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rpbetter · 3 years

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"writes dubcon therefore is a freak who should be bullied off the site" ho boy i'm fed up with people acting as if consenting adults writing [insert "problematic" fictional thing here] is the worst thing in the world. seen way too many people justifying harrassment of REAL PEOPLE by "they write thing that triggers me". ok, and? mute the tags or don't follow! "it triggers someone" is not a valid reason to ban a topic. piano music triggers me yet i don't go around demanding everyone stop playing the piano.

Anon, not only is everything you said absolutely valid, but also, thank you for demonstrating that triggers are incredibly varied and as such, we cannot predict everyone's triggers. Making the entire "point" of banning for possible triggers invalidated as hell.

We should be aware of things like the most commonly occurring phobias (things like arachnophobia and coulrophobia that are, additionally, easily triggered by imagery) and tag them. We should be aware of very obvious triggers, that are, again, easily set off by imagery, like blood, eye trauma, and depictions of domestic violence. And we should always read and be aware of our writing partners' stated triggers so that we can tag them appropriately or even decide that it isn't going to work because our muse, canon story, or interests are going to present an unfair situation in this partnership.

But triggers can be highly unusual, as well as activated differently (even at different times) for everyone. I'm not triggered by seeing hotel rooms in pictures or movies, I'm not triggered by writing scenes that take place in them, but I'm triggered to some degree by being in one. It's outrageous oversimplification to act like all triggers are the same, they all display the same way, they're all going to trigger someone on the same basis, everyone's going to react the same to their triggers. There is absolutely no way to prevent 100% of possible triggers for 100% of the population, 100% of the time.

Add to this that way too many people trivialize triggers by throwing around that term to justify the banning of something that makes them uncomfortable or that they take a personal, moral issue with. "I don't like this" and "I'm grossed out by this" and "this makes me feel uncomfortable" is not being triggered. It's just a good way to weaponize the better nature of other people so that they comply.

Most people legitimately do not want to trigger someone, especially if they have triggers and know what it's like. Just like no one wants to be accused of cruelty towards trauma survivors in general, or be designated a pedo, rape apologist, or fascist. They're all things to weaponize in order to isolate, shame, and control. And that's really fucking gross. These are serious, real things that have no business being trivialized to police content, win internet arguments, or garner popularity.

The potential for someone to be triggered isn't a reason to ban anything; we have tags, we have blacklist.

While I'll be the first to say that tumblr's blacklisting can be as shitty as everything else on the site, the primary issue with running into content you don't want to see comes down to two factors: no one tagging/tagging correctly and actively exposing yourself to that content. Going through people's properly done tags and blog warnings about their content in order to "call it out" is actively exposing yourself by choice. You actual walnuts.

Calling people on on their "problematic" content is bringing those topics to the attention of other people. That's the whole point of this gross behavior: look at the freak pedo abuse apologist I found, they write dubcon!! Don't look if you'll be triggered uwu

Buddy, pal, my guy...you just put that on blast for anyone to run across. Maybe their blacklist catches those words in your callout post, maybe it doesn't. Maybe they think you're a safe space because you promote yourself that way, so they click it anyway. Point is, you just willfully and irresponsibly exposed people because it's more important to you to demonize a rando on tumblr RPing something you take issue with. Good job!

Furthermore, dubcon itself is such a hilarious issue to take. Do they realize that isn't always sexual, or? Not? I'm thinking not. Funnily enough, one of the oldest posts I've been working on for this blog is about exactly this topic, the myriad situations that are dubious consent. That doesn't have to be sexual, and neither does it have to be intentionally predatory. You can come up with some amazing character development with a lot of muses in the RPC with dubcon because almost everyone's muse has some manner of trauma that might negate their perception of their own consent...and what do you do then? Is it removing more agency from that muse to shut them down, or is that always the better option? Can you separate your opinion as the mun from your muse's natural reactions? How does this impact the muses involved not just that moment but the next year?

Point is, dubcon isn't always some rapey situation. Even if it was, even if someone is writing it that way, it's literally not your business or your problem.

There's one mutual-in-law on my RP blog that really bothers me. They write things that I find fetishizing, incredibly rapey, all around shit that bothers me. I don't want to see it, some of the things they write makes my damn skin crawl. This person doesn't know it, we certainly don't speak and I don't think they like me very much, but I've repeatedly defended their right, specifically their right as a person with some long-term callouts on them, to write what they want to. I have them blocked and their urls blacklisted so I never have to see my mutual reblogging their threads. It's not a problem because I don't click "show anyway." Why would I, if it genuinely bothers me so much?

That's how you handle things that bother you; you use the tools available to not interact even by accident. Not by launching a morality crusade.

If any of us want to write what we enjoy, we have to allow others that same freedom. It's always a matter of time before this policing grows to include more and more topics, it's been used multiple times to get well-meaning people who don't fall into the general demographics to police queer, BIPOC, and other marginalized groups off of platforms. We've been fortunate in most of the RPC that it implodes on itself before it gets all the way there, but even so, you can see it.

It starts with things that produce a visceral reaction in the great majority of people, positions this with a repeatedly condemned idea presented as solid fact that fiction is reality, and you've got the start of something awful. Today it's something you don't like, maybe even something that triggers you, so you either support it or you quietly allow it to happen. Who needs to write that "freak shit" anyway, can't they just be gross privately? Six months from now, it's something "problematic" that you enjoy like violence that's canon-typical for your muse, or your OTP because they're gay and that's fetishizing, they're cis male and female but one or both is bi and that's bad representation, or they canonically have a rocky relationship so that's romanticizing toxic/abusive relationships.

If you can't care for any other reason, you really should care about how it is going to impact you sooner or later. In an environment like this, you can stay in your space, put warnings on your blog, and tag properly and you're still going to get a callout if the wrong person finds your blog. Just takes a single person with more time, energy, and skewed ideas of justice than they have reading comprehension or common sense.

Again, I cannot encourage people enough to give warnings, but it's difficult to ignore why those warnings are slipping; they're a way to be found, designated as a Problem, and called out. Look, it's another reason why callouts actually make things worse, not better! People put that shit in their rules so you can avoid content, they're being responsible and interested in promoting a safe RPC. Let them do it, damn.

You can't tag everything, and if you've never experienced what a giant series of repetitive tags is like on a screenreader you probably should before you tag seven paragraphs of possible issues. You can tag for visuals, you can tag for the obvious things, and you can tag for what's in the rules you agreed to when you followed/followed back. But you should also warn people that you write "dark topics" on the tin, and expand on that in your rules for specific things like graphic violence, toxic relationships, dubon, and addiction.

That's how responsible adults, not over-aged children, make better decisions about their mental health and general comfort. Not by appointing themselves the watchdogs of the damn RPC, here to protect you whether you want to be or not, find that incredibly insulting or not when you're in one of their categories of people who must be protected, by forcibly banning Problematic Everything. Problematic, of course, being entirely in the eye of the content police.

It's fiction. No one and nothing real was harmed. It's great that you are so invested in the fictional world and people that make you happy, but take a fucking big step back into reality. The real people you're harming with your bullshit had every right to peaceably exist. If what they're writing is triggering to you, stay. away. from. it.

Without any coincidence whatsoever, that's how you get from the base-point of Problematic Material to Problematic Mun. Yeah, it's just fiction, it's just RP, but I also took something out of context OOC or was upset by their tone on their own blog or couldn't exercise the minimal adult logic to remove myself from their presence OOC as well. So, now, you've got OOC behavior being added to the callout, if it wasn't already. Everyone is now ableist, transphobic, racist, and a misogynist because it lends that visceral reaction to the callout and ups the game from just being "y'all so gross you aged up a cartoon character to ship" to "this is REAL and it won't be tolerated! OP is actually a pedophile, they told a sexual joke in a discord server with a minor present and I have the receipts!"

What are the most storied callouts in the entire RPC? I'm absolutely certain the same names came to mind no matter what fandoms you're in, and one of them was "Matt." Another was probably "Ares/Snow". They're all successful and keep being brought up out of the closet anytime people are bored enough because their primary punch is the mun themselves being a predatory threat to the community. The mun is verified to be a bad person. Well, of course, that's got to be repeated, it worked. (Even if it did not, at all, work and only made it harder for people to avoid any of these muns.)

Are there people in the RPC who are legitimately a problem? Absolutely, yes. We're all supposed to be adults, however. Part of being an adult is having and acting upon one's agency. If someone is coercing you into things you are not comfortable with, shut it down. If you have difficulties being certain of those situations, run it by a trusted, honest friend or available, impartial source in the RPC for a second opinion. If you can't handle any manner of confrontation, there really are situations in which it's perfectly alright to block someone without any discussion. It's just the internet, you're in control of your space. Own it.

Minors are a whole other can of fucked up worms I'm not even getting into right now except to say that because a minor exists in a space they were told to stay out of does not mean we ban all topics inappropriate for their consumption.

tl;dr: banning shit doesn't work anyway, the whole idea is predicated upon some incredibly problematic takes IRL, and no, there's no justification for it outside of intense personal problems with one's own importance. That energy would be infinitely better spent volunteering one's time to help real people in crisis or after surviving one, or even oneself in developing some healthier approaches and thought patterns.

#hey what if we all start saying we're triggered by callout culture is that bannable then lmao #vespertine #drama cw #bsnf #callout culture #tumblr rpc #rp problems #also thank you again anon I hope you're having a great day!

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multisfabulis · 3 years

Text

Wayfinder’s Voyage

Oceanic (Chapter 1 | 2)

Word Count: 5785

I hope everyone enjoyed reading this! I'm honestly super anxious while I'm typing this because, not only is this my first fic in the KH fandom, this is also my first ship fic so I'm feeling a lot of pressure.

I want to apologize if the characters seem OOC in this, I was mainly going off of memory and a Wiki because I didn't want to sit through an entire LP of BBS just to get a few details accurate. It already took me a month and a half to write all of this and I didn't want to take up more time.

I do have more Terraqua fics in the works, as well as a couple other KH fics in general, but those will probably be posted way later. I just wanted to test the waters with this fic and see how I do so...

So some things to note:

*Both Aqua and Terra's first scenes in this fic were made entirely for the purpose of giving them build-up while not diminishing Ven's importance to them. I was already going to be fucking with canon a lot but I also didn't want to leave Ven to the wayside so I created those scenes. You'll see Terra's in the next chapter.

*I feel the need to apologize for the second half of the second scene because that still feels like word barf, even when I know why I wrote it like that. I hope the intention behind those words is still conveyed clearly but I'll understand if it's not.

*As for the last scene, I completely misremembered the sequence of events leading up to the end. I already knew that scene was going to be changed somewhat just for the context of the ship but I think it's pretty clear which parts I changed on purpose and which parts I was winging it. It's been years since I last watched that scene, it was super late into the night, this was my third rewrite, and I felt satisfied with my work before realizing I fucked up and decided to go along with it.

