#slbp fan fiction

[lowres-masamune]

Aftertaste

I finally decided to write my own SLBP fanfic after 35969 years because Nobunaga's route has destroyed me and I love his character development. A little introspection on MC's feelings about the events so far. Loosely based on Nobunaga's Unification crossroads, contains spoilers for his Act 2 Destiny end.

Read it on Ao3 as well!

Sometimes she wondered if she’d made the right decision to follow the Lord of Hell backstage as the curtain closed on his final act. Or if he should, no, if he wanted to return to his stage. 

Of course he didn’t, but MC thought a lot about what Nobunaga would do with all that hellfire in him, and the small voice in her head asked whether it would eat him up alive. 

MC thinks about the events that have transpired so far, and questions her present while she reminisces the past. She looks deep inside herself, and finds answers.

It was on days like these where MC thought about everything that had led up to that moment. 

It was moments like those, bathed in the orange and yellow hues of sunset, that brought back bittersweet memories — of Kiyosu castle, of the kitchen maids she worked with, and the Oda retainers bickering among themselves, and merry sounds of laughter echoing around the palace.

Whenever she walked through that lush clearing, when the wind tousled her hair, she'd look back and wonder what her life had come to. 

And, how could she forget — that day when she sat with Nobunaga on his old tree, overlooking Owari and the lands he would conquer; the strength in his eyes as he spoke of his ambitions was nothing short of awe-inspiring; the blazing sunset on that day could not compare to the raging fire in his soul.

“Promise me, you will serve me until the day you die.”

That was a promise she’d never broken, one that she still served until now. 

She never forgot all those jars of konpeito, those plates of castella that she personally brought to Nobunaga’s chambers all that time ago.

And now, they made konpeito in their humble little kitchen together while bickering over little things; he carried her groceries for her as they strolled around town; they built a home, a new life together. 

They were just normal people now. 

But every now and then, her thoughts would wander back to their old home — maybe Danming was home now, but when she glanced at the map over Nobunaga’s shoulder, she would think of Japan, of Owari, and see the faces of her family, of Inuchiyo, Mitsuhide, and everyone they’d left behind. 

Sometimes she wondered if she’d made the right decision to follow the Lord of Hell backstage as the curtain closed on his final act. Or if he should, no, if he wanted to return to his stage. 

Of course he didn’t, but MC thought a lot about what Nobunaga would do with all that hellfire in him, and the small voice in her head asked whether it would eat him up alive. 

A booming voice calling her name snapped her out of her reverie. Looking up, she saw said man perched in his usual spot in his favourite gingko tree.

She’d seen him like this enough times to get used to it. But images from the past, of that day when she saw him like this for the first time, flashed across her mind, and bittersweet feelings resurfaced in her.

“Lord Nobunaga!” She cried out.

His usual piercing glare was soft, focused on somewhere she couldn’t see. 

“You’re calling me that name again.” A faint smile graced his handsome features as he turned to her. “I’m just Nobu now.”

He looked more distant than ever, and it scared MC a little. 

That’s the face of a man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. That was someone who faced the cutting edge of the future with a glint in his eye.

And maybe he hasn’t changed at all.

She didn’t know why, but she found herself climbing up to meet him. 

As she neared him, her arms were sore and tired, and she stretched a hand out to him. 

He let out an exasperated chuckle. “What are you doing down there?” He reached down to pull her up the rest of the way. 

It was oddly comforting, just sitting there next to him. And maybe that was what he needed.

So this is what it felt like to be on top of the world again, and maybe she understood why Nobunaga liked it so much. Now, the world felt so small as MC watched the endless hills and fields roll over the horizon, painted in the sunset’s colours. And she felt even smaller. 

“It’s amazing…” MC mumbled as she turned to Nobunaga’s profile. His gunmetal grey eyes, once so cold, now had an odd warmth to them as they met hers; his soft garnet locks now grown out into a short ponytail — 

“Foolish girl, what are you looking at?” He teased, lips forming into a smirk. 

“Just enjoying the view,” MC replied, returning the gesture.

“Like it, do you?”

“Yes, very much.”

A comfortable silence, interrupted just slightly by the cry of Nobunaga’s sparrowhawk in the distance. MC smiled and sighed to herself. This was the peaceful life she’d always envisioned. 

But through the tranquillity, she could almost feel the inferno that burned in him, spreading and warming her up inside, and she, a moth to a blazing flame — bright, consuming, unextinguishable.

Divine Rule was his play, and the world his stage. Here he was, on his throne atop the world, fit for the Demon King himself — 

That wasn’t who he was, he’d given that up long ago, a moment in time swallowed up by the flames of Honnou-ji and his internal conflict.

MC told herself that she had stopped looking for Oda Nobunaga, because she loves this man called Nobu. But maybe she was missing him again.

The lingering warmth in his eyes, the eyes of a man at peace was what she saw.

Maybe he didn’t want to be found again.

Those thoughts would come and go, eventually fading, but never forgotten, just like the sweet aftertaste of sugar on her tongue.

They stayed just like that, watching the gingko leaves sway in the breeze, framing the sky around them; a picture frame of a memory, a moment between them forever cherished. 

“You know, this reminds me a lot of when we first met,” MC stopped herself from saying, swallowing her words along with the uncertainty clouding her mind.

Frames of her memories resurfaced; Nobunaga’s kind smile, his warmth as they embraced, the sweet smells of the kitchen, the lingering taste of konpeito on their tongues.

And MC found her hand reaching for Nobunaga’s.

“Maybe I miss our old life, but I’m happy the way we are now. I’m happy here with you, Nobu.”

Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to keep asking herself all those questions anymore — her home was here, wherever he was.

[rubyleeray]

Sengokink - The 12 Days of Chrismut Master Post

Every door has been opened! The SENGOKINK - THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISMUT ADVENT CALENDAR IS COMPLETE! Day 1  Mtisunari Ishida - Oil & Massage Day 2   Masamune Date - Food Day 3  Yukimura Sanada - Sweaty Outdoor Sex Day 4  Saizo Kirigakure - Aftercare & Ass play (Saizo POV) Day 5  Kenshin Uesugi - Blindfolded Gameplay Day 6  Toshiie Maeda (Inuchiyo) - Bath Sex Day 7  Mitsuhide Akechi - Roleplay & Outdoor Sex (Mitsuhide POV)  Day 8  Kojuro Katakura - Guided Masturbation & Hair Pulling Day 9  Hideyoshi Toyotomi - Spanking Day 10  Ieyasu Tokugawa - Makeup Day 11  Shingen Takeda - Mirror Sex  (Shingen POV)  Day 12  Nobunaga Oda - Face Fucking Thank you so much for checking this out! I’ve never taken on such a huge project for myself before and while not every story is my best, I am extremely proud of all of them.

I really hope you enjoyed this series! I learned a lot about myself as a writer in the process and I challenge you all to try something similar! Especially if you are experiencing the block! 

Things I learned: -You can do all the pre-planning in the world and still end up scrapping and re-writing your story at 11:45 pm even though you have to publish it by 11:59pm. -The thesaurus is my best friend, but sometimes writing “slowly” and “gently” 80 times a piece has to happen! -Buying as many epilogues as you can is an extremely worthy investment if you’re a writer -  ESPECIALLY the male POVs! - It is incredibly difficult to describe orgasming (a minimum of) 12 different ways 12 days in a row.  - You CAN write smut in the back of an Uber but I do NOT recommend it. - The SLBP fandom is one of the most supportive there is and everyone in it is an absolute treasure (but this is a bit of a cop-out because I went into this project already knowing this!).   -The 12 Days of Christmas aren’t actually scheduled? No one knows exactly what timeline is considered the official 12 Days of Christmas?!

*Thanks again to @karalija and @pseudofaux for putting up with my secrecy and endless self-revisions.* Happy Holidays to you all! I’m wishing you lots of love and happiness!! No matter where you are or what you might be going through right now, please know that you bring me a lot of happiness and joy and I hope I can return the favor some day! (Even if it is providing you with a few brief moments of what I hope is smutty bliss). 

[maddy-the-otome-hoe]

And They Were Neighbors Ch 4

I’ve actually had this done for a while. Just kept forgetting to post it and I figured since I did nothing today I’d pretend I was more productive. Tagging @minnimay17 @artemira-sengoku @frywen-babbles @dear-mrs-otome If anyone else wants to be tagged in updates let me know! Also light smut toward the end

First     Previous     Next ~ Coming Soon

It had been a week since Mitsunari stayed the night but MC hadn't seen much of him sense. They texted a little in the mornings and evenings but neither one ever said anything about seeing each other again. So on Friday night MC found herself too anxious to invite him over and instead decided to bake something. However she couldn't decide what to make so she texted Mitsunari anyway. I'm thinking about baking something. Any suggestions? He replied before she could even put her phone down.

Manju. She looked at her phone in surprise. Normally it took him at least a few minutes to text back because he was either working or reading something.

That was fast. Do you like manju? He answered right away and she almost wanted to question him. This was so strange and she almost wanted to ask if it was actually Mitsunari. However before she could another text came in.

Yes. That was when the idea popped into her head and it seemed almost foolproof.

Well in that case do you want me to bring you some once they're finished? The reply wasn't instant this time but it only took a couple of minutes.

If you want to. To anyone else it sounded like he didn't care but she knew it was as close to a yes as she'd get. After sending a quick ok she set to work on the manju. It was been awhile since she made anything like this but it felt good to be doing it again. In fact it almost felt nostalgic. Once the manju was done she put them in a container and headed over to Mitsunari's. She knocked on the door and his voice told her to come in, so she did. His apartment had the same layout as her's but it seemed much more elegant. There were two bookshelves one at each end of the couch, and off to the side of the room was a single chair. She could just picture herself curling up in it with a book. "Is there something wrong?" Mitsunari's voice snapped her out of her staring and she smiled.

"No. You just have so many books." Her gaze drifted back to the bookshelves and Mitsunari smiled.

"Well of course. I'm not a dullard like you. There are more in my bedroom and study too." He stepped closer to her but her eyes were still on the books. It was taking all of her self control not to run her fingers over the spines and pick one or two out. When Mitsunari blocked her view she blushed and held out the container to him.

"I brought the manju over. Do you want to try one?" He didn't say anything but headed for the kitchen. She followed him and saw that he was getting out a couple of mugs.

"I made some tea when you said you were coming over. I didn't have peppermint though so I hope citrus is ok." This made MC smile and she set the manju on the counter.

"Thank you. Citrus is good too though." He handed her a mug and then immediately popped one of the manju in his mouth. Once he was done MC felt on edge. "Well how are they?" He only shrugged but continued to eat them.

"They aren't entirely inedible." The words had barely left his mouth before he ate another one. It was obvious that he liked them and she smiled. Once the manju was gone Mitsunari sat next to her and took a drink of his own tea. The silence wasn't really uncomfortable but MC couldn't help but feel restless. This was the first time she'd seen him since he stayed the night with her. Mitsunari didn't seem like the type of guy to just sleep around but it also wasn't the first time she had thought that about someone. She also knew that nothing would get solved if she kept it to herself.

"Mitsunari can I ask you something?" He raised an eyebrow at her question but before she could ask her phone rang. Groaning she pulled it out of her pocket and saw that it was Inuchiyo. "It's Inuchiyo. Hold on just a second. Hello?" The irritation in her voice was clear but it only turned to anger from there. "What do you mean you're having dinner with him?" Another pause and she was clenching her first. "No I don't want to have dinner with you two." Mitsunari wasn't sure what was said to her but it was enough to make her stand up and start pacing. "No you will not bring him to my place. I don't care what his reasons are I don't want to see him." She stopped pacing and Mitsunari saw a defeated look on her face. "Fine I'll be there in like ten to twenty minutes. Just don't bring him here." She hung up the phone and sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to get so angry." Concerned about what he had just heard Mitsunari felt he should ask.

"Is everything alright?" She let out a short laugh followed by a deep breath.

"Technically yes. I'm just not happy about being forced to see my dad. Apparently he ran into Inuchiyo and now they're having dinner. If I don't go meet them then Inuchiyo is going to bring him to my place." She then flashed him an apologetic look and he hated that she looked so upset. "I'm sorry but I have to go." She turned to leave but Mitsunari was right behind her.

"Alright I'll drive. Just tell me where to go." She turned around and looked at him in shock. "Don't give me that look. I'm your boyfriend and as such it's my responsibility to do things to make you feel better." The word boyfriend rang around in her until she was able to repeat it.

"Boyfriend?" His brows pushed close together again and he frowned at her.

"Of course. You don't think I just sleep with anyone do you?" She shook her head and his face relaxed a little. "Do you want me as your boyfriend?" There was a twinge of fear in his words and it almost broke her heart. Of course she wanted him. He was all that she had been thinking about in the last week.

"Of course I do. I told you that I wanted you and everything that came with it." His cheeks flushed as she repeated those words to him. Turning away from her Mitsunari grabbed his keys and then her hand. She didn't dare say anything in fear that he would let go so she simply followed him. Once they were in the car MC figured that she needed to explain everything about her dad. "So you probably figured out from Inuchiyo's phone call that I don't get along well with my dad."

"That seems like an understatement, but continue." She shrugged at his assessment but knew he was right.

