#what do you mean this isn’t canon?? 🤔

[luciuscodedswedeboy]

[anxiousnerdwritings]

👀🤔What about the first wielders of Valyrian steel swords? I mean imagine Reader being the first wielder of (for example) Dark Sister? Sure it would be many years ago before Visenya wielding a Dark Sister, but I can’t help but imagine it.

😱🤩*gasp* what if Dream!Reader was the one who wielded Dark Sister? I’m pretty sure many Targaryens would fight for the sword. Yan!platonic!Targaryens who wields/wielded Dark Sister would be smug about it.

What do you think about it? I have many ideas of this concept and I’m willing to share them with you.

If Dark Sister was originally Dream!Reader’s from the beginning then there’s no doubt in my mind that that sword would be even more special than it already was in canon. Everybody would want to wield it for themself but especially House Targaryen. They’re the only ones who deem themselves worthy of possessing it but even then not every Targaryen would be deserving of it in the eyes of other Targaryens. You can bet there would be a lot of backstabbing and stealing from each other in the effort to be the one to have Dream!Reader’s Dark Sister in their hands. At that rate, by the time Dream!Reader pops up back in Westeros their beloved Valyrian sword would be absolutely lost. Or maybe it’s just so well hidden no one actually knows where it is.

This did get me thinking of Dream!Reader having their very own Valyrian weapon in general, I feel like that would make it even more special. Maybe Blackfyre and Dark Sister were originally the Reader’s too but they gifted them to Aegon and Visenya while keeping the third one for themself. I also like to imagine the Valyrian weapon that is specifically Dream!Reader’s isn’t a sword at all, maybe even something more unique. Could you imagine Dream!Reader running around the world of ASOIAF with Valyrian brass knuckles or Valyrian nunchucks??? That would be kind of wild. Or Dream!Reader’s Valyrian weapon is just some random object from our word, like a fucking golf club or something like that.

I also think that as much as quite a few Targaryens would want nothing more than to be the wielder of Dream!Reader’s beloved weapon, Dream!Reader’s weapon (along with a plethora of their other belongings) would end up in a makeshift museum/hall of fame revolving all around Dream!Reader. All of their stuff would stay there until the day Dream!Reader returns. At least until someone steals whatever before the Reader comes back cause you know it’ll happen.

Imagine yandere!House Targaryen’s reactions to thinking that Dream!Reader’s beloved Valyrian weapon was lost with them whenever they’d disappear from the world of Westeros, only to one day see someone from one of the other great houses with Reader’s weapon in their possession. Or any of Dream!Reader’s belongings in general. To say it would be a shitshow is an understatement.

[belovedmuichiro]

What do you mean GenZen isn’t canon?? They’re holding hands 🤔

[hanafubukki]

OT3 angst starting to kick again 😭 I mean, on one hand you are happy because the people you love are alive and well. On the other hand...

Silver: "I don't have a mother, but I have a father who raised me. We are not from the same blood, but it doesn't matter. I will always be my father son"

Lilia: "Oya, you look familiar. Do you have an ancestor who went to Briar Valley at some point ? My, my, this reminds me pleasant feelings, but it seems I'm too old, my memories is playing with me again."

Malleus: "Are you using parfume ? You do....not ? Nothing. Nothing Child of man. Your scent just reminds me of Lilia's home. It's just...stronger. Don't mind what I am saying. Perhaps I just miss this place."

Does this also means that in this Au Lilia forgot he always was Silver's dad too ? My heart- But the fact that he still found a way to give him the same name is priceless. "You have a head to be called Silver". And Meleanor and Dawn 🥲 Is Levan with them too ? What if everyone think they are dead ? (Except Maleficia perhaps. Wouldn't be surprise if she is the one who helped us in this situation to save everyone and is keeping the secret until the good time)

- 🦋 Anon

[OT3 Masterlist, specifically talking about this post.]

Ahsjskdkd 🦋 Anonie, the way you zoomed into my inbox so quickly, I was so surprised. I love it 💞🥰

So 👀 the parts that I figured out would go like this.

You turned back time and you also have the Great Seven help as well because of how the whole price and turning time worked. They can’t help outwardly but at a certain time they can when you need help bringing down what basically causes you to change time in the first place.

So to back track a bit, you turn back time. You ended up basically during the Fae versus Human war. You couldn’t stop the war, and Lilia escaped with the egg. You stop the battle with Meleanor and Dawn.

You have magic. You know how to fight because you were trained before the time was turned to defend yourself (because there was a war going on). You block the hit that would have killed Meleanor and put a healing sleep spell on her before teleporting her to safety.

You end up reasoning with KOD and returning to his kingdom. You would help heal his father and stop this war.

Even with everything, the humans turn on Leah and KoD because of Henrik. Leah is actually the one who tricks KOD to sleep in the same room as Baby Silver.

You come too late to rescue them. She dies in your arms. Princess Leah remembers the timeline from before, the one you turned and the canon one. I haven’t talked about her much in the ot3, but in the original au, you and Leah are best friends. (I need to talk about her in the ot3 😅, I can’t believe I haven’t yet lol)

She thanks you for everything and says how much she missed you. 😭

You end up burying her and return to the castle…where you see Baby Silver and KOD. You make a point to come visit them. You know make sure there isn’t dust on them and change baby silver’s clothes.

There’s actually a cute scene with baby silver if you want to know 🥰💞

With Lilia, he still travels and tries to hatch the egg as he did in canon and the ot3, you visit the egg so Malleus won’t be lonely. In fact, you end up giving some magic to baby mal when that time comes 😭

Lilia does find Silver as usual and names him and raises him. He sees Dawn but Dawn doesn’t wake up then and there. (After all, there’s no love there since you’re not there to connect them 😔)

Dawn wakes up later when Silver is a toddler and Silver finds the room they kept him in. With Meleanor, she’s healing and it takes time, she wakes up but Malleus is grown and the treaty is in place.

I haven’t decided on levan 😂😂 and with grandma maleficia, well, there’s two versions in my head. A version where she remembers you and there’s a version where you and her just became close over the hundreds of years that you visit behind the scene. Or maybe both 🤔

Silver is raised by his fathers and Malleus. He knows about his bio mom, but also he feels a connection to you. Could it be from before? When you were the one to give birth to him? Or now? When you took care of him in his cradle? He feels comfortable around you, as if he can hear your voice encouraging him to walk or feel your fingers in his hair.

Now Malleus gets a sense of nostalgia and comfort. He feels like he met you before. Maybe once upon a dream? You’re so familiar a gleam? You spent time with him when he was an egg. You would make him scarves and tell him stories. He oddly recalls a voice from a comforting dream so ago. And funny enough, the familiar smell. In my thoughts, even though the timeline was reversed back, you still retain items from that time.

