#its just a nice recovery volume

[crying-fantasies]

Medical play

Masterlist

Featuring TF: Earth Wars Game! Barricade, smut/humor, CW: reader putting a hand over the mech, dubious consent (both are drunk every time they get nasty), licking, implied oral, implied fingering and penetration, implied blowjob, messy make-out, Barricade is a menace and an afthole, the reader has a thing for praxian frames (who doesn't?)

There is just so much you can go around from one medical habsuit to the next, Ratchet and First were very serious on the topic of not exhausting yourself, a pair of complete hypocrisy as both are out cold after dual missions, you don't have more hands to help as Minerva is still recharging after a 39hrs shift, Knock Out and Wreck-gar are still out in the field, the first most likely requesting to come back already not due to worrying over you but his paint.

So there's only you when the Decepticons group comes back from a fight with whatever is coming from Cybertron, the big door opens and they see you, alone, they can't even get angry anymore as they practically toss some of their mechs on the floor, someone's arm strut almost crushes you and makes you scream, Tantrum has no much to say but “all yours, squishy doctor” as you get near to notice the two mechs tossed at you are Barricade and Waspinator; Astrotrain, bless his spark, stays longer than the rest of them, looking at you as Waspinator starts to cry out in distress, Barricade may still be rebooting due to his silence, he gives you an uncertain glance before asking “need a servo, doc?”

There is no more energy as the cries intensify, he is cringing internally from it, you can notice, especially when Barricade’s system crashes and he wakes up in intervals, shouting obscenities, “I would love some help, Astro”.

Being a doctor in the base has its pros, more than one Decepticon is indebted to you, and while not all are as nice or bearable as Astrotrain, well, you manage, the number of attempted murders against you has dropped significantly, that's progress, a constant mantra repeating in your head when Astro goes back to his barracks once both Decepticons are tossed on the medical berths, he looks at you, waiting, and you let him go as this is routine.

Monotonous, boring routine, almost every soldier and high command has already passed on your hands from a devastating blow through their spark chamber or a detailing session to calibrate sensors right and get the dirt out, you've seen it all, you've lived it all, at least for a human, Drift said you're an old soul and Ratchet told him to shut up.

Perhaps you are an old one inside, as you collect patience to shove energon candy to Wasp’s mandibles, letting him be concerned over his goodies and not his arm strut going back to where it belongs, his antenna does pick up in what you're doing when you're done, “Waspinator did well?” your tired smile speaks volumes, “You did great buddy”.

Takes time and a lot of effort to catch on to what makes them let you work, Waspinator tends to forget about the world with energon candy, others when you do part of a psychiatrist and listen to their ranting, some good tea, extra spicy in some occasions, some want you to be a “service drone” by just doing the work done, for those your hands and treatment get a little rougher.

You're proud to say that fewer Decepticons turn away from the med bay when you're in charge or alone.

Now, Wasp is entering the cryostasis pod for a recovery nap, that lets you with-

“You spawn of a glitch!”

Barricade, whose mind seems to still be in the war zone, his struts are a mess, has blaster openings on more than one side and one optic isn't working. Given that he isn't in a worse state then maybe Hook went with them on this occasion.

Still, all his wires are an utter mess.

“What-?”, takes a moment for him to run right, but once he does you are very close to overriding his system manually, “Oh, oh, nice day, doc”.

Your teeth are going to turn out into powder by how hard you're grinding them, “good afternoon, Barricade”.

This is the reason why you sent Astrotrain away and put Waspinator into the cryo pod, your reputation among the Decepticons has improved so well, that you feel proud about it and almost jumped on your feet when Megatron called you “beneficial flesh bag”.

You will not lose that.

Barricade chuckles, helm pressing to the medical berth, looking at you like he wants to take a bite, “Come on, told you to call me Barry ages ago”, his only good servo tries to touch under your lab coat, you try to keep it civil, but he is doing it so hard, pushing his digit away only has him scowling “thought I already fragged your stupid uprightness away last night cycle”.

That, you're trying to forget about that as your fingers start to move away the plating which is poorly mangled, and his panels are an utter eyesore, but at least his internals aren't damaged, you can do this fast and spare yourself the mortification of hearing him talk about the most recent drunken misstep, the many, embarrassing many drunken missteps, “Barricade, I’m a medical official, you're an enforcer, we must keep it professional”.

With an air of anticipation, he clicks his glossa, just as you had predicted, “Professional this, professional that, that’s all you talk about”, he has an arm twisted abnormally backward, wires and lines messed up, but all that doesn't stop him from trying to get into your pants while sober, “what happened to the doctor that reached a fleshy servo inside my valve to check, uh? Or the doctor who tested my transfluid and gave me the all-good?”

Memories flush as fast as the rush of your blood coursing through every vein and artery, there is never quite enough to make a full picture and you swear that there is not even an ounce of resolve that wants to remember as you put his plating out of the way, trying to concentrate on the task and welding machine at hand, but it's so hard when he is looking at you like that and doing obnoxious, heavy ventilations laced with groans and the occasional moan when you drag away plating with force, “just like that, doc, you know how I like it”.

Who could've known that he had this kind of interest, yet again, Runamuck said something along the lines of you being the primary reason for his curious awakening in new interfacing techniques, and even giving you the hint that maybe you two should make it official to this point, you don't have a friend to care about to give the news so what are you waiting for? He says it with sincerity, unbecoming from a Decepticon, still with the usual bite most of them have.

Most people tend to their friends or interests, leaving lonely you at a corner of the bar full of people and cybertronians, never having the time to make some bonding, friendship, or fraternity, glancing respectfully at a pretty praxian that seems to be the focus of many as he talks, surrounded by his friends. Drinking to have the courage to go there and talk with him isn't the answer, that much has been proved over and over, as your feet wobble and your brain is soon to fall asleep from the intoxication.

The first time it happened, it was a mistake. You were drunk, just holding onto the first servo you could find, searching for that telling chevron as you looked up, and in the way his door wings perked up by the contact, he was just as drunk as you, overcharged, but still had the decorum to get you into his habsuit before punching the close buttons in haste. You aren't proud of yourself, much less when his red optics look at your hand pressing over his chest plate, urging him to the berth, following your command not by force or by his weakened state, he wants to and even has the vulgarity to put his servos under his helm, expecting you to do whatever you desire and go along with him, like you were some service drone ready to do the job.

Barricade found himself unprepared for the sudden pressure of your fingers over usually unused buttons and crevices of his chest, you had the medical knowledge to override his self-protection protocol. Exposing his spark, shining hard, light flowing into your face, so pretty, so enticing, a literal star in front of you.

It's hard to believe you forced him to do anything, but yet again, the bastard remembers that night with a dreamlike smile.

It would be foolish to just let it be, but you also felt stupid waking up the morning after, your radio almost blowing up with 39 messages from First Aid, resuming them in “your shift started 6 hours ago, I’ve distracted Ratchet from noticing but now Ratbat is whining to be treated by your hands only, where the frag are you?” as your face, middle and lower body have the sticky feeling of semi-dried transfluid, your partner of the previous night recharging soundly by your side.

Only one look at him and you were running from that habsuit like it was a contamination chamber, no matter how many times you ran, you still, somehow, ended up on his habsuit, on repeated occasions, always brought by bad decisions, alcohol and high-grade, mixed with xenophilia, Barricade kicked out his habsuit partner without any decorum, both in a frenzied and drunken mist to even care when Runamuck tells him “hey, I'm happy you finally stopped to be an annoyance in the highway, but could you frag the flesh bag somewhere else?!”, still, you both know he won't say a word, just allowing him to go make a ruckus in the nearest street, leaving you both to your own and trying to feign ignorance when he wants to put an audio receptor in the door when you moan, leaving anyway when things seem to be too gross for him, more times than not that's when Barricade shoves his glossa inside your mouth, almost getting off by the way you try to suck it, earning a wicked groan as his servos grip too hard over your chest and ass, leaving pretty marks here and there.

Both of you don't care, hardly keeping at bay where hands or servos reached before you put him over the berth with a firm tone, urging him to show you his spark chamber for a quick examination, feeling a hot, fluid rush from head to toe when he does as requested, waiting for you to take place over his abdominal armor, fingers creeping over his array, opening it manually, the smell of ozone heavy in the dark habsuit, your hands hold your weight, telling him to show the resilience of his hips if he could haul your insignificant body in constant pumping so you could measure the electrical flow of his stabilizers.

Oh, and he showed off so well last night.

“Bet you wanted to treat another praxian”, at that side remark he can only yelp when you tug way too hard on his line, Barricade is soon to shout at you, stopping, realizing you have detangled the mess the others made on the war zone with a single pull in a movement, no leaking, no lasting pain, but a scorching, painful pressure over his interface panel when he compares this fed up and angry you to the one liking over his sensors and modules while calling him a “good patient”.

His optics and biolights flare, a telltale you've reluctantly become familiar with.

“Is that everything, Barricade?”, you're frustrated with his nonsense, trying to get him away as soon as possible when you catch on his ventilation fans overworking, he smells like ozone.

“Now that you are asking-”

“Fleshy doc!”

He gets away from you with outstanding force and speed, another batch of Decepticons is at the hangar door, knocking first, it gives you another source of happiness and pride as Gnaw does it in place of just barging right in, finally some improvement, enough time for you to catch on your canned shower and aromatherapy spray, using great amount over your body and Barricade, who isn't pleased in the slightest to smell like lemon and vanilla, again, "yeah, come in!"

You try your best to disregard his disapproving look, realizing that what you said didn't come out the way you wanted it to given the circumstances.

.

I love Bayverse Barricade but I love this interpretation of him a little more, very handsome, even when he doesn't look that much like the original, and very obsessed with the game once again, but in the variety is the pleasure.

@tf-kinktober2024

[callmearcturus]

ITP my job finds a new even more horrific way to lowkey torture employees (and that's not an exaggerated usage of "torture" funnily enough)

"hey arc what's up, you been quiet"

funny story

so the casually cruel fuckheads at my job sent IT around to every desk to do something with the phones.

they set every ringer to maximum volume and disabled the ability to lower the volume or mute the ringer. so every desk phone, regardless of department, is connected to the main queue and whether you are meant to be answering calls or not, your phone rings at 90 to 100 dB.

I have very well-controlled anxiety. i've been to therapy, I take medication, I know recovery techniques. I've been living with this my entire life. but: my primary anxiety trigger is sudden loud sounds, to the point that I always make sure to take my lunch when they are testing the fire alarms and I once turned down a nice secretarial gig bc it was for a construction company.

so for the past few days, I've been subjected to constant, inconsistent loud noises.

I've already burst into tears twice and had to take 4 emergency breaks in the stairwell to get control of my breathing to avert a panic attack.

I talked to my boss (my direct boss, who is a wonderful man who has my eternal loyalty, not the vicious thoughtless fuckhead who runs the company) and he literally directed me to "put your earbuds in and turn on the sound canceling. if anyone notices, I'll cover for you." like, it's that fucking bad.

(and i'm not alone! there's a guy in another department who is a former army guy or former cop, and he's shaken bc it's just loud sudden noises surrounding him, it's horrible.)

so, i flat out took today off bc I needed a mental health day and to talk to my doctor. my doctor, who I think might literally want to fistfight the CEO of my company at this point bc this is cruelty for no fucking reason, is writing me a strongly worded accomodation request and getting me some extra drugs to help me not freak out

but its a fucking nightmare and it's affecting everything. i got all the classic warning signs of depression: i don't want to do my normal hobbies, i don't want to talk to friends (i'm forcing myself to do it, I'm old hat at this), I don't want to eat, and i want to lay down int he dark a lot.

SO. IT'S BAD. But we're working on it.

My boss and I have a pact, that I'm sticking around until he throws in the towel and leaves, but I had to tell him "this needs to stop or I need to look for another job, no matter how much I love this stupid goddamn job, i can't physically do this"

so that's what's up.

[ambassadorarlert]

12 Days of Kelsmin 🎂

ambassadorarlert’s birthday event

2 — #23 supporting each other through a hard time

warnings: AOT ENDING SPOILER, hurt/comfort, friends-lovers finally getting together, grief, survivors guilt/gratitude, major character death, maybe a little angsty idk 🤔, there’s lore before this point that i haven’t written out yet so 👀

Healing is not linear. There are high points and low points, points in between where it feels as if one is just passing through their own existence. On some days, pain is just a secondary thought that gets pushed to the third, fourth, or fifth burner. While other times, it can consume someone all over again. It can pull someone back at the starting line and unravel their tapestry of progress. Armin knew from personal, unfortunate experience that the road to recovery would be long and winding.

They lay on their own sleeping palettes, starting directly at each other through the darkness of the space between them. Even at night, she could see that Armin’s dreamy eyes were red and swollen from crying so much. He cried to himself, to her, until his body dehydrated itself and he physically could not produce any more tears. 

What could anyone say? 80% of humanity was gone with a blink of an eye. It was far from evil. A word hadn’t even been created to articulate the damage and destruction that was caused by someone he counted as one of his brothers. All they could do was lay down and process everything that had just happened. The silence that lingered between them was loud enough, thick with sorrow and echoing heartbreak.

It was a miracle that those who made it this far did. Eren’s death rewired Armin’s brain. He ‘d have to adjust the rest of his life to accepting that Eren would never come back. The bestest friend he could ever have. Armin felt in his heart that he would see Mikasa again. How could he just not?

But, Armin would not be able to handle it if anything happened to her. In the absence of Eren and Mikasa, she was always a constant, a third shoulder to lean on, a comfort that fixed everything. Armin desperately wanted to place her higher than that. He had been lost in the current of yearning from the sideline, benching himself until she game him the signal to get in the game, that he did not perceive the possibility of losing her.

Thinking about it too hard bent his mind into almost breaking. There was no one else for him. Armin would never hear her laugh or smile, and he would never be able to bask in the success of him being the one able to do so. She could never read to him again, listen to how the words sounded better when she read them to him as opposed to Armin reading them to himself. He could never entertain the thought of making her his, giving her anything and everything she wanted.

His tear ducts began to swell, but nothing would fall. Armin had been given more chances of life than he thought he deserved. There was so much more to life than hate, than to destroy and get revenge on. Armin had seen the beauties and wonders of the world-- Fields of ice, fire that flows like water, the salty ocean. His life was just extended for another 70, what a waste it would be to live the rest of his human dats without her next to him?

She was looking at him, but not seeing him. She looked through him. Armin whispered her name, swallowing its last syllable. She had come back to her senses at the mention of herself, blinking.

“You’re all that I’ve got now.” Armin’s tone, weak and vulnerable, was kept hushed enough only for her to hear. He couldn’t feel embarrassment for his feelings anymore.

“That’s not true!” She quietly replied, matching his volume. “Reiner and Annie are okay. Connie and Jean are alright. Levi has seen better days, but he’s alive at least. Pieck is really nice.” 

Her hand was laid out in a way that was most comfortable for her. Armin’s eyes flicked to her upturned palm. H always wanted to just grab it, hold it, kiss her knuckles and even the tips of her fingers. He shook his head.

“Yes, but… You know what I mean.” Still keeping his voice down, Armin stated it as a matter of fact. ‘

Her face shifted in the dark, remembering conversations they had over the course of several days. There was no time to sit down and sort through their feelings for one another. After he had finally combusted from his emotional constipation, unable to contain his frustrations anymore, he had gathered that they have been hiding in each others shadows. They ached for one another, longing to be together beyond friends and comrades/ She squeezed her tongue between two canine teeth.

“Eren is dead. Mikasa is gone.” Armin could taste the word dead. It tasted just like the iron in blood.

Armin removed his hand from his covers to reach out and finally grabbed her hand. He aimed with a firm grasp, but she winced away in pain. He adjusted his touch, immediate concern drawing his eyebrows together. There was an open wound on the back of her hand, barely as deep as a papercut but the skin around it was red and inflamed. Apart from a miniscule abrasion, she was unscathed.

“You should really wrap that up.” He suggested.

“It’s just a scratch.” She underplayed.

He predicted eventual infection if she left her cut open. Armin sat up and looked around for basically, anything he could use. The only thing he could think to tear was the cover he used. Using his teeth to rip off a strip from the already torn corner.

“Here,” Tenderly and carefully Armin bandaged her hand. She looked between him and his delicate application. No one had ever been so gentle with her, or as kind to her as Armin had been. His morally incorrect actions meant extremely little to her, considering he was the sweetest and most altruistic person anyone on the squad had ever met. She knew what color Armin’s soul was. There wasn’t a single dark hue in sight.

“You were saying…?” She encouraged him to continue the conversation, a point they couldn’t reach until now.

First, it was Eren’s letter. Then, Sasha died. After that, the walls crumbled and Annie went missing and alliances went up in the air. Everything had become too much at once. That was all over now. The Earth was quiet. The only noise was the snap and pop of the firewood in the pit. Apart from other slumbering survivors, there was nothing else but vast and open existence.

What was her freedom worth if she couldn’t do anything with it? “I don;t know whats going to happen next, or what I should do, or how we could get back to Paradise. But, if we’re all going to survive here, as a community, we’re going to have to start over. Like, all the way over.” Armin began.

Her heart pounded in her chest. There was more to what he was going to say. The pause he took to secure the fabric-bandage with a discreet tuck and fold. He was amazing, invincible even. Armin had been through so much, even before he became a scout. Those late night talks they had, often by candlelight, abou their own pasts and futures were so precious to her. In those moments, she really felt like she knew him better than anyone else. At this point, perhaps she did.

Armin held her hand again, much lighter and much more gracefully. He cradles her fingers in with his as she resumed.

“All I know is that I can’t imagine any of that without you doing it with me.” Armin’s throat bobbed, his bottom lip wobbled.

“It’s just us know. It’s been that was for a while, I think.” His eyes moved slowly to her, baby blues shadowed over the dancing flame.

“Do you want to start over together?” I don’t have much, or anything really. But, I’ll care for you the best I can.” Armin questioned.

It almost sounded as if he were trying to persuade her, which she found a little silly. Armin truly had no idea how devoted she was to him. She couldn’t help but chortle lightly. Armin flinched with confusion. A smile cracked in the skin on her lips, inching closer to his personal space.

“I would like that a lot.” She breathed.

Kissing required too much energy, they were both exhausted. Their noses bruised against each other before their foreheads clicked like magnets.

A blanket of security shrouded them in this moment. In times like these, where circumstances were too great for any kind of spoke word to be found comforting, silence was always the best option. They didn’t have to say anything at all to know that a deal had been struck, a bond deepened, and promises had been made and kept.

© 2024 all rights reserved. do not reupload or translate any content that is labeled to be written by ‘ambassadorarlert’ on any other platform.

[clashschamink]

Dom!Sub!Male reader x sub!Dom!Yuji Itadori.

NSFW

summary:

It's an established relationship thing. So basically Itadori is ignoring you because of his missions and you couldn't make time for the same too. You two get a month off as you guys are injured from the recent mission. And decided to ... You know ... Daddy things...

