#I JSUT SAW YOUR REBLOG

[ganondoodle]

Saw your tags about the Barbarian armor and realized I have a piece of the set in TOTK, so I went to double check and it says they lived in Faron, yeah. If you like, I can double-check in BOTW for the flavor text to see how it changed.

oh neat for you to actually check it! (especially since i cant since ... i dont own totk anymore, lmao)

whenever people talk about the sonau (zonai) and what we knew about them from botw they always mention they lived in the phirone (faron) region but when i checked the botw description yesterday in german they make no mention of it- which i wondered if that was always the case or only added in english (as it likes to do, no offense)

BUT THEN i checked the wiki just now and there it certainly DOES say they lived in phirone!!! did they change the text in botw at some point?? or did the wiki take the totk text for it for some reason? (which would be weird bc lots of descriptions are slightly different in totk so you cant really take one info for both ... like phantom ganon set now being eeeeviiiil armro or soemthing lol) or did its botw text never mention that all this time and im just missremembering?? if so why then add it to totk (and then .. where did the belief the sonau lived there come from in the fandom, jsut bc of the amount of ruins?)

i havent played botw since at least shortly before totk came out im pretty sure and there was no update i remember either so im ... very confused

(it just says 'it belonged to an old warriortribe' now in botw..)

if they did change it retroactively its such a weird thing to do :U

(actually just wanted to look up the english botw description and bc im not clicking on fandom wiki links i looked at an IGN article from 2017 and ... it certainly does have the phirone bit ......... so .... they did change botws text? ......... why?? and when??)

(it doesnt change any of the lore inconsistency, thats for sure, lol)

(edit: it would be so funny if they meant to change the text in totk to seperate the botw sonau from the totk sonau and updated the wrong one lol- either way, thats sus to me)

(editing again to add the correction in case people dont see my reblog of it: the text changes when you upgrade it to make room for the fairy part- all my files either didnt have it or where already upgraded and it only occured to me a little bit after posting this, i too can be stupid xD)

[selfdiagnosedeyemotif]

okay i know i just reblogged something on this and went on a rant there but jsut. kristoph gavins sprites. are so sprites. they’re just

this transition messed me up so bad when i first saw it. kristoph isnt an intimidatingly designed guy but this is legit a little creepy

also i dont know whats really going on with it but his arms are truly always crossed. screaming to the sky the name of his mortal enemy while his hair flies wildly behind him?

arms crossed. utterly broken, unwound, spouting gibberish about the meaning of the court after hes already lost?

arms. crossed. hes so tense. unbending. yet, after all the chips are down, rather than doing what you would expect and doubling down, stiffening into a stone statue, all of his body language reverses.

what the hell is that? whats going on? theres something going on here but i dont know what it is.

also, pulling back to the first pose, its weirdly prevalent in other characters. apollo famously has it in his edgelord phase in dual destinies:

ema, disturbingly has it as well:

but you know who also has it? wocky goddamn kitaki. yeah.

maybe it's just because im a bit of a paranoid person. but i saw that sprite recently and went into a full spiral for a hot second. im choosing to take it as a sign of how good The Kristoph Pose was as visual shorthand for Oh Shit. and, maybe to a degree, at demonstrating apollo "nervous energy incarnate" justice's own paranoia because of the whole perceive dealio. cuz lord knows he noticed when ema did it. and when wocky did it. his boss had been doing that while admitting to murder not a month prior. seeing wocky do it with his false bravado definitely raised his blood pressure. and ema was probably even worse, cuz i dont think she does it until after you give her the fingerprint powder and establish her as trustable. like imagine finally having someone on your side that doesnt speak in riddles or swing panties around and thank god youre normal and then. thump. heartbeat goes up. shes doing the thing. shut shes doing it. i know these signs. I've gotta get away i cant get sucked into this again i cant get tricked like this again i cant HAVE this again

and this isnt even getting into the glasses push. the hand devil. the eerie totally normal happy smile sprite. the one where all of his face muscles scrunch up. i dont really have a lot of thoughts on kris as a character but by god do i have thoughts on his spritework. he makes me want to learn to draw so i can drop his poses into things sporadically and use The Pose as shorthand the same way AJAA did

[olderthannetfic]

The "reblog, don't like. Liking hurts creators" stuff has always gotten on my nerves, who are you to tell me what to put on my blog? But I jsut saw this post, which put it in a different light. https://mayahawkse.tumblr.com/post/691239174316097536/heres-a-little-comparison-for-people-who-say

I' got on Tumblr in 2013, quit around the porn ban, and only came back pretty recently. I didn't realise that people had actually stopped reblogging things from each other.

