#i will die on the hill that no one in naruto was a perfect or like even super good person

[doeinstinct]

the intrinsic breedability of tobriama senju

[dayseternal-blog]

I absolutely love your fic Friend of Mine, I love all your other fics too but this one is sooo relatable to me and so sweet and pure, I’m just floored and affected every time I read it. I was wondering if you could recommend similar fics or fics that inspired you to write this (if any). I’m looking for fics where they begin as friends, that’s simple and not too soap-y (if you get what I mean?) they don’t even have to be in the hs realm. I’m sure there’s a prev rec list for this too. Thank u!

it's been ages since you sent this, so you probably don't even remember sending me this. but :D I'm happy that you enjoyed "Friend of Mine"! The song inspired me, so I don't think I used any other fics for reference.

and I don't think I've made a list like this before!

Childhood Best Friends to Lovers AU NaruHina

"One Small Step" by Shawny Wong - Rated T, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. What if Hinata had actually found the courage to approach Naruto at the Academy? How would befriending him change their lives? Drastic changes are the result of one small step. NaruHina. Written for the Thirty Kisses community on Live Journal.

"One Small Detour" by Shawny Wong - Rated G, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. Detour #1: Valentine's Day. After discovering that Hinata has a secret crush on some boy, Naruto decides that Valentine's Day is the perfect way to find out who it is...

“it was winter” by @eliphya - Rated G, Multi-chapter, Complete.  Hinata and Naruto’s friendship begins on a cold winter day in the bakery down the street, which becomes a special place of comfort and warmth, continuing to be so even years after they have separated.

“The Cinderella Makeover Naruto Style” by CharismaHarmony - Rated M, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. When Hinata’s best friend, Naruto said that she wasn’t the type of woman men fall in love with, she bet him 1000 she’d have a marriage proposal in 3 months.

“The Ramen Booth” by @chloelapomme - Rated E, College AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. Years have passed since her unanswered confession in intermediate school, since his humiliating hazing incident in high school, since blossoming popularity drew their attentions away from each other. Yet time has only sharpened friendship into painful longing, even as their time runs out with the approach of the university fundraiser. Can 7 Minutes in Heaven at a crazy flat party be enough time to clear the air between old best friends?

“August - Cultures/Around the World” from “Still Falling For You” by chloelapomme - Rated T, Modern AU, One-shot. "Diversity is not about how we differ. It is about embracing one another’s uniqueness" - Ola Joseph (One-shot)

“Kiss Me?” by allconspirer - Rated G, Wartime AU, One-shot. Naruto and Hinata have been friends for as long as they can remember but will Hinata regret not giving Naruto what he wants?

"101 Ways to Make Hinata Hyuuga Faint" by Keidra369 - Rated T, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Naruto finds out early on in the academy that he has an amazing talent. He can make Hinata faint! Now he is determined to find all the ways to make her faint. Starts in academy years and ends sometime in their married life.

"Misfired Attempts of an Uzumaki" by Transient Joy - Rated T, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. Happy Birthday Hinata! In an attempt to celebrate Hinata's birthday, Naruto causes havoc along the way. At age 5 he pushes her down a hill, at age 9 he almost poisons Hinata and gifts her weeds, and age 13 was a failure. Can Naruto make it right this time? Or will everything crash and burn in it's wake?

"Misstep in the Right Direction" by Solvdrage - Rated T, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. It was just a simple good luck wish. This innocent moment created a connection between two lonely children years before destiny intended. This unintended new connection will change the course of history.

"cross your heart and hope to die (that we'll be together forever)" by @secrettastemakerland - Rated G, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. in which iruka solves an argument between best friends uchiha-uzumaki naruto and hyuuga hinata and then falls. Prompt: day 21 promise

hmm The Cinderella Makeover is a little soapy imo but I still really enjoyed it.

Happy Reading!

[alethiometry]

Rules: list eight shows for your followers to get to know you better.

Tagged by @aeide!

1. black sails. OBVIOUSLY. it's got everything. drama, intrigue, ocean gays, lying little wet rat twinks, anti-colonialist uprisings, caribbean history, grimy period-appropriate costumes, heartbreak, monologues, toby "saturday chillin don't fuckin @ me i'm chillin" schmitz calling himself daddy. everybody slays absolute cunt. it is THEEEE most perfect show ever created.

2. parks and recreation. rewatching p&r is an interesting experience because it was such a product of obama-era liberal america and the optimism just oozes out of every scene. also we don't like crisp ratt anymore. but it's also so genuinely funny and heartfelt and comforting! this show had a massive impact on my sense of humor, as well as i think framed failure in such a positive light: every character failed drastically at something over the course of the show, but through caring for each other were able to pick themselves back up and never let their shortcomings define them. i first watched it at a point in my life where i really needed that, so it has always stuck with me.

3. leverage. my comfort show to turn to when living in a post-capitalist hellscape that continues to reward billionaires for their moral bankruptcy while shitting on everybody else gets too depressing (so… like every day). is it campy and unrealistic? yes. do i care? no. sometimes you need escapism via direct action, heist hijinks, and extreme displays of bisexuality. also aldis hodge is one of the most beautiful human beings on planet earth.

4. supernatural. yeah yeah it's the hehe destiel meme show. but it was also tons of fun to watch every week, the worldbuilding started out fantastic (and then got progressively more and more insane), i think it's really the epitome of "really cool ideas with mostly lackluster execution". the bloody mary episode remains one of my favorite episodes of tv ever, and the fandom drama just keeps giving! i also met some of my dearest friends through the fandom, so maybe the real destiel love memes were the friends we made along the way.

5. twin peaks. the only show that made me so insane i went and got a tattoo of it. impeccable vibes, the experience of watching s3 and then memeing about it on reddit with everyone else who were all equally confused is an experience that will never be replicated.

6. love island uk. listen. fucking listen. i don't want this show to be listed here any more than any of you do, i'm sure. absolute bottom of the barrel brain rot that consumes my life and brings my workday to a grinding halt (thank you timezones) for the 2 months that each season is running. i absolutely have nothing good to say about love island uk other than it's sometimes really funny, usually unintentionally. but iain stirling's voice and those stupid neon pillows/beanbags and atrocious cursive font and catchphrases have wormed their way into my brain and nothing short of a complete lobotomy can remove it.

7. how to get away with murder. this wouldn't even be on here if saff and i didn't go on an insane binge of all six seasons last fall. but since we did… here we are. michaela pratt is an icon and has never done anything wrong ever in her life and i will die on this hill.

8. cunk on earth. this is probably recency bias speaking but oh my god i adore this show. it is exactly my brand of humor and i have so much respect for all the experts and miss diane morgan herself for making it through those interviews without breaking, because i would be fighting for my fucking life. this is the show that i will henceforth be recommending like a madwoman to all my friends.

honorable mentions: american vandal, derry girls, naruto, south park, dexter, elementary, orphan black.

i'm tagging: @winedark @seance @assassiyun @thatsouthernanthem @potsticker1234 @ciaramedba @doomcountry @thychesters <3

[kukuandkookie]

I was going to reblog this just as usual and maybe just share my thoughts in the tags, but…

A potential shounen yuri anime—or should I say shaonian baihe donghua?—may have just come out on Bilibili:

Its name is Shadows of the Void and it will be free on Bilibili’s YouTube channel while airing, whereafter the rest of it will likely be locked behind a paywall:

I described it as potential baihe in my donghua and manhua recommendations list because it’s focusing on the eventual close bond between the two female protagonists (a move that was already pretty surprising to me, especially since this is an action sci-fi).

Specifically, I first picked up on those ~vibes~ when watching the character PVs, since one of the main characters’ PV involves her trying to kill her future partner, while said partner’s PV features that character who first tried to kill her now seemingly asking her not to die. 👀

Oh, and they hold hands in the ED!

And if nothing else, it’s still a potential relationship to be read as queer in some way even if you view it as platonic.

*Note: Chinese media faces different levels of censorship on a spectrum, and donghua is perhaps the second-most censored after cdramas when it comes to depictions of queer relationships, but Chinese creators still put in a lot of queer-coding. So for a series like this that isn’t clearly originally meant to be a baihe, the friendship can still 100% be read as queer/romantic if you so wish it. Chinese media isn’t black-and-white in that way. Additionally, this means Chinese media can’t really afford to queer-bait, and there’s a general trend of less fan-service than in anime, so even what feels like fan-service will be toned down, and you can worry less about blatant fetishization or sexualization.

There’s also another series that’s been ongoing for a while now that has baihe vibes, and that is Soulmate Adventure aka Spirit Wind Elegance aka Sunflowers:

And we’re getting a donghua adaptation (eventually) of an actual baihe novel, called Jing Wei Qi Shang (Clear and Muddy Loss of Love):

The above two series are historical (with the former probably falling under the wuxia (Chinese martial arts) genre, which involves battles and fights and all that good stuff, so that’s why I also counted them as potentially shounen/shaonian.

I don’t think they’re quite as blatant about targeting a shaonian (young male) audience as Shadows of the Void is, but yeah! They can still definitely count. And I mean, this kind of labelling isn’t clear-cut anyway, especially in China where shaonian or shaonü isn’t the established categories they are in Japan (although Chinese romance stories marketed to young girls are far easier to label as shaonü than all the other donghua out there, which may all feel shaonian in some way).

In general, I find the way women to be portrayed in donghua generally to be easier to stomach than in anime. Now that’s not to say that donghua is perfect about it, but for the most part it just feels like women have more to do, are pretty capable of fighting alongside their male counterparts, and generally rock pretty cool designs that—even when kind of sensual, aren’t made into fan-service quite the same way anime women may be, and there’s a lot less focus on whether these women need a boyfriend or on say, whether their body is considered attractive etc (like as funny as that could be, I remember that being a thing a lot in Naruto Shippuden akdjfksjs).

Examples I can think of include from Scissor Seven; White Cat Legend; You Yao; Fox Spirit Matchmaker; Quan Zhi Gao Shou; Fog Hill of Five Elements; Ling Cage; Yi Ren Zhi Xia; Shaonian Ge Xing; War God System! I’m Counting on You; Blades of the Guardians; and so on.

(Kind of random but the video above is still one of the “hottest” or like, most attractive action sequences/displays of power I’ve ever watched. 😆🙈)

(This last clip is cut weirdly and has MTL subs but what can you do HNGKSHD. I address why I chose the videos in the next paragraph:)

*Note (again): I did choose clips that feature some form of “badass action” sequences, but many of these women get more spotlight than just a few cool fight scenes, even if they’re not the main main character of their respective series. Still, I chose these clips for a number of reasons, including the fact that it’s actually quite hard to find donghua clips on YouTube (rip), that at least these show them being badass without spoiling much, and that hopefully it also demonstrates my point about their character designs.

Even Xi Yang Yang, a franchise for children, started trending toward less stereotypical depictions of their female characters when the show shifted direction. Every season after Mighty Little Defenders has showcased quite a bit of action, and the female characters get to take part in their own ways—like they’re still feminine, but not useless.

I always admire how they let Mei Yang Yang grow and have her own arcs and also partake in cool battles in a way that felt true to her character, especially since she was first shown in the show to be the initially token female character who boy characters may fawn over, who she herself may think of boys, who hated getting dirty and liked pink and fashion and all stereotypical girly things, and who could come across as shallow or boring. But now she and other female characters like her are way more interesting than they’ve ever been!

Now again, donghua and China are not perfect by any means when it comes to how women are treated, but I still found it to be a bit refreshing in not being as bad. So maybe some shounen anime fans might feel the same way. 🙏

I had a scientific theory I needed to sketch out.