_______________________________________________

'Its been a while since Yuji and I have spent time together ' Clash thought to himself.

They have been not able to see each other due to the missions. But the recent mission made them injured and the jujutsu highs gave them a month off for their recovery. But thanks for Clash's reversal curse technique that he and Yuji recovered from it just in a day. Now they have 29 days to spend together.

"Hey sweet candy.... Are you going to wake up or not? It's 6 of evening already" Yuji shaked him to wake him up. "5 more minutes" said Clash.

"you said that 30 minutes ago. Now come on wake up" Yuji picked you up. Clash now just want to be a bum and bother his boyfriend and nothing more. So he started biting on Yuji's neck .

"b-babe what a-are yo-you doing" Yuji moaned. "Tasting my cute boyfriend" said Clash. Yuji blushed profusely on hearing that.

-----30 mins later-------

"A nice shower always feels fresh" Clash said. "I know right" Yuji hugged Clash. "I still haven't finished what I have started. Lemme finish it" Clash said.

"wh-what are you" Yuji backed off. "Don't worry I will be gentle" . Clash started palming Yuji. "Ahhhh" Yuji moaned. Clash slipped Yuji's boxers and let his hard cock sprung free.

He gently kissed the tip of Yuji's cock. Yuji groaned from the warm sensation. Clash started licking here and there randomly without any rhythm. "S-stop teasing me " Yuji complaint.

Yuji grabbed a fistfull of Clash's hair and guided him up and down. "I am going to cum" Yuji said finding him near to his climax. Clash started sucking Yuji at a wild pace and soon the warm liquid filled the inside of his mouth. "Ngghhh ! Clash it felt so good" Yuji moaned.

"Now won't you help me with it too" Clash said. Yuji blushed hard and looked into Clash eyes with his lust. Yuji undress both of them and started sucking on Clash's neck and then to his chest licking, sucking and biting with passion. Clash just covered his mouth with his hands to make the sinful sounds he was making low volumed.

"Please don't cover your mouth. Let me hear you sweet baby" Yuji said pressing his lips onto his boyfriend. Yuji then quickly lubed his partner's hole and started fingering him.

"Yuji don't stop ahhh.... It feels so good" Yuji inserted the second finger and then the third one. "I think you are ready" said Yuji. Yuji then picked Clash's one leg and rested on his shoulder , grabbing Clash hands with his one. And another resting on the bed for support. "Put it inside already" Clash said.

Yuji quickly started to put his cock inside his partners hole. He stopped on some points to let Clash adjust. When he is fully in , he took out his cock leaving the tip inside and pounded on him with a quick pace.

Both of them panting from the pounding. Slick and sloppy sounds and skin slapping with the moans of both of them filling the room. Clash couldn't even know about it when he shot out his seeds . His mind went blur as he finished his first orgasm. Moaning from overstimulation , he said Yuji to slow down. But Yuji quicked his pace more.

"Baby I am going to c-cum. Inside or outside" asked Yuji. "In" said Clash. As Yuji got his permission he kissed Clash on lips and bite on his lower lip. He soon shot out a heavy load inside Clash. Clash moaned softly from the warm sensation inside him. Yuji moaned with satisfaction.

Yuji hugged his lover and big spooned Clash while his cock still inside Clash.

"I love you" said Clash. "I love you too and more" said Itadori. "Let's clean it up later. Let's just catch up breath and cuddle a little first" suggested Yuji. "Oky for me." Replied Clash kissing the hands of Yuji.

[cboffshore]

surprise! the ( sick and festering ) enabler anon returns with a QOTD! maybe one day i’ll put the enabler in my tumblr bio if i ever decide to do a funny scooby doo villain mask reveal.

anywho, onto the ask! i’ve asked this question before about OSSAS, but on regards to the new fic; any songs that come to mind that you’d like to share when it comes to writing it? i’m a little bit crazy on song analysis ☺️ hope your day has been good!!

Welcome back! I'm horrible with reading bios (like, I maybe do it ONCE when I follow someone and basically never again) but I'll have to keep an eye out 👀

Anyway! ALA songs! That's subject to change with each chapter, as my writing music is VERY rarely consistent, but for now I can take you through the four songs used or implied in c1:

"Baby Annihilation" by Fall Out Boy - that's our title track! I chose that because the lyric "what is there between us if not a little annihilation?" fits Jay and Nya's relationship pretty nicely, if sarcastically. seriously, they NEVER catch a break! All of their milestones center on some kind of destruction. That lyric also works for what they'll get up to in C2, which is the primary reason I chose it.

"Cryptozoology" by Patrick Stump - this is where I got the chapter name from! Something about the entire Soul Punk album strikes me as very Jay-ish, and "Cryptozoology" is a hidden track on that album, which is kind of fun. As with in-universe knowledge of Skybound, you only know it's there if you have VERY specific information available (although this song is much, much easier to find - it's just bundled with another one and presented as an 8 minute track with no interruption - and definitely not traumatic or time-rending). It's also just a fun track. Lyrically, this one touches on self-confidence and bizarre happenings. This entire track is a good fit for what I want to do here when it comes to Jay's Skybound recovery, but I like the second verse and chorus for that especially:

3. "Catastrophe!" by The Fold has the added bonus of being at least reasonably canon, thanks to the band showing up in the SOG finale. And also in prison at some point. (Ask me about how The Fold's existence in-universe also supports the existence of Fall Out Boy sometime!) Anyway! This is the one that triggers Jay's flashback, which is appropriate, because its lyrics have mild shades of classic Jay angst post-traumatic panic attacks. Granted, I'm trying to AVOID that trend, but the song was too good to pass up. Also, the guitar screech I mention is real, albeit VERY quiet. It catches me off guard if my volume is too high, though, so I thought it would work for Jay.

4."BREAKDOWN" by Tessa Violet is the track Jay shuffles to to get out of his own head. In terms of sound, it's a big jump from "Catastrophe!" - it starts with a bouncy, casual, almost understated beat that doesn't get intense til later in the song. "Catastrophe!" is intense right away. Lyrically, it's about violent recovery - not violent as in painful, just loud and confident, a Gerard Way style "in the face of extermination, say fuck you" anthem. It's also got some of the hand imagery from Skybound that I love so much.

Anyway - nice to see you in the inbox again! Best believe I'll be trying to figure out who you are :)

[tchaikovskym]

did some work finally and anyway

i love tidyverse with my whole heart whoever made it lets kiss metaphorically

it went as expected except for some there wasnt any statistical difference between heart rate at rest and dynamic exercise, but everyone had difference between stroke volume so i guess its my first real conclusion

will have to check with theory though

im leaving everything else for sunday unless i strike an inspiration tomorrow. maybe im driving places. who knows.

anyway will do the same tomorrow with static exercise

but there is this one thing that keeps bugging me and it is the fact that my own heart betrayed me. literally. i was the only one whose cardiac output decreased with exercise. like man. dude. i dont think thats how it is supposed to be at all. would be funny if i discovered a pathology or something.

anyway im happy im like this close to writing conclusion for first question of the research! then ill have to move on to the next question which will be a bit trickier i guess because it involves recovery period and i just realized my fatal mistake of not taking in account time in any of the data i specifically organized for analysis

oh and also still have to find out how to show significant differences in ggplot

overall nice. im not so bad at data analysis after all. felt so helpless at the beginning lol

[perfectlyjollywombat]

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[crimsonxe]

I'm just going to do this instead of replies as it allows 1 post vs. 10:

[RT didnt give CRWBY enough time to do jack with the show, and it was obvious in the production. Lots of love, little polish due to the crunch]

There's very few areas where this actually applies. We don't for instance need a "this is what Sun is up to" episode; that'd be a nice addition but isn't a need. There hasn't been a part of the story where I've been "oh but that needed more time", outside of way back in v4 with Yang's recovery. Though even that was fixed via the v4-5 canon comics that showed more of it without taking from the actual bigger things happening.

[The show, if it had enough time to flow like it should have, would have been far better. Characters would be able to work out their flaws and issues, and they wouldnt change massively between seasons or episodes]

While I can't say anything about other shows, but no characters in RWBY "change massively between seasons or episodes" without good reason. Yang changed post v3, because of what happened to her at the end of it; just to name the easiest example. I've already gone into Adam and IW with how they didn't massively change just progressed down their own roads with the traits that were shown with them.

[Also, the outfits are just…no. Weiss’s hair. The blue making her look like she fell in a vat of blueberries. Yang’s clothes making her look bland and dull, compared to her vibrancy before. Her hair looking play-dough in shade. Blake’s outfit being 99% zipper. Ruby’s was okay, though. This all was due to rush, and crunchtime being crunched as usual. No tome to flesh out anything. Having to blur 99% of weapon shifting. Having weiss be a SUMMONER rather than a fencer spellblade like she was best at]

I completely fall the other direction cause to me Weiss's Atlas design seems like an Artoria Pendragon aka Saber (Fate Stay Night & Zero) homage/inspired one that lines her up with a badass knight-esque look.

Absolutely bullshit on the Yang part, across the board. Though it is hilarious how you people go back and forth with either "there's too much going on" (her v4-6) or "its too bland" (v7-9). She looks badass and her hair has never looked like "play-dough" at any time in the show.

I don't care about Blake having zippers, she still looked awesome; especially after they retouched her hair.

Oh do absolutely fuck off on the blur bullshit. No they should NOT have to spend resources and time to animate the weapons ffs. That is NOT an important detail at fucking all.

Also at no Weiss wasn't pushed as just a fencer, from the start she was using glyphs as a mage leaned type. Once she learned how to summon she definitely leaned into it, because its powerful af. I would fucking lean into it if I learned I could do it.

[Having Ruby commit suicide was also a bad move tbh.]

No, it wasn't actually and she attempted it that led into her getting cosmic counseling for her 9 volumes of PTSD and trauma as well as being reassured that she is indeed worthy of her position and being who she is. There isn't a bad thing in that.

[All because of the crunch. No time to make a script better than adäquate. No time to ensure everything looks like it should. No time to flesh out details. No time to make changes to things too quick, or making things change too suddenly.]

The script hasn't been "adequate" since v4-5, v6+ have been the best of the goddamn show so far. Not a thing your ass has mentioned actually fits and instead is just your bullshit looking for reasons to have an issue; especially with it all tying into your own biases not objective fact or common consensus.

[Crunching time for the animators and writers and CRWBY was what made everything that the RWBY haters, well, hate, happen. They just had no time after what happened when Monty passed away. The crunchtime, stress, and chaos of losing the lead of the project and show was enough to lead to a spiral downwards. And despite that…RWBY was still good. Great at times.]

Um no dumbass, the story not making the show revolve around male characters; not fanservicing & waifu-ing the femmes; the not glorifying the military authoritarianism; the not giving a psychopathic edgelord terrorist a redemption; not catering to a genocidal general; and daring to have an LGBT+ main pairing = why there's hate. Also you're talking a lot about shit your ass doesn't have a clue about, which ftr none of us have a damn clue about for sure.

[Im hopeful that the new owners can make it work, especially if they have Dylan work with them (he made entire world engines for games and even worked on Genshin’s best animated scenes, iirc.)]

I don't particularly care if he's there or not since the little bit of his stuff I've seen hasn't blown me away. All I care about is that Kerry is still there so it'll keep as it has been in respecting and centering its femmes, being more progressive, and having LGBT+.

[The reason i have an issue with Yang helping kill him is that in my eyes, its less Yang & Blake Vs Adam and more Bumblebee vs Adam. I love Bumblebee, don’t get me wrong, but in my eyes is less of them getting over it during the fight, and more of Yang and Blake’s stories being hammered together. Which would work for the story, if not for the issue of there being no real OOMPH to it all. The ending was on point. Blake collapsing into Yangs arms for support was great. But it was less if them as a unit against what was hunting Blake, and more of a ‘see how much Yang loves Blake?’ Thing in my eyes. Thats my dog water opinion. If Yang had been more vocal against Adam, perhaps it would have hit different for me. But as I said, my opinions are controversial at best, even to me. In my eyes, most issues with RWBY come from the time crunching. No time to make things realistically complex or philosophically deep more than a little.]

Adam literally CUT YANG'S ARM OFF, there is all the damn "oomph" in the world for them clashing again. It was two survivors of trauma going against the one that caused it as well as showcasing the abusiveness of Adam towards Blake for anyone that didn't get the memo by that point. With things like "if you'd just behave" it shows how he was towards her. Part of that whole thing did involve BB, because it was intrinsically linked via Yang being the contrast to Adam and BB being the contrast to TD.

[To be honest, if CRWBY had been given their own time frames, then RWBY would be far better made and polished, with a story capable of matching its fight scenes.]

v6-9 show they deliver a polished story; and v9 shows they're fully capable of delivering amazing fight scenes.

[as i said, i want Ironwood dead. Or rather, to try and redeem himself at the last moment, only to die. And Adam was a piece of shit i agree. Im sadly one of the people who get so caught up in ‘potential’ that i get lost in it.]

The difference is that you want his traits ignored and him to be redeemed; I prefer the route where his worst traits lead him to his fall and when he comes face to face with his biggest fear she completely ignores him to walk away like he's not even there. The bigger point with Adam is that he always was, there was no big change there.

[yes. I suppose i wanted Ironwood to have a moment where he realized he was the bad guy, but in the end im not the writer.]

That possibility was lost the moment he sacrificed his humanity to be more like Salem. Though there was a flicker of his inner self briefly showing through when Winter stood against and called him out, then he has a single tear run down his cheek. That was whatever was left of his buried humanity that quickly gets shoved back into its mental cage as he goes on to try to tell Winter she's wrong.

[And the bees kiss was great, but the situation of it wasn’t. I KNOW it was planned from day one. But them being in their own separate universe during the punderstorm, was just, mid and rushy. ���You two will never leave unless you confess your love’ feelings.]

The situation was fine, no different than in a sitcom where friends of the characters everyone knows have a thing for each other "accidentally" lock them in a room together and have to go get help to get them out; all to push them to finally come out with their feelings. Blake had just gone through seeing Yang to her at the time die via falling into the voidspace; Yang had just gone through thinking she had died; then boom they reunite and are even more blatant with the flirting due to the charge of that near death event; it makes perfect sense its what's on their minds. There isn't anything at all feel mid or rushed or even off, the entire idea of the punderstorm is to resolve conundrums/issues or wait for them to pass. The punderstorm itself is perfectly fine as well via "magical other world" and on top of that allows for the gorgeous scene given that couldn't happen outside of it. There are no growing lily vines on a floating chunk of land reacting to a big damn kiss setups outside of the punderstorm.

[Renora kiss happened and i was like ‘what, shouldn’t they flesh out Nora even more now? Eh.’]

The big Renora kiss (v7) happened BEFORE that scene (v8) and Beyond shows that Nora is still figuring herself out and not together with Ren as he's allowing her the space to do so; while still trying to be a close friend to her. It wasn't tossed away like you seem to be implying.

[Thats why they cut Jaune out by sending him 30 or more years back. They. Needed. More. Time. To flesh out 4 of their 8 main characters. They still didn’t have enough time. They couldn’t do all they wanted. Thats why they needed instant solutions to Ruby’s self doubt and self hate. Thats why so much got cut away. No time to implement it all in a way RT would allow. No time to flesh anything else out more than ‘good enough’]

Um they didn't send him back to cut him, as he still shows up where it makes sense for him to show up just older. Also v9's exploration of characters was far more than "good enough", it was fucking fantastic. Also there was no "instant solution", there was a cosmic counselor who LISTENED to Ruby, wasn't judgemental, and reassured her.

[RT dying and wanting RWBY to save it ironically is what made RWBY not as good as it could have, should have been. It’s ironically what made WB kill of RT.]

Um no there was no "wanting RWBY to save it" and actually v9 is the best the show has ever fucking been. If anything v9 had them full-diving into the story and hyper focusing on the characters as well as polishing the animation overall to the best state its ever had.

Also no WBD killed off RT cause David Zaslav and his penny-pinchers are pieces of shit with no clue on artistry or how to run a damn business. The day that man falls over from a heart-attack the WBD brand will be better off and actually start to make a profit again.

Im happy RWBY has a new home, but im cautious about it. no matter how much i love and adore RWBY, it went through some bad choices, controversy, and some other stuff, so im worried about how the new studio is gonna change/fix that stuff…

[shawnjacksonsbs]

Living THE Gratitude is entirely different, and it speaks volumes above anything else. 8-12-23

"There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average." - The Big Book

I'm glad I didn't end up a lifer.

I'm good on all that noise.

Life.

My life.

On its terms.

'Nuff said????

As human beings, we can turn the simplest thing on its head, trying to overcome it.

Making the "want to" a priority is where I believe we lose most of them. I was so . . .almost one myself.

Little House on the Prairie, man they had me this whole time, even on the exaggerated episodes. Even those episodes.

What really helped captivate me was not that they were just believers, but how they were.

Down to earth, hardworking, real, authentic, non-hypocritical, and way less judgmental. It was nice to see. It did used to feel like that whole "warm hug" just watching.

And Charles stood out to me, but I have to say I was extremely disappointed in how they did the season finale of season 8.

It's technically just Little House now, no on the Prairie, as we move on to season 9.

Hope the can redeem . . .me. That episode just threw it for me, though. I'm not going to go into why right now, but you can see for yourself if you want.

Moving on.

I've been more tired these last few days. Not like my normal "always tired" either.

I mean like weaker, drained, and fatigued. Almost like what would accompany a sick, like flu.

I just need a good rest.

I suppose this is just going to be my notes, copied and pasted this time.

Not a lot of strength in this one, but at least I'm not as wore down as I was yesterday.

And, we are going to a cousin's pool party tomorrow. That'd be cousins from my dad's side. We're not entirely estranged but I haven't had the time with them over the years that I had with the other side. Some I haven't seen in person in years.

Long over due. Nervous and excited. I think it's going to be a good time.

I also got a call from my oldest son down in Springfield in that recovery program. But we'll stick a pin in that until I know more.

So I guess that's it for this week guys.

Remember to share your love and your laughter with the world around you, and be kind, even when your brain won't stop being judgy all by itself, fake the kindness.

Civility is the only acceptable substitute for kindness. Just my opinion.

Until next week;

"I feel so strongly that deep and simple is far more essential than shallow and complex.

. . .

And what our society gives us is shallow and complicated." - Fred Rogers

P.S.

If you swing way out the opposite way before making a turn in your car. . .

Stop. Just stop. You ain't a tractor trailer. What are you trying to avoid??

[coweggomelet]

here we go volume 4

i like to call this one the emo volume

- eurgh more grimm juice

- oh boy murder teens what did you get yourselves into

- you know cinder really had a rough moment there and sometimes when that happens you gotta make some changes, shake things up a bit. get a new wardrobe. cut your hair. get a grimm arm, i dunno

- light tinkling gliding cloak rustling soft voice she’s so creeeeepy

- oscar!!!! my boy!!! my baby!!!