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Today started out like any other normal day. Aqua woke up, did her morning regimen, and set off for the great hall to begin her studies. She and Terra, her friend/rival, were to train under the watchful eye of their master Eraqus in the hopes of coming one step closer to fulfilling their lifelong dream. They would one day surpass the rank of apprentice and become Keyblade Masters in their own right, something she wished would arrive sooner rather than later.

Then came time for their daily duel. They would often spar with each other as a way of proving their capabilities in battle, seeing what areas they could use improvement in, and showing off the techniques they had learned from past fights. This seemed to be no different from their previous clashes.

She was on the defense, blocking and deflecting each blow Terra threw her way with relative ease. He managed to find an opening she didn’t account for and all but jumped on the opportunity. He charged in, his Keyblade held high, and she only had a split second to raise hers in an attempt to guard against it. Yet, whether it was due to a miscalculation on his part or her just reacting too slow, he ended up hitting her unarmored wrist. She quickly backed away, letting out a cry of pain as both Keyblades were dismissed in a flash of light. Eraqus rushed over to check if she was okay.

Terra was beside her with remorseful apologies spilling out of his mouth but she barely paid them any heed. Her eyes were focused on something much more alarming, something she knew Eraqus saw too. Emanating from Terra’s hand was an aura of Darkness, which vanished as soon as he noticed it. He tried to defend himself to Eraqus but the damage was already done.

Their master had an almost zealous hatred for Darkness, believing it’d bring nothing but destruction in its wake, and sought to rid the Land of Departure of any, even if some laid dormant in his apprentices’ hearts. This was a constant problem for Terra, who always seemed to harbor enough to fall back on, be it consciously or not. For it to flare up during training, that drew Eraqus’s ire.

It was hard not to feel sorry for Terra as he was being harshly scolded. It wasn’t like he was trying to use Darkness, at least not intentionally. She knew that it was only an accident but it wouldn’t help stop the shame he undoubtedly felt. He’ll probably curse himself for being too weak and letting Darkness in yet again once he thought no one was around, an occurrence she’s been privy to more than she had any right to be. She needed to talk with him once she had her wrist taken care of.

With a hand on her back, Eraqus began leading her out of the great hall. She looked over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Terra before leaving. He hung his head in shame as he clenched his fists in what she believed to be anger. It was just as she expected. She turned her head back to face forward, hoping he wouldn’t blame himself more than he already was.

They made their way over to the infirmary, where Eraqus gently took hold of her wrist to examine it. She could see now how bruised and swollen it was from the impact as she winced with every slight movement. He was able to determine she had a sprained wrist, which she regarded as a miracle. With the amount of force Terra had in his swing, she was thankful it didn’t result in a break. She was to keep it wrapped and iced for a couple days till it healed, something she had no problem with.

After it was bandaged, she was told to take it easy until then. She asked Eraqus about Terra and he said he’d have a talk with him once enough time had passed for things to settle down. There was an undercurrent of regret in his voice, made even clearer by the expression on his face. Their master may be strict but he still cared for them, similar in the way a father would for his children. This gave her some hope in that he realized what happened was an accident and he’d forgive Terra. Time would only tell.

She spent the rest of the day in the library. She figured she’d get some studying done if she couldn’t practice with her Keyblade for the next few days. Try as she might, though, she could barely focus on the words she was reading and that was if she didn’t reread the sentence to understand it. Her mind kept wandering to Terra, whether he was okay or not, and what he was doing right now. Worry gnawed at her heart until she couldn’t take it anymore. The sun was beginning to cast orange and violet hues across the sky when she decided and rushed out to find him.

He wasn’t in the great hall or his room when she looked in. Searching all around the building yielded no results, either. She wondered where he could be, her anxiety growing as she saw night quickly approaching. He had to still be in the Land of Departure and the only place she hadn’t checked yet was the mountain. She ran out to the Forecourt and then beyond its boundary.

Stars were twinkling into existence by the time she reached the winding path leading up to the mountain. If it weren’t for the lights set alongside the dirt road, she would’ve been stumbling about blindly in the dark. It was when she arrived at the overlook just before the summit she found him.

His back faced her as she saw that he was sitting on the edge of the cliff. Taking a few steps closer revealed him to be looking down below the mountain with an indiscernible expression. It was troubling to see him like this. What happened earlier today had to be weighing heavily on his mind.

Tentatively walking forward, she called out, “Terra?”

He stiffened and quickly turned around to face her, asking a barrage of questions like, “Aqua, are you okay? How’s your wrist? Is it bad? It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“No, no, it’s all right, see?” she replied, showing him her bandaged wrist. “Master said it was only a sprain and that it should be okay in a couple days as long as I took it easy.”

He let out a sigh of relief, no doubt feeling some of the guilt be lifted off his shoulders. “That’s good. I don’t think I would’ve forgiven myself if I managed to break your wrist.”

“Well, you didn’t, so don’t beat yourself up over it, okay?”

Silence fell between them. She noticed him staring at her wrist with clouded eyes, despite her assurances of being fine. Before she could think of a way to broach the issue at hand, he spoke up.

“Aqua, I’m…I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I swear, I didn’t mean to hurt you, it was an accident, and---”

“I know, I know! You don’t need to apologize, I know you would never try and hurt me,” she interjected, trying to comfort him. “I’m more worried about you and how you’re doing after Master had those…words with you.”

He averted his eyes from her. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Eraqus scold Terra like he had before and those always left him feeling horrible with himself. She was used to being the one to get him back to normal but something told her this wouldn’t be as easy as previous times.

Turning away from her, he said, “I deserved it. Master was right, I could’ve seriously hurt you.”

“But you didn’t and that’s what matters,” she replied.

“I was wielding Darkness, Aqua!” he exclaimed, taking her aback. He ran a hand through his hair before continuing on, “I thought it was gone. I thought I had it under control but I guess I don’t. Maybe it never left.”

“Terra…” She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay. You’ve gotten rid of Darkness before, you can do it again. You just have to---”

He brushed her off. “What if I don’t? What if I’ll always have Darkness inside me?”

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe I’m not meant to be a Keyblade Master. Maybe I’m just destined to fall into darkness. It’s my fate to lose my heart and become a Heartless.”

“That won’t happen, Terra. You’re strong enough to resist it and---”

“What if I’m not, Aqua? How else would you explain why I keep having Darkness come out of me? You can’t, can you?”

To her horror, he was right. There was no way she could explain why Darkness lingered inside him, even with the numerous attempts to rid himself of it. It wasn’t because he had a weak heart, that much she was certain. So what was the connection between the two? Was Terra right in that he was destined to fall into darkness, either by losing his heart or some other means?

The thought rocked her to the core. She didn’t want to believe his fate was to be lost in a hellish abyss until he was put out of his misery. He was her dear friend and he deserved so much more than being reduced to a lowly Heartless. She refused to accept it, which was why she decided to do something about it.

“You won’t fall into darkness, Terra,” she affirmed, stepping around him to meet his gaze. “I know it.”

“How? How can you be so sure?” he asked.

“Because I won’t let you.” She took hold of his hand in a gentle yet firm grip. “I promise I won’t let you fall into darkness.”

He seemed genuinely shocked by her words. She meant what she said and she planned on upholding her promise. It may be hard and it may even be treacherous at times but it’d all be worth it if he remained in the light.

“And, if you do fall, I promise to always guide you back home,” she added, giving his hand a squeeze.

“...You have that much faith in me, huh?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Why wouldn’t I?” She cupped his cheek. “You’re my friend, Terra, and I know you’re strong enough to resist its temptation. I’ll just be there to remind you every so often.”

He said nothing, instead deciding to pull her into a hug. She was surprised by this, seeing as how he wasn’t a very affectionate person, at least in the physical aspect. She was about ready to question him on why he was doing this when she heard him whisper in her ear:

“Thank you, Aqua, for believing in me.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest from the sincerity in his voice. She could sometimes be slow on the uptake but this had to be a new record. It was only now she realized just how much her vow must’ve touched him and how badly he must’ve been feeling before she showed up. She was glad to have cheered him up some. Thus, she returned the hug and answered,

“You’re welcome.”

Terra wasn’t going to fall into darkness, not if she had anything to say about it. He won’t be led astray. She’d be his anchor to the realm of light. A promise is a promise, which she wholly planned to keep.

Aqua breathed in deep and touched the tip of her paintbrush on the small piece of glass sitting in front of her. Drawing it upwards left the top half in a pretty shade of cyan blue. She continued to paint with delicate and meticulous strokes until she was satisfied with her work. The bottom half was then covered in a dark blue, which almost matched the ocean she imagined in her mind. Once the piece of glass was completely painted over, she gingerly picked it up and set it aside to dry. One down, four more to go before she moved on to the next phase.

She was in the process of making her Wayfinder. She already crafted two others that happened to be sitting off to the side, one in amber and one in green. She hoped to give them to Terra and Ven soon once she was done creating hers. Seeing as how she and Terra were meant to have their Mark of Mastery exam in the near future, they were meant to be good luck charms and Ven was getting one simply because it’d be unfair if he was left out. They also had another purpose to them, something she thought was rather poignant and was the main reason she wanted them.

Wayfinders were said to be designed after star-shaped fruit called Paopu, which were also said to tie friends together. If they carried these on them, nothing would drive them apart. They’d even help find one’s way back to them if they were ever lost. It may be silly of her to believe in this but it struck a chord within her when she first heard it and, in some ways, she wanted it to be true.

The question of what would happen after she and Terra aced their exam had weighed heavily on her mind for some time. Eraqus had told them they could either travel beyond the Land of Departure and expand their horizons or succeed him and protect their world from Darkness. They hadn’t decided yet but she wondered what the aftermath of her choice would be. Would she choose to leave or stay? Whatever it may be, it meant Terra would have to contend with the other. Maybe the reason this was troubling her so much was because a part of her deep down was afraid of losing the two people she considered to be her best friends.

She knew she had nothing to be scared of yet she worried all the same. It wasn’t like the bonds she shared with Ven and Terra were so weak, they’d break upon setting foot outside their home. Their strength would remain steadfast, even if the three of them were far apart from each other. She just needed to remind herself of that whenever she was lost in her thoughts.

The last glass piece was painted and she put it beside the others to dry. With that out of the way, the next thing to do would be setting the five glass pieces into place and soldering them to the frame so they wouldn’t fall out when she held the Wayfinder facing up. It was too late to do it tonight but she would get straight to it after her training tomorrow.

She glanced over to where the other two Wayfinders were sitting. She stood up from her desk, reached her hand out to grab them, and sat back down. They shone brilliantly under the golden light pouring in from her window. A lot’s happened over the last few years.