"I'm really just putting it nicely. See him and my mom got pregnant with me when they were still in high school. So they got married and did the baby thing but my dad was always cheating on my mom. So a lot of my childhood was just me and mom and the boys. Then they finally got into a good place and I thought my dad had actually changed. Then my mom found out that he was cheating with a coworker again. Things got really negative in my family after that so I cut ties with my dad and left for school. He didn't even try contacting me until I moved to the city though. So I haven't talked to him in almost five years." She didn't mean for it to all come out in one breath but she was nervous. Mitsunari took all of the information though in stride. He figured that the more she got out now the less nervous she'd be by the time they got to the restaurant. "I'm also sorry that you had to find out about all of that like this. I normally don't even tell any of that to people. I mean I obviously planned on telling you since we're dating, but not so soon."

"It's alright." He paused trying to think of words that would comfort her. "I'll be with you so if you need to leave we can leave. Sometimes things with your family just don't work." There was a sadness in his voice that told her that he knew this personally, and she wanted to ask but knew it was best to wait. One family crisis was more than enough for now.

"Thank you Mitsunari. I'm actually really glad you're here with me." She smiled at him and he was relieved to see that it was honest. They got to the restaurant and it didn't take them long to find Inuchiyo because he began yelling as soon as he saw them. When they got to the table MC introduced Mitsunari to her dad. "This is my boyfriend Mitsunari. This is my dad Jay." Her dad held his hand out to Mitsunari and he shook it.

"Mitsunari you like girls!" Inuchiyo was clearly drunk and loud which only irritated MC and Mitsunari.

"Of course I do you drunk dullard." Inuchiyo only squinted his eyes at him and then looked to MC.

"I don't believe it MC. I don't trust his answer." MC only rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"So Pumpkin how long have you two been dating?" Her head snapped up and she glared at her father, but he pretended not to notice.

"I'm not here to play catch up. Inuchiyo said that you had something to talk to me about so lets just start there." Mitsunari was keeping Inuchiyo engaged in conversation but still paying attention to MC. There was so much pain and coldness in her words but he admired how in control of it she was. Geoff sighed and raised his hands up defensively.

"You look so much like your mother when your angry. How about I order us a round of drinks and I'll tell you after that." MC's expression didn't change at all but again her father didn't seem to notice. He was already flagging down the waitress to put in an order. She waited till he was done checking out said waitress before she tired speaking.

"Dad you know I can't drink." He only gave her a confused look and she sighed. "Alcohol is a blood thinner and I get really sick if I drink it. Not to mention I'll bleed even more if I get hurt." This wasn't the first time she had to remind her dad and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.

"You got hurt! Who hurt you? Was it him?" Inuchiyo pointed a finger at Mitsunari. MC again rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone.

"That's it. You're way to drunk and I'm texting Toshihisa to come get you." Hearing this Inuchiyo tried to reach across the table but Mitsunari smacked his hand away. They glared at each other but Mitsunari didn't say anything.

"No don't call him. He'll just lecture me and kill my mood."

"Well you should've thought about that before you got so trashed. He'll be here to get you in five minutes so I suggest you switch to water." After dealing with that she turned back to her father. "Why did you even let him drink so much? You know how he gets." Her dad only shrugged.

"Inuchiyo is a man now and he can handle himself." MC rolled her eyes and took a drink of water.

"Can you just tell me why you wanted to talk to me so bad? I was actually having a nice night before all of this." Her dad frowned at her but sighed.

"Can't we at least order something to eat before we talk? I haven't seen you in so long and I've missed you." MC's hands clenched into fist on her lap and Mitsunari reached over to hold one.

"That's not my fault. You knew where I was at school, you had my phone number. Communication is a two way street. Now you can either tell me what it is you want to tell me, or I'm leaving." Letting out a final sigh her dad finally gave up trying to bond.

"Alright fine. All I really wanted to tell you is that I've decided to sign the divorce papers." The tension left her body and MC's gave her dad a suspicious look.

"Why?" It was a simple question but it was all that was on her mind. "For six years you've refused to sign them and keep trying to control Mom. Now out of the blue you say you make a big show about signing them. I don't buy that it's out of the kindness of your heart." Her voice cracked a little and she took a deep breath to hold in all of her emotion.

"Well the reason I've decided to sign them is because I'm going to marry someone else. We've actually been dating for the last three years and I'd really like for you to meet her. She already met the boys and they love her." That was the final straw. Of course he stayed in touch with her brothers but not her.

"Ya know what dad. If you didn't bother to tell me about her for three years then you certainly don't need me to meet her or come to the wedding." The ice in her voice was enough to make anyone shiver and even Mitsunari was surprised by it. He had always seen her be so kind and warm. Such coldness really didn't suit her and he didn't like it. MC got up from the table and headed for the doors. Her dad tried to follow but Mitsunari stopped him.

"I think you've done enough. Please just stay away from her." The anger was clear on his face but Mitsunari ignored it and left to follow MC. He found her just outside the doors talking to someone with jet black hair. She looked a little more relaxed as she talked to the person and Mitsunari assumed that she knew him. Then the person reached out and touched her shoulder and Mitsunari rushed to her side and slid an arm around her waist. "Are you alright MC?" Hearing Mitsunari beside her was enough to ease all of the tension out of her and she nodded.

"Yeah. Oh Mitsunari this is Toshihisa, Inuchiyo's older brother. Toshihisa this is my boyfriend Mitsunari." The two of them nodded at each other but didn't say anything. "Inuchiyo is still inside the restaurant with my dad. I'm sorry you had to leave your meeting to come get him." Toshihisa smiled at her but shook his head.

"No worries. It was pretty much done so I left my assistant to wrap things up. Are you sure you're going to be alright though?" Toshihisa took her and gently rubbed the back of it. Mitsunari's brows furrowed together and he spoke before MC could.

"She already said that she was. Why would you ask her again?" Toshihisa glared at Mitsunari and he returned the look.

"I care about her that's why." Mitsunari's eyes widened. "When I got here she was clearly upset so naturally I was worried. Someone needed to comfort her." The implication of his words made Mitsunari's blood boil. Not wanting to make a scene Mitsunari grabbed MC's hand and went straight for the car. The whole way home Mitsunari was silent and MC didn't really know what to say. It was obvious that he was upset but she wasn't sure why. When they got back to the apartment building Mitsunari was still holding onto her hand which seemed like a good sign. He opened the door to his apartment and pulled her inside.

"Mitsunari ar," she didn't get to finish before he pulled her into a hungry kiss. It felt needy and scared, like he was desperately trying to claim everything she was for himself. When he pulled back his cheeks were flushed and his eyes burned with lust.

"I didn't like the way that man spoke to you. I want to be the only man who touches you and cares about you." Suddenly it all made sense. Mitsunari was jealous and that was enough to make her eyes go wide.

"Are you jealous because of what Toshihisa said?" His eyes darted away from her face and his cheeks grew darker.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's just obvious that both of the Madea men have feelings for you and you seem completely oblivious to them." He looked beyond frustrated as he spoke but MC was in awe. It was a new side to him and she never imagined that he would get so jealous so easily. She placed her hands on her on the sides of his face and made him look at her.

"I love that you care about enough me to get jealous but I promise I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me I'll be here with you." He was about to kiss her again when there was a knock at the door. "Are you going to get that?" He didn't even bother looking toward the door.

"It's probably Sakon so no. Besides I'm too busy to answer the door right now." She smiled at him but then there was another knock at the door. This time a voice followed the knocking.

"Mitsunari it's Hideyoshi. I need to talk to you." This got him to glance at the door and she saw a flash of uncertainty flash across his features.

"It's ok to answer it. We can always finish this later." His face brightened and he nodded. When Mitsunari opened the door Hideyoshi came inside and looked surprised to see MC standing there.

"Oh hello MC. I didn't know you were over here. Am I interrupting something?" MC only smiled at him and pointed to the now empty container of manju.

"Nope I just made some manju and brought some over since Mitsunari likes it. But since you guys need to talk I'll get out of your hair." She was about to make for the door but Hideyoshi stopped her.

"Oh no it's alright. I just need to borrow Mitsunari for a second." He looked to Mitsunari and smiled. "Can we use your study?" Mitsunari gave him a concerned look but nodded any way. They left the room as Mitsunari lead the way to his study. He closed the door and was about to ask what this was about when Hideyoshi spoke. "Have you thought any more about what your feelings for MC are?" It was the last thing Mitsunari expected him to ask and he didn't really know how to answer.

"Why do you want to know all of the sudden?" Hideyoshi smiled at his friend but his eyes remained serious.

"Because I'd like to try asking her out, seriously this time. However it seems like you're already dating her. Unless I'm wrong?" Mitsunari's eyes narrowed at Hideyoshi's declaration and that was all the answer Hideyoshi needed.

"You'll have to fight me if you want her because I don't plan on giving her up." Mitsunari hated that this was happening but he meant every word. He had actually come to care for that dullard of a girl and he wasn't going to let anyone take her. Even if it was Hideyoshi. However Hideyoshi only began to laugh and Mitsunari stood there confused.

"There's no need for us to fight." Hideyoshi was still struggling to contain his laughter. "We're all adults so we can just ask her. If she chooses you then I'll renounce my feelings and let you two be happy. Is that alright with you?" The idea had Mitsunari nervous because he couldn't imagine her saying no to Hideyoshi if he was serious about it. Then the words of her words from earlier rang in his head and gave him some confidence.

"I'm still not happy about this but if you think that's the best way to go about this then ok." Hideyoshi's smiled was more than amused while Mitsunari wore his usual bored look. When they got back to the living room MC was perched on the arm of his couch with a book in her hands. Mitsunari's breath caught in his throat. It looked as if she belonged there on his couch, reading his books. His nerves seemed on edge the closer Hideyoshi got to her.

"Hey MC can I ask you a question." Without looking up from the book she nodded. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner this weekend. As a date, just the two of us." Again she answered without looking away from the book.

"Sure that sounds great." Mitsunari stared at her in shock but MC didn't seem to notice. In fact she was so into the book that she wasn't paying much attention to anything and that only served to aggravate him more. He walked over to her and plucked the book out of her hands. She blinked in shock and looked up to find a seething Mitsunari. Concern quickly spread through her. "Mitsunari what's wrong?" The question shot through him like arrow and his brows formed into a deep crease. His features twisted almost into a scowl.

"Why you, I," His words kept getting caught in his throat so he took a deep breath. "You just agreed to go on a date with Hideyoshi." That was all he said before storming off to his study and slamming the door. MC whirled around and looked at Hideyoshi.

"What on earth is he talking about. I'm not going on a date with you." Hideyoshi gave her a playful smile which she didn't like at all. To her this was serious and she knew that Hideyoshi knew this too, but he still played it off as some joke.

"Well to be fair you did say yes." When her expression remained serious Hideyoshi sighed and gave her a sad smile. "To be honest I kinda figured that you already had feelings for him but I wanted to throw my hat in the ring just to be sure. Cause I really do like you but I won't interfere, I promise. This is the last you'll hear about my feelings." He turned to leave but there was just one thing he had had to ask. "Why Mitsunari?"

"I honestly don't know. All I know is that I want to let him in and I've never felt that way about anyone." Giving her a soft smile Hideyoshi nodded and stepped over to the door.

"I see. Well take care of him for us and be patient with him." Seeing Hideyoshi care about Mitsunari over his own feelings finally brought a smile to her lips and she nodded. After Hideyoshi left MC waited to see if Mitsunari would come out of his study but he didn't. Instead of bothering him she decided to borrow his kitchen and make some more manju and tea. Once it was done she balanced the manju on a plate and carried it toward Mitsunari's study.

"Mitsunari it's me. Can you please open the door so we can talk." There was no answer she began to regret not giving herself a free hand to open the door herself. "I made some tea and manju." This time the door opened enough for her to wedge her foot in. She closed it once she was in the study and put the tea and manju on the desk. However Mitsunari was across the room looking in a book and seemed to pay no mind to her. She wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not but it managed to only make her feel worse. Sitting on the edge of the desk she looked down at the ground. "Mitsunari I'm sorry. I really had no idea what Hideyoshi was asking when I answered him. Sometimes I just get really into a book that I just kinda go on autopilot." Still no response and she sighed. "I would never even think of dating anyone other than you Mitsunari and I meant what I said about wanting you." Her brain was begging her mouth to stop but it hurt too much just to leave it like this. She wanted to fix this and that meant saying the one thing she'd been too scared to say. "I care about you more than anyone, I love you." Mitsunari felt himself tense at the words but still didn't say anything. Since he realized that she was still here his brain had been all over the place. Now she was spouting about love like an idiot. MC honestly wasn't sure if he was actually listening to her but now that the words had slipped out the silence felt like rejection. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Maybe I should just head home." Just as she was about the take her leave the sound of Mitsunari's book snapping closed made her jump. She finally looked up at him and saw that he was smiling at her. In just a few steps he closed the distance between them and pulled her in for an intense kiss. One full of passion and it felt like a wave washing all of her anxiety away.

"I'll never understand why you chose me over Hideyoshi but I'm glad you did." His hand rested against her cheek and his smile was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She stretched up to kiss him again and he gladly accepted. "Please stay here tonight." He whispered the words in her ear and they sounded almost pleading. Her answer was obvious but before she could say it her stomach growled in between them. Mitsunari pulled back enough for her to see his eyebrows arched up. "Are you hungry?"

"Sorry. Yeah a little but it's not that big of a deal." Her whole face turned red and she tried her best to wave it off. Of all the moments for her stomach to talk it had to be now. She was cursing herself for not eating before coming over here. Not paying any mind to her embarrassed state Mitsunari took her hand and led her to the kitchen. He gently pushed her into a chair and began to pull various things out of the cabinets and fridge. "Mitsunari what are you doing?" He didn't look at her but she could see his brows crease together from his profile.

