#introductions are always rough aren't they?

[eris-the-phantom-thief]

“Coming up!” Hana skated over to get her another drink and soon had it placed down in front of her. When she sat it down she took a moment to scan Catherine.

Huh…I feel like I’ve seen her before…but where..?

Something about her…unsettled her.

But why?

She couldn’t quite out her finger on why. Either way, she couldn’t very easily vocalize it.

Not without risking her job.

This chick feels like a walking red flag… but I might as well just do my job and hope nothing freaky happens…

( eris-the-phantom-thief. ) ━━━━━━ Hana skated around the stray sheep serving drinks, when she spotted…an unfamiliar girl in white. “Huh…” Is she…waiting for someone?

     ❛  uggh,  this  is  the  last  time  i’m  inviting  marina  out.  ❜   with  a  roll  of  your  eyes,  you  nurse  your  finished martini glass,  sucking  your  teeth  when  you  saw  the  woman’s  message  regarding  her  needing  to  work.  sitting  back  in  the  booth,  you  peruse  the  menu  (  as  if  you  have  not  been  here  multiple  times  )  and  settle  on  a  pizza  for  the  night.  looking  up,  you  see  the  waitress  skating  by,  causing  you  to  raise  an  eyebrow.  is  she  new?  you  don’t  think  you’ve  seen  this  one  before.  when  eye  contact  is  met,  you  flag  her  down. 

❛  can  I  have  the   berry  punch?  I  heard  that  beer  is  really  good!  ❜  you  give  her  your  sweetest  smile,  ❛  kinda  got  stood  up,   so  it’s  just  me  tonight  .  .  .  unless  you  can  find  a  nice,  hot  guy   to  join  me.  ~  ❜

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fic recs: time travel AU

I'm finally getting around to recommending some good Sakura-centric time travel fics! There are plenty of them out there and they can be kind repetitive, but I always eat them up. Typically speaking, I really don't care much for the whole introduction bit at the start where it's the actual process of her being sent back... So just make it past there before you decide whether or not to continue!!! Also, I'm starting to think this list is getting kinda long, so maybe I'll do a second one?

I've been dying to post some of these fics in a list, so please enjoy!

Started: 2024.08.16

Last Updated: 2024.08.26

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Sakura - lilac haze || ffn/ao3 || M || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

AU. Non-Canon. Time Travel. Please see inside for full warnings. Cross posted on Ao3. On his deathbed he was granted eternal peace and place to rest for all of time. Of course that was not appealing to him. Ever unpredictable to the end he had a counter offer. One that the Sage had to consider. In which Sakura's going to have a rough time. A really rough time.

If there is one thing I want you to take away from this list, it is this fic right here. I kid you not, Sakura is one of the best fics I have ever read. I have never felt so gutted, so heartbroken, so giddy, so stressed, all from one work. It's a masterpiece all while being criminally underrated. The characterizations and storytelling are beautifully done. You feel for the characters and the relationships formed along the way are truly great. Please share this author some love.

Check TWs before hand!!

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The Misadventures of Kakashi and the Girl From No Where - Goldfishlover73 || ao3 || kakasaku || M || time travel AU || complete

When a girl called Sakura seemingly falls in the sky, Kakashi is skeptical. Far more skeptical than the rest of Team Minato are. War is approaching quickly and this strange girl is leaving more questions than answers in her wake, Kakashi must decide where his trust and loyalties lie in a constantly changing world.

Told in the perspective of Kakashi in his youth! Really interesting take and I love how strong Sakura is in this in addition to the fact that we get to see a different side of Kakashi that we aren't used to.

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Anachronistic Drift  - Elesrea  || ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || incomplete

Her plan was flawless. Save Shisui. Save the world. Time-travel, Sakura-centric AU

Sakura spends years training to be sent back in time and save the world from Sasuke. Whilst masquerading as her younger self, she poses as an unofficial ANBU to stay anonymous in her efforts of changing the shinobi world for the better.

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Tourniquet - lilac haze || ffn || T || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

She was his tourniquet. She stopped the bleeding, she stopped his bleeding. She stopped his pain, his despair, his loneliness. She was the first face he saw. She was the first person he trusted. She was the first person to keep his secret. She was his tourniquet. He did not love her. He only loved the idea of her. SakuraXMinato. Time-Travel Fic. Alt. Universe

I quite honestly think this is a hidden gem amongst time travel AUs since I never see people recommending it, but Touriquet is so good! What's interesting here is that it isn't Sakura that's playing with time, but rather Minato. The night of the Nine-Tails attack, rather than dying, he is sent to the future where post-war Sakura is the one to find him and keep the former Hokage alive. It's a delicate situation and one which is kept a secret from many, but through Minato's depression and difficulties with his new life, Sakura becomes a close confident.

Same author as Sakura! I gotta read more of their works

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Armour-Sleeved Single Hit - thatdamnuchiha || ao3 || T || madasaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

Sasuke always told Sakura she was weak. Even after she trained with Tsunade for years he only had eyes for Naruto whom he considered strong. She would forever be invisible to him no matter how many mountains she toppled. Being a member of Team Seven despite Sasuke’s refusal to acknowledge her meant she got herself into her fair share of sticky situations. Getting stuck a hundred odd years in the past had to take the cake though. But she was just a weak little girl and compared to the shinobi of old she’d be ridiculously pathetic. Sasuke had said she was weak to him – a modern day shinobi who hadn’t been forced into battle after battle like they did in the Warring Clans Era. Obviously she’d be nothing more than a spec of dirt in the eyes of the Founders.

Sakura manages to find herself in founding-era Konoha! While trying to prove that medical ninja are capable fighters she unknowingly gains the affection of Madara Uchiha. After all, the Uchiha find beauty in strength. Super cute read!

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here are the fruits of your labor (would you like a cherry on top?) - snickiebear || ao3 || M || shisaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

Shisui smiles and it is unlike any smile she has seen before. She cannot remember the last time she had seen a smile. 

Sakura manages to fix everything and now tries to live her life in a past she doesn't know. Shisui is the first to find her and the two of them form a close relationship that continues through her journey of recovery.

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The Moon Knows Best - darth_healer || ao3 || E || madasaku || time travel AU || complete

The Moon has played a cruel trick on Madara. He's still home, but it's not the same. Instead of a tranquil forest, there's a colorful vibrant village. Instead of the cliffside he knows so well, it's a collection of Senju faces, one of which belongs to his good friend Hashirama. And instead of Hashirama, Madara is saddled with a very interesting, pink-haired girl. MadaSaku in which young Madara goes forward through time.

Madara finds himself far into the future where the first to stumble upon him is Sakura. He's such a brat, but his and Sakura's interactions are rather entertaining.

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In the Magic Hour - summersirius || ao3 || E || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

It's not perfect, but everything is beautiful. —Minato/Sakura

A sharingan mishap lands Sakura in the past where she drops down in front of team Minato. With her hope of returning to the present time dwindling, Sakura excepts her new life and tries to make the best of the situation and the new bonds that come with it. The dynamic between Sakura and the older generation is quite refreshing and her mentor relationship with the former team 7 is great.

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Stumble - writer168 || ao3/ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || complete

Sakura wanted to die.Sasori was fine with staying dead.But it seemed fate had other plans for them, because when they both wake up younger with blood pulsing through their veins, they had to remember how to live again.Time Travel AU

Sasori and Sakura are both sent back in time and they try to make a difference in their respective villages. Told in the perspective of both characters, but primarily Sakura. She ends up forming a pretty sweet bond with Ibiki and Genma (which I love) and they help her through some things. Sakura has a rough time

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A Twist in Time - wolf08 || ffn || sasusaku || T || time travel AU || complete

With Konoha on the verge of destruction, Sakura is sent on a last-resort mission to save her world by travelling to the past. Join her in coping with her old body's shortcomings, testing the natural laws of time, falling in love all over again, and rediscovering who she is.

