Aa, I’m not familiar with Hikaru no Go, but I’ve been reading your OC ficlets and I really love them!! (when I read ‘Kuwabara’ in that ask, it gave me a semi-heart attack for a second since I thought it’s from YuYu Hakusho, and I’m a total nut for that series haha))

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Thanks, anon! 🙂

I have a headcanon that the Kuwabara in Yu Yu Hakusho is somehow related to the Kuwabaras in Hikaru no Go, mostly because there’s a scene where Kuwabara-Honinbou is implied to be able to sense Sai? Seeing spirits is a family trait.

And since the events of Yu Yu Hakusho are about a decade before the events of Hikaru no Go, maybe he can make a cameo?

14 or 23, Haru Kuwabara from your Hikaru no Go AU!

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I think I’ve got fireflies
where my caution should be.
(Instead of slowing down, I just shine brighter)

—

She is seven when she solves her first case.

Though, admittedly, it is a bit of a stretch to call that her first case, and she was five weeks away from being eight.

Still, it looks more impressive on her resumé. Or it would if she had one.

Regardless, she is seven and dressed in all black, holding her grandfather’s hand and shifting impatiently on her feet. Her parents have gone to speak with the bereaved, immediate family, and she doesn’t know anyone else here.

She’s bored, but not bored enough to leave her grandfather’s side, and it helps that he’s making snarky comments about the other attendees for her ears only. It’s entertaining, until he gets to,

“What are those ungrateful wretches doing here?”

Haru doesn’t quite know what a wretch is, but Grandpa’s tone has suddenly become more earnestly mean, almost hostile, and she doesn’t like it.

She tugs on his hand.

Grandpa looks down at her and visibly softens, one scruffy gray eyebrow rises, “What is it, child?”

She shrugs and points–at the two ungrateful wretches, then at the photograph at the front of the room–and then shrugs again.

She is seven and she doesn’t talk much. At all.

Still, Grandpa doesn’t much mind.

“That’s his second son and the wife, they wanted ownership of some branch office of the company and then ran it into the ground. Came back and demanded a job at the main office. They’re probably here to squeeze out whatever inheritance they can. Like vultures around a carcass.”

The old man next to them overhears, twitches, and says, “I’m not a carcass, Kuwabara, you crusty old bastard.”

She startles–that’s definitely a bad word–and looks up at the old man. The old man looks exactly like the photograph.

The old man is a ghost.

The ghost looks down at her, equally startled.

Thirty minutes later, the police have arrived to arrest the second son and his wife–both screaming about how they’ll get revenge–and her parents are staring at her bewildered.

She tugs Grandpa’s hand again, rubbing at her throat. This is the most she’s ever said at once, she thinks, and she’s awfully thirsty.

(As the years pass, Haru gets better at speaking more. She’s not better at being tactful about it, but she blames that on Grandpa).

///

We talk in the dark as we fall asleep,
and we are objects in the night sky
outside of time.
(it is the exact opposite of alone)

—

Kenichi is listless when they join him, pale and lifeless, and maybe at another time she’d think it’s funny–considering he’s a ghost and all–except right now, with the expression on his face, it’s the furthest thing from it. Even his hideous shirt with neon geometric shapes seems less vibrant than usual.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, in a furtive whisper, trying to keep it within their half ghostly huddle of four.

They’re in the far corner of the lobby, about twenty feet from the smoking area, which is the outermost limit Kenichi can get from his brother. It’s also the closest Haru–as Kuwabara-Honinbou’s granddaughter–and Hikaru–as someone who has become a weird Go mystery–can get to Ogata without him looking at them strangely and walking away. And unknowingly dragging Kenichi along with him.

It takes a beat for Hikaru to notice, but Sai has picked up on it, too. He looks
 understanding. Worryingly so.

Kenichi wavers before answering, “I
 I think it’s time for me to move on.”