- i like that every couple of volumes everyone gets a wardrobe change

- ruby’s ability to descend into a fit of giggles even in the face of horrible circumstances will always be so wonderful

- awww his new sword. and the lil red sash

- awww hi klein!! i love you! you’re such a good father figure to weiss

- whitley currently is a little bitch. but he has a nice lil arc from that to ‘on thin fuckin ice’ and eventually lands at ‘baby’ so. love him. but right now he’s annoying

- ohhhh fuck the hoofprint

- the thing about this conversation is that i don’t like what either of them are trying to do. it’s a money grabbing capitalist vs a paranoid fascist. both bad

- weiss you’ve grown so much already i’m so proud of you

- jacque is a pageant mom. change my mind

- klein is such a good dad. i love him so much

- oh god the video, oh man. fuck i’m gonna cry. my sweet boy… he just wants to make her proud. he just wants her back. oh god, she’s proud of him. these writers keep making me cry and frankly it’s unacceptable

- i know who built yang her aaaarrmm

- this boat captain is on top of it

- oh god the orb thing. fuckin clicker noise. eeeuuuurrgghh i hate it

- “…hello?” *complete silence* “HI IM PROFESSOR OZPIN” good job oz

- i love tai & yang’s banter so much, tai is such a good dad

- i love that qrow is being their guardian angel. like technically he’s bad luck but he’s making their journey so much easier

- she’s an asshole but boy oh boy is raven a badass

- i know who the spring maiden iiiissss hehehehehe

- i love menagerie man

- hehehehehe blake’s a princess

- more good parents!!! i love them so much!!!

- these white fang fox guys are so creepy and unsettling i hate their weird little voices

- if jacque is gonna force weiss to sing, she’s gonna sing a ‘fuck you dad’ song and that’s why i love her

- wait wait henry marigold?? as in may marigold?? of the happy huntresses??? i never connected that!

- god i hate rich people

- i love that weiss’s first full summons happens cause her dad is an asshole and rich people suck

- oh tyrian you creep

- I LOVE NORA VALKYRIE she’s so strooong

- uncle to the rescue!!!

- oh my poor lil boy oscar. he’s so scared and confused

- people need to stop slapping my girls or i’m gonna go feral

- every single member of the weiss family (except jacque obviously) is so traumatized and abused and i am so sad for them cause jacque really managed to not only abuse them but turn them against each other, so instead of being able to take comfort in the solidarity of being abused by the same person, they’re in competition with each other, or resentful of each other. they do eventually reach that, but seeing them now is just heartbreaking

- fuck yeah qrow punch him!

- aaaahhhh i love that move!! throwing the sword and landing on it while it’s upright in the ground??? incredible! 10/10

- fuck yessss ruby fight fuckin dirty 

- uh oh dangerous objects better keep those from the big bad

- way to interrupt a tender family moment sun

- so many tender family moments i love this

- yessss weiss i love youuuuuu— whitley you little bitch you ruined it

- weiss’s sword looks like those multi color pens with the switches

- ilia’s sword coil thing is so fucking cool

- it will always break my heart the way ren unlocked his semblance. and how clearly tragic nora’s life was before she met ren

- nope no thank you don’t like creepy dens with bones and broken weapons and icky grimm juice

- JAILBREAK

- oh fuck oh god i hate this thing i hate it so much it’s so creepy and unnatural i hate that grimm can be creepy and weird why can’t they just be regular scary

- fuck y’all don’t let evil elastigirl get you

- jaune my boy he got big sword!!

- FUCK YEAH REN STARE THAT SHIT DOWN YOU FUCKIN BADASS YOU GET THAT CLOSURE I LOVE YOUUU IM SO PROUD OF YOU

- mistral is so prettyyyy i love a mountain city

- i love nora and ren you guys

- ugh the fuckin rat man fuck all the way off discount john watson

- awww oscar’s so brave, what a good note to end on

[heyiwrotesomethings]

It’s Been Too Long

Shinobu Kochou x She/Her Reader

A/N: Alright Shinobu Community, take a fuckin’ sip babes. It’s kind of a long one. My brain was like, friends to enemies to friends to lovers? To which I replied, this is going to be simultaneously too long and too short. I love me some slow burn but also I can’t justify putting that much time into something like this lol. While writing this I learned that one becomes a Hashira by killing a demon moon OR killing at least fifty demons. I didn't know that before, but I was in too deep to fix things. Y’all are a Kinoe rank that probably should be a Hashira given how much slaying you’ve done, sorry! As far as warnings go, I think we’re good. Unless fighting and misunderstandings aren’t your thing. It’ll all be better in the end though!  Word Count: 15,088 

The estate was dark and bleak. It had rained for nearly a week straight, the patter of water against the solid structure of the tiled roof was a near constant companion to the blank static of despair that clouded everyone’s minds.

Kochou Kanae had died of lethal injuries bequeathed to her by a high ranking demon who had left her to bleed out as the sun made its appearance. Perhaps if it had risen even just a few minutes prior, she could have evaded such a cruel fate.

Shinobu had found her of course, the world is just that cruel, or perhaps kind in giving her sister that closure, to be able to see her one last time before she took her last gurgling breath.

It was appropriate, the rain. After the funeral it was a temporary reminder of the warmth that had been reaped from the estate, never to be felt again in this lifetime. Not that (Y/n), Kanao, Aoi, or the youngest residents of the estate needed a reminder. Shinobu certainly didn’t either.

“Shinobu, you didn’t come to dinner. Please try to eat something.” (Y/n) coaxed, sliding the door open. The only light came from a small lantern inside the swirling gloom of the room, highlighting Shinobu hunched over her desk with her head in her hands. “Shinobu?”

“It’s only been a week.” (Y/n) strained to hear the taut whisper of the girl who had grown to be her closest friend. The girl who had given her a second chance at life when she had nowhere else to go. It hurt to hear her sound so broken. “It feels like time is standing still and going too fast at the same time.”

(Y/n) set the light meal in front of Shinobu and leaned against the desk, the wood creaked slightly as she did so. “I know what you mean. I feel the same.”

It wasn’t the first time they’ve talked like this. To be survivors of such unthinkable atrocities, one could go crazy keeping it all locked inside. The guilt, fear, helplessness... sometimes the memories played on loop night after night, waking up to the screams in their minds making sick harmonies with their own.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Shinobu spoke tentatively after a moment of drizzling static tapping against the roof. She raised herself just enough to wrestle a paper out from under her arms and slid it to (Y/n). “Oyakata-sama has sent me a summons to meet with him and the Hashira. He intends for me to take,” Shinobu’s voice grew tighter and she could not bring herself to finish, instead a painful sounding intake of air was all that was audible.

(Y/n) took the paper, holding it close to her face as she squinted, the dull light of the lantern made the letter a bit difficult to read, but the message was clear.

“He wants you to take her place.” (Y/n) frowned, a pained gleam pricked at the corners of her eyes.

“It’s been too long, but yet, not long enough,” Shinobu’s fists tightened, “I know the world hasn’t stopped spinning, demons haven’t stopped killing, but why do they want to replace her so quickly? Why are they willing to toss her aside? I don’t...”

“Shinobu,”

Shinobu finally looked up at (Y/n), angry and mournful tears tracked down her face, “I’m not my sister, I’m not Hashira material. I can’t fill the hole she left, (Y/n)!”

(Y/n) abandoned her perch on the desk to crouch beside Shinobu, enveloping her in her arms. Shinobu tightly grasped her back, watery gasps and sharp inhales fell from her lips as she tried to gain control of her breathing once more.

“Oyakata-sama knows you aren’t Kanae. You’re strong in your own right, Shinobu. He wouldn’t breach the subject if he didn’t think you could succeed by your own merits.”

“I have to keep the estate in order, the infirmary, the girls... I can’t take all this responsibility—“

“You don’t have to,” (Y/n) cut her off, the words came a bit sharper than she meant them too, “you’re not alone Shinobu. We can all have our own parts to play. You don’t have to shoulder this all by yourself.”

“Thank you.” Shinobu’s voice cracked.

They had stayed up well into the night. They hardly talked, the two young girls sat huddled together, holding each other tightly. No matter how much they’ve been hurt, time continues moving forward. Just because a boat has been shredded against a reef, that doesn’t mean the waves will grant reprieve from their assault. No, one is expected to keep swimming or to swallow the salty brine and drown. The Butterfly Estate’s allotted time for grief had passed. Now they were being given the not so subtle command that it was time to get back to work.

***

“I wish you could come with me.” Shinobu said the next morning as she sat on the engawa to put on her shoes. “Even if they made you wait outside I would feel a bit better.”

“You’ll be okay, we’ll be thinking about you all day and waiting for you to come back home.” (Y/n) assured, resting her hand on Shinobu’s back. She was almost afraid to touch the haori Shinobu now adorned, as if her hand would pass right through the material.

(Y/n) was surprised when she saw Shinobu wearing it instead of her usual short white haori, though she supposed there was comfort in holding this piece of her sister close. Perhaps the butterfly patterned haori could comfort Shinobu where (Y/n) and the others could not.

(Y/n) must have been staring too long because Shinobu leaned away from her hand, catching it with her own before (Y/n) could withdraw it completely. Shinobu squeezed the hand a moment, (Y/n) swore her heart froze upon seeing the ghostly smile painted over Shinobu’s lips.

“You’re right. No point in fretting over it, is there?”

“...Right,” (Y/n) blinked, “yeah. You’re going to do great.” (Y/n) managed a smile in return but she could feel the corner of her lips tremble at the effort. She wasn’t sure why, but this smile Shinobu was sporting sent chills down her spine.

“I’ll be off then,” Shinobu stood, releasing (Y/n)’s hand as she stepped away from the engawa, “Do make sure to keep everything in order while I’m away.”

“Of course!” (Y/n) winced at her own volume and Shinobu exhaled a quiet chuckle before turning away to make her way down the path. (Y/n) watched until the haunting haori could no longer be seen between the wisteria trees.

***

It was rather late when Shinobu returned. (Y/n) had just helped the youngest girls of the estate get ready for bed and was heading to the kitchens to prepare some tea to help her sleep. She had jumped in her skin when she saw the back of the butterfly patterned haori in the dim lantern light. Shinobu turned at the sound and sent a small, tired smile (Y/n)’s way.

“I thought I’d catch you here before you turned in for the night.” Shinobu spoke. “You almost always take a cup of tea to bed. I hope you don’t mind having some of what I’ve already prepared.”

It wasn’t the first time Shinobu caught her going to the kitchen to make tea. Though usually it was much later in the dead of night when nightmares and grief kept sleep at bay. (Y/n) wasn’t sure what kind of leaves or brewing Shinobu did, but her tea always managed to knock (Y/n) out cold into deep, dreamless bliss. Something about the way Shinobu was speaking was rubbing (Y/n) the wrong way however. There was none of the familiar attitude. The bashful bitterness that came with the sweetness of the tea. (Y/n) decided to shake it off and returned Shinobu’s tired smile. It would take time for things to seem normal again.

“You know me too well. Thank you.” (Y/n) graciously took the cup, relishing in the cup’s warmth and the relaxing scent that wafted off of the steam. “How did today go?”

“It was... fine.” Shinobu’s smile faltered and she quickly disguised it by sipping her own tea. “I’m officially a Hashira. Insect Pillar Kochou Shinobu.”

“It has a nice ring to it.” (Y/n) put in after a moment’s consideration hidden behind the guise of her clearing her throat. She didn’t know if a ‘congratulations’ would be what Shinobu would want to hear give the circumstances that led up to her new title.

“And how was holding down the fort?” Shinobu asked. It seemed she wanted to shift the topic of conversation away from herself. Not that (Y/n) could blame her.

“Everything went smoothly. Well, Aoi did get a bit aggravated with Kanao about one of her coin decisions but we worked it out. Sumi, Kiyo and Naho are picking up the recovery training lessons quickly and are doing very well. The Kakushi have been taking great care of the infirmary. All patients were still stable last I checked in.” (Y/n) reported.

“Thank you for keeping up with all of that.”

“I have to pull my weight around here somehow.” (Y/n) replied, hiding a yawn behind one hand.

“It’s getting late. You should get to bed before the tea kicks in any further.” Shinobu said, putting her own cup down.

“Aren’t you getting tired too?”

“I made myself a different brew, actually. I’ve got more work to do.” Shinobu allowed herself a little sly smile at the tiny frown (Y/n) wore as she looked into her own empty cup as if it had betrayed her somehow.

“Well, don’t forget you need to sleep too. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“Goodnight, (Y/n).” Shinobu called over her shoulder. She was already walking out of the kitchen.

“I mean it Shinobu. Promise me you’ll sleep tonight.” (Y/n) gently demanded, slipping into the hall to fall in step beside Shinobu.

“I’ll promise to try. Is that acceptable?” Shinobu asked, a bit of familiar snark came through and it made (Y/n) relax a bit and nod.

“Alright. Goodnight, Shinobu.”

At the end of the hall they broke off in different directions. Shinobu to the lab and (Y/n) to her room.

***

(Y/n) went through most of her morning routine before going out of her way to find the newly appointed Hashira. She hadn’t seen her since they parted last night. (Y/n) groaned inwardly, already assuming she’d find the young scientist still balancing equations and mixing beakers.

(Y/n) adjusted her butterfly hairpin before knocking her knuckles against the door, waiting for a reply.

“Shinobu?” (Y/n) had called out after another knock led to no reply. (Y/n) frowned and slid the door open of her own volition, closing it behind her once she was inside. It didn’t take long for her to find the exhausted girl hunched over an array of papers, dead asleep.

“When I told you to go to sleep last night, I had your own bed in mind, not a desk.” (Y/n) sighed quietly.

(Y/n) startled at another knock at the door.

“Who is it?” She asked, keeping her voice soft as to not disturb Shinobu.

“It’s Hayato, miss.” The muffled voice called. Ah, one of the Kakushi. “Kochou-sama has guests to attend to.”

“Set them up in the garden with tea, please. Kochou-sama will meet them just as soon as she finishes these papers.” (Y/n) said. It would not do to have news of the young master of the estate sleeping so late in the morning, and at her desk no less.

The Kakushi dismissed himself to carry out his orders and (Y/n)’ shoulders relaxed as his footprints faded down the hall. (Y/n) didn’t want to wake Shinobu, but if her presence was required, then the meeting must be important.

“Hey, Shinobu,” (Y/n) called softly, gently shaking Shinobu’s shoulders, “you have guests that need to see you.”

Shinobu managed to curl further into herself, mumbling a few curses under her breath that (Y/n) couldn’t help but giggle at.

“Maybe you’d feel better if you had actually gone to bed instead of passing out like this.”

“Who is it, what do they need?” Shinobu grumped, sitting up to stretch her abused spine.

“I’m not sure. A Kakushi came by to tell you about them. I asked him to set them up in the garden with tea.”

“Thank you for taking care of that,” Shinobu rubbed her eyes and stood, her chair scratching against the floor, “I should get going then.”

“Let me fix your hair quick at least.” (Y/n) said, already freeing Shinobu of her own butterfly clip. “Hold still.”

“It’s a little hard when you keep tugging your fingers through my hair.” Shinobu winced.

“Sorry, just a second.” (Y/n) spoke around the butterfly wing that she held between her lips as her fingers worked to gather Shinobu’s hair. Once Shinobu’s hair was neatly clipped back into place, (Y/n) circled her and smoothed out the wrinkles in Shinobu’s clothes the best she could before finally backing away with a satisfied nod.

“Are you done yet?” Shinobu asked, a faint dusting of blush powdered her cheeks.

“Yeah, you still look tired, but at least you look a little more presentable.” (Y/n) said, opening the lab door and ushering Shinobu through it.

“Presentable.” Shinobu scoffed. “Come with me to the garden?”

“I don’t know if that would be appropriate. I’m not sure who is visiting.”

“Just make yourself busy in the blooms. You live here, you can go where you please.”

“Okay, I’ll come.”

The young girls made their way outside, it was warm and sunny, a bit humid as well after all the rain the week before. The sweet smell of the flowers invited deeper breaths to swallow up the scent into every bronchiole of their lungs.

(Y/n) broke off from Shinobu with a little wave, giving a respectful acknowledgment to the people waiting with their tea before busying herself with the flora. Checking on the quality of the plants as Kanae had taught her. The memories spent with the older girl who had taught her so much made (Y/n) shiver despite the warmth of the sun beating down.

(Y/n) would on occasion, discreetly observe the progression of the meeting. The smile Shinobu wore as she spoke to the visitors unnerved her. Even just the way Shinobu was holding herself now, prim and proper, (Y/n) wondered what they could possibly be talking about.

Then the familiar cawing of a crow circling over her head broke (Y/n) from her thoughts. She released her gentle grip over the flower she had stopped to smell and craned her neck to see her crow calling out to her. A mission, her heartbeat picked up in pace. She hadn’t been on one since a few days before Kanae’s death. How out of practice could she be?

“Pardon the noise,” (Y/n) bowed. The meeting had paused in their hushed conversation to observe the bird as well. (Y/n) hardly gave Shinobu a glance as she past. Her fingers trembling slightly as she made her way back inside to retrieve her nichirin blade from her room. (Y/n)’s mind buzzed and her crow’s caws sounded muted and muffled, far away. She kept walking, willing her breaths to remain controlled. Her concentration broke as a hand reached out from behind her and tugged her back.

(Y/n) turned to meet Shinobu’s eyes. Though more subdued, the concern she saw there was genuine.

“(Y/n), I kept telling you to stop. Are you listening to me?”

“I’m sorry, I guess I was just focusing on the mission ahead.”

Shinobu breathed deeply releasing the air in a shaky exhale before gripping (Y/n)’s face in one hand, surprising her.

“No you weren’t.” Shinobu’s grip was firm, “You need to concentrate on your surroundings. I was almost yelling at you just now. I need to know you are going to be able to keep your head about you out there.”

(Y/n) tried to nod her head but Shinobu’s hand kept her head in place.

“I need to hear you say it.” Shinobu said.

“I can keep my head. I will.” (Y/n) swallowed uncomfortably.

Shinobu searched (Y/n)’s face, slowly releasing her grip from (Y/n)‘s jaw and instead grabbed at the neck of (Y/n)’s uniform pulling her so close their noses bumped.

“You better,” She spoke softly.

“I will,” (Y/n) repeated.

Shinobu untensed, her fingers released (Y/n)’s uniform and she wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug that (Y/n) quickly reciprocated.

“Your meeting,” (Y/n) recalled after a moment.

“I asked to be excused. I’m the master of the estate, I can get away with escaping for for a few minutes.”

“I wouldn’t make a habit out of it if I were you.” (Y/n) attempted to joke.

“Only when it matters.” Shinobu nodded seriously, causing (Y/n)’s heart to leap.

