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justkending · 4 years ago

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The Number One Rule. Chapter 13.

Series Summary: Y/N has always been seen as “Steve’s rambunctious sister.” However, she grew up, graduated, and moved to London to study abroad for 4 years and get her bachelor's degree. The girl that returns looks nothing like the teenager that left, but don’t worry the attitude is still there and stronger than ever. What’s to come of the two grown adults that used to push each other's buttons, but now have a lot more in common than they’ve ever realized.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N Rogers (Steve’s little sister)

Word Count: 3900+

Chapter Thirteen:

Dates like this went on for a while.

Bucky and Y/N would meet up discreetly and sneak out for fun activities, or if Steve happened to go hang out with some of their other friends, Clint and Natasha, they would have a movie night at Buckys. Of course, locked away in his room in case Steve happened to come home.

They made that mistake once while out in the living room, and Y/N had to hide in a broom closet until Steve was in his room. Afterward, Bucky rushed her out before Steve came back out.

Was it hard and frustrating trying to think out all the steps to not get caught? Yes. Did they hate hiding it from Steve? Absolutely. But they knew if they had started this whole thing with Steve's knowledge, it would have been even harder and more awkward. The chances of them both losing Steve's relationship were high. And they knew deep down their relationships with him would never be 100% tarnished, but it would never be the same either.

They had been doing this for a month now. Y/N had gotten the job at the museum she wanted and she was absolutely loving it. They were paying her to read things she was already reading in her free time, and now she had access to even more information than before by being able to use the museum's archives.

She would come home from work gushing to Bucky over the phone about all the new things she discovered, or how a co-worker had told her about a new book she planned on getting. Bucky of course on the other end smiling wide at her excitement and love for her job.

Beck had been kind enough to offer her apartment for dates if she was going out of town, or wouldn't be there for the night. And those were the best nights. They would cuddle up, watch a movie, start a TV series, listen to music and talk, or just bask in the presence of the other when they were reading or doing work on their own.

It was bliss, it was comfortable, and it felt natural. ____________ "Y/N, hurry up! We want to get there before the babies are born," Steve shouted up the stairs.

Today was their high school friend's baby shower. Wanda and Viz.

They were high school sweethearts. Viz was a grade older than Bucky and Steve, and Wanda had been a grade above Y/N. No matter the difference in grades, they still had a wide friend group varying in age.

Clint and Nat were coming as well. Nat didn't go to high school with them like Clint, but she was at the neighboring school. She joined the friend group after she and Clint became a couple toward the end of their senior year.

Now Steve and Bucky were waiting downstairs for their sisters to get their asses down there so they wouldn't be late. Wanda and Viz lived in upstate New York so it was something of a drive.

"You gotta know what to say to get them down here," Bucky sighed, elbowing his friend lightly in the shoulder. "Watch the pro. Girls, if you don't hurry all the cake and mini-donuts will be gone!"

Beck was the first one tripping over herself to get down the stairs. "Oh, my God! I heard they're having catering from Chick-fil-a too!" she squealed, running down the stairwell faster.

"Wait, chicken nuggets?" Y/N added, peeking her head out from her room from the top of the stairs. Everyone looked up at her with waiting eyes. Bucky sent her a subtle wink and smile. "I'm coming!" she shouted dipping back in her room for a quick second before rushing down like Beck.

"Well, don't just stand there boys. We have a baby shower to get to," Beck pushed the two men toward the doors.

"Alright, alright," Steve laughed, being the first one out with Beck behind him.

"After you, milady," Bucky gestured, opening the wider door for Y/N.

"Why, thank you," she grinned walking ahead of him.

"And might I just add, you look stunning as usual," he whispered to her before they started down the porch steps.

The long sleeve shirt she was wearing was light and rolled up her forearms while being tucked into a long skirt that had a slit on the side. The boots she picked had a heel to them and were a dark brown with a red tint. She looked like a classic book and Bucky was gaining a new appreciation for her wardrobe changes from overseas style.

She didn't get the chance to respond as Beck shouted again to them, but she sent him a wink and wrapped her arm through his. Though it wasn't more than just a simple act of chivalry to Steve and Beck, it was a chance for the two to share a simple touch even when they weren't supposed to.

_____________

After a long ride upstate, they finally arrived at Wanda and Vision's house. The neighborhood was nice and perfect for a new family. The wide streets were jam-packed with other cars that were joining in on the party.

They grabbed their gifts and headed inside. As soon as they entered, they saw a lot of familiar faces that they hadn't seen in a while. All having moved away or just been so busy going through life, they didn't have time to catch up.

The girls immediately ran off to find the person of the hour. Steve and Bucky went to find Clint with Natasha off to the side.

"Wanda!" Y/N shouted from behind the auburn-haired friend.

She turned quickly and her eyes practically bulged out of her head. "OH, MY GOD! Y/N!"

The two raced to embrace each other like long-lost siblings. Wanda's growing bump was the only thing keeping Y/N from completely suffocating her.

"Oh my God, Wanda! You're literally glowing," she gasped, pulling back to look at her old friend.

"I know. This is the only part of pregnancy that I've liked so far. My hair, nails, and skin are the best they've ever been thanks to these two," she grinned, rubbing her hand over her stomach.

"Oh, can I?" Beck asked, looking at her belly.

"Of course, and thanks for asking. The number of people who come up and touch your stomach without asking when you start showing is annoying," she waved.

The two girls placed a hand on her belly.

"Wow, Wands. How'd you get so lucky with twins?" Y/N smiled up at her.

"It's all in the genetics," she winked.

"Speaking of, where is that brother of yo-?" Y/N began, standing taller to look around the crowd. But before she could fully turn around, two arms wrapped around her middle and lifted her off the ground. "Oh!"

"Y/N!" the man's voice shouted behind her. Anyone within a 15 ft radius turned to see what was happening.

"Hey, is that Pietro?" Clint asked in his little group of Steve, Nat, and Bucky.

"Who's that?" Nat asked as they watched him lower Y/N back to the ground.

"Wanda's twin, who also happens to be an ex of Y/N's," Steve spoke up.

Bucky's eyes narrowed as soon as he heard the squeal of his girl being picked up. He knew Pietro was a good guy, but knowing the two had been in a relationship in the past and how he was holding her, made his chest burn a little.

"I'm assuming it wasn't a bad breakup if they're acting like that," Nat smirked.

"Nah, they only dated for a little anyway. Y/N was a track manager for a year or so and Pietro was the school's star when it came to the sport. They became friends, tried out the dating thing, and decided it was best to just stay friends," Steve went on to explain. "It was their senior year and Pietro got a scholarship in California, and Y/N went across seas. It was best in the end."

"So was it because they wanted to be friends, or because of the distance?" Clint questioned.

"I don't know. Both? Either way, they still stayed close from what Y/N's told me," Steve shrugged.

"Close?" Bucky asked, looking back at his friend.

"I mean they kept up with each other. Checking in on their college life and all," Steve added before turning back to Clint and starting another conversation.

"Well, look at you," Pietro went on once he put her down and she turned to face him. "The pictures don't do you justice, milaya." (sweetheart)

"Pietro, I see the flirty personality never died," she laughed. "You're looking great as well. Are you back in town for a while or still traveling?"

He had advanced from varsity track in high school, number one in the state of California from his college, and was now a gold medalist in the Olympics. Truly a famous person in the track and racing world.

"I'm training for the next go about with the Olympics, so lots of travel, but I took some time off to visit my dear sister," he went on, walking to Wanda and wrapping his arm gently around her shoulder.

"I would hope so. How's it feel about being an Uncle soon?" she smiled, crossing her arms as they talked.

"Oh, you know I'll be spoiling them," he grinned looking down at Wanda. "I'll be the fun uncle that Wands here will regret letting babysit."

"Which is why you'll never be left unsupervised by yourself," Wanda countered with a playful warning glare.

"You might be saying different when you haven't slept in 3 days," Pietro noted.

"And that is why, my sweet friend will be nice enough to babysit you all," Wanda laughed. "She's already offered me plenty of babysitting time."

"It's true. I'll gladly take a trip upstate to visit you and the sweet beans," she winked.

"Sounds like a date night," Pietro wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're confident," she laughed, brushing his flirtatious personality off.

"What's this I hear about a date night?" Bucky said coming out of nowhere.

Y/N jumped slightly surprised by him being so close in the public space. But at the end of the day, they were still close friends and no one thought more than that. Looking around she saw Beck had been pulled away a while ago by some people closer to her age.

"Bucky," Wanda said, pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you. How have you been?"

"Really good. What about you? You excited for the jump into parenthood?" he grinned, masking the jealousy that was still sitting on his shoulder like the little devil it was.

"Oh, I don't think anyone is ever really ready for it, but we are excited," she smiled brightly.

"Well, you look great. Twins have to be a lot of extra preparation for you and Vis both."

"You're telling me. He's read every book on babies, birthing, and adolescents that exist," she rolled her eyes with a smile still on her face. "Speaking of, I need to find that man. I haven't seen him since the start of the party. Excuse me," she smiled, walking to the kitchen area.

"So," Pietro went on. "Date night while babysitting?" He continued the past subject.

Y/N's body language changed from reminiscing to being on edge with Bucky being right there considering she couldn't just out and say, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend. Date night would only consist of babysitting and nothing else."

"I think your hands would be a little full with a set of twins. I don't think date night is going to work out for you two," Bucky spoke up, throwing his arm around Y/N possessively, but also subtly.

Pietro noticed the motion and his eyebrows came together some, but within a second he brushed it off.

"I guess you're right about that. But, either way, we do need to catch up for the time I'm in town. I gotta hear about all your European adventures," he smiled at Y/N.

"Of course, Piet. Yours too," she laughed in the best-unbothered way she could.

Looking over their shoulder, the twin cringed at something. "We'll have to set that up later. I need to go save my brother-in-law. He's being bombarded with my grandma's trivia on babies."

"Yes, go save him," Y/N laughed. "I'll see you around."

He nodded before patting her gently on the shoulder as he passed and quickly jogged to rescue Vision.

"What was that about?" Y/N asked. The stern tone was masked with a kind face for those around them.

"What? I came over to see Wanda. She is the reason for us coming," he chuckled, trying to hide his true intentions.

"Right, it had nothing to do with my ex-boyfriend by chance being friendly?"

"No, why would you say that?" he shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets and sending her an innocent face.

"Bucky," she sighed, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. The smile on her face turned to a genuine one. "Yes, we used to date, but we broke up because we were much better as friends than as a couple."

"Well, that and the distance..." Bucky added. "And also, you and I were and are good friends. Does that mean-"

"No, Buck. Completely different scenarios. I realized I didn't have feelings for him around the time we were going to graduate. Pietro was a little upset but understood in the end it probably wouldn't work out," she explained, turning to see him and his twin talking to their grandma who seemed to a have permanent scowl on her face.

Bucky followed her eye line and nodded. The two watched the Maximoffs trying to distract their grandma with scones and punch.

"So, it's not that he didn't have feelings for you anymore, but that you guys would have to do long distance," Bucky added, nonchalantly.

"B, are you jealous of a high school relationship that was 5 years ago?" Y/N laughed turning back to him, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"Psh. I don't do jealous sweetheart..." he paused, waving her accusation off with a goofy grin. Then a second later his lips downturned and eyebrows raised like her. "Now possessive may be closer-"

She gave him a small push to the chest and laughed making him smile as well.

"James Barnes," she giggled but then leaned closer. "Unfortunately for Peit, I have my eyes on someone else."

The look in her eyes and the attitude in her voice gave off a sense of seduction that Bucky wasn't sure he could handle right then and there. Surrounded by people they were supposed to be hiding the fact they were together from. Then you add in how close she was to whispering the last part to him, her perfume assaulting his senses and making his eyes blow into black orbs.

"You can't do that," he started. His hand without thought came to wrap around her waist, but before it could, she started walking away.

"Oh, I completely forgot about the mini donuts. If you'll excuse me," she winked with a smirk forming on the corner of her mouth.

"Y/N," he said lowly, almost a growl, but still just loud enough for her to hear.

"See you when they start opening the presents," she waved, purposefully moving her hips side to side in an obvious way for him to watch.

"Damn her teasing self," he mumbled to himself.

__________________

The party went on without a hitch. Wanda had a ton of gifts from all those that came. Practically her whole baby list was paid for and she had a lifetime of diapers for the kids until they were in high school.

Once the presents were opened, the food was eaten, and the conversation was had, the party began to die out.

Y/N and the rest of her crew were some of the last there. Of course, Beck and Y/N were in the kitchen cleaning up even though no one told them to, and Steve and Bucky were helping Vis take some of the larger items up to the nursery on the second floor.

"Thank you guys, but you didn't have to do this," she said motioning to the now sparkling and neatly organized kitchen.

"Oh, stop it. You know for a fact after all that activity today, you and Vis are going to crash on the couch and call it a night once we leave," Y/N spoke up.

"You're not wrong," she nodded in agreement. "I already plan on tricking him into a foot rub." She leaned in. "And now that I'm pregnant, I win every time."

