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songofclarity · 3 years

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For a character who was the catalyst for all the events of the novel WRH got way too little attention and show time in the novel heck we don't even get a face off between him and the protagonists. To me if JGS was a pig in a golden pigsty, JGY a sneaky fox, and XY a rabid dog, then WRH was a mighty dragon. He had all the makings of an amazing villain but that potential was wasted and imo that is one of mdzs' greatest flaws

Mighty dragon Wen RuoHan is so true, Anon!

The spoiled pig in the golden pigsty came out on top after the Sunshot Campaign. He had all the money, a beautiful family, and an intact sect, and yet he wanted all the power left in Wen RuoHan’s wