#how old am i? no idea. there are 4 karins here and one of the is from the 24th and the others are from approximately a month later

[the-one-that-weeps]

Terrified of the way I can immediately tell which date I was given a paper because of how many Karin kozakis I can find in the corners

[doberbutts]

Karin Hengartner-Pulver of Switzerland was kind enough to join us for a breeder interview! She has been breeding Swissies for the last 15 years and is very interested in the preservation of this beautiful breed! We would also like to mention the first phase of the database is in testing mode the hope is to have it live by the end of April!

How did you first learn about the Great Swiss Mountain Dog?

In the neighborhood where I grew up as a child (Obergosgen, Switzerrland) there was a female GSSH. Her name was Mandi. I walked her every day and I was so fascinated by her. What I liked best about her was her size, strong appearance and character and just her overall style. It was always a dream to have a GSSH myself.

What or who sparked your interest in the breed and in breeding?

My parents-in-law had a female Sennen mongrel, she once had puppies unexpectedly. That's how I discovered the passion for breeding. I knew then, when we will take over the farm, I would like to have a bitch to breed. First, I had a male dog, but unfortunately he died when he was 13 months old.

Who (2 or 4 legged) has had the biggest influence on you as a breeder?

My first bitch Hora-Nora Schwarzenherd was not the easiest bitch but I learned a lot from her. Thanks to her, I have continued my education in training and breeding.

What were some of your proudest moments as a breeder or owner of a GSMD?

I always enjoy or rejoice in small steps, like when the first litter was born in my kennel. Or when I kept the first bitch I bred myself, Beila-Eos vom Ruttigerhof. To accompany her from the beginning while she was growing and learning was an unbelievably beautiful experience for me, especially taking her to the first show. It was also great that Beila was successful. It is also just everyday things that make me happy such as a successful breeding and then the arrival of puppies into the world. Being able to place those puppies with families and accompany the new puppy owners as they grow and love my puppies!

What differences have you noticed in the breed over the years and what do you think are the biggest challenges for the future of the breed?

When I first started breeding 15 years ago there was a trend for the GSSH to become narrower and thinner in the exterior and they lost bone strength. Also, the dogs were becoming more temperamental due to their lighter build. Some owners could no longer cope with their dogs because of this. To regulate this again here in Switzerland is not very easy. But we are well on the way to restore these characteristics.

From your point of view, what were the biggest health problems in the breed?

For me, it is clearly the epilepsy and often the lack of transparency in wanting to talk about the health issues.

How do you hope to use the GSSHWDB pedigree and health database in your breeding program in the future?

I would like to see all breeders and stud dog owners worldwide be transparent with health information and have it entered into this database. That everyone is so honest and provides well clarified diagnoses. I am convinced that this is the only way to get diseases like epilepsy under control. Dogs that inherit these diseases are not bad dogs. However, in the first place they are simply family dogs and not dogs for breeding. For every owner his own dog is the biggest and the best. This should be so, but one should differentiate in breeding. This is the only way to use such an excellent database.

How can you and our team encourage breeders and pet owners to submit data about their dogs?

As already answered in the front question it only serves the breed. If you love the breed you give the data. The dog is not worse because of it.

Please share your thoughts and ideas on how we can preserve the breed for the future.

Again, we can only preserve the breed if we all talk to each other and we share the information. It is also very important that we pay attention to how we breed. I am also of the opinion that repeat litters should not be made too often. We have to become broader again in genetics. Here in Europe we always meet the same dogs in the pedigrees. It is nice when the puppies have parents who are champions, but there is no guarantee that the puppies themselves will be champions or that they will be healthier. A champion title is unfortunately no guarantee in relation to the inheritance of hereditary diseases. In order to maintain genetic diversity, it is very important that dogs without championship titles are also used in breeding and that individual animals are not used too often.

The board of the GSSHWWDB thanks you for answering these questions and for your commitment to the preservation of this wonderful breed!

[phoenixyfriend]

More "de-aged Taka and T7 end up in the Warring Clans Era as Founders' wards" AU

“That’s a thing?” you ask. The answer is yes.

Uh. Kind of. Deaging Team Seven for the sake of tossing them back in time for a Founder to adopt is pretty common, but I’m trash for Taka so this AU started with me brainstorming the asshole team.

I am falling more and more in love with the idea of Tobirama ending up with custody of Team Taka somehow. He’s a science dad, but like. Marginally more ethical than Orochimaru.

Everyone around them is like "This is a terrible idea and it's all going to end horribly" and he's just like "Ah, these are now my children."

I've read so many "Team Seven time-travels and is de-aged, get adopted by the Founders" or "a Founder time-travels forward and adopts Naruto, subsequently picking up the others" and they're good but I now want the same plot with an even more dysfunctional collection of... eldritch mishaps? The AO3 feel of "I want this fic I just read, again, but a step to the left so it feels fresh and new"

I'm considering the tent of tranquility idea (courtesy of @sloaners​) and I've come to the decision that Tobirama's... probably going to end up with Several Holes in it, and burns, and cuts, because Karin and Suigetsu never stop fighting, and if they're fighting, they're not paying attention to how soon Juugo's going to lose his grip on control.

"Hm. Tobirama?" "Anija." "Where did you get children?" "They showed up." "One of them looks like an Uchiha." "He does." "Two of them are trying to kill each other." "That's normal." "Are the Uchiha going to accuse us of stealing a clan child?" "Probably." "...Tobirama, did you steal these children?" "No."

(It's not kidnapping if they show up and break into your house first.)

(Also none of them are particularly pressed to ditch the Senju and find their clans. Maybe eventually. Not now.)

They’re assholes but Karin is, even at Supposedly Age Three, babbling at Tobirama about proper lab protocol and chemical reactions and isn’t that just the most adorable thing?

Very few people find Karin as adorable as Tobirama does, because Karin knows more ways to kill a person than most adult shinobi, because most adult shinobi don’t know about things like flesh-eating diseases and specialty poisons from the other side of the continent that can only be refined via chemical processes that won’t exist for another three decades.

Juugo is a sweetheart. Best child. Then he loses his mind but it’s okay, Sasuke is there. Do the Senju trust the clearly-Uchiha child to control the much larger five-year-old? No. But they don’t have any better ideas right now, so.

Tobirama: Hm, we should do something about that. Karin: Here’s a list of ideas and things that have already been tried. Tobirama: Thank you, small child. Where did you get this? Karin: ... Tobirama: Fair enough, let’s see what we can do.

Suigetsu is a little terror because not only is he a Massive Jerk but he also has better control over water than most adults. Mostly because he is water. It’s very hard to find him when he’s avoiding chores.

Karin clings to Mito sometimes because Family! and then Hashirama tries to tease Tobirama about being upset that one of his students/children has ditched him. Hashirama ends up moping in a corner because Tobirama snaps at him, unsurprisingly.

IDK if we have like any canon for Touka beyond skill with genjutsu, but going off of the fanon that she used a naginata, I’m going to say that Suigetsu keeps trying to challenge her to Blade Fights and she’s just like Neat, A Tiny Murder Machine.

Sasuke is very quiet for the most part and Dramatically Broods On Rooftops And In Trees and Hashirama is just like YES YOU REMIND ME OF MY BROTHER AND ALSO MY BEST FRIEND and Sasuke hides.

Sasuke does not need another Naruto, thank you.

Sasuke ends up hanging out with Mito, I think? Like yeah, sure, she’s an Uzumaki, but she’s chill and refined and calm and she has really good tea in stock. Sure he has to learn fuuinjutsu to have an excuse to hang out with her, but that’s fine. It’s interesting. Karin does it too, sometimes.

tbh that probably leaves Hashirama to hang out with Juugo? Juugo isn’t great at Excite but he is great at nature so I feel like Hashirama would be stars-in-eyes about Juugo talking to birds the way Hashirama talks to trees, and Hashirama just gets him a chicken coop like HERE. FRIENDS.

But back to the suspected child theft.

Hashirama is like “That is... clearly an Uchiha. They are going to find out, Tobirama! Someone is going to figure out we have--” “Sasuke, show him your other eye. Yeah, the one you cover.” “...” “Okay, go back to playing.” “...Tobirama.” “Yeah?” “That was a Rinnegan.” “You know those rumors that the only way to get a Rinnegan is to mix the Uchiha and Senju bloodlines?” “It’s true?” “No idea, Sasuke won’t tell me anything about his parents other than their names, and he’s three, but even the chance of it being true means we have an arguable claim.” “...that’s not going to be enough to convince the Uchiha.” “The theory is but one weapon of many in the upcoming battle of wits.” “Tobirama--” “Now if you’ll excuse me, Anija, I need to go make sure Suigetsu doesn’t flood the training grounds again.”

tbh I can’t remember who made the original comment in canon about the Rinnegan being achieved via Senju/Uchiha babies but it’s funny to use here so I’ll pretend it’s a common rumor that nobody actually believes

MEANWHILE WITH THE UCHIHA Madara found and took custody of Team Seven and company, mostly because they’re like... jounin-level despite being less than three feet tall.

It involves a lot of Madara going "I want My New Children to love me!" and being sorely disappointed by half of them. Poor fucker got stuck with Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, Yamato, and Obito.

(KakaYamaObito are deaged by the time-travel to 10-13ish. The kids are deaged to 3-4. Everyone has memories to just after the fourth war or so.)

Karin sensed T7 and tagalong pretty much the second they popped out of Kamui, and told Sasuke, but he correctly guessed that Naruto would hunt him down eventually, and said they should enjoy the peace and quiet while they had it.

Sai pulls emotionless creepy smiles in an attempt to freak out Madara but since Madara's whole thing initially was "less children in war," he's... mostly just sad. Izuna wants to know who made his brother cry.

Madara makes a vaguely misogynistic comment that's typical for the period and Sakura just. Breaks his tibia.

Naruto is genuinely trying to treat Madara with the kind of respect a caretaker that Attempts To Care And Do Good By Them deserves, because Naruto is a good egg, but he's... three again. Which means he's a Hellion.

The literal toddlers (Naruto and Sakura are three-ish, Sai is four-ish) are, in fact, toddlers, so nobody really expects them to be able to do anything. Nobody bothers to test them beyond the basics of like. Can walk? Can talk? Can maybe hold knife? Like don’t get me wrong, they’re very competent toddlers, but their hands can barely wrap around a kunai. Their bodies are tiny. Their bones only just stopped being soft!

That said, the “tweens” (re: adults who got deaged but Less) have to get tested for their skills. Kakashi downplays himself to what he imagines a semi-competent eleven-year-old to be capable of. He thinks of, like, Neji maybe? Good, but not suspiciously good.

Obito enters an intangible state and refuses to participate. He has a Mangekyo. His body is half-Zetsu. Stop bothering him. He doesn’t want to do anything. They assign him babysitting duty for Team Seven since he can obviously defend pretty well, and Kakashi vouches for his abilities as a fighter.

Yamato decides to try to be just a little worse than Kakashi but at one point he panics and does Mokuton on instinct and now the entire Uchiha compound is screeching because did they just steal a Main Family Senju kid by accident?

Yamato: Should I tell them I was a science experiment? Kakashi: No.

Pranks galore! None of the other time-travelers even try to stop Naruto, except maybe Yamato.

Obito at the Uchiha compound is mostly "I don't want to participate" and then just uses Kamui to be intangible until people leave him alone. If it's not another time-traveler or Madara, he's not interested. He doesn't even care that much about Sai or Yamato, actually, so if it's not an original T7 member, he doesn't care, and if it's Madara, he's just here to make things Difficult.

The Kyuubi wanders up to the Uchiha compound one day and everyone's preparing for a battle, even Madara isn't confident that he can-- [BANG] "KURAMA!" [delighted squealing]

Naruto now has a pet. The entire clan is terrified. Kurama pokes his nose at Naruto's stomach and disappears into the memory of a seal.

Madara, frantically writing a letter to Hashirama "What do I do if my toddler is possessed?!?"

Hashirama: You have a toddler?!?!?! OMG you should organize playdates with Tobirama's kids! Madara: I'M GOING TO QUESTION THAT LATER, PLEASE HELP WITH THE POSSESSION THING

Kurama hunts down Naruto, and the Jinchuuriki situation is very much in the realm of "Dis Mine" Also a bit of "If I'm in the brat, there's at least one Mangekyo user in hearing distance who can and will risk his life to prevent brainwashing. (Kakashi. It’s Kakashi.)

Naruto: Kurama's one of my best friends! Every time traveler: Yeah, that tracks. Madara: [teakettle screeching]

Per @firebirdeternal​: I'm just loving the visual of Giant Nightmare Terror Kurama kneeling down and pressing his nose to Naruto's Smol Chubby Toddler self and closing his eyes while Naruto pets him and giggles and every single battle-ready Uchiha is just. "wat"

Everybody else: Cool so Madara adopted a witch Uchiha Elders: We need to be careful of this horrible creature The younger generation of Uchiha: Okay that was weirdly serene and adorable and frankly the brat is really likeable when he's not being adhd as hell I think this is actually pretty dope.

Madara really wants to be a Good Dad but he has no idea how he ended up being "a dad" in the first place. He just! He cares a lot about this random assortment of kids! Some of them are from prominent clans and there should be search parties for the Senju kid with the Mokuton, or the Hatake brat, or the Uzumaki that doesn't look Uzumaki but definitely feels Uzumaki.... and SURE the only Uchiha of the bunch is a stranger who hates him for no reason Madara can come up with, but! He wants to be a good authority figure!

At least the Uzumaki appreciates that he's trying.

Seriously, though, there are clan kids and nobody’s looking for them, what’s up with that?

Kakashi still has a prize copy of Icha Icha and nobody in the Uchiha compound does a thorough check of his reading material until like three months in.

He is blamed for Naruto developing the Oiroke, because where ELSE would a toddler get such ideas? (Yamato and Obito both tell him he brought this on himself.)

Naruto waits until a Big Important Meeting lets out, something about tithes or a merchant contract, and just pulls a Harem no Jutsu in front of the entire group of Elders And Main Family. First he does a Mass Shadow Clone, which makes everyone turn on Sharingan because Fancy New Techniques to steal! Sure, they were late on the shadow clones, but the kid is clearly gearing up for something! The something is Oiroke.

Anime Nosebleeds everywhere. Most of the elders were hit. Izuna was hit. Madara is not bleeding from the nose, but he is very upset about having semi-accidentally sharingan-memorized his weird adoptee’s Sexy Older Female Alter Ego. There is yelling.

Naruto’s like “Oh, I missed some!” and decides to try again with Reverse Harem no Jutsu because there are old ladies among the Elders, and maybe some straight women representing a guild, and maybe some gay guys he missed! Madara is still not bleeding. (He’s very demi and tbh Naruto only would have succeeded if he’d tried to use Hashirama’s face. Naruto does not know this. He just figures Madara is ace like Sasuke and that no variant is going to work.)

Izuna gets another nosebleed and is just like “Well, this is not how I planned on coming out as bi, but--” “Izuna, I literally do not care about you being bi as long as one of us has an heir at some point, I’m more upset about the fact that my child has been corrupted!”

Back in the Senju compound, there is... a lot of screaming, honestly, but every time Karin and Suigetsu start trying to kill each other again, Tobirama just shrugs and tells them not to break anything.

Very easy-going caretaker, really. He's got some very deadly toddlers in hand, but they're still just toddlers.

Sasuke: Yeah, I might want to go see my clan at some point. Suigetsu: Yeah, I might want to go see my clan at some point. Karin, clinging to Mito: Yeah, I want to go see my clan at some point. Juugo: Please never, ever take me to my clan. Ever. Please. I'll stay with Sasuke, thank you.

Naruto breaks out of the Uchiha compound the first time he enters Sage Mode, several months in (it took a while to get the privacy) because he feels Sasuke and lbr if Naruto knows where Sasuke is, nothing will stop him.

The Uchiha clansmen cannot catch the errant toddler. They fail to inform Madara until Naruto is already in Senju territory because nobody wanted to admit the toddler outmaneuvered them.

Naruto wasn’t sure how to get into the Senju Compound safely so he just goes full Kyuubi, bounds over the wall screaming SASUKEEEEE at the top of his lungs, and then shrinks back down to Tiny Brat size so he could hug his Bestest Friend Ever and cling like a limpet while Sasuke just sighs and stares at the wall.

Sakura ran after him.

Sai painted a bird and Yamato dragged Kakashi onto it to chase Naruto, because Kakashi is at a point of zen regarding Naruto's bullshit and fully trusts the kid to not die.

Obito refuses to look up from whatever he's doing and asks people why they think he cares.

“We told you to look after the toddlers!” “Why would you do that? Seems like poor planning on your part.”

Disappears when nobody's looking. Waits until the Ruckus at the Senju compound (where T7 has crashed in to tackle-hug Sasuke and Madara followed in and proceeded to get shouty, and nobody's dead or battling because they're too confused and also it's a comedy) has started to calm down, and then teleports in and demonstrates Mokuton just to make Madara's life harder when the Senju Elders start demanding answers.

His energy is very "I am here to make Madara's life harder" and Madara still doesn't know what he did wrong.

Madara: That brat has a Sharingan! Tobirama: Well THAT one has Mokuton! Obito: Yamato has it too. [angry teakettle noises]

Madara's first response to seeing Sasuke is to turn to Izuna and point aggressively at the toddler while making a tea-kettle noise "He looks just like you!" "He's four, he barely looks like anything!"

Naruto, tugging at Madara's hakama: You need to make a village with Hashirama so I can see Sasuke more often, cuz I don't wanna ditch you guys, but I gotta see Sasuke! He's my best friend! Madara, who is aware that he could fight this child but really doesn't want to, and also knows that a tantrum thrown by Naruto or Sasuke is capable of leveling mountains: Right, yes, we'll get right on that.

tbh Madara wants the village anyway but "The bijuu-whisperer said he wants it to happen" is a great way to push things forward.

[nyxcharliechaos]

ok so a recent ask gave me a fun idea so here’s my top 5 favourite webcomics,  little explanation for them, why I like them, and links so you can read them as well (most are on tapas some can be found on tumblr too) Heartstopper: wow a comic in the romance genre, I will say now this isn’t in a particular order. generally I don’t care too much for the romance genre, I love it when there’s a romantic subplot but not so much when it’s the main focus however, this comic just makes it fun and LGBTQ+ stuff is usually very welcomed especially when treating the situations realistically like this, and the art style is just appealing. so plot synopsis for those who don’t know Nick and Charlie become friends after meeting up in a class, Charlie was outed as gay the year prior which leads to some people being jerk, after a bit they end up with crushes on each other and end up together, it’s a story set in reality with fun interesting character (especially their friends), I will give a quick warning though as this comic does cover the topic of eating disorders in case you’re uncomfortable with that Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Heartstopper/info Long Exposure: ahh I can’t believe this is almost over, I adore this comic the art is amazing, the characters for the most part are likeable ( fuck Dean Wagner though) the comedy is great, the story is interesting, I love the aesthetic towns near the ocean on the northern west coast area so they get pine trees is my shit so now that I’ve been gushing for long enough what’s it about. Mitch Muller a school bully that had left a year prior after apparently stabbing someone returns unfortunately in the mind of most especially Jonas Wagner someone Mitch bullied a lot in particular, after being forced to be science partners the two accidentally fall into water containing radioactive shit and end up with weird abilities and are now being cased by the government all while realizing how gay they are for each other (well mitch already knew but Jonas is a useless bi so) Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Long-Exposure/info The Blue Witch: pretty different energy from some of the others this is a fantasy comic and I love fantasy so, the story is about Ari who moves to a new town and soon after befriends Liron a blue wizard, and Karin who speaks another language, also everyone keeps thinking Ari is a dragon which due to her eyes but she’s not Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/The-Blue-Witch/info

Ghost Eyes: this one is gonna have a lot of tw if you decide to read it as it covers, parental abuse, suicidal thoughts, death, murder, and there’s a good amount of blood among things I’m probably forgetting, despite how dark it is this comic tells an engaging horror story in an oddly adorable style, also it’s pretty gay, so Tobias is the first of his siblings to ever attend school he grew up in a hyper religious church in the woods and can’t human to save his life, all of this made worse by the demon eater in his head that sometimes takes control, so he befriends Rudolf a very feminine lad that’s extremely suicidal and meets Carmelo a very gay but closeted bully and Emilio who takes immediate interest, all while his uncle is being the worst best character and one of his brothers is trying to help Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Ghost-Eyes/info

Humor Me: the story sucked me in, Charlie just wants to finish school and take care of her weird 4 year old brother (and make sure social services don’t come) and well after a no big deal situation James an older student becomes super suspicious and won’t leave he alone thinking she’s a stalker (hey buddy looked in a mirror lately) and everyone at school thinks she’s a boy Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Humor-me/info

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

ZooPhobia: I do love this comic and I am excited for when the reboot finally happens and that might get it on the list but as it stands I just think the others are better Silent Screams: I think the story is very interesting but i never quite get they hype the others give me Magical Boy: I LOVE this comic and if the list was top 6 it would be on there Finger Game: created by the same person that made ghost eyes but I think that on is better Rock and Riot: the only reason this isn’t on the list is that it’s ended I most of you have prolly already read it Love Spells: the characters obliviousness makes me want to scream but I still love them Jacksons Diary: this hasn’t updated in awhile and it’s actually a webtoon exclusive but it’s still really good Unfamiliar: idk it’s just fun I like witches And a final mention to all the comics based on people real life that I like but didn’t put on the list because I wanted to stick to fiction

there is a 100% chance I missed something

[kastle09]

Believing in Yourself isn’t cheesy, it’s Essential

One of the problems I’ve run into when coaching new players is that while it’s very easy to go through training exercises and passing on character knowledge, I've always found it difficult to teach how to help someone be more confident in their own abilities. 

I have seen many people, good players in a technical sense, fall to themselves because of negative thoughts.  They shut down due to fear of failure, self fulfilling prophecies, and in the worst cases, learned helplessness.

The problem I then face as a coach is not in teaching someone how to get better, but encouraging them to undertake that process at all. 

In doing so I find myself often reaching for that old line “just believe that you can do it”, which is met with a (not entirely unexpected) lack of enthusiasm.

And in this I really want to expand why it’s not just some throw away line that many treat it. I cannot stress to you its importance in order to become a better player. Whether you are about to attend an offline tournament, or play your next ranked set you need to know why it’s important to believe in yourself. Let’s do some Psychology 101

Bandura's concept of Self-efficacy 

“Self-efficacy - A personal judgement of how well one can execute courses of action required to deal with prospective situations"

This concept introduced by Canadian-American psychologist, Albert Bandura, is a measure of a person's beliefs in their own strengths.

The state of someone's self efficacy can give a glimpse on what a person is likely to do in a given circumstance, and their perception of an upcoming challenge. 

For instance a player whose self-efficacy is far below his actual ability, has discouraged growth and skill development. Think about a task as simple as learning to execute a combo consistent, and let’s say they land it 7 out of 10 times.

A player with low self-efficacy may see that as a failure and think: ”That combo is too hard to get right”. This negativity leads to low motivation and eventually a state where a player feels no amount of effort will make a difference in being able to succeed.

A player with high self-efficacy can see it as a stepping stone to greater success. “Okay great we got 7 lets get to 8”, Instead of Obstacles becoming discouraging, it instead spurs the player on to greater and sustained efforts in order to achieve a goal.

You can see in both scenarios, it displays a player with the same current skill level however the perception they have of themselves has a determination on whether they will continue or give up.

Improving one's self-efficacy isn’t as simple as just telling someone to do it. People seem to get frustrated at the fact when saying “well stop feeling that way, be more positive” doesn’t work. (And as someone who has a history with clinical depression it doesn’t surprise me in the least).

What feeds into your Self-efficacy?

To improve our Self-efficacy we need to understand how it can be affected. Bandura identified 4 aspects that affect a person's Self-efficacy

Mastery Experience – Drawing on your previous successes

People will find every reason to avoid a problem. In Street Fighter it's common to want to blame a character being too strong or my character being too weak for example. 

But if that's all you lay the blame on then what purpose is it supposed to be serving? Does it help you perform better against that character next time? No

The only thing that can help you in a spot like that is knowing what you are going to do differently the next time it happens. Idiocy is trying the same thing over and over and thinking the result will be different because that's how you believe it “should be”, not how it actually is. 

Your only job is to try and perfect within the system you are given. Not constantly blame the system (even if the developers later prove you right with a balance change). What are the things in your control.

If you are afraid of some Birdie player doing EX.Dolphin dive or Karin c.mk then that has to be reflected in the way that you practice. If you are beaten by that, yell at the screen, and then hit ready up again, what have you learned? Absolutely nothing. Training mode is there for you to experience situations on a loop. Again and again, until we know exactly what is going on and how we deal with it. 

Mastery experience is drawing on that which has been achieved previously can be replicated again. This is why as well as taking the time to look over your losses to improve, it's equally important to remember and celebrate success, especially when it’s hard earned. Keep it in the memory to push you forward, and especially in moments that are tough because it is there to remind you that if you push through like you did last time, you can achieve success again.

Vicarious Experience – Seeing others that are able to succeed

Like a lot of Street Fighter 4 Makoto players, I looked up to Haitani as my hero and player to watch and learn from. Having heroes to look up to, especially in esports, is I think one thing that sets it apart from traditional sports.

If I wanted to run around and make a play like Lebron James I might need 9 other people on the court to recreate a play, but the beautiful thing about esports is If I watch someone do something spectacular I can instantly jump into the game and attempt to recreate it myself.

Vicarious experience simply put is the idea of “If they can do it, so can I”. Watching Haitani make pixel comebacks or make picture perfect plays gives me the mindset of “Well if I plan right, and play my cards right, I can make a comeback like that”.

For all intents and purposes while I am not as good skill wise as Haitani, in that moment, to make that play. I need to believe I am.

This can have a negative effect as sometimes people seeing others succeed can be de-motivational, in the sense that you think “Man I can never be as good as that” or sometimes watching someone else you think is better lose to similar things and think “Well if he can’t do it there isn’t anyway I can either”. It is important to be aware when these thoughts occur and how to spin it. For instance being able to see it as a goal to chase or to not repeating the mistakes of someone else.

Social Persuasion – The belief and encouragement from others

Despite the competitive nature of esports, talking and conversing with your peers can be an invaluable experience for you.

Even just having one extra person (a training partner, a coach or a friend for example) can be vitally important in your journey to continue. Yes there is some enjoyment in being able to figure things out for yourself and get to a stage where you’ve learned how to help yourself.

If you ever find yourself at a wall however, don’t ever be afraid to simply ask for help. Especially in a local community it’s in everyone's best interest to get as good as they can possibly be. You don’t have to keep banging your head against a wall to try and work on a problem that has been known and solved long ago.

Something that I appreciate greatly about my Newcastle cartel here where I live is everyone from the newest to the most experienced players are always up for learning, trying something new and helping each other out. There is competition still sure, but the strength of the group as a whole is what we value most.

Physiological Factors - The emotional state of mind

It cannot be helped that sometimes your mind and body want to react in ways to situations that are not always beneficial. Improving self-efficacy is not necessarily about preventing those things from happening, but more how you wish to view what those signs mean.

How many of you for instance have sat down for your first tournament match at locals, you hear the game announcer through the speakers, and your leg will not stop shaking and bouncing. Your fidgety beyond belief, your palms are sweaty. How do you interpret those signs?

If you interpret it as a sign of being ill prepared or lack of ability to handle what's coming next. It can decrease your self-efficacy and reinforce in your mind any faults during a game. Soon to spiral and not play how you ordinarily do.

If you have heard about a player “Oh they are great in casuals but play bad in tournaments” this can be an attributing factor. Someone with a clear amount of skill, but no confidence that they actually have it and can produce it when required.

A person with high self-efficacy may instead interrupt these signs more as something that naturally occurs and are therefore able to separate it from their ability. The signs are now a sign of readiness and preparedness instead of the absence of it.

Conclusion

This article was written in response to the anger and disappointment I have when people fail to be able to see what hard work and skill they have achieved thus far, and consider it obsolete. The come with a thinking that: “Well that’s it, I tried and this is all I can do” As Hemingway wrote “any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.” 

Any player who has lost hope, it is a loss all of us feel. It therefore is also on us, to come together to bring them back.

There is of course no magic bullet or cure all for being mental tough when it comes to performance, but I at least hope in reading through this, you will at least be able to recognise and hopefully steer yourself in the right direction

Welcome to 2021, New year, New Us.

Let’s get cracking FGC. - Krisna “kastle09″ Siv

[deathwonderwish]

Day 4 Modern.

Warning: mentions of sex and stuff but nothing explicit (too lazy to actually do the lemon) and OOCness.

Sometimes she asked about her relationship with her neighbour. Even she felt that it was weird. And it truly was.

