed for our comrade's wealth of energetic activities with many new surprisingly youthful friends, perhaps we might address the matter at hand?" Gai gave an incongruous thumbs-up. "The safety of our beautiful young comrades is paramount! I, for one, am not yet convinced about the presence of such a mysterious person with a demonstrated interest in Konoha's bright blooming youths."

Genma eyed Gai suspiciously. He was never certain that the younger jounin wasn't just fucking with him. "Well," he started slowly. "I'm not a miracle worker. I determined that Uzumaki-san knows I was there to observe her. I don't yet know if she knows that I know she knows I'm her watch. I need to spend more time with her to narrow that down and determine a course of action and whether it's going to be plausible to turn her."

"She isn't attached to her team," Kurenai opined. "I read her as being more dutiful last night. If she wasn't lying about having no prior commitment to Kirigakure, they have something on her now. Unless we can eliminate that element, persuasion is irrelevant."

Asuma shook his head. "Maybe she just doesn't like kids. That'd explain your impression that there's little to no team connection. I don't buy that Kirigakure sent an unknown to represent them in Konoha. Yagura's a wildcard, but he's not insane. Unless he wants to provoke war, which would be particularly…" Asuma sucked in air through his teeth. "Imprudent," he decided.

"Is there another way to reconcile those possibilities?" Genma pulled the senbon out. "What circumstance could lead to a shinobi not being an unknown that Kiri wouldn't risk sending as a representative, but still make it plausible that she told Kakashi in good faith that she had no village attachment?" He nodded in deference towards the other jounin, who was both younger and more experienced.

He didn't think that Uzumaki had slipped a direct lie past Kakashi. She was good at deflection, at making someone look the wrong way for the trick- but he didn't peg her as an especially skilled infiltrator. No. She was something else, unless this was a helluva long con in action.

Kurenai crossed her arms and hummed. "Some sort of contractor situation?" she guessed, unenthusiastic about the theory. "Uzumaki could be a free agent who has worked with Kirigakure before."

"Or she could be on the outs with Kirigakure," Asuma said. He looked out the window, clearly bored with re-hashing what they'd all witnessed and discussed. "Kiri doesn't exactly have a high satisfaction rate. It could be that she feels the current administration is no place where she belongs. God only knows there's ten or so different factions of opinion on Kirigakure's reformation."

Kurenai nodded slowly. "That would fit, but not explain why she is here now. Unless Kirigakure recently had a change of administration leadership or policy that brought her back into the fold."

There was a moment of quiet.

Kakashi sighed, lifting his head. "That's where my money is. In order to determine the level of threat and likelihood of poaching Uzumaki from Kiri, we need to find out who is holding her leash and why she's cooperating with them." He shut his book and slipped it away. "The only thing to do is wait for our agent to return with information. But in the meantime, I don't like the way she flinched when the camera was on my genin. That looked like guilt to me."

Genma snorted. "I can't say. I wouldn't have known that was what had happened from watching her. Are you sure about the volume on these things?" He indicated the tiny black machinery that had been fished out of his ear with senbon and a prayer. "She tensed up when Asuma told me which shot was coming up next. I could swear she'd heard."

Kakashi's brow wrinkled. "Extremely unlikely. An Inuzuka could at that distance. I might pick out the communication, if I was paying attention. But we don't have any reason to assume she has augmented hearing capabilities."

He let the corollary hang.

Asuma said it anyway. "Don't have any reason to believe she doesn't, either, aside from it not being an Uzumaki bloodline." He snorted, disgusted. "That we know of. Whose to say? That's not exactly the kind of fabled ability that goes down in history, and the Uzumaki that any of us have personally known could hardly be called representative samples."

Genma's mouth twisted to the side. True enough. "That raises the question again of why Kiri had an Uzumaki, assuming she's not either an independent contractor or improbably well-preserved." Distaste colored his tone. "I gotta say, the only option coming to mind is unpleasant."

Kakashi looked away. No one else seemed to want to respond to that.

