#I've don't think I've seen another write pull what he did in B&R

[acceptsonlynttnightwing]

Great answer. super convincing.

2. He attacked Tim and Mia with no provocation even before Bruce chose the joker over him or died. Not really OOC that he'd go off the rails after.

Okay, fair, the cannon fodder comment was a bit much. But that was an entirely separate arc from Jason attacking Tim.

Man, he's NOT A STRAIGHT UP VILLAIN! THAT'S WHY HE DOESN"T KILL HEROES LIKE SPEEDY OR ROBIN.

(7) I'm not saying Jason is evil or didn't do anything good - just that he's also unstable and violent and does crazy shit like attack teenagers and heroes for no good reason.

It might be hard for you to understand, but ✨ people aren't purely good or bad ✨

Not even criminals.

And there were tons of Black Mask's people left on the boat when it blew up. And there was plenty of other damage he caused - exploding trucks in the middle of a road, blowing up sidewalks - that could have killed civilians.

UTRH focuses on Jason's quips and the 'coolness' of his plans, but he was never particularly careful with his attacks. A comic staple! Which is why your argument that Jason's OOC for firing near civilians is pretty weak - it's not like went out a killed a bunch of random children, he just got in a fight in public - it's not proof he's OOC!

3. Really? Gaslighting? Giving up any attempt at an actual response aren't you.

For the SECOND time, I'll wait for your quote. Give me a link/quote where Daniels said he hated Jason or didn't want him to have fans.

Here's what Daniels said word for word: "Jason in his own mind thinks that he's taking the necessary steps to combat the evil in Gotham City. In his mind he's not doing anything wrong, he's fighting fire with fire. The big difference between Jason and Bruce is their approach. Jason was always a little bit more on the reckless, daring side, and he obviously has a screw loose after coming back from the Lazarus Pit. When you do come back from the Lazarus Pit, you're not one hundred percent right in the head, and Jason really wasn't all that right in the head to begin with. What I like about his character is that he really believes in the way he's going about his business, and in his mind he's right. In his mind he's not a bad guy."

He even gave him the Lazarus pit excuse!

Also, wasn't ✨Winnick✨ one of the writers on Battle for Cowl?

4. Wow, so YOU'RE going to bring up interviews as proof of authors' views and then ignore the ones you dislike because 'the author was trying to be polite'? yeah, I'm done with this conversation.

Also, I'm gaslighting? I said Daniels and Jones didn't write OOC Red Hood. Not Morrision. And Winnick literally told Jones, 'Red Hood's a bad guy.' Not the kind of reminder someone who hated RH would need.

Morison wrote everyone badly, not denying that. Don't even get me started on his Talia.

But, 'Winnick wasn't one to cause drama?'

Please, Winnick's entire 3 issues on B&R were a massive temper tantrum that Morrison made RH look stupid. It was beyond unprofessional to do what he did on someone else's comic - to hijack the last few issues of Dick and Damian's run as Batman and Robin and turn it into a Red Hood comic.

5. You just keep saying the same thing and completely ignoring what I'm saying - timing/age/no leads from secondary causes are comic conventions! they don't mean anything!

I'm not defending the plot hole - just saying a timing inconsistency is not proof of OOC writing.

6. The Tim thing WAS PART OF HIS VENDETTA AGAINST BRUCE! It's no less out of his way than arranging the whole Hush thing?

7. Wooooow, Neat sidestepping of my point there - kudos.

Jason looks disturbed for one second. 1 panel. Before he starting grinning and taunting Bruce about it. He doesn't try helping or even letting Batman go help. That was the kind of guy Winnick's Red Hood was - obsessed and violent - Daniels, Johns and Morrison's version built off of that!

Also, you know Amazo was made to take out the entire LEAGUE, right? That's the problem with Winnick really - everything looks cool, but look a little deeper and there're massive logical problems (for one, Bruce and Dick shouldn't have been able to beat Amazo like that & 2, Winnick turned BM into a caricature).

Actually, yes Jason did killl petty criminals. To quote you, "it's really that simple when you have comprehension."

No wonder you think RH was OOC everywhere else if that's how well you read. The high-ups discuss him killing regular dealers during the Onyx issue. Convenient that you missed that.

Where does Jason care about kids - any specifics besides not selling drugs to them and saving trafficked ones? (again, kiiinda seems like the bare minimum). He had his own sidekick, Sasha, remember - and if I'm not wrong, even Winnick kept her around.

Becoming a crime lord with ✨ the low low bar of not directly selling drugs to kids does != caring for kids ✨

Dude, he knew Damian about as well as he knew Mia or Onyx! Damian was Bruce's kid and was wearing a catsuit - Jason shot him to distract Dick and escape! What's so hard to understand.

What's the whole deal with 'He DiDN't KnOW DaMIAn?' Damian fought him. that was more than enough.

Do you think he took Mia out for brunch and a heart-to-heart? Painted toenails with Onyx? Had a Smash Bros tournament with Oliver?

And yes, New 52 did retcon away a bunch? You call it 'regretting the extremes he went to'? That's a nice way of saying it basically retconned away Jason's role in BftC and Morrission's Batman and Robin AND Infinity Crisis and left it up to the reader to decide how much of the UtRH even happened!

Also, it completely screwed over the timeline and I know how much that bothers you lol.

Tell me which part of my explanation of point 8 in the previous reply doesn't make sense. You might not like it, but again, that doesn't make it wrong/OOC.

It's literally impossible to read bat fanfiction because it's all based off those ridiculous fanon tropes that spread like crazy and people take as fucking biblical!!!!! Dick was never a jerk to Jason when he was Robin- they got along because Dick is mature as hell and in one retelling- Jason was a jerk to him!! And when he came back as Red Hood he had literally not a single damn reason to treat Dick like shit! Not a damn one! But he did, didn't he? Cause he's the fucking asshole! How dare you make Dick grovel towards that bastard! Dick has only ever tried to help him! Reached out during his Batman run, over and over! Also- Dick never put Jason in Arkham with Joker just a few cells down???? What the fuck! The Joker and all those other fuckers had been broken out of Arkham by Black Mask already for like the whole run??? Jason went to Arkham after losing to Dick, and Gordon put him in there because One he fucking deserved it, Two the literal circumstances?? And at that point!! Arkham was fucking rehabilitated itself!! By Dick!!! Because Bruce had him go undercover there for real, and Dick was actually tortured there before he got out!! So Dick put in the work to get that shit in order to actually help people!!

Dick never chose Damian over Tim- Tim refused to engage with him over his grief, shut him out, and left of his own devices! He never told Dick his suspicions on why Bruce was alive, never! And Tim is not the one to bring Bruce back either, there's a whole team at that point! Dick learns Bruce is alive through tossing his 'dead' body into a pit and the body comes to life as a zombie. Tim didn't tell him shit! Tim is also not a little crybaby- Damian cutting his line was a fucking blip on the page, he was momentarily shocked, that was it! He put Damian on his Hit List, which is why Damian cut his line. And his first attempt at "murder" is just pushing Tim off the dinosaur statue in the cave, he didn't go all assassin on him! Also Dick wasn't even there the first incident and wasn't told about the second incident. Alfred is the one who gave Damian Robin and Dick accepted him because he saw that Damian needed help! He needed guidance! He didn't fucking fire Tim the way Bruce fired him, and fuck all of you for thinking that Tim or Jason or fucking anyone has more right over Robin than Dick Fucking Grayson! He tried to promote Tim and Tim walked off. How dare yall make Dick fucking grovel towards that bastard!!!

