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lateknightsimmer · 4 years ago

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Sims Tag Game

Rules:

Pick a sim of your choice

Tell us about them

Tag someone else (if you want to!)

I was tagged by @lilyshadowwriter to do the Sims Tag Game. Aww, haha, my first little thing I’ve been tagged in since I started paying attention to my Tumblr again. Thanks! You’re a sweetie. I’ll tag @freckled-pixels because I ♥ wuv her. LOL.

I’m choosing my Generation 3 heir from Echoes of Eternity, the current generation I’m writing.

Name: Armand Decimus Hunt

When is your sim’s birthday? Mimicking LilyShadow here, I’m a bad Sim Mom. I have a super nerdy reference sheet of everyone’s ages, from Generation 1 - Generation 3 (both main and supporting characters, yes like I said I’m super nerdy), but I didn’t give them any specific birthdays. I do know that as of the most recent chapter, Armand is 22.

What is your sim’s zodiac sign? *has to go in game to look it up* *pretty sure I just randomized it* *so if Armand’s personality that I wrote has nothing to do with his zodiac sign, that’s fucking why* ---- VIRGO.

Marital Status: Single.

Does your sim have any nicknames? No. I have bad RL experiences with nicknames, so I tend to not nickname my Sims either. Unless it’s like an obvious shortening that’s something like Maximus (my legacy founder), and he gets called Max. But no nicknames like he has a quirk, so he gets a nickname. None of that shit. LOL. Armand’s name is two syllables and calling him “Arm” or “And” just sounds stupid. LOL.

Do they have a job? Armand just graduated from college, and he is still looking for a job.

Where does your sim live? Armand lives in this three story split level house in Twinbrook, Louisiana.

Who does your sim live with? Armand lives with his best friend, Remy, a Louisiana native.

What environment did your sim grow up in? Armand had a neglectful, spiteful mother, and a kind, loving father. They couldn’t have been more polar opposite from each other. Literal environment wise, Armand grew up in Silicon Shores, California.

What is your sim’s favorite food? *goes in game again to look because doesn’t know* *again probably randomized* *shitty Sim Mom, knows it* --- GRILLED SALMON. Armand is damn fancy.

What is your sim’s favorite drink? Alcohol - Armand likes screwdrivers, they’re pretty simple yet delicious. Non-Alcohol - Armand likes 2% milk.

If they have one, what is your sim’s favorite color? *goes in game again* *doesn’t know* *you know the drill now* --- LIME.

Is your sim introverted or extroverted? Introverted.

What is your sims favorite woohoo position? Armand enjoys being on top of the girl he’s woohoo-ing with so he can see her reactions. He wants his partner to have ultimate pleasure, and the girl’s face often reflects whether the pleasure is there or not.

Is your sim a pet person? No. Armand is often lost in thought in his head, he’s self-aware, but he has a lot of things to think about. He doesn’t really want to put his mind in a place where he might accidently neglect a pet just because he’s spacing off about something.

Does your sim have a best friend? Yes, Armand’s best friend is also his roommate, Remy.

What is / was your sim’s favorite school subject? Art class, anything that has to do with painting, drawing, or sketching.

Are they planning to go or have they already been to college? Armand just graduated from college. He’s been done for about a month.

Does your sim have a favorite TV show? Armand likes Penn & Teller’s Fool Us. It’s a magic show where Penn & Teller try to guess how a magician does his trick. They also give magicians whose tricks they cannot guess a chance to perform at their venue in Las Vegas. This is Armand’s favorite show because it reminds him of his father (a magician), whom he loves and adores dearly.

Does your sim like books? Armand has mixed feelings about books. On one hand, they remind him of his terrible mother, but it’s not like he won’t touch the things. The memories suck, but he did read his textbooks when he needed to for college. However, he wouldn’t turn to books for fun.

What is your sim’s personal style? Armand has a bit of a rock star style, he has some shirts that are ripped in just the right places, and he’s not afraid to wear something that looks a little messy. Armand’s family has a dark hot pink hair gene, started from his great-grandfather, Alexander Hunt, which makes Armand not shy away from bright colors in his outfits.

Is your sim religious? Not really. Patrick (Armand’s father) raised Armand with good values, but they weren’t tied to religious ideals. Although some of them might have similar ideals, like treat others with kindness and respect, it wasn’t religion that was the driving force behind it.

What kind of music does your sim listen to? Armand likes when he plays the guitar, although he hasn’t written anything himself, he does like what he plays. He also likes pop music, like the song Ghost by Ella Henderson.

What is your sim’s favorite type of weather? Armand likes California weather, sunshine, a light breeze, 70s for the high, 40s for the low. He doesn’t like a lot of humidity, he’s finding out as he lives in Louisiana for now. LOL.

Does your sim have a dream job? Armand would love to paint and be a famous artist, selling his art to high end galleries. He just wants to let his creativity out and be paid for it. LOL.

Does your sim have any siblings? No. Armand’s parents didn’t get along very well after he was born, so they never came together long enough to make or want to make any siblings for their son.

Does your sim get along with their family? Yes and no. Armand’s always gotten along with his father, grandfather, and grandmother. He never got along with his mother, who is now deceased. He does get along with his new step-mother.

What is your sims favorite hobby? Armand loves to sing and play his guitar.

What does your sim look for in a romantic partner? For now, Armand has just been playing the field, he’s slept with a few women without searching too hard for romance. All he knows is he doesn’t want anyone who remotely resembles his crazy dead mother.

What is a flaw your sim has? Armand has a traumatic past so he has a bad habit of getting into cycles where his brain makes him think he hates himself and that he’s worthless. He knows at this point that none of that is true, and he’s working on it.

Does your sim have a greatest achievement? Armand is still young and he has his whole life ahead of him, but he would probably say his greatest achievement for now, is that he was able to overcome the bad memories that he associated with his childhood home. He recently visited his parents’ home for Thanksgiving break and he was able to feel happy while being in that house, which is something he’d never been able to do until now.

If they have one, what is your sim’s greatest regret? Armand’s mom died young, and their relationship had always been super shitty. His regret is that he couldn’t patch things up with her (if that was even possible) while she was alive.

Wooo! Thanks for tagging me! ♥ This was great fun.

#Lilyshadowwriter #freckled-pixels #OC #Armand Decimus #TS3 #EchoesofEternity

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cosmicjoke · 3 years ago

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Okay, I gotta talk a little about chapter 65 of AoT, and really some of the themes being put forth in general in this chapter. This is probably gonna be totally incoherent, because these are some big brain concepts that largely go over my head, I’ll be real, haha. But I’ll do my best.

I want to focus on Kenny’s conversation with his Grandfather, because it’s here that we get into some of the more broad ranging and world relevant themes of SnK, particularly dealing with issues of racism, xenophobia, isolationism, and concepts of homogeneity.

Kenny’s Grandfather talks about how the Monarchy doesn’t hate the Ackerman’s, but rather fears them, because they can’t be controlled. Because the Ackerman’s, along with very few other bloodlines that somehow ended up behind the walls, are all of different races than the majority bloodline, meaning, of course, the Eldians. And because of this, the power of the Titans doesn’t work on them. The Monarchy then comes to think of these other bloodlines as threats to the peace it’s attempted to cultivate among the people behind the wall, because their memories aren’t able to be wiped. So they end up using threats of violence, death, intimidation, and the like, in order to get these bloodlines to comply with their demands and keep quiet about what they know about the truth of the world and human history. Most bloodlines end up complying under duress, but the only two that don’t are the Ackerman’s and the Asians. They rebel and refuse, the Ackerman’s in particular giving up their position as the sword and shield of the Royal Government. Until the head of the Ackerman clan decides to not pass down any of his generations knowledge to their children, and offers himself up for execution in an attempt to protect the Ackerman’s from being purged. His efforts end up being in vain, though, as the Royal Government still finds itself unable to tolerate a group of people it can’t control, and thus the persecution of the Ackerman’s continues, until they’re driven to the fringes of society, forced to into desperation and poverty.

What’s really interesting about this is how it reflects so many real life situations throughout human history, and where concepts of tribalism and nationalism and isolationism come from. It’s usually because some governing power wants to control its population, its citizenship, and they do this by cutting them off from outside influences, indoctrinating them into a certain belief system and way of thinking. We see this, for example, in countries today like China and North Korea. This all is represented in AoT through the erasure of human history outside the walls, and the altering of historical texts to push the narrative that all record of human history older than 100 years has been lost. The ruling government, in this case, has forced generation after generation to be taught that humanity simply doesn’t EXIST outside the walls, thus stomping out any hope or ambition to get outside those walls, and interact with the outside world. If there’s nothing there to find, then why bother? Of course, it’s an imperfect system, given it’s essentially impossible to quell human curiosity and, as another prominent theme in SnK, the desire for freedom, to be able to choose for oneself and have agency over your own destiny, etc... Not only does the Royal Government employ these false teachings as a way of controlling the populace, but of course, also, the threat of the Titans beyond the wall. If the “reality” that there’s nothing left of humanity out there isn’t enough to stop the more curious and skeptical among the population, then the threat of a horrific and painful death should do the trick.

If you study any sort of regime throughout human history that utilizes terror as a means of control, one thing they often do is get rid of the smart people first. They cull intellectuals, artists, philosophers, etc... They kill them or censor them so that they can’t influence or impact the general populace with rebellious notions, or instigate in people any ideas that their government might not be treating them right. They want there to be no contention, no differential in thought, no real ideas or any sort of chance for clashes among groups. They want everyone to look, act, think and feel the same, because when that’s the case, fewer quarrels arise, fewer tensions, fewer instances of rebellion, fewer cases of people clashing with one another, for various reasons, which can lead to critical thinking and ideas forming, to thought patterns and beliefs being challenged. They want everyone to just sit quietly and not THINK. They also, often, will target minority groups, and cast them into a kind of scapegoat role, a target for the general populace to aim their grievances at, to blame all their problems on, directing their unhappiness away from the true source of their woes, that being the government itself. This is something we often see throughout human history. One of the most prominent and tragic examples is the Jews in Nazi Germany. Jews were, at first, skewered and debased through propaganda, painting them as the enemy of Germans, the great source of all of Germany’s plights and woes, essentially working the populace up into a frenzy of extreme feelings of bias and prejudice against them, before that escalated into gathering up and forcing them into cut off ghettos, away from the general population, before it took a much darker turn still, wherein they were gathered up and sent to death camps to be exterminated.

Within the world of AoT, the same thing happens to groups like the Ackerman’s and Asians, and whatever other, unnamed minority groups exist behind the walls. They’re persecuted, badmouthed, hunted and threatened into compliance, their ability to do business and make money, thus make a living, cut off and blocked. Pushed into a corner until they eventually start to die out.

It’s really fascinating, and brilliantly depicted by Isyama, how the Monarchy’s self-delusion leads them to believe they’re preserving peace and prosperity for the homogeneous population by hunting down and terrorizing groups of minority bloodlines and ethnicity’s and races, creating for these subsets of people a world and a life of endless suffering, and blinding themselves to their own, tyrannical exercise of power over a large population. Of course this sort of thing also leads to greed and a lust for power, a need for ever more control, ever more expansion of that power, which in turn leads to the very thing the Monarchy here claims to want to prevent, which is war. Even if the Royal Government, and the Monarchy, and the King, started out with somewhat noble intentions, it eventually morphs into a twisted and persistently corrupting power play.