At school they were kind of like rivals, everyone knew how much she wanted to be better than him, maybe most people in school thought they hated each other but they didn't. And off school they were lovers.

Of course they started as friends, they were neighbours so their families were friends too, Momo, his older sister was the same age as Ichigo, her older brother, those two went to the same high school, his mother and her father used to know each other at college too, so there was no excuse for them to not meet each other as children.

The first time they actually talked with each other was when her mother died in a car crush, they were 3 at the time. She remembered crying in front of him telling him that she didn't want to see Ichi-nii hurt, didn't want to see her father and sister sad. He told her that it will be fine and he agreed to let her play with his toys. That day she learned to play soccer because he was the one who taught her.

Back then people knew them as two inseparable friends, and they were. While he usually got bullied because of his hair she was always there to defend him, and when she needed help in anything he'd always be there to help her as well. They were both happy until they entered high school. Both of them changed, Toshiro became quite popular, because of his grades, and ironically his looks. He was admired by everyone, including people who hated him because they were just jealous of him. He was smart, good at sports, liked by all the teachers, and good looking.

That was when things started to get a little weird between them. Or more like awkward. Neither of them wanted to let their feelings ruin their life. So they stayed as they were before. Karin occasionally would challenge him only to realize she could not beat him. She realised how much better he was than her and it usually angered her.

Things between them really changed the day when she became curious.

“Hey Toshiro, the other day I overheard a girl say that she got a friend with benefits” one day Karin said out of the blue. They were at his house doing a project.

“And? Why are you saying that?” He asked.

“Well, I'm curious”

“About?” He didn't really like where that was going.

“Aren't you curious about sex? I am. We are 16 for god's sake, we are meant to be curious about this type of stuff. A lot of people I know has already had partners of their own and some in our class even has a friend with benefits. While I'm here who hasn't even had her first kiss” Karin complained.

“I didn't know you cared about first kisses and stuff” he said without looking at her. If he had to be honest with himself he thought about those stuff too.

Sometimes he'd wake up in the morning with a hard on because of some indecent dreams he had of his best friend. Those were the reasons why it was so awkward sometimes for him to face her while they walk to schools in mornings.

“Is not that I care about all the first kiss concept being special and all that shit movies talk about, I'm just curious, I want to know the feeling of kissing someone, I don't really care who that person is you know? And sex too, I just want to have the experience, I don't care about this “save your virginity for the right person” stuff that some girl talk about.” She faked the sweet girl's voice while she pretended being one of those girls in movies. “I mean it's so old school to think like that”

He was speechless “you don't care who you do it with?” He asked after a while.

“Not really, if I have the chance I'd do it, you know how curious I am” she admitted.

“What if we have sex right now?” He didn't mean to ask that but when the words left his mouth it was too late.

She blushed, shocked at his question. “What?” it was not like she never dreamed having sex with him. But...

“You said that you were curious right?” Toshiro didn't know what was happening to him but he couldn't shut up. He got up from his chair at his table, the project forgotten and walked over to her who was sitting on his bed with their textbook open. “To be honest, I'm curious about this too. And I do want to get rid of my virginity.” he really had no idea what took over his brain. But it was too late.

She grabbed his shirt and pushed him down toward her.

There was no going back when their lips connected for the first time. Of course it satisfied her curiosity but there was something more. Because both of them knew their feelings for each other. But at that moment they didn't want to say anything.

She thought that he only wanted this because he wanted to get rid of his virginity while he thought that she only wanted to do this because she was curious. It was a shame that neither of them knew how wrong they were about each other's feelings.

“What are we now?” She asked the next day as they walked to school.

“We are still friends right?” He asked coldly. He had no idea how much those words had hurt her

Karin was hurt. She never thought that he'd be like that. He used her just so he could get rid of something he didn't want. While she knew that she couldn't complain because she was the one who said that she wanted this.

“I guess we are now friends with benefits too huh?” She sighed. The sadness in her voice was unnoticed. “i satisfied my curiosity and you got rid of your virginity”

He nodded looking away, he didn't want to tell her that he only did that because he loved her but she didn't feel the same so he kept his mouth shut this time.

They repeated the experience a few times after their first time. Still no one said anything about their real feelings. They both said that they were content with what they had, but deeply they were hurting.

Both Yuzu and Momo noticed the changes. Yuzu noticed when her sister started hanging around her and her friends during lunch. Karin used to spend lunch time with Toshiro. While Momo noticed her brother's change behaviour when she found him walking to school alone, he used to walk to school with Karin.

Yuzu had had enough of this weird behavior. As much as she enjoy having her sister at lunch she hated seeing her favorite couple being separated like that. She wanted to be his sister in law some day. And so far they were doing a horrible job of being together. So one day she confronted Karin with her questions.

“Karin, how is Hitsugaya-kun doing? I haven't seen his around you for a while, are you two fighting again or something?”

Karin tensed at her older twin's question. “i haven't talked to him for a while.” she said honestly.

“Why? I thought you two were best friends”

“We were… it's just complicated Yuzu" the past tense didn't gone unnoticed by the light haired girl.

“Explain to me, if there is something wrong I want to help you Karin. You have always been there for me so I want to help you too” Karin looked at her sister and the look told her that she was serious and she wanted to know what was going on. So she sighed, she couldn't lie to her sister.

“Yuzu… Toshiro and I…we… well... I slept with him, and now everything is complicated” she said. “ok... is not that complicated, we have because friends with benefits now…” she mumbled

The older sister's eyes widened for a second before she placed a hand on her twin's shoulder.

“When?” Yuzu asked.

“A month and half ago, it was when I went to his house to finish that history project…”

“Do you love him Karin?” Yuzu asked.

Karin was shocked by the question. “I guess so…” she had only admired to herself about her feelings before so telling some else about it was weird. “But it doesn't really matter. Toshiro doesn't feel the same way. When we agreed to this, he said that he wanted to get rid of his virginity”

“And what about you, what did you say?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Karin” at the time Yuzu used she could tell that she was serious with every single question.

“Well… I said that I was curious about sex, and that I'd do it with anyone if I had the chance.”

Yuzu sighed and she finally understood the problem. “Karin, you should tell him about your feelings”

“Why?”

“Because you don't deserve this. I want you to be happy.”

“But there is nothing between us, it's only casual sex. It's… nothing more than that…” her voice kept getting lower and lower.

“Karin I think you misunderstood everything. Of course… Hitsugaya-kun misunderstood you too. I know you and I know him enough to to know that you are both really awkward when it come to love and relationships.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, you've been dancing around your feelings for each other and you are both afraid to tell each other how you feel. You know what… never mind just go talk to him, trust me on this”

Karin always trusted Yuzu so the next day she decided to tell her long time friend.

She found him on the roof at lunch time, she knew that he liked that place because there he could eat in peace, before everything happened they always ate there so none of his fans could bother them.

“Toshiro… I want to talk to you” she said straightforwardly. She had never liked those types of girls that forget their voices at the presence of a guy they liked.

“What is it?” He asked without looking up at her.

She was nervous but she didn't let it show “I just want to say something I should have said a long time ago, well two things I guess. First I want to tell you that I like you Toshiro and secondly I'm sorry”

He looked up at her and he was shocked “what?” She liked him too? Since when?.

She sighed and set down next to him. “Lately things have been weird between us… Yuzu noticed it and yesterday we talked. She asked a question that caught me off guard. She asked if I loved you. I already knew my answer when she asked but yesterday it was my first time admitting it out loud that I do love you. The talk made me realize so much, the biggest thing I realised is that I regretted not telling you this sooner. I also realised that-” she was cut off. Her mouth was occupied by hid and she realised that she didn't mind that cliche as much as she though she did.

“I'm glad you return my feelings, and I'm sorry too, I should have told you that before we slept together, I took advantage of you, I thought you just wanted to do it with someone so it could satisfy your curiosity. I didn't want to ruin our relationship so I lied and told you that I just wanted to get rid of my virginity” he admitted. “But I don't understand why didn't you tell me about your feelings?” He asked after a while.

“I never thought I'd be special to you” she said.

“Idiot, apart from my family, you were the first person to accept me as who I am. Before high school people never liked me because of my hair and my personali. Don't you see that you've always been special to me, you are my first friend outside of my family, you and your family accepted me in and treated me like an actual human being.” he confessed.

“Why didn't you confess to me then?” She asked not looking at him because she was too busy blushing.

“I never thought I'd be special to you” he said exactly what she told him.

“You are the stupid one here, you were there when my mother died, you were the one who taught me how to play soccer, you were always there when I needed you. How much times have you helped me when I needed someone.” soon she started laughing and he panicked.

“What's so funny?”

“I just realised how stupid we've both been. Yuzu was right. We are both so awkward when it comes to love and relationships. None of this awkwardness would be here if we were better at expressing our feelings.”

“True” he agreed with a rare smile. A sign that she loved seeing.

“So what are we now?” She asked after a while. “Do you want to start over again?”

“Go out with me” he said.

“Huh, as a date?” She teased.

“Yes. I want to spend time with you doing others things other than sex. It's good but a relationship is not only that”

She laughed at his blushing face. She felt a lot better after this “do you feel better now? I feel a lot lighter now that I told you how I really feel.”

“I do. So do you or do you not want to go 9n a date with me?” He asked.

“A date it is then! I look forward to it.”

When she wondered about their relationship, she realized that it didn't matter if it was weird, as long as they were happy. It never mattered.

[trickstersantana]

A Battle for The Truth

Who: Santana, @ellnaturae @joephilim and Jesús! Location: Undique Stadium Time: 2 March 2019 Summary: Santana wants to annoy people and mock angels so she brings Joe to fight but encounters other people she knows there so obs they all gotta fight each other.  Triggers/Notes: Violence, shooting, guns. Also I didn’t copied the map thingie while it was happening sorry guys I won’t make the same mistake twice.. . . 

Santana was walking around campus, really really pissed off. Not wanting to admit the awful truth that was crawling to her. Ryder is coming back. We are going to do the ritual. Then it's all over. She didn't want to think of the alternative. The monster investigation was fun. But she needed any other thing before falling into a complete despair. Then she saw it. A sign from God. The angel. "Baby!" She calls Joe when she saw him. "Come with me! I have good deeds waiting for you... unless you are..." She put that mocking voice you make for babies or tiny pups. "Scared?"

Joe is not lost. Angels don't get lost. Everything else is simply out of place. This is familiar, but at the same time, it isn't, like maybe the color was different, or--He turns towards a familiar voice, and is not relieved when it's Santana Lopez, the one who escaped death because of his letter. "I'm not scared of any good deeds. That's--what's waiting for me?" he asks, looking around for a lost soul needing shoes, or maybe a bruise that needs healing.

Elliott enjoys going to the gym to keep his body active though sometimes he feels really bad about those guys who actually are there to gain muscles and see him literally lifting several weights at the same time, just a moment ago one dude almost walks into a wall because he was looking at him in disbelief. It is also a nice place to flirt with cute guys, he is not gonna lie, maybe the lifting surprise some of them who would look at him in surprise, but he also attracts other looks for different reasons. He leaves the lifts behind and goes to one of the running machines, unaware of any other conversation anyone he knows is having right now with other people in other place.

Santana kicks out the gym door dramatically like the place is hers. "Run, joey, run!" She demands like it's super urgent and live or dead, until she pass some guys lifting weights. She notices Elliott there, so she sends him a whisper illusion. "Want to see how the Gayest Queen kicks some angel's ass?" She goes to the first empty training room she encounters. One of those with water on a side for water witches. Maybe she could throw the angel on the little pool. That would be fun.

Joe runs like it's super urgent, past the weightlifting guys, and past Santana Lopez, until he almost runs into a wall. Catching his breath, he discreetly looks around to find the good deed he was promised. Until he catches sight of Santana, and casually strolls over. "Sorry, what am I looking for?"

Elliott let's out a small high pitched scream when he suddenly hears a disembodied voice near his ear, "fuck me" he says realizing is Santana, a guy passes by and winks at him "but also fuck me..." he chuckles but then decides to follow the voice and meet with his friend "So are you guys fighting?" he says when he finds the pair standing next to each other.

Santana grins. And points at herself. "My my, little cherubin... I just wanted to know. If you are really the messenger of God... he wouldn't had make you weak, wouldn't he?" She says, making appear her Soul Armament, the gunshield. "I want to check if you are strong enought to survive." She says, aidming at him. "Get ready, you li-" She gets interrupted. A fish jumps in the pool. A swordfish. "Oh no. No. Not you."

The swordfish jumps outside the water, to the gym floor. It jumps more on the floor, fish out of water not breathing well style. Until the fish polymorphs, becoming a standing human man. With wet clothes. He looks very happy to see people. "Mist!" Jesús says, opening his arms, like he was waiting for anyone to hug him. "And friends! What a joyous coincidence to find you here! Hello pals! Folks call me Jesús. Nice to met you!" He says, looking at Joe. "And nice to see you again, buddy!" He says, looking at Elliott. "Are we reunited here to duel... with our wits? I'll love to join let's go!" He barely breathes or pauses between sentences.

Joe narrows his eyes, swallowing back a retort about how he's not weak. "Yeah, you're right. He wouldn't ha--whoa." A huge fish jumps out of the water, and it feels like a sign--probably a sign that he's right. When the fish turns into a human and opens his arms, Joe cracks a smile and approaches him with a hug. "Jesús!" Joe says. "Like the prophet." This is definitely a sign, he thinks, as he shakes off some excess water. "A battle? For the truth?"

Elliott observes the scene in confusion, maybe he should have followed that guy who wanted to fuck "Erm... that's a dramatic entrance" he chuckles "nice to see you again" he says to Jesús, he then looks at Santana "So? Four way training?" he asks her.

Joe notices the demon and inwardly cringes, because I did not forget to react to that crucial bit of information.

Santana wanted to cancel the fight. But then maybe Jesús would just annoy her to dead. "You...you couldn't possibly know I was going to come here! Not even I knew!" And there he was. Hugging the angel. This was going all kinds of wrong. She just wanted to humilliate someone, why everything had to ruin her plans? "There is no fo-" 

Jesús interrupts her. "FOUR WAY TRAINING! We are going to have SO much fun together and you're going to be so happy queniquerrashacerningúnritualdespuésdeesto." No pause. All excited. His sentences just gets faster and faster. "A BATTLE FOR THE TRUTH!" He announces, on a dramatic, deep voice. "What gets broken when its not being held?" He asks, and big smiley flowers appear from the floor. They look like they had been designed by a 3 year old girl and then that 3 year old girl payed 5 dollars to a 2 year old girl to make the 3d versions of them.

1d6 Jesús attacks Santana = (2) = 2

1d6 Jesús attacks Ell = (1) = 1

1d6 Jesús attacks Jow = (5) = 5

@Joe Hart 22/22 👼🏼 Yeshaya L2:  1d6 Joe counter = (5) = 5

Joe jumps a little, but tries to play it cool by rolling his shoulders. There's a riddle, and flowers that smile at him, and he's so confused. "Our trust in the Lord?" Joe answers the riddle.

@Santana 61/62🐮LvL 5(2/3)🔫🛡:  1d7 Santana counter = (1) = 1

Elliott looks at the flowers thinking they are sort of cute, he has no idea what the riddle means "Broken when its not held? What the fuck?" he asks loudly inadvertedly answering his own question.

Santana slips with the watery floor and the flower jump scare, and hits her Perfect and Flawless butt into the floor. "Ugh! Your illusions suck ass! See how it's really done!" She says, making a real scary fucked up realistic giant plant, full of thorns going to attack Jesús.

@Santana 61/62🐮LvL 5(2/3)🔫🛡:  2d7kl1 REAL santana attacks jisus = (7+6) = 6

1d6 Jesús defend himself from Santana attack = (1) = 1

Joe takes a step back, inadvertently towards the demon, when suddenly there's an angry thorny plant attacking the nice guy with the prophet name. "Is this really a battle for the truth??" An edge slips into his voice, and there is one thing he can think will provide comfort; a tiny orchid mantis. "Hi," he greets him.

Elliott can barely react when he sees Santana attacking Jesús, he shrugs and summons Ziggy, it was always better to work with her and there was something they have been meaning to try together for a while,, he is about to move and join the training when Joe steps back and he bumps into him.

@Karin😈Ell 56/59:  2d6kl1= (3+6) = 3

Elliott trips and Ziggy goes flying at the other side of the room, barely hitting Jesús.

Jesús trying to grab and hug Ziggy = (6) = 6

Jesús hears Joe's answer. "No, pal! Wrong answer! But it was a good try! I'm sure you can figure it out!" He conforts him. "Is not the frick either!!" He shouts to Elliott. "You can do it! I can give hints too!" Jesús gets distracted by Santana's attack. "That's a really good illusion, Mist! I'm proud of you!" He says, and hugs the cutest snake flying to him. "Oh my, you are the cutest thing." He whispers, wide eyed, to the snake, and gently puts her in the ground. "You're beautiful. But I don't know if you can swim." He says, and lets himself fall into the water, turning again into a swordfish. He moves faster swimming.

The three flowers merge into a giant one. "Y҉O҉U҉ H҉A҉V҉E҉ T҉O҉ S҉O҉L҉V҉E҉ T҉H҉E҉ R҉I҉D҉D҉L҉E҉" An unreal, mechanical voice sounds. It tries to  pats Santana's head.

1d10 Flower attack to Santana = (3) = 3

@Santana 61/62🐮LvL 5(2/3)🔫🛡:  1d7 Santana's counter = (5) = 5

Ziggy is very cute indeed, she hisses to Jesús "thanksss".

Fiyero shouts "ZIGGY IS SUPER CUTE!" from the distance. Nobody saw him.

Ari agrees quietly before slipping off into his spy cat life.

Joe is really confused about everything that's happening. There are flowers, and snakes, and fish, and all he can think to do is send Yesh to attack the flowers patting Santana Lopez on the head.

@Joe Hart 22/22 👼🏼 Yeshaya L2:  2d6kl1 +1 = (4+6)+1 = 5

1d10 Flower counter to yesh = (2) = 2

Elliott teleports next to Ziggy, maybe they could join forces against the flower.

Santana shouts "I'm not going to play your ridiculous riddle games!! And the answer is obvious and super easy!" She says, shooting illusion bullets to the water where Jesús is. "Daisy help me out!"

@Santana 57/62🐮LvL 5(2/3)🔫🛡:  2d7kl1 +1= (2+1)+1 = 2

2d6k1 Jesús counter because he gets advantage in the water fish perks = (1+6) = 6

Jesús as a fish, jumps and throws really fake illusory bubbles to Santana. They have hands and smily faces and they try to hug her. He makes an illusion of his own voice, because he can't talk in fish. "C'mon pals! The answer is a noun. It starts with a P!" He goes back to the water and moves away from Elliott, really fast.

The flower tries to give a clue to encourage riddle solving. I҉ W҉I҉L҉L҉ E҉X҉P҉L҉O҉T҉E҉ S҉O҉O҉N҉ I҉F҉ Y҉O҉U҉ D҉O҉N҉'T҉ S҉O҉L҉V҉E҉ M҉E҉ The illusory sound is so loud and distorsed it can hurt ears.

1d10 Plant attack to Elliott = (2) = 2

@Karin😈Ell 56/59:  1d6 + 1d5 + 2d6k1= (6)+(3)+(5+1) = 14

Elliott takes Ziggy in his hands, he takes a deep breathe, he is a little nervous to practice this tecnique, the soul armament, but he is also excited, the snake starts disolving in dark smoke and she slowly becomes a long chain, the links look rusty, with intense orange and yellow tones coloring the metal. Elliott grabs the chain strongly, and he runs toward the flower, he takes a little jump for impulse and throws one of the ends of the chain towards it, as it hits the flower, Elliott teleports and with the other end that is still on his hand appears on the other side of the flower, surrounding it with the chain, but he miss calculates and falls to the water.

Joe watches, wide-eyed, as the demon disappears from next to him and appears in a different spot. How can he do that? How? He bites the inside of his cheek and starts trying to think about the riddle. Something with a P that breaks when it's not held... "Pan?" he asks, knowing that Jesús speaks Spanish with that weird run-on sentence about rituals. Bread can be very crumbly, right? Santana Lopez seems to not be at full health. He doesn't entirely trust her, or at all, really, but at least she's not in the water and attacking him? "May the Lord Bless you," he says, reaching out with his hand to put it on her shoulder.

The flower illusions dissapears, losing all its strength with the last chain attack.

Jesús as a fish, gets surprised  to find a friend in the water, so he turns into his human form, just his head above the water. "Woah you're so fast, buddy! Wanna enjoy a swim?" He shouts very loudly outside "It's not a pan! The answer was A PROMISE!" He said, looking at Santana, like it should mean something. "But let's go for another riddle! If I have it, I shouldn't share it, because if I share it, I won't have it. What is it?" He says, and another illusion appears. Is a tiny cartoony hunter man. Very fake and very unreal. He appears in the same place as the flower was.

Tiny Hunter Man moves on his own spot. "Fast fast! Said the answers before this bomb explotes!! You have one!" Says the little man, showing a sandwich with a countdown.

Santana is super angry. "Shut up with your riddles you fishface! And stop turning into that gross thing!! This is not the fish market!" She shouts, feeling like... in better heal for some reason. She laughs, noticing. "My my! The Lord Bless me? Of course!" She aims at Jesús with her gun, hoping not to fail. 

@Santana 57/62🐮LvL 5(2/3)🔫🛡:  1d100=100  = (15, 0 successes) = 0   @Joe Hart 22/22 👼🏼 Yeshaya L2:  1d6  = (5) = 5 (Santana’s blessing healing)

Joe panics when Jesús sends over another illusion, and tries to swat away the sandwich-bomb, with Yesh pecking at it like the nice snack a sandwich is, regretting blessing Santana Lopez when she pulls out a gun. “ARE YOU ALLOWED TO DO THAT??” He asks her, still shell-shocked from the disappearing demon. “An object!” Joe shouts confidently as the answer to the riddle. @Joe Hart 22/22 👼🏼 Yeshaya L2:  1d6 + 1d6 level 2 familiar attack = (3)+(5) = 8

 1d15 Tiny mans counter attack to Jow = (9) = 9

Tiny Hunter Man jumps and screams at Joe, while showing signs of a flashing and annoying bad illusion. "NOT AN OBJECT! THINK DEEPER OR BOOM!"

Elliott thinks harder "aaaah..." he starts thinking "Is it a promise again?" he is still in the water, he moves his arms a little to keep a float, and then tries to hit the new illusion with his chain again.  

@Karin😈Ell 56/59:  1d6 + 1d5  = (3)+(1) = 4

1d15 Tiny hunter man counter to Elliott = (9) = 9 

Elliott splashes the water annoyed.   

Jesús gets out of the pool, still all clothes wet. "Aw, aren't we having fun! I'm having so much fun! Being with friends, solving riddles, not having to change anything about ourselves, not hurting anyone on the process wOAH! Isn't it so great? Who would want to lose all that am I right? But let's go for the next riddle! You can swallow me, but I can consume you too. What a-"

Santana interrupts him. "Pride." She is too annoyed already. "Ha, promises, secrets and pride." She says, coldly. "I'm not having fun. In fact, I think you are really boring." She tells her fake uncle. "Now, Elliott, my my, you got some new moves! Those are really cool, I hope to train more agaisnt them someday" She says, starting to ignore Jesús and focusing on the rest. "And you cherubin, what a cutie, healing and being scared of a little gun shield. Aw, adorable. Santana will kick your ass other day." She says, blowing a kiss to them and getting out of the room before exploting on everything going on, but still putting a bitchy smile on her face. "Bye bye!"

Joe is actually sort of flattered when he’s called cute. Even though he is not a cherub. “Um, goodbye?” He looks at Jesús, and then at the demon. “This school is...” confusing, “interesting.” Yesh flies back into his pocket, and Joe gives him a soft brush. “I’ll, um, be here if you need me. May the Lord forgive us.”

Elliott, still in the water, looks at Santana as she goes "Would be a pleasure" he smirks in response. Then gets out of the pool as Ziggy goes back to her snake form. All his clothes are wet. He waves at Jesús "Was nice too see you, I'm sorry I'm bad at riddles" he chuckles, he then looks at Joe and goes pass him without directing any words to the angel.

[boreussia-durmmund]

Hearts don’t break around here - part 10

A/N: so in this very moment i am on my way to Luxemburg, my new home for the next year. I don’t exactly know if I can keep up posting in the next weeks but there will only be one chapter following this one and then the epilogue. I hope you enjoy it :) Credits of the pic to owner!

Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

No I'm not gonna make it without you standing next to me

Dinner was short in the evening before Lou excused herself to get ready for bedtime. She took a trip around the house, saying goodnight to everyone. Her parents and brothers pulled her into a long group hug and then everyone gave her a kiss on the cheek. Then her father pulled her into another hug and he joked it was time to let go of his little sunshine and she assured him he never had to, some tears were spent as everything on this day seemed to be over-emotional and it wasn't even the wedding day. They would need tons of handkerchiefs tomorrow.

After this she made her way into her bed, sent Roman a goodnight text and put her phone away. But although she was so tired that it had been hard to keep her eyes open during dinner, now in bed Louisa felt wide awake. After turning around in the sheets for what felt like hours she got back on her phone and called Roman. Maybe just listening to his voice could calm her down enough to fall asleep.

In the morning she woke up with her phone still lying next to her in bed so she indeed fell asleep while still listening to him. She got up and took a shower before tip toeing into the kitchen as it was just past six in the morning and she doubted that many people were awake yet. They didn't need to be up for another hour but she found her mum and her uncle there. Breakfast was soon over and now Lou found herself  sitting nervously on a chair while a hairdresser was taking care of her hair. Neither her mum nor her best friend, Lisa, who were walking up and down the room helped her stay calm.

Around half past 8 some of the guests who were staying over at her family's place for this night arrived leading to the door bell constantly ringing and people being noisy in the background. Lots of them waved at the door into the bathroom in which Louisa was getting prepared. She always greeted them friendly and spoke a few sentences before they said see you later and left them alone.

With each passing minute Louisa was slowly but surely becoming nervous. It wasn't that she wasn't sure about marrying Roman, after the make-up of the fight yesterday she was. Nonetheless something inside of her was uneasy.

Things could go wrong, they definitely could. There would be nothing stopping them from doing so except for the perfect plan them and their familys made. The plan was indeed very sophisticated and Lou was thankful that she didn't have to work most for it. Still though there were mistakes in it. It was impossible to prevent everything that could go wrong especially because there were certain things they couldn't control like the weather.

Lou tried to reassure herself that it should be a sunny and way too hot day for her own liking just the same as most of the summer 2018 had been.  Not her favourite weather but for the wedding, the pictures and the party it barely could be any better. Today would be amazing, she tried to convince herself but failed.

Her mum and Lisa both told her everything would work out fine for at least 20 times but somehow Lou couldn't stop herself from being concerned.

“So princess, your wedding dress is old, the shoes are new, your necklace is borrowed and the barrette is blue.” her mum recalled when both her hair and her make-up were done and she was in the wedding dress.

Lou was a more than fully dressed bride with her vintage wedding dress, her curly hair in an amazing updo, a fine looking barrette which her grannys gave to her a few years ago, the white veil and Karin's necklace which really fitted into the style perfectly. Her mum had told her she knew about Karin's plans and seemed to be happy for her as well. In contrast to her relationship with Roman which started a little uneasy she had liked Karin from the beginning on.

“So we've got something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” Lou and Lisa said in unison.

“We sure do and we are on time.” her mum replied looking at her watch.

“Then let's head to the cars but I give you two a moment alone before we do that.” Within a second Lisa had left the room. Susanne smiled at her daughter and Lou could see some tears in her eyes.

“I love you, Mum and I am so thankful for everything you ever done for me. I couldn't have had a better mother.” “Even if she didn't like your husband in first place?” her mum joked. “Even then.” Lou chuckled.

“And I couldn't have a better daughter. Isi, you have no idea how proud I am of you and how amazing you look right now. I am really glad that I can give Roman such an amazing wife.” Some tears were already coming up in her and Louisa knew this wouldn't stop for most of the day.

“Mum, you make me cry.” “Come here, princess. Let me hug my girl.”

They stood there her mum's arms around her while Lou fought the tears at her best because she couldn't ruin the make-up. She could have stayed in this moment a little longer, being her mum's little one, but they parted eventually.

Susanne pressed a kiss on Lou's forehead and told her she looked breathtaking. Some more compliments and fifteen minutes later they were on their way to the car. Alex, her cousin, would be driving, with her mum as shotgun and her dad with Louisa in the backseat.

It was just a few minutes past 9:30 when Alex started the engine. In about two hours they should be in Münsingen ready but so far it seemed like they would make it on time.

