#but unfortunately not ENOUGH hotaru

[imrryr]

i'm playing Sailor Moon: Another Story and it's very true to the show

naru in danger? *check*

sentences that leave you scratching your head? *check*

rei the glamorous hot-headed psychic getting publicly humiliated? *check*

haruka and michiru looking good and doing most of the damage? *check*

and this dork is still showing up last second? *check*

and, oh yeah, soooooooo much comphet? *check* :(

[signedeclipse]

Ooh, i found your page, and i saw your prompt post about the Multiple/All hashira have feelings for the reader who is the best swordsmith and all want their swords done by her, I think it be funny to also add Hotaru Haganezuka to the mix and him also being like "im not sharing my fellow Smith back off!" :D

I think all would be funny with all hashira, but anyone underage it's like I admire you and you are now my older sibling/parent now.

Giyuu | Gyomei | Mitsuri | Muichiro | Obanai | Sanemi | Shinobu [X Reader]

In which you are the best swordsmith, and the hashira you're assigned to adore you.

Giyuu

He never deserved any kind of special blade, special treatment, or anything above what the average person got

At least, thats how Giyuu thought about things

Recently, his swordsmith had retired, and while he had stated he didn't care who got the job, there was still pressure for him to pick since it was considered some kind of honour

During his visit to the village, he met you at an izakaya, where you were talking with the owner about your proposal for the 'hashira in town'

He felt bad for walking in, knowing you didn't intend for him to hear anything, so he immediately tried to hide in the corner and finish his food sooner

Unfortunately, the owner immediately pointed him out, and asked him to come over to talk to you

Both of you were red with embarrassment, and Giyuu had to insist you stop apologizing

You were nervous about talking about the design, but eventually he caught the gist that you wanted to repurpose another sword into his since older steel was more valuable

You'd clearly done your research because you knew of him and Sabito, and you offered to use Sabito's left-over ore to add to his for some more sentimental value

Giyuu was really keen about the idea, and before the choosing ceremony could occur, he presented himself to Lord Tecchin to request you become his permanent swordsmith

Gyomei

Nichirin blades were the most common weapon used by demon slayers

Gyomei had started with one, but he quickly found his attacks were focused on the impact, and less on the perfect point of precision

He needed something different, but he wasn't sure what

Being a bother was something he hated doing, but he took it upon himself to visit the swordsmith village so he could meet with Lord Tecchin

Even Tecchin was unsure, until one of his guards spoke about you, a budding swordsmith with a less traditional outlook on weapons

Gyomei was willing to try, and he was glad he did

You were a natural creative, he could hear your charcoal sketching along parchment even as it was hidden below melancholic humming

You were interested in his assessment of his inability to use nichirin to its best potential, and after considering several forms of weapons, you both landed on something that could act at various ranges

The flail was a deadly weapon on a stick, but you proposed keeping it on a chain would help him control it, since he could vary how much length he gave the flail to move

"It'll be heavy, though, and hard to know where it's going. How much can you lift?"

"Several thousand kilograms."

"Ah."

You were at a loss for words, but you took him seriously and began working

Gyomei actually had a hand in helping make them, because you could barely carry the flail moulds, let alone the finished product

You instructed his hands on how to feel the weapon, gave him suggestions on use, and described its appearance so he could adjust the colours as he liked

Your patience was appreciated, and Gyomei took it upon himself to make sure you were treated extremely well after the week of gruelling work

Mitsuri

Mitsuri had a very special blade

It needed to be thin enough to bend, but thick enough to remain still when not moving

The only person who had ever managed this perfect precision was Lord Tecchin, but as he grew older, the task became harder

So, there was a contest for a replacement; anyone who wanted to could join

You were intrigued by the idea, but you'd had trouble in the past with your experimental blades, so much so that some friends of yours suggested you leave yourself out

But you wanted to give it a try, besides, you'd heard great things about the love Hashira, and you were sure she wouldn't be mean about it if it didn't meet her standards

Your best idea was to use something other than the scarlet ore to give it further reinforcement, so you created an alluminium-steel alloy that could be coated in scarlet ore by melting the scarlet crimson Iron Sand, which was more flexible than the ore

It resulted in a long, thin, and sturdy blade that could handle nearly triple the force of its original, though it wasn't as flexible as before

On the day of the contest, Mitsuri was extremely interested in your process, and you got to see your creation in its moving form for the first time

Mitsuri was extremely talented, and she had no problem bending the sword with her whipped movements

As it turns out, she had to be careful with her previous swords because she had gotten too strong for them and they got too loose

You easily won, and Mitsuri was beyond joyed to know her swordsmith was not only talented, but also extremely pretty!

She's always sketching herself with her sword on the letters she sends to you and often inviting you out to eat

Expect a lot of recipes sent your way, and a lot of sweet messages detailing how excited she is to see you again

Muichiro

Swords were the least of his concerns when it came to slaying demons

They should always be perfect, always kill without getting in his way; he shouldn't have to ever think about it

But after his run-in with Tanjiro and his previous swordsmith passing away, the concerns bubbled up

He didn't have time to spend waiting on some smith to make something comparable to what he wielded, he needed something just as good, if not better

So the search began, and of course, your name popped up a lot when he'd ask who was 'the best'

You were young, close to his age, and you were hard at work when he found you

Muichiro ignores every craftsman sword hung upon your wall, disregards every talent, and demands you take him on

But stubborn meets stubborn, and when you say no, hes taken back

What do you mean 'no'? Do you have any idea how much of a speck you are compared to him?

The challenge you present nags at him, and he decides youre not worth it; he can always ask someone else

But the idea of anything less than perfect, the annoyance of you denying him, it manages to peer through the mind fog several times to the point of annoyance

Fine, he'll say please and apologize, because your craftsmanship is worth it

When he does get his sword, he's even more irked that it never so much as scratches, and works extremely hard to try and break it just so he can tell everyone you aren't as good as they say

It never happens

Obanai

No one could get his concept right

A lot of people thought he wanted what Mitsuri had, which he thought was extremely well crafted, but it wasn't exactly what he needed

Mitsuri had the arm strength to handle a weapon that long and precise, but he needed something smaller, more sturdy, but with 'joints' of weakness

His concept was rejected by many, and his frustration was beginning to boil

When you came up to him, requesting to make it, he had already given up and mentioned he was leaving soon, and not to bother him

Even after leaving the village and resigning into using the typical blade, he was surprised when you found your way all the way out to his mission point just to deliver him a weapon he never asked for

He didn't like that someone had intruded on his mission, but when you were both attacked and he had a chance to use it, he had a hard time being mad

The weak points of the weapon started far apart and got closer together near the top, giving the blade a wave-like appearance that certainly looked odd

But when moved with enough force and velocity, the joints could be bent further to reach around corners in odd ways, following his movements with a latency that let him fit it through impossible holes and bends

It was everything he was looking for and more, considering he only proposed two joints and you'd delivered nearly twenty in a blade as short as seventy centimetres

Hes impressed, but hes still mad you made this journey and put yourself in danger, so of course he is going to take you all the way back to the village

Personally

With no one else

And listen to you talk the whole time

Yea

Sanemi

Sure, swords were important, but he didn't give them much thought

He was always getting new ones because his always chipped, snapped, and scratched with all the force he was putting on them

The blades were built for flesh, but he didn't care, he practiced cutting rocks and throwing the blade like it was some kind of toy

Eventually, his destructive tendancy drove his swordsmith to quitting, as many others had, and he was once again called into the village to find another

The choosing ceremony was skipped with him, since it often ended up with him insulting everyone and picking the person who cried the least

So now he just went from workshop to workshop, looking at what people could offer

Your workshop looked the newest, with freshly varnished wood and some construction materials still left on the side of the den you worked out of

It was just you in the workshop, with new bulletin boards already covered in sketches and schematics, and a shelf of ores labelled by size, strength, and purity

Sanemi figured since you were new, you'd take longer to break and give up, so he resigned to Lord Tecchin whom he had picked and challenged you to have it done by the next day

It was an impossible challenge, but that was the point

Even so, the next day you were at his door by the crack of dawn, not one, but two identicle blades ready for him to retrieve

They were perfect, left matte instead of shining, and sharp enough to cut a perfect lien through the most delicate and loose fabric

Sanemi hated to admit it, but he appreciated that you'd at least already prepared him a replacement

When he tried them out for the first time, he finds they last a lot longer, and it takes him several months for a chip to occur in it

Even then, he has a second one, so for the first time in years, he's been away from the village for more than six months

You're not perfect, but you're certainly good, and he's thrilled to see what more you can do with a few more years of practice

Shinobu

When Shinobu first started toying with the idea of wisteria poison as an effective killing method, the hardest part was figuring out how to apply it to a blade

Injection was most effective, but needles were chunky and harder to get into demons campared to something broad like a nichirin blade

So she was reffered to you, and you drafted up several ideas that you felt she might enjoy

Other swordmen felt it was an insult to the dark, to remove the central half of the blade, but it was the easiest way for her to have something light without shortening the blade or thinning it out and risking it snapping

The planning resulted in a very unique blade but an even more unique sheath

Shinobu hadn't asked, but you lined it with a spongy fabric so that she could fill it with the poison and automatically apply itself along the blade

It had a drain, anti-microbial and anti-rusting additions, and a beautiful handpainted pattern along its outside.

The amount of thought you put into it really astonished her, and while she never had issues with the design, Shinobu made sure to have a bi-annual trip to visit you

Along with the many letters she would send with news and treats from the butterfly mansion

Being able to share her experiences with you with other hashira or corps members gives her a sense of pride, especially when she gets to show off something she used to view as a sign of weakness

Authors Note - I have wanted to write this prompt for SO LONG!! Its a lot of characters, so I apologize but I left out Uzio, Kyojuro, and Haganezuka to focus on those I had the most ideas for!