"Ugh, if that's what I have to do to get a free foot rub, I may just go get pregnant," Beck laughed.

"Beck..." Y/N sighed.

"What? She said it herself. It's practically guaranteed."

"With that being said, and your kitchen and living room being a lot more livable, we'll get out of your hair," Y/N groaned, pushing Becca toward the front door.

"Thank you guys again so much. And I meant what I said earlier," she pointed, making them look at her one more time. "I want to see your faces more often, so you better start making some trips soon."

"Yes ma'am," they both saluted in a goofy way.

"Dorks," Steve said around the corner. Bucky laughed behind him softly. "Now come on. Let's let these two get some rest after today."

"My thoughts exactly," Y/N nodded, going to give Viz and Wanda goodbye hugs.

They packed up in the car and made their way back to Brooklyn after waving farewell to their old friends.

Another laughter-filled, throwback singing to old music, and long conversations about memories in high school-filled car ride later, they finally made it home.

They dropped Beck off at her house and headed to drop Y/N off at her mom's. Even though Bucky wanted to walk her to the door, he knew they had to play their parts. But just as she walked through the threshold and Steve had put the car in reverse, he came up with an idea.

"Wait!" he shouted, making Steve jump and hit the brakes.

"What?"

"I, uh, I have to grab another book from Y/N," he lied.

"Wait, are you still seeing that girl?" Steve asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes," Bucky nodded. "Well, when I can. She's in and out of town," he shrugged.

"Um, ok. I don't remember the last time you talked about her, so this is news to me," Steve shook his head.

"I don't have to tell you every detail of my life, Stevie," he chuckled, getting out of the car and moving to the door.

Steve furrowed his eyebrow at his friend. He had been acting weird about his dating life lately. Usually, he was open and talked to Steve about updates with given relationships. Though it had been a while since Bucky got out there, so maybe he was just going about it differently.

Nonetheless, Steve couldn't shake the feeling that Bucky wasn't telling him something.

Bucky knocked on the door hoping Y/N hadn't gone upstairs just yet.

Sure enough, she was taking off her shoes in the entryway and answered the door right away.

"Buck, what are you doing?" she asked, confused seeing Steve's car still in the driveway.

"I need to borrow another book," he said pointing up to her room and winking at her.

Looking back to the truck outside, she saw Steve watching them.

"Uh, sure," she nodded her head in opening the door. Bucky came in and she shut it for the time being. "Sir, this is a risky move you're playing here," she hummed coming closer to him.

"Eh, I like the risk of it all," he winked, bringing his hands around her waist.

"Big kinda risk though, B," she said with a tilt of her head as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders.

"I couldn't help myself, ok? I got to be with you all day, looking like that, and the only time I could touch you was escorting you to the car," he sighed, lowering his head to hers.

"Well, come upstairs for a second to get your book, so we don't bring my mom out and she sees something," she giggled, grabbing his hand as they ran upstairs.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded following close behind her as they ran up.

As soon as they were behind the closed door of her room, Bucky spun her around and instantly wrapped her into him and connected their lips. Smiling while sharing affection the two were caught up in the deprived touches stolen from their day.

"Hmh," Y/N hummed pushing back. "As much as I'd like to continue this, Steve is downstairs and won't wait forever."

"He can wait a few more minutes," Bucky said, chasing after her lips again.

Y/N laughed as they reconnected. "Bucky," she hummed, not wanting to pull away, but also knowing they were playing a dangerous game.

"Ok, ok," he relented, pulling back and kissing one last peck to her lips. "When's our next date night though?"

"Well, Mom told me today that she's going on a weekend trip with some friends at one of their cabins," she grinned raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, a whole weekend with the house to yourself," he grinned, squeezing her hips from the tight hold he had on her. Their bodies were right up against each other.

"Yeah, I was thinking about some self-care nights, murder documentaries, and some other things," she shrugged giving him the same sultry look from earlier in the day.

"What kind of other things?" He played along.

"I don't know, but I'll really enjoy the alone time," she grinned evilly walking away and to the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Leaving Bucky reaching for her.

"Alone time?" he questioned. "As in nobody else with you?"

"I mean, I can't stop anyone from coming to visit," she raised her shoulders, grabbing a book from a top shelf and coming back to him.

"Hm, well, let me know if you need someone to come sweep the house after your murder documentary. I know those make you paranoid at night," he laughed bringing her back in his arms. The book she had grabbed between them.

"Hm, you're right. I may need some company then, won't I?" she teased.

"I'll see what I can do," he winked, going down for another kiss.

"Ok, Romeo. You gotta go before Steve marches up here himself," she said eventually pulling away from the kiss. "Here's your book."

"Ugh, ok," he moaned upset. "Thank you," he said, leaning down and kissing her lips one more time before walking to the exit. "Call me tonight?"

"Oh, yeah. I have some gossip from the party tonight I have to share," she jumped in remembrance.

"Haha, I'll be waiting for the inside scoop then."

Once he got back in the car, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face and Steve noticed.

"What took so long?" he asked, backing out, but still looking over to his friend to gauge his facial expressions.

"Uh, she was giving me facts to impress my girl," he lied. "That and she was telling me some gossip from the party."

"Oh, ok," Steve nodded. But something wasn't sitting right with him. The grin on Bucky's face was something of admiration and daydreaming. He looked lost in his thoughts and couldn't stop smiling. Not that that was bad, but it was rare for Bucky to have that kind of look. Or at least it had been a long time since he'd seen that particular look on his best friend's face.

Maybe it was about the girl he had been talking to, but he started to notice that every time they were with Y/N, that's when the look came about.

Being the detective he was, he couldn't a hundred percent leave this weird feeling alone.

(If you would like to be tagged in any of the tags below, please send an ask:)

The Number One Rule (TNOR) Taglist:

@shadowolf993 @hello-i-am-daydreaming @jessyballet @emmabarnes @kmuir1 @beautifulrare4leafclover @thefallenbibliophilequote @l0ve-0f-my-life @shawnie--jo–jo– @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @asoftie4bucky @katiaw2 @sheeple @sznri @bxtchboy69 @taliarosej00 @bakugouswh0r3 @stopjustlovethemcu @babemendesxz @jenniereiji @taliarosej00 @loveyou5everr

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravicente @kakakatey @traceyaudette @notyourtypicalrose @laneygthememequeen @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @thefaithfulwriter @marvelfansworld @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @carls1022 @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @carls1022 @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7 @willowbleedsonpaper @mariaenchanted @snffbeebee @couldabeenamermaid @rebekahdawkins

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@morganclaire4 @chloe-skywalker @charmedbysarge @jbarness

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555 @iheartsebastianstan @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky

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bleachbleachbleach · 3 years ago

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BLEACH 008

I initially paused at this line because I thought it was funny, LOL, because hot damn, the Gotei 13 sure do take a lot of unnecessary risks for poeple who don’t take unnecessary risks (whether or not Kidou Cannons are involved). But in the Japanese version, Rukia’s line doesn’t actually talk about veteran shinigami at all, and is more about Rukia and Ichigo’s interpersonal dynamic and more generically worrying/not making mistake/etc.

So what gets emphasized differently in the Viz translation, and what might the change be drawing on? When Ichigo and Rukia first meet, Rukia is taken aback by the fact that Ichigo can see ghosts but doesn’t believe her when she calls herself a shinigami. For the rest of chapter 1, Ichigo just refers to her as “shinigami” right up until she gives him her powers and also offers her name. I’m not “shinigami,” she says. I’m Kuchiki Rukia.

But through Chapters 2-8 a lot of what Rukia tells Ichigo isn’t about herself at all--she’s talking about what shinigami do, what their duties are--what is expected of someone who takes on that identity. Inasmuch as she distinguishes herself as an individual--Kuchiki Rukia--this also feels like her chance to set the terms by which Ichigo knows her.

It’s probably the first time she’s ever had that opportunity--to tell someone this is who I am, this is what I am within Soul Society, rather than have her identity be told to her, or assumed. In Rukongai she was a street rat. Her adoption into the Kuchiki family was really only trading one predetermined identity for another (reified by the fact that she and Renji completely lose contact with each other on the basis of this shift). Even the Academy, in its alleged meritocracy, ranks its classrooms in terms of perceived ability, and that’s just the class you belong to/in most cases, probably become.

But here she is in the realm of the living, and she gets to be the one to tell the story, and tell Ichigo what’s what. She doesn’t have to be someone who’s uncertain in her actual place or belonging in her family, in the Gotei 13, as a shinigami entirely. She can be an emissary.

And like, I feel like that opportunity would have been especially important in this moment, too, because being a shinigami without your powers is probably terrifying in addition to frustrating. At a visceral, chemical level, it can’t feel good, especially in a place you don’t know. Not to mention knowing full well SS isn’t going to be pleased with what you’ve done, and kind of waiting for that shoe to fall the entire time (iirc--I haven’t re-read past Ch.8 yet). And of course through the first arc we also see Weirdo Rukia blossoming in ways she probably didn’t really get to back home--showing her personality, having antics, doing art, all the codeswitching and the drama voice and the Rukia Speeches.™️

But what I see this translation really emphasizing is Rukia writing the narrative of her place in Soul Society--drawing on the way she’s been explaining things to Ichigo thus far and presaging the anxieties/questions of self-worth/reflections on just deserts so central to the SS arc.

#kuchiki rukia #bleach reread 2021 #bleach manga #bleach meta #translation #bleach カラー #bleach

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inkribbon796 · 3 years ago

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Lost in the Lightning Storm Ch. 1: Lightning in a Bottle

Summary: Henrik is a naturally curious person, and with there being something between him and Anti, he just wants to know what kind of person he’s dealing with.

Chapter: 1, 2

Henrik had more than a bit of a problem.

Anti had stopped making his presence so apparent, almost like he was trying to avoid Henrik but still watch him. It gave Henrik time to think about a lot of things. About what he wanted, and if even pursuing a relationship with him was even remotely a good idea.

The glitch demon was angry, violent, prone to random fits of destruction, and left gifts outside of Henrik’s office like a deranged cat. But he also saved Henrik from fights, wasn’t attacking him, and it was clear that although he left organs and teeth for Henrik that he meant for Henrik to actually like the gifts.

So Henrik was unsure of what to do about Anti. He was mostly curious about how a relationship like that would progress. But Anti had a history with the Septics that reminded Henrik that this tepid infatuation could end with Henrik’s blood and guts smeared all over the walls.

Henrik had spent a lot of time thinking about it as the gifts and stalking kept coming. So to clear his head, he headed towards the base.

The German doctor meant to find Logic, ask for some surveillance equipment, but when he walked into the comms room the Side wasn’t alone in the room. He was with Tubbo and Nate.

Logic was busy managing several different screens as the situation was calming down as Tubbo was holding some remote and shouting information into a headset. Both of them were on their feet. Nate was next to them, looking braced to rush out of the room.

Henrik paused as Logan fell back into his chair and let out a sigh of relief.

“Holy shit,” Tubbo commented, and started to drive his remote again. He was bringing his little bee drone back to him. What came back faster to him were three little bee familiars which buzzed around his head and settled into his suit. “That was ridiculous.”

“Now do you see why I keep you away from the Duke, his particular breed of unpredictability makes him exceedingly dangerous,” Logan explained.

“Is everything alright?” Henrik asked as he walked in.

“It is now,” Nate answered with a sigh of relief.

“Vat[1] happened?” Henrik looked at the screens.

“The Duke decided to live up to his title of “Intrusive Thoughts” and terrorize a baseball stadium full of people and make them hallucinate,” the logical Side explained. “At the most inopportune time, of course.”

“Of course,” Henrik rolled his eyes. Then he turned to Nate, “Ahhh, Nathan, it is so good to see you. It is a rare thing to see you in ze base zese days.[2]

“Been busy,” Nate commented. “Just wanted to meet the new guys, they seem alright.”

“Damn straight,” Tubbo smiled back at him, before continuing to pilot his bee drone back to him.

“Heard this place was haunted now,” Nate smiled.

“Ahh, yes,” Henrik smiled. “Big Man has a bro’zer currently viz Marvin. He calls himself Ghostbur und can phase z’rough valls.”[3]

“No shit, he like Big Man?” Nate smiled.

“Nein,”[4] Henrik smiled. “He vas[5] much calmer, und[6] quieter.”

“Really? That’s hilarious.” Nate laughed, but he was just staring at Tubbo, he seemed to be studying the young apprentice.

Henrik was about to leave and give up on his questions for another day. But Nate got up.

“Coffee?” Nate smiled.

Shrugging, Henrik followed but they didn’t go to the common room area for coffee, they left the base entirely.

“I like researching demons,” Nate told him, their topic veering to what Nate had been up to since Henrik had last gotten to sit down and talk to him, “and glitches have always been interesting to me. Even more so after I found out that Logic was a demon. I used to think they were all chaos incarnate, and they are, but they’re more than that. Logic is a way different demon than Anti, and both of them are different from the Jims, who I’m fairly certain are just super weird glitches.”

