#this matter aside: BANGER TIME

[akai-anna]

Round 5

Round: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

[dennisboobs]

do you guys ever sit and remember that dennis takes a mental health day is an episode that exists

[misc-obeyme]

prompt: Satan & the Demon Lord's Castle

a/n: Doubling up on prompts again, this is what the wheel gave me today! I did another festive theme, too. It's only so-so but hey, they can't all be bangers, right? lol @om-adventcalendar

Satan x GN!MC

Warnings: Satan gets angry lol.

A high pitched screech rang through the air, causing everyone in the ballroom to freeze.

“Satan!” Asmodeus cried. “You can’t put that wreath there, it clashes horribly with the garland!”

Satan paused with his arms up, in the middle of hanging the wreath in his hands. He studied the garland already draped along the wall, then turned to Asmo with a frown.

“I disagree,” he said. “That garland’s base is pine boughs, just like this wreath.”

Asmo threw up his hands. “The pine isn’t the problem! It’s the wreath’s blue ribbon against the garland’s purple ribbon! Those colors look ghastly together and I can’t allow it!”

Asmo marched toward Satan and took the wreath right out of his hands.

You watched Satan's perplexed expression slowly change into something a little more ominous. The twitching in his jaw really gave it away. You wanted to step in right then and there, but you had a handful of delicate glass ornaments and you could tell you wouldn't be able to put them down fast enough.

Satan's frown deepened. “Since when does blue and purple look bad together?”

“Not all blue and purple, just these particular shades!” Asmo exclaimed.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you chose these ribbons specifically because they look good together?” Satan asked, his voice’s volume rising.

“That was earlier and this is now!” Asmo said. “Can’t I change my mind?”

“I’ll change your mind-“ Satan was in demon form before he even finished his sentence.

By this point you had managed to put down the ornaments without breaking any. You rushed to Satan’s side, unconcerned about the way his eyes seemed to look right through you. There was a deep growling in his throat, but you took his hand before he moved toward Asmo.

“Why don’t we go check on the garden decorations?” you asked him. “Leave these wreaths and garlands to Asmo and the others.”

Satan looked at you for a moment. His tail, still wrapped carefully around his leg, twitched slightly. He knew what you were doing, but when it was you…

You tugged on his hand and he followed you out of the room to the garden easily enough.

When Diavolo and Barbatos asked for help decorating the Demon Lord’s Castle for a festive party, Lucifer had volunteered the assistance of all his brothers as well as you. Asmo had quickly taken over the project due to having a lot of opinions about what decorations looked best. You should have known it was only a matter of time until a fight of some kind broke out.

You stopped by the pond in the garden where the stars fell slowly through the dark Devildom sky. There were tall candelabras around the courtyard area with thick white candles adorned with sprigs of mistletoe. They were too low for the traditional use as no one could effectively stand beneath them, but they were pretty and made you think of kisses all the same.

Satan huffed, his hand squeezing yours slightly but not painfully. “Why does he have to change his mind at the last minute like that? It derails all our progress.”

You reached up and caressed Satan’s cheek, watching his eyes soften at the touch. He pressed your hand to his face for a moment before placing a kiss on your palm. As he did so, he melted out of demon form.

Satan pulled you closer to him, wrapped an arm around your waist, and took a deep breath. He leaned his forehead against yours. “Thank you, MC,” he said.

He didn’t need to elaborate. There was an understanding between the two of you. Whenever Satan got angry, you were the one to pull him aside and calm him down before he did something he would regret. It was the way you were never scared of him, the way you only looked at him with love, that transformed his anger into a fierce need to be by your side.

Satan kissed you, pressing his body into yours, running his hands down your back. It was hungry and heated, with the edge of his anger just barely running through it. The possessiveness of his hold on you was a silent message that he had no intention of ever letting you go.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[midnight1nk]

PRESENTING:

THE OFFICIAL WOTFI 2024 BINGO CARD

Come one and all to Puzzle Park, where fun truly never ends...

:)

[BOX EXPLANATIONS & EMPTY CARD UNDER CUT]

BOX EXPLANATIONS (+CREDITS)

Mario Ruins The Show — me, @sardix

No matter what Mr Puzzles does, Mario is the only character he can't control. The one who never obeys. The one who ruins the show. So, it wouldn't be the first time Mario would save the day.

Past Arcs Or Trauma — /sardix

it's bound to happen some time, right? :)

Karma

After what he did to Meggy, it makes sense that Mr. Puzzles will face the same demise. The fate that's popular within the fandom would be his death. But if he lives, he could turn into Leggy himself, his TV head with tiny footsies. Or just his head. Either way, he would end up harmless.

It also refers to Puzzles's defeat. He tried to destroy the crew multiple times, it's only natural that the SMG Crew will try to fight back.

Mr Puzzles having a grudge against SMG4 — /sardix

We already knew that Puzzles hates Four, jealous even. How did Four, a ridiculous YT shitposter, get more attention than him? His original ideas pushed aside for memes? To add salt in the wound, Puzzles's steaming service of 5 episodes only managed 4.5 stars at his highest while Four surpassed him with 5.5 stars within an hour. An hour. And then, Four had the nerve to destroy his perfect screen at the end of the Puzzlevision movie. Then, there's the Meme Factory arc. Four took his only friend away, it's only fair if Four gets what he deserves. Why don't we have some fun with it while we're at it? :)

Park Destroyed — @34saveme34

By the end of WOTFI, Puzzle Park gets destroyed similar to how the simulation lab crumbled by the end of Western Spaghetti, seeing that there are a lot of similarities between Wren and Puzzles with the whole wires thing going on.

It's Gotta Be Perfect — me, @time1srunout, and literally everyone

Interestingly, the show crew brings back moments/parallels from IGBP. After all, everything started at that arc. Perfection, the keyboard, the eyes, the goo, the Showgrounds, Puzzlevision. And of course, Four and Puzzles being Narrative Foils(TM). I mean, you gotta love it.

The reason why it's in its own box is because of how significant it is. And besides, many theories stem from this arc. For me, I'll be looking for eyes, Goop!Four, and absolute karma.

References, confirmed theories, motifs, flashbacks, it all counts.

Freak Show

Referring to the poster made by the SMG4 crew with Tari, SMG3, Boopkins, and Bob being labeled as freaks. Someone's gotta bring this into WOTFI somehow.

(Carnival-Themed) Rap — me, @porschas-palette

Just as a heist-themed WOTFI happened in 2023, an awesome carnival-themed rap will happen this year. And it will be a BANGER!

Puzzles' Backstory — me, @yullalightk

As much as Puzzles is an interesting character, we have yet to learn more about his past. We have already seen some in his Creative Control song and in the 'Mr Puzzles' Clubhouse' episode with his dad. There simply has to be more. The puzzle pieces of his past :) ...I'll see myself out

The Bell Tolls 🔔

For the past few weeks, Ben and Shadow have been trolling the SMG4 twitter with their ;) and the bell emoji.

Stop stop [*points at SMG4 twt*] they're already dead/ref

On one tweet, Ben posted a few lyrics of the song "For Whom the Bell Tolls", a 1984 song by Metallica that was apparently inspired by a book of the same name, which basically tells a scene in the story where 5 soldiers died in the Spanish Civil War. Exploring death in modern warfare. As for whom the bell tolls, it's all of us, being bounded together. It's all of them who the bell tolls for.

Any reference to the heavy metal song, signs of bells, or even death, it marks this box for sure. Sure, it may be trolling, but hey, anything's possible.

Not So Different

With Four and Puzzles being Narrative Foils(TM), I've been waiting for a scene of Puzzles telling Four:

"You and I, we aren't so different. You wished to make people happy. I'm simply doing the same..."

It also be in reverse with Four OR Three telling that to Mr Puzzles that they get where he's coming from but he doesn't have to go down this path. They know what it's like. Whether Puzzles accepts defeat/change, it'll be up to him.

(Ending) Twist — me, /porschas-palette

At the very end of WOTFI, Mr Puzzles finally came out in all this glory of a model, showing he also pulled the strings of WOTFI 2023. Aside from IGBP and Western Spaghetti, of course. It's likely to happen again. Old/new characters, foreshadowing, fake death. It all counts.

Merch

...I mean, it's pretty obvious, right? I'm gonna bet on a poster, shirt/hoodie, a keychain, and something related to the WOTFI ticket. 5 bucks, all in.

Star Rating System

This whole arc constantly comes back to the ratings. Mr Puzzles in the negatives in the "Lowest Point" episode, Mickey referring the single star as the power source in the Engine Room in "Mr Puzzles' Clubhouse". And no, we're not going to forget about the broken star Mr Puzzles had left at the end of Puzzlevision. With Mr Puzzles being THE power source, it has to come back.

Sacrifice — me, /sardix, /porschas-palette

"Character Death" and "Character Fake Death" were great suggestions. But then, when sardix stated "Mario saves the day doing something stupid/protects someone from dying", it made me realize something. That's right, each one of the Crew would do anything to protect the others. Even if it costs them their lives. But it's worth the risk if it means they're safe. Three technically did in the "Welcome to Puzzle Park" episode, trying to warn Four and Mario. I mentioned in my theories that someone will sacrifice themselves, so this might be it.

It could also mean in terms of the exchange of something else, not necessarily a life. It could be Meggy's physical condition, knowing that she was forced to become Leggy again. Based on all those screams, I think her body's not going to be the same. A loss of a limb or something. Or perhaps, after seeing what he's done, Mr Puzzles might admit defeat. The sacrifice of his dream for creative vision.

Tender Tunnel — me, Nicc

What other reason would there be to have the equivalent of the Tunnel of Love in Puzzle Park? Literally, why would they do that? They could've put anything else in there. Popping balloon stand, the horse racing game, any other ride. Why this? And not just that, they keep pointing the camera right at it as if they're like "hey, this is going to become relevant later, so remember it".

SMG4 Kids

This whole arc also revolved around the children. Karen's kids, Beeg4, Eggdog, JubJub. Like I said in my "The Unexpected Guests" theory, they could still be relevant here. Also, the whole Didney thing and their large kid audience and the carnival being fun for kids (and all ages ofc).

Puzzles Dies 💀 — Nicc

As much as some of us don't want it to happen, Mr Puzzles may die, similarly how Wren did. For how to defeat Puzzles, it seems like the Crew would have to destroy the power source that's currently controlling the park... aka Mr Puzzles

Meggy Confronts

By the near end of WOTFI, in the final showdown between the Crew and Puzzles, Meggy might be back to normal and might have a few words with him in regards to what happened to her. In song or pure dialogue, she might confront him about his wrongdoings.

Or perhaps, for the very first time, Leggy might defy him. The whole time, Leggy is like "Join the winning team, he was such a great boss". And what if something snapped in Leggy that made her say "no" to Puzzles? That, no, this is going too far. No, I can't let you do this.

"You Saved Me" 💫 💣 — me, /sardix

SMG4 x SMG3 shippers, we're all too familiar with this line. Ever since SMG3 redeemed himself, the two have constantly said this line, after one indeed does save the other. Actually, it kind of happens in every movie if you think about it. And it works just as well here.

SMG3 being in a horrible minigame trap might get saved by Four and Mario with Four pulling out of it,

Three: "You... saved me?" Four: "Why wouldn't I? You were literally in a trap, dude." Three, hitting the back of Four's head: "I... Augh, just forget it, baka."

OR in reverse, when Four thanks Three for trying to save him and Mario. They didn't exactly escape in time but Three really has grown to become a true friend.

This box also works as a "Four and Three moment that can be seen as romantic" box :)

Brand New Look

This could be new outfits, bringing back old ones (like Three's bunny ears or WOTFI '23 suits), a new Puzzle face, or a new look of the Puzzle Park.

Puzzles Tune

Puzzles' musical motif dubbed as "TV Time", the one we're all familiar with, could come back. Either in the background, as a new arrangement, or as part of the Rap(TM) instrumental. It did that for WOTFI 2023 to foreshadow his subtle involvement so I don't see why it couldn't happen.

Dynamic Change

After rewatching "SMG4 and SMG3 come up with an episode", I predicted that something would change in Four and Three's dynamic, for better or worse. (For better, hopefully). As I said, it could be Three's revelation. Sure, the episode is a silly one, it should not be taken so seriously. But it's also the same episode that "hinted" the idea of a carnival coming to the Showgrounds, so anything could happen at this point.

And it doesn't have to be between Four and Three, it could be anyone in WOTFI. Leggy and Puzzles, the Crew within, etc.

Leggy's Flag

As shown in the "Lowest Point" episode, Mr Puzzles kept Leggy's flag after all this time. It wouldn't be a surprise that it might be used for a turning point in the plot in some way. Maybe it could be used as evidence of Puzzles' humanity, or for Puzzles to realize the damage he has caused. That he lost himself. All for creative vision.

BLANK CARD

If you want to fill in your own card, I leave here a blank version for your use AND a marker png:

Also, feel free to post this on other platforms, the more the merrier. All I ask from you is to credit me.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Have fun with it, bring in your moots or discord server! But as always, enjoy what WOTFI has to offer. "Love always wins", after all.

I would like to give a big thanks to everyone who has given me suggestions, great job honestly!

And feel free to share your cards after WOTFI either by tagging me or using #wotfi 2024 bingo, I would love to see them! I'll see you all on the other side, my dear fellows.

[taste-in-music]

my top 10 songs of 2024

picks 11-30 beneath the cut

30. Divine by Saleka, Kid Cudi: Before watching Trap by M. Night Shyamalan, I knew it was part thriller about catching a serial killer, part vehicle to launch his daughter Saleka’s singing career. After watching it, I was a certified stan of father and daughter alike, because I don’t care about the nepo baby allegations when the music is this fucking good. (I also had a blast with the movie. Must a film “make sense?” Is it not enough to watch Josh Hartnett go berserk at the in-universe equivalent of the Eras Tour?) While Saleka created an entire album of bangers for her fictional pop star Lady Raven, “Divine” has to be my pick off the track list, a silky-smooth R&B crooner with an energetic thrum to make it appropriate for both chilling out and throwing back. Saleka isn’t the first to compare a love affair to a divine calling, but she does a great job of actually capturing the intrigue and transcendence evoked by the metaphor, and she also has great chemistry with Kid Cudi. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel to Trap, partly because I'm always down to watch Josh Hartnett go berserk, but mostly because that means we'd probably get another album from our corvid queen.

29. Scorsese Baby Daddy by SZA: SZA comes in right under the wire once again with a release in December, making my job a lot harder, because if SZA drops new music, how could I not include it on my year-end list? It’s hard to say which track of her SOS deluxe album LANA is going to stick in the zeitgeist, but my immediate pick is “Scorsese Baby Daddy,” which was so immediately addictive that I listened to it 20 times in a row when it first dropped. SZA treads familiar lyrical ground on the song, grappling with insecurity, unapologetically pursuing amazing sex, and spiraling into emotional attachments. “Addicted to the drama,” she sings in tandem with the song’s title, batting away the self-chastisement with the heady rush of a new love, “doing the most” and hoping it isn’t too much for her lover to take. Much like my list pick off SOS, “F2F,” I love how “Scorsese Baby Daddy pivots SZA’s sound towards a loping rock palette, a swaggering drum kick fleshed out with guitars and more affirmed vocal delivery. Sonics aside, it’s SZA’s conviction and blunt honesty that makes the track one of the best of the year, even if it arrived the latest.

28. Tough Love by Gracie Abrams: This song could’ve been a ten second voice note of Gracie Abrams saying “No chance I’ll waste by twenties on random men / Not one of them is smarter than all my friends” and it still would’ve made this list. Abrams’s Swiftian mode of detail-laden songwriting doesn’t always cohere for me, but on “Tough Love,” they map out a chilly post-breakup night in Boston. Killing time on a bench by the river. A ripped jacket. Her ex kicking her in bed while sleeping. Aaron Dessner’s production captures the melancholic expanse of these experiences: atmospheric drones with a hint of warmth, the gentlest swell of strings. It allows Abrams’s storytelling to shine, celebrating female friendship and the newfound independence of young adulthood, reveling in its thorny edges and small joys. “Tough Love” is the gentle smack upside the head, the reminder that no matter what useless boys might throw your way, you never have to take it on alone.

27. It's No Fun by Grace Enger: Enough about romanticizing my life and daydreaming about unrequited crushes! Only Grace Enger is brave enough to tell it like it is about wanting someone who will never want you back: it's no fun. Like her previous best track “The Neighborhood,” Enger ups the ante behind her singer-songwriter schtick on "It's No Fun." Her acoustics get a little crunchy and electric, her voice rises to a frustrated belt, the drums clammer in like a pounding heartbeat. “In my eyes, you’re the sun,” she sings, “Think you liked the way I spun and spun and spun around you.” The only way to keep yourself from getting sucked back into the toxic cycle is severing the ties, and Enger dramatizes this in one of the most cathartic bridges this year, describing the fury at having to take the high ground, break off the friendships, and pursue reconciliation all on her own. Just because the love isn’t mutual doesn’t mean that your heart won’t break, and I’m grateful for songwriters like Enger that transform these feelings into songs I can scream along to to get to the other side of it.

26. DENIAL IS A RIVER by Doechii: I was embarrassingly late to the Doechii train. While I had heard praise for her latest record Alligator Bites Never Heal throughout the year, it took watching her electric turn at NPR’s Tiny Desk to finally get off my ass and check out her music. The song that lit the fire was “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” a dialogue between Doechii and an alternate persona dramatized as a rapped conversation about her life until now and her current mental state. It doesn't just offer bouncy flows, memorable punchlines, and sparkling chemistry, but a great place to start if you’re also just now catching up with the Doechii phenomenon. Her free-flowing narration is basically a "previously on..." segment, covering catching up with an ex’s side piece over Zoom, being thrust into the spotlight in the wake of viral success, and coping with the stress through less-than-sustainable means, culminating in a breathing exercise where Doechii dramatically dry-heaves into the mic. Doechii’s raw wit and charisma as a performer is impossible to deny, and I won't make the mistake of being behind on her releases ever again.

