#but my brother didn’t and I was just summarizing stuff

[thegreateggbandit]

*Me trying to convince my brother to watch ROTTMNT*

Me: So Leo gets a portal sword, Mikey gets this fire ball-on-chain-thingy,

Brother: Uh huh, makes sense I guess.

Me: Donnie keeps his tech-bo and Raph gets—

Brother: Therapy?

Me: … *ten minutes laughing hard*

Me: heheh nope!

[chosotallgf]

UNEXPECTED TURN - CHOSO KAMO [chapter 1]

SUMMARIZE.. y/n never bothered getting to know choso after the shibuya incident happened and he became an ally to jujutsu high but what happens when he decides to try and get to know her on a personal level and they start getting put on mission together

TAGS.. choso x fem!reader, shibuya incident arc spoilers!!, post shibuya incident au, character dearth mentioned, slow burn, smut, angst, reader is a sorcerer, oral sex, masturbation + more

A/N.. hi this is my first fanfic ever also I posted it on A03 under the same username. keep in mind I’m a beginner at writing lol. like & rebolgs are appreciated | DONT NOT REUPLOAD :D

………………………………………………………………………………….

you and choso where out having lunch discussing your plans for an upcoming mission later that day. It’s been half a year since the shibuya incident, even after the many deaths that took place that night you ended up finding yourself making a new connection later down the line

choso become an ally for jujutsu high short after the incident, first it started off with you two getting place together to go on small missions together outside of Tokyo. When you first heard of the idea of you and choso being partner up you weren’t a big fan of it, everyone seem to connect well off of first interaction and start to enjoy choso company especially after finding out that he is yuji half brother but you? barely even talk/avoided him outside of missions.

“what are you thinking about”? choso asked as he saw your blank expression as you two were waiting on the food to come out “Huh? oh.. just that how much I hate working with you that’s all” you softly smirk at him. you love teasing choso so often that become y’all daily thing to do to each other. One day after you and choso got back from a mission you were about to head out of jujutsu high until you heard fast steps catching up to you.

“hey.. um y/n you have a moment?” choso asked awkward while scratching the back of his head. you then turn around and sign “yeah what is it?” choso honestly wasn’t sure how he should approach you, when y’all get sent on mission its just strictly about the mission no personal stuff about each other lives, nothing.

he kinda took the hint that you didn’t want to conversation about anything outside of that 3 weeks after the incident when you both were on the train headed to koyto and he asked how long you been a sorcery at jujutsu high and you responded with “why do you care just let’s just do our jobs, the faster the better”

every since then choso didn’t dare to bring up anything after that until the day he generally was curious and had enough of this ‘only talk during and about the mission thing’ he wasn’t a pushy person but he can bet there has to be more to you than this nonchalant mask you are pulling because of the story’s yuji told him when he himself first started out and you and gojo teach him. he had to know why you were so casual with everyone but not him

“Sorry to bother you y/n, don’t take this the wrong way but did I genuinely do something to offend you? every since I came to jujutsu high and going on mission I feel like you been bothered by my presence of that makes any sense” your response could go south either way choso though he didn’t know if you would just curse him out or just turn around and keep ignoring him like you been. “Are you that much of new puppy that you need everyone attention and become friends?”

“hey wait a min don’t go yet” as you turned your head a little bit choso could see your eyes get glossy. “Let me go pls” you barley spoke. A single tear fell down your face. “I’m sorry if it’s becaus-“ choso was about to finish his sentence until gojo loudly interrupted them.

“Heyy choso how have you been? Oh y/n you there too? did you file the last mission yet I haven’t seen it yet if you did” gojo said when he got a glimpse of your hair behind choso back as he was walking up to y’all. as soon as you heard gojo voice you quickly pull your wrist back from choso and he let go.

you then quickly rush off campus and into your car. “Hey come back” choso shouted. You thought how embarrassing that was,now you wouldn’t even dare show your face in front of choso now after he seen you in that state. “I guess she really doesn’t like doing reports after all” gojo said confused.

part 2 coming soon… don’t forget to like & reblog :)

[soapieanxiety]

Historical Iceland: Part 2 - Electric Boogaloo

So we don’t have as many manga panels as we did for Iceland's early childhood, so I’m going to rely more on my historical knowledge and knowledge of Iceland's character to do some of the analysis in this part.

So we left off at around the 1100s, and Norway still hasn’t met Iceland yet. That’s going to change pretty quickly though, as we’re going to have to talk about the Age of the Sturlungs (it has a lot of names, such as the Sturlungen period, but no matter what name you call it, the content remains the same). The entire period can be summarized as a period of Icelandic history rifled with violence that ended with Iceland becoming Norwegian territory.

The King of Norway had originally wanted Iceland to be under its direct rule and encouraged the violence between the Icelanders. That’s basically how the whole thing started; I’m really simplifying it like I haven’t even mentioned Snorri Sturluson. He was the catalyst for the violence in Iceland, and it gets complicated from there. But the point is that the path for Iceland to meet Norway was not a pretty one.

If you want a full-blown ramble about just this era of Icelandic history, let me know. I’ll do it, but I’m trying to keep it short because there’s a lot to cover for this part.

Now during this time, I cannot imagine Iceland is having a good time. This happened after a particularly peaceful era of Icelandic history, and I don’t think Iceland had seen violence to this level yet in his life. Now I’m going to say that he officially met Norway once Iceland became Norwegian territory at the end of the violence. However, if you think he should’ve met Norway before that, then I can see where you are coming from.

I can’t imagine how Iceland felt when Norway entered his life. The immediate emotions I think he’s feeling are relief and anger. Relief to finally meet his brother, but angry that it took this long. Especially after all the violence to get to this point. However, I do think relief and love for Norway won in terms of how a younger Iceland feels about Norway. Norway 100% loved Iceland from day 1, and when he finally got to hold him, Bro was not putting him down. I can’t see Mr. Puffin liking Norway though; that bird holds grudges, and he was probably mad at Norway for leaving Iceland alone for so long.

So for a while, it was just Norway and Iceland. I imagine the two bonded during this time; Iceland clung to the first person who was a representation like him, and Norway was trying to make up for not being there. There was stuff that happened between this era and the one I’m going to talk about next. But like guys, I’m supposed to make it to the 1920s without writing a novel. If you want a more in-depth analysis of this period of Iceland's life, just let me know.

Ah yes, we’re about to talk about every historical Nordic fan's angsty dreams, the Kalmar Union. The Union between all the Nordic countries crashed and burned. It’s definitely what fueled a lot of Sweden and Denmark’s rivalry, but I’m not here to talk about that. The Kalmar Union was different compared to everything else Iceland had encountered in life. He officially met Denmark, who would be one of the most influential people in his life. Right behind Norway, in my opinion.

However, the Kalmar Union can be described with one word. Disastrous. I imagine Norway shielded Iceland from most of the chaos of the Kalmar Union. Meaning Iceland didn’t get to know the rest of the Nordics. He was mainly with Norway. I do believe he met Sweden at around this time; however, I don’t think he knew Finland yet. I have my reasons for that, and I’ll share them later. My point is, that Iceland was heavily shielded from what was happening during the Kalmar Union. Norway was extremely protective of Iceland during that time.

When the Kalmar Union ended, it then became just Norway, Iceland, and Denmark.

With the Kalmar Union ending in 1523, I imagine things chilled out for Iceland (for a bit). Things went back to semi-normal as Norway continued to baby him, but Denmark was becoming a bigger figure in Iceland's life. While I don’t think Iceland grew particularly close with Denmark in this period, preferring to stay with Norway. The impact of Denmark’s presence was still present.

(Look, it’s my moots, pfp.) Iceland went from being completely alone to having to deal with the rest of Europe. Iceland was able to start trading with the rest of Europe and was starting to get more connected with the continent. Some violent conflicts were happening in Iceland because of the reformation, which gave him a spook and reminded him of the Sturlungs Era. I can see him being freaked out about that. However, I think the biggest event of his life in this period was absolutely the Turkish abductions.

I’ve talked a bit about the Turkish abductions before and how I view the event and its impact on Iceland's character. But I’m still rambling a lot about it here.

Bottom line, this was a particularly traumatic event in Iceland's life. He’s never left Northern Europe at this point, and now he and a bunch of his people have been forcefully taken away to the Middle East. He doesn’t know the language, doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him and his people, and he doesn’t know if Norway and Denmark know what happened. He’s terrified, and I don’t blame him.

Luckily enough, Turkey found him and recognized him as a representation. He took him in and took care of him and made sure he’d find his way home. I imagine Turkey’s presence in this traumatic event is why we see that Iceland respects Turkey today. What happened to Iceland was incredibly traumatic, and his bond with Turkey was the best thing he got out of that entire experience.

I believe that Iceland was with Turkey for 9 years. That’s how long it took for most of the Icelanders to go back to Iceland. The money paid to get the Icelanders back had to be sent three times because the first two people delivering it would spend it before they got to the Ottoman Empire. Another ransom was paid 9 years after the initial ransom was paid off to get more Icelanders back. But I don’t think Iceland was there for 18 years. With how chaotic it was to get the Icelanders back, I imagine Iceland was experiencing so many emotions. Terrified of the situation. Grateful that Turkey was taking care of him. Angry that the ransom money to get him back was being spent on goods instead of helping his people. Incredibly homesick at being in an unfamiliar environment.

When Iceland got sent back home, he was clinging to Norway a lot. He didn’t want to be left alone so he could be taken again. Norway happily obliged and was extremely grateful to get him back. Denmark was happy to have him back as well, but mainly because it made Norway happy. Denmark and Iceland weren’t that close yet. Iceland spent most of his time with Norway.

Before we talk about a major event in Iceland's life, I want to briefly explain why I believe Iceland was extremely shielded from the rest of the Nordics by Norway. Yes, he knew Sweden and Denmark were a part of his life. But Norway was very protective of his younger brother, especially after the abductions. Iceland didn’t go out to meet new people often and was closed off.

Finland didn’t meet Iceland until the 18th century, and I think that’s a great testament to how closed off Iceland was during this period of his life. Norway’s overprotective nature added to this as well.

We reach another incredibly traumatic part of Iceland's life; he’s got a lot of those. Sweden took Norway and Iceland was left with Denmark. Iceland was extremely angry at the situation. Norway was the person he was closest to in life. Norway was his big brother, the one who saved him from extreme loneliness, and now he’s gone. He’s gone, and there’s nothing Iceland can do about it.

Iceland was just overall angry at everyone. Angry at Denmark for losing Norway. Angry at Sweden for taking Norway. Angry at Norway for leaving.

The only thing Denmark had of Norway was Iceland. Denmark then became overbearing and protective of Iceland, even though they weren’t that close. Iceland, who was extremely upset at the loss of his brother, didn’t appreciate Denmark’s behavior. Their relationship was pretty rocky during this time. Especially with Iceland’s fight for independence coming up.

Iceland and Denmark did get close though. They only had each other, and Denmark wanted to keep Iceland close and Iceland was desiring independence. They grew to care for each other. Enough so that Denmark would later claim that he practically raised Iceland. I think this is because, during his time with Denmark, Iceland started aging pretty quickly. I believe he was around 9 years old physically when Norway left, but by the time Iceland was made a sovereign state in a personal union with Denmark (1918), he was 14–15 years old. (I’m going off the canon that Iceland is physically 16-17 modern day; I prefer 17.)

While Denmark was reluctant to let him go, especially after he grew to really care for Iceland. He eventually matured and realized it would be best for Iceland to have more freedoms. Eventually, Iceland will gain independence but that’s for part 3.

There it is! That’s part 2. Thank you so much for reading. The next part will go over Iceland's independence, WW2, his relationships with the other Nordics, and modern day. This one took a while to write. I did a lot of research to make this as accurate as possible, and I glazed over some things. I wanted to be as in-depth as possible but also keep it as short as possible. (I didn’t want to make 4 parts.) Despite my friends arguing I’d make 20 parts if I could. (They’re right 😔)

Link to part 3

[jahayla-parker]

Her Faithful Protector: Conrad Fisher x Reader

Part 3

Descr.: Part 3, 3.8k wc, see series link below for full description. This part's theme: Conrad learns who it is and starts to act

Warnings: see series link below for warnings.

Her Faithful Protector Series Navigation

Conrad had y/n positioned before him, her butt resting on the bathroom counter. He held one hand on her waist to keep her steady as he rummaged through the drawers for stuff to help.