Jason did try to kill all three of them!! Why does everyone just gloss over that like what the fuck??? Why does he get a pass for every shitty thing he's done??? "Bad writing" stfu this is the same dude that without hesitation kills random criminals, people who deal drugs, do you know how many random ass people deal drugs??? Jason doesn't give a single shit about being his own type of hero or saving Gotham his own way, nor do the people think of him as their savior!! Are you people fucking delusional?? I saw a post that said citizens would trust Jason over CASS and I cannot Believe the hallucinations yall are seeing???

It is literally downright impossible to find fics about Dick or Damian or Cass or fucking any of them that doesn't include these literal bullshit fanon takes!!! It's impossible!!! This fandom sucks!!!! You don't even need to go buy the comics, all these popular takes have been debunked right here on tumblr!!!! Also Dick can do literally everything!! He's hypercompetent as hell, die mad about it!! Jason doesn't like Wonder Woman???? Where the fuck did that come from??? Wayne Family Adventures is not real!!! Those people could not BE more out of character!!! Look at Bruce for crying out loud!!! Yall know that man ain't act like that!

Edit: leaving this here in case anyone wonders what my hot take is towards this question I was asked: "have you considered tho, that fanon is more fun..."

Well of course fanon is more fun if you're a fan of Jason or Tim. Fanon actively caters towards those two pasty white boys. Fanon actively shits on Dick and Damian though. And for Dick? He literally never did that shit! It is all made up! It's literal character assassination?? But by the fans?? And for Damian? He was 10!!! He grew up as an assassin! He was actively trying to grow with Dick's help! How can yall see him as the bad guy?? And not the literal bad guy, (Jason), and the 17 teen year old who literally fought him back btw, (Tim), like old boy did not act victimized the way you people portray. And Jesus for Cass? Cass is just a prop in fanon. So what exactly about this should be fun to me? Like seriously.

[cocastyle]

Robin — ONE

Pairing - Joel Dawson x reader

Word Count - 5,047

A/N - this chapter was so much fun getting to write! I wanted to introduce you guys to the dynamic of our two characters before they take off into the world. they are just a super close pair which is definitely going to cause some interesting scenes throughout this movie, especially with Joel being in love Aimee at the moment and Y/N being in love with Joel. but no matter what, it’s their friendship that makes them Y/N and Joel and it’s just the cutest thing.

also, I just want to say, take note of the little letters Joel writes to Aimee. they are definitely going to show growth in Joel’s character as the story goes on :))

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

R O B I N

Robin Series Masterlist

⭒❃.✮:▹ ONE ◃:✮.❃⭒

Dear Aimee,

I am wide awake. I've just gotten good at not really moving or breathing.

Being stuck in a survival bunker with a bunch of people who have all found their soul mate is less than ideal.

Karen and Ray got together a few months ago, so they're still kinda in their honeymoon phase. It is super physical. Good for them, you know. They're both very attractive and apparently quite flexible.

Hey, life's short. Especially down here.

After Tim's parents were eaten by a warm of termites, he and Ava became inseparable. In every way.

So pretty much everyone's coupled up down here besides me and Y/N. We're the singles of the bunker and I don't know how I would survive by myself without her. Having your best friend stuck down here with you helps a lot.

Our first baby was born last winter. It was super emotional. Welcome to the apocalypse, kid. The food sucks. At least you'll never know what you're missing.

Kala and Connor got together after Carol died. Carol was a cow who ate a box of laundry detergent and now we only have one cow. Her name's Gertie. Gertie is great. Y/N named her actually and every time someone uses the name she gets this goofy grin on her face that's hard for anyone to not smile back at.

Gertie's not our only food source. We actually have a hunting party that brings back whatever they can from the surface. It was easier in the beginning, you know, before we ran out of bullets. Facing down one of those things with a hanky handmade weapon is no walk in the park. Or that's what Robin tells me. I-I don't go on the hunting parties. They need me in the kitchen. I'm kinda the, uh. . .the chef of the bunker. Everyone likes my minestrone.

Me and Y/N being the only single people in the bunker has its perks too. We get to hang out with Mav1s. Of course, she's not much for conversation anymore. Her core battery's shot, just like every other Mav1s, I'd imagine. Actually never seen a working one.

Other than that, it's become our favorite pass time to mess with the other couples. Or at least that's what Robin does. I kind of just cheer her on.

Sure wish you were here, Aimee. I'd love for you to meet everyone and become closer with Y/N. Maybe we could do a little target practice together.

It's kinda my thing.

- - -

Y/N had been in the middle of dreaming about killing a monster when something began poking her face and pulled her from her slumber. Letting out a groan, the girl turned her head towards her pillow in an attempt to hide her face, but the person was persistent and instead began poking the back of her head instead.

"Joel," Y/N whined in annoyance earning a soft chuckle from the boy as he continued to poke her head. "Joel, I swear if you don't stop poking me right now I'm going to drag you out of this bunker and feed you to the nearest cold-blooded creature."

The poking stopped instantly and she slowly turned her face and let her eyes flutter open for a second to see Joel smiling at her in amusement. "Seven years underground and you still aren't a morning person," he mused.

Y/N groaned and fell further into her pillow as she closed her eyes once again. "I don't think I'll ever be," she muttered, her voice trailing off a bit at the end as sleep tried to take over once again.

"Hey, I just woke you up. Don't go back to sleep," Joel insisted as he reached out to poke her again. However, Y/N was quick to grab ahold of his finger and stop him without even having to open an eye.

"Don't poke me," she told him before letting go of the boy. "I'm tired, Joel. I don't have to see the sun to know it's still shining on the other side of the world. It's too early."

"Actually, it's not too far away from dawn," Joel said earning a groan from the girl because it was in fact too early. The boy frowned and gently nudged her as he rested his head on the edge of her bed. "Come on, Robin. I can't sleep and as my best friend it is your job to keep me from doing anything stupid while I'm awake. You can't exactly do that while sleeping, can you?"

"Joel," Y/N complained.

"Y/N," Joel mimicked. Y/N frowned slightly and Joel sighed before looking away as he got lost in thought. Finally he let out a small gasp and nudged the girl again, a smile appearing on his face, "I'll make you breakfast."

Y/N peeled open an eye at that, flickering her gaze over the boy's eager face before hesitantly saying, "Throw in a piggyback ride all the way to the kitchen and you've got yourself a deal.”

"Deal!" Joel exclaimed as he reached out to grab her hand and shake it. Y/N let out a soft sigh, knowing she was going to regret waking up, but pulled herself up out of bed and let out a yawn. Joel was practically bouncing from foot to foot due to his impatience and Y/N just ignored it as she sat up for a moment longer before looking to Joel.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said and the boy quickly turned around. Y/N lazily got out of bed before slowly getting onto Joel's back. He made sure she was on securely and waited until she had her arms wrapped around his neck and her head tucked into the crook of his neck before he was practically running out of the room.

"Woah! Slow down!" Y/N exclaimed as she almost went toppling off of his back from how bumpy the ride was. Joel slowed to a walk and looked back to her with an apologetic smile while she just rolled her eyes. "You're lucky you're my best friend," she muttered, propping her elbow against the boy's shoulder in order to keep herself up right.

"You know you love me," Joel retorted and Y/N let out a soft sigh for she knew the boy was right. He just didn't understand the kind of love she had for him.

The two were about halfway down the hallway when they suddenly passed a door that was wide open. "Hey, Joel! Hey, Y/N!" a fellow colony member of theirs named Ava greeted.

The best friends turned their heads and instantly looked away, their faces red while Y/N hid her face against Joel's neck once again. "Oh. Hey, Ava," Joel said, coughing awkwardly as he held onto Y/N a bit tighter and tried to ignore the fact that he just saw Ava and her boyfriend Tim being intimate.

"Ava," Y/N greeted.

"Joel. Y/N. How's it going?" Tim asked.

"It's going good, Tim," Joel responded, attempting to hide his small smile as Y/N just shook her head, obviously embarrassed. "How are you. . .How are you doing?"