With Sakura frustrated at being back to where she started in her becoming of a shinobi, she begins to train with Sasuke. This time around in her life, her relationship with her brooding teammate isn't so strained. Pretty cute read imo

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Return & Rehash - SpaceNugget11 || ffn || sasusaku || M || time travel AU || incomplete

"You," Sakura snarled with bared teeth. Sasuke gagged for air, clutching at her forearm, but she only pressed harder into him. Her green eyes crackled, and she wished she could burn him alive with the heat of her anger.

Sasuke and Sakura certainly did not end in their last life on goods terms and it is prevalent from the moment Sakura awakens and attacks her teammate.

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An Inch of Gold - KuriQuinn || ffn || sasusaku || T || time travel AU || complete

Team 7 is sent on a mission to investigate a disturbance outside of the village, where they encounter an unconscious girl in a crater. The mysterious Sarada insists she's a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf trying to rescue her teammates. When the team discovers she possesses a Sharingan, things become even more unbelievable. [Part of the Legacy of Fire Series]

Sarada lands herself back in time all while crashing into another team 7 mission gone wrong. An Inch of Gold is in multiple perspectives, but they're all done quite well. Sasuke and Sakura are obviously rather flustered by the situation and the fact they have to deal with it in front of the team makes it quite entertaining.

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These Eyes of Mine (I Can See) - tsukuyue || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

They've lost. Naruto was dead, killed at Kaguya’s hands. Along with him died any illusions of hope that they could win. They couldn’t win, but perhaps they wouldn’t need to. In attempts to stop the Fourth Shinobi War from ever occuring, Sakura is sent back in time to the moment of her birth. Protecting the people she cared about would be much easier if she knew all the facts. OR Where Sakura can see the dead, and Danzō deserves to die.

I'll be honest, I can't remember much, but I do remember that it was really good! I believe a large focus is the Uchiha massacre.

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Trials of Change - Espoiretreves || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

Haruno Sakura made a promise. Looking in the eyes of her Shisou and the reanimated Hokage, she took on the most important mission of her life. Go back in time and try to prevent the 4th Shinobi War. Now, Sakura is back to her 5-year-old body, with all the knowledge and haunting memories of the future. She vows to keep her precious people safe and stop certain events from happening, without altering the timeline too much. The trials her emotions and logic put her through have her questioning her very existence, but for the sake of peace, she has to push forward. No matter what.

If you love Shisui then you'll definitely like Trials of Change. Him and Sakura form the most wholesome friendship ever and try their best in taking down ROOT. A huge cast is present here and the whole thing is just great. It seems as if everyone has some character development lmao.

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Time Flies Like An Arrow - Katlou303 || ao3 || gen || K || time travel AU || complete

Sakura traveled back in time with the intent of changing everything, but something went wrong, and now she's four years old having nightmares about impossible monsters and losing friends she has yet to meet.

I always like the ones where Sakura isn't fully aware she time travelled. I find it interesting in this fic to see how oblivious Sakura is to her situation, she's a four year old in mind and body. However, she still feels the need to make a difference in the lives of the people around her.

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cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done.and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Sakura decides that her first order of business after traveling back in time is to infiltrate ROOT and that's exactly what she does. Sai, Shin, and Shisui are all great characters and team Ro is present as well. Very good!

Update: just found out it was recently completed!!

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Q: Do you guys like my little comments? If you look at my other lists you'll probably notice that I tend to reuse some of what I say (bc I'm lazy), but for the most part I try to add something new whenever I put a fic on a list. I know that descriptions aren't always very helpful, so I like to put a little something for y'all to get a better idea of what to expect!

Send me recs if you have any!!!

[peppermintquartz]

(Tommy's pov of this)

He's in the process of making sure the bird is ready to go when he turns and sees Howie, as well as two unfamiliar young guys following him.

Good-looking faces too. Maybe they should do the calendar next year. The shorter one has large, soulful eyes and a confident stride that speaks of military experience; the other is a tall, leggy man with a boyish smile and seems to be visibly thrumming with energy.

Of course they bring in the studs after I'm gone, Tommy thinks, half-exasperated that he's missed out on eye candy and half-amused at his own shallowness.

"Howie, hey!" Tommy says and embraces his former colleague and current friend. It's not always possible for them to meet up, but a life debt is not something Tommy will forget. "Long time."

Howie claps him on the back. It feels like a silent thank you, which, given the enormity of what they're going to do, the less said aloud the better.

Can't risk someone overhearing that they're going to steal a helicopter on a mere hunch.

Tommy knows he has a good poker face, and it's proven to be effective because no one seems to realize how nervous he is. They may cause an international incident if anything goes "pear-shaped", as his old instructor Winslow used to say, but Tommy isn't about to back out now.

"This is Tommy, Tommy Kinard," says Howie to the other two, telling them about him being a former member of the 118 and also about his being a fathead. At least Howie acknowledges that Tommy's grown out of it.

"Thanks to you," Tommy says. He sticks out his hand to the new faces.

Soulful Eyes grins when he grasps Tommy's hand. A firm grip, almost challenging. "Eddie Diaz."

Tommy smiles, feeling like he's found a kindred spirit. "Pleasure. And you are...?" He extends the hand to the other young guy.

"Uh, Evan," he says, eyes wide and curious like a puppy in a new environment. His hand is warm and dry. "E-Evan Buckley."

"Hi Evan." The splotch just over Evan's left eye is a birthmark, Tommy discovers. To his amusement, Evan doesn't let go of his hand, as if he's completely forgotten that they were just shaking hands in introduction. Tommy doesn't want to embarrass the guy, but he doesn't want to rudely snatch his hand away either. He opts for a slight tease. "I'm gonna need that hand to fly the chopper, kid."

"Oh! Oh, right. Sorry." Evan drops Tommy's hand like it's hot. His ears go red. Tommy thinks, That's so cute, and then sternly warns himself not to read too much into anything. He's not falling for a straight guy again, just because they're cute. And he's glad that he doesn't read too much into Evan's fluster because Evan says, "I was just, um, thinking, about Cap and Thena."

Bobby Nash must mean a great deal to Evan, judging by the way his gaze skitters from Tommy's face to the chopper and bounces lightly on his heels. For some reason, he reminds Tommy of Bambi.

Howie sticks his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, we're gonna need Hen to show soon with some coordinates. Can't go flying all over the Gulf of Mexico."

Tommy makes a mental note to re-check fuel levels. It's definitely topped up, but ninety minutes one way and ninety minutes back in what will definitely be rough conditions is not a walk in the park. Nevertheless, he keeps his tone light. "We'll do what we can."

A pair of headlights slide along the road that leads to harbor. Tommy doesn't really know if it's Hen, but his nerve is starting to give, so he says quickly, "Wait, I see a car pulling in. Might be her. Get in the backseat, strap yourselves in. Once I get Hen clear of Melton, we'll dash. Hopefully she has a good cover story..."

Eddie doesn't hesitate as he scrambles in, nearly knocking his head on the roof of the chopper.

Seeing that they aren't about to call him out on his fake calm demeanor, Tommy blows out his cheeks to center himself. Then he smiles, asking, "If we're all arrested, can I blame it on you, Howie?"

