#born in a place that is not home vs. thrown out of your home but both trying to reach who we love most.

[zanzanne]

amy is teaching me their "telepathically send your food to people" power. to make myself feel better i'll believe this silly little landmine is actually psychic

[narutogwriting]

I’m Sorry I Have to Go

Pairing: No romantic pairing, but interactions between Sakumo and Kakashi; mainly about Sakumo Hatake

CW: Suicide

Length: 3.8k+

TRIGGER WARNING! THIS FIC MAY BE VERY TRIGGERING TO THOSE WHO DEAL WITH SUICIDE OR SUICIDAL IDEATION. PLEASE USE YOUR BEST DISCRETION AS THIS FIC DEALS WITH SENSITIVE TOPICS

Inspired by my attempt to get in Sakumo’s head and to try and figure out what he was thinking. Also an attempt to help me process the suicide of my friend. Loosly inspired by a song I wrote about my friend’s suicide trying to get into his head when it happened.

“I’m going to do my best, you know?” 

Sakumo sat at the gravesite. He didn’t know if there was any point to it, didn’t know if he believed in an afterlife, or if there was an afterlife, if she could even hear him.

Maybe he was doing it more for his own peace of mind. And if that was the only benefit that came from talking at her grave, well, that was okay with him. But just in case she could hear him, he wanted her to know.

“If only you could have seen him. He’s so tiny. I didn’t know anything could be so small.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I’ll be the best father I can be to him. I’ll set a good example, and love him so much. I’ll love him enough for the both of us. I’d do anything for him. Just you see…”

~

Sakumo was a phenomenal ninja, well known and well respected throughout the village. Even at such a young age, Kakashi could see that. These weren’t memories that Kakashi would remember as he got older, as much as he wished he would. But he remembered the feeling, remembered what it was like to have all eyes on them at all times, every time they went out. 

Besides being a natural talent, Sakumo was kind. Kakashi remembered that well, and it was clear in the few pictures he had of Sakumo. Some people just had that kind of face. It was just another reason that Sakumo was so beloved in the leaf.

Sakumo was much prouder of his legacy for being kind than he was for his abilities. It was something he wanted, more than anything, to pass on to Kakashi. “Anyone can become a strong ninja with hard work and dedication.” He would tell his son before the young boy could even talk. “And there are lots of benefits to being strong. You can protect others, save them.” 

He gave a crinkled smile as Kakashi grabbed his finger in his tiny little hand, teething on it. “But I’ll tell you something. It’s not knowledge that too many people have. But you can save people, too, by being kind. Being a good friend can save someone’s life just as much as being a good ninja can.”

Sakumo hadn’t become a ninja because he enjoyed fighting or killing; he became a ninja because he enjoyed helping others. Being a shinobi was just another way he could do that. Whether he was working on a mission or home in the village, Sakumo was always doing his best to help someone. 

Despite how deeply he loved those around him, there was a distance between Sakumo and those in the village. He was revered and loved, but a heart like Sakumo’s was rare, almost too rare. The very thing he was loved for was what kept people from being able to get too close; they couldn’t understand him, the way that he thought, how he saw the world. It never bothered Sakumo too much, though, as long as those around him were safe and happy.

Sure, Sakumo’s life could feel lonely sometimes without those deep connections, but he had a purpose. And he’d had that connection with Kakshi’s mom. Though their time together was too short, way shorter than he ever would have imagined, he was grateful for it. And he could spend the rest of his life building that bond with his son. 

Kakashi was always a quiet, serious child, though. He hadn’t inherited Sakumo’s natural affection or ability for seeing the best in people. That much had been clear when they’d met Might Duy and Guy for the first time. Sakumo had been baffled by the way Kakashi had so openly and blatantly questioned Guy’s worth and abilities.

While he’d put him in his place in front of the ninja, back at home, Sakumo couldn’t help but to bring it up again. He went to Kakashi’s bedroom, sitting on his bed. 

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi told his dad again, meeting his eye steadily. He always did own up to his mistakes. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, or to dishonour you.”

Sakumo shook his head, couldn’t help but sigh. “This isn’t about me, Kakashi.” He said, hands folded and hanging between his legs. “It’s not even necessarily about that boy, either.” He thought over his words carefully, wanted to make sure that whatever he said, it was something that stuck with his son.

“You know, I think Guy will grow up to be a great ninja, Kakashi. He has something you don’t have.” That got the young boy’s attention. “He has heart. You were born with your father’s natural talent,” He gave him a sly grin. “But if you don’t have the heart that Guy does, what’s your purpose? What is the use for all that talent?”

Sakumo patted Kakashi’s leg, not missing the skeptical look on his son’s face, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. The skeptic in him; that was all his mother.

“And besides,” Sakumo continued. “Even if he doesn’t become a great ninja, who cares? What does it matter? But do you know what does matter?” He paused, making sure Kakashi was really listening. “It matters how you made that little boy feel earlier. You know, I was proud to see you step in to protect him against those ninja… But I think that he would have rather let them beat him into the ground than have you look at him with such disdain, to look down on him because he didn’t know how to fight back. You don’t know what he’s been through, why he’s trying so hard to do something that he’s not naturally good at. You don’t know his purpose, or whether or not he’s hanging on by a thread. If the words you said to Guy were the last ones he’d ever heard, would you be happy with that?”

Getting up, Sakumo walked to the door slowly. Hand on the doorknob, he stopped. “You never know when you’ll see someone for the last time, Kakashi. You never know who needs a kind word. Whatever you do in life, make sure every moment counts.”

It was ironic, Kakashi would think to himself over the years. The philosophy that shaped the way Sakumo treated others could have been the same one that saved his life.

~

He knew his role as a shinobi. He knew everything that this mission meant, how much the Leaf needed him to succeed. But he couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t. 

Sakumo would love to pretend like it was a hard decision, like he had even considered going through with the mission rather than saving his comrades.

But he didn’t. It wasn’t a question in his mind. The lives of his fellow shinobi were on the line, and in this instance, it wasn’t worth completing the mission at the expense of losing them.

And Sakumo knew, he knew that the decision would be controversial, knew that he would suffer the consequences. He was going to upset a lot of people on top, but it was worth it. Being a shinobi meant making hard decisions, and this was part of that. The importance of the mission didn’t outweigh the weight of his comrades' lives, and so he saved them.

And while he knew the backlash that would come from his decision, he never could have imagined just how viciously the village he loved, even the friends he saved, would turn against him. 

Sakumo had seen a lot of evil in his life. So much violence and chaos, complete disarray. He’d see death and destruction, people dedicating their whole existence to hurting others. But it’d always been an “us vs them” mentality. It was much easier, he thought, to hate someone you didn’t know, who you had no connection to.

But these people, this village; they were Sakumo’s heart. His whole reason, his purpose for being. They were why he’d become a ninja in the first place. He’d only wanted to protect the people that he loved so dearly.

And they used to love him.

The silence on their way home was deafening. Sakumo didn’t miss the dirty looks his teammates were shooting him. He understood, in a way, but in others, he was so confused. He expected a sense of frustration, some cognitive dissonance. The mission failed, but they didn’t perish; there should be anger and happiness, shouldn’t there? At the very least, relief that they were alive.

But no. He could only feel the anger, the hatred burning within them.

Reporting back about the mission’s failure was even worse. He’d been prepared for the yelling, the way that it was hammered into him just how badly he’d screwed up. He didn’t know that there would be names thrown at him. Failure. Disgrace. Shame.

He’d left the office not even knowing if he would still be a shinobi after this. It was almost visible, the way he walked home with the weight of his actions on his shoulders. He walked slouch, tucked into himself. He would make up for this. He couldn’t regret what he’d done, not now, not ever. But somehow, he would make it right. 

~

And he thought he could. He really did. Things had to get worse before they could get better. But they only seemed to get worse and worse and worse. Over the course of a week, word spread about what Sakumo did, and his life changed completely, seemingly irrevocably.

“Hello, Aiko,” he called to the owner of the fruit stand as he picked up a crown melon, observing the fruit for bruises or breaks. They’re his favorite, and he always bought them from the same lady. 

But Aiko isn’t smiling at him, she doesn’t say hello back. He glances over to her, and his heart drops to see her glaring at him. “Thanks to you, we don’t have any new shipments coming in from Kirigakure, maybe for weeks.” She tells him angrily. “What am I supposed to sell then, huh? You want to ruin my life because you couldn’t complete your mission?” Sakumo buys her whole case of crown melons in an attempt to make up for it.

He has trouble getting any missions after as well. Every time he’s assigned to one, he’s kicked off. None of his fellow jonin will agree to be his teammate, and it kills him to know that they don’t trust him to be by their side. Not even the ninja he’d saved.

“They think you’ve lost the Will of Fire.” Hiruzen tells Sakumo after he finds out he’s been dropped from another mission. “You didn’t put the village first. You’ll have to earn back their trust, prove that the fire still burns strongly inside of you.”

But isn’t protecting his teammates important too, Sakumo wonders as he goes home, trying to keep his head from hanging too low. What is a village without its villagers? He thought the Will of Fire meant that Love is the key to Peace, and he loved his teammates. It’s why he’d kept them alive. Was a village more important than the people inside?

~

Things continue to escalate from there. Some shops won’t allow him inside to buy necessities. He could send Kakashi with money, but he worries even doing that. He doesn’t want Kakashi to suffer because of what he’s done, and now he wouldn’t put it past anyone to try and pick on his five year old son.

It hurts, not going on missions, not being able to frequent the places he’d once adored. But it’s not the worst part. 

The worst part is that when he smiles, no one smiles back. When he chases after a person to hand them back the money they’d just drop, they turn on him. When he compliments someone on the shirt they’re wearing or how good their hair looks, he’s met with insults.

There are no kind eyes turned on him anymore. If anyone looks to him at all, it’s with disdain. Any words said to him are snubs, and the words said behind his back are even worse. Coward. Fool. Disgrace. Traitor.

The words chip away at him, little by little until Sakumo no longer wants to leave his home. The thought of it makes him sick. After three days in a row of vomiting every time he attempts to go out the door to get groceries, he finally gives up. Even though he doesn’t want to, he gives Kakashi the money to go buy food. He’s just a boy, after all, and he still needs to eat.

Sakumo spends more and more time in his room. He doesn’t shower, doesn’t eat. He hardly even brushes his teeth. With the blinds drawn and the door closed, he lays in bed, waiting for sleep to take him. It’s the only blissful moments he has anymore. In his dreams, people still smile at him. They talk to him, exchange gifts and pleasantries, and his heart is full. Nothing is worse than when the sunlight begins to trickle in through his blinds, waking him up and reminding him of the pain.

Because that’s what his life is now. Constant pain. He is alone and isolated, cast out by the people that used to revere him, and that he loved more than anything. He still loves them, wants nothing more than to once again spark happiness in their hearts.

And so, after weeks of not leaving his home, he tries again. He pulls himself out of bed. He showers, does his hair, brushes his teeth. He changes out of the stained gross clothes he’s been wearing endlessly and he tries.

He spends his money anywhere that will take it. He flashes a smile at anyone who will make eye contact with him, and holds open every door he can find. Sakumo compliments the flowers in the flower shop and the smell of the dumplings the vendors are selling on the sidewalk. He compliments the stitching of the plush animals and even buys a crochet hat despite never wearing them. 

He’s trying, he thinks. He’s trying so hard, and he can’t understand it. He can’t comprehend how people can look at him the way that they do, how they can hate him so completely because he didn’t let people die.

No one will smile at him, and if anyone takes his money, it's silently. No one thanks him for holding the door open for them, and everyone else lets it close on him. “We don’t need your business.” He’s told at the flower shop, and behind him he hears snickers. “We don’t need him at all.”

So he heads back home as the sun begins to sink into the sky. Time will make things better he thinks half heartedly, but he doesn’t believe it. If anyone in the world is altruistic, it’s Sakumo. He doesn’t need thanks or appreciation. But if no one will even accept the kindness he has to offer, then what’s even the point?

And those words ring in his head over and over again. We don’t need him at all. And fine, if they don’t need him, don’t even want him, if his presence brings people pain, then he’ll stay away from them all. He only wants what's best for others.

But there’s still one person who does need him, he thinks. He has a son who’s only five, and as strong and smart and capable as he is, Sakumo still has so much he wants to teach him. So he’ll be there for his boy.

He’s rounding a corner, making a shortcut through an alleyway when he sees Kakashi surrounded by some boys older than him, and he stops. The boys are yelling at him, jeering him, and Kakashi looks as angry as Sakumo’s ever seen him.

“Why don’t you just go into hiding like your dad,” one of the boys is saying to Kakashi, and if it’s even possible, Sakumo’s heart drops even more. 

“You’re probably gonna end up just like him.”

“A traitor.” 

And then they’re pushing him, laughing and heckling him, throwing out insults left and right, telling Kakashi how horrible his dad is, how he shouldn’t even bother showing his face when he has such a vile creature as his father.

Sakumo doesn’t stay to hear the rest, and he doesn’t bother going to stand up for his son who he knows can handle himself. He can hear Kakashi taking care of them as he walks away, hands shoved in his pockets.

At home, he cooks the best meal he can come up with with the few supplies he has. He’s made sure to have all his money in one place, somewhere easy for Kakashi to find. He hadn’t realized the way Kakashi was being treated because of his screw up. He should have thought of it, though. How long had Kakashi been suffering in silence?

Kakashi comes home and Sakumo hugs him. He sits him down, gives him a big smile. Kakashi is taken off guard by it, surprised that Sakumo is even out of bed. He’d hardly seen him in recent weeks, and never with a grin on his face.

But he doesn’t question it, and though he doesn’t say it, Kakashi’s heart wells up. Does he have his dad back? If only Sakumo knew how much Kakashi had missed him, how hard it was for him to see his dad so sad. He didn’t care about the words of some people he didn’t give a second thought to. He only cared about his dad. Kakashi was still young after all, and he needed his father. He loved him so much.

And he doesn’t have the words to describe how he feels, doesn’t know how to express it because despite being so smart and so wise, he’s still only a child.

So he doesn’t say anything about it. He hugs his father, and he sits with him, and they talk. Sakumo tells Kakashi stories about his childhood that he hadn’t heard yet, and he gives him all his best fatherly advice. They talk about Kakashi’s future as a shinobi, and Sakumo tells Kakashi he knows he’s going to go far, that he’s going to be a better ninja than his dad ever was.

It’s the best night Kakashi could remember having as a child. Just being with his father and having his full, undivided attention. Sakumo makes sure to remind him more than once how much he loves him.

They stay up talking so long that Kakashi actually falls asleep, his head resting in Sakumo’s lap. Sakumo runs his hand over Kakashi’s head and thinks that Kakashi hasn’t looked so small and peaceful since he was first born. He tears up, because he loves his son, he loves him so fucking much, and he would do anything for him. 

After he carries Kakashi to bed and tucks him in, he heads to the graveyard. It’s late, but the moon is high and bright in the sky, guiding his path as he sits in front of his wife’s tombstone. 

“I did do my best, you know.” He says quietly at the grave. He doesn’t expect an answer, doesn’t even hope for something to come make it better. He’d give anything for some reassurance and when the wind blows through the still night, ruffling his hair, he closes his eyes, and smiles just a little, thinking of the way his wife used to ruffle his hair, and decides to believe it’s her, telling him she knew.

“I told you I’d do anything for him. I know we only want what’s best for him… I think this is for the best. He’d be better off without me…” And that’s what he truly believes with all his heart.

The village hates him, he’s been shunned and abused and turned away. And even with his broken heart, that would be okay.

But what’s not okay is for Kakashi to suffer for it. He shouldn’t have to bear the weight of his father’s choices, and for as long as Sakumo is around, that’s what will happen. 

Sakumo loves Kakashi, and he knows that his son deserves a fresh start, the ability to make a name for himself without his father holding him back. 

When he’s back home, he just sits and watches Kakashi sleep. With all the love Sakumo has always had, none of it compares to what he feels about his son. He loves him so much, all he wants is to see Kakashi grow up and be strong and be kind and be happy. He wants it badly, so fucking badly, that he almost loses his nerve. Almost.

But Kakashi is who he’s doing this for.

So finally he forces himself up to his feet. He touches Kakashi’s head one more time, bends down and kisses his forehead. 

“I love you, okay.” He says, smiling down at his son. Kakashi is his greatest accomplishment. “I’m sorry I didn’t do better. I tried my hardest, though. I hope you know that. And I’m sorry that I have to go.”

His voice catches, and he’s trying not to cry. If he starts sobbing now, he’ll wake Kakashi.

“It’s just… It’s too hard to breathe. I can’t see a light. But I tried. I tried very hard. And I swear I love you more than anything. That’s why I’m doing this. So you can be great.” He laughs, and it shakes, and he can feel the tears falling.  “I don’t want it to be dark for you, or for you to struggle to breathe. You deserve to live freely, so I don’t hold you back but I think…” He pauses, taking in his son one last time. “I hope that I’ll see you again. You, me, and your mother. Together again. Wouldn’t that be something?”

And with that he leaves Kakashi’s room, makes his way to his own bedroom. He won’t make it messy, doesn’t want to leave the boy completely traumatized. If he looks like he’s only asleep, then that shouldn’t be too bad, should it?

So he lays down, taking the poisoned herbs in his hand, and he tries not to cry anymore. He doesn’t want Kakashi to suffer, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to have to suffer anymore either. Sakumo has always been a strong ninja with a weak heart, and the past few months had been too much for him. It was better this way for everyone--the village, Kakashi, himself.