Thank you for requesting, anon!

[gyokutoll]

Hotaru has a lot of rabbit imagery for a variety of reasons ranging from the obvious one of being a prey animal, then to the more culturally significant facet of it, which is the myth of the moon rabbit.

The TLDR of the story goes that a god was in the guise of a mortal man and needed sustenance. The rabbit struggled to gather anything of use for the old man, and instead requisitioned its companions to light a fire so it could cook itself to feed the old man. The old man was a god in disguise and was touched by the rabbit's sacrifice, and thus gave it a prestigious ascension to the moon so humanity would be reminded of its compassion.

Hotaru, despite the manner in which he tries to portray himself as cruel, is every bit as self-sacrificing as that rabbit. It was why he spent so long being abused by Sadao, because he was empathetic enough to identify his suffering and the person he could have been, rather than who he was. To Hotaru, his own suffering was secondary so long as his love could potentially help Sadao become better. He only left when he was strangled because he'd realized that unfortunately, Sadao had passed a point Hotaru could no longer help. But it hadn't been the first time Sadao had assaulted him, it was just the first time he brushed against death's door, or felt as if it could go that far.

Hotaru, as I've mentioned in past posts, will set himself on fire to keep others warm. There are instances in his narrative where he has taken fatal hits for other people out of sheer panic, even if they're stronger than he is and are more likely to withstand it in a way that he simply can't.

But the fact the rabbit was willing to prepare itself as food also connects to the fact that his curse makes him food for yokai, that his flesh and blood empower them while also tying into the fact that not only was the rabbit cooking itself in the myth, but also that a rabbit is inherently a prey animal. That it is weak, useless, ineffectual like the rabbit in the story who couldn't gather berries and nuts like its monkey companion, nor could it fish like the fox. The rabbit was fundamentally unremarkable and lacked strength, just as Hotaru himself does, but what set the rabbit apart and granted it favor from the deity was the depths of its kindness and its willingness to sacrifice itself.

This is, thusly, the 'toll' part of his url. Essentially the rabbit's toll, the weight of what it means to consistently sacrifice one's self to fates which might be otherwise terrifying. Hotaru carries the toll of the moon rabbit, that burden of kindness. But unlike the moon rabbit, Hotaru hasn't seen the reward for his kindness, only this regenerative immortality and stifling loneliness. Of course, his story doesn't end that way, and I feel like I've kind of veered a little off path here, but this is just. Me explaining Hotaru's url and rabbit imagery.

I think what I sincerely love most about Hotaru as a character is that a lot of his traits which are positive are either monetized or obfuscated, but the fact of that matter is that even when he tries to be cruel, he's still the sort of person to instinctively lunge forward to protect someone else or will stop what he's doing to lend a helping hand if someone sincerely needs it.

His base nature is one of kindness and even if he tries to portray himself as cruel and unfeeling and embittered and nasty with nary a kind word to spare, he's still the moon rabbit, he's still someone willing to split his ribcage open even if it means feeding someone else. And when one considers how he's suffered, I think this is what makes Hotaru remarkable, even if he sees this part of his own character as weak.

[kirric-the-fan]

Okay, I had a different idea for this precure oc originally, but Now I’ve gone the other way, and What If whole team of green precure?

Very VERY green precure.

Introducing:

Verdant Earth Precure:

Cure Crown (trees) (green & yellow)

Cure Rush (Lush) (Reeds, grasses) (green, dark blue & red-dy brown, but fluffy)

Cure Spring (flowers) (green, rainbow (flowers)

Cure Algae (bright green and blue. Bioluminescence)

Cure Rice (green and white. Snow like)

(Cure names have a secondary, athletic theme)

They are All green cures, with secondary colours.

^^ I am probably going to tweak this design a little, maybe merge with some of my Cure Memory stuff for Cure Crown. But the whole team has this sort of outfit vibe. Deeply green, and very verdant. Lots of flower and leaf details.

Their fairies:

Dewdrop (beaver)

Sprout (fawn)

Boo (panda)

Bark (dog/ ‘wolf’. More like puppy. And secretly sealion)

Beri (berry/bury) (squirrel)

Enemy: Harvest

The forest fairies are escaping to Earth, to avoid an enemy taking over their world: Harvest. Unfortunately, the fairies powers are causing havoc on Earth, making the trees and creatures grow wild and attack people! The Verdant Earth cures need to save and reassure the scared fairies of the Forest kingdom, and work to save their world.

The five fairies are all part of the royal court, and determined to regather the scattered forest fairies. They each generate a Forest tome, and seed notes: The tome is the Verdant Earth cures transformation item, and the seed notes are generated from each forest fairy they save. Each collected seed note expands their power, as well as unlocking their more knowledge of some flora and fauna, and revealing more of what happened to the forest kingdom, scrap by scrap.

Minori: Cure Crown. First meets Dewdrop when she walks outside to find the tree in their garden has magically grown in the space of a few minutes (she walks into it). She spots Dewdrop, gives chase thinking it’s a Tanuki, and inadvertently learns she can talk when Dewdrop insists she’s neither a Tanuki or a beaver after Minori manages to drive away the enemies harassing her. They exchange words, Dewdrop asks Minori if she’s seen any other fairies, then leaves when the answer is no. Minori gives chase, wanting more explanations. Dewdrop is very surprised Minori is able to catch up. Offers her help. Is rejected. Enemy appears, Minori steps in to protect more forest fairies (Boo, Bark, Beri, and Sprout) and connects with Dewdrop to become a precure, Cure Crown. “The protection of the forest: Cure Crown!”

Jin: Cure Rush. Has a habit of rushing into things, often to her detriment. Often ends up overworking herself, or letting others down, and is beginning to become disheartened because of it. As a precure she learns to work together as part of a team. Is athletic enough to keep herself out of trouble at the start of a fight, but often ends up in trouble because she rushed in. “The waving reeds: Cure Rush!”

Mahiru: Cure Spring. Mahiru is the more delicate and skittish one of the group, but she can empathise with the scared fairies more as a result. She loves flowers, and wants to see more flowers bloom over the town. “Brightness of the blooming flowers: Cure Spring!”

Hotaru: Cure Algae. Painter, in more of a loud, chaotic, ‘loves making a mess when painting’ kinda way. A lot of people don’t understand her, but she loves the less loves aspects of life, and colour. Goes pond-dipping a lot. She is the bioluminescent cure. “The secret of natures lights: Cure Algae!” She oftens champions the underdog, and the little known heroes of the natural world. Her favorite animals are frogs.

Kanako: Cure Rice. Seems like the quiet cure. She struggles to speak up, but wants to say how she likes to hang out with the others. Likes making food, and talking about cooking. Seems to eat a lot through nerves, but gives the others a surprise when she really pushes them in a race: she might do a lot of things by herself, but she’s secretly really competitive, and manages to stammer out to Jin how she’s going to overtake her next time. Jin is looking forward to it. “The nourishment of nature’s foods: Cure Rice!”

Whole Team:

- as a team, they are fast runners. They don't really notice it until they get to an all-stars meet and outpace the next nearest precure team. Cure March is one of the few cures that can keep up with them.

- They're not the strongest fighters, but do a lot of protecting. And trying to stay out of trouble's range.

- They're also the only cure team with useable camouflage in their outfits. They can literally almost stand in front of a bush and not be spotted.

- They each have a bushy cloak/hair/other outfit element that seems to consistently have green+flowers on it. When they start saving the forest kingdom fairies, they seem to disappear into these cloaks, sometimes emerging from their Forest tomes (visiting) The cures don't ask about the logistics. Later, the cloaks turn out to be able to help transport them to the forest kingdom, and seem to be related to their mascot fairies.

- Most of their attacks have plant-related names

- They need their respective fairy mascots to connect with their forest tomes to transform. The fairies don't have to stay with the cure or the tome after, just to get it started. They usually stick around to help or give power-ups anyway. They will also hide in the cloaks for safety.

- They would (and do) get on famously with the heartcatch crew, especially Tsubomi, and Coupe.

- Dewdrop can't fly, but the other four fairies can.

- Harvest turns out to be trying to take all the resources of the Forest Kingdom, trying to cut down its trees and modernise it because the forest fairies refuse to let them do any developments or building there. Where the forest fairies have been causing havoc on Earth by their presence, the cures have to come to terms with the balance of nature and progress: that you can't always exclude one for the other (but kicking the fairies out of their own kingdom just for development and resource stripping is a big no.)

[mortalkombartwistedreflectionau]

Mirror Dariou/TR Dariou Bio

Dairou was once a member of the Seidan Guard, a personal friend of Commander Hotaru dedicated to the protection of his realm.

Unfortunately, one day Dairou's family was murdered. Filled with rightful rage, Dairou searched for the assailant and killed them, an action which cost him facing judgment due to not following the established procedures to deal with criminals. Ultimately, due to his special situation and the defense given to him by Commander Hotaru, it was decided that the only required measure was losing his position in the Seidan Guard.

Hotaru made sure to give all the assistance he could to his friend. Other than offering him his general support, he made sure he received psychological help from numerous professionals. It was a difficult process which took many years and felt like an eternity for Dairou, but thanks to the support he was given, he was able to heal enough to follow on with his life, starting with getting a new job as a police officer in Seido, willing to fight to defend the common citizen to prevent tragedies like the one he suffered from happening.

