#872 video

[voca-song-a-day]

Today's featured song is: "Clear Logic" Haruma Ryouki & rai. feat. Hatsune Miku! (warning: video contains flashing imagery)

[molakolako-blog]

My Video Advertising And Marketing Service Get Noticed!

[angeltannis]

So Blizzard announced that player levels are finally coming back after (much like the On Fire system) being inexplicably scrapped for the sequel…but get this… it won’t track data from Overwatch 1…. everybody’s gonna start at zero 🤣💀

[stylespresleyhearted]

CCG - LUCI’S 3RD BIRTHDAY

In honor of the great @blainesebastian ‘s birthday here’s a little instagram compilation I’ve conjured up for our adored CCG nation <3 Austin, CCG, and Luci we miss and love ya’ll forever and Mccall you are a brilliant mind whom I will adore until the end of time! Have the bestest birthday ever, you deserve nothing less!

—————-

liked by coffee.girl, salmahayek, and 20,342 others

enews And the Best Dad Award goes to ….! In honor Austin Butler and Y/N’s little girl turning three today let’s take a look back at our favorite moments of Austin Butler being the best dad ❤️ link in bio for full video of second slide.

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austinfan18 video of luci running into austin’s arm after two weeks apart you will always be famous!

butlerishh him throwing her in the air LMAO LUCI WAS NOT HAVING FUN

ccgfan HA fr luci was looking at her mom to save her

iloveaustin Can we talk about how proud his mom would be about what a great parent he is?

sharonbleu Austin even has Salma Hayek up in the likes 😉

liked by austinbutler, priscillapresley, and 872, 196 others

coffee.girl Celebrating Luci day should be every day tbh. 🦖💕👁️🐠🪷🌸☃️🥞 @austinbutler and I can’t believe we created this wonderful being, she had to have come from a lab of perfection.

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ashleytisdale Luci told me she’s from Pluto and I believe her. It’s the only logical explanation.

austinbutler Nice use of all of Luci’s favorite emoji’s, she’s going to be so proud. ❤️

jillian.mua The best thing you and Austin ever did and will ever do is have sex three years ago to give the world the best human to walk the Earth

coffee.girl JILLIAN!

ashleybee I’m disgusted but I get what she means

austinbutler Babe close your comment section please

chrisevans Happy bday to the one who is gonna prove aliens exist!

liked by austinbutler, bazluhrmann, and 20,807 others

people Luci Butler turns three today so we must not forget to credit her mother (and best friend) in a world where it seems moms get no recognition for being superhuman.

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user12 imagine using a 3 year olds bday to make some political womens movement statement. mom’s get plenty of recognition.

butlerfamupdates I actually applaud People Magazine for this. All day magazine’s have posted Austin’s cutest moments with Luci and talked about what a wonderful Dad he is - which no one would ever doubt to think he is - but Luci’s mom is very much present as well and deserves love too. Luci loves both her parents. It’s normal for a kid to have favorites, it doesn’t make the other parent ‘bad.’

ccgfan Y/N and Luci sharing their love for open water together and creating sea shell necklaces i cry

ccgfan1 You just know she’s the most supportive and loving mother! Austin and Luci are so lucky to have her!

liked by coffee.girl, austinbutler, and 341, 289 others

ashleytisdale happy birthday to Jupiter’s bestest friend in the whole wide world! We are so lucky to have you in our life Luci ❤️🦖✨

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coffee.girl the cutest besties 👯 🤣

fan23 ashley and aus are bffs now their daughters are too 😭

austinluv STOP my heart can’t take it

liked by ashleybee, ccgfan, and 34, 567 others

butlerfamupdates a cute little insight into Luci’s “THREE-REX” bday party! Posts and reposts from @austinbutler and @coffee.girl IG stories

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sugartreats Thank you for choosing us for her cakes and treats! The sweetest, most beautiful family 🙌🏼 #happybirthdayluci

fan34 so luc is like obsessed w dinos huh 🤔

fan33 austin literally calls her lil dino

fan45 u just know it was luci’s idea to put a tutu on the scary t rex LMAO

sugarcakes Oh it was! Her parents brought her in and Miss Luci was very specific with what she wanted haha

liked by ashleytisdale, oliviadejonge, and others

jillian.mua Happy birthday cool girl 🥳 I love you

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austinbutler vibin’

ashleybee oh gosh i wanna kiss those cheeks

oliviadejonge i wanna be her when i grow up ✨🥳

coffee.girl @austinbutler trendsetter 😂❤️

liked by austin12 and others

austinbnews via Austin’s IG story for Luci’s birthday! Happy birthday sweet Luci 🎂 ♥️

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austinfan23 she’s taking after her parents with her love of books 🥹

ccgfan yes Y/N and Austin built Luci her personal little library 😭

butlerupdates Austin taking a picture of Luci taking a picture of Y/N — ICONIC

liked by ashleebee, coffee.girl, and 1,235,096 others

austinbutler happy birthday lil dino ♥️

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coffee.girl … and she’s out for the count

jillian.mua @coffee.girl she had a busy day bossing everyone around

ashleytisdale @austinbutler please tell me you at least wiped the cake frosting off her face

austinbutler @ashleytisdale I’m not dealing with that tantrum when she wakes up

coffee.girl @austinbutler neither am I smart move

ashleybee I LOVE HERRRR

LMAOOOO MCCALL WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF I TOLD YOU I WAS ALREADY WORKING ON THIS BEFORE YOU TEXTED ME TODAY ASKING ABOUT LUCI ?!???? OUR BRAINSSS INTERCONNECTED 🙌🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️ happy birthday mccall love you and your little universe and luci and ccg so much you’re awesome

[pitchsidestories]

It only hurts this much right now II Hayley Raso x Reader

Word count: 872

Disclaimer: English is not our first language

As the final whistle blow and you knew you were going to the final but to the cost of your girlfriend’s team loosing, your eyes immediately started looking for Hayley and her signature piece the bow in the colour of her jersey. Before you could find her, you were hold back by two strong arms which belonged to Alanna Kennedy. The tall blonde defender whispered in your ear: “Let Hayley be alone for a moment; she just gave everything on this pitch.” “Okay but tell her I’d like to see her when she’s ready for me.”, you nodded understandingly. In a reassuring tone Alanna answered: “I promise, I will do that.” Quickly she added: “oh, congrats by the way for entering the final of the world cup.”  A sad smile appeared on your lips as you thanked her for her congratulation before you could stop yourself you thought out loud: “ I really wish this was the endgame. Even though I know the hurt would probably be even stronger but you Matildas would have deserved this.” Empathetically the Australian player padded your shoulders: “But it’s the semi. I’ll go see where Hayley is.”

Meanwhile Hayley felt the loss settling into her bones, her back was aching, all what she wanted to do right now was getting back into the hotel, covering herself in a blanket and shutting the world out. Despite that the midfielder still needed to do one thing, so with a hopeful glance in her eyes she turned to Alanna: “Lani, hi.. is she still here?” “Yes, waiting for you.”, the taller woman nodded to the direction Hayleys girlfriend was standing between her very cheerful teammates Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze.

With a bright smile on her lips, Keira took your hand in hers, “Come on, time to celebrate.“ You stalled, looking over at the Matildas crowding around the coaching bench, „Go on. I’ll join you in a minute…“ Keira and Lucy shared a surprised look. “Fine then. But we won’t wait for you.“, Lucy shrugged. You shook your head, laughing, “I’ll catch up with you anyway. Sarina said you’re not allowed to jump or run.“ While you were still joking with your teammates, you didn’t notice Hayley walking up to you.

