#here you go ishi YOU ASKED FOR IT

[mixelation]

here have some (a)synchronicity

i skipped to them getting together. as a recap: tori ends up in an iwa prison camp and gets left behind after an escape by konoha ninja. the iwa commander there is..... less than pleased

content warning for torture i guess? it doesn't progress super far, but there are threats of sexual violence

*****

“I’m wondering,” Ishi said, pacing in front of her in tight circles like a lion before his prey, “what a suitable punishment would be?”

Tori kept her eyes glued on his sandals as he paced. It was better to just let megalomaniac ninja get their little speeches out of their system, she’d found, and then just agree with whatever insane things they were saying.

“We could cut your fingers off one by one,” Ishi offered. “Or hang you upside down and wait for your own organs to suffocate you. Or should I give you to my troops for the night?”

They’d thrown down hay all over the tent floor to prevent mud. Tori wondered how ninja avoided getting pieces of it in their toes with sandals like that.

The sandals turned toward her suddenly, and Ishi grabbed her face by one hand, his digging into her cheeks as he angled her face upward to look at him. 

“I asked you a question,” he said, voice hard. “What should your punishment be?”

Tori didn’t say anything at first, and his grip tightened. There was a glint of metal out of the corner of her vision. 

“You could still answer my questions blinded,” Ishi said. 

Well. That would suck. He wasn’t just going to let her yessir her way out of this. 

“Personally,” Tori said, “I’m a big fan of Water Country rat torture. Have you heard of it? It’s where you starve a bunch of rats—”

He let go of her face and slapped her with his other hand. It was hard enough she saw black spots and was knocked clean off her feet and into the straw. He’d been holding a kunai or something, and it had sliced into her skin. A long line burned with fresh pain from her temple down to her cheek. Tori instinctually raised her hand to touch it, but Ishi yanked her up by the arm and tossed her onto the table. 

He held her down by her head, his thumb pressing into the cut. Tori let out a sad, desperate scream against her will. 

She yanked at his arm, digging her own nails into the fabric of his uniform, desperate to remove his hand. This did not so much as budge him. 

“Hold her legs,” Ishi commanded, and then Tori’s uselessly kicking legs were also held down. “Now,” Ishi continued, “I do think the troops will complain if I cut off your tits.”

Whoever was holding her legs laughed, and Tori felt her face burn in humiliation. 

“But I’ve already ruined your face,” Ishi said, almost conversational. “I don’t think they’ll notice if I do a little more.”

The tool in his hand hadn’t been a kunai afterall. They were some sort of tweezer or forceps, glinting in the lamp light under the flecks of Tori’s own blood. He aimed it at her eye. 

You are going to survive this, Tori told herself, even as she struggled not to cry. This will hurt, but you will live. You can bear this. 

The forceps gripped her eyelashes and then yanked. Tori screamed. He did it again, and then dagged the tips across her temple and asked for other tools. 

“Leave her front teeth in,” someone suggested. 

“She dosn’t need her ears, does she?” someone else said. 

Ishi pulled at her ear lobe with the tweezers, almost thoughtfully. 

“We’ll cut them off in pieces,” he decided. “That will show the little bitch. Scissors.”

Tori watched, panicking, as shadows moved across the tent wall as tools were exchanged. Ishi’s hand on her head remained firm the entire time. She would not be escaping. 

The first cut to her ear never came. Someone rushed into the tent, interrupting it. Konoha was attacking. 

“From which front?” Ishi demanded. His hand came off her head, although the other ninja still held her legs firm. 

“I— we don’t know. It’s like he— he just appeared in the camp.”

No one had bothered to restrain her hands. Tori carefully probed the side of her face with her fingers, and they came away covered in blood. 

“What do you mean he? How many forces? Do you know which clans?”

Tori started tracing fuinjutsu onto the table with her fingers. Something that could be made sloppily and still work… something she knew really, really well and could do blind…

“Sir, it’s… it’s just one man.”

Ishi snarled and marched out of the tent, barking orders. The last words Tori heard from him were, “If it’s just one man, then it’s not an attack, is it?”

All but the ninja holding her legs filed after him. Tori sat up on her elbows and blinked at the remaining ninja. Even with his hands around her ankles, the man had not been paying her a lick of attention, watching as the other Iwa-nin left the tent. 

When they were alone, he finally turned to her and made eye contact. 

Tori activated her seal. He dropped dead. 

Technically, because the chakra disruptor she’s made conducted through her, she also dropped dead. This went as terribly as dying always did: the wind was knocked out of her, and then she went cross-eyed as the Shinigami's thoughts seared into her brain. 

Usually, the Shinigami was hungry, and then disgusted with her like a starving man being served rotting, inedible meat. Today the Shinigami was ecstatic: A thousand souls…. at last satiation… at last, a feast… 

Tori gasped in shock as her body lit up with the fervor of a shark smelling chum. Then it went out of her all at once, and she was alone and plain and normal. Tori rolled onto her side and vomited over the edge of the table. Ah. Gross. The tent spun, but she was alive. 

I hate doing that, she thought as she wiped bile from her lips. A thousand souls…

She got as far as standing up unsteadily when Ishi barged back into the tent, looking significantly more terrified than he had a minute before. His eyes widened further to see her up, his man crumpled over dead at the edge of his table. Tori stared guiltlessly back at him as more ninja flooded in behind him, all in varying states of panic. Weapons were taken off the walls of the tent.  

“Is it the Yellow Flash?” she asked, hopeful. 

There was screaming audible outside now. Loud, horrified screams of trained ninja realizing they were going to lose.

She didn’t know why Minato would come if there were no Konoha prisoners for him to free. Konoha undoubtedly wanted this camp gone, but this seemed like an insanely risky thing to try without a more urgent motivation. Just because Tori knew he was capable of it didn’t mean anyone else on the planet– Minato himself included– did. Maybe he didn’t know they’d escaped?

“You,” Ishi said, some sort of understanding passing over his face. 

Next thing Tori knew, Ishi had one hand balled in her hair and a kunai at her neck. 

Minato strolled into the tent, casual as can be. The whole tent froze. 

“Tori!” he said, eyes brightening when he saw her. His clothes were completely soaked in blood. 

Had he… had he come for her? Tori felt her bottom lip quiver. 

“Ishi-san,” Minato said, his voice hardening and gaze moving up to make eye contact with him. “I was told to negotiate a surrender, but…”

Minato tilted his head and moved his shoulders back, like he was going to stretch. He raised a kunai. Someone threw a shuriken at him, and he disappeared. Tori felt the kunai at her neck start to press into her just slightly more…

And then it was gone. Ishi was gone from her back, and his sudden absence made her stumble. 

“...I don’t really feel like it,” Minato finished, foot on Ishi’s neck. A dozen bodies now scattered the tent. A terrible, quiet stillness filled the air. 

Tori’s eyes stung with unshed tears. She leaned against the table, her head feeling light. 

“Any counterarguments?” Minato asked Ishi. 

“Iwa doesn’t bargain with scum,” Ishi replied, voice garbled only slightly by the foot on his neck. 

Minato just raised his eyebrows. 

“Okay,” he said, and then Ishi had a kunai through his neck. 

Minato turned to her. There were flakes of red in his golden hair and blood splatter across his nose. 

His shoulders sagged in evident relief. 

“Tori!” he repeated, stepping up to her. He held up his hands to indicate no weapons. He grinned at her, and it was like watching the sun rise. “Are you okay? I was worried.”

“Y– yeah,” she replied. She pushed hair out her face, and Minato’s smile dimmed as his eyes traced the line of the gash on her face. “Um… the Konoha prisoners all escaped.”

Minato produced a miraculously mostly-clean handkerchief from his vest. 

“I know,” he said. He carefully tucked hair behind her ear and began to dab around the gash, cleaning blood from her face. “I came to get you.”

Tori let out the world's most pathetic hiccup and began to sob. It wasn’t exactly loud, but once the tears started, she couldn’t make them stop. Her breath turned ragged. It was pathetic and deeply embarrassing, but she felt safe to be embarrassing around Minato. 

“Hey, hey,” Minato said, and he ran his fingers through her hair a few times, picking pieces of straw out. “You’re safe now. No one can hurt you.”

“It’s not that,” Tori said, wiping tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and willed her voice to be steady. “No one’s… no one’s ever saved me like this before. You came for me?”

“Of course for you,” Minato said, smile broadening. His fingertips lingered on the uninjured side of her face. Tori couldn’t tell if the metallic scent of blood was from her own face or his fingers. “Um, I did kill a lot of people, though. In case that upsets you–”

“I know,” Tori cut him off. Minato had just become the deadliest ninja in history, just for her. She stared into his eyes. He did look happy to see her, and relieved, but also he seemed… nervous?

“I want to hug you,” Minato said carefully. “But I am… very gross right now.”

His uniform had turned brown with blood. He smelled absolutely awful, too. 

“You could kiss me instead,” Tori offered. 

Minato blinked down at her in a way that made her doubt for a second that she’d read the room right. Surely the fifteen or so dead men in the room he’d killed for her, plus the way he was metaphorically wringing his hand like a nervous prom date, meant he was into her?

But then his entire face lit up, the force of his smile making his eyes crinkle up. 

“Okay, yeah,” he said, his hand cupping her chin. “I can manage that without getting blood on you.”

He tilted her head back and leaned over her, very careful that their bodies didn’t meet. It was a very polite, gentlemanly kiss. Tori very carefully put her hands on his chest and… oh god it was wet and sticky and hot from the human bodies it came out of. 

Well, she thought, I’ve done grosser things. 

She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pressed herself fully into him, bloody clothes be damned. Minato let out a happy little moan at the back of his throat, but then pulled his face away from her, even as his arms went around her waist.

“I don’t want to hurt your face injury,” he said. 

“I don’t care,” Tori replied. “I want you.”

She yanked him down by the front of his vest. He complied, his grip on her tightening. Her clothes were damp and sticky where his arms met her body. He walked her back toward the table. 

“Don’t touch the seal,” Tori said, panting as she broke their kiss. It probably wouldn’t work a second time, but if it did… “It’ll kill you.”

“Of course it will,” Minato replied with a laugh. He picked her up by the waist and sat her on the table.

Kissing him did tug painfully at the gash on her face, but it was doing very exciting things to the rest of her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around the back of his shoulders. 

After not nearly enough time making out, Minato broke away again. His eyes were glassy. 

“I do have to do a couple things,” he said, voice rough. “Then we can… continue. Don’t worry. I’ll be fast.” 

He winked. Tori pouted performatively at him. 

“Here,” he said, handing her one of his special marked kunai. “And here.”

He handed her a bottle of ink and a brush. He did not give her any instructions for them; she assumed it was to make her feel safer while he went off to make sure he hadn’t missed anyone in his massacre. 

“Konoha will want the body…” he muttered, turning to Ishi. 

Minato was quick about storing the commander’s body in a scroll, and then he vanished into thin air for roughly seven minutes while Tori sat around in a tent filled with dead people, feeling impatient and unsatisfied. 

She pocketed the fuinjutsu tools and clutched the kunai to her while she pushed the flap of the tent open. It was dusk, and she had full view of literal piles of bodies outside. The camp was unnaturally silent. The ground was muddy with fresh blood. The air smelled metallic, with just the starting hint of putrid rot setting in. 

Deadliest ninja alive… just for her. The thought made her giddy. 

Tori reentered the tent. It was a command station, so it had to have a first aid kit somewhere. 

“That’s smart,” Minato said when he reappeared, and Tori nearly dropped the bottle of rubbing alcohol she was examining. “How do you feel about relocating?”

Right now, Tori would let him take her anywhere, as long as they could be alone. 

He took her to a house, out in the middle of nowhere, near the Fire Country border. One of his old genin teammates had found it on a recent mission. It was recently abandoned, he told her, so it still had running utilities. 

It also had most furniture and kitchen supplies in the combined living area and range, Tori noted. It wasn’t unusual for civilians to decide their safest move during this war was to suddenly leave their homes without settling any of their affairs, but it was also common for ninja to just kill a family and use their house. 

She decided now wasn’t the time to ask clarifying questions and potentially ruin the mood. If ninja had killed whoever lived in this little two bedroom cottage, it probably was Minato or his teammate. Minato obviously had zero issues with killing, but she knew he found harassing or murdering civilians for petty reasons to be distasteful. If Minat wanted to use your house, he’d just smile and tell you to get out. 

Tori was distracted from these thoughts when Minato unzipped his vest and shrugged it off. His shirt underneath was still dark blue, in hilarious contrast to his bloodsoaked sleeves. She let out a laugh as Minato dropped the vest. It made a disgusting squelching noise as it hit the floor. Minato wrinkled his nose at it. 