She never thought Eraqus would take in another apprentice but it was at the behest of an old friend so that’s how Ventus came into the picture. Fragile was the best word to describe him when they first met, like he could collapse at any moment. It fit him even more when he actually did from Terra’s bombardment of questions, falling into an almost come-like state for several days. Her skepticism as to whether he was capable of becoming a Keyblade Master only grew when Eraqus said he was amnesiac and that was why he fainted. How could someone like him become Master when he was so weak, for lack of a better term?

Yet he managed to prove her wrong. The more time he spent with the two of them, the stronger he got, to the point he was able to keep up with them in battle. He wasn’t as powerful as Terra or as magically gifted as her but he made up for it with swiftness and sheer tenacity. The only reason he wasn’t taking the Mark of Mastery exam along with them was because of his age, though she believed it was also due to him needing to outgrow some things, like his rebellious streak for example. He’d be a great Keyblade Master one day, she was sure of it.

Terra’s changed so much over the years. He was no longer a child struggling to keep his head above water as he flailed his Keyblade about. He’s grown into a strong and capable man she was proud to call her friend and rival. He’d be her fellow Master in due time as well and then they’d stand together to protect both theirs and many other worlds from Heartless someday. At least, that’s what she envisioned before things somehow became different between them.

She couldn’t quite explain what changed between her and Terra. It wasn’t like the way they interacted with each other was different from normal. They still met up every day to talk and train so that couldn’t be it. The only thing she noticed was…well, things she had never really noticed from him before. Not that they were never there but they were only starting to make themselves known to her.

Before Ven, she’d only seen three sides to Terra. The dutiful pupil to their master, the reliable confidant to her, and the introspective self-doubter when he thought he was alone. It was only after Ven entered their circle she saw the kind and protective side of him, almost like he was an older brother to him. She always knew those qualities existed within him but it was different seeing them in action to someone other than her. It’s only now she’s really acknowledged them.

He was still her friend but there was a deeper meaning now. Her feelings towards him were different than her feelings towards Ven and maybe that was because she’s known him practically all her life as opposed to the four years for Ven. Maybe all this was was her growing up and becoming an adult, which meant changing feelings and realizing that things were going to be different for her now, whether she liked it or not. Throw in the anxiety of potentially drifting away from him and she was left with a jumbled up mess of complications she struggled to put a label on.

All this was doing was giving her a headache. She should be focusing on the road ahead instead of thinking herself into a corner and letting her mind run wild. She’s so close to accomplishing her dream and she couldn’t risk anything jeopardizing it. Whatever answers she wanted, she’d find them after becoming Master.

She looked down at the Wayfinders still held in her hands and pressed them close to her chest. She let out a heavy sigh as she tried to calm herself. Different was new but it didn’t have to be bad. Change was a part of everyone’s lives and she and Terra were no exceptions.

Things may be different between them but it didn’t mean they were bad. It could mean they were good and she just couldn’t see how yet. As long as they were together, nothing truly bad would happen. That’s what she hoped.

Aqua sat at the end of the dock, watching the sun set over the horizon. A warm, pleasant breeze was blowing through, carrying with it the strong scent of salt. She could hear the ocean’s waves rolling along the sandy shore and leaves from the trees behind her rustling. This was everything she imagined a beach to be like. The only things missing from it were Terra and Ven.

The Destiny Islands was what this world was called. She only stopped by with the intention of taking a short rest but it was after reality began to sink in she had to give herself something more than that. She needed a moment where she could think clearly, decompress, and just breathe. She needed this before going back out there and starting the whole process over again. That’s where she was now.

Where did it all go wrong? She finally managed to achieve her dream of becoming a Keyblade Master but it felt like a hollow victory when it turned out Terra failed the exam on account of his Darkness flaring up again. Then she was asked by their master to keep an eye on him in case he strayed too close to darkness, which she didn’t agree with but knew it was out of concern for him so she followed. It was through that she learned of the questionable acts seemingly committed by Terra and it caused her to doubt him and his resolve. When she met up with him and Ven at Radiant Garden and she revealed the truth of her being there, their trust in her was shattered.

Then she found out Ven was being hunted down by a masked boy, who had ties to Master Xehanort. He’d been pulling strings behind the scenes and he was dragging Terra along for the ride. An encounter with the masked boy in Neverland left her exhausted yet she still trudged on before arriving here. All she was trying to do was make things right so why did it turn out like this?

Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a Master. They were supposed to keep the balance between light and dark, protect the worlds from malevolent forces. If she couldn’t even protect her best friends, the two people she treasured above all else, then what good was she? Eraqus was wrong in making her a Master, much less his successor. She never should have become one.

She took out her Wayfinder and just held it. The orange hue of the sunset washed away the once vibrant blue into something dull and dark. Her heart grew heavier the longer she looked at it, running her thumb over the token in the center. Nothing would drive them apart, huh?

It was never that she thought of Ven as weak or doubted his capabilities. It was never, ever that. She just wanted him to be safe, to be unharmed because she knew she couldn’t always be there to save him. There was a part of her that still viewed him as the fragile boy she first met who fell comatose from one too many questions. Sure, he’s grown much stronger since then, but she felt the need to protect him regardless. He was her dear friend and she wouldn’t know how to live with herself if he got hurt and she wasn’t there to help him. She’d rather have him hate her for being overbearing than risk losing him because she wasn’t cautious.

She wished she could express how sorry she was to Terra. She vouched for him to Eraqus, swearing he was strong enough to resist the dark temptations, yet hearsay was all it took for her to lose faith in him. Xehanort’s machinations framed him as someone he wasn’t and she fell for it so easily. It honestly pissed her off that he was manipulating and taking advantage of Terra and his trusting nature. While he wasn’t exactly innocent in this, it was clear as to who the real mastermind was. She wanted so badly to apologize to him, to tell him she should never have doubted him.

Her grip on the Wayfinder tightened as she felt her eyes beginning to burn. Did they have theirs still, she wondered. She wanted to believe they did but was it childishly naive of her to cling to that narrow hope?

She was a horrible friend to them. She caused one to lose faith in her and she may as well have betrayed the other. She may have pushed Ven too far away for him to come back and drove Terra further into the darkness. She wouldn’t fault them for wanting nothing to do with her anymore. She wouldn’t, either, if the roles were reversed. Were their bonds now severed?

No, they couldn’t be. The magic she placed on each of their Wayfinders was still active and she could still feel Terra and Ven’s hearts through hers. That had to be her silver lining in this. Even if the cord connecting the three of them together frayed till it was only a thread, that thread was unbreakable.

She needed to protect them. She couldn’t let Xehanort and that masked boy do whatever they wanted with them. They wouldn’t hesitate to save her if she were in the same position so she shouldn’t, either. They were precious to her, she’d do anything, even give her life, if it meant they’d be safe.

She stood up from the dock, Wayfinder still in her hand, and looked up at the now starry sky. She didn’t know where they were but she didn’t need to. Her heart was going to be her guiding key.

They needn’t worry much longer. She was going to find them and the three of them were going to stop whatever Xehanort had planned. Then they would share one more night under the stars, like they had all that time ago.

May they find a way to each other once more.

Aqua watched on in horror as the man in front of her stabbed his Keyblade into his chest. She wanted to cry out his name but she couldn’t find the strength within her to do so, having thoroughly exhausted herself from their fight earlier. His body went slack, his Keyblade vanishing into thin air, as a portal of swirling darkness opened beneath him. He fell back and, quickly realizing where it led to, she dove in after him.

She had to save him. It may not have been Terra, not completely, but his heart was still in his body, she just knew it. Why else would he have let her go when he was so close to finishing her off? She couldn’t leave him to wander in the Realm of Darkness for all eternity. Even if it meant bringing Xehanort back, she’d never forgive herself for doing that to him if he was still in there. She made him a promise and she was damn well going to keep it.

The first thing she noticed was how cold it was. It wasn’t freezing but it was still too chilly for her liking, evident from her shivering. She felt like she was stuck in an empty black void as she searched around for any sign of Terra. She was eventually able to find a dim light just a few meters below her, a light she recognized as his. Summoning her Keyblade, she changed its form to that of her Glider and raced towards the light, not once taking her eyes off it.

It didn’t take long to reach him. The light grew dimmer and dimmer the closer she got before dimming completely upon seeing him. He looked to be just sleeping, even when he was plummeting straight down to what she considered to be hell. She grabbed onto his arm and struggled to lift him onto her Glider, only managing to accomplish that feat by sheer force of will. Giving him a quick once-over revealed no visible wounds and he seemed to be breathing normally. Relieved that he was physically all right, she turned the Glider around and began heading back up.

She had him and he was going to be okay. They would be back in Radiant Garden soon and she was going to fix him. She and whoever else could help her were going to find a way to get Xehanort’s heart out of him. Then she and him would go home and wake Ven up, like she said they would. They’d be together again. Their master may be gone now but they’d have each other to lean on and support. The hope of them being reunited again was the only thing keeping her going at this point. After everything that’s happened, she needed this to come true. She almost wanted to pray to whatever power there be to grant her wish, to give her this.

Well, a deity or some other higher being there was heard her and sneered. Her heart dropped once she saw the portal they came in from starting to close. They were still so far away and it was shrinking with each passing second. It would be gone by the time they reached it, leaving them stuck in the Realm of Darkness with no way out. She looked over at Terra’s unconscious form and, knowing what had to be done, made her choice without any hesitation.

That was when it hit her. She finally found her answer and she wanted to scold herself for taking so long to realize it. She finally knew what Terra was to her and it was so easy, so simple to understand that there was really no excuse. He wasn’t just a friend to her, he was more than that, he deepened beyond that. It was only natural, in some ways, for her to have fallen for him.

She loved him. She loved everything about him, from his ability to want to see the good in people to his devotion to her and Ven. She can scarcely remember a life where he wasn’t a part of it nor did she want such a life. He was irreplaceable, someone she confided in, a man she could talk to about anything without fear of judgment. He was her rock, her dearly beloved. She loved him, which was why she was able to decide on her fate with little regret.

She was going to take his place. Her promise came out of a love different from what it was now but she planned to uphold it all the same. Her love for Terra was stronger than her hatred of the man possessing him and she couldn’t bear to leave him behind to die in a hellish wasteland. It only hurt to know she wouldn’t be there to help guide him back home, to her and Ven.

She disembarked from her Glider and went around to the side. Terra appeared to be holding onto the handles somewhat, which seemed to be the only reason he was staying on it instead of falling. She brushed the back of her hand against his cheek before resting it on his, giving it a gentle squeeze. She was going to miss him when she was gone but this was for the best.

“We’ll meet again someday.” She squeezed his hand again. “Even if so much time has passed, we’ll meet again.” She was giving both him and herself false hope. “I’ll always be with you, okay?” She didn’t believe she would find a way out. “Goodbye, Terra.”