[pinkhairedlily]

SS Retsuden Countdown | D-5

Prompt: Ophiuchus - I’d burn down the world for you.

The Cube, formally called the Konohagakure Prison, was razed down to the ground on the eve of summer solstice. It took a month before the flames were completely put out.

Survivors detailed the appearance of a sinkhole in the center lobby while others heard of a loud rumble akin to thunder passing through halls, before the big bang, the explosion that lit concrete and seals on fire.

Medical nin, soon to be hospital director, Haruno Sakura didn't make it. She was holding her routine rounds in the underground facility when the ceiling collapsed on her. And fifteen more levels of activated confinement seals. No one, on that particular floor, got out alive. 

Save for Uchiha Sasuke. 

The man on redemption. Or so they say.

His team advocated for him to the extent of Hatake Kakashi abdicating the hokage post in exchange for his release. The council did not budge. So they placed Hyuugas on the chair. They decided on death penalty. Naruto ran amok. They had to reduce it to solitary confinement for life.

He had no home anyway. Why resist?

Uchiha Sasuke. Bound and gagged with seals designed by Sakura else she watch him slowly die under torture. As if they haven't just gone to war. 

He did not come out unscathed. He was freed but both of his eyes were gouged out, leaving empty sockets to the bloodlust scavengers. His memories were wiped clean despite his strong affinity to genjutsu. He shouldn't succumb to such tricks so easily. 

But without sharingan and rinnegan, he was nothing. The Uchiha almost sounded like an afterthought.

He was only Sasuke. The blind. 

Naruto wanted him to stay for the state funeral. Haruno Sakura was deeply loved by the village, her bonds drifting even to the margins and corners of the world, and he had to be there to see her off. Even when Sasuke physically and figuratively couldn't. It escaped him — how this revered, genteel woman loved a criminal sealed underground with his sins as sole companions. 

Who was this Sakura exactly? What did she look like? How could he place her in his mind when it struggled with phantom memories? Was he even supposed to cry? Did he love her back? 

He just stood there as stiff as a stick figure, flanked by Kakashi and Naruto who seemed more like strangers in mourning, and he intruded on the funeral. He can smell the mildew and the damp twigs after a night of spring rain. It was an open space atop a hill or perhaps a forest clearing. 

The council decided to banish him after this stellar performance. He was the perfect scapegoat Konohagakure needed. His large bounty was the fitting distraction from the village's rotting affairs. Sasuke could smell the scent of an upheaval, and he wished the strangers luck.

He waited for his end. He expected to die on the road, but he passed a town safely. Then another. Then another. Then another. Time passed. He learned to map with his feet, and see with his ears and nose. The seasons melted into years, and Sasuke found himself seated on top of a hill where he built a small cabin.

That summer solstice, she found him. Sasuke thought it was the end of his borrowed life, but he woke up…. seeing again for the first time. With his memories back.

All of a sudden, Sasuke remembered how to breathe.

The crescent moon tattoo on the base of her neck greeted him like a smile. “Have you been waiting long Sasuke?” The shape moved with the cadence of her voice, and the long dormant impulse almost propelled him to dip his head and trace the outline with his lips.

Haruno Sakura was alive beside him.

“Took you long enough. I was getting kind of lonely,” he said. “Congratulations for the successful break-your-first-love-out-of-prison operation.”

“Only love,” she corrected.

“Love of your life,” he teased, but he smoothed it over with, “As you are mine.”

“I told you I’d burn down the world for you.”

“The eyeballs part —”

“— too much?”

He shrugged. “It was the selling point.” He glanced at her and allowed himself to claim his prize. A kiss on the crescent moon. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Sakura’s gentle shove was not entirely gentle, and Sasuke tumbled to the ground. “Focus on the prize Sasuke.” She passed him a coat the color of midnight with scarlet clouds across the fabric. “Time for payback.”

[surfrocklee]

OKAY IM BACK

(Far fetched bUT) I think that lee couldn’t swim for the longest time. He had to wear the shitty little arm floaties until TenTen had enough and taught him how to float. He was proud of his floaties though.

BRILLIANT STUDENT. PERFECT MARKS I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL

Seashell collection. No I won’t elaborate ✨

He probably has a photo of Gai next to his mirror so he can talk to his Sensei while he gets ready for the day 🥺 [SOBBING]

Most prized possession was given to him not by Gai, bUT BY NARUTO. When naruto was losing to mr bones, and Lee came to his aid, naruto was so thankful but didn’t know how to express it. So, he bought his bushy-browed friend a stuffed elephant toy. Lee treats it like his son.

hi again!!

lol i love that like why do ninjas need to learn to swim anyway!! but he couldn't so when they were learning to walk on water in Ninja School or Whatever he wore floaties in case he fell in

a million percent yeah my boy got straight As and nice notes on his report card that said "so polite!" and "hard worker. sweetest kid in class"

lee sells seashells by the seashore (x5)

ok this one has me CRYINGG dude. this is so sweet and in character i love it this is canon

ayooo that is so cute. he keeps it on him at all times in that bottomless pouch all the ninjas got. he made a lil outfit for it that matches his/guy's 😩🥺

[hirazuki]

Okay this might be weird ass timing, but I saw the asl someone sent you about Naruto, and your brief mention of the Villain type characters at least EMBRACING their flaws rather than glossing over like Konoha does, and while first I wanted to chime in with like, YES SAME, my favorite characters are Hidan and Kakuzu, ESPECIALLY Kakuzu, and that's part of why - and boy do I have beef with Kishimoto about how SHIT their arc ended because he wanted to show off how Cool and Smart Shika was and Naruto's new move (Kakuzu should NOT have been killed by that he's too smart his death was insulting I'll die on that hill, and I'm not even gonna start on Hidan) but like—

One thing that's always pissed me off is that when I read Kakuzu's backstory from the data book, I was STUNNED Kishimoto never once addressed it as a flashback like the other villains got - FILLER villains got more than he did and his story is SO GOOD - except I think one brief acknowledgement by Fu in some anime filler? Whatever, the point is, it occurs to me that his backstory makes both Takigakure AND Konoha look less than perfect, given the jist is that Taki yeeted him in prison for failing to kill Hashirama. I wonder if that's why Kishimoto never wanted to address it?

Okay, so first -- never feel weird for sending me Naruto asks!! Or Bleach asks! Or anything about any series/media/whatever I enjoy or I have even mildly dabbled in! Even if we have different opinions on things, I am always happy to geek out about shared interests ^^

YES EXACTLY, Kakuzu especially falls into this category (I love Hidan too, but he's a bit of a loose canon and as far as I can remember, doesn't have nearly as strong ties to his hometown as Kakuzu once had to Taki; I don't think he was ever enmeshed in upper level village politics like that). But yes, Kakuzu! I have no problem with how that fight played out or its conclusion, but I suspect that's only because while I enjoy these two, I'm not particularly attached to them, and the resolution of that conflict ticked off my own personal boxes for being "satisfactory," which is a very individual thing obviously. I absolutely get where you're coming from, and if something similar had happened to Orochimaru, for instance, I would be Very Upset.

Kakuzu's backstory is fascinating and honestly very demonstrative of the early days of the establishment of the village system and the various political considerations and machinations going on, ties in closely with our protag group since it directly involves one of the founders of Konoha, and is a compelling backstory to a member of one of the main antagonist groups of the series, so SAME???????? I was very surprised when I found out that Kishimoto had a super detailed, super relevant on multiple levels backstory for him that never got properly incorporated, and the only reason I can think of for leaving it out of the manga is it was cut due to editors. Idk why though, it's very well-developed as a plot point and backstory. I especially don't get why it wasn't included in the anime, given all the filler we get (< and I say this as someone who unironically loves fillers!!), because yes, you're right -- it's briefly alluded to by Fuu in the second chunin exams held in Suna, which is a filler arc towards the end of Shippuden. We've had filler mini-arcs within filler arcs themselves (for instance, Jiraiya's novel within Tsunade's tsukuyomi dream), so it wouldn't have been a stretch at all to do a brief glimpse into Kakuzu's past within the chunin exam filler arc... idk, dude, I've got nothing. I can't imagine it would be because it'd make Taki and Konoha look bad, because there's stuff like Zabuza and Kiri, Gaara and Sasori and Suna, and like... the entirety of Itachi and Konoha; all the villages including Konoha have looked less than perfect from the get-go. All I can think of is someone or multiple someones on the production team at SP didn't really care for Kakuzu so they never considered it, and it just came down to the team's personal preferences as to what they’d include as filler or not?

It's utterly baffling.

[wing-ed-thing]

💭

warning, domestic abuse mention

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

I think it's one of the only things I intentionally do kinda out of character, but I like to think that most of the shinobi in Naruto have a strict moral code when it comes to honor. Things about not harming civilians, being extra respectful to women and children, etc. I think it’s cool to have villains who have their own moral codes too. The concept of a traitor and a killer beating up a domestic abuser is just, awesome to me?

 It's my personal writing choice to make all men safe men in my writing unless specified to be dark content (which I want to branch into at some point to an extent, I'd say more grey than anything).

I also think that Hidan has the perfect build for a baseball player. I will die on this hill.

[berryberryrad]

I posted 652 times in 2021

40 posts created (6%)

612 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 15.3 posts.

I added 101 tags in 2021

#shino aburame - 16 posts

#shino - 15 posts

#naruto - 14 posts

#team 8 - 12 posts

#naruto shippuden - 10 posts

#shino x reader - 8 posts

#fatgum - 7 posts

#shino headcanons - 7 posts

#mha - 6 posts

#my hero academia - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 81 characters

#and i feel bad for like hyping the alphabet up and it's not even gonna be g o o d

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

nsfw alphabet🎇

.

warnings/disclaimers: nsfw and therefore 18+ puh-lease doughnut pull up if you’re a minor, that is super not groovy. several euphemisms for sex. blatant abuse of grammar and punctuation. swearing.

.

word count, 4758

.

nsfw under the cut

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex) ~

Jumping right into the aftermath, we’re gonna set the tone of this entire thing with Shino softly panting in your ear as he comes down from his high. Shino may be Shinobi, but I feel as if after a little personal time with his s/o, he may be a little out of breath. He doesn’t go out of his way to impress (it just comes naturally, if you catch my drift) however Shino does allow himself to let a little looser than usual, so I don’t think post orgasmic sighs of relief are out of pocket. Now he’s been holding your hand the entire time, and I’ll die on that hill. Afterwards he’ll kiss your knuckles and mutter something along a, “Thank you for allowing me this.” Can you tell I’m a hard simp for soft Shino? He truly appreciates you for giving him your full intimate attention. He’ll spend a moment or so pressed into your body before pushing himself up and moving to take a shower. Shino strikes me as the type to shower afterwards every time, and so you’ll just have to bathe in the post sex/shower afterglow when he emerges later.

Then again it may prove more fun to join him instead.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s) ~

Shino doesn’t really romanticize appearances; unless of course we’re referring to his insects, in which case they’re all so beautiful. Give him the time of day and he’ll open your eyes to the aesthetic woes of the millipede. No, but truly it just isn’t something that occurs to him.

How he appears outright isn’t a pressing issue to him. Shino’s only preference is that he seems clean, but outside of that I believe the Aburame clan in general values functionality over looks. To be fair, they don’t even really gotta worry, because every Aburame we’ve been presented with to date has been pretty nice on the eyes.

Shino! If he was asked to make a choice concerning himself, I think he’d vote his physique as his favorite feature. His body aids him in being a capable Shinobi, and also acts as the perfect hive to his insects. What more could he ask for?