“I’ll see you soon,” he whispers to the picture on his night stand, a beautiful brunette woman with her hand on her baby bump. “I think I do believe that I’ll see you again. That will be more beautiful than anything.” 

He takes a breath before shoving the herbs in his mouth. He chews them down, swallows. Maybe it’ll just be like going to sleep, he thinks as his eyes flutter closed. Yeah, just like going to sleep. That doesn’t sound too bad.

[favescandis]

New interview with Alexander Skarsgård and Men’s Health Australia:

‘Why Alexander Skarsgård Might Be Bigger Than King Kong’

The Swedish superstar talks career moves and the joys of creativity on the set of Godzilla v Kong. - by Ben Jhoty

Alexander Skarsgård’s bruised face is bathed in pale blue light as he sits in the cockpit of a makeshift aircraft inside a darkened soundstage at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast, where he’s shooting a scene from Godzilla v Kong (currently in cinemas).

The scene requires Skarsgård and fellow cast member, English actress Rebecca Hall, to endure an explosion that violently rocks the craft, positioned on a gimble, then survey the battle scene below. Before the scene begins Skarsgård listens intently to notes from director Adam Wingard and takes some deep breaths, as if he’s preparing for a 150kg deadlift. Someone yells action. The gimble rocks furiously for a few seconds before steadying. “Looks like round two goes to Kong,” says Skarsgård, before Wingard yells cut.

Between takes Skarsgård sprays himself with an Evian bottle before turning to young co-star Kaylee Hottle, who’s seated in the back of the cockpit.

“Have you ever tried menthol for tears?” he asks. “If you have to pretend to be sad about monsters that aren’t here, use menthol. Take a menthol stick home and every time your parents say you can’t do something, you spray.”

For the next take, Wingard instructs the actors to appear both “relieved and stunned”. The gimble duly starts shaking and Skarsgård repeats his line. “Nailed them both,” he jokes to Hall afterwards.

After the scene wraps, Skarsgård walks across the soundstage floor and is briefly silhouetted against the studio lights. You’re instantly struck by his rangy frame. He’s wearing a latex suit with parachute straps to play geologist Dr Nathan Lind, a geek with a love of ’80s action movies, who finds himself with ringside seats to the biggest rumble in the so-called ‘MonsterVerse’.

“I wanted to find his idiosyncrasies and avoid the stereotypical action hero because that wasn’t very appealing to me and I thought it would be way more interesting if the guy is not equipped for that and is thrown into that role,” the 44-year-old says later of his mild-mannered character. “It makes his journey more interesting if he’s not a tough guy, he’s not an ex-marine. He’s a geologist, so for him to get thrown into this is scary. I thought it would be fun to play him that way because then the stakes would be higher for the audience as well. They can see he’s out of his depth there. He has no idea what he’s doing.”

The son of legendary Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård (Breaking The Waves, Good Will Hunting, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Skarsgård divides his time between Stockholm and Hollywood. His siblings are also actors, most notably, Bill (Pennywise), who was due to star alongside Alexander in upcoming Viking saga The Northman, but had to drop out due to scheduling problems.

The two haven’t appeared together since 2000’s White Water Fury and are rarely up for the same films, let alone roles, Skarsgård says.

“That could be tough if you were super excited about something and you want it and then your brother gets it,” he jokes. “Because if you don’t get a job, you don’t want to be at Christmas dinner hearing your brother talk about how amazing that experience was.”

As it is, it looks like this Christmas he’ll be telling Bill about his experience watching two iconic monsters duke it out in the mother of all monster mashups. The role is an exhilarating departure from the serious, sometimes dark roles that Skarsgård’s been playing the last couple of years, most notably perhaps, domestic abuser Perry Wright on Big Little Lies, for which he collected Golden Globe, Prime Time Emmy and Screen Actors’ Guild awards.

While you might think a big-budget action flick would be creatively stifling, Skarsgård relishes the opportunity to exercise his range and keep challenging himself. “It’s tonally quite different from what I’ve been doing,” he admits. “I’ve been doing smaller indies and slightly more cerebral projects and also quite dark, intense subject matter. It’s not so much about ‘I want to do this and then I want to do that’ to show that I can, it’s just a way more fun way of working. It’s easy to get stereotyped and pigeonholed. If you’re lucky enough to jump between genres and different types of characters, then you’d be crazy if you didn’t embrace that.”

Skarsgård’s IMDB is certainly eclectic, with roles ranging from thousand-year-old vampire Eric in True Blood, to stoic commando, Brad ‘Iceman’ Colbert, in Generation Kill. “It’s always nice to work on something that different from what you’ve done in the past because that will just ignite something and it’s not repetitive,” he says. “Those are always the most fun contrasts, the dichotomies. A couple of years ago I did Tarzan and Diary of a Teenage Girl back-to-back and they’re so diametrically opposite in scale and tone. I had an amazing time on both of them and it’s so fun to go from one to the other.”

When it comes to choosing roles, Skarsgård looks for material that’s not only going to push him in new directions but is also enjoyable. It’s that sense of fun, he says, that fosters creativity.

“I just want to have a good time,” he says, smiling. “And I also want to learn and grow from every experience. Most importantly, I think if I go into a project and I’m not super excited about it, it’s not a good place to start because creatively you’re not going to give 100 per cent. Even if you try to give 100 per cent, you won’t because you’re not completely open. I find if I read a script and I know the character, like I totally get the character and how to play it, there’s no sense of discovery and that doesn’t trigger creativity. You just step in there and do it.”

True to his word, Skarsgård’s character in his next project, The Northman, couldn’t be more different from Nathan, the geeky geographer. At the same time, you could say it’s a role he was born to play: a ripped Nordic prince.

Godzilla v Kong is in cinemas now (in Australia) 

Posted March 25, 2021. The photo is credited to Shutterstock and appears to be a manipulated photo of Alex at his brother’s IT premiere in 2017 with a Godzilla vs. Kong background. The second photo is credited to Legendary Entertainment.

https://www.menshealth.com.au/why-alexander-skarsgard-might-be-bigger-than-king-kong

[perish-the-creator]

Why I’m Team Kong

Good morning, evening, and good night! 

Today, I will be writing out why I am personally Team Kong(why it makes sense story-wise, the historical elements that I have sprinkled in) as well as why none of our hashtags matter due to patterns in Hollywood.

Let’s begin with why I am Team Kong. For starters, Kong is a character that has a lot going for him in the context of storytelling. Similar to most American heroes, Kong comes from a background of suffering that was out of his control. Born into a world of chaos and death,  he is written to be seen as a relatable and tragic figure. We see that he does not fight for status but rather he fights for peace and safety of creatures less powerful than he is. Note that in Kong: Skull Island he does not harm the humans until they start doing harm to his homeland. An indication that in general Kong is not a fully hostile creature, but rather one who understands the concepts of peace and threats. With that in mind and the small clip we are provided, we can see that the film will set up Kong as a creature who is thrown into battle against his own wishes. He will not be fighting over the title of king, but rather fighting against something he considers a threat to his livelihood and other docile creatures around him. Godzilla, however, will be fighting for dominance and status, which in most media we consume is painted as a bad thing. 

Let us also not forget the historical (both new and old) that can be linked to Kong and Godzilla. These are all just my personal ideas that can be easily refuted if necessary. Kong, in the beginning, was a symbol of the savage taking hold of innocent white women yet unironically also exposing the fact that white people will drag these individuals from their homes for the sake of profit and entertainment. Why am I bringing this up? Well, this can be connected to the different types of ideologies attached to each creature. In most regions of the East, the concept of retreating or losing a fight is unacceptable. If we attach those values to Godzilla we already found his weakness. Godzilla fights for dominance and to the death even for himself. We can compare him to Japanese soldiers during WW2 who were known to be formidable fighters thanks to their strong belief in death over defeat. 

Kong, however, as stated before will fight for his survival and push comes to shove he is willing to retreat in order to recover and reassess his situation. As a fighter, there are often times where you have to take a loss in order to learn from your mistakes and get better. This is an idea we understand much more in the West which Kong can be linked to. 

We should also look at the concept of Martial Arts. If any of you are familiar with the various styles of Martial Arts, then you already know where I’m going. Kong, while not having as much mass or build as Godzilla, definitely has an advantage. He’s smaller, yes, but most martial artist will tell you that that can play to one’s advantage. Kong has the ability to move and dodge much more attacks than Godzilla does. Godzilla is a walking target who has one or two signature moves that Kong could easily avoid once he figures out the pattern. And on the note of retreating, unless the battle takes place near or underwater, Kong has the added bonus of speed on his side. No matter how fast Godzilla is, he does not have the ability to move with the same swiftness as his opponent. While it may take Kong 0.05 milliseconds to make a right turn, it’ll take Godzilla 1 whole second and in the context of a fight that is a huge disadvantage. All in all, Kong’s biggest obstacle will to be whether or not he rights close range or distant. Close range attacks, while possibly lethal if a weapon is uses, still pose a high risk for him. 

But that being said, does Team Kong or Team Godzilla even matter? 

No. No it doesn’t. Over the last couple of decades, Hollywood has always had two powerful beings or groups fight against each other with the same results. Werewolves vs Vampires. Batman vs Superman. Avengers vs Avengers. And the results are always the exact same; there is a tie or a bigger threat. It is safe to assume and speculate that all these debates and points will mean nothing as by the time the film is released both creatures will either unit or being threatened by an outside force that draws away from the main battle. 

In conclusion, based on my personal observations and understandings, I do say that Kong is a much more worthy opponent than others assume, along with the confidence that he has the power to beat Godzilla. 

[incorrect-karasuno]

-'ᴋᴀʀᴀsᴜɴᴏ ᴀᴛ ʜᴏɢᴡᴀʀᴛs'-

What the different Karasuno students would be like if they were witches and wizards attending Hogwarts. 

Pt. 1

---

Daichi Sawamura 

•  Gryffindor 

•  7th year

•  Half-Blood

• Has a pet barn owl

•  Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team (He's a Chaser)

•  Totally not fraternizing with the enemy by dating a Slytherin Keeper 

• On good terms with the other Quidditch Captains, he has a friendly rivalry with Slytherin's Captain, Kuroo

• He's still very much a dad to, not only the entire team, but all of Gryffindor

• Okay, but one time, Tanaka accidentally sent a Bludger at Daichi during a match and he got knocked out and fell off his broom

• Everyone thought he died,, but he woke up a few days later and Suga let him have it (he was very worried)

• Head Boy? Head Boy.

• Sometimes gets in trouble because someHOW Nishinoya and Tanaka rarely get caught for their pranks (he's just in the wrong place at the wrong time)

• Has decent grades, but only seems to be good at Transfiguration

• Has blown up more than five cauldrons this semester,, that is why he keeps his hair short

• Dude eats a TON in the Great Hall,, it's insane

• One time, Hinata tried to jinx Kageyama and it backfired and ended up hitting the Headmaster and Daichi had to deal with it

• He stills has nightmares about it and avoids the Headmaster at all costs

• He wants to be an Auror

---

Sugawara Koushi

• Slytherin

• 7th year 

• Pure Blood

• Has a pet snowy owl

•  Co-captain of Slytherin Quidditch team (He's a Keeper)

•  Totally not fraternizing with the enemy by dating the Gryffindor Quidditch captain

• Still a great mom figure to all of Slytherin

• A really sweet and caring Slytherin but you better not cross him, he's a scary guy to have as your enemy

• Excels in a lot of his classes, one of the top students at Hogwarts

• That being said, VERY gifted with magic

• Like,, is he even real?? The dude's an actual ANGEL

• But those close to him will disagree and will say that he fits the stereotypical Slytherin, scheming and sneaky

• He'll pout and say that's not true though (it totally is)

• Sneaks out lot for being Head Boy (never gets into trouble)

• He wants to become a Professor at Hogwarts once he graduates

---

Ashai Azumane 

•  Hufflepuff 

• 7th year

•  Pure Blood

• Has a pet great grey owl

•  Hufflepuff Keeper 

•  Joined Quidditch after Nishinoya pratically forced him to (he wanted some friendly competition with Ashai) 

• He quit Quidditch for some time during his 6th year and only came back recently, reclaiming his old position

• Because of his looks, he's very intimidating so everyone who first sees him is shocked when they find out he's a Hufflepuff

• Great friends with other Houses' Quidditch players (Daichi, Suga, and Noya)

• Really would like to take a nap,, please,,

• Would also really like to not go into the Shrieking Shack with Nishinoya again, please and thank you

• Bro, dude fell into the lake when he first arrived at Hogwarts

---

Nishinoya Yuu

•  Gryffindor 

•  6th year

•  Muggle Born

• Has a pet pygmy owl

•  Gryffindor Seeker

• He's probably the best Seeker Gryffindor's had since Harry Fucking Potter

• Dude can hang from his broom with one limb to give him more arm length to capture the snitch

• Loves to do flips and shit on his broom yelling, "ROOLLLINGU SUNDAAAR" during practices

• Him and Tanaka are the Fred and George of the time period

• He gets into a lot of trouble because of his passion for Quidditch and magic

• He's,, REALLY passionate about magic, he loves being at Hogwarts

• Like,, he doesn't like going home for the holidays because he would rather be at Hogwarts

• But he's not very great at magic,, the grades say it all

• He's trying to get better though!! (In order to stay on the team)

• Tends to sneak out during the night because he wants to see a werewolf

• Has befriended the squid in the lake

---

Tanaka Ryuunosuke 

•  Gryffindor 

• 6th year

•  Pure Blood

• Has a pet toad

• Gryffindor Beater

• Really great at Quidditch, it's his passion

• Though, one time, he knocked Daichi unconscious during a match and he felt REALLY bad

• Everything was good though, no hard feelings (But Suga yelled at him afterwards and it was scary)

•  Him and Noya are partners in crime, practically Fred and George

• He doesn't get in trouble as much as Noya, but he still gets in trouble a lot

• Your stereotypical loud, crazy, over the top Gryffindor but we swear, he's really friendly!

• Also,, does not have the best grades. At all. He's trying to get them better though, or he'll be off the team

• His sister was a Gryffindor before him and sometimes he feels like he's in her shadow

• That being said, his sister also told him a bunch of stuff about Hogwarts before he went for the first time

• The stuff ended up being false and the ghosts scared him shitless

• Dude eats so much though during feasts

• Loves to challenge/intimidate first year Gryffindors (gets in trouble for it)

---

Ennoshita Chikara

•  Gryffindor 

•  6th year

•  Half Blood 

• Has a pet Snowshoe cat

•  Gryffindor Chaser

• Left Quidditch for a good while because practices became too much and he wanted fo focus on his studies instead

• Nishinoya and Tanaka's 'babysitter' (he keeps them in check) 

• He also helps tutor other Gryffindors since he has great grades (and a even greater sense of patience)

•  Surprisingly good natured for a Gryffindor 

• People don't think he should have been in Gryffindor and he gets a bit upset by it, but Daichi always reassures him that he's a model Gryffindor

• Will most likely resume team Captain once Daichi and co-captain Bokuto graduate

• Great friends with Suga actually! (He mainly complains/rants about Tanaka and Nishinoya)

• Has a slight crush on Tanaka, but will never admit or act on it

• lord help this poor guy

---

Kinoshita Hisashi

• Ravenclaw

• 6th year

•  Muggle Born

• Has a pet spotted owl

• He's a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team

• Quidditch isn't really his top priority but he enjoys it, it something to get his mind off things

• He took took some time off of the team when practices got in the way of studies and his grades started to slip

• Eventually came back though because the rest of his friends were playing

• He's a tutor who occasionally helps Ennoshita out with the Gryffindor problem children

• Occasionally likes to cause trouble by jinxing hallways and pictures,, but only occasionally

• He's dating Narita and they occasionally are wearing each other's robes

• Enjoys Defense Against the Dark Arts

---

Narita Kazuhito 

• Hufflepuff

•  6th year 

• Pure Blood

• Has a pet tawny owl

• Hufflepuff Chaser

• He's actually pretty good at the sport and is very popular with his peers

• He did leave at one point though because he didn't enjoy playing it as much, but eventually he was convinced to go back to the team

• An absolute sweetheart, we love him

• Often watches Ennoshita try and tame Nishinoya and Tanaka with Kinoshita from a distance

• Enjoys studying with his friends and Herbology

• Is dating Kinoshita and he gets teased by others whenever they see him in the wrong robes (Kinoshita's robes, to be precise)

• How does he get free treats from Hogsemeade?? Like??