“I am not looking forward to digging my supplies out of that,” he said. 

The cottage was a cozy little thing, and Tori made Minato put towels down on the furniture before they sat anywhere, excepting the lid of the toilet. She sat there primly while he cleaned the gash on her face for her, and dressed it with butterfly bandages from her stolen medical kit. 

The bathroom was cramped, so they then stepped out of the bathroom into the main bedroom. Tori watched keenly while Minato peeled his disgusting outer shirt and pants off. Underneath he wore mesh armor. 

“Oh gods, the blood even got under it,” he complained, pulling the hem of his shirt away to peer down it, looking forlorn. 

“Are you injured at all?” Tori asked. 

Minato stripped further down to just his underwear, which was enough layers deep to be mostly blood-free, and he seemed surprised to find he did have a few injuries. Tori supposed adrenaline and high speed fights made it difficult to notice. 

Minato could dodge basically anything, but sometimes he did have to take a hit in order to make a blow on an opponent. His shins and forearms were a constellation of minor bruises and burns from hits that dragged his armor against his skin. He had a few nicks on his fingers from his own weapons. 

“Shout out to whoever did that,” he said of a huge bruise on his lower rib cage. 

He identified the shape as probably being from a kick. He did not remember being kicked. 

“It was… kind of a blur,” he said. “I was just focused on getting them out of my way. I don’t remember individuals.”

Tori pulled off her own clothes next. They did, unfortunately, now have brown blood stains exactly where she’d pressed herself up against Minato, including darker stains on the inner thighs of her pants where she’d wrapped her legs around him. 

Tori also had a bunch of bruises from who fucking knew what. Hers were less cool, in her opinion, because at least some of them were from events such as “tripping in the woods.”

“That is a hand,” Minato suddenly said, his own hand coming up to brush his fingers over a bruise on her upper arm. 

“I guess someone grabbed me,” Tori mused. You could see individual finger marks in the bruise. 

Minato frowned. Tori fluttered her eyelashes, and she could feel the difference in weight from where half of one eye’s lashes had been pulled out. She decided she didn’t care right now; Minato was looking at her in a way that made her feel sexy regardless. 

“Are you going to go all overprotective on me?” she asked in her best teasing lilt, only half-joking. It was kind of a dumb, slightly toxic fantasy, but also, consider: it would be hot. 

“Well, whoever did that is almost certainly already dead,” Minato replied dryly. “So I think it would be a moot point.”

His hand skimmed down her arm and then wrapped around her wrist. His touch felt hot, and goosebumps covered her arm in his wake. She took another step toward him, so they were only inches apart. He had a few random smears of blood over his shoulders and chest. Tori traced them with her fingers, then ran her hand over the bruise on his torso. Minato shivered. 

“Tori, I…” His voice cracked and she raised her eyebrows. “I really, really like you.”

Tori felt her stomach flip over and squeeze in the best way. Her toes curled with the excited warmth that spread through her. She put one hand over either side of his face, and he just stared down at her with a hunger she’d been dying to see on him. 

Deadliest ninja alive for me, Tori thought. 

Outloud, she said, “Good,” and then pulled him down into a kiss. 

They had, maybe, been planning to go back into the bathroom and shower before they did this. But Minato touched her like he wanted her, like he cared about her, and Tori did not have a single complaint when they moved to the bed. 

“This is also a hand,” Minato observed of her ankle from between her legs. He absentmindedly kissed the inside of her calf. 

“That guy’s definitely dead,” Tori replied. Her cheeks were hot and her stomach was buzzing with excited nerves. 

Minato hummed and kissed the inside of her thigh next. Tori watched as his nose brushed against her skin, and he left a trail of kisses moving further up. 

The blood splatter over the bridge of his nose continued onto his cheek. It was, very possibly, blood from multiple people. A flake had come off on her thigh. 

“Minato…” Tori started, and he paused, lips still against her skin, eyes meeting hers. “You are covered in blood.”

“Oh,” Minato said, sitting up fully. “Do you want us to clean up first?”

His face looked so eager to please, a stark contrast with the blood in his hair. That fact that she was also dirty and gross didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. 

“No,” Tori decided. “Keep going.”

[elysiansugar]

hi !!! with your gifs, theres also video with the rentry-like mask/frame, please can i get a tut ?? i love your graphics sooooo CUTE !!! ٩( 'ω' )و keep up the good work !!

Of course !!!! If I said no, you can throw bricks at my window

And thank you for the compliment anon (❁´◡`❁)

Anyways HERE WE GO---

Before we begin, I would like to let you know that I'm using Photopea for all of the edits that have gifs in them. It's free and you can use it on your device's browser. [ Better to use on a big screen, less of a hassle to work ]

For my example I will be using this random frame I found on Google and a gif of Blind Obsession Ishmael !

But, you can use this tutorial for any Rentry frame or gif of your choosing. [ Though, if both are squared shape then it'll be a lot easier because you just put the gif under the frame with some resizing ]

Import them into Photopea in different canvases

Go to the canvas where your gif is and then click on layer at the top and then ' Duplicate into '

A pop will appear and then click on ' Destination ' and select the one where your frame is [ for me it's New Project.psd, I was too lazy to name it LMAO ]

Boom ! There's Ishy with all her frames in a nice folder :D

Now, if your gif is like mine where it's too small or too big, use the transformation tool to fit and arrange ! [ Edit > Free Transform ]

Now, click on the layer the frame is on, and then select the wand tool on the side. Then click on the area where you want your gif to show up

Click on the folder where it has the frames of your gif, then click on 'Layer' at the very top, go down to ' Raster Mask ' and click on ' Reveal Selection '

Boom ! Here is Ishy in her little frame :3

To save it, go to ' File ' at the top then down to ' Export as ' and choose GIF

And all done !

I hope this helps anon ! If you have any question, then please do not hesitate to ask me, I'm always happy to help ^-^

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x4

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers, it will also have book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light (haha let's pretend I didn't accidentally call it book 13 in my previous rewatch book spoilers posts). I am also going to talk about the trailer for ep5.

I love this change to the seals being what's holding the Forsaken -- and Lanfear's side-step of death at the end of the episode shows us why such a choice was required on LTT's part (I am currently assuming it was LTT who was the driving force behind this because of the memory echo that Rand had at the 'Eye of the World' where he was confronting Ishamael). He had to seal them up because they couldn't be killed conventionally, because the Dark One could just bring them back (Lord of the Grave). This is a great change for a visual medium because it means they can keep the same actors instead of needing to swap them out for a new body. It also adds a great new threat level to the Forsaken right off the bat and it gives viewers another reason to understand why joining the Shadow might be compelling. They don't want the wheel and reincarnation -- they want to live on as the person that they are now.

It's also interesting because it means that the Forsaken are potentially widely dispersed and it may mean that Ishy has to actively seek for where they've been sealed up (maybe asking his Darkfriends to try to find more seals like this) -- which may mean that the Forsaken are loosed more slowly than in the books, as Ishamael discovers where Lews Therin hid them. (or they were all released here and we were only shown Lanfear because she's the most relevant one)

3. The reveal that Lady Anveare is Moiraine's younger sister! This episode gives us a lot of information about Moiraine -- one of the big things that we learn is that she's much older than she was in the books. Which is a change I like; so many of the AS that we meet in the books are still within a 'natural' lifespan and it was kinda weird tbh. I think that she (and Siuan) took longer to make Accepted and Sister in this version (hence the note we get about how Cadsuane is the person to compare Nynaeve's rocketing through the ranks to and not the two of them) and that they were already full Sisters when they heard the prophecy from Gitara. This does track with them wearing blue in that scene from the trailer, which is potentially going to be a flashback to the prophecy (fingers crossed! would love to hear it!).

I am curious about how this may affect all the various familial relations in the show! But they were basically ignored completely in the books anyway, lol.

4. "My family have a cabin up near Kinslayer's Dagger". Wanting to take Rand up to the place that was named after how LTT killed his wife and all of the people that he loved -- I mean, yeah. That's Lanfear for you. So... has Lanfear used Compulsion on Rand at all or is it all pure manipulation? I am torn, tbh. She's manipulating him hard, both in the waking world and in the world of dreams. I'm not sure if she needed Compulsion to push him over the edge -- and I feel like her reaction to him implying that he loves her feels very genuine and I don't know if she would be quite that blown away by him saying that if she's been Compelling him to go along with her part of the way. They also might not want to lean too much on Compulsion for subtle things like this and save it for bigger influences. But we may find out more next episode, so I will be patient. He does abruptly change his mind in her favor a couple of times, so that may speak to a hint of Compulsion. If she is using it, she's picking and choosing her moments. (I don't think Compulsion has been mentioned at all on the show yet?)

5. An interesting thought to me about how Alanna approaches being an Aes Sedai with her family: this is potentially similar to how we're going to be seeing how the Wise Ones are integrated with Aiel society. They keep their families and are a vital part of their community.

6. Timing-wise, they do make it clear that Moiraine bonded Lan after her abrupt personality change -- so Lan is probably the same age that he was in the books, with only Moiraine (and some other Aes Sedai) being older. It's also interesting that Moiraine didn't feel any need to have a Warder before she heard the prophecy.

7. I will note again that Egwene does NOT tell Elayne the name of the person that she lost, which I am going to cross my fingers has pay-off later on in the season, with Elayne meeting Rand without knowing that he's the person that Egwene is talking about here. I really do want them to meet without the context of "this is my friend's ex-boyfriend who faked his own death" hanging over their heads. Right now, Elayne has zero facts or knowledge about Rand as a person -- doesn't know his name, his looks, or that he's a man who can channel (she does not even know that Egwene is talking about a man! Egwene says "someone I love more than anything").

8. We get some more foreshadowing of the coup in this conversation with Liandrin and Leane. "If she falls, you'll fall with her." I really am wondering when exactly Elaida will be introduced. I feel like it would likely be before the coup itself happens.

Liandrin, I suspect, will not be going back to the Tower (or, if she does, it will only be briefly, to collect a handful of other Black Ajah members and then head out to whenever it is that the Black Ajah Hunters plotline will take Elayne and Nynaeve next season -- whether that be Tanchico like in the books or Tear as @markantonys has speculated, also, to briefly go back to the previous scene, I am sorry that you did not get your boy! Hopefully we will hear something about him soon). Liandrin torched her bridges with the Wondergirls in this episode, so even if she does go back to the Tower, as soon as she learns that the Seanchan were pushed out of Falme, she would know that her cover in the Tower is blown and that she needs to leave before anyone can learn about what she did.

9. I think the placement of Perrin learning about wolfbrothers is so much better here than jammed into right after Shadar Logoth, lol. Elyas really just rolled up, infodumped, and then rolled away in the books, lol.

10. We still don't know that LTT was Lanfear's ex, which is fantastic and I love it, lol. Show-onlys guessing that Ishamael is the ex that Lanfear keeps talking about is the most hilarious thing in the world and I'm in love with it. I've seen it at least twice now in the non-reader reactions that I've watched.

Haha, Lanfear's reaction when Rand reminds her that he wasn't a virgin when they slept together. Her face is just priceless. She is stabbing Egwene in her mind right now. (does she know it was Egwene? I mean, Egwene being one of the ta'veren actually gives her a shield against Lanfear killing her that she didn't have in the books, since Fain established that TDO sees all five of the ta'veren as important)

11. The show has been establishing so strongly that Rand dreams of having a home, raising his kids, and doesn't want to be... idk a lone wanderer in the wilderness, and it does make me wonder/hope that they'll adjust his ending epilogue and have him going to his loved ones in the end instead of wandering off on his own and wondering which of the women he loves is going to be the first to abandon her responsibilities to join in him wandering around aimlessly.

(it's probably obvious from my description there that I am in favor of a bit of tweaking of Rand's ending!)

12. Learning that the person telling him to 'take' what he wants was, in fact, one of the Forsaken, might be something that leads into Rand pushing away the idea of being allowed to ever indulge in the things that he wants, which would match a lot of his behavior in the books.

13. So, in the books, Barthanes is a Darkfriend. I'm assuming that's the son that Anvaere is talking about, the one that she is marrying to the nameless queen who might be a Galldrian expy. Is Anvaere a Darkfriend? Lanfear didn't seem to like her in 2x3 but, well, she was A Woman who was talking to Lanfear's Man and that might matter more to her than any Shadow affliations.

...still, I'm going to guess 'no', because I don't think the Shadow would want Moiraine to get literally any information on Rand and Anveare's information is a straight line that leads to Lanfear's throat getting cut. But Anvaere's son being a DF while she is not is also very tragic to think about! While Anveare was trying to restore their house the honorable way, Barthanes may have taken a shortcut. Another possibility would be that Barthanes is not yet a Darkfriend but will become so because of the events of this season.

