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reds-burrow · 3 years ago

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Sorting SPY x FAMILY

To celebrate one of my favorite manga finally getting an anime adaptation, here’s a quick rundown on the Forger family. For those unfamiliar with the SHC system, check out this site, run by @sortinghatchats or this excellent summary by @wisteria-lodge. For those of you familiar with SHC, but not SPY x FAMILY, may I propose: an undercover spy has to marry and adopt a kid for his cover. Little does he know, the woman who agrees to pretend to be his wife does so for her own cover because she's a hit woman. And the adopted daughter? She's a telepath who knows all of their secrets, has to hide it all, and is a Lion Secondary. Hilarity and drama ensues.

Spoilers below the cut, so for those following the anime:

Loid Forger - Badger/Bird

Yor Forger - Snake/Badger

Anya Forger - Double Lion

Loid Forger aka Twilight – Badger/Bird

Loid is the best of the best when it comes to undercover work as a spy because he gives each role his all. He carefully crafts his disguises and personas from every snippet of intel he can gather about the person he’s impersonating or the audience he’s trying to trick, and shows irritation when he's forced to improvise a performance based on only small bits of footage (Mission 18). He is also an intense planner. He maps out all the conceivable routes a conversation can take and memorizes appropriate responses (Short Mission 2, Mission 38). An ongoing gag is how he prepares for contingencies that are ridiculously improbable—and so can pull through with ease when the ridiculous happens (Mission 4, 33). It seems the only people who can regularly catch him off guard are Anya and Yor, the two people who, under normal circumstances, he should know the best—the main irony of the series (Mission 35, 38, 48, 59, etc.).

War took everything from him, which would give anybody a strong motive to pursue peace, but Loid willingly threw away his chance at a normal, happy life in hopes of creating a world in which nobody would have to suffer like he had (Mission 1, 62). He has devoted himself to WISE and fulfilling every mission they assign him without fail, even if he internally objects to the strain it puts him under (Extra Mission 1). The only times we have seen him endanger an operation is when Anya's life is in danger (Mission 1) or someone has made Anya cry with intentional cruelty (Mission 5). Even though his work forces him to keep everyone at arm’s length, he says his job is to strive to understand people (Mission 38). While he may claim differently, his actions show a longing to connect genuinely with others, such as when he is envious of the Briar siblings' closeness (Mission 13), when he comforts Franky after Franky was rejected by a love interest (Short Mission 2), or when he regrets abandoning his family to resolve a crisis (Mission 55).

Yor Forger aka Thorn Princess – Snake/Badger

She became a hit woman so she could support her brother (Mission 12, 53) and pursued the fake marriage with Loid so that Yuri wouldn’t worry about her anymore (Mission 2). As things progress, she is surprised to find that she’s as attached to the Forger family as she is to her brother, so her main concerns shift from protecting her job and relieving her brother to also protecting her new family (Mission 35, 53). She has constructed a moral system based around the Garden’s philosophy that they are cleaning up their country (Mission 29), but even with as righteous as she can get about killing traitors, she begins to question why she is still in her line of work when Yuri no longer needs her to provide for him (Mission 44, 49). It’s only after she recognizes her job as a way to protect her family that she realizes what she wants to do (Mission 53).

Yor poured everything she could into being an assassin, and her hard work shows in how strong and skilled she is at her job. It also, however, shows in how she hasn’t invested in much else, which leads to her naivete and feeling useless as a mother and wife (Mission 14, 24). To remedy these feelings she pushes through the pain of a wound to practice dating (Extra Mission 2) and takes cooking lessons, working night after night to perfect even a single dish (Mission 24). When Loid does sense her worries, he pinpoints Yor's effort and devotion as her strong points (Mission 30, 35). Also, for as many secrets as she conceals, Yor is an earnest person and is generally a bad liar (Mission 12, 59). When Anya talks about lying with her parents and Yuri, Yor is the only one of the three adults who says what she means (Mission 57).

Anya Forger – Lion/Lion

Always looking for adventure, Anya acts primarily on her personal wants and desires. Even when she knows it could potentially mess with her parents' missions, she can't resist, like when she punches Damian (Mission 8) and insists on going on the cruise ship Yor is working on (Mission 44). While she comes to love them, initially, Anya helps to pair Loid and Yor together simply because they have exciting, entertaining jobs (Mission 2). She reiterates the importance of this a few more times, saying that she loves being with them because it's fun (Mission 5, 6). She's even willing to consider the idea of having a different "Mama" when it looks like there might be a more entertaining option (Mission 59).

She’s tends to rush into situations, like jumping in to save someone drowning even though she didn’t have the strength to save him on her own (Mission 16) or when she nearly set off a trap she already knew was there (Mission 21). She has also almost revealed her powers or her parents’ identities due to her recklessness on more than one occasion (Mission 5, 14, 29, 32, 42, etc.). But she’s also quite adept in improvising ways to alert Yor and Loid to danger while keeping her powers secret, such as grabbing onto a man so Yor will attack him (Extra Mission 1) or pointing out a shop so Loid will spot the person walking in that direction (Mission 3).

She does try to emulate Loid on occasion—although she's horrible at it presently—which could eventually lead to a Bird Secondary model (Mission 16, 61).

Bonus:

Franky Franklin – Lion/Bird

He used to dream of being a famous, rich inventor, typical of a young, glory-seeking Lion Primary. His Bird Secondary makes him an excellent informant and the go-to for gadgets.

Yuri Briar – Exploded Snake/Bird

His Bird Secondary is posed to be a genuine threat to Loid, for Yuri is almost as skilled in collecting information and putting it to use. His Snake Primary really needs to chill though—he's ready to clean up the entire country single-handedly for Yor's sake.

Fiona Frost aka Nightfall – Snake/Badger + Actor Bird

She says she will bring about peace... for Twilight. Her answer to being defeated by Yor is that she thinks she needs to work even harder. It’s fitting that the two women house match, although Fiona also has an Actor Bird model that she picked up from Twilight.

Damian Desmond - Snake/Badger

Everything he does is in hopes of earning his father's approval, and the change we start to see in him is mostly due to him taking cues from Anya as she inches her way into his circle. He works hard for perfection, studying late into the night and only relaxing when his teachers drag him out on a camping trip to teach him the benefits of taking a break.

Becky Blackbell - Bird/Bird

She's built a "mature" system from her parents expectations and her favorite television show. Her bodyguard, Martha, tells Becky that one day she'll realize she doesn't understand everything yet, a sign that Becky has yet to discover her first system is fallible. As for her problem solving techniques, she's shown trying every trick she's gathered from her favorite show to help herself or Anya.

Bond - Dog/Dog

He's a dog. In all seriousness, he does have enough character development to argue he has a Badger Primary.

#character sorting #sortinghatchats #I'm so happy the anime has garnered more love for this story

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waitineedaname · 2 years ago

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(for the ask game :3) 29 and 25 for mob..10, 17, 27, and 28 for ritsu and also maybe 7 for reigen?

Mob

29. How do you think they would be as a parent? (and if they are a parent, how do you think they would be if they weren't?)

I think mob would be SUCH a good parent! he's honestly the only one of the kids I can imagine having/adopting kids someday. he's very kind and patient and has a big heart, and I think that would make him a very good parent. he'd be very understanding too, since he knows what it's like to fucking Go Through It as a child. I think the kageyama parents hit the "expectations for your children's future" lottery because they have a kid that goes into a high paying career (ritsu) and a kid that gives them grandchildren (mob)

25. When do you think they acted the most ooc

this is a hard question because his whole Thing is that his emotions are all out of wack and he acts differently than he would normally during explosions, and also he's such a solidly written character that it's hard to say he's ever ooc? the cop out answer is to say during the mogami arc for. obvious reasons.

idk, maybe the interaction with shou in the world domination arc? he's pretty consistent in being really fucking upset when his family is endangered, so it's a little surprising how quickly he forgave shou for burning his house down and creating dummies of his family's CHARRED CORPSES, but also he's extremely understanding and tbh had Other Shit On His Mind at that point, so it makes sense that he was still kind to shou in that moment. I do think mob and shou should kind of have a rocky relationship after the dust has settled tho

Ritsu

10. Describe the character in one sentence

joke answer: what if you were thirteen and so fucking traumatized and neurotic that you gained the ability to bend spoons after feeling intense guilt for framing a kid for licking girls' recorders

serious answer: Ritsu is the perfect foil to Mob in that they both start out with everything the other lacks, and their stories are inherently tangled in such a way that without Ritsu, the whole show wouldn't exist, and also he is so thirteen

17. What do you think their first word was?

other than the normal "mom" and "dad" I think it was probably "nii-san" :') he wanted to be able to talk to his brother!!

27. If they could meet a character from another show/movie/etc, who would be the most fun for them to meet?

I think it would be so funny if he and kabru from dungeon meshi met. they would either get along or stress each other out so fucking much. they're both v observant and trying to read people to figure out what mask to put on to keep themselves safe, and I think it would be interesting to just put them in a room together and see what happens.

28. The most unnecessary thing they ever did?

why the FUCK was he standing on top of the. what even was it. light pole? electrical pole? there was that bit in the cleanup arc where he

WAIT NO I REMEMBERED ANOTHER THING. THE MOST UNNECESSARY THING HE DID WAS BREAK INTO KAMURO'S DIRTY FUCKING ROOM JUST TO BE AN ASSHOLE. WHY IS HE LIKE THIS.

Reigen

7. A quote of them that you remember

I can't remember the exact wording, but the bit in the separation arc press conference where he goes "you've grown up a lot" it just kills me dead

also the silly answer is the bit where he tells sakurai "you and me. we're like brothers." because my sibling and I quote it fucking incessantly

#asks #deicidefull #that whole exchange with sakurai is so stupidly funny dlkfjkldjf #I wish I could come up with better reigen quotes but I feel like his best moments are monologues #which I can't quote as well

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crystal-moon-101 · 4 years ago

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Y and U? For the unnamed ask?

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?: I familiar with shows like Troll Hunter & Miraculous Lady Bug through a friend of mine, and I have been meaning to get into them, just a little busy and have a lack of energy 😅. I am also familiar with Yugioh (At least the earlier series), mostly because of the abridge and because I’m really into Season 0 stuff, as it’s more my kind of thing.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites: Given you gave me three, I think it’s only natural for me to pick from The Secret Generator 10 trio, as I always up to talk about these three and what they mean to me. Of course, they’re hardly perfect character, but they all are special in their on way for me, and I thought I’d discuss why.

Rex: My favourite out of the three, with his show being my all-time favourite. Development, interesting background, mystery, angst, tragic, fun to watch, mostly consistent, amazing powers, and gets so much found family stuff going on, he hits a lot of marks of what I love to see in a character, and the same does do good enough of a job with him. Rex is a character that plays well with the concept of being a child soldier, having amnesia, and being the key to the larger story at hand, and the show still treats him like a real person, living and breathing, and not just a means to screw over every time they want to plot to work.