• Don't worry, he shares

• But honestly, a model student

---

Kageyama Tobio

• Slytherin 

•  5th year 

•  Pure Blood 

• Has a pet Ragamuffin cat (it doesn't like him)

•  Slytherin Keeper

• Practically breathes Quidditch 

• He was an immediate star when he first came to Hogwarts, quickly display lots of skill for the sport

• Was taken under Suga's wing because Oikawa didn't want to help him (for whatever reason, the guy doesn't like him)

• Whenever they go against Gryffindor, he's constantly yelling at the red hair Chaser

• Terrible at Care of Magical Creatures

• Doesn't have a pet because all the animals seem to hate him

• Trying to send mail is a hassle, the owls don't like him

• That being said, he's really bad at Care of Magical Creatures

• I mean, he's bad at every class (his grades suck) but mainly CoMC because the creatures seem to dislike him

• He also does not understand Muggle technology,, like,, at all

• Someone help the poor boy

• Consumes an ungodly amount of butterbeer

---

Hinata Shoyo

• Gryffindor 

•  5th year

•  Half Blood 

• Has a pet elf owl

•  Gryffindor Chaser (wants to be a Seeker)

• Was told he couldn't play the role of Seeker because he didn't have the "capabilities"

• Well, now he does, but he's still a Chaser

• He's pretty good at it, but kinda sucks at catching the ball when it's thrown to him

• And that is why the Slytherin keeper with the black hair yells at him during Gryffindor vs. Slytherin matches

• Begged not to be in Slytherin after he saw Kageyama sorted into that house

• Tries to follow in Nishinoya and Tanaka's footsteps (but this will often get him into trouble)

• He's REALLY passionate about Quidditch

• Sometimes it gets in the way of ACTUAL school and his grades deteriorate

• Gets lectured by Daichi a LOT

• Mainly for his study habits and knack of getting into trouble with other houses

• That being said, he's very friendly and very popular,, almost everyone in every house knows about him

• He could use some help with Charms and History of Magic though

---

Tsukishima Kei 

• Ravenclaw 

• 5th year 

• Pure Blood 

• Has a pet Norwegian Forset cat

• Ravenclaw Keeper 

• Doesn't really care for the sport all that much, he honestly doesn't even know why he plays it 

• He figures it's because his brother was a Gryffindor Quidditch player at one time and he thought people expected him to do the same

• Ravenclaw lost a few games due to him not giving his all when it came to guarding the goal

• However, since he got some sense and motivation knocked into him, Raveclaw excels at winning Quidditch matches

• Like,, the dude's got mad skills

• Incredibly great at all the different subjects at Hogwarts (especially Charms) 

• Doesn't know why his best friend is a Hufflepuff, but he enjoys his company (will never say that aloud though)

• He wishes the Slytherin Captain would stop bothering him in the halls, along with the other Gryffindor co-captain

• Likes to spend time in the room of requirement

• He honestly can't wait till he leaves Hogwarts, but he does enjoy it there,, occasionally

---

Yamaguchi Tadashi 

• Hufflepuff

• 5th year 

• Half Blood

• Has a pet spectacled owl

• Hufflepuff Chaser 

• Decided to join Quidditch because Tsukki was joining 

• He was scared of it at first, being up so high, flying super fast, the bludgers, but has since overcome those fears

• Enjoys playing Quidditch

• He's not great at it, but he's training really hard to get better

• Y'know, like a hardworking Hufflepuff

• He was disappointed when Tsukishima was sorted into another house, but he's managed to work around it

• The other Hufflepuffs wonder why he spends time around such a stoic Ravenclaw, but he never really explains why

• He's got a little crush on him, that's why

• Oh and on their team's manager

• God,, why is everyone so pretty??? (Guess he's into smart blondes)

• He gets pretty decent grades because Yachi and Tsukishima help him out with the classes he struggles with

• He enjoys Astrology and spends a lot of his free time in the Astrology tower looking at the stars

• He's also become good friends with the red haired Gryffindor (much to Tsukishima's disappointment)

• But he really is super shy when you first meet him, but is really helpful and friendly once you get to know him

• Magic scares him a little bit though

---

[mightydragoon]

Luke and Leia vs the Galaxy

@silvereddaye 

.Our favourite Space Twins against the Empire with varying degrees of success. 

1. Legacy ---myrlendi (thehistorygeek)

Three months after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker goes in search of a rumoured Jedi temple in a secluded part of the Mid Rim. He finds within the temple nothing but a strange artifact, which unexpectedly brings him much closer to the Jedi of old than he ever thought he would be.

When Luke fails to return from his mission, Leia goes after him, retracing his steps to the ancient temple — and to the past, to the time of the Clone Wars and the waning years of the Old Republic. Under suspicion by the Jedi Order, the twins struggle to find a way back to their own time while trying to keep their knowledge of the future from affecting the past.

This, however, turns out to not be as simple as it seems.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15221810/chapters/35304947

2.  Skywalker Family Values- Ariel_Sojourner

Camp Chippewa is proud to be the Empire’s foremost camp resort for privileged young adults. Located on the picturesque forest moon of Endor, your child will have the opportunity to participate in wholesome outdoor activities and socialize appropriately with their peers. We invite your offspring to join us for the experience of a lifetime and a bright future in service of the greater glory of the Empire.

On opposite sides of the galaxy, on opposite sides of a civil war, Darth Vader and Padme Amidala unwittingly send Luke and Leia to the same camp during school break. Chaos naturally ensues.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14258124/chapters/32883750

3. Back To The Future - PinkEasterEggs

Teenage Princess Leia, heir to Alderaan's throne and her twin, Luke Vader, heir to the Imperial throne, get thrown back in time with the chance to save their parents before it's too late. With the Force finally on their side, they decide to have a little fun whilst they try and save their father's soul.

What could go wrong?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217674/chapters/53048092

(Part of the Back To The Future series. https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648657) 

4. No Time Like The Present - PinkEasterEggs

In a Galaxy where Princess Leia Organa and Imperial Prince Luke Vader didn't Time Travel to save their father's soul, a deadly discovery by their biggest enemy throws their entire lives upside down. Yet again.

Now on the run from the Empire, the Skywalker Twins find it their mission to bring peace back to the Galaxy once more. And with Darth Vader on their trail, that mission is far more complicated than they originally believed.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754825/chapters/59851300

(Part of the Back To The Future series. https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648657)

5. Great as the Sea-- Valkirin

Rescuing the last of Alderaan's survivors was an important duty, not an obsession, and Leia did not need to take a break. She did not have time to think about Darth Vader, the Force, or Luke Skywalker. It’s just her luck that the Force sends her with Luke Skywalker to a time where Darth Vader is about to rise.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11384253/chapters/25491066

6. turn my sorrow into treasured gold - cosmicocean:

“It might be better for you to die,” Obi-Wan muses as she holds her children in her arms. Padmé looks up at him and arches an eyebrow.

“I didn’t mean literally,” he clarifies.

“I know what you meant. I’m thinking about it.”

Padmé survives childbirth, dies as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, takes her children with Obi-Wan, and runs.

Pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7435467

7. The Assassin's Blade - LadyVader23

Two years after Order 66, Padme is both an assassin for the Rebellion and a mother of twins. She will stop at nothing to bring democracy back to the Galaxy, even if it means killing Imperials to do it. But news of suspicious assassinations reaches Sidious, who dispatches Vader to hunt down this mysterious assassin. What Vader discovers will change the fate of the Galaxy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20432867/chapters/48475367

8. anything is possible the second time around cloverblob

Leia Organa is sure that she died. She laid herself down, ready to become one with the Force. Except that she isn't dead--she hasn't even been born. So how did she end up on Tatooine? And why would fate bring her right here, right now?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941050/chapters/52364929

9.  Influence of Time Cateyes1401 and  SkylaDoragon

A freak accident sends Luke, Leia, and Vader splitting off to different points of the galaxy, over twenty years in the past. While Vader is careful to correct any errors his sudden appearance may cause in the timeline, Luke and Leia are not so cautious.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20333248/chapters/48211621

10.  Laying Down the Sand - Knitzkampf

An AU set at the time of ESB. Han Solo abandons Luke, Leia and Chewie to settle some unfinished business and sparks a series of events that challenges each one's destiny and the fate of the galaxy. An epic tale of friendship, love, family and lightsabers.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921947/chapters/22232960

11.  Binary Sunsets, Binary Siblings - Coffeesforcatchers

The projection was as blue as the Tatooinian sky, making it hard for Luke to discern its features. But as the audio began to play, Luke felt his heart seize in his chest.

"Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Luke stared at the droid, his mouth open. "That's my sister!"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14111466/chapters/32514372

12.  Deja Vu - oncomingstorm42

Time travel AU fix-it wherein Luke and Leia are sent back in time to halfway through The Phantom Menace. They proceed to unscrew the timeline and save their parents while also kicking ass.

(note* Private story. To read you must have an AO3 account) 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408782/chapters/22984893

13. Heralding Home -planningconquest

Family can be what we make of it. It can be lost and found and comes together in strange and amazing ways.

(Note* Modern Au but still same principal applies) 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17130767/chapters/40288283

14.  Like Fire in Our Bones --- acuteneurosis

With all of the most important things in the galaxy literally exploding around her, Leia is given the chance to go back and help keep a promise she never personally made.

But then, for Skywalkers, saving the galaxy was always a family matter.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19735813/chapters/46710241

15.  I am as Strong as the Seas are Stormy (And as Proud as an Eagle's Scream)- RhiannonOfTheRoses

Leia Skywalker is only hours old when the Empire rises.

Leia Organa is twenty-three when it finally falls.

OR: The one in which Leia Organa is explored, and her life is uncovered.

16.  Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns chancecraz

I went to sleep on the worst day of my life and woke to find myself in the past on the second worst day of my life. As experiences go, I don’t recommend it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8543680/chapters/19586203

(Part of the Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns series https://archiveofourown.org/series/825216)

17.  Runaway SilverDaye

Imperial Prince Luke runs away from home to escape his overprotective father Emperor Vader. Jumping from planet to planet he finds himself creditless on Tatooine. While working for more money to leave the planet, Luke meets an old man named Ben Kenobi. But Luke knows he can't stay in one place for long for surely his father is hunting him down.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630196/chapters/33813027

18.  take the spade from my hands (and fill in the holes you've made) A_Different_Type_of_Flower

With her dying father's last request, eighteen-year-old Leia Organa sets out for the Outer Rim to find an exiled Jedi master and a brother she knew nothing about.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9219026/chapters/20908517

19.  Sparks SpellCleaver

Vader had every intention of ignoring that petty—if notorious—burglar on Coruscant, until evidence suggested that this "Angel" had Rebel ties.

Meanwhile, Luke never expected his father to actively hunt him down, and he doesn't like it.

20.  the price of forgetting - surabayuh

 Vader always thought that epiphany would come in waves; in the middle of meditation, perhaps, or a dream while he was resting, giving him unimaginable glee and satisfaction at its revelation.

He’d never thought epiphany would sledgehammer him here, at cell room number 2187, in the middle of an interrogation session, with an unconscious Alderaanian Princess laying on the floor.

(Part of the  the bang the war-drums series) 

(Note* Read the rest of this series seriously its so good) 

21.  heirs of the desert -- surabayuh

There was something about her, something familiar beyond the hairstyle or the attire; It was like a hole in his chest mended back by her presence. They walked closer to one another, slowly, slowly—like a planet realigning to their axis.

Dreams of a different life, a different reality, haunting him for as long as he could remember. Dreams of lush greeneries, of clear blue waters, of a high castle, of a brunette with bright brown eyes crinkling with laughter.

Leia, her name was Leia and he felt like he had known her his whole life, as if he'd known her as old as he had known time.

Around them, the Force sang.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22226950/chapters/53070706

(Part of the  the bang the war-drums series)

22. taste the regret (it's bittersweet.) - surabayuh

Han Solo didn't want much, really; he only agreed to pilot his way away from the grips of Jabba the Hutt, and maybe have a little adventure along the way. That was why he said yes to that old man's offer, back in Tatooine, why he came back to aid the Rebellion, back in Yavin.

But then again, who knew that somewhere down the line, he would have to be the middle-man in a galactic family drama that could determine the very fate of the universe?

Well; certainly not him.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22452316/chapters/53646223

(Part of the  the bang the war-drums series)

23. Endings and Beginnings, and Everything in Between - ITookTheOneLessTravelled

Dad might be mad at them, but Leia doesn't regret it. Luke and Leia Skywalker might be only fifteen, but they'd never have left their Dad in an Imperial prison cell to rot.

OR: Anakin raises the twins. Everything changes, but also nothing does.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6757639

24.  No Heroes on the High Seas - SpellCleaver

When Luke's aunt and uncle are executed by order of the Emperor's right hand, Lord Vader, he flees his home to search for his sister and the mother he never knew. But then Obi-Wan Kenobi stows away aboard the same ship, Vader gives chase, and Luke is dragged into a conflict that his family are at the very heart of.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17092340/chapters/40194893

25.  Ad Utrumque Paratus - obeyingthemuse

It's hard to bring balance to the Force when the only method you've seen is your black-cloaked psychic cyborg sorcerer dad with a severe breathing problem throwing an old man down the Death Star reactor shaft. As much as Luke would like to see the not-yet-Emperor dead, he doesn't want to be arrested by his unusually attractive(?) war-hero dad and spend the rest of his indeterminate time in the past dropping Ewok beats in a jail cell. Also Leia would probably kill him. But not before breaking him out of jail.

So when the twins wake up on Tatooine decades in the past, they play it safe. They take over a planet, reconnect with their adoptive and real parents without weirding them out (too much), and accidentally cause the Chancellor perpetual near-death experiences.

Nailed it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7168628/chapters/16273712

Tags 

Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker 

[snowspryte15]

Thoughts on Cruella

Let me ask you a question:Have you noticed the increase in stories about making villains more relatable to us, and even giving them something that seemed to be lacking in all the fairytales we all know so well?

Something like humanity?

Here’s the thing: no one is truly born evil, and to quote a line from Once Upon A Time, “Evil isn’t born; it’s made.” Perhaps the baddies were actually good people who were capable of being happy, finding love, and living their best lives. But unfortunately, a chain of events or even people who wronged them would lead them down a dark path that is often very hard to come back from.  In other words, the stories and characters we know isn’t always black and white. (See what I did there?) You can say whatever you want about making villains relatable or even showing sympathy to them, but I stand by my humble opinion that the updated version of the fairytales and stories we grew up not only gives us a glimpse into the heroes and making them more like us, but also the villains because their more than just the 2D stock characters we grew up with over the years. In other words, it gives everyone more DEPTH.  The same is true for Cruella. I realize many of you are starting to (if you aren’t already) get tired of films making the villains more relatable or even giving us a villain to show sympathy for. And I get that. But let me ask you this: is the world we see today always black and white to you? Should it always has to be good vs. evil when there are layers underneath the goodness and the evil that’s in this world? Should we automatically assume that all of the bad things that happen on the news are caused by bad people? I think you know the answer to this: no. We’re all capable of being good people, no matter what society tells us.  But the fact that we’re all born to be originals and not copies of another individual but being told that we have to be “perfect” or “thin” or “beautiful” or “handsome” or any of those labels is what draws people to the dark side, and that includes giving into power, greed, malice, and hatred. And here’s something else to think about - we’re always told by those around us, whether that’s our loved ones or complete strangers, to hide what makes us unique or even brilliant because it may not sit well with everyone. That’s another reason why some people go towards the dark side. And on another level, they use what makes them unique to stand out in not-so pleasant ways, instilling fear into others by what they say and do.  Both cases aren’t right, not by a long shot. Now do you see why not everything is black and white? It’s hard to take the animated films we grew up and breathe new life into them while keeping these thoughts in mind. Especially if we were taught at an early age who’s good and who’s evil, and that the baddies aren’t deserving of our sympathy or even redemption. I don’t know who exactly started this tradition of taking the fairytales, animated classics, and other stories we all grew up with and add more dimension and humanity to each of the characters, including the villains. But I’m glad they did. It gives us something to think about and makes us see that we have a little bit of evil inside of us. I may be in the minority when I say this, but movies and shows like Once Upon A Time, Maleficent, Ever After High, Descendants, and Cruella fascinate me because it allows me the chance to see how capable the villains are to being good people and their external and internal struggles to keep the goodness in their lives while navigating through all of the bad things and people that come into their lives which sets a course towards their villainous nature.

