#ninjaeyecandy

[anbu-legacy]

How has the extended pandemic been going? Did you guys have a online wedding?

I am so sorry this response is so late, but since the pandemic is STILL ongoing, maybe it’s not all that late.

Ki and Aubrey had a very tiny wedding in June in a friend’s backyard, after driving 90 minutes from home to get to the nearest small town that was actually issuing licenses. We recorded our vows and shared the video afterwards with family and close friends, so in a way it was an online wedding too. We even had a tiny cake made by our original baker -- well, not that tiny, as our 5 friends barely finished a single tier, and we ate the rest for breakfast for the following week. 

(These are handmade sugar-paste peonies and bud roses, btw. No live flowers sacrificed in the making of this cake!)

A couple of weeks later we went on a tiny honeymoon to a cabin on a lake in Algonquin Provincial Park in northern Ontario, and honestly it couldn’t have been better.

As for the rest of the pandemic... We’re hanging in there about as well as anyone, I suspect. We’re all still breathing, and in this moment in time, we’re grateful for it.

- Ki

[anbu-legacy]

In Red Sky at Night Ryouma mentions he knows poverty. Is that with his grandfather too? Or is that from the time with his parents? Since he never went to a festival in his life

Ryouma only glancingly explains why he didn’t go to festivals as a child:

“You’ve never been?” [Raidou] asked Ryouma.

Ryouma settled back on a ledge, water lapping at his collarbones, and shook his head again. “Maybe when I was a baby, but I don’t really remember. I didn’t go while I was in the Academy, and afterwards I was always on missions.”

I suspect Miyako might have taken a baby or toddler Ryouma to a festival or two, if Konoha had them; but Ryuu was jumpy around crowds and fireworks, so it wouldn’t have been a family event. And with what little time they had together as a family, in between missions, they more likely opted to stay at home together.

Poverty was a separate issue. The relevant line from Red Sky at Night:

Ryouma knew poverty, bone-deep: hunger that gnawed at the spine, fear that sank into the belly. The exhaustion that pulled you down, promising tomorrow would never be better than today. He’d bargained for his freedom with his blood […]

Your first guess is correct here. Miyako and Ryuu weren’t wealthy by any means, but they were both working ninja. Even when Miyako had to stop taking missions during her pregnancy and recovery, she was likely able to take up some kind of paying work in the village, and as a jounin Ryuu would have commanded a higher payout percentage from his missions as well. 

The war, and the corresponding decrease in high-paying commercial missions, probably straitened their financial circumstances. Ryuu going MIA would have tightened things even more; since he was never officially declared dead, there were no death benefit payouts. Financial and institutional pressure (war going on!) forced Miyako to take more missions, until the one that killed her. 

Tousaki Yousuke came to Konoha to claim Miyako’s death benefits. Bureaucracy saddled him with Ryouma, too. There was probably also a little money from liquidating her estate, but she didn’t own her home, and used clothes, housewares, and weaponry don’t sell for much second-hand. 

If they’d stayed in Konoha, the death benefits might’ve been enough to feed and clothe Ryouma, and to rent a cheap apartment for a few years. Yousuke drifted south instead, drinking and gambling, working odd jobs when he was sober enough and losing them when he was drunk. He ran through the money quickly. Ryouma hasn’t mentioned it yet, I think, but those years were when he learned to pick pockets and steal to survive.     

After Yousuke died, Ryouma walked on a broken knee for four weeks to get back to Konoha. He knew hunger and exhaustion more keenly then. But he had a goal, the promise of a future: the Academy would take him back. Konoha would take him in. He would sell his body, his blood, and eventually his jutsu; he wouldn’t starve again. 

- Ki

[anbu-legacy]

Does Ryouma know that he was unplanned?

That’s (another) good question. (I have a bunch of good questions in our inbox right now, in fact; are they all coming from one curious reader, or do we have a bunch of new questioners??)

The events of This Broken World We Choose (uncomplete) were... not things that Ryouma’s parents felt equipped to discuss with a five- or six-year-old. They might have once he was older, but they never got the chance.

Ryouma’s grandfather wasn’t terribly communicative, and he didn’t know much of the real story -- Miyako had, I think, hoped that her father would never cross paths with her son. He was expelled from the chuunin corps before Ryouma’s birth, and only came back to Konoha after Miyako’s death when some harried bureaucrat in the Death Benefits office sent a letter to the last-known address of Miyako’s next of kin. He’d undoubtedly expected more money than he got; he likely didn’t expect that to take the pay-out from Miyako’s estate, he’d have to take her grieving seven-year-old son as well.