Then she let go and began falling. She didn’t take her eyes off him once as she fell, even when it became too dark for her to see him clearly. She wanted him to be the last thing she saw if she were to possibly die in the next few moments. She only wished she could’ve amended things between her, Terra, and Ven before their grand battle in the Keyblade Graveyard but she was resigned to contend with this. She’d be okay with taking that regret to her grave.

Tears rolled down her cheeks but she smiled through them. She saved him from a fate of wandering the dark realm alone. She hoped Terra would win out in his fight against Xehanort and reclaim his body as the image of him finally disappeared from her sight. Maybe, just maybe, they’d meet again in the next life.

She closed her eyes as she let the darkness overtake her. It was then she heard herself say those three little words that carried with them so much meaning. Whether she said them aloud or she only imagined she did, it didn’t matter. All she wanted was for those words to reach Terra’s heart, to let him know why she did what she did. That was her last thought before succumbing to the cold.

“I love you.”

#airi's writing #terraqua #aqua #terra #ventus #eraqus #fanfiction #kingdom hearts #canon divergence

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enoughtroubleforalifetime · 3 years

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Rules

This is an 18+ blog. I’m over 21 and no longer feel comfortable writing with minors.

Don’t godmod unless we’ve discussed it. There are certain muses that I let mess with my muse’s heads, but as a general rule, don’t be a dick and take away my ability to control my own muse and their reactions to things.

Questions or concerns? Message me or send me an ask. I’m always willing to talk, but you’ll probably get a much faster response if you’re not on anon. Also, if we’ve interacted, feel free to ask for my discord.

I fully support reblog karma. I’m not a meme source, so if you’re reblogging memes from me, I expect you to be sending them as well. It doesn’t have to be something from the same meme, but it doesn’t hurt anyone to send a color pallet art request or a question for the mun. I will block you if this happens too often.

I won't write with you if your muse doesn't have a bio or about page. This goes double for genderbent or otherwise canon-divergent muses. It's important to know the background and how that's changed them.

I’m happy to rp with well-developed and interesting ocs, including children or relations of canon characters, but please talk to me about it first and have a good bio and rules page.

But, it you’re not a rp blog, don’t like or reblog my starter calls. That’s confusing and weird. Also please don’t reblog threads you aren’t a part of. That can confuse my thread tracker.

Please don’t bother me about replies. You’re welcome to nudge me if I’ve been responding regularly to our thread and I stop suddenly, but I have a tracker. I don’t lose things often and I’ll let you know if I want to drop a thread. I’m slow. Please be patient.

I don’t do in-character IMs, but you’re welcome to approach me ooc at any time. The mun doesn’t bite, I swear.

I reserve the right to not rp with any blog for any reason.

The mun’s pronouns are ey/em/eirs or they/them/theirs. Pronouns should always be respected in ooc interactions.

Transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, acephobia, ableism, etc, won’t be tolerated from the mun. I understand that muses’ views don’t reflect those of the mun.

I will rp smut, but I reserve the right to not jump into that with muns I don’t know well.

A lot of my muses are picky about shipping--please don’t push me into something that me or the muses aren’t into (but always feel free to ask about it!).

If you’ve read all this, let me know, yeah? Just a ‘hey, I read your rules’ is plenty for me. Or just like this post.

Muses:

Albus Dumbledore

Dudley Dursley

#rules #harry about #ginny about #lily about #sirius about #james about #albus about #hermione about #dudley about #mickey about #mei about #percy about

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mthofferings2020 · 4 years

Photo

nostalgicatsea

See nostalgicatsea’s existing works here and here.

Preferred contact methods: Tumblr: nostalgicatsea Twitter: nostalgicatsea Discord: nostalgicatsea#5251

Preferred organizations: - Equal Justice Initiative - Ghetto Film School - National Immigration Law Center - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - World Central Kitchen (See the list of approved organizations here)

Will create works that contain: Tropes/elements: character studies, angst, soulmates, slow burn, mutual or one-sided pining, self-sacrifice, amnesia, time travel, reincarnation, fake relationship, relationship of convenience, hurt/comfort, de-aging, dream world, presumed dead, temporary or permanent death, post-breakup, getting together, getting back together, post-Infinity War to post-Endgame, substance abuse and recovery, grief/mourning, parental/child and mentor/mentee relationships, friendship over the years, Tony’s family issues, dark Steve, pre-serum Steve AUs: canon-divergent (I like sticking to canon as much as possible, though), mafia/gangster, magic, sports, non-powered, high school or college, supernatural, horror, sci-fi, etc. I love AUs! For writing, I tend to focus on one specific moment or a series of small moments, feelings, and relationships more than action-packed plots.

Will not create works that contain: I’m up for most things except some extreme kinks, incest, mpreg, infidelity, adult/minor romantic relationships, and partner abuse in a ship. I don’t have any triggers. If you want me to elaborate on my do-not-wants or have a trope, kink, or plot point that you’re not sure I’ll be okay with, please contact me beforehand. Betaing: A/B/O, D/S, OOC, PWPs, OCs, self-inserts, tooth-rotting fluff without plot, Darcy-centric fics, unbalanced CW plots. I’m not that fond of coffeeshop, apocalypse, zombie, and vampire AUs, but I can help with them Writing: A/B/O, D/S, poly, comedy, complicated plots, crack, 100% pure fluff/domestic plots, kidfic (unless it’s canon), AUs that require a lot of specific knowledge (e.g., historical AUs or military AUs), reality TV AU, zombie AU, animal transformation, unbalanced CW plots, Hydra Steve

-- Fic or Other Writing --

Auction ID: 1280

Will create works for the following relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - AvAc, MCU, Noir Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson - MCU James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark - MCU Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau - MCU James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Sam Wilson - MCU Nebula & Tony Stark - MCU Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov - MCU Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark - MCU Carol Danvers & Nick Fury - MCU Nick Fury & Maria Rambeau - MCU

Work Description: This fic will probably be 1.5–3k. It’s possible that it may end up longer (this was the case with my Stony Trumps Hate and MTH 2018 fics), but I can’t make any promises. It might take me a while to finish it as I’m slow at writing and RL keeps me busy, so please keep that in mind when bidding. MCU is my usual playground overall, but for Steve/Tony specifically, I’ve written Noir and AvAc too. I'm very interested in writing canon-compliant fics or fics set in canon, especially ones that act like snapshots of the characters at a specific time in their lives or a character/relationship study, but I do love AUs as well. I would appreciate it if you gave me several prompts, both general and specific, to choose from as that will increase the likelihood of the story being finished faster and lessen the likelihood of me getting writer’s block. If you have any questions of what I will and won’t write, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

Ratings: Gen, Teen

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Beta Service --

Auction ID: 2104

Will create works for the following relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Any Universe Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson - MCU Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau - MCU James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Sam Wilson - MCU Iron Man fandom any gen - 616, AvAc, MCU Captain America fandom any gen - 616, AvAc, MCU Avengers fandom any gen - 616, AvAc, EMH, MCU Captain Marvel fandom any gen - MCU Black Panther fandom any gen - MCU Nick Fury/Alexander Pierce - MCU

Work Description: I can help with SPaG/copyediting, pacing, sentence structure, continuity, and America-picking, and I particularly love discussing characterization, world building, plot, and character development. I love character and relationship studies and contemplative pieces that dive deeply into who the characters are and how they feel, but I also like plots that tackle serious issues or big canon points, complex plots, and plots with multiple layers/levels. Turnaround depends on fic length and my schedule. I’m relatively fast, but if something comes up, I’ll let you know immediately. If you need references, I’ve betaed and acted as a sounding board for several writers such as aslightstep, captainshellhead/vibraniumstark, gil-estel, Kiyaar, laireshi, Sineala, and Woad. Notes on relationships: I’m willing to beta some ships along with gen/platonic ones for the fandoms listed above. Notes on characters: There are some characters whom I’m not that fond of or interested in (for example, Darcy Lewis). I’m open to betaing almost anything, provided they follow my wants/DNWs, even with characters I’m less keen about/don’t care for, but feel free to contact me if you have questions about this. Notes on universes: For 616 and Ults, I’ll only do an AU or a story that doesn’t rely heavily on canon events. I’ve only watched a handful of AA episodes. I’m open to Noir, AvAc, 3490, EMH, AA, and 1872 for Steve/Tony as well.

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Digital Work --

Auction ID: 3039

Will create works for the following relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Any Universe Iron Man fandom any gen - 616, AvAc, EMH, MCU, Noir Captain America fandom any gen - 616, AvAc, EMH, MCU Avengers fandom any gen - 616, 1872, AvAc, EMH, MCU Spider-Man fandom any gen - MCU, SM:ITS Black Panther fandom any gen - MCU Thor fandom any gen - MCU Captain Marvel fandom any gen - 616, MCU Agent Carter fandom any gen - MCU Luke Cage fandom any gen - MCU

Work Description: Examples: - https://nostalgicatsea.tumblr.com/tagged/my-graphics - http://nostalgicatsea.tumblr.com/post/172978178409/leaving-promises-against-your-skin-186k-soulmate I’m offering a moodboard for a character(s) or a fic of your choice (no NSFW shots) according to the theme or tone you want. I’m up for all gen and most ships for the fandoms listed above with a few exceptions. If you have any questions, please contact me! You’ll get your moodboard in 1–3 weeks, depending on whether I need to read a fic or not and how packed my schedule is. If the winning bid reaches $20, I'll make two moodboards. For every $10 after that, I'll throw in an extra moodboard.

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 18 (12 AM ET) to October 24 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

#nostalgicatsea #auction: fic #auction: beta #auction: digital #mth 2020

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cleverestofclevermen · 3 years

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Rules

This is an 18+ blog. I’m over 21 and no longer feel comfortable writing with minors.

I’m happy to rp with well-developed and interesting ocs, including children or relations of canon characters, but please talk to me about it first and have a good bio and rules page.

But, it you’re not a rp blog, don’t like or reblog my starter calls. That’s confusing and weird. Also please don’t reblog threads you aren’t a part of. That can confuse my thread tracker.

I don’t do in-character IMs, but you’re welcome to approach me ooc at any time. The mun doesn’t bite, I swear.

I reserve the right to not rp with any blog for any reason.

The mun’s pronouns are ey/em/eirs or they/them/theirs. Pronouns should always be respected in ooc interactions.

Queerphobia, ableism, etc, won’t be tolerated from the mun. I understand that muses’ views don’t reflect those of the mun.

I will rp smut, but I reserve the right to not jump into that with muns I don’t know well.

Please don’t bother me about shipping. I’m not saying I wont ship with you, but it’s probably going to be unhappy or one-sided if you’re not John.

If you’ve read all this, let me know, yeah? Just a ‘hey, I read your rules’ is plenty for me. Or just like this post.

