The Royal Signs III:

Get a room, then. 😜

Finally got the Current ECB Hair. It looks good on the past ranking prize dress :)

Reblogging because people think differently here.

You know…if I didn’t know better Lady Yoshihime can be the worst evil LOVE RIVAL for Lord Kojuro’s affection until you knew the truth behind that woman.

Beat Takeshi stars as Hideyoshi in “Kubi” 首, a movie where he’s also involved in the scriptwriting, and also is the director! 

To think that this showed up not long after I shared that old Toyota advertisement! However, unlike the more positive Hideyoshi image in the Toyota ad, the PR of this movie says that the plot follows the “Hideyoshi is the mastermind behind Honnouji” conspiracy. So we can expect a scheming, or even a somewhat sinister Hideyoshi in this production. 

加瀬亮 Kase Ryou will play as Nobunaga, 西島秀俊 Nishijima Hidetoshi as Mitsuhide, and 浅野忠信 Asano Tadanobu in double role as both Kuroda Kanbei and Hideyoshi’s brother Hidenaga. 

It’s always a little strange to me, to see a ridiculously old Hideyoshi when the actor cast as Nobunaga is much younger, but it’s a thing that’s very commonly done in Japanese live action productions and illustrated artwork.

yandere nobuyuki

Would you be able to give a headcanon or write something about Nobuyuki's yandere side? Like his reaction if MC said another man's name in bed or if she wasn't in love with him and tried to leave? I know voltage would never show something so dark but I'm curious to know just how "dark" you think Nobuyuki would get. You don't have to do this if you feel uncomfortable of course! Thank you in advance. :)

I am all about yanderes recently. Fuck yeah. I’m going to put this under a cut because it might disturb some people, maybe…? Warnings for death, forced isolation, manipulation, possessiveness… General yandere stuff.

Sanada Nobuyuki dark headcanons

Keep reading

Oh my, Nobuyuki’s ES is such a satisfying roller coaster, isn’t it? I love it! I love it so much. It’s fast but it’s meaty and I daresay, believable, and it’s all thanks to the way MC is written. She’s so good here. I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS MC!

And if I have to pinpoint the moment Nobuyuki falls in love with her. 

It’s this moment.

Also, I am fistpumping when this is her reaction to Nobuyuki’s sudden proposition.

Nobuyuki MC, YOU ROCK!

5 ways to increase/decrease suspense in your writing

Suspense is one of the trickier parts of writing to manage effectively because, as the author, you can’t experience your story the way a reader does. If you don’t have enough suspense, it can be difficult to keep your readers interested. If you have too much, frustrated and stressed-out readers might throw your book against the wall. Too much suspense can even backfire - if you try to keep your readers constantly on edge, they can stop taking things seriously and the end result is as though you never included any suspense at all.

So how can you tell if you’ve reached the right balance? Unfortunately, I can’t answer that for you. Some things really do require feedback from honest and insightful readers. Once you have that feedback, however, there are easy tricks to adjusting the level of suspense without a drastic re-write. Here are my five favorite methods.

Promises and Payoffs

INCREASE SUSPENSE by promising something huge and then giving your reader something unexpected. To borrow an example from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, imagine a teenage boy and girl sneaking into an empty building. Everything from the costumes to the lighting is designed to make you uneasy about the girl’s safety but, in the end, she’s the vampire. Give the audience something sensational and they won’t be disappointed that you didn’t deliver on what you originally promised.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by promising less than you plan to deliver. For example, if you plan to kill off a character as they walk through a dark alley, let them worry about being mugged rather than murdered. Not only is it less suspenseful, the payoff is more shocking.

Characters are Crucial

INCREASE SUSPENSE by shifting the focus to a character who’s more involved in the action or one who has more at stake. Even if you have a single POV character, another can come in and demand that character’s attention, along with the readers’.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by focusing on a character who’s more concerned with a secondary goal. Subplots are a fantastic way to give your readers some room to breathe.

Calm vs. Chaos

INCREASE SUSPENSE by cutting back on the action. Suspense flourishes in the quiet moments when your characters have time to think and to anticipate what may be in store for them.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by giving your characters a big, exciting mess to deal with. Even when that mess causes more problems and puts more pressure on your characters in the long run, you’ve still created an oasis where both they and the readers are too distracted to worry about how the big picture will pan out.

Devil’s in the Details

INCREASE SUSPENSE by concentrating on the details of the setting. Horror movies are great at this - every creak of a door, every shadow across a wall keeps the audience immersed in the experience and tense with anticipation.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by breaking the “show, don’t tell” rule and allow exposition to help you move things along. You don’t need to take readers through every aspect of your story in excruciating detail. It’s okay to gloss over some things and it helps readers relax because they know you’re not going to be springing any surprises on them just yet.

Ticking Time-Bomb

INCREASE SUSPENSE by imposing a deadline that your characters struggle to meet. It’s one of the oldest and most obvious tricks in the book, but very effective.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by allowing your characters to believe that the deadline has been met or pushed back. If they (and the readers) believe that they’ve accomplished their goal or bought themselves more time, it relieves pressure and allows everyone to relax until the truth’s revealed.

Yay, I got Inuchiyo flying (falling?) chibi. Would have been better if I also got Nobu but I left my phone in my granny's house for an entire day and missed one FEVER session. 😭😭😭 But at least I got cute little Toshiie.

