#to no ones surprise i like ash's most recent reincarnation

[weirdcat1213]

ive had hisashi for 3 episodes and im upset that people are not yelling about the ending song being about him

like cmonnnnnn

[ayabeanworks]

Title: Can I meet you again?

Synopsis: AU in which Geto does not defect, but you do instead.

Character: SaShiSu x reader

Series: Let's Meet in the Spring (SaShiSu x reader)

Notes: Literally just heavy angst & sadness. Mentions of death, murder, suicide and reincarnation. Heavy themes. Lots of swearing. Spoilers for JJK season 2 (anime).

Part 2 available here!

Prequel available here!

AU sequel available here!

The songs I had playing while writing this was: - Hero by Alan Walker (Probably played this one the most that it's at the top of my repeated songs Spotify list ☠️) - Apollo (Eurovision ver) by Timebelle - Dancing With Your Ghost by Sasha Sloan

"Oh?"

Shoko stared at you as you waved at her with a bright smile, brows raising in surprise as she took out a new smoke in the Shinjuku smoking area.

You made your way over to her, finding that she wasn't pushing you away. It was good to see a friend after a while, but you weren't too sure if you had that privilege anymore.

For you, you were testing the waters.

"Hey, Shoko." You took out a lighter from your pocket, one-handedly opening it for her to light her cigarette.

"Fancy seeing you here. You need something from me?" She glanced into your direction, taking a shallow inhale and extending her exhale.

You hummed in reply. "Just testing my luck."

"So, just to be sure, are the claims false?"

"Unfortunately, they're true." You could only bring yourself to shrug lightly, looking ahead. From your peripherals, you could see her taking out her phone to call the others.

"Just to be sure again: why?"

"I want to create a world where jujutsu sorcerers don't have to struggle." You didn't elaborate.

"Wow, that's funny!" Shoko laughed lightly, but there really wasn't anything humourous behind it. It was as if she was contemplating asking more. After all, everyone and everything struggles, so what is this righteous talk from you?

"Do you think I'm wrong?" You asked, hearing the faint ringing of her phone as she waited for one of the others to pick up.

"Right or wrong, it was dumb." Shoko didn't even hold back on her words, making you genuinely laugh at how frank she was, regardless had you been granted a bounty.

"Gojo, Geto, [name]'s here with me in Shinjuku." Gojo seemed to say something on the other side, but Shoko retorted, "No way! I don't wanna die." She hung up after conveying her message.

"So, what will you do now?" She turned to you, exhaling a puff of smoke into a ring above her head.

"I don't know. I might see you around, I guess." You took a step forward, facing her. "See you later, Shoko." You knew Gojo and Geto would be here at any moment, but you didn't know if you wanted to face them.

Shoko didn't say anything in response, just watching as the ashes fell from the cigarette between her fingers.

You didn't see, but it was the first time Shoko has made an expression where she was at a loss of what to do.

And, that was the last time you saw Shoko.

"WAIT, [NAME]!" Satoru bellowed out to you as you walked away, in front of the KFC you all used to go to until recently.

He caught up pretty fast...where's Sugu? You sensed his curse energy, but you weren't sure where it was. As for Satoru, he was only a few metres away from you down the slope of the street.

You sighed inwardly, ready to face him. "'toru."

The nickname you usually call him by hurt him more this time around as he registered how unaffectionate your voice was, contrary to the usual. It was devoid of any emotion. Like you didn't care about what you left behind. Like you didn't care about him.

"Explain yourself, [name]!" He demanded, sunglasses further down his nose as he watched you with wide eyes full of emotions of all kinds, but you mainly picked out disbelief and anger.

"There's nothing else to say. You've heard from Shoko." You stated, watching the twitch in his face as he evaluated your dismissive answer.

"So you'll kill anybody who makes life hard for Jujutsu sorcerers? Both sorcerers and non-sorcerers?" Satoru's voice rose in anger.

After all, you did kill an elder a week ago. It was the one that'd been annoying you since forever, the one who tried to get you purposely killed each and every time you went on a mission. Killing him was much easier than you had imagined, though.

"Well, if natural selection isn't going to do anything, I might as well do it instead." You crack a light joke, but your words were serious.

"That's not what I'm asking! I thought you were against killing if there was no meaning to it?!"

"There's a meaning behind everything. A purpose, even."

"No there isn't! You want to make a world where Jujutsu sorcerers don't suffer? That's impossible!"

"Satoru's right, [name]." Geto spoke from behind you, his voice wafting through the air as he went to stand closer to Gojo as he faced you. "There's a purpose to everything, but there's a better way of doing things than say, homicide. Especially for us in the Jujutsu world."

You wanted to scoff. But, you couldn't, because you used to be that way, too. But everything ate away at you, and you just weren't the same person anymore with the same aligning morals. You chose to go down the path you've decided to go down, even if it meant deserting everything you knew before.

"Is it really impossible?" Your voice was light, but the lilt in it was undeniably laced with seriousness. "I wouldn't do this if there was a shred of impossible in it."

The alarm on their faces was really something.

"[name]...you'll need to fight us if you keep going down this path." Suguru spoke his words deliberately, slowly, like he was getting a child to listen to him. He was careful.

Satoru clenched his teeth and fists. He wanted to say that it was impossible yet again, that when you fight them, you'll lose. But, you knew that. You knew, so why?

"Wow, I'll get to fight the 2 strongest sorcerers!" You clapped your hands together once, a smile on your lips, one that didn't reach your eyes. "Maybe so, but you're not my targets. There's some smaller fish compared to you I must get rid of first."

"Why?" Geto voiced both Gojo and his thoughts, a quick glance at Satoru knew he wasn't going to be able to hold a proper conversation without shouting.

"Why?" You echoed his question. "Well, for starters, we're treated like shit, in both worlds regardless sorcerers or non-sorcerers. Do you remember? The elder I killed, he was truly one who deserved to die. The number of times he ignored protests, warnings and more...killing off our sorcerers one by one, do you really believe someone like him being alive is worth all that struggle? For him, he deserves to die for that alone."

Geto was about to open his mouth after a thought, but you interrupted him. "Also, he was a paedophile so he deserves everything that's come his way. The world needs none of those disgusting pigs."

You couldn't forgive him. You couldn't forgive such a disgusting creature existed. When you found out the information coincidently, you knew you had to do something about it.

The anger in your eyes was juxtaposed by the small smile on your lips, one that was almost proud of what you did.

Satoru couldn't contain himself any longer, "Yeah, he was a fucking piece of shit, but killing him? That's made you one of the sorcerers we've got to kill! You're to be executed on sight! You're a hypocrite, [name]. Are you trying to get all the sorcerers you want to protect to come kill you?"

You watched him as he heaved a breath, his eyes feeling heavy on your form as he tried to convey his distraught to you about the whole situation.

You barked out a laugh, a hand landing on your hip as you stared at him, no trace of the smile on your features anymore.

"Hypocrite?" The question lay on the tip of your tongue, before you let out a low chuckle, feeling your throat go dry. "Perhaps you're right; I am. I am a hypocrite who wants death as much as those geezers who send us out to kill ourselves."

"Oh, and you forgot one detail. I don't care about sorcerers and non-sorcerers at all. They're equally as bad as each other. The only difference is that sorcerers have the power to wield cursed energy and use it to destroy curses made up from the normie's emotions." You gave him a half lie. It was easier to push him away. Push him away so he won't be able to break the armour you've put up.

"And what of him dying? Are the elders going to retire themselves? Or will they KILL us sorcerers first?" Your voice became an octave higher as you emphasised words that made you emotional.

"After I kill them, you can then reform the society as you wish. You could probably kill them yourself, 'toru, but you won't take that step. That's why I'll take that step instead." You give him a crooked smile, "There's nothing here worth living for."

"Nothing worth living for?" Satoru repeated your words, taking off his sunglasses, watching you with his blue eyes, and you could see the monstrous waves of emotion behind them. "Are you fucking blind?"

Suguru glanced over at Gojo, hoping he didn't have to inject himself in between to stop it from escalating further.

"No, I am not fucking blind, Satoru!" A chip from your facade broke off, revealing a mess of emotions in the split second your voice broke. "Do you understand how suffocating it is living in this world? Where all your friends die in front of you, or there's a chance they'll die on their next mission? Where the strongest wins - and in this world, if the curses aren't the strongest, the sorcerers at their highest standing are!"

"You know I--" He began, but you cut him off.

"I know you hate them as much as I do! But I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of them, even if it means forsaking you all to do it." You almost sound like you're pleading by the end, your eyes starting to tear up.

"And after. When they're gone, you can reform the system, and control it in the way that works best for this generation." You force a smile to your lips, but it doesn't reach your eyes. "Someone has to be the bad guy, and I'm willing to play the role, even if I may die in the process."

"[name], this can be done differently--"

"I'm tired, Satoru. I've tried. I've tried, and I'm tired. Why don't you understand that?" You whisper, shaking your head. "Do you know how many times I've tried talking to the higher ups, or anybody for that matter? No, you don't. You've been on missions this whole time, so you don't know. Even Suguru doesn't know the full extent of it. Shoko knows a bit, but she's not one who can do much about it."

Suguru and Satoru were silent for a moment, their eyes on you as your expression gave away everything you wanted to say.

"I won't be there, but it's a sacrifice worth making if you all aren't in danger. I don't care about anything else." Your words were soft, soft enough for them to hear you, soft enough for you to hope to convince yourself it was the right way and you didn't make the wrong choice.

Satoru and Suguru were the strongest duo. But, before they were, they were your best friends, along with Shoko. But now? Were you still able to call them your best friends? Did you even have that privilege anymore?

But, this is the path you took. Even if it meant abandoning those that you held dear, it was all for them. The real truth to your purpose and change of heart was to make a world easier for them, and for you, and for everybody who came after you. You didn't want anyone else to experience what you have, and you were going to do whatever you can to make that a reality.

You didn't give a flying fuck about anything else other than your best friends, if you were being honest. If it meant that you won't be by their side anymore, it was a sacrifice you were willing to make.

"So, I won't stop. This world is absolutely fucked. Why save something that can't be saved no more? I'd rather go down fighting. Morals be damned."

Your eyes glistening with tears unshed, you press your lips into a genuine smile. The last genuine smile before giving them a wave, "I guess this is goodbye. The next time I see you, 'toru, Sugu, we'll be enemies."

You turned on your heel, ready to leave, but you felt the curse energy expand from behind you, like they were readying to attack.

But, you kept walking, and nothing happened.

Satoru's outstretched hand fell back down to his side as he swore a string of curses, the pain on his face evident as he watched your figure disappear in the crowd of people.

Suguru had half a mind to get one of his curses to follow you, but he knew you well enough that the curse would be killed the minute you felt his cursed energy, so he didn't even bother.

His clenched his hand into a fist, a bitter taste in his mouth. He remembered back to when he was in a similar situation to you, but you and the others managed to get him out of it. He felt saved, but now, seeing it happen to the very person who helped him, made him shatter inside.

Why did you help him, when you couldn't even help yourself with your own words? Why didn't you let them help you? Why didn't you let them know you were having a hard time? That this was what you were contemplating?

He would have listened. They would have listened. They always would.

He felt a cold shiver go down his spine as he watched the endless stream of pedestrians, ones he used to call 'monkeys' in his head, but when letting go of that thought, you were at the forefront of his mind. It was you who grabbed his hand, you who brought him back.

It was you.

But he wasn't able to bring you back. He wasn't able to bring back the one who had nowhere else to go. The one who didn't know what to do with their emotions. The one who got lost.

But would he really call you lost when you knew what you wanted to do, where you wanted to go?

Suguru knew you weren't malicious. At least, not originally. The essence of you, he knew, was someone who cared greatly. One who had their heart on their sleeve when talking about anything and everything, especially with them. He didn't worry about you because you were always ok. But, there were things you didn't tell them and they didn't know, because you never let that part see the light of the day.

The only thing that Suguru felt in his chest, was regret. Regret so raw he felt cold and numb.

Satoru muttered another string of curses, turning on his heel, "Let's go, Suguru." His voice was small, and he didn't want to say any more.

He pondered all the possibilities of you. But he couldn't make himself understand you like you understood him. Which is what made it even more painful.

"I'm not as strong as you." Were words you once said to Satoru.

A forgotten conversation, one you started when he had come into your room even though the light was off, finding comfort in your presence. He wanted to sleep in the same bed or at least the same room, but you were still awake, sitting up in your bed and watching the stars and sky from your window.

Satoru didn't say anything as he climbed into your double bed, comfort filling his whole being from your calming scent alone. He wouldn't admit it, but it was one of his favourite places to be when he had turmoil in his mind.

"Yeah, you're weak." He mumbled, his face squished against the pillow as he faced you.

He could see the illuminated outline of your features from the moon, finding them captivating as he watched you with half-lidded eyes.

No, you're strong, were the real words he wanted to say. But, he had always called you weak, so he was going to continue. What harm was there?

You turn your head slightly, gazing at him with a soft smile. It was like you knew what he wanted to say, but didn't hold anything against him for saying the opposite of what he truly felt.

"You're right," You whispered. "I'm weak."

You went to close the curtains, slipping back into bed with Satoru as you closed your eyes, ignoring the gaze on you as you drifted off to sleep.

Satoru had a feeling those words were in reference to something else, but he had no idea what. He felt an invisible wall between you and him from the interaction just now, one that shouldn't be there lest he had his infinity on. But he never did unless in certain situations.

"You're plenty strong, [name]." He whispered this, bringing his finger to tap your forehead, before he also went to sleep.

You weren't asleep yet, so you heard his comment. It warmed your heart, the freezing depths of it wanting to thaw. It made you want to spill the inner turmoils of your mind, but you were scared it would taint the bright sun that is Satoru.

Satoru's a lot sweeter than he lets on, you let a small smile grace your lips as you face him to sleep.

Thinking back to that conversation, Satoru leaned back in the chair of your room, wondering where it all went wrong.

Were you trying to reach out to him back then? Or were you asking him for some form of confirmation? Were you trying to let him know you were not alright? What did you want?

He wasn't as good at reading emotions like Suguru was, but he knew something was wrong when something was wrong. He just didn't know how to approach it.

He wondered, if he had indulged you that time, would you have let him in?

"You had another fight with the elders, huh." Suguru stated, seeing your current state. He sat where the vending machines were, having just taken a seat after taking a shower. The can of green tea he had in his hands was opened and given to you, "Drink up."

You held an angry expression prior to this, but being with Suguru made you calm down. You took the green tea and took a small sip, savouring the bitter flavour. It was refreshing.

You handed it back to Suguru, "Thank you." He took it back and took a large gulp, feeling it cool down his body.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Suguru prodded. He knew something was up. Normally you'd be more like Satoru when you came out pissed from the elders meetings. But this time, you were quiet, more like you were seething, like a volcano about to erupt.

You stared at the ground, wondering what you should start with. You felt that all the words exchanged between you and the elders wasn't listened to, wasn't taken into account. It was like talking to a massive brick wall, one that you had no way to get through to.

"I..." You started, but your throat clammed up. You stopped, waiting for the words to come naturally. When your throat finally decided it was ready to talk, your voice was a whisper. "If the elders disappeared, would this all end?"

Suguru's gaze landed on you, knowing full well what you were thinking. He gave you the green tea again. You took it, and another sip.

"If the elders disappeared, others would take their place."

Suguru could feel something was wrong. The atmosphere was different with you, just like how it was different for him a year ago after the star plasma vessel mission. He could sense it in his very being, something was wrong.

"If the others took their place, would they act the same as the ones now?" You chuckled to yourself, but your voice dropped an octave, "Jujutsu society is trash."

There was a slight panic that welled up inside Suguru, reminding himself of the emotions he himself went through not too long ago.

He could see himself in you, and he hated it. Not the one who had helped to bring him out of it, the one who reached out their hand to bring him back to the light. Not you.

"[name]. You don't hate all sorcerers, do you?" His voice was calm, probing for information for your current state of mind.

Back then, he was on the verge of deciding whether to continue as someone who protected the weak, or someone who didn't care for the weak. And now, you were going through something similar. He wanted to bring you back to him, to the one you saved.

After a moment, you shook your head. "I don't. I just...hate how the elders are sending out young sorcerers to their deaths. I hate how there are young Jujutsu sorcerers being taken away from their families so they can train to be another one of us disposables. I hate how no matter what, the top dogs in this world are absolute trash, who need to be burned at the stake. And don't get me started on curses. They're the worst. I hate them. I hate them so much for taking away so much from everyone. From sorcerers, from non-sorcerers..."