Rodney's bio | Ember’s bio

#rules #rodney about #ember about #ember verse #rodney verse

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aheroic · 4 years

Text

Rules

This is an 18+ blog. I’m over 21 and no longer feel comfortable writing with minors.

I’m happy to rp with well-developed and interesting ocs, including children or relations of canon characters, but please talk to me about it first and have a good bio and rules page.

But, it you’re not a rp blog, don’t like or reblog my starter calls. That’s confusing and weird. Also please don’t reblog threads you aren’t a part of. That can confuse my thread tracker.

I won’t rp with you if you don't have an about page or bio for your muse. This goes double if your muse is genderbent or otherwise canon-divergent because I want to see how your altered background is going to affect them.

I don’t do in-character IMs, but you’re welcome to approach me ooc at any time. The mun doesn’t bite, I swear.

I reserve the right to not rp with any blog for any reason.

The mun’s pronouns are ey/em/eirs or they/them/theirs. Pronouns should always be respected in ooc interactions.

Transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, aphobia, ableism, etc, won’t be tolerated from the mun. I understand that muses’ views don’t reflect those of the mun.

I will rp smut, but I reserve the right to not jump into that with muns I don’t know well.

For Tony Only:

JARVIS is mine. Unless you’re a JARVIS or Jarvis muse or we’ve previously discussed it, don’t touch J or the bots. They’re an extension of Tony and it gets weird and really uncomfortable.

As a sidenote on this, yes I know that FRIDAY is canon right now, but I don’t always write FRIDAY. So please don’t bother me about this. That said, if I am writing FRIDAY, she’s mine to control as well.

If you’ve read all this, let me know, yeah? Just a ‘hey, I read your rules’ is plenty for me. Or just like this post.

#rules

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fyrapartnersearch · 4 years

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HxH and Inazuma eleven nostalgia

Hi! Welcome to my partner search. Before going into detail I'll explain "my rules", I know it's a boring part but it helps us both to know if we are compatible. I roleplay mainly on Discord/ e-mail, with the first contact being on this e-mail: [email protected] - I prefer to roleplay with +18 people, I'm uncomfortable roleplaying with minors. -Quantity. I've been told that I'm on the literate side, but I know that sometimes one doesn't have the energy or just not enough to work to make a +1000 words post. So Quality> Quantity but please give me something to work with (my "lazy/small" usual is around 600 words per character I guess, if you need numbers. And again, if I have something to work with). You get stuck? Let's talk about it. I'm also here for the long term. - Doubling is required. I like to play both Canon and OC (CanonxOC trash here) and I intend to keep doing it. At least in this fandom. Do you want to play a canon for me? Please tell me you have a canon you want me to play against your OC. I get easily bored when I don't get to play more than one main character, and I like to build different kind of relationships (friendships, rivalries...and I'm talking bewteen the OCs, the Canons, both...) on my RPs, so I expect you to like, like me, playing multiple characters (it can be summarize in having two mains and then the others being like NPCs to build the scenes that we share). And I prefer to double with a male canon character usually. Why? I don't know to be honest but that is how it works for me, I guess it's because I grew up roleplaying like that?. This should be a given, but EQUAL EFFORT ON BOTH CHARACTERS, I love coming up with ideas for my partner's wanted canons and.... it's a bit sad when you're the only one who seems to be enjoying doubling (I know there are lots of people who said "I double!" but only to "make it fair" and "get their canon". Most of the time they don't even enjoy doubling, and well I can understand how desperate they could be for their fandom/canon but if that's your mindset we aren't really compatible). IF YOU DON'T DOUBLE/ DON'T LIKE IT DON'T FORCE YOURSELF, just keep going, I'm sure you'll find someone interested in playing your canon! -About OCs.... I used to accept any kind of OC but I've gotten tired of Mary Sues and all angst kind of characters. I know, it doesn't mean your OC is bad, but bear with me, I've had enough with those characters. This doesn't mean that your character can't have a sad story or that they need to have a friendly personality. The problem is when the only thing they do is a constant monologue about their tragic past and they never move the story forward. It gets boring. I want to be hyped about your OC! Choose songs, pinterest boards... -MxF is what I'm looking for in mains (playing both male - the canon - and female - the OC -). I don’t roleplay F// and M// pairings with partners I haven’t roleplayed with before. -Let's both contribute to the story. Maybe one has more ideas one day, or one suffers writers block, or one wants to surprise the other with a plot twist... but let's work/move the story together yeah? I also prefer if we use both 3rd person, it can be present or past, as you prefer, but 1st is a bit difficult to read and write for me. -When it comes to romance , love at first sight isn't my thing, I usually go with the slow burn/ "organic" path . Maybe you're more impatient, it's ok (besides, having crushes it's normal, not anything new or surreal), I don't mind speeding up things a little, but not just saying hi to each other and wanting to marry instantly. I like to keep the main genre of the series and focus on our character's development more than having romance as the only focus too. - Don't feel forced to answer everyday. I can't stress this enough. This a hobby, not a job. Even if I answer at the speed of light one day I'm not expecting that from you. There will be times that I won't be able to answer for days, life comes first. And I like OOC chit chat , share all your memes, silly headcanons, and feel free to chat with me even if you haven't replied to the RP. I've seen some people hiding that they are online to not be pressured about their RPs. I won't pressure you! -I'm very ditch friendly. At first I thought that people that were selective were just being a bit annoying/ hypocrites, but after roleplaying for around 10 years you get their point. I want to feel comfortable with what you write and I want YOU to feel comfortable with what I write. There is no need for hard feelings! No need to make an excuse too, just say ''Hey, let's just drop this'' and I'll be ''Ok, I'll keep searching then''. Ah, and I don't close my searches until I'm fully plotting with someone, like characters already been shared and all of that. When I find a partner I think will stay and that I feel confident about, I'll put the roleplay request on hold and lately if everything goes fine I'll close it. I think that those are the basic rules. I have triggerings and so but I think I prefer to talk about those matters with someone already interested in roleplaying. Now, the fandoms (Aged up friendly, since these fandoms have children on it, anything that goes beyond an innocent crush // holding hands, kiss on the cheek, you get me // is reserved for +18 characters. They may be super powerful and stronger than adults - at least in HxH -, but they are still children). Usually I'm open to try new canons, but I'm afraid that due to time limitations I'm only interested in playing the characters I have played before/ I feel more comfortable playing as when it comes to HxH. I'm also super open and I love to be honest, to do like an age progression. For example make an arc longer so the characters start to age up and as such face the consequences of growing and becoming adults. I think it's interesting. HunterxHunter I've watched the 2011 and the...1998? Anime, plus read the manga (I'm not up to date, I left in one of the.... endless hiatus - no shade to the mangaka btw, health and so comes first -, but if you're interested in knowing when I left it, ask, since I don't want to put spoilers here). The character I'm searching to play against is Killua. (Sue me. I made an OC and I felt like him and her could have an interesting dynamic.) Characters I'm comfortable playing as/ I've played before are: Leorio (love him), Kurapika (love him too), Gon (my son at this point) and Shalnark (had a good time playing him tbh, better than I had expected). Again, don't ask me to try different canons, I'm afraid that this time I'm not open for it.

Inazuma Eleven

There are so many characters in this series! But I'm mostly familiar with those appearing on the first season (Axel and Mark's age range). I'm searching to play against Haruya Nagumo, since the Alien arc was by fart my favorite one, and I'm open to try many canons for you ^^. I'm more inclined to age up the characters in this fandom from the beginning.

Important note regarding canon characters. Everyone. Has. Their. Own. Approach. When. It. Comes. To. Canons. I'm not here to be like "I'm going to check every single time that you follow the canon perfectly! And if you don't guess what I have in mind for them I'll riot!" Not only that but as we roleplay the canon character may change because they may have different experiences from the canon source! That being said, if you for example, give me a Bakugou Katsuki (just you know, a quick example now that BNHA is pretty popular), that isn't an ass, or turns into a cheesy character in like 3 interactions, yeah, I'm going to be like "... What are you doing?". Share your headcanons! Your vision of the canon! I try to do the same so I don't end up with an uncomfortable partner, or uncomfortable myself! Thanks for reading and have a nice day! Btw it gets pretty obvious when someone doesn't read the rules, and I'm a bit tired of it to be honest. Yeah I highlighted the most important info, but just for you to have a way to quick check everything if at some point you forget about a rule or are having doubts about it. Not to fully skip everything. Ah! And this is also a copy paste of my old rules, so if you see something weird, like me referring to several fandoms when in reality I'm just searching for one, I'm sorry. I didn't want to repeat all my rules from 0 and I just copy pasted and edited some parts.

#multiple paragraph #para #long term #email #submission

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buckskinblues · 5 years

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This isn’t writing advice per se (more like formatting), just things that I take for granted knowing that when I come across I realize that not everyone does, in fact, know about when it comes to writing. You don’t have to pay attention to it or follow it. Just take it as me rambling pointlessly if you want (or even me being a big old meanie). I’m focusing on fanfic because if you’re serious about working on OG writing I...really hope you already know these things and I mention things specific to using tags and all that (I also focus on Ao3 rather than any other site since it’s the best and also the only site I use for posting anything).

First off, if you don’t use paragraph breaks. Fuck you.

Stop using “~” at the end of sentences to denote someone saying something in a “singsong” way or whatever. Stop using it in general. It looks bad and it breaks immersion because it’s not any sort of capitalization or formatting that is usually used so it can be jarring and also just looks stupid as fuck. The dialogue itself, the dialogue tags, and the context are all you need to carry the mood and convey feeling. Anything else is you trying way too hard. (The “~” is a tilde and is used in some other languages over letters to change the pronunciation and it’s also used in math/engineering to mean something about numbers...so basically if you’re writing in English you shouldn’t be using it because there is shit all reason to do that).

Either capitalize correctly for titles or don’t capitalize at all. Stylistic choices only work if you’re consistent about it, otherwise it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing rather than making a deliberate choice. And yes, even something as small and simple as the title can come across this way. It’s the first thing people see when they come across the story so it’s important it doesn’t look dumb as hell just to capitalize the first word and none of the others. It looks like you typed it out on your phone and auto correct got the first word but not the others. This is only for titles though, if you forego using capitalization in the body of your work just know you’ve committed a grave sin against humanity--you’re damned if you’ve done this for a chaptered work and not just a “stylistic” choice in a drabble.

Stop using...those letters that are from different alphabets and symbols you pasted from unicode or wherever else. It’s not aesthetic. Some phones and computers may not read them and they’ll just be square blocks. They’re hard to read for some people. They represent completely different sounds in the alphabets/languages they’re supposed to be used in. Just...stop doing it.

Don’t mix two different characters’ dialogue in the same paragraph. Each person gets their own paragraph. This is how people know who is talking when there are sometimes just one dialogue after the other without anything else to tell who is who, besides the fact it alternates. Paragraph breaks.