"Yeah, good," Tim replied.

"Good," Y/N muttered as she sat up a little more and just leaned against Joel's shoulder. "Uh, we were just. . .um. . .heading to the kitchen. Joel here couldn't sleep, so now here we are." She let out an awkward laugh and Ava and Tim returned it.

"Yeah, we know the feeling," Ava told her and both Joel and Y/N made a face.

"Yeah. Probably not for the same reasons," Joel muttered. "Y-You guys's, uh, door's open. Is that. . .did you know that?"

"Yeah," Ava admitted at the same time Tim said, "Yeah, we know."

Both Y/N and Joel didn't move before Joel muttered awkwardly, "Okay." A silence fell among the group after that and Y/N could just feel herself growing more uncomfortable by the second and it was obvious Joel was too.

"Batman, away!" Y/N exclaimed, pointing towards the direction of the kitchens in hopes that they could get away from this situation as quick as possible. Joel chuckled softly and shook his head before bolting off down the hallway making the girl yell at him.

Joel didn't slow down until they were in the kitchen, setting the girl down in a chair before moving across the room. "This better be the best breakfast you have ever created after putting me in that sort of position," Y/N told him. "This is why you sleep at night, so you don't have to see or hear what the others are doing when the lights are out."

Joel just waved her off with his hand and Y/N craned her neck in an attempt to see just what he was doing, but the boy merely moved his body each time so that she couldn't see. "Joel!" Y/N complained, but the boy was already turning around, his hands behind his back as he grinned at her.

She fell silent almost instantly, the grin making her heart skip a beat while she watched him stop on the other side of the counter. "You ready?" he asked and Y/N nodded her head eagerly, her stomach growling at the thought of food. Joel's smile widened and he quickly took his hand out from around his back and slammed an apple onto the table in front of her.

Y/N stared at the apple with a blank look on her face before scowling up at her friend. Joel just smiled and leaned his arms on the counter before he shrugged, "I never said what I was making you for breakfast."

"You didn't make anything," she pointed out, grumbling softly to herself as she grabbed the apple and took a bite out of it. "You tricked me."

"Hey, but look on the bright side," Joel told her and the girl raised an eyebrow. "Now that you're up, we can spend more time together and I don't have to be alone!"

Y/N made a face before looking to her apple and chuckling as she took another bite. "Well, joke's on you because today's planning day," she said, her words making Joel frown because he knew that planning day meant she would be with the hunting crew all day and not him.

"But planning day was last week," Joel complained.

"It was actually last month, but nice try," she replied with a smug smile on her face.

"Can't you skip it? I was wanting you to help me with my aim. I'm using the tips that you said, but it would be different if you were actually there to help," Joel said.

"I'm sorry, Joel, but I have to go. I have to pull my weight somehow," Y/N reminded him.

"Then at least let me help out. I don't do anything around here except make shitty minestrone," Joel sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration and not noticing the way Y/N’s eyes seemed to follow the action.

Y/N set the apple down, rolling her eyes slightly when Joel picked it up and angrily took a bite out of the other side. "First of all, your minestrone is heaven, so never refer to it as shitty ever again," she told him. Joel just looked away and Y/N sighed before reaching out and setting a hand on top of the boy's arm. He hesitantly looked her way and she offered him a small smile. "I know you may think you don't do anything to help out around here, but you do, Joel. You help out in more ways than you may think."

Joel looked away and bit into the apple again. "You're just trying to make me feel better and I appreciate it, but we both know I don't do anything," he muttered. "Not anything important anyways."

"Joel," Y/N began but the sound of someone yelling her name made her fall short. She glanced in the direction of the voice, putting together who was calling for her and why. It was planning day after all and those days always started at dawn so that they could get some training out of the way before mapping out their next hunting trip.

Sighing, Y/N looked back at Joel and gave his arm one more squeeze. "That's my cue to leave," she said, pulling herself up out of her chair. The girl began to make her way towards the door before pausing and looking back at Joel who was just staring at the table with the half eaten apple in hand.

Before Joel knew what was happening, Y/N was jumping on him from behind, her arms wrapping around his frame for a quick hug as she kissed his cheek and said, "Have a great day, Joel. I'll see you later for lunch, okay? Love you." She then slyly stole the apple from him and winked in his direction before running out of the room as her name was yelled out once again.

Joel couldn't help but smile as he watched the girl leave, ignoring the way his heart seemed to skip a beat which was unusual for him.

"Love you too," he whispered.

- - -

Y/N stared at the map in front of them with a contemplating look upon her face. She was resting her head on her hand and gently tapped her finger against her cheek while her eyes flickered over the marks they had already made.

"Why don't we try over here?" Y/N suggested, pointing towards the section that they had already marked off as 'Do Not Enter.'

All eyes turned to her almost immediately and Connor shook his head. "Y/N, you know why we don't go over there," he told her, referencing the incident where half of their hunting squad got killed, but the girl was persistent.

"That was back when we were just beginning our second year down here. We're more prepared now," Y/N told them. "Every time we go hunting, we stay close enough that we can run back to the bunker if needed. We can't keep living like this. I mean, aren't you guys a little bit curious as to what it's like out there?"

There was a unanimous, "No."

Y/N frowned and looked back down at the map, her fingers now brushing across the small area she had been pointing at while the others all watched her. “Y/N," Anna Lucia sighed, walking over to the girl's side and placing a hand on her shoulder. "There are so many unknowns out there and you know that. What if we go out there and our whole hunting party gets eaten by those monsters? What would the others do?"

"Live off Joel's minestrone," Y/N suggested before sighing and looking towards her friend. "But what if we don't die? What if this opens up a whole new world for us?"

Anna Lucia squeezed the girl's shoulder before whispering, "We can't risk it."

Y/N frowned and looked away while Anna Lucia let her hand fall back down to her side. "Anna Lucia's right except for the being able to live off Joel's minestrone thing. I'm pretty sure he'd be out there trying to avenge you before even thinking about making minestrone," Tim spoke up.

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to do that," Y/N assured them.

"He'd be reckless enough," Connor retorted. Y/N gave him a look and the man sighed, "Seriously, Y/N? When are you two just going to grow a pair and tell each other how you feel?"

Y/N blinked in surprise, a light blush taking over her features as she looked around at her friends who were all smirking. "W-What?" she whispered.

"Gosh, you're insufferable sometimes," Anna Lucia muttered jokingly. "It's obvious that you like him and he is your best friend who is also the only one that's still single down here."

"Joel and I—" Y/N hesitated, the thought of actually being with Joel like that making her heart flutter. "We're just friends," she insisted before giving them all a sad smile. "We won't be getting together."

"It's only a matter of time," Anderson smirked making the girl glare in his direction. However, she didn't get a chance to say or do anything because they all were frozen in place as the lights to the bunker flickered on and off before turning on once again.

"What was—" Anna Lucia began, but Y/N could already feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end and had a sneaking suspicion of what was happening.

"Breach," she muttered at the same time someone yelled out from another room, "There's been a breach!"

They all ran out of the room, a few of them scanning the perimeter before they made their way to the main room where everyone was waiting to help them get ready. They hurriedly put what armor they did have on their bodies and Y/N was pulling her hair back into a ponytail when she noticed Joel stumbling into the room with all the weapons in hand.

"Guys! Guys! I got the weapons," Joel announced before proceeding to hand them out to the hunters that walked by.

"Stay," Anderson told him as he took a crossbow.

Joel blinked in surprise, "What? What's happening? What's going on?"

"We've been breached," Y/N explained while she waited for Anna Lucia to grab her weapon so that she could finally reach Joel.

"Breached?" Joel asked. "What do you mean? Like, inside the bunker breached?"