25. Truth Or Dare by Tyla: One of the most exciting rising figures of pop music in 2024 was South African amapiano star Tyla, who broke through onto the Billboard charts last year with the splashy jam “Water.” The self-titled debut album came in 2024, and with it a cavalcade of sexy, sumptuous music perfectly crafted for glitzy nights on the town. “Truth or Dare” first popped out to be when I saw Tyla’s set at Lollapalooza, where she delivered its silky beat and hooky melody while dancing atop a giant tiger in a marble printed bodysuit with a team of backup dancers. On the song, she cuts into an addressee that dismissed her in the past but is suddenly all up over her now that she’s successful. “Dare you to forget / That you used to treat me just like anyone,” she reminds them with a voice like sugar viper venom, “Is it true you care? / Now that you see the love from everyone.” It’s that touch of spikiness within the sensuality that lends the song its magnetism, a raised brow daring you to keep coming back for more.

24. Right Back To It by Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman: “Right Back To It” was easy pick for one of the best songs of 2024 the day it came out. Mind you, that day was January 9th. Nearly an entire year later, that first impression hasn’t faded in the slightest. With her quiet confidence and knack for serene folk compositions, I’m convinced Katie Crutchfield could write poignant yet down-to-earth crooners about complicated relationships and the passage of time in her sleep. But “Right Back To It” is no snoozefest, it's vivid and homey, all tangy banjo and canoodling guitar with a steady foundation of bass to anchor it into the earth. Crutchfield’s vocals are a warm hug, her signature rasp melding perfectly against MJ Lenderman’s subtle harmonizing. But what makes the song particularly special is how it articulates what it's like to have someone with whom, no matter how much time as passed or how many conflicts arise, you can return to with certainty and stability. “You just settle in like a song with no end,” Crutchfield says, knowing it's something to hold close to her chest: “if I can keep up, we’ll get right back to it.”

23. Check by FLO: British trio FLO are on a quest to bring the sultry sass of 2000s girl groups into the 2020s, bursting onto the scene with the cheeky confidence of divas that have already been slaying the scene for years. Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer wield their supple triad harmonies into sticky hooks that rival the best songs of the era they pull from. Is this song catchy? Check. Are the harmonies on point? Check. Is it one of the best pop songs of the year? Check. The lyrics focus on the post-launch vetting process of modern dating, the narrator ringing off each desirable quality of her new beau like she's scribbling it in a heart-locked diary with a glitter gel pen. He’s trustworthy, loyal, spoils her, and pays for their dates. Finished off with perky squiggles of guitar, gossamer synths, and a locked-in drum groove that begs for hip swinging, it’s a song that matches the boy toy described, “a perfect ten.”

22. Yeah x10 [MIXED] by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Boys Noize: It’s hard to write about a song off the Boys Noize-remixed version of the Challengers soundtrack in isolation, because my enjoyment of that album is deeply wrapped up in how every song on it flows together. But amidst the pulse-pounding thrum of sultry electronics that comprise the record materializes the particularly insidious hook of “Yeah x10,” built around the simple refrain of the songs title. I can’t tell you how many times this year I mumbled “Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah” under my breath as I typed up essays, folded my laundry, or took out the trash, infusing these mundane tasks with the badass bitchery of Tashi Duncan and co. That’s the power of this song, it’s two-clap pop-and-locking, the sly swerves of car tires skidding across pavement, all ratcheting up to a fever pitch of static before it locks back into a catwalk groove. With this song yeah-yeah-ing it’s way into your ears, for a moment, we all get to be part of the hottest movie of the year.

21. THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS by Bon Iver: “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” hit me late in autumn, as most of Bon Iver’s music does, ushered in by chilly November winds and existential agony over what the hell I’m going to do with my life. It nestles comfortably within the established Bon Iver sound—folky guitars, crystalline textures, alto pontification from Justin Vernon. “I’m afraid of changing,” he admits, and this anxiety over stagnation saturates deep into the song. Lyrically, he bends platitudes backwards into modes of self-examination, “I get caught looking in the mirror,” “I got caught compiling my own news,” pursuing an explanation for it all. The song’s title offers up a hazy gesture towards the interconnectivity that links our lives together, echoes of history swirling into the edges of our reflection. “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” is as comforting as it is confounding, a reminder that we cannot move forward without looking back, looking in.

20. Sucia by Empress Of: Just one of the many sensual pop gems on Empress Of’s forth record For Your Consideration, “Sucia” pulls apart from the rest of the pack by being one of the most unapologetically dirty songs of the year. “I’m’a roll around in it,” Lorely Rodriguez taunts over a filthy combination of churning bass and grumbling vocal samples that’ll get your ass shaking. Throughout the song, she alternates fluidly between English and Spanish, and boy howdy am I glad I sharpened my language skills while studying in Spain this year, because it means I can furiously blush along to her lyrics, which are bonkers explicit and so so fun. “I can’t keep clean when your face is between / Cuando estás entre mis piernas” makes me feel like I need to take a goddamn shower. “I smell your sweat / You’re so hard / to forget” is the lyric break of the year, slipping by so slyly you might miss the double entendre. “Sucia” ecstatically revels in the dirtiness, celebrating the pleasure it brings, polishing away the grime to reveal the sparkling pop gem at the core.

19. Motorcycle by Remi Wolf: I usually turn to Remi Wolf’s music for rambunctious production and boisterous energy, but on “Motorcycle,” the butter-smooth ballad that lands smack dab in the middle of her latest album Big Ideas, she chooses to take things slow. It’s truly special when the moment of reprieve on a pop album hits just as hard as the bops, and on “Motorcycle,” Remi Wolf’s minimal approach works wonders. Every detail is perfectly curated to supplement the sensual, balmy atmosphere, a sly shuffle of bass, a sprinkle of snare, a wa-wa-ing synth. The details are languid and sun soaked, smoking on the roof sans bikini top, watercolor puddles, the ordinary romance of positing “we could get a dog.” It’s hard to make comfortable rest as compelling as bombastic breakups or chaotic crushing, but Remi Wolf pulls it off. What’s the good of all that drama if there isn’t a great song to play over the end credits? “Motorcycle” is the sound of the breeze rippling through your hair as you ride off into the sunset.

18. bye by Ariana Grande: It’s a bold move to have the first proper song on an album be all about endings, but Ariana Grande pulls it off on her spectacular seventh record eternal sunshine. Despite the tragedy of the song describing a breakup, “bye” is a downright joyous listen. Like other titanic entries in her catalogue, such as "Honeymoon Avenue," "Greedy" and "Into You," "bye" transforms Ariana’s familiar realm of modern R&B-pop and infuses it with a timeless, exuberant extravagance off the bouncy horn accents, disco-dappled synth swing, and punchy strings. It’s the perfect backdrop for her to reframe the details of a breakup with a soft smile, her friend Courtney pulling up in the driveway, moving boxes, anticipating the moment in the future where she can "look back with love." Despite the controversies and Broadway blockbuster adaptations that shaped her public image in 2024, Ariana Grande sounds wholly comfortable and secure in the choices she narrates here. At this point in her career, she has nothing left to prove, but that doesn’t mean she can’t keep raising the bar regardless.

17. Juna by Clairo: Living up to the title of the album it hails from, Clairo’s sweet little indie hit “Juna” is reserved yet effortlessly charming, infusing her cozy bedroom-pop aesthetic with swanky jazz ornamentation. “Juna” shimmies and sparkles with lush details, glistening keys, velveteen-soft guitars, and a silly yet sumptuous mouth-trumpet solo. Clairo’s delivery throughout the track is reserved, almost hushed, like she’s whispering lovestruck confessions right into your ear. “You make me want to buy a new dress,” she whisps, before infusing the sweetness with a subtle sensuality, “you make want to slip off a new dress.” The subdued, rich orchestration of the song lends to its palpable intimacy and shimmying anxiety of recognizing just how well somebody knows you, how exciting it could be to eventually see more of them. “With you there’s no pretending,” Clairo affirms. “Juna” feels warm and familiar, but also opens up a new dimension to her sound. Despite the lingering shyness, she comes off more assured in herself than ever.

16. Better Hate by Jessica Pratt: My adoration for Jessica Pratt’s album Here In The Pitch was a slow burn this year. While opener “Life Is” captured my attention back in July, but it was the follow up of “Better Hate” that fully enraptured me and kept me coming back. The song's composition is dark yet sumptuous, like pitch black velvet, and inscrutable yet delectable mode of chamber pop infused with a lively bossa nova swing. Pratt’s voice careens out of the tapestry like it’s pouring out of a gramophone in the corner of an attic, welcoming the listener to ponder the nebulous lyrics on self-recognition and a relationship in question alongside her: “I’ve been clear before / what’s the longing there? / Just a sad case, I’m nobody’s fool.” Do I know what that means? Not completely, but I believe from the conviction of her delivery that Jessica Pratt does. In the meantime, I’ll have to keep letting this song welcome me into its enigmatic depths, parsing for meaning in the darkness. If we're all here in the pitch, we might as well get comfortable.

15. cherry cola by Devon Again: This might just be the poppiest pop song of the year, in title, subject matter, and sound. I started bumping Devon Again’s “Cherry Cola” back during the Summer, and in the months since, its pulse-pounding, explosive sugar rush hasn’t waned in the slightest, each repeated spin as fun and fizzy as the last. Every time I hear it my heart feels too big for my chest. Or maybe I'm just overcaffeinated, much like Devon Again herself. The song abounds with sweets-studded details of a whirlwind romance that’s almost too intense to bear. “Loving you is like sipping on straight syrup,” Devon Again belts on the chorus, “Cover me in in candy / I’m so lucky that I get to know you.” The production lives up to that description, reducing the thrill down to sticky pop concentrate. Every synth, cymbal hit, and flourishing swarm of guitar builds up and up to an impossible height, the carbonation foaming up over the lip of the glass and cascading over you for a taste of bubbly joy that you’ll never forget. Shoutout to @bellamysgriffin for putting this on my radar.

14. Theater by Etta Marcus: Etta Marcus busts down the door on her debut album The Death of Summer & Other Promises with “Theater,” an avalanche of drama and panache you’d expect from the song’s title. Lyrically, she recounts putting on a performance of perfection and nonchalance for her partner, and as the song progresses and the instrumental escalates, the reality of the situation peels back and back until there’s nothing but an empty stage and glaring lights laying her desperation bare for everyone to see. “I wanna be loved,” Marcus confesses with the power of an entire breath as the drums crash in, “I wanna be loved / Like right out of a movie where I’ll be the star.” Imagination is a powerful and necessary tool for us to picture the best for ourselves, but it can’t stop the pain which comes with returning to reality and all that idealism fades away. “Theater” is the song for that first breath of realization, the daydream and nightmare slamming up against each other in one of the best power ballads of the year. A round of applause, now, everyone, for the damn good show.

13. Ever Seen by beabadoobee: Even as beabadoobee continues to come into her own as a singular singer-songwriter and bona-fide rock star, working with the likes of Rick Rubin, I must confess that my favorite music from her will always be her adorably earnest synth pop tracks, like those from her 2021 EP Our Extended Play. Thank goodness she still offered up some of that on her latest record This Is How Tomorrow Moves with “Ever Seen,” a song so ridiculously lovestruck and adorable that it makes me both euphorically gleeful and jealously infuriated. The song captures the feeling of gazing into your lover’s eyes so hard you can feel hearts blooming in your pupils like a cartoon character, a gauzy whirlwind of fluttering guitar strums and beabadoobee’s cotton-candy wisp of a voice. She alludes to deeper reasons why this relationship means so much to her, but at the end of the day, it distills down into a single detail: “He has the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.” And sometimes it really is that simple, the act of seeing, of being seen, that mutual recognition that’s simply electrifying in such circumstances. Isn’t that what love is all about, at the end of the day? Until I’m able to find such magic in the real world, I’ll just have to keep returning to this song to remind that it’s obtainable in the first place.

12. The Architect by Kacey Musgraves: Kacey Musgraves writes an open letter to a higher power on “The Architect,” wrestling with the desire for there to be “blueprints or plans” that would imbue her life with a deeper meaning. Whether you’re religious or not, I think there’s something universal in this feeling, the clutching for an explanation of life’s haphazard mechanics and boundless beauty. Musgraves scales these emotions from a single sweet apple to the Grand Canyon to her own face in the mirror, her clarion voice set against a gentle rollick of simple strummed guitar. My favorite touch are Daniel Tashian’s backing vocals, a voice in the distance that seems reachable one moment and invisible the next. The song finds fruitful ground in the ambiguous confluence of fate and free will. “I thought that I was too broken / And maybe too hard to love,” she sings in the song’s final verse, “I was in a weird place, then I saw the right face / And the stars and the planets lined up.” Whose face is it? The architect’s? A lover’s? Her own? Even though life’s grand plan remains out of reach, Musgraves relays how, every so often, we can still find moments where everything seems to make perfect sense. 

11. Docket by Blondshell ft. Bully: “Docket,” Blondshell’s one-off single in collaboration with indie rocker Bully, takes the award for my favorite opening line of the year: “I said ‘Don’t shake my hand it’s wet’ he said, ‘I’ll kiss it instead’ / He said ‘I saw the whole show,’ I’m not scared of the sweat.” There’s an allure in someone cutting through your excuses and wanting you for everything you are, no matter how repugnant it can be. On the rest of the song, Blondshell and Bully unpack a doom spiral of sex and guilt amidst life on the road, parsing through the desire for closeness and distance, marking down hookups on a checklist of obligations to smother the self-loathing. “It’s cruel to let you love me” they harmonize at the brink of the chorus, remembering the partner waiting for them back home, “I don’t want what I need.”  The song animates the whirlwind of shame and half-satiated lust with scorching guitar riffs and screamed backing vocals pushed deep into the mix, the admission of guilty conscious clawing to the surface at the shoulder-shrug declaration at the end of the chorus: “My worst nightmare is me.”

Honorable mentions: "Down Bad" by Taylor Swift, "Do you wanna" by Astrid Sonne, "Comin' Around Again" by Amber Mark, "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae, "Pushing It Down and Praying" by Lizzy McAlpine, "Whatever Forever" by Ber, "Houdini" by Dua Lipa, "Big Love" by Suki Waterhouse, "Touch" by Katseye, "Cha Cha" by Sophie Hunter, and "Sticky" by Tyler, The Creator, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne.

And that's the list! In a year where the blockbuster releases didn't let up for a second, I'm sure I missed a lot of great stuff. Please let me know what your favorite songs of 2024 were!

Thank you all for the support for this blog throughout the year. Here's to 2025 being just as amazing for music.

Much love, TIM

[allwormdiet]

Arc 1: Gestation, Concluding Thoughts

Two days in the life of Taylor Hebert, with a bonus one night in the life of Danny Hebert. Let's break it down.

Right now, initial feelings are really positive. I like this arc, I get why people are in on this in such a hardcore fashion, like it's making sense to me as I'm reading it. The characterization is really strong, the A to B plot is cool, and the first fight scene was a fucking banger to open up with.

And like, shit, I get why Taylor is throwing herself into cape life, right? Civilian life is already such fucking misery for her, utterly alone and the only person who's theoretically in her corner is sympathetic but just as helpless as she is. Yeah sure, mortal peril, but if she had nothing to do I feel like the bullying would've killed her eventually. Death versus Lung is at least marginally more noble than death by Emma. And isn't that fucking bleak.

Looking ahead a little bit towards Arc 2 and I'm immensely curious how long it'll take Taylor to do cape stuff again. I feel like I'd need a solid month to process the whole "near death experience" thing and then spend time sweating over whether I even put the mask on ever again. Meanwhile I wouldn't be surprised if Taylor went back out in like a week, because she's a hardcore maniac.

It's also very interesting looking at this and considering the exact sequence of events that went through these chapters. If the bullies didn't wreck Taylor's notebook, or if Taylor took a different message away from its destruction, there might be one or more dead Undersiders right now, and to a lesser extent Armsmaster wouldn't both get credit for a major capture and also owe this rookie hero a favor. Both of those things are going to matter a lot, and it's, I dunno, some people would call that contrived but real life is so full of weird coincidence and happenstance I can buy this no problem.

...Honestly now I get why so many AUs that diverge before this point still include the Lung fight and the Undersiders and Armsmaster meetings, like yeah at that point it's contrivance but I'm not going to sweat an author too hard because they don't want to figure out how fucking dramatic the butterfly effect (hah, butterfly) would be on the rest of the story. Like yeah it's contrived, but that's a lot of work they'd have to do otherwise.

That aside, I'm gonna get back on topic and meditate on my current gripes. 1.3 was a legitimate low point in this arc with the description of the Docks and its residents and their circumstances, and the total clusterfuck of the Azn Bad Boys, which. By the by this is the last time I'm going to say the full name of that gang, ABB is shorter and is less embarrassing for everybody involved. Wall-to-wall racism, classism, and an utter lack of sympathy for the lesser-thans. Like we're talking about crack whores in the year of our lord 2011, or, they were written about in 2011 and I'm hollering about it on the internet in 2024. When this kind of thing comes back up (when, not if, I'm not that optimistic) I just hope I can work around it, like eating everything but the bruise on an apple.