He has many layers to him, at the start seeming like a cocky, daredevil, rule-breaking and rebellious teen, who you sometimes question he understands the weight of what is happening to the world and himself, but then you learn that he does understand, so much more than he lets on. While he is naturally charismatic and a jokester, you can tell he often puts up this mask of joy and playfulness just to make a dark world around him feel a little lighter, along with hiding how alone and scared he actually feels. Because well, who wouldn’t be when placed in a role like that? He knows very well he has powers tied to saving the die, even if he doesn’t fully understand them. He knows the danger the nanites and EVOs pose, but also knows the danger that humankind can pose if they’re not willing to listen to reason. When things do get tough, he knows when to cut the crap and be serious. He’s someone who knows the world isn’t black and white, even if he hates to admit it at times.

While we didn’t get to see much of it, I’ve always seen Rex as a part of three worlds. He works closely with normal humans, like Six and Holiday (As normal as you can be at Providence), and he understands how scared the world is, how scared every day people are that any second they or someone they love could turn into a monster and go on a rampage. And sometimes that hurts for Rex is that he often tries to connect to this part of the world, because he knows he was once part of it, and he thinks it can make him happy, but the obstacle blocking him is that he isn’t human anymore, and that many people are scared of him, even if he saves them. And yet despite all the harsh things people have said or done to him, Rex always comes back to be the hero, because he knows he can help and that there are people that need his help, and it’s commendable that he’s willing to put aside those issues to save the day, even if he doesn’t get a thank you out of it.

His second ties are, of course, to his EVO world. It’s interesting that, at the very start of the show, Rex use to have this view that everything EVO was wrong, most likely something he picked up at Providence, despite being one himself. He’s hesitant around them, and while he’s not one to kill, he’s often quick to think they’ll be a danger. And while he can be right about that most of the time, he does start to learn it’s not all that it seems. His Hong Kong friends, Circe, Breach, even someone like Biowulf eventually. He even eventually learns that, while he’s not normal, he’s not a bad person for being something not human. And it’s an interesting thought that while he’s one of the most human-looking EVOs, he can be considered one of the most dangerous, even more so than EVOs that look like overgrown monsters. His ties to the EVO world are what make him start to see the world isn’t black and white.

And then his third ties, kind of, are to his nanites and history. Despite how human looking Rex is, and that he is an EVO, he’s very much something different to both sides, a middle ground thanks to his connection to the nanites. It’s always fascinated me that something about him, out of anyone in the world, he has this tie to nanites that no one else has. That can be explained by a number of things, but I also like to think it’s also because of the person he is. I mean, you get someone like Black Knight who got similar powers to him, but you never see her have a level connection with them like Rex does. And that can be explained by poor writing, but again I like to tie it back to who he is as a person, and how the nanites have evolved to be around him. And with how long he’s been tied to him, they just feel like a natural part of him, even if he may reject it sometimes. And to have him be once part of the past that involved how the nanites came to be, it adds a whole another layer to this boy. I will admit the writing can get to him at times, sadly, especially around season 3, and we don’t get certain answers to question about him, but he’s still a great character in my eyes, with so much potential for the stories and ideas you can play around him. I respect him for his hope for wanting to do things a better way, and yet knowing that sometimes you have to do the hard and logical things to do good, even if it’s not easy to do. I could ramble on more, but I got to move onto the next one. 💙

Zak: Ah, my sweet cryptid boy, have season 2 gave you crippling anxiety. Zak I would say, out of these three, is the most consistent with his writing. He’s still the same cryptid loving, cool kid, with a passion for his job back at the start of things, but he also grows in a believable way over time, especially when learning what he really is. The twist with making Kur adds such a spin on who he is and how he feels in a great way that I love, because he was someone who was building up to be the hero of the story by everyone around him, only to learn that the supposed villain he was meant to fight was himself. I think one of the interesting things that The Secret Saturdays does is that it never really answers the question if destiny is real, and if Zak is meant to kill all humans. It’s a question left up in the air, and while there seems to be facts that say otherwise, the idea that this boy could kill all humans makes people scared or eager, making everyone say that his destiny is real, even if there is no proof. And because of this, it makes Zak fear and believes that it’s real too, that he is bad just by simply being Kur’s reincarnation, even if he hasn’t done anything that makes him bad. And yet, as easy as it would have been for Zak to just accept this, he doesn’t, he still plays the hero and goes out of his way to help those that need it. Because whether or not destiny is real, Zak is willing to fight it, and that makes a noble character. And while we don’t get clear answers about destiny and Kur, many of us get to play with the idea of what it means for Zak and this world he’s in. I personally thing that Kur’s history is more complicated than him being ‘evil’ as I’ve written before, but Zak is his own character, his own person, and it’s fun to see who he is, how he reacts and how he grows. I also love that, while he’s pitched as one of those classic kid/teen boys during the 2000s action cartoon eras, he does things you wouldn’t expect. While he can get into fights and combat and have fun with it, if he knows the fight endangers someone or a cryptid, he will always take it seriously. Like when they found the cryptid fighting ring, he was always disgusted by it and keeps repeating the notion that he wanted to stop it as soon a possible, even hating to have to put Fisk into the fight just to stall and get info. He clearly as a loving passion with cryptids and the world he’s in, and is always out there looking to see more to the story than others may see. He’s not quick to label someone as a monster unless he’s 100% certain that’s what they are. And his family relationships are just golden, I love the Saturdays. It’s adorable how, instead of calling them pets, he treats Fisk, Zon and Komodo like his siblings. He respects them as equals, and while he can argue with them, he’s willing to listen and understand that they have their own needs and wants, and the four of them are always by each other’s sides. Drew and Doc, being one of my favourite couples of all time, have different relationships towards Zak, but both love and respect him very much. Even when they find out Zak is Kur, not once do they ever turn their back on their own child, and do everything they can to help him see he’s not a monster. Zak clearly looks up to them, and it’s great to see the growth they have by letting Zak spread his wings, and stop trying to be over-protective with him. And, of course, Uncle Doyle is great, in that he’s always respected Zak, even if he’s a child. He’s willing to be level with him, and push him when he knows Zak needs it, and the fact that Zak was the one in the family to be so quick to have him join is just so well done, as he never had a doubt that Doyle could be a better person. Zak love the world he’s in, and the beings and secrets that lay within it. Despite how it might push and hurt him, he’s often willing to get back up and show who he really is, that the labels that people put on him don’t define who he is. Despite how his world turned upside down with one sentence, he’s doesn’t give up.🧡

Ben: Oof, right...*Cracks knuckles* Time to get into the more iffy ones of the trio. Right away, I have no trouble saying that Ben has a lot of issues and flaws as a character. I have no issue denying that he can be an ass, and has done many dumb things. However, I’m not one to hate or fault characters when it’s the writing that screws them over. Because at his concept and core, the person he was meant to be, Ben is quite an interesting character. He’s not the standard hero with a cape, he’s very much flawed, can sometimes be a jerk and cocky often, and has been shown to be young and naive. But that doesn’t make him a bad person, in fact he adds an interesting element to the normal hero archetypes. When written well, he’s quite fun to follow and has quite the concept to play around with. Despite his outgoing and witty outside, Ben does go through a lot of crap ever since he got the watch. His teen years and parts of his childhood are mostly just dealing with the foes he’s made, and the troubles that comes with being the main hero of the galaxy, which is defiantly not an easy task to take. And yet he does it, he goes through all the dangers just to help people and the worlds around them. He’s often willing to stand back up and crack a smirk because he’s not one to give up. He sees hope, he sees potential and light beyond the darkness, and he wants to give others the chance to see that. And while his cocky nature can get in the way when written wrong, I do think it’s a trait that makes sense. People across the galaxy praise him since he was young, which can cloud his judgement, it’s a natural flaw that fits him as a character, and it has been shown he acts this way to hide how scared he really is. Cause I mean, with all that he has to fight, it is actually quite a struggle, so it is amazing to see just how much he takes and never backs down. He’s not a boring character to watch, he’s not a perfect hero that gleams in a golden light, he’s flawed and hows so many issues to tackle, but have a noble and bold side to him that you can respect. He’s been shown to bring people up, to teach and to guide, to take on the hassles of others just so they can get by in life. And while he does like the praise he gets out of it, you know deep down he does this because it’s good to just do good, even if it doesn’t benefit you always. He could have easily given up the watch and hand it back to Azmuth, but he never does. And his connection with alien and the watch have always been a personal interest with me, even if canon doesn’t delve much into it as they should. The thing with Ben is that he’s perfect for the watch, because he has no problem shaping into another being. And while it’s still Ben underneath, he does change parts of himself for the time being. And the reason he’s fine with this is because he sees life and potential with all the aliens he can be. He sees the different powers they hold and wants to show just what they can do to help, what the galaxy could build if they worked together. It’s funny that the omnitrix was build for peace purposes, and while Ben took it a different way than what Azmuth wanted, he found a way to make it work. I know other characters wouldn’t be able to handle the watch like this the way Ben does, even Albedo proves this by how he acts with his aliens, seeing them as nothing but tools while treating himself as the higher being, while Ben accepts what he turns into, and understands what makes certain aliens special. Sadly, Ben is a tragic character when it comes to the poor writing and constant switch in series, as Cartoon Network can’t seem to understand what to do with him. But that does make him a fun character to work off of and write, and I’ve seen some amazing things in the fandom with what they’ve done with him. So I've seen hated Ben, because I often see his as wasted potential for the character he could have been, and he does have great moments that are canon that I love. 💚

#I did not mean to make this long #Whoops!#But I hope some of you enjoy my essay about these characters I love #Got too much to say lol #my answers #Ben 10 #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #ben tennyson #ben 10 ben tennyson #generator rex #generator rex rex salazar #rex salazar #GR #the secret saturdays #secret saturdays #zak saturday #the secret saturdays zak

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beautifulterriblequeen · 5 years ago

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angsty headcanons to pass the time

Losing family is such a normal part of assassin life that assassins take and make whatever family they can find.

Lain and Tiadrin doubled up parenting with Runaan and Ethari so that Rayla was more likely to have a surviving parent.

Lujanne married again and again when her assassin husbands perished because assassin clan need each other and she is very loving and enjoys raising kids.

Lujanne's horns curl like Runaan's and their accents are similar so she could be his birth mother. She could have handed her defensive mage duties to Ethari when she left for the Moonhenge.

Runaan could have several half- and step- siblings from various parental combinations.

Andromeda resembles Lujanne and could be her daughter, and Runaan’s half-sister.

Runaan and Tiadrin have turquoise eyes and might be half-siblings through his father, who probably has similarly colored eyes too.

Andromeda and Tiadrin are totally unrelated except that they share a half-brother.

Runaan was far from alone in his work, he had friends and many of them were (very) extended family too

Which means he lost a sister at Winter’s Turn, had to ghost her, then lost another sister on the mission to avenge the first one’s cowardice.

Runaan would know that this is just how assassin life goes, but he’s very soft in the middle. He’d do things to protect his family whenever he could.

He sent Tiadrin to the Storm Spire to keep her out of active duty so she wouldn’t die, and Lain with her, even though it meant never seeing them again and making Rayla sad.

He sent his mom to the Moonhenge to keep her out of big battles at the border, which had already killed more than one of her husbands. She’d seen so much death, and he didn’t want her to lose all hope, so he gave her up too, sent her to retire to the country, alone and apart but safe.

Runaan also sent Rayla away from him at the castle to keep her safe, because deep down, he knows that he is the most dangerous Moonshadow in the world. He must fight, and he endangers others every time he does it. So when he loves them so much that he can’t stand to see them hurt... he sends them away. To protect them. From him.