"What does it look like you dullard? I'm cooking you dinner." He began chopping up some vegetables but just kept frowning at them. Curious to see what the big deal was MC walked over and saw that his onion was diced so fine that it was nearly mush.

"Would you like me to cut them. I do have the training you know." He seemed reluctant to do so but eventually handed her the knife.

"Just don't cut yourself. We don't need another reason to postpone dinner." If it had been any other person that remark would of made her angry but all she could do was roll her eyes and begin chopping. Mitsunari watched in awe at how fast and efficient she was at it. Despite her condition she showed no fear in it and he thought it admirable.

"Hey Mitsunari, you're not going to stop being friends with Hideyoshi because of what happened to night are you?"

"Of course not. Hideyoshi is a man of his word so even though I'm not happy about his feelings for you. I know he'll keep his distance." It was a relief to hear him say that. She knew how much he cared for Hideyoshi and she didn't want him to lose that. "Why did you ask anyway."

"Well I know how much you care about Hideyoshi and I didn't want you to feel like you still couldn't be friends with him." She smiled at him before putting the vegetables in the pot. "I honestly don't care who has what feelings for me as long as they respect me and my relationship with you. They can pine all they want but it wouldn't change my mind." She blushed at her sudden declaration but she meant every word. Normally she wasn't so outspoken but something about Mitsunari gave her the courage to speak honestly. They fell silent as she stirred the ingredients in the pot. Mitsunari wanted nothing more than to embrace her right then and there but he knew she needed to eat. Her complexion had been nothing but pale since they got back from the restaurant with her father. After eating Mitsunari took the dishes and she went to find the book she was reading earlier. However it wasn't there and then she remembered Mitsunari taking it from her. "Hey Mitsunari what did you do with the book I was reading earlier?" He frowned at her question as he picked out his own book and settled on the sofa.

"It's in my study. I was trying to figure out what was so fascinating about it that you would agree to a question you didn't even hear." MC rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. He was still pouting about it but at least he wasn't shut up in his study anymore.

"It's called active listening. Not all of us are amazing like you and can listen while reading, so I fake the listening." His eyes glanced up at her but she only shrugged. "Well I left my glasses next door so I need to go get them real quick. I'll be right back." She also thought it would be a good idea to change her clothes if she was going to stay the night. When she moved back over to the couch to grab her phone she suddenly felt herself being pulled onto it. She was pressed up against Mitsunari's chest and felt his warmth spreading through her. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and held her tightly. The feeling was beyond nice but there was a sense of desperation to it, and it made MC worry. "What's wrong?" He didn't say anything but she knew to be patient. The words were inside of him somewhere and he just had to find them.

"You don't need to leave. I can read to you if you want or we could watch a movie." His voice was quiet and she could hear how embarrassed he was.

"I need to get a change of clothes too though. Unless you want me to wear your clothes." The teasing tone in voice made Mitsunari stiffen. He could let her wear his clothes but he wasn't sure he would be able to handle actually seeing it. "I can't wear these jeans forever. They're actually very uncomfortable and very tight." Her words made his cock twitch and she smiled with satisfaction.

"Are you sure you're going to come back?" The question came out like a breath before he could stop it and he hated how anxious it made him. She heard how small and scared the question had sounded and it made her sad. Her heart broking thinking of how lonely he must of felt all the time with just him and his books. She knew because she had known that feeling all too well and she hated it. Books were great but they were never enough. Gently she moved one of his hands from her waist and brought it too her lips for a kiss. It would probably take a while for her to ease all of his fears away but it was what she wanted.

"Of course I'm coming right back. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than right here with you but sadly all my stuff is at my place so it's inevitable." She paused and Mitsunari wondered what she was thinking. "I could always bring over enough stuff to stay a couple of days if you want me too. That way I wouldn't need to run back and forth so much. I mean if you're ok with that." This time she spun around to see what his expression looked like and he seemed to be thinking. To Mitsunari it sounded easier for her to just move in with him, but even he knew it was too soon for that. However the idea of waking up next to her several days in a row seemed like a dream to him. When he came out of his thoughts he saw her eyes staring at him with a curious look. He brought a hand up to cradle her cheek and smiled at her.

"I think that's the first time you've had a decent idea manju-girl." She pouted at the new nickname but guessed it was better than being called a dullard. Instead she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Alright. I'll be right back." He nodded and finally let her get up off the couch. She hurriedly went back over to her apartment and threw both work and sleep clothes into a duffel bag. After changing and making sure she had all of her medicine she ran out the door. When she got back over to Mitsunari's he raised a brow at how out of breath she seemed. He was still on the couch but didn't move. "No one said it was a race you dullard. You're panting like a wild dog." She composed herself at the door and pouted at him.

"Well I can always leave and take longer if you'd rather." His cheeks turned pink and he scowled at her before going back to his book. She put her bag down by the door and joined Mitsunari on the sofa with her own book. He carefully watched as she put her glasses on and opened the book. She had on another tank top but this one was a soft purple and he could see her black bra through it. Her legs curled up on the couch and pressed against her chest. With her hair swept to the side he could see her neck and wanted nothing more than to kiss it. The more he looked the less interested he became in his book. He began to think about the skin underneath and the thought of studying her again had his cock going hard. Moving quickly but quietly Mitsunari got up and locked the front door. The sound of the lock was enough to make MC look up from her book and she saw him leaning against the door with a frown. She was about to ask what was wrong but Mitsunari spoke first.

"You really enjoy being some kind of siren to me don't you?" He took a step toward her and she just raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Letting other men touch you, agreeing to dates, and now you sit there in that." He was now leaning over her on the couch and his eyes glanced over her tank top. From this angle he could see her breast swell with every breath and he had to take a breath of his own. Her eyes were wide with surprise which only made it harder for him to focus on his words. It didn't help that her words were still floating around in his head. If she loved him then this all had to be a dream because he didn't believe it could be real. "It's almost like you're trying to get me to fuck you." As if to prove his point he captured her lips in a hungry kiss and she gasped. Using it as a chance to deepen the kiss he slid his tongue into her mouth. Her book fell to the floor and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She rose to her knees in order to push into the kiss and Mitsunari's hands held her tightly by her hips. When the kiss broke he wasted no time moving his lips down her neck. He bit down on her plush skin and she mewled in pleasure. The sound was dripped in honey and he wanted to hear more of it. This was different than the first time they had sex. They had defined what this was and that made it all the more real. There was no doubt about what this was for them and even if Mitsunari couldn't say that he loved her, she knew that he was showing her.

"Mmmitsunari." His name rolled off her tongue and it made his brain feel like it was on fire.

"Vile succubus." His insult lacked any venom to back it up as he scooped her up in his arms and headed for the bedroom. "I hope for your sake, you're off tomorrow." If she was going to make such noise then he'd give a real reason to.

[bespectacledbun]

JAYA 🔫 Jin, Dazai, Mitsuhide and Nobunaga (slbp) for the ask game 😈😈 yes I'm going overboard no I don't care <3

Jin — who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite 

ok so I marked both indifferent and cute for Jin cause like, I don’t really know how to explain how I feel about him? like I for sure don’t stan him or love him as a romantic interest, but as a character he’s just so damn cute 🥺💕 usually im not a big fan of “older men” characters that play up the age difference a lot (think shingen, sirius, leonardo, etc) but with jin the way he interacts with all his younger brothers is too fucking adorable and incredibly relatable for me (I have two younger brothers who are shits but I would still give the world for them) and whenever he talks about doting on his brothers I’m just like 😭💖 my fucking heart, sir

Dazai — who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite 

🧍🏽‍♀️ok imma be honest I kind of like. Dont Know how to feel towards Dazai because on one hand, he’s a supremely interesting character and his route sounded fantastic when my friend was translating it for me (plus bonus Charles!) but on the other hand..... his reason for being revived and his general mindset is like. it hits a little too close to home for my comfort (like with licht). but his character is really cool!! if his route wasn’t all kinds of triggering for me I would read it just because one of my friends loves him a lot 😭

Mitsuhide (ikesen) — who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite 

ok so u know how you said you can’t stand chevalier sometimes and think he’s overrated cause of how popular he is...... that’s me but w mitsuhide........ 😭 like im sorry @ mitsu stans but this man is genuinely so boring to me holy fuck. lich rally cannot stand this mf at ALL

Nobunaga (slbp) — who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite 

HOOOOOOOOOOOO BABY STRAP THE FUCK IN CAUSE DO I HAVE SHIT TO TALK ABOUT FOR THIS MAN. so for those not in the know slbp Nobu is one of my first, first ever otome loves, from the time I started playing it 2016-17. and oh my gods, do I love this fucking character. Ive read both his Act 1 and 2 and the way the romance develops between him and Hanako is so precious :sadreach: his childlike personality was endearing from his act 1 itself (I love a man who likes sweets and climbing trees) and I love how fucking petty and cynical he is at times and honestly almost every character I've liked since has had some similarities to Nobu which is embarrassing to admit hshdfjdfjfgg.

there’s also one event that I can’t remember the name of, where he accidentally disrupted a shrine and to placate the god of the shrine Hanako has to find a flower that grows high up on a cliff and offer it at the shrine. she gets the flower, but Nobu realizes where she is and finds her just as she slips off the cliff and catches her and he tells her “I don’t fear the gods or the Buddhas, but the thought of losing you scares me more than anything else” AND I JUST. I CANT. CHARACTERS LIKE THAT ARE SOOOO >>>>>>>>>>>>>>. honestly I dont even think that’s verbatim but this dialogue has lived rent free in my head ever since that event I love him so much

put a fictional character in my ask box!

[amenomiko]

Yeah I don't do SLBP fictions but I'm just curious. What if SLBP characters meet with IkeSen Characters?

Nobunaga

IkeSen Nobu: .....

SLBP Nobu: .....

IkeSen Nobu: Well? Does your MC allows you to drink sake from her lips?

SLBP Nobu: What-

IkeSen Nobu: Hm. I see that your MC is not bold as mine, then.

SLBP Nobu: Hooh? Does your MC do it for you?

IkeSen Nobu: *Grins* Always.

MC: Say it again or you will see darkness once I touch your bloody neck Nobunaga (✿❛◡❛).

-----

Hideyoshi

IkeSen Hide: ☺ Nice to meet you.

SLBP Hide: Hehehe same here ᕕ( ՞ ᗜ ՞ )ᕗ!

IkeSen Hide: You are very young aren't you?

SLBP Hide: You can say that ☺. But I admire you so much! You have lots of fan girls 😲✨

IkeSen Hide: They are just a bunch of lovely ladies. I am not that popular ☺

SLBP Hide: ...Senpai 😳✨✨✨

IkeSen Hide: What- who taught you that--

-----

Masamune

IkeSen Masa: HAH! What's life if you don't ride your horse like this ٩( ᐛ )و! *Ride his horse by STANDING on it*

SLBP Masa: *Went pale* Uhh..

IkeSen Masa: Come on, lad! You only live once (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)✨✨✨✨

SLBP Masa: But I don't think that is safe..

SLBP Kojuro: Exactly. What in the world.. Hey, you just let your master do those dangerous act?

IkeSen Kojuro: This is not a first time. Besides, I'm happy as long as he is happy uwu✨✨✨

-----

Mitsuhide

IkeSen Mitsu: *Grins*

SLBP Mitsu: (´・ｪ・｀)...?

IkeSen Mitsu: Ah, pardon me. I'm just thinking on how lucky you are, living in a castle without having a mother hen in it ( ͡^ ͜ʖ ͡^).

SLBP Mitsu: Mother hen? Well yes, since our food supplies like chicken is placed separately away from the castle.

IkeSen Mitsu: And it is to my knowledge that your MC is very pure?

SLBP Mitsu: *Smiles* Yes, she is. She is very kind too. How about your MC? I heard that she is a strong lady.

IkeSen Mitsu: Yes. She is over there (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵).

MC: *Takes Mitsuhide's gun and pointed it to a cockroach* PEW PEW MADAFAKA OAO

SLBP MC: *Already fainted from so called cockroach +A+*

SLBP Mitsu: (　☉д⊙)....

-----

Mitsunari

IkeSen Nari: (ㆁᴗㆁ✿)🌸🌸🌸🌸

SLBP Nari: (눈‸눈)....

SLBP Nari: You are a tactician you say? Sorry not sorry to say this but you don't look like it.

IkeSen Nari: Am I? Oh.. You don't have to be sorry. Being honest already explains that you are a kind person (❁´◡`❁).

SLBP Nari: No. I'm clearly mocking you here.

IkeSen Nari: Eh? But you don't look like it. Because you are like Ieyasu-sama. He may look strict and firm, but he is very kind (*´ω`*)

SPBP Nari: You are beyond help are you?

IkeSen Nari: See? You even want to help me! I'm honored ((o(*>ω<*)o))!

SLBP Nari: .....*groans*

IkeSen Ieyasu: *Appears beside him* Welcome to the club.

-----

Ieyasu

IkeSen Yasu: 😒😒😒😒

SLBP Yasu: 😒😒😒😒

IkeSen Yasu: What's with that clothes for war? Your helmet is weird.

SPBP Yasu: Heh. Unlike you, you don't wear anything on your head. Don't blame me if an arrow stab across that messy hair of yours.