As for a partner, I’m inclined to repeat myself on the whole, “He doesn’t care,” trope. For the sake of content, however, imma pull through with some non nsfw content. Because when you smile? Oh, Shino will vault over the moon. Especially if he is the cause of it.He loves the curious upturn of your lips when you ask him about his day, or the cheeky grins you offer him without warning. And if you smile against his lips while you’re kissing? He’ll silently implode.

We don’t get to see enough of Shino’s smiling throughout the series, so please do enough for you both.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically…) ~

If I am your first exposure to the bug cum headcanon, then I’m sorry you had to hear it from me but if you’re gonna thirst over Shino Aburame, then this is a rite of passage. Bug cum. What is it, and what can we do to stop it?

Kidding!

Now listen. Prior to the life of a Shino enthusiast, I had never considered the thought of bug cum. It isn’t particularly my favourite kink, but ya know, I could probably get behind a lot of things if Shino was the one asking.

The general consensus is Shino’s cum being laced with his beetles as he reaches his climax. Now I don’t think it’d be an unruly amount, but you could expect enough to make their presence known, wherever they end up. It makes logical sense. I think Shino would be embarrassed about this one and only circumstance concerning his bugs, but it’s short lived. When it comes to his insects, Shino is exceptionally confident. I think he’d be concerned the first time he mentioned it to you, unsure of how you’d react. He’d immediately then ask himself if he was willing to be with someone who couldn’t come to terms with such a key aspect of him. So yeah, you’re either with it, or you’re out.

And even if the aspect of bug cum was null and void, I believe his insects will make a debut during the act no matter what. We’ve seen what happens when Shino loses control over his insects, both illustrated in the bath house scene where he becomes so relaxed, Shino’s beetles begin to wild out with Nick Cannon and terrify Kiba. I’ll also cite that Boruto episode where we see him drink for the first time in the entire timeline. Hilarity once again ensues.

So with all of that being said, I think when Shino orgasms, you’ll have to expect some sort of spectacle being made via: bug.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs) ~

Not so much a dirty secret, moreover just a preference, but Shino likes it when you’re on top. Not by choice, but Shino is usually isolated before he’s even given a chance. Maybe it’s solely the bugs, maybe it’s his aura, maybe it’s Maybelline. Now he does have a splendid little network of friends that he manages to accumulate, but I think he craves something a little more than platonic intimacy. Can we fault him for wanting to be taken care of every once and awhile?

So, if he ever seems a bit out of it: get on top. It’s nearly foolproof. Leave open mouthed kisses against his throat and interlock your fingers. Let him feel you as much as you are feeling him.

I don’t believe Shino is necessarily a sub, but he doesn’t mind sitting back and letting you do what you will from time to time; as long as you’re both enjoying the moment.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?) ~

Allow me to expose all of my goofy headcanons. Now I am confident that you will serve as his first in nearly all aspects of your relationship. The one thing he, Shino Aburame, is equipped with prior to your first time together are the hours he’s poured over literature. Anything that needs to be known can be learned through the written word, and what better way to accumulate tips on pleasuring a lover is there than exploring key skills and tactics? Makeout tactics, that is.

What I am subtly trying to convey is that Shino has read and owns Icha Icha novels. They are purely scientific and for research. Count your blessings.

See the full post

66 notes • Posted 2021-04-08 05:59:57 GMT

#4

shino aburame is shino abur-onmymind 24/7

66 notes • Posted 2021-03-13 21:21:51 GMT

#3

a little wip🍡

110 notes • Posted 2021-05-05 09:07:12 GMT

#2

many thoughts, head full.

190 notes • Posted 2021-04-29 20:29:00 GMT

#1

MY COWORKER SENT ME HIS AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO CALLED OUT IN MY L I F E—

tiktok credit toooo: @ imhoneylemon🍋

193 notes • Posted 2021-04-16 00:18:47 GMT

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[jostenneil]

idk why but whenever you mention misery romance I always laugh because I’m like that. Whenever I read a romance shojo manga I always look forward to the conflict and the different ways lovers hurt each other. as much as I like wholesome couples, I like things to be shaken up a bit. Do you have any favorite miserable romance pairs?

just going to do short summaries with these since i have quite a few  

tesadora and perri / the lumatere chronicles / when they were kids he tried to drown her and she carved a permanent scar into his forehead bc their peoples were severely at odds with each other and there’s just. so much misery it’s so good “we’d do cruel things to each other” and every time i evaporate 

eugenides and irene / the queen’s thief / enjoyment of this series rests entirely upon going into it unspoiled but here’s a banger quote “i have been living with your grief and your rage and your pain ever since. i don’t think - i don’t think i had felt anything for a long time before that, but those emotions at least were familiar to me” 

narnie and jude / jellicoe road / what happens when your parents die in a car crash and then all that’s left is your brother and the three friends you make except over the years everyone leaves or dies and what’s left is just you and a boy who can’t forgive each other for surviving 

marco and connie / gangsta. / sometimes love is leaving the mercenary life behind bc seeing a girl cry after you kill her parents rattles you to your core and you spend every waking day after resolving to do better and she’s got anger and hope enough to hold you to that standard, to “a terrible curse to carry” 

sasuke and sakura / naruto / we’ve already been over this but i think het hero worship is sexy! love it when girls are hopelessly in love with traumatized boys who make them cry and they have to suck it up and keep moving forward all the while their heart is breaking 

bruce and talia / dc / extension of the above! sometimes romance is you and the dashing, brooding hero who swoops in to save you on occasion but is too emotionally unreliable to follow through all the way, so you save yourself and shelter yourself within the walls of your own heart despite the yearning and aching and knowledge that he loves you eternally

arata and taichi / chihayafuru / when the new kid in town is poor and you make fun of his pants and push him into a puddle but then somehow get roped into this weird freaking card game he’s insanely good at and now all you want to do for the next six years is be good enough for him to look at you as an equal. “a boy who showed me his cowardly side” haunts me

kou and aoba / cross game / ah, the inevitable crash and fall into love with a boy whom your sister loved first, before she drowned in a river over the summer at the age of ten, and you said to yourself, i’m going to hate this boy forever, i’m going to hate him for taking away my time with my sister. and then you don’t. you don’t hate him even a little bit 

nate and elena / uncharted / i know tlou is the more famous nd game but frankly idgaf bc no one can give me on-again-off-again trauma drama like these two do. the way she almost died so they got married and then he LEFT? and then they got married again and he decided to go on another suicidal treasure hunt that also nearly broke their marriage like this is coney island by taylor swift ft. the national but as a video game saga 

kakashi and obito / naruto / sorry to bring another naruto ship into this list but i simply feel like people die so often on the hill of narusasu when they don’t even come close to these two. like obito gave kakashi his freaking eye as he was dying and then kakashi killed the love of his life, and obito still had enough grace to go for the kill with minato first instead 

the mcs’ polycule / wolf’s rain / there’s just a perfect element of misery romance in being a wolf who honors your friends by snapping their necks when they’re on the verge of death and want to go out of the world without suffering for long. a tragic tenderness if you will 

suou and munakata / k project / i will be honest i hardly even remember the plot of this anymore it’s been like a decade since i watched it but you know when you’re constantly fighting each other to the death and one of you dies in the other’s arms, that’s always great misery romance. also spoilers ig lol now you gotta figure out which one dies :)

tsumugu and chisaki / a lull in the sea / when all of your friends and family are frozen underwater bc of the whims of a sea god! and you are the only one left on the surface! and a boy and his family take you in and you fall for him all the while but your heart resists and resists bc there’s a boy whom you love still left under the sea, not growing up while you do! and the boy on the surface loves you and waits for you anyway! GOD

kurogane and fai / clamp / every other clamp series has tragic gays but imo they are the best like there’s just so many blood pacts made between these two. it’s always a unique brand of misery romance when you give away parts of yourself to ensure another person’s survival and all they can do for a while is loathe you for it, bc they don’t believe themselves worthy of surviving 

my head kinda hurts now but this is like a starter pack ig. maybe one day i can come up with more gjfkldhlgf

[startledstars]

Well when I sent the message I was thinking about Cain killing his brother, the gangr*pe in Judges, the girls who got their dad drunk and r*ped him, and the guy who r*ped his sister. You make good points though. I'm not familiar with Naruto but I like horror and I don't think they all glorify violence. In fact, in the media I like, the bad guys usually get punished in the end, showing that violence isn't worth it.

Hello again!

I’m pleasantly surprised at how well you know the Old Testament. Whatever opinions you have on the matter, there is some apparent effort to base them on research. This is a good thing. I encourage you look into the New Testament as well if you haven’t already.

Please note that along with the violence in both the Old and New testaments, there are promises of God’s love, mercy, and redemption. I haven’t found evidence of similar assurances in Hindu texts, Buddhism, the New Age, Islam, or even any of the ancient pagan religions (those who worshipped Zeus, Isis, etc.) There is some wisdom in these belief systems, but the love and security those gods offer comes no where close to what God and Jesus provides.

While you can find examples violence committed by God(s) and mortals in any religion, the God of the Bible offers unique promises.

Here are a few of my favorites from the Old Testament:

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3)

 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Psalm 91: 9-10)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalm 23: 6)

People are complex, and God is infinitely more multi-dimensional. I hope you can approach the Word with this in mind; the violence does not negate the love, but God’s love is not mutually exclusive with His judgement.

Now, onto the issue of media that you mentioned. There is the “not all movies are bad” argument, and the “there is some good in even the worst things” mindset. As an avid consumer of such content the past, I can empathize.

Three points:

1. Even if not all movies glorify violence and sin, most of them do. Especially the popular ones. John Wick has you cheering for a violent murderer who takes revenge into his own hands. In reality, if you leave vengeance to God, you will be blessed in due time (I speak from experience.) Pirates of the Caribbean makes you admire a thief and liar. There’s a running joke about Jack Sparrow sleeping with… everyone and facing very few real consequences. Anyone who lives like that will contract and spread disease, then die. (The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23.) Instead of laughing at this type of behavior, we should be disgusted by it. On top of that, the Pirates movies glorify and normalize alcoholism. Tony Stark glorifies alcoholism as well.

As for horror movies- they deserve their own post. Even those like the Conjuring series that appear to promote Christianity are flat out satanic. Consuming images of gore, demonic possession, and dismemberment is… it’s hard to defend. (I speak as someone who consumed almost every major horror thing that came out over the past few years. Outlast, the Evil Within, the Conjuring, Insidious, Haunting at Hill House/Bly Manor, Brand New Cherry Flavor, etc. It helped me understand evil, especially the spiritual kind, but it is not a profitable pass time. Everyone would be better off if they never consume a horror movie/ video game/show again. I haven’t been able to stomach these things since getting more serious about the Word, anyway.)

2. When you see violence or destructive behavior, you should fight, flee and/or stand up for truth and justice. Chronic consumption of Hollywood violence conditions you to sit and watch evil play out without doing anything about it.* There’s a reason this generation is more desensitized and demoralized than any other in human history.

(*edit: this is not my original observation. Brian Denlinger, King James Video Ministries on YouTube brought up this point, which helped convict me about the media I consume. He’s probably the only minister I can recommend in good conscience.)

It’s easy to see why the Word says, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”

(Matthew 6: 22-23)

The evil we consume with our eyes affects our spiritual condition. Most media has a net negative impact on its viewers.

3. People make excuses for media that they would never make for the Bible. They hold God’s word to a standard of perfection (as they should) and look for any excuse to disregard it.

