#and this isn't even the shoka sonjuku/joui 4 one

[dadbodgintoki]

gintama fic recs (gen+ edition)

hello again this is a follow up to my previous post re: gintama fic recs bc i realized i’d have to split them all up. i love gintama fic and there’s SO MUCH good gen fic out there. these will be split by vibe/genre bc sometimes you want fluffy yorozuya and sometimes you want to have ur heart ripped out by the concept of trauma on repeat. i also want to say, with these ones especially - a LOT of these authors have written SEVERAL incredible gintama fics. in order to not overload, i chose max two per person, but please please check out the authors on this list bc i promise they have good stuff that isn’t here! 

(shoka sonjuku focused and/or joui4 fic will be coming in a separate post)

for when you want to read a really good gintama arc  

Volcanolanche by naye @listening-to-thunder​. Rated G. 

This is a story of a snowy treasure hunt going horribly awry, because of course it does — didn't anyone watch the Ketsuno Ana Weather Special: Nature Will F**k Your S**t Up? It could also be a story about the dangers of greed, but everyone ends up too busy saving their rivals and not giving up on their friends to really care about that.

Pandemonium by @xparrot​. Rated T. 

The Yorozuya trio gets an unexpected reward. They really should've checked their daily horoscope before accepting: Beware of old women bearing gifts, don't count your lizards before they're hatched, and be careful when life seems too good to be true, because it might be a sign that everything is soon going to go very, very badly.

for when you want shenanigans with the gang and/or heartwarming fuzzies

anime is a zero-sum game by suitablyskippy. Rated G. 

“Once upon a time, only my stoicism was humorously inappropriate,” says Katsura. The Leader rolls over to sprawl upside down on her park bench and regards him blandly, littlest finger up her nose. “Do you remember that, Leader? Do you remember the days when only my deadly serious nature could provide a hearty chuckle or two?” “Get over it, uh-huh,” advises Kagura, and flicks a dollop of snot onto the immaculate blue of his kimono. Her advice is as wise as ever, but Katsura cannot bring himself to take it. (There’s only so much shameless copyright infringement a samurai can take before he reaches his limit. Thanks to Kyuubei, Katsura has reached that limit.)

similarly, they who love well by @pearthery. Rated G. Technically has background ginzura and kyutae, but it’s mostly not focused on them. 

Katsura breathes in again. "But I never thought that you—you—would think the same. Hah! How ironic it is that when I have reconciled that we are just two different, yet similar approaches to a tried and true character archetype—each explored in thoughtful, personal directions—that you would step forward and expose yourself as thinking, oh, as thinking you are above me! Do you suppose yourself at a moral high ground, Kyuubei-dono? Do you?" "Ah," says Gintoki idly. "You've done it now, Kyuubei-kun." [Rather than attract it, sometimes like would like to repel like.]

all phrased as tactfully as possible by suitablyskippy. Rated G. 

"I do have a wife, and I’ve always loved her, and if I’m honest with myself I still love her even now, so I thought – or I didn’t think, I just assumed, I always assumed... that I could only love her. That I could only love people like her.” Hasegawa draws in a deep breath. This is it; this is the moment. His voice won’t shake. He won’t let it. He says, “But I’ve realised I can also... love people who aren’t wom—” “We did invite Kyuubei-san, didn’t we?” Shinpachi asks the room fretfully. “I mean, I know we did. Of course we did. But do you think there’s any chance the invitation could have gone missing?" (At the very first meeting of Edo's brand new Gay/Straight Alliance, Hasegawa does his best to come clean.)

Good Intentions May Pave the Way to Hell, but Stupidity Glues Them There by athena_crikey. Rated G. 

The Yorozuya investigate a missing person's case in the Jyouishishi. It could be worse, right up until the point that it couldn't.

A little something to warm the heart by Liatheus. Rated G. 

Gintoki and Katsura have a conversation about ramen, among other things. Missing scene; ep 332; Homeless arc

Series: That One AU Where Oboro Works at a Convenience Store by @shirokokuro. Starting with Inconvenienced. Rated G.

Oboro works at a convenience store. That would be fine if the person in the check-out weren't his kid brother.

