#and the scene where sakuras like 'you know people who have been caused pain from too much magic'

[tsubasaclones]

when I'm in a "not resolving plotlines" competition and my opponent is clear card

[theamberfist]

Writer's Block | Thoma x Reader

Romantic: Thoma x Author! Reader

(Notes: none) (gender neutral reader)

Description: When you're late turning your new draft in to Yae Miko, Thoma helps you hide from the kitsune's wrath.

It was late in the evening, almost night. The stars could be seen twinkling overhead, despite it still technically being twilight. Though darkness was coming, there was still just enough visibility that a few people went about their business in the streets of the city. Shopkeepers were just beginning to close up for the day, and families that were still out began making their way home. Crickets could even be heard somewhere in the grassy patches. The entire scene was very peaceful.

Well, until a certain h/c haired individual came thundering down the path, disrupting the calmness of the night. You were in quite a rush, and several people narrowly managed to duck out of the way before you ran right into them.

"Late again, Y/n?" A restaurant owner called as you passed him by. You nodded, a sheepish smile crossing your face.

"I may have forgotten my new draft was due today..." You replied before glancing back to see the very figure you dreaded most in the world was starting to catch up with you. "Gotta go!" You shouted, picking up the pace and throwing yourself down the nearby flight of stone stairs and plotting the best escape route in your head.

You easily ruled out some of the more obvious ones like gliding off the nearby cliffs or trying to escape into the field that eventually lead to Chinju Forst, mainly because they'd already failed you before.

Though startling to some passersby, the circumstances you now found yourself in weren't exactly an uncommon occurrence, especially now that you were a permanent resident of Inazuma. You'd never thought moving away to work on your career as an author could be so eventful.

Now, reaching the bottom of the stairs, you could hear her close behind you, and you didn't even dare to look back and confirm her proximity. Instead, you kept running, weaving between buildings in the hopes of losing her. Unfortunately, it did little other than slow her down a little, which wouldn't be enough to help you escape your quickly approaching fate.

Knowing you wouldn't be able to make it out of the city before she caught up, you opted for the less risky, but much more terrifying choice; hiding and hoping for the best.

As soon as you reached the outskirts of the city where the big Sakura tree was planted, you wrapped your arms around it and scurried up as quickly as you could, ignoring the small splinters you could feel entering your skin. After all, if you managed to escape, it would all be worth the pain.

Finally, you reached what you deemed to be a safe enough height that you wouldn't be easily spotted from the ground. Arms beginning to grow tired, you reached out and swung yourself onto a nearby tree branch, arms latching around it as the rest of your body lay atop it. You didn't dare to sit up yet. This way, in the approaching darkness, you might look like you were one with the branch, or at least, that was what you hoped.

Though, who were you kidding? Someone like Yae Miko, who had literal fox ears and kitsune powers, could probably see in the dark too. You were most likely going to be a lost cause this time, too.

You sighed, craning your neck to see if she'd caught up by now. Even though it felt like hours had passed, realistically, it had probably only been about thirty seconds.

"...Ahem." The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped you out of your thoughts and your gaze immediately darted over to the branch on the other side of the tree, where a familiar man sat with a cat in his lap. Seeing him, your heartrate slowed slightly knowing he wouldn't give you away.

"Thoma?" You whispered, "I didn't see you there." Though you were quickly losing light, you could just make out the little smile that covered his face.

"I could tell." He chuckled quietly. You rolled your eyes, but truth be told, you were smiling too.

"Well, at least that means this is a good hiding place." You breathed as the familiar head of pink hair finally appeared from behind one of the buildings nearby.

"Trying to avoid Yae Miko again?" Thoma asked. You just nodded, afraid if you spoke, her fox ears would pick up on it and she'd find you. He seemed to understand your position, because he continued just as quietly, "don't worry. I won't blow your cover."

You sent him a thankful gaze before freezing in place. She was standing right under the tree now, but she hadn't seemed to notice you yet. Her eyes squinted, as if trying to pick you out, but then she noticed Thoma first and a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Ah, Thoma," She called, moving over to the side of the tree his branch was on, "I'm once again searching for my dear employee, Y/n. Have you seen them anywhere? It's getting dark and I do worry about them, you know." You rolled your eyes at her attempt to appeal to Thoma's better nature.

Had he not seen you just now, he might have agreed, or even helped look for you. Luckily, he wasn't falling for it now.

"No, I haven't seen them at all today, sorry!" He replied nonchalantly, gently getting down from his branch and making sure not to let the little cat fall in the process. "But I'm sure they'll be alright. If they aren't here, then they probably wandered back into the city or to their house. They's been living in Inazuma for a few months now, so you don't have to worry that they'll get lost."

You smiled at his words. Not only was he not blowing your cover like promised, but he was even helping to cover for you. You'd have to find some way to repay him later for this.

"I suppose you're right." Yae Miko replied, visibly frowning at his response, "Well, thank you for trying to help anyway. I'll keep looking for Y/n. I'm sure you need to be getting back to the Kamisato Estate before it's too dark."

"R-right!" The blonde replied, gently setting the cat down with a smile, "It was good to see you, Lady Yae. And again, don't worry too much about them!" She smiled back, though to you, it was clearly fake. Still, she kept it plastered on until Thoma had walked far enough away that she could no longer see him.

Turning back to the city, the kitsune let out a sigh, placing her hands on her hips.

"You can run but you can't hide, Y/n," She said softly, "That boy is too kindhearted for his own good, but I suppose he did have a point. I'll check their house since they can't have gone very far..." With that, she went off in the direction of your home, just inside Inazuma City.

You stayed put for a few more minutes until you were sure she was gone. Then you gently lowered yourself to the ground and checked to make sure no one else had seen you.

"It's alright, she's gone now." A voice spoke from behind you, making you jump and whirl around to see Thoma standing there once again. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to check whether you'd gotten away yet."

"I was going to book it back home, but she's checking my house now," You admitted with a sigh, "I'm not sure where I'm going to sleep tonight, but I guess that's what I get for having writer's block again." Thoma chuckled, having witnessed you and the kitsune's cat and mouse game several times before, he knew what you meant.

"Well, you're welcome to stay at the Komore Teahouse, if you want," He suggested, "I don't think she'll look for you there, especially after seeing me just now."

"You did give quite a convincing performance," You smiled, wondering whether he'd always been that good at lying. "But are you sure that would be okay? I can find somewhere else to sleep; I'm sure Yoimiya would take me in again...Maybe." Actually, after the last time, when Yae Miko had searched her entire house and everything in it to find you, just for you to have been hiding under the bed the entire time, you weren't so sure she'd be willing to help you.

"Don't worry, you hiding out at the teahouse for one night isn't going to hurt anything," Thoma replied, "Come on, I insist. I can't just go home for the night knowing you might not have somewhere safe to stay. And plus, I would feel bad if she found you. It sounded like she was really upset this time." Finally, you gave in.

"Alright, then let's get going before she comes back." You started leading the way before quickly stopping and turning back, "And thanks for all your help, Thoma." He just smiled back.

"It's no problem!" And with that, the two of you headed off to the teahouse, careful to avoid areas with light so you wouldn't be seen by your boss or create potential witnesses.

"So how overdue are you with this one? I don't think I've ever seen Lady Yae so determined to find you." Thoma commented quietly as the two of you walked.

"Actually, I was only supposed to have this draft in by the end of the work day, which was just a couple of hours ago." You defended. He raised an eyebrow. "Though, technically, today's due date may have come after three or four extensions already..."

"There it is," he replied with a chuckle, "But then again, I can't say that I blame you. It must be hard coming up with new ideas all the time, and every author gets writer's block occasionally."

"'Yet none quite as often as the infamous Y/n L/n,'" You quoted, "That's what Miss Yae always says. I'm probably the most troublesome writer they have at the publishing house. Sometimes I feel kind of bad about it."

"Maybe, but you're also the best writer they have!" Thoma quickly countered, "I've read your books, and there's a reason they sell so many copies each time. Plus, they didn't move you all the way here from Sumeru for nothing! That's something to be proud of."

"Thanks, Thoma." You smiled. Finally, the two of you arrived at Komore Teahouse and quickly entered in the hopes that no one had seen you.

"Woof!" A quiet bark greeted you both as you walked through the door, and your eyes brightened as you saw Taroumaru sitting on the counter like always.

"Hey buddy," You scratched his head, smiling as he wagged his little tail. Though you didn't get to come to the teahouse often, his presence always seemed to make your day better, even when you were taking refuge from your very angry boss.

"Y/n's going to stay here for the night, okay Taroumaru?" Thoma informed the dog, who let out a quiet bark in approval. You smiled before following the blonde man to one of the tearooms, where he prompted you to set your small backpack down and began setting up a few cushions as a makeshift bed.

"Sorry there isn't anything more comfortable to sleep on," he sighed, glancing around the room again for anything that might make a nice blanket. "When I stayed here during the vision hunt decree, Miss Kamisato brought me a mattress, blankets, pillows, and whatever else I needed, but I guess those have all been moved back to the Kamisato Estate."

"That's okay," You shook your head, "I really appreciate you letting me stay here, as it is. You could have just told me to suck it up and face the consequences of my own actions." Thoma laughed.

"I would never," he replied, "Especially when those consequences are Lady Yae herself. She can be pretty intimidating when she wants to."

"You got that right," You sighed, stretching your already-sore muscles. Now that you had the chance to slow down and be calm, you realized just how exhausted your body felt, and the idea of sleep became more and more tempting. "But seriously, thank you. If not for you, I'd be locked up in the publishing house and finishing the last two hundred and ninety or so pages of my book in one sitting."

You took a seat amidst the cushions Thoma had set out, relishing in their softness. Either the two of you had very different definitions of comfortable, or you were just tired enough that anything felt comfortable.

"Two hundred and ninety? Wasn't that book supposed to be three hundred pages? Y/n, you've barely started!" He replied in surprise.

"...Inspiration didn't strike!" You shrugged, feeling your cheeks get slightly red from embarrassment, "And plus, I was still feeling burnt out from writing the one before it!"

Technically, both of those things were true. You always had a such a hard time working around the many mental blocks that came with writing, and Yae Miko's pushing you to write so many books one after another didn't help with the burnout you'd been feeling creeping up for months either.

"You also like to procrastinate," Thoma added with a smirk, only making your face more red.

"Maybe that too," you admitted with a yawn, "But either way, I'll get it done soon. I just needed a little more time."

"I believe in you," Thoma replied as you nuzzled into the cushions, "You didn't build a career on this for nothing, after all. I have full confidence you'll finish this book soon, and that it'll be your best one yet. In fact, I look forward to reading it myself!" He glanced back at you, noticing that your eyes were now closed as you lay in the little makeshift bed.

"Uh huh." You uttered, now half asleep. He hadn't realized just how tired you'd been. A smile crept onto his face as he got up to leave. It was getting late, and plus, he didn't want to disturb your rest. Glancing back one last time, he was sure you were asleep now.

"I really admire you, Y/n." He whispered just before closing the tearoom's door, "I hope you know that."

[meimi-haneoka]

Part 1 : Hi! So it is finally revealed that the card Kaito wanted is "Exchange". (1) I can see that “Transfer” is pretty close to it, but how come Kaito also said that “Rewind” is close as well? I couldn't see the connection between Exchange and Rewind 🤔. (2) During the Card's creation, it is weird that Sakura wished to play the Red Queen role to save Akiho. If they never get out of the story, both Alice and Red Queen will have the same fate, so it doesn't matter which role the girls played.

Hiiii, thank you for sending me this extensive ask!! 😁 You raised very interesting points! Let's see them together:

You know, I'm also trying to understand why Kaito said Rewind went close to the Card he wanted Sakura to make, cause it's not immediately understandable like in Transfer's case. We have two options: either Kaito wants to use Exchange in a way that will bring it closer to Rewind's scope, or we should probably look at this "resemblance" as something conceptual. Rewind showed how Syaoran looked in the past, but it didn't reset his conscience and memories. He was still basically his current self in the body of his baby self. Kaito probably needed to rewrite Akiho's story completely, so using a Card like Rewind that only changes the external appearance wouldn't have been enough. (That is also why I had the theory he needed a "Restore" Card). I hope the rest of the climax will shed some light on this matter.

This is a very interesting point. First of all, we have to keep in consideration that Sakura is a selfless girl and also very empathetic, so the pain of her loved ones is her own pain. Reminds me of how she cried her eyes out after that same pool incident that you mentioned, forgetting about what she saw but evidently her body did not forget. If I think back to her lines in the JP version of the infamous scene of chapter 69, you made me realize there might be an added nuance in the ENG version that might (once again) make things confusing for the readers. In the JP text, Sakura literally says: "Akiho-chan..(following) the script of the stage play...she would have stayed in that world forever? Without being able to go back?" See? She doesn't say "what if we never got out of the story" but actually shifts the focus on "following the script of the play": in Naoko's script, probably the Red Queen was destined to stay in that world forever? I have mentioned the "following script" part in my own translation post, but I'm afraid the way I phrased it myself might not have clarified exactly what the Japanese version was implying. Sakura here is stricken with guilt thinking about the script's play, probably because she knows that the Red Queen stays in Clockland forever. As CLAMP purposely hid the rest of the story from the moment Alice meets the Red Queen, we still don't know. But I think, if you consider things from this perspective, it's probably a little bit more clear why she wished for something like that in a moment where her mental state was very weak.

Thank you for empathizing with Kaito and me, too 😁it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's seeing things from both perspectives. I also have a very strong impression that Kaito was driven into a corner, to end up thinking a plan like this. I can't imagine someone like him, aloof and allergic to contact with people, suddenly deciding to mess with other people's life, exposing him to an unwanted amount of interactions and bothersome waste of time. His own reluctance to engage in fights with Sakura and Syaoran themselves shows that he isn't an extreme person per se, but can be driven into that position if he doesn't have other options available. Momo told him, "even with that D-rank magic of yours, you can't stop that book's time". She was referring to the ominous book that resides inside of Akiho. If it was as simple as stopping the book's time, he would've probably done so already. He did, in fact, stop it for a short period of time after the pool incident, but as he said it himself, it was only a "patch" that wasn't meant to last long. Moreover, stopping time would have shaved off his life anyway, leaving Akiho unprotected once he passed away. That was never meant to be a solution. There are things that not even Yuna D. Kaito can do. And removing the book/spell from Akiho is one of those. Despite him being the one who inadvertently caused that ritual to happen. Just imagine how that thought is gnawing at his soul. Therefore, that's why I think when he found Sakura he also found the solution to this problem. Because Sakura is able to create new magics. And among those, maybe a new magic that would be able to remove the spell from Akiho. But alas, as Momo heavily inferred in chapter 50, when he saw what a happy life Sakura lived, surrounded by love, a very powerful emotion got a hold of him and might have changed his plans into something more extreme. I have this impression, we'll see if I was right or not. Seen by Kaito's perspective, if the two girls keep their status quo regarding their magical powers, the exchange would bring the results that you stated above: Sakura would live in the Squid clan, but would not experience any abuse and would be somehow treated decently due to her strong powers. Akiho would still not have powers, but live a life surrounded by love because the Kinomoto family wouldn't care about that. No one would get turned into an artifact and the problem wouldn't even exist to begin with. Maybe, just maybe, Kaito even took into account the fact that Sakura and Syaoran would end up meeting again, seeing the connections between the Squids and the Li clan (and I'm sure hitsuzen would make them meet again alright - only in a "Romeo and Juliet" kind of situation 😅). Of course, this entire reasoning is possible in a state of mind like his, with a past like his, and a view on love and people like his. And completely ignoring that Akiho wants him and her friends to be happy, not someone else's life. I think I am not mad at Kaito's behavior because I still see a wide margin to make things right. He's not unsalvageable, so we'll see how this finale will play things out.