To be honest, y/n wasn’t needing any physical care. But, she knew it made Conrad feel better to be able to physically do something to help her. So, she stayed quiet and cooperative as she watched him pull out an excessive amount of first-aid supplies.

“How long have you been covering this?” Conrad asked, pausing as he looked up at y/n.

“These bruises? Or in general?” Y/n asked shyly.

Conrad’s lips curled downwards slightly, “both”.

“Ummm… these are about three days old.. but,” y/n admitted. She naturally hesitated to continue, but at this point there wasn’t any point in lying to Conrad. “H-he.. he’s been doing this for awhile” y/n confessed.

Conrad set down the first-aid box and walked back to her. He slowly moved towards her, grabbing her hand, “how long?”

Y/n could see Conrad was wanting a more precise timeline for the abuse. But she didn’t want him to feel even worse knowing how long it had been taking place. After all, it began before she even knew the Fishers. All y/n could do was sigh.

Conrad noticed her hesitation, “Y/n. Tell me. Please”.

Y/n reluctantly stared into Conrad’s eyes. She’d kept this secret for years, it felt odd to tell anyone the truth. “I’m not that clumsy. That was just what I was taught to say” y/n stated cautiously.

“Meaning… since…” Conrad dragged out, his soft eyes flashing with pain.

“Yeah,…since I was little” y/n acknowledged, sighing loudly. Was she doing the right thing? Maybe she should’ve just refused to answer him.

Conrad closed his eyes and grinded his teeth. While she hadn’t said exactly who was behind her abuse, Conrad had a suspect based on the clues he’d noticed. “It’s your father, isn’t it?” he asked, his eyes opening to search hers.

Y/n nodded silently, uncertain what more there was to say.

Conrad huffed and shook his head. His top lip was sucked in as he took a shaky breath. “I should’ve known” he verbally scolded himself .

“Con,” y/n whimpered, feeling horrible was blaming himself.

Conrad clenched his jaw, his teeth scratching each other. “No, I… my father…” he began but stopped. Conrad knew y/n was aware that his father had a temper and had not been one to avoid punishments; until Susannah became aware of it and stopped it. Y/n had been there one summer night when Conrad’s dad had smacked Conrad after he and Jeremiah were caught messing around in his office space. “Well, you know-“ Conrad summarized.

Y/n sighed and nodded, squeezing Conrad’s hand.

“But- he’s- my father has never done anything like this” Conrad said, eyeing her bruised torso. He shook his head again, “but, I should’ve seen the signs”.

“I was trained to hide it, Conrad” y/n told him.

Conrad sighed and pursed his lips, “does your mom know?”

Y/n nodded, unable to hold eye contact. She knew Conrad had been somewhat close to her mom. Lots of people were, y/n’s mom had a way of presenting herself as a very caring person. She knew this information would act as another blow to Conrad.

“And she’s done nothing?” Conrad asked, his hand tightly gripping the towel in his hand.

Y/n shook her head, “she says they’re divorced so he’s not her problem”. She sighed, “plus, he treats my brother fine, so she says I must by lying”.

Conrad shook his head and his jaw twitched slightly from the constant tension. “So…You've been trying to deal with this by yourself?” he asked quietly.

Y/n nodded, forcing a laugh as she tried to break the tension. “And clearly I’m not doing well at it” she joked halfheartedly.

Conrad’s shoulders slumped, “no, don’t do that. This isn’t on you. We’re going to get you through this, okay?”

Y/n nodded shyly, her guilt, shame, and doubt clear in her eyes.

Conrad tilted her sad head upwards and he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Now…Tell me darling, does it hurt?” he asked softly.

“Right now?” Y/n mumbled.

Conrad nodded.

“No,” y/n answered effortlessly. Upon seeing Conrad’s doubt over her quick response, she gave him a small smile. “I promise Connie” y/n said.

Conrad hummed quietly. “Okay” he accepted. “We should tell my mom” was the only suggestion Conrad could think of. He needed Susannah’s help with this.

“No! Con-“ y/n began to protest.

“Yn, she-“ Conrad argued just as quickly.

Y/n firmly shook her head, “my father warned it would be worse if I told anyone”. Her lip trembled slightly as she stared into Conrad’s eyes, “please, I.. I shouldn’t have even told you. He-“. Y/n sniffled and took a deep breath, “you were the only person I thought I could trust. I know it took awhile to tell you, and well, you more found out than me saying it, but still. Please Connie”.

Conrad sighed, not knowing what to do. He’d never found himself in this situation before nor had he ever experienced someone else going through what y/n was. “Okay, for now, but stay here tonight, okay?” Conrad asked pleadingly. “I’ll take the couch, just please let me know you’re safe” he explained, “I can’t send you home like this knowing no one there will protect you”.

Y/n gave her boyfriend a smile as she tugged his arm to bring him closer. “He isn’t here Connie. He’s been in and out all summer but-“ she assured him.

“Okay. Please still stay tonight? I need to know you’re okay” Conrad interrupted. He cupped y/n’s face in his hands as he forced a small smile, “tomorrow if he’s not over, it can go back to normal, with you staying wherever you want that night. At least until we figure this out”.

Susannah immediately sensed something was off with her eldest as she entered the kitchen the next morning. Conrad was making breakfast, likely for him and y/n, but she could tell his posture was stiff. His mom also noticed the troubled look in Conrad’s eyes as he bit into his bottom lip.

“Connie, what’s troubling you?” Susannah greeted, walking over to her boy.

“Nothing mom, morning” Conrad said casually, not looking up from the stove.

“Conrad Fisher, I know my boys, what is it?” His mom pressed.

Conrad sighed, “I can’t say. But I just…”. He paused as he thought of how to word his question appropriately. “How do I know if I’m doing the right thing?” Conrad questioned vaguely.

His mom hummed, “does it feel like you’re doing the right thing?”

“Yes and no” Conrad admitted, stirring the eggs. “I think there’s a better option, but I just don’t know what it is” he sighed, “or rather, how to achieve it”.

“Sometimes the right thing isn’t the easiest to do. In fact, it rarely is” Susannah told him.

Conrad nodded but as he began to respond, his younger brother, Jeremiah, bounced into the room. He saw Steven following in after Jere.

“Hey Con, you and y/n joining us for the bonfire tonight?” Steven asked plopping a grape into his mouth.

“What bonfire?” Y/n asked, entering the room and yawning. She shyly made her way over to the stove and kissed Con’s cheek, making the other boys groan with disgust.

Susannah hushed their dramatic responses and smiled softly at y/n.

“Tyler’s, it’s at 7. You should come!” Jere encouraged.

“I don’t see why not” Y/n agreed looking over at Con as she sat at the counter next to him, the way she’d always done since she was little.

Conrad smiled softly and nodded in agreement as he finished their eggs.

“Sweet! Jere was worried you’d be having family time” Steven stated, trying to use his fingers to grab some of the eggs Conrad made.

Conrad slapped his hand away and glared lightheartedly at his friend.

Y/n laughed, “since when do I do that?”

“Since your dad’s in town,” Jeremiah argued, shrugging. “Figured split custody and all applied to summer too” he explained, checking the fridge for food.

Conrad’s body tensed as he turned slightly, glancing back at y/n over his shoulder.

“He’s in town?” Y/n whispered quietly, unlocking her phone. She had yet to check it since Conrad found her bruises the night before. They’d went to bed early, watching a movie and cuddling until y/n fell asleep in Conrad’s protective arms.

“Yeah, we saw him with y/b/n this morning,” Jere told her, pulling out a pitcher of juice.

Y/n hummed in slight frustration. “Well no, no family time” she decided as she locked her phone. Y/n set the device back down on the counter, easing the tight grip she had on it. She was sure she was expected to have the family time Jeremiah referenced upon seeing the confirmation of her father being here from her mom and brother’s messages in their group chat.

“And, for the record, they have split custody of y/b/n,” y/n pointed out. “Since I’m almost eighteen, they let me choose” she explained, glancing slyly over at Conrad.

“Oh!” Jeremiah responded, clearly intrigued in the topic. It was understandable given what his parents had been through. “So, you chose not to see your dad?” Jeremiah questioned carelessly.

“Enough Jeremiah” Conrad hissed.

“Of course you’d support it” Jeremiah sasses, his frustration with Conrad’s treatment towards their dad resurfacing.

“Jeremiah” Susannah scolded, “stop”.

“It’s not that simple,” y/n butted in, trying to redirect the conversation for Conrad’s sake. “It’s not that I don’t see him. I wasn’t given that much freedom. I just get to limit it more than a split custody arrangement would entail” she explained.

“Y/n, you don’t have to explain yourself, dear” Susannah soothed. “Jeremiah, apologize” she added, eyeing her youngest boy.

“Sorry” Jeremiah mumbled. He hated being in trouble with Susannah. That much was clear in his sad eyes and pouting lips.

Conrad glared at his brother as he sat down. He quietly set the plate of breakfast before Y/n.

Y/n thanked Conrad and began nibbling on the food from her plate.

Conrad rubbed her back. He crooked his head and whispered, “I’m sorry”.

Y/n shook her head and smiled softly at Conrad. “I get that it’s hard to support when one doesn’t know the full story” she acknowledged.

“Suz is right” Steven admitted, “it’s not our business, right Jere?”

Jeremiah nodded, “yeah, right, sorry Y/n”. At that, everyone was ready to move on. Well, everyone but Jeremiah. “But ummmm… you may want to know…” he trailed off nervously as Conrad glared at him.

Jeremiah just silently nodded his head, in the direction of the doorway; behind Conrad and Y/n.

Y/n tensed before even looking when she heard the familiar sound of her father’s boots scrape the floor as he entered the kitchen.

Conrad immediately dropped his fork, the metal clanging loudly against the plate. He stood up firmly, now standing in front of his seat, rather than sitting in it. His eyes focused on y/f/n as he walked around the kitchen table to stand across from y/n.

“There’s my girl,” y/n’s father grinned innocently.

Conrad glared at y/f/n as they both moved nearer to her. Clearly due to very different reasons.

“Conrad, it’s good to see you again” her father nodded. He was assuming Conrad’s behavior to be an awkward greeting rather than a protective measure. But, y/n’s father’s eyes flashed with confusion when the boy only glowered at him.

“What’s going on?” Y/n asked her father, trying to dissipate the tension before Conrad did something to make him mad.

Y/n’s father shifted slightly so he could see around Conrad’s protective stance. “Your mother said you’d accompany me and y/b/n to the baseball game tonight” he said, his eyes focused on y/n. “I figured we’d head out now to get-“ her father continued when y/n didn’t respond.

“No” Conrad simply butted in.

Y/n flickered her eyes over to Conrad both in relief and panic. She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t want to face what would happened when Conrad’s outburst was taken badly by her father. Which she knew it would be.

“Conrad” Susannah scolded softly. She could tell something was going on, but she didn’t know what.

Conrad held his ground. But as he noticed y/n’s nerves, he pretended to falter slightly. “I just mean, we’ve already got plans tonight” Conrad lied. “Sir” he forced out.

Y/n looked to her father to see if he’d try to push the issue in front of the others. Fortunately, her father was wise enough not to. Not even as y/b/n entered and stood beside him in clueless support.

Instead, y/f/n only nodded and pretended to be supportive. “Oh of course, maybe another night then” he said as he stared at Y/n expectantly.

Y/n nodded timidly in response as she refused to hold eye contact.

“Well, we should probably get going” Conrad stated, keeping his body wedged between y/n and her father. Holding his hand out to her behind his back, he added, “we’ve gota full day ahead of us”. Conrad grabbed y/n’s hand and helped her stand up. He shot her father one last glance before pulling y/n from the room.

Once they made it back to Conrad’s room, he shut the door. As soon as the door closed, he was suddenly pulled into y/n’s tight embrace.

“Thank you Connie,” y/n mumbled, gripping Conrad’s shirt.

Conrad shook his head, slipping his arms around her. “It’s not a problem sweetheart. You protect what you love” he cooed.

Y/n buried herself deeper into Conrad’s arms, “I love you too”. She noticed how normally she wouldn’t be saying singing like that this early into the relationship. But, they had known each other for years. During most of which, they had unknowingly been in love with each other already.

