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sky-squido · 2 years

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🥺🤩💔?

ahh good questions good questions!!! thank u anon!!!

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

yes—there are a few! the most poignant one is not common (thankfully!) but all interactions along the lines of this never fail to make me SQUEE:

Character A: I love you so much. You're the only person I truly feel safe around. I can't imagine my life without you. You understand me in a way I'm terrified no one else ever will. I would die for you in a heartbeat, without a second thought.

Character B: That was all very sweet but let me get one thing straight—if you die for me, I will claw myself back from beyond the grave and kick your ass. We are a family and if you are going down, then we are going down together in the most beautiful fireball the world's ever seen because I will never, ever abandon you, not even if the world is crumbling around us both, and don't you ever forget it.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

ooooh hittin me with the hard questions,,, Legend comes to mind first because of a few key things: versatility, intelligence, and projection—allow me to explain.

He's really versatile because he can fill almost any narrative role. That's not to say the others can't, but Legend, for me at least, has simultaneously more and less personality than the other Links. THE thing about LU as source material that has managed to wring over 425,000 words out of me and keep me in it so long (wonderful fandom friends notwithstanding) is the insane variety of perfectly valid characterizations for every boy. Aside from some facial expressions and dialogue options, all we really have to go off of are their life events. As with real people, a given event can affect different people in a startling multitude of ways, and that shines through in so many of the Links, especially those for whom their life events are less cut-and-dry. Legend is the epitome of this. There are so many seeming contradictions and different facets of his character, and you can highlight whichever ones make the most sense for the story you want to tell—which in turn means that there are so many stories to tell.

Legend is sometimes snappish and acts like he doesn't care about anyone. Legend cares so, so painfully much about everyone around him all the time and all anyone needs to do is express a need and Legend will move heaven and earth to see that need met. Legend is filled with wanderlust, loves adventuring with his whole heart, and never wants to stop. Legend is deeply scarred by some of the things that have happened to him and is terrified of what will happen if he stands still for long enough for them to catch up with him. Legend is an incredibly, unbelievably strong, resilient, courageous individual who has somehow managed to live through hell and laugh it off. Legend is in so, so much pain. Legend has countless friends and allies all across the worlds. Legend is so painfully alone. Legend is acutely aware of every way everything could go terribly wrong at any given moment because it's happened to him before. Legend always pushes on with a shrug and a wink and a "hey, it could be worse" because it has been before. Legend is so, so very tired. Legend will, without a doubt, save the world yet again because he has become a force of nature by the sheer weight of his reckless courage and determination to protect what he loves and nothing can stop him now. A terrifyingly high number of things can stop him now because he can never become omnipotent and can never prepare for every contingency. He's going to try anyway, dammit, because the day Legend gives up on helping someone in need is the day the stars fall and empty the sky and the ocean itself turns to ash.

I just. Of course the other heroes are just as complex, but they're also more focused. With Sky, for example, everything kind of revolves around his relationship with the other heroes (at least when I write him). And yes, everyone's relationships to the others do define their characters in a very important way—that's how writing works—but Sky's more aware of that fact and it naturally becomes the centerpiece of anything he's in. Nothing in Sky's life has ever been about Sky and he doesn't necessarily want that to change—everyone else is too important to him. No shade to Sky, obviously, I love him so much, but in having a more firmly established character, he becomes less versatile. Legend elbows his way into every fic I write because he can fill any role the story needs by simply emphasizing different facets of his character.

Second is intelligence. This is gonna be a lot shorter than the last bit. I just. I love smart characters. They suck me into the story because they become so active, even if not physically. They're observing, they're thinking, they're noticing, and it makes me want to observe and think and notice, too, because that means there's something to see and to find and it's just so rewarding to watch a character flex those brain muscles, be it in piecing together the story/plot/plan, figuring out what's going on in a non-POV character's head, discerning an enemy's weakness, or plotting a scheme to navigate a clever obstacle with insane displays of teamwork. That's not to say the others aren't smart, too—I stand by all the boys being incredibly clever because they are all the protagonists of puzzle adventure games—but I can literally come up with any hare-brained scheme I want and handwave it as "Legend came up with it" and nobody can argue with that because, well yeah, it's Legend. That checks out. Paired with his insane item arsenal, dropping Legend into a fic means I can do literally whatever I want if only I can piece together a scheme to make it happen that would make Legend proud.