Kiri'd been one of the countries that destroyed Uzushiogakure- no Uzumaki in their right mind would have chosen to go there. It made much more sense that Kiri had captured some in hopes of making a more stable jinchuuriki, or gaining some kind of sealing knowledge.

If they went by appearances, this woman was about twenty- she wouldn't have been born when Uzushiogakure fell. That meant she hadn't been taken prisoner- she'd be a generation removed. It seemed like the kind of thing that Kumo had tried on Kushina and even the little Hyuuga princess. They'd probably taken a young woman or two captive and tried to manufacture their own loyal Uzumaki.

It made the target's slightly less proto-typical Uzumaki features take on an unpleasant pallor, to say the least. One parent with white or blond hair and dark eyes could explain how her features deviated from well-recorded clan norms.

Well. Genma shoved his hands in his pockets. "This is pleasant and all, but I'll see you tomorrow." He made a face. "We have a long day of surveillance tomorrow."

Kurenai huffed agreement. "I am exceedingly fond of training ground 44," she said in a dry sort of tone that implied the exact opposite. "I look forward to the opportunity. I only wish that you were so lucky as to join us, instead of your current task. I know how you suffer watching Uzumaki."

Genma didn't manage to hide a grin. He did have the better assignment.

"That's the spirit." Kakashi ambled to the door, happy to leave the building. The genin were getting briefed, and the foreigners had all been cleared out and escorted to their accommodations before they'd dared to begin this discussion.

Frankly, it was time to go home.

The signal came during that first night of the test in the Forest of Death. Aiko startled awake, reaching for a weapon. She'd trapped the absolute hell out of her quarters, now that there was no risk of genin stumbling into them for the time being. She could hiraishin to her students without much risk of someone getting into the hotel room. At least, not without leaving signs that-

She paused in the middle of adjusting her weaponry.

The seal calling for her attention wasn't in the Forest of Death. It was in Mizugakure.

"That seems… bad," Aiko said to herself. Her tone across dubious even to her own ears.

That meant Utakata or Mei. Both options meant there was a fairly good chance that she was talking into either a disaster they couldn't deal with, or a trap to kill her and replace her.

Well. Utakata was less likely to kill her, unless he was still really hurt. He thought that she'd consciously tricked him into helping her avenge herself on Mizugakure, and honestly, that made so much more sense than what she'd really done that there didn't seem to be much point in attempting to exonerate herself.

She suited up quickly, not bothering to wear the Kiri-style uniform since she wasn't representing anyone in Konoha at the moment. It was the work of a moment to pull herself across a distance that would take a lesser woman a good week and a half to cross, if that lesser woman happened to be an elite ANBU.

"As punctual as ever," Mei greeted calmly, and that didn't make much sense. Were they pretending to have a rapport? Was that what was happening?

Mei was in a uniform, hair pulled back professionally. Two hunter-nin were standing at opposite ends of the room. The interesting thing, however, was a prisoner bound on his knees at Mei's feet.

Aiko rolled with it, nodding graciously to her nominal subordinate. "How lovely to see you. Is this a social call?"

The prisoner looked up.

'Ah,' Aiko thought, closely followed by, 'Holy fucking shit.'

"Konoha has kindly sent someone to express interest in our political affairs," Mei explained cooly. She looked as though she might give the poor man a kick for good measure. She wouldn't, though. Not her style. "I was wondering what sort of accommodations you would like to offer our esteemed guest, and what length his stay might be. It is considered most polite not to invite guests long-term without input from the head of the household," she breezed, and if that didn't sound pointed, Aiko didn't know what would. It was probably some kind of follow-up joke to a conversation she'd had with the prisoner before.

Aiko looked at the poor bastard and didn't rub at her temples. She didn't. She just really wanted to. "Have you checked for wood clones?" she asked Mei wearily.

Yamato shot to his feet in unison with the fake hunter-nin who lunged at Aiko from behind, swinging. It was an exceedingly foolish move- Yamato was damn good, but he wasn't good enough to pick a fight in a room with two kage-level kunoichi and a hunter-nin. Aiko put down the clone with prejudice, but winced when Mei wasn't terribly gentle with the real man.

