#and even what they would make of Oru if they knew because he has a rather dramatic soliloquy in the fic as it stands rn

[edennill-archived]

A very quick and dirty sketch of Khamil (...don't ask me where a raised-in-a-house-in-the-woods-in-the-middle-of-nowwhere kid found a rose garden okay)

[kustas]

Discussion on where Witch Hat could be going

Copying here an ongoing conversation I’m having with a mutual about the latest arc of WHA - mostly about Dagda, Dean and Olruggio, and how they’re representative of distinct in-universe social groups + how this could be used in a hypothetical followup to chapter 62. Ofc, spoiler warnings. They’re A, I’m J.

J: Dagda related thoughts of the day: what I want to see in the upcoming kaiju drama of Esrest is him and the other unknowing have to team up with the witches on equal grounds to help. Dagda's a tough guy who's kind, he would lend a hand to the effort, and it'd be interesting to see - the witch I want to see him team up closely with the most is Olly because their strengths compliment each other and they're both kind people who already know each other, it would make them reflect on their place for sure...as in, Oru's probably not very strong and he's got the limited worldview of someone who does interact very regularly with common folk while as a witch, being barred from living among them. He's a magical prodigy and he's dedicated to using his skills for helping others. Dagda comparatively knows no magic, has only helped other people that we know of as taking in Custas, and is used to living among the lowest social ranks of the unknowing. But what he's good at (to simplify it, music, fighting and survival) would all be very useful things in the events of a catastrophe. Ideally I'd want both these guys working together and helping each other overcome walls one is hitting in ways that show how they live, but united by their drive to help 

A: They really would make a good team since they are so kind and willing to help, I do hope it happens, and it is quite possible since Dagda knows Coco and surely will try to help her and the girls who saved Coustas on that river incident 

J: It's worth noting Olly was the one who pulled his boy out of the carriage so he would probably have been marked by this 

A: Yes! Lets hope Shirahama thinks the same. Oru's past has something to do with some people he couldnt save, maybe Dagda can show him other ways to save people or even make him look for those who the witches tendo to forget. One very talented witch who is very caring but yet limited by the rules and one simple musician that has a lot to share wirh him ought to be such a great duo. 

[...]

A: Thats right, and also, Dean has a lot of knowledge as well, I dont think there wont be any nurses around since accidents could help in the event. So he would be of help and the others as well, in this scenario the ones who wont be of much help are the witches. And thats why the brimhats probably will show up. 

J: Dean directly helping his people as a healer would make for an awesome moment especially in contrast to what we've seen of him in the latest chapters as a manipulator with immense ambition and unclear morals 

A: My personal prediction for the upcoming chapter is that they will help people and show that the "fake witches" would most likely run away when danger is near. In that way people would no longer feel safe around the pointed hats. Dean is a King and there are all other Kings and Queens there to see this all happening, it is an opportunity they wont miss to show power level difference 

I think Dean wouldnt let his people behind for his sake, because he needs them for his ambtions and it would be not good for him if the others saw that he is a coward or something. His people believe in him, and this trust should not be lost. With wounded individuals he could try to learn healing magic. His ancestors knew how to do it, and maybe with the help of some brimhat he could revive that type of magic once again.

Magic is not always written in books, but the thing is: Dean must be doing his researches and taking notes of what he tries to emplement, maybe there are notes of his ancestors in a book inside the castle, since magic cant be used there and cant interfere, maybe there are details that even the tower of books dont have. Brimhats also do experiments, if they fuse what they have by now, I wouldnt be suprised healing will be a thing again.

J: Given his status and background I'm convinced Dean absolutely does research on magic and has some sort of collection of available information, but most of it probably got erased after the Day of the Pact. That being said, even if he's sus, would he use his people? Despite the manipulating we haven't seen him being a bad king. You can argue the poverty of some parts of the kingdom illustrated by the slums of Esrest is his fault, but irl that's happened with most governments. We've seen him work against witches only and now know it's to get a hand on their power. He wants a share of the magic cake, which could be prompted by knowing about his ancestry and what they could be capable of. Witches knowing the magic history that got erased in the minds of the people post-pact, it makes sense they'd gatekeep it. But...in practice, we've only seen Dean make medical experimentations and the death of his patient was a failure. He at least wants to heal people. Of course there's a billion ways this could be used for evil, we don't know that yet. If he was a cruel ruler, I feel we'd know...

A: Maybe he is not intending to use it in a bad way, for him it would only be for the benefits of the population. I think he wouldnt be a cruel king to his population, but as Beldaruit said once he is not very reliable. That gets me to ask: who are his people in his point of view? Those in poverty dont seem to be in his sight, thus I dont think he counts them as his people, and maybe they might be the ones for research, since nobody would miss them. 

