#Smarter writing
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Something something Clone Force 99 breaking binders in every season finale
#idk man i just thought of it and it felt really significant thematically#maybe iâll write an essay#or maybe someone smarter than me should do it lol#the bad batch#star wars#tbb season 1#tbb season 2#tbb season 3#tbb finale#clone force 99#tbb hunter#tbb wrecker#tbb crosshair#tbb omega#something something itâs those four specifically#yes yes i know the first one is from the second to last episode in s1 but it was a two part finale. bite me lol#jeez i was fighting for my life in that gif search on and off for DAYS#DAYS I TELL YOU#i should really just learn to do this myself#tag ramble#has anyone pointed this out before???#parallels
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âSo, babysitting?â
Alberu follows after the delinquent. From the record the vice-principal gave him access to, Cale frequently drinks alcohol, he often gets himself into a lot of fights, and he barely passed his classes at the end of the grading period. The teachers never call on him in class, girls and boys avoid him alike, and he is- supposedly- completely intolerable.
Which is why Alberu Crossman, whoâs only a little older yet infinitely more mature has been assigned by the principal (his father) to get the troublemaker under thumb. Cale's father is quite wealthy, actually, and since there isn't much known about the successor to the Henituse family... it'd be bad if he had to be expelled.
Cale scowled. âYes, babysitting, your highness. Please, leave if you must,â He jeers at Alberu, but internally he thinks, 'No, really. Please leave.' Otherwise, he might get caught in the act.
Of not actually being Cale.
Roksu aims a sour expression at Alberu, who returns it with a more flowery one. Acting as his twin for the day had been easy enough, mainly because being trash is great!- until Alberu Crossman strolled into his lunch period and introduced himself.
He is even following him out of the school to his job. Well, this job is Roksuâs and not Caleâs, but because he canât ditch work nor can he get glib-tongued Alberu off his tail-
Well shit.
Thankfully, the kids call him hyung. Except Raon, who calls him human. Hopefully Alberu doesnât look into it too much. If everything goes right, Alberu Crossman will be Cale's problem to deal with tomorrow. As it should have been.
âI didnât know you liked kids, Cale,â Alberu smiles charmingly, walking side by side with Roksu. âCan you introduce me?â Roksu struggles to not put on his own disarming smile out of spite, instead plastering on a classic Cale Sneerâ˘. It fits on his face perfectly, like heâs playing a character in a play.
They enter the building and âCaleâ guides Alberu to a colorful playroom, decked out in toys and a fountain of running water as the centerpiece (A gift from his father, who is still upset that Roksu doesn't visit more often). Thereâs a tray of fruits and oatmeal on the small table in the corner of the room, except not a soul to be seen. Picking up a bowl of oatmeal and finding the ceramic to still be hot, Roksu almost smiles.
Alberu frowns. Where are the kids he's supposed to babysit?
Roksu tells the empty air, "Come on out."
Three children appear out of nowhere in front of them.
âHyung!â
âHuman! Youâre back!â
âHyung, nya.â On examines Alberu some more.
All of the kids had been revealed the moment that Roksu spoke, as Raon unveiled the invisibility on them.
Raon runs up and grabs Roksuâs hand, who places it on his head, rubbing the black hair comfortingly. âMm.â Raon beams at the affection.
âRaon, On, Hong,â they each look up at him at the call of their names. âThis is Alberu Crossman, he is doing a report on my trashy behavior. Donât be rude."
All three children become hostile immediately. âHe isn't trash!â
On observes Alberu with an intense glare. Raon shifts under Roksuâs hand, his deep blue eyes glinting with magic. Roksu positions him away from the older teenâs view. Raon grips onto Roksuâs pant leg with a vengeance. Hong stares openly, offensive.
Alberu smiles at them.
"I'm visiting with Cale Hyung for today, nice to meet you."
Hong gasps suddenly.
âHe-!â On gives her brother a look, and he clamps his hands over his mouth. Alberu feels a deep curiosity, as if something isnât quite as it seems.
Roksu sighs. Itâs going to be a long hour.
At the midway point, Alberu has easily disarmed the children. They look fascinated at the magic he shows them, while Roksu can only rub a palm over Raonâs shoulder as a warning to keep his dragon magic under control. He's still just a child that wants to brag. Everything is going well.
Bang!
âHey Roksu! How was-â Cale bursts through the door, bright red hair equipped with a shit-eating grin, wearing clothes far less fancy than his usual. He tenses up, frozen in place when he spots Alberu on the floor, politely sitting "crisscross applesauce" with the children. Roksu narrows a withering glare at his twin.
â⌠Roksu?â
Alberu looks at âCale,â sitting next to him, the one he's spent the entire day with, who is trying to send what must be the real Cale into the sun with his eyes.
âHa⌠ha?â Cale winces. Roksu wipes his expression from his face.
âCale-hyung, run! Thatâs the humanâs bad look!â Alberuâs eyes widen as he watches the confirmed real Cale bolt back into the hallway and out of the front door. Alberu whips his head back toward the stranger behind him, who is a perfect replica of the Cale who ran like Hell. Cale has an identical twin?? Since when? Why doesn't he go to school?
Roksu levels an emotionless gaze at Alberu. âHello, your highness. Donât mind me.â
Alberu can only watch in astonishment as this stranger walks out of the playroom, with a smooth and deadly gait as he hunts down his twin like a predator would to prey. He recalls the look 'Roksu' gave him and it sends a shiver down the principalâs sonâs spine. That gaze held secrets.
Something about this stranger is even more interesting than the sudden appearance of a twin.
On walks up to him, sitting down in his lap and looking into his eyes. âRoksu-hyung will be back soon, nya!â Hong bounds over and sits next to his sister, grinning widely. Raon huffs and looks at the door. He wants his human to come back.
#Roksu is Cale's lost twin who reunited with the Henituse family at 16. he went to a charter school and speedran his education#which is why he doesn't go to high school with Cale#Roksu didn't want attention from the public so his existence is kept secret from most everyone outside of the family and tight-lipped staff#Cale wanted to skip school that day (he heard Albert would be coming to monitor) and tricked Roksu into dealing with it for him#not that Roksu didn't receive something in return for pretending to be Cale... but now he's going to 'negotiate' a better deal with his twi#anyway that's all I remember about this#hong was going to say 'He thinks Roksu hyung is Cale hyung!' but stopped himself from revealing it in time#kim rok soo#kim roksu#cale henituse#og cale henituse#lcf#lotcf#lout of the counts family#tcf#totcf#trash of the counts family#fic#ughhh I'm not as diligent with my tags as I used to be#tcf raon miru#lcf ohn#tcf hong#yayay#posting old writing so it doesn't rot in my notes app any longer#if I was smarter I would post it on ao3 but I don't really write enough words to bother doing that#not a reblog#alberu crossman#alver crossman#alcale#I put the ship tag but not because it's a ship thing. I just think the shippers would appreciate this
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aside from everything else about durgewyll I am loving how it highlights wyll and gortash as narrative foils. both their upbringings lead them to interact with demoniac entities, both can only become archdukes and join baldurian high society through uldred, both are swaying the dark urge from simply following bhaal (and arguably the dark urge sways them from simply pursuing an ideal and the dark urge can recognise both as their equal)
and by playing your card right in act 3 wyll just...gets everything gortash was trying to get? wyll really is a hero saving baldur's gate from the legion of the absolute. wyll influences gortash's favourite assassin into becoming someone they can defeat the netehrbrain together. they can even become archdukes together! ...or they can turn it down and then they can go to he hells to sneak around and have adventures (like gortash and durge used to) and save karlach's life (the same life that is at risk because gortash mindlessly threw it away).
like. it's a lot, wyll and durge can even murder raphael.