Her sad smile made your features soften immediately. “Hi, love.“ “Hi.“, she whispered. You lowered your gaze towards your toes and cleared your throat, “Sorry for kicking you out…“ “It’s not your fault. You were the better team. Do you still want to swap jerseys?“ Hayley was already pulling her shirt over her head. You nodded while following suit, “Of course I still want to.“ You took her shirt and pulled it over your head, “You can be so proud of yourself and your team. You have been amazing.“ Hayley took you in, standing in front of her in your sports bra and the sad smile tugged on the corners of her mouth again, “ Thank you. It just doesn’t feel like it at the moment.“ “I know.“

While answering you realized that Hayleys yellow bow had fallen to the ground. With a swift move, you picked it up and held in front of her face, “Your bow fell out.“ Wordlessly, your girlfriend turned around, so you could put it back into her ponytail like you have done a million times before. “Thank you.“ You couldn’t help but smile as you read your own name on your jersey that Hayley was now wearing, “You look really good with my name on your back.“ Finally, Hayley turned around with a real smile on her lips and let her gaze drift over you, “I like the Matildas shirt on you too.“

Impatiently Keira with a huge grin on her face shouted at you: “We gotta go now, it’s time for you to say goodbye to your girlfriend!”  You chose to ignore the shout of your teammate to ask in a hopeful voice: “See you later or tomorrow for a video call?” “Yes, see you. Oh and..”, Hayley stopped mid-sentence as you were about to leave.  Quickly you turned your head around to look at her: “Yes?” The Australian player swallowed hard before continuing: “ You were amazing tonight.” Your thanks came out in a whisper.

Quietly the brunette confessed: “I really hate losing. But there is no one I’d rather lose to than you.” “Trust me I love winning but winning against you felt terrible, so I think we’re equal upon this matter.”, you replied with a sad smile. Mumbling she agreed: “Looks like we are.” “Love you, Hayley.”, you said with a painful ache in your chest because these words might never felt as true and deep as they did in this Australian night. The love was mirrored in your girlfriends’ eyes: “I love you too. No one deserves to go to the final more than you so go celebrate with your girls.”

Hayley was still sad but there was something else pumping through her veins now a sense of excitement about what the future hold for you two in Madrid and all the adventures which lay ahead of you.

We hoped you enjoyed our first short imagine. Feel free to write us if you liked it.

[project-zorthania]

so what do you think are hytham and basims ages?

I hope you'll forgive the amount of snark and sass that I'm about to use to answer your question anon, because if I had the time and energy to spend making an hour long video essay to reply to this, I would.

You’d think tying in all your games around real historical events would mean creating a consistent timeline for your characters, but no! Ubisoft’s canonical timeline continues to be an absolute disaster, which makes this ask both a blessing and a curse as I’m left with a plethora of information to source for my answer.

I want this to make sense for everyone reading along so bear with me, I’ll try my best to keep this as short and sweet as possible.

A fair warning that this post will be riddled with spoilers for the following:

AC Valhalla

AC Mirage

The Golden City

Sword of the White Horse

Giermund's Saga.

Now without further ado, let’s break it down.

By the time we first see them in Valhalla, I estimate Basim to be in his late 30s and Hytham to be in his early 30s with no bigger than a 6 year age gap between them.

Here is what we know.

AC Valhalla starts with Sigurd meeting Basim and Hytham in Constantinople just a few months prior to their long trek up to Norway together in 872 CE.

We also know that the book 'The Golden City' takes place in 867 CE, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Basil I in Constantinople. That’s exactly 5 years before the events of Valhalla.

And exactly 6 years before the start of 'The Golden City' was the era of extreme instability in Baghdad after the assassination of the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in 861 CE.

Here’s a visual of the timeline surrounding these events:

The following clip is from the official Ubisoft Developer Trailer Breakdown, the rest of the video is available to watch on youtube here.

According to the Narrative Director at Ubisoft Bordeaux, Mirage takes place 20 years before Valhalla, which...

*confused whale noises*

One could argue that Sarah Beaulieu meant 20 years before Basim’s betrayal in Norway, which takes place in 877 CE, (that’s still only 16 years) but if all of this were true, then the entire timeline for 'The Golden City' starts to get very messy.

If you haven't already read the novel, the story follows Basim and Hytham and their mutual struggle with fatherhood. The author, Jaleigh Johnson, seamlessly manages to tie in the AC universe with the reign of Emperor Basil and the very real assassination attempts on his child, Leo. It is the origin story to their inseparable companionship and elaborates on how Hytham develops a striking degree of loyalty and trust towards his partner/mentor.

There are a couple instances within the book that allude to Hytham's age.

The Golden City - Chapter 6: Hytham's first encounter with Justin, Leo's former personal guard.

The Golden City - Chapter 15: Justin defines his relationship with Leo.

The Golden City - Chapter 25: Basim's call-out.

A couple things to note here:

Hytham considers Justin, a man in his early 20s, young.

Justin considers Leo, a very small child no older than 10, a little brother.

Hytham is old enough to consider this same child his son.

If Hytham considers a man in his early 20s young, and said 20 year old considers a child his little brother, what on earth does that make Hytham? The book is telling us that Hytham must be between his mid to late 20s in order to think this way. His struggle with his paternal instincts and numerous conversations regarding the topic with Basim are a testament to that.

And if you're still not convinced:

Hytham is explicitly telling us that they're not far apart in age. This isn't speculation, he's telling us that he knows just how old Basim is. Granted, he doesn't know that Basim has merged with an Isu reincarnation, but right here, standing before all of us, Basim is still Basim residing in a human body that has lived through very human years.

Now if we go back to Mirage's canon of their ages and compare what we know from the book (and bear in mind, the book was released prior to the release of Mirage with intention to setup for it, so this really should've been something deeply considered by Ubisoft before Mirage released)

My god, it's like Ubisoft didn't even TRY.

Muhammad Ibn Tahir even makes a passing comment about Basim looking to be in his 20s. Granted, the man's definitely guessing here, but he's likely not far off given that the game starts with Basim being 17. If we go by what Muhammad says, this tells us that 3 years has passed since Basim killed Al-Mutawakkil in Anbar at the start of the game.

This is the same 20 year old bearded Basim that we see meet Hytham atop a minaret in Karkh (approximately... we really have no idea what the timeline of events are within Mirage, which is another thing that irks me to no end).

I'm reluctant to entertain the idea that Hytham is any younger than 14 here because 'The Golden City' is dependent on portraying both Basim and Hytham as older men with relatively similar ages, and since the novel relies heavily on historical events, that leaves us with little to no wiggle room in moving the story's timeline around.

It must take place during the reign of Emperor Basil between the years of 867 to 886, and they're already in Norway by 872.

I want to honor the author’s dedication and research into making a cohesive timeline between all the main line games and their novel, especially when its story expands on the characters in question.

Because if we even attempt to go by Mirage's canon, we're going to run into all sorts of problems trying to make sense of a 22 year old Basim running around Constantinople with his acolyte, who is apparently... also a child.

The part that really breaks my heart? That scene between them atop the minaret is such a touching moment. I was beyond conflicted when I finally happened upon Hytham in Mirage, and now I'm being forced to contend with its canonimity :/

Hilariously, if Ubisoft truly intended for Basim to be 20 years older in Valhalla, it only further solidifies that they wanted to canonize an older Basim in his late 30s. The bad math could've been an oversight... even if it is a big one.

Let's delve into Valhalla next.

Thanks to Eivor's AC Rebellion bio, we know that her age ranges between 25-30 years old throughout Valhalla. This is further supported by Kjotve's comment about 17-18 winter's passing since the death of her parents near the beginning of the game, and further cemented when she's talking to Basim by the campfire, stating that she lost her parents at the tender age of 9.

This is important to note when observing the way Basim interacts with Eivor throughout the story, especially since Mirage's canon insists that they are only 2-3 years apart.