There’s also the theme here of scapegoating an entire group of people, and holding them accountable for sins they themselves did not commit. We see in Historia’s memories of Frieda, and how she would at times begin acting like another person, how she became vitriolic and almost violent in telling Historia that she can “never cross the fence”, proclaiming that they’re all “sinners” and thus need to be punished by being imprisoned. This is where the original King’s philosophy begins to become deeply problematic and dangerous. In order to control the population, he’s forced each inheritor of the world’s memories to also inherit his philosophy, forcing each heir to labor under the belief that the Eldian’s are somehow responsible for the atrocities committed by their ancestors, and thus should continue to pay for them, even though not a single person at this point living behind the walls was even yet born when those atrocities were committed. The danger here is in the possibility of those people being held accountable for things they didn’t do, realizing the injustice of that, and in turn, growing angry and resentful for being made to suffer for crimes they didn’t commit. This in turn leads to a desire to hit back, to fight, to defend themselves, etc... This same scenario plays out on a smaller scale with the Ackerman’s, with the future generations of Ackerman children continuing to be hunted and persecuted, despite none of them having any knowledge whatsoever of the history of humanity or the world. It’s all a vicious cycle.

Further, this kind of attempt to play God, by dictating to an entire group of otherwise uninvolved people what they do and don’t deserve, and in turn deciding for them that they should be punished for things they did not do, is morally bankrupt. Deciding, in general, for an entire population, how they should be allowed to live is also morally bankrupt. And this exposes the Royal Government and Monarchy as corrupt, among about a million other things in story. Essentially, it’s a condemnation against the concept of any, one person having absolute power. That never ends well, for anyone.

Well, anyway, I’m just rambling at this point, lol. It’s just really fascinating and amazing how Isyama weaves all of these deep themes into his story, I think, and forces the reader to really think about these kinds of things.

Also, I missed the fight between Levi and Kenny! I’m glad they added that to the anime, haha.

I also noticed how Historia might have had an unintentional impact on what Eren later decides he has to do. She keeps going on and on here about being an “enemy of humanity” and wanting to “destroy everything”. And while Historia clearly doesn’t actually mean what she’s saying, and is only acting out in her frustration and anger at her douchebag of a father trying to manipulate her into sacrificing herself for his delusions of grandeur, what she also says to Eren about her “being humanity’s enemy, but Eren being her FRIEND.” is clear foreshadowing of what Eren later decides is his best and only course, to do whatever it takes to protect his friends, including killing the rest of humanity. This probably also ties into Eren’s choice to not reveal what he learns from his father’s memories, in an attempt to protect Historia. But I haven’t gotten to that point yet, so I’ll come back around to it later maybe.

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin

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megsironthrone · 5 years ago

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A Ward of Winterfell

Based on this request: Hello! How are you? would it be alright if i could i get a request for a Baratheon (fem) reader (maybe a legitimized bastard of king Robert's?) who was sent to be a ward at winterfell to get her away from Cercei and is betrothed to to Robb stark? maybe when the royal family rides for Winterfell she goes back to the capitol with Eddard stark and his daughters and everything starts falling apart? it's okay if not haha.

Here you go! *Familiar characters are not mine!*

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death and such, Fluff

Pairings/Characters: Robb Stark x fem!Baratheon reader, Robert Baratheon, Cersei Lannister, Varys, Talisa

Being King Robert's legitimized bastard daughter was dangerous. Cersei hated you and everyone knew it. That was part of the reason your father sent you to Winterfell to be Ned Stark's ward. Unlike your half siblings, you grew up in a loving, caring home. You were well cared for, respected, and loved. And when you reached maturity, you fell in love yourself. With Robb Stark.

As young children, you and Robb never got along. But as you grew older, you became closer and closer until you were the best of friends. And then, you shared your first kiss. It had been a complete surprise to you both when Robb leaned over on his horse to kiss you after you'd beat him in a race. But when he kissed you again later than night, you had eagerly kissed back. Eventually, with your fathers' blessings, the two of you were betrothed. But now you were faced with the prospect of leaving Winterfell and your heart was heavy.

You curtsied when your father climbed down from his horse. He greeted Ned and Catelyn first, but soon his eyes scanned for you. "Where is she? Where's my daughter?" You stifled a giggle. "Father," you greeted, stepping forward. "Goodness, look at you. A lady now. Come 'ere." You eagerly let your father wrap you in his arms. You saw Cersei and her children looking at you with envy. Clearly they did not receive this type of affection from your father.

Your father pulled away from you and turned back to Ned. "Take me to your crypt. I wish to pay my respects." Cersei cleared her throat and interjected, "We've been riding for a month, my love. Surely the dead can wait." Robert glared at her. "Come on. Y/N, you too." With a quick curtsy to Cersei, you followed after your father and your guardian.

A few nights later, you were alone with your father. "So, betrothed to the Stark boy? I always knew our families would be united through marriage one day." You smiled. "Yes, Father. I love Robb very much. He is very kind to me and treats me well. He will make a fine husband and father, someday." Robert nodded. "Good. Good. Ned is coming with me to be my Hand. I want you to join him and his daughters." You blinked at him. You hadn't been to King's Landing since you were a young girl.

"But Father…Robb is here. We are to be married." Robert arched a brow. "Aye. And you will be. But first you will come to King's Landing. There are things I need to teach you." Your brows furrowed. "Father, I have Septa Mordane and Maester Luwin." Robert groaned. "Don't you understand?! I'm going to teach you what it takes to rule a kingdom. So that, when I eventually die, you will inherit the Iron Throne."

"M-Me? What about Joffrey?" Robert scoffed and said a few unsavory things about your half-brother. "Point is, I can't trust him. His mother's got too strong a hold on the boy. You, I trust." You pulled your lip between your teeth. "And what about Cersei? She does not like me, Father. Who knows what she will do when she finds out you no intention of naming Joffrey your heir." Robert gave your shoulder a pat. "Let me take care of Cersei. Now, go on, and tell that boy of yours the news."

Your felt tears pricking your eyes as you left your father to go find Robb. How could you possibly tell him you were leaving him now? His father was leaving him in charge of Winterfell. You should be by his side. But, as king, your father's word was law. You had no choice in the matter. You could only hope you would be allowed to return to Winterfell, and to Robb, sooner rather than later.

"Robb," you called lowly when you finally found him. He turned to you with a smile that dropped the moment he saw your face. "Y/N, my love? What is it?" he asked the instant he was by your side. He gently gripped your arms in his hand and looked into your eyes that were still wet with unshed tears. Moving back slightly, you took Robb's hand in yours to lead him from the room.

When you were almost certain you were alone, you turned back to your betrothed. "I-I have to leave." Robb stared at you for a moment before he laughed. "Very funny, Y/N." You shook your head as the tears began to slide down your cheeks. "It isn't a joke. Father has ordered it. I am to return with him to King's Landing. For a short while. He-He wants to groom me to rule when he is dead. I am to be the queen."

"I don't care, Y/N. What does that mean for us?" You sniffled a little and smiled. "Father's blessing still stands. Only this time, when we marry, I will not become Lady Stark of Winterfell. You shall became Robb, King of the Seven Kingdoms. I know it wasn't our plan, but I can't go against my father." Robb softly tightened his grip on your hands. "I don't care where we go, my love. As long as we are together and we can still wed. That is all that matters to me." He sealed his vow with a kiss to your lips. You savored the feeling, knowing that it would be your last kiss for a long while.

*time skip*

How had things gone so wrong? How had it come to this? Your father was dead, killed on a hunt supposedly. Ned Stark was dead too, executed for crimes against the crown. Cersei had ripped your father's will that named you heir. And now your very life was in danger. You knew you had to get to Robb, no matter what it took. Varys had made that very clear when he broke you out of the cells of the Red Keep.

"My little birds tell me Robb Stark has made camp near Riverrun for the time being. His grandfather has died. If you hurry, you can make it. One of my birds has a horse ready for you. You must not stop and keep off the King's Road." With a sniffle, you hugged Varys. "Thank you, Lord Varys. But why are you helping me?" He smiled at you before answering.

"I always do what I feel is best for the realm, Princess. And you cannot rule if Cersei has you killed. The only reason you are still alive is because the people love you. They would hate Cersei and Joffrey even more if they killed you now. Leave now, but return with Robb Stark and an army at your back, and the people will flock to you."

That was how you found yourself approaching the Stark camp. You were hungry, thirsty, and undoubtedly filthy, but you had made it. You were greeted with smiles and bows. "My lady! You've returned to us." You gave a weak smile. "Where is Robb's tent? I need to see him now." After being shown, you did your best to smooth down your dress and hair. You were certain you looked a fright, but Robb wouldn't care.

You were about to enter the tent when you heard a voice. Decidedly female. Brows furrowed, you listened for a moment. "Your Grace, I can be of help to you…as more than a healer. In truth, you have captured my heart. And I know you must feel something for me in yours. We've have spent too much time together for you to have not. Your people will soon expect you to find a queen."

"I have a queen," you heard Robb retort, making you smile. He hadn't given up hope for you. "Your queen is most likely dead. No one has seen her since your father's execution. Don't you think it is time to let another in?" Your brows furrowed. Just who did this woman think she was? Robb had already told her no. At that, you decided you couldn't stand and listen any longer.

"I believe His Grace has given you his answer. Leave now or you will see just how alive I truly am." Her dark eyes widened at the sight of you. A smile grew on Robb's lips. "Y/N," he breathed. You didn't let your gaze stray from the woman standing between you and your beloved. "Didn't you hear me? I said to leave."

"You heard your queen, Talisa. Leave this tent." Talisa scoffed softly before pushing passed you, out of the tent. "Y/N!" In no time at all, you were in Robb's arms. "Where have you been?" You smiled at him. "I will tell you everything later, I swear, but for now, I need food, water, and a bath. I must be a sight." Robb chuckled softly. "A lovely sight if I ever saw one. I have missed you." He moved in for a kiss, but you pulled back. "Robb, I smell." He laughed again.

"I don't care. I have been waiting for you to return to me for far too long. Let me kiss you, please?" At his pleading, you couldn't help but give in. You let his lips cover yours and you sighed. After so long, his kiss felt like coming home. It was everything you needed in the moment. You knew the fight was far from over, but you couldn't have cared any less with Robb's lips caressing yours the way they were.

(a/n: I really think that Robert would have been an good father had he not been married to Cersei. Just my opinion. Anyway, I hope this is what you were looking for!)

Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard @brewsthespirit-blog @princessofthefandomrealm @ghostie-writes @littlemisscaptainfandom @line-viper @etherealpotter @frozenhuntress67 @cd1242 @gruffle1 @smalltownbigheart @gameofthronesfics @igotmadskills

Robb Stark Tags: @multi-fandom-imagines8

#game of thrones #robb stark #robb stark x reader #robb x reader

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osakaso5 · 5 years ago

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Spirit Kaleidoscope: Empty Absolution

Chapter 17 - The Fourth Match: Hanabusa Versus Mizuchi

Chapter Index

Hikagemachi's Main Street

Kasane: Let's start plannin' for the fourth match.