~

A/N: Anon, this probably isn’t what you had in mind, but please enjoy both ficlets and thank you for prompting (En)Closure fic 😀

Number + Ship + (optional) AU –> my ask box

(If you’re only doing the ones on the post feel free to ignore, but) this Softer World makes me thing of Friendship Is A Mutual Con: “All aboard the friend ship! / Today we’re carrying munitions / and no running lights. / (I’ll be the Imo this time. You can be the Mont-Blanc.)”

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All aboard the friend ship!
Today we’re carrying munitions
and no running lights.
(I’ll be the Imo this time. You can be the Mont-Blanc.)

—

It was only ever supposed to be temporary.

(There are sirens and screaming. The roaring of the flames. Dust and smoke in the air.)

Sakura knew this coming in: it was just a favor for a friend, a learning experience.

(Beneath her hands, a man screams, blood gushing out around the piece of rebar through his shoulder.)

And she has learned a lot, advanced her own skills not only in healing and fighting, but in grifting and hacking and stealing. She’s had fun and she cares for her teammates. She doesn’t regret any of it.

(She stabilizes him as best as she can–it’s not fatal, not with ambulances on the way, he’ll be brought to a hospital soon and they can do more for him there–and moves on to the next person.)

But it was only meant to be temporary.

(When she’s done with triage, she leaves with one of the ambulances, holding the hand of a woman who might lose her leg tonight.

The explosion was far too big–nothing at all like the controlled blast that was part of the plan–and no one is answering on the comms.

She follows protocol and gets out.)

—

The explosion knocks both of them off their feet. Sai drops his gun.

Yamato doesn’t.

“Don’t,” he warns, simply, barrel aimed perfectly even if he is awkwardly crouched against the wall and his head is aching from the collision.

Sai raises his hands, moves away from where his gun lies by his feet slow and calm and as expressionless as ever.

“Was it you?” Yamato asks, uncaring of the encroaching fire and the heat and the ringing in his ears. “Interpol showed up before the alarms went off. There’s no way they could have come here so fast unless they were warned ahead of time.”

He would know. He used to be one.

Sai doesn’t deny it, Yamato cocks his gun. They’ll probably both burn to death if they don’t leave now, but Yamato isn’t willing to leave that up to chance.

“Kakashi-taicho told me to.”

—

“Teammates don’t keep secrets from each other,” Sasuke grits out, praying to any god that’s listening that the ropes don’t snap. His arms are killing him, and he can see from the look on Naruto’s face that the harness is becoming painful.

The rig is only designed for one person’s weight–maybe two, tops, but definitely not three.

Shikako doesn’t answer.

“I’ll drop you,” Sasuke threatens, but doesn’t mean it. If it were a shorter fall, maybe, but at this height–this many stories up–it would kill her.

“I was trying to keep you safe,” she says, finally, and while she doesn’t really think Sasuke will drop her, she coils the rope in her free hand just in case.

Sasuke dismisses it immediately, “What, by keeping us in the dark?”

“Well
 I mean. That is kind of my thing.”

Naruto snorts. Or maybe that’s a grunt of pain.

“This isn’t the time for jokes,” Sasuke scolds.

“This isn’t the time for arguing either,” Naruto wheezes out, and both of his teammates focus, “We need to get out of here.”

The elevator shaft was an impromptu haven, sliding doors heavy enough to save them from the blast, but it very well might be their death if  they don’t figure a way out of this mess.

—

Kakashi sits at a table, a dim lamp the only source of light in the room.

Across from him is a dead man.

“It’s nothing personal,” says the dead man, smile on his face.

It’s a struggle to put a matching smile on his own, but Kakashi isn’t a grifter in name only. “Of course not,” he says, casual and cool and not at all what he feels.

“What’s a little sabotage between friends?”

~

A/N: I have no concrete idea of what is or isn’t canon in the Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con ‘verse, so I don’t know if the “dead man” is Obito or
 I don’t know.

Basically, this would be one of the season finale type episodes in Leverage–the one in which everything honestly goes to shit and the crew barely make it out alive (and have to disperse for several months before reuniting and getting even).

Thanks for the prompt, anon!

Number + Ship + (optional) AU –> my ask box

8 – for Ino?

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Ah, unrequited love.