#bg3#something something mirrors something something#wyll ravengard#enver gortash#this is not critical of gortash btw love whatever the fuck he has going on#also their upbringing...like yeah gortash obviously was sold to a devil by his parents that is not great#but also wyll indirectly has absorbed from uldred's teachings that his life does not matter as much as the greater good or the right ideals#and that is good but also wrong#i don't have the right words now to elaborate on all of that#throwing this in the void hoping that someone smarter than me gets inspired to elaborate on this#thsi was brought to sceleritas telling durge to never consider anyone else his equal and remembering that gortash always did#bg3 durge#durgewyll#bg3 spoileres#durge spoilers#EDIT: someone pointed out in the tags that gortash doesn't really want to he a hero and yeah but didn't really know how to write it out
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i think the songs on the album will be utterly earnest and personal, but it is so interesting that she's juxtaposing the supposed authenticity of the "tortured poet" (the idea that to be artistic you must be dark, tortured, etc and your work must reflect that in a specific way, or you're not considered a real artist, maybe even a sellout, a shill) with "department," a concept that implies administration or detachment, a mere method of organization. as if the act of creating "tortured art" has been catalogued, maybe even commodified or turned routine. like, even the way she presents her art, her truth, as "evidence"... the way her songs about her life are organized and labeled as "artifacts," even though they are intimate and personal. there's just a few layers of irony here that i'm really excited for, and that addresses so much of discourse around her artistry, life, and mythology.
#ttpd predictions#like... it brings to mind what she's said about paternity testing but also her shattered edges glistening#the way her pain is fake or manipulative#or the public autopsy comment and folklore blending fiction to avoid drama#how she's constantly getting smarter and quicker on her feet#but she's also made to feel like a monster/something inhuman#is this about needing enough evidence to prove herself as she has time and time again?#is it sbout the metacognition required to write about her own life for years?#about*#mine
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DPXDC Prompt #82
Harley Quinn and Bruce Wayne accidentally have a one night stand after Harley is reformed. Harley gets pregnant but hides it, she canât let anyone know about this. She gives him up for adoption and doesnât tell Bruce. She canât risk this getting back to the Joker who would definitely target the boy. Joker would definitely use her son against her, heâd be furious. so she gives Danny up for adoption. Who knew the Fentons were the wrong people to let adopt.
16 years go by and Harley begins to regret her choices and she decides to visit the home. She heard their eldest daughter Jasmine was getting into psychology and sheâd figured sheâd give her some pointers especially since they were kind of family. What she didnât expect was for the Fenton Parents torturing and Vivisecting a ghost in their basement. Harley doesnât know who this ghost Phantom is but sheâs getting him out of their.
Danny finally comes too after the rescue to Harley Quinn of all people. He knows sheâs reformed but heâs still cautious.
#dp x dc prompt#dp x dc#dc x dp#writing prompt#danny fenton#danny phantom#Danny is the son of Harley and Bruce#Danny gets vivisected#poor danny#Danny gets saved by Harley Quinn#Eventually Danny says fuck it and reveals heâs half ghost to her#Harley Quinn goes on a killing spree#She adopts Jazz afterwards why wouldnât she want a kid thatâs into psychology like she is?#Harley loves her kids and would do anything for them#Danny didnât realize he was adopted#Danny being way smarter than people give him credit for#Honestly same#Id rather people underestimate me because if people knew theyâd take advantage
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Relationship envy except I envy the bond between iconic fictional characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
#their relationship is so beautifully made#your honor they're everything to me#it doesnt even matter if you view them platonically or romantically#you cant deny the love they have for each other#the way that watson writes about holmes is just full of love and admiration#even though holmes doesnt express his feelings in the same way#he still loves him more than anything#as seen in 3GAR and DEVI#they both love each other so much#they both strengthen each other you see#they protect each other#they're a team#they each bring something unique to the table#but it doesnt feel like one is inferior to the other#at least not to me#traditional relationships always make me feel like someone is inferior/weaker than the other#holmes is smarter intellectually and he's stronger physically#but watson has the emotional intelligence#they balance each other perfectly#theyre PARTNERS in every sense of the word#and i want a relationship like theirs#i feel like traditional gender roles and stuff limit me from having a real relationship like this#as a girl#im expected to be weaker and softer#i mean even sherlock holmes says women are weaker#for gods sake#i feel like i will never achieve this level of equal partnership with a man#sherlock holmes#john watson#holmes/watson
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love race to the edge because 40% of the episodes were plot and everything else was the sort of crack fic content you come across on ao3 when you're supposed to be sleeping
#it has canon incorrect quotes#it has shenanigans#it has the twins#its like star trek#writing fics is easy because the characters do dumb stuff in canon#theyre teenagers and theyre allowed to act like it#but theyre also smarter than a lot of adults which is halarious#how to train your dragon#race to the edge#riders of berk#hiccup haddock#toothless#astrid hofferson#httyd ruffnut#httyd tuffnut#httyd fishlegs#httyd snotlout#dragons#ao3#fandom#its ridiculous
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sexy himbo jock interpretations of James Tiberius Kirk are silly and do a disservice to the character for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that it fundamentally ignores all the times in canon when Kirk is faced with a scientific discovery or oddity and you can see the effort it takes for him not to clap and skip with excitement. like in âthe devil in the darkâ when Spock posits that they might be dealing with a silicon based life form and McCoyâs like âbut thatâs impossible!â and Kirk literally crosses the room to flirt talk excitedly with Spock about the prospect and how it could work! and what it would mean!
What Iâm saying is, Kirkâs gotta be smart and a huge dork because how else could he pull a bad autistic bitch like Spock?
#see also:#in arena when the aliens let the enterprise watch Kirkâs fight with the Gorn on that fuckass asteroid#and Spock is like listing the elements present that Kirk could use to build a weapon or make an explosion or whatever#but Kirk canât hear him! because heâs on a fuckass asteroid#but he still turns around and does exactly what Spock was describing because heâs ALSO SMART AND CAPABLE AND GOOD AT SCIENCE#and like! you just know Spock was likeâŚ.barely containing his lust in that moment#like your bestie your life partner your other half is out there showing why youâre soooo drift compatible#while also being good at science (your favorite thing)???#I wouldnât be normal about it either#(Iâm very clearly not normal about it anyway)#like you know theyâre excitedly sharing science journal articles in their free time because theyâre dweebs!! theyâre dorks!!#the greatest trick this show pulls off is making you think Kirk and Spock are opposites#when in fact their whole thing is âhow differently can two people be raised and move through life and still be the epitome of#whatever souls are made of his and mine are the sameâ#Iâm sorry I had a smarter more coherent Star Trek post I was trying to write but Iâm not feeling coherent at all#so you get this instead#Star Trek#star trek tos#tos#Iâm still in season one so no one correct me if they swerve super hard and never let Kirk be smart ever again after that#let me have this
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I think it would be really funny if rin was the more helpful one around his house. Like u would think rin would be the disrespectful one who always bails on housework or mass but its actually yukio who would always have an excuse not to go or forget about chores to the point that rin just does them instinctively now
#this post lagged my phone so bad i had to save it as a draft and switch it to my computer#god is trying to stop me from spreading my 'yukio is an atheist' ideals#anyway this extends to when they live together and when they are adults to the point that rin comes over and does all the chores for yukio#cuz this created an oroboros since rin always did them as a kid now yukio doesnt have them in his brain#he tries his best tho he would neveradmit (at least in highschool) that hes kind of a boyfailure at housework#rin is a homemaker this is my truth#rin is like kinda resentful but not enough to act on it and its so deep down he doesnt even realize its there#like yeah its kinda fucked up that he would ask yukio for help setting things up for mass or doing the laundry but yukio has a busy scedule#and hes wayy smarter than rin so obviously he shouldnt waste his time on stuff like that but rin would never voice those in a negative way#rin doesnt hate helping his brother tho if yukio asked him to come over and clean his house everyday forever he would probably do it#its just the principal of yukio being a perfect angel and rin not getting any credit cuz hes doing 'thankless jobs'#and yukio kinda feels bad even tho he really did have things to do he just couldnt tell rin cuz it was exorcist work#im just writing fanfiction now#accept my okumura twin fanfiction headcanons#blue exorcist#ao no exorcist#yukio okumura#rin okumura#'blue exorcist' 'ao no exorcist' yukio okumura' 'rin okumura' are my most used tags on tumblr#am i in your hearts yet blue exorcist tumbr?đĽş
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Imagine Dottore comforting you after a bad experience in school.
