#the last spring together

[kuwajima]

Hi! Hope this ask isn't weird but in the vein of talking about Zenitsu's backstory, what are your thoughts on Zenitsu's 7 evil ex girlfriends? As in, how do you tend to sort of place them on Zenitsu's pre-demon slaying timeline? And overall how do you imagine them, if think of them at all. Love your ideas about Zenitsu's backstory and kinda wanna know what you think of this aspect of his unexplored past!

I've noticed that the fandom rarely, if ever, do much with the knowledge of their existence beyond a passing mention when talking about Zenitsu's insecurities, whether in a fanfic or a meta post, which is interesting since, well, getting scammed 7 times by "romantic" partners seems like something really interesting to dwell into when writing about Zenitsu. I've read some really good fics featuring the inevitably horrible situation Zenitsu had as an orphan in the late Meiji Period, yours especially, but the exes shine by their absence across the whole spectrum of Zenitsu fanfic. I have my own thoughts about this but this is an ask, can't ramble too much lol.

Also, happy birthday! A little late but alas, hope you had a great day in your day and thank you for your fanfics in here! OMWF is just a gem and your other fanfic are just as good ❤️

I love this question!! I have put a lot of thought into them, because it does seem like an excessive number of times to be scammed and not learn your lesson, but it's very indicative of how much Zenitsu deludes himself while chasing what he believes is an ideal life. And now that you mention it, it is very rare to have them included in fanfic or meta outside of a casual reference to them.

I think the reason might be because the timeline is admittedly weird, so we have to believe that he speed ran seven girlfriends in his early teens, or the worse option is that some of them happened before he was a teenager.

And I think it has to be the latter, because I personally believe he was with Jigoro for a few years. I know it's canon that a slayer can usually learn their forms in about a year but there are a few things that indicate Zenitsu was with Jigoro for longer than that. He was hit by lightning and I refuse to believe the only side effect was the hair thing. Plus, Zenitsu is confirmed to be pretty lazy and although he is obviously a very skilled swordsman during the events of canon, Jigoro didn't know about the whole sleep-fighting thing so he should have only sent Zenitsu to Final Selection if he was sure he mostly wasn't going to die. And it's Zenitsu...there's no way he got up to speed in a year.

We are told in canon that Zenitsu dated all types of girls, and they all treated him badly, took his money, and more. The way it's worded (and this could be a translation thing) is that multiple women took his money. Now me personally, if I was a loan shark I would simply not loan money to an orphan child multiple times. There's also no way he was earning large sums of money (see the above point of him being lazy) so there had to be some time between losing his money and getting a new girlfriend. Especially if they were trying to get money out of him, there is no reason to go after a kid with absolutely no assets unless he already had a reputation of being easily manipulated.

I don't think he stayed in one town for very long either, so it's possible he ran away from other owed debts. But even then, we can assume there are probably a few months between girlfriends at least. And I don't think all of them took his money. For example, we know he dated a shopkeeper's daughter and she could have very well just made him work without pay at her father's shop as an act of "love."

Overall, I think it's a situation where Zenitsu would do their bidding for the "honor" of being allowed to say they are his girlfriend. That was the only thing he was getting out of the arrangement, since they didn't even let him hold their hands. I think it's probably incredibly obvious to anyone Zenitsu tells about his ex-girlfriends that he was never actually in a relationship with any of them. But Zenitsu still believes they were his girlfriends, despite being mistreated and sometimes betrayed by them. I think it's telling that only after he meets Jigoro does he understand that Jigoro is the only person in his life who cared about him (until he met Tanjiro, of course!) In the absence of childhood affection, those girlfriends probably did feel like true love at the time.

But you asked about the timeline. My guess is this probably happened over seven times over several years and the older he became, the most he was able to be manipulated (more access to money, a bigger reputation for being easily tricked, etc.) WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO MY EARLIER POINT: these girls were "dating" a tween.

We do see some faceless women when we learn that Zenitsu is full aware that women dislike him and deceive him (yet he keeps going back, because he convinces himself this time is different) and they certainly look like either teenagers or young adults. I assume these are examples of the girls he dated (there are 6 in the flashback and he has 7 exs, so I'm not 100% sure that's who they are) And obviously there was absolutely nothing intimate or romantic going on, but it does add a layer of malice to the whole thing. If he had been dating girls who were his own age, I'm not sure they would have been so malicious with their treatment of him. Their inclusion in his backstory is to show us that he is easily manipulated and repeatedly does not learn his lesson, because Zenitsu tricks himself into ignoring red flags.