He hit the ground hard, bleeding from the back of his head. He'd probably have burns around his arms from the material that Mei had used to bind his arms in front in a way that had to be painful.

Typical.

The older kunoichi scowled at Aiko, calm facade thrown off. "I can't believe that. You just happened to know this specific Konoha nin?"

She considered and dismissed several obnoxious responses, including, "I know everything," and "I always ask that question, don't you?" In the end, Aiko settled for sighing and rolling a shoulder. "Oddly, yes."

Mei eyed her suspiciously a moment before she accepted the answer as it was. The older woman sighed. She crossed her arms. "Well. What do you think?"

Aiko toed at Yamato's leg. He didn't move. "I think that this is going to be a diplomatic nightmare."

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction #clarity #AIC #Aiko in Canon

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wr1t3w1tm3 · 6 months

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Live Blogging My Reaction as I edit a Fic - Part 1

The fic is SEAWOLF on AO3. I'll link it at the bottom of this page.

First, I'm not even sure I want to keep the current story line. Currently the main OC - Theresa - is Rooster's kid but she may become Mav's kid in the rewrite.

Secondly... I'm copy and pasting this from AO3, so I'm gonna have to format.

Third: I'm editing the first chapter, but there is a chapter before that in the book that I'll edit at the end (bear with me). The link below is the link from Chapter 1, not the dossier.

Just changed my page layout to match what an average book setup would be and ooooohhh, pretty!

"A couple of nights later, Rooster learns why they got certified."

First line. This was a reference to a cut prologue which I published as a one-shot. In the early to mid-plot plan this was important. Now it's not.

Getting rid of these details is killing me, but there's so much superfluous stuff. It has to go. I have the original copy saved somewhere.

Just spent forever figuring out how to get rid of the spaces between paragraphs in google docs. Maybe I should've done this in word...

I really needed to declutter this chapter. At this point I'm just smoothing everything over.

Damn it, now I wanna split the chapter.

Ya'll I was in AP English in HS. I have spell check. I just can't spell worth shit.

I've always prided myself on realistic dialogue, but sometimes it's hard to differentiate my dialogue between characters because obviously, I'm a college student. I have one experience. But I'm working with characters that can't know normal college lingo. So I'm working on that while doing this and... it's a bit rough.

I was definitely trying to flex my limited medical and anatomical knowledge with this. Trying to be humbler now... but I actually have my CNA and Med Tech so...

Mmmm... I like hurting characters a bit too much.

Should I add page numbers now or...

*I'm hurting Rooster a lot. I like teenage trauma a bit too much...

Head canon: Carole had breast cancer which came back as breast as ovarian cancer after a couple years remission and thats what eventually killed her. This is due to the BRACA1 mutation, which wasn't well known until the 2010's ish. (BRACA1/BRACA2 will have implications down the line.)

My phones at 15% and my computers getting close and it's almost my bedtime. Can I finish the new chapter 1 in time?

This time I actually described the transformation. Kinda avoided that with the first draft.

In the og draft they didn't even call 911, but now they did so I guess the EMS guys are gonna show up this time.

That's all for tonight. Nearly done with new chapter one.

With the book page format, I'm at approx. 8 pages (7 full with like, 1/8 of the 8th filled) and 2,169 words. For reference, the original first chapter has 3,805 words. I think splitting will be the right decision because this book got big fast when I initially wrote it and I have got to get it down.

Is not a bad time to mention that it's also an Ice!Lives fic?

Original Fic link, as promised:

I know it says chapter two but it is really chapter one.

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gladtobeagirl · 2 years

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This caption is rather different from those I normally post but it is one that is particularly relevant to my situation at the moment. It's now a couple of months since my vaginoplasty and, to be honest, I've already forgotten what it was like to have a penis. Having a vagina just feels right and normal.

Having started my transition as a young teenager I know what it was like to be teased and bullied - and beaten up a couple of times - simply because I knew I was a girl and wanted to express my gender accordingly by wearing girl's clothes, growing my hair, attending school as a girl, etc. My life seemed to swing between joy and happiness and feeling scared and nervous. Though I must emphasise it was mostly joy and happiness at being allowed to be who I'd always known I was - a girl called Katie. But the fear was always there at the back of my mind. I'm sure many of you ladies reading this can relate to this.