IkeSen Yasu: Your skills doesn't need to be used on battlefield at all, as your bright yellow armor hurts people's eyes.

SLBP Yasu: And your clothes still have those puffy ball scarf, that's not an armor, that's a winter clothes.

Both: *HISSES* OAO

Sasuke: IkeSen Yasu and SLBP Yasu, my dream came true (´；A ；`)❤❤❤❤❤

-----

Kenshin

IkeSen Kenshin: (눈‸눈)...

SLBP Kenshin: (*´ω`*)🌸🌸🌸🌸

IkeSen Kenshin: Your room.. Is this even a room? What's with this small rocks with weird shape, and those dry flowers, and those mushrooms? Is this a storage room given to you as your chamber?

SPBP Kenshin: *Gasp* QAQ don't call my beloved baby rocks that way! They have a name! You see, this one is Hana, Sumire and Kanae, and..

SLBP Kanetsugu: He gave it a name. Great. Just great (-"-;)

IkeSen Kanetsugu: (눈‸눈)....

IkeSen Kenshin: Be quiet. You are disturbing my peace in drinking this sake.

SLBP Kenshin: Ooooh OAO✨✨✨ you drink sake with plum??

IkeSen Kenshin: Yes. It's the best pleasure ever. Hm.

SLBP Kenshin: *Gasp and take one of the plums in his hand* Can I have this? This plum is so beautiful 😳😳😳✨✨✨ I've fallen in love ❤❤❤❤

IkeSen Kenshin: ...What. *spills his sake onto the floor instantly*

SLBP Kenshin: Yaaay! New friend ((o(*>ω<*)o))!

SLBP Kanetsugu: GAHHH LET GO OF ME! SOMEONE HAS TO SMACK HIM OUT OF HIS SENSES \(OAO)/

IkeSen Kanetsugu: *Holds SLBP Kanetsugu casually* (눈‸눈)...

-----

Shingen

IkeSen Shingen: (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)✨✨✨

SLBP Shingen: ( ͡^ ͜ʖ ͡^)✨✨✨

IkeSen Shingen: (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵) Dango?

SLBP Shingen: ☺☺☺ Sure.

IkeSen Shingen: Your hair really represents Takeda as a whole, eh. I like that.

SPBP Shingen: 😏😏😏 Heh. It's also like a charming point, as it captured both men and women's heart.

IkeSen Shingen: So.... You even do men like the rumors said?

SLBP Shingen: *Grins* Well, up to you to believe it 😏

IkeSen Shingen: Oh.. *Turns away and eat his sweets with a straight face*

IkeSen MC: You are lucky that your place has some BL 😒

SLBP MC: Pardon? What is a BL O.O?

-----

Yukimura

IkeSen Yuki: ಠ_ಠ...

SPBP Yuki: (´。＿。｀)...

IkeSen Yuki: You eyes are so blue. Are you a barbarian's child? Wait- Even your lord has red eyes. Uh.. Okay.

SLBP Yuki: Well it is created that way. My brother has blue eyes too.

IkeSen Yuki: So.. Your MC. *looks left to right before turning to SLBP Yuki* Does she run like a wild boar?

SLBP Yuki: Huh?? What- (　☉д⊙)??

IkeSen Yuki: Our first encounter was bad. Not only she run and bump onto me roughly, she even make us nearly fell off the cliff.

SLBP Yuki: W-wow. People from the future sure have lots of energy (°д°).

*Suddenly, a R18 book landed in the middle of the place they were sitting* PAP!! Σ📚

Both: *JUMPS*EEEEEKKKK \(O//////A///////O)/

Sasuke: *Takes note* I see, I see, no matter which game he's in, his mind is still a pure virgin (´・ｪ・｀).

-----

Sasuke

IkeSen Sasuke: (´・ｪ・｀)....

SPBP Sasuke: (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)✨✨✨

IkeSen Sasuke: *Looks from his chest to SLBP Sasuke's toned and bulky chest and back to him* I see. So this is the feeling like those anime characters with flat chest compared to those who has plump chest. *sigh* (´・ｪ・｀)

SLBP Sasuke: Don't let it get to you! I trained for years to get this too!

IkeSen Sasuke: It's alright. I don't think my MC has interest in Jojo-Like Humans as we are all created with a normal toned body.

SLBP Sasuke: Jojo who 🙃?

IkeSen Sasuke: Do you say ORA ORA ORA ORA when you attack your enemy?

SLBP Sasuke: ...No ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ.

-----

MC

IkeSen MC: (✿❛◡❛)

SLBP MC: (ㆁᴗㆁ✿)

IkeSen MC: So you can cook?

SLBP MC: Hehehe yes. My family runs a restaurant. And you can sew, right?

IkeSen MC: Yes, I'm a seamstress in the castle (*´ω`*).

SLBP MC: Woww..! That's nice 🌸🌸🌸 I heard that you are brave too..! Unlike me.. My hair were cut into half and.. I was punched and.. *sighs* (´；ω；`)

IkeSen MC: *Sweats* Uh... *Gulps*

IkeSen MC: I'm glad I'm so sassy and just got locked up and the men swoon to my smile. Heh. Heheh. Phew. ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ

[pseudofaux]

even an injured hand grasps at grace

A lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time ago I did a follower celebration with short fictions and promised a longer story to the winner. That (incredibly patient) winner was @fieryanmitsu, who asked for a story set after Mitsuhide’s Act II. Holidays, family stuff, a global pandemic, more family stuff, a crisis of creative drive, MORE holidays and MORE time later... Here, at last, it is. Anmitsu, thank you so much for participating in that follower celebration, for being so kind about the mortifying amount of time this has taken, and for being a fellow Cat Daddy fangirl. I am very, very grateful for your grace! M, 6000 words, SLBP Mitsuhide. CWs: obvious but unnamed depression, brief discussion of death by weapons. (But mostly it is happy-thinky-poetic wife worship and baby fever.)

Sometimes when she is exhausted she speaks in this silly way. His love for her makes him warm to his toes. Adorable, his wife is adorable. He will never again allow any other duty to shove her out of the place she deserves in the center of his heart.

He will never hold a sword again. The discovery that there is still any strength in the arm once so mighty, enough that he can use it to work: a cause for gratitude and relief. A gift. He can attend to the responsibilities of his new life. He has a new life. Master Tenkai knows better than most men what death looks like when it bears down in a flash of metal. Sword death is the smooth silver of steel, spear death is the sluggish brown of mud that will cradle a dying man, and death by bullet is the black of blood that comes out so thick it is purple before it is red. Weapon deaths are cold, as though to compensate for the heat of their forging. There is a depth of balance in this that he cannot yet name, a mystery of the heavens like the others he spends so much time thinking about and helping the mountain villagers understand.

This new life is mostly keeping up their modest home (half residence, half tiny temple), and sharing knowledge with the villagers and their children. Of course he still thinks of Sakamoto when he sees the children growing... but his entire life he has been too much in his own head, and since they came to the mountain he has gotten better at leaving memories alone. He does not forget, and he hopes this makes him a decent man. Like any decent monk, he allows the thoughts of Sakamoto their due, which is to rest and flow over him as water flows over every side of a fish. It is right that it surrounds him. He could not and cannot do anything for Sakamoto, or address the irreparable harm he caused. He can consider it, meditate on it, and live with what he has done. And he will. Because he can live.

Swordwork’s precision and steadiness are forever gone from him, he believes. But he still has his arm and still has his life, even after he made peace with losing much more before Hideyoshi’s sword came down. He can pet the cats that congregate around the little temple, and he can twirl bits of string and stalks of grass for them. He can still write, his characters more calligraphic than they were before. He has to work hard to make clear strokes when he teaches the village children, and he feels that is a just requirement. When the house needs repairs, he can make them, and he can draw air into his lungs and live with his failures and successes both, or at least live with his failures and the grace he has been given. He has the brush, and he has the strong walking stick that his wife has helped him cut to the right height. The staff is smooth in his hand after only a few months’ use, a little extra oil applied when they have it. He wonders if he is allowed this easy comfort, but will not allow a walking stick to be a thing that trips his thoughts. His watchword now is moderation, not abnegation. If a fallen tree limb comes to him he will be grateful, and if the wood breaks he will let it go. He is willing, now, to let so much go.

There is only one exception, and she sleeps easy these days, when the cold of night on the mountain curls them together as though they are rabbits in a burrow. They wake slowly to this dream life. The part of him that is a decent monk cannot help but wonder how different their lives might be if it had been this for them all along. He did not want to rule; he had only ever wanted to spare others the hardships of ruling, and allow all good people the comfort of safety, from most divine ruler to most helpless child. These thoughts are in his head. Here in their tiny room in the building that is their home and the village’s temple, she is in his arms. In his heart and his bones, he knows that fact is grander than any man’s attempt at divinity.

He never has to force smiles at the children who come to the temple to learn. They are rowdy, eager, and completely charming. He is comfortably grinning at a group of them when he catches sight of her at the bend in the path that leads to their home. She is smiling, too, and there are tall leafy greens sticking out of the pack behind her shoulders that remind him of the folded wings of a fine hawk, the kind favored by samurai and nature alike. What would they do, if not for her hawklike competence and gentle ferocity?

Likely starve, he tells himself, on both melancholy days and happy ones. It is only the truth. He has learned a few things, but cannot match her, and while he is always available to the villagers, he stays near the temple unless he is asked for in the town. She does their shopping, she is their face. No one of quality can resist being won over by the warmth of her smile.

The children are thrilled to see her, and it reminds him of a dream he has had several times now, something he has kept to himself because it is so precious and he still does not want to ask anything of her. He is not sure if the slips of dream come from the peace of their life or the torment they left behind them, whether the dream is reward or recompense. But the cheers of the children take hold of his heart and make a tapestry of the scraps of his happiest dreams, weaving them tightly with what he is truly seeing. His thoughts nearly take him to his knees-- or perhaps that is an insistent little person, tugging at the edge of his sleeve.

“Master Tenkai!” chirps the village child. “Hana is home, so it is time for our lesson!”

They teach the children together in the afternoon’s warm, clean light, and only send them home when it is time for her to prepare their evening meal and him to complete the evening sweeping of the temple floor. Later that night, she seems relaxed and sleepy next to him, full of food, full of love. She asks, “Do you remember when I asked you to bring me a stone, so I could make you pickles?”

That is a pleasant memory from their life before, a luminescent pearl floating through silt that suffocated so much happiness. But the memory itself is light. So his smile is easy and does not feel like punishment, and he nods and strokes the space between her shoulders.

“On this mountain I have all the stones I need,” she declares, pressing her cheek to his chest. The smoothness of her face is finer to him than any pearl, a marvel of sensation that settles him, instantly and completely. “And I will make you pickles every week, if you want them,” she adds.

Sometimes when she is exhausted she speaks in this silly way. His love for her makes him warm to his toes. Adorable, his wife is adorable. He will never again allow any other duty to shove her out of the place she deserves in the center of his heart.

“Only whenever you are inclined,” he says, drumming his fingertips to tickle her.

Her giggle is sleepy. “There’s not time to make them every day,” she quips, snuggling closer and sliding an ankle between his calves. He has only the one dream that is sweeter than his actual life, and he is keeping it close to his chest for now. But he will not keep anything closer to his chest than she is. They squeeze one another, and he expects they do not fully relax their arms until they fall asleep.

A winter has passed, and a spring. This is their first summer on the mountain, so they are learning the cycle of invigorating mornings, sweltering afternoons, and unpredictable nights. They have already learned from kind villagers how to best coax food from the pebbly soil of their garden, and their efforts in the summer are devoted to this every day until the air grows too hot and they retreat to the shade of the temple to fan themselves with their hands and drink water that (they hope) has managed to hold some of the chill of the night before.  

Every morning he braids her hair, and in these summer days a few strands always escape and stick to the back of her neck, temptations that coax him to bare her shoulders and murmur along the skin he worships. She often swats him away, because even after tending the garden there is plenty of work to do. But sometimes she does not swat him away at all, and some days she draws closer with a magnificent, confident need. He cannot determine if it is need for him or need to show him something, but each time, their bodies become hotter still, sweat running like streams and stinging their eyes even as it makes moving together easier.

There is a day at midsummer when they cannot help themselves, resting on the step to their home. They are covered from the relentless sun by the good new roof of the temple. He is vulnerable to melancholy in the heavy air that precedes a storm. She knows this. By the time the thunder and rain seem to be on every side of them, heaven’s own veil around the little holy place where they live, their hands are in each other’s hair, she is straddling him, and he is kissing her so deeply he can taste their midmorning snack. The last time she went to town she came back with karashi seeds, and their food this week has been bright in their mouths, cleansing and flavorful. He is hungry for it.

“Mitsuhide,” she pants quietly. The rain around them is so dense no one would hear her, but that name is never spoken above the softest whisper. Her other sounds are louder, even louder than the roar of the rain, and he loosens his hold on himself to match her. He groans as he tilts his hips up toward hers, everything that he is straining for her. They are so warm that even though the air is cooling around them, the rain may as well be steam. One of her hands slides from his hair to his neck and then down his chest, between their bodies, until she palms his insistence and he gasps for her until she squeezes. They moan together, unbearably hot in the sweet agony before they join.