That night, after the bonfire, y/n easily felt safe enough in Conrad’s arms; allowing her to quickly fall sleep. But, she woke up, suddenly wide awake when Conrad rolled over, his arms having left her. It took y/n a moment to see why she’d awoken, and even then she had a hard time settling back down. Yet, y/n didn’t want to wake Conrad up. Especially just to ask him to hold her; that would be pathetic.

So instead, y/n grabbed her phone to check the time and see how early it was. Perhaps, it wasn’t too early and she could go for a morning swim until Conrad woke up. She’d begun slipping out of his bed as quietly as possible. However, when y/n checked her phone, she froze.

It was three in the morning. But that wasn’t what made her tense up, it was the missed texts from her father. Fortunately there weren’t any mentions of Conrad’s protective stance or behavior for y/n to have to explain. Yet, y/f/n was still mad, just for a different reason. He was mad that y/n let Conrad take her out of the kitchen that morning when he had come over.

Y/n had figured it would be fine since y/b/n was there to keep her father company. But, evidently it wasn’t enough for him. She texted a fake apology while sticking to Conrad’s made up excuse.

Y/n glanced at Conrad as she locked her phone and set it back down on his bedside table. Conrad was breathing calmly, his chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. She smiled to herself before she cautiously made her way to his door.

Some might consider it to be too early for a swim, but it wasn’t like y/n was going to be able to sleep anytime soon anyways. Besides, Susanna let her leave a swimsuit here each summer so she wouldn’t even have to go to her mom’s to get it before coming back. Which was good, because the last thing y/n needed right now was her mother scolding her for not being kind enough to her father.

It seemed the only times her parents still spoke was when her father complained about how horrible of a daughter y/n was being by not wanting to spend time with him the way y/b/n did.

Y/n tiptoed out into the hallway bathroom and quickly changed. She winced slightly when she noticed you could still see the almost faded bruises on her exposed skin. Fortunately, the dark nighttime sky would hide it if anyone joined her for an early swim. Usually, that would be Belly, if anyone; and Belly likely wouldn’t notice the almost gone bruises in the dark.

Y/n wrapped a towel around herself as she dashed quietly to the back door and slipped out onto the Fisher family’s deck. She wasted no time in dropping her towel on the lounge chair and sliding into the pool.

Y/n wasn’t sure how long she’d been out there when she came up from under the water again and saw Conrad.

Conrad was sitting beside the pool, his feet dangling into the water. His eyes were focused intently on y/n despite his sleepy state. Conrad wore a small smile on his lips, causing the faint line of one of his dimples to form.

“Hey” y/n shyly greeted, slowly swimming towards him.

Conrad chuckled lightly, “hey”.

“I can't sleep” y/n explained.

Conrad simply nodded and curled his lip up to the side sympathetically, “is the pool helping?”

Y/n shrugged, brushing her wet hair from her face. “It isn’t making it worse. Did I wake you?” she asked, voice coated with guilt.

“No” Conrad promised as he curled his lip up. “You’re not cold?” he wondered, taking the extended hand she held out to him now that she was nearby.

Y/n shook her head, “it feels nice. The cold water kinda calmed my nerves”.

Conrad nodded, squeezing her hand before he let go and walked to the stairs of the pool. He quickly took off his hoodie, leaving him in just his shorts. “You were anxious?“ Conrad asked, keeping his eyes on her as he lowered himself into the pool.

Y/n bit her lip and nodded, “he’s mad”.

Conrad furrowed his brows and shook his head, carefully gliding over to pull y/n into his arms. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I sh-“ he began.

“Don’t Connie” y/n stopped him. “I can’t express how much I appreciate you getting me out of there, especially without a scene” she declared, as she lifted her damp hands up to cup Conrad’s cheeks.

Conrad let out a long breath of air and nodded slowly. “I’ll always be here for you Y/n, you know that right?” He whispered.

Y/n smiled widely and nodded affirmatively, “I know”. Her eyes flickered to Conrad’s lips briefly before she closed the space between them and pulled him in for a kiss.

Conrad rested his forehead on y/n’s when they parted, “did you get any sleep?” He knew she’d fallen asleep before he had. But he didn’t know how long it was before y/n woke back up as he had drifted off not too long after seeing that she’d seemingly settled in for the night.

“Yeah” y/n whispered, rubbing her nose softly against his sweetly.

“What woke you?” Conrad questioned, moving some of the hair that had stuck to y/n’s brow out of the way.

Y/n looked away from Conrad’s gaze as she whispered, “I was having nightmares”.

Conrad hummed soflty, “do you get them often?”. He rubbed his hand over her jaw, “I recall you having them a lot as a kid”.

Y/n smiled softly over Conrad remembering that detail. She sighed and nodded, “ever since he started this.” Y/n shrugged as she pointed out a silver lining, “but.. it’s been better, now that he moved out”.

Conrad thought deeply before replying, “was seeing him today what made them happen again?”

Y/n nodded slowly, “I think so. I didn’t even know he was mad until after I woke up from a nightmare so it must’ve been just having seen him”.

Conrad frowned slightly, “is there anything I can do to help you prevent them?” He quickly threw in, “other than limiting contact with him as much as possible?”.

Y/n rewarded Conrad with a grateful smile. However, she then bit her lip and looked away as she shook her head turning to go back under the water shyly. Y/n was feeling overwhelmed. She knew Conrad wanted to help and she felt bad that she couldn’t tell him how to.

“Hey” Conrad whisperered, tenderly holding y/n’s bicep as he moved so he was in front of her again. “I know you better than that,” he smirked raising a brow. “What is it?” Conrad asked, confused when he saw her shrug as she refused to look at him, her eyes darting around the dark deck.

“Y/n” Conrad pleaded, kissing her cheek, “you don’t need to be shy with me”. He stared deeply at her shy eyes, “how can I help?”

Y/n had come up with a way he could help. Or, rather she remembered it from earlier. “You know… how I.. said I felt safe…with you?” She mumbled quietly.

Conrad nodded with a small, proud smile on his lips. “Of course I remember” he acknowledged.

“Well, I … “ y/n flickered her gaze up to him. “I-it helps when I’m …in… your arms” she said.

The last words were jumbled together in a shy rush, but Conrad caught them anyways; more than used to her bashful behaviors after all this time. His cheeks flushed and he guided her face closer, his thumb under her chin. Conrad placed a soft kiss on y/n’s nose. “I can do that” he smiled “Why didn’t you wake me? Hmm? When you woke up, panicked, why didn’t you wake me up?” Conrad wondered.

“I didn’t want to bother you” y/n admitted.

“Y/n/n-“ Conrad softly scolded.

Y/n shook her head, “you looked so peaceful”.

Conrad blushed and rubbed his neck. He had been dreaming about y/n. “You wouldn’t have been a bother, plus I like holding you, babe” Conrad argued, guiding her closer by her hips. “Next time, wake me, okay? If I’m not with you, call me” he requested.

Y/n batted her eyes up at Conrad as she tried to see if he was sincere.

“Please?” Conrad asked very very quietly.

Y/n nodded, “okay Con, I promise”.

“Great, now how can I help you right now? Do you want you try to go back to bed?” Conrad questioned, stoking y/n’s cheek.

Y/n shook her head. She was too afraid that she’d have another nightmare.

“Okay” Conrad hummed. “What can I do then?” he asked lovingly.

"Will you stay awake with me?" Y/n asked hesitantly.

Conrad smiled warmly, “of course”. He took hold of y/n’s hand, “come here”. Conrad swam with her to the edge of the pool. “Why don’t we go for a walk, it should be low tide” he suggested. Conrad grinned proudly when he saw the excitement glowing in y/n’s y/e/c eyes as she nodded in agreement.

Part 4 coming soon (see series navigation link -at top and below- for exact time)

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[nexstage]

Different choices; different reunion

From Writing Prompts Daily - Prompt # 2880

At first, when he had read the postcard, Stanley thought it was a joke from someone else. I mean, 10 years of estrangement and silence and now Ford wanted to talk to him? Or needed something?

Of course, Stan would help. Anything to see his brother again; however, the capital letters written in a manner you could only describe as desperate, terrified, made him wonder what Ford had gotten himself into to ask for help. It’s not that the brainiac likes to get into trouble or be chummy with the worst kind of people. That was Stan’s thing.

Then the question ‘What if he had been scammed by a lunatic?’ came to his mind. If several years in the street had taught him something is that you can’t trust people so willy-nilly unless you have a death wish. That’s why waiting for Rico felt as if tons of metal had plummeted over him. Once you made a deal with a guy who saw others as assets or money-making machines, a single mistake, a protest, could send you to the butcher.

Now, Ford pissing off own version of a Rico sounded too ridiculous. He couldn’t be this reckless. Anyway, even if this case was the exception he must have a good plan to fix it.

“Listen, remember our dream of sailing around the world? I want you to find a boat, sail to the other side of the planet if you have to, but hide the journal and make sure no one finds it.”

That was the plan?!

“Wait, that’s it?! You told me to come here just to say ‘go away’?!”

“Stanley, you don’t understand what I’m against! You don’t know what I went through!”

“Exactly, genius! I don’t know, I’m just speculating!” He showed him the postcard. “See this, Stanford? You never write in capital letters, you did this in a rush. That means you’re in a hell of a situation. Maybe you have pissed off the wrong person, made a deal you regret later, messed with stuff that is beyond your league. I can keep guessing till next year, but I’ll never know because you don’t say a single word! So, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”

Of course, his brother got into a defensive mode as if his reasonable protests were insulting. “This isn’t something you would understand. I’m facing forces that surpasses your understanding or anyone else’s!”

“So that means you pissed the wrong person?”

“Stanley, you can’t simply reduce it!”

“You aren’t giving me clear answers, Ford. Now, did you piss some nutcase off? Yes or no.”

Ford was between the sword and the hard place. Would he really risk his life and work by trusting the same guy who ruined his chances to go to a prestigious college? Stanley was the last person he decided to call but instead of doing what he was told he demanded answers. He should’ve followed orders! And even if he told him the truth, what would change?

Would he help or scold him as if Ford were a mischievous child? Unless he put some conditions to it. “…Fine… I’ll summarize it. Yes, I pissed off the wrong person as you said it. I thought he was trustworthy. He seemed to be but he was manipulating me. When I found out his true plans… He’s pretty good at being terrifying. He wants my research, the portal to be exact, to destroy everything. He won’t take a no for an answer. That’s why I told you to hide the journal; it has a fraction of the instructions to activate the portal. Happy now? You’d better not laugh after this or you’re out!”

So, his suspicions were right. Ford was scammed by a lunatic. “Welp, good enough for me.” He stored the journal inside his jacket.

“That means you will hide the journal?” Ford asked, hopeful.

“Yeah, AFTER I help you get rid of that giant machine and put some defenses against that nutcase who is bothering you.”

“What?! Didn’t you listen to the end-of-the-world plans that monster had with my research? You must—“

“Even if I hide it, he might attack you or force you to turn on that thing. You said the portal was dangerous, right? Then let’s bash it until it’s just scraps. No portal, no destroying-the-world plan. And if you are well-protected, he won’t cause you problems anymore.”

“Stop trying to help me in your own way, Stanley. It’s better doing it my way.”

“Quite frankly? It isn’t. You're one mistake from having a nervous breakdown or hurting yourself because you can't think clearly. Now, swallow your pride, and pass me a hammer to smash this thing."

[link-20xx]

can u explain all the fallenchungus lore literally all I can find is that he made unattractive fart fetish porn and I've avoided twitter for like a good week and people are talking about a massive downfall and im SO out of the loop

Hi. Okay. I’m gonna try the best I can. I’m putting this under the cut for people who don’t care.

