#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!!

[acourtofquestions]

Kingdom of Ash Chapter 61

Chapter; Highlights (okay the entire chapter is a highlight)🤣

As requested @mysterylilycheeta I NEED TO SQUEAL IN WYVERN FANGIRL WITH YOU NOW CAUSE OH M GOODNESS THIS CHAPTER ON SO MANY LEVELS I JUST AHAKWIHUHFEJLZXBKEKA

Agony was a song in Lorcan's blood, his bones, his breath.

Every step of the horse, every leap she made over body and debris, sent it ringing afresh. There was no end, no mercy from it. It was all he could do to keep in the saddle, to cling to consciousness.

To keep his arm around Elide.

She had come for him. Had found him, somehow, on this endless battlefield.

His name on her lips had been a summons he could never deny, even when death had held him so gently, nestled beneath all those he'd felled, I, and waited for his last breaths.

And now, charging toward that too-distant keep, so far behind the droves of soldiers and riders racing for the gates, he wondered if these minutes would be his last. Her last.

She had come for him.

Lorcan managed to glance toward the dam on their right. Toward the ruk rider signaling that it was only a matter of minutes until it unleashed hell over the plain.

He didn't know how it had become weakened. Didn't care.

Still Elide kept urging the horse onward, kept them on as straight a path toward the distant keep as possible.

No ruk would come to sweep them up. No, his luck had been spent in surviving this long, in her finding him. His power would do nothing against that water.

The farthest lines of panicked soldiers appeared, and Farasha charged past them.

Elide let out a sob, and he followed the line of her sight.

To the keep gate, still open.

"Faster, Farasha!" She didn't hide the raw terror in her voice, the desperation.

Once the dam broke, it would take less than a minute for the tidal wave to reach them.

She had come for him. She had found him.

The world went quiet. The pain in his body faded into nothing. Into something secondary.

Lorcan slid his other arm around Elide, bringing his mouth close to her ear as he said, "You have to let me go."

Each word was gravelly, his voice strained nearly to the point of uselessness.

Elide didn't shift her focus from the keep ahead. "No."

That gentle quiet flowed around him, clearing the fog of pain and battle. "You have to. You have to, Elide. I'm too heavy-and without my weight, you might make it to the keep in time."

"No." The salt of her tears filled his nose.

Lorcan brushed his mouth over her damp cheek, ignoring the roaring pain in his body. The horse galloped and galloped, as if she might outrace death itself.

"I love you," he whispered in Elide's ear. "I have loved you from the moment you picked up that axe to slay the ilken." Her tears flowed past him in the wind. "And I will be with you ..." His voice broke, but he made himself say the words, the truth in his heart. "I will be with you always."

He was not frightened of what would come for him once he tumbled off the horse. He was not frightened at all, if it meant her reaching the keep.

So Lorcan kissed Elide's cheek again, allowed himself to breathe in her scent one last time. "I love you," he repeated, and began to withdraw his arms from around her waist.

Elide slapped a hand onto his forearm. Dug in her nails, right into his skin, fierce as any ruk.

"No."

There were no tears in her voice. Nothing but solid, unwavering steel.

"No," she said again. The voice of the Lady of Perranth.

Lorcan tried to move his arm, but her grip would not be dislodged.

If he tumbled off the horse, she would go with him.

Together. They would either outrun this or die together.

"Elide-"

But Elide slammed her heels into the horse's sides.

Slammed her heels into the dark flank and screamed, "FLY, FARASHA." She cracked the reins. "FLY, FLY, FLY!"

And gods help her, that horse did.

As if the god that had crafted her filled the mare's lungs with his own breath, Farasha gave a surge of speed.

Faster than the wind. Faster than death.

Farasha cleared the first of the fleeing Darghan cavalry. Passed desperate horses and riders at an all-out gallop for the gates.

Her mighty heart did not falter, even when Lorcan knew it was raging to the point of bursting.

Less than a mile stood between them and the keep.

But a thunderous, groaning crack cleaved the world, echoing off the lake, the mountains.

There was nothing he could do, nothing that brave, unfaltering horse could do, as the dam ruptured.

Rowan made himself stand there, to watch the last moments of the Lady of Perranth and his former commander. It was all he could offer: witnessing their deaths, so he might tell the story to those he encountered. So they would not be forgotten.

The roaring of the oncoming wave became deafening, even from miles away.

Still Elide and Lorcan raced, Farasha passing horse after horse after horse.

Even up here, would they escape the wave's reach? Rowan dared to survey the battlements, to assess if he needed to get the others, needed to get Aelin, to higher ground.