Epithets. Stop using them. Pronouns exist for a reason and context works wonders. “The blond haired agent, the doctor with glasses, the grumpy hitman...” it gets old when you use such things to refer to a character more than their names, especially when you’re using epithets in dialogue tags. And it’s especially unnecessary when they’re the only character in a scene or the only other character being referred to by another who’s speaking. (Also when you use the same epithet multiple times, all the time...I wanna die). Very low level children’s books use epithets often because children are just learning about things and have the attention span of a goldfish. But I hope you have faith your audience is above a kindergarten reading level. The only time I ever use epithets is when a character’s name isn’t revealed yet to the main POV and there really isn’t any other way to get around referring to them until it is. Though you can skip doing that if they’re literally the only other person the main POV could possibly be interacting with. And you don’t want to do this for very long because it wears out its welcome fast. It’s okay to use character’s names to refer to them...that’s why they have names.

Do not do things like “!!!!!!” or “?!?!1!!” Just one exclamation will do. You can use “?!”/”!?” but don’t like...repeat it a bunch of times. Like...I get it, they’re surprised.

Is this a chapter story or a script? Are you writing a play? If you use: Character A: Blah blah blah. Character B: Wah Wah Wah! Consider...not doing that. I mean, DO do that if you’re actually writing a script...but you have no excuse for not knowing how dialogue is actually supposed to be formatted in stories because...I mean...you have read right? It’s the same in every book and story. The bar is low here. It’s not obscure knowledge. Children’s trade books use: “Blah,” Character A says. You have no excuse for not doing the same.

Walls of tags. Ugh. Walls. Of. Tags. Again, I gotta say. Fuck you. Tags are for categorization but you still want to keep them as simple and clean as possible. I’ve legit had to scroll past a wall of tags that took up so much damn space they were all that was on the screen. Do. Not. Do. This. Everyone hates you for it.

Speaking of tags: / is for romantic and/or sexual relationships and & is for platonic friendship. Do not mix up the two. Do not use both. If it’s a slow burn from friends to lovers you still only use /. If there’s no romance at all use &. Do not put “platonic but can be read as--” no. It’s up to you, the writer, whether it’s platonic or romantic so use the tags correctly.

Request booklets uwu. I hate those. I hate them because it’s a shitload of different fandoms, a wall of tags, and (usually) little to no actual content. You’ll get one-shot collections in the fandom tag when there isn’t actually any content for that actual fandom in it. It’s Ao3, it’s an archive. If you want to take requests make a Tumblr blog. In general I’m of the belief that one-shots should be...one-shots. On their own. There are lots of reasons for this. You can add a summary for what the one-shot is about instead of just giving the audience a title and shit all else. You can put it in the proper fandom tag without pissing off people who come across the “collection” and there be nothing for their fandom actually. The only time it makes sense is if the one-shots are all happening in the same universe and to the same people and they stand alone because they’re not chronological but they’re still in the same timeline for the same people. A series is fine. But it’s essentially like someone crosstagging here on Tumblr and using as many tags as possible to get attention.

If you have a chaptered story that follows a specific plot...do not add one-shots or AUs of that story to the that story. Perhaps that may not make sense but there is nothing more infuriating than thinking the story is updated when it’s just something tacked on, a one-shot or something, that interrupts the story and pisses you off because you don’t care you want to find out what happens next. If it all happens in the same universe, put it in a series. But don’t clog up the actual story with diversions. This has happened and while I really liked the writer’s stories I was fucking pissed as all hell. When I saw an update I thought the cliffhanger would be resolved, but no, it was a one-shot...

Use an author’s note for introductions or extra information NOT the body of the work. Please and thank you. Similarly you can add a tag or edit the summary to say the story is on hiatus or will be left unfinished until further notice.

Gender-neutral smut...it doesn’t work.

It’s okay to write OOC. Just like...warn people if you KNOW it’s really OOC.

It’s okay to character bash, honestly. Just warn people you’ll be doing it and that you know it’s petty but you hate writing about them in a positive way. For the life of me writing Sakura (from Naruto) was always a pain in the ass for me, so I understand. Just be self-aware about it and warn people so that they can’t come crying about it. (The power of “well, I did warn you...” is strong).

The relationship tags are only for the MAIN relationship(s). Background ships can be put in additional tags or vaguely mentioned in the author’s note. But please don’t make people think a ship will be more prominent in a story than what it actually is.

Stop using quotes for summaries when they don’t actually tell the readers anything. Summaries are for letting people know the basics of what they’ll be reading about so they know if it interests them. A vague quote from some famous person says absolutely nothing. Quotes can be used to great effect at the beginning of chapters or the end to drive home a theme or add a nice touch but they aren’t summaries on their own.

Use whatever tropes/cliches you want. Seriously. Especially if it’s fanfic. Just do what you want as far as actual content. If you enjoy it that’s all that matters.

So essentially write about whatever you want but remember the formatting is important. Basic capitalization and grammar that isn’t immediately terrible is important. Categorizing properly is important. These are things that really aren’t all that hard, seriously. Once you learn about doing them you just...do them.

#long post #fandom and fanfic i guess #i know i can come across a bit mean but to me these are really basic things #and they're things that are easy to notice in other stories so theres like #no reason for thinking they arent the norm or whatever #some of it is subjective #like me not liking gender neutral smut #maybe someone else wouldnt have a problem with it #but i did say it was more like me rambling

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boncbroken-blog · 4 years

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MOBILE RULES

rules are simple – sorry they’re so long-winded! But they’re important.

I’m Tea! They/Them non-binary 27 years old!

MUN = / = MUSE!!! HATE WILL BE DELETED.

If we aren’t Mutual’s, don’t like my starter calls, reblog open starters, or send ic asks. These are all reserved for mutuals only. Anons are encouraged so long as they’re not hateful.

I am selective. My muse comes and goes and this goes for threads too. I’m slow as fuck lmao. I’m also very slow at checking my followers, so if you’re a new follower and haven’t received a follow back it’ll probably take a while. But take note that I am not follow for follow.

I have a life outside of roleplay. I work full-time Monday - Friday, so i’m usually too tired to do much during the week. Weekends are my only time off, so I try to get around to doing things then — but even then my activity can be spotty. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that just because i’m writing on the dash doesn’t mean i’m always up for ooc interactions. I’m low energy a LOT, so socializing can be difficult for me. If I don’t reply, it doesn’t mean I HATE YOU or that i’m IGNORING you. I’m simply waiting to reply for when I have the energy to.

No password. I don’t send in passwords.

Smut probably won't happen here but who knows. lmao

On the note of SHIPPING. Do NOT force ship. I’m 100% okay with shipping with OC’s. All of my ships will take place in different universes. No one is cheating on anyone… any attempt to create discourse over this will get you blocked. However, I am going to be VERY selective with who I ship with!

If I see you vagueblogging or posting a lot of drama I will either hardblock or unfollow. don’t approach me about why I unfollowed, it’s usually for a good reason. Guilt tripping is a no go either. That’s not going to fly here. Period. If I see it on dash or in my DM’s you’ll be blocked.

Oc’s are cool. Multiverse and crossovers are cool. But if I don’t know how our characters could interact or I’m unfamiliar with your characters universe I likely won’t follow back.

If you are an OC, please have an about page I can easily find! If I cannot find an about page anywhere on your blog, I will not follow you back. It can be DIFFICULT for me to interact with OC’s due to bad past experiences. But the easiest way to interact with me is to TALK to me, and plot with me. I have an easier time writing with people I can talk to!

No godmodding, infomodding. All that jaz. Respect me and I’ll respect you. Trim your posts. I’m pretty chill.

Don’t follow me if you age characters up for smut, write smut with underage characters or you actively write or support student x teacher or child x adult ships. That’s nasty. Don’t be nasty. Don’t interact with my posts either.

DO NOT FOLLOW ME if you are a Yandere stan/support the Yandere trope. I have BPD, therefore I will not tolerate it. It’s a toxic stereotype often correlated with my disorder and it’s incredibly damaging and overall problematic. On this note, I’m okay with Togas following me, but i’ll be picky with which ones I follow back. If I see you romanticizing the Yandere trope/BPD/or anything else related to this topic you will be blocked.

On that note, do not follow me if you ship Twice and Toga. I don’t care if you age her up, I don’t care if it’s ‘The legal age of consent in Japan’ It’s not an excuse for pedophillia. This should go along with the aforementioned rule of shipping children and adults together, but I feel the need to state it again. If you see them as anything more than a brother/sister dynamic, BLOCK ME.

I will be very selective when following Endeavor blogs. This also goes for Mitsuki and Kotaro blogs. It’s for my own comfort.

If you ever notice im interacting with someone who does any of the above, or are problematic, etc. PLEASE LET ME KNOW PRIVATELY. I do my best to avoid blogs like this, but sometimes I miss them.

I have some triggers!

Child abuse - do not interact with me with anything of this nature unless it’s VAGUE (if you’re unsure about something PLEASE ASK). Do not talk to me about anything of this nature ooc. Please.

Animal death/abuse

Creepypasta (mostly imagery like the horror faces/Jeff the killer type stuff. I’m okay with watching or reading it on my own time, but don’t bring it to me unexpectedly. Seeing it unexpectedly can mess with my anxiety)

FNAF

Alcohol (please tag any and all mentions)

Real life gore (mostly things like intestines and broken bones and deep wounds where the muscle is visible, etc. things of that nature.)

Religion and politics. Do not talk to me about these things unless it’s relevant to a PLOT or your character. Characters that are heavily influenced by religion or religious themes I likely will not follow.

I’ll add more when I can think of any but these are my major ones.

#mobile rules #rules #law

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crycsis-aa-blog · 4 years

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MOBILE RULES

rules are simple -- sorry they’re so long-winded! But they’re important.

I’m Tea! She/They 27 years old!

Because so little is known about Geten, their portrayal will be HEAVILY HEADCANON BASED. If you don’t like this, turn away now.

MY PORTRAYAL OF GETEN IS TRANS!! They are Non-binary, so please respect this! You may use he/him and they/them but they are still NON-BINARY.

If you steal my headcanons i’m coming for your kneecaps. Right now there really aren't many of this muse in the rpc, but it’s only a matter of time. I have spent a lot of time on this muse and working these headcanons into their story and developing them so please do not steal my headcanons. ;-;

If we aren’t Mutual’s, don’t like my starter calls, reblog open starters, or send ic asks. These are all reserved for mutuals only. Anons are encouraged so long as they’re not hateful.