Your wedding band, Lilia’s hachet, flower crown, etc. some of which, is used as a story plot later. Some used in angst and some comfort.

For KOD and Lilia, they feel as if they know you. As if they met you somewhere before. When you met them, you always covered your face so they couldn’t see you. Your voice sounds familiar but there’s no way you can be that hooded figure because they were clearly human.

On that note, you lived through the past 400 years. You can say you took steps for the future to help in the coming years of the disaster. To be ready.

Lilia and KOD feel something for you but they are confused. Is it infatuation? Is it your mystery? At one point, they are tensed around you because they think you might be a danger to their family. You know how protective they are.

It hurts to be left out and watch them from afar but you do it. You know the price you paid, but who knows? Maybe certain characters remember and will assist you?

…as you can see, I’ve thought about this alternate ot3 au a lot 😂💞���

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

Is there a both option? I mean the question is how far would Cartman go and risk alienating Kenny and I think the answer is quite a lot and the track record really shows that he can get away with basically anything and not get disavowed from the friend group 🤔 so there isn’t really a disincentive to not try to break them up, especially if he thinks they will eventually get over it and return to status quo.

Though on the other hand I do think it could go the route where depending on what lengths he goes to…while it might not permanently sour any relationship Cartman has with the two boy separately, but I couldn’t say the same with complete confidence for the Kenny and Butters connection. I think if any dysfunction starts interfering with Cartman’s schemes, he might get fed up and try to fix it somewhat 🤔 Although somewhat as a side note though he already spews vitriolic hate speech and slurs, I would have a hard time believing he wouldn’t find some way to take advantage of the Bunny relationship and be more embolden to start saying even darker more heinous stuff because he believes he would receive less push back as *insert sound bite “How can I be homophobic my b*tch is gay🎶” *

(In reference to this poll)

True, Cartman would definitely take advantage of his friends being in a gay relationship to get out of any accusations of homophobia just to spew even more homophobic crap, but while Kenny is arguably closest to him out of the main 4, I kinda feel like he doesn't need KENNY to be the friend he takes advantage of bc of this. He would just as much say this about Stan and Kyle (even if they aren't even together lmao) and he is pretty much canonically 1000% on board with THEM being in a gay relationship (see "Cupid Me" and "Guitar Queero").

Some people reblogged the poll with some interesting takes, and I gotta say what convinced me the most is the fact that Cartman just kinda has it out for Butters at all times lmao. I'm convinced he would think that Kenny can do better, and especially if Kenny started calling Cartman out on how he treats Butters, he'd think Butters is "corrupting" Kenny and trying to ruin his and Kenny's BFF-ship.

The way he reacted in concern about Kenny's girlfriend being a slut who would just "throw his heart in his face" in the episode "The Ring" has me convinced, that Cartman somewhat weirdly cares about Kenny's relationships, and not just in a self-serving way. This isn't in an attempt to alienate Kenny, but rather alienate the potential partner, and we've seen a LOT of instances in which Cartman does not have any qualms about painting Butters as the bad guy and/or someone to be made fun of.

As much as I'd love to advocate for some kind of compassion Cartman could express for Butters, their friendship is just not built on that. Butters and Cartman get along well enough, but only as long as Butters goes along with everything Cartman says. Once he goes against it, Cartman either goes LIVID or completely dismisses/invalidates his concerns. Some good episode where you can conclude this, are "Let Them Eat Goo", "The Death of Eric Cartman", "DikinBaus Hotdogs", "Poor and Stupid", "The Magic Bush", "Tegridy Farms", "Super Fun Time" and about a hundred more, but when I think of Butters & Cartman's friendship these are the ones that first come to mind.

The only instances where he kind of seems to care about Butters' distress in small ways are in "The Magic Bush" and briefly in "Super Fun Time", but it's not significant enough to qualify for the genuine respect I see him show Kenny (or even Stan). I can write a whole essay about the nuance of Cartman and Butters' friendship, but that's for some other time. In short: Cartman really likes having Butters do whatever he says, and Butters doesn't even need to do anything particularly defiant for Cartman to start putting him down (ex. the ending of the "The Death of Eric Cartman" episode.) If Kenny, who is Cartman's weird soft spot, started going against Cartman in favor of Butters, whose established dynamic with Cartman completely benefits him, I can imagine that this would rub Cartman the wrong way.

I could be convinced though, that once Cartman realizes how sad it made Kenny, if (thanks to one of Cartman's schemes) his and Butters' relationship were to not work out, Cartman would begrudgingly take some kind of pity on Kenny (and maybe even Butters) and recognize that being together is what makes them both happy. He then would do another scheme that gets them back together, and "Smug Alert"-esque not want them to know that it's thanks to him hahahh

So yeah, it could be kind of "both", but, in my humble opinion, only AFTER Cartman damages their relationship almost beyond repair in an attempt to keep them apart. Which is why I, personally, would still go for the "manipulative-anti-matchmaker" option. But I purposely didn't add a "both" option bc most people would go for that without thinking it over too much lmao

Thank you so much for the ask anon, sorry for taking so long to respond but you truly made me think about this a lot ahaha this kinda turned into an analysis of the trio more than an answer to your ask, I hope you don't mind. You made my braincells fire off

[ruporas]

Hello hello! I read your tidbits for plant ww au and if you don't mind me asking, how come ww is no longer able to verbally communicate? Did dying and reviving take away some of his physical capabilities? Or is that simply a consequence of becoming half plant? 🤔 ww being alive is all that matters but I'm so curious!

hello!! at the time, i think i made it that way because of him becoming half plant-ish? admittedly, i didn’t give the logistics too much thought but he doesn’t make a lot of sounds and doesn’t speak, like dependent plants. it Probably means that something physically has been affected, but i haven’t researched enough into what i want that to be :’] i also think since he woke up again, he hasn’t felt the particular urge to communicate verbally/found viable enough solutions to make do. he isn’t able to communicate with plants either in the shared consciousness way.

if i go deeper into this au, i might change more things around… i’ve already started adjusting what capabilities he should have as being a revived guy from a little less than half of vash’s power + love. ashamed to say i haven’t given too much thought into plants hcs and full capabilities either!! i always forget what they’re capable of in canon ;;

anyway, i hope that answers it!! and here’s some doodles i drew while thinking of how to answer this question!

a small comic - he has plenty of little feathers so i went and made use of them

[smilesrobotlover]

Love at Twilight. Got anything to say about it? Any behind the scenes things you’d be willing to share? Thoughts on Kori? His physiology? Any hints on upcoming plot or chapters? 👀

Hmmmm

So the very first draft of this story was widely different than how it was now. Originally it was a story about a circus that tried to get Kori there, but I really didn’t know what to do with everyone else. The plot didn’t motivate me and the final chapter I wrote out was terrible. I couldn’t fit in the resistance and generally I didn’t like it.