“Now? Here?” he asks. They’re alone, but he craves her comfort as much as her indulgence. There is always a point where he stops asking, but before that he needs permission. She gives it in a nod and shuffles off his lap onto the floor, still stroking him through his clothing. Her clothes are already loose from their embrace, and she puts her other hand inside her collar and tugs down until she is cupping her breast. His blood in his ears is louder than rain or crashing waves or the war chorus of a hundred desperate men. He lunges at her, one hand in her hair and another at the back of her neck to soften her landing. When he is over her, he snarls at her temple before kissing the space with the beastliness that is revealed by these stormy days. It is a wet kiss, and because his tongue cannot taste enough of her he ends up licking from her cheek to her hairline. He savors her, salt and spice and earth and somehow his, as he pushes into her hand. She does not let go of him. He never wants to let go of her.

His hand slips from her neck into the heaven of her opened collar, and his thumb finds her nipple between her fingers. She lets go, gives herself to him, and he pants adoration into her ear as he rolls the peak, beautifully strong, until she moans. He knows this is right, that nothing else in the world is anything next to the truth of how right it feels to cage her in, make her tremble, and soothe her, serve her.

So he doesn’t hold back. He tells her she is the most wonderful, beautiful, desirable, beloved. His mind makes poetry for her and he licks the words onto skin he pinches delicately between his teeth. You are rainfall to a dying man, you are here, you feel better than breezes, you are mine. After all he has done, he remains a man, and a man is an animal, as any man who has gone to war can say with certainty.

The thin clothes he wears for gardening are sticking to his body, and he swears he can feel the drag of each thread against his skin as he moves with her, friction enough to spark a fire through their sweat. Her hand on him is maddening kindling.

“You are flames,” he declares as he ruts down into her hand. “You are burning me.” A man is an animal, a gasping creature not sophisticated enough to express all she makes him feel.

She slows her hand and hums, pleased by they way he gives himself over. That is the way they play. “It is too wet for flames,” she murmurs, as though she is consoling him instead of throwing tinder on the fire she has made. “Drown in me instead of burning, my love.”

The affection in her words soothes his amorous madness and spreads the familiar, comfortable warmth to all the tips of his body as the power shifts between them again. He loves her so much. Could any man convey so much feeling? To be an animal is not bad, but it is base, and she is made of heaven and still chooses to be with him. He smiles at her in wonder of all her beauty and bravery. He will focus on giving her anything that he can.

“Gladly,” he whispers, smiling wider. He takes her wrist and pulls her away from her work. When she complies and settles her hand against the floor by her head, he unties the rope of faded jute braids that hold her kosode closed at her hips. She is worthy of finery but dressed in these threadbare rags with him instead, and still her eyes say she has what she desires. As he drops the thick cord beside their bodies, he thinks he will try to find her a pretty bead, or even a nice smooth stone from the stream, something to adorn her middle and give her pleasure when she sees it. She gives him so much pleasure.

Their clothes as temple keepers are very humble, but they are much easier to remove than their daily wear of only a year ago. Sacrilegious but sincere, he mutters his gratitude at the simplicity of baring her body to his eyes. Her slopes are gorgeous, winding like the gentlest river against the air. She reminds him of a war map he saw years ago, illustrated with hills and pools so lovely he mourned as war was planned against the unarmed ground.

He shakes away that memory to construct another of the way she looks right now, sensual and receptive, womanly in the way she came to be when they started their lives here. Back in control of herself, of both of them, she parts her lips and breathes his new name. He undoes the scrap of old kimono that serves for his sash, and peels away his own sweaty robe. When he comes back down to her, she has freed her arms from her sleeves and their hands find each other, fingers dancing warm and worn as they wrap together.

Now it is still raining, but the roar of it has quieted to a loving hiss. The light is gray and blue, so she looks like nighttime. She pulls him to her with the power of dusk closing flowers, and their kiss is moon-soft, full of promise instead of frenzy. Her lip is a marvel between his and he loves pressing it with his own lips and teeth and sucking gently to make it swell. He wants to touch it with his thumb while he’s inside her and then kiss her again, maybe kiss her while he touches her with his thumb.

The chill at his back cannot last when there is so much heat between them, no matter what she says of drowning instead of burning. A man can drown in the bubbles of a hot spring as well as he can in winter’s water. He sucks in a breath and breathes it out into her mouth, and when she does the same with more force he shudders. His hands slide to her hips, where her curves fit into his palms as though he were a farmer and she were a ripe stalk of rice. She is at least as crucial and nourishing.

He is so hard he doesn’t need to take himself in hand. The head of his cock slides (with a sureness he would never claim aloud) between her folds, against the spot that makes her thighs flex. The movement is easy, a slip if not for his control. They are always so eager for one another.

“How?” he asks, and kisses the chin she is offering as her head is thrown back. “Here? This? Just outside the reach of the rain?” A demon is in him, to tease her like this, but the demon wants her pleasure as surely as he does because this is what she wants, for everything to be drawn out until their tension snaps. “Do you want the air on all your skin?” he continues. “I will give you anything. Just tell me.”

She hums the thoughtful sound that means she’s thought of some way to drive him insane. Thunder cracks with an ominous sharpness in the distance, and when she tilts her head and looks at him there is lightning and mischief in her eyes. He squeezes her but still she wriggles out from beneath him... and she goes to one of the beams that holds up the roof, safe from the rain thanks to the overhang. She moves her feet back and bends at her waist and he can do nothing but feel blessed and aroused, so aroused he is stupid. The warmth she put in him turns to tingles, like she has displaced the lightning from her gaze and made his skin the sky and his bones the bare, vulnerable earth. Within himself he feels a frighteningly intense buzzing.

“This first,” she declares. “Just watch for now, darling. Stay where you are.” Her thighs and calves are so defined from the ways she has to toil in this new life that he feels a shadow of guilt for enjoying the sight of her so much. It vanishes when he sees her fingertips between her legs, right at his eye level. She is pulling his mind apart, but her method for that is giving him this gift, and in this life he takes what he is given.

“Yes,” he rasps, and swallows before the dryness in his though makes him cough. “Yes, of course.”

The movement of her arm slides her loosened braid along a shoulder like a brushstroke. Her touches are sure-- she told him months ago that she learned to do this when he made her sleep alone for nights on end. He curses his foolishness even as he is grateful for it. She is always turning the most miserable ingredients into feasts, his wife.

Her sure fingers make circles and dip into her folds to smear her arousal. She likes it a little messy sometimes, another thing she has revealed in the safety of their seclusion. He loves what she loves, and he wants to put his mouth on her, put his cock in her, so badly that he fears his voice will scar his throat in a mad escape if he has to stay apart from her much longer. But he will die of idiocy alone if he interrupts. So he watches, the cool air of isolation doing nothing to keep his belly from tightening when she coos. Her hips begin to drop forward to meet her hand and he bites the flesh of his palm to stave off insanity as long as he may. She is a cat, he realizes, playing with all his many frayed ends. When she glances back, whatever she sees on his face-- he must be flushed, he feels terribly hot-- makes her laugh, dark and sweet. She keeps going and keeps her eyes on him. There is that gentle command so uniquely her in the way she looks at him. It makes him feel like he is blooming frantically, too fast, a blossom pummeled by rain and completely out of control... and she keeps looking, keeps smiling, draws the moment into moments until he thinks he might sob.

And then she curls her fingers against herself to beckon him and says “Come here.” The way her voice puts the words somewhere between request and demand is flattering, but he has no time to be flattered. Rain-cooled air yields against his arms and legs as he rushes to her. Immediately, he is there behind her legs, positioning himself, and the heat of her backside would burn him were he not already so ruined. Against her at last, he can appreciate the way the weak light on her sweat-slicked back is more beautiful than the finest inkwash, the ways she smells competent and domestic and alluring, like the precious sweet scent of soil that hides between mountain pebbles. She is all these things, and she is so calm as his mind whirls in its delirium of adoration and arousal.

He doesn’t mean to tremble, but his hold on himself has been too tight, and the spaces where his teeth dug into his hand throb. Like the mongrel pet to a noble lady, he has little other purpose but to love her. He sees that she can sense it. There is a grace to her certainty when he grits his teeth, even though she is wound so tightly that when the head of his cock finally presses inside her, he must push. Slick, soft, smooth, she feels, somehow, despite the pressure. As he pushes fully inside, their groans are wanton to the point of inhumanity, more like the sound of creatures in the night than of a man and his wife. His wife, his wife. He pulls back and groans again at the way her body fights to keep him. He swipes the braid off her back and kisses her shoulder, pushing back in slowly as her soft, strong body welcomes him.

“More,” she cries, her first sound of vulnerability, and he is eager to take care of her. He knows to move steady and powerfully but keep it slow at first. She comes better around him, but needs to be allowed to focus, so he is quiet as he focuses on her and the way the muscles of his back stretch and roll to please her. He is still a fit man, and he hopes his body thrills her as hers thrills him.

She makes a needy noise between her teeth and moves faster, shaking just a little. She hisses “keep going,” and of course he does. The tension he felt a moment ago is so unimportant now he is not sure if it was real. In the time when things shift between them he no longer needs permission, and he feels the magic calm settling over him-- it is his turn. All he needs to do is what she needs from him, it’s so simple. And he would do anything she asked, for the chance to be so near her when she finds bliss. It is already rising up his legs, like a snake squeezing and sliding, like ripples... and her sighs are like waves. Maybe she is too wet to be flames because she is water itself. The way into her is blissful enough, a slick heavy pressure around him where she is swollen from all their kisses and touching. The challenge of it makes him grin with a ferality he usually keeps well out of sight, and he presses on, pulls back, kisses her shoulder again and calls her his beloved. His voice doesn’t shake.

Hers does. “Again,” she pleads, grasping back for his hand. “I want it again.” She guides his fingers in circles until he knows where she is and what she needs, and then she lets him give it to her. Trust is such a sacred thing.

When he touches her she laughs, and he laughs too, and fucks her with a great deal of joy. They find their pattern: her hips push back to meet his thrusts, so when he presses in, deeply, they fit as cleanly as a carpenter’s masterwork. The storm has truly cooled the air but all it does is chill the fresh sweat on their skin as they move. It invigorates him, makes his spirit shout with a freedom he cannot contemplate at the time. His wife is using the beam that holds up their roof to push back against him, allowing the tender space between her breasts to be abraded by the wood. There is room for nothing but happiness here, nothing to do but honor her sacrifice and make her feel more pleasure.

“Yes,” she rewards him with her voice for a particular thrust, dragging out the sound at a pitch that registers inside him while he is inside her. So he moves himself even faster to try and repeat it, then relishes the sweetness of her soft whine. It makes him feel like he is surprising her with his love for once, instead of the constant way she graces him with her own.

He leans over her a little more. “I want nothing as much as I want your happiness,” he tells her, the croon of his voice broken by the intense way their bodies are connecting. Her hand comes back over his, keeping him in place. Magnificent. “Go on,” he tells her. “Again, love. Just like you want. Just like I want. Again.”

She shudders and stops moving her hips (she clings adorably to the support beam, her arm as tense as her hand on his). He keeps going, because he knows that is what she expects. At the end, what she needs is to be filled, to be given something to clench around, and he needs to be that for her. He is so driven, from inside and out, to fuck her, that he cannot do anything else until he feels it, not think or breathe, only move into her as though he can shove bliss into her body. So he tries, until he feels the shaking of her legs as perfection alights, and then he takes one great breath before it hits them both as she squeezes tighter still. They gasp together again as her clenching and soft sounds pull his warmth to fill her. Abundantly. Deeply. The air comes out of his lungs onto her shoulders, then touches his cheeks with the softness of a cloud.

She is breathing heavily, and slowly she puts her weight against the wood and becomes still. There’s a gentle press against his hand before she drops her arm. He’s tempted to catch it and kiss her knuckles, but he does not want to move from being curled around her back. He does move his hand away and puts the arm around her belly instead, holding her that much closer. She feels exactly as warm and soft as a cat who has fallen asleep in the sun.

There is a slick, sticky feeling all around his cock, but there’s nothing unpleasant about it-- something in him actually relishes it, loves the thought of mixing, loves the thought of there being too much, it makes him want to take her to the floor and have her again-- and she does not ask him to move, so he stays until he softens. “Darling,” he whispers then. “I’m going to get us a cloth.” He has desires, but he has mastered himself.

But she mumbles “No. Hold me.”

So when he pulls out as not to slip from her, he simply sits down and pulls her with him, right down into his messy lap. There’s not a breath between the time they land and her turning so she can snuggle his chest. He strokes her hair and kisses her cheeks and nose and tells her what a marvel she is. She is all pliant affection, touching his arms, kissing his jaw, raising a love welt on his shoulder... reaching to stroke him gently, experimentally, just like she did when they were on the steps.

He has mastered himself, but not as well or fully as she has.

He pulls over their clothes and lays her out on top of them on the temple floor so he can join their bodies yet again, unhurried. They have the time for slow lovemaking in this life, and the grace. Her knees frame him as he moves and he cannot help but kiss one and then the other, reveling in her laughter (when he tickles her ribs, she tightens deliciously around him) as much as in her love. They lay together for a long time after that, cool and lazy in the quiet. When the rain is replaced by the first note of tentative birdsong, they know they should move in case someone comes to the temple. Despite the afternoon, they are a cautious couple by nature.

He attempts to clean her with their clothes, and carries her to their room to rest more comfortably. Her hair clings to the idea of a braid, but much of it is loose and floats about his arms in the sodden air. There is a satisfied tilt to her mouth when he helps her sit, and as he moves behind her the last he sees of her face is her smile curving deeper. He settles his robe over her shoulders and combs his fingers through her hair to ward off tangles. When he is finished, he replaits her hair and kisses the ribbon, then her mouth. She shakes her head, hiding her mouth and making him chase it. His rewards are sleepy giggles, enchantingly low, every time he catches her.