14. I think "Elayne is following them because she's suspicious of why they're sneaking out of the Tower" is a good way to get around the fact that Elayne doesn't know any of the people that they're going to rescue and she ends up getting caught up in it by accident, little knowing how the course of her life is going to change. It really feels like it needed to be something like this because of us losing Caemlyn from s1.

15. I am so glad that Min has a storyline that isn't about following Rand around like a puppy. She has a painful backstory! She has goals and desires that don't revolve around Rand! She has to experience moral quandaries and goes through trauma that actually focuses on her as a person, instead of her being Rand's post-trauma cuddle toy.

16. Okay, so now that we know that Ishamael specifically wants Mat in Cairhien, I feel like that gives us a bunch of information:

a. It implies to me that Lanfear is still working under Ishamael's direction for the most part and that she's essentially "the agent assigned to Rand's corruption".

b. We know that they want to corrupt as many of the ta'veren as possible (from what Fain said in the s1 finale). Rand is the Big Prize but if any of them turned that's a bird in the hand. So, Ishamael is approaching this in a few different ways.

c. It seems like he wasn't certain exactly what was going on with Perrin until 2x3 but as soon as he has realized more about the wolf connection, he worked to try to get Perrin to view it as something evil and dark.

d. Lanfear got put in charge (volunteered, I'm sure) to do Rand. In every possible way.

e. Liandrin got basically "everyone in the Tower" but chose to focus her efforts on Nynaeve and Mat. It sounds like that may be because they were the two that stood out to her more -- she had the (hilarious) impression that Egwene was the one who would 'know her place' when the time came. So she worked on Nynaeve by trying to mentor her openly (while doing some more subtle manipulation). And she worked on Mat by destroying him psychologically.

f. Once the Seanchan are settled in the far west (maybe once Suroth's soldiers are close enough to a Waygate), Ishamael lets Liandrin know that time is up to corrupt Nynaeve and we're moving to Plan B. We've gonna do this the 'easy' way by throwing her at Suroth and let the sul'dam break Nynaeve and Egwene to be obedient.

g. But BEFORE that happened, Liandrin released Mat (with Min tugging him along) out into the world, and we find out this week that Ishamael wants Mat to be brought to Cairhien. Why?

h. Theory: Mat is the back-up plan if Lanfear fails with Rand (which she did). One of the theories that I posted about Mat's viewing from Min (Theory #4) is that he is Compelled to stab Rand. We know from 2x3 that Liandrin could sneak into his cell without waking him. Easy enough for Ishy to do the same with some Traveling. Maybe Mat is already under Compulsion by one of them, with a trigger-event waiting to happen.

Which would be completely devastating for Mat (and Rand) and also (along with Liandrin's torment of Mat in general) lead to a very compelling (ha!) reason for him to seek out a way to prevent channelers from using weaves on him. It would essentially give him the same kind of emotional reaction that we saw from the flicker-flicker scenes in the book (where he was talking about how he's not going to betray Rand) without us actually needing the Portal Stones. Mat will be: a. absolutely traumatized by Aes Sedai in general; b. terrified about weaves being used on him; c. have viscerally been forced to betray Rand against his will.

There is also... hmm, to this point. The first shot of Ishamael in the trailer for ep5 might be a match for the 'Mat is tempted by the dagger' scene that we've seen in some of the other trailers. And Ishamael and Mat getting a scene together would complete the circle of him having an intimate little talks with all the ta'veren boys. Not certain if it's the same place, but it feels like the lighting is the same. Not the later shot of him walking with Suroth but the earlier one of him in a room that looks like it's got some fireplaces going on. I will brace myself for potentially not getting Mat next episode though.

(again, if this doesn't happen in the show, I might be forced to write it. We will see!)

Plus!

i. It could provide a real-time example of Min accidentally creating a viewing while trying to prevent it! She doesn't want to hurt Mat but she also would not want him to stab Rand. But since she is the one who would likely be bringing Mat into Rand's orbit (as she has no idea that Rand is in Cairhien, I don't think), it would show the viewers that Min's viewings are inevitable instead of it just being her telling us that.

I've seen speculation that Min is going to do a U-turn and take Mat anywhere else but Cairhien (presumably accidentally going to Falme) after learning that one of the Forsaken wants Mat there but... but I really really want Rand and Mat to get a reunion lol. Rand was THE most affected by Mat staying behind last season and it would be good to build them up again in anticipation of them spending s3 together, so I'd love if they got a reunion BEFORE Falme. Like, I was so excited to hear Min is meant to take him to Cairhien!

17. I do feel like something changes for Lanfear when Rand implies that he loves her. She stops for a moment and reacts to that, and the vibe of the scene shifts afterwards too. Great meta on the subject here: https://moghedien.tumblr.com/post/727929706072227841/1-it-immediately-sets-up-the-threat-of-going-up and I pretty much agree completely. This is where her true obsession with RAND as LTT was born. She just got everything that she wanted and then it was stolen from her.

Episode 5 next week! So excited!

Looking forward to seeing Lanfear unleashed in the next episode! The saa in her eyes was just... yes. Such a good decision for them to treat TDO's resurrection of his Chosen this way, I think, so that we can keep these spectacular actors. We're gonna get info from Moiraine about the Forsaken next episode, it sounds like, which is exciting.

We also are going to get AVIENDHA! So excited about this. She looks amazing in the trailer. She sounds amazing. She is amazing.

This is also when we're going to get some more insight into the Seanchan as a whole (Loial is with Ishamael and Suroth in the trailer), I suspect.

The other probable important event about next episode is, uh, gonna be more trauma for one of our characters, though. Lots more trauma. So far, most (definitely not all!) of Egwene's trauma has been "horrible things keep happening to the people I care about" (Nynaeve's assumed death; Perrin being tortured in front of her; Rand's assumed death; Nynaeve's assumed death again this season) but now her trauma will include "a horrible thing is happening to me". It might be the 'cliffhanger' of the episode; Egwene getting taken as damane. Since it looks like we're spending some time in the Ways with Liandrin & the Wondergirls first. Or it might happen earlier. I will brace myself!

[idanceuntilidie]

7 minutes in heaven

tw: slightly sexual themes? if you squint your eyes hard enough if you ask me I'm not sure myself. This is a part 2! Part 1 Artist yan! You spun the bottle again, and this time it landed on your cute neighbor. You looked at them, you could see pure shock that soon morphed into a smirk. You saw them get into the closet first, and you followed soon after. Someone closed the wardrobe door behind you. It felt stuffy and hot. Unbearable. You didn't know that you would find yourself here so fast. You nervously sat next to them. "It is quite stuffy in here, no?" you hear them giggle. You nodded. For a good while you two spent it like that, silently sitting next to each other in the small space.

Well this is awkward.

"7 minutes in heaven is about kissing or?" "You have never played it?" "I rarely go outside" they laughed " mood" you joined "Do I have permission to give you a kiss?" "hm sure" you shrugged, You both thanked that it was dark, you because you are probably redder than a tomato, and they because you can't see their crazed look. You will let them kiss you, oh God you want them to kiss you. They cupped your face gently, taking in your scent, and how smooth your skin is. They kissed your forehead, the corners of your eyes, your nose. They saved your lips for the last, the kiss was gentle. More subtle than the last one. It left you breathless, wanting more. Now you wanted to see them, and they wanted to see you. They wanted to see you blush, whimper, beg. And you, you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. You heard the closet door open, letting some light in. You saw their eyes twinkle as they smiled. They kissed you one last time before leaving.

Honestly Goddamn…

You have encountered a wild maggot! He has something to tell you!

I wouldn’t be myself If I wasn’t late Next up is Ishi!

[rune-writes]

Sakura Kaleidoscope

Fandom: Persona 5

Word Count: 4K

Rating: Gen

Pairing: Ren Amamiya/Ann Takamaki

Summary: The day before Ren is set to go flower-viewing with Ann, Sojiro gifts him an old camera he once had. Only, it seems the camera holds more memory than the old coffee master would like to admit.

Notes: it's been so long since i last wrote shuann. so here is a little something for the Week :) written for @shuannweek 2024 Day 2: Photography.

Read on AO3.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ren found a camera tucked in the corner of an old dusty box at the attic. He had been cleaning his room when he decided to look into the cardboard boxes he had left untouched the entire year he was there. A small black bag sat in the depths of one of them. When he took it out, he disturbed the layer of dust that had settled there, prompting him to cough. 

“A DSLR?” he said to himself, taking the camera out for inspection. He turned it around and dusted it off. It still looked as pristine as new, as though it hadn’t seen much use before it was shelved inside the box. A shame, he thought. Ren didn’t know much about cameras but it seemed like a good model. He pressed down on the power button. It stayed dead. 

Of course.

Rising to his feet, Ren climbed down the stairs into the coffee shop. Business was slow. Only the old couple were present, conversing about nothing in particular. Sojiro sat on the counter as he watched TV, a bored look on his face. He was in the middle of a yawn when Ren approached, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the camera in Ren’s hand. 

“Now that’s something I haven’t seen in a while,” he murmured. 

“I take it this is yours then?” Ren asked. 

Sojiro grunted. “Was mine, I guess.” He took the camera from Ren and fumbled with it for a bit. He tried turning it on, only to chuckle wryly when it refused. “Of course. How many years has it been since I last used it?”

“I didn’t know you used to do photography.” 

“I didn’t.” Sojiro huffed. He didn’t offer further elaboration. 

“Oh come now!” came the old woman’s voice. Having heard their exchange, she countered, her husband nodding his affirmation. “Didn’t you used to bring a camera all the time whenever you went out with that young lady. What was her name again? Ishi… Ishikawa?” 

“Isshiki, I think,” her husband offered. 

“Right! Isshiki! She was such a lovely woman. Smart, too.” 

Sojiro cleared his throat. “All right, all right! That will do! Any more and you’d expose all my embarrassing secrets.”

“My, So-chan, I would think you’re old enough not to be embarrassed by your own story.”

The old couple giggled, much to Sojiro’s affectionate vexation. Although, when Ren deigned to join in the fun—a little smirk and a half-breathy chuckle—his guardian hit him with an ice-cold glare. 

“Sorry,” Ren mumbled. 

“Anyway,” he went on, giving the camera back to Ren, “you can have it if you want. I don’t have much use for it any longer.”

“Really?”

Sojiro shrugged. “Better you than me, in any case. Don’t think she’d like it if it stayed cooped up in a box, collecting dust. I think you’d make a fine new master for it.” The old proprietor gave him a rare grin before his face twisted into consternation. “The problem is I can’t remember where I put the charger. It should be in the box along with the camera. But if not, I’ll take a look at my house.”

It wasn’t in the box, so later that day, Sojiro had Ren mind the shop as he went back to his house. It took a while, but after an hour or so, he returned with the charger, saying, “Sorry, got caught up in cleaning some stuff out.” 

Ren brought the charger to his room, where he connected the cable into the camera, then plugged the other end into the socket behind the TV. A red light blinked back at him. Ren didn’t quite know how long it’d stayed dead, but at least the charger still worked. He only hoped that it was still functional. 

He left it alone then to help Sojiro at the shop until near closing time. He washed the dishes and swept the floor, and when there was nothing left to do but close for the night, Sojiro let him retire to his room. So he climbed back up, intent upon checking on the camera, when he found Morgana pawing it on the TV table.

“Hey.” He reprimanded the cat, swiping the camera off the wooden surface. 

“The light was blinking so I got curious,” the cat said defensively, as though that was reason enough to almost drop it off the table. 

“The light was blinking ‘cause it was charging,” he said. It was now blinking green. He unplugged the cable, sat on the couch, and turned it on. The screen blinked to life. 

This brought him back. He used to play around with his father’s cameras when he was small. Ren directed the lens to Morgana and, adjusting the lens, snapped a picture. The pupils in Morgana’s eyes slitted at the sudden flash of flight; he snarled and growled then hopped off the table. Ren snickered. 

“Let’s see now…” 

Maneuvering through the myriad of buttons and menus on the camera, Ren finally found the gallery, which showed him a photo of Morgana’s blank face. He stifled a laugh and asked the cat to come and see. Morgana wrinkled his nose, but came up to the back of the couch and propped himself on Ren’s shoulder. He hissed at his own picture. 

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” Ren said with a half-smile. 

“For you, maybe.” Morgana’s paw came to Ren’s cheek in what he assumed was an attempt at a playful swat, but the soft pads only softened the blow so it felt like a pat instead, albeit a forceful one. Ren chuckled under his breath as his eyes drifted to the number at the top right corner: 83. He cocked his head to the side. 

Pressing the next button, a picture of an unfamiliar house suddenly filled the screen, somewhat blurry. “Huh,” came Morgana’s quiet comment. The next several images were of the same house but from different angles, then empty streets—a neighborhood. 