(content warning: emotional and verbal abuse, derogatory language)

Tousaki Yousuke was not a good father. He was not a good grandfather either. He was neglectful when sober, vicious when drunk. Ryouma’s mentioned the kind of verbal and emotional abuse he grew up under:

The old man would’ve said none of that mattered. That anyone who tried to get close to you was really just looking for what they could get out of you. That anyone who let Ryouma get close to them would see soon enough what he was really made of, that he was rotten deep down—stupid, lazy, lying—

Undoubtedly, Yousuke weaponized vicious words against Ryouma, as he did against Miyako herself. He would have thrown out any vile aspersion that crossed his mind, regardless of the truth. Miyako was a whore; Ryuu was a butcher. If Ryuu had gone missing in action it was probably only because he’d abandoned his duty and run like a coward. When Miyako died without leaving another guardian for Ryouma it was because she didn’t care about him. She was well out of it, dead before she could see the kind of stupid, sneaking, filthy brat Ryouma’d grown up to be, etc.

Ryouma was old enough, before his mother died, that he still remembered her clearly. He remembered that she loved him; that she’d loved his father; that Ryuu, who left one day on a mission and was never heard from again, had loved them both. He tried to hold onto those memories, even as some of Yousuke’s poison sank in. 

Even if Ryouma’s mother whored herself out to half the village, even if his father abandoned them both -- there was a time when both of them wanted him. He’s tried to remember that. 

- Ki

[anbu-legacy]

Hey, in what thread does Ryouma agree to change his soap scents? I wanna go reread but forgot when that happened...

Oh man, it took me a while to look this up. Would you believe we mention “soap” in just about every thread?

I knew it happened before the Tanuki Mission, where Kakashi comments that Ryouma’s scent “had improved significantly since he’d dropped some of the more sickly-sweet soaps out of his regimen.” But it was probably after “Red Sky At Morning,” in which Ryouma offers to share soaps scented like plum blossom, cucumber-mint, green tea, and lemon verbena. (Those all sound nice to me, Kakashi...)

I had better luck searching by the specific terms Kakashi uses to describe scents he does or doesn’t like, and that resulted in this passage from Hard Came the Rain:

After another beat, Ryouma offered, “Are there soaps you dislike less?”

“The fruit ones aren’t so bad,” Kakashi admitted. “And the herb ones.”

“Less like a lady’s bedroom?” Ryouma settled back and gave Kakashi a crooked smile. “Okay. I can do that.”

Someday, Kakashi was actually going to remember that explanations — even short ones — went a long way with Ryouma. He leaned more heavily against Ryouma’s shoulder, ignoring the fact that it was naked and sweat-streaked. “I’d offer to change one of my annoying habits, but there are only so many hours in the day.”

“I’d need most of ‘em just to decide on one,” Ryouma said, without bite.

Enjoy your reread!

- Ki

[anbu-legacy]

Are the Chuunin Exams in your AU the same as in Canon?

Nope!

We haven’t got into much detail in Legacy on promotion requirements, although I think Ryouma at least has mentioned that his field promotion to chuunin came after he used the Nikutai Tokasu to kill an Iwa jounin who’d killed Ryouma’s genin teammate. His promotion to special jounin came three days after the Kyuubi attack, during which he’d helped create a firebreak that saved a portion of Konoha’s residential district. 

In the real world, battlefield promotions are sometimes awarded for feats of outstanding leadership or exceptionally heroic qualities. We figure that war-time promotions in Legacy must have run along somewhat similar lines, with the additional possibility of demonstration of a significant and/or self-developed jutsu under battlefield conditions. Given that both chuunin and jounin/special jounin ranks require demonstration of leadership capabilities, Ryouma’s self-reported accounts of his promotions must have downplayed his efforts and effectiveness at organizing and leading his comrades.

In Legacy, Kakashi was promoted to chuunin at ten, and Raidou and Genma at thirteen. All of these promotions would similarly have happened during the war, although we don’t know what the precipitating factors were. It’s possible that they proceeded through more normal routes than Ryouma’s. A written exam and team component (similar to the canonical Forest of Death trial) are possible. But we’re damn well certain that nobody was hosting canon-style gladiatorial matches during wartime!

(DK points out that: “One on one fights are also a stupid assessment for a chuunin, since the position is supposed to be about leadership, commanding teams, and working in groups.” And opening up your “hidden” village to poorly vetted guest ninja and civilian tourists is even stupider, as the Sandaime learned...) 

-Ki

[anbu-legacy]

I want you to know that I melted into a gooey puddle when Kakashi called Ryouma his boyfriend. It puts a smile on my face!

Me too, Anon, me too. It made writing VERY DIFFICULT until I reincorporated.

(Actually, I think Aubrey and I independently squealed from different rooms in our condo, and then she came out into the living room to hug me for five minutes while we both keyboard smashed at DK and Nezu on Google Hangouts. Fun times in the writers’ chatroom!)

Kakashi is so careful with what he says and guarded with his emotions that I honestly didn’t see that moment coming—even though he’d previously given every evidence that he was all in, and even though I know that once Kakashi DOES make a decision he’s 💯 commited. And yet that moment still hit me with the sweetest gut punch.

(Ryouma, too, but he had to keep it together! Kakashi was already vulnerable enough in that moment; Ryouma had to be strong for him then, and then come quietly apart a little bit later.)