Several kisses later, he redresses and leaves for the kitchen to make them a simple meal. He delights in feeding her by hand as soon as he returns, because their closeness makes him feel whole and doting on her feels right. They stay near as they bathe, and then they go back to bed. It is early, but they will need to start early tomorrow to make up for the time they spent not working this afternoon. They have earned their sleep. He wonders if he will have the dream again.

Tucked into their bedding, she is in his arms, not yet dreaming herself. “Darling,” he says quietly into her hair, and murmurs love until she turns to kiss him sweetly and tells him to go to sleep.

He does have the dream. It is the most wonderful dream yet.

“Chichi-ue!” The voice is high and happy. It is coming from behind him, so he must turn away from the sight of his wife with a baby at her breast. Before he can see the little one who called him-- called him chichi-ue, his child-- the dream shifts and his wife is with an older child, tasting broth and listening patiently as the child recites ingredients. Then his wife is with two children, each holding one of her hands as they turn on the bend of the path to their home, and the smallest lets go of her to run to him. Their faces are all obscured by a sudden cloud of mountain dandelion seeds borne on the wind... all he can see are healthy little legs and feet in clean sandals, slapping against the ground as fast as they possibly can. The movement becomes a child’s hand with a brush, marvelously steady and precise. The same hand around a cluster of flower stems. Scraped knees and palms and little puffs of breath between shrieks and giggles as tears are soothed away. Two voices laughing over the plunking sound of skipped river stones ending their flights, and he recognizes the stream where they stand. The face and voice of the herbalist in the village, kindly telling them to be patient and then whispering something they might try. Four simple bowls, mismatched but meant to be together, set around a table. He can see this scene over his own shoulder, hears those same two voices dutifully expressing gratitude for their meal. The sounds change as his dream gives him the voices at different pitches through time, thankful for their rice, fish, vegetables; the bowls stay on the table, the food in them changing in dizzying whirls of color until he wakes.

“Good morning,” says his wife, in the voice she can only use for the first words of the day. Quiet and deep as a hidden pool. “I love you.”

He reaches to stroke her cheek, and tells her about the dream at last. She tells him her dreams, too.

Exhausted but awake, awed and unsure, he holds his son for the first time in the crook of his better arm. All of him shakes, because he is weeping at the perfect newness of this child. The baby, so unhappy with the village woman who came to help with the birth, settles into his father like poetry, and closes sweet dark eyes, and yawns flawlessly. They way the baby’s tongue trembles reminds him of a stretching cat. Master Tenkai of the mountain cannot look away. There is so much to see, and there is something about gazing at this tiny face, shifting magically from pinched to peaceful, that shows him the virtue of disregarding time completely. He should know it for what it is: another effort by man to control what he cannot. Everything that marks time in a human way can be broken. The sun rises no matter what people do in the night.

One of the temple cats senses a fellow creature and leans up to sniff at the baby. The baby’s father is happy to share the sight. The cat noses at the baby’s plumpness and then slinks off, but Tenkai stays where he sits, holding his son beside the bedding where the baby’s mother is gazing at them both with a tired, happy expression on her beautiful face. Her hair has all come loose from its ribbon. The woman from the village said it was an easy birth, but it certainly took its time. At the end, they have their perfect son, and she is alright. Everything is alright. The greatest challenge facing them at the moment is that he will have to learn to braid one-handed. He chuckles to himself and the baby blinks, then settles.

He will never hold a sword again. Whatever time may be, it feels like he made his peace with a more important truth a very long time ago, perhaps in another life entirely, and had only to relearn it. To hold his woman, and child, and the other he believes will join then... that is more than enough for the warrior who was once Mitsuhide, who became Master Tenkai of the mountain. All else may come and go. He will treat everything with respect, and allow all that is temporary to leave his hand like water. His family, permanent and indescribably precious, is the only thing that he will never, ever give up.

[annicaax]

How were you introduced to the SLBP?

This question truly takes me back.

As a kid I was always drawn to anime, japanese shows, and then as a teen I fell in love with Mangas and the Japanese culture. My love for story telling, books and shows grew with me. I turned into a fan fiction author as a kiddo in 2009.

A few years ago. Around 2014, I discovered visual novels on play store. Mostly Okko's free otome and Voltage paid titles. I was very young back then. It was hard for me to spend on my games. But I made my first purchase of Otome Purchase in 2015. Read the stories of MPDCtY and I was in love! Oh I found Shall we date apps in the recommended app in the play store and that's exactly how I found SLBP. I started playing SLBP from December 2015 and have been playing ever since, whenever I can. The first ever route I played in SLBP was Yukimura. I loved the shy, awkward yet passionate romance. But yes felt a little that the MC could be a little bold. I used to follow a few otome blogs for the walkthroughs of the SLBP routes and that was how I found out towards the end of June 2017 that a new app called Ikemen sengoku was being released. I tried Ikesen and was instantly hooked. The time travel and the samurai romance were very appealing. Yes, this doesn't mean that SLBP isn't my top favorite. Both games in fact kept me hooked. I kept in tune with the route releases and kept playing these apps over the years. And in due course I started installing the other apps released by these companies-- Like the other ikemen titles, Liar, ARR, Court of Darkness etc. I was spending whatever I could on these games. Installed the Voltage's paid apps too and then switched to Love 365. Transferred some of my purchases to the app. I've been been steadily investing on otome for many years now... often a fortune on my favorite men and routes. Lots purchases on SLBP, Ikemen apps, CoD, Lovestruck and Love 365 and I have zero regrets. It's true that I perhaps could have made great use of all this money I invested on these games, made something fruitful but the amount of satisfaction and the adventure I got to experience has been truly priceless.

This question truly made me happy and nostalgic. For years otome has been my buddy, my savior too, sometimes when I'm low. I can't imagine my life now... without the funtimes I have with my 2D boys.

Thank-you for reading my answer. If you're curious, yes I have played all the routes/stories on all the above mentioned apps over the past few years lol. Almost all of them except Ikepri which I haven't been able to play much. I hope I didn't bore you with my super long rant. Lol. Oh I see from your DP that you're a Nobunaga fan? I absolutely love Nobunaga from both SLBP and Ikesen they are one of my OTPs aka Hubbies. Ahh... I will end my rant here as everyone who follow this blog and my friends are aware of this fact.

Thanks again for this ask.☺️ Happy Gaming! Otoming! 😉 Have a wonderful time. Stay safe and healthy ^^

[dirtydoesgood]

Who We Are

Dirty Does Good consists of seven seasoned fanfic authors, all passionate about words and supporting a great cause. Take a look at us and some of our work linked below!

Maanawa (Jane)

I’ve been playing dating sims since Voltage dropped My Forged Wedding for mobile and Starry Sky in Spring had an English patch released and there’s really been no looking back, ever since! IkeVamp is my latest dating sims love and my favourite one to write for, by far. Progress is slow and sweet but you can find my works here - and I really cannot thank you enough for giving our wonderful project your time ♡

Cee

You ever find a character you love so much you want to tear them open, watch them break in the saddest of ways, see them writhe in suffering, but also have them experience the most overwhelming loves, and then let them bask in an infinite joy? That’s me to the characters I love, and that’s going to be me to the characters you love. I love pushing them to the limit! Here’s some of my work, I hope you consider partnering with us for this small project!

Assomoir

Currently, Ikemen Vampire is the only fandom I’m in, and my work can be found here (yes, I know, my bias is definitely showing). I look forward to write the rest of the mansion residents too, though! Just know that I take great pleasure in exposing how whipped your favourite suitor is for you. Thank you so much for your interest in our little project ♡

Kazesuke

My first step into writing fanfiction was OC/Canon ships about 16 years ago so it’s really no wonder I found my way into otome game fandom at some point! I’ve been playing SLBP for about 5 years but hit the ground running with IkeVamp. If there’s TsudaKen, I’m probably there ;) As far as IkeVamp goes, I’m pretty much known for smut, smut and more smut! You can check out my fic on Ao3 but if you want the kinktober smuttery then just head straight here!

Otonymous

Do you all remember that scene in IkeSen Masamune’s route where he presses you up against the wall?  If you were one of those people who, like me, opted out of the premium story, then you can probably understand the extreme blue ovaries I developed as a result.  So extreme, in fact, that I took it upon myself to compose my own steamy ending.  Which brings us to the thirst fics that I write today.  How thirsty, you ask?  Check out my Masterpost and decide for yourselves, lovelies!

Pickle

A certain Sanada bro (SLBP) sandwich over at Ao3, a Yukimura/MC/Saizo piece at the same site: my foray into the world of fan-fiction was sudden, unintentional but oh, what a ride it’s been so far! Four years in and the harem has only continued to grow and expand as I try and spread that love (and thirst) around with my writings. It is my hope to give back even a little bit more, this time around with this amazing project! Fandoms I have my fingers (also: mouth, feet, soul) dipped into: SLBP, Ikevamp, MLQC and Obey Me! But how deep does that rabbit hole run? Why, dear folks, jump in right here and find out!

Mrs. Otome

I've been writing fanfiction on again, off again, for nearly twenty years. Bioware games got me hooked on the concept of romance in video games, and were pretty much the gateway drug to otome, though I had been sneaking my grandmother's terribly cheesy cowboy Harlequin novels for years before that. I primarily write for SLBP and Ikevamp, dabble in MLQC, Ikerev, and Ikesen, and look forward to trying my hand at Obey Me if any of you are so inclined! My masterpost can be found here and I also post longer works or collections to my Ao3 account.

[samurailoveballadhistory]

Would you say that SLBP is somewhat historically accurate?

It “very strongly references historical incidents”, much more so than, say, Ikemen Sengoku. Clearly research was done, and it was great. That is why this blog exist. But by my personal judgement, I would not consider the game as a whole “accurate” for many reasons.

Elements of the narrative are accurate, maybe one scene here or one story event there, but combined together… the “overall score” is lowered, so to speak. While I’m totally fine with the changes as a fan of otome game, if you ask me about accuracy I have to dock points off. 

1) Condensing timeline heavily: the span of Hideyoshi’s and Nobunaga’s route covers events that are 10 years apart in reality. 

2) Having characters do things that does not happen in real life to bring more excitement to the plot: Yasumasa and Narimassa’s rebellion in Ieyasu and Toshiie’s routes are 100% fiction. Nobunaga did not burn down the Honganji in real life. 

3) Muddling of order of events: Honganji falls years before Takeda is destroyed, not after. Kojuro became the lord of Shiroishi Castle after the Date surrendered to Toyotomi, not before. 

4) Combining two events together for either enhancing drama or to save time and space: Hanbei dies during the siege of Kozuki castle, not the battle against Bessho. The poisoning attempt and Mogami’s fight against Masamune are 2 different issues.

5) The MC “stealing” roles from the historical persons: The one who offered to become a hostage so that Sunomata Castle can be built is Hideyoshi, but in the game MC does it.

6) Using myths and legends that are normally considered as at best “not credible narrative” by historians: The story of Araki Murashige eating mochi off Nobunaga’s sword, Hideyoshi’s nickname being “monkey”

7) Using tropes that are outright modern inventions, not just Edo era legends, made up by modern novelists or game creators: Masamune and Yukimura’s rivalry is invented by Sengoku Basara. Mitsunari’s “Fox of Sawayama” title is invented by Samurai Warriors. Oichi and Nagamasa’s love/romance is invented by modern novelists. Nobunaga’s obsession for konpeitou is also modern invention, though unclear when then trend started.

8) Outright fluff/fictive events: Mitsunari was never raised a girl, and he was not the product of rape. His father in real life was a respectable samurai with love for education, who inspired his sons to also appreciate reading. The Date never personally visited Nobunaga, neither Terumune nor Masamune. Shingen never met Masamune. Ieyasu never demanded for Kojuro to serve him. I do believe it was actually referencing the situation when Hideyoshi made the offer, although when Kojuro refused, Hideyoshi just let him off. 

9) Things that are physically and humanly impossible to do: There was once a story event where Nobunaga rushed from Osaka to Usayama just in time to save Mitsuhide within such a short period of time, and this is absurd. “The reinforcement couldn’t come in time” was precisely the reason why in the real life event, that inspired this particular Mitsuhide story, Mori Yoshinari DIED.

10) People dying or conveniently NOT dying for plot purposes: Kansuke should have already died in the Battle of Kawanakajima (Shingen and Kenshin’s common route), but he was still around in Shingen’s route that covers later-date events. Shingen should have died much earlier, but he was also alive for much longer, and performing the role that in real life was acted by his son. Kennyo in real life was not killed when Honganji was defeated, but simply moved away. Ibano Hiromasa should have died in battle, but in the game he only suffered heavy injuries and survived.

ETA:

11) Anachronism abound: There are too many to list here, but I will mention some examples. Masamune and Yukimura belongs to a younger generation than the rest of the samurai. Their fathers, Masayuki and Terumune, are actually younger than Ieyasu. Mitsunari is younger than some of Nobunaga’s sons. Plenty of objects or cultural norms are far too modern for the Sengoku. For example, Sugoroku and the wedding dress depicted in the wedding event CGs. As commented in the replies, strawberry daifuku and donuts are modern sweets that do not exist in the Sengoku. The konpeitou that Nobunaga had in real life was not as colourful as the konpeitou shown in-game, but instead plain white (and also less spiky-looking). Nobunaga did not actually consume castella regularly. In fact, it was believed that Hideyoshi was the first person to sample castella freshly-baked in Japan, about a decade or so after Nobunaga’s death. Kiseru was not a commonly available item until 1590s. Having them being fashioned into hidden blades like what Kyouichirou/Goemon uses is an even later trend from the Edo era. 