When your best isn’t enough.
(Participation medals of the heart)

—

Ino falls in love, easy as breathing.

Falling out of love is a lot harder.

If she were less self-aware, she’d blame it on her clan’s bloodline: there is a certain amount of empathy needed to do their family jutsu, a keen sense of observation, and a fluidity of self.

Yet, conversely, knowing oneself–maintaining and cultivating what makes her Ino instead of whatever body she may inhabit–is vital. It’s why she knows, for a fact, that her propensity to fall in love has nothing to do with her bloodline, and everything to do with her own heart.

///

Ino is an only child without any cousins close to her in age and an awful lot to learn even before she gets to the Academy.

People tend to forget that, or never even consider it, that maybe her sociability isn’t an expression of a natural friendliness. It’s a skill, honed and polished like any other, and one that serves her well.

Which is not to say that she’s faking it all the time, but there’s a reason why even though she’s popular she only really has a few close friends.

On her first day of kunoichi classes, Ino meets Shikako and Sakura.

She never stops loving them.

///

Ino thinks she knows true love when she is eight. Sasuke is handsome and so cool, like a tragic hero from the stories just waiting for the healing touch of the right woman (Mum doesn’t even bother trying to hide her romance novels anymore).

But she is her father’s daughter–the future seventeenth leader of her clan who will carry on the Yamanaka name and bloodline–nothing can come of it.

Still, a girl can dream can’t she?

And even though later, years from now, she’ll know definitively that it can never be. Well, she’ll still love him, in a different way, and maybe one day he’ll love her back, too.

///

They are Ino-Shika-Cho.

It’s not something they’re born into, not really, not mandated by their blood nor written in their bones. It’s something they choose, something they work towards, a gathering of compatible hearts that beat as one and say, yes, this is where we will build our home.

How could Ino not fall in love?

But they’re not each others’ everything. They live their own lives and love their own loves.

(She will watch the next generation with pride and a bit of wistfulness: what if?)

///

Ino falls in love, easy as breathing, and never stops.

~

A/N: 
 please enjoy this Ino ficlet, anon 😀

Number + Ship + (optional) AU –> my ask box

31+DOS+ platonic team seven

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I love the way your face lights up
when someone says,
“It might be dangerous.”
(I am glad we are friends.)

—

(Tamed)

Sasuke smirks, Naruto laughs, and Shikako tries to suppress an unprofessional giggle–it’s not their clients’ fault that they’ve hired a team of adrenaline junkies.

“We’ll be fine,” she assures them, perfectly polite smile on her face, before the three of them set off.

Supposedly there’s a monster in the forest preying on the citizens of the town, a behemoth with claws and teeth and no real solid description: it’s just as well, they’ve been kind of bored lately.

/

(Strong In The Real Way)

“You’re a researcher, not a fighter,” Sasuke says, trying to discourage her, trying to protect her.

“I’m a scientist,” she corrects, “danger isn’t unfamiliar to me.” She steps forward to complete the line–her and Sasuke and Naruto, ready to take on whatever force Home World may be sending, “We’ll both stand with you, Naruto”

Naruto looks over at the two of them–surprised and more than a little touched, eyes suspiciously shiny–and grins.

/

(Remember To Sleep)

The old Uzushio stomping grounds are a nightmare ghost town–teeming with erratic Uzumaki tech and an unstoppable electromagnetic field–but it might hold a clue about Naruto’s past and that’s all the reason Shikako needs to make the trip.

“What are you doing here, bastard?” Naruto shouts, more surprised than actually angry–it’s just as well they’re not aiming for stealth right now.

“As if I’ll let the two of you go without me,” Sasuke scoffs, “Who knows what kind of trouble you’d get into.”

/

(Call On Your Angels)

“You said that about the last one, too, but the worst that happened was that thunderstorm knocking over a tree and almost flattening Sasuke,” Naruto responds when Shikako brings up her newest expedition.

Sasuke glares at him, “Yeah. How boring,” he says, deadpan, but he starts packing up his stuff alongside Naruto–she’s honestly a little surprised. “Even if it is just looking at rocks all day, of course we’re coming with you.”