Nonetheless, it seems like his duty in greater scale conflicts didn't go away with his position in the Seidan Guard. He has recently found himself agreeing with Darrius about what has to be done to stop the Edenian Regime from harming the people of the realms, and so has decided to give assistance to him in any way he can. It was thanks to him that Darrius could establish contact with Commander Hotaru to form their unofficial alliance, which Dairou hopes that, alongside the help they are receiving from Havik's group, will be enough to protect Seido from the Regime if the need arises.

Although his future and that of his realm is uncertain, there is one thing everyone can say for sure: Dairou will fight for the future of Seido and all the innocents who lived in his realm.

[cola-losers]

drop the mortal kombat list that sounds so fun :0

(Just yoinked this from my docs)

What MK character does each EW character main?

Long ago the 4 Lads picked their main based on their favorite color while playing on Edd's Super Nintendo. Later on as they played more games they picked a second main. They did go to the arcade to play MK and MK2

Edd

His main is Reptile he genuinely enjoys his lore and wishes he wasn't shafted so much. His second main is Kitana, he's a Kombo King. He actually knows the lore of the series and of the 4 Lads he's the biggest fan and can actually play any character well. (Although he's also partial to Jade, Jax, and Sheeva)

Tom

He mains Sub-Zero and is actually quite skilled at him. Although tom claims is second main is Noob Saibot he's actually pretty good at Cyber Sub-Zero and Frost. As long as they play similar to good old SZ he's good

Matt

If not for the fact that Edd unlocked every character the first weekend of that one summer Matt would have never hears of Rain, with his rarity and story of being a demigod prince Matt immediately knew he had to play him. Unfortunately due to Rain's rarity Matt needed a second main, lucky for him Johnny Cage was perfect

Tord

Violence, gore, robots, ninjas, sexy women, this game was made for Tord and who better to main than Ermac? Similar to Edd however Tord can play pretty much any character but for his second main he couldn't resist the ever badass Scorpion

He is also however a fan of the Cyber characters such as Sektor. Beyond those he enjoys newcomer Skarlet and old school Kano

~•~

The neighbors prefer street fighter/j

Similar to the Lads they also went for ninjas with their respective colors but decided on the og trio of kunoichi (along with secondary mains)

Eduardo

He was determined to master Jade and he succeeded. He's absolutely terrifying with her. His second main is, fitting with his ego, Shao Kahn himself. He's not as skilled as Edd is but he is skilled in the characters he's mastered so far (Kotal Kahn, Kano, and Goro)

Jon

The unbridled rage within this lad has made him a beast with Kitana that rivals only Edd himself. As tho that weren't enough his second main of Kabal ensures his speed is unmatched

Mark

Mark originally had no interest in playing but his friends practically begged him to, with that in mind he learned to play as Mileena. Her brutal nature is a bit much for him and he isn't the best player but he can hold his own. His other mains tend to depend on aesthetics rather than game play so as such he enjoys the more appropriately colored Lie Mei, the beautiful Ashra, and the handsome Hotaru (F for Mark idk if they're ever bringing him back)

~•~

Unlike the other characters above these 5 decided they were going to main characters according to a theme

( This doesn't mean they won't play other characters positious their faves/mastered)

Paul

Paul has decided on his theme being only the cyborg characters with his main being Smoke. (He will still play their human selves of course) he initially chose Smoke due to the irony but ended up enjoying his playstyle immensely. (He was NOT a fan of the Noob-Smoke team up in Deception).

(The Cyber characters are Sektor, Cyrax, Cyber Sub-Zero, Frost in MK11, Smoke and Triborg)

Patryck

Having not grown up with the game and being Introduced to the world of Mortal Kombat in his adult years, Pat had no bias aside from "I wanna be the yellow one" thus granting him the skill to master who he considers the BEST Cyber Lin Kui member: Cyrax. But is also good with with Tanya and Scorpion

Yuu

Yuu decided he would go for the muscle bound characters. His main is Baraka however he's also a fan of Jax, Kintaro, Goro, Sheeva, Shao Kahn, Ferra/Torr although he admits he isn't the best at them (Although he's pretty scary with Jason Voorhees hehe)

Yanov

Yanov decided he was only going to play as a God (if he's going to play a violent game, he wants to be the nice characters. Or so he claims). He mains Raiden but is also quite skilled with Fujin and despite his claims of only wanting to play a good guy, curiously he's very skilled with Shinnok

(Also vibes with Geras, Centrion and Kronika )

Anya

Sonya Blade hands down with a secondary main in Cassie Cage along with Jaqui Briggs. Army women isn't her theme though she's working on mastering every female character in the MK series

~•~

No real theme for these guys

Coco

She's a Lie Mei main (Lie Mein ha ha) and mostly just picked her once when she stayed over at a cousin's house who happened to have Armageddon. Aside from her she's also partial to Sareena and Nitara only because "they look cute ^^"

Catherine

She is here for brutality and blood and thus, who's a better choice than Skarlet herself? However she's also a fan of the lesser appreciated characters such as Motaro but she isn't picky, she just likes cool Fatalities and will pick whoever isn't picked already

Laurel

She loves Sindel, she's a a fan of what a girl boss she is. She's been talking a lot to Edd (and Eduardo) about the characters and she thinks they're neat. Her second main has become Takeda

Diwi

This boy is so bad at the game but he tries his best!! He thinks the characters are neat and he absolutely loves Johnny Cage. Aside from him he's also one of the few people in the world to think Mokap was cool and he has a soft spot for Stryker

Mike

He is not immune to cool Shaolin Monks and thus his two mains are Lui Kang and Kung Lao but make no mistake this man is a fast learner, he's started playing the hated characters like Blaze or Meat just so he can flex

Hellucard

His normal main is Shang Tsung or Quan Chi but he's a horror movie fan first, person second so he's here to play ALL the crossover DLC characters. Overall he's the perfect person to fight against Edd as he is a MASSIVE fan

[cagcd]

i haven't even scrolled down far enough to see what the meme exactly is but ♚♚♚ you are a delight and you love Johnny so much and I love your Johnny so much, he's not a serious guy but you take him seriously as a character bc you know the difference between the two. I think I owe you a starter from like August oops

THAT MEANS A LOT THANK YOU !! Johnny is definitely NOT serious but there's so much depth into him that is easily missed by the fandom unfortunately but that's okey I'm in my lil corner yelling about this stupid man and you guys are stuck with me lolol but I'm so glad it's showing through, thank You! It's such a complement coming from someone who literally made the Hotaru lore, I love your portrayal of him and chatting with you as well! And don't worry about speed I'm chill ♡

[aelloblu]

Knight Titan belongs to Sailor_Mimas

╔═════ ∘◦⛧ﾐ◦��� ══════╗

 Botan Uehara / Knight Titan

╚═════ ∘◦ ミ⛧ ◦∘ ═════╝

:Mission:

Many generations ago the Sol System looked very different, including two other giant planets lurking amongst what would become the Asteroid Belt. These were Echidna and Typhon and its senshi were corrupted by Chaos. The ancient Sol Senshi, led by their ancestors, Sailor Blue Moon and Sailor Gaia Earth, could neither heal nor destroy them. All they could do was seal their corrupted starseeds deep in the Earth. Although their spirits slumbered through the ages, their restless souls caused the world to tremble, throwing off the balance of Earth’s Energy Lines. 

Sailor Moon is almost twenty one and she knows this is her final challenge before she ascends the throne of Crystal Tokyo. She, Mamoru and the senshi must remain in Tokyo, maintaining what will be the Tokyo Crystal Points fighting to keep Earth’s Energy Lines from breaking free.

But someone must travel deep into the unearthly realm of Tartarus to quell Echidna and Typhon.

Luckily the Satellite Senshi have awakened in their time of need! Sailor Saturn, now sixteen, must lead these rookies and leave the sunlight behind. Together they will arise as Guardians of the Solar System!

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Civilian Form

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

:Name & Meaning:

The name Botan means Peony, a nickname Daichi uses to tease him, but it uses the kanji 牡丹 that mean ‘bull’ and ‘red clay’.  Uehara means 'divine plan'.

:Age & Birthday:

His birthday is May 28th, making him a Gemini. He’s 14 and is in the same eighth grade class at Mugan Academy with Hotaru and Sora.

:Appearance:

Although they are almost twins in appearance, you’d never know it standing side by side. Botan’s chestnut hair can go days without brushing or even being washed if he’s not reminded by Daichi. He certainly doesn’t adhere to Daichi’s strictly scheduled hair cuts and is more than likely to take the closest pair of scissors to it. 

His clothes are dishevelled but thanks to Mugan Academy’s laundry service they don’t smell like gym shorts. He’s the guy who sits around in his pjs until the last minute and in his freetime lives in sweatpants, sports jerseys and graphic t-shirts to the displeasure of his brother.

:Personality:

Beneath a lazy grin and sloppy personality beats a fiery heart of passion. Mugan Academy constantly expects perfection and he rebels against it by not caring about society's expectations. Unfortunately while he doesn’t care about others, he does care about his brother so will do enough just to keep him happy.

Secretly, Botan never wanted to leave Wakayama. He liked the slow, quiet life with nothing but him and his brother’s imagination. The city is cramped, loud and way too dull. He hates people telling him what to do and schedules are like prison time. He mutinies in small ways; barely being on time, wearing his uniform in rumpled disregard, making goofy jokes and puns and smirking when he can’t answer a teacher’s question. He’s always on the cusp of being kicked out of school but Principal Igarashi knows to lose one brother is to lose the other.  