To close this out, I'm thinking about the people in Taylor's life. Emma, a former friend turned bully, and her cronies Madison and Sophia. Pretty shallow characterization at this point, just that they're cruel to the point of hospitalizing their victim. Danny Hebert is supportive, but has all the strength of a sponge when it comes to holding up against the pressures that weigh on Taylor, and he knows it but he's not doing anything differently. The Undersiders, criminals who mistake Taylor for a criminal, but identify her correctly as a comrade and potential friend, who realize she was fighting for them and went to fight for her. Armsmaster, who offers her very genuine and very sought-after praise as an authority figure, and then leans on that authority to get what he wants out of a freshly traumatized and exhausted teenager.

Is it any wonder that Taylor takes the path that she does? Would anyone have it in them to be surprised if they could see all of this from a bird's eye view?

I wonder if Armsmaster ever thinks back about this night, lying awake in bed. If he ever wonders what he could or should have done differently, or if he couldn't have done anything to divert course.

I was talking to my girlfriend about something related to this the other night, actually. If it's worse in a tragedy for there to have been a chance to avert it all, or if it's worse for the end to be inevitable. Looking at Taylor, looking at Brockton Bay, looking at Earth Bet? I dunno. If someone had acted early, with knowledge and intention sufficient to actually provide aid, maybe it would've been enough, but hell. Maybe not. I don’t know which possibility is more damning.

...I get melancholy when it's late, but I don't think it'd be right to delete all that; it's how I'm feeling about the novel, and that's what this blog is for, so even if it's a bit dramatic it'd be self-defeating to pretend I didn't say it.

Arc 2... probably starts tomorrow, assuming nothing comes up. Glad to say I'm looking forward to it.

[nyxthejinx]

Heya!

I just saw your open for request post and want to commission an Cyno x gn!reader, please? :) a fluffy and spicy drabble would be lovely. Maybe smth like.. the reader is good friends with Cyno and Tighnari but the reader went on a journey thru teyvat and met the Aether (traveler) on their way and since then they traveled together and been thru much so they have a connection ofc and then when the reader and Aether visit sumeru and they meet Cyno - he will get all jealous? Cause he sees how close they are and he fears that he missed his chance with the reader? But obvsly its not like that and yeah. A lil bit of making out at the end, please? cause Cyno needs to let out some steam after his jealously :^)

Thank you for doing requests btw!

FIRST. It took ages but I was able to sell my soul in exchange for inspiration only recently, I'm so sorry. SECOND thank YOU for asking, I wasn't sure about this until the 3am among us potion made it work. THIRD beautiful pfp, akaza bb fr i love him a normal amount I promise. FOURTH it's 5 am, literally I'm not kidding, I tried to proofread and all that but I don't even know what's my name anymore so I'm sorry for typos and shit. FIFTH I hope It makes sense, enjoy 💀

𝐓𝐖: Fluff and obviously spice (making out, vague allusions to the dirty deeds ;) ), use of petnames (dear, love), lemme know if I missed something.

𝐅𝐭.: Cyno, Aether (but he's your homie) - GN!Reader

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.5k

𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨: Rendezvous - Little Mix (god this song is such a banger)

Cyno fears nothing.

"Cyno, this is Aether."

Cyno fears one thing.

He'd felt so happy after reading your last letter. You said you'd be back in a few days with a special surprise, but honest to Archons the fact you'd be coming back to him - for him, he’d wanted to say, but not dared to- was enough of a present.

He surely wasn't expecting that this "surprise" would be none other than the Traveler who's saved Sumeru, though. A charming blondie who drifts a bit too close to you, in Cyno's opinion.

"We met in Liyue, he's amazing." You smile, squeezing the blond's shoulder. "He's a well known traveler across Teyvat, even in regions he has yet to visit!"

"I just help those who need it, not that much of a big deal."

Aether blushes and rubs his neck. Aether blushes. And you're touching him in a way that only close friends do.

It's fine, Cyno wants to think. You're allowed to do whatever you want in your life, he sure as hell won't stand in your way. He already stepped aside back in the days, as you excitedly told him how one of his worst fears came true you were leaving for adventure.

Everything to make you happy.

But his mixed feelings would always get in the way and unleash endless internal conflicts. It wasn't simply about not having you around, it was some kind of longing sitting inside his chest and screaming at you not to go.

It was the distance that made him realise: he was, and still is, far too in love for his own good.

And Aether could get in the way of that.

"We meet again, Traveller." The General nods, pushing down such shameful thoughts. "I'm glad to see you are both fairing well."

"It's all thanks to [Name], actually." Aether nudges you in the ribs. "They're really helpful, no matter the task."

You smirk. "Oh, what an honour. The traveller complementing me, a common, mortal nobody."

"Hey, I'm not that annoying!"

"Maybe. But you sure snore at night. That is annoying."

"Wh-! I don't. I know for a fact-"

No, you don't sound like close friends. You sound like a married couple. What just happened in this handful of months? Did Cyno hesitate too long and lost his chance? Now that he had decided to expose his deepest feelings?

"You guys! Paimon is starving here."

Paimon's shrill voice cuts short the bicker, as the Matra's jaw clenches. Good time, credits to Paimon, but seeing the two of you stroll towards the tavern didn't ease the knot in his chest the slightest.

Your laughter wasn't addressed to him nor to his uncanny jokes. He wasn't the one making you smile.

He was the moon and he'd just been eclipsed by the Traveller's brightest light.

Dinner was... Gut wrenching, to say the least.

You'd known Cyno long enough to tell apart his feelings even as he wears that stoic facade of his. While Paimon and the Traveller didn't have a single clue about the situation, you could feel his dry gaze burning holes on both of your figures, as if the sun had ascended back to the skies and everything around had turned desert.

He was feeling something you'd never quite seen within him.

It took you a bit too long to realise that the fair, lawful General Mahamatra was jealous, of all things.

He was so subtle with it, carefully hid his resentment in his voice and choice of words, in his gestures and mannerisms. But worst of all he didn't propose a single joke during the meal, not even when you laid the chance on a silver platter for him.

That had your mind reeling for the rest of your time together, and even afterwards, as you waved goodnight to Aether and Paimon. As you walked these streets you still know by heart with your dearest friend by your side.

As you choked on the thick air surrounding the two of you.

Maybe you should've left Aether out of it, for the first day, at least. Cyno hadn't seen you in so long, perhaps he didn't like the way Aether inadvertently hogged your attention the entire time when all he wanted was to hear about your adventures.

Yeah, you'd been an idiot for that one.

But, you still had an ace up your sleeve. Quite literally. One that would grant you his forgiveness and hopefully help you say the words to him.

Because of course, it took you less than a week far from him to realise you were smitten for this dad-jokes-spitting being.

You patted your side as you approached Razan Garden in all its glory, and sighed at the feeling of the rectangular box still inside. You could do it, you had to! It took you months of preparation, you wouldn't let it go to waste.

"[Name]." Cyno's voice was soft, as if to match the atmosphere lingering in the marble gazebo. He'd stopped a couple steps ahead of you, but didn't turn to meet your eyes. "My congratulations and best wishes."

You alt abruptly at that. Where the hell is it coming from?

"Uh, thank you?" You quirk a brow. "Did I do something special without knowing?"

He chuckles under his breath. Yes, you are special and he's grateful a being so perfect can exist in this world and is part of his life. But he would never tell you that.

He turns instead. His eyes rich with emotion, gentler. "I'm beyond glad that you found the right person out there, [Name]."

Oh. Oh.

"I only ever hoped for your happiness and well-being, during this period of time."

"Cyno, wait a sec-"

He takes a step forward. "If I had to voice my honest thoughts... I must admit I couldn't find peace of mind knowing you would've been out there alone."

"Cyno-"

"But I see you're perfectly capable of handling your own," the man sighs, shakes his head. A small smile curves his lips. "Just like you've always done."

"Oi-"

And then he's placing loose hands on your shoulders, as if he's in some kind of automatic mode and has to finish the speech at all costs.

For a moment you think he's gone absolutely senile. "Still, I'm relieved you have someone who can watch your back, now. He's a kind-hearted person, level headed, the best you could wish for-"

"Archons' fucking sake, Cyno! Will you hear me out a damn second?"

Cyno almost jumps back, taken out of his weird reverie, but you're quick to trap his face between your hands. You're close, closer than you'd wanted to, unfocused in your frustrated fervor. So much his breath warms the apple of your cheek, as it wasn't burning already.

You take a breath and force more words out before you can cower away from it. "I get where you're coming from, I neglected you today and acted like a shitty friend. And I'm sorry for that."

You lower your gaze to the ground. Now or never. "But it's you, okay? It's always been you! I could travel across all Teyvat and even Celestia, but it's you and just you. So drop that thing you're on about please."

That was disgustingly corny. But hopefully did the trick, you guess.

A beat passes. Then two. You don't see his face, you don't have the courage to take a look at the mess you've made. Him being jealous didn't mean he liked you, not necessarily. Maybe you should've given him the TCG deck and call it a night.

Another beat goes by.

"So... You and Aether are not...?"

He's gonna be the death of you.

You groan, a guttural sound that shouts exasperation from the deepest parts of your chest. All rationality goes to hell as you drag him closer and slam your lips together.

You're kissing him. Archons you're kissing him-

There's no time for Cyno to react. You're pulling away in a frenzy, hoping the ground will open for the Abyss to swallow you right now. You kissed one of your friends only to prove that you're single, and in fact attracted to them. Could it be worse than that? More humiliating and disrespectful to him?

"I'm so sorry!" You wave your hands around. "I shouldn't have without your permission! Are you okay?"

You search his expression for any sign of discomfort; he looks absolutely flabbergasted, but somehow weirdly composed like a bronze statue. His lips -god you'd just kissed them- are parted in the slightest, his eyes wide and yet still. The calm before the storm.

He's showing yet another sentiment you've never really seen him wear.

"Again." Cyno says.

You blink. "Uh?"

You feel his hand slither behind you and circle your waist, as he pushes your body closer. His skin is running hot like the desert's sands and you curse at his choice, or better lack of clothes.

His silver hair falls like a curtain, his eyes sharp. Dangerous, even, if you're not careful enough.

"Please, do it again. I think I've just seen the gates of Celestia." He mutters close to your lips.

That sounds more like him. You can't help but snort at his choice of words, shuddering all the same. The implications of said words dig a flaming hole in your chest.

"How can you be so smart, but dum dum at the same time?" You whisper, one hand traveling to the back of his neck, the other busying itself with stray locks of hair.

And you dip in for another kiss. One you sigh into, one that can be called kiss, actually. It's slower, but full all the same, scorching hot, pushed by feelings that were repressed for too long.

Cyno locks his free hand at your nape, never possessive, although firm. Small sounds bubble in the back of his throat when you bite at his lower lip, then backs just enough to mutter a couple words.

"Can you really blame me? It feels like a dream coming true." He pecks your lips, then presses his forehead to yours and closes his eyes. "I was scared you'd chosen him."

"So, all those pretty words from before?" You exhale a breathy laugh, cradling his jaw.

"I'd give away everything I have and am if it meant you'd be happy. I could only wish you the best and support you." Cyno smiles, pouting after the next words leave his mouth. "But it doesn't mean I would be fully content with the outcome."

Your brain has turned to mush. This man is too dangerous for this world, a hazard for you and your poor little heart that feels like exploding. It's a threat to your common sense and rationality. But most of all, it's damaging your brakes.

What he's telling you should not be legal.

"Archons, come here." And you kiss, and kiss, kiss again and again. You map each other's bodies with your hands as if it was the last time you'd be seeing each other. You press your mouths, clatter your teeth, intertwine your tongues.

You're straight up devouring in the dead silence of the night, in a public space. But as indecent the sounds you're both making are, it feels as if the world around blurred and blended into nothingness.

You've found yourself with your back to a wall, somehow, a couple buttons loose, skin hit by the cold air of the night. You -surely more clothed than Cyno- are an absolute mess, whereas his appearance doesn't falter much even at your hands' mercy.

It's unfair, he's unfair. He has no right to be this damn perfect even in the face of chaos.

"Not here, Cy." You manage to utter. "Let's go home."

His hand stops halfway up your shirt and he detaches from your neck with a small grunt, red splotches forming already thanks to his work. He doesn't sound pleased with your choice, but wordlessly complies, knocking you off your feet and picking you up so easily it's unfair.

And embarrassing.

You deadpan. "Seriously?"

He finds your eyes, suddenly composed as if nothing happened. "You seemed quite unstable on your legs, dear."

You're audibly gasping at that, whacking his chest and glaring daggers. "You!"

"Let's continue it home, now."

Cyno is really going to be the death of you, in many ways you'd never even considered.

It's almost dawn when you finally let yourselves snuggle up to each other in the peace of your home. More like his home, since yours needs more than a bit of cleaning after months of disuse, but he's made it clear already: everything that's his is also yours.

Cyno traces patterns on the bare skin of your arm, as you card through the knots on the back of his head, formed after... Recent activity. He seems too lost in your touch to even be awake, when his fingers stop.

"What was the surprise, in the end? Was it the confession?"

Your hands still, your face tightening at the question. When did you even... Oh, right.

"Would you be satisfied if I said yes?"

He pinches you.

"Owie!"

"You should know that what has been of this night matters more than anything, to me. Of course I would be satisfied." Cyno raises a thin brow, as his hand starts to descend agonizingly slow, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. "Was I not clear enough about my feelings? Perhaps you need a reminder-"

"Whoa, hold your horses, General." You chuckle, planting a kiss on his forehead before leaning over to your bedside table, where your bag had been thrown previously. "There was no way I'd come back empty handed after all these months, yanno?"

You pull out the wrapped box, place it in his hands. Cyno stares at it quizzically, but opens the packaging with care after you nudge him in the side.

Oh, his expression is so, so priceless. Cute, too cute, so cute you could die right now on the spot for excess of sugar in your blood. He looks like a kid who's just received the toy he oh so wanted and ranted about.

"It's not just any deck," You explain. "It's a deck made of cards I've gathered around from different regions. Some were more challenging to get, but I've been playing with you for a long time, haven't I? Of course I'd win."

Meanwhile Cyno takes the liberty to browse its contents, and just like you said, they're not from Sumeru. He's barely ever seen them, some are literally unknown, and he's ecstatic at the sight. How long did it take? How much effort?

"This is…" there's no right term to describe it. "Wonderful. You are wonderful, [Name]."

He goes for a hug and you feel like your bodies fit perfectly in each other's arms, as if it was meant to be. Right now, all that matters is this. And it will always be for all you care.

You smile into his shoulder, smooch the base of his neck. "Is it too early to say 'I love you?'."

"I would actually say we're late, Love."

"I love you, then, you Dum-Dum."

"I love you."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You are like my asthma. You just take my breath away."

You make sure Cyno slams his head as you throw him off the bed.

Do not translate/rewrite/repost/feed to AI ©2025 nyxthejinx

[cynthiav06]

I loved the Vengeance saga, an absolute banger. Might be my second favorite after the Wisdom Saga, but here's the thing:

Odysseus wounding Poseidon or even being able to use his trident or trapping Poseidon amidst the storm is all extremely unlikely as in impossible even in the Epic canon.

Before everyone starts a riot, here's why.

Poseidon is a god. Not just any god either, one of the Elder Gods (as in first olympian gods). In fact before the Dark Ages of Greek, from at least Homeric Era to Classical Era, Poseidon was called Wanax or was at least heavily associated with him by the Myceneans and was the old King of the Gods according to them. But I digress.

Point is Poseidon is basically an Eldritch horror on legs while Odysseus, despite his brilliance and strength, is just a mortal, not even a demigod, a human. Albeit one blessed by the wisdom goddess.

Poseidon is a God of storms. And sure Epic might have some different connotations but apparently not cause Hermes himself quotes in track 2 of Vengeance saga Dangerous that no mortal can survive Poseidon's storm I.e he created it so he's the stormbringer confirmed. Plus, Odysseus himself does say that he will make Poseidon stop the storm.

That aside, Poseidon is literally the God of the Seas. No god, not even Zeus, can beat Poseidon in his own bloody domain. So Odysseus has no chance.

Even if Odysseus trapped him on land, Poseidon can create earthquakes with his trident, which is also prominent in his lore. So that's a no, no.

Sure, Odysseus could have made Poseidon drop his trident, but even if that happened in no scenario, would Odysseus be able to lift it. Poseidon's trident was forged by elder cyclops and is one of the three absolute weapons of power in Greek myths ( the other two being Zeus's bolt and Hades's Helm). These weapons were designed specifically for these gods and obey none other. Not to mention it weighs a lot, i.e., "only a god can lift it heavy."

In the impossible scenario that Odysseus lifts it(by some miracle or other), Poseidon could just summon it back to his hand.

For all those saying maybe Poseidon can't do close combat, he has fought titans. He has to all but breathe strongly in Odysseus's direction, and Odysseus will literally die, which is why Odysseus's survival is Odyssey is such a legendary feat.

It also beats the point of Odysseus's legends. Odysseus is the King of Ithaca, sure, but he's no demigod. He doesn't even have any special abilities aside from quick thought or the occasional godly assistance. He's basically a mortal that achieves things everybody, even demigods, failed at all through his wisdom, wit, and trickery. He is only human, but his mind is what makes him on par with the divine.

Odysseus resorting to physical fighting against a literal god goes against his very nature. Odysseus is the smartest Greek hero, a strategist, a manipulator, and he knows very well how to play to his strengths.

In the original works, Odysseus escapes Poseidon the second time due to intervention from both Athena and Ino. Ino is the goddess of protection, especially the protector of sailors. She gifts Odysseus with a veil of protection. And Athena pulls her usual strings.