Early in the game Eivor teases Basim about jumping the gun to find a new apprentice to tutor, and his response is to lend her guidance.

In Cent, when completing the quest 'The Instrument of the Ancient's, a dialogue triggers when Eivor and Basim are on their way to infiltrate Canterbury's Cathedral to rescue Sigurd:

This is not how friends talk to each other in their late 20s. This is a man with years of experience, eager to impart his knowledge to one much younger. He's not using a condescending tone here, he genuinely believes he can guide her.

Also, have you SEEN the man?

Does that look like a 30 year old to you?

Better yet, have you seen Hytham?

Because this man looks like he's in his 30s, but according to Mirage he's supposed to be barely 20 here?

I'm sorry, I know this sounds like I'm harping on Mirage a lot, but you have to understand that all this frustration comes from a place of deep affection for a franchise I practically grew up with. Part of what makes Assassin's Creed so incredible is it's ability to immerse a player in a historical setting and create impactful stories within those settings, but so much of that has been lost overtime due to corporate greed, it's become disheartening.

Why on earth would Ubisoft create such an expansive and incredible recreation of 9th century Baghdad only to spend little to no effort on it's story? So little effort in fact, that they couldn't even tie in the story with their main line series properly. Imagine having a team of historians and architects dedicated to bringing an accurate depiction of old Arab/Persian/Levantine culture to life, only to drown it out with a lukewarm story and poorly constructed timelines?

The point I'm trying to make is that I'm being forced to pick and choose my canons because of inconsistency's like this. Will the canons I choose to abide by for the sake of world-building be the same as everyone else's? No! And I don't expect it to either. This is my opinion based on the research I conducted, and this is how I'm choosing to make sense of everything to provide myself with an ounce of sanity when creating fanworks.

Which is also the reason why I haven't included 'Giermund's Saga' or 'Sword of the White Horse' in this response, as I personally found their depictions of Hytham and some supporting characters a little ooc for my taste.

And before I get into why, I want to make a disclaimer that my intent in dissecting the stories told in these novels isn’t to undermine the work that the author has poured into these works. These writers have my utmost respect and admiration for dedicating so much time and effort in expanding the AC universe and bringing to life their own interpretations of these characters, and I feel it’s important to acknowledge that my opinions here are my own and not a reflection of the entire fanbase. This is not an invitation to dunk on any of the works that they’ve so clearly poured their passion into. I only mean to dissect it for the sake of analysis and I want to be honest for the sake of this ask.

Here's an excerpt from Giermund's Saga as Giermund meets Hytham for the first time.

Giermund observes that Hytham looks to be in his 20s. This observation is given from the perspective of an outsider. He is an unreliable narrator guessing the age of a man he has just met. I could easily do the same thing- guess the age of a stranger I see down the street and for all I know, I could be woefully wrong.

Additionally, Hytham appears to have pierced ears. Do I have a thing against pierced ears? Absolutely not 😂 and I'd be over the moon to see fanart of this, but has Hytham ever been depicted with them in Valhalla before? No! What an odd addition that contributes nothing to his character for this brief appearance.

In Sword of the White Horse, Hytham is described to having brown eyes:

Which again, I don't have a single problem with brown eyes, it's just not what canon Valhalla has depicted him with.

There's also mention of him sustaining a lasting leg injury from his assault on Kjotve. You know... the one where he's swatted away like a fly on the wall. This is supposedly the same injury that confined him to his bureau for the entirety of Valhalla, but it couldn't be farther from the truth because in actuality he sustained a punctured lung, likely from a cracked rib that never properly healed. This change almost feels like it's understating the severity of his inflicted injuries. A punctured lung would've been infinitely harder to tend to than a leg that long ago, especially since the fall of Rome in the 5th century ended the advancement of surgical knowledge in Europe (not that it was that advanced at the time to begin with).

However, the biggest deal breaker for me is Hytham and Eivor's reluctance to return an artifact belonging to it's indigenous ancestors.

The premise of the book revolves around the retrieval of a sacred weapon to the protagonists people, Excalibur. But Eivor's reluctance to do so is in direct conflict with her character in Vinland, as she quite literally comes across an apple of Eden and returns it to the indigenous population of the land without a second thought. Given Hytham's overall generous nature, and the fact that he's played an advisory role within Ravensthorpe for some time now, it would make just as much sense for him to respond similarly and give back to the people what is rightfully theirs.

Furthermore, neither of these novels follow historical events with impact to the Valhalla story line. With a bit of research, I was able to find that Giermund was a real viking but very little else is known about him.

I cannot reiterate enough that these works are fantastic and should be enjoyed and appreciated in their own breath, but for the sake of breaking down canons and making sense of their ages, I'm opting to keep them out of timeline discussions, along with any other material with depictions of Hytham and Basim that have little to no impact on their speculated ages.

With all of that out of the way, here's a side by side comparison of the timeline Mirage has setup vs what I'm proposing based on all the canon information we've dissected.

I sincerely think that the mess of Mirage's timeline could've easily been solved if Ubisoft had simply aged the boys up a little.

As much as I adore tiny Hytham being shown how to do a leap of faith, I would've equally settled for Basim being introduced to Hytham training under Rayhan in Alamut as a young man instead.

There's even a cleverly placed letter making mention of Norse warriors in Constantinople that can be found in Fuladh's office just beside Enkidu's perch.

A subtle nod to the plot of 'The Golden City' soon to come:

Which means that the writers fully intended to tie Mirage in with 'The Golden City,' making it impossible to ignore.

I will leave you here before I ramble any further. I promise I'm not always this exasperated with my replies _(: 」 ∠)_

I sincerely hope this wasn't too convoluted to follow. Please do with this information what you will anon, but this is how I've chosen to make sense of everything and I hope you can track my logic.

To those of you who managed to get this far, I send you all my love and many kisses. Thank you for reading, and please do feel free to send me any other questions you may have!

I'll try my best to keep my response shorter than this one ;)

PS: I am aware that Hytham's wiki states that he was born in the 850s, but this wiki entry infuriates me to no end because there is NO SOURCE. Never has Hytham's birthday been explicitly stated anywhere, and someone just decided to randomly give him one. Please be VIGILANT in your research when you look up stuff about your favourite blorbos, as wikipedia can be edited by literally anyone.

k, end rant, thank you for coming to my ted talk. That's all i wanted to add 😂

[runawaysiren940]

Hello everyone!

This year, I am looking to transition (haha) to podcasting in addition to my usual videos. The first episode I am working on has a theme of "Coercion in the trans community". This episode will cover topics such as Pressure for GNC people and children to transition, Presentation of suicide vs transition as only routes, Lack of informed consent and lying about medical outcomes, as well as the Control of media, conversation and language. I am interested in hearing from you! If you have any anecdotes, stories, comment, etc on these topics, please leave a voicemail at: (872) 210-4966 to be featured on the show. Calling in is confidential, and you do not have to leave a name, number or any identifying information. Voicemails can be as long or short as you wish.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Siren

[mementomarii]

Hold His Hat

Pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime x gn!reader

Genre: Fluff/crack, post-timeskip, very domestic.

Warnings: Threats of squashing an imaginary frog, but that's quite literally it.

Word Count: 872

Author's Note: Listen, I just saw a few videos about this trend on tiktok and I thought it'd be funny if I wrote about it. Also, this is my first real post, so I hope you like it :)

"Haji!" 

"What's up?"

"C'mere for a second, I wanna show you something."

Although he didn't give you a verbal response, you knew that he was on his way out of the kitchen, seeing as the sound of him chopping vegetables came to a sudden halt and the sink began running instead. Within moments, his head popped out to peer at you–looking almost suspicious.

