#Interaction

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

[Just throwing more men at Sakura] | @akumanoken​

The blacksmith’s scowl held to his face for a while, watching the pushy noble man scurry off & making sure he disappeared somewhere into the crowded ballroom. 

“The manners of some people...” Or lack there of, as in this case.

“Are you alright?” But he let his scowl ease, when he turned his green eyes make towards the one her originally was worried about, Sakura. “He didn’t harm you, did he? He seemed much to eager to be up in your personal spaces.”

[vixlenxe]

Lilies of the valley, blue hyacinths, pink carnations and white orchids. Sakura needed to apologize. He hadn't meant to be there for everything, but it apparently was too much. He's still learning how to be a proper friend, after all. He would simply leave it for her friend and depart.

"This is why someone has to tell you personal boundaries exist." It's an accepted apology. There's a line between being an attentive friend, & a stalker, Sakura knows that boundary now, try not to cross it.

[akumanoken]

How did you come up with the whole idea for the royal au for Souji?? It feels so flushed out and detailed! The kingdom, the politics, the ✨drama✨ Plus I love seeing all the other blogs that interact with Princess Sakura! AND seeing Ayato and Kyouya in this au as well!!

For Munday, anonymously ask the mun something you want to know about them, their portrayal, or what they will/won’t write.

Aww, thank you for saying so!! So originally it was only prince Souji who is the youngest prince of Makoto, a dignitary and an assassin. Really he's only shown up for one blog and they're not online rn (we wait for their return LOL)

But honestly, it was from @whitecrowns-blackthrones I was looking at their blog, Ann and Sue, and they were incredible, and I was like "...I kinda want to do just a princess verse what would that look like?? I already had pictures for Sakura, plus the name from a previous au that involved Souji dressed as an oiran. Sakura was originally a highly sought-after kagema of the red light district, considered the princess of Shimabara and (yes!! Sakura's original verse was a high-class prostitute in Edo era Japan).

As far as the politics it really was something that grew and flourished as I wrote them, and many questions from whitecrown-blackthrones that helped me think about the culture, the military prowess, and so it just grew from there.

I'm glad you like all the interactions!! It was a spur of the moment decision but honestly one of the best decisions for an au I've ever done on this blog.

[royaltyfated]

  “O! HEED MY CALL! ALTER EGO! CASTER! SABER!”

with the sakura flowers flowing behind us, our golden knowledge guiding us, and our will to fight shall not fade away.

Counter Guardian Okita Souji. // Sage King Gilgamesh. // King of knights Altria Pendragon.

art credit.  ✿ ☆ ★   promo credit.  Personals & Non-RP blogs, do not interact.

[iristial]

toku ship stats

Blacklist #toku ship stats if needed

Since I was thinking about the one I did about Sentai ship stats - why not try something on a larger scale for toku in general! I did think about doing a Kamen Rider ship stat post, but that’s mostly “main Rider/main heroine” or “that other Rider/main heroine” or “other Rider/other heroine” so...not much diversity

This won’t include Ryusoulger because we still have about a year before it ends and I can finally see if my shipping luck has turned out for the better

And it’s possible in the future that this will be inaccurate since I’ll have other series completed by then, fingers crossed

My Conclusions

There were more official couple ships than I thought

This whole time I was convinced I was a crack shipper (which I am) but it’s more like I’m a rare pair shipper. 35 ships with somewhat adequate interaction/ship tease, 1 ship that literally interacted once, and only 1 ship that never interacted. I like this! It’s giving me a sense of peace I haven’t had in months

Kamen Rider and Garo are more likely to give me shipping satisfaction than Sentai (it was obvious from the get go - but it’s official now!)