As I became older in my late-teens and early-twenties this became less of a problem. Living full-time as a girl for years and the effects of hormones made it easier for me to live as a woman without people being able to tell I was transgender. But in the back of my mind always lurked the fear of how people would react if they discovered somehow - and to be honest I can't actually imagine any scenario in which people could accidentally do this - that I had a penis (or as I've always called it 'a thing'). Boyfriends were always a problem of course. When should you tell them you were trans? And what would their reaction be when they actually saw you naked? There was always the possibility that they could turn violent or 'be disgusted' by you. In the end I was lucky enough to meet a man who loves me for the person I am and thinks I'm very beautiful. He was slightly taken aback when I told him about me but only because he couldn't believe that someone as beautiful as me (his words not mine) could have been a boy. He has always regarded my penis as some sort of mistake that would eventually be corrected by surgery.

I've been catcalled or whistled at in the street many times over the years. As a feminist I've always felt that I ought to be angry but I can't deny that there is a certain guilty pleasure in it!

But since my surgery I must admit that my feelings have changed. I'm not totally sure why but I suddenly feel more vulnerable and nervous again. It's similar to the feeling I used to experience when the bullies used to pick on me when I was 15-16 years old. I'm now much more careful about where and when I walk alone. I feel incredibly vulnerable if I'm out alone after dark for instance. And the other day, as I was passing a building site near my home, a workman called out "Hello gorgeous! How about letting a real man put a smile on your face? You're bloody lovely!" I couldn't get home quick enough! I don't think I've been as scared in my life! Apparently such feelings of vulnerabilty are quite common amongst post-op transwomen. But it doesn't make them any better. Hopefully I'll calm down a bit. I've always known I was a girl/woman on the inside and I've had a long journey to fully become a woman on the outside. Perhaps the fact that I now have a vagina that any man could penetrate if he felt he wanted to and was strong enough, is the reason I feel like this. Sadly, I can't help feeling that what I'm experiencing now is simply the reality of being a woman in modern 21st century Britain and, if it is, I can't help asking why women should live in a perpetual state of fear?

Sorry I rambled on. Thanks for reading it anyway. Katie X

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antisocialxconstruct · 1 year

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I posted 1,897 times in 2022

That's 1,030 more posts than 2021!

493 posts created (26%)

1,404 posts reblogged (74%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@antisocialxconstruct

@yondamoegi

@starrypawz

@dorkousloris

@axperjan

I tagged 1,599 of my posts in 2022

Only 16% of my posts had no tags

#chuck says things - 129 posts

#ask - 116 posts

#charliecdraws - 113 posts

#maksim girard - 97 posts

#fhr - 77 posts

#ghost city - 67 posts

#gw2 - 65 posts

#anon - 60 posts

#shadowrun - 58 posts

#delete later - 53 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#spotify really coming for my life and hipster cred by dropping the sharpest lives in my weekly recs n forcing me to admit mcr kinda slaps😔

My Top Posts in 2022:

Okay I think I've finally condensed my Stray Meta Analysis into a clear thesis but I can't really get into it without just going over the entire story right up to the ending and the final shot SO major spoilers ahead.

433 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

I’m feeling fine and normal about Stray by the way

1,363 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

So you made a neocities... now what?

Okay, here it is! So you’ve seen how web2 is becoming more and more corporatized and toxic, you know web3 will be a capitalist nightmare if it becomes reality, and people are rediscovering the nostalgic charm of the web1 era so you want in. You want to stake out your little corner of the internet, you made your neocities account, maybe a proboards to go with it...

Now what do you do with it?

This is a short(-ish) guide intended to give you some direction when populating your own site. This is not a technical guide for building a website, I am by no means qualified to teach you html or css, and besides those resources exist already. Think of this more as content inspiration, organized loosely based on what you already use social media for and what you’d be bringing with you to a new space.

If anyone has ideas I didn’t think of, feel free to add on!