Howie snorts as he gets in next to Eddie. "Yeah I really twisted your arm with the 'Please help us save Cap and Athena'."

(In fact, Howie actually said, "Hen has a hunch, she won't let us help, but she''ll need a chopper. So I'm gonna need you to steal one for us to save Captain Nash and his wife." And Tommy agreed instantly. He trusted Hen Wilson's hunches too.)

"You know it's because of your irresistibly pretty face," Tommy quips as he helps guide Evan - the tallest of the three - in without hitting his head. "Alright, put those helmets on. Careful, Evan," he says when Evan nearly bounces the helmet off the bridge of his sharp nose.

It's a very nice nose. Be a shame to bruise it.

Fuel. And preflight. Tommy inhales sharply and gets into his seat as the three firefighters strap themselves in. It's a calming ritual by now, and he feels ready. He knows he is ready.

And Hen should be here by now.

"Alright. She's ready to go when we are," Tommy announces, patting the stick fondly. As he opens the door to get to the hangar, he says to the three men, "Don't touch anything. I'm gonna hang out near Melton and run intercept."

Howie rolls his eyes. Eddie holds up three fingers of his right hand, like a Scout's promise. "We'll behave."

Evan beams a dazzling smile at Tommy, like they're not actually about to commit a crime.

It's a good thing Tommy has to focus on flying into a hurricane, because otherwise his heart will be tripping all over itself to get Evan to smile like that once more.

Nope. No crushing on a straight guy, Kinard, we've been through this.

Instead, Tommy jogs towards the hangar where he sees Hen approaching Melton, holding a form that Tommy knows will not stand up to scrutiny.

Boy, if you can't convince someone, confuse them, Winslow used to say over drinks after their flying lessons. Act like you know exactly what you're doing and seventy percent of the time they'll let you get away with it.

Tommy takes a deep breath, puts on a smile, and walks into the light of the hangar.

--

edited on AO3

[edensown]

BE KIND TO ME. ; perfect landing —

note ★ a little something to get me out there while i continue designing my account . an introduction to what my blog will mainly focus on : human readers ;)

cw ★ reader grew up religious, mostly second person point of view.

in which a human falls so low that their lord can no longer hear them; so they have to make do with what they have.

if there was any sound familiar to you , it was the kyrie.

"kyrie eleison," a cantor sang at every mass; lord have mercy. sang to remind people the steadfast love of God, to remind them of His mercy. it is also, indirectly or not, a plead. you've always thought of it as one; a plead to ensure that when push comes to shove, and death comes above to collect you— it is peaceful. you're not angry, or sad, you're just... at peace. that's what you've always wished for yourself, atleast. that's what you've always wished for during the kyrie.

"kyrie eleison," they sang, you closed your eyes.

"christé eleison," they sang, you swayed to the tone.

"kyrie eleison." they sang, and you wished.

lord, be merciful. lord, be kind to me.

all you remember is falling.

falling down, and down, and down— past the soils of the earth and each their layers, past the searing innercore, likely, because you felt yourself burning. whether the fire was burning inside of you, or just burning you, you don't know. you brace yourself. your breath is ragged. you're laced with sweat, rubble, and you reek of fear.

lord, be merciful. lord, be kind to me.

you wish again, but you don't know if the lord can hear you from so low.

you land.

it is not on rough terrain, thankfully, but it's not on soft terrain either. you're confident you're supposed to be dead right now, that was a painfully hard landing. you recoil, taking a fetal position as you groan in absolute agony because what in the world did you just land on?! your vision is blurry, and black splots take up half your vision—lord, be merciful. lord, be kind to me, lord, please; you beg incessantly.

you look at what you landed on.

recently waxed tiles...?

this is outrageous.

the demon prince stolas sat across you. the height difference was astronomical— you had been taught not to lie, under any circumstances, not even this one. the height difference was astronomical and astronomically attractive. you glance around, surveying your surroundings (his legitimate palace) and trying not to lose your mind because out of all the places you could've landed on, why did you, a human, have to land in hell?

he found you in a fetal position, comatose & dirtying his immaculate floors with your humanity. from afar, he thought you were an abandoned nestling, a little owlet discarded by its mother. he pitied you, mercy filling him (not really his favorite thing to be filled with, however anyone who saw you and had atleast a bit of heart left would be able to empathize) in a rush as he took ahold of your small body in his hands.

he dropped you as soon as he held you, feathers puffing up as he stiffened. your body fell with a thump. in stolas's mind, there was but one thing:

what the fuck did blitzø do?

"blitzø ! you're going to get me in deep, deep shit because of this — who are you to think that sending a human to my palace would be a good idea ? do you know how many employees I have?! they—"

"woah, woah, woah ! calm the fuck down , stolas , I didn't fuckin' do nothing alright ? I don't know why the fuck a human somehow landed on your balcony — but hey ! atleast your tiles aren't broken from the impact of their fall ! seriously though . I don't know what the hell you're talking about ."

"then who?!—" stolas groaned. "you know what ? nevermind. fine. just send the book over and I'll send them back home." he resolved, planning to end your time here as soon as possible, so that when you do arrive in hell next time, you arrive the way you're meant to. it would be an easy fix, after all. an outlandish situation, but nonetheless easy.

"i cannot send you back to earth." were the first words stolas told you. you didn't know whether or not you were hallucinating, considering there is no way a tall, skinny owl would be able to talk. nor were you supposed to be any where but earth; that is, until you arrived to heaven. like you were meant to. right. right?

no.

he can't even send you back to earth. a demon prince with a grimoire capable of sending demons to earth, where they don't belong, can't seem to send a human back to their home. that is so messed up, that is so crazy, you are about to cry. you don't even know his name , but you know his features. you know his capabilities, not through your own knowledge however— because he was kind enough to tell you himself. would he be kind enough to shelter you? or would that be below him?

"prince stolas..." you start, he cocks his head to your direction. "you say your grimoire can send hellspawn to earth, why can it not bring humans back to it?" you think aloud, raspy voice still hoarse from screaming the first few minutes you were falling down. he tilts his head, you don't know how else to describe his body expression but ... owl-like. "you are curious, I suppose all humans are. the answer is simple: you're resisting the spell." he told you. your eyes bulged.

no way would you reject a spell to get you outta here.

"it's not you that's rejecting it, really," he hears your thoughts now! can he hear thoughts? is that what demon princes can do? "it's you, but its more something in you. as if you're meant to do something here." his tone is still even. "I will admit, what I will offer is uncharacteristically risky of me— but i cant help but pity you. so, I will offer you my hospitality." he sipped tea as your jaw dropped—tears threatening to pour as you felt your lips quiver at even the mere thought of your situation.

"I know it's scary, infact i do not favor this situation myself, but you will be taken care of, and under the protection of a goetia— you're secure." he assured, trying to appear less Intimidating as you shivered in absolute horror. there was never a scripture in the Bible about this, not that you know of— you don't know anything.

you didn't know how popular you'd be here.

you didn't know what they had in store for you, either.

you didn't know anything.

lord, be merciful. lord, be kind to me.

— @edensown

[eris-the-phantom-thief]

Hana looked over at Goodra and smiled gently. “Thank you sweetie…” she cooed as she petted the dragon. When she heard the sound of a male voice she turned over to see…

“Eh?” The guy looked familiar from the ceremony, but who was he?

She was outside of Hammerlock for the gym challenge, but her battle with the leader would have to wait for a while.