But when they venture into Tartarus all that pent up boredom is unleashed! He gets to be the champion he always daydreamed he could be! He’s the team’s muscle, imbued with uncanny strength and can do a lot of damage when he swings wild with reckless abandon! He will Leroy-Jenkins himself into any battle and is constantly needing to be saved by the rest of the team. He plays it off as being the comic relief of but beats himself up when no one is looking.

More than anything he wants to be someone’s hero. He wants someone to look at him with adoration and admiration, to love him for who he is.

:Likes:

Botan wears his heart on his sleeve, loudly obsessing like the fanboy he is. He’s obsessed with J-Pop, and a new waifu each week, learning the dances, gushing over costumes and memorising their bright cheerful songs.

One of the hardest things to adapt to Mugan Academy’s bland, healthy cafeteria food. Even their Aunt’s food had more flavour and variety. At every opportunity he spends his pocket money on sugary candy, sodapop and potato chips in the weirdest flavours imaginable.  

 He also looks forward to eating noodles with Daichi at Tengoku Noodles, but while his brother has the same thing every time, Botan challenges Chef Yudai to surprise him. Variety is the spice of life!

:Dislikes:

Studying anything is the world’s biggest drag and it's no secret that Daichi drags across the finish line for every passing grade. Anything that requires studying dates, times or maths, Botan will immediately be shoved to the side for the closest distraction.

He also hates when Daichi calls him Peony to get a rise out of him. Nothing will make him lash out like his brother’s condescending use of his mother’s pet name for him.

:Hobbies:

In order to follow his brother to Mugan Academy he had to earn a scholarship. Fortunately he’s the endurance of an albatross, able to lazily coast at a jogging pace for hours. Most afternoons he plugs in his favourite JPop band and will circle the school’s 800m track until light leaves the sky. It's as Zen as his excited brain gets.

His favourite pastime is hunting down weird flavours of candy and potato chips to share with his friends. He is obsessed with special release flavours and keeps a photo album filled with his favourite snackwrappers. It's the one thing the city can offer him that his isolated hometown can’t. On the weekend he pairs his hobby of stuffing face with hero movies. Action, fantasy, scifi, but his favourites are Shaw Brothers martial arts films and Marvel movies!

:Sexual Orientation:

Despite his breezy exterior Botan is a hopeless romantic. He spent his childhood watching brave and daring heroes save the girl, rescue the damsel and be rewarded with their red string soulmate, so when he actually becomes a knight in white shining armour why shouldn’t the girls fall at his feet? He’s not even picky! Guys, girls, just someone to love!

He was initially besotted by Sora, he realised she didn’t see him the same way. Vowing only to give his heart to his J-Pop waifus, could he ever give his heart again?

:Background:

The brothers were not born in Tokyo, raised in the tiny rural village of Koyagawa of the Wakayama Prefecture. They lived in a state of genkai shuraku, a once vivid life atrophied after the coal mines closed. It saw no modernisation, no utilities, no internet. It was merely a dot on the mountain highlands on the way to somewhere else.  

They lived with their grandparents, mother and father who ran the convenience store by the turnpike, and their mother helped out at the school where a handful of children played. They loved it. They spent their childhood playing in mountain streams, hunting for mushrooms and wandering freely. Occasionally their parents would take them camping high into the mountains and teach them how to live self-sufficiently.

However one day, when he was nine and Daichi eleven, heavy rains stranded them at a friend's house and everything changed in a mudslide. They were rescued, but much of their village gone and their family’s convenience store buried beneath the sludge and stone.

Their family’s lone survivors, they moved in with their mother’s brother who lived on the other side of the mountain in another genkai shuraku. They weren’t neglected, they were two more mouths to feed in a family of four with another set of twins to be born soon. The boys lived their lives when they were thirteen a strange tutor from Tokyo’s Mugan Academy visited their school. They complimented the boys' rugged, growing bodies and assured them that a sports scholarship was waiting for the purehearted.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Relationships

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

:Family:

His mother is Wakumi (spring of water) and his father Rikuto (land, heavy). They also lived with their grandparents who spoiled the boys. They died when the boys were nine and eleven, leaving them with many happy memories but also a heavy hearted awareness for what they were missing.

Although he was only nine when they were orphaned, Botan clings to his memories much more tightly. Daichi strides forward to a better future, but Botan looks back to the good times of  his past.

:Friends:

Botan’s best friend is always going to be his brother, the guy who always looks after him and keeps him out of trouble. But he’s well known as an affable guy, class clown and on good terms with everyone. He’s well known within the grade to hang around the cafeteria hoping to beg for snacks and treats. 

Once he was revealed as a Guardian, it gave him the perfect opportunity to woo his dream girl Sora. It made for a strange triangle with Sora’s devotion to Hotaru making her oblivious to his flirtation, and Hotaru’s determined to be as kind and loving a leader as Sailor Moon. 

:Rivals:

Botan is too carefree to have a rival. He too, is his own worst enemy with his slacker attitude. 

:Love Interests:

Sora and Botan bonded over myths and heroes and he thought she was his perfect princess to his knight in shining armour. But then he realised she didn’t want to be a rescued damsel, but a knight to protect her princess and reluctantly gave up the dream.

It was then on a mission on Tatarus they stumbled on a prison where many who betrayed the Golden Kingdom were trapped. One of these was Arke, sister of the Sailor Iris. Manipulating her jealousy, she was tricked into being a double agent and as punishment the Golden Kingdom tore away her wings, caging her so she could not fly again.

Arke was not grateful to the Saturn Senshi for releasing her. In fact once she saw they possessed the Gilt Key which would return them to the Golden Kingdom, she saw her freedom. Despite her constant lies, tricks and sabotage to get the key, Botan sees beneath the hurt and betrayal to the soft and vulnerable heart beneath.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Guardian Form

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

:Name:

Knight Titan, Guardian of Molten Earth and Magma

:Guardian Starseed:

Botan is the incarnation of Saturn's moon, Titan. Long ago it was barely civilised because of its seismic instability. Its surface is constantly rocked by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Its few stable land masses are crowded with citizens proud of their ability to survive harsh conditions.

:Realm of Influence:

Titan draws his powers for the incredible power that drives tectonic plates; the quaking earth, the boiling magma and pressures that build and build and unleash without warning. 

:Awakening:

Botan finally nagged his brother into upholding his promise of celebration ramen at Tengoku when he did well on a popquiz. As they strolled through the twilight evening, they passed Hotaru and Sora peering into a tourist window filled with charms and statues carved in jade. As they drew closer they hear Sora explaining the story of the giant marble minotaur statue outside the door, a half bull half human monstrosity born from the greed of King Minos.  

Botan listened eagerly before reluctantly following his brother but almost immediately they rushed towards the screams. The statue grows, glowing with fiery molten cracks smashing its way through the stalls. Botan sees it on a warpath and roars. “No way! I’m getting my noodles! I studied! I worked hard! You won’t stop me!” He welled with energy, transforming into Knight Titan and attacked. He forced the minotaur to his knees but took a crushing blow.

To protect his brother, Daichi followed suit and transformed into Knight Tethys. Together they tagteam the Minotaur, exploding it into flaming shrapnel. As they look up,  they see the silhouettes of Sailor Saturn and Sailor Mimas on a rooftop giving quiet applause. Sailor Saturn used her resurrection powers to restore the street and offered them dinner to explain their destinies.  

:Past Life:

Not one but two starseeds were born to a noble Saturn family. His surprise legacy meant he was always standing in his mature brother’s shadow. While his brother dedicated himself to his duty, Titan was more interested in making a name for himself and catching the eye of Queen Serenity. He was well known for diving into trouble only for Saturn’s other Guardians to save him.

He always thought his duty of respecting the sleeping Princess Saturn was a dull time waster. When he heard of Princess Serenity’s Cotillion Ball it seemed like the perfect chance to present himself at Court. If he could prove himself to Queen Serenity they would make him one of the Inner protectors and could win prestige and renown he deserved rather than sit around doing nothing. 

When the Dark Kingdom attacked Knight Titan fought until his last breath but it wasn’t enough. In the wake of the Silver Millenium’s destruction awoke the one he was sworn to protect, the Messiah of Death and Rebirth, Sailor Saturn’s Glaive fell and all he knew perished in the blink of an eye.

:Guardian Animal:

The team is led by the psychopomp sparrow, Athana, through the dying lands of Tartarus. However in their travels they are met by a two headed dog guarding giant golden cattle and responding to the names Orthus and Amydros, names meaning shade and gloom. It followed them deeper into the depths, helping Athana with their keen sense of smell. 

The dogs resemble shoulder high black shepherds with orange eyebrows, chest and thick fluffy tail tip that looks like a flaming torch. Orthus seems silly, constantly grinning and panting and always has something in his mouth ready to play, and Amydros seems serious, his nose down and pushing the group forward towards their goal. The similarities of the pups and brothers are not lost on the team.

:Allies/Team Mates:

Hotaru Tomoe aka Sailor Saturn

Titan doesn’t remember his past, hasn’t remembered his betrayal and Hotaru won’t tell him as she knows how much he values being a hero. He’s constantly trying to impress her with feats of strength and bravery. Even when Sora’s feelings for Hotaru were made known, he didn’t hold it against her. Even when the whole team is angry at him for trusting Arke, Hotaru who understands the seed of corruption better than anyone encourages him to help her find redemption.   

Daichi Uehara aka Knight Tethys

Daichi is his older, nagging brother who constantly gets him out of scrapes even though Botan never asked for help! He loves his brother, but he wishes Daichi would just relax, give him a chance to fail- and succeed- on his own merit.