I guess the "likes hurt creators" thing might have some validity after all. I still really don't like the tone of entitlement or the idea that expressing your appreciation to OP with a like is an insult instead of an expression of appreciation.

The comment section probably cuts into the reblog counts; people have conversations there instead of in reblog chains, and don't have to reblog an entire post just to point out one quick thing or make the same joke as everyone else, but I don't think that comments account for the ratios in that post, especially since the screenshots don't show posts with hefty comments.

So yeah, guys, likes don't hurt creators, but Tumblr is for passing posts around. If you see something you like, you can just reblog it to be all "look at this cool thing I found". You don't have to worry about adding anything meaningful in a reblog, and if you and all your mutuals reblog the same post twelve times in a row, well, that's just how Tumblr works; if someone gets anoyed they can block the post through xkit.

--

Eh. I'd beware of anecdata like that.

I used to get like 2 notes a post and no asks ever. On the rare occasions that I reblogged heavily in a hot fandom of the moment for a month or two, I got a lot of engagement once people realized I was a place to go for that fandom, and I particularly got a lot of reblogs because people wanted that content on their own tumblrs.

Currently, I get a decent number of reblogs, but I get a lot more other interaction because things here tend to be discussions and debates and people don't necessarily want them on their own tumblrs.

--

In my case, I don't like the framing that it hurts creators because that's assuming that a person would have reblogged if they hadn't liked. In reality, they probably just wouldn't have interacted.

People pass posts around all kinds of ways, including pasting links to mine into various discord channels for fandom drama or sending me links to others' posts via chat messages here.

I also don't like the framing that it hurts creators because this only makes sense if you mean that it hurts the ability of visual artists to earn money.

Am I not a creator of a kind? Do I not write copious meta even if a lot of the content here comes from others? My ~engagement numbers~ are not harmed by failing to reblog. My engagement numbers don't matter full stop.

Or maybe, maybe, it's not about money, but it's about clout-chasing nonsense. Boo hoo, my gifset doesn't do numbers because it's not 2012 and I'm not in superwholock fandom now. Oh well. Chase the crowds to another site or chase the megafandoms. That's the only way to get those numbers back.

--

I do think that some time after 2012, people became increasingly afraid of harassment and may have pulled back on interactions, particularly contentful ones, because of that.

But mostly, tumblr has cleared out. Fewer people are using it, and fewer of the ones remaining are using it actively in a way where it makes sense to fill their own blog with content.

Maybe part of the change is that you can't become a BNF of tasteful curation so easily now, so there's no point in reblogging unless it's for yourself?

Maybe it's gifsets that are out of fashion? I don't know.

--

I never had much interest in "look at this cool thing" sans commentary back then, and I have little now. I have my activity page set to hide all that.

The changing phases of a site can be interesting, but we need a bit more than one person's top couple of posts to reach any conclusions.

[sunflowers-and-scales]

I saw you reblogging an ask and I am curious about it for your ocs 👀

what's a theme song you would have for each of your ocs?

oooo excellent question….

thankfully my lovely friend @krisalyce made me some oc playlists which are excellent and wonderful so i’ve got several songs in mind!!

for kei:

this one’s vibes are closest to him his healing era—like, once him and ian figure it out a little. HOWEVER the best all encompassing theme for him is

it is so silly and him core and i did make an entire…animatic focused on him to it…uh….

for ryu:

ahhh it’s so hard to choose bc so many of the guys have different songs that work well for their different “eras” iykwim?

this is a good one for his Lonely/Permanently Bored Kid era (and also i jsut like how it sounds.)

however he DOES have friends. so.