J: Classic nobility buisiness, lol

That's why I think of Olruggio in particular too, as a witch. Bel is wise but sheltered, in a way. He quite literally almost never leaves the Hall. His job is to oversee *witches* and their education which by extension gives him the political power that's behind why he's invited to interact with the unknowing. Comparatively Olly interacts with them all the time. His clients are unknowing. We know he prefers doing work for the common folk and that he does it often enough to be some sort of celeb. His paths were in Coco's small neighbouring town! We know witches are mandated to do public utility work but he's the only one who's renown for it. Those in poverty are in his sight, but he's a witch...Dean is an unknowing, but a noble...

But yeah, regarding Dean, I'd love to learn more about his own take on what his job is. Which he's given an occasion of manifesting on a silver platter here. What better spotlight for showing your motivations as a ruler than your people all united to witness a giant blood monster bust your castle open  

A: Coustas once stated that the noble dont seem to look after those in the slums, thats why I think Dean doesnt care that much and knows how to use people for his and his people benefits. He seems like a wise leader and to never miss opportunities. Oru is the death red flag n°2, as Dagda was death red flag n°1, and well... he went for it. Hope Olruggio doesnt die. 

lol the king and his people united by a inky bloody monster ruining everything will be so interesting to see. Just hope his wife and son are safe from the trouble. Good thing they are all in the same place.

J: Huh, where did Custas say that? I remember he says he grew up looked down by people from higher social classes but that's it

A: It was that part, actually. If we analise how this is in our own word we can see that people in higher social classes almost never see the problems other face. Thats why I think it can be seen as "nobles dont seem to look after those in the slums." Because it doesnt affect them directly.

Thats how society is. Thenmajority of people that are stable are not always looking at others that arent. Sometimes because they really cant, as citizens. But the goverment or the leaders, whose work is to attend the needs of populations, dont do the best they can to help that people (that are as well their people and should be treated as such).

J: WHA has spoken extensively about that part, haha. Thank you spokesman Custas! Actually wondering if an upcoming catastrophe on Esrest would bridge the gap between classes or push further down the downtrodden. After all so far the only damage has been on the castle. I do wanna learn more about the mud slums, it's interesting to note the people there are hinted towards having resentement towards the Knights, it's probably the case for nobles too.

A: I think the mud slums will be brought up a lot until the end of WHA. And I dare to say magic is going to be in the hands of everyone again, just like the old time. Is it dangerous? Yes. Will it be benefitial? Yes. Thats what WHA is all about, causes and consequences, nothing is always right nor wrong. There are no bad side or good side for now.

[luck-and-larceny]

Prompt #20: Petrichor

"Ok. So let me show you what I've got!" The 12 year old Keeper of the Moon, short for her age, sat on a rock much bigger than it had any reason to be, with a lute that did not belong to her draped across her bruised knees.

"First," the 17 year old boy she was trying to impress said, "Who taught you to play the lute?"

"No one," she admitted and then beamed brightly before proudly admitting, "I taught myself. Ok. Are you ready to have your mind blown?"

The dark haired hyur put both hands on the side of his head and then unfurled his fingers as he pulled them away with a "Pwwwwwoooooo" sound to illustrate his brain escaping his skull in shock. "Ready."

Aerrie took a deep breath and her small fingers began plucking away at the strings.

"Darkened sky

Leaves blowing on the forest floor

Birds take flight

But do they know what we're in for

I know this smell

And I know what it has in store

I know it well

This is what they call petrichor--"

Oz put his hand up to stop her, shaking his head with a concerned frown sewn on his face. "Ok. Aerrie. Stop."

She stopped.

"That was awful."

She frowned. That was not the praise she was waiting for. In fact, it didn't sound like praise at all. Surely she must have heard him wrong.

"Put down the lute. Don't ever pick it up again. In fact, hand it over to me so I can make sure of it." He put his hand out to take it away and in a small display of defiance that hinted at a future where she'd revel in much bigger displays of it, Aerrie moved back on the rock and took the lute back with her to put more distance between it and the grabbing hand.

Oz gave up, exhausted from the chase before he'd even really committed to it. "Find someone to teach you," he said with a sigh. "Second: the word is petri_ch_ore not petri_ko_re."

She blinked. She struggled with what to do next. He was wrong. He was just undeniably wrong about that. But he hated being told he was wrong and she had a crush on him. Maybe she could play it nice and just pretend he had a point and say it the way he said it?

"Nah," she said with a small shrug. "It's not. It's petri_ko_re."

"It's spelled with a 'ch'. Did you spell it right in your lyrics? That makes a <ch> sound."

Yeah, no shit.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Except for when it doesn't. Like in petrichor. That word the sound is <k> instead. It does what it wants. It doesn't care what the rules are."

She'd always liked the word. In love with the world as it changed and shifted from one way (sunny skies) to another way (dark clouds), Aerrie had found herself countless times daydreaming of becoming the rain or a thunderstorm herself. The smell of rain on the horizon, of the soil being ionized before the visual clues that the sky would soon break open, was her favorite thing.