Sora Yoru aka Sailor Mimas

Sora was supposed to be his perfect princess. She’s quiet spoken, elegant, demure and loves reading stories. As much as he tried to impress her, make her laugh and win her love it was never meant to be. While he hides his feelings of rejections, he does realise how lucky he is to have a friend as loyal as Sora. They still share movie-night and cheer on their favourite stars.

Machiko Goto aka Sailor Dione 

It is so much fun to tease Machiko! She’s stuffy and prissy and her condescending tone, alongside Tethys drives him crazy so it's only right he returns the favour. These two at each other's throats constantly slow down the mission. 

:Henshin Token:

Botan’s token is a golden circular locket, a medallion kept on a bracelet, glossed with a dark maroon plate and embedded with the symbol of Titan. He’s proud of his so he will wear it like a necklace, flash it nonchalantly, heeeaayy, how about that Knight Titan, he’s so cool! What do you think? Everyone tells him he’s going to lose it if he’s not careful.

:Henshin Phrase:

Titan Saturn Power!

:Henshin Sequence:

Botan tosses the medallion into the air and shouts “Titan Saturn Power!” From the locket pours a glowing molten lava, bright orange and maroon lines gleaming through a cracked, black shell. It flows across his arms and legs forming into black sleeves and pants. The lava around his waist glows white hot, forging his hip guards. It cools and darkens around his chest, cracking open to reveal his pearl white armour, shoulderguards and rust coloured jewel. As he spins around the candescent lava spills down his shoulders forming his cape, with his poleaxe, Aitnaîos Axe ready to fight.

:Symbol:

:Guardian Challenge:

Protector of Saturn, I am the herculean/hunky/manly/stalwart Guardian of Titan! I will crush you into the dust!

He likes to change it up!

:Guardian Fuku:

The male guardian fuku is much akin to Mamoru’s armour. Titan bears a pearly white chest plate, trimmed in silver with angular shoulder guards. At the centre of his chest is a polished oval jewel of deep ruby that pulses like lava. His body suit is jet with maroon cuffs and shin guards also adorned in silver. Billowing behind him his cape of  silky scarlet and an inky black inner lining. Hiding his face is a maroon mask, white eyes and rust red metal wings sweep behind his ears and along his cheekbones. 

:Starseed Talisman:

Titan swings the mighty poleaxe Aitnaîos Axe, named after Hephaestos’s forge. While a bladed weapon, his earth shattering blows have as much grace and poise as a club.

:Attacks:

Titan Scorching Slag

Grabbing at the earth, he holds massive chunks and turns them into dripping, burning slags of magma. He winds up like a baseball pitch and hurls it at the enemy.

Titan Obsidian Obelisk

Titan crosses his arms and jumps, flinging his arms out and landing heavily with both feet, causing the earth to crack open beneath the enemy. Lava leaps up and hardens into bladelike black spires that trap the enemy.

Titan Volcanic Cascade

Titan stabs the haft of the Aitnaîos Axe into the earth. Spreading from the hilt is an earth mound like a tunnelling mole. It grows and grows until it looks like a mountain range. Like a chain reaction several peaks erupt like volcanic geysers spewing noxious fumes and molten lava. 

Titan Seismic Fissure

His ultimate attack, he swings his axe hard and heavy, plunging the mighty blade into the earth which splits and cracks, opening vast, black chasms beneath the enemy and when they fall in he yanks the axe free. The earth closes as if the cracks never were. It is an attack just as likely to affect his allies as his enemy. 

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Miscellaneous 

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

:Inspirations:

:Soundtrack:

When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars

Out of Reach by Gabrielle 

:Fanfiction:

:Website:

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

[death-rebirth-senshi]

It's really bugging me that I can't remember what I gave Hotaru, because I know it had to be some flavor of dark knight but what was the second class.

Unfortunately I have no notes about it on my computer, which tracks because I'm pretty sure this is old enough that it was something I mostly doodled in a notebook in school.

[seidanguard]

✂️ back atcha

Murder meme. || Always Open

Hotaru had told Lord Raiden that if Carlton were to train in Orderrealm, if he died, he died.

Well, he died.

Hotaru had been impressed with Carlton and his green god-killing energy. But perhaps he had overestimated him. The human had mastered the offensive capabilities of his gift, and Hotaru wanted to test if he could use them for defense as well.

And he could - to guard against physical attacks, at least. Seido had superior medical magic, so sparring and practicing was far more realistic. And Jonathan really was fit to be a champion of his realm - and so Hotaru got a little more heated than he should have.

It had only been a split-second spray - or at least that was what Hotaru had intended. Unfortunately the magic lava-light stayed under the human's body after tripping him.

It was also clearly a lot hotter than he intended.

So before Hotaru could even reach down to try to assist Jonathan, the human's body had began to hiss and sizzle, and then it popped. Hotaru reached Jonathan just in time to have to have viscera spray all over him. The Seidan Commander held up his hands quick enough to stop a bit of liver and a hot piece of pancreas from hitting him in the face, but near-boiling blood got all in his hair.

The flesh that remained on the pool of lava burst into flame, free from the pressurized container that had been Jonathan's body.

While Hotaru's Qi moved like liquid and dissipated like the energy it was, it could, in fact, have the authentic properties of lava. And lava was rock, molten or not. When a humanoid body fell into magma, it was actually falling onto it. The effect was more like throwing that body onto a skillet than into hot liquid. They were just lucky that Carlton's body hadn't skidded off when it popped.

Hotaru's hellish energy dissipated. The Seidan stared into Jonathan's burst ribcage, flesh sizzling with that unappetizing humanoid barbeque smell.

What Hotaru had done had actually been quite powerful. In fact, he felt a little drained. He had done that on purpose, hadn't he? He must have felt a little threatened by the human's prowess.

Well, clearly there was nothing to worry about.

Hotaru called in a crew to perform cleanup-- he would have to inform Lord Raiden.

[fantasizes-tickles-daily]

Eeee, thanks for tagging me! 💓💞💓

❤️ Newest obsessions:

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (sequel to Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous) on Netflix 🦖🦕 {{big, big fan of the Jurassic Park/World franchise}}

My Adventures with Superman (was never too much into DC but this show is GREAT)

🎥 Last 3 movies I watched and what I thought of them:

Inside Out 2: IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL, SUCH A WELL DONE SEQUEL 😭❤️‍🔥

The Imaginary: New Ghibli-esqe movie on Netflix. Stunning visuals.

Ultraman Rising: I know next to nothing on Ultraman, but if you love kaijus and found family and crying your eyes out, go check out this movie on Netflix!

🎶 3 songs I discovered recently and love:

Maise Peters - The Last One

Genesis - That’s All

Bastille - survivin’

💘 Newest ships:

Hotaru Hinase and Saki Hananoi from A Condition Called Love

Yuki Itose and Itsuomi Nagi from A Sign of Affection

Kara Zor-El and Jimmy Olsen from My Adventures with Superman

📺 Currently watching:

Only Murders in the Building on Hulu (trying to catch up before new season drops in August!)

CSI: Miami 🕶️ (love science crime shows)

Wonderful Pretty Cure! 🐶🐾🐱 (the Pretty Cure franchise is amazing, plus MAGICAL GIRLS ✨🎀 enough said)

📖 Currently reading: Soul Keeper by David Dalglish (first in The Keepers trilogy)

🎮 Currently playing: Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story ✨🎀🏹 (gacha Madoka Magica turn-based game that is unfortunately shutting down its JP servers on the 31st 😢 (the NA servers suffered that fate a couple years ago) so I’m trying to play it as much as possible before it’s gone forever)

😍 Currently looking forward to:

Magia Exedra ✨ (new Madoka Magica game coming out soon, which is great since Magia Record will be gone)

Final season of The Umbrella Academy ☂️ on Netflix ☂️

Transformers One 🤖🚗 (love those transforming alien robots)

Deadpool and Wolverine ❤️🗡️💛

✅ Recently finished:

A Condition Called Love

A Sign of Affection

Most of the MCU movies (watching in chronological order); watched Endgame and was like “…Yeah, my feels are gonna need a break after this. 🥲”

💌 Something to share: It’s never too late to pursue your dreams. Never be afraid to start either. I should know: I’m going back to school to be a veterinary technician after already obtaining a bachelor’s degree for psychology. I’m ready to head down another path to finally get to the places I want to be. So keep going, there may be bumps along the way, but you got this. I believe in you. 💖

I tag: No one! Free to do this if you want!

Catching up (Tag Game)

Ive been a bit on and off and felt like making a tag game so here's one to catch up on each other's interests and hyperfixations! Answer the 10 questions and tag 5 people. No pressure ofc!

@fluffandgiggles @ppystkposts @crazy-as-a-jaybird @blobbirobbi @kusuguricafe + everyone who wants to join! **edit + everyone who received a notification from when I tried to tag 10+ people and the tumblr post broke 😂

❤️ Newest obsessions: Dungeon Meshi, probably has been clear.. and capybaras. Taylor Swift not very new but refueled obsession since seeing the eras tour concert!

🎥 Last 3 movies I watched and what I thought of them:

Inside Out 2 - CRYING SOBBING LOVING IT SO MUCH

The Parent Trap 1998 rewatch - Still golden fav, one of my guiltiest pleasures

Sous la Seine / Under Paris - Love a good shark movie but thought this was mediocre smh. the ending was cool tho hahaha

🎶 3 songs I discovered recently and love:

Peggy - FEMININE RAGE

Spencer Sutherland - Alive

HOYO-MIX - Interstellar Journey

💘 Newest fav ships: Falin x Marcille , Chilchuck x Senshi, and Laios x Kabru all from Dungeon Meshi!!!