[narhinafan]

People that say NaruHina has little development do not paid attention to the Naruto manga are the same kind of people that say Sussaku has development even know the development is almost non-existent. Sasuke and Sakura barely interact with each other in part 1 as anything more than teammates the way Sasuke treats Sakura is just like every other person he doesn't treat us anyone special he doesn't treat her in a way that is different. If Sakura was Sasuke's intended love interest he would treat her differently he would hesitate to harm her in his reunion with her in Shippuden he wouldn't constantly treat her as an annoyance or avoid her in the sequel series. Sasuke and Sakura have barely interacted. There's not one on screen kiss not one moment where Sasuke expresses concern or his affection for Sakura physical or with words none so how is their development for them? Almost all their interactions are negative if people think that's development that's good then I question if they understand how romantic interests work.

Naruto and Hinata in contrast have far more development in both part one and part two ever interaction they have is their relationship progressing. Their first interaction we see on screen Naruto thinks Hinata is weird then when he sees her in the tuning exam he sees her in a different light and then her proud failure speech he blushes something he never did around Sakura ever. Also unlike Sasuke Naruto is very careful how he talks to Hinata or how he treats her which is pretty obvious for a main character they would treat their love interest differently than any other person. Yeah the development is subtle that's because Naruto is not a romance manga but if you look at the sequel series there's more interactions with them as well and it's positive and Naruto and Hinata are the only couple that have confessed their feelings for each other and had a kiss on screen people can whine and moan about oh the last should not have needed to exist to resolve their romance but at least it's more than the banshee and Sasuke ever got and they could go suck it.

NaruSaku and SusSaku are garbage ships that needlessly hate on other ships for the most ridiculous reasons I can go on the non-cannon filler ship Narusaku but that would be it making this too long so I'll just ended at that.

The people who say that didn't pay attention NaruHina actually has a lot of subtle development from the start of the exams all the way to the end. Like when he checked on her in the manga Naruto puts his hand over hers its very hard to tell, but it is there. While during the Pain fight Naruto actively protects and avoids Hinata when he loses it and there are many more subtle moments in their interactions during the manga.

SasuSaku though it is one sided Sasuke sees Sakura as annoyance and while he does treat her as a teammate that is where it end nothing more. The reason their interactions are almost always negative is cause Sakura doesn't mean that much to Sasuke, like he has tried to kill Sakura several times in part 2 with no hesitation yet they want us to think he sees her as someone special.

NaruHina you knew it was going to happen, but with SasuSaku there was always that underlying feeling he may never come back or it just won't happen. As early as part 1 it was obvious and only became more so it went on, by the proud failure speech NaruHina was pretty much set in stone as I think that was when Naruto truly fell for Hinata as his face when she calls him a proud failure the slight blush you can tell he is touched then saying he likes girls like her.

What makes it worse is the amount of filler SP pumped for NaruSaku they even ruined several NaruHina scenes by altering them and then films with it like RTN was advertised as NaruHina and SasuSaku film only for it to be filled with NaruSaku rubbish. Like seriously how nice would it have been if they worked harder to make it possible to fit into the canon timeline and showed NaruHina/MenmHina as well as Hinata getting along with Naruto's family and ended it with say they lose their memories of what happened in the genjutsu world. It could have been a perfect film if they made NaruHina a focus.

[roscgcld]

RYOMEN SUKUNA || we will meet again

anime: jujutsu kaisen

characters: ryomen sukuna

pronouns: she/her

proof read: N/A

"Promise me...that one day, we will meet again."

Back in the day, when Jujutsu Sorcerers were at their prime, lived a Cursed Spirit who goes by the name Sukuna. Once a human Sorcerer himself, he had somehow managed to create himself into the Jujutsu world's most feared Cursed Spirit. He was dubbed 'the King of Curses' and rained terror over the human and jujutsu world; with super natural powers and a sadistic personality to match the title. Everyone who has crossed him shook in absolute fear.

That was, of course, before he met a particular princess.

She was a beautiful woman; the daughter of one of the then king’s favourite concubines. Born with the alluring beauty of her mother, and a heart of gold, it was hard to ignore her presence when she walked into a room. 

She was brought up in the palace, where she was given the title as princess; but she will never sit on the throne of the kingdom her father rules over. As only the King’s wife is allowed to bear the heir that will sit on the throne. She didn’t mind, she had never desired such power to begin with. Even if she was going to be married off to one of the many foreign princes asking for her hand in marriage, she didn’t care about titles. 

Since she was never destined to sit on the throne, her father had given her quite the freedom to do as she pleases. With all her free time, she tends to use it connect to the people of her kingdom; helping the needy during their time of need, always purchasing things from the local vendors and merchants that have travelled long and far. She is beloved by the people, and shines a light on the royal family that makes them more human instead of the godly image that is projected onto the royal family.

Anyone who meets her would fall in love for her - and apparently not even Cursed Spirits were the exception.

The princess have always love spending her time out in nature - horse back riding with a few of the guards in training, swimming in the river that her brothers love to hunt by, learning about the different plants and herbs from the doctors that go out foraging for medical herbs. So it came to the surprise to no one when Sukuna stumbled onto the princess by accident on the riverbed.

Sukuna had not expected to see any human about as he goes about his walk deep in the woods. It was one of those rare moments to himself where he does not necessarily have anything he needed to do on hand, and also the few rare moments where he does not have a mob of sorcerers up his ass. He was just enjoying the sounds of nature and the soft wind blowing against his kimono when he heard what sounded like a human's laughter coming from the river near by. At first he was curious, since no human usually ventures this deeply into the woods. At the same time, he had wanted to ignore it, since humans are just a pain in the ass to deal with even if they can't see you. However, there was something so alluring about that soft giggle that had him wanting to see just who this annoying brat was. So, without even him realising what was happening, his feet quietly walked towards the river and before he knew it, he had pushed the last branch aside to peek over at the river bed curiously. Sitting before him on a flat rock by the river was a woman with flowing hair, her small feet dipped into the running water below as her hands reached forward to play with a few of the fishes that swam by. The pink fabric of her furisode laid behind her like a pink halo, showcasing the intricate sakura trees and flowers that were sown into the fabric. The aura around her was relaxed and peaceful, and somehow just seeing her brings him a sense of peace. As if she could sense his stare, the woman suddenly pauses before she turns to look over her shoulder curiously; bright and seemingly glowing eyes meeting his red ones head on. Sukusa felt the world around him come to a stop as the eyes of the princess before him trapped him on the spot, causing him to loose all train of thought from before. "Oh - were you wanting to sit here too?"

"Huh?"

The casual way she just asked him that question definitely threw him off. The woman actually just lets out a soft laugh at his dry answer. "It's alright - we can share the space if you don't mind." She commented, a teasing tone taking over her voice as she patted the free spot beside her. "I promise I don't bite."

If she had known just who this man was, she might actually understand how ironic her sentence was. But Sukuna decided not to comment on it as he quietly makes his way towards her, sitting down at the spot beside the princess whose eyes had already returned to the river before her. "The water feels extra nice today. And there is more fishes then usual." She conversed with the man casually, causing Sukuna to wonder if she is pretending to be as dense as she is right now. "How are you so calm right now? I mean, do you see a 10ft tall human with four arms every day or what? Your reaction is sort of dull." 

The princess pauses in thought as she thinks, looking far too relaxed by his side. "I have always been able to see...odd things." She started off with a soft hum, glancing over at the man beside her with a soft smile. "I have asked people around me before, and after realising that I am the only one who can see them, I decided to ignore them." She admitted, running her dry hand through her hair softly. "But if I am being honest, this is the first time one has actually ever spoken to me."

"Well, I'm not the everyday curses." He said with a slightly proud tune in his voice, to which the princess beside him looks up at the taller man with interest. "Every day curses are small things, I am basically what people in my world call a Special Grade Curse." He continued, and for some reason, when he saw how her eyes were staring up at in him awe, he looked away with a light blush on his face. He doesn't even know what was about her that drags out these human-like emotions from him - he had never felt like this ever before.

"Special Grade Curse?" She echoes back with curiosity, to which the man beside her just nods softly as he leans back to rest on the free arms, the other two crossed across his chest. Suddenly she turned to face him, her eyes shining so brightly with excitement that it caused Sukuna to squint a little. "Can you explain just what you are to me a little more?"

One question was all it took to have Sukuna falling, and if he was being honest - he actually didn’t mind spending so much time on this little human. From sharing stolen nights in her bedroom in the royal palace, to sneaking out to just go to the riverbed where the met for the first time; they even spent time just wandering about his domain. It was actually during these small explorations of the world around them that created a special bond between the two.

For her, he was her escape from the restrictive and repetitive routine of royal life. For him, she was his utopia, a person he can turn to whenever he feels like just killing everyone around him. Soon though, these emotions sprouted into something deeper and more personal. It was jarring at first, falling for a human - but he knows that she was worth it all.

He remembers the way her eyes shone brightly with a constant look of innocence in them, yet she is mature and realistic enough to know that not everything is sunshine and rainbows. He remembers the way she carries herself, her warm and loving smile, how content he felt whenever she wrapped her arms around him. He loves the feeing of her soft hair that tumbles around her face in soft waves, how it feels like silk whenever he runs his fingers through them. How with just one glance, she can fill the void in his heart that he didn't know existed.

Yet they were never set to happy ending to begin with.

It was during just what started off like a normal day when the town the princess was in was suddenly invaded by a rival kingdom’s army. Their goal was to conquer and take over the kingdom with any means necessarily; meaning that the royal family had to go.

Uraume had entered his hideout, panting with wide eyes as they told Sukuna of the town now plunging into chaos. Within seconds the Cursed Spirit was up and sprinting towards the royal palace, great fear and anger gripping him from within. Entering through the destroyed doors of the grand palace, he ignored the screams of anguish of the others around him as he ran straight towards one of the buildings - the building where the royal sleeping chambers were located.

When he finally found her room, he felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest at the sight before him.

The once beautifully crafted shoji doors with panels decorated in a beautiful forest scene now laid in tatters, the furniture inside looking as if though a huge scuffle had happened. Rushing deeper into the room, he felt his heart sank to its stomach when he saw the splatters of blood leading towards the small room where the princess would sleep in.

Entering the back room, his red eyes scanned over the many splatters of blood about the room, the red handprints of the princess smeared across the ornate walls whilst the body of the princess laid on her futon; the sheets now soaked in blood. "No, no, no.." Sukuna managed out in horror as he quickly made his way to his lover's side, pulling her bloodied body into his arms immediately. "Flower, open your eyes. Please.."

Slowly her eyelids begin to move, and Sukuna felt his heart break when he saw how her now dull and tired eyes shifted to look up at him, taking a moment to truly process just who he was. "I'm so sorry..." Sukuna mumbles out through a small voice as he pulls her closer, trying his hardest to press his hands against the gashing wound on her abdomen. Since the wound was inflicted by a non-sorcerer, there was no trace of cursed magic on her; meaning that there was no way he can save her to begin with. "I-If only I had known..."

"Shh...it's okay.." The princess whispered out in a soft but pained tone, her bloody hand reaching up to cup his tattoo cheek ever so softly. The familiar touch brought another wave of emotion through Sukuna as he tries to blink back his tears, pulling her closer to his chest as he shifted his posture so she was sitting in his lap. He barely even acknowledge his own kimono that was slowly being soaked in blood. "Y-You didn't know this was going to happen...no one did...don't blame yourself..."

With watery red eyes Sukuna marvelled at how even though she was on death's doorstep, she still tried to put on a smile for his sake. "I'm so sorry..." Sukuna manages through a pained tone, tears now sliding down his face in thick streams whilst the woman just gave him a loving smile, resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't be.." She mumbles softly, forcing the man to look down at her as she gave him the same smile that had him falling for her from the beginning. "You know that...it takes more than this to get rid of me.."

The teasing words caused Sukuna to let out a soft and pained laugh, remembering the times where he would tell her how annoying she was whenever she would cling onto him and tease him relentlessly. He would trade anything to go back to those moments once more. "Brat.." He manages through his silent sobs, to which the woman just lets out a soft laugh as her fingers slowly traced along his features. For a few moments it was just silence, but the next time she spoke, Sukuna knew that the end was coming.

"Promise me...that one day, we will meet again."

"I promise, my love." Sukuna mumbles back quietly, resting his forehead against hers when he noticed how much effort it takes for her to blink. "No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you." He told her firmly as he presses a loving kiss on her forehead. "No matter how long it takes.." She echoes quietly, to which Sukuna just press a loving kiss on her head just as he felt her soft hand slowly slide down his chest, falling limply on her side.

For a moment Sukuna just held her against him, quietly crying into her hair. His entire world was in his arms, and just like that she was taken away from him. From that sadness came anger, and he soon found himself with the deep desire to crush whoever took her away from him.

Thus started the true rein of terror under the King of Curses, his anger fueling him to chase for bigger goals. Whilst he strive to rid of this world of dirty humans who took his flower away from her, he kept the vow that they promised one another - that they will wait for the other no matter how long it takes.

Because he had promised you so, and he’d do anything to keep that promise.

© roscgcld — all rights reserved to me, rose, the author and creator of these works. do not repost/translate/claim my work as yours on any platform

[morsking]

is shirou a mary sue? the guy is universally well liked, cooks like a pro at 17, has the most op power from all fate (and arguably one of the most cool powers on media), nothing ever happens to him on the true/canon path of each route, he does many stupid things but no one cares 5 minutes later, other times like in salter vs rider he is just a tactical genius out of nowhere

he is not.

shirou is well-liked but he isn't particularly popular. he is known at school for being helpful and handy but otherwise not that many people are aching to get to know him or involve him in their lives. most people only know shirou very superficially. he is not sought after as a person, only as a handy man. there's a really neat scene at the beginning of hf1 where people are talking about shirou in the dojo and see that while he's earnest, hard-working, and talented, he's a bit odd and intense and that makes him a little difficult to approach casually. the only people who really like him are those who sit down and actually spend time with him. apart from the heroines of the story with whom he has time to develop a romantic bond, you don't see other girls falling head over heels for him. in fact, in hollow ataraxia the homurahara trio and mitsuzuri are quick to write him off as someone they are vehemently not interested in romantically whatsoever.

he only cooks like a pro because he had to teach himself to cook since he was 8. it's vital to understand that since kiritsugu became increasingly disabled and was utterly incapable of living as a normal human being, shirou was forced to grow up well before he was ready to take care of his adoptive father. he learned to cook, do the dishes, do the laundry, and clean the house because there were no other real adults in the house. shirou's domestic usefulness didn't come out of nowhere, it's a set of skills he took on out of necessity and came at the expense of his emotional growth.

shirou's power also isn't op. it's stated multiple times in the story how difficult it is for him to tap into it. he's not a natural mage with strong magical circuits, and neither does he have any real "useful" magical alignments that would make it easy for him to use conventional magecraft. every training session shirou has is a life-threatening act where he pushes his body and mind to the utmost limit for the low chance he might succeed at strengthening or projecting something. whenever he grabs hold of an ability that elevates his combat skills, it's either a) done with saber's help in the fate route, b) acquired as his soul inherits experience from his proximity to archer in ubw and receiving mana from rin, or c) obtained at the expense of the integrity of his mind and body as archer's arm starts to supplant his existence in heaven's feel. and even then, there's limits to what he can trace and project. he can't trace divine constructs normally as seen with ea, and his projections eat through his mana. think about what happens in heaven's feel too. every time he projects something with archer's arm he leaps closer to death because he can't handle the strain.