Just let him try that on Ethari once Runaan is freed from the coin, though. Ethari is never leaving Runaan again, and since he’s not assassin clan, he doesn’t answer to Runaan as his leader, only as his partner and husband. He’s not going anywhere, he’s staying this time. And there won’t be anything Runaan can do about it but accept it and learn that sometimes family means letting those you love risk themselves for you, because you’re worth it.

#tdp angst #tdp headcanons #moonshadow assassins #runaan #rayla #lujanne #lain #tiadrin #ethari #moonshadow elves #angst

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hildagirl99 · 5 years ago

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The last Outlaw

(part 1)

Bill, like every night, wakes up from the same nightmare, a shadow chasing him calling him.

"Is it still the same nightmare?" Aiyanna asks, who was by his side.

"Yes… I don't know why. I don't believe in premonitory dreams." Bill answers.

"Is there something bothering you lately? A fear? A person?"

"Not really…"

"No, just… hope."

"A hope ?"

"Yes, you know that for the past month I've been trying to find information about my missing father." Said Bill.

"Maybe it's him you see in a dream."

"Maybe… you know this mission is my last chance to find my father. I need all the information I can get. I need my mother, also see if he doesn't have any friends."

"Bill, without wanting to make you lose hope, but maybe you have to face reality ... your father may have died. It's been 45 years since he disappeared and when we go to conquer the however, we seldom come back alive. "

"I need to know! I can tell he's still alive!" Bill said, determined.

Aiyanna sighs. When Bill was determined, it was impossible for him to go back.

"If that's it, then I'll come with you." She says.

"Sorry ?"

"No matter how dangerous, I'll follow you."

"If you say so, I will feel less alone. I will go see my mother the next day, because tomorrow is when my expedition starts. Please don't tell Tanka about it." Bill smiles before going back to sleep.

The next day, Bill goes to his mother, who was waiting for him with her 5 brothers and sisters.

"It's been a long time…" her older brothers, twins John and Ethan were saying.

"The last time was 2 years ago… What did you do?" Asks his big sister, Martha.

"Well… that's why I want to see you, I need your help." Bill answers.

"If it's to ask for money, it's no." Teases his big brother, Tom.

"No, it concerns our family."

"Do you want to talk about daddy?" Julia, the last of the family, recalls.

"How do you know…" Bill sighs.

"My intuition, big brother."

"Precisely, in a little while, I am leaving… I am going on a trip, to try to find him."

"Are you serious? But… isn't it a bit too late? Bill… we had already tried but nothing. We can only conclude that he is dead." Martha said.

"No… you have to persevere! I will do what you all were unable to do!" Bill writes, exhausted to hear that his father may be out of this world.

His brothers and sisters look at each other, as if he is right.

"Have your own experience, bro. We trust you." Said Tom.

"Dead or alive, I'll find him."

"And what do you want to ask us in the end?" John asks.

"Do… do you have a picture of him?"

"A photo? Uh… I think you should ask mom. But I'm afraid she's gotten rid of it."

"Whatever!" Bill said walking over to his mother.

His mother, Lana, since the disappearance of her beloved, her life no longer had any meaning or interest. She held on thanks to her children. She stayed most of the time in her room embroidering or knitting. For 30 years, she had sent letters to her love hoping in return for his news. She had given up since, as if she had completely forgotten. Bill was not to rush her.

"Hello Mom." He said in a low voice.

"I thought you were in jail after everything you had done for us." She replies, not taking her eyes off her knitting.

"Mom… I was doing it for you, to keep us from starving. I apologize if I had to be away for a while."

"What's your excuse?"

"Mum, I… do you have a picture of daddy?" He asks.

Lana stops knitting. Bill knew it was difficult to talk about his father.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" she replied after a long silence.

"Mom… seriously, it's for a good cause! Remember! You certainly have a picture of daddy! I'm asking you that because I'm going to look for him!"

Lana's eyes widen.

"Come on… I didn't think you would really go looking for him, there is no hope that you would find him."

“Mom, please…” Bill pleads.

"You're like him… I don't want you to go! You risk your life! Go north alone, you have to be suicidal!" Said her mother getting up from her chair.

"It doesn't matter! Dead or alive! I'll find him!"

"Geez, you've got all of him… determined, fearless and stubborn…"

"Mom, just a picture of him." Said Bill ignoring what she just said.

"It's not very visible but I'll show it to you anyway." She said moving to her nightstand.

She pulls out a tiny, yellowish, worn photo.

"It's him…"

Bill is speechless, as if he held the Holy Grail.

"My god… I had no idea what he looked like when I was a baby but now I have a face on my dad. I understand why you tell me I look a lot like him…" he said.

"But what's the use of this photo? He's aged a lot in 45 years… how are you going to recognize him, if god knows he's alive." Lana asks.

Bill was moved to hold in his hand the only photo of his missing father.

"I don't know… what was his name?"

"He was known as Jack Terror when he was a bandit… His name was Jacky."

"Jacky… daddy… Jack Terror…" Bill whispers, staring at the picture.

"This is the only photo of him… I pray with it every night since his disappearance."

"Don't worry… I won't take it… I finally have a face and a name on our father." He said, returning the photo to her.

"When are you going to leave?" Asks his mother.

"I'll start the research, when and where last we saw it, tomorrow. There must be records of the gold conquest." He replies.

"Bill… please I don't want to lose you like I lost your father. Just be careful! If anything happens to you, I'll never forgive myself…"

Bill turns around and hugs his mother.

"Don't worry, mom, I'm careful, I love to play with death…"

"Cheeky kid…" his mother said, smiling weakly.

After saying goodbye to his mother, he walks over to his siblings.

"Be careful bro, it doesn't matter if you can find a trace of daddy." John said.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best, I'm doing it for all of us." Bill responds with a wink.

Back in the Indian tribe, with Aiyanna.

"Did you get any information?" She asks.

"I had a face and a name on my dad, but right after that, it's going to be serious. I'll dig deeper."

"Do you plan to brief Lorelei and Penny on your trip?"

"* Sigh * I don't want to endanger them, especially not my daughters and my son. This is my story, it's only about me. I don't want to cause them concern."

"You're not causing any concern, honey. I'm happy to participate in your research. And if it's important to you, you don't have to tell them."

Bill looks on the horizon.

"I will not do."

"I could come ?" Said Tanka, their son.

"Tanka? No… it's dangerous." Said Aiyanna.

"Dad will need a pair of fangs if there's a bad beast or bad character around."

"Hehe definitely… like father like son… we'll go together, but if I feel the danger is approaching, run and hide when I tell you." Laughs Bill.

At nightfall, everything was calm, a little too calm, a thick fog surrounds the tribe.

"Brrr… it's suddenly cold." Said Aiyanna.

"Is it normal in August?" Bill asks.

"No… Oh !! Look!"

In the shadows behind the teepees, a gigantic lean form moves slowly.

"My god !! But what is it?"

Suddenly they hear war cries and barking.

"Quick! Let's get out!"

And what they saw froze them in place. The creature was about 3 meters tall, it stood on its skinny legs, it possessed a long tail, one could distinguish in the middle the bones of its half-gnawed tail, the monster had a bone head in the shape of a deer with horns, and finally, large hands with long claws. The Indians were around the beast, screaming to frighten it, that didn't help, it only made the beast even more angry, it growled.

"This is ... this is ..." Aiyanna stutters.

Tanka was close to the beast trying to bite it in his wolf form.

"Tanka !! Back off !! You're going to be hurt!" Bill writes running to his son.

Bill's screams attract the beast, which turns its head towards him. She walks up to him. Bill's legs remain frozen in place, unable to move.

"Daddy !! Go away !!" Said Tanka.

An Indian throws a stone at the beast to divert its attention. She growls and leaps at the Indian, grabbing him by the mouth before running away.

"My ... god ... what is ..."

"It was the wendigo !!" Writes Aiyanna.

"Wendi what?"

"The wendigo! A cursed Native American creature! What was he doing in our tribe? And he took one of our brothers!"

"Are we cursed? If the wendigo has come to our tribe, it means a bad omen." Sighs the Indian chief.

"But can someone explain to me what wendigo is?" Bill asks in confusion.

"It is an evil creature, often depicted with a human body and the head of a deer. It is a cursed creature that only lives to eat human flesh ..."

"If he's around, he's got no more to eat and now he's coming here to get food… we're on his hunting ground now." Said Aiyanna.

The whole tribe was now in a panic.

"It's weird… he didn't seem to be hunting…" Bill thought.

"And how do we kill this creature?" Aiyanna asks.

"Nothing… his skin is hard as a stone, our arrows will do nothing. Only fire is fatal to him." The chef answers.

To be continued...

#oc #showdown bandit #showdown bandit oc #fanfiction #Bill #Aiyanna #Tanka #wendigo #Lana

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yutaya · 4 years ago

Text

Iron Fist Rewatch: 1x03: Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch

That's so terrifying. You look an entitled asshole in the eyes and say "no" when he tries to pressure you into doing something morally corrupt that would actively hurt another person - one who has specifically asked you for help - and then armed home invaders break in in the middle of the night. Ward is basically the mafia boss that Colleen has just pissed off, from her POV. No wonder she hates him.

Wow, now I want the fanfic where Colleen keeps calling Ward a mafia boss to his face. "Just because I'm under your mafia family's protection NOW doesn't make that time you put out a hit on me any better, mobster." "'Mob-' I never put out any 'hit'. I'm not the mafia." "You don't need to bother with pretence here, mob guy." (Danny helpfully does not point out that Ward definitely put out a hit on him, but the entire room is still painfully aware.)

Danny: Sorry the people trying to kill me broke your lock.

Colleen doesn't for one second find it out of the question that the cops might be in on the whole "corrupt rich white man is doing shady illegal things and trying to have a 'problem' 'fixed'" thing. Danny does, ("I haven't broken any law?") because Danny spent ten years as a rich white boy and then the next 15 in a culture completely separated from the rest of the world's reality. Or: Danny, a rich white boy, trusts the police. Colleen, who tries to make her dojo a safe space for a bunch of underprivileged majority bipoc kids living in the "bad part of town", does not.

Possibly the reason they speedrun us through Ward going up to the penthouse again is to remind the viewers how obnoxious it is to get up there before we see Danny climb the building later?

I forgot about this freaky tube thing. What is that? High tech coffin? lol. There's an implied "you should be unsettled by this" vibe to Harold's whole "it's so peaceful in here, I can't help but doze off" but when I don't know what the tube is the context is kind of lost on me.

Again with Ward calmly asking for an explanation about such a seemingly insane business choice, especially one that he's going to have to explain to people, and Harold brushing him off. Infuriating. And let's just toss in a sprinkling of "Joy has always been and always will be better than you, who can't do anything."

Harold: "Doesn't it occur to you that I'm doing this all for you?" Me: "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP I HATE YOU." He doesn't even just say "I'm doing this for you." No, he has to say "Doesn't it occur to you that I'm doing this for you?" Rather than simply lying, he just has to back Ward into that corner. Ugh. UGH.

Ward: closes his eyes, long huff of breath. I should start a count of how many times he does this.

MY SKIN IS CRAWLING. Freaking Harold. Ugh ugh ugh he's the worst.