She knew the word for it. She romanced the word, turning it around and around in her head as if it were the name of her crush and feeling it on her tongue as she spoke it outloud as though it were a first kiss.

“That’s not how language works!” Oz protested and was, again, incorrect. Aerrie was just as much in love with language as she was with the rain… perhaps -precisely- because language worked exactly as it wanted to, changed over time, and didn’t especially care about rules were assigned to it. That made it beautiful to the 12 year old. It’d make it beautiful to the 25 year old she’d eventually become as well. Oz pressed on. “Name one other word that has ‘ch’ sounding like <k>.”

“Chorus,” Aerrie answered without hesitation. “No one says <Ch> orus.”

Oz’s face turned red and it seemed to the 12 year old that she was not doing an especially good job of impressing her crush. Oh, well!

“One where the sound is in the middle of the word!” he spurted. “Name ONE word where ‘ch’ sounds like ‘k’ in the middle of a word. I dare you!”

She knew that was where she should give up if she wanted things to be good between them. That was where she should admit defeat. The awkward conversation could end, they could leave to do their chore (kores?) in relatively good humor and feeling positively towards one another, if she just let it go and let him win. She thought it about it. She really did! One of the great things about language, after all, is that it held just as much weight as the speaker wanted it to. Lies were just as easy as truths. She could just -say- he was right and that wouldn’t make it so. Didn’t even mean she had to believe it. She could say anything at all really!

“Ok,” she answered. “I got one.”

“What is it?” Oz asked, his nostrils flared and his body tensed as he could already anticipate that anything she was about to say he wouldn’t like.

“Petrichor.”

He fumed. And she laughed. She couldn’t help it. Even at 12 she was already an asshole. But at least at 12 she sometimes tried to bite it back. As he stood up, face as dark as the clouds she loved, she realized she probably should have held it back more. “Orchid!” she added. “Anchor!” He stormed away. And gods how she loved storms.

“Scheme! Wait. Does that count as in the middle? It does, right? Oz! Wait!”

Aerrie had never quite belonged in the caravan and as Oz moved towards his parents (who notoriously did not like her) wagon she knew that the day was not going to end up as pleasantly as it had begun. The weather was about to change for her. Things were about to get difficult. This would not be the storms she wanted to dance in. This would be the kind she’d need to run from.

"Darkened sky

Leaves blowing on the forest floor

Birds take flight

But do they know what I’m in for

I know this smell

And I know what it has in store

I know it well

This is what they call petrichor--"

Up above the small girl on the big rock ‘s head dark clouds began to form. She took a deep breath of the ionized air and played her stolen lute poorly.

[bitchardhendricks]

Well I’ve Never Been to Heaven (But I’ve Been to Oklahoma) Pt 8

In the time of corona, I miss my parents and I miss my hometown more than I ever have before. It means so much to me that I can share these bits of Tulsa with you all. This story is for everyone who loves their hometown even when they outgrow it, or when it was never made for them in the first place. Catch up on previous installments here, then come tell me about your thoughts about this fic, about your own hometown, or if you’re like Jared and maybe never had one, tell me about the town you wish your hometown could be. 

***

Richard wakes up to the smell of coffee and the muffled sound of someone humming. After getting his bearings, he pads into the kitchen and blinks in sleepy surprise at the sight of Jared in a white polo shirt and khakis covered by his mom’s apron - KISS THE COOK emblazoned across the front - scrambling some eggs and humming what sounds like “Fly Me to the Moon” under his breath. 

“Uhh...hey Betty Crocker. What’s um, with the apron?” 

Jared startles, the spatula he’s holding waving in a wide arc as he jumps. “Oh! Richard, you scared me. Good morning! I caught your mother before she left, she said she had a bunch of errands to run before your sister arrived, but your father carpooled to work so we do have access to a car. She also said the plan is to meet your sister at the restaurant at 6:00. And then she tried to cook me steak and eggs for breakfast and put me in this ensemble when I said I was going to wait and make breakfast for you."

“Jesus,” Richard rolls his eyes, because of course she did. “Sorry, she’s - she’s just like that.”

Jared laughs brightly, “I don’t mind. If I had a nickel for every time someone tried to force feed me a dead animal...” he trails off, shaking his head in seemingly fond remembrance while Richard stares on in horror. 

“Okay so...my mom’s running errands and my dad’s at work,” Richard sucks his teeth. “Um. What do you want to do, I guess? I mean, we have some time to kill before Caitlyn gets here.” Leaving isn't that appealing, but staying is worse. The thought of hanging out in the house all day ratchets the tension in his shoulders higher.

“Are there any people or places in Tulsa you’d like to see while you’re home?” Jared asks, plating some eggs and setting them on the table alongside a mug of coffee prepared just the way Richard likes it. 

“Not really,” Richard shrugs.