Shattered Bonds

Fandom: Samurai Love Ballad Party

Character: Inuchiyo

Summary:  His heartache came from the fact that he didn't ask for this upcoming war to happen; and yet, just because two of his most important persons decided one cannot live with another under the same sky, he found himself forced to choose sides and fight against his former friend.

Slightly based ON REAL HISTORY. How this young lord must have felt when he found HIMSELF on the other side of war against his close friend. One-shot (possibly out of many).

Also posted on my AO3.

Little pieces of white fell down from the blackened skies as the overcast clouds suppressed the dignified fortress atop a mountain. The wind blew its coldest as anxious servants within the stronghold struggle to make fire, soldiers rummaging through the stocks for extra blankets, and scouts braving the intense cold to look for signs of enemy ambush, or infiltration beyond its walls.

Or signs of invasion from their former allies.

At least, this is what the young lord of the castle (who is inside the war council room alone at the moment) wanted to think with regards to their "enemy"—a belief that is shared by the majority of his people. The lord may be young, but if there is any indication, the dark circles around his eyes suggest he had aged a lot from all the stress. A jar of sake was placed on the table, beside it were two cups: one for the man himself, the other was for the special somebody the man had all but lost thanks to this conflict. Filling the second cup was his usual habit whenever he and his friend would meet up for drinks in the past, and now, as an homage for his absent friend. It was meant to calm him, help him relax a little; obviously, it didn't work.

His heartache came from the fact that he didn't ask for this upcoming war to happen; and yet, just because two of his most important persons decided one cannot live with another under the same sky, he found himself forced to choose sides and fight against his former friend. If it were up to him, he would have stormed towards his dear partner on that fateful day, and beat the crap out of him for his crazy plan of following THEIR LATE LORD'S dream—and hope it will be just that. But no... his friend had coldly shrugged him off, as if his words are nothing and proceeded to leave without saying anything to him, he didn't even look at him in the eye! That usual smugness of his had always made the young lord's blood boil, but that day, he feared he had crossed the line, a point of no return.

So, now that the conflict has escalated, the young lord remembered that he had volunteered to lead the front and fight the good fight, hoping the prodigal himself will somehow turn back after a few defeats. Unfortunately, he got stonewalled by his superiors, given his ties to their supposed "traitor". There were no words just how angry he had been, angry at the people he and his departed friend were supposed to protect. Angry at his friend for not trusting HIM enough. Angry at himself for not knowing just how bad things had gone after their lord died on that tragic fire. Angry that he was forced to station at the rear by those scheming bastards who may or may not have designs for him and his clan. The bad memories only made the lord bit his lip and clench his sake cup hard until whites from his knuckles had formed.

It wasn't easy for the young lord to handle things at the rear, even though they were far from the actual fighting. A while ago, he had a fight with a vassal, whom he secretly knew as a spy from the old guards who had stonewalled him. Logistics had said that their supplies are barely enough to last for a month, a grave matter. The vassal in question had strongly suggested to scour nearby villages for food, water and heat by pillaging them. This was, of course, met with gasps and indignation from the young lord's loyalists but couldn't openly complain due to the vassal's backing.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how one sees this incident), the young lord refused the vassal's advice and even reprimanded him without regard of the political ramifications. To say things became chaotic is an utter understatement and the lord was at wits end during the ordeal. In the end, the vassal and his army left, leaving the castle almost defenseless and short of manpower at the present.

Frustration and a lingering sense of fear loom over this lord's heart as he sat inside the room, alone, waiting for someone from the shadows. There are a lot of things in this man's mind, questioning his own capacity as a leader. Was he wrong to refuse that vassal? Was he right to separate his own army from his? Hard questions poured into his mind as lines between right and wrong blur in every passing moment.

And the fact that all the tension from the upcoming battle and worsening weather got him at this breaking point...it is terrifying how much more burden he could take, before everything else snaps; before he himself become a cold heartless monster, all because of this wretched war.

He gulped down his sake and closed his eyes to find himself some semblance of peace, some form of control over the looming rage within his heart. The hearthfire failed to ease his foul mood and the silence only serves as a reminder of how poor morale is at the moment.

The castle lord stood up, his family sigil evident from his blue-black silk kimono. He made his way to the armory, passing through the wintery cold of the outdoors, checking on his soldiers, pages and servants along the way.

Once alone in the armory, he made his way towards his ornate spear, gently touching as if trying to recall a happier memory in order to keep himself sane. Lost in his own thoughts, he recalled his past as a young boy learning to wield his weapon. The time when he was still naive from the hard truths of war.

One sunny day, he had once held a practice spear in the middle of a match. Cheers of encouragement and jeers by the audience had filled the air. Old war veterans on the sidelines had looked thoughtfully at him and his opponent, assessing their strengths.

Across him had been another boy whose hair was a soft brown. His eyes were like clear brown sugar candies. His height couldn't match his own and his practice katana had been too small, but despite the obvious disadvantage, his opponent had given him a familiar lopsided grin; as if he knew how to turn things into his favor.

A time when both boys began as rivals, before they became best of friends, who still (ironically) fight here and there due to some simple crazy differences.

Before they became great vassals of their lord and achieved great things in their own right...

Before they inevitably became enemies after their lord had died…

Once upon a time, before he became the head of his clan and lord of this fortress, he was a rebellious boy of a prestigious samurai clan named Inuchiyo, and his enemy was his former friend, a clever peasant boy named Tokichiro.