A pregnant pause.

"I hate this world that has curses." Your voice cracked at the end of it as you leaned down, head in your hands as you stared at the ground, a broken whisper of self-awareness, "I hate how I've begun thinking this way."

Suguru didn't know when he had held his breath. Your confession was so raw. You had every right to be angry and frustrated at the system which Jujutsu was. He had also held the same thoughts.

"Sugu..." There was a heartbreaking whine to your voice, one that sounded as if you were on the verge of crying. "I hate this."

An embrace, so gentle, so tender, so soft, enveloped you as his larger body wrapped around yours. You could smell the soap he used as he pushed your face into the crook of his neck, his larger hand stroking your hair as you finally let the tears fall, a broken sob reverberating through your body as you held onto him like he was your lifeline.

"[name], I'm here." He soothes, head gently resting against yours. He closed his eyes, pulling you in closer when he felt you trembling. This was the exact same thing you did for him before, one that soothed him and his tumultuous heart.

The only difference is, you were smaller than before, too. Were you eating properly? You were skinnier. Did you get enough sleep? There were bags under your eyes. Did you take a break? He didn't see the last time you took a break.

You pulled away after a while, eyes puffy and face covered with snot. Suguru didn't even flinch as he grabbed the towel sitting next to him, wiping off any excess liquid from your face. It was gentle, and it reminded you he was the most gentle out of the three, and he'd been in a similar position to you at this moment in time. When you looked up to meet his eyes, you decided, you didn't want to burden him with your thoughts of hate - one time was enough.

"I'll always be here if you need me. You can come to me anytime." His hand went to your cheek and his thumb wiped at the area of your cheekbone. Just like his tender hugs, this was so, so soft that it made you want to cry again, making you nearly regret the decision in your heart.

You could only lean into his hand and give him a nod, eyes closing as you felt fatigue come down on your body, making it feel heavy. You didn't even know you fell asleep so fast that Suguru had to catch you, hauling you up so he could carry you back to your room.

This was the only time you revealed your true thoughts to Suguru, and the only time he has ever seen you this way.

Maybe this was the start of it? Suguru's thoughts when he woke up were clear in his mind. The dream he had was something that really happened, and it hurt him he wasn't able to help you during your hardest moments like you did for him.

He had slept in your bed for the night, finding that he missed you and the comfort you brought him. Your scent was calming to him, and it will forever be a saviour to his soul.

A week before killing the elder, Shoko had found you passed out in the infirmary, half of your body on a chair, and half of it off and on the ground.

She raised a brow at your position, wondering if you were tired and just fell asleep. On closer inspection, she could see the dark circles under your eyes, the thinning of your cheeks, and realised you've lost a lot of weight. The bottle on the chair were a bunch of sleeping pills, open and spilled, indicating you had taken some just prior.

If she wasn't worried about you before, she was definitely worried now.

And when you woke up, you were just like normal, which made Shoko question whether you were just overworked. She did know you fought a lot with the elders and were sent on difficult missions because they were out to get you. So with this information in mind, she was sure you were in need of a proper break, away from everything and everyone.

Which was why she advocated for you to get a break, away from Tokyo, to an island resort with lots of sunshine. A proper 4 day break. Of course, she got Satoru to pay for it since he was loaded and actually owed [name] for a previous thing.

But, the aftermath that came from that was the death of the elder 3 days after coming back.

Did that moment of clarity cause everything to happen? When you were on break, was that when everything went out of control? Was that when you decided this was the path you wanted to take?

You had looked completely back to normal after coming back that the worry Shoko and the boys held for you was almost like a false alarm - but they didn't realise that that in itself was the real alarm.

You were happy - or at least, you were smiling like you did before. It was wonderful to see you back to your regular self, something everyone mutually agreed on by the other sorcerers.

Until you murdered the elder, that is.

That was your first step into the world of depravity, away from the world of Jujutsu, and closer to the world called Hell.

[name]'s heart was soft. It was originally that way, and as you traversed through life, fell and got back up, your heart became stronger. However, it was just an outer layer, like a piece of armour for your fragile heart. You would pretend things were fine until it wasn't, even if you wore your heart on your sleeve, letting the people around you know what you thought, even if they thought you were joking.

It was almost too sudden when you realised all the armour around your soft heart had shattered to pieces.

It was like you lost a part of you that day, and you didn't know what could fix you. You didn't know if you could be fixed. So, you did the only thing you could do.

Pick up the pieces and do your best to put it back together, create a wall for your heart before it gets pierced again.

But before you were able to, a gunshot would shatter your glued armour, shattering in your hands, and your heart was laid bare, bleeding out without any way to stop.

And you wished and wished, for someone to reach out their hands to you and drag you out of your ocean of misery. But, nobody could reach deep enough, and you couldn't reach because you had no strength left to.

You couldn't reach out anymore. No matter how much you wanted, the same fate would await you, and you'd fall into such despair again.

You were tired. You were so, so, so tired.

The ones who made you like this, were ironically the ones who could take you out.

"____." You give them one last smile, a genuine one, as you feel the tears coming down your face, bringing your blade to your neck, before slicing and ending your own life.

You didn't want to die at the hands of your best friends. Not because they're your best friends, but because they would bear the burden of having killed you, and you didn't think they'd be able to take that, especially at the ripe age of 19. So, you'd rather do it for them, making it easier. After all, it would've been close to impossible going up against two of the strongest sorcerers.

You could only hear screams at you from the distance as the pain numbed your mind and body. Geto & Gojo were both screaming your name as they sprinted to you, their panicked shouts becoming background noise as they held onto your body, lifting you up to bring you to Shoko.

Your eyes could only see the terrified blue eyes from Satoru as he carried you on Geto's curse. He seemed to be wanting the curse to go faster, but Geto could only reply in an equally as panicked tone, saying this was his fastest one and that they're going as fast as they could to Shoko.

Your eyes are too beautiful to be panicking, you wanted to say. But, you couldn't. Blood had gotten into your oesophagus, making you struggle to breathe as you coughed and suffocated on your own blood.

"[NAME]! ARE YOU WITH ME?! STAY AWAKE!" Satoru's frantic shouts were barely ringing in your ears, but the creases on his face shouldn't have been there. They were going to give him wrinkles.

With one of the last ounces of your strength, you lifted your hand up to cup his cheek, then gently smooth the line between his brows, giving a weak smile.

Satoru let out a choked sound similar to a sob, understanding exactly what you were doing and what you wanted to say. He held your wrist, supporting you in whatever way he can as he could feel your body heat leaving you. Suguru placed a hand on your cheek, stroking the area under the eye, just like he always did.

It made you feel nostalgic, but you could barely see his expression, since tears had blurred your vision. You wanted to reach for Suguru before you had no more strength, so you gently moved your raised arm in that direction. Satoru, knowing exactly what you were doing, guided your hand to Suguru, who took your hand gently, holding it preciously between his two hands.

"Let's get you home, [name]." Were the last words Geto said to you. By 'home', he meant with them, back to Jujutsu, so they could forget everything that happened and start over. It would just be like those happy days, back when there was nothing to worry about.

In your state, you couldn't make out everything he was saying, but you knew they were kind words by his intonation and the caress he held for your bloodied hand.

You only gave them a smile, one that was apologetic, as you felt your consciousness fading away. The tears that blurred your vision finally fell, and the slight squeeze of your hand in Geto's made him realise that was it.

For you, it was time to sleep. It was a time for you to finally rest your tired mind and body, away from this world, and away from all those that you loved.

Suguru looked over at Satoru, who was biting his lip almost bruisingly as they trembled. With his sunglasses off, he could see everything in detail, including the way your cursed energy stopped, from when your body heat disappeared, and he couldn't feel you anymore. You were a hollow shell of a body now, and the last thing you left them was an apologetic smile on your face.

Away from the battleground, Shoko looked out the window, a pang of sadness hitting her all at once when she realised the screams belonging to Geto & Gojo resonated through the forest. She could barely just hear them, but she knew, the dread that filled her veins was apparent. She knew.

She closed her eyes, taking out the cigarette between her lips as she exstinguished it, her arm covering her eyes as she leaned back in her seat, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

"Quite sad, really. None of you realised [name] suffered this much." Kenjaku sowed the top of your head back together after revealing some information you kept hidden to Suguru & Satoru, and about your last moments and thoughts.

Seeing the despair and shock on their faces was intoxicating, especially when it came to the body he borrowed. Kenjaku knew the amount of love that had been given to the original owner of his current body, and using that, he could disarm even the strongest of sorcerers in the modern day.

It was a pity you were dead, but if you were alive and not dead, Kenjaku wouldn't have been able to take over your body now, would he?

It was especially sweet because the body hadn't even been cremated and still looked the same as it did 10 years ago. And those two who had been responsible for it were standing in front of him, in Shibuya station during Halloween.

Even better because you had died in their arms, so seeing you alive as Kenjaku was more of a sick joke than anything, but he loved that expression on the ones who had essentially allowed you to be this way.

"If only the people around them were able to reach out a hand before their descent into madness, none of this would have happened." Kenjaku ran a hand through your hair.

Satoru let out a low growl from his throat as he watched whoever was in your body use it, control it, and pretend to be you. No one could be you. You were gone. You were gone 10 years ago. And he knew - he knew you were not in front of him.

You died in his arms.

So there was absolutely no way that could be you. Absolutely not!

But, his six eyes said otherwise. It was you. Everything was you. It was the same you who died in his arms 10 years ago, the same you who gave him one last smile before leaving the earth.

It tore him to pieces inside.

Suguru put out an arm in front of Satoru, eyeing the cursed user in your body. He was pretending to be calm, but the way his hands and jaw clenched at the blatant disrepect Kenjaku had for your body was digusting. How dare he exhume your grave and take your body from it?

He felt a cold, almost murderous feeling bubble up inside him as he readied himself for combat.

That was not you. And it couldn't be, even if Satoru's six eyes recognised you to be alive. You weren't alive. You had been lost long ago, and whoever was in front of them was an imposter.

"[name]! How long are you going to let this little bitch take over your body?" Satoru finally burst, pissed at the prospect of someone disrespecting you.

Your hand, reacting almost instantaneously, went straight for the top of the head, right where Kenjaku's brain was. It stabbed straight through the cranium, a crunch eliciting a scream from Kenjaku himself as the brain was stabbed, wounding his real body. Kenjaku used your other arm to stop your attack on his weak point, feeling the blood pour out.

For a moment, it was silent except the light splatter and pitter patter of blood from your body. Suguru and Satoru stared at what happened in front of them, shocked that what Gojo said had ellicited such a response.

Kenjaku pulled your assaulting hand away, holding it in a death grip with the one he could control. The blood dripped down his face as he used his reverse cursed technique to heal the head wound, cracking the sides of his neck after he healed your head and his brain.

"Wow, I can't believe [name] went straight for the kill." Kenjaku laughed to himself. "But that's all there is to it. The soul and body are one, aren't they? Don't think this will happen again." He chuckled and waited for the hand to calm itself.

"Oh, and did you know [name] wrote a letter to each of you? Including Shoko. They knew they'd die so they hid it away in the school. I think they hid it somewhere important for each of you. Even they don't quite remember." Kenjaku couldn't quite recall what the contents of the letters were as the memory itself was fuzzy. He wanted to see it as their strong friendship strained due to his taking over of [name]'s body.

He wondered why this specific memory was blurred out, and he couldn't recall anything from your memories about this specific thing?

It was like you were deliberately making sure you didn't remember it, and deleted the memory from your head so no one could find the letters.

A letter? The strongest duo's eyes narrowed at the imposter in their dead best friend's body, wondering if it's a part of their tricks. But it was also hard to not believe them, since they look like you. And everything about you, they would believe.

Because you were the type of person who would write letters to them.

"I don't know what they say, but they've been there since before [name] died." Kenjaku tapped his temple, "If you can get out of here, I implore you to find them."

That pissed the two off. Kenjaku was implying they wouldn't get out of this alive, or at least, to see the letters that were supposedly left for them. It pissed them off to no end, and they prepared to battle, not wanting to take part of his nonsense any longer.

Dear Satoru,

I'm glad to have met you. I love you. I love Suguru. I love Shoko. I love everyone. We had so many fun times, and it was the best time of my life. Everything was so bright, cheery and brought me so much happiness, I can't even tell you the extent of it.

I hope you don't mind this letter. If you've found it after I've defected or after I'm dead, I can't express with words how much doing this pains me. If I can't use my words, I have to use my actions, right? I hope you don't forgive me for what I've done. It's unacceptable and you have every right to hate me. I've killed innocent people for the purpose of my goal. Horrible, right? I really hope you won't forgive me.

But I know you. You will. You're just that kind of person.

I'll miss your bright blue eyes and white hair. I'll miss your loud and boisturous personality. I'll miss how your heart races every time I hug you. I'll miss you nuzzling into my head when we hug. I'll miss the soft 'sweet dreams' you say every time you carry me to bed after I fall asleep studying. I'll miss when you take photos of me everyday. I'll miss your annoyingness. I'll miss your teasing words every day. I'll miss your blushing cheeks when you're embarrassed. I'll miss your comical, over the top reactions. I'll miss you eating a whole bunch of sweets in one setting. I'll miss the crepe shop we'd often go to. I'll miss how you make me feel safe. I'll miss your voice. I'll miss you.

If reincarnation exists, I want to meet you again. I want to see your smile again. I want to call you 'toru again. I want to give you the biggest hug, and feel the thrum of your heart racing. Then, I'll give you a kiss on your head, just like you always do to me before I sleep.

You're strong, 'toru. Make sure to stay safe and be careful. I don't want to meet you on the other side so soon. Grow up to be even stronger, and reform Jujutsu's society. I know you can do it!

By the way, I left your favourite recipe of the sweets you liked that I made. That way, you can enjoy them anytime.

Love, [name].

P.S. Don't eat so many sweet things at once!!! I don't want you getting cavities!!!

Dear Suguru,

You were the first one to notice anything going on, and for that, I'm grateful. I'm sorry I brushed you off so coldly. I didn't know how to ask for help. I wish I'd have listened to your heartfelt words to rely on you a little more.

If you see this, I've probably already defected or I'm dead. But I just want you to know, I love you. I want to see you again. I miss you. I want to hug you and let you know everything I'm thinking. I want you to give me one of your strong hugs, knocking the air out of me. I also equally want your soft, tender hugs, as you whisper comforting words to me. I want to hear your voice again. I want to run my fingers through your hair again and question why you only use soap on it. I want to cook with you again. Have late night discussions. Cuddle. Piggyback rides. Kisses on the cheek. Allowing me to latch onto you like a koala when I'm cold since you run hot. I miss our times together. I miss you.

If reincarnation is real, we will definitely meet again. I want to see you smile from the bottom of your heart, and enjoy the most delicious food! And, if no curses are in that world, then you'll finally have a food you don't like - I'll be willing to lend an ear so you can whisper it to me! I want to cup your cheeks and tell you you've done well, for enduring during tough times and standing right back up. I want to finally give you a piggyback ride, since I was never able to fulfil that wish here. I want to be able to call you Sugu again.

Stay strong, Sugu. Make sure to stay safe. Since I know you hate the taste of curses, I've left the key to my safe with candies that are really good at cleansing the palette. Don't ever let these get into 'toru's hands or else you'll never see them again. I got these custom made just for you, and I've left a note with instructions on where to get it and what special order it was. I was supposed to give it to you sooner, but I left before then. Hope you enjoy them!

Love, [name].

P.S. Please take care of yourself!!! And don't use soap on your hair!!! Use proper shampoo and conditioner since your hair's so pretty!!!

Dear Shoko,

I'm sorry you probably had to see my dead body.

If I had spilled my heart out to you about my troubles, I wonder if it would've helped? I kept things bottled up for too long and it's become like this. I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep our promise. We didn't get to go to Disneyland like we promised all those months ago - the tickets are just sitting somewhere rotting away. I really wanted to go with you, Sugu and 'toru. It would've been great fun, and we would've made so many memories.

I miss your voice, Shoko. I miss your laugh. Your insults. Your frankness. Your weirdness. Your chillness. You. Heck, I even miss your scent of smoke. I miss you so much. I want to see you.

Can I meet you again? In a world without curses, where we don't need to risk our lives and watch our loved ones die. If I ever get reincarnated, can you find me? Or I can find you? I want to enjoy our times together again, feel the breeze against our skin, sing joyfully, joke around, play around, and take many photos together. That's the only way I want to spend it - and I want it so much you don't even know. In that kind of world, we can finally be happier. We can finally smile geniunely. I'll be able to finally see you again.