- Ki

[anbu-legacy]

2019 ANBU Legacy Year in Review

(See 2018 Year in Review)

2019 marked ANBU Legacy’s 6th official year in existence, and first full year on our own site. In terms of production, it was a decent year for us. We published 11 full chapters -- starting with The Target You Earned and ending with One Kiss Away From Killing -- covering... 10 days in story time, from Aug. 7 to Aug. 17. Well. A lot happened in those 10 days?

2019 Legacy Chapters

August 7

The Target You Earned (Minato, Raidou, Genma, Kakashi, Ryouma, Naruto) — Minato came out for a good time, and he’s honestly feeling so attacked right now.

Ties That Bind (Naruto, Raidou, Genma, Kakashi, Ryouma) — Team Six babysits, but when a new visitor arrives, it’s Naruto’s turn to supervise.

August 9

Call Off Your Ghosts (Raidou, Genma, Ryouma) — Team Six’s next mission summons involves a replacement tracker, lives on the clock, and a painfully close encounter with the realities of the bounty system.

August 10

Someday I’ll Pay for What I’m About to Do (Raidou, Genma, Ryouma) — Something very wrong has happened at Tochigi Bounty Office, but with a traumatized genin and a dangerous prisoner on their hands, Team Six doesn’t have time for answers.

August 11

Paying the Piper (Nijo) — Nijo Kozue has had better days.

August 9 – 15

Dog Stays Home (Kakashi, Rin, Hakone, Kurenai, Ginta, Minato, Naruto) — Kakashi copes with being left behind. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

August 15

Welcome Home, Losers (Genma, Raidou, Kakashi, Ryouma, Rin) — Team Six is reunited. Kakashi has Opinions, Genma has alarming news, and Ryouma has anxiety. Raidou has a headache.

One Step Across the Line (Genma, Raidou, Kurenai) — Genma, Raidou, and Kurenai renegotiate boundaries over belated birthday cake.

August 16

Place at the Table (Raidou, Genma, Kakashi, Ryouma, Rin, Minato, Naruto, Jiraiya) — Team Six has a scheduled meeting with a chakra injury specialist. And then an extremely unexpected meeting with a bestselling novelist and famed Toad Sage…

Spill the Tea (Ginta, Minato, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto) — Sake is sweeter When drunk from the master’s cup As autumn leaves fall

August 17

One Kiss Away From Killing (Kakashi, Ryouma, Minato, Jiraiya) — You wouldn’t think blowing up rabbits for science with your teacher and his teacher would lead to romance, but you’re not ANBU. Ryouma and Kakashi solve the mystery of Iebara’s jutsu and have some sex to celebrate. Graphic Animal Death, Explicit Sexual Content

2019 Reader Engagement

In terms of views and visitors, we saw significant increase over 2018 (probably because the ANBU Legacy site only went live in June 2018). 

We had 94,324 total views and 16,276 visitors. Most visitors came from search engines, followed by Tumblr, AO3, Reddit, and Wordpress subscribers. Keep spreading the word! 

Most visitors came from English-speaking countries, but I’m blown away by the amount of visitors we have from around the world. Welcome, all! 

Of course, a lot of visitors were either algorithm-driven or arrived while looking for something else, took a quick spin around, and decided we weren’t for them. In terms of readers following the story, my best guess is somewhere between 700 - 800, judging by the view-counts on one-shot chapters published this year and less susceptible for rereading: 

And, of course, some awesome readers started an unofficial Legacy Discord, where we’ve found many more awesome opportunities for conversation with and between readers! 

2020 Plans 

We started the year off early with a new thread:

August 18

Closet Cases (Raidou, Genma, Kakashi, Ryouma, Aoba) — After Genma picks Ryouma up from his first day of Medic School, their teammates offer a chance to put theory into practice.  Then it’s time for lunch, more apartment renovations, and a few surprises.

As for what’s up next?

Well, at LegacyCon in October, we planned out the next few threads and arcs. As you can see, we’ve hit three of them already:

We figure the next set of threads (including missions!) should see us at least part of the way through 2020. After that... well, @aubreyli​ and @ninjaeyecandy​ have a June 2020 wedding planned, and @saunterleftside​ and @nezumiko​ will be in attendance. I’m sure we’ll do some more planning then. 

We’re looking forward to sharing a lot more exciting stories with you in 2020 and years to come -- we hope you’ll come with us, and bring your friends!

- Ki

[dramatic-gwynne]

ninjaeyecandy replied to your post “The Untamed 1”

The Untamed has a few really great female characters (whose parts are actually significantly beefed up from the source novel) but I wouldn’t say this is a show that focuses on women. It DOES treat the central mlm relationship well; it does more with 5 seconds of intense staring than a lot of shows do with 5 minutes of make out scenes.

I’m glad to hear that about the ladies ^^;; they really are a significant source of enjoyment for me in media. I just have a hard time watching shows that are men doing things with men for the sake of other men, whether or not the men are straight or queer.

But Good Omens was my favorite show during 2019 despite being dude heavy. And since I don’t need the dicks to touch in order to enjoy a queer relationship on tv, I thought I would give this a try since it is all over my dash right now. 

It’s only episode one, so ^^;;;;;