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wanderinginksplot · 4 years ago

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Hi! Coul you do a Hunter x Jedi FemReader fluff. Myybe They are reunited after a long time and they hang out in secret.

Hey! It took a few days, but here’s where this prompt took me:

Hunter + Jedi F!Reader + Fluff

“Steady!”

“Watch the far side - it’s tipping!”

“We need another few troopers over here to help balance it!”

“It’s too heavy!”

“Stop, men,” you ordered, your calm voice cutting through the clamor with ease. “Let me get it.”

Lifting the heavy crate with the Force was simple, one of the first things you had learned to do in the Temple. From there, transporting it to the correct section of the hangar wasn’t any more difficult, and you accomplished the task with ease.

“Still showing off, General?” a rough voice asked from just behind your ear.

You turned around, already smiling at the familiar face. “Sergeant Hunter,” you greeted. “I had no idea you were on-planet.”

He shrugged, the movement flowing with grace that would have made even a Jedi jealous. “We picked up a new member for the Batch. We needed to have him cleared on Coruscant before we could risk taking him into action.”

“And?” you asked, already thinking about how you could help. Force-healing wasn’t your strong suit, but you could pull a few strings to get the right padawan to the GAR headquarters. If Hunter needed something, you would do everything in your power to get it for him. He had saved your life often enough to deserve that dedication from you.

“And he’ll be fine,” Hunter reassured you. Gesturing to the flurry of men working to unload your gunships - each one painted with a flattering caricature of your profile with a lightsaber held out in front of you - he asked, “How did the mission go?”

You shrugged. “It went as well as can be expected, I suppose.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means- Well, it…” you sighed. “This war never seems to have a true victory. There are always losses, and those sacrifices don’t always make sense given what little is accomplished in return.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow. “That’s what we’re made for. Sacrificing.”

You hated hearing that, no matter how often it had been repeated by the Kaminoans, the GAR, and the Jedi Council. These men weren’t a product and their lives weren’t something they should expect to lose simply because they had been created rather than born. They had names and personalities, painted their armor with patterns in your favorite color, and some troopers even asked for permission to use your handprint in their designs. Hunter’s casual defense of what you saw as the fatal flaw of the Jedi Order made your stomach lurch and your spirits drop.

“So they keep telling me,” you agreed, mustering a smile for Hunter. “It was a pleasure seeing you, Sergeant. It has been far too long.”

"Wait," Hunter called and you paused in turning away. "What did I say?"

His earnest question only served to make you feel worse. "Nothing, Hunter. The problem seems to be with me. I just need some time away from the war, the loss."

Hunter's eyes cut a neat contrast against the darkness of his tattoo. "I can't help much, but how about some time spent with an old friend?"

"I have to go make my report to the Council," you hedged.

"After that, then," Hunter suggested. "I'm not gonna twist your arm about it, but you're the one who said it's been too long since we saw each other."

You gave a small smile at that. "That's true. Meet me at Dex's Diner tonight?"

"Comm me when you're leaving the Temple," Hunter instructed, giving a respectful nod as the two of you parted.

As soon as you had finished with your report and washed the grime of a long mission from your skin, you contacted Hunter and started your journey to Dex’s Diner. The small restaurant had been a Coruscant staple for years, but it had recently seen a huge surge in business. Not only did Dex make fantastic food, but he served meals to anyone who wanted to buy them. The Besalisk had a firm open-door policy, especially where clone troopers were concerned. Off-duty clone troopers were a common sight in the diner, laughing and mingling with Coruscanti civilians.

Hunter was already inside, having secured a booth tucked away in the corner. While clone troopers were far from rare at Dex’s Diner, Jedi were seen less often, especially since the war had begun.

Still, you slid into the booth across from Hunter and gave your usual order to the serving droid. Surreptitiously, you input your credit information as well, paying for the entire meal before it had the chance to deliver a total.

“What is that smile?” Hunter asked, offering one of his own.

“Nothing,” you said, waving off his question. “So, what have you and Clone Force 99 been up to since I saw you last?”

Hunter blew out a breath. “It’s been - what? A year since we saw you?”

“Yes, nearly that,” you agreed, trying to keep the edge of sadness from your voice. Early in the war, you had been on a series of missions with the Bad Batch and had planned to keep working with them, but a member of the Jedi Council had sensed your attachment when you returned planetside. You had been reassigned and ordered to cut ties with the enhanced troopers before the attachment grew stronger.

You had reluctantly done as you were told, but saying goodbye to Clone Force 99 had been difficult. In retrospect, that was likely a good sign that you were indeed getting attached to these troopers. However, that hadn’t stopped you from meeting Hunter today, the first time you had ran into him since following that order. It was with a surge of guilt that you realized you had taken care not to let any other occupants of the Temple see you leave. You hadn’t wanted them to ask where you were going…

“Hey,” Hunter said sharply, drawing your attention back to him. “Where did you go?”

“Nowhere in particular,” you excused yourself. “I’m sorry, I missed what you said.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Hunter told you. “I just sat here and watched you get lost in your own head. Stay out of there. After all, I don’t get to see you every day.”

“Fair enough,” you conceded. “How have things been going for you out there?”

Hunter shrugged. “Pretty well. We haven’t found another Jedi who works with us as well as you did, but the few we’ve been assigned to have been competent.”

From Hunter, that was high praise indeed. “And who have you been assigned to?”

“Well…” he mused, “We did a few missions with General Unduli and you know we usually work with Commander Cody and General Kenobi. We did just finish a mission with General Skywalker, though.”

“And how did that go?” you asked, smiling at the thought of the GAR’s most unorthodox squad working with the Jedi Order’s most unorthodox Knight.

Hunter rolled his eyes dramatically and launched into the story of rescuing one of Skywalker’s troopers who had been captured by the Separatists. It was horrifying to think of one of the Republic’s soldiers in enemy captivity for so long, but Hunter nearly had your sides splitting when he talked about Captain Rex brawling with Crosshair, Tech leaping onto the back of some winged creature, and Wrecker demolishing an entire Separatist fleet.

“I bet Wrecker was thrilled!” you said to the last point, still laughing.

“He was, of course,” Hunter agreed, sending a soft smile your way. “He’ll forever be looking for ways to top that mission, so I guess I have Skywalker to thank for that.”

“Oh, I needed this,” you sighed, wiping a tear from the corner of your eye.

“Want to talk about it?” Hunter asked. “I get the feeling you haven’t been happy about much lately.”

“Oh-” you stammered, his insight stunning you for a moment. “I don’t know if there’s any particular reason…”

“If you had to think of one, then,” Hunter suggested.

You blew out a thoughtful breath, trying to gather a year’s worth of abstract thoughts and quickly stifled smiles into a cohesive summary. “It’s… hm. It doesn’t feel… right, to laugh and joke when soldiers like you and your brothers are working so hard and so seriously to win battles. It seems- seems almost like ignoring their sacrifices. People are dying every moment, and being happy feels… frivolous, somehow?”

“You aren’t sacrificing people, if it makes you feel any better,” Hunter told you consolingly. “Just clones.”

You had stood from the table before you knew what had happened. Hunter stared up at you in surprise, a rare expression from a man whose senses allowed him to predict behaviors so well.

“I don’t think this meeting was a good idea,” you told him bluntly. “I’ll see you later.”

“Wait-” Hunter started, trying to rise from the table, but he was interrupted by the arrival of the serving droid. The droid, oblivious to things such as tense silences, began busily unloading its tray of food onto the table, its position trapping Hunter in his seat.

You watched in silence as the table was set to the precise specifications that the droid had been programmed to deliver. Hunter, avoiding your gaze, fiddled with his silverware, ruining the droid's perfect symmetry with only a touch.

When the droid had finished and rolled away, Hunter looked up at you, confusion and guilt mingling on his face. He gestured to your plate. "Please?"

You eased back into the seat after a moment of thought. Hunter couldn't know why you were upset if you didn't give him the benefit of an explanation.

To give yourself a moment of thought, you unfolded your napkin and spread it across your lap. When you were done, you made direct and unblinking eye contact with Hunter. "It hurts me when you talk about the troopers like their lives have less meaning. Like they deserve nothing more than death to achieve a goal."

"That's what we were told all our lives," Hunter countered carefully. "At least the regs were told they could die in sacrifice for the Republic. We were told that we deserved to die because we were different."

The disgust and self-loathing in Hunter's last word made you reach out and cover his hand with yours. You made no effort to influence him - you respected him far too much for that - but you tried to convey your sympathy with a touch.

"And now you know that isn't true in the slightest," you reminded him. "I can't change a moment of your past, but we can all impact our shared present to create the future we deserve."

Hunter's warm fingers flexed under yours as he flipped his hand over to weave your fingers together.

"That's why you're the Jedi we keep asking to be assigned to," he said with a fond smile. "You don't see us for what we can do for you, for the Republic. You just see us."

You raised your eyebrows at that, your heart feeling lighter than it had since the early days of the war. "As if the Bad Batch could be tied to a single Jedi…"

"For you?" Hunter pretended to think about it. "I think we could give it a try."

With a shared smile, the two of you turned your attention to the food you had ordered. Neither of you commented on your hands, still intertwined on the table between you.

---

A/N - I originally had a different ending in mind, but I liked this one too much to change it. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what happens when Hunter realizes that you’ve already paid for your food!

Thanks for the request, @dreamingofclones! I hope you enjoyed!

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars fanfiction #star wars fic #swtcw #tcw #tbb hunter #sergeant hunter #hunter #hunter x reader #clone force 99 #jedi reader #fic request

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boycottyashahime · 4 years ago

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Hello! Anti-Sessrin person here. You said if this couple becomes canon it will ruin Sesshomaru's character development. I would love it If you could elaborate on that because you're always so eloquent and smart. It's ok if you don't feel like it, though. Have a nice day!

I've actually been looking for an excuse to sit down and write out a cohesive post on my thoughts about this. Contrary to what the shippers want to believe, my interpretation of Sesshoumaru and Rin's relationship doesn't have anything to do with my moral objections to child grooming. I happen to think there's plenty of evidence for a filial interpretation in the text.

First, I'd like to preface my little essay here by saying I'm going off the manga alone. I haven't seen the anime in a long time, because I dropped it when I got a little tired of trying to reconcile the inconsistencies between the two mediums. So, if you read this and have an impulse to say, "hey, what about that thing in episode such-and-such...", keep in mind that I probably just don't remember what you're thinking of.

So, let's go back, alllll the way back, to Sesshoumaru's first appearance. Here's a guy who tears off a dude's head for no other reason than to get the attention of his subordinates to demand a boat. Here's a guy who's spent a long time looking just about EVERYWHERE for his father's remains, not to pay respects, but to plunder them. Here's a guy who feels ENTITLED to rob his dad's grave for treasure he deserves simply for being his father's son.

Sesshoumaru begins his journey as a selfish, spoiled, entitled brat. He doesn't fit the usual profile of a kid throwing a tantrum on the street because he wants the expensive toy sitting in the window; he's very posh and very reserved, but fundamentally, his motivation comes down to the simple fact that he wants Tessaiga. It doesn't even really have anything to do with respect and admiration of his father, otherwise he wouldn't have been so eager to rifle through dear old dad's bones to get at a sword when he had another heirloom right there at his hip. Only Tessaiga was representative of the sheer destructive force he wanted to wield, so he ignored the fact that his dad didn't seem to want him to have it.

This is important, because at first, Sesshoumaru doesn't seem to think of his father in terms of the guy's intentions or the steps he takes for the sake of his sons. Like most rich spoiled kids, Sesshoumaru views the Inu no Taishou in terms of his prestige and how that priviledge can be appropriated for selfish ends. Sesshoumaru wants Tessaiga not because he needs it, but because it's a birthright, and reinforces his legitimacy. When it's clear that Tessaiga seals Inuyasha's youkai blood, keeps him from going berserk, Sesshoumaru loses interest in Tessaiga - it's just a crutch for Inuyasha, and there's no prestige in taking it from him or using it for himself.

Sesshoumaru doesn't start to REALLY consider his father's intentions for the swords until later in the manga, when it comes out that Tenseiga was originally part of Tessaiga, and Inuyasha was meant to get the Meidou Zangetsuha attack eventually as well. It's at this point that Sesshoumaru starts to question if daddy actually HATED him, to give him a rather neat power disguised in a lame shell, but only to develop it so Inuyasha can have it instead, even after Inuyasha already got Tessaiga in the first place. It kind of looks to Sesshoumaru that Inuyasha gets all the powerful cool shit their father left behind, and that there might have been some favoritism coming down HARD on Inuyasha's side.

Above, you can see Sesshoumaru has two interlinked but distinct issues that are addressed throughout the story - his lack of compassion and empathy, and how tied his identity is to his father's favor and prestige. These two are somewhat separated in the narrative; there's a kind of pause in Sesshoumaru's development while a bulk of the middle of the story deals more with other characters and their development, but there is a little bit of a thematic connection between the two halves.

We'll start with the development of Sesshoumaru's compassion since, well, that's where the story begins working on his character. Right before Rin shows up, Toutousai let's Inuyasha's group in on the sword Sesshoumaru carries around and what it does, indicating that Tenseiga requires a compassionate heart to function. A bit ham-handed, but RT isn't very subtle most of the time, so we'll allow it. This sets up the next few scenes in which Sesshoumaru is unable to move and must play captive audience to a little girl doing the literal opposite of what he's used to. Sesshoumaru's habit is to show up and kill things, with no thought to the years of history, relationships, thoughts, emotions, etc that he's snuffing out. But while he's reclined injured in the woods, Rin demonstrates actual LIFE and the preservation of it, that part Sesshoumaru never gets to see. It's made all the starker by how BAD Rin is at caring for herself, let alone the strange monster she found in the woods. She does exactly nothing to help Sesshoumaru, despite how hard she tries, and is even injured by others in her attempts. She is the very picture of vulnerability, the opposite of the strong and capable Sesshoumaru.

This is a stark contrast, because anything less wouldn't be enough to create the necessary awareness of Rin's struggles that Sesshoumaru needs in order to use Tenseiga on here. And I know I've said this before, but I really cannot stress enough how obvious I think the symbolism is when Sesshoumaru uses Tenseiga for the first time; a phallic object gives life to a child, and the object's owner looks after that life throughout the rest of the story. He's not very good at looking after it, and it's clear that he's not sure about taking responsibility for Rin at first, because she pleaded for him to come back for her when he and Jaken left her behind to requisition a sword from Gaijinbou. To me, it's reminiscent of a teenager who knocked someone up, and ended up having to learn to give a crap about the result.

But, even if you don't accept that symbolism as particularly significant, Rin being a child, and human, and weak, unable to survive on her own, are important characteristics to how Sesshoumaru's compassion develops. Sesshoumaru is one of the strongest characters in the series, and he rarely has to worry about his own safety. And since he's in the habit of just murdering everyone he comes across if they're in his way, he's never had to worry about the safety of anyone else, either. When Rin comes into the picture, though, Sesshoumaru is faced with the uncomfortable reality of vulnerability in general. Through her earnest and incompetent attempts to foster survival in a world that can and does crush her, she's opened his eyes to how the disadvantaged, those without a powerful youkai lineage to rely on, have to struggle.

Rin herself has nothing to offer Sesshoumaru within this context of supreme vulnerability. She's not a friend, because she can't offer mutual support or use a skill to their benefit as a team. She's not a lover, because, well, she's a child and sexual/romantic attraction are conditions that wouldn't allow Sesshoumaru to extend his compassion beyond just her. As a mostly helpless kid, Rin has to rely upon Sesshoumaru and his power to survive, and Sesshoumaru employs his strength to keep her alive, getting nothing but a sweet smile out of it all. She gets all the benefits, he has all the obligations. This is PURE compassion - using one's advantages to another's benefit because you care about them, and not because you derive something from it as well.

This is why making Rin into Sesshoumaru's lover is a REALLY thoughtless take. It puts conditions on the compassion and muddies the message.

Moving onto Sesshoumaru's continued character development in the latter part of the story, the sword drama starts back up with slow, when Toutousai shows up and offers to reforge Tenseiga into a weapon. Sesshoumaru discovers that because he got angry enough to break his primary weapon in defense of Kagura's honor, he's triggered the next evolution of Tenseiga into something that can murder. Which is what he wanted at the beginning, yay! I want to point out here that Toutousai says Tenseiga noticed a change in Sesshoumaru's heart - anger for the first time for the sake of another. This implies that what Jaken said about Sesshoumaru getting tangled up in the fight against Naraku because Naraku kidnapping and using Rin to manipulate Sesshoumaru hurt Sesshoumaru's pride is actually accurate; he just really hated the thought of Naraku trying to use him, even if it was a failed attempt.

After going through HELL to develop the Meidou into a full circle (literally), Sesshoumaru then learns that the Meidou belongs to Tessaiga and Inuyasha, and that it's supposed to be handed over. Now, part of Sesshoumaru's angst over this idea, I think, is not just "did daddy love Inuyasha more?", but also the assumption that Inuyasha would have to KILL him in order to retake the Meidou Zangetsuha into Tessaiga. Thinking that your father meant for your little brother to kill you at some point to take your stuff is a pretty disturbing thought, to be entirely fair to him. This is why, when Sesshoumaru jumps into the meidou to take back control of the Naraku-possessed Tenseiga and breaks it deliberately, he spends the rest of the time in there moodily resigned to disappear. He genuinely believes that his father meant for him to die at this point, and even after they get out of there, he seems genuinely depressed.

This is Sesshoumaru's lowest point as a character. He's lost something he thought his father had meant for him, at his father's own wish, and he can't help but question why his dad would give him something just to take it away and give it to Inuyasha. It looks for all the world like favoritism, and since the Inu no Taishou is dead, there's no asking him what the hell the meaning of all this is.

This is all leading to one of the most infuriatingly ridiculous scenes I have ever seen in a manga - when Magatsuhi has crushed Sesshoumaru and everyone thinks he's been killed/absorbed, Magatsuhi is blown apart and rendered unable to reform by the shiny new sword clutched in Sesshoumaru's newly regrown arm. I could talk your ear off about how having Sesshoumaru stop being an amputee is erasure of consequences for his actions, or how being given back an arm is kind of a slap in the face for actual amputees, and where the mother f*ck did that sword come from anyway, but that's not what this essay is about, so I'll just keep all that to myself. The point of this is articulated by Toutousai when he says that Sesshoumaru had to let go of Tessaiga and his father's heirloom to stand on his own as a daiyoukai.

We've already gone over how Sesshoumaru is one of the most powerful characters in the series, who rarely has to worry about his well-being. He's just really strong without having to try. Sesshoumaru had already learned that he didn't need Tessaiga ages ago - he knew this when he learned that Inuyasha needed Tessaiga to keep from tearing himself apart eventually. But when he thought he had been passed down something from his father that was truly meant to be his, only to put all this work into it so that Inuyasha could have it, that embittered him again. It's not that he wanted the sword necessarily, but the thoughts and consideration of his father, who seemed to be putting everything he had into Inuyasha.

But his previous experiences protecting and considering someone (in some cases, multiple someones) weaker than him should have tipped him off. During the very battle in which he got his new arm and sword, he was actively helping those around him avoid Magatsuhi and keeping them close because he had a plan and the strength to carry it out. He was willing to take the extra step to protect Inuyasha and friends before trying to take care of Magatsuhi though, and that was the point. He put everyone else's needs ahead of his own, even Inuyasha's, and he did it without even thinking.

Toutousai just articulated what Sesshoumaru should have already intuitively known by that point. He never needed his father's heirlooms, the swords, his dad's power. They were unnecessary for him from the start. Inuyasha needed a leg up, because his own BODY could kill him after a while. But Sesshoumaru always had the capability of being great on his own. He just needed to finally separate his ego from who his father was and become his own person; stand on his own as a great youkai. While I don't agree with the execution, I can get behind the big lesson - don't rely on your daddy's wealth and influence to prop you up, and do the work to build a personality and identity of your own.

Which is ANOTHER reason why making Rin into a lover would be a thoughtless take. It would walk back Sesshoumaru's final lesson about being his own person apart from his father.

So, there you go. A comprehensive post regarding my take on Sesshoumaru's character development. I could add in a bit about Sesshoumaru coming to understand his father's consideration and the lengths he went to for the sake of protecting Inuyasha by having to give similar consideration to Rin, but I think this post is long enough, and that one statement on that aspect pretty much sums it up. Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any of this, or if you would like to argue any of the points, I'm up for it. Might take me a minute to respond, mind you, but hopefully it won't take as long as it did to draft this behemoth.

Take care.

#inuyasha #rin (inuyasha)#sesshomaru #sesshoumaru #character analysis #character development analysis #i pulled out all the stops for this one #anti sessrin #i know this doesn't match the perfect prince characterization Sesshoumaru usually gets #but i just calls it as i sees it

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secondhand-trash · 5 years ago

Text

Dead Romantics

A/N: The idea came before the plot and I’m just writing this because this is a theme I really want to write about but don’t have the outlet for lol Hopefully starting a series out of this

(au masterlist)

Pairing: modern necromancer!Shinsou HItoshi x reader

Description: The young necromancer spent his entire life being all by himself, and now he had no idea what to do when an enthusiatic classmate went out of thier way to be his friend.