Only one of my canon ships have had a kid. Technically Wataru also has one but it’s ambiguous as to 1) it’s with another woman or 2) Mio was revived and they got together

I have to write all the content myself. i-can-do-this-let’s-do-this-we’ll-write-until-we-crumble-like-writers.gifcollection.com

Final Results - Long Version

1. So canon they’ll even get married and have a kid/boyfriend and girlfriend, but one day they’ll tie the knot. Trust me. 10 in total: - 2 Sentai ships - 7 KR ships - 1 Garo ship

2. Plenty of ship tease but they don’t end up together in canon/it might not be ship tease but in the lenses of a shipper, it’s still ship tease + they interacted consistently throughout the show (aka more than two episodes focusing on them and/or they just interact like normal people). Eh, the outcome is the same either way - they don’t become a couple at the end 35 in total: - 20 Sentai ships - 13 KR ships - 2 Garo ships

3. Alternate universes will allow you to be together* 0 *Honestly this applies to all 35 pairings under the second section - and the fourth section - and the fifth - the sixth - you get the picture. Though special shout-out to Hiromu/Yoko for canonically doing this in that V-Cinema which executed my soul and made me never leave that ship

4. Only interacted once. As in properly interacted - to the point of having a focus episode, but after that you don’t see them interact properly ever again. Like, ever. 1 Sentai ship

5. Never interacted on-screen 1 Sentai ship

6. Got a sibling/biological family card pulled on them 2 KR ships

The “Research”

So canon they’ll even get married and have a kid/boyfriend and girlfriend, but one day they’ll tie the knot. Trust me.

Hikaru/Urara

Otoya/Maya

Wataru/Mio. Okay, she died, and maybe that wedding scene in the church was a hint at what could’ve been/a marriage of love that didn’t need a ceremony...I’m going to say they got married there - they did have canon feelings for each other... >-<

Ryusei/Tomoko

Kouta/Mai

Gou/Reiko

Alain/Kanon

Ryuuga/Kasumi

Touma/Aya

Ryuga/Rian

Plenty of ship tease but they don’t end up together in canon/it might not be ship tease but in the lenses of a shipper, it’s still ship tease + they interacted consistently throughout the show (aka more than two episodes focusing on them and/or they just interact like normal people). Eh, the outcome is the same either way - they don’t become a couple at the end

Sentai

Masumi/Natsuki

Satoru/Sakura

Kai/Lunagel

Tsubasa/Rei

Ryuunosuke/Mako

Takeru/Kotoha

Marvelous/Ahim

Joe/Luka

Alata/Eri

Hyde/Moune

Hiromu/Yoko

Souji/Amy

Nossan/Candellira

Right/Kagura

Hikari/Mio

Kinji/Fuka

Yamato/Amu

Tusk/Sela

Keiichiro/Tsukasa

Kairi/Umika

Kamen Rider

Tsukasa/Natsumi

Shotarou/Akiko

Eiji/Hina

Gentarou/Yuki

Kengo/Yuki

Haruto/Koyomi

Chase/Kiriko

Takeru/Akari

Emu/Poppy

Sento/Misora

Kazumin/Sawa

Geiz/Tsukuyomi

Sougo/Tsukuyomi

Garo

Leo/Mio

Raiga/Mayuri

Alternate universes will allow you to be together

...pretty much any ship I have. Especially the last section.

Only interacted once. As in properly interacted - to the point of having a focus episode, but after that you don’t see them interact properly ever again. Like, ever.

Keiichiro/Umika

Never interacted on-screen

Stinger/Hammie

Got a sibling/biological family card pulled on them

Philip/Wakana

Haruka/Mizuki

[ao3feed-souyo]

Unchain the Heart

read it on the AO3 at http://archiveofourown.org/works/19007065

by bombshellbrunette

Even the feeblest existence can gain tremendous power once the chains on its heart are broken.

Words: 3518, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of glass houses

Fandoms: Persona 5

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Akechi Goro, Kurusu Akira, Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Niijima Makoto, Okumura Haru, Morgana (Persona 5), Sakamoto Ryuji, Sakura Futaba, Takamaki Ann, Kitagawa Yusuke

Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Minor Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru, minor sakamoto ryuji/takamaki ann, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji

Additional Tags: oh boy someone rip this from my hands, Akechi Goro Has A Palace, akechi palace au, the phantom thieves are some memers tbh, OK BUT ALSO, Heavy Angst, Assumed Character Death, Grief, shido freaking sucks, ensemble interactions, goro makes friends, Texting, slow forgiveness, some elements from the prequel will be mentioned be warned, oh boy oh boy, Canon Divergence

read it on the AO3 at http://archiveofourown.org/works/19007065

[artikgato]

Souyowrimo Day 9

Prompt list here!

Also, this one is a crossover with Persona 5, but you don’t need to have played Persona 5 at all to understand it. It’s mostly just the setting. Also also, this one leads into the prompt for tomorrow!