Until I thought of a mutated shadow beast, and then I completely changed the plot. There was no more lame ring leaders or weird and uncomfy scenarios in the circus. Like lemme tell you, the story wrote itself when I changed the main villain. It rocks

But it’s interesting at how the two stories kinda parallel? Originally Link didn’t let Kori leave Ordon out of fear for his safety, but for his birthday, they go to castle town. Some old man freaks out at Kori when he gets distracted by cats and it’s this huge deal. They’re able to run away but the ring leader finds out about “a little devil” and wants to find him for his circus. So he tracks Kori down in Ordon and attacks Uli in the middle of the night to find him.

In the actual story, they go to Kakariko for Kori’s birthday, some lady freaks out about him, and while I couldn’t show this in the fic itself, I imagined a comic form of this part. When Link and Rusl are done investigating the missing Goron, there’s a hint that the Twili beast is watching them. So it follows them back to Ordon when the fam leaves and attacks Rusl.

So much fun stuff! Rip Uli and Rusl, one of y’all had to suffer in each story 😔

Idk what else to say about the old story but it’s fun to talk about because it changed SO much. Everything about it is different. The rest of the story won’t parallel the old one (the old one was barely written out anyways) but it’s cool to see similarities!

Originally I played with Edmund being a villain with Twili beast, and he probably would’ve kidnapped Colin for some reason, but I decided against it. It would’ve been too much to deal with and I find Edmund a more enjoyable character now than how he was before. I’ve noticed that tp Zelda always gets an abusive husband, and while I don’t hate that, I wanted to give her something different. They’re not super in love but some sparks were actually flying in chapter 7 so… 👀 (that’s actually why I asked if oc x canon was cringe cuz I kinda like them hdbsbsjsbsk). But yeah! I found Edmund being a villain extremely boring. It’s kinda fun not having any person as a villain, and instead it be some monster or something. Man vs nature you know?

And some hints ;) the Twili beast isn’t eating people, but it is “eating” something from people. I wonder if y’all can guess :3c and also for next chapter… it’s actively hunting someone down now. But I wonder who 🤔 or is it multiple people?? Guess you’ll find out at some point.

And Kori is my baby I love him <3 since he’s half Twili, he’ll stop sleeping so much as he gets older. He’ll still need sleep, but not as much as before. Which is nice cuz he struggles to sleep with the light anyways (he’ll also begin to struggle with sleep for a lot of different reasons 😬)

And this was a complete accident, but sometimes characters write themselves haha. Kori loves fashion and clothes! I worded this weirdly in the chapter, but Kori hates the men’s skirts of ordon, and is interested in other types of clothing. I want him to be a tailor or something when he’s older cuz he finds clothes so fascinating! I mean, I did have him interested in the dress up dolls! That’s something he’d absolutely love to do :))

[dukeofdelirium]

less than a year until byler is bones ❤️

awwww is someone scared of byler endgame? 😂

let’s look at the facts, shall we?

1) Will was deliberately written to be gay and in love with Mike

2) in the same season this was revealed, Mike was deliberately written to be incapable of telling his canonical girlfriend he loves her

3) Mike also cannot touch Will for some reason even though they are canonically best friends. Cant even hug him without having a whole crisis

4) Mike is confirmed to not know that Will is gay or in love with him, stated by the Duffers AND Finn meaning there is no reason Mike shouldn’t be able to hug him unless…. 🤔 he is perhaps in love with Will?

5) Will gives Mike a coded love confession using a piece of art he created that was never resolved, meaning it is absolutely going to come into play in the final season

6) Mike was pushed into telling El he loved her BY Will, and then afterward she barely spoke to him

7) Mike and Will ended the season at each others side, literally paralleled with 2 canon couples in the same exact frame, which is very intentional foreshadowing

8) again I repeat the lie Will told Mike, the lie that is the ONLY reason Mike even confessed to El in the first place and tried to say he loved her, has not been resolved.

What do you really think is gonna happen in s5? That Mike is gonna find out Will lied, that everything Will said was from El was actually just how he felt and that Mike’s response to said lies was a direct response to Will’s own love confession and that Mike is gonna be like “well that’s so weird and gross of you, Will!” 😂

They literally wrote Will as a second love interest to Mike. They wrote Mike as having serious issues with his girlfriend. They wrote Mike and Will together the entire season and Mike and El broken up the entire season. They ended the season with Mike and Will together and a whole lot of unresolved romantic tension between them that we again are not making up or imagining with shipping goggles. It’s literally a canon love triangle.

And you think the love triangle isn’t going to end with byler? Lol. Why even write byler as an option if it won’t be acted upon? There’s literally 0 reason to have written Mike or Will this way in s4 unless the plan is for them to end up together. It’s not some difficult narrative to comprehend. If Mike can’t tell his gf he loves her, there logically must be a reason for it. 🗿🍷 but it’s ok, I know you’re slow seeing as you’re a mileven. Take your time, maybe eventually you’ll get it <3

y’all rlly think Mike isn’t in love w Will when he’s out here looking at him like this for literally no reason LMAO bro is gay. bro can’t tell his gf he loves her cuz he’s gay and closeted. bro is gay coded more than Will ever has been and Will is the confirmed gay one 😂

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Do you think is possible if Yuu develop magic?

I don’t think so?? 🤔 In the TWST world, magic is something you have to be born with the capacity for (like, in their DNA?) and it’s clear that Yuu comes from a world where magic doesn’t even exist. I guess maybe it could be a case where their magic doesn’t manifest until triggered or when they’re put in an environment which encourages magic, but… I still don’t buy it because I don’t get what that would really add to the story? I guess it’s “cool” to have a POV character that has magic powers, but what purpose does that serve in the narrative and the themes?

Canonically giving Yuu magic somewhat takes away from what makes them “special” in Twisted Wonderland; the point is that they are not meant to have any magic, but that they are still able to be helpful by being the one that gets everyone to work together. Their “power” is not having real powers at all, but rather the ability to lead and get others to cooperate (something Crowley points out in the prologue). This makes Yuu a direct contrast to the TWST boys, who have magic but act haughtily towards others and sometimes use their magic to demonstrate superiority over their peers (think of how many fights break out and how NRC operates on a “the weak obey the strong” mentality). In this way, the characters reflects major motifs of TWST: the importance of bonds over power, right down the the “mirroring”/opposites of Yuu and the rest of the cast. The final battle most likely won’t have Yuu suddenly gaining magic and then pitching in with everyone else to defeat the Big Bad, it’s everyone else coming together due to their shared experiences to defeat a common enemy, united under friendship.