Aoi, Uta, Madoka, & Momiji: Yes.

Aoi: ...I can't believe you managed to find Mizuchi's weakness. Especially on such short notice...

Kasane: Mizuchi used to live in the human world way back in the day. I went back there, skimmed through some books, searched around the region he was worshipped in...

Madoka: ...Huh!? You returned to the human world by yourself? Without permission from the capital!?

Kasane: Ufufu. Don't be such a stick in the mud.

Madoka: That's so not fair! You should've taken me with you!

Uta: Oh, so that's the part you had a problem with.

Kasane: In any case, I found us a surefire way to win, with a bunch of hard work. Ah~, I'm such a model employee.

Kasane: Well, Aoi, have ya changed your mind about me now? How about a compliment or two?

Aoi: ........ So, what is the weakness you found?

Kasane: I'm guessin' that's a no.

Hanabusa: Kasane. I don't want to know what Mizuchi's weakness is.

Kasane: ...Beg yer pardon?

Hanabusa: I know you worked hard to find it out, but sorry. I'm not planning to take advantage of any weaknesses during the fight.

Hanabusa: I'll fight him head on.

Kasane, Aoi, Uta, Madoka, & Momiji: Huh?!

Kasane: Now, hold on just a minute... Did ya not listen to what Aoi just said, Hanabusa-han? Mizuchi's a real powerhouse of a yokai.

Kasane: He's not somebody a human can take on like that!

Aoi: I hate to agree with Commander Kasane... But there is no shame in taking advantage of a yokai's weak points in a fight. If anything, it's reckless to face one against some kind of advantage...

Hanabusa: I know. ...But this might be the only chance I get to fight an opponent like him.

Hanabusa: It's a once-in-a- lifetime match... I don't want to let it slip by me because I need to win.

Aoi: Commander Hanabusa... But...

Uta: ...Oh boy. And before the tournament began, you said there was no way for us to beat Mizuchi, too.

Hanabusa: Hmph. Sorry, but I've changed my mind.

Uta: Are you planning to abandon your role as our supervisor?

Hanabusa: Winning on behalf of the katanashu should be our top priority. That was why I wasn't originally going to fight in the matches myself. ...But I'm a warrior before I am a soldier.

Hanabusa: I want to test my strength and skill against an enemy who's strong... And win with all my might. What else could a duel possibly need?

Uta: ...In other words, you're just super fired up.

Aoi: I do think that's a wonderful ideal, but...

Hanabusa: Sorry, but I'm not going to change my mind. Don't worry. All I need to do is win. ...You'll have to bear with me too, Momiji.

Hanabusa: I'm sure this must be unnerving for someone who wants to fight Ungaikyo as badly as you.

Momiji: ........ No, sir. I won't mind, as long as you win.

Hanabusa: ...Hmph. You're cocky for a novice...

Hanabusa: ........ It seems you're the kin of the capital's general.

Momiji: ........ How do you know that?

Madoka: ...Seriously!? You mean THE general!? The commander of all our military forces... The top dog!

Uta: ...I always thought you were arrogant for a newbie... But you're seriously some rich young heir...

Madoka: Yikes. We should really be nicer to him.

Hanabusa: When you first came here, I received a letter from the general. He told me to look after his grandson.

Momiji: ...Grandfather... I see.

Hanabusa: He's the sole leader of our army. As his flesh and blood, he must favor you a great deal.

Hanabusa: He's already retired from the front lines to hold true power in the capital.

Hanabusa: ........ And one day, you'll inherit it all.

Momiji: Yes. That is my intention.

Aoi: ...Now you've said it...

Hanabusa: ....Pfft. Fufu... Hahahahaha!

Momiji: .........

Hanabusa: You replied without hesitation. Our leader has put you on the track to ruling our country one day. Haha.

Hanabusa: ...I hate naive kids like you more than anything. So much that it makes me sick.

Momiji: I know. ...But I believe you're not the sort of man to let your personal feelings get in the way of your work.

Hanabusa: You wouldn't know.

Hanabusa: ...I have no complaints about your work here thus far. However, I have a piece of advice for you.

Hanabusa: Your fighting and conduct is decisive. It's suited for someone who's straightforward, determined, and not easily disturbed. That's a strength, but it's also a weakness.

Momiji: ...What do you mean?

Hanabusa: But following orders can only take you so far. Right now, you're completely lacking in substance.

Hanabusa: You need to find your own hopes and aspirations, and follow them. Don't go against your blade. Listen to it carefully.

Momiji: ...My blade...

Hanabusa: Sorry, Kasane. You worked hard, but... I need to have my way this time. Bear with me.

Kasane: Sigh... Yer unbelievable. All my work's just gone down the drain.

Kasane: But, I guess that's how stubborn ya always are.

Hanabusa: Sorry.

Hanabusa: Hmph... Maybe I'd misjudged you.

Kasane: ...Hey, cut it out. It gives me goosebumps when ya act all nice, Commander Ogre.

Hanabusa: Hmph.

Kasane: ...At least let me do a little protective charm for ya. Can I have yer sword for a sec?

Hanabusa: ...What? You're pouring sand over my blade...

Kasane: Mizuchi's supposed to be weaker against the earth, right? This ain't much of a protection against him, but it's better than nothin'.

Kasane: ...Alright... That should do. Go give 'em hell, Commander Ogre!

Hanabusa: Yeah. I'll make sure to bring us victory.

- - - -

Karasutengu: It's finally time for the long-awaited fourth match. From the yokai, we have Mizuchi!

Karasutengu: From the katanashu, we have the commander of their first squadron, Hanabusa!

Karasutengu: How long can the infamous Commander Ogre stand against our very own water god..? This is looking to be a match full of twists and turns!

Yokai: Wow... We'll really get to see Mizuchi fight..!

Yokai: Get him, Mizuchi!

The Yokai: Aaaaagh..!

Hanabusa: You're awfully popular, Mizuchi. Those cheers are loud enough to make the ground shake.

Mizuchi: They're just curious, since I come to the city so rarely.

Hanabusa: I see. In that case, I must be lucky to be able to fight you today.

Mizuchi: ...Lucky? To fight me?

Hanabusa: Yes. It's the first time since my transfer here that I've felt so alive.

Hanabusa: ...That's how boring working as an inspector out here is. Despite it, I've never once forgotten to train. Maybe it's all been for the sake of fighting you today.

Hanabusa: Huff... Maybe light can shine even into a grave. Right now, I'm grateful to have been sent to Hikagemachi.

Mizuchi: Hmm... You're interesting.

Mizuchi: I'm surprised that there would be a human who doesn't lose hope as soon as they're faced with me. Not to mention a human who would fight me voluntarily.

Mizuchi: Though when I still lived in the human world, during the time when samurai ruled your land... There was the occasional warrior who would challenge me.

Hanabusa: Challenge you..? Why? Were you not worshipped as a god?

Mizuchi: Yes. That was exactly why. Strong warriors wanted to test their blade on the water god.

Mizuchi: Can you not relate?

Hanabusa: I see... If I'd lived during that time, I might've aspired to do the same.

Mizuchi: ...You look like you're out for blood. Fufu. It really has been a while. This brings back so many memories...

Mizuchi: When a human looks straight at me like that, I want to meet their expectations. Maybe that feeling is a remnant from my days as a god?

Hanabusa: Enough talk. Let's begin.

Mizuchi: Right. Chit-chatting is nice, but it looks like your blade wants to do all the talking right now.

Mizuchi: You're... Hanabusa, right? It's nice to meet you. Let's make this a good fight.

Karasutengu: We might see ogres, serpents, even gods... It's time for the decisive fourth battle! Begin!

The Yokai: Uooooh..!

- - - -

Slash..!

Mizuchi: Ugh...!

Thud

Mizuchi: ...Uuh.

Hanabusa: Huff, huff... ........

The Yokai: Commotion...

Onibi: ...Huh..? What's going on..? Mizuchi's down... Hey, Kyubi-no-Kitsune! Does this mean...

Kyubi-no-Kitsune: ........

Kyubi-no-Kitsune: ...That's right. Mizuchi lost to the human.

Onibi: ....!? No way! That can't be true..! This is Mizuchi we're talking about!

Kyubi-no-Kitsune: There's no denying it. ...He was cut down with a sword, and now he's not getting up. Is that not enough for you?

Onibi: ....... Mizuchi's...

The Yokai: Commotion...

Yokai: You're kidding me... Mizuchi, of all people!?

Yokai: He lost to some human...

Karasutengu: ...Oh dear... This is unexpected...

Karasutengu: ...Haha... Hahaha! It's so unpredictable... This is exactly why tournaments are so fun!

Karasutengu: The results are plain for all to see. The winner of our grand fourth match... Is Hanabusa!

The Yokai: Commotion...

Uta: ...Commander Hanabusa... He really did beat Mizuchi..!

Aoi: The yokai have gone dead silent, despite yelling so loudly earlier...

Kasane: Their water god lost to a human. That's gotta be a real shocker.

Kasane: ...But I gotta say, Hanabusa-han did great! Looks like his fighting spirit matched Mizuchi's.

Madoka: ...But didn't the match seem a little weird to you guys? It was over so quickly...

Madoka: It was like Mizuchi just stopped right in the middle of it...

Momiji: ........

Karasutengu: Hahaha! Too bad, Mizuchi! I never expected you to lose. You must've been careless.

Karasutengu: Your face looks pale, for some reason. Are you hurting?

Mizuchi: ...No...

Hanabusa: ........ What is this..?

Karasutengu: Huh? What now, Hanabusa? You don't look too happy about beating Mizuchi... Hey! What are you doing to him..!?

Mizuchi: .....!

Hanabusa: Answer me, Mizuchi! You left yourself open on purpose, right!? You must be looking down on me because I'm human...

...Smack!

Hanabusa: .....!?

Mizuchi: Don't touch me. ...You disappoint me.

Hanabusa: ...What..?

Mizuchi: The match is over. Get away from me. I don't want to see those eyes for another second.

Mizuchi: ...It really is a shame. You're nothing like those samurai.

Hanabusa: ...Bastard... Now you're even mocking me... ...Wait! Where are you going!?

Hanabusa: You...

Karasutengu: ........ Hmm. What is this..?

To be continued...

#idolish7 #spirit kaleidoscope #translation #event story #other translations

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fallen029 · 4 years ago

Text

Within: Part I

Part I of a request from hey-youu-pssss for some werewolf Laxus action. I split this because I got a bit carried away with it, haha, but more soon, promise.

Things had been in a stead standstill for the Strauss family for the better part of a decade. The untimely deaths of both the patriarch and matriarch would come to pale to the near total inhalation of the clan faced during the great plague. It had irradiated much of the country, changing both the physical and ownership landscape involved. While the other great families dealt in their own ways, the eldest child of Elvin and Miren Strauss eventually found herself next in line of ascension all at the tender age of ten.

It was rather unorthodox and would have been vetoed during normal means. Not only due to the age, but most importantly due to her gender. Women were very rarely considered the head of families in those times, were not thought to own land or command houses. And yet, as the plague ravished the land and the end-times felt rather imminent, it was hardly of consequence and no claim was fully realized in place of her own.