And finally is projection. This one is pretty straightforward. It's no secret that Wind, Sky, and Legend are my three favorites and they're easily the boys that have the most self-insert quality to them, but Sky... he's emotionally charged to write, for me. I have superficial similarities to all of them, but when I'm delving into their issues, insecurities, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and just generally hurt/comforting them, it's Sky with whom I have the least amount of distance between his darkest places and my own. I love him so, so much, and I love writing him—in part because of the way I can explore myself by using him as a lens. That very strength of his does, unfortunately, bar him from being my favorite to write, simply because he hits so close to home and becomes so emotional to write so easily. Wind is different but still doesn't quite hit the spot of "favorite" for me. He's honestly really, really fun, and I love giving him complexity and a sort of unexpected wisdom, but I feel he's most interesting when juxtaposted/foiled against a specific other hero. The entire fic becomes a "Wind And X Fic", lest I sideline him and risk him becoming flattened by lack of screentime/character focus.

The best way I can explain this is that I love writing Legend because he's a swiss army knife. Not just in the fact that he can play a lot of different roles in a story, but if you have your beautiful state-of-the-art woodcarving kit, you want to save it for your really good wood sculptures that are made from The Right Kind Of Wood and really draw attention to all the love and care you're putting into your carving and you also really want to take care while using them because you don't want to frick them up. I feel the need to do my other faves Justice™ and, if I am to give them focus, give them Substantial Focus that becomes the center of the story. I don't feel this way about Legend. I can use and abuse my swiss army knife without remorse and it'll still always manage to get the job done.

As for the other six boys, they're cool characters and I do love them (obviously) but they're just not in my top three favorites to write, for assorted reasons.

This was a long-winded answer but in short, Legend is so much fun to write because he can worm his way into any story and still fit, elevate that story in scope and scale by way of the insane amount of weight he can throw around—intellectually and in combat—and because he's someone I can write comfortably, familiarly, without having to step too far outside my own shoes, and it's easy to make him interesting or give him a background/side arc without accidentally opening too many cans of worms and needing to devote the whole fic to him lest I fail to do his character justice.

I just. I just really like Legend okay.

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

hmm... there's two ways to look at this. one is that the events of the fic broke my heart because MY BABIES NOOO and the other is that the meta broke my heart, as in it was a painful writing process. I'm gonna assume it's the former, in part because I have yet to abandon a WIP (yes! i'm still working on to isolate and hey four, i promise!!) so I'm staving off any meta fic-related heartbreak by sheer force of authorial gumption and a determination to not give up that would make Legend proud. As for in-universe heartbreak... I don't know. This may come as a shock to many, but I am a HUGE softie. I cannot stand it when the babies are in pain. Of course, I inflict pain on them quite merrily, but I always fix it, or at least help them come to terms with it in an appropriately cathartic fashion. Because of this, every pain I put them through is tempered by me plotting how I'm going to fix it and setting up the ways the pain is going to resolve as I'm inflicting it.

This is kind of how I deal with hardship irl, too. I'm the kind of person who can say "I'm not okay, but I will be," and the full certainty inherent in that "I will be" makes the pain somehow seem so much lesser. In telling myself that the boys aren't okay, but they will be, because I'm actively plotting their recovery right now, I spare myself that same kind of emotional damage I inflict upon my readers. There are probably other examples of moments from my fics that have given me those ow-my-heart physical chest pains that I love too much to be good for my health probably, but the one at the forefront of my mind is part of Chapter 10 of To Isolate because I was just writing it. Without spoiling anything, it's a kind of hurt I haven't really had the chance to write before and one that hit me surprisingly hard, even though I KNEW I was going to fix it. When that chapter comes out (sometime soon I hope!!!), feel free to ask me which part it was—I'll be happy to share.