Danny you realize you're both disrespecting Colleen AND talking about pretty sensitive subject matter right in front of her student?

Joy: "We need to do the right thing." Me: "You keep telling yourself you're a person who cares about that, Joy."

Joy used to do Ward's homework for him????

Like, what?

Seriously, what?

Was this supposed to be a cute exchange? Because my Asian American upbringing says it's NOT.

Joy: "In another life, this would have been romantic." Danny: "Gross, you're my sister."

"You and Ward, you're the only link to a life that I had. It kept me going under very difficult circumstances." ;___;

Joy talking about clinging to her dreams of Harold meeting her after school and holding her hand and smiling at her in her grief after he died is making me so miserable. To Joy, Harold means comfort.

Danny: *Starts talking about ghosts* Joy: Oh right, he's crazy.

Colleen: "You dishonor yourself when you fight for money."

Jeri, who has literally been mind-controlled, almost got murdered slowly and painfully, and brought a killer to her wife,

Young intern Jeri Hogarth calling the boss's secretary a "hatchet faced bitch" and then bribing said boss's 10yrs or younger kid not to tell is. Well. It sure is a thing.

I still want Danny inviting Jeri to Defenders friend group hangouts and Foggy and Marci both blanching. Jessica and Jeri can snark at each other and Danny can be like "You're friends too! I didn't know!! :D"

Honestly, I would have watched a whole show on the intricacies of classism issues, with the Elite like Jeri and the Meachums teaching Danny how to live and maneuver in that world and Colleen and the dojo and Big Al teaching Danny about the reality of life for the lower class, and our golden-hearted Danny in the center of it, consistently determined to do what's Right,

Joy: lol, isn't this such a fun, teasing, sibling-banter thing we do, me joking about how I'm going to close this deal and you would only endanger it?

Harold: punches trainer full in the face, then casually suggests weapons next time while the guy is still groaning on the ground

Is Gao terrorizing Harold and making him kneel on glass supposed to make me feel for Harold? No one deserves this but that doesn't make Harold magically not a monster.

Danny.... just taking over lecturing the class is not respectful to Darryl or Colleen either.

Danny: "What kind of soldier training is this? They're acting like kids!" Colleen: "That's the POINT! I am not training them to be soldiers, I am creating a safe space for them to be kids when they usually can't be in the rest of their lives." Danny's warped K'un Lun upbringing really shows here. It's heartbreaking to remember that Colleen isn't just some good samaritan either - that she was raised in a cult too and has her own warped upbringing viewpoints.

A line I need to appear in a Ward/Misty/Claire pov fic: "Colleen tends to seem normal because most of the time she's next to Danny. It's easy to forget that actually, she's completely batshit."

Colleen keeps throwing Danny out for bringing trouble to her doorstep and then not really fighting it when he sticks around anyway (Which: Danny. Danny, this is problematic behavior, Danny.) - it's when he becomes a danger to her students that she gets serious about it. Even if Danny wouldn't physically harm them again, he is now a drain on their mental health: he represents a potential danger, a reason to be constantly on guard, and a removal of their safe space.

Ward clearly has no idea what the heck Joy is doing. It's all very troubling and this family is so messed up.

The way Ward ever so slightly shakes his head at Joy as she bribes Patel with his nephew's actual life.

The blanket into snow is a great transition shot

Joy feels like Ward refuses to tell her things the same way Harold refuses to tell Ward things! But Ward doesn't actually have the ability to tell Joy anything because he doesn't know anything! Ugh!!

On Joy's desk: a photo of her and Ward toasting at some party. She also has a copy on her shelf at home.

Joy poured her blood sweat and tears into Rand. She's proud of it. To Ward, it's a prison.

Wait so their plan is that there's no record that Danny Rand ever existed? Like, besides. The city's collective memory? People know about Danny Rand, guys. You need to delete the ability to connect this adult man to Danny Rand, not young Danny's entire paper trail. I mean, anything linking them would be included in literally everything about Danny but still. Seems unnecessary and suspicious?? I know nothing about crime.

Jeri casually constantly reminding Danny that the Meachums are the corrupt villains of this story must be really messing with Danny's head. Not that she's wrong. Poor boy.

"Isn't it obvious!? I'm not your sister. He's not your brother. We don't want you here." brb crying forever

I have to appreciate that this fight moderator is actually trying to run a semi-safe tight ship behind the showmanship

"Cut the Floyd Mayweather shit." Floyd Mayweather: a former professional boxer, competed from 1996-2015. Often referred to as the best defensive boxer in history, as well as the most accurate puncher. Nicknamed "Pretty Boy" by his amateur teammates because his defensive technique left him with relatively few scars.

That whole Randy biting Colleen (breaking the rules about going too far laid out at the start of the fight) and then her climbing on top of him to keep on punching after he's down was really framed like one of those troubling "the hero loses control and it's bad" type scenes.

I am very curious about Jeri and the Meachums' history. Jeri and Ward snark at each other so much in this meeting. And they definitely seem amused while doing so. Also Joy was like "Hogarth" at Ward earlier, and Jeri described their relationship as "complicated" to Danny.

Ward slumps down in his seat so he's lower than anyone else in the room, despite probably being the tallest. This is probably meant as a show of dismissiveness: Danny's case is so insignificant that he doesn't need to respect them by sitting up straight - but it IS interesting, from a power dynamics in staging perspective.

Ward, who has a constant escape plan of stealing from his employees and running away with Joy, plus was literally talking about leaving and starting over with nothing earlier in this same episode: "It could have been easy. You could have taken the money and had a great life."

The elevator level can be controlled by the lobby man???

Another picture of presumably child Joy on Harold's desk, as a toddler this time. How many does he have?? This is cruel set dressing.

Harold playing on Ward's loyalty again. "I need you to help me. I don't have anyone else."

#iron fist #iron fist rewatch #the immortal iron fist #my stuff #rolling thunder cannon punch

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chicagocityofclans · 5 years ago

Photo

Deucalion Thornton→ Can Yaman → Warlock

→ Basic Information

Age: 838

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Birthday: March 12th

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Religion: Buddhist

Mark: Cleirigh

Generation: Unknown

→ His Personality Deucalion was often overshadowed by his family and those who shared his mark. While he was overlooked, however, his personality still flourished in the shadows. He was a brave and charming toddler. Though he lost most of his charm, Duke continued to be dangerously and recklessly daring well into adulthood. His fears were minimal and the process of dying or death wasn’t on the list. While he can go with the flow and play follow the leader, Duke is a boss at heart and doesn’t mind barking out orders when necessary. With his dry humor and quick wit, past his hard exterior, he isn’t a bad person to get along with or on the side of your cause.

Duke does like the finer things in life. Mostly because he’s able to afford it and only has one life to live; no matter how long that life maybe. He is picky about what goes on his body, into his kitchen, and on his table. This also applies to his Brewery. He is willing to fly to foreign countries to find the best ingredients at whatever cost and import them back to the States. Even though he enjoys the finer things, Duke does not enjoy being in the spotlight. His curiosity and ego is well hidden behind his introvert and nonchalant behavior. Like many loners, he is uncomfortable in large crowds. He barely tolerates the over crowded pack house and is often found chasing the local Animal Shifters out of his Brewery when he gets tired of seeing them.

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Co-Owner/Founder of ANONYMOUS; Previously International Sales Specialist at Shutter International Exports & Imports

Scars: Left cheek as a result of an attack from a wolf shifter when he attempted to ride said wolf like a horse at the age of six.

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: Haematology and Ales

Two Dislikes: Power-Hunger and Greek Mythology

Two Fears: Being Cursed and Unlabeled Bottles

Two Hobbies: Homebrewing and Backpacking

Three Positive Traits: Mysterious, Audacious, Modest

Three Negative Traits: Loner, Blunt, Aloof

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Alexander Thornton (Step-Father): Alexander raised him and his brother after their mother died. One day he never returned home and disappeared. Duke doesn’t know what happened to the old man and chooses to ignore it.

Daphne Thornton (Mother): She died when Duke was young. He doesn’t remember much about her. He’s asked for multiple Mnemokinetics to enhance his memories of her but they seem to be blocked.

Sibling Names:

Aries Thornton (Older Twin Brother): They have a love/hate relationship. Duke used to jump on Aries' bed or throw tantrums without Aries giving a care or simply laughing at his little brother's amusing rants. And other days Duke stayed tensed in fear for his life because Aries was having a bad day. He knows Aries wouldn’t kill him but deep down Duke is terrified of what he could do.

Children Names:

None

Romantic Connections:

Peter Knox (Boyfriend): They were both hostile against each other when Peter stepped into Duke’s life. Duke knew deep down he was attracted to Peter but had no way to express himself while Peter was dating someone else. They became good friends and bonded over old homebrewing. They eventually opened Anonymous together and their romantic relationship bloomed within its walls. They have been together for 7 years and have a home near the main packhouse.

Platonic Connections:

Isaac Baker (Wolf Leader): Isaac has given him a chance that could destroy his pack and his reputation. Duke is forever grateful.

Geri Beckham (Good Friend): Geri was one of the first of the Chicago pack to welcome him in with wide arms. They just clicked.

Talia Cleirigh (Friend): Talia once mistook him for his brother, Aries, and they have been friends ever since. She was a big help to him when he was first cursed.

Michael Shaw (Friend): Michael is intelligent and one of the only other wolves that Duke can hold a long conversation without it getting awkward.

Leah Phillips (Friendly): Leah reminds him of his cousin Kaylor.

Ronan Cleirigh (Distant Cousin): Ronan has helped him through a lot. And continues to do so. Duke is grateful for him and his help.

Garrett Cleirigh (Distant Cousin): They had a lot of fun while Duke was still a warlock. Their fun has slowed down but they continue to support each other.

Hostile Connections:

Alan Thomas (Indifferent): Alan has hounded Duke since day one. Duke does everything in his power to ignore him.

Sol Alfaro (Dislike): Duke has met people like Sol before and knows the game that Sol is trying to play.

Kudzai Rinker (Nuisance): Kudzai has always been a thorn in his side. If it wasn’t for her seat on the Council, Duke would have been normal again by now.

Pets:

None

→ History Duke has never really been alone. Since the moment his parents decided to have him, he’s been with his twin brother Aries. Duke's mother, who was a neuromancer, was there and aided when he bumped his head as a toddler. He first learned to hunt for food with his step-father, a disintegrator, there besides him. When he was learning to have better control of his powers, the Cleirigh family was there to help him. The only time he was really alone was when ventured out to test his master powers on a pack of wolves in Canada. He took control of them for days and that’s where the Alberta province Council caught him. It was against their council rules for those with therinology to use their master powers against mythical creatures. They had an animator within their council who quickly deactivated his powers. He was unable to leave or contact his family. Duke was sentenced to 300 years cursed as a wolf and his powers were to remain deactivated until then.

It took months for Duke to make it back home in wolf form and he was nearly poached multiple times. When he reached home he was greeted by Ronan and Roman. The spirits around him made it clear who he was but not why he was the way he was. It was Kaylor who understood him and translated exactly what happened. His family was on a warpath but apparently the local wolf pack had already wiped out the council. They were at a loss but Duke remembered most of their names, the most predominant one being a Wilhelm. While they attacked most of the Wilhelms in Canada, South and North America, Duke remained in wolf form. As half of his family fought, the other half tried to break his curse. It was nearly a year later when Roman and Judson created a spell to change him back into his human form. Sadly, the curse was still active. When he found he couldn’t use his magic, Duke burst into his wolf form again. He only changed back this time when he calmed down.