Unfortunately–or maybe fortunately–it is not just looking at rocks.

/

(Insuperable)

“This is my city, all the people I love live here,” she says, gearing up, “I may not have powers like either of you, but I’m going to do what I can to defend my home.”

Shikako is human walking alongside an alien and a demigod, ready to take on an ancient horror.

She can’t fly–urban myths aside–but they hold out their hands to her and she soars.

~

A/N: Thanks for the prompt, oliviaphoenix! I don’t know if this is the format I’ll be taking with the all of the prompts for the a softer ask box event, but for this one in particular it felt right.

Number + Ship + (optional) AU –> my ask box

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it was never about you
you’re beginning to get that now
their snide words, dismissals,
that frustrating scoffing noise
and roll of the eyes,
the way they broke your heart,
and tore up your dreams,
or even just ruined your day.

it wasn’t about you.

it was about them.
of course it was,
what else? who else?
why would they apologize?
they did nothing wrong,
after all, it’s your fault
for taking it so personally,
for expecting otherwise.
they were just being honest,
just looking out for themselves.

what a waste of time, they say,
no sympathy for the weak.
(how cruelly chosen your words,
they haunt me even months later)
you pay in money, in time, in effort,
you try to hang onto memories,
of singing and sunshine
and the salty air by the sea
(i cried for hours
on my bedroom floor,
sobbing and heaving
hoping i would vibrate apart)

you edit yourself constantly
now you have nothing left to say,
everything crossed off
(everything too vulnerable)
they ask why you never respond
(i’ve learned it’s better not to)
you are silent and stagnant
filled with hurt,
cracks poorly glued together
(no thanks to you)

it’d be over with anyone else,
stricken and blocked and stored away,
wrapped in old newspaper
boxed and taped up,
let the dust make things softer,
let the sharp edges wear away.
(and yet, still, i revolve around you)

if this is what love is, it’s a disease.
(tear it out of me.
just let me heal)

jacksgreyson, Untitled (2017-04-24)

50 A Softer World Prompts

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sleepy-skittles:

Send an ask with a number + a ship.