is like his definitive “escaping isolation” theme. also it’s a bop. i love nico collins. (this is why people ship ryu and ian, isn’t it. they share custody of this song)

for ian:

ahhhhh this one is harddddd ian is hard to assign songs to. bc there’s the songs that match his vibe and then the songs that match his story…

though i’d have to say

works for him i think. ian has the “young gay teenager” music vibes i fear (i like the songs too, can’t judge). he’s also pretty codependent and weather-reliant (being a plant) so the lyrics fit lollll. on the same note,

works too. he is the type to fall in love with his friends in a way that is [redacted]

for alyce:

has ALWAYS ALWAYS been her theme song in my mind and heart. however she’d probably listen to like, classical lmao…

super secret special surprise under the cut

BONUS ROUND because i have

MORE OCS:

for ajax:

bro would listen to video game music. also he has phoenixs theme. get it bc he’s dead and then he undied. haha do you g

for esteri:

sweet sounding, nice. also supernatural. that is her. also space girl but if i add that ill hit the audio limit before i reach cy.

because i said so

for cy:

this one also applies to ian for obvious reasons. they’re chill the song is chill the end.

[spitinsideme]

dear spitinsideme

today i reblogged a bunch of yoyr art and then passed out on the floor with my face in mypillow for 2 hours. iy was perhaps. nay. it was definitely. the most important fink i did today. ive been really enjoying all th kinky ragapom art. saw the ones on th3 twitter too . it was. hngghshnshdhdhsu. yeag. just wanted to say you're awesome. i love seeing you have so much fun drawin the gals . your reallty cool. love u.

p.s. love the new ask button. its perfrrct

i litwrally lovw you by the way at rhiz point im.not even exagreaating when i say i draw art and every notification i get i hope its from you having reblogged it and putting your silly little tags and yoir thoigjtz and feelings ans everyrhifn and jsut .. rambling aboit everyrhinf about the drawing .. i especially line when yoi weite poetic ass shit lime on that one drawing of bitinf and the other demon ragatba x nun pomni one .. you are honestly my fabrouite and i apprecjate you so much at this point im.badicall making art for uou

[stonyponyofficial]

okay so you mentioned your adamposting tag in my post abt trans women and transmisoynistic media and i did. check out what that was. and unironically your perspective on adam sandler movies is really interesting (most actual discussion i see is colored by immediate disgust but they are objectively popular successful movies) so like. I would love to see you post more content like the jack and jill post? i guess? anyway sending good vibes.

i did do that! i saw ur reblog and grinned that somepony stumbled upon my trove of adamposts >:3 and thank u sm! after watching them all u definitely form an opinion of the man, so im glad mine is interestingk. and yeah i see that a lot too, discussion of his films just dismissing them bc its an adam sandler movie yknow. and i dont think thats fair necessarily! i was talking with a mutual o mine about said adampost hi btw :3 and we both agreed it was important to interact with art and media on its own terms. like really gettin in the shit with it, if that is where it so leads. and jsut not judging it for leading u there... or else ur just wasting ur time interacting with it. u gotta spend time with it. get to know it. and then after all that u can either hate it sooooo intricately and correctly OR u have just found something new and out of ur typical purview that u like, awesome! and i definitely did that with Every Single Adam Sandler Film

so i would. Love. to do more in depth adamposts. or just lil ones i suppose :3 im sure ill make more lil jokey adamposts like the others in that tag but id still love to keep talking about this. idk how id do them since hte first one was an ask also hi. and. idk what i would wanna say hehe im shy :3 so yknow.. if there are any more burning questions anypony may have about an Adam Sandler movie specifically or in general.. my opinions, hot takes, yknokw whatever id be glad to answer them! Consider this your call to action. Ask me about Adam Sandler movies... today! thumbs up at the camera 👍

[virtuallidol-archive]

hey guys!! i want to remind u guys that a lot of editors on this platform get TONZ of their work stolen!! :( On tumblr copy cats like tumgir and other stuffz they get their work stolen. And a lot of icons on pinterest are stolen. you dont know how many times i see an edit on tumblr that was stolen by somebody on pinterest

what you can do is if u see it let the op know about it! because a lot of icons on pinterest are stolen and without credit. and sometimes people jsut search "cute anime icons" on google and our posts will appear and they will just use them without credit and put "Credit to the original artist/ editior"

Just so you know, "credit to op" is NOT credit. becuz nobody will know who actually did it. :( and some people will just save image and use it without credit at all. because if you search " [blank] icons" some of them are stolen!!

i even searched airi icons and look!!

tons of stolen edits reposted without credit!! these websites will find posts on tumblr and put them on their website WITHOUT PERMISSION!! i also saw some pinterest results that looked kinda stolen but i didnt wanna acuse any1

what u can do is support and reblog stuff from ur favorite editiors!! :) and credit them when u use their stuff. just support editiors. like + reblog their posts. im not forcing u but i highly encourage to support your favorite editiors!

