#will we ever get to see them or at least get a name for toby's mom

[lordprettyflackotara]

chapter eight || hitchhiker || the proxies

SMUT MINORS DNI 18+. tw: humiliation like big time please read with discretion, degrading, rough sex, breeding kink, choking, face fucking

Masky knew time was running out.

In his hand sat a scrub brush, his fingers gripping the wood so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He knew they were running out of time. The Operator wanted you. He could see it now. He had been a blind fool to not realize it sooner. Your paranoia. Masky felt like a fool to ever even think that them being around you wouldn't cause this. He gritted his teeth as he scrubbed at your kitchen floor. They needed to do what they did best: disappear.

Toby was keeping The Operator busy, Hoodie occupied with finding Nova. They had agreed to let her live for your sake, so you would have someone while they were gone. Leaving meant one thing for certain: absolutely no traces were to be left behind that they were over there. No fingerprints, items, hairs, or any sign. Masky knew this is what they had to do. It was for your own good. They couldn't let The Operator have you. You didn't deserve this life of imprisonment. It was then your apartment door slammed open, your small figure shaking with rage. Masky's eyes widened, his expression hidden under his mask. You slammed the door behind you, reaching around to your back waistband.

You weren't proud of your decision to steal from Nova. She was your best friend. But as you clutched the metal piece in your hands, you had never felt more alive. You held out the stolen gun, aiming it at Masky's crouched figure.

"Who are you?" You asked coldly. You had never felt more explosive with emotions, your heart racing. "My name is Masky. I am a mere alter created by the Tim you know and love," Masky said flatly. You narrowed your eyes, your eyebrows furrowing. "Explain yourself," You ordered. Masky raised his hands, slowly rising to his feet. He noted you wearing his jacket even as you pointed a gun at him. "There's too much to explain, what you need to know-" Masky began, your audible scoff cutting him off. Your face was twisted in anger and betrayal, your hands beginning to visibly shake. "I don't give a shit what you think I need to know. Tell me everything. From the beginning. Leave out any details and i-i'll shoot!" You exclaimed.

Masky straightened his shoulders, eyeing you through his mask. "When you met us we had just gotten done with murdering Detective Williams, or whatever his name is. They all blend in together after a while. May I sit? We're going to be here for a while," Masky asked. He gestured to your coffee table. You frowned, cocking your gun towards the table. Masky recognized it to be a python. The same one Nova had threatened to kill Toby with. "I can listen to the story without your mockery. Detective Winston had a family. He had a community that looked up to him," You spat, venom lacing your words. Masky dug in his jean pocket, yanking out a box of cigarettes.

"They always do. He made himself a target by investigating the proxy symbol. I know Nova has showed it to you," Masky said. He was merely guessing, but your face twisting in surprise confirmed his suspicion. "The proxy symbol has been around for centuries. It was created by my maker, The Operator. An unstoppable supernatural entity that diminishes the sanity of his victims. The ones he wants to make proxies at least," Masky explained. He took out a cigarette, not bothering to offer you one. You looked like you could use one though. Your shaking was very noticeable. "When he plants the proxy symbol at a location. He has a specific target in mind. Once the target breaks down to his liking, he'll turn them into what we are. Enslaved proxies mindlessly forced to do his bidding," Masky told you. Masky knew it was highly unprobeable you'd actually pull the trigger.

But to make you feel better he took his lighter out of his pocket slowly. "However, in the modern day world, getting a proxy is a bit more tricky. Back when Hoodie and I-" He started, noticing you looking lost. He flicked the lighter, igniting the end of his stick. "Hoodie is Brian's alter. We were created due to Tim and Brian's mental corruption and faltering. We can swallow what The Operator wants. They can't," Masky clarified. He inhaled his cigarette, any protest of him smoking inside being kept to yourself. "Back to what I was saying. Back then, maybe seven years ago, people just used missing posters and if you weren't found in 48 hours, you were presumed dead. Nowadays there's cameras and more compassion," Masky rambled. He exhaled his cigarette through his mouth, a difference between him and Tim.

"Killing cops and detectives isn't our bread and butter you know. We used to just clean up corpses or crime scenes. But that symbol reaching a wider audience is lethal to life as you know it. Nova really fucked up, plastering that shit on television," Masky said in an annoyed tone. Your eyes were beginning to water, your energy spent on fighting back the tears that threatened to poor. "Why?" You asked. Masky raised his hand, as if having a gun at him was unfazing. "I'm getting there princess," Masky replied. He inhaled more of his cigarette, before quickly exhaling. The buzz gave him a decent amount of relief from stress. "When The Operator plants a symbol somewhere, he has a singular target in mind. If it gets exposed to too many people, they could suffer from his wrath too. You'd be surprised how many people are one day away from snapping. He targets the mentally weak, like Tim and Brian. The weak with deep down issues that he could exercise to his advantage," Masky said dryly.

"Don't say that!" You hissed. Masky gave you an odd look, one concealed by his mask. "Why? Because you made out with Brian? Because you shared a cigarette with Tim?" He questioned. Your tears were flooding your waterline now, blinks away from free falling. "Well listen up princess. They're the reason you're fucked," Masky barked. The tears became too much, two droplets sliding down your cheeks. "The Operator has now shown interest in you. And it's their fault. It's also mine, for not putting a bullet through your skull when I had the chance," He said coldly. Your hands were shaking, your finger trembling against the trigger. You had never shot a gun in your life. You feared if you removed your finger he would stop talking. But you also feared if you kept it there you may accidentally pull the trigger.

"And Toby?" You asked.

Masky picked up his head, "What about him?"

"How does he play into all of this? You haven't mentioned him once," You explained. Masky took another sharp inhale, the tobacco smoke circling around his lungs. "The kid was practically adopted by The Operator when he burned down his house. Tourette's, schizophrenia, and the inability to feel pain. The Operator’s perfect adopted child. Not including his homicidal tendencies," Masky told you. Your eyes widened, your heart beginning to throb painfully. "Homicidal tendencies?" You whispered. It suddenly occurred to you. Nova had been right all along. Masky pistol whipped you. He was responsible for the bullet wounds. "He cuts up the bodies?" You said, phrasing your words as more of a question. Masky nodded affirmatively. "Like no one you've seen before," He confirmed. You felt your stomach churn, nausea ensuing quickly. They were murderers, all of them.

You blinked slowly, soaking all of it in. You glanced over at your kitchen, noting a duffel bag on your counter and Masky's abandoned scrub brush on the floor. "Why were you cleaning my apartment?" You asked. Masky ran his fingers through his choppy hair. "To leave no traces of us. This is what we do. We get the job done, then we disappear," He said, the words spilling out like he didn't want to say them. You froze, his words soaking in. They were leaving? After everything that had happened? "And the duffel bag?" You questioned. Masky slowly rose from the coffee table, taking one last puff of his cigarette before tossing it into the sink.

He grabbed it, yanking open the zipper and tossing it upside down. Out spilled handfuls of hundred dollar bills. You had never seen so much hard cold cash before, your heart plummeting at the sight. “What is this supposed to be?” You gasped. Masky tossed the duffel bag aside. “A peace offering. We’re hoping you can forgive us. That’s around fifty thousand dollars. That’ll pay off your debts. Take the money and Nova and get the fuck out of town,” Masky advised. You temporarily put down the gun, feeling defeat.

“Thats what you think I want? To forget the three of you? Why did you do this to me? Use me to get to Nova? You-” You babbled, pausing when you realized you weren’t talking to Tim. You swallowed, choking on your own words. “Was it a game? To all of you? To Brian? Hood- Hoodie? Toby? Tim? You?” You questioned. Masky lifted his mask, tossing it aside. “Listen to me very carefully princess. Hoodie and I may have started off that way but you have no idea how much you’ve grown on us. How much we care about you. I mean, for fucks sake we just gave you fifty grand,” Masky said. You stomped over to him, grabbing a handful of the cash and throwing it at his chest.

“You think I give a shit about any of that? I let the three of you, five of you, what the fuck ever, into my goddamn life and not only, do you lie to me about who you are. You murder people due to a demon that you attached to me and now you’re just going to up and leave? Thats your resolution?” You exclaimed. Masky went to take a step towards you, your arm raising the gun out of instinct. “Dont fucking touch me or I swear to God i’ll shoot,” You threatened. The swelling in your chest was immense, pressure assaulting your chest.

For the first time in Masky’s existence, he felt something unfamiliar. He watched as you struggled to stay upright, your chest rising and lowering at a dramatic rate. “I don’t understand, why are you upset? This is the best course of action,” Masky said bluntly. You wiped away a few tears, your lip quivering uncontrollable. “Because I fucking care about you! About all of you!” You bellowed. Masky froze, watching your hand shake as you gripped the gun. He realized what he was feeling, his mouth running dry.

Remorse. He felt remorse.

In a swift motion Masky charged at you, one hand gripped around the python, the other backing you into the front door. His large fingers gripped around the gun, angrily tossing it to the side. “First things first princess, you ever aim a gun at me again i’m going to shoot you with it. Secondly, the next time you aim a gun at someone, maybe take the gun off of safety first,” He growled. You shook under his touch as he towered over you. “And thirdly, I care about you too,” Masky confessed softly. You stared up at him, the face of the man who you had shared a cigarette with and bought you cupcakes on a late night whim. Unsurely he brought his hand to your face.

He cupped your cheek, wiping away the remaining tears that stained your soft skin. You searched his eyes unsurely. “There isn’t shit we can do now about how we got here. But I want the best for you,” Masky told you. You put your hand on top of his, closing your eyes. “You all cant leave me. You- you can’t,” You whimpered. Masky’s gaze softened, watching tears flow freely. His thumbs couldn’t wipe them away fast enough. “You’re all I have,” You uttered. It occurred to Masky then, the situation you were truly in.

You had Nova, sure. But how long was it before she wanted a family of her own? Maybe she would keep you around, sure. But you worked a dead end job, one that clearly was not paying the bills. Your dreams were far and out of reach. You had no contact with anyone else besides them. How could he do it? How could Masky leave you here all by yourself? He always thought of himself to be stronger than this. To be stronger than Tim. He was created to be a ruthless obedient murder machine. Yet as you sobbed into his hand, he realized he may be more than that. He couldn’t allow The Operator to have you. He knew that for certain. But all he could do for now, was have you to himself.

He guided your head, using his hand to guide your chin to look at him. You swallowed, your eyes glassy as Masky pressed his lips to yours. His lips were rough, your arms wrapping themselves around his neck without a second thought. He pushed you flat against the door, his large hands roaming down your body. Briefly he bent down, reaching under your thighs. “Jump,” He grumbled against your lips. You did as commanded, the brunette lifting you like you weighed nothing at all.

Your legs wrapped around Masky’s waist out of instinct, his bulge rubbing against your clothed core. He began to slowly grind against you, the two of you groaning in each other’s mouths. Your hands found his hair, gently tugging at the roots as you meshed your lips against his. He swiped his tongue along your bottom lip, causing you to whine as you granted him access. Involuntarily you pulled him closer and closer, wanting Masky as close to you as humanly possible. “I have to warn you princess, I don’t play nice,” Masky huffed, pulling away from your lips. His cock was throbbing his jeans, each subtle movement of his hips resulting in a whine escaping your throat.

“I don’t want nice. I want you,” You whispered. Your doe eyes met his, your words only making him more flustered. “I’m not like Toby, I could seriously hurt you,” Masky repeated. You bit the inside of your cheek, your gaze flickering to his lips. “So hurt me then,” You agreed. Masky’s eyebrows raised, a devious smirk crossing his lips. “You sure you can handle it pretty girl?” He questioned. He brought his hand to your throat, squeezing the sides. You groaned as he restricted your airway, your hips rolling against his. “Holy fuck, you really are a slut,” Masky grumbled. He licked his lips, setting you down on the floor.

His hands fiddled with your sweatpants, shoving them and your panties down to the floor in a careless motion. You expected him to lead you to the couch or to drop to his knees. To do anything but what he did next. In a swift motion he picked you up by your thighs, nuzzling his face in between your thighs. Fear washed over you as he held you mid air, your back hitting the wall. You were almost touching the ceiling, your mouth running dry. “M-Masky i’m not sure-” You started to protest, Masky’s curious eyes gazing up at you. He held you as if you weighed nothing, his mouth dangerously close to your cunt.

“Something wrong princess? I thought you said you could handle it,” Masky chuckled. He straightened out his back, unfazed by holding you standing up.He had looped your legs over his shoulders, hit breath fanning over your folds. "It's just a b-bit high up here," You stuttered. Masky leaned forward, licking an agonizingly slow stripe up your folds. "I got you princess, now relax and fall apart for me," Masky purred. He brought his mouth to your clit, groaning into your folds as he devoured your pussy. Your core was aching, praying for more. His tongue wasn't enough, each flick making your body shudder. You began to relax, raking your hands through his hair as he lapped at your cunt.