You offered him an innocent smile as you lifted a hand, making a grabbing motion toward him. "Don't look at me like that, it's nothing bad."

"Okay, sorry." The man chuckled at your words, and with a shake of his head, he was making his way over to you.

Once he was seated beside you, you lifted both of your hands and cupped them together as if you were holding something precious in your palms. "Look."

Hajime's eyes flicked down to look at your empty hands before they returned to your eyes. "..What am I looking at?"

"A frog, Haji. I have a frog in my hands." You explained, tilting your head to the side as you peered down at your palms, lips jutting out into a childish pout.

"..You have a frog in your hands?"

"Yes, and he's about to do three backflips. I just wanted you to see it, too. Look," You paused, lifting your head slightly to look about a foot above your hands before your eyes returned to your palms. The action was repeated twice more as if you had been watching something lift up and drop down to your hands. "See?"

"That's.." You nearly laughed at how he paused, with his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, looking almost concerned for your well-being. "That's very impressive."

With one of your hands, you pretended to pluck something from the supposed frog's body, and then you lifted your hand to him instead. "Hold his hat, it's falling off of him."

You had to resist the urge to laugh at him as he took the "hat" from your hand.

"How was he doing backflips with a hat on?" He questioned, and honestly, you weren't really expecting it. The fact that your boyfriend was actually playing along was a surprise, you thought he would just brush you off, fuss your hair up a little bit to mess with you, and then head back into the kitchen.

"He was holding it on his head, duh. But that makes doing backflips more difficult–look, he's gonna do three more." You repeated your actions from before, and after doing it three times, you turned your head to look at your boyfriend... Who was still holding the "hat" between his fingers. "Isn't he talented?"

That question made him laugh, "Very talented."

"Okay, now, do I actually have a frog in my hands?"

"Yeah." He responded as if it were a stupid thing to ask.

You laughed, of course, and he couldn't help but laugh with you. "Really? Okay, okay, do you believe that I actually have a frog in my hand? Like, can you see him?"

Hajime's laughter died down, and you noticed that his eyes shifted down to your hands for a moment before he continued. "Well, no, I can't see him."

"Then why are you holding his hat?"

Silence.

You grinned.

He dropped the frog's hat.

"Because you told me to hold his hat?" He responded, dragging out his words, unsure of how to respond.

Again, it made you laugh. It was just all too cute, how couldn't you laugh? "Intimidating and firm" Iwaizumi Hajime was holding your imaginary frog's hat because you told him to.

You reached over to grab his hand as you laughed, squeezing it and brushing your thumb over his knuckles. "Oh, that's adorable, you know?"

"What? I'm confused, what was that all about?" He asked with a sheepish grin, leaning against you and pressing his face against your hair in slight embarrassment.

With your other hand, you reached over to swipe your phone from where you had set it up on the end table. "It was a test, a dumb boyfriend test."

His jaw dropped in offense. "I am not a dumb boyfriend!"

"But you passed the test, so you kind of are!" You, still laughing, pointed out as you tapped your thumb against the red circle on your screen, ending the video. "'Kawa wanted to see if it would work on you, so he asked me to do it."

"Do not send that to him, Y/n." His voice was firm as he reached over your lap to grab–or at least try to grab your phone from your hands.

Quickly standing up from the couch, you darted across the living room, furiously tapping away at your home. "Or what?"

"Or-.." The man paused for a moment, and the lack of repercussions had you smiling victoriously. "Or I'm crushing the frog."

"What?" You cried out, putting your actions on hold mere moments before you were able to send the video to your boyfriend's best friend. "You wouldn't!"

Although the frog definitely wasn't real, perhaps all of that world-building– with the frog's hat and his backflips– had convinced your heart that he was, in fact, living and breathing.

Unfortunately for Oikawa, you never did send him that video.

[delta-altair]

Title: A Warmth against the Cold

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)

Relationship: Caelus/Dan Heng (Honkai: Star Rail)

Characters: Dan Heng (Honkai: Star Rail) Caelus (Honkai: Star Rail) Other Honkai: Star Rail Characters

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort Emotional Hurt/Comfort Established Relationship Memories Soft Huddling For Warmth sorta - Freeform Version 2.4 Spoilers (Honkai: Star Rail) Version 2.4 Trailblaze Continuance: Finest Duel Under the Pristine Blue (I) (Honkai: Star Rail) ‎

Language: English

Length: 872 words

Summary:

With their chase of the borisin at a standstill, frigid memories of the Shackling Prison bubble to the surface of Dan Heng’s mind.

A ‘missing moment’ from the latest Trailblaze Interlude mission, inspired by Dan Heng's line of dialogue describing the prison as cold.

A Stelle/Dan Heng version is also available; see the Ao3 for the link.

[dark-n-moody]

Nostalgia (pt. 2)

Summary: You were called to sit and watch Richard Ramirez’s court cases, but when he stared in your eyes, you couldn’t help but feel a certain way…almost nostalgic…

Character: pronouns she/her (y/n)

Word count: 872

Author's note: Thank you guys for the likes and the support! <3

It's been a week since you've had that epiphany in court, after seeing the serial killer Richard Ramirez. And if things couldn't get any worse, this time, you won't just be seeing him, you'll be talking to him. There's no time or way to back out, as you have just been told a few days prior that this was also a stupid requirement for law school. Sometimes you would find yourself sitting there wondering what you've put yourself into by going to law school.

You've watched the other two videos of his interview with Inside Edition as well as with Mike Watkiss. You had to prepare yourself by studying how he acts so you wouldn't be surprised by anything when there. The only light being shed in this situation is that you won't be alone; your fellow colleague, Evan, will do most of the talking, or you hope so for your own sake.

Approximately an hour later...

As you walk down the jail unit, you felt uneasy. Evan started to put his hand on your back for comfort when he looked at your face. You always have speculated that he had some crush on you, as it was evident in the way he treats you.

"You okay (y/n)?" He asked, his face looking alarming.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine, just a bit nauseous," you lied.

"Is there anything I can d-" you cut him off, "I'm good, really" you said shaking your hands and walking away from him so you can escape the feeling of his hand on your back.

"It's right down this way," a cop that was escorting you two said, pointing to a door on the left.

Feeling even more unsettled, you breathe in and just when you're about to walk into the interview room, Evan grasps your hand stopping you in place.

"What?" you say, frustration hinted in your voice.

"I just want you to be in the right mindset for this interview. I can do all the talking if you want." He said.

"I'm gonna have to do some talking too Evan," you huffed.

Avoiding him to talk anymore than he already has, you walk into the interview room. Richard was there, with his long black hair and long legs. It was a rare sight to see him in his prison uniform- an orange jumpsuit. He looked up at you and smiled, with some of his teeth missing. This was the first time he smiled at you, and you knew he remembered you. The eye contact didn't feel like anything as it did the last time you were in court with him. As Evan walked in from behind, Richard jumped up to shake his hand first.

Weird...you thought.

You proceeded to sit down across from the chair Richard was in. You could hear him in the back introducing himself to Evan, with a Spanish accent hinted in his voice.

You snapped back into reality when you heard Evan introducing you.

"And this is my wonderful colleague (y/n)." He said, his hand out in your direction.

"Nice to meet you, (y/n)" Richard said, his hand out to shake yours. Hesitantly, you reached out your hands and shook his. His hands were warm, and felt welcoming rather than evil, considering those hands took part in killing more than 13 people. You quickly let your hand out of his grasp and he proceeded to sit down.

"So, (y/n) and I are here on behalf of our requirements for law school. We aren't the government officials or anything just yet," Evan chuckled.

Richard on the other hand, had remained a straight face and said "I see..."