On a more meta (real world) level, Yuu also isn’t meant to have magic because they’re supposed to be an easy blank slate character to self insert as. If Yuu developed the ability to use magic, then that means they also must have a unique magic/signature spell… which creates an issue with the self-insert appeal of Yuu. UM is closely tied to an individual’s identity, and well… the whole point of Yuu is for them to be generic and NOT have a clear identity so the players can each make their own “Yuu”. Even seemingly little details like how good or how bad Yuu canonically is at certain magic-related tasks could interfere with the player’s immersion or “relatability” with a self insert, especially if it doesn’t align with their own interpretation.

Some players may have their own Yuus that do develop magic or could use magic to begin with. However, these are, again, personal interpretations for Yuu made for fun and are not meant to be the exact same as the standard Yuu introduced to us. (For example, some fandom Yuus often make decisions which wildly change the direction of the main story, or interact very differently with the characters.) It makes sense for fans to give their own Yuus magic because those Yuus have more personality and background than the blank slate Yuu in the actual game.

[imagionationstation]

Hi! I read your TMNT 2012 separated au that you made with ellestrade and it really gave me brainworms so I wrote a small one-shot for it! The characters kinda ended up writing themselves haha.

anyways, wanted to share it with you and also make sure that you're okay with it. Not sure how you feel about other people taking inspiration from you ideas, so if you would like me to take it down, just let me know!

Thanks for sharing such fun ideas. Here's the post (I've also tagged you in it but sometimes tags are weird and don't always show. Also its on my fandom specific sideblog, but I am the same person haha)

Gotta love those brain worms! (Ironic statement from a 2012 viewpoint, actually-) HOLY CHALUPA, BRAIN WORMS IN THIS AU UNIVERSE, WAIT WAIT ACTUALLY WAIT-

*background rambles and spazzing*

Okay, I’m back.

I’m always a-okay with whatever fan things anyone wants to create with inspiration from something I made or helped make. As long as it isn’t containing some stamp that says “this I deem canon” when neither me (nor my partner) deemed it canon, no one ever has to worry with me getting upset over some story/comic/art.

I’m going to give some thoughts and I want to disclaimer.

When I discuss my thoughts on your POV of events in the AU, I will never, in any way, intend to diss or attack the story. I think the flow was excellent and Raph’s analysis of the events occurring was intriguing. I loved it! And nothing I say will be a statement otherwise.

But, since I have a distinct inability to keep my mouth shut when it comes to turtles and you asked, I have thoughts 🧐

My brain is now turning and ya’ll have to deal.

Characterization:

Donnie: Much distrust. Much sass. A strong sense of duty to defend his brethren turtles who don’t deserve it but he’s doing it anyway.

Very on point. Much approval 👌

Mikey: Could not be more perfect. I love him. Sweet soul ✨

Leo: He’s a bit less… Forceful. Cold and calculating. Than I envision.

I’d imagine that he had to learn to shut feelings down in order to survive. Fidgeting/smiling/visibly hesitating is out of the question. Staying in Shredder’s graces meant learning to play the game. His silence is what earns Raph the ability to be loud. The only times that he’s himself is when him and Raph are alone, outside of the sight of cameras, or when someone in is danger and fear/fury overwhelms all else. He seems bland to outsiders and it takes the Hamato brothers a while to see that that he’s just a scared little boi at heart that’s just trying his best in a cruel world.

He’s also set in his beliefs, so he’s going to assume that they’re being tormented mentally, if not physically. There’s no place in his mind that wonders if they were actually safer elsewhere.

I do like your POV, though. Plenty for me to play with.

Raph:

He’s ABSOLUTELY the first to question the differences between how Shredder treats them and how Splinter treats their brothers. He doesn’t jump the gun, but as devoted as he is, he’s never really liked Shredder. I love the implications that he’s been filing away concerns subconsciously and his brain keeps poking him like “HELLO?!”

He’s very deep. I can’t decide how I feel about that 🤔

Shredder would have wanted to fan that temper into something unforgiving and vile. Or course, that doesn’t mean he stops being a sensitive soul. It could… Have something to do with Shredder manipulating him into being angry when he wills it (basically all the time) and solemn and still when he doesn’t (such as during lectures, punishments, etc).

His brain registers this situation as one where he’s not meant to be loud and angry, and so he’s kinda… Shut down. Sassy, but mellow. Processing. Adapting. Letting what happens happen because he’s not meant to stop it.

It’s a reason that Leo gets so defensive when punishments come into play. It forces Raph to feel small. It make him vulnerable.

HOLY MOTHER OF MUTATIONS- I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS NEW TAKE ON THE AU @ellestrade TELL ME IF I’M ONTO SOMETHING

Anyway, commentary:

“in one of Takeō's strategy books he couldn't care less about”

It’s like Space Heroes. He claims so and YET he read, recalls, AND clearly has DEBATED the passage so I call sus vibes.

I get giddy when I think of Takeō discovering Space Heroes-

“Junkō and Kōta— or Donnie and Mikey, whatever false name they’d been given—”

My brain made connections. I don’t know if it was intended, but I always believe that they knew them by Shredder’s names through the beginning of season one, end of season one/beginning of season two they were associating them as both, and then by the time that the City is under attack, they’ve adapted to using their real names. (But the Saki brothers still keep their Foot names.)

So, now I assume this is somewhere in that middle plot.

Fun little Easter egg~

“Takeō and Akihitō were the offense, and Donnie and Mikey were the defense” “They held their own. In fact, they dominated.”

I’m in love with Raph’s simple acknowledgment of their roles in battle. It’s a very practical outline of exactly how their dynamic on the field plays out and he's so certain of his place.

On the other hand, I’m a bit uncertain about whether they’d dominate. I do believe that they are trained and can hold their own, but I don’t know about them being as impressive as Raph&Leo, simply because Splinter trained them to defend and Shredder trained them to kill. The Hamato brothers haven’t had much time to practice in the offensive, especially since that’s Leo&Raph’s job. (In non-AU canon, they are all offensive/defensive.)

I think Mikey might learn that kinda strength at the farmhouse after being taught by Leo&Raph, and Donnie will step back from that, finally finding his place not as a fighter/leader, but as a scientist.

Definitely an interesting take, tho 🤔

“Only now does he think that, perhaps, there was a reason their master made their primary weapons blunts and not blades.”

I am chewing on this line so hard. It’s so powerful.

I can’t even tell you why. It just is.

“Akihitō knows that Takeō isn’t lying. He’d already tried to take tonight's blame all on his own shoulders, spare Akihitō of the punishment. But Akihitō knows all his tricks and he won’t let his brother suffer alone. Again.”

100% behind Raph learning to butt in when Leo tries to take the fall as they get older and punishments get worse.

“Seeing the situation, the evidence glaring at him, Akihitō cannot deny that this wasn’t exactly a great sell. Takeō and him are tied to the ground, trying to convince these two strangers that they would be safe with them. That their clan would not hurt them while that same clan was just about ready to beat them to a pulp.”