Her dad kept Lou's hand in his, slowly caressing up and down her skin. It helped her relax more than her mum's and Lisa's words.

Rationally Lou couldn't explain it but emotionally she knew her dad was best at keeping her calm because of her being a daddy's girl. That's why her mum made him sit in the backseat with their daughter instead of sitting there herself.

“I can't believe today's the day.” he said looking at her after they had been silent for the first minutes of the car drive.

“But it is.” Lou told him with a small smile on her face.

“My little sunshine is finally getting married.

Isi, you have no idea how proud I am.” Lou's smile grew wider while listening to his words. His hair was grey but to Lou he was the still the man who could fix everything for her and she loved how wise he sounded when he talked to her.

“You grew up to be such an amazing woman but you stayed as kind and lovely as you were when I could hold you up with just one hand.”

Lou laughed shyly and heard her mum chuckle from the frontseat. Her parents were great, they really were and she loved them with all of her heart.

“And in contrast to your mother I really liked your boyfriend from the beginning on.” Lou didn't need to look up to tell that her mother was sticking her tongue out at her dad but when she did, Louisa was proven right.

“Susanne, behave in front of the kids.” he joked and then they all shared a laughter.

“Anyway Roman is a great guy. He is loyal, protective, kind and most important of all, he loves you with all of his heart. Plus he was one of my favourite goalies of all time at Freiburg so this is a pro for him as well.” “Dad!” Louisa interupted him laughing at his joke and he smiled at her with the most heart-warming smile she had ever seen.

“You two will be great and hopefully great enough to have some grandchilden for us. But you just have to know that although I hope you will be as happy as you can be, living your life with Roman to the fullest, I always want you to remember that you have got a home here with us. Whatever happens your family has your back and your daddy can try to fix it for you. So if you need us, we are just one phone-call away.

We love you unconditionally and we will always, always be there for you.

We love you, little sunshine.” It was just past ten when the first real tears made it down Lou's face this day and so much more were meant to follow them but all of them were tears of joy.

Her dad smiled and hugged her and then it was silent in the car for a while. Susanne and Alex kept arguing about the right way to Münsingen but Louisa and her dad seemed to be in their own world. Both of them were chasing after old memories from when Lou was little and every once in a while they smiled at each other.

Finally 11:19 they arrived in front of the church. Time to get married, was all Lou could think of but somehow her dad had kept her mind distracted enough that she hadn't worried about the wedding within the last hour and was now most of all excited and barely scared.

Once they got out of the car, everything was in a rush and a few minutes later only her dad and she herself were standing in front of the church door.

Carefully he reached behind her head and pulled the veil in front of her face.

“Ready, little sunhine?” he wanted to know and Lou nodded in response.

“Then give your dad the honour to take you to the perfect man for you.” “I love you, daddy.” “And I love you sunshine.” He hesitated for a second waiting for any other reaction from Louisa but when she didn't gave him one, he offered her his arm to hold on to and opened the door.

Inside it was loud, really loud. More than 150 people had made their way into the church and were talking to each other but when the wedding marched was played they instantly fell silent.

For the firt steps Lou tried to just concentrate on walking in the high heels she was wearing but she saw all the people turning around nevertheless.

Everybody was looking at her, staring at her even.

They were admiring her and how wonderful she looked today because this day was only about her and Roman. When she felt a little easier on her own two feet she dared to pay attention to the people. Most of them she recognized but some of them were distant relatives of Roman or friends of his she had never seen or other footballers he was friends with. Of course some riders were invited as well.

Lou smiled at Malin, Alex, Crissy, her aunts and uncles, her grannys, Manuel and Melanie, Julian and Sarah and everyone who met her eyes returned her smile as brightly as possible and her granny was already crying. But after looking at everyone else in the room Lou finally dared to look to the front of the aisle where her husband was standing.

Just looking at him in this suit was taking her breath away, it was a black and white tuxedo nothing exraordinary but on Roman it looked more than extraordinarily.  They were still about eight meters apart but when Lou saw the admiring look in his eyes she just wanted to cry out of pure joy. This was the most amazing man she could ever imagine to marry and in a few minutes she would indeed be marrying him.

Nico and Marco who had been standing next to him gave him a final pat on the shoulder and went to their seats while Lou got closer but not without both of them smiling at her brightly as well. When she took the last step torwards Roman she had to keep herself from falling into his arms instantly because this was everything Lou could ever imagine to need, him and only him.

Her dad nodded at Roman respectfully who nodded as well and then Roman took the veil and pulled it behind Lou's head. She could see the exact moment when he realized that she was already crying and she knew that he wanted to comment on it because Louisa could read him like a book. But instead of commenting on it he took her face on both of his hands, making Louisa feel as protected as he always made her feel, and then pressing a kiss to her forehead. It was slowler than usual and full of emotion and respect. When Roman leaned away from her again and took her hands in his she could see that there was one tear rolling down his face as well and it made her happy. Emotionally both of them were more than ready for this wedding.

Her dad had taken his seat as well and the priest started talking.

@be-your-own-anchorx @buerking38 @hopelessdreamer11 @carlaimberlain @geekyyears9 @iuliaaa21 @avril-rush-goose @minthurricane @degea-drama-llama @ednamor @team-erikdurm  @pichitaasensio @imaweirdobutyoulikeit

[electraposts]

AIC 30

Her day started ludicrously early, but suffering was just her lot in life so it made sense. Aiko was incredibly morose about it but she made it to the office at 4:30, right about the time that a wan-looking Nishikawa unlocked the doors. They exchanged a commiserating look. Aiko's protection detail merely stared at them, miserable and baggy-eyed a few feet back. The woman leaned against the wall while Nishikawa shuffled off to turn on the lights and turn off the security system.

She took a moment to wonder if her supposed bodyguard was going to keel over and die. It didn't seem like a bad option, honestly. The sun wasn't even up. Aiko was an absolute monster for causing her staff to be at work this early.

Silently, Aiko put a hand in her pocket and offered the bodyguard a candy from her stash.

The chuunin took it on a nimble reflex. Then she looked at her palm. Her mouth came open slightly and lines formed on her forehead. She looked genuinely confused about how this state of affairs had come to be. She was not ready to live in a world where there was a cherry candy on her palm. She had not prepared for it.

'I think the night shifts need to be shorter,' Aiko decided. '11 pm to 7 am is unreasonable. This lady is going to die.'

That seemed like a good time to go and start the coffeemaker. Aiko filled the one intended for her office staff and just stood there, waiting for it to percolate. Nishikawa came in as the machine was finishing up.

He gave her a mildly concussed stare, as if he wasn't completely certain who he was looking at. “Ah, thank you, Mizukage-sama.”

She meant to tell him it was no trouble, but she wound up yawning at him instead. He pretended not to smile and instead turned to pull out milk from the fridge.

She had already sorted through the dishdrainer to find the cup with his name on the bottom and set it next to hers on the counter, so she poured coffee the instant the dripping stopped. He took his mug gratefully and drained it as-is while she tore open sugar packets. He was half-finished by the time she leaned against the counter and started stirring with her usual yellow spoon. Security wasn't allowed to eat or drink from the same sources as the kage, so the chuunin went off to secure the premises.

They were both on their second cup before Aiko dredged up the will to focus on work. “Today.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I have a meeting with Sakurai at noon. Right?”

Nishikawa took a moment to respond, eyes flicking upward. “Yes,” he said slowly. “I'll make reservations and tell him where to meet you. Do you have a dining preference?”

“The private room in Koyama.” She yawned. She covered her mouth with her wrist. “Also invite Yuusaku and Karin to this lunch. I'll bring Gaara with me when I go. So make the reservation for 5, I suppose.”

He just nodded. “Would you like to order at the time, or for me to select from the menu?”

“We'll order,” Aiko decided. “Karin is picky, I think.” She knocked back the rest of the cup, and oh there was a deposit of sugar that she hadn't fully dissolved. Yes. So good. She deserved this. “Other than Sakurai, assign that group as working on the reserved space with me. Add Keisuke and Ryuusei too, tell them to report by 1:50. Kanagawa-sensei confirmed his group, right?”

“Un.” Nishikawa rinsed out his cup and filled it with water. “So you'll be out there from about 2 until 6?”

“Sounds right.” She gave a stretch. “I'll be back in the office around 7 to handle any correspondence and signover paperwork. Ask Saito-san her opinion on the two accountant candidates, but you'll make the final decision. I want someone starting on Monday.” She refilled her coffee and started tearing open sugar packets. “Priority is the letter to Nadeshiko, have Sakurai bring it with him to lunch so I can approve it. If it's good, send it with a three-man team.”

“Of course, Mizukage-sama,” he murmured. He watched her stir her coffee. “Is there anything else?”

She pursed her lips, but couldn't think of anything. “I think we're good.” Aiko lifted her coffee in salute on the way out. “Once more, into the breach.”

“It's Thursday,” Nishikawa called after her.

“I know. Twice more into the breach just doesn't sound that good,” Aiko yelled back. She heard him laugh as she opened her office door. Her protection detail had already unlocked it and circled the room to end up behind the genjutsu curtain. Aiko took pity and asked the chuunin to watch for threats from the vantage point of the couch. It did not take much convincing.

She spent way too much time doing paperwork. Other office workers began trickling in after a couple of hours, as well as her change in bodyguard. Aiko sent one of them away with a stack of documents to be filed when Mira came in. Saito came in with a particularly hard jaw to take the mission assignments. Aiko took the correspondences out to Nishikawa's desk personally.

And they were off. Gaara brought in a report about his investigation into the poison, and then sat in on her interview of the team that had escorted the relevant shipment.

“All the way from Nadeshiko to the processing,” Oda Kai promised. He managed to meet her eyes when he said it.

His twin sister nodded agreement. “We noted no irregularities. The merchants' identities and papers were verified in Nadeshiko, one of us was present and alert with the group at all times during transit, and no signs of tampering by the merchants or any outside party were discernible.”

“Right.” Aiko glanced down on the profile of the four-person merchant team. She had already checked over the information for the farmer and the processing plant where the tsukemono had been made. It looked legitimate so far as she could tell from Kirigakure. “This was the second such mission you have taken from Nadeshiko, correct? Have you done similar missions in past?”

The twins exchanged a glance. Kai tilted his head at Aoi. She sucked in the side of her pockmarked cheek and took the initiative. “Many. A truly numbing amount, but there was a break of several years between these escort missions for Nadeshiko and the missions we did prior.”

Gaara gave Aiko a sideways glance at that, but kept his mouth shut.

The movement had drawn both chuunins' attention to Gaara. Aiko considered their obvious curiosity and thought about publicly sharing Gaara's apprenticeship status. She should do that. Eventually. After she got things sorted out with Temari.

“The merchant company that came left Kirigakure after less than 24 hours within our walls. Does this align with their implied plans before your arrival?”

Kai nodded. “It does. And while that is an unusual profile for many merchant visitors, it aligns with a merchant delivering a pre-arranged contract. They would have a financial interest in returning as soon as possible to their home state.”

The interview didn't yield anything outright useful. Gaara rounded on her when the door shut behind the chuunin.

She leaned back and took a deep breath.

“The long period of time between their previous escort missions and the Nadeshiko escort is a discrepancy. Why?”

Aiko wound some hair around her fingers and pursed her lips at her student. She tried not to look too disappointed, because the answer there was easy. “You need me to tell you why that's true?”

Gaara looked a little affronted. He stood perfectly still and narrowed his eyes at her.

She tilted her head.

“Changes in leadership and economic troubles,” Gaara said.

“Pin-pon.” Aiko gave him a thumbs-up. “Good thought. They would have done that kind of mission routinely as experienced genin and novice chuunin. They would not be taking those missions now if we had caught up on the backlog of low-level missions.”

“So it is not relevant to the poisoning.” Gaara looked away.

“It isn't,” Aiko confirmed. “But it was good to notice that detail.” She felt mean to shut down his line of inquiry, but not all ideas were correct. Noticing the oddity in the first place and wondering about it was a sign that Gaara was applying analytical thinking. He was doing well.

She shook the thought off with a sigh. She'd bring it up at his next performance review. Giving feedback all the time wasn't a good use of their hours together.

“Do you want to personally come with me to Nadeshiko to speak with Shizuka?” Aiko put away his report and started digging for what she would need next. “I'm going to wait until a day or so after she should have received our official complaint about the issue. She will undoubtedly look into the incident on her end immediately to ensure that none of her people put her in breach of contract. So it's best to give her some time and cut down on waiting.” Aiko found what she was looking for and unrolled the long scroll onto her desk top. “Look at this, please.”

Gaara took two steps closer. “Accompanying you is acceptable. Is this the park project for the day?” His tone was neutral.

“It sure is,” Aiko said cheerfully. It was nice to be done with the absolute desperation measures. The bare bones of infrastructure for safety and housing were in place, so some community works could be done before pivoting to updating things like aging water lines. “You're going to help me dig out this lake here, and move the soil and sand over to form this bank and planting area. At that point, my genin- chuunin, sorry, my chuunin and the two genin teams will work on filling the lake with fuinjutsu while we go and retrieve the saplings.” She flexed her fingers. Then she went to dig out the hospital funding report, because she needed to talk to some old people about hallway width and secure storage for medicine.

“And then I will direct the Academy students in planting small trees,” Gaara said.

Aiko gave him a quick look through her eyelashes, because it was hard to read his mood from his voice there. His face didn't bring more enlightenment, so- “Yep. And poor Yuusaku gets to direct his teammates and Karin in using all the lumber to assemble the planting beds and park benches. Or maybe split them up from the genin teams...”

Gaara actually looked at her for that. He took a long, slow breath in. “Karin-san will not be pleased.”

“Karin is a genin,” Aiko said absently. “She can be as grumpy as she wants, she is a village asset just like everyone else. And we are making a pretty park together like a family.”

He gave her a long, steady look that implied he was weighing her chances of surviving that conversation. “This path here. What purpose does it serve?”

Aiko took a look. “Running path, for civilians and Academy students. It's a safe, central location away from the training grounds. It will also be very pretty when the plums and cherries are blooming.” Eat that, Konoha. They had pretty shit too.

“And the herbs will scent the air,” Gaara said. He seemed to be just a bit amused by the whole thing.

“That's practical,” Aiko defended. She sat back in her chair. “Planting herbs and fruit trees and vegetables for public consumption is part of combating poverty and hunger. In combination with the rice subsidy-”

“I did not mean to criticize.” Gaara unfolded his arms. “My apologies, Aiko-sama.”

She watched him suspiciously for a moment, but allowed her student to back away from his sass. “Go survey the area,” she ordered. Her attention was already turning to her next meeting. “Take the plans with you. After that, the morning is yours until you will meet me here at 11:45 to head to lunch.”

“Mizukage-sama.” Gaara rolled up the scroll and tucked it under his arm. He paused at the door. “There was one more thing.”

“Oh?” She tore herself away from the report. “Not about the poisoning- our guest?” Hell, they still had Raidou. Maybe they should, uh. Let him go or something. Or move him into diplomatic housing once it had electricity. What was he working on now? She should check up on that...

“The unconscious guest.” Gaara, bless him, said with with no humor at all. “He has awoken. About four minutes ago.” He seemed perfectly fine with the party line about the Konoha delegation and how they were enjoying splitting their time between Mizukage-inflicted hospital arrest and hard labor.

'Not like Utakata.  The sighing every time he has to talk about the situation is getting old.'

Aiko considered telling him not to leave his sand on strangers to spy on them, but it seemed counterproductive. It was useful. “Alright, thank you. I'll go check on that soon. For now, he should be in good hands.”

'Am I being a bad mom by not correcting his manners, though? He should respect peoples' privacy. Sometimes. Why did he even want to spy on Sai? And why didn't he get bored with that? Sai has been unconscious for weeks. That was commitment. I want to be impressed but I also want to make him apologize.'

She touched a pen to her lips as she leaned back to watch her most confusing child leave.

Sanbi heaved a sigh and rolled over. He didn't even pretend to be interested in the dilemma.

God. She leaned on her elbows a bit, reflecting about how sorry she felt for herself. She would never have imagined her life turning out this way. She was a single parent and manager of a large flock of murderous lunatics. No one else was going to help, so she had to raise all her illicitly relocated children by herself.

...Actually, fair enough.

'But no, Karin is above-board. Her village head knows she's here to spy on me. So I didn't do anything illegal there anyway.'

Sanbi slapped against her mind. “Please let me rest. Your justifications are giving me a headache.”

The moral highground was a lonely place. Shame that all the turtles were down in the lowland of sinners.

The hospital board came and went, although they had the newly appointed head doctor with them this time. Utakata stopped by to make sure she drank some water and hovered until she finished eating the apple he cut for her. Someone came to apprise her of the change in Sai's condition and confirmed that her genjutsu hadn't fried his brain, which was pretty good to know. She approved some serious painkillers for him and fought her way through the rest of the morning and tugged her hair unpinned as she and Gaara left for lunch. It fell over her shoulders with interesting pin crinkles and some humidity frizz. Aiko made a mental note to get a haircut, because she had uneven ends from some fight or something. She couldn't keep track anymore.

Sakurai kept remarkable composure when his working lunch ballooned into a social gathering. Yuusaku arrived next, looking neat in his new chuunin jacket. That netted him a look of approval and a few minutes of chatting until Karin strolled in and pulled out her chair with a screech.

“Good afternoon,” Karin said cheerfully. She was already flipping the menu open. “It's a good day for oden, don't you think?”

Gaara sat back and watched her as though he suspected she might choose to bite someone. He didn't seem afraid for himself or anything, just as though he was certain a sudden smiting was an easy possibility.

'I wonder if that healthy wariness has to do with Karin herself or if it's an impression that Temari left about older sisters.'

“No, not when we're going to be using a lot of chakra. Oden is relaxing at home on a cold day food. I want steak,” Aiko said. She signaled over the waitstaff. “Hello, thank you. Could I get this? The sweet potato side, and tea. Water as well.”

Karin gave her a sharp look, but amended her order to katsudon. She didn't say anything else until the man left to take their orders to the kitchen. “What's this about a lot of work?” She turned her face a little to the side and tilted it so that her chin was at a positively dangerous angle. “I have a full day of training planned.”

Gaara went so still that it was obvious he was working not to lean back.

'I guess Karin laid down the law. Maybe about the way he drips everywhere out of the shower? That would drive her mad. I should be home in the evening more to keep an eye on them.'

“Karin, this is Sakurai-san.” Aiko gestured and repeated the introduction the other way. “Karin is my relative, a current genin. You might have heard of her. And Sakurai-san is a member of my administration who oversees the city development and planning.”

Karin's eyes glazed over. “Wow. That must be a fun job.”

“I like it,” Sakurai said mildly. “It's very nice to meet you. Will you be working with us today on the park project?”

“She will,” Aiko said cheerfully. The look she got from her prickly daughter was pure poison. Karin was going to be vicious one day and it was absolutely precious to look at the seeds. “She's going to learn how to interpret the diagrams for the wooden parts from Tazuna before he leaves today, and then she will be in charge of supervising the two genin teams working with us today.”

It was kind of beautiful, Aiko reflected. Karin puffed up to argue until the part where it became she was being involved as management. Then her curiosity won over her pride and she leaned in to ask-

“What is this project about?” She adjusted her glasses, because Yuusaku was frowning at the way they reflected light into his eyes.

Aiko nodded to Gaara.

His voice started off a bit gravelly. “It is a community welfare project that will increase the attractive qualities of the city, as well as serve as intensive training in water and earth ninjutsu for the lower-ranked shinobi involved.”

Karin frowned, but she didn't seem sure of what to think. “I see.” She pursed her lips. “I can see why you'd want to clean the place up a bit. It is pretty bleak.”

'Fuck is she talking about? Is Otogakure lined with fucking daisies? Orochimaru got a lot of fountains?'

She could feel a scowl coming on.

Sakurai swooped into the conversation, even and reasonable and ever so deserving of a raise. “We have many projects planned that will increase the visual appeal of Kirigakure as well as raising the quality of life here. We believe that it is an important factor for morale and mental health.”

blood splattered on the cobblestone steady steps behind but she was racing ahead of Tsunade. Touch one, two, three. They fall, they fall, they fall-

Aiko shook off a memory and crossed her legs. Kirikgakure didn't always make a great first impression, it was true. “This is going to be a large park, the west side dominated by a lake with a running path surrounded by various scented and edible trees and plants,” she said. “The east part is planned to be recreational fields as well as some gardens for relaxation and consumption.”

“Huh.” Karin wrapped a fist around some of her hair and leaned forward. “That seems alright, then.” She sniffed.

“Yuusaku will be supervising the jutsu usage of his team and supporting an Academy class in clearing the riverbed.” Her student seemed pleased to know his role, smiling slightly. “Gaara and I will help around, and then work on filling flowerbeds with the plants we have so far.”

Sakurai was hard to read, but at the least he didn't protest about the staff she had chosen for the project. The odd group got through lunch alright. Afterward Aiko snagged a finger through Karin's collar and tugged her along to meet Tazuna. He and his men were already packed up and ready to go. The village head was clearly waiting. He impatiently walked to meet her, face verging on thunder and precious architectural plans held in the hand that wasn't a fist. Aiko smiled at him and waved to some of the men milling behind. One of them ducked his head away, but a couple of them nodded. Three of them appeared to be sleeping on their luggage.

'It is definitely time for them to go home for a break. It is probably a week or two past the time they should have gone home. I need to make sure they're adequately compensated. I can't afford them to have a negative preconception when we are remaking our image.'

The brusque old man opened the plans and started talking as soon as Karin was within earshot. “I'm not repeating any of this. The namby-pamby arches are going to be death from above if you forget about the support here, so don't. It needs to go in at this angle. Benches are less dangerous, worst you'll get is a sore ass if someone screws up.” His grouchiness levels went down slightly at that point.

Karin gave Aiko an incredulous look. She smiled placidly back.

Tazuna drew his posture up aggressively, earning Karin's attention back. “But don't screw up anyway. Look at this here- don't skip it, I know it looks ornamental and it's a pain in the ass but it'll keep the damn thing around til the wood rots.” He cleared his throat and put his free hand on his hip. “You got all that?”

“I do,” Karin replied primly. She took the plans in a quick movement that Tazuna clearly didn't register until she was holding them behind her back. “I'll follow the instructions precisely. Is that all?”

Tazuna blinked at his empty hand. Then then veteran construction worker seemed to really look at Karin for the first time, with her sharp eyes, confident posture, and neatly tailored jacket. He sighed. “I liked those Konoha ninja I had around for a while, but I gotta say they make 'em a bit smarter in Kirigakure, don't they?” Aiko covered a snort as Tazuna shook his head. “You're a young lady like Hikari-chan, aren't you?”

'Ah, right. She has no idea that he thinks that's my name.'

Karin followed his nod to Aiko with a carefully neutral expression and no comment.

“She is,” Aiko said. She looked at her clever little cousin and felt proud. She swayed just that little bit closer to give Karin a companionable bump with her hip. “She's spying on us for a foreign country, but I like her just the same. I was sneaky when I was a teenager, too. It's a good phase.”

“What.” Karin's lips didn't entirely close. She took just one step back, turning so that her body was facing Aiko. She looked remarkably like she had been hit in the face with a squid. One hand slowly crept up toward her chest and stopped, unsure of what she should be doing. Panic? Become defensive? Deny it? Run away?

Sanbi started laughing. “Your youngling-” he cut himself off with a chuckle. “Her face. Ah, I think she understands my suffering.”

'It's good for a girl to be knocked off her high horse every once in a while,' Aiko thought unrepentantly. 'Tsunade did that kind of thing to me, and look at how I turned out.'

“Moral and considerate?”

'Nah. Sturdy.'

“Could do worse,” Tazuna agreed mildly. “She does remind me of you at that age.”

Aww. He was so dadly. Aiko tried not to let her expression soften as much as it wanted to. He had actually met her when she was not much younger than Karin. Not this specific Tazuna but hey, details. Aiko warmed at the implied compliment anyway.

“Yes, I hope she also ends up deposing someone to rule her own country when she grows up.” Aiko put a hand to her cheek and smiled warmly at her cousin.

She gave a quick check over, trying to read the younger girl's thoughts from her face and body. Karin's heels were thoroughly on the ground, her body language tense, her chest facing Aiko dead-on. A little defensive, but… Karin had correctly read the air and skipped right over the fear reaction for confusion, which meant anger was coming any time now. “We Uzumaki are born to be queens.”

Tazuna snorted. “Are we ready to go, your highness?” He made some fluttery motion that was probably not respectful enough for her station and dignity.

“Hold up.” Karin made a sharp hand motion and scowled. “Wait, what? You know that I'm a spy.” Karin crossed her arms and widened her legs. She was smart enough not to try denying it. She was brazen enough that the statement came out as an accusation. “What are you thinking?”

Tazuna sighed and turned around to rejoin his workers.

“Of course I know,” Aiko said mildly. She tilted her head down at her cousin, because come on. It had been very silly for Karin to think otherwise. “But I'm not worried. You don't know anything that could damage me, you haven't yet been contacted, and I'm going to have to kill Orochimaru-san anyway.”

Fury sparked in those red eyes. “Like you could,” Karin spat. She leaned into Aiko's personal space. “Orochimaru-sama is incredibly powerful.”

“He is,” Aiko agreed. “He's certainly one of the best shinobi in the world, and a genius. I would not feel eager to face him alone.” It wasn't difficult to keep her tone and body language neutral, because Karin just did not intimidate her at all. “But I'm strong as well, and I am working with two other nations to get back something that he stole.  This is the way the shinobi world works- your personal strength is not always enough. A shinobi who lives without powerful allies is always at risk.” She put her hair back up with the ponytail on her wrist. It was time to get back to work.

“Hm.” Karin just watched Aiko adjust her hair, angry but silent. The vertical lines pressed between her eyebrows were proof enough that she was thinking over every possible angle. “You're very certain.”

Aiko nodded at the point, because of course she couldn't absolutely know. “We will probably kill him,” she amended. “If Orochimaru-san kills me, of course you would be wise to return to Oto. But if Orochimaru-san dies, I hope that you will consider staying with me. Family is important.” She smiled.

Karin was silent and impassive.

'Look at that. Two minutes after having her cover blown by a foreign kage, and she isn't panicking or putting herself at risk.' Aiko tried not to be too visibly proud. 'I told you that she was a clever girl. She has all the self-preservation instincts that skipped over the rest of our family. She'll outlive us all.'

“I did not contest her wit,” Sanbi said. He was clearly having a good time. She got the sense that he was leaning forward to catch every word that was said. “Now say something disinterested and walk away. That will be satisfying.”

'You're my best friend. Of course I'll be dramatic.'

Her voice came out serene. Aiko was hyper-aware of how having her hair up made her neck look long and dignified, her chin tilted at just the right angle to look at Karin through her lashes. “In any case, your outside loyalties are why you cannot be promoted or given much responsibility at this time. When and if you reconsider, you may be elevated. You may follow Yuusaku now.”

She nodded to the figure waiting not too far off, because keeping an eye on Karin was part of his job. Then she made eye contact with Tazuna and held up a hand to indicate she was ready to go.

Her sweet baby cousin stiffened at the dismissal. Karin looked like an offended Pomeranian, with her round eyes and wrinkled nose. If she'd had fur, it would be standing straight up. “Ugh.” Karin gave her a look somewhere between confusion and disgust.

Aiko gave a little wave and sauntered away.

“Ah, satisfying. That was an interesting approach,” Sanbi said. “Why do you not employ secrecy?” He sounded curious, not judgmental.

'Karin is direct, and it's important for her to respect the people she works for. She would never respect me if she thought that she was more clever than I am,' Aiko responded absently. She gave a little stretch before holding an arm out to Tazuna. 'If I let her view me as a mark, she won't want to stay here. I'm letting her know that she has actual options. If I just killed Orochimaru, she might stay here, but she would have the baggage of trying to conceal her original reasons for coming and fear of repercussions. I'm removing that consideration.'

“Seems like a sweet kid,” Tazuna said absently. He hefted his knapsack and kept his left hand on the straps. His right reached out to shake her hand, which had not been the plan but whatever.

“That's true,” Aiko agreed instantly. She grabbed the closest construction worker by the shoulder and took them to Tazuna's house. “I love her.” She let go of those two, flickered back to Kirigakure, and motioned over two more men.

But it was understandable that other people might not realize how sweet Karin was off-hand…. Aiko took a moment to ruminate on how ridiculous the first group of young shinobi Tazuna met had been. She dropped two construction workers at Tazuna's house. She went back to Kirigakure and motioned over two more people. Team 7 had set a false standard for young shinobi eccentricity. She thought it over while she efficiently transported the entire crew back home.

It was better not to correct those misconceptions, she decided.