You butt in, starting the interview, in hopes of getting this over with so you can go home. "Ahem, so Richard, how would you describe these past few weeks? Do you think your lawyers are trying their best with the appeals?"

Evan darted a look at you, shocked that you just started off rapidly.

"Mmmm, I know what my fate is, so I don't really care whether they're trying or not. After all, I'm a serial killer, what appeals would even work?" He grinned at you.

You got frustrated quickly. You forgot that he had this tendency to indirectly answer questions or not at all and just talk about something completely different.

Evan could tell that your face has changed, so he decided to take the reply in his own hands.

"Well, do you even listen in court? Do you not care that you're going to be put on death row? To my understanding, the lawyers are trying to prevent you from dying..." he said.

Instead of Richard to answer the question, he shifted in his seat. You can tell there's agitation growing in him. If he weren't in chains and cuffs and had a pistol next to him, he would definitely shoot you both in the head in a snap.

The cop that was stationed to stand in the corner of the room shifted his belt a bit, making sure to be ready in case Richard unexpectedly acted out.

You decided to go on with a more daring question instead...a question that Mike Watkiss nor Inside Edition could not get answered...

part 3 confirmed and coming soon!

[password-door-lock]

Masterlist

Headcanons/Asks RFA wedding napkin preferences [1.7k words] What would Saeran’s career be like after the events of Gummy Worms [525 words] Sharing a bed with all Saerans [2k words] Video calling with SE Saeran [874 words] Sneak Peak at Gummy Worms 2 [872 words] Studying with GE Saeran [327 words]  Road trips with all Saerans [2.1k words] Comfort from all Saerans after a long day at work [1.1k words] Unknown’s complicated relationship with sleep [769 words]

Drabbles Far too much description of the pink room [1.8k words] Being Unknown’s assistant is 1000x better than my actual job [540 words] Giving Unknown a full length mirror so that he can see how weird his boots look [1.5k words] Calling Suit for the express purpose of telling dad jokes [1.2k words] Bothering Unknown until he tells you who he is lol [1.2k words] Introducing SE Saeran to match 3 games (and koalas) [954 words] Idol Unknown goes live (set during Gummy Worms) [1.2k words] You get a cold in the intelligence room as Unknown’s assistant [1.4k words] Suit dresses up as Ray and asks for a kiss [947 words] Saying “yes” to GE Saeran [884 words] Sneaking into the kitchen at Magenta to cook something for Suit [1.5k words] Unknown comforts you after you see a bug [1.1k words] Surprising Unknown with a “Christmas” gift [1.3k words] Giving Unknown one of those fancy promotional tea drinks that comes with a plushie [981 words] Indoor picnic with GE Saeran [723 words] Unknown sits on your lap (for control-based reasons, of course) [813 words] Asking Suit Saeran to stay after his apology [1.4k words] Trying to be a proper assistant for Unknown [1.6k words] The Mint Eye server crashes and you and Unknown banter about it lol [1k words] Ray accidentally steals your glove while “observing” you at work [1.5k words] You try and fail to input the password on the door lock (but at least you get to meet Unknown) [1.4k words] You and Saeran comfort one another on day 3 of his AE [944 words] Asking Unknown if he ever gets tired [1.2k words] Unknown watches you through your webcam [1.2k words] Telling Unknown that you’re bored of working [722 words] Contemplating your feelings for Unknown while he sleeps beside you [768 words] Unknown “comforts” (manipulates) you after bringing you to Magenta [858 words] Going out for ice cream with Unknown [1.2k words] Making ice cream from scratch with Saeyoung and GE Saeran [1.5k words] Catboy Unknown AU [800 words] GE Saeran in the maid dress [1.1k words] SE Saeran gets his driver’s license 1.3k words] Cooking dinner with GE Saeran [851 words] Unknown gets angry after Elizabeth the Third is taken from him [986 words]

Collections Mystictober 2023 Fake Chats

Oneshots The Cheesiest (Introducing GE Saeran to boxed mac ‘n’ cheese) [3.2k words] Mischief Night (Unknown crashes the RFA Halloween Party) [3.6k words] Caramel Apple (Unknown contemplates his feelings for MC a year after crashing the RFA Halloween Party) [4.6k words] Puppet Show (Based on the iconic puppet show cg ofc) [4.4k words] Everything More Than a Dream (Role reversal: you are fictional and SE Saeran is very real) [5.4k words] Peach Blossoms & Banksia (Say hello to Danger Ray) [12.8k words] Just Like Any Normal Couple (Fake dating with Unknown) [11.4k words] Gummy Worms (Idol Unknown AU) [28.2k words]  Orange Roses (Vampire Ray and Vampire Suit) [2.6k words] Rose Leaf (Vampire Unknown x Reader) [2.6k words] Maybe (Choi twins Linguistics AU; no pairings as of now) [3k words] Secret Santa (Christmas with Unknown) [7.4k words] Be (anything but) my valentine (Valentines Day with Suit Saeran) [10.2k words] Bleach (Helping Unknown bleach his hair) [6k words] Birthday Gift (Choi Twins birthday angst set after Saeyoung’s BSE 1; Unknown x Reader and Saeyoung x reader) [4k words] Cake! (Based on Unknown’s 2024 Birthday CG) [11.1k words]

Multi-Chapter Blue Light (Assistant AU / Unknown redemption arc set on Yoosung’s route for some inexplicable reason, a creative decision which I question daily; 30/30 Chapters) [140k words] Glow-In-The-Dark (Fantasy AU, Unknown x MC, 14/14 Chapters) [66.8k words]

[sacred-portal]

Follow me on instagram besties <333

[lovetaroandtaemin]

All I Wanted

Chapter 5: It Gets Worse

Osaki Shotaro x Reader

Word Count: 872

Previous 4 chapters can be found in the "All I Wanted" masterlist, which is linked here.

Content Warnings: Parental angst, Shotaro doesn't handle his emotions well, some suggestive dialogue (MINORS DNI!)

Author's Note: We're not gonna talk about the fact that it's been 2 months since I updated this fic. I'm so excited to be back to writing this one, though. Having the idea for this fic is actually what made me decide to start this blog! I hope you all enjoy reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. Feedback is always appreciated!

Fic is under the cut.

The next day in class, Shotaro refused to talk to you unless it was absolutely necessary. You had tried to ask him what was wrong, but he refused to tell you, only saying that everything was fine. It made you wonder if you had done something wrong.

You were at a loss for what to do, so when you saw Karina again you told her what happened. She offered to ask Wonbin to check in on Shotaro for you, just to reassure you that he was ok. You thanked your best friend profusely and asked her how her relationship with Wonbin was going.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a relationship. We just fuck sometimes,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but have you ever wanted it to be more than that?”

“Honestly, no. I think that our arrangement is great the way it is.”

“Alright, just please be safe.”

“I will, (Y/N).”

The two of you continued to chat until she had to leave. You hugged her and thanked her again for offering to talk to Wonbin. She promised to update you as soon as she could. Then she went on her way, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

It was obvious to anyone that saw him that Shotaro wasn’t ok. He had barely slept the night before, and he snapped at anyone that talked to him. He only regretted that when it was you. It wasn’t your fault that he was upset, and he knew that. He had never been good at coping with his emotions in a healthy manner, though.

That’s why when Wonbin asked Shotaro what was going on after classes were done for the day, he didn’t even tell his best friend the truth. It hurt to admit that he was feeling inadequate, especially because of one measly grade, so all he said was that he had gotten into an argument with his dad. It happened all the time, so at first Wonbin had no reason to suspect that something else was going on.

The two friends spent the evening playing video games and talking about whatever came to mind. They discussed their classes, their family lives, and eventually their relationships. The conversation started to turn sour when Shotaro asked Wonbin what was happening between him and Karina.

“What do you mean? We’re just hooking up, there isn’t really anything happening.”

“I think fucking counts as ‘something happening,’ ‘Bin.”

“Ok sure, I guess, but nothing serious is happening.”

“Do you want something serious to happen?”

“I mean not really. She’s awesome, but I’m just not into her like that.” There was a pause before he added, “How are things going with (Y/N)?”

“They’re fine, I guess.”

“Did something happen?”

“No, I’m fine,” he said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

“’Taro, you only say ‘fine’ when you’re not ok. What happened?”

“Nothing happened, oh my god.”

“Alright. If you don’t wanna talk about it I won’t make you.”

“Thank you.”

The night continued with an air of awkwardness until Wonbin went home. After that, Shotaro finally let himself cry for the first time since the call with his dad. He cried over the fact that his dad didn’t seem to care about him unless he was doing well in school. He cried over the fact that he felt like he was too stupid for you to love. He cried over the fact that he was on a path that he didn’t want, all because of his need to impress his dad. He cried until he was too tired to cry anymore. Once the tears dried, he tried to sleep and hoped that everything would eventually be ok.

The next morning, Karina texted you. She informed you that Wonbin said that Shotaro was safe, just stressed about some personal stuff. She didn’t tell you what Wonbin said about Shotaro getting more upset when you were mentioned.

When you saw Shotaro in class, you said, “Good morning” and asked how his day was going. He got angry and told you that everything was fine, and that he was sick of everyone asking if he was ok. In response, you just apologized and asked if he wanted to hang out after class. That just made him angrier, though you didn’t understand why. He told you to just leave him alone and that he was fine.

The two of you didn’t talk at all for several days after that. Class was awkward, but you did your best to just get through it. It hurt to not talk to your friend, but you figured that some space was what Shotaro needed.

Some space was not what Shotaro needed. He regretted talking to you the way he did as soon as the words left his mouth. He knew that he needed to apologize to you, but he panicked when he saw the look on your face after he told you to leave him alone. In his mind, it was obvious that you wouldn’t want to talk to him anymore. So instead of texting you to apologize, he made plans to focus on his studies to distract himself. It didn’t work, however, because he didn’t want to think about his studies. All he wanted was you.

Thank you for reading! What did you think? If you enjoyed the fic, please like and reblog! As always, any feedback is greatly appreciated. If you would like to be added to my taglist you can comment, send an ask, or dm me with the username that you would like tagged! IF you would like to request a fic, you can either send me an ask or a dm! Once again, thank you all for reading!

[ao3feed-crimeboys]

You Never Let Yourself Forget

by Raccoo

Tommy was falling to the ground. Before he hit the ground, he managed to catch on to the edge of a roof with his hands, his leg slamming into the wall with a small crack.

or

Tommy is a Vigilante with a guilty past and SBI are heroes who just want to unmask him (SO ORIGINAL, I KNOW)

or or

The author just got an Ao3 account and wanted to post something.

( I suck a summaries )

Words: 872, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Dream SMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Characters: TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot, Phil Watson | Philza, Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF)

Relationships: Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)

Additional Tags: Vigilante TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hero Wilbur Soot, Hero Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Hero Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Traumatized TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), BAMF TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), BAMF Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Identity Reveal, Secret Identity, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), Avian Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Wils just human :/, Poor TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), this fic is like a crack/action/ity bity bbits of dark lore, ok maybe I bit more darkness, Author Is Sleep Deprived, TommyInnit Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot needs another coffee, this is my first fic :D

[picopepin]

I posted 475 times in 2022

That's 248 more posts than 2021!

272 posts created (57%)

203 posts reblogged (43%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@picopepin

@2022mtt

@blucolorpencil

@qubelord

@kstearb

I tagged 358 of my posts in 2022

Only 25% of my posts had no tags

#myart - 214 posts

#myocs - 87 posts

#mettaton - 53 posts

#ubetella - 53 posts

#stygians - 34 posts

#mte198x - 30 posts

#mtebott198x - 30 posts

#undertale - 28 posts

#art by op - 26 posts

#closed species - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#i had to do two versions cause the one that was living rent free in the music video inside my head was the second one and the first just

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

King of Hearts~ One of the best prompts landed on my birthday >:D Day 29 @mettatonmay

828 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

#4

My final piece for @2022mtt! Preorders for hard copies end on the 13th of July!!

872 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

#3

A little departure from ALEX BEET RED for @mettatonmay day 9, Family!

1,000 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

#2

Free day of @mettatonmay! I did mte198x for indulgent reasons uvu which i will engage in also indulgently with tomorrows prompt since its my birthdaaayy

1,069 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

JUST UPHOLDING OUR ANCIENT TRADITION, BOSS @biigbiby

2,595 notes - Posted October 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[riabef]

✎. I think I’ll miss you forever KAEDEHARA KAZUHA

SUMMARY: Kazuha was someone that everyone would adore, flowery words, and composition in haikus that rival even the greatest minds of today. It was to no secret that he, along with everyone in this world was struggling to find something he could no longer reach.

Rather than his body, his wishes, his values, they were given to him in the form of a vision.

Like fireflies dying, the last flickers of the gem glowed as if it had a heartbeat of it’s own.

And it grew dim.

FEATURING CAST: Kaedehara Kazuha, his friend, mentions of traveller at the end (ambigious, left up to reader’s choice)

PRONOUNS: mostly he/him for most of the fic

WORD COUNT: 3 872 words

WARNINGS: major character death, discussions about grief (especially about the stages of grief)… It’s uh… Angst… But I don’t think there’s much violence? Some spoilers for the inazuma quest,, but I think that’s about it. Not necessarily canon-compliant

PROOF-READ: no absolutely not, I wrote this and I never looked back

AUTHOR NOTES: Honestly I didn’t know where I was going with this,,,, hope you enjoy it??? I kind of don’t like this but at the same time it’s not like I have anything else to post… I really need to make a masterlist.

I also put in the scene of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, I’ll put some videos under this text to make it easier to understand!

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Oh right also I addressed Kazuha, with Kaedehara for most of this fic! Do with that information what you will!!! Have a good day everyone!!!

the relationship between kazuha and his friend is left ambiguous! This may be read as a friend grieving the loss of someone close to him

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Platinum blond hair flitted about in the wind, and a white hair tie securely pinning it in place. The sunset enclosed the world that he knew in a copper tone, silken robes fluttering with the tainted golden edges of a memory long cherished, and a memory long visited.

Kaedehara remembers the way his friend had spoken off into the distance, eyes landing on Tenshukaku as though it was a distant memory that longed to be remembered; he should’ve heard it in the silence, hands that twitched as if yearning for a chance.

Without breaking eye contact, he had boldly made a proclamation, one that Kaedehara would never forget, and one that would haunt him for the years to come. Memories were made in silence, yet they resonated loudly within his beating heart as he listened intently.

There must be one who can withstand it,

There will always be those who dare to brave the lightning’s glow.

That day, as the winds rustled through their clothes, as the trees swayed in the winds, the pulsing purple glow hummed louder than before.

There was no room needed for rebuttals, nothing to mention about the way that his friend’s eyes had shone with conviction–

Ah. What did they look like again?

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Even in the age

of almighty gods

unheard of, —

the waters of Tatsuta are tie-dyed

in crimson

千早振る/ Chihayaburu

Memories of Kaedehara’s past returned to his mind, as leaves falling onto the rivers, or as slow and steady as a stream; in the hands of nature to listen. His mind, once a slate full of burdens, found respite in the steady and constant setting of the sun. The sun that had always risen, and always will. The stars had weaved its way through the sky to dance among the celestial bodies of the unknown.

This was what he had known.

He figured, that this was perhaps what he had always wanted.