Bonus: Hideyoshi’s brother was mentioned in his main route and one of the events, but then goes mising from the game without explanation. In real life, Hidenaga was often said to be Hideyoshi’s most trusted right hand man. 

[otonymous]

Promises (SLBP Kansuke)

Description: Kansuke finally makes good on his promise to you…in unexpected ways. Warnings: ***Spoilers for SLBP Shingen’s MS - PLEASE DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE HIS MS YET!!*** unless you want to ruin the surprise, angst/dark All characters & SLBP owned by Voltage Inc. Word Count: 1434 (approx. a 7-minute read, according to Bear Pro)

AO3: Read here

Author’s Notes:  This is my first fanfic ever written!  The writing was done months ago, but I have only found the courage to post it now, after being inspired by @dangodaifuku’s gorgeous pinky-swearing Kansuke art.  

Also tagging @all-my-cuffs-have-buttons because your masterlists were my proverbial rabbit hole into the wonderland of SLBP fan fiction!

The lantern in your bedchamber suddenly extinguishes, eliciting a surprised gasp from your lips as you are plunged into a gentle darkness, lit only by the soft glow of the moon peeking out occasionally from behind the clouds.  Had you not been so preoccupied with grinding the herbs in your mortar to the right consistency, it would’ve occurred to you that the air in the room had been particularly still that night, the shoji doors having been drawn tightly shut to keep out the chill in the fall air.  

You heave a defeated sigh, taking it as a sign to crawl into the inviting embrace of your futon and cease working on Lord Shingen’s medicine.  Rubbing the strain from your weary eyes, you start returning ingredients to the physiker’s chest he entrusted you with before he left for battle.  

Kansuke.

Lately, the days have melded together into an interminable cycle of busy work: cooking in the kitchens during the day and preparing Shingen’s pills by night, your hands flying in a desperate bid to keep themselves occupied lest your mind wander to the darker corners of your heart.  Despite your tireless efforts, the medicine you make just barely meets his needs, your Lord having returned from the battlefield much worse for wear.  Of course, this wouldn’t even be an issue if Kansuke were here, as skilled at compounding remedies as he was.

If only he were here.

After the last bottle has been returned to its rightful place within the lacquered chest, you delicately lower the lid to hear it shut with a soft thud.  That sound, whilst practically imperceptible, seems to carry with it the raw emotions of a howling wind, stirring up the beginnings of a dreadful panic within your chest like the funnelling of dead leaves towards the eye of a storm.  It sounds like…

The sealing of a lid on a wooden coffin.

The soldiers of the Takeda clan who survived the battle to fight another day had long since returned to Tsutsujigasaki.  Lord Kansuke was not among them.  He hadn’t ridden up to the castle gates alongside Shingen, ebony hair disheveled and olive skin flushed with exertion and fatigue.  Hadn’t silently glared at his Lord when he tried to brush off the severity of his worsened health.  Hadn’t returned to give you the chance to tell him that the man you love has always been him.

Yes, unbeknownst to even yourself, Kansuke’s gentle yet steadfast demeanour had planted a seed deep within your heart, silently growing with every subdued display of his kindness and consideration. By the time you realized the truth and extent of your feelings for him, it was already too late.  Shingen was a jealous man after all, and Kansuke much too loyal to even think about touching his Lord’s woman.  Besides, you were never really sure he felt the same towards you, his stoic face refusing to give anything away.  And so you resigned yourself to wholehearted devotion to the Tiger of Kai, willing your feelings for his omnipresent shadow to wither and die.

You glance at your reflection in the extravagant dressing mirror standing in the corner, one of Lord Shingen’s many beautiful gifts.  The eyes of the woman in sleeping robes staring back at you are coldly accusatory in the moonlight, recounting your crimes.  You couldn’t ignore the fact that you could still feel the searing heat of Kansuke’s pinky finger wrapped around your own, his amethyst eyes intense as he intoned with utmost solemnity “a thousand needles if you lie, drink them well and you shall die.”  Couldn’t deny that even with Shingen by your side, your gaze still lingered on Kansuke’s face during meals when you thought no one else was looking.  But perhaps worst of all, you couldn’t forget that your wanton heart had sought out Kansuke before your Lord when the men returned home from war so many weeks ago.

“I doubt he’ll be coming home anytime soon, little lady,” Saizo had murmured then in response to your frazzled question regarding Kansuke’s whereabouts.  And yet, you let yourself cling to whatever small shred of blind hope was present in his words: anytime soon doesn’t mean never.  So, with that tiny ember in your heart to keep the frost at bay, you refocused all your attention on caring for Shingen, as you had promised Kansuke to do.  After all, he too had made a promise to return home to you.  And promises made with the pinky are absolute.

“Kansuke!”

Suddenly unable to bear the silence, his name leaves your lips as surely as the tears from your eyes, your desperate whisper reverberating about the room in a chorus clamouring for total honesty.  There, spurred on by the coaxing sincerity that darkness brings, you finally come to terms with the deadly beast threatening to devour your heart:  

He’s not coming back.

All of a sudden, you feel it: another presence in the room.  Someone is watching you intently from the shadows, their gaze infinitely tender in its affection.  You smell him before you see him: bitter herbs and wind-blown hair.  The coppery tang of spilt blood.  Making to rise, your eyes widen as if searching for some clue that would tell you if the vision before you is a dream or reality.

“Lord Kansuke, is…is that really you?”  You venture timidly as the shadow glides closer and closer.  Outside, the clouds part to allow moonlight to stream in at the exact moment he stills, quiet as a ghost and close enough to kiss: raven wisps of hair falling over beautiful amaranthine eyes, turbulently searching your own in a rare show of unveiled emotion.  Taking a deep breath to steel yourself, you grasp your courage by the reins and will your deepest, darkest secret to unravel in your eyes: that your heart has only ever had room for him.

Unspoken understanding plays across his face.  Kansuke has found you out and finally, the ever hopeful bud in your heart is allowed to bloom.  His hands slowly come up to cup your cheeks, calloused thumbs delicately wiping away tears you forgot had fallen.  Your heart has never felt so full as when you feel the gentle press of his forehead to your own, his nose nuzzling yours as he whispers before taking your lips in a kiss that steals your breath away:

“I’m home, as promised.  And we’ll never be apart again.”

At this moment, you are so happy you could die.

It is almost sunset the next day by the time Shingen finally finds her, body rigid and dressed only in sleeping robes, lying next to Kansuke’s armour-clad corpse beneath a bare cherry tree high up on the mountains bordering Kai.  Even in death, the smile on her face takes his breath away.  And somewhere in the back of his mind, Shingen recognizes that he was madly in love with a woman whose heart never fully belonged to him.  With her delicate, pale hand entwined so tightly with Kansuke’s that you can barely tell he’s lost a finger, she looks peaceful, content…found.  For the life of him however, Shingen cannot figure out how she managed to find Kansuke’s body — now in the advanced stages of decay after being exposed to the elements for so many weeks — so far from the castle.  Nor can he fathom the reasons why she would be dressed only in her sleeping robes.

Despite his near crushing sense of loss, Shingen still finds the strength to gently smile through his tears at the tragic sight of the two most important people in his life.  He recites a short prayer, deciding to allow the pair another night together before sending his retainers to retrieve and bury the bodies.  He turns his magnificent black steed back towards the castle at a gallop in a bid to outrun the pain seizing the very core of his being.  Behind him, the sun slowly sets on the lovers, their marital bed a blazing pyre of orange and red light.

Thanks for reading!  More stories available here! 💕

[rubyleeray]

Introducing SENGOKINK: THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISMUT - My sexy (hopefully?!) SLBP Advent Calendar for you all!

This will be a series of one shots (one for each of the 12 lords with playable routes). The order is random, they will vary in levels of smut, and they involve different kinks (maybe secretly all my own?! WHO CAN SAY!?). 

I am a sucker for advent calendars so starting tomorrow (it’s live here now!)I will be releasing one story a day for 12 days.

I had a lot of fun writing this series and I really hope you enjoy it! 

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12926931/chapters/29540340 

Thank you to @karalija and @pseudofaux for tolerating my constantly changing mind!

[maddy-the-otome-hoe]

And They Were Neighbors

Alright here’s the deal. I finally wrote a thing for my boy Mitsunari cause I honestly miss him and his blunt self. I may continue this story though cause I see a lot of potential in it but for now it’s just a oneshot. Just some nice warm, fluffy feelings. For now? I loosely based MC off me for this mixed with how MC is in Mitsunari’s route. Also just to be fair I haven’t played Hideyoshi’s route so I’m just going off of past event stories for him and Masanori (I really love that grouchy red head too).

Next 

Summary: MC is struggling to move into her new apartment when you should come to her aid, none other than Hideyoshi. He introduces her to Sakon and Masanori. Mitsunari comes later and is is flustered self. 

   MC stood at the steps of her new apartment building dreading the walk up. Her apartment was on the the third floor and she had insisted to her family that she could handle it. Letting out a long sigh she got out of moving truck and opened the back up. She decided to move the lighter boxes first but they went rather quickly and now she was at stuck with all of the furniture. Still determined however she began trying to move her dresser off the truck. Getting it off the truck wasn't too hard thanks to the ramp, but now that it was on the sidewalk she wasn't sure what to do. As she was giving it some thought a cheerful voice spoke to her. "Are you gonna move it all by yourself?" MC jumped a little and turned to the owner of the voice. It was a man with light brown hair and kind golden eyes. When he noticed that she was startled he smiled and held out his hand. "Sorry for scaring you. My name is Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but you can just call me Hide. I live in the building. Are you moving in?" MC nodded and returned his smile.

"I'm MC,and yes, but at the rate I'm going it's going to take me all day." She sighed and motioned to the truck. Hideyoshi looked into it and his eyes went wide with shock.

"You were going to move all of this by yourself?" MC blushed in embarrassment but nodded. "Don't you have any friends or family to help you?" His voice almost sounded sad when he asked her.

"My mother and brother offered to help but they live over an hour away and needed to keep the restaurant open. I have a close friend who lives in the city and he was supposed to meet me here but he's past late." She frowned remembering to punch her so called friend the next time she saw him. Hideyoshi looked at her furrowed brows and laughed.

"Well he sounds like a terrible friend but I can help you. I'll even ask my roommate to come down and help." MC's eyes went wide with shock as Hideyoshi pulled out his phone and began typing on it.

"Oh no you don't have to do that. I'm sure you both have better things to do with your day." However he only smiled at her protest and climbed into the truck.

"Don't worry about it. I really don't mind and Ichimatsu is already on his way down." He climbed down from the truck with a couple of chairs and gave her a carefree smile. "Plus if you're going to be living in the building it's a good way to get to know you. So which floor are you on?" Seeing that there was no refusing his help MC smiled.

"Third floor room 606." Hideyoshi's eyes lit up and he smiled at her.

"That's awesome! I'm in 611 with my roommate Ichimatsu, and all my other friends live on that floor too!" MC couldn't help but laugh at his excitement. It helped her feel at ease to know that she had already made a friend. Hideyoshi was bring down the rest of the boxes when two other boys approached them. "Speaking of friends here's some of them now." Hideyoshi point to the man with the red hair. "That's my roomate Masanori but I call him Ichimatsu. Then this is Sakon." Hideyoshi pointed to the one with shaggy brown hair. MC smiled at them both and waved.

"It's nice to meet you both." Masanori said nothing but Sakon smiled back at her.

"Ditto! So what floor are you on?" He picked up a box and eagerly waited for her answer. It was already obvious that Sakon was the energetic sort which MC didn't mind too much.

"606 on the third floor." His eyes lit up and he began to bounce with excitement.

"That's right next door to my place. I live in 608!" He then began to name everyone else who lived on their floor as they walked up the stairs. Before anyone knew it they had moved most of the boxes into the apartment and all that was left was the bigger furniture. Her dressers, bed, a sofa, an armchair, the tv, and her round dining table.

"Well we might as well start with the biggest." Hideyoshi pointed to the sofa and the other two nodded. "You two grabbed that end and MC and I will take this one." They all got into positions and got a grip on the sofa. "On three. Ready? One, two, three!" Everyone lifted and MC was surprised by how easily they got it up. "Everyone good? MC?"

"Yeah I've got it." MC wasn't lying but she had a feeling that she was struggling more than the others. Hideyoshi figured this and shifted the weight so she didn't get hurt. After a lot of slow steps they finally got the couch into MC's living room. Getting the rest of the stuff up was considerably easy with all of them doing, and they finished just as the sun was setting. Hideyoshi and Sakon collapsed on her couch and she gave them all glasses of water. "Thank you guys so much for helping. I was really up a creek when Inuchiyo bailed on me. Let me at least order you guys a pizza or something." She turned to look at them but they were all just staring at her with wide eyes. "What?" Hideyoshi only gave her an amused smile.

"Would be talking about our own puppy Inuchiyo Maeda?" MC tilted her head at the word puppy but that was Inuchiyo's name.

"Yeah. We grew up together. Did you call him a puppy?" Hideyoshi began to laugh and waved his hand to dismiss the subject.