Word count: 2618

Playlist:

Apocalypse//Cigarettes After Sex

Your Heart Is As Dark As Night//Melody Gardot

Cherry Wine//Hozier

Shinsou Hitoshi was the first and only necromancer to enroll in UA since its establishment many, many moons ago.

For an institution that pride itself in offering inclusive education to both human and magical children alike, the board of staff sure panicked when they read the boy’s application form. Shinsou remembered the slight awkwardness on the teacher’s face when they stiffly said that there was no curriculum or support for necromancers because, frankly, there never was one. And honestly, he was used to that look, he had got reactions way worse than a brief seconds of silence. Necromancers pretty much isolated themselves from the rest of society and for a good reason. Even after cohesion between humans and the nocturnal had made such progress in the past decades, many still saw those who interfere with spirits as taboo. His parents’ decision to let him go to a ‘normal’ school instead of receiving private tutoring caused quite the conflict in his family, whose bloodline traced all the way back to the first generation of those who communicated with the dead.

Shinsou grew up hearing kids whispering things behind his back like he wasn’t there but the worst part was always the look in their eyes when they knew that he heard everything. It was the look of fear, one that his parents warned him before letting him into the wide world filled with people. Just because he was warned doesn’t mean it hurt any less. There was a time when he would try so hard to fit into other kids, and spent night after night sobbing under his blanket when they still avoided him like the plague. But after many years, he had accepted the fact that people simply don’t want to befriend necromancers, and he had grown to enjoy being alone.

Which was why Shinsou Hitoshi had no idea, absolutely no idea why you were being so nice to him.

You were pretty much a normal average human who did not dabble in magic of any sorts and even if you sat right in front of him, he never expected to come in contact with you in any ways. In all honesty, he did not expect to come in contact with anyone in his class in any ways. He made the effort to occupy the seat far at the back in the corner, that way he could avoid being surrounded by people when they get into groups during break. It was a way of living he adapted, self-alienating was actually pretty pleasant once you get used to it.

So no, he wasn’t even sure why he’s still listening to you rambling on about some weird encounter you had with a ghost in the empty classroom when the rest of the class had gone to the canteen. As he watched your hands flailing in the air while reenacting the whole scenario, he wondered why he even responded to you the first time you turned around and tried to get him to talk.

“Shinsou? Shinsou!” you waved your hand in front of his face, bringing him back to reality. “Are you even listening?” you leaned forward, “you look even more dead inside than usual. Did you even sleep last night?”

Shinsou ran his hand through his untamed hair and sighed, he would have been napping by now if you weren’t here. “No, stayed up all night for some ritual.”

He tried to search your eyes for any signs of disgust, any signal of fear but he saw nothing. If anything, you always looked intrigued every time he nonchalantly brought up his family business to see if it would finally scare you into leaving him alone. “Ah, necromancy!” you tilted your head, “so it’s true that it could only happen at night?”

He only nodded. No one had ever asked him about that, how was he supposed to say that it was mostly for aesthetic purposes nowadays when you looked so impressed?

“You should definitely show me how it works one day.”

“What?” Shinsou choked out in disbelief. He knew that you had no idea how dangerous his field of practice could be but he definitely underestimated your lack of alert.

“It’s almost Halloween and my friend is an actual necromancer, we should have a séance or something. It’s festive!” you said, your excitement completely contrasting to the baffled expression of your friend.

“We’re not... Never mind,” Shinsou was about to reflectively say that he wasn’t your friend when his words were caught at the back of his throat. Something about your genuine goodness made him feel bad for pushing you away, which was strange because he never asked for any of this. He wasn’t going to lie, having an accepting person around for a change did feel nice. “Having a séance without a purpose is dangerous and necromancy is pretty much a ‘no outsider’ type business so there’s no way I’m letting you in on that.”

You let out a dramatic sigh and pouted. Shinsou rolled his eyes and you chuckled. Somehow, he wasn’t as annoyed as he tried to be and it confuses him to no end. He was trying to get you to stop bothering him, why was he still here entertaining you when he could be off doing something else?

Shinsou took a breath and tried to sound as stern as he possibly could, “If you’re not a client or another necromancer and I let you see anything, I’ll either have to kill you or marry you.”

You only shrugged, “Sounds good either way.”

He snorted. And as convincing as he tried to be, he could not even convince himself to ignore that fluster in his stomach.

“Just because you’re a necromancer, doesn’t mean you have a free pass to dig up graves.”

“Actually, it does, it’s in the law. (It actually is.)” He silently cursed himself for being foolish enough to fall for your whines and let you tag alone. To be fair, when you heard that he had ‘somewhere to go afterschool’, you really wasn’t expecting to end up in the middle of a graveyard but a normal person would have left at this point and you were still poking your head around him curiously as he looked around. “Why are you still here? For the last time-”

“Stop trying to convince me that we’re not friends,” you crossed your arms in front of your chest and smirked as you knew exactly what he was about to say, “I’ve been to your house and your parents recognizes me, your cat purrs when it sees me, I still have that book you lent me on my shelf, I actually managed to make you laugh once and I’m literally here to dig a grave with you, we are friends.”

Shinsou groaned and you knew that you had won. He would try to argue that you went to his house because he took a sick leave that day and the teacher asked you to since you were the only person he actually talked to in the whole class. His parents still remembered you because they were shocked when they answer the door to someone looking for their son who said that he had no interests in making friends with people from school. Till now, they would still ask Shinsou if ‘the nice kid he met at school’ would like to come over for dinner or not and he would always give an indifferent mumble to brush it off. The house cat purrs at anyone and the only reason he lent you that one book was because you kept bugging him about it and he wanted a bit of peace. He was only laughing at you because you tripped yourself on a flat ground. Finally, he did not ask you to come to the graveyard with him.

Now that he thought about it, he had been spending an awful lot of time with you recently.

“Fine.”

You gave him a wide grin, seeing that it was the first time he ever admitted it out loud. He tried to ignore you and turned around to look for the items he was looking for, not picking up on the heat concentrating on the tip of his ears. He wasn’t actually digging up a grave this time, a little bit of dirt from the ground was enough for what he had in mind.

“What are you doing with that?” you asked as he kneel down to scoop up a small pile of soil next to a tombstone and put it in a small velvet bag.

“Trying to contact a spirit of some sorts,” he said, carefully choosing his wording, “there are questions I want to ask.”

You nodded and didn’t pry any further. He let out a relieved sigh, because he had no idea how he was supposed to answer your questions like it was nothing when everything he wanted answers for had to do with you.

The clock strike midnight and Shinsou sucked in a deep breath as he stared at everything that was laid out in front of him. He had done this many times and he knew that he would not fail, but some part of him was still nervous to see if this would actually help the million thoughts swimming in his mind at all.

Dusting the soil in a trail to form a circle, he lighted a candle and placed it inside the circle. Closing his eyes, he could feel the way his blood flow in his veins and the sudden chills that spread from his back all the way to the tip of his fingeres. As the numbness retreat and he felt the air circulating around the room, his slowly opened his eyes to see a blurry shadow.

Focusing his gaze on the silvery shadow, the figure slowly morphed and twisted like a stream of smoke before coming to form the image of a man. The man was dressed in a sharp suit with a silk bow and held a top hat in hand, old-fashioned but extravagant no less. His hair was carefully styled and every little detail on his coat was delicately crafted.

Ah great, a romantic.

“You called upon the spirits to get answers on the future I assume. Is that right, young boy?” the syllables rolled off the man’s tongue in a way that sounded tiresome to Shinsou’s modern ears.

“Well, yes, but I might have make a mistake.” This was stupid, how sad was it that he was looking for advice on his own feelings and he could only turn to people who had been dead for decades.

“Oh, a mistake you say?” the spirit looked amused by the clear distress on the necromancer’s face, “We both know that a ritual of that sort summons only the spirit that could respond to the deepest yearning of your heart. So why did you call me here, prey tell?”

“I need help,” he said though his teeth, “with this friend of mine.”

“Is it a friend or is it a someone more?”

Stupid ghosts and their instincts. “The thing is, I don’t know how I feel about them.”

“Ah!” The dandy yelped in excitement, “the dilemma of love and friendship, the problem every young gentleman must face!”

Shinsou paled at the ghost who was so excited in the face of his struggle. “It’s not a dilemma. I just, I don’t know if I even feel for them that way or I’m just getting attached to the first person who showed me a hint of kindness. Because I was still annoyed by them the last time I remember and all of a sudden I don’t even mind being around them and it doesn’t make sense-”

“Sounds like you fell in love.”

“But if that’s so then I’m just messing things up, wouldn’t it?”

The spirit raised a brow, “How is that so?”

“Well,” Shinsou tried to gather his thoughts, “there’s no way someone like them would want to get too close with someone like me.”

The spirit stayed silent for a while and it was like it could stare a hole into the boy standing in front of him, “But they already did, haven’t they?”

“What?”

“From what you said, it sounded like that person actually want to be close to you. Why are you so convinced that they wouldn’t?”

For a while, Shinsou was lost with words. There were many, many reasons he could think of on top of his head on why people wouldn’t want to be close to him. He didn’t talk much, he looked like he hadn’t sleep in 300 years, he went looking for relationship advice from a dead romantic, many, many of them. But as he went through the many reasoning, none of them seemed like they would have work with you.

“Don’t mind me because I’m just a dead old man from the 19th century but perhaps you spent so long wallowing in self-loathing that you ignore all signs of said person fancying you as much you might hope them to be?”

It was nothing new but Shinsou stayed up all night thinking about what the spirit said to him. At heart, he still found it pretty pathetic that he got lectured by a ghost but what he said makes sense and for the first time since he gave up on trying to fit in, he felt extremely anxious while sitting through his many classes at school, knowing that you would most likely be around him for lunch.

As expected, you turned your chair to the back and sat down facing him once the bell for lunch break rang and people started to clear out of the room. “So, any success with the questions you wanted to ask?”

“Yeah, sort of.” he only uttered a quick response and you knitted your brow together.

“Is something wrong?” you asked, slightly concerned.

“Why weren’t you afraid of me?”

He looked right at you in the eyes and it almost pained you to think of what he had gone through to even feel the need to ask that. You could guess that he didn’t have the easiest time around people from how closed off he was before you annoyed him into letting his guard down but you wasn’t expecting the standard treatment he got to be fear.

You gently said, “Why would I be?”

He chuckled and you weren’t sure why it sounded to gut wrenching to you. “Everybody else is.”

“I like being around you.”

His eyes slightly widened, the leaping in his chest speeding up at your earnest. His brain went hay wired when you tentatively reached for his hand and rubbed soothing circles at the back of his hand. He wasn’t even aware that he wanted the contact so badly until his body acted upon him and held your hand in his.

A rush of warmth washed through you as the boy initiated any affection towards you for the first time. He brought his hold on your hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss at the back of your hand, sending a mad blush to your face. You would be lying if you say you never wanted this to happen when you brought up the bravery to talk to the gloomy kid sitting at the back of the room for the first time.

He quietly said in the most genuine tone you had ever heard from him, “Thank you.”

He smiled, and that sight alone made your heart melt.

#shinsou x reader #shinsou imagine #shinsou hitoshi #shinsou hitoshi x reader #bnha imagines #mha imagines #bnha #bnha x reader #mha x reader #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha imagine #mha imagine #modern magic au

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saikagerights · 5 years ago

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Newlyweds- A Saiino Fanfiction

Gee has this idea transformed into its own monster. Last week I had the idea of writing out a few headcanons about Sai that were meant to be separated from the journal, which is also the reason why I haven’t updated.

It is still coming btw, I just wanted it to write this out first. This fic had started out as a few ramblings, so I personally had problems with structure. Luckily, I found my way through and made a cohesive story.

Anyway, I had to restructure this so many times, but I was hoping to use this as a way to cheer up @bauschblog. I hope it doesn’t look rushed.

Hope you enjoy!

*edit. I wrote and posted this days ago, but it never appeared in the tags, so I am posting a second time and deleting the first post. Thank you for your patience

Also available on AO3

If you ever asked Ino if she got what she wanted in life, then you would receive a yes and a no.

She was now as happy as she could be, newly married to who she would’ve called a literal dream years ago. A gorgeous man willing to walk to the ends of the Earth for her.

But that happiness was derived from pain and loss. She would never be able to share that happiness with her father, and she now shared the burdens of her husband, who had lost more than anyone else she knew.

But that didn’t make her love him any less.

Sai was a far cry from the young man she met. Over the years he had learned more and more about the bonds and emotions he had lost, many things she taught him first hand, and she couldn’t be more proud of his progress.

He was once empty, but now it was her job to fill him with as much love and care she could muster. And that’s what she found herself doing, seated beside him and resting her head against his left shoulder as he was immersed in a new sketch. This time it was a pot of primroses he had gathered from the shop below him. She secretly hoped it was a gift for her, as he would occasionally drop his pencil to awkwardly stroke at her head.

Observing his quiet focus made her reflect on her marriage so far. It had only been a month since their wedding, so she had yet to come down completely from cloud nine and she was sure that Sai was feeling something similar. Although it might be starkly different from hers. It didn’t take that long for them to marry either. They still had a lot of time ahead of them, and Ino was delighted to discover more about her enigmatic love.

Part of her joy came from observing common quirks that only a wife could. Like how he was so meticulously organized with his supplies but still fumbled with arrangements in the shop. Or how he’d gently stroke her face when he had to work early, not attentive enough to realize that she was only feigning sleep.

The amount of love she had for her new husband was immeasurable , but with the discovery of these cute habits only came the realization of darker secrets.

Sai was unresponsive at times.

When she would call out to him and would receive nothing but silence in return. It wasn’t as if he was ignoring her, he was simply far into the depths of his own mind.

She then tried to gently repeat her call. And if that didn’t work, her volume would increase, tone sharp and direct. That would usually do the trick and her husband’s head would snap towards her, indicating that she now had his full attention. He’d give a soft hum of inquiry, then his eyes would shamefully cast downward as it dawned upon him that he had done it again.

Ino knew that this was a common occurrence of those in her field of work, especially those who have seen war. There were times when she felt as if father’s guidance was needed more than ever, like on days when the responsibility of leading her clan had weighed most on her. But Sai wasn’t like most shinobi, something that she was reminded of every day. He had made leaps and bounds with his ability to express himself, but there were some things that couldn’t be improved with just awareness and lessons on sociality.

Just like how his fingers would flex and he would grasp at air in moments of silence as if they yearned for something to feel secure. Her left hand would gladly supplement the presence of his brush when he needed it most. In private she would allow him to let his itching fingers run through her long bright blond hair, rubbing the ends of strands between the pads of his thumb and index finger until he was content. His hands would then begin to wander to other parts of her body, desire beginning to cloud his mind and slowly overtake him until he wrapped her up into it.

Ino could hardly articulate how wonderful it felt for him to be able to physically love her. It seemed so long ago when he’d freeze up any time she touched him, but now he was capable of proving to her that his natural instincts were that of any man. She adored nights of tangled limbs and resting on his still heaving chest that took it’s time to settle into a steady rhythm as he drifted into a blissful and dreamless slumber.

Without the exhaustion and comfort that came from sex, Sai was probably the most restless sleeper imaginable. The smallest rustle or bump in the night would force him awake, as if alerted to a nearby enemy. It was a stark contrast from how she slept on missions as a genin, among two of the heaviest sleepers in the entire world. But even then, she felt that neither her or her boys could sleep as soundly as they used to. Unrest and insomnia were another common trait for experienced shinobi, which tended to be spurred on by night terrors.

The first one she experienced with him was shortly after he moved in with her, frightened awake at the feeling of arms constricting her body and hands grasping brutishly at the fabric of her night shirt. The loud air-starved noise her throat produced was enough to yank him from his subconscious, jerking away from her. Ino couldn’t see Sai’s hunched form sitting on the edge of the bed that clearly in the dark, but she could very well hear his slightly ragged breathing tear through the silence. He was too far from her to reach with a soft call, frozen in place with his head in his hands. As desperate as she was to reach out to him, she knew that she had to be cautious when dealing with him in this state. Testing the waters, she placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt a shiver coarse through his body upon the contact, so she gave him time to get used to the touch. She gradually added to that, scooting her body over to him so that she sat behind him, legs dangling off the bed encompassing his. She waited once more until his breathing settled before she fully took the plunge, resting her chest on his sweat soaked back and wrapping her arms around his torso.

After that incident, Sai had admitted to her that these dreams had become common shortly after their mission in the Land of Silence, serving as another hangoff from Gengo. Ino could never forgive that man for taking advantage of her Sai like that and even a year later he is still experiencing effects from his influence. The same could be said about Danzo, who’s authority still had her husband within its grasp even in death. She believed that the more in touch with his emotion Sai became, the more likely his sense of duty were to weigh on him like this, only to lead to more nightmares.

Ino wasn’t sure how often Sai experienced them, but she knew that it was difficult for him to return to sleep, as she often awoke to him intently staring at her or even missing from bed completely. The panic that settled into her chest would quickly be dispersed when she felt his presence still within their walls. It had become a routine of hers to search for him and use all of her power of suggestion to get him back into bed.

The worst kind of nights were when soft words and kisses were simply not enough and he pleaded for her to return to bed alone that night.

As much as she worried for his well being, there were selfish reasons behind her insistence. She realized early on that she couldn’t sleep soundly without him beside her and it had only comforted her further when he had assured her in his own way that she was “imperative in improving his sleep practices since they began their courtship.”

Crowds were also a struggle for him. This was something she learned after attending weddings attached by the hand. Upon arrival, his body tensed beside her and his eyes darted around as if surveying the area for possible threats. It couldn’t be helped when they suddenly became the center of attention. A quick squeeze of the hand would direct his eyes down to her and the glance she cast that was meant to keep him cemented in the atmosphere. With that, he would relax into a comfortable vigilance for the rest of the event as he partook in festivities. They would later find a secluded place to exist frozen in time while the rest of the world persisted. It seemed as if his introverted nature had only complemented her extroverted status in times like that.

Not everyone could understand this, though. The prospect of marrying Sai came at the cost of angering her clan’s elders. After the mysterious fate of Fuu had been revealed to her clan, they immediately dismissed the idea of their next patriarch being another member of Danzo’s ranks. But for all she was concerned, she was marrying Sai whether they liked it or not. Luckily for her, the entire Ino-Shika-Cho trio had all decided their betrothed to be from beyond the realm of tradition, In a political sense, the Yamanaka clan elders couldn’t complain about foriegn affairs like the Nara and Akimichi clan, making Sai the lesser of three evils in this case. They accepted the union only on the condition that they regulate his responsibilities as the newly dubbed patriarch. He accepted this condition with no question, and Ino was concerned to find him reading through every little stipulation with a critical eye.

“It is not that I am finding a reason to oppose marriage. I simply want to satisfy them so I can make you happy.”

She wanted to argue that it didn’t matter what the elders thought of them, but she was too moved by his determination to appease her that she didn’t dare complain.

But alas this couldn’t ease her worries over what came next.

The baby.

There wasn’t a physical baby in question, but there would be soon enough.

She was the clan’s matriarch just as she was its leader, which meant her responsibility was the same as it had always been. She had to produce an heir to continue her bloodline along with all of the values and traditions that she had been granted by her father. It would seem strange to any woman to just accept the decision of becoming a mother made well in advance, but it wasn’t just for the sake of her family. She wanted this as well, and the idea of raising a child with Sai made her heart race.

But she still wasn’t sure how Sai really felt about it all. She had been abundantly clear about this back when they had started dating, as she was already sure that the man would be the father of her children. But Sai was an objective man who was raised on the value of having a purpose to serve, and she was afraid that he took this as another objective, which was confirmed by his statement.

“I vow to uphold this responsibility.”

She still hadn’t gathered the courage to have that conversation yet. To properly tell him that raising a child was more than just another task to complete. There was emotional value that came alongside the immense responsibility and hardships, and Sai had to be ready to adapt to that, especially when it was barreling toward them with every passing day. She could allow him to look through books when the time came like he always did, but a good wife would at least try to give some perspective for him in a way he could understand.

It seemed like now was as good a time as any, when they were both sitting around in a blissful silence like this. Oh how she hated to break up a moment to bring up something awkward, but it had to be mentioned or she would never get her peace.

“Darling.”

The word seemed almost accidental, as it came out only a little bit above a whisper

She was dreadfully wrong to expect a non committed response from him, as he directed his head away from his sketchpad to look down at her, the lightest flicker of worry lining his features.

“Is everything alright? A soft voice from you usually means there is something wrong.”

She hated when he figured her out so easily. What happened to that clueless man she married?

“Is it so out of the ordinary for me to be nice to you?” She shifted her gaze to the wall. Her eyes narrowed, but she was unable to focus on anything in particular. “You must think I’m a monster or something.”

She waited for his hastened apology for misunderstanding, but was surprised to find him still staring at her when she pulled her eyes back up to him.

She clicked her tongue when he didn’t respond in the way she wanted. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid this any longer. She huffed out a sigh.

“It’s about the baby.”

“You want to conceive now?” His response was so immediate it was almost as if he had it on standby. The bubble of laughter that escaped her lips caught her off-guard.

There it was. The quickfire statement that was capable of ruining any conversation. It was almost as if that answer actually comforted her.