“Gosh, really? Tulsa has such a rich history, though! The Native American arts and artifacts, the Art Deco architecture - did you know the University of Tulsa library has the world’s largest selection of collected works and papers by James Joyce?” He brings his own plate of eggs and a mug of tea to the table and sits across from Richard, who replies with his mouth full, “Um, yes but how do you know that?”

“I did some light Wikipedia research while you were sleeping,” Jared smiles shyly and it spreads into a full beaming thing, his eyes shining with untold fun facts and amusing anecdotes that he no doubt memorized and will pepper into conversation throughout their visit. A reluctant smile tugs at Richard’s lips - Jared’s pure excitement about this small, strange place they’re in eases some of the tension in Richard’s shoulders. The coffee doesn’t hurt, either. The prospect of spending the day with nothing to do but make that look appear on Jared’s face sounds kind of fun, actually. 

“This is supposed to be a vacation kinda, so um. Ok, let’s do it. Sightseeing.”

Richard didn’t think it was possible, but Jared’s smile grows even sunnier. “Sightseeing! I can’t wait.”

***

Richard showers and dresses while Jared clears away the breakfast dishes, then they head out in his dad’s grey Toyota. It’s a warm and sunny June day and as they turn off of his parents’ block, Richard spots three separate groups of kids roving the side streets, all of them clearly headed to the neighborhood pool with their beach towels slung over their shoulders and flip-flops smacking the pavement. 

“So, uh. Sightseeing. I’m not sure what sights there really are to see in Tulsa, heh. You probably don’t want to do like the 8th grade field trip thing, right?” Richard intones dramatically, “‘On this site in 1917 some oil baron assholes stole a bunch of money from women and children,’ that kinda thing.”

Jared giggles. “Oh, I want to see anything and everything. Are there any other places you and Big Head used to go? Or I suppose...we are here for the reunion, after all. Maybe you could show me the version of Tulsa that high school Richard would have thought was interesting?”

“Ha, I’m not sure anyone cares about what high school me thought.”

“I would,” Jared says earnestly, he’s always so fucking earnest, and the back of Richard’s neck heats. He tugs at the collar of his button down and clears his throat. “Alright then, get ready for ah, well, um. You’ll see. It can be a, uh, surprise.”

Richard has to turn up NPR to drown out how loudly Jared is smiling at him.

They head south until the industrial buildings and chain restaurants make way into wider streets and bigger trees, past LaFortune park (“This is one of the highest spots in Tulsa,” Richard points out, “My dad would take me up here to watch the Perseids meteor shower every August.”), until finally Richard turns onto a long curving street cutting through a lush green lawn. He can see glimpses of the spaceship-like building set back from the intersection, the sharp plane of the glass windows broken up by huge white angular beams that form brutal isosceles triangles all around the circular structure. As the road curves around, Richard slows the car to a stop and says, “Ta-da!” while Jared gapes. 

“I read something about this!” he says, craning his neck to see the entirety of the statue - two massive bronze hands pressed together in prayer. 

“Yep. If you had any doubt we’re in the buckle of the Bible belt, look no further. I present to you, the largest bronze statue in the world. And back there, you see that tower that looks like it came out of The Jetsons? There’s an eternal flame on top of it. Pretty much every TV preacher scamming people out of money has gone to school here at good ol’ Oral Roberts.” 

“Well, the Church does have a way of making statements through art,” Jared murmurs. 

“Yeah, well the statement it made to me was ‘get the fuck outta here,’” Richard says with a laugh, but it comes out harsher than he means it to. “I uh. This was where I was when I decided to apply to Stanford.”

Jared turns away from the statue to look at Richard who’s looking over the steering wheel and beyond at the tall gold buildings of the ORU campus. “Or, well down the street actually, there’s a coffee shop called Nordaggio’s - anyway, I was there with my bio lab partner who was this total fucking douchebag, and this girl walks in and asks if anyone can give her a ride. And she was kinda cute so my lab partner was all, ‘Richard you have a car, Richard we gotta give her a ride,’ and so he like, made me offer her a ride and she wanted to come here. And it was - it was weird, she didn’t have anything with her, she didn’t know anybody, and she was coming here, she wanted to see the Eternal Flame, she kept talking about how she was looking for something, she just needed to go to the Eternal Flame and she’d find it. And all I could think was...you’re not gonna find it here. But I think I was telling myself that, you know?”

Jared nods. Richard can’t see it very well out of his periphery, but he knows the look on Jared’s face that says he knows what it’s like to be looking for something the world won’t seem to let you find. 

“And I asked her if she was ok, if she needed me to call someone, which I, I didn’t even have a phone but the whole thing felt off you know, and she said she would be fine because God would take care of her and then she got out of the car and just like, disappeared into the dark. And I went home that night and filled out my application for Stanford because...” he trails off, his eyes narrowed as if looking for the girl again on the grounds of the campus. 

“Because?” Jared prompts, and Richard blinks, shrugs. “Because God wasn’t looking out for me, so I should probably start doing it. Not that I’ve done a great job so far, heh. But even then with Pied Piper and everything, I had this whole notebook of ideas and I knew I had to find something...bigger. Than this.”