Unlike Toby he was far more rough and assertive, his tongue teasing your entrance before continuing to lap any juices you produced. His grip on you was tight, your head tilting back against the wall as he held you in place. You felt the rope inside of you tighten. "Fuck Masky right fucking there! So close," You slurred. Masky took one last long lap of your cunt, before bringing you back to the floor. The tension inside of you dissolved. "W-what was that? I was so close!" You hissed. Masky grabbed a handful of your hair, dragging you over to the couch. He threw you over the arm of the couch, your ass high in the air. A sharp slap was delivered to your skin, a chill running down your spine.

"You'll take what I give you. Such a whiny little thing," Masky purred. He rubbed the skin he had slapped, admiring your flesh turning a deep red. The pain he delivered was gratifying, your core throbbing with a different desire. An ache you had never craved before. You turned around, throwing yourself to the ground. "What do we have here? A cock hungry whore?" Masky mused. You yanked at his belt, before undoing his jeans. Masky couldn't deny you, his desire for you too much to ignore any longer. You brought his cock into your mouth without a second thought, your doe eyes staring up at him. You hollowed out your cheeks, taking his cock down to the base.

"Do- Do you want me to face fuck you?" Masky asked unsurely. You nodded as best as you could with his length down your throat, the sight setting Masky's body on fire. He grabbed your hand, putting it in a neat ponytail. "Your wish is my command princess. Why don't you touch that pretty cunt of yours?" He suggested. You slithered one of your hands down to your cunt, rubbing circles around your clit as Masky moved his hips. His cock hit the back of your throat slowly, his eyes gleaming with pride as you took him in stride. You whined around his cock as your core ignited with a familiar flame. The vibrations made Masky moan your name, his grip on your hair now tightening.

"How did I ever think of leaving? Fuck!" Masky moaned. His hips began to move faster, his cock abusing your throat as it pleased. You gagged around his thick shaft, saliva dripping down the sides of your mouth. Humiliatingly it dripped down your chin, a small puddle of it forming on the floor. You circled your clit faster, gagging on Masky as he shoved himself down your throat. "Such a good slut for me. So fucking good. Fucking hell," Masky grunted. Tears flooded your waterline again, this time the sight satisfying to the brunette standing above you. He enjoyed seeing you so hungry for his cock. So desperate to get off that you'd let him throat fuck you as you played with yourself.

You could feel yourself getting close again, this time your eyes pleading as they looked at Masky. "Can I cum?" You asked, your words muffled by his shaft. Masky pulled himself out of your throat, a thick string of saliva connecting your lips to his tip. "Look at you. Asking me to cum like a good girl," Masky praised. You continued to circle your clit, the brunette crouching down to your level. He grabbed your chin roughly, planting a sloppy kiss to your lips. "That's too fucking bad that you need to cum already. You're only allowed to cum on my cock," Masky spat. He grabbed a handful of your hair, pushing you towards the floor. You held your ass high in the air, whimpering as you forced yourself to disconnect your fingers from your clit.

Masky made his way behind you, pressing down on your back for a better arch. "You need to cum on a real mans dick princess. Lucky for you i'm here," Masy huffed. He slapped his tip on your drenched folds, the slightest sensation making you squirm. He pushed himself inside of you, both of you groaning in unison. "You're so lucky i'm here. If Tim was doing this he'd hold your hand. But that's not what you want. Is it?" He asked mockingly. He grabbed your wrist, pinning them behind your back as he bottomed out inside of you. "You want to be degraded and be a whore, don't you?" Masky tsked. You squeezed his shaft, then attempting to wiggle your helps so the brunette would move. "I'm not a whore!" You protested weakly. Masky grinned devilishly, pushing your head to the ground.

Your face was an inch away from your previously fallen saliva, your eyes widening. "Lick it up or I won't fuck you," Masky threatened calmly. You hesitated, his hand roughly grabbing your hair, guiding you over to the pool of saliva. "I don't think I stuttered princess," He growled. Humiliated, you stuck out your tongue, deciding to lick the saliva off of the floor. "Only whores do this kind of shit to get fucked. Guess that makes you a whore," Masky chuckled darkly. He began to move his hips, moans escaping your lips as you licked the wood below you. "You're my whore though, don't you ever forget it," Masky rambled. He snapped his hips into yours, his cock abusing your g spot with ease.

Your body shook as Masky pounded into you, his fingers gripping your waist so hard your sinful noises were a mixture of pain and pleasure. You couldn’t control the sounds you made, Masky’s cock pounding into you mercilessly. You felt the cord inside of you tighten again, Masky’s thrust alone enough to send you over the edge. “My fucking whore. C’mere,” Masky snarled. He released your wrist, grabbing you by your hair and yanking you towards him. Your back hit his back as he thrust up into you, your thighs beginning to tremble. Roughly he brought his hand to your throat, squeezing it harshly.

“Go on. I know you’re dying to cum on my cock,” Masky grunted. His breath was hot against your ear, his grip on your neck only tightening. “Just know once you do i’m going to cum deep inside of you,” Masky informed you. You whimpered, your body being forced closer and closer to the edge. “Awe you like that idea, don’t you princess? I can feel you squeezing me. You like the idea of me breeding you,” Masky snickered. It was then your vision went white, your breath shallow as you came around his cock. Your walls milked Masky as you rode out your orgasm, the brunette behind you grunting as he came inside of you.

Dazed, you felt Masky’s hand slip away from your neck. Slowly he pulled out of you, his cum dripping down your thighs and traveling onto the floor. You slumped onto the floor, Masky’s strong hands preventing you from fully falling over. “Let’s get you tucked in princess,” Masky mumbled. You allowed your eyes to flutter close, entrusting the man with a mask with take care of your limp body.

“Hey Masky?”

“Yeah?”

“You guys are staying, right?”

Masky hesitated, clearing his throat before answering, “Yes we are.”

“Can I keep the fifty grand too?”

—> next chapter

[thenightshadowqueen]

Top ten SFTH character couples

(in my biased opinion)

Okay, first of all I’m so sorry to anyone who followed me for anything other than Shoot from the Hip content; I swear I’ll put in more variety. Someday. (Also go check out Shoot from the Hip.) Second of all, I did not join Tumblr with the intention of making a bunch of lists, but they’re fun to write and people seem to enjoy them, so here goes.

10. Justin x the Beetroots MC (headcanon)

Listen, I do NOT condone the whole “if they’re bullying you, that means they like you” bullshit. That being said, years and years later, after both of them have grown as people, I think they could have a really sweet relationship, at least after they work through everything.

9. André Beetroot x Xavier (canon, somehow)

I kind of ship this in a joking way, but also kind of not? They make sense together in a really weird, fucked-up way, and I’m so here for it. (I cannot believe that they’ve canonically hooked up. Multiple times. I love AJ so much for giving us this.)

8. Andrew x Nigel (headcanon)

It’s so toxic. It’s so toxic, and I know that, and it would never be okay in real life, but some dark part of me is really fascinated by the possibilities. (I cannot emphasise enough how much I am intrigued by this in FICTION ONLY.)

7. Jack and Jackie (canon)

Complete turnaround from the last two, but these two are genuinely so sweet. I honestly don’t even have much to say about them, but I love them. So much.

6. François x Mimi (canon)

They are so toxic. They’re horrible people, and they only make each other worse. And I love it. (You know, making this list did make me worry about my mental health slightly. Just slightly.)

5. Toby x the meth wife (canon)

First of all, this is the gayest straight-presenting relationship I’ve ever seen, and I love it. (I totally headcanon them both as bi/pan/queer/etc., but that’s not the point of this post.) And honestly, they’re so supportive of each other. They’re, like, genuinely a healthy couple (in a SFTH play? Can you imagine?). They have so much love for each other, and I could talk about them all day, but I’m fairly sure no one needs that, so I’ll stop.

4. Andrews x Betruva (headcanon)

Listen, I might be a little biased because they’re new, but they kind of have everything I look for in a ship. They have millennia of history, which is always a good start. They’re ancient nemeses. They founded a church named after them both???? Honestly how much more gay can you get?

3. Esmerelda x the vampire slayer (canon)

I like to imagine that Esmeralda survived, and they fall in love, and they have to work through the trauma of the slayer (I think I saw the fanon name Samantha? But I’m not sure) trying to kill Esmeralda. There’s just so much angst potential, and oh, now I want to write a fanfic.

2. Bubba x Jeramiah (canon)

They’re a fucking classic, okay, and they’re a classic for a reason. They are the best gay cowboys, and I love them so much. I know I should have more to say, but I feel like it would just be incoherent screaming.

1. Derek x Titch (canon)

Listen, who else could it be? They are so fundamentally amazing. It’s a classic case of “he fell first, he fell harder” (even if we don’t get to see a lot of the “he fell harder” part, I believe it with all my heart). I love Titch working though his issues and learning to open up, and I love Derek being so helplessly in love with him. I love them so much, and they deserve the top spot.

[wasteland-wrecker]

ily..... sorry if you've ever answered this but have you ever drawn modern au gage and toby? or do you have hcs?

Hey there! <3

I’m not a big au fan but… here we go! ✨

Thank you for asking, I have this big headcanon:

Gage is not so good in bed. He is probably a virgin, let me explain you why.

🔞🔞🔞

From what we know about his past and the way he talks I'm pretty sure he's never had s3x with anyone or at least no long-term, positive experience.

Lines like "…you wouldn’t want nothin to do with me, not with the fucked up life I’ve had” denotes he is AWARE of the cruelty of the world he lives in. He has seen shit his whole life. I don’t think he had the time to even think about s3x.

Or “I ain’t never done anything like this. Ain’t sure it’d work, you know?”

When you ask him about your relationship he says “… I don’t like talking about feelings and shit. We’re… we’re great, you know that”. Zero experience, come on.

This means he gets embarrassed and that he’s worried about other people’s opinions (which is quite strange for a wastelander and a raider) one of his lines is like “if I die killed by a bug, tell everyone I accidentally stomped on my gun and killed myself”. (Yeah, who cares???)

And, speaking of raiders, he’s lived his whole life as one of them and when he talks to you (a complete stranger!!) in private he calls them “fucking raiders” (you okay man?! Need to talk or something?!).

It seems clear that none of these raiders have ever made its way into his sensitive little heart. He’s faking, pretending to be something he’s truly not.

And I don’t think he’s ever had anything to do with settlers. I can’t even imagine him r4ping someone, from that point of view he has a strong integrity (at most he’ll piss on your corpse ✨)

No one has ever made him feel safe, he says that to you when he opens up. Gage must completely trust his partner to have s3x with him/her/them. He must be sure he won’t be betrayed or killed.

And his past makes it clear that he no longer trusts anyone, apart from himself.

I might also add that the fact that he doesn't take baths indicates a sort of disinterest in the subject.

Gage often complains during trips and it means that he worries about stuff (like rads, chems, alcohol, bad smells - yeah he does I can prove it).

Do you think someone so attentive to what surrounds him and the consequences of his actions wouldn’t care about sexual diseases and sleeping with just anyone? I’m sorry but I don't see it.

He surely m4sturbates often, I can agree with that. He has very indecent thoughts as well and he’s horny af. He probably likes it rough, yes. (He loves to read erotic books OF THIS I’M SURE 10000%) But don't come and tell me that he is a S3x Lord Master or something because I have an hard time believing that (surely with a good experience he can become one, but not when you first know him).

Last, but not least, let’s not forget the fact that his name’s GAGE and he wears a fuckin CAGE all the time (to keep people away from him). The end.

Alright uh, my hand slipped on this hc lol, let me know if you want more anon and I’ll answer you in another post 😭 (shorter I promise) or you can read this post

[corpseconvulsive]

Hi! My name is August and im here to address the rumors of Toby/Plague, a cosplayer and content creator being a groomer and other accusations made within the last few days

You may recognize my name from other posts made regarding myself and other rumors including the rumor that i am one of the people Toby is grooming, which is devastating in my eyes because never once has Toby acted in a predatory way towards me, he is truly one of the coolest dudes ever.

Why did this rumor start? Its because of one screenshot where i am describing that i am cold and toby makes a joke saying he will “wrap his feet around me” which was obviously a joke, wrapping your whole ass feet around someone is not even humanly possible?

I fully consent to the sexual and darker jokes and fully enjoy them as we use in private in our servers for just ourselves and friends watering our humor down in the Blood of Salvation server, Toby always makes sure to respect a boundary if it is brought to his attention, still TO THIS DAY i am asked at least twice a month sometimes even three times if my boundaries have changed, the only one being to not make fun of me for my weight as it makes me incredibly insecure, Toby has never broken that boundary. If people had an issue with our humor, we have always communicated in the server that they can message a moderator to discuss any issues, no one ever messaged us saying they felt uncomfortable.