She swatted his shoulder, laughter dying down. “Of course not, you lech!” She returned to her previous position leaned against his shoulder. “You know it’s still too soon for that. We all have to meet about that, remember?”

His attention was then brought back to his drawing with a hum of agreement. That wasn’t able to conceal the blush that found its way to his cheeks, she noticed. Changing the topic to sex would be a good way to end the conversation, but no. She had to ask him.

“How do you feel about all of this?”

He pondered for a moment, looking down at his drawing as if there was something wrong with it. A crooked line or a misplaced shadow.

“I promised you I would uphold your obligation.”

“Sai, that’s no-”

“But I am still unsure if I have what it takes to be a father.” He interrupted her, unaware that he had just bewildered her.

“From the knowledge I’ve attained. Successfully raising a child means meeting their emotional needs along with their physical needs. It isn’t just about helping them survive, it’s also about giving them support and guidance as they develop into a person. It seems so complicated, but it’s supposed to be natural.”

Ino stared in awe at his ramblings. He really did understand.

His obsidian eyes suddenly targeted her, startling her from her stupor.

“I don’t know how I can do that for a child the way that I am. I hardly have the instincts of a normal person, let alone a father. I don’t have many positive childhood experiences to pass onto a child. But I will try my hardest.”

“Sai…” Ino was left speechless and sputtering. Sai understood everything. In fact, he held the same issues that she held. The worry drained from her mind, leaving her with pangs of guilt for underestimating him. She wondered where he found his conclusion. Surely no single book would be able to articulate that point to him.

“Naruto has confided me a lot these past few months about Hinata’s pregnancy. He is afraid that he won’t meet the standards of a good father because of his lack of fatherly figures growing up. I-”

He paused, finally noticing clear eyes focused intently on him, hanging onto every word. Sai centered his head forward to divert himself away from her immense pressure before continuing.

“I also am afraid that I don’t have a good reference for fatherly behavior. I’d hate for my child to withstand the same experiences as me, so I did more research and found-”

Her husband halted once more when he heard her sniffle. His head snapped in her direction to find tears clouding her eyes.

“It’s okay if that’s how you feel.” Ino choked on her words, trying to hold her husband in place with her hands on his cheeks. “That’s why we have to figure it out together.” She struggled to hold back a sob that was only freed when Sai brought a hand up to swipe away her tears.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?!” Her shout was uncontrollable, as now she was wailing into her husband’s chest. Ino knew he was probably confused that the conversation took this turn, but she did appreciate that he still tried to sooth her with warm hands running along her back. He patiently waited until her sobs quieted before answering.

“I already promised you and I will try my hardest to fulfill that promise. I didn’t think I needed to doubt that.”

“What?!” Ino cried incredulously. She jerked away from him to stare him down, making zero attempt to conceal her dripping face. “I’m your WIFE! I’m supposed to know these things so I can help you!” She gripped both of his hands, bringing her knuckles together, voice softening once more.

“I was afraid you didn’t fully understand what we are up against.” Her eyes dropped down to their conjoined hands.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I just want to be ready so I can support you when the time comes. The last thing I wish for is to make you worry about me.”

Her face scrunched up into a pout as she unhanded him to wipe at her face. “You idiot, I will always worry about you. And besides, no one can ever be ready for children. The only way this will work is if we are open and honest about this. I’m scared about this too, you know?”

His hands rose in front of his chest in surrender to her will. It was relieving to know that he still knew his place.

“From now on, we will tell each other all of our insecurities about this matter.”

Sai blinked, slowly realizing what that entailed.

“E-Everything?”

“Yup, everything. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t grow up with a father. Not every parent is the same. I think you’ll be great.” She closed her eyes as she continued. “ And if you are really struggling, then I can tell you all about what dad used to do with me.”

Ino’s chest swelled with pride at that, impressing herself with how well she handled that.

“I would love that!”

Her eyes slipped open to reveal a rather enthusiastic smile blooming on his face. It made her melt to see how far that smile had come. It seemed her influence also affected his charms as well.

He suddenly raised from the sofa before scooping her up into his arms. Ino panicked at the look on his face transformed before her. His eyes lidded into a trademark squint and his one sweet smile became a teeth bearing grin.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!” She sputtered. Her panic increased as he had now abandoned the room . He hummed at that as they turned the corner towards their bedroom. Never a good sign.

“I know you said we had to wait, but I figured that we could perhaps get a head start.”

“Sai, wait-!”

They would be just fine. She just knew it.

#naruto fanfiction #naruto #saiino #si fanfic #InoSai #Ino Yamanaka #now adding more tags for general audiences

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strxga · 5 years ago

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Thoughts & Review on V7C12

This is my personal review for the latest chapter of RWBY. I tried to keep my points objective and organized, and to not take too much time discussing each, and I would sincerely appreciated if it could be given a read. Thank you if you do read it.

Well. It’s finally happened.

After a hazy but relatively positive start, I can say that Chapter 12 is yet another tipping point in a direction. The last chapters of Volume 6 were certainly… A lot, but compared to this one, Volume 6 pales in comparison. This one is… A doozy for several reasons. Let me preface by saying this: I love this show.

I sincerely adore it and the characters, and the reason I’m writing this think piece is precisely because of that. Because it could be so much better, it could be truly a love letter towards Fantasy, anime, and its fandom… But the writers specifically seem to not know how to balance that… But enough ranting. Off to the meatier sections, which I will progressively go from what I liked the most to what I liked the least.

Penny & Winter Scenes

This was, by far, the best written scenes in the episode, and coming from an unlikely pair of friends. Penny has always been emotional despite being a robot while Winter, despite being human, has always acted mechanical. This episode provides a nice contrast between the two, with Penny emphasizing with Winter and trying to get through to her only for Winter to refute her claims, but doing so with a sadness to her face because deep inside she knows James Ironwood’s plan is flawed. In a way, one acts as the other should, but doesn’t. Their awkward but working friendship makes that its mold and comfortably rests atop it.

It’s flawed, but realistically, it’s the best option to take over having to fight Salem with depleted and exhausted forces. The two play off one another marvelously, and this keeps up until Cinder’s entrance (which is another point I’ll discuss later) and the entire time they keep up this great dynamic. Penny asking if it’s going to hurt Fria to transfer her Aura directly to Winter, only for her to once more act as Penny’s foil and say that it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is following orders and keeping the Relic and Maiden Powers safe.

Team ORNJ Scenes

Thankfully this time, it doesn’t take an entire episode to figure out where Oscar is. Frankly, there isn’t much to talk about here, but what little there is of it is good! A problem is established, and then it’s swiftly solved by Neopolitan’s confidence only for everything to fall apart when the real Oscar appears, confirming he wasn’t taken away but had been actually fighting solo against Neopolitan for the lamp.

It establishes he’s no longer the wimp he once was and is making full use of Ozpin’s cane, but I honestly do feel like it was mostly a cat-and-mouse game with Neopolitan stealing the lamp and him chasing after her, because I don’t think he could’ve beaten her on his own. Team ORNJ then sets up to fight Neopolitan, spicing up the fight between them that’s going to take place in the upcoming chapter.

(Upcoming) Neopolitan vs. Team ORNJ

There honestly isn’t much to talk about this regarding on what happened in the episode, but what it did amazingly is set up the fight. We know Neopolitan is an experienced fighter, and strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Cinder without her using her Fall Maiden powers. We also know that Jaune and Ren aren’t the strongest fighters, but they can still hold their own, and them accompanied by Oscar who is slightly below-average but still powerful enough to hold his own and Nora who is, now that Pyrrha’s gone, the strongest member of what remains of Team JNPR, I think the battle between them and our favorite ice cream girl is going to be a highlight of this season, especially with how it was set-up.

Cinder’s Entrance

This is when we start to get into the ‘meh’ section of this episode. Cinder is usually compelling in small doses, but extremely dull, boring and irritable in extended scenes due to how confident, smug and self-assured she is despite her multiple failures ever since the Fall of Beacon. But from a writing perspective, she was amazing. She showed how fearsome she is yet again and that her cleverness is part of her character and not just a plot device. She sent Ironwood into a paranoia and then tracked Winter knowing he’d send her after Fria.

Now, the only thing I don’t get, but this might be just me having forgotten, is if there was one point in which Cinder actually learned Winter was the next candidate to be the Winter Maiden… After all, prior to this point, Cinder had never met or encountered Winter or even less have known of her affiliation with Ironwood in the sense that she is her second-in-command. I have difficulty following that thread of logic… Unless Neopolitan told her at some point? I don’t know. Not knowing is what makes me ‘meh’ about this scene.

Clover, Qrow & Tyrian’s Fight

Taking away the connotations and context from the fight and looking at it purely from a choreography perspective, the fight was amazing and showed all of the fighter’s individual styles and strengths. As per usual, Tyrian was shown as crazed and psychopathic. There is no rhyme, reason or logic to his moves, and therefore there is no pattern or proper way to attack other than improvise. Qrow was versatile in using both his hand-to-hand skills and Harbinger to get the job done, but who stands up the most to me is Clover.

Clover really shows why he’s the leader of the AceOps. He was strategic in using Kingfisher to constantly tie-up Tyrian a few times (I cannot remember if he caught Qrow though) and managed to actually keep up with both of them for a long time! Had it not been for Tyrian’s interference while Clover and Qrow spoke, well… I’ll mention that later. But the point is, Clover was an absolute king in the battlefield and despite his weapon being a fishing rod, he was able to use it tremendously.

Furthermore, what surprised me the most is the fact Qrow and Tyrian worked so well together. They made-up for each other’s flaws whenever Clover had one of them against the ropes, and this surprises me even more considering the fact Tyrian was responsible for Qrow’s closest brush with death. It was… Surprisingly bittersweet.

(Upcoming) Cinder vs. Penny & Winter

Nothing much to talk about here given that this hasn’t yet happened, but as per usual Cinder is flaunting and showing off her power while severely underestimating her opponents. It has been approximately three years since she last saw Penny and since she was rebuilt stronger than before, not to mention the combat experience she’s accrued defending Mantle from the Creatures of Grimm and the occasional bandit and the like.

Winter has also presumably gotten stronger since then, but the scope of her abilities are still unknown since she only engaged in combat once and it was against Qrow all the way back in Volume 3. There’s so many ideas up in the air regarding this upcoming fight that nothing’s stopping me from theorizing Fria will wake up and use her Winter Maiden abilities to kick the snot out of Cinder.

But I am looking forward to what the fight has to offer. I don’t think any of them will die though. Cinder is still too important to the plot as are Penny and Winter for as long as the setting is Atlas.

Clover, Qrow, Robyn & Tyrian Scenes

Yeah. This whole encounter was… It wasn’t exactly ‘bad’ but I felt like the characters here acted completely out of character. Well, sans for Tyrian of course, given that at his core, he is simply a psychopath.

Clover has always been one who acted as one of the most morally-upstanding member of the AceOps as well as the one who was, arguably, given the most screen time. But for some reason, this episode had him betray everything he stood for and wanted to arrest Qrow even though Qrow… Well, what did Qrow even do for Ironwood to want him arrested? That’s another minor nitpick I have about the situation. But with how closely Clover and Qrow had bonded, you’d think he’d try and make sense of the situation instead of acting as a drone even though before he had never done so.

Robyn went from a pragmatic and understanding leader-like figure to, well… Whatever that was. I sincerely can’t understand her character because she isn’t cohesive at all. The only trait about her that remains is her loyalty to Mantle… But that’s it. One moment she’s against Ironwood, the next moment she’s siding with him… Then she sides against him and then once more sides with him. It’s honestly very boring and for someone who is supposed to be based on Robin Hood, she’s never done anything Robin Hood-esque. Even her aesthetic doesn’t match him. She feels like an incomplete character and the only side of her we see is a temperamental, indecisive leader. She couldn’t even tell it wasn’t Penny who attacked her at the election party even though almost every single part of her, weapons included, are bioluminescent. It’s frustrating, really. She should’ve known something was wrong from the get-go when Ironwood gave the order instead of immediately resorting to blind anger.

Qrow… There has never been an instance in the show when Qrow reacted with direct violence ever since Volume 3 while he was drunk. He saw Robyn attack Clover first and decided that he was going to attack Clover when he was the one being assaulted. Robyn and Qrow, as far as I know, never even had a single interaction together one-on-one, and even if he did, he’s always been one to stand against wrongdoings despite his shady demeanor. It honestly sucked seeing him being so out of character this entire chapter because he is a fan-favorite and for good reason. He has had a good amount of development. But he acted on violence instead of simply sitting down and having a talk with both Clover and Robyn. It simply didn’t make sense to me.

AceOps vs. Team RWBY

Just like before, I will focus entirely on an unbiased analysis of how this fight went and criticizing the things that particularly stood out for me whether bad or good. I’ll also be dividing this into subsections because it’s going to be a more direct and easier way for me to do so, and in case anyone’s reading this, that way they can skip ahead to their favorite fight. I watched this battle several times in an attempt to breakdown as best I could. So, let’s start with the main show and the one we saw the most of:

Ruby Rose vs. Harriet Bree

Arguably the most balanced fight out of the four short ones we saw. While I am apprehensive of aspects such as Ruby’s Semblance being able of breaking through iron barricades so easily despite never having alluded or shown her Semblance doing something like that before… I can give it a pass if anything because it made the environment more malleable. Despite that, however, I did like the fast paced match between the fastest members of their respective teams. It’s a very fast battle, but we can see it fully and what we see… Is a fight in which Ruby is on the defensive the entire time, and a battle she should’ve completely lost.

Ruby landed exactly zero hits on Harriet. Zero. Well… Not entirely. She does push Harriet down once but Ruby… Isn’t good at hand-to-hand combat and it’s been shown time over time that she’s not very physically strong so I’d hardly say that counts as a hit… But it does happen. Yet we’re supposed to believe that she was taken out by running into an ice wall created by Weiss at the last moment and that her Aura broke from that? Harriet landed exactly 5 very powerful attacks on Ruby and yet her Aura never even budged. I find that hard to believe. First Ruby got kicked on the face with enough strength to send her flying towards an elevator and break the doors off the wall.

Then he got double-kicked by Harriet on the gut and sent flying back. Then she got punched right on her back by Harriet’s weapon, Fast Knuckles, which are basically Yang’s gauntlets. An attack like that should’ve, at least, done significant damage to her Aura given it was strong enough to buckle her legs and crash her against the floor, which in and of itself should count as another impact given how hard she hit it. Then after that, Ruby got headbutted on the face by Harriet and then choked on the neck by Harriet with her legs and once again slammed with tremendous force on the floor. But her Aura is unscathed for some reason?

Then in comes Weiss, puts an ice wall in front of Harriet for her to crash into, and somehow that takes her down and breaks her Aura. Objectively, this battle was amazing, but Ruby never even once had the advantage. Ruby should’ve been knocked out by Harriet when her Aura broke, but for some reason… That didn’t happen. Good choreography, however.

Weiss Schnee vs. Marrow Armin

I frankly can say this one was expertly choreographed as well. We finally get to see a fight in which Weiss gets to use her Semblance at its full capacity, and this time she doesn’t abuse ice dust only. While it’s still in the vast majority of her attacks, she also relies on fire dust, which does add a degree of excitement and a fresh take to her battle style. Not to mention she now isn’t as reliant on the Arma Gigas only. It was a good balanced diet of everything Weiss can do! There still was very little of her in actual close-quarters combat, but that’s never been her specialty. She’s more of a mid-ranged fighter than anything else with lots of tricks and gimmicks. As for Marrow– well, Marrow… Could’ve made things so much easier if he had used his Semblance effectively.

When it comes to the battle itself though it was… Very lackluster on Marrow’s end, but then again it is heavily-implied by Harriet that he’s not fighting seriously at all and was purposefully holding back, so perhaps the fact he was defeated so easily really isn’t that hard to believe considering his heart wasn’t on the fight and even then he still put up a good fight. But like with Harriet… I find his Aura breaking so easily to be… Weird? He only got hit one time by Weiss’ homing fire dust… Flames? Bullets? Rays? I don’t know what to call it, but he got hit just once with Weiss’ dust and I don’t really count it as a hit but he got pushed to the wall once, but nowhere with near the same intensity as Ruby getting slammed and thrashed all over the environment by Harriet.

But ultimately while it is a nice fight… Again, I find Marrow going down to a single attack borderline offensive and humiliating for one of the members of the AceOps, but then again this was the only battle that felt like a member of Team RWBY deserved to win, and that’s saying something given Weiss’ battle track record isn’t exactly the cleanest and she’s lost the most fights out of any Team RWBY member when it comes to one-on-one encounters.

Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long vs. Elm Ederne & Vine Zeki

Honestly, this is probably the best fight out of the ones regarding Team RWBY vs. the AceOps. It is nice to see this fight’s choreography because it was quite enjoyable. It was very dynamic and there was a lot of movement which made it flow just like a river of water, but there were also… Lots of inconsistencies regarding the character’s power levels and how they performed in this fight, especially regarding Elm and Vine who, from an objective standpoint if one sits down and analyzes the fight as I did, it’s also easy to tell that… Elm and Vine should’ve won.

While it’s disappointing that we didn’t get to see Vine’s weapon in this final bout, we did see Blake and Yang working together as well as Elm and Vine despite their personality conflicts. There really wasn’t a lot of team coordinating, but both sides performed admirably. Yang & Elm with their brawn and ferocity as well as Blake & Vine with their strategic minds and nimbleness. Now… While I can only praise the dynamics, the battle was, again, stacked against Blake and Yang. Like I did with the battle between Ruby and Harriet, I went through this one thoroughly and counted the amount of hits each character received.

Yang landed a total of three direct blows against Elm. A punch to the face that sent Elm staggering back a few steps, and then she didn’t land a single hit on Elm until she punched the ground with her Semblance, destroying it and sending her flying, but this doesn’t count as a hit because Elm wasn’t harmed when Yang did this. She was only sent flying in mid-air and then Yang and Blake both delivered a single attack on Elm before she fell to the floor, shattering her Aura. Now, we know Elm is basically the Yang of the group, except bigger, stockier and presumably stronger, so with how tough she’s been portrayed up until now, that she was defeated so swiftly surprises me… Especially when she herself beat Yang down to the point her Aura should’ve broken as well.

First she headbutted Yang, knocking her off-balance and later swinging her hammer with enough strength to send Yang, the strongest and bulkiest member of Team RWBY, flying a considerable distance with her massive hammer. This didn’t happen just once, twice or thrice though. Elm hit Yang on the chest with Timber, her hammer, four times, and every single time she was sent flying. We’ve seen the ridiculous feats of strength Nora Valkyrie’s performed with Magnhild. Well, Elm is at least twice stronger than Nora. The fact Yang’s Aura never even budged despite getting hammered on the chest with the heaviest and most powerful hammer we’ve seen in the show is beyond me. It doesn’t help that she got also hit directly by Vine with a rock the size of her entire body and pushed back. If anything, Elm and Yang’s fight is the most balanced one so Elm being defeated is not the issue. The issue is how despite receiving double the punishment, Yang’s Aura never broke while Elm’s broke with just three hits that didn’t pack the same punch and power all of Elm’s attacks which connected did.

Now regarding Blake’s encounter with Vine… Like Ruby with Harriet, Blake landed a total of zero hits against both Elm and Vine. Coincidentally, however, Blake also was also hit the most in this battle to the point her Aura actually did break. Why only her’s though is not something I can answer. I could describe how Blake got hit, but two of those times she got crushed by Vine’s Semblance and slammed against the wall twice, the second time enough to break the wall as well, and the one time she got hammered on the chest by Elm with enough strength to send her several feet on the air, which likely hurt a whole lot since every single one of Elm’s hits pack two massive punches. Now if any of you are curious about how many hits Vine took before his Aura broke…

It was one. He got sent flying to the ground by Yang and his Aura broke. I don’t count the explosives that detonated near him because he was using his Semblance to hold onto them, reducing the explosion’s power and size, but it still destabilized him and sent him careening to the air for Yang to grab. But Yang’s explosives aren’t exactly the strongest anyways so even if they did do some damage, it was still extremely minuscule damage for his Aura to break from a single hit like Marrow’s did. It was honestly disappointing, especially after we got to witness how strong they truly are by perfectly fighting against a Geist in the earliest episodes of the Volume.

My overall rating of the fight is that, objectively, it was amazingly choreographed… But the power level in RWBY is still awful and largely-irrelevant, since there is no instance in which Team RWBY will actually lose a fight even if throughout the encounter they are taking more hits than their opposition. This is an issue they still need to fix…

Team RWBY’s ‘Plan’

This one is… Upsetting. Even more so than the above because, at this point, Team RWBY is devoid of any and all potential consequences of their actions, and frankly I’m tired of it. Ever since Volume 6 their ‘plans’ if they can even be called that, have been compromising even more things for the sake of their so-called righteousness. In Volume 6 they endangered all of Argus and attacked an entire military base, and to this day they’ve suffered exactly zero consequences for their actions. If anything, they got rewarded for their criminal activity by getting a free pass to Atlas. Ironwood didn’t even look in their direction after they did that too. All for their selfish righteousness too, which in most occasions isn’t even right. They just do whatever they can even if it comes at the cost of other’s safety as long as it serves them

Now they even refuse to even see where Ironwood is coming from. They don’t offer him help, all they do is judge him and criticize him both to his back and in front of him and only side with him when it benefits them. They are, physically, mentally and emotionally incapable of sympathizing with others yet they want others to sympathize with them and their hypocrisy only continues to go rewarded. The narrative is very obviously in their favor and attempts to sway the viewers into thinking Ironwood is the villain for… Doing the only few remaining things he can do to try and keep not just Atlas and the Mantle survivors safe, but all of the world. They don’t even bother to see his point. At no moment during that confrontation do they go ‘we see your point and where you’re coming from, but that’s just playing into Salem’s hands and we can’t do that.’ No, all they do is yell at him and tell him he’s wrong, that he’s an awful person.