“Mmm. It sounds to me like that was what she was looking for too. Maybe you both helped each other find it.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, maybe,” Richard says, chewing his lip. “Hey, those eggs didn’t really stick with me, you wanna get lunch?”

[amysubmits]

My long time boyfriend and I have just started to dip our toes into the dom/sub life, and so far its... Okay I guess. We're trying to put rules down as we go, like: Yoga before bed/Wake up on time/Don't stuff my face with junk food... But the punishments he's giving me when I disobey are more like minor inconveniences, and I can tell there's no confidence in them. He also has a hard time making decisions about anything. What do I do?

What stands out most to me from your ask is that you said you “just started”. I am assuming that means you are in the first few months, at most. If that’s true, I think the main thing is to try to be patient.

My guess is that the worry in the back of your head is that he isn’t cut out for this because he isn’t confidently punishing you and confidently taking making decisions for you both. I understand that worry, and at some point in your journey if he’s still lacking confidence in those areas, I would agree they are reasons to be concerned. I just don’t think they are warning signs when you’ve just started D/s.

Our early punishments felt a bit awkward. Because punishment doesn’t exist within most adult relationships it’s just inescapably, in-your-face D/s. It’s a very powerful power exchange. For me, the weight of punishment still just really hits me in the chest sometimes. It’s powerful and dramatic to be punished - to give up that much control, and on his side, to take that much control. I think it’s pretty normal for a Dominant to feel a little awkward or nervous about it early on. I see a lot of submissives who are transitioning into D/s with a former partner talking about early punishments being not very harsh or strict. From what I’ve experienced myself and heard from others, it’s normal for it to build up over time. It’s actually a good thing in my opinion that he isn’t throwing out super harsh punishment. It’s good that he’s erring on the side of restraint. 

As far as him struggling to make decisions, have you made it clear that you want him to? That to you, decision making is an element of D/s? When we were new to domestic discipline we had just agreed to him holding me accountable to a couple of rules. He didn’t recognize that I kind of wanted him to lead our relationship in general, and honestly, I’m not sure if I consciously knew that either which was part of the problem for us. But still, talk about it explicitly if you haven’t already. He may not realize it’s part of the deal in your view. 

If you’re certain he knows you want him to call the shots and he struggles to, again, it’s something that often takes time.  Before we had explicitly talked about it being part of oru D/s, CD only ever would choose for me if it was crystal clear that I was wanting him to just choose. As in “will you pleas echoose?” or “I don’t want to choose” then he would. If I just said “I don’t know what to do about X.” he would only give me his opinion if he felt there was a clear right or wrong choice. With something like what to eat for lunch, he didn’t think there was a right or a wrong so he wouldn’t choose for me. Even once he knew I wanted him to just pick something, it wasn’t a perfect switch to him deciding for me overnight. We tend to grow up thinking it’s rude to make choices for someon else, so it takes some time to adjust and sort of re-program in order to start making decisions for someone else.

Being really careful with your wording may help. In my brain “I don’t know what I want to eat” vs “What should we eat?” vs “Will you choose what we have for dinner” are 100% the same because I mean the exact same thing when I say any of those 3. All of those are submissive for “please choose for me.” but most people aren’t fluent in submissive-ese. So phrasing it that last way ‘Will you choose…’ or similar statements can help because they are a clearer way of requesting leadership. 

In my opinion, him controlling you food seems rather intense/involved for the beginning of your dynamic. Most people eat 3 meals and a snack or two a day, so that is just a lot of tracking/monitoring on both sides. For most people food can be a bit of an emotional thing too which can muddy the waters. Of course, if it’s working for you both that’s great. If you find you or him both struggling more with that rule than the other one then maybe consider switching it out for one that is a bit simpler - like needing permission to have sweets or something? 

Give it at least a few months or so to see if you guys settle in, and then if you’re still feeling stuck, I would look into problem-solving in another way, such as changing to another form of punishment he may be more comfortable with or things like that. But t takes time to adjust so I’d wait a few months before deciding the elements you currently have are, or are not working. I would also try not to add in additional rules until you are both feeling like you are being rather successful. Try not to add more to your plate until you’re comfortable with where you’re at already. 

Good luck!

[ryodan]

SasuNaru and the pin hole

(semi anti ending but not tagged as such as its mainly pro, so beware..vv semi tho)

@sasuke-prevails

Okay, so I’d reblog your post with a reply but my computer always freezes up when I do that and try to add pictures and I can barely use the tumblr app as it is so gaaaah. Plus, I’ve always wanted to make this post debunking everything SNS claim anyways. So here you go. sorry about the wait, i was so lazy..sorry about some shakey images i have GAD

First off, I’d like to say that when I say I am a Naruto fan, I don’t mean the character. I mean, don’t get me wrong I love Naruto too, but I am referring  to the series. I genuinely love this series despite all of it’s inconsistencies, I am late on the band wagon but I prefer that since it allows me to think objectively.  SNS tends to view the series with what I like to call pin hole vision where the entire series is naruto  x sasuke, they are the center bond because they represent everything the series itself stands for. They are not together all the time, they haven’t had the healthiest relationship but they’re the centre  bond because as proven by the first and final battles in the VOE, both at the end of part 1 and part 2 respectively it’s a ‘it boils down to this’ type of thing. However, when I say I am anti romantic SNS it does not mean I am anti their friendship. Do I think its unhealthy? Some aspects of it, yes. Problematic, yes tbh.