You can read the rest of my prompts here!

Souyowrimo Day 9 - Coffee Shop

Yosuke liked his job - most days. Well, that was inaccurate and unfair to Leblanc, when he phrased it like that. Yosuke liked his job, but he didn’t always like the customers. It didn’t help that it had been a long day of classes that had seen him out the door of his nearby apartment at 6:30 this morning. And he had no-one but himself to blame for the fact that he’d procrastinated and had been up until nearly 2am working on a paper, and had also had a pop quiz sprang on him in one of his other classes.

And now he was having to listen to three old men bicker about the economy, and politics, and oh, isn’t it a shame that Shido had turned out to be so corrupt and awful? He didn’t normally mind political talk or whatever - it was easy enough to tune out - but these guys had been at this for hours. At least he could take solace in the fact that his boss looked just as annoyed if not somehow moreso with the old guys. For some reason, Sakura-san really seemed to hate it when people brought up Shido, and tonight was no exception. But, he’d told Yosuke one day, customers were customers, and money was money. So Yosuke just put on his biggest, fakest customer service smile when one of the men asked, loudly and rudely, for a refill.

Man, he was tired.

Sakura-san was frowning at him when he returned to the employees’ side of the bar and set down the coffee pot.

“You look beat, Hanamura. Why don’t you take off early today?” he asked. Yosuke considered it, he really did, but he had a good reason for working here, after all. Valentines Day was coming up soon and he was saving up for something special.

“I am tired,” he started, “but I can make it to close, Boss. I promise.”

“Okay,” Sakura-san said, with a frown. “But you need to take care of yourself, you know.” Yosuke chuckled.

“I know, I know,” he replied, with a grin that was nothing like his fake, plastic customer service grin. He went to the sink and started scrubbing at coffee mugs and curry plates, for lack of anything else to do.

(This one is getting a little long, so I’ll put the rest under a cut!)

At first, he’d been kind of bothered by Sakura-san’s incessant mother-henning of him, but he needed this job and it wasn’t like that was the worst possible thing ever. If he was being honest, being in the city far away from his parents had kind of made him miss them, and Sakura-san was a little bit like a father figure. Plus, he’d come to realize that Sakura-san just treated anybody significantly younger than him that way. He’d realized that when he’d gotten to witness him interacting with his daughter, Futaba, and all of her friends. In a group or individually, he treated them all like he was their dad, and they all just accepted it. Even the two girls that were in their first year of university. He’d asked Futaba about it one day, and she had just mumbled something about someone named Akira and thieves, before scurrying away. Well, it wasn’t his business, anyway.

“Hey, kid! Another refill!” one of the old guys shouted at him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He huffed and started to dry his hands, but was intercepted by Sakura-san.

“I’ll get it. You keep washing,” he said, and Yosuke nodded.

Most of the time, Leblanc was nice and quiet, even when it was full of people. Maybe when there were other customers around, the more opinionated ones were more likely to be quiet? Whatever the reason was, Yosuke preferred it when Leblanc was busy. So when the bell above the door chimed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Welcome,” Sakura-san greeted. Yosuke couldn’t see what was going on because he was determinedly cleaning a particularly stained mug. Once he was done, he reasoned, he’d see what kind of customer had come in, but until then it seemed like Sakura-san had it under control. He heard Sakura-san say something to the customer, but couldn’t quite make it out over a suddenly loud complaint from one of the old men in the corner booth. He frowned and scrubbed a little harder in response.

“Working hard, I see,” said a very familiar voice, and Yosuke nearly jumped and dropped the mug back into the soapy water. He looked up to see Souji leaning against the wall beside the sink, grinning at him. He couldn’t help the smile that lit up his face.

“Partner!” he exclaimed, not caring at all if his outburst startled the customers. “Did you finish early at your job?” He dropped the mug back into the sink, carefully, and grabbed at the towel to dry his hands.

“We ran out of flowers,” Souji replied, and Yosuke raised an eyebrow in response. Souji chuckled. “No, really. Some rich guy came in and bought a huge bouquet at the beginning of my shift, and we ran out pretty quickly after that. Valentines coming up, and all that.”

“Wow,” Yosuke replied. He finally finished drying his hands and, after checking to make sure there weren’t any stains on his apron, he grabbed his boyfriend in a big hug. Souji laughed.