Fallen Chungus’ main problem is that he’s kind of just really annoying, but he’s so annoying everyone hates him. But he’s done some kind of insane shit so I’m gonna try and summarize what I can

- he has said he is going to kill himself publicly like 8 times now. I feel for the guy I get it but it’s to the point where he does it whenever anything goes wrong and I know he is not being honest abt it because he says he will do it, then says that he was released the next day. The worst one was when he said that he took like 80 Advil when you Can Not do that (speaking from experience) because your body begins to throw up the pills because it doesn’t like that many. Even if he did manage to get 80 down/if he did take pills (I’m sure he did, but just exaggerated) 80 is an insane exaggeration because that would leave him disabled for life. Like his liver would have stopped working and he’d have like… 10 years to live w/o a transplant. That’s the main thing that pisses me off abt him LOL but

-he was shit talking his family online when his aunt came out and said that he was actually pretty abusive and his family has been trying to help him because they’re worried. He told his fans to review bomb her small business and then just like ignored it ever happened

- made fun of a 14 year old for self shipping for like no reason then got mad when people were like “hey man they’re 14”

- he said “young [n word]” (the abbreviation of the first two letters) and when ppl were like haha hey man jsyk that means something different than you think, he said he knew what it meant but he wasn’t calling anyone it so it was fine. (He was directly calling someone it)

- some people say he made incestious animal crossing porn but i think that’s kinda an over reaction. It was just Isabelle reacting to her brothers farts which is like.. kinda weird but nothing crazy idk. He also drew kuromi fart porn when she’s 5 but idk if a lot of people know the hello Kitty characters are that young and not just like chibis?? So that doesn’t seem that bad

Okay now for just the funny stuff

- he made a thread with a fucking. Drawing and everything called “the kid, the unc, and the gooner” and hyped it up like it was gonna be something crazy. He publicly said he had a fart fetish after hyping it up for days and then said things every normal person agrees on, like “kids shouldn’t be in nsfw spaces” and nothing new was added to the conversation. He said porn artists were bad because autistic people could get hyperfixated on porn. A week later people found his newly made porn account

- he says he’s done with the internet forever then comes back a day later. Longest he’s been away is 2 weeks. No one wants him here he is killing himself online

- says the r slur so much it’s insane I have never heard someone say it with such hatred before. It’s really funny to hear him say because of how intense he says it ngl 😭😭

- he was like homeless for a while? That’s not like funny I just feel I should mention he was homeless because his parents couldn’t take how terminally online he was

- he had a job for 4 days then got fired for arguing on Twitter all day

- had a breakdown and said he would not be this generations Chris chan

- one of my friends used to run in the same circles as him and she says he was really really rude

Now for my favorite:

- when he decided was done with the fallen Chungus account he decided to sell it. The buyer gave him 500 dollars so chungus gave him the account. Chungus than freaked out, decided he didn’t want to, and gave him the 500 dollars back. But the guy already had the account so he just. Took the account. And everyone likes the new guy more. They ended up being cool until he kept getting more and more annoying and finally said he’d stop posting online, but asked him if he could still promote his Roblox game. He said “what” and chungus blocked him

Thats everything I remember. I’m so sorry if you read all this I feel I’ve cursed you. But basically everything could be solved if everyone went outside I think

[halichor]

14, 17, 19, 23, 43, 45

hope that's not too many!

Hooo boy this is gonna be really long, so I'll just hide everything under the cut 🥹

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory.

Kastor(ias), also known as one of Driadis' parents! I'm not sure how to summarize their backstory without typing up a whole ass essay with footnotes pointing to the world building, but here goes! I'll literally just type up their backstory to keep things short.

Kastorias, the youngest child of King Kainesdaer and Queen Iodra of Kannar, grew up alongside Malagdaer, an orphaned Danaeira child the royal family had taken in during a visit to Laeces. They were more than just siblings; they were companions, their bond forged over shared lessons, quiet conversations, and unspoken understandings. As they grew, Kastor’s affection for Malagdaer deepened, shifting from a sibling's love to something more complicated, something Kastor kept hidden. But when war broke out between Kannar and Laeces, everything changed. Kastor lost their older brother, Malthior, and then their parents in quick succession, leaving them to shoulder the kingdom's future alone. Their grief was overwhelming, but the weight of leadership didn’t allow for the luxury of mourning.

Amidst the chaos of war, Malagdaer fought bravely alongside Kastor, yet tragedy struck when Malagdaer was killed in battle by the crown princess of Laeces. Kastor, already broken by the loss of their family, spiraled into an uncontrollable rage. Their grief, raw and all-consuming, spilled over into the battlefield, and for a moment, Kastor lost themselves in the violence. Though the war eventually ended, the price was steep, and victory felt like nothing more than a hollow echo of what had been. Kastor, now king, was left with nothing but the crushing weight of the lives they had lost.

17. Any OC OTPs?

I'm a multishipper, so I guess not? I like coming up with 4389123 AUs and shipping them with my own or friends' OCs, so I don't really have any OTPs hahaha

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

All of them tbh Vyonna! I haven't talked/posted about her anywhere yet, but I did post about her partner (Haelenne)... Once. Anyway, I wrote her as a way to explore certain negative aspects of myself (while also facing the consequences of her actions haha) and amping them up to eleven. Gloomy, pessimistic, and morally grey-leaning-to-black as she is, Vyonna was made not to be likable, but relatable in a messed up way for me. The only difference, maybe, is that she has no filter and evolves from being a people-pleaser to someone who gives no fucks about what others think anymore. She may come off as edgy from the way I summarized her character here, but y'all would just have to trust me when I say that they're definitely more to her than just being awful.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess

This question held me up at gunpoint hsdfjksf

Long hair? Wavy sometimes? WHITE hair? Darker skin tones? I also like them tall, since I'm not hahaha. Those are the only things I could recall at the top of my head, but maybe y'all noticed more stuff I didn't realize 🙈

45. A character you no longer use?

Oh, a lot to be honest? My Novus Dei OCs up to the present are the only ones I actively draw/write about, but I got a whole universe worth of OCs that existed back then that were more on sci-fi stuff, though my earliest OCs were Victorian-era based and involved a ton of demons from the Ars Goetia. Guess what series I was obsessed with during that time?

[precambrian-sea-pancake]

So, in a recent reblog about Oppenheimer I mentioned a book I read about the bombing that made me cry.

I still have it on my shelf so here it is because I HIGHLY recommend. Though it is a very emotionally heavy book and so I recommend taking breaks. But it’s still such a good book and completely changed how I viewed the nuclear bombings.

I never liked them, but after reading it you start to realize they’re not just super powerful bombs but in all honesty, imo, basically torture.

So, let me just describe a little bit of some things that really stuck with me. It’s been some time since I’ve read it but I might reread it. Obviously this is very summarized and from memory but I think it’s worth pointing out.

Sachiko was 6 years old when the bomb was dropped.

She was playing outside with friends when the explosion happened. The force literally buried these kids into the ground. I’m not joking, people had to dig them out. It all happened in an instant too. One minute playing and the next underground.

One of her brothers died because they were closer to the blast. The other one died when they were making a long trip out of the city.

There’s a lot of stuff described and it’s pretty graphic. Things that nobody should witness, let alone at 6 years old. This is what I mean when I say nukes are more like a torture method. They also talk about radiation sickness and such.

Later on in her life the radiation left effects on the bodies of her and her families. There’s a whole section where she describes going to school and getting bullied by all the kids because she was loosing hair.

She also talks about how US soldiers would be stationed in their country. They were friendly with the kids and gave them chocolate. There were mixed feelings about them. I actually did not know the US had soldiers there after the war.

Another thing that was mentioned was the war itself. War is complicated, and she was little at the time so she didn’t understand much. Some people supported it and others didn’t like it. They were losing family members to war, the government needed resources, etc. Standard home front stuff. These people had lives, they were innocent. Nobody was happy about a war going on, they wanted it to end just like everyone else. They were CIVILIANS. The US knew that.

1945 is not that long ago. It might seem like everything bounced back but an entire generation was traumatized and left with persisting health complications. That stuff lingers into the present day.

People have every right to be offended and upset about the memes going around. It’s NOT okay to wear sparkly pink shirts about “death and distraction” since it’s referring to a real life tragedy.

It’s not overreacting, it’s an appropriate and reasonable response.

The internet has become extremely tone death about all of this stuff. So I urge people, especially Americans, to take some time and view all of this from another point of view. To listen to other people.

[tup-ika-5385]

Summary:

Taking a nervous breath, Tup approached the hangar bay, gearbag slung over his shoulder, all packed for his new mission. Recently, Captain Rex recommended him as a potential ARC candidate, which had him nearly vibrating in excitement. However, he didn’t have as much experience as some of the other applicants, so he’s been assigned a mission, a trial run of sorts, to see how he’d do fighting alongside someone outside the 501st. All this to explain Tup’s anxious anticipation as he approached the Omicron-class shuttle currently parked in the Resolute’s main hangar.

Chapter 2 Summary:

After some stakeout bonding time between the Bad Batch and Tup, tensions rise when one member goes missing.

Chapter 2:

“So, Tech,” Tup asked, breaking the awkward silence that had settled since Hunter left a few minutes ago. “How do you guys typically organize in a standard attack formation? Most configurations I know start with five troopers, so I’m just trying to figure out where I should slot in if this comes down to a firefight.” He wisely didn’t ask about why they were a group of four, or even if they were from the same batch; he figured it’d be a touchy subject.

Wrecker interrupted with a laugh. “Ha, standard formation! Dunno if you noticed, but we’re not very standard ourselves!” He chuckled.

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Tup sent Wrecker a grin; the larger trooper reminded him a little bit of Hardcase. If he were here, they would’ve gotten along like a ship on fire.

Adjusting his goggles, Tech nodded at Wrecker’s statement. “Wrecker is correct; as a Commando squadron, our attack formations vary significantly from standard. Instead, we use a series of plans, numbered one through 99, having memorized our positions and responses… well, most of us, that is.”

At this, Wrecker gave a sheepish grin. “Was never really much for studying; but if I’ve done it once, I can do it again pretty easily, so Hunter’ll usually just say “Like that time on Felucia” or something. That, or I can just smash ‘em to pieces!” 

Tup nodded in understanding, making sure to keep an eye on their objective, “Makes sense. One of my brothers in the 501st is like that. Sometimes he has trouble paying attention during our mission briefings, so the Captain would usually send him a quick written comm afterwards, summarizing the main objectives. He’s saved my life more than a few times. A good vod, quick on his feet.” 

Wrecker grinned, “Sounds like my kind of Reg!”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, what is a “reg”?” Tup tilted his head questioningly. Earlier when Crosshair had called him that, he’d been sure he meant it as an insult, but he wasn’t getting the same vibe from Wrecker now.

“Means regular clone, ya know, without modifications and stuff.” Wrecker explained, shrugging.

Tup stifled a laugh, not wanting to come off as rude. “Heh. Most brothers I know would be hard-pressed to call anyone in the 501st regular.”  

“How come?” Wrecker asked.

Tup shrugged, “Probably partially because of our General. Skywalker’s a bit of a loose canon, compared to most jedi, and a lot of the larger battalions kinda imitate the styles of their generals. Plus, Captain Rex is always looking for free-thinkers when he recruits on Kamino, which gets us a pretty interesting mix of vode.” 

Humming in understanding, Tech spoke up. “Perhaps that is why Commander Cody suggested a joint mission. We don’t usually associate with other battalions, but GAR command has been looking to… adjust the leadership structures associated with Commando squads recently. It’s likely that he thought we’d have more luck finding cohesion with less… regular regs.” He considered, thinking to himself.

Giving another shrug, Tup looked back out the window. The Bad Batch was a little rough around the edges, but given what he’d seen so far, he wouldn’t mind working with them again. The group fell into silence again, this time a little more comfortably. Wrecker had taken’s Hunter’s place as the second lookout, aided somewhat by the infrared setting on his prosthetic eye, so Tup spent a few minutes listening to Tech as he explained a few of their more basic plans, sending them to Tup’s comm in case they became relevant.

Peering through his scopes again, Tup let out an excited noise. “There’s a lothcat!”

‘What? Where?!” Wrecker asked, sharing his excitement.

“Over there, on the edge of the supply field!”

Looking through his own pair of scopes, Wrecker grinned. “Aww, look at the little guy, takin’ a nap in the sun! Kinda looks like Crosshair on our mission to Ord Cestus.” 

Tup chuckled at the mental image, noticing the black and white coloring and permanent grumpy expression on its sleeping face.

All of a sudden, Tech’s comm chirped, like Crosshair had been summoned. Tech answered it with a look of confusion. “This is Tech, what’s your status, Crosshair?”

Crosshair’s gruff voice sounded annoyed as he asked, “When’s Hunter going to get his lazy shebs over here? I’ve been waiting for nearly 20 minutes.” 

Like a switch had been flipped, Tech’s form straightened nearly hard enough to snap. Tapping intently at his datapad, he scanned the security footage for his brother. “Hunter left right after we called you. He should have been there fifteen minutes ago.”

“Maybe he got lost?” Wrecker suggested, looking nervous.

Tech shook his head, “Unlikely. Hunter’s modifications give him awareness of a planet’s magnetic poles, meaning he is always aware of his cardinal directions.” 