to say nothing ever happens to him in canon is also disingenuous. he doesn't die in a permanent sense, but take a moment to consider the amount of mental and physical pain he suffers that forces him to confront something about himself and change. did "nothing" happen when he faced gilgamesh and heracles with saber? is growing closer to her to find the best way to help her assert her personhood "nothing"? did "nothing" happen when he fought archer? is realizing the truth of your ideals and grasping the resolve to realize them anyway in a healthier and more self-aware manner "nothing"? did "nothing" happen when he fought heracles, saber alter, and kotomine? is saving your loved ones and claiming your life as your own after years of not seeing yourself as a human being to protect those dear to you so they too learn to love and accept themselves "nothing"?

take a moment to consider in what ways shirou is stupid that aren't contradicted by him being smart in others. shirou is socially inept and utterly incapable of asking for help because he is a traumatized teenager who doesn't know what a normal life is. he has few friends. he survived a fire. he is constantly trying to make up for being unable to rescue anyone in the calamity that destroyed his childhood. he constantly jumps in front of danger to save others for that very reason and refuses help because he doesn't want others to get hurt because of him until he learns to overcome that fear of being destroyed and seeing others be destroyed. he is dumb at being a person because he's never let himself be one. he is smart in a fight because he's at least been able to process his stress and trauma in a way that helps him rationalize his way out of a crisis.

i feel the need to stress that a protagonist having special qualities fit for the narrative isn't them being a mary sue. it's them simply being a main character with agency, a main character that is engaging and interesting. how boring do you think shirou and the story would be if he was really a shit-ass mcnobody with no talents, personality, qualities, or meaningful connections to the setting? he'd be no different from every other harem protag the cishet male audience can use as a self-insert. he is supposed to subvert ideas of masculinity by being domestic. he challenges conventional ideas of heroism by showing how his ideals are flawed and how important it is that he self-actualize.

shirou faces consequences for his inaction and inexperience multiple times too. saber gets frustrated because he won't (tell her why he really won't) fight and that causes a rift in their relationship he must fix with honesty and mutual understanding. shirou's inability to protect himself from hypnotic suggestion gets him kidnapped by caster and forces archer to rescue him, and in turn their shared stubbornness elevates their conflict to deadly levels until they're forced to fight to work out their differences. heaven's feel shows you how his unwillingness to forsake who he is to properly scold sakura and save her makes the situation worse when sakura loses faith that shirou will keep his promise to her until he decides he will fulfill it for both their sakes. people do care! saber cares when her master doesn't see eye to eye with her! rin cares that shirou is too willing to throw away his own life for others! archer cares that he is at risk of becoming that which archer can't forgive himself for being! sakura cares because seeing the man she loves come home bruised and bloodied every night is wrong! illya cares because he is her only true family! rider cares because if shirou can't be sakura's ally then she's as good as dead! everyone cares because shirou has to learn to care too, and he does!

i'm going to ask you to try to engage with media without trying to uncover flaws under rigid standards like this because all it does is keep you from properly understanding what is being shown to you. you cannot hope to judge a story and its characters for all their flaws or merits if this is how you approach things.

[bougiebutchbitch]

Okay okay since I love hearing you rant: Who is your favourite Naruto character and WHY

sdkrhlsdfhgkjlshdfklghskldfhgkljsgfsd

I am going to give you all

THREE GUESSES

(it's obviously danzou, right?)

click under the cut for a WHOLE ESSAY

On a marginally more serious note: Kakashi has been one of my favourite characters since I was a wee bairn! I was also an edgy emo bairn, so the Akatsuki were my absolute favourites back in the day - I was deep into the 'they're all just chilling in a house together and acting like frat kids' part of the fandom. But I always thought Kakashi was a Cool Guy, y'know?

Then I started rewatching as an adult. As a very depressed adult who happened to be the same age Kakashi was at the start of Nart (the Nart-start, if you will).

And I realised... bruh... he really was just Some Guy dealing with one hell of a shit hand of cards, huh??

Like, the village gave him a jinchuuriki to look after! A jinchuuriki who JUST found out why the entire village HATES him, and who sees himself as a vessel for the monster that killed his hero and almost destroyed his home. A jinchuuriki who happens to be the son of the guy who kinda raised Kakashi! And who looks just like him! But Kakashi is forbidden from telling him anything about his own family!

And he's the most reckless and ridiculous shinobi ever!!!

Then one of the other boys they give him to train is the LAST SURVIVOR OF A LITERAL GENOCIDE. That was carried out by Kakashi's own teammate (on Konoha's orders, though of course, none of them know that at the time). And this boy is still obviously very fucking traumatised!

Sakura must've been a breath of fresh air skldfghskldhfg

Like... Kakashi is Not The Most Emotionally Stable Guy in canon. He does fuck up with Sasuke (and spends the rest of the series beating himself up about it) but let's be real - a HELL of a lot more support was needed, for that squad.

Konoha needs therapists. Konoha needs to stop using child soldiers. But those are massive issues that couldn't have been fixed for Doylian ReasonsTM! Unless Kakashi literally went rogue, grabbed the kids, ran off to start a chill farm somewhere and probably got hunted down for his troubles, they were always going to be stuck in a fucked-up environment, because they were raised in a martial state still recovering from a MASSIVE war.

...I'm rambling but the point is, SO MANY MESSED-UP FACTORS led to the rift in Team 7 and Sasuke's eventual defection. Kakashi definitely takes waaaaaay too much responsibility onto his own shoulders. But hey!!! Guilt complexes are my character kryptonite, so I shlorp that tasty soop right up.

Anyway, the main catalyst for my ongoing obsession with the lanky scarecrow man is because of those later flashback episodes where you saw just how fucking numb and depressed he was before he got the kids. 1) empathy. 2) my entire viewpoint of him shifted from 'cool funny wiseguy who gets all the best fight scenes' to '...oh god just let him chill with his dogs and his kids and be happy'

...Then you have the whole freaking INSANE plot with Obito! Where like... the guy Kakashi modelled half his personality and his entire ethos around, after suffering repeated trauma and PTSD as a kid... the guy he's looked up to since Obito died for him, the guy whose sacrifice motivated Kakashi to allow himself to care about other people again, the guy who IS his entire morality, practically...

TURNS OUT TO HAVE BEEN ALIVE ALL ALONG? AND CAUSED THE KYUUBI ATTACK THAT SET OFF THIS WHOLE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS??? AND HE'S ONE OF THE BIG BADS OF THE ENTIRE SERIES???????

Like!!!! That's so fucking juicy!!!!

The angst.... the pain............... the shipping opportunities.........

I love this food, thank u kishimoto :kisses:

and obviously, I saw Kakagai in a Very New Light too - the main reason I got back into the series was because I heard they got married in Boruto and had to see for myself sdljfglsdjfg

suffice to say, I was not disappointed

[narutogwriting]

A Misunderstanding

⋇✦ Pairing: Kiba Inuzuka x Reader

⋇✦ Genre: fluff; one shot

⋇✦ Synopsis: You and Kiba were getting close until Naruto got in the way. If you ask Kiba, Naruto ruins everything.

⋇✦ CW: none

⋇✦ Length: 3.6k+

⋇✦ Inspiration: request by @writing-x-reader

If there was one person in Konoha who could push Kiba’s buttons just right, it was Naruto. Everything about that twerp pissed Kiba off. He was loud (so was Kiba), obnoxious (so was Kiba), arrogant (again, Kiba), and everytime he opened his big mouth, Kiba wanted to pop him. Naruto had always got on Kiba’s nerves, and after their fight in the preliminaries of the chunin exam, even more so. He couldn’t believe he lost to a wimp like that!

In reality, though the two would never admit it, they were just a little bit too alike in all of the worst ways. And apparently, that drifted over to their taste in women.

“Naruto, stop!” You giggled, thrashing in his arms. Naruto had come up to you from behind, wrapping his arms around you and picking you up.

“You gotta go in sometime! I’m just helping.” Naruto teased as he attempted to drop you into the water you’d been avoiding submerging yourself in. To keep from falling in, you wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, your legs doing the same around his waist. The two of you were cracking up with laughter. Naruto was spinning around, trying to loosen his grip.

What actually ended up happening was the big idiot tripped, losing his balance and sending you both splashing into the waves. You came up spluttering, spitting out water and splashing him, all the while a big smile was on your face.

“Naruto, stop,” Kiba mocked to himself in a high pitched voice with a roll of his eyes. He crossed his arms, leaning back on his towel, unable to tear his eyes away from the sickeningly cute scene. “Give me a break.”

Akamaru gave a small bark that came out more like a high pitched whine. It was a sound that basically said: you’re a jealous baby. Kiba shot his canine companion a glare. “Yeah, what do you know? It’s not like you’ve ever had a girlfriend.” He pointed out.

“Are you seriously arguing with Akamaru about a girl?” Ino huffed as she laid her towel out next to Kiba’s. She lounged onto her stomach, resting her head on her folded arms. “Put some sunblock on my back, will you? I don’t want to burn.” Kiba rolled his eyes, but complied with his friends requested. He squirted the sunblock into his hands, rubbing it between them before massaging it into Ino’s shoulders.

She hummed happily.

“What are you over here pouting about, anyways?” Ino asked Kiba. “We’re at the beach! It’s the first time we’ve all had off in like, forever! You should be enjoying yourself. Not crying over some girl.”

Huffing, Kiba finished lathering Ino’s back before he flopped out onto his own towel. “I’m not crying over some girl!” He argued. “Naruto’s just annoying! He’s so loud; why does he want the whole beach to hear what he’s doing!?” His point was made as a high pitch scream came from the ocean. Naruto practically flew out of the water before he realized it was only seaweed that his foot had touched. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as you tossed the offending object away.

Ino laughed, rolling to her side and propping her head up in her hand. “Give it a rest already, would ya?” She teased him. “Yeah, Naruto’s annoying, but you’re not gonna fool anyone pretending that that’s the reason you’re in such a bad mood.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kiba muttered.

“Oh come on. You’ve been in love with her for like, ever. It’s getting embarrassing at this point.” Ino glanced over to where you and Naruto were still playing in the waves. “What’s so great about her anyways?”

Wasn’t that the question?

Kiba had had a crush on you since your academy days. You were cute, strong, and always so active. Kiba really liked that. You guys had spent a lot of time together before graduating the academy and being placed on separate teams tore you apart.

The two of you had always gotten along really well. Once you were both chunin, you got sent on plenty of missions together. It was just more alone time to get to know you better and for his little crush to turn into something more.

He’d been planning on asking you out sooner; he really was! But despite how confident, borderline cocky, Kiba pretended to be, he was actually really nervous about the whole thing.

What if you rejected him!? Not only that, but what if you rejected him and then got weird around him? Didn’t want to talk to him anymore?

So he’d decided to put it off, focus on getting to know you more and try and gage and see if maybe you felt the same way about him. There were plenty of times where he did think you returned his feelings. When you laughed a little too long at his joke or played with your hair as you talked or touched his arm while you walked by… But he knew you were just a nice, friendly person who was easy to get along with.

What if he had just misread your signals?

Kiba figured he had plenty of time; he wasn’t too stressed about it. But he should have been.

Because just like that, Naruto was home, and everything had changed. It took him off guard. He didn’t recall you and Naruto being particularly close when you were younger, but once he got home you two became almost inseparable. You were always together, always hanging out and talking with your inside jokes. And just like that, you slowly drifted from Kiba’s life. His spot was quickly filled by Naruto, and he couldn’t see a place where he fit in your life anymore.

Now, for example. How was he supposed to go out and talk to you when you were so wrapped up in Naruto? It would just be weird, like he was intruding on something.

“Worry about yourself…” Kiba finally muttered to Ino, putting his head down. This beach trip sucked.

Ino rolled her eyes, pushing herself to her feet. “Cmon,” She told Kiba, kicking his side lightly. “Get up. I’m not gonna let you just mope over here all day.

It took some poking and pushing, but finally Kiba caved, getting up to go along with whatever it was that Ino wanted him to do. And honestly? That was the best decision. She kept him busy with the rest of their friends, playing volleyball and football and swimming in the ocean. Once Kiba got swimming, it wasn’t so bad anymore. He was still bummed about you and Naruto, the only two of the group not joining in on the fun. The two of you were content to hang out on your own.

But Kiba was able to let himself get distracted and have a good time. By the time the sun was starting to go down, he was exhausted and starving, ready for the bonfire you all planned.

“Let’s go get some firewood,” Ino nudged Kiba who nodded in response. There was a beach front store not too far off that sold some. “See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Ino asked as they walked. “You just need some fun and sun to make it all better.” She winked at him.

Kiba laughed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I give. You were right.” He admitted with reluctance. “It’s just weird, though. Are those two just so in love that they can’t even come and hang out with their friends? Like, cmon…”

Ino sighed. She guessed Kiba wasn’t completely over it, but she couldn’t help but agree. “It was really weird. Like, we were all supposed to be spending time together and hanging out, but they just stayed off in their own little world… They could’ve done that anywhere.” She shrugged.

Kiba felt validated by Ino’s agreement which made him feel a little bit better about the whole thing. “Yeah, whatever. I don’t even care anymore.” He lied as they bought firewood before heading back to the group. Ino cocked her head at him. She didn’t believe him for a second, but would let him pretend for now.

Once they returned to everyone else, the group made quick work of getting a bonfire started. The hotdogs were pulled out with the old wire coat hangers to roast them with. It was the best part of the beach trip, when everyone would wind down after a crazy, exciting day and just get to relax with one another.

There was always the inevitable pairings that happened too. There was something about the beach air that made people want to cozy up in front of the fire and share some intimate moments.

Kiba was one of them.

But looking around, you still weren’t by the campfire, a fact that caused Kiba to frown because--surprise surprise--neither was Naruto.

His mind was running wild with thoughts of what the two of you could possibly be doing.

After a short while, the two of you did appear, walking up the sand from the water. Kiba’s eyes were locked on the place where Naruto’s arm was wrapped around your waist. He narrowed his eyes. Well, in his mind, that settled it. You and Naruto were obviously together, no question. The realization hit Kiba like a blow to the stomach.

This sucked.

To make matters worse, you were heading right for him.

Naruto helped you as you lowered yourself down besides Kiba at the campfire. “I’m gonna grab us some sticks and hot dogs,” he said, leaving you and Kiba alone.

“Hey,” you smiled at Kiba. “I’ve barely seen you all day. Are you having a good time?”

Kiba glanced at you, inwardly groaning. God, why did you have to be so pretty? So sweet? His heart was fluttering just looking at you and then instantly felt like he was being snapped in two thinking about you being with Naruto.

“Yeah, just dandy.” Kiba muttered, looking back to the food on his plate and surprising you with his shortness. He never shut down conversations with you like that.

“Uh, well, what have you been doing?” You tried. Kiba only shrugged in response.

“Hanging out.” And awkward silence followed.

Ino watched the painful scene as she stood next to Sakura. “This is pathetic,” she sighed, smacking her forehead. “He’s like a hurt puppy! He needs reinforcements…” She took her own plate, walking over and plopping herself down at Kiba’s side. “Nice of you to join us,” Ino teased you, leaning over Kiba’s shoulder.

Your eyes lingered over the closeness between the two before looking away. “Yeah.” Is all you said.

Naruto came back with two hot dogs on a stick, handing one to you, oblivious to the awkward tension lingering in the air. “Here you go,” He grinned, sitting beside you. Kiba didn’t miss the way you perked up at Naruto’s presence. He rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Ino.

The night lingered on and did his best to ignore your and Naruto’s presence you despite sitting right next to him.