That’s how the cycle continued. Until one day, Ronan, Roman, Kaylor, Aries and Judson were sure they figured out a way to change him back into a warlock. Ronan and Roman had specially taken on Archives, Oracles and Animators as mentees or workers at Shutter to help their progress. However, there must have been a miscalculation on someone's part because instead of turning Duke back from a cursed wolf shifter to a warlock, they made it so every supernatural in Chicago was stuck as stuck in whatever form they were shifted in and made it impossible for every witches and warlocks to use their powers for two weeks. Everyone was furious and the cat was out of the bag after 193 years of secrecy. For the most part everyone feared him. It irritated the living Hell out of him but there was nothing he could do without endangering himself and his family. Isaac Baker, wolf alpha, spoke out on the third day of every Chicago leader meeting about the incident. Isaac offered him a spot within his pack, to help with his wolf and in return Ronan would side with them on any votes or other serious matters. Duke had never embraced being in wolf form; he never ate in wolf form, never urinated in wolf form or in general did anything besides stalk around or run. Isaac began to train him and Duke’s world slowly changed around him.

In mid-2012 a nuisance by the name of Peter Knox walked into Duke’s life. Isaac kept Duke away from the wolves within his clan before, but had decided it was time to introduce him after they came up with an explanation. Peter was a hot bundle of frustration and emotional tension. Duke was attracted to him the moment he laid eyes on him but the cocky son of a bitch smirked. Duke’s attraction led to his anger. He was hot on Peter’s tail, constantly informing him how displeased he was that the other man was second and how he wasn’t what they needed. It didn’t help that Peter started sleeping around someone younger and of a different species. He wasn’t on Peter’s top list too, he later found out because Peter’s show of dominance never worked on Duke. Duke had no clue what it was that Peter was doing and stared at him as if he was an idiot. One random day they started talking about shitty beers and reminisced about old fashioned brewing and they clicked. Their friendship grew as Duke turned a section of the pack kitchen into a brew station and they bonded over a rare mixture that Duke remembered from his travels in Ireland. It was Peter that suggested he open a bar and Duke put his plans in motion, offering Peter to invest and possibly co-own with him. By this time, Peter had called it off with the younger species but it was only after the break up that they shared their first kiss while putting away glasses right before the grand opening of Anonymous.

→ The Present His family has found his cure a decade too late. Duke remembers being unwilling to leave the house and too angry to face the world when his magic was taken from him. He has long come to terms with what he did and repented his sins. His sentencing was clear; 300 years as a wolf for his crimes. With their disastrous last failed attempt to change him back and his blooming relationship with Peter, Duke is unsure if he wants to be a warlock again since his relationship with Peter would have to end. He is unsure what another failed attempt could hold for their family or if it would force the truth out about him to the supernatural world. That is something Duke isn’t willing to gamble with anytime soon.

Anonymous has been doing well but Duke is having trouble keeping it a supernaturals only bar. He has humans and supernaturals working the morning shifts but only supernaturals working the night and weekend shifts. Duke is thinking of placing a ward around the establishment that deters humans from entering but is also crunching numbers that aren’t adding up from their loss. Peter and Duke have been promoting their business on Ryan Cleirigh's podcast and speaking in general about the community. Ryan however has been trying to push the topic towards their relationship and the unspoken LGBTQ community within the supernatural world.

#Duke Thornton #Taken

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monsters-and-mystics · 5 years ago

Note

Hell me about your OCs, please. I'd love to hear about them!

Hi, Anon! I’m not really sure what to tell, so I’ll just give you a basic rundown for each of them! (But uh... since my basic rundown is a lot because i don’t know how not to word-vomit about my OCs I’ll make it a read more thing 😅)

The main OCs I have for my Twilight story are the Dagwood siblings: Amethyst, Chris, Dale, and Cypress. They’re from a long family of magic-users, aka witches! 😁

Minor Backstory:

They’re originally from Maine but they’ve lived all over the US mainland and tend to move every three to six months. This is usually due to one of them (*cough* Amethyst) “slipping up” and revealing their magical nature to Normal People (”Norms”) or catching the attention of other witches — which they DO NOT want.

Their mother often ventures off without them as she tends to work directly with other magic users and/or Norms dealing with supernatural problems and doesn’t want to endanger her kids — particularly Amethyst. Their father is out of the picture, but whether he’s dead or just abandoned them is heavily debated in the family.

The Siblings:

~Cypress is the oldest, having just turned 20, and is the family’s main source of income and Resident Adult when Mom’s away — he makes sure the rent is paid, decides if someone gets to borrow the car, signs permission slips, etc. Even though he’s oldest and technically in charge, he tends to defer all the bigger decisions to Amethyst and/or support her ideas because she’s the family’s official temporary Head. He used to go to college but had to give it up in lieu of taking care of his siblings.

He’s a fairly quiet person who prefers staying in the background. He enjoys building things and usually finds work as a mechanic, but his real passion is in the arts — namely painting and sculpting.

He has a magical Talent where, if he touches an object with his hand, he can see the memories attached to it. Strong emotions cling to objects more readily than every-day events though, which can be incredibly overwhelming.

Cypress doesn’t like being a witch and really only practices enough magic to keep his Talent from interfering with his everyday life. Other than that, he prefers to live and act like a Norm as much as he can.

~Dale is a senior in high school and is an outstandingly fun, hilarious character. He’s quite vain with his appearance, is an extreme flirt, and loves being adored/the center of attention — especially with girls. However, he’s also a very caring and loving person and will not hesitate to fight in defense of others. He thinks he’s the knight in shining armor, but I think it’s his genuine, over-the-top nature that makes people irl love him.

He has a Talent in crafting and creating; which means whatever he’s working with, his magic draws out the best qualities. This makes him phenomenal with potions, spell pouches, and charms — which helps with the glamors he makes to improve his looks. But this Talent also comes out with Normal activities too, like cooking, baking, and even making paper-airplanes.

He and Amethyst also have a psychic link that resulted from a spell gone wrong in their childhood. They generally can’t “hear” each other's thoughts, but they have an innate awareness of the other’s wants/feelings/etc. The closer they are to each other, the stronger the link; if they get too close while their guard’s down, they tend to start “echoing” each other – saying the same thing at the same time –, “synchronizing” – doing the same movements at the same time –, and/or mix up whose consciousness is whose. If they aren’t careful, they could get stuck like this again.

~Amethyst is the eldest daughter and my fic’s main character. She’s the family’s Head Witch while their mother’s away, meaning she makes all the final decisions regarding magic though she can be (and has been) out-voted by her siblings. Amethyst takes this role quite seriously but does tend to abuse it from time to time, too.

She’s very good with numbers and keeps constant tabs on the number of days until her 18th birthday. Nothing special happens then, but witches like her – called Essences – rarely make it to adulthood, so she hopes to make it that long in order to spite everyone who told her parents they were foolish to try keeping her alive.

Essences are sort of “made of magic” and their human bodies have a hard time keeping their power contained; which is why it’s so easy for her to “slip up” compared to her siblings and most other witches. This volatility could also kill her if she isn’t careful. Additionally, because Essences are basically “magic incarnate” they are highly coveted by other magic users — sometimes in a “please you’re the only one who can help me” kind of way, and sometimes in a “I’m going to use your blood and bones to gain godlike power” kind of way.

Am often anguishes over this and the guilt of her existence always screwing her family over, which creates a depressive, fatalistic mindset that Dale frequently worries over. Despite this, however, she does find joy in her life through music and theater (and musical theater!). She’s a talented actress and good liar but has a few blatant tells that her siblings can pick out instantly.

Amethyst has a Talent for storms and electricity but it often works against her due to the instability of her magic.

~Chris (aka Chrysanthemum) is the family hothead. She’s only 14 but uses her anger and attitude to seem older. She cares viciously about her family and will do anything to keep them safe, but she’s also extremely bitter about the life she’s been forced to live because of Am.

She swears constantly and tends to lash out against Amethyst and Dale by punching or hitting them. This tends to be quite painful as she is inarguably the strongest of the four – almost inhumanly so – despite her small size.

She, ironically, has a Talent in healing magic, but this is overshadowed by her curse gift of Sight. She naturally Sees other realms, magical energies, and supernatural entities like ghosts, demons, and the fae. Other witches have to work quite hard to “turn on” the Sight, but Chris can’t “turn it off” at all and so has to endure these sights constantly. Additionally, because of this, her eyes always give off a subtle glow. Most Norms don’t notice however because her eyes are already a bright blue and she often hides behind her hair.

She takes being a witch very seriously and has little patience for commercialized Norm holidays that have “taken over” witchy holidays (e.g. Halloween & Samhain; Christmas & Yule). Outside of her siblings and magical life, she’s painfully shy and typically doesn’t like having a lot of attention. She’s a bookworm, takes honors classes whenever possible, and rarely makes more than one or two friends per school to “keep things simple”.

uuhhh so yeah. Thems my babies 😅 As you can tell, I will gladly talk about them all day and night haha💕💕

#ask #anon #OCs #Twilight ocs #witch oc #Dagwood Family

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littlemissonewhoisall · 7 years ago

Text

Guide to writing Cassandra Cain

I’ve seen a lot of people in the Bat Family fandom say that they often minimize or exclude Cassandra from their works because they don’t know enough about her. While I HIGHLY recommend reading her Batgirl comic from 2000, I’ve compiled a guide to her personality, abilities, and relationships with other DC characters here for easy reference. (I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, but I’ve probably forgotten something so please feel free to add onto this if you know the character well)

PERSONALITY

Cassandra has a difficult time with language, spoken or written. This generally manifests through her relying on body language and single-word sentences to get her point across. When she needs to speak, it is halting and awkward, but not broken. She will pause frequently, mumble, or use Malapropisms, but she is a perfectionist and is frustrated when she doesnt use perfect grammar or pronunciation. At times she will be unable to find the words for a particular thought. She usually is portrayed as being unable to read or write.

Cass sometimes uses mimicry when she has trouble putting words together herself, quoting films, tv shows, and plays.

Cassandra is compassionate above all else. She values life, and protecting it is her highest priority. She will not hesitate to put herself in danger to save others, and does not tolerate killing.

Cassandra has a strong guilt complex. Anyone who dies on her watch weighs heavily on her conscience, even if there was nothing she could’ve done to stop it. She does not let go of these “failures” easily.

Cassandra has little regard for societal norms and expectations. While generally caring and compassionate, she often comes across as rude due to spending most of her life either locked in a bunker or surviving in the wilderness. This includes poor table manners, a tendency to lurk in the shadows, and mirroring her adoptive father’s habit of coming and going without warning.

Cassandra has great pride in her physical prowess, but little in her moral character. Though she has a strong moral code and is quick to intervene when others break it, she does not see herself as above them and may even have more faith in them than in herself, as she still feels that she may not be able to rise above her upbringing. She can be rather arrogant about her superior agility and combat prowess, however.