I bought some smokes for you and it's in my safe. Suguru has the key. Take some of the candies too, they might help in cleansing your palette every now and then.

I love you.

Love, [name].

P.S. Too much smoking isn't good for you!!! Please quit or at least do it a little less!!! I worry for your lung health...

Trembling hands read their letters as they were found around Jujutsu High school. It had your cursed energy as a seal, but the minute it was touched by any of the three, the seal would break. The letter itself was blank, with a couple of pages for each of them. The words appeared once they injected their cursed energy into it.

Words written by you appeared on the page, covering all the pages given for each letter. As the trio read the letters you had kept hidden from them, they couldn't help but let their unshed tears fall.

They were all known as strong sorcerers who don't cry. But, you brought them to their knees with your sincerity, and you were lost too soon. It was the last thing they had from you, and the warmth in every word of those letters struck a chord deep in their hearts, remembering 10 years ago and the day you had died.

"I kept [name]'s room clean," Suguru started, his eyes glossy. He had already cried, but every time he wanted to read the words off the letter, he was ready to cry again. He didn't want to. "Everything's the same."

It was as if they went down memory lane. Nothing had changed in your room. It was just as Geto said, it was exactly the same.

Whenever Geto had some time, he would clean your room, just like how he knew you would like it. It was something he sometimes did if he stayed over to help you study or just to hang out. So, he knew where everything was.

Immediately going to the safe, he put in a random number, guessing your birthday, then he used the key entrusted to him and unlocked it.

"What a bad password..." Geto couldn't help but laugh lightly, but his laughter died in his throat when he opened the safe.

The first thing the three of them saw was a couple of picture frames, each of them with pictures of the four of them that they remember taking when they were younger. The photos where all of them were happy, grinning and had no care in the world, it made their throats dry, clamming up uncomfortably.

Geto picked up the picture frames, taking a closer look at them with Shoko.

"Oh, look, there's more." Gojo peered in, seeing the promised recipe, bag of lollies, Disneyland tickets and smokes from each of their letters. He took them out and handed them what was gifted.

As they examined the items, Gojo read the recipe, a page written neatly by you. It was as if he could imagine you sitting in your room, writing it just for him while you tasted the different variations that you recommended in the recipe.

Geto put the photos face down, falling flat on his back on your bed as his arm covered his eyes.

Shoko stared at him for a moment, deciding to join him by doing the same thing. Your bed was only a double bed (you had requested a bigger bed for your first paycheck) and didn't have that much space for the three of them, much less four.

Seeing the two of them do the exact same thing, Satoru joined them, but instead, he sat up against your headboard, laying his legs in a cross legged position.

He fipped the picture frames back up, a bittersweet smile on his lips as he basked in the silence and warmth of your room he was so familiar with.

He closed his eyes, and like the others, thought of you.

Would it have been different had you told them everything you were feeling? If you talked through exactly what was causing you grief, and what could be done about it? Were they not enough to help you back up? Would you have felt so suffocated that you chose to die? Would you have still died in their arms? Would Kenjaku have still taken over your body? Still left them behind?

They say sorcerers don't die without regrets.

And they knew if they died, their one and only regret would be you.

At a certain crepe shop, Gojo Satoru waited for his crepe, one he decorated with strawberries, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate. It was one he used to frequent with his old friend, and he'd come here every week with them to buy a crepe. It wasn't the order he normally went with, but today, he felt nostalgic.

It had been so long since the last time he had visited the crepe shop with you, but it remained fresh in his mind even after reincarnating many times over. What timeline was he in now? He counted 7. That was 7 lifetimes without you. Suguru & Shoko were also counting, and they did whatever they could to find out where you would be. But, each and every one after their first, you were nowhere to be found.

Suguru & Shoko would sometimes come to the crepe shop, but they were also busy making a living in a world without curses. The tragedy from their first life remained fresh in their current ones, holding them so strongly they didn't want to give up.

But unknown to them, you were right under their nose all along, and you frequently went to that same crepe shop at times just before or after they were there, a mysterious force pushing you to the place.

It was at one time, where Satoru thought he saw you, that it reignited the flame that had been dormant for so long, to finally see you, after so many timelines and lifetimes apart.

Your voice, followed by your laughter, and your hand. He had you memorised, and he was so thankful for his good memory that recognised you. It was the closest he got, and when he heard you, saw a part of you, he was sprinting, but you had already disappeared onto the train, and the last thing he saw was the back of your head.

It was brief, but it was enough for his mind to go overdrive and let the others know his findings, that it was possible for them to find you this lifetime, and the crepe shop was the biggest key to it all.

And, when they cracked the code and finally found you, all the memories, feelings and thoughts from their original life came back to them, allowing them to finally see you in a world without curses, even if they had to wait 7 lifetimes.

If they had to put it into years, those 7 lifetimes were equivalent to over 600 years of not seeing you.

But, this lifetime, they finally found you.

Over 600 years in the making, and you also found them.

A/N: I CRIED WRITING THIS. It hurt me 😭 here's part 2!

There's also somewhat of a prequel as well from Geto's POV if you were interested!

Here's also an AU in an alternate timeline with information that takes place directly after the original timing here.

If y'all want some fluff here's the masterlist for the rest of the series 🕊️

[momochizoey]

Thank you for tagging me @celinou !!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

I've got 12 on my AO3! 9 ATLA/TLOK fics, and 3 Wednesday fics.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 

46,759 words in total! Most of it is one shots so that tracks tbh, though I'm actually pretty impressed with how much that actually is, especially cause it doesn't count how much I've written for WIPs.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

#1) Scrapped Scenes, a Wenclair fic, at 1,632 kudos (which is frankly insane, I hadn't realized it got that much)

#2) Crying Wolf, another Wenclair fic, at 759 kudos

#3) And Iphigenia Felt Rage, a Yuezula fic, at 225 kudos

#4) The Future Looks Brighter Together, a Sokkla fic, at 163 kudos

And at #5) Yours In Body And Soul, another Sokkla fic, at 154 kudos

I'm not surprised the two Wenclair fics are on top by such a wide margin, I wrote those when the show had only just come out so the fandom was at its peak. Very glad that many people liked what I wrote though! Since most of the other fandoms I've written for (on ao3 or here) are a lot less active, it was a new experience!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 

I usually do, but I do have to admit I've been struggling a bit with it recently 😅. I read them all, and I'm so grateful for them, but especially on fics that I had huge plans for still, and which are in no way close to progressing, I have this feeling like I should have a new chapter to offer when I do answer them. I'm blaming it on my social anxiety 😬

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh, that's a hard one cause I definitely tend to go in a more fluffy, feel-good direction. But I'd have to say it's Keep Your Fire On A Leash (Let The Ashes Bring You Peace). It's a June/Azula oneshot, mainly focused on Azula dealing with the pyromania she developed in captivity (as a need to reclaim complete control over at least this aspect of her life). She tries to manage it a little by working in pottery, where continuous, constant temperature control is crucial to porcelain quality, but it's not perfect. It's not angsty per-se, but it's definitely more ambiguously neutral.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 

Oooh, I'd say it's a toss up between two of my fics:

The first is Not Alone, a TyZula band AU fic about Azula recovering from bottom surgery. I wrote it while I myself was still recovering from bottom surgery, and I wanted to explore a facet of trans characters journeys that isn't often discussed? It's a bit more niche, and I only recently made it open to anyone, not just ao3 users, so it's one of my less popular fics for sure, but it's very hopeful portrayal of a trans experience.

And the second is Yours In Body And Soul, a Sokkla soulmates AU, where soulmates bodyswap at night when either of them has had a bad day, in order to try to cheer them up. I got the idea from a korrasami fic called Paralyzed I read a while back, and changed the mechanics a little bit to make it work. It's definitely a more traditional happy ending, romantic getting together included (up to a point, they are still kids in the timeline so just an excited hug).

8. Do you get hate on fics? 

I don't! Sometimes people disagree on one interpretation of something, but never disrespectful or anything, so I'm pretty happy!

9. Do you write smut? 

I've tried it before in private, got some good feedback. But no, never anything that I'd share.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've ever written? 

I'm not sure if ATLA/TLOK counts😂. I've had some ideas for crossovers though, and written a few draft snippets, I think it was a TLT/ATLA one, an ATLA/Shang-Chi, and a Naruto/ATLA one that I've actually posted a few snippets from on here if I remember correctly.

That last one was a Sakura reincarnated into Azula idea, to explore some interesting anti-imperialist ideals, because that's actually a blind spot Sakura has as well with Konoha. It's easy for her to fall into the same ideological fallacies as before, especially with the significantly lower usage of child soldiers in the Fire Nation making it seem like the epitome of peace and human rights to her. Like looking at the same problem in a different font, at a slightly different angle, it gives Sakura an opportunity for growth by maybe showing her some of the issues she had been ignoring or missing in Konoha, shaking some of her loyalty.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

Nope, not as far as I'm aware!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Also nope, theoretically I could translate it in Dutch, but I'm a lot better at expressing myself in English I think, and almost every Dutch person can read English (especially on ao3), so I don't think it would add much. Maybe one day though!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

I haven't, though it seems like it'd be very cool, I'd definitely be open to it!

14. What's your all time favorite ship? 

God, don't make me choose 😭😭 I guess it's probably Chasefield? I'm such a sucker for those two it's unreal. Otherwise maybe Yuezula, Maizula or Sokkla? They each have such interesting possible dynamics, in such varying ways.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? 

Again, that's a tough one cause I'm afraid I have a lot. I still have several half-written chapters of Getting Family Approval In Six Fool-Proof Steps (Cue The Fools, Sokka And Azula), as well as the start of a longer fic that continues on from And Iphigenia Felt Rage that I've fully outlined and would love to write someday but can't be sure I ever will. There's also Indelible Mark which I've been blocked on forever. As for WIPs that haven't even been partially published yet, I've got 11k for a Chasefield fic I've posted a scene or two for on here called Muse on My Mind, that I wish I could finish but I'm not confident I can manage any time soon. I've also got the start and the outline of a TLT griddlehark fic, where I'm absolutely in love with the premise and the twist I'm building it on, but which, again, I've not progressed much with in a good 6 months. There's a few others, but these are the ones I'd really like to finish at some point.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? 

I love reading it, writing it I could do Dutch or Google translate a different language, but much preferably I'd be able to check it with someone who actually speaks the language for accuracy. Best to use some of the more advanced ao3 html uses to make a translation appear when you hover over it though, unless not understanding it is an important part of the reading experience, in which case people can look it up later if they want to.

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

My very first fic was actually a The 100 song fic based on an opera song, which is too embarrassing so I won't share where it is🤐 I was like 17 so it's too embarrassing.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Tbh, it's either Muse on My Mind (the chasefield fic I mentioned that isn't posted anywhere except for 1 or 2 scenes on Tumblr), which is super fun because it's playing with the perspective of a character that just straight up doesn't understand half the plot happening in the background that is hinted at for the reader who does know. Oblivious characters too caught up in their own shit to pay attention are so so so much fun to write, especially when you have fun with it, implying things but never outright confirming it!

Otherwise it's Haunted By Runaway Ghosts. That one is a Sokkla fic that explores their past through flashbacks while Zuko and Katara are both grappling with the discovery of their niece and nephew they had no idea existed (or could exist). Which, not to brag, but from a technical standpoint I really think that one is probably one of the most skilled fics I've written and published, and it was so much fun to write and puzzle it all together; the slow build up and explanations slowly coming together to form the bigger picture, the hidden ties between locations in the show and events in the story and how they fit into each other perfectly - genuinely a joy to write (and if people are interested in reading it please do, imo it's on par with And Iphigenia Felt Rage, if in a pretty different style, definitely something I'd love for more people to enjoy the way I did writing it).

Thanks again for tagging me @celinou, this was very fun to do! I see you've already tagged @sourrind, who I'd have tagged as well, so next I'll tag @dawnsiren @ly0nstea and @likeadragonfruit , and of course whoever else wants to do it!

[tsuraiwrites]

✨weekly(ish) fic roundup✨

more like monthly at this point, but here are some excellent fic I’ve enjoyed in the recent past! most are long fic, so buckle up and prepare to leave some kudos and comments for these a+ authors.

ASoIaF

Coin and Conformity - catelyn stark | oc insert/ned stark

A man wakes up one day to find that he isn't in his apartment, isn't in his own body, and isn't even on Earth anymore. The language, the geography, the culture, the stars, and even the technology level are all different. Even worse, in this backwards medieval society he had found himself in, he woke up in the body of a woman. A woman who had just given birth to her first child, a son.

He's not really cut out for this whole 'motherhood' thing. It could be worse; at least he's a noblewoman, and really, Robb is such a sweet child...

Assassin’s Creed

Eagle of Alamut - altaïr ibn-la’ahad/desmond miles wip

That the reason why he woke up in the city of Jerusalem during the 12th century was because of something [Minerva] did.

Still…

He would have appreciated it if she didn’t also return him to his 16-year-old body.

Dragon Age

The Comfort of Knives - cullen rutherford/male inquisitor wip

Maxwell Trevelyan isn’t who he says he is, and his connection to the General of the Red Templars could become a problem. But will it be as much of a problem as the affection that grows between himself and his Commander?

Naruto

come out of the ashes - gen wip

As a final stand in a war they never stood a chance of winning, Uzumaki Naruto chooses to use a forbidden blood seal to rip through the fabric of space and time itself rather than admit defeat. He’s never been good at accepting his fate, and if bending reality with his own two hands is what it takes, then that’s what Naruto will do.

The rest of the world is just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.

Compass of thy Soul - uchiha madara/ofc complete, lots of delicious crafts and politics in this one

Being reborn into the Uchiha clan during the Warring Clans Era is surprisingly idyllic, so long as you don't mind hard work and are too young to know any of the people who are actually dying. But innocence never lasts, and trying to help family stay alive is a road strewn with a surprising number of pitfalls and last-minute diversions.

Reincarnation For the Win - female self-insert/uchiha itachi/uchiha shisui

She’d been tired for a long time before she died.  However she’d been granted a second life, she was never going to thank anyone for it, no matter how amazing or awful it ended up being.  That said, if she ever met the reason she was sucked into the Naruto ‘verse, there would be much shin-kicking to be done.

Until Dawn Breaks - uchiha shisui/undisclosed wip, part 2 of a timetravel AU

Shisui had succeeded, destroying the man who was responsible for his death, in every way possible. Who had caused so much suffering... more than anyone could have foreseen.

(He gasped for air, throat parched and lips chapped and-)

But now came the hardest part; learning to live again.

The Yondaime's Assistant - hatake kakashi/ofc/shiranui genma complete

When I reincarnated in the world of Naruto, I was lucky enough to live in Konoha but not lucky enough to get all the superpowers you could hope for. I failed my jounin-sensei test and ended up in the Genin Corps. Bye-bye jounin rank! However, considering it also meant avoiding the battlefield, that was fine with me. Now I just had to get a position allowing me to change History...

One Piece

Children of the Sea - fushichou marco/portgas d ace wip

When it comes to Ace, Marco can't help but think of the old saying: Love is a hurricane.

 (Time-traveling Ace, told from Marco's POV.)

SVSSS

Cultivate: Slow Life on a Monster-Infested Mountain - shen yuan/liu qingge wip

When trying to transfer Shen Yuan from the real world to Proud Immortal Demon Way, the System runs into an error. The transfer is not complete.

Shen Yuan is dropped off at the foot of a mountain aware of two things:  he's in the story, and the Shen Qingqiu of this world is not only aware but thinks he tried to possess his body — and he's PISSED. Shen Yuan tries to opt out and live a simple life on what locals tell him is a monster-infested mountain no one in their right mind would bother with.

Sounds like a great hiding spot!

(TL;DR: Stardew Scum Villain Valley Mountain.)

[writing-biting]

4, 28, 38, for the fic ask meme! - min

Hi min!!

Ohh that's a lot!! Thank you so much for the ask and sorry this took so long! I had so much fun answering these ^^

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Nurturing suggests that I haven’t buried them alive or left them to die, so in that case only 3! (Surprising!) Most of the other ideas are sitting comfortably on the backburner, turning slowly to ash.

I would love to! Sitting comfortably in my drafts at 3000 words is a classic Bill Cipher Gets Reincarnated as a Human fic, with a generous splash of Timestuck AU energy— with Bill spawning in the 80s. That idea is getting most of my love right now, and nobody is going to see until it actually has shape, and until I can fix the timestream. (I also need a title, but that shouldn't be too tricky!)