(Y/n)’s crow cawed impatiently and the girls parted. (Y/n) left to retrieve her blade and Shinobu watched her back as she left, her hands clenched into tight fists beneath the sleeves of her sister’s haori.

***

Night after night, the missions kept coming. (Y/n) had begun to wonder if she’d ever get to go home again as days became weeks. Scattered letters between waves of demon slaying were the best she could manage to make sure everyone back home knew she was alright.

Another night, a new moon. A few more nights and it would be a full month since she’d last seen everyone. She was glad she took the time to say goodbye before she left. She never imagined she’d be asked to work for so long without reprieve.

Another well timed flower breathing technique beheads another demon and (Y/n) falls against the trunk of a tree breathing hard. She is uninjured but greatly fatigued. The thought to sit and rest hardly enters her mind before her crow commands her eastward to eliminate another threat before dawn.

Breath after breath, technique after technique, night after night (Y/n) fought until everything ached and beyond. When she saw the the sun peak out over the horizon it was almost enough to bring (Y/n) to tears, but she never faltered. She had to stay strong. This was the life she chose to pursue. To save people from the same fate that befallen so many people she had cared about.

It was during an exceptionally hot day when the sun was at its highest point that (Y/n) flinched awake at the shrill squawks she had grown to loathe.

“What?” She hissed between her teeth, her fingers knotting in the grass that had served as her bed for the day.

“Return home to the Butterfly Estate! Return home to recover and rest! Await further instruction!”

(Y/n) lifted herself to rest on her elbows to stare wide-eyed at the bird sitting in the tree branch overhead. For the first time in that very long month, she allowed the tears to finally fall.

***

(Y/n) felt nervous coming back after so long. She opted to return from the rear entrance in an attempt to not garner too much attention. She allowed herself a tentative smile as the gardens came into view. Her fingers skimmed across the colorful blooms as she walked, freezing up only when she saw Shinobu collecting herbs in the distance. Her foot snapped a twig, alerting Shinobu to glance behind her.

“Hi, stranger.” Shinobu simpered, getting to her feet. “Oh!”

(Y/n) forgot all her previous worries and jogged up to Shinobu, picking her up with the added strength that she had built up in her month long absence and twirled her around with abandon.

“(Y/n)?” Shinobu chuckled with surprise, bracing her arms around (Y/n)‘s shoulders as she was flung around.

“I missed you!” (Y/n) sniffled, finally putting the girl down but still holding her tightly.

“I missed you too.” Shinobu said, rubbing (Y/n)’s back. “What took so long getting back, hm?”

“Mission after mission after mission.” came (Y/n)’s bitter reply. “I actually cried when my crow told me I could come home... I don’t know why I told you that. That’s embarrassing.”

Shinobu laughed, pulling back from (Y/n) to get a good look at her. “My, (Y/n), I can tell your time away had made you stronger. Even if you are still a bit of a crybaby.”

“Hey!” (Y/n) pouted.

“(Y/n) is back!”

“Woah!”

(Y/n) was sent stumbling backward a few steps by three blurs of white. Naho, Sumi and Kiyo spoke a mile a minute filling in (Y/n) on all the goings on of the estate. Aoi and Kanao came by soon after and gave (Y/n) their own greetings, expressing their happiness over the slayer’s return in their own ways.

It was good to be home, it was. But after a few days, (Y/n) really got a chance to see how different Shinobu had become.

The tone of her voice carried like a soft breeze and a polite smile could always be seen on her lips. Aoi reminded (Y/n) more of the Shinobu she remembered than the current Shinobu before her. It unnerved her. The way Shinobu would tilt her head just so and giggle daintily into her hand... it was like staring at a ghost.

(Y/n) thought she could get over the change, but she simply couldn’t. Not when staring into those dark, purple eyes. Oh, how they swirled with anger and despair. If Shinobu couldn’t fully believe in the persona she had crafted for herself, then (Y/n) wouldn’t either. Late one night while helping Shinobu in the lab, (Y/n) finally decided to confront her.

“Why do you keep smiling like that?” (Y/n) frowned, worrying the page of the textbook before her between her fingers.

“Hm? I’m afraid I don’t quite know what you mean.” Shinobu replied casually, smile still firmly in place as she crushed some herbs under her pestle.

“You do too know what I mean,” (Y/n) eyebrows furrowed slightly in aggravation, “why do you keep smiling like you’re okay when you’re clearly not?”

“What have I said or done that makes you think I’m not okay? I’m perfectly fine, (Y/n),” she chuckled, “you worry for nothing.”

“That mask might have everyone else fooled... or maybe they’re just complacent, but I’m tired of pretending nothing is wrong. Talk to me, Shinobu.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Shinobu shook her head, “there is nothing to discuss. Perhaps I’ve kept you up too late.”

“You shouldn’t have to hide what you’re truly feeling,” (Y/n) persisted, “not from me at least. I thought we were friends.”

“We are.” Shinobu’s tone was nearly clipped as she crushed the herbs a bit more vigorously.

“Then stop acting so, so fake!” (Y/n) spat, wincing almost immediately as fast has the words came out. There was probably a better way she could have said that. Before she could apologize and try again, Shinobu put the pestle on the table with a harsh clink and stalked over to where (Y/n) was sitting. Fighting to keep her tone in check, she stared (Y/n) down with that plastic smile and spoke in a low, hushed tone that filled (Y/n)’s veins with ice.

“So I’m fake, is that right? People change, (Y/n). You were gone for a month, you can’t expect everyone to wait for you, to not change or grow in your absence.”

“People change, yes,” (Y/n) swallowed tightly at the proximity, “but whatever this is Shinobu, I really don’t think it’s healthy. I can tell you’re bottling something up. Kanae—”

“Leave.”

“...what?”

“Leave,” Shinobu closes the textbook in front of (Y/n) and although she does so with care, the sound is deafening in (Y/n)’s ears, “I don’t care where you go, just get out of my lab. I’ve had my fill of this mindless chatter.”

“Are you being serious right now?” (Y/n) clenched her fists and stood from her chair, the legs slid roughly against the wood below.

“Yes, I don’t have time for immature children right now I’m afraid.” Came Shinobu’s airy reply.

“Immature— stop acting like you know better than me, we’re both kids, we’re fourteen!“ (Y/n) seethes, “I’m worried about you! I care about you! Don’t you get it?”

“Your worry is unfounded. It’s late and you are being of no help to me like this so I’ll ask you once more, leave.”

(Y/n) felt heat pricking the corners of her eyes. “I feel like I don’t know who you are anymore.” She breathed. “But fine, I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”

“At this moment in time, I couldn’t ask for anything better.” Shinobu replied, turning her back to (Y/n) to continue what she had previously been working on.

Once (Y/n) shut the door with finality and her quick footsteps became softer as she ran down the hall, Shinobu exhaled harshly, gripping the pestle tightly in her hand as she mercilessly pounded the dried herbs into dust.

“Only immature people don’t control their emotions... only immature people...”

As Shinobu repeated her mantra, (Y/n) burst into her room and looked around her. With trembling hands she changed into a fresh uniform and packed a small bag of belongings and slinging it over her shoulder. She grabbed her haori and attached her nichirin blade to her hip.

She looked around the room once more and caught her reflection in the little hand mirror on her desk, catching the bright colors of a wing that secured her hair in place. She reached back, freeing her hair from the clip and stared at it. She ran her thumb over the decorative clip before setting it on the desk. She reached for a plain hair band and tied her hair back with that instead.

(Y/n) left her room, sparing one last hurt glance at the butterfly clip before exiting the estate grounds. Before long, her crow circled overhead and (Y/n) held her arm out for the bird to take perch. The crow cawed at her expectantly, questioning her.

“If she wants me to leave, then what else is there to do?” (Y/n) shuddered in the wind. She turned away from the estate, willing herself not to turn back.

“Where will you go?” The crow asked.

“...I don’t know.”

With every step leaving the warmth of the estate farther behind, (Y/n)’s heart grew heavier in her chest.

***

“Have any of you seen (Y/n) today?” Shinobu asked the girls once they had come back in after hanging the laundry out to dry.

A chorus of negatives and head shakes met her and she sighed inwardly. “Very well then. Thank you.”

Shinobu traveled through the maze of hallways that made up her home, easily finding herself in front of (Y/n)’s door, knocking politely. With no reply, Shinobu forced herself not to roll her eyes and opened the door.

“(Y/n), if this is about last night...” Shinobu blinked at the empty room. Futon made, clean floors, not a thing out of place, but no (Y/n).

“Perhaps she’s out training.” Shinobu said to herself. She was about to close the door and head off into the gardens when a glint from the desk caught her eye and she approached. A soft gasp left her lips as she picked up the hairpin. Cradling it in her hands, Shinobu forced her breaths to remain controlled. (Y/n) had never gone a day without wearing the pin since the Kochou sisters gifted it to her.

In the safety of the empty room, Shinobu allowed herself to slump over the desk. She held the discarded hairpin close to her chest, immediately understanding what this small symbol meant. Yes, she knew what it meant, she just wished to know why. She fought against the waves, against the feeling that she was drowning again.

***

Four years was a long time, and if you asked (Y/n), the demon slayer would say that was especially true with her line of work. The demons were never the same, but the routine in between was lonely and dull. Kill a demon, settle down at an inn or in the trees for the day, move to the next village and repeat. Sometimes the stays were longer, but that was the gist of it.

(Y/n) kept to herself most of the time. There wasn’t really a point in making anything more than loose acquaintances with the constant traveling and dangers her work presented. Even on the few missions she had been paired up with other slayers in the area, she focused on the job at hand before quickly making her way to her next assignment. That started to change after she met Kamado Tanjirou and his demon sister Nezuko.

They did not get off on the right foot to say the least.

(Y/n) had been sent to the same location as the young slayer for a mission and knew something was off about him right away. Something off with that box he carried around anyway. (Y/n) opted to let him be for the time being, focusing on the mission ahead. Skip forward to the heat of battle, and (Y/n) could hardly believe her eyes when a demon burst from the boy’s box to attack another demon that had snuck around Tanjirou’s back.

(Y/n) had no time to watch and focus on this new development at the moment, she had her own demons to take care of. Her flower breathing techniques weaved through her enemies and heads went flying. Before long, the mission was completed and (Y/n) turned to the boy breathing heavily in the dirt with the demon from the box hovering over him looking at (Y/n) with curious eyes.

“You’re really skilled, (Y/n)-san!” Tanjirou praised, somehow unaware of the danger his sister was in, “You don’t even look like you’re out of breath.”

“I’ve been doing this for years. I know a lot. For instance,” (Y/n) spoke, her face stern as stone as she readied her blade, startling Tanjirou, “every demon must be destroyed.” She went in with a quick slash aimed at the demon’s neck  only to pause at the last second when the foolish younger boy leapt to his feet to shield the demon from the blow.

“What are you doing?” (Y/n) asked sternly.

“Wait, she’s my sister! She’s a good demon!”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you that what you are doing is against corps rules. I can sympathize with wanting to hold onto your loved ones, but there is no such thing as a good demon. Step aside.”

“No, Nezuko has never eaten a human and she never will!” Tanjirou held his ground while his sister growled at (Y/n) from behind him.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes. “Alright then,” she said with a sarcastic sweetness, “prove it.”

“What?” Tanjirou blinked.

“Prove it, take off the muzzle. Let’s see if she has as much control as you claim she does.”

“But—“

“It shouldn’t be a problem, right? If she’s as docile as you claim what’s the issue?”

Tanjirou grit his teeth and gently pulled the muzzle to rest around his sister’s neck. (Y/n) stepped forward, her face inches away from the demon. She wasn’t worried, if the demon lunged for her she was confident she could slice its head the moment the air changed.

“Well demon?” (Y/n) sighed, surprising Tanjirou by slicing the pad of her thumb on her sharp blade, “hungry?”

To Nezuko’s credit, she hardly flinched. However, her eyes followed the path of the blood and a small trickle of drool slid past her lips. (Y/n) taunted her a bit further, waving the bloodied hand in front of her nose, still Nezuko held strong and even went as far as turning away.

“...I must say, I’m rather impressed,” (Y/n) finally spoke, stepping back from the demon and licking at her own wound, “marechi blood such as my own usually makes the demons go crazy,” she turns back to Tanjirou, “still, you must know that keeping a demon alive like this, especially as a slayer, is dangerous for both of you.”

“I know,” Tanjirou bowed his head.

“Well,” (Y/n) stretched and sighed, “as long as you know I guess it’s your own problem.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, just don’t call me out if a Hashira finds you out. I don’t feel like dying a disgrace.” (Y/n) waved him off. “You’re going to have to work even harder and be more discreet. That’s my advice to you.” And (Y/n) was going to leave it at that and walk away, but then her crow chanted in tandem with Tanjirou’s, calling them to continue forward together. (Y/n)′s eye twiched at the grating sounds.

“It looks like we’ll still be working together for some time, (Y/n)-san!” Tanjirou smiled, catching the older girl off guard by the sincerity behind it. You’d think he’d be more put off considering (Y/n) was planning to kill his sister not five minutes ago.

“I suppose we are.”

“Say, (Y/n)-san, you’re strong. You can help me get stronger too, right?”

“Mm!”

“Hey, get her off of me!” (Y/n) momentarily panicked as the demon wrapped her arms around her waist.

“Nezuko, manners!”

(Y/n) wasn’t sure what she had done to get saddled with the strange siblings, but she could tell her job just went above her pay grade.

***

As it turns out, the Kamado siblings weren’t so bad. In fact, (Y/n) was starting to get really attached to the two. It was when Inosuke and Zenitsu were pulled into their little group, that was when (Y/n) realized she didn’t know what true pain was.

“(Y/n)-san, marry me!”

“Flower Girl, fight me!”

All damn day and night.

(Y/n) thought she’d finally have reprieve once Tanjirou had healed up at the Wisteria House, but of course the two boisterous boys were being sent with them to their next mission, Natagumo Mountain.

Zenitsu cowered at the forest edge and (Y/n) felt no remorse in leaving him behind as she sprinted ahead of Inosuke and Tanjirou, freeing the puppeted Mizunoto slayers.

Eventually they had been split off from each other to fight their own battles. (Y/n) was tired but otherwise unharmed, surprised when a small Nezuko came barreling into her.

“Nezu—?” (Y/n) gasped as the air shifted above her and she dodged the quick swipe aimed at the tiny body that clung to her. She quickly pivoted, blade in hand, and crossed swords with the assailant her eyes blowing wide at the placid face in front of her.

“Kanao?!” (Y/n) yelled out, the nostalgia and adrenaline coursing through her body was an odd, slightly terrifying combination.

Kanao tilted her head, her lips parted ever so slightly as recognition gleamed in her eyes. Despite this, Kanao did have a mission to complete and (Y/n) was keeping her from completing her orders. She continued swiping at the older girl she used to know, trying to behead the demon she could not fathom why she was protecting.

(Y/n) parried and blocked best she could, taking a defensive approach while she tried to talk Kanao down. She didn’t want to hurt Kanao, but she didn’t want Nezuko to be killed either.

Finally a saving grace, a crow swooping by with a message that saved Nezuko’s neck. (Y/n) sighed in relief as Kanao pulled back. Still looking at (Y/n) she pointed to the small demon that had wrapped herself tightly over (Y/n)’s back.

“Is this Nezuko?” She asked looking for a positive ID on the demon in question.

“Yes.” (Y/n) easily replied.

“Come with me then.” Kanao said, already corralling (Y/n) and her demon backpack in the direction of the forest edge.

(Y/n) walked alongside her a bit begrudgingly. If she made a break for it, she could have probably gotten away, but it was very likely Tanjirou and the others were already in custody. The best chance they had now was to do as they were told and hope Nezuko’s resolve would stand firm.

So (Y/n) hid Nezuko in her haori as the sun began to peak over the hills and followed Kanao to the clearing of bustling Kakushi. On the way, she began preparing her story for the trial she was sure her little team was bound to endure.

She was immediately broken from her thoughts at the ethereal sight of the Insect Pillar emerging from another point of the woods with the Water Pillar and a badly beaten Tanjirou on his back.

(Y/n)’s breath caught in her throat as those deep, dark eyes found hers at it was like time was at a stand still. At least it would have been if not for Shinobu steadily making her way towards her, her expression painfully impassive beyond the small upturn of her lips. Shinobu kept coming until she was directly in front of (Y/n).

Nezuko stirred in her sleep, clutching at (Y/n)’s back as if she could sense anxiety in the slayer’s heart. The demon was the only thing grounding her at this point as Shinobu tilted her head, an almost sinister look in her eye as she observed the small demon bundle protected by (Y/n)’s haori. All too soon, her cold eyes found their way back to (Y/n)’s and she spoke.

“I’m not going to have to tie you up, am I?”

(Y/n) closed her eyes briefly and tried to take a calming breath. With a short, almost imperceivable shake of her head, she hoarsely replied.

“No.”

“Let’s try to keep it that way then.”

Shinobu and Kanao had let (Y/n) help Nezuko into her box, but then they immediately separated the two, having a Kakushi carry the box with a wary look in her eyes. (Y/n) did her best not to look behind her where Kanao and Shinobu walked, no doubt watching her for any sign of flight.

She gulped, eyes nervously shifting to the Water Pillar walking beside her, and the Kakushi who was now carrying Tanjirou in his stead. The Water Pillar spared her an emotionless glance as he forged ahead.

“Is he going to be alright?” She asked in a hushed tone.

Enough time had passed after her question that (Y/n) had figured the man wasn’t in the mood to talk, understandably so, but (Y/n) was worried about the state Tanjirou was in. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he actually answered her minutes later.

“That will all depend on how the trial goes.”

(Y/n) felt dread pool in her stomach as they continued to march down the mountain.

***

The garden of the Master’s estate would have been lovely on any other occasion, but (Y/n) could only bring herself to stare at the pebbles below her knees and Tanjirou passed out at her side. They had taken Nezuko somewhere else in the meantime, she could only hope they would let the demon be, let her prove herself in front of them instead of killing her on principle.

(Y/n) could feel that Shinobu was standing just behind her but she dared not engage. Four years of silence between the two and a trial for treason in the highest regard had brought them together again. (Y/n) wanted to scream.

Finally Tanjirou began to stir and (Y/n) allowed herself to push away her turmoil to rouse the younger boy gently. The last thing they needed was for him to be all up in arms before the trial even officially began.

“(Y/n)-san,” Tanjirou winced, “where are we? Where is Nezuko?”

“We’re at the Demon Slayer Headquarters,” (Y/n) replied, her voice was hardly above a whisper as she felt the pressure of all the Hashira’s eyes boring into them, “I don’t know where they’re keeping Nezuko, but right now you need to focus on the trial ahead.”

“The trial?”

“For harboring a demon, Tanjirou.”