“Well, let’s go looking for him!” Wrecker said, standing up, barely remembering his flimsy civvie disguise. The rest of the group quickly followed. Crosshair met them in the middle, taking the lead; without Hunter, his enhanced vision made him the best tracker they had. 

“There’s signs of a scuffle, here.” He pointed out disturbed dirt, noticing two pretty clear imprints where Hunter’s hands had been pressed into the ground, but they looked different, intentional. 

“Tech. What’s that symbol mean?” He asked their resident genius. Outside of ARC sign, Hunter and Tech had come up with their own shorthand for various status updates, and that’s likely what Hunter was trying to communicate when he got taken.

Tech leaned closer, adjusting his goggles to get a better look. “This one means ‘Enemy off radar,’ and this one… ‘Extreme caution, pursue objective at a distance.’” Of the three of them, Tech was usually the best at keeping his cool in stressful situations, Wrecker and Crosshair could be loose-cannons, but his forehead creased in worry as he tried to decipher the message. 

“Enemy off-radar? What’s that supposed to mean?” Tup asked, and Crosshair shrugged.

With a sudden intake of air, Tech had a realization. “He didn’t sense them coming." Tech's hands gestured wildly as he explained, becoming more animated. "Hunter’s enhancements grant him an awareness of everything within a kilometer of his surroundings, sometimes more. Sneaking up on him should not have been possible without some sort of experimental technology. Perhaps that’s how the medical supplies keep getting stolen!” 

“What about the second one then?” Crosshair asked, expression terse. 

“Well, objective could mean our mission objective, to discover who has been stealing the medical supplies. Hunter being taken implies that we were likely being watched, and if I am correct…” Tech paused, taking out his datapad again to look at the camera feed of the hangar where the supplies should be. “As I suspected, our opponent utilized our distraction to escape with the supplies once again.”

Wrecker let out a grunt of frustration, slamming a fist into a nearby wall. “So all this was for nothin’?”

“Hardly,” Tech said, glancing furtively around the alleyway. “But before I can say more, we should head back to the Marauder. It’s not far from here.”

_________________

Back at the Havoc Marauder, the Bad Batch plus Tup gathered around the holo-table. 

“Alright, what was so important that we had to wait until we were at the ship?” Crosshair griped, jaw tight with worry. 

“I just need to check the Marauder’s surveillance systems to confirm my hypothesis.” Tech said, not pausing to talk. After a moment, he made an affirmative noise before turning back to the rest of the group.

“I had noticed, when looking at the feed of the missing supplies, a strange anomaly that wasn’t visible before, that disappeared during the time that Hunter went missing. Using the Marauder’s systems, I was able to pinpoint the time the anomaly first started, as well as a general location. Using this information, as well as that from the locators Crosshair tagged the supplies approximately six hours ago, I was able to determine a likely location for Hunter. Thankfully, it appears they were not monitoring us when we first arrived, so only some of them were detected,” Tech said, adjusting his goggles.

“Locators?” Tup asked at the same time that Wrecker asked, “How do ya’ know that Hunter’s going to be there?” 

“The second symbol,” Tech brought up a holopic of the signs Hunter had left in the dirt. “‘Extreme Caution; Pursue objective at a distance.’ Hunter obviously had reason to believe that his pursuers were the ones who had taken the supplies, and that our methods to locate them would aid in our efforts to find him. I am a little concerned about this first part, though��� especially given Hunter’s likely location.”

“Well, where is he, already?” Wrecker groaned. 

“Given what we know, this is the most likely location. Three of the trackers were likely discovered and removed in-transit, but the last one continued here.” He pointed to their map.

Crosshair jutted his chin proudly with a smirk, glad to finally have an objective. “They always stop looking after three.”

“Indeed,” Tech nodded. “However, I’m not able to pull up any surveillance camera for Hunter’s location, and from what I can tell, the warehouse has some unusual modifications, almost like it’s prepared for an incursion.”

“Let’s go then. We’ve wasted enough time.” Crosshair slid his rifle out from behind him, nearly out the door before Tup spoke. 

“Crosshair, wait. We have no idea what we’re up against. We should at least try and do some recon first.”

Crosshair’s nails dug into his palms; body screaming for action. They needed to save Hunter now! And instead of going where they were needed, he had to stand around and explain his reasoning to some stupid reg? The idea of anyone other than Hunter giving him orders already made Crosshair vehemently angry, let alone a kriffing adiik they’d only met a day ago!

Standing in the doorway to the main cabin of the marauder, Tup’s sympathetic tone felt like a patronizing slap in the face. “Crosshair, I know you want to help Hunter, but we need to make a plan. We can’t just go charging in there. You heard what Tech said; we have no idea what we’re walking into; it’d be jareor. Suicide.”

He pushed past Tup with more force than necessary, glaring ice-cold daggers at him. “If you disagree with it, shove off and go back to the 501st. We don’t need you dragging us down.” He snapped bitterly, smacking away Tup’s careful hand. 

Tup straightened defensively, refusing to take this lying down. Crosshair could get his whole team killed if they went in blindly. “Whether you need me or not, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m here, and I’m here to help. So if you’ve got a problem, di’kut, don’t take it out on me!”

Softer, he continued. “We’ll get Hunter back, but not like this… we’ll do some surveillance, maybe even call reinforcements, if we need them.”

Turning back around, Crosshair’s shoulders were tight as a cord as he adjusted the toothpick in his mouth, voice hardening to hide the shard of helplessness in his chest. “And why shouldn’t I take it out on you?” He asked casually. “Because it’ll hurt your feelings? Because it’s not fair? Because you think you’re worth something, you ARC wannabe?”

He faced Tup now, shoving him as he spat out a toothpick, broken in his anger. “Let me tell you something, reg ,” he sneered. “You and your opinions aren’t worth a kriff . You think you’re an individual? That you’ve got something to contribute? We’re clones, products, replaceable to the last gene; Even our squad, Clone Force 99, could be wiped clean on a whim if it suited the GAR. To anyone outside of this room, Hunter’s as good as worthless, just like the rest of us, and I’m not waiting for nat-borns to sift through their kriff while he bleeds out in some cell!” 

Crosshair knew better than to hope for reinforcements; Clone Force 99 was on their own, just like they always were. One friendly reg wasn’t going to change that.

As Crosshair hissed the word “product,” images of Umbara came up in Tup’s mind. Sense memory came unbidden, and something inside Tup snapped. “You think I don’t already know that?!” 

“I-If any of us were worth something, battles like Teth, Kamino, Umbara wouldn’t have turned into complete FUBAR’s, and my batcher wouldn’t still wake up screaming, thinking he’d been taken away for doing the right thing! I figured all that out long before you got here, but getting yourself killed isn’t going to help Hunter!” 

He refused to let his eyes tear up like they wanted to, focusing on his anger rather than the crushing helplessness he always felt when a brother was taken from him. 

A small warning bell went off in Crosshair’s mind, alerting him to the fact that he’d overstepped. He wanted to ignore it, kriff he really did, but at some point during their argument, Tup’s hair had come undone and seeing another flash of brokenness in a face so similar to Hunter’s was something he couldn’t do, not right now.

So with a put-upon sigh, Crosshair extended an olive branch in the only way he knew how. He turned to Tup, no longer angry and attacking, and asked, “What did you have in mind?”

Chapter 1 Link: Here

[moonamite]

would LOVE to hear about ur au based on the beloved side character O_O

OK OK so you might wanna get comfy because this is gonna be a long post…

So this guy. Beat (Or Fang if you wanna go by his dub name) who was the main antagonist of episode 90 and 91.

As most aus go this is gonna contain a lot of headcanons lol

So my headcanon is that these guys were… exploring each other’s bodies. Gay bikers. I mean why the hell is Beat so bear-coded. I’m just going over the basics of my au so I won’t get into the juicy gay shenanigans. (But I will say that I hc young Gus being a smug little shit)

So yeah they get up to a lot of trouble, driving their bikes through towns at night, fucking shit up, being menaces to society, making out sloppily ect ect.

Then they challenge the legendary biker Steppenwolf, lose, and then they break up. (Obviously I’m going over the bare minimum, to keep this post as small as possible. I have whole scenarios in my head but yeah)

Gus does regret it- Worrying about the man he left, remembering how Beat yelled after him when he drove away, his voice breaking from all the screaming. He often questions if he really made the right choice that night… and what became of Beat.

Meanwhile, Beat was miserable. He didn’t know where to go, or what to do. Eventually he meets Axel and Turbo, and they form a strong bond with each other, meeting each other at their lowest points… they almost fill the hole that was left by Gus. Almost.

They go from town to town, searching for Steppenwolf, with Beat’s grudge eating away at him. (And while they’re doing that, Beat is secretly keeping an eye out for Gus.)

(Also I feel like I should add that in my au Beat only starts to go after Kirby later when Kirby causes his bros to crash their bikes- in this au, they both survive, but Beat is still completely enraged by this, vowing to get revenge for his brothers)

Then the stuff in the episodes happens, Gus learns his ex boyfriend is a demon beast, and the raceway collapses on top of Beat. As soon as the dust settles, Gus runs into the rubble trying to find Beat. Despite everything he did to his town, his home- he can’t stop himself from shouting Beat’s name, digging furiously through the debris, and praying that Beat is still alive. As soon as Gus finds him, he gets digging, and is quickly joined by Beat’s brothers- Gus realizes that Beat must mean a lot to them- they’re more than just his goons.

Beat ends up in the hospital, his brothers and Gus waiting for him to wake up. Even while bedridden, Beat still manages to act like a stubborn dickhead to Gus. Gus says he’ll let Gus and his friends stay at his place. Beat is upset, but he’s in no position to make demands. The mayor will let them stay with Gus only if they agree to do community service (under Gus’ supervision).

Gus and Beat have a couple of arguments (then getting smacked in the back of the head by Ax for being an asshole) But he always backs off, knowing about Gus’ nasty temper. (His bros staring wide eyed as Gus manages to get their big bro to listen to him and do what he’s told)

This is getting long so I’m just gonna summarize even more- Beat has a panic because he’s falling in love with Gus all over again, they rekindle their friendship, eventually getting back together, baby happens, marriage blah blah blah happy ending

[thatlittlemouse]

so there’s this new year’s extra where the gang and wu xie’s family all gather together that makes me very soft so I rambled about it at length

the story is longer and a bunch of stuff happens (#5 new year’s special; it takes place around 10 years later in yucun but before reboot) and the new year’s celebration itself is only around 2 chapters but it’s so cute and funny

wu xie’s parents and er shu + xiao hua and xiuxiu are all set to come over to wu xie’s place in yucun for new year’s and he’s so stressed about it

he gets stressed about all the shopping and cooking, has a crisis about wine, fights with his neighbor about a chicken 🤭 🤭

“you’re bullying my pretty boy (xiaoge)” pangzi is so funny 😂

wu xie transforming into a humble and filial son the moment his parents show up 🤭 🤭

rain village’s little downtown prince ahsakjs what are you on about

it’s so funny that his parents never met pangzi and xiaoge before?? and wu xie never actually mentioned them?? how does he hide literally everything about his life from his parents (actually he hints at some point that they probably noticed he’s not well, but didn’t push the topic...)

wu xie about pangzi: this is my uhhhhh, Business Associate 🧍‍♂️

we’re going to make some “local ecological products”

(nailed it)

(continuing about xiaoge) and his uhhhh brother? *smiling nervously probably*

er shu: looking away

wu xie: looking away

I love xiao hua. the moment he walked in he just started inspecting and criticizing everything, but after he got that done with, he put his apron on and started helping out

I think I read another short story or something where he came over and started helping pangzi out in the kitchen

he’s so nice to his friends actually 🥺

after all the hardships, his family and friends are all there by his side... he made it

I think he only narrowly escaped the topic of marriage with er shu’s help lmao

that “I’m sorry. Thank you” holds a lot of weight... it really summarizes what he wants to say in his heart, but can’t put in more words, so these will have to do

it makes me feel some kind of way that the dinner is actually like a very mundane family gathering. pangzi and xiao hua sing a song, xiuxiu wants to get out of it by handing over to xiaoge but he already left the room when no one was paying attention 🤭

I love their friendship.... xiao hua is worried about him and asking if he’s hiding away in rain village

it almost looks like he’s in seclusion there (well with the besties), so why is wu xie staying there? is he afraid to come out?

intermission with hei yanjing being pathetic again 😔. wu xie and xiao hua silently linking his post askjadhsd

anyway wu xie circles back to the topic above at the very end of the extra. he thinks some things through in this story and can explain himself better at the end

he’s not hiding away, but he needs to take the time to process and heal from everything he’s been through. and this is the best place he sees where he can do that, so he needs to stay here for the time being

oh I’m in my wu xie feelings

anyway and then the end leads right into reboot with (presumably) sanshu’s message on the old phone! to be continued~

[starshiniez]

I lied. Next is…

The Summer Lights Arc

This takes place after the Hell of Mirrors Arc (which was included in the anime :3) and it’s fairly short from what I can remember!