Mirajane Strauss, with very little guidance or help, found the weight of the world placed upon her shoulders at an unimaginable time in an unfathomable way. There was hardly any time to mourn her parents, her family, her friends, as she was tasked with keeping the family affairs in order.

A distant dream, it felt like now, and when she thought of those early days, she had to smile a bit wryly. Swallow a bit of air, clear her throat, blink back any wetness that might have found its way into her eyes, and continue on.

She couldn’t quite claim that she’d been all alone, during the thick of it. She had a both a younger brother and sister who, honestly, she imagined she was lucky just didn’t possess any desire for power themselves. It would have been rather easy, in those tumultuous periods, for either to have killed her off or, in her brother’s case, honestly just stake a claim. As the male heir, he probably had more of it and if he’d been interested in pursuing that, could have found himself the head rather easily.

But neither were quite interested in all of that. Elfman Strauss, while a rather broad shouldered and striking young man, was also a bit of a, well, a mama’s boy. But when she was taken from him at such a young age, he clung instead to his older sister who he’d never think of undermining. In fact, he’d get quite agitated at any sort of suggestion, even to that day.

He saw his older sister as the only reason the Strauss name held any value currently and credited her with saving not only his namesake, but even his own life.

Elfman would never allow anything to befall his beloved older sister. Not without putting up a fight.

Lisanna Strauss, however, would never have had a claim to the estate and lands, were either sibling alive, and perhaps that was why she was so insistent that they take care, in the later stages of the plague, when socializing was becoming commonplace once more. There was nothing more frighting to the youngest Strauss as the idea of ever holding power.

The small amount she had now, only in riches and the prospect of marriage, frightened her greatly.

Being from a noble family was the pits and she spent every day from childhood to the tentative adulthood she was now reaching rejecting what it meant. She hoped to never find herself in control of anything, really, and balked even at the idea of marrying into it. As the youngest sibling, a daughter of one of the head families, she was meant to be married off young and into more nobility. Perhaps even far from home.

Were her parents still alive, some of her older relatives, this probably would have happened around her sixteenth birthday. Which in itself was devastating to think about for the young woman, only just now surpassing her eighteenth. Instead, it was still her older sister that most men were interested in courting and she watched those many awkward dances from the distance, instead spending her days balancing between doing the bare minimum Mirajane required of her and goofing off out in the surrounding woods with her best friend Natsu, the orphaned servant employed at the manner.

It was a rather precarious situation that Mirajane found herself in, those days. While surely leading the family out of the plague would go down as her crowing achievement, her putting off marriage and the inevitable power transfer that would involve, was surely a feat in itself.

She was meant to marry someone of equal or lesser power than her. Or at least both she and her small group of close associates thought so. It would help her to consolidate power. When she married, she could either assist the family in absorbing more land or join them to one of the neighboring families. Either wasn’t exactly favorable for her siblings, who didn’t rightly wish to see her leave their estate and, at least in name, leave Elfman as the head of the household and Lisanna, unfortunately back in the spotlight once more for suitors.

But it didn’t seem as if their older sister seemed to keen on any of the interested men anyhow. Not truly. She spent balls and social occasions fielding interests and gaining the reputation of a bit of a prude. Not that it mattered. Many attributes had been shackled to the woman in the past and she wore them all far better than most. Mirajane knew what she wanted and, though she didn’t share it with many people, she was confident that, eventually, she would get it.

Laxus Dreyar was from the Dreyar clan, a revered and respected family who’d managed to survive the plague with very little harm. Their position in the country, surrounded by jagged cliffs and backed into the rougher side of the sea, had allowed them to quarantine far better and shield themselves from much of the damage. Makarov Dreyar, their aging (and to some decrepit, even) patriarch still resided over the family. The next in line was his cantankerous son and, finally, his brash and bold grandson Laxus. The three made up the main family and were well regarded in the land as being a bit...eccentric and surely not the best family to align yourself with.

They would be of no use to the Strauss family. Too distant and too chaotic. Mirajane was meant to marry into true stability to the house once more. It was hardly meant to be between she and Makarov’s grandson and ye, following a chance encounter, the woman found herself rather smitten with him.

It was strange, clandestine almost, or so she told herself, the way that the pair of them happened upon one another. He’d been once more, as frequently was the occurrence, had a falling out with both his grandfather and father and had been banished from both the Dreyar estate and the home his father kept on the opposite end of their hold.

Not that this was a much of a problem. From the time he was a teen, he frequently was sent away to different dignitaries and even, once, the Kingdom’s capital. Now a man in his twenties and with enough inheritance and gold to his name to inspire much work ethic, he found himself a bit of a nomad, staying around with friends of the family when they would have him and sleeping around with women when they wouldn’t.

The Justine’s were a lesser family that was a ward of his own, but Laxus had always been friends with the heir apparent. Freed was a quiet man, reserved, and functioned well as a cohort for Laxus in that he balanced the other man out. Dreyars were naturally ferocious and it had been many a fight that Freed had to lead the other man away from- And some that he wasn’t so capable.

Freed, who was sent by his father on business to meet with the Strauss family in regards to a few trade agreements, invited Laxus when to accompany him with little care. He didn’t know the Strausses, neither of the men did, and it would be nice to have company on the rather lengthy journey.

They weren’t even meant to meet with her. Mistress Mirajane. It was one of the lesser lords in her hold that Freed was to trade a few person documents with. But this sounded dreadfully boring to Laxus and, though he’d accompanied the man most of the way, he begged out of going to the stuffy environment that would be a lesser lord’s house. No. Sounded like a shitty time, honestly.

It was midday when Laxus found himself roaming around an unfamiliar city, more or less scoping out what possible night life it might offer. Not much, honestly. But it was as he was roaming about, hands shoved down in his pockets and his standard fluffy coat floating from his shoulders that he saw her.

She was seated at a patio cafe, looking over a small book of some sort as a much older man sat before her, speaking rather animatedly though the woman didn’t seem quite as interested.

He knew who she was immediately. Or at least had a good idea. It was the true Strausses, of the old blood, that possessed the snow white hair and bright blue eyes. He’d seen old photos and such of the family, anyways, growing up in the privilege of tutors and thorough education. His grandfather used to sit in on his lessons sometimes, giving him a cookie when he was able to name all of the major houses and holds; maybe something better if he could name all of their lesser houses and the neighboring.

The Strausses were remarkable, when he was growing up, for their resilence and young leader. He used to dream of one day being able to do the same as her. Once the old geezer and his father were out of the way. He imagined, when he was a boy, that he’d be awfully good at leading his hold. But now, distanced and miserable in most aspects, he looked on disdain at most everything.

But not that woman that day, as his chest ached a bit, when she lifted her eyes at just the right moment to meet his and he was hardly ever so smitten with someone. A woman. He got them quite easily with his status and money. They usually threw themselves at him and were hardly a concern. Something other than gold to burn through.

Something harsh raged through him then though and he didn’t think he could ever break her gaze, that he would ever break that gaze, even if it were only a few seconds, perhaps less, as it felt eternal. Honestly, the only thing that caused him to finally look away from the woman and she him was the loud sound of a carriage horse in distress and some yelling from the street.

It had reared up on its back legs, the creature had, fighting against two men who were trying to calm it and most everyone walking about stopped to stare in surprise.

“Oh, Uncle, go help them,” Mirajane said quickly to the man sitting beside her as both she and him stared with concern at the scene that was quickly arising. “You’re so good with them. Horses and things. I… Please, Uncle, go help.”

“O-Of course!” The stout man rose to his feet quickly and rushed right from the table he was sharing with his liege, rushing across the street to where, honestly, the horse was being subdued and comforted.

As he left though, Mirajane found herself standing as well while Laxus, after a weary glance over at the horse, found his feet bringing him over, instead, to the patio cafe. At his approach, he noted two heavy set men seated nearby tense and advert their gaze from the horse scene and instead on the new, strange man.

“Lady Strauss,” Laxus spoke loudly as he approached, keeping gaze with her while the woman, in turn, only shut her little book and looked the man over.

“I prefer Mistress,” she remarked simply and he almost bit his tongue as yes, Freed had mentioned that to him, on the off chance they happen upon her. But perhaps it would have been for the better, should he have bitten the appendage, as at least drawing a bit of blood from it would distract it from the growing ache in his chest when she smiled at him all the same. “But I am sorry, I do not believe we’ve been acquainted before. Are you a member of my uncle’s house?”

She knew this couldn’t be, how could it? The way he carried himself and his clothing gave off significant standing and birthright, but still, she knew most everyone that would qualify those standard in the immediate area.

“No.” As he came to a stop in front of the table, he said quite loudly, “I am Laxus Dreyar. Grandson of Makarov Dreyar.” And his words alone were enough to put the two burly men at ease. To her only now, he said much softer, “Here on business.”

“Business?” She scrunched her nose in such a precious way as her blue eyes seemed clouded momentarily. “Were we meant to meet, Lord Dreyar?”

“Laxus.” He took a hand from his pocket, but rather than reach out to take hers, he instead bent low, at the waist, in a way he wasn’t fully accustomed any longer. As he rose, he assured her, “I prefer Laxus.”

Rising herself, Mirajane took his hand however, once he’d righted himself, and she shook it with a heaviness no woman he knew possessed, but made the pang in his chest only grow.

“Mirajane,” she told him as a soft grin fell over her face, when she released his hand. “I want you to call me Mira.”

“Who is this then?”

And her uncle was back then, stuffy and put out as he eyed the strange man with clear disdain, but it didn’t matter. It was too late. Everything was too late, fates already sealed.

He wouldn’t be going back with Freed, no matter how much Justine insisted that he not do as he was thinking, to rethink all of his thoughts, least he wind up in a far worse situation with his grandfather than he already was, but nothing could dissuade a man in love.

“You’ve met many Ladies before,” Freed argued with a heavy frown that final time he tried to get through to his longest friend. “Your feelings always pass.”

But his words meant nothing and when Freed returned to his father, it was with a sigh and lie over the Dreyar grandson finding other business in the hold to attend to.

Given his rather high status, it was easy enough for Mirajane to write off giving him a room on the estate property, a guest cottage not far from the main house, and things moved so fast from there.

It was a cool autumn night, the first one that Laxus spent on the property. He’d spent the past few at an inn near her uncle’s house, where she was staying for a few herself, and they’d had dinner a few times. Spoken. A lot, honestly, for the short amount of time they’d been allotted. Neither was too sure who’d suggested him following her all the way back home, but when he boarded her carriage with her, it was to the disdain of her uncle and maybe some whispers of others, but Mirajane assured everyone who questioned her that it was purely business.

And yet, it was anything but.

She’d had many men in her life attempt to get fresh with her before and even reciprocated at times, but things felt much different with Dreyar. He sat beside her, in the carriage, wrapping his coat tightly around her shoulders as he spoke, at her request, of his home. Back on the cliff. Of their customs she’d forgotten or perhaps not even been taught, given how ravished their lands were during the time period this was mostly be passed on to her. She asked, also, what he knew of the Strauss hold, of their lands, and Laxus more honest than he’d ever been in his life, whenever he spoke to the woman.