“I wouldn’t bother trying to justify it! A crime as heinous as yours only ends one way!” Rengoku Kyojirou loudly proclaimed, rallying a range of replies from his fellow pillars.

“Now that he’s finally awake to witness his punishment, let’s behead these traitors and the demon and get on with our lives.” Uzui Tengen added.

“Please,” (Y/n) forced her voice not to waiver, “allow him to explain the situation at least—“

“You’re in no position to be asking for favors, girl.” Obanai Iguro cut her off, glaring down at her from where he lounged on a tree branch. “You had best hold your tongue. A slayer at your rank should be ashamed. I’m surprised you haven’t already sliced yourself open for the embarrassment you’ve brought to the corps.”

“Iguro-san!” Kanroji gasped at the harsh words.

“Who are these people, (Y/n)-san?” Tanjirou groaned, noticing for the first time that his hands were tied tightly behind his back.

“Tanjirou, are you serious?” (Y/n)’s tone was hushed and urgent, “they’re the Hashira! You know, best of the demon slayers?”

“I don’t know, umph!” (Y/n) hastily covered his mouth, a nervous sweat gathered at her brow.

“Just try to be respectful, will you? You already broke the thin ice you’ve been traveling on, let’s try not to drown as well!”

“This isn’t right, (Y/n)-san! Where is Nezuko? Zenitsu? Inosuke? Murata?” Tanjirou spoke out, his voice heavy with emotion as he fought his way up to his knees.

“What I want to know is why we haven’t tied Tomioka or the Kinoe ranked slayer.” Obanai sneered from his tree, ignoring Tanjirou’s desperate tone. “They are both part of the boy’s schemes and should be punished as such. How are we going to teach them a lesson?”

“Oh they’ll be fine,” (Y/n) shivered hearing Shinobu speak above her from where she knelt in the pebbles, “we’ll come up with a penalty later.”

(Y/n) froze, her eyes refused to look up beyond the feet that stood before Tanjirou and herself.

“What I’m interested right now, is hearing this boy’s story.” Shinobu said. “He’s been traveling with a demon all this time, and I wish to hear why. It must be quite the tale to have Tomioka-san break ranks,” the feet take a step closer and Shinobu’s voice dropped in volume, “and you as well, (Y/n).”

(Y/n) tightened her grip over her pant leg, still refusing to look up. She could imagine an array of expressions her old friend could be wearing right now that could cut her deeper than any blade. Pity, anger, disgust, smugness, apathy, that blank smile... no, (Y/n) couldn’t bear to look up.

“So why, Kamado Tanjirou?” Shinobu asked.

“Who cares?” Uzui scoffed from a few yards away, yet he waited for the boy to explain himself.

“She’s my—“ he broke into a fit of coughs and (Y/n) tried to soothe his back, telling him to breathe.

Shinobu stooped down, a gourd of water in hand, offering the water to Tanjirou and finally catching (Y/n)’s eyes as the boy drank the medicated water. When Shinobu’s eyes returned to Tanjirou, (Y/n) remembered how to breathe.

“She’s my little sister!” Tanjirou proclaimed. “She’s never hurt anyone and she never will!”

A few of the Hashira began casting their doubt, but Tanjirou powered through.

“I became a slayer to find a cure for her! In two whole years since she became a demon, she’s never eaten a single person! Let her continue to fight by my side!”

“Well, well, looks like the fun’s already starting.”

(Y/n) turned her head and her breathing hitched. Of course the Wind Pillar of all people would get his hands on Nezuko’s box.

“Is this the boy who has been traveling with a demon? Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Shinazugawa asked with a sinister grin.

“Please put down the box Shinazugawa-sama!” The Kakushi (Y/n) recalled to have prior possession of the box pleaded.

“Shinazugawa, please do not act out of line.” Shinobu warned.

“Nah, run that by me again, kid?” Sanemi jeered, holding the box precariously in one hand, “fighting alongside a demon? Impossible, you idiot!”

Tanjirou and (Y/n) called out in horror as the Hashira rammed his blade clean through the box, skewering Nezuko.

Tanjirou scrambled to his feet and lunged at Sanemi, (Y/n) was about to get to her feet as well, but Shinobu held her firmly in place, clutching (Y/n)’s arm tightly while shooting her a warning glance.

(Y/n) could only watch, mouth agape, as Tanjirou head butted Shinazugawa to the ground.

Mitsuri attempted to stifle a snort, covering her face in her hands.

“If you can’t tell the difference between good demons and bad ones, then you don’t deserve to be a Hashira!” Tanjirou yelled.

“We’re doomed.” (Y/n) whispered weakly. She felt as if all her blood was sinking to her knees, sinking as fast as their chance of forgiveness down the drain.

Before Sanemi could retaliate, a couple of Oyakata-sama’s children announced the Master’s arrival. (Y/n) was quick to follow Shinobu in a bow, wincing when she heard what could only be Sanemi pounding Tanjirou into the rocks, forcing him to bow.

“Hello everyone,” Oyakata-sama addressed the garden, his voice carried in the warm breeze, “how good it feels to have you all here.”

Sanemi greeted the Master, formally asking for an explanation. If not for the seriousness of the moment, (Y/n) would have rolled her eyes.

“The Kamado siblings have been sanctioned, you see. I request you all respect that.” Oyakata stated simply.

An array of mostly negative objections arose at this ending with Sanemi calling for punishments for Tanjirou, (Y/n), and Giyuu.

The Master stood silently for a moment before asking one of his children to read a letter aloud. A letter from a previous Hashira, detailing Nezuko’s history. The letter also revealing that should Nezuko fail; Urokodaki, Tanjirou, and Giyuu would atone through seppuku.

A few of the Hashira were still willing to speak against such a plan, swearing that it was not a risk worth taking. Once there was a lull in their heated remarks,  Ubuyashiki saw fit to address (Y/n).

“(Y/n), my child.”

(Y/n)’s head jutted up at the sudden call of attention to her presence. “Ye— yes, Master?”

“Why do you think that of the squad that has been built around you, only you are here?” Oyakata-sama asked with an warm smile.

“I would suppose it would be because I should know better than a ragtag group of Mizunoto, Master.” came (Y/n)’s subdued reply.

“I would hope so.” The Master chuckled, causing heat to bloom across (Y/n)’s cheeks. “Why didn’t you kill the demon?”

“I was going to, but she proved herself to me,” (Y/n) began speaking more evenly as she recalled the moment, “I presented her with my blood, my rare blood, and she turned away. I have traveled with the Kamado siblings for weeks and not once had Nezuko hurt anyone. She protects people, she sleeps to replenish energy. Based on everything I have observed, I believe in Nezuko. I believe in Tanjirou.”

“Would you stake your life on this along with the others listed here today?” Oyakata-sama asked.

(Y/n) breathed in, firmly nodding her head. Her eyes meeting Ubuyashiki’s milky blank one’s despite his lack of vision.

“Yes, I would.”

Shinobu’s hold on (Y/n)’s bicep curled. (Y/n) hadn’t realized she had still been holding her down.

“And here we have three, now four, people willing to take responsibility for this demon. What say you, my children?” The Master asked the Hashira warmly.

“Forgive me Master, but this is not a matter of numbers!” Sanemi yelled, “Demons are sick creatures that need to be put down and I’ll prove it to you now!”

Sanemi sliced his arm, much more blood than (Y/n) had conjured with the small cut to her thumb that she had presented to Nezuko. She and Tanjirou watched as the blood dripped to the box, staining the lacquered wood.

“No good doing this in the light.” Obanai said, “it won’t come out unless it’s dark.”

Sanemi dashed to the shaded engawa, enticing Nezuko to come out with another stab at the box.

“No!” Tanjirou yelled, he made to scramble to the engawa, but was quickly subdued by Obanai.

“Stop!” (Y/n) echoed Tanjirou’s sentiments, pulling against Shinobu’s hold. “Why are you being so needlessly cruel?”

Sanemi ignored them, a wicked grin on his face as he watched Nezuko emerge from the box, growling lowly.

“Well then, demon?” He sneered, holding out his arm.

(Y/n) could tell Nezuko was straining against the pull of the marechi blood. With all of the injuries she had sustained working against her as well, it couldn’t be easy for the demon to hold back.

“Nezuko!” Tanjirou wheezed as Obanai was pincering his lung painfully with his elbow.

“Kamado-kun,” Shinobu addressed, “don’t struggle too much while in that hold, your lung might burst.”

Tanjirou only struggled harder, surprising everyone when he broke through his rope restraints and stumbled towards the engawa. Tomioka stopped Obanai from pinning him again.

“Nezuko!” Tanjirou called again.

His voice seemed to finally break through to Nezuko and after a few tense moments, she turned away from Sanemi in disgust.

(Y/n) couldn’t help the relieved smile that overtook her lips.

Once the scene was relayed to the Master, he seemed pleased with the report. He told Tanjirou that although Nezuko had done well to prove herself, they would need to grow even stronger before they could be fully accepted by the others. With that wisdom, he said they were free to go.

(Y/n) startled as Shinobu finally let her go, raising her arm to speak. “If all is well then Oyakata-sama, allow me to provide lodging for them.”

Both (Y/n) and Tanjirou seemed a bit wary of this sudden hospitality, (Y/n) even more so, but if Shinobu noticed or cared she didn’t show it, signaling the Kakushi who had been standing by to gather the injured boy and the demon.

The Kakushi tasked with carrying Nezuko seemed a bit frightened of the little demon kneeling in her box, so naturally (Y/n) rose to carry her instead.

“I’ve got her.” She smiled kindly and reached for the box and secured it shut, but not before giving the demon girl a few well earned head pats that rose Nezuko’s mood greatly.

Another Kakushi picked up Tanjirou then (Y/n) and the two Kakushi quickly made their retreat. That is, until Tanjirou bursted back into the garden asking to headbutt Sanemi.

“Please excuse us!” (Y/n) and the two Kakushi bowed deeply once they got him back under control and sped off twice as fast. (Y/n) and the Kakushi running beside her berated Tanjirou from where he sat on the other Kakushi’s back for such a disrespectful display after being allowed the impossible. 

When they reached the Butterfly Estate, (Y/n)’s heart squeezed in her chest. The grounds looked to be near the same as the night she had left. No one was there to greet them at the door, so they went around the gardens and found Kanao standing amongst the butterflies.

“Hi, Kanao.” (Y/n) greeted the younger girl bashfully. Now that they weren’t battling over keeping Nezuko’s head, (Y/n) finally took in how much she had grown in four years.

Kanao stayed silent, a serene smile on her lips as she merely observed the group that had approached her.

“What are you all here for?” A sharp voice called from behind them, causing the Kakushi to jump and spin to quickly explain they were here to put Tanjirou in the infirmary.

“Well then come with me...” Aoi’s words trailed off a bit once her eyes found (Y/n)’s face.

“Hi Aoi,” (Y/n) gave a nervous half wave, “you’ve gotten a bit taller.”

Aoi marched straight up to (Y/n) and berated her with a barrage of small fists pounding painlessly against her chest. “What would you expect after being gone so long!” She sniffed, “Four years without a single letter or visit? We thought you were dead, idiot!”

“(Y/n)-san? Do you know these people?” Tanjirou asked from Gotou’s back.

“Yeah, I uh, sorta used to live here.” (Y/n) replied, allowing Aoi to continue hitting her to her heart’s content.

“‘Sorta used to live here’, you’re family! You have always had a place here! Now come on, I’m sure Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho will have a bone to pick with you as well. And Shinobu-sama!” Aoi’s fist struck especially hard at the thought, “Shinobu-sama is going to have some choice words for you when she gets back I just know it!”

Aoi led them all inside, occasionally throwing a few more jabs into (Y/n)’s side to make sure she was really there. She didn’t admit that was what they were for of course, she played it off more as a punishment for disappearing for so long.

There was screaming coming from the infirmary and (Y/n) would have been worried if she hadn’t recognized the sound almost immediately.

“Zenitsu!” Tanjirou called excitedly.

While Tanjirou and poor Gotou were dealing with the sobbing, snotty boy, Aoi had dragged (Y/n) over to Kiyo who had been tending to Zenitsu only moments before.

“Look who finally decided to come home.” Aoi told the younger girl who looked up, tilting her head. (Y/n) almost thought Kiyo hadn’t recognized her. Being as young as she was, she wouldn’t have blamed her, but then she burst forward and hugged (Y/n) tightly around her waist.

“What’s going on in here? Hm, Aoi-san, Kiyo?”

Naho and Sumi had made their way into the infirmary with a basket of fresh linens and paused at the entryway for a moment before they realized who their friend was hugging and ran over to join her with tears in their eyes.

“(Y/n)-san, where have you been all this time?” Naho whimpered.

“Why didn’t you say anything before you left?” Sumi cried.

“I’m sorry,” (Y/n) knelt down to better hug them all, “I know it’s not enough to make up for anything, but I’m sorry for leaving like that. It wasn’t fair,” she looked up to meet Aoi’s stern blue eyes, “to any of you.”

“Well, make it up to us by sticking around from now on.” Aoi said, crossing her arms. “No more running away.”

“But...” (Y/n) was conflicted. Had Shinobu not told the girls why she had left? (Y/n) mustered up the best smile she could and nodded feebly. “All right.”

“(Y/n)-san, your box is... humming?” Sumi pointed at the wooden box.

“Oh, um, you see... in this box is my friend, Nezuko,” (Y/n) treaded carefully, not wishing to startle the girls too badly if she could help it.

“You have someone in a box?” Aoi barked, “well let them out for goodness sake!”

“It’s a little bright in here...” (Y/n) shifted her vision to where Tanjirou and Zenitsu were talking, catching sight of Inosuke as well. Poor boar boy looked like he’d seen better days. “And I’m not sure that Shinobu-” should she still speak of her so informally? “-would be pleased if I let her out without her blessing.”

“Why wouldn’t Shinobu-sama allow you to let someone out of a box?” Aoi rolled her eyes.

“It’s complicated. I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you all about it once she comes back. Until then, Nezuko will be fine in here.”

The girls, though incredulous, let the subject drop for now. Although, they couldn’t help but eye the box with suspicion. Once Tanjirou was settled in the infirmary, the butterfly girls dragged (Y/n) away to talk about the goings on of the last four years which soon devolved into hounding (Y/n) for her own stories to share, even Kanao had come by to sit and listen.

“...And that’s how I helped the fishing village take care of the demon that was lurking in the sea.”

“Tell us another one, (Y/n)-san!” The youngest girls pleaded, kicking their feet in the air behind them. They had migrated to lay flat on their stomachs as the stories progressed and watched (Y/n) recount her adventures with their heads propped up on their arms with rapt attention.

“I’m afraid that will have to wait for another time, it’s quite late you know.”

Everyone turned to the door to find Shinobu staring down at them. The youngest girls pouted a bit, trying to get a bit more time to stick around, but Shinobu held firm and directed them to their rooms.

“You’ll still be here tomorrow, right? (Y/n)-san?” Sumi asked from the doorway.

“I...” (Y/n) pulled at the sleeve of her uniform and subtly pursed her lips while trying to figure out how to proceed, to her surprise, Shinobu spoke up on her behalf.

“I promise you’ll see her in the morning. Now of to bed. (Y/n) and I have much to discuss.”

The thought of having a prolonged conversation with Shinobu sent shivers through (Y/n)’s spine. Once all the girls were well out of sight, Shinobu redirected her attention to (Y/n).

“Let’s drop off your cargo first,” Shinobu said, motioning to the box sitting beside (Y/n), “I’ve arranged a room and Kamado-kun has been wondering where his... sister, has been.”

“Of course.” (Y/n) stood, shouldering the box.

Apparently the room was rather far. (Y/n) felt as if the silence between them was slowly eating at her until she finally decided to speak. For better or for worse.

“You’ve taken all of this extraordinarily well,” (Y/n) commented, testing the waters.

“Mm, I’d like to hold off on any conversation until we drop off the demon. Use this time to gather any thoughts, if you have them that is.”

(Y/n)’s brow furrowed slightly, eyes narrowed. She was sure that was some kind of dig at her intelligence, but she held her tongue.

They dropped off Nezuko, (Y/n) and Tanjirou bid each other good night, and then (Y/n) was led to an all too familiar space, the lab.

Shinobu motioned for (Y/n) to sit at one of the less cluttered tables while she closed the door firmly behind them. (Y/n) would have been lying if she said she wasn’t even just a tad bit concerned by the setting of this ‘talk’ that was about to unfold. Finally, Shinobu took the stool across from her on the other side of the table. She laced her fingers together, using them to prop up her chin as her endlessly amethyst eyes bore into (Y/n)’s. That ghostly smile seemingly perfected after four years of separation, had (Y/n)’s hands clench into fists under the table.

“So,” Shinobu began, her voice deceptively sweet, “when exactly do you think it was when you completely lost your mind?”

“Excuse me?” (Y/n)’s eye twitched.

“Defending a demon, offering up your own life for a demon to live... how insanely idiotic. I thought you were smarter than that. I suppose it had been.. four years, was it? Four years since you ran off. And I thought that was the most careless thing you could ever do. You really have outdone yourself!”

“Stop,” (Y/n) had heard enough of these little jabs and she new well enough Shinobu could go all day as long as she hadn’t changed too drastically in their time apart. However, Shinobu powered through.

“Everyone was devastated when you left you know. We were a family and you just up and left in the middle of the night without a word so soon after—“ After Kanae, “Now you’re putting everything on the line for some demon? You’re a coward. A selfish coward.”

(Y/n) was really angry now. She stood up so fast her stool clattered to the ground behind her. She slammed her hands against the table and stared furiously into Shinobu’s placid expression, though she could detect a hint of a heated spark in those deep purple eyes.

“Don’t act like you’re so innocent in all of this! You told me to leave! You want to judge me for trusting Nezuko with my life, fine! But I only did what you commanded of me when I left. You don’t get to say I just fucked off because you think I didn’t care enough!”

Shinobu had the nerve to chuckle, though no trace of humor was there, as she slowly rose to her own feet and assumed a similar stance over the table as (Y/n).

“Did you really think when I said that, when I told you to leave the lab, I meant I wanted you to walk out of my life?” Shinobu asked seriously.

“I didn’t know what you wanted! You weren’t the same person anymore! Don’t try telling me that it wasn’t what you wanted either, you never came looking for me. You never sent your crow. Tell me you weren’t ecstatic when you woke up that morning and didn’t have to deal with me anymore!”

Shinobu slapped her own hand against the table, a vein pulsed painfully under the skin of her forehead. She opened her mouth to retort, poisoned words ready to lash out with a flick of her tongue, but as luck would have it, a Kakushi nervously called from the other side of the door.

“Kochou-sama, the treatments for the, uh, despiderfication of the slayers from Natagumo Mountain are ready to be carried out with your supervision.”

Shinobu closed her eyes, breathing in deeply before opening them again and looking significantly more drained.

“I see. Please inform the others that I’ll be there in a few moments.”