“Are they Sojiro’s?” the cat wondered. 

“Probably.” 

The next photo, however, made him pause. Ren saw a sakura tree in what looked to be a sidewalk, but it was the figure dressed in black that froze him. He shut the camera off so quickly that Morgana meowed in protest. Just then, lights from the floor below disappeared, followed by the sound of a jingling bell and the jangle of keys. Sojiro had exited the store, clicking the lock into place. 

Ren sighed in defeat. Perhaps, he could ask Sojiro about it tomorrow. 

***

Ann’s message came early the next morning. 9 AM at the station? She asked.

Ren sent a quick reply then got ready. Sojiro had already prepared curry for breakfast by the time Ren came down from his attic. 

“Hanami, huh,” he mused. “Where are you going? Inokashira?”

Ren shook his head. “Ueno. We decided to go a little farther.” 

An awkward pause fell before Sojiro said, “I see.” 

Ren quietly eyed the coffee master, but Sojiro quickly regained his bearing. He hoped Ren would get some pretty views. It wasn’t quite the season yet but the news had reported some already blooming in places. Ren nodded absently—that was the reason why he had proposed the idea to Ann. He only had a few days left in Tokyo before he had to return to his hometown. They might not have a chance to go flower viewing together. Ann had then decided where they would go. 

Silence stretched, filled only by soft TV noises. Ren cleared his throat. 

“Sojiro, is it really okay for me to have the camera?” 

“I already told you. It’ll only collect dust if I keep it.” He hadn’t even missed a beat. As though sensing Ren’s reluctance, he added, “Just think of it as a farewell gift.”

“What about the photos?”

“I doubt there’s much of it.”

Sojiro grunted and shrugged, as though wanting to drive home that the camera really didn’t mean anything to him. But rather than being nonchalant about it, he seemed to be avoiding the subject altogether. 

“Can I look at them, then?” Ren tried again. 

There, just a quick stilling of his hands before Sojiro returned brewing his coffee, but it was enough. “Suit yourself.” 

Ann was already waiting for him by the time he reached Shibuya Station. It was already a bit warm so she wore a simple loose floral shirt with a pair of jeans. Her hair was unusually undone: long luscious blonde flowing freely down her back, kept in place by a couple sakura-patterned pins near her temple. Ren couldn’t help but grin when their eyes met. 

“W—what?” Pink tinged her cheeks in fluster, though he suspected she knew what he was thinking. 

Still, Ren grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers together. “You look pretty.” It took all his self-control not to break into the biggest, most idiotic grin he would have made because the way Ann’s face went instantly red looked so adorable, it was hard to contain his affections to a bare minimum in such a public space. Instead, he settled with a smirk—albeit somewhat teasing—which apparently did more damage than he’d realized. Ann’s ears went scarlet, then she playfully slapped his arm, which he deftly dodged. 

“Stop being sassy!” 

“I’m not,” he responded with a laugh. She really was beautiful, now even more so when the hint of a smile slowly revealed itself beneath her pout. He tugged her hand. “Let’s get going.”

The station was unexpectedly crowded for a Sunday morning, though the sakura blooming had reached the news so perhaps Ren should have expected otherwise. As they headed towards the platform, Ann noticed the square black bag Ren was carrying on his shoulder. 

“A camera,” she said when he showed it to her. She studied it, fumbled around with it. “Sojiro’s, did you say it was?”

Ren nodded. “He said I could have it.”

“Huh. I didn’t peg him to be into photography.”

“Neither did I—” The sound of a camera shutter cut him off and Ren looked up. Ann had turned the camera on and directed it at him, smirking. He frowned. “Hey. Delete that.”

“Why? You look good.” She giggled. 

“Ann—”

She stepped away when he reached out to grab her hand. “Candid is best,” she said, still giggling. He tried to catch her but she stepped away again, and again, and again, always keeping herself just out of reach, until Ren sighed in half-exasperation and made to run for her— 

When the intercom announced the arrival of their train. 

“Ah! It's here!” Ann shut off the camera and took his hand. “C’mon, we don’t wanna miss it.”

They slipped into the crowd and managed to grab a seat inside the train. Ann returned the camera back to Ren, who turned it on again at the first chance he had. You look good, she’d said, when all the pictures she had taken were either in an odd angle, blurry, or even downright bad. What was even this shot of his close-up skin that he could almost see his pores? Ann giggled softly again when she noticed what he was frowning at. 

“You know I’ll get back at you ten fold, right?” he said. 

“You know I’ll be ready for it.”

She grinned, and he resisted the urge to bop her head or even kiss her cheek. Instead, he sighed, turned the camera off, then stashed it back inside his bag. He spotted her hand on her lap and inadvertently intertwined his fingers through hers. 

“Ren—” She made to pull away, but he locked their hands together. 

“That’s what you get for teasing me,” he said. 

Her face twisted in such a way that usually bespoke of an upcoming counter, but eventually, Ann settled into his hand and into her seat. 

“You started it,” came her quiet mumble. 

This time Ren did bop her head. Albeit fondly. 

***

Their destination was Ueno Park. It took only a few minutes to walk from the station. The news reported that the sakura blooms had been spotted in the park as early as two days ago. Indeed, as early as it was, a crowd was already trickling into the park. Not as much as peak season but already a hefty amount, according to Ann. They entered the gates, then followed the crowd, letting the sea of people carry them to where the heart of sakura blooms gathered. 

Ren took out his camera again. Letting Ann walk ahead of him, he called Ann to a stop once she reached some distance away. He had already put his eye behind the camera by the time Ann half-turned towards him, and then he snapped the picture. Ann exclaimed in surprise when she realized what he’d just done. Ren, meanwhile, was half-smiling to himself as he checked the result of his work. 

“Not bad,” he mused—it wasn't blurred at least—just as Ann stomped back towards him and said, “Don’t just take my picture like that.” 

“Candid is best, as you said so yourself.” Ann fumed, made to snatch the camera away, but Ren held it out of reach. “I told you I’d get back at you ten fold.”

He grinned, to which Ann scowled. “Fine. But I’m taking your share of the crepe.” Because apparently that was where Ann had been heading: a crepe stall erected on the side of the wide central path flanked on each side by tall sakura trees now in bloom. Yes, it wasn’t peak season yet—not all the flowers had blossomed—but pretty dots of pink and white had decorated the boughs on either side, giving off a sweet scent that only came around once a year. 

Ren could only chuckle and acquiesce at her request.

He followed behind her, capturing moments left and right: a family of three, the father carrying his little girl on his shoulders; the flowers on the trees, going as close as he could to capture the delicate petals in his camera; the tranquil moat, the crowded stalls, then a wide shot of the sakura-lined path leading deeper into the park. 

Ann was still queuing at the crepe stall when Ren returned. Putting his eye to the camera, he zoomed in. He took a picture of her back, at the way she slipped a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, of how she noticed his presence not far behind her, then her frown at the realization of being photographed silently again, and finally her small smile, and a full-on grin. He often thought that Ann’s features were dynamic—expressive. He swore he’d seen her cry, get mad, and laugh all in the span of one minute. Seeing the pictures he’d just taken, Ren knew it wasn’t just his feelings. 

Ren was just stashing his camera back inside his bag and meant to wait in the queue with Ann when Ann appeared behind him. She gave him a crepe—Banana and Lemon. He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Let’s find somewhere to sit,” she said instead, then added with a glance, “and I’m gonna take a look at the pictures you've taken.” She didn’t leave any room to say no. Not that Ren would want to . 

So they walked down the path, enjoying their crepes—hers was Double Chocolate & Almond. Farther into the park, they found a rather empty spot beneath a tree on the bank of the moat. Ann took a picnic mat from her bag and spread it out for them. 

It was nice, he thought. The air was slightly warmer now, the sakura—while still early—was beautiful. Out on the still water, people rowed boats languidly. 

Ren showed Ann the camera gallery after they finished their crepes. They started with the ultra-close skin-pore photo Ann had taken before, which made her laugh and him frown again. Then it cut into the park, and they saw pictures of families, children, and friends—all engaged in different forms of activities.

“You’re pretty good at this,” Ann said at the image of the general crowd amidst pink trees. “Have you ever learned photography before?”

“My father was a journalist so we had a camera at home,” Ren replied. “I used to mess around with it.”

Ann made a non-committal comment. Then she pressed next, and she paused. Ren looked over her shoulder and found that she had arrived at the first picture of her: her body half-turned, face set in inquiry, framed by the pink sakura blossoms on each side. The crowd almost drowned her, but her blonde hair and floral shirt was enough to make her stand out—at least to him. 

He glanced at her, waited for her response, but Ann only clicked next, then next, and next again. 

“You really meant it when you said you’d get back at me ten fold,” she said at last, but her voice was quiet. She’d arrived at her grinning face, zoomed in and angled. The sun almost made her gleam blindingly bright. Ren wouldn’t tell her but he planned to print that shot and slip it in his wallet. 

“Aren’t I good?” he said in a forced smugness because Ann had become speechless. 

“Really.”

Her honesty made him pause. She cleared her throat, shook herself, then clicked next again. Except, they’d gotten to the last of his pictures and were now back at the beginning. A shot of a house front looked back at them. 

“Ah,” Ren said, reaching out to take the camera from her, “I think this is Sojiro’s. I haven’t taken much of a look.” A small lie, but it didn’t feel right to pry into another person’s memories. 

Ann looked at him. “Sojiro gave it to you knowing he still had some photos in it?”

“He didn’t seem too keen about it. But…” 

“But?” 

He glanced at Ann, who was searching his face inquiringly. The camera was technically his now, and Sojiro did allow him to look through the gallery. He decided to show her the source of his hesitancy, skipped the next several images until they came to the one that had frozen him. 

“Is that Futaba?” Ann said with a soft gasp. 

A younger Futaba, barely twelve, they guessed. Her hair was still black, but there were no mistaking the big round eyes and glasses. Then the woman behind her could only be Wakaba Isshiki. They recognized the sleek black hair, sharp features, and neat dress. 

Knowing the history between Sojiro and the Isshiki mother and daughter, there was no doubt the contents of the gallery would be private territory between Sojiro and his heart. And yet, the old coffee master had given him free rein on what to do with the camera as he saw fit. 

“Did you tell Sojiro about this?” Ann asked. 

“Couldn’t. He was avoiding it; wouldn’t even let his regulars tease him about it.” 

Yet Ren was curious; he couldn’t deny that. Perhaps they really were nothing much, as Sojiro had claimed. He pressed the next button, then the next, and again. 

What followed were a series of pictures of Wakaba and Futaba, sometimes together, other times alone. Feeding a stray cat, making curry, a trip to the park. The images felt warm, sincere. Even though Sojiro had claimed his feelings were one-sided, Ren could see how much the old man had meant to Wakaba. He doubted she would have been able to make such a bright smile had it been another person behind the camera. 

Ren clicked next, and it seemed they arrived at a video. 

“It’s so pretty!” A young Futaba ran across the screen; the camera desperately tried to follow her. 

“Be careful, Futaba! You’ll trip!” a familiar voice appeared—Sojiro. 

They spotted lanterns strung between sakura trees in full bloom. It was evening and the lanterns emitted a mesmerizing glow amidst the sea of flowers. Music echoed from the distance—drums. Laughter sounded nearby and the camera swiveled to the source. 

“You’re such a worrywart, Sojiro. Futaba will be all right,” Wakaba said. “It’s not often she gets to have fun like this.”

“Yes, but—” The camera shifted again. Ren scowled inwardly at the haphazard movements. 

Just then, Futaba fell, and Sojiro yelped. But Wakaba only laughed beside him. She rushed to the scene and helped her daughter stand up, murmured something to her, before both of them turned to the camera and Futaba called out with the biggest grin on her face, “Thanks for taking me here, Sojiro!”

They watched her run, watched as the camera trembled as it slowly, shakily, zoomed into Wakaba’s profile. She was watching her daughter frolic with the softest expression on her face. Then, as though she had just noticed the camera on her, she looked to her side and smiled. 

The video ended, and silence fell. 

Neither Ren nor Ann knew quite what to say. It felt like they had just glimpsed into the old man’s diary. Perhaps it was wrong of him to take the camera, but Sojiro clearly didn’t want it anymore. 

A million things popped to Ren’s mind—things he would like to say to his guardian—but the words died before they could reach his mouth. 

“This camera clearly holds important memories for Sojiro.” Ann broke the silence. “How could he throw it away?”

“He said that he doesn’t want it to collect dust.” Ren recalled what Sojiro had told him the night before. “That ‘she’ wouldn’t want it cooped up in a storage box.”

“She?” It clicked with her. “Did Wakaba give Sojiro this camera?”