“This feels,” she whispered softly in his ear after their first true embrace, when she welcomed him to the guest cottage his first evening on the estate, “so improper.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied as he ran a knuckle over the soft, pale flesh of her cheek. “We can move slower.”

But they couldn’t.

They never would have been able to.

Elfman and Lisanna were, quite quickly, suspicious of her sister and, more over, distrustful of the new man she’d brought back to their property.

“We don’t know what you’re doing here,” Elfman grumbled softly to him that first night, over dinner, when Mirajane was distracted and he was able to lean over towards the other man, “but watch yourself.”

And he, quite clearly, would be a problem.

The other one, the younger one...not so much.

“I,” she complained to him with a frown that evening as he was headed down the path back towards his temporary resting place, “use that guest house during the winter time for very important activities. So you better not plan on staying around for long, Mr. Dreyar.”

“Lord,” he corrected her simply, “Dreyar. And it’s not proper, you following me around you know. People we get the wrong idea.”

“You got the wrong idea,” was all Lisanna insisted to him as, at the tree line, where he’d have to follow the path further, to arrive at her apparently prized location, she stopped to glare at his back, “if you think you’re sticking around.”

But oh, he was.

And Lisanna wouldn’t be the Strauss most making that short trek to the guest house that autumn.

It wasn’t hard to spot the Mistress in those days, previously very tied up in her travel and work, now taking long strolls along the property with Lord Dreyar. All over the property. Even down to the cottage, citing a desire to glance over the changing of leaves and the season.

“I’m meant to marry soon,” she told Laxus, one day, when upon their walks they both nosed instead through the cracked door of the cottage and lost themselves in his disheveled sheets for what was, honestly, not nearly long enough.

It was against her neck as she clawed at his back and the man squeezed his eyes shut that he assured her soft, flushed flesh, “You will. You will, I promise you will.”

The fall gave way to winter and, though his placement on the estate was rather obvious to most, it was around that time that the news had made it back around to the Dreyar’s hold.

And there was a lot of discontentment over Laxus’ recent behavior.

He received a letter from his grandfather, urging him back home at once while the Strauss estate, instead, were not long after bombarded with letterhead from the residence of Ivan Dreyar, requesting the hand of the Mistress immediately.

“He’s doing it to fuck with me,” Laxus remarked dryly to Freed who, at Laxus’ urging over letter, arrived at the Strauss estate soon enough to discuss his next movements. “My father.”

“Forget your father, Laxus,” his friend retorted. “Your grandfather-”

“Gramps, that old geezer, he’s been trying to get me marry into another kingdom’s family. Out of Fiore.” He spit, Laxus did, on the ground, at the thought. “Fuck that. I’m not leaving Fiore. And I’m not leaving Mirajane.”

So it was decided, against the counsel of his friend and the chagrin of his family that the young Dreyar found himself officially beginning an engagement to the eldest Strauss.

“I’ll never take your land from you,” he promised her softly as they lay together one night in his cottage, which he’d stocked with champagne, roses, and the most important thing the woman was looking for; himself. “Your people. I don’t want any of that. I’ll even put it in writing. I...gave up on ruling people a long time ago. I just want you. In a way I’ve never wanted anyone in my entire life. If you will be my wife, I’ll take on whatever title you wish. But you will always be Mistress Strauss and I would never wish to remove that from you. I just want to be included in your life, not change it.”

And she smiled at him, sweetly, as she shifted to rest her forehead against his, gazing longingly into the man’s eyes as she assured him, “I just want to be in your life too, Laxus.”

There would be fallout for this, of course. A lot of scorned suitors now felt bamboozled as the woman didn’t even pick for the intended pool, but rather bypassed it entirely. The Dreyars, in particular Makarov, wrote that he would be arriving soon to meet his prospected new granddaughter-in-law, and the letter detailing this felt rather cross.

Ivan, for his part, merely sent once last request for his son’s betrothed’s hand.

Still, an engagement party date was put in place and Mirajane found that, eventually, a certain stillness began to fall over her regarding the entire thing. Being with Laxus had felt exhilarating for many reasons, but also the potential pain in him eventually being taken from her, choosing to leave her, hung over her head frequently and made him cling all the tighter to him. The resolution to this being found, the woman couldn’t help the obvious contentment that washed over her, even in the hectic days of wedding planning and house joining that would follow.

“Now that the chase is done,” Freed questioned his dear friend quite bluntly when he arrived for the engagement party, “you have not lost interest, Laxus, have you?”

“Of course not,” he replied as if this were a ridiculous question, but that was hardly the case. While it might seem as if the man was getting everything he wanted, Freed knew him well enough to know that this was hardly what the man wanted.

Not at all.

Laxus liked for things to be hard. For them to be difficult. To anger his family and draw the ire of those around him. But as people only naturally warmed to this venture, it made sense that he’d fall out of interest with it, to fall into another ill conceived ploy for attention.

But when he looked his best friend in the eyes that evening, Laxus merely vowed to him, “I’m not a boy anymore. I’m a man. And I’m ready to move into that phase of my life. This is where I want to be.”

Forever.

The night of the engagement party was wild. It was a massive function with many neighboring Lords and Ladies. Even those from the further reaches of the Kingdom. The King himself sent word of his approval only days before and while Mirajane had smiled down at the letter, it was that night, when all her friends, family, and even those distanced to her gathered, just that once, before the eventual wedding, that her grin was at its widest.

He met so many people that day, Laxus did. Had to introduce Mirajane to so many people. Dodge a lot more people. Makarov had arrived earlier in the day, to much fanfare from the Strauss estate and though his grandfather originally wore his sternest of gazes, it only took one look into the bright eyes of his grandson (and perhaps the bosom of his bride-to-be) to understand the union.

“Will you get that short, Laxus?” Lisanna questioned him with wicked laughter that night when she passed him. “Like your grandfather.”

“Lord,” he retorted to her, “Dreyar. And Master Dreyar. Respectfully.”

But the little shit was anything but respectful.

For all the tough talk that Elfman had long given Laxus, he was a bucket of tears that night, falling all over his sister whenever he saw her and even into the arms of her affianced.

“I always wanted,” he sobbed into the shoulder of the ill-at-ease Laxus, “a brother.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t got one now,” the man grumbled, but Mirajane only giggled at the sight from where she stood nearby, with all her female friends, and for as suffocating as he always imagined be betrothed was, Laxus honestly was finally at peace as well.

He had much to drink that night, as did most people, but as the party raged on, he thought to head back to his cottage when the evening air grew colder, for his coat. It was as he stumbled down the path that he thought he knew so well, however, that it happened.

When he heard the rustling in the bushes, he thought that it might be some other guests, having snuck away with a beloved of their own, and Laxus imagined when he wouldn’t have to do such things with the Mistress. Finding a place, a proper place, in her estate. And while he’d like to give them their space, he had, unfortunately, found out what Lisanna (and her servant boy that she kept around, Natsu) had secretly been using his cottage for previously. What with how close to the cottage it was, Laxus imagined it was them, as he’d found them not long ago, together on the back property, hidden and yet now known to him, and he thought to break them up. Once more. If someone else stumbled upon them, it would be pure pandemonium and he hardly wished to deal with that.

But as he approached the bushed area in question, he sensed something else. A strong foreboding. The man hardly had time, however, to back away before it happened. A deep growl and then a vicious attack, his yells of pain being drowned out by the party not too far away, back on the estate and he was left eventually, mauled and beaten, forced to hobble and crawl the rest of his way to the cottage.

It had been a...wolf of some sort, he thought, hiding in the bushes and had sprang out at him. Powerful, sharp jaws had wrapped around his arm and ripped into the flesh, perhaps to the bone, and he thought he’d die, when he fell into his bed alone. Imagined he had that night, maybe, as he had the most vibrant and terrifying dreams.

Yet, he couldn't recall a single one, that next morning when Mirajane found him there.

Her shrill call of his name had sent most everyone running and, given all the blood in the cottage and the pathway leading up to it, the prognosis didn’t seem to bright. But most everyone was thankful (if not a bit confused) to find him blearily arise and brandish on the strangest of fang markings on his forearm and a deep scratch along his right eye.

“That wasn’t from the beast,” he muttered as he sat in one of the palours of the estate, his fiance and grandfather flanking him while the local proctor looked him over. “The arm...that was. But the eye was from some rock or something. It scrapped me on the way down.”

“Lucky you still have your eye,” the man told him bluntly. “Or your arm for that matter.”

“All that blood from those little puncture wounds?” Mirajane questioned as she rested a hand on Laxus’ shoulder. “That can’t be right.”

“Maybe the blood of that damn beast,” Makarov muttered gravely as he shook his head. “Hell hound, it sounds like. You get it good, boy?”

“I...I don’t remember,” Laxus whispered and he felt nothing like himself, nothing at all. “I don’t remember anything.”

“We’ll hunt it down,” Elfman vowed as he wiped at his eyes. “Hunt the whole damn property. Some of the men already are. If you didn’t kill it, big brother, we will!”

“Don’t call me-”

“Yes, big brother,” Lisanna agreed, noting with glee that Elfman, unknowingly, had stumbled upon something new to get under the man’s skin. “We’ll hunt it down!”

But they wouldn’t.

Not for lack of trying though.

For all the men that searched the forest and neighboring areas, no such animal could be found. Some wolves were slaughter, but none with the same, dark, piercing eyes that Laxus recalled.

“I thought,” Mirajane would remark a lot, when he’d mention the red lit, haunting eyes that he could still see, if he just closed his eyes, “that you couldn’t remember anything?”

“I can’t,” he assured her. “W-Well, I mean, I thought I couldn’t….but...”

Though the next few days were difficult, if not downright unpleasant, Laxus did eventually leave the room in the estate he was given to stay in. It wasn’t proper, after all, Mirajane had sadly remarked as she and her brother, as well as a bodyguard, walked with him that first time, back to the cottage, Dreyar trying very hard not to flinch when they passed the exact spot he’d been attacked.

But soon enough, Mirajane was able to add then and it helped anyways, when she smiled at him so sweetly.

Eventually, things fell back into their uneasy peace and Makarov returned home, with a promise to visit before the wedding, signifying his blessing was more than bestowed. Freed too returned home unfortunately, but Laxus found that he was becoming rather accustomed to his regular day-to-day life in on the Strauss estate.

His woman seemed keen to continue on alone in most work and, considering he had little else to do, Laxus did as he’d done all fall, hanging around her siblings or other friendly workers he stumbled across. Winter now, there was snow for Lisanna to frolic through and toss at him though, oddly enough, the man specified that under no circumstance were she ever to build a snowman around him.

“I,” he told her plainly, “hate them.”

Which meant that Lisanna, who rightly didn’t care for them either way, was now determined to build as many as possible.

Still, life on the estate was nice..until about a month or so later.

Laxus grew tired early the night, retiring not soon after dinner and whispering in his beloved’s ear before he departed that no, he doubted he’d be up for a midnight stroll that night. She was disappointed, as the moon was meant to be gorgeous that evening, but relented with a nod.

When he fell into bed, it seemed almost instantaneous that Laxus found himself asleep. But, unfortunately, it was a rather fitful one. Filled with glowing red eyes and sharp pains as well as, in certain portions, an intense pleasure.