I can address that our humor is quite sexual and dark to begin with, however if toby is not personally friends, he controls his humor ESPECIALLY around minors, there have been many occasions where Toby has mentioned he is kind of sick of minors joining the server just because they simp and suck up to him and how gross he feels when people act like that just because the find him hot.

Majority of the jokes made were in a chat where only the moderators and admins can talk which you can choose if you want the channel to be visible or not, all moderators who are close friends talk here, we didnt say many of the screenshots shown to random members although we should have been more careful with what we say as some people are incredibly young.

Also the way this was handled was horrendous, Seirei has a large platform that i stopped following a few months ago, her content was great in my eyes and i completely idolized her because she seemed really cool, however things like calling ticci toby an abuser and other drama that arised has caused me to stop following her. She should have handled it like an adult and talked to everyone mentioned to get both sides as some people involved are minors which is so dangerous seeing how people are being doxxed now, some involved are as young as 14. Seirei’s posts are in my eyes, the reason this stupid situation has gotten to the point people have begun doxxing Toby and others, this in my eyes, is terrible, even for the ones making up these rumors and statements that are being doxed as well. I have no respect for those making up these things about my friend, however i think everyone deserves the right to feel safe in there own home without worrying about there information being leaked and something happening to them.

I have messaged Seirei who said to message her if you have more information or input as it says on her tiktok, explaining that Toby is indeed not a fucking creep towards me, is definetly not grooming me as I know the signs I have been groomed twice in my life for long periods of time such as 2-3 years starting before i was even a teenager, and about screenshots and things said about me in general regarding an old situationship. Seirei has not acknowledged my message along with another friend who has messaged her for a simple question.

Regarding the things with my ex situationship, i do not know why it is being brought up as it was irrelevant to this however all i will say is yes i sent her nudes however she did happen to start sending them first and it was a common thing for us to act sexual with one another, also one of the people who happens to be making accusations about Toby has told me i must not have sexual trauma if i sent nudes to her when I admitted i was a victim of sa and grooming which is a horrible thing to say to any victim to disregard what happened to them, it is not right and vile to do that to any victim no matter what abuse they have trauma and scars from, especially when some have developed hypersexuality from the trauma such as myself.

I would also like to discuss how these people accusing toby are hypocritical as well, they act like they have not done similar things while they have.

Robin, someone who started this mainly from what i know, loves to simp and support Jimmy Urine, who if you dont know who that is, he is a giant pedophile and was the singer of MSI(Mindless Self Indulgence). He has been charged with sexual battery against minors and they fully support this man and call him hot and basically drool all over him.

Virus is a person Toby used to be friends with before i came into the picture, a minor who said sexual shit and has wrote multiple in depth paragraphs about wanting to do sexual things with Toby as a minor before Toby finally kicked him from the server and blocked him entirely due to the shit he was saying. When i became friends with Toby I had heard stories about Virus as the server was still below 100 members(believe i was the 96th member after i messaged Toby asking if he had a server since his discord was on his IG) so the server was a close tight knit group with the moderators and there friends before it was opened for the public. After making it public Virus made MULTIPLE TikTok accounts and Discord accounts to join the server after being banned for his weird actions, how do we know? Because this dude kept posting art in his style, I was one of the people who analyzed the art as I am an artist myself, the eyes, nose, face shape, style, is all the same. He even presented us with a fake tiktok account, it was him in a red curly wig, same background as his other tiktoks. He is obsessed and seems to come back at least once every month or two.

Many others have made r34 of characters which is gross, like i mentioned before told me i couldnt have been sa’d and groomed if i sent nudes, someone tried accusing me that i was an adult talking to my situationship who is a minor despite the fact that my ex situationship was older than me, accused Toby of asking a minor to show him their tits as a joke meanwhile the “minor” i question is our friend Kat who is 23 so definetly a minor, people have called moderators who do there job mean, saying its wrong that we “shit talk” members meanwhile we only “shit talk” members if youre being stupid and we think its a possibility youll break the rules and start shit meanwhile these people accusing toby have servers and gcs on discord made for the purpose of shitting on Toby, myself, and other members of the staff in the crp server, and a bunch of other stuff.

As you can see, the list goes on with how hypocritical these people are, using things out of context to try and get the point across when all they are doing is lying to paint Toby in a bad light, its disgusting how they accuse Toby of being a groomer when this is who happens to be accusing him. Again to the rumor Toby is grooming me, i can fully state that no he is not grooming me, he has never acted romantically in any shape or form with me, he has never acted predatory towards me or any others, I mean if I dont text him, my dms are drier than the sahara desert with that man, hes not one to text first so sometimes i go a day or two without actually speaking to him. I know the signs of being a groomer from experience and research, Toby is not grooming myself or any others and its bullshit that people are accusing him based on messages taken out of context.

Thank you for reading🖤🖤❤️❤️

[undertalebabbleblog]

UTDR 9th Anniversary Newsletter Musings

(Here's a link to the newsletter if you haven't already read it: Autumn 2024.) (It's spring right now where I am...) (Eh, oh well.)

First of all, Tori blowing fire to light the candles, very cool, might have to draw that.

Hmm, that's a lot of a certain number... You know what, I don't even have to go into this, we all know what it's referencing.

An interview with Sans, heck yeah!

As I expected, it's a joke, but... uh... just me, or does it seem like it might be talking about something else? Not entirely sure what, but I'm sure there's already plenty of theories despite it literally only coming out today. In any case, it was very amusing and some classic Undertale humour. Also

Jeez, Tori, it's been years, you've already made your feelings about Asgore's actions clear. Give the poor guy a break. (Link to the full interview if you wanna read it: Sans: What do you think about the number nine?)

...Toby? Toby, what does this mean? TOBY WHY DO YOU MAKE THE MOST INNOCUOUS STATEMENTS THAT HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL MEANING BEHIND THEM ...This is... ominous, to say the least, given the Snowgrave route and the fact that Toriel might join us in the Dark World in Chapter 3... ...I'm just overthinking this, right? ..........right???

Toby, this is the Undertale fandom you're talking to. Since when have we ever been responsible with Sans or his AUs? You should know better than to trust us with this skeleton by now. *Proceeds to use cup for strawberry milkshake* ....Dammit, now I want to draw him with a bunch of different-coloured eyes... just because...

Never misses a chance to do this sort of thing, does he? (It has my real name in it, which I don't really want to show, so have some badly edited screenshots instead.) I have made butterscotch cinnamon pie before and it was genuinely delicious. Would love to bake one in that Toriel pie tray. ...I wonder how a fish and chips pie would actually taste, though...?

PERFECTION

I would buy every single item of this kitchen merch if I had the money.

*vibrating intensely with excitement*

Very nice, always cool to see unused stuff and concepts.

. . .

*Well, there is a man here. *He might be happy to see you. *What do you think?

...I overthink these things too much.

And finally, we get a letter.

My best friend's favorite number is nine. It's because there isn't a number that's higher. 9. 99. 999. 9999. If everything gets high enough, You become invincible. Nothing can hurt you anymore. Nothing can hurt anyone anymore. But isn't it scary, to think there's a highest number? That, if you made 99 good memories, you couldn't hold anymore. So I don't like to keep count of the flowers we pick, or the times that they laugh, or how many scary faces they make. I just hope we'll be friends for 999 more years.

(Couldn't screenshot the whole thing because it was too big, so I just copied the text. Here's a link to the original: Letter) On one hand, the spacing is kind of reminiscent of what we assume is Gaster. But on the other hand, it's not in all caps, and the language is different, and from what we know of the mysterious scientist (which is quite frankly very little), it wouldn't make sense. There is, however, someone else that would make a lot more sense.

*I'll go get the flowers. *I should have laughed it off, like you did... *Okay, [Name], are you ready? *Do your creepy face!

And most telling of all, "My best friend"...

It's. It's Asriel. IT'S GOTTA BE AZZY OKAY COME ON, THERE'S THE MENTION OF THE SCARY FACES AND EVERYTHING

...Ahem.

My hypothesis is that it's Asriel Dreemurr.

Aaaaannnddd... that's it for this newsletter! I needed somewhere to dump my thoughts on it, and that's kinda what this blog is for, so yeah.

A very happy birthday to my favourite game of all time.

If you have any theories or observations about the newsletter, I'd love to see them!

See ya next time, Pup

[brothermoth]

See I need to share my dad's lore because someone needs to study this man like a bug. We plan to donate his body to science so a bunch of medical students can see the most brain damage a person can possibly have without losing major bodily function.

Now, my grandparents moved around a bit when their kids were little, but my dad spent most of his childhood in rural New York and the middle of bumfuck nowhere in a cottage (it's a shack, make no mistake) on the shore of lake Erie. His parents did not know what the fuck he was doing at any given moment. This guy was diagnosed with ADHD in the SEVENTIES. Do you even know how bad he had to be to get diagnosed in the 70s??

He was a menace of a child but his parents put him in tball instead of getting the little bastard some much needed Adderall. He was super athletic all his life (didn't pass those genes on to me, unfortunately) but this also went along with deeply concerning injuries in the way every boy in the 70s had at one point or another.

He has:

-had his EAR ripped almost completely off while playing middle school football — he duck-taped it back on and it just kinda healed itself

-fell into a storm cellar backwards and got knocked out when he was like 5

-been hit in the head by a hockey stick and knocked out

-had his head smash through a wooden door playing floor hockey in gym class

-broke his leg that one time and then tried out for his highschool wrestling team with the cast on (he got on and ended up being captain)

-broke his thumb and didn't tell anyone, then had to have it re broken at the doctor's

-got knocked out in at least 4 fights

-had his knee replaced in his early 30s, drove himself to the gas station to buy a 12 pack, then fell down the stairs with said 12 pack, smashed half the bottles, and popped stitches out

-broken the same toe at least twice; the nail turned black and fell off the first time

-broke his nose falling out of bed like three months ago

-lost a tooth playing hockey

-cut the tip of his thumb off with a hand saw while camping; duck-taped it and continued camping for another 3 days

-has had at least 20 fishhooks caught in his hands

-had Bell's Palsy a few years ago (he was fine he just couldn't eat soup for a while and it was hilarious)

-had too many drinks and burned off his fingerprints on the side of a mini fire pit (the kind that looks like a paint can), laughed about it, and went golfing the next day with huge blisters on his fingers

~~~~~

I'm missing so many. So many. It's a miracle he reproduced. He has so much brain damage but he's fine, he just ignores it.

~~~~~~~~~~Robert's Greatest Hits~~~~~~~~~~

[In Boston] "Oh yeah that used to be an IRA bar. I think I'm still banned for getting into a fight."

"You know my buddy REDACTED? Yeah he got electrocuted once. Almost died, I visited him in the ICU a couple times, he's fine now though."

"I went into a gas station in rural Florida once, super hungover. My buddy went in and came out with tears in his eyes saying don't go in there, so of course I had to. Guy at the counter had a wooden peg leg like a pirate, and there was a nail screwed in. Attached to the nail was a chain and at the end of the chain was a super sickly looking chicken. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, I think."

"You know that plane crash that killed JFK Jr? His girlfriend he was with—i dated her in college."