[diagonal-queen]

hi so- your reblog with the nice tags made me very happy so I have come with an offer .

he is yours now. I gave him a balloon (( No but thank you !! I hope this wasn't too odd lol I'm not that good at social stuff but yeah. seeing a fellow clown and sigma enthusiast is always nice hkjfkjhf . hope you like 'm !! ))

FQFEILJQGKNRGjbgef h keqhkkhjkhkkJJJJJJJJJJBEBEE QB!!!!!J!!!NN!XN!NNX!NXNNNN1JAENDKQEHFHEWAGKBWRAKWEHXKIJWECQJKBXEKJQhjvzvx3hjgkuxhrkuhkHHHHHQHHUE388R HWEHUAEHKJB RKHGUHUVSFYGUHHRKJFB4BRJBKJ2BRH23H

you. you i you you youy oyuy oyu you you youy ouy oyu you you you

okay its all out of my system now. i couldn't find any more reaction pics that adequately communicated the pure JOY i felt when i first saw this im pretty sure i traumatised my dog with the scream i scrumpt

clown sigmaamsm??????? wiht baloon. look at him. he is so. so. tiny and cute i could not i simply cannot stop staring just LOOK at him he is the cutest thing ive ever seen just a little guy frfr i love him so much like so much omg and YOU I LOVE YOU FOR MAKING HIM LOOK AT THE THING YOU MADE HE IS JSUT SO SMALL AND CUTE AND I LOVE HIM if you dont mind i would like to boop his nose and feed him cookies and. cherish him forever

i've decided we're friends now you have NO CHOICE (im kidding you do have a choice but please pls cmon pls be friends with me pls cmon im just a little fella pleeeeeeeease)

[spicy-jirachi-sauce]

I posted 77 times in 2022

That's 77 more posts than 2021!

15 posts created (19%)

62 posts reblogged (81%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@friendball-irl

@aerial-aceing-it

@hex-catcher-jacket

@luxraydio

@spicy-jirachi-sauce

I tagged 71 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#pokemon - 67 posts

#unreality - 66 posts

#ask - 3 posts

#hehe - 2 posts

#anon - 2 posts

#has its perks ig skhsks - 1 post

#i wasnt like hey that pokemon seems cool - 1 post

#to like tame it or at least befriend it or something - 1 post

#do u know anyone with a munna or jigglypuff powerful enough bc maybe you could keep it at bay long enough - 1 post

#very good for hugs i can tell you that - 1 post

Longest Tag: 110 characters

#ooc: sorry i saw u tagged me and i had jsut gotten back from work and fatigue hit me like a brick so i was out

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

wait WAIT

he just muttered to himself in JAPANESE??? 

7 notes - Posted December 2, 2022

#4

ok but now that its kinda calmed down a bit (it hasnt) he let me hold the baby sneasler and oh my goodness this is the cutest thing ever 

he explained that he woke up in hisui with no memories? and just recently he got the rest of them back after he returned and found emmet and elesa

emmet told him he should rest up and get used to being here again before he gets back to working, which is a very good call on emmets part. but oh my gosh im.... i swear if this was arceus im going to have a stern word with it 

9 notes - Posted December 2, 2022

#3

found this awesome picrew so i thought maybe we could all go around and make ourselves! no tagging needed but if u find this u can reblog with urself!

https://picrew.me/image_maker/327

12 notes - Posted December 2, 2022

#2

Jirachi pics or it didn't happen

we were leaving the pokecenter after my shift earlier and it got the zoomies gaksjshs

14 notes - Posted December 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

TARGET SPOTTED GOING IN FOR THE HUG

20 notes - Posted December 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[the-huntress-09]

i found a random reblog chain you're in and i jsut wanna say LED ZEPPELIN IS FUCKING AMAZING!!!!! also i saw your bio when i clicked ghost is also fucking amazing.