I have a life outside of roleplay. I work full-time Monday - Friday, so i’m usually too tired to do much during the week. Weekends are my only time off, so I try to get around to doing things then --- but even then my activity can be spotty. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that just because i’m writing on the dash doesn’t mean i’m always up for ooc interactions. I’m low energy a LOT, so socializing can be difficult for me. If I don’t reply, it doesn’t mean I HATE YOU or that i’m IGNORING you. I’m simply waiting to reply for when I have the energy and inspiration to.

No password. I don’t send in passwords.

Geten and I are both of age. However I will be HIGHLY SELECTIVE with shipping. Shipping may or may not occur at all, it really depends on how comfortable I am with you! I am not actively seeking to ship, but if something happens to form between our characters then i’ll take it. I WILL NOT BE DOING NSFW CONTENT OUTSIDE OF GORE AND DARK THEMES ON THIS BLOG.

Geten is a villain. They may not exactly see themself as that, and more along the lines of a vigilante trying to CHANGE society, but they certainly have villainous behavior. Do not expect them to be anything outside of their character. Bonds may develop with time, or with much consideration and ooc discussion! Keep in mind that because of the nature of Geten’s beliefs and their character I am HIGHLY selective when it comes to shipping! There 100% has to be chemistry.

Oc’s are cool. Multiverse and crossovers are cool. But if I don’t know how our characters could interact or I’m unfamiliar with your characters universe I likely won’t follow back.

However, there are certain fandoms I will NOT interact with and for my own comfort please do not follow me or interact with my posts. You will be blocked.

Fandoms I won’t interact with:

Undertale.

JJBA.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

L4D.

Steven Universe.

FNAF.

Attack on Titan.

Killing Stalking.

Berserk.

Rick and Morty.

YouTubers/Real Life people.

Hazbin Hotel

No godmodding, infomodding. All that jaz. Respect me and I’ll respect you. Trim your posts. I’m pretty chill.

DO NOT FOLLOW ME if you are a Yandere stan/support the Yandere trope. I have BPD, therefore I will not tolerate it. It's a toxic stereotype often correlated with my disorder and it's incredibly damaging and overall problematic. On this note, I'm okay with Togas following me, but i'll be picky with which ones I follow back. If I see you romanticizing the Yandere trope/BPD/or anything else related to this topic you will be blocked.

I will be very selective when following Endeavor blogs. This also goes for Mitsuki and Kotaro blogs. It’s for my own comfort.

If you ever notice im interacting with someone who does any of the above, or are problematic, etc. PLEASE LET ME KNOW PRIVATELY. I do my best to avoid blogs like this, but sometimes I miss them.I have some triggers!

Child abuse - do not interact with me with anything of this nature unless it’s VAGUE (if you’re unsure about something PLEASE ASK). Do not talk to me about anything of this nature ooc. Please.

Animal death/abuse

FNAF

Alcohol (please tag any and all mentions)

Real life gore (mostly things like intestines and broken bones and deep wounds where the muscle is visible, etc. things of that nature.)

I’ll add more when I can think of any but these are my major ones.

#mobile rules #mobile law #rules #law #guidelines

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celcstii · 5 years

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✩ RULES ✩

I’m Tea! She/They 27 years old!

THIS IS A MULTI MUSE. It contains muses from multiple fandoms.

My icons and graphics are made by me using PSD’s I found and tweaked myself. Please do not take them! All of my KNY icon borders were made by Dovma! <3

If we aren’t Mutual’s, don’t like my starter calls, reblog open starters, or send ic asks. These are all reserved for mutuals only. Anons are encouraged so long as they’re not hateful.

I am selective. My muses come and go and this goes for threads too. I’m slow as fuck lmao. I’m also very slow at checking my followers, so if you’re a new follower and haven’t received a follow back it’ll probably take a while. But take note that I am not follow for follow.

I have a life outside of roleplay. I work full-time Monday - Friday, so i’m usually too tired to do much during the week. Weekends are my only time off, so I try to get around to doing things then --- but even then my activity can be spotty. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that just because i’m writing on the dash doesn’t mean i’m always up for ooc interactions. I’m low energy a LOT, so socializing can be difficult for me. If I don’t reply, it doesn’t mean I HATE YOU or that i’m IGNORING you. I’m simply waiting to reply for when I have the energy and inspiration to.

No password. I don’t send in passwords.

It’s unlikely that any NSFW will be happening on this blog. NSFW will NOT be talked about or written for underage muses. Period. Do not try to engage them with themes of this nature. You will be hard blocked.

I’m all for shipping! I love to ship! However, i’m going to be very selective with who I ship with due to past experiences. Chemistry is key, but it also helps if we talk a lot ooc. I take my ships very seriously and I invest a lot of time and energy into them! They mean a lot! If you don’t want to ship anymore, I’ll understand. Please let me know. But don’t ship with me if your intent is to use me for character development and then drop me!

Oc’s are cool. Multiverse and crossovers are cool. But if I don’t know how our characters could interact or I’m unfamiliar with your characters universe I likely won’t follow back or interact.

You must have a MUN NAME visible on your blog somewhere in order for me to follow back. Sorry, but it’s for my own comfort.

However, there are certain fandoms I will NOT interact with and for my own comfort please do not follow me or interact with my posts. You will be blocked.

Fandoms I won’t interact with:

Undertale.

JJBA.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

L4D.

Steven Universe.

FNAF.

Attack on Titan.

Killing Stalking.

Berserk.

Rick and Morty.

YouTubers/Real Life people.

No godmodding, infomodding. All that jaz. Respect me and I’ll respect you. Trim your posts. I’m pretty chill.

Don’t follow me if you age characters up for smut, write smut with underage characters or you write or actively support student x teacher or child x adult ships. That’s nasty. Don’t be nasty. Don’t interact with my posts either.

FOR BNHA FOLKS. Do not follow me if you ship Twice and Toga. I don’t care if you age her up, I don’t care if it’s ‘The legal age of consent in Japan.’ This should go along with the aforementioned rule of shipping children and adults together, but I feel the need to state it again. If you see them as anything more than a brother/sister or best friends dynamic, BLOCK ME.

If you ever notice im interacting with someone who does any of the above, or are problematic, etc. PLEASE LET ME KNOW PRIVATELY. I do my best to avoid blogs like this, but sometimes I miss them.

I have some triggers!

Child abuse - do not interact with me with anything of this nature unless it’s VAGUE (if you’re unsure about something PLEASE ASK). Do not talk to me about anything of this nature ooc. Please.

Animal death/abuse

FNAF

Alcohol (please tag any and all mentions)

Real life gore (mostly things like intestines and broken bones and deep wounds where the muscle is visible, etc. things of that nature.)

I’ll add more when I can think of any but these are my major ones.

#rules #law #mobile rules #mobile law

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ariannjs · 5 years

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He & She | A SasuSaku FanFic (One Shot)

Here’s one of my first few fics since I returned to writing last September so characters might have been OOC, hehez. :D

For my other works, check out this page. Enjoy!

------

"Thanks, Sasuke. Your reliable updates are always helpful to the village, ‘ttebayo!" Naruto acknowledged before he began rambling to his best friend about the happenings in Konohagakure, thinking that it's just appropriate to let him know about the things he had missed since that time he left for his journey of redemption especially because he had just returned now.

Time flew by so fast that the soon-to-be Hokage was so hyped up to keep the wandering ninja up to date with the latest news.

Sasuke didn't seem to be mindful about Naruto's stories though. He was away for a good two years or so, and as much as he would want to check up on the status of everything and everyone, his mind was wandering somewhere else, or rather, his mind was pondering about someone else – the main reason that made him want to come home.

"N-naruto..." Sasuke suddenly uttered, cutting off his blond friend from babbling about how their Kakashi-sensei was the most relaxed Hokage ever.

Naruto gave him a puzzled look afterwards. He knew full well that Sasuke's not one who stutters when he speaks, but for some reason, there was suddenly no confidence on his childhood rival's voice now. "Yeah?"

"Uh, Naruto..." Sasuke avoided his gaze and looked at the vast forest ahead of them. "Is...is Sakura..."

That’s when Naruto remembered the only time that Sasuke became tongue tied in front of him. He could recall how stunned he was at the subtle but visible dust of red on his cheeks at the mention of their female teammate's name. Smirking, Naruto didn’t even let him finish. "Sakura-chan, huh."

Sasuke scowled at him when he realized what he was doing.

"Well, to answer your questio–-"

"I haven't even mentioned the question." Naruto received a glare from him but he just brushed him off.

"Sakura is fine. Sakura is working in a children's clinic that she and Ino had put up. And..." Dragging the sound of his last word, Naruto smirked once again at the guy whose attention, unlike earlier, was now fixed intently on him. "...Sakura is not dating anyone. Now tell me if I didn't get to answer your question."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's smugness. Heaving a deep sigh, he contemplated on his best friend's words. It still bugged him to the core whenever he thought about Sakura, their past, and their future – if they would even have one.

He now fully understood and admitted that there was nothing noteworthy with how he treated their kunoichi teammate in the past despite all the manifestations of her kindness and affection towards him. Just thinking about that fact blocked his brain with any positive outlook on having a bright future with her. However, without her, he was sure he wouldn't even have a good future on his own.

"Oi, Teme! This uncertain boy in front of me is not the Uchiha man I know." Naruto chuckled. "What's holding you back?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "Holding me back?"

"Duh! From telling her your feelings!"

Sasuke froze at Naruto's remark. He wasn't even mentioning anything yet. Was he that obvious yet so denial to himself?

Another sigh escaped his lips as he turned to face his best friend who once had feelings for Sakura as well. There was no point hiding things, he could read him and share with his pain anyway. "I don't know how. And I don't know if...I could love her enough." He looked down at his left side, not forgetting the fact that the arm that used to be there was the same arm that almost hit the most important woman in his life with a vengeful Chidori. He flinched at the memory, until he received a sudden whack at the back of his head. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Hey! That's my line!" Naruto stood up from the tree branch where they were both comfortably seated and wagged a finger at him. "Why would you say something like that? Isn't Sakura-chan worth fighting for?"

Sasuke clenched his fist for a moment and then unclenched it again. "That's the point. We both know that she deserves better. And even though I...love her, I can't help but think that I wouldn't be able to give her all the love that she deserves."

Sighing, Naruto sat beside his best friend again. He could see the pain through those onyx eyes that he used to hate. And for him, it was a very rare sight to see the Uchiha drop his walls like this. "You know what? You're stupid."

As much as Sasuke wanted to grimace at that statement, he could only agree that Naruto was speaking matter-of-factly.

"Remember that time we were fighting with Gaara and Shukaku during the Chunin Exams?" Naruto suddenly smiled at the memory as he continued to talk some sense to his best friend.

Sasuke turned to him with a confused expression.