This is Odysseus playing to his strengths. He has the situation in his favor, a plan as he has convinced these gods either with his past deeds or his unbreakable will to intercede on his behalf. By manipulation or sincerity, doesn't matter. He lies, manipulates, tricks, and thinks his way through, so he would never ever resort to a 1v1, that too physical with a god.

[Circe was a special case. He had the blessing of molly on his side due to him earning Hermes's favor. Through a plan]

I love Epic, I do, and I love Jay even more. He's phenomenal and Epic the musical is an absolute work of genius and I know he said he is taking inspiration from video games and anime which might lead to some divergences but this is a bit too big of a liberty from both the source material and the essence of Odysseus. Sure, it's enjoyable and badass, but it's a disservice to the original Odysseus in a way.

Just wanted to give my honest opinion cause I love Epic so much, especially with its imperfections.

[princessanonymous]

Your platonic yandere vampire fuckin slaps, its so good i want to eat it

Since after turning, the reader is basically a NEET at this point cause I doubt Dorian would allow her to have a life. Are there like any expectations that he has on her on a day to day basis?

As in, does he expect a minimum amount of time spent together as a family (aside from dinners), having the 1700s equivalent of family game nights, does Dorian expect the reader to hug her dads at least once a day? Or does he let her rot in her room with dolls and just likes the idea of having his husband and daughter in the house?

Once again, love your work and great job , fuckin banger series you made thank you so much for the delicious food, looking forward for more

𝓨𝓸𝓾'𝓵𝓵 𝓑𝓮 𝓑𝓪𝓬𝓴 (Ask)

When Night Comes asks Platonic Yandere Vampire Story Chapter list

I'm glad to know you liked it! (*°▽°*) Thank you for asking! Sorry it took so long to answer, I just didn't know how to put it into words until today. o(TヘTo) But here it is :

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉

Surprisingly, Dorian did not expect a certain amount of time spent together. With time, he had grown to understand that forcing it would only make the girl pull away even more. He knew (Y/n) would come to him or Killian all by herself. Who else would she turn to anyway? Who else would she turn to, after all? Balls and gatherings where she could mingle with vampires of similar age and disposition were few and far between. Being in contact with mortals without feeding on them was even rarer. 

No, he knew she needed them. Leaving wasn’t even an option for one who looked so young, that, she was very much aware of. She wasn’t dumb, far from it.

But every three decades or so, the youngling would forget that and simply confine herself in her own quarters. Dorian learned not to make a big deal about it. Still, she needed company no matter how much she could forget that sometimes. Naturally, he would then find her company; that was his role as his caretaker, after all. The first time, it had been a grey cat which, for the life of him, he couldn't remember the name of. Next, it was a little puppy and, ten years ago, it was a small cat with bright blue eyes named Atlas.

They all died within ten years of their arrival. His little vampire took great care of them, but their mortal existence couldn’t be extended forever. Yet, every time, she would be devastated, mourning them for a long period of time. Just like she was doing tonight, in fact. Atlas had been buried earlier in the night. The poor girl was a mess sobbing in his arms. He gently rubbed circles in her back as she cried all the tears in her body. 

“Now, hush dear," he muttered with a soothing voice, “you gave it a wonderful life. I’m sure he is now thankful wherever he is.”

"Why did he have to go?" She sobbed even more.

"All mortals have to go, starshine, you know that," he reminded her softly.

The stark contrast between mortals and their kind was a truth they couldn't escape. Mortals, with their fleeting lives and fragile mortality, existed on a different plane altogether. They grew old and frail, their bodies succumbing to the relentless march of time, while vampires remained frozen in eternal youth, unchanging and immutable. Mortals came and went like whispers on the wind, leaving behind only the faintest traces of their existence, while vampires endured, their memories etched into the fabric of eternity. Dorian knew the pet would eventually die, just like the others. And yet, despite the inevitability of her passing, she still had them; her family. 

In the quiet darkness of the night, she sought solace in the embrace of the familiar, curling up in the comforting confines of Dorian's coffin. Her tears, silent witnesses to the turmoil that churned within her, traced shimmering paths down her cheeks. He petted her hair gently as Killian placed a kiss on her forehead. And just like that, everything was as it was before. She clung to them as she should.

She would always come to them in the end. Sometimes, it just took a little push, a reminder that mortal life was fleeting — and here she was once again, returning to them with a heart heavy with sorrow and tears.

She would come and they would be there.

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉

Does he bring her pets so she can watch them die on purpose as a form of punishment whenever she pulls away for too long?

'Nooooooo, of course nooooot,' Dorian says, u know, just like a dirty filthy lying liar who lies.

[petruchio]

genuine question, what makes taylor embarrassing?

ill put it under a cut i guess but:

idk i guess for me it started mostly all the matty stuff. it was just pretty gross to me. (idc if he thinks he’s an edgelord and claims it’s being ironic and he’s ~actually~ a nice guy behind closed doors. to me it doesn’t matter, because at the end of the day he uses his position of extreme privilege to draw more attention to bigoted racist platforms and that in it of itself just isn’t excusable to me.) (wrt to taylor though, her digging her heels in when people objected to his behavior and pushing it HARD in the media right after leaving her ex… that was just cringey. like aside from the legitimate criticism of the man himself, it was just embarrassing and weird.) then releasing a song about all that that basically just says “you can’t tell me what to do” (admittedly a banger of a track imo but … insane take on that situation.) so all that, compounded with the private jet usage (flying to nyc for one weekend to do a pap walk during your cross country tour) and then responding to THAT criticism with “it’s ok because sometimes i let my famous friends borrow it actually” and then recently the constantly releasing variants and manipulating the charts to keep her album number one (who am i to deny a girlboss from exploiting a rigged system but it’s like … it’s embarrassing!!) idk like sure she can do whatever she wants but it’s just sort of embarrassing to watch for me as a fan. she doesn’t feel cool or aspirational or even nostalgic to me anymore. most of the time it makes me cringe. which is a shame bc i do think she’s talented as a musician and usually pretty good at being A Celebrity and honestly i do still really like a lot of her music. but i have a hard time w a lot of her public behavior since the start of eras.

[itsallmouthwashing]

Tulpar (JimCurl Band AU) Playslist Expansions

Playlist here, Part Two here

I'm doing more than 5 for my first post on this because by god the WORMS. I'll try to do these consistently so we're all on the same page

Content warning for: mentions of assault, mentions of parent death, drug abuse, VERY ooc characters

1.) Kiss Me (Crawlers)- In between her studies, Anya has a hard time processing the feelings of her recent assault. Her boyfriend isn’t treating her well, overall uses her for sex when he’s pent up or stressed or whatever excuse he has for why he needs his dick sucked that night. One night she’s continuing to say no. Her boyfriend proposes a drink to cap off the night and drugs her, rapes her, and breaks up with her. She can't come forward about the assault for reasons (i haven't figured out whoops). It’s the song she performs for Jimmy to ‘prove her worth.’ She plays her own bass, does her own vocals, and Dai is on drums before his own audition (Curly lowkey helped her revise the song and work through it. Sometimes she would cry to him during the process and he would just hold her. When she auditions for Tulpar, it’s the first time she doesn’t cry when she sings the song.)

It really hits Jimmy in the heart as many of his ‘friends’ (people he felt close to but those people really didn’t want to be around him) had experienced or took care of others who were victims. Of course he tries to push these feelings aside and judge the song fairly (girl, it’s a banger, let her IN), and he convinces himself that his approval had nothing to do with the topic (it didn’t really, it was a banger)

2.) Ængus The Prize-Winning Hog (The Toxhards)- A silly song Curly wrote with Jimmy at the beginning of their Tulpar ventures. They passed it around back and forth between classes when they were together. One time they got caught passing notes and the teacher read the lines out loud. She really laid into them, accusing them of taking drugs and scribbling nonsense (Jimmy was also known for passing around bud at school if other kids asked for it. Curly got him to cut that shit out at school senior year but was convinced by Jimmy to keep getting bud for them and Dai and Aynya.)

It becomes their closing song when Tulpar goes pro and signs with Pony Express Records. Anya and Dai do chorus vocals!

3.) Be Careful What You Wish For (Bad Omens)- In return for Jimmy teaching screams, Curly teaches Jimmy to sing! This is a song Jimmy wrote after he apologized to Anya and Dai and Curly for the way he’d been treating them. Still on the fence about therapy but feeling heavy with his thoughts and feelings about what he’d done. He refuses to let Curly see it or workshop it with him (he tries to hide the fact that he’s writing at all) Instead, he comes to Dai and Anya! He performs his first draft for them, can't help but cry afterward and they give him hugs for a while. They workshop a little after he calms down. It’s almost never performance ready because Jimmy can't help but tear up after he sings it, but when Curly convinces him to sing at one of their larger concerts he still cries but the crowd is so enthusiastic about his performance and emotion that he starts t feel it doesn’t matter if he does cry on stage :)

4.) Through Hell (Melrose Avenue)- A song that Jimmy’s kept private for all of his life. Songwriting was a way for him to cope and process his feelings for as long as he could remember, and this song had been with him through the beginning. One day Curly and the crew find it and decide to surprise him during one of their concerts by learning it and performing it. Curly does the entire song! Jimmy joins in with his own screams and vocals at 2:28, and they sing the song together from there :)))))) Dai does background vocals throughout the whole song, so he’s the one singing along at the start. 

The whole time Jimmy is trying to keep up on his guitar- he knows the song by heart, but seeing his friends performing a song so so dear to him makes him feel whole. (Maybe canon Jimmy would find it disrespectful and get pissed. But this barbie thinks its moving)

5.) Vampire By Rumor (TX2)- Honestly this song is only on here cause I can't get the image of Daisuke doing this song as a halloween special “concert only” song for the fans. He’s dresses as a vampire, Jimmy is a zombie (he forgot about the song bit entirely, green and purple face paint was somehow on hand and he didn’t mind ripping holes in his shirt and jeans (said the fans go wild for the skin)), Curly is a cowboy (OF COURSE), and Anya dresses in bloody scrubs ("It's still in theme!" she argued when Jimmy pointed out it wasn't really a costume). Swansea even joins in the fun by dressing up! (he pins a paper scrap that says "costume" on his tech blacks)

6.) Forgotten (The Plot In You)- For sure one of their heaviest songs and Jimmy takes the lead. He wrote it after many years of processing his parents death. For a time he turned to drugs to cope with everything he was feelings, and after starting therapy and medication he wrote this song as a subtle promise to himself and their fans that he would stay clean

7.) At My Back (Madds Buckley)- The song Anya sings at Jimmy and Curly’s wedding :) Dai does ukulele and Anya does the drums as she sings :) 

8.) Gut Punch/Don’t Meet Your Idols (Everybody’s Worried About Owen)- Another song in the many Jimmy wrote after his parent’s deaths. Written after he apologizes to Anya and Dai. He performs it at a local open mic that (coincidentally) Anya, Dai, and Curly are at for drinks and to vent. The ‘idol’ in this context would be his dad. The crew agrees to keep it secret that they saw him, but end up being the loudest when he finishes. Thankfully he doesn’t notice them and thinks he’s just hearing things

9.) hover like a GODDESS (WILLOW)- Anya wrote this after a crazy hook-up with a girl at a bar. She realizes she’s queer and FULLY embraces it. Tulpar does an Anya-centric album 

10.) she knows it (Maggie Lindemann)- Another song Anya wrote and sings. Curly gets a girlfriend and Anya is falling head-over-heels for her (while Jimmy is getting so frustrated that Curly is with someone else). Depending on how long the relationship goes on for Anya tries not to stare at her while she sings but can't help it. Jimmy can't help but look at Curly

[microwave-core]

I've been plagued by thoughts about the cooking skills of the champions for some reason and have no choice but to write them down so here you go. Blue strikes me as the type of person who has the potential to be a great cook but rarely ever puts the effort in. He just doesn't care too much for cooking. He has other things to do and he can get food somewhere else. That being said, if he is cooking for another person, than he is going to go all out because he is a try hard. Complimenting his cooking gives him the biggest ego boost.

Red is a microwave cooker, as in at least 90% of his meals are going in the microwave. Average meal consists of a cup of noodles and a mug brownie. It's passable, it works enough for him and that's all he cares about. Dude lived on a mountain for a long ass time, he doesn't need luxury, he just needs to get by. He has a male living space, I'm sorry.

Lance is pretty average. Your not getting anything incredible out of him, but you know it's never going to be terrible. He also seems like the kind of person to eat the equivalent of chicken and rice for every meal almost every day of the week. He's not against making something else or eating out, but he would prefer to just make something quick and move on with his day.

Steven is banned from the kitchen. This man will burn water. Anything he touches will be scorched in an instance. Don't ask him how it happens, he doesn't know, his hands just turn ingredients to dust upon making contact, and no amount of supervision or guidance can save him. The only reason he should be manning a stove is to be making Bismuth crystals.

Wallace is a great cook and also loves cooking. He will make a banger meal, every meal, every day of the week, and he takes pride in that. He loves to cook for other people, both to show off and take care of them. He is also the only reason why Steven hasn't died of malnutrition. If they ever get divorced, Steven is in danger.

Cynthia would be on the better end of average. Still not anything incredible, but, again, you know it's never going to be bad. But she definitely seems like the type who would much prefer to eat out at any and every opportunity, especially with company. She doesn't dislike the act of cooking, she just doesn't like how long it takes.

Alder is a grill dad. At every event-family gatherings, league mandated meetings, Ghetsis' court hearing-he is outside and he is grilling. He's got the kiss the cook apron and sandals and everything. Whatever he makes, it is going to be delicious, and you will almost defiantly be sent home with tons of leftovers. Man is just dad shaped.

Iris feels like she ranges between incredible and terrible. As in, she will either make one of the most delicious things you've ever had in your entire life or the worst thing you've ever put in your mouth, and there is no in between. It's entirely dependent on what she makes, like she has some recipes that are baller and anything outside of that is risky at best. Also seems like the type who would make really good ramen.

Diantha is also a great cook, but she rarely has the time to do any actual cooking. Girl is way too busy juggling the work of being both a champion and movie star to set aside time to cook. She's almost always going to eat out, mainly around Lumious City. She's practically a regular at every major café, as she constantly cycles between them for each meal of the day.

Kukui is pretty good, but is also a group cooker. He needs to be cooking with another person, whether that be his wife, or his pokemon, or one of his many adopted children, or his actual child. It doesn't matter, he just needs to be with someone to talk and mess around with. it's lonely when no else is there.

Hau only eats Malasadas. It is the only thing he has consistently eaten for years. The fact that he is still alive is a mystery. People close to him are constantly offering to eat out because that is the only way he will eat literally anything else. It's not that he doesn't like other foods, or that he's a picky eater, he just really likes Malasadas.

Leon is on the lower end of average. He can usually make a passable meal, but he's gonna miss sometimes. He's also never at home, so he rarely even has time to cook with to begin with. However, as a baker? He's nothing short of immaculate. Easily the best baker on this list. He would win The Great Galarian Bake Off every year without any competition.

Geeta is an enigma. Is she good? Is she bad? Incredible? Terrible? Only she knows. She's also the type who barely ever has time to cook to begin with, being the workaholic that she is. She probably hasn't touched a stove in years, and has very little desire to change that fact. Do not ask her to cook, she will not do it.

[salvadorbonaparte]

2024 in Films Part II

The second quarter of 2024 and the films I watched during that time

April

Chuck Berry - Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987) - What I learned is that Chuck Berry was difficult to work with but probably fun to hang out with

Billy Joel: A Matter of Trust - The Bridge to Russia (2014) - Billy Joel ended the Cold War. Jokes aside a really good documentary about a historic tour and how music connects people across ideological and geographic borders. the song Leningrad hits very different now.

Next Goal Wins (2023) - the most underdog story to ever underdog story

Gran Turismo (2023) - What if gamers were oppressed???

Az Men Git Nemt Men (1982) - charmingly bad yiddish disco musical. As a living language, Yiddish has the right to have bad media produced in it. It doesn't just have to be serious, sad classics.

May

Batman Returns (1992) - Iconic

Batman Forever (1995) - Obsessed with the outfits

Batman & Robin (1997) - Obsessed with the outfits again

Chantal im Märchenland (2024) - Surprisingly fun

The Batman (2022) - Dark but like visually as well, couldn't see half the film. I rewatched The Lego Batman Movie immediately afterwards and it was such an experience. I also rewatched the Dark Knight trilogy the day before.

Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - Cute but I feel soo bad for Bill Pullman

July (I didn't log any films in June so I am including July in this quarter, sue me)

Psych: The Movie (2017) - I binge watched Psych in a worringly short time span and then binged the films in one evening. You know I am NOT normal about this because I screamed when Shawn had the glass fish in his office

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home (2020) - the totally legal website I watched this on kept recommending me Beethoven and Hachiko. Also seeing how they incorporated Timothy Omundson's stroke in universe and how he is recovering nearly made me cry. Also seeing the credits say James Roday Rodriguez for the first time also nearly made me cry

Psych 3: This is Gus (2021) - That ending is so chaotic and I hope they make a fourth film. "Previous Holiday" by Curt Smith is a banger

[is-this-even-relatable]

I’ve seen this a few times and I wanna address it. In the phandom, as a fan of Danny Phantom, you can be a fan however you want.

You’re not wrong for liking what you like. If you don’t care for AU’s and fanon and all the rewriting and fix-its and shipping… then good on you. If you watched the show as a kid and are a fan because you like canon and the show itself makes you happy, then good on you. If you discovered the show recently or as an adult and are diving into a new passion, then good. on. you.

We all love the show, or at least the concepts and vision behind it, that’s why we are fans. (especially the theme song, THAT I think we can all agree is a hecking banger.)