“Really?” Henrik asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Nate smiled as they kept walking down the road to this little coffee shop. “Makes me really glad I started distancing myself from the hunters. The only research they care about is if it makes killing demons easier or safer for them.”

“So you wish to become a university professor on ze[7] demons?” Henrik smiled.

“Dude, if that was possible, I would,” Nate promised. “The process from a human soul to a demon one. What they lose? What they gain? Can you predict who’s actually going to turn into a demon? What type of demon are they going to turn into?”

They took the time to get their coffees and take their seats outside the coffee shop as Henrik thought about Nate’s words. “I assume zat[8] you have taken copious notes about ze[7] demons already in Egoton?”

“Course I have,” Nate smiled. “As much as I was able.”

“Vat[1] do you know about Anti?” Henrik asked. “I know vat he is now, but vat about before. Vho vas he before he vas a demon?”[9]

“Huh,” Nate let out a loud puff of air and tapped his fingers to his coffee mug. “Never tried to look him up that far back.”

The singer looked down at his coffee before looking back up in thought. “I think Mare said something about Anti being a little over a century old. That’s probably just in demon years, so who knows how old he was when he actually died. But he’s a glitch demon so . . .”

Nate let out another pensive breath of air, rubbing the inside corners of his eyes, “He was probably killed by lightning. But that was around the same time as an industrial revolution so he could have died in a factory accident and still turned into a glitch. His turning would have probably been sometime in the early 1900’s, late 1800’s maybe.”

“Und[6] could he be found?” Henrik asked.

Nate looked a little concerned, “Maybe, finding him would definitely be easier than finding Dark or Mare. They’re older than him and Anti is also a glitch so that narrows it down. Even if he did die in a factory accident.”

“I cannot imagine a vorld vere he did not get into some type of trouble viz ze law,”[10] Henrik commented, pushing up his glasses.

“Yeah that might make it easier,” Nate agreed. “Usually a soul doesn’t change too much from how it used to be in life. There’s some drift but not too much.”

“Yes, but—” Henrik thought out loud before Mare seemed to appear out of nowhere and turned over a bag of cookies right into Nate’s lap.

“The fuck are you doing?” Nate shouted.

“Shut up and eat them, you still reek,” Mare spat at him, digging some loose cookies still in the bag and pushing them into Nate’s hands. “Anything’s better than how you smell right now.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Nate tossed the cookies back in Mare’s face so hard they bounced off his face as they crumbled.

“I don’t like that kid’s aura,” Mare crossed his arms. “He smells weird.”

“Which kid?” Nate argued loudly, Henrik was watching Logan leading Tubbo down the street, the two obviously coming from the base and going out on a patrol. When Tubbo spotted Nate and Mare arguing the two stopped to watch them cautiously from across the street.

“The little goat demon with the bee theme,” Mare slapped down a hand to hold it about at Tubbo’s height. “I didn’t know you guys were picking up spawnlings off the street. I thought that was Dark’s shtick.”

“Bomble? What do you mean he smells?” Nate demanded. “What does he smell like?”

“How are you still alive?” Mare let out a frustrated sigh. “You know how toast smells when it gets burnt?”

“Yeah?” Nate agreed.

“Okay so imagine that burnt toast also set the toaster on fire, and that’s pretty much it,” Mare told them. “Anti doesn’t smell anything, but I can. I don’t know why! I checked with Dark, he can smell it too. But he doesn’t think he smells like toast.”

“Vat[1] did Dark say he smells like?” Henrik questioned.

“Death,” Mare told him. “At first I thought he was joking, like he was just being overdramatic, but then he told me he smells like a village that was on the verge of death from illness. Like a household taken over by the Plague. And after thinking about that, I’m inclined to agree. He kinda does smell like sickness. More like the burnt toast and toaster thing, but I get it. Dark is really old and he would go for that explanation. Don’t know how Anti doesn’t smell it, but he smells like bad news.”

“Zat[8] is very interesting,” Henrik hummed, everyone in the Coalition knew that Tubbo was a bomb expert and that the Coalition had some samples of a couple of his projects under lock and key so no one else could use them.

“Doesn’t help that everything he comes into contact with also winds up smelling like him,” Mare complained. “I thought Pixels had had something blow up in his face because he smells like him, all the time now.”

“Did you tell Logic about it?” Nate asked.

Mare huffed out, “Yeah but he had no idea what I was talking about, couldn’t stand to be in the base because the kid’s got the place carpet bombed.”

“King und[6] Host do not seem to have a problem viz[11] it,” Henrik thought out loud.

“Then their noses are broken, or maybe they have a tolerance to it, I don’t know,” Mare threw up his hands in defeat. “Point is the kid reeks, where’d you dig him up from? He die in some kind of explosion or something?”

“Not zat ve know of,”[12] Henrik sighed. “But he does have an affinity for explosives und bombs.”

Nate looked confused, “Does a person’s death influence their aura?”

“Kinda,”[13] Mare shrugged. “Sometimes it’s a little weird in how it manifests. I can tell if a demon was splintered from another demon, or came from a human soul. Wil probably became a demon in some insane asylum. Dark, it wouldn’t surprise me if his ringing is tied to how he died.”

Mare’s nostrils flared as the direction of air changed and the demon turned to glare at Tubbo who was quickly buzzing across the street and Logan yelled after Tubbo and raced to keep up.

The older demon hissed and took a step back. Logan physically put himself in-between Mare and Tubbo, physically baring his arm in front of the young man to keep him back.

Tubbo just nonchalantly hovered in the air as his wings buzzed. Mare wrinkled up his nose and glared at Tubbo, who was looking quite smug.

“Hey,” Tubbo smiled. “Heard yeh we’re talkin’ about me, mate?”[14]

“You smell,” Mare spat.

Tubbo finally touched his feet to the ground and leaned over to smell his arm, but his helmet shield was still down, so all he did was uselessly shrug. “I showered this mornin’[15].”

“Not what I meant, your aura reeks,” Mare told him. “What’d you do to it?”

Shrugging again, “Just me, bossman.”

“I’ve never,” Mare looked personally insulted. “I’ve never smelt a glitch aura like yours, you must have done something to it.”

“Huh,” Tubbo thought on that before he realized something, “interesting, so I don’t smell like honey anymore?”

“How the flying fuck do you smell even remotely similar to honey?” Mare demanded, almost sounding angry.

“Dunno,”[16] Tubbo shrugged. “E’eryone in the Server always said I smelled like honeycombs. Why do yeh think I started goin’ with the bee aesthetic?”[17]

“Yes, I was wondering how you arrived at the theme you did,” Logan commented.

“You’re lucky I’m in your territory or I’d take your face off,” Mare snarled and he disappeared into a puff of dark black-purple smoke.

“Nice ta[18] know I’m a natural demon deterrent,” Tubbo boasted proudly.

“I don’t think you smell bad, you smell like any normal person,” Logan commented.

“Maybe it’s a glitch thing, then,” Tubbo shrugged.

Logan was quiet at that.

“So I was right, you are a glitch then,” Nate commented.

“If I’m not a glitch, then I don’t know what qualifies, big guy,” Tubbo chuckled.

“Fair, but you and Big Man came from the same gang,” Nate was just watching Tubbo, the young man’s wings buzzing nervously. “How many glitches does the Server have?”

“Like, still? Or before me an’[6] Big Man left?” Tubbo’s tone sounded extremely guarded.

“Not including you two,” Nate qualified.

Tubbo paused to think, “Uhmm. Skeppy, Foolish, Sam, Karl . . .” He kept silently counting for a little bit. “Seven? Eight? Dream is really big on collecting glitches an’[6] empaths. There are even more empaths.”

“Did he ever say why, specifically?” Nate asked. “Glitches are really territorial, so are empaths for that matter, I wouldn’t think it would be so easy to have so many close together.”

“Well, yeah, it was hell,” Tubbo agreed. “But it helped that a lotta us were turned demons, we always kinda existed in the same type ‘a space e’en before we turned so we would have less reason ta kill each other.”[19]

“Yeah but people don’t just collect demons because they can,” Nate told him. “Do you know why he’s doing it?”

“I dunno[16],” Tubbo shrugged. “I always figured it was some kinda[13] power trip thing.”

“I think we should keep moving,” Logic interjected, he’d been watching Tubbo get more and more fidgety and nervous so he stepped in and whisked the young man away from Nate. They went off to go meet up with the other Core Sides and survey the damage that Remus had caused.

Nate and Henrik watched him go.

“That huge pact Dream has really bothers me,” Nate admitted. “Seven or more glitches all in such a tightly packed area, with that many empaths thrown in as well is a recipe for disaster.”

“How so?” Henrik asked.

“Anti and Dark are at each other’s throats and they’ve got different territories the size of cities,” Nate reminded. “By my research, Dream’s got a couple dozen young demons all in an area the size of three football fields and they haven’t all slaughtered each other. You don’t get that without a lot of coercion. It just . . . I don’t like it.”

Henrik thought about that, “Are you still going to do more research today?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Nate shrugged. “Write some music too.”

“I vill[20] join you,” Henrik offered.

“Sure, but why? If you don’t mind me asking?” Nate gave him an odd look.

“I vish to find Anti, und figure out exactly vat type of person zat I am dealing viz,”[21] Henrik explained.

“If you start knocking on that door, just know that demons don’t like talking about what turned them into demons. Some demons are too traumatized by it, others see their old human selves as weaklings. Anti is probably going to fall into the second category. You are going to start a shitstorm.”

“Zat[8] is alright,” Henrik dared as he stood up. “Anti und I already have been on bad terms, und zis vould be no’zing new.”[22]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post A/N: Tubbo’s familiars are named Spinz, Spunz, and Spoonz. His bee drone is named: Bee Innit. (Named after the canon bees Tubbo had in his New L’Manberg apiary.)

Tubbo’s aura actually smells like radiation, with a thin honey undercurrent, but demons older than the 1960’s can’t place specifically what his aura smells like and the radiation drowns out his original aura too much.

Accessibility Translations:

1. What

2. Ahhh, Nathan, it’s so good to see you. It’s a rare thing to see you in the base these days.

3. Big Man has a brother currently with Marvin. He calls himself Ghostbur and can phase through walls.

4. No

5. was

6. and

7. the

8. that

9. I know what he is now, but what about before. Who was he before he was a demon?

10. I can’t imagine a world were he didn’t get into some type of trouble with the law

11. with

12. Not that we know of

13. Kind of

14. Heard yeh we’re talkin’ about me, mate?

15. morning

16. Don’t know

17. Everyone in the Server always said I smelled like honeycombs. Why do you think I started going with the bee aesthetic?

18. to

19. But it helped that a lot of us were turned demons, we always kind of existed in the same type of space even before we turned so we would have less reason to kill each other.

20. will

21. I wish to find Anti, and figure out exactly what type of person that I am dealing with

22. Anti and I already have been on bad terms, and this would be nothing new.

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #birthday post #footnotes #henrik von schneeplestein #antisepticeye #Logan Sanders #tubbo underscore #Nathan Sharp #Natemare #Antistein #Doctor Glitch #Tubbo's bees #magic #overprotective Mare #Tubbo is a natural anti-demon repellant #because he smells like radioactivity #Henrik are you dealing with your emotions in a healthy way?#what story do you think you're in?

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midnightactual · 4 years ago

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Critical Analysis & Tactics I (CAT-1): The Hollowfication Incident

How strong is Yoruichi? That’s actually a very involved question. I’ve decided to create a series of articles detailing my thoughts on the matter by looking at military incidents and confrontations involving her. This is the first, and you may consult the others at your leisure:

CAT-2: The Central 46 Trial Breakout

CAT-3: Yoruichi vs. Byakuya

CAT-4A & B: Yoruichi vs. Soifon

CAT-5: Yoruichi & Soifon vs. Aizen

CAT-6: Yoruichi vs. Yammy

CAT-7: Yoruichi, Kisuke, & Isshin vs. Aizen

CAT-8: Yoruichi & Co. vs. Yhwach

CAT-9: Yoruichi vs. Askin

I’ve talked about this topic before (here) but I’d like to investigate it again from a different angle while also discussing what really happened on the night of the Hollowfication Incident. I think the five pages above tell you something very important about her strength, particularly the bottom-left one. These are from chapter -103 and are Yamamoto’s orders after Kensei, Mashiro, and the upper officer corps of the 9th Division (the Muguruma Commando Unit) go “missing”. (I’ve omitted Kisuke’s interruption as it doesn’t reveal much that’s pertinent to this discussion.) We learn an awful lot from these orders and it’s worth going through it all in some detail in order to get to my point.

Since the is is a long post, let me put the conclusion here up front: Yoruichi is much stronger than the average Taichō of the Gotei 13.

01. I would, quite aside from these pages, first like to remind the reader that nominally the Gotei 13, Onmitsukidō, and the Kidō Corps are equal in their status of reporting to Central 46. The Onmitsukidō and the Kidō Corps do not report to the Gotei 13. This means that accordingly, the Captain-Commander (Yamamoto), the Supreme Commander (Yoruichi), and the Corps Commander (Tessai) are technically co-equal in official stature; you might regard them as roughly equivalently ranked, being like the Joint Chiefs of Staff of their respective branches. (Jūshirō’s shock and Shunsui’s comment that Tessai’s presence indicates, “This is turning into a big deal,” is proof of that.)