"That's what 'breached' means, kiddo. Y/N, come on," Connor demanded causing the girl to sigh in frustration as him and all the hunters left the room. She turned to Joel who was still trying to process what was happening.

"Joel," she said and he quickly turned to her.

"Right. Right. Here," he muttered as he held out a back holster with two katanas strapped in. She had taken them off of a guy back when the apocalypse had first begun. He had been dead and it wasn't like he planned on using them anyways, so she had taken them in order to keep herself alive. They were her weapon of choice, but she was also one of the best shooters they had so she tended to use a crossbow when necessary. "And here's this," he told her before handing her a crossbow as well.

"Thanks," Y/N told him before nodding her head at him and running out of the room.

"Wait!" Joel yelled, but the girl was already gone. "Breached," he muttered to himself in shock before running after his best friend. By the time he made it to where everyone was, Y/N was already inspecting the gate to the sewers with a frown on her face and her crossbow at the ready while some others worked on getting it open.

"Anna Lucia, Y/N and I will engage," Connor directed. "Anderson and Tim, flank us."

"Flank 'em, yeah, okay. Where do you guys need me? The rear, or. . ." Joel trailed off causing them all to look his way, including Y/N.

"I thought we were past this, Joel," Tim told him as they all looked back to gate.

"Past what? You need help. I can help," Joel insisted. "In case you've forgotten, Robin and I are a duo and I know she goes on the hunting trips and I don't, but this I can help with. Let me help."

"You gonna make me say it?" Connor asked.

"Say what?" Joel questioned.

"You can't handle it, Joel," Connor told him.

"You're shook," Tim added.

"Okay, yeah. So, you guys don't get scared ever?" Joel asked them.

"We get scared."

"We all get scared, Joel, but you get really scared."

"We're not trying to make you feel bad."

"We love you, Joel."

"But you're unsafe."

"You're a liability."

"Even on supply runs."

"Guys!" Y/N exclaimed glaring at the men while Joel looked between them a bit confused.

"Okay, why did that speech feel so rehearsed?" Joel questioned.

"He's got a point," Y/N muttered, turning back around while she nervously fidgeted her hands against the crossbow. "If you're going to tell him something like that at least be sincere instead of rehearsing in your mirror beforehand."

"We did not—" Tim began, but the sound of a growl and something banging against metal made them all tense while Joel jumped back a good foot from where he originally was.

"Connor, Y/N," Karen said as she handed a device to the man. Y/N quickly stood up and hurried over, her eyes flickering over the screen where she could see a blue dot making its way through the sewers towards them.

"Shit," she muttered before standing up more and cracking her neck. She got an arrow ready in the crossbow and jumped in place for a moment to get her nerves out. "Let's do this."

"Okay, 30 meters out. Let's move," Connor directed.

The sewer door was pulled down before the hunters began making their way inside. Y/N was about to follow when someone grabbed ahold of her wrist. She looked back, her eyes locking with Joel's as he held on tightly and whispered, "I can help, Robin."

Y/N let her eyes flicker over his face while her mouth opened up to say something. However, she found herself unable to. All she could imagine was Joel getting attacked by whatever creature was in the sewers at that very moment. She couldn't let him go in there, no matter how badly he wanted to. This was the first time a breach like this had ever happened. Who knew what awaited them down there?

The girl rushed forward, hugging the boy tightly and making him stumble back a bit in surprise. She didn't give him time to react before she was pulling away. "I'm sorry," she whispered, quickly turning around and climbing into the sewers. However, she didn't disappear before she yelled out, "No one let Joel follow!"

Joel's eyes widened. "What?" he exclaimed before attempting to rush forward, but Tim was already there to stand in his way. "Tim, you got to let me go with her. I can't let her go alone. I-I can help."

"She'll be fine, Joel. Y/N’s a survivor. She won't let whatever creature this is take her down," Tim assured him before reaching out to grab the curtain. "You heard what she said. Now go with them." He then pulled the curtain between the two, effectively blocking Joel's view of the tunnel and leaving the boy standing there with a numb feeling coursing through his body.

"Robin," he muttered in frustration before turning on his heels and running to the room everyone was in. The door was locked behind him and Joel quickly shoved his way to the front so that he could watch the monitor with Karen and Kala.

They could all see five yellow dots moving through the tunnels near a bigger blue dot in the center of the screen. "They're getting close," Karen muttered, a silence falling upon them all as they noticed the five dots stop not too far away from the creature. Before anyone knew what was happening, the blue dot lunged out and grabbed ahold of one of the yellow dots.

"Shit."

"Oh, my God."

"It's got one of 'em."

"What about the others?"

The lights began to flicker while Joel felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Y/N," he whispered, his voice making everyone look his way. He was pale, his hands shakily holding onto the crossbow in his hands.

"We don't know if that's her, Joel," Karen tried to tell him. "She could be fine. She—"

"I'm going after her," he said before turning and running for the door. Everyone's eyes widened as people began to make a move towards him, by the boy was quick and already had the door open.

"Joel!" Kala yelled.

"They need help. My best friend needs help. I'm going," Joel insisted before running out the door and slamming in shut behind him.

Joel spun around quickly, crossbow in the air while he nervously looked around the bunker. It was like he was walking into a foreign place, the usual warm feeling of the bunker being replaced with nothing but an eerie feeling and a coldness that shook him to his very core.

His breathing was shaky as he began to walk forward, his eyes flickering around his surroundings while Joel tried to keep himself calm. The only thing keeping him from collapsing in fear was the knowledge that Y/N was out there possibly hurt. He had to get to her. He had to.

The lights flickered as he slowly made his way back towards the tunnels where he knew he had his best access to the others. It was a deafening silent as he walked into the room, so quiet in fact that his ears were ringing.

He nervously looked around and adjusted his hands on the crossbow. As he grew closer to the curtain Tim had pulled out earlier, a new sound filled his ears while his feet slowly stepped in the new puddles of water and blood that were on the ground. The sight made him feel sick to his stomach, so Joel did his best to keep his eyes staring straight ahead.

A lightbulb exploding behind him made the boy jump and spin around, his eyes wide in fear before he realized what had happened and turned back around. He could hear Tim and Connor's words replaying over and over in his head.

We all get scared, Joel, but you get really scared.

You're unsafe.

You're a liability.

Joel walked forward and took in a shaky breath as he attempted to push the voices from his head. His eyes continued to survey the area and he hesitated at the sight of a figure on the other side of the curtain. It almost looked like—

"Connor?" Joel questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. When there was no response, Joel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and lowered his crossbow just a bit. "Connor?"

It was at that moment that a loud hissing sound came from the other side of the curtain and Connor's body limply flew across the room before being shoved into the mouth of whatever creature was over there with him. Lights from the other side shinned their shadows against the curtain and Joel's eyes widened in fear as he slowly took a step back.

Joel's whole body was shaking, his eyes tearing up a little as he feared for not only his life, but Y/N’s as well. If the creature had done what it did to Connor with Y/N. . .well, Joel didn't even want to think about what he would do.

It seemed he wouldn't have to because at that moment the monster finished up eating Connor and turned its attention towards the curtain. It made a noise that Joel swore was able to rattle his bones. The crossbow was back up in position once again, but his hands were shaking so badly that he knew if he didn't get his fear together he was going to be the monster's dessert to the meal it just ate.

The monster began to stand up on the other side of the curtain, its shadow growing bigger and making Joel gulp. He shakily got the crossbow ready to fire before freezing at the sight of the monster appearing over the top of the curtain.

There were tears in his eyes at this point and Joel couldn't even move as he watched the monster tear the curtain down before moving towards him. A few tears slid down his face and Joel felt the fear and panic coursing through his veins.