They don’t see the greater scheme. All they see are their own lofty ideals. They physically cannot save all the people of Mantle. They physically cannot keep the Lamp and the Staff, and they certainly, at this point in time, physically stop Salem if she is coming. They need ships to save the people of Mantle, they need to be on guard duty to protect the Staff and the Lamp. They need to keep Fria safe to keep the Winter Maiden powers from being robbed, but how are they physically going to do that? By ‘standing their ground?’ That is such a nonsensical, idyllic solution. They can’t do all of those things, but somehow, someway, they are ‘right’ because they want to do ‘the right thing.’ Except. There is no right thing thing to do. Not everything is as black and white as they want it to be. And every single time they do this and experience zero consequences while reaping many rewards for their hypocritical and catastrophic reckless decisions, the more faith I lose in the writers and the show.

Team RWBY defeating the AceOps

Like I said above, this was something I really didn’t enjoy… As I’ve mentioned above, it seems Team RWBY’s recklessness and inconsiderate behavior that endangers far more lives than they save will always go rewarded, and here is no different. I’ve gone through the battle several times and the only fight which deserved to be won by a member of Team RWBY was Weiss’ battle against Marrow, and this was largely because Marrow was holding back and implied he could push Weiss more against the ropes if he wanted to. Not to mention that it was due to Marrow’s hesitation Team RWBY even had a fighting chance. Had he used his Semblance at the very beginning he could’ve frozen all of Team RWBY where they were and have them apprehended immediately because they’d be unable to move.

Besides that one, the only other one who could’ve gone in Team RWBY’s favor is Yang’s fight against Elm, but even so it was… 75/25 in Elm’s favor. But the proof is in the animation, and it shows Elm landing far more attacks on Yang than Yang ever did on her, but since Team RWBY’s victory is required for the plot to progress, they were able to defeat the AceOps. Blake’s fight against Vine and Ruby’s fight against Harriet is not something I can even justify if I tried to do so because it was entirely one-sided on the AceOps’ favor. I try to give a lot of leverage to the show and its writing, but I cannot suspense my disbelief for such a one-sided fight, especially when the AceOps dished out punishment after punishment for Team RWBY and none of their Auras broke nor did they look even remotely tired while the AceOps all went down with two-to-three hits that I find hard to believe would take down the most elite Hunters in all of the Atlas continent.

We don’t know the AceOps’ members’ age, but what we do know is that they’ve been serving directly under James Ironwood for years now, and as the most elite, that makes them the strongest military platoon in all of Atlas with several years long specialized training years under their age while Team RWBY received not even a year of formal training at Beacon Academy and fought some Creatures of Grimm on the way to Mistral, had very limited and minor training under Ozma/Ozpin and then had small bouts against Salem and Raven’s forces in the Battle for Haven. Then after that they faced off against more Creatures of Grimm on the way to Atlas except for the one time they teamed-up to fight against Caroline Cordovin’s Colossus. Compared to the AceOps’ rigorous daily training and constantly having to carry out extremely difficult tasks under Ironwood’s leadership, Team RWBY’s training really pales in comparison.

There are many other ways that Team RWBY’s physical, mental or emotional strength without having them win fights they don’t deserve, because at this point it simply feels like no matter what happens, no matter how gray the situation the writing team behind RWBY attempts to portray, the narrative always tries to portray Team RWBY as being in the right even though for the past two Volumes they have been wrong in their methods without suffering any consequences. It’s exhausting and frankly, not good writing. I understand this is said a lot, but in this case, it can really be attributed to bad writing. Team RWBY doesn’t have to win every fight, they don’t have to always come out on top. They don’t always have to be right. And they most certainly don’t have to always be at the center of everything. That’s what side characters are for, side characters that they rarely use at all but keep around and keep increasing the amount of side characters for the plot. It’s overwhelming in all the wrong ways.

By the way, it was Team RWBY who attacked the AceOps, not the other way around. They could’ve stood down, they could’ve calmed down and realized they were in the wrong in this scenario, and Harriet herself said it first. They decide what happens next. Ruby draws out her weapon and escapes the room, forcing Harriet to chase her. They were the ones who forced the AceOps into acting, not the other way around. But the next moment Ruby is begging Harriet to team up with her to fight Salem even though a moment ago she was challenging Harriet to a fight because of her arrogance and unjustified massive ego. At this point, Ironwood might be paranoid and making bad decisions, but Team RWBY certainly poured gasoline all over his paranoia.

Qrow

I think most of the FNDM can agree that what they did with Qrow makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. There are a lot of things wrong with his character this chapter. For starters, at no point since he was introduced did Qrow try to solve the problems he faced with outright violence. He always preferred the diplomatic and peaceful approach because that’s what Ozpin taught him to do and what he genuinely believed was the right step today, because violence leads to panic, and the panic leads to Creatures of Grimm… Except in this case where he… Decided to rely on violence.

But the greatest offender was the fact he teamed up with Tyrian of all people– that’s right. Qrow willingly teams up with Tyrian, the same person who has tried to slaughter both Ruby and himself and has successfully murdered dozens of innocent civilians for his own amusement to attack Clover… What? Then he has the audacity to blame Clover for what happened and feels awful when, to no one’s surprise, Tyrian betrays him and stabs Clover with Harbinger when it was him who knocked out Clover’s Aura in the first place.

It’s awful, and I can understand why so many Qrow fans are enraged by this, because even I was and I don’t relate to Qrow that much. Just as the meme goes, ‘everything happens so much…’

Clover’s Death

Didn’t need to happen. Literally that’s my entire point on this section. It didn’t need to happen, it shouldn’t have happened, and this was RWBY’s writing team attempt at shock for the Volume. Because Qrow is just not allowed to have happy endings or friends. Qrow has no rights mourning Clover’s death when he himself was the direct catalyst for it to occur in the first place. But there is something else that is horrifyingly atrocious in the writing department going on with Clover in the last moments of his death. Seconds before getting stabbed with Harbinger, Clover states that he would trust Ironwood with his life… Then, all that changes right after he is nearing the end of his life.

The moment he realizes his life is fading away, once again, Clover goes against anything and everything he stands for by wishing Qrow good luck when the other claims he’s going to make sure Ironwood takes the fall for what happened, when Ironwood is doing nothing wrong. Ironwood keeps getting painted as the villain even by his most loyal soldier, the one who claimed he would trust the general with his life, but that ultimately doesn’t matter based on the show’s writing. Clover previously also talked about how Ironwood was doing the right thing by making the toughest decisions, the decisions that realistically could and would save thousands of lives unlike Team RWBY’s lofty goals.

Goals which by the end of the episode continue being unanswered. How are they going to accomplish all the naïve promises they want to fulfill? From a non-biased opinion and how they tend to solve the writing’s plot holes in past volumes, what most likely’s going to happen is yet another Deus Ex Machina. In Volume 4 it was the ‘random’ troops that just happened to arrive to Kuroyuri on time to escort the group all the way to Mistral and seek medical first aid for Qrow. In Volume 5 it was Blake showing up with an entire militia of the reformed White Fang as well as Vernal, somehow, still living to get that cheap shot in for Raven to have an opening to knock Cinder off the vault’s cliff. In Volume 6 it was Ruby’s empty speeches somehow convincing Cordovin to give them a free ship so they could travel to Atlas even though Team RWBY and company were responsible for everything bad that happened to Argus because of their selfishness.

#rwby #rwby7

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raendown · 5 years ago

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Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4042 Chapter: 36/42 Summary: Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Some are fought at the conference table, with whispers in the shadows, or even in the bedroom.

In a world where the Senju and Uchiha traditional lands were too far apart to have ever made them enemies, Butsuma and Tajima are the ones who come together and sign a treaty of peace. Madara isn’t happy to have his life signed away for him in a political marriage to strengthen the bond between their clans. He is even less happy to have Tobirama make assumptions of him from their very first night together. What follows from there is a journey of healing, of learning, and finding the places to belong in the places least expected.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

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Chapter 36

The high of finally having the physical outlet to express the love he had for his husband lasted several days longer than most probably expected it to, helped along rather nicely by the fact that once he’d had a taste Madara was deliciously eager to repeat the experience. Tobirama had never felt shame for having pride in a job well done before in his life and he was not about to start now. After a week the humdrum routines of paperwork and endless meetings slowly brought him back down to earth where he once again began terrorizing the various staff members who had failed to do the work they were supposed to while he was at the capitol.

As they drew close to the weekend he was almost strangely thankful for the high council meeting, a chance for him to sit down and at least let his legs relax from running back and forth across the village so much over the past few days. Not even the tension between their two founding idiots was enough to completely spoil his mood, the first time he’d been forced to see them both in the same room since his return, though it did dampen his spirits a little. Having Madara in the seat next to him as usual helped with that. A hand to hold under the table and a foot coyly stroking along the top of his own would undoubtedly be enough to salvage anyone’s mood. His husband had grown quite bold in quite a short amount of time now that his inner beast had finally been let out of the cage, allowed to properly explore his sexuality at last.

No matter the distraction, however, listening to each of the clan heads make their long winded speeches with puffed up self-importance was still boring as hell and Tobirama, for once, allowed himself to just tune the lot of them out. Generally he tried to pay attention as much as possible since these windbags did have little nuggets of important information hidden between the useless chaff. And he was usually one of the ones who kept minutes for these meetings. But the woman who had covered him for that job over the last week was still frantically writing notes again today so he felt free to kick back and let his mind wander away from whatever nonsense was shifting the dust in the air around them. Other than the random tidbits of info that was about as much good as their gabbing did. He could have someone catch him up later.

With so much free time for his mind to wander he skipped through several topics, mentally checking off the work he had done today and the things he had left to do, planning up a few rough drafts in his imagination and working through a few problems for solutions to be implemented later. He was just turning his mind to the topic of what to cook for dinner, probably something savory as a treat for his husband, when the Shimura clan head sat down and the Hatake head stood up with a clearing of her throat. As he had with each new speaker Tobirama tuned back in to the room just to see if what the next person had to say would be in any way interesting or important. As soon as the woman began speaking he was glad he’d taken the precaution.

“Another team passing close to the southern borders of Hi no Kuni has come back with reports of disturbing chakra activity,” she said, immediately capturing most of the room’s attention. “This time one of their number had enough sensing ability to tell us that the chakra was thicker and heavier than anything he’s ever felt before. Unfortunately his range is not very wide so he couldn’t say more than that but it’s obvious that our people have twice now encountered something like we’ve never seen before.”

“Did they approach?” Butsuma asked from where he was all but lounging in his chair with disturbingly casual body language.

“No, their mission report states that they did not feel equipped to engage.”

“And did the presence appear to follow them?”

The Hatake clan head let her eyes shift pointedly to the window outside where the weather and all of their people were perfectly calm, if a little cold. “No. I should think it did not.”

“Right then. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about then, do you?” Butsuma shrugged and reached for one of the pages in front of him. Clearly he was ready to dismiss the matter offhand. Tobirama felt his own teeth grind together just as the Hatake woman’s did.

“Father,” he spoke up firmly. “Should we not at least look in to this? Maybe send a team to investigate properly with actual sensors, perhaps some of Izuna’s ANBU? Even if it does turn out to be nothing it would be smart to put our people to rest. That’s two teams now who’ve felt this presence and named it troubling; if they spread the news and word gets out that we haven’t responded in any way there are many ways the public can rally against our council.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise Butsuma sighed and wrinkled his nose, scrunching the entirety of his already scrunched and drooping face. “If you absolutely insist but I’m telling you this is a waste of resources.”

If he weren’t so annoyed at his father for being such an idiot Tobirama might not have turned his face away in time to catch the devious expression on Tajima’s face at the other end of the room just before their second resident idiot opened his mouth to prove he was still a contrary ass.

“Well I happen to think it’s an excellent idea,” he declared. “One can never be too careful.”

“You can be if it wastes everyone’s time for nothing,” Butsuma snapped. He caught himself a moment later and sat straighter in his chair in an effort to reassert authority. A failed effort.

“Feel free to explain that to anyone who comes to our council with questions if this really does turn out to be cause for concern.” As though to deliberately contrast his rival again Tajima sank back in to his own chair until he was sprawled out almost as casually as Butsuma had just been only moments before and Tobirama took a moment to openly roll his eyes since no one was looking at him. He felt a steadying hand squeeze his knee under the table and sighed.

Knowing they would continue to glare at each other for the rest of the meeting if interrupted now, he counted backwards in his head until a full two minutes of silence had gone by before clearing his throat. Both of them jumped but he felt no sympathy, barely felt any surprise that they had been too wrapped up in their own idiocy to remember where they were, only steamrolled on passed them by asking the Hatake clan head if she had anything else to add from the report on their southern border.

Someday it would be Hashirama and Madara sitting up at opposite ends of the table and he honestly could not wait even if that meant trading one pair of disaster idiots for another. Or maybe he could even convince them there wasn’t a need for two people to hold themselves above the rest. By the time their fathers retired or kicked the bucket, whichever came first, maybe he could convince his husband and brother that sitting in amongst the others as they did now, as equals, would help the entire council work as a more cohesive unit. No one liked a self-important blowhard setting themselves above others when they didn’t deserve to.

“We’re in agreement then? A team will be sent out to investigate the southern border to report on the source of this strange chakra and what actions may need to be taken to protect ourselves against it?” As the Hatake clan head sat down and neither of their fathers were talking Tobirama resigned himself to leading the next discussion until one of their so-called leaders woke up and remembered how much they enjoyed vying for control.

“Feels like the smartest course of action to me,” Madara answered him when no one else did.

“Right!” Hashirama piped up at the other end of the table. “Of course it’s smart. Tobi only ever has smart ideas.”

“Not now, Anija,” he scolded absently. He wasn’t the type who needed his ego stroked.

When he asked the room at large what was next on the agenda Butsuma was the first to snap out of his pathetic funk and start the next discussion, harrumphing and shuffling papers like it might distract them from the fact that he had just been pouting. Not a whole lot happened during the rest of the meeting until the very end when Tajima finally managed to wrest attention back to himself long enough to ask loudly, with nose in the air, for Madara to report on how he had progressed in getting an active police force up and running.

Since it hadn’t even been two weeks after their return from the capitol Madara had to admit that they didn’t have a lot ready yet. Land had been found and designs for the building they were to use as headquarters were still in the blueprints phase as they tried to consider every different function they would need that space to serve. What they did have was a lot of volunteers from several different clans, although a good chunk of them were from the Uchiha as they all flocked to support their clan heir’s latest endeavor. Madara was quick to point out that his people did have quite a lot of skills that would lend themselves well to serving on a local police force but since no one seemed upset by the over-representation he relaxed just as quickly.

Tobirama watched his husband speak to the room with pride filling his chest. Everything had been going so well lately. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop but the longer he waited the more he began to think – with almost Hashirama-like optimism – that maybe there really was no other shoe. For once maybe things could just go well without any sort of disaster falling on all their heads and turning everything upside down. That would be nice. Honestly he’d had his fair share of disasters already and the idea of a few months where things could just run along smoothly at the status quo was absolutely heavenly.

After the council meeting Tobirama very reluctantly bid his husband a short farewell and hurried off back to work. There were several other people he needed to speak with today about various projects and unfortunately none of them could really be foisted off until later when he felt more like working. Lately he never felt like working. All he really wanted to do was curl up at home with his husband, a good book, and a steaming cup of tea.

Let it never be said, however, that he was not dutiful. Though it was the very opposite of what he wanted Tobirama wandered from place to place in the tower and spoke to the people he needed to, made his notes, and completed the work that certainly no one else was going to step up and complete. With several new sheets of notes to sort out across the various projects he had his fingers in Tobirama returned to his office with the intention of doing so only to find that his officemates were miraculously present for once. Seeing either of them actually sitting behind their desks was such a rare occurrence he actually had to stop in the doorway and double check that he’d come to the right office. He couldn’t remember the last time this had happened.

Thankfully he managed to pick his jaw off the floor and hustle inside before either of them could notice his hesitation, slipping in to the seat at his desk and pulling out folders to file away the papers he’d brought back with him, doing everything possible to make his movements natural. Inside he felt anything but natural. After so long having the office all to himself it was incredibly strange to have two other bodies there and even though he knew they weren’t he could swear he felt them both watching his every move. Just having their chakra so close made his skin crawl after only fifteen minutes. He couldn’t work like this. There was still so much he needed to do and he would get none of it done if he stayed here. The two men who shared his office were perfectly pleasant people but he was used to them not being around during work hours and having what he had come to view as his own space invaded like this was simply too distracting to function as a productive environment.

He needed somewhere else to work.

Gathering all the things he thought he would need for the rest of the day, Tobirama neatly sealed the lot of it in to one of the storage scrolls he kept in the bottom drawer and stuffed that in his pocket. Again he tried not to make eye contact and keep his body language as casual as he could while escaping the room so neither of his officemates would know they had chased him away without doing anything more than sitting there.

The first place he headed for was a floor above, two more brilliant chakra signatures which drew him in like a warm embrace rather than chasing him away with discomfort. With the door standing open he didn’t even need to knock, although he probably would have heard the two of them carrying on even with it closed. Only partway down the hall he was already smothering a grin, warmth in his chest, hiding away his laughter as he listened to Madara chastise his best friend for – as far as he could make out – eating so loudly the entire building could apparently hear him. The first thing Tobirama saw when he peeked around the corner was Hashirama with a bento box between his hands and tears streaming down his cheeks. Long years of brotherhood steered him more towards fanning the flames than anything resembling sympathy.

“What is all the ruckus?” he asked, catching both of their attention. “It sounds like boulders crashing together, the whole building is shaking.”

Hashirama burst in to fresh wails denouncing them both as meanie-heads while Madara stuffed a fist in his mouth to muffle what would doubtless have been a very loud bark of laughter. After he’d gotten himself a little more under control he lowered his hand and offered a grin. “’Lo.”

“Mn, hello anata.” Tobirama kept his expression mild as he stepped inside, using Hashirama's distraction as an opportunity to drop a kiss on his husband’s cheek. “Having a good afternoon?”

“I was until Champ Chomp over there got in to the snack his wife brought him.”

“Ah. Yes he can get a little too enthusiastic with chewing.” With a pause to glare at his brother, now paying the two of them rapt attention, he was glad he’d gotten in his affections when they were still unobserved. Hashirama had a habit of making a big deal out of every small gesture.

Just like he was clearly waiting to do now. “Aw, come on, no sweet kiss for your hubby?”

“Please do not ever use that word again,” Madara growled.

“Seconded.”

“Let’s pretend he’s not here. Did you need something?” His husband looked up at him with the practiced ease of someone who was all too used to ignoring the pathetic sounds of Hashirama whining at them for being mean to him again.

“I only came to tell you not to wait for me at the end of the day, you can walk home with Izuna if you like. My space has been invaded here so I’m heading out to use the office at the house. Was there anything specific you felt like for dinner? If you have a guess for when you’ll be home I could get things started.”

Madara considered it then shook his head. “Don’t start anything. I’ll pick something up from the market on my way home and we can cook together.”

“I’d like that.” Tobirama granted him half a smile then waited for Hashirama to sniffle and rub his eyes before darting in for another lightning fast kiss. “That’s all I wanted. Have a good day for what’s left of it, I will see you at home. Anija, do try to let him get at least some work done, yes?”

He didn’t bother to wave to either of them but nor did he bother to turn and exit back through the door. Leaving by window was much more efficient and came with the added benefit of bypassing anyone in the tower who might catch him and drop more work in his lap. Then too there was the fact that he could feel his father’s chakra loitering near the front entrance to the building that he would have otherwise needed to go through and after such an idiotic meeting earlier he had no desire to speak with the man. Since the window he’d leapt out of was several stories up Tobirama chose the easy route of landing in a nearby tree and swinging down in to a little-used courtyard where it was unlikely anyone had witnessed his quick escape. When he slipped out on to the streets he had already pulled his clothing back in to order, not a single hint left behind that he’d been swinging around through the buildings like a monkey.

For the most part his plan to spend the rest of the work day at home had been to avoid his coworkers so it should go without saying that Tobirama was not the most social of creatures. There were very few people in the village whose company he would cheerfully accept and even fewer he would happily seek out. His husband, bless the man’s heart, functioned much the same. It was therefore almost a surprise to come home and find the wards already disarmed to denote a guest familiar enough to have dismantled them.

Surprise only lasted as long as it took him to walk in to the kitchen and discover Susumu up on a stool trying to fit what looked like a large tin inside the cupboard over the fridge. At the sound of him entering she froze for a few moments, the two of them standing perfectly still, staring each other down. Finally she grunted.

“Well are you going to help me or not?”

“I find myself unwilling to ask why but yes, of course.”

Allowing himself a bemused smile, Tobirama stepped close enough to take the tin from her and place it neatly in to one of the cupboards Madara also could not reach. Considering her choice of where to put it he figured he could guess what was inside even without asking. She might be soft enough to leave her precious students sweets every so often but she certainly wasn’t nice enough to make them easy for him to find.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” she asked after hopping back down from the chair she’d been using as a perch.

“I came home to work here. My office got invaded.” His brow wrinkled to see her leave the chair where it was without pushing it back in, frowning until she rolled her eyes and put it away properly.

“Well you came home just in time, I guess. I was gonna set up a bunch of pranks around here but it’s not as much fun if you’re expecting them. Another day, maybe.”

Tobirama eyed her for a moment but let that go without questions too. Until now the few times she had broken in to their home to leave sweets he wasn’t aware of any pranks left behind. Of course, that could have been because Madara was too embarrassed to tell him about them later or perhaps it had only happened in the months when they weren’t getting along. He wasn’t sure how he felt about whatever madness she might leave behind in their safe space but if it got him a laugh at his husband’s expense…

Looking around to make sure all evidence of her visit had been erased, Susumu waved cheerfully and announced her intentions to leave, pausing after only two steps when Tobirama held up one hand.

“May I ask your advice on something?” he asked. She raised her eyebrows curiously.

“You’ve got my attention, sweetcakes.”

“I’m assuming after spending so many years teaching Madara you would have gotten to know Izuna quite well too. If you were planning to give him a gift that you weren’t sure he wanted to accept, how might you go about presenting it to him?”

“Oh?” Her brows lifted even higher. “Is someone trying to buy off his brother-in-law’s affection?”

Tobirama huffed. “Not exactly.”

“Hmm. The most important thing to consider is that he’s a prideful little shit and if you try to give something that suggests he needs something from you he won’t take it well. Do you want a little help brainstorming some good ideas?”

“Not necessary, I already know what I wish to gift him. I simply don’t know how to give it without turning his nose up.”

Susumu laughed. “Yeah, he does get a little prissy. Okay a lot prissy. The kids a walking bitch face but I love him to pieces, I’m glad to see you’re trying to get along with him too. Even if he doesn’t really deserve it. Alright, well, if you’re sure the gift is a good one then I’d say the best thing to do would be to ambush him in public with someone he respects nearby to discourage him from making a spectacle of himself.” One finger tapped at her chin as her eyes rolled towards the ceiling in thought. “This is probably going to make no sense but it would also help if you could make it all about him without making a big spectacle of him.”

“Focus my own attention only on him without drawing the attention of others?” Tobirama surmised. He knew he’d guessed right when she landed an approval punch on one of his arms.

“Exactly, you get it. Make sure Madara's there too. It might hurt your pride but if you’re looking to make Izuna happy then there’s nothing he’ll like more than seeing you humble yourself in front of your husband.”

“Much as I hate to admit it, you’re probably right about that. Thank you, Susumu, your advice has been invaluable. I appreciate it.” He really hoped she knew that his appreciation covered the last time she gave him advice as well because he still hadn’t figured out how to say ‘thanks for the sex talk’ and he wasn’t sure he ever would.

Whether she knew or not she did look nod graciously in response to his words.

“Need anything else, sugar?”

“I should get to work, actually. Should I tell Madara about the cookies or are you hoping he only finds them after they’ve gone stale?”

She laughed. “Ehhh wait a day or two and then tell him I left ‘something somewhere’. It’ll drive him nuts. You’re a good kid, Tobirama. A damn good kid. Keep it up, yeah?”

After laying another friendly hit on his arm that would probably bruise heavily she left, blatantly ignoring his grumbles that he had technically been a legal adult for several years now, he was not a ‘kid’. Tobirama eyed the cupboard above their fridge for a few long moments as he considered her suggestions before setting that issue aside to be dealt with when he had more free time to let his thoughts wander.

He did slip the tin back out to snag a cookie for himself before retreating to the office, though. If Madara wasn’t going to enjoy these fresh then someone should, at least.

#rae writes #madatobi #tobirama #madara #butsuma #tajima #hashirama #susumu #fanfiction

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zhanxixis · 6 years ago

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I don't know if you know kpop but if you were to put the boys of 19 days in a kpop group what headcanons do you have for them? Positions? I love you 💗

(´♡‿♡`) hello, first of all that ‘I love you’ warmed my heart more than you can imagine and I probably wouldn’t be able to convey my gratitude for your kindness no matter how much I tried. now to answer your question… unfortunately I know literally nothing about kpop besides the fact that its korean pop. I once watched a compilation video of some funny moments between kpop stars but I don’t have enough knowledge on what positions there are for kpop or how that industry works, the training etc. so I don’t think I will be able to answer this and for that I apologize immensely.

however, I don’t want to leave you completely hanging — so, since I had another message in my ask box to which I believe is slightly similar to your own question, maybe you would be interested to know what I think regarding this as well since it also has to do with music/roles. I hope this will be able to make up for that.

question from this anon in short is: what do you think their band roles are?

the post they are mentioning that I reblogged is this one in case anyone is wondering. I agree it is strange that some people believe if someone already has an instrument to play it means they cannot be the vocalist, its a very false thing to believe; but maybe they just don’t know or forgot thats not really how bands work most of the time. in fact the majority of singers in bands do, do more than only singing and often play an extra instrument; its actually less common for vocalists to only sing in a rock band.

now to get to actually answering the questions, I think the official artwork which straight up show what they play, as well as hints, and their personalities help to give away what roles they have in the rock band illustrations old xian has drawn. to help explain, I think the positions they have will be similar to how it is in the story ‘given’ by kizu natsuki (which if you haven’t read yet, go read it now, its amazing. mafuyama are my otp, I’ve been reading it for years). you can see their band roles in an edit I made here. essentially there is a vocalist/guitarist, drummer, another guitarist, and a bassist. so this is what I think:

jian yi is the vocalist/guitarist:

(some images taken by the microphone post made by radonyx)

as you can see jian yi has a deep red guitar, which peek — also happens to match zhan zheng xi’s deep red drum set, strapped around himself in the top left image so its automatically a given that he will be playing the guitar. a regular guitar typically has six strings and its sound a bit lighter compared to bass guitars which I think would pair well with jian yi’s voice, who I believe to be the vocalist. jian yi has a very boisterous, outgoing personality, and is far from shy so this role, usually put at the forefront + center of attention, wouldn’t particularly bother him. and not only does he seem comfortable enough for the part — as you, I, and apparently some others believe, it looks to be that there is a silver microphone peeking through, hiding behind zhan zheng xi’s drum set. of course this is just speculation, but it very closely resembles microphones that have a flat top and doesn’t look like it could be much else. its seems to be that zhan zheng xi and jian yi like to keep their instruments together backstage from the official illustrations provided; however, there is a reason I believe zhan zheng xi wouldn’t be the singer out of the two which I will get to later. I imagine jian yi to look something like this:

singing with his guitar in his hands (illustration taken from the promotion of the anime ‘given’ which will be coming out soon). and here is a quote that old xian put in their new artbook (it goes with the illustration of zhanyi wearing matching rings and jian yi with his nails painted black) translated by the lovely @thingsthatfml.

“In the backstage of a musical performance,where the staff run restlessly and busily, only when I sit beside you do I feel at ease/feel the most safe.”

it’s a nice quote and its one I see in the point of view of jian yi who may be feeling a bit nervous before a show; he goes to find comfort and the feeling of protection from his safe haven, the love of his life — and sits beside zhan zheng xi who has sworn him protection since they were young and has always showed him the most care and love in his life. if you would like, check out this amazing fanart of jian yi singing made by trmk1. it is one of my favorite fanarts of him ever.

zhan zheng xi is the drummer:

as shown in the illustrations above, zhan zheng xi is displayed holding drumsticks in his hands with his deep red drum set nearby him — so it’s automatically a given by old xian that zhan zheng xi would be the drummer, and it makes sense because it fits his personality well. its an instrument that is never typically in the front and center and is usually in the background, which goes well with his very ‘keep to myself’ (unless you’re jian yi) personality; now while I don’t think zhan zheng xi is shy, he is not outgoing either. zhan zheng xi is sociable when needed to be but isn’t one to want the spotlight on himself so this is why, for me, he wouldn’t be the vocalist (even though his deep, husky singing voice would no doubt be hot, him being the vocalist in a band doesn’t feel as though it goes with his personality). drummers are also usually the main one responsible for the rhythm of a song, generating a beat and timing for others to follow. drummers also need to know how to accentuate/highlight the rhythms, volume, and have speedy reflexes to go well with certain instruments or quick vocal changes — a responsibility which would be handled well with a serious man like zhan zheng xi.

he tian is the bassist:

he tian would be the one to play the bass guitar. as shown above, his guitar is black and white with 6 strings. a bass guitar usually has anywhere from 4-6 strings. the sounds of a bass guitar in contrast to a regular one is that a bass guitar’s notes are about an octave lower — it sounders deeper than a normal guitar, which is what jian yi and mo would play. bass guitars are also usually a bit larger with a longer neck than regular guitars. I see he tian as the type to try to chase and master something that would be more of a challenge for him, so he would probably go with the one with more strings (plus as shown in the image above, his guitar has 6 strings). bass guitars are also known to be an instrument that works well with the drum set to create a good, cohesive rhythm and/or harmony. the bass guitar is probably something he would master quickly. he tian would probably be the second likely one to sing if not jian yi, given that he is also outgoing like jian yi and doesn’t appear to be very shy; however, to me, he doesn’t seem the type to be the first one to jump at the opportunity to sing either.

mo guan shan is another guitarist:

like jian yi, mo seems to be interested in guitars as heavily hinted in chapter 226 when he passes by a store displaying guitars and he seems to pause and stare at them longingly. normal guitars usually give the player more freedom to go off script with its lighter sounds and for mo it would fit him best because he could control how intricate (or not) he wants his sounds to be, how much attention he wants to attract with it etc., and given his nature of wanting to be as far away from the spotlight as possible, this would be the most comfortable role for him since he would have control over the amount of attention he could grab, essentially just doing what makes him most comfortable. out of everyone he is the least likely to be the vocalist as it wouldn’t fit his character, because being the vocalist usually means being at the forefront and center of display and that is exactly what he despises the most — it’s makes him extremely uncomfortable and he hates, hates, hates it which is also one of the reasons why in chapter 216 he didn’t want to be a model even though the job had good pay.

so in conclusion, I think their band roles are: jian yi = vocalist & guitarist, zhan zheng xi = drummer, he tian = bassist, and mo guan shan = guitarist.

#19 days #given #old xian #kizu natsuki #gusari #anonymous #replies

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megaboy335 · 5 years ago

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Mega’s 2019 Top Anime List

Another year of anime has come and gone. This year I ended up watching a lot less due to the over saturation of Isekai and light novel anime, but there was still plenty to enjoy. As usual I consider any show that ended this year as a contender to be on my list. This is simply my opinion and there will be spoilers below.

1) Pokemon Sun & Moon

Starting this list with a show I watched for 3 years, Pokemon Sun and Moon was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with the Pokemon anime. It took the best aspects of XY and added loose animation to the mix. Ash and friends have never had so much personality as each episode brought the characters to life in new ways with funny facial expressions. As an adaptation of the game, Pokemon SM did better in some areas compared to others. The trials were simplified or restructured to account for Ash’s classmates being trial captains in the game. While the Kahuna battles were spaced out very far apart in the anime. I always thought it was strange that in-between major story battles, Ash barely ever thought about the challenges.

The two major story highlights of the anime are Lusamine’s arc and the Pokemon League. Lusamine’s story was the main plot of SM and it played out almost exactly like the game. Her downfall to her Ultra Beasts obsession and then Lillie knocking some sense back into her mom is still an emotional highlight of the series. In any Pokemon anime, the Pokemon League is what brings meaning to Ash’s entire journey through the region. SM’s league is similar to the game where it’s the first league of the region. The rival pairings and matches were completely predictable, but it ended with two big surprises. First, Ash was actually allowed to win for once (matching your character becoming the first champion in the game), and secondly he had a full 6 v 6 match with Kukui. It spanned 3.5 episodes with Ash’s Litten completing its character arc by reaching its final form during the battle. It was a rare match where both parties are battling it out for fun and it ended with a flashy finale of two hype Z-moves. Pokemon SM will be remembered for its simplicity, yet ambitious approach in always showing something new week after week.

2) Mob Psycho 100 Season 2

Mob-Psycho continues where it left off in season 1. The main protagonists have come away from a battle with Claw and now daily life resumes. This season featured a love story, Reigen’s arc, deeper exploration into psychic powers, and the return of Claw. Just like in season 1, Mob continues to excel in two major areas. First is of course the animation. An average episode of Mob is literally that one stand-out episode of a one cour anime. Psychic power usage is often a reflection of emotions and they are animated in different ways depending on the characters thoughts in a particular scene. There were so many highlights this season that it would be impossible to list them all.

Mob’s second strength is the character writing. In season 1 Mob was a boy struggling to create his own identity. This season Mob actively tries to break out of his shell and become his own unique person. We see this through his efforts with the fitness club, again when he separates from Regien, and again as he shows everyone that having psychic powers is no substitute for personal growth or status. Mob is no longer a timid boy like he was at the start of the series. He can now stand on his own two feet and help others who are struggling to get up. Considering there is still a little more manga left to cover, I can only hope it gets one last season to finish out the story.

3) Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

In order to understand the appeal of Kaguya-Sama, just for a second imagine if Death Note was a romantic comedy. Both of the protagonists are locked into a battle of wits to outsmart the other in the events of daily life. The mere act of choosing a vacation spot, going somewhere, or giving an item to each other suddenly becomes a high stakes duel. Kaguya-sama follows Kaguya herself and Shirogane as they try to avoid being the first to admit their love for each other. The side characters only help to add wildcards to each battle such as Chika being able to change the tide of battle with a single phrase.

I enjoyed seeing how absurd each battle would become week after week. The presentation is simple, yet very effective in this anime. Resources were definitely allocated for use in certain places for maximum impact. The voice acting also helped a ton in selling just how important each battle was in the minds of the characters. Overall, the series knows how to play with your expectations. Some battles turn out as expected, some with a twist, and others end on some kind of middle ground. However, each battle brings them a little closer together. I can’t wait for the next season in April.

4) Run with the Wind

Almost all sports anime revolve around high school students trying to become as good as possible and win nationals before the 3rd years graduate. However, Run with the Wind takes a different approach to this formula. It focuses on a group of college students who, at the start at least, would rather do anything else than run. It takes about half of the show before our group of characters even get on the same page about running. I enjoyed how this anime put us into the heads of each character. Some have personal reasons for not wanting to run, while for others it was something trivial. However, by committing themselves to the team they each gained a new outlook on themselves and those around them. It was quite literally an uphill for the team to reach the level of success they got at the end. The final run brilliantly showed how each character learned from the experience and how the time they spent on the team was a positive life changing moment. Run with the Wind shows that it's never too late to try something new.

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Jojo is back on the list after an extended break between parts 4 and 5. Compared to previous stories, Part 5 is most similar to part 3. There is a quest to clear and it involves the main group traveling across the land and defeating enemy stand users each step of the way. The differences between part 5 and its previous stories becoming apparent right away. First off, the protagonist is not a traditional Joestar. He is the son of Dio born from when he had Jonathan’s body. Secondly, the group of main characters are not exactly good guys. As mafia members they display a sense of unity, but lack the high integrity of previous Jojo characters. A connection they all share is being looked down upon in society, but placing a place in the world through Bucciarati’s squad.

The aspect that makes or breaks a JoJo story for me is usually the villain. I consider Diavolo to be the weakest of any villain across the various JoJo stories. During the early arcs of the story, Diavolo comes off as an interesting character. He has a mysterious personality and will clearly stop at nothing to keep his identity hidden, including killing his own daughter. The series then adds layer of complexity when we meet his alter ego Doppio. The two personalities are clearly distinctive, but the line between which one is charge can be murky. However, his character intrigue quickly comes crashing down as the final arc fully brings Diavolo into the limelight. The story comes down to who can control the stand arrow, which is a sharp contrast to previous villains who drove the final arc on the back of their eccentric personalities. While JoJo part 5 is still a good anime, it will always come near the bottom of my favorite JoJo parts.

The Year of High Profile Weekly Shonen Jump Anime Adaptations

As the 2016-17 hits from Weekly Shonen Jump have aged up, all of their anime dropped in succession this year. I am a huge fan of the magazine, so here’s a section with some quick thoughts of their anime.

The Promise Neverland - The anime changed the escape arc from a mental battle to a horror series. While animation is definitely better suited to playing with the idea of show don’t tell, the result ended up being telling the story through a different lens. While I appreciated the idea, I feel it came up short. The loss of Posuka Demizu’s art was another major blow to the mood they were trying to create.

Kimetsu no Yaiba - When the manga first began, I never imagined it would become a 1+ Million seller. Ufotable brought their top class digital effects to a manga that at a quick glance would make anyone think it would be the last series to get such treatment. The anime brought a lot to the table and greatly helped to bring the manga to life. It was a great experience from start to finish (episode 19 is a major highlight of the year). I’m looking forward to the upcoming film.

Dr. Stone - Compared to the other Jump anime this year, Dr. Stone’s animation and presentation stuck very close to the manga (if not even inferior to Boichi’s creative spreads at times). The aspect that sold this anime best was the voice cast. They brought so much life into the characters and conveyed the passion each one has for science and learning. I enjoyed seeing Senku create his inventions in animated form.

Bokuben - This might not exactly be considered “high-profile”, but I can’t help but find myself impressed by the anime week after week. It adds a few touches here and there to better tell a cohesive story and occasionally adds a scene or two. I appreciated the heart the anime brought to the series through the seiyuu. Introducing a new seiyuu unit from the cast was also a nice bonus as well.

Best OP/EDs of the year:

1) One Piece Opening 22 - The One Piece anime has changed dramatically under Tatsuya Nagamine. This opening is fast paced and filled with future story teases. It changes the format by cutting the op run time down to 2 minutes and includes clips of the episode. The final sequence of Luffy vs. Kaido always gets me hyped each to watch the episode each week.

2) Mob Psycho II Opening - This opening feels like a natural continuation of the first season opening. It once again showcases how the show is full of creative animation and unusual characters.

3) Mix Opening 1- Mitsuru Adachi is known for his nuanced writing of giving characters the space to convey their thoughts. This opening fully shows these traits through its sequence of character shots that feel like a natural usage of his writing style.

4) Kaguya-Sama Chika Ending - Cute song and amazing choreography. There’s a clear reason why this swept across the internet last winter

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Opening 2 - Not only is Traitor’s Requiem a very cool name for a song for this part of the story, but the plot teases are perfectly timed in the song. The opening animation also kept on giving with the villain version and Giorno later recapturing the opening.

This brings 2019 to a close and another decade comes to an end. As my way of recapping the decade, here is a list of my top shows in each post I have made since I started posting them in 2014:

Space Brothers

Hunter x Hunter

Kill la Kill

Nisekoi

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3

Sore ga Seiyuu

Death Parade

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3 (Second Half)

Hibike Euphonium

One Punch Man Season 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4

Mob Psycho 100 Season 1

Yuri on Ice

Konosuba Season 1

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Tsuki Ga Kirei

Re:Creators

Ero-manga Sensei

Owarimonogatari (the Monogatari series in general)

Hugtto Precure

A Place Further than the Universe

Yuru Camp

Dragonball Super

S.S.S.S. Gridman

#Mega's Words

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illegiblewords · 5 years ago

Photo

Explanation of design approach and some personality info under the cut.

Essentially, the way I’ve been approaching this I wanted to make each world feel like a self-contained and cohesive team. Nivienne is actually from Lamia and so isn’t designed to mesh with the others, but I use her a lot and have a design strategy for her so she’s included. For team Famfrit as a whole, I wanted to make sure that each personality and design would feel distinct and that the main color for each character would stand out. Most are also pretty obvious lol--black mage is black, red made is red, white mage is white. Areas I went different are gold dragoon (or aurum dragoon if we’re being fancy), purple scholar, green bard, orange ninja, blue warrior.

CENRIC ASHER

My main and a hyur midlander black mage. With him I wanted to push against the concept that hyurs are inherently vanilla or “boring”. Imo there is nothing wrong with designs that look like they could occur in nature, but with him I wanted to do an edgy personal spin in the classic Final Fantasy black mage look where the character is a dark silhouette with glowing eyes, a high collar, and a broad hat. Sometimes he wears other things too but the overall concept ties to that particular look. In personality Cenric is a pretty angsty guy due to having been a con artist who got a lot of people killed with medical fraud. He lies a lot out of fear of the reaction he’d get if his background was known. Possibly a little nuts, thinks he is the son of Nald’Thal and bound to spread death and destruction wherever he goes--striking enemies and allies alike, regardless of his own wishes. Probably actually just has Duskwight heritage. Has pretty hardcore imposter syndrome about being Warrior of Light, but in partial response to having been destitute and outcast for a long time he tries to play into the persona of a powerful, luxurious, mysterious black mage brimming with forbidden knowledge. In reality he is intimidated by most children, can’t whistle, and is a bit of a smartass when he’s not panicking his way through conversations.