📺 Currently watching: The Apothecary Diaries, Wind Breaker, House of the Dragon, Pokemon Johto Journeys (rewatch), FMA Brotherhood (rewatch), Mushoku Tensei S2 (might drop it)

📖 Currently reading: Dungeon Meshi manga, Define the Relationship manhwa, XXX Buddy manhwa (both manhwas on hold but I'll continue reading soon!)

🎮 Currently Playing: Fortnite, Minecraft, Genshin Impact (haven't played since Cyno story quest tho), Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (on hold), Yakuza 0, Zelda Skyward Sword, Hogwarts Legacy, note: I kinda dropped all mobile games but I'm really considering starting love & deepspace again hmmm.

😍 Currently looking forward to: New Fortnite update, Genshin Natlan update (even though I have to catch up on the previous ones lol), the new Deadpool movie, Blue Lock movie (seeing it this week!)

✅ Recently finished: Kaiju No. 8 (anime), other than that no books, manga, games or shows. All still in progress lol.

💌 Something to Share: I'm glad to see people are enjoying the x reader drabbles and I'm motivated to work on them faster when I can! Thanks everyone for your patience.. T-T

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

truth is truth to the end of reckoning || archambeaults || trial 4.3 || re: everyone

Well, this isn’t really the route Maxime was expecting things to go following his confession. Mostly he’d expected a general outpouring of anger towards him, and aside from Ken, everyone seems almost civil as they completely disregard him and… address Loic instead. Well, that’s not right. His brow furrows as he tries to think of how best to redirect things from the accusations coming out. 

“The note… well, I’m afraid I can’t demonstrate writing in Japanese. I don’t know how to do it. As for the other check, I…”

…Well, that was more difficult. His hand clutches at his other forearm, as it had earlier, but… he hesitates to pull his sleeve up. A second of silence passes, and he winces at a pain in his head and reaches up to rub his temple. Not now with this…

“I… hm.”

Unfortunately, there’s nothing else he can think to do. People would keep pressing if he refused to show it, given that they’d already disregarded his claim that it wasn’t needed, and so… he eventually reaches down to roll his sleeves up. Sunburned skin is revealed, and…

…Nothing else.

“Maxie.”

Loic speaks after watching his brother roll up his sleeves. They would have gotten to him eventually. Their performance could only go on for so long. 

There’s a hesitance in his movements as he grips the sleeve of his sweater and begins to roll it up. Maxime, at his own podium, looks momentarily startled and grips at his own wrist.

“Loic, stop–”

After only a moment, what he was hiding becomes evident.

[Arm Injury] - A deep cut to Loic’s arm that is covered in bandages.

The grip around his sweater becomes tighter as he raises his gaze from his arm to his brother once again. He gives the older man a weak smile, as if to say “it’s okay,” before turning to face the rest of the group. There’s a blockage in his throat that he’s not sure how to talk around for a moment, but he eventually finds a starting place. His voice is soft, heavy with a viscous blend of remorse and resignation.

“I’m the only one who’s injured. The knife is from my encounter with Sayuri. The trap was meant to kill someone or incapacitate them enough that I could just…just go in and finish it. But it didn’t work right. She got out. I wasn’t expecting to have to fight, and I-I don’t know how to. She--She had a knife, too. She knew how to use it. Or she at least could use it better than I could use mine. She cut my arm with hers, and I dropped my own. I still had the mallet around my waist from when I’d been constructing the trap, though.”

A rueful smile crosses his face.

“She didn’t see it coming.”

As he had been talking, he’d begun twisting the bracelets around his wrist, trying to find comfort in the gentle clinking of metal on metal, but it lacks any of its usual calming effect. It just makes him more anxious, but he continues on anyway.

“I-I couldn’t--couldn’t let the motive go on any more. Maxie was suffering because of me. He--I’m a liability in this place. Every single thing that goes wrong for me becomes his problem--the encounter with Aldie, this whole thing being broadcasted and my name getting out, losing the ability to freely eat--”

He lets out a watery laugh.

“--The murder. You were right, Hotaru. I went crying to him because I realized I was in over my head. As long as I’m here, he’s--he has to watch out for himself and for me, and I can’t--”

Loic shoves his hands into his hair, and he grips at it tight to his scalp. There’s a franticness to his voice and his eyes as they stare widely and wildly down at the ground, like he’s watching a circuit only he can see.

“I can’t stay here anymore. I can’t--You people--You’re all so--I just can’t take it. I needed to leave. I needed to get out. Every single day it’s something new, and I don’t know--I don’t know how to make any of you just leave me alone! If it’s not one thing, it’s another--If it’s not something personal against me, it’s some freakish comment, and--and I’m sick of it!”

A beat, and his eyes widen with a realization as he looks up from the ground

“No. No, that’s--It’s not entirely right. I’m sick of you. I can’t stay here. You’re all--It’s either the complete lack of empathy, the inability to be a team player, the inability to just listen to yourselves…I can’t do it anymore.”

A glance over at Yvette, and the anger falls away, leaving just the desperation.

“I’m sorry.”

[kimhargreeves]

Careful-Haganezuka Hotaru x Reader

.Summary: Wanting to spend some time with Tanjiro you head over to the Butterfly mansion. There you find a frightened Tanjiro running away from a very angry swordsmith, and you're left to confront him

I continued walking on my own on a long deserted road, humming to a familiar tune which reminded me of my childhood growing alongside with my best friend. I continued my walk and kept my eyes up front being met with nothing more than trees.

Even if I didn't feel like going out I had to, to distract myself from everything that happened. It's been a couple of months since Kyojuro passed away, my childhood friend. Whenever I wasn't busy, I'd visit his brother and always give him something to eat since his father continues being cold towards him.

The pain of losing Kyojuro was still fresh. I had accompanied him along with Tanjiro and his friends on the Mugen Train. We all weren't strong enough to defeat Akaza.

Since Tanjiro and the rest were wounded, I grabbed my sword and headed out to slash the upper moon. By the time I arrived at a cliff where he was, he cowardly leapt away. I ran back to Kyojuro and held him in my arms until he peacefully close this eyes and passed away.

Since then, I tried to find if any of the Upper Moon were out to kill them all. I also became closer to Tanjiro and his two friends and his demon sister. Strangely enough, they were already like family to me.

Master wasn't happy at all when I disobeyed him on not going with them on the train since that wasn't my mission, but there was no way I was leaving them alone. I would normally be on my own, my crow would tell me where to go and what not but after that I would alone without heading to our homes.

Today I was sent a message by my crow, to head back and take a rest. I gave up, it's been many days since I had been wandering on my own not to mention my sword had broken so I was waiting for my replacement.

I continued walking, getting closer to my destination when I saw a figure running past me. "Is that Tanjiro?" I calmly asked myself watching him disappear.

I felt a dark strong presence near me. I glanced back and saw a familiar figure behind me with knives on both his hands. The figure ran past me towards where Tanjiro left, in a matter of seconds he returned and left while screaming.

"Run, (Y/N)!" He said despite Haganezuka not chasing after me.

I began to follow them and quickly the sunset got darker until it turned to night. "Tanjiro?" I asked concerned over the young boy who hasn't gotten any rest.

"Haganezuka quit following the young boy!" I shouted beginning to get annoyed at him wanting to kill the boy.

"I'm gonna kill him!" He shouted back.

I stared at him incredulously and sighed. "Swords are meant to be broken either way, just hand me my own and leave him alone!" I answered back.

Haganezuka stopped chasing Tanjiro. I grabbed the hilt of my broken sword and began to slowly walk ahead. I glanced up and saw Tanjiro still up on a tree holding for dear life.

People warned me of how complicated this man is and how easily he is too anger. No wonder most people are afraid of him being their swordsmith, I've met many people who complained about him.

Talking to him will surely get to them.

"Haganezuka, quit tormenting Tanjiro." I huffed and saw him glance back at me. He let out a scream.

"What did you say, pillar?!"

I gulped and took a step back. "Young Tanjiro run back to safety!" I ran quick and felt the tall man chasing me. And here I was thinking I could get to him through some talking.

"(Y/N)!" Tanjiro shouted my name and I spotted him falling from the tree and began to chase Haganezuka.

Unfortunately neither of us slept that night. We both panted and couldn't believe that Haganezuka would follow us without getting tired at all.

"Over here!" I heard a voice. We both looked and saw Aoi calling out to us. I felt Haganezuka slowly nearing closer. Tanjiro who was in front of me slowly got closer, I pushed him when Aoi opened the door.

"(Y/N!)" I heard Tanjiro cry from the other side when I pushed him for him to go to safety. I let out a scream when I fell to the floor and felt Haganezuka tackle me

"You're not getting out of this one, Hashira!" He grabbed my shoulders and began shake me. Hei dare he touch me?!

Aha! I remember what one is his bosses said. He's a ticklish man, touching his sides will be the only way for him to relax and fall down. Before he could take hold of my wrists I reached out and started to tickle his sides.

Haganezuka immediately stopped and fell to his side and started to hold his sides and laugh. This is my chance! I got up on my feet and ran ahead and jumped up the wooden fence and finally was safe at the Butterfly mansion.

"I'm..finally.. safe." I fell to my knees feeling too tired. I looked up when I heard someone crying my name.

The little girls came running over to me. I smiled at them weakly and patted their heads, "Sumi, Kiyo, Naho. I'm alright there's not need to worry."

I got back to my feet and patted Kanae's head when she looked at me worried. "I'm okay don't you worry." They all followed me inside the mansion and I saw Tanjiro at being taken care of.