ASIDE 1: What this post is addressing is the concerns from some people who only like canon, or prefer majority of canon over fanon, about feeling left out of the phandom. I’ve also heard some people, who grew up with the show, who’ve said that Butch Hartman is their childhood hero, and feeling awkward and off to the side in the phandom, while people bash on him and the show.

While yes there are problems, and I truly recommend everyone who reads this looking up “Why don’t people like Butch Hartman?” or “What did Butch Hartman do?” and doing a bit of research on your own, this doesn’t mean you can’t still have that childhood respect.

It’s a bittersweet sort of thing, where someone doesn’t turn out to be as great as you’d envisioned they were. Where you have respect for them from the past, and are learning that they’re not who you thought they’d be, and you feel betrayed because maybe your trust was misplaced. But that’s not on you, and you shouldn’t be shamed for wanting to preserve that memory and keep the innocence of your childhood heroes alive.

I myself, have had a huge part of my childhood and formulaic memories, had to be reevaluated once I got older and realized that hey… that was definitely problematic. I was a kid, and didn’t know any better, but the organizers definitely did. I’m glad to have done it because those experiences really mattered to me, but I feel guilty for thinking that because I also now have the knowledge that it wasn’t right. Cultural appropriation is a huge disrespect to the things I thought I was respecting when I was young. So although I appreciate the memories and the time I spent and who it made me today, I can say for a fact I do not condone the ones who orchestrated it, because I have become an informed individual. Because I know better. So I will continue to love the ideals introduced to me, but I will go about it the correct way.

In that thread, I do think that it’s good for everyone to educate themselves on the media you consume, especially on subtle contexts and perhaps why some things get spread around like “butch hartman sucks” rather than just accepting or rejecting hearsay without confirming it for yourself. If you don’t know something, seek to understand it!

But, and I stand by this, any existing or future issues with the show’s aging or it’s creator does not give anyone the right to make any other person feel unwelcome. And if anyone, phandom or otherwise, yells and kicks and screams and or otherwise has a hissy fit at you for liking canon or anything like that… then fuck em.

Nobody can stop you from loving what you love! We are all on earth together, and you truly only live once. So don’t waste the amazing time you have doubting yourself. Don’t spend time reading and consuming content that you don’t want to. If you wanna read canon fics only, never reading crossovers, then you. go. damn. do it.

If you’ve never created anything in your life, never drawn a doodle or written a blurb, you are still a part of the phandom, and we are happy to have you. Leave comments, likes, and reblogs to show your presence and appreciation! Tell the content creators you like the most that you appreciate what they’ve done!

In the end, we are all just people, who one day found ourselves reading/watching/looking at a silly ghost boy who was just 14, and found that we couldn’t look away.

[pigtailedgirl]

Due South's The Deal and Frank Zuko. How to do character antagonist to focus on character.

Say hello!

The opener gives us insider knowledge unknown to us! We already see him as he blowhards and threatens to rule. No shame mobbing it up in a church. It seems sets up another Due South odd interesting villain.

Then hello again my old not friend. What the first inkling of his connection with Ray does, and this first exchange, is show and tell that this is the worst of the everyday evils. The kind that lurks in your life; through doors with smiles, and is forever waiting in your space.

I love how this immediately sets up the it's personal dynamic. He's trying to play with Ray, Ray's not having it but has to go along, story of life, and Fraser is here to butt in forcefully. (BTW , look at Zuko's displeased face at Fraser included!)

And then I wanna highlight something that isn't just shadows and lower camera res season 1. I posted before about the different framing of the seasons. Banger example upcoming.

All the times they do cut to reaction shot, a great many in DS. All the times we have highlighted Fraser's reactionary watching of others in a multiple person scene, a lot of watching Ray.

Like so

Instead, there is this.

Fraser off-side and blurred. By choice 100%.

This is very smart blocking and using the camera to tell character focus and frame.

What you think should be a brief focus shot of Fraser's reaction, what you expect, of watching their back and forth or a clear POV of his read... isn't. It keeps he's doing it, and it matters he's there and between and watching BUT pointedly the POV shown to the audience is it's not about him and what he thinks or feels on it all. Despite even Ray addressing him he's not included. We aren't supposed to be reacting WITH him so the camera obscures him in just the right way.

This is two back and forth, alone, and all the emotion stays focused there til it boils over and he finally comes into frame to interrupt.

But again not the center. He's between and aside and not hero framed or lighted.

Telling us from jump something is different this episode.

Perfection.

[thekingwhereitallends]

MitsuSara One Shot: Tsukuyomi x Amaterasu

Summary:Sarada crosses Mitsuki's path and aims to stop him from embracing darkness.

Main Pairing:Mitsuki x Sarada Uchiha

Genre:Fantasy,Sci-fi,Angst

*This is a fanfiction i finished and published on ao3 for valentine's day but since i doubt you clicked on the link to read the first chapter back then two months ago in christmas, i thought of uploading this banger here.

Don't be afraid of commenting. Likes and reblogs are appreciated.*

"The artwork is a christmas gift for me drawn by @scarletofspring . Do not steal/repost/use it without permission!*

Date:Nov.27th 2042

Primordial World

On the endless planet that exists in centre of the boundless creation, There is a boy praying for gods to lend him a power surpassed by no mortal, but those who know this boy are not certain if he is planning to be a savior or bringer of apocalypse. Mitsuki often wonders if he could really fight off the forces of darkness or not.

"Right on time." Mitsuki says an instant after finishing his prayer. Mitsuki looks back over his shouder to meet a person he cherishes more than any other. "I hoped it's Sumire who follows the traces and reaches me. But of course you will be the one who seeks me out."

"Mitsuki..." Sarada stands around 20 meters away from her friend, staring at her friend with crimson eyes that aim to penetrate the heart of the person in front of them in search of answers but fail miserably as the bearer of those eyes is hesitant.

"Been a while,Sarada." Mitsuki turns back. "I missed you dearly." Mitsuki wears a smile but Sarada can clearly feel the sadness that has shook her soulmate to the core.

Sarada wishes to pull Mitsuki in for a warm hug above all else, to weep bloody tears together with him and finally find solace in each other's arms. However, between Mitsuki and her there is an imperceptible barrier that prevents Sarada from reaching for Mitsuki.

Sarada can sense Mitsuki's dangerous thoughts but she knows Mitsuki will never lie to her.

"I felt a void with your absence for so long as well." Sarada looks away,but why?

"Once a person achives great chakra control, they are able to perform astonishing feats. For instance children will surpass adults, the shinobis will become highly resistant to genjutsu and the ninjas would last much longer than their peers with average chakra control. They can also do this..." Mitsuki snaps his fingers, Sarada finsa herself in a peaceful environment with Mitsuki. The seemingly endless dimension that constantly changes colors.

"The ability to enter Astral Plane. Over two thousand years ago, Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki were became the very first individuals to learn perfect understanding on mechanism of chakra which allowed them to evolve in extremely short amounts of time. By the age of 18, they were already 7th dimensional entities with limitless potential who kept ascending until they transcended the boundless creation. They left immeasurable avatars of themselves in each universe, to teach ninshu to all societies. The people learnt to enter this plane and by spending time together, came to settle all the matters and that resulted in global peace in so many worlds. Many of those worlds are free from evil and corrupted, and many other abandoned their beliefs." Mitsuki continues.

Mitsuki approaches Sarada, touching her chest where the heart is located with his index finger. "I don't even need to touch you here if my wish is to reach your heart. I can read all your emotions like an open book if i will it. But let me ask you one thing..." Mitsuki takes Sarada's hand in her's and places it on his chest. "Are you brave enough to put aside all those fears and do what you must do?"

Sarada closes her eyes to concentrate. Mitsuki realizes Sarada is ready to embrace her true feeling therefore he makes it easier for Sarada to read his emotions.

'Sorrow,Grief,Regret,Despair,Relief...and Jealousy...' Sarada thinks, resting her forehead on Mitsuki's chest, shivering as she can feel Mitsuki's feelings to a great degree. "Why?"

"I'm not the only person whose memories had been lost." Mitsuki speaks,which takea Sarada by surprise. "Let me show you what you have forgotten." Mitsuki's right hand finds it's way up to Sarada's left arm, lifting Sarada's chin up with his left hand's forefinger. "There..." Mitsuki points at his right side.

"That's..." Sarada watches a little girl wearing white buttoned shirt, red tie, red skirt and black sandals approaching a healing chamber filled with water, in a room drowned in dim dark blue light. Inside the chamber, there is a naked boy. The girl covers her eyes.

"Why don't you have anything on?" The little girl with red glasses cries as she covers the slight blush on her face.

Sarada's expression turns into an annoyed one as he witnesses that particular scene, dropping her shoulder. "Did you bring me here to piss me off?" Sarada gives Mitsuki a side-eye, which is funny to Mitsuki who chuckles seeing Sarada like this. "Yeah,that was intentional. Showing me my embarassing younger self."

"Just keep watching." Mitsuki utters, patting Sarada on top of her head. Sarada turns her attention to the tiny version of herself.

The little Sarada lowers her hands to see the boy out of sheer curiosity. "Woah..." Little Sarada murmurs, mesmerized by the sight of Little Mitsuki inside the water tank. His pale skin shining, captivating Sarada. 'He reminds me of Sai-san with this snow white look of his. But that white hair...gosh, i wanna fondle with his silky white hair so bad.'

Sarada and Mitsuki each raise an eyebrow when looking at each other. Sarada frowns, Mitsuki smirks.

"Please don't tell me i wasn't the only one who heard those words?" Sarada frets, which has Mitsuki roll in the aisles. Sarada too cracks up the instant she sees Mitsuki being greatly amused

"I always wondered if someone ever liked to play with my hair. That's one of reasons why i let it grow this long because i surmised you would be attracted to me. It seems the old you would've loved to bury her face in my hair." Mitsuki bubbles as he gently punches Sarada on the arm.

"Come on,you look fine as heck!" Sarada insists. "Honestly, i was searching to find the shampoo you use but i could never find it. I bet it is especially made for you, right?" Sarada continues, pinching Mitsuki on arm as she is laughing.

"I asked my parent to make me a super nutrient shampoo with the sweetest scent and after a few days, they came up with the proper formula. That's the whole story." Mitsuki responds. "Now now, don't let all distract you."

"Right." Sarada said.

"What are you looking for,Sarada?" Sasuke says, jumpscaring his little daughter.

"Gah...you know i am unable to sense your presence and keep doing this over and over again." Little Sarada yells, pouting as she folds her arms.

Little Mitsuki opens his eyes, gaining Little Sarada's attention as a result. Staring at Sasuke with his amber eyes, Mitsuki's gaze is devoid of any positive emotion but also not showing any sign of negative thoughts. 'Sasuke...san...'

"It seems this kid could do what you fail to do." Sasuke teases his daughter.

"You mean he woke up because he could sense your aura?" Little Sarada asks her father.

"Yes." Sasuke responds.

"Is he Orochimaru-san's son?" Little Sarada asks her father as he lifts her from the ground to hold her in his arm.

"That's right." Sasuke answered.

"Why is he inside this water tank?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"How long has he been inside there?"

"Ever since he was born. He can only stay outside of the healing chamber for less than a day and then spends the next couple of days inside it."

"That is awful."

"But it's good for his own sake."

"..."

Sasuke watches her daughter as she reaches for the glass to touch it. Little Mitsuki does the same, pressing his hand against the part of glass where Sarada's hand is touching it.

'What is your name?' Little Mitsuki thinks? interested in the girl who apparently does feel for him.

"When you were born,you too became sick. Your body couldn't handle the powerful chakra you inherited from me. Sakura and I decided to bring you to Orochimaru, who saved your life. You were here, inside the healing chamber. After four months, this boy was born therefore you had a company on your right." Sasuke tells her daughter what he remembers about Mitsuki's birth.

"And?" Sarada turns to Sasuke, with eager eyes waiting for Sasuke to finish his story.

"The kid carries a power matched by none of those in his generation...in your generation. It doesn't mean that you don't have the potential to reach his level, just that he's now a few steps ahead of you and your friends."

"But why has he inherited such absurd level of power?"

"Well,i'm not sure if i can answer this question. It's up to him to decide what to do with this unfathomable might of his. It could be a blessing for the people he comes to love and himself, or a curse that will only bring pain and suffering for everyone he knows. If you are lucky enough, he may end up befriending you."

"Hm..." Little Sarada starts to ponder.

"What do you think,Sarada?" Sasuke asks his daughter in a gentle tune.

'Sarada,huh?' Mitsuki thinks, grateful that he doesn't have to wait for a long time to find the girl's name and that he had learnt some speechreading in the past. 'Why do i care?' He was surprised at himself for being intrigurd after seeing the girl infront of him.

"I think i'd like to spend some time with him. He gives me the vibes of a cool boy. That's my first impression of him, mind you that no other boy seems like him to me."

'She thinks i am cool.' Mitsuki thinks, the words that just came out of Sarada's mouth relieves him.

"Don't you want to know his name?" Sasuke asks his daughter.

"You refused to reveal his indentity, how bold of you to ask me this question." Little Sarada replies, poking on Sasuke's forehead repeatedly which makes Sasuke chuckle. "No,thanks. I will ask the boy the next time i see him outside of the healing chamber. You keep in touch with Orochimaru-san, and then bring me here to see if the boy is as good as he seems or not."

"Fair enough." Sasuke responds. "Shall we leave?"

"Yeah." Little Sarada said as she wrapped her arms around her father's arms who started to walk away from Little Mitsuki's healing chamber. She waves hand at Mitsuki as she begins to carve the lonely boy's image into her mind. 'We will meet again,i promise.' Sarada thinks and the closes her eyes with a sad expression on her face.

"December 29th 2031. A couple of days later..." Mitsuki swings his sword and the thought vanishes to be replaced with another one.

"Ready?Fight!" Karin shouts, declaring the start of Mitsuki's and Sarada's sparing match against each other. The kids charg at each other, five hundred of times faster than speed of light.

Suigetsu is sitting in a corner chewing his fingernails, terrified of of what might happen to Sarada. 'If Mitsuki accidentally messes Sarada up, Sasuke will surely fuck Orochimaru up and we all may be fucked amidst that scary battle which looks more like a massacre to me now that i think of it...'

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk..." Karin is utterly disappointed to see Suigetsu in that condition until she figures what her husband may be thinking at that moment. 'Oh shit!' Karin freaks out.

Yoruza, Suigetsu's and Karin's red haired, pale skinned daughter with violet eyes is sitting close to her father, resting her chind on the palm of her hand. "Dad,get out of this drama king mood of your's and be the badass man you usually are."

Seina Shakudo; Orochimaru's red-haired of fair complexion with beautiful aquamarine eyes companion is standing on The Lord of Darkness' rightt side, drinking her her cup of tea. Not really amused by the sight of children fighting each other.

And then there is Jugo who finds all that is happening to be peak of entertainment. Birds taking seats on his shoulders, chilling with the peace-loving and kind-hearted beast. "You all better stop being so dense and enjoy these moments."

"I admire your spirit,Jugo. But as a mother who has not clue how this boy has been trained to fight, it's only natural for me to be perturbed." Sakura says.

"After the conversations i've had with my dear child, i deduced that someone has had an impact on his mindset. I'm afraid it will cost my son the inevitable victory. And i have no one to blame..." Orochimaru stops talking as they sees Little Sarada on top of Little Mitsuki "But Sasuke-kun." Sasuke's daughter punches Orochimaru's son in the face.

"OUCH!" Little Sarada lets out a groan. "What are you made of?!?"

"I...uh..." Little Mitsuki panicks as he sees his rival broke her hand and wrist because of him. "Sorry..."

"I told you that you all have a screw loose." Log yells at everyone else.

Sarada is left jawdropped agyrt seeing how her younger self was humiliated. "That was embarassing."

"Fastforward to the important part." Mitsuki says.

"It's okay. It was expected, you know. My mother healed my hand. Everything is fine now." Little Sarada telss Little Mitsuki as she putsbher hand on his shoulder.

"I promised your father i will never hurt you. That i will always protect you from anything that threatens your safety." Little Mitsuki says, his head buried between legs.

"Look,i don't plan on becoming a damsel in distress. I appreciate your concern but you don't have to feel guilty for what happened to me. I should've trained much harder and become stronger than everyone else, including you." Sarada asserts.

"Why?" Little Mitsuki asks

"Because my dream is to become the greatest hokage of all time, silly." Little Sarada said and booped Little Mitsuki's nose, the latter blinks after she did that to him.

"You sound incredibly passionate..." Little Mitsuki sighed.

"What's your dream?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You. Who else do you think is supposed to answer this question?"

"I don't have any dreams."

"Come on, don't be ridiculous. That life you're living is so boring if you have no purpose."

"I have been told that my birth was the will of gods. I guess you will have to be waiting till i find the answer you're eager to hear now."

"That's not what i wished for but i suppose it's still cool to know you too are going to have your own adventures. Why aren't you excited?"

"Perhaps the reason for that is i have yet to have a dream of my own.

"Oh...that...actually makes sense."

"Yeah..."

Little Sarada wrapped her arms around Little Mitsuki's arms and leaned onto his shoulder.

"I almost forgot... What is your name?"

"Mitsuki."

"I am Sarada."

"I know."

"I thought you were a cool guy."

"Did i disappoint you?

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"You may be even cooler than my papa."

"What?"

"I should be hating on you but i can't. I am angry at myself for that."

"Hmph..."

And then Mitsuki and Sarada come back to primordial world.