“If that’s true, I can see why he doesn’t use it any longer.” 

Ann pursed her lips in consternation. “Should you give it back?”

“Honestly, I’ve thought about it but I think he gave it to me as a way to respect Wakaba’s memory. So that the camera can be put to good use.” Sojiro might not remember just what this little box of memories contained, but from what Ren had seen, it was clearly important. The video dated five years ago. He could transfer them, save them somewhere, then give them to him before he left. 

There were still several photos left before they’d reach his picture of Morgana from the night before, but Ren decided it was enough prying. He was about to shut it off when Ann spoke: 

“That’s Ueno Park—those lanterns. It’s the Sakura Festival.”

Ann told him of the Sakura Festival that Ueno Park would hold every year in its grounds. They’d have lanterns strung between the trees and music to decorate the day. Sometimes parades would come down the central path. But it seemed right now the festival wouldn’t be until a few days yet when the sakura had fully blossomed. 

She looked downcast, and Ren noted the melancholy in her tone as she said, “You would’ve been gone by then.” Now he knew why she had asked to visit Ueno Park today. 

“It’s really pretty—” Ann perked up, “—especially at night when the lanterns are all lit up. We may not be able to see it today but I guess now you’ve seen how it would’ve looked like.”

Her smile was tight; her eyes hollow. She really was bad at hiding her emotions. He looked at his camera. Sojiro’s video was still displayed on the screen. A warm, eerie glow painted the trees; the lanterns all frozen in time. Beautiful, and alluring. 

“Maybe we can see it someday.”

She looked up. 

“I mean, we’ll be third-years next term,” he went on. “If I can get into a good uni in Tokyo next year, I should think we’ll be able to meet like this again. And perhaps hold a proper hanami, too.”

Her eyes lit up. She held up her pinky finger. “Promise?”

At that, Ren laughed. “What are we—kids?”

“I want you to promise me that we’ll go flower-viewing together again.”

She looked quite adamant, though the blue of her eyes glinted with delight. Seeing no other recourse, Ren chuckled under his breath, then twined his little finger with hers, locking the promise into place. 

~ END ~

//////////////

A/N: the part about his father being a journalist is an old hc I had that I kinda explored in another fic of mine

[candycryptids]

how did Ishi'li's tooooootally not romantic "it's just speculation!!" feelings for Kizuna develop? >:)

was there an "oh" moment? who asked the other out? (speculatively, of course jsdbvjsfkdvbsdfk)

blows you a platonic SMOOCH for your patience !!!!!

So for ISHI, because somehow I know how Kizuna felt better than how Ishi felt- (oops, the reason this took so long as that I was having to pin down the my side of things, haha!) - they didn’t start really catchin’ proper feelings until, like. Heavensward. And they didn’t talk about it! Shit was happening- there was a war, and Kizuna has this whole, personal business, they’ve kept each other at vague length and then they’re sharing a room together (in the Fortemp’s Manor) and there was only one bed

There wasn’t really any particular ‘Oh’ moment that I can think of, despite having racked my brain- it’s a lot of small things, I think? He’s strong and capable, they fight well together, Ishi picks up Astromancy to cover their healing blind spot because they can’t Scholar (their aether too thin to summon, haha. 😳)

Speculatively 😉 Ishi tries to ask Kizuna out first officially, in Shadowbringers. After Kizuna’s taken on His Majesties Light… when the night floods Il Mheg and it’s so beautiful.. there’s dancing, and celebrating, and. Kizuna asks, in sign, for them to wait. Until he can say it back and mean it. (Every word, but the Light Aether is corrupting his body, slowly, slowly. His face a solemn immobile mask, his fingers smooth, cold marble, his emotions blotted out. He keeps going on Devotion To The Cause and his own commitment to what he thinks his old self would do.) :’) So

When everyone is safe! When the Crystarium is celebrating! When the night is back for good, and there’s drinks late into the night, these two idiots sneak off to one of the towers where it’s quieter and have a real proper confession there ;v; ……… speculatively ;)

Also thank you ! For your patience ;w;’ id been ruminating on this question and then all the weather happened and I lowkey FORGORT,,, and then it took me a lil more time cos I wanted to get screenshots >_>; I am scattering flower petals all over thank you for the juicy ask 🌸‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Here's a couple bonus screens I couldn't figure out where to put; I kinda did it as a warm up for The Boys tm while rotating what I actually was plannin to do awejkfnakwjfe

[Shaders are all Neneko's Gameplay Essence, except this very last one, which is Ixora's Ordinary]

Kizuna belongs to my husband @zombiesockfuckinglovescardfight (he also helps me bang out the timelines because I have applesauce instead of brains sometimes =w=') [The shot from inside the Fortemp's house is ! Actually Ishi's FC room, we put a lotta thought into the whole, mess of it, lol. There's only one bed but they end up dragging a bunch of blankets and the couch closer to the fire because Ishi just. Gets so so cold. It's in Aether-Siren-Empyreum- plot 26 ward 4 if you're interested! Chuu's workshop is also here uvu]

[leelixen]

a question and you. -----------------------

fluff-ishy? non-idol!au Felix, collegestudent!reader, Felix is called Helix, un-revised, written in first-person pov, curse words, that's it, idk (1.65k words)

"what would happen if your soulmate, just pops out of nowhere? Like parang isang notification from your phone. would you click on it and face your reality?"

my best friend Jia asked me. Hi, I'm (Y/N). A Working College Student at Pyeiru National University. 

"shut your mouth jia, and just listen to the prof," I said in a whisper. I wouldn't want our professor to catch us chit-chatting while he's discussing.

"(Y/N), Would you mind answering the question written on the board?" Our professor asked.

"Yes, sir." I stood up from my chair and walked my way to the whiteboard. I picked up the pen and started writing the formula and solutions for the question. It's not like I'm going to school without even advanced reading, right?

HEALTH BREAK

"So, can you answer what I asked you earlier?" Jia asked as if she couldn't be bothered until I answered her question.

"I would, of course. But I want our relationship to grow even when we started as friends, the way we start being comfortable with each other. So that when we move to the next level, our relationship will continue to grow stronger. but you know, ji, I don't believe in love. I don't want to get my heart broken, again."

Jia smiled as if I had said something that made her happy. I was talking about my ex, Sam. Yes, we broke up on good terms, but I knew he cheated on me behind my back. With my ex-BFF, Lia.

"What?" I asked with a confused face. 

"amazing, bff! the answer is Miss Universe-like! what if you join Miss PNU This Year?"she said while giggling.

"You're full of what ifs, what if you eat first, right? to fill your brain," I said then rolled my eyes.

"fine, I'll eat a lot." she said sarcastically then chuckled." luckily, the bell rang.

"We don't have 3 subjects together? aw I hope you don't miss me too much, my (Y/N)~"

Jia said while walking towards the hallway. I pouted, but in my mind, I was happily sad.

we parted ways and finished the rest of the day. I walked home with Jia, and her boyfriend Jake.

"Alright, my house is near. I can walk by myself. It's like I'm the third wheel to you guys. HAHAHA" I said smiling

"alright then, bye bff!" Jia said, habang naka-holding hands sila ni Jake.

"bye bye ji! jake!" I smiled at both who looked so cute.

----------

A Week After. University's Entrance, 6 AM

----------

"EXCUSE ME! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" I said While running to my classroom.

I panted while I tried to control my breath to normal speed.

It's a good thing, I'm not late. Whoot whoot! Overthinker (Y/N) indeed.

I walked inside my classroom and made my way to my table. I saw a black-haired boy that I never saw around the campus. Is this guy new? I wondered.

He saw me, And Looked at me right in the eye. And Oh boy, I never felt this kind of feeling before. You know? The feeling as if the worm in your stomach shook and then your bones weakened.

"Good Morning." He greeted.

"Good Morning!" I greeted him back with cheer.

"Are you new here? Hindi pa kasi nakikita around the campus." I asked curiously.

"Yes, I'm new here. I'm  Helix Lee, By The Way. You?" He replied.

It's like I was so nervous that with one more word from him, I could faint.

"(Y/N) at Your Service! This class' and Student Council's President!" I said proudly.

"wow, you must be very smart! no wonder you are a beauty," he said while staring into my eyes.

"hey, I'm being fluttered here." 

I said to my brain. do you think i'd have the nerve to tell him that? NEVER.

"Thank you! But I'm not that pretty, nor smart." i smiled at him.

The professor entered and our eyes were glued to the board. Jia messaged me that she won't be able to attend for the week, due to family matters. The weird part is, Why is Jake with her?

----------

HEALTH BREAK

----------

Helix was stuck to me like glue. It's alright since he's new, and I volunteered to give him a Tour Around the campus. We were now eating our snacks while chit-chatting.

"So, can I see your timetable?" I asked. He gave his timetable to me and I smiled.

"Wow, we have all subjects together! Looks like you'll be stuck with me throughout the rest of the school year. HAHAHA" I laughed

"Yeah, But I Don't Mind HAHAHA," Helix said. 

a month passed, and We were getting closer by the day. 

--------------

"HEY LEE HELIX! GIVE IT TO ME!" I screamed while running through the campus hallways. 

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN~!" he shouted back at me.

5 minutes later, napagod din kami. I went to my locker and grabbed my book, cursing him under my breath.

"look at you, Helix. I hope you'll have nightmares later when you sleep, fuck you, bitch."

I kept whispering to myself, not knowing he was right behind me.

"fuck you too, babe," he said while holding my phone.

I could almost faint when he said the word "babe", gosh, helix lee! what are you doing to me...

"Whatever. give me back my phone!" I said bringing back the topic.

"a boy texted. who is it?" he asked curiously.

"none of your business, lix. now leave me alone!" I said while my eyes were glued to my phone, checking my notifications.

"How can I leave you alone if you're the only person I'm close to here?" He replied to me that I'm really his only friend but he has his own friend group.

"go to Lewis and Jay!" I said turning my eyes from my phone to him.

"They are absent, so I will really stick to you today" ethan said while smirking.

The bell rang. Oh gosh, A whole day with him? I can't.

on our way to our first class, ang daming tanong ni ethan.

"So what did the message say?"

"No, it's just shopee delivery, are you a gossip too?"

"ahh, I thought it was your boyfriend."

"You think I already have a boyfriend? Sorry, I'm studying first." I said while I chuckled.

he laughed.

We finished the day, and we walked together to go home.

"Where are you from, Helix?" I asked due to curiosity.

His accent is different, even though it's English, I hear something else.

"I was born in Australia, Then we moved here when I was 8," he said, and then smiled.

Why does it seem like I know him.. Have we met before, you heart-stealer?

"Did you have a boyfriend before?" he asked while still walking, his eyes on me.

"I... Yes." I said nervously.

"If I may, Can I Ask why you broke up?" he asked carefully.

I felt really comfortable near him, and it has only been a week.

"he.. he was cheating behind my back. with my ex-best friend, but I didn't tell him that I knew. I just told him that I needed to focus on my studies." I told him, and I really felt relieved that I told someone that I could trust, other than Jia, of course.

"Oh. I'm so sorry for asking." he looked at me with his eyes, like he was about to cry.

"it's okay. I'm here, thank you for walking with me. Bye, Lix." I said and waved my hand to him as I was walking inside my house.

"Bye, Baby." Helix said, but Euri didn't hear him say "Baby".

---------- Next Saturday, Euri's House ---------- iMessage -

---------------------------------------------------------

jia my bbq  😘👹

heyy, when will you go home? imy 😭

i'm sorry (Y/N), my parents extended:( myt!

aww, I decided to run for Miss PNU, I was expecting you to be there!

Omg!? don't worry! I'll find a way to book a flight back immediately!

gtg, mi Amor! byebye<33

bye bye (y/n):)) ----------------------------------------------------------

| Send a message!  |  >   

---------------------------------------------------------

I closed my phone and went to the front door.

"Hi (Y/N)!" Helix said.

"Oh, Why did you come here?" I asked politely, of course.

"It's boring at home, can I come in?" He asked with puppy eyes.

"Yes, thank you, I'm separated from Dad, or else he'll kill you," I said chuckling.

"Your dad is scary." He said while entering.

"Come on, Let's play Roblox"

"What game?" I asked as I opened the game.

"Tower of Hell"

When I heard those words, I knew I was going to die. I'm bad at such games!!

30 Minutes later...

"FUCKING HELL! I'M CLOSE TO THE TOP"

I screamed, I was really close to rage quit.

"It's just a movie, you can kill people later. HAHAHAHAHA" ethan said, making me laugh.

Let's just say, It was a not-so-good or too-good idea.

There was an 18+ scene in the movie.

of course, it will be awkward!

"Uhh.. I'm just going to get some snacks from the Kitchen." I said, excusing myself.