Agreed! I've only heard a couple of their songs, but the ones I've heard I liked.

1000% agreed Ghost is absolutely amazing!

[digital-roots]

i dont know how to describe the fear i felt when i saw your post about some christian ducktales blog reblogging from you, and then felt an even bigger fear seeing the exact blog jsut underneath it, AND THEN THE HORROR OF HOVERING MY MOUSE OVER THE PROFILE AND SEEING YOUR INTRODUCTOARY POST ON THEIR BLOG????????????????????????????????????????????

I LITERALYL SCREAMEDD

FFFFFFFUCKING RUN ROMEO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

please tell me you blocked them oh my god the fear rn is causing me to scuttle around the room like a mouse in a thunderstorm are you okay???

Jajesusujsjsjdj yeha i blocked them. Crazy ass coincidence

[pensiveabstraction]

list 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. learn to know your mutuals and followers.♡

5 things that make me happy (in no particular order)

trying to analyse media i like and coming up with cool ideas about it, its fun and interesting and makes me feel big-brained lol

writing. (which i am doing currently, taking a brief break to answer this, writing stuff for zukka week early bc i saw the prompts and my brain zapped into action)

chatting with my younger sisters. theyre pretty damn cool sometimes

making playlists. i have playlists for aus i made, i have playlists for characters, i have playlists where i just thought the songs transitioned between each other in a cool way and capture a nice vibe. in high school i made friends mix cds as gifts a few times lol

having a cool dream and remembering it enough to write it down in my notes app when i wake up. sometimes theyre continuations of media i was watching/reading right before bed. sometimes theyre just wacky nonsense. one of them literally jsut invented a family member who doesnt exist and inserted him into a fake average day of mine lol

making playlists. i have playlists for aus i made, i have playlists for characters, i have playlists where i just thought the songs transitioned between each other in a cool way and capture a nice vibe. in high school i made friends mix cds as gifts a few times lol

[ako-kipali]

rebloging this becuase i jsut saw this comment that the site creator OLa made on the guide

OLa! THIS IS YOUR SITE!!!

tbf this was a direct request from the creators on the discord server to the lead developer

You can also join the meiker discord server here, if you want to make meiker games and need help/advice or just want to share the games you played and what you made in them.

Nobody asked for a meiker game that is a guide to meiker game making.

Yet here it is.

[fqiryspit]

aw man I wish I had an insomnia eren... I don't sleep ever he could keep me company <3

FOR REALLLL

and being sleepy during the day <3 idk why he gives off such sleep-deprived catboy!eren stuck in human form to me, I get the vibe he sunbathes while cuddling up with you and that's just full-blown catboy!eren

[shiftereris]

I posted 5,342 times in 2022

That's 5,215 more posts than 2021!

1,349 posts created (25%)

3,993 posts reblogged (75%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@insaneillusionist

@multifandomsoup

@fandomsnfrogs

@cryptic-coven-scout

@max-the-hecker

I tagged 2,481 of my posts in 2022

#the owl house - 446 posts

#toh - 408 posts

#shiftereris - 229 posts

#toh hunter - 171 posts

#hunter toh - 168 posts

#danny phantom - 154 posts

#toh spoilers - 135 posts

#ghost boy - 126 posts

#hunter wittebane - 122 posts

#pjo - 122 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#imagine if luz sometimes slouches a little lower than normal sometimes because of that muscle memory for when king used to perch on her back

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Wes: Phantom.

Danny: yeah?

wes: So you are Phantom, you did respond to it.