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

LET'S GOOO!

1. ckret2, who you can find both here on tumblr, and on Ao3! I've been reading their Gravity Falls fic 'Wasting Away in the Goldilocks Zone' (also known by the tag #bill goldilocks cipher), and I would go so far as to say that it has completely changed the way I see Bill Cipher as a character, and the Gravity Falls universe as a whole. The fic has an episodic format, and is amazingly long.

A slowburn redemption arc that's actually believable is a rare find, especially for Bill Cipher. The lore in this fic is fascinating, and the tone bounces from silly to horrifying seamlessly.

2. nilchance, who you can find on Ao3, wrote what may very well be my favorite oneshot series of a time. Their series 'ain't this the life' is something I go back to and reread almost regularly.

At a whopping 524,061 words, this series will SOMEHOW still leave you wanting more.

It's about 70% smut and has a good bit of incest, so I can't recommend it to people in good conscience, but by god it makes me insane.

I came for the smut and ended up getting ambushed from behind by plot, companionship, love and working through your trauma to become a better person. It's darkest before the dawn, and sometimes all it takes for Sans to get therapy is his ribs getting smashed open!

3. GoblinNerves (nerves-nebula on here!), has the ability to completely destroy my week with a single oneshot. I will read something it wrote and say surely this time it will be fine. NOPE one week of obsessively thinking about what I read and then a second week of slowly recovering.

I need to prepare myself before I read anything it wrote. Make a cup of tea, have the next few hours to ruminate on it, get comfortable. ALL THIS so the story can work healthily through my system and so I don't end up crying in a bathroom at work later (can't afford to do that, no matter how cathartic!)

It does more comics and art than writing, and you need the context of its art to understand the stuff it writes BUT it is so freaking worth it.

The longest fic they have is Caracal Carousel, which is a TMNT AU fic about Donnie getting groomed. It is so fucking good and fills me with a sinking dread.

38. Talk about a review that made your day.

I'M HOLDING MYSELF BACK and only showing the most recent favorite:

This??? This made me so so happy. Ink being called a creative little lad is so fun to me, and they called my writing DELICIOUS. I am giddy. I am kicking my feet happily. Joy and wonder. This made my whole week

[lgbtqlegends]

the legends as daughtry songs

listen okay Daughtry is my favorite band and i saw them in concert recently (2/12) and had this idea in the car on the way home and i just remember it so- here we go.

SARA

Undefeated

this is probably the perfect song for sara, because she's been through so so much shit in her life, but she's still undefeated. she could be battered, beaten and bruised, but she will Not be broken, and she'll keep getting back up. she'll keep fighting. words can hardly describe how perfectly this song works for sara. she can take pride in the fact that she's still here after everything she's been through, and especially now, with the legends and ava, her team, her strength. she knows that she can and will take whatever hits the world throws at her, but none of it will ever break her or her hope and humanity.

AVA

Start of Something Good

it's a very good song to describe her and sara's relationship, especially with how ava has said before that after she met sara, her whole world kinda came undone and sara brought her to life, but it took some time for them to really get to a place where what they had was good- beyond good, even

SNART

White Flag

snart is definitely not one to surrender or raise a white flag when things get tough, and he'd much rather die than bow down and take it, but he's gonna do it when he damn well pleases and he's gonna be smart about it

MICK

The Victim

this song fits really well with his season 1 chronos arc, and a few lines specifically, his character in general. specifically, "not gonna be the victim, don't wanna be your slave, not gonna be addicted to a system i did not create" and "stop making me the monster, stop messing with my brain" fit really really well with his character

JAX

No Surprise

mostly because it wasn't really a surprise that he'd leave the ship after stein died, and it was really just a matter of time because the memories of him on the ship were too painful and he needed a fresh start. although his adventures with the legends certainly would be a tough act to follow

STEIN

Home

mostly because the thing he wanted most at the end was to go home and be with his wife, daughter and grandson, although the legends and the waverider had definitely become like a second home/family as well. also the part of the song that says "i've not always been the best man or friend for you, but your love remains true" def works well for him since he had to keep reminding his younger self to do better for clarissa

RAY

Cinderella

i think it's a pretty good song for how he feels about nora, and how he knows it's forever with her. also it's a little funny bc he would definitely be the one cleaning Everything

KENDRA

Break The Spell

kinda describes the whole situation with carter, and how he kept pushing about how they had been together and destined to be so for thousands of years and hundreds of reincarnations and she kinda goes with it for a while bc she doesn't really think she has a choice, but eventually she does manage to "break the spell" and dump him to chase her own freedom and destiny

RIP

Gone Too Soon

this song works really well for him and how he lost his wife and son at the hands of vandal savage. they were taken from him too soon, and he would do anything to try to save them and bring them back to him, and not a day goes by that he doesn't think about them or miss them

AMAYA

Lioness

did i do this partially for the title because amaya wields the spirit totem? yes, i did. but also this song is 100% about powerful women (as stated by daughtry himself when he was introducing the song during the concert) and amaya is a pretty fuckin powerful woman. also the line "i could see it in your eyes, you could've eaten me alive, just to show me you could" is so damn raw and powerful lol and it fits really well with amaya, especially when you can see the animal ashe that she's conjuring in her eyes

NATE

Call You Mine

mostly for nate's tendency of doomed romances, and relationships with people from a different time/life. first with amaya, who already had a set destiny that she had to fulfill, and then with zari, whose life and entire being changed with heyworld. the entirety of this song is just very nate

ZARI 1.0

Breakdown

feels very fitting with the whole 2040s dystopian seattle reality that she lived through, and how the world, and specifically ARGUS, told her she was wrong and evil for who she was. how she was tired of all the lies and the prison and torture that metas endured, and all the deep-seated anger that living through it caused

GARY

Traffic Light

it seems like a very fitting song for him, because he's always offering to be a listening ear for people's problems and being Gar Bear and trying to give people advice when he thinks they need to hear it. and it makes sense for him, because he was kind of always the one that felt like nobody wanted him around, because they'd always kinda just disregard him and he'd take it and internalize, but eventually does see his worth and stops letting himself be treated like that and becomes, without changing who he is, a person that the team Does want to have around, and then he also takes the time to ensure that no one else feels that way, ensures that they know they belong

JOHN

Bad Habits

honestly the title itself of this song is pretty self-explanatory for why i chose it for john. but beyond that, the song itself fits him pretty well, both before his time with the legends and throughout his time on the ship. because he's Always had bad habits, right until the very end, also his bad habits are pretty much exactly the ones in the song lol

NORA

Asylum

i mean,,, nora was pretty much in and out of asylums her entire childhood while damien darhk was trying to get her ready to give herself to mallus, and it wasn't until ray and zari took a chance on her and broke her out to give her some kind of semblance of normal and happy that she really felt good. before that she was kinda always afraid. and then, of course, after that she ended up in another asylum again, but even then, ray never really ever gave up on her

CHARLIE

Long Live Rock & Roll

this one feels pretty self explanatory. charlie's in a rock band and rock music is,, kinda where they found themself and it's what they love. but this song is also pretty fitting in terms of the journey that charlie went on with the legends, too, and how they found a family with the legends and how that'll never change, because once a legend, always a legend

MONA

Waiting for Superman

this one also feels kinda self-explanatory. mona's a romantic, and she really wants to find love, and she almost had it with konane, until he had to go (and then died) and she was upset and hurt and angry, but eventually the legends, and especially zari, helped her to see that she can and will love again, in time

BEHRAD

Cry For Help

others have put my explanation for this choice much more eloquently than i, but: behrad has put on this act his whole life of being this super chill, stoner, always go with the flow guy because it's what he thought he had to be for people to like him and for people to stay, but now he's at a place where he's starting to feel like he can be honest with the legends about who he really is, and how he's not always go with the flow and how he's scared,, a lot, and how sometimes the weight just gets too much and he needs help sometimes, rather than just always being chill about everything on the outside

ZARI 2.0

As You Are

when thinking of how to best explain this choice (which to me at least is very fitting), one single line from z2 pops into my head: i have millions of followers, but 0 friends. and how no one really saw the real her, or the person she wanted to be, at least not until she joined the legends, and especially became friends with ava ("you got one" 🥺). the legends love her as she is, they don't try to change her or compare her to zari 1.0, they let her exist for who she is and they love her for it, even when the rest of the world doesn't get to see it

ASTRA

Heavy Is The Crown

this song is just,, very astra vibes, with her having been raised in hell, and her having been practically a Queen in hell, and then having to live with that and deal with everything it entailed. and yeah the power she had was nice, but now on earth and in the mortal world, heavy is the crown, y'know. she had to learn to experience things and deal with what life was like on earth, and john was,,, Not much help so she was kinda on her own, until she let the legends, and especially spooner, in to help her n support her so that she didn't Have to do everything on her own

SPOONER

On The Inside

i'm gonna be honest, i'm not like 100% happy with this one, but of all the songs i listened to to make these choices (which, i think was just about all of the daughtry songs i know and love, which,, is a vast vast majority), this one seemed to fit the best. i don't really have a well-thought-out or eloquently put reason as to why, this song just kinda felt like spooner's song

GIDEON

Dearly Beloved

dearly beloved fits the whole team really well, and their relationships with each other and how it's kinda like,,, them vs. the world a lot of times, and it seemed rather fitting to choose gideon for this song since she's pretty much always been at the heart of the team, and they wouldn't have been able to do what they do without her. plus it's nice because she loves them all so much and they all love her just as much too, and they're all family, and they're all in this together

GWYN

Life After You

it fits fairly well with the whole situation with alun, especially given how gwyn literally said that he couldn't bear to live in a world without alun in it, and how he really would do anything to get his boy back, considering he quite literally invented time travel to save him, because he loves him. and given his time with the legends, and what they've (especially ava) helped him realize and come to terms with, he wants nothing more than to just,,, be with alun because alun is his person

also i'm sure if anyone wants me to, i could make other parts to this with like,, songs from some of my other favorite bands (such as: 3 Doors Down, Nickelback, Matchbox 20, Citizen Soldier, Simple Plan, and others if I can think of them. tho they might not all be this long, depending on how many songs i know/like lmao)

[the-scariest-librarian]

Amor Vincit Omnia

Things You Said When We Were Afraid.

This is for @mercurygray‘s 1000 follower celebration, and for the 2 year anniversary of The Darkening Sky! Congratulations, Merc! 

This ultimately ended up nothing like I had originally intended, but I hope it's okay nonetheless. I hope I did it justice.

There isn’t a science to it, when one will Remember. Some go their entire cycle without the memories of selves past, and some –her name is Molly this time around– live countless lifetimes at once. “An old soul,” her nana once called her, mistaking the imprint of millenia for solemnity uncommon in a girl of just eight.

Lewis Nixon remembers; she knows as soon as she sees him in the blazing Georgia sun and he sends her a cheeky wink. The last time they had seen each other was in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and before that in Londinium. For all that their numbers are comparatively few, the Reincarnated always seemed to find each other.

There are a surprising number in Easy Company. Eileen and Connie both give her a knowing nod when they’re introduced, as do Shifty and Joe Toye. The looks Marjorie shares with her sometimes make her think that the other woman’s trigger was recent, but she can be counted among the number of those who remember at least something. The others just think that their quips are some odd sort of humor.

“Why would I play with you when you still owe me six denarii?” Molly asks blandly as she idly flips through a dog-eared copy of ancient poetry.

Billie wags a finger at her playfully from the poker game occurring several seats down.

“Don’t give me that; you know damn well I paid you back in the ninth century.”

Molly doesn’t even look up from her book.

“You forgot almost eight hundred years of interest.”

For all that she grew up with the memories of numerous lifetimes, none of it prepares her for the punch to the gut that is seeing the man who spent millenia at her side. He was Glaucus and she was Agape. When she was Iðunn, he was Eadric. No matter what tore them apart, be it war, disaster, or old age, they always found each other again.

In Troy, when Greek ships darkened their shores, he spoke to her the words that never failed to soothe her. In Pompeii, when ash and pumice fell from the sky and the ground shook with Vulcan’s terrifying might, he held her to his chest –she was Hadriana then, Molly remembers– and spoke them again.

Again, before every raid. Again, when he left to explore the New World. Again, when he donned the Patriot’s blue, and later the Union’s.

“I will always return to you.”

And so he has, even if she can see in his eyes that he does not know her as she knows him.

She doesn’t push; it wouldn’t change anything even if she did. Still, if he notices that she keeps an eye on him more than most, he doesn’t give any indication.

When he’s stabbed by a jumpy comrade, Molly feels as if the rest of her life has already been stolen from her. Something of it must show on her face as she watches him –his name is Floyd this time around– being carted away, because he calls to her as he passes, voice tight with pain.

“Aww, don’t worry Mahoney; I’ll be back before you even have time to miss my handsome face.”

When artillery around them shatters trees and bodies alike, he pries her anxious hand from his jacket and makes to leave the meager protection of their shallow foxhole to answer a nearby call for help.

“Stay down, Molly, I’ll come right back. Promise.”

When the war is over and this goodbye could very well mean forever, she gets just a moment’s hesitation and a muttered “See ya around, Moll.”

She can't remember a single lifetime where it ever took them this long to return to each other, both in body and soul. They’d always been lucky before, but it seemed their luck had finally run out and this would become their first life apart. It’s happened to others.

She'd rather live with his ghost than stay with this shadow who doesn't understand why earthquakes terrify her, or why she sometimes dreams of being thrown to her death from an ancient city's walls. She could have done it, once, she thinks, but she's used up a lifetime of strength in these last few bloody years.

So, Molly lets him go.

She watches him until his jeep turns the corner and then banishes the thought of him from her mind. It works for a time, at least until she returns to her remaining comrades and Joan meets her gaze with sad, knowing eyes.

When she’s back stateside for the first time in years, Molly immediately enrolls in UC Berkeley’s anthropology program and leaves it as Dr. Mahoney. Four years of graduate school work well enough to keep her busy, but although she keeps regular correspondence with several members of Easy, there is still a kind of hollowness inside of her that finally makes her desperate enough to upend her life once again.

She moves to Italy in 1951 to assist in the restarted excavation of Pompeii. She’s seen the pictures; she knows what’s there. Still, it takes her several weeks to muster the will to seek it. She’s not afraid that it will hurt; she knows it will. It’s the fear that seeing it will make her regret ever letting him leave at all.

Despite the Allied bombs that damaged chunks of the city, ancient feet guide her path as if she had never left, stepping easily over crooked paving stones and wheel ruts in the street. She doesn’t work in this section of the city –doesn’t know if she could bear it if she had to– but she remembers every home and every storefront. The graffiti on the walls she passes has faded with time, but she was there when her countrymen scratched their thoughts into plaster, and she is still here as it is rediscovered.

At last, but also much too soon, Molly stops in front of a small villa, more familiar than the rest. It’s in poor shape; she knows by sight alone that the building is unstable enough to be dangerous, but she cannot find it in her to turn back. She’s already come all this way.

With a deep breath, she steps into the shade.

The inside is just as she remembers, and yet not at all. The roof is gone, although some of the second floor walls remain. The paint that decorates the walls is faded and the plaster is missing in chunks, but it is still their home, Hadriana’s and Marcus’.

Careful steps take her around a crumbling corner, and there, frozen in plaster, they sit. She is curled in his lap, head tucked beneath his chin. The plaster is rough, but she can just make out a fold of fabric here, the curve of his nose there. It’s the closest she’s been to him in both six years and two millenia at once, even if all that remains is just an imprint of his life left in stone and ash.

It steals the breath from her lungs, to see the only thing that proves that her memories are not just elaborate dreams. A gravestone is one thing, and any tintypes that once existed are lost to descendants she doesn’t know in this life, but this is real. They existed once, and here they remain.

Molly steps gently closer and a patch of purple catches her eye, stopping her short.

She stares in surprise at the flower, identical to the one clutched in her own hand but wilted a little from the heat of the day, that lies upon the tragic figures. In the weeks it took her to build up the courage to visit her ancient home, she hadn’t seen a single blossom left in remembrance for any of Pompeii’s dead. The flower there in her own lap –or at least it belonged to her two thousand years before– brings tears to her eyes. Someone has remembered them.

She kisses the petals of the crocus in her hand and places it gently beside the first. She thinks the words, but cannot find it in herself to say them out loud.