"What took you so long?!" Inosuke asked looking at me, still with his boar head on.

Tanjiro must've told his friends that i was around. It's been a while since I've seen them.

"You aren't hurt like Tanjiro are you?" Zenitsu asked with a blush on his face. For once he was acting normally.

I smiled at them two. "Not at all, just tired. How have you both been?"

"Tired."

"Stronger than ever!"

I giggled and hugged both boys, Inosuke was trying to push me back and Zenitsu just melted and smiled. "(Y/N), you made it." Tanjiro said when he entered the room.

"How did you get Haganezuka to let go of you?" He tilted his head.

"Tickling him, don't forget it in case he chases you again."

I was extremely tired but there's a lot to be done. "Rest up now, boys. Food will be done in a few." I slid the door shut and started walking down the halls.

"(Y/N). You should rest up like the rest." Aoi coldly said looking at how tired I looked.

"And don't say that you aren't tired. It's been days since you've decided to come back. I prepared a bath so go and take it, if not I'll rip your clothes off." I hummed and smiled a little at how motherly she sounds.

"Alright." I simply said and left my sword and left to get myself cleaned up. After a couple of minutes I was finally dressed up in a kimono with the small girls who braided my hair and placed some assortments of small butterflies.

Aoi is the only family she has left. I found her many years ago when all of her family passed away, and became a sort of adopted sister that I helped raise.

I walked outside and handed the three boys their meal with Tanjiro who was too tired to eat anything. Aoi turned to me and smiled a bit, "Great! You're all cleaned up."

"Thanks for the hot bath, it helped me relax. Is he still outside?" I asked referring to the swordsman.

"Yup, I gave him the Mitarashi dango you told me to cook."

"Thanks, Aoi." I said again and walked over to where Haganezuka was. I peeked my head out and saw him staring at his mitarashi dango in delight, he still had his mask on.

Kanae wasn't here outside like she usually is, so he could remain outside. "Are you planning to give me my sword?" I huffed crossing my arms.

"Is that anyway to greet your new swordsmith? Need I remind you that you were the one who wrote for me first."

That is right. My previous swordsmith has been very busy and hadn't gotten the time to even start on it for weeks, so I wrote the only man who was available. I didn't receive any letter back, so I assumed he wasn't going it. Until I saw it behind his back while chasing Tanjiro.

"I'm pretty sure we're the exact age..maybe?..Anyways you were the only one available, you could've rejected my offer yet you are here with my sword." I smirked knowing I won. "Come on, give it to me."

"Will you let me eat my precious Mitarashi dango in peace?!" Haganezuka loudly scolded me.

Thinking fast I reached out and grabbed his precious food. "Hah! You're slower than I thought you were." I began to take a bite out of it and heard him freaking out.

"How dare you eat my food you witch!" I tossed whatever I finished down to the plate and glared at him hard.

"What did you say to me?" I held in my anger and continued glaring at him. The man behind the mask lightly jumped when he saw my dark angry aura. That's what I thought.

"You should be grateful instead. I was the one who made this specifically for you, since I heard your friend from back then that this is your favorite meal."

I walked back inside and came with many more mitarashi dango for him. "Here." I placed them right by where he was sitting down and everything fell silent.

"Look, I'm doing this simply because I want to be in good terms with you, so don't get any ideas." I defended myself and hummed when he still didn't say anything.

My eyes landed on his side again, this time he was staring at me intently with that ugly hyottoko mask. I backed up a bit and grew a bit nervous. "W-Why are you staring at me like that? You better not be thinking of killing me."

Haganezuka looked away quickly once he realized he was starting to creep me out. He started lifting his mask up to eat, so I turned away to not look at his face. Though, I do wonder what he looks like.

"Keep your eyes elsewhere." I heard him say.

"What are you ugly under that thing?" I continued to press. I heard a simple growl and knew that it was best to stay silent now until he finish eating.

Couple of minutes went by until he had eaten the entire plate. I heard him place his mask back on and I clapped my hands together.

"I'm grateful that you enjoyed the food." I smiled knowing deep down that he liked it.

The three young girls quickly ran out and back in once they got the empty set of plates and tea cup. After all they were scared of him.

Haganezuka reached down his side and held out my sword with both hands. "Take it brat." I hummed disapprovingly but took the weapon anyway.

I held it and my hands and slowly got it out of its case. I stared down at it for a couple of seconds. "You better not tell me that you hate it! Because I worked real hard on it with extreme care!"

I deeply bowed my head to Haganezuka and felt blessed that he would do this for me. "This is better than I expected, I would love nothing for you to be my permanent swordsmith."

I felt a hard slap on my head and whined when I fell to the ground and held my head. "Quit saying stupid things."

He has a lot of nerve hitting a Hashira! I look back up at him with cold eyes.

"I'm not saying anything stupid! In fact you are the one since you always make people angry at you for no reason."

Deep down I know he's feeling frustrated, because every single client he once had grew tired of his stubborn attitude. He didn't have any client except Tanjiro and now hopefully I will be number two.

I lied to him when I said my previous swordsmith never was on time with my weapons. I wanted to give him another chance since every single swordsmith is important to us Demon Slayers. I made it back to my feet and glared at him again.

"This is the most beautiful well crafted sword I've ever seen. So, it'll be an honor if you would accept me being your second client!"

"Will you shut up..you're sounding like that kid I followed." He said.

"Will you accept me or not?!" I said growing tired because he didn't give me a definitive answer. "I'll break your sword if you refuse me!" I threatened.

"I'll break you in half if you do that!" He shouted back alarmed.

I hummed and smiled wide. "It'll be pleasure working with you, Haganezuka Hotaru." I blushed and saw him looking away yet again.

"When we previous met you also mentioned if I could forge a few kunais, am I right?" I stood back up straight and nodded. I heard him sigh and saw him taking another small box out.

He handed it to me and I eagerly opened it up an examined my new weapon. "Making Kunai aren't my specialty, but I decided to give it a try. Don't you think I made it specifically thinking of what you said!"

I saw inside the box and saw two kunais with a dart rope. I placed the box down and immediately reaches down for the rope, what couldn't fit i wrapped it around my wrist and I tossed and aimed at a tree nearby. With ease I broke a few branches and knew that this would be perfect for me.

"This is exactly what I wanted.."

Haganezuka tilted his head. I realized that I never told him what exactly I planned to do. "Tomorrow I am headed to another mission, with the sound hashira. Over to the Entertainment district, so I really needed this."

Hmm I don't know if even cares about this, but I was still telling him. The tall man got up to his feet and I shivered when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"I wish you nothing but the best then." He simply said and began to grab his own things ready to leave back to his village.

I bowed again and blushed. "Until we meet again, Haganezuka!" I shouted and saw him slowly disappear. I held both my sword and kunai in hand and lovingly smiled.

Hopefully we will be able to see each other soon. In the mean time I'll try and take good care of these weapons he specifically did for me.

[xinxiaogato]

— live to tell the tail

summary. you unfortunately lived in a universe where general gorou had found out ms. hina was… himself. and just your luck: gorou’s first impression of you was a crazed devotee of the ms. hina fan club, but you had only been in the wrong place at the wrong time. will you live to tell the tail?

love interests. gn!reader x a watatsumi general, an inazuman vagrant, the balladeer, and the kreideprinz.

warnings. infinite pet puns, referenced character death, weapons, swearing, blood, alcohol, harassment, and mentions of war.

word count. 733

chapter six ⌇ the corg-key to his heart

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you couldn't get a wink of sleep in.

the fear of unexpectedly appearing before gorou for the third time coupled with the anticipation of putting on an act to get more cash into hotaru's pockets was nerve-wracking. how were you going to pull it off?

after a few more minutes of tossing and turning, you finally had enough of the stuffiness in your tent.

you swung your legs over the side of your cot and trudged outside. the cold air sent a wake of goosebumps across your bare arms.

"i wonder if it's this cold back in mondstadt, too," you murmured, your breath retreating from your lips as wispy strands of hot air.

you and your father hadn’t seen your hometown ever since the commencement of the vision hunt because—just your luck—it was right after you left mondstadt for a new job in inazuma that its electro archon decided to disconnect her nation from the rest of the world.

the watatsumi army and the traveler from another world managed to triumph over all odds, drawing the vision hunt to a close, but with the paramount workload you've received, there was no window of opportunity for you to travel back to the land of liberty that you were born and raised in.

as you meandered down the dirt path that cut through the middle of the village, you impinged on an individual (with an all-too-familiar pair of ears and tail) gazing up at the night sky, his eyes reflecting the unbounded canvas of stars.

are you kidding me!? you mentally screeched, twisting on your heel at once to head back to your tent. i really am the unluckiest person in teyvat! well, with the exception of your childhood friend, bennett, who couldn't take a brisk stroll outside without it raining cats and dogs.

"who goes there?" gorou yapped, instantly summoning his bow and nocking an arrow to aim in the direction of the footsteps that his sensitive ears picked up on.

gorou didn't see you yet since you were just around the corner of a wooden house, but you knew with one hundred percent certainty that he would be on the hunt if you tried to make a beeline for your tent.

borou village wasn't short on its senior residents, so you rallied the willpower to put on some theatrics.

"i didn't mean to trouble you, young man," you answered in a wavering tone. "i'm just an old person tending to their crops..."

a second of silence stalled the breath trapped in your lungs.

please buy it! please buy it! please buy it!

"oh, i see," gorou finally responded, lowering his weapon. "i apologize for the sudden hostility."

"no, no, it's quite all right..."

what was gorou doing out here anyway? shouldn't he be resting before the training session tomorrow?