It always felt better to listen to the echoes of nature, the whistling of the winds, the relentless waves that would crash against rock and stone, or the steady stream that had slowly seeped its way into the cracks of Teyvat. In the drenching rain, he could hear the steady pitter-patter as he composes yet another haiku in his mind, a gentle smile forming on his face as he begins to recount the memories of his youth.

Since his clan was well on their way to collapse, it had not taken long for Kaedehara to gain his freedom, although that does not mean he doesn’t remember the lifestyle that he had before it was promptly taken away from him. Sitting on tatami mats, and hosting customary tea ceremonies. Despite having a tolerance to these peaceful activities, what had always bothered him was the heavy gazes of his attendants, watching his every graceful move.

Producing a fukusa its pigment rivalling that of an auricula flower, silken textures briefly fluttering in the open air; longing glances were shared with the soft yet present trickles of water directed by the bamboo fountain. Practiced hands folded the cloth as if they’d gone through the motions, hundreds, if not thousands of times. Lingering incense fills the air between Kaedehara and his guest, as gentle wind chimes signal the entrance of another breeze, merged with all those that came before.

The graceful winds fluttered past him, only he and his guest were in this world alone. For this very moment, the rest of his worries faded with every swipe of the silk cloth; wiping down the chashaku, a tranquil smile spread across his face as the peace of the world made themselves abundantly clear through the swaying of the trees, in the beautiful clear sky.

Using the hishaku, his delicate hands poured water in to the clay bowl, slowly he had turned the bamboo whisk around, cleaning it before discarding the remaining water in the brown kensui; the hands that he would later use to grasp his friend’s vision had reached for the chakkin. Wiping the remainder of the water, the thrumming of his heart aligned with that of the maple leaves drifting in the winds, unable to find a place to call home.

Sage green powder was poured into the prepared chawan bowl from the tea caddy, patterns of beautiful maple leaves dashed along its edges, and the fluttering breeze depicted through blue, gentle streaks. Golden stems accentuated the bowl, lively as dancers.

Slightly leaning forward, he scooped some water with the hishaku, before carefully pouring it into the bowl, the perfect temperature of the water was achieved. Not boiling, yet not too warm, the powder swirled around the added water, his reflection becoming blurrier by the second. He lifted the chasen and mixed the two, a foam bubbling to the top, giving life to the vibrant green tea.

Lifting the bowl, and turning the decorated maple leaves to his guest, he places it on the other side of the tatami mat, waiting with a pleasant smile.

Like everything, there was always a certain appeal to such activities; he supposes, that if being a noble meant he had to frequently hold tea ceremonies, Kaedehara didn’t mind. Unlike his attendants, it gave him the small tastes of freedom that he yearned to have.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Like a long-forgotten memory, not even the memory of his guest’s expression remained. Not even the bow of gratitude that they have given, and not even the cranes that soared in the air, elegant wings flapped above the reaches of the earth. Unshackled by grief, guilt, or regrets, the birds had glided across the air through one sweeping motion.

Keeping his head low, he had not wished to reveal much more of his identity, his straw hat obscured his face, ensuring that he would not be drawn much attention to. A solemn wanderer, who had dealt with the fall of his clan in passive strokes, watching as the sea of people went about their day, people who had homes to return to, people who had families to love, and people who had others to fight for.

The mindless chatter didn’t mind Kaedehara, instead, opting to tune it out, searching for a bird’s call, searching for a familiar sword.

Yet again, he has failed.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Kaedehara wondered, he had all the time in the world now. Yet, he couldn’t find an answer to any of his questions. The guilt slowly made itself known on the edges of his clothing, the weight that welcomed itself with the guilt.

Should he have asked? Maybe if he had, then at least he would know why it happened. Maybe if he did then he wouldn’t have run until his legs couldn’t hold anymore, until it felt like his own vision was taken away from him.

The questions overtook him, like tsunami waves eagerly destroying everything in their path, the all-consuming grief hanging off of him as a parasite. Maybe if he hadn’t been so scared of the answer, he’d have understood more. Maybe if he wasn’t so scared about what he’d find under the surface, he’d be able to understand.

Maybe then, at least, he would have the chance to at least hold his body.

Unable to even hold his body and wallow in the grief and loss that was making itself present in his empty heart, the instant remembrance of the divine punishment his friend had yearned to witness was brought back into his memory.

He wasn’t even allowed for a second of grief before his feet scrambled to hold the vision before him, the purple glow dimmed, darker than ever.

And that day, Kaedehara held two visions; one of his own, and one an empty shell, waiting for the return of its rightful owner.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The denial had hit him, harder than ever. He was just alive moments ago, they had agreed to meet somewhere after the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished, that they’d meet each other once again, where the sea met the sky. Where they’d find peace in their ends.

Kaedehara carried out his promise. The gentle swaying of the Crux brought many the gift of slumber, and the uneventful waves that rocked the boat between the forces of nature served as a lullaby for the sailors.

Not him.

The lullaby that had lured many to sleep, was akin to a siren luring him into endless thoughts. Letting his senses guide him to the crow’s nest, he looks up between the stars.

And he wonders, carrying alone the heavy burdens no one could fathom; how could he ever move on,

If all he saw in the stars was him?

The twinkling stars that led so many sailors to their homes, comforted them when no hope was in sight and lent a pitiful ear to Kaedehara. The moon that once sighed of lost love, and comforting others seemed so far away. The waning crescent meant an approaching new moon.

Lost between the heavens and the stars, trying to make his way out of purgatory, it is then that Kaedehara realizes that, he would never be here again.

Never to smile fondly at the stars as though they were the ones that lit up his night, never to point out shooting stars, almost asking to make a wish, and never to walk through life with him.

Numbness that once took over his body, almost in a spell-like trance, finally letting him regain control of his body. The newfound raw feelings hitting him at his worst, vulnerable and alone, with only the stars and the moon being the witness to his grief.

For a second it caught him off guard, unshed tears making their way to the surface as he held his gaze on the moon, and in his undeterred grief that he was finally given the chance to process, he cried. He cried so much, his vision was blurry, the burden finally taking itself off his shoulders and lightened in the form of his tears.

Never again will he watch the maple leaves fall into the river with him, never again would he watch the blossoming of cherry blossoms as spring makes its way through the frost-covered ground, and never again will he see the way his friend had stood like an unchanging constant against all variables.

Perhaps, maybe in this life, he’d see him again; in his dreams, he wanders aimlessly, hands that reach out for an all too familiar figure that he could no longer see.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The feelings of sadness had not subsided, rather, they have taken an interesting shape for the unassuming samurai. The flickers of regrets and guilts make themselves seem in the form of unrelenting anger. If his grief was akin to the waves of the ocean that eroded the jagged edges of cliffs, the unrelenting feelings that had stuck like daggers in his heart; metamorphosed into anger.

Wings of butterflies weren’t what had emerged, sharp and dangerous edges of his newfound anger had begun to consume him, from his toes to his head, like a flash flood that had begun to swallow all those in his grief. Regrets that had once begun as “maybe if I had just…” transformed into accusations of resentment.

Anger that had once felt like passing emotions had finally hit him at full force, the once realist that had assessed situations calmly, with the sounds of nature to calm him; now became a pessimist who had quietly weighed the meaning of life. The moon who had become his new companion bore witness to all his remarks, the sole listener to his worries.

Kaedehara liked to keep it that way.

Lost in the cycle of life and its tortures, he laughs without mirth, frustration glinting in his eyes; it didn’t feel like he was in control of his own life anymore, the dreaded anticipation for his peaceful days to finally end had seemingly taken its forceful route.

The stars had taunted him again it seems, the mocking weight of their witness reminded him cruelly of a few words.