Yamamoto, by virtue of seniority over the other two (and Yoruichi’s dual-hatted command within the Gotei 13) still commands their respect (as evidenced by Tessai addressing him formally and Yoruichi heeding his orders without question) and might be thought of as being like a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a result. I’m not arguing at all that Yoruichi and Tessai are equal in strength to Yamamoto, as they plainly are not. However, you would expect by virtue of these positions that they would be more powerful than run of the mill Taichō, and I believe this sequence of events proves that.

02. Notice in the second page that Yamamoto says that 5 Taichō will be dispatched to deal with the situation. This does seem to be an accurate translation by Viz as the red characters, 隊長 (taichō) and 五 (go), do indeed mean “Captain” and “five”.

He will then proceed to name (on page 3) Rose, Shinji, and Love, and then to indicate Tessai and Hachigen (on page 5). Thus: even though he is the Lieutenant of the Kidō Corps, Hachigen’s equivalent rank in the Gotei 13 would be Captain! He is a Taichō-level combatant, which fits in well with his performance alongside Soifon against Barragan. That he is actually lower ranked than Tessai despite this tells you that Tessai is likely notably stronger (which is subsequently borne out). Shunsui is the one to suggest that Tessai be substituted with Lisa, to which Yamamoto agrees.

03. Agreeing to this fits into Yamamoto’s other behavior. Let’s talk about him first. The important thing to understand about Yamamoto is that we perceive him very differently as a character (because of our point of view) than how the characters themselves perceive him in-universe. To your average reader, he probably seems staid, close-minded, overly conservative, dispassionate, and stubborn, precisely because he supports (and substantially built!) the status quo. However, he is supposed to be the most experienced, wise, and powerful Shinigami there is. And, in fact, he is.

Consider things from Yamamoto’s perspective. Things in the Gotei 13, the Seireitei, and Soul Society as a whole have worked for over 2,011 years as of TBTP. (The graduating class of about 1956, which Renji, Momo, Kira, and originally Rukia were part of, is definitively established as the Academy’s 2066th graduating year, meaning the Academy was founded circa 110 BC.) That compares quite favorably to the longest continuously extant human state, the Pandyan Empire, which lasted for about 1,850 years. The runner up is the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire which lasted 1,123 years by itself (add 499 more if you want to count the whole Roman Empire too, as the Byzantines themselves would’ve). That’s pretty good. It tells you something: Yamamoto’s system works (largely because he guarantees its continuation through his own personal power).

And Yamamoto generally conducts himself rather cautiously and methodically. He doesn’t like change, spontaneity, or impulsivity, regardless of how justifiable it may or may not be. (These are all things Ichigo initially represents.) And actually, as a soldier, that is probably exactly the kind of commanding officer you would really want to serve under: one who doesn’t take wild risks which might get your ass killed. People respect Yamamoto not just for his strength, but because he’s actually good at what he does.

04. Before we talk about what his orders actually are, I want to make a brief digression here to make a point: only Taichō-level combatants actually matter in the Gotei 13 in terms of military calculations. This is firmly established by the Soul Society arc. Byakuya says this in chapter 162 about bankai:

The key takeaways:

Members of the Great Noble Clans are stronger than everyone else (making people like Yamamoto, Retsu, Aizen, and Kenpachi extreme anomalies)

Even members of the Great Noble Clans only rarely achieve bankai (which, given a Shinigami generation is much longer than a human one, is saying something)

People who achieve bankai are uniformly important to Soul Society

You know who has bankai? Renji, a Fukutaichō who just achieved it and had used it in open combat against Byakuya, a feat which everyone with spiritual sense should’ve detected at the time given it, as Yoruichi notes elsewhere, makes one 5 to 10 times stronger. (Recall how on the Senzaikyu Bridge, everyone felt Ichigo’s approach even though he didn’t have bankai yet.) So Renji’s feat should be very impressive and important, right? Not to Yamamoto. In chapter 153, he already told us:

Renji is expendable. He could be killed and replaced without issue. Yamamoto then goes on to even further establish that Fukutaichō are comparatively useless by effortlessly crushing Nanao with his reiatsu alone in chapter 155. In short, Yamamoto does not rate bankai by itself. (The sole exception to this attitude by Yamamoto is perhaps toward his own Fukutaichō, Sasakibe.) It should also be extremely self-evident that Taichō-level combatants can have an extremely wide separation in power from one another, and I’m not going to substantiate that assertion here because we’d be here all day. So, when we talk about what happens during the Hollowfication Incident, let’s do so with a sense of clarity that only Taichō really matter in Yamamoto’s calculations.

05. Having established that, let’s return to the pages and talk about Yamamoto’s orders and how he’s positioning his forces on this particular night. A summary:

1st: Yamamoto - defense

2nd: Yoruichi - standby

3rd: Rose - deployed

4th: Retsu - defense

5th: Shinji - deployed

6th: Ginrei - defense

7th: Love - deployed

8th: Shunsui - defense

9th: Kensei - MIA

10th: n/a - office unfilled

11th: Kiganjō - no orders

12th: Kisuke - no orders

13th: Jūshirō - defense

The Gotei 13 had 12 Taichō at the time, as the 10th Division’s had died and not been replaced yet. Kensei was at this point MIA, thus putting them at 11. Including Tessai and Hachigen (as noted earlier) bumps them back up to 13. This tells us why the Kidō Corps was brought in: to bring the Gotei 13 back up to full strength during this crisis.

Yamamoto directly assigns his oldest and most experienced subordinates (Shunsui, Jūshirō, and Ginrei) to the defense of the Seireitei. His orders to Retsu to stay and his own continuing presence mean that indeed all the oldest and seemingly strongest Taichō are allocated to defense and garrison duty.

Rose, Shinji, and Love are deployed (along with, initially, Tessai and Hachigen) to investigate.

Kiganjō and Kisuke aren’t issued orders, presumably because both are considered unreliable. Kisuke is there, if late, but is effectively dismissed after his outburst regarding Hiyori.

Yoruichi is designated as the only flexible element in this plan. Before I return to this final point, I want to address some lingering matters and then explain to you what this deployment actually means.

First, It’s notable that Yamamoto’s assertion that Retsu is “too important” is a reflection of her healing abilities and their importance to a potential wartime situation. (Note that Kisuke, in chapter 227, dismissed Orihime from the war effort against Aizen by saying that 4th Division, particularly Retsu, more than equaled her abilities.)

Second, the substitution of Lisa for Tessai (at Shunsui’s suggestion) is not a reflection on Lisa’s power (remember: Fukutaichō don’t matter, and Lisa didn’t have bankai at this time anyway). It’s suggested because of the risk of sending Tessai and Hachigen together. It’s presumably approved because of the seeming overabundance of force in the deployed unit.

What do I mean by that? Think about it this way: a Taichō and his subordinates go missing. While that is (very) concerning, consider the ways in which it is likely to happen. Is it likely to be a Hollow? Almost certainly not. It suggests an ambush. Which in turn suggests a coordinated military strategy. By whom? Unknown. So, how do you respond? You respond in force, but there is probably such a thing as too much force. After all, what is likely to take out 4 Taichō, let alone 5? Not a lot. So the difference between 4 and 5 doesn’t much matter, and substituting Lisa for Tessai is fine. The deployed force should still be overkill either way.

It also retains Tessai for defense, and Yamamoto’s real concern here is revealed by his allocation of a preponderance of forces to the Seireitei: he seems to believe this is a diversion in preparation for an attack on the Seireitei itself. Thus, through action and inaction alike, he commits 4 Taichō to deployment and retains 9 for defense. He is overwhelmingly interested in defense against possible follow-ups and believes he has likely still committed excessive force to deal with whatever Kensei’s situation is.

06. Thus, finally, we come to Yoruichi’s role in this plan as the the only mobile auxiliary force. Let me state my premise first, then I’ll substantiate it: Yoruichi is the only possible backup the deployed force has, meaning she and she alone is their lifeline in the event something goes wrong—this fact alone tells you she is more powerful than the deployed force as a whole. In other words, Yoruichi is stronger than Kensei, Rose, Love, Shinji, Tessai, and Hachigen put together.

Bold claim, I’m sure! What evidence do I have to support this assertion? I tell you it’s simply obvious using conservative tactical logic, studying their military disposition, and understanding the political situation.

Tactical logic first: suppose for a second that there was an unknown criminal incident in a local big box store like Walmart, Home Depot, or whatever you like. A squad car’s worth of cops (2) went in. They then stopped responding to central. So, backup is ordered and now four times as many cops go in (8). What if they stop responding? Would you send in another 2 cops? Or 8? Or even 10? No. You would likely send in at least 20–30, if not just the local SWAT team. It doesn’t make sense, after having lost so many elements already, not to escalate radically, just as sending 8 guys is a radical escalation from sending 2. You don’t send 2, then 8, then somewhere between 2 and 10 yet again. You’re throwing away limited forces for no gain at that point.

Yoruichi is the SWAT team. The fact Yoruichi alone was the potential reinforcements for the deployed group tells you that one of two things is true:

Yoruichi is stronger, unto herself, than the deployed group, or...

Yamamoto was prepared to simply sacrifice the deployed group if the situation went bad, and their backup, for no gain

Military disposition second: given Yamamoto is already working with a diminished and very finite force, with possibly 2 out of 13 Taichō down, (2) does not make a lot of sense given his character. (Again: note how he reserved Retsu and Tessai out of strategic concern.) What is the benefit? It is worth noting here that after the defection of Aizen, Gin, and Kaname a century later, the Seireitei also adopted a conservative and defensive posture (but more on this later).

Political situation third: doing this also wouldn’t make a lot of sense given the state that the Gotei 13 was in as a whole at the time, which Shunsui and Jūshirō helpfully expounded upon in chapter -108:

Long story made short, the Gotei 13 was in a period of upheaval and turmoil at the time—a period of weakness. Sacrificing your military assets when you are weak is not particularly intelligent.

We can thus recast our two earlier possibilities as follows:

Yoruichi is in fact incredibly strong, or...

Yamamoto is a military idiot who wasted forces for no good reason, despite the fact he is supposed to be extremely militarily competent

I know which of those two my money is on. But I’m also not done yet in proving it.

07. Let’s be very clear here that the events of the Hollowfication Incident were the most extreme losses we know of that the Gotei 13 ever suffered in terms of assets that actually mattered. The Gotei 13 lost a grand total of 8 Taichō-class combatants that night (Yoruichi, Kisuke, Tessai, Hachigen, Shinji, Rose, Love, and Kensei). Their strength was reduced from 14 acting with the Kidō Corps to 6. That’s 57.12% losses. From this perspective, it was a much worse disaster than Aizen’s defection or the Wandenreich War in terms of outcome. The loss of both the Supreme Commander of the Onmitsukidō and the Corps Commander of the Kidō Corps was especially grievous.

It’s also worth pointing out that as far as Central 46 was concerned the Hollowfication Incident was a conspiracy orchestrated by Kisuke, Tessai, and by proxy Yoruichi. Given the losses, it can only be read as an attempted coup, and other than Aizen’s murder of Central 46, was a much more serious event than even Aizen’s defection.

This raises a simple question: Why didn’t Central 46 demand Yoruichi, Tessai, and Kisuke be hunted down?

The first and most obvious answer is that numerically the forces to do so while maintaining the defense of the Seireitei simply did not exist. Only Yamamoto, Retsu, Ginrei, Shunsui, Kiganjō, and Jūshirō were left. Kiganjō was plainly unsuited for such a mission. Retsu would be even more critical after such losses and would never be sent. Ginrei, Shunsui, and Jūshirō were exactly the ones tasked with securing the Seireitei and could be thought of as the ‘minimum’ needed to do that. And finally, it’s unlikely that Yamamoto himself would go, even though he later states to both Shunsui and Jūshirō in chapter 154 that:

Put simply: Yamamoto didn’t have the manpower to chase them. (And Yamamoto would make a very similar decision after Aizen’s defection, choosing not to pursue him, Gin, and Kaname to Hueco Mundo, which he likely regarded as being a giant trap he could ill afford to take loses from; he learned from the Hollowfication Incident!)

But that isn’t the only answer, because even when he later did after the Gotei 13 was reconstituted, he wasn’t interested in tracking them down. This is surely not because they were just written off as dead (as Byakuya implies on the Senzaikyu Bridge) given the enormity of the accusations against them. The Gotei 13 didn’t give up on tracking down Ginjō and Xcution for far less; it isn’t in the business of forgiving or forgetting.

Maybe Yoruichi choosing to spare Central 46′s lives factored into that decision (see here) but if it did, doesn’t, “She might come back and kill us all and there’s nothing we could do to stop it,” tell you she’s very strong?