J’MOR TIA

My red mage alt, I wanted to do a few experiments with him! One was that Red Mages usually read very sophisticated and swashbuckle-y to me, and I wanted to play more into the rapier as an almost roguish weapon. Very physical. He’s somebody who you initially would not assume is a magic user but who is just as versed and capable on that front as the ivory tower casters haha. I also wanted to make him a combination of ethnically black (contrasting Cenric who is ethnically Arab but weird) and a male miqo’te because I have never seen that combination before. I wanted him to feel very charming and like he has kind of rugged good looks. Just a bit too scruffy for pretty boy. Personality he is probably the most shonen hero of my alts lol. He has stuff he struggles with (he and his sister both wanted to be adventurers but she opted out after taking things way too far in a fight and getting scared of her own power) but doesn’t get stuck in his head nearly as much as some other characters do.

CESAIRE DELAROUX

I futzed with this guy for a while—main inspiration comes from a particular kind of horse called the Akhal-teke.

Also because I have seen some really cool and pretty elezen that specifically worked to play up gold as a color scheme, and in this case I wanted to evoke a kind of warm, soft golden light. Originally I was going to make him a contrast to Cenric and make him much paler, but I wound up going that route more with Asklona instead with drawing loose inspiration from certain forms of albinism. I went more gold to make sure Cesaire would stand out visually from Asklona. Another reason for this route is because I want to make a character who looks very light and pure, but in practice has hardcore bloodlust. XD Wanted one case for playing into that possible WoL element haha. I also thought it might be neat to make a character who could serve as a kind of foil to Zenos in many ways and might credibly say yes when invited to be besties. Cesaire is still a mostly heroic guy but I figure he’s a bit like Dexter if that makes sense.

KIYO SHIROGANE

An auri white mage from Hingashi! To me it felt a little odd that the Ruby Princess of Sui-no-Sato has more of a magenta color scheme than red. I wanted to tie Kiyo to Kugane specifically in part because I think the parallels between geomancy and white magic (land, sea, sky) are super cool imo, there are a fair number or Raen au ra in Kugane with less lore exploration, and I wanted to make a character whose past trailed behind her in a clear and interesting way while she travels. So for Kiyo I kind of took inspiration from the idea of a red pearl (pearls often being white as per the horns and scales but then she has vivid red hair) and from the idea of blood tied to injury and medicine. Plus ya know, white magic. I also took light inspiration from candles conceptually. I totally forgot that Shirogane is the housing district also lol so now she has backstory lore that her family had been heavily involved in establishing the area. Kiyo comes from a large and noble family with a ton of political and economic influence, being herself somewhat sheltered and naïve. She is very sincere, playful, outgoing, and does her best to be kind. Very animated!

OSK YASKARET

For Osk, I was essentially going (ʘ_ʘ;;) because I knew that I hadn’t used ANY brown hair so far and it was making so uncomfortable lol. So I thought about what combination would be appropriate, distinct, and striking enough to fit within the cast while also being distinct. Gray and brown feel like chinchilla colors to me and I think are nice in a way that wouldn’t be out of place with rabbits/viera. I wanted dark eyes since again, I hadn’t yet for this group... so dark purple wound up being her main color. Since I was going scholar, I also wanted to keep the sense of intellect and feeling like a healer without being mistakable for astrologian or white mage. I still want to build into her look, but another aspect I wanted to incorporate--saw a lot of people arguing about the inherent sensuality of Viera, so I figured for her I wanted to make her look elegant and sophisticated but more conservative in glamours. I didn’t want her to instantly read like she hopped out of the woods either. Figure she’d have had time to adapt since.

I’m still very much debating backstory and personality or her but am leaning toward her being the offspring of a viera who left the woods while pregnant. I like the idea of Osk wanting to connect with her heritage but feeling somewhat adrift. I also want to incorporate Nym lore because omg I want more Nym in-general. Personality I do think Osk is probably a little bit of a smug bunny but things remain super tenuous.

ASKLONA WANNEYNWYN

Asklona I literally wanted to make a super soft feeling, hyper feminine lady roegadyn because most interpretations I’ve seen have been either harder feminine or tomboyish. Still fun imo, but given the grief some fans heap on femroes I really wanted to show that this kind of look is doable. I usually try to incorporate the black noses on Hellsguard designs (tiger roooooes) while with Seawolves I tend to push either fully into something natural or fully into something unnatural. So ex. the most desaturated option or else just run with blues and greens. Asklona is specifically a bard because it is pretty and fancy imo and I haven’t seen a lot of roegadyn bards in-general. Asklona I mentioned before is modeled off of certain kinds of albinism, but by that I want to make the disclaimer that pink eyes don’t generally occur in people (pale blue or violet is more likely) and that normally there are some eyesight problems that come with the condition as well as ease of getting sunburn. I don’t necessary play into that with Asklona/am going artistic license because I mean final fantasy we can lift swords bigger than we are. I know these things get overlooked a lot though so it seemed worth specifying. My choice to go this route was because I wanted to make myself use more pastels lol and I figured this would be a fun spot to contrast Cenric. I think in backstory Asklona’s father lost his mind to a siren, and Asklona pursuing adventuring as a bard is partly to take revenge and partly in the hopes that she can call her father back with song. Her involvement becomes more complicated over time but I think that’s the general direction. I picked green for her color scheme because it’s a color that feels like it evokes both the woods of Gridania and the sea itself... and because pink is a shade of red and with green being complementary, I figured it would make the pinks stand out a lot. Asklona is tied to Limsa Lominsa and besides looking for outfits that will flatter her body type I am trying to evoke the ocean in her designs. Pirates, sailors, the works. Personality I am still figuring out a bit but I think Asklona is definitely a shameless flirt, can read as insensitive and self-centered at times as she indulges in what makes her happy. She plays herself off as much more shallow than she is and in-general focuses on pursuing pleasure as a way of avoiding heavier issues.

KOKONO KONO

The scrappy daughter of a Doman fox auspice and a Thavnairian lalafell, Kokono saw her mother waste away with homesickness after fleeing the Garlean occupation. She has two brothers, one who returned to Doma while the other remains in Thavnair witht her father. Kokono hates the idea of loving a place so much you would die over it and decided to travel Hydaelyn, causing mischief while indulging a deep-rooted curiosity and love for discovering new places. Has severe commitment issues. Can be prone to swearing and being insensitive because the shocked reactions amuse her a lot, but her heart is ultimately in the right place. I designed her literally to make a lalafell fox because with the dark nose option + werewolf ears it is SO EASY to make tiny canines and I don’t understand why more people don’t do this. Like I could make an elegant white fox lalafell or a yorkshire terrier lalafell or any number of things. We can have itty bitty dogs! And like Kiyo I wanted some background to be evident in her clothes too. I designed her before I picked her backstory and mainly went for rule-of-cute/what would most evoke the red coat of a fox.

SVATOMIR AZORYA

Last of team Famfrit, he’s a Warrior Hrothgar. Very conceptually rough, I’m interested in playing him much more reserved and traditionally masculine in a lot of ways. I think a character in that vein will help balance out against the other Warriors of Light I made for that world. Design goal here was to make him look as wolf-like as possible haha. I think we have plenty of cat people already with Miqo’te.

NIVIENNE LECLAIR

From Lamia, I’ve talked a bit about her before so copypasting that in.

Basically, when I decided to try doing the whole WoL/Emet-Selch fic writing misadventure it was just a personal challenge for funsies. I’d seen other people do some really interesting and impressive stuff using unnamed lady WoLs. Hadn’t really tried something like that myself so I decided to go full improv with it.

Except my instincts tend toward specificity lol, so I scattered details according to what would make for fun scenarios or cute details. I wanted the lady to be a certain level of tall so I went with elezen. I needed to describe a readily portable weapon that would mesh with that sweet, sweet Amaurotine lore, so I made her a summoner. So on and so forth. Very seat-of-the-pants.

Particularly since the fic I have coming up is gonna be bigger, I’m thinking name is okay now lol.

Cenric as my black mage main is a dark, broody guy who doesn’t quite realize he’s nicer and sillier that he gives himself credit. So I decided Nivienne should be much more socially adept (read: not a lameass poser), very mischievous, confident… but lowkey has some heavy shit going on. Girl can be ruthlessly manipulative. Other WoLs of mine have different personalities.

As I was going through fic stuff, I decided I wanted to visually tie to and contrast with Emet-Selch since shipping. He’s got gold eyes and accents on his regalia? She’ll go silver, but her skin will have a more golden tone. He’s got dark hair with a white streak? She’ll have light gray hair, tie into the ruff of his coat. So on and so forth.

Name-wise, I actually fucked up initially by going too on-the-nose. Nivienne is another (more elezen-French) name for Nimue. Given how that story goes I figured it would be fitting here.

As a couple of other notes--color scheme being gray was experimenting to try for a different-but-distinct summoner aesthetic. I wanted to play up horns/third eye concepts (not strictly in the Garlean sense) and create a vibe that wouldn’t feel like white mage, or red mage, or black mage, etc. I also saw people arguing that female casters all end up looking like magical girls, so I wanted to really make sure that she had a different look from that while still being very feminine.

#final fantasy xiv #final fantasy xiv screenshots #final fantasy 14 #ffxiv #ff14

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alwayssunnyprompts · 6 years ago

Note

Prompt: Dennis has the flu but Mac's having a terrible anxiety day. Mac tries so hard to keep it together for Dennis' sake, but he breaks and Dennis, who is still really sick, helps make Mac feel better. (In honor of your Mac has an anxiety disorder posts bc yes Mac definitely struggles with anxiety and I love your interpretation of it) 😀

Mac wakes up to Dennis crawling in bed next to him.

There’s only the faint silver glow of morning light filtering into his room, and as his eyes focus past the tiny specks of dust floating in the air, they land on him, curled up to Mac’s right.

It’s not an uncommon occurrence for them, if he really wants to be honest with himself. Still, it’s usually reserved for after a long day of getting drunk off boatloads of the cheapest booze money can buy, or a few rare nights after Dennis has had a horrible day.

As far as Mac knows, last night was relatively normal. A little boring, even. They’d argued over which Lord of the Rings movie was the best—and both agreed on Fellowship of the Ring—before settling in for movie night with a few beers. They’d gone to bed around midnight, a little early for them. Is Dennis sick? Did he do something wrong? He feels panic rise in his throat, a stone of guilt heavy in his stomach. He swallows. Dennis seems perpetually upset at him these days. He just doesn’t know how to make him happy anymore.

It’s silly to be so worried, he tries to tell himself, Dennis wouldn’t be here if he was angry at him. It doesn’t make him feel any less guilty. Dennis has a way of doing that to people. Mac wracks his brain for anything else that might have made Dennis upset, but he comes up blank.

Yet, Dennis is here, wrapped tightly in Mac’s comforter. He rolls to face him carefully, trying not to catch his attention just yet.

Dennis’ eyes are closed delicately, and Mac tries not to let his breath catch as he looks him over. He looks a little pale, but Dennis is pretty pasty anyway. Not that he’d say it to Dennis’ face. He’s so sensitive about his looks. Mac isn’t sure why, because Dennis has always looked pretty much the same—he’s a solid 10 in Mac’s opinion, but he sure as hell isn’t going to feed his ego. Besides, Dennis wouldn’t believe him. Mac narrows his eyes as they’re drawn to sweat beading on Dennis’ upper lip and forehead, which trigger confusion in the back of Mac’s head. Is he hot? He shouldn’t be. With the fan on, it’s comfortably cool in his room, and Dennis gets cold easily. Then again, he also gets hot easily.

Mac sometimes wonders if Dennis has ever really been comfortable anywhere.

He clenches his fist repeatedly as he feels worry building in his chest, tries to remember what people have told him about controlling his panic. He doesn’t like calling it “anxiety,” that sounds so serious and clinical. The name alone makes his mouth dry and his heart pound harder. He swallows again, tries to work up some saliva. He doesn’t want to spiral today, hates how little it takes to get himself worked up. He doesn’t understand why some days are so hard, why everything scares him so much, why he’s so weak, what sin he committed that would cause God to punish him like this. He takes a deep breath, though it does little to calm the racing of his heart.

“Dennis?”

Nothing. A twitch of an eyebrow or the corner of his mouth, maybe, but nothing that signals awareness, let alone signs of him waking up.

Mac reaches out and lets his fingertips brush against his cheek. He tries to be as gentle as he can, though his pulse is jumping and he can feel his cheeks heat at even the tiny, insignificant contact. A hot spike of guilt cuts through his thoughts. He shouldn’t enjoy touching Dennis when he’s like this. What if Dennis gets upset? He grits his teeth against the invasive thoughts, tries tapping Dennis’ cheek again.

“Dennis?”

Dennis groans softly, an involuntary noise, as his eyelids flutter, and Mac can’t help the tiny smile that tugs at his lips. He keeps his hand hovering over Dennis’ face, despite the heat and his heart and the white noise building in his ears.

“Time is it?”

His voice is quiet and rough, and Mac watches him swallow convulsively a few times before clearing his throat. He opens his eyes for a second, unfocused and sleepy, and a little bloodshot, before screwing them tightly shut again.

Mac doesn’t feel like taking his eyes off of Dennis, so he ball-parks the answer.

“Like six in the morning, man.”

“Mhmm,” he burrows deeper into the blankets. His body suddenly flinches, and Mac rests a hand on his shoulder as he coughs, once, twice, three times, hard and dry.

Mac frowns.

He slowly moves his hand back to Dennis’ face, concern and his innate need to protect Dennis taking over and brushes away the hair lying damp against his forehead. He feels really warm, in the dangerous way that sets off all sorts of alarms in Mac’s head. He breaks a sweat just thinking about something being wrong. Why does Dennis have to be sick today? Why today? He’s already feeling so strange and uncomfortable and he needs taking care of. But so does Dennis, and he takes priority.

“Dennis,” he waits a few seconds and receives a soft grunt in response. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Hmm,” he mutters, sounding miles away.

“Do you feel okay, dude? You felt kinda warm.”

He tries so hard not to let his nerves betray him. If Dennis is already feeling sick, he doesn’t need to get caught up in Mac’s panic cycle. He doesn’t deserve that.

“Head, stomach, throat,” he coughs again, and Mac can see red blotches high on his cheeks. “Chest,” he adds with a wry smile.

Mac feels like he’s swallowed a second heart and it’s beating in his throat, pounding in his neck. It’s hard to breathe. Why can’t his body just cooperate? He wants to take care of Dennis, he wants to pour himself into the act, lose himself in the ritual of caring and nursing and calming and not think anymore. He wants his brain to just shut off, for a minute, just a minute, so he can actually formulate an attack plan for this flu.

“Okay,” he says, gentle as he can muster. “Want some water?”

Mac pastes a smile on his face that he desperately hopes seems sincere.

Dennis’ eyebrows furrow, his expression a little confused before it softens and the something in his eyes only reserved for Mac is on full display.

“That obvious, huh?”

The sarcastic response is directly in contrast with the tenderness on his face and Mac hates that he’s so confusing. Dennis hardly ever says what he means. He’s vague, he’s unclear, even when he’s acting like he’s being perfectly understandable. Mac just wants a straight answer; he needs a straight answer today. He doesn’t have the energy to stave off a panic attack, take care of Dennis, and try and translate all of Dennis’ comments into what he actually means to communicate. Sure, maybe he can handle it most of the time, and it’s just normal, just another day in his life but his emotions are bubbling up to the surface and he’s so close to breaking that he—

He stops himself, realizing that he’s been silent for too long. The thought almost sends him down another rabbit hole.

“Thanks,” Dennis says, letting a tiny, genuine smile light up his pale face.

Some of the tight pain in Mac’s chest eases, his breathing calming just enough for him to think a cohesive thought.

“Of course, man.”

Water, he thinks. He can do that. For now, blessedly, his legs still work.

In a fog, he forces himself to walk to the kitchen and grab water, some chips—they’re out of crackers, but Dennis might need something salty to settle his stomach—and some extra strength pain killers.

With the supplies gathered in his arms, he takes a minute to stand in the empty room and get his bearings. He’s still jittery, still off-kilter. Still feels foggy and strange. He just wants to feel normal.

Mac closes his eyes for a minute, tries to ground himself in the moment.

It’ll all be okay.

If he keeps telling himself, he might believe it.

Dennis hasn’t moved an inch in the time he was gone. A confusing mixture of affection and anxiety blossoms through his chest. He walks around the bed and sits down next to Dennis, putting the provisions on the shelf next to him.

He reaches down and runs a quick hand through Dennis’ hair to get him moving. It may be just his panic talking, but he swears Dennis already feels hotter than he did before. Before he can forget, he runs to the bathroom and grabs their thermometer, just in case.

“Hey, Dennis? I brought some water and stuff. I have chips, if you’re hungry. I know you said you feel sick, but it might help to have something in your stomach.”

Rambling, rambling, rambling. He can’t seem to form a concise sentence to save his life. Still, Dennis seems to understand. He groans again but pushes himself into some semblance of a sitting position. Swaying in place, he tries to focus his eyes on Mac, brings a hand to his forehead.

“Oh, god,” he whines. “Shit. I don’t feel good.”

“What do you need?” Mac responds instantly. “Meds, food, water?”

Dennis blinks vigorously, like he’s trying to shake something off. Dizziness, probably. Mac always feels dizzy when he gets sick, but he doesn’t get sick very often. As much as Dennis preaches about germs and quarantine and “perfect control of his body,” he’s actually really susceptible to illness and gets sick pretty often. If there’s something going around, he’ll probably catch it.

“Uhh, food. Water. Then meds?”

Mac nods.

“Okay, here.”

He rushes to open the chips before Dennis changes his mind. It’s hard to get Dennis to eat on an average day, let alone a sick day.

Dennis manages to down a few chips, in the slowest manner possible. He takes such tiny bites that Mac has to watch to make sure he’s actually consuming them, feeling a rush of relieved adrenaline each time one disappears.

He’s almost able to relax as Dennis pushes the bag away, still chewing and gesturing toward the bottle of water. Clears his throat as if to speak, but dissolves quickly into a fit of coughing. Adrenaline spikes again, frantic and fiery and exploding through his veins. He can hear a wheeze in Dennis’ chest, see how his entire body clenches as he tries to stop coughing.

Mac pats his shoulder and goes for the water, opening the bottle carefully and Dennis tries to make his lungs relax. He gestures with the bottle and Dennis nods, but makes no move to grab it.

With careful hands and white static buzzing in his brain, Mac brings the bottle up to Dennis’ lips, lets a bit of water slide down his throat. He takes tiny sips, he’s breathing, and his chest doesn’t sound so terrifying. Mac smiles.

“You’re doing good. Do you want medicine? I brought the small pills, so they won’t hurt your throat.”

Dennis swallows, glances at the pills, and sighs, nodding. He holds the water bottle himself when he swallows them, drinks about a quarter more of it, before setting it back down on the shelf.

He slides back under Mac’s blankets, shivering.

“Tired,” he mutters.

“Hey! Wait,” Mac shoots him and apologetic look when he startles at the exclamation. “Let me take your temperature?”

Dennis stares incredulously back at him, with more righteous indignation on his face than should be possible, given his condition.

“Fine.”

It’s resigned and exhausted, but it’s a yes.

Any relief Mac felt evaporated from his body when he looks at the reading on the device.

103.5º

Shit.

It’s high. That’s a high fever. Mac has enough basic medical knowledge to realize that 103 goddamn degrees is too high. He feels his pulse pounding. But Dennis has just taken medicine that promises to fix that problem, and as of right now, there isn’t much more he can do.

“Okay, Dennis. You can sleep.”

He wastes no time curling back up, and with Mac running the surface of the cool water bottle over the back of his neck, he falls into an uneasy nap. Mac hates listening to his heavy, labored breathing, but he can’t stand to leave his side.

Instead, he gently massages Dennis’ chest, hoping that it brings some sort of relief to him. In the relative silence of the room, Mac can feel panic edging back in, eating up the outskirts of his mind. How is Dennis feeling? Not just physically, but emotionally? He never talks to him anymore, not really. Living in a constant state of unknowing is wearing Mac down, little by little it’s eating away at who he is. He feels tired and lonely most of the time, he’s on edge constantly, and he has way more panicky days than he ever did before. And he can’t even really discuss them with the only person who might actually give a shit about what he’s going through.

He feels the welling pressure of tears, but he bites them back. He doesn’t want to wake Dennis up for at least half an hour. He needs rest, and time for the medicine to start working.

Unfortunately, roughly 15 minutes of restless sleep later, Dennis coughs himself awake, a series of painful, loud choking noises bringing back Mac’s laser focus.

He breathes slowly, drinks some more water, and glances at Mac with bright, feverish eyes, scrambling frantically to get closer to him.

Mac feels a spike of shock before he lets the tension release, rubbing the back of Dennis’ neck softly.

Dennis leans against Mac’s chest, buries his nose into his shirt. If the medicine has kicked in, there aren’t any signs of it yet. He’s radiating blistering heat, and the sweat from earlier has evaporated, leaving his face ashen and dry.

No sweat was bad, right? Mac wracks his brain for any loose medical knowledge lying around.

Another coughing fit leaves Dennis trembling against him, gasping and gripping at Mac’s arm so tightly he thinks it might break. Dennis is small, but he has a surprisingly strong grip when he needs to.