“Did you miss me that much? You just saw me at lunch,” he teased, but he hugged him back, of course. They pulled away, and Yosuke rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I guess I won’t spontaneously hug you from now on,” he replied. He looked over at Sakura-san behind the bar, who only gave him a nod. “So, do you want some coffee? Or maybe curry?”

“Both of those sound amazing,” Souji replied, following Yosuke over to the bar. Souji took a seat at one of the stools, while Yosuke got to work preparing the coffee. “So, what are you making for me today?”

“Blue Mountain?” Yosuke asked, and when Souji nodded, he grabbed the beans off of the shelf.

“Just don’t put any ‘love’ into it today,” Sakura-san instructed, and Yosuke blushed, embarrassed.

“I’ll make it just like you taught me, Sir,” he replied, and Souji laughed. Soon enough, Yosuke had taken off his apron and was sitting down across from Souji at one of the booths, two steaming plates of curry and mugs of coffee in front of them. The old guys were still at the corner booth, but they’d quieted down a little, talking in more indoor voices.

“The curry is good, as always, Sakura-san,” Souji complimented. “You’ll have to let me try making it sometime!”

“If Yosuke manages to learn it, he can teach you,” Sakurai-san replied, wiping down the bar. Yosuke shrugged, a little sheepish.

“I’m trying,” he replied. They ate their dinner in relative silence, then paid and left after a bit. Yosuke hadn’t made it to closing time after all, but he didn’t mind, so much.

They lived nearby, which was why working at Leblanc was such a great job for Yosuke. The public baths were also very close, another bonus. It had been a while since they’d gone to the baths together, actually. Yosuke usually went right after work, while Souji had to catch the train to get there from his job.

The walk to the baths was nice, if a bit cold. It hadn’t been exceptionally cold today, even for February, but the temperature dropped pretty quickly after dark. Yosuke sighed.

“Man, I can’t wait for it to be summer again. It bums me out that it gets dark so early in the winter,” he complained.

“At least we don’t have daylight savings time here. My parents are in America right now and they’ve been complaining about that since November,” Souji said. The rest of the walk passed in companionable silence. There weren’t as many people out on the streets of Yongen-Jaya tonight. They were all huddled indoors, just inside the grocery store or the theater.

“So we both got to leave work early,” Souji started, as they entered the bathhouse. “And we’ve already had dinner.”

“Yeah?” Yosuke asked. Souji smirked at him.

“That means we’ll have time for...other things,” he said. Yosuke blushed, but looked a little sheepish.

“I’ll try but...I gotta be honest, Partner, I’m exhausted. I may need you to keep me from falling asleep in the bath.” Souji looked disappointed, but understanding.

“You were up really late working on that paper…” he trailed off, and Yosuke felt like crap. Of the two of them, Yosuke was definitely the one with more of a sex drive. He was often the one that initiated things, and while Souji was always glad to go along with it...it wasn’t all that often that Souji brought it up first. And now Yosuke was too tired, because of his own stupid habit of procrastinating. Damn it. He sighed and frowned through taking off his clothes and rinsing off in the shower, and still felt bad when he settled into the bath beside Souji. Souji reached over and poked him.

“Hey, stop that. Don’t feel bad, all right? If you’re tired, it’s important that you rest,” he admonished. Yosuke sighed.

“Yeah, but-” Yosuke started to protest, but Souji leaned into him, making him stop talking and grab the edge of the tub to keep balanced. He shot Souji a dirty look, only to find him grinning at him.

“You told me to keep you awake,” he said, and Yosuke sighed.

“I wasn’t asleep!” he protested.

“You’d have to be half asleep to think that I might be disappointed in you for being tired,” Souji replied, and Yosuke pouted.

“Yeah, but…” Yosuke protested again, watching to make sure that Souji wasn’t going to bump him again. “How often do we have extra time like this? I can sleep later.”

“Yosuke, it’s not going to be fun for either of us if you keep having to stop to yawn, or if you doze off in the middle of...you know,” Souji admonished, lowering his voice a little. There were only a couple of salarymen in the bath with them, all the way on the other side of the tub, but even still he didn’t want to disturb them. Yosuke sighed.

“That’s fair,” he finally allowed. “Okay then...how about this? I’ll get a lot of sleep tonight, and on Sunday we can stay in all day.” They had been planning on going to see a new exhibit at the planetarium, but the idea of staying inside all warm and cozy with Souji was beginning to sound more and more appealing.

“Sounds good,” Souji replied. They soaked for a while longer, eventually prying themselves out of the tub and heading home. Yosuke still felt a little bad, but as soon as he laid down on the bed, he dozed off immediately. Souji had to wake him up to remind him that he needed to change into pajamas.

[soaring-blossoms]

I didn't grow up with pokemon anime but could you explain why people are upset over new characters in 20th movie? I think they're cute and I don't see what's wrong with having them instead u know? Sorry if I sounded rude i don't mean to, I promise. I just wanted to know.

You’re not being rude, no worries. You have a legitimate question and I have a totally unbiased answer. 

Pokemon is such a long-running series, that many newer fans often don’t remember much of the old series, if they even watched it. But older fans, like myself, who’ve grown up with it have held it close to their heart. So even if we don’t watch the newer series, we at least know that the original series happened and is valued in regards to Ash’s development and experiences as a trainer.

So when the movie ends up trying to re-make the original series with brand new characters for no understandable reason, while keeping a few others, well, it’s kind of confusing and a bit off-putting. Brock, Gary, and Misty were established, fleshed out companions and rivals who played a HUGE role in Ash’s initial development as a trainer and as an individual. So by removing all of them, you’re essentially erasing the series. Heck, Brock was with Ash for a grand total of 3 different series (Original, Advance, and DP), so by removing him, you’re essentially removing those three series from existence as well. You could still have Makoto and Souji as movie-exclusive companions, but replacing the already-established companions for them is, at the very least, a confusing decision. 

That’s like if they made a celebratory 20th anniversary Naruto movie stating that it’d go back to Naruto roots in movie form (not that we need anymore flashbacks). And then revealed that Naruto, in this movie, wasn’t in a team with Sasuke, Sakura, or Kakashi, but with three new characters, because they wanted to promote something. The new, original characters are totally fine and well-designed, but that’s not the point. The point is that by messing with already previously-established events and replacing existing characters for no reason, you end up making a mess of things. Naruto, himself, changes because he no longer has the experiences that made him the person he is today. Especially when you could easily have the original Team 7 just interact with these new characters to recreate new plot points not previously covered in the series. You could use almost any series as an analogy for this, if Naruto isn’t one you understand. 

So, to summarize, to market a movie as a re-telling of the beginning of a beloved series, and then to replace integral companion characters with new ones for no understandable reason poses a noteworthy and understandable concern. Yes, they could definitely pass this off as an AU. But why? Why even bother re-telling Ash’s story if you’re not going to re-tell it with the original characters who played such an essential role in the beginning? Keeping the original cast doesn’t limit the story in anyway, in fact, you’d probably have more room for plot elements since many would already be familiar with the characters. 

But, to be fair, I’m not going to pass judgement on this movie until it comes out. If it’s a good movie, then fine. But if it’s an unnecessary re-write of an already established series for no good reason, then I will, admittedly, be a little upset.

[candidateofloyalty]

2019 Fic Retrospective

I saw a number of people doing this, and since I’m always up for talking about my own writing, I decided to imitate them. Admittedly, I’m a bit late, but since I didn’t have computer access for a decent part of this week I think it’s justified.

Apparently I wrote 55k words of fic this year? Given that I spent half the year out of the country, that is higher than I expected. I guess suddenly allowing a podcast to become my entire personality is a powerful motivator.

1/31

The Clock Strikes Midnight, Fire Emblem Echoes, 3.5k words

The prince is throwing a ball to find a spouse, and Faye just knows that this is her chance to make her dreams come true. There's no time for her to worry about the messenger who brought her the news, not when she can finally live out her fairytale.

My birthday gift for star, this time only posted one day after their birthday. Someday I will figure out this timing thing. They wanted a Cinderella AU, and as someone who read approximately 5 million fractured fairytale novels in high school, I had an immediate idea of where I wanted to take the plot. I’m pretty pleased with how this one came out, especially since I never actually played Echoes. It’s also one of my rare fics where the title isn’t a song lyric.