And I'm not victim blaming. I think it's clear that he was intentionally victimized by these girls, but it is added to give us insight into Zenitsu's personality.

This is a very long-winded way to say, I believe they were all women older than Zenitsu, who either sought him out as an easy target or quickly realized he could be manipulated simply by being promised the title of Boyfriend. And they all occurred before he turned about 13, maybe 14.

But I would also love to hear your thoughts on the situation as well! I have grand schemes of writing a fic where he and Nezuko run into one of his exes post-canon and she initially thinks he's being tricked by another beautiful woman, but then she realizes that not only do they actually seem to like each other, but Zenitsu isn't the same person he was before.

And thank you for the birthday wishes!!

[pridoo]

@kkobweek day 6: Flowers 🌸 I like the idea of yearning Kakashi and oblivious AND obvious Obito hehe

[da-shusha]

The last spring

[toolaterer]

🩵

close up under cut

[softhe4rted]

some experimenting i did for my airbrush class

[anonymwlw]

I love the conversation between Shagrat and Gorbag for a lot of reasons, but one that I noticed this year is the direct and undeniable proof of Aragorn's plan working - something about Gollum and the Hobbits going through Morgul vale was noticed, but it took two days for Sauron to do something about it. There is an explicit mention of them having difficulties getting the "higher-ups" to pay attention to this. Why? Because his eye is on the war in the west.

[milolunde]

I WANT TO VACUUM OUR FLOORS AND SEE OUR HAIR TANGLED TOGETHER.

[thebirdandhersong]

lads it is mostly my fault (was sick, didn't tell healthcare until it was Dire, was sentenced to bed rest for the rest of my time at camp) that I literally can't say goodbye to these 100+ people I've come to love properly before I leave. I'm not permitted to participate in any singing, dancing, communal joy, any event that's remotely fun (that's nearly word for word what they said) here at camp. and I'm leaving EARLY, am still miserably sick, and have a four hour commute back home on top of that, because there's no one available to drive. literally cried my eyes out over everything just now and am This Close to crying my eyes out againnnnn

[llunepoett]

  𝙰 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛

Pairing: Best Friend! Yeonjun × Reader

Genre: fluff

A/N: it is the last day of the spring this year, so I had to post something to mark it <3

It was the last day of May, the beautiful month that has gone to a waste this year due to your numerous exams.

You were stressed and exhausted, looking forward to the summer break with every fiber of your body.

Spring and summer..these always have been your favourite seasons. The blooming, the undeniable beauty of nature - everything made you wish such a thing as exams didn't exist, at least during spring.

You looked out of your window only to see the mesmerising view: all the trees finally green, birds chirping in the quietness of the spring evening. Sighing because you couldn't afford spending this beautiful evening outside and had to study, you borrowed your nose into yet another textbook.

Well, at least you could study by the open window and still take in the scenery. This made you a tad bit happier.

You didn't know how much time has passed when, suddenly, you heard a pebble being thrown into the direction of your window. It didn't reach the aimed material goal - the window, but reached the main goal - your ears.

"Is that kids playing or what?" you thought, looking out of the window.

To your surprise, there were no kids. The only person standing there was your best friend, Yeonjun.

"Ah, come on, you have studied long enough! You should take a break. Come out, let's go for a walk!" He shouted so you could hear him clearly.

The offer was too tempting, to say the least.

Yet, you wanted to get a good grade on your exam. Did that really matter to you in the moment, though?

"I've been studying for the entire week, I absolutely deserve that rest," you thought. They always say to not overstudy the night before the exams, so what can be better than taking a break?

"Coming!!" You shouted back before quickly disappearing out of sight to get ready.

Not even 10 minutes passed as you were already standing outside beside Yeonjun.

"Woah, didn't know you wanted to go out that bad," the guy chuckled.

"No comment, Jun. I really want to enjoy this last day of spring, though". You looked around, taking in the sweet aromas of the blooming greenery.