She stood around and smiled and said the right things when Tazuna gave a little post-trip speech to his workers and their gathered families. He was supposed to wait to announce it, but he launched right from talking about how much money they had made to how Hikari and her little friends were going to revitalize their village by building things. For a group of about 30 people, they made an impressive ruckus when Tazuna started talking about how a girl from their village was the Mizukage. Wives, children, and random assorted relatives gave Tazuna delightfully baffled expressions at that. Tazuna and his men looked at her cheerfully.

There was a visible ripple of confusion from the villagers who had not spent two months in Kirigakure. They looked Aiko. She looked at them. She clasped her hands in front of her hips and gave a pleasant little nod in response to all the scrutiny.

Aiko smiled, but she felt tension run through her body. She didn't want to use genjutsu on any noncombatants if she could help it. She was not good at that. Sai still had a heaache. She looked over the crowd faces, cataloging their thoughts and reactions. Would anyone refute it?

“Wow,” someone said. And then the crowd erupted into excited conversation. A middle-aged woman gave Aiko an interested look and leaned to ask her husband something. He shrugged in response, showing his palms and a cheerful flash of teeth. Similar interactions were happening all around.

She tried not to laugh. 'It almost looks like none of them remember me,' she told Sanbi. 'How odd.'

“They take him at his word,” Sanbi noted. “This is unreasonable.”

'It makes some sense,' Aiko disagreed. 'Most people don't like to publicly tell their leader that he's wrong. And it's in their best interest to believe it- it's flattering for them. They'll probably spend the next couple of days deciding that they remember me just a little bit, especially as the people I put under genjutsu months ago chime in with unremarkable stories about my mother coming into town occasionally.'

The day dragged on. She returned to Kirigakure and hollowed out a lake. She and Gaara moved the leftover soil to the planting beds that Yuusaku had managed to direct into being so far. He gave her a tortured look over the heads of shrieking, muddy Academy children who were nominally helping. Keisuke was bent over picking a splinter out of someone's thumb while an Academy teacher directed the more obedient children in laying boards.

Aiko nodded at Yuusaku and gave a stretch. She swiveled her head over to check that Karin hadn't killed any genin yet. Everyone looked quite alive. Good, good.

She brushed her hands off and took Gaara to pick up the plants she had prepaid for. The salesman gave her a look of polite confusion that became stronger every time she carried potted plants behind the building, set them in Kirigakure, and hiraishin'd back for another peach tree. He gave his watch increasingly concerned looks and left at one point to splash water on his face.

“Will he ask?” Gaara said in an undertone.

Aiko shrugged. She bent down to deposit a particularly large plum tree with the small forest they were settling a few hundred feet from where Karin barked orders. “If you thought some two strangers were buying your whole stock and putting it in your alley, would you want to say something?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.” She cast him a curious look. “We are different people. I would just let that go. Sounds like none of my business.” They twined arms, crossed continent, and then dropped their contact to briskly walk into the greenhouse again.

The elderly man behind the till gave them a distressed look and pretended to be reading a newspaper. Aiko put a plum tree on one hip and a rosebush on the other, held the door open with her foot, and walked out the door and just around the corner. Gaara was carrying four plants with no sign of strain or wobbling, which was unbelievable until she looked close enough to see that they were actually hovering in place. A pot of lavender bumped cheerfully against his heel where it couldn't be seen from behind the counter. She suppressed a smile as she led them into the alley. As soon as they were out of easy sight Gaara obligingly touched his elbow to hers and then they were in Kiri. They set down plants. They returned. The old man took a step back from the window and started talking under his breath.

“Aiko-sama.” Gaara sounded thoughtful. She glanced down at him. “I will arrange the transport for the second shipment of seedlings.”

She shrugged. “Whatever you like. One less errand for me.”

“You will transport me,” Gaara disagreed. “And attempt to have a pleasant conversation with the floral staff while Yuusaku-san and I put plants into a wagon. Then the wagon will be pushed out of town. At that time, I will ask you to use your transportation technique.”

Aiko sighed and wiped some dirt off her shirt. “Your way sounds fine too.”

“Mizukage-sama.” Mei casually surveyed the work happening around, eyes lingering on the line of genin doing their best to fill the new lake. It was going slowly, but, uh, they were genin.

“Mei,” Aiko greeted. She kicked a pot over a few centimeters. “It's lovely to see you. Did you have a report from Ao-san?”

“Yes.” Mei's nose wrinkled. “We will have a visitor from Konohagakure in two days.”

She eyed her subordinate. “Is it Jiraiya?”

Mei's jaw was tight. “It is.”

Aiko sighed, and it was like all her energy left in that breath. Great. Jiraiya. He was such a great houseguest. “I'll greet him personally. Anything else?”

“Sunagakure has sent word ahead that we may expect them at the outer border tomorrow.” Mei cast a lazy stare on Gaara. “We will host a three-man team.”

“Ugh.” Aiko scrubbed at her face. “We'll have to work to keep Jiraiya ignorant, he's such a goddamn snoop. I'll babysit him. In that case, I need to run an errand out tonight. I don't want to leave Kirigakure while he's here unless I can help it.” She yawned, feeling a wave of exhaustion pressing down while the sunlight faded. “Thank you for the information. Oh- Raidou. Have him in my office at 9pm. I'll have a talk with him.”

“As you wish.” Mei nodded and turned away. “Mizukage-sama.”

Aiko watched her go and admired the way all that red hair moved in the wind. “Gaara.”

Her apprentice stopped and gave her an expectant look. The line of potted plants hovering en-route up the hill stopped and bobbed in place.

She reached out and ruffled his hair. “I'm never going to be as impressive-looking as Mei is, am I? She looks so cool. All the time.”

Gaara sighed.

[nothingnicetosaysitnexttome]

90 Day Fiance: Season 7, Episode 4

Ooooh chile. The biggest takeaways for me this episode were thank goodness for Anny/Robert and Anna/Mursel b/c the rest of y’all sleeping on your responsibility to entertain. Let’s start with the worst and get to the best and by best I mean (5 dumpster fires out of 5 dumpster fires)

MIKE and NATALIE

We start with Mike leaving his beloved ranch in RURAL Washington state to the best side character to emerge on this show-Beau. Seriously his 10 seconds on screen was the highlight of this reel. We then flash to Natalie and her two friends in Ukraine (umm...have I been saying it wrong for years by saying-the Ukraine?) who are imitating human women going shopping. No joke, this is some earth girls are easy shit but with a gender swap. When Natalie yelled “vote!” on the dress to her two friends I had to check if they were blinking. We then get some background on Natalie via ‘exposition friend’ who she knows from work. Okay, big request to 90 day, alongside their country can you please put their profession? Everyone always says “job” “work” I NEED to know what these people are paid to do. Thank you, TLC. Natalie used to be married to a man who owned a big business. He could spoil her and give her all she wants. I needed them to call in a shady editor over from the early Rupaul’s Drag Race series to pull up some footage of the ranch. Something tells me Natalie gon be bustin out

We also hear Natalie talk about how Mike had a weight issue and that was important to her because she is such an active person. Judging by the pictures they were showing before I think Mike’s in for some serious body-shaming. He arrives and says “look at my cute little girl” and I almost vommed. Then he described her in the bedroom for a solid 60 seconds going through the entire motions of acting out a tigress and I projectile vomited everywhere. No surface in this house was left untouched. He then says hi to her mom who adores him even though neither of them can speak a word to each other and I suspect it is because the mom knows this man is her daughter’s ticket out of this home and they head off to play tigress meets the... I can’t I can. not.

MICHAEL and JULIANA

Unless I blacked out which -let’s be real is possible-they were in this episode for a solid three minutes. The kids continue to bring on wisdom well beyond their years and Juliana thinks it is a smart idea to style her hair and the daughter’s hair the same. The princess Leigh do only makes her look even younger. The kid’s bi-o-log-i-cal mother shows up and iconically states: “some women may be intimidated by someone so young, so tall, so skinny, so gorgeous, so intelligent, so traveled but I don’t have time for that.” And I said let the preacher say amen! She then says to Juliana there will be no parenting for you which- if I was 20- I’d be like fine with me brah y’all have it. I take “not mothering” to mean I’m never gonna discipline these kids, pay for anything they gotta do, and when they wanna stay up all night cool step-not mom is gonna allow it.

BLAKE and JASMIN

So we are introduced to Blake and Jasmin. It was very hard to focus because this man had straight-up JT NYSYNC bleached to high heavens Ramen hair on top and a Michael B Jordan beard in black on the bottom. But he starts describing going on a dating app after getting divorced at a young age and I’m like this looks promising. They’re about the same age, they’re both attractive, she comes from Finland which people are not fleeing in droves (in fact girl can I get trade citizenship with you- don’t ask why- it rhymes with Rump) and then a couple red flags come in each with a full music stop. The first is that this grown man lives with his parents which seems to be this season’s theme. As soon as he said that I was like hold up- hold the phone. And this is not a Norman Bates situation like Colt-e and Larissa where he is living there because his mom is his everything. This is a-I’m poor as hell and this “music thing” is me “uploading tik toks on the regular thing.” So how is he paying for this visa? The second was that Jasmin’s sister won the green card lottery and lives ten mins from Blake’s house.This got me thinking back to the  dating app they met on like hold up-he said he didn’t realize she didn’t even live in America which means this feisty minx right here probably put up like a 10-mile radius around her sister’s house. Maaaan, don’t hate the playa hate the game. Annnyyywaaay the sister and Blake drive to the airport together and the sister seems like she is not quite present. She mentions being excited to get to know Blake followed by him asking her several questions and her with the lights on, but no one home. I was very curious if Jasmin was going to have the same energy and surprise! She does. When they get back to the hotel room he says they have some alone time what should they do and she responds “shower and sleep” SAVAGE.

TANIA and SYNGIN

Now Tania pulls a move here that is a classic 90-day fiance guaranteed fail. As someone who has been watching the series since day 1 you never spend the first few days in a place waaaay better than the nowherelseville you live in. So after taking him to NY to stay in a hotel they go to CT to her mom’s shed. That’s no shade to CT but you could take me to a shed in the south of France and I’d be like I’m out. She should’ve had them share a room in an elderly home for a few days and been like surprise! private shed! On top of that she told him it was ready and it ain’t. And on top on top of that she is bossing him around to get the work done as fast as possible exactly how she wants it. If I was Syngin, I would’ve gone straight: 

and been like if we living in a shed it’s Syngin’s shed, Syngin’s rules, and Syngin’s way of life. But instead, they have an explosive fight on day 4, which is always great when you have 90 days.

ROBERT and ANNY

Now this couple is taking me on the roller coaster I was promised. This is the enterTAINTment a bitch needs! One minute I’m team Robert, the next minute I’m team Anny (to be fair I am like 85% Team Robert but you get the point). So it starts off with them going off to meet Bryson’s grandparents. The mom is out of the picture but the grandparents are not and Anny is so upset about it. I am like why is she acting so weird about this and saying they need to leave the past in the past.

Then grandma shows up....

and grandma is fooooooooiiiiiiine as all hell. I was like ooohhhh got it Anny, got it. Also, is Bryson’s mom 12? Nana Stephanie proceeds to have a very rational- if not a little invasive -conversation with Anny who is not having her at all. She is at an 11 straight out the gate. And when Stephanie reveals herself to be a porn star (Diamond Foxxx-you’re welcome) Anny is all that’s disgusting she’s uneducated. And that is some bullshit. If Stephanie wants to be a porn star, by all means, do you. Robert then takes Anny to a restaurant when she really should be in bed with some Theraflu. In this hoarse voice, Anny pulls out a bunch of screenshots of Robert’s exes on his fbook. I'm on the fence on this one. For the most part, I think it's fine if you keep up pics from old relationships but I suppose I could see why it might bother someone. Then Robert reveals Bryson is not his only child. Oh no-the man has FIVE children by four different women. That was a full mic-drop moment for me. I was like hey umm DJ run that back. Did you say five? Four baby-mamas? And where are these children?  They have been portraying this man as this savior single father and did not let us know about the other kids until episode FOUR. Well done, TLC. You go for that Emmy.

ANNA and MURSEL

With this couple I simply cannot. I have zero idea what this man’s motivations are. He does not seem into Americans or American culture and he does not seem into Anna. Is he a hostage? Honestly, I do not know. They go on a bee-keeping adventure which for them is foreplay but the man is shading Anna’s bee-keeping abilities!

She is trying to use this whole experience to set off a night with some bubbly and Boyz II men playing and he is not getting it. at. all. because neither of them understands a word the other one says. She’s all-”does my bee-keeping make you horny baby?” and he's like “bees, yes.” They’re then on their way to what I think is her bridal shower and she is telling him to talk to her friends but she literally has to hand motion “talk.” He arrives and understands nothing and no one commenting on how in Turkey only men have bachelor parties. Oh my non-alcohol drinking friend you have yet to see a bachelorette party. All her friends are confused because these two can barely communicate like even on the most basic of levels. In terms of relationships via google translator, I would put them BELOW Paul and Karine and that's a low ass standard.

So that is this week’s episode of 90 day fiancee! RIP to Angela and Michael and Sasha and Emily because they were not shown for a single second. We keep you in our prayers.

[mugiwara-lucy]

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 20 Review-DEM EYES & Papa-Daughter Time-My Thoughts/Review!

Hi, everyone! Emi’s here for my review of episode 20 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations!

Now I know everyone might wanna rip me a new asshole for being a day late but I highly recommend you read this post of mine I made yesterday!

http://mrs-gossipgirl.tumblr.com/post/164227588887/whats-your-schedule-like-this-year

In any case, let’s dive in!!

The episode starts off from the last one where the masked person who attacked Sasuke is later revealed to be Celebi!

Or rather his lookalike XP

This raises massive red flags for Sasuke who decided to send a message to Naruto via his handy-dandy traveling hawk

This then leads Naruto to contact Kakashi who estimates that the person who attacked Sasuke might be an Uchiha survivor

Jeesh, Naruto! Let an old man relax when he wants to retire! Geez....

But on a serious note, Kakashi’s note honestly makes a lot of sense because just because Itachi killed the Uchiha who were in the Leaf Village doesn’t mean those were the only Uchihas in the world so there possibly could be more Uchiha around.

Just Saiyan.

Speaking of said “Uchihas”, we see how the mysterious boy meets with a cloaked figure who looks to be his master. And it’s shown how they both consider Sasuke to be nothing more than a disgrace to the Uchiha, mainly because he killed Itachi.

Then again, Itachi is the revered fan favorite of the series.

.....Save for Minato and Madara XD

In any case, we switch to Sarada who visits her mother in the hospital before going to her closet and dons her Gaiden/Boruto movie garb

FINALLY!!!!!! I was WONDERING how long it’d be before she wears this outfit again!!

Soon after, we see her follow Naruto who leaves the village before being stopped by Chocho who wants to find “her real parents”.

.....Yeah XD

In any case, before Sarada and Chocho can go aware, they notice how Boruto arrived at the village gate to give Naruto a boxed lunch that Hinata made for him but he left. This leads to Sarada wanting to deliver it to Naruto for him while this also leads to a small argument between Boruto wanting Sarada to drop it while Sarada insisted before he eventually gave in, thanks to Shikamaru.

As Sarada and Chocho finally leave the village we see what looks to be a mini version of the Ten Tails watching the two from afar

Seriously, you can’t tell me that DOESN’T look like the Ten Tails!

Following this we jump back to the site of the mysterious boy and the cloaked figure who now have a special interest in Sarada due to being the daughter of Sasuke

Said daughter is later ambushed by the mysterious man which leads to a brief altercation

The two are quickly overwhelmed and it seems all is lost.

Until Lord Hokage saved the day!

In order to combat the mysterious foe, Naruto powers up into his Nine Tailed Tailed Beast Mode

Beautiful!

...Although I have to say this looks kind of.....underwhelming when I compare it to the manga

Just a small nitpick XP

In any case, Naruto easily disposes of the kid and before anything bad happens, the mini ten tails clone teleports the kid away using his own version of Kamui

Naruto then powers down before quickly deducing the kid was after Sasuke.

Because after all, what’s the series without Sasuke? XD

Okay, I just got the idea for a POTENTIAL future post! I might do a post analyzing the series WITHOUT Sasuke.

I can say the series WON’T have a happy ending. Yes I know A LOT of people hate him but he’s VERY, VERY important to the series.

A series without Sasuke is like Dragon Ball without Vegeta. (I’m ready for the flames for that comment XD)

Sarada then decides to give Naruto the lunch box Hinata made, thus triggering a memory of the bell test when Sakura and Sasuke fed him

Naruto then thanks Sarada before deciding to have lunch time with Sarada and Chocho.

Lucky! I WANT lunch time with Naruto!! =(

Okay, sorry for that XD

Getting serious, Sarada is curious about Sasuke and how he was as a kid and Naruto then decides to give them his tale of how Sasuke was in comparison to him.

To start, Sasuke was a playa just like Naruto.

Okay, technically Naruto is a ladies man with a Tropes Page about him listed under “Clueless Chick Magnet” as well as “Chick Magnet” so that’s not TOTAL BS XD

Here’s the page if anyone’s interested XD

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/CluelessChickMagnet/AnimeAndManga

That ain’t a lie :3

How many pics do I have of Naruto like that on my hard drive? :3 You all don’t need to know XD

Sasuke was also at the top of his class in ninjutsu like Naruto

Sorry, Nardo. Can’t defend ya here! XD

Props to Chocho for calling that out XD

The most honest comment from Naruto was how Sasuke was essentially a prick, unlike him.

SO FRIKKIN TRUE.

But if there’s one thing that will ALWAYS be true is that Sasuke is Naruto’s boyfri-I mean Rival.

This vid sums up the entire of Shippuden, TBH

Naruto also then points out how Sarada is essentially the spitting image of Sasuke while she has Sakura’s personality

The trio then finish their lunch before making their way to where Naruto will rendezvous with Sasuke. While taking breaks of course. On the way there we see how Sarada feels relaxed when she’s around Naruto.

Then again Karin did say how “bright and warm” Naruto’s chakra was

After a few more trekking, Naruto, Sarada and Chocho eventually make their way and are in route to a green tower where Naruto will meet Sasuke.

Sarada then has to “go to the bathroom” which is later revealed to be a plot for her to meet Sasuke for the first time.

We see this desire is so deep and emotional that it awakens the Sharingan in her

1 Totem Sharingan I should add!

Sarada then makes her way inside the tower where she discovers the Sauce in all his glory!

However....before a tearful daughter-father reunion can take place...

Sasuke turns his blade on Sarada!!

And that’s the episode.

My thoughts on it?

1.) The animation and soundtrack. I liked the soundtrack used in this episode and I think the one where we see *SPOILER ALERT* Shin was a new one. And the animation was better than episode 167 BUT I still think the scene I mentioned above with Naruto in his chakra mode was kinda underwhelming compared to the manga, haha.

2.) Plot Progression. Considering how we’ve covered FOUR out of the ten chapters for Naruto Gaiden, we’ve made AMAZING plot progression! Especially considering how Sarada has finally come in contact with Sasuke. Although I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of Sauce’s sword :O And I’m also shocked SP is really getting through Gaiden at this rate. HECK, we could be done by late August or early September at the rate we’re going!!!

And speaking of Sarada this brings me to my next point:

3.) Sarada’s outfit change. I am SO happy Sarada is wearing her Naruto Gaiden/Boruto Movie outfit! I mean look at it! It looks kickass!!

However, unlike 75 % of the fandom I don’t hate Sarada’s “next generation” outfit though. I think it’s pretty adorable!!

As I’ve said countless times on my blog, I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill over her outfit. Especially considering how I’ve seen people call Ikemoto a PEDOPHILE.

SMH.

But something I noticed in this episode concerning Sarada’s outfit, if you noticed, she got the outfit out of a closet in Sakura’s room so is the outfit Sakura’s outfit??

Just something to ponder.

4.) Spoilers! I’ve already read all this in its manga presentation two years ago and for the sake of anime ONLY people, I won’t spoil anything for anyone. ^_^

5.) My review schedule. Okay, so some of you may be wondering why this review came out a day later. Well I’ve gone back to school yesterday and as said in this post:

http://mrs-gossipgirl.tumblr.com/post/164227588887/whats-your-schedule-like-this-year

Mondays and Wednesdays are my busy days along with Fridays to an extent while on Tuesdays and Thursdays I only have one class in the morning so I’ll have these reviews out on THURSDAYS rather than Wednesdays.

Sorry for the inconvenience if it causes any but it’s something that has to be done.

In any case, thanks for reading and enjoying my review and I’ll see you all in NEXT week’s episode!! ^_^

[elliotthezubat]