2/14

Sacred Simplicity, Dangan Ronpa, 900 words

Sakura and Aoi meet up for their weekly donut date, but Sakura's mind is elsewhere.

I can’t believe it took a fic exchange to get me to write Sakuraoi. The request was cute and I had a good time, though. I’m always a fan of the concept of Hope’s Peak practical exams. The whole premise of the franchise is that these kids have crazy skills, so let them use them.

3/3

My Fantasies from Long Ago, Persona 4, 5.2k words

While walking home from work, Yosuke is hit on the head by a mysterious cat-dog-thing. This is the least weird thing that happens to him over the course of the next 24 hours.

Apparently I had a lot of outside sources of inspiration this year. I guess that’s what all fanfic is, but even so. This AU is from kawaii-bunny-mel, and is ridiculously fun to write. This one sticks pretty close to the source material, since I intended it as an introduction to the AU. I wrote most of it on trains while cross-referencing the original episode. As it turns out, writing is much faster when you don’t have to worry about pacing or coming up with original events.

5/4

The Present You's Daydreams, Persona 4, 7.2k words

Yosuke's been doing magical girl temp work for about a month, and it's pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to him, even if it does mean having a weird bear roommate. Then Souji invites him to a party, and Yosuke has to face something even scarier than magical enemies: social interaction.

The second part of the BAPC AU, and the one where I went off and did my own thing. As much as I love the source material, I wanted to fit the rest of the IT in somewhere, and there are like 6 characters in the entirety of BAPC. Really, though, a significant amount of this fic was an excuse to have Yosuke use his customer-service voice on a dragon. I’d also meant for this to be the one where they got together, or at least showed mutual interest, and then Yosuke went and made things awkward. I don’t know what I expected. I got to write Hamuko being cryptic at Souji, though, which was even better.

5/19

Dazzling Blue Sky on the Window, Persona 3, 3.9k words

After Erebus, Metis is prepared to vanish, but Igor suggests another option.

This one was my birthday present to myself. You might wonder what that means when all of my fic is incredibly self-indulgent to begin with, and the answer is merging two universes and saving my favorite minor character in the process. It was only after the fact that I realized how much projection was involved. It’s fine.

6/16

Bright-Eyed, Tireless One, The Adventure Zone, 2.2k words

Minerva is here, physically present, and Duck's so glad to see her. The only question is what to do with her. They've got enough people hidden in the Amnesty Lodge basement as it is. (Immediately post Episode 28)

I caught up to Amnesty right after episode 28 was released, which is what we in the writing business call good timing. I immediately wrote this in a haze of love for Minerva and have not thought about it since. I think episode 30 confirms it as canon, though.

7/8

Not So Nec-Romantic, Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, 1.7k words

Nene's been studying to join the Healers' Guild for years, and it's finally time for her admissions test. It doesn't quite go as planned.

Star egged me on to write this and then wrote their own, funnier take on an RPG AU, which would have been rude if it weren’t for the fact that I got to read the better fic without having to write it. My favorite part of this fic is Mitsuba and Kou charging in from their epic fantasy quest without noticing that they’ve landing in the middle of a comedy of errors. I kind of want to write what they were actually up to but also it’s funnier this way.

8/25

Open Seas and Ways Of Life I've Forgotten, Friends at the Table, 3.5k words

Cass is adjusting just fine to life on their own, thank you.

They'd be doing even better if their new teammate wasn't so eerily reminiscent of their sibling, but that's all right. They're definitely coping.

And here we hit the fatt tipping point of my year. The Kingdom Game was probably the point where I fully devoted myself to this show, and a large part of that was the ability to conspiracy-board all of Sokrates’ influences on Cass’ personality. I have not stopped thinking about the Pelagios siblings since.

9/29

Not the Only Ones Pretending, Friends at the Table, 1.2k words

It sounds so nice, in theory. Mako's just running into an old friend while going out for fried chicken. But even though the Chime has broken up, two of them in the same place can still throw the simplest of missions into chaos.

I wrote this in an hour after listening to the penultimate episode of Counter/weight because the Orth-Mako scene ended right where things got good, to my mind. I just wanted to know more about how the Chime interacted after the timeskip. This also marks the start of me defaulting to Mako’s POV in every other Counter/weight fic I write.