I was thinking the same thing 🤣

Leo, dude, seriously. Look around. Think for a second. You are not selling your point. You are doing the opposite.

In the end, it doesn’t even matter. Sensei will always find them no matter where they run. It was better to follow than be chased.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO TEACH THESE KIDS THAT THIS IS A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP. YOU SHOULD NOT FEEL MOTIVATED TO STAY WITH DAD BECAUSE HE WILL FORCED YOU TO REMAIN OTHERWISE. BRUH. RED FLAG.

These were Foot Ninja binds made specifically to hold them. Mutant strength and all.

It makes sense that Shredder would make these. But.

But man. He made those. For them.

Takeō tries to take control of the situation again, the bossy oldest sibling coming out in him.

HA. Got him. Leo is Leo in any universe.

“His name is Mikey.” Donnie glares. “The rat is lying and he has—” “Donnie, its fine.”

Absolutely how they view things. Mikey doesn’t care what they think or do as long as no one he cares about is paying the price. Donnie feels it is a manner of principle that they accept logic and truth.

Leo talking over both of them is valid. This kid, I swear.

“Then tell your older brother to shut up about—”

LEO IS IT OFFICIAL YOU HAVE BEEN DISOWNED

“Sounds like a you-problem.” Donnie stands. “Mikey, we saved them. It's time to go.”

Donnie would die for them <3

A hand lands on his shoulder, and he recognizes it. Takeō always knows when to give support. He’s a good brother. He hopes Donnie and Mikey will know that one day too.

OH. OKAY. WELL. 🥺

THOSE FEELS CAME OUT OF NOWHERE-

He loved his big bro sm hjkhkjhkjhjkkjhkjhkjhku

If Akihitō didn’t know any better, he’d say it was longing.

Oh, don’t worry, he is dying to have other people in his life who genuinely care for him, but as long as you guys are with the enemy, you’re a threat to his baby brother and daddy and not to be trusted

And, just maybe, it could be their world too. 

Oh, so that’s what pain feels like. Glad to be reminded.

[picnicbitchsokka]

zuko & sokka learn from each other in the best way possible - and here’s why

here’s the last paragraph from the famous “the prince and the fool” page iroh wrote to zuko talking about sokka

“Your experience with failure and your refusal to give up helped Sokka when he needed it most.”

sokka’s father, hakoda left him to protect his village, his gran gran, and katara

we know sokka can be really hard on himself wanting to prove to his father he’s worthy and this caused him to be brave and the protector

but he has also struggled dealing with failure at the same time

he hates letting the ones closest to him down. even at the day of black sun, he felt like he failed and let everyone down especially his father

sooo when zuko (mr. fail lord) comes along, in boiling rock, he tells sokka you’ll fail a lot in life. and it’s okay to fail over and over again before things work out

and sokka knows zuko never gives up. he listens to him cause he knows the words he’s saying are real and he’s not just rambling like he did about the silver sandwiches

post canon, i feel like when sokka was in certain situations where he knew there was a possibility of failure, he didn’t shy away from the idea as much

his bravery allowed him to take risks even though there’s a chance he might fail

sokka being sokka, he’s of course gonna want to succeed and win all the time…it’s just zuko who taught him that winning isn’t the only option. there’s failure too.

i’m literally praying this all makes sense

ok now for zuko, “And maybe you needed a bit of his foolhardy spirit to remind you that you are human too and trying to do the honarable thing doesn’t always mean doing the right thing.”

while zuko taught sokka how to deal with failure, sokka taught zuko to not be so serious all the time

notice how before boiling rock, zuko never really made…jokes

the only one he made was irohs and it didn’t really land as much as he thought it would sry zuko

it was after boiling rock is when we see him become more close and comfortable with the gaang, and—start making jokes and being sarcastic

hmmm who also makes jokes and is mr. sarcastic in the gaang??🤔 hmmmmm i wonder

he literally made a joke and the gaang laughed?????the gaang laughed. well except katara

zuko is learning he’s “human too” at the same time sokka’s learning that “being brave can mean failing”

they both bring out each others weaknesses and learn together how to grow within those weaknesses

now this is what i call balance

iroh does not miss.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

A couple of replies about the Vil drawing from yesterday + a long-ass reply with me musing about tops and bottoms in my yuri drawings 🤔

Anonymous asked:

Sorry Vil please forgive me but I'm in love with the Savanaclaw background students

Aww, Anon, aim higher..! Although after Vil trains them to be good boys, they might behave better. Unless that defeats the entire purpose for you, of course. 👀

Anonymous asked:

Vil and the beastmen was a Canon event, sou I wouldn't be shocked if they actually were carrying him around like that

Honestly if I wasn’t in love with Vil’s groovy for this event, I would’ve been sad that we didn’t get these boys carrying Vil around like that as a card illustration lol It feels right!

ghostvoid18 asked:

how do you perceive/like men topping men vs women topping women in your ships? i’m curious bc in your bl art the tops don’t go down on the bottoms but in the gl art (on the 🔑 account) they do 👀

This is such a good question, and I wish I had a definitive answer for you… With ladies it’s a bit more complicated than with boys for us; I’ll share my thoughts. 🤔 I hope it makes at least some sense.

I guess our main thing is that we want the bottom of the ship to get stimulated and dominated, and with m/m ships it also ties very deeply with penetration in our minds; this is why it’s so straightforward and uhh uncompromising. Technically, a top could still suck a bottom off, there is absolutely nothing that indicates that this could never be the case in general, but to us personally this is already a shift in their dynamic that we don’t really like most of the times. So if a top!boy goes down on a bottom!boy, even if he does give some stimulation to his penis, he’s mostly going to focus on his butt lol this is why we have a bunch of ass-eaters among those pervs.

I guess it really is all about penetration for the guys: bottom!boy’s peen doesn’t get much stimulation in general in our stuff, unless it’s something kinky (like stepping on it, slapping it, stimulating the urethra, maybe just bullying in general, etc).

With girls, however, I don’t focus on penetration nearly as much, in fact, I only recently started to draw girlies fingering each other lol There are a lot of sketches like this that I draw now, but this still isn’t a necessary part of w/w smut for us. I mentioned at some point that I don’t really like strap-ons and stuff, and this is still kind of true. Fem!Azul’s tentacles are a whole different topic though ehehehe-

So if you eliminate all nuance and boil it down to its most basic form, my main goal is to bully the bottom girl until she cums make the bottom!girl cum, and any means to achieve that are great lol So in my head, when I think about someone eating someone else out, I mainly picture a bottom!girl getting embarrassed, stimulated and honestly dominated.