I washed my hands after making some snacks. But then..

Helix hugged my waist, making me freeze from my spot.

"H-helix..?" I asked, nervously at what could happen at any time.

"Hmm..?" He hummed in response.

His breath fanged through my neck as he rested his chin my my shoulder.

Oh gosh, Lord, I'm not ready to die!!

"(Y/N).. Don't you really remember me?" Helix spoke, breaking the silence.

"Huh..?" I asked

I couldn't say anything, I wanted to speak but nothing came out.

"Childhood Best Friend..? Heli?" he asked, trying to ring any bell.

and he sure did.

 I turned around, and our faces were inches apart.

"Heli..?" I asked if he knew that nickname.

"Yes?"

"Is it really you?" I asked just to make sure.

My heart was glad, and I felt like that puzzle in my heart was complete.

"Yes, that's it. It's me, Helix."

I hugged him so tight that I forgot the faucet was open, And I still didn't realize it.

"Have I ever told you how much I loved you since we were kids?" He asked me, waiting for my reply.

Was this his way of confessing..?

"Oh Heli, I love you too."

Saying that I felt his soft lips on mine. It was amazing.

Our kiss was a passionate one. he made me feel like We were the only people in this universe. A Euphoric, Dreamy, Passionate Kiss.

That experience... He made me feel a way others can't make me.

We both pulled out and decided to cuddle in my room and Reminisce our old memories together.

And then I realized..

"Oh my, the Faucet in the Kitchen is on!!"

taglist: n/a

[shakesthewizard]

Are y'all ready for my niche content

Deltarune characters as Knights Radiant from the Stormlight Archive let's go

Susie - "I will seek self-mastery." The Order of the Dustbringers. Susie is brash and self-destructive, and learns early on that her potential for harm won't keep her safe - it might just get the people she cares about killed. In the latter half of chapter 1 and the entirety of Chapter 2, we see Susie not only learning how to harness her great capacity for good, but we also see her defy the will of the narrative. Dragging ralsei away from time with Kris, and in the snowgrave route she even demonstrates the power to avoid a cutscene. The theme of self control (narratively and literally) is abundant for her.

As a Dustbringer, Susie controls the surges of Division and Abrasion, which are perfect to the point of redundancy. Do I even need to explain how they fit her character and themes?

Ralsei - Ralsei is tricky. You might say that Ralsei is a spren of some kind - maybe an honorspren, or even a highspren? This makes sense for a Darkner, being a kind of spirit that exists on behalf of human/monsterkind. If you go down that route you may even go so far as to call him a voidspren, or corrupted spren of some type. Maybe a corrupted Highspren? Serving the law of a malicious power against his will.

Ralsei has associations with both Knowledge and Healing, making him a good candidate for a Truthwatcher. He's even a lonely, bespectacled Prince! He fits the Renarin-alike bill pretty nicely - which would also make sense, given that his game-knowledge and apparent desire to tell secrets to Kris, but not Us, reminds me a lot of Renarin's future sight and its effects on Odium. Ralsei is undecided, largely because of how little we actually know about him.

Kris - "I will speak my truth." The Order of the Lightweavers. Kris has a LOT going on in terms of their identity, secrets, and fiction. Like Shallan, I think Kris is very close to a lot of powerful forces in the story that they're not showing us, and they know a lot more than we let them tell. Kris literally spends most of their time nowadays pretending to be someone else, even if they don't want to.

Here's the thing, though - I think Kris is possessed by a cognitive shadow, with Bondsmith powers. Whether through Ishi's honorblade or something else, Kris demonstrates the ability to bring people together for a common cause - but only while we control them. Otherwise, they're a weird, lonely kid who has historically struggled to make and keep friends.

As a Lightweaver, Kris commands the surges of Illumination and Transformation. This makes sense, given that they are our window into this world, and they shape our understanding of it. They also literally perform transformation on a number of occasions - opening at least one dark fountain, and seriously squishing their own identity around with all the stuff they pull with our SOUL.

Noelle - "I will reach my potential." The Order of the Elsecallers. Or at least, she will be at some point. I'm really tempted to assign her corrupted Truthwatcher, given her propensity to stumble backwards into knowledge and secrets, and her possible connections with HIM. But I don't think this resonates with her character very strongly. Rather, I think Noelle has a lot of potential stored within her, and she needs to learn how to access it and command it for herself. Right now, she's being controlled by a host of powers; her mother, Us, Queen, and the aforementioned HIM. Many of whom are in agreement - this kid is going places. They all want to harness her for their own gain, and Noelle will swear the second ideal when she finally musters up the courage to ask Susie out.

As an Elsecaller, Noelle will command the surges of Transformation and Transportation. Truth be told, I don't see these as especially relevant to her character, besides their enormous breadth of utility. Ignoring everything else, I'd probably give her Edgedancer surges, but ces la vie.

Berdly - "I will seek justice." Order of the Skybreakers.

Okay, hear me out. He's a lot like Szeth.

I swear I'm serious, just bear with me, okay? He begins his journey by blindly following the strange laws of a strange land. Eventually, after doing nominal bad guy shit for half the story, he realizes that the law he was following sucked ass, and that he has no excuse for his behavior. As a first step towards growing, he pledges his service to the goals of a more protagonisty leader type while he figures himself out. Do you see my vision?

Berdly cares a LOT about the metrics of those in power. Grades, IQ, the law. His fatal flaw, in fact, is that he uses them as a tool for measuring his worth. His arc will be about reconsidering those things, and finding an attitude towards power that seeks justice instead of order.

As a Skybreaker, Berdly commands the surges of Gravitation and Division. He's a bird who people tend to avoid. What do you want from me?

Lancer - Lancer is Susie's Dustspren. Fight me.

[kevin-sedai]

Egwene, Rand, and Mat: *fighting for their lives against Ishamael*

In the distance: Wait, don't do anything yet!

Egwene, Rand, Mat, Ishy stop fighting: Did you hear that?

*A few minutes later*

*Nynaeve, holding onto Elayne, walks up from the stairs*

Elayne: We're here!

Ishamael: What is going on?

Nynaeve: Don't ask her-

Elayne: I am the Daughter-Heir of Andor, and I figured you'd be up here. Hope I didn't miss anything<3

*Nynaeve and Elayne continue to hobble over to the others*

Elayne: Okay, you can keep going!

Egwene and Ishy: *start blasting*

Elayne: *sees Rand* Oh. Hi. *twirls hair* Come here often?

[applepies-and-starlight]

...so I completely forgot that (2) (more) people were interested in Siltcurrent. (Akuma!Ishmael)

Anyway I'm gonna be posting the text under cut because. It's A Lot. And there's a 10 image limit so I can't just screenshot my ramblings

Some Context for LCB moots/readers who have not seen MLB: Akumas are butterflies made by the show's villain (Hawkmoth) who target people experiencing negative emotions, usually said emotions influence how their villain self acts and what their powers are

Extra context for anyone confused: basically a while back I made an AU where Ishmael is the Ladybug (Scarlet Ardor) and Don is the Black Cat (Chatvalier). The aim of the game is bringing glory to yuriville here Also note that they're both in university in a modern AU where we aren't in the shitfest called the City for obvious reasons

Mid edit apple: now should probably be a good time to mention the entire context of the scenario here is that Ishy tries to confess to Don, gets rejected (as Ishmael) and accepted (as Ardor) at the same time. So in attempt to logic away her hurt she tries to figure out why Don likes Ardor better (Ishmael knows Don is Chatvalier (accidental); Don does not know Ishy is Ardor) but in doing so she attracts an Akuma and turns into Siltcurrent thanks faust

Mid edit apple 2: i'd like to clarify that 90% of these writings were written at 3am while i was delirious on sleep deprivation with all of my impulse controls dead on the floor

(Writings will be indented; ramblings will be in bullet points)

So! Siltcurrent! Ishmael Akuma!!

Akumatized late at night (roughly 11pm maybe) but it isn't noticable for the first few days

Illusion subset of powers; Siltcurrent conjures up a form of Ardor to try to keep up some form of normalcy

Omori vibes; as in, everything seems normal but there is something Wrong

Physiology:

Half-blind; Siltcurrent can only identify colors and vague shapes

Exception is Chatvalier/Don, she knows Exactly what to look for and it's Very Hard to trick her

Because Dream Devouring Siltcurrent reference, flouresents!

Bandages. Everywhere. Especially in the heart area

The bandage covering her chest is trying to hide a wound that looks like a lance ran through it

Constantly crying, like deadass her tears are flooding the place

Basically she looks like that fucked up Blind Obsession mer KoishiJSM drew

Oh, yeah, have I mentioned this fucker can break into your dreams?

It gently held her hands, adoration and malice waging war in its one visible eye, both combining into a new emotion that could only be possibly described as obsession.

"I love you," it said, gently kissing above her eye "I love hate love hate love hate..."

Its near-fanatical murmurs eventually petered out into a low whine, resting its head in the crook of her neck.

"You ruin me. Ruin me so much... I hate it I hate it, love you hate you love it love it please keep going please please please..."

(^^ this is a dream sequence; coincides with the last point i made)

(Siltcurrent keeps visiting don's dreams because her horrible compulsion keeps making her do it, otherwise she'd go even more insane for not acting on said compulsions)

Akuma has killed her impulse control so her intrusive thoughts are running rampant

She has at least enough self control to not go... Too Far, at least

(This lack of impulse control from "Ishmael" and "Ardor" is one of the things that tip off Don that something's wrong because honestly she's pretty smart despite what others say)

Very Avoidant of Don (as "Ishmael")

Like. Yk how ayano's like in yansim? Yeah basically

Mild yandere(?) mode now that i think of it

Like. She sees that Don's given someone else more attention than usual too and immediately tracks them down before pestering them about her (mainly like. Asking why she's been around them more, if they learned anything about her during their interactions, etc etc; comes off as overbearing and creepy)

It causes people to steer clear of don because nobody wants to deal with "ishmael"

This one needs screenshots i can't do it justice otherwise

Queequeg's..... Somewhere.

I don't know what exactly happens I just know the end result is that Ahab did A Thing and now our sailor has Trauma. Yk, usual limbus shit

Whatever the fuck happened broke Queequeg and her apart

Idk what it is exactly (could be death or other circumstance, probably the latter because.. cool leg) but whatever it is caused her to not quite. Open Up™ as a defense response

"I've been burned once, I don't want to be burned again"

"Don't go... don't go..."

Torrents of water began to fall from the sky, as if a god had punctured a hole in the clouds. Flooding the place and dragging her under.

"Please don't go..."

The thing pressed its body against her, eye searching for any reaction she had

"Empty... so empty... why do I keep breaking?"

"Why am I always hurt?"

"Is there something wrong with me?"

Don woke up again, managing to stifle a shout before she ended up waking the entire household.

(She swore she heard a choked sob off in the distance)

(^^ This one's a little rougher, but also another dream sequence)

(Side note: this one and the previous one were in italics because i used italics to distinguish my writing from my rambling in those entries and i'm too lazy to deitalicize them)

Ardor tentatively stepped towards Chatvalier, smile too stiff to be sincere; too wide to be human, her blue eyes desperately searching for something as she lifted a hand, only to awkwardly let it flop beside her.

(Her eyes were supposed to be green; a near-golden shade of olive that reminded Chatvalier of the first leaves heralding fall.)

"Hey, Chatvalier." Ardor spoke, her voice barely above a whisper yet still carrying through the space between them. "I..."

"Release Lady Ardor at once."

"Ardor's" smile faltered, her hands trembling with some deep-seated emotion.

"Chat, please." Its voice cracked as it took more steps towards the cat, "It's me, It's really-"

"Silence, wretch." Chatvalier spat, lowering her stance and pointing her staff at it. "Thou shall not decieve me; release her at once."

Its smile vanished completely, a tear sliding down its cheek.

Then, with a booming roar, a mighty wave crashed down on the fake.

(^^ beginning of what I like to call "Act 2", basically Don figures out Ishy's gotten Akumatized and something's Wrong with Ardor but instead draws the conclusion that Ishy kidnapped Ardor she mentioned she loved Ardor)

(Don't ask how I know my middle english I don't remember either (and if its janked anywhere please tell me))

Fun fact i originally used cur instead

But then i remembered the word wretch existed and went "yeah that's more in line with an absolutely pissed off Don"

"What do you want from me?!" The Akuma wailed, its head whipping around as it tried to find the flash of gold it so dearly adored, "Why are you doing this to me?!"

It screamed as it felt something stab into its tail, twisting around and throwing Chatvalier off of it, trying to shake off the pain from its mutilates tail

"Have I not told you, cur?" She shouted back, flourescent blood staining her boots as righteous fury burned in her eyes.