Those same people cling to to anime (which notoriously normalizes the sexualization of minors), movies (which are rife with misogyny, racism, and other dysfunction), video games, etc.

This is because they believe the Bible is oppressive (it is not. I have never felt more liberated in my life.) while their entertainment provides harmless joy and doesn’t hold them to any standard.

So I’ll leave you to consider one last thing: what is your motivation behind defending movies while being critical of the Bible? This is a rhetorical question, and I ask it with love and respect. Please bear in mind that I used to be on the opposite side of the issue. I once loved and defended the same things I can’t stomach today. Maybe you could also consider what would make someone change their mind so radically.

And once again, I encourage you to take your questions and doubts to Jesus. God bless you. Have a good night :)

[ionfusionpunk]

Heyy gurl!

Iruka Umino for the ask ♡♤

Heyyy~! <3 Ha! You know me so well, my friend ;) Warning: I am tired, and this came out wayyy more unfiltered and sarcastic/sardonic than I intended, so. Enjoy, but imagine it sounds nicer :) 

First Impression: You know, it’s kinda funny bc one of the clearest things from canon I remember about Iruka is that he was the only one ever able to catch Naruto. So like, Amused - but also Much Respect bc he was also one of the only nice people to Blonde Boi, and I stan Kindness in the Face of Painful Memories.

Impression Now: He is the parental/sibling/friend everyone needs in their lives. As a character, he is the one I relate most to, and so I will write everything in this fandom in relation to him. Also, if anything were to ever happen to him, I would shoot everyone in the room and then myself, and then, from the beyond the grave, I would write a detailed fic psychoanalyzing the event and putting Iruka through more hurt before dropping him in a cloud of perfect comfort.

Favorite Moment: Hm. This is - This is tough. I have a few, tbh, but ofc I do, right? I think, however, that my favorite canon Iruka moment of All Time is... his fight with Mizuki in the very beginning (not the second anime filler-arc crap. That was... weird, bro). I really like it bc you can kinda tell we’re not really meant to see more of Iruka beyond this point, so we’re getting a lot of dialogue/monologue, but we’re also seeing a man between a rock and a hard place: a man who has a very legitimate reason to associate his loss with Naruto, who also understands he is wrong to take his anger out on said kid. He’s a man who fears what Naruto holds, fears Naruto will never be able to control it (and like, at this point? I don’t blame Iruka for believing that; Naruto at this point is incapable of pretty much everything except having potential) - but is also just as incapable of hating a child, especially a child he can relate to fully to. I just - It’s a really heartwarming sequence, okay? 

Idea for a Story: You thought you could get smtg new out of me, didn’t you? Well, jokes on you, bc I’m wrapping up my KakaIru Big Bang Exchange fic, and then I have regular Big Bang fic to write, so, haha! No room for new ideas here :/ (But also, like, I’ve had this one bouncing around for a while for a modern au where Iruka lives on the streets as like a mob boss sorta and raises Naruto on the streets and takes in all these homeless kids and Kakashi is a cop and- )

Unpopular Opinion: I’m sorry, but, just. Are we never going to address the fact that it’s weird so many families had only one child? Like, I get it, being a shinobi village and all, and then there’s Japanese culture, and I know some of the parents obvs didn’t live long enough to have another kid, but everyone else for the most part had siblings. It seems to me that Iruka’s parents were old enough and of a low-enough rank that they would have had another kid either before or after Iruka. Like, what? Can we please just stop giving people siblings in order to kill them off dramatically? (I’m looking at you, Hashirama and Madara and the entire fricking Uchiha clan -). I have six sibs, and I would never kill them off for The Drama. ... Okay, well maybe one of them, but only the one. 

Favorite Relationship: It’s not even one that’s really canon, but Asuma and Iruka as siblings. Like, Sandaime kinda took Iruka in after the Kyuubi Attack, right? Then he would have met Asuma, and as much as that man kinda irritates me for his rather lazy take to training his genin, I do love him, and I love the idea that, even if Iruka didn’t have an actual sibling, he did have a found-family. I live for that stuff, man, I really do. 

Favorite Headcanon: I’ve already mentioned a few: Asuma as a brother; Iruka with a sibling; Iruka as a girl. Other than that, Iruka is a fuuinjutsu expert and has the highest clearance in the village besides the Hokage and is wicked-good at infiltration missions and those are the hills I will die on, thank you.

[raendown]

For the @madatobiweek prompts generation swap au and fairytale au. 

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 9590 Rated: T+ Summary: Tobirama doesn't have much in life, just a younger brother to protect and a job that doesn't pay enough to feed them. He knows that hunting in the king's forest is forbidden but for Hashirama he would risk everything. In the forest he finds meat to put on the table for the last living member of his family.

And in the forest he finds a tower, a boy imprisoned, and a future he could have never dreamed of.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

I Never Asked For My Pedestal 

If one asked the local authorities they would say that Tobirama had no good intentions in the forest that day. Hunting in the royal forests was expressly forbidden, an edict passed with no explanation only a year or two after Tobirama was born, but for the families as poor as his there was often little choice but to take that risk. It was the thought of seeing his younger brother going hungry that drove him in to the trees week after week in search of a meal he could not legally afford on his own. 

Once Tobirama had been the third son of four, had reveled in the guiding love of his older siblings, happily joined in the doting when another was born and he wasn’t the youngest anymore. Then sickness had swept through their village and while the lords and ladies locked themselves away safely in the castle Kawarama and Itama, his two beloved elder siblings, took themselves away to die quietly in the forest where they would not infect the others. And from that day Tobirama was left with nothing but his own two hands to work and feed his baby brother Hashirama. 

Like so many other days in the years since they had been alone, Tobirama’s job working for one of the local farmers couldn’t quite pay enough to feed them both. Hashirama, wonderful smiling Hashirama, was an innocent young lad who lived with his head constantly lost in daydreams and greeted his brother at the end of each day with a hug and a hundred questions. Were they situated anywhere else he would have been forced to find work himself no matter Tobirama’s urges to baby him but with the forest behind them and the guards growing lax in their patrols it had become almost routine to find dinner through other means. 

Not, of course, that such conditions had ever convinced him to grow inattentive himself. 

Tobirama was only moments from loosing an arrow to take down a buck which would have kept them well fed for several weeks when he heard the sound of hooves. He cursed himself for a fool as he lowered his arms and cast about for somewhere to take cover. It made sense to hunt in a different place each time he came here. Even a skilled woodsman like himself left some traces of his passing and traversing the same paths over and over could only make it easier for someone to catch him in his lawbreaking. But he should have known better than to come here so far beyond the woods and fields that he’d spent the last decade mapping out in his mind. This area was largely unknown to him. Promises of new and unsuspecting game had drawn him farther from home; now he was paying the price for answering that siren call as he realized that he’d forgotten in his hunger to scout an escape route first. 

Desperate for any way to return safely to his brother at the end of the day, Tobirama leapt for the first place he saw that looked as though it could conceal his over-average height. The boulder was tall, if not very wide, and the small pocket of space behind it could really only be seen if one walked right up to the cliff it sat at the base of. With his heart in his throat he threw himself behind the rock. 

He was immediately forced to bite his tongue to keep from crying out in surprise when he fell through the screen of ivy he’d thought was covering solid stone. 

As soon as he figured out which way was up Tobirama did what he could to resettle the ivy so it hung still, less evidence of his presence. Then he turned to stare down the cavernous emptiness of what looked to be a passageway carved through the mountain. Since there really were only two options, forwards or back out in to the open, he hurried on in to the darkness. It wasn’t entirely dark, actually, some kind of light was clear at the other end, but with the ivy blocking out any light from this end made the passageway feel twice as long as he was forced to feel each step out before setting his weight down. Even using such caution he nearly rolled his ankle several times. 

By the time he reached the other end Tobirama was close to cursing out loud. His eyes had only just finished adjusting to the darkness when he finally stepped out in to the light again, squinting with his chin tucked down to make the readjustment easier. When it felt less like tiny knives digging in to his eyeballs he gave a few experimental blinks then raised his chin.

Only to drop his jaw and let it hang loose as he took in the sight before him. 

What he had taken as a pathway underneath the mountain was in fact the entrance to a hidden oasis in the very center, a field hidden on all sides by the cliff that Tobirama had always believed to be just one solid peak. Crystal blue water sparkled in a small lake, untouched grass grew lush and green, yet all he could see was the massive white stone tower that rose from the very center of the clearing. So tall it would have been visible from the outside with only a few more feet, the structure was made entirely of pale granulite and stood alone with no other buildings nearby. At the base he could see where there had once been an entrance but it had since filled in with stones and boulders. Who, he wondered, would build such a graceful monument to loneliness only to seal it up in such a manner? 

He very much intended to find out. The bricks were pretty but their cut looked rough and uneven, perfect for a man in good fitness to scale his way to the top. He had only just shifted his weight to step forward when movement caught his attention and sent him scrambling back in to the safety of the dark passage. 

Not a moment too soon, it turned out. As he watched, a woman stood from where she had been crouched next to the lake, hair white as his own and a sweeping robe to match blending in with the shine of sunlight on water. Her face was severe enough to make him grateful he hadn’t accidentally caught her attention but instead was able to observe from afar the way she floated across the field and stopped at the base of the white tower. There she tilted her head back to look up at the very top. 

“Madara,” she called, a melodic voice that for some reason turned his stomach. “Let down your hair.” 

Before he could wonder what the hell that even meant Tobirama bore witness to the single most baffling sight he had ever seen. A face came to the window high up in the sealed tower, man or woman he couldn’t tell from this distance, and struggled to lift something over the wooden sill. Then coil upon coil of hair the color of the darkest night came spilling down, down, down until the very end of the impossibly massive braid jerked to the end of its length just an inch or so before it would have brushed the ground. Seemingly unimpressed with this incredible phenomenon, the woman took hold of the braid with both hands and called out above once more. Then she was rising in to the sky as ostensibly whoever had thrown her the pseudo rope was now reeling it all back up as well with her weight added on. 

Tobirama waited but neither the woman nor the other figure appeared at the window again and before long he realized that he didn’t truly want either of them to catch him there where he was so clearly not supposed to be. And besides that he had a brother waiting at home with an empty belly. None of this was any of his business. With one last long glance at this new mystery Tobirama told himself to forget what he had seen and turned to head back in to the forest, hoping against hope that whoever had sent him scurrying in to the unknown had moved on as well. 

He did what he could to put the oasis and its wonders out of his mind in the days that followed. Seeing the light in his brother’s eyes when he came home with the deer he’d finally managed to take down was enough to keep him content for a day or so but the morning beyond that he found his thoughts wandering. Who was that at the top of the tower? How did they come to be in such a place? With the bottom sealed up it was obvious that the figure with such fantastically long hair would have no way down. Tobirama couldn’t help but wonder if they had chosen to shut themselves away from the world or if that sickeningly beautiful face were perhaps more sinister even than he’d first imagined. 

There was only one way to find out. 

For nearly a week he managed to resist before the pull of the unknown drew him in just the same as the thick tomes he studied in the public library whenever he had a chance. Strictly speaking it would be at least a few more weeks until he needed to hunt again; after salting and curing most of the prime cuts they could rely on venison whenever there wasn’t money for other foods. But the mountains in the distance called to him, whispering the secrets that only he knew of, and Tobirama could only resist for so long before he found himself asking Hashirama to be safe while he was gone and heading in to the trees once more. 

It felt strange to traverse these fields and forests with no bow upon his back, although he supposed that it was nice not to worry for once about leaving tracks. There was nothing illegal about walking in the King’s woods. Without the need for his usual caution he was able to make the journey in about half the time it might have taken him on any other day, the sun barely at its zenith by the time he crested a small hill and began to look around for the sheet of vine concealing the entrance he’d fallen through before. 