Cassandra is fond of friendly jibes and snark, usually but not always expressed nonverbally. Her sense of humor is slightly unconventional, but usually good-natured.

Cassandra wears her heart on her sleeve. She is very emotional, and her past trauma can make her emotionally vulnerable, especially because of her lack of communicative skills. Her emotions show through her entire body, even when she doesn’t vocalize them.

Cassandra is quick to leap before looking, but excellent at adapting to unexpected situations. She is a poor planner and rather impulsive, with a rebellious streak that sometimes makes it hard for her to listen to instructions. However, she is great at thinking on her feet and analyzing her situation in the moment.

Cassandra does not do things in half measures. When she wants to learn something, such as reading or detective work, she is eager to dive into the deep end even if it’s not always the best way to approach it. As mentioned before she is also a perfectionist when it comes to herself, so this approach often leads to frustration.

Cassandra is very physically affectionate, with little mind for personal space. This often comes in the form of gently touching the face of someone she believes to be in pain.

Cassandra is extremely empathetic, to the point that it can be overwhelming for her at times. She is very good at spotting falsehoods, hidden pain, etc.

Despite this, she often misinterprets social cues. For instance, when Barbara and Dick were going through a rough patch in their relationship, she though Dick had intentionally done something to hurt Barbara, and threw him out a window.

ABILITIES

Cass is fast. Really, really fast. She can move incredibly quickly and quietly, making her very hard to track.

Cass has a shocking amount of strength for her small size. She has punched through 3-inch thick quartz glass, kicked down concrete walls, and thrown a metahuman more than twice her size without issue.

Her primary advantage comes from her ability to read body language and predict her opponents’ actions, allowing her to dodge bullets and outmaneuver pretty much any non powered opponent. This ability does not work on robots, animals, or sufficiently nonhuman aliens.

Cassandra is a contender for the world’s best martial artist, along with Lady Shiva and Richard Dragon. She can pick up new fighting styles nearly instantly, allowing her to learn and adapt techniques she’s never encountered before.

Cass is an incredible acrobat, though not as good as Nightwing.

Cass is able to control the amount of force she uses to the point that she doesn’t usually have to worry about killing even when using normally lethal techniques.

She is able to use pressure points to paralyze someone nearly instantly, though she has only shown the ability to use it on those who do not expect her to attack.

She can stop a person’s heart using a special technique, and in later appearances was able to do so without endangering the person for a good length of time, though they’d still die if not revived within that time period.

She is very good at analyzing her surroundings, which has helped her solve cases.

Cassandra is exceptional at dividing her attention and energy, able to coordinate herself to the point that government agents assumed she was a metahuman.

She is very good at the intimidation side of the job, able to terrify even trained killers.

RELATIONSHIPS

Cassandra is very close to Stephanie Brown, who was her first real friend. She can be a bit overprotective of her, even using violence to keep her out of fights that Cass thinks will be too much for her, though she has largely grown out of that and these days has a lot more faith in her. Cassandra is able to unwind with Stephanie in ways that she has trouble doing with around other people, even those she trusts like Barbara and Tim. When Stephanie seemingly died, Cassandra was deeply affected, becoming shorter-tempered and more violent.

Cassandra sees Barbara as the mother she never had, and values her insight. Though she often chafes at Barbara’s well-intentioned attempts to get her to see beyond her life as Batgirl, she still cares deeply for her.

Cass sees Bruce as somewhat of a father figure as well as a bit of an idol, and seeks his approval. When she believes that she has disappointed him, it can be devastating for her. However, she also recognizes his pain and trauma, and sympathizes strongly with it. Her admiration also doesn’t always mean she’ll do what he says.

While Cassandra and Dick don’t always get along (as mentioned earlier), she usually sees him as a mentor and big brother, and she is often more relaxed around him than most people.

Cass and Jason’s interactions have been largely confrontational, and it’s likely that further encounters would be similar, as she is strongly opposed to lethal force and would endeavor to stop him if she could. That said, she would almost certainly understand the pain he went through, and would try to get through to him with words as much as she is capable, rather than immediately resorting to violence.

Cass and Tim have a long and complicated history. While the two of them started off rather tense, with Tim being somewhat intimidated by her, they soon grew very close, and treat each other as siblings. Their strengths complement each other, and they are able to work in synch with each other very well. She has also been known to break into his house to steal food and take a shower.

Like Jason, Cass’s interactions with Damian are few and far between. Their first meeting didn’t end well, as Cassandra pulled him from a building when he was disarming a bomb despite his protests that he could handle it. While she found some of what he said hurtful, she didn’t seem to hold much of a grudge, and I think they could find common ground due to their similar backgrounds.

Cassandra and Duke seem to be friends, though beyond that little is known of their relationship.

Cassandra is close with Harper Row, and the two of them definitely care for one another despite the troubled history between them.

Cass and Jean-Paul Valley bonded quickly over their shared inexperience with society, and they are both very fond of one-another.

Cassandra is friends with Dinah Lance, who she has been shown to train with on occasion.

Cass does not get along with Helena Bertinelli for obvious reasons, and when they worked together during the Battle for the Cowl there was quite a bit of tension between them.

Cassandra had a close relationship with Basil Karlo/Clayface during the time that he had reformed, as she had faith in his ability to change. His apparent death devastated her.

Her relationship with her biological father is complicated. Though she has always despised what he does for a living, it took a long time for her to come to terms with how badly he treated her.

Cass’s relationship with her biological mother is even more complex. In most depictions, Cassandra respects Shiva in some ways, but is also troubled by all of the lives that she’s taken.

#cassandra cain #Bat Family #bat fam #batkids #batfam #DC comics #bat kids #batgirl #black bat #orphan #kasumi #cass cain #cassandra wayne #blackbat

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celticfeather · 6 years ago

Link

Chapter 1: https://celticfeather.tumblr.com/post/188433697686/akatsuki-fic-campfires

Cannibals Chapter 3: The Lineage of Izanagi

-Uchiha Itachi-

Something particularly loveless prodded Itachi awake.

"You're the last watch till dawn," Kakuzu said. Itachi activated his sharingan as he woke, his dark eyes shifting to red. He could see Kakuzu's green ones were dilated near-sightlessly in the blackness.

Itachi rose and leapt up their chosen watchman's tree. The sharingan allowed him to see a wider spectrum of visible light than a normal human, and what should have been the black jungle night gained a strange ultraviolet tinge, a whitish-purple color somewhere between neon and dark that his language could not well describe. The stars and chakras shined different, coldly-bright, minty colors too. But he saw no glows of enemy shinobi in the night, just the gentle silver chakra silhouettes of sleeping birds and insects, and the three ninja below him. He let his sharingan fade. In an hour it had become bright enough for ordinary humans to see.

He alighted between the three ninja sleeping on the ground to no response. So much for Kisame's 'I only half sleep' claim.

Unsure of the best way to wake them, Itachi announced at normal volume, "It's dawn."

They rose quickly and quietly, professional in every mercenary sense of the word. For a troupe of cantankerous rogues, Itachi was surprised no one complained. He supposed that would resume once they decided they were no longer being hunted.

"No sign of the enemy since I've been awake," Itachi reported.

"Time to get the hell out of the land of Lightning. Anyone gotta take a piss, now's the time," Kakuzu said. After a short moment, the four ninja oriented themselves against the eastern dawn, and began leaping through the trees.

"Where's Zetsu when you need him?" Deidara muttered as they ran. "He'd say what Pain wants us to do about this."

"You don't need Pain or his pet mushroom. You have me," Kakuzu said.

"Yeah? And who made you second in command?"

"I'm the one who actually talks with our contractors. So naturally, I have our mission intel, and there's no reason to stop work."

"Hmpf," Deidara said.

"Since you fucked up the least, Kisame, I'll let you pick what you do." Kakuzu said. "You want to fix this Raikage incident, or make some money?"

Kisame looked at Itachi for his opinion. Itachi merely raised his eyebrows in reply.

"Make money," Kisame answered. Good. Itachi wanted to be away from this disaster.

"Great. You two go to this shithole village and kill their patriarch. When you're done with that, some pirates could use a lesson in not leaving witnesses." Kakuzu tossed a scroll to Kisame and one to Itachi, who each caught them deftly. Kakuzu then looked at Deidara.

"Deidara, you and Sasori will fix your fuck up. We don't want the Cloud or Mist investigating the Akatsuki. Blame it on different terrorists."

"How do we do that?"

"Doesn't matter," Kakuzu said.

Deidara frowned. But his calmness suggested he thought Sasori would know how to fix it.

They were soon over the border of the Land of Frost, where they said the brief goodbyes of stiff men. Itachi and Kisame continued west. Deidara went north. Kakuzu south. They stopped at a collection point on the way to get Kisame a new robe and gear, and began their ascent to the next mission's village in the afternoon.

They stopped along a river to prepare. The mint-colored alpine meltwater cooled the air in a low dense pocket from the beating sun. Itachi opened the scroll of mission intel and familiarized himself with the details. "Small town. Better we don't make a stir."

Kisame grunted in acknowledgement and stepped towards the river, swinging Samehada off his shoulder. He summoned a large deep-blue shark along the bank. It opened its mouth, and Kisame pressed the wrapped Samehada inside its white-fleshed throat. The two ninja being armed to the teeth was useful for intimidation, but a hindrance to infiltration. As if it was a loyal horse, Kisame patted the magical shark once on the muzzle once it closed its jaws around Samehada.

"You ever touch a shark before, Itachi? Try it."

Like he had been invited to partake in the most dangerous petting zoo, Itachi wet his feet at the bank where the shark, high as his hips, swayed half submerged. He thought the shark would look at him, or at least acknowledge him, but its circular black eyes didn't waver. With a slowness Itachi hoped the fish would interpret as respect, he brushed his palm against its exposed gray flank.

"It feels like sandpaper."

Kisame smiled. "Shark skin is actually made of dentin, the same material as teeth."

Because they need more of that, Itachi thought. He removed his hand, and deeming its duty done, the huge probably-sentient carnivore disappeared with a puff of mist to the realm Kisame had summoned it from.

"It's not easy to make a summoning contract with a shark, you know. Ninja tend to not come back," Kisame said.

"I thought you said sharks don't like how people taste."

"Oh, the sage sharks of Koraru Depths make exceptions for arrogant Mist chunin. You don't taste that bad."

He sent Kisame a reproachful look at his choice of pronouns, but Itachi's face was something of a resting scowl, so Kisame seemed not to notice.

To appear like a traveler of the civilian sort, Itachi untied his shuriken packs and the ninja headband. They kept their robes, no one yet recognized the red clouds as unique. He thought living in the forest on the run gave him enough of a convincingly rough appearance. Lifting his gaze from the water's reflection, he regarded his partner.

"Do I pass for a trader?"

"You look fine. It's your voice that's the problem."

"My voice?"

"I don't know how much you know about the Hidden Mist, but there we have a caste system, and the Hoshigaki belong to a certain caste. And people like me can tell by your dialect, Itachi, that you come from a noble family, and there's not a chance in hell you're a traveling merchant."

Itachi never thought of himself as in an upper class, and caste had been abolished in his land seventy years ago. Kisame's background in the Mist allowed him to perceive things that Itachi never intended to exude. "I see."

"Try gotcha, instead of I see."