Danny: Oh, sorry. Thought you said 'Fenton'

272 notes - Posted February 1, 2022

#4

More PJO headcanons

Once Annabeth was really tired and she saw a spider in her cabin. She killed it with Lysol.  Her sibling still have no idea that happened and are/were confused why the cabin smelled like chemicals

Bast definetly had issues with Anubis, a 5 thousand were old, dating Sadie, a 13 year old

If a camper is curious what a pegasus is saying, they’ll ask Percy to translate. If the pegasus swore, then Percy will do his best to censor the translation (depends on campers age)

Every year, on Jason’s birthday, Piper and Leo go to his grave to put Jason’s favourite flower down with a poem and some updates on either life or their friends

The 7 (plus Nico and Reyna) really like Sally’s cooking/baking

Percy once hid some blue cookies his mom made from his friends, jsut so the cookies wouldn’t be gone in 60 minutes or less

Piper crochets on her free-time

Piper once gave Annabeth a crocheted bee because she felt like it

Drew likes plants

Will likes brownies

A camper once gave Rachel more paint and a canvas either for her birthday or because they thought it’d make a good start to friendship

At least one camper is intimidated by Rachel since she’s the oracle

Leo tried to bake a chocolate cake once, it ended up tasting like pure vanilla since he misread ‘a cap of vanilla extract’ as ‘a cup of vanillia extract’

316 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

#3

Despite Hunter’s last words to Flap being an angry order, I’m gonna say Flapjack knew it wasn’t really Hunter saying it.

401 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#2

King: hey angry blond.

Hunter: pardon?

King: I'd like to say, I'm the titan and I indeed have big plans for you

Hunter:

King, grabing cookies and blankets: i'm adopting you as my brother. Here!

450 notes - Posted May 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

PJO Headcanon(s?):

Annabeth’s near sighted

Percy makes the best hot chocolate

For some unknown reason (even to her) Annabeth always smells like coffee

Leo’s allergic to peanuts

Piper had to have braces

Jason once lost his weapon so he resorted to biting the monster (raised by wolves)

When children of Zeus/Jupiter are a bit upset, a mini personal storm cloud appears above their head

Nico often has to remind Will to take a break once in a while

Will has a southern accent that usually comes out when he’s feeling a strong emotion

Either Nico, WIll, or Leo accidentally taught a younger camper how to swear and just went: It’s their sibling’s problem now

Piper bakes on her freetime

Will bakes when stressed

Nico bakes when tense

Percy bakes whenever

Annabeth doesn’t like baking too much but will if she wants.

498 notes - Posted August 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[wing-ed-thing]

Treehouse (Shikamaru x Reader)

Word Count: 1,232

Tags/Warnings: Discussion of Death and Loss, Gender Neutral Reader, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, War Casualties, Language, Description of Panic Attack, Mention of Minor Original Character

Notes: I almost cried writing this, it got a little real ngl

You curled up on the platform in the trees somewhere deep in the forest that surrounded Konohagakure. You didn’t know where else to go and took shelter underneath the roof of your old, childhood treehouse. Leaves littered the floor and the wood underneath you had been permanently stained by water. You didn’t think anyone still came by to maintain your old playspace. Papers and brushes still poked out of long forgotten drawers. A few fake kunai were still lodged in the cheap wooden dartboard by the window. Standing, your head barely cleared the top boards, undeniably larger than the last time you were there. And yet, as you sat sobbing in the corner, feeling the smallest you had ever felt.

A hyperaware part of you felt Shikamaru’s chakra signature as he landed on the patio just outside the wooden windowsill. Of course, out of all the people in the village, he would know where to find you. His vague shadow flickered across your closed eyelids, the sun rising at his back. You heard a dull thud, making you startle just the slightest bit.

“Fuck…” you heard him mutter, something that would have made you laugh in any other circumstance. The dead leaves rustled around him as Shikamaru took his spot next to you, his shoulder touching yours. You remained buried in your knees and arms wrapped around yourself. Shikamaru stared at the back of your head for a few moments before leaning back against the wooden wall, arms crossed. “Do you want to talk about it?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his uniform still on from the morning’s expedition just like you. You shook your head.

“I fucked up, Shika,” you hardly managed to croak out. Shikamaru let out a deep sigh that bubbled in his throat and simmered out through his nose.

“You didn’t.” Sympathy had never been a strong tool in his wheelhouse and he restrained a certain amount of hardness in his voice. But more than anyone, he understood. “I’m not just blowing smoke. I don’t want you to tear yourself up over this because you did the best that you could.” You continued to shake, stuttering your response as pure emotion flooded your brain.