Does that mean that a top!girl can’t force a bottom!girl to lick her down there, or that a bottom!girl can’t be a bit bossy and demand getting pleasured? Not really, because there is always nuance, so it could be different and I would look at it on a case by case basis. I feel like with yuri there is more nuance and fluidity in general, which sounds unfair, but it’s simply because the interactions and stimulations that are available for them are different, and have different implications too. Once again: despite the fact that I don’t think that penetration is necessary and don’t really like it in yuri smut, half of my recent yuri sketches have some forms of penetration in it lol 

You know what, I think the easiest way to describe it would be to say that we just prefer bottom!girls to receive the pleasure and be “the center” of what is going on.

The top!girl has all of her fun while playing with her and enjoying her reactions, so the idea of a top!girl pleasuring her lover with her tongue and maybe even penetrating her with it comes naturally to my mind – it feels like an act of domination somehow.

And bottom!boys just need to get fucked out of their minds lol

Once again, those are just my thoughts, and those thoughts are related only to the stuff that I draw and we discuss.

TL;DR: Bottom!girl both receives pleasure and gets dominated (even if she has some control like Malleus or Vil), and when it comes to which exact sexual practices they use, there is a lot of nuance. We prefer for the top!girl to eat the bottom!girl’s pussy though. Hope that explains it.

Thank you for your question!

Anonymous asked:

I was really hoping for more of the twisted wonderland women... Hope to see them soon!

Be patient, Anon, please don’t rush things :) It’s going to happen. I appreciate the enthusiasm and I enjoy it when people show it and I know they only mean well (obviously), but if starts feeling pushy, it would end in the opposite result for us. We have a queue of sketches/artworks to post, so we get there when we get there.

[basmathgirl]

Hi!

Due to personal reasons I wasn’t able to watch the 60th DW anniversary episodes when they aired. But now I’m caught up on everything and I have some thoughts and questions(?) about the Doctor and Donna’s famous platonic relationship.

And I think I need a bit of clarification first. Everyone likes to talk about their friendship, their platonic relationship, about them being platonic soulmates… And yes that is true, especially after the 60th anniversary. However I always assumed, when they met the second time (s4e1), Donna tried to find the Doctor, not just because she wanted to go on an adventure, but also because she was somewhat attracted to him as well.???

But I guess I read her character and the situation in e1 of s4 completely wrong, because I used to think her saying that he is an alien streak of nothing and she would never consider him in a romantic manner, especially in the moment immediately after him stating he just wants a friend, was more a way to protect herself and her feelings than anything else.

Don’t get me wrong I love their friendship and I’m glad she didn’t pine for him like some other companions did. But saying it was platonic from the very start for both of them always seemed wrong to me.?🤔

As I mentioned I just finished watching the anniversary episodes and although I loooved them, a part of me is a tiny bit annoyed that the fandom (not the DW fandom overall, but the Donna x Doctor fans) readily embraced the “they are just friends�� scenario. I mean in truth there is nothing to complain about really, we got a happy ending and I never expected them to become canon in the first place. (The Doctor rarely has real romantic relationships in canon anyway, except when he does...🙄) But even people who shipped them before, are now just basking in this platonic setting they presented us, and push the Donna x Doctor idea away. At least it seems like this to me.

And I know their relationship is super special nonetheless. They are soulmates! But I guess I wanted more for Donna... She always seemed like a very passionate person. Someone who deserved something special in every area of her life. Someone who would have or would want to have passion, something special and meaningful when it comes to their love life as well. And her relationship with Shaun just doesn’t look like it is something like this. But of course we only witnessed a small part of their life and they are already married for 15 years. Plus relationships don’t have to be loud, dramatic and flashy to be happy and fulfilled. But the words Donna used to talk about Shaun and their marriage are somewhat telling in my opinion. Moreover I would dare to argue that it is very obvious that he loves her a lot more than she loves him…

I just know if they had set up the relationship between the Doctor and Donna differently from the very beginning, gave it more room for interpretation, this whole arc, where they are separated for over a decade and then found each other again could have been a great love story. I mean it is, a great love story, but you know what I’m getting at.

In the end it is probably the best to remind myself that DW isn’t about sappy love stories anyway...🤷‍♀️

Sorry you didn’t get to watch the 60th specials until recently, as there’s always a buzz to watching stuff sort of along with other people.

Ah, the ‘platonic relationship’ that many non-shippers refer to; which is their right to do so, but you won’t find me thinking that way. Donna was not immune to the Doctor’s looks, she just chose to ignore the issue. After all, why did she react with a knee-jerk panic when he mentioned wanting a mate? It certainly hit a nerve, caused by past experience, or secretly liking the look of him. “They fell for each other” David Tennant said about the Doctor and Donna at the end of The Runaway Bride so it is perfectly valid to assume she wasn’t just seeking a quick trip in the TARDIS when she sought him out. I mean, a whole year? For someone you aren’t attracted to? That’s a long time to look for someone you’re just after a job/experience from.

She called him a long streak of nothing to stop him thinking she fancied him, because she didn’t want to embarrass herself by being rejected. She wanted a meaningful relationship, not a quick bunk up.

During the 50th anniversary celebrations, they interviewed some of the past Doctors about how they felt about the romantic angle that occurs in nu!Who. Apart from the general disgust romance was included, Peter Davison said an interesting thing. He felt certain that, if Donna had been given another series with the Doctor, they’d have ended up in a physical non-platonic relationship (shall we say). But DT did state once that the Doctor is asexual, so take from that what you will.

The biggest obstacle for TenxDonna shippers where the Fourteenth Doctor is concerned is Shaun Temple. Do you condone  adultery and ship them, kick Shaun out of the way somehow, or leave them as platonic best friends? It’s a conundrum, but most of the shippers I know have decided the marriage between Donna and Shaun had ended long ago and they are hanging on to their tepid relationship by the skin of their teeth, just because of Rose Temple. In RL this would be true; so I’m perfectly happy to go along with it.

I completely agree with you: Shaun loves Donna a lot more than she loves him. You don’t describe your husband as merely ‘nice’; and she only said “I love you” to his face to get him to take Rose to safety. As Wilf said in the café, she was making do, and her chat with Sylvia about missing someone underlines that fact.

RTD wrote The Runaway Bride as a romcom gone wrong. There are even aspects of that in Partners In Crime. The companion in S4 was supposed to be the love of the Doctor’s lives; and when CT was cast that plan was ditched and Rose Tyler was promoted into that spot, for a while. Hmm. Makes you think, eh? Because all that has been sort of reversed thanks to the 60th anniversary specials. Their reunion could have been a great love story, but under the supervision of RTD it was never going to be that, let’s be honest here. He has always had an ulterior agenda to shoehorn Rose into everything, and he managed it through the metacrisis resolution.