But Aelin was not at his side.

She was not on the battlement at all.

Rowan's heart halted. Simply stopped beating as a ruddy-brown ruk dropped from the skies, spearing for the center of the plain.

Arcas, Borte's ruk. A golden-haired woman dangling from his talons.

Aelin. Aelin was—

Arcas neared the earth, talons splaying.

Aelin hit the ground, rolling, rolling, until she uncoiled to her feet.

Right in the path of that wave.

"Oh gods," Fenrys breathed, seeing her, too.

They all saw her.

The queen on the plain.

The endless wall of water surging for her.

The keep stones began shuddering. Rowan threw out a hand to brace himself, fear like nothing he had known ripping through him as Aelin lifted her arms above her head.

A pillar of fire shot up around her, lifting her hair with it.

The wave roared and roared for her, for the army behind her.

The shaking in the keep was not from the wave.

It was not from that wall of water at all.

Cracks formed in the earth, splintering across it. Spiderwebbing from Aelin.

"The hot springs," Chaol breathed. "The valley floor is full of veins into the earth itself."

Into the burning heart of the world.

The keep shook, more violently this time.

The pillar of fire sucked back into Aelin.

She held out a hand before her, her fist closed.

As if it would halt the wave in its tracks.

He knew then. Either as her mate or carranam, he knew.

"Three months," Rowan breathed.

The others stilled.

"Three months," he said again, his knees wobbling. "She's been making the descent into her power for three months."

Every day she had been with Maeve, bound in iron, she had gone deeper. And she had not tapped too far into that power since they'd freed her because she had kept making the plunge.

To gather up the full might of her magic.

Not for the Lock, not for Erawan.

But for Maeve's death blow.

A few weeks of descent had taken her powers to devastating levels. Three months of it

…

Holy gods. Holy rutting gods.

And when her fire hit the wall of water now towering over her, when they collided —

"GET DOWN!" Rowan bellowed, over the screaming waters. "GET DOWN NOW!"

His companions dropped to the stones, any within earshot doing the same.

Rowan plummeted into his power. Plummeted into it fast and hard, ripping out any remaining shred of magic.

Elide and Lorcan were still too far from the gates. Thousands of soldiers were still too far from the gates as the wave crested above them.

As Aelin opened her hand toward it.

Fire erupted.

Cobalt fire. The raging soul of a flame.

A tidal wave of it.

Taller than the raging waters, it blasted from her, flaring wide.

The wave slammed into it. And where water met a wall of fire, where a thousand years of confinement met three months of it, the world exploded.

Blistering steam, capable of melting flesh from bone, shot across the plain.

With a roar, Rowan threw all that remained of his magic toward the onslaught of steam, a wall of wind that shoved it toward the lake, the mountains.

Still the waters came, breaking against the flames that did not so much as yield an inch.

Maeve's death blow. Spent here, to save the army that might mean Terrasen's salvation. To spare the lives on the plain.

Rowan gritted his teeth, panting against his fraying power. A burnout lurked, deadly close.

The raging wave threw itself over and over and over into the wall of flame.

Rowan didn't see if Elide and Lorcan made it into the keep. If the other soldiers and riders on the plain stopped to gape.

Princess Hasar said, rising beside him, "That power is no blessing."

"Tell that to your soldiers," Fenrys snarled, standing, too.

"I did not mean it that way," Hasar snipped, and awe was indeed stark on her face.

Rowan leaned against the battlements, panting hard as he fought to keep the lethal steam from flowing toward the army. As he cooled and sent it whisking away.

Solid hands slid under his arms, and then Fenrys and Gavriel were there, propping him up between them.

A minute passed. Then another.

The wave began to lower. Still the fire burned.

Rowan's head pounded, his mouth going dry.

Time slipped from him. A coppery tang filled his mouth.

The wave lowered farther, raging waters quieting. Then roaring turned to lapping, rapids into eddies.

Until the wall of flame began to lower, too. Tracking the waters down and down and down. Letting them seep into the cracks of the earth.

Rowan's knees buckled, but he held on to his magic long enough for the steam to lessen.

For it, too, to be calmed.

It filled the plain, turning the world into drifting mist. Blocking the view of the queen in its center.

Then silence. Utter silence.

Fire flickered through the mist, blue turning to gold and red. A muted, throbbing glow.

Rowan spat blood onto the battlement stones, his breath like shards of glass in his throat.

The glowing flames shrank, steam rippling past. Until there was only a slim pillar of fire, veiled in the mist-shrouded plain.

Not a pillar of fire.

But Aelin.