These are good examples  I think. Narutos worst fears early shippuuden were disappointing his comrades, and this. Why is is problematic on Narutos side? I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it

I’d like to mention what naruto as a series stands for, and always consistently stood for.

‘Nande?’

‘Onagi dakara’

‘why?’

‘because we are the same.’

-Narutos first bond, Iruka

‘Konoha o mamoroto tsuyui ishi’

‘strong will to protect the hidden leaf village.’

-Hiruzen

‘sato wa nanda?’

‘what is a village?’

-sasuke, ill get to it

‘Kono hi no ishi mote oru kagiri kono sato no mono wa subete kazoku sono mono nanja’

‘as long as one has this will of fire everyone in this village is family.’

‘Iruka sensei? Nande hito wa hito no tameni inochi o kake- ah fuck this translation takes too long im sorry omg

‘Iruka sensei why do people risk their lives for other people?’

‘When one person dies, their past , their present and their future disappears along with them----those people who die have dreams and ambitions, but everyone else has something just as important. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers..those who are dear to them. They trust each other and help each other—that string gets which connects those people gets stronger and thicker by time. It’s impossible to explain why, those who hold those strings just do it, because it’s important to them.’

‘yeah. Somehow it’s clear even to me.’

-Iruka and Naruto when Hiruzen died protecting the village

‘When someone has something they want to protect, their true power comes along’

-Haku

It’s because we help out when they’re in trouble that we can count on them to come running when we need it.

-Shikamaru, about Suna

‘If comrades that you trust gather around you, hope can take physical form and become visible. That`s what I believe...’

-kakashi, to obito

I won't allow my comrades to die. I'll protect you with my life. Trust me.

-kakashi

The next generation will always surpass the previous one. It's one of the never-ending cycles in life.

-kakashi

If you don't share someone's pain. You can never understand them.

-Pain

‘A long cycle of hatred humans have come to call history’

Just by living, people hurt others without even realizing it. So long as humanity exists, hate will also exist. There is no peace in this cursed world. War is just a crime paid for by the pain of the defeated...

-pain

Now there's something I understand a little better. Hate, sadness, even joy. To be able to share it with another person... Naruto Uzumaki. From fighting him I learned that. He knew pain like I did and then he taught me that you can change your path. I wish that one day I can be needed by someone. Not as a frightening weapon... But as the sand's Kazekage.

-Gara

  People's lives don't end when they die. It ends when they lose faith.

-itachi

‘ill never let my comrades die, those words and the conviction behind them are not lies, because neji was able to store those words in his heart. Brother Neji died! It’s not just you Naruto, we all hold those words and feelings in our heart.That is what binds our lives together and makes us comrades. If we all give up those thoughts and feelings Nejis final act would have been for nothing. And that is when your comrades truly die.’

-Hinata

The pain of being alone is completely out of this world, isn't it? I don't know why, but I understand your feelings so much, it actually hurts.

-Naruto

That void is something that everyone helps you fill. Just because you face adversity and hardships, is no reason to give up on this world. A person willing to throw away all those memories... of their friends and comrades, will never find peace of mind. Resorting to something like that isn't going to bury that hole. If you persevere and endure, someone will be there to support you!

-Kakashi, to obito

 I love sasuke. I love all of his bonds, and despite the shit he dealt with in the series he really does represent the message of the series really well…an atypical antagonist, an incredibly well written character who fills not only his shoes in the story, but the shoes of many other characters.

You say Sasuke offered his food to Naruto because he cares about him and I agree, empathy stems from care. But going by your argument.

Despite this

He did wait for her to wake up, also risking elimination and a halting of his revenge plans.

It’s important noting that before any of this, their goals were very self centered and none of them were playing by teamwork..except sasuke, who boasted that he was better than them to Kakashi, but was still the only one who linked them together, by feeding naruto and by saying the whole ‘we are a 3 man cell aren’t we?’

That’s another thing I love about this guy, he really brings people together despite the fact that does not talk for 98% of the series. Taka developed because of him and so did 7.

A constantly relevant theme.

the first mission bought light to what their relationships would be like very early on, and also imprints these guys as personal bonds based on friendship and affection that sasuke shares, a feat that no one else in the series was able to do aside from his family.