He can hear the rough crackle of congestion in Dennis’ lungs as he tries to suck in a breath.

“Okay?” Mac asks softly.

“Spinning,” he murmurs, his breath harsh and warm. “Head’s spinning.”

Mac wants to cry. But he can’t, not now. Not while Dennis needs his help, when he needs for Mac to be strong and do his job and stop being so selfish. Tears burn in the corners of his eyes. He rakes a shaky hand through Dennis’ hair, trying to take deep breaths. He needs to be strong for Dennis. Dennis, who looks so small and sick, who needs Mac more than anyone who’s ever needed him before, who is Mac’s whole entire world. Mac wonders how much space he takes up in Dennis’.

Dennis’ eyes flutter as he takes a rattling breath. His hand grasps for his chest, tangling in his shirt, tugging at the fabric. A cough burbles up from his lungs before he can get back to resting, his next breath nothing but a quick gasp before he dissolves into more hacking, hardly able to come up for air. Again, and again and again, and the noises cut straight to Mac’s heart, and he can feel Dennis shivering against him, hear the wheezing in his chest as he tries and fails to breathe.

Mac’s vision is swimming, but his better instincts take over, and somehow, he’s propping Dennis up against the pillows, rubbing the spot between his shoulder blades with one hand, his other braced against Dennis’ sternum. The heaving of Dennis’ chest against his hand makes him feel sick.

“Okay, okay. Come on, take a breath. Breathe through your nose if you can, man. You can do it, Dennis—”

Dennis takes a desperate breath, leading to a cough that ends with a sound that is dangerously close to a gag. Mac tries to bite his tongue against his own nausea while reaching to grab the bin from beside his bed. He gets it in front of Dennis just quickly enough, and he’s violently sick, still coughing. Tears flood down his face, trailing out of bloodshot eyes, and the noises he’s making are so horrible that Mac doesn’t know what to do. He’s retching and coughing and crying, and if it was anyone else Mac would be puking his guts out right now, but it’s Dennis and he needs to be here for him. And he is. In body, at least.

Amid the sputtering and agony, he’s managed to get Mac’s thigh in a vice grip. It will bruise, Mac knows, but it doesn’t matter.

Mac absorbs the scene like a series of short clips, his mind stuttering through the horrible situation in an attempt to cope. Dennis is throwing up—what, Mac doesn’t know—and his chest sounds so bad and he’s shaking so hard and he’s wheezing and he’s feverish and shit, he’s probably thrown up the medicine and he needs to breathe, why is it so hard for him to breathe? Dennis needs to breathe. He needs to breathe. He needs to breathe.

Mac needs to breathe.

Shit, he’s hyperventilating. His chest is seizing up the more Dennis coughs, the longer he goes between gasps of air, the longer he spends bent over Mac’s trash can. He can’t think. He can’t do anything but keep rubbing Dennis’ back, holding the bin, whispering comforts to Dennis that he probably can’t even hear over the sounds of his own sickness. Mac can’t even hear himself, the static back in his ears and he wonders if maybe he’s sick too, maybe he’s gone deaf. Maybe he’s dying. Maybe they both are. Maybe—

“Mac.”

Dennis’ voice is so faint that it almost doesn’t register. He’s still coughing, spitting into the bin. But his eyes are on Mac. Beautiful blue ruined by burst blood vessels and the glassiness of fever, framed by tears mingling with snot and he looks helpless and frail and small.

“You okay?” It’s little more than a croak. It probably hurts to talk.

Why is Dennis asking him that? He’s the one that almost just passed out into his own puke from lack of oxygen. He’s the one with the 103º fever, he’s the one who needs help. Mac is fine.

But he blinks in response, his brain going vacant for a minute. Long enough to realize his eyes are wet. His whole face is. Goddamnit, he’s crying. And he’s still trying to breathe, and he feels like his throat is locked up. He’s broken. No words are coming out.

Dennis wipes his mouth and places the bin back on the floor with as much dignity as he can muster. He’s still wheezing, eyes fluttering back up to Mac, exhausted and cautious and scared.

“It’s okay,” he tries for comforting, but it comes out sounding like he’s on his deathbed. “It’s okay. I’m—I’m okay, Mac. Promise.”

The smile he tries to muster is absolutely pathetic. He looks like he’s wasted and trying his best to convince himself that he’s sober. His skin is gray and sweaty, and his eyes are bloodshot and unfocused, and he’s still shaking so badly that his teeth click together every few seconds. It’s almost funny how terrible he looks.

Despite himself, Mac hacks out a tiny chuckle.

“You look,” he pauses to try and regulate his breathing. “You look dead, dude.”

Dennis coughs, and Mac guesses he means it to be a stand-in for a laugh.

“I feel dead.”

Mac’s heart rate speeds again at the statement, and he aches to be calm, aches to be a safe place for Dennis, aches to be a wall—strong and impenetrable and protective and emotionless—rather than the mess of nerves and weakness that he is.

“I’m so sorry,” the words come out choked and teary. “I’m so sorry, Den. I tried to be strong for you and take care of you. I didn’t want to put you through this, but I just feel so…”

He trails off, a sob welling in his throat.

“I feel so wrong today. My head, I don’t know,” he rambles. “The feeling is really…strong. I wanted it go away but it just kept getting more bad and you’re so sick and you aren’t getting better and I didn’t want to make it worse.”

The volcano that’s been threatening to erupt all day finally does, and then he can’t stop sobbing, and shaking, and he covers his face, trying stop himself, shame and guilt threatening to choke him.

“Mac…”

He’s waiting for a response. Doesn’t Dennis know that he can’t? What more can he say? What more can he ruin? He can’t risk what little relationship they have left.

He feels Dennis shift beside him, a featherlight weight on his shoulder.

Dennis’ hand.

Far too gentle, and barely-there, it feels like nothing, an invisible weight. And shit, Dennis is so skinny and so sick and so different—they’re both so different—and Mac’s crying harder, but he lowers his hands to look at him.

“Yeah?”

He almost doesn’t recognize his own voice. It seems so worn and thin, ragged and small. He feels disconnected from it.

“Mac.”

It’s more deliberate, has clear intention. Dennis’ eyes are full of concern, but there’s a commanding sternness that compels Mac to listen. It’s enough to let him start to wind down.

Hold breath in, count to five, slow release.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Let his hands rub at his eyes, dry them, dull the itch.

He’s still shuddering and shaking, and he feels empty. Physically and emotionally spent, his brain feels like it’s floating miles above his body. He’s staring at Dennis but isn’t sure if he can see him.

“Are you okay?”

The situation is so, so absurd. Dennis is dying of the flu and he’s asking Mac if he’s okay. He isn’t. Neither is Dennis.

“I think so,” he says anyway.

Dennis, despite everything, smiles.

“Good.”

Mac breathes out a tiny laugh.

“Jesus, we’re really goddamn messed up, huh?”

A world of emotions flash through Dennis’ eyes. He moves closer to let his forehead rest against Mac’s.

“Yeah, I guess we are,” he chuckles.

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bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

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Sorry about the stupid question, but wasn’t Ares kinda evil? He was in Percy Jackson at least, and that’s about all I know about Greek mythology

Hahaha, I mean, yeah he’s not exactly misunderstood, as far as most takes on him go. Supremely douchey, at the least. But then again, that kinda describes the vast majority of the Greek pantheon, both major and minor divinities alike….so I mean, he’s got plenty of company. Like I know in the PJ series, Poseidon is basically a pretty decent god comparatively speaking, but like….nah, he was definitely a major asshole in a majority of myths he showed up in. Demeter would definitely make your crops wither if you tried making a case for him being an okay guy, for instance.

But the take on Ares in that post you’re talking about still fits because in pretty much any myth I can think of, Ares is very much the type to be fully convinced he’s in the right at any given moment. He’s definitely the hero of his own story, and everyone else’s, as far as he’s concerned. So he would def object to being cast as evil.

It’s kinda like….so I mean, there’s definite reasons why Ancient Greek culture centered a great deal of focus on two different (and usually opposing) war gods, whereas most cultures usually only had one, or at least one prominent one and then any other war gods being more minor, satellite deities, kinda.

And yeah, Athena is almost always considered the ‘good’ or ‘civilized’ goddess of war - even though she definitely had a nasty streak at times herself - but it was usually more like….Athena was the goddess of wisdom, of strategy and tactics, the incarnation of war with PURPOSE and intent. Like, she embodied war in the sense of….a definite creation of human civilizations, wars that happen because human minds and motivations decide okay, we are going to war and here is why.

In contrast, it’s not really so much that Ares was considered evil, as that he was seen as more…brutish, unreasoning, impossible to sway with talk of peace or treaties or appeals to an enemy’s sense of mercy or such. Basically, he was Athena’s opposite in the sense that he embodied war as like…a force of nature, almost. Something primal, senseless, bloodthirsty, the kind of war that no one truly wins, whereas Athena’s domain was seen more as like…’noble war,’ or war waged for ideals, honor, stuff like that. A little known aspect of Ares is that he was also at times referred to as the god of storms as well as war. Not the heavens or skies in general, like Zeus or other sky gods, but storms specifically. The natural disaster kind, just powerful and overbearing and impossible to tame, just like, the wild fury of mindless nature that the best you can do when facing it is look for shelter and try and wait it out as best you can. Like, a storm isn’t technically evil, but that makes very little difference when the end result is the utter destruction of everything in its path, you know?

Its also interesting to consider the role cultural bias plays in even ancient mythologies. Like how we talk about how history is written by the victors, they decide what gets remembered and in what light…that’s kinda a key component of the Athena/Ares dichotomy too. Its not really a coincidence that Ares is the older of the two…both in terms of worship, like in the sense that he was around and having myths told about him long before Athena arose as a popular divinity in Hellenistic cultures…and in the sense of like, how even in the myths themselves, or at least the myths that lasted and make it through the millennia in the form we remember them and tell them today, Ares is literally the older of the two, in terms of age, with Athena being born long after him.

Like, we talk about the Greek pantheon as the gods of what we usually think of as ancient Greece, like…city-states like Athens and the like, the Greek civilization that built the Parthenon and practiced democratic ideas and were famed artisans and such…but the entire lifespan of THAT ‘ancient Greek civilization’ is still only a relatively small piece of the overall history of the region. The Greek gods as we know them today, were around in various forms for literally thousands of years before that…or at least some of them were. The older Greek gods, culturally speaking, are the ones who are more linked to primal, elemental forces of nature, embodiments of the natural world moreso than specific cultural ideas such as art, music, beauty, wisdom/strategic war, revelry, etc. And over time, as cultures of the region mingled and consolidated and grew into the broader, more widespread civilization we tend to label ‘ancient Greece’ in most of our minds….new gods got added to their myths and merged with the older, more elemental deities into one cohesive pantheon. And that’s why the gods of natural forces like lightning, the sea, the earth, sky, the sun, etc….they were the oldest gods in the Greek pantheon, age wise….the children of the Titans, along with those Titans who’d sided with them in the war against their parents, like Helios, etc. And its these gods’ children, for the most part, who embody the ideas born of human cultures and civilizations, and thus make up the younger generation of Olympians, like Aphrodite, Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, etc. And of course, Athena.

Ares and Hephaestus exist in a kinda weird, in between state, like one foot in one ‘generation’ and the other foot in the younger one…because they’re examples of deities who were around for a long time in previous cultures in various forms….but kinda evolved along with the changing ideals and priorities and focal points of the various Hellenistic cultures that told their stories. Or not evolved precisely, that’s not the word I’m looking for, its got some less than accurate or great implications here, but…like essentially, in their oldest, earliest remembered ‘versions’, the gods we know now as Ares and Hephaestus were primarily associated with natural forces, just like Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, etc. Proto-Ares, for lack of a better description, was more a storm god than even a war god, initially, while Hephaestus was pretty definitively a god of fire. But for various reasons, their stories changed along with the cultures that told their stories, without ever actually replacing them with newer, younger, ‘gods of civilization,’ the way the older Greek gods replaced the Titans in the mythological cycle, and their children were destined to do the same to them.

So by the time the Greek pantheon had solidified into the Olympians as we think of them today…..Ares and Hephaestus were added into the Olympian pantheon as part of the second generation of gods, like Aphrodite and Athena and Apollo….but were distinctly the oldest of that generation, the first sons of Zeus and Hera, and thus why they’d been around so much longer than the younger gods, mythologically speaking. And in the process, they’d ‘shed’ most of their more primal, nature-related aspects, as the storm god and fire god, and become more associated with where those forces led humanity once harnessed. Ares thus became the idea of war, but early war, as the emerging Greek civilization saw it, and by extension him…’primitive’ war, senseless violence and brutality that the Greeks of the more modernized era of Olympian worship saw themselves as having outgrown…and thus requiring the birth of a newer, younger, ‘more civilized’ god of war, a war god for the modern age of a more enlightened Greek culture and civilization, in their eyes….hence, the rise of Athena in both the myths and Greek culture as a whole.

(Though technically, Athena’s actually one of the older deities of the region too, with roots tracing all the way back to the earliest Hellenistic civilizations, but she was ‘updated’ in much the same way as Ares & Hephaestus, but even moreso, to the extent that its much trickier tracing her all the way back to her earliest depictions).

All of which is why I’d say its not that the idea that Athena = good war goddess/Ares - bad evil war god is necessarily wrong, per se….its more that its not the most accurate way of describing their dichotomy, and their relationship with the ancient Greeks of this era. The surviving myths we have most definitely characterize Ares as nasty, ill-tempered, prone to jealousy and fits of rage, always eager for a fight and hard to talk down from one….but also, he tends to be characterized as pretty stupid, overall, like…his only advantages tend to come from sheer strength and brute force, his willingness to inflict relentless violence without stopping or showing mercy, etc. And this is the part where I said its like how history is written by the victors. These are the depictions of Ares that survived til today more or less intact, widely proliferated, etc….even though Ares has had a very very long history tracing back thousands of years before those stories first were told, and has been many different things to many different cultures in all that time.

But the disdain for him that’s clearly visible in pretty much every surviving myth….that’s more about how like….the ancient Greeks telling those particular stories, recording them, passing them down….this disdain was basically their way of saying they’d outgrown Ares and the kind of senseless war he embodied, and why they ascribed to Athena’s more ‘civilized’ type of warfare, one that valued culture, and strategy, and tactics, and the OUTCOME of war, rather than the ACT of war itself. Essentially a culturally meta way of saying Ares’ kind of war, and wars of a type he would champion….this generation of ancient Greeks wanted to convey that all that was beneath them, that they’d evolved as a culture past that kind of senseless brutality and at this point had very little use for Ares and everything he represented.

(For the record, I’m not necessarily agreeing with their self-assessment, lol, as uh, lots of the wars conducted by the ‘ancient Greek civilizations’ at even their height, could still very accurately be termed senseless, brutal and bloodthirsty. Its more just about how any civilization that prides itself on well, how civilized it is, generally tends to look at what came before them as more primitive and uncultured. Whether or not that’s as accurate as they’d like to believe. Kinda like how we, as a modern society, would generally term ourselves more civilized and cultured than those particular ancient Greek civilizations, but uh, that doesn’t actually mean we’ve got a leg to stand on about modern warfare being any less senseless, primitive and needlessly violent than any waged 5,000 years ago, y’know? Anyway, this is purely an eye of the beholder kinda thing, more just about the kinda lens the myth-tellers of that era were viewing their gods and their stories through. Allegedly. I mean who the fuck really knows, I wasn’t there.)

And just for the hell of it, by a similar token, it could probably be argued that the myths making a big deal about Hephaestus being so ugly and misshapen by Olympian standards…you could probably make a case for that having a lot to do with Hephaestus’ age, culturally speaking, and how he was associated as much with older ‘more primitive’ cultures as with the more modern age of Olympian worship. Just as Ares became less and less associated with storms and more tied to violent war, Hephaestus moved further and further away from his origin as a primal fire god, to a more specific, newly added niche as a god of invention, craftsmanship, a patron god to blacksmiths. There’s stuff that could be said about the correlation between fire as a potentially destructive force, an almost violent or ugly aspect of nature that only held ‘value’ to humanity once tamed and shaped into a controlled force that had something to offer human culture, in the form of how it could be used to forge weapons, craft new technologies, inspire innovation, etc. Like…the thing about Hephaestus the Olympian is he was a popular god, in the sense of having a big cultural impact, occupying a fairly large focal point in civilizations of the time. But he wasn’t necessarily a well LIKED god. Nobody was pouring out libations to him if they could help it, he was kinda…there, because he was useful and needed, while still being a deity and presence that wasn’t entirely comfortable to be around or in the presence of, sort of. Personally, I think that all links back to how he’s referred to as being hideous to look upon, someone the other Olympians didn’t necessarily want near the rest of them, even as they petitioned him to make them weapons….like, I think you can see here the vestiges of him as the embodiment of fire, even as he’s less associated with that in this time period, and his focus narrowed more specifically to what fire MAKES. Like, the general idea of him, culturally speaking, being that we need him, and we know it, but he and the primal forces at the root of his divinity are like….not something its a good idea to be entirely comfortable around? Kinda the awareness that no matter how far civilization had advanced by then, it was still understood that like….there was still something primal, primitive about fire, that was never going to be possible to fully tame, to make totally civilized. That it’s a force of nature that can be harnessed, but. Bah.

Okay so I’ve been writing all this while waiting in the doctor’s office because boredom plus I’m a slut for mythological analysis and theorizing, buuuuuut I have to go be like, a person with an actual to do list today so I can’t finish this right now but also I don’t know if I’ll get around to coming back to it and finishing it so I’m just posting it as is, for whatever interest it holds as is, because plus it’s not like…..this is the answer anon was likely looking for to a pretty simple question haha, I just like, get carried away when talking myth stuff.

Also standard disclaimer I have to put on all my myth posts apparently haha, I am not a scholar, fuck academia, all of this is just my own personal musings based on my own personal research just because, and no I will not cite sources because I literally do not have time, this is just me talking about shit that interests me and my take on it, I am not suggesting this is the right or only take or should be taught to impressionable school children, lol do not @ me about how I’m misleading the innocents of tumblr who trusted that I, random tumblr user, should be construed as the sole authority on this topic like. I have reasons for adding this disclaimer and they are the thirty thousand fucking obnoxious ‘fight me for being wrong about Loki’ notes the last time I thought waxing mythologic was a good idea, and I have no interest in a sequel to that. LOL. Disclaimer over. Find the post interesting and worth looking for more thoughts on similar or even contesting lines elsewhere, or like, don’t. Just don’t go looking for me as target practice because my nerd take was controversial, lol thank you and have a nice day.

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425599167 · 7 years ago

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Do you have any advice on writing Barriss? I got recommended you as the person to ask, because I was thinking about writing something with her.

Really? Alright, here are some guidelines for her and the other canon/legend characters I’ve included. Let me know if it helps.

Barriss:

Barriss embodies every contradiction and failing of Jedi philosophy. Pacifism when convenient, fear of the dark side despite fear being considered a path to it, all of that. Training her whole life to become a Jedi has left her mired in that mindset and she can’t see her way out, because she’s stopped wanting the thing she’s always wanted, and that would make all her efforts “pointless”.

Barriss is completely self-aware. On some level, she knows about #1. And it gnaws at her. Constantly. The reason she’s seemingly the first Jedi to have doubts about the war and act on them is because the contradictions became too much.

Barriss is resourceful. Combat-wise, she is scarily good at using the environment to her advantage, either through improvised weapons or use of terrain. This was obvious in her fight with Ashoka, hiding behind industrial machinery, creating distractions, and then the steam trick. This was also noticeable on Geonosis: it was her initial idea to use the enemy’s own tank against them. Depending on how much control the brain worm had, using shards of broken equipment may have also been her idea. Being weirdly proficient at combat is just another thing about herself that confuses and worries her.

Barriss isn’t dark-sided. Alignment in the Force is usually treated as dependent on intent, not consequence, that’s why dark sides rely on emotions like anger and hatred. Killing alone isn’t what draws on either side of the Force, motivation determine that. Barriss does not want to be what she is. She still killed those people, and has to be held responsible for it, but there wasn’t any real malevolence behind it, just fear and desperation. That’s not darkness on its own.

Barriss is highly intelligent, arguably the smartest padawan we see, probably one of the smartest people in the Jedi Order. Her memory is keen, and with adequate prep time, she can come up with detailed and extremely effective strategies. Improvisation isn’t her forte, but she can at least adapt fast enough to accomplish her goal. The only reason her plot failed, even after things started getting beyond her control, was because she let Ventress live and kept her sabers, which could charitably be interpreted as an act of self-sabotage.

Barriss is isolated. Sure, she gets along enough well with others, but Ahsoka was probably her only actual friend. Her self-image revolves around what (she thinks) Luminara thinks of her, and has no other role models. She hates being touched, but needs to be hugged.

Barriss is self-loathing. She’s a murderer and a hypocrite and she knows it. It’s important to note she considered herself those things before the bombing due to her participation in the war. She also has no idea what to do about it. No matter what opinion people have of her, in-universe or out, no one hates Barriss more than Barriss hates Barriss.

Ahsoka:

Ahsoka doesn’t like being jerked around. Attempts to manipulate or use her in any way really irritate her, especially after the events leading up to her leaving the Jedi. Any kind of foul play or indication of such will immediately tick her off.