"Ada rewrote the history to alter my memories. Because of Kawaki, i was rubbed of so many precious memories but there was one constant in my life that didn't fade away:You." Mitsuki utters as he is unbuttoning his black and dark blue trenchcoat. "My brother made me think that Boruto is my sun. Boruto,son of Naruto Uzumaki who saved the shinobi world. Beacon of hope, child of prophecy, he has been given multiple aliases. Log thought that Boruto was the right person to guide me for he would never fall to darkness. Ada altered almost everyone's memories and in my mind, Kawaki was the person Boruto was supposed to be. Kawaki messed up, which made me question the nature of reality and i came to realize a subtle truth."

Mitsuki transports his trenchcoat into a dimension in which Mitsuki stored his weapons and tools using the summoning tag wrapped around his left wrist under the separate arm sleeves.

Showing off his shredded upper half, It's the first time to see Mitsuki with six tomoe marks on his chest. Mitsuki also wears a crescent moon necklace made of moonstone and silver that Sarada gifted him on his 13th birthday.

"The bond Boruto and I formed was never as strong as i believed it was. He was indeed a bright child who encouraged me at times and i considered him a dear friend of mine's, but he was living in his own world. He often didn't exist in my life. Boruto was never the sun to my moon because i never really idolized him, always made sure he learnt from his mistakes." Mitsuki asserts.

"But there you were. Perhaps i was drawn to you because of the genes i inherited from my parent Orochimaru who was always obsessed with Uchiha. But ever since we met and were put in the same team, i looked up to you and unconsciously followed your footsteps. You were the one who was guiding me all along. You were there for me when nobody else was. You loved to hang out with me not just to know me better but also to help me become independent. You wanted to be by my side because you found peace when we were together. Think about it..." Mitsuki continues.

Sarada shut her eyes, trying to make a sense out of all that came out of Mitsuki's words. Sarada never hated symbolism and metaphors,but rather that she believed Mitsuki was obsessed with them to no end. She hypothetized that the reason for that could be the loose sense of identity or lack of a defined purpose in life. However, after what she heard a few moments earlier,it seemed to her that Mitsuki had finally realized what his goal is.

"It doesn't matter if i truly am your sun or not. I'll make sure to become one to save you from the limitless void you are trapped in. That's my promise,Mikki." Sarada asserts,with a bright smile on her face.

"That's what i was talking about." Mitsuki shuts his eyes,wearing a half-smile.

"One thing that bothered me in this last four years was that everything was about Boruto and Kawaki. You distanced yourself from me and no matter how much i tried,i could not really figure out if you chose one of those idiots over me. Not that it makes much of a difference now. Had you not chosen separation,you wouldn't be here prepared to beat me into a pulp if that's what it takes to bring me back to the village." Mitsuki glowers.

"You know that's not true! Boruto is there fighting for his life and doesn't really have anyone out there to back him up if bunch of bastards decide to hunt him down!" Sarada insists.

"Boruto was far more powerful than you when he left and he had Sasuke-san on his side! You were only risking your life and almost got yourself killed because of Kawaki! There was no sane for you to do what you did in all those years! You should've had faith in Boruto and valued your life because without you,all hope will he lost!" Mitsuki yells at Sarada.

"What are saying..?"

"The cloud of optimism has blinded your judgement. You may be able to reason with so many people,but there will come a day you will not be capable of empathizing with someone. Either because they are irredeemable or that they don't wish to be saved...You can't save everyone,Sarada. It doesn't worth to risk your life in doing so,because it's upon Boruto as the man who is slowly beginning to truly understand Kawaki's pain."

"I highly doubt that you plan to spare Kawaki."

"Kawaki is much too dangerous to be left alive. I have to get rid of him before he manages to fully masters his powers. He is unhinged and unpredictable,i won't allow him to take the lives of my loved ones or any other living being."

"Mitsuki..."

"What did Ada do to deserve such a horrific death?"

Tears falling from his cheeks,Mitsuki covers his eyes. "Neither Code nor I could save her. I could only just to see how she lost the single ray of hope she had kept in her heart for all her life."

"It's never too late. We may be able to fix it all."

"Only if you follow my lead this time around."

"What is your goal?"

"My goal...is to achive true peace. Not just for humans but all living beings. That includes Otsutsukis as well. This is an ambitious goal. A revolution on multiversal scale."

"Are you out of your right mind? Humans, Otsutsukis and Tenkajoyos have antagonized each other for billions of years! There is no way you can put an end to this conflict so easily! There will be an interdimensional war like no other and countless lives will be lost!"

"What if the one who wishes to settle all the matters shares the same blood with the three species?"

"No way..."

"A hybrid with royal blood of three supreme species flowing in his veins shall be given the authority to rule over the creation itself. But before that,a sacrifice must be made."

"That's why you came here,huh?"

"You always wished to know about my heritage. You asked me if i had a mother or if it was my parent Orochimaru themself who gave birth to me and that i am not really a clone? You came up with so many theories and to be honest,they were weird but interesting nontheless."

Mitsuki summons his 2 meters long sword. Muramasa sword which is in it's sheath that is decorated with jewels and a kanji sentence "Seikyo no Kishin" written on it which translates to "Demon Death God".

"Everything you know about the nature of my birth is true, although it's half of all you should be aware of. I am a synthetic human whose genetics were modified to be perfect in order to carry the power of gods. I am a partial of clone of Toneri Otsutsuki,therefore i descend from Hamura and Mirina Otsutsuki. For your information,Mirina Otsutsuki was a princess but considered to be an abomination for mere fact that she was daughter of Otsutsuki King and Dragon Queen. Two thousand years ago she came to our universe in order to reclaim Kaguya's chakra but fell in love with Hamura who guided her to the path of righteousness and became one with her. The source of Mirina's power is from an ancient god that Tenkajoyo clan worshipped. He is called Ryujin,and in the last two eons ever since Hamura and Mirina,no one was ever able to draw power from that god. I am the first person since my paternal ancestors to muster the true might of both Otsutsuki and Tenkajoyo clans as a human being."

"You said paternal? Does that mean you have a biological mother?"

"Yes. Sometime before the birth of Boruto, my father Toneri became ill for a short period of time. Hinata-hime learnt about it and rushed to his side,and healed his wounds. My Father kept Hinata-hime's chakra inside himself for it was his share of the woman he unconditionaly loved, which partially transforming his genes just like your father whose life was saved by Karin-san and that became one of main two reasons you are wearing glasees."

"..."

"Listen to me, back then i always told you that i will always support your dream to become hokage but i learnt to see the whole picture. You should never be a hokage."

"Mitsuki,i know where you are coming from but i genuinely believe i can change the shinobi system!"

"Just like Naruto-san did,right?" Mitsuki mocks Sarada.

"What?" Sarada is caught off guard.

"This shinobi system is founded by a man driven by fears and ready to terminate whole bloodlines if that's all it takes to protect his nation. Let me tell you the story of a boy whose dream was to become the most powerful ninja of all time,to be a hokage who puts an end to all the war and conflict. Do you know what led to Uchiha Downfall?"

"My uncle Itachi slaughtered his clan because he was tired of shedding blood and sweat for them. He left the village and turned into a rogue ninja who shortly afterwards joined Akatsuki."

"It seems your father didn't tell you the truth. It was the government who ordered Itachi to eradicate Uchiha off the face of earth. Fourty years ago, it was masked man who summoned kyuubi and because of that person, thousands of civillians and shinobis were killed. Danzo speculated Uchiha clan were responsible for the tragedy,but he didn't know it was an outsider who did that. Obito was a chunin of the village,who was said to have given his life to save his friend Kakashi. He was saved by a mysterious man and became his shadow. Obito was Madara's puppet who aimed to destroy the village. The Uchiha inside were deemed guilty and were oppressed and ostracized,while Obito manipulated your grandfather's subordinates for his own benefit. Uchiha plotted a coup d'etat to overthrow Konoha government for treating them fairly,and there was Itachi who was a conflicted double spy forced to make the toughest decision one could possible make. Itachi did what he did to prevent a world war and deaths of millions of innocent children."

Sarada freezes.

Mitsuki has been staring at the ground and now turns his gaze to Sarada.

She is on the verge of crying.

"There is no need for me to tell you what our Tsubasa-sensei and Boruto went through. As long as this shinobi system exists, there will be child soldiers who have to make sacrifices. Races to be eradicated. Nations start wars because of difference in religious views, pillaging other territories for money, invading other regions to gain more influence, killing people out hatred or for revenge. Many do it just to enjoy seeing their victims perish. This cycle of suffering shall not end until someone stands up in the face of injustice and cruelty to fight back. I shall be the one who crushes the corrupted systems of all worlds. You have no place in such world. I won't allow you to serve a system founded on blood of countless innocent lives."

"What is the difference between you and Kawaki?

"I will not commit genocide. Kawaki's mindset is hypocritical in essence as he is ready to kill whoever stands in his way while be pretends he is only trying to save the village."

"But what if you die fighting for your ideals?"

"You and I are the same regarding that matter. I am not a suicidal maniac,but if my sacrifice is all it takes to turn my ideals into a reality then i will gladly give my life knowing everyone will be happy and safe."

"You know that i am not gonna let you do that,right?"

"Then join me,Sarada. Together,we can do anything. There is no need for you to oppose me."

"I can't do that unless i betray my ideals."

"I see..."

Mitsuki draws out Muramasa out from it's sheath. The scarlet-colored sword starts to shine,thirsting for blood. "It's said that Muramasa is a cursed sword that corrupts the wielder as the time passes,slowly turning them into ruthless murderers. But if the one is mentally strong enough,they are able to resist the temptations and use this weapon for justice. This is a weapon that bypasses indestructible defenses and targets the soul to erase the impurities. Before ascension, i have to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts and emotions to become a perfect vessel to host the powers of gods."

"Are you sure that's what truly wish for?" Sarada says as she activates her mangekyou sharingan.

"Those who wish to hurt you...I shall crush their dreams...no one has the right to take you away from me..." Mitsuki says as he stabs himself in the heart In order to break the seal that prevents him from reaching his fullest potential.

"Mitsuki!" Shouts Sarada as she leaps toward Mitsuki.

A torrent of water wraps itself around Mitsuki's body,the drops of water burn through Sarada's flesh,forcing her to jump back as she figures the water is not harming her friend.

"Curse the fate for this unforgivable plot!" Mitsuki utters,and the torrent of water pulls him inside the endless ocean of primordial world.

Sarada summons her Crimson Red Perfect Susanoo and reaches for Mitsuki only to stop in middle of air as she hears a warning in the back of her mind.

"That rivers of abhorrence, concealment, woe, lamentation and fire enter that ocean. If someone like you jumps into that,the best case scenario is they will be erased from the timeline instantly. Direct contact with that ocean in this place will be your doom." Says Katsuyu.

"What is Mitsuki planning to do,Katsuyu-san?" Sarada asks her mentor.

"I remember my grandfather telling me story of a mythological spear that was used to create worlds. Based on what i witnessed here,it seems the tale was a legend based on the weapon Hamura Otsutsuki created eons ego and buried it deep inside the cosmic ocean. It's said that the weapon can turn one into an omnipotent entity. If a person with dangerous ideology finds it,they shall gain the ability to shatter the very fabric of reality itself on a really vast scale. Ameno Sakahoko is the name of that spear."

"Are you implying that Mitsuki is destined to claim ameno sakahoko for himself?"

"Indeed. He is now bonding with the ocean and ameno sakahoko will become part of his identity, thus no one shall be able to steal it from him even if he dies. But even someone as talented as him should train three years to gain full control over such weapon."

Sarada senses a danger coming and flies backward.

An impact from the deepest pits of cosmic sends shockwaves that shake the entire planet, Mitsuki awakens and flies toward the sky, charging toward Sarada, breaks through her susanoo, wraps his arms arounds around Sarada's body.

In less than an attosecond, Mitsuki crosses three hundred sextillion kilometers to protect Sarada from running out of lifespan and falling to madness due to being so close to the ocean.

Mitsuki let's go out of Sarada and as he is falling on his knees, Sarada finds herself in another dimension. Not the universe they belong to. That seems to be a creation of ancient sages to her.

This was the plan to get out of the primordial world because it's environment puts devastating toll on Sarada's body due to unique laws of physics and metaphysics.

"Mitsuki..." Sarada says as he reaches for her friend.

As soon as Mitsuki's hands touch the ground, he enters his dragon sage mode. His new body adapting as he is summoning the strength of mayhem. The aura he releases so intense it could effortlessly shatter the fabric of reality. It only leaves a crater on the ground, rupturing the planet that is thirty times larger than earth.

'Mitsuki's chakra pool is comparable to Prime Juubi level in terms of potency. He is not joking around...' Sarada raises on her feet, levitating in air as the byakugou seal spread over her body and summons a body sized perfect susanoo.

Black clouds forming in the sky, bolts of lightning striking the ground as Mitsuki stands on his feet. Now looking more like a feral beast than a human being. Locking gazes with Sarada with determination.

"Time to settle this..." Says Mitsuki, as the heavenly jeweled spear appears in his left hand. "Sarada."

"If you say so..." Sarada summons Ameno Murakumo as well,prepared to go all out.

"I will never leave you alone. Not again." Sarada asserts.

Sarada leaps toward Mitsuki and targets his left shoulder, Mitsuki stands still,raises his left arm to block Sarada's sword attack and at the mean time waving hand signs. Sarada notices that and right when she thinks of flying away, a hand grabs her collar which shocks her. 'Shadow clone..!' Mitsuki's shadow clone slams her into the ground and drags her for thousands of kilometers till Sarada turns the tides and punches Mitsuki, a brawl starts in midst of air and the fighters exchange blows till Sarada's fist and Mitsuki's leg connect. Sarada uses her feet to slow down and finally stop her from moving any further. Mitsuki's shadow clone uses his claws to achive the same and charges at Sarada similar to a hungry predator.

Sarada weaves seals using her left hand to create four shadow clones of her own. Her clones corner Mitsuki's clone while she turns back to react on time to block a punch from Mitsuki, who flips on Sarada's shoulder and kicks her on the back and jumps up to the sky. Sarada turns around and figures Mitsuki's waving hand signs again. 'Dammit...he is too fast...'

'Water style:great water dragon jutsu!' A sea of water taking form of a dragon and roaring as it attacks Sarada. Sarada leaps backward and waves tiger hand sign. 'Fire style:majestic destroyer flame jutsu!' The two jutsus of opposing elements collide and cause steam to cover a vast area.

'Summoning art:shadow snake assault jutsu!' Serpents start raising from under the ground to grab Sarada by her feet. Sarada flies away and slashes through several hundreds of them. 'Lightning style:Chidori senbon!' Sarada shoots a rain of blades down on the snakes and then targets Mitsuki's using the same jutsu.

'Not bad...' not bothering to dodge, Mitsuki's clone allows chidori senbons to hit him and Sarada witnesses how all of them shatter and turn to dust. Mitsuki's clone smirks and creates a bow made of purple lightning with his left hand and with his right hand creates a purple arrow,aims at Sarada before she gets to chance to charge toward him and prevent him from using this technique. 'Lightning style:rain of death!' The arrow flies at an incredible speed and Sarada is left with no chance but to flee and hide behind the planets nearby. Mitsuki's uses shadow clone jutsu to turn that arrow into twenty thousand unstoppable blades that penetrate stars and planets, causing a series or catasthropic events in the solar system.

Sarada stops moving in midair, shields her body with her susanoo's wings and releases a massive shockwave that obliterates all the incoming purple lightning blades along with the solar system Mitsuki and her were in.

'Yasaka no magatama!' Sarada summons eight extremely dense crimson tomoes, and fires them at Mitsuki's clone.

The dragon sage substitutes himself with his clone after dealing with Sarada's shadow clones, catching the uchiha prodigy by surprise.

Mitsuki swings ameno sakahoko seven times and one by one, the yasaka no magatama disappear and that leaves one. Mitsuki slices through the fabric of space infront of himself, opens a portal infront of himself and bridges it to another spot in space behind Sarada's back, the last tomoe connects with Sarada's body and leaves a massive explosion, sending her toward Mitsuki.

Mitsuki charges at Sarada and delivers a roundhouse on her chest just to see her turn into a large murder of crows. 'Itachi-san must be proud of her.' The crows start engorging then their eyes turn red, and they blow up at the exact same time.

Mitsuki flies toward Sarada at a blinding speed but Sarada is able to react on time and catch his hands before he can land a hit on her. "You can't gain the upper hand on me using distractions,Sarada."

"About that..." Sarada leans back a bit, gathering a chunk of chakra in her head then headbutts Mitsuki on his forehead, cracking his horn as a result and knocks him back, forcing him to retreat and get a few meters away from Sarada.

"Tch." Mitsuki grunts, his horn is healed instantly. "Not bad." Mitsuki admits.

"You used hand signs three times before casting those jutsus. I was paying attention to see if i can find slightest distortion in flow of your chakra. It appears that you no longer need to wave hand signs at all." Sarada deduces based on what she witnessed earlier in the fight.

Mitsuki smirks. "Show me why Sasuke-san is so proud of you."

An explosion.

An instant later, Sarada sees an ocean of water beneath her feet, several hundred kilometers away from Mitsuki and her.

Just as Sarada's intuition warns her to move away, a gigantic serpent made of water grabs her and tries to bite and penetrate her thick susanoo armor just for the watet serpent to break it's fangs. The serpent slams Sarada into the ocean.

Mitsuki raises his right arm and starts spinning ameno sakahoko above his head right as his water serpent catches Sarada. In the empty void, Mitsuki generates an astronomical dragon made of purple lightning that dwarfs the sun in Mitsuki's and Sarada's timeline. "It's gonna sting, Sarada."

Not allowing Sarada the chance to break free from hold of water serpent, Mitsuki's dragon roars and dives into the ocean. The temperature is so high that all the water gets vaporized shortly upon impact. The absurd electric current that reaches twelve orders of magnitudes passes through Sarada's body.