Anyway thank you so so much for these asks and I hope I didn't overwhelm you with my essay-length answers!! Have a lovely lovely rest of your week, anon (and all you miscellaneous readers who got this far) and take care of yourselves! <3

#squido answers #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu legend #well that took a wee bit longer than expected #o o p s #i need to stop reblogging those asks memes because this happens EVERY TIME #but i just #the friends ask the questions.......#i want answer.........#anyway ily all and i meant what i said—take care of yourselves!!!!!#God bless!!!

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keikakudori · 1 year

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AH, HE COULDN'T HELP BUT SNICKER IN THE BRISK EVENING AIR, especially given the state of Aizen's glasses and the fact that his captain seemed all-too-aware of how that easily could have been something else getting cut off. More or less. ❝ Well, you did ask me to try'n hit ya. Not much to hit with a skewerin' sword that wouldn't end with ya... y'know........ skewered. ❞ A pause, then Gin grinned wickedly, smug, sly.

❝ Course, I could always stab ya if you want me to. ❞ The tease came with a hissing undertone, an equal amount of awareness as Aizen now held to his chest... a killing intent renewed in full, a snarling snake baring its fangs. I could kill you, I could make you fear me, I could make you tremble and gasp for breath, I could make your eyes widen and mouth go slack with shock as my blade fells you, I COULD DEVOUR YOUR HEART WHOLE.

Aizen sat himself next to his murderer, one step taken closer via that week-ago glimpse of power unveiled. Gin knew. Aizen knew that Gin knew it -- and they knew, mutually, what this meant. Yet here they sat together, air thickened, and the slender shoulders of the Fifth Division's lieutenant sharpened, shifting, a predator preparing to lunge. But not yet -- no, but he'd certainly show his fangs here in the moonlight's glow. Wasn't that fitting, like how they officially met?

❝ -- as I was sayin', you ain't afraid of me and I like that. Not because I want ya to not be afraid of me, but because I want ya to one day regret that. You're gonna be proven wrong and I'll be right there at your side to see it, won't I, cap'n Aizen~? ❞

Oh yes, Aizen remained acutely aware that Gin could have taken his head off with that display of his Bankai. But that had come second. First had been the shock and awe that had been part of that display. Then had come the pride, his face lighting up with that emotion as it suffused his entire being and he had not been SHY about displaying it to Gin in those moments, praising not just him but his Bankai as well. He'd found himself dazzled by the power which Gin had brought forth, awed by it -- awed by Gin. In those moments prior to having that realization had struck that so easily could his head have come removed, his heart skewered with ease ---in those moments, he had praised him for that Bankai.

It had not been overly effusive, but it had remained clearly depicted in how he had beamed at him, eyes bright with that surge of gratification. A smile, a true smile, had been the reward given alongside the words which had filled the air.

Your Bankai is magnificent, Gin. I can't wait to see how capable you become with it.

Kyoka Suigetsu had seemed to purr at the back of his thoughts at the display wrought, her pleasure nearly a match for his own. He was aware of her fondness for the zanpakutou spirit contained within the wakizashi's blade, but he did not begrudge her that admiration. If anything, they agreed to both Gin and Shinso being so impressive. That was unanimous between both master and blade where their counterparts were concerned. So why hold back in that praise? Why restrain it?

But the understanding that he could indeed have been so easily cut down in those moments had come next --- along with the realization that he found the concept not alarming as others might have. No, it did not alarm him. The threat that had surfaced with the realization that Gin now held the power of Bankai in his hands was far from inspiring anything akin to fear within Aizen Sousuke. It only whispered against the awareness that Gin was dangerous -- and that he had stepped into a power which Aizen still turned away from.