The sudden crunch of dirt behind her startles her, tells her that she is no longer alone. She straightens; guilty shoulders hitch up to her ears in anticipation of a scolding from one of the site supervisors for being in such an unstable building. She knows better.

The voice that comes from behind her doesn’t belong to an aging archaeologist at all, but rather someone she hadn’t dared hope to see again.

“Heya, Moll."

I told you I’d always return to you, didn’t I?

[uraichievents]

UraIchi PC4 2019 Masterlist

Here’s a list of all the works submitted for PC4! I’ve ordered them in by prompt number under each work type, and it looks like we came pretty close to finishing the whole table! Thank you to everyone who participated this year~

FANFICS

Third Eye Blind by DevinePhoenix [#02]

Long before Kisuke was blinded by Askin, his eyes had already been damaged.

Patchwork Soldier by DevinePhoenix [#02]

When they wake up, they will have to deal with what their decisions have wrought. He will have to cope with his injuries and Kisuke will have to cope with his scars and guilt. But they still have time before that morning of uncertainty. In the dusty twilight of the Soul King’s realm, they could rest together and dream of a better ending.

Death Gods by Chaos_Greymistchild [#03]

AU in which Kisuke is still a mad scientist with only slightly more morals than the rest of them, but Ichigo is a vampire/death-dealer/human hybrid, a legal executioner, and (still) the world’s most recent supernatural anomaly.

The long avaited encounter by SueGra [#04]

Kurosaki Ichigo left Karakura after he lost his power. Urahara Kisuke listened to Isshin and he broke up with Ichigo. Somebody killed the rogue shinigami and his partners. Urahara went after the person who killed them and he was surprised. Who was it?

Wrong Side of Reality by Starrie_Wolf [#06]

If there was one thing that every invader of Soul Society did wrong, it was that each and every one of them measured one's power by the strength of their reiatsu alone. And every single one of them failed, because they did not understand that to be truly powerful, one must first have the Means to ensure their plans succeed.

He, who has been watching from the shadows for a thousand years, refuses to make the same mistake.

By Invitation Only by FeelingFredly [#10]

“No weapons are allowed past this point.  Please move forward to the weapons check and place them in the tagged locker.  You will be given the code to retrieve them when you leave.”

Ichigo turned on his heel as if to follow the robot’s directive, only to stop and spin back, trench knife in one hand and katana in the other, the smooth swing of the blades separating the brassneck’s head from his body.

“I’m sorry,” he said, standing over the sparking remains, “but I refuse to make Aizen-sama’s acquaintance so underdressed.”

Kisuke snorted in his ear.  “No one is there to hear your dramatics, Kurosaki-kun.”

Ichigo kicked the head to one side, like a soccer ball. “You know that you’re the only audience I need, Kisuke."

stay with me (until the sun rises) by Fox_the_Hermit [#12]

Ichigo is friends with a great deal of supernatural entities. The one monster under every bed in town is his favourite, though.

these dreams like ashes float away by howls [#12]

Ever since Ichigo refused to leave something well enough alone, a shadow man would visit him once, or twice, a month. (What he never realized was that there was more going on in those moments than the shadow man would reveal. For now, at least. He could never refuse Ichigo for long.)

Gambit without Guarantee by Starrie_Wolf [#18]

How did everything go so wrong so quickly?

new life, same shit by Chaos_Greymistchild [#19]

Not all knowledge is gained through the Gate of Truth. Not all reincarnates are born with their memories. Ichigo’s not sure how comfortable he is with this knowledge.

Arsenic by FeelingFredly [#20]

He was poison and he'd accepted that fact. Now if only everybody else would.

Police Tricycle (or: it’s not a buddy cop if I’m the third wheel, says Rukia) by Chaos_Greymistchild [#21]

Ichigo chases Szayelaporro Gantz down the highway in a high-speed car chase with a grenade launcher cameo. That’s it. That’s the fic.

Winds of Change (Tempest) by Sky_King [#24]

When the war is over and Ichigo has won, fate will come back to get her due.

Ichigo gambled and gave everything away in exchange for power, and finally the price paid has to be claimed.

(When the war is over, Kisuke finds himself adrift, too guilty to live, too guilty to die. He carries on, fueled by that single promise, trying to find a reason for being.And when he does, he'd sooner kill the Soul King himself than let it disappear, no matter the cost.)

Whip It Good by FeelingFredly [#25]

You didn't live a life like Kisuke's without developing a few interesting preferences, but he knew they weren't for everyone, and really, his relationship with Ichigo was more than he could have ever asked for--loving and supportive in ways he still wasn't sure he deserved. It was just very vanilla. Which was fine. Really.

So why he was "just visiting" at his old BDSM club?

The very bad, terrible, no good first few days of Junior SID Agent Dokugamine Riruka by Starrie_Wolf [#27]

Sometimes, Dokugamine Riruka wishes she could go back to her 22-year-old self and tell her to choose another department, any other department, she’s got the grades to take her pick.

Berry Nice by Chaos_Greymistchild [#28]

“Can I kiss you?"

“If you don’t,” Kisuke said with remarkable control, “I think I might do something regrettable.”

“Okay.”

Calling You (Maybe) by EternalEclipse [#29]

Ichigo never answers his phone, and Kisuke always does.

building a future (and tearing down the past) by EternalEclipse [#30]

At first, Ichigo had just been an invention of Kisuke's, nothing more than a gear to be moved. A pawn. It was only natural that after the war, Kisuke left him to his own devices--they'd won, which was the best he could ask for. As it turns out, once he starts making things for Ichigo instead of just countering Aizen, it's a hard habit to break. By the end of it, he won't even want to.

Or, five times Kisuke made things with Ichigo in mind, and one time Ichigo asked him to destroy something.

Companionship (Stay with Me) by Nikolaila [#31]

People are people, even in space. Sometimes the required conversations in relationships are hard to have but necessary to hold.

Tsuki no Tsuppane by Silmariën (Starrie_Wolf), Starrie_Wolf [#32]

They have scarcely begun to unravel the complex web of Aizen no Sōsuke's treason when Kisuke is made aware of another layer to the conspiracy, one that threatens to expose all the secrets he has not yet decided if he will share with Ichigo-no-mikoto.

Few enough people are willing to accept onmyōji, but even fewer will be willing to accept that their lover is not even human.

Work/Date Balance by Starrie_Wolf [#33]

Kisuke doesn't seem to really grasp the meaning of a date, but it's okay, Ichigo loves him anyway.

“So… are you doing your usual fainting damsel imitation, or shall I take care of it?”

(Interlude during their vacation in London.)

a breath of fresh air by Fox_the_Hermit [#34]

Ichigo refuses to let Kisuke win yet another round of the "I took a cute photo of you and I'll use it to fund my experiments" game. Mostly on principle.

The world is changing by Starrie_Wolf [#35]

They’ve been doing this for so long that Kisuke has no idea how to wake up in a world where he doesn’t need to prioritise the Hōgyoku over his family.

Interlude: the day after Aizen's defeat.

Accidental Pokèmon Acquisition by EternalEclipse [#36]

Ichigo had never wanted to be a pokèmon trainer. To be flat honest, the ghosts kept him busy enough. But when Monferno fell into his life with a burst of laughter and trouble, Ichigo is drawn into a side of the pokèmon world he didn't even know existed.

Or the one where there are both ghosts and pokèmon, the Gotei 13 is a government organization with as many checks and balances as ever, and Ichigo will do whatever it takes to keep his own safe.

Feeling Horny by Silmariën (Starrie_Wolf), Starrie_Wolf [#36]

When Urahara shoved Ichigo to Hirako to learn how to control his inner Hollow, Ichigo thought it meant Urahara wasn’t Hollowfied.

He was wrong.

the fear is eating you alive / so I'll be your reason, I'll be your shelter by Chaos_Greymistchild [#37]

Sometimes, Kisuke doesn’t remember where he is, or who he is in his own personal timeline. Sometimes, Ichigo is more Hollow and instinct than human. But that’s okay.

one-sided understanding by Angst_Distribution_Service (Fox_the_Hermit) [#37]

suspended animation (patiently waiting for the end) by Chaos_Greymistchild [#38]

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck is new on the starship Zangetsu, piloted by Captain Kurosaki alongside his AI Urahara Kisuke, who seems to have an… unprecedented freedom on board the ship, if she was being entirely honest.

Freedom worth Fighting (for) by Starrie_Wolf [#39]

Things have a way of coming full circle...

You Haven't Lost Me by FeelingFredly [#40]

Ichigo has moved on. It doesn't matter if his Shinigami powers are gone--he's a weapon, and there was always a market for that skill set. Currently that skill set was being tasked to collect the oyabun's past due tribute from a troublesome shopkeeper.

Troublesome shopkeeper. No... it couldn't be.

What they don't understand by Starrie_Wolf [#42]

Ichigo comes back from winter break with bruises he can't explain and a significant other who looks to be much older than him.

His classmate thinks she's put two and two together.

With Affection by wynnebat [#44]

"Yoruichi asked me if I had any family," Ichigo says. His gaze rests on the courtyard and squad buildings across from them while Kisuke cannot look away. Ichigo's voice is even, but Kisuke knows better than that. Ichigo adds, wryly, "I told her all I needed was you."

painting in blood by Chaos_Greymistchild [#45]

“It’ll be fine.”

He hopes that that proves true.

You Don't Have a Soul, You Are a Soul (You Have a Body) by FeelingFredly [#47]

Kisuke has a disregard for his own safety a mile wide and it's enough to drive Ichigo mad. This time he finds the shopkeeper unconscious but not alone, and the woman with him has some very interesting things to say.

Thunder For Bells In This Church Of Two by Chaos_Greymistchild [#48]

“[Resonance for a human is] total, complete, irreversible blending” -- Bell Tolls, esama

For the shinigami, it is... less so.

wear your soul (outside your body) by Fox_the_Hermit [#48]

Ichigo has no idea how he ended up with someone so brilliant. Kisuke has no idea how he got lucky enough to end up with one of the best people he's ever met.

your heart doesn't beat (let me teach it to) by Fox_the_Hermit [#52]

Kisuke understands that his time to go has come. It's time to accept that he can't hang around forever. His dear friend Ichigo has agreed to help him with finding what is needed to help him move onwards, whatever that really means. (Except he’s not ready to let go.)

roots in my lungs, blooms on my tongue by Chaos_Greymistchild [#55]

Astilbes, dahlias, and Queen Anne’s Lace. Patience, devotion, sanctuary.

Will you become my... by SueGra [#57]

The war with Ywhach has ended two years ago. Everybody enjoying the peace. Suddenly all captains get an invitation to the Shiba compound because there is a new clan head? Who is she/he?

Happily Ever After by Starrie_Wolf [#58]

Ichigo wasn't expecting a happily ever after, but it seems like he could find a little peace at last.

Omega as Fish Oil by EternalEclipse [#59]

Yeah, Ichigo's an omega. He's fine with it, especially since some of the instincts that come along with it are useful for protecting his own. What he's not fine with are a bunch of shinigami noble knotheads deciding that he's up for the taking because of it. Luckily, he's got a Kisuke to help him set them straight.

You are my Sanity by OrangeTeaMoon [#60]

And so, it had taken Urahara Kisuke nearly 4 months, 1 week, 3 days and a direct run-in with an absolutely impossible apparition of Kurosaki Ichigo to realize that he had lost his mind.

reach the epilogue (and then take it from the top again) by Fox_the_Hermit [#61]

Ichigo's alive and healthy and whole. But too many people aren't (friends, family, the one single crush that hasn't had the time to get anywhere), and this isn't an epilogue to his story that's worth living in. He'd rather rewrite the whole damn thing from scratch.

Only the truth you want to see by Starrie_Wolf [#61]

Growing up as the daughter of a police detective father and a novelist mother, it’s no small wonder that Rika chose to study English Literature in university. The class is unavoidably small – even for Todai,finding students interested in pursuing a degree in the classics of a foreign country is a difficult matter.

Which makes all her classmates so unavoidably interesting.

Especially that Kurosaki Ichigo.

I'm a Certified Genius, I Swear by Chaos_Greymistchild [#64]

Kisuke’s not quite sure why he keeps getting gifts from the Shiba Clan Head, Shiba Ichigo, but— Hiyori please stop laughing please.

-0-

FANART

UraIchi PC4 Prompt #32 - Magic AU / Mythology AU / Fantasy AU by @ananfer [#32]

UraIchi PC4 Prompt #48 - Daemons AU by @junoagriffin [#48]

[femalechibiblogger]

My 15 Favorite Isekai Manga

1. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

Satoru Mikami is an ordinary 37 year old corporate worker living in Tokyo. He is almost content with his monotonous life, despite the fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend. During a casual encounter with his colleague, an assailant pops out of nowhere and stabs him. While succumbing to his injuries, a mysterious voice echoes in his mind and recites a series of commands which he could not make sense of.

After regaining consciousness, Satoru discovers that he has been reincarnated as a Slime in an unfamiliar world. At the same time, he also acquires new-found skills, particularly the ability called "Predator," which allows him to devour anything and mimic its appearance and skills. He stumbles upon Veldora, a Catastrophe-level 'Storm Dragon', who was sealed for 300 years for reducing a town to ashes. Feeling sorry for him, Satoru befriends the dragon, promising to help him in destroying the seal. In return, Veldora bestows upon him the name Rimuru Tempest, to grant him divine protection.

Now free from his stale past life, Rimuru embarks on a quest to prove his worth. As he starts to get used to his current physique, word of his weird accomplishments start to spread like wildfire across the world, changing his fate completely.

2. The Scholar’s Reincarnation 

A martial artist, claiming himself to be a “murderer” is defeated by a suicide attack in battle and is reborn as a first born child to a local lord. Having a fresh start, a warm family and a little sister to protect – he decides to become a better person in his new life.

3. Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku ~Jichou wo Shiranai Kamigami no Shito~

Shiina Kazuya, our protagonist who got killed by a stranger when he tried to protect his childhood friend and little sister, reincarnated into Cain Von Silford as the third son in the world of sword and magic. Cain grew up being surrounded by Gods who doesn’t know self-esteem, the upper noble and the girls who are swayed around him. Being given so many protection from the gods, He overcame any obstacle (aka Flags) while hiding his unbelievable status. The noble path fantasy story of a young boy who sometimes wicked and clumsy.

4. They Say I Was Born A King’s Daughter

After spending most of her youth fielding the attention of countless wealthy suitors, Suhee Kim finally finds true love with a steady boyfriend named Jinsu Han. But then tragedy strikes, and Suhee is murdered in cold blood. To Suhee’s surprise, she is immediately reincarnated as a baby girl named Sanghee Kim, who just so happens to be a princess! Plus, she is fully conscious of her past life. 

There’s just one problem: In this society, women are seen as totally inferior, even princesses. Appalled by the treatment of women, Sanghee is determined to change the kingdom’s patriarchal ways. Will Sanghee be able to succeed, or will she be stuck living her second life being treated as a lowly woman?

5. Parallel World Pharmacy

A young pharmacologist and researcher in Japan died from overworking, and was reincarnated in a Medieval Parallel Europe. He was reincarnated as a 10-year-old apprentice to a famous Royal Court pharmacist, had attained an inhuman skills of ability to see through disease, material creation, and material destruction. In a society in which dubious medical practice are rampant, price gouging thru the monopoly of the pharmacist guild, and good medicine aren't available to the commoners. He was recognized by the Emperor at that time and opened a Pharmacy at the corner of the town. He will wipe out the fraud that has swept the world, and deliver to the commoners a truly effective medicine that was developed using present day pharmacology. Thus the boy pharmacist will cheat by using his previous knowledge to create innovative medicines while helping the people of the parallel world, a story about living his new life to the fullest this time.

6. I Am A Child Of This House

“Pink Eyes” has always lived a relatively normal (?) life, with two exceptions: first, she has gained memories of her previous life as Seo Young, and second, she is someone’s illegitimate daughter in I Am a Child of This House Manga.

One day however, when she turns 11 years old, her prostitute mother takes her to the empire’s sole duke and claims her as his child. Although he seems to not believe her, he nevertheless buys “Pink Eyes” for 20,000 gold. With that, her new life as “Estelle” starts.

But what truly awaits her? And is she really a child of this house?

7. Daughter of the Emperor

Ariadna Lereg Ilestri Pre Agrigent. And so my life begins with this ridiculously long name, born to royalty and the center of attention — all because of one dangerous man; the veritably insane tyrant king, ruthless conqueror of ten empires, nightmare of all continents… and my father?! Will I be able to survive this maniac?

