Just Uma, I left the caking on a side blog

I wrote a little drabble for @only-you-sango-week! Today's theme was Grief, and I really enjoyed getting into Sango's headspace as she mourned the loss of her family, what Kohaku had done, and what she was going to do moving forward with the rest of the gang.

You can read it on ao3 or below. Enjoy <3

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The soil beneath her is fresh, moist between her fingers. Flowers, once vibrant, cover the earth. Wilted petals curl in on themselves in grief. They mourn for what once was.

Sango wants to cry for her kin. For all that she has lost, but the tears have long since dried. The ache in her heart remains, rattling her bones with each passing heartbeat. 

She’s all that’s left of the village. Her shoulders collapse with the weight of the past few days. With the knowledge that she is the last remaining Taijiya. She will never see her father or Kohaku again.

Kohaku.

Fingernails dig into dirt. Into her palms. Pain stabs at her skin, but she feels nothing. She is, after all, a hollow husk of her former self.

Someone calls her name, soft and timid. She dully wonders how long she has been sitting here on the graves of her family. Slowly, Sango gathers the pieces of herself together, a kindling fire burning within her veins.

Refer.

For context, I’m a latecomer to this series. I just finished it last month in the year 2023. And “Did Inuyasha love Kikyo more or Kagome more?” is sort of a weird debate for me.

Because it’s sort of implying that “love” could be quantified or something. Like it’s something you can point your finger at and count. But from my, ahem seasoned expertise, that’s not how it works.

So I want to look at it in a different way.

Let’s get it straight. Love is not quantifiable. Inuyasha loved both Kikyo and Kagome the best way he knew how. He was genuine about both of them. His feelings were earnest and true.

But you can’t deny his love somehow feels… different between the two of them.

So what is it? What is this difference?…

*deep breath* please bear with me I need to get this out of my system

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As always, us mods here at FeudalConnection want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Second Term 2023 Inuyasha Fandom Awards! Your participation and support for this fandom is simply incredible!

As a reminder, the winners have evolved into First, Second, and Third place awards. We are allowing ties for first place winners, rather than go into a run off period.

- For categories with up to four nominations, a First place banner will be awarded to the winner.

- For categories which received five to six nominations, First and Second place banners will be awarded to the winners.

- For categories which received up to seven to ten nominations, First, Second, and Third place banners will be awarded to the winners.

We also want to give a shoutout to the beautiful and wonderful @elevenharbor for gifting us her time and talent with creating banners for the fandom. They are absolutely breathtaking!

And now, without further delay, here we are!

Winners for Term 2 2023 Inuyasha Fandom Awards, hosted by FeudalConnection!

Best Action/Adventure Fiction

First Place: “Anti-Hero” by @lavendertwilight89 Second place: “Legacy” by @fandomobsessions016

Best AU/AR Fiction

First place: “The Unfortunate Queen” by @elkonigin Second place: “Demons and DJs” by @thisdumbbitchcantspell / MenacingMenace (AO3) Third place: “All in the Gang” by @moon-ion / thetroll (AO3)

Best Canon Universe Fiction

First place: “Mercury’s in Gatorade” by @clearwillow / BrigidTheFae (AO3) Second place: “Zephyr” by @mrfeenysmustache / AshMish111 (AO3)

Best Angst Fiction

First place: “Lethe” by @elkonigin Second place: “Made to Order” by @chiaztolite

Best Dark Fiction

First place - “The Progenitor” by @moon-ion / thetroll (AO3)

Best Drama Fiction

First place: “Soulless” by @witchygirl99 Second place: “Letters Through Time” by @cat-zchen Third place (tie): “Crave” by Latenightdevilx (AO3) Third place (tie): "Higurashiton” by @theladymagnolia / LadyMagnolia (AO3)

Best Humor/Parody Fiction

First place: “Code Hanyou” by @shikonstar / BitterNovember (AO3) Second place - “Glowing in the Dark” by @cat-zchen

Best NSFW Fiction

First place: “Uncharted Territory” by @chiaztolite Second place: “My Brother’s Bestfriend” by @keichanz Third place: “Atelier” by CloudsCloudlet (AO3)

Best Oneshot Fiction

First place: “Sometimes a Snuggle is Exactly What We Need” by @neutronstarchild Second place: “The Last Time” by @goshinote

Best Character Portrayal Fiction

First place: “Mail Tampering” (Inuyasha) by @shikonstar / BitterNovember (AO3) Second place: “Fragments” (Sesshoumaru) by @sereia1313 / Sereia13 (AO3) Third place: “In Too Deep” (Kagome) by @sagemcmae