Mitsuki watches as Sarada heals from the mere flesh wounds, showing no sign of fatigue or dizziness. Mitsuki can sense that Sarada is only annoyed, glaring at him with her cursed crimson eyes that are beacon of hope.

The anger fuels Sarada's motivation and makes her chakra more potent than before. Sarada claps her hands and summons an asteriod with density of trillion kilograms per meter and around the same size as the moon. The asteroid hits Mitsuki on the back and Sarada flies upward and charges toward Mitsuki to punch him in the chest so hard that he is sent flying backward and the asteriod gets obliterated.

Mitsuki enters a blue star and starts to manipulate it's core, absorbing all elements except for iron. Boosting the speed of chemical process and breaking the balance between radiation and gravity inside the core of the blue star, Mitsuki forcefully causes a supernova explosion that lays waste to the entire solar system.

A feat impossible for normal shinobis. In fact, one has to possess extraordinary imagination prowess and genius intelligence along with chakra reserves on par with kurama.

Mitsuki then concentrates all the mass in surrounding space into a single spot, creating a singularity with infinite density, giving birth to a black hole using his incredible mental prowess and chakra control. The black hole quickly grows bigger than the planet they landed on after leaving the primordial world. Mitsuki kicks the black hole and shoots it at Sarada.

'Dammit...' Sarada takes a deep breath, draws ameno murakumo from it's sheath and coats it with golden lightning. She swings it and sends a barrage of lightning bolts inside of the black hole.

The particle-antiparticle pairs inside the black are pulled outside of it as Sarada commands it. Sarada prevents the destruction of those pairs, therefore black hole starts to shrink and loses mass rapidly. An event that would usually takes gogols of years to happen, occurs in matter of seconds. The bearers of chakra and those who can mold nature energy in their body are able to bend the laws of physics, and that way a bolt of lightning can be shot faster than light. For instance, Hagoromo was able to travel infinite distance in a mere instant using no space-time jutsu, relying only on sheer speed gained after rigorous training and perfecting his chakra control in his teenage days.

Evaporation of black hole. The tremendous dark sphere dies in a blaze of glory, and it's destruction serves no purpose other than releasing all the energy it absorbed just moments earlier.

It appears that not even the cosmic radiations have any sort of effect on Mitsuki and Sarada. If ordinary ninjas with limited knowledge on the capacity of potential of carrier of chakra were to witness clash of dragon sage and uchiha prodigy, they would think they are looking at two invincible gods who will fight to the end of eternity.

However, Mitsuki and Sarada are fully aware of each other's capacity. The battle's only just getting started.

Mitsuki tilts his head to crack his neck, shrugging his shoulders as ameno sakahoko disappears.

Sarada pulls out her susanoo's twin katana from the sheaths on her back and sets them on fire. Not any ordinary fire but holy fire that is summoned from heaven itself. Sarada is the first uchiha who gained possession of this divine blessing unlike her predecessors who could only wield inferno flames.

"Just as i expected." Mitsuki grins, and makes his own twin katanas with ice style. "You truly are different from the rest of the uchiha."

"Come!" Sarada declares.

Mitsuki and Sarada let out their battle cry that shake the sky, charging toward each other.

The swords connect and release a shockwave that crush the universe to oblivion. They start exchanging strikes as they move and cross different corners of the cosmos.

After three minutes, Mitsuki manages to lock one of Sarada's flame swords with his ice swords. Sarada aims to pierce Mitsuki's abdomen. Mitsuki absorbs the holy fire.

'What?' Sarada is surprised to see that.

'Of course he can do that.' Lady Katsuyu says in spiritual plane shared between her and Sarada.

'What is that supposed to mean?!?'

'You see, the otsutsuki may not be safe from your holy fire, neither are the tanjoyoko. Mitsuki breaks the rule because he not only bathed in ocean of primordial world, but also awakened his divine genes passed down to him by Hamura Otsutsuki who is the supreme ruler of not just primordial world but also heavens too.'

'You mean he's...like what...fireproof now?'

'I guess that'll be a correct way to describe his current state.'

'Amazing..! Do you know anything else about the abilities he may have gained after using cheat code?'

'Luckily for you, he didn't have enough time to obtain invulnerable body. He can't summon water from primordial water nor can he open a portal to that place.'

'That means i have to beat him or i'll look like a total fraud if i lose and...'

'...'

'Forget it.'

"Too dull!" Mitsuki murmurs and then starts kicking Sarada on the chest, first right foot then left foot then right foot again. Mitsuki finishes the combo by doing a side flip kick and moves toward Sarada for another combo.

Mitsuki delivers a raising uppercut on Sarada's jaw with his left fist and hits her with another side flip kick.

Mitsuki turns his katanas into a warhammer and smashes it into Sarada's chest, sends her flying to other side of universe. Sarada crashes into the barrier that separates this universe from the void of multiverse.

The left side of Sarada's jacket is torn apart after the attack, and six of her lower ribs broken. Sarada takes her jacket off and throws it away. Mitsuki flies toward him and the moment he sees Sarada's necklace, he freezes in midair.

"You didn't think that i forgot about this,did you?" Sarada grunts as she heals her broken ribs, with a sad expression on her face.

"I always preferred to believe that it was the most precious gift you have ever received from anyone." Mitsuki responds, a glum smile appears on his face.

"Like the necklace you are wearing,huh?"

"Yeah..."

Date:Mar.28th 2039

Over fourteen months has passed since the day Kawaki sealed Naruto and Hinata inside Isshiki's timeless dimension. So many people are still unable to cope with the fact that their lord seventh and byakugan princess were killed in their own village, at the hands of the boy they adopted and cherished as if he was their flesh and blood. That is what the leaf village believe to be the reality, for majority of them that is the case.

The streets have not been so unwelcoming and gelid for those who mourn the death of their beloved heroes.

And then there are certain individuals whose hearts are filled with sorrow and regret for different reasons. Those who remember what truly happened, those who can see the true enemy.

'For how long am i supposed to pretend that i don't want to knock Kawaki's teeth out? I don't even know if dad is doing well? I hope that idiot Boruto isn't annoying dad with his foolish antics. Gah, i hate worrying about that heedless gremlin of all people while i should be keeping an eye on the sassy emo boy.' Sarada thinks as she walks down her path to home with hands in her jacket's pockets, looking down, not paying attention to her surroundings.

A boy wearing dark out fit approaches Sarada that brings her out of her thoughts with his cold but stable aura. Sarada is not a sensor but there is one presence she's quite familiar with. Each and every single fiber in Sarada's body are sensitive to the chakra that belongs to the person she spends the most of her free time of duty period: Mitsuki.

To Sarada, it seemed like Mitsuki was gonna walk past her but he stands on her right side and stays still, not saying anything nor looking at her at all.

"Your ears." The first words that come out of Mitsuki's mouth.

"Oh, the earring holes... My mother asked me if i wanted to pierce my ears and wear earrings, i thought it wasn't a bad idea." Sarada says. "Sharp eyes."

"I assume Sakura-san's already have something for you as she came up with this idea days before you celebrate your birthday." Mitsuki speculates. 'Sasuke-san is the one who gifts you a pair of earrings, i suppose...' Mitsuki thinks, refuses to say that to Sarada as that will only upset her.

"I guess you are right." Sarada replies. "That dark purple nail polish looks good on your hands."

"You can thank my parent later if you ever met them again."

"Orochimaru-san really is a classy one. You sure have inherited that fashion sense from your mysterious parent."

"I wish that means you are one of few who don't hate my parent."

"There's no reason for me to be scared of the current Orochimaru-san. I'm just wary of them because...well...they seem to be overly secretive and tight-lipped."

"Hmph. Is that so?" Mitsuki asks, then wears a mischevious grin.

"In their defense, they probably act this way to appear charming in people's eyes." Sarada replies, raises her hands in air and shrugs her shoulders.

"Just like me, right?" Mitsuki asks as he puts his left hand on his hip and leaning a bit to the left side

"Yes." Sarada says, smiling.

"Ada is waiting for me. I wished they would give us a break, but crime never sleeps."

"Do you two weirdos get along with each other?"

"If it continues like this, i guarantee you will eventually be jealous of Ada."

"Don't you dare replacing me with that ticklish damsel, Mikki."

"Now that you mention it, i don't see Sumire around. You two are always supposed to be stuck. Strange to see you here walking around all by yourself without your new bestfriend."

"..."

"..."

Sarada scratches back of her head, unable to come up with a cool comeback. Mitsuki pats her on shoulder and starts to walk away.

"See you around." Mitsuki waves hand.

"Take care." Sarada says loudly.

 

Date:Mar.31th 2039

Sarada's birthday party was oddly pleasant for everyone excluding Ada who was uncomfortable in public, and Mitsuki who has began to get annoyed by loud noises.

Sarada picked up and put all the gifts she received in her bedroom with help of Mitsuki decided to be the last person leaving.

Sarada and Mitsuki come out of the room, seeing Sakura who has finished cleaning the house.

Sakura has her back pressed against the wall and staring at the teenagers, arms folded infront of her chest.

"Sakura-san, may i borrow your daughter for a couple of minutes?" Mitsuki asks Sakura who raises an eyebrow.

"Where are your manners, Mitsuki?!" Sarada asks Mitsuki and grabs his wrist, her eyes twitching.

"...Please."

"That feeling of objectification has not faded away, you know."

"That was a figure of speech, Sarada."

"You better watch your tongue the next time."

"I'll try."

"That's not enough."

"Deal with it."

"You-"

"Oi!" Sakura lets her voice be heard.

"Yes, ma'am." Mitsuki and Sarada say that at the same time.

"You better hurry up, or you'll have to feel the wrath of strongest kunoichi in konoha."

"Gotcha!" Mitsuki wraps his arm around Sarada and teleports away.

"Silly kids..." Sakura sighs.

Mitsuki's destination is hokage rock and he lands on top of Minato's head.

"I admit that you are hella fast." Sarada says as she turns to Mitsuki.

"Save that for later. Close your eyes."

"You better not be planning to steal my first kiss, Mikki." Sarada says, pouting.

"Haha, we laughed mad loud for a bit." Mitsuki responds in a mocking tone. "I'm barely thirteen, uchiha-san." Mitsuki pokes Sarada on forehead.

"Ouch." Sarada rubs her forehead. "That was me being sarcastic."

"And that poke was to show you i have class." Mitsuki takes Sarada's hands in his own hands and covers her eyes with the palms of her hands. "No peeking."

"Let's see what you've got for me." Sarada says, a shade of sarcasm apparent in her warm and loud voice.

"You are allowed to open your eyes now."

"Uh-oh..." Sarada slowly lowers her hands and gradually and hesitantly opens her eyes, her heart pounding so hard she feels like it will explode. She is embarassed at herself for being unbelievably excited. 'Future hokage? Puff, jokes on me. I am nothing but a baby.'

"So?" Mitsuki asks, now with a gentle tone.

"Just like what Tsubasa-sensei is used to say: Magnificent!" Sarada responds as she reaches for the marvelous treasure in Mitsuki's hands.

Mitsuki's gift is a necklace. Thin gold chains with a eight-pointed star shaped symbol made of sunstone in red color. It is certainly not the most expensive gift Sarada has received, but probably her favorite after the earrings she is wearing that are created by her father.

Mitsuki goes behind Sarada and clips the necklace around Sarada's bare neck. Sarada shakes uncontrolably at touch of the metal but soon a phenomena catches her onyx eyes.

After Mitsuki finished putting the necklace on Sarada's neck, the star shaped gem starts shining bright. It really does fascinate Sarada.

"Let me guess,you made this cutie yourself." Sarada assumes.

"Yes." Mitsuki says, smiling.

"Did you use yin-yang release method or..."

"I mastered the craft. It took me two days but it seem it did worth it."

"You kidding? I fricking love it so much."

"You're welcome."

"Oh...you used this symbolism again..."

"..."

"Don't get me wrong, i know my mangekyou sharingan has the same shape as this symbol, but still....i...i just...i dunno."

"No,you are right. Your eyes inspired me. Nothing more, nothing less."

There comes a suffocating silence. The wind blows Mitsuki's hair, hiding his golden eyes from Sarada.

Sarada runs her fingers through Mitsuki's hair and slides it to side so she could see his beautiful face. Sarada caresses Mitsuki's cheek, wrapping one arm around his neck and one around his waist, pulls him into a hug, embracing his cold body in her toned arms.

"Thank you...for everything." Sarada says as she holds Mitsuki tighter.

Mitsuki doesn't move, just rests her chin on Sarada's shoulder.

Date:Present Time-Nov.27th 2042

Mitsuki remembers some moments from the past he cherishes, losing focus on the battle, allowing Sarada to gain the opportunity to wave hand signs needed to cast shadow clone jutsu.

Ten shadow clones surround a distracted Mitsuki and jump on him and start beating him up for mere seconds until Mitsuki uses substituition jutsu and gets in iajutsu stance after summoning ameno sakahoko.

"Eliminate all!" Mitsuki disappears from Sarada's sight.

Nearing infinite speed, Mitsuki flies around the universe and slashes through Sarada's shadow clones in a omnidirectional series of attacks, slicing through space itself and disregards their durability, watching Sarada's shadow clones vanish one by one in matter of an instant.

Sarada summons her perfect susanoo again along with gunbai before Mutsuki could cast Wind Style: Great Wind Whirlwind jutsu, expelling the chakra she kneaded in her body into holy fire and uses the chakra of Mitsuki's own attack to cast Fire Style: Great Fire Whirlwind jutsu, creating three enormous whirlwinds that knock Mitsuki back.

Sarada appears behind Mitsuki, strengthening the force of her punches by casting Earth Style: Ultra Added-Weight Rock jutsu and concentrating tremendous amount of chakra that she has been storing in byakugou seal in the last two years, into them and strikes Mitsuki in stomach so hard he crashes through the barrier of universe that shatters.

Mitsuki has no time to recover as his back hits the barrier of another universe.

"Channaro!" Sarada begins to deliver a remorseless and devastating flurry of punches as she shouts angirly at the friend who does not regret leaving her. Sarada screams because she can't forgive herself for hurting Mitsuki, for all there is that she can do is to try beating some sense into her beloved companion. Sarada has to convince Mitsuki what he is doing is wrong, because if she fails to do that, there is a strong chance he will die.

Sarada is afraid of that possiblity and she will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

"GIVE UP!" Sarada yells at Mitsuki, striking him with the palms of her hands, sends him flying until he freezes in midair, gasping for a few moments and starts coughing blood, covering his mouth with his hands as he transforms back to the first stage of dragon king sage mode.

The hanging crescent moon necklace brings back Sarada to three years ago...

 

Date:Jul.25 2039

It's early in the morning, everyone is asleep while the sensory division are watching over the village. Nothing can be heard but the dawn chorus of birds.

'Is there something wrong?' Kohan asks Mitsuki telepathically using mind body transmission technique and chakra transmission communication device that expands the range of yamanaka clan's hiden jutsu and allows the sensory division to make contact with those who are fifteen kilometers away from the leaf village.

'No. Everyone's sleeping.' Mitsuki responds, standing in Ada's bedroom, barely a couple of feets distance between them.

'The night shift is over. You may leave now. I will make contact with Sarada and Sumire.'

'Yes, sir.' Mitsuki approaches Ada who has wrapped arms around a pillow, and puts a blanket over her. Mitsuki caresses Ada's cheek with back of his fingers.

Mitsuki is assigned to this mission not to befriend Ada and Daemon literally but to pretend that he loves to spend time with them and genuinely likes them.

Perhaps Mitsuki isn't of the kind who considers not hurting feelings of the people as he is logic-driven and blunt, that doesn't indicate he lacks empathy for certain individuals who share similar experiences with him.

Ada is a conflicted person and her thirst for love is something Mitsuki relates to. Mitsuki often thinks that he is alone in the world, and he can see that Ada is dealing with the very same irritating sense of melancholy.

Ada is skeptical but also optimistic at the same time. She claims that keeping silence is a wise move but when she is with Mitsuki, she becomes chatty and can go on and on for hours. Ada says she hates fighting but won't bat an eye if someone were to be killed for opposing her.

Mitsuki perceives Ada as a paradoxical existence who reminds him of not just himself but also Tsubasa Emiya, his genius mentor.

Mitsuki was able to bond with Ada because he truly believed that she deserves to be given a chance. He wishes happiness for Ada and considers her to be his companion.

At first, Mitsuki was yet another "cool guy" for Ada but shortly after she started to fraternize with him, Mitsuki grew on Ada. Ada tends to refer to Mitsuki as her Darkest Knight, and prefers keeping company with him than anyone else in konoha as he understands her the best and is always frank without being rude.

Mitsuki walks out of the bedroom, mentally stressed.

Mitsuki comes out of the house and spots Sarada who has her hands behind, Mitsuki knows that she is hiding something from him that will only just confuse him.

"You like to keep me waiting. I don't." Sarada approaches Mitsuki with firm steps and an awkwardly fierce look on her face.

Sarada stands close to Mitsuki, her chest almost touching his, gazing into his eyes.

"Okay..." Mitsuki murmurs.

Sarada is glad that Mitsuki can read her mind and save her the trouble of explaining herself and what she wants to say most of the time. And now Mitsuki shuts his eyes, without even being told to do so.

Sarada gently puts on a necklace on Mitsuki's neck and then pokes on his forehead.

"Here you go." Sarada says with enthusiasm, grinning.

Mitsuki lowers his head to look at the necklace Sarada gifted him.

Thin silver chain and a crescent moon shaped symbol made of moonstone that is glowing.