He didn’t know what to think, when he awoke the next morning to labored breathing and a few rather strange bruises along his arms.

“Even scratched myself, somehow, in my sleep,” he was grumbling to Mirajane over breakfast in the main dining hall when Elfman, who usually didn’t join them, came rushing in with one of the men from village.

“Elf,” Mira remarked as she rose to her feet immediately. “What-”

“One of the women was attacked last night,” he remarked gravely as the man beside him, the father of a young woman, looked equally distraught as he did murderous. But Elfman only looked to Laxus as he insisted, “By the same beast you were!”

#Miraxus #AU #Mirajane Strauss #Laxus Dreyar #Lisanna Strauss #Natsu Dragneel #Elfman Strauss #Freed Justine #Fairy Tail #Fanfiction

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pepper-writes-things · 5 years ago

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Happy Valentines Day!

uI’m going to use this opportunity to show off the only initially canon couple in my book, therefore not spoiling my character masterlist (that will be finished once I draw all the characters). I’m comfortably posting Zik and Griff because they aren’t in the masterlist and may or may not only start showing up in the third book.

Now, I present to you,

Griff and Zik!

Under the cut, you can find out a little more about them! Their personalities, backstories, and how they got together!

Griffin Langley is the Heir to Nerift’s throne, technically, though his father doesn’t usually recognize his only son. Because of this rejection, Griff lives with his mother in Flauna, Artrius, where she runs an animal rescue. Griff, however, loves many living things. He’s studying to be a botanist, and he’s pansexual. Being gorgeous and royal has helped him in the romance department, but holding said title, it’s hard for him to find partners that like him for him and not his status. It’s even harder to find allies, as he’s technically a “half-breed,” though he’s 3/4 Artrian (which gives him the hair coloring, skin color, and pointier ears) and 1/4 Kezan (which gives him the eyes/powers, build, and shiny skin). Griff is also a talented dancer, having been in any and all school

Zik Sihlos really hasn’t had a happy day. Ever since his brother disappeared/died when they were ten, Zik’s life has only gone downhill. His grandfather’s health began to deteriorate, meaning Zik has taken over his swordshop. Except they live in Artrius, the most aggressively peaceful Empire in the world that I have yet to name. Zik now possesses over 500 weapons and pieces of armor, and his sales are exclusively tourist. Except Flauna is the smallest town in Artrius, so they don’t get many tourists. In his spare time, Zik manifested a fear of not making something of himself. So, he began studying engineering and science, mostly to help the injured Ashon veterans who also decided to take refuge in Artrius. Developing skills in robotics and prosthetics, Zik dedicated his life to making replacement limbs and helping people.

Still, at 14, Zik went down to the beach and saw Griff playing beach playing Hexament, a game which requires one of each Element to play. Zik was very fascinated by the game and not the tall, dark, shiny stranger with a mohawk like blue flame. Zik then learns that Griff is a sucker for musicals, so Zik auditions for the school play (which is not be more chill i don’t know where you got that idea). Miraculously, Zik got the lead freaking roll because my Be More Chill AU lovestory calls for him to passionately sing Loser Geek Whatever. Anyway, with all that not in mind, Zik and Griff begin to grow closer, as Griff is a background dancer in the show. Griff is the first person Zik opens up to in a long time, and Griff opens up similarly. (I might...I might write this scene for Daylight Valentines Day oh no). After performing the song that is definitely not Loser Geek Whatever Zik runs backstage and confesses his feelings to Griff. And thus, they start dating.

If all you wanted was characterization, you may click off now. However, I am going to talk about their character histories because I think it’s really interesting because I think background information is super interesting.

So back when I was like 12/13, Zik was spelled Zeke. Griff appeared in the second book, dating a girl, and he was kinda a stud. Anyway, after several drafts went past my friend, they said, “Hey, uh...are they secretly gay?” And me, having been only recently exposed to gay people that exist outside of buying a house on HGTV, said “Um, no? They’re just best friends.” They argued that no, they’re definitely flirting with each other, they’d make a great couple. I was like “haha yea okay, I guess.”

After a few more drafts, they kind of got shoved away as the story focuses more on my main character. However, I’m constantly thinking about book 3 and on, because that’s when the story REALLY picks up and all the characters are finally together. Zik and Griff may or may not show up in one or two chapters of the first two books, though.

That’s not the point. The point is, recently I reread those initial “I think they’re gay” drafts and WOW there’s a lot of tension. So, yes, I vied even harder for these two crazy kids to be happy. Even if that meant existing in the background as everyone’s power couple.

Congratulations! If you’re a writblr and you got this far, there’s a surprise in the tags! Also, lmk if you are a writblr so I can follow you!

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thenugking · 6 years ago

Note

Would you ever be interested in talking about your Marquises of Serault?

Of course, I love my de Seraults!! I am sorry it took me so long to get round to posting this, I suck at the writing thing. Technically only Arnauld, my scholar is Marquis, and my huntress, Roselle, is his sister but I’ve done a playthrough of Last Court with her as Marquis too.

Arnauld and Roselle are twins and both developed magic when they were ten, within a week of each other. Their mother looked at her options, sighed, and hired an apostate to teach them magic secretly because welp, at least Serault is full of apostates. The tutor is the Plainspoken Seneschal, because of course Arnauld wants to keep the person who advised him most as a child on as his adviser. Other than their parents and the tutor, the only person who knows is the Cheery Baron, because their mother told him almost immediately. He dislikes magic a lot and would never acknowledge to either of them that he knows, but he’s never going to betray his best friend’s children over this. I just really like the idea that Serault is full of mages though, since we already know it’s full of magic.

Anyway, Arnauld, being the Scholar, is a nerd. He grows up spending his time inside as much as he can and searches out his great grandfather’s books on magic and studies them excitedly. He’s the Responsible Sibling, and it’s clear growing up that he’s the one their mother will choose to be Marquis after her. Which doesn’t stop him being a sarcastic little shit a lot of the time. Roselle meanwhile, spends her childhood begging their mother and the Cheery Baron to let her go hunting with them, and when not watched closely, regularly attempts to run off to play in the Applewoods. They both enjoy learning magic. Roselle will wait until Arnauld has found and perfected a new spell and then copy what he’s doing, finding it easier and a lot less time consuming than reading about herself. Arnauld is incredibly bitter that she can become as good as he is really quickly, when it’s him who put all the work in. They squabble constantly, but they’re best friends who forever have each other’s backs.

Their mother dies when they’re 20, leaving Arnauld as her heir. She arranges for Roselle to be married to His Dour Lordship, the Marquis of Alyons, so her son has a new alliance to start him off. Roselle, who is very much the Rebellious Princess trope at this point is Not Thrilled. But she goes through with her arranged marriage and she grudgingly helps her husband to govern, and she discovers that in a marquisate that isn’t ignored and avoided by the rest of Orlais, there’s a lot more playing of the Game. And the Game is fun. Hunting remains her real passion, but the Game isn’t too different. You hunt your prey carefully and subtly, and if you’re doing it well they won’t notice until it’s too late, and then you strike and destroy them. Roselle becomes an expert and ruthless player and settles in happily to ruling Alyons with His Dour Lordship, sometimes helping him in the Game and sometimes working against him for her own benefit.

Arnauld, meanwhile, has Serault to rule, and he loves his marquisate but it is kind of the most disastrous place in all Thedas, and ruling Serault, you can never get a fucking break. He becomes more and more of a snarky little shit as time goes on and gives up on acting like a Proper orlesian noble. It’s not like that’ll get him anywhere anyway when Serault’s as despised as it is, and he’d rather help his people. In game, he tends to have high freedom and low dignity. Which he’s happy with, because his people are happy. Even if he’d like them to stop being such ungrateful bastards most of the time.

Roselle visits Serault with His Dour Lordship mid-game, by which point Arnauld and Roselle don’t see each other often, and have almost given up writing to each other. Roselle’s changed a lot since she lived in Serault, and Arnauld feels like he doesn’t know her anymore. He would never have expected his rebellious sister to be lecturing him on how to better play the Game. She helps him take down the wyvern to cure the Acerbic Dowager, and mocks him for his failure at hunting and it’s almost like the old days again, but the rest of the time, their relationship is a little strained. After locking His Dour Lordship in his dungeons, Arnauld asks Roselle how much she knew about her husband’s plot. She just smiles at him and tells him she’s glad at how he’s improving at the Game.

In the game, Arnauld has the Smiling Guildmistress as his adviser, the Wayward Bard as his lover, the Dashing Outlaw as his accomplice and the Silent Hunter as his bodyguard. Storywise, I’m not sure about the Silent Hunter, I just can’t find anything to do with him, and Arnauld doesn’t seem to connect with him at all? Possibly the Dashing Outlaw does some bodyguarding stuff too, and then I guess the Wayward Bard likes jumping in front of knives for Arnauld. Like I really enjoy the “someone tries to assassinate you and the Bard jumps in front of you, and then complains that he doesn’t want to be healed because scars make him look rakish” card. And it comes up so often that I feel like the Bard just employs people to pretend to stab Arnauld, so he can save him and look dashing and heroic. And then Arnauld patrons like five scholars who got thrown out of the University of Orlais to make him jealous. They flirt in fun ways.

The Dashing Outlaw is a close friend of both Arnauld and Roselle. Her outlaw-ing sometimes takes her all the way to Alyons, and during the start of Roselle’s time there, when she often runs away to the woods, she confides in the Outlaw a lot. Neither of the twins are entirely sure how the Outlaw first discovered they’re apostates, but she knows and she’s cool with it, and that means she’s one of the very few people they can actually talk to about it. Arnauld also tells the Bard, after they start dating, which looking back when not slightly tipsy he realises was not the Best idea, but the Bard thinks it’s sexy, so it all worked out.

The Outlaw was Arnauld’s accomplice a while before the start of the game and he started sleeping with the Bard either shortly before or after the start. Until finding out about the Divine though, Arnauld was happy with the Plainspoken Seneschal as his adviser. He only went looking for a “better” one during the stress of trying to get Serault sorted out ready for the Divine’s visit, but never wanted to actually get rid of his Seneschal. It does create a rift between the two of them for a while though. (When I played Roselle as Marquis, she took the Acerbic Dowager as her adviser, the Elegant Abbess as her lover, the Purveyor of Teas as her accomplice and the Dashing Outlaw as her bodyguard.)

Anyway, apart from replacing his seneschal as his adviser, Arnauld starts becoming more willing to play the Game. When the Divine arrives, he happily puts on the ridiculously impractical and uncomfortable glass mask that he wants to roll his eyes at, and he overlooks his morals about blackmail being unacceptable to play every secret he’s gathered for everything it’s worth. After the ceremony is over and Serault’s reputation is restored again, Arnauld sits by himself and takes off his mask and cries because he hates what he’s become. And it doesn’t help that he’s incredibly lonely after dumping and exiling his boyfriend.