DEATH CITY DAYS CHAPTER 76

from fire brigade formals to zombies to snowy days

Relan: *stares at the 3rd new commander* "..." iris: she seems jittery... shinra: considering all the controversy surrounding the 3rd these days, i can see why. Relan: "..." *walks up* "Commander?" tennouji: !!!! *salute* 3-3-3RD BRIGADE ACTING COMMANDER HIMARI TENNOUJI R-R-REPORTING SIR!! Relan: ._. "..." *salutes* "??? I...I'm Relan. I was...in the 3rd?" tennouji: oh. i-i-i think i might have s-seen you around. d-did you have a pet rat? Relan: owo "...His name is Buttons." tennouji: ah, so that was you then. shinra: ^^ Relan: "Y-Yes...How are you adjusting?" tennouji: i-its scary Q_Q Relan: o_o "...You should speak to Obi! He is newer at this work and is full of helpful advice!" tennouji: i-i wouldnt want to impose- Relan: "He wouldn't think of it like that. And he's far less intense than Captain Hinawa..." -elsewhere- Hibana: *slurring slightly* "Then that pointy-nose masked jerk is the _real_ villain! I told y'all!" gabriella: *holding her up, to make sure she doesnt fall over* hibana.... ._.; huang: ._.;;; Asako: =_= *takes another sip of brandy* "He most certainly was a dick." Hibana: =w= "Gabby, I know you want to get close to me--" *fiery eyes* "BUT I'M STILL COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT BASTARD." gabriella: ^-^; a-at least be sure to drink some water... Hibana: "Could you pour me some~?" gabriella: of course. Asako: "--and his voice was really disgusting..." -elsewhere- Patty: "!!! SHE'S ADORABLE!!!" hanako: >.< Patty: "Hee hee! And what a wonderful dress! Your moms picked it out?" hanako: ._. *nervous, hiding behind one angel* Patty: owo "...Oh. Didn't mean to scare you..." *backs up* angel 1: it's alright. ^^; hanako: mom said not to talk to strangers... Patty: ^^; "Fair enough..." -elsewhere- Bakugo: *grumbling whining muttering* itsuka: [hey katsuki ^^ ] Bakugo: "..." [yo. how's it goin?] itsuka: [good. craming 4 exams w/ the squad >u< ] Bakugo: [they asked u for help or u volunteering?] itsuka: [study group @ tokage's place.] [PS tokage and tetsutetsu said to say 'hello'.] Bakugo: [tell them my exam grades will be better than theirs] itsuka: [noted] -elsewhere- midnight: *patching her arm up while mt lady is asleep on the couch* Mount Lady: "Zzz..." *loud snore* midnight:...(honestly, what am i gonna do with this one?).... *puts a pillow under her head* Mount Lady: *stops snoring* =w= midnight:.... (she's still young. hopefully she'll mellow out in time.) *chuckle* (i remember when i was young and naive like that. not a care in the world.) Mount Lady: *curls up on the bed, yawns--and grows two feet, her feet falling off the bed* -elsewhere- Black Star: "--and hence, I got a grandfather." tsubaki: it's nice to meet you, sir. grey*star: likewise. Black Star: "And Tsubaki is a great weapon! She has multiple forms, is sweet, smells nice, cooks--" tsubaki: ^-^; Black Star: "And she's a great caretaker to our family--" grey*star: ._. you...have children? Black Star: "I mean, sort of? Adopted." grey*star: ah. -elsewhere- stocking: mom? you ok? felisia: *whimpering, holding her stomach* Mephisto: "...Do you need some time to chat, Sweetie?" stocking: *hugs her mom* felisia: i-im so scared....w-what if i mess up? what if i do something wrong? i-i dont know what to do! *crying* Mephisto: "..." *hug* stocking: it's gonna be ok, mom. we're here for you. and your circumstances are different from before... Mephisto: *nod nod* "We're not going away..." felisia: t-thanks...*rubs her stomach* its ok...im going to do my best for you.... Mephisto: *nods, smiles* "We know..." -elsewhere- Kid: *cradling Shiori* shiori: babu! Kid: *holds up a doll* "And who is this person?" ^^ lord death: hard to believe she'll be 2 next month... Kid: *nods* "Growing up fast..." lord death: ahhh, im getting all teary eyed thinking about it! TT~TT Kid: "..." *whispers to Shiori* "I think Papa needs a hug..." shiori: hug papa. lord death: *HUUUUUGS* Kid: *hug* ^w^;;; -elsewhere- Aizawa: *yawns* "Okay. Location is set for tomorrow..." yuuji: cool. so these kid's quirks... Aizawa: "Surprising, huh?" yuuji: yeah....but this romero kid....i get a bad vibe from him... Aizawa: "...Little prejudicial?" yuuji: s-sorry. 7-7; -elsewhere- Shamrock: "Can't sleep?" mahiru: guess im just anxious. Shamrock: "Given past experiences, I suppose that is to be expected." mahiru: .....*pets kuro* Kuro: =_= mahiru: *small chuckle* Kuro: *kitten yawn* "Stop chuckling..." mahiru: ^^; Kuro: *curls up* "A cute thing like me deserves a fluffy blanket and kitten treats..." -elsewhere- Q: zzzzz.... Adam: "???" zoey: *hums a lullaby as she strokes Q's head* Q: =w= Adam: *listens* ("I never heard this...") zoey: *smiles and hums* Adam: *yawns, sits back* -elsewhere- Victor: owo "...That's new." nozomi: i figured it was time for a new look. i'm gonna have a busy night ahead of me. Victor: "Oh?" nozomi: deciphering my father's notes and what not. Victor: "After the party, though?" nozomi: *she nods* -later- shinra: aahhh. im beat. Relan: "But it was fun..." *yawn* shinra: yeah.... *sigh* Relan: "...What's wrong?" shinra: i didnt see the 4th commander at all. i figured maybe we could get answers from him... Relan: "...Maybe you need the direct approach? Ogun could help?" shinra: maybe. Relan: "..." *pat pat* -elsewhere- Asako: "..." vivian: captain? Asako: "??? Yes, Vivian?" vivian: are you alright? Asako: "...I did not see Grandfather." vivian:......oh.... Asako: *wipes her eyes* "I guess I had to expect it..." *sniffs* vivian:....*understanding hug* Asako: "Th-Thank you..." vivian:...*nod* Asako: "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring down your night. How did you enjoy the event?" vivian: it was fun. ^^ Asako: *smiles* "That's good...You seemed engaged with your boyfriend." vivian: *giggling* >///u///< <3 Asako: *wipes her eyes* "How long have you been dating?" -elsewhere- Burns: "--and file your report as to the intelligence gathered from the event by 10-hundred hours." Fulham: *nodding off* -elsewhere- lydia: ....... shadowy bull: .... *nuzzles its head against her face* lydia:.... *pets* <thank you...> Ivan: *knock knock* lydia: <it's open> Ivan: "..." <How is it going?> lydia: .... <same as usual...> Ivan: *nods* <No new updates from Master. That means to continue surveillance and preparations.> lydia:... <right. and oguri?> Ivan: "Dotting the i's and crossing the t's." <Checking up on the targets.> lydia: <ah.> Ivan: <So you'll need to be ready for backup...Especially if anyone gets in the way...> *hands a folder* <Some ability users Master located.> lydia: *examining* *One person is marked ???: Ranpo* lydia: hmmm... Ivan: <We're determining who to assign as backup--but you know how difficult Oguri can be.> lydia: <oguri? difficult?> *excalibur face* *sarcastically* <noooo, you're joking.> Ivan: ^^;;; <Please be patient: we'll need Oguri's help, especially as Adam has been--> *crash* lydia: <oh for fucks sake, what now?> Adam: "I didn't know spraying your alcohol-based hair product into a flame was a bad idea! Stop hitting me!" oguri: YOU SON OF A BITCH MOTHER FUCKER I WILL KILL YOU AND THEY WONT EVEN BE ABLE TO PROVE JACK SHIT!!! yana: ok, settle down. Adam: *leaps up into Ivan's arms* Ivan: Q_Q *can barely hold him* lydia: oguri, calm down. oguri: I'LL CALM DOWN AFTER I MURDER THAT WRETCHED SLAG LICKING LITTLE FUCKER!! lydia: oguri. not in front of the child. Q: ?? Adam: Q______Q Ivan: "..." <Keep cursing.> yana: you know, all that sodium isnt good for you....you know...because all the saltiness? Adam: "...OH! I get it!" ^^ -early morning- keek:...happy birthday to me, i guess... Mrs. Harue: "...I'm happy you're here." *holds her hand* keek:...*small hug* im happy too, mom. Mrs. Harue: *hug* *pat pat* "I'll have your cake ready this evening...and your breakfast now?" keek: yeah. -elsewhere- Takehisa: *holding his head* =____= karin: buzzed? Takehisa: "Hungover..." karin: ah. Takehisa: "I only had a sip of my drink, then I just switched to punch...Someone must've spiked it..." -elsewhere- Meme: "Zzz..." EF: we're here. Meme: *opens her eyes* "Huh?" -they're at the hotel- Meme: "..." *pushes the bed* "...Who brought me...*yawn* in?" ao: we all carried you. Anya: *lying on the vibrating bed* =w= "M-M-My b-b-b-back was k-k-k-killing me after..." mio: ._.; Meme: .___.;;; "...Need more quarters, Anya?" Anya: "I-I'm g-g-g-good..." tsugumi: ^^; Meme: "..." *looks out the window* "What's around here?" -there is a movie theater across the street- Meme: "..." *reads the marquee* ((Which city did they get to?)) tsugumi: *reading brochures* Meme: "..." *gets out of bed* "I'm going to shower. Then we can look around..." mio: ok. -elsewhere- Black Star: *snoring* tsubaki: *making a call back home* *phone rings* Shamrock: "Hello?" tsubaki: it's me. how's everything at home? Shamrock: "...About the same as usual?" x_^;;;; tsubaki: ah, i see. -she explains what all happened- Shamrock: "...That is a lot for one trip...And this other one, Magaki?" tsubaki: they'll be under DWMA custody for the time being. Shamrock: "Ah...Are you comfortable with this?" tsubaki: i think so. Shamrock: *nods* "Okay...It's not too much to take on, is it?" tsubaki: i feel i have to try. Shamrock: "Of course...Do not exhaust yourself." tsubaki: right. -elsewhere- Mori: *stare* fukuzawa: .... ? Mori: "...I wanted to play..." fukuzawa: ...alright, what did you have in mind? Mori: "My father used to let me play with paper dolls--to identify their organs..." fukuzawa: um..... *sweatdrop* lets see here.....i have this. *hands him a kendama* just try to get the ball into the cup or onto the spike, but hold it away from you so you dont hurt yourself. be careful. Mori: "..." *small swing up--and the ball misses the spike* "Nuts." fukuzawa: it takes a bit of practice. ranpo: yeah, took me about 2 weeks to get it. Mori: "..." *whispers to Fukuzawa* "Why is that 30-year-old man dressed like a child cosplaying like a boy detective?" ranpo: OI! im only 27! Mori: "Close enough." *continues playing--and catches the ball on the spike* owo fukuzawa: see? *smile* Mori: ^w^ *swings it again--and the ball smashes into his eye* fukuzawa: *gets the medkit* i warned you. -_-; hold on, i'll fix this- Mori: TTwTT "I was excited..." fukuzawa: *patching him up* (at least he didnt break down crying this time...) Mori: "Th-Thanks..." -elsewhere- Ogun: "He hasn't stepped out of the office?" pan: no. i hear him muttering in there sometimes. kind of unnerving. Ogun: "??? No idea what he's saying?" selim *presses ear to the door*........... Arg: *mutter mutter* "--burn--" *mutter mutter* "--Heaven--" selim: *giggles, lava forming at his feet* pan: !!! MORIYAMA! *A crash is heard in the office* pan: !!!! *slams the door open* sir!! Arg: *standing beside his desk...a book has fallen onto the floor...all looks normal in the room* "???" pan: sir are you alright? ogun! get moriyama to the nurse! Ogun: "On it!" *tries to lead Selim* selim: *follows, giggling all the while* Arg: "...Yes, I'm fine. How are you?" pan: we heard a commotion in here, sir. Arg: "??? Just knocked over this book..." pan: *walks over to pick it up* *The book is opened to some pages about photosynthesis--and have three long tears along it...* pan: ??? Arg: "I was trying to open a letter--" *gestures to the envelop opener* "--and darn thing slipped." -elsewhere- Poe: "..." lana: zzzzz Poe: "..." *hug* lana: u///u Poe: *holds onto her* lana:....morning edgar. Poe: "...Good morning, Lana. Sleep well?" lana: yeah....*brushes his bangs back and kisses his forehead* so sweet. Poe: =\\\\= "Lana..." lana: *kiss* ^///^ -elsewhere- katya: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz pushkin: *nudge* <kati? you up yet?> katya: *muttering* pushkin: <that's ok, take your time.> *goes to make coffee* -elsewhere- oguri:..... {oguri: please...tell me...what do you see, when you look at me?} {???: …what i see is- } -knocks- oguri: !!!! IM NOT DECENT! Ivan: *calling from outside* "Meeting in 20." oguri: NOTED! >///n///<; Ivan: "??? Need medicine?" oguri: im fine! >3< *rubs eyes* i just need to get dressed first! Ivan: "Okay. If 20 is not enough--" oguri: I'LL BE OUT!! lydia: *gives ivan a motion to say 'lets go already'* Ivan: "..." *turns, leaves* oguri:....*sighs* get it together, already, mushitaro. -elsewhere- Kid: *adjusts his tie* "So this meeting will be about missions?" lord death: yes. you get to hand out missions today! Kid: "Yay!" *takes them--then stares* "...Father? I think you need to...They look uneven?" lord death: deep breaths, kiddo. Kid: "..." *inhales, exhales* "Okay..." *flips to the first mission* "This one is for--Sid?" -elsewhere- Sakuya: *asleep at his school desk* nygus: mr watanuki? Sakuya: *grunts* naho: *nudge* sakkun, wake up. Sakuya: *sits up* "S-Sis?!" nygus: mr watanuki? is everything alright? Sakuya: "...Fine. Just...fine." *opens his book* "Sorry." naho:... -elsewhere- Magaki: *holds up shackled hands* <I'll need someone to hold the umbrella.> tsubaki: *holding it out* *smiles* Magaki: "..." *small blush* <Thank you.> *walks forward into the daylight* -elsewhere- tsuyu: ... mina: these exams are gonna kill me TT_TT Denki: "I don't want to fail..." Mineta: "YOU BETTER NOT FAIL, MINA! YOU NEED TO BE AT THE TRAINING--" jirou: *SLAM DUNKS HIM INTO THE TRASH* Mineta: D:< "I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING YET!" jirou: shhhhhh stop talking. Izuku: ^^; "Let's all do our best...I'm sure tutoring is helping?" ochako: yeah, it sure is. Bakugo: *dark aura around him* "I am the best fucking tutor ever..." sato: scary. *footsteps are heard in the hallway...more than just one pair* Iida: "ATTENTION!" *stands up* "TAKE YOUR SEATS BEFORE OUR TEACHER ARRIVES!" Bakugo: -_-# "You're out of your seat, numb-nuts..." jirou: ?? (more than one person?) *The door slides open, revealing Aizawa and--* momo: new students? Aizawa: "Quiet...everyone take your seat. Iida, sit down already." Iida: *slams down into his chair with a crash* .\\\\\. *Four students walk in--one hiding behind the others* girl: ... large boy: .~.;;;;;; Creepy Boy: "..." *sneers* Bakugo: "...The fuck is his problem?" Izuku: "..." ("You're one to talk...") ochako: OwO;;; momo:.... ._.;;; Denki: *shiny eyes* "Adorable..." Mineta: *stuck in the trash can head-down* "What? Is something happening? Is it sexy?" jirou: dont you fucking dare. *shoves mineta back into the trash* Mineta: "GRK! My grapes!" kashiko: um...what's going on? jirou: he's a cursed student, just ignore him and everything will be fine. kashiko: ._.; *blinks* Aizawa: "I know it's unorthodox in the middle of exam studying, but administration decided for your next exercise to engage in some 'exchange student' tactics..." *gestures* "These four are from Isamu High..." Koda: "???" *points at each one...then holds up three fingers* "???" kashiko: it's nice to meet you all. my name is Kashiko Sekigai. dadan: i-im Dadan Tadan...n-nice to....meet you... ._.;;; *sweats* hagakure: aww, he's like a big teddy bear. Romero: "..." *growl* "Fujimi." ochako: ._.;;;; Bakugo: *death glare* "...This jerk's crowding in on _my_ routine..." eijiro: *sweatdrop* Aizawa: "...Yo. Last one. Name yourself." ???: "..." *the one with big hair peeks over Kashiko's shoulder* "..." *spots Tsuyu* "!!!" tsuyu: *looks up* !!!! habuko! Habuko: "TSU!" -HUUUGS~- Izuku: ._. "???" ochako: that's so cute. Izuku: ^^ "Aaaah, despite appearances, any friendship can form--" Romero and Bakugo: "SHUT UP, YOU DAMN NERD--WE'RE NOT THEIR FRIENDS!" Romero and Bakugo: "..." *death glares* mina: this can only lead to disaster. Denki: "...D'aw, Kacchan made a new friend, too--" Romero: *snort laugh* "Kacchan?! That loser who got slimed?!" Bakugo: *slow head turn--180--to glare at Denki* Denki: .________.;;;; jirou: why do you keep saying words? Denki: "Because I'm not Koda..." Koda: *opens his mouth--pauses...then does a "He's not wrong" shrug* jirou: *jabs him* dont be an ass. mina: yikes. kashiko: -_-; Aizawa: "If we are all done...you'll be getting on buses in an hour. Iida, lead the exchange students to the locker room to change into your outfits." -later- momo: so you're the class rep? kashiko: yeah, but it's far from an easy job. Habuko: ^w^ momo: i take it mr fujimi is your 'problem student'? kashiko: oh yes, but he does mean well. mina: so in personality terms, he's a mix of bakugou and monoma. Habuko: "??? I don't know who this Monoma is, but he sounds like an ass." tsuyu: oh trust us, he is. Habuko: *holds Tsuyu's hand* "I missed you!!!" tsuyu: i missed you too >u< Habuko: >w< "We have to talk so much before--" Izuku: ._____. tsuyu: ah right. this is izuku. we're going steady. Habuko: "Oh! I've heard so much about you..." Izuku: *nods* "I heard a bit about you. Tsuyu says you're a great friend--" Habuko: *activates Quirk, stares at Izuku* "YOU HURT HER, AND YOU WON'T HAVE A HEAD..." Izuku: owo;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; tsuyu: settle habuko, settle. *pat pat* Habuko: =w= *inhale, exhale* "Sorry...If anything happened to Tsuyu, I don't know..." Izuku: *nod nod nod nod* QwQ "I feel the same..." tsuyu: guys... ^^ Habuko: "Initiating group hug!" *glomp* ochako: .... *glances at todoroki* ? Todoroki: "..." Izuku: *choking* -and so- Aizawa: "Stand here at attention...Mineta, move from that spot." Mineta: "But why, sir? I got a great view--" *A light is seen flying up through the sky* Izuku: .______. *Everyone but Mineta takes a step back* ???: "I AM LANDING--" *BOOM* *All Might has arrived* All Might: "--WITH A THUNDERING CRASH! ...Did I step in something?" jirou: just a pile of shit. sato: oooh, sick burn. Mineta: *last-minute protection by his Quirk-balls* q_q "...This is going to end badly for me today..." All Might: "Oh. SORRY, YOUNG MINETA!" *steps off...and wipes his shoe along the dirt* "I AM HERE TO WELCOME OUR INVITED STUDENTS--" Aizawa: "Enough. You're late." All Might: .w.;;;; Romero: *shiny eyes at All Might* kashiko: ^u^; Habuko: "OMG I am so getting his autograph!" Aizawa: "Today is survival tra--" All Might: "SURVIVAL TRAINING!" *turns on hologram* "Six teams! Four members each! RUN OR FIGHT! THE ONLY GOAL IS TO SURVIVE!" Bakugo: "..." *gleeful murderous sneer* dadan: ._.;;; Aizawa: "No. Killing. Kacchan." Bakugo: *grumbles* All Might: "CAPTURE TAPE IS THE ONLY TOOL ALLOWED TO BIND YOUR OPPONENTS!" Habuko: "Oooooo! We did a similar exercise! You used that tape stuff before, Tsu?" tsuyu: *nod* All Might: "NOW FOR THE TEAMS! A Team is Midoriya, Ashido, Uraraka, and Asui!" Mineta: "Jealous." mina: cool. Izuku: ^^; ochako: neato! tsuyu: *ribbit* -TEAM B- momo: oh. eijiro: looks like we're on the same team, bakugou! ^^ Bakugo: "I am winning this one, and the rest of you better just do whatever I say." Shoji: "..." *from arm-mouth* "Typical." -TEAM C- hagakure: yay! Todoroki: "Okay...Let's make this one count." Koda: *nods* =w= Ojiro: "Right." -TEAM D- sato: awesome. Tokoyami: "I look forward to working with you." Iida: "Likewise!" sero: ^u^ -TEAM E- jirou: why me? Denki: "Karma, baby!" Aoyama: "Oui." Mineta: >_> "Freaking sausage fest..." jirou: i hope you get mauled by a bear. Mineta: "...I'm not into bears." Aoyama: "???" -TEAM F- kashiko: so we're all on the same team then. Romero: "Time to show these Death City losers how we do it at Isamu..." dadan: ._.;;; Habuko: "..." *inhales* "Okay...Give it my all, give it my all..." Aizawa: "Teams are selected. Go to their starting locations." All Might: "THE TEST WILL BEGIN WITHOUT WARNING IN FIVE MINUTES--" Aizawa: "That constitutes a warning..." All Might: "...Oh. Um...WITHIN FIVE MINUTES!" -and so- *Everyone runs to their locations* Habuko: "Give it your best, Tsu!" tsuyu: you too! Romero: "Enjoy the stench of defeat!" Bakugo: "JOKES ON YOU--I EAT PIECES OF SHIT LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST!" Romero: "..." Bakugo: "...Sh-Shut up!" momo: phrasing, bakugou. phrasing. Iida: ^^ --At Team A's location-- ochako: alright, so what's the game plan, deku? mina: you're our tactician here. Izuku: ._.;; "Lot of pressure...Well, we lack the same surveillance abilities that Jiro and others have...And if we start a fight, that attracts other teams to our location--risking that we have a two-on-one fight, and we're the one..." tsuyu: but this is a survival training, right? mina: maybe just wait it out for now? Izuku: "...It sounds like the best plan until something changes." *nods* "Okay. Let's do that." mina: i even snuck my phone in, so we can stream shows. Izuku: ._.;;; "That's...a little too laid-back for 'survival'...Unless...Hmm...Did this facility have any cameras or wireless in order to access GPS tracking to ascertain the locations of *mumble mumble mumble mumble--" -elsewhere- yuuji: ... Aizawa: "Okay, 'spotter', see anything?" yuuji: well- -BOOOOM- yuuji: that. Aizawa: "...So much for an exercise teaching them patience..." *sigh* -meanwhile- jirou: ok, only one person's footsteps. Denki: "So Bakugo's coming alone...Let's surround him!" jirou: *nod* -on the ground- Bakugo: *running* "Heh heh--" *then *then spots a laser coming at him* Bakugo: "!!!" *leaps, dodges--then sees balls coming at him* ("Coordinated concentrated attack...") *sneers, leaps--and slams his fists onto the ground* "TAKE THAT, EARPHONES!" jirou: ABLABLABLBALBALBALEUUUU X-X Denki: "Jirou!" *runs to her* Mineta: "EAT MY BALLS!" *flings them at Bakugo* Bakugo: "..." *swings a blast--which smashes the balls at--* Aoyama: Q_Q "C'est mauvais..." *BOOM* ochako: ?!?! there's another one! *Aoyama is now stuck to Denki and Jirou* Izuku: "Kacchan...Listen to see where he moves next..." -elsewhere- kashiko: *scanning* amazing, taking on eight people at once... Romero: "Pfft. Tadan! Get ready!" dadan: r-right! -BYEEEEEEWM- Shoji: *hears* "!!! Move!" momo: ?? ... !!!!! *BOOM BOOM BOOM* Romero: "Keep going! Then we'll check the field..." -BOOOOOM- mina: ?!? Izuku: "...Is that Bakugo? ...No...Isamu is making its move." ochako: should we go in? tsuyu: ... ??!!! w-what....what is that? -a pinkish fog rolls in- ochako:... get to high ground! this doesnt look good. Izuku: *runs with the team* -on the top of the hill- ochako: todoroki! Todoroki: "Hello. I would be battling you all here--but obviously whatever that is [the gas] is the bigger threat." tsuyu: i just hope the others are alright... Izuku: "Has to be an Isamu student's Quirk, right? Tsu, you learn anything about theirs?" tsuyu: all i know is habuko's. Izuku: "Hmm...That wouldn't be this one then--" *Footsteps can be heard* mina: !!!! there's someone there! Bakugo: *walking...shambling up* ochako: s-something's not right. tsuyu: .... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mina: THEY'RE ZOMBIES!!! AND NOT THE MR SID KIND EITHER!!! Bakugo: "GRAWRRRRRRRRR!!!" Todoroki: "..." ("Seems normal for Bakugo...") *In the shadows of the trees* Romero: "Hee hee hee..." hagakure: how awful. tsuyu: even habuko.... Habuko: "Grrrrrr..." Iida: *running into a tree* mina: they're....kinda slow. ._.; Ojiro: "So we can out-run them to get a report to the teachers...Where the hell is Aizawa...?" Romero: "BWA HA HA HA! Foolish students!" Izuku: ._. Romero: "Impressive, no?" *dramatic pose* "I have out-shined all of you!" mina: WHAT KIND OF HERO ARE YOU, YOU COLLOSAL JERK?! Romero: "The kind of hero who keeps weaklings like you in my shadow!" Todoroki: "...So, you're a fan of All Might. Anyone else you're a fan of?" Romero: "...I think Endeavor is kind of cool--" Todoroki: "Go fuck yourself." ochako: owned. mina:....um.....guys? Romero: .____. "...Jeez. What's up your ass?" *A shadow appears over Romero* *Baku-chomp* Romero: "GAAAAAH!" *collapses* Izuku: "...Kacchan still wants to battle, even when a zombie." Bakugo: *growls* "DEEEEEEEEEEEKUUUUUUU!!!" Izuku: "Eep!" Todoroki: "And without Agent Zero, we can't reverse his poison...Get back!" ochako: OwO;; that means they're still in there somewhere! mina: what now? Romero: "..." *climbs up--a zombie* Izuku: "Like the horror films--don't get bit!" hagakure: ...!! miss akemi! she has time-wimey magic right? Todoroki: *freezes the ground* "And create a barrier..." *Some students shift in the ice* Izuku: "Then we better hurry to find her--before--" -noms on hagakure and ojiro- *BOOM* mina: YOU HAD ONE JOB GUYS COME ON! Ojiro: "GGGGGGGRR..." Tokoyami: "GRRRRRR..." ochako: welp....BAIL!!! Koda: "..." Izuku: "Mina, acid path down the mountain! Todoroki, ice!" Todoroki: *ice slide* -they flee- Habuko: *LOUD WAIL* tsuyu: ..... (habuko....) it's ok, we're going to get help for you guys! *A rock is in Tsuyu's path* tsuyu: AH! *falls* o-ow... Habuko: *snake tongue slithers* "..." Izuku: "TSU!" Habuko: "..." *leans down* tsuyu: ..... Habuko: "..." *tears falling* "Tsssuuuuu..." tsuyu: it's ok habuko. we'll get miss akemi to reverse time to prevent this- ???: *chomp* ochako: !!!!! Izuku: "...OH GODDAMN IT!" Aoyama: *nom nom nom* tsuyu: *ribbit* mina: come on! we got to get homura! Izuku: "Tsu!" *reaches for her--* Todoroki: "We're going, now!" *picks up Izuku* "Who the hell thought this exercise was a good idea--" ???: "HA HA HA!" Izuku: QwQ "Oh, thank goodness! We'll be saved by--" *CRASH, BOOM* All…Might?: *depowered mode* *bleeding out of his mouth* "Aaaaah..." Izuku: Q_Q Todoroki: "..." *facepalm* mina: did some random salaryman fall from the sky? ochako: LETS JUST GO! -they abscond- No Might: "WAIT! I'M NOT A ZOMBIE! I'M HERE TO HELP--" Tokoyami: "Rawr..." No Might: ._.;;;;;;; sato: *pap pap and walks on by* No Might: p_p ("Aizawa...help?") --elsewhere-- Aizawa: "--so let him fix his own mess." yuuji: ....given how this romero kid acted.....are you _sure_ he's a hero? Aizawa: "...I think the categories of 'villain' and 'hero' are being shown to be horribly defined, aren't they?" yuuji:...touche...and i really am in no position to judge, given my circumstances... Aizawa: "It's all what you do with the abilities...And given Bakugo and Romero down there, got a lot of work to do to make them into All Might's, not Endeavor's..." yuuji: right... -meanwhile- Todoroki: *sealing up the entrance with ice* mina: *checks her phone* ugh, no reception. =3= ochako: .... Izuku: *wipes his eyes* "O-Okay...First we got to wait for the gas to clear..." mina: yeah, then everything will be ok, right? ochako:.....*shaking* Todoroki: "Well, if those zombie films my sister and I watch are anything to go by, eventually the zombies will break through here, infect us, then spread the virus out of this state, across the continent, and eventually the wor--" mina: STAAAAAAP THAT. Izuku: *wearing a 'Are you kidding me right now?!' face* ochako: *crying* Todoroki: "!!! ..." *pat pat Ochako's shoulder* ochako: i-i dont want to die, i-i dont want to feel like a coward... Izuku: "We-We're not! Not like this when--" *SHATTER* mina: !!! shit! Izuku: "Okay! Todoroki, get ready for a fire blast!" Todoroki: "...But the ice may not carry far enough--" ochako: l-leave it to us to! mina: yeah! Todoroki: "..." *nods* "Ochaco, gravity the ice to give it distance. Mina, cover me--hit the rocks to give me a barrier." mina: roger that. ochako: *wipes eyes and nods* Izuku: "We'll need to move forward...I'll smash us an escape path forward. Just have to hope our classmates can't feel the damage...Forgive me, guys..." *charges up One for All, leans back against the rocks in a running position* Todoroki: "I'm ready...Mina, Ochaco...NOW!" -acid + gravity = DOUBLE PINK- *BOOM* *The ice explodes forward--knocking a path forward...* Izuku: *tumbles out of the cave, ending at the mountain's rock edge* *pants* "Okay..." Death the Kid: Todoroki: *steps outside* "..." *looks up* "...Um...Ochako? How much gravity did you add to that attack?" ochako: um.... ._.; uhhhh guys? Iida: "I'M FALLING!!!!" Mineta: "WHAT THE H?!" jirou: THIS DAY HAS BEEN TERRIBLE!!! Aoyama: "MERDE MERDE ME--" *into a tree* Izuku: D: "Oh, God, I killed them..." ???: "Not all of us..." Izuku: .___. "...Oh no..." Bakugo: *falling* "DEKU! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" *blasts forward* Todoroki: "!!!" *picks up Ochaco, runs* Bakugo: "SURVIIIIIIIIIVE THIS!" *spinning fire spear* ochako: D8 Izuku: *waving his arms* "NO NO NO--" *BOOM* -they were all fine dont worry- -elsewhere- Aizawa: "...Goddamn it, All Might..." yuuji:....well, today was just a big shitshow, wasnt it? Aizawa: "Yep...I get to write letters to their parents. Again." -later- hagakure: good thing for conveniently placed trees, right? Ojiro: *hanging by his tail--having caught Hagakure* "Heh...No kidding." Iida: *bowing* "WE HUMBLY APOLOGIZE FOR THIS UNNECESSARY CARNAGE!" kashiko: it's fine. *glares at romero* romero, apologize. Romero: "...I'm sorry for not telling you earlier how long it takes for my zombie gas to wear off." momo: bakugou. apologize. Bakugo: "...I'm sorry." Iida: "!!!" *smiles* "Bakugo...That is oddly mature--" Bakugo: "Please accept this gift as a token of my apology." *holds up, wrapped in capture tape...Mineta* "Take it. We don't want it anymore." kashiko: ........................................we'll pass. itsuka: ^^; you guys ok? Iida: -_-# Bakugo: "THIS F'ING DAWN OF THE DEAD RIPOFF STARTED A FIGHT WITH US!" Romero: "THIS 1990s ANTI-HERO REJECT WAS THE ONE WHO STARTED IT!" Mineta: -_-# *still tied up* kashiko: ROMERO. DOWN. itsuka: easy there, katsuski. *pat pat* Bakugo: =\\\\\\= Romero: "...How the hell does he have a girlfriend?" momo: one of the school's many mysteries. Iida: ^\\\\^ "Guess there's someone for everyone..." hagakure: you think _bakugou_ is bad? you should meet itsuka's ex. or better yet dont. Monoma: *pops up behind Hagakure* "HOW DARE YOU!" Romero + Bakugo: "SHUT UP!" *both punch Monoma in the face* kashiko:.............you're school is weird. momo: you have no idea. Monoma: *collapses* x____x Mineta: *muffled* "If there is someone for everyone, does that mean--" Iida: "No." Mineta: "...This day sucked." jirou: no kidding. if i see another zombie, im legit going to freak out. Sid: "Oh, Jiro--You missed class, so I brought you your homework--" jirou:...... *lays face down on the floor and sobs* Sid: ._____. "...It's only a worksheet?" -several students hug him- sato: Q~Q we had no idea how hard it is for you. sero: you brave brave person. Koda: *hug* Sid: "..." Q_____Q "Thank you...You don't know how much *sniff* this means to me..." tsuyu: ^^; so habuko, how long are you guys staying in the city for? Habuko: "About a week. Up for showing me the town?" tsuyu: yeah. i'll invite the others too. and maybe one day we could play some mario kart? Habuko: "Hells yay! My girlfriend loves Kart!" tsuyu: awesome. ^^ -elsewhere- All Might: "Midoriya...Please accept the cake as an apology--" Izuku: TT___TT "I can't tell whether you're lying or not..." *bandaged* All Might: "...You kind of look like Miss Nygus--" Izuku: "That is sadly appropriate..." -elsewhere- Anya: "Ice skating rink! Pizza! Museums! Souvenir shops!" tsugumi: *she has her map out* EF: remember to stay close together, girls. mio: yes ma'am. Anya: "Right, of course we will. Right Meme?" *looks around* "...Um...Where is she?" ao: she's right here. mio: *phew* Meme: *staring at bulletin boards* "Hmm..." *writes down some phone numbers* -elsewhere- ochako: ....