"Who doesn't? Let's make it at least a bit memorable by hanging out. It's been a while since we last did."

"Yeah, it's been a long while..," you confirmed unenthusiastically, " I feel like I've been living under a rock for the past month," you sighed.

"You have lived under a rock, no denying."

"This last exam ends and I'm coming out of the shell, I swear."

"Have you seen yourself? You look like a ghost, you seriously should rest more."

"I will, I will," another sigh from you, "but it's summer tomorrow already, can you believe it?"

"I hope you'll get the most out of this summer and enjoy it to the fullest, unlike how you wasted May, Y/N."

"I hope so, too."

[lskamil27]

January / December Progress Wrap-up on [ Patreon] !!

[academicelephant]

My friend and I had a "study date" at our faculty library today although it might be that once again we spent like half the time talking instead of studying 🤭

[cielosuerte]

so fucking busy the rest of the year. being alive is awesome :]

[claire-starsword]

Authentic Story of the Shining Force - Saint Fencer Max - Chapter 4

Translation notes:

This is the last boob joke. We're free at last.

Here's the retranslation of every scene with the Spring of Recollection in the game. Overall, her speech here is fairly close to what she says in Waral in-game, with a few details from her final appearance sprinkled in, like her care for Cain. It does misses a few nuances though, like the Legacy being more than just Dark Dragon.

I don't think I've ever seen art of the Spring, but notably, she gets a portrait in the GBA version, and it looks a lot like the manga design, with the slightly wavy hair and especially the blank eyes.

Obviously, the manga rushes through the plot since it's short, thus a lot of places are skipped. I didn't even feel like pointing them out before. However I will point out Waral not being here this time, because Waral happens to not be in the beta map either, and it has very contradicting lore between the ASCII guide and the World Book, meaning it might have not been well developed. Besides, Chapter 5 is very weirdly structured. You get two ship battles that are basically the same, you get to Waral by accident, you advance the plot by going to Ring Reef for no reason and everyone telling you it's off-limits while letting you waltz in anyway, and hardly anything happens in the shrine besides you hearing about the Manual, which is not even a big deal because you get to Rudo by accident later (two ship accidents!! why repeat this plot point!!) and would go to Dragonia anyway to help Bleu. Basically, I obviously can't prove it, but it wouldn't surprise me if the ocean shrine was initially thought off as only a plot scene, and the battles/town added much later for gameplay reasons.

Perhaps worth mentioning, the GBA version also makes a point to mention that Max got lost in the shrine alone, and everyone was worried about him, which does remind me a lot of the ship scene here.

uh oh. i hit image limit for the first time and i don't wanna remove either of these pics. more notes on a reblog later.

[redstainedglasses]

Grim Encounter

Something skittered about in the darkness. A wanderer entered the hidden castle and sulked about the halls. The Shade followed the trail of torn flowers as it settled its eyeless gaze upon the back of the grim reaper. Its scythe cleanly cut another death’s flower. The flower’s leaves and stem wilted as the blossom was collected and placed into the reaper’s satchel. 

The Darkness watched as the creature moved silently to the next flower and quickly harvested it as well. Its movements are smooth and fluid, a routine it had learned and mastered with ease.

This was not the Reaper the castle or The Shade knew, this was a different being. Its dark black cloak dragged along the floor as it moved, the hood obscuring its face but its long grey canine like snout peeked out from under it. 

A matching grey scythe rose as it moved to collect another flower. As it swung downward its head snapped up just in time to watch as a flash of white slammed against it.  The attack was sudden and violent, catching the grim off guard. The few seconds it took before realizing what was happening was all it took for its opponent to have the upper hand.

The lord of the castle slammed his scythe against the intruding grim’s. He towered over the lupin appearing soul collector, his years of hard labor had swelled and bulked up his muscles and he showed that power off as he pressed his scythe’s blade harder against his foes’ own.

The intruder snarled and snapped his jaws at Reaper, fangs bared as he attempted to fight back pushing back against its assaulter. But despite the cracks in Scythe’s blade it was far from weak and Reaper will be claiming another grims life tonight. 

Scythe’s white blade gained a new crack but the pressure got to the grey blade first, splintering under the weight and strength of Reaper as he reared back and slammed his scythe against it once more. 