Ino, in defense of Kiba, played up her platonic affection with him. She did say she’d be his reinforcements, after all. She laughed just a little louder at the jokes he told and touched his arm just slightly more than normal. While making smores, she even took the mushy marshmallow from her stick and fed it to Kiba, licking her fingers off after.

For your part, you moved in closer to Naruto, uncomfortable and burning green with envy. Couldn’t those two get a room? Did they absolutely need to do this here, in front of everyone?

And of course, what’s a bonfire without games?

“Tenten, truth or dare?”

“Truth.” “If you had to kiss one person in this group, who would it be?”

Cue the blushing and whooping as Lee nudged Neji playfully.

“I dare myself to eat all the crackers!” “Choji, that’s not how you play!”

“Ino, truth or dare?”

“Dare, obviously.”

“I dare you to go skinny dipping in the ocean!”

Ino pushed to her feet, tossing her hair over her shoulders. “No problem!” Everyone cheered, jumping up after her to walk down to the water.

Kiba watched Naruto pull you to your feet, again placing his arm around your waist. He scoffed in annoyance, stomping down to the sand and leaving you behind.

Once everyone was down there, all eyes on Ino expectantly. She stared back, eating up the attention. Her eyes scanned the group before landing on Kiba. “I need a partner, though.” She said, grabbing Kiba’s hand and pulling him with her.

Kiba grinned, shooting a glance your way. If you were with Naruto, you probably didn’t care what he did, but he wanted to make sure you were watching either way.

“Let’s do it.”

Again, everyone cheered as Kiba and Ino began to strip, tossing their clothes to the floor and taking off into the ocean. “Fuck it’s cold!” Kiba yelled as he splashed into the waves, laughing. They probably stayed inside the water for less than a minute, but when they came back out, you and Naruto were gone.

Of course.

Kiba wasn’t having too much fun after that. Everyone headed back to the bonfire. Kiba took a seat far away from you, but couldn’t help but notice the way Naruto was shooting him glares. It went that way for about another hour when night had fallen completely.

Kiba did his best to ignore Naruto, but he couldn’t do it anymore. He wanted to pound that idiot into the floor.

Finally, Kiba pushed to his feet, ignoring the looks he got from everyone else as he stomped over to where you sat with your head leaning on Naruto’s shoulder. “You got a problem?” He spat at the blonde.

Naruto glowered up at Kiba, not moving from his spot with you next to him. “Beat it, Kiba.” He snapped back. “You’re not wanted over here.” Kiba looked at you, but you had your eyes locked on the bonfire, refusing to glance in his direction. He gritted his teeth, looking back to Naruto.

“You wanna run that by me again, douchewad? Or too busy being obsessed with your little girlfriend?” Kiba didn’t mean to drag you into anything or to be a jerk to you specifically, but he was so mad. So mad from watching you cuddle up to Naruto, be all lovey dovey with him and just forget about your friendship completely! How could you do that to him?

Naruto was on his feet in a second, shoving Kiba. “You better leave her out of it,” he warned.

“Or what?”

You’d had about enough of this. You struggled to your feet, wincing slightly. “Can you knock it off!?” You snapped at Kiba, startling him with the harshness of your tone. “You’ve been a jerk all day! You don’t need to come over here and start shit!”

Kiba crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes as he looked at you. He was hurt by your words, but of course he didn’t want to show it. “You’re one to talk!”

With a frustrated yell, you surprised him by taking his hand and pulling him after you. “H-hey,” He stuttered, but you ignored him, continuing to pull him until the two of you got down to the water. “Hey, you’re limping.” He noticed suddenly.

You stopped, dropping his hand and turning to face him. “Yeah, I’m limping. I stepped on a sea urchin earlier. Naruto practically had to carry me back up to the bonfire it hurt so much.

Kiba stared at you, blinking as the realization slowly crept in. “Oh… Was that why Naruto had his arm around you earlier?” He asked, almost sheepishly.

Cocking an eyebrow, you tilted your head. “Huh? Yeah, why?” You asked, confused by his observation.

He blushed, glancing away from you over to the ocean, grateful for the dark to hide his red face. “No reason…”

With a sigh, you crossed your arms. “Kiba, what is going on with you? You’ve barely even looked my direction all day. When you do talk to me, you act like a jerk. What gives? Did I do something that upset you?”

Kiba sighed, running his hands through his hair, trying to decide what to do. Was this really a conversation he was ready to have? Probably not. But it looked like he didn’t have a choice. It was now or never.

“Look, I know I haven’t talked to you much today, but you’ve been so wrapped up with Naruto. Pretty much every day you’re wrapped up with him! We were getting so close and then the second Naruto came home, you dropped me! Whatever, I get you have a boyfriend and all, but that doesn’t mean you have to just forget about me, does it?”

He sighed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks. There, it was out. He was beyond embarrassed by the conversation, but he said it. Now you knew.

You blinked, a little confused as you processed Kiba’s words. “Boyfriend?” You asked him. “Kiba, Naruto’s not my boyfriend.”

Looking back at you, he frowned. “Then why have you been by his side all day instead of hanging out with me?”

“You were with Ino all day!” You pointed out. “I didn’t want to go over there and ruin your good time.”

“I was only with Ino cause you were with Naruto!” Kiba countered. “All day! And you two were disappearing together, and then when he had his arm around you, well, I thought it was ‘cause you two were together! And then you were all cuddled up on him, and he was glaring at me… What was I supposed to think?!”

It was quickly becoming clear to you what had happened. You couldn’t help but snicker just a little bit, making Kiba frown even more. “What’s so damn funny!?”

Now it was your turn to blush. Cheeks red, you looked to the sand, fidgeting nervously with your hands. There was something you’d wanted to tell Kiba for a long time, but you weren’t sure if you were ready. Things had been so weird lately; the timing never seemed right. But after the mess that was today, the two of you were together, in the sand, staring at the ocean waves; it seemed like the perfect moment was now.

“Kiba, Naruto spent all day trying to make me feel better… You were so flirty with Ino, rubbing in her sunscreen; I didn’t want to see that. So when you all went off together, we stayed on our own so I wouldn’t have to see her all over you. Then she was feeding you marshmallows. You even went skinny dipping with her! Naruto’s just been a good friend today. That’s it.”

Realization was slowly dawning over Kiba. He crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow as he stared down at you. “Really?” He muttered, a smirk slowly starting to pull it’s way over his lips. “And why do you care whether or not Ino flirts with me, huh?”

Your face went red. “Why do you care if Naruto’s my boyfriend!?” You shot back at him.

The two of you locked eyes, staring each other down and willing the other person to be the first to break. But Kiba had already been on the edge all day long, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Maybe I wanted to be your boyfriend…” He grumbled reluctantly, averting his eyes from yours.

He didn’t see it, but a grin broke out over your face. Had he really just said that? You were suddenly giddy with excitement, bouncing on your toes as you began to laugh.

“You can just say no, ya know! You don’t gotta laugh!” Kiba snapped, shooting you a glare, but you just shook your head, throwing your arms around him to hug him.

Just like Kiba, you'd been hoping for this moment for so long! Meeting Kiba in the academy had been one of your favorite parts of the whole experience; definitely the most memorable. He'd been one of the people you were most excited to see. There was a point after where you hardly saw him, but once you started going on missions together, everything changed for you.

There's something about those late night conversations when everyone is asleep that brings people closer. You get to know someone in the dark better than you ever do in the day.

But your days together weren't so bad either. It didn't take spending too much time with Kiba before you started to catch feelings. He was so funny and witty; you couldn't deny you were attracted to that couldn't-care-less attitude. He just played it so cool, and he wasn't bad on the eyes either.

You'd wanted to tell him how you felt, but you were terrified that he didn't feel the same. Now those fears were out the window

”I’m not saying no, you idiot!” You teased him, looking up at him. “I do want to be your girlfriend!”

It took a moment for the words to sink in; for Kiba to really get what you were saying. When he did, he began to smile, hugging you back. “Wait, for real?” He asked, his cheeks flushed in pleasure. He couldn’t believe this! He’d wanted to ask you out for so long… Why had he wasted so much time being scared?

Kiba pulled away from the hug just enough so he could tangle his hand in your hair as he leaned down, brushing his lips softly against yours. You weren’t having any of that, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him into you, kissing him deeper, which Kiba of course returned without hesitation.

Kissing you was everything he ever thought it would be. Your lips were soft, moving perfectly in time with his as you pressed yourself into him. God, he’d wanted this for so long. Kiba didn’t think anything would ever come close to the feeling he got being able to hold you in his arms. He didn’t want it to ever end.

When you finally broke apart, you were both grinning.

Kiba helped you limp back up the beach to the bonfire. This time, he didn’t mind when you sat next to Naruto. He sat on the other side of you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder as you leaned against him.

“About damn time!” Naruto cried out with an exasperated sigh. “Geez you two are annoying. I thought you’d never get together!”” “I hate to agree with Naruto…” Ino sighed from across the fire. “But he’s right. Though I do take some credit for this .” She smiled at Kiba.

You both rolled your eyes, but smiled nonetheless as Kiba leaned down to kiss you again. This was a long time coming, but you were worth the wait.

[panharmonium]

THAT is the importance of an adult who Understands.

one of the things that i always come back to when i think about sasuke is that sasuke has virtually everybody in the village fooled.  you couldn’t find a more messed up kid in all the hidden leaf if you tried, but you wouldn’t know it to look at him, because he can’t afford to acknowledge or display weakness - firstly, because weakness means he isn’t strong enough to take on itachi, and secondly, because signs of struggle on sasuke’s part might mean that an authority figure tries to involve themself in his life, and sasuke doesn’t want anyone interfering in something he sees as a personal quest.  he doesn’t see himself as a child who needs to be looked after by adults; he sees himself as an adult in a frustratingly small body, and he wants all the other adults to leave him alone and let him do what he needs to do.  he doesn’t want meddling.  he wants everyone who has the power to potentially keep him from getting what he most desires to remain oblivious to his true state of mind, to not look too closely, to never see a child in distress, because if he ever lets on that he doesn’t have his shit together, it’s possible that one of the leaf’s less negligent grown-ups will swoop down on him and start trying to intervene/“parent” him, which to sasuke’s mind just means “get in the way.”  

sasuke, who has long felt like he’s already an adult dealing with adult problems, won’t tolerate that.  so he masks his issues, to the point where he has virtually everyone around him completely deceived.  his regular schoolteachers don’t worry about him - he’s a high achiever, he gets perfect grades, he’s top of his class in everything, he doesn’t make trouble.  his classmates don’t worry about him - they buy the ‘i’m so cool, nothing fazes me’ act and worship at his feet, even as he demonstrates that he wants nothing to do with them.  the rest of the leaf village doesn’t worry about him, either - they see him as a source of village pride (and a source of entertainment/drama, like when they’re all so excited to watch The Last Uchiha fight for their nation during the chunin exams).  even though sasuke is so messed up on the inside, the exterior facade he presents to people is specifically designed to prevent any wondering about how he’s doing.  as far as the world can see, he’s doing Just Fine (and while everyone is busy not wondering about his health, he can get down to the business of getting his revenge).

sasuke’s strategy for relating to other people is, essentially, the opposite of naruto’s approach.  naruto, in his early childhood, draws as much attention to himself as possible, causing all sorts of mayhem, in the hope that someone, somewhere will see him.  he makes trouble and causes problems precisely because he desperately wants someone to acknowledge his pain, and that’s how he ends up landing iruka as an adult support figure, because iruka notices what’s happening and decides to get involved.  sasuke, in contrast to naruto, doesn’t want anyone to acknowledge or even notice his pain, because if they do notice it, they might try to stop him from pursuing what he thinks is the only way to alleviate it.  that’s not an acceptable outcome for him, so instead of making a scene and calling attention to himself, he hides in plain sight. 

sasuke doesn’t want people to get involved in his life.  he wants to be left to his own devices.  he doesn’t think he needs (read: deserves) anybody’s help, and some tiny part of him knows that a Responsible Adult might raise their eyebrows at what he’s doing to himself, so he uses his “high-achiever, too cool for school” persona to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.  and he almost succeeds - until kakashi enters the picture.  kakashi, who can’t be fooled.  kakashi, who has known from Day One, Minute One exactly what goal is driving all of sasuke’s high achievement, and who knows that sasuke is NOT okay, in either the head or the heart.  kakashi, who in the above gifset can tell that sasuke is having a crisis without even turning around.  kakashi doesn’t need to be shown evidence before he gets concerned.  he’s known from the very start that sasuke is struggling, because he lived through similar pains and tried to cope with them in similarly unhealthy ways (remember: “useless things like emotions only get in the way”/“having too many ties in this world will only lead you astray” + “everyone you’re talking about has already been killed”/“they’re all dead...because i wasn’t strong enough to save them”).

sasuke still tries to put up the front.  a few scenes prior to the above gifset, sasuke is the one who is making fun of naruto for freezing up - you’re not hurt, are you...scaredy-cat.  and he completely fools his peers with his attitude - sakura’s got stars in her eyes, naruto’s super jealous; both of them think sasuke’s So Cool and Super Powerful and Not Afraid of Anything!

but when sasuke himself is confronted with a serious, imminent threat to his life (one against which his supposedly “advanced” skills are useless, one from which he can’t protect himself; aka, one where he’s suddenly reminded that he’s actually a twelve year-old genin and his safety is out of his control, just like it was the night his family was murdered), he’s the one who panics.  the other kids are scared, too - but sasuke completely loses it.  he almost kills himself to get away from the intensity of his fear.  *cough* it’s the ptsd *cough* but anyway -

kakashi is able to sense this without even turning around.  he’s preparing to fight an aggressor under the least ideal circumstances possible - they were supposed to be on a mission where it was four people protecting one man, but because tazuna lied to them, they’re now in a situation where it’s one man protecting four people, including three children - and even with all of that competing for his attention, kakashi is still focusing closely enough on each individual kid to sense that sasuke is going off the rails.  without even turning around, he knows.

we all remember this, right?

it doesn’t matter how much of an act sasuke puts on.  kakashi has been there.  he knows better.  he can’t be fooled.  he calls for sasuke by name and pulls him back from the brink.

kakashi interrupts this crisis so effectively.  not only is he able to snap sasuke out of his panic, but he’s also careful to then extend his reassurance to everyone present, accomplishing the dual purposes of calming everyone else down and also redirecting attention away from sasuke’s more extreme reaction, which the others haven’t noticed yet.  it’s deftly done.  it addresses sasuke’s crisis on an individual level without putting him in the spotlight.  it works.  the way sasuke relaxes in that last gif...man.

calm down.  i’ll protect you with my life.

i’ve already talked a little bit about how much it would mean for somebody with sasuke’s particular history to hear that (especially when those words are spoken by an adult who follows through on the promise every single time), but here i just want to focus on the fact that the only reason sasuke is lucky enough to receive this reassurance in the first place is because kakashi isn’t fooled by sasuke pretending he doesn’t need to hear it.  kakashi and the kids are very new to each other at this point, but even so, kakashi still understands sasuke better than any other adult in the hidden leaf.  he’s the first authority figure who sasuke hasn’t been able to trick into obliviousness - sasuke can’t pretend away his problems in front of someone who used to have all those same problems himself!  kakashi is too savvy to be waved away with the whole ‘i’m super advanced for my age i don’t need any help don’t look behind my mask’ charade.  kakashi invented that game.  he knows it’s one you don’t want to win.  he won it himself, when he played it, and winning just meant that everybody took him at his word when he acted like he was fine and nobody ever gave him the kind of help he needed.  he’s not going to let another kid get away with the same self-destructive shenanigans, not when he’s around to call their bluffs and be the kind of support structure he himself could’ve benefited from when he was younger.   