  1. Our love is a forest fire and we are the little things that live in the trees. (Today is the most exciting day of our lives.)
  2. At my worst, I worry you’ll realize you deserve better.  At my best, I worry you won’t. (I’ve never been better.)
  3. If loud, weird public sex is wrong, then being wrong is wicked hot. (right and wrong are just guidelines to hotter sex)
  4. i don’t know what the fuck true love even is but i do want to hang out with you for basically the rest of my life. (let’s hang out – TO THE DEATH)
  5. my five year plan is to maybe go out for ice cream this afternoon? (Live every day like the ice cream store is closing.)
  6. I have loved since you.  But when the new paint gets scratched, there you are underneath. (My heart is layers of scar.)
  7. I know your weakness.  It’s kisses.  You are doomed. (Don’t worry.  We’re all doomed eventually.)
  8. Ah, unrequited love.  When your best isn’t enough. (Participation medals of the heart.)
  9. CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP NOT SURE HOW TO STOP (WHY STOP)
  10. When you touch me, my mind is gone.  The only words I know are lost inside your body. (right in there.)
  11. hey, i’m liking your photos at 2am because i want to make out.  i’m texting you at noon because i want to make out.  i woke up today because i (we don’t need words)
  12. It’s a full moon.  I bought some rope and handcuffs to bring to bed tonight. (beware the moon.)
  13. You aren’t really a good person, but god damn, you make bad look awesome. (no one could steer me right, but mama tried.)
  14. I think I’ve got fireflies where my caution should be. (Instead of slowing down, I just shine brighter.)
  15. No no, we aren’t breaking up!  You didn’t let me finish.  I’m gay for YOU. (And I’m queer for math!)
  16. Roses are red, Violets are blue, You can do whatever you want to me. (please do.)
  17. I do not believe in love at first sight.  But god damn. (Look at you.)
  18. I don’t know how to make things right.  So I’ll just keep pretending that nothing’s wrong. (you know that I’m no good)
  19. When I look at you all I can see are the mistakes we’re going to make. (The future’s so bright.)
  20. If something seems too good to be true, quick!  put it in your mouth! (before anything can go wrong!)
  21. To thine own self be wicked sexy. (And then send pics.)
  22. Today’s a perfect day for naked cuddling.  I don’t even care what day it is.  Every day is perfect. (I’m gonna spend it with you.)
  23. We talk in the dark as we fall asleep, and we are objects in the night sky outside of time. (it is the exact opposite of alone.)
  24. I joined Plenty of Fish to find out who stole my bike.  A fun first date would be going to your house to see if you have my bike. (What a lovely home.  Do you have a shed?)
  25. This town isn’t big enough for the both of us.  Let’s run away together! (Let’s join a street gang!  Is NASA recruiting?)
  26. I love you the way a knife loves a heart the way a bomb loves a crowd the way your mother warned you about, essentially. (the way a human loves another human)
  27. Our love is like.  Our love is only like. (I like you.  I don’t LIKE like you.)
  28. I miss doing nothing with you. (I miss not having to pretend to like your family.)
  29. I hate it when you leave but I love to look at your butt while you walk away. (it gives me sexual arousal.)
  30. In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house and in that dark, dark house I think we should get drunk and fool around. (I want dirt under my fingernails.)
  31. I love the way your face lights up when someone says, “It might be dangerous.” (I am glad we are friends.)
  32. I think you are beautiful and I would like to kiss you.  I can think up some clever lines, if you’d prefer.  But I wanted to say that, first. (None of those lines seemed to be about you or me.)
  33. I cannot help but notice we are sitting-in-a-tree.  So, you know, maybe we could think of something to do
 verb-wise. (I want us to gerund, essentially.)
  34. When you’re around I don’t know how to hide my feelings.  I count in binary, in my head.  zero one one zero one one and you count clouds. (while you count clouds)
  35. I hate trying to put my desire into words when my body knows exactly what to say.  Come home. (You can’t start a fire without a spark.)
  36. I love you but I don’t love you enough to give up falling in love. (anyway, happy anniversary!)
  37. on the paper, she had written “you” and she told me “that’s a list of the people who are standing too close.” (I ain’t your pal.)
  38. You are the love of my life so far. (Tomorrow’s just a day away.)
  39. There should be a word for a threat that is also a promise.  Because that is what I want you to hold me down and do. (I love you)
  40. I laugh along but inside I know that it’s true: Being in love is totally punk rock. (quiet kisses are so hardcore)
  41. I don’t believe each person has just one true love, but sometimes we don’t have enough time to find another. (That’s the way it crumbles.  Cookie-wise.)
  42. I would love you more if you were someone who could love me. (buy your love by playing make believe.)
  43. Fun things to yell during sex: Anything. (he is risen.)
  44. I am writing a book of love poetry for you.  For example: “The only reason you could possibly need your music that loud is if you were planning to listen from my apartment.  You downstairs motherfuckers.” (Every day I hope to see a moving truck pull in.  Or an ambulance.)
  45. when I picture you with your new lover I get angry, and then sad, then kinda horny. (I miss you)
  46. We are terrible for each other, and, yes, we are a disaster.  But tell me your heart doesn’t race for a hurricane or a burning building.  I’d rather die terrified than live forever. (mistakes aren’t always regrets)
  47. If they invented a way to actually have sex over the internet you and I could use that glorious technology for internet hugs. (You know, when I wasn’t using it for sex.)
  48. Life would be way easier if I were easier. (Fact.)
  49. I want to rob lumber mills and hospitals with you and just bewilder the hell out of people the way love should. (We will make everything wrong in the right way.)
  50. I will always love you, or anyway I will always have loved you now. (And you will always be someone who was beautiful, once.)

Yeah… I guess let’s do this one?

Hit up my ask box

“Number + Character/Ship + (optional) AU”

[If anyone wants to do a softer world prompt that isn’t on the list, you can just send the page id number for the original comic instead.]