The fragments of metal bursting into bright colorful marigolds as it yielded. Returning to that which Death had crafted it from. 

The grim staggered back. Its form crumpled as the loss of its weapon meant a loss for itself as well. But Reaper wouldn’t allow it a peaceful death. Releasing his scythe it shifted to its avian form and fluttered off to perch itself on a nearby shelf. Red eyes glowering down at its vanquished foe. Reaper gripped the upper jaw of the wolf like grim in one hand the other grabbing the bottom as he yanked it to its feet once more. 

Grey fur was already turning to flower petals but its red eyes, still filled with the faintest whispers of life, started up at Reaper silently. 

“This is my domain. Remind them all of that.” With ease Reaper tore the beast's jaws apart, blood spraying onto his form as he tore the wolf in half. 

He exhaled loudly as he tossed the corpse to the ground, blood oozing from it as it continued to quickly decompose into yellow and orange flower petals. 

Ignoring his state he picked up the grim’s satchel but paused and turned around, smelling her before he saw her. 

“I thought you left.” her voice was sleepy and tired. Vertebrae stood in the corridor in her sleeping attire, a baggy sweater form The Shade took around her. She seemed exhausted and in her arms a jar filled with dust. 

Her scent was thick in the air but Reaper fought against it. He turned the satchel over and shook out the contents, the souls collected falling out and floating away to replant themselves around the castle. The seed like wisps flew past Vertebrae but she paid them no mind. 

“I thought you didn’t kill people anymore.” she mumbled as she rubbed her eye. Shrugging a shoulder to the grim rotting away on the floor. 

“...have Shade clean that mess up later,” the jester did not wait for an explanation, knowing one was likely not to come and too tired to deal with it for now. She started to leave, most certainly heading toward the lower levels of the castle where the rest of the jars of dust from her experiments dwelled. 

Reaper abruptly stepped in front of her, a hand raised telling her to pause. She looked up at him quizzically as he gestured for the item she carried. 

“I will place. You rest.” 

Vertebrae stared at him for a long hard moment. Her pale hands clinging to the glass tightly. Unwilling to part with it. 

“I can do it.” her words are more reassurance to herself than trying to convince him. As she attempted to walk past him again, Reaper again moved to stop her causing her to bump up against him. 

She staggered back, his scent finally hitting her behind the blood soaking him. He wore a familiar scent she was used to smelling on the various creatures she encountered. Arousal reeked off him, she couldn’t recall ever smelling that on him, let alone knowing it was possible. He was a grim reaper after all, they aren’t known for procreation. 

As she was thinking this she didn’t realize she was leaning against him. Reaper tensing up, clearly incredibly uncomfortable not that the jester had any realization. Her own heat caused her no feelings of lust but more so desire for closeness and right now she wanted to simply lean against Reaper and continue to drink in his scent. 

But he would not have that, carefully he pried the jar out of her hands and nudged her away. The cold grasp of the night enveloping her as she was removed from his side. Still drunk off Reaper’s scent she blinked tiredly up at him confused but not in any state of mind to truly question anything.  

“Go. Rest. They will be cared for.” The Shade slowly guided Vertebrae away back to her room. Slowly she accepted the encouragement, walking back to her room but stopping every few steps as she almost fell asleep standing. Realizing this the Night collected its master, hoisting her up in its darkness as it carried her exhausted form to her nest. 

Reaper held the jar carefully, watching as the small demon was carried off before turning himself to find a spot amongst the rest of the containers to set the newest addition. While he had hoped to avoid her during his brief return to deal with the intruding grim it seemed it was not to be. 

Sighing he learned against the shelf he had set the jar on. Resting and recollecting himself as he fought every urge in him to chase down Vertebrae. Shaking himself from his thoughts he sensed The Night shift around him. 

“Alert me should another come.”

The Night was silent as it watched the lord take his leave again before heading to tend to the mess Reaper had made for it to tidy up.

[rubberpuckies]

my bus was 40 minutes late so now i am scrambling to fit in a much needed nap alongside doing homework and making dinner and tuning in for the shrevils lb im gonna freak out!!!

[authenticcadence18]

🎶I have this thing where I make a new show/album my personality every 3-6 months—🎶