From the tree climbing exercise that combined their rivalry and their friendship to this moment that made a grown ass man cry

 ENCOUNTER WITH FRIENDS WHO CAN EASE HIM FROM LONELINESS!!

【仲間】 「それまで恋や友情に見向きもしなかったサスケは、ナルトやサクラと出会い、少しずつではあるが、仲間を受 け 入れ始める。サスケにとってナルトは、いつの間にか互いの能力を高め合う良きライバルとなり、 また大蛇丸の 邪悪な呪印にのみ込まれんとするその心を、サクラに救われたことも．．．  」

↳ 【COMPANIONS】 Though until then he had taken no notice of either love or friendship, after meeting with Naruto and Sakura Sasuke begins to accept them as nakama, even if only little by little. In Sasuke’s eyes, before he even noticed it, he and Naruto became mutual good rivals capable of boosting up each other’s skills - and also, when his heart was about to be swallowed by Orochimaru’s wicked cursed seal again, he was rescued by Sakura…

‘as they go on countless missions together, he sees her strengths and weaknesses and views her as someone he needs to protect’

「呪印の影響で暴走するサスケを身を挺して鎮めるサクラ。サクラのサスケを想う心が、邪な力を 包 み込む。」  

↳ Sakura willingly and bravely calms the rampaging Sasuke under the influence of the cursed seal. Sakura’s heart, thinking of Sasuke, devours the wicked power.

 For Naruto who was considered a failure, Sasuke was more than an annoying guy who got the best grades: he was also the rival that won Sakura’s heart, for whom Naruto is in love …! That’s why he always gets annoyed with Sasuke

Sasuke, who only had power for revenge, becomes stronger because of his companions. His true place would have been a future among them.

Growing distant, towards darkness. The one to appear before him as he began leave was Sakura. To the back of a Sasuke that tried to avert from what was being left behind, Sakura desperately conveys her feelings. Bright and earnest feelings - feelings that did not want to lose Sasuke. The one who filled his lonely existence with the emotion called love was Sakura. But, as expected, Sasuke cannot respond to those feelings. Sasuke was only able to leave a single word of thanks as word of parting. 

Friendship and love, a future filled with warmth. But as long as he is there, he cannot make his dream come true. This is why he throws away a future with his friends. To make dreams of revenge a reality…

As is confirmed by the databook.

Sasuke risked his life for them both, and he would have done it again no thinking what so ever, partly because he is a selfless person and also because they already imprinted on his mind. Sasukes relationship with Naruto is given a rivalry mixed with friendship context early on and my friend who had 0 to do with naruto burrowed volume one from me and in school while she was reading asked me if sasuke and sakura end up together, because authorial context is clear

In fact this scene builds up a very good argument I have for this ship that I will get to, where we first learn of his entire stance in the story and sakura is like? Mind you, this was at a time before sasuke ever spoke about these things to anyone…he made me cry is not something he ever told anyone other than sakura. She was intuitive to he him, even during the war when she had a feeling he’d start shit up early on.

You could argue he is blushing bc he is embarrassed… but he has had girls thirsting after him since he was fresh out the womb. ‘he came off stand offish’ well, yes naturally when a person is suffering from trauma and survivors guilt they tend to isolate themselves and become reclusive and irritable. Now, add the fact that the trauma happened at such a young age and you have a sasuke. But he still, took out the time to say he’s emo (a joke ofc)

The only ‘romantic context’ ever given to Naruto and Sasuke was the ‘accidental kiss’ which ended up like this

Over the course of the series we see Sasukes attachment to team 7, in the same context given before. Best friend and rival, girl he feels protective affection for.

however, the context between sasusaku was always romanticized

 Part 2 : http://sasukeuchihayas.tumblr.com/post/160820240389/this-comes-full-circle-in-the-gara-fight-when

Part 3 : http://sasukeuchihayas.tumblr.com/post/160820241909/if-we-do-a-time-skip-to-after-the-akatsuki-arc

[nyticia]

I would like to preface this post by saying I have full consent from said friend. This is not to exploit him in any way, but rather to bring light to the approach in which Christians are taking to the LGBTQ community and possibly why previous approaches haven’t been working.

I met Tyler during this odd event that often occurred at ORU called Roommate Date. Ah, the good ole roommate date. Roommate Date is when your roommate chooses a date for you and vice versa. Unless you are already dating someone, in which case your date is already chosen of course. And if you don’t have a roommate, someone on your floor is given the opportunity to choose your date. My current roommate’s date was Tyler.

My first impression of Tyler was this tall, skinny, white boy with the thickest Alabama accent I’d ever heard. I was raised in Florida and had only been in Oklahoma for about 2 months at this time so southern accents like his were not very common in my world. Regardless, he was super fun to be around and I wanted to make an effort to make sure we stayed friends. I later invited him to my friend Tielor’s birthday dinner and the rest, as they say, is history.