Were he any less alert his future might have gone very differently from that moment – or perhaps been deleted entirely. Only his sharp reflexes sent him whirling behind the closest tree when he spotted a flash of white from the corner of one eye. He was out of sight not a moment too soon as the woman he had seen calling up to the tower emerged from the hidden passageway and set off through the forest with a rather annoyed looking expression. In one hand she carried an empty basket that Tobirama would have bet his last penny she intended to fill by either foraging through the woods or making the journey in to the village. Whatever the case, she would likely be gone for several hours. 

Oh how the fates had smiled upon him. Now was the perfect time to sate his curiosity. Feeling almost gleeful for his good luck, Tobirama forced himself to remain still for several minutes past when the woman was out of sight just to be sure and then dashed towards the ivy. In his enthusiasm he very nearly forgot to step carefully along the dark uneven ground but there was at least no one around to watch him wobble and stumble as he hurried along until finally he was stepping back in to the bright midday sun. Somehow the massive white tower was only more impressive at a second glance yet he wasted very little time in admiration, moving forwards until he had reached the base where stones and mortar sealed what would have been the easiest way in. After a quick circuit around the whole thing he concluded that his first guess had been correct. He would have to climb.

Luckily he had come prepared for just such an activity. He stomped both feet to settle them in his sturdiest shoes and shook his hands out to loosen the muscles, wary of a cramp at just the wrong time. Then he paused the moment he laid his hands on the rough hewn bricks. Head tilting back, eyes squinting above, Tobirama considered the call he had heard before. 

There was no one here, he reasoned with himself again. If he looked a fool then there was no one to carry the tale of it. With that in mind he cleared his throat and firmly reminded his voice that now was not the time for nervous cracks. 

“Madara,” he called loudly in a false soprano, “let down your hair!” 

Even as he winced at how terrible his impression had been there came a movement at the window above. Then suddenly coil upon coil of midnight hair came tumbling down towards him only to snap taut just before the ground. For a moment he could only stare. It was hard to believe that had actually worked. Then he paused a moment longer to wonder if his weight might hurt the scalp on the other end of this incredible length. Only when the pseudo rope gave an impatient ripple did he suck in a deep breath, reach out with both hands, and begin to scale the tower at a much quicker pace than he’d been expecting to. 

With his feet walking up the side to keep him straight and arms strong from years of hard labor Tobirama was scrambling over a wooden windowsill almost in no time, taking in the petulant figure several feet away, hair anchored and knotted around a hook so as not to pull on his head and arms crossed over his chest while he pouted towards the floor. 

“You sound like you swallowed a frog,” the man growled. “What’s the matter, hit yourself with one of your own curses, witch?” 

Tobirama could only stare, unsure of what to say. In a word the man was gorgeous. Skin china pale without the sun’s rays, broad shoulders thick with muscles from dragging around the weight of so much hair, and a face with almost delicate features that still somehow screamed of masculinity. He was a masterpiece. When his pout deepened the expression only served to make him look more adorable in the sort of way that made Tobirama’s heart flutter traitorously in his chest.

“Cat got your tongue? Or maybe it finally shriveled up and fell out from all the acid lies you spit.” 

Such antagonism could only mean that his residence here was not a happy one, though it still remained to be seen whether or not he was being held against his will. Clearly he wasn’t the biggest fan of the woman he was expecting to come up to him. 

“Real mature, giving me the silent treatment. Didn’t you just leave? Thought I’d have the whole afternoon without your evil stench. I hope you didn’t come all the way back up just because you forgot something, I could have thrown it down. At your head.” With a snort and a faintly vicious smirk as he presumably imagined throwing something at the woman’s head, at last the strange man looked up – then gasped and attempted to reel backwards with fright in his eyes. “Who–!?” Before he could even finish his startled exclamation the anchored hair jerked him to a stop and he froze in place, trembling from head to toe. 

“I apologize, I did not mean to frighten you,” Tobirama murmured. His voice, if possible, seemed to startle the man even further. 

“You’re not the witch! You’re…like me. A boy!”

Considering he was well in to his second decade Tobirama gave some thought to correcting that. He was a man, not so much of a boy anymore. Now was hardly the time for semantics, though, so he let that go in favor of inching a single step forward just to test the waters. When the other man trembled again he angled his body to make it as clear as possible that he was heading towards the hook built in to the floor. 

“My name is Tobirama,” he said as non-threateningly as he could. “What’s yours?” He already knew that, of course, obvious from the words that gained him entry to this tower. It was just polite to ask really. 

“None of your business!” 

“I see.” He hadn’t really expected politeness in return. 

The closer he got the more worried the man looked until with carefully projected movements he bent down and freed the massive braid from the hook trapping its owner in place. As soon as he was free the man scrambled backwards, though Tobirama noted that the worry was colored now with a sort of curiosity he knew all too well.

“What do you want from me?” 

“Nothing,” Tobirama admitted truthfully. “I stumbled upon this place a few days ago and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There was a woman – is that the one you call a witch? – she called for you to let down your hair and I wanted to know what sort of person could have such impossible locks. They’re impressive. What’s your name? You know mine, it’s only polite to share.” 

For a moment the man hesitated. Then he asked very quietly, “Is it? I wouldn’t know. Will you do anything bad with my name?” 

“Anything bad?” Tobirama repeated, baffled. 

“Well I don’t know! I’ve never met anyone else before!” 

“Never!?” 

Sticking out his bottom lip in another pout only brought this fascinating stranger back to be cute. “I’ve spent my whole life here in the tower. Well, I suppose I wasn’t born here. That old hag certainly isn’t my mother but she did explain to me once how babies are made so I suppose I must have been somewhere else once.” He considered his very first visitor with deep gravity. “My name is Madara.” 

It was a good name, strong, the sort of name that wouldn’t be common in the lower classes. For whatever reason it sounded almost familiar but Tobirama couldn’t quite put his finger on why and he was hardly going to waste his time digging through memories just now. Trying to remember the manners classes he’d taken as a youth from a friendly neighbor, a poor imitation of the gentrification proper noblemen were raised with just in case he somehow encountered one of the royal family, he tucked in one arm and spread the other wide in a clumsy bow. 

“Your acquaintance is my pleasure to make,” he said. The words felt too large and fancy in his mouth and halfway through the sentence he realized he’d said it all wrong. Madara didn’t seem to mind. 

“What now?” 

“How do you mean?”

“You said you wanted to know who was up here and now you do. So what will you do next?” The straightening of his spine spelled confidence but the way he reached out to take a solid grip on his heavy braid just in case was more obvious than he probably thought. Someone who spent all their time away from other people probably hadn’t had many lessons in being sneaky. 

For the first time Tobirama allowed his eyes to slide away from the figure he’d gone to so much effort to meet, gazing around the room to take in all he could. Basic furniture and sparse entertainment options made the place look even more like a prison than the sealed exit at the bottom. He noted there seemed to be no exit from here either. However one was meant to travel down the tower when it was built, the way appeared to have been cleverly hidden from view now. For Madara there truly was no way out. He could have climbed his own hair, of course, but doing so would have left him stranded at the bottom with no one to unhook him from the anchor. 

All of this combined with the way he spoke of ‘the witch’ left Tobirama with only one choice, a stupid choice, a choice that would surely put him in to danger. 

“I could take you away from here,” he said. Phrasing it like a suggestion felt safer for the psyche of a man who had never left his prison but in his heart he knew that he couldn’t leave Madara to his fate, not now that he knew of the situation. Stolen away as a child so young he remembered nothing but the tower that caged him? It might not be Tobirama’s responsibility but he would never sleep again if he walked away now. 

Clearly Madara was not well versed in the art of kindness judging by the startled look on his face. Not a big surprise there. 

“A-away?” he asked.

“You’re clearly not here of your own free will. I intend to come back and, if you wish, free you from this place.” 

“Free…” Brows furrowed, Madara worried at the loops of his makeshift weapon. “Isn’t it…isn’t it terribly dangerous outside of the tower? When I was young I used to plan how I would run away from here but I never did – and lucky for that! The world is so dangerous! All of my books have stories to tell about bandits and people with bad magic; there’s just too many people who would try to steal me away!” 

Tobirama cocked his head to the side. “I assume you believe they would steal you for the same reason the witch keeps you here, whatever that may be?”

He almost regretted his words immediately as Madara's eyes narrowed in suspicion. It only became obvious that the man had slowly begun to relax when he tensed up again at the idea of giving away what must be some sort of secret. Knowing he needed to tread carefully if he wanted to build any sort of trust, Tobirama very carefully did not react to that expression and did his best to give the impression he wasn’t interested himself in this secret. 

“I believe I can keep you safe from anyone who might want to hurt you,” he declared instead. He might not have been the most refined peasant but his skill with a blade could rival that of the royal guards themselves. Or so he’d been told him once by an uncle who served in the palace until an injury left him unable to carry the buckets for cleaning or fetch the arrows for lords too lazy to walk across a field and fetch their own. Unless they encountered a magician of some sort he truly was confident he could protect this man. And since the only magician he’d ever seen round these parts was the wizened old woman who performed tricks for the court the odds felt pretty low on that happening.

“What’s it like?” Madara asked. “The world?” 

“Very big. Full of different things. Scary at times but if you use your head you can usually think your way out of things.” That was how he’d gotten through life, anyway. 

“That sounds terrifying and wonderful all at once.”

Clearly he was considering it but it was just as clear from the wary hesitation in his eyes that Madara had no intentions of following through on the offer. After spending his entire life locked in the same tiny space Tobirama couldn’t really blame him for that, either. He would have been frustrated if he hadn’t already expected that answer, planning ahead in his mind for when he could make the trip out here again. 

“I can ask as many times as it takes for you to be brave,” he promised. 

 A promise rashly made but it was one that he kept. Though he could not stay for long that day Tobirama was in the woods and calling for Madara to let down his hair only a few days after. Hashirama, the understanding brother that he was, simply waved from the doorway and told him to enjoy whichever adventure had captured his attention so. 

Their visits were all quite the same at first. Before he left the first time Tobirama instructed Madara to hang something in the window whenever the witch was gone so he would know it was safe to call up. Each time he scaled the tower and crawled over the sill Tobirama then happily spent however many hours he could spare answering all of Madara's questions about the outside world, asking his own questions in turn about life here alone. He was pleasantly surprised to know that his new friend had been provided books on mathematics and spent quite a lot of his time rereading the few novels he was allowed to have. Stifled as it was by isolation, it was obvious Madara possessed a mind just waiting to flourish. 

Watching confidence grow in his friend week by week was a special sort of joy that Tobirama would almost liken to how it had felt to raise Hashirama on his own – except he’d never been struck by the beauty of Hashirama's face in a beam of sunlight or listened rapturously to the rolling timber of his brother’s voice.

Falling in love was, perhaps, not of his smartest ideas. Of all the people he might have taken an interest in Madara was the most dangerous. Not because he thought the younger man could hurt him but because at the moment he was the only person who had ever been kind to Madara and it would only be too easy for such affections to be misplaced. The last thing he wanted would be to take advantage of someone who had put so much trust in him. 

With caution in mind Tobirama came back to Madara knowing that he himself was growing only more and more attached with each visit yet also knowing that he could not in good conscience abandon anyone stuck in this situation no matter how it all ended. There was no doubt in his mind that eventually it would be his own heart that came away with a wound but to know that Madara would find a better life than the one he had so far led, well, he couldn’t say that didn’t make this all worth it. Even if he had despised Madara to the bone he would still have come back to help. No one deserved to be kept locked away and never feel the kiss of freedom. 