The arc starts with Hanako bringing up the upcoming summer festival, accusing Kou and Nene of trying to go together and having… illicit sexual relations. (Holding hands in public)

Nene reminds Hanako that she’s trying to take Kou out to cheer him up about the whole Mitsuba thing, and Hanako has an idea. He tells them to meet him at the Misaki stairs, because he’s just gonna take them to a supernatural festival instead!

Once Hanako transports Kou there, he presents Kou with triangle crowns to wear, so he blends in with the other spirits.

Nene arrives shortly after, with a cute makeover from the help of Yako.

Kou gets flustered and says that she looks amazing, and it looks really good on her. Hanako gets flustered and says “I guess the clothes do make the radish”

After fun stuff like festival food (paying with nene’s mermaid scales) and games (accidentally shooting a mokke instead of the target) they get to the fun part. The wishing festival slips.

The rumor is, if you collect all five colors, write your wish on them, and bring them to the bamboo wishing tree, the wish will come true.

Realizing because this is supernatural land, and this is probably a real thing, Kou and Nene set out to find them. Kou wants to make Nene live longer. Nene wants slimmer ankles.

Even though it’s really hard to get all of them, Nene and Kou are determined.

Some time later, Nene and Kou are no longer determined. Hanako says they should tie their wishes up and be on their way. Nene says she still had fun even though she didn’t find all the wishing slips, and the other two agree

Finally, it’s time for the firework finale.

As The Gang heads towards the direction of the fireworks, Nene almost gets separated. Hanako then grabs her hand to lead her through the crowd. Hypocrite.

Then a cow hits Nene. She falls backwards.

Now, she is greeted by a living, elementary school age, Hanako.

Reasonably, she freaks out. She doesn’t get what’s going on or how getting hit by a Cow turned into this…

Surprise. She is in the living world, at a festival, in 1964 Japan.

Small Hanako, (while calling her Onee-San, by the way) says that lost kids can wait by the wishing tree, and that he was just about to leave his wish there himself.

He had a red wishing slip. That’s the one she doesn’t have. She can get home with that slip.

She asks Small Hanako for the slip, scaring him in the process.

He dodges her attempts to take it, and then she begs for it. He asks why she needs it, anyway

Nene realizes she can’t explain the real situation… and says she needs it because she’ll never get a boyfriend her whole life otherwise. The other people nearby judge her.

—

Next, Small Hanako is seen giving Nene something to drink, saying he just feels so sorry for her. She’s like “are you sure? You’re younger than me, you shouldn’t pay for stuff.”

He says he doesn’t mind because someone “rejected her 100 times” and “tricked her and took all her money” and “now she has to rely on the mercy of of the gods.” (She lied about all these things) and he feels bad for her.

Small Hanako also includes he feels bad because of how swollen her ankles are.

Then, he says he’d treat her much better, while stuffing his face with noodles.

Despite the fact he has the same Face & Hair as Normal Hanako, this is what clued her in.

Small Hanako says he’s happy she’s here, because his brother has been at the katanuki for three hours, and he didn’t wanna eat alone. Nene cleans his face up, and Small Hanako seems to get a puppy-crush on her.

Small Hanako asks if she really wants the red slip. She says of course! He admits he was gonna write that he wants to be an astronaut on it. But, even if he writes it, that doesn’t mean it’ll come true. Plus, she’s kinda his type, so she can have it.

As Small Hanako is admiring the fireworks, Nene thinks about how this has all been like dream. But… it’s not. In just a couple years, this boy is going to kill his own brother.

Nene hands all of the slips to Small Hanako, saying that she wants him to have all of them. And if he writes his wish on them, it will absolutely come true, and to please do it.

Then, she sees a cow, makes the connection that she may get back to modern times that way. She kisses Small Hanako’s forehead, tells him it’s a magic spell to make sure he’ll become an astronaut, and that she’ll always be rooting for him.

Then she jumps in front of the cow.

Now, with Normal-Hanako and Kou standing over her, she’s in her own world. Hanako explains that she was knocked out after the cow hit her, and she “realizes” it was just a dream.

Then, we see a flash of Small Hanako hanging up the wish slips. They say “I wish to see Onee-San again”

(I think Hanako remembers idc)

[insteadofcrying]

In My Body

#1 The Memory Lane

The biggest mistake of my life is living as if I were to leave the earth like I had never lived. Like I was never a part of anyone’s happiest memories. Like what I dreamt of never really mattered. Like I’d leave the earth with no consequence or no one to mourn me when they look through pictures of us. Luisa Gillman-What a waste, I’d say in the afterlife.

******

I had to stay over at Penny’s apartment after a girls’ night out since I was too afraid to order an uber alone and it was way too late for my own liking. Penny and I were reminiscing about our college years. Well, it was actually only Penny that seemed to enjoy the walk down the memory lane. I, like usual, have blurred bits of memories about it. “Luisa, do you remember that time when I cleaned your dorm? You didn’t attend the class for 3 days that week and I had grown too worried. I’m glad I visited you.” Penny said as she was rummaging her wardrobe for a guest towel. “Huh…yeah. I think you had bought me an ice cream?” my tone unsure. She smiled and I couldn’t help see a little sadness in it. Penny was talking about the time I had fallen too deep into my depression that I couldn’t even bother to clean my room. Again, the best I could remember was how dark it was for me. How my body hated the idea of separating from my bed that I laid still in it from morning to evening. “You looked like a ghost. I was so scared that I had told our closest friends to keep an eye on you. I was also told by Dee that you asked about the campus’ mental health consulting Centre a week before. So, I suspected it was something serious.” She said, handing over a gray towel to me. I couldn’t remember if any of my friend was keeping an eye on me besides her. “Yeah. I guess it was” I let out a faint chuckle, hiding my once again unsureness. Were my friends really keeping an eye on me? It felt like my memory not only betrayed me, but also my friends. I could remember Judy and Janine coming over to give me some Chinese takeout for breakfast one morning, but was it really that time I was depressed? I don’t quite remember. But I am sure that I hate myself not remembering. I looked over to Penny who had taken a seat on her study desk, her finger used as a bookmark as she was playing with her phone.

“Penny?”

“Yeah?” she looked at me with a kind smile.

“I thought nobody would even notice me that time.”

Just when I thought her smile couldn’t be any kinder, it did.

“If you had seen the look on Janine and Judy when I told them about the state you were in, you might have thought otherwise sooner.”

I smiled and thanked her for the guest towel.  

*****

I had forgotten most of my childhood memories.  There were only bits and pieces of it I could remember-but it all felt like a memory I’ve summarized for myself-something I’ve exercised to explain to someone else. It makes a lot of sense since the only exercise I have in recollecting those memories were in the many therapy sessions where I had to dissect my childhood in search of the source of my trauma. When I tried to remember getting picked up from school as an elementary student, I could only remember that mom would pick me up late or, rather, she’d say she would, but then she wouldn’t appear and someone else would take her place. For that memory alone, I could guess that it was a recurring reason for me to never trust what my mom says. Another one would be that mom and dad fought a lot in front of me and my brother, Michael. I wouldn’t exactly remember what the fights were about, or how many times they had fought, but I could remember Michael-who hated lending me stuffs-would place his headphone gently on my ears. Michael would only be a kid himself as he was only 3 years older than me. I’m afraid I have learned from such an early age to suppress my memories like it was something too intense and painful-but more than that, like it was something not worth remembering.

Like it never really mattered.

******

[theworstcreature]

Hey all, Creature here! Today is the eleventh thirsty Thursday (and also pi day but who gives a shit about that) of 2024

Ok so first up we have a decent amount of instagram things:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AJR (@ajrbrothers)

THIS video which you’ve probably already seen one way or another was made on Sunday and is talking about something that’s gonna happen on tour !!! (What song do you think it’s for? My moneys on inertia or maybe man)

On Saturday, Jack posted this to his story =D

Shay has adorable sad ouppy dog eyes in this

Also Ryan posted some stuff to his story but I can’t show videos so enjoy these.. fabulous screen caps

Next up (but not forever) issss a few new articles about the brothers

This lovely little article and photo shoot for the numero magazine released monday !!!!

ON TUESDAY ADAM GOT A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE WRITTEN ABOUT HIM AND HIS CLIMATE WORK⁉️⁉️⁉️

(I’m not gonna try to summarize it in case I’m not fully understanding it but go give it a read =D)

Also I like how they use the word wonky MULTIPLE time. Truly an under appreciated word IMO

Ok last thing while we’re still on the topic of Adam(as of 2:45 PM EST), is that he updated his PFP on what I’m assuming was the same day the article got released and I just didn’t notice xd

It’s the first thirsty Thursday of 2024

Have this ancient photo I found on AJR’s instagram to celebrate

[secret-engima]

Shinobi Economics 2: Warring States Boogaloo

RIGHT IT’S TIME FOR NINJA ECONOMICS 2: WARRING STATES BOOGALOO.

Link to my previous 3k tumblr rant on canon era shinobi economics here , and a casual reminder that I do not study or research economics a whole bunch outside of a casual interest for fantasy worldbuilding. Most of this is just- trying to logic out some semblance of sense inside the Naruto setting.

But to summarize the stuff I think is relevant to jumping into this one, in the previous ramble I established that:

1. Peacetime is actually Really Profitable for shinobi villages of the Nidaime to Boruto eras, because that’s when the lower classes (Merchant and Worker) can afford to pay shinobi for jobs that are ultimately the most money for the least amount of risk.

2. Shinobi villages set the prices of missions, not the clients (as seen in the premise of the Wave arc, where the bridge builder lied about the risk so that he only had to pay for a C rank instead of a B or A rank mission), and that whatever prices they have set for missions, it allows even a single parent shinobi with an active child to live comfortably in a city. Not wealthy necessarily, but clearly able to feed, clothe, shelter, and spend time with their child on top of work and training.

3. In all of canon, all the movies, even in Boruto (up to the point I’ve watched so far anyway), there is not a single shinobi that suggests going back to the warring state era. Not even the missing-nin. Not even Madara, who was more than happy to plot the downfall of every shinobi village and the world at large, tried to get them to go back to warring states (admittedly he was more interested in brainwashing everyone with an overgrown weed, but hey).

In that previous rant, I also made an offhand mention that Hashirama and Madara ending the war between their clans and making peace was them essentially inventing a ninja union, and I kind of want to come back to that in this rant by talking about what the Warring State Era ninja economy was probably like, considering what little we know in canon (ie the anime flashbacks which YES COUNT AS CANON since it makes exactly as much nonsense as the rest of Kishi’s worldbuilding), 

Okay so. What do we know about the Warring State Era?

1. We know it was a very bloody time of frequent clan on clan fighting.

2. Medical chakra techniques/medicine in general were not as advanced (because Tsunade is infamous for her contributions to the world of medicine and she doesn’t exist yet) so fatalities or crippling injuries were definitely more common, and most shinobi wore samurai style armor which tells me:

2a. The armor was likely a response to how much easier it was back then for a shinobi to be crippled or killed through blood loss and infection (especially infection).

2b. It could also be a hold over from the Samurai era, since we honestly never get a straight answer from Kishi on where the heck Samurai fit into his swiss cheese timeline. There is, according to the Naruto wiki, a mention of them having split off from shinobi back when chakra use was still called ninshu but that makes … about as much sense as most of Kishi’s timeline and therefore is suspect at best and garbage at worst.