And if that didn’t affect the decision-making process, what did? I’ll tell you plainly: Yamamoto did not have confidence that any team he could afford to send out was likely to beat Yoruichi, Tessai, and Kisuke—and he didn’t think much of Kisuke. That should also tell you that Yoruichi is very strong.

The Urahara Shōten crew was allowed not only to escape but to live in peace not just because of whatever actions that might have taken to protect themselves, but because a military confrontation with them was simply too risky. And a major component of that risk must, logically, be that Yoruichi is extremely strong.

The anime-only Reigai Uprising filler arc is exactly that—filler—but it is known that Kubo was at least consulted for the filler arcs. And during that filler arc, in episode 319, Yoruichi’s Wiki entry notes the following:

She fought three Shinigami captains and four lieutenant-level and above opponents at the same time with Hakuda without receiving any notable damage.

All of the above is in my opinion convincing evidence that although this feat is non-canon, it would be very plausible for it to happen in canon. That’s how strong Yoruichi is. That is why she is the designated threat barometer (see here) for the latter half of the series. Yoruichi is not arrogant. This whole sequence is designed to tell you as much.

P.S. Since I'm also vaguely talking about this: yeah, Yoruichi didn't beat Askin. But you know what? Mayuri didn't beat Pernida, Shunsui didn't beat Lille, and Byakuya, Tōshirō, Kenpachi, and the rest didn't beat Gerard. None of the Sternritter were beaten by their primary opponents. And, for the record, Yoruichi did better against Askin than Ōetsu did, without a ridiculously overpowered zanpakutō and with a much stronger Askin, as Yhwach hadn't yet absorbed the Soul King and powered up the Sternritter when Ōetsu confronted them. Just sayin'...

#Out Of Character #Long Post #Meta

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mysterylover123 · 4 years ago

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Iichako vs Kacchako vs Tsuchako: aka: Who should Ochako be with (besides Deku)

mysterylover123

Uraraka is certainly one of the show’s more shippable characters. Though the series has set her up to be the ‘obvious’ straight endgame pairing for Midoriya, the fandom has found lots of potential relationships for her with other people along the way, and 3 stand out as the most popular and probable: Tenya Iida (her best male friend besides Deku), Katsuki Bakugou (her respectful rival) and Tsuyu Asui (her best female friend). In the interests of truly determining which of these three has the strongest relationship with Uraraka, I’ve composed this long-ass meta, where I basically catalogue every moment involving each dynamic together to figure out which one should really be Uraraka’s endgame relationship (aside from Izuocha).

So here goes.

(TRANSLATIONS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE, APOLOGIES)

Also only Manga Canon moments allowed. No Omakes spinoffs or anime filler

PART 1: OCHAKO ON THE OTHER THREE

A. FOCUS

(aka any scene where Ochako especially notices or brings up the other person, even if there’s no clear reason to)

Katsuki:

1. Chapter 7 That Bakugou guy said

2. Chapter 8 he’s always making fun of you

3. Chapter 12 Better not let Bakugou know it was me

4. Chapter 23 waiting for the explosion

5. Chapter 32 Eek!

6. Chapter 46 Ever since I fought Bakugou

7. Chapter 58 Those moves just like

8. Chapter 73 You’re like a pro with that knife

9. Chapter 100 “Bakugou’s in a good mood”

10. Chapter 208 Jiro and the boys have faith in him

Iida

1. Chapter 7 “You’re Tenya Iida!”

2. Chapter 12 Didn’t you wanna be rep too? the way you talk

3. “I’ve never seen you smile before”

4. “Iida!”

5. Chapter 20 “Iida!”

6. Chapter 27 “Iiida…”

7. Chapter 30 no fair hiding that move

8. Chapter 35 “Seeing you out there”

9. when Iida said he’d challenge you

10. Chapter 41 Its his standing long jump

11. Chapter 46 Deku and Ochako go to worry about Iida

12. Chapter 81 If only we had iidc

13. Chapter 98 “He has so many glasses!”

14. Chapter 100 “How about you, Iida?”

15. Chapter 206 “Iida…”

Tsuyu:

1. Chapter 99 “She wasn’t feeling well”

B. CONFIDENCE

(aka any scene where Uraraka confides something important in one of them)

Kacchan

1. Chapter 36 Giving up isn’t an option for me

Tenya

1. Chapter 22 - Uraraka tells Iida her backstory & motivation

2. Chapter 35 “I’m really scared” But seeing you out there

3. Chapter 100 “I’m hoping to make myself float”

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 58 it was very instructive

2. Chapter 73 I’m scared, Tsu

3. Chapter 99 explains her state of mind

4. Chapter 163 I was holding him

C. CONCERN

(aka any scene where Uraraka worries about the other one’s wellbeing, physical, mmental or otherwise)

Katsuki:

1. Chapter 78 “Bakugou?”

2. Chapter 241

Iida:

1. Chapter 10 “Sorry, Iida!”

2. Chapter 17 “Go, iida!”

3. Chapter 35: Worrying about his match and his brother

4. Chapter 57: I was really worried about you guys

5. Chapter 46: “We’re your friends”

6. Chapter 101 Concern panel

7. Chapter 206 Concern panel

Tsuyu:

1. Chapter 80: Calls out her name,

2. “Slams Toga into the ground “get away from her”

3. “You hurt?”

4. Chapter 99 look-back panel,

5. Tsuyu…

6. Chapter 218 “Tsuyu is freezing!”

D. SUPPORT

(Any moment where Ochako is supportive of one of them)

Iida:

1. Chapter 12 You’ve got the glasses and everything!

2. Chapter 15 “Just like the cafeteria”

3. Chapter 22 “Let’s do our best!”

4. Chapter 35 “Good work out there” (The viz translation, I’m using scanlations for the images)

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 99 Uraraka gets Tsu to talk about what’s bothering her

E. RESPECT

(Aka any moment where Ochako shows respect and admiration for one of them)

Katsuki:

1. Chapter 36 “Saw it coming and I still couldn’t react”

2. Chapter 37 He’s too strong

3. Chapter 73 You’re like a pro with that knife

Iida

1. Chapter 22 “Considering Iida’s noble motivation”

2. Chapter 35 good work out there

3. Chapter 58: I think Iida’s got this

4. Chapter 81 If only we had Iida!

5. Chapter 204 Super speedy

F. TEAMWORK

(aka any scene where Uraraka works together with one of them)

Iida

1. Chapter 12 Working together to save the stampede

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 80: Vs Toga you too get her hands

2. Chapter 81: Teaming up to help Midoriya “we’re good tsu”

3. Chapter 131 “Meteor Fafrotskies”

4. Chapter 156 “plus ultra”

5. Chapter 182 floating for fun

G. GOOD TIMES

(aka any scene where Uraraka has fun with or around one of them)

Katsuki

1. Chapter 13 They make me laugh, your mouth is so foul

Iida:

1. Chapter 9 Laughing

2. Chapter 12 Eating lunch together

3. Chapter 22 eating lunch together

4. Chapter 31 eating lunch together

5. Chapter 59: After school hangout

6. Chapter 60 eating together

7. Chapter 68 shopping smile

8. Chapter 71 eating together

9. Chapter 98 wearing his glasses

10. Chapter 167 join us for lunch

Tsu

1. Chapter 23 smiling

2. Chapter 31: Eating together

3. Chapter 60: Eat lunch together

4. Chapter 183 fun at the school festival

5. Chapter 217 hanging out

I. UNDERSTANDING

(aka any scene where Uraraka shows insight into one of them or knowledge of their personalities, or speaks with them in unison)

Katsuki:

1. Chapter 36 Thanks for keeping your eyes focused

2. Chapter 60 He means during the training

3. Chapter 85 He’l consider it a disgrace to be rescued

Iida

1. Chapter 12 are you a rich kid?

2. Chapter 101 We know

Tsu

1. Chapter 99 “It’s not just you, Tsu”

2. Chapter 131 “Thank you for having us”

3. Chapter 134 “That big case!”

4. Chapter 135 “So round and cute”

J. BODY LANGUAGE

(AKA any scene where Ochako and one of them share a physical moment)

Iida

1. Chapter 12 hand hold

2. Chapter 14: Carries her

3. Chapter 45: Uraraka grabs iida’s shoulders

Tsu

1. Chapter 73: Holding hands in fear

2. Chapter 99 Hand on her shoulder

3. Chapter 102 arm tap

4. Chapter 163 shoulder hand

K. CONFLICT/CRITICISM

(aka any moment where Ochako argues with or criticizes the other)

Katsuki

1. Chapter 273 Be nice to her

Iida:

1. Chapter 30 No fair Iida, hiding that from us

2. Chapter 68 Way to be a wet blanket, Iida

Overall

Bakugou: 21

Iida: 52

Tsuyu: 30

PART 2: THE OTHERS ON OCHAKO

This is an analysis of how the others interact with Ochako

A. FOCUS

(aka any moment where one of the others notices Ochako or brings her up)

Katsuki

1. Chapter 36 “You’re the floaty one, right? If you’re gonna back out, do it now”

2. She’s not down yet

3. Chapter 273 “You just want the excuse to find out”

Iida

1. Chapter 3 “That girl appears to be doing some kind of training exercise”

2. Chapter 4 “He jumped in to save that girl”

3. Chapter 7 “Ah, infinity girl!”

4. Chapter 9-10 He outwits her in the battle training; struggle

5. Chapter 12 “Uraraka!”

6. Chapter 35 You’re up against Bakugou

7. Chapter 36 You thought of a counter strategy for her

8. Chapter 55 Iida remembers her worry

9. Chapter 98 “Uraraka!”

10. Chapter 100 You’re focusing on making yourself float?

11. Chapter 130 “where are uraraka and tsu ”

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 11 “shouldn’t it be Ochako or Midoriya?”

2. Chapter 37 You play a good bad guy

3. Chapter 58: “How was your week?”

4. Chapter 102 “How about you, Ochako?”

5. Chapter 163 you ok?

B. CONFIDENCE

(aka any moment where one of the others confides in Ochako)

Iida

1. Chapter 12 Tells her and deck his backstory (i’m the second son, he’s my brother, I try to be just like him.)

2. Chapter 30 I was just trying to compete with Midoriya

3. Chapter 44 saying he has to go

4. Chapter 98 Is that so unusual?

5. Chapter 100 “My radiators”…

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 99 “Tsuyu has something she wants to tell you all”’

C. CONCERN

(aka any moment where one of the others shows concern for Ochako)

Katsuki:

1. Chapter 36 worried look

2. Chapter 37 You suggested it

Iida

1. Chapter 9I don’t wanna get rough with her

2. Chapter 11: Hand on her back

3. Chapter 14: Saves her at USJ.

4. Chapter 35 Is that you? why the furrowed brows?

5. “You’re up against Bakugou”

6. Chapter 36 Worried face

7. Chapter 38 “ I have to see this”

8. Chapter 98 “Uraraka!”

9. Chapter 100 “Please don’t run in the hall”

10. Chapter 163 “We’re worried”

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 22 - smacks Mineta for her

2. Chapter 35 I’m worried about this one

3. Chapter 36 “Ochako!”

4. Chapter 73: Take my hand

5. Chapter 80: Throws her to safety,

6. calls out her name is your arm ok?,

7. Ochako!

8. Chapter 102 “you seem tense”

9. “ no sense prying if she’s not ready

10. Chapter 163 “You OK Ochako?” “mm”

D. SUPPORT

(aka any moment where one of the others is supportive of Ochako)

Iida:

1. Chapter 22 There’s nothing wrong with seeking a more comfortable lifestyle

2. “Brava!”

3. chapter 35 “Bakugou won’t go all out against a girl”

4. how fortunate for you

5. Chapter 134 “Nice job”

6. Chapter 163 let them breathe

E. RESPECT

(aka any moment where one of the others shows respect for Ochako)

Katsuki

1. Chapter 36 “Time to get serious Uraraka!”

2. Chapter 37 What part of her was frail

Iida

1. Chapter 22 “That’s beautiful”

2. Chapter 136 Well done

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 80: That was awesome!

F. UNDERSTANDING

(aka any time one of the others shows understanding of her mind)

Katsuki

1. Chapter 36 “I knew you had some kinda plan”

2. Chapter 273 “You just wanna sample”

Iida

1. Chapter 9 “I calculated as much”

Tsuyu

1. Chapter 58 She’s had some kinda awakening

G. CONFLICT

(aka any time one of the others criticizes her)

Katsuki

1. Chapter 36 too slow

2. Chapter 73 how the hell can you be bad with a knife

Iida

1. Chapter 100 Don’t run in the halls!

Totals:

Katsuki: 11

Iida: 36

Tsuyu: 18

ALLTOGETHER TOTALS:

Katsuki: 32

Iida: 88

Tsuyu: 48

So far, Iida has undeniably the best relationship with Ochako out of the three.