10/14

A Magic That Won't Go Cold, Friends at the Table, 4.5k words

Jacqui doesn't normally like being sent on bodyguard jobs, but then, she's not normally working for Joypark darling Aria Joie.

I’ll just come up with a fun Jacria AU to think about in my spare time, I thought to myself. There’s a lot to explore with an Aria who never left Joypark. I can come up with some neat bullet points and it will be a good time. Then I started connecting the bullet points and at that point I had an entire outline for a fic. It’s what they deserve.

10/18

Questions Ricochet Like Broken Satellites, Friends at the Table, 2k words

Kobus' entire life had been pointless, but for once, they could see exactly what they needed to do. Then Vicuna pulled them out of Liberty and Grace.

I could not tell you why I latched onto Kobus so hard, but that didn’t stop me from doubling the size of their ao3 tag in a month. This fic ended up pretty depressing, which is ironic since the whole point was to give them a happier ending than they got in canon, but at least they’re alive at the end of it.

11/4

Detect My Sudden Existence on Your Sonar, Friends at the Table, 3.1k words

AuDy didn't intend for the rest of the Chime to move in with them. They didn't object when it happened, though.

I had a lot of trouble trying to write from AuDy’s perspective but I’m pleased with the end result. Maybe next I’ll figure out how to do pacing and/or tonal consistency. I do like the Cass stuff at the end but I think my favorite scene from this fic is everyone helping Aria unpack her stuff and being goofy.

11/11

Telling Dreams from One Another, Friends at the Table, 1.3k words

Mako shows up on Kobus' doorstep holding a Divine, and doesn't even have the decency to bring fried chicken.

This started because I kept thinking about how Kobus’ form of Ambition would have been Faith and how close that comes to Loyalty, and then the more I wrote the more I liked the dynamic between Kobus and the younger Makos. A lot of it can be summed up as Mako being the mid-twenties upperclassman who looks at the freshman and goes “oh look, a baby” much to the freshman’s annoyance, except instead of being in college they’re both secret agents raised as weapons since they can remember. It isn’t addressed in the fic but I imagine this ends with Kobus following Mako back to Kesh and ending up with eight identical older siblings.

11/24

Find Out What Broke Me Soon Enough, Friends at the Table, 1.9k words

Kobus is still reeling from their failed attack on Grace, but when Aria Joie asks for their help, they can't think of a good reason to refuse.

Continuing the theme of “what if Kobus had friends,” I like the idea of Aria being worried about Righteousness consuming her and going to the one person she knows of who’s successfully stepped away from a Divine. Like the last fic in the series, I tried very hard to give Kobus a happy ending and they categorically refused. As it turns out, when you’ve been raised to see yourself as a sacrifice for the greater good, it’s hard to find other ways to make a difference, and Aria doesn’t know them well enough to push it. One day I will find the right combination of characters and circumstances to let Kobus rest.

12/7

Take Our Time 'Cause It Feels Like We're Dying, Friends at the Table, 1.7k words

When Cass coughed up the first flower petal, all they could do was stare at it in disbelief.

Yes, I know, hanahaki. I am surprised at myself too. I was just thinking about what it would take to get me invested in hanahaki and because of who I am as a person my brain immediately applied that to Counter/weight. I know where I’m going with it but I want to finish F&M before continuing, so keep an eye out maybe in February. Also, doing this retrospective made me realize that this is the second time I’ve used a line from this song as a title for a Counter/weight fic. Whoops.

12/17

The Movements of My Mind, Friends at the Table, 1k words

On his way back to Auniq for the negotiations, Throndir stops by the cave where he met Kindrali.

My first non Counter/weight fatt fic, and once again it is introspection about a Dre character, because without realizing it I ended up with a favorite player. I just like coming up with in-universe explanations for things that were probably mistakes on their part, and I’m always interested in how the Kindrali connection works. Even if I am now incapable of thinking of Kindrali without going “I wonder what day he remembers??”

12/25

Fantasy and Microchips, Friends at the Table, 9.2k words

Five times Mako hacks things accidentally because of Cass, and one time it's intentional.

The year ended as it began, with me taking someone else’s AU and writing a fic about it. In this case, it’s a comic done by drowzydruzy on twitter. I looked at it, went “that’s pretty funny, maybe I could write a fic about it,” and then two chapters in I realized how to exploit it for angst and pretty much didn’t stop. The trickiest part so far has been making Rigor references without getting too heavy-handed. I’m halfway through writing the last chapter now, so naturally I’m procrastinating by doing this meme. It’s actually a meta-narrative about defeating Rigor by not being too beholden to your own projects, or something.