"Gotcha."

Itachi pulled a piece of paper from the scroll and unfolded its careful nine-faceted square. A sketch of the man they were paid to kill stared back at them. Taika Hiroki. About sixty years old, leader of the local clan, someone had it out for him. Kisame nodded, having committed his face a last time to memory. Itachi burned the incriminating documents between his fingers.

The pair climbed ancient stairs carved from wood, stone, and roots, along a humid forested mountain crest. Traditional torii winged gates arched over their heads, and the small village soon appeared along a glacial lake between the mountains. A chunin posted at the doorless entrance looked the two travelers up and down. He pulled a root of wild licorice from his teeth before he spoke.

"What brings you to Honomura?"

"We're merchants," Kisame said.

"Here for the festival?"

"Of course."

The guard escorted them in. A minor official who clearly did not get enough visitors gave them each wooden travelers' passes. What a bothersome village.

Itachi felt more endangered in these hamlets. He paradoxically would be less noticed in a large ninja village. It was in these tribal redoubts, where most of the settlement consisted of a single clan, that he knew he was immediately recognized as an outsider. By the introductions they made with petty officials, the pair gleaned that three quarters of the settlement's two-hundred-odd population had the surname Taika, and it would not be easy to find theirs.

But the presence of the foreigners attracted mercifully little attention at the festival. Like moths drawn to the warm haze of paper lanterns, the outlaw pair wandered dazed to the center of the fairgrounds. After weeks in the forest they were transfixed by the live music, the vendors, and best, the greasy scent of real food -not whole animals- which glistened with salt and sauce. They looked at each other with testing eyes that betrayed the same poorly concealed thought.

"How much money do we have," Itachi said.

Kisame checked himself. "I've got eight hundred."

"I have one thousand."

Crap.

"I'll find some more money," Kisame said. Good. They were on the same line of the same page. In less than two minutes, Kisame had stolen a two centimeter wad of cash from a food stand.

Itachi's eyes darted from stand to stand. "What do you want to eat?"

"Do I look picky to you?"

Bristling with treasures —foods on sticks and cups of tea and sake between their knuckles— Itachi and Kisame seated themselves at one of many low tables near the town's stage and began to eat. Soon enough an announcer entered stage center, and introduced an act on the origin of deities.

"How's your knowledge of religion, Itachi?"

"Average."

The play began as they ate, and rusted to art forms, Itachi found himself paying rapt attention. Two actors dressed in white robes, a woman and a spear-wielding man, stepped onto the stage, where white lanterns cast the empty scene in an ethereal fog. Dipping his spear into the water, or rather tapping the stage floor, the man created land, and the white-clouded lanterns slid on the string to be replaced with ones tinted a jungle green.

"Izanami and Izanagi," Itachi whispered to Kisame. "Siblings, but also..." he waved his hand in esoteric explanation.

The creation gods Izanami and Izanagi had several deformed and normative children. First born was Hiruko, stricken with a hunched back, and cast into a river. They had many others, at last birthing Kagutsuchi the fire god. Izanami died giving birth to the flaming infant.

"And with Izanami's end, the world's first death occurred, and with it the age of creation. Intent to amend his wife's unjust fate, Izanagi plunged into the underworld, which then, was not separated from the realm of men," the narrator read.

Izanami wandered through a darkened stage, and stopped short. Behind a veil shined the unmistakable silhouette of his beloved wife.

The curtain lifted, but the woman it revealed was not fair Izanami. The actress's serene white face-paint had become putrefied in death. Children's gasps accented the moment. Fingers curled in shock at his rancid beloved, Izanagi turned away. His wife was enraged at his superficial rejection, and spurred demons after her former lover. Izanagi raced from the underworld, off the stage, where demons in fur-rimmed masks chased him through the audience until Izanagi circled, panting but safe, back onto the stage of the surface world. He pushed a prop-boulder over the cave, forever sealing life from death.

The narrator stepped onto the stage, and a spotlight centered on him, with Izanagi bathing himself in background.

"Izanagi cleansed himself from the underworld in a rushing river. The water that streamed off his face became three new gods:"

The spotlight jumped to greet the new characters in regal dress:

"From one eye sprung the proud moon god, Tsukuyomi."

"From the nose, the mischievous god of sea and storm, Susanoo."

"And from the other eye, artful and enlightened, patron of our village: Amaterasu the sun."

"Amaterasu was by far the most righteous and beautiful of the three new gods," the narrator crooned, and stooped low to leer at her backside. Amaterasu raised her fan to her face, whumphing the announcer without a lapse in grace, and the audience laughed.

The three new gods greeted the world of men -the audience- each with kabuki flourishes that reflected their personalities. He thought Amaterasu made eye contact with him from behind her fan.

"Hm." Kisame smiled slightly and his pupils slid to Itachi.

Itachi sipped his tea. "We might be the most interesting thing that blew into this town in a week."

"You should talk with her."

"I'm not good at flirting."

Kisame snorted. "Just like your knowledge of religion."

"I'm not being modest. I haven't spoken with a girl my age in years. In this town, I'm just a merchant."

"A kind, handsome one."

Itachi was struck that Kisame had called him 'kind.' He did not think Kisame would evaluate someone with that category. Not knowing how to take the compliment, Itachi stared back at the stage. Amaterasu and Susanoo competed over who was a stronger god. Amaterasu had just turned Susanoo's sword into five human beings, versus Susanoo's ability to spring only three from her necklace.

Their low table quaked. Kisame had plunged his cup down so hard and fast that his drink sloshed over the rim. His wide nose wrinkled and the stare Itachi met was battle-urgent.

"There's blood, buckets of it, enough to drain ten men."

Itachi forced his shoulders to relax. They must not act or show awareness of this yet. His eyes scanned the crowd as a cheering arose and the taiko drums beat an excited sinister trot into the space between his ribs. A column of fifteen men and boys carved a path like a wild river through the parade grounds, a coarse wooden platform undulating on the men's shoulders. Atop it glistened a bleeding heap of fresh red muscles and white fascia. It was a dead, skinned, horse.

Kisame squinted. "What the hell?"

"The crimes of Susanoo. Upset with his sister, he flayed the skin off Amaterasu's horse," Itachi explained. He also noted that in these conditions, Kisame could not differentiate human from animal blood.

Susanoo charmingly presented Amaterasu the horse carcass from the audience. Amaterasu strode off the stage in grief and anger, her silken white-red sleeves snapping, and the stage darkened with the egress of the dawn goddess, plunging the realm of men into darkness. Susanoo smirked and laughed, and the loping demons in fur-rimed masks began to howl. String instruments climaxed crescendo and fell, marking the end of the play's chapter. The audience gasped and clapped. The festival night was now without the Sun's guidance, and any kind of crookedness could occur before dawn returned.

The men heaped the horse onto a pyre, and a chunin lit it with a fire jutsu, enflaming a birchwood pile which was small enough that the meat might be cooked rather than carbonized. The village had a dark interpretation of their worship: Itachi thought that the goddess Amaterasu would not appreciate the flaying of another horse in her name. But the villagers seemed to like it.

"The Leaders of the Mist would consider this barbaric," Kisame said, his sly eyes smiling behind his cup.

Itachi matched Kisame's sentiment. No, the great ninja villages did not sacrifice simple horses to gods of sun, but sacrificed men and souls to gods of war. Gods they hailed each time they smithed a kunai, and who licked their lips at each newborn baby.

The next performance started, some students playing taiko drums. It was a banal sight compared to the play. Itachi ate his dango and drank his tea, listened to the music, and watched thick smoke rise from the pyre.

A gang of the village's teens stood by the pyre, the actress for Amaterasu among them. She had removed the headdress and white facepaint, but she still wore Amaterasu's red and white wake-sleeved furisode. One of the group looked at him and Kisame and giggled, as if discussing a dare. Then Amaterasu looked at the two travelers and grabbed a tray. He realized with a start that she was coming towards them. Kisame, who smelled caste like he smelled blood, tugged Itachi's robe, telling him that this is when merchants stood.

She dipped her head in greeting. "Excuse me sirs, my name is Taika Hato. I'm priestess at our temple and actress at the theater. We noticed you're not from around here. Would you like some horse flesh?"

Itachi blinked: the sun goddess Amaterasu had just offered him to eat her horse. He stumbled out a yes.

"And you, sir?"

"Please give me the shoulder, Miss Hato."

"Sure. May I ask your names?"

'Itachi' meant weasel. Weasels were small, ambitious, mean, and hungry. His parents' birth judgement had been imperfect: Itachi had become a man who was calm, sharp, and observant.

"I am Karasu. And this is my companion, Mekajiki. It's very good to meet you, and thank you for the food." Itachi bowed his head and gave himself a name meaning crow, and swordfish for Kisame.

"You're welcome! How was the show?"

"Your performance was stirring. I only hope your next act is soon: if I remember, demons terrorize everyone on earth until Amaterasu comes back," he said, trying his best to exude friendliness, but he had not spoken to anyone he considered a friend in years. He sat down, and with a gesture to the empty space, he invited Hato to join them if she wanted. He noticed Kisame's chin dip near-imperceptibly in approval of his manners.

"You know your religion," she said, taking a seat. "Stick around tomorrow at seven to see me kick Susanoo's butt. What brings you two here?"

"You mean, you can't tell by our dress?" Itachi asked.

"It is odd," she agreed.

Itachi smiled. "We're charcoal burners."

"So you...?"

"We fell trees, burn the logs in an earthen kiln using fire and water style, and then travel from village to village selling the charcoal. Smiths burn it to keep their forges at the correct temperature. It's also used in cooking, fertilizer, detergent, explosives, traditional medicine- even cosmetics. We've got a wagon full of it down the road."

Her look between the two men deduced Itachi was the fire user. "How good is your fire style?"

"Just the basics," he said modestly.

Hato's eyes changed from simply friendly to that of intrigue, and her expression became appraising and hopeful. "For the last act, the village guards cast fire jutsus as tributes to Amaterasu. You should join them."

"I couldn't possibly intrude on your ceremony as an outsider."

"When it comes to this ceremony, I am the authority. Plus, gifts from strangers mean more than gifts from friends, we say."

Itachi nodded. He would make an offering of flame to Amaterasu. And the girl, her representative, smiled with her eyes. "Thank you, Karasu! They'll love it."

Kisame stretched, looked at the two youths, and stood to leave. His gaze alerted Itachi not to expect his return. "I'm going to… get some more sake."

"You don't want to watch your friend perform?" Hato asked.

Kisame grinned and waved. "He's not so impressive."

Hato led Itachi backstage to meet the village's top military brass: a gaggle of four men spanning years fifteen to thirty who passed a ceramic bottle between them. The root-chewing gatekeeper was youngest among them. Hato was received warmly by the soldiers. She introduced Itachi as a pious charcoal merchant, and he was quickly ignored by the men.

For this dangerous and final act of the night, the stage had been stripped bare of its curtains and paper lanterns, and strapping men spilled buckets of water across the hardwood stage. A grinning bucket-spiller splashed the remaining water dregs onto the squealing children in the front row. From the backstage tent, Itachi watched the first four performers submit their offerings, each casting the biggest sun he could into the night sky in honor of Amaterasu. The crowd shrieked and laughed, fire reflecting on their wide scleras. Stepping forward for his turn, Itachi decided he would create a fireball that was the third largest- no need to upstage the locals.