Even destitute as they were, Tobirama appreciated the freedoms he and his brother enjoyed now more than ever. 

It took until the first time that Madara very nearly worked up the courage to follow him out of the tower for the man to trust him with the secret of his servitude. For all the many times they had spoken for hours upon end it had been difficult for Tobirama to bottle his curiosity, to allow such a sensitive subject to come to light on its own, and his patience was rewarded at last on the day Madara hung his feet out the window and stared at the ground so far below them. 

“How would you get down?” he asked as though it had only just occurred to him. Their plan had been for Tobirama to remain behind and free the long hair from its anchor once the other had reached the bottom. 

“Don’t worry about me,” Tobirama soothed him. “When I first came upon the tower I had planned to climb up with just my hands. I’m sure I could just as easily climb down.” 

“All that way!?” 

“It isn’t so far. When I’m out on a hunt I’ve scaled cliffs twice that height with half as many good handholds.” 

Trusting Madara with the knowledge that most of his food came from illegal poaching in the royal forest had been an easy choice. Not because he doubted the man would ever truly work up the nerve to escape but because he believed in the seeds of loyalty that grew and flourished with every day their friendship strengthened. 

“You know…I used to dream about the world when I was younger, about making some daring escape on my own. I would have done it back then for sure. Too innocent, too ignorant of all the darkness that’s out there. But even if I had known about bandits and knights and all the ways I could hurt myself without anyone there to help, the one thing that held me back was…myself.” Madara reached up to play with the shorter hairs growing around his face. “She stole me for the power that I was born with and I hate her but she’s never tried to hurt me as long as I stay. What if I ran and got caught again by someone who didn’t treat me as well?” 

“Keeping you locked in a tower doesn’t really strike me as treating you well,” Tobirama murmured under his breath. When Madara flashed him a grin he knew he’d been heard. 

“Of course that’s the part that you would comment on. You’re a good person. From what I know of people, anyway.” 

As careful as he had ever been, Tobirama took a step forward to bring them closer. “In what way?”

“Don’t play coy, we both know you’re curious as hell about why that witch keeps me here. I mentioned flat out that I have some kind of power and you still don’t ask. You’re always so careful about making me feel safe.” Madara's lips twisted in a wry expression as though acknowledging his own vulnerabilities.

“Your secrets cannot be my own unless you choose to entrust me with them.” There was really no point in denying that he was curious but even as he realized that he hadn’t been quite as subtle as he imagined Tobirama hoped to impress that he had no intentions of forcing anything the other didn’t want to tell him. He had learned a long time ago that trust was something earned, not asked for. 

His efforts were clearly appreciated. Swinging back from the window, Madara set his feet on the floor and smiled warmly. The expression suited him probably more than he’d ever been told. 

“I trust you with my life,” he declared. 

“Poor taste,” Tobirama couldn’t help but tease. He smiled to himself when Madara roared with laughter. 

“Maybe. But they’re my secrets and I’ll give them to whoever I please, so there!” 

Just hearing those words sent the heart in Tobirama’s chest galloping double time and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward on to the balls of his feet as the mystery he had turned over in his mind a thousand times unfurled itself before him. 

“You might have noticed that my hair is just a little long,” Madara began with a touch of sarcasm. “She won’t let me cut it. I don’t know how or why, she’s never bothered to explain, but my hair has some kind of magical properties – healing properties – and the longer it is the more potent the magic becomes. If I cut it short I would be able to heal small cuts and scrapes. With it long as it is now the power is so strong that my healing reverses the signs of aging.”

“Sweet flame…”

“It’s why she keeps me trapped here. She might look young but that witch is ancient, old enough to be my great grandmother. But with the power I have in me she can stay young and beautiful. Or at least she thinks she’s beautiful.” He snorted in obvious disagreement. 

Completely unsure of how to respond, all Tobirama could think to say was, “She’s not my type.” 

Madara blinked. Blinked again. Then his head tilted back and once again he roared with unfettered laughter. It was far from attractive, brash and quite similar to the bray of a donkey, and Tobirama admitted with the solemn taste of defeat on his tongue that he had never been more in love. It was a laugh that had never been taught shame or self-consciousness, beautiful in its innocence. 

“Good to know that you have no plans to use me as bait,” Madara declared when he was able to draw breath again.

“Setting aside the vomit I can feel rising in my throat at the very thought, I would never use someone in such a deceitful manner.” Reaching up to tug at a lock of his own hair, Tobirama eyed the dark braid so long it could loop several times around the entire room. “So. Magic hair. I really should have been expecting that and yet somehow I was not.”

“I guess it’s nice to be the one with new and interesting information for once.” 

The two of them shared a look and from that moment on something very subtle changed between them. 

Meat had never been so plentiful in their home as the days now with Tobirama making the journey through the forest every chance he had between working for the farmer who paid him so little. It didn’t occur to him how deeply he’d buried his head in the clouds until Hashirama greeted him home one night and asked with a grin if he would ever get to meet the one who had captured his aniki’s heart. Tobirama had made a point of holding off on another visit the next day just to spend some time with his sibling. Sweet Hashirama was such a good little brother. It was hard to believe he had ever done anything to deserve a love like the one they shared. 

Over the months that followed Madara very nearly followed him away from the tower on three different occasions. Though he never quite made it past his own balcony Tobirama could see the way his gaze lingered on the snow drifts with curiosity and wonder, how he traced the shapes of spring with naked longing in dark eyes. 

“What’s really holding you back?” he asked one day when he had stayed perhaps a little later than he usually would have.

“Her,” Madara whispered. “I want to leave and never come back but…what if she follows? What if she finds me?” He paused and looked away with something like pain etched in to his features. “What if she hurts you? After everything you’ve done for me I can’t imagine repaying your kindness by leading her straight to you.”

“I can protect myself,” Tobirama reminded his friend, daring to step close enough for their arms to brush together. Small touches were all he ever allowed himself. 

The minutes passed but he held his silence, allowing the other to follow whatever paths his thoughts had led him down. When their eyes met again he was surprised to see that all gravity had faded and instead a mischievous grin was looking back at him. 

“Can you protect yourself from this?” Madara demanded, both hands raised as though to give a solid shove. 

He was frozen halfway through the motion by a voice calling out from below. 

“Madara, let down your hair!” Both of them looked at each other in panic even as Madara slid off the windowsill and moved towards the anchor on muscle memory alone. 

“She’s supposed to be gone for hours!” he hissed. “What do we do?”

“Don’t keep her waiting. Keep her attention away from the window once she’s up here so that I can slip out. I’ve told you before I can climb down on my own, don’t worry.” Tobirama make shooing motions with both hands to hurry the other along. Only when Madara finally leaned down to begin looping the end of his hair around the metal ring did Tobirama turn and madly search for a place to hide. 

There wasn’t much, even less that was close enough to the window that he could sneak out undetected. For once in his life he cursed his own tall stature as he discarded a standing mirror that would have been perfect were it not two heads shorter than him and too thin to crouch behind. To the other side of the window there lay a sizable storage chest he might have fit in but the noise he would have made climbing out vetoed that option even before he checked whether there was enough room inside. A frantic noise from behind sent Tobirama scrambling in to the only viable hiding spot he was able to see. 

Usually it was children who hid themselves behind the drapery and thought themselves concealed. He could only pray that the witch didn’t think to look down at her own feet lest she spy his. 

Forcing himself to keep still as he listened to the sounds of the witch he’d heard so much about clambering in to the dungeon she had created was probably the hardest thing Tobirama had ever done. Her weight made less noise than the voluminous robes he had once seen her in, silk and satin whispering as they dragged across the wooden frame. Her shadow fell over him and for a single heartbeat he felt the very blood in his veins go cold thinking that she’d seen him. Then it moved away and Madara's voice captured her attention, his only opening.

“You said you’d be gone longer,” his friend snarled. 

“It isn’t for you to wonder at my comings and goings.” Her voice was melodic in the way Tobirama had always imagined an evil witch’s might be, honeyed and soft to draw you in until the frost hidden in her words bit and snapped, striking just at the moment one was foolish enough to trust her. 

“Hmph, I’ll wonder at whatever I please.” 

Praying that his friend wouldn’t go overboard in his attempts to keep drawing attention, Tobirama peeked around the curtain and barely held in a sigh of relief to see that the coast was clear. He wasted no time slipping over to the window and sliding on to it, movements as fast as he dared to make them without allowing his clothing to give him away with their rustling. Madara's eyes flicked over to meet his own in farewell but it was only a moment. As he turned himself around to descend feet first he could hear the other man give vent to a loud grumble. 

“And how many new babies did you kidnap while you were away today? None? Ah, I suppose you stopped and gobbled them up for your lunch then. Is that why you’re back so soon? Too full from your snac-!”

His voice cut off with the ringing sound of a slap and Tobirama went still just out of sight, eyes wide, glaring at the stone between him and the woman he so desperately wished did not exist. 

“Do not forget that I hold your life in my hands,” the woman’s voice hissed, all softness forgotten. “It is only by my mercy that you aren’t chained to the walls with only bread and butter to soothe the aching emptiness in your belly – or would you rather a taste of such a life to remind you of your place?” 

“No,” Madara surrendered. Even without being able to see him anymore Tobirama could hear the defeat in his tone. Fingers clenching against the bricks until they scraped and bled, he clung to the side of the tower and wished death upon the evil within it. Never had he hated another person so much. He wasn’t even sure she truly qualified as a person, barely human in his eyes after all the things he’d heard of her, and that opinion was only solidified as he bent all of his willpower in to convincing himself not to climb back inside and give her a taste of his bloodied fists. 

Only the knowledge that doing so would make things worse for the one he wished to protect held him back. 

“Say my name,” the witch purred. “Go on, answer me properly this time. Would you like a taste of what you truly deserve, my little magic boy?” 

“No, Kaguya-sama.”

“Ah, I do so love the sweet music of obedience when you say my name. Go. Begone to your room. You may count yourself lucky if I see fit to bring you your dinner after such offensive behavior.”

Though he waited Tobirama heard nothing more after the sound of Madara freeing his hair and dragging it all with him to one of the walled off areas that Tobirama had never asked to see. Bedrooms were private places and for someone afforded so little privacy he’d never seen fit to invade Madara's. 

Climbing down was as arduous yet uneventful as he imagined it would be. By the time he reached the bottom his arms were nearly ready to fall off and his fingers had all gone entirely numb. After shaking out his limbs and resting until the sensation came back Tobirama considered whether he should wait a little longer until darkness fell, dark skies offering what little protection they could against wandering eyes that might look out the window at just the wrong time. In the end he decided that it would be just as easy to spot him then as it would now and someone who just returned home was less likely to be gazing out at the world than someone settled in for the evening. His heart hammered in his throat as he took off across the hidden grove like a rabbit fleeing from a wolf’s jaws. 

Hashirama greeted him with a smile when he came home, stumbling through the front door with no memory of his journey back through the woods. Worry replaced his usual cheer as soon as he took in the expression on his brother’s face.

“I’ve just made tea!” he said. “Come, sit! What on earth is wrong?” 

Like a little mother hen the younger man fluttered around their modest kitchen, cups rattling together when he pulled out too many for just the pair of them, lips pursed anxiously until he finally made it back to the table with the promised tea. With all his running around it had probably gone half cold but Tobirama found he didn’t mind. It was nice to be cared for, even in the moments like now when he felt a little guilty about it. He should have been the one taking care of Hashirama as the older sibling. 