3. Child soldiers were even more of a thing than they are in the village era. For comparison, Kakashi was considered a prodigy for graduating and becoming a genin at 5, and Itachi was exposed to death at age 4, but that flashback is structured (in the anime at least) in a manner that implies that this was not the norm (thanks Fugaku) and that Itachi should not have been anywhere near the battlefield since he hadn’t even enrolled in Academy yet (canonically enrolled at age 6 and was allowed to take the graduation test a few months later). However in the Warring States Era flashback, Hashirama’s and Tobirama’s brother Kawarama died at age 7, and their father makes comments that imply Kawarama was considered at least enough of an adult to be a shinobi, which means he *probably* didn’t die on his first mission? Their other brother Itama, who we do not have an official age for but is clearly younger than Hashirama and Tobirama (who are drawn to at least appear 12 or younger) also dies young, probably around the same age as Kawarama did. We also see Izuna, during the river confrontation between Madara’s and Hashirama’s families, wielding a sword that is clearly *sized* for a child. Unlike Tobirama in that same scene who’s out here with an adult katana held on his back like a buster sword, Izuna is using a sword that looks like it was forged with a child his age in mind. Which … yeah. Not good. Hashirama and Madara also directly reference a desire for ending the deaths of children on the battlefield when they are discussing their dream of a village. So clearly children becoming shinobi at 6-7 and up was Not Uncommon.

4. Going off the continued existence of a Daimyo and his court in canon era, there were a lot of feudal lords in this era, hiring shinobi to do their dirty work. Not just Daimyo against Daimyo like we see in the village era Shinobi Wars, but likely neighboring lords hiring one shinobi clan or another to heckle, sabotage, and assassinate each other. Especially considering the Naruto world Warring States is clearly supposed to be reminiscent of the Sengoku period of Japan.

So, with those things in mind. How did shinobi economics in this era work and why was Konoha so revolutionary in more than just “hey the Senju and Uchiha aren’t killing each other!” way?

Well first thing is that the shinobi clans would have been at the whims of the various lords and the Daimyo rather than able to establish their own prices for missions, and the vast majority of the clan on clan conflicts would have either started or been fueled by the nobles of the era out of convenience. There are over 16 clans listed on the wiki as being “Konoha” clans, while we can discount a few of them (namely the Lee clan because that’s just Rock Lee, the Uzumaki who were from their own hidden village, and the Hoki family who I think immigrated in from Suna? If I’m reading the wiki right?), and those are just the clans that actually survived to the canon village era. That is a lot of competition for shinobi work in an era where most of those jobs would have come from the rich lords, the Daimyo himself, or a few very wealthy merchants would have been able to afford to both hire a shinobi clan and would have felt it worth the risk of gambling that their competitors wouldn’t also hire a shinobi clan to retaliate. The working class would not have been able to afford a shinobi’s services, and they also definitely wouldn’t want to risk going near a shinobi, because this era was when the clans would’ve had their bloodiest, most inhuman rumors and reputations as remorseless killers.

The staple/most common jobs for shinobi clans of that era would likely have been the violent ones that in the modern era get regulated to ANBU, because again, the Worker class can’t hire for D-ranks and the Merchant class probably either also couldn’t or wouldn’t want to unless desperate or trying to threaten their competition with the reputation of shinobi. These “common” jobs would have been assassinations of adults or children, kidnappings, sabotages, blackmail gathering, spying, and open battlefield conflicts (every Senju-Uchiha conflict we see in the flashback arc, not counting Itama’s death or the river confrontation, is on an open battlefield with both parties in varying levels of armor actually). And of course the other side of those common jobs would be missions from rival lords who are hiring a clan to prevent all the previously listed missions. Which is probably where a good chunk of clan animosities started, opposing contracts that got out of hand and started an all out blood feud. 

If a wealthy merchant hired a clan to guard their product/caravan, it was probably because some competitor or a lord who took offense to them for some reason had already hired another shinobi clan to sabotage said caravan and product. If a lord hired a shinobi to kill a rival or his family, that rival had either already hired shinobi bodyguards or was going to in response to this. Which, on top of fueling a lot of clan on clan grudges from being repeatedly on opposite sides of a job, means that shinobi clans couldn’t really demand a specific mission prices. A little bit of haggling over the price, yes, especially in the case of the more powerful/sought after clans, but if a shinobi clan tried to push for “too much”, the prospective client could simply leave and hire another clan. Likely a rival clan that had a blood feud with the first clan just to spite them. Any failed missions or missions that were refused because of the pay or risk involved would also definitely lead to the client spreading word against that clan to any allies, which would lead to less missions and valuable income down the line.

The clans with the most ability to haggle, at least in Land of Fire, would *probably* have been the Four Noble Clans Kishi mentions; The Uchiha, The Aburame, the Akimichi, and the Hyuuga. We never have it explained why they are noble clans or why there is only four, but basic logic says that they were clans who actually held positions in the Daimyo’s court, and having that position would have helped them set at least *some* level of wage standard for shinobi work they took on so long as they were careful not to annoy the Daimyo in the process. But even then, there was only so much they could demand before there was a risk of the client leaving and taking any future business from them and their social circle with them.

The Uchiha-Senju conflict was said to last for generations. According to Kishi it lasted since Indra-Ashura thanks to Black Zetsu specifically, but that is stupid on multiple levels that I won’t fully cover here. It’s much more likely that the descendants of Indra and Ashura clashed a few times and mostly tried to avoid each other until the Warring States Era actually started, by which point those descendants were the Senju and Uchiha (and Uzumaki but they’re canonically a neutral party in that whole deal iirc). The blood feud *probably* started when a noble lord spotted the natural avoidance/borderline animosity of the Uchiha and Senju and hired the Senju to sabotage either an Uchiha job or even to attack the Uchiha themselves if the Uchiha held a position in the Daimyo’s court at that point. And because Uchiha do not react calmly to basically anything, the response was very bloody and over the top, to which the Senju also reacted poorly and… *gestures at the blood feud*. After that, warring lords would have started to intentionally hire the Uchiha and the Senju to pit them against each other because neither clan would haggle too much over the price of a job for fear of it being thrown to their enemy instead, and with both clans so eager to get revenge on the other as the years went on, they were guaranteed to give their all on the battlefield regardless of the mission pay. Which is a technique that would have been used against most of the clans to keep them from getting too powerful or too uppity about the pay for their jobs, but especially the dangerous ones with kekkei genkai.

With the inability to really dictate the prices of their shinobi work, the civilians of shinobi clans likely would have sought to provide some other form of goods and services to help bolster the clan (the civilians not busy trying to keep the clan fed anyway). This has been explored by other fanfic writers in this fandom (shout-out to Umei_no_Mai’s series “the Compass Points North” for being really great at this), but of course depending on the size of the clan and their access to resources that don’t immediately go to either Feeding the Clan or Providing For Shinobi Work, how much money this actually brought in for each clan is entirely variable.

So there’s the Warring States Era cycle of shinobi work. Lord A hires Clan 1 to Do Thing, Lord B hires Clan 1’s most hated rival if possible to Stop Thing, both lords sit back and watch the two clans fight it out for far less than their work is actually worth. Wash, rinse, occasionally repeat with clans that are not hated rivals but are still going to fight it out viciously because if they don’t do a good enough job then they will lose any further work from that client and the client’s associates.

And then the Uchiha-Senju Alliance happened, and did not disintegrate within weeks or months as outsiders would have anticipated.

And this one thing. This one alliance. Completely destroyed the “comfortable” cycle the lords, Daimyo, and wealthy merchants had for their shinobi dealings up to that point. Because now, not only are the two most powerful clans in Land of Fire no longer available to hire against each other, but they also have two clans’ worth of civilian trade and shinobi revenue to keep them from starving the first time they said “no” to a client, and any client they do say yes to has the pick of Senju shinobi, Uchiha shinobi, or a mixed team of the clans’ respective powerhouses.

What do you think the response was the first time a client approached literally any of the other clans and tried to hire them to go up against both Hashirama and Madara, or, just as scarily, Senju Tobirama with a grumpy Uchiha or three following on his heels.

The answer was no. The answer was heck no. The answer was we would literally rather starve rather than choose that flavor of suicide. 

Because while other clans have clashed with the Senju and Uchiha before during this era thanks to it being logistically impossible for someone to hire a Senju to fight an Uchiha and visa versa every time, those clashes would still have been comparatively rare but memorable. Similar to the nobles funding these blood feuds, the other shinobi clans of Land of Fire would have grown accustomed to “your chances of dying via Tree Man or Angry Fire Cat Man are statistically low” and being able to kinda sit back and watch the Senju and Uchiha tear each other apart from a safe distance, with only minimal risk of running into far less skilled Uchiha or Senju on a job rather than the guy who gets named the “god of shinobi” and his frenemy rival. They’ve seen the damage either clan can do, and now you want them to go against both? Without the guarantee of Madara and Hashirama (and Tobirama and Izuna pre the latter’s death) being too busy trying to kill each other to bother with you and your squishy clanmates? Hahahaha no.

And now here’s where the Shinobi Villages are a Union thing really starts to kick in. Because the Senju-Uchiha alliance grinding the Warring States cycle to a halt would have been temporary if it had just been between them, if Hashirama’s and Madara’s dream had gone no further than peace between their respective clans. If it had remained just the Senju-Uchiha alliance, even with fear of Hashirama and Madara, the other clans would have eventually been prodded into fighting them, likely even being hired by enough lords who were all unhappy with this shakeup to the routine to temporarily band together in fighting the Senju and Uchiha and overwhelm them (or at least badly cripple the manpower of the Senju-Uchiha).

But Hashirama’s and Madara’s dream wasn’t just about their clans. And suddenly here’s Hashirama “my smile is photosynthesizable” Senju and Madara “consider my wrath as your alternative” Uchiha approaching the other clans and offering to let them join this alliance. To not have the risk of fighting either of these terrifying men or their clans, but rather to pool their resources together to make missions safer. To be able to turn down missions without starving thanks to the combined revenue of multiple clans and their civilian specialties (and the backing of the Uzumaki, who are generally accepted by fanon to have allied with the Senju by this point via Mito’s marriage), and to have other clans be extremely wary of taking any job against their combined might, which will make the jobs they do take a whole lot safer.

Not every clan jumps on board right away of course, canonically the first ones to join the alliance were the Sarutobi and the Shimura (fanon assumes that these two had connections to the Senju and Uchiha clans before this but I … couldn’t find mention of that in the wiki?), which means suddenly any job this alliance takes means that a rival will be up against a roulette wheel of anywhere from “maybe four Senju like normal” to “combined wrath of a Senju-Uchiha-Sarutobi-Shimura team that are working out their collective new-alliance stress on your hide”. The other clans would have chosen to jump aboard the alliance very quickly once it became clear that this wasn’t going away or splintering. Which means more and more clans are saying “no” to jobs that they feel aren’t worth the prices being offered, and less and less clans are willing to go against the alliance for fear of being stomped on. Suddenly the clans who are in the alliance can not only say no but can say “I want to be paid this much for this job” and the lords who once had the option to just take their business to another clan are stuck. They had to either pay up or not have the job done at all.

Tobirama comes in, probably somewhere very early on in the village founding with the start of what will eventually be the universal shinobi mission ranking system, and with that comes the ability for shinobi to have a set minimum wage for each level of risk. There’s an Academy for their children to learn skills from multiple clans and sources now rather than being forced to take to the field just to help pay for food/armor/resources for the clan.

In the real world, this kind of change takes … way longer on average. But in the Naruto world the options from the get-go were “be under Hashirama’s and Madara’s protection” or “be a potential enemy against them and their clans on a mission”, and none of the shinobi clans who survived to that point did so by being stupid. After they saw the Sarutobi and Shimura join without negative consequences (or subjugation as vassals), the clans of Land of Fire would have started joining the alliance faster than the nobles who used their blood feuds as a handy leash could keep up with or compensate for. Canon says something along the lines of the village negotiating with the Daimyo for permission to be there but realistically by the time the Daimyo realized this was not just a passing treaty, that the Ninja Union was not going away, it was already far too late to stop it. Trying to starve the alliance into compliance by cutting off their trades would have only meant that every shinobi clan now on board with Konoha’s existence (read; the majority of them) would overthrow the Daimyo and install a more cooperative leader in his place. Heck, for all we know that’s what happened, it’s not like Kishi bothers to keep a coherent history or timeline. But considering the Daimyo does have a say in who the Hokage of the village is and they are enough at the Daimyo’s beck and call to fight in the future Shinobi Wars, it is more likely that the budding Konoha did successfully negotiate with the Daimyo for a “our loyalty and your nominal supervision over our village in exchange for extra land and free reign over our internal structure” kind of deal.