Arnauld was Not Happy about the Wayward Bard cheating on him with the serving girl. Their relationship was Definitely Just Casual, Haha, No Feelings Here, but as time went on, it started getting more serious and it got harder for them both to ignore the feelings that Totally weren’t there. I see the Bard’s cheating as him getting scared, and not feeling good enough, and wanting to show that he wasn’t good enough. Which Arnauld kind of got, but he was mad and hurt. He dropped everything to go riding into the forest to rescue the Bard and cut his way through the maze to him, injuries be damned, but afterwards he yelled that he never cared anyway, it was just a bit of fun, but he’s angry at the Bard for risking his reputation like this, and the Bard yells back asking when Arnauld’s ever cared about his reputation and things escalate, and Arnauld ends up exiling the Bard from Serault. Later, the Dashing Outlaw turns up to see if Arnauld’s okay and he insists, with his make up ruined by tears and half way through his sixth glass of wine that he’s fine. She doesn’t exactly buy it.

I have a continuing plot after the end of the game, which I don’t want to get too into detail with because with, but might maybe one day write a fic about. Maybe. Anyway, the main plot points of it are:

Arnauld spends a bunch of time angsting about What Has He Become, and missing the Bard a lot, and getting close to giving up everything he’s got for Serault.

The Anchoress, who Arnauld of course invited back to live with him, gets caught doing magic, and Arnauld magics to protect her, in front of a massive audience, so, welp, there’s everything lost, but a part of him feels free now.

The Dashing Outlaw helps him escape the wrath of a whole bunch of nobles and disguises him as just an Ordinary Citizen who no one will notice.

While no one’s really ruling Serault and everything is a disaster, His Dour Lordship is freed from the dungeons. He is later killed by an apostate. Roselle, of course, had absolutely nothing to do with it, and is totally cut up about inheriting her husband’s marquisate and getting to rule it.

Meanwhile, the Chantry is in a shambles after the Breach opened up and the templar order really aren’t sure what to do with their lives. When they hear about the massive amount of apostacy and bullshit going on in Serault, a group of templars upset about not being able to slaughter mages as often anymore perk up and declare an exalted march on serault. (It’s not a Proper exalted march, since there’s no divine and their authorisation is “well this one grand cleric Somewhere said it was okay”, but they’re able to stir up a lot of people against Serault so it’s definitely a big Threat.)

The Bard spies on their plans and then comes back to Serault to warn Arnauld about what’s happening

Arnauld convinces his people to let him lead a fight against the exalted march and makes a speech about magic being good and serault being perfect however much the world is always against them and all that good shit

The Horned Knight and his people turn up to help fight because he and Arnauld can put all differences aside for the good of Serault

Except they’re still really outnumbered and even if they win, so many people will die oh no

Arnauld and the Bard talk stuff out and kiss since welp, they’re facing almost certain death now.

And then Alyons’ army turns up to help because fuck the Game, as if Roselle is going to let her home be destroyed or her brother be murdered.

Arnauld and Roselle talk, and Roselle apologises for how distant she’s been in the past few years. She’s glad of how she changed, but her heart will always lie here. And then the twins do magic. Half of Serault does magic. A very small number of the Alyons army do magic too. They win.

Arnauld announces that the rest of the world can fuck off, Serault is staying here, and it’s staying full of apostates, and if you’re going to ignore and hate us all again, so what? Serault’s not selling out to you.

(There’s a maybe-plot where Arnauld gives up being Marquis, because the Elusive Iconoclast wasn’t wrong, there is no reason being noble-born means he should get to rule, and Arnauld’s desperation to hang onto being In Charge because he Knows Best is a definite character flaw, but idk quite where to go with that, so we will See.)

Also, I have a Thing where Roselle and Arnauld always take off their masks when doing magic. They spend their whole lives pretending to be people they’re not, and they’re only their real selves when maskless.

#asks post #asks about dragon age #asks about ocs #the last court #dragon age #arnauld de serault #roselle de serault #the plainspoken seneschal #the cherry baron #his dour lordship #the dashing outlaw #the wayward bard #long post #uhhh #genocide cw #ableism cw #cheating cw #Anonymous #marsh ocs

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naruto-oc-critiques · 7 years ago

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Haruno Kozue

Hello! I’m Mod ATB, and I’ll be reviewing your OC this time around! So, let’s get started!

Pretense: Diverges from canon somewhere after Shippuden Name: Miyara Kozue Clan: Haruno Gender: Male Age: 10-19 Time set in: Begins 2 years before Boruto Birthplace: Narakami (IDK if there’s a canon name for the capital of Hi no Kuni) Lives in: Haruno residence

(ATB: All of this looks fine, but I would add in the meaning of Kozue’s name. And his birthday as well. Adding in astrological signs or blood type is up to you but would add more to his character, too.)

Appearance As a child, Kozue was small for his age. He had brown eyes and pale pink hair, the mark of a Haruno clan member. He has a fair amount of scars on his body, gained from his time as a shinōbi, but the 3½ inch scar on his stomach came from his time before the Academy. As a teen, Kozue is still rather short (standing at 5'3). He wears his hair short, either slicked back or held back with a hairband.

(ATB: While some things are missing, such as skin tone and weight, I can get a general image of what he looks like. Everything looks good to me, but I would add those two, just to get a clearer image of Kozue. And maybe a sentence describing what kinds of clothes he wears. You don’t have to go into specifics, but maybe try adding if he likes casual clothes, what kinds of colors he wears often, etc.)

Family • Miyara Kikyo: Kozue’s mother; ran away from home at the age of fifteen to be with her yakuza boyfriend (who grew up to be Kozue’s father). Kikyo had Kozue when she was in her late forties. He remembers her as a fiery, intelligent and persevering woman who loved to dance. (ATB: You could add in a brief reason explaining the reason why she ran away. You don’t have to, but I think it would be good to know.)

• Miyara Chiriko: Kozue’s father; a yakuza boss. He inherited the position from his father; despite his occcupation, Chiriko was known as a gentle and kind-hearted man whose passion was helping people. (ATB: I think it quite interesting that his father, the leader of a yakuza group, was known as “gentle and kind-hearted.” And not in a bad way. I think adding in a little more between Kozue and his father’s relationship would be great, because we know how Kozue felt about his mother but not about his father.)

• Miyara Atsumu: Chiriko’s adoptive son / brother. (Atsumu was found as a child during a raid. Chiriko adopted him as his “little brother” to protect him. He is closer in age to Kozue than Chiriko). Atsumu was a michievous and friendly type whom Kozue viewed as a brother.

• Haruno Kizashi is Kikyo’s estranged older brother. He is also Kozue’s grand uncle. (ATB: One tiny thing: if Kizashi is Kikyo’s older brother, that would make him Kozue’s uncle. Not his grand uncle. A grand uncle would be the brother of his grandparents.)

• Uchiha Sakura is Kozue’s first cousin once removed. (ATB: Sakura would be his first cousin.)

• Uchiha Sarada his first cousin twice removed. (ATB: And Sarada would be his first cousin once removed.)

Occupation: Shinobi (Active duty) Rank: Starts as a genin, becomes a chūnin around fifteen, and tokubetsu jōnin around nineteen (ATB: This looks fine and reasonable.)

Team: Team Five • Tsuzumi Ushio: She was on the team that brought Kozue and his family to Konoha. As his sensei, she is a tough and unrelenting teacher, determined to make tough shinōbi out of her students.

• Yakushi Ken: Son of Yakushi Kabuto. He is protective of his dad and will defend his family honour against anyone who dares try to slander it. He tries his hardest to look smart, but in reality his true interests lie in body building, not medical jutsu. He is the team’s taijutsu specialist.

• Imada Junko: Junko is a chipper person, the sort who can cheerfully sing and dance at five in the morning in freezing weather. She is Team Five’s ninjutsu specialist.

(ATB: For Ken and Junko, I would add in maybe a sentence or two describing how they and Kozue feel about each other.)

Relationships • Haruno Kizashi & Mebuki: Kozue stayed with them for his first two years in Konoha. He moved out shortly after becoming a genin, but he still drops by their place for dinner every now and then if he can. (ATB: This is fine but, again, maybe add a sentence detailing how Kizashi and Mebuki first felt about Kozue. I can’t help but wonder how they - especially Kizashi - felt about his estranged older sister suddenly contacting him and then the circumstances under first meeting Kozue.)

• Uchiha Sakura: She was one who saved his life the day he came to Konoha. She visited him regularly whilst he was in the hospital, and they bonded. She will sometimes drop groceries off at his place, or scold him playfully for not taking care of himself.

• Uchiha Sarada: Kozue and Sarada acknowledge one another as kin and sometimes chat a bit, but they’re not really close.

• Uzumaki Naruto: The Hokage was one of the first people Kozue saw when he woke up. They are on friendly terms, but they’re not close.

• Uzumaki Hinata: She was another person who visited Kozue when he was in the hospital, though her visits were not as regular as Sakura’s. As the wife of the Hokage, it was important for the public to see her caring for injured children, especially if said injured children happen to be related to Haruno Sakura. (As herself, Hinata just happened to be genuinely compassionate). Kozue never forgot her kindness. (ATB: Very interesting point about her role as Hokage’s wife, and I do think that is a very good way to have Hinata and Kozue interact.)

• Uzumaki Boruto: They’re friends, but only after Boruto was convinced that Kozue does not, in fact, have a crush on his mom. (ATB: Haha, that’s really cute!)

• Uzumaki Himawari: She has a crush on Kozue, who thinks Himawari is really pretty, but at the moment he isn’t really looking for romance.

• Uchiha Sasuke: He is the entity that comes with Naruto, Hinata and Sakura. Kozue has always been a bit unnerved by his cousin’s one-armed spouse, but has never said anything about it. (ATB: Really like this and think it’s a nice touch. Sasuke would come off as a bit unnerving to some people, and I think that says a lot about him that even a yakuza heir would be wary.)

• Tsuzumi Ushio: Kozue and his sensei have a good relationship; outside of training, she doesn’t treat him like a child or handle him with pity; she treats him like an adult, and in turn Kozue feels as if he can trust her with things he wouldn’t even tell Sakura.

• Azuma Nobu & Imada Junko: Nobu and Junko often invite Kozue to hang out after training, usually to catch a film or eat out.

(ATB: His relationships have variety, which is great. He has his family, he has friends and he has his acquaintances - he’s not close with everyone but he also isn’t completely detached from them. The only thing I would suggest is maybe add in who Azuma Nobu is, because I didn’t see him mentioned in the team section and you didn’t specify who he was. Also, on some of the characters, add in how Kozue feels about them (or how they feel about him). But, other than those couple things, his relationships look good.)

Personality For the survivor of a traumatic tragedy, Kozue is surprisingly well-adjusted. He has friends and (healthy) hobbies outside of shinōbi work, and he isn’t particularly obsessed with revenge. He’s had therapy and no longer shuts down when put in enclosed spaces, though he’ll never be 100% comfortable in them. Kozue is a good peacemaker, and he has the ability to make people comfortable and open up. Being raised as a yakuza heir has given Kozue a certain confidence. He gives off the impression that he couldn’t care less what people think of him, and this draws people to his side. If there’s anything he’s inherited from his mother, it’s her charisma.

Around his friends, where there’s no one to impress and no part to play, Kozue is comfortable enough to just sit back and be a listener. He’ll laugh and roll his eyes and just be a teenager. It’s the only time he really, truly relaxes.