1,750 notes - Posted April 15, 2022

bucket collecting simulator :)

2,292 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

🐈🎶💕

10,980 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #no surprises on that top post lmao #stray just COMPLETELY skewing the data even though those were all made within the same month #although my number 1 'most reblogged from' just being myself is pretty funny gfdsgsd

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rayia-redacted · 1 year

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Backrooms level [REDACTED] The Nursing!HOME?

You will enter into a LoBBY, it changes depending on the seasons, when it is fall you will see Halloween or Thanksgiving themed decor. Right now it is winter, There is a Christmas tree on a center table, I have not been here long enough to see the spring decor, no one knows where it comes from or who decorates the LoBBY. You can find food, almond water, clothing, and snacks here. You can stay here as long as needed, unless the RENT COLLECTION event happens. There are 5 entities I've come in contact with here. The NurSES, The LandLORD, The TENaNTs, The PETTS, and The CHILDREN.

The NurSES: They are dressed as normal people, though their facial features change ever so often, mainly harmless unless they feel you are angering or hurting The TENaNTs, their skin blisters and peels when they come in CONtact with cleaning supplies, which is odd seeing as how they talk about cleaning the ROOMs.. When angered they will become aggressive and try to injure or kill you with the nearest object, or their own fists. They will become calm again once their face changes, going to a new TENaNT's room. SO far I I I have noted 5 NurSESSS.

The LandLORD: He seems to have a shadow over his face, I've only seen him once, collecting "Rent", Rent COLLECTION is the only dangerous event I've seen so far. it happens once a !MONTH! When he collects rent, you need to find a TENaNT to be "visiting" I recommend room 5, 8, 10, 40, and 112. The LandLORD watches on cameras at the very end of the LoBBY.

Rent COLLECTION: The LandLORD bangs on every TENaNTs door, if you are "visiting" then they will ask you to get it. Get the door, if you don't a NurSE will find you for being disrespectful. When you open it the LandLORD will ask for [REDACTED] The TENaNT will appear behind you and say something along the lines of "This is my child/grandchild/friend, they are visiting, here is your rent for two people." or however many people there are, plus PETTS. In rare cases, the TENaNT will say "Here is your rent. My friend/s were just leaving." The LandLORD will take you and/or the people you are with. You won't be seen again. GET OUT OF THE LOBBY AND HALL THE LANDLORD WILL NOT BE PLEASED WITH STRANGERS THAT AREN'T PAYING RENT TENaNTS: Normally 1-2 per apartment, they look and act like normal people, I believe they were once wanderers that liked the safety and peace of HOME. They tend to keep PETTS.

CHILDREN: There are only 2 that I have seen. They live in room 10 with their father. One is a 15 year old Male, the other I cannot figure out, but they are younger. The children are rarely seen, I know they decorate room 10. I visit them quite often, they are kind and helpful, though when angry they can admit a crying sound that makes ears bleed. The NurSES don't help them, making me believe The NurSES only assist the TENaNTS. ROOM 10: This room is a mess, but is the safest to go to if a RENT COLLECTION event happens. The CHILDREN likes visitors, the father is a kind man and will take you in. I witnessed the youngest child's birthday. It was a sweet thing to witness after all of this hell. The TENaNTS and CHILDREN will take care of you when you stay here, me and 3 others stay here with them. PETTS: They look and act like normal animals, except they have 3 eyes and 2 tails. They like something labeled THREETS. It's a form of animal treat, if fed to a person they will experience the same effects as liquid pain, this causes me to believe the PETTS could survive if they consumed or touched liquid pain. The most common I've seen are cats, and a few dogs. The rarest I've seen are fish, and snakes. USEFUL FACTS: There is Wifi on this level, but you must befriend a TENaNT for a password.There is a section that isn't covered in fog outside, you get to experience the world. It is a forested area, calming to walk through, but scary at night. Don't go into the fog. This is all for now, till I update again- Rayia D.