"Who's that singer? Dupa Loopa or whatever"

~~~~~~Unhinged Information~~~~~~~~

—his childhood babysitter was the actress who now voices Eda from the Owl House (I've met her twice she's very nice. I fell down the back steps of her mom's cottage once)

—He used to bring home water moccasins (y'know, the venomous snakes) and show them to his very terrified mother

—they had a golden retriever named Toby and nobody can remember if she was a boy or a girl

—while cleaning out the basement he found his ID card from the World Trade Center when he went for a business trip...ON AUGUST 10TH OF 2001

—he lived in Boston in his 20s and took a bet while absolutely hammered to run the Boston Marathon, did it hungover and placed like 200-somethingth

—ate a spider by accident one time because he thought it was a bread crumb from his sandwich

—will drive out of his way just to see car accidents

—man's a sympathy vomiter

—will pet literally any animal. If it's small and sweet he's immediately just ready to commit a crime for it

—likes to pick fights with cops but only if they're rude first. He has gone to court to fight 14 dollar parking tickets just out of spite (and somehow he always talks himself out of it)

—swears to god he's seen aliens

—has hardcore puzzle autism. He'll stay up until 1 am just to get 12 more pieces and will finish a 1200 piece puzzle in a day

—also fish autism I swear to God

—you can put this guy in the middle of nowhere and he somehow always knows where north is

[ragnarockz]

for the music themed ask game, because as i mentioned, i feel the need to expand my taste, can i have 1, 2, 3, 5, 32, 34, 35 please? (take your time to answer properly, i know it's a lot but hey, it could've been the entire post =D)

an album you can’t stop listening to lately

The Rise and Fall of A Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan

I burnt myself a copy of it on disc and it literally lives in my cd player in my room and I will just put it on at least once a day. IT'S SO GOOD. EVERY SONG.

2. an album you wish you could hear again for the first time

American Idiot - Green Day. This was a pivotal part of my life when this album came out (realized I was into girls, started standing up to my bullies, really took in being myself and my own person). And I think that album really fueled me. I was allowed to be angry when I listened to it and sang it (something I was pretty much shunned for - I wasn't allowed to be angry as a kid and even went to therapy for it. Which, you know, didn't make a lot of sense...I was angry AND being bullied every single day but, of course I didn't have the right to be angry, right?) This is also why Green Day is my favorite bands. They got me through a lot of tough shit growing up and even into adulthood. I was supposed to see them in concert but that was literally the first year of the pandemic and of course, their concert was cancelled. 💚

3. a song you really like by an artist you otherwise don’t listen to very much (whether that’s because you usually don’t like their music, or just because you haven’t listened to the rest yet)

I feel like there's a lot of these! But recently, I would say Liar by Jelly Roll? A lot of my answers for this one would be country singers; I'm not a big fan of country music but usually there's just that one song that HITS. I ADORE Whiskey Girl - Toby Keith, Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks, Mud on the Tires - Brad Paisley but I don't listen to them AT ALL other than those songs! 😂

5. name an album you feel is perfect

American Idiot - Green Day.

You HAVE to listen to it in order; literally a story. A rock opera. You have to listen to it all in one sitting; front to back. You gotta sit there hating everything, truly just stewing in grief and anger and rage and then you can really, really enjoy it. Always a very empowering experience for me.

32. what is a band/artist you really wanted to start listening to, but you just really couldn’t get into it?

I feel like I missed it all when it was fresh and happening because I was so invested in Green Day that I really missed out on appreciating Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. I didn't even bother with them (even though they were played alongside Green Day on MTV) but, I was really hyper-focused on Green Day so, the other two never really got a chance 😂

34. pick one of your favorite bands/artists and choose a song by them that you associate with each season

Green Day (ok you're gonna get more than one because so many songs reminds me of so many seasons in my life and when I would listen to these songs the most)

Spring: Are We The Waiting/Coming Clean

Summer: 86/When I Come Around/Album: Dookie (I think this was the very first cd I ever heard and it was with my Dad in his old green mini van...isn't that funny? Green Day in a green van 💚)

Autumn: Wake Me Up When September Ends/Good Riddance/21 Guns/Album: American Idiot (I remember waiting to go to school and having MTV on and watching music videos from this album; always reminds me of Autumn)

Winter: Basket Case/Dilemma

35. name two musicians who haven’t already collaborated on anything who you think would sound great together

I wanna see Chappell Roan and Orville Peck SO BAD TOGETHER. PUT THEM TOGETHER!!!!

[gatheringbones]

[“Given how disillusioned she became, one might imagine that at some point Heather was among those who waved good-naturedly at the Code Pink protesters. Instead, she glared through her sunglasses at them, bristling at their self-righteousness.

Far from appreciating their presence, Heather viewed it as an affront, as if she and her peers needed a bunch of peace activists from Berkeley and San Francisco to have their consciences roused. “They assumed that we don’t give a shit, that we’re just a bunch of brainwashed, nonhuman robots,” she said. “They would say, ‘You know you’re killing people from across the world—you don’t care about it, you have no conscience.’ But they didn’t know us. They didn’t know what kind of shit we had to see; they didn’t know most of us wanted to go home and fucking kill ourselves. “There’s a reason that after work we’d all go and get trashed, then talk about how fucked-up mission was this week,” she went on. “I would go home and drive past these people protesting and then go have nightmares.”

It wasn’t just the protesters’ blindness to her distress that upset Heather. It was also the air of superiority she felt they gave off, an impression inflected by differences in social class. The ranks of Code Pink were dominated by educated women from middle-class backgrounds who could afford to devote their time to protesting America’s wars without worrying about how to pay their bills or make ends meet: people like Toby Blomé. The ranks of the drone program were filled with people like Heather for whom this was an unimaginable luxury, high school graduates from depressed rural areas and hard-luck towns like Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

As during the Vietnam War, when some soldiers returning home felt stigmatized by college students from more affluent families who had secured draft deferments, Heather bitterly resented the judgment of people who had the privilege not to be in her shoes. “I can guarantee that none of you has ever been put in a fucking situation where you have to kill someone or have people that you care about be killed,” she said of the Code Pink demonstrators. The protesters were equally blind to the power dynamics within hierarchical organizations like the military, she felt, shouting antiwar slogans at low-ranking enlistees who had little say over the scope of the drone campaign. “They’re personally attacking these people who have no control over what’s going on,” she fumed. “We have no control on that base over what’s going on with the drone program.”

In fact, some might argue, Heather and her peers had a lot of control. If enough of them quit or became conscientious objectors, it would almost surely have gotten the military’s attention, not least because the high burnout rate in the drone program made staffing missions challenging.

[….]

Not long after Heather got to Beale, she was assigned to provide over-watch for a mission in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, alerting the marines on the ground to threats—improvised explosive devices, insurgents plotting ambush attacks—that could be spotted on the cameras affixed to the Global Hawk. The work was stressful, not least because a carefully camouflaged fighter or IED could easily escape the camera’s eye. During one shift, a group of marines disembarked from a helicopter and stormed a compound that appeared to be clear of danger. After they entered it, insurgents ambushed them. Heather watched the attack unfold in real time; then she saw one of the marines bleed out.

A few months later, another convoy fell under attack after an IED exploded, igniting a fuel truck that caused more “friendlies” to die. Once again, Heather watched the live feed in real time. At home afterward, she surfed the internet and clicked on a news story about the incident. The article listed the names of some of the soldiers who had been killed, including one who had a wife and young son. When Heather read this, she began to sob.

A week later, at a party for her unit, Heather broke down again, this time in front of her supervisor, who tried to comfort her by reminding her that she was “fighting the good fight.” The slogan had been drummed home to Heather during basic training, when new recruits were told their mission was to save lives and to protect America from “terrorists” and “towel-heads.” For all her alternative inclinations, Heather had internalized this message. She believed that she and her peers were fighting the good fight. But at the party, the words of her supervisor rang hollow to Heather, who wondered whether the mission—which had ended disappointingly, with no progress made in rooting out the Taliban—had been worth it. “Nothing was accomplished by that convoy,” she said later. “Those guys died for absolutely nothing.”

Whether innocent Afghans might also have died did not yet cross Heather’s mind. “I only felt bad about the guys that maybe we would have saved if we somehow had better technology,” she said. “It wasn’t out of any sympathy for the so-called enemy. It was out of self-preservation for our people.”

This began to change after the marine whom she befriended over Skype forwarded her documents about the area in Afghanistan she was surveilling. Like Christopher Aaron, Heather was responsible for conducting surveillance operations rather than coordinating strikes. But what she reported could determine whether a missile would be fired, and it now dawned on her that innocent civilians could die as a result.”]

eyal press, from dirty work: essential labor and the hidden toll of inequality in america, 2021

[multiplicity-positivity]

How would we deal with the possibility of gaining factives of family that passed? I dont wanna ignore them but its hard to know and accept they’re here. Help…. xc

Hey there -

Gaining a headmate who is an introject of a deceased family member sounds like it could be a scary, overwhelming, and painful experience. Honestly, we can’t help you more than a therapist could, and if you’re not in therapy, it would probably be a good idea to try seeing one soon, if your system is capable of it.

Have you tried talking to this factive a bit about your situation? Explaining how their source is a loved one who has passed away, and talking through your complicated feelings with them? Depending on how attached to their source they are, they may be able to see where you’re coming from and have some ideas of their own about how they’d like to be treated and how your system can navigate this situation in a way that works for everyone.

This might not be popular advice, but if it makes things easier for y’all, maybe you could try viewing this headmate as someone separate from their source. Like, as a person who happens to have the same name and similar characteristics. It’s true that introjects are not literally their sources, and so viewing your headmate in this lense might help your whole system have easier, healthier, and more positive interactions with this factive.

Also, it’s okay to go slow. If interacting with this factive is causing you a lot of pain or distress, it’s okay to limit your interactions, at least at first. This doesn’t mean you’re ignoring them or mistreating them… rather, it means you are trying to prioritize your own mental health and well-being. It’s like they say on airplanes in the event of an emergency; always secure your own oxygen mask before helping those around you. You need to look after yourself, and forcing yourself to interact with this factive right away probably won’t help anyone. If you’re able, you can try explaining this situation to them, and telling them that you need some time and space to process your emotions in a healthy way before you’ll be able to get to know them better. Or, if possible, you could ask another headmate to relay this message for you.

It might help your whole system to try building up your distress tolerance, so that interacting with this factive isn’t such an overwhelming experience. We love DBT for this - here’s the DBT Tools website page with exercises for building distress tolerance. Maybe something here could be useful for you?

Sorry that none of this is real definitive advice… like we said, a therapist would be of more help to you than we ever could be. We’re wishing you the very best in dealing with this, though, and hope that in the future your system and this factive will be able to live in harmony with each other.

💫 Parker and 🐺 Toby

[jaggedwolf]

pll rewatch 1x20-1x21

plot ramps up as we approach the finale. Caleb boards a literal bus, Paige gets on a metaphorical one, a new lesbian appears to go oh hell yes to Emily's face and as always: Spencer has a bad time

Spencer sounds most like a teenager when she whines "make them stop" to her mom about the cops searching her room. she is a sixteen year old, easy as it is to forget.

Hanna/Caleb are so domestic already - we will meet more queer women as the show progresses, but Haleb will beat all of them in the art of u-hauling by virtue of moving in together before getting together and oh god I just remembered another future Caleb line

Hanna has told the liars that she had sex with Caleb and Emily's first question is "have you had another opportunity" ok Emily

The girls all :eyes_emoji: at Paige and Sean having lunch together and Hanna reassures Emily, saying "it's okay, Sean's a good guy"

do the liars now think of Paige as Emily's friend or at least a neutral? Hanna's response here is quite different from when she called Paige a knob a few episodes back

Aria being the one to go "woah when did that start happening" cracks me up Aria you pay the least attention to your schoolmates out of everyone why would you expect to notice anything

She then accidentally sends an Ezra text to her mom instead. This bewilders me because (1) even phones of ye olde 2010 showed SMS threads by recency and I assume Ezra is at the top of Aria's list (2) does she have her mom saved as "Ella" instead of "Mom"?? (3) in a contacts list, Emily would appear between Ella and Ezra.

Ella is very understanding. and believes in giving Aria her privacy. She will not at all be rewarded for trusting her daughter. Poor Ella.