8. The Cute Little Granny Hinata-chan

Worldly knowledge and artistic refinement! Hinata-chan is on a completely different level to your average toddler. But she has a secret... that she's the reincarnation of an 88 year old grandma, with her memories intact! Enjoying green tea on the veranda, a taste for pickles, and an old-fashioned dialect! Why has she been reincarnated? A comedy full of old-wives wisdom.

9. Isekai de Mofumofu Nadenade Suru Tame ni Ganbattemasu

After various things happened, I got an ability from God and reincarnated to another world! While being watched over by my high-spec family, the super ordinary me fully enjoyed other world life. Using the ability I received from God, I had a daily life of just fluffing and petting fantasy animals. There are some shady movements too, but while being led by the nose by God, I’ll do my best at various things with my cheat-like comrades!

10. In Another World, I’m Called: The Black Healer

One day, 22-year-old Kanzaki Misuzu is suddenly transported to a strange world. Based on the pop-up screens she can access, it seems she's entered some kind of RPG as a magic user! Luckily, she can use the gaming skills she acquired as an otaku to make her way in this new world. But before she knows it, people start calling her "the Black Healer"!!

11. The Youngest Princess

The archmage who ruled over a magic kingdom. One day, she was reborn as the youngest daughter of the empire! “I’ll just play along and pretend to be a baby. ...But don’t you think you guys like me a little too much?” They won’t leave her alone. The youngest princess is tired today as well.

12. Freeter ga Jimini Isekai Teni suru 

Meet Tanaka. He’s a 26-year-old freeter - a guy who makes his living on various part-time jobs. He works in warehouses, directs traffic, and generally does whatever work he can find in order to get paid. However, recently Tanaka has had a problem. He occasionally is transported into another world, usually in front of people who need help. Knowing nothing, can Tanaka add another part-time job to his repertoire?

13. The Small Sage Will Try Her Best In The Different World From Lv.1!

Kujo Yuuri, who had been playing Elysia Online, finally changed her occupation to the sage of her desire. Then, she was asked whether to go to the true Elyasia or not and selected [Yes], and somehow went to another world. Furthermore, she became a small child.

The small sage Yuuri and her companions’ love and adventure fantasy.

14. Beauty and the Beasts

As soon as she fell into the world of beast men, a leopard forcibly took her back to his home. Indeed, Bai Jingjing is at a complete and utter loss. The males in this world are all handsome beyond compare, while the women are all so horrid that even the gods shudder at their sight. As a first-rate girl from the modern world (she's even a quarter Russian), Bai Jingjing finds herself sitting at the center of a harem filled with beautiful men -- at the very peak of existence.

15. The Beast and His Pet High School Girl

On the way home from school, Kashiwagi Aki is kidnapped and finds herself in a world populated entirely by beastmen. She ends up in a pet store where the overzealous and impulsive wolfman Zinovy becomes infatuated with her and buys her on sight. Thus begins their strange and chaotic, albeit incredibly cute life.

[jq37]

Have you done breakdowns of the last few episodes yet? If not 👀

**spoilers for a new york wedding**

Prologue: I had a partially free day today (as in the day I started writing this which is now two days ago) so I decided to swing by Central Park and check out the Bethesda Fountain where I saw both a proposal and a man on a segway with a live snake around his neck so, yeah, New York is just Like That.

"Here's a possibly magic crown. Why don't we ask the butt stuff guy about that?"

The face Brennan makes when Emily says, "I used to do colonics at the salon," is great. Like, "We are two minutes into this ep, your sentence isn't even complete, and I already can't handle it."

So they get out of the sewers and Bethesda Fountain has been attacked (which is a shame just aesthetically because, having now seen it in person, it's a really pretty fountain). Em is devastated and explains that the fountain is like a Important magical symbol of good change and a source of divine purification magic.

Another side note about the fountain: There are these little cherub figures around it in additional to the Angel. I wonder if those are sentient too. Also-also, the promenade across from the fountain has these cool murals of the seasons. My point is, there's a lot of fodder for possible lore just in that small area of the park.

Misty finds ashes by the fountain (concerning) and wipes it on Kugrash's fur (rude).  

I love that Emily thought Pete was pouring one out (one being one bag of cocaine).

"Sophie, your magic is that you're a wonderful person and you jump really good."

"The Bread Wedding"

Kudos to Brennan for all the wide range of crazy voices he had to do in this ep. Don Confetti. The Golem. Perry the Pigeon. That can't be easy on the throat.

Sophie is fully ready to fistfight Don Confetti over their last names which is wild for a lot of reasons we're not gonna get into.

So Brennan has everyone roll a Wis save and everyone did OK except I think Ricky. Brennan never explains why he had them roll that. Concerning. I'm wondering now if it was something that would have needed a nat 20 to save from it or something where the people who saved didn't realized they saved from it and the people who didn't are just ticking time bombs or sleeper agents or something else awful.

Pete is such a dangerous friend to be around when you're emotionally compromised. His solution to everything is drugs.

"It's an off-white!" --Misty upon being called out for wearing white to a wedding.

Brennan has Perry go on a wild 39 second monologue about relationships that Pete interrupts by stuffing drugs down his gullet--see again my previous bullet about Pete.

Sophie notices that a lot of the pixies recognize her which pm confirms her brother is In This which, to use the word of the day again, *Concerning*.

Emily having Sophie get really emotional but also struggling to keep the laughter out of her face is always super funny to watch.

So Pete finds a table of vampires. Brennan spends a couple of minutes describing them before he gets to it outright but it's pretty immediately clear they're vamps. Well, vamps plus a suspicious older guy and a girl (Melissa) who seems to be playing Renfield to the vamps. Getting high so they can drink her blood and get high. Pete brilliantly confirms this by getting the suspicious guy (Rob, as far as we know) to go off on Politics and then deep mind-reading the girl. That's one of the most clever RP things I've seen a player do. Pete also sees that Rob is hanging out with the vamps but he doesn't seem to be one.

Pete fails his wild magic check but nothing happened that we know of. A lot of stuff on the wild magic table is situational though (like the reincarnate spell from Bloodkeep with the potion Sohkbarr drank).

Rob implies he knows what happened with Pete's dad. Pete goes into a tailspin, as if he isn't constantly in one.

Everyone dancing so they can talk in public instead of just, like, having a sidebar. Just that entire sequence is peak comedy.

Ricky, the good boy, is dancing with his pigeon date while everyone else is mystery solving (or, in Soph's case, crying in a closet or something).

Rob is supposedly in finance. Last time there was a character involved in finance/banking in D20 it was the whole KVX fiasco in FH.

"Did I use up my favor? I could have had anything in the world."

Sophie upon seeing anything young woman in any kind of situation immediately springs into action, ready to drag them out by any means necessary. I love her.

Robert works at a hedge fund and Kug recognizes him. Brennan explains how he knows him in a very vague way which the rest of the table clocks instantly. Murph asks if Rob knows Gabriela. He does. Who the hell is Gabriela, Misty and I wonder.

Emily goes galaxy brain and theorizes that the bad guys are laundering souls which is equal parts bonkers and brilliant. The camera unhelpfully *doesn't* cut back to Brennan so I can attempt to read his DM poker face. I am reminded of Emily wondering if [redacted] was in the sword in a recent ep of Naddpod and Murph just deciding that they were on the spot because it was cooler than what he had planned. I know you can't win at DnD but I think Emily is winning at DnD.

I mentioned this in passing I think last recap, but Pete's magic is really interesting to me because Pete doesn't know what his character sheet looks like and he's not someone like Kingston or Ricky who's been doing their thing for a while and knows that they can do and what the things he can do are called. So Ally has to get a little creative about activating abilities (like True Strike in this ep) without being too meta, if that makes sense.

Kug knows Rob from a while ago (from the 80's he later says) but he doesn't seem to have aged. The group is thinking vampire, but he wasn't drinking blood in the memory Pete saw. Suspicious. Put a pin in that with everything else on my conspiracy board.

Misty: Eyyyy Macarena!

Kug kisses the pigeon. Sure.

Misty/Siobhan also does a clever thing and suggests taking a selfie with the vamp table in the background to see who shows up. Only Melissa and Rob do, so they're not vamps for sure.

So they go back to Kingston's place and he, Pete, and Sophie cook for everyone which has basically nothing really to do with the plot but I think it was a nice character beat for them.

Kingston and Misty fought a mummy on Long Island back in the day. As you do. Sidenote, when I was in Central Park today (two days ago), I passed by a big-ass obelisk that apparently exists and that I am *certain* Brennan has lore for, even if it doesn't come up.

Misty, a very wealthy Broadway star: If you pay for the Metropolitan Museum, you're a Goddamn fool.

Sophie had not put together that Misty is a fairy before now and I was like ??? for a second but, actually, with the info she has, that's not necessarily the conclusion she would draw. She could just be a really short lady with magic. It's been that kind of week.

Kingston presses Kug on how he knows Rob and Kug reluctantly confesses that HE USED TO BE A GUY. Zac blindly guesses that he was a stockbroker which is ALSO CORRECT.

"movie horse breeder" is such a specific job to pull out of thin air.

Siobhan, making a choice: Let me tell you about my good friend, John Wilkes Booth.

Brennan's total break of composure when Zac/Ricky says, "I wasn't always a firefighter." Zac lowkey has the best comic timing of everyone on the squad. He's just really understated about it.

Anyway, there are levels to this. How long has Kug been a rat??? I feel like it must have been a while because of all the weird ass stuff that he does. Also, he excuses a lot of his behaviors due to being a rat considering he's actually a rat-MAN, emphasis on the man. The stock broker thing surprised me more considering that Kug is introduced doing some pretty altruistic, non-stockbroker-y things. Did Kug piss off a homeless witch and get Beauty and the Beast-ed? He never actually answered the question about how he knows Rob since everyone got sidetracked by the fact that he used to be a whole-ass HUMAN MAN. Did Rob curse him for less moral lesson reasons? What's going on here????

Esther and Ale have been researching. The grey baby is apparently named Nod, just like the place, and it (it specifically, not him or her) like the ruler of there.

There's this whole group bit Brennan, Ally, and Siobahn do about how you can take the L train really far and then catch a shuttle bus that can only be seen by the pure of heart to get to Nod and it's really funny but how funny would it be if they actually tried to do it in a dire moment and also Ricky could do it for sure send tweet.

Kingston is trying so-so hard to keep everyone on task all episode. Bless him.

Kug asks Esther about her mom, which surprises her. He says they used to be friends (Did *SHE* curse him????). Esther says she hasn't seen her in a long time, since she was 5 or 6. Of course, it's easy to want to connect this to the Gabriela he was asking about earlier but we'll see about that. I think I saw some people speculating that he's Esther's dad which I'm even more skeptical about considering what we learn later but wouldn't that be wild?

Ricky decides to shoot his shot with Esther. His brain is full of love, determination, civic responsibility, and absolutely nothing else, bless his golden retriever heart.

Brennan as Esther drops the best stealth joke (though, it has a very high likelihood of crossing from joke to plot point) in D20 so far with the Imperial Axiom/Sinatra's Law explanation. It was a full, "Wait. What? Oh!" Big gold star for Brennan for that one. I had to take a second and recover from that when I heard it the first time.  Beyond the joke, it also seems like a likely hook for the eventual Big Bad of the campaign. First NY, then the world, you know?

The fact that the highways go against the grain of magic leylines of NY in this world is such a good detail and it makes a lot of sense intuitively.

Zac breaks Brennan again with the, "Traffic's really bad," comment.

Please let Ricky's big dumb puppy self win over Esther. "It's really hard for me." Riiiickyyyy.

So Kingston goes to see Willy, the Williamsburg golem about Lazarus from the Bible (New Testament). Aren't golems de facto Jewish? I think. I am correct. However, as much as Willy doesn't know about the New Testament, he *does* know about the Statue of Liberty which is convenient because--shoutout to the people who figured it out in advance--Lazarus is not Lazarus from the Bible. It's Emma Lazarus who wrote the poem on the Statue of Liberty. This of course means that I need to do a close read of that poem at some point but not today baby because I need more information before I start going full Pepe Silvia. Sidenote: What a great place for Kingston to be when figuring out that info. Close enough that Willy can just point out the statue. It's cinematic. Fantastic.

(Also, I made a post about the fact that Siobahn just knew Emma's name off the top of her head, but when it cut to the other side of the table, Emily's eyes got all big too).

Emily gets a nat20 which RUINS her plans because she runs into Isabella aka the woman her husband left her for. They have an adult Means Girls stand-off where Sophie finds out they're getting married (or at least having a ceremony bc Dale didn't send her divorce papers yet). Big ups to Emily for staying in character and ditching all the sleuthing she was going to do because there is no way Sophie would be stable enough for that to be her top priority at the moment (even though I really wanted her to do all that stuff!)

Also, I'm looking forward to watching Sophie rip her to shreds when she inevitably turns out to be a succubus/demon/fiend/whatever. Honestly, she can just barfight her and I'd be satisfied.  

So Misty goes home and finds a present waiting for her. It's a big ass mirror. Correction. It's a big ass mirror that Titania immediately uses to angry Skype her. Yikes.

It seems like her shoes of Titania are literally that, stolen from Titania (love that Titania was barefoot in her character art btw). I know they let her cast a certain spell in an earlier episode but I'm wondering why she stole them. Maybe they helped her cross over from Faerie (which happened ~400 years ago we ind out)?

Titania is pissed that Misty is stealing "glamour" that should be hers (via playing her in the new show). Glamour in the fairy sense is like a disguise. Glamour in the DnD sense is a fey-based bard option (which is the class I'm guessing Titania will be if they have to fight her). Curious to get a deeper explanation on that later.  

Misty is able to cover back up the mirror but she breaks a hip in the process because of Titania's mojo and has to call Kingston. I already said this but I love their relationship.

(Sidenote, I meant to mention this earlier, but I think whiffs of the undead came up a couple of times in this ep which makes me wonder if the mummy situation Kingston mentioned is going to come back).

"Please, use any one of the guestrooms."

I FORGOT ABOUT KUG'S STUFF AT THE END

Ugh, this ep is an emotional roller coaster

"Wherever you are Rat Jesus, know that I love you. From Wally." What a good boy. 

Everyone reacting to Murph's reaction to Wally before they Find Out is like, an experience. It's like that airpods meme.

OK, I'm not going to go through a whole play by play because nothing I could say would be better than watching the scene but I guess Murph/Bren decided in for a penny, in for a pound because we find out via a conversation between Wally and his businessman brother David that he is Kug's SON. HIS SON. S O N.

Wally is convinced that their dad wouldn't have just left them. David thinks Wally is being naive. I want to die.

Everyone around the table except maybe Ally is so visibly upset at this new information and Ally goes, "FUCK!" at the end so you know we all express emotions in different ways.

God, it's so sad! And I'm not gonna say, "I knew it!" because I didn't. I super didn't. But when Wally was introduced (man that scene hits differently now) I remember thinking, this is such an oddly specific NPC. Like, you know when you're playing a game and the stuff you can click is slightly better rendered and you can kind of tell what you should focus on and what's background art? That's how he felt.

Anyway, again, I'm sad. (GMYeah!.gif)

Watching *OVER* you Murph. OVER you. That's how you make it not creepy!

Meanwhile, Pete lets a bunch of bug monsters out of his dream into real New York City which, tbh, I'm not surprised. This seems like the kind of thing that would happen. Pete is exactly the worst kind of person to be the dream avatar in terms of being responsible.

I love that Siobhan is like, “I have a broken hip” as if all but one of them don’t have literal magic powers. That’s a very fixable problem compared to other stuff they’ve dealt with that day alone. 

Anyway next time, a wasp centaur (thanks, I hate it) and a nat 20! See you then.

[alexarap]

“I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T-shirt because it says I want to be formal, but I'm here to party.” - Carl Naughton (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)

BASIC QUESTIONS

First name? Alexandra.

Surname? Hyland-Rapine

Middle names? Christina.  

Nicknames? Alex, Alexa, Lex. 

Date of birth? 4/2

Age? 23

PHYSICAL / APPEARANCE

Height? 5′4

Weight? 130

Build? Athletic?

Hair colour? Natural, light brown. Dyed blonde. 

Hair style? Long and straight usually. 

Eye colour? Hazel.

Eye Shape? Big and round.

Glasses or contact lenses? Neither. 

Distinguishing facial features?��Upturned nose. 

Which facial feature is most prominent? Nose.