You would have just finished something you've worked very hard on, something you were genuinely interested in too, perhaps a project or essay or anything in between. You were up late, pouring all of your energy into your research to create the best result you possibly could. And yet, you could never stay awake longer than Zandik, who finally realized what you meant when you always complained about how stubborn he was about sleeping since he was met with the same stubbornness from you in these moments. Still, he was quite impressed with your dedication to your work. Though he may not share the same interests as you always, may have even found some of them frivolous at first, he can respect your passion for them.
You would frequently stress over it and fret over everything, which Zandik was slightly exasperated at because you're the most competent person he knows in the whole Akademiya. You don't need to be so doubtful of yourself, he knows you very well and is confident in your intelligence. But of course, he'll edit and read over your work when you beg him to, unsurprisingly it's able to keep his attention unlike much of his peers' work. You would thank him for all of his help, but he would only chide you for that, since you were being far too modest as you were the one who did all the work. He has no worries about your grade, having the utmost confidence, hell, his picky self approved it. That lessened your anxiety a lot as you waited for the verdict.
Unfortunately, it turns out to be the opposite. See, Zandik is no stranger to his work being ignored and ridiculed as well, which he's gotten used to at this point, (though you've become the one person who's always willing to listen) but it still infuriates him to see others at the Akademiya not take you seriously. Zandik's hands feel out of place and unusual holding you as you weep into his chest, but it seems to make you feel a bit better so he doesn't protest. He lets you cry about how rude the professor was for no reason. About how it feels like everything you've worked and studied for has been diminished. How it hurts to have such hard work reduced to nothing.
There's only so much comfort Zandik can provide with his body in this situation, so he does what he does best - hard, indisputable facts. His view of you and your intelligence is very set in stone. He won't let anyone convince him or you to think differently, and he tells you to ignore all others who disagree. He sees how hard you work even if others have the gall to deny it, and that your work will always reflect that nature of yours. And he, for one, will always be willing to listen and appreciate, just as you do for him. He sees what a fascinating mind you have, and that will always be more than enough for him.
#smooches talks#dottore love notes <3#can dottore do my math hw while i do all the writing#we would be a good pair#we would both get kisses and A's in return#work smarter not harder#this may be bad. but i wanted to get something out there đ
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Naruto Roleswap AU: Kakashi's a wifeguy, Rin's a Girlboss, and Itachi gets adopted
âDo you think weâre the baddies?â
The Mizukageâs pen froze on her paperwork. She looked up and squinted at Kakashi, as if attempting valiantly to discern his twisted mind and failing utterly. ââBaddiesâ?â
âYou know,â Kakashi elaborated, âthe bad guys. The bullies. People who enjoy indiscriminately murdering, maiming, genocide, the works.âÂ
The Mizukage looked appalled. âOf course we arenât. Where did you get that idea?â Kakashi shrugged limply. âWeâre working for world peace, Kakashi. Of course weâre the good guys. What else would we be?â
Kakashi scratched at his neck. âDo traditional definitions of world peace include putting the world under a mass genjutsu? Or destabilizing foreign governments?â
âWe did those governments a favor,â the Mizukage said frankly. âKiriâs prospering. And mass genjutsu is the only way to keep people from killing each other. Honestly, Kakashi, if thereâs one good guy in the world then itâs us.â
âI thought that was Yahiko.â
âUs and Yahiko,â the Mizukage amended. She thought for a second. âAnd Tobi, of course.â She thought harder. âNo, itâs unfair to put us on the same level as Yahiko and Tobi.â
âSo we are the baddies.â
Kakashi and his girlfriend are in the market to adopt, and the Akatsuki is a great place to raise two rambunctious children. The consent of the children isn't neccesary for this. Oneesama knows best, and if you trust in the process then a beautiful utopia can become possible. Or, alternatively, if you don't care about the process or how many atrocities you commit, then you can put off killing yourself from sheer boredom for a few more years.
Tragedy plus time equals a comedy, and you can believe anything if you have no other choice.
This one's very different tonally from the rest of the AU, but that's what I like about it. I ended up really loving writing Kakashi, and I'll have to find the exuse to write more of this funny narration in the future. Parts of this crossover with the previous installment of this AU, and they're very much intended to be read side by side. The good guys sitting around sobbing from despair as the bad guys have yakety sax hijinks was very funny to me. 7k of Kakashi's Crippling Depression Adventures In The Akatsuki under the cut.
âDo you think weâre the baddies?â
The Mizukageâs pen froze on her paperwork. She looked up and squinted at Kakashi, as if attempting valiantly to discern his twisted mind and failing utterly. ââBaddiesâ?â
âYou know,â Kakashi elaborated, âthe bad guys. The bullies. People who enjoy indiscriminately murdering, maiming, genocide, the works.âÂ
The Mizukage looked appalled. âOf course we arenât. Where did you get that idea?â Kakashi shrugged limply. âWeâre working for world peace, Kakashi. Of course weâre the good guys. What else would we be?â
Kakashi scratched at his neck. âDo traditional definitions of world peace include putting the world under a mass genjutsu? Or destabilizing foreign governments?â
âWe did those governments a favor,â the Mizukage said frankly. âKiriâs prospering. And mass genjutsu is the only way to keep people from killing each other. Honestly, Kakashi, if thereâs one good guy in the world then itâs us.â
âI thought that was Yahiko.â
âUs and Yahiko,â the Mizukage amended. She thought for a second. âAnd Tobi, of course.â She thought harder. âNo, itâs unfair to put us on the same level as Yahiko and Tobi.â
âSo we are the baddies.â
âWeâve made some compromises,â the leader of the violent coup that overthrew Hanzo and made her a dictator of a hidden village allowed. âBut anythingâs worth it if it keeps the world safe, right?â
âHm,â Kakashi said, contemplating the Kyuubiâs attack on the village and the Minato/Kushina dual murders. âWell, canât argue with that.âÂ
âWhat a silly conversation.â The Mizukage went back to her paperwork, signing away at form after form. How she found the time to lead a village and shadow-lead the Akatsuki, Kakashi had no idea. Maybe she just didnât need to sleep as often as the mere mortals. Jinchuuriki were so unfair. âNow, can you do me a favor and go pick up the baby ninja we manipulated into mass-murdering his family? Heâs probably very stressed out right now, he could use some comfort.â
âIâll drop him off with Konan.â Kakashi paused, then amended, âYahiko.â
âSounds great. Love you, Kakashi.â
Kakashi halted at the window, pulling his ceramic mask over his face. âLove you too, Rin.â
And, as Rin would proclaim: could you really be the baddie if you loved someone?
*
Truthfully, Itachi had barely left Konoha.
The kid had been locked in a permanent dissociative daze since he started his little genocidal adventure and it hadnât quite lifted. He had clearly found an inn in the closest city on autopilot, paid for it via the multiple stab wounds and bloody cloak, and passed out. He had the presence of mind to perform basic first aid on himself, which was probably the only reason his wounds werenât grievously infected. He was also pretty strung out, and clearly hadnât slept in five days. In short, the kid had an altogether pathetic vibe to him. Kakashi would sympathize if he was the type.