So, why does Sean think Emily would know whether Paige is dating anyone anyway? Gives Emily the opportunity to say "we swim on the same team" and that's all that really matters.

Sean describes Paige as "fun" a descriptor no one has ever used for S1!Paige. I kid, kid, she does seem more at ease and is probably less palpably full of turmoil outside of the contexts of Emily and/or swimming.

Emily's reaction to being handed a bag of full of Ezria totems is my reaction, this episode is Emily dealing with real or forced heterosexuality

Emily interrupts Paige putting up...swimming posters? Are the Sharks still recruiting team members? Anyway, here we get Paige saying "he makes me laugh" about Sean and unfortunately for our Ken Doll I think that comment is merely a trite recitation of what you are supposed to say about the boy you like

Paige tries to walk away from the conversation and Emily still follows her, like Emily, you have no reason to poke your nose into this. (Other than petty petty jealousy, but Emily would not admit such a thing when she can subsume it into generic concern.)

So what's up with Caleb not replying to any texts right when the liars tell Hanna he's sus and they all see the owl necklace/USB on Jenna? Does he know he's been caught out, is he trying to figure out a way to come clean, is he planning his bus trip out of here?

Regardless it gives Hanna time for her anger to build, and for her to figure out that 214 is Caleb's locker combination (Pick a better one, dude). This means Toby heard Caleb and Jenna mention Spencer's name. What's up with that.

I'd forgot Spencer's story about running away as a seven year old, and no one noticing. Sad little Hastings. The writers foil me by there being literally no Disney princess films released between 1999 and 2002, what re-release did she watch, and more importantly, what was each liar's favorite Disney princess as a kid?

Spoby right now are really bonding over being pariahs...Toby repeated the line about people crossing the street when they see him....my poor guy...

Hanna's slapping of Jenna felts way more violent than I remembered, those glasses flew!

At some point in this ring Aria is wearing a gigantic black ring with a pointy bit and all I could think about was how easy it would be to take someone's eye out with that

Aw, Paily's first scene in Emily's room, featuring the window seat of course.

And of course, the introduction to PLL's soundtrack of a theme literally called Guys Like Paige. Not the last time we'll hear it :D :D

Veronica is really good with Spencer this episode, helping her understand the legal circumstances, getting the police to back off, keeping Spencer in the loop...but she is still a C+ parent for not kicking Ian off her property imo

1x21 is all about the founder's festival where the people running booths range from the Ackard's church (what denomination are they, anyway), Hanna and Mona (don't even know what they're selling), and students from Sheridan Prep

+ Garrett lurking ominously in the shadows

Love the scene where Caleb tries to talk to Aria about Hanna and Ella mouths "HE'S CUTE" about Caleb to Aria. Caleb has now talked one-on-one with every liar and is the first love interest to do so. Ella is should interact with the teens instead of just her family, Byron or Ezra, it is actually pretty fun seeing her in that context

Paige is cute in this next scene, before it all goes badly. She grabs Emily by the arm because she's so excited, and she is so very smug that she got tickets to a sold-out concert and is treating Emily to them

We will never see Nick McCullers on-screen again but I'm trying to construct a picture of the type of stress-inducing parent he is and I don't think it's a micromanaging one or one who knows what Paige is up to every minute - she doesn't seem time-constrained at the karaoke or picnic dates, and he gets her these concert tickets via his connection.

Oh foolish foolish Paige. What you do is, you tell your dad you are going with your friend Pru, you go to the concert with Emily, you tell your dad that you are meeting Pru there and after, oh Pru's parents already picked her up. For bonus points, you ask Pru to cover for you without coming out to her, because the whole school already knows your dad is a homophobic douchenozzle about Emily and so it's not that weird.

Paige is too fucked up about herself to even contemplate logistics like that though, so of course she goes with bringing a guy. Though I assume Nick doesn't know the third ticket is for Emily anyway or else he'd be miffed so what's the point of insurance boy anyway.

"What even was your plan here, Paige" <- a question I will have many times

Paige I know you've been looking up how to come out to your dad but I wish you had also stumbled across how to excel at being closeted while still going on gay dates and not piss off your girlfriend lmao.

When explaining why she can't go over to Sheridan Prep's support group Paige mentions it is two (2) miles away and Emily nods understandably and I am left going wait does Paige not have a car. Did she pedal furiously on her little bike to the karaoke place. Did she fill panniers with picnic supplies for that date.

Tell me more about Paige McCullers' traveling logistics, show.

Keeping things subtle, Aria knocks Ezra's coffee onto his pants in the middle of a hallway at school and goes WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT I AM SUCH A KLUTZ and. I hate this. I hate them. Just text like normal people. You are doing a worse job of hiding this than Paige is of her sexuality.

Aria then proceeds to be distressed because guys, she looked at his WEBSITE PAGE (...are they not allowed to say facebook anymore? because Aria said facebook in the second or third episode) and saw you know what? A woman! With a ring! In a photo with him! Egads!

All of the liars project on to Aria's concerns - Emily says to be honest and clear the air, Hanna says fuck it find out for yourself by befriending the girl in the photo, Spencer says sometimes people look guilty but they aren't guilty okay :(

S1 Spencer is more suffused with guilt than I expected....real guilt, false guilt, imputed guilt, all of it

Toby and Spencer negotiate no one wanting them to spend time together and being trailed by the cops, and instead of arranging to meet somewhere normal like a restaurant or a movie theatre or even in Spencer's car in a random alley, they arrange a rendezvous at the festival's creepy clown maze

Paige stands up Emily and Samara, once more causing her own problems, as Emily is intrigued by Samara and her handmade jewelry, Paige feels exposed and explodes, and it all goes to shit. Not the right time yet, kiddos.

You'd expect a scorched earth response from Ashley towards Caleb for hurting Hanna, especially considering how heartbroken Hanna sounded in the bathroom, but Ashley isn't mean to him at all, saying he reminders her of herself. Young Ashley probably hurt a person or two while looking out for numero uno.

Spencer gets fucked up in that festival maze, man, and that's before some traps her in some kind of enclosed turnstile and freaks her the fuck out. If she didn't have claustrophobia before, she definitely does now.

Spencer is so dramatic in choosing to kiss Toby in front of her family and Mrs Ackard, but well, Spencer's always had a romantic streak. She loved doing that.

Emily gets her first A text that refers to Paige - thoughtful of A to wait till it's over - leading to an Ali flashback. The day she disappeared, Ali gave Emily a snowglobe.

In that snowglobe is a key. The key opens a storage unit. In that storage unit is a Tweety Bird lunch box. In that lunch box is a USB stick. On that USB stick are videos of the girls in Ali's room.

Worst russian doll surprise ever.

[stephaniebrownslover]

MY EVİL WAYS BY THE NEARLY DEADS İS SOOOO CLOCKWORK CODED

Just my ramblings about how I view Clockwork, nothing important.

"My thoughts are twisted, wrong and wicked"

Alright, I think Clockwork knows how wicked and wrong her thoughts are and she hates it. But still, she knows she can't change her mind and can't undo the past even though she wants it more than anything she has ever wanted. She knows normal people won't think the way she does and she hates herself because of this. She also feels so alone since she thinks she's the only one on this way.

It's one of the canon facts that the thing she most wants is a good family like other kids. Although she won't admit it, she regrets her actions and wants to change them.

"I've found you, let's have some fun"

This part can be referred to as Toby to my humble opinion. When she found Toby, she felt like she finally found someone like her. And obviously, she would prefer having fun time with him rather than crying over their past.

"Calling me strange gives me confidence/ 'Cause I take it as a compliment"

Clockwork is used to calling as bad names so she wouldn't have any problem with hearing more bad words. She had a real hard school and home life, she heard words such as weirdo and creep daily if we consider the fact that she was a little bit of a strange minded kid.

"Maybe I'll change my evil ways"

As I mentioned, Natalie wants to change herself. She wants to be a better person, at least a better person than Clockwork. She would prefer changing her wicked ways if she was really given a chance about it.

"Stop taking shots one of these days"

To be honest, I have no idea what taking shots means so I searched it in slang and found this definition.

Taking shots: to make a critical or hurtful remark about someone

Well, Clockwork is a mean person and if she wants to get along with other people, she also needs to change the way she speaks. Idk.

"I'll settle down, I'll rearrange"

As I said, she wants to change herself and the first step that goes this way is settling down and reconsidering her actions. This is why she would add them to her to do list.

"Maybe I'll learn from my mistakes"

We all know that she's a really reckless person. So I'm just assuming but Clockwork tends to repeat some of her mistakes. Since she's really careless and uninterested in many things, she would do the same thing until it hurts her really bad. And she hates it but she doesn't do anything to change it.

"Stop breaking hearts, forgetting names"

She's a true heartbreaker lol

To be more serious, she broke lots of hearts on purpose or accidentally. And I also can see how she can forget names easily because of the fact that Clockwork is really hateful and neglectful towards the people. And doing both these things should be on her list to change her major personality traits.

"I'll settle down and act my age"

She doesn't usually act like her age because of not living her teenage years like how it supposed be.

"One of those days, but not today"

Yeah, she really wants to change herself. But she's not sure if changing herself would make her more likeable or not and she doesn't really have any motivation to do this. She already crossed the line and there is no way turning back from this road. So this is more like a dream to her, the kind of dream where you desire it more than anything but also know you can't do anything to achieve it so you keep delay and delay until it's too late.

She knows all too well that her dream is meaningless but if she gave up on that, she would have no reason to keep going. Her life would be meaningless without a purpose, just like how she lived in her childhood.

I'm really tired so please act like I explained everything precisely.

I talked nonsense probably but I'm too exhausted to understand that.

Anyways, thanks for coming my Ted Talk

[pantherlover]

An Artificial Night Re-Read: Part 3

Hello again! Onto part 3:

Chapter Seven:

'The odds are against me ever having a knowe of my own' I don't know, Toby, I think there's at least a non-zero chance at this point.

Toby's definitely gotten better at eating whenever she can than she is in this book.

I wonder if Fetch's names are always connected to the person they've copied.

Did Sylvester mention Amandine because he thought she wouldn't like Luna sending Toby into danger, or because he thought she'd be able to stop Blind Michael?

Okay, it makes more sense that Toby was so blase about Blind Michael in the first book if most of the time he was 'old man yelling to get off his lawn' levels of nuisance.

I'm honestly super curious about what Luna's relationship with the Luidaeg looks like. Luna's Blind Michael and Acacia's daughter, so does Luidaeg fight with herself about liking a descendant of Titania, or is Luna being a child of her favourite brother enough to make her at least neutral to her? Luna seemed okay enough with her that she wasn't worried about sending Toby to the Luidaeg for help; have they interacted with each other at all? Or do they politely pretend that the other one doesn't exist?

Chapter Eight:

Can we talk about how Toby and Luidaeg have only known each other for, what - two years? A year and a half? - and Luidaeg already feels comfortable enough with Toby that she doesn't assume that Toby's calling because she needs her? I know Luidaeg is terrifying, but her capacity to love is pretty awe-inspiring.

Also Luidaeg has to help kill her brother! Her favourite brother, one of her only siblings left, because she knew her brother would eventually become a monster and she's the only one who can make sure Toby has a chance to do it.

Luidaeg calls Toby a child of Oberon and Toby ignores it. Luidaeg might not have given the most direct hints, but she really did try to tell Toby about her heritage when she could.

"He'll hold them until Halloween night... and then they'll Ride. It's [Blind Michael's] way of remembering our mother. Her Rides were always held on Samhian night." This is kind of surprising to me, given that we just learned in the latest short story that part of the reason he became Blind Michael in the first place is because he went to his mother for vengeance after his children were murdered and she turned him away.

I have to try to pay attention to when a fancy knife is described now, just in case the knife Luidaeg commissioned to kill Eira with shows up.

Chapter Nine:

Raj!!!! I forgot how many characters we were introduced to in this book!

OOF, Raj is having a *bad* day. Have Raj, Dean and Chelsea argued over who was having a worse time when the met Toby?

Chapter Ten:

"The Luidaeg is the only Firstborn I've ever dealt with on a regular basis, and her power is subtle, damped down until she can seem human to the casual observer. [Acacia's] power wasn't hidden at all." Given that Toby's regularly been around *two* other Firstborns at this point, this makes me wonder how Amandine and Evening were able to hide what they were for so long. I could see Amandine being able to hide her power through some type of blood magic, but what about Eira? Part of it could've been explained by Toby just not having a good grasp on what a normal Daoine Sidhe's powers looked like compared to Evening, but Evening hid it from *everyone*. Were her illusions just that good?

"It's Raj. I... the forest is very dark." Oh noooooo Raj would HATE it but I want to bundle him up in a blanket and hug hiiiiiiim

'"My father says Uncle Tybalt's friend October is an adult." He paused. "And a hussy."' I realize there's no way I could've appreciated this enough the first time I read this, given we hadn't met Samson yet, but this is seriously SO funny. I desperately want to know what Tybalt's behaviour looks like from his Court's perspective during this time period.