[lilover131]

Syaoran and Kaito Analysis

So I’ve mentioned recently in a recent fanart and in my analysis of chapter 55, but I have noticed quite a few similarities between Syaoran and Kaito, and upon some observations, I have some theories, particularly in regards to how Kaito views Syaoran. I decided to delve into that a bit, so see under the cut for more! Warning: It’s long. I wrote a lot. >.<

 I have a lot to cover, so I thought it might be best to outline in the most simple way possible some things we already know about Kaito.

 ·         He was born gifted with incredible magic. His parentage is unknown and he was “alone for as long as he could remember”.

·         It’s unclear where Kaito originated from, but it seems he spent a majority of his life in England.

·         He has moon based magic and has a wide variety of talents, but specializes in time magic. It’s unclear if he already had a skill with time magic or if this was obtained after he met Momo. It seems implied that he made a magical contract with her and maybe gained his time abilities from this. But we do know he has the ability to fly, to locate objects, teleport, to talk to animals, and to make something vanish in a mere moment.  

·         He is also talented in housekeeping skills, such as sewing, cooking, etc.

·         He used to be very cold hearted and preferred spending time alone. Kaito changed considerably in personality at some point in his life. It is uncertain exactly what caused this change, but it seems likely that Akiho’s mother was the catalyst for this.

·         He is part of a very powerful group of magicians called as we know it ‘The Association’ and is revered as one of its most powerful with the title ‘D’. He recently betrayed them and left, taking Akiho with him.

·         He protects and seems to care for Akiho

·         He is preparing for an event labeled as “that time” and needs Sakura to create a specific card.

·         He is putting himself in extreme physical danger for his goals, seemingly for Akiho’s sake.

·         He has been noted as always smiling to ‘hide his pain’.

 So when I look at all of these facts about Kaito, I noticed something interesting. Syaoran too could be described by almost all of these things. You might think “Wait a minute Chrissy! Kaito and Syaoran are nothing alike!”, but please hear me out.

Syaoran too was born gifted with incredible magic. He also draws his power from the moon (a connection that has already been pointed out by CLAMP) and has a knack for household skills as well, being very independent from a young age. Like Kaito, he was cold hearted in his earlier years, preferred to be alone (according to Meiling in the original 90’s anime in episode 43), and had a drastic change in personality later on, particularly after meeting Sakura. Syaoran is part of a very powerful group of magicians as well, the Li clan, and is one of the strongest within it and destined to be the next leader. Similarly, Syaoran too is preparing for some kind of event, a future seen by his mother, and is doing everything to prevent this, even if it causes him physical harm (as we’ve seen with him struggling to conjure the Sakura cards). In order to keep Sakura in the dark as to not worry her, he has been using a smile to ‘hide his pain’.

Now you may be wondering “Okay, so they have a few things in common, but they are still completely different!”. And you would be right. They are two completely different people after all, but try to think of them as two sides of the same coin. This beckons another question: How did two people who are so similar turn out so differently?

This is really where their differences in personality shine through, but part of it I believe is due to their backgrounds as well. For example, Kaito was picked up by the Association at a young age due to his skills with magic and was taken in to “use that magical power to accomplish their own tasks”. Based on their record of not having a great reputation, according to Eriol, and their treatment of Akiho by assisting her Clan in turning her into a magical device, it seems likely that Kaito was not treated kindly by anyone in the Association. In fact, he was probably left alone nearly all of the time unless his strengths were needed, and took care of himself in the remainder of that time. He was surrounded by people but still completely alone, and he preferred to be this way. This cold background of his really prevented him from being able to open up his heart to anyone. But he does seem to be much different around Akiho.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was surrounded by loving and caring family members. Although he preferred to be alone in his earlier years, he wasn’t actually alone at all. His mother was protective of him (like cutting his hair until he was strong enough to protect himself from things like scissors near his neck), and his sisters adored him and undoubtedly showered him with love at every opportunity. But even with that love from them, he was still somewhat cold hearted (though not as much as Kaito) until he met Sakura.

Their backgrounds do differ from each other, but I think the biggest difference in them of all is how they handle their feelings. When Syaoran first started to realize his feelings for Sakura, he struggled quite a bit and was in a great amount of denial, even physically running away at times when confronted with them. It was when he finally came to terms with his heart and confessed his feelings to Sakura that he underwent a great change and became the Syaoran we know today.

So what about Kaito?

Well, Kaito I believe is in that same stage of denial where he is refusing to come to terms with his feelings, whatever those may be. It’s clear that he cares about Akiho, but when she or Momo try to have a serious discussion with him or get him to talk about those feelings, he goes out of his way to change the subject (or once with Momo, actually fled at the first opportunity, which is just like Syaoran used to do!). It is something he is clearly uncomfortable with, and I think that is because it is unfamiliar territory for him. He is used to not feeling anything at all, so having to actually think about his feelings and reasons for doing things is unbearably frightening. He can handle any magical opponent any day (except Sakura of course), but being open and honest about his feelings? That’s another battle entirely that he doesn’t know how to handle without his magic to use as a crutch.

Momo mentioned in chapter 39 how Kaito had made a great deal of changes, all so that Akiho could live comfortably and pleaded internally “peer deep inside your heart. And don’t avert your eyes”. This was said again in chapter 51 when she stated “I implore you Yuna D. Kaito. Listen…to your heart”.

In the very next chapter, it is none other than Syaoran who has a discussion with Sakura about how his mother had told him “If you possess great magic power…when you feel pounding and stirring in your chest…you shouldn’t ignore it. You need to listen to your intuition. I think that goes for everyone, magic or no magic. I don’t think anyone should turn a blind eye to their own heart”. We also know that in that same conversation with his mother, thanks to the mini chapter provided with the special edition of volume 9, that Yelan said to him then “If there’s something you want to accomplish, then training with your spells is surely important, but...more than anything else, you have to face your heart”. She went on to tell him how important it was to listen to his heart and that “If you lie to yourself, you will sadden the person who loves you so dearly”. 

And that, my friends, is the major reason for Syaoran and Kaito being so different despite their many similarities. One listens to his heart while the other adamantly turns away from it. This leads me to my next topic (thank you for anyone who has read this long into it. I appreciate it!), and that is in regards to Kaito’s feelings about Syaoran.

I have noticed that Kaito in general tends to act quite differently in regards to Syaoran than he does anyone else. It starts at the very first time they met, when they made their introductions. Despite working so diligently to keep himself hidden from Akiho and Sakura, he did the complete opposite with Syaoran. He had to have known that being able to sense his magic and being given his name and title, that Syaoran would go and research who he was. He wanted Syaoran in particular to know who he was, which I believe is also why he allowed him to speak with Eriol initially. I say allowed, because we know he clearly had the potential to cut off communications at any point in time, and he only stepped in to shut this down when Eriol started talking to the others (Kero and Yue). He clearly wanted to control what information people knew about him, and Eriol crossed a line. He also put spells on Syaoran that would not allow him to communicate with others about him, so again showing he wanted him to know about him, but not to be able to tell anyone else about him, especially Sakura.

Another occasion I found intriguing was chapter 34 in the scene with the pool. Kaito stopped time, but for some reason, allowed Syaoran to move freely as well. Why is this? He could have easily frozen Syaoran too, but he made a conscious decision to allow Syaoran to move.

Then we come to perhaps the most telling scene so far, which is the battle he and Syaoran had in chapter 41 and 42. In a moment where he could have easily stopped time and rewound so that Syaoran never approached him, he instead decided to have a full discussion with him and even go as far as to engage in battle with him in stopped time. In this ‘discussion’, he stated several facts that he knew about Syaoran, who was pointedly not responding to them and seemed solely focused on Sakura. Some of the details about him were probably common knowledge to the magical world, but some of them seemed oddly personal, such as him being a ‘diligent student’, as if to show he had been watching him for quite some time.

Something about the interaction was different than others. It was as if he was observing Syaoran in that moment to see how he would react to hearing certain things. He then mentioned after seeing Syaoran use the Sakura cards how rewriting a contract once written takes a toll on even the strongest magician and he said “Is this all…for Sakura too?”. I think what he was trying to say here is that he recognizes the efforts he’s making for Sakura and may even feel a connection to him because of his own efforts for his own wish.

In chapter 42, continuing on with this conversation, Kaito seemed ready to turn back time the moment he realized they were no longer alone and that Sakura was able to move, but he still had more to say. Syaoran reacted to Sakura calling out for him, and it was at this moment that Kaito said “You certainly are honest, aren’t you? One look at your face, and I know exactly what you’re thinking” (even Eriol made several comments about Syaoran’s honesty in the original series). Once again, he’s showing here that he’s observing Syaoran, but why? For what reason does he bring this up? I think he says this because it is something so foreign to him and fascinates him. Kaito is so used to hiding his feelings and being unable to express them, but Syaoran is the complete opposite in the fact that he can so easily show his feelings and it is not his nature to conceal them. Kaito followed this by bringing up that Syaoran had suppressed that honesty when he came to Japan, which we know was through his fake smiles (something he is all too familiar with). Yue also said to Syaoran in chapter 27 that he had been hiding behind a smile and ordinarily was much more unrestrained in how he expressed his emotions, no matter what that emotion may be.

I wonder if Kaito said this because he wondered “how is it that he’s able to be so honest?” or maybe he was trying to show that he understood his reasons for hiding behind a smile, pointing out the similarities between them; that they were not so different despite having different goals. Kaito’s next comment in particular is probably what caught my attention the most. He divulged the detail about how Syaoran suppressed his honesty particularly to try and prevent the future that his mother saw. Even Syaoran seemed surprised by this, and he had good reason to be! This was likely a very personal moment, one he hasn’t even told Sakura about yet, and this implies that he might have been there when this particular moment happened. It makes sense too, considering Akiho had stated in her very first appearance that she was in Hong Kong just before coming to Japan, meaning she and Kaito were certainly there at the same time Syaoran was, at least for a brief time. This means he probably saw all the effort he was putting in for Sakura’s sake and maybe this resonated with him. I think maybe he also saw how his older sisters, even though they had no magic of their own, are treated with respect in the Li clan, unlike Akiho with her own. Kaito has only ever known a world where those who are strong are used and those who are weak are deemed worthless (like Akiho), but yet Syaoran lives in a world where both live harmoniously. Sakura’s world in Tomoeda is the same as well and filled with kindness, far different from any other experience Kaito has had, and this must have been quite the culture shock! But more importantly, Syaoran and Sakura have all the things that he and Akiho never had.

Another interesting thing to note here is that Kaito was supposedly expelled from the association about a year ago due to stealing a powerful magical instrument that was forbidden to be taken (which we now know to be Akiho herself). And guess what else happened about a year ago? About a year ago, Syaoran went back to Hong Kong to handle his ‘important things’. Coincidence? Well, famously CLAMP series often say there is no such thing as coincidence...only hitsuzen. 

Just as he is about to send another attack at Syaoran, he talks about how he and Syaoran both do not have the power of divination, but that “it is for the strong to decide…what the future holds in store for us all”. I think what he meant here is “Neither of us know how this is going to turn out, but the both of us are working hard for our own goals, so may the best man win”. However, before he could go any further, Sakura used TRANSFER to switch places, and he is both surprised by this, but quite quickly decides to end things and rewind time at this moment, indicating that he had not really wanted to engage with Sakura at all at this point in time. He had even stated at the beginning of chapter 42 that he had intended to keep her frozen and only have Syaoran able to move, meaning this whole situation had only been kept going for this long so that he could talk to Syaoran.

After rewinding time and talking to Akiho later that evening, he mentioned how Parent’s day was “quite illuminating”. This could have been said about his newfound knowledge of Fujitaka, but I also believe he learned quite a bit from Syaoran as well.

Now we finally get to the more recent chapters, like 54 and 55. While sitting together at the botanical garden, Kaito puts yet another spell on Syaoran to force him to smile against his will to avoid any suspicion. I feel like this was not just to keep the peace but also somewhat of a way to toy with and tease Syaoran. What better way to get under the skin of someone so honest and open with their feelings than to force them to hide these under a smile unwillingly? I think this was the mischievous side of Kaito showing and almost like a big brother teasing a little brother, but unfortunately for him, he pushed things too far with this, and not only did Sakura notice something was wrong, but this allowed the spell to be broken, and Syaoran wasted absolutely zero time saying the things he had been suppressed in saying before.

Cue to chapter 55, our most recent chapter. Sakura has managed to keep herself from being frozen in time, and she starts off with a few basic questions. The first one was if he knew about her being able to use cards. Kaito answered simply “Yes”. But when asked about if he knew about Syaoran, he gave two very specific details about him, particularly that he knew he was a gifted sorcerer and that he was the next head of the Li clan”. He could have just answered yes, the same way he responded in regards to Sakura, but instead he seems to have wanted Sakura to know in that moment that he knows a lot of information about Syaoran and not just that he can use magic. The two then exchange meaningful looks, and it’s right after this that she looks over to Syaoran and Akiho, looking almost worried. Now, it’s not clear what they were both thinking in this moment, and it’s possible that I am overthinking this one, but I find it fascinating that his answer was so detailed here, and I don’t feel like that was for nothing. Ohkawa has always been very thoughtful about the words she writes in her scripts, and I think this is no exception.

Anyways, I feel like we’ll get more definitive answers in the future, but I’m incredibly intrigued to see if there are any further and more concrete connections between them. I feel like CLAMP has done quite a bit to point out similarities between the two, and it should be a wild ride from here on out!!

[magireco]

out of curiosity what do you think of the characterization of homura in rebellion? i hugely dislike it but get the impression you enjoy it which i think is interesting cuz we seem to have very similar thoughts on homura pre-rebellion (CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG)

THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON WHAT FLAVOR OF REBELLION HOMURA YOU MEAN. i really really like the way she was done in the first half of the movie but as for the twist at the end...? mmm...