Kakashi knocked on the door to Itachiâs room. He waited a polite thirty seconds before knocking again. Then he teleported the door into Kamui - he always made a little âyoink!â sound effect in his head - and walked into the room.Â
Itachiâs attempt at stabbing him was, frankly, tragic. The Uchiha must have been half grannies. Kakashi blocked the blow with his sheathed tanto, exquisitely bored, before pushing the boy backwards. Itachi turned his stumble into a flip and landed on the bed, already charging another fire jutsu in his hands. Some people really were overachievers.Â
Kakashi sheathed his tanto and lazily raised both hands. âIs this how you welcome your friends, Itachi-kun?â
Itachiâs face was bone white, and his entire body was shaking. His first aid attempts were lacking. He needed a doctor badly. It was a testament to the sheer dissociative power of his insane little mind that he was conscious at all. âI have no friends.â
Objectively true statement. Kid caught on fast. âYou have me, if that counts for anything.â Judging by Itachiâs murder eyes, it did not. âIâm a representative of an organization thatâs interested in recruiting you. Why donât you hear us out?â
âYou know what I just did,â Itachi said dully. âNo organization I should join would have me as a member. Iâm uninterested. Leave.â
âMaa, thatâs too bad.â Kakashi scratched at his neck, jostling his ceramic mask. âYou donât want to see your friend again? What was his name - Shisui Uchiha?â
Itachi froze. The fire jutsu flared upwards, and his Sharingan began to spin.Â
���Relax, we didnât kidnap him. We rescued him. Like weâre interested in rescuing you.â Kakashi held out his hand, tilting his head. âNobody in this world will help you now, Itachi-kun. Nobody but us. We will help you.â
Itachi pulled backwards, mouth thinning, but Kakashi could see it. He knew how Itachi wanted to lean in. He was thirteen years old and his parents were dead. Never mind the details. âWill you take me to Shisui?â
âSure. We got the best doctor in the continent too.â
The conclusion was foregone. Itachi had no other choice. He was alone, and he was dying, and he didnât care if he died. People like that always took the first hand that came along. It was the best time to nab people: when they were at their most vulnerable, their most susceptible, their most trusting. Ask Kakashi how he knew. Better yet - donât.Â
Itachi took Kakashiâs hand, and he teleported them both away.Â
*
Akatsuki HQ was nice digs.Â
For Ame. By the standards of anywhere that wasnât Ame, it was the dreariest yet most nondescript building anybody had ever seen. The sky was always dark grey and the clouds were always pouring rain. The buildings had a pre-fab brutalist flair and you could always count on some ominous lightning to provide atmosphere. Ame permanently felt like the setting of a horror movie. Seeing as Kakashiâs life was a horror movie, it had to feel a little appropriate.Â
But Yahiko brought the sunshine. Wherever he went was all good weather. Shaking his hand made you feel as if the sun was shining, and when he entered a room he brought blue skies. It was like the rain didnât even pour on it. He reminded Kakashi of Tobiâs best friend, which was the most back-handed compliment you could give a person.Â
The major difference between the two was that everybody liked Yahiko. Ame had one political party and it was the cult of Yahiko. Konan would blow up a small village for him. Even Rin waved her M/F/M/F polycule books in his face and gave him significant eyebrows. If Rin died overnight, he was their best hope for world peace. No genjutsu necessary - just sheer force of personality and beautiful vibes.
Personally, Kakashi just liked how easy he was to manipulate.
âKonoha made him do what?â Yahiko gasped. âThose bastards! They call themselves the nice village?â
Kakashi shrugged. âWhat can I say. We defected for a reason.âÂ
âThatâs disgusting. Theyâd make a thirteen year old do that to his own family? Heâs a child!â Yahiko chewed at his thumbnail, thinking furiously. âEven Kiri at its worst never forced its children to cleanse their own bloodline! After what they did to your teammate, tooâŚmaybe itâs just something about those Uchihas.â
âGuess we donât have to worry about them anymore,â Kakashi said diplomatically.Â
They were waiting in the hallway outside of Itachiâs operating room. Yahiko had done the absolute predictable and called Rin the second he saw Kakashi lugging a half-dead teenager into his HQ. She flew in like an angel and descended on the poor child in her infinite grace, earning Yahikoâs eternal gratefulness for her beneficence upon the infant he had met five seconds ago and loved as if he was his own. What could Kakashi say? Some people were heavenly spirits walking the earth.Â
âWe can bring him into Ame for sure,â Yahiko said, truly fired up. Kakashi hadnât even asked? âIâve invented this new thing, Iâve tentatively named it therapy no jutsu, and I think Itachi-kun would be a perfect early adopter. I have this dream, right, that we can take insane people and make them less insane -â
âSounds like a great idea,â Kakashi lied. Spirits above, what a freak. âWhy donât you go get Itachiâs new citizenship settled out? My partner and I will catch him up to speed.â
âGood idea. Iâm not doing much just loitering around like this.â Yahiko nodded professionally at him, and Kakashi bowed back. As always, Yahiko ruined any sense of propriety with a bright smile. âThen weâll finally go on that double date, right? Rin-sama and I have been trying to find a time that works with our schedules for ages. Weâre thinking that seafood place near the harbor.â
No. The double date was not happening. The double date would never happen. Because Kakashi knew full well what Rin and Konan were angling for and he was not going along with it. Even if Yahiko and Konan were admittedly kinda -Â
The door opened, saving Kakashi from a train of thought even worse than the denial. Rin poked her head out, sweaty but fresh and smiling. Yahiko immediately smiled at her, and she smiled happily back at him. Like Kakashi, she was dressed down in her Akatsuki gear. She didnât wear a mask in her Mizukage or her Akatsuki get-up, but at Akatsuki HQ she tended to pass herself off as an unassuming household medic. After all this time, Rin was still excellent at playing innocent.Â
âItachi-kunâs well enough to receive visitors,â Rin said cheerfully. âDo you want to meet him, Yahiko-sama?âÂ
Yahiko pumped his fist, grinning. âYeah! Weâll give him a real Akatsuki welcome!â
As it turned out, a âreal Akatsuki welcomeâ involved mochi. Itachi stared at it, flabbergasted. He still looked pale, but Kakashi could tell that Rin had done her usual excellent job - his body seemed to be free of injuries, and he probably felt like a spring chicken. She had moved him from the ominous operating room (never there for a good reason; bad vibes) into the infirmary (worse than the operating room because you were generally awake to experience it; atrocious vibes)
âIâm so sorry to hear about your family, Itachi-kun,â Yahiko said firmly, shoving the mochi at Itachi. Itachi blinked at it, somehow violently. Rin sympathetically took the box and placed it at his bedside. âWe know how hard losing your family can be.â
Itachi stared at Yahiko for a long second. Finally, he rasped, âI killed my family.âÂ
âKonoha forced you to kill your family,â Yahiko corrected. âItâs hardly your fault, Itachi-kun. You were manipulated. You canât ever forget who your real enemies are.â
âOr your real friends,â Rin said gently. She sat down next to Itachi, blasting her best âsoft and motherlyâ smile at him full throttle. âYou can call me Rin-san, Itachi-kun. The man in the mask is my partner Hound, and the ray of sunshine over there is the leader of Ame, Yahiko-sama. If I know him correctly, I can guess he already has a proposition for you.âÂ
Itachi immediately shook his head, pushing himself fully upright. âIâm not interested in any -â
Rin put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down. Itachi fell back onto the bed, shocked by the force. âJust hear us out.âÂ
Itachiâs eyes flickered to Kakashi. He undoubtedly recognized him, Hound mask or clean faced. Kakashi winked at him. Itachiâs eyebrows tilted. Long experience with Uchihas helped him interpret the gesture. Kakashi held up one finger. Patience.Â
âYouâre welcome to live in Ame if you want, Itachi-kun. Weâll protect you. But I have another proposal for you.â Wow. Wonder what that would be. It couldnât possibly be the same proposal Rin had been hinting at ever since Kakashi lugged Itachiâs sorry ass back to the village. âAre you a pacifist, Itachi-kun?â
Itachi was silent. His eyebrows screamed - âI killed my family!â.