Itachi mounted the stage as the penultimate performer left. His eye caught on Hato staring at him encouragingly, she flashed a thumbs-up, and he was bolstered with a better idea. Halting just one step onto the stage, Itachi faced profile, and his chest swelled like a bird. He blew, and his fire bloomed a deep ferrous red sparking with trace elements, and the chakra fireball sprinted across the stage in the shape of a stallion. Mane flaring, embers sparking from its light hooves, the fleet, shrieking horse appeared and faded in a vacuum roar. He returned backstage to raucous applause. When the soldiers' mouths gaped wide enough to catch frogs, a quiet grin cut Itachi's lips.

It hadn't been larger than yours, he thought.

Hato linked arms with him and led him through the festival crowds. She would introduce him to people and he would forget their names. Villagers welcomed him like a hero and plied him with sake. A kind old lady handed him a skewer with cubes of horseflesh. Any friend of Amaterasu was a friend of theirs. He was happy. Kisame was gone, the mission was something for tomorrow, Hato was a nice girl, and he could pretend to be normal for a night. Her attention made him feel pleasantly male, that he wasn't strange, isolated, murderous or evil.

She had showed him around the small town and they found themselves walking along the cold, white-graveled shores of the glacier lake. The gentle summer alpine night glowed cobalt blue, lightened by a huge low moon, whose coolness was relieving compared to the warm and dark frenzy of the blood festival.

"Actress and priestess," Itachi said as they strolled. "One's devout, and old people would say the other is sinful. I haven't met a person who's been both."

She smiled. "Each coin has two sides, and the same goes for you. Where'd a merchant learn ninjutsu like that?"

"The road is dangerous… and," he whispered like sharing a secret, "Sometimes really boring."

"Hah! Can't be less interesting than here."

"Did you know, that was a curse you'd tell your enemies in the old days? 'May you live in interesting times'?"

"Sounds menacing when you say it. Can you do other ninja tricks?"

In a heartbeat, he threw three kunai in a perfect line along a slender birch, each resonating a deep thunk that merged into one. A white and gold moth fluttered impaled on the center knife. She gasped.

But when he looked back at her, her face seemed uncomfortable. The throw was well above chunin level, above most jounin. Itachi knew he should not be careless in his desire to impress her by throwing beyond the abilities of a merchant. But somehow, the throw had not pleased her.

"Is something wrong, Hato?"

"What I liked about your fire jutsu wasn't its killing power; it wasn't a weapon, it was art."

"Art..."

"It's like how you and Mekajiki use fire and water style to make charcoal. Your fire style painted Amaterasu's horse, and it was beautiful. Performance is art, and it makes people happy."

Itachi regurgitated what he knew of art. "Do you think art is a single rapturous instant, or eternal?"

"Weird question. Art isn't a period of time, but a place. It transports you somewhere you've never been before, to some feeling you've never felt before"

"Hm," Itachi pondered. He thought that was a better philosophy than that of either Deidara or Sasori. He wondered how mad they would be if he answered like that, and decided he would next time they asked his opinion. Which would probably be never.

She smiled at him. "I've got a stupid dream. Wanna hear it?"

"I'd love to."

"I dream to lead a group someday that practices more peaceful uses to ninjutsu than war. Even if it was just a traveling circus of theater artists, and all we accomplished was making some villagers laugh."

"You've already got a talent for performance. The road is dangerous, but train and surround yourself with others like you, and only a fool would rob you."

She smiled sadly. "Dad wants me to marry a prince in the next village."

"Bring the prince along."

The actress said nothing and skipped a stone over the lake. It failed after two stops, and she made a noise of embarrassment. Itachi picked up a small flat stone and also skipped it badly. Ripples in the lake reflected the moonbeams like bobbing driftwood.

"It's late," Itachi said after a while.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?"

Itachi did not answer right away. She said, "Stay the night at my house."

Itachi bowed. "That's very generous of you. I would be happy to stay overnight in your stable, and my partner as well, if possible."

There was a sly shift of her eyes, lids heavy around her big, black pupils. "I think he'll have found an inn by now. But that shouldn't stop you."

Hato escorted him across flagstones that shone silver in the moonlight. Carrying their shoes, opening a sliding door with the utmost care, the two tiptoeing teens entered her sub-clan's complex and slipped into her bedroom.

Itachi set his shoes along the wall, wondering to what extent he should undress himself. When he turned around, Hato had knelt on her white futon. With her eyes trained at him, she slowly loosened the belt of her furisode to bare her chest. Itachi did the same. He reached to kiss her, she kissed him back. He shed the rest of his clothes, then did the same for her. He leaned into her. This is what people did.

He shuddered at the unfamiliarity when her weak hands touched his neck, they were warm and soft, hot as death-blood. He banished the rising memories, memories from the last time he did this, no, from the last time he thought he did this with Izumi that terrible night. Their bodies fit together like hot white ivory, and like smoke and steam, a very un-normal man tried his best to do this very normal thing.

Author's Note;

Heyo, thanks for supporting this fic. I plan to post Chapter 4 around Friday Nov 23. This will be a long dramatic fic with probably about 10-15 chapters this length, and I have a lot of progress made already.

Let me know your thoughts. And thanks of course to thanks again to beta myochiikurin!

Steadfast,

Kelto

Follow on FF or Ao3

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13409132/1/Campfires

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21019778/chapters/49992863

#split this one because it was too long #but chapter 3 yay!#this was delayed because i literally could not write the last paragraph how i wanted for two weeks #but its an important skill to just say yeah im 80 percent satisfied with this and publish it anyway #campfires #naruto #akatsuki #akatsuki fanfic #itachi #kisame #kisaita #celticfeather #keltodier #thanks for reading!

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newstfionline · 5 years ago

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Trump Plans to Suspend Immigration to U.S. (NYT) President Trump said on Monday evening that he intended to close the United States to people trying to immigrate into the country to live and work, a drastic move that he said would protect American workers from foreign competition once the nation’s economy began to recover from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, “I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” The president’s late-night announcement on Monday signals his most wide-ranging attempt yet to seal off the country from the rest of the world. A formal order temporarily barring the provision of new green cards and work visas could come as early as the next few days, according to several people familiar with the plan.

“I just can’t do this.” Harried parents forgo home school (AP) Frustration is mounting as more families across the U.S. enter their second or even third week of distance learning—and some overwhelmed parents say it will be their last. Amid the barrage of learning apps, video meet-ups and e-mailed assignments that pass as pandemic home school, some frustrated and exhausted parents are choosing to disconnect entirely for the rest of the academic year. Others are cramming all their children’s school work into the weekend or taking days off work to help their kids with a week’s worth of assignments in one day. That stress is only compounded for families with multiple children in different grades, or when parents work long hours outside the home. In some cases, older siblings must watch younger ones during the day, leaving no time for school work.

A century later, victory gardens connect Americans again (AP) During World War I, posters proclaiming “Food will win the war” encouraged Americans to grow victory gardens. A century later, home gardeners are returning to that idea in the fight against a global pandemic. Backyard gardeners are coming together, mostly virtually, to learn and share stories on how to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers as the novel coronavirus raises fears about disruptions in food supplies and the cost of food in a down economy. “World War I, to me, is a pretty stark parallel,” said Rose Hayden-Smith, a historian and author of “Sowing the Seeds of Victory: American Gardening Programs of World War I.” “Not only was there a war, but there was an influenza pandemic.” Now, gardeners new and old are getting online and on social media to post pictures of freshly tilled backyards, raised garden beds, seeds germinating under grow lights or flocks of chickens. Some of these gardeners are newly unemployed, or working parents stuck at home with bored kids. Others are gardening enthusiasts who never had the time before to delve deep into the hobby. Urban community gardeners are ramping up production to feed families who have lost income and kids who no longer get meals at school.

Mexico’s president praises inmate amnesty as ‘humanitarian act’ (Reuters) A prisoner amnesty law in Mexico aimed at releasing non-violent inmates as a coronavirus containment measure won praise from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday, coming as health authorities expect the virus to spread faster in the days ahead. The Mexican Congress passed the amnesty late on Monday. It will allow for the release of low-level offenders, including those convicted of robbery and small-scale drug possession, as well women jailed on abortion charges. It will also apply to indigenous convicts who did not receive an adequate defense due to language barriers and those who were coerced to work with criminal gangs.

British tabloids: ‘Distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason’ (CJR) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have written to the British tabloids promising never to work with them again. The couple, who moved abroad and ended official royal duties last month, sent the letter to four of the main British tabloids—The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Daily Mirror—on Sunday evening. The former royals said they were implementing a new media-relations policy toward the outlets after the publication of what they believed were distorted and invasive stories. “It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print—even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason,” the couple said.

Normal influenza cases all but vanish in Europe (Reuters) Influenza, which each year kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, all but vanished in Europe last month as coronavirus lockdowns slowed transmission, according to EU data and scientists. The northern hemisphere’s winter flu outbreak normally runs from October until mid-May and in some seasons has claimed lives on the scale of COVID-19, despite the existence of a vaccine. Influenza killed 152,000 people in Europe in the 2017-18 winter. So far, COVID-19 has taken nearly 100,000 lives across the continent, albeit in a shorter period of time.

Virus forces cancellation of iconic events like Oktoberfest (AP) Spain canceled the Running of the Bulls in July, the U.S. scrapped the national spelling bee in June and Germany even called off Oktoberfest, making it clear Tuesday that the effort to beat back the coronavirus and return to normal could be a long and dispiriting process.

India’s migrant workers start heading home (Reuters) In one of the biggest mass movements of people in the country since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, after the shutdown, the cities themselves began to empty. Dayaram Kushwaha and his family were among the first to move. As the days went on, and the situation became more desperate, hundreds of thousands of migrants emerged from factories and workplaces in search of a way home. Indian officials say the shutdown is necessary to beat coronavirus in the densely populated country of 1.3 billion people, with a health infrastructure that can ill afford a widespread outbreak. But for Dayaram and many of India’s estimated 140 million migrant laborers, the epidemic is much more than a threat to their health—it endangers their very economic survival.

Assertive China (Reuters) As the coronavirus crisis eases in China and rages elsewhere around the world, it is becoming increasingly assertive in the region. In a significant strike against democracy activists in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, police in the city arrested 15 people on Saturday, just days after a senior Beijing official called for the local government to introduce national security legislation “as soon as possible.” China has also been flying regular fighter patrols near Chinese-claimed Taiwan and has sent a survey ship flanked by coast guard and other vessels into the South China Sea.

Netanyahu’s Power Is Extended as Rival Accepts Israel Unity Government (NYT) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former challenger, Benny Gantz, agreed Monday night to establish a unity government, a deal that finally breaks a yearlong political impasse and keeps Mr. Netanyahu in office as he faces trial on corruption charges. After three inconclusive elections in the past year, the creation of the new government forestalls what had appeared to be an inevitable fourth election and offers a deeply divided Israel a chance for national healing as it battles the coronavirus pandemic. For Mr. Netanyahu, the agreement buys him time to try to resolve two contentious issues central to his legacy: to sidestep his prosecution or at least prevent it from driving him from power, and to extend Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory.

#headlines #news

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