That power would not show itself for years yet. Not for decades.

But oh, how dangerous the viper that coiled over his shoulders was, those fangs ready to sink into the skin of his throat.

How dangerous he was sitting here.

Still, the snicker that Gin released alongside those words made his eyebrows lift slightly, Aizen turning to regard the young man who wore the badge still. Though, perhaps, not for much longer. Not with the fact that Shinso could hum and purr with the power of that penultimate display of power that was revealed by the strength of his Bankai. Perhaps, soon, he would be left to behold the fact that a haori would drape those slender shoulders. And, knowing Gin, it would be a size too large, something for him to be swallowed up in. Aizen knew it would suit him. He knew it because of those days when the younger man seemed to be feeling particularly chaotic, teasing and swaying and daring Aizen's gaze to trail after him.

And how fast he would indeed focus upon the silver-haired man, teeth itching with the urge to sink into that pale throat.

❝ I'd rather you didn't right now, ❞ he stated almost idly as his gaze lingered upon the younger man. ❝ Getting bloodstains out of my haori is irritating enough when they're not mine. I think I'd be irritated even more so if the blood did belong to me. ❞

Still, the air was thick and how they watched one another; yes, Aizen knew. He knew that Gin was one step closer to being able to kill him. But that Bankai was still new. It was still unrefined. Ten years, they said, in order to master one's Bankai. Ten years before it would truly be at its height of power. In ten years time, perhaps Gin would be there at the state he wanted.

Or perhaps not.

Two predators in the same space and his eyes moved away for a second--- only for them to snap back with that sentiment drawled through the air and his eyes narrowed.

❝ Is that right. ❞

His voice came out almost neutral in those moments, a hint of a warning carried in the tone and inflection he spoke with. Of course, such warnings only ever seemed to encourage Gin rather than deter him, as if those hands sought to grip and yank the mask down and from his features. About this man, Aizen did permit it to slip; not entirely, not fully -- not yet. Yet it did slip, far more than it ever had for a man with hair spun from pin-straight sunshine. He had never wanted to see what laid behind that polite veneer.

Gin, on the other hand, seemed to seek it out, to lure him forth and into open view.

This seemed to be one of those times.

How those words seemed to squeeze at the hollow within his own self, however; that Gin would work to make him regret his lack of fear one day. It was COLD, that sensation, a sharp contrast to the usual warmth that was left to flow through him when the man he named his lieutenant was around. It bit at him more than the words strung together by that sharp tongue did and his gaze seemed to darken until it was nearly black as that watchful scrutiny lingered upon the silver-haired beast. Odd, how that stung him more than anything else and he found a hand lifting to finger at the cut which had been left by the demonstration of that Bankai.

Then he was moving, a lunge aimed to leave his hand gripping at that throat whilst slamming that slim back down into the tatami mats that served as the flooring in his quarters. A flash of temper, perhaps? Or something more? After all, it was not often that Aizen's gaze focused upon his subordinate with such a predatory darkness, nor with motes of what seemed to be gold flecking those pupils as he leaned over Gin, looming against the darkness. A viper ready to devour the sun --- but the sun was a monstrous thing all its own.

And Aizen had ever been so very Other.

❝ Watch your mouth, Gin, or else I might decide to spank you for being so impertinent to me. ❞

Was he making a threat? Or, perhaps, it was a promise for how the words growled out of his throat in that rich bass. The husky purr that usually edged each syllable had rolled out into that more guttural noise, proof enough that Gin had indeed found a button to push by proclaiming such sentiments towards his own captain.

Gin would make Aizen regret it one day, would he?

Not before Aizen might make him regret sitting down for an entire week.

#ask tbt;#godkilller #[ verse : captain ] he is beloved and he is feared and he walks among his people armed with cold steel and kind words.#o o p s #this is starting to get spicy OOPS #I'M SO SORRY OOPS #( no i'm not. )

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