Which bodily feature is most prominent? Butt. 

Other distinguishing features? None. 

Skin? Pale. 

Hands? Stubby. 

Makeup? Special occasions. 

Scars? Insignificant. 

Birthmarks? It faded away. 

Tattoos? Small tiny ones.

Physical handicaps? None.

Type of clothes? Tank tops, t-shirts, leggings, sweatpants, sweaters, skirts. 

How do they wear their clothes? Depends on the day. 

What are their feet like? Small.

Race / Ethnicity? White.

Mannerisms? Expressive. 

Are they in good health? Yes.

Do they have any disabilities? No.

PERSONALITY

What words or phrases do they overuse? Well and like. 

Do they have a catchphrase? Well, yeah, but like. 

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic.

Are they introverted or extroverted? Extroverted.

What bad habits do they have? Smoking + drinking. 

What makes them laugh out loud? Good jokes. 

How do they display affection? She loves affection. 

Mental handicaps? None.

How do they want to be seen by others? Smart. 

How do they see themselves? Pretentious. 

How are they seen by others? Studious stoner. 

Strongest character trait? Insightful. 

Weakest character trait? Impulsive. 

How competitive are they? Not at all. 

Do they make snap judgement or take time to consider? Time. 

How do they react to praise? She appreciates it. 

How do they react to criticism? Who cares. 

What is their greatest fear? Not being good at anything. 

What are their biggest secrets? She doesn’t want to tell her dad she doesn’t believe in marriage. 

What is their philosophy of life? Que Sera, Sera. 

When was the last time they cried? Her eyes are dry. 

What haunts them? The ghost of her parents relationship. 

What are their political views? Whatevs. 

What will they stand up for? Herself. 

Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? Both.

What is their sinful little habit? Smoky smoky smoky. 

What sense do they most rely on? Sight. 

How do they treat people better than them? Hey, how’s it going? 

How do they treat people worse than them? Hey, how’s it going? 

What quality do they most value in a friend? Interesting. 

What do they consider an overrated virtue? Modesty. 

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be? Maybe her nose.

What is their obsession? Books. 

What are their pet peeves? Mooches. 

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of? Small. She lives with her dad, but she sees her mom every once in awhile. 

What is their perception of family? Um. 

Do they have siblings? Older or younger? Only child. 

Describe their best friend. Easy-going, open-minded, funny. 

Ideal best friend? ^^

Describe their other friends. Cool people. 

Describe their acquaintances. Nice people, she’s sure. 

Do they have any pets? No, Ash doesn’t like pets. 

Who are their natural allies? Friends and Ash. 

Who are their surprising allies? Probably Aunt Kory. 

PAST AND FUTURE

What was your character like as a baby? As a child? A monster.

Did they grow up rich or poor? Daddy’s rich.

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? Nutured by daddy. 

What is the most offensive thing they ever said? She’s not offensive. 

What is their greatest achievement? Graduating high school.

What was their first kiss like? Peck peck.

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? That she’s moving in with dad. 

What are their ambitions? To do something. 

What advice would they give their younger self? You can be nice. 

What smells remind them of their childhood? Leather and books. 

What was their childhood ambition? To be a dog. 

What is their best childhood memory? Vacations to New Orleans. 

What is their worst childhood memory? All her parents fighting. 

Did they have an imaginary childhood friend? No.

When was the last time they were crushed with disappointment? God, who knows. 

What past act are they most ashamed of? Being rude to everyone in high school.

What past act are they most proud of? Realizing she was a brat and changing. 

Has anyone ever saved their life? No

Strongest childhood memory? Growing up with her uncle, who’s younger than her. 

LOVE

Do they believe in love at first sight? Lust. 

Are they in a relationship? No.

How do they behave in a relationship? She’s cutesy. 

When did you character last have sex? Weeks ago. 

What sort of sex do they have? Depends on who she’s with.

Has your character ever been in love? Yes. 

Have they ever had their heart broken? No.

CONFLICT

How do they respond to a threat? Ok, bud. 

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? Both.

What is your character’s kryptonite? Her dad.

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? Daddy. 

How do they perceive strangers? As new friends. 

What do they love to hate? Comic book movies. 

What are their phobias? Bananas. 

What is their choice of weapon? Peace.

What living person do they most despise? Ash’s mom. 

Have they ever been bullied or teased? Yes.

Where do they go when they’re angry? To the roof. 

Who are their enemies and why? Hopefully no one now.

WORK, EDUCATION AND HOBBIES

What is their current job? Sex shop clerk. 

What do they think about their current job? Eh. 

What are some of their past jobs? Book store clerk.  

What are their hobbies? Reading, walking around, writing, light exercise. 

Educational background? High school. 

Intelligence level? Like normal. 

Do they have any specialist training? No.

Do they have a natural talent for something? Fast reading. 

Do they play a sport? Are they any good? She’s uncoordinated. 

What is their socioeconomic status? Trust fund baby. 

FAVOURITES

What is their favourite animal? Probs, like, monkeys. 

Which animal to they dislike the most? Butterflies. 

What place would they most like to visit? Tropical places. 

What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? Sunrises on the roof. 

What is their favourite song? Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have - But I Have It

Music, art, reading preferred? Slow moody songs, writing, all books. 

What is their favourite colour? Blue. 

What is their password? cowsgomoo111

Favourite food? Vegan cheese. 

What is their favourite work of art? Her bookshelf. 

Who is their favourite artist?  Jordan Peel - those movies though.

What is their favourite day of the week? HUMP DAY

POSSESSIONS

What is in their fridge: So much fruit and vegetables. 

What is on their bedside table? A notebook and an ashtray. 

What is in their car? No car. 

What is in their bin? Papers. 

What is in their purse or wallet? Just cards and cash. 

What is in their pockets? Nothing. 

What is their most treasured possession? Her dad’s notebook. 

SPIRITUALITY

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel? Who knows. 

Do they believe in the afterlife? She guesses. 

What are their religious views? Spiritual. 

What do they think heaven is? A world that walks among humans, but invisible. 

What do they think hell is? Torture. 

Are they superstitious? No.

What would they like to be reincarnated as? A tree. 

How would they like to die? However. 

What is your character’s spirit animal? Maybe a wolf. 

What is their zodiac sign? Aries. 

VALUES

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? Killing their spirit.

What is their view of ‘freedom’? No rules. 

When did they last lie? Probably recently. 

What’s their view of lying? It’s bad, but she does it. 

When did they last make a promise? Probably that she’d be home at a reasonable hour. 

Did they keep or break their last promise? Probably broke it. 

DAILY LIFE

What are their eating habits? Vegan. 

Do they have any allergies? Bullshit. HA

Describe their home. A nice flat. Ash isn’t excessive. 

Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? Wow she’s a mess. 

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? Roll back over and go to sleep.

What do they do on a Sunday afternoon? Whatever. 

What do they do on a Friday night? Friend time. 

What is the soft drink of choice? No soda. 

What is their alcoholic drink of choice? Vodka.

MISCELLANEOUS

What is their character archetype? Free spirit. 

Who is their hero? Ash.

What or who would your character dress up as for Halloween? Gumby. 

Are they comfortable with technology? No.

If they could save one person, who would it be? Ash. 

If they could call one person for help, who would it be? Ash. 

Where do they see themselves in ten years? Hanging in there. 

What is their greatest extravagance? Probably the food she eats. 

What is their greatest regret? Trying to be too much like her parents. 

What is their perception of redemption? Say sorry. 

What would they do if they won the lottery? Donate most. 

What is their favourite fairytale? Alice in Wonderland. 

What fairytale do they hate? Cinderella. 

Do they believe in happy endings? Yes.

What is their idea of perfect happiness? Being at peace. 

What would they ask a fortune teller? What’s the world like in the future.

If your character could travel through time, where would they go? 90s. 

What sport do they excel at? People watching. 

What sport do they suck at? Most. 

If they could have a superpower, what would they choose? Teleportation. 

[notspoondere]

February 2018 List Re-Review

As an fun little thing, let’s go over my previous analysis and talk about what I predicted and whether or not it was correct!

I can’t think of anything better, so let’s just go off of a simple metric of “correct/maybe/incorrect” and I’ll tally up the results at the end.

Apoqliphort Towers

Before you get scared, Scout is still at one.  Hit that with Cosmic Cyclone and you win the game instantly.

But yeah, Towers is back.  Thankfully, we now have Utopia and Borrelload and a bunch of other cards to deal with it, so I really don’t expect Qliphorts to ever be a problem again.  But with Genius, at least they can be played again.

Qliphorts saw zero competitive play, so I’ll say this was spot-on.  Correct.

Grinder Golem

More degenerate token spam got hit, but I feel like this just makes it a slightly worse Gofu that’s just as sacky.

It’s sort of that, but in practice, nobody plays it at 1.  I’ll say a maybe since this isn’t exactly wrong.

Performage Damage Juggler

As far as practical application goes… the verdict is still out.  I don’t know if 1 Juggler is enough to see competitive play.  Consider the following:

The typical Lightsworn combo off of Scorpio uses Trick Clown because it makes you take damage, which triggers Thousand Blades for a free Rank 4.  If you send Juggler instead, you get Clown in hand, which is neat, but you need to Normal Summon or discard him in order to get his effect.

Invoked can use this card (with Aleister the Meltdown Invoker) to turn any hand of Aleister + Brilliant Fusion into Aleister + 2x Mechaba and 3 cards in hand, but it can do that with another combo anyways.

We’ll see on this one.  I like it being back, though.

I was visibly on the fence about this, but I’ll admit I got this wrong.  Juggler is an excellent card and has seen plenty of play since it was unbanned.  It turns out that Hat Tricker is a much better card than I expected, and everyone makes Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion with EARTH monsters anyways.

Still love it being back, honestly.  Great card.

Monster Reborn

We all know what this card does, we all know how ridiculous it is.  Get ready for this card to “enhance” all of your mirror matches.  I personally cannot wait to start sacking games with this card.  Can anyone say Lonefire Reborn Lonefire?

Monster Reborn has seen play!  Who could have expected this!?  Correct.

Solemn Judgment

Another step toward TCG/OCG parity, “God says ‘NO!’” has finally been put to one copy per deck for the first time in I don’t even know how long.  This card speaks most closely to Counter Fairies (given the recent support), but it could see play in virtually any deck not running Destrudo.

I don’t really like negation or backrow, but I guess it’s neat to have this back.  Check with me in six months and I’ll want every copy of it burned, though.

This card’s great!

I fucking hate it, but it’s seen tons of play.  Correct.

Artifact Moralltach

This card was not $7 a day ago, I swear.  The hype is real.

Artifacts have strong potential for Side Deck play, and possibly in the main with Sanctum as accessible as it is, though that hasn’t been too successful since the days of Artifact Invoked Windwitch.  Keep an eye on this for sure.

Moralltach is still sitting around $5, but has seen no play.  This one was definitely wrong.

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning

Who ever expected to see this card at 3 again?

Burning Abyss is the only competitive deck regularly playing this card, but it actually excels at two things BA can’t really do that effectively: permanent spot removal and dealing with multiple big threats.  This card deserves to be at 3, but it won’t be totally irrelevant there, either.

Still sees play, though I don’t think anyone plays three copies since it’s kind of a brick that doesn’t contribute to a board.  I’ll say this was correct, though you can feel free to correct me if BA decks have actually cut it since then.  (I sold it a few months ago for Shaddolls, sorry...)

Card Trooper

Step 1: Troop. Summon Card Trooper, it doesn’t matter how.

Step 2: Dupe.  Activate Machine Duplication, targeting Card Trooper.   Thankfully, chances are that there won’t be more than one target on the field, so it’s hard to mess this one up.

Step 3: Scoop.   Pick up your cards and leave because your opponent dropped Ash Blossom on your Machine Duplication, or because you didn’t draw your unsearchable 2-card combo, or because pushing 5700 damage isn’t enough to win the game anyways.  Whoops.

Unfortunately, I don’t expect this to make huge waves competitively, but… yeah, this combo is super fun, and I’ll probably try it with Phantom Knights or something for laughs.  I guess it doesn’t hurt to have it back.

Card Trooper DID see play!  For like a week.  It showed up in two regional lists.  I’ll admit that I was wrong, but clearly it was phased out for a reason.

Mind Control

Now THIS is actually an interesting prospect.  This card has not seen an errata of any kind, and is arguably still playable going second.  Taking control of monsters actually breaks Co-links and the card itself doesn’t prevent you from using your opponent’s monsters to summon from the Extra Deck, so this could actually be a strong counter to some strategies.  Mind Control is definitely a card you should keep in mind.

This was absolutely correct.  Mind Control has seen Side Deck play and occasional Main Deck play in strategies designed to go second like Mekk-Knight Invoked.

Bottomless Trap Hole

Another interesting unhit.  Trap cards in general were thought to be powercrept, so Konami has been taking strides in releasing a number of the most powerful ones ever, such as this.  Note: HAT did not have 3x Bottomless.  Also note that HAT will not come back because of this and Moralltach, and that Bagooska is still pretty much a better card than Rafflesia.

I feel fairly confident in saying this card isn’t good enough to be played even at 3, but I feel as though there’s a small chance I could be proven wrong.

Was absolutely 100% correct on this, it saw no play whatsoever.  I don’t think I met anyone in the few days after the banlist that wasn’t hyped about this, but even then, I felt it was pretty obvious that this card was not good enough to see play without substantial Trap Hole support.

Torrential Tribute

ahahahhHAHAHAHHHHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAH

This card being at 3 is complete insanity.  Full power Zoo format had a few people side decking Blind Obliteration, a card which is almost strictly worse than this, and now they won’t ever need to.

I know in a week I’ll come to hate the absolute hell of playing through 3x Torrential, but for now, I can’t wait to see how people cheese their way through majors with this card in triplicate.  It’s more than powerful enough, in any case.

Once again, 100% correct.  ABC, Trickstars, Burning Abyss, and Paleo Frogs all found success with this card.  I don’t think this was a surprise to anyone though.

And that’s it.  SPYRAL is probably dead, Magicians are hurt badly, and several rogue/tier 2 archetypes got a small boost.

SPYRAL dropped off really hard, but was still played.  Magicians require a bit of thought: Technically, this list did absolutely nothing to stop them from being the best deck in the game, but it would have been much worse (like +3 or +4 on top of Vortex/Norito/Dweller) if Iris or Joker were still in the game.  I’ll give this a maybe, but I admit that’s kind of generous.

EXTRA: Card That Did Not Get Hit, Somehow

Trickstar Reincarnation

I asked our local Trickstar player what he thought of the banlist.  He reached into his deck box, pulled out Maxx “C” and Gofu, and gave me a shit eating grin.

Despite topping multiple events, this deck somehow did not get hit in the slighest.  The searchable 2-card combo that banishes your hand whenever you search or draw a card is still totally, 100% legal.  Konami says it’s cool.  This is fine.

This is NOT FINE.  Welcome to the best deck of the next format.

Okay, something you have to understand about this format: Draco vs. full power SPYRAL was by far Draco’s worst matchup, while Trickstar vs. full power SPYRAL was a fairly solid matchup for Trickstar thanks to the fact that Trickstars are practically an engine for a deck of hand traps, normal traps, and Scapegoat, all things SPYRAL are really bad against.

It turns out that Trickstar isn’t THAT great against everything else, though I hold that it is still a viable deck.

In terms of results, the deck was absolutely not the best deck of the format, though it was Tier 1/2 for a while until Draco came back.  It actually won a YCS once, I believe.

I’ll say this was wrong, but hopefully you can see it was close to being right.

Final total:

Correct: 7

Maybe: 2

Wrong: 4

Correct + Maybe = 9

Correct + Maybe / Total x 100 = 9(100)/13 = 69.23% Not Wrong™.  Nice.

Strictly speaking, I got a bunch of other stuff right by making no comment on cards I thought were totally irrelevant, but hopefully this is a reasonable/conservative metric of how good my predictions are.

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 12/30/20

SEAN: The final week of 2020, a year I will be all too happy to put behind me. What’s coming out?

J-Novel Club has Otherside Picnic 4, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 5, and the 2nd and final volume of WATARU!!! The Hot-Blooded Fighting Teen & His Epic Adventures After Stopping a Truck with His Bare Hands!!.

Kodansha has just two titles in print next week. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 2 (which I do not care about) and Witch Hat Atelier 7 (which I do).

MICHELLE: I pledge that someday I will actually read Witch Hat Atelier.

ASH: You have a treat waiting for you, Michelle! Witch Hat Atelier is truly wonderful.