He closed his eyes as the monster grew nearer, his face confronting in pain and fear as he felt the monster's breath fanning his face and heard the growls rattling in his head.

Then before he knew what had happened, he heard the sound of something flying through the air and then the monster cried out in agony. He felt someone rush by him and opened his eyes to find Y/N standing above the monster's dead body, one katana dripping with blood in one hand while the other protruded from the center of the monster's face.

"D-Did I kill it, or did you?" Joel whispered, her eyes flickering between Y/N who still had yet to turn around and look at him, Tim, and Anna Lucia.

"What do you think?" Anna Lucia asked.

"Robin," he muttered for he knew she had been the one to save him, his eyes flickering back over to his best friend. It was then that she turned to look at him, her whole body shaking as she breathed heavily and attempted to calm herself down. Joel inhaled sharply at the sight of her, her face covered in dirt and blood while a scratch ran down the length of her arm from where the monster had no doubt tried to grab ahold of her.

Joel began to break at that, tears rolling down his face even more while Y/N pulled the other katana out of the monster's head before shoving them both into their sheaths. She moved forward in an instant, her hands grabbing ahold of Joel's arms while she looked to him with a worried gaze.

"Joel, are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked earning a slow shake of his head in response. "What were you doing? What were you thinking? You could've gotten killed!"

Joel slowly lifted his gaze to her, his whole body still shaking as he whispered, "You-You were in trouble, Robin. I—"

Joel was unable to finish what he was saying, his words being cut off as he closed his eyes and more tears fell. It was obvious he was holding back a sob due to the fact they were in front of other people and Y/N felt herself soften almost immediately.

She was wrapping her arms around his neck without a second thought, pulling him in for a hug which Joel quickly accepted. His arms were around her waist and he held onto her tightly while he shook, his tear filled eyes flickering to the ground where the monster that had been seconds away from killing him laid dead on the ground.

- - -

Oh, and I have a pretty severe freezing problem.

But I am working on it.

- - -

Tag List

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[chidori-mint]

Undercover Mission [Obito Uchiha x Reader]

Pairing: Obito Uchiha x Reader

Warnings: Just angst and FLUFF, swear words

WC: 3.6k

A/N: This is my contribution for the first server collab of Konoha Simps. The theme used was Fireworks. They said that fireworks symbolizes the release of suppressed feelings. A huge thanks to my amazing wifey, @bakubabes-hatake​ for always, always motivating me to write.😘 This song inspired me to write this piece. Find all the wonderful works here! Apology in advance, English��isn't my first language but I do hope you enjoy this one! ❤ 

🍭🍡🍭🍡

You can't help but stare at his smile. This man, the one and only man, who can give you this weird feeling, a blissful feeling whenever you're together. This inexplicable joy when he's around. The feeling of love and contentment.

You feel your heart racing as he leans closer to you.

"Obito... I --"

"Y/n?"

That shivering feeling when he uttered your name.

"Y/N?!" You woke up from the loud knock from your door. You knew that voice. Another knock and it made you jump from your bed.

"Y/nnnnnn?! It's me!" Someone hollered outside your door.

With sleepy eyes, you dragged yourself out of the bed to answer the door. The man's eyes grew wide seeing you in your sleep wear -- a white tank top that hugs your perfect curves matched with black tight shorts.

Rubbing your eyes, you asked him "Obito? What are you doing here?"

"Y-you wear that to sleep?!" he stammered as his eyes were still glued at you as you noticed him shaking and sweaty.

"Uhh. Yeah?" you wondered and yawned.

He turned to look away, but his blushing cheeks are still evident.

"Uh, I-I see. Uhm. B-bakashi asked us to meet him in the Hokage's office." stuttering as he kept his eyes away from you.

"Oh, did he say why?" The three of you have been best friends since you can remember. So this is new to you, knowing Kakashi, he hates early morning meetings.

"He just said that it's important. So we gotta head there now, Y/n." He gave a half-smile as he threw his arms to the back of his head.

"You wanna come in while you wait for me?"

He blushed again at your question, "Uhm, you sure it's okay?"

You nodded as you let him in your apartment. "I'm gonna make us coffee, please make yourself comfortable."

  🍭🍡🍭🍡

You entered the Hokage's office and both of you were surprised to see that Kakashi was already waiting at this early hour.

"Sorry for the short notice, but I have a mission for the two of you," he said as he tucked his hands in his pockets.

"Mission? You, idiot! Did they officially make you the sixth Hokage for you to give out missions?!" Obito complained.

"Obito, I am already the sixth Hokage. The Recognition day is just for formality." Kakashi boasted, he really knows how to annoy his best friend. "And anyway this mission is urgent." He declared.

"What kind of mission?" you ask.

Kakashi crossed his arms as he leaned on the desk, "An ancient Scroll of Seals was stolen from the Kazekage. Gaara specifically asked for a skilled shinobi from our village, and he believes that it was an inside job. They already have a suspect actually." He explained.

"You have to go undercover. You can't let anyone recognize you as shinobis." He handed out a brown envelope and Obito took it. "The details about the suspect are all there. Oh, and by the way, you have to go to the Sand Village and act as civilians, more specifically, as husband and wife."

"AS WHAT?!" you both yelled in unison.

"Kakashi, is there a specific reason why we need to go undercover as husband and wife?!" you blurted.

"Y/n's right!" Obito objected, but as you turned to look at him, you noticed him blushing again. "I mean -- we can go as normal civilians, r-right?"

"The Kazekage and three of us are the only ones who are aware of this mission. You can’t speak about this to anyone. He can't seem to trust his subordinates. We still don't know if the suspect works alone or if he has allies within their village. If you go there as a married couple, it'll be less suspicious."

"You idiot --"

"It's okay, Obito. Kakashi's right." You cut him. "I just hope we can make it back before your recognition day."

"Y/n, are you sure you're okay with this?" Obito implored.

"Obito, we've done thousands of deadly missions before." You smiled at him. Yes, you did missions with Obito and Kakashi. This is just a retrieval mission. This is nothing compared to the missions given by the previous Hokages. But this one is different. 

"You can go start packing now if you wanna be back before the recognition day. I want my best friends to be with me on that special day. After all, I'm the Hokage. Right, Obito?" He bragged.

"Whatever you say, you idiot." Obito retorted, "Let's get going, y/n."

"Hey uhm, you go, I still have questions regarding the mission. I'll meet you at the gates?" you asked.

"Oh, okay. I'll meet you there." Obito slowly walked out of the room. You turned to Kakashi as the door shut.

"Kakashi. What was that?" You sounded worried and anxious.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" He walked around the large wooden desk. He turned his swiveling chair and sat lazily on it.

"You know, you can count on me on S rank missions, right? But this? This is just a simple retrieval mission! Why don't you send someone else? Why does it have to be Obito and me? And are you serious with that married couple bullshit?"

Kakashi sighed as you bugged him with your questions.

"You just told Obito you were okay with it, didn't you?"

"I only agreed because I don't want him to think I'm not comfortable doing this with him!" You snapped.

"It's just a cover, y/n. What could possibly go wrong? As you said, this is just a simple mission."

"This is far different from the missions I’ve handled before. You know what could happen if I go on this mission with him! I can't keep pretending, Kakashi. These feelings I have just get stronger every goddamn day." You sighed.

"Then why don't you just tell him the truth?" He asked.

"You think that's easy?" He doesn't understand.

 You give up. You can never win against Kakashi. "Nevermind. See you when I get back."

You headed to the door and left him.

As you walk home, you try to convince yourself that everything will be just fine. As you reach your apartment, you gather all your essentials.

"Two days tops. Finish the job in two days. Then that's it!" you thought.