...okay, so... i've been thinking about saying this at some point but i keep avoiding it in fear of causing discourse and such bc... this is a really unpopular opinion apparently, but I really do not think devil homura was done properly. read under the cut if you wanna know why i feel this way!

the first issue i'm going to address is that there wasn't NEARLY enough buildup for it. i'm going to explain this from the perspective of a first-time viewer: what would you have thought would happen after the very last scene of rebellion leading up to them breaking homura out of her soul gem? when homulilly got purified and the flowers on her head turned to sakura flowers (y'know, the flowers that symbolize life and rebirth, homura being reborn from her witch)? did you think homura was suddenly gonna undermine madoka's godliness? because, uh, first-view me did not think that at all. and neither did almost anyone i know who watched it for the first time. not only is that poor setup but it's just so sudden and it feels so out of character compared to what we'd seen in the entire series as a whole, especially considering that the entire last part of the movie leading up until that was about purifying her... and saving her... there wasn't enough buildup. most people are like "but the flower scene happened!" but that's still way too vague...? it's hard to tell what conclusion homura comes to at the end, because we don't get to see any of her internal monologue... there is no other buildup after the flower scene... it just skips to homura realizing she's a witch. wouldn't that bring the viewer to think the flower scene was something that made homura realize she was a witch rather than her suddenly starting to form her plan? it always felt like to me the conclusion homura came to at the end of the flower scene was that she was validating madoka's bravery and telling her that if it ever came to that, she'd have the ability to make that hard decision. which is... so... weird? because i always interpreted that as homura coming to terms with what happened? i could just be interpreting it wrong though, but isn't that supposed to be our proof scene? our buildup scene? why would they make it so hard to understand? we need to know such important buildup points just as blatantly as the natural buildup to homura becoming a witch was. that's just from a moviemaking & writing perspective though.

secondly, i'm gonna discuss homura's motive. i actually ended up understanding were she was coming from after a while of being like "what the hell that makes zero sense!!!!". madoka is a 14-year-old girl who, in order to save the fate of every magical girl, literally had to sacrifice herself and erase herself from the world, and in the end, madoka just ended up saving homura again, and that must've made homura feel like her promise with madoka was never fulfilled. it's unfair what happened when you think about it and the law of cycles should not have been run by madoka herself because she, as any other 14 year old, deserves to be happy on earth. although it was said in magireco that madoka felt happy with what she was doing (and she felt like it truly gave her a purpose), she did admit to feeling lonely and homura probably made that assumption big time. but the way the writers went about it just made her seem so sinister... so out-of-character-ly sinister. what with the evil smirking and the deepened, almost... uh, sensual-seeming voice, and homura completely ignoring madoka's fear. it feels like they twisted her character extremely suddenly and it throws the viewer on a loop. they could've gone with that ending without making such drastic and sudden changes to homura's character, and if they were planning on doing that, why did they not give us more buildup? buildup that wasn't extremely cryptic that you have to scan and search every detail to get a clue? something i love about rebellion is that every time you watch you find something new, but how come some of the only clues illuding to devil homura's existence are in the op? it's odd. why didn't they go with something like making the incubators run the law of cycles? they were the ones at fault for causing it to be created. but honestly, the incubators cannot be trusted with anything, which is why it'd make sense for a magical girl to run the law of cycles, but if homura and madoka had the combined power to do so, what if they just remade the law of cycles so it was less unfair to madoka...? i don't know. either of those possibilites would make more sense than what happened.

something else that kind of irks me about it is that they demonized(literally, lol) homura's love for madoka. homura is very much a canon lesbian, and it's incredibly discomforting to me that they made her seem, outwardly to the viewer, so selfish...? please don't get me wrong, i'm not ACTUALLY calling homura selfish -- i know the entire akumura facade is a mask she put on, but like, it's so much more blatantly sinister than she is in the series when she's putting on the coolmura facade. it's going to really confuse the viewer and see every single one of her actions from the entire series in a completely different light, INCLUDING stuff that happened in rebellion itself. like the genuine sadness homura felt, the way we saw into her soul and felt her pain, that genuinely made a lot of people i've seen think that it was ingenuine upon first inspection... they made homura turn "evil" out of her love for madoka, as if it's a bad thing to fall in love, and as if love for another girl was what corrupted her soul gem... i understand that gen urobuchi probably wanted to explore that kind of path where love leads to obsession or whatever, but homura was selfless to a fault, constantly trying to force herself away from the others in order to not get attached, and deeply afraid of seeming creepy and predatory and scaring(she said this herself), which is exactly what she ends up doing at the end, and i feel so awful that they did that to her... how is the viewer supposed to know what her true motives are at that point? it gets all scrambled up after they did that huge plot twist. i'm going to address another thing super quick before people jump in my ask box over this, i understand also that it would make sense for homura to be obsessed with madoka, but in the series, it was never shown in this light, and like i said, if they were going to do this, why'd they even have the purification scene at the end at all? the buildup is all wrong . it also just made me upset that this ending caused SO many people to start literally believing homura is evil because of her actions at the end, and it made people become even more vehement on their beliefs that homura is obsessive and ps*cho...

i was really confused when i watched it for the first time (and also sobbing hysterically, literally, my funniest rebellion story as someone who has genuinely watched the movie 40-ish times, i remember vividly the first time i watched it i started sobbing on my hands and knees on a yoga mat in my mom's room). also like, just to prove my point a teensy bit more, the ending was so ambiguous and out of nowhere that one of the first google results to "madoka magica rebellion" is "madoka magica rebellion ending explained" because it shocked people so much that that was the first thing they needed to google. also, the fact they left us on such a vague cliffhanger and then abandoned the movie series for a total of 8 whole years only to make a sudden comeback in god's holy year of 2021 was almost cruel. LIKE GUYS I JUST FINISHED UP MY DEVIL HOMURA HEADCANONS IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!!

...anyways, um, i really have to address the sexualization. madoka magica, previously, was a series that avoided fanservice in the show, at least, but why did they make akumura's design look like that...? it shows an unsettling amount of skin and like, every three seconds in the end they're focusing intensely on her lips and her eyes and... it's almost like the writers forgot she was 14, but they never seemed to forget that in the series? what happened????? in the transformation scene, we get closeup views of homura's thighs and back and stuff and it's all open everywhere... they made her tights into thigh-highs... in the whole series, even when she went to school, she always wore tights, and she was wearing tights in her magical girl outfit too... they absolutely deliberately did that to sexualize her further so they could make official art with her thighs out. speaking of official art that unsettles me, why does so much of the official art make the whole outfit just glued to her body and you can see all the shading on her features... it's just. ugh. anyways.

i went off a LITTLE too much on this and i know this is probably gonna get me some weird glances in the fandom and i am open to hearing other people's opinions but i don't think i'll ever stop disliking the effect this plot twist had on the fandom's interpretation of homura and although i'm like UNDENIABLY incredibly hyper excited for the next movie, i'm kind of...nervous for what this is going to bring? i don't want this next movie to cause the same amount of discourse the ending of rebellion did and i legit just want to see homura happy. another one of my main issues with the ending is just that homura is SO unhappy when she literally deserves to be happy SOOOOOOO BAD and just take a break from all the loops ... i'm Praying to madokami out there that that's what happens.

i know this is all really funny coming from someone who draws devil homura on a regular basis and literally writes her, but like... i'm a lesbian i'm allowed to<3

ANYWAYS thanks for listening this was a fun ask!!!

[vialeza]

The Struggle of a Long-distance Marriage [a short story ] sasusaku fanfic

It was past midnight and Sakura was still up since she seems to had a lot of paperwork plus she had to check the records of her patients, this day had been a nightmare for her, since part of her time she was busy in the hospital, then she had to check on the new apprentices that enlisted to be a medic ninja and to add more she was several times summoned by the Hokage office, basically this whole day was one of those where they don't seem to have an end, and you could tell since she still hadn't finished with her work.

Suddenly the sound of a door being unlocked flood Sakura's ears, she knew who it was this about, it was him, he did this all the time, it was usually when he finished a mission and came back home, from what she could see, he probably passed for the Hokage office to turn in his report about his mission, just like Sasuke, Naruto was working hard too, from what Hinata told Sakura, Naruto spends most of the time on his office and he barely makes it home, Sakura was worried for Sasuke and Naruto, both have strived their best to keep the village safe yet they barely make time to spend with their family

"You're still up" Sasuke pronounced with his raspy voice making echoing all around in the silent house.

Sakura slowly glared at him and nodded at his statement; in the corner of her eye, she could see Sasuke silhouette leaving his black cloak over the chair right next to her at the dinner table.

Sakura was spacing out, this night she seemed to be more thoughtful than ever and the cause was because, since today's day she was busy going back and forth in the village, she couldn't help but hear people talking about her when she was around, and that wasn't a problem for her, if not the rumors about her and her relationship with her husband, back when she got with Sasuke many people didn't stop talking about them and their strange relationship, at the time she didn't really mind since they were only simple rumors that she tried to avoid but recently while she was working she would hear things like:

"Wow Sakura Uchiha hasn't aged at all, she still keeps being a beauty like she was in her youth"

"Did you know about Sakura's daughter, Sarada, being only a genin her accomplishments as a ninja are one of the most remarkable of the village"

"There are rumors about Sasuke might be betraying the village since he's always out"

"Did you know that Sasuke only married Sakura to restore his clan"

"Oh lord, really that must be terrible I feel so bad for Sakura"

"Rumors say that Sasuke and Sakura are divorced and that's why he only comes once in a while to visit her daughter"

"How can Sakura have a husband so absent of home for so long time, if I were her I couldn't stand for someone like that"

And rumors like that had spread all around Sakura's presence in events and even in her hospital, she couldn't help but be affected by them because the rumors were the same most of the time, and she somehow started to feel uncertain about the rumors.

And what if maybe they're true and I just have lie to myself all this time she questioned herself.

She rapidly shuddered to think that.

"Sasuke-kun " she pronounced with a lump on her throat.

"What is it?" he abruptly stops and turns around to Sakura.

She could see that he was probably very tired since seem to be walking to his room.

"You know what, never mind, go to sleep you must be tired" she smiled at him and shook her head at what she was going to ask him.

I must be really stupid to be affected by those lame rumors. she thought to herself trying to appease the lump on her heart that has been formed.

"What is it?" Sasuke repeated himself this time walking towards Sakura and leaning his hand on the table.

Sakura knew that Sasuke was staring at her looking for an answer from her.

"Oh don't worry, I'll tell you tomorrow" she glared back at him with a fake smile on her lips, trying to make Sasuke go away.

"Tomorrow I'll be leaving out for another mission, so say it now"

She suddenly lowered her head and stared at her feet, a sudden rage followed by a bit of sadness despaired her, she clenched her fists around her and furiously stood up.

"Why? why do you have to go?" she said crestfallen.

"You know exactly why" Sasuke bluntly retorted.

"It's not fair for me, I only get to have you for a couple of minutes, and then you're suddenly gone" she frowned at him.

He didn't say anything and was only staring at her jade green eyes.

"I know I'm sounding very lame and selfish, but believe me, I know it, but why can't I be selfish for once? why can't I have the opportunity to spend time with you and Sarada as a family? why can't you be with us for more time? it's killing me knowing that Sarada is missing a lot of memories of his dad and not only her but me too" she burst out raising her voice.

Sasuke only gave her a last glanced and started to walk out of the room without saying anything about the outburst that she just had.

"So then the rumors are true" Sakura's voice started to crack "You only are with me to restore your clan? "

In a span of seconds, Sasuke was already in front of her, staring face to face Sakura nervously gulped

"Do you really believe that?" Sasuke's husky yet velvety voice made Sakura's ears tingle at his closeness.

She didn't, she knows that her bonds to Sasuke were deeper than anything else, that even though he wasn't that expressive when it comes to affection, she knew that he loves her in his own way, but the uncertainty and insecurities have always been chasing Sakura since was little.

Sakura didn't reply to his question instead she only stayed silent and glared at her feet.

"Look at me, Sakura" he slowly pronounced close to her ear "don't make me repeat myself" he added.

Sakura slowly move her face towards him, and there he was, eyes darker than the night sky, a sharp nose followed by some plump lips, and an unexpressive face, that you couldn't tell if he was happy, sad, or mad, he was a whole enigma yet only his wife could sometimes read through him, even for Sakura, sometimes it was hard to tell what Sasuke was thinking.

"It's not about if I believe or not, it's what everyone else believes" she mouthed.

"I asked you if you believed it, not them, so...do you?"

"N-no " she stammered "But I can't help but get so insecure when you're not here, I feel lonely, I feel like I can't talk to someone before going to bed because you're not here, I'm sorry that I get carried away with people opinions, but being here without you for so long it pains me, the uncertainty of not knowing if you are going to come back home sound and alive is slowly torturing me... but I have to be strong for Sarada and you since you two are everything to me..." she added with tears streaming down her eyes.

Sasuke's expression soften and gently started to cupped her face in his hand, sakura shivered at his unexpected touch, but deep down she enjoyed being touch by him, since that was the only way that she could only feel like he was home, by feeling him in her skin.

"I'm sorry that I make you cry" he softly pronounce whilst wiping her tears away

Sakura in response only buried her face against his broad chest, allowing herself this moment to fully lean on him and feel his presence.

"You don't know how much I love you, Sasuke-kun" she muffled, and in response, Sasuke tilted his head and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Not too long from that touching moment Sakura's body faints in Sasuke's arms, he rapidly holds her tight and takes a moment to appreciate the delicate face of his wife, he smiled the scene of having Sakura fainted on his arms, she was probably so tired from too much work and to add more, all the burst of emotions that she had set free this night must have left her exhausted and overwhelmed.

Sasuke carefully poses her over his shoulder to carry her to their bedroom, gently he places her in the bed but before he could leave her side, Sakura's hand grabs his arm "please don't go" she pouted and pulled him towards her.

And there they were, the two of them laying on the bed in the darkroom, Sakura couldn't help but snuggle on him, the familiar cologne of Sasuke invaded Sakura's senses unconsciously making her sniff Sasuke's neck.

"Shannaro, I missed you so much," she said.

"I did too" Sasuke retorted while tenderly running his fingers through her hair.

By the time, both of them fell asleep together, after all, it was a long night and both of them have been exhausted by it, Sakura for a moment was happy to be in Sasuke's arms, and Sasuke was relieved to get to see his wife once in a while since he got to be away from home for long periods he misses the presence of his partner, couldn't see her when he wanted, couldn't talk her when he wanted, couldn't touch her when he wanted to it, missing all those things was torturing him, he was repressing himself from all of those things, only to protect the village and his family, which in the end it had paid off.

The next morning, Sasuke woke up very early to go off on his mission, but before that, he took a glance at the woman that was laying in his bed, his wife, he knew that he was going to miss her a lot, so before leaving the room, he leaned over Sakura's side to take a close look to her face and say:

"Until next time" he poked her forehead.

Before continuing with his way off the house, he stopped on the threshold of Sarada's room and quietly opened the door, by far he could see that his daughter was peacefully sleeping, he smiled at the cute image of her asleep and resume his going.

Hours later, Sakura woke up and realize that Sasuke wasn't there anymore, instead of being depressed about it, a slight smile form on her lips, even though she probably wouldn't see Sasuke for a long time, she could only pray for him to come back home safe and sound.

"Mamaaa!!! breakfast is ready! " Sarada shouted from the kitchen.

Oh, this girl woke up so energetic this morning she thought while giggling.

"Okay I'm coming"

With this, the Uchiha family started a new day, Sarada going on a mission with her team, Sakura going to the hospital, and Sasuke...well that's a new mystery.

**********************************************************************************

Story written by Via Leza

Twitter: leza_via

Tumblr: vialeza

06/02nd/2021 

i hope you like the fanfic, follow me for more

[evermorehaikyuu]

It’s Nothing Special

MASTERLIST

BREAKING NEWS | WHITE WALLS | AU CONTRAIRE

~

She was supposed to be out by now. The news that Y/N had been in the hospital or in some sort of ward were seen as rumors, albeit some people insisting that it was true. 

The rumors had spiraled out of control to the point where Tsukishima didn’t know anything. If he texted any other members of her team, they all said the same thing: I don’t know. He found it ridiculous that they didn’t know, but he had a feeling that they were hiding her status from him. To make sure he didn’t get his hopes up or because of something happening? Either way, he just wanted to know if she was okay. 

Even Semi and Tendou avoided telling him anything. Tendou and Semi constantly looked pale whenever he asked and they quickly changed the topic. It didn’t help either that they were constantly worried. 

No matter how much his own team tried to cheer him up, that lingering doubt still stayed in the back of his head: Will she come back to normal? After the little bit of news that Yuki was the Unknown Address, he could tell the entire experience was traumatizing. Who in the world would try to murder their best friend because they got everything that they wanted? You’d think they’d find another way to unleash their anger and to go so far so as to threaten innocent people’s lives...Yuki was definitely not sane. They should’ve found out earlier. He should’ve done something to try and protect her, but then again what could he have done? Tsukishima’s thoughts were too conflicting and lying down in bed didn’t help.

Meanwhile, Y/N was sitting in her new place, frowning. She was trying to sort out everything that happened in the last week. Thanks to the amount of rumors swirling around, no one would blame her for staying out of the face of the public for a while. She took that time to try and see what she could gather. 