“Right away, Kochou-sama.”

As the footsteps pattered away, (Y/n) fixed her stool upright before heading in the direction of the door, assuming she and Shinobu were done talking, or screaming rather. (Y/n) was surprised to feel Shinobu grasp her hand as she tried to pass by.

“You remember where your room is, right?” Shinobu asked, the undertones of her voice still taut with anger.

(Y/n) too tired to fight on, responded simply with a mute nod.

“I had the Kakushi clean it earlier today. Everything should still be as you left it.”

Shinobu let go of (Y/n)’s hand and it immediately felt cold. The Hashira opened the lab door and stepped out into the hallway, her back to (Y/n) as she made her last parting statement.

“If you know what is good for you, you won’t step a foot outside of estate grounds without speaking to me first.”

“And if I don’t?” (Y/n) asked just to be obstinate.

“Then I guess I’ll have to hunt you down for sport.” Shinobu quickly replied, turning to face (Y/n) just to show her how serious she was.

(Y/n) couldn’t help the weak guffaw that left her lips. To hear such a threat delivered by such a soothing tone was practically oxymoronic.

Shinobu lingered for a moment longer before gliding off to see to her patients while (Y/n) turned down the opposite end of the hallway and traveled down a few more to find herself standing outside of her old room. She opened the door, the space was clean as Shinobu promised. She closed the door softly behind her, blocking off the light from the hall. There would be time to be sentimental in the morning. Right now, between the Mountain, the trial and the emotional battle with the Insect Hashira herself, (Y/n) was exhausted. She scooted her way into the freshly made futon and fell asleep with the nostalgic smell of wisteria petals drifting through her airways.

***

(Y/n) awoke around mid-morning to the sun shining through her window. She stretched and got dressed, her fingers pausing over the last few buttons of her uniform as she glanced over the desk.

The butterfly hair clip she had once worn with pride sat in front of her. It appeared to be left untouched by time. Not even a speck of dust adorned the colorful wings. She reached out to it, but her fingers curled just before she touched it. She pulled her hand back as a knock sounded on the door.

“Yes?”

“It’s Aoi.” A voice called from the other side.

(Y/n) quickly took the last few steps needed to reach the door and slid it open to greet Aoi but before she could, the stern girl stepped inside and pulled the door shut again.

“Were you and Shinobu-sama fighting last night?” She asked hurriedly.

“Where did you hear that?” (Y/n) answered the question with one of her own.

“The Kakushi are partial to gossip. Now what did you do!” Aoi huffed, jabbing (Y/n)’s shoulder.

“Why does it have to be me? Shinobu was the one who started it!” (Y/n) backed up, rubbing her shoulder.

“You two better make up soon. It will hurt Naho, Sumi and Kiyo if they find out you’re still mad at each other,” Aoi crossed her arms over her chest.

“It’s not that easy, Aoi. It’s been four years. It’s not all going to go away overnight.”

“Do I have to do everything around here?” Aoi grumbled to herself, passing a hand over her face. “I’ll help you, but you better try to be civil.”

“Aoi, I don’t need help. I’m sorry that fight got back to you. If Shinobu and I talk again, I promise I’ll try harder to keep my temper in check, okay?”

Aoi sighed and shook her head, “Fine. That wasn’t what I had come to talk to you about anyway.”

“Oh,” (Y/n) tilted her head, “then what is it?”

“Your friends,” Aoi pinched the bridge of her nose, “they’re driving me crazy. I need you to get the blonde and the boar to participate in recovery training.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” (Y/n) answered with slight reluctance. She knew just how difficult those two could be.

Aoi and (Y/n) arrived at the room that was being used for the boys’ recovery training. Tanjirou was already working hard, trying to catch Kanao in a game of tag, while Zenitsu and Inosuke watched from the corner with bitter disinterest.

“Hey,” (Y/n) addressed the younger teens, “what’s the problem? Don’t you guys want to get better? Stronger?”

“It’s pointless.” Inosuke weakly answered.

“(Y/n)-san, this training is too difficult!” Zenitsu cried.

(Y/n) dodged the weepy blonde’s attempts at hugging her and bonked him on the head with the side of her fist.

“I feel no sympathy for you. Aoi and the others are working really hard to get you back in fighting shape, the least you could do is put a little bit of effort in!” (Y/n) crossed her arms, “before you know it, Tanjirou will leave you both in the dust. Do you really want that?”

Zenitsu and Inosuke grunted, still refusing to budge. (Y/n) motioned for Naho to hand her a cup of medicated water and promptly splashed its contents all over the boys.

“What was that for?” Zenitsu screeched.

“Want revenge? Come take me on.” (Y/n) motioned to the table of cups.

Naho, Sumi and Kiyo made small sounds of excitement, trying to encourage the boys, but they just grumbled and walked back to the infirmary.

“You guys are going to regret walking away!” (Y/n) called after them. “Let me know when you are done moping and want to get back to work!”

“Oh my.” Shinobu giggled as she walked in, watching Zenitsu and Inosuke sulk past her.

Shinobu turned to observe the room, pausing at (Y/n). Her eyes flickered down at (Y/n)’s chest and stayed there long enough for the other slayer to notice.

“What?” (Y/n) had grumbled mostly to herself as she followed Shinobu’s gaze downward. Heat shot to her face immediately as she realized she had forgotten to finish buttoning her uniform after Aoi distracted her. It wasn’t showing a lot, just her collar bones and a bit of her chest, but it was still jarring. With a strangled chirp, she quickly buttoned her uniform the rest of the way.

“Oh please, no need to cover up on my account.” Shinobu easily teased, though she felt a bit embarrassed to have been caught staring. She wasn’t entirely sure why her vision gravitated there to begin with.

After a few false starts, (Y/n) finally choked out, “what do you want?”

“I need Kanao and Aoi to help me gather more herbs for spider demon antidotes, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Kochou-sama,” Aoi interjected before (Y/n) could retaliate, “Kanao and I are helping Tanjirou complete his recovery training for the day. I’ve asked (Y/n)-san to fill in for us and she has readily agreed to take our place.”

(Y/n) gave Aoi a look, prompting the younger girl to pinch at (Y/n)’s side discreetly. A message to keep her mouth shut. Kanao simply blinked, twisting on the ball of her foot to dodge another one of Tanjirou’s lunges.

“Very well then, keep up (Y/n). I hope you still remember a thing or two about plants in that thick skull of yours,” Shinobu glided past (Y/n) to step out onto the engawa, “though I wouldn’t be too surprised if all of that knowledge fell out of your head along with your common sense.”

(Y/n) opened her mouth before shutting it firmly closed. Remembering that the younger girls were there and what Aoi had asked of her, she pursed her lips and silently fell into step beside the Hashira, walking with her to the nearby forest where the herbs they needed flourished.

“You recall what Aralia Cordata looks like, correct?” Shinobu asked once they were well within the trees.

“Yeah, kind of hard to miss that shrub if you know what you’re looking for.” (Y/n) groused.

“Fine, fine. Don’t come crying to me if you touch something poisonous.”

“I won’t. Won’t touch anything poisonous I mean. Because I know what I’m doing.”

“Are you telling me that or are you just trying to reassure yourself?”

(Y/n) chose not to reply, instead she split off from Shinobu to one of the shrubs in question and began harvesting a few leafy tendrils from it. Before long, her basket was filled and she turned just in time to see Shinobu turn back to her own bush, pretending to examine one of the tendrils she had cut.

“You know,” (Y/n) sighed as she stood back to her full height, “Aoi only made me come here in her stead because that fight we had last night got back to her. She expects us to make up.”

“Mm, I figured it was something like that,” Shinobu hummed, “I do believe that for once, she is too optimistic in that regard.”

“Well, you never did like admitting when you were wrong,” (Y/n) shrugged, “or saying you’re sorry. It’s comforting to know you haven’t completely destroyed your old personality.”

“And what exactly have I been wrong about, (Y/n)?” Shinobu’s forehead pulsed, “what exactly have I done that requires an apology?”

“You lie to everyone Shinobu. You hide behind plastic smiles pretending to be someone you’re not to fill a void. Saying your fine and shrugging everyone off while holding them at arm's length. When I tried to talk to you, you pushed me away and told me to leave. You were dismissive, cold.”

(Y/n) wrapped her arms around herself as if a chilling wind overcame her. Continuing on, she spoke lowly before Shinobu could speak her denial.

“Not to say that I don’t have my own fault in all of this. Even if I thought you really wanted me gone that night, I should have fought harder for you. I knew you were hurting, but I gave up and left anyway. That is something I’ve thought about a lot in our time apart and I regret it every day because you were worth fighting for.”

(Y/n) blew out a harsh breath of air, running a hand over her scalp she made her closing statement.

“If there was one thing you were right about last night, it’s that I’m a coward and I’m sorry that I didn’t try harder.”

(Y/n) chanced a look at Shinobu’s face. The Hashira’s eyes rounded and her mouth was ever so slightly agape. The silence hung in the air until a sweet wisteria breeze swept through the trees and (Y/n) cleared her throat and looked away.

“So if we could at least pretend to get along for the sake of the girls, I think Aoi would appreciate it.” (Y/n) added before reaching down to collect her basket. A sudden noise, like air being rapidly released through one’s nose, came from behind (Y/n) and she paused in her movements to glance back at Shinobu who was looking down at the leaf she was worrying between her fingers.

“I... apologize, for pushing you away in such a way that made you think you had to exile yourself. It was also cruel of me to say you didn’t care about us when I knew that you thought of this place as your home. I was trying to hurt you back and that was wrong of me. I’m sorry.” Shinobu solemnly said.

Now it was (Y/n)’s turn to stare. Soon, Shinobu leveled a cocky smile and stood with her basket of leaves and a few other miscellaneous plants she gathered.

“Looks like you were wrong about my ability to apologize, hm?” She said.

“Shut up. Don’t ruin the moment.” (Y/n) smiled, reaching for her own basket.

The atmosphere surrounding the girls leaving the forest felt a lot more relaxed than it had upon entering.

***

Days turned into weeks and everything seemed so much better after. It was still awkward at times, but (Y/n) and Shinobu were finding their rhythm again. There was still a little hostility at times, but rather than avoid each other, they talked it out. It was almost frightening how in sync they were when they were working well together.

(Y/n) split her time between helping Shinobu with the slayers turned spiders and helping the younger girls train Tanjirou. She was elated by the boy’s progress as he finally managed to catch Kanao. She had noticed Zenitsu and Inosuke lurking nearby and gestured to the room. Now that they knew recovery training was possible and Tanjirou was leaving them in the dust, the rambunctious boys finally felt the need to catch up with their comrade’s progress.

Before long, the boys were well enough to continue the training on their own and (Y/n) found herself spending more and more time with Shinobu. They would spend hours talking or saying nothing at all, just enjoying each other’s company while they worked away on medicines and poisons.

It didn’t take long for (Y/n) to notice the difference. How Shinobu took up more than her fair share of space in (Y/n)’s thoughts. Even just catching sight of her across the garden was starting to make (Y/n)’s heart leap. On the occasion Shinobu would spot her she’d smile and wave, making (Y/n)’s heart stop all together before kicking into overdrive. The lingering touches and whispered words Shinobu would share with her as they worked in the lab certainly didn’t help either. Just when (Y/n) had thought they finally found their dynamic... Why was it changing again already?

(Y/n) was telling Naho, Sumi and Kiyo the story of how she met Tanjirou and Nezuko while she patted the demon’s head. Ever since Nezuko had woken up, the younger girls, though skittish at first, had grown to be fascinated and even enamored with her. As (Y/n) retold the tale, Nezuko humming happily at her side, Shinobu happened upon the group.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this session short. Tanjirou and the others are ready to get back out on the road now. Something about joining Rengoku-san on his next mission.”

“How did I not here about this plan sooner?” (Y/n) frowned.

“That’s a question best suited for Tanjirou to answer I suppose.” Shinobu replied rather emotionlessly, concerning (Y/n).

So while everyone else was getting ready to leave, (Y/n) pulled Tanjirou aside and asked him what was going on.

“I didn’t tell you we were leaving because I hope you’ll stay and continue to rebuild the relationships you have here, (Y/n)-san. I appreciate everything you’ve done for Nezuko and I, and now I hope to return the favor.” Tanjirou smiled brightly.

“And how do you figure you’re doing that?” (Y/n) crossed her arms.

“Because the longer you get to stay here, the more time you get to spend with Shinobu-san! I can smell that you two want to be together more now than ever.”

“You and your nose I swear,” heat radiated off of (Y/n)’s cheeks, “I think you have intuition and that sense mixed up.”

Tanjirou merely laughed in response.

“So, you guys think you’ll really be okay without me? You’ll stay out of trouble?”

“Don’t worry, (Y/n)-san! We’ll see each other again soon!” Tanjirou beamed.

(Y/n) smiled in return and they rejoined the send off.

“Where did Shinobu-san go?” Tanjirou wondered.

(Y/n) looked around and sure enough, the Pillar was nowhere to be seen.

“She must have had something urgent to attend to,” she answered, making a note to search for her later.

(Y/n) stood out in the garden until the loud group disappeared into the trees and their shouts could no longer be heard over the rustling of the leaves. She took a moment to stare out into the clear blue sky before returning inside.

(Y/n) was going to go look for Shinobu, but she wanted to go to her room to change her uniform first since Zenitsu had snotted all over it in his tearful goodbye.

She opened the door and was surprised to find Shinobu already inside. Shinobu’s back was turned to her as she quickly ran a sleeve over her face. She cleared her throat before facing back with a weak smile.

“(Y/n), forget something?”

“Huh?” (Y/n) blinked, still trying to process why Shinobu might have just been tearing up in her room of all places.

“The others must be ready to leave now. You better pick up what you needed so they don't have to wait too long.”

“They already left, Shinobu.” (Y/n) explained. “I hadn’t planned on going with them.”

“Oh.” Shinobu turned to look outside the window of (Y/n)’s room, hoping the blood that buzzed in her cheeks hadn’t burned its way to her ears as well.

“Shinobu, is something wrong?” (Y/n) tested.

“I just feel a bit silly now I suppose.” Shinobu admitted, bringing a slight smile to (Y/n)’s face with her honesty. “I thought you were gone again.”

“Well, I wouldn’t leave without a proper goodbye, not again.” (Y/n) came up beside Shinobu, intending to give her hand a comforting squeeze when she felt something other than skin instead. Looking down she saw her old butterfly clip in Shinobu’s hand, a quick look at the empty spot at her desk confirmed it.

Shinobu noticed that (Y/n) had noticed and rose the hairclip up between them with a subdued exhale.

“You know, every morning I wonder if it will be the morning you feel comfortable enough to wear this again.” Shinobu said, twirling the insect in her fingers. “When I thought you were gone and I saw this still sitting on your desk, it brought me back to places I’d rather not think about.”

“I’m sorry,” (Y/n) rested her hand over the back of Shinobu’s haori, “I just haven’t felt... I don’t know, worthy of it? I didn’t intend to make you feel bad.”

A small puff of air left Shinobu’s nose at the words. “It isn’t a matter of worth, it’s about whether or not you feel like you belong here again. Whether or not you’re comfortable here.”

“Agree to disagree.” (Y/n) joked. “But if it makes you feel better, I’m glad I get to spend more time here. I’ve been happier in these last few weeks than in the last few years.”

“I’m glad.” Shinobu watched a couple of butterflies flutter against the window before turning back to the garden. “And if you insist on it being a matter of worth, you are more than worthy. It’s not even a question to me.”

“Thank you.” (Y/n) simpered. Her breathing hitched slightly when Shinobu reached up to run her fingers through a loose lock of (Y/n)’s hair.

“Would you let me do your hair?” Shinobu asked softly.

“I’d like that.” (Y/n) whispered.

Shinobu guided (Y/n) back to the desk and sat her down on the chair. She freed (Y/n)’s hair from its plain hair band and quietly ran a brush through her locks with such softness that (Y/n) felt like she might fall asleep. Shinobu gathered the hair in her hands and styled it as she wished, clipping it together with the butterfly hair clip. Shinobu checked over her work, her hands resting on (Y/n)’s shoulders.

“You look perfect.” (Y/n) shivered. She hadn’t expected Shinobu’s lips to be so close to her ear. Neither had she expected the lips to ghost over her cheek in a light kiss.

“I just remembered I have a meeting I need to attend. You’ll help the girls with the infirmary won’t you?”

(Y/n) had almost forgotten how to speak but managed to pull it together. “Of course! I’ll, um, see you when you get back?”

“Perhaps,” Shinobu removed her hands from (Y/n)’s shoulders, “I won’t be back until late though.”

“Okay.”

A shy hug (in slightly awkward positioning due to the gross state of the Kinoe’s uniform, courtesy of Zenitsu) and Shinobu parted ways with (Y/n). (Y/n) met up with the girls in the infirmary and was almost immediately met with a chorus of cheers from Naho, Kiyo and Sumi when they noticed her hair. Aoi and Kanao smiled at the sight as well. A full day of caring for the infirmary made (Y/n) excited to finally get into bed for the night.

She awoke with a scream caught in her throat. Old demons had visited her in her sleep. As she worked to calm her heart, she noticed the light of the full moon streaming through her window. With a few more deep breaths she sat up from her futon and wrapped her haori around her shoulders.

Quietly exiting her room, she padded through the halls until she found her way to the kitchen, a smile pulled at her lips when she found Shinobu already there boiling water.

“Rough night?” Shinobu asked. She was also in her bed wear, her hair hanging loose from its usual style.

“Yes,” (Y/n) moved to stand beside her, “it’s been awhile since the last one I had.”

“How did you deal with that when you were on the road?”

“I would buy little sacks of tea leaves as I went. On bad nights or whenever sleep eluded me I’d boil up some water and try a new blend. Yours was always the best though.”

“I was already going to make you a cup, no need for flattery.”

“No flattery here. Just the truth.” (Y/n) swore, making Shinobu’s smile just a tad fuller.

Shinobu finished preparing the cups and as (Y/n) took hers about ready to leave, the Hashira asked her to wait.

“It’s a full moon tonight. Want to watch the stars for a moment?” Shinobu asked.

“I’d love to.” (Y/n) nodded.

The pair walked outside along the engawa until they had a pleasant view of the full brightness of the moon. They sat along the engawa’s edge, letting their legs dangle as they sipped their tea in the drowning noise of cicada and cricket songs.

(Y/n) chanced a glance at Shinobu in her periphery and marveled at how the moonlight highlighted her skin to the point where she almost appeared to be glowing. The way it reflected off of her eyes was absolutely enchanting. (Y/n) forced her attention back on the sky. Though beautiful it seemed to pale in comparison to the girl next to her.

As her eyes traced over the larger craters of the moon, she thought back on an old saying she had read at one of the inns she had frequented. An old, battered collection of pages that she read through when sleep didn’t come. She had read that particular work quite a few times.