*tired* Todoroki: "...I'm sorry." ochako: hey, i-it's fine. i was a bit nervous...^^; trixie: *doggy whine and plops her head onto ochako's lap* ochako: *pet pet* Todoroki: "...May I pet her?" ochako: sure, she's friendly. trixie: ^u^ Todoroki: .\\\\. "..." *pet* trixie: *lick lick* Todoroki: *slight shiver* ochako: *giggles* Todoroki: "Heh..." *pet pet* ochako: im glad everything turned out ok in the end. Todoroki: *nods* "More or less...Some injuries will take some time..." -elsewhere- jirou: *collapses onto her bed* uuuugh. bowie: *her parrot* *squawk* jirou: today sucked. i want to sleep. bowie: *squawk* fuck off! fuck off ya piece of shit! jirou:.... *snort laughter* thanks bowie, i needed that today. -elsewhere- yuuji: those kids are gonna need serious therapy for this. Aizawa: "I emailed Marie to ask for help..." yuuji: good call. i heard she's pretty nice...................................i also heard she beat the fuck out of a toilet once. Aizawa: "That's accurate. She...has some issues about relationships." yuuji: i'll stay out of that one thanks. -elsewhere- Yumi: "?! Marie? What's wrong?" marie: hmm? im totally fine~ ^^ Yumi: "Oh, good...You just looked concerned for a moment..." *pulling her necklace away from Shiori* -elsewhere- Black Star: "..." White Star: "..." Black Star: "...The heck is your problem?" White Star: "???" Black Star: "Like, what am I supposed to do with you?" grey*star: *enters the room* ...... White Star: "!!!" <The hell?!> grey*star: *he looks at him with a stern expression, yet there is a hint of sadness in his eyes....* White Star: <Why aren't you dead?!> Black Star: *gripping his fists* grey*star: ....<i suppose we're just that tenacious...> White Star: "Pfft." <Who would want to claim your soul anyway? Worthless thief...> grey*star: <at least i didnt resort to eating the souls of innocent people> White Star: "..." *sneers* <You missed out...> grey*star:.......*looks at black*star* Black Star: "...You know what? Stay locked up in here for all I care. Maybe confinement will teach you some manners." -morning- Izuku: Q_Q "I'm not trying to make this a habit, Mom, I swear..." inko: i know, but i cant help but worry. im just glad that nice old nurse is there to help you. Izuku: ^^; "Yeah, she's great...She even collects superhero Pez dispensers..." inko: ah. -elsewhere- rowena: happy birthday brother! ^^ lana: ^^ Poe: *blubbering* Q_Q "Wah mah...Gah mah-mah wah..." lana: *hugs* ^^; -knocks on the door- Poe: c-come in… ranpo: heyoooo~! Poe: Q////Q ranpo: so i heard it was your birthday today. and i also would assume cake is involved somehow? Poe: "..." -_-;;;; "It's over there..." ranpo: awesome! oh, i got you this. *hands him a new pen set* Poe: *shiny eyes* “T-Thank you, Ranpo…” ranpo: ^^ figured you'd like that. Poe: "I shall start writing immediately! I need paper!" rowena: ah, right! -elsewhere- Anya: "Look at the snow globe!" tsugumi: cool! mio: ^^; Meme: "Yeah, real nice..." *looking behind them* "..." mio:...are you ok? Meme: "Just trying to keep an eye open..." mio: ah... *There's a laundromat, some fast food stands, a road to a nearby university...* mio:...it's nice. Meme: *nods* "Kind of a college town setting..." mio:....*examining* *There's someone exiting the laundromat in a hoodie* mio: ?? *The person turns--she looks...odd in her eyes* mio: ... ??!! Meme: "What?" mio: that person... Meme: "!!!" *runs* tsugumi: .. ??? meme! wait up! Anya: *holding a snow globe* "Hang on!" *throws cash at the merchant* -in the alley- Meme: "Stop right there!" girl: *turns to look at them* ya? what do you want, girly? Meme: "Shaula Gorgon!" girl: eh? you on something? -the others have caught up- Anya: "??? ...Why does that person have a scorpion tattoo?" Meme: "BECAUSE SHE'S SHAULA!" girl: hey, i dont know what she's on, but she needs to step off before i kick her ass. tsugumi: meme... Meme: "We know they can impersonate other people! That's her--I know it!" mio:....*holding her hand* Meme: "..." *shudders* -on the roof- beatrice:..... *walking off* -elsewhere- jordan: dude, i just had the weirdest thought. fitz with a mustache. eckleburg:....eh? Daisy: "...I could see that." -elsewhere- leo: *doing some cleaning* Motojiro: "??? That seems inconvenient." leo: hm? Motojiro: "Maybe a better vacuum..." leo: perhaps. Motojiro: "I could repair one. Give it more oomph." -elsewhere- Kid: "..." stocking: *snuggle* Kid: *sniff, hug* stocking: *kiss* i love you, kiddo. Kid: *nods* "I love you, Stocking..." *strokes her face* stocking: u///u *forehead press* Kid: *small smile, closes his eyes, breathes a little more calmly* -elsewhere- Kuro: *yawn* "How much longer we house sitting?" *glancing at the others* mahiru: tsubaki said she'd be sometime this week. Kuro: "...And you're not worried about...them?" mahiru: .... Kuro: "After what their creator did..." mahiru: … -elsewhere- Habuko: *giggles* "His big hands are so out there!" kashiko: they sure are. dadan ._.;; Romero: -_-# "That mask looks dumb..." -elsewhere- baum: *whistling* dorothy: *walking with him* Steinbeck: *wipes his brow with a handkerchief* "Remarkable..." twain: *vibrating* oscar: so hot =3=; ebie: ^^ *she has a spider on her head* Steinbeck: ._.; "...Ebie?" ebie: it's cool, he's my friend. ^^ oscar: EEP! >~<;; Steinbeck: "Well, if you're sure...Just be careful. And don't let it bite the others." -elsewhere- Arthur: *hiding under sheets* tamaki: *looks at clock* arthur, come on. Arthur: "Keep that quack away from me..." tamaki: come on, the medic wont hurt you... Arthur: "I saw what Giovanni did to people. The medic will take out my brain and replace it with that of a chicken." tamaki: i assure you, she wont do that. shinra: come on, lets go. *pulling at his legs to drag him out of bed* although if he had his brain swapped with a chicken... tamaki: *GLARE* Arthur: Q~Q "UNHAND ME!" *flailing but not really able to do anything* -elsewhere- Lucy: "--and she's still gaga for him." yosano: *sighs* poor girl. Lucy: "He hasn't talked to her, has he?" -elsewhere- Yohei: "Okay, so I called this meeting for an update on your job security." *flips through notes* "Assi and Zuno are at Manhasset--" Assi: QwQ "Mr. Fitzgerald is really intimidating but likes robot action figures--" Zuno: "Why do I have all these letters?" *holds up undelivered letters from work* Yohei: "Mana and Mono are at Deathbucks--" mana: *nod* mono: 7//7; medea: ... Shotaro: "Hee hee...'Mana with Mono'..." mana: *chop to showtaro's head* Yohei: "Medea is working at the consignment shop..." medea: *nod* Shotaro: >3< "Worth it!" Yohei: "Tool and Saki are taking that junk he makes out of trash and selling it to museums--" Tool: "It...is called...ART!" saki: ^^; Yohei: "And Emine--" *looks up* "...Where is he?" *Door opens abruptly, as Emine runs in, panting, clutching a duffle bag and leaning against the door* lin-kimpur: !!! emine, are you ok?? Emine: *pant pant--* *looks up* .\\\\. Yohei: "...What did you do?" Emine: "..." *pulls a wad of money out of the bag, hands it to Lin* "Make them quiet." lin: um- chie: *murderous aura* emiiineeee. ^^# Emine: "I DIDN'T STEAL IT! ...I mean, I stole it, but from other...thieves?" Kepuri: *asleep sitting up because of overtime* nea: from where? ^^# Emine: ._. "...I just remember a lot of guns, and a bad deed to finish--" Shotaro: "Aw, it can't be that bad--" *opens duffle bag* Emine: "DON'T--!" Shotaro: "..." *pulls out an arm--* mono: *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEAMS* setsuna: o_o; chie: WHAT THE HECK?! mana: EMINE WHAT DID YOU DO!? Shotaro: *pulls the arm out completely--it's a mannequin's arm* "...Hee hee...Fake arm." Emine: ._.;;;; "...It looked real when I ran out...Huh. Guess they didn't kill anyone." Assi: *hiding behind Mono* Kepuri: *still asleep* *snores* akaderu: ._.; Emine: "Look, I was trying to do a bad deed, while also stopping murderers--" Yohei: "Murderers of mannequins." Emine: "I THINK I DESERVE SOME CREDIT!" *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* Emine: .______. nea: *checks the peep hole* *Multiple persons with guns are standing at the door* nea: OwO;; chie: *dark shield around io and toru* Yohei: "!!! They must have hacked the security..." *death glare at Emine* Emine: .__________. "I was trying my best to be my worst..." Shotaro: *pat pat* nea: *heads outside* morning, lovelies~ ^^ fine day we're having, no? Gangster: "Get back inside you--Wait...Nea? Nea!" nea: been a while, dearies~ ^^ gangster 2: *kneels* we had no idea you lived here, miss polito! Gangster 1: "...Oh! Right!" *kneels* "We had followed a thief here. Have you seen him?" nea: in a moment~ *drags emine out* he's my servant~<3 Emine: D:< "HOW DARE YOU! I AM NOT--" nea: *clamps a hand over his mouth* he's a bit rambunctious, hoho~ Emine: >_< Gangster 1: "...So, about the money? Is that a deal breaker here?" nea: we'll return it, for a small fee on the side~? and dont worry, we'll give back 'debra' Gangster 1: o\\\\w\\\\o "...It's not what you think." nea: i know, i know, i just know greg will have a fit without 'her'. Gangster: >\\\\< "WHAT FEE DO YOU WANT, MA'AM?!" nea: not much, just something like, say....$50,000. ^^ Gangster 1: Q_Q "The boss will have my pinkies..." nea: was that a complaint? ^^# Gangster 1: Q~Q "No, Ma’am... nea: good. -elsewhere- Todoroki: "...So you're holding the bacon burger...so it doesn't fly?" ochako: hmm? more or less. Todoroki: "...I've heard of pigs flying, but not bacon flying..." ochako: *giggle* Todoroki: *small smile* *sips his hot chocolate* "Any plans this weekend?" -elsewhere- Arthur: Q_Q *rubbing his arm* shinra: now that wasnt so hard, was it? Arthur: "It was awful. Like a tiny joust piercing my epidermal..." iris: still, you're alive, right? ^^ Arthur: Q_Q *meek nod* "May I have a lollipop?" komori: *hands him one* Arthur: "..." *hesitantly takes it...licks* komori: [better?] Arthur: =_= "I like cherry..." -elsewhere- Meme: *grumbling* EF: meme, are you sure you're alright? ao: you've been on edge since we got here... Meme: "Because I feel her--I know she's here!" tsugumi: meme... mio: *worried* Anya: "How do you even know? That person didn't look a thing like Shaula--" Meme: *death glare* tsugumi: !! Meme: "You have no idea what it feels like, 'Princess'!" Anya: "!!!" *tenses* tsugumi: meme, anya, please- Anya: "You're flying off the handles. If you don't calm--" Meme: "Excuse me, don't I have the right to be upset?!" mio: ..... EF: we understand you're stressed out, but you dont have to take it out on us- Meme: "Then how about you help me find Shaula?! Don't you want to stop her?" mio: of course we do. Meme: "..." *shaking* mio:...*hugs* Meme: *shaking still* mio: we'll find her, ok? Meme: *nods* tsugumi: *looks at anya* Anya: "..." *sighs* "I'm sorry...You know we want to stop her, right?" Meme: "...Yeah." tsugumi:...*small smile* Meme: "..." *crying* mio: *hugs her tightly* ao: .... -elsewhere- oguri: *whistling, walking past ivan's room....the door is open?* hm? Ivan: <Is it good, master~?> oguri: ??? *peeeks* .___o ?!?! Ivan: *has a Fyodor doll* =w= oguri: *SWEATS* *backing away and fast walking away* Ivan: "Hee hee..." <So cute...> Adam: *walking from the other way towards Oguri* oguri: dont go in there, just trust me on this. lydia: i wouldnt go into the nurse's room either. *whispers* she's wearing one of his cloaks and spare hat's....and it's all she's wearing -__-; oguri:.... .///.; lydia: D8< oguri: i wasnt thinking anything weird! Adam: "??? 'Weird' like an elephant in a funny hat?" lydia + oguri: ... zoey: *soft moan as she sniffs the cloak* Adam: "??? Sounds like a dying giraffe..." oguri: *cringes* well there goes _my_ libido for the week. Ivan: *soft murmurs and kissy noises* lydia: -____-;;; -elsewhere- Fyodor: *shudders, rattling his chains* guard: oi! keep it down in there! Fyodor: ._. <It's not my fault I felt a shiver up my spine...> guard: ?? Fyodor: "...I feel cold." -elsewhere- katya: *shudder* pushkin: ?? katya: <vachenka's being weird somewhere.> pushkin: <yikes> *The door breaks open* Motojiro: "Someone say something about weird stuff?!" katya: HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, SKII-MASK?! Motojiro: *holds up--* "A translator! I heard you say 'The kumquats are being weird.'" katya:.......................................................................................................what. pushkin: *siiiiiigh* Motojiro: "...Well, it wasn't lemons being weird, right? That's just goofy." pushkin: *awkwardly laughs and backs up* ^^;;; Motojiro: "Want to talk about science for 4 hours? I got a PowerPoint all set up?" katya: dont you have any other hobbies? Motojiro: "...Want to talk theater?" katya: that's more lev's style. Motojiro: "..." =w= -elsewhere- Black Star: "Zzz..." tsubaki: *looking out the plane window* ... {Magaki: <Will I be abandoned when we arrive?>} {tsubaki: *she shakes her head* <you'll stay in DWMA custody for a while, and after you're let go, we'll take you in.>} {Magaki: <...> *nods* <I don't know that I believe you entirely...>} {tsubaki: <and i dont know how to convince you...>} {Magaki: <...Visit?>} {tsubaki: <ok. i will.> *smiles*} tsubaki: .... Black Star: *stretches* "...You okay?" tsubaki: *nod* y-yeah Black Star: "..." *holds her hand* tsubaki: t-thanks. Black Star: *nods* "Any time..." -elsewhere- Poe: *writing* karl: *snoozing* Poe: *pet pet* karl: =w= -elsewhere- lydia:.....it's strange. Adam: "???" lydia: oguri's only been interacting with the rest of us recently... Ivan: "Should we speak to him?" lydia: i mean, he's only started talking to the rest of us after arriving to the new base. yana: yeah, back at the mines, he just stayed in his room the whole time. though at that time, he was the new guy, so.... Ivan: "He seemed really focused on his tasks..." oguri: gossiping about me i see? Ivan: OwO "N-No?" oguri:...carry on then. *walking off* Ivan: "???" lydia:....maybe discuss this some other time. Ivan: "...If we delay asking him..." lydia: a good plan... Ivan: "...Okay. Well...I suppose I should prep some tea. That may help..." yana: <good call> Ivan: *walks by Zoey's room* zoey: *asleep, still wearing the coat and hat* Ivan: *Excalibur face* <Cow.> zoey: =w= Ivan: "..." *closes the door--with a loud slam* zoey: !! .... *lays back down, rubbing her stomach* Ivan: ("Hope that parasite swallows her up...") -elsewhere- Emine: *sitting in the corner with a sign: "I will not steal from the mafia"* -3- -elsewhere- Anya: *grumbles* EF: *hands her a crepe* here. Anya: "..." *angry nom* =n= EF:....im sure meme didnt mean what she said... Anya: "...Still annoying. She knows I value some respect..." EF: ..... Anya: "...Your silence is very judgy." -3- "I'm sorry for getting upset with her..." EF: maybe apologizing to her directly? Anya: "..." >\\\\> "F-Fine...Where's Meme?" -elsewhere- Kid: "Better?" stocking:....y-yeah.... Kid: "..." *hug* stocking: just having a bad day...remembering bad things.... Kid: *nods* "Want to talk or just sit?" stocking: can you rub my back and comfort me? Kid: "Yes." *small, soft rub along her back* stocking: *hugs him, whimpering slightly* Kid: *light humming as he rubs a bit wider* stocking: .....i love you kid. Kid: "I love you, Stocking." *rests his chin on her shoulder* stocking: mmm..... Kid: *continues rubbing along her back, hums* -elsewhere- Benimaru: "Good day." kirei: *she nods, smiling* Benimaru: "..." *pats her hand* kirei: ^^ Benimaru: "...Have you wanted to travel?" kirei: at the moment? Benimaru: "Sure. Or before." kirei: it never really crossed me mind to be honest. ^^; Benimaru: "Hmm...Obligations have kept me here more often." kirei: ah. Benimaru: "...Maybe that'll change." kirei: perhaps. if we find some free time, maybe we could see other parts of the city? Benimaru: *nods* "I will schedule it..." -elsewhere- Vulcan: *napping in bed* "Zzz..." lisa: zzzz Vulcan: *rests an arm around her waist* lisa: mmm... Vulcan: *small kiss on the back of her neck* lisa: =///= Vulcan: *yawn* "Love you, beautiful..." lisa: love you too, vul... Vulcan: =w= *cuddles, pulling the blanket over them* -elsewhere- Meme: *head buried in pillow* mio: meme? Meme: *groans* mio:...*holds her hand* Meme: "..." *small sob sound* mio:....*small hand kiss* Meme: "Th-Thanks..." mio: any time. Meme: *sits up, wipes her eyes* "...I'm sorry." mio: *hugs her* Meme: *small sob, hugs her back* -elsewhere- ranpo: im hoooome! fukuzawa: welcome back. tanizaki came over to make dinner. Tanizaki: *waves* "How did your day go?" ranpo: visited poe, got cake, it was good. Tanizaki: "...Glad you got your priorities straight..." ^^; maria: *clings to his arm* i wish i could have gone too. >3< Tanizaki: ._. ranpo: is that weirdo mafia boss still here? fukuzawa:....*excalibur* alas...yes. Tanizaki: >_> "He is playing with dolls." ranpo: yikes. fukuzawa: -_-; *actually had to buy dolls today* -elsewhere- Belkia: "How was the trip?" tsubaki: hectic...*lays on the couch* Belkia: "Ah...Well, you can nap if you want. Simpleton and his kitty made sure I didn't blow up the house this time." -elsewhere- Kepuri: *yawns, opens her eyes, stretches* "Mmm..." *looks around* "??? What did I miss?" akaderu: job reviewing, hipster kappas, mafiosos, stuff like that. Kepuri: "...So, typical?" *leans against Akaderu* akaderu: more or less, yeah. Kepuri: "And your job prospects?" akaderu: not sure yet. Kepuri: *nods* "Maybe there's some low-priority work...Maybe the school?" -elsewhere- Chuuya: *yawns* =_= mito: *kitty yawn* Chuuya: "Long day for you, too?" *scratch scratch* mito: *purrs* Chuuya: *yawns* *lies down, nestling Mito* "Just lie down for a bit..." mito: =w= Chuuya: "Zzz..." -elsewhere- Denki: *collapsed on the floor--still doing his gestures from brain-frying* jirou: who's taking him to the nurse NOT IT. Mineta: "NOT IT!" Kouda: *sign language* <*Not it.*> sero: not- dangit. Denki: o3o *groovy movements* Kouda: ._. "???" sero: *carries him with tape* come on, lets get you to the nurse. Denki: "Boogie oogie fever--" *chants* "Woo woo..." jirou: how he's still alive is a mystery. Kouda: *nod nod* Mineta: "Determination." jirou: .... Denki: "Zzz..." =w= -morning, there was a lot of snow- Kid: *yawns...looks outside* "...Wow..." stocking: we're totally snowed in. Kid: "Yep...Guess no time to go out for supplies..." stocking: and plenty of time to snuggle by the fireplace~ Kid: "With hot cocoa?" *cuddles* stocking: yes please~ Kid: *small laugh* "I made sure to get more of the tiny marshmallows...and we got a big blanket." -elsewhere- tomura: *grumbling* Kurogiri: "Even snow gets on your nerves?" tomura: too cold. and everyone keeps going on about that hero killer still! if i hear one more word of it, im going to snap.... Kurogiri: -_-; "Well, I have to put on some cartoons, so--" *turns on the TV* commercal: -built to get the tough stains out- tomura: *SCREAMS and disintegrates the TV* IT'S NOT FAIR! ITSNOTFAIRITSNOTFAIRITSNOTFAIR!!! *punching the floor and crying* Kurogiri: .______.;;; "...Shigaraki? Sweetie?" tomura: IM GONNA RIP MY HAIR OUT AND KILL SOMETHING!! Kurogiri: *makes a list* "Well, there are a few targets to run by the boss--" tomura: *fetal position and sobbing* Kurogiri: "...Oh, this is serious...Um...Buddy? It'll be...I mean...You want some ice cream?" dabi:....that was fucked up. even for our standards. himiko: he just needs a hug dabi: you want to risk being disintegrated by a tantruming manchild? be my guest himiko: like in beauty and the beast? OwO dabi:....why did i fuck you again? mr compress: because you have impulsive sexual urges dabi: -_-# thank you harry hindsight. -elsewhere- Relan: *shiny eyes* "So much snow..." shinra: OwO Relan: "Snow people! Sledding! And snow--" *SPLAT* Arthur: *smirks, tossing another snowball* shinra: oh it is on. -elsewhere- Motojiro: *puts on a record* =w= *sips his tea, opens his window--* ayako: *nomming on cake* ^u^ Motojiro: "Good morning, you beautiful snowy scene!" *takes up a slice of lemon cake* "What awaits us today--" *SPLAT* ayako: WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!! *throws lemon bombs at the attacker* Gin: *at the street level, holding a snowball, staring at the bomb that dropped at her feet* "...Well, fu--" katya: *10 seconds* *kicks the lemons away from them* *BOOM* Motojiro: OwO "...I'm gonna get punished now..." -elsewhere- Lucy: *building a Snow-Anne* aya: *in her snow fort* Tanizaki: *behind the fort, putting together snowballs* Katai: *builds a snow-futon* atsushi: *looks at kyouka and kenji* ok, here's the plan. kenji will act as diversion while kyouka goes in for the target. kenji: aye-aye! Kyouka: *nods* "I am ready." -elsewhere- Ivan: *opens the dumbwaiter* lydia: <find anything?> Ivan: *scrunches his face* <Rats and old food...> lydia:...<like us then?> Ivan: <The furry kind with big teeth...> lydia: <i know. it was supposed to be a joke.> Ivan: <...Ha.> lydia:.... <we should keep looking...> Ivan: *opens another door* <Closet.> lydia: ....<at least the structure's still standing...> Ivan: *light bulb* <I can put a shrine to Master in here~> lydia: <whatever floats your boat, i guess> Ivan: *already taking measurements of the closet* -elsewhere- Anya: "...This...may get in the way of some tasks today." ao: maybe watch some christmas movies? mio: it's January. Anya: "THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH!" >w< tsugumi: yeah! Meme: "..." *sits down, hugs a pillow* mio:....*hugs* Meme: "..." *leans against her shoulder* -elsewhere- Todoroki: *has already created an outdoor museum of ice sculptures* ochako: neato! momo: wow... Iida: *starts to clap* "Bravo! BRAV--" Todoroki: *carefully takes Iida's good hand, puts a finger over his own lips* "Shh. They are delicate to loud sounds--* *BOOM* ochako: 0-0; Bakugo: "GET BACK HERE, YOU STALKER!" Monoma: *blasting ahead* "Not likely~" Todoroki: "..." *charges up a flame* -elsewhere- Fitzgerald: "That will be $5 for the sled, $7 for the one with jingle bells..." *standing at top of hill with a stand: "Sleds"* jack: thank you sir. what do we say, julie? julie: thanks! ^^ Fitzgerald: "You're welcome. Be careful going down the hill--some employees are at play." Daisy: *making a snowman--out of Jordan* jordan: *nomming a carrot* Mr. Tsubaki: ._.;;; -elsewhere- Assi: *screaming as he descends a hill on a snowboard* mono: -.-; Zuno: *effortlessly skiing* =u= "So peaceful, so swift..." *opens his eyes* "...Who am I again?" nea: ZUNO, THERE'S A TREE! Zuno: "Oh, right! I'm a tree! And there's my family!" *opens his arms as he approaches the tree* "Time to hug the family tree!" nea:....*pinches nose* -_-; Assi: o_o; *tackles Zuno* "Zuno, no!" Zuno: "Umph!" *Assi and Zuno roll down the hill--forming a giant snow boulder that keeps going down...* -elsewhere- Jacqueline: "Warm?" kim: =////= Jacqueline: ^\\\^ *nuzzle* -elsewhere- Poe: *lying in the snow, arms by his sides* "...Have I made a snow angel yet?" lana: you're almost there. here, like this. *demonstrating* Poe: "..." *spreads his arms* " 'Kay? Is this good?" lana: see? you're getting it. ^^ Poe: .\\\w\\\. "Yay..." lana: *giggles and kisses his nose* Poe: >\\u\\< "Hee hee..." -elsewhere- Akutagawa: *standing alone in an alley* naoya: there you are. Akutagawa: "Yes. Hello" naoya: you ok? Akutagawa: *grunts* "It's cold and snowy." naoya:....hungry? Akutagawa: "..." *nods* naoya: ok then. anywhere you have in mind? Akutagawa: "...Ramen?" naoya: sounds good. and i know a pretty good place for it too. Akutagawa: "Good. Okay..." *walks with her* "...What have you been doing today?" naoya: not much. Akutagawa: "...No missions? I would imagine some opponents would use the snow as cover." naoya: too much snow. Akutagawa: "Hmm. Maybe they will freeze to death." -elsewhere- Kunikida: *staring outside at the snow* guard: *walking along* Kunikida: *sighs* ("Quiet...") -fyodor's cell- Fyodor: *humming* ….. <The white snow is gorgeous--when a little color is added to it...> -footsteps are heard. it seems a new guard is starting work here.- guard: *she looks around* Fyodor: "???" guard: what's with him? he's all chained up like an animal... Fyodor: "I prefer to think I'm more human than animal..." guard: ._.; *she looks to the older guard for an answer* Guard 2: "Ignore him. The man is insane..." guard: ._.;;; n-noted, sir! *salutes, with the wrong hand* Fyodor: "Wrong hand~" Guard 2: -_-# guard: s-sorry, sir! im still learning. ^^;; Guard 2: "Right, right--dismissed." guard: understood. -seems her nametag reads 'Erina'- Fyodor: " 'Erina'? Hmm...'Blessing'?" erina: *small blush* um- i-it's gaelic for ireland apparently, even though im only partially irish on my mum's side of the family- Fyodor: "Hmm. In Arabic it also means 'Beautiful lady.'" erina: *blushing* b-beautiful? me? Fyodor: *smiles* "I'm just explaining what your name can mean, dear." erina: um...i-i see... .////.; Fyodor: "Good luck acclimating to this new environment." erina: y-yessir! *walks off* >///<;; Fyodor: *hums again* -elsewhere- zoey: *asleep* {Fyodor: "You are okay?"} {zoey: *panting on the floor, with whip marks along her back and thighs* y-yes...} {Fyodor: "...You know why I must do this?"} {zoey: a-as long as i c-can please you...} {Fyodor: "Correct...This is to instill discipline..." *traces a finger along one whip mark*} {zoey: *soft moan*} {Fyodor: *lies atop her*} {zoey: *blushing, with heart pupils as her breathing becomes faster*} {Fyodor: "Oh? Excited already?" *light grind against her*} zoey: =////= *rubbing against a pillow, sniffing his cloak* master <3 *knock knock* zoey: the door's open. Q: *alert, staring at the door* Adam: *pokes his head in* "Dinner will be ready..." zoey: alright. thank you. Adam: *nods* *looks at Q* "...You want dessert tonight?" Q: yes please. ^u^ Adam: *nods* "I will set it out after your finish your vegetables." Q: >3< -elsewhere- leo: ... Kouyou: *sips wine* leo: do you need me to run any errands for you? Kouyou: "The snow is coming down rather hard...I think we will need blankets." leo: understood. and groceries? Kouyou: "Hmm...Order those." leo: very well...... Kouyou: "And put on that coat." leo: understood. thank you again. *she puts it on as well as some boots and a hat* i'll be back soon. Kouyou: *nods* "Also, take protection..." leo: *has a knife* understood. Kouyou: *smiles* "Good girl." -elsewhere- Shamrock: *shivering* himawari: *gives him a blanket* Shamrock: "Th-Thanks...So cold today..." -elsewhere- Patty: *roasting potatoes* liz: *nom* Patty: "Better in the cold!" *nom nom* "Butter!" *grabs some* Wes: *nom nom* -elsewhere- oscar: *taking a bath in a spring* *humming* Steinbeck: *checking his book against plants* twain: *resting in a tree* this is the life. Steinbeck: "Be more useful if you helped me find the food..." twain: you got it! *looking around* Steinbeck: "Careful of the berries and--" *looks around* "...Where did the rest go?" baum: present! dorothy: yo. ebie: *hanging upside down via spiderwebs* here! Hemingway: *leaps out of the water--covered in piranhas* oscar: doesnt that hurt, earny? Hemingway: "I've built an immunity--and lost most feeling in my skin from sunburns." oscar: ._.; baum: who here is our medic again? emily: i got it. twain: HOLYSHITONASTICK. baum: i seriously forgot you were here. emily: ^-^; Hemingway: "Oh, I'll be alright. I just need some orange juice for the blood loss and some rum to numb the pain. Mix them together and you get a damn fine drink!" -elsewhere- Tanizaki: *buried in snow* kenji: sorry. ^^; Tanizaki: *muffled gasps* naomi: *digging him out with her hands* hang on, bro! D8> Tanizaki: *gasping* kirako: you alright? Tanizaki: *waves* "F-Fine..." *coughs up a snowball* aya: wait shouldnt the snow have melted in his mouth? kirako: he was just buried... aya: oh. naomi: im just glad he didnt suffocate! Tanizaki: *collapses back into the snow* @~@ atsushi: *sweatdrop as he pulls dazai from out of the snow* Dazai: *he's encased in ice* atsushi: D8> -FWOOOOM- shinra: g-g-got im! Dazai: OwO;;; *his shoulder is on fire* "..." atsushi:...