Amazingly, Yahiko was able to interpret that. Must be Konanâs influence. She was a stoic one. And somewhat surly. âOnly those whoâve experienced the worst violence know the value of true peace. Those of us who truly seek peace and prosperity have all experienced the worst of humanity. Your experiences are why I think you can become a pacifist who can protect your precious people. That can become the purpose of your life.â
It was abundantly clear that Itachi did not give a single fuck about any sort of philosophy right now. The second Rin removed her hand he forced himself upright again, and he ignored her danger eyebrows. One was only foolish enough to ignore those once, Itachi. âWhereâs Shisui.â
Yahiko glanced at Rin, frowning lightly. âDo you know who that is?â
âRemember the half-dead kid Hound fished from the river?â Rin said cheerfully. Yahiko made a noise of comprehension. âApparently heâs a Uchiha too. He faked his death before the massacre. Heâs the reason why Hound investigated the massacre at all. Heâs been in a coma since we rescued him. He didnât have to work very hard to fake his death - he was very badly hurt.â She looked down at Itachi, who was pale with shock. âWould you like to see him? Heâs in the long-term infirmary in the other room.â
Dumbly, Itachi nodded. Kakashi silently tallied up the lies and omissions of truth in those sentences. Nowhere near her best, but not nothing.Â
âThen Iâll get somebody on Itachi-kunâs citizenship paperwork.â Yahiko jokingly half-saluted, which was a terrible look on a leader of a city state. âIâll put Itachi-kunâs future in your capable hands, Rin-sama.â
Rin smiled gently at Yahiko. âThereâs nothing I value more.â
They waited until Yahiko had left the room and his chakra signature had long since retreated before Rin spoke again. Itachi was looking increasingly wild, and when he forced himself to stand up Rin didnât stop him. She just rose with him, carefully straightening the infirmary bed behind him.Â
âYahiko-sama truly is one of the kindest people I know,â Rin said to Itachi. He still looked a little flabbergasted by the welcome. It was all in the eyebrows. âYouâll see things our way. Everybody does eventually.â
âDarling, letâs save talk like that for after the recruitment.â
âWhat did I say?â Rin asked, for all appearances genuinely surprised. âIsnât it a good thing that people agree with us?â
Yes, after the - letâs count it, the military coups, manipulations, genjutsus, etc, etcâŚ
âCanât argue with that,â Kakashi said blandly.Â
Itachi brushed past them both and walked towards the long-term infirmary door, opening it immediately and walking inside. Guess they had been too busy teaching this kid how to kill people instead of any manners.
Atrociously, Rin crossed her arms and sighed fondly. âHe really reminds you of him, huh?â
âIf I remember correctly, that seems to be the whole problem.â Kakashi shot Rin a canny look, who looked innocently up at the ceiling. âNo adoption.â
âYouâre always saying some needy orphan will come our way! Heâs the definition of a needy orphan, isnât he?â
âDarling, he killed his parents.â
Frankly, Rin said, âHeâs not special.â
True but very unwelcome sentence. As usual.
Rin was good on her promises, as always. Shisui was the sole inhabitant of the long-term infirmary, hooked up to a few monitors but otherwise sleeping peacefully. He seemed completely cured of his extensive injuries. His face was flush with color and both of his eyes were intact. A testament to Rinâs skill - he had been found gripping one eye in a chakra-infused bubble. But she had some practice with fucked up Sharingan transplants. It had taken years before she figured out how to undo Madaraâs patchwork job and re-implanted Kakashiâs eye with a functional chakra network.Â
Itachi was already at Shisuiâs bedside. The kid had his Sharingan activated, scanning his body for injuries and finding none. Kakashi idly wondered whose Mangeyko was stronger. Itachi probably beat him out by virtue of having two and his ability to summon Susanoo, but kamui was a far more useful skill than Amaterasu or some lame torture dimension. As always, Obito was the best. Or he would be, if he was intact.
âHeâs healthy.â Again, only long experience with Obito gave Kakashi the ability to interpret his frustration. âWhy is he still asleep.â
âOh, thatâs all me,â Rin said cheerfully. âThe coma is artificially induced.â
In the course of a millisecond, Itachiâs kunai were flying. Kakashi was faster. He opened up kamui and swallowed up the kunai. Itachi paused half a second, stunned and confused. It was more than enough time for Kakashi to press his own kunai to Itachiâs neck, standing behind Itachi with his other arm looped over his neck.
âYou arenât irreplaceable, Itachi,â Kakashi panned. âThereâs a spare. Right?â
Itachi froze. Rin titled her eyebrows at Kakashi, relentlessly good copâing. âLetâs not threaten our new recruit, Hound. Letâs all put the kunai away and talk like civilized ninjas, huh?â
 Seeing as Itachiâs kunai had been warped to the Box Dimension (Feat. Box, Guest Starring Box), the comment had been directed at him. Kakashi stepped away from Itachi, making a show of putting away his kunai and returning to Rinâs side. More than one person had remarked how accurate his codename was. Got funnier each time. Not.Â
âHereâs the shakedown, Itachi-kun. Listen closely.â Rin sat down at Shisuiâs bedside, graceful and refined. âYouâre alone in the world. Yes or no?â
Itachi, standing at the opposite side of Shisuiâs bed, stared at her in hostility.Â
âYouâre a missing nin. Youâre probably already in the Bingo Book with an SSS class bounty on your head. Yes or yes?â
Itachi was silent.
âIt must be scary. But Konohaâs still backing you, isnât it?â Rin hid a smile behind a hand. âYouâve been instructed to act as a spy when necessary. I wouldnât be surprised if you were even asked to infiltrate our organization in a few years. Yes?â
Itachi was silent. He was thirteen, and he was scared.
âTheyâre still relying on your naivete, Itachi. After everything theyâve asked of you they still want more. They will ask for more, and more, and more. Until they ask for your death. And you intend on giving it to them, donât you?â Rin shook her head, tskâing. âWhat a waste. The good you can doâŚthe peace you can bring, the people you can helpâŚthe reason why youâre a genius in the first place. Youâll never realize it. You could have truly helped people, and you let the evil people use you for evil instead. Itâs unfair.â
Itachi looked away, jaw clenching. He was thirteen, and he was insecure.Â
Rin leaned forward, eyes arresting Itachi in place. He could not know why they felt so powerful, why Rinâs sheer presence carried such incredible weight. Maybe the weight would feel like the weight of her words - powerful, affecting, true.Â
âYou donât have to make a decision now,â Rin said gently. âSpend some time here. Recover from your ordeal. Get some rest. You can make your decision when youâre ready, alright?â
And Yahiko said that he had invented therapy-no-jutsu. Rin was the undisputed master.Â
Itachi looked down at Shisui. He could have been sleeping. But Kakashi knew what Itachi was seeing: his best friend killing himself, falling into the river. His pleading not to listen to Danzo. Ineffectual, in the end. Perhaps this was destiny.Â
Maybe the Uchiha were always in a state of dying, died, dead. Maybe they would continuously live out this immortal cycle of fatality. Chained by their hatred. Imprisoned by their love. It was the sickest combination of all. Kakashi would know.
âWhy are you keeping him in a coma?â Itachi rasped. âWhat do you want?â
Wow, two question marks from him. New record. Rinâs eyes flickered to Kakashi, and he took his cue. Blandly, he said, âNo offense, but you have a history of double crossing. We wanted some insurance. You donât sell us out to Konoha and we take good care of your bestie. Fair trade.â
Itachiâs expression darkened. âYouâre blackmailing me.â
âIf we were blackmailing you, weâd be making you join us now.â Kakashi shrugged one shoulder. âWe want you to make a choice. Weâre just taking care of Shisui-kun until you do.â
And, in the end, Itachi didnât hesitate. Maybe that was his problem. Maybe it always would be. Five days of no sleep and a Uchihaâs love and a ninjaâs tendency to choose violence first - shaken and stirred, you ended up with a dangerously impulsive thirteen year old. The importance of the thirteen year old aspect here really couldnât be understated.Â
âIâll join,â Itachi said immediately. âIâll do whatever you want. Just wake up Shisui.â
Hilariously, Rin looked crestfallen. âWe arenât trying to blackmail you, Itachi-kun. A mission of peace and goodness canât start on a bedrock of pain. How about you take some time and -â
âI donât care.â Wow. Nobody interrupted Rin anymore. âI donât care about anything anymore. I will kill whoever you want. I will be whatever you want. Wake him up.â
Rin pressed her hands to her cheeks, sighing. âOh, you are just too cute! Youâre like a little copy of Hound! Hound, donât you see why -â
âThis is a bad start to that sort of relationship.â
âOh, what does that matter!â
A lot, Rin. It mattered a lot.
Meanwhile, Itachi was looking increasingly frustrated (eyebrows at 20 degree angle instead of 15). âWake him up.â
Wow. That was dangerously close to an inflection. Rin just tilted her head, affecting a somewhat thoughtful look. âI donât think I will, actually.â Itachiâs face did a dangerous thing. âCalm down. Letâs sayâŚin a month? That seems fair.â
Itachi clenched his jaw. What could he say? It was either Shisui waking up in a month or not at all. If Rin wanted to stretch this out for half a year, she could. Goodness knows she could keep Itachi on the hook for that long. Under other circumstances she would probably do it. But keeping Shunshin no Shisui off the board for that long was a stupid move. Privately, Kakashi thought he might be a bit of a wild card. Shisui was even more idiotically loyal to his village than Itachi. He definitely loved his family more, and he might have beef about the clan genocide thing. They couldnât exactly genjutsu him into submission. But Rin was confident in her ability to control him - sorry, ârecruit himâ - and Kakashi would always follow her lead.