Whoever Said That Being Ill Is One of the Great Pleasures of Life Has Clearly Never Had the Flu and Also Should Go To Hell by magnificentbirb. Rated G.  

In which Okita thinks he's dying and Hijikata just wants a goddamn smoke.

Look After Your Trees As You Would Your Children by corvidity. Rated G. 

In which Shinpachi finds a tree, and nothing could be simpler.

angst & hurt/comfort (of the mild and not-mild variety)

Beginnings and Endings Exist Only in the Mind by corvidity. Rated G.  

After the war ends, Gintoki learns how to let his children grow up.

The Older You Get, the More You Speak in An Annoyingly Roundabout Way by @sakvnosuke​. Rated G. 

He does not know how to tell the boy this: that he sees a specter within this hollowed out home. A white-and-blue-and-brown ghost roaming this ashy barren land. He does not know how to tell him of how much he aches from the familiarity of it all. Kotarou does not know if he's welcomed to grip at Shinpachi's shoulders and tell him: I wish you didn't have to bear this cross too. 

sapotroph by @pearthery​. Rated G. 

At the end of the Joui war, the Shiroyasha sinks into obscurity, into the shadows. Shinpachi navigates the aftermath.

They also serve who only stand and wait by naye @listening-to-thunder​. Rated T. 

Zura is captured. Gintoki finds him. Then events unfold that turn what should have been a simple rescue mission into something far more harrowing.

and the night it is aching by  @mrosenkov. Rated G. 

There is only one person Kagura knows well in this world, and she sees, as clear as the moon, that something is not right.

Rinse & Repeat by @unidentifiedpie. Rated G. 

The dead shouldn’t come back to life, not as different damn people, don’t they understand how much it hurts? (Or: Gintoki and Shouyou; the forming and breaking of trust.)

[astersofthesky]

Sakamoto Tatsuma || November 15

A birthday appreciation post about the Loudest Fellow in Gintama

I've said it before, but Sakamoto is such an underrated character. Despite his lack of screentime, you can clearly sense his importance and impact with our resident main characters, the Shoka Sonjuku trio

Sakamoto only met them during the Joui War, meaning these three have formed a bond more stronger and closer while he is nothing but a stranger to them.

Sakamoto have always been bright, cheerful, and positive. He may be loud and obnoxious, but Sakamoto is kind and he values his ideologies and relationships a lot. It's not a shock that despite him not having any close relations to Shoyou, he managed to extremely get close to the three.

Once the Joui 4 went to do things on their own, the Shoka Sonjuku trio have lost all kind of contacts with each other. They went their own ways since they can't bear the pain the other brings whenever they see their faces. Gintoki, Katsura, and Takasugi "cut" of their bonds, but not Sakamoto Tatsuma.

"Sakamoto Tatsuma is the glue that kept the Shoka Sonjuku trio from fully falling apart"

Sakamoto is a simple man. He doesn't let adversity affect him for long as evident in the Kaientai Arc and his past as to why he uses a gun. That's why when the Joui 4 broke apart, instead of lamenting at what's lost, Sakamoto chose to stay positive and hold on to that bond.

He gave Zura Elizabeth, he visits Gintoki from time to time, and if he was able to contact Takasugi, then I believe he would have talked to him too.

Sakamoto always believed that one day, he'd be able to see his friends again at his sides, smiling and laughing, the way they used to do.

While this is a gag moment, this can be seen as an actual visual presentation of Sakamoto acting as their glue and mediator.

Even he feels self-doubt, proving that he isn't just always laughter and sunshines, Sakomoto Tatsuma is just as human

We rarely get introspection from Sakamoto. The moment we got one, this is what we see.

(This part is just my opinion btw and I might have projected a tiny little bit too lmao)

Sakamoto cares so much about his friends, this scene shows that he too, was deeply affected by their fallout. He may try to brush it off by laughing, but deep inside, he just wanted to have them back. That's why when they reunited, he was so elated to the point that he doesn't care about the battle outcome anymore.

But he knows how important the fight is to them and this thought won't allow him to just fully be happy with their reunion. To think that Sakamoto even thought Gintoki and the others would feel disappointed about his true feelings shows that he feels insecure about his friendship with them.

Sakamoto Tatsuma is not too deep of a character but this reason alone is what makes him a great comfort character