As a shinōbi, Kozue is a careful planner. He’s calculative, and more practical than sentimental; he’s the type who would readily end one life to save ten others. He sometimes has difficulty relating to people’s emotions.

(ATB: Really gotta give kudos to you have adding in him having therapy. It’s something that I personally don’t see very often. And I give props for the therapy not completely “curing” him, but instead making his life more comfortable and manageable. I like that his being raised as a yakuza heir gave him a confidence and charisma - I could totally see that being truthful. And, I think it’s great that you add he only really relaxes around his friends; it communicates that he’s really been affected by his previous status (always have to put up a certain front or “be” a certain kind of person) and, that despite everything, he’s still just a teenager.

I also appreciate that he has trouble with relating to others’ emotions, which is once again good at tying in his background. I will suggest thinking about if his inability to relating to others’ emotions affected some relationships he has - or could have had.)

History Kozue was born the heir to a major yakuza syndicate located in Narakami, the capital of Hi no Kuni. He lived a relatively normal childhood, constantly accompanied by his adoptive older brother, Atsumu.

When Kozue was ten, word spread that the government was planning to crack down on the yakuza. Gangs began to merge; at the end, there were only two gangs were left standing: the Hisuikumo-gumi, to which Kozue and his family belonged, and the Aoishishi-kai.

The Aoshishi-kai were a ruthless group that had no qualms against extortion, loan sharking, and drug trafficking. The Hisuikumo-gumi had been, under Kozue’s grandfather, just as bad, if not worse, but since Chiriko’s rise to power they contented themselves with mostly gambling and smuggling. The two were rival clans, but for sixty years they’d had a truce, each clan keeping to their own territory.

Everything changed when the Aoshishi-kai were busted for drug deal. They blamed the Hisuikumo-gumi for snitching; a gang war ensued. The Aoshishi-kai vastly outnumbered the Hisuikumo-gumi; Chiriko knew it was only a matter of time before things would go south.

Thus, one night a sleepy Kozue found himself shaken awake and bundled into a carriage with his mother, a couple servants, and Atsumu. Chiriko stayed behind to help his men; the plan was for the three of them to flee to Konoha and hide with Kikyo’s older brother, Haruno Kizashi, and perhaps hire Konoha shinōbi to help boost their odds of winning.

That never happened. Kizashi received a letter in advance from Kikyo; a vague letter that simply stated she wished to make amends, and that she and her sons would arrive in three days. She never showed up; a week later, returning team happened upon a locked and abandoned carriage a few miles from Konoha, the piled up bodies Kikyo, Kozue, the driver, and the two servant girls inside; there was copious amounts of blood everywhere, and a body matching Atsumu’s description was found a few feet away. Kikyo and the two servant girls were both dead, and Kozue, trapped under their bodies and sporting a stab wound to the chest, was delirious and half dead at the time of discovery. He would have died, had it not been for Sakura.

Kozue spent three weeks in the hospital. When he woke up, he was informed that his father and his men had all been killed by the Aoshishi-kai. He was later given over to the care of his grandparents. Two years later, he joined the genin corps.

(ATB: Really interesting background, especially with introducing yakuza. I also think you chose an interesting way to incorporate a canon character as a relative, and I think it’s cool you didn’t make him and Sakura siblings. But, I would suggest adding in how Kozue felt during his life in Konoha.

Also, adding in the reason why he joined genin corps and how his life with his grandparents in Konoha was would be good for more characterization. You didn’t add them in his relationship section, so I wonder if they were on bad terms with each other. I would also add a little more to his childhood.

While I think it’s charming he had a relatively normal childhood despite being a yakuza heir, I think actually detailing how he was raised would tie into nicely with his personality. You already have his background affecting personality, so why not go the extra yard to really put the pieces together.)

Abilities Kozue has no Kekkei Genkai. His taijutsu and ninjutsu is about average; he’s best at genjutsu, but his real speciality is his tactical thinking.

(ATB: His abilities actually look pretty good but the information is a bit lacking. Maybe add in some genjutsu techniques, how well he does with shurikenjutsu or talk about his speed or stamina, etc. to flesh things out. You could even talk about what kind of tactics he favors in battle.)

Other: —

ATB’s Final Thoughts: Overall, I think Kozue is an interesting character. I especially have a soft spot for gangs and yakuza politics in the Naruto series, so good on that because it’s a perspective I hardly see. The only thing I would personally suggest is expand on some of his profile. Flesh out his childhood, hobbies, relationships, abilities and maybe even add some trivia. He’s good as he is now but he could be even MORE with a little bit more information on these various points. But that mainly depends on you as you may not even be finished creating him - or you just may not want to, which is also fine.

So, yeah, I really like Kozue and I thank you for your patience and for sending in your OC!

#naruto oc review #tagquest2017 #submission #mod atb

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astrrnmy · 6 years ago

Text

Life had found creating the demons fun, and Death had, as usual, found it equally as fun killing them. That same cycle had already gone through the races of dragons, dinosaurs and aliens many millennia ago.

But this new thing? Death really wanted to stop it now, before it got out of hand, which I already had, but still. Maybe there was still a chance that they could imprison it forever. Or torture it. Anything really.

You see, Life had created something dangerous, it was exceptional, yeah, but it could potentially throw off the imbalance of the whole freaking universe.

And Death? He was so freaking done with this, you can’t even imagine.

—————

“Hey Death, come lookie!!” Life yelled out over the cosmos.

Death arrived mere moments later, already excited to meet the new creature he was destined to kill in new and fun ways.

As he looked over the thing, he noticed it was mostly just a... blob, really. “I’ve decided to call it Chaos. ‘Cuz, you know, it’s so special with its blobbiness and all,” Life grinnned, showcasing his creation from every which way.

“It sure looks chaotic, alright,” Death, ever the skeptic, said. “Welp, better let me figure out its weaknesses.”

As Life flew away to do whatever somewhere else, Death looked the blob over, and started his “trial-and-error-:-what-will-kill-it-best” plan.

—————

Death was weirded out about the blob. It just wasn’t able to be killed. Like, he’d tried chopping it up, shooting it with lasers, and whatnot. He’d even created a black hole right next to it, but it was still just... there.

What the hell was going on??!

Had Life actually created something unkillable?

As he tried more and more ridiculous killing methods, that possibility began to seem more likely.

—————

It was true, both Life and himself had done everything in their power, the thing was freaking immortal. What the heck, Life?

—————

They decided to leave the thing far, far away from them, basically giving it its own closed off area to play in.

Death had prohibited Life from finishing any creation before Death himself had checked it over.

Life’d agreed that it was for the best.

—————

The next time Death remembered the thing, it was because of one of the dinosaur relics he’d collected from back then.

‘Oh fuck,’ he thought. Closing his eyes, “Uhhhhh, Life? Where exactly was it we placed that Chaos thing you created some time ago? It wasn’t near that sun with the 9 planets, was it?” Death seriously hoped not. If so, it could be severely troublesome and threaten the universe (again).

Life stammered out a, “Ummm nooo..?”

Fuck. They were doomed.

—————

As they found the thing, they saw the area was in utter chaos (haha, fun pun). The blob had found some bones from the dinosaur incident and had decided to harvest trees for some hundred millennia. And this, of course, had earned it the power to create.

He was blaming this utter nonsense on Life’s inability to think.

Thankfully, from what they could see, the blob could only create others of its kind. But unfortunately, the blob’s heirs and heiresses had breezed and created subspecies??

Death honestly had no idea what was going on anymore, but whatever. Life and he decided to settle down and watch the happenings of these beings

“Popcorn?” was Life’s only comment to the mess slowly unfolding in front of them.

—————

As they watched the offspring of the firsts overthrow their family and imprison their progenitors, Life named the old rulers Primordial Beings and the new rulers Titans, ‘cuz why not. Life was literally their, like, great-grandfather or whatever.

They continued naming the individual beings different things. Some of the Primordials were named Gaia, Nyx, Uranus and so on. The Titans got similar names that basically just alluded to some of the powers they had.

After some time, most of the Titans had offspring, and they noticed two individuals, Cronus and Rhea, grow closer.

Just before the two actually made some offspring, Life got an excellent idea and Death was honestly so impressed and proud.

“Let’s make it so that these twos children are greater and able to kill or imprison nearly all of their progenitors. But, the catch: they and their descendants continued existence depends on the existence and thriving of another (mortal) species! This way, we can just make them imprison all of these immortals and they kill all the species of the mortal race and then everything will be alright!”

A rant and a half later, Life and he was already working on the two new species, and how they should link the immortal one to the mortal one.

—————

After figuring out the dynamics of that hell, they set forth a prophecy which basically stated what Cronus’ offspring would be capable of, including the ability to imprison him in death.

Cronus, afraid of dying and losing his throne, started eating his children, making his wife, Rhea, hate him.

Which... really wasn’t part of the plan, but whatever.

One of the children escaped due to the help of its mother and some... other being? Literally, so confusing.

—————

After the child, Zeus, had freed his siblings and imprisoned his father and some other of the more mean Titans, he’d set himself upon the most important throne, and then delegated tasks to his family.

Really, offing one tyrant for another, obviously the best plan! At least the previous one hadn’t been so eager to cheat on its spouse with anything that breathed.

Whatever. Life and Death freed the mortal species on the face of one of the more floral planets in the newly dubbed Solar System. The fourth one, according to Life.

When the Gods noticed the mortal “Humans”, they immediately started killing the off, resulting in some giggles from Life and Death, when the Gods couldn’t figure out why the heck they were getting sick.

“Genius,” was Deaths maniac comment. Life merely nodded at that statement.

—————

The gods eventually stopped killing humans, which led to both species growing in strength and numbers.

Both had some serious problems, both witch each other and internally, but they coexisted and everything turned it fine.

For some time at least.

—————

Humanity eventually forgot about the gods, only learning about them through old texts, but they read these and saw it all as the stupidity of their ancestors.

They were the stupid ones, though.

—————

Basically, the whole debacle ended when the humans killed each other with multiple atom wars in a row, leading to the death of all godly beings, further leading to the permanent imprisonment of all the shots how creating Chaos has resulted in.

Death thanked the fucking universe that it was all over. Entertaining as it may have been, it had still been exhausting having to deal with it all.

“Hey, at least you learned a new way of killing my creations,” was Life’s uplifting comment as they looked down at the green and blue planet turned to red and dust.

Death raised an eyebrow and drawled dryly, “Which would be?”

Life grinned micheviously. Turning to Death, he said, “Giving them the tools and a bit of knowledge, then lean back and watch them destroy themselves, others and their own damn history.

Death laughed loudly, “You really have one hell of a twisted mind, Life.”

As they moved away from the previously green and blue planet, Life’s only comment was, “I know, but that’s why were best friends, we fit so well together!”

—————

Nothing quite like this would happen again, but the next idea wasn’t much better.

“Remember thet saying the humans had? “When pigs can fly?” I wanna make that. Rainbow pigs flying through space. Nothing else.”

“What the fuck, Life.”

Life and Death are bros and are always pranking eachother. Life comes up with the craziest creatures and Death has to find a way to kill them. It’s all fun and games until Life creates something that can live forever

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