“Is she yours?”

message in the timeline: 𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃 | @eris-the-phantom-thief : Hana puffed her cheeks as she reached for berries outside of hammerlock. “Too high…” (Raihan) I 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆

“𝙂𝙊𝙊!” The Goodra cheers and waddles itself forward until it stops behind the young and SMALLER woman. It uses its retractable horns to carefully grab a bundle of berries from the tall tree before happily handing them to the woman. “GOO.” It chirps happily.

━━   ❝   𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥.    ❞ The trainer himself arrived on the scene, witnessing a potential friendship forming between his Goodra and the girl she decided to help. “She’s the friendlier one of the lot that’s for sure, although there isn’t any shame in giving the tree a bit of a shake here n’ there.” Although, he think she’d know that it could also lead to wild pokemon falling from the tree itself.

[comicaurora]

When did you decide on introducing Falst as a fakeout villain? in my head it's such an ingrained part of the arc but I have to imagine his intro wasn't always like that.

It wasn't! In the very earliest version of the story, aka the loose pre-scripting nebulous idea for how to get him in with the group, it was a pretty simple scenario where Falst was victimized by some bad guys and the gang helped him out, validated his existence, etc. It was functional for what it needed to accomplish - getting him in as a Main Character - but it had a lot of problems, namely that he had no agency in any of it.

I realized as I got closer to introducing him that Falst had a characteristic that none of the other protagonists had: he was rough. Erin isn't nice like Kendal and Alinua, but he's not going to go out of his way to purposefully hurt anyone who hasn't hurt him first. Erin can be rude and thoughtless, but he likes explaining things, and that does a lot to smooth over potential miscommunication. Falst isn't like that. Despite suffering deeply from loneliness, Falst is not good at making himself palatable for other people, and for the most part doesn't want to, in part because he shouldn't have to. It took a lot of bad stuff to grind him down to the point of seriously contemplating turning himself human to make it stop, and even then, he typically responds to antagonism by hitting back twice as hard, not making himself more inoffensive in the hopes of making it stop. In the trifecta of fight-flight-freeze, he defaults to fight, and he has a lot of reasons to wall off every conceivable vulnerability and snap out at people instead of giving them an in-road to hurting him by being nice to them. This makes him incredibly vulnerable to conflict and miscommunication plotlines because he will never explain himself if he thinks he has any other more combative option available, and that makes it very easy to turn people against him if they aren't willing to reach out and potentially take a hit trying to close that gap.

What I like most about writing Falst is that none of this makes him a monster, and none of it makes him unworthy of chances, love or understanding. He's a ball of sharp corners and he hurts people, and he's very easily framed as an antagonist because of that. And framing him opposite a kind, soft-spoken, eloquent, handsome small town doctor makes it easier to see him as a villain. And the fact that the doctor is actually a manipulative villain doesn't undo any of the stuff Falst did during their initial encounter when they didn't know each other and he made his introduction by robbing the party and lightly maiming Kendal. Falst is not perfectly nice, and it doesn't take much to get him to be actively mean or unnecessarily defensive. It is easy to convince characters and an audience that a character like that is a Problem, because if he weren't a Problem he would be nice and non-confrontational and conventionally attractive. Undercutting aesthetic morality is always fun, and sometimes you just gotta judge a character by their actions and conclude that they might not be good at making you like them but they're not actually doing anything all that bad.

Falst is kind of a jerk. He also has a lot of qualities that are not jerk traits. Falst found people who like him, and the fact that he's a jerk doesn't contradict that. We're all jerks sometimes, and we all tank hits from our friends being jerks sometimes. Falst is at his most interesting when I let him be emotional, hostile and imperfect, and I think it's nice to give him people that love him without undercutting the things that make him believe he's unlovable.

[mint-8]

Yandere Fisherman x GN! Reader

Content/Trigger warning: Mentions of sexual themes.

- Yandere Fisherman who lives in a coastal town, enjoying life leisurely and hunting for different fish so they can sell it at the market. They are considered the chill, cool uncle of the village and are well-liked by all the townsfolk, plus they work part time as the designated tour guide for the town visitors that may wish to enjoy the sun, the beach and some good sea food.

- Yandere Fisherman who first met you when you visited their hometown. Perhaps you are here as an order from your doctor to breathe some fresh air and relax? Or mayhaps you are here to study the vast aquatic life on the town's ocean? Doesn't really matter why you are here. The important part is that you are here, and Yandere Fisherman can't deny that you sure are quite the looker for someone they've just met. Sure, they have had some adventures here and there with locals and tourists, but they never felt such a thrive to keep them by their side. Forever.

- Yandere Fisherman who approached you as they would always do whenever a new face is around town. A nice introduction, some flirting here and there, and an offer to show you around the plaza. Won't you accompany them to get some ice cream? There's this one place with killer shrimps if you want to try it out! Oh, don't worry! Their treat! Please, they insist ;)

- Yandere Fisherman who will invite you to go fishing with them. Whether it's in their boat or in the main bridge far away from the popular coastal area, they'll make sure to teach you anything and everything there is about it! You don't even have to fish if you aren't into it! Simply being by their aside and having a nice conversation is good enough!

- Yandere Fisherman who will keep things chill and easygoing. They won't force you into anything. Yet. They don't wish to scare you off! You are their adorable little angel, but... if you wish to escalate... well, they will try not to be rough, but no promises ♡

"Tired, darling?"

"...How come you have so much stamina?"

"Heh, I guess working out in the sun will do that to you. But sweetheart, you barely lasted 1 hour, next time I won't be as easily satisfied ;) ♡"

- Yandere Fisherman who dreams of domesticity with you. The idea of having a baby in your hip while preparing dinner... oh, dear! It makes them feel butterflies! And... other stuff ♡ They would love to keep you as their stay at home spouse. With you keeping the shared home warm and clean, while they go outside and get the bacon!

- Yandere Fisherman who will make sure to get rid of all and any other competition for your heart. It's as simple as getting some poisonous fish and later dumping their bodies in the ocean! Accidents happen all the time, no need to worry!

- Yandere Fisherman who will make sure to put a ringer on your finger and plan for a few little blessings in the near future! It's scary, they know. That's why they will by your side through it all! They have your back! Won't you have theirs?

[eris-the-phantom-thief]

Hana puffed her cheeks, “I’m on enough meds thanks you very much I don’t need another prescription…”

She curled up, “I thought talking to you would help…Junpei suggested I talk his wife…” So much of this didn’t make sense to her. Out of her teammates she was only one to have this issue… It made no sense to her.

@eris-the-phantom-thief sent:

(For Mitsuru or Chidori) “I don’t get it…why do my powers leak out in these weird bursts?”

Chidori didn't answer at first. She wasn't even sure why this girl was even here in the first place. She just wanted to draw in peace, yet all these other people kept bothering her.

"Perhaps you should start taking suppressants like we do," Chidori suggested, eyes glued to her sketchbook as she continued to draw.