She wondered if perhaps Shinobu had read it too. Though more likely the girl had her face buried in medical texts than anything else. (Y/n) then wondered, if perhaps she could get away with saying it. A confession without consequence, but on the off change that Shinobu was knowledgeable on the old text it could damage the progress they had made in healing their relationship. Perhaps it would be better to just enjoy the moment. (Y/n) took another sip of tea.

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”

(Y/n) nearly choked on her tea, spluttering and coughing as she tried in vein to stop herself. Finally she managed to calm down only to notice how intently Shinobu was staring at her.

Had she meant that literally? Shinobu was looking at (Y/n) so expectantly, but it could easily just be because she had nearly blacked out from inhaling her tea!

“...It is.” (Y/n) finally answered hiding her face in her cup, looking at neither Shinobu nor the moon.

Another long silence filled by the chirps of insects enjoying the humid night air. (Y/n) had finished her tea and set her cup to her right, her free hand that had been resting between Shinobu and herself was soon covered by a cool and calloused touch.

(Y/n) shyly turned her head to meet the Pillar’s gaze and jumped a bit when her nose unexpectedly brushed against Shinobu’s.

“The moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?” Shinobu repeated barely above a whisper. She was not pulling away.

(Y/n) felt her throat dry and she wished she had just one more swallow of tea left. With a slight quiver in her lips, she responded. Doing her best to stay focused on the purple irises before her.

“Yes,” she answered with a slight nod, careful not to bump head with Shinobu, “it is.”

“(Y/n)?” Shinobu called to her, cupping her face gently with the hand that wasn’t already resting on top of (Y/n)’s.

“Y.. yes?”

“Would you kiss me if I asked?” Shinobu murmured, filling (Y/n)’s senses with a dizzying wisteria scent. The slayer didn’t even try to talk herself out of answering such a query as the thumb of Shinobu’s hand swiped the corner of her lips.

“Yes.” She replied, nearly breathless already and her pupils blown wide.

“(Y/n), please kiss me.”

It was all too easy to lean in when they were already sitting so closely. The hand Shinobu had been using to cup her cheek weaved through the hair at the back of (Y/n)’s head, pulling her closer yet as their lips met a bit clumsily in buzzing, mind numbing bliss. (Y/n)’s free hand, the one not currently being clutched in a near death grip over the wooden floor, found home at the back of Shinobu’s neck, lightly massaging the skin there.

They broke apart a few times but the breaths they took were quick and few. Eventually they rested against each other while their abused lungs burned with a hunger for oxygen.

“I have wanted to do that for longer than I’d like to admit.” Shinobu quietly confessed, twisting a lock of (Y/n)’s hair though her fingers.

“Even when we were fighting?” (Y/n) joked, rubbing the back of Shinobu’s neck with her thumb.

“Strangely enough, yes. There were times when I thought about doing it just to shut you up. Though I didn’t dare allow myself to entertain the thought for long.”

(Y/n) chuckled and leaned in to steal another kiss, much less heated then the last few and much quicker as a chorus of surprised gasps made them pull apart and turn around.

“They kissed! They’re kissing!” Sumi cheered while Aoi tried to quiet her and push her back into the mansion.

Sumi and Kiyo emerged from the doorway that Shinobu had left open when she and (Y/n) first came out into the moonlight and were immediately hounding them for confirmation.

“We missed it! Do it again!” Kiyo pleaded.

“It’s like a fairy tale!” Naho cheered.

“You three!” Aoi grumbled with embarrassment. “Kanao, help me out here!”

Kanao looked between Aoi, the rowdy girls, then her sister and senpai, before settling on a nice golf clap of congratulations. This made Aoi lightly smack herself in the face and completely give up on trying to rein in the younger children.

“My, what are you all doing up I wonder?” Shinobu smiled.

“We wanted to watch the moon too Shinobu-sama! Aoi-san even made tea!” Naho clapped.

“But it’s clear you’re, busy, with something and we should go back inside.” Aoi rushed.

“Nonsense, it’s a lovely night. These things are best experienced with those you care about, don’t you all agree?”

“Yes!” Three excited voices readily agreed before wiggling in between the older girls with light blankets and their tea.

Aoi grumbled a half hearted reminder to be careful with the tea before sitting down beside (Y/n) with her own cup. Kanao took a seat beside Shinobu, lightly kicking her feet over the engawa as she started up silently at the moon.

They stayed up for hours, naming constellations, spotting shooting stars, and listening for the occasional loud croak of a far off frog in the thick of the cicadas and crickets.

Dawn wasn’t too far off when Naho, Sumi and Kiyo fell asleep. (Y/n), Shinobu and Kanao each picked one up and returned them to their rooms. Aoi gathered the discarded cups and helped with the doors before bidding the older girls goodnight, Kanao trailing behind her.

“What a lively night. I’m afraid chores will suffer tomorrow.” Shinobu mused as she walked (Y/n) back to her room.

“We’ll figure it out.” (Y/n) said, shyly brushing her hand against Shinobu’s and smiling when Shinobu laced their fingers together.

Once at (Y/n)’s room Shinobu raised (Y/n)’s hand to her lips with a smirk, planting a kiss on battle worn knuckles.

“This is where I leave you. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Why does that feel too long?” (Y/n) laughed quietly.

“I’m not sure, you’d think after four years of bitter silence a couple of hours would be a walk in the park.” Shinobu chuckled in return.

“I guess we just have a lot of time to make up for, huh?”

“Mm, that is a plausible line of reasoning,” Shinobu hummed, a spark growing in her eyes, “might I trouble you for one more kiss before I retire to my room?”

“I was hoping you’d ask.”

(Y/n) hardly got the words out before Shinobu was on her. Four kisses later and they pulled away with matching grins.

“I’ll see you in my dreams.” Shinobu added one last peck before pulling away.

“As will I.”

***

Well into the next morning (Y/n) awoke energized and ready to fight the world. She changed into a fresh uniform and pinned her hair with care, straightening the butterfly pin before rushing out of her room to begin her day with the young woman who had gifted it to her.

[damnzawa]

Hi there! I just found your account and I love you writing! I was wondering if you could do a bakugou x reader fantasy au? Where prince bakugou goes to a small village in his kingdom for a pit stop while on a quest but meets the reader who's a poor butcher's daughter that doesn't know who he is and doesn't really care either but really wants to go on a quest and begs him to let her travel with him in exchange for being a chef. Thank you so much!!💞💕💗 ⁽⁽ଘ( ˊᵕˋ )ଓ⁾⁾┌(★ｏ☆)┘

ANNOYING — B. KATSUKI

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry if this took a long time to be published! I went off tumblr for a while due to personal issues but now I'm back! Hope you like this!

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED (for now)

WARNINGS: Language LMAO but its Bakugo so what do we expect. Also this is not beta read!

WORD COUNT: 1955

Not everyday you have the privilage to meet the prince. The heir to the kingdom's throne. The second most respected man in the whole entire kingdom.

And not everyday you get to mistake him as a thief either.

Not that you care about his title, really. You believe that all men are created equal, regardless of their social standings, heirarchy and whatnot. Thus, you didn't really care about the prince and the royal family that much to ever know about them. Not even their faces, nor names.

So, it wasn't a surprise that it will cause you your possible demise.

You see, the day started nice. You went out to do some deliveries, met some nice people on the road who bought half of the meat your father had cut, and to top it all off the farmer was kind enough to give you extra rootcrops as a sign of gratitude to you and your father. It was a great day all in all. Until, the knights came.

Along with the explosive prince.

Murmurs began to start as you headed back to your father's stall in the market after a long day of delivery work. Even though you didn't mean to eavesdrop — it was kind of hard not to, considering how their volumes were — you caught the words: arrogant, self-centered, short-tempered. And later you found out those words described the prince.

"He must be a nincompoop then. To get such a reputation from the people in town, he must have done some... questionable things." You said to yourself. Too engrosed in your thoughts, you bumped into a red-headed knight. You bowed immediately while apologizing then excused yourself, you didn't really want to interact with knights today. All you wanted to do was cook a hearty meal for your stubborn father, read a book by the fireplace after a bath, and relax.

But all those plans seem to be quickly washed away when you saw an ash blond quietly steal from your father. You were gonna let it slide, thinking that maybe it was for a good cause.

That is until you realized, the man stole a prime cut.

As if a switch was flicked, you quickly ran towards the direction the man headed to. Spotting him from afar, you ran as fast as you can and knocked the man into the ground, shocking the people around you.

"Give it back." You sternly commanded the man. "Give back the meat you stole from my father."

The man scoffed at your 'accusations' and tried to wiggle his way free but your entire weight placed on top of his back made it hard to do so. "Let me fucking go. I have no idea what the actual fuck you are accusing me of."

"Oh shut it. I saw you with my own two eyes and I am very much sure that their vision is not impaired yet." His futile attempts at escaping now stopped as he tilted his head to see the scoundrel who had the audacity to knock him down and embarrass him infront of townspeople.

Of course it had to be a girl.

"Are you one of my admirers to go such lengths as accusing me of stealing from a commoner?" That comment made your eye twitch because first, you are certainly not an admirer of this prick. Two, you don't even know the guy! Three, who would admire this piece of work? And lastly, your father might be a 'commoner' but he's the best 'commoner' you could ever find! There wouldn't be a slab of ribs or a fine piece of steak on your plates if it weren't for him! And the way this asshole said 'commoner' with such distaste too! What a prick! Who the hell does he think he is?

"My prince!" The same red-headed knight you bumped into earlier shouted from afar. Your eyes widened for a second before turning back to the asshole beneath you who now has a smug grin on his face.

"Miss! Are you alright?" The knight asked while helping you get up. "Did the prince cause you any disturbances? Any problems?" It was your turn to plaster on a smug grin on your face. You saw his own falter which you made you more smug than before.

"Why yes actually, the prince caused me a slight inconvenience." The red-head sighed, taking a quick glance at the prince beside him — who couldn't stand due to pain. "The prince stole a priceless little thing from my father's stall earlier and I'd like for him to return it or better yet, pay for it." The prince was about to retort but the red-head beat him to it.

"I deeply apologize for the prince's action, miss. If it would make you happy and satisfied, I will pay for the items he stole. I will also ask for forgiveness on his behalf." Angry noises came from the prince's (beast) mouth as the red-headed knight did exactly what he told making you raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you doing it for him? Can't he do it himself?" It was amazing to see a knight easily convinced to do something a mere 'commoner' like you demanded, but you concluded that this red-headed fellow wasn't an ordinary knight. He seemed like the type that's fed up with the prince's antics, thus his demeanor towards people is filled with empathy and the usual knightly courage. But your words made him halt, and look at you as if you were from some otherworldly land.

You caught the knight mutter about something manly before the prince interrupted. "Hah?! I'm not gonna apologize to someone lower than me! You extra!" The knight sweat-dropped at the prince's words while you looked at him blankly. Wow, the rumors are true, he is an asshole.

"Well, Your Highness, this extra happened to be the one who cared for the rib who used to be a part of the cow that you stole just now. So, apologize and pay up. I don't care if you're the prince or not. Thievery is a crime, and you just committed it." The crowd begin to whisper, making the prince's eye twitch.

"Fine, you annoying extra! Give her whatever the fuck she wants!" And with that the prince stormed off. Leaving you and the red-haired knight behind. The crowd began to disperse, seeing as the scene just concluded and that the man of the hour was gone.

The knight turned to you once again and bowed. "I'm deeply sorry for my prince's actions. As he caused such an inconvenience and refuses to be accountable for his actions, I shall ensure to provide whatever compensation you need or want — within reason of course." Before you can respond, he introduces himself with a grin. "Ah! How silly of me! Chivalric knight, Kirishima Eijirou at your service."

"I appreciate your efforts, Sir Kirishima, but I just need the payment for the stolen goods." You replied with a smile, but soon your smile faltered. You had wanted to be a chef for so long and travel unknown lands to discover cuisine and cooking techniques you've never heard of before. Perhaps... is this the right time to do it?

You bit your lip as you contemplated. Should you grab this opportunity and run with it?

Seeing your hesitancy, Kirishima waited for your answer. "Actually... I have a request... I was wondering if it's possible?"

"I'm all ears, Miss."

...

"What is this extra doing here?!" Prince Bakugo exclaimed as he saw your annoying little face within his traveling party. Kirishima sighed as he explained the situation. You would join his party as a chef until you reach the capital where you will be training to be a chef under the great Lunch Rush. Bakugo was about to object when Kirishima shot him a look.

"Fine. But I'm not eating garbage cooked by a commoner!" You rolled your eyes at his demeanor. Are all royals like this?

As if reading your mind, Kirishima responds. "Don't worry. King Masaru and Queen Mitsuki are quite modest and kind."

"Then what happened to him?" You pointed to Bakugo.

"I heard that, you extra!" Fowl language followed that statement making the traveling party sigh. Oh boy, this is gonna be a painful journey.

After that, you said your goodbyes to your father, who was very emotional about the turn of events. "Be good and be brave, my sweet child. And ask for forgiveness from His Highness." Your brows were scrunched in confusion.

"Why must I do that? He was clearly in the wrong!"

"Ah... that slab of meat was a present from me to him. He once helped me round up the cows when his traveling party went by our house yesterday. The slab of priceless meat was a token of appreciation for his kind gesture. So, do apologize for your actions, ok?" The information you just heard astounded you, making you speechless. Guilt pooled in your stomach as you promised your father that you will apologize to the prince. And with a final promise of coming home as a renowned chef, you parted ways.

The journey started rough. The prince refused to eat anything you made at all. His stubbornness knows no bounds and his overall demeanor towards you was not pleasant, which you understood as the scene you caused was a total misunderstanding on your part. The only upside was the traveling party greatly enjoyed your meals, and some even gave you recipes from different places and suggestions of destinations that you'll surely enjoy to explore! Overall, it went smoothly.

That is, until the prince became sick.

The doctors in your traveling party asked you to concoct different meals suited to His Highness, You had to stop at a village in order to ensure Prince Bakugo's speedy recovery. And one day, you were assigned to deliver his meals to him personally.

"Prince Bakugo?" You knocked on the door, and as expected, not a response came from the prince. You sighed and slowly opened the door, cautiously stepping in so you won't wake Bakugo up or spill the contents of the bowl you held.

"Go away, you extra." He grumbled, but his rough voice was replaced with a weak ome due to his illness.

"Look, I know you won't eat my meals but you need to eat. You can't recover from this if your body doesn't have the nutrients it needs to fight back this illness." You huffed. "And... besides, consider this as my way of making up to you."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"My father told me about it. I'm sorry for mistaking you for a thief. I tried to apologize to you on several occasions but you angrily push me away every time I do. So, I figured this might be the right timing since you know... you aren't your usual aggressive self." You scratched your nape in embarrassment. "Besides, if there's something I learned while traveling with you is that you're a big softie inside. You might act rough and is shard on the edges, you're actually kind-hearted and caring. Uh... anyways. Please make sure to eat your meal, Prince Bakugo."

Before you can exit the room, you heard him say, "Annoying extra." But the usual hostility behind those words wasn't there. You might just be assuming it or imagining it, but those words almost sounded... fond.

With a shake of your head, you left the room.

Later that day, you found the bowl to be empty and outside of his room. Along with it was a note that read, "Don't fucking tell me what to do, you annoying extra."

[tales-unique]

FAULTS OF THE HEART IV

Chapter 4

“It’s healing nicely,” Alucard hums, nimble fingers gently tracing the puckered scar on your shoulder, looking for any problematic signs. “I still get some stiffness in it,” you acknowledge with a small laugh, “but at least I can use my arm again!” It's been a long, tiring road to recovery, but you have finally completed it. Your arm is no longer useless, wrapped up in bandages. Now it’s almost as good as before. You can even use a bow, which means that you are now ready to leave the castle, and Alucard, behind.

A frown darkens your expression at the thought; you’ve become quite fond of him in the time you’ve been there and he seems to have warmed to you too. “Is something wrong?” Alucard’s voice is gentle, his brow furrowed. He’s pulled back his hand, probably assuming that he’s the source of your souring mood. “Oh,” you force a smile, waving your hand dismissively, “no, not really. It’s fine.” Alucard sees through the flimsy lie easily and embarrassment colours your cheeks a dusty pink when he fixes you with a deadpan stare. You tug your sleeve back into place, looking away from him. You press back against the counter top you’re leaning against, distracting yourself by staring at a cracked tile on the wall. Soft afternoon light filters through the kitchen window, painting him in beautiful golden light; it does nothing to help you in that moment. “You know that doesn’t work on me,” he chides, circling around to face you. He’s grown bolder around you as of late, challenging you more often, and though it forces you to confront your emotions you rather like this side of him. He’s healing just as much as you are and you feel content knowing that you’re a part of that process. Rolling your eyes at his remark you cross your arms sulkily over your chest, eyes turning to stare at the floor in one last ditch attempt to make him drop it. It could really use a scrub, you think. It only delays the inevitable as he stands unmoved, shifting in his stance to lean against the counter too. He’s in it for the long haul, so you have no choice but to give in. “What’s wrong?” He asks again when you look at him miserably. “Now that my shoulder is better, there’s no real reason for me to be here anymore,” you murmur wistfully. You knew it would come to this eventually, yet you never seemed to make peace with it. You thought you had, but it turned out to be nothing more than a silly facade to try and hide the fact you didn’t want to leave. Alucard is silent, but the look of shock on his face speaks volumes. He hadn’t even considered the idea that you would leave. Like you, he had fallen into the routine of navigating around you and your ways, as if you had always been there at the castle. It’s just so easy and even when he had tried to fight it he found himself becoming even more compelled by you. “I suppose so,” he answers finally, crestfallen. A lump forms in your throat when you look at him, seeing how dejected he appears. “I’m sorry.” It’s pitiful, but you don’t know what else to say. To impose yourself further on him and his hospitality after he had already saved your life just seemed selfish and yet it felt as equally unkind to simply abandon him. He chuckles, a sad, sardonic sound beneath its silken lilt. “There’s no need to be,” he states, oddly cold despite the softness of his voice, “after all, there’s no reason for you to stay anymore is there?” It hurts. You don’t want it to and you know that you have no right to be but it penetrates deep, twisting and taking root inside. “No,” your whisper, scared your voice will break, “I guess not.” Confused, Alucard regards your drop in mood. He had anticipated that you would be happy to finally be able to continue on with your life, no longer bound to him or the castle for care of your injury. Yet here you stand, trying so hard to keep yourself from breaking. Your eyes glisten and you catch your lip between your teeth; all telltale signs. Alucard realizes with alarming clarity that he’s upset you, because you don’t want to leave. Just like he doesn’t want you to go, either. It was defensive, to lash out, and all it’s done is serve as further reasoning for you to remove yourself from his life. He’s such an idiot. “Wait,” he suddenly says and it breaks his heart, as dead as he had considered it to be, when you look at him with such a forlorn expression. You aren’t sure what to expect but you force yourself not to hope, knowing that it could and most likely would bite you. So you’re pleasantly surprised when it’s not what you anticipated at all. “Do you,” he starts, awkwardly, voice alight with