#the backrooms #liminal space #liminal reality

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elgaladwen · 2 years

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youtube

I don't normally get all into sports online, unless you know me from Twitter, but I've always loved the Seattle Mariners, and today, in about 15 minutes, is their first postseason game in over twenty years. I always liked them as a kid in the 90s, but didn't pay too much attention, just that they were our local team, and Ken Griffey Jr. was pretty cool. I vaguely remember how excited people were during the 1995 season. In 2001 I started paying attention to them more, started actually watching the games on my own without just watching because my family was, I started going to more games. It was a really exciting season, with 116 wins, Ichro's rookie year, just so many amazing players. And it was the last time we would make the playoffs for over two decades. The next few years were still fun, but then it kind of just got worse and worse. It was always, next year, it'll be better next year! The drought went on to become the longest in all of American major league sports. There were years we got close, where the playoff tickets would go one sale just in case, but it never happened. I grew up, graduated from highschool and college, went through different relationships, places I've lived, and jobs, some good, some bad. I had some years where I went to many games, some where I didn't, some years I watched many games, some I didn't. One constant was always the Mariners, and the hope, and the disappointment. I started getting into soccer more, I got to see the Seattle Sounders win two MLS cups, and the CONCACAF League Championship, which felt amazing, but always in the back of my head was wondering what it would feel like if this were the Mariners.

Now, twenty-one years later, we've made it to the playoffs again, and whether we go far or not, the drought is over.

So I might be going on a little more about sports online than I normally would for the next few weeks, but it's just because it's been something I've been waiting for for nearly two-thirds of my life. (Hey I got super invested in the Lord of The Rings a few months after getting super invested in the Mariners, so at least that interest is still going strong too! 😂)

Anyway the video is the super nostalgic, super dated Mariners intro from the 90s, and it's great, especially the sax.

#I didn't mean to go on that long #I have Emotions #Seattle #Seattle Mariners #mariners #Youtube

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themomsandthecity · 7 days

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Jesse Sullivan and Francesca Farago Talk "Surreal" Pregnancy Journey

When Jesse Sullivan and Francesca Farago announced their pregnancy on March 31, Trans Day of Visibility, their videos on social media were met with an outpouring of support: "Congrats to you both! Thanks for sharing this journey," one user wrote. "You are going to make the best parents ever," another commented. Of course, they got questions too - about how they would raise their future kids within a queer family, what their IVF journey was like, and how Arlo, Sullivan's 15-year-old, is feeling about becoming an older sibling. But the good news kept pouring in. On April 7, the couple revealed they were expecting not one child, but twins. They both readily admit they'd been hoping they'd have twins, if only so that they don't have to fight over which one of them gets to hold the baby. "We already do it with our cat and our dog, so if we only had one baby, it would be bad," Sullivan jokes. "Once I was seeing the heartbeats on the scan, it felt so real." We caught up with Sullivan and Farago a couple weeks after their announcement, and they were both giddy as they talked about expanding their family. They were still a bit in disbelief, too, given that they went through a failed embryo transfer last year. As Farago put it, despite all of the planning, hormone shots, and everything else that has gone into making this pregnancy a reality, "the fact that it's happening feels surreal." Keep reading to find out what Farago has been craving during her pregnancy, how Sullivan deals with the "hate" he gets online as a trans man, and why it's so important for them both to be open about their relationship and their journey of growing their family. On How Pregnancy Is Going Francesca Farago: All the first trimester stuff - nausea, feeling tired - it all started hitting me this week. I'm feeling a little under the weather, to be expected obviously, and because there are two in there, I definitely feel a little bit worse than I'd feel if there were just one. It's a little bit of a struggle to do day-to-day things, but everyone tells me that when you get into your second trimester, all of that goes away. So I'm excited for that. I'm hiding it with makeup. Jesse Sullivan: I basically have been like a little caretaker. I make her all her meals, and she's craving very specific things. So anytime she's craving something, I try to surprise her. I'll add a little apple with caramel, and she gets all excited. I take care of the animals, and I've been taking care of the house. Kind of doing everything I can to make her days easier, because she's been going through so much. Not only the twins, but because this was IVF, she's on all these hormones and it's been extra hard on her body. So the least I can do is sort of be like full-blown Mr. Maid. FF: I'm craving healthy foods, and my favorite thing right now is cinnamon raisin toast with vegan cream cheese and berries on top. JS: Or a bagel with vegan cream cheese and cucumber. FF: I'm big on cucumbers right now. I could live off cucumbers. I don't know what it is. I think maybe the freshness. On What's Been Most Surprising Since Starting Their IVF Journey JS: Although we intentionally did this and put so much blood, sweat, and tears into making this happen, once it happened and once I was seeing the heartbeats on the scan, it felt so real. And it sounds so weird, because obviously I knew this was going to happen. But it hits you really hard. And it's like, we're bringing human beings into this world together. FF: I remember the other day, I was thinking like, "Oh my god, we're actually going to have two babies? Who's letting us do this?" I feel like a teen adult. My mom started having kids when she was young, but I'm like, we're ready, but also who let us do this? It's crazy that it's actually happening. JS: I think that's a normal thing when you're pregnant or at any stage, you get hit with the reality really hard. It happened to… https://www.popsugar.com/family/jesse-sullivan-francesca-farago-twins-interview-49355599?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