[cards-of-rose]

study tip!! how i write essays

going from a long, intensive classical education to my current history major, i've had to write a lot of papers. at this point, i can write a 5 page paper in a few hours, and just a couple weeks ago i wrote a 20 page paper in a single day. i graduated valedictorian with this method (current cGPA of 4.0!) so i thought i'd share how i write them! grab some coffee and settle in - it'll be a long post, but i promise it'll be worth it. :)

first, the topic. if you don't have an assigned topic, pick something that fascinates you, something that you could write pages and pages about. you will. if your topic is assigned, find something in it that you find fascinating. even if you find your topic completely boring, there's always something interesting to glean from it! once you find this, you'll gain motivation, and that's half the battle.

write down a basic outline. when i say basic, i mean barebones. just a vague, 3-point general idea of what you think you might write your paper about. this will guide you in your research! you don't need to worry about writing your full outline just yet.

sources. after you have a basic list of points, it's time to find sources! if they're already assigned, you can skip this step. most of the time they aren't, though. this is the most important part of your paper. you can go to google scholar to find really good academic journals and studies!

generally, the number of sources you have depends on the length of your paper! a good guide is that your amount of sources should number half the length of your paper. so if you have a 5 page paper, 2-3 is a good way to go. if you have a 20 page paper, you'll want around 10.

evidence. skim over your sources and categorize each one under the point you made earlier. this will mean you have a quick reference guide when you're writing, so you don't have to go through a big list of sources when you're looking for evidence! under each source, put a few bullet points talking about the info that you can use for your paper.

outline. this part may seem daunting. i promise, though, it's one of the easiest parts of the paper! you may feel tempted to skip it, but having an outline makes your paper sound better and makes it easier and quicker to write. use the sources and bullet point info you used earlier to fill out your outline. start broad and general, then add details as you do your research! your outline should be about half the length of your paper. don't worry about making it super scholarly - this is just for you, so make it as informal and easy to understand as you want! be stupid, throw in memes, whatever gets it written!

every outline should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. i can go over the structure of an outline in another post, but remember the 3 points you thought up earlier? these will form your entire outline, and eventually your essay!

finally, write! open a blank google doc and view it side by side with your outline. once you get started, it's a lot easier to finish than you'd think, especially if you took the time to outline! this is when you can make your dumb outline into something that would make the ancient philosophers proud. don't worry about perfection. just write it as you go. you can edit it later!

quotes/evidence. once you've finished your rough draft, it's time to add the evidence! some profs want quotes, others want you to paraphrase. either way, go through your paper and put in the evidence you researched earlier. don't worry about citations just yet - just put in the link in a comment on your rough draft. it won't be hard to fix it up later.

edit!! please, please don't finish your rough draft and be done with it. you can save so many points by going over it again instead of submitting it in a rushed 3am haze. fix spelling and grammar, add citations and a reference page, edit for clarity, anything you need to make it sound like the best paper you can write! if you're proud of it by the end, you know you've done something right.

congrats, you did it!! make sure you start your paper early and don't wait till the night before - your grade will thank you <3

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello! I'm trying to write a very simple, easy to follow, not-overwhelming bullet point outline for a story I'm writing, but as I was outlining a bit of the set-up I was just like, "Oh god, this is SO boring." I was starting to wonder if it's just me (this is my first time actually trying to outline something, I've never made it past the brain dumps stage before) so maybe it's something I'm missing/lack of experience or if it's a sign that I'm lacking goals in my intro or if my characters are dry/not fleshed out enough? Like if I'm already bored, then readers will most likely be bored, too, right? Also, if it is a characters issue, how do you make readers care about your characters in the exposition of your story? I've read so many articles and posts about making your character relatable so readers like them/connect to them, but I just feel like I'm struggling to accomplish this in the introduction. Anyways, thanks for your time and help! Signed, Chronic Overthinker.

Struggling with Outlining Beginning of Story

Yes... if you're bored, the reader will be bored, too. However, that's not something you can really determine from an outline. You can be outlining the most engaging story in the world and still be bored, because outlines aren't the story... they're just the blueprint. And, not only that, but some writers are "discovery writers," meaning that the story fleshes itself as they actually write it. Outlines can still be helpful in that they give you a structure to aim for, but the really thrilling details that make the story engaging might be things that develop organically as you write. So, don't worry about that at this point. If you're bored as you're actually writing the story, that's another issue--and even then, a rough draft can be a little boring and have more excitement added in later.

As far as struggling with making readers care about your characters in the exposition part of the story, remember the goal is to do three things:

-- Show the character in their "normal world," including establishing who and what is most important to them, so the reader can understand what's at stake when the inciting incident turns their world upside down, and so they have a reference point for "right side up."

-- Establish the character's internal conflict. What is the problem inside their heart or mind that will need to be resolved in order for them to eventually resolve the external conflict brought on later by the inciting incident? Remember, they may not be fully aware of this problem--or they may be aware of the feeling/situation but not understand that it is a problem.

-- Establish important elements of the character's personality so that when the inciting incident occurs, the reader can understand why they respond the way they do.

Be sure to have a look at my Character Development master list of posts if you need additional help, and my Plot & Story Structure master list has posts about structure and outlining if those would help.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[masonmyluv]

Barcelona GP - Pedri Gonzalez

Pedri Gonzales x reader

Warnings: ansgt, jealous!Pedri, brother!Carlos Sainz, bestfriend! Charles Leclerc, mentions of some other drivers, google translated Spanish, I hope that’s all

"Carlito!!!"

"Stop calling me that hermanita. I have a reputation around here" Carlos said. "Who's that fella over there?" He asked. "Pedri, come here" you said, seeing that he was a bit lost. "Carlos, this is my boyfriend, Pedro and Pedro, he's my annoying older brother Carlos" you made the introduction and the boys shook their hands. "Good to finally meet you. Y/N won't shut up about you" Carlos smiled. They engaged in a conversation, more like interrogatory, so you made your way over to the other Ferrari driver.

"Lord Perceval, lovely to see you again" you bowed. "My lady" he laughed, placing a kiss on your hand. The gesture made Pedri's blood boil, but he kept cool. "Y/N!" "Lando! Good to see you again" you said, hugging the British boy. "I hope you're good. Both of you, with the rough start and everything" you said. "I've been better..." Lando sighed. "I know. I really hope you get P10 tomorrow" you said sympathetically. "Thanks Y/N. Is always great to meet you before a race" Lando said and went to the McLaren garage. "So... you and Barcelona's golden boy. Who would've thought?" Charles teased. "Yeah... well it happened" you blushed, looking over to the two most important men in your life. "I would be dead by now" Charles joked. "Comment ça? (What do you mean?)" You asked. "He's been throwing daggers here all the time" he chuckled. "He's not that jealous" you shrugged. "Mhm here he comes" he said.

"So... ready for some action hermanita?" Carlos asked as Pedri made his presence well known to you by wrapping an arm around your waist. "Always hermanito" you teased. "How do you like it so far?" You asked Pedri as the two drivers were busy checking their cars. "Bueno" he replied. "Seriously Pedri? I know your inner child is screaming" you laughed. "True, but I don't want to make a scene right now" he said. "Ooohh... you want to show my brother you aren't a little boy anymore. I get it" you said, patting his cheek. "It's not—" "Your secret's safe with me, Pepi" you said, kissing his lips softly. "Hey! No PDA around here" Carlos said. "Overprotective brother phase 1" you rolled your eyes.

After the race, you congratulated even more drivers for their poles and Pedri felt like he wanted to punch everyone. You went over to Pierre, Perez and Alonso, but Pedri wanted to meet Verstappen, so you went over the Red Bull Racing pit. Now that little boy was coming out of Pedri, who asked Max for a picture and an autograph too. "cómo estás? (How are you)" Sergio Perez asked. "Bueno. Y tú? (Good. And you)" you replied. "decepcionado (disappointed)" he sighed. "estoy seguro de que puede manejar (I'm sure you can manage)" you tried to encourage him. "No estoy tan seguro. Pole 13 es malo (Im not that sure. P13 is bad)" he explained. "No quiero que Max gane. alguien más es mejor (I don't want Max to win. Anyone else is better)" you said quietly so the Dutch won't hear you. "Veo que no has seguido adelante (I see you haven't moved on)" he smiled knowingly. "Jamás (never)".