Best InuKag Romance Fiction

First place: “The Half-Breed’s Wife” by @gypsin / Gypsyn (AO3) Second place: “Paint Me a Picture” by @neutronstarchild & @ruddcatha

Best SessKag Romance Fiction

First place: “For Your Attention” by @witchygirl99

Best Romance Fiction

First place: “Only You, Sango” by @skyelara

Best Fluff Fiction

First place: “First Impressions” by @mamabearcat Second place (tie): “Potpourri” by @uissuteffu Second place (tie): “Sick of This S@*%” by @fawn-eyed-girl

Best Serial Fiction

First place: “No Other Way” (InuKag chapters) by @somekndofnature

Best Ficlet

First place (tie): “Hold Me Dear Into the Night” by @hyylia First place (tie):  “Tranquility” by @cherisenae

Best Antagonist Portrayal Fiction

First place: “Guardian” (Ryuukotsusei) by @ruddcatha

Best Completed Fiction

First place: “Swimming in Jade” by @lavendertwilight89 Second place - “Demons and DJs” by @thisdumbbitchcantspell / MenacingMenace (AO3)

Best Action/Adventure Fanart

First place: “Unnamed” by @amlli

Best AU/AR Fanart

First place: “Phantom of the Opera” by @kalcia

Best Canon Fanart

First place: “Three years separation” by @len-barboza

Best Angst Fanart

First place: “✨ Brothers ✨” by @xtaisanax

Best Dark Fanart

First place: “He’s angery” by @brain-rot-hour

Best Humor/Parody Fanart

First place: “Magic in Bed” by @mamabearcat

Best Kiss Fanart

First place: “Welcome Home” by @katballesteros

Best Character Fanart

First place: “Kagura” by @rhapeseuhans Second place: “Naraku” by @soluryn

Best Duo/Pairing Fanart

First place: “Under the Moon” by @thepadawanartist

Best NSFW Fanart

First place: “A Bit of Naked Inuyasha” by @kalcia Second place: “Mermaid Service” by @sayuri-liu

Best InuKag Romance Fanart

First place: “記念日おめでとう” by @len-barboza

Best SessKag Romance Fanart

First place: “You and Me After All” by @thepadawanartist

Best Romance Fanart

First place: “Gift Exchange” by @izakimi Second place: “Leap of Faith” by @ashleys-canvas

Best Group Depiction Fanart

First place: “Happy Mother’s Day!” by @eliza-faust-diary Second place: “Oh Brother (Part 2)” by @mama-ino

Best Doujinshi

First place: “The Last Days” by @liquidashesart

Best Redraw

First place: “Live” by @thunderpot

Best Lineart

First place: “Did I watch Inuyasha when i was 8” by @il---re

Best Overall Fanart

First place: “Under the Moon” by @thepadawanartist Second place: “Kikyo” by @purilly

Congratulations to all the winners! Your awards will be sent out soon, so please send one of the mods or this blog your preferred email address so we can send them to you!

Please note, the winner ban only applies to the first place winner(s) in each division; second and third place winners will be eligible to be nominated again in the next term.

As this term comes to a close, FeudalConnection will be taking a short hiatus. This time is always spent reviewing the process and seeing what can be revamped for next term.

In addition, by popular request, moving forward we will be announcing next term's Roulette Categories so that everyone will have plenty of time to find something for those categories. And an immense thank you to everyone who voted on the categories! Roulette Fanfiction Category for Term 3 2023 will be Best Original Plot. This is defined as: A story that utilizes the Inuyasha characters in a story that is wholly separate and unique from the original series and sequel.

Roulette Fanart Category for Term 3 2023 will be Best Traditional. This is defined as: A piece created using traditional media such as paints, pencils, pens, ink, markers, pastels, crayons, chalks, etc. Computer programs are used to create minor adjustments only or not at all.

We will officially be back in full swing September 1st! Remember, we will now only be hosting three times per year, and thus the time between terms has extended. We will still be around in case you have questions or concerns, but feel free to take this time to read new fanfiction and find new fanart. We strongly encourage everyone to review/comment/reblog so to spread the love of this fandom around. 

Want to stay immersed in the Inuyasha fandom? Head on over and join our Discord server! Or follow @inuyasha-events​ to stay up-to-date on all the current and upcoming fandom events!

As the day gets closer to the start of the second term of 2023, we will be keeping everyone in the loop when it comes to changes and updates. Thank you all again for making this such a wonderful experience! See you soon!

- FeudalConnection