Ahsoka doesn’t like being alone. She was raised in a communal setting, and throughout the Clone Wars, there probably wasn’t a single day that went by without her interacting with Anakin, Obi-Wan, R2, other Jedi, the clones, or Padmé, all of whom were practically family to her. Now she doesn’t have them. At best, she knows they’re alive but can’t reach them, at worst, she knows or believes they’re dead. She’s getting new people in her life and mending her relationship with Barriss, but it’s difficult.

Ahsoka won’t hesitate. Her development didn’t just teach her restraint, it was gaining experience so she knows what to do immediately when split-second decision making is required. She’s a survivor, and will kill people if they’re a threat. Killing isn’t her go-to option, but if her opponent has to die for her or her friends to live, it’s the end for them.

Ahsoka is tough. Should go without saying at this point, but she’s extremely strong and is an experienced soldier and survivalist. She can whether harsh environments, and use weapons other than her saber with a reasonable degree of skill. The destruction of the Jedi and the Republic shook her, but she kept going. She hurts, but she endures. Somehow.

Ahsoka learns from her mistakes. She has combat experience both in space and on the ground, in infiltration and direct attack, some of which nearly killed her and those around her. Every lesson about what it means to be a Jedi, or a leader, she is paying attention and learning, even if she doesn’t get it right away.

Ahsoka is much like Anakin, except better. As her master, he’s had more of an effect on her than anyone else, acting as her primary role model. And she’s better than him. She’s less arrogant, more in control of her emotions, less aggressive, more self-reflective, and isn’t possessive of the people she cares about like he is.

Thrawn:

Thrawn is a static character. That’s not a criticism of the writing behind him, Thrawn’s lack of personal development is the reason he’s a villain and the eventual cause of his death. He has immense intelligence, but never, not once at any point in his life does he commit any of it towards becoming a better person. He’s completely certain he’s thought everything out and chosen the best option. Throw whatever impassioned speech you want at him about the evils he’s committed, he won’t change. Rukh killed him because he kept the Noghri enslaved, even when he had all the power in the Empire and could’ve freed them, could’ve stopped compromising morality, could’ve stopped lying to himself, and he didn’t.

Thrawn is a master of psychological warfare and counterintelligence. He understands others easily, but that skill is completely dedicated towards finding ways to bring them down, often by feeding them information which will cause them to act in a way that furthers his plans, or simply causes groups of enemies to lose cohesion because they don’t trust each other. He doesn’t just anticipate his enemies, he makes them do what he wants. Also the art thing is over-exaggerated. If you can come up with an interesting way to include it, great, but it’s really the least interesting or menacing thing about the character.

Thrawn has just enough noble qualities to make people think the Empire is something worth fighting for. While the xenophobic higher-ups in the Empire may loathe him, one of his greatest strengths is how he’s seen by people who serve under him. He values the lives of his soldiers, and won’t waste them. Through his skill as a strategist, he gives them hope of victory. He respects their work, and they know it. And it’s not an act. Vader is feared, Thrawn is respected. Palpatine controls, Thrawn leads.

Thrawn is only as evil as necessary, but he’s still Evil. Don’t ignore that.

Thrawn is alien. While he may be closer to human than many Star Wars species, he has an uncanny-valley creepiness to him in contrast to more overtly terrifying villains like Vader. One thing I wish Rebels had kept was that his eyes don’t have pupils; I understand it was so the audience can see where he’s looking, but not being able to read him would work in the show’s favor. Don’t show his inner thoughts unless it’s absolutely necessary. Keep his exact mindset and motivations unknown to everyone, including his allies. With Ahsoka, despite being non-human she still acts and emotes like one, and her alien features correspond to human ones i.e. hair and eyebrows. The audience is intended to treat Ahsoka like a human, while they should be given reminders that Thrawn is definitely not.

Talon Karrde:

Karrde honors his deals. If he says he’ll do something, he’ll do it, even if he does so at a loss, and he won’t pull any exact-words bullshit to wriggle out of it. He’s a good foil for Hondo Ohnaka.

Karrde is fair. His employees are paid well, and there are significant benefits to working for him, especially in comparison to other criminals. The agreements he makes with people that are mutually beneficial, and he’s open to renegotiation. Still, that’s all it is: an agreement. Working with him doesn’t make him your friend.

Karrde came from nothing. It’s never established in Legends, but I think this guy grew up poor, and now that he has considerable funds at his disposal with more coming in, he wants the bestest, highest-quality ships and equipment and supplies. For himself, and for the people who work for him. Looking down on him for being a smuggler is one of the few things that can get under his skin. Brings back memories.

Karrde is nondescript. He’s got a lot of money, but nothing about his appearance and residence are ostentatious. It’s all part of keeping a low profile, not drawing more enemies by showing off his success.

Karrde keeps calm. Even in dire situations, the guy keeps a cool head and tries to see his way out of it. He’s in complete control of his facial expressions and body language, and gives nothing away. In Legends, he was able to keep out of Thrawn’s clutches for a while, and his abilities should reflect that.

Karrde tries to act True Neutral, but he’s actually Neutral Good. He doesn’t like people knowing this.

Oh boy, do I have thoughts on Revan:

Revan is not good or evil. In my opinion, it’s best when “Revan the Prodigal Knight” and “Darth Revan, Lord of the Sith” are only a hair’s breadth different from each other. Close enough you wouldn’t be able to tell which is which until you’ve had a very long discussion. My “light side” Revan holocron has not lost a step and is still one of the baddest (ex)meatbags in the galaxy. If they’re being written as a perfect hero or a remorseless monster, you’re missing a lot of opportunities.

Revan thinks in the long-term. The extreme long term. It wouldn’t be unusual for them to lay groundwork for objectives which are years, decades, or in the case of my Revan, centuries away. This is also a factor in how their sense of morality got warped, willing to sacrifice millions if it means the galaxy will still be populated in a thousand years. That big-picture thinking lets them shrug off the “small” stuff. Like the trail of corpses they leave.

Revan is a polymath. Much of what makes them so improbably hypercompetent is that, unlike many characters, they are not overspecialized either in skill or general knowledge. They don’t know everything, but they can be considered to have taken a 100-level course in basically any subject you want to bring up. They’ve canonically shown knowledge of strategy, tactics, politics, history, economics, sociology, linguistics, and multiple fields of engineering ranging from functional to expert, in addition to detailed understanding of the Jedi and Sith.

Revan is pretty laid back most of the time. They’re probably the least dramatic Sith… for however much that’s worth, and are pretty forgiving. While Malak was giddily prepping the stage for their climactic final duel on the top deck of the Star Forge, Revan was probably standing alone in the elevator during the long ride up the megastructure, humming their own made-up theme music or something. Among Star Wars characters, they have one of the more deliberate senses of humor, intentionally making jokes rather than incidentally doing things the audience might be amused by. Even when explaining something deeply philosophical, they speak with a casual tone and vocabulary you’d expect of an average person. They know bigger words, in several languages, but if the intent is communicating a point to people, there’s no need to act sophisticated. They’re not overly polite or sesquipedalian, and they’re not reserved about profanity.

Revan doesn’t depend on the Force. I have no love for Kreia, but this is consistent with what you might expect from her training. While stronger with it, Revan is fully capable of fighting without supernatural aid, or lightsabers for that matter. In-game, they show skill in using vibroblades, blasters, and various explosives, and the game allows the use of advanced cybernetic implants. Even after becoming a Jedi again, Revan is the one operating the gun turret and regularly shooting down whole squads of fighters. They’re also capable of talking their way out of most situations either through negotiation, bribery, lies, or threats, to the point where a high persuade skill is arguably better than the mind-trick power. For all the jokes about how most players approached the final battle with Malak with mines, to me, it’s completely in character for Revan to have been using grenades and mines both out of practicality, and to mock Malak with the fact he’s getting a taste of his own medicine by getting blown up from a distance.

Revan doesn’t care for your rules. This isn’t some juvenile “rebellious” attitude. It’s logically picking apart constraints and flawed processes, not for the sake of doing so, but because they are wrong, Revan can prove it, and they are superior to those who refuse to address their own mistakes as a result. No one and nothing is above criticism or ridicule, ever. And that includes Revan themself. They can take (useful) criticism.

Revan is a control freak. Their core flaw is immense confidence in their own superiority over everyone driving them to control everything because they can clearly do it better than anybody else can. People don’t often pick up on this because a) it’s a fun and necessary part of the game and b) Revan usually does do a better job than everybody. This behavior is obvious as a Sith, but even as a Jedi, Revan is someone who takes it upon themself to solve every single problem they encounter. Revan was the only one who could stop the Mandalorians. The only one who could save the Republic. The only one who could control the Star Forge. The only one who can beat Malak. You could make jokes about how everyone else in the galaxy is too incompetent to do anything right, or you could see various unnecessary sidequests as examples of Revan needlessly inserting themself into every situation they come across to exercise their power, benevolently motivated or otherwise. Revan didn’t need to hunt those bounties on Taris, or become swoop champion on two planets, or literally beat every professional pazaak player in the galaxy at their own game, or decide the outcome of the Sunry trial, or do every single thing possible to get prestige on Korriban when half would do, or hunt down and kill that woman’s fuckbot. That last one didn’t even have any reward, but they do it all anyway. The ultimate end of a light-sided Revan’s character development is to give up on this mindset, summed up with one really underrated line in the tomb of Naga Sadow, directed at Sith who consider themselves so much better than other people and think you should, too: “I don’t believe you. I don’t feel superior to anyone.” If Revan is dark-sided, they never learn when to quit and the entire galaxy suffers for it. Even if you’re writing them as light-sided, those are tough habits to break.

Avoiding pronouns is surprisingly easy and I recommend doing so.

#Anonymous #barriss offee #ahsoka tano #thrawn #talon karrde #revan

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unproduciblesmackdown · 7 years ago

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hey man your comic stuff?? fucking amazing do you have any tips for a novice child artist such as myself

hmm!!! thats a good question if i have any advice at all…i dont really draw things in comic form that often because of how slow i am…its a whole project for me lol

also natch im just an amateur at all of this vs people who like…pay attention to how to do things really well and/or draw comics on a regular schedule &/or get paid for it and all. so seeing this i was immediately trying to think of like, advice ive seen from random professionals on twitter & stuff & i’ve tried to moreso shake it down to the stuff I’M actually doing when i draw a comic. which is a bit tricky because of my small sample size & the fact that i dont have any kind of consistent process or technique unifying all the comic-type stuff i draw

like sometimes its just a few floating sequential drawings and other times is definitely more like, really thinking of it in terms of how i’m going to structure it in Comic Form & use the format to adjust my presentation of whatever idea i have

like i know ppl whose Job (officially or just by their own standards) to do a bunch of comics pages will do a script of scenes to decide what goes on what page and sort dialogue / action into panels & describe how things will look etc…and then do like maybe really rough layout pre-sketches, then the first rough sketch for a page, an optional more cleaned up sketch layer on top of that, and then the final lineart

i sorrrt of do a version of that, in that i am generally sitting on a Comic Idea for a while before i even start getting into the business of thinking through how it’ll actually work. i have to make sure that im “committed” enough to the idea to wanna make more than one drawing for it, and that i think i have at least a vague notion of how i could put it into a comic. sometimes i DO end up just putting the notion into a single drawing or condensing it into like, 2-3 lil floating drawings or w/e. coz a lot of the times the idea starts out really vague, often with one “moment” that serves as the whole inspiration & that i then try to build a scene/sequence around….a lot of the details beyond that can be really vague in my mind, like the setting or dialogue or who’s involved or what happens or the pacing or extra events or etc…basically Everything is real amorphous for a while

so yea step 1 is me having this one idea and trying to decide if building a scene around it would be a better way to present it vs just having one drawing, & if i think i can actually effectively carry it out….which is in reality even less fancy than it sounds…i just sit on an idea for a while & never get around to actually focusing on it / putting down any of the thoughts abt it that im formulating. but the upshot of me putting it off for forever is that i do end up with a kind of mental script / layout for a comic before i start it…..but even the extensiveness / format of these unwritten scripts varies a lot for me

like, a few times when i have made something that’s maybe longer than just one page &/or something ive been mulling over for an extra long amt of time (which tends to be stuff that is starting out w/ heavier than usual ideas) i’ll like, actually write down what happens page by page, even plan out specific panels, maybe even put down a few rough sketches of certain parts. i’ll have the Main Moment which is the idea that started the whole thing in the first place, but what tends to happen is i’ll come up w other moments that i think could lead up to / frame / follow the main moment, and i pretty much just decide how they all fit into one cohesive piece. so what my “rough drafts” look like for these more extensively planned ones—still really not that exhaustive, i only put things to paper when im basically done enough w my ideas to be just about ready to start actually making them—can vary in their actual formats (e.g. simple chronological bullet points of events, a few drawings, a rough sketch of how the whole thing might look), the core of it is basically just me finding a way to nail down how i’m going to arrange the Moments i have and how i’m going to lead one into the other…….like for things with enough pages / panels, i’ll tend to focus on which Moment will end each page &/or each line of panels, then have an idea of which other Moments i’ll need to put on which of those pages, and kinda figure out how to pace things

again that all sounds like maybe i have a real process…..I Do Not

im kinda lucky in that i think i have a decent sense for composition without having to struggle over it too much. so a lot of times i can leave a lot of that up to be felt out as im actually doing the rough lineart for the first time. i also often don’t nail down panel arrangement that carefully & also make it up as i go along a bit, which is probably not something anyone should emulate. someone was saying something about how some certain page layout of like, 3-something-something panel rows looks best, i dont know. i’m guessing, as with all things, nobody can say “always do this / never do that,” but i think staggering odd/even numbers of panels in each row is always a good guess. just makes it easier for them to read more distinctly at least, surely

sometimes i DO think about certain panels when i wanna frame a certain “shot” in a very specific way. but im just kind of doing whatever. i know vague rules like that wide shots / negative space slows down the pace, vs tightly cropped / small panels / packed w a lot of visual info tends to read as a faster pace, more chaotic. i dont quite go too wild about that sort of thing tho, because for me as a reader, a lot of times really tight shots that are like cutting between 5000 different angles rly fast all in a row, sometimes it is absolutely unreadable to me, as in i do not understand the visual info at all. it feels like the equivalent of how action movie editing keeps hanging on to the “incoherency = intensity” vs just me tuning out until the scene is over & missing details b/c i just am not getting anything out of it

thats not much of a factor for me coz i dont really ever do things with extended sequences of movement / action or whatever. i’ll keep things in one place. i’ll like to do smaller, “quicker” panels moreso to like, show simultaneousish details / to extend one moment…..occasionally i do Big Panels for a moment of higher intensity / impact too. btw putting a High Intensity moment in a super tiny panel is always really funny for the contrast of it all. i dont think ive ever done it, but it is

ummm…….also planning where your speech bubbles will go is good. i dont do that enough, but i should. most of the reason i dont have a more proper, organized process to anything i draw is that i just dont have the focus / patience to slow down for More Planning vs just going ahead and drawing it. jokes on me, since some quick vague planning can make it a lot easier on yourself vs just diving in and struggling w something for ages

uhhh also since im not that fantastic or mindful of panel layout? sometimes i’ll make a point of just having uniform rectangle panels of the same size/shape, so i only have to really worry about the layout within the frame. this is mostly good obv for things with not that much shift in pacing throughout it or action or whatever…you lose the advantage of how panel sizes can affect the tone of a shot or something & probably cant get that detailed in ur drawings but that is often Fine By Me

when i do use the uniform rectangle structure though, i kinda have to focus more on each individual panel, vs like, knowing ok, these three moments are going on this page, i have a vague idea of what’ll connect them, just make up the individual panels as you go along. this does mean that i have to kinda think more about what justifies each panel….how its different from the ones before & after it or how i might want it to be similar to “hold” a shot for a beat or w/e or draw focus to a small movement, what’s actually going into each panel, if i can/should condense two panels into one, etc. its still a lot of playing it by ear, i dont have solid rules of how i think i should do it each time

even when i do have a like whole plan for something im drawing i’ll often make more changes as im actually making it. sometimes its deciding something would be more effective, sometimes it’s just “hey this would work too & be easier,” and thats definitely fine. nobody knows the change you made, and Easier isn’t necessarily Worse anyways. convenience is good where you can get it

ive also definitely had specific comic artists formatting/framing styles in mind when i specifically wanted to use that while drawing my own stuff. like the way i’ll draw maybe a kind of horror vibe (more diagonal lines / “fractured” panels than i’d normally use, quick tiny shots of different smaller details, that kinda stuff) is gonna be different from when its a calm & quiet tone. where i dont really get too creative with the panels really & keep them pretty steady

and then that one time i did a largely nonsequential sort of panel collage b/c the marge simpson anime gave me great inspiration for how to combine & present a bunch of vague notions i had floating around all into one page. it was a good accomplishment & thats unsurprising because the inspiration i was using was That Good. thank god we can all benefit from each others good ideas and knowledge & work & all that. it does help to jump on a feeling of “wow what a cool comic i wish i could make something like that.” just go ahead and make something like that…

ummm this is all on the technical side-ish still but i dont really know what to say abt the kind of stuff that makes me wanna draw a comic in the first place vs just putting the idea into a regular single drawing…usually it Is kind of a more nuanced moment that i think would be better presented within some amount of context and buildup and all that. i basically exclusively draw emotions….and sometimes theyre better shown with some amount of action/dialogue, or at least a few different shots or something. i dont know if this area is helpful information or anything anyone would benefit from knowing about, or even if i have anything to say about it…is it all self evident maybe? idk! i do think i communicate emotions best through comics…not that each one is “here is my mood!” or talking about me at all, but i was for example trying to communicate about an abstract emotion, i think i can draw about it better than talk or write about it or anything. i DO sometimes draw more directly from my own specific feelings/experiences for things, but mostly when i think it can be relevant…i cant really do anything all that directly autobiographical, even casual diary comics or whatever. thats what my text posts are for… but i have been interested in how to convert these huge emotional issues that i’ve been v familiar with into a few pages or panels and how to present its impact in the simplest, straightforward ways i can manage…sometimes i think its worked for sure…..i feel like i gave a more Relatable sense to a certain experience by putting it in comic form than any of the times ive discussed it as a personal thing at length via text. like i said i communicate best via comics probably, despite not drawing them all that much coz im too damn slow lmao

speaking of, i’ve kind of been like “what a waste” abt the fact that i dont have like, a proper approach or regular strategy to thinking up comics before i draw them, but i think theres something actually okay to be taken from that lol……just that i know if i got too caught up in trying to plan it all out perfectly before getting into actually drawing it, i’d be making it into a bigger project and slowing myself down even more & i’d risk dropping it partway through or just never getting started at all. so if i have a less than perfect end result, at least i have an end result, and ive finally got that one idea out of my head in some way. and i feel like some of my comics do work out decently enough….a good handful of times ive been surprised w how well some ppl receive them

so i think it is good to just go ahead and dive in. i did that once w an idea i’d been sitting on for like half a year, and i think it turned out good enough. i just knew i could easily spend months and months more turning over all the details, which might make it Better, but would also mean that yknow, i’d never actually get around to making it b/c of feeling like it had to be ideal. so i simplified it a bit, used a uniform panel layout, did little drawings, and just got it drawn out in an afternoon or two. and now at least it exists lol. and ive sort of come back to the same idea in a way…if i feel like it turns out i wanna elaborate on something more, i can just make another pic/comic built on the same theme, who’s gonna care or stop me

i also try to focus on what lines are/aren’t necessary to avoid things being confusing or just pointlessly cluttery….this isnt a big issue b/c i dont often bother w bgs. dont emulate that either lol…….but im not doing any Serious art so its no big deal to me if im not “good” or not progressing as spectacularly as i might. i dont need my drawing abilities to be that amazing here. but bgs still serve a purpose beyond being a “skill” or whatever so im trying to include them more, aka occasionally, at all. still hardly ever. but sometimes you at least need like one halfassed establishing shot yknow. anyways

mmm this has all been kinda vague and i’m trying to think if there’s anything more specific i could/should talk about!! i dont know. i dont have a good perspective on what its like to look at my art while not being me lol & what ppl might think or what stands out to them or whatever. rip

sorry this is so long, i dont really have ppl wanting to know abt my Processes or drawing thoughts or whatever so i’m kinda jumping at the chance to talk about this sort of stuff after having been actually prompted to. but i dont know if i’ve said anything at all!! i dont know if any of it has been helpful

“tldr; i dont really know what im doing, but go ahead and jump into actually making them as opposed to feeling like youre ready / you know the best way to make a page, because nobodys ever ready or can say This Is The Best Possible Version so just go ahead and use whatever process feels like it makes your life easier, while still actually making the damn comic” is my whole thing, i guess

i dunno, if there was some specific thing you wanted to know abt that i didnt talk about / talk about well here, feel free to ask me to specify because i totally will, which is both an invitation and a warning obviously

sorry this is so long everybody…….writing an essay & by the end of it not being sure if ive given any info at all is part of my whole Thing

#long post //#jfc this is even longer than i thought #i dont know if theres anytning helpful about this at all #maybe its that ‘’if you think i’m good its good news for you b/c you probably know what youre doing just as much if not more than i know #what i’m doing’’

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