trepidation, “not want to go?” With wide eyes you regard him, startled. Hearing it out in the open so brazenly has your mind stuttering, your body stiff. Of course it was true, but that wasn’t what had you shocked. It was the fact that, for a brief moment, you saw relief flash in his eyes. But maybe you were wrong. Or maybe he was wrong. You stare at one another in silence, neither able to break the stalemate of truths exposed. In such a relatively short time you’d both grown accustomed to each other's presence and, if you were being completely honest, you were scared to leave the safety of the castle. Out there you were just one woman, no allies, no home, nothing. It’s sobering to know that your situation hadn’t changed since the first time he had asked you about leaving, what you would do and where would you go once you were healed and you’re not quite sure you’re ready to admit how pathetic it made you feel. “No,” you swallow thickly, blinking away stubborn tears, “I don’t.” You remind him of a child, afraid. You’re trying to make yourself as small as you can, no doubt hoping that the ground would open up beneath your feet and swallow you whole. It stirs something in him, the memory of a feeling brought on by your plight; the night that his mother was burned alive and his father turned his back on humanity as a whole. The same feeling he felt when Sumi and Taka betrayed him. Lost. A sorrowful, imploring look flits across Alucard's face and his fingers itch, wanting to offer you comfort. His mother would run her fingers through his hair, murmuring soft words of encouragement to help lift his spirits. “Then you don’t have to go anywhere.” Alucard offers instead, afraid of what such tenderness may invite. Your warmth still set him on edge, but slowly and surely he was coming around to the idea of being as he once was; open and inviting without the need to guard himself. If there was anyone he could see himself opening up to again it would be you. “I have been ignorant to your situation,” he sighs, looking away in shame, “I should have known how difficult it is to pick up the pieces of one's life after they’ve been shattered, especially without help. I’m— I’m sorry.” It’s a quiet admission, shrouded in misery and mystery. He had yet to reveal much about himself, but you could fathom that he had been the receiver of much sorrow in his lifetime so far from the darkness he carried with him like a ball and chain. It tugged at your heart to see him so isolated from the very world itself, threatening to tear it apart. You quickly swipe at your eyes, trying in vain to banish the tears that broke free, warm trails lining your cheeks. “Don’t be, Alucard,” you inhale deeply, trying to ground yourself. You can’t stand the sudden look of guilt on his face for making you cry. “I should have told you about how I felt,” your voice trembles and you scowl at yourself, feeling silly, “I should have been honest instead of hiding it away like an idiot.” Crossing your arms tightly over your chest you try to focus on something else, though it’s hard when all you can see blurs with your tears. You angrily wipe at them, frustrated, until your hands are gently taken away by his, the grasp warm and comforting. “I don’t think you’re an idiot,” he murmurs, looking over your face with a gentle expression. Your mouth is slightly parted with shock and your eyes, rimmed red and shimmering, are wide and locked onto him. “I think you’re so very human.” The tenderness in which the words are said, and the endearing meaning behind them, sends your heart soaring and you can’t help the smile that comes to your lips. A soft, breathless laugh passes your lips with ease, the tension leaving your shoulders. Your tears start anew and for a moment Alucard thinks he’s done something wrong, but from the way your laughter mingles with your shaky breaths he knows that isn’t the case. He, too, smiles at the warmth seeping back into you, the dark melancholy that had hung over you like a veil lifting and he lets go of your hands slowly. Neither of you comment on the way

you long for the contact to return; the simple, fragile bond inspiring a sense of yearning. “Are you alright?” He asks once you seem to have regained control of yourself, your tears having stopped and your gentle peels of laughter melting away. “I am,” you hum, looking at him with an intense fondness that he had seldom seen before. You are so bright in that moment, all because he has given you a place to belong, and it gives him hope. If only his father could have had such a chance, perhaps things may have turned out differently for him.

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Manga Review – If I Could Reach You Vol. 4 & 5

If I Could Reach You remains an incredibly emotional and powerful story

I vaguely remember once staying home from school as a child for a somewhat extended period with an illness, and upon my recovery, I was loath to return. However, my father said that the longer I wait, the harder and more awkward it will be to return. It is with that spirit that I drag myself back towards review for the first time in over a month after the ever-grueling modern reality of isolation, paranoia, and working remotely sapped my strength and excess energy for the ninth time. However, if I have to force myself to write a review, groaning and whining all the way, I may as well make it something good, and fortunately, that part was easy to find. Indeed, the end of 2020 and opening of 2021 is stuffed with more Yuri than my lesbian vision board. I chose to go back to the most recent entry in one of my favorite series, If I Could Reach You. Perhaps this shattering and emotionally draining series is not the best medicine to cure the quarantine-blues. Still, it is nice to have a reminder that there are people in the world, or at least in manga, that are as miserable as us.

The fourth volume of If I Could Reach You kicks off when Uta’s mother reenters her life after apparently staying overseas for several years. She intends to start her relationship with Uta over. She insists that the high schooler come live with her, throwing the delicate balance she, her brother Reiichi, and sister-in-law Kaoru have. On top of this, Uta is struggling after her confession to Kaoru failed to reach the older girl, who seemingly interpreted it as a statement of familial friendliness.

During much of this volume, characters avoid the seemingly inevitable, which builds a sense of foreboding or even dread for what may come. Uta devotes more time to her friends, leading to a narrative focus on Chloe and Miyabi’s relationship and the Konatsu telling her story of a relationship with a young teacher. These side stories are compelling enough, but they at least feel like a joined part of the narrative, rather than a distraction as they occasionally drifted towards in previous volumes. Uta learns and grows from seeing her friends’ struggles and appears affected by them, incorporating their experiences into her journey.

Uta’s experiences are mirrored perfectly by Kaoru, who is apparently more suspicious of Uta’s feelings than she let the younger girl believe. Ultimately, this leads to their big confrontation at the start of volume five and, while I will not spoil anything, the results of it are stunning. The author is uniquely able to convey the complex emotions of the characters. Utas feelings after the encounter are ones of guilt, joy, and overwhelming relief. The story is rapidly barreling towards its conclusion as she prepares to leave behind her brother, the woman she loves, and, she hopes, her feelings.

If I Could Reach You’s story is as devastating and shocking as ever. The characters are complicated, and their motivations and feelings are not always clear, but not for lack of clues. Upon repeat reading and analysis of the images, their true feelings become more apparent, showing more detail the more time you spend with it. It is brilliantly paced and rewarding to invested readers who spent the time with the last few volumes and stayed invested and critical during the build-up.

However, the real reason I adore If I Could Reach You is the artwork. Few of the illustrations appear breathtaking at first, or epic in their achievement, but the more so their subtleties. Every shot’s framing, the arrangement of panels, and the characters’ expressive faces and bodies all serve to prop up the story and communicate it and its intricacies perfectly. Indeed, tMnR is the master of visual storytelling and has enough confidence in their art to relieve dialogue and let the art do the work’s brunt. On more than one occasion, back before the series concluded serialization, I would browse the latest chapters in Comic Yuri Hime and just observe the art, without looking up any of the Japanese, and was consistently impressed.

A lot of the time, I feel art, especially dramas, exists only to serve as secondary visuals for the dialogue and stories, a sales banner clamoring for attention and then serving only as talking heads for text which could easily be rewritten in prose or else rearranged into a large group text chat. If I Could Reach You is one of a few works that only really works in visual mediums. Much of this I have said before, but I want just to highlight how astounding and tight tMnR’s focus and artwork is.

If I Could Reach You remains an incredibly emotional and powerful story. The tension continues to rise in volumes 4 and 5, as both our heroines press forward and finally reveal the truth and hurt. The series is subtle yet exceptionally direct, pulling no punches in this complex and devastating whirlwind. It is all accompanied by precise and wonderfully crafted artwork that instills a profound relationship and understanding of its subjects unique to other works. It is one of a select few series that holds my attention and investment, and for an excellent reason.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 7 Art – 10 LGBTQ – 5 Sexual Content – 3 Final – 8

Check out If I Could Reach You volume 4 and 5 digitally and in paperback today: https://amzn.to/3rAHAHi

Reading official releases supports creators and publishers. YuriMother makes a small commission from sales to help fund future content.

Review copies provided by Kodansha Comics

[im-frickin-trying-okay]

Random BNHA Headcanons

(This is my first time doing this 😭)

Summary: A bunch of random BNHA headcanons. So, basically the title. The only reason I’m adding a read more is because I want it to be easier to navigate my page, lol

Bakugo is oddly nice when he first wakes up, but he's not exactly a morning person. He's less "I hate the world, why am I awake???" And more like "I'm extremely comfortable and the only thing that can ruin my mood is becoming less comfortable." He likes hovering between awake and asleep, y'know? Which is why if he's sleepy, his guard drops. When leaving the dorms, if he hasn't fully woken up, he goes from "outta my way, shitty-hair," to "mornin' Eijirou," and by the time he's actually aware of what he said, Kiri's already freaking out. If he's in bed all day for any reason other than being sick, he's probably soft for at least a few hours.

Kaminari's the type to wake up at 2 AM with an idea, go to jot it down, and then realize that he wrote a ten chapter book and now he's late for class. He'll probably put it into a google doc or something, so he can continue to add onto it throughout the day. I also feel like he probably will also randomly get a question and then spend hours researching it and any surrounding topics, before rambling to Kiri about "bro, if I went to the beach, I could make a bunch of glass! Probably! Maybe!" And then have to try and convince his friends that he can just make windows if anyone needs them.

Sero had added moves to his skill set, and practiced particular actions, with the sole intention of mimicking Spiderman. When Kirishima questions him on it, he compares Spiderman to Crimson Riot. They have a conversation that's essentially fanboying, both of them saying "we are not bringing All Might into this," and then more fanboying.

Jirou has an extremely eclectic music taste. If you can name a song, she probably knows it. She can memorize full melodies and all the lyrics within two or three listens, because she's just that good. Some people call her the human Shazam, because if you play the first five seconds of a song she likes, she'll immediately know what it is. She's also called out artists if they made a clear rip-off of a much better song. Her music taste is all over the place, which therefore makes it superior. However. This does not stop her from listening to the same six songs on repeat for a week. The six change a lot, though.

Koda has trouble with bugs, especially big ones. They scare him. But he has pretty much no issues with tigers, lions, horses, or even wolves. He loves animals, he really does. If you just showed up at his doorstep and shoved a bear cub in his arms, he wouldn't really question it, because he'd be happy to have a cute animal to play with.

Todoroki believes himself to be the opposite of moody. His definition of moody is switching emotions for no reason. He, personally, doesn't feel any emotion until something happens that day, be it a thought or an event, and his emotions stay fixed like that until something else happens. He could be having a great day, and then suddenly, it's a horrible day, and he can't figure out how people just "get over it." He does, however, find that unless something REALLY bad or REALLY good happens, his brain does a little emotional reset when he goes to sleep. Like, go to sleep feeling down, wake up feeling kinda meh.

Kirishima has considered re-dying his hair. Come on, hot pink is so manly! How could he not consider it? But he eventually resigns himself, because red just is his color now. Also, I feel like once, before dorms, he was really out of it, so he went to class with his hair down, and this was the first time anyone had seen him like that, and everyone was just confused as hell. Especially Bakugo. "Your hair's less shitty today. What the fuck."

Uraraka takes part in stupid bets all the time. Partially for the fun, and partially for the profit. She once floated Bakugo to the ceiling for 26 minutes before she had to put him down, because Kiri said that if she survived, he'd give her a dollar per minute. She ended up having to go to the recovery girl's office, but at least she got her money.

Mina is one of the few people who can understand and keep up with Deku's mumbling. This is not because she specifically tries to, (like Uraraka) or because she's known him long enough, (like Bakugo.) She's just used to gossipping with Hagakure at 4 AM, and therefore can understand high-speed low-volume speech. She's called him out on things before, but only when she's interested. She completely tunes out things about All Might and heroes and whatnot, but if he ever has anything to say about his classmates, specifically about Uraraka, Todoroki, and Bakugo, (because she, Hagakure, and Denki placed bets,) she hears every word.

Iida secretly loves to break the rules. He acts strict in front of anyone who he respects, or wants respect from, but after he thinks everyone's asleep, he relaxes, doing things that he considers rule-breaking without any remorse. Denki heard someone walking around outside while on one of his late-night internet searches. After finally willing himself to break away from an article about pandas, he popped his head out of the door to find Iida sneaking around. After some silent observation, Denki realized that not only did Iida just get back from breaking curfew, but he casually stole Hot Cheetos from Bakugo's room on the way back to his dorm. He said nothing the next day, at least not directly, but he sorta shoved Sero and Iida in the same room so that they could be bad influences on each other.

Despite it being a major part of her quirk, Hagakure almost never feels invisible. She has a lot of friends to talk to, she can wear cool outfits to stand out, and she is always talking. The only time she's not talking is during stealth training, and when she's using said stealth training to spy on people.

Tsu's little "ribbit" thing is actually just for fun. It feels right to do it, so she does it. Nothing wrong with that. However, pretty much everyone else assumed it was a part of her quirk. It took an insane amount of convincing to get that idea out of their heads. Deku was proud to be one of the few who never actually associated it with her quirk. He could prove it if he wanted to, actually, but that would require showing someone his notebook, which would open a whole other can of worms.

Oh yeah, speaking of Deku's notebook, he has multiple. Six to be exact. One is on his fellow classmates, one is on most pros, one is on the LOV, one is specifically on All Might, one is on his own quirk development, and the last one is a narrative of what's happening in his life, which is why he's constantly thinking as if he's telling a story. He mentally narrates everything that happens in his life, although he sometimes wonders if he's dramatizing things because of that. His internal monologue is constantly running its mouth, and sometimes he ends up speaking over it.

Tokoyami really likes plague doctors. He just does. He wants a plague doctor mask so he can walk around with less judgement, or maybe more, who knows? He just loved the concept. He claims that they're just really cool, which most people agree with, but he's never told any of them that he likes them because he saw a plague doctor mask for the first time at the age of six, and immediately thought bird man.

Sato likes baking, but he can't cook normally to save his life. Well, he can, but he can't. He hasn't burned water, and he knows how to do the very basics, but he can't function without a recipe, not to mention the fact that he's googled how to saute mushrooms three times and still doesn't get it. Baking comes pretty naturally. Exact measurements, precise times and temperatures. Cooking does not. Eyeballing ingredient amounts, guessing if the flame is high enough, trying to figure out how often 'stir occasionally' is. He actually once asked Bakugo if he had advice, to which he responded, "Why the hell are you asking me?!"

[nothoughtsonlytrance]

My First Sonic OC

Hello everyone! So I wanted to start my first post on tumblr with a Sonic the Hedgehog OC I’ve created. I can’t draw though, so if any of you want to make fan art of her, I give you permission, just please credit me for the original character. If you have any questions about her feel free to ask! Anyways here she is:

Name: Viktoriya (Tori) Zika

Age: 23

Species: Sable

Gender: female

Sexuality: pansexual(she/her)

Height: 5’2

Weight: (don’t ask; she’s SUPER self-conscious about it!! [It’s 154-don’t tell her I said that though..])

Eye color: Dark Brown

Hair color: it’s naturally brown, but it turns cyan with light blue streaks when she turns her powers to the max.

Powers: Tori has sonokineisis. She can manipulate anything having to do with sound: sound waves, speakers, etc. She also can use echolocation to communicate. Her power is especially strong when coupled with electricity. She can also manipulate all types of air pressure. Because of this, she can create black holes anywhere she wants by largely increasing the air pressure. Tori also has the power of shock absorption. She can reduce the effect that physical blows give her by absorbing the power. She can then take the energy from said blow and release it ten-fold to the puncher.

At her highest level of power, (When she turns into her Super form) Tori can detect and manipulate anything that can be considered “sound.” Her connection to the concept of sound itself basically means that she knows any type of sound made in the universe. Her hearing is so sharp that when she hears the sound of a pencil on paper, she can tell what is being written just by those sounds. Another kinda dark thing-so the beating of a heat works by fluctuations in pressure to move blood through the body. Since it technically is sound, she can manipulate it. In other words, she can literally stop someone's heartbeat. 

However, Tori’s power has its limits. (These limits don’t apply when she goes Super though) Since sound is vibrations sent through a medium to be detected, Tori’s powers either won’t work in space or are very weak. So she either can’t hear things in outer space, or has slight hearing loss in space because the vacuum of space doesn’t have anything for sound vibrations to travel through. To deal with this, Tails placed special hearing implants in her brain that control the volume of sound traveling so she can detect it better.  Also if she overuses her voice while delivering a sonic boom or similar, she can risk straining her vocal cords too much and getting laryngitis, in which recovery could take days or weeks, depending on the severity.

Appearance: Tori is a brown-furred sable with brown, curly, medium-length hair with hazel-colored highlights. Her highlights glow cyan when she uses her powers. She has a medium-lengthed bushy tail that is the same shade of fur as her body. She has dark brown eyes that glow cyan when she uses her powers. Tori also has a small birthmark in the shape of a treble clef in the middle of her forehead that also glows when she uses her powers. Tori’s main outfit consists of a ‘skater-girl’ outfit: a back tank top with a loose-fitting plaid red shirt over top of it. She wears high-waisted black denim jeans with a black belt that has a treble clef symbol on the buckle. She wears white high top converse shoes that have a heart with a treble clef over top of it on the sides. She also wears a black beanie on her head. She is not much of a makeup person, like Rouge is, but when she does use makeup, it’s usually foundation, mascara, and a little bit of turquoise eyeshadow with faded wing-style eyeliner. When she goes into her super form, her fur turns a darker shade of brown while her entire hair turns cyan with turquoise streaks.  

Personality: Tori is very shy and introverted. She tends to keep to herself but is nice once you get to know her. She is especially bubbly and outgoing when it comes to things she is passionate about, such as music and history. (She loves museums so much and hopes to work in one someday, particularly a natural history museum) However, she tends to be lazy and procrastinates a LOT, so she’s not very athletic (haha). Tori has anxiety and ADHD, so this can cause her to be very disorganized. She sometimes has anxiety attacks, usually as a result of dehydration and tends to shy away from social gatherings. However, upon meeting Team Sonic, she slowly came out of her shell and became more comfortable around others. She doesn’t really like to be confrontational and tries to stay out of conflict. However, she wants to stand up for those who are being bullied and mistreated, especially if it’s someone she has a close bond with. Tori also seems to have great comebacks when someone is bullying her. Tori wants to learn to grow and be confident in her powers, but she knows herself it’s not easy, especially when it can be very dangerous.

A/N: I’m still working on her backstory, but hopefully that will be done soon. Once again, if anyone has any questions about her, let me know! Thank you :)