ANNA: I agree, it is a wonderful series.

SEAN: Digitally it has a lot more. The debut is We’re New At This (Mijuku na Futari de Gozaimasu ga), a series from the creator of Ao-chan Can’t Study!. Two childhood friends have gotten married and love each other… but they’re both total innocents! Can they figure out how to do what couples do? This runs in Comic Days.

Also out digitally: Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure 7, Guilty 7, My Boyfriend in Orange 10, Shaman King: The Super Star 4 (which catches us up with Japan, I think), A Sign of Affection 3, and The Prince’s Romance Gambit 8. A Sign of Affection is already on my must-buy list.

MICHELLE: That’s another one I need to actually start. I also enjoy Guilty, which is a fun josei drama about people who definitely don’t need lessons on what couples do.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of titles, the most important being the 4th and final volume of Satoko & Nada. They also have the print version of Restaurant to Another World 4 and the print version of Arifureta Zero 4.

MICHELLE: Yay Satoko & Nada.

ASH: This series is a delight! I’m so happy that it was released in translation.

SEAN: Sol Press has 4 digital titles, all light novels. The only one that isn’t a debut is Chivalry of a Failed Knight 4.

The Game Master Has Logged into Another World (GM ga Isekai ni Login Shimashita). Gamer and GM collapses one day and finds himself in a game, now he has to call on his special cheat GM powers. I hate everything I typed just now.

I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life As a Mage (Moto Saikyou no Kenshi wa, Isekai Mahou ni Akogareru). A boy really wants to learn magic… but has no talents there. He does have amazing talents as the reincarnation of a master swordsman, but still… he wants to learn magic! This sounds slightly better, but only slightly.

Let This Grieving Soul Retire! Woe is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party (Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai: Saijiyaku Hanta ni Yoru Saikiyou Patei Ikusei Jutsu). This actually made it onto the end-of-year Light Novel Popularity polls, which is why I might actually look at it, despite being a “weak to strong” book, a genre I’m not fond of. Our hero’s friends have cool powers. He does not. But for some reason they keep expecting things of him.

Square Enix has a third volume of My Dress-Up Darling.

ASH: This series really surprised me. It’s definitely risqué, but it has some depth to the story and characters, too.

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 7th and final omnibus of Aria The Masterpiece, meaning after 16 years, and being cancelled twice by two different companies, we can finally read the end of Aria.

ASH: Wow!

MELINDA: I don’t even know what to say about this.

ANNA: I suppose it is certainly some sort of publishing achievement.

SEAN: Vertical has a 2nd in NISIOISIN’s Pretty Boy Detective Club series, The Swindler, the Vanishing Man, and the Pretty Boys.

Yen On has a few December stragglers. This includes a debut. The World’s Finest Assassin, Reincarnated in a Different World as an Aristocrat (Sekai Saikou no Ansatsusha, Isekai Kizoku ni Tensei Suru) sounds a whole lot like a number of other series we’ve seen recently, to be honest.

ASH: There does seem to have been one or two of those…

SEAN: There’s also Bungo Stray Dogs 5, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 5, and Woof Woof Story 5. Lotta 5s.

Lastly, Yen Press has High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World 9 (manga version) and A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 9.

What manga will you be reading to help you forget 2020?

By: Sean Gaffney

[wavesofthewest]

Chapter 17: Promises

>Fate: 10-20 coli battles

“…Thank you.”

Nameless turned to see his familiar, Leaf, look down at him from the top of the tree.

“Hm?”

“Thank you…for being as kind as you are. I’m glad to have been your familiar,” the webwing continued. “I’d gladly stay, but there’s someone else who needs the comfort of a familiar. Besides, you shouldn’t be alone for too long…gaolers always get a deputy.” Nameless smiled.

“You’re free to leave me and find a new host if you want,” he said. “You were the one who came to me, I’m not going to hold you captive.”

Leaf smiled and flew off in the direction of the clan. The gaoler watched her as she flew. It’d be a bit lonely without her but he’d promised her that she’d be free to stay or go if she wanted, and he had the full intention of keeping that promise. He didn’t mind.

Bedankt fluttered up to him, crests betraying agitation - at least, he thought so. They were moving rapidly and the fae’s words came out too quickly for him to be able to discern them.

“Woah, woah, slow down, Bedankt,” he said, interrupting the fae in her torrent of words. “What is it?” The fae swallowed, took a few breaths and started over.

“Tale told Donder and Donder told me that you could find out who my parents are,” she began. “And it’s not like I really care that much about them, but I’m curious, you know? I know they came from water and that one of them was a fae, but that’s about it, and since it’s possible to find out who they are I figured might as well find out because there really can’t be a downside to it. Faraus thinks it’s a good idea, too, so even if I didn’t want to I’d be kinda outnumbered three to one. Sooo I was wondering - is it possible for you to find out who my parents are and if so how because the others are never going to shut up about this otherwise.”

Nameless sighed. Of course it was Tale. The young fae kept getting herself and everyone around her in trouble. It wasn’t that he couldn’t find out who Bedankt’s parents were - no, he definitely could - but he wasn’t all-powerful like he was sometimes described as. Scrying someone’s heritage was easy magic, but the further back it went, the more exhausting it was. He just hoped nobody asked him to find out who their founding god was.

The gaoler breathed in and concentrated his magic. The green stripes on his fur began to glow and soon, two fuzzy images rose from the ground between them. The shapes moulded together and became clearer, picturing -

Picturing Sage and Abstract.

Nameless stepped back, surprised. Bedankt was the missing egg. She’d come home - but her response wasn’t a very happy one. The fae seemed angry. She tried to dismiss the images by batting at them - the gaoler did dismiss them when he figured out what she was doing - and flew away quickly. The gaoler sighed.

From the corner of his eye, Nameless could see a grey figure walking towards him. Ashes. The two had spent a lot of time together recently, more than usual, which made the gaoler wonder - what was so appealing about him that made the younger dragon want to spend so much time with him?

There was something off about him today, though. The guardian was strangely quiet as he sat beside Nameless, watching the clan from afar.

“…If you loved someone, but you know they don’t love you back, what would you do?” the guardian asked. “If you tried your hardest for them, but in all the wrong ways?”

“Is this about Heaven?” Nameless replied. “Ashes, you need to let go. Heaven’s gone. There’s nothing you can do for her now. You need to focus on the living world, on what’s going on right now. She might have been your sister, but there are people in this life that need you. Like Poison. She’s drifting away from the rest of us, have you noticed that? You need to be there for her.”

“We were lied to,” Ashes said. “And she died before she could even find out the truth! She needs to know. They need to tell her - they -”

“So was Bedankt.”

“Bedankt had a loving family, she was happy. Besides, it’s not like we know who her parents are, I couldn’t help her find them even if I wanted to.”

“Heaven was happy too, Ashes. Besides, you’re the tribe’s heir. You need to think about the future of the tribe - does killing their leader really sound like the best way to protect them?” Nameless sighed.

“I didn’t ask to be heir. I didn’t ask for any of this,” Ashes said. “If any of my siblings were alive, I’d hand the title over to them in a heartbeat.”

“You could ask her,” Nameless said quietly. “Bedankt.”

“What?”

“She came up to me and asked me to scry her parents,” the gaoler sighed. “The spell showed Sage and Ab. Though I’ll warn you - she’s not happy about it.”

The guardian opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but shut it. They sat there, silently, waiting for the other to say something.

“She was my charge,” Ashes eventually said, breaking the silence. “Heaven. If I give up on her, what happens to me? Everyone says that if a guardian loses his charge, they fade away.”

“You could change your charge,” Nameless replied. He sat a paw on the guardian’s shoulder and looked into his deep blue eyes. “There’s nothing stopping you from changing your calling to something that calls stronger.”

The guardian smiled and stood to leave. He nodded his head in thanks, and as he left, their tails briefly touched - a shy sign of affection, which surprised Nameless. Ashes wasn’t the type to show any kind of affection. Maybe their friendship was doing the guardian some good.

As the gaoler watched his friend leave, a smaller creature came up to him, standing on the gaoler’s paw to get his attention. The creature was like a goblin, though it had fur and wore a helmet with horns that were similar to the ones he had. It held a chain in one hand.

“Took me long enough to find you,” the creature said. Its voice was gruff and rasped a bit as if it had a sore throat. Nameless was a bit surprised at the fact that the creature could talk - it was a familiar, and most familiars weren’t able to speak until they had awakened.

“Took you long enough…what?” Nameless asked. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“The name’s Warrior, sir,” the creature said. It sat down on the gaoler’s paw and took the chain up in both hands. “Every gaoler has a deputy, sir. The dripcave deputies are one of the highest and most regarded ones, and our entire order is dedicated to helping you contain the Shade and maintain order. Others may have other deputy orders or simply normal creatures to form the bond as general and deputy. I hope we can form such a bond, sire.”

The gaoler didn’t reply. He was even more surprised at what the creature had said. Deputies…familiar orders…he recognised the terms but didn’t know where from. He knew that his memories from his past life where blotched and kept together in patches. This was probably something that he knew about and had forgotten during the years and reincarnation.

“Okay, Warrior,” he eventually said. “Seems like we have a rollercoaster of a ride to go on.”

—–

Faraus, Tale and Arrow got the joy of entering the coliseum today, and they all turned level 4. A quick rundown of everyone’s levels (it’s been a while since some of these guys have been in the coli):

Level 1: Petal, Lost, Nera, Nameless

Level 3: Bedankt, Donder, Smoke

Level 4: Faraus, Tale, Arrow

Level 7: Blue, Abstract, Ashes

Level 25: Poison

Quick note about the familiars and talking - I headcanon familiars as regular beastclan and animals that have found a companion (host) and bond with them under an extended period of time. At some point, they awaken and complete their bond and are able to speak. The exceptions are certain familiars such as elemental creatures (usually fest familiars) and the odd species like dripcave deputies (generally when it fits with lore, they can talk regardless of bond level).

[bookbeani]

Writing Tag Game

Stealing this from @elenajohansen

Rules: Answer the questions for your work. You can use different fics, and even WIPs. Don’t hesitate to link your stuff for the curious ones :) And tag writer friends to play along!

1/ Which scene/paragraph/sentence are you the most proud of? I came across this quote recently when I was going through some old writing of mine. Was pleasantly surprised: 

“This was rebirth. This was the reincarnation they talked about in mythology, the metaphorical phoenix that burst into flames before rising once more in its very ashes. Except this wasn’t nearly as beautiful. Reality never was.” 

2/ For which work/piece of work do you get comments telling how marvelous it is, while you’re not that enthralled by that piece yourself? Back in ye olde wattpad days, I’d posted a short story on the side which got way more attention than my main wip. A few months after I posted it I didn’t even like it much anymore. But apparently people did. 

3/ Which character highjacked the story they’re in? Adnan in my current wip. He was supposed to be a side character. A SIDE CHARACTER. But I guess he never got the memo. 

4/ Which sentence/kind of sentence do you overuse? I write in an odd mixture of really really long sentences that never seem to end, with a hundred commas strewn throughout, of course, just to continue on and on, never stopping, until the reader starts to wonder if I’ve forgotten what a period is. And then. You get these fragments. Of words. With periods everywhere.

So yeah, whatever that is. 

5/ Which work of yours would you be dying to get fanart for? My current wip!! Just like, any fanart. At all. 

6/ Which work would you rather forget? A short story I wrote for a competition when I was 14. That got published in an anthology. We do not speak of that.

7/ Do you have a project you never got the nerves/guts to write? Yeah, there’s this historical fiction idea that recently popped up. It’s not that I don’t have to guts to write it, it would just take so much research. And that’s something I really hate. So it’ll be a while before that idea sees the light of day. But someday.

8/ For which fandom have you written the most? (can be original fic, say if you count in terms of words, chapters or fics) I actually don’t write fanfic! The only one I’ve ever written was for The Inheritance Cycle, and that was years ago. And of course, me being me, I never finished it. 

In terms of original fic, it would be my current wip I think!! I usually bail on stuff I’m writing by the time I reach 10k, so. This is new. 

I’m tagging @mlledevoltaire @bookcub @logarithmicpanda and anyone else who writes! 

[carlmlacroix92]

Exclusive: Inside the Company Taking Cremated Remains to the Edge of the Earth

Inside look at Mesoloft

Based out of Lexington, Kentucky, Mesoloft is a company that that takes cremated remains fifteen miles above the earth, almost into outer space and releases them into the atmosphere. Over time, the cremated remains return to earth reaching all area of areas of the planet, some even reaching the earth as snowflakes and raindrops. Mesoloft is preparing for a launch in Oregon, but thankfully, Alex had some time to answer some questions before they hit the road.

CD: How many services does Mesoloft perform monthly?

Alex (Mesoloft): We recently reached a point where we are batching launches together into what we are calling launch campaigns. By that I mean we set a week or 10 day period were we plan to launch all our booked customers over that period of time. Each customer still has their own launch, unless for example, they request we mix ashes of their parents. Right now it looks like we will probably be doing two launch campaigns a year with more possible as we continue to grow.

CD: How do you determine your launch sites?

Alex: The number one determining factor is making sure we have a location where we will be able to easily recover our hardware and cameras. This means we prefer open landscapes with as few trees and bodies of water as possible. We also prefer being able to land on public lands where we don’t have to worry about finding the landowner and requesting permission to recover our equipment. You take both of these requirements and most of our launch sites will be located in the Western United States.

For our first launch campaign we chose the area around Bend, OR as it sits right on the edge of the high desert region of Eastern Oregon. Bend also happens to be surrounded by beautiful landscape that we hope makes the videos we provide our customers even more stunning.

CD: What initiated the switch from 180 to 360 degrees?

Alex: From the beginning I’ve also thought providing customers a 360 view would be a game changer for our service. About a year ago as VR headsets were becoming more prevalent I was shown a video of a rocket launch. The video was an incredibly immersive experience and I knew had to try to make it happen for our customers. This spring several new 360 cameras were introduced, so we bought several and put them through extensive testing. We settled on the Garmin VIRB 360 which is a high end consumer model that is ruggedized and we’ve been very happy with.

We also fly with a minimum of two cameras and we still fly with a regular HD camera that captures regular footage. Sometimes it is easier to share regular footage so we keep that option available to the families. All of our customers will also receive custom Google Cardboards which helps give the viewer an immersive experience while watching the 360 video.

CD: How do you see this change affecting Mesoloft in the near future?

Alex: We really believe this is a game changer for our service and customers. It let’s the family feel as if they are participating in their loved one’s scattering. For certain families that connection is really important and we hope that’s what we can provide.

CD: What has been the most meaningful experience for your team thus far?

Alex: That’s a tough one as each one of our customers have their own unique and interesting stories as well as reason they chose Mesoloft. Our first customers were unique as they were a family we knew whose mom and dad had passed away about a year earlier. They asked us to scatter their ashes together because that’s exactly what they would have wanted. The family was so happy with the video that it really motivated us that we had such a unique service.

CD:  How is Mesoloft different from similar companies?

Alex: Our number one differentiator is the video and experience we provide. Families get to watch and interact with the actual scattering event and I think that is really important for the family. Also for most of our customers we post their launch videos on YouTube where it is easy to share and revisit whenever you may be thinking of your loved one.

CD: Is Mesoloft partnering with funeral homes? If so, what had the response been?

Alex: Yes, we are trying to build a network of funeral homes who can offer our services to the families they work with. We offer to pay the funeral homes for them to help coordinate shipping the ashes to us as well as helping get our waiver signed and returned to us. So far most of the funeral homes we’ve begun working with learned about Mesoloft from a family approaching them with Mesoloft already in mind. Once they hear about us we’ve received a very positive reaction about our services. We creating some new info phamlets and literature that we’ll be disturbing this fall. If a funeral home is interested in working with Mesoloft they can visit our funeral directors page (www.mesoloft.com/directors)

CD: Who is the perfect customer for Mesoloft?

Alex: It’s actually been surprising the different ways Mesoloft resonates with our customers. For some it’s a lifelong love of space or flying and Mesoloft just aligns with their hobbies and interests. For others it might be that they loved to travel and what better way to memorialize them then to scatter their ashes over the entire Earth. Lastly, for some we connect on a spiritual level. One customer in particular viewed our scattering as a stepping stone in their reincarnation. For them being scattered and returning to Earth as raindrops or snowflakes was a very powerful message.

For more information on Mesoloft call 502.275.1413, email info@mesoloft.com, or visit www.mesoloft.com.