#iichako #tsuchako #kacchako #iida x uraraka #tsuyu x uraraka #bakugou x uraraka #meta #shipping meta #uraraka ochako #iida tenya #asui tsuyu #bakugou katsuki #image heavy under the cut

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straightfacedstrangeness · 3 years ago

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Not that anyone asked (but seriously I’d LOVE for someone to talk to me about PokeSpe (just no spoilers past vol 13)) but since I made an offhand remark about my Top 5 favorite characters, it occurred to me that I actually DO have approximately 5 top favorite characters, and I’m procrastinating on work, so I’m gonna ramble

**just in case, note that a lot of this will revolve around my childhood experience with gender in a “I’m AFAB (and present-day me still identifies as a cis girl) but I don’t fit in with what media is telling me girls are like” way, a brief childhood feeling of homophobia, and probably general TMI about my opinions and emotions throughout my life, haha

1. Yellow

Okay, so, I was a little kid when Pokemon Adventures started coming out in English, back when manga was released as single-issue monthly comic books instead of complete volumes. So I was rereading the same chapters over and over while anxiously awaiting the rest of the story (and wound up missing a bunch of issues anyway)

I enjoyed the RGB arc, I thought it was fun, but I didn’t LOVE the series until Yellow showed up. At that age my ideal crush was “a cute boy my age who would be nice to me” and Yellow was presented to the reader as a cute boy my age who was sweet and kind and gentle, but also good in a fight, as all shounen protags must be. Extra bonus points because they had just a few physically weak Pokémon and tried to fight battles in a way that minimized damage to their own and the opponent’s Pokémon, which meant they fought in a particularly smart and clever way. And I was considered “smart” for being good at school, so being a SMART cute “boy” my age who would be nice to me, Yellow was PERFECT. I mean, I loved the arc in general because of the clever battles, and the mystery of what had happened to Red, why these people were after Pikachu, why Yellow was so secretive about themself and their mission, etc was really engaging. But also I adored Yellow as a character and partly in a “I wonder if ‘he’ would like me??” kind of way X’D So to my tiny child self who didn’t even know it was possible to like-like someone of the same gender (because I hadn’t read Cardcaptor Sakura yet XD ), the reveal that Yellow was a “girl” was devastating—I had to cross out floating hearts on at least one drawing of us holding hands (scandalous!) and, while kind of stunned and shaken for a while, decided that what I’d felt all along was a deep, intense desire to be friends X’D (which probably wasn’t too far from the truth since I was pre-puberty and later turned out to be asexual)

(Also note that I never got the RGB issue that had the chapter where Red helps a little ‘girl’ capture a Rattata—later proven to be Yellow’s backstory—so the gender reveal really came out of nowhere for me.)

But anyways, I still love Yellow as a character for all the above reasons, without the crush aspects because I’m way older than them now.

Also when I reread the series ten years ago, I finally realized “wait, aside from surprising the reader, there’s no real plot reason for Yellow to pretend to be a ‘boy’ except that Green told ‘her’ to—so why did ‘she’ do it?”...and because at that time I didn’t even know that nonbinary genders existed, I decided it was cus they had low self-esteem and pretending to be a different person gave them courage (the same reading I had for Mulan at the time). These days I’m more inclined to “yeah, I think Yellow’s nonbinary,” but that other interpretation was deeply relatable to me and only made me love Yellow even more.

2. Bill

Bill’s definitely a character I’ve grown to love more as an adult, since I’ve gone from seeing myself as “a protagonist doing cool things” to “a side character just living their life who hopefully gets to do something once in a while.” But as a kid and now, I like him mostly for the slapstick and goofy expressions and the (early chapters Viz translations) outrageous accent X’D My brain desperately craves endorphins and the best way to get em is through a good laugh.

But also, I liked that he was introduced as a goofy character-of-the-week who got into ridiculous trouble and had to be rescued, but then kept being brought back, was slowly built up to be the “smart sidekick who explains things,” and eventually got to the point where he was participating in big battles (the Yellow finale on Cerise Island). I rambled about this in the tags of another post, but I liked that he was a character who was “weak” without being “useless.” As a kid who was good at school, I was obsessed with being good at things and had developed a black-and-white view of the world where either you were “strong/smart” or “weak/stupid” to the point that failing or just being not-so-good at anything was devastating (it still kind of is), because that meant I was actually “weak/stupid” when I was supposed to be “strong/smart.” So it was kind of awesome that this guy who kept getting into trouble and having to be rescued—and didn’t even want to BE part of the final battle—managed to hold his own and get through it and help out instead of being a burden that dragged everyone down. Seriously, he used a MAGIKARP effectively—the Pokémon everyone makes fun of for being “useless” and he used its one attack to save his life!

(Bonus points for all this happening in contrast to my devastating childhood experience of stanning The One Girl Character in every popular shounen series, waiting desperately for her to get to do something in battle, and then her one spotlight episode revolved around her struggling because she was so weak...not only was that actually happening to a boy for once, it was actually happening in a more satisfying/empowering way :’D )

3. Gold

I have extremely specific tastes when it comes to “the dumb shounen/action movie protag,” because as a kid I hated it when the main character was “dumb” because I was “smart” (re: good at school) and people who were “dumb” shouldn’t deserve to be the main character and have all the cool powers and save the world and stuff. As an adult, I hate it when male characters are dumb and/or jerks but it’s treated as fine or even sexy(??) and the other characters fawn over them, and I generally still kind of hate it when characters who are dumb and/or jerks get the big important role when there’s a female character RIGHT THERE who’s more competent (and OF COURSE she has to wind up falling in love with him)

But anyway, I have extremely specific tastes, and Gold is it X’D He’s the perfect combination of “unshakably confident in his own stupid/egotistic views” and “treated as annoying and/or comic relief by the rest of the cast” with a bonus dash of actually being really clever in battle (so my inner child goes “Ah yes, technically, he is ’smart,’ and therefore...worthwhile“) Making me laugh while also impressing me is like the key to my heart.

4. Crystal

I’m too lazy to look it up, but when Viz was publishing Pokemon Adventures as monthly comics, they must have switched to publishing it as trade paperbacks only and/or had a huge gap between the end of Yellow and the start of GSC, because for YEARS I’d thought Yellow was the end of the series and was shocked the first time I saw later volumes. (My dad was buying us the monthly issues at the local comic store, and either they wouldn’t have ordered the trade paperbacks or he wouldn’t have thought to check those shelves.)

Anyway, that’s a long lead-in to the statement of “Crystal would automatically be my #1 or #2 if I’d read her arc as a kid.” She’s a girl, she wears pants, she’s EXTREMELY smart (genius-level “book-smarts” about every Pokémon’s behaviors and weaknesses PLUS being clever in a battle), was tough as nails (she KICKED her Pokéballs!!), had no interest in romance or her appearance, AND had a short arc about losing her confidence and training herself back up to full power. I would have KILLED for a character like that when I was a little girl being told that “girls don’t like action shows like Dragon Ball Z” (but I was a girl and I did???) and that girls were supposed to be pretty and obsessed with fashion and dating, and that girls were never the main character of action series, just side characters who either did nothing or got one chance to do something and were pathetically weak (see above, and/or Sakura’s fight against Ino (Naruto), those couple filler eps where Téa/Anzu played Duel Monsters (Yu-Gi-Oh), Videl getting pummeled by Spopovich (DBZ), etc).

So anyway, she’s awesome, she’s exactly the type of character I would’ve loved as a kid. The only reason she’s behind Gold here is because at my age, “makes me laugh” > “the kind of main character I used to wish I could be”

5. Green (the girl trainer...I’m just too loyal to the Viz version to call her “Blue”...)

I’m trying not to rehash the same “I’m a girl but none of the girls in my shows/comics are like me!” childhood woes over and over, haha, but as much as I always enjoyed Green for being extremely clever and outsmarting the boys and being funny when she did so, she always lost points with me for being “pretty” and flirting to get her way, because that put her in the box of “girls are supposed to be pretty and desired by boys and obsessed with their appearance and romance” that was so foreign and disheartening to me as a kid.

But her staredown with Ho-oh at the end of the GSC arc TOTALLY got me. As a sad adult with anxiety, watching characters who are absolutely terrified overcome their fear, watching characters who are completely beaten down struggle back to their feet and keep fighting, is like my ultimate power fantasy. That sequence genuinely had me in tears.

Also her bond with Silver is super precious, especially since that’s like the first time in the series we’ve seen her be genuinely emotional and vulnerable with someone instead of teasing or manipulating them.

Honorable mention: Sapphire

I haven’t gotten up to R/S in my reread yet, and I only read that arc once over like a weekend ten years ago, but I’m pretty sure she’s gonna be a Top Fave cus again there’s that “I'm not like other girls!” childhood feel (last time I’m saying it, I promise)

It’s a story arc where one protag wants to fight the gyms and the other protag wants to win the beauty contests, but the one who wants to fight the gyms is the girl!! And she’s the typical “dumb but extremely good at fighting” shounen protag but she’s the girl!! She’s feral and illiterate and a total tomboy and wins all her fights and she’s a GIRL!!!!

Anyway, those are my kids and my dude and my probably way-too-personal reasons why. If you wanna reblog, reply, or send an ask about your own faves...please

#pokemon adventures #rambling #crackpotawesomes #spent like an hour and a half on this oops

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recentanimenews · 3 years ago

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Bookshelf Briefs 6/20/21

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 12 | By Matoba | Yen Press – When you have a main couple as innocent and naive as this one, it’s going to take a lot of struggle to get them together. Indeed, even figuring out what love actually is is tough for Miss Beelzebub, much less that she’s in love with Mullin. And then, just as she’s ready to tell Mullin how she feels, he’s seized by self-hatred and doubt, thinking she’s far too high a station for him. This leads to her being depressed and avoiding him, which… repeat as needed. Thankfully, they do eventually manage to confess to each other. The series may not end with the wedding on the cover, but this is good enough. It was sickly sweet at times… but that’s why everyone read this series in the first place. – Sean Gaffney

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 4 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – While the series is based around the premise of a teenage girl and an elderly woman bonding over BL, it’s become apparent that this is Urara’s book. Which makes sense—she’s the one searching for a goal. The creation of the doujinshi is very much an up-and-down process, one which we see throughout this volume. It ends at “Comitia 128,” with our unlikely friends manning their own booth. Sadly, said booth—at least so far—has no actual buyers. Honestly, I would have hoped the sheer oddity of the pairing behind the table would have been a draw, but I suppose it’s hard to look beyond the tables. I think this ends with the next book, so it’s time to binge before the finale. – Sean Gaffney

Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry, Vol. 1 | By Kou Yatsuhashi | TOKYOPOP – This seems to be a classic case where I’m really intrigued by the ideas this brings to the table, but the execution is not as stellar. A young woman has it all—powerful magic, her isekai’d-from-Japan boyfriend, and a kingdom who loves her—then it’s all destroyed and she’s killed. When she wakes, she’s in the body of a noble far into her future. Magic is a sad shadow of its former self, and she herself is, essentially, a villainess. Most of the book, unfortunately, then sort of slips into standard shoujo romance, but I like the idea that she doesn’t HAVE any memories of her current self, and has to fake it and deal with everyone’s hatred. I might check out the second volume. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 12 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – It amazes me how this book can still be so funny even after all this time, and I credit this to its central premise, which is that everyone in it is a complete dumbass—but never all at the same time. It’s a comedy rule; there has to be someone to react. Sometimes it’s Sakura, despairing about a relay novel that gets out of hand. Sometimes it’s everyone else in the cast watching the continuing car crash that is Seo trying to get Wakamatsu to recognize her feelings. And sometimes it’s Hori and Kashima, where his confession turns out to be, perhaps appropriately, a giant excuse for drama. These kids are all terrible at life, and are all so endearing, I don’t know what I’ll ever do without them if this ever ends. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 13 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s good for you! Builds character! That’s what it feels like most of the first part of this volume feels like, as Shirayuki is off to the North, meaning she and Zen will be spending a long time apart. That said, it’s as much about their little group of five than it is about the couple, as it’s clear Shirayuki is going to miss Mitsuhide and Kiki just as much. And as for Obi… well, the love triangle that dares not state its name comes pretty close this time around. (It’s a well-known fact that a majority of the series’ fans, at least in the West, want her to hook up with Obi instead, so the plot twist is not surprising.) All this plus a long, unrelated short story to pad out the volume! Still great, though. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 5 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – A large chunk of this book focuses on Anya and her difficulties at school—not only is it an elite private school, but she’s a girl who spent her life as an orphan, experimented on and abused, and she’s lied to Loid about her age to seem older. So, needless to say, schoolwork is proving tough. Normally she can get by by using her powers (i.e. cheating), but that doesn’t work during the new moon—which matches with exams. It’s tense, but also leaves us plenty of choice hilarious bits. Elsewhere, Yor attempts to learn to cook, and we introduce a colleague of Loid’s who is obsessed with him and VERY upset she was not chosen to be his fake wife for this mission. Everyone should be reading this Eisner-nominated manga. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 11 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – One of the reasons that folks seem to be more tolerant of Takagi than they are of Nagatoro or Uzaki is that, for the most part, Nishikata enjoys hanging out with her, and while he finds the teasing frustrating, it’s not because she’s bullying him, it’s because he’s so competitive. Half the time Takagi doesn’t even need to tease him—he shoots himself in his own foot. Even when he literally ends up fanning her like a queen, it’s on him. And, once again, the fun comes from realizing they already ARE a couple, it’s just he can’t really admit that. The most interesting chapter has one of their friends briefly ponder using Nishikata as a fake boyfriend, but it doesn’t even last long enough for Takagi to ponder jealousy. – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 15 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical Comics – The back cover blurb for this volume says, “A hard-working middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo experience new challenges both at work and at home.” Really, that about sums it up. Kenji has taken over management of the beauty salon and must figure out how to delegate some of his new responsibilities so that he’s still able to have dinners at home with Shiro. Most of Shiro’s story is about his parents, who are considering selling their house and moving into a retirement home. In between, there is some shopping for ingredients, a lot of veggies getting chopped, many burbling pots, and incalculable TBSP of soy sauce. Oh, and also everyone tries not to eat too many carbs, which is extremely relatable. I’m particularly keen for the next volume, as Shiro will be meeting Kenji’s family for the first time. Good, as per usual. – Michelle Smith

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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koiwata · 4 years ago

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Someone asked me about Novel Law, unfortunately I can't tell you where I read it due to copyright issues (the full text was scanlated into Chinese anyway), but I can fill in some details that are missing from the chapter summaries on OP Wiki. Be sure to read those summaries before you continue with this post, I won't be repeating any plot points already mentioned there.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE OR ITS SPIN OFF MEDIA INCLUDING NOVEL LAW. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS, EVER. AND PLEASE SUPPORT THE AUTHOR(S) BY PURCHASING THE BOOK FROM OFFICIAL PUBLISHERS, I'M SURE THEY HAVE PLAN TO RELEASE IT IN ENGLISH (MOST LIKE THROUGH VIZ) AND A FEW OTHER LANGUAGES.