*puts some snow on it* Dazai: "Thank you..." *waves at Shinra* "WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO BURN ME TO DEATH?!" shinra: um.....im afraid im not able to do that, sir. atsushi: *chop* bad dazai. you said no suicide attempts during kirako's pregnancy. Dazai: -3- "I know..." atsushi: *sighs* (i hope we can bail kunikida out soon...) Lucy: "Get inside, everyone! We got hot chocolate!" *spots Shinra, waves* shinra: *nods* atsushi: say you're kusakabe, right? shinra: yeah. atsushi: wanna join us for hot cocoa? shinra: i'll have to ask my commander first. Akitaru: *pops out of the snow* "Someone say 'hot chocolate'?" shinra:....you know what, im not even going to ask. sure. Akitaru: "Yay!" *climbs out of the snow, dragging a frozen Takehisa behind him* -elsewhere- Yohei: *holding Toru* "...Did we bundle him enough?" toru: burr. Yohei: "Hmm...I don't think he's too happy about it..." chie: its ok sweetie. toru: =3= Yohei: "It's for your own good--can't have you catch a cold." -elsewhere- Black Star: *shuddering* "C-C-Cold..." naho: join us under the kotatsu. i got pokemooon. Black Star: *dives under* "P-Polar bear diving was a mistake..." Sakuya: *rolls his eyes, playing his game* tsubaki: *gives him one of her sweaters* Black Star: *pulls it on* "Th-Thanks..." -elsewhere- Kid: *sips hot chocolate* shiori: *snoozing* Kid: *smiles, sets down his drink, whispers* "Time to put her to bed..." lord death: *picks her up and places her in her crib, kissing her forehead* shiori: =w= Yumi: *tucks her in* "Sleep well, sweetie..." -elsewhere- Kunikida: *curled up* -silence- Kunikida: "..." *marks again on the wall* ???: doppo... Kunikida: "...???" -a ghostly figure appears and crawls onto him....it's nobuko?- nobuko: doppo~.... Kunikida: "!!!" *tries to pull back--* nobuko: its so cold, doppo....im so lonely... Kunikida: "Stop it--Stop it! You're not here..." nobuko: it's so lonely. *her eyes are completely black, crying some inky fluid* Kunikida: !!!! nobuko: *her face is inches from his. and she opens her mouth unnaturally wide to scream, but all that comes out is loud static* Kunikida: "No!" *pulls back his hand before pushing it at her jaw, ready to slam it shut--* -nothing's there- Kunikida: "..." *pants* -elsewhere- Hiro: [how u holding up?] EF: [been busy] Hiro: [snow got up your way too, huh?] EF: [yeah] Hiro: [how u all been passing time?] EF: [watching movies] Hiro: [snowball fight. in the face.] EF: [u ok?] Hiro: [ice ironically is helping the swelling ^^; ] -elsewhere- Todoroki: *sighs* *rubs his hands* fuyumi: you ok? Todoroki: "Surprisingly cold..." fuyumi: i'll get some hot cocoa Todoroki: "Thanks..." *looks out the window* -the snow fall seems lighter now- Todoroki: "Maybe this blizzard will subside..." -elsewhere- No Might: *wraps scarf more tightly around him* *shivers* inko: *walking with izuku* Izuku: "--and then he slid across the street--and up the building! It was incred--" *spots No Might* owo;;;;; No Might: .___________.;;;;;;; inko: *nods to him, smiling* No Might: *nods* ("KEEP WALKING, KEEP WALKING--") Izuku: OwO;;;;; No Might: *crashes into a light post* inko: oh goodness, are you alright? No Might: *bleeding from his mouth* "Just fine, ma'am!" inko: do you need a doctor?? No Might: "N-Nah! Happens all the time! Just need to take my medicine..." -elsewhere- Akutagawa: *slurp* naoya: tastes good, ya? Akutagawa: *nods* "Good broth..." naoya: glad to hear. ^^ -elsewhere- shinra:.....*anxious* Relan: "...Shinra? Did you hear me?" shinra: !! oh, h-hey rel. *wipes his eyes, smiling* Relan: "..." *holds his hand* shinra:....i-i keep having dreams about her....i-i-im scared she's going to hurt me....im too scared to sleep. Relan: "...I wish I could stop them..." shinra: *buries his face in his chest, whimpering* Relan: *strokes his head* "..." shinra: *sniffle* Relan: "You're safe here..." shinra: t-thanks... Relan: *nods* "You're welcome...I'll be here, as long as you need..." shinra:...c-can you sleep in here tonight? Relan: *nods* -elsewhere- yana: *fiddling with a pen* .... *There are papers and maps in front of her* yana: *examining*..... *sigh* <bored...> *Some of the wallpaper in the room is torn* yana: .... *small yawn* {Fyodor: <Keep the others on their toes.>} yana: ..... (how can i do that, when i can barely keep awake?.....) *There is a blanket on the bed...It looks more comfortable than to be expected for this hotel* yana:.... *prods at it, making sure it's actually usable* *The bed stays up* yana:....*checking for any abnormalities, like needles and such* *Nothing--there's just a pillow and sheets with a blanket* yana:....*removes cloak, little crown, and boots and lays in bed, falling asleep instantly* *Images appear of two people...* yana: *shuffling in her sleep* lydia: .... *puts the cloak over her* {Fyodor: *intense stare*} {Anya: *concerned look*} {yana: what's.....going on? a dream?} {Fyodor: <Have you completed what I wish?>} {yana:....<been getting there.>} {Fyodor: <Not quickly enough.>} lydia:.....she's shaking badly, ivan... Ivan: "???!" {Anya: *hug*} yana: *eyes open*...wha? lydia: are you alright? yana: fine..... Ivan: "..." *puts a hand on her forehead* yana: ivan what the heck- Ivan: "You don't have a temperature..." yana: im fine, im not a baby. =3=; Ivan: "But you have widdle baby cheeks." ^^ yana:.......*completely unamused* riiiiight. thanks, i reeeally appreciate that, gonch. Ivan: <You're welcome.> lydia: ... <in any case> you really should eat something. yana: what are you, my mom? Ivan: <I would say 'no.'> yana: it was sarcasm, ivan. lydia: you really should look after yourself. you've been working non-stop since we arrived. Ivan: <Delegate.> yana:....maybe.....*picks up the crown and examines it* Ivan: <...Shiny.> yana: for the aesthetic, i guess. lydia: didnt you buy it at a costume shop? yana: yeah. the cape's one of fyodor's though. Ivan: OwO;;;; yana:...what? Ivan: "May I smell it?" yana: ...... lydia: *nose pinch* -_-; yana: sure....go nuts...just not too nuts. (maybe i shouldnt tell him the shirt is fyodor's too, that would be too weird.) Ivan: =w= <Thank you, oh glorious leader, spawn of our other glorious leader...> yana: *sweatdrops* Ivan: *laughing giddily to himself as he departs the room...* yana: i honestly dont know about that one. -elsewhere- Meme: *curled up in bed* "..." mio: ..... Meme: "..." *whimper* -elsewhere- Ogun: "How long can one man stay in there?" student: maybe he's asleep. Ogun: "Could be...Need something loud to get his attention--" pan: *WHISTLING* Ogun: *covers his ears* "Y-Yeah, that's plenty loud..." -morning- Kid: *stretches* stocking: *yaaawn* Kid: "Good morning, beautiful." stocking: *sitting on his lap* hello~ Kid: ^\\\\^ "Sleep well?" *kisses her cheek* -elsewhere- Akitaru: *sets out a tall stack of pancakes* shinra: yesssss Arthur: "I want mine in the shape of a castle." -elsewhere- Chuuya: *hands Sonia her mittens* "Almost ready?" sonia: *nod nod* Chuuya: "Okay. We'll head to the store and back for food..." *opens the door, steps into the hallway* sonia: *following him* Chuuya: "Want any treats while we're there?" -elsewhere- Fitzgerald: "--and for one-fifth the price of Rolexes sold in major stores! See? I can be an economical consumer!" louisa:....(should i tell him?) Fitzgerald: *shiny eyes--then all the color fades out of his face...and skin...and suit* "..." louisa:....sir?.....*backs up* sir? Fitzgerald: "...What is a 'Folex'?" bram: it means you got ripped off. Fitzgerald: "..." *reaches into his wallet, pulls out $500* "This should about do it..." -elsewhere- Anya: "--and they have free-roaming bison!" Meme: "..." tsugumi: ^^;..... *looks out the window* shaula:....*walking along* tsugumi: !!! Anya: *still reading brochures* tsugumi: it's her! for real this time! Meme: "!!! Mio!" mio: on it! *hammer-axe mode* EF: O-O h-hey- Meme: *kicks open the door* EF: D8> Meme: *runs out to where she spotted Shaula* shaula:... *smirks and runs into an alley* tsugumi:...come on! we have to go after them! Meme: *following* ("Don't give her a sense where I'm going, what I'm going to do--except to feel my absolute desire for her death!") Anya: "Right!" ao: understood. *follows tsugumi* Meme: ("She's cornered...But she can leap high...Mio...Get ready for my jump!") mio: [you got it!] shaula: *heading into an empty warehouse* Meme: "...NOW!" *leaps* "HUAAAAAA!" shaula: *stinger block* well, look what came crawling back! Meme: *angry smile as she continues to press her weapon in an attempt to break the block* "Not crawling...Standing..." -CLANG CLANG SLASH- shaula: i got to say, there's a fire in your eyes, meme...you want something from me, dont you? Meme: "Keep at it, Mio!" *SLAM* "We're going to get it from her...I want to know where they are!" shaula: they? hmmm, what could you mean by that meemers? i've been around sooo many years, its hard to keep track of all the lives ive ruined, lol~ mio: *jawdrop* [did she seriously just say 'lol'?] Meme: *not even influenced, swings at Shaula's head* shaula: tsk- tsk-, is this any way to treat the one who raised you? so ungrateful... Meme: "YOU DIDN'T!" *holds Mio with just one hand--and swings her fist at Shaula's jaw* shaula: grk-.... you outten't have done that~ *wraps her stinger around meme's leg, throwing her into the wall* Meme: "AAAaaaah--" *CRASH, CRACK* mio: MEME!! Meme: *she's not moving* shaula: wait a sec....oh NOW i get it.... *baby talk* you wants to knows about mommy and daddy, dont yews? Meme: *groans, trying to push herself up* mio: BITCH!! *charges at her with an axe arm* shaula: *grabs her wrist, twisting it* mio: AHHHH!!!! Meme: *bolts up* "Mio! No!" shaula: you want to know what happened to your parents? well i'd be happy to...... NOT tell you~ ^u^ Meme: "Let her go!" shaula: i wonder, how she'll react to the venom~ Meme: "!!!" *a burst of energy flows through her as she runs at Shaula--and trips, falling, pain shooting through her back* "Mio..." *crying* mio: *wince* Meme: "I can't..." ???: "Royal Lance!" shaula: ?? *drops mio and dodges* mio: ah....meme! *runs over to her* tsugumi: oh no you dont! Meme: "Mio..." mio: are you ok? Meme: *can't speak, just shaking* Anya: "The right!" tsugumi: roger! shaula: *dodging* Anya: "Again!" -SLASH SLASH- Anya: "Once more--the wall behind her!" -BOOOOM- shaula: !! SCORPION-SCISSORS! *The wall is collapsing* mio: !!! *holds meme tight* -RUMBLE- mio: !!!...w-wha... Meme: "???" -part of the floor is elevated to keep the rubble from falling on them- Meme: "How..." mio: so that's my elemental alignment, eh?....kickass. Meme: "...Mio..." mio:...ready to kick this witch's ass? Meme: "..." *holds out her hand* mio: *takes her hand* tsugumi: HYAH! shaula: *SLASH* ao: *on the upper level* Meme: *stands, holding her weapon--and aims for Shaula's head* mio: [i have a plan, slam the hammer to the ground] Meme: "??? ..." Right. *walks slowly...before starting to jog and eventually run* ao: *holding tsugumi, who has scythe blade increased* ~MIDORI NO KAZE~ *slashes, sending little wind slices at shaula* shaula: *sliced a bit, but still standing* URK- you little shits! mio: NOW! Meme: *lifts up her weapon and--drops the hammer* ~TERRA SPIKE~ -a line of spikes shoots out of the ground, heading towards shaula, stabbing her limbs- shaula: *SCREAMS* Meme: *pants, leaning against her weapon* "Now then..." *looks up* "You know the question I have..." shaula: alright, jeez....what do you want to know? im not exactly g-going anywhere, haha ow, hurts to laugh. Meme: "...My parents." shaula: oh right....they're dead. Meme: "!!!" shaula: what can i say, i needed an infant for my plan, and its their own fault for being in the right place at the right time. Meme: "..." *clenches her fists, shaking* tsugumi: you.....DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ANYONE ELSE BUT YOURSELF?! shaula: ah? Anya: "Selfish! Deplorable! Wicked! Evil!" shaula: please, do ahead, i've heard them all before. Anya: "SNIVELING COLD-HEARTED BITCH WITH UGLY HAIR!" shaula: *yawns* Anya: "AND YOU SUCK AT VIDEO GAMES!" shaula: YOU WANNA FUCKING GO BETCH!?!? ao: i see why you're the least favorite. shaula: *crying* YOU KEEP MY MOTHER OUT OF THIS! Meme: "SHUT UP!" shaula: !!... Meme: "...Tell me...Who were they?" shaula:...very well. Jirou Kozuki, physics professor. Asuka Tatane, university student. Meme: "...What were they like?" shaula: hell if i care, but they must have loved you, being willing to try fighting me off to protect you... Meme: "...They died...to protect me...Why did you want me?" shaula: i needed a child to raise for my plans, and i didnt want to knock myself up. so why not just take someone else's kid? like i said, you were in the right place at the right time. Meme: "For what purpose?! What plan?!!" shaula: remember the death city invasions with the traitors? you were a vital pawn for both plans. the first you were a trainee soldier, the second you were my spy. but then you had to go and betray me. Meme: " 'Betray'...Betray? I owe you nothing!" shaula: HA! everything you have now...it's all thanks to me....so you better appreciate it~ Meme: "...There's one thing I have that I don't owe to you..." *picks up Mio in weapon form* shaula: ah? Meme: *lifts Mio and holds it over Shaula's head before bringing the weapon down--* shaula: !!!!! -slice- shaula: *SHRIEKS as her ponytail is cut off* Meme: "..." -the ponytail twitches violently...before stopping- tsugumi:....................holy shit. Anya: ._.; ao: oh my~ *claps* mio:....get. rekt. Meme: *still holds Mio* "Ugly witch..." ao: so do we just leave her here? Meme: *shakes her head* "We have to get her back to Death City...This witch is too dangerous." tsugumi: right. -and so- Anya: *looking around* EF: THERE YOU GIRLS ARE! I WAS LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU AND WHEN THE DWMA SENT-......what's that? tsugumi: *holding the braid, which now has a ribbon tied to it* war trophy. Anya: -_-; EF:........*JAWDROPS SO HARD SHE BREAKS THE SIDEWALK* Anya: "!!! H-How did you..." EF: HOW DID YOU EVEN- ao: dont question it too much, princess, you'll hurt yourself~ ^^ Meme: "..." *bows to Eternal Feather* "I'm sorry to have worried you." EF:...*sigh* at least you weren’t hurt too badly... Anya: "And we took care of one problem..." EF: y-you-YOU DONT MEAN- shaula: *THRASHING AGAINST THE RESTRAINTS. she's all tied like hannibal lector* -at medusa's house- neian: bu? Medusa: "..." *contented sigh* =w= -elsewhere- arachne:...seems good things can happen after all. Giriko: "???" -elsewhere- Fyodor: *whistling* erina: *by the door, keeping guard* Fyodor: *humming...lightly singing* erina: *nervous* Fyodor: *singing* <Sometimes we pretend we do, just for show...> erina: i dont recognize that one. Fyodor: *smiles* "Old love song from back home." erina:.... .////. i see.... Fyodor: "It's a favorite of mine. I particularly like how it rises..." erina: y-yeah...*awkward shuffling* do you...have anyone you like? Fyodor: "Maybe~" erina: *awkward laugh*... ./////////.;;;; Fyodor: *smiles, returns to humming* -elsewhere- Lucy: *picking up bowls* "...Oh. You." mahiru: ^^; Kuro: *slurp* Lucy: "..." *looks at Mahiru* "Do you need a refill?" -elsewhere- Daisy: *holding an ice pack to her head* -_-# louisa: rough night? Daisy: "I tried to drink away the night--and hit my head." louisa: oh goodness... ._.; Daisy: "And while out, I lost my car keys, so I had to take the bus to work..." louisa: i think they're still on your desk. ^^; Daisy: "..." *loud annoyed sigh* *Suddenly, singing is heard coming up the hallway* ???: "Oh what a beautiful morning..." louisa: *peek* Zuno: "Oh what a beautiful day--" *spots Louisa* "Oh! I got your mail..." *it's addressed to "Louis Fine"* louisa: um...thanks..... (i'll get this to him asap) -elsewhere- Kuro: *in cat form...with a cloth lion mane on him* "...I do this for show and tell in class, and you promise ramen, right?" mahiru: yes, kuro. Kuro: "..." *inhales* "Let me get into character..." *half-hearted 'roar'* "..." *nods* "Okay. Let's do this." -elsewhere- Black Star: *staring at a photo of him and Sid when he was a baby* naho: awwww, you had such squishy cheeks! Black Star: >_< "You're darn right I was adorable..." tsubaki: *chuckle* lavender: mr barret looks so young here... Higan: “It’s like he had a baby face.” -elsewhere- Kunikida: *shudders* shaula: *glares at kunikida* OH RUB IT ON IN WHY DONT YA?! Kunikida: "??? No, not that. I was...just...You know, nevermind..." Alone: "...It's a new look?" shaula:..... *GLAAAARE* grimoire: ..... Alone: ._.; "...It still looks nice on you, though?" shaula: *pouts* what happened to butter-brat? Alone: "Adopted." shaula: well good for her then! >n< Alone: "Yeah, she's with my dream-frog...AND THAT STUPID UGLY MAN-WOLF!" >_< shaula: thats rough buddy. Alone: *sniff* T~T "This place isn't fun...But at last you're back, Stingy!" shaula:..... Q___Q my poor stinger. Alone: "...It grows back, right?" shaula: TT_TT eventually... Alone: "Well, plenty of time to pass for it to grow back...We could play games?" shaula:.....oi, whats her deal? erina: *sweats* Alone: *shrug* "She guards this really smart but creepy prisoner who speaks Russian." shaula: so? grimoire: i would advise avoiding him. Alone: "Yeah, or he might flirt with you, too..." shaula: pass. Fyodor: <Just as well: I don't sleep with worms.> -elsewhere- Meme: *clenching her hands* "..." mio:.....*holds her* Meme: "..." *sniff, wipes her eyes* mio: we're here for you, ok, meme? Meme: "Th-Thanks...I just can't see how to...get through this..." mio: lets take it a day at a time, ok? Meme: *cries, nods* mio: *kiss* shhh...*rubs her back* Meme: *whimpering* -elsewhere- PlushFix: "So, how many we missing?" hina: two. son of a bitch. PlushFix: "So we lost Flowers and Rent-A-Maid..." mimeca: =3= hina: so now what? PlushFix: "I suggest we release this pent up frustration with some thievery, violence, explosions, and all the usual vices." hina: hell yeah, -elsewhere- Haumea: *staring forward* -________- charon: any news on assault's whereabouts? Haumea: "NO! GOD! WHY DO YOU TALK SO MUCH?!" >_< charon:... i barely said anything... ._.; guruna: kururu....i miss assault. he was easy to deceive. Haumea: T_T "He could do the heavy lifting..." Friz: "He still owes me five dollars..." -elsewhere- Adam: *pulls a five dollar bill out of his pocket* "??? Where did this come from?" oguri: i'll take it if you dont want it~ Adam: Q-Q oguri: *puppy eyes* pwease? im saving for something important. Adam: "What for?" oguri: medical reasons. Adam: "...Of course." *hands him the $5* oguri: thank you~ ^^ *heads to his room* -elsewhere- Kid: *snoozing on the couch* "Zzz..." stocking: *snoozing next to him* Kid: *kitten yawn, hug* stocking: so nice and cozy~ Kid: =w= "Agreed..." *pulls up the blanket* stocking: *purrs* Kid: "Hee hee...Kitten..." *nuzzle* stocking: u/////u <3 Kid: *smooch* stocking: hehehe~ -elsewhere- Joker: *shudders* "Creepy..." ivy: hm? Joker: "N-Nothing...Just remembered something..." ("Creepy woman...") ivy:...hm.... Joker: "..." *shakes as he lights a smoke* -elsewhere- ranpo: ever hear this one story about the human chair? Tanizaki: ._. "...Should I have?" maria: *listening intently* Tanizaki: *listens* ranpo: well, apparently, this creepy guy hid in this lady's chair and stalked her while she sat in it. creepy right? naomi: way creepy! >A<; Tanizaki: .__________.;;;;; "...What the F?" atsushi: D8> Lucy: "...And _how_ did you hear this story? Doesn't sound like one of Edgar's..." ranpo: *licks his lollipop* dont rightly remember. Lucy: -_-# atsushi: *opens mouth to say something, but then shuts up* -elsewhere- Fyodor: =_= erina: *standing guard* Fyodor: <Unfair...> erina: sir? Fyodor: "Hmm? Oh. Sorry. It's nothing...Just a quibble." erina: hmm.... Fyodor: "It's just...I'm not used to being able to speak with someone." erina: ah... Fyodor: "I guess that's not hard for you--you strike me as someone who is an engaged speaker." erina: me? well, in school i did do the morning announcements... Fyodor: "Ah. You must have been very popular." erina: not really, i guess i was fairly average. Fyodor: "...I'm sorry. But I hardly think you're 'average.'" erina: .///. um...t-thanks. Fyodor: "You're welcome. Sometimes, it just takes time, and the right people, to recognize the qualities someone has." erina:...*awkward laugh* .////.;; Fyodor: *small laugh* "...Thank you. I appreciate getting to talk." -elsewhere- Ivan: *asleep--clutching one of Fyodor's cloaks* =w= lydia: .... Ivan: *inhales* *sighs happily* <Master~> lydia:.... *sighs and walks away* (why are you like this, ivan? did fyodor really....?) -elsewhere- Hiro: "That's...eventful." EF: no kidding. Hiro: "At least you're in one piece...Unlike Shaula's hair." EF: *chuckles* Hiro: "Any commendation from Lord Death for a job well done?" EF: most likely. Hiro: "Congrats!" -elsewhere- Dazai: *holding a bucket* "Now be careful stepping onto the ice." *he also has a fishing pole* kenji: ^u^ Kyoka: *carrying the bait* "How will we cut a hole in the ice?" yosano: *chainsaw out* Lucy: ._.; "Won't that scare away the fish?" Kyoka: "Not after we drug the fish." kenji: woah! i got something! *pulls out......!!!* lovecraft: ?? Dazai: "...We're eating fried squid tonight!" >w< Lucy: "..." *grabs the chainsaw, aims it at Dazai* lovecraft: unhand me. i need to hibernate. Kyoka: "In water? You'll freeze to death." Dazai: *shiny eyes* "Freeze...Chainsaw...Freeze or chainsaw..." lovecraft: i've slept in colder waters. Kyoka: "...I think Kenji could still fry him up, too--" Lucy: "CAN YOU NOT?!" lovecraft: ??? hello lucy. Lucy: *smiles* "Hello, Howard." *turns back to Dazai and Kyoka, fire in her eyes* "NO EATING LOVECRAFT!" kenji: ok. ^^ Dazai: T_T "Oh, poo." Kyoka: *shrugs* -elsewhere- Steinbeck: "--then a right at the boulder in the shape of a nose..." twain: *holding the map* Hemingway: *passes around the water* "A nose? Kind of an odd instruction..." oscar: what kind of nose're we talking about here? Steinbeck: ._.;;; "I'm just going off of what the notes say..." *flips through the notes* "Maybe there's a photo of it..." -elsewhere- Mori: "..." *opens a book, following a finger along a map* fukuzawa: ?? *It's a map of Berlin* fukuzawa: are you familiar with the city? Mori: "Maybe...I've read about it." fukuzawa: hmm.... Mori: "...I played there?" fukuzawa: was your hometown nearby? Mori: "...Yes." fukuzawa: do you know where? Mori: "...Nearby. Small." fukuzawa:... hmm... Mori: "...Dad's office..." fukuzawa: *listening* Mori: "...I saw people go in." fukuzawa: ... Mori: *shakes his head* "I dont remember them leaving..." fukuzawa: ........ Mori: "..." *shakes his head* "He told me to go play..." fukuzawa: hmm..... Mori: "...I'd like to nap now." -elsewhere- Iida: *skating along the ice* "...This is enjoyable." mina: WOOT! jirou: .~.;; Iida: *does a spin, landing on one leg with arms out* "Ta-da!" Mineta: *stuck head first to the ice* >_< "Show off..." ochako: *spins a circle around him, causing the part of the ice he is stuck to to sink* Mineta: D:< "RUUUUUUUDE...glub glub glub..." -elsewhere- Motojiro: *flipping through pages, wearing headphones* "Hmm...Mmm-mm..." ayako:....WE HAVE A VISITOR! Motojiro: *not noticing, headphones too loud* =w= "So melodic..." ayako: OK IMMA LET HER IN NOW. Motojiro: "La la la~" leo: motojiro? Motojiro: *spinning in his chair to the music, singing--then spots Leo* OwO;;; *and spins off of the chair to the floor* leo: ah! are you alright? *going over to him, concerned* Motojiro: o\\\\w\\\\o *crab walks back* "Fi-Fi-Fi--" leo: ?? Motojiro: "--ine!" *crashes into the wall* QwQ leo: ._.; Motojiro: QwQ "...TEA! LET ME MAKE YOU SOME TEA!" *stands up, limping to his chemistry set* leo: are you sure you're alright? Motojiro: "Okey-dokey positively am I!" *he has a slight nosebleed* ^w^ leo:.... ^^; .... ah! you're bleeding... *hands him a tissue* Motojiro: "..." *tentatively takes the tissue* "Th-Th-Th-Muchas gracias!" *takes it* leo:... *small chuckle* Motojiro: .\\\\. "Wh-What brings you?" leo: just thought i would check in to see how you were holding up. Motojiro: "Oh, I'm a little down. On the floor." ^^; leo:....*chuckles, then laughs until she's actually crying* Motojiro: "!!! L-Leo?" *holds out a hand* leo: *sniff* s-sorry, i-its been a while since i had a good laugh...*rubs her eyes* Motojiro: "..." *smiles* "Well, glad I could help..." leo: ......*hugs* Motojiro: .\\\\\. "..." *pat pat* "It's okay..." leo: .... Motojiro: "Just...whatever works?" leo: r-right... Motojiro: *smiles* "So...tea?" leo: s-sure... *small smile* Motojiro: "Great..." *The tea has already exploded in his chemistry set* ayako: *covered in soot and wearing her goggles* tea's done! Motojiro: "Delightful!" *cradles a broken cup* "To good health!" -elsewhere- Honenuki: "opens his book* "Okay, onto Exercise 5." tokage: alright! Hiryu: >~< "Too difficult..." yui: *signing* <got it> Honenuki: "See? Just need to practice it. Yui, could you show Hiryu?" yui: *nod nod* Hiryu: ._. "But I showed all my steps...and it still doesn't get the right answer..." yui: <did you try this?> *shows an equation* Hiryu: *looking over it* "..." .____. "...I forgot the 1..." ^^;;; yui: *pap pap* itsuka: *super focused* Honenuki: *looks at Itsuka* "???" ("Really good focus...") pony: 'ey nate, can ya help me wit dis problem here? Monoma: T-T; ("It's Neito...") "Sure..." *looks at the question* "How far you get through it?" -elsewhere- Kyoka: "We're back. We have fish." atsushi: that's gre-..... ._.; um... lovecraft: i was......invited.... Lucy: ^^ "Isn't it great?! Howard is visiting!" atsushi: um.....hello? ^^;;;;; lovecraft: *shakes his hand* hello. atsushi:....f-firm grip..... ^^; Lucy: ^^ Kyoka: "I'll get the plates." *drags a big fish out of the bucket* -elsewhere- Chuuya: "Pasta okay?" sonia: ok papa. Chuuya: "That's good..." *adds some spice to the tomato sauce* "And I hope dessert is good. Just needs a little longer to bake..." sonia: ok. -seems she drew some new pictures today- Chuuya: *lowers the heat on the sauce, looks at her drawings* -a few typical drawings a (physically) 6-year-old girl would draw, such as flowers, kitties, kouyou....and rain- Chuuya: "..." *looks at the drawing of Rain* -she seems to be smiling, with angel wings and a halo with some crayon text that says 'mama'- Chuuya: "..." *sad smile* -elsewhere- Tanizaki: "Honestly, this mess..." *brushes candy wrappers off the desk* kirako: wouldnt kill him to clean up after himself... Tanizaki: "He probably thinks it gets in the way of his deductions..." kirako: why is he like this?... -elsewhere- neian: *baby babble* Medusa: "...Enjoying yourself?" neian: ^o^ *happy babble* Medusa: "Well, that's good..." *picks her up* neian: zzzz Medusa: "..." *soft sway before setting her into her crib* neian: zzzzz Medusa: *tucks her in* "..." ("The future...")…. =w= "Still feel that peace...Hee hee...Poor sister..." -elsewhere- Fyodor: =w= "I don't see what has you so upset..." shaula: I DONT EVEN GET ANY ALCOHOL HERE! AND I WAS BEATEN BY A BUNCH OF PREPUBECANT TWITS! Alone: "...Hey, I'm not judging, but maybe re-phrase the last part?" *is making toilet bowl wine* shaula: ..............................................dude, gross. Alone: "Don't knock it! I cleaned the toilet first! Beggars can't be choosers..." *dips his ladle into the bowl--and it dissolves* ._.;;; shaula:.....eugh..... Fyodor: "Fufufu~" shaula: and what's _your_ beef, fyodorkus? Fyodor: "What? I have no...What is this 'beef'?" *smiles* shaula: its what you get from cows- WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH YOU, CREEPY WEIRDO? Fyodor: "Passing time. Same as anyone." shaula: tch-....what're you in for then? Fyodor: "Accessory to murder, murder, conspiracy, theft, kidnapping, mutilation--I've lost track of the charges." shaula: cool story bro. Fyodor: "I may write it...I'm sure your story is interesting as well. After all, I have long heard about the famous Gorgons..." shaula: oh really? Fyodor: "Yes, the Mother of Weapons Arachne. The mad scientist Medusa. And...the third one." shaula: all you probably know about us is just the legends. Fyodor: "Oh? That's a shame. I guess those stories about your victories in deception were exaggerations, too?" shaula: maybe he does know. Fyodor: *smiles* "I hope, while we have time here together, to hear the truth behind those legends." shaula: *grinch grin* grimoire: but i thought- shaula: grimmy, shut it. im gay as fuck, and am willing to take all the compliments. grimoire:................................. *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh* -_-; Giriko: "Feeling alright?" arachne: i feel like all is alright with the world. malaria: ?? arachne: ^u^ Giriko: "Well, that's super." ^^ -elsewhere- leo: thank you for today. Motojiro: "Of course--I hope it was satisfying." leo:.....*small kiss on the cheek* see you tomorrow then? Motojiro: .\\\\\\. "H-Hum-Humma-Ho-O-Okay..." leo: *smiles and exits*..... (feels warm......) *soft smile* Motojiro: "...Legs...failing. Gravity taking over. Fetch me the pillow..." ayako: *throws pillow in just the right position* Motojiro: *falls onto the pillows* =w= "Zzz..." -elsewhere- Nedzu: *brewing his tea* ^w^ "Now, to review--how is progress?" midnight: we've determined the match-ups. Nedzu: "Goodie!" *reviews the files* "Hmm...Interesting...That'll require setting up the locations...What exactly is a 'Denki'?" -elsewhere- katya: *tapping foot, antsy* Gin: "??? What's with you?" katya: n-need to...need to kill someone....feels like sand.....its all feeling like sand.... *shaking* pushkin: !! <shit-shit!> come on, dont you have prisoners who need executing? anyone?? Gin: "..." ("That's a problem...") "We are currently interrogating..." katya: I NEED TO KILL SOMETHING PLEASE! Gin: "Fine. We have one...I'll take you to them." katya: g-get the big guns out.... -in the cell- Prisoner: Q__Q "I need out..." katya: *has a submachine gun, giggling maniacally* gladly~ *sticks the gun into his mouth.............and opens fire, with a look of pure malicious glee on her face* Prisoner: *in their last moments--a look of despair and then, they are gone, the head now a mess left on the floor, the body left twitching before all functions cease* katya: *panting as she puts the gun down* .........heh......*sigh*......... pushkin: you ok in there, kati? katya:...y-yeah....i feel better now... pushkin: *phew* glad to hear. Gin: "...Holy shit." naoya: jeez, overkill much? katya: well, at least im back to some feeling of reality, so im good.... pushkin: *pap pap* Gin: ._. ("...If that's reality...") katya:...............................im fucking parched. *takes a swig of her flask* ah, good shit.... Gin: "...Go rest." katya: *grunts of 'fine fine'* -elsewhere-