"What a day! Verstappen P1. He's going to win this" Pedri said, making his way into the room after he's had his shower. "Yeah wonderful" you said sarcastically. "Don't be grumpy. Carlos got P4 which is good" he said, putting on his pyjamas. "Yeah I guess" you sighed. "Or are you sad that Leclerc got only P11?" He asked. "Are you jealous Pepi?" "Never said I was. But you seem very comfortable around all these guys. Wouldn't be shocked if you fucked them" he shrugged. "Very highly you think of me, Pedro" you snapped. "Just saying. What I saw today. A bit too friendly for my liking" he said. "They're my friends. And Charles is my brother's teammate! Obviously I'm a bit closer to him than to anyone else! You have no right to be jealous" you said, tears threatening to spill. "Whatever" he rolled his eyes.

You left the room quietly while he was still in the bathroom, and made your way down to the pits. You needed some time alone to think.

"What's up, petit papillon? (little butterfly)"

"Charles, sorry. I had a little fight with Pedro and didn't know where to go" you smiled weakly through the tears.

"You never call him that"

"What?"

"Pedro. You call him Pedri, Pepi, Pedrito. I get you're mad at him" he said.

"I am, oui. He's being a jealous ass. Thinks I fucked you all" you said, cringing at your words. How could he think that in the first place?

"If only he knew how Carlos truly is. Je suis surpris that he didn't chop his balls off yet (I am surprised)" Charles joked.

"And even if we were to be...you're not my type of girl, but you're his type" Charles said. "stupide de dire ça (stupid to say that)" you said. "Excuse moi. I'm not Doctor Love, but I see that you really love him" he said. "I do. And I'm also jealous. When girls give him pieces of paper with their numbers or Instagram, whispering in his ear to leave me and fuck with them" you shrugged.

"Disgusting"

"I know. But I try to ignore them and love him for what he is. The man Pedri, not the footballer" you said. "I know. That's why everyone here loves you. Because you saw behind the famous drivers, you saw the people behind them. And you're friends with the actual people, not the drivers. Which means a lot to all of us" he said, hugging you.

"Y/N? Are you here?" Pedri's desperate voice interrupted your hug with Charles. It was enough to look at Charles to know he had a plan. "Hola Pedri. How are you mate?" Charles said, not giving away that you were hiding behind his car. "Not so good. Y/N left after we had a little argument, left her phone in our room and no one has seen her. I'm going insane" he said. "Well, I happen to know where she is, but—" he pointed his finger at Pedri. "You stay where you are, don't move a finger. And she'll come out when she's ready" Charles said, leaving the room.

"Y/N, amor, I'm so sorry... I trust you, I know you won't cheat or anything like that... I just saw you being so friendly with them and just remembered how we met...you weren't like that towards me and I thought what do they have and I don't? I don't know the answer to that... but I know I love you and had no right to be jealous. You go through this almost every day with me and the fans and you're not throwing a tantrum at me. You understand me and I should've done that today too. I'm sorry... I feel so bad" he sobbed. "Oh Pedri, come here" you said, leaving your hiding spot and hugging him. His head fell on your shoulder, letting tears soak your hoodie. "I'm so sorry" he whispered. "It's okay... maybe I should have warned you about me being friends with almost everyone on here. But they are my friends and I get very few chances to see them lately, so it's always good to see them" you said, threading your fingers through his hair. "And with Charles we're just friends. Best friends. Who do you think I told that I was seeing this Spanish football player huh? He was the only one who knew and he told me to go for it. Even if it fails, at least I tried. And look at us. We're together and happy" you said, pulling away to look into his glossy eyes. "And you're special to me, Pedri. I love them as friends, but you're the only one I love like I want to scream of happiness... or the one I want to rip the clothes off" you chuckled. "Eres preciosa (you're precious)" he smiled, pecking your lips softly.

"Now that's what I want to see, hermano" Charles said, leaning on the door. "Spanish looks good on you" you chuckled. "Well, Carlos taught me some" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You should go to sleep. You have a big race tomorrow" you said. "I'm sorry for all this" you said. "Don't. I'm happy to help a friend" Charles said, hugging you. "But I'll chop you dick off next time" he said to Pedri. "Got it, sir" he joked, taking your hand in his. "No need to call me that. I'm only 5 years older" Charles laughed. "You're old, grandpa" you said laughing. "I will pretend you didn't say that. Goodnight" Charles replied.

"God I was so worried about you" Pedri said, back in your hotel room. "I mean I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found you. Probably faint" he chuckled, hugging you from behind as you tried to fall asleep. "I love you" he whispered. "I love you too, Pepi".

"Yes! Go Charles! Go Carlito!" You yelled their names as they passed the finish line one after the other. Charles first place, Carlos second and Perez third. "I'm so proud of them" you said. "And where is Verstappen? I can't see him on the podium" you teased Pedri. "He just had a bad race day" he shrugged. "Aham. As you say. Let's go celebrate with them".

"Carlito!!! I'm so proud of you" you said, hugging your brother soaked in champagne. "Don't call me that, hermanita" he whined. "And Charles! I'm so proud of you too. You really deserve this" you said, hugging the Monegasque. "Why aren't you calling him Charlito?" Carlos asked, making you laugh. "I should, shouldn't I? Pedrito, Carlito and Charlito. The three most important men in my life" you said, pulling them into a group hug. "I don't like it" Charles huffed.

"Don't be sad, Charlito" Carlos imitated your voice and they started bickering (playfully).

"You good?" You asked, seeing Pedri was a bit zoned out. "Yeah. Just enjoying the view" he replied. "Which is?". "Mostly you" he smirked. "Come on, we have to celebrate" Carlos said, throwing his arm around Pedri's shoulder and dragging him after him. You and Charles walked behind them. "So everything's good in paradise?" He asked smirking. "Yes. Again, thank you so much" you said. "That's what friends are for, non?". "Of course, Charlito" you giggled. "Hey!".

Hope you like it ❤️

[eris-the-phantom-thief]

Hana yawned as she hugged the pillow, “Lemme sleep…I spent all day moving in….” She sat up on the sofa, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Mmmm….oh crud did I pass out on the sofa…?”

Taking a moment to glance around, she fixated on the person in front of her. “Wait…are you one of the people Miss Kirijo said was coming? The people coming to help train us?”

The woman before her looked more at place in a photoshoot in Hana’s opinion. She was taller than her easily. (Although Hana herself being only 4’7, that wasn’t hard.)

Hana knew better than to voice this however, afterall. Mitsuru based on appearances, wouldn’t have crossed her mind as being a demon slayer…

Hana curled up asleep on the sofa of the dorm after moving in. Everything was all so overwhelming…

Mitsuru told her Anya, and Luca that more of the ops would be coming. Yes the three had become persona users, but Hana didn’t have full control over her powers…despite being a wildcard her power wasn’t stable…

s.e.e.s. was rapidly growing ! which meant more persona users , and more persona users meant it'd be much easier for them to take down this dang dark hour . what a relief ! yukari was honestly getting real tired of fighting all these stupid shadows ( and going up those long stairs ) .

tick — tock , tick — tock .... the clock kept going and time continued to pass . everyone seemed to pour in one by one , until they were all present . ' maybe i should wake her , ' yukari mumbled beneath her breath . it's not like anyone else here was going to . slowly the girl leaned over and tapped her shoulder a few times . hoping it'd do the trick , ' hey , uh you should get up . the meetings about to start . '

[a-m-w-worlds]

SSO Theory: The Secret Behind the Masks

"It looked like a mask. One of those old wooden ones with holes for the eyes." (Excerpt from Shari's Mask.)