Since the post gets too long, I'm breaking it up into several parts. So here we go.

Chapter 1 of 5 (4 chapters + epilogue):

1. novel Law is written in Law's first person POV so we get to see a lot of his inner thoughts;

2. Law was sad about his inability to trust people again at the beginning of the story;

3. Law activated "Room" subconsciously when he was in extreme pain from the illness. He immediately understood how it works. He managed to operate on himself without analgesic and cured himself.

4. the inventor that took Law in, Wolf, is an old man around his sixties. When Law first met him, his white hair was combed back, and he was wearing some red sunhat, a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sandals, while it was snowing outside. Basically a weird guy all around. And he easily disarmed Law when Law attacked him at first due to distrust.

5. Wolf makes a lot of inventions that sound good on paper but all have some fatal defects, but he's also made some genuinely good inventions like a greenhouse that can grow veggies all year round on a cold island. Law calls him "trash hoarder" anyway. Wolf thinks it's even worse than directly calling him "old man".

6. Law felt sorry for suspecting Wolf at the beginning when the old man only rescued him out of pure kindness.

7. Wolf insists that life is all "Give & Take", so he'll work Law to the bone and Law gets a stable life in return. Law finds his way of showing kindness amusing.

8. Wolf doesn't treat Law like a little kid. They are friendly with each other, but also keep some distance, and Law feels comfortable about it.

9. After activating Room and dropping Shachi and Penguin on the ground to knock them out, Law still checks up on them to make sure they're not actually dead or injured. BTW Law has been practicing his ability when Wolf isn't around so he's getting good with it.

10. when Bepo tells Law that he came to the North Blue by mistake, Law laughs at the bear, and Bepo is so depressed that he picks up a rope on the floor and wants to end his life. Law is very surprised that the bear is so easily frustrated.

11. Wolf is actually happy to have another... boy? person? bear? around despite his complaints of "another troublesome kid".

12. When Law realizes that he helped Bepo because he started to trust people again due to Cora-san's then Wolf's kindness, he wonders whether he'll be able to love again.

13. Law absolutely hates pickled plums. You probably already know that.

14. When Law, Bepo, and Wolf rescued Shachi and Penguin, Law didn't use his fruit ability for the operations. Shachi's wound was easy to fix, but Penguin's severed arm took him much more effort to reattach. Law's techniques as a surgeon were already very refined at that point. In his inner monologue, Law states that he's pushing himself to do such a complicated operation not because he wants to be thanked or out of any emotional attachment, and he's not a kind person anyway; he's only doing this because of his pride as a doctor.

15. After the operation, Wolf was very happy about the kids being saved.

16. When Law finds out that Penguin's arm can move again after the reattachment operation, he feels he starts to understand the "joy as a doctor" that his parents used to teach him. When Shachi and Penguin thank him, he turns around as he smiles, too embarrassed to be seen.

17. when Wolf and Law question the two boys about their story, Wolf is very gentle with the kids, and Law feels outraged about what Shachi's uncle did to them. Shachi and Penguin also apologize to Bepo for bullying him before.

#One Piece #One Piece Spoilers #One Piece Spoiler #One Piece Novel Law #Trafalgar Law #Trafalgar D. Water Law #Bepo #Shachi #Penguin

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keiyoomi · 4 years ago

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[event] paint my love

no, i am not gonna paint anything. or am i?

this is just another event for this blog for no particular reason. Ah, no, there’s actually a reason behind this. as i’ve mentioned few days ago, my classes will begin tomorrow and i want to do something after class to calm my nerves.

on that note, i’ve decided to have this sort of event. i’ve noticed how coloring a manga page calms me down and basically helps me focus on it alone instead of overthinking. i wanted to open an impulsive writing / idea dump thing, but i can’t focus on writing a fic.

only 10 slots available! (will open again after completing the first 10 requests)

rules:

send me a manga chapter and page, that one that you really love.

as much as possible, you can send one page alone, but if it has continuation, you can send something like “chapter 291, p. 13-17″ (i’m planning to color this one because it features the twins and kita and the rest of inarizaki)

disclaimer:

i do not claim ownership over the manga. Haikyū!! manga series is written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate.

support the manga by reading it on viz and/or shueisha

tags to block/follow

keiyoomi: coloring

keiyoomi: paint my love

haikyuu!! manga

haikyuu!! spoiler (if the page/s you’ll choose is not yet animated)

masterlist

chapter #, page #

[ psd coloring src ]

#keiyoomi: coloring #keiyoomi: paint my love #haikyuu!! manga #haikyuu!! spoiler

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yyh4ever · 3 years ago

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Togashi's Comments from the Table of Contents (1990-1994)

WSJ #7 to WSJ #14 (1992)

Volume 7: Chapters 56 to 63 + "TWO SHOTS"

ᐊ Volume 6: Chapters 46 to 55 Volume 8: Chapters 64 to 72 ᐅ

1992

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°7 (February 3, 1992)

★ Chapter 56. "Blood-Stained Flowers!!" (恐怖の炎熱地獄！！, Kyōfu no Ennetsu Jigoku!!)

Table of Contents:

"It's not good. I'm still in the New Year's day mood. I'm longing for the next year's New Year!" - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 まずいです。まだ元旦気分気分がぬけません。今から来年の正月を待ち望んでいる私です〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°8 (February 10, 1992)

★ Chapter 57. "The Fearsome Hell of Blazing Heat!!" (恐怖の炎熱地獄！！, Kyōfu no Ennetsu Jigoku!!)

Table of Contents:

"I read a collection of short stories a long time ago and they were in an interesting sequence. When I reread them, the order changed completely." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 昔読んだ短編小説集に面白い順番がふってあった。再読したら順番が全く変わってた〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°9 (February 17, 1992)

★ Chapter 58. "Drunken Master: Chu!!" (酔拳士・酎！！, Yoi Kobushi-shi - Chu!!)

★ One-Shot: "Yu Yu Hakusho Gaiden: TWO SHOTS. The secret story of the encounter between Hiei and Kurama " (外伝. TWO SHOTS)

*The 31-page side story “Two Shots” was being announced on the cover. To know more about this one-shot, read the Trivia About TWO SHOTS.*

The introductory pages of “Two Shots” are colored. The opening page says:

"Almost parallel

Sometimes they cross...!"

(ほとんどパラレルときどきクロス…!)

Table of Contents:

"I can listen to the news and music at the same time by wearing the headphones over the earphones. The day when my head breaks is near." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 イヤホンの上からヘッドホンをしてN(ニユース)とM (ミュージック)を同時にきいたりする。頭壊れる日も近い。〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°10 (February 24, 1992)

★ Chapter 59. "A Close Game!!" (互角の勝負！！, Gokaku no Shōbu!!)

*Yu Yu Hakusho is on the cover of this issue*

Table of Contents:

"Before I knew it, I seem to have subscribed to the three major newspapers. After being away for a few days, there was a pile in the entryway...!" - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 いつのまにか新聞を三紙もとっていたらしい。数日家を空けると、玄関に山積み…！〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°11 (March 2, 1992)

★ Chapter 60 (Colored). "Knife-Edge Sudden Death!!" (ナイフエッジ・デスマッチ, Naifuejji Desumacchi)

*A part-color chapter.*

*The results of the 1st "Yu Yu Hakusho Character Popularity Poll" were also revealed in this issue and later published in volume 7.*

Table of Contents:

"I've already gained 5kg this year. All the hard work I did last year went down the drain. But, I'm looking forward to the meal." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 今年に入って早くも5kg体重が増え、去年の苦労が水の泡。でもメシだけが楽しみ。〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°12 (March 9, 1992)

★ Chapter 61. "The Top Eight Line-Up!!" (ベスト８出そろう！！, Besuto Eito Desorou!!)

Table of Contents:

"Thank you always for the fan letters. I don’t get to reply much, but I'm reading them all. I am also grateful for the Valentine's chocolates." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 F・Lいつもありがとう。返事はあまりかけないけど全部読んでます。バレンタインのチョコレートも感謝〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°13 (March 16, 1992)

★ Chapter 62. "The Second Round Begins!!" (２回戦開始！！, Ni-Kaisen Kaishi!!)

*Main heroes, including Yusuke, are on the cover around "MON MON MON", welcoming the new series that was debuting in this issue.*

Table of Contents:

"Recently, I feel like going back to my high school days when I drew pictures only for myself that didn't need to be finished." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 高校時代に戻って自分のためだけの完成する��てさえない絵をかきたくなる昨今です〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°14 (March 23, 1992)

★ Chapter 63. "The Despicable Blood-Slaver Node!!" (卑劣！操血瘤！！, Hiretsu! Sō Ketsu-ryū!!)

Table of Contents:

"I was asked to review a book for Jump Novel, and I was keenly aware of my recent aliteracy. How about listening to an audio book?..." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 JN(ジャンプノベル)での書評を依頼されて最近の自分の活字離れを痛感。CDブックでもきくか…。〈義博〉

*On August 4, 1992, Volume 7 (Chapters 56 to 63) was published!*

▼ Togashi's comment from the dust jacket of volume 7. Translation by VIZ Media.

▼ Fun Fact: When Naoko was pregnant with their first child and they were deciding the child's name, she brought up Togashi's comments from volume 7, about giving his kids obscene names. Yu Yu Hakusho volume 7 is from 1992, Naoko and Togashi first met in 1997.

Source: "Punch!" series by Naoko Takeuchi. "Young You" magazine, March 2001 issue. Scans and translation provided by missdream.

ᐊ Volume 6: Chapters 46 to 55 Volume 8: Chapters 64 to 72 ᐅ

#weekly shounen jump #table of contents #yoshihiro togashi #chapters 56-63 #two shots #hiei #kurama #WSJ 7 to WSJ 14 (1992)#yu yu hakusho #volume 7

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mirrorfalls · 4 years ago

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The Alchemist When He’s Full of Metal, Vol. 21

(Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7, Vol. 8, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Vol. 11, Vol. 12, Vol. 13, Vol. 14, Vol. 15, Vol. 16, Vol. 17, Vol. 18, Vol. 19, Vol. 20)

Let’s do the Time Skip, yeah~

So I’m assuming this last leg of the manga was originally published after a decent-sized hiatus, the kind that left Arakawa and/or her editors eager to reintroduce everyone Right The Fuck Now. And I wouldn’t mind that so much, really, if it didn’t also rush along so many new plot-points that I feel like I’ve missed a Volume 20.5 somewhere. Team Mustang reassembled itself under Wrath’s nose? Scar and Marcoh recruited a whole militia out of Ishvalan diaspora? Hohenheim’s on a first-name basis with everyone now?

Eh, maybe it’ll hang together better on reread. Let’s get to the action.

First move goes - of course - to the villains, and this right here is an absolutely wonderful setpiece, tapping into the kind of primal fear that must’ve sat in the back of Ed’s (and the reader’s) mind ever since Martel taught us all how vulnerable an empty suit of armor can really be. In lieu of an out-and-out mind controller, this is the best way we’ve got of seeing a genuine Elric-on-Elric showdown.

(On top of that - I don’t care if Viz pulled it out of their ass, “Is this your teen angst?!” is the funniest line I’ve seen in this series.)