  🍭🍡🍭🍡

Your journey to the Sand Village was rather quiet. You are not used to this. Obito is usually cheerful, loud, and always giving random compliments about you. But today, he didn't even utter a single word to you. As you reach the Sand Village at past midnight, you both try to look for a place to settle in for the night. You entered an old looking inn and let Obito do the inquiry. Your legs feel numb, your shoulders stiff, you’ve been leaping from tree to tree the whole day. And as you reach the outskirts of the Sand Village, you change from your ninja uniforms to civilian outfits and Obito did the same. He has been awkwardly quiet the whole time.

“We only have one vacant room left, are you going to take it?” asked the young lady from the front desk.

“As long as it has two beds, we’ll take it,” you said, your exhaustion painted in your face.

“I’m sorry, maam but the room has only one bed.” The lady smiled at Obito and it made your eyes narrowed at the young lady.

Unexpectedly, you felt his arms wrapped around your waist as he pulled you closer to him, “Doll, it’s okay, there’s no need for two beds.” he whispered in your ear. He's so close you can feel his warm breath on your cheeks. He gave out a chuckle.

You forgot you were still undercover, “Oh yes, so silly of me. Miss, we’ll take the room.”

“Okay, then. Please enjoy your stay!” She handed the room keys.

  🍭🍡🍭🍡

Obito unlocked the door and turned the knob. You followed him as he entered your shared room. You stared at the bed.

“It’s okay, y/n you can take the bed. I can sleep on the floor.” His voice was tight and serious. You study him as he drops his bag on the floor. You felt the cold rush of the wind blowing as he opened the windows. He has been giving you the silent treatment, you so decided to break the ice.

"Obito. Is there something wrong? You've been awfully quiet since we left the village. Are you okay?" You approached him.

"Wrong? No Y/n, nothing's wrong" He denied.

"I'm your best friend. You can't lie to me. I know something's bothering you." You insisted.

"Best friend, huh? Of course. I'm just your best friend. That's why you have the guts to lie to my face. I heard you and Kakashi." He ruled as he turned to face you.

His words shocked you, freezing your body in place. You swallow the building lump in your throat as you pressed your lips together. There's no more point in lying. He knew it. He knew everything.

"Obito, I've been meaning to tell you. Believe me. I have always loved --"

"Just save it, Y/n, please. Let's just get it over with this mission." He walked towards the door.

"I thought you --"

"Well, you thought wrong, princess." He slammed the door shut. Leaving you alone in the dark room.

Tears start to pool in your eyes, your chest feels heavy, it's like the air has been sucked out of the room. Warm tears had started to roll down your cheeks as you slowly sat down at the edge of the bed. You covered your face with your cold hands trying to muffle your cries. You laid yourself in the bed, staring at the ceiling. Blaming yourself for falling hard for your best friend. So this was the price you have to pay. Hopeless love in exchange of friendship. You covered and curled yourself under the sheets. This is just a bad dream. Just. A. Bad. Dream.

  🍭🍡🍭🍡

You stretched your numb arms only to feel that the bed was cold and empty. You slowly opened your heavy and swollen eyes, you searched for Obito, but there was no trace of him.

If it wasn't for the mission, you wouldn't have the reason to get up from the bed.

  🍭🍡🍭🍡

After taking a shower and putting on a nice sundress, you went down to look for Obito. The young lady from last night was back in the front desk.

"Hi! Good morning, uhm have you seen my… husband?" You asked her politely.

"Oh you mean, him?" She giggled.

"Hello, wife." As you face him, he holds your chin and kisses you. As soon as his lips parted from yours, it left you dumbstruck and speechless.

"Shall we?" He winked and held out his hand but you can't help but stare at him. "Y/n?"

"Oh… Yes. We should go." You took his hand as he bid goodbye to the young lady.

"You could at least do your part and act like my wife, y/n." He whispered as both of you exited the inn. "You're good at pretending anyway." He grunted.

You felt another pang of guilt.

"Obito, about last night…"

"Forget it. Not interested, anyway."

You felt embarrassed and hurt. You just want to finish this stupid mission, get back to the village and punch Kakashi right in the face.

  🍭🍡🍭🍡

"I think that's our guy." He signaled. After hours of surveillance, you finally confirmed the suspect.

You both were sitting on a bench, while your guy was eating his ramen not too far away from your position. You both settled on the bench waiting for the man to move. You try to focus on the mission but the flashing images of last night's incident kept replaying on your mind on loop.

"So… How long have you been hiding that from me?" his voice brought you back to your senses as he gazed at you.

"I… pretty much a long time." You confessed. "I wanted to tell you but," You clenched your jaw, trying to hold back the tears from falling "I can't risk our friendship. And, I’m not sure how you’re gonna feel about it."

There was another odd silence between the two of you.

"This mission is important; we can't let our personal issues get in the way." He sounded stern.

This sudden change from his behavior made it clear to you that he's really not into you. And it rips your heart apart. You sat right next to each other but he still feels like he’s so far away from you. You’ve been dying to grab him right now, to hold him close, to kiss him, and to make him yours.

You get his point, "Of course," you agreed.

The man stood up from his seat and paid the ramen guy.

"Come on, we have to follow him." You complied quietly as you let Obito lead the mission. He rose up and stretched out his arms, "Let's go, princess."

"Wait, does he really have the scroll?" 

You watched him as he activated his Sharingan. "He has the scroll. But wait a minute," he sounded intrigued. "His chakra. It's… weird. It's… familiar."

He tried to study the man. “I mean look at him, who would wear a coat and a hat on a hot day like this?" he muttered as he expressed his disbelief.

The man started walking casually along the busy street of the Sand Village. You both tailed on him while keeping a safe distance. You slowly grabbed Obito's arms, you noticed he became stiff and surprised as you clung on him. "Relax, Obito. Husband and wife, remember?" you quietly reminded him. The least you could do, is to focus and make sure you accomplish this mission. 

“So, Kakashi mentioned that this mission is exclusive for us, right? And that nobody knows about it. Just us and the Kazekage?” he sounded unsure as he kept his eyes fixed on your target.

“Well, that’s what he said,” you confirmed. “Why?”

“I know that this may sound weird but, I have a feeling that we know this guy.” he stated.

Hearing Obito’s theory made you anxious. You both halted when you saw the man turn and entered an inn. 

“Is he luring us in?” you asked. "Why do I have a feeling that he already knows he's being followed?" 

“There's only one way to find out."

🍭🍡🍭🍡

You both entered the building and started searching for the man. You have combed all the rooms in the first floor, but he was nowhere to be found.You both climbed up the stairs as quietly as possible. You reached the first room on the second floor, just when you're about to open the door, Obito clasped your arm and pulled you closer to him. When you looked up at him, he put an index finger to his lips, "Let me," he whispered. 

He grabbed the door handle and slid it open only to reveal a very familiar man.

“YAMATO?!” you both screamed his name. 

His face was as white as the snow, his eyes grew wide as you guys barged in his door. 

“What are you doing here?” Obito asked.

“Did Kakashi send you?” you interrogated him. You rushed towards Yamato as he nervously stepped back.

“Well, I’m on a separate mission actually.” he chuckled nervously as he scratched his head. 

“Separate mission? What mission? I thought Kakashi said that this mission was exclusive for us.” Obito was puzzled.

“Well, uh yes. But you see, Kakashi sent me here to make uh sure that uhm..” he was avoiding any eye contact and was already stuttering. 

“To make sure that what? Spill it now, Yamato before I slit your throat!” you said furiously as you took out one of your Kunai and pointed it at him.

“Kakashi’s gonna kill me...” he muttered under his breath, beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead and upper lip.

“What does Kakashi have to do with this?” asked Obito, who seemed like he still was not getting the point to all of this. Your eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“I will kill you now even before he gets his chance! Start talking now, you tree man!” you demanded as you inclined your head and gave him a death glare. You are fuming right now, something in your guts are telling you that this was all Kakashi’s stupid idea! 