The Miscreants might be the most famous mask-wearers in Jorvik, but have you noticed they aren't the only ones? The Miscreants, Xin, the Vala, Shari, even Pi in The Legend Awakens, so what's the deal with all these wooden masks?

I have a theory!

The only common denominator I can find between all these characters is neutrality. Not good, not evil, something in-between the two. Let's start with Shari, who is first mentioned in the Soul Riders short story collection Ghost Stories from Jorvik., in Alex's story, Shari's Mask. We don't learn much about Shari other than that she is referred to as a goddess and wears the Miscreant mask, as seen on the book's back cover and other illustrations.

According to the About section of the Miscreants page on Spotify the Miscreants styled the masks they wear after one found in a thrift store that likely either belonged to Shari or one of her followers.

The Miscreants are shown to be neutral troublemakers, in no way evil, but not saints either, also equally liked by Soul Riders AND Dark Riders. (Their song Face in the Crowd is used as Sabine's theme and Lisa has a Miscreants poster and replica mask in her bedroom.) Similarly, the Vala, Pi, and Xin (through Ydris) have all been shown to be our enemies AND allies at different points in time, and all seem to have agendas separate from the battle between good and evil.

Xin is an odd case; we know very little about him, although I assume he is Pandorian in origin like Ydris and Zee. The way Ydris refers to Xin's mask is interesting and definitely makes me think it has some greater significance.

In the questline where we're trying to save Concorde from the circus, we also have this little exchange between Linda and Evergray. (Pardon crusty Linda!/lh)

I feel this strengthens the case for Xin being Pandorian.

Now for the witches!

And yes, I do mean witches generally, not just the Vala!

In the second Soul Riders book, The Legend Awakens, Pi is described as wearing wooden masks also! This is an excerpt from Pi's introduction.

"She emerged from the darkness. The darkness sent her to them. All they could see was a figure shrouded in shadows, dressed in a dark cloak with something in front of its face. A wooden mask? The mask was glowing pink, with almost luminescent letters. Anne gasped as she felt the Pandoria sickness wash over her, sticky and pink. She recognized those letters."

Thanks to Sive in the Storms Over Devil's Gap questline we know the masks have some power beyond just cool aesthetics.

I find it interesting that these masks are always specified to be "wooden" either by verbally being referred to as such or in their design.

This makes me wonder if the masks are perhaps made from the wood of Primeval Tress. We know Lisa was able to communicate with the Sleeping Widow while in Pandoria and it was explained the Primeval Tree's roots reach to Pandoria. Dialogue from the One of Our Witches questline also states that witches and Primeval Trees do sometimes form alliances, making this theory even more credible in my opinion.

This same questline also gives us this bit of dialogue.

I find myself wondering if Pi's masks specifically came from a corrupted Primeval Tree. Anne's reaction to it and the fact that Pi's is the only mask to glow pink suggests a stronger Pandorian connection than the Vala masks. Pi in The Legend Awakens is also described very differently from her in-game counterpart. (Since this depiction is more current, I'm considering it the canon version. I want her to be updated in-game so bad!) She's described as having feet like rough tree roots and hands that are half claw, half atrophied wood. Maybe using masks made from corrupted trees corrupts the wearer as well?

For the last part of my theory, we're going to circle back to Shari for a minute.

In Shari's Mask it's revealed that Shari is searching for her missing horse who was taken from her, which I believe to be the Laverna, who is also a mask-wearing trickster. Here's Laverna's in-game description.

"The veil between worlds grows thin around Halloween, allowing spirits to travel to other planes. Laverna was one of these, though no one knows when she first crossed over.

When she arrived on Jorvik she was a mere wisp and a mask. But Laverna is a powerful soul, and before long she created a solid body in the shape of a creature she saw around Jorvik that was suitable for her interests. Disguised as a horse, she got up to all kinds of mischief, preferring the "trick" in "trick or treat."

Laverna fashioned her body after an American Paint Horse; she likes the splashy colors even when concealing her magical coat and mask. She employs nighttime and shadow as cover for thievery. Mischief is her entertainment, so be prepared to keep an eye on her!"

The line "though no one knows when she first crossed over" seems to imply that Laverna is quite an ancient spirit. When Alex meets some of Shari's hypnotized followers in Jorvik City they describe Shari as "the goddess, the deceiver, the rebel, the legend", which is in line with Laverna's mischievousness and the Miscreant's rebelliousness. Shari is described as wearing black robes and not having a face, only the mask. And if Shari can be referred to as a goddess, I would imagine that she's also a very old being. The only other character that's ever been called a goddess is Aideen, so here's my thinking.

Aideen and Garnok are both treated as deities with their own missions and followers, what's interesting though is that while witches and Pandorians (the primary mask-wearers) acknowledge both as powerful beings, they don't seem to worship either. Aideen seems to be a goddess of Jorvik, and we know Garnok is not from Pandoria, merely trapped there. My theory is that witches and Pandorians are followers of Shari, who I believe to be a Pandorian goddess, more specifically a trickster goddess, who is unaligned to good or evil and acts only in the best interest of herself and her followers, the masks symbolizing their neutrality. Mask=ambiguity=neutrality.

The only thing that gives me pause about Laverna being Shari's horse is that Gabby (one of the hypnotized followers) calls Shari's horse Solomi (no clue if I spelled that right, I only have the audiobook version of the story). But it's possible that this is either a discrepancy or Solomi is the horse's real name and Laverna is the name given to her by Jorvegians who didn't know her real name.

So, am I onto something?

Thank you for reading my insane wooden mask deep dive!/gen

[mugram]

[opens door, Es enters]

Es: Good afternoon, prisoner–

: Oh, you’re… actually in your… seat.

Keisuke: Eh? Why wouldn't I be?

: You are the person who is supposed to be watching over us, right, Warden?

: Then, I should let you watch over us and listen.

Es: Ah, well… Thank you, I suppose. [Es takes a seat]

: My last two interrogations weren't as cooperative as you. I'm glad that I've been able to take a break from all the… 

: Conflict, I suppose.

Keisuke: Hey, I get it!

: You have to be careful, you know! Make sure nothing bad happens. 

: Oh! I've heard around you don't plan on voting any of us innocent.

Es: Where did you–

Keisuke: One of the others, I think?

: I don't know. Either way…

: I trust you.

Es: This blind trust in me…

: It's…

: What do you want from me?

Keisuke: What? No, no! I'm trusting you, Warden! You're the one with all the power here, so it's up to you to decide what to do with it.

: I don't think I'd be able to change your mind anyway, so I might as well just let you interrogate me and get on with it.

Es: Yes, yes… As MUGRAM's Warden, I must reveal your sins through an interrogation. So, let's begin this interrogation.

: Ahem, name, age, and… occupation, though you don't seem to look like you have one.

Keisuke: Hey, are you saying I look lazy?! 

Es: [laughs] Ah, well, I didn't exactly intend on saying that, but sure, if you'd like to interpret my words as such.

Keisuke: I… Aren't you younger than me, too? This feels so weird… 

: Anyways, hey! I should get back to my introduction.

: I’m Izumi Keisuke. I’m 19 and I'm in high school! Anyways, it’s nice to meet you, Warden!

Es: You're a high-schooler? You certainly don't look it.

Keisuke: Hey, well…! Man, school is so rough… Alright? There's all these tests and also having to deal with classmates. 

Es: What's wrong with your classmates?

Keisuke: Oh– Nothing, of course! I'm just saying… There's always drama and fights and other stuff… 

Es: Hm… 

: Well, that's helpful… I think?