Chapter Eleven:

"[Blind Michael] hadn't just changed them on the outside. He'd changed them all the way down to the bone." Do we know what Blind Michael's first children were/what they could do? What Toby's doing here sounds like some kind of blood magic, but I don't think Maeve's descendants are really known for that; plus, everything Toby's ever about her powers are that you can take away a bloodline but you can't add one, which is exactly what it sounds like Blind Michael did. Is it just a really extreme form of transformation?

There's something extra brutal about Blind Michael taking one of the few Roane left, possibly during one of his first Rides. I wonder if that's what caused Luidaeg to try to kill him?

"You're Amandine's daughter, aren't you? You are. I can smell it on you. Why are you here? She never came, and once a road is set aside, no other feet should claim it." So THIS implies that Amandine had a road she could've used to save kids before, or at least used to visit Blind Michael's lands. I would've guessed it was the Blood Road, but as far as I remember the only issue was using that road was that Toby ran the risk of bleeding out before she got back, not that it was closed off from anyone to use. So if it wasn't the Blood Road, could it be a road connected to Janet?

That's it for now! Please feel free to come to discuss things with me. See you next time!

[erin-trees]

🌸𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟🌸

Yooo, Erin speaking✌️ Welcome to my blog yall, LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED 🗣️🗣️🗣️

🍄𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕗𝕗 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕖🍄

• Full name: Erin Vidal (vee-dal)

• Pronouns: She/Her

• Age: 17 (Dont be fucking weird about it)

• Gender: Female

• Ethnicity: Mexican/American

• Disabilities: ADD! But sometimes I do get very hyper if I am really excited and happy

• Favorite color: ALL OF THEM!!! But if I had to pick one it would be green 💚

• Interests: Singing, listening to music, all kinds of music (rap being my least favorite, sorry!), plants and mushrooms, crystals, spiritual stuff, drawing, video games, watching movies and cartoons, myths and legends, reading comics, rollerblading, and skateboarding! (Will update if I missed anything 🤔)

🌳𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤🌳

• 🪻Donnie🪻- @othellotron9000

•🍀Leo🍀 - @hamat0leonard0

•🌱Toby🌱 - @toby-the-crow

• 🌻Mikey🌻 - @all-time-champ-of-today

• 🌺Cassandra🌺 - @cassandra-j0n3s

•🌹Raph🌹 - @mad-dog-red

•🌷Usagi🌷 - @usayui

🌼𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 ℝ𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕤🌼

• No NSFW. Ever.

• T-CEST Dni or in other words No T-CEST. Absolutely not.

• No harassment of any kind, you will be blocked cuz I don’t wanna deal with you.

• Swearing is allowed, I don’t care as long as I don’t see ANY slurs of any kind.

• Questions are allowed ofc! I’m happy to answer any questions as long as they don’t break any rules or aren’t offensive

Annndddd that’s basically it for the introduction, hope we can all be friends and have fun! ❤️

🌺[𝕆𝕆ℂ ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕤:]🌺

Heyo, my name’s Acacia and I’m a ‼️MINOR‼️this is a ROTTMNT oc rp account! I prefer to keep my main account and rp account separate so if you want to talk to me about things other than the rp I’m in then please speak to me on my main account. Also there will be times where I cannot rp so either I will post whenever I can’t and when I’m back on and those posts will have the title: [OOC post], you’ll know when you see it, or just not respond until I’m not busy. Thank you for listening ❤️

Extras:

Tagging system!

Erin Playlist!

Erin/Azalea design!

[tic-toc-clock77]

Oh boy! Another continuation of the Toby story I'd been posting!

June 10th, 2013 11:34 p.m.

Toby sits on the edge of his bed, the cold air breezes through his broken window. The past 3 days had been...strange. He had met many people, some who lived with the Slenderman and some who just went around as they pleased. Toby shudders, thinking back to Laughing Jack, the 6'6 tall clown man who had made to say the least, uncomfortable comments about his appearance.

Toby turned toward the loud knock on his door, before he had the chance to answer, Tim came in with his mask covering his face and a knife in hand. "Let's go. Tonight's your first job." Toby followed wordlessly down the stairs and then as he stood at the door, Slenderman came up.

"I believe you have the potential to become a proxy instead of a slasher." He says. "Tim, monitor him well." Tim nods as Slenderman returns down the long hall that's filled with shadows.

Toby follows behind Tim as they exit the forest. He'd heard about it on the news before, the forest nobody should ever enter out of fear that nobody will make it out alive. A rumor that's existed for at least a century.

The dark night makes it difficult for Toby to see while Tim can run through it with ease but he slows enough to meet the younger boy's pace. The walk is silent but not calm, Toby tenses each time he nearly steps on a stick, despite nobody being around.

He holds both hatchets in his hands tightly, looking up at the moonlight that becomes brighter as they exit. "Here's where we have to be the most careful. Don't let anyone see you or hear you." Tim warns then turns to Toby, "Come the fuck on." He sighs, noticing how Toby has nothing over his face.

Tim groans and begins dragging Toby by the wrist. "Stay behind me. Looking like that, you'll have the police after you in a nanosecond." He says in exasperation.

They enter the small town, Toby staying in Tim's shadow with each step. They walk silently, until Tim takes out a paper from his pocket. Toby looks over his shoulder at it, it's a list of names... presumably the victims. Tim looks over the paper, mumbling the address of the first person; a young woman named Violet Rose. It's a strange name but clearly somebody in that family liked flowers.

The dim street lights hide Toby well enough for the two to sneak around until they reach an apartment with brick walls. Toby and Tim look up into the apartment with light, he mumbles something that Toby can't make out. Tim's eyes scan across the building. "The one with the light is apartment 4, that's where our victim is." He tells him. "You're wrong." Toby blurts. "The buildings has 16 apartments and 4 floors, 4 apartments per floor." He points toward an apartment on the first level of the apartments. "She'll be at the end of the hall." Toby tells him. Tim makes a sour face under his mask, though, slightly impressed.

The two run to the front doors, they're unlocked. "They're basically begging to be murdered." Toby mumbles, stepping in behind Tim. Tim's shoes echo as he walks in the dimly lit hallway. The air is musty, it's certainly a cheap place and it smells like something is either on fire or about to be on fire.

The apartments makes Toby feel a little strange. "What's your problem?" Tim asks, watching Toby tic and twitch uncomfortably. "M-my.." Toby looks around again, "My s-s-s fuck-" He takes a second to recollect himself as they walk to the victim's door, Tim kneels to pick the lock. "My sister was going to move here before she.." Toby shrugs, not wanting to finish the sentence. Tim doesn't seem to care as he slides the door open to the woman's apartment.

"Robbie?" The woman yells out, presumably from the bathroom. "Did you come to get your stuff? It's on the desk." She says. Toby peers over to the desk, on it is a gray and black mask and orange goggles. He takes the mask and places it over his mouth then takes the goggles, placing them over his eyes and adjusting the black elastic around them.

"One second, I'm not sure if you're talking or not. I just gotta get out of the shower." Violet says, Tim and Toby wait calmly for her, trying to gauge how they should kill her. She finally comes out, one towel on her head, one wrapped around her body. When she finishes wiping the water off her face with her towel, she drops it to the ground.

"W-Who are you two?" Her brown eyes fill with terror. "Grab her." Tim instructs as he heads toward the door to lock it the girl tries to run toward the door to escape but Tim beats her to it, knocking her to the floor with a swift punch. From behind Tim's mask, Toby sees his eyes peering up at him.

The woman backs up, afraid to stand or scream. Toby lowers the mask, "Sorry." He says, raising one hatchet over her head and swinging it at her head. Her scream she just barely managed to let out before her head was smashed in cuts off brutally. "Do we hide the body?" Tim shrugs, a little pissed off at Toby's adaptability.

Her blood splattered against the wall and down her chin, parts of her brain matter showing from the top of her head. The two decide to take her body, shoving it in a large trash bag and escape through the window.

Once they're outside, Tim crosses her name off the list. The two run off, with Toby having face covers, it made it easier to get around unnoticed. The two of them go from house to house, killing each victim with ease and putting them into the bag.

By the end of the night, Toby starts to feel more comfortable, gaining the apathy needed to take the lives of others. Once they returned to what was called 'the base' the two walked down the hallway to the Slenderman's office, at the very end of the hall.

"Sir?" Tim knocks politely, Toby holds the bag of bodies in his hands. Slenderman tells them to come in. Toby takes care not to let the blood reach the wooden floors, as he had done the entire night while carrying the bag.

After giving the bag to their boss, the two leave the room. Tim takes off his mask and returns to his room, leaving it on the counter. Toby peers over to the couch of the living room, walks over and sits there.

Silently, he wonders to himself if his sister could forgive him for all he's done so far and all he'll inevitably do.

[alloutofgoddesses]

PJO TV THOUGHTS

Season 1, Episode 8

(I have read the books there’s a chance I will talk about them)

I have been cured of my illness from last week let’s gooo

Luke voice over parading the beginning voice over?!?!

LUKE TRAINING PERCY

Damn he’s a really fucking good swordsman 10/10 Charlie

Oh Percy… oh boy oh boy

Ares you’re funny… keep that humour

OH ANNABETH DOESN’T EVEN KNOW YET

She’s not dead though she’s frozen in Hades’ throne room

AND HERE WE GOOOOO

Damn he’s kinda wiping the floor with him

Ope he just kicked him into water it’s so over for him

THE WAVE

“I warned you… if you’re not careful… you’ll find out who I am.” WITH THE WAVE GROWING BEHIND HIM I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT

THAT’S THE MOST POWERFUL DEMIGOD THAT’S EVER LIVED BABEY

Right in the Achilles too oof

That look of awe on Annabeth’s face… girlie is GONE

I’m so excited about the Ares v Percy antagonistic relationship to continue forever (even when Percy had lost his memory)

Hey Alecto

I guess Hades doesn’t need to breathe but damn that helm looks uncomfortable AF

HE SAID PLEASE HE JUST WANTS HIS MOM

Percy I have bad news for you

I’d like to see Zeus try personally

HE’S A GOOD KID

Everyone stay calm it’s happening

IT’S HAPPENING

That fucking look. They’re so gone on each other thank you Walker and Leah

Incredible Percy move 10/10 no notes

Oh my god that’s Olympus… it’s getting me so bad and I don’t know why THATS OLYMPUS

I did in fact rewind because I saw some movement in one of the buildings. I would love to know who that is

OH LUKE’S SMIRK WHEN PERCY SAYS THE GODS SHOULD BE AFRAID OF DEMIGODS

He is SO SURE he has a new recruit. Percy is unknowingly saying everything Luke wants him to say

Why are you airing Annabeth’s shit Luke damn

Or taken outside where they belong

You know Zeus put all those stairs there on purpose. Malicious ass bitch

FIRE! Hi Hestia I love you sweetheart

RIP personalized thrones you’ll always be famous

HI ZEUS HI MR LANCE REDDICK

The way Percy is willing to risk everything to get the message to Zeus oh baby

Also Poseidon bestie these two alone is a VERY bad come quickly

Percy you’re gonna get fried

Girl just because you’re his son doesn’t mean you know him… arguably you know him the least of all your siblings because you were never swallowed and grew up in hiding from him specially

Damn that condescending sigh

Percy please shut the fuck up

PERCY

He’s about to die

OOP

Just in the nick of time Poseidon

HE SURRENDERS OOOOALAJDJSK

“Take your victory. Just spare my son.” NEVER BEATING THE ALLEGATIONS THAT PERCY IS HIS FAVORITE SON

“Your forbidden son” Dude you had TWO by the SAME WOMAN in two different forms don’t be a hypocrite (is the biggest hypocrite ever)

HELL YEAH SPEAK YOUR SHIT POSEIDON DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT

And he full named Percy

Oh shit Ancient Greek

Ares and Hermes biggest gossips in the Greek pantheon confirmed

Dude HE SURRENDERED

Zeus I have bad news for you… “this one” is about to earn a Mount Olympus fast pass

OMG IT’S TIME

HE SAID (one of) THE LINE(s)

SALLY TAUGHT HIM ANCIENT GREEK HOLY SHIT I THOUGHT I COULDN’T LOVE HER MORE

“Ares is a moron” I cackled

Poseidon don’t be a pussy hug him

Also the way Walker is already so tall. He might tower over the dude playing his father by the end of this series (I know that’s Toby Stephens)

Baby that’s not a no

OH HE WANTS TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH HIS SON

That tree is person-ing so hard. They had to have built that shit

PERCABETH HUG

Omg hi Clarisse… so sorry you got framed

Luke jumpscare

Like you said anything

OH NO PERCY DON’T

It’s time for smart Percy to come out again

And the helm

Hmm. Who could possibly betray you

Why would he? He had no reason to

Yeah he did. He sure did.

I don’t know how to articulate my feelings on the line delivery of “I didn’t know you’d give them to Grover to wear” but know Charlie is killing me with how good of an actor he is

“None of this was meant to betray you” YOU WANTED TO SEND HIM TO TARTARUS! Did you expect Kronos to just spit him back out?

Luke trying to recruit Percy instead of luring him into the woods to scorpion him is SUCH a a good change I love it so much and it’s such a clear character choice for Luke

AH BACKBITER

(The way I literally jumped when it came on screen that sword is so fucking scary)

Correct reaction Percy

Honestly Percy is 100% correct Luke got manipulated he just hasn’t realised it yet

Shouldn’t have mentioned his dad Percy. ABSOLUTELY the wrong move

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ PERCY THAT FATAL FLAW IS SHOWING

Oh noooo I knew Annabeth was gonna be there but that doesn’t make it hurt any less

Bye bye Luke. Go get your yacht

I love that we know the horse half of Chiron was a literal horse Glynn was riding

Ldjdkslsjak Chiron knows the prophecy so OF COURSE he’s worried about Percy agreeing with Luke

Dionysus it’s Peter Johnson don’t listen to him

“You get out!” Lol

HELLO

FULL STOP

EVERYONE CEASE YOUR ACTIVTIES

LOOK AT ANNABETH’S HAIR!!!!!!!

IT’S SO PRETTY

THAT’S A PRINCESS HAIRSTYLE FOR SURE

She’s going to DisneyWorld 🥺

Percy is so excited for her

What if I cry

Hello Seatcher’s License

THE SEAS!!! See you in Florida Grover

Well you might have to go pick up a certain member of the team

GROUP HUG

He walked to the Montauk cabin? I mean I guess it’s closer than his apartment

SALLY!