Just remind yourself, love, that although Doctor Who has never been about sappy love stories (can’t upset the watching sexist dads, can we), the fanfiction has ALWAYS been dominated by sappy love stories; and long may it continue to do so! 😉☺️

[disventure-rewrite-takes]

yk what. i’ll bite.

trevek is the most forced ship in the entire series. i despise the fact that they’re making them canon.

season 1 was so bad for them and season 3 even worse. they had almost no scenes where they seemed good friends. acquaintances in forced proximity, at most. i remember trying to ship them soooo bad because everyone was like “OmG oLd MeN yAoI!!!1!1!!1” but they’re SOOO BAAAD. there was this one scene in S1 when trevor was dancing and he (very nicely!) invited derek to ‘groove’ and derek was like ‘man leave me tf alone’. like wow yea derek sure seems to love trevor. he’s making heart eyes at him always! /sarc

I DON’T GET IT. IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. i can see it as a one-sided crush on trevor’s part, and then when he got mad at derek after the kiss (for some... reason......???????) i thought he would finally get over him. but then derek offers him that half-assed apology and all is fine in the world and THEY KISS.

when i tell you i was so. fucking. mad. i cannot wait for this show to be over so i will not have to think about these two ever AGAIN. i bet they’re gonna pull a “i’ve always loved you!!1!1!1!” with them like GETTT OUUUTTT. if they do that i will make it my mission to find every clip in which derek pushes trevor aside physically or metaphorically. derek is like those boys that taunt you in elementary because they ‘like you’. fuck you derek

i don’t even like. ship krysderek or tremily. but i want them to be canon over TREVEK. because truly unless you rewrite them from the GROUND there is NOTHING to be shipped and i mean NOTHING.

the potential is SO THERE. grumpy x sunshine. co-hosts. friends to lovers. i hate everyone but you. old men yaoi or whatever. IT IS SO THERE. BUT THEY JUST. CANNOT DO IT. ONC ARE IMMUNE TO MAKING THEIR CHARACTERS HAVE CHEMISTRY BECAUSE WHAT ISSS THISSSSS!!!!!!!

now in order to not have this ask just be an angry rant i’ll also submit a mini rewrite about them inspired by corn’s ask (linking said ask in the post): their S3 drama is entirely scripted. all of it.

so, krystal does get them out of jail. gets them to work for her. and trevor did like derek, but never states it on-screen. derek, on the other hand, is the most aromantic (and so so arrogant) man ever and does not like him back. he is still a dick to him, but eventually realizes his mistakes during the season and apologizes. trevor admits he used to like him, they laugh about it, they remain friends.

but god forbid there isn’t drama. so the network ends up scripting a plotline for them. apparently the tomjakeden love triangle wasn’t enough, there will be one between krystrevek too. great.

so to keep their jobs the three fabricate this love triangle. krystal and trevor laugh about how it’s DEREK of all people they’re fighting for and how it ‘should’ve been emily instead’, earning nods from the entire crew. trevor and derek have to redo their kiss scene a thousand times because “this dialogue is so fucking stupid” and “why does he just. kiss me. like that. what is going on” and other such things. they end the season being together on-screen and then publicly announce like a month later that they have broken up so they don’t have to force it for too long.

there. fixed it.

also if any of the 3 tremily shippers alive are seeing this. this can also include tremily. for fun. i love them a lot actually

🤔 i may... write this... when poolverine give me a sec to breathe and i cannot come up with more for them... maybe......... 🤔🤔🤔

disclaimer: i’m not trying to invalidate derek’s canon bisexuality by also making him aromantic, he can be both!

this is so real of me

corn’s post

[hchollym]

Hello! So, this might seem like a weird ask. The whole thing is based on the canon world, that is wizards and stuff. Everything that's going on in the books is still happening! I just don't want you to confuse this with a Muggle/No magic AU.

My question is, if Percy—for some random reason please suspend your disbelief here—decided to become an EMT in the muggle world (without using magic that is), how would his family react to it?

Again, the things that happen in the books are still happening, the only thing is that Percy's decided to go into muggle EMT instead of the Ministry.

Like, would they be kinda mad because Percy is putting muggle stuff/outside stuff over the war they're fighting?

Or would they be much more understanding? Maybe think Percy's cooler? Ngl, I'm asking you this for the sake of my daydreams.

Sorry for taking so long to respond! 🙁

Oh wow! That is a very unique idea/question! 😄

Do you mean that Percy became an EMT right after Hogwarts (instead of working for Barty Crouch)?

That would be super interesting!

Hmm... 🤔 You know, I surprisingly don't think most of them would react badly.

Arthur

Arthur is obsessed with muggles. However, he does not seem to see them as equals. In his mind, muggles are poor fools that need to be protected. It's less like fighting for racial equality and more like people fighting for animal rights.

In Book 2, he states:

“Just Muggle-baiting,” sighed Mr. Weasley. “Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it.. Of course, it’s very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking — they’ll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they’ll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it’s staring them in the face…"

Then in Book 4, when Fred gives Dudley Ton-Tongue Toffee, he says:

“It isn’t funny!” Mr. Weasley shouted. “That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard–Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons —”

So he probably doesn't think Percy is making a good decision to actually work in the muggle world, but I don't think he gets too upset about it either. If anything, he may see this as an opportunity for him to learn more about a topic that he clearly enjoys, and it could potentially help his cause by having proof (from Percy's testimony) that muggles deserve to be treated fairly.

Molly

I definitely think Molly reacts the worst out of everyone. She doesn't hate muggles, but she certainly isn't overly fond of them either.

She definitely dislikes Arthur's obsession with them (though in her defense, that probably has more to do with him wasting money on it/focusing on it instead of helping her with the kids/house).

In Book 4, Arthur says,

“Ah yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs,” he added to Uncle Vernon. “And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I’m mad, but there you are.”

Also, what's even more telling is that in Book 1, when the Weasleys are at King's Cross Station, Harry overhears her say:

"-- packed with Muggles, of course --"

I know that JKR included this line so that Harry could identify another wizarding family, but she should have used something else (like Platform 9 ¾) instead, because they are literally in a muggle train station, so the comment seems unnecessary and rude. Think about if you went to Chinatown and said "packed with Chinese people, of course."

Plus, Molly wants all of her children to work at the Ministry of Magic. This is a comment in Book 4 (about the twins):

“And then there was this big row,” Ginny said, “because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke shop.”

This is the same instance where she literally burned all of their order forms. She seems to have (sort of) accepted Bill & Charlie's choices, as well as Fred & George's joke shop (after they make a lot of money), but Percy is the child that she expected to go into the Ministry the most.

There would definitely be a massive row with her.

Fred & George

They likely wouldn't care much, because they clearly don't mind muggles either. In Book 4, after they gave Dudley the Ton-Tongue Toffee and Arthur yells at them, they say:

“We didn’t give it to him because he’s a Muggle!” said Fred indignantly. “No, we gave it to him because he’s a great bullying git,” said George. “Isn’t he, Harry?”