At least take into consideration the hard work the authors, screenwriters, and creators put into formulating the question “what if...” and how much fun they have breathing new life into these characters we grew up with and how much of ourselves we can see in the villains, no matter how much we try to deny it. There, I said it. I may once again be in the minority when I say this (it seems to be a theme lately on Tumbr, which is quite sad), but I enjoyed Cruella immensely. The acting, the costume designs, the hair and makeup, the songs... It was just bloody brilliant. Both Emmas - Emma Stone and Emma Thompson - played their parts extremely well. Ms. Stone navigating through her internal battle to be a good person while facing a conflict with the bad side was a wonderful site to see. And Ms. Thompson, I mean, come on. She’s just fantastic all the way around. To play a narcissist isn’t easy, but she makes it look so simple and enjoyable. I commend both of their performances in this film. And let’s not forget the rest of the cast - Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beechan, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mark Strong, Kayvan Novak, Jamie Demetriou, Andrew Leung, and John McCrea - such an outstanding ensemble! In the theatre, you know a show is fantastic because of its ensemble. The same applies in the movies as well. They may not get recognized as much as Emma Stone or Emma Thompson, but it was such a joy seeing these talented performers play their parts well, and the depth they played at was a joy to watch. Let’s talk about the costumes, hair, and makeup. This film better get awards for all of those areas (or at least nominations) because the designs and styles were truly epic. It’s hard to get the fashion of the times right without extensive research and a little bit of creativity and imagination thrown in for good measure. But Jenny Beavan and Nadia Stacey deserve all of the praise and accolades for rocking out the 1970s with boldness and some pretty wicked designs. I’ve noticed skimming on here the discontent many of you have for portraying Cruella as being a villain we should have sympathy for, especially since she wanted to skin Dalmatians for a coat. That alone should be cause for her to not be worth an ounce of sympathy, and I understand that. As an animal lover myself, I’m inclined to agree with you. But I’m going to let you in on one spoiler that I ask you take into consideration: no Dalmatian dogs were killed or skinned in this movie. I repeat: no Dalmatian dogs were killed or skinned in this movie. And here’s something else I want you to be on the lookout for should you decide to watch this film. During the end credits, there is a special message out there for those of you who are thinking about owning a dog: “Every dog deserves a loving home. If you’re ready for the commitment of pet ownership, please consider visiting your local animal rescue to find the right pet for you.” That message alone speaks as to how far we’ve come in society, and here’s why. Whenever we see movies or TV shows that feature dogs and cats, particularly puppies and kittens, we tend to rush out right away and getting them because they’re so adorable. But when they grow up, we tend to let them go and leave them in some unpleasant places. And organizations like PETA beseeched the film and the company to take a stand and use their voice to encourage adoption of pets in shelters and rescue centers and not pet stores. Apparently, the film and the company listened because they put this message during the end credits. Well done. I may not be able to convince you to go see this movie or give it another chance if you already saw it, nor should I try. But I do want you to take into consideration the amount of updated versions of the stories we all know and love, and how much the authors, screenwriters, and other creative types are bringing in humanity and depth to these characters. We’re not 2D characters like the heroes, heroines, and villains are often seen as in the original stories, so why should they be treated and seen as such for generations to come? We’re more complex and layered than seen in fairytales and animated movies. Also, I don’t think these stories where the authors give villains a chance to experience goodness before they became bad or even blurring the lines between good and evil are going away. It allows us as human beings to see and try understand that we’re all capable of being good, but it’s the events and people who come into our lives that shake things up and even brings questions of whether we’re truly good or evil that sets us down a path we alone can walk. And more importantly, it gives us as the audience a chance to see a little bit of ourselves in these characters, even if you don’t relate to the villains at all.  I suggest you stop griping about the rise in updated versions of the films, TV series, and book series of the original classics and accept that they are here to stay. I’m not saying you should read or watch them if they’re not your cup of tea, but at least try to understand that things were NEVER always black and white, especially where fairytales, animated films, and even more stories are concerned. At least try to understand that part, okay? Is that too much to ask? I’m not here to change your mind. I realize I can’t do that. So many of you are so set in your ways and opinions, and all I can do is pray for you. But I am here to share with you my thoughts on Cruella and how the updated versions of these stories are here to stay, whether you like it or not. And I’m also here to try to help you see that these stories allow us to see a little bit of ourselves in these characters we grew up with, even if it’s through a new set of eyes. You are welcome to disagree with me, or even not say anything at all. But all I ask is that you be respectful of my opinions and what I have to say. I will not tolerate any hate speech or disrespectful language. You do that, and I will block you. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything. It’s that simple, and yet it’s so hard, especially on Tumblr. I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time.

[blitz-and-hearth]

Some empty cups family trans headcanons because I’m feeling dysphoric after being called she all Thanksgiving and need that good shit right now (tw for talking about periods, dysphoria, and transphobia) And when I say empty cups, I mean all the empty cups so long post beware 

Blitzen figured it out at a very young age, his father Bili had some nonbinary leanings (but didn’t know it was a thing when he was young) so he encouraged little Blitz to experiment with gender expression to his heart’s content  

He was probably about 7 or 8 when he decided to start going by male pronouns 

Blitzen is his birth name, dwarven names are usually pretty gender-neutral. He didn’t feel like he needed to change it 

Thanks to both male and female dwarves growing beards he’s pretty comfortable in his own skin even after puberty. He does end up getting top surgery the very minute he can though. Has no plans for bottom surgery 

BUTTON UP SHIRTS AND LAYERS ALL THE TIME 

It's just a transmasc thing

And you know he’s always wearing suits and ties not just because they’re fashionable but make him very euphoric

Dwarven culture isn’t much better than humans when it comes to accepting trans folk, however, they do consider cosmetic surgery a craft, so their own rules mean they have to respect any and all transitioning surgeries  

Mostly Blitzen just doesn’t talk about it much unless someone else brings it up. His father never made a big deal out of it so neither does he

Mostly situational dysphoria, when he’s around his mother or other people who knew him before he transition, other dwarves who can better tell the different subtleties of cis dwarf gender, and of course on the dreaded shark week 

Humans and Midgard are both awesome because they see the beard and can’t tell the difference between “male” vs “female” facial hair like other dwarves do. Very easy to pass there 

Hearthstone obviously was not in a safe place to explore his gender growing up

On top of all the other shit he had going on during his childhood he was constantly feeling wrong and uncomfortable in his own body 

Lots of dissociation and frustration

Alderman wouldn’t let him cut his hair, forced him to wear dresses, and constantly said shit like “bE mOrE lAdYlIkE”  

Hearthstone finally figures it out after accidentally stumbling across some websites while trying to research magic. It's just a post on a blog about some spell for good luck to help with transitioning but it’s how he learns being trans is like a real thing 

It was both great to know there were other people like him but also like the worst possible news because he knows he could never ever come out and transition while living under his parent’s roof 

He was only about 13 and lots of tears were had that night

The very next day he has his first period and just can not anymore 

Full snap, cuts his hair short for the very first time, binds his chest grabs what little he owns and gets the hell out of there that day 

Meets Blitzen like right after so needless to say he didn’t get much time to explore. He wasn’t about to come out to someone he just met, that shits scary what would he do if Blitzen didn’t accept him? He wouldn’t be strong enough to try world jumping for weeks and wouldn’t survive in Nidavellir without the sunbed 

Blitzen had his suspicions but obviously understood why he’d be nervous about coming out, so he just kept his mouth shut about it until Hearthstone felt like talking about it 

I’ve made a post about this before, but it happens on accident while Hearth is changing because a) he wasn’t allowed to lock doors growing up b) wouldn’t notice if you knocked to see if he’s in there anyway 

What’s not reflected in the comic is Blitzen silently screaming because Hearth has been using ace bandages to bind does he know how dangerous that is???? But he didn’t say anything about it right then because this was a sensitive situation and he wanted to make sure Hearthstone knew he was in the same boat and nothing would change before starting to scold him  

Hearthstone cried a lot

It's a big moment that builds their friendship and later romantic relationship and after that Hearthstone starts being a lot more honest about his past with Blitzen

Hearthstone isn’t his birth name, his dead name is probably something to do with flowers, super feminine and he hated it. He doesn’t have a real reason for choosing Hearthstone since it was a bit spur of the moment when Blitzen asked his name. Blitz later asked if he’s sure that's what he wants to go with and Hearthstone decides to stick with it 

Part of the deal with Mimir was his parents forgetting that he was born female. It really was no question at all which choice he’d take 

(Inge remembers but respects his pronouns because she’s a fucking decent person) 

It’s the only reason Alderman didn’t constantly misgender and deadname him. Being in his old home and seeing his father still reminds him of how it used to be though 

Hearth has more bad dysphoria days than good. Blitzen is always right there to tell him he looks handsome and very masculine today. Blitz doesn’t have as many bad dysphoria days but you bet your ass when he does Hearthstone will absolutely provide a constant flow of compliments until he starts to feel better   

Hearthstone used runes to transition because if you’re trans you’ve totally daydreamed about how awesome and less scary it would be if magic was real. He offered Blitzen to do the same but Blitz had already had top surgery and doesn't really want bottom surgery so he turns it down 

Magnus was also encouraged to try exploring his gender from a young age by his mother 

I mean.... Just take a moment look at Magnus’ mom for a sec 

Yeah that woman ain’t straight Magnus had a good childhood while she was around 

I still think it took him a while though

Just because he didn’t really think about it much until puberty happened 

He was just starting to think about his gender when his mother died 

Later looking back it makes him really sad that he never got to tell her

Then he was homeless and a bit busy 

He learned Blitzen and Hearth are both trans pretty quick though 

I think this is even mentioned in canon that there's not a lot of privacy living on the street 

Probably got an idea when he ran out of pads 

Magnus: Fuck I’m out of pads and still got like three days left :/ Blitzen: *handing him some spare pads* Here I got you covered kid Magnus: ?????? Why? do you have these???? 

He’s a little slow on the uptake bless him 

Eventually, he sees Blitz and Hearth’s chest scars and is like OH 

He starts asking them both a lot of questions, still thinking its just innocent curiosity but Blitz and Hearth are sharing knowing looks the whole time

Sure enough like only a few days later he’s like “I think I wanna go by Magnus now” 

His mother had mentioned to him that’s the name she’d have gone with if he’d been born male and he liked it enough to keep her wish 

I wanna say his dead name starts with a B? I dunno why    

Birthdays don’t mean much to Magnus while homeless but Blitzen and Hearthstone get him a binder for his 15th birthday, refuse to explain where they got it 

(Blitz made it but Hearth was the one to steal the materials he needed) 

Magnus obviously never had the option for medical transitioning while alive and homeless, but if given the choice he’d probably get on T but not have any surgeries

Jack is a sword who canonically picked his own name and it’s talked about there being female swords despite having no genital or way to tell, all living weapons choose their own gender he’s trans 

Samirah can’t remember not knowing she was a girl 

Like Alex she probably just knew from very early 

Her grandparents are mentioned being a bit more forward-thinking so while they’re probably not happy per se they allow her to experiment anyway, thinking it a phase 

It’s not a phase 

Her grandparents mess up her pronouns often and don’t get it all, but its happened less and less the longer she’s been going by female pronouns

They eventually arrange her a properly planned marriage once they realize she’s not changing her mind about being a girl, much to her pleasure  

Wearing her hijab and following other classic Muslim gender rules, like having a betrothed and not being alone with a boy, make her very euphoric and happy 

She knew right away Magnus was trans too since she like... literally handled his soul when taking him to Valhalla

Seems like something a Valkyrie would be able to tell 

Sam is very excited because this is the first time she’s met another trans person but doesn’t know how to bring it up 

I’m picturing it happening after they meet Thor when she and Magnus are talking by the campfire 

She just awkwardly blurts out “So uh gender huh?”

Magnus has no idea what she’s trying to say at first but once he does he’s very excited to talk trans with her 

ftm and mtf solidarity bitch!!!!

Then Alex gets thrown into the mix 

She doesn’t know about any of this  

Eventually, Sam finds the time to talk to her about her gender, and naturally Alex is ecstatic. It's part of why he takes such joy in being Sam’s chaperone

This happens pretty soon after Alex arrives in Vallhalla 

But Alex doesn’t find out the rest are trans too till much later 

It just sort of slips out from Blitz, a mention of feeling a bit dysphoric that day and Alex is like “!?!!!!” 

After hearing a bit more about Alex’s past Blitzen goes to Hearth and suggests he talk to her 

They have a very good venting session about growing up trans with shitty shitty parents 

Alex learns about Magnus last 

It’s when he comes to Magnus’ room after celebrating and Magnus got covered in chocolate 

Magnus has his shirt off and Alex sees his binder and is just like “!!!!!!” 

Magnus is a bit flustered but doesn’t really mind being seen shirtless since its Alex and he already knows he’s trans too so he’s not about to get attacked or called a slur 

Just like... Alex realizing his whole new little family is trans 

Just the whole empty cups fam being trans and all having very different ways of experiencing and expressing it but supporting each other through it all. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[give-me-back-my-rhodey]

Law vs Morals - AUgust Day 19

Title: Law vs Morals

Author: Purple_ducky00

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Violence, slight mentions of period homophobia, major character death (of old age)

Pair: Pepper/Tony, eventual Pepper/Rhodey/Tony

Link: Read on AO3

Summary:  Police Chief James Rhodes is adamant on taking down the Stark mob. When he gets kidnapped by the Starks, he starts to see all they do. Can there be some gray in the world of black and white?

Written for @endrega23  I hope you enjoy it!

+++++++++

The Stark family has ruled New York City for the better part of the 1800s, growing stronger as each successor took their place as the head. Howard followed Montgomery, strengthening their hold by marrying Maria Carbonell and taking over the Carbonell family business as well. Anthony, or Tony, now sits on the seat. Rumors of his cunning and ruthlessness precede him. No one steps onto his territory without him knowing. Anyone who tries to go against his rule is taken care of immediately.

 The problem with this is, no one can pin anything on Stark. Any mobster caught is more afraid of their boss than the police and will not say a word. Police Chief Rhodes devotes his life to taking down the Stark family. The only problem is that most of his cops have been bought by the mobster. It’s up to him alone to find evidence on the man.

Stark himself is a bit of a recluse. He doesn’t go out much, and when he does, he goes big. All eyes are on him, and everyone knows where he is and what he’s doing. It’s very hard to accuse him of any wrongdoing when the public loves him. Rhodes has met him several times. Stark greets him happily, even giving him the nickname of ‘Rhodey’. Rhodes can admit that if he did not know that Stark was a criminal, they’d probably be good friends.

 Rhodes once got a tip-off telling him to keep an eye out for Stark’s wife. A high-society woman, Mrs. Stark is seen at all the social events wearing the latest gowns in fashion.  Graceful and beautiful, she is always the star of the show. Rhodes often wonders if she knows her husband deals in criminal affairs. Rhodes tails her for a few days, but nothing she does seems out of the ordinary. He finally gives up and goes back to his normal routine.

 Another tip-off leads him to bring down Tiberius Stone, Stark’s competitor. Stone himself cannot tie Stark to anything either, but he feeds Rhodes with a lot of rumors and information. “Potts, well Mrs. Stark now, is not as genteel as she seems. She is deadly, officer, deadly. She runs more of the operation than Stark himself. They say that he told everyone who works for him that whatever she says goes. She’s the real kingpin here.” He also rattles off places that he assumes Stark uses as fronts for his real business.

 Chief Rhodes goes by foot as there are no available carriages and he’d prefer to be inconspicuous. Taking it upon himself to search the buildings, Rhodes stumbles across a dead body, brutally beaten and mangled. He’s  ready to call it in when something hits the back of his head, and he falls, unconscious.

 He wakes up in a nicely furnished room, handcuffed to the headboard of a bed. Struggling to get free, he doesn’t notice the person sitting next to him until they clear their throat. Rhodes yells. “Let me go, you bastard!” Until he realizes that the person sitting next to him is a woman, that woman being Mrs. Stark. “Pardon my language, ma’am.”

 The woman frowns down at him. “Don’t patronize me,” She says. “I wanted to kill you immediately. You had better be thankful that my husband likes you. Now that you’re awake, I’ll get him.” She pushes down a button and calls. “Send Mr. Stark to the hold, please.”

 A few minutes later, Stark rushes in the door. “Rhodey!” He smiles, face beaming. “It’s so nice to see you again!”

 Mrs. Stark rolls her eyes, muttering, and Rhodes pulls against his cuffs. “What do you want from me? Why am I here?”

 “I don’t really want you to be here, but it was either keep you here or kill you, and I don’t want to see you killed.” Stark’s eyes get sad.

 “Don’t go playing the victim here, Stark.” He growls. “Everyone knows you’re a criminal. I am going to get out of here and take you down.”

 “Tony, I told you he’s not going to cooperate,” Mrs. Stark sighs.

 Tony holds out his hand to her. “Pepper, I don’t want to kill him, please.”

 This comes off weird to Rhodes. Tony Stark, the invincible head of the Stark gang, is pleading to his wife to spare the life of the only cop who’s been trying to bring him down for the past decade? What is going on here? He watches as the couple share a conversation with their eyes. Mrs. Stark sighs again and shrugs. Tony turns back to Rhodes. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to stay here. Collateral damage and all – I’m sure you understand. Please know that you may ask for whatever you want, and it shall be given to you. You’ll be treated like a special guest. But you'll have a guard with you at all times so that you can’t escape.”

 “Why don’t you just kill me?” Rhodes sinks back on the bed.

 Tony sits beside him. “Because, Rhodey, I like you. And I never want to see you dead.”

 “What are you going to do if my men start looking for me?”

 “Rhodey, be serious. First off, I have all your men on my payroll. Secondly, did you tell anyone where you were going?” Stark tilts his head. Rhodes has to admit that he has a point.

 The Starks assign two guards to Rhodes, a thin teenager who is exceptionally strong and a stony faced man with a prosthetic arm. The teenager likes to talk. He tells Rhodes how Mr. Stark saved him and his aunt from being thrown out on the street because they couldn’t pay rent. He goes on about his friends, his boyfriends, and the food he had for breakfast until the other guard, Barnes, asks him to shut it.

 “What about you?” Rhodes asks snidely. “Did Mr. Stark save your life as well?”

 “No, but he saved my wife's. I was already working for him when she was caught by the police. She smuggled her way over here from Russia, and they didn’t like that very much. Mr. Stark paid them off before they did anything vile to her. I am forever grateful for that.”

 What is this, the time for sob stories? Rhodes scoffs. It wouldn’t surprise him that Stark would pay them to tell him these things. For some reason, Stark always wanted to be on his good side. Maybe he wants to win Rhodes over, too. It won’t happen.

 The Starks find out not too long after that Pepper is pregnant. Tony removes her from any field work until she comes to term. He doesn’t want her, or his unborn child injured in any way.  The redhead works behind the scenes a lot more now.  As Stark is very busy, she spends a lot of time sitting with Rhodes. They play chess and checkers while Pepper puts her feet up. She usually wins, but there are a few times Rhodes is able to eek in a victory.

 As he resides at the Stark mansion, he starts to notice things. Tony spends most of his time in his workshop, either developing new weapons for his men, or more often than not, manufacturing things to help people in their daily lives. He overhears one of Stark’s men asking what to do with the Keener family. “She’s late on her payments once again, sir.”

 “It’s not her fault they won’t hire a single mother. Let her live there for free. It’s not costing me anything. Besides, Harley comes here a lot of times after school. I appreciate his help. Leave them alone and work over the rich assholes who won’t pay their workers,” Tony replies.

 Pepper funds many orphanages and homes for the poor. Between the two of them, the Starks are building a respectable neighborhood around them, something they wouldn’t have been able to do without their drug and crime money.