Not even in your dreams, you may reunite

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Slowly becoming a habit, Kaedehara had climbed his way to the crow’s nest, the endless horizon finally greeting his worries as he let himself feel at peace with the solitude he welcomed once more.

Shades of black, blue, and yellow mixed together, a starry night that was created from his grief, blurred tears making it difficult to see, and the tears that would land on his silken robes only made it harder to manage.

Even in the endless night he had spent, tossing and turning, waiting, waiting for the image of him to get out of his mind. Waiting for the time that he would stop flinching every time he recalled the day he saw his friend’s broken sword clatter to the floor, the heavy sentence of the incoming divine punishment, and the falling vision.

It was all he could remember.

Everyday, he had clutched that vision like it was what remained of his family’s fortunes, the past that he couldn’t let go of just yet. Everyday, he had filtered through his memories of his friend, from the day they met, until his last. Every conversation that he had committed to memory, Kaedehara would feel the weight of every time he had walked, from the small lilts of his friend’s voice, to the expression on his face.

If he forgot it all, who else would be there to remember?

Endless nights that he had spent, reminiscing his past, never once sparing a thought of his present, the concerned looks that he got from Beidou were of no priority to him, the self-imposed solitude that he kept, in order to process his grief wasn’t the best way of coping. Yet it was all he had.

If only Kaedehara had reached out, if only he had asked why he had stared at the Tenushaku so eagerly as though he wasn’t about to face certain death. If only he had. The restless sea did little to calm his worries, waves that he believed would be better to represent the guilt he now carried.

The unending sea met the sky, where Kaedehara had met his grief.

The future felt so far away, the light in a tunnel that would never end, the thoughts that Kaedehara would have, always plagued by his friend.

He looks at the stars once more,

He would’ve liked this.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Unlike the seasons that withered away, the endless nights that had swallowed him whole, the threats of the world crumbling under his feet with every movement he made.

Leaves that glided down from their branches, the unrelenting time made him feel like a sand grain, going against the rest, a desperate attempt at restoring what was lost.

If Kaedehara could turn back time, he would do so. If given the choice, there would be no other option he would even hesitate to consider, the helpless feelings felt like a dendro vision that kept his feet locked to the ground. No longer did he see the soaring cranes in the sky, nor did he see the twinkles of hope the stars would often give. Comfort was so distant, so far away from the corners of his mind; the corners that had spoken to him at night. The whispers of regret, the whispers of his friend, the voice that he yearned to hear day and night.

Unable to even respond to the crew when they had called for him, his mouth kept itself shut as though words would fail to express themselves. As though his burden would forcefully make itself known to others, like a waterfall, Kaedehara knew that tears wouldn’t be shed. Although that didn’t matter. It never did. Not when his heart felt as though it was weighed by the ten thousands of leaves.

His heart bore no passion, only regret and contemplation, and maybe. Just maybe, if he had thought about it long enough, he could finally accept it one day. One day he would be able to go to his friend’s grave, maybe he’d laugh, or maybe he would finally be able to look at that cat again without feeling suffocating feelings swell in his chest.

One day, he would be able to remember the early mornings he spent with his friends, the days that the blooming leaves would slowly appear after a harsh winter or the falling of leaves, the meals shared over a lit fire, consumed in comforting silence. The days that they had sparred, aiming to better themselves, and knowing nods that were exchanged when approaching storms could be indicated from the distant thunderstrikes.

One day, he would no longer be haunted by the memory of the sound of his friend’s falling sword, and one day he would no longer blame himself for the things he was unable to do.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Like a ship returning to the docks after a journey, like always, he had found himself walking down the familiar path to his friend’s grave. Finally being greeted by the sight of a sword, and a cat that nodded at his return, waiting, as though curious about his next moves.

That day, only a maple leaf had found itself ontop of the mound of dirt, the only gift that Kazuha could give his dear friend.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Soft pitter patter hits the ground, Kazuha, drenched in rain walks along the path, a seemingly empty mind lost in thoughts that threatened to swallow him once more as it felt as though the earth beneath him was ready to swallow him with all his regrets.

It wasn’t fair.

It really wasn’t.

Life went on, the citizens discussed amongst each other about food prices, about their families, about their friends. In every corner of the world, he was painfully reminded of the human interaction that others had. The interactions he wished he had.

Standing at his friend’s grave, a white cat saunters around, as though waiting for their owner to make their untimely return. Unable to keep any composure so far, he leaves the grave.

The grass was green, and all that remained between the earth and the sky was a sword.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Returning to the grave once more, after some or so months, emptiness conveyed through his movements, unwilling tears shed themselves when they saw fit, like rain falling through the skies. The clouds never cleared, it was like they couldn’t. Staying ever-present in his mind, not even an umbrella could shield him from the unyielding guilt and grief.

His friend had died an honourable death.

He had died in a duel, and his death was just.

The hurt he felt never subsided, not from the countless months at sea, running away from the unending pain he felt every time he had even glanced at the grave.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I think I’ll miss you forever

Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky.

LANA DEL REY. SUMMERTIME SADNESS.

Wandering around in nature, aimlessly walking with no destination in mind, and walking wherever his feet would take him. Kazuha stops at the sight of two boys fighting, for a brief moment, he enjoys the serenity of the scene. Reassuring smiles are thrown around as a spar ensued.

Until he saw him. The image before him suddenly transforms into a memory he spent countless nights trying to recount, flowing like the streams that always led back to the sea.

Back to where the sea met the sky.

Memories of late-night talks, gathered around warmly cooked food that made him feel reminiscent of the days that he could no longer return to. The friend that had gone too far out of his reach. Along with the rest, the bloodline that he could no longer connect to, family practices that could no longer be continued. They had all laid dead, unmoving with his friend’s body. Laid to rest.

Their visions lay intertwined, the quiet electro vision weighing him down more than any other burden could. The constant reminder of his friend’s death, the efforts he had exerted in order to let the memory of his friend remain untouched, memories that shone akin to the glimmering waves of a river that crashed gently against nearby land. The memories that he feared to have ripped away from him, the long forgotten sense of familiarity at the forefront of his mind.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

A blond traveller, someone who had the courage to search, the courage to face the world head on. Their outspoken companion floating not too far behind, the scent of the stars had attached itself to the odd pair. Curiosity at the now dull vision that lie in his hands

Looking at the masterless vision in his hands, Kazuha smiles fondly, finally granted a break from carrying his burdens.

“The story begins with an old friend...”

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Not long after the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished, and his charges were lifted. Kazuha found himself yet again, letting his heart lead his feet, the eager steps that led him to the same spot he knew he would always return to. The light reflected off the sword, and at midday, he found himself, seeking his friend’s company. Even in his death.

Gathering the cat in his hands, he cradled them like the lost memories he wish he could’ve held onto for so much longer, time that had slipped out of his grip, and into the sea of his doubts and worries. Relishing the silence, and the tranquility. The broken blade still polished after all this time, a testament to his efforts.

The flowers that had glowed a vibrant blue, even in daytime, swayed in the wind. In the night they had become a sight to behold, the shades of blue that lulled Kazuha in an eternity of silence. Although, he guesses that there would be one thing that he and these flowers had shared.

Waiting for someone, who would never return.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The seasons changed, time passing by as the traveller continued their search, looking for their sibling, making their way to Sumeru, and all the other nations. However, unlike the traveller, who had freely moved from place to place, there were those who were rooted to the ground. Those who would always find themselves returning to the same place they always would.

The grass is a beautiful shade of green, clearly taken care of, and the cat spent their days, walking around the polished sword, as though eagerly waiting for a return. The broken sword is unmoving in the ground it remains planted. Like the vibrant blue flowers that flowed with the wind, there was another addition.

A dull gray vision, no longer will it ignite again, rests peacefully, underneath the moonlight.