"what's on your mind, whippersnapper?" you couldn't help but query. "i could put my... eighty years of living to good use."

gorou was hesitant to confide in this unknown elder, but there was no harm in doing so.

"there was just... this person... that i didn't know as much as i thought i did," gorou imparted, bashful now that the words had left his mouth.

he deliberated about why he was still so flustered about his recent confrontations with you. he was supposed to be the leader of an army, the divine priestess's right-hand man, and an adept strategist. the contractions in his chest should have been fleeting at most.

with no doubt in your mind that he was referring to you, you replied, "young man, i promise that if you give talking to them a chance, you'll learn way more about them than taking their character as a given."

"...you're right," gorou fortunately concurred with a hand to his chin. "i shouldn't be presumptuous. thank you, kind stranger. may i ask for your na—?"

adrenaline flooded your system as your brain started wiring you to a route back to your tent. "oh, would you look at the time? looks like i've gotta clean my toilet bowl!"

"excuse me? wait!"

but when he sailed around the corner of the ligneous building, there was no trace of you left behind.

...

well, no matter what the circumstances are, i'm going to give it my all to speak with reader properly the next time i see them! gorou affirmed. maybe it was all just a misunderstanding.

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[blazingsourpuss]

                                    He knew that nothing he was saying would be enough to forgive him for what he done. Kai did not DESERVE any forgiveness. The fact that she was willing to even hear him out & not just slam the door in his face & rightfully so. What he done & the way he did was INEXUSABLE, plain & simple. Rei was right, they weren't children anything & he was responsible for his own actions & feelings. No one else to DESERVES to be on the receiving end of his disregard.

                                & then, it happened. There was no way to escape his crime anymore for it was his negligence & disregard that brought him to this point. & she was nothing more than a CASUALITY of it all. Her tears fell; nothing else mattered to him in that instance. Not the tournament, not blading, not dranzer, not being the best. Its really UNFORTUNATE that in order to put priorities in order those that weren't before need to be burned. 

                           HANG HIM FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION! How dare he make her this way! & what does he have to say for himself? Well...what can he say? They were past the point of sorry & I'll never do it again. The best he could do, no, the only right thing to do was to let her get it all out in whatever way she saw fit. There was no RIGHT & WRONG in this instance.

                         & the more she cried into him & the more he made himself reflect on what he could have done different. Would have truly been that different to let her know BEFORE he left? A simple 'I am doing this thing & will be radio silent until we come back' would have been a thought REGULAR PEOPLE would have easily. Having to navigate this pesky thing love was becoming the most CHALLENGEING thing he'd had to work out to date. But, for her, it meant she'd never have to cry again because of him (OF ALL PEOPLE) he'd do anything.

                       He had a bit of a height difference on her & as she continued to curse his name Kai stayed silent. It was his signature & many people thought him rude for it. But, in the silence he listened. He observed & took mental notes. He did the same thing here because this CANNOT happen again. Not by him. Not by anyone. His hair continued to cover his eyes but Kai's gaze was still intense; he looked angry but to at her, never her.

                      Why wasn't she shoving him away? Why wasn't she telling him to leave & never come back? What wasn't she doing to him what he was SURE he deserves? It didn't make sense to him & that in it of itself, is a problem. It was not her job to teach him how to treat her. SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO. He knew that. He royally FUCKED up. ❛ If I wanted to break up, I wouldn't show my face to you ever again. But...I fear there is nothing I can do to fix this. ❜ His tone, SOMBER. His demeanor, DESPONDENT. HE HAD TO ADMIT DEFEAT. ❛ I already lost you...didn't I? ❜

                      Kai didn't wait for an answer out of fear of being proven right. He instead, allowed instinct to take over. This was probably the last time they would ever be like this & to end it in such a manner most UNBECOMING. He had to give her what she deserved. She had a right to it & not even he can keep it from her. Kai stepped alittle closer & almost shadowed her. Without thinking about it & not caring what will come to for doing it, Kai allowed his arm to wrap around Hotaru & envelope her in his embrace. Against his chest he held firm & in her neck his face buried. Any minute she'll push & kick him away & that will be ok. He braced himself for it but not before saying what needed to be said.

                    ❛ I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. ❜

                                                                       (LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!)

she's known this feeling before, in a lifetime so near & yet not her own. that familiar sour taste of being left behind, abandoned, forgotten. it's a cold that settles deep, woven into her bones; a cold that no fire could ever provide enough warmth to keep at bay. except, of course, everything about kai has always burned brighter than any fire she’s even known. dangerous, & yet, always able to draw her in again. 

❝ how dare you - ❞ she starts, the words catching on themselves. hotaru tells herself to move, to evade - get away before he can try & lower her guard with this act of tenderness. but the instant the curve of his palm reaches her cheek, her walls begin to crumble. what began as one tear becomes two, becomes more, becomes sadness that hazes her vision & spills over lower lashes too quickly for her to stop.

she wants to be comforted. she wants to let him wipe her tears, wants to lean closer into the calloused warmth of his palm. she wants to close her eyes & forget that these past few months ever happened - he’s just visiting her for the first time in a few days; she’ll lace her fingers through his & allow him to guide her somewhere else, anywhere else. a cafe for lunch, a museum to peruse, any place where it could be just the two of them. 

but of course it’s never that simple. ( things rarely are for her. )

this wasn't worth it. he could say that all he wants, but how could hotaru have ever considered any different ? it was clearly worth it when he didn't consider anything she did to contact him worthy of a reply. she can feel something hot churning in her chest, like a kettle beginning to whistle & scream as its contents boils.

❝ you have no idea how - how worried i was. i thought i did something wrong, i thought you hated me - you just left without a word ! like you didn’t care, like i never meant fucking anything - ❞ it's the first time in weeks she's let herself cry so openly about this. & by the stars does it hurt. but beneath that, beneath the raw anguish that still wants to wail & bare its teeth, there’s relief. she’s earned this.

& perhaps she's being selfish - it's the most self - centered she's allowed her words to be in a long, long time. but she doesn't care. her fingers are around his wrist, feeling the thrum of a pulse just beneath. she wants to push him away. she wants to pull him closer. all she can manage to do is squeeze, as though to give her power over a decision she has no desire to make.

❝ you have no idea what that did to me, ❞ hotaru whispers, the faintest remnants of venom still clinging to her tongue. the explosive wave of her grief has subsided, mellowing once more to barely brush along a battered shoreline. she doesn’t have the energy to maintain that heightened level for more than a moment or two. but proud through it all, her free hand rises to wipe the evidence of distress from her face, a long, shuddering breath escaping her chest. she feels … lighter, at least. not better, but lighter. ❝ if you’d wanted to break up with me, i would’ve preferred if you just said so. instead of - instead of this. ❞

[theothin]

Sailor Moon Crystal Takeaways

More concise, more polished, more in tune with modern expectations - but in exchange, less distinctiveness and generally less charm.

The music is great.

Season 1 is the weirdest. Like in the manga, the beginning feels way too fast, resulting in way less chances for Ami, Rei, and Mako to establish themselves. Rei in particular is a lot less fun in this version.

Biggest gain in Season 1 is going with the manga’s version of Mamoru, rather than the absolute disaster of his story in the original show. I also preferred this take on the showdown with Beryl.

The Four Heavenly Kings were especially strange. Keeping them alive past their initial sections of the season was an interesting change compared to both the manga and original anime’s stories, but they felt so much more generic here. In particular, what the FUCK did they do to Zoisite and Kunzite?

Nephrite ended up as the most memorable, and I watched the dub so I got Liam O’Brien’s excellent voice for him, but it was still a big step down from his excellent arc in the original anime. Also in one of his manga chapters he transformed into a bride and Usagi transformed into a groom to go after him and Crystal included that storyline but didn’t have either of them genderbend for it. COWARDS.

Season 2 felt like a much better fit for Crystal’s style - I actually liked it this time. Also I think this was where the visuals got better, Season 1′s faces in particular were bad.

It helps that this was when the main characters’ screentime started adding up to enough to feel more substantial. Unfortunately, the villains never really got this chance, in any of the seasons. The original anime had so many fun villains.

I’ve only read up to mid-Season 2 in the manga, so past this point I’m not sure which things line up with it and which don’t.

Season 3 had some fun stuff with the outer senshi, but less so than the original Season 3. It was weirdly light on Haruka/Michiru outside of one of the closing songs, but went heavier on Haruka/Usagi and Chibiusa/Hotaru, as well as on Haruka being bigender as fuck.

Original anime Haruka and Crystal Haruka are my two favorite Sailor Moon characters. They’re both wonderful in their own ways.

Setsuna’s story was expanded on relative to the original anime, it was neat seeing her have an actual civilian life.

I dinged Season 1 for taking away Usagi and Nephrite’s genderbending, but points to Season 3 for having Minako do it. And in Mimete’s episode, she’s one of my favorite Sailor Moon villains.

Season 4 was the shortest, just a pair of movies, but like Season 2, I think it took well to Crystal’s more concise approach. Which may be another way of saying that I think these two had the least to lose.

The trio were my favorite part of the original anime’s Season 4, but like a lot of the villains, they had much smaller roles here. In Crystal, Hawkeye is the trans/gnc one rather than Fisheye, which I hadn’t expected to be one of the things consistent with the manga, but looking it up, apparently it is. In the dub, Mako refers to Hawkeye as “they”, which was neat.

The outer senshi show up throughout the whole second half rather than being ignored, which was a nice change of pace. Loved the scenes of Haruka/Michiru/Setsuna raising Hotaru together.

Season 5 hasn’t released yet, but I’m looking forward to it.