“Well, you see, Kakashi asked me to help him finish his last mission before he could officially accept the responsibilities for being the Sixth Hokage,” Yamato said, trying his best to stay as calm as possible.

“His last mission?” you repeated as you exchanged glances with Obito.

“He said that both of you were uh…  giving him endless headaches. That you guys should just…” he paused as he rubs the back of his neck.

“Just what?!” you both exclaimed.

“Just date already!” he declared. You froze. How could Kakashi tell Yamato about your secrets? 

“Tch,” Obito snorted. “How would I date her if she likes Kakashi?” He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away, his words left you bewildered.

“Wait up, you said you heard us talking in the Hokage’s office?” 

“Well, weren’t you referring to Kakashi?” he questioned.

“You idiot! So that’s why you were avoiding me the whole day when we left the village? Because you assumed that I liked Kakashi? You dumb ass! I was trying to confess to you last night but you won’t let me finish!” you cried. 

Your words struck him, his cheeks were blushing crimson again. “Y-you mean --?” swallowing the forming lump in his throat, “the mission was… fake?” he asked, giving you a perplexed look.

“Oh God. You really are the dumbest of all the Uchihas, aren’t you?!” you sighed in exasperation as you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“Obito,” Yamato butted in, “Y/n just admitted her feelings for you and you’re asking if the mission was fake?” he facepalmed. “Y/n, please enlighten me -- what did he do to make you swoon over him?” he teased.

“Me? Swoon over him?!” a flush crept up your face. 

“For heaven’s sake. You both are dumb, you know? I can’t believe this is what Kakashi has to deal with everyday. You guys are so exhausting. Work this out, you two.” he retorted in annoyance. He collected his things and headed to the door.

Yamato shut the door behind him and Obito did not make any effort to come closer to you and you were frozen from where you’re standing. No one talked. You could cut through the tension with a knife.

“I’m sorry about last night, Y/n. For driving you away…” Obito finally said. “I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

“Okay… How else would you have?” you smiled dryly.

“Princess please, I need you to just listen to me, okay?” he bit down on his lip.

He grabbed both of your hands and brought them to his chest. You could feel his heart pounding below the skin, a very similar tempo to yours. “I like you, wait, no. I love you. The only thing that kept holding me back was that I really thought you liked Kakashi. I confronted him. But he said that you liked someone else, not him. That Bakashi, he should have told me the truth! Y/n, I can’t keep pretending anymore. I can’t pretend that I don’t want to hold you or that I’m not falling in love with you. I can’t and I won’t, not anymore.”

“What?!” Your jaw was on the floor. “You like… me? But last night --”

“Last night was a mistake.” He held both of your wrists in one hand and cupped your cheek with the other. Everything that he had said last night was starting to make sense a lot more sense now. It was heartbreaking, but now it made sense. 

“You were so infuriating, I was trying to tell you that I love you last night,” you said as you leaned into his palm.

“I am not infuriating!’ he denied.

“Okay but you’re dumb!” you jested.

“Okay, I’ll take that. But I know you love me.” his thumb traced your bottom lip, and he moved even closer to you.

Your heart skipped.

“So what are we doing then?” you asked, distracted by his touch on you. “Are we… together? Like, together together?”

“Well if you’ll have me, yes,” he said as his eyes flickered. “I want you, Y/n. Just as you are.” 

“I want you too,” your smile grew along with his.

“I meant what I said, princess. I love you.��� his forehead pressed to yours, as you close your eyes in relief.

“I love you too, dumb ass.” you pressed your lips onto his and he took you gladly.

His arms slid around your waist, while the other went back to the back of your neck, to hold you in place as he kissed you like it was his last.

“I’m really sorry about last night, for being an asshole,” he told you through the kiss. It was mostly tongue and teeth, desperate and messy. “ Let me make it up to you, Y/n.”

He was intoxicating and all you could do was nod, your eyelashes fluttering as his lips travelled down your neck, sucking on your skin.

“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!” Yamato appeared in the window making Obito’s posture straightened. He kept his hands on you, pulling you close to his chest like you were in danger.

“Maybe that’s why Bakashi and this tree boy get along so much,” he murmured.

“Huh, why?” you asked.

“They’re both cockblockers.” he whispered.

“Hey! I heard that!” Yamato narrowed his eyes. “So are we getting back to the village?”

“Uh, we’ll stay a little longer.” Obito replied, as he smirked at you. “I have to make it up to her. We might miss Bakashi’s recognition day though. I plan to ravish my princess and we have to make up for all the times we should have been together.”

[faint-waves-music]

Discussing Far East Winter.

My new EP, Far East Winter has been a very interesting EP to make and because of that, I wanted to write something of an article in regards to it. So, here we are! I'm going to discuss the background of this EP, my influences, inspirations, some of the ideas I had with this record, a short run through of each track, and a few things I learned along the way. Hopefully this is an informative and interesting read and hopefully you enjoy the record, too.

I had contemplated doing an EP of this nature for some time, in fact, you can hear my earliest inclinations toward this idea on my "Cherry Blossom" single from 2017. I've always been a lover and admirer of sounds from all over the world, but music and sounds from the East and the far East have always really caught my ear. I think so many of the instruments and the scales/notation they tend to use are absolutely beautiful. The only reason I hadn't done this sooner, is because I didn't want to do this just to do it and because I'm not sure I was totally ready to. If I was going to do it, I wanted to do it some semblance of justice. If "Cherry Blossom" was me seeing if I could pull it off at all, "Far East Winter" is the more refined, realized vision of incorporating these elements into my music.

As far as who/what inspired and influenced this record, I'd say it was a good mixture of eastern and non-eastern artists. Many of my ideas were informed by Roxy Music, Prefab Sprout, Tears For Fears, Vangelis, Hiroshima, Kitaro, Hiromitsu Agatsuma, and Himekami, just to name a few. I was in a creative space where I also wanted to kind of continue the easy listening/downtempo/adult contemporary-inspired direction I've been taking Faint Waves since 2017, but I had to do something interesting to really change the pace a bit and since I wanted to do a winter release, I knew the sound couldn't just be sunshine and ocean waves. The result is a more winter-into-spring sounding EP, not necessarily dark or discordant sounding, but a bit more bittersweet and melancholy in places. That's not to say there aren't hopeful moments, as the first and final tracks on the EP are a bit more optimistic than the rest, indicating glimmers of hope amongst the moodier parts of the record.

Much of the record I think has a very soft rock and sophistipop vibe, but there are few moments that are a bit more downtempo, new age, or experimental. I also made some stylistic choices on this EP that kind of set it apart from other things I've done, namely with the drums and bass. I've often relied on a fretless bass emulation for many (the vast majority, actually) of my songs, it's been a tried and true element and staple in the music I've made. However, I felt this record warranted something different, so I've switched things up and used a finger style bass emulation. It has a much deeper sound and I think has given the record a bit more of a soft rock or vintage R&B vibe. As for the drums, I made a similar stylistic decision to go after more of an organic feel. So, rather than using solely Roland and Linn samples as I have in the past, I opted to use more live sounds. That doesn't mean I haven't used those Roland and Linn samples at all, as they're still in the mix. Many of the songs feature a live kick drum layered with a Linn kick and on "Lovers In The Cold", you can very clearly hear the use of a CR-78 hat sample alongside the rest of the drums. Small changes in the grand scheme of things but I think they've made a big difference in the overall feel of the EP.