Alas, the actual fight doesn’t quite live up to expectations. Dousing all the lights on the battleground so Pride can’t hijack any shadows is solid in concept, but it’s damn tough to pull off if black and white are the only colors you’ve got to work with; ergo, the result mostly consists of the characters saying how dark it is while fighting (and looking) like normal. And while Lan-Fan’s return is much-welcomed - record automail adjustment, folks! - her flashbangs turn the "Free Al” objective into more or less an afterthought.

Not to worry, though. In fine Shonen tradition, all this was just an opening act for the little bastard’s mid-battle upgrade.

(Would you guys think less of me if I said I found this the saddest death since Volume 2? Yes? Don’t care, doing it anyway.)

So now we’ve got Gluttony’s powers driven by an actual brain - a nightmare combo to be sure, but he’s still outnumbered seven-to-one by the heroes, and I don’t give much for his chances as long as Team Ed’s still got flashbangs on hand. Really, now that we’re in the endgame, not even the “I’m too important to die this early!” factor's a sure thing anymore.

In other news: Mustang’s own endgame against the Homunculi proceeds apace... but do all his so-called allies really have his interests at heart? Also, just what does he expect to accomplish by taking the wife of a sociopathic dictator hostage? Also also, how many chapters will Arakawa continue to expect us to think a dinky little train crash could put Wrath down more than five minutes?

All this and more, next volume!

#Lego reviews stuff #Fullmetal Alchemist

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afterwards-extra · 4 years ago

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Manga I’m currently reading

These are a few titles I read upon the release of a chapter or purchase of the newest volume. I tried not to include a lot of popular titles, otherwise, this post would go on forever. While I do read One Piece, I like waiting until a story arc is done before binging through the chapters/episodes.

From my subscription to VIZ I’m reading World Trigger by Ashihara Daisuke, Blue Flag by KAITO, and Agravity Boys by Nakamura Atsushi. From my membership to Crunchyroll I’m reading The Morose Mononokean by Wazawa Kiri. Thankfully my library is getting the latest of Delicious in Dungeon by Kui Kyoko and Magus of the Library by Izumi Mitsu.

Then I always purchase the latest volume release of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window (NBTW) by Yamashita Tomoko and His Favorite (HF) by Tanaka Suzuki.

Just 3 months away volume 11 of HF is coming out October 13, 2020, and volume 7 of NBTW is coming out October 27, 2020.

#manga

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crowkingwrites · 5 years ago

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Battle of the Bands (Ch.13)

Pairing: Robb Stark x Reader, Jon Snow x Reader, Viserys Targaryen x Reader, Ramsay Bolton X Reader

Summary: You just moved into the city for the first tie all by yourself. After you get your dream summer job working for a small magazine, you find yourself in the middle of the city’s rock festival: Battle of the Bands. Local rock bands throughout the city compete to win a record deal that could change their lives. Your job? Get close to them and write about them online.A single girl in the city surrounded by rocker boys during the summertime. What could possibly go wrong?

Words: 2077 // AO3 Link

Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four // Chapter Five // Chapter Six // Chapter Seven // Chapter Eight // Chapter Nine // Chapter Ten // Chapter Eleven // Chapter Twelve

Ramsay Bolton and Viserys Targaryen grew up in similar circumstances. Both of them had been the undesired sons in the family. While Domeric Bolton graduated with top honors and went on to become an advocate for incarcerated fathers, Ramsay lit up his first blunt in his dad’s basement. While Rhaegar became wildly popular and successful in the arts world, Viserys struggled to write his first song because it wouldn’t be good enough.

Both had wealth and power, and they used it to their own advantages. Viserys used every girlfriend he had growing up for his own selfish purposes. What did it matter? He was Viserys Fucking Targaryen. Girls threw themselves to be with him for status. He even remembered a time where Cersei was extremely nice to him to get close to his older brother.

Ramsay did it the obvious way. He bullied and punched anyone who had words for him. His bloody bastard group had known the inside of the principal’s office all too well. Once, Ramsay saw the paint color swatches and told the principal his opinion.

“If you paint these walls green, it’s going to remind everyone of the lunchroom. It’s gross.”

Both had a certain fear of their fathers. Both knew how bad they were and liked themselves that way. Why would they change if everything was working out for them so far? That is, until Ramsay walked into his father’s private office to see Viz and his entire band behind them. One girl was about to ruin everything for one of them.

“Ramsay! He knows who this bitch is! Tell him!” Viz yelled out loud. Roose turned to his son. Ramsay wore a perfectly fitting suit. It covered all his tattoos. Ramsay was clean-shaven. For once, he looked like the perfect child.

“Mr. Targaryen claims you know who the author of the slandering article is,” Roose’s eyes flickered back to Viz before returning to Ramsay’s. “Do you know her?”

Ramsay shrugged. “I can’t say I do. I have done an interview with her once when my band was still in the battle, but she didn’t write anything terrible about my band. After that, I can’t say we have spoken again.”

“You’re fucking lying,” Viz seethed.

“I do apologize, Mr. Targaryen. This must be a difficult time for you.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You fucked her! You literally had sex with her!”

Ramsay took a step back and faced his father. “Father, I don’t mean to sound unprofessional, but I think Viserys may be on drugs, You know these rockstars. They don’t lead a sober lifestyle. It says so in the article. We may not want to be associated with people like them.” Roose nodded and took a step towards the band manager.

Ramsay smirked.

Robb stood still inside Jon’s apartment.

You rushed past him and he felt his stomach turning. He could smell your perfume on you. The floral scent rushed into his nose before he could protest. He didn’t mind smelling you. He minded smelling you here in his little brother’s apartment. A slow anger took over his mind while Jon walked up to him, explaining things at a rapid pace.

“It’s not what it looks like. I promise you. I can explain everything, Robb. I really can. I need you to listen and—

“And what, Jon?” Robb’s eyes flickered to his brother. “Are you going to give me a shitty excuse? ‘She had something on her face’, right?”

“Alright! I’m sorry. We-I—I didn’t mean—

“You didn’t mean to? I saw it. You weren’t kissing her on accident,” Robb snapped.

“I wasn’t going to say that! I was just going to say—

“Oh, now you’re going to tell me you’ve had feelings for her all this time?”

“Shut the fuck up, Robb.” Jon rolled his eyes. “Let me explain it before you piss me off.”

“Piss you off? You’re concerned about me pissing you off?!”

“You knew I liked her. You knew all this time, Robb. You introduced her to me knowing how pretty she was. Knowing I wanted a girl like that for a long time.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Really?” Jon scoffed. “Do you just live and breathe in the same selfish world you built for yourself? Do you think every girl you talk to is going to date you? You’re so fucking blind.”

Robb stepped into Jon’s space more. “You knew I liked her too. I told you that. Remember? After I saw her with Ramsay? At the Blackfyre concert? You’re not the only on she’s been with. It’s a problem.”

“And you thought a great solution to the problem was to fire her from her dream job.”

“I gave her that job and this is how she treats me,” Robb spat. Jon pushed his brother away from him.

“Get the fuck out of here with that,” Jon said. “You can’t stand not being the center of attention in a pretty girl’s eyes. She doesn’t belong to you. She never has.”

“Oh, and she belongs to you?” Robb smirked. “Are you her boyfriend?”

“Shut up, Robb.” “No. Really. Are you? Because if you were, wouldn’t you think it’s so fucking weird that she spends a lot of time with other guys?”

“I think it’s fucking weird that you’re obsessed with her,” Jon muttered. Robb pushed Jon harder. When Jon pushed back, Robb grabbed his brother by his arms. He hesitated throwing him into his couch. His fingers itched to do it, but his eyes locked with his brother. Those same big, brown eyes looked up at him.

He threw down Jon’s arms, and opened his mouth. “You know, you’re not really my brother. You’re just flesh proof of why Dad couldn’t keep it in his pants. You’re not human. You’re a mistake.”

Two brothers envied one another.

Viserys Targaryen envied Ramsay in a lot of ways. He hated how Ramsay had a better hold on you than he did. Viserys was used to female attention. At first, he laughed it off, thinking it was a sick joke you kept doing. No, you were more attracted to him than Ramsay. You just felt bad for the guy.

Until the concert. Viserys watched you and Ramsay getting cozier without him around. He watched you kiss Ramsay like you were drowning in him. He never had that fucking chance with you. Why? It angered him. Even in bed, you chose that fucking psycho every time and he let it happen.

Viserys had everything handed and given to him without question. No one ever told him no. Until you came along. You treated him like he was a real being, not some king to bow down to. You made him feel normal. Like he was his own person without his name or title or wealth or anything. But, you chose Ramsay over him every time. And Viz let that happen.

Viz watched Ramsay smirk and leave his father’s office. Viserys knew of Ramsay growing up. He watched that boy enter and leave a principal’s office several times without facing any real consequences. Just like now. He was lying about being with you.

You. The Girl who finally conquered The Dragon.

No, he wasn’t going to let him get away with this bullshit. Viz pushed past a bodyguard and ran in pursuit of Ramsay. Momentum built up inside of him in every step he took towards that fucking bastard. Ramsay quickly turned down a hallway and when Viz reached that same point, Ramsay grabbed him and pushed him against the wall.

“Why did you follow me?” Ramsay simply asked.

“Why did you lie?” Viserys spat in his face. “What the fuck are you doing? She screwed you over too.”

“She had nothing to do with my band getting kicked out. Someone else did. So, she didn’t screw me. Well, she technically did. She did get in between us that one night. She was all over me while you just sat like a puppy and watched. Right? I don’t know what’s sadder. Watching the world’s greatest rockstar get rejected or watching your worst enemy take the only girl you cared about.”

Viserys’ fist connected to Ramsay’s nose within seconds. The punch sent Ramsay backwards and onto the floor, laughing. Viserys lunged again, but this time, his manager caught him. Viserys struggled against his manager as Ramsay mocked him.

“Oh! Look at you! Poor baby needs to be disciplined,” Ramsay laughed.

“I’m coming for you, Bolton,” Viserys warned.

“Oh I know.”

“You know?” Viserys cocked his eyebrow and smiled. “Your arrogant ass is going to kill you one day.”

“How did you know to come here? You don’t really need to interact with lawyers. Your manager does. So how did now to come to my dad? Unless you’ve been here before?” Ramsay watched Viserys’ eyes go wide. Ramsay stood up slowly and closed the space between them. A tension settled between the two young men.

“I knew it wasn’t Renly like you told me. You came here and had my father shut down my band because you know I’m better than you.”

Viserys’ face stayed in shock as his band manager pulled him out of there. Ramsay watched happily as the entire Blackfyre team was escorted out of the law firm. He ducked into his father’s office once more. If he could take down Viserys, he could take down the Starks too.

Ramsay Bolton wasn’t kidding when he told you he liked competition.

Competition was the only thing Jon knew with Robb. Jon always competed against him in everything. Grades. Father’s love. Girls. Sports. Music. Everything. When Jon met you, he felt a spark that he never knew before. For once, you didn’t compare him to Robb. You spent more of your free time with him than with Robb.

Maybe Jon was being delusional. Maybe it was the weed. When Jon’s fist connected with Robb’s cheek, the only thing he could think of was you. Robb thought everyone loved him. It was time that Jon proved him wrong.

Robb held his face for a minute and then left without another word. Jon let out a heavy breath after his door closed. He ran his fingers through his hair and watched Robb walk away from his apartment building. Jon collapsed on his couch and took out his phone.

Jon to You: [I just punched my brother for you. So wherever that puts us…

Jon pressed the back button until all of his message was gone. He sat up and tried again.

Jon to You: [This is all getting out of hand. Maybe we should…

“No, no, no. You stupid idiot.” Jon said to himself. “This is bad. This is really bad. Fuck.” Jon turned over his phone in his hands repeatedly. Jon’s phone played a tone and he saw a message from you.

You: [That article about Viserys. He saw it and he’s gonna try to take me and The Scene to court. What do I do?] You: [Ramsay told me. How do we tell your brother? This is bad. I’m panicking] You: [Never mind. He’s here at the office. He knows. I think he’s going to fire me.]

Jon groaned out loud. He looked over at a Gryffindor poster he had on his wall. The same lion looked back at him.

“Why couldn’t I be a coward? Wouldn’t life be easier if I was a coward? Damn you, Potter.” Jon got up, grabbed his keys, and left his apartment. There was only one person who could possibly understand what he was going through.

Jon arrived at a studio apartment in an artistic corner of the city. He knocked on the door lightly before he opened it. Two pizza boxes were stacked on the stove. Along the wall stood a mismatched shelving system of records. On the far wall, Jon could spot a skinny little nobody on his couch, strumming away at a guitar.

“Theon,” Jon sighed in relief.

“Oh, now you come back?” Theon shook his head. “I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back for Alys or not.” Theon gestured to the guitar in his lap.

“I’m—I’m in some deep shit, Theon,” Jon collapsed into a beanbag.

“Yeah? You need our friend, Jack?” Theon passed the whisky bottle to him. Jon shook his head and looked up to the ceiling.

“It’s complicated.”

“It’s about a girl isn’t it?” Theon asked. When Jon nodded, Theon reacted. “Oh shit.”

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