THAT’S THE MAMA’S BOY

what

KRONOS GET OUT OF HERE NASTY ASS

He’s been at this for maybe like three months and he’s already so tired lol

“Turns out I’m pretty good at this” honey you’re kinda the best at this

Did Kronos just mention the prophecy

Seventh grade!! Aaahhhh I’m so excited

Calling him Grandpa is funny though

HE LOVES HIS MOM SO MUCH I’M GONNA SOB

Blue pancakes!

He’s gonna go meet Tyson

Also the voiceover that parallels what he says in the books about how “you might be one of us” I’m inconsolable

Lance Reddick, thank you so much for your performance and I’m heartbroken that this is the last time we’ll see you as Zeus. I hope you’re resting easy

Oh great… he’s still here

DIVORCE YOU SAY

SHE CHANGED THE LOCKS

Get a hotel idiot

Uh oh

Well they’ll come home to a surprise

Also? Sallly doesn’t get to do a little murder? Not even as a treat? She better still get to sell him

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Clarity 9

Obito took a moment to wonder at how the hell Bakashi, the Kyuubi container, and his youngest living relative had managed to end up in that dreadful Fuin woman's film.

'I don't care,' he decided viciously, stuffing popcorn in his mouth in lieu of glowering at his companion. 'I absolutely do not care at all that even now, Bakashi is spiting me by contaminating perfectly banal entertainment with his stupid big head. That's fine. I'm above that.'

Hey, there was some small bit of good out of this venture, though. Aiko seemed enthralled and got caught up in the energy of the film (at least, the parts with fighting) but she didn't say, 'oh, that blond boy is probably my brother.'

"What did you think about the fight scenes?" Aiko nudged him playfully, snicking a bit of popcorn out of the nearly empty bag on his lap (which put her hand in places it definitely should not be oh god no). She barely blinked when Obito abruptly shoved the snack over to her, used to sudden movements that made no sense to her.

"What about the fight scenes?" he tried. His honest answer; 'they make me incomprehensibly angry,' would probably just raise more questions for her.

The teenager shrugged, kicking her feet up on the seat in front of her as the lights came on and the other movie-goers stood. She was getting plenty of dirty looks for her rudeness in critiquing the film right away, but seemed barely aware. "Well, they were awfully dramatic," Aiko huffed, waving a hand in front of her face. "Wasteful, too. No ninja fights like that, with all the boring 'feelings' talk and pointing and shouting out the names of their techniques. The writing was sort of bad, but at the same time it was fun." She shrugged, making a wavery 'so-so' gesture with her hand.

'No ninja fights like that,' rang in his head mockingly. Obito stifled a Tobi-giggle, swallowing. 'Ha! So there, Bakashi. Apparently, you're not even a ninja'.

That did lift his mood a bit. Aiko had a point, he decided generously.

"If you ever meet a ninja like that," he counseled gravely, "get them while they monologue. Konoha nin do that sometimes."

He actually laughed at the appalled way her jaw dropped.

'I feel better now.'

Still, they were absolutely never going to see one of these grotesquely indulgent Princess Fuin movies again.

"And here I was thinking that we were never going to get along," Aiko chirped without looking up from the blade she was sharpening. "Yet here we are, spending time together socially. Tomorrow, I expect we'll be braiding each other's hair. The day after, we'll get friendship bracelets. I want blue and yellow on mine."

Kakuzu shot her a withering look, but didn't respond. They had been sitting in somewhat pointed silence ever since Obito left on his super-secret-not-telling-Aiko-mission.

'Peachy. Just peachy keen. Getting stuck with this guy is exactly what I wanted.' Resentfully, she scraped her whetstone with just a little more force than was habitual. 'What's Obito's deal lately, anyway? I'd rather work with Zetsu than Kakuzu. He's suddenly acting like Zetsu's going to eat me whole if he leaves us alone for ten minutes.'

Lately, Obito had been just plain fucking weird. He was terribly jumpy.

'And dramatic,' she reminded herself. 'I need to talk to you when I return from this mission,' Aiko mocked internally. 'Why not talk to me now? I don't know what he's so nervous about. Obito's been acting like he's nervous about something.'

Poor love. It'd been three days since his little fit, and he didn't seem much more stable. She didn't really want to leave him alone. He was quite possibly a danger to himself.

But telling him that she was worried about him hadn't stopped him from setting off on whatever job he had in mind. If anything, Obito had just seemed oddly guilty. The next day, Kakuzu had showed up in the safehouse with a disgruntled look, apparently under the impression that he was to babysit her while Obito was gone.

Which was just silly. It was called a 'safe' house for a reason. The only people who even knew where it was were her, Obito, Kakuzu, and Zetsu.

In other words, Obito was being really weird for no apparent reason.

'It probably wouldn't hurt to humor him by keeping Kakuzu around,' she tried to convince herself. It was annoying, sure, but not harmful.

"I need to go into town," Aiko spoke up, narrowing her eyes at her finished product as she held it up to the light. She tilted it slightly, letting reflections flash. "I'd planned on going alone to pick up some product for the next trip, but I suppose I'll have to ask you to come with."

Kakuzu offered an unenthusiastic grunt in response. She didn't mind or press. He eventually spoke up unprompted.

"When?"

"Day after tomorrow," she shared idly. She tested the sharpness of her blade on a fingertip—blood welled up instantly. Aiko made a sound of satisfaction and slipped it away, reaching for another dull kunai.

"Acceptable. Your initiative does you credit," Kakuzu admitted gruffly.

'Is he… being nice to me?'

She stilled, but didn't offer a smile or turn to look at him. Aiko was gathering the impression that Kakuzu didn't like being nice. Or at least, he didn't want to think he was kind. Calling excess attention to his statement would be unnecessarily disruptive.

"Thank you," she said carelessly. "I've been trying. There's not much challenge in the legal operations that Ando-san runs. She hasn't yet summoned up the courage to talk to me about using her organization as a cover for moving narcotics."

Aiko rather doubted that the civilian would mention a damn thing, assuming she knew. Ando-san was so twitchy. And thorough about keeping Aiko away from her son, actually. Hmm. What was that about? Aiko'd never threatened her even a little. That was all Kakuzu and that was like, forever ago. Weeks. Months, actually. Silly Ando-san.

"Narcotics are profitable," Kakuzu said approvingly. "How do you acquire your stock?"

She shrugged distractedly, working on her second blade. "I've made friends with a bartender who has a lot of contacts. We have a nice thing going on where I make troublemakers disappear, and her herbalist friend in Grass hooks me up."

There was a great deal of money to be made moving illegal substances into shinobi nations, which had a lot more restrictions and border surveillance than the other countries. Military states were just so silly about little things like recreational drugs, or medicines that hadn't been made in certified facilities, or odds and ends of counter-culture. They could afford to be selective like that, because the shinobi villages were fucking loaded (and needed to be intellectually controlled in order to maintain the hegemonic status quo). The quality of living and health care for a resident of a ninja village was so far above that of the people in outlying areas that it wasn't even funny.

That meant there were a lot of people desperate to get their hands on contraband for half the price of heavily taxed goods imported from the capitals. And Grass was a rich resource without years of infrastructure that she'd have to muscle aside to make space for herself: it hadn't been that long ago that Grass had been subject to restrictive policies itself. There was a lot of money to be made and only small fry like herself jostling for it.

"How is your accounting?"

She actually paused at that and looked over. "I don't keep hard records," Aiko admitted sheepishly.

Kakuzu looked downright appalled at that. "How do you know how much money you are making? You cannot devise strategies to improve profit and productivity without data."

"I don't really know how to go about compiling that sort of information," she had to confess. If she'd ever learned, it wasn't something that had come back to her yet. She expected it would eventually, though. She was remembering a lot of things.

The man at her side was still. Dangerously still. His voice was gruffer than usual when he managed to unhinge his jaw long enough to order, "Come. I have spare accounting books. You can have a set for two Ryo."

'That is ridiculously expensive. Like, three new outfits expensive. Twenty times what the cost should be, easily.'

Aiko gaped.

"I would suggest that you acquire your own materials upon the next time that you enter a place of business," Kakuzu said archly with an expression that was almost a smile.

"We could bump our trip up to tomorrow," she said a bit weakly.

He shook his head. "No. If I am going to get any information through that skull of yours, I must begin immediately. I have time now." He started off for the house without saying a word. "This project of yours is a superior beginning to anything that the other cretins have endeavored to undertake. Failure to improve upon it through record-keeping would be a pity."

"Oh." Aiko stood and followed, a little perplexed by Kakuzu's sudden interest and helpfulness. "So," she ventured as he extracted two small blue books from a drawer in his room. "Has no one else in Akatsuki ever-"

"Taken it upon themselves to pursue a useful endeavor? No," he said shortly. "Our previous associates were all addled simpletons."

At that point, he began muttering something angry about art and hobbies that she thought it would probably be best to pretend she didn't hear.

"What's your hobby?" she prodded. "I mean, I assume smuggling is a little pedestrian for your tastes."

Kakuzu made a noncommittal sound. "I hunt bountied shinobi. When someone else has gone to the trouble of compiling convenient lists of people whose heads they would pay for, it is a simple matter to memorize their faces and keep an eye out."

Wait. People would pay for-

"That's kinda cool," Aiko noted, morbidly interested. "Do I have a bounty?"

Her companion grunted, extracting a cheap pen and stalking out to the kitchen table. "You should. You had an unofficial one when you were a member of Konoha's military. Put out by Kumo, I believe. Or perhaps Iwa. In any case, now that you've defected, it should be replaced by an official one from your country of home origin."

'I wonder how much Konoha is willing to pay for my head…'

Well. There was a way to check that.

"Those bounties… how do you get a hold of them?"

"Your information broker would probably have a copy," he said shortly. "Now, pay attention."

Talking to Sayu was a mistake. Or at least, adding the new topic was a mistake. An unsettling one that brought up things she'd really rather not consider.

'That doesn't make any sense.'

"That can't be right," Aiko said slowly, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

The short woman shrugged. A streak of something suspiciously like mud moved on her cheek when she made a face. "That's what I have, kid. Your bounty hasn't been updated in years. It's still in the sketchy book, too." She waved said volume about pointedly. It was indeed not the official copy that Aiko had spent the last few minutes rifling through unsuccessfully. "It's not a bad number," she admitted grudgingly. A speculative look crossed her face. "Maybe I should turn you in and pay off my debtors, eh princess?"

"Very funny," Aiko grunted. She was too preoccupied to really enjoy banter at the moment, grabbing at Sayu's wrist to hold the book still so she could read it. The information was interesting. Seal master? Since when was she a seal master? And—she already had the chakra chains? That was a laugh. She thought that she would know if she'd activated a bloodline that made her eyes get all weird and purple. Clearly, these books weren't that accurate. And huh. She trained under Hatake Kakashi? That name was awfully familiar.

Maybe he was in the book too.

Sayu pursed her lips and flipped the book around to investigate it. "It's a seriously old picture, too. Look at the geeky smile. What are you, twelve?"

"No," Aiko muttered resentfully. Still, she had to squint at the date on the edition and count under her breath to put it together. "Fourteen? That can't be right. That's not a picture of me at fourteen."

God, she hoped not, at least.

The older woman snorted. "Shouldn't you remember? This looks like an official picture."

She knew perfectly well that grinding her teeth together was a terrible habit. It took conscious effort to unglue her jaw. There was no way she was going to admit that no, she didn't remember the picture, or in fact much of anything.

Who cared? It didn't matter anyway. She knew all she needed to know.

'Yeah, just keep telling yourself that,' Aiko thought bitterly. 'That'll make the weirdness here go away.'

"Thanks." Aiko bent, using her legs to lift the box of goods she'd come to pick up. "I'll see you in a few weeks, hotstuff."

"Am I going to get my book back?" Sayu asked, bemused. "I kind of need that, for that job that I do. You know, people pay me for information and I hook them up, pass over IOU's and verify kills. It's not fancy, but it pays. We can't all be in a super-special club that buys the dango, princess."

Aiko paused for a moment, before realizing that she'd tucked the little hitlist under her belt. "Oh, sorry. Can I-can I pay you for it? I'd like to keep that."

Sayu sighed. "Two ryo," she listed unenthusiastically.

Aiko's eyebrows shot up. "Why don't you just hit me over the head and rifle through my pockets? Jeeze, I thought we were friends."

"We're not that good of friends." The older woman cracked a wry grin, tucking the cash away. "Those are hard to get a hold of, if you're a civilian."

That actually made some sense.

"You took long enough," Kakuzu said gruffly, walking as soon as she exited the dank little building.

"Sorry," she apologized absently. "I got caught u-"

"I don't care," Kakuzu sighed.

Aiko pressed her lips together, trying not to let her eyebrows shoot straight up on her brow. 'At least he can be counted on. He's predictable.'

She'd thought that Obito was predictable too. But this put a wrench in her perception. She wasn't stupid. What he'd told her… well, now it didn't add up.

'If Konoha knew I was a traitor, they would have put out a bounty for me.'

Ergo, Konoha didn't know she was a traitor. Either they were spectacularly ignorant, or they knew something she didn't. That didn't fit with what Obito had said.

Wait. Don't get emotional. Don't be hasty. Think it through. Aiko licked her lips, attempting to consider every angle.

'I don't have all the information,' Aiko knew. 'I can't rule out either extreme: that Obito was telling the complete truth, or that he was completely lying. Not without more information. I can't think of a reason that Konoha wouldn't have put out a bounty on a missing nin, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. I need more data.'