Yuki was the Unknown, that much she knew. But how long had Yuki harbored those feelings? And why did he decide to work with her? Why would he threaten innocent people? What was in it for him?

Too many questions with no answers at all. Perhaps that was the reason why she could feel Yuki slipping away since the start of the meeting with Karasuno. His jealousy was too much to the point where he had even tried to kill her. She shouldn’t have forgiven him and even so, she was furious with him. He did not have any logic in his plan for one. Two, it was utterly ridiculous. Here she was, a sitting duck, all because doctors thought that she was going slightly insane. Maybe she was a little shaken, but to go ahead and treat her like someone in a ward, that’s what made her frustrated. That was Yuki’s fault. 

Someone knocked at the front door and when it opened, Y/N tensed. Even though she knew she had given a copy of the key to Suki, it didn’t help that she was now more paranoid than before. When the girl walked in with freshly dyed hair, she was followed by the rest of Y/N’s team. Suki said, “This place is messier than what I expected.”

“Can you blame me?” Y/N sighed. She knew the place was messy but she couldn’t find the time (nor the willpower) to actually clean everything up. 

“Not really.” Hikari said when he walked in, holding a bag of things Y/N didn’t recognize. “It’s crazy, to think that Yuki would do something like that. I never expected it.”

Yukie and Kaori walked in next, holding bags of food. Yukie said, “Sakura couldn’t come. She has to study for some finals she said, but she really wanted to be here.”

“Are we sure she isn’t actually scared?” Y/N joked bitterly. Those rumors had gotten to her own team. She genuinely wanted to deck Yuki now. 

Her managers didn’t comment on anything and they instead got to work as Suki requested. The house before her morphed into what seemed like a butterfly transformation. All of the empty mugs everywhere were whisked into the kitchen, the lingering smell of someone who had lived there but didn’t care started fading away, the newspapers giving any idea of what happened to Yuki were discarded, the chips of glass from when she had broken a plate in fury as well as several others got swept, and soon enough, the house finally looked livable. 

Hikari sat across from her, handing her a mug of her favorite hot drink. Y/N mumbled a thank you, but she already expected what their questions were going to be. After all, she hadn’t answered their calls for weeks and in her fit of rage, she’d broken it. Luckily, it wasn’t an expensive phone but it just went to show how furious she was that no one commented on her not picking up calls or answering messages. 

Yuki had brought out a side of Y/N that nobody thought was there and it was in the worst way possible. 

Taking a deep breath, the light haired boy across from her asked, “Are you comfortable with us asking you questions and telling you things?”

With a sip of her drink, Y/N thought about it. It seemed like an eternity since she’d seen her friends and now she was just tired. She wanted to curl up somewhere and sleep for a good week or so. It was nice that Hikari was asking though. Knowing his job, it might’ve been inspiration for something or other. 

It seemed like Hikari read her mind then. “I won’t take it as inspiration. I’m not that cruel. I know what you’ve gone through, I just want your consent to ask if this is okay.”

The other three girls arrived in the living room, taking respective seats and all eyes were on Y/N. There was just a shadow of a doubt crossing her face before she responded. “Okay.”

“Yuki was incarcerated after we got to the scene. He claims that he was trying to kill you and even though he said that he’d leave Karasuno alone, he said he wouldn’t. He wanted to save Tsukishima last to savor his look of pain once he admitted that he had killed you. The reason why he wanted to do so was because he was jealous of you. Everything you had, he believed it was because of him. There’s an investigation going on about your parents because he had said something suspicious about it.”

Y/N frowned. This was adding up, but in a way she didn’t want to admit. “Yuki had something to do with my parents?”

“Not him exactly. As I said, there’s an investigation going on. Along with that, they’re going to find your real name and you can decide whether to take it back or keep your stage name.”

“I’ll keep my stage name, thanks.” It was supposed to come out jokingly, yet it seemed like the past month or so had deeply scarred her. She had one coherent thought come out of her. Tsukishima. “Is Tsukishima okay?”

“I can answer this.” Kaori said, plucking out a snack from Yukie’s hands. “He’s been severely worried about you and calling us all. However, Semi had said not to tell him anything about you because he knew how you were.”

“Ah yes, the cameras, I’ve been waving at them the entire time.” That was a lie, she’d been cursing out Semi and Yuki the entire time, making vulgar gestures at the camera when she was bored. 

Kaori knew this because when Sakura had watched the footage, she always reported that. It had made her laugh then but at the sight of the broken girl before her, it didn’t seem as funny. “Tsukishima is still worried about you and he really wants to see you soon. Let’s just say that he’s also been driving his company insane because he refuses to cooperate until he knows you’re okay.”

Y/N’s heart raced against its own will. She could still remember the conversations she had had with him and how he had been able to make her smile easily. Karasuno had told her that he completely changed when they were talking and he was even excited nowadays if he knew that she’d be somewhere. He refused to always say anything about them both, but Y/N knew that he was just someone that didn’t talk openly about private things. It was clear in their messages, now that she thought about it. It was clear how much they cared about one another. After all, would she have done what she did for anyone else? She’d like to think so, but honestly, it depended. At least it was Tsukishima and not anyone else. She didn’t want to think about that. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s why Karasuno has been on break for about a week or so now. Trust me when I say that we’ve had to blackmail so many news outlets to stop talking about both of you. But they still do.” Kaori shrugged before sighing. “This entire thing has caused a lot of chaos.”

It was true. She could see it from the bags under their eyes and how tired they were. A flare of love and admiration for these four came up from within her. They had signed a contract to work with her but she saw them as her best friends. All of this work to make sure that her privacy was ensured. Even Suki, who appeared to loathe Tsukishima, had worked to try and let him down gently. 

Suki had chosen that moment to speak, in a voice that Y/N had never heard from her before. It was much more gentle and soft. “I think it’s best if you talk to him at some point.”

Y/N’s eyes widened as she looked at her. “Have you gotten past the enemy stage?”

She shrugged. “Let’s just say that if he makes you happy, I can deal.”

Yukie raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to see him soon?”

Y/N nodded. With that action of assent, Yukie grinned. “Good, because lover boy texted immediately. Come on. We’ll go to his company. Let’s get you ready.”

~

On the way to the company, Y/N could not stop moving. There was only the thought of what she would say to him. What could she say after this entire ordeal? Hi, I’m back, I missed you and it turns out I have genuine like like feelings for you but Yuki messed it all up--Yeah, scratch that, that was definitely not going to be something he’d tell him. 

“Now you’re making me nervous and I’m not doing anything,” Suki joked, but the bitter tone behind it threw Y/N off. 

“You okay?” Y/N knew her best friend like the back of her hand and something was up. “Is it Tsukishima?”

“Actually, no. It’s nothing really.” Suki looked at her sadly and shrugged. “All I’m wondering is why he did it until now. Looking at it from his point of view, don’t you think that he would’ve been smart to figure it all out earlier? What I’m saying is why now? What caused him to do something like that?”

Y/N had thought about that countless times. Considering the amount of openings she had had, it was just a wonder that he didn’t attack her from the start. Maybe she could go and talk to him or have someone else do so. But something wasn’t out in the open yet and she wanted to know. 

Once they were at the familiar building, Y/N stepped out, staring up at it. “Is it too late now to go back?” She could feel the bile rising up her throat, nervousness infiltrating every part of her being. Maybe this was a worse idea than what she had thought.

“It’s just him, Y/N,” Kaori said gently, leading the group. They had gotten on an elevator to go to the very last floor.

Meanwhile, Tsukishima was pacing in that floor in the dance room. Yamaguchi, Kageyama and Hinata watched him curiously. Here the most monotone of the group was, extraordinarily worried for someone that shouldn’t have concerned him as much as it did. But as much as he denied it, those feelings were just feelings of love. Had he come to terms with them? Who knew?

Tsukishima looked up at the door for the umpteenth time today as if expecting Y/N to walk through or create a bigger possibility of her finally arriving. To his shock, the door opened and this time it wasn’t the others. It was Y/N’s managers as well as Hikari and Suki. 

Yukie said, “All right, clear out, let’s give them some privacy.” 

The other three started complaining, giving retorts as to why they should stay until Yukie grabbed Yamaguchi’s wrist, Kaori coaxed Hinata out of the door and Hikari made Kageyama follow him out. Suki went over to Tsukishima, her arms crossed as the door closed. 

“Let me just warn you: she’s not the same. She’s changed. The girl still likes you though. Take care of her for me, got it?” With those words, Suki opened the door to show Y/N standing there. 

But it didn’t seem like her anymore. The misery in her eyes was still there. Her posture was no longer like before, it seemed like she was shrinking back. It was clear from her trembling hands too that she didn’t know whether it was right to go in or not. 

Tsukishima had wide eyes and when she walked to him, he didn’t think, he just acted. Pulling her in for a tight hug, he buried his face in her shoulder. “Thank God.”

“Hey, Tsukki.” Her voice was softer than before, almost inaudible as she hugged him back just as tightly. “I miss--” Her voice broke and Tsukishima could sense her on the verge of tears. He turned out to be right and at the sound of her crying, he felt like he’d cry along with her. If he’d ever get the chance, he’d have a long talk with Yuki at least for turning her into the girl before him. 

When she had calmed down, he led her away to the wall and made her sit next to him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She was fiddling with her fingers, clearly thinking about what to tell him. Looking at the wall across from him, he decided to wait patiently until she was ready. It didn’t take long. After five minutes of silence, Y/N spoke up. “Yuki came after me. He wanted what I had for himself. I think the prospect of both of us collaborating was something he hated because it’d make us--well, me--rise to the top. He believed that he deserved that position more than you. That’s...basically it.”

The blond frowned. Yuki just wanted what Y/N had? Why did he stick by her though? “You don’t think that he actually, you know...”

“What, liked me as more than a friend?” Y/N scoffed. “They thought it was a possibility. I don’t know. I don’t really care.” However the way she spat out those words made it clear that she didn’t know what to think. “Not after what he did.”

These were the occasions where he knew immediately what to do next or maybe even have taken Tanaka and Noya’s advice. Now he was slightly lost. Scratch that, more than slightly lost. Instead, he let her lean against his shoulder for a while and it was quiet again. It was peaceful until he decided to speak up. “Have you eaten yet? I think we should go to this place I think you’d like.”

Y/N knew that he was trying his hardest to make her feel better so with a smile, she nodded against him. “Okay. Let’s go then.”

Neither of them wanted to stay in the past but the only way to go forward was dealing with it. They’d both be fine together and they knew that they’d be able to help each other out whenever it started to get bad. 

~

Hmmm its almost done literally that’s so sad

Taglist: @chocolaterumble @ghostdaichi @akaashikeillmepls @goopycookie @halparkebitch @nctdream-boat @laninasinnombre @nataliahaslosthershit @words-in-air @virgoamajiki @paranoid-borderline-insane @mirikusashes @mint-mai @noyasimp @24nah25 @definitely-yours @chesirecatwaltz @theydy-madamonsieur @lilsimp @eruji-chan-pb @kiraakaashi @trifliz @nightshadeshimin @kac-chowsballs @its-the-aerieljeane @hqreisin @channiechanchan @fandomsgotmefucked @watermelon-sugar-is-my-drugs @bakugouswh0r3 @rizkei-iscurrentlydying @so-lo-stuff @jewlmin @kotarousbabyowl @lumin3xe @artemisnotfowl @random-fandom-girl-24 @darkangeldesignstudio​ @vhsryuu  @chaotic-fangirl-blog @tycrackculture @4ck3rm4ns1mp @stupendousbonkcopland @encryptpta @bwnwlut

Taglist is now closed!

[deadly-departed]

Hello! I thought of this request while I was in online class lmao. Ok so how about a yandere scenario with Hanako, Tsukasa and Teru seeing their darling s/o trying to escape from them??

Oh hell yes! We love yandere Tsukasa in this household- like, please, I would let him yoink me and throw me into his boundary. I'm such a simp istg

Hanako-Kun The Bathroom Ghost, Wonder No. 7

You had escaped, neither your nor him know exactly how you got out but you did

And now, you were hiding, hoping that he would eventually give up on looking for you and then you could finally get out of this cursed school.

But you forgot one thing

Unlike you and your human friends, ghosts don't need to sleep.

So while you were hiding in your little storage closet, trying your hardest not to doze off because of the lack of sleep you'd had in Hanako's grasp, the apparition was searching the school from top to bottom.

And after he recruited a handful of Mokke, he had found you, sound asleep on the floor.

He couldn't help but laugh at how weak you looked when asleep, it was adorable!

He watched you for a moment, your chest rising and falling softly as you breathe

Hanako thought of all the things he could do to you, but of course he doesn't do anything! Because that's wrong and he doesn't want you to hate him!

But he does pick you up, making sure not to wake you as he carries you back to your little prison.

Once you woke up, the first thing you saw were Hanako's sad eyes looking at you.

"Moon, why did you try to escape? I thought you loved me." Hanako asks, hurt glossing his amber eyes.

You look away from him. You are not letting him guilt trip you. You know that's what he's trying to do, he's done it before.

"I hate it here." You mumble, watching the Mokke stack themselves into a small pyramid.

Hanako felt himself about to cry, his vision blurring as he tries to come up with an excuse for you.

You were just tired! Yeah, that's it! He's been keeping you up for days on end because he forgot that humans need sleep!

"Moon, just get some rest, that's all you need. You're tired." Hanako says, smiling softly at you.

"I don't need sleep! I need you to let me go!" You cry out, tugging at the chains on your arm.

You were always so difficult. You were never satisfied with anything that Hanako did for you.

"Tell me what I'm doing wrong." Hanako says, grasping your hands in his cold ones.

"Tell me how to make you happy and hoe to get you to smile! I want us to be together! Please!" As he begged, his grip on your hands subconsciously became tighter.

"Tell me why you hate me so much!"

His grip was unbearable.

"Ha-hanako, you're hurting me...!" You whimpering out, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes.

Hanako's eyes widen and he immediately let's go, his hands moving quickly to his chest.

"I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry..." He kept mumbling apologies as he basically ran out of the room, leaving you tied up with nothing other then the Mokke to keep you company.

Tsukasa Yugi, The Rumor Spreader

Sakura was bound to Tsukasa. She had to do what he said even if it pained her. That was why she took care of you so often.

Tsukasa told her to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn't escape. She hated it, taking care of you.

Not that she hated you or having to take care of another person! She liked you, but she hated the events that lead up to your meeting.

And after months of worrying for your safety, she finally had enough and decided to help you escape.

"Please, just be quiet, I'll get in a lot of trouble for doing this. I just can't stand seeing you suffer anymore." She states quietly as she takes you out of the Boundary.

You two were so close, you could see the front doors.

Yet as soon as you were close enough to open them, you heard an all too familiar laugh behind you.

Both yours and Sakura's eyes widen as your blood runs cold. You knew who it was, you had no need to turn around, especially with the arms and legs wrapping around your shaking form.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tsukasa whispers into your ear, giggling softly.

You shook more as you felt him lick the shell of you're ear.

"Well?" He smirks, before looking to Sakura.

"Take them back to the boundary. Now." He says, his eyes darkening.

Sakura looks down at the ground before nodding, grabbing your wrist tightly before walking back into the depths of the school. "I'm really sorry, you know I don't want to do this." She mumbles

Back in the boundary, Sakura cuffed you back down to your chair before backing away from you.

Tsukasa held a sharp knife, the sadistically cute smile grazing his lips as he looked at you with darkened eyes.

Though you prayed that this was an empty threat of harm, it seemed all too real to be fake.

"Why'd you try to escape? Do you not like it here?" He asked, a mocking innocence threading his voice as he helped you and brought his pointer finger up to his bottom lip. "Amane said that people like being taken care of by their partners. And Amane never lies!"

"You're not taking care of me." You whimper as you watch the apparition play with the knife in his hands.

"Yes I am." He says, smiling at you before turning his attention away from you. "That's not the big problem though." He states as he stares at Sakura. "You helped them escape. You can't disobey what I say!" He yells like a child, throwing the knife at her, missing her face by a few inches.

Sakura stood there, her normally blank expression showing clear fear as her form shook.

Tsukasa then once again turns back to you, a big smile on his face.

"You made me so scared! I thought someone was gonna hurt you or try to take you away from me!" He cries out as he glomps you, wrapping his limbs around your body in a tight hug.

"I need to make sure that everyone knows you're mine!" Tsukasa exclaims happy as he opens his mouth and bites down on your neck harshly enough to draw blood.

You scream out in pain, tears pricking your eyes as you writhe underneath the boy.

Sakura turned away and covered her ears, wanting to cry herself.

"You need to learn your lesson!" Tsukasa chimes, smiling happily as a bit of blood trailed down the corner of his mouth.

Teru Minamoto, The School Prince

He'd be upset, not only at you, but at himself and anyone who tried to help you.

He'd punish you and threaten the helpers.

Kou sighs, scratching at the back or his head as he looks at the mess he'd made in the living room.

Where has Tiara's Mokke gone? He's looked around the entire house and couldn't find it.

As one last resort, he walked to the basement door. Yes, Teru told him not to go in there, but it was for their sister, he would understand, right?

He grabs the cold handle, pulling the door open. Kou looks down at the dark stairs.

He pulls out his phone, turning on the flashlight before descending the staircase, keeping the light on steps so that he wouldn't slip.

You looked at the Minamoto, refusing to make any noise. Hoping that he wasn't here for you

You watched as he first went to the other half of the basement, shining his phone light in some boxes and digging around a bit before moving to the next.

"Not here either where could it have gone? It's not like it could ha-" Kou's eyes widen as he turns around, his flashlight illuminating the other side of the room, and thus you.

"Wh-what are you doing in our basement?" Kou asks, trying to sound brave as he looks at you.

"I... Um..." You tried to this k of something, anything to say that wouldn't make you sound weird.

But you also count say that his brother kidnapped you, what would Kou think?

"It's not what you think," You say, panicked.

"That doesn't answer my question." He says, taking steps closer to your shaking frame.

"What are you doing in my house?" He asks, a slightly more demanding tone in his voice.

You curl up into a ball, your kneed to your chest and covering your head, causing the chains on your ankle and wrist to rattle loudly, shining them in the light.

"Pl-please don't hurt me." You beg, shaking more.

Teru never hurt you, of course not, but you were always so scared that he would.

Kou's eyes widen as he looks at you and the chains tethering you to the bed and wall. "Why are..." He stops himself, only walking closer to you to get a better look at the cuffs.

"How long have you been down here...?" Kou questions, setting his phone down on the bed, the light illuminating the ceiling.

You life your head up slightly, taken slightly aback by how close he suddenly was.

"...A few months maybe? I have nothing to tell time with other than Teru coming in to say good morning before he goes to school and goodnight." You mumble looking down at the bed, slipping your arms under your knees and hugging your thighs closer to you.

"Teru-nii? What do you mean? Never mind, I need to get you out of here, what's you're name?" He asks, looking for a way to get the cuff off your ankle.

"Uh.. Y/N. I'm a third year." You state, watching him analysis the cuff.

You watch Kou, thinking that maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to escape this hell hole.

That is until you hear someone clear their throat at the top of the basement stairs.

You freeze, eyes widening as you refuse to look up, knowing exactly who it is.

Teru sighs as he walks down the steps, shaking his head softly.

He looked at the scene unfolding in front of him, his dear little brother had found his darling, who happened to be locked in the basement.

"T-Teru-nii, why is Y/N-Senpai in our basement?" Kou asked, his voice changing slightly.

"Better question," Teru starts, his eyes glaring daggers into his brother. "Why are you in here? I told both you and Tiara not to go in here, didn't I?"

Kou's eyes widen slightly as he stood up right.

"Well, yeah but-" Kou starts.

"Then why are you here. And why are you trying to help them escape? They're here for a reason Kou." Teru states, crossing his arms as he stands in front of his brother.

"I knew I couldn't trust you with something like this." Teru mumbles as he turns his attention to his darling, still unmoving in the bed.

"Darling, are you alright? Did kou do anything to you?" He asks, kneeling down next to you.

"Get away from them!" Kou shouts, causing you to jump.

Teru stands up straight again, looking over to his brother as his eyes darken. "Kou, you have no idea what I'm doing. They're here because they need to be protected, they need someone to look after them. And I'm that person, I love them and they love me."

Kou looks up at his brother, slight fear glossing over his eyes as he does so.

You felt useless. Like a toy that two toddlers were fighting over. You were powerless.

"T-teru please, leave him alone... He doesn't understand." You say quietly, trying to calm your captor down.

The older Minamoto looks over at you, a small smile gracing his lips. "Darling I know, but he's getting in the way."

Kou looks at you, shock evident on his face. "Senpai, are you really taking his side on this? He kidnapped you!" Kou stresses.

"He did it for my own good." You fake a smile as you look at Kou, ready to break down.

"Now, Kou. Leave the basement, never come back down here and never tell anyone what you saw here." Teru orders.

Kou sighs, his head dropping as he grabs his phone and slowly makes his way back upstairs.

Teru turns once again to you. "Now, for you."

"How should I punish you? Isolation? Sleep deprivation?" Teru chuckles, thinking of all the things he could do.

"I think sleep deprivation sound suitable, don't you?"

[kareofbears]

finished my task early and realized that as a byproduct of our capitalist society, im unfortunately happier when i do tasks. here are my rankings of persona 5 awakenings spanning from vanilla to strikers. and i watched all of them again just so i wasn’t biased. i will also be attaching the splash pages they have of the group during awakening scenes because theyre fucking awesome 

excluded: 

morgana - no awakening, very sad

akechi - just a reveal, but an awesome reveal 

10. okumura haru  

it feels like a lie to even say she got an awakening, because they didnt even let her rip off her mask. they gave her a half awakening like it was on clearance. sad stuff, couldve been amazing, instead felt underwhelming since there was no lethargic high point where you feel her anger. i liked the gun reveal though 

9. sakura futaba 

same deal as haru, no mask ripping part :( that part of awakenings are very important to me, since its like, the whole deal with awakening your persona. its supposed to hurt, cause it hurts to throw away your facade and be who you really are!! also it just felt long and drawn out, making the tension feel...untensed. pliable, if you will. ranks higher than haru cause it still made me cry--futaba truly has one of the toughest and heart-wrenching motivations to persona awakenings, truly. 

8. niijima Makoto 

no splash page for her which makes me sad. love how gritty her mask + scream were afterwards, you can really feel the impact of it. also, editing was great during this scene. ranks low (high?) on the list though because it was pretty unremarkable overall--thats because makoto’s awakening/arc is pretty detached from who she is. its not very personal, since the conflict isn’t specifically about her you know? 

7. Kitagawa Yusuke 

a fan favorite and im sorry i couldnt rank it in a better spot. loved the camera work, loved the dialogue and his speech afterwards. it really is poetry infused with pissed-off and ready for revenge. if only the mask removal scene was grittier!! i like seeing them in pain!! it shouldnt be easy to take off the mask!!

6. takamaki ann

beautiful spectacular awakening that always makes me cry, but docked many points off because of how sexual it is. why are they focusing on her torso when shes crying. enough with the jiggle physics. stop that!!

her rage and swearing is so on point, and i am in love with how she mows down her shadow self in one go. so cool. love ann.

5. Hasegawa Zenkichi 

another fan favorite and its also one of mine as well. yall im just so emotional that an adult actually got a persona awakening. like, an adult who wants change just as desperately as the young people do? that means so much to me. dialogue is great, shadows are great. his mask ripping scene was so fucking intense that he snapped his mask in half like thats so rad 

4. yoshizawa sumire 

yeah yeah whatever i love her awakening ok. its big cheating that she got two on camera awakenings, but the first one sucked so its fine. the second one is just so great and i love how quiet the music is . where some awakenings feel very disjointed and impersonal, hers was arguably the most personal out of all of them. like she saw her sister?? and that was what made her awaken for real this time?? fantastic. also her mask removal scene was so intense and i loved that nothing happened at first because it makes you think that something is still wrong. hated the first awakening though--why the magical girl sequence?? what the fuck 

3. Sophia 

hehe her awakening is so fucking good. from the line read to the dialogue. this was the only awakening (besides jokers but ill get to that) that truly caught me off guard. i didnt expect that, even though it was the only logical conclusion to her character arc. brillaint. and i cant stress this enough--the line reads. the line reads. are so good.  thank you VA from puyo puyo tetris lmfao 

2. Kurusu Akira 

no splash page for him either but i will forgive it since hes the first. this one fucked me over because one: the animation was amazing, two, he awakened for ryuji, and three, his mask removal scene is the best of them all. you can feel every centimeter of his mask forcibly peeling away from his skin and i love it. also, this one scared the fuck out of me because when i bought p5, i didnt know what a fucking persona was. i thought this was like, a high school adventure. so yeah, this had a big impact on me

1. sakamoto Ryuji 

look man. this boy is just so angry. so fucking angry, and so intense about his feelings, and so desperate to help, and all of that accumulates to being the best awakening. where akira has the best mask ripping scene, he has the best scream after he rips his mask--you could feel that shit in your throat, in your lungs, the vibrations in your head. not to mention, he was the only one who was allowed to look fucking insane--rolling on the carpet and shit, sweating his heart out. i love how gritty it is. 

Those are my opnions thanks for coming to my ted talk 

[justsasuke]

Here’s the thing about Kakashi. He’s quite possibly Konoha’s worst (yes, you read that right) worst Sensei. Mostly due to the fact that he’s so caught up in his guilt and past that he literally had nothing to give his students.

I’m not saying this to hate on Kakashi, he’s his own person with very valid struggles and I don’t want to slam him bc of his life experiences, but for the purpose of this here writing I’m going to ignore Kakashi’s right to be stuck in the past and talk about why he isn’t qualified to do the job the 3rd Hokage assigned him. Specifically in relation to Sasuke (bc let’s be real, after shippuden started was Kakashi really Naruto and Sakura’s sensei anymore? also this blog is about Sasuke so if you’re expecting any other type of content IDK how to help you)

Let me start by saying Kakashi had a lot of potential to help Sasuke out; they come from somewhat similar backgrounds - prominent families in the village that at some point were no longer favorable to the village, and then losing said families.  Both were child prodigies and (I assume) had a lot of external pressure to live up to and not enough time to work through their own feelings...

you’d think with everything they had in common Kakashi could have used his experiences to relate to Sasuke and then guide him down a much healthier path--but instead he only made things worse.

and here’s where we get into the main meat of this rant and my list of reasons why Kakashi was a horrible sensei (grab some popcorn bc I’m about to go off)

1) Kakashi identifies Sasuke’s issues early...and then does nothing. without a doubt, Kakashi knew who Sasuke was.  He knew what had happened to the Uchiha clan, and he could probably imagine what kind of pain Sasuke was going through and yet when Sasuke very openly admits that he doesn’t have any purpose for his future except to avenge his clan Kakashi simply makes a mental note that it was ‘just as he thought’

2) Kakashi doesn’t really say anything nice... your mileage may vary with this one, and of course it’s a matter of personal taste, but Kakashi doesn’t say anything nice about Sasuke.  Not to his face anyway.  and it’s not just that he isn’t nice, he taunts him too. To a regular person this may not cause much damage, but we have to look at the fact that Sasuke has grown up alone and un-nurtured for the last 5 years and that the last person who was important in his literally told him that he was worthless and unfit for anything (hello root cause of Sasuke’s insecurity) Kakashi’s words then become really destructive and damaging to any chance he had of creating a safe space for Sasuke to open up and feel looked after/get the help he needed

3) Kakashi didn’t get it This happens during the infamous treetop chat, where he literally ties Sasuke to the tree so he can say what he wants to say. (red flag right there bc honestly what is with this village and constantly trying to force Sasuke to do what they want him to do without actually taking the time to listen to him or address his problems directly.  Seriously.  Also why are you waiting until just now to reach out to him when you’ve known he’s been struggling since day one.  see #1 on this rant)

I hate this scene because it’s a really good moment outside of the context of, well, Sasuke and all that he is and has been through. It was meant to be a call to reality scene where Kakashi helps Sasuke see that he’s not alone in his suffering, that he has friends who care about him, that leaving the village isn’t going to help him, and his life situation isn’t actually all that bad. (can you spot the sarcasm?)

Spoiler alert: this scene is another example of people who thought they understood Sasuke and knew how to help, which is not the same as actually understanding him and knowing how to help. See also Naruto, Sakura, and Gaara to name the most prominent other ones.

4) “sure, but everyone I ever loved is already dead... :)” Ok listen.  I get where Kakashi is coming from, I really do. but this line.  I hate it. Again, it’s a great line out of context of everything Sasuke is dealing with. And yeah, I can see why Kakashi thought it might help. But just to recap, Sasuke’s entire clan, his immediate family, probably the bulk of his friends because Bigotry™, his extended family, everything he’s known and loved and held dear, his security, the family culture he grew up with, any promise of a bright future etc. was taken away from him by his older brother whom he loved more than anything in one night.  He literally lost everything that would help him gain any sort of bearing of identity and sense of worth, not to mention anyone to love him, in one night.  and it was taken by the person he loved most, someone he trusted and looked up to and believed in.  And then that person told him he was completely worthless. Kakashi on the other hand lost his best friend during a ninja mission (a devastating loss but common within the context of everyone being ninja and it being wartime), and lost his father and other friend/crush? to suicide. All very real pains, but different than Sasuke’s.  

Sasuke’s lash out of “what if I killed everyone you ever cared about” was a plea for someone to understand the kind of agony he was carrying everyday, and Kakashi--who honestly out of everyone else should have sensed a need to sit and listen--ignored it by taking the opportunity to invalidate Sasuke’s very specific pain.

5) Kakashi kind of ....gave up? At some point it seems like Kakashi just gave up trying to help Sasuke and decided that it was unavoidable and inevitable that Sasuke was going to “go bad” and leave the village. I mean, he noticed it on day one, right? (srry, I’m salty about that one if you couldn’t tell).

6) Except he didn’t At some point he decides that as Sasuke’s sensei he should be the one to take responsibility for Sasuke going “bad” and kill him. Forget talking to him, forget apologizing for not taking the time to talk to him earlier, he decided that he’s going to fight Sasuke and “take care of the problem once and for all”.

I could go on, but at this point I think I should stop and take a really, really long walk. In summary:  While you’d expect Kakashi to have seen and treated Sasuke differently he didn’t, and while he was set up to be the perfect mentor character to Sasuke (Naruto got Jiraiya so you’d think Kakashi would’ve stepped in to help Sasuke more) he really fell flat. Overall as a sensei I think he was too bogged down with his own pain and survivor’s guilt to really be present, and maybe he was too scared to help Sasuke grow because he thought if he fed the fire it would only get worse. In any case, other than teaching Sasuke chidori, Kakashi was really detached from Sasuke’s struggles except when he thought it had gone too far.  And by then it was too late to do any good. I think if he had stepped in a little more, listened a little more, helped Sasuke channel his feelings productively, maybe even helped Sasuke work through said feelings, things could’ve been great. He could’ve been the Iruka to Sasuke’s Naruto, you know?   but he wasn’t.