"I saw it coming and it still baffles me." Mitsuki says, looking at Sarada with a curious expression on his face.

"At first, i was really not interested in that sun and moon symbolism you are so obsessed with. But after my birthday, i don't really mind it." Sarada asserts, Mitsuki raises an eyebrow hearing that. "Because you are the moon. Don't waste your time on Boruto and Kawaki, you are my moon."

Mitsuki is left speechless, drowned in a sea of thoughts and doubts. Mitsuki hates when he can't find a proper answer.

Sarada leans forward and marks Mitsuki's left cheek with a gentle kiss.

Mitsuki presses his forehead against Sarada's with his eyes closed. Sarada interlocks fingers with Mitsuki's to comfort him. From time to time, Mitsuki forgets just how desperate he is for the warmth in Sarada's touch.

"Happy Birthday, Mikki."

"Yeah."

"You love it, right?"

"Absolutely."

 

Present Time

Mitsuki stares at his bloody hand in disbelief.

"You are pound-for-pound the single strongest person i have ever fought." Mitsuki admits and then covers his face with his left hand, his body still trembling because of the damage inflicted onto him.

"Hehehehehe..." Mitsuki starts laughing in a hair-raising manner, shaking Sarada to the core. "HAHAHAHAHAHAH"

Mitsuki's laughter is no longer sweet or genuine. It is sinister, twisted. He has finally snapped.

"THIS ENTIRE TIME YOU COULD'VE MOPPED THE FLOOR WITH SO MANY BASTARDS BUT YOU CHOSE TO WAIT JUST TO GO ALL OUT AGAINST ME?!?" Mitsuki shouts at Sarada, making her break into sweats.

'The ritual is now showing it's side effects.' Katsuyu says in the mental plane.

'Since Mitsuki couldn't fully rewrite his DNA, his mind is unable to withstand the pressure of the incomplete power of primordial ocean bestowed upon him. Is that what you were gonna say, Katsuyu-san?' Sarada says, clenching her fists.

'You have to put an end to this fight. Mitsuki is unhinged, far too dangerous than he has ever been.'

'Are you done?'

'Yes.'

'Good.'

Sarada returns back from mental plane and sets her eyes on Mitsuki.

"I will save you, Mitsuki." Sarada insists.

"I don't want you to save me, Sarada." Mitsuki asserts.

Sarada forms a rasengan in her right hand, and makes it bigger than planet earth itself.

Mitsuki gathers chakra in his left hand and transforms it into stream of black electricity.

Sarada attacks with her ultra big-ball rasengan, Mitsuki quickly flies towards it and tries to deflect the planetary sphere using his dark chidori as he lets out a cry of rage.

Mitsuki releases an electric discharge from his left hand, cancelling Sarada's rasengan as a result.

Mitsuki spots Sarada who shots an arrow after amplifying it's speed with wind style, using a red bow that is her perfect susanoo's special weapon, it travels so fast space around it is distorted. Mitsuki summons muramasa sword and cuts the arrow in half, and the two halves of arrow melt away instantly.

Mitsuki cuts his forearm open with muramasa sword before it starts to thirst for Sarada's blood, boosting his physical prowess and strengthening his chakra by boiling the energy flowing within him, Mitsuki transports back muramasa sword to the spiritual plane and charges at Sarada.

Sarada tries to defend herself from Mitsuki's punch with her bow, but the dragon sage's claw breaks it apart. Mitsuki punches Sarada on abdomen, then on face, then uppercuts her and at last delivers a knee kick.

"What is it that motivates you? Is it the urge to prove that you are not powerless and can save everyone around you? Or the overwhelming guilt you feel because Ada was killed and i went rogue?" Mitsuki yells at Sarada as he is grabbing her arms.

"Cut it out!" Sarada shouts at Mitsuki as she digs her fingernails into his neck and shoulder.

"Why are you so obsessed with Boruto and Kawaki?!"

"WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH ME?!?"

Mitsuki grits his teeth upon hearing that question and lets go of Sarada.

"Back then, you were worrying about Boruto the whole time, always told me that Hinata-san asked you to look after her reckless son. Kawaki came, and your desire to mimic seventh hokage became a reason for you to befriend Kawaki. You know that he regrets nothing at all, and you still wish to believe that there is still good in him." Mitsuki says, with a devastated look on his face.

"You said it yourself the best. If i lose my grasp on hope, i'll be nothing but a shell of my true self. Kawaki can pretend that he is all tough and merciless, but deep down he is the same broken child desperate for slightest bit of parental affection. His ideals are twisted but with Boruto's help, he can change for the good." Sarada claims, her lips curle into a smile , wearing a saddened expression.

"Ridiculous."

"You are so difficult."

Mitsuki and Sarada fly away in opposite directions without turning their back on each other.

Mitsuki and Sarada puff steam breaths, the first being of ice and the latter of fire.

"Who would've thought we would use those two techniques on each other?" Mitsuki says, releases tremendous amount of dark energy that takes form of an endless cold steam reaching thermodynamic temperature to absolute zero.

"You did, didn't you?" Sarada asks Mitsuki, as she expells gigantic amount of light energy that spreads around the space behind her, transforms into holy fire reaching the planck temperature.

 

Date:Sep.11th 2040

Ada is in the hall, sitting on the nine seater, drinking apricot banana smoothie through a straw.

"Here, have a sip." Ada offers Mitsuki to take a small mouthful of her drink.

"You don't have OCD?" Mitsuki asks Ada.

"I'll make an exception this time around." Ada says, outstretches her right arm and rests it on top of the sofa's frame.

Mitsuki leans in, tucks his hair behind his ear and puts his lips on the red straw, drinks a sip of the smoothie.

"Very appetizing." Mitsuki confesses, licking his lips.

"I might open my juice bar one day. Who knows maybe you will be there to lend me a hand in work." Ada says, giggling.

"If only thery was no tension in this world..." Mitsuki says, sighing.

Mitsuki outstretches his left arm and rests it on the top of sofa's frame.

Mitsuki and Ada put on one leg over the other at the same time, sitting crosslegged.

"That's what happens when you are together." Daemon says loudly as he jumps on the sofa and sits next to Ada. "You should never be left alone all by yourselves."

Then appears a man infront of the teens, jumpscaring Daemon.

"You-" Daemon is cut off as another one pops up out of nowhere.

"Your progress is awe-inspiring, Houki." Tsubasa says. "Keep it up and you will surpass some of your predecessors."

"That is only possible because of you, Tsubasa-sensei. You have my sincerest gratitude." Houki says.

"Hello everyone." Tsubasa says, patting Houki on his back.

Daemon disappears, sticks to the roof and leaps toward Tsubasa to hit him just to phase through his body.

"Are you a wizard or something?" Daemon asks Mitsuki, frowning.

"I am a sage of six paths." Tsubasa replies to the kneeling boy. "Ada."

"Handsome." Ada responds to Tsubasa.

"Keep this mini goblin away from me." Tsubasa asks Ada.

"Come here, Daemon." Ada tells her little brother who turns to Ada and then looks back at Tsubasa.

"I'll get my hands on you one day, pretty boy." Daemon says.

"You can't even achive that goal in your dreams. There is no shinobi on earth who stands slightest chance of victory against Tsubasa-sensei. Likes of Kakashi-senpai have stated that Tsubasa-sensei might be the single most powerful being in existence. You can consider him our failsafe asset." Houki states as he sits on other edge of the sofa.

"BS! There ain't no way this edgelord can defeat me!" Daemon shouts.

"You can brag about it all you want. I can't care less about spoiled brats with an ego the size of the universe." Tsubasa says.

Someone throws arms around Tsubasa's waist from back and hugs him tightly.

"I missed you dearly, sensei." Sarada says.

"You have grown stronger." Tsubasa says, knowing well that Sarada always hugs him to lighten his mood.

Sarada unwraps her arms around Tsubasa and goes to sit next to Mitsuki.

"You sit here hand in glove with Ada. My god, Mitsuki..." Sarada whispers in Mitsuki's ear, Ada hears her and nods her head.

"I hope all is well, Tsubasa-senpai." Sumire says as she gets past Tsubasa and sits beside Sarada.

Tsubasa spots a frozen Himawari behind him. Himawari's cheeks glistening with blush, gazing at Tsubasa with heart eyes.

Tsubasa approaches Himawari, lifts her up and puts her on sofa next to Houki while everyone are analyzing his each and every single movement.

"Hima." Tsubasa says, snapping fingers infront of Himawari's face.

"Are you an angel? If not then why are you so pretty?" Himawari asks Tsubasa, who turns to Houki and both roll their eyes and facepalm themselves.

"Whatever." Tsubasa says, patting Himawari on top of her head. "Sumire asked me to come here to share a piece of knowledge with you. My gosh i hate being a teacher to death. So boring." Tsubasa continues with his tongue in cheek.

"Then why on earth you waste your time mentoring these goons for two years?" Daemon asks Tsubasa who frowns after hearing her.

"Tragically, i have been cursed with this sense of responsiblity that pushes me to do what annoys me to death." Tsubasa responds. "Not like you would understand what it means. Anyway, it's history class time! Let's talk about ancient times."

"Aw man, you want to babble on and one and give me irks.

"And ancient gods."

"For real?!?"

"No for fake."

"That doesn't sound too bad, you know." Daemon says, his cheeks blooming.

"In the seventh century and after the death of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the cosmos became battleground of two demi-gods. They were the sage of six paths' sons: Indra and Ashura Otsutsuki. Indra was an outstanding prodigy among his peers, never surpassed by his descendants nor successors. Indra was an individualist who believed he could bring justice and order through force, and never relied on people. Hagoromo saw that and thought that Indra is not worthy to be the next leader of ninshu. Therefore on his deathbed, Hagoromo passed on his powers to Ashura, the younger son who wasn't particulary talented reached enlightenment. Overwhelmed by rage and hatred, Indra rebelled and waged war on followers of Ninshu all by himself."

"Indra was a real one for that. That is peak badassery." Daemon says, everyone turn to him and look at him with mixed feelings of disappointment and shock. "What?" Daemon folds his arms. "You can't change my mind."

"He battled Ashura for years but he failed to taste victory. Indra grew tired and decided to retreat. Indra sought to awaken his father's dojutsu, the rinnegan. But how?" Tsubasa continues, approaching Ada and bending over, waiting for an answer from her.

"He needed to mix both yin and yang chakra inside his body. After an indefinite period of time, knowing that Indra was a bearer of mangekyou sharingan, his eyes would evolve and transform into a single or a pair of rinnegan." Ada states.

"Bravo." Tsubasa pats Ada on shoulder. "You better take your taijutsu training seriously. You have untapped potential."

"If you say so." Ada says.

"Indra had absorbed a small portion of Ashura's chakra, and spent months on deep meditating, multiplying that chakra and then mixed it with his own chakra. After that, he could manifest fantasy and created a perfect avatar of himself, transplanting that avatar's mangekyou sharingan, activating eternal mangekyou sharingan as a result." Tsubasa goes on.

"That is cruel." Himawari says.

"Maybe. Who are we to judge?" Houki says.

"Indra finally attained a pair of nine tomoe rinnegan. Ashura had forseen that, thus he perfected his mastery over six paths sage mode, pushing himself to reach Indra's level." Tsubasa continues.

"We are lucky that things went down they way they did." Sumire says.

"I think not." Mitsuki responds.

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk." Sarada utters.

"Indra is not just ancestor of Uchiha, Emiya and Chinoike but also the creator of all forms of ninjutsu. He was a super genius and casually invented complex techniques and experimented on the environment to gain a proper understanding of reality. That is when he created a pocket dimension. Indra wanted to see what happens if space reaches it's boiling point. Indra released the inferno flames inside the pocket dimension and increased it's thermodynamic temperature until the interesting stuff appeared in a certain point." Tsubasa says.

"Planck temperature." Ada says.

"That's my girl." Tsubasa says, making Ada feel proud of herself and sees her cheeks redden. "Planck sized black holes started to form and flooded the cosmos with radiation and particles, triggered a big bang event."

"He was a nerd." Daemon pouts.

"Is there a problem?" Mitsuki turns to Daemon.

"Eh... in this case, i guess he is just way cool for me to slander him." Daemon says.

"Originally, there were two sages of six paths. Hamura was the co-inventor of six paths sage mode who landed on moon and decided to live there. He married a hybrid otsutsuki named Mirina Otsutsuki who bore him a daughter: Meigetsu Otsutsuki. A demi-goddess whose talents were said to surpass even that of the legendary Indra Otsutsuki, Mirina invented a fearsome technique that inspired Indra centuries later." Tsubasa explains.

"Sensei, you should tell me more about Meigetsu Otsutsuki." Sarada says.

"I will." Tsubasa says. "Mirina aimed to find the lowest possible negative thermodynamic temperature, thus she used her ice release and reached absolute zero temperature. The disorder disappeared at that point, all motion stopped which means time could no longer flow, and matters were obliterated on a subatomic level."

"What were the names of those jutsus?" Himawari asks Tsubasa.

"The first was called Genesis and the latter... Nemesis." Tsubasa answers Himawari.

 

Present Time

'I need more!' Sarada shouts.

'Roger that!' Katsuyu says.

In mere moments, Katsuyu channels immeasurable amount of nature energy into Sarada's body, enough to match Mitsuki's rather unparalled energy pool.

'I owe you one.' Sarada says.

'Don't mention it.' Katsuyu responds.

Mitsuki's dark energy enters nigh-infinite number of universes, crushing everything to oblivion.

Sarada's light energy also melts everything to other side, giving birth to infinite planck sized black holes.

Mitsuki concentrates all the concentrated energy he absorbed from the destroyed timelines and suppreses it into a form of blue moon.

Sarada does the exact same thing but instead of creating a moon, she manifests a star that is around twenty four times bigger than the lunar sphere Mitsuki made.

"You are the only one who can rival me, Sarada." Mitsuki asserts.

"I didn't want it to be this way." Sarada utters.

"It's over now."

"Forgive me, Mitsuki."

'Demonic Arts:Ice Style:Nemesis!'

'Divine Arts:Fire Style:Genesis!'

The warriors scream as they shoot the astronomical spheres at each other, pushing their bodies to their limits.

Mitsuki figures that Sarada's technique is overpowering his own, and chooses not to evade this attack from point blank range, embracing destruction to repent for the injuries he inflicted on Sarada during this fight.

Boom!

Mitsuki floating in space, knocked out of his sage mode, surrounding by newborn planets.

One instant, Mitsuki's body glows and the other it doesn't. Mitsuki has not accepted defeat, not yet.

Sarada watches as Mitsuki is regaining his consciousness, bloody tears coming out of her right eye after overusing the ameno uzume ability of her mangekyou sharingan which allows her to summon holy fire.

"You just won't stay down." Sarada mutters.

And a bloody tear falls from her left eye.

This is what kept Sarada safe from big bang's harm.

Amano Iwato.

Sarada transported her body to her personal domain before the explosion was triggered.

Sarada replaces the surrounding space with her dimension.

Chains are created from naught and bind Mitsuki to a torri gate.

"Impossible...how could i...lose..." Mitsuki drops his head out of shame.

 

Date:Feb.14th 2042

"He didn't came, right?" Mitsuki asks the girl who is sitting on bed, burying her face in the pillow she is hugging.

"I hate to say it, but it seems like Kawaki's heart is made of stone." Ada , throwing the pillow away and jumps out of the bed.

"How many times did i tell you Kawaki doesn't deserve your love, Ada?" Mitsuki utters, rubbing Ada's arms.

"This damn attraction won't let go of me." Ada murmurs, putting his hand on Mitsuki's chest.

"You cling to this bond because you think Kawaki feels lonely in this world just like you, yes?"

"There's a single dim ray of hope in my life, and it's the slim chance that Kawaki will love me back. I can still wait but i don't know exactly when i'll grow sick of this." Ada wraps her arms around Mitsuki, who runs his fingers through Ada's hair.

"You're risking everything."

"Even if that's true, You'll be there for me, my darkest knight."

Mitsuki says nothing just kisses Ada on top of her head and wraps his arm around her shoulders, hugging her tightly.

"You can count on me."

 

Date:Present Time

"I lied...again...and again...i failed..." Mitsuki mutters as cold tear stream down his face.

Sorrow, regret, humiliation, powerlessness, hate and rage.

Overwhelmed with negative emotions, Mitsuki snaps as he begins to absorb nature energy from Sarada's dimension.

"No..!" Sarada mutters as Mitsuki regains the strength he lost.

Mitsuki lets out a deafening roar that finds way to gates of heaven and hell, showing he is not bound by the laws of Sarada's domain.

Mitsuki generates enormous amount of lightning from himself, flooding Sarada's space-time, shattering the fabric of reality.

Mitsuki escapes Sarada's dimension, spots his opponent hyperventilating and severly fatigued, her body couldn't withstand the absurd level of energy it received, could barely even move or mold chakra.

Mitsuki flies toward Sarada who throws a weak punch, easilly grabs her hand and pokes her on forehead.

"Forgive me." Mitsuki says as Sarada loses her unconsciousness.

Mitsuki casted a special seal on Sarada which traps her conciousness in realm of dragon king for a short period of them.

Mitsuki's plan was to weaken Sarada to such an extent she will be unable to resist or break out of the realm quickly.

Mitsuki spent most of his remaining chakra to perform this technique. He summons ameno sakahoko to open a portal and passes through it just to fall on ground with Sarada's in his arms.

Mitsuki looks at Sarada's necklace that emits a dim light, and holds Sarada tighter.

Mitsuki stands up with Sarada in his arms and lays her next to another dear friend of his...

Code.

"I assure you, the victory will be our's." Mitsuki asserts.