âWhy.â
Rin affected a look of surprise. âDidnât your parents ever punish you? Maybe you were an obedient boy, but I hear the Uchiha have a âspare the rod, spoil the childâ philosophy.â
Yeah, Obito had been beaten by his Uchiha mentors regularly. Team Minato all knew and none of them talked about it. Much later, Rin told him that Minato had tried speaking to Obitoâs family about it and had gotten royally shut down. Rin always healed him in silence, and Kakashi already read out passages from his mystery novels that were guaranteed to drive Obito insane with their stupidity.Â
Tobi cried when people yelled at him. Surprise, surprise.Â
âYou are not my parents,â Itachi said harshly. Not if Rin had anything to say about it. âYou look twenty three. Do not play pretend.â
âWow,â Kakashi said. âThat was so accurate. The white hair always throws people off.â
Rin just looked a little crushed. âI guess onee-samaâs alright for now.â
âWhat did I do.â
For the first time, Rin sobered. She leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees, and brought the full force of her deceptive brown eyes down upon Itachi. He probably wasnât used to such power anymore. He couldnât possibly identify it. Kakashi wondered idly if Rin was scarier than Danzo. Damn, he hoped so. If she wasnâtâŚwell, heâd learn.
Crisply, Rin said, âYou were given explicit instructions not to hurt Obito Uchiha.â
It was clearly not what Itachi expected to hear. His eyebrows furrowed minutely. âHow did you know that.â
âHow did we know about the true nature of the massacre at all?â Rin asked rhetorically, dodging the question. âYou were told to use Tsukuyomi to place him under a non-tortuous genjutsu. You ended up fighting him. I saw his injuries.â Left unsaid: yeah, and they had seen Itachiâs injuries too. Only half of them were from killing 200 plus people. The other half was from one extremely angry guy. âIt was against instructions.â
âYour instructions?â Itachi asked sharply. âWhat -â
âOf course not,â Rin blatantly lied. âMany people are interested in keeping Obito Uchiha intact. You shouldnât have touched him.â
âHe broke out of the Tsukuyomi. It should have been impossible.â Itachi frowned lightly. âSparing Sasuke is explainable. It would have been suspicious if I had left Tobi untouched.â
âA lack of injuries could have been explained as a complete avoidance of a fight. Injuries implied that he fought you and won. Itâs more suspicious.â Left unsaid: Rin had been harvesting a shitton of eyes and swooped in at the last minute to heal his injuries before anybody noticed. Entirely possible that Obito thought the entire fight was one awful dream. Sure as hell had repressed way more minor shit.Â
âIt should have been impossible to break free of the Tsukuyomi,â Itachi repeated. âHe possessed the Mangekyo and an arm that could imitate the Mokuton. That should have also been impossible. I came far closer to losing that fight than I should have. That should have been impossible too. At his prime - perhaps. But not now. He clearly does not know he can protect himself. That is why Shisui and I -â Itachi stopped short, and did not resume speaking.
Kakashi stuck his hands in his pockets, slouching magnificently. âYou tried to negotiate to spare Obito Uchiha too, didnât you?â Itachiâs lips thinned. Rinâs expression softened, which was the real reason for saying it. âOf course they didnât let you. The village has wanted him out of the way for years. Heâs an embarrassment. And Danzoâs always suspected that he had an undisclosed gift. But heâs one of three people left who you love, isnât he?â Rough not to count his parents - he probably thought he did love his parents - but the truth was the truth. âItâs not too late to make up for what youâve done. How you almost killed him. We can help you protect him.â
âAnd what do you have to gain from that.â
âYou have people you love who canât give anything in return,â Rin said softly. âIs it so strange that we feel the same?â
Itachi hesitated. Conflict warred in his countenance. Goes to show - when heâs actually in the process of being convinced, heâs far less compliant. Maybe they should have just told him to shut up and get with the program. But Rin did have âRin-oneesamaâ dreams. Couldnât crush those.
Kakashi scratched the back of his head. âOf course, you tortured Sasuke Uchiha into becoming a tool for your suicide forâŚpower or something? Who knows. So maybe you donât know.â Ah, there was the good old Itachi Uchiha self-hatred. Kakashi could read this kid like a book already. âDonât blame us for wanting a little insurance. With the program?â
Quietly, Itachi said, âYes.â
âThatâs a yes, sir.â
âYes, sir.â
âAddress Rin-sama first, usually.â
Itachi turned to Rin and bowed at the waist. âYes, Rin-sama.â
âYou are so cute,â Rin gushed. âWhy donât you run off and get the grand tour of the place from Yahiko? Heâs always wanted a kid around to big brother. Itâll be a lot of fun for you, promise!â Lie. Yahiko was overwhelming when he decided to big brother you. Nagato had probably killed himself in self-defense.
âYes, Rin-sama.â
âHeâs so polite, Hound!â
Rin in a nutshell.Â
As Itachiâs hand lingered on the doorknob, he turned back to look at Shisui one last time. It was clear he wanted to stay in the room with him. It was clear that he didnât want to leave. But Itachi understood that he had jumped from the frying pan into the cleansing fire, and the bright boy already knew the score. When he returned to the long-term infirmary the door would be locked. He would know better than to try and unlock it. Rin really was a little pissy about the Obito thing.Â
They waited a little while for Itachi to leave earshot before speaking again. Rin smiled, clapping her hands. âWhat did I tell you, Kakashi? Heâs just too cute! Doesnât he need a helping hand?â
âSlow your roll,â Kakashi drawled. âHe needs a master more than love right now. He wonât believe he deserves the love. He only understands a master. I know a dog when I see one.â
âThatâs why weâre a tag team.â Rin winked at him. It was adorable. âA master holds a leash to contain their hound. But the hound that truly loves the master stays at his side voluntarily.â
They really had to do something about his codename. But, of course, that had been the point. Although he knew it would be completely pointless, Kakashi said, âSo the Infinite Tsukuyomi planâŚwhich one do you think that might be? The leash or the love?â
âItâs both. A leash is the kindest thing you can do for humanity. Stops them from running off cliffs, getting run over by carriages, running afoul of cruel humansâŚyou have to train with a leash before a hound is ready to run on its own.â Rin sighed, leaning on the nightstand and looking at Shisui. âBut the regular person wonât understand that. We have to save them one person at a time until we can save the world. We saved Itachi from those monstrous, uncaring Uchiha. Heâll understand that one day. Everybody deserves a utopia except the system that would ruin it, right?â
Kakashi shrugged. âSure.â
Rin shot him a flat look. âOne of these days Iâll convince you to have an opinion about something.â
âI have an opinion about you and Obito,â Kakashi said cheekily, and he was rewarded with a soft smile. Granted, it was indistinguishable from her fake ones, but he had the benefit of trust. âSpeaking of which, I think Iâll go visit him. Want to come with?â
But Rin just looked away, ghosting a hand over Shisuiâs prone face. âNo. If you say heâs safe, heâs safe.â
Kakashi lowered his voice. This, of all things, was her one true point of vulnerability. But Obito had always been their weakness. âYou deserve to see him.â Rinâs hand halted over Shisuiâs nose and mouth. âYou arenât dirty, Rin.â
âIâm weak,â Rin said softly. She placed her hand over Shisuiâs nose and mouth. âIf I saw himâŚIâd ruin it all.â
She pressed down.Â
âYouâre the strongest person I know. Seeing his face might make this easier to bear.â Shisuiâs chest began to rise and fall faster and faster, struggling for breath. âYou should at least try.â
âWhen the world is good,â Rin whispered. âWhen we have a world good enough for him. Obito or TobiâŚIâll create a world where either can be happy. One where he can be whoever he wants to be. Heâll feel safe. Thatâs when I will be able to face him again.â
And, left unsaid: only an Infinite Tsukuyomi could create that world. Nothing less than a completely controlled utopia could create a world where Obito Uchiha could be himself. In that way, it was all for him.