: How has your life in MUGRAM been?

Keisuke: Oh, it's nice! It's weird not to be around my classmates or anything. 

: I've never been around so many people with working jobs, though… It's hard to find people to talk to about high-school besides people who are… like in university or something.

: Which reminds me, Isamu is nice! And, Mia! 

: I don't really talk to Mia that much; I think she's still scared about MUGRAM.

Es: I recall someone bringing up Isamu once… and Mia… Hm.

: Well, I'm glad to know your stay at MUGRAM has been enjoyable.

Keisuke: Can I ask how much longer we'll be here for?

Es: Well… I suppose, since you're being cooperative, until these trials are over and I have fully understood your sin.

Keisuke: Ah, but– Warden…

: I promise I didn’t do anything wrong. 

Es: Unfortunately, I've been brought here with the knowledge that you are all murderers.

Keisuke: …

: Look, I’m putting my trust in you, so keep us safe, okay?

: Make sure we're all okay by the end of this.

: …please, Es?

Es: Ah–... [sigh]

: I suppose.

: I'll keep that in mind. 

: …May I ask about your school once more?

Keisuke: Oh! It was nice. Classmates were fine. Teachers were nice, even if they ignored stuff sometimes.

Es: Hm? What do you mean by that?

Keisuke: There would be a fight happening in the hallway and the teachers wouldn't do anything about it.

: I mean, we put our trust in them and they don't do anything, like come on! 

: I'd listen to them – sure! – but when they're ignoring stuff like that, it's dumb!

: You understand, right, Warden? 

: You'd also listen to someone you trust, but they need to prove their trustworthiness. 

Es: So, you killed them.

Keisuke: What? Huh–

Es: They weren't trustworthy enough, were they?

: Someone let these little troubles slip by without a word and you needed to make sure someone noticed.

Keisuke: No, that's not what I–

Es: You saw this person, who you trusted, ignore these issues, deciding that they should let this stuff continue on. So, you took matters into your own hands. 

: You killed them just because they weren't paying attention to some silly drama?

: You're sick.

Keisuke: That's not what I did! I didn't do anything wrong, okay?!

: Everyone needs protecting and people need to see that! You listen to them when they need help, right, Warden??

: Right??

[Es stands up]

Keisuke: You'd listen to someone who needed help, right?

: Who needed protecting?

Es: Of course I would.

: But, I'd never resort to murder. 

Keisuke: Wh…

: What…?

Es: I believe I am starting to break down your defenses, Keisuke.

: Thank you for this cooperative interrogation.

Keisuke: No, no– Es!! [slams table] You need to understand– Please!

: I was just listening– I needed to– They asked me to– I was protecting them!!

[mechanical noises]

Keisuke: What's happening? Why is everything changing? Why is everything going dark?

: Es, please, you need to tell me what's going on–

: Please! You're supposed to keep us safe–

Es: Unfortunately, Keisuke, my job here is to reveal your sins.

: So, come now, prisoner number three, Keisuke.

: Sing your sins!

MUSIC VIDEO - Promise

[eris-the-phantom-thief]

Hana let out a yawn as she turned over. Kivuli pawed at Hana’s nose as if to say, “Mama! Play with us!” Her brother Midnight, followed suit as he climbed on her shoulder.

“Nooo lemme sleep…” She whined as she sat up slowly. Her hair was long, dark, fluffly, and a rats nest from sleeping on the sofa.

“Hmm…?”

Rubbing the sleep from her large brown eyes, she looked around. The girl before Yukari was short, looking to be only 4’7. She had tanned skin, a freckled face and a beauty mark under her left eye.

Hana yawned as she was curled up on the sofa of the dorm, fast asleep and with two kittens nestled against her. (Yukari) With the new college dorm to serve as a home base, Hana was conked out. Moving in was more time and energy consuming.

"Cats....?" She'd notice as she'd see the girl fast asleep, she didn't want to disturb the girl's sleep, but couldn't help but notice the cats, wondering where they'd come from, along with observing the girl who seemed worn out.

[bluegekk0]

How does the troupe get around as a unit in your AU? People always have their own little interpretations of how they get to place to place so I was curious about yours

Sneaky little second question, what do the troupe members including the grimmkin do in between rituals when they are just chilling in dirtmouth? Do they also contribute and interact with the town or do most of them just stay in the main tent?

I think they move on foot, perhaps there is some magic involved to make them travel faster, but they don't teleport around or move through the Nightmare Realm, since it's inaccessible and Grimm isn't powerful enough to do anything like that. So they have their carts and their Grimmsteed, they might also take other forms of transport such as the large Silt Strider like beasts I was talking about a while back. These days they usually travel between Dirtmouth and the nearest countries/kingdoms on the continent, so their journeys can take from a few days to a week or two.

(As a side note, I definitely want to sit down and do some calculations for things like how long is Grimm absent from home, the lifespan of his physical body, that sort of stuff. Since to this point I think it was unrealistic at times, and it's clear I'm kinda making it up as I go. I want to do some worldbuilding about the length of the year, the seasons and all that, so it would be fitting to do that then)

As for the second question, yes, they do contribute. For a while they kept mostly to the Troupe area of Dirtmouth, but as time went on they started getting more involved in the everyday life of the town. A lot of them helped with the physical part of the town renovations, which included Grimmkin houses where they reside when away from their duties. They also contribute to the holiday celebrations, the music crew in particular, and other Grimmkin help with the preparations like decorations, preparing the tables, that sort of thing.

Their introduction to Dirtmouth had a very rough start, many of them were unhappy (and we know how that ended), but as the town expanded and developed, they found themselves enjoying it more, mostly because there was more to do. There is a diner, a tavern, there are shops and markets, and extra jobs to do for those who want it. Of course, it doesn't compare to the things they experience whenever they travel to large countries and kingdoms for rituals, so they were fully on board with the idea of leaving without Grimm whenever possible (which he ended up suggesting after the incident). But their stay in Dirtmouth is not that bad, so they can't complain.

As the rest of the town got used to their presence, the Grimmkin were able to get integrated into the community more. Many of them have friends within the town, some may have found even more. I could see one or two Grimmkin finding love and deciding to leave the Troupe to start a family, which Grimm ensured would go as smoothly as possible. They could still work at the actual Troupe tent with performances and such, but they would no longer be connected to the Nightmare King.

It would mean that they'd sacrifice any special abilities that connection granted them (including their immortality), and in some cases there could be some side effects like memory issues or general confusion, but it would pass. I mentioned it before, but in the AU, the Troupe has always been voluntary, bugs could leave and get the benefits of the connection to the Nightmare King, while also working for Grimm and his crew. Consequently, they could also choose to leave at any time, with some minor side effects that I mentioned (or sometimes without any at all). Those who get banished aren't as lucky, and I like to think it's because Grimm throws them out and severs that connection without any extra effort. I'm definitely going to share more details on the WorldAnvil page about how exactly this works at some point in the future.

I mention this because I quite like the idea of the Troupe becoming even more of a theatre/performance house in Dirtmouth. They put on performances for the town, and if anyone needs some extra geo, they could help with Troupe matters without joining the ranks of Grimmkin, or maybe even work for them full-time. And I can't see why some Grimmkin, who perhaps found a life outside of the Troupe, wouldn't want a similar arrangement made. Grimm definitely wouldn't be opposed to it as long as the Troupe is still able to function correctly. He always tried to treat them nicely, and if he's able to enjoy a family life, he wouldn't want to strip those who remained loyal to him of that opportunity either.