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hakeemakbar · 20 days

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Two years ago I was THE ONLY WHITE GUY in the middle of the biggest tribal sex orgy ever…

With hot black women screaming with pleasure everywhere…

And men, both young and old…

Having non-stop wild sex, while sporting some of the longest and hardest penises I've ever seen!

It was absolutely insane!

And it was that precise moment that sent me on a completely unexpected journey…

Which led me to discover the incredible secret of the African Congo tribesmen with 15 inches-long "super-penises"…

A secret closely guarded for generations…

Based on a 3,000-years old "African Penis Growth Cocktail", which can make any penis increase by 35%! So stick with me for the next 3 minutes, and you'll discover how you too can easily increase the length of your penis with at least 3 inches in just 30 days, like more than 64,000 people before you!

The answers I'm about to reveal will also change everything you think is TRUE about your manhood.

You see… the only reason doctors think a small penis is something normal is because this is so common.

But while it may be common, in NO WAY is it natural, as you will soon discover.

Also, what nobody wants you to know is that a long penis it's NOT because of God's blessing… or genetics!

As the latest scientific evidence shows, if you want a longer penis…

You DON'T have to be a black man born in Africa!

You DON'T have to use crazy and expensive penis pumps!

And you definitely DON'T need any useless pills or dangerous surgeries!

Instead, it's all down to a dangerous "leak" which is happening right now in your body…

Which prevents your penis from getting longer, thicker and fuller, as nature intended it to be.

First, I'll show you a simple test you can do at home to see WITH YOUR OWN EYES how deeply your penis is affected by this leak…

Then I will reveal a simple, 30-seconds African-inspired ritual, which can fix this "leak" and trigger an explosive penis growth of 3… 4 or even 7 inches in practically no time!*

Backed by countless peer-reviewed medical studies from around the world, the clinically proven and highly controversial penis ehnancement secret that I'm about to reveal, will also come with a whole bunch of great advantages: bigger & longer lasting erections, a surge in sex drive and energy, increased sexual confidence and even a loss in weight as well.

So please listen up, because time is running out: If you're under 40 and believe that your penis should be longer and thicker, but don't know exactly how to make that happen…

If you're concerned about keeping an erection for more than 30 minutes…

If you're over 40 and care not only about the length of your penis, but also about its health and would like to put the brakes on before your manhood becomes completely limp, soft and lifeless…

Or if you just got tired of feeling embarrassed or frustrated, thinking that women will ALWAYS choose a more well-hung man than you are right now…

Then stay with me until the end of this presentation and you'll need a bigger ruler to measure your penis!

Believe me, I know what it's like to feel COMPLETELY EMBARRASSED every time a woman says "Take off your pants!" or whenever some guy saw your small junk and looked at you with pity and disgust.

But I'm here to tell you: it doesn't have to be that way.

Because in 2020, HAVING A SMALL PENIS IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL.

Of course, I don't want you to simply take my word for it.

Instead, I want you to hear from some of the 64,000 other people whose lives have been ROCKED by the secret I'm about to give you…

Click on this link to add.