"Thou hath harmed mine lady, and it is mine duty to deliver retribution onto thee!"

(^^ I can't fucking figure out how I want the last line to go)

(The tail stabbing is a minor nowhere is north reference lmao; one of my drafts for siltcurrent's appearance is that she has twisted legs for a tail ala Mili's bathtub mermaid art)

Chatvalier watched in both horror and morbid fascination as the akuma writhed on the ground, screaming in frustrated agony as it clawed against its bandages, the fight all but forgotten.

"I DON'T HAVE ARDOR! I CAN'T GIVE HER BACK TO YOU!" It screamed at Chatvalier, tears overflowing as its voice went hoarse, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO?! WHAT DO I DO?! TELL ME!"

Before she could even formulate a response, or even a short quip, it dug its claws into itself, a guttural roar ripping out of its throat before a sickening thump landed on the rooftop.

A still beating heart rested at Chatvalier's feet.

(^^ something possessed me to write this and it just. Ended up becoming an important thing in my outline)

(Discord between me and @/scriptum-pandemonium (tell me if i you want these off tbe post pls))

Speaking of here's more stuff (spoilered because body horror (vague) which i added because. C'mon, this is a limbus au, i should be able to ramp up the violence to blood and (some) gore levels)

Hell yeah up the gore and horror

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THE HEART

:>

■■■

Delulu this akuma just has multiple hearts, octopus time

Honestly my original idea is that like, through magic bullshit she's still perfectly ok (still in pain because. Literally ripping your heart out. But. Y'know.)

If I may build on the banger lines you put down, maybe when it's over donqui pulls Ishmael in for a long hug just so she can hear the beating of Ishmael's heart in her own chest

:0

(Shoutout to Blue and the gang at Halcandra btw this was largely inspired by Magiajam)

Shaky, labored pants filled the silence between them. The villain's hair - Ishmael's hair, shadowed its face.

Only its eye was visible; the eye looking at her with so much manic hate, sadness, obsession...

Love.

The heart continued to faintly beat.

"Take it." She gasped, a bloodied claw gingerly covering the gaping, bleeding hole in her chest, "just take it and leave."

Chatvalier couldn't. How could she, anyhow? Anyone who saw such a grosteque sight would be paralyzed in shock, too.

A small sniffle snapped her out of her spiral, looking up to find the akuma desperately trying to wipe its tears away.

"Please..." it hiccuped, desperately trying to steady its breathing.

Then, a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry-"

It started wailing again, babbling a thousand apologies at once as it began to crawl back to the waves.

"I'msorryIcan'tbeherI'msorryIdon'tknowwhyyouloveherI'msorryIcan'terasetheuglymeandbebeautifulforyouI'msorryyouhavetoseemeuglyI'msorryI'mnotperfectforyou-"

Somewhere through the storm of sorrow, Chatvalier found that her feet had tried to bring her to the villain; to Ishmael.

But when she raised a hand to try and stop her, she was already gone.

All that was left was a patch of flourescent, bloodied water, and a single glass shard.

(^^ arguably one of my favorites; I am in so much pain!)

[...] sorry for being not ardor, for being ugly, for not being perfect [...]

It's been a few days since her confession. Ishmael has gotten over the rejection. Definitely. Yeah. It wasn't like... it wasn't like it was the end of the world or anything. She and Don were still friends. (Right?) (Right...) (....hopefully.) No, the self reflection notes weren't about Don. She was just... curious about herself. Yeah, that's it. Nothing to do with how she told her that she reserved her heart for Ardor. (She didn't even question it; she knew Don was Chatvalier, her annoying, endearing, ever loyal partner, who'd gladly throw herself into harm's way if it meant she'd be safe.) Nope. This was only because she saw a curious ad on the internet. A few days ago. (What did she do differently as Ardor?) She checked her notes again; a list of traits she'd describe herself as, another one for the her with the mask. (She impulsively checked her phone for the time.) (A small part of her scolded her for getting distracted so quickly.) What made her and Ardor different? What did she lack outside of the mask. She was just curious; absolutely nothing to do with the proverbial daggers in her heart. Nothing to do with impressing the girl who stole her heart. It's fine. She's fine. She isn't hung over it. It doesn't hurt. Does not hurt at all. Not in the slightest. In fact, she's over the rejection. She's perfectly fine! Just great. Peachy, even. Everything will go back to what it was tomorrow. She shouldn't be fretting over this, the weekends should be enjoyed right? So yes, she's fine. Nothing to worry about. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't... ... "Good evening, Siltcurrent."

(^^ this one's big, I just kinda gave up on editing this to fit tumblr format here)

(Anyway this is me trying to portray OCD and may or may not be me somewhat venting/projecting)

[...] Ishmael desperately trying to logic it together because she's fine it's not even a total rejection, Don Quixote just loved her hero self and not her ordinary self

[...] donqui is a bit self conscious because here she is, rejecting one of her best friends because of a what must seem like a celebrity crush that could never happen

[....] personally I like to think after the Realization™ (figuring out chalier was donqui) Ish started seeing her in a different light [...]

■■■

[...] theres something sad in Ishmael being the only one that realizes the truth, because Ishmael's been the one to see the entirety of Donqui as both a civ and chatvalier, yet Donqui can't because she thinks of ish as two separate people

Part of her is confused as to why Donqui sees it as that (she and Ardor are technically the same person right? They can't be *that* different)

The rest is just. Hurt. And is trying to grasp on straws to logic it away

■■■

Donqui loves ARDOR, which means she could've loved you but she didn't. Because you didn't win her over. Because YOU did something as Ardor so that Ishmael could never compete

Because it is "what does he have that I don't, what can he promise you that I won't" but to yourself

"Ishmael" is borderline manic 90% of the time (like, has the vibes that 1 wrong move will suddenly make her start laughing like a madman before she decks you)

She sometimes gets mental breakdowms over not being able to complete her goal (obtain the miraculous; [Acherontia] assures her that that isn't important right now

Doesn't really help much it just stops her immediate crying and makes her internalize the guilt more

This + her core motivation + everyone now looking at her weirdly compounds into siltcurrent just. Fucking flooding the entire place with her tears (this is when act 2 starts)

Ishmael hovered awkwardly at the edge of the door, practically hiding behind it with the way she positioned herself. "...uh, hey-" She barely started talking before Don was crashed into her, wrapping her arms around Ishmael's waist as she buried her head into her chest. (She could hear the gentle heartbeat under Ishmael's clothes; soft, but steady.) (Strong.) She felt Ishmael flinch at the sudden gesture, but she couldn't find herself to care. "I- woah, now." Ishmael stammered, awkwardly patting Don's head in a subtle attempt to pry her off, "Was... was I really that bad? I know Akumas don't last longer than a day, but..." She trailed off, her ears finally picking up on shallow, stifled gasps as she felt something wet on her shirt. She instinctively wrapped an arm around her, rubbing gentle circles on her back as Don tried to hold back her tears. "Hey, it's okay... I'm okay now." She mumbled, still somewhat awkward from the chain of events, "whatever happened to me is over now, yeah? I'm better now." (She didn't know that Don knew who she was, unaware that a blinded mermaid had begged her to know why it wasn't loved without a mask.) (She didn't know that Chatvalier stood on the roof of a building, holding a bloody, heartless body. Desperately trying to ignore the gaping wound in favor of pretending her Lady was simply asleep.) (If she convinced herself that the blood wasn't real, then perhaps...)

(^^ epilouge scene, basically)

(There are Consequences to gouging out your heart)

Me, at 3am, high on sleep deprivation: i know this is a kid's show, but you know? We've never seen an akumatized villain that was terribly injured detransform before the Cure kicked in

Lady Sonata ex machina I can't have yuri if one of them is dead

The peacock can literally make life from a will and a way ans G is more than competent enough to make ladybug and cat senti-copies to emergency stand in incase one gets incapacitated (also i want a pun on Ardor (Ardoll... heh))

[highladyluck]

Season 2, Episode 6 Liveblog

Elayne is getting a puzzle! :D this is such good enrichment for Elaynes

Rand’s secret little smile at ‘you can fight anyone’

“It needs to be healed” creepy but I kinda love it in a fucked up way

Not the pitcher :(

“That’s almost nice” WTF that’s so dehumanizing and so Seanchan

Well that’s almost entirely by the book

Compare/contrast these two chained up figures

Importance of chosen names

This is a much more effective mindfuck then whatever TGH Selene was attempting

Psssst Rand it’s bad when your new girlfriend separates you from your support network

Min you are harshing the vibe

“She broke the 3 oaths?” “Every single one” (Elayne took notes)

Names are a theme

I don’t think I want Lanfear doing me favors

“Many paths through the dark” I do appreciate leaning into the Lanbiguity

Suroth, if the Empress saw how you were toying with her Gardener she’d be very upset, those are Imperial property

Loial, have you considered: Stab them with the plant

We are about to have pitcher problems

The way the a’dam prevents a damane from using things they think of as weapons is a weird twisted echo of the 2nd oath. I’ve wondered if the Oaths would prevent Aes Sedai from making a’dam and I think it would depend on what the Aes Sedai termed a weapon that someone could kill another with.

Yeah this is pure book although the ‘you’re not a person’ line is an extra ouch

“Pour a glass of water” echoing horribly the water-cleaning from the tower

When you deal with the devil, that is actually how it works, I’m afraid

Temple of the Forsaken??? Y’all I need some fic set here. I need Dark Raves honoring Asmodean. I need therapy sessions that make you worse sponsored by the Acolytes of Graendal. I need Moghedonists whispering the sacred crypto wallet keys to each other.

Siuan is probs putting out diplomatic fires in Caemlyn now that they lost Elayne? Or attending Gawyn’s birthday party I guess

Oooh is it the trippy ~TGH dream sequence?

Lmao she calls him Ishy

“See the world as it really is in the World of Dreams” what a fascinating take

Do not ask about Egg!!! this is Lanfear she will make Egg into a flesh balloon for touching you

Smart Rand would be like ‘oh now I know you’re lying [about Egwene being Ishy’s]’ but Idk how smart he is

Oh this is heartbreaking she found the lost sister

Ooooooh are we going to see Bayle again so soon?

Nyneave like ‘I’ll allow it” but only because Elayne is saying what she would have

Elayne is getting a puzzle! :D this is such good enrichment for Elaynes

Awwww what a nice nosy boy who will repeat the contents of the letter

Watch she doesn’t stab you when you look away

Mommy issuessssss

I like the air knives

Because you want a legacy!

Ooooh lesson time. Everyone is barfing in this ep

Rand’s secret little smile at ‘you can fight anyone’

Oh god [MY BOYS!!!]

KISS!!! -ok moment’s gone

Mat and his lil grabby hand on Rand’s shoulder, my tactile boy

‘Some of the damane can sense people channeling’ guess we def changed the lore about how channelers sense each other, mildly annoyed about that, but it’s consistent within the show

That’s smart, trying to see the catch in the water like a mirror

Exercising power

Oooof that’s a new twist “I hope they told you at your White Tower how special you are”

Renna are you going to make her set it on fire??? The thing that comforts her? [post-ep I was thinking about the contrast in how the Seanchan command Loial and his tree powers- they are uncomfortable with it and have to ruin the moment. They don’t have the same power over him without tools.]

Well that was an uncomfortably sexually charged moment of excited panting [please tell me it wasn’t just me]

Proud of you, Egwene <3 Hah you made Renna mad good for you

Elayne: “I need a bestie real bad”

Mat gets it because Mat also has The Depression

RESCUE TIME

Min is like I am here to give you bad news, as is my fate

Mat’s good at bullshit detecting & does not handle betrayal well

This is very sweet but I feel like the subtext is “You will be eaten alive as king”

Pope hat

Oh my boys they are so sad

It’s time for… [Alanna and her posse corner Rand] OH SHIT IS IT HAPPENING?

I don’t think Nyneave does modulation

“It needs to be healed” creepy but I kinda love it in a fucked up way

Ooooof next time we see Ryma she’ll be with my Most Problematic Of Faves I guess 🫣😬☹️

This series loves to hang characters and if it can’t get Mat than anyone else will do

[Renna pours out the cup Egwene just filled] Oh fuuuuuuuck you Renna

You still won. You’re still alive

Our lost Blue Sitter coming in at the clutch

[coconutstars]

Jealous

Pairing: Takeshi Kovacs + reader summary: Tak finds your jealousy very charming. A/N: Ta-daa!? I don’t think I've ever published two fics so close to each other. Anywho, here’s a quick fic. As per usual it’s not proofed. Also, it’s very late so you know... the quality may be a little... ishy. ENJOY. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Go to hell” You pushed your way passed Tak and made your way into the luxurious bathroom at the Raven hotel. You were livid. You couldn’t believe Tak had stood there, talking to that woman, smiling, and laughing like he was seeing an old friend.