 One day, when Tony comes in from a stroll, Rhodes mentions this to him. Tony smiles. “Now you’re getting it. Tell me, Rhodey, which is better? Me, robbing the extremely wealthy of the funds they’ll never use to help build up the city or having men in power who only strive for their own greatness? Who hire police officers who will imprison the misfortunate because they have no home and take advantage of the unarmed women? I hope you realize that just because something is legal, it’s not always moral. And vice versus.”

“Is that how you sleep at night?” Rhodes scoffs.

 Tony sighs. “No, how I sleep at night is with my darling wife in a very comfortable bed. You’d be welcome to join if you’d like.”

 Rhodes is taken aback. Stark just said that so… casually. Doesn’t he know he could get killed for that kind of comment? Homosexuality is a taboo, and those who have those feelings didn’t dare speak in public about it. Rhodes knows; he is one of those persons. In any other case, he would have brushed it off as a joke, but… he can’t stop thinking about it. He’s not sure if it’s Stockholm Syndrome or not, but his feelings towards Mr. and Mrs. Stark have definitely changed.

 Thinking of them as friends and not enemies, he often seeks out their company now. Pepper and he have long conversations about art, strategies, and even fashion. He accompanies Tony to his workshop every now and again. He learns about simple mechanics and the newest technologies. They have settled into a very easy camaraderie.

 Now, Tony makes that comment. Rhodes can’t deny that he finds both husband and wife very attractive. He decides, after a long night of debate, to leave the comment as it was said and not think of it again until…

 One night, he knocks on Pepper’s parlor door for their usually book reading. Like most times, she doesn’t answer. He slips in the door only to find her and Tony getting it on. They don’t pull away when they see him, and he backs up, stammering. “I-I’m sorry. I’ll just come back later.”

“Join us?” Pepper asks, head thrown back in pleasure.

 They must have been serious. Rhodes thinks. “Are you sure?”

 “Would we have asked were we not sure?” Tony queries. “We want you here, Rhodey, but we understand if you would prefer to leave.”

 “No, I will stay.”

 ++++++++ When little Morgan is born seven months later, Pepper introduces her to both of her fathers. Rhodey becomes part of the business. When Pepper stays in the background tending to Morgan, he takes control of the next moves. He and Pepper band together when Tony takes care of the baby, which is more often than not. She has him wrapped around her finger.

 Rhodey loves Morgan. She’s not his child by blood, but she’s his child. No one dares to tell him or her otherwise. He teaches her how to defend herself at a very young age. It is not a secret that she will be even more powerful than her predecessors.

 The trio stick together as laws change, as Morgan grows, as they grow old. Pepper is the first to pass, falling sick with the flu. Rhodey is next at the age of eighty-five. Tony passes not long after, handing the reins of the business to his daughter. Although she grows more powerful than her parents, tales are still told about the trio that ran New York.

[secretlyatargaryen]

Tyrion and Zuko: Never Forget Who You Are

This is part three of a meta comparing these two characters. Read part one here and part two here.

One of the defining moments for both of these characters is when they are talking to a younger character that they relate to who is on the opposite side as them, but who will later become a friend.

Tyrion to Jon:

"Fourteen, and you're taller than I will ever be. [...] I will never make a swordsman. Had I been born a peasant, they might have left me out to die, or sold me to some slaver's grotesquerie. Alas, I was born a Lannister of Casterly Rock, and the grotesqueries are all the poorer. Things are expected of me. [...] I must do my part for the honor of my House, wouldn't you agree? Yet how? [...] I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind … “

and Zuko to Aang:

You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky; he says I was lucky to be born. I need don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. That's made me who I am.

Even at this early stage in these characters’ stories, where they are still very much indoctrinated into their family’s BS, both of them recognize this inner conflict between who they are and who their families want them to be. And both of them draw inner strength from things that set them apart from the ideology that they’ve been indoctrinated into.

Both are forced to adopt new identities as refugees, and it’s here that they are forced to rely on the things that were not valued by their families. Zuko relies more on his sword-fighting abilities than his bending, and Tyrion reclaims things about himself that his father hated, such as his tumbling, and takes on the role as dwarf jester to survive. It’s because of these characters’ ability to develop an inner strength independent from their families that they are able to do this, even though they had previously been taught to devalue those parts of themselves.

They both draw on that inner strength that comes from the things that set them apart.

Ursa: Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.

Zuko remembering his mother’s words when he is a refugee can be compared to Tyrion’s words to Jon when he is empathizing over the latter over them both being “bastards.”

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you."

I think we can say that Zuko’s mother’s words are part of where he gets that inner strength that he mentions above (”That’s made me who I am”), and Zuko’s love for his mother was something that was treated like a weakness. Both Tyrion and Zuko have to struggle with this concept of owning who you are and making your weakness your strength. And although Tyrion imparts this advice onto Jon, he struggles just as much as Zuko does with owning it.

Both characters also go through journeys that involve a great loss of privilege and being forced to experience life from the perspective of those who are most oppressed. Both characters use false identities while in exile, as fugitives from both their own families and people who hate their families. Both also are forced to adopt identities that they had previously disdained are forced to let go of their classism. But as I said in part one, the narrative here is not a straight line, and both characters experience at times growth in compassion and times where they take advantage of others. One example of this for Zuko is his interactions with Song, who invites him to eat with her family and empathizes with him over his burn scar, which forces Zuko to relate to someone who can relate to him on a similar level. Yet he also ends up stealing her ostritch horse. This is similar to Tyrion’s interaction with Penny, who he can relate to because she is also a dwarf, and who represents the first time he is confronted with someone who can truly empathize with his disability, but who he also sometimes treats with disdain and cruelty. Although it should be noted that in both cases these characters cannot totally relate to each other. Penny and Tyrion experience their dwarfism in different ways and while Penny lacks Tyrion's class privilege, she comes from a loving home where she was taught not to be ashamed of her body, and she tries to kiss Tyrion on the assumption that they have a connection because of their shared disability, but it doesn't work. Similarly, Song tries to force a connection with Zuko on the assumption that she understands him because of his scar, however she does not know the story of how Zuko got that scar and has the privilege of hiding her scars that Zuko does not because his scar is literally on his face.

Jin and Penny also have similarities as Jin is someone who is attracted to Zuko who he is kind to but ultimately rejects romantically because of his own insecurities and his preoccupation with his current goals, and Tyrion does the same with Penny.

Both characters meet people throughout their journeys who make assumptions about them based on their appearance. Both also experience hatred from people for the crimes of their families, even while they themselves are forced to go into hiding from their families.

Katara: You’re the Fire Lord’s son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood.

and Tyrion in ADWD:

"—I know who the dwarf is, and what he is." Her black eyes turned to Tyrion, hard as stone. "Kinslayer, kingslayer, murderer, turncloak. Lannister."

What I think is particularly interesting about these two scenes is that both of them are prisoners, at low points in their narrative, when this dialogue happens. And both are actually empathizing with the people who are responding to them with hatred. Zuko trying to connect with Katara through the loss of his mother, and Tyrion understanding what the Widow of the Waterfront actually wants to hear and being on his way to join Daenerys.

Both characters also experience their inner conflict through an anger at the world. This is shown in Zuko’s “lucky to be born” speech about himself vs his sister and in the episode “Bitter Work,” in which he seeks out his own lightning after Iroh refuses to use lightning against him.

Zuko: You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it, and now I can give it back! Come on, strike me! You've never held back before!

Tyrion also has moments where he rails against the world and at the gods because of the cruelty he’s faced in his life.

And when I die, please let them bury with me a crossbow, so I can thank the Father Above for his gifts the same way I thanked the father below. 

This is also a nice connection between the two scenes where both characters confront their fathers (discussed in more depth below), as Tyrion uses a crossbow on his father and Zuko is able to redirect his father’s lightning.

There's a lot of discussion in fandom about what makes a good redemption arc, and the thing is that I think most of these discussions overlook something that is key in both Zuko and Tyrion's narrative, and that is how hard it actually is to do the right thing when you're constantly told that everything you do is wrong, and how hard it is to distinguish between the things you need to apologize for and the things that aren't your responsibility or things you never should have been blamed for. And because they are traumatized characters - both with significant physical disfigurements - both Tyrion and Zuko have times when they assume that people are judging them for the wrong reasons.

Katara: It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.

Zuko: My face? I see.

Obviously there’s a lot of discussion of Zuko’s redemption arc and what makes it work and in contrast, Tyrion’s narrative isn’t finished, and is currently left in a pretty dark place, but one thing I love about both of these stories is the acknowledgement of how hard it is to trust other people when you’ve been hurt, and how hard it is to trust even your own perceptions and judgments. And to be honest, I think that much of discussion of Zuko’s heroism overlooks that because everything turned out alright in the end, even though I wouldn’t even say that he’s fully recovered from his trauma by the end of the story. Even when he’s fully become one of the “good guys” he has times when he’s angry, insecure, overly apologetic or self-righteous, and negatively impacts his relationships with others. The reason why this story works is not so much because of its ability to give the character redemption, but because of the acknowledgement that redemption, or recovery, is hard.

Both also have scenes where they remain loyal to their families but experience conflict with their family’s worldview after being exposed to the wider world and empathizing with others who have been hurt by their families.

It is high summer for House Lannister, so why am I so bloody cold?

And again, although these narratives are different because these points happen at different times in the narrative, both characters have instances where they are responsible in some way for an imprisoned character who they empathize with (Iroh for Zuko and Sansa for Tyrion) which causes them to question the rightness of their family.

Zuko: I have everything I always wanted, but it's not at all how I thought it would be.

And both have parts of their stories where they are welcomed back into the fold of their family only to be nearly killed. Tyrion in ACOK during his tenure as hand of the king in which he appears to be on top but is brutally reminded of how conditional the power and acceptance he has is when he loses it again after the Battle of the Blackwater and the slow ebbing away of agency he experiences throughout ASOS which ends in him being falsely imprisoned and nearly executed for regicide; Zuko early in his story when his sister almost successfully tricks him into walking into being imprisoned with the promise of going back home, and later when he is accepted back home but with the truth of Aang’s survival hanging over his head, and his confrontation with Ozai in which Ozai tries to kill him with lightning.

And of course any comparison of Tyrion and Zuko would be incomplete without comparing their respective scenes of facing down their fathers and primary abusers. These two scenes have different narrative impacts because of the ways they are different and because they appear at different times in the characters’ arcs, but they also have some striking similarities. Both Tyrion and Zuko confront their abusers in scenes that suggests that they’ve finally reached the breaking point where they are no longer able to overlook the intolerable situation they are in.

Both Ozai and Tywin use gaslighting to control their children and we see that a lot in Tyrion’s conversations with Tywin in which Tywin dismisses or belittles the things that Tyrion says even when Tyrion is right, and Ozai severely punishes Zuko for speaking out against him. Both Tyrion and Zuko have scenes of standing up to their fathers and speaking their minds.

Tyrion in ASOS to Tywin:

“Will you punish me if I refuse, father?”

Zuko to Ozai in “The Day of Black Sun, Pt 2″:

Zuko: I'm not taking orders from you anymore. I am going to speak my mind, and you are going to listen.

Tyrion in ASOS to Tywin:

“Perhaps I don't choose to go to the Wall, Father. It's bloody cold up there, and I believe I've had enough coldness from you. So just tell me something, and I'll be on my way. One simple question, you owe me that much."              

"I owe you nothing."

"You've given me less than that, all my life, but you'll give me this.”

Zuko in “The Day of Black Sun, Pt 2″ to Ozai:

Zuko: For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn. My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?

Ozai: It was to teach you respect!

Zuko: It was cruel! And it was wrong.

Ozai: Then you have learned nothing!

Zuko: No, I've learned everything! And I’ve had to learn it on my own.

Both characters also confront their abusers with their abuse of an important female character whose love and whose disappearance had a huge impact on their life. Tyrion asking Tywin what happened to Tysha can be seen as a parallel to Zuko’s final scene with Ozai where he demands to know where his mother is.

And just as this question is left open in the main series of ATLA (yes, I know about the comics, but I kind of like the ambiguity for thematic purposes), I don’t think Tyrion is ever going to find out what happened to Tysha.

One main difference in the two characters confronting their fathers is that Tyrion kills his father and Zuko doesn’t, and in addition to this being a result of a difference in tone and medium between the two stories, Zuko also is spared from having to make that choice because of his belief that it is Aang’s destiny to defeat Ozai. Tyrion suffers a mental breakdown after killing his father while Zuko is able to integrate himself successfully into a new social group (eventually). Tyrion starts to do this in ADWD but again, that story is not finished yet so it is hard to say how it will be resolved.

Both characters also frequently act like the victims of abuse that they are in their interpersonal relationships, and tend to expect that people will invalidate their feelings or be outright hostile to them. As I said above, this is also because of their experiences with people reacting to their physical differences, which both play a big role in their trauma.

Finally, both characters have a spiritual connection to dragons and this plays a big role in their journeys towards self-discovery.

Aang: All this time, I thought firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is ... it's energy, and life. 

Zuko and Aang discover the true meaning of fire from the firebending masters, the dragons themselves, legendary creatures who were thought to be dead. It’s also very thematically interesting that the dragons were thought to be wiped out by the Fire Nation, and Zuko, the prince of the Fire Nation, learns that fire doesn’t have to mean anger and pain, but that it also represents life and rebirth.

Dragons also have similar meaning for Tyrion, a meaning that increases the closer he gets to Daenerys and makes his way towards helping her cause of fighting for freedom and life. Tyrion and Dany’s connection to the dragons links them as marginalized characters and people for whom dragons represent fighting back against oppression.

“Even a stunted, twisted, ugly little boy can look down over the world when he's seated on a dragon's back."

And thus, in both narratives, we see fire representing the potential for destruction and the desire for power, and we see disempowered and marginalized characters who seek to obtain this power but also have potential to hurt others because of the ways they have been hurt, but then the narrative flips that meaning on its head, showing that it’s possible to recover from trauma, that a person doesn’t have to be defined by anger and pain. And ultimately, that’s what’s compelling about these sorts of characters, regardless of how our struggles are similar or different than the characters we watch or read about or whether we get to see them fail or succeed.

[goosewhisker]

russetfur vs. the entirety of skyclan || ch. 2

read this on ao3 || read this on fanfiction.net

chapter one

summary:  After enduring months of Turtlekit and Kitekit’s abuse, Rootkit finally snaps and accidentally awakens his powers. This has the unfortunate side effect of reviving the ghost of an angry Shadowclan warrior who: 1) is personally offended by Skyclan’s existence, and 2) has magnanimously taken it upon herself to relieve the world of that burden. Or something.

thanks for all the likes/reblogs/comments guys!! honestly i got way more support than i was expecting and i’m so grateful to all of you. now i bring you chapter two: In Which Rootkit Realizes He’s Over His Head

Rootkit starts with some research.

Once a long time ago, back when he'd been awed by his dad's abilities and not ashamed of them, Tree had told him and Needlekit how he pacified ghosts.

"First, of course, you have to talk to them," Tree'd told them.

"Like you always do!" Rootkit had chimed in. Even then, he'd known of his father's preference for talking over fighting.

Tree had purred. "Of course. Most ghosts don't want to fight; they just have unfinished business here. Talking first can save you a lot of time in getting to the root of the problem."

"What then?" Needlekit had asked.

"The ghost gives you a task. Usually, they want to right a wrong, or speak to their loved ones one last time. Something like that."

"Woah..."

"Once you complete the task, they'll be at peace. The ghost will be able to move on to the afterlife, or wherever they were supposed to go after they died."

In other words: figure out the unfinished business and finish it. Rootkit's already tried talking, with... not much success. Of course, that's hardly the only way of figuring out what a ghost's deal is; one of Tree's favorite stories had been about trying to help a mute she-cat whose throat had been torn out by dogs.

She'd wanted him to find her kittens and take them back to her owners, or something. Rootkit forgot.

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that there's more than one way to skin a cat (wait, no, bad expression) and Rootkit doesn't have to talk to the crazy lady to get her pacified.

So. Research.

Rootkit starts off with Petalnose. Old people, in Rootkit's experience, know all the local gossip, and Petalnose is the oldest of everyone Rootkit knows. Except Leafstar, maybe, but he's not about to bother Leafstar for something like this.

Especially if she's really having second thoughts about his warrior ceremony.

Petalnose, at least, seems to have no such doubts. Unlike most of the clan, she's never seemed bothered by Tree's weirdness, and never treated Rootkit differently because of it. He appreciates that.

"Rootkit!" Petalnose exclaims when he climbs into the elders den. She jabs a paw into Fallowfern's side, who abruptly wakes up with a snort. "Look who's here!" she adds, gesturing to Rootkit with her tail.

"Hi, Rootkit," Fallowfern says, a little too loudly. Petalnose flicks her tail gently in the way that Rootkit's learned means a little softer. Fallowfern's voice is a little quieter when she says, "What brings you here?"

Rootkit plops down in front of the elders and regards them seriously. "I'm here about a cat," he says. "She said..." he trails off as an idea creeps into his mind. "Frecklewish said," he begins slowly. "She said something about a cat named Russetfur. And I wanted to know if you knew something about that."

It's vague and sketchy as heck, but Petalnose hums thoughtfully. "The name sounds sort of familiar. I think Tawnypelt may have mentioned her, when she was still here. Do you-?" She turns to Fallowfern and makes a conplicated series of gestures with her paws, tail, and ears that leaves Rootkit breathless trying to keep up.