The first song I had completed and the one that really solidified the fact that I was doing this, was "Lovers In The Cold", which ironically became the last track on the EP. "Lovers In The Cold" is a bit of a sophistipop track with both western and eastern instrumentation, including a Xylophone, Sax, an Erhu (a violin-like instrument of Chinese origin), and a brilliant emulation of the Ruan (a plucked instrument of Chinese origin). I'd say the sound and structure were most influenced by acts like Hiroshima and Roxy Music, while the blocky pad chords remind me more of Prefab Sprout. It's definitely a pretty layered track for me, lots of moving parts. The way I've always seen the song, structurally, is as an argument between two lovers. Xylophone is one party, while the Erhu is another. The Xylophone is very quick moving and aggressive but the Erhu is more relaxed and to the point. They have this back and forth, but every other time the Erhu comes in, there's one extra note that wasn't played the previous time. So, it's almost like someone is getting the last word in there. Then, you have this kind of breakdown in the song where everything slows down a bit and rather than them playing separately, you have the Xylophone and the Erhu playing simultaneously. Going along with the two lovers metaphor, that part of the song could be them reconciling, working together to make things work before everything falls apart again.

There were a lot of demos with this EP, more than maybe any other EP I've ever made. A lot of stuff didn't make the cut or just plain didn't get finished. The next track that saw completion after "Lovers In The Cold" was probably the fourth song I had made overall and it's a tracked called "Only Tonight", which was loosely inspired by "Advice For The Young At Heart" by Tears For Fears. This track was one that definitely went through a lot of changes before it became what it was. It started out very synthpop, with these big electronic strings, before I transitioned to a more organ-centric sound. It took quite a few demos for it to start to take shape as it is now, a piano ballad. I think after the organ became integral to the song, the drums were what really started to make it take shape. Those drums, at least where they start initially, have a very Burt Bacharach feel. That shaker-sidestick combo he's so fond of. It starts in that kind of Bacharach-like place but as the track goes on, the drums get a little more aggressive and eventually the sidestick is replaced with a snare. For the piano, I didn't want a big sound because the organ/bass combo was already doing that for me, so it's pretty much this continuous riff of single notes. Then the piano is accompanied by a Shamisen (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) and later on, a sax. The track also features a Vibraphone and a Gong sample. The Vibraphone is this kind of arpeggiated-sounding series of a few notes, it really gives the track an underlying sense of movement and urgency. "Only Tonight" is an interesting one because I feel like it became what it is very naturally, but it did take some time to get there. Glad I didn't give up on it though, as it's a favorite of mine.

After that, I think came "Snow Summit", which also went through a lot of changes as it went on. It's kind of a weird one. It doesn't sound like it at all, but it was pretty Vangelis inspired. Vangelis, Yello, and Kitaro are the big inspirations for that one. It went through a lot of changes and I don't think I was ever really sure the track "worked", so to speak. Once I laid down the bass for it, I feel like it all clicked a bit better, but it's still by far one of the most oddball tracks I've ever produced. It was inspired by a Yello song called "Homer Hossa", which if you aren't familiar with, is basically just a lot of sound effects, percussion, and little actual melody. "Snow Summit" is kind of that way, except it basically has this big brass backing track accompanying all these weird sounds. I think my intention with it, is that I wanted it to be as foreboding and endless feeling as the summit of a mountain would be. You're cold, the wind is blowing, there's snow everywhere, and you can see for literally miles. That kind of thing is intimidating and I think I wanted to convey that with this noisy, aimless kind of a track. It's probably the most "experimental" thing I've done. Huge brass, eastern percussion, simulated wind, white noise stabs, and huge bass drops. That's "Snow Summit" in a nutshell.

After that, came "Hatsukoi". Hatsukoi translates to first love, if you're curious. I knew I wanted a beautiful opening song for the EP and after drawing a blank for a long time, this is what materialized. Inspired by Kitaro and to a lesser extent Himekami, "Hatsukoi" is a bit of a new age jaunt. It's basically comprised of strings, a few different kinds of percussion (both eastern and western), a Celeste, a Pipa (a four stringed instrument of Chinese origin), a Xylophone, wave sfx, and bird sfx. This track doesn't really develop beyond the first couple minutes, but I found it very lovely and relaxing and didn't feel the need to add to it. I had a few demos where a flute came in the second half but it was just overkill in my opinion. It's a bit more hopeful and warm than everything else on the EP. It's very much in line with some of the more atmospheric, new age inspired things I've done. It's very much Kitaro by way of Faint Waves, in my opinion. I'd love to explore that kind of sound more in the future, to the degree of acts like Kitaro or Himekami. That kind of Electronica-meets-New Age-and-Classical sound is always brilliant. Exploring that sort of thing could be an EP or album in it's own right, but for this release, I wanted a balance of downtempo/chilled vignettes with more deliberate/aggressive songs.

The next song that came to be was actually an older, unfinished demo that I had lying around. "Tao Of Knowing" originally started as "Charm", a new wave/sophistipop song inspired by Johnny Hates Jazz and Tango In The Night-era Fleetwood Mac. "Charm" was originally much more electronic and instead of a Koto (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) carrying the song, it was a piano. I revisited this song during my time producing Far East Winter and I found, with a few changes, that it would fit the record. I changed quite a few things; the key changed, the chiffer lead at the beginning of the song became a Shakuhachi (a flute-like instrument of Japanese origin, derived from the Chinese bamboo flute), the main piano riff became a Koto, the poppy drum samples were replaced with the ones I was using for this EP, and I wound up writing a new pad for it as well. Once I had made those changes, the song still went through a few more permutations before it became the song you hear on Far East Winter. The song has a very mystical feel and I think that sets it apart on the EP, in a good way. The original demo had a very new wave feel to it and I think a little bit of that is still intact, particularly in the drums. This one may also be one of the more aggressive sounding songs in the Faint Waves canon, too. Very in your face at times.

The last song to be completed was "City Street". I knew from the beginning that "City Street" was going to be a short interlude kind of a song. My general vision for it from the get go was very similar to how it came to be, I knew I wanted to be very ambient and atmospheric, and to feature a Rhodes. That's exactly how it turned out but I just couldn't seem to get it to materialize. At first, I tried to make the song quicker and more urban sounding, to coincide with the name. It just wasn't working, so I scrapped almost everything except the percussion I had. The percussion I did have, I wound up changing quite a bit, leaving pretty much the bare minimum. Once I was happy with the percussion, I layered a few different sound effects. One was of nighttime ambience (crickets/frogs/etc.), another was just general city noise, and the final was of a little bit of traffic. After that came the Rhodes, which I pretty much treated almost as a pad as I wrote and produced it. I applied a lot of effects to it, reverb and delay mostly, so it would kind of linger well beyond the length of the notes would allow. On top of that, I used a Pipa again, I actually recycled a melody from another song of mine ("Congo") for that and adjusted the notes accordingly. The end result is a very soundscapey interlude that's heavy on ambiance, maybe slightly reminiscent of Kenji Kawai. Good for falling asleep to maybe, as much of my catalogue is.

In conclusion, I learned a lot going into this EP and coming out of it. I did a lot of reading and listening, trying to understand what they were doing as far as Eastern instrumentation and notation were concerned. Reading and learning about scales like the Japanese In Sen scale, as well as putting them to use, was incredibly challenging and fun. I made more songs for this one EP, than I have any release before, and it's because of what I was working with. There's a real beauty and true uniqueness to the music and culture on that side of the world that we don't often see. They do things in music that the West never has and likely, never will. I think my research and desire to understand, is what made this EP so special to me, as well as what has made the EP sound so unique in comparison to the rest of my material. I might have done some familiar things but I don't think I've ever made anything similar to what I've made here. In many ways, I feel like I needed to do a project like this, just to stretch my legs a bit and get out of my comfort zone. This record is a sign of things to come, not in the sense that I'll necessarily be making another record like this, but in the sense that my next record will be just as different. So, stay on your toes and enjoy.

- Faint Waves.