The clans being united was also an advantage for the Daimyo, once he got over the “can no longer charge whatever he wants for assassinations”. Because with all the Land of Fire clans unified, suddenly any upstart lords looking to depose him or wars he might get up to with other Daimyo look a lot more winnable. The other major Elemental nations, seeing this and realizing it’s not going away, probably scrambled to get their own clans to unify, which is one reason why Kiri is … such a disaster in canon. Rather than being a willing endeavor by the various clans to unite for their own benefit, the Daimyo of Water basically threw all his feral clans off their respective islands and territories and said “you all live here now and you all do what I tell you or else the Land of Fire will wipe us out”. Which, as you can see, went swimmingly for them (sarcasm). That or the other shinobi clans in the various nations did actually unionize of their own will once they saw it worked for Konoha, but Kiri never got the memo of “actually make peace with your rivals” and instead just clustered together in a feral knot of “we hate each other but we hate outsiders MORE so we’re going to pretend we actually function as a society”. Which lasted… Not long.

And there you go, another shinobi economics ramble. I feel like this one is even less structured than the last one but hey at least it’s like. 100 whole words shorter.

[madneedshelp]

Hate You Too- Sam Kiszka x F!Reader

Summary: Your next door neighbor is absolutely infuriating, hosting obnoxious parties that last all night and pestering you at any given chance. He’s just so annoying that he stays on your mind constantly, or at least that’s what you’ve been telling yourself…After all, when an incident leads the two of you to spend some actual time, he ends up surprising you.

Includes: just some good old enemies to lovers angst, alcohol use, a touch of fluff

Your next door neighbor was a complete asshole. In the five months since he’d moved in, that was the best way to summarize what you’d gathered about him.

You had to admit that the walls of your apartment were unfortunately thin. That meant that whenever Sam threw one of his many parties, you heard all of it from your living room. It was especially chaotic when his brothers and their mutual friend were present.

To make it all worse, he was so unapologetic about the noise and the mess left out front by your door afterwards. If he didn’t come by and pick it all up by the time you got home from work, then you’d definitely have lost it by now. Honestly, you were close to losing it anyway.

Just the other day, you’d been fumbling with your grocery bags and trying to unlock your door. For some reason, Sam decided that it was a great idea to hover and pepper you with questions and other annoyances. He would do that just about every time you ran into him in the hall or getting your mail.

It was such a drastic difference from what you expected when you first met him. God, you could still remember the interaction and it was almost funny how pleasant it went.

You had just gotten home from work when you saw a group of guys around your age carrying in boxes to the apartment next door. The place had been empty since you’d lived there, so looks like this was your first neighbor. Thought gave you a surprising burst of social energy that you didn’t normally have. You decided to head over towards the curly-haired man that just walked outside.

“Hi, I’m Y/N L/N. I live next door,” You grinned and gestured behind you towards your door.

The guy gave you a friendly smile in return and held out a hand for you to shake. “I’m Josh, my little brother Sam is the one moving in. Hey, Sammy!”

You shook Josh’s hand and moments later another guy came outside. This one definitely bearer some resemblance to the one you were speaking to, but he was taller and his hair was longer.

“Hey, I’m Sam Kiszka, it’s great to meet you…” He trailed off.

“Y/N. I was just telling your brother that I live next door. Just thought I’d welcome you to the building and all that good neighborly stuff.” You chuckled, hoping you didn’t sound like you were rambling.

Now that you were actually looking at him and talking to him you noticed that “holy shit, this guy’s attractive”, as your friends commented the first time they saw him.

That was another thing. Sam was…to be completely transparent, he was hot. But he knew it, and that made him too arrogant for your liking. But that wasn’t something he revealed right away.

“Well, I appreciate the welcome. Glad to know I have a friendly neighbor if I need to borrow a cup of sugar,” He smiled at you.

You hated how your heart fluttered like a teenage girl at the simple act, despite the overly corny joke he just made. You elected to brush that feeling off. “Do you guys need any help unpacking or anything? I know it’s getting kind of late.” You offered, steering the conversation back to something relevant.

Sam waved a dismissive hand. “Nah, we’re almost done. Between the four of us, we got it all carried in pretty quick. I should probably introduce you to all of the guys, since they’ll probably be here all the time.”

He led you over to the doorway and you waved to the other two guys unloading boxes in the kitchen. They waved back with friendly smiles.

“Jake, Danny, this is Y/N, my new neighbor. Y/N, that’s Jake, my older brother, and Danny, my best friend.” Sam pointed to a shorter guy that looked like Josh with long hair, and then the taller man with long, curly hair.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” You added, and they returned the sentiment.

“Hey, thanks for being so welcoming. You’ll definitely have to come over for the housewarming party,” Sammy elbowed you lightly with a smirk.

You chuckled and gave him a nod. “Sounds like fun.”

You said your goodbyes so he could finish settling in and returned to your apartment, happy to have a nice person for a new neighbor.

But the invite never came. Sam threw several parties a couple weeks after moving in, but he never said a word to you about them beforehand. Which was completely fine, the two of you were essentially strangers, so you could fully understand why he didn’t invite you.

Then, as time went on, everything got louder and more disruptive, and he started his little routine of pestering you. You came to the conclusion that it was best the two of you avoid each other. Well, until people started wildly beating at your front door.

It was a regular Saturday night, which you had planned to spend rewatching your favorite movie, but then the party next door started. And then guests filled the hall. And then those guests got a little too drunk and a little too rowdy.

As soon as people started slamming against your door, something snapped in you. That was the last straw, and you were tired of being passive. It was honestly inconceivable to you how no one had left a noise complaint to the landlord yet.

In about half a second you were charging into Sam’s living room, absolutely fuming.

“Samuel fucking Kiszka!” You shot daggers as you paced right up to the man in question.

He stood at the counter and didn’t even look up at you as he was grabbing another beer from the fridge. “Actually, my middle name is Francis.”

He wanted to be funny? Fine, then you’d have a delightful little conversation. “Bold of you to own that.”

He quirked an eyebrow as he took a swig. “What’s wrong with Francis?”

You gave him a mockingly innocent look. “…Oh nothing.”

He shrugged. “I’m just going to ignore that implication. Hey! Why don’t you join us?”

Oh my god, he could not be serious.

“I have a better idea, why not get your wasted friends to stop trying to break my fucking door down?” You spat.

He looked a little taken aback by your outburst before letting out a sigh. “Should’ve know better than to even ask.” He muttered under his breath. “Listen, I’ll tell them to rein it in, okay?”

You weren’t sure what the first statement was supposed to mean, but you didn’t really care about that. “Thank you,” You said evenly, and then headed back to your apartment.

Sam was true to his word at least. No sooner than you’d entered your apartment and poured yourself a glass of wine, the noise in the hall stopped. You finally got to enjoy your movie after all.

—————

Maybe you were to mean to Sam last night. This was karma. That was your first thought when you woke up the next morning freezing your ass off. Of course it had to be the dead of winter when your heater decided to die, and you’d let your friends borrow your little space heater for the weekend.

You tried to fix the damn thing, but no luck. Then you tried calling maintenance, but it had snowed considerably last night and they couldn’t make it out to fix the heat.

You were unfortunately snowed in without heat. You piled on as many layers as you could stand and waited it out for a few hours. At least you still had power.

It was just after lunch that you decided you couldn’t take it anymore. You called your mom to ask for advice, but she gave you quite possibly the worst suggestion imaginable.

“Listen, honey, I know he bothers you, but maybe go ask that neighbor of yours if he has an extra heater?”

“Absolutely not, Mom! I had to go yell at him last night because he had people over and it got out of hand again.” You scoffed.

She chuckled quietly over the phone. “I know you’re annoyed, but it could be better to apologize than sit there in your winter coat for who knows how many more hours.”

You pursed your lips together with frustration. “Okay, I’ll think about it. Love you, Mom.”

After you’d hung up, you surprised yourself and actually thought about the idea. No way. You weren’t going to do it.

He was rude, and you got pissy when you were around him. It would be a terrible plan. He definitely wouldn’t let you in, for starters. And if he did, there’s no way he’d let you borrow a heater, as if people just casually have several heaters for one average-sized apartment.

Then you sneezed and snot started running down your nose, and you decided that you didn’t want to play that game.

Stuffing away your pride, you cleaned your face off and headed to the door. You stood in the hall for a few moments to prepare yourself to suck it up and apologize and then ask for help. This was humiliating.

To you shock, Sam answered seconds after you knocked. He took in your overly clothed appearance with a chuckle. “Cold?”

You wanted to snark back at him, but stopped yourself with a pained smile. “A little chilly, yeah. Listen, I wanted to come over and apologize for yelling yesterday…and to see if you by chance had a spare heater?”

Now that made him fully laugh. “Using me for my heater, huh?”

“No, no, no!” You held up your hands defensively. “Well, yes, but I also do feel bad about last night. I was harsh.”

He folded his arms and smirked. “Yeah, you were pretty harsh.”

You couldn’t stop the eye roll his response provoked. “I was a bitch, I get it, but do you have another heater or not?”

“Well, I only have the one heater…but you’re welcome to hang out here until they get the heat back on.”

You blinked at him, stunned. “What?”

“I said you’re welcome to stay if you’re tired of sitting in your cold apartment.” He stepped aside to give you room to enter. “It’s pretty toasty in here.”

“O-oh, okay…thanks.” You nodded, slightly confused as you stepped inside.

You weren’t sure what exactly was happening right now, but the wave of heat that hit you as soon as you entered felt go nice for you to contemplate things too much. Sam pointed out the coat rack for you to shed some layers and headed to the kitchen.

“Want some coffee?” He called out as he poured himself a cup.

“Um, sure, coffee would be great.” You smiled sheepishly. This was possibly the most uncomfortable encounter you’d had in your life.

“You can change the channel on tv if you want. I really don’t care what’s on. Just make yourself at home and all that.” He added dismissively, as if the two of you hung out often and didn’t dislike each other.

The last thing you’d ever expected was to end up in Sam’s living room. Now he was serving you coffee and asking you what you wanted to watch on tv. To top it all off, he seemed so unbothered but the awkward silence.

Awkward silences genuinely freaked you out. You had to say something. At least two episodes of Friends had passed, and not a word between the two of you.

You asked the first question you could think of before your mind could stop you.

“Hey so what did you mean by that thing you said last night? About how you ‘shouldn’t have even asked me to stay at the party’?”

Sam looked briefly startled before shrugging. “Oh, we’ll I figured you didn’t want to since I sent Jake to invite you to the first one and you said no, that parties weren’t your thing.”

Now it was your turn to look startled. “Jake never asked me to come over. I haven’t talked to him since the night you moved in.”

Maybe trying to start conversation wasn’t the best plan. Now both of you were staring at each other in confused silence as you processed what was going on, or rather what didn’t happen.

Sam was the first to speak again. “I swear I told him to go down the hall to the right on the night of the housewarming party. He claimed a girl answered and turned him down on the offer.”

Well, you did live down the hall to the right, so that didn’t quite add up. “He must’ve talked to someone else then. There’s a girl across the hall from me? Maybe he went there?”

Sam thought for a minute, then something seemed to click. “You know, he did seem a little buzzed when I sent him on that mission. Fuck, who am I kidding? He was probably just drunk, there was tequila out.”

You chuckled and he soon joined in. The funniest part was that it no longer felt odd to be laughing with him.

“Sorry about that, Y/N. I promise I did have the intention of inviting you,” He laughed.

You waved a hand at him. “No, really it’s all right. I mean, it was your party, you didn’t even have to invite me in the first place.”

“So, are they your thing?”

“Huh?”

“Parties. You said the girl across the hall doesn’t go out much, but what about you? Would you have showed?” He asked, just seeming generally curious.

“I don’t know, probably. I mean, I didn’t know how annoying your parties could get at that point so I might’ve showed.” You gave him a small, mischievous grin and sipped your coffee.

He feigned hurt. “You wound me, Y/N.”

“Maybe invite me to a party, and I wouldn’t have to be so mean.”

He gave you a real smile this time, one that made your heart do a strange, almost imperceptible flutter. “Okay, I will next time.”

“Well, okay then.” You smiled back, cheeks warming slightly.

And then everything was fine. The tension had melted, and casual banter floated through the room as the rest of the evening went by. Last night you hated the man, but now…now talking to him made you feel fine. No, you were actually enjoying yourself.

Maybe Sam Kiszka wasn’t all that bad after all.