After a moment, Fallowfern's expression clears. "Russetfur?" Her voice is too loud again, but Petalnose doesn't seem to mind. "She was Shadowclan's deputy once. Tawnypelt told us about her, remember?"

"Right!" Petalnose nods and turns back to Rootkit with a smile. "It was a long time ago, I think, before Rowanclaw became leader. Does that answer your question, hun?"

Rootkit considers this. It answers some questions - why she thought the camp was Shadowclan's territory, for one. She must've died back when it was still Shadowclan's. And she thought he smelled like a rogue because she didn't know Skyclan's scent.

It doesn't explain what her unfinished business is, though. Or why she's here in Skyclan's camp instead of at her own. But Rootkit thinks he might know the answer to the last one.

"Do you know how she died?" he asks.

Petalnose blinks, thrown. "Ah... no. Why do you ask?"

Rootkit abruptly remembers that it's a pretty weird thing to ask, no matter who's asking the question, and suddenly all his enthusiasm evaporates. "No reason," he mumbles, and slinks out of the den before she can say anything else.

When he gets outside, Russetfur is sitting by the entrance.

Rootkit yelps, backpedalling frantically, but Russetfur ignores it. "What is this?" she demands. "Some make-believe clan?"

"A... what?"

The she-cat turns on him, eyes sparking with fury. "A bunch of kittypets, playing pretend? Some of your Twoleg-coddlers haven't even changed their names. Harrybrook? Macgyver?" she snorts. "What kind of pathetic housepet names are those?"

Rootkit blinks at her, stung. They might look at him weird, but those are his clanmates she's talking about, and she has no right to make fun of them like that. "Hey-" he begins, but she steamrolls right over him.

"And not only do you embarrass the Clans' names with your little roleplay, you have the nerve to do it on Shadowclan land!"

"But it's not-"

"When leafbare comes, and you mewling Twoleg-snoggers get a taste of real hardship for the first time, you'll go running right back to your masters," Russetfur snarls. "And leave the forest for the real warriors. This is the land of our conquest! We carved out a place for ourselves 'mid hardship and suffering and war and we painted our border lines with blood! You pathetic coddled pets aren't even worthy of the air we breathe, let alone-"

Rootkit screws his eyes shut and screams, at the top of his lungs, "We're not kittypets, you old hag!"

Perfect silence descends on them, and it's only then that Rootkit realizes he's standing in the middle of the camp. Everyone's conversations have stuttered to a halt to stare at him and Russetfur, and no one's looking at Russetfur.

Rootkit swallows and wonders if it's too late to run away forever.

"Then what the Dark Forest are you," Russetfur says, and he remembers whose fault this all is in the first place.

"We're Skyclan," he hisses, glancing furtively at the rest of the camp. Everyone's still staring. "We were one of the original clans, but we got kicked out when the Twolegs took our territory. We just got back to the lake, only you don't know 'cause you've been dead," he adds in a vicious whisper.

Russetfur stares at him.

"Even if your stupid story was true," she says after a beat, "Any clan too weak to protect its territory deserves to be kicked out," and Rootkit sees red.

A second later, he's sprawled in the dirt several tail-lengths away with a brand new bruise across the face. Great, now the whole of Skyclan's seen him get belted halfway across the camp by thin air. This will do wonders for his reputation.

"Don't you try to get one over me, boy," Russetfur shouts. "I've been kicking warriors' butts all the way back to the nursery since before you were born."

Yeah, 'cause you've been dead since before I was born, Rootkit thinks, but he's not dumb enough to point it out. He's about to struggle to his feet when a shadow steps between him and the ghost.

"What's all this about," Tree says, a hint of something dangerous in his voice.

Russetfur, to her credit, doesn't seem cowed at all. She spits on the ground between them and raises her head to glare directly into his eyes. "Teaching that fool boy a lesson."

"That 'fool boy' happens to be my son," Tree says, and then, with an unnervingly pleasant tone, he adds, "Lay another paw on him and I'll rip it off."

A clump of dried bracken rolls by in the wake of Tree's announcement, and for a moment, no one moves.

Then Russetfur blurs. When the outlines of her shape resettle, she's poised with claws outstretched over Tree's vulnerable, unguarded throat. Rootkit wonders hysterically why she bothered to stop when she starts laughing. Unlike her earlier cold laughter, this seemed genuinely amused.

"Interesting," she says, and the mirth in her voice sends shivers down Rootkit's spine. Then he realizes that Tree's claws are suspended over her belly, at precisely the angle needed to rip out her intestines with one move. "At least one of you has something like a spine." Faster than Rootkit can follow, she smacks Tree aside with one paw, sending him hurtling to the ground next to Rootkit.

"Dad!" Rootkit wails, scurrying over to him, but Tree flings out a paw to stop him.

"What do you want, ghost?" he calls out. His voice is unruffled and perfectly steady despite his fall.

"I want you gone," Russetfur says. "I want you and the rest of this kittypet clan to go crawling back to your masters with your tails between your legs. And I won't rest until I see it happen."

Tree rises and shakes the dust from his pelt. His eyes are half-lidded, like he truly doesn't care. "I suppose we're at an impasse, then. This camp is Skyclan's home; Shadowclan gave it to us themselves."

Russetfur snorts. "Blackstar would sooner hang himself by his own intestines than hand over any land to kittypets like you."

... right, whoever that is. Rootkit watches Tree blink in confusion. Russetfur doesn't seem to notice.

"This is my declaration of war," she announces. It's snarled like a challenge, thrown down like a glove on the ground between them. "Me versus the whole of Kittypetclan. Your chances are looking dim, housepet."

Tree visibly sighs. "Ma'am, no one wants that," he says. "If you'd listen, perhaps we could come to a reasonable agreement that everyone's happy with."

"The only agreement I'll be happy with is you and your lot of Twoleg toys dead!" Russetfur lunges at his dad, but even as Tree braces himself for the attack, the ghost dissipates into thin air that blows past him like wind.

Rootkit, who's close enough to feel it, shudders as the ice-cold air claws at his skin.

Tree blinks and relaxes his muscles belatedly. There's a moment of silence before someone asks, "Uh, was there a ghost?"

Rootkit starts and turns to the crowd, having almost forgotten they were there.

"In the camp?" Reedclaw frets. "Is that safe?"

"Hey, wait." Pigeonfoot cranes her head to get a glimpse of Rootkit. Rootkit realizes what's coming even before she says it, and his heart sinks. "Rootkit was talking to it before you even got here. Does that mean he can see ghosts too?"

Rootkit freezes.

And then Tree steps in front of him, shielding him from their audience. "It's not uncommon for kits to able to see ghosts," he says evenly. "Kits tend to have greater sensitivity to the spiritual and can sense a lot of things adults can't. It'll probably disappear as he grows older. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my son to the nursery."

Rootkit stares at his dad and, to his horror, feels tears of gratitude welling up in the corner of his eyes. "Dad," he begins, but Tree just shushes him and picks him up by the scruff of his neck in a way he hasn't done since Rootkit was a couple moons old. Rootkit lets himself be carried back to the nursery and when his dad drops him in a nest and curls around him, he doesn't protest.

Needlekit crawls over from the nest they'd shared earlier. "What happened out there," she asks in a small voice, and Rootkit finds that his throat is too choked to answer her.

His dad purrs comfortingly and a moment later Rootkit feels Tree's tongue rasp gently over his head. "We'll get her out of here," he says. "And no one will be hurt. I promise."

[eligos-venator]

42: How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?

“I was only a few weeks from graduation, and a few months at most from becoming a part of Garlemald’s war machine when I no longer could take the pressure put upon me and had my.. moment.” His usual slight frown grew deeper as he closed his eyes, his arms crossing over his chest, but with each hand cupping the bicep of the opposite arm as if he were holding himself. “I wasn’t in a good place back then, mentally. The pressures of succeeding while knowing the odds stacked against me, paired with the knowledge I’d never reach my goal due to my blood, they ended up being enough for me to break as I had thrown away everything in order to meet the expectations set upon me. Looking back, I could have easily obtained the title of Lux in short order, given the need for specialists of my caliber in the darker sciences my home now pursues. Even the title of Mal as a Praefectus Architectorum would have been possible, had I stuck to it and had enough success. But back then, it wasn’t so obvious that they’d be diving into these sciences as wholeheartedly as it may seem today. Rather, the late Emperor Varis seemed rather.. opposed to certain research that fell within my purview, and as such a future in the field seemed far more limited. Times have changed, though, so I wonder now what my future would have been had I been able to hold it together just long enough to see my efforts bear fruit.”

“To answer the second part, I wholeheartedly support self-education where it is required, but do not encourage people to give up formal education in order to teach themselves. I myself supplemented what I learned in the Academy with knowledge gleaned from disassembling various magitek constructs and scraps I found out in the field or when on jobs, and poured my resources into learning what I could of the field to further my knowledge. Was I successful? Undoubtedly. But you can only learn so much on your own, as you have only a single field of view. It requires multiple other views by different individuals in order to get a clear picture, and that’s what formal education provides. Had I not had my prior training in the Academy, I likely would have struggled to grasp concepts I consider simple and basic today. It was by the professors helping me realize I needed to tackle certain problems from a different angle that I found how to best solve problems, and how to critically think and analyze situations beyond what’s presented right before me. And that is a skill no person can truly master by themselves, as it requires conflicting points of view.”

[Thank you for the ask @maiden-born-in-snow!]

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

Battle #25

Reatards: Grown Up, Fucked Up ( Side B )

Vs.

The Jam: All Mod Cons ( Side 2 )

Reatards: Grown Up, Fucked Up ( Side B )

The Reatards were an American garage punk band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1995. Originally a one-man project by guitarist Jay Reatard, the group's sound was marked by raw, stripped-down instrumentals and lo-fi recording quality. After distributing privately pressed cassettes and EPs, the band released their debut album Teenage Hate in 1998. It was followed by this album, Grown Up, Fucked Up a year later. By that time, the group only sporadically performed as Reatard began exploring other endeavors, but in 2005 he reformed the band for their third and final studio album. Much of the Reatards' discography remains a subject of interest, leading to reissues of their work years later. Jay unabashedly credits The Oblivians as a source of inspiration for their style of crude, distorted, lo-fi garage sound. Reatard was so enamoured with the Oblivians' music, he sent their guitarist Eric Friedl some of his home recordings hon which he did everything...guitar, vocals and drumming on a bucket. How’s THAT for DIY!?). It was impressing enough to Friedl to arrange a record deal on his independent label, Goner Records. Relatively short lived as they were, though, The Reatards put out some raw, high energy, REAL MUSIC. You can hear it in the chaos. Just as quickly as the6 formed, Jay went on to other things. Unfortunately he unexpectedly died in 2010. It seems he had died of "cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death. Sad because after he s time with a The Reatards, he went on to do quite a few things and become a pretty prolific musician in his own right. But this, this is his humble (?) beginnings. Keep in mind practically no song is over about 2 minutes. Every bit of it intense and from the perspective of a fresh faced teenager. First song Side B is “Tonight I’ll Come”. It’s tha5 fast nasty lo-fi you love. Born in the garage and surprisingly channeled and clear, consideration given t the aforementioned recording techniques. The next jab, “Get Outta Our Way”, is decidedly more rock ‘n’ roll than punk. “Who Are You” is another quick fix while “All the Walls Are Closing in” sees a desperation and violent undertones take hold. DT shakes level intensity. “Miss You” is pretty Stooges in nature...just raw power (#seewhatididthere). “Eat Your Heart Out” follows and you can really hear the young essence in Jay’s voice here. It’s a banger that lingers though. This kid did his homework. “I Want Sex” is of course on the mind of any teenage boy but it’s a cover not an original. Meh. I like the originals better. They don’t need to do covers and the6 certainly had the material!! “I’m Gonna Break Down” is very indicative of what this music sounds like. It could break down at any moment. Now, we’ve reached the bonus tracks and an obviously different recording session. That’s the only drawback of this style. You can almost never recapture the EXACT SOUND from any previous sessions because it’s so so happenstance. “Your So Lewd” (note, it IS misspelled ) and “She Will Always Be With Me” have a nasty, distorted vibe while the final cut “Busy Signal” has more garage slop grace and goodness. It’s quick licks with sick fits. His vocals are so young and raw. Recalling Teengenerate and The Motards or X-Ray Specs. 11 songs PER SIDE!! That’s a whole album or set list for most bands! This may be a new RRW RECORD (#seewhatididthere). R. I. P. Jay.

The Jam: All Mod Cons ( Side 2 )

The Jam have been RRW contenders before and went quite far. They were an English mod revival/punk rock band during the 1970s and early 1980s, which formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, in the county of Surrey. They get lumped in with punk a lot but really blur the line between power pop and punk with blues riffs thrown in for good measure. They also drew off the energy of bands like The Who and The Kinks for that mod sound. At the helm was Paul Weller, the heartbeat of The Jam. He went on to form The Style Council and later had a successful solo career, of which he still enjoys. Weller wrote and sang most of the Jam's original compositions, and brought that distinct snotty, throaty, often gruff, and decidedly British sounding vocals. A great example is his pronunciation of the word flowers as flars. Though they shared an "angry young men" outlook, short hair, crushing volume and lightning-fast tempos, the Jam wore neatly tailored suits where others wore ripped clothes, played professionally where others were defiantly amateurish, and displayed clear 1960s rock influences. The Jam had political lyrics, condemning police brutality ("In the City") and expansionist development ("Bricks And Mortar"). Even condemning the monarchy, pre Sex Pistols. By only about 6 months though. All Mod Cons in specific was after the initial success and had put some pressure on the band to maintain. They released a few singles first which appear on the album but the album only came after positive reactions to the singles. “Billy Hunt” has something unique in the pronunciations. I love the way his name is said “Billy, Billy, Biiiiilll-eeeee”.

“It’s too Bad” has a lovely wandering bass line that has a warm, relaxing, inviting personality. Too bad it’s so short. “Fly” contains soft and slow acoustic introductions. It builds, like a baby bird learning to flap its wings until the point of flight. I suppose that’s the point. Some good, rockin’ guitar picking and slick riffs show up in “The Place I Love”. But this side really kicks in on the next two tunes. “ 'A' Bomb in Wardour Street" was a Weller original. And one of their hardest and most intense songs, as well as the aforementioned singles. Weller cursed the violent thugs that plagued the punk rock scene over a taut two-chord figure. It became their most successful release since ”All Around The World”. The cowbell is surprisingly catchy and is one of the more rocking tunes, and of course there is a bomb exploding at the end so literal truth in advertising. “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” was the second single and helped The Jam really regain their former critical acclaim. The song was a dramatic account of being mugged by thugs who "smelled of pubs and Wormwood Scrubs and too many right-wing meetings". Rich and textured bass really drives the whole thing. Good harmonies with thundering drums. A train interrupts the tune so as to give it a realistic feeling. Like the Clash but cleaner and snappier dressers.

Today it was The Reatards who were grown up, but fucked up in the process. They burned 107 calories over 17 minutes and 11 songs. That is 9.73 calories per song and 6.29 calories burned per minute. The Reatards earned 26 out of 33 possible stars. The Jam put out the call for all Mod Cons. They took 20 minutes to burn 128 calories over 6 songs. They averaged 21.33 calories burned per song and 6.40 calories per minute. The Jam earned 14 out of 18 possible stars. Today it appears The Jam are RRW winners!

The Jam: “ ‘A’ Bomb in Wardour Street” (live, baby!)

https://youtu.be/9T9bqQh-gFI

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonseven

#Randomrecordworkout

[afinepricklypear]

Compare and Contrast: K Project vs. Bungou Stray Dogs - Part 2

Read Part 1

Story

In general, K Project does a lot better job of maintaining a consistent and focused story, especially in Seasons 1 and 2 than BSD, with almost no filler content.  There aren’t nearly as many open plot threads or divergences from the main story, and everyone introduced has a very cohesive purpose to the plot. This may largely be due to the fact that K was originally envisioned as a complete story, with the movie Return of Kings and season 2’s Missing Kings and other added materials being, somewhat, after thoughts consequently ordered due to the popularity of the show. Season 2 does offer a very decisive end to the tale, with the destruction of the Dresden Slate, mysterious source of all supernatural power. On the other hand, BSD is an ongoing serialized manga with no set beginning or ending that we, as the audience, are aware.  BSD’s author, Asagiri Kafka, isn’t telling a self-contained story with a determined beginning, middle, and end, so often times characters and plot devices are introduced which may not have bearing on the current arc of the story, they hint at things to come. This might be frustrating for viewers that aren’t interested in long-term serialized works, which does have the tendency to fall victim to filler episodes in attempt to make a certain quota or make up for any lulls in the story.

That being said, BSD, thus far, does a lot better with world.

In K, the concepts of Clans and Kings, the Dresden Slate, and the Swords of Damocles are never fully fleshed out satisfactorily, to the point that aspects of it feel completely illogical, convoluted, and conveniently there merely to move the plot forward. Fantasy stories are generally under no obligation to provide explanations for where magic abilities come from, K makes an attempt with the Dresden Slate, but overreaches with an established protocol of Kings and Clans in regards to these powers with no explanation for where or why these rules manifested or why anyone feels obligated to follow them. For example, the Red King Mikoto is not shown to care too much for being a King, or even wanting obligations to his Clan, yet he maintains it and his Clansmen show loyalty to it, and there’s no explanation beyond “well that’s just the way the Dresden Slate works”.  That would be fine, if this wasn’t established as the expectation of anyone who is “awoken” as a King. In that same vein, a lot isn’t really clarified in terms of what really happens to Clansmen when their King dies (Clansmen are shown to still maintain powers granted from their former King but that’s just speculation from viewers, and doesn’t make sense if there powers stem from their Kings) and what is meant to happen when a new King takes their place (though we do see Clansmen turn on the new Blue King, in regards to Munakata taking over Jin Hibari’s role, or choosing to continue following the new Red King, as we see in HOMRA with Anne taking Mikoto’s place). Worse, these rules are just universally known in a world that isn’t supposed to know about these Clans and Kings, leaving no one to explain these rules to newly awakened Kings although these rules are shown to be universally known and accepted by them. More questions than answers are raised.