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

[YO, I HAVE to continue this tho] | @akumanoken​

Slane knows very well by now when Sakura is attempting to voice something difficult. Thankfully, he is patient & could wait until he said what he needed to say, in the best way that he could.

“... Sakura. You...” He did understand what he met, & it was... well, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect him to say, perhaps something about the wedding, but... this was not that. And it was an odd similarity the two of them had. Slane never thought about carnal desires before, despite being given a education of such matters, it was never much then an act to the duty of reproduction in his mind. Yet...

... sense their time on the boat that brought them to Makoto, things have changed a bit on that front. He was just better at hiding it, after all, he had no reason to believe Sakura ever thought of such, or even wanted that, especially before their wedding. He seemed to be the sort that would value chastity... & yet, here he was, thinking all otherwise.

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

Is it to late for tricks and treats? For any of our ships I don't care lay it on me

Send ‘Trick or Treat! 🎃’ to my inbox and I’ll give you a treat!

“When did you feel life for the first time?” Hecate asked, curious. “After Hades and I…” she didn’t need to finish her sentence. “Hmm.” The Goddess of Magic tapped her chin. “I think, perhaps, the God of the Dead has created life within you.”

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

@akumanoken​ said:

Slane is welcome to catch Sakura under the mistletoe anytime!

Totally not Slane hanging one of these herbs in their parlor.

Whaaaaaaat Nooooooo. Toooootally not him!

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

“How early is too early to leave?” Sakura murmured to no one in particular. He had come to this ball at his father's insistence, and that was as far as his dedication to his father's cause. He hadn't really danced with anyone, preferring to sit back and observe the nobles and their revelry. They were enjoying themselves, and truly that was the extent of it. He never did like these sorts of gatherings, rather spending his time in his gardens back home. He couldn't help but notice the gardens here, and perhaps there would be no offense in retreating there for the remainder of the ball. (for Anthony)

At A Royal Ball

“Anthony, you know it’s too cold to slipping away like this.” Across the grand ball of Jewel Castle, the Ruby Princess stood beside on of the grand glass doors that lead towards the gardens of the castle. One arm covered her bare shoulders, while the other held her favorite fan over her mouth, hiding her frown, despite the one before her knowing very well it was there.

“I know Cass. I just, need a few moments.” The Emerald Prince should there, half of his body already out the door. “You know I can’t stand these large crowds, it will only be few minutes.” Anthony was always a bit of a loner, he could stand being in the crowd ballroom for a while, but he would need a break. And such was the case now. More so with more people being at this ball then usual, it was the first time Jeweldia had opened it’s walls in years, so now even foreigner where here. “Just, please keep the door open.”

“Don’t freeze, or I will not be unthawing you.” Cassandra spoke with a sigh, walking away from the glass door, as Anthony slipped away quietly.

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

[Baby Fever is Real] | @akumanoken​

“Oh goodness! He is so cute!!” Ai was instantly a cooing mess, her fingers hovering near the young baby Haruki, admiring the features of the beautiful baby boy. 

“Ai, do not smoother him.” Sun, of course even now, was calm, much calmer in comparation to Ai, but was still smiling. The tiniest joy filling her normally mute or annoyed expression. With her looking to Anari quickly...

“Thank you for giving this to Sakura.” Not just the child, Sun means, but the joy of being a mother along with it.

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

@akumanoken​ said:

Sakura: YES OF COURSE!

“Auntie! Auntie! Look what Xu picked for you!”

Said as Xu Meigui proudly holds up a unorganized picking of varies types & colors of flowers.

[whitecrownsblackthrones-archived]

Just Sakura being shy. Yes that's his husband yes they've been intimate but just, let him be quiet and bashful a moment. He's gonna hug Slane from behind, hiding his bright red face from him. He's not thinking about bites no no no what in the world do you take him for?

Well, the surprise of the sudden hug managed a bring the slightest jolt out of him. But thankfully he recognizes the small & slender arms of his beloved bride quickly enough before doing or saying anything rash.

"Sakura? My princess? Is something off?"