“You look like you’ve been summoned before the royal court!” 

“Worse than that.” Tobirama gratefully accepted the tea that slid across the table towards him. “I just came face to face with the urge to take the life of another human being. And I know that I would have felt no guilt for it.” 

“Oh my…” Hashirama swallowed but – bless his soul – there was no judgement on his face. 

Unable to look away from the dark liquid steaming before him, Tobirama drew in a breath and let it back out slowly. “I should have been honest with you a long time ago. Will you listen to my story?” 

“Always. You’re allowed your secrets Anija!” His brother’s voice was so full of love and understanding that it made him ache. “If you trust me with them I would love to hear what you have to say.” When he finally looked up Hashirama was beaming as though to share things between them was a great gift rather than simply the way it should have been from the very start. 

So Tobirama told him the truth about where he had been disappearing to over the past year. He told Hashirama about the young man he had met locked away in a tower, though he did not reveal why. That was not his secret to tell. He described the witch who kept his friend locked away and admitted that he hadn’t the faintest idea of what her true powers really were. When he had said all the words that he could force along his tongue he fell silent and waited to hear the verdict, the opinion, of one who thought so differently than himself. 

He was startled by the hand that reached across to take his own. 

“You love him,” was the first thing his brother said. 

“I don’t know how you do that,” Tobirama murmured. “How you just look at someone and see how they feel even when they don’t say it.” 

“Well of course you never have to say anything, Anija, I always know what’s in your heart!” 

Hashirama squeezed his fingers a little tighter and Tobirama the sensation deep inside his chest. 

“This world does not deserve you, Otouto. I…you’re right. There might be some feelings on my part. But you understand why I can’t say anything to him?” He was both glad and disheartened to see the other nod. 

“Do you have a plan?” Hashirama asked. 

“Yes.” Tobirama chewed his bottom lip with thought. “I knew the moment I heard his story that I wanted to help him escape but of course he’ll need somewhere to go. I want to bring him here. My hunting can keep us all fed and if I’m not traipsing through the forest so often I’ll have time to see about picking up extra work somewhere else. You would like him. And if there’s anyone that would be a good friend for someone in his situation it would be you.” 

“I can’t wait to meet him!” 

Chest spasming with the clenching of his heart, Tobirama bowed his head. “You’re okay with this?” 

“Of course! Goodness, I can’t believe you haven’t spirited him away already and hidden him under your bed!” While Hashirama's mouth turned up with a little giggle Tobirama felt his cheeks grow warm. Just imagining such a scenario had him forcibly moving his thoughts elsewhere. He didn’t want to think about how much he would enjoy Madara in any sort of context concerning his bedroom. Not with his little brother right there.

Knowing that he had Hashirama's blessing was a weight off his chest that he hadn’t acknowledged was even there until it was gone. The two of them had always been close enough that keeping any sort of secret felt wrong no matter what the younger said. Freeing himself of that guilt made each step lighter as he disappeared in to the woods the next time he was able to slip away, mumbling promises to himself under his breath that the next time he entered these trees it would be in search of food and nothing more. 

With his head so lost in thoughts of the future and all the many ways it could play out his trip to the hidden oasis flew by almost without notice. His feet tread along the familiar path on muscle memory alone while he tried to imagine what expression Madara would wear the first time his feet touched grass, how quickly his body would tire when travelling long distances for the first time, what expression he might wear to see the hustle and bustle of a real village after a lifetime of quiet solitude. It was hardly the first time he had fantasized about such things but they had never had such an immediate taste of anticipation before. 

It was only when he had made his way through the passage and looked up to see a familiar blue strip of silk hanging in the window that he realized how lucky he’d been with his timing, how carelessly he had crashed through the forest in his rush to get here. All it would take would be one unexpected meeting with the witch and everything would be ruined. Neither he nor Madara knew where she went during the times she left him alone in the tower but neither truly cared to know. She was gone. That was all that mattered. 

“Madara,” he called up, excitement tight in his voice. “Let down your hair!” 

He only needed to wait half a minute before coil after impossible coil came flowing down to brush the earth, a scant few inches longer than it had been the day he first made this climb. After the amount of times it had been since then Tobirama’s arms were stronger than ever and he pulled himself up the side of the tower with a speed that would have impressed himself but a few months before. 

Full of hope and happiness after speaking with his brother, it felt like nothing less than a cold knife in the heart when Tobirama crawled over the windowsill to be confronted with the sight of a purpling bruise on Madara's cheek. His friend stood tall and proud in the face of his stare, undoubtedly aware of why, refusing to be ashamed of his own situation. It wasn’t the first time Tobirama had seen a mark like that on the other man but it was the first time he’d understood that it wasn’t a result of clumsiness or any sort of accident. Just the sight of it had his blood boiling with rage all over again.

“I know what you’re going to say–” Madara began. Tobirama cut him off. 

“Come with me.”

His words gave the other pause. “Okay, so I didn’t know you were going to say that. I should have, you’ve said it before, but I thought…”

“You don’t need me to tell you that how she treats you is wrong, you’re not stupid.”

“Damn right!”

“Please,” stepping forward, Tobirama dared to be so bold as to take his friend’s hand. “Come with me. My brother has already agreed that you can stay with us. I can show you anything you want to see and teach you anything you want to learn. Come with me. Let me take you away from here.”

To his great surprise Madara did not pull away, only turned his head to look out the window with a familiar distant gaze. He wanted to, that much was obvious, wanted to know what it was to be entirely in control of his own destiny. 

“I would stay with you?” he murmured. 

“For as long as you want to.”

“You don’t think you’d get tired of me pointing out when you’re being a boor?” Madara's grin was sharp and yet so very fragile, steel encasing glass so ready to shatter. 

“I could never tire of you in any way,” Tobirama admitted. It was perhaps a bit too honest but if it got him the results he’d been trying to achieve for an entire year then it was worth the pain of laying his heart bare. Madara's freedom was worth everything he had to give and more. 

Much to his pleasure he was not met with disgust or dismay or even the sort of hesitance that comes before rejection. Instead he was blessed with the sight of a warm pink spreading over Madara's pale cheeks, chin ducking in to his wide collar almost shyly and then immediately jerking upright in defiance of his own emotions. Watching him navigate the roller coaster of his heart would always be a pleasure and an amusement both. 

Breathing deeply with determination in his eyes Madara took a single step forward, bringing them closer than they ever had been before, close enough to feel the heat of each other’s bodies, sharing air as their gazes locked. 

“Ask me one more time,” he demanded. 

“Come with me.”

“Okay.” 

Unlike all the other times they had spoken these exact same words there was something different in him now, a straightness in his spine, a steadiness in his voice. Tobirama felt almost as though his heart were fluttering in his throat. Difficult as it was he managed somehow not to float straight off the ground as a pink tongue flicked out to wet Madara's lips and then his friend was leaning forward, closer than close, brushing their mouths together with all the innocence of one who knew nothing of the world but the feelings he carried in his heart. 

“You’re sure?” Tobirama whispered. 

“Of you? Yes.”

While he was still trying to breathe past the thunder in his ears he found himself rather pleasantly distracted by the touch of lips against his own once more and this time he had enough wits about him to respond in kind, drinking in the sweet sounds that followed like fine wine. He had only kissed one boy before. Puberty had left him restless, curious, all too aware of the way some of the eyes of others near his age had followed him around. His explorations then had been chaste and unsatisfying enough that he turned his attention away from any sort of intimate pursuits – that is, until the day he realized exactly how attached he had become to the boy in the tower. 

He was still flying high with his head in the clouds when they parted, Madara's hand tightening where they were still linked between them. Nothing in his life so far had ever quite compared to the joy he felt when he saw his friend, his most precious hidden treasure, move to anchor his hair in its usual place. When he secured it through the ring bolted to the floor he did so at the opposite end from his own head to allow himself a rope with which to climb down. 

“You’ll follow after?” he asked, already moving to the window. 

“Always,” Tobirama promised. “Wherever you go, so long as you’ll have me, I will follow.” 

“Here’s hoping you enjoy the view from behind then.” Filled with the wild energy of escape, Madara sent him a wink before clambering up and over the sill. He waited just long enough to look back and make sure that Tobirama had taken the ends of his hair to lower him down with. 

Then he took a tight grip with both hands, closed his eyes, and with a smile unlike anything Tobirama had ever seen before he put his trust in to another’s hands along with his weight. Watching his head disappear from sight was sweet. Hearing his voice give a triumphant crow only moments later was even sweeter. The strain on his muscles was next to nothing as Tobirama fed the massive braid of magic hair downward bit by bit; strangely he found the most difficult part was convincing himself not to cry. An odd feeling. He’d never been the type to get overwhelmed by his emotions like that. 

It took several minutes longer than his own descent would have for Madara to reach the bottom. Tobirama made sure the journey downward remained slow and steady to make him as comfortable and unafraid as possible. Only when he felt the line go slack did he allow his stance to waver and his arms to relax and the second he was sure the other had reached the ground he was dashing over to the window to look down. 

Madara's neck craned back to look up at him, on hand cupped around his mouth while the other waved madly through the air.

“Tobirama,” he called, “let down my hair!” Then he looked down at his own feet and even from so far above his voice could be heard crying out with excitement. “It tickles! The grass tickles! This is amazing!” 

No matter how quickly he was able to tear his eyes away Tobirama was doomed. There was no denying the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes any longer, though he consoled himself that they were at least tears of joy. Tears for the happiest he had ever been in his entire life. In this moment he could not imagine anything else that he could possibly wish for. 

He should have known the universe would prove him wrong. After freeing the hair from its anchor for what he hoped would be the very last time it was only one quick-as-possible climb down familiar stones before he too was standing in the lush grass and admiring the wonder on Madara's beautiful face, laughing at the way dark hair dragged along the earth unattended. Though he knew that they should hurry away from this place he couldn’t quite bring himself to break the moment until finally the other’s eyes returned to him and pale hands reached for his own. 

This, this was the moment in which he could ask for nothing more, he realized. With Madara's fingers between his own he had everything he could ever need. 

“I did it.” Words whispered thick with disbelief, sharp with joy, lighter than the air they breathed. 

“Welcome to the world,” Tobirama whispered back. 

“Take me away from here,” Madara demanded. “Take…take me home. I’ve never had a home before.” 

“You can have one with me.” 

Where the witch had gone they did not know. How she would react to finding her captive missing they had no idea. Tobirama knew only one thing for sure as he slipped off his shoes to offer the other and led them towards the passageway in to the rest of the world. 

He would protect this man no matter what. Whatever the future held he would fight to protect this precious treasure that he had found, that he had freed, that he had fallen in love with and never looked back. 

[vannahfanfics]

Oooo, #7 please!

Yaaaas! I could scream about my OTPS until the end of time. Keep in mind that these are kinda normie, and more interesting ships of mine fall under the alternate question of rarepairs, so if you’re interested, someone ask ;)

Number Ten- Roxas and Xion

Kingdom Hearts is one of my all-time favorite game series. I actually began with Days, and Roxas has had my heart ever since then. Roxas and Xion’s relationship is just so pure and devoted, and it just has me some kind of way. 

Number Nine- Renzo Shima and Izumo Kamiki

(Ugh, there are no good GIFs of the two of them, so ignore Rin standing there like a moron and focus on my beautiful pink-haired boy and his purple-haired girlfriend). 

The manga could still go many ways at this point, but ever since their initial interactions, I just loved the idea of the two together. Kamiki is so serious and no-nonsense, while Renzo is just all-nonsense. Absolute perfection. Kamiki’s arc in particular had me feeling some kind of way about them, urgh, my heart! 