In BSD, people being born with or manifesting abilities is shown to just be a facet of this world. It’s just one of the physical laws, much like how the sky is blue, grass is green, some people can conjure demons that kill you. This is just the world they live in, and in that sense, the people in this world are the ones that determine the rules that govern these abilities without expectation. This treats us to various different ideas and philosophies for how ability users should apply their abilities or how the users themselves should be managed. The government attempts to regulate ability users, through licensure for organizations that wish to operate as ability user specific. This provided a cool storyline where we see Port Mafia obtain its license to operate as an ability user organization during the Dark Era, through nefarious plotting on leader, Mori’s part, which also highlighted that the Port Mafia is a criminal organization because prior to obtaining this license they were operating without one. We also see the Armed Detective Agency undergo a plot to take their license away, and since they are the morally upright group, in their minds, losing their license means they will cease to exist. This places explanation firmly on the goals of their given society, something that is relatable and understandable for readers, and shifts it away from the realm of unexplainable and increasingly convoluted magic.

On the flipside of that, however, K does a much better job of balancing powers. Which brings me Nakahara Chuuya.

I’ll throw this disclaimer in here, Chuuya is my favorite character. I fell in love at first sight. Unfortunately, he gets little to no screen time, I could count on one hand his number of appearances throughout the first two seasons. He gets three episodes at the start of Season 3 that explores his history with Dazai, and I feel I’m in no way biased (**cough, cough** 100% biased) saying these are the best three episodes of the season. Then we see him maybe in two more episodes until he gets trapped in a book for the rest of the season, leaving me screaming furiously at the screen. Manga chapters that go beyond where the anime left off are not filling me with much hope for more Chuuya in Season 4. Seriously, I don’t recommend loving this character, you’ll only get your heart broken.

The problem with Chuuya that becomes rampant throughout BSD in other characters, is that he’s a side character for a rival organization and he is super OP. Since the creator seems adamantly against making him a more main character (either as antagonist or protagonist…hell, majority of his appearances have been to literally save the day for the heroes), not to mention the lack of anyone in our heroes’ corner that could reasonably take him on (even Dazai is outmatched despite his nullifying ability, because Chuuya also happens to be Port Mafia’s best martial artist) the only recourse is to leave him conveniently absent from majority of the story. Which, okay, this can mostly be explained away that he’s an Executive in Port Mafia and probably has a lot to deal with in terms of making sure their operations continue to move smoothly, but it leads to ludicrous scenarios such as the end of the Guild Arc when a whale sized airship is being dropped on Yokohama by the Guild. We’re told this ship will wipe out a large portion of the city. At this point, the Detective Agency and Port Mafia are on semi-good terms in order to stand against their common enemy, the Guild. You would think, large object being dropped on the city, Port Mafia has a powerful gravity manipulator on staff...one phone call to Dr. Mori, “Hey...do you mind sending Chuuya to take care of that whale bomb....or are you just cool with the city being flattened?” All Chuuya needs to do is parachute down, once he touches the ship, he could tear the whole thing apart and fling its pieces to every side of the ocean. They call it a day in thirty seconds, tops, back home for dinner. Yet, for some odd reason, the course of action that the Armed Detective Agency decides on is to send rookie agent tiger boy to infiltrate the ship and fight his way to a possible transponder they can use to reverse the ship’s course, despite having little experience, and no specialized abilities for the task, let’s not get started on the ridiculousness of that transponder anyways. This decision is based largely on the fact he once was held prisoner on the ship and so…should know his way around? I get that they supposedly don’t want to owe Port Mafia, but this kind of seemed like an odd time to play loose and fast with the city’s safety. The point is, Chuuya is powerful, which makes his lack of presence during crucial moments pretty heavy handed.

That being said, however, this OP situation, is a problem throughout with other characters as well. There’s no balance of powers, and characters are shown to do things that don’t fall within the realm of their abilities, may never have previously been display or given proper explanation prior to introduction, and sometimes comes across as just thrown in last minute as a plot device. A few examples, able to transform into a tiger also, somehow allows Atsushi to heal at a rapid level and regrow limbs. Forget about the implications that he’s got some “special” light attached to his ability, as well. In a recent chapter of the manga, we see a newly introduced character, one of the Hunting Dogs, slap a bullet out of the air and stop a large projectile with her bare hands. Her ability, however, is age manipulation so there’s no given reason why she should’ve been able to do those things. While it is mentioned that the Hunting Dogs are also genetically engineered, she did this to save another Hunting Dog who is duly is surprised by her actions and expresses that he could not have done the same. I’m baffled. This is to say nothing of the multiple time characters without regenerative or durable abilities are stabbed, blown up, and impaled, only to walk it off like it’s nothing. The Agency healer, Yosano, has an ability called Thou Shalt Not Die, she can heal someone but only when they’re on the brink of death, so her ability is essentially that trope in action films where the bomb is always disarmed with one second to spare. Let’s not even talk about the new revelation that Dazai can control his heart beats to the point he can use it for passing secret code. It becomes plot armor so thick that it entirely erases the stakes for our characters. They’re all treated as practically immortal, able to overcome anything thrown at them, I’m not even worried anymore when a character takes a lance through the heart, I know he’s walking it off in the next scene.

K is a lot more balanced with its abilities. None of the characters, outside of the Kings, feel so overpowered that they are impossible to stop and they’re not shown to be capable of things outside of their given abilities or established, and might I say reasonable, skillsets.  Even the Kings have their peers in the other Kings. Sure, Clansmen can dodge bullets, but if they’re hit by one it hurts and, notably in the case of Totsuka, it can kill. No one is getting impaled multiple times then walking it off. Mikoto is run through with a blade once, and as it should be, he dies. Not only does this maintain the stakes for our characters – they are at the end of the day mortal, and they can get hurt, they can be beaten, they can die – it also gives us a more complicated, and darker story with characters that we can relate to on an emotional level.

Read Part 3

[readerficsbyhyaku]

Blank Slate (Kazumichi Irie x Reader - Soulmate AU) Part 3

author’s note

This chapter is a bit longer than i expected, i kinda messed up my own chronology of the events but i hope it’s still okay. I really want to get to writing the next chapter too !

Today’s affair was about a man named Tsuchiya Kojo, who apparently committed suicide by jumping from his hotel room. He was there for therapy, since the wealthier part of the population preferred luxurious hotels to regular treatment centers. This time around, you weren’t with the team on-site, but you were in constant communication with them, as they investigated the room and saw the broken television, the locked doors and finally, the window that had been snapped off. You got to hear how Inspector Shindo identified there were some sorts of guards in front of the door, preventing Tsuchiya from getting out, from the footprints in the plush carpeting of the hallway. It wasn’t hard to guess that the deceased might not have been there of his own will, but rather detained.

You were in line with Kisaragi, who methodically said what clues they had found and what they were doing. The scenario got a bit erratic when Shindo almost jumped out of the hingeless window, barely caught by Ignatov. You felt that the Enforcer you were talking with did not understand fully the methods of the new Inspectors, but that she had decided to accept them. She was a stern, not very talkative individual, that had put very clear boundaries between her personal and professional life, not like Todoroki or Kazumichi. That did not mean the latter had no secrets, but Kisaragi had put up walls, and they were extremely tangible. It gave her an unreachable aura, which was why you had a bit of trouble keeping the conversation up with her, reminding her you were still listening to her by humming or saying “okay”.

When they were done at the hotel, you were asked to do a quick personality check on the gubernatorial candidates, Komiya Karina and “Herakles”. In the meantime, the Inspectors split up and went to interview the two potential suspects. While they were getting to their respective rendez-vous, you briefed the team about Komiya and Yakushiji.

Yakushiji Kosuke was an ex-fighter, partaking in human vs machine matches that were approved by Sybil. His motto was “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, and that was because he was genetically engineered to be a perfect athlete. Using eugenics, Yakushiji was supposed to have a set of perfect genes, thus making his Psycho-Pass clear.

Looking at the man, you also could conclude that he was the closest thing to a dumb but strong boy. He was a puppet, a front for his party to then do what they wanted, he was just there to sell a dream. “Therefore” you mused “I think his secretary or assistant will be the one to possess all the info, and they should be protective”. Considering the man’s past as an official fighter, you evocated the possibility of him having a strong sense of honor and responsibility as well as outwards enthusiasm, considering how well his Psycho-Pass fared. People that don’t worry for themselves are able to care for others.

Komiya, on the other hand, was the one holding the reins. She was a façade, but she also had a mind of her own. During the interview, there were chances that she wouldn’t hand over any info and that it would be her assistant that could possibly let something slip, but most likely because of body language. Komiya Karina was an idol, so she had mastered holding her attitude under pressure. It would be useless to try and pry information forcefully from her.

Shindo and Ignatov thanked you for your input and ended the call.

The interviews went pretty much as expected. You couldn’t go wrong with analyzing simple personality patterns like that, politicians were archetypes after all. It was just an issue of finding who they were, and who were they with. Looking at somebody’s entourage could tell you a good deal about that person, and professional contacts were no exceptions, especially when it was your assistant that you had to meet with on a day-to-day basis.

As the Inspectors and Enforcers came back to their offices, you received a message from Shion telling you there was a welcoming party for Shindo and Ignatov, held in the Enforcer’s lounge area. You tensed up a bit, the place holding some painful memories for you, but told the analyst you were coming for a few drinks anyways.

So much for not getting attached…

You had a bit of time before the party, so you decided to clean your room a bit, and take a shower. Since you had been working from your room, it was a bit messy and you were still in pajamas. Oops. The perks and downsides of working from home, you joked internally.

The hot water eased some of the tension accumulated by your definitely bad posture, and you felt refreshed and energized as you exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam. You dressed up in an oversized, soft knitted shirt, corduroy shorts, thighs, and fluffy cream-colored boots you never wore because they weren’t formal enough and you feared ruining them. Feeling decently pretty for an afterwork meeting, you turned off the lights to your flat and exited to the hall.

The lounge area was on the same floor as yours, since it was an Enforcer-only area. You had yet to meet any of your colleagues there, though… Probably because you spent most of your time inside, you were something of an hermit. As the door slid open in front of you, you could see that everybody was already there and chatting. Even Hinakawa looked like he was having a good time, once he got past his crippling shyness. You took a seat on the leather couch and poured yourself a drink, focusing on the tiny bubbles inside your glass. Taking a sip, you noticed Todoroki was looking a bit dejected next to you. He still had that grumpiness about him, but there was a tinge of sadness to his posture expression too. You didn’t know how to tackle the subject though, but you had an idea of how to get past his hardboiled shell.

“So, how did it go with Yakushiji ? Was he nice ?” you asked him with a smile. He looked back at you and sighed, nothing but fatigue gracing his features.

“I don’t like all this political stuff. The guy is being manipulated and his assistant held onto information like a vice” he grumbled.

“Yes but what about Herakles ? I’ve heard he was supposed to be a perfect athlete or something”

You felt Todoroki tense up a bit.

“Aren’t you supposed to already know what he’s like ? You were the one to brief us about him”

Ah, aggression. You were expecting it though.

“Yeah, but I could be wrong too. May I ask again : what is your opinion about him ?”

You were intent of peeling all the layers the gruff old man had, until he showed his true nature. You waited patiently for him to answer, taking another sip from your glass.

“I guess he was nice” he finally conceded “I think he felt something about what happened during the interview and wanted to cheer me up or whatnot…” his voice got lower on the last part.

“Outwards empathy, told ya !” you nudged him with a grin, and felt the older man loosen up a bit more.

“But what happened then ? Did somebody hit you ?” you asked again, ridding your voice of any mischief so that he understood you were listening to him.

There, you felt his shell about to crack as he rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his thinning grey-white hair. He stared at his almost empty glass, and without looking up he finally opened up.

“You must have heard of the Todoroki family; they try to breed “perfect” people by gene-editing”. You listened attentively, encouraging him silently to continue.

“My brother and father were there, they must have been affiliated to the eugenics campaign Yakushiji is leading. They resent me for not having perfect genes and they consider me a shame to their family”

You winced at the self-inflicted exclusion Todoroki voiced there. You were right about him hiding his pain and bitterness under a cynical and detached front.

“They reacted as I expected when they saw me, but Yakushiji encouraged me to love myself and other nonsense”

When he said that, you understood that Temma was, in some way, still the child accused by his parents and the rejection they inflicted him still hurt him deeply. The unconditional support Yakushiji had thrown at him had startled him, and he didn’t know how to process it other than retracting into his usual grumpy self. Considering his family’s objective, he was surely blamed solely for existing, and still carried that weight around.

“You should listen to him, Temma” you said while smiling, using his first name as a way to distinguish him from the ones that hurt him, the Todoroki. “You know, there is a saying that we aren’t born human but that we become human. That’s because the key to our evolution is learning and adapting. Our brains change at every stage of our life, and therefore our identities do too.”

He was looking at you, a little puzzled.

“That means it’s not too late to become someone you’re proud of. For yourself, I mean, not for anybody else.”

In the end, the only one person you have to bear with the most is yourself, so better make it agreeable.

Temma smiled, and even though his stare was still sad and thoughtful, you knew it had lifted some weight off his shoulders just talking about it with someone. Someone that listened to him and thought about his interests, not theirs.

It was getting a bit late, so you bid him goodbye and rose to your feet, only to stumble and wobble quite pitifully. Kazumichi, who had just lost his game of billiard, helped you restore your balance and asked

“You okay ? Do you want me to accompany you back to your room ?”

Fuck.

“It’s okay” you smiled while trying to repress your resounding heartbeats “It’s not far away and I just drank two glasses or something”

But as you took another step towards the stairs, the room started to sway and you almost fell to the ground.

“Yeah sure, now I’m definitely coming with you” he chuckled, lending you an arm so that you could rest on it.

Fuck fuck fuck.

The trip back to your room was pretty uneventful, you hadn’t lied when you told him it wasn’t too long a way back there. You didn’t know if you were getting hot because of the alcohol, or because Kazumichi was so close to you. You could hear your heart in your ears, and you wished he couldn’t feel your trembling hands. Or maybe he thought it was because you were intoxicated, and you were okay with that.

“So, isn’t it hard for you to be treated like a latent criminal? Even though your Crime Coefficient can’t be measured ?”

The guy hadn’t heard about tact it seemed. Luckily for him, you were in a good mood and a rather compliant person, so you obliged.

“Latent criminals haven’t done any crime either, so it would be unfair for everybody. But it’s not hard, no.”

You had reached your door and you wobbled to it, unclasping your hand from Kazumichi’s arm and then turned to face him again.

“I have no memories of what life is outside of here, so I don’t have any reference of how it is to be free.”

You felt his sadness wash over you.

“But really, I’m treated well, I can access anything I want or need, and Shion is pretty cool” you grinned.

“Thank you for accompanying me back to-“

You spinned on your heels and were about to open your door when you tripped – again. The sliding doors identified you and opened as you were falling, promising a painful reception on the back of your head. You braced for the impact when you felt a sharp tug on your shoulder. You opened your eyes and realized that Kazumichi had caught your hand in his, preventing you from smashing your skull on the hard floor of your doorway.

At the contact, you felt a jolt of electricity, heat rushed through your arm and nestled right under your heart, in your ribs, right where your soulmark was. His hand felt large and warm on yours, and your mind suddenly flashed with suggestions of them roaming your body, embracing you tightly. The idea of him was dizzying, and you struggled to keep your grasp on reality.

Blushing profusely, you apologized to him as he pulled you back up. You were making a fool of yourself but he didn’t seem to mind, or maybe notice.

Cocking his head to the side, he flashed you a dazzling grin and you couldn’t help but notice the tips of his ears were red.

“Be careful, okay ?”

“Yeah, thank you… I’m sorry, I really must’ve drunk too much” you joked lightly while passing the threshold of your flat and hearing the doors slide shut behind you.

When you were finally alone in your obscured entranceway, you fell to your knees and hid your reddening face in your hands.

“HE KNOWS”

[i-am-made-of-memoriies]

The Will of Fire (Part one)

Summary: Sarada is the firstborn of the renewed Uchiha clan. Sure, she is different from the Uchiha who preceded her, but by how much? This story follows Sarada’s life and the trials and tribulations she goes through. (Two shot)

A/N: I really like this one, not gonna lie. Sarada is a great character, it sucks how Boruto really did her dirty. Oh, this is formatted in the same way as “How the Winters Change”. Check that out if you like badass Uchiha women!

Sarada’s first memory was of her father. She remembered seeing Sasuke’s onyx eyes looking at her with pride as she spun around in her burgundy dress, emblazoned with the Uchiha symbol. Sasuke had just gifted her an entire new wardrobe for her birthday with the Uchiwa on each article of clothing. As for the rest of the day, Sarada didn’t remember it as well; it hardly mattered anyway. What mattered was that her father was proud of her, and Sarada would never forget that.