[chattegeorgiana]

I disagree with anon. There's hating a ship, then there's hating the character itself. Even without SS, Sakura was still largely hated across the fanbase for the most shallow of reasons. Some still blame her for Neji's death. I really doubt SS expected Sakura to get shafted to this point; from what I've seen, they are just as angry and sadden by this. At the same time, I'm aware that NH (not all shipper, if they are reading!) really only "supported" SS just to get Sakura out of the way. (1)

Honestly, I never meet Sakura hate so strong from that fandom. I remembered how the majority started acting all haughty with SS after The Last, then outright dropped SS when Gaiden came out. Some were even disappointed that Karin wasn’t outright confirmed the mother and called the manga a waste. For those NH who used to “support” SS, you would think they’ll have some sympathy for their “sister” shippers? (2)

The legit hate for Sakura is honestly so incredulous to me. The only fandom I’ve been in with character hate half as strong was Kingdom Hearts with Kairi. And even then the hate was half as strong, and only within fandom. The hate died down over the years. But Sakura? The fandom, SP, SJ, assistants, editors, hate her to this point? They are absolutely okay with erasing her importance within the manga? Okay with giving Hinata everything they hated in Sakura? The interview with Kishi (3)

comparing Sakura to a secondary character, overall downgrading her importance in the manga made me sad. But the reaction from NH succeed my disappointment in Kishi, and I only felt even more bitterness towards NH and Hinata. (4)

It’s why I can never like Hinata or NH, no matter how much they try and convince me. To be happy that they aren’t force to acknowledge Sakura as a heroine? Was NS that intimidating? Was Sakura that bad? I’m sorry that this small thing turned to a rant, but I felt if Sakura (and Team 7) was in a different fandom than this one. To have hate so strong that even her own creator hates her along with the franchise? To STILL blame her for Neji? I’m just so sad that this is what she is reduced to. (5)

I only wanted better for her, but with this fandom it’s like you have to go above and beyond for her just to get that fandom to like her even a little. On top of that, deal with a franchise that wants nothing to do with her either. Yet they will put Hinata on a pedestal and call her the heroine? The franchise legitimately putting her as a main cast, when she was barely a secondary in Part 2? How did she became relevant and shoved into our face as being better than Sakura? (End)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Granted, that was/is also a factor but it’s the SS that was the fuel to NH by some sort of sick alliance, and then trying to bury every shit Kishi threw at Sakura via Sasuke because of her proximity to Naruto and the possibility of her being with Naruto in the end. But these are old shannenigans.

Granted, Sakura was hated in the fandom because of the most stupid reasons, however when it came down to comparing her with Hinata, if it weren’t for a let’s say very ardent fan of Hinata’s everyone knew and acknowledged the fact that Sakura tops Hinata no matter what. It was basic knowledge 101.

But then Studio Pierrot came and started the stealing. Sakura is a medical ninja? Everyone is a medical ninja.

Sakura has a superior chakra control, even moreso than her powerhouses of teammates? Everyone gets it.

Sakura can tell via her medical ninjutsu where it hurts in the body or it’s a certain problem? Throw that away, make Hinata tell her via her Byakugan because lol Sakura surely must’ve forgotten to do that with only medical ninjutsu via water detection, in order to force down our throats a friendship that never really was there - at most, some respect showed by Sakura to Hinata, never the viceversa. 

Some still blame her for Neji’s death because things were written as such. That was the effect they wanted. While Sakura the medical ninja couldn’t be there when Naruto called for a medic-nin, have Hinata-hime-sama be there and offer him the emotional support he needed (although via Sakura was shown to us what he really needed, but anyway). Sakura was written off at that point to make place for Hinata, all while in the meantime Studio Pierrot via their shitty interventions was already stealing everything from Sakura and giving it to Hinata. SS-ers saw that, they were here with us as well. We were already screaming about the damage control Sakura was taking because of Hinata but most of them didn’t care, as long as it took NaruSaku out of the way…

And dear boy I know I screamed right and left about this because I saw the bullshit they’re trying to pull. I don’t know exactly for how long you’re around the fandom anon, but as I said before, I came from a NH and SS background that went along with NS given the development. And also besides that, what made me distance from NH mostly was their hate for Sakura. I was a NH shipper that happened to like Sakura very much. And so, being accustomed to how these pairings function, I saw the impending shit that was about to come, and screamed about it, but who was going to listen? I was a NaruSaku, to hell with me, despite me saying multiple times that before being a NaruSaku or any other type of shipper, I am a Sakura fan. 

So you see, here it’s a mix of many elements at the middle, and sadly they did have a major contribution to this, sorry to say it. Not all of them, ofc, but…

And it was never a sister ship with them… It was an alliance against NaruSaku. That was the immediate threat to them. Everyone knew that Kishi wouldn’t have the balls to end it with NaruSasu because of the controversy (despite drawing them in also), so the next best thing was NaruSaku - especially given the story’s construction mechanisms - everything was pointing at NaruSaku, no matter how much some still want to deny it. It’s basic storytelling 101 in a piece of literature (more or less).

Hell, they even changed the story triangle. There was one always inside team 7, and now in his newest interview Kishi mentions one that was nonexistent between Naruto, Sakura and Hinata. He literally took all the things that NH were fantasizing about and used them as “logical explanation” when his own story was contradicting him.

And yes, for some stupid reason people hated Sakura because Kishimoto pulled at the heart strings of people with poor orphan Naruto, but God forbid someone points Naruto’s horrible behavior, they must be linched - which Sakura does at the beginning of the story. Naruto was after all a pretty stupid kid that did stupid things. Yes, he had ulterior motives, but does that excuse his behavior? If we cannot excuse the behavior of one, why excuse his, know what I mean? 

And also people aren’t used to look at the broader picture because somehow … reasons. Yes, Sakura told him all those things, but at the same time supported him and his stupid dream with her love for Sasuke and her “horrible” behavior still did much more than Hinata with her love for Naruto.  But then people come with the excuse that she was shy. So we can excuse Hinata of her shyness for NOT helping Naruto when he most needed it, but we cannot excuse Sakura for expressing her pissed self at Naruto whenever he did something stupid DESPITE ACTIVELY doing stuff for him? Hmm, I smell double standards.

And yes, it’s funny how when they take stuff from Sakura and add them to Hinata everyone is okay, because it’s Hinata. This only once more shows the double standards and hipocrisy that lies deep within the collective counsciousness of this very fandom.

And, after all, it’s not the fandom’s fault as much as it is Kishi’s and how he never put his finger on something for certain, out of God knows what reasons… I can only speculate, but some are for certain - he doesn’t have a backbone.

From defending fiercely your heroine to actively replacing her… pfft. Laughable.

If he would’ve had a backbone he would’ve finished the story properly. You know how they say “Stand for what you believe in, even if you stand alone”.

Something he tried pushing with Naruto, too bad he failed miserably.

I wanted better for her too, and actually trusted Kishi he will do better. I created theories about where he’d be going with her, things that eventually come to fruition (her seal, chakra nature and some others), but the thing that disgusted me the most about this was seeing some things that were clearly going to go to Sakura, being used for Hinata, dare I say some ideas I layed down in my theories, being used now, via other means.

At first I thought it’s me being crazy, they couldn’t possibly use that… and then the latest chapter of Boruto comes and they use for him what the NS fandom creates for Shinachiku. 

To answer your question - yes, NaruSaku was that intimidating. That intimidating that they cannot erase 15 years of development, that they now try to steal ideas from the NS fans to burrow us as deep as possible because otherwise we won’t shut up, that bad of an intimidation, that they make it so defiant to NaruSaku fans, so that we’ll eventually shut up and stop being the thorns in their back.

Well, too bad. We’re here and we’re staying. They can steal how much they want. The records showing that we were there with ideas and whatnot long before them it’s here.

For someone who writes about Gods and whatnot, Kishi and his editors should know about the Akashic records. They’re imprinted in the human collective counsciousness, and no matter how much they want to silence and erase Sakura and NaruSaku, they can’t.

And this only pushed me to continue my initial analysis on Sakura’s character. Ohoo, it’s going to be so much fun to demask all the bullshit mechanism behind their actions. SO MUCH FUN!

Anyway, I turned this into a rant and went into deeper stuff myself, I should probably end it here. But yeah, this thing is a mess. A salad, to be more exact. ;)

[phoenixyfriend]

I am seized by a fatal need for courtroom ninja drama fic

But not serious courtroom drama. I'm talking Phoenix Wright style Nonsense.

(Some of this was provided by the folks over in @sloaners​‘ server, but the bulk of it was me spitballing nonsense at people who actually know the games, which I do not. I do paraphrase a few times to make it more feasible as a tumblr post/fic concept, rather than a rapidfire text conversation.)

Or one of those like. Reality TV paternity test things? But specifically in my mind the people involved in the actual paternity are a married couple and someone that joined them to be their third, and Clan Elders are throwing a fit about how the baby might not be the heir by blood! while the actual parents are like "I could not care less, this is our child, all three of us, please stop getting involved."

HashiMitoMada would be a VERY good option for the paternity nonsense, mostly because I can see Madara screeching at his own elders about how he already said Izuna would be his heir and he's not changing his mind!

Tobirama is just begging the paternity test to work faster off-screen because he's the only person with the machines to make it happen.

(Hashirama is just. Moping in a corner.)

"I just had to INVENT a paternity test that works before the birth! I had to figure out how to test amniotic fluid! If you assholes make me do something this stupid on such short notice again, I will be digging some shallow graves!" "...for who?" "I haven't decided yet."

Anyway, jumping back to like a Phoenix Wright-style murder investigation.

The victim was Danzo. Even the prosecution isn't actually that interested in making sure someone gets arrested, but they're legally obligated to do at least try. A bunch of people all acting really suspicious about who killed him. There is at least one shitty fake mustache-on-glasses disguise to provide a paper-thin alibi.

WAIT The other thing this gives us is ninjas in three-piece-suits but half of them wear the suits wrong. I’m talking mismatched buttons. The wrong way of tying their tie. Sewn-on-cufflinks. This is Naruto, for instance.

Tobirama would wear it properly, except he's rushing about in a lab coat, screaming at everyone to get out of his way because he's The Entire Forensics Team.

(This is the part where I have to confess that I have only seen the live-action movie of Phoenix Wright, as I don't game, so I just have the live action and tumblr osmosis.)

At this point, of course, we gotta ask: Who is the most Belligerent Witness And who is the Helpful™️ Witness that's super enthusiastic but entirely useless

I can see, say, Mito being a solid witness that both defense and prosecution are really thankful for.

Modern gen you have like... Sasuke and Neji are both incredibly belligerent witnesses. Neji at least is polite about it but pulls the "only answers with the absolute minimum of information."

Lee and Gai would have the over enthusiasm but forget to say actual vital testimony until pressed, and Naruto would love to help but might not be entirely sure what the case even is.

Shikamaru falls asleep when the lawyers consult their partners. Prosecution A consults Prosecution B for thirty-seven seconds, then turns around and the witness is asleep at the stand.

Tobi (as in Obito with mask) is an incredibly frustrating witness. They have to declare a recess just so all the lawyers can recover their blood pressure. "Can we please get someone up on the stand with this guy as a handler? I'm--I'm going to explode."

Gaara: Helpful. Polite. Answers with detail. Answers the spirit of the question as well as the letter. Includes more detail. That's too much detail. Gaara please stop telling us about the sounds that bones make.

His testimony just drags on forever.

Ninken can and will take the stand! Pakkun even enjoys it! Some ninken require translators.

ABURAME TRANSLATING FOR A RANDOM GIANT CENTIPEDE THAT WITNESSED A MURDER IN THE FOREST OF DEATH

There are arguments about whether or not the testimony can count since nobody else can confirm the translation except Other Aburame so how do they know the Aburame aren't part of the coverup.

"Okay, so this Danzo guy had like fifty shell companies but I think I found the route that leads back to him?" "Nah, that one goes to a guy that died eighty years ago that's still collecting pensions: his family lied and said he was still alive for the money." "Fuck!"

Also I just. I love the idea of Sasuke and Madara being the exact opposite kind of belligerent witness.

Also, Orochimaru answers with pretty much the exact kind of wording as Gaara, but where Gaara is trying to be helpful and provide detail for the sake of the case, and failing to see that it's maybe not necessary, Orochimaru just wants to see people squirm. ...similar thing happens with Sakura and Kabuto. Similar phrasing, very different energy.

I keep picturing all of Team Taka as part of Forensics and Evidence Collecting ajshakshjd

Juugo, holding up a rabbit: I found a witness.

Karin joins forensics and Tobirama nearly weeps from joy until he finds her criminal record "Shit, that was supposed to get thrown out when I turned eighteen."

Tobirama: I asked for an assistant, not a criminal. Karin: I'm on parole. Tobirama: That makes things worse. Karin: I know how to use a [concerningly advanced machine that I, a business major, cannot name]. Tobirama: ...never mind, I'm keeping you.

Karin: I know how to DNA sequence AND use LA-ICP-MS Tobirama: [weeps with joy]

Suigetsu would be great at blood splatter analysis. ...I think I read somewhere that blood spatter analysis is actually over in 'fake science that's pushed by cops and media but actually doesn't work' BUT apparently it’s in the Ace Attorney games so we’re going to ignore reality a bit. We’ve already got dogs and rabbits and centipedes as witnesses, what’s a bit of blood spatter?

He's also probably really good at cause of death stuff? Like looking at corpse and figuring out how long it took the victim to die, which blow did it, whether any damage was inflicted post-mortem, etc.

Sasuke is usually too busy playing Belligerent Witness but sometimes goes to join Taka for... uh... reasons.

Juugo: [takes the stand] Lawyer: Hey, uh, why's that Uchiha guy with him? The witness-- Judge: No, no, we need Uchiha Sasuke on hand when questioning Expert Animal Handler Juugo. Lawyer: ...why? Judge: Property damage.

(Sasuke as a work partner with Juugo, also moonlighting as a witness/suspect in Danzo's murder.)

One time they need Juugo but can't find him even though court is already in session and he said he'd be here, turns out he was lured away by Kakashi's army of dogs. Kakashi didn't notice until he turned to ask Pakkun if he could help find the missing expert.

Juugo is a decent lab assistant, I think?

Anyway.

Tobirama taking on Team Taka as his forensics team while Orochimaru is... hm... traveling the country to promote his new autobiography, which is outselling the newest Icha Icha to Jiraiya's ire.

Sloane suggested “a case where it's all the Sannin as suspects in a murder. They would be THE WORST, say... the murder of Hanzo.”

To which I suggested “The Sannin are all suspects but the people on trial are the Ame trio, maybe?”

Which garnered the response of “It could be a surprise upset IN COURT that the trio should be on trial.”

We love a court upset.

Suigetsu finds out that the cause of death was actually an entirely natural heart attack, but while he was determining this, the rest of the team and the lawyers found like eight conspiracies by Zetsu, three by Danzo, four by Orochimaru, and an entire network of nonsense by Sasori.

INO IS THE PSYCHIC. I know her thing in canon is reading minds but pls. Ino is Maya. The Spirit Medium.

Is the judge: 1. Hiruzen 2. Hashirama 3. Hagoromo 4. Mifune 5. The Daimyou

(Old dude with authority, optionally easily distracted/questionably competent. I'd have gone for impressive facial hair but only Mifune and Hagoromo have more than like... Hiruzen's weird soul patch.)

It's not a soul patch but I don't know what facial hair is called and I can't just call it a goat beard

Response commentary was as follows: The Daimyou would unfortunately be closer to the personality of the ace attorney judge, more blindly agreeing with things that sound good :joy: Hiruzen could be fun if only for the competing facial hair for a beard, yes xD Hagoromo would possibly be most buckwild tho WELCOME TO MOON COURT

I managed to get this far with like... NO idea who the judges were except “IDK maybe Kakashi?” but consider:

...HashiMada rival lawyers

Dropping over to Izuna vs. Touka for when Hashirama and Madara inevitably become suspects of something or other themselves and have to be witnesses.

(Tobirama's too busy running blood tests, Anija, let Touka handle it, she's better at people anyway.)

...Hashirama is like. Marginally more put-together than Madara, right? So that... makes him Edgeworth... somehow... That feels wrong but Madara as Edgeworth feels even more wrong.

Madara is very into screaming OBJECTION

ALSO consider: Friction when a doctor from a nearby hospital gets called in to provide expert testimony on something because Karin is like "no hey I should be the one doing this" and then she sees how cute Sakura is.

But also at some point Kakashi vs. Gai for a nonsense case. Their personalities are both VERY FUN for this sort of thing.

[fineillsignup]

I'm one of those readers that aren't mad about the ships,honestly they're a low standard.What I am fucking mad about is that kishi inserted the concept of peace into the story.How would the story work if that happened?What conflict would there be for a story?Making an effort for peace, but are the shinobi really suited for such a task?Doesn't their economy thrive on conflict?Missions focus on assassinations,information retrieval,politicians one upping each other? That sort of thing?

I’m really glad you asked that anon because that’s become one of the driving forces behind my story Your Most Important Person.

I don’t know why I can’t write simple id-scratching trope fiction, but for some reason I seem to be incapable of it. So much like Heart Under a Blade quickly became “can an ABO fic treat female characters better than canon?”, YMIP has somehow become “can a soulmates AU have more coherent and satisfying worldbuilding and societal development than canon?”

And the big question is, suppose Kishimoto didn’t rely on aliens to supply external conflict in a supposedly peaceful society? What would be a logical next big obstacle for Naruto & friends? Suppose Kishimoto didn’t ignore that the Konoha shinobi forces have been cut by at least 75% in five years and that hardly any shinobi have kids? How would they handle that challenge? Suppose Kishimoto didn’t only remember that the shinobi economy is based on war and unrest when he can use it to mock a female character (Tenten’s failing shop and Sakura’s mortgage)? How would the shinobi world adjust? Suppose Kishimoto didn’t sacrifice the other characters’ principles, hopes, dreams, and motivations in order to let Orochimaru continue to experiment on children? What would that open up?

These questions all have more than one possible answer of course. Some possible answers (spoilers for YMIP) under the “read more”.

1. Just because there isn’t war, doesn’t mean that petty conflict goes away. By petty I mean gangs, illicit trade, murders, kidnappings, etc. Even in canon, we see plenty of missions that aren’t war-derived. So I think that the downturn in business is exaggerated, especially when we get to point two.

2. Kishimoto loves to tell the reader that lots of ninja die in this or that conflict, but it never makes any impact because the dead ninja don’t have any connection to any named character and very little impact on the story outside of it being the supplied reason why Shikamaru has to scramble together genin to get back Sasuke. If the drop in personnel were realistic, the problem wouldn’t be that there wasn’t enough business, the problem would be that there weren’t enough shinobi to complete business.

3. Orochimaru being allowed to basically do what he wants post-699 is some bullshit let me tell you. Not only isn’t he remorseful for anything he’s done, he doesn’t show any sign of having decided to amend his behaviour in the future, other than a vague statement that he wants to observe. Surprise! As of Boruto, he’s still performing involuntary medical experiments on human beings! Team Taka and Yamato also have to atrophy and languish for this. 

Giving second chances and redeeming villains is a noble idea, but redeeming has to involve actual redemption. A supposed redemption where an abuser is happy and his former victims are all not only extremely unhappy but also watching him abuse new victims is not a redemption. I can’t believe I have to point that out, but there it is.

But given that canon says that Orochimaru is basically contained within every curse seal, and given the number of curse seal victims we saw spilling out of Orochimaru’s prisons, eliminating Orochimaru from the world would be a big challenge... gosh, you might say that it’s the kind of long-term, potentially episodic monster-of-the-week challenge that suits a series like Naruto down to the ground.

Some other plotlines this opens up:1. Suigetsu’s quest for the swords2. Actual control of Juugo’s curse, which is a plot hole in Boruto. If only Sasuke can control him and Sasuke buggers off to “atone”, what the hell kind of agony has Juugo been going through?! Because you know Orochimaru doesn’t give a fuck about Juugo or anyone Juugo might kill in his rages.3. KARIN DESERVES TO LIVE HER OWN LIFE DAMMIT and I want to see Naruto and Karin connect too4. Yamato just wants to belong and be acknowledged and included oh my goodness protect this precious wooden baby

4. Ninja world demographic collapse. Yes hello this is my pet peeve but really. REALLY. You cannot just apply a birth rate less than that of modern Singapore to a high death rate society like Naruto’s and expect everything to be hunky dory. I feel like a lot of people choose to willfully suspend disbelief on this one because they also aren’t interested in large families but it really bothers me let me tell you. Especially because can you get a more pro-natalist philosophy than everyone chattering about unborn children as the “kings” of Konoha?! It’s just so contradictory that it drives me absolutely bazonkers.

A lot of anti-ending people repeat the line that “everyone gets hetero paired off” in Naruto 700 but this just doesn’t match the facts. Kishimoto doesn’t pair off anyone he can get away with not pairing off in order to produce a kid for the Boruto cast, with the one exception of Kiba, whom he pairs with the cat girl for the laughs. Everyone has one kid, at the exact same time. Naruto, as the old main character, gets rewarded with a bonus younger sibling for the new main character. The teacher generation? No new couples. No new kids. Not to mention that in Naruto’s generation, everyone is either an only child or has one sibling max.

In a world where people genetically inherit superpowers and clan identity is strong, this kind of reproductive pattern just makes no sense.

A more coherent Naruto ending would have to deal with this issue, especially coupled with the 75%+ reduction in shinobi in five years.

5. It’s not like shinobi powers only have deadly applications!!!! Medical ninjutsu is obvious, but almost all the powers have peaceful applications if you think about it. Aburame could use insects to pollinate plants effectively. Inuzuka animals are the best search and rescue. Yamanaka as psychologists, healing minds. Genjutsu entered into consensually for entertainment. Yamato’s Wood Release’s practical applications we all know already; presumably Lava Release and similar could do similar things in stone and other mediums. There’s nothing stopping people from developing more and more peaceful jutsu.

6. The daimyo power structure has outlived its agency. In a more logical post-699, I would foresee the Hidden Villages taking over their nations outright.

I’ll leave it there, but there is soooooo much potential for new plot, exciting plot, in a war-free Naruto. Not to mention stuff like tournaments. I’ve barely scratched the surface here.

[reviewape-blog]

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Anneli’s illustrations fill the pages of these books, and Klara, who is now older, has become an expert in goal setting. Let Us Help Your Child Have Their Wishes Come True – Starting TODAY! Your Child’s Journey to Success and Happiness has Just Begun… Ready for one of your all-time best moments with your kids? How Different Would Your Life Be Today YOU can give exactly this experience to your children or grandchildren – a life-altering gift that will last a lifetime! You don’t need to be an expert – in fact it’s probably better that you’re not. These exceptional books will help you guide ANY child through the steps to learn how to set goals and visualize (you’ll thank yourself when they’re bigger!). All you need to do is answer your child’s questions from your own experience, or learn along together with them (in case these topics are new to you). These books are written simply, using language a kid can understand and gorgeous illustrations that add wonder and motivation. But before we go any further, there’s something else… IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT GOALS, IT’S PLAIN OLD HAPPINESS! Imagine if you could do all this for your child: Isn’t that the kind of ‘natural education’ your child deserves? How Different Would You Have Felt Growing Up And Visualization… Until You ‘Got It’? That is exactly the experience your kids are blessed to have access to in this age. If you decide that they should live the blessings of this time… It is time to explore the first book ever that explains goal setting for kids and the Law of Attraction in terms they can understand! Your goal setting discovery package contains: • Two Beautifully Illustrated Books: one for younger kids and one for older kids – completely explains and walks them through the steps of goal setting, strategizing, and visualization • A Parent’s Guide shows you exactly how to use the books plus answers all your questions on visualization, goal setting and how they work for kids • Activity Sheets for the Child to help focus and enhance each stage of learning. But now, it is time to… – Click Here to GET Law of Attraction for Kids AS PRINTED COPIES – This website is Optimized by GainWebsite Click here to get Law of Attraction for Kids | Parent and Child Goal Setting at discounted price while it’s still available… All orders are protected by SSL encryption – the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors. Law of Attraction for Kids | Parent and Child Goal Setting is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked. - ReviewApe - https://www.reviewape.com/?p=5459