Miriam Bancroft. The woman who had single-handedly manipulated the one and only, Takeshi Kovacs into sleeping with her. She’d used him like a pawn in a twisted game of chess. She was loathsome. A piece of garbage. That’s why it’d infuriated you so greatly the way Tak had interacted with her. That he then had the audacity to act like you were the one overreacting was absolutely infuriating.

“Will you calm down?” Tak begged, following you into the bathroom, leaning his broad frame against the doorway. “I was just saying hi. That’s all”. You looked up and held his gaze in the round- framed mirror. “Just saying hi!? Give me a break. I saw the way you looked at her.” you sputtered, your eyes narrowing in anger. 

Surprisingly, Tak broke out in a laugh which pissed you off even more. “The way I looked at her?” He stood up straight and walked over to you, his strong arms encircling your waist. “How exactly did I look at her?”  he asked, his gaze still latched on to yours.  “don’t even start” you glared, spinning around to face him. “You know what I’m talking about”

Tak knitted his eyebrows together, processing the situation, then broke out in an amused grin “Are you... jealous, angel?” “oh fuck off” You hissed through gritted teeth. Although, the truth was, you were jealous. Miriam was older, sexier, and a Meth. She had everything, and everyone, wrapped around her manicured little finger.

Frustrated, you wriggled out of his grip and made your way into the bedroom. You steered your steps towards the door but only made it halfway there before Tak grabbed ahold of your arm and spun you around. “Believe it or not” he said, walking forward with you still in his arms. You tried to wriggle out, but he quickly boxed you in towards the wall. “I have-” he searched your gaze. When you didn’t instantly look up at him, he placed a finger under your chin and made you look at him. “more important people in my life than Miriam Bancroft” There was something in his gaze and voice. A gentility and love that made all your anger and jealousy melt away. Your face softened. “Yeah?” Tak said, pressing his forehead to yours “We good?”  You let out a breath and leaned your head back against the wall, nodding lightly. “we’re good.

Slowly, he moved his lips down to the sensitive spot just below your ear. “good” he mumbled, the vibrations of his voice ghosting against your skin, sending a warm shiver down your spine. You could feel him grin before eventually pressing his lips down softly, peppering your skin with feather light kisses. “Tak…” you whispered, curling your fingers in his hair, and pulling his head back slightly. “Yes, angel?” he asked, moving his lips up to your face, his kisses still teasingly light.

“you’re mine” it was meant to come out a statement rather than a question but there was a certain insecurity in your voice. “Right?” For a moment he pulled back, his gaze latching on to yours. Then his lips curved into a side smile.  “right” he whispered against your skin.

“And you’re mine”

[kishigunpla]

Let's Read: A Requiem for Char: The Red Comet of My Youth - Chapter 1

by Shūichi Ikeda

This post will be an overview of the first chapter, Steps to Becoming an Actor.

Please note this isn't a full summary by any means, just a highlight of parts I found interesting. Very long post under the cut!

Shūichi Ikeda was born on December 2, 1949 in Numabukuro in Nakano Ward, Tokyo. Growing up in the years after World War II, Ikeda recalls that although the scars of the war still remained here and there, the entire country was filled with an upwards surging momentum that could be described as "hope after a long period of suffering".

In 1958, he was invited by a friend to join Komadori Theater Company (劇団こまどり). Founded in 1948, it was a prestigious children's theater company that later produced many famous actors, including familiar names like Maaya Sakamoto, Daisuke Namikawa, and Ikeda's wife, Sakiko Tamagawa. He passed the entrance exam and started his career as an actor at only eight years old.

Along with movies, radio had a large presence in popular entertainment in those days. The first experience that Ikeda and the other child actors had was with radio dramas, broadcast on NHK radio. In elementary school, it was his daily routine to go to the NHK studio after school. There he co-starred with popular talents of the time.

In a funny side note, Ikeda recalls fond memories of the bento lunches they had at the studio. The rank of the bento changed depending on the rank of the actor with whom he was working. One particular instance he noted was how when the famous Musei Tokugawa starred in a lead role, lunch was eel bento, a rare delicacy back then.

As time went on, TV dramas became more popular, and Ikeda was offered his first role on television only three months after he joined Komadori. It was a simple role - a child crying in the corner in the background of a shot - but he remembers it fondly as a memorable first step into the world of acting.

In his junior high days, Ikeda starred in Gashintare (がしんたれ), a TV adaptation of the autobiography of playwright Kazuo Kikuta, and the movie Robō no Ishi (路傍の石, "Roadside Stone"), two works that made him seriously consider the job of "actor" for the first time.

In this chapter, Ikeda also talks about his relationship with famed Japanese film actor Yūjirō Ishihara. The two met as co-stars on the TV drama Shi no Hakubutsushi - Chīsaki Tatakai (死の博物誌 – 小さき闘い, The Natural History of Death – A Small Battle). Ikeda says he was immediately struck by his aura the moment he entered the rehearsal room.

Ikeda recalls how on set, Ishihara jokingly addressed him as “Shū-sensei”, as a nod to the fact Ikeda was much more experienced with TV dramas, despite being much younger. 

“Shū-sensei, you're a junior high school student, but you’re more senior than me as a TV actor, aren't you?”

In response, Ikeda replied,

“Well then, I'll call you Yu-sensei. On TV, I may be the sensei, but if I appear in a movie with you, please be the sensei.”

Ikeda fondly remembers him as a star that never faded no matter how much time had passed. Sadly, Ishihara passed away July 17th, 1985, and he never got the chance to film on a movie set with him.

In his words, “Even now, I keep in mind the way of life as an actor that Yujiro-san taught me. And I still call out to him...as Yu-sensei.”

In the spring of 1964, Ikeda began his role as the star of Jiro Monogatari (次郎物語), a TV drama based on the novel of the same name. The story depicts Japan in the early Shōwa period as seen from the perspective of Jiro Honda, a boy of a former samurai family.

The show was a hit among viewers of all ages, and ended up running as a nationally broadcast drama for two years. However, due to the popularity, from that point forward in his childhood acting career, Ikeda was typecast as a similar character - or as he refers to it, the image of “Jiro Shonen”, “a boy in a kasuri kimono”.

Ikeda was around 24 or 25 years old when Kohei Miyauchi asked him if he would be interested in doing voice-over work. The role was in a one-shot overseas drama for NHK about a group of three train robbers. Ikeda remembers struggling to adjust, thinking it might not be the best fit after all.

Soon after he was offered a role in André Cayatte's Mourir d'aimer as the dub voice for Bruno Pradal. At first he was hesitant, but accepted after finding out he would be alongside Tomoko Naraoka (dubbing Annie Girardot), whom he had worked with earlier in his career during his time as a child actor.

Ikeda recalls how this experience helped change his perspective on voice over work.

"Rather than trying to match the voice of the actor on the screen or strictly matching the actual lip-syncing, I felt how the actor and director put together the character, and translated that atmosphere into Japanese-style acting."

After appearing as a voice actor in other overseas dramas, a new opportunity arose. The person who approached him was Kazuya Tatekabe, of Doraemon fame. The two became friends and often went drinking with their fellow co-stars after work.

It was Tatekabe who introduced Ikeda to Noriyoshi Matsuura, who worked as an editor and sound director on various anime. Through some gentle persuading, he convinced Ikeda to give anime a try (while drunk, he admits), specifically the character Radik in Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3.

However, Ikeda found the speed of the process and inability to preview the material beforehand (like he was used to with film voice overs) overwhelming. He remembers thinking, "this is my first and last anime".

Despite this, Matsuura convinced him to give one more audition a try, with the promise they could go for drinks afterwards. Ikeda agreed, though wasn't enthusiastic about it.

...That audition was for the role of Amuro Ray in the upcoming anime Mobile Suit Gundam.

~

That's all for Chapter 1! I'll continue with these posts for each chapter as I go. Of course I recommend checking out the book for yourself if possible as I've left out a lot of content here for brevity.

[thelreads]

Here to bother you again about Ishi ni Usubeni; specifically about what happened in the years after the original story:

Misha takes up Gath's offer to visit & regularly goes back to the capital for several days if not weeks at a time. She receives an education via private tutor & becomes a charming young lady despite having to hide her face in public. Her excuse is that she has a facial deformity.

When it does go public that Gath adopted a magical creature, there's mixed reactions. Some see Gath as a traitor while others are intrigued. Misha becomes the target of various attacks & curiosity seekers who want to see the "Civilized Medusa". There's probably a couple of young men asking for her hand, but Gath says no.

Misha's bio-mom is understandably furious & forbids Misha from going anywhere near a human town & makes it clear to Gath that if he wants to see her, he has to be the one to travel.

Also something something Misha is Anya's ancestor somehow.

Now that's just canon stuff, specially the part about anya. But I can add one more to that:

She's actually Ashe's ancestor, and Ashe is Anya's ancestor.

[idanceuntilidie]

7 minutes in heaven - Ishi

tw! slightly sexual themes I think? and slight yandere behaviour.

strawberry!yan [Ishi] x gn reader

Sorry for the absence sweethearts I will try being more active.

The closet door closed, envolving you and the person next to you in almost total darkness. The only illumination came from the creaks in the door, making the tight space slightly less scary.

The person that you ended up with this time was Ishi. Now you are listening to her rambling about the baking contest she took part in. It eases up the atmosphere. Her cheery voice was enough to calm you down after two other adventures you had in that same closet.

You noticed how clingy Ishi could be daily, but now she is literally just clinging to you. Her head is on your shoulder as she rambles. It wasn't that bad, just slightly embarrassing. You didn't swat her hand away and just stayed that way.

After some time Ishi got tired of talking and just nuzzeled her head into the creak of your neck. You chuckled, patted her back and took in the the scent of freshly picked strawberries. You need to ask her what perfumes she uses.

You didn't notice how she slightly shook underneath you. How her breath deepened, and the lovesick gaze she held. She nuzzled into your neck taking in your scent.

She is ecstatic to be with you! 7 minutes with her beloved is what she needed. Yet something is missing.

You winced because of the pain you felt in your shoulder. You lock your eyes with Ishi, she smiled innocently before going in for another bite.

She bit you.

Twice even.

You squeak as she licks the fresh bite.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself”

she chuckled kissing your neck. Your breath hitched. Is it getting warmer in here?

Her hand found your clammy one.

“Do I have your permission to keep going hun?”

she asked and you simply nodded your head. She smiled widely and went back to kissing your neck. You let out small whines that seemed to encourage her.

She slowly moved up, her kisses were gentle. Ishi was taking her time, to taste, smell, feel you. You couldn’t look away from her.

Soon she came for your lips, she seemed giddy. Grabbing both of your cheeks. Her lips brushed against you and-

and the door of the closet opened.

Both of you stayed still. You think you saw Ishi frown at the person that opened the closet, as soon as she turned to you her sour expression was gone.

She kissed your nose.

“I will get that kiss hope ya know that”

She got up and left the closet.

Your neck hurts.

[candycryptids]

Did I accidentally click unfollow because it was next to the Ask button? Maybe. This truly is the best hour.

Anyway! What do they do to pass time during long journeys?

ANSWER AS THE VIBES DICTATE

The mood of the century. Why make it so clickable. Tappable. Whatever. I’ve used desktop lately and they’re like “HERES YOUR BIGGEST FANS. UNFOLLOW THEM NOW.” Like…… help…

Anyways the vibes(™) dictate this is real WoL hours, so. Ishi’li travels on foot/Chocobo more often than not because their companion (the Main WoL/their co-wol - husbands wolc, I swear I’m gonna pose him sometime this year, prommyfr) gets Aethersick (yknow, when you teleport to Thav and everybodies like EUUURGH… that, but every time.)

So they’ve passed the time with

-bitching about the Company Of Heroes (two weeks of running back and forth across Eorzea, bitching the whole time about how this shit is all for a banquet, TO CELEBRATE THEM, FOR SOME REASON, and there’s a Primal, like, LOOSE?)

-Singing popular songs (Ishi does it not.. always well… but it’s the heart that counts right?)

Aaand.. honestly sometimes I think they spend a lot of time trying to decide what to make for dinner that evening, or where a good place to let the ‘Bo’s rest is, if it’s not a Pressing Mission, which, let’s be real, after ARR? Everything feels pressing. So conversation tends to turn towards plans for when they get there…

(If Ishi isn’t having to steer/ride they’d like to have something to fiddle with their hands, a puzzle cube, or a math puzzle like Sudoku, tho I dunno if Eorzea would HAVE sudoku… it’s the kind of thing they enjoy lmao)

Edit: forgot to add the link to the ask meme like some kinda sea cucumber [here you go]