"You were so willing to offer your life to stall Shukaku and Gaara in order for me to save Sakura-chan. That was the first time I've ever seen you admit your weakness that it could be your end of the game, and it was for Sakura-chan's sake." Naruto placed a reassuring hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "When you told me to carry her, run, and do everything to save her because you don't want anyone dear to you to die in front of your eyes again, that's when I knew that even though you're pretty much an ice cube back then, and a big block of ice now, you've had and you still have a space in your heart for Sakura-chan." He sighed, staring at Sasuke's pondering eyes. "You didn't want to lose her before. Would it actually be alright for you to lose her now?"

That last statement was like a splash of cold water to Sasuke – oh, right, scratch that – it was like a splash of boiling water to his freezing heart. Of course he already knew the answer to that.

During the many times he went out of his way to protect Sakura, his vengeful, stoic brain used to reason that it was just out of duty because she was his teammate. But at the back of his head, he knew, and Naruto apparently knew as well, that she's the last person he would ever want to see being hurt. And she's the last person he would ever want to lose.

Dang, it would be hell if he'd lose her! Just thinking about it automatically gives him a searing pang in his chest.

"But..." As much as it was already apparent on the scoreboard that Naruto had won this argument, there went the last straw of Sasuke's stubbornness. "I almost...killed her..." His voice trailed off as his eyes darted to the space where his left arm used to be again.

Once more, Naruto sighed. "Yes, you almost did. But you didn't want to, did you?" If there's one thing obvious that Naruto strongly believed in, it was the goodness in his best friend's heart. If he didn't believe in that, he wouldn't even dare to go through all those mess a few years ago just to bring him back to the village. "I, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei all knew that that Sasuke back then wasn't the real you. You were blinded by your willingness to avenge your clan alright, but we knew you and believed in you, teme! We still do. Plus, you've come a long way since then!" He gave a reassuring smile at Sasuke, and when Sasuke slowly smiled back at him with a now relaxed composure, he knew his best friend's worries were now swept away, unless he chooses to dwell on his guilt again.

With a smirk, he mentioned afterwards, "Seems like I've gained another point and won this one, don't you think?"

And then the expressionless Sasuke he knew was back. "Hn. Fine, I'll give you this one."

Naruto guffawed as he punched Sasuke's arm before turning his back to leave, but he paused when his best friend called him back.

"Dobe, thanks."

"Sure. I know you'll do the right thing, teme! Before it's too late!" And then he took off to send Sasuke's report to the Hokage's office.

The right thing, huh? Alright.

"Wha—? Hang on." Sakura was sure that she left her door locked. Realizing that she left all her shuriken and kunai inside her apartment, she courageously opened her front door while gathering chakra on her other fist, only to be left astounded with what she had seen...

"S-sasuke-kun?!" She blinked a few times in disbelief while staring at the guy seated on her couch.

"I'm home, Sakura."

"W-welcome...back." She's one who's able to discern if she was in a genjustu or not, but this one's quite surreal. Still trying to take in the sight in front of her, she mindlessly asked, "Is that really you?"

Sasuke released what seemed like a nervous chuckle before he nodded. "I don't have any idea on what time you usually go home. So I just decided to wait here."

Okay, so, Sasuke's back in the village, sure. But why is he in my apartment? "W-what are...wait, do you have any injuries that you want to be treated?" Yes. That was probably it. He wouldn't have the need to go to me if there's anything else other than that, right? "W-wait a sec." Distracted, the medical ninja darted across the living room thinking about getting her medical kit until a cold hand grabbed her arm to stop her midway.

Few seconds in the scenario and it already felt quite long for her. Slowly, she turned to him and met those obsidian eyes that she hasn't seen for far too long. "Why are you here, Sasuke-kun?" And then she just couldn't help it anymore. The prisoners in her eyes that she was trying to hide for so long started to fall down her cheeks.

Of course she missed him, but somehow, a mixture of surprise, joy, anguish, expectance, and frustration filled her chest. It’s been more than two years, after all. She's been wanting to see him again, but now that he's here, for some reason, it was too overwhelming for her to bear.

"Please...don't cry." Sasuke's hand cupped her cheek as his thumb wiped away her tears.

She realized there was nothing familiar with his touch as her gaze landed on his hand. She placed hers above it, and then brought his hand down, not wanting to be vulnerable under his touch. She didn't even want to be vulnerable at all after all this time of struggling to be strong while convincing herself that it's gonna be worth the wait, that he's gonna be worth the wait.

Seeing her tears crippled Sasuke on the inside that he had to look away. He had seen her cry many times before, and sadly, it was usually because of or for him. What he told Naruto was true, she deserves better. She really does. That's why if this courageous act on his part would end up with a negative result, he was already mentally preparing himself to accept and respect whatever her decision would be as long as she's happy.

Even if it would break him.

Sakura's eyes turned to his face, and for a moment, she was surprised with the soft expression of the man in front of her. She realized she barely knew the man he has become. "Tell me, why are you here?"

He was at a loss for words. He was never good with words anyway. But in the shortest and simplest way he could, he uttered, "I'm here because of you."

Walking past him, Sakura started heading back to the living room to be out of his sight again. She was a bit offended as she remembered her younger self for everyone seemed to see her as the same young, impulsive, and annoying fangirl that she used to be. And if Sasuke still saw her in the same way, it would certainly break her heart. "Please don't fool me, Sasuke-kun. I have no time for this. If you need anything, just say it and I would be willing to hel-"

"I'm in love with you, Sakura," Sasuke then blurted out, making her stop on her tracks. There was a gap of silence before he gently added, "I guess I've always been, but I never fully realized it until I left again."

Exasperated, Sakura took a seat on the sofa with her hands on her tear-filled face. She didn't want to have false hopes anymore. Maybe that's what waiting does, it tempts you to lose your faith but you know full well that you shouldn't.

"I admit, if this was the younger me I would've fallen for this immediately the moment you walked at my door. But..." Her breathing then escalated as she continued to speak in between her sobs. "S-sasuke, you...you don't know how much it pained me all the time thinking about all the possible what if's. What if you get hurt? What if you get lost? What if you realize it wasn't worth it protecting this village after all? What if that forehead poke and promise were nothing to you and you decide to not ever come back here...to me? And w-what if...what if you get...kil–"

"Ssshh." Sasuke rushed towards her and regardless of what she might say, his arm wrapped around her and he pulled her to his chest. "Believe me, I've had my fair share of what if's too. Just like how I know it would kill me if I came back and saw you with someone else."

For once, he admitted, he had been a coward after all. He didn't know how to face Konoha, to face her, to face the future, once he came back. That's why his return got delayed time and time again. If not because of Naruto, he wouldn't even think that confessing to her was the right thing to do, before it's too late.

"It's been so long, Sasuke-kun. It's been so long." It was true. But he will always be grateful that she continued to stay and hold on for far too long, even without the assurance of things coming her way.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I needed that time to be away, to start over, to grow. Because Sakura, I don't want to be a pain to you once again when I come back to you." He pulled her closer. "I told myself I don't want to be a burden anymore, but here I am, failing immediately and making you cry the first time we meet again." He sighed and searched for her eyes. "Forgive me, Sakura."

Sakura lifted her gaze and met his. "I've already forgiven you a while back, Sasuke-kun. B-but...I've been so worried about you. I didn't even know if you'll come back. I didn't...I didn't even know if you'll ever feel the same way."

I will never understand how this woman could care for someone like me, but I'm glad she still does, the thought made his heart skip a beat. "I'm sorry also that I made you worry about me." Sasuke genuinely smiled at the woman he loves, something he never thought he'd find so comfortable to do. "But now, everything seems to be falling into place. I'm safely back, I'm in love with you – so damn much, by the way – and...you're single...right?" He let out a chortle, earning a smack from her on his chest.

Sakura's lips formed a lopsided grin after that. She was still quite astounded with the Sasuke in front of her, no walls or whatsoever. It was him wearing his heart on his sleeve for the first time. And witnessing this rekindled the fire of her love for him.

For since the beginning, she was the fire that complemented the ice that he was.

When Sasuke realized that she's not going to utter anything, he lifted her chin so his mismatched eyes could connect with her emerald ones again. "Sakura, tell me, am I too late? Have you been tired of waiting?" He just had to make sure, but joy filled his entire system when she shook her head and smiled at him. "I know we've been through a lot. But, I love you, Sakura. And I'm hoping that we could start again. What do you say about that?" He stared at her expectantly.

"I'm not sure if I'll get used to this side of you." Sakura chuckled. "But I love it. And I love you, too. Still.” Her smile never left her face as she stared back at the man she's always loved and cared for. “So yes, it would be great if we start again."

For a while, she almost thought that this day would never come. But then, she realized that waiting is not entirely about the thing or the person that you're waiting for, it's about who you become in the process – the process that you have to embrace and endure no matter how long and painstaking it could be. If Sasuke didn't leave Konoha in the first place, she wouldn't have the urge to train even harder and eventually become the greatest medical ninja and one of the strongest kunoichis in the world. And if she didn't go through all those brokenness since that time she fell for him, she wouldn't be the woman that she has become today.

Sasuke couldn't help but pull her in a tight hug. He was stupid alright, and he never thought that someone with such a horrendous past like him could still have a hopeful future. While Sasuke was lost in a dark abyss, Sakura was the light that led him back home.

When he pulled away from their embrace, Sakura was yet again in tears, but this time, they were joyful tears because of him. All their previous apprehensions slowly went down the drain when Sasuke closed the gap between them before finally capturing Sakura's lips with his.

They've had their fair share of uncertainties, but at the end of the day, Sakura knew that all the waiting was not in vain. And Sasuke didn't regret going home and claiming what's his.

He'd probably even thank a certain whiskered guy again the next day.

———

Hey guys! Don't forget to comment your thoughts on this fic below. :) I'd love to know what you think about my stories featuring our faves Sasuke & Sakura. It could be about the plot, my way of writing, the emotions of the characters, the lines, etc. :D

This one-shot has a quite predictable flow but I intentionally did that while focusing on the inner Sasuke and inner Sakura. I kind of enjoy exploring their thoughts on most of my works, hehe.

Meanwhile, I'd like to share with you all that I have now launched my pages on Patreon & Ko-fi! I launched them to be a haven for me and the people who believe in me and my art - both Music & Literature. I also have a special gift for my first 50 patrons once I reach the goal of having that number in my support team! They'll get a *special digital (PDF) compilation of some of my works which includes:

• 3 SasuSaku FanFiction One Shots (Mornings, Clingy, Coffee Shop)

• 2 Original Short Stories (Scrapbook, Photoshoot)

• 1 Scanned handwritten lyrics & chords of one of my original songs (Embrace the Sun)

(* = subject to change if you want this set or another set with scanned handwritten lyrics & chords of three original songs, no fics included)

If you desire to support but only for a one-time giving, you could head on to my Ko-fi page and give any amount you could bless me with! It would surely be encouraging as I continue to create both Music and Fiction content!

Thanks & God bless!

– A

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