If anything, I think they love that Percy is now the family "disappointment" because they've spent so long getting yelled at by Molly that this is a nice change of pace. Plus, it takes the pressure off them. Even if they open a joke shop in the wizarding world, Molly still won't be as angry with them as she is with Percy.

Suddenly "Perfect Percy" isn't so perfect anymore, and it probably (ironically) improves their relationship.

Bill, Charlie, Ron, & Ginny

They are probably all rather incredulous about the entire thing and think Percy is mental for not wanting to work in the wizarding world (and Hermione encourages this idea because she clearly wants nothing to do with the muggle world anymore), but I really don't think they treat him badly over it.

They probably just think he's finally cracked under all the pressure he puts on himself, and if this gets him to loosen up, then it's not all bad.

I do think Charlie & Ginny would find it a little cool though, and they're both more likely to actually talk to Percy about his new life, whereas Bill & Ron will probably avoid the topic altogether.

Other Thoughts

One of the most interesting parts about this AU is that is has the potential to drastically change the story. If Percy doesn't work for Barty Crouch, then chances are, whoever is in his position doesn't do as good of a job running the department on their own, so people figure out something is wrong with Mr. Crouch much sooner.

Once that happens, they (i.e. Dumbledore) may very well be able to put the pieces together about Barty Crouch Jr., and then his plan fails, Harry never goes to the graveyard, Cedric never dies, and Voldemort never officially returns in a body. So is the war even going on anymore? Possibly not for a few more years while Voldemort tries to capture Harry!

Even if the war continues in the exact same way as canon, I think Percy's job in the muggle world could actually be beneficial. He could be there to prevent some of the damage & protect the muggles, and he could help muggleborns & their families escape through the muggle world in a way that wouldn't be traced back to them.

There's a lot of potential there for a great fanfic! 😉

Thanks for the ask! 😊

[borealwrites]

My first post for @flashfictionfridayofficial in a bit!!

This made me think of depression and things like that so yeah! I hope this makes sense and isn’t an incomprehensible mess 🤔😅

The Minute I Met You, The Colors of My Life Began To Pour

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: T

Warnings: Canonical Character Deaths, lots of blood, implied violence, allusions to depression

Ship: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka

Other tags: Unreliable Narrator, Getting together, I didn’t beta or edit this at all but I’m not allowed to say bad things about my writing so this is all the warning you get

Since the day he came home and found his father dead on the floor, the only color in Kakashi’s life was red. Everything else was dull and muted; washed out and pale, like his father’s favorite sun-bleached yukata. There was only red. Like his father’s blood. Like Obito’s blood. Rin’s blood. Minato-sensei and Kushina-san’s blood. The sharingan.

If it wasn’t for the blood-red eye in his head, Kakashi might think himself a ghost. Though, there was red on his hands when he looked at them, and his ANBU mask had red, so sometimes he was less of a muted reflection of what a person was. Sometimes he was more of a blood-soaked specter, hunting Konoha’s enemies in the darkest hours of the night.

On good days, sometimes he saw green. Sometimes, there were eyes like a clear sky, and hair like sunshine, but those days hurt. Neither lasted, and it wouldn’t be long until there was only blood and the same washed-out colors again.

Then, one day, there was brown. Brown hair like the fertile soil he remembered his father showing him, and tanned skin that shone like bronze, even under the flickering streetlamp.

“ANBU-san? ANBU-san? Do you need me to get someone from the hospital?” Without fully registering what the man in front of him had asked, Kakashi shook his head. The only thing he needed was… was… he didn’t know. The man was still talking, his voice quiet and soothing, and Kakashi felt himself relaxing. He didn’t want to close his eyes; what if everything faded away again?

Kakashi woke up in the hospital, alone. They told him he’d been poisoned; he remembered the senbon, and wandering Konoha in a daze, and sitting under a streetlamp. He remembered the man with hair the color of life, and skin like bronze, but the staff wouldn’t tell him anything.

The day he was discharged from the hospital, the Sandaime dismissed him from ANBU. Kakashi wanted to be upset. Maybe, though, there would be less red.

Not even a week later, Kakashi captained a mission with one Umino Iruka, a man with hair the color of healthy soil, and tanned skin like bronze. A man whose laugh made the sunlight shine brighter, whose smile made the trees greener, who breathed color into Kakashi’s world through the simple act of existing. And there was red.

Leaving ANBU didn’t mean there was less red, less blood. It meant that the blood came not only from Konoha’s enemies, but from her people as well. From Iruka. Their medical nin assured Kakashi that Iruka would be fine, but Kakashi still felt fear gnawing at his insides.

Never before had he wanted to stop a fellow shinobi from doing their job, but Kakashi had only just met Iruka. Colors had only just started to come back. The devastation he’d feel if something were to happen… It wasn’t normal to feel this much about someone he didn’t know. It wasn’t right, or fair, to place so much on Iruka without him knowing or asking or accepting. That didn’t stop Kakashi’s knees from going weak with relief when Iruka announced he would become a teacher.

Kakashi would find another source of color in his life, besides Iruka. He would. Now he just… had more time to look.

It seemed as if the world disagreed. Time and again they would run into each other; shopping at the market, taking walks, at the mission desk. Iruka would smile at him, and ask how Kakashi was. And Kakashi, always, without hesitation, would respond. Sometimes they would eat dinner together, because Kakashi could never bring himself to say no.

After Iruka, it was easier to let people back in. Gai had never left, and Kakashi found himself responding more to his self-proclaimed rival. The first time Kakashi issued a challenge, he thought Gai was going to dehydrate himself from crying so hard. After Gai there was Tenzo again, then Asuma, and Kurenai, then Genma, Raido, Anko… and still, Iruka. Even after Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, Iruka was there.

It took Kakashi a long time to realize what it meant. Almost as long as it had taken for him to learn that looking to Iruka for vibrancy in his life wasn’t wrong; it meant he was in love. Only hours later did he realize that Iruka turned toward him when they sat together. Iruka’s face lit up when he saw Kakashi. Just like Kakashi did. Perhaps… Perhaps Kakashi brought Iruka’s world color, too.

“Before I met you, colors were dull and muted, unless they were red,” he said. “There was so much red, but then you were there.” Kakashi’s side was pressed against Iruka’s as they shared a bench, and Kakashi spoke into the night. That wasn’t what he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come. “Colors are… Life is brighter when you’re here.”

Neither of them spoke, and Kakashi felt frozen, stuck. Something wrapped around Kakashi’s hand, and it took him too long to realize it was Iruka’s hand, warm and gentle and calloused, twining their fingers together. A soft sigh that sounded fond as Iruka shifted to rest his head against Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Life is brighter when you’re with me too, Kakashi.”