------------------------------ 

The rosy hues of morning filled Sarada’s bedroom, bathing her bed in a soft light. She opened her eyes and smiled with anticipation since today was her first day of the academy.

Stepping off her bed, she put her red glasses on and moved towards her wardrobe, knowing exactly what she would wear.

You should look formal but not overdressed. Sarada remembered her mother’s words, picking out her white shirt, orange vest, yellow cardigan, and red skirt. After dressing, she observed herself in the mirror, ultimately approving of the look.

“Sarada!” Sakura called from downstairs, “Breakfast’s ready. You don’t want to be late for your first day!”

“Coming Mama!” She replied, skipping out of her room and to the kitchen. A warm plate of eggs, toast, and fruit sat waiting for Sarada at the table.

“I can’t believe my girl has gotten so grown up.” Sakura sighed, squeezing her only daughter, “Eat up sweetie. You want to be well fed so that you can show everyone how great the Uchihas are!”

“Mama,” Sarada started, “if you’re an Uchiha, why aren’t grandma and grandpa? You said that papa’s parents were.”

“I wasn’t born an Uchiha. You see, once I married your papa, I became an Uchiha.”

“Oh, okay mama!” Sarada exclaimed after a moment of thought, “I’m going to go to the Academy now!”

“Have an amazing day.”

“Of course!”

---------------------------------------

Sarada wasn’t surprised when everyone seemed to know who she was. As Mama had often told her, Uchihas are very well known for their strength and intelligence. I have no doubt that you’ll live up to that reputation. Yet again, heeding her mother’s wisdom, Sarada opened the textbook she had just been assigned and began to read it.

“Four-eyes!” A voice called from behind her, breaking her concentration, “You don’t even know what we’re supposed to read. On top of that, studying is boring, why don’t you have some fun?”

Sarada rolled her eyes and turned, ready to snap at whoever had interrupted her reading. Upon turning around, she realized that the obnoxious kid was Boruto. Her family friend and the son of the Hokage.

“Leave me alone Boruto.” She sighed, turning back to the reading.

“Geez Sarada, you’re no fun.” The Uzumaki grumbled before sliding into a seat beside Shikadai.

The door of the classroom slid open as their new sensei walked in. He wore a green jacket and had something that slightly resembled electronic goggles on his face.

“Hello class.” He said, setting his books onto the teacher’s desk, “My name is Shino Aburame, but you can just call me Shino-sensei. That is because I will be teaching you until you graduate. Why don’t we go around the room and introduce ourselves.”

     Each of the new Genin gave their name and something they liked to do. Once it was Sarada’s turn, she sat up straighter and adjusted her glasses.

      “My name is Sarada Uchiha. I like to train and read.” She announced proudly, making sure everyone heard her speak.

Shino nodded and moved around the class, quickly jotting down each individual answer.

“I am pleased.” He stated, “That is because you seem like an interesting class.”

------------------------------------

Sarada grinned and cracked her knuckles. It was the academy student’s first spar. Previously, the matches had been strictly boys vs boys and girls vs girls, but the rules had been changed to encourage the girls to be stronger. Sarada loved the new rule, since most of the girls were far below her level in taijutsu, leaving only the boys as suitable taijutsu opponents.

“The matches will be picked at random.” Shino announced, “That is because I want everyone to test their skill and not just challenge their friends. The first match will be…” he reached into the straw basket he was carrying, “Wasabi and Denki.”

Sarada recognized Denki as he was the son of the Kaminarimon company owner. The boy looked frankly terrified when he walked into the ring, his knobbly knees shaking in fright. Wasabi, on the other hand, cracked her knuckles confidently and strutted into the ring. Sarada didn’t know much about Wasabi other than her affinity for cats, so she made a note to pay extra attention to her fighting style.

Wasabi bounced lightly on her toes, waiting for the match to begin. The smile on her face suggested that she was confident in her abilities, or perhaps that she was confident in Denki’s lack thereof. Sarada deemed the latter rather messed up, but also highly probable.

“Hajime!” Shino started the match, leaping out of the ring.

Wasabi decided to take full advantage of Denki’s cowardice and rushed straight in. With an impressive burst of speed, she leapt behind the boy and knocked him clean off his feet. Denki fell unceremoniously to the ground, but still pushed himself up, placing his fists in front of his face for protection. Wasabi gave Denki an uncomfortable (and rather pitying) look before she knocked him to the ground again. Ever persistent, Denki clambered to his feet again, his eyes scrunched shut, anticipating the next blow.

“Let’s call that a match.” Shino interrupted, appearing in between the two, “Wasabi is the winner.”

“Next match…” Sarada prayed for her to be matched with Boruto so that she could beat some sense into him, “Sarada vs Boruto.”

Sarada smiled as her prayers were answered and she stepped into the ring.

“I’m totally gonna win four-eyes!” Boruto announced, raising his fist for emphasis, “I’m gonna kick your ass-ttebasa!”

“You wish baka-Boruto.” Sarada sighed, “You’ll understand how wrong you were after this match is over.”

Sarada breathed deeply, running strategies in her head. She had seen Boruto train before with his father and alone; his style was reckless and he never planned out his moves beforehand. It was his greatest weakness and his greatest strength. Sarada decided that she should fight unpredictability with unpredictability and threw out her previous well-crafted plan.

“Hajime!”

Sarada knew that Boruto would expect for her to test the waters before going straight into the fight since he didn’t know that she had been observing him. Sarada decided to throw him off and start off with a bang.

“Shannaro!” She exclaimed as she shattered the ground with one chakra infused punch.

Boruto’s eyes widened with shock and horror as he was thrown off-balance. Sarada seized the opportunity and pinned him to the ground, holding her fist over his face.

“Told you you’d be wrong dobe.” She teased, accenting the last word.

“The winner of this match is Sarada.” Shino announced, quickly jotting something down on his clipboard.

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Sarada walked home fuming. She had just lost a match to Boruto and she couldn’t be more angry. It was all because she hadn’t activated her sharingan yet! When she had voiced her complaints to her mother, Sakura had assured her that most Uchiha’s acquired their sharingan after the academy, but Sarada didn’t stand for it. She didn’t want to be average. If she was average, she’d never be able to totally cream Boruto.

She threw the door of her house open, adding in a little chakra for effect and stormed up to her room.

“Sarada sweetie, what’s wrong?” Sakura asked worriedly, hurrying up the stairs, not even bothering to take her doctor’s coat off.

Sarada slammed her door shut and pulled the old Uchiha scrolls her ever-absent father had apparently left for her. It was in that moment in which she realized what she needed.

“Nothing’s wrong!” She exclaimed, “Not with me at least! What’s wrong is the fact that my father, the only person who can teach me real Uchiha techniques hasn’t been in by life for years! In fact, I don’t even remember what it felt like when he held me! I have no memories of him! Who knows, the pictures of papa could be some random Uchiha man for all I know!”

“Sarada!” Sakura exclaimed, breaking the door off its hinges. She took one look at the ruined door, grimaced, and walked into Sarada’s room. “Your father is off protecting us right now. When he gets back, I’m sure he’ll teach you everything you need to know.” Sakura was careful to not say ‘everything he knows’ since she was more that positive that Sasuke would want to keep many secrets from his daughter.

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After much confusion and about a gallon of tears, Sarada finally got to see her papa home again. Now that she knew that Sakura was truly her mother and that Sasuke was a sweet and considerate father, Sarada could be at rest.

“Sakura-anata,” Sasuke called from the living room, “would you like me to make dinner?”

Sasuke got no response.

Sarada grinned happily at the sight of her father calling her mother’s name with such gentle sweetness. “No papa, I think mama’s still at work.” She slid onto the couch next to her father and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Hn.” Sasuke replied with his typical monosyllabic grunt, “Do you want to train?”

Sarada was suddenly giddy with excitement. She had never expected to get to train with her father without suggesting it first. The fact that Sasuke wanted to train with her practically forced her sharingan to activate. “I’d love to!” She exclaimed, leaping off the couch, “I’ll get in my training gear and be down in a few minutes.”

Sasuke grunted in approval again, walking towards the bookshelf to grab a few training scrolls.

Sarada opened her newly-replaced bedroom door with glee and skipped to her dresser. She grabbed her favorite red tunic, cream shorts, and the arm and leg warmers that had been a gift from Hinata.

After dressing at a record speed, she grabbed her kunai and shuriken pouch and sprinted downstairs. Her father was waiting patiently for her at the door, his katana fastened around his hip.

“Let’s go.”

Sarada embraced the clarity of vision she got from her sharingan as she dodged another barrage of kunai. Pivoting gracefully on her heel, she performed her signature shuriken jutsu and aimed the sharp weapons at her father’s supposed position. She grinned when she heard the sharp sound of metal against metal, meaning that Sasuke had finally been forced to draw his katana. Riding on that sudden burst of confidence, she confronted him, aiming a chakra infused punch. Sasuke leaped gracefully out of the way, but Sarada didn’t drop her fist. Instead, she struck the ground right where Sasuke was about to land, causing cracks to spread outwards. As Sarada expected, Sasuke did not lose his balance like Boruto often did; he leaped outside the damaged area with well practiced ease and aimed a kick at Sarada. Still smiling, she ducked under her father’s muscular leg and flipped backwards. Sasuke re-sheathed his katana and gave Sarada a kind smile.

“I am impressed.” He stated, “You use your sharingan well, despite its undeveloped form.”

Sarada’s smile only increased. “Thank you papa!” She replied, wiping sweat off her brow, “I bet mama’s waiting for us.”

“Hn.”

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Sarada smiled exasperatedly at her teammates. Boruto had gotten into trouble yet again, and Mitsuki had done nothing to stop him. Sure, Sarada was a bit miffed that they had jeopardized their mission, but the look of horror on the escort’s face when she realized Boruto had deeply insulted her father was priceless.

“Our apologies ma’am.” Sarada bowed in front of the woman, trying desperately to stifle laughter, “My teammate did not understand what he was doing. You see, he’s a little…” Sarada leaned closer to the woman, “slow.”

“Sarada!” Boruto whined, “I heard that!”

“It’s okay, you can ignore him.” Sarada assured the client, “Though he may not be intellectually strong, I can assure you that you are in good hands when it comes to protection.”

“He better be top notch!” The woman exclaimed, “I paid good money for this and I would rather not be killed.”

Sarada tried not to yell ‘bullshit’ as the client blew the simple escort mission out of proportion. They were only protecting her from measly robbers and a couple vindictive princesses who were jealous of her wealth.

“You will definitely not be killed.” She said with certainty, “We will make absolutely sure of it.”

She could walk all by herself and not get anything but a good frighten from some of the wild animals. Much less be brutally murdered. Sarada thought.

“Mitsuki,” she started, “Let’s set up camp.”

“I’ll collect the fire wood.” He replied, “Why don’t you catch some dinner?”

“I’m on it. I’ll have Boruto watch the ‘princess’.” She placed irritated emphasis on the last word, shooting a disdainful look at the aforementioned subject.

“Boruto!” She called, scanning the area for a yellow mop of hair.

“What, Sarada-teme?” A voice replied from behind Sarada.

“I need you to watch the client baka-Boruto.”

“Why can’t you do it?” He whined.

“Because I need to catch dinner and my aim and stealth is far better than yours.” She turned dramatically on her heel and marched into the forest, reaching for her kunai.

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Sarada was practically sprinting home after her mission. When they had delivered the report, Naruto-sama had told Sarada that her parents had to tell her something important.

Sarada was mixed with feelings of anticipation, excitement, and lingering traces of dread.

What if what mama and papa have to tell me is bad? She thought worriedly, leaping from roof to roof. Maybe grandma passed away. Or grandpa? Or maybe it’s something good. Maybe papa’s going to stay here for real. Or maybe mama got a raise? No, she’s already head of the hospital. Her mind was rushing with hypothetical situations and the ways she’d deal with them, but she somehow managed to completely ignore one possibility. Maybe because she was overestimating her parent’s age, or she didn’t think papa wanted to stay for that period of time, but she somehow didn’t think she’d be getting a little sibling.

“Really?!” Sarada exclaimed, not fully processing the full implications of what her mother had just told her.

“Yes.” Sasuke replied confidently, “I will also be staying in Konoha for at least three years now.”

Sarada received another influx of mixed emotions. Sure she was overjoyed that her father was going to stay at home for at least three years, but she still felt a twang of anger and jealousy when she realized that her father was going to actually see her sibling’s childhood when he wasn’t around for her’s.

“Aren’t you excited?” Sakura asked, frowning at Sarada’s detached expression.

“Yeah.” She said half-heartedly, “I’m going to go out and train.”

“But you just got…” Sarada had already left the house before Sakura could say ‘home’.

“What’s up with her?” Sakura asked Sasuke, leaning on his shoulder.

Sasuke wrapped his single arm affectionately around his wife, “It must be a teen thing.”

“Or maybe it’s just the Uchiha moodiness. I was hoping it wasn’t hereditary.” Sakura mock sighed, making her way over to the couch.

“Hn.” Sasuke replied, sitting down next to his wife.

“Now you’re being detached and moody!” Sakura pouted, sticking her bottom lip out, “Am I being too annoying?”

“You know what could make you less annoying?” Sasuke asked suggestively, “If you don’t know, we can talk about it tonight.”

Sakura blushed slightly and gave Sasuke a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love you Sasuke-kun.” She whispered, “I think I’ll take you up on that offer about tonight. Now, I need to make some dinner.”

“Hn.”

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Sarada half stomped to the training grounds, still battling with her emotions. She wanted what was best for her younger sibling, of course she did! But she couldn’t push aside the feelings of jealousy that plagued her mind. She needed someone to talk to. Her mind went first to her teammates. She could speak to Boruto; no, he’d be far too immature and annoying. Mitsuki was also out of the question, as Sarada doubted that he even had an emotional range. She needed to speak to an adult, one that knew how to approach children. Auntie Ino! Her mind lit up as she made her way to the Yamanaka complex.

Her fist hit the door twice before it was quickly opened by a tall, blonde woman.

“Sarada-chan!” Ino exclaimed enthusiastically, “I haven’t seen you for ages, please come in!”

Ino ushered Sarada to the kitchen where she placed a pot of tea and some snacks in front of Sarada.

“If you were hoping to speak to Inojin, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.” She said, sitting across from Sarada.

“Oh, I was hoping to speak to you.” She replied, grabbing a stick of tri-colored dango.

“Perfect! About what? Are there any boys you like?” Ino sipped her tea and straightened her long blonde ponytail.

“No, no, it’s not about boys.” Sarada took a deep breath. “It’s just, I’m going to have a little sibling-”

“Oh yes!” Ino interrupted, “I’ve heard!” She took one look at Sarada’s conflicted face and changed her attitude, “Now you don’t seem all that excited about that. Want to talk about it?”

Sarada nodded, swallowing her dango. “I’m happy that I’ll have a sibling, and I want what’s best for them. It’s just, my papa will be staying and paying so much more attention to him than they did with me. And I know that sounds really selfish, I just struggled for such a long time to get papa to notice and love me, I feel that it’s-it’s not fair.”

“Oh sweetie, your papa always loved you.” Ino said kindly, “Though you may not remember it, he would carry you around with him everywhere before he left for the village. You probably know that Sasuke isn’t particularly simley, but whenever he’d look at you, he’d grin. And it scared us all at first, because we’d never really seen him smile, and we were worried that he’d kill someone or something-oh I’m going off on a tangent! Anyway, I know it may seem like Sasuke loves your sibling more, but I assure you that he was just as happy when you were born. Though I wasn’t there while Sakura was pregnant the first time, I can assure you that you were really loved!”

“Thank you auntie Ino.” Sarada said sincerely, “I know he loved me, but why did he have to leave? Everyone tells me that he had a very important mission to go on, but no mission should be so important that you have to lose contact with your family for ten years!”

“I don’t know if I’m that one to tell you that.” Ino replied apologetically, “I’m sure Sasuke would want to tell you that for himself.”

“That’s what everyone says!” Sarada exclaimed indignantly, “No one tells me, and when I ask my papa he poked me in the forehead and says ‘maybe next time’.”

Ino stifled a laugh, “Here’s one thing I can tell you.” Sarada perked up, “I’m sure you’ve heard of your uncle Itachi.” Sarada nodded, “See, he used to poke your father in the forehead the same way. If fact, right before he died, that’s what he did. It’s your papa’s way of showing deep affection.”

Sarada smiled to herself, “How do you know that auntie Ino?”

“See, right before he left the village about thirteen, fourteen years ago, he poked your mama on the head and promised to take her next time. He did. As for how I know that Itachi did that before he died, Sakura told me.”

“Thank you auntie Ino.” Sarada hugged the kunoichi and began to walk home.

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“Sarada, you can go see your brother now!” Shizune announced, ushering Sarada into Sakura’s room.

“Sarada, this is Kohei.” Sakura said cradling the baby boy.

Sarada grinned and walked towards her new brother. Sakura let her hold the little bundle and Sarada held him close to her chest.

“Hello Kohei.” She whispered, gazing affectionately at the newborn. “My name is Sarada, and I’m your big sister. I promise to always protect you. No matter what.”

The baby stirred in his blankets, and grabbed onto Sarada’s index finger. Sarada grinned even wider and rocked the baby gently.

Sasuke smiled lightly to himself while holding Sakura’s hand gently. He took in the beautiful image of his two beloved children together and memorized the moment with his sharingan.

“He has pink hair Sasuke.” Sakura muttered chuckling, “You said that the Uchiha genes were dominant, but look at him with his pink hair and green eyes. He’s a mini me.”

“I suppose there are always exceptions.”

Part 2