Number Eight- Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser

Want to talk about made for each other? These fools. I could write a thesis just on the ways they’ve grown as characters just by interacting with each other. I mean, we’re just practically waiting for Gray to confess his love to her any chapter now! Juvia has matured a lot from “crazy stalker” and honestly, you go, sis. Their love is so deep and pure and it just makes me want to cry. I love them. 

Number Seven- Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia

Ugh, another match made in Heaven. I could go on for days. Any implications of romance aside, their relationship is still so deep and loving and meaningful that it just brings a tear to my eye. You want to talk about ultimate trust and devotion? These two, right here. They are the literal definition of ride or die. My heart. 

Number Six- Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga

Though the writing ultimately failed them, I still love this ship. Potential-wise, they are gorgeous. Two cute beans being cute together? Holy shit! Plus, I love that Naruto is an inspiration to Hinata and I love to think that he encourages her growth, and honestly, Hinata is the ultimate partner for him. He needs someone who can stand behind him and be a source of strength when he begins to doubt himself. They lift each other up in their own unique ways, and it’s just magical. Plus, they are so shy and domestic. Goals. 

Number Five- Gajeel Redfox and Levy McGarden

“You’re small, so stay beside me”? FUCKING ICONIC. To be honest, I always fancied the two based on the subtle hints Mashima gave us, but when that arc hit, man, I was on this ship for life. Then the kiss when he was drowning? The tearful confession when he thought he was going to die? Ugh, man, I’m in my feels. “The big, buff grumpy man is soft for his small wife” is the ultimate trope, confirmed. 

Number Four- Sanji and Nami

Honestly, most of the reason I like this ship is just pure aesthetic. I mean, look at them. Beautiful couple. Of course, at the heart of it all is how they treat one another. Sanji and Nami have such subtle, interwoven, masterful nuance that it’s hard not to envision some kind of connection between them. I love them!

Number Three- Tohru Honda and Kyo Sohma

Fruits Basket was the first anime I ever watched in entirety and the first manga I ever read. I was so excited to hear it was remastered for its anniversary, and that the anime would hopefully span the length of the manga! Honestly, this romance defined a generation. The way Kyo falling in love with her is just so masterfully written that it just makes me soft. God, my heart. 

Number Two- Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro

This one snuck up on me. Before the infamous chapter, I fancied the two; their interactions were fun and aesthetically they’re an interesting combo, but that scene? Kaminari looking into the distance as he thought of the person most important to him, and it was her? Fucking blastoff, man, right up here. I love them so much it hurts. I want nothing but good things for them. I’m crying. 

Number One- Shikamaru Nara and Temari

Ultimate OTP. I will ship them in Hell. The most well-written and nuanced relationship in Naruto and I will die on this hill. They are just such a combo, two dorks who know nothing about love but somehow bungle into it anyway. The looks. The words. The subtlety of blossoming feelings all beginning with mutual respect. Perfection. 100,000,000/10. 

Honorable mentions: Roy Mustang x Riza (FullMetal Alchemist), Sora x Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Uryu Ishida x Orihime Inoue (Bleach), Ichigo Kurosaki x Orihime Inoue (Bleach), Erza Scarlet x Jellal Hernandez (Fairy Tail), Ban x Elaine (The Seven Deadly Sins), Katsuki Bakugo x Ochako Uraraka (My Hero Academia), Izuku Midoriya x Ochako Uraraka (My Hero Academia), Shoto Todoroki x Momo Yaoyaorozu (My Hero Academia) 

[popmusicu]

My favorite soundtracks from video games

Monkey Island: Main theme 

What a suspenseful beginning. The slow buildup, the soft bongo, light percussion, and then.....BAM!!! All these beautiful instruments come together to create one of my favorite video game intros. It perfectly encapsulates the Monkey Island games and their aesthetic. In a humorous game inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride, what better soundtrack could there be than this, a so-called “pirate reggae” style of music?

Secret of Mana: The Color of the Summer Sky

Fun and sweet town tunes are a staple of RPGs, Dragon Quest, Illusion of Gaia, Super Mario RPG, etc, they all have them. But what makes Secret of Mana’s special to me is nostalgia. This was one of the first games I played and actually got really far in it without my siblings' help. All of its music and locations are so special, but the first time i heard the town theme stands out. Going from the wild fighting monsters to this warm and colorful village feels great, it immediately puts you in a cheery mood and even the shopkeepers can’t help but dance to it.

 And it becomes even more special when contrasted to Phantom and a Rose, the sad theme that plays when you’re forced to leave the village.

Katamari Damacy: Katamari Mambo

I recommend this soundtrack for when you feel tired, I'm almost 100% sure it will give you energy. 

The whole Katamari OST is something truly unique, and that’s because that was the intention of the music director Yuu Miyake. He and his team had complete control of the sound design in the game, so they focused on making whatever sounded good and fitted best. This resulted in a shibuya-key style album with jazz and samba influences that features vocals by many j-pop artists and anime voice actors.

I love this album so much, every song is so different from the last one, but they still all feel cohesive. My favorite has to be Katamari Mambo, something about it is so addicting to listen to. Ka-tama-ri Mambo de~

Doom: All of it 

You are the Doom Slayer, woken from your slumber and in a mission to brutally destroy every demon that crosses your path. The soundtrack that accompanies you in your journey? Industrial Metal. 

It’s just perfect.

Breath of the Wild: Stables and Kass‘ Theme

Breath of the Wild is probably my favorite game of all time, and the sound design is one of the many reasons why I love it.

The stables theme is so soothing and comforting, when you hear it you immediately know that you’re safe and there are people around. Every time I traveled to a new location and suddenly heard the guitar and bongo I got so excited because I didn't expect a stable to be there. Like when i was in the snowy mountains, low on health and thinking that i was all alone and about to die, but then i heard the stable theme and rushed to get there. It really helps cement the idea that while it seems like Hyrule is desolate, there are still small communities here and there, doing their own thing.

Super Mario Galaxy: Rosalina in the Observatory 2

This game makes me emotional, even though it’s not very plot heavy (because it’s a Mario game), Rosalina’s backstory impacted me a lot when i first played this game years ago. Going into the observatory and hearing this song before knowing the whole story is nice, but listening to it knowing what happened adds something more emotional to it for me. The fact that the ship and the Lumas became Rosalina’s home make this song bittersweet. The observatory is where she tells her story of being left alone in the galaxy which is very sad, but it’s also where the Lumas gather around and remind her that she’s not all alone after all. And i think this tune encapsulates that feeling, a little melancholic but hopeful and uplifting, and i really like it.

Life is Strange: Mountains - Message to Bears

Every time I play this part of the game and this song starts playing I tear up. I love this song not because it makes me happy or feel good, but because of the pressure it puts on my chest. The rapid beat and overwhelming instrumental simulate the anxiousness you feel when desperately hoping that Rachel is alive. And the lyrics only add to that feeling; they repeat, over and over, a promise to run away to something better or at least different, but in the end it stays as only an unfulfilled promise.

Ib: Game Over

The song’s name is actually El Sueño de la Muñeca by Agustín Barrios. I just think it’s so random that the creator of the game decided to use this as the game over theme. It’s such a nice guitar composition and i’m glad i found out about it through Ib. 

Silent Hill 4: The Room: Drops of shame and The Suicidal Clock Chime

Paranoia in song form. Two great compositions by Akira Yamaoka for a pretty good game (in my opinion). The atmosphere in these songs is so suffocating, it emanates despair and the feeling of someone being near. The soundtrack of Silent Hill is a pretty big reason for me not finishing the games, I get too scared. But I love listening to the OST whenever because it makes for good background music.

Animal Crossing: K.K. Metal.

Of course, animal crossing is known for it’s amazing songs, especially the ones by the humble superstar K.K. Slider. He’s given us bops such as Bubblegum K.K, Stale Cupcakes, Rockin’ K.K, among others. All of them performed on guitar and accompanied only by his beautiful vocals.

So what does he do when performing a metal song and he needs to shred like on an electric guitar but he doesn’t have one? He sings the arpeggios. And it would be the cutest thing ever, except him howling right after wins the prize.

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja 5: Opening Theme

In the beginning I said the opening of Monkey Island might be my favorite game intro, but actually, the Ultimate Ninja 5 OP is a strong contender for the top spot. That piano and ominous deep vocals in the very beginning used to be my favorite thing about this game, and i would actually close and open the game just to see the intro cutscene with naruto emanating red light and transforming into his four tailed fox. And then there’s of course the explosion of classic naruto action music, but mixed with something darker and some beautiful piano melodies.

Pokemon Sun and Moon: Abandoned Thrifty Megamart

This was a really cool part in Pokemon Moon. The song by itself would sound good, but very normal and typical, so the effects make it so much better. The background supermarket static effect is great, and also the fact that from time to time the sound will stop working in one of your earbuds is a fun touch. It all makes for the perfect song to a spooky part in the game where at the end of the section you find the best pokemon of all creeping on you, Mimikyu.

Touhou Project 8: Imperishable Night: Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke and Immaterial and Missing Power: Doll Judgement

Touhou has too many good songs, but for the sake of not making this 4k words long i decided to only include two. 

Fujiwara no Mokou is my favorite Touhou character and her theme song is equally as cool as her. A little soft and forgiving in certain parts, but fast and exciting in others. Like all Touhou enemy songs it perfectly fits her attack patterns and is incredibly rhythmic and catchy. I also really like the arrangements fans make of this song, they’re so talented and transform these themes into something so different.

And speaking of arrangements, IaMP’s Doll Judgement is a jazz version of Alice’s original theme exclusive to the fighting game. When i first played IaMP and heard this version i had to search for it on youtube because i liked it so much. It’s so smooth and a little theatrical, and it keeps the sound that made the original such a classic for fans, so much so that i might even like it better than the original.

  There are many other songs from video games that i love, but i don’t think i can mention them all without making this post 10 pages long, so i’m going to leave it to here. 

-Violeta Silva

[amanda-digs-okay]

I was tagged by @elellan, thank you!💛

Rules: tag 9 people you would like to get to know better

Top 3 ships:

Magnus Bane x Alec Lightwood (The Mortal Instruments): Honestly their relationship is probably the healthiest one in the entire series and I love both characters

Sasuke Uchiha x Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto): Listen, listen. I’m all about “let there be two guys who can have an affectionate friendship” but however! Sasuke cares more about Naruto than his own wife, they balance each other out, I love the dynamic. Also, they were each other’s first kiss. Accidental, sure, but it was still a thing. I’m now realizing I’m just gonna make a big post about this later considering Naruto is my hyperfixation rn

Sokka x Toph (Avatar: The Last Airbender): This will be the hill that I die on honestly. 5-8 year old me wanted them together and nothing has changed since then. I feel like both of them are the perfect mixture of serious and goofy and I just honestly think they’d be great together

Last Movie You Watched:

The Kissing Booth, 0/10 recommend honestly. My best friend and I watched it together over FaceTime because we heard that it was great but ended up roasting it the entire time

Reading:

The Hollow by Nora Roberts, it’s part of a horror trilogy I’m reading (but it’s going so slow oof). Once I finish the trilogy I’ll probably read one of the books on my list to read heh

What Food Are You Craving Right Now:

I could go for some lasagna or chicken alfredo. I’m in a pasta mood

Tagging: @raiderwithshotgun @beckily @cullenvhenan @star--nymph @radioactiveblight @mars-colony @ginnyq @edencalder @this-is-something-idk-what