As Tielor and I got close, Tielor and Tyler got close. (Now imagine me telling this story out loud. Lots of confusion.) And because Tielor and Tyler were getting close, by default, Tyler and I got close. The closer I became with Tyler, the more I realized he had feminine mannerisms. But, I didn’t think twice about it. Maybe he’d struggled with it in high school and is overcoming. It wasn’t my business.

As the years went on, the three of us became pretty much inseparable. It didn’t affect Tielor and my relationship at all. It was basically like hanging out with my two best friends all the time, except one of them I just happened to be dating at the time.

One day, Tyler and I went to go get food late at night. We were sitting in the parking lot of this fast food restaurant (I wish I could remember which one) and Tyler came out to me. I wasn’t surprised. He’d hinted at it a lot and I’d always brushed it off. Maybe something in me always knew and just didn’t care. I wish I could remember exactly what he said or how he said it but I just remember looking at him, nodding, and saying, “Okay.” I didn’t scream and say how he’d go to hell. I wasn’t mad. I just accepted it. And I think that’s where my struggle began.

From then on, he became more and more open about his homosexuality to me. In some cases, it made me feel uncomfortable. But, as time went on, I simply brushed it off. He knew what the Bible had to say about homosexuality. He knew how God felt about it. He knew how I felt about. He’s a grown man and I wasn’t going to tell him how to live his life.

Tyler later came out and told me he was considering transitioning into a woman. THIS is when it became real to me. I’m not sure why his coming out as gay didn’t bother me but him transitioning did. The night he told me, I went back to my room and my mind began to race. Hormones are reversible, yes but surgery is not. What if he doesn’t come back to Jesus before he commits to surgery? If he does come back to Jesus after surgery, will Jesus take him back? Surely… maybe…

So what do I do when I have questions like this? I pray. So I did and God’s response was, “I love him.” Okay God, duh but like what do I do?

Love him like I love him.

So that’s what I did. Tyler knew where I stood in all of this, yet I stuck by his side. I didn’t shy away from his transition. I didn’t embrace it either. However, I wasn’t ashamed to be his friend. Jesus wasn’t ashamed to hang out with prostitutes and tax collectors so why should I be ashamed to hang out with someone who I’d been best friends with for 3 years?

However, my prayers became a little lackluster. I went from fervently praying on Tyler’s behalf to basically being like, “Jesus, you know what’s up.” I eventually stopped praying altogether.

June 12, 2016, I woke up to get ready for work and instantly got on Twitter. (I was addicted to social media, okay. Judge me.) I instantly was flooded with news and articles of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. I wept. I wept like a baby. I want to weep writing this right now. So many lives. So many innocent people. And a horrific thought came to mind.

“That could have been Tyler.”

I wept even more. My heart began to race at the thought of my best friend never being able to spend eternity with His savior.

That’s when the prayers became more fervent. I slowly, but surely, shied away from talking about his relationship and transitioning because it started to genuinely make me feel uncomfortable. Not in an “ew, this is disgusting” way but in an “I can’t allow my best friend to continue to live like this” way.

Fast forward to last month when he decided to rededicate his life to Jesus 🙌🏾. I’m not sure if it was anything I did besides pray and be there. And having him respond to my excitement with “I couldn’t have done it without you…” is what makes it all worth it. It’s what makes the night of prayer, the waking up in the middle of the night because Jesus told me to pray, the crying over the Pulse Nightclub shooting all worth it.

My whole purpose of sharing this is because so many Christians abhor the thought of going out with those who aren’t saved. I can’t even walk into the bar area of Buffalo Wild Wings without someone from ORU shooting me a dirty look. News flash: I’m 22 and graduated. And your opinion of me never mattered anyway. But I digress…

My point: Tyler is my best friend. Gay. Straight. Bisexual. Transexual. Black. White. Purple people eater. He’s a human being that Jesus died for. Just like He died for you and me. And Jesus loves him. Just like He loves you and me. Just like He loves Caitlyn Jenner. Just like He loves RuPaul. And yes, I hear you. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Got it. And yes, there is a balance to it without compromising your faith. But it’s so amazing how so many people stopped being friends with Tyler after he became Courtney. So many people talked bad about him behind his back. Some even to me! Yet, when he decided to come back to Jesus, those very same people congratulated him, calling him and commenting on his facebook about how proud they are of him.

You can be a Christian and still have gay friends. Though Tyler has rededicated his life, I would still love him regardless of his sexual orientation. You can still love Christ and love people. But, you can’t claim to love people if you’re homophobic. Trust me when I say that members of the LGBTQ community respect your views. But in 2017, can we put the homophobia away and just love? Is it too hard to ask?

xoxo, Ticia

I want to give a shoutout to the Breedloves, Serena, and everyone else in my life who continually challenged me to never give up on Tyler. Love y’all ❤️

My Best Friend was Transgender. I would like to preface this post by saying I have full consent from said friend. This is not to exploit him in any way, but rather to bring light to the approach in which Christians are taking to the LGBTQ community and possibly why previous approaches haven't been working.