“Shi-ka…” you stammered, trying to find your words as you raised your head towards him. But the moment you saw his concerned face, you broke down. Shikamaru caught your retreating limbs before you had an opportunity to close up on yourself again, positioning himself in the middle of your chaos as you began to scream and sob into his shoulder. He held you, nearly collapsed across him, with his hands at the back of your neck. “My b-best k-k-killed people!” Shikamaru took your shoulders gently in his hands, attempting to move you to look at you, but you refused to budge. He returned back to holding you.

“Hey, no, no, no that’s not true!” Shikamaru hushed you in a gentle voice. Your hands balled tighter in the mesh of his shirt, his skin now becoming dampened by your tears through the fabric. You looked like you were in so much pain and despite having experienced exactly what you were going through, Shikamaru had to admit that he didn’t have all the answers this time. He took a breath, attempting to gather himself. “No one could have seen it coming. You took charge as, as, uh, a leader and you did the best that any leader could in a horrible situation.” He wasn’t used to sounding so optimistic.

“You didn’t see them at the hospital. T-Tamaki just had a, a son一!”

“And Tamaki knew what he was getting into.” You cursed to yourself, breaking away from Shikamaru to wipe the tears and mucus away from your face. You sniffled to yourself, teetering between grief and frustration. Shikamaru gathered up your hands in his as he took a sharp breath in. “Hey, I want you to look at me,” he said, voice ever-commanding and you met his eyes with your puffy ones. “You know I don’t ever bullshit you, right?” Even if he didn’t have all the answers, he could look like he did for your sake. You shook your head, causing Shikamaru to raise an eyebrow. “What was that?”

“No, you don’t bullshit me,” you gulped, taking another sniff.

“That’s right, so I’m going to be real with you, okay?” He brushed against the back of your hands with his thumb. He caught your eye. “Okay?” You nodded.

“Okay.”

“You know why Lady Fifth chose you to lead this expedition?” A few more tears dribbled down your cheek and Shikamaru brushed them away.

“No, why?” you asked, voice as small as you felt.

“Because you’re a great leader.” You opened your mouth to speak, to retort him, but closed it at Shikamaru’s pointed stare. “You had a great plan and a great team to back you up. Usually一” He huffed. 一 “When a newbie runs a mission like this, there’s usually a lot of fuck ups.”

“Wow, thanks, Shika.” You cracked a smile and Shikamaru rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. He gave your palm a light squeeze and your squeezed back, tracing the veins in the back of his hand.

“But you didn’t have any. Fuck, if you would jsut let me finish my sentences…” The corners of his mouth turned upwards as he looked away. His bittersweet smile melted. “I know you. You did all that you could. You were up strategizing all night, I know you were. So I’m telling you, no shinobi, no matter how experienced, could predict an attack like that. This wasn’t anything that you could control. You did the best you could with what you were given.”

“So many good people lost their lives under my command…” you lamented, though quieter, more tears coming to sting away at your sinuses. Shikamaru gently bumped two fingers at the bottom of your chin and you looked back up at him and the sincerity in his irises.

“And those good people knew what line of work they signed up for. All of these things happen sometimes and you are not to blame for what you can’t control. And all those other people, who could have been lost that you saved, have you and your leadership to thank for their lives.” You bowed your head under the beams of the rising sun that fluttered in through the window. Birds chirped somewhere outside, signaling the beginning of the day.

“How did you find me here anyway?” you asked. A soft chuckle ripped from Shikamaru’s throat.

“I must’ve found you here every day when we were in the Academy… You’d fall out of this tree every goddamn day trying to一”

一“practicing my chakra control.”

一“practice your chakra control.”

You spoke in unison.

Quiet overtook the treehouse. The sun had fully risen in the sky, serving only as a reminder to how tired you were. The mission left you sleep deprived, the residual trauma only draining you of your little residual energy. Shikamaru followed your gaze to the clouds outside, remembering why he liked this place in his childhood.

“If and when you take another mission like this, somewhere down the line when you’re ready, you know I’ll be there for you. You’re a captain that the Leaf will be lucky to have.”

Another pause.

“Thank you, Shika.”

“Don’t mention it.”

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