"Well I'm sure he had a good reason for not showing up, but I'm glad for it. We all got to meet you instead so I'll have to thank him for that. It's not everyday you get to help out a cute girl." He winked at her and had a mischievous smile. MC knew that he was only teasing her but she still felt the blush on her cheeks.

"Well I'm glad I got to meet you all too. So again please let me at least order pizza or something to thank you. What kind do you guys want." The simple question soon had her apartment in an uproar as the three argued over what toppings to get. In the end MC ordered one veggie pizza, a meat lovers, and a regular pepperoni one. With the pizza ordered they began to help MC unpack her living room in the search for plates. Sakon had opened four boxes so far and they had all been books.

"Man MC you must really like to read." Her cheeks turned a little red at his assessment and she nodded.

"Yeah. I spent a lot of time by myself as a kid so I read a lot. Then as I got older I read to relieve stress. Books are a great way to escape life and learn new things." She didn't look at any of them as she spoke but Hideyoshi and Sakon shared a knowing look.

"Hey all these books remind me, we should invite Mitsunari over! All he does after work is stay stuffed up in his apartment reading. I bet him and MC would get along real well!" Having a new goal made him bounce with excitement and Hideyoshi only smiled.

"It's MC's apartment so it's up to her. You know how he feels about parties though." Sakon rolled his eyes as if he didn't believe it.

"He idolizes you Hide. If you told him to come then he'd come." Hideyoshi gave it some thought and smiled at Sakon. MC watched the two and didn't know which question to ask first.

"Best just to let them do as they please. Mitsunari isn't a bad guy but I doubt he'll show up. He doesn't like parties and I've never seen him eat pizza." MC wasn't even aware that Masanori was next to her until he spoke. "Sorry didn't mean to sneak up on you." She smiled at him and shrugged.

"I grew up in a restaurant so I'm used to a constant stream of people. From the sound of it though Mitsunari seems like the opposite of those two." Masanori let out a chuckle and her eyes went wide when he smiled a little.

"You couldn't be more right." Before he could say anything else the door opened up and a tall man with navy hair came through it. He looked around with ocean blue eyes. He smiled when he saw Hideyoshi but it immediately fell when Sakon came into his view.

"Mitsunari come check out all these books!" Mitsunari scowled as he went over to Sakon. Despite being a constant annoyance the fact that Sakon was excited about books had Mitsunari curious. He walked over and saw at least four boxes packed with books. They were all in various subjects and they were all well worn. "There's more over here too. Man MC you must be super smart! Have you read all of these?" Mitsunari looked to see who Sakon was talking too and that's when he saw MC. Her cheeks turned red at Sakon's praise and she gave off a nervous laugh. To Mitsunari she seemed like a plain girl and yet he couldn't look away. Then she spoke and Mitsunari felt something come undone inside of him.

"I have, for the most part. There are a handful of new ones that I haven't gotten to yet, but I plan to start them once I get settled in." Her voice was so bright and her excitement about the books was obvious. She then looked at Mitsunari and smiled at him. "Oh, hello you must be Mitsunari. I'm MC." She held out her hand but instead of shaking it like he wanted to, Mitsunari turned around and left without a word. Not really sure what just happened MC frowned and looked to her new friends. "Was it something I said?" Hideyoshi put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Of course not. Mitsunari just isn't that good with new people. Just give him some time to get used to you." Hideyoshi's words soothed MC's anxiety and she nodded at him. With the mood of the room restored the four of them kept unpacking things until there was a knock on the door. Figuring that it was the pizza MC went to answer it. However she was shocked to see that it was Mitsunari and he was holding the pizza. It was the last thing she was expecting and she couldn't help but stare. Mitsunari frowned at her and shoved the pizzas into her arms.

"Well are you just going to stand there like a dullard or invite me in?" His words were sharp but they snapped MC out of her shock. She nodded and moved aside.

"Of course. Come in." She smiled at him and Mitsunari's eyes fell to the ground as he walked in. He instantly went over to Hideyoshi and avoided looking at her. While it stung a little that Mitsunari didn't want to talk to her she remembered Hideyoshi's words. So she left him alone except for asking if he wanted pizza, which he accepted. While they were all eating MC decided to go down and start bringing up the last few boxes she had left in the cab of the truck. "You guys enjoy. I'm going to bring up the last few boxes from the truck before I forget about them." The men all shared a worried look but she didn't seem to notice.

"Well hold on and one of us will go with you." Hideyoshi's smile was kind but MC only shook her head.

"No, seriously it's ok. You guys have been more than enough help already. There should only be two or three boxes left, and they're not heavy either." Not giving them a chance to change her mind MC slipped through the door, and the men sat there stunned until Hideyoshi laughed.

"Well she's certainly stubborn. I just hope she doesn't run into Ieyasu or anyone like that. She might move away before getting settled if that happens." He laughed at the notion but noticed how antsy Mitsunari was now. "I'm sure she'll be fine either way." He said casually as he reached for another piece of pizza. Without a word Mitsunari stood up and left the apartment. Hideyoshi smiled in triumph and Masanori rolled his eyes.

"I take it that was part of your plan?" Hideyoshi blinked his doe like eyes at his roommate and tilted his head in confusion.

"I have no idea what you mean." He was feigning innocence but his smile was alight with mischief. Outside the building MC was carrying three boxes, all stacked high in her hands. They weren't terribly heavy but she could barely see over them as it was. However she had made it to the lobby and that made her proud. She was trying to make her way across the lobby when the weight of the boxes suddenly became lighter. MC saw that Mitsunari had taken two of the boxes but didn't seem happy about it.

"Mitsunari what are you doing?" She didn't mean to sound so surprised but she was. He only frowned at her question but then looked almost bored.

"What does it look like I'm doing? For someone who reads so much you really are a dullard." He turned around on his heel and headed for the elevator. MC was still stunned but managed to catch up with him before the doors closed.

"Well thank you. You really didn't have to go so much trouble though." She kept her face forward but smiled all the same. It made her happy that Mitsunari didn't seem to hater her as much as she thought. She expected the elevator ride to be silent until Mitsunari broke it.

"I apologize for suddenly leaving earlier. It was very rude of me." His words surprised her but they only made her smile grow. She looked over at him and saw that his pinks were dusted pink. MC was in awe. Every time she thought she had Mitsunari figured out she got a glimpse of something else. It made her wonder what other sides he was hiding

"There's no need to apologize. If anything I'm sorry if you got the impression that you weren't welcome or something." Mitsunari raised an eyebrow at her and only sighed.

"Don't flatter yourself. I had forgotten to turn my kettle off in my apartment so I went to do that." His voice was blunt but she felt good to hear she wasn’t the reason. If Mitsunari had been honest he wasn't sure why he left. When he first saw MC his mind was blank for the first time and that freaked him out.

"Well I'm glad you remembered then." Mitsunari nodded and they stayed silent until the doors opened on their floor. "Hey would like to help me get my library in order tomorrow? If you're not busy that is." He gave her a skeptical look but she didn't seem to notice.

"Why do you want my help?" He was genuinely curious. His first impression clearly wasn't good and he doubted that his company would be any better.

"Well as helpful as Sakon and the others are I don't really trust them with my books. And Hideyoshi told me that you like books so I thought you might actually enjoy it." She shrugged as they got closer to the apartment. Mitsunari was curious to see what kind of books she had but didn't know if he wanted to be alone with her. There was something odd about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I get off work at five tomorrow. I'll come over at six." She smiled at him not bothering to hide her happiness. It brought a small smile to his own lips. The idea of spending the evening organizing books didn't sound bad to him at all.

[poppukko]

good quality blogs that you follow?

I’m not good at this sort of things but I highly recommend 

@catchthespade and @kiserusmoke for amazing, high quality fan fiction :DD (mostly from kbtbb and slbp!!)

@maidofstars for amazing art, both from fandom and original :DD

@bulbaqueen for cute, funny comics, and art from slbp :DD

@quincette and @yoolee for amazing slbp fan fiction :DD

@basically-lol for lots of disney, otome, and other fandom related things :DD

and a bunch more but I can’t remember them all from the top of my head;;;;

[promiscuous-jalapeno]

Fanfic Writers’ Appreciation Day

I’d like to make a post of my own giving a personal thanks to my friends and fellow writers. This also goes out to anyone who has written fan-fiction. We put our lives on hold, stay up late, drink too much coffee, EDITEDITEDIT, DELETEDELETE, groan in frustration, all for free.

  All for the love of writing. 

In honor of the day, here is a list of a few famous authors who either started out writing fanfic or CURRENTLY write fanfic (even after being published) for anyone that might feel sad from time to time, thinking that what they do doesn’t matter or will never get them anywhere. 

 R.J. Anderson, Lois McMaster Bujold, Meg Cabot, Cassandra Clare, S.E. Hinton, Neil Gaiman, Naomi Novik, Lev Grossman, Orson Scott Card...not to mention the mountains of professional writers in movies and television who most likely started out writing Star Trek fan-fiction. 

@goddamnitdazai -As my oldest friend, I thank you not only for the beautifully crafted stories you provide, but for pushing me to get back into writing by starting this blog. Your writing is so eloquent and vivid, each sentence like the stroke of a paintbrush and when you finish and finally step back you have this work of art staring back at you. Please never stop writing, you have a true gift with words! 

@mysticdaddies -I don’t know how you do it! School, work, family, and yet you can push out 5k words of wonderful in a few short hours. You have such emotion laced in between the words of your stories, so much so that I have laughed until I cried or just plain cried. I don’t know what forces of fate brought us together, but I am sure glad they did. My sister from another mister hahaha! 

@dear-mrs-otome -Thank you for everything you write. Foxhole is on my list of favorite pieces. I had just finally accepted my love for Mitsunari when you released this piece, and I couldn’t love it any more than I do. It was perfect, and your portrayal of him was spot-on. I so look forward to reading more of your work in the future. 

@yoolee -Geeze...where do I begin. I’ll just say that...I am pretty sure I am a ghost or a zombie at this very moment because Burn Down killed me dead and there’s no way I’m sitting here with a pulse right now after reading that. Everything you write is so finely crafted, the characters are believable...the emotions, the pacing, and your literary voice all mix together into this delicious fanfic cocktail and I am a thirsty, thirsty girl, haha! Thank you for all of your pieces. You have made the SLBP fandom that much more enjoyable for me. I know many others feel the same way! As a writer and a reader, I appreciate you! 

---------

There are so many more I’d like to personally thank but this would get way too long. You all know who you are. Whether on this blog or my sideblog saizoswifey I have liked, reblogged, commented or gif’d my love for what you do. 

Thank You

[pseudofaux]

Pseu Slings III: Revenge of the Ship (?!)

My requests are usually closed +f, my best intentions, but a couple times a year I open requests for flash fictions for the otome games I play. One of those times is now! 🥳 Until 11:59 PM CST on March 24, send in an ask and I’ll write you 6-ish sentences, sweet to extremely spicy, for characters from SLBP, IkéSen, IkéRev, The Arcana, Hakuouki, or Meiji Tokyo Renka.

To make a request, send in an ask with the game and character you’d like. Please keep the following in mind:

You don’t need to be a follower and you can make a request on anon, but (pending inspiration) I’ll prioritize requests from people I know. Don’t make multiple anonymous requests. I am one (1) human woman and this is free. Honor the honor system!

Default response will be love interest/female mc romance in the fluffy range. I’ll happily write non-fluff, just tell me if you want a citrus gift basket or angst or whatever else! I’m open to character shipping and triads for this set of requests. All MCs are ♥️, just specify in your request if you want pronouns other than “her”. 👍👍

If you want a little more of something I’ve already written, that would be extremely flattering! Give me the title or describe what you remember from the story and I’ll expand a bit at the spice level you specify.

If you request something from The Arcana and we’ve never interacted before, I am not going to research your fan apprentice. Feel free to give me their name and pronouns, but what I turn out for these requests will not be as deep as what I can do with a character I know.

Blacklist the “pseu slings” tag if you don’t want to deal with these as they’re published. I’ll collect them when I’m finished, and add a link to my master list so they’ll be available after this has wrapped up. I’m giving myself until March 26 to finish them all.

Xoxo! 🙇🏻‍♀️

Pseu

[otakugeddon]

SLBP Fans: Need Advice!

Hey all, need some help. A friend if mine wants to commission someone to draw some SLBP stuff to go along with this massive fanfic I'm writing. Something broke on my Tumblr and a lot of the artists I followed were unfollowed so I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for great artists who work with SLBP characters or at least in the same vein and are talented with the older, classic clothing styles and whatnot.

Looking for high quality art (my friend is stubborn and would freak on me if he thought I was compromising to save him a buck). I'm also looking for artists who do chibi art because I still suck as am artist and I really want to get some chibi stuff done with them as well for fun little scenes.

Requirements: Good with classic Japanese clothing, okay with polymorous groupings and gay pairings, okay with drawing characters in drag since that's a recurring thing in SLBP.

Any advice and suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Also, anyone whose into SLBP fan fiction (specifically Hideyoshi & Mitsunari): I wrote 13,000 words my first day *on my phone.* So be excited because we are talking a massive endeavor incoming. (^-^) Gotta make sure it is polished and worthy of the Fandom first tho.

I'm also working on one shots with Our favorite Son of a Bitch, Saizo, Yukimura, & Kojuro, respectively, too. Love these guys so much. Just got SUPER fixated on Hideyoshi & Mitsunari and this story popped into my head and just won't stop and I am SO excited about it.