Of course, that would leave them with a secondary problem - i.e. he would probably be terrified of them. Because they were the baddies.Â
Eh. Obito was nuts too. Maybe heâd roll with it. All else fails, they could just have Shisui genjutsu him. It didnât matter. What did?
âCall me selfish,â Kakashi drawled, sticking his hands in his pockets, âbut I hope he chooses Obito. Things could beâŚa little closer to our hopes and dreams that way.â
If Obito was terrified of them, Tobi was all they would ever get. Sacrifices and compromises must be made. And hopes and dreams would forever remain far away.
Rin smiled, sticking out her tongue at him. âWe love him no matter what,â Rin said loyally. She paused a beat. âButâŚcall me selfish too.â
Shisuiâs chest grew still. Boredly, Rinâs hand glowed with green chakra, and his heart beat again. He gasped for breath, unconscious yet fighting for his life, and his breaths evened out again. He would never even know.
Kakashi saluted her, and she blew him a kiss, and he disappeared into the world that he and Obito shared. Even if he didnât know it yet.Â
*
Who was the worse person: the woman who thought her actions were helping the world, or the man who knew their actions were evil and simply didnât care?
Of course, this was not a question Kakashi cared about either. He always ended up asking himself these questions, because despite everything he was a chronic thinker, but he alway dismissed them just as easily. They never captured his attention. Almost nothing did, save Rin and Obito.Â
And maybe Yahiko and Konan, just a bit. A little bit more every day. Some distant part of Kakashi was horrified by that. Again, most of him didnât care. He and that sulky Konan had an understanding.Â
The one man Kakashi cared about (Yahiko did not count) was sitting in a hard plastic chair in a hospital room. A child was lying in a hospital bed. Probably Sasuke, recovering from his brotherâs torture genjutsu. Kakashiâs eyes glossed over him. As always, there was a helpful branch outside the window, and Kakshi settled in to watch.Â
Obito - might as well call him Tobi, for clarityâs sake - seemed very out of it. He should probably be in his own hospital bed, but there was no way he would stay in another room when a baby cousin needed him by his side. So tsundere but so caring. Kakashi missed Obitoâs unique brand of care. The world had tried to beat it out of him, but it just couldnât be suffocated. How often had he scorned Rin and Kakashi for their weakness, yet took every hit for them he could in battle? How many lunches had he packed, civilians had he rescued, lectures he had inflicted upon Kakashi about how his laziness was going to kill him?
Kakashi hesitated. HeâŚhe really wantedâŚ
Obito had lost everything, and today he had lost the rest. His family was extinct and featured only two incompetent children. KakashiâŚwanted toâŚ
Would Rin scold him for going against orders? Undoubtedly. Who was the worse person: the woman who thought her actions were helping the world, or the man who knew their actions were evil and simply didnât care? The woman who thought she was helping Obito, or the man who knew that they were only hurting him and simply hurt him more?
Because it was Obito, it was a question that Kakashi bothered to answer. The man who tortured him with full understanding that they were torturing him was far worse. He could stop at any time - he knew how to stop, he knew that he only needed to break away from his mindless obedience to Rin - but he never would. That would involve making his own decisions. Canât have that.
It was a useless question anyway. Obito would never forgive either of them. And yet, Kakashi wantedâŚ
Kakashi balanced delicately on the windowsill. He tapped on the window three times, and when Tobi didnât respond he disarmed the security seals and let himself in.Â
Only then did Tobi respond. Barely. He roused himself, blinking sleepily at the intruder in a dark cloak with red clouds and a white mask. He probably should have dressed up as an ANBU, but - well, too late now.Â
Immediately, Kakashi let his Sharingan spin. He cast a minor genjutsu over Tobi - there was no minor genjutsu with the Mangekyo, but it was the best he could do. Their eyes were equally matchedâŚobviouslyâŚbut between the shock and the tiredness and barely healed injuries Kakashiâs eye came out on top.Â
Tobiâs eyes immediately unfocused, and he slumped a little in his seat. The genjutsu didnât do much - it would make this event feel unreal, closer to a dream. Prevent him from panicking or remembering this encounter too well. Alright. That worked, somehow. Bizarre to get one up on Obito. Should have felt more satisfying. Really didnât. Kakashi just felt kind of awkward now.
Unlike Rin, he had neverâŚreally interacted with Tobi. He saw other people interacting with him all the time, but Kakashi never had the pleasure. How did other people talk to him? Smaller words, simple sentences, clear directions? Kakashi could tell that it took practice for most people. He had no idea how to do it.
Since Obito was obviou - maybe - anyway, since Obito was more mentally present than he seemed, Kakashi would just talk normally and not care. But a) Obito was committed to this bit - uh, better at understanding things than he appeared to be, and would act as if he didnât understand anyway, and b) there was no possible way that Obito was home right now. If Obito was ever home, obviously. But Obito had been home less and less as the years went by, and Kakashi could already tell that he would withdraw deep inside of himself for a while.Â
Uh. What did he do. What did he do. Act as if he was talking to a dog, maybe? Kakashi knew dogs. He knew Rin and he knew dogs. Was that condescending?! Without a doubt, but - ah, fuck it. Kakashi couldnât believe he was feeling some sort of anxiety about this. When was the last time he had felt anxiety? When he and Rin spent way too long trying to exterminate Zetsu from this green earth?
âHey, Tobi,â Kakashi said softly. âHowâŚare you?â
Tobi just frowned. Kakashi wanted to spin his Sharingan, remember the sight of him so close and speaking to him forever, but that would be more than suspicious. âWho are you?â
âA friend.â Would even Tobi buy that?! âAre you okay? You seem like youâve been through a lot.â Did that work? Damn, at least he could normally depend on Obito to filter this shit. âUm. I know youâre hurt.â
âTobiâs not okay,â Tobi said frankly. He looked over at Sasuke, sleeping so peacefully. So he either bought it or didnât give a shit. Relatable. âTobiâs not gonna be okay again.â
âThatâs not true. One day everything will be okay.â A lump formed in Kakashiâs throat, and he forced himself to swallow it down. âI know it hurts now. But it has to hurt now.â
âWhy?â Tobi asked. So plaintively. He didnât understand.
And Kakashi could only hesitate. How could he explain this? How could he possibly explain the true nature of the world in a way that Tobi - right here, right now - could understand? Sacrifices and compromises had to be made. Kakashi and Rin were the only ones who knew that.Â
Maybe Rin was good at explaining it. But she was a zealot - a fanatic who truly believed what she was saying. She was persuasive, earnest, manipulative. Kakashi was absolutely none of these things. And everybody said she had been good with Tobi. She would have been able to explain the world in her simple, beautiful way. Kakashi thought too much. He always had. There was nothing else to do, staring at clouds.