Glowing white-hot. As if she had given herself so wholly to the flame that she had become fire herself.

The Fire-Bringer someone whispered down the battlements.

The mist rippled and billowed, casting her into nothing but a glowing effigy.

The silence turned reverent.

A gentle wind from the north swept down. The veil of mist pulled back, and there she was.

She glowed from within. Glowed golden, tendrils of her hair floating on a phantom wind.

"Mala's Heir," Yrene breathed.

Down on the plain, Elide and Lorcan had halted.

The wind pushed away more of the drifting mist, clearing the land beyond Aelin.

And where that mighty, lethal wave had loomed, where death had charged toward them, nothing remained at all.

For three months, she had sung to the darkness and the flame, and they had sung back.

For three months, she had burrowed so deep inside her power that she had plundered undiscovered depths. While Maeve and Cairn had worked on her, she had delved. Never letting them know what she mined, what she gathered to her, day by day by day.

A death blow. One to wipe a dark queen from the earth forever.

She'd kept that power coiled in herself even after she'd been freed from the irons. Had struggled to keep it down these weeks, the strain enormous. Some days, it had been easier to barely speak. Some days, swaggering arrogance had been her key to ignoring it.

Yet when she had seen that wave, when she had seen Elide and Lorcan choosing death together, when she had seen the army that might save Terrasen, she'd known. She'd felt the fire sleeping under this city, and knew they had come here for a reason.

She had come here for this reason.

A river still flowed from the dam, harmless and small, wending toward the lake.

Nothing more.

Aelin lifted a glowing hand before her as blessed, cooling emptiness filled her at last.

Slowly, starting from her fingertips, the glow faded.

As if she were forged anew, forged back into her body.

Back into Aelin.

Clarity, sharp and crystal clear, filled its wake. As if she could see again, breathe again.

Inch by inch, the golden glow faded into skin and bone. Into a woman once more.

Already, a white-tailed hawk launched skyward.

But as the last of the glow faded, disappearing out through her toes, Aelin fell to her knees.

Fell to her knees in the utter silence of the world, and curled onto her side.

She had the vague sense of strong, familiar arms scooping her up. Of being carried onto a broad feathery back, still in those arms.

Of soaring through the skies, the last of the mist rippling away into the afternoon sun.

And then sweet darkness.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Just curious what the average level of personal investment in these sorts of things is. Like, how much do people usually get into silly stuff like this their friends ask of them? etc. etc. Which I know, only surveying a small sample on a very specific website means I'm not getting an exact average idea lol, but.. curious nonetheless .. Maybe reblog for bigger sample size but also this is not very serious at all/not worth a call to action gbhjbhjb

[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.

[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

[marloree]

  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 :]

[transgender-karras]

maybe I’m just sleepy but like.. fuckin hell man. Dyer really was the sun to Damien’s moon. those priests wanted to kiss and never allowed themselves to indulge in it

edit: I had a section here abt the differences in how Damien died at the end of the film vs the end of the book but then someone let me know the way I described it was inaccurate✌🏻

[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.

[cementcornfield]

No Joe'Marr white party moments this year 😫

NOOOOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭

this is devastating news anon, like i said earlier, it was SUCH a high seeing that they went to the party together and were basically by each others' sides all night. (joe dancing his big tall awkward body around while ja'marr stood patiently and proudly next to him is a highlight of 2024 for me)

tbh though ja'marr's friends on stream have given him a lot of shit for going to parties like that lmao in the wake of everything (and i'm assuming that's a large part of why it's getting called off this year) so who knows if ja'marr would have even gone again. and i do see it debated on the dash at times but i personally think joe actually does enjoy going to these industry parties. he's pretty low on the celebrity totem pole at these events, all things considered, so he actually gets to enjoy himself without everyone there in a frenzy over him! like if it's joey b and queen b at a party, joe basically finally gets to feel like a normal guy in comparison! love that for him tbh!

[neonsbian]

ive been procrastinating planning my outfits for my trip

[fleshdyk3]

theres a coopers hawk and a redtail living in my neighborhood now. i imagine theyre living off the sparrows/starlings and pigeons/rats respectively. very cool to see them

[193019]

right now i'm trying to find a good fragrance for the warm weather of my winter vacation travel destination but it's difficult when the weather where i live isn't going above 50 degrees these days. like i know what notes i like but it's harder to tell how it'll perform when it's hot

[landgraabbed]

i really should start working on my downtown as much as that scares me dsdsdjfsjdsd there's a lot i'd really like to make for [redacted]'s post-[redacted] rebound djsjdjdsdf