Of course, getting the needed data would be very difficult while she was being watched (and how did it just now seem suspicious that Obito hardly ever left her out of sight, and needed to know where she was, and checked up on her? For all she knew, he or Zetsu kept an eye on her whenever she went off 'alone')

'I'm an idiot. I wouldn't know. They're both much better at hiding than I am at detection, and I haven't even been looking for watchers of their caliber. And now I can't check. If they have been watching me and I just now start looking, they'll want to know what's changed. That'll lead them to Sayu.'

"Hurry up," Kakuzu graveled out. "You're falling behind."

'It'd be a little faster if you helped carry. This is what, thirty pounds? That'd be nothing to a big guy like you,' Aiko thought resentfully, her bad mood spilling over to her current companion.

She didn't bother to apologize, focusing on moving and pushing her pace a little. Her arms were shaking and in outright muscle pain by the time they returned to the safehouse. She really should take the time to catalogue what she'd just brought and store it safely.

Aiko didn't care about that at the moment, so she dropped the box on the kitchen table and went to her room, barely hearing Kakuzu mutter about moody teenagers.

She locked the door and settled on her bed, desperate to put together a picture. All the time that Obito spent training her took a somewhat sinister cast when she wondered if he intended to use her rather than use her skills. Perhaps it was pathetic, but the nuance mattered a lot to her.

Shinobi were tools, in a way, yes. Aiko didn't mind being a valuable resource for reasons other than her intrinsic value as a person. That was different from just her skills being useful.

Then again, if what he was looking for was just a useful tool, it would have been stupid to pick her. There had to be people out there who would require less investment—she'd had to be retrained in her apparent specialties of mid-range weaponry, for kami's sake. No. It wasn't just her skills Obito was interested in. It was her; it had to be her.

'I don't want to believe that Obito lied to me.' Aiko rolled over onto her side and hugged a pillow to her chest. 'Or at least, not about the important stuff. I… I don't think he did. He really does like me. We're friends. He didn't lie about that. I can't totally distrust my own perception. He definitely does enjoy spending time with me, and he wouldn't spend so much time with me if he didn't care. He'd pass me off on someone else.'

So if she kept the assumption that Obito wasn't lying about feeling friendship with her, that left her with two options to extrapolate from. A. He had formed those feelings recently, after she had joined him in recent memory. B. They had been friends before what she remembered.

'Think it through, girl,' Aiko told herself, tugging on a bit of hair. 'Does it matter which of those two things is true? If so, why, and what difference would it make to my prospective course of action.'

Her intellect told her that it mattered. If he had only come to care about her in recent months, then that meant that he hadn't cared about her at the time that she remembered 'meeting' him in the hospital. That meant that whatever he had wanted from her at that time had not been coming from a place of concern for her best interest. If he had just been tricking a sick, confused girl into coming with him, then Aiko should be frightened, or at least interested in what he wanted from her.

Whereas if he had been emotionally attached to her before she remembered meeting him, that possibility seemed much less likely.

'Is friendship the only way to look at it, when the issue is better summed as emotional attachment?' She rolled over onto her back and dug her heels into the bed, pouting unconsciously. 'He would already have been emotionally compromised if he's telling the truth about being my dad's student. That would be much easier to verify than whether or not I really was secretly meeting Obito and narking on Konoha.'

How hard would it be to figure out who Obito's sensei was? He might fork over the information, and she could cross-verify it. Student-teacher relationships were probably well-documented somewhere, and someone somewhere would be willing to accept money for handing over information that seemed innocuous enough.

She felt a little better, having decided what she would accept as evidence that Obito had been emotionally compromised before eight months ago. Assuming that panned out, she could be reasonably certain that he wouldn't hurt her and hadn't planned to.

Of course, Obito could thwart that plan by refusing to tell her about his sensei, but she doubted that. He'd had much looser lips lately, though that might be due to his instability and emotionally compromised state than trust.

Those loose lips presented another plan: he'd let the name of his teammates slip. Assuming 'Kakashi' was still alive: well, that name couldn't be common. She could look up his sensei and teammates and verify Obito's story that way.

Actually… She twisted just enough to tug the book out of her waistband and rolled onto her stomach to flip through it. Obito hadn't said anything to make her think that his old teammate had defected, so he should be in the Konoha section if he was still active. She frowned when she didn't find anything under 'Kakashi', but some bit of stubbornness caused her to keep looking until she ran into 'Sharingan no Kakashi.' She huffed.

'That sounds about right, actually. Lines up with what Obito said and collaborates why Obito isn't with Konoha anymore, in a way. He's gotten famous off of Obito's eye? That's a little depressing.'

Really famous, apparently. He looked like that actor- no, that was backwards. The cute extra in that Princess Fuin movie had definitely been modeled off of him. That kind of resemblance was not an accident.

She shrugged off the tangent about his apparent presence in pop culture for more productive lines of contemplation. There was nothing listed about Sharingan no Kakashi's teammates, but his sensei had been—Namikaze Minato, the fourth Hokage? Aiko let out a low whistle. Nice. That was her dad? Hopefully, she bent the corner and went looking, but of course there wasn't still a page for the Yondaime. He was long dead.

'That's another thing I could check,' she decided. 'If I see a picture of him, I might be able to see any family resemblance. If I look enough like him, then Obito's been telling the truth.' Aiko paused thoughtfully, biting on her lip. 'Well, at least some of it.'

Aiko felt a little better as she calmed and worked through the logic, probably more content than she should feel. She now had an idea of what she wanted to investigate and several plans for how to get that information. Finding out whether or not she'd been lied to for over half a year wouldn't be impossible. She could do it.

But… god forgive her: despite what her brain told her, she had a hard time really believing that it made a difference if Obito had kidnapped and tricked her as opposed to being her friend rescuing her from Konoha's clutches.

It might be different if she had any reason to viscerally feel the betrayal. But she didn't. Aiko remembered bits and pieces from before Obito, but that was it. She didn't feel an emotional connection. So he just seemed more real to her than people she might have known in Konoha. Who cared if there were people out there missing her, if she didn't miss them?

That sounded awful, even in her head. But what would happen if she decided that Obito had kidnapped her and ran to Konoha? Even if she made it—and what were the chances of making that long trip, when she was watched— what would it be like to find herself in a place she didn't really remember, with people who had expectations and fond memories of her? What would they want from her—was she even the same person, in an appreciable sense, and would she measure up to what they wanted? Would they hold any changes against her?

'I'm getting overly defensive about the imagined reactions of people I don't remember.' Aiko huffed a little laugh, bringing the pillow on her chest up to cover her mouth. 'I'm ridiculous. I'm emotionally compromised, aren't I? Still. I feel like my life is here. I have hobbies, I have a friend, I have a job, and I have a- what the hell is Kakuzu, anyway? Is he friend number two?'

He probably wouldn't agree, but she thought that he was. So, yes. Friend number two.

That had a good ring to it. She grinned into her pillow. 'So, that's an emotional reason to stay. This is terrible form to come up with logical reasoning after I'm leaning towards a decision, but I still think my logic is sound in that I couldn't leave anyways. Obito checks up on me if I'm so much as a day late, which could indicate concern for my well-being just as much as it could be an attempt to keep me from running off. I wouldn't get very far if I tried to leave—not without help, which I appear to have no way of obtaining. So, following through that I have no apparent pressing need to escape… that seems like a lot of risk for low potential benefit. I can re-examine the issue if it seems that I am in danger or if additional resources present themselves, but as of now I seem to be both stuck and unmotivated to change my position.'

In other words, she'd pretty well concluded that without any game-changing information, she wasn't going to do anything drastic.

There was really only one question left, but Aiko had no idea to answer it. She couldn't help but feel that… Well. Now that she'd basically decided that Obito had probably lied to her in some capacity, shouldn't she resent him? Resentment would be one reason to leave, if only to spite him.

She couldn't muster up the emotion, however. It seemed dishonest to get huffy and indignant. If it suited her purposes, she'd do worse than convince an amnesiac that they were friends. Aiko had done worse. On her very first mission, she'd inadvertently led a man to his death and not lost a night of sleep over it.

(That would have been impossible. The nightmares already kept her up, or at least they had at that point. They were losing their effect now that their brutality was a bit passé.)

Aiko and Obito were shinobi, and that meant they were hired killers (and therefore not the greatest people already). Whining about a lie seemed a bit petty at that point. Although that didn't mean she had no sense of morality or things she wouldn't do. There had to be a line somewhere, of course, or else they'd just be gibbering loonies. No- not loonies. They'd be like wild dogs that needed to be put down, and not really people. Something separated even shinobi from mindless animals.

That line seemed like loyalty—to her chosen companion, at least, if not a cause or ideology.

'And I suppose I've chosen my side. Obito's been good to me. I want to stay with him.'

The thought of leaving him alone… Well, it made her sad.

He wasn't well, after all. Kakuzu was surprisingly decent, but there was no chance in hell that he would look out for 'Obi if Aiko took off. He just wasn't the touchy feely type.

Besides, if he had tricked her… He'd done a damn good job, actually, and she could appreciate the artistry there. From a professional standpoint, if nothing else.

'So,' Aiko decided firmly. 'If I find out that Obito was telling the truth, and I am therefore in little danger from him, I'm staying.'

The corollary being, of course, that if he didn't have her best interest in mind, she was going to run screaming in the opposite direction.

It was good to have that all figured out. Especially since it was Wednesday, Obito should be coming back soon for the weekly accounting paperwork party. (Obito called it a 'meeting', but Kakuzu had approved the name change). Anyway, she was just going to act normally.

His cycas revoluta were hardy and lush this year. Zetsu fancied that he could smell hints of the toxic sap as a break of new leaves was beginning to erupt from the base of the plant, but it was his imagination. They were beautiful, though, and this specimen was a fine plant that had been flourishing for hundreds of years. Convincing bees to pollinate had been a fuss that required other, more traditionally decorative plants to be relocated nearby, so he was well invested in the project. He carefully removed a pup, ready to transfer it to soil of its own. Beautiful.

Zetsu stopped his work when he heard the crackle of Obito's holographic communication jutsu, swiveling out of the sand to face the much younger being.

Black Zetsu might have snarled if it had possessed features at the moment. The child was a necessary tool in order to revive his mother, but taking orders from one so transparent and short-sighted did grate occasionally.

White Zetsu had no such thoughts, nor was he aware of the reasoning behind his companion's derision. If he had, he probably would have gotten in the way.

"As it turns out, it's a good thing that you put those spores on the girl."

"Oh?" the wood-clones asked in unison. They had already known that: the point had been to force Obito to finally commit to a course of action. That was transparently a beneficial course of action.

The image of their supposed master flickered. "Yes. I'll contact you telepathically when Aiko uses her chakra chains. Use up the spores draining her chakra to about 10%, but do not allow her to realize that the drain is being caused by anything but the activation of her genetic birthright. Time it so that she loses consciousness as soon as possible, before she has a chance to realize that her eyes are not changing naturally. I will bring you to her and conduct the surgery at that point."

"There are worse plans," Black Zetsu acknowledged.

It was a neat solution. Almost suspiciously neat, coming from someone with such dramatic flair. If efficiency had been Obito's du jour tactic, then his chosen aliases would not have been so ridiculously flamboyant. There would also have been no superfluous waste of Amegakure, Otogakure, and Mizugakure, countries that had all been under his indirect control at one point. World domination had been in the grasp of one man, and he'd carelessly tossed it aside in favor of pursuing a dead man's ambition for a genjutsu that only Kaguya could truly master.

(It was mildly entertaining that one man who was dead to the world could have so much power and use it so poorly).

The projection nodded, shadows covering the curved mask. "Oh, and Zetsu? Don't undermine my decisions again."

With that, the Uchiha cut short the technique and flickered out of sight. White Zetsu huffed. "It wasn't me," he pouted.

Black Zetsu didn't bother to respond.

At least Obito was making progress towards the ultimate Tsukyomi, in the defective and faltering way that Obito accomplished anything. As soon as that was cast, Black Zetsu wouldn't need him any longer. Kaguya would be revived and the worlds made anew.

If there was a problem, Black Zetsu couldn't see it. He might have suspected Obito's stalling was a hint that he'd become attached to the sacrifice, but that didn't seem to be in Obito's character. If that was going to happen surely he would have shown signs of that weakness in relation to one of the Akatsuki members in the past years.

He unclenched his hand, letting the pup that he'd crushed fall to the ground. White Zetsu made a mournful sound, but no comment.