Slowly, Kakashi said, âYou know howâŚwhen you break a bone, and it heals badly. You have to break it again so it sets right?â Tobi frowned, but he nodded. So he still remembered the many, many, many broken bones he had suffered. âItâs like that. The world has to heal. So it must be broken. When it heals, weâll all be happy. Got it?â
But Tobi just frowned. Damn, and Kakashi had been pretty proud of that one. âItachi-kun broke. Is he gonna heal?â
Kakashi hesitated. Rin would have said yes. Rin would genuinely believe that this suffering was necessary to heal Itachi, and that through her loving oneesama guidance he would become happy and fulfilled. Kakashi couldnât say the same. What the kid needed was retirement and flower garden and a normal-ass foster parent, not a war under another flag.Â
Well, time to pull an old Rin special. Also, like, a frequent tactic anybody used when dealing with Tobi.Â
âSure,â Kakashi lied. âWait a little bit. Heâll become your friend again. Youâll like that, right?â Tobi nodded eagerly. Wow, he was stupid. âDo youâŚwant to see your friends again?â Tobi nodded even more empathetically. âI can show you your friends again.â
Kakashi hadnât thought about the words before he said them. Maybe Tobi was contagious like that. But Tobiâs unfocused eyes were already widening, his posture straightening a little. âGaiâs here too?â
And before he could think about it, before he could realize what a bad idea it was, Kakashi stretched out his hand. He found his voice lowering, falling into a gentle lilt. âI can take you to Itachi-kun. But I can take you to Shisui too. And Rin. AndâŚKakashi. Would you like that?â
Tobi looked a little skeptical. Well, even he understood the concept of mortality. âShisui-kun and Rin-chan and Kakashi-kun are dead. Um, thatâs why I have their stuff. And why Kakashi-kunâs house is lonely.â
âMinato-sen - your sensei and your nee-chan are dead.â Rin would say good riddance. Kakashi - eh. âBut Shisui and Rin and Kakashi just went somewhere else. I can take you to them. Is that what you want?â
âSomeplace else?â Tobi asked, eyes widening. âNoâŚI saw themâŚâ
âJust a bad dream,â Kakashi said. âThatâs all.â He stretched his hand out further, leaving it in early reach of Tobi. âYou can at least see them. Just to be sure. Then you can see for yourself that theyâre okay. Weâll be quick.â
Tobi's face was so innocent. It was impressive - the clearest contrast to Rinâs own innocent face. There was no similarity. It shouldnât be true. Werenât they equallyâŚ?
Tobi reached out to Kakashi. Kakashi held his breath. He hadnât realized how much he wanted this. This, this one thing, this desire - so overpowering, like a raging flame, like a bolt of lightning. It was addictive. If Obito just came home, then -
Tobi froze. âWhat about Sasuke?â
âWhat about him?â Kakashi asked blankly.Â
And Tobiâs hand retreated. He looked to the bed, at the sleeping child. âIf Tobi goes, Sasukeâs alone. I canât let him be hurt alone. He needs me.â Tobi looked back at Kakashi, shaking his head firmly. âTobiâs friends donât need Tobi. Sasuke needs me. Tobiâs sorry, Dog-man, but Tobi canât leave.â
Of course he couldnât. He wouldnât be the Obito they knew if he could. He wouldnât be the man he and Rin loved if he made that choice.
If there were baddies, there were good guys. That was inherent. Obito was, and always would be, a good guy. That - and only that - would always keep them apart.Â
âYour friend will be watching over you,â Kakashi rasped. âAlways. SoâŚdonât be sad. And donât be scared. Your friends are doing it all for you.â
TobiâŚsquinted at him. For just a second, his eyes seemed clear. âDoing what?â
Uh oh. Kakashi cast a hasty genjutsu, and Tobi - Obito? Just for a second? - slumped in his seat. Kakashi stepped through kamui intoâŚKamui, just as quickly. This had been his worst idea of the last two years, which said a gratuitous amount.
Why was Rin breaking the bone? Well, for world peace. Love, friendship, harmony, death to the real baddies, etc. For Obito. For a world that deserved him, and where he could feel safe. Where Tobi could put Tobi down and become Obito again, if that was what he wanted. If he could. If that wasnât possible - if Kakashi and Rin were too late to save him - then all Rin wanted was to create a world where Tobi could live happily and safely.
Why was Kakashi doing this? So he could be with Rin and Obito.
And the worse person of the two was obvious.
#my writing#kakashi hatake#rin nohara#naruto fanfic#kakashi ended up FASCINATING me big time and i need to find the excuse to write more of him#there's something about the snarky 4th wall breaking narrator who thinks that makes him smarter than everyone else#when in reality it just makes him more insane#nobody tell kakashi that his narration is very similar to utopia!obito's. don't. he doesn't want to know that.#the contrast of tobito's incredible misery and kakashi's utter blaseness was funny to me#damn i want to put them all in a room so bad and i have no idea how to make that happen#ill figure out a way. next up: more rinnnn
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I dreamed that ian tries to give mickey swim lessons. Mickey is ashamed other people will know he can't swim so they jump the fence at night when the building is asleep. Of course everytime ian puts his hands on mickey to show him mickey gets horny and keeps giving him looks or tries to grab his ass and they always end up fucking in the pool. Mickey still doesn't know how to swim despite them going every week in summer. And everytime mickey mentions to someone how much he loves swimming ian gives him the most side eye yeah I bet you do mickey...
#shameless#gallavich headcanon#mickey milkovich#ian gallagher#gallavich#someone smarter write a lil fic?#with underwater floating cocks and blowies?#đ#itâs ten years into their marriage and they still canât keep their hands off each others#you know he asks him for a lapdance regularly#mickey looooves ian with a little more meat on his bones
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thinking abt the happy pills arc again but mostly importantly at how many references of brazilian history was there during forevers lives specially the music... like the clothes ccforever was using the video of rio in the 50s the references to vargas era and bossa nova. i saw an artist making an animatic of him using "construção" by chico buarque which is one of my fav songs from the anti ditactorship era along with "panis et circenses" and my brain got rewired as well. gosh it was soooooo so good and so well done you can even make a video essay about it ccforever rlly poped off with that i never felt so hyped with an arc bc im an history nerd AND seeing brazilian history implemented on a multilingual server was just *chefs kiss*
#qsmp#sorry i was watching a video abt the tropicalia and bossa nova movement and i was like âman... revisited these recently bc of forever....â#and i just started missing this arc#i mean im always missing it everyday but today it got me even more#i rlly want someone whos smarter than me to write an essay abt this so people can fully understand the scope of how fucking cool was that#EVEN HIS HAPPY GO LUCKY PERSONALITY HAS PARALLELS WITH THINGS FROM THE DITACTORISHIP ERA ALL THESE REFERENCES COMES FROM. ITS SO SMART#AAAAAAAAAAA#me.txt
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An alternative version of how Shen Jiu's trial could've gone down, based off of this one tt I saw>>
I'll forever mourn the fact that we'll never know what Airplane had actually planned for Shen Jiu's character and how he would've made use of his backstory. The OPM getting the human stick treatment in the SV timeline was probably supposed to allude to him being the original scum villain of PIDW. Shen Jiu was meant to either be a red herring to the real scum villain or a temporary antagonist. He was never supposed to meet the end he did since it was reserved for smn else entirely.
So here's one plausible version of PIDW that exists somewhere lost in Airplane's drafts>>
The trial goes as planned, with the accusations against Shen Jiu announced and he's already found guilty of them. Before any of them can go lock him away for good, he starts talking (which is never a good omen for anyone in his immediate vicinity). His statements cause ppl to actually dig around and investigate the meaning behind his words because those statements vaguely come off as indiscernible threats. Whether the crimes were fabrications, lies, or were perfectly justified, all become clear soon enough. Shen Jiu gets the last laugh because he self destructed on the spot and shattered his own soul after he said his piece so no one could reach him or hope to resurrect him.
It's mostly Luo Binghe himself who tries to get to the bottom of it just for the off chance he might find anything that could help him bring Shen Jiu back. And he doesn't burn Cang Qiong down after the fact bc that would mean he's more similar to Shen Jiu than he's comfortable with admitting.
Shen Jiu also left everyone with departing words about the OPM, but only Luo Binghe understood those implications at all since they were directly connected to him and his parents.
#og shen qingqiu#shen jiu#original shen qingqiu#svsss#mxtx svsss#scumbag self saving system#original luo binghe#pidw#the scum villain's self saving system#i wanna write fics abt the original drafts so bad#but that means i have to write abt characters that are smarter than me#when you like svsss for the pidw lore and not the actual story written
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naturally
#thinking abt how hard sam had to work to intentionally lose dean in the earlier seasons (when the writing was smarter) bc#they could anticipate all of each other's moves#spn#liveblog tag#10.19
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My husband keeps assuring me that Ben will be back in the upcoming Rey movie. Am I saying he has some sort of special insider knowledge? Well⌠No. đ But he is very often right about stuff. So yeah, just thought Iâd share lol.
#reylo#ben solo#Mr wifey#Iâm still not convinced lol#not getting my hopes up#I donât trust that theyâd do exactly what we want#even if they did bring him back#but again#Mr wifey is sometimes a heck of a lot smarter than people would think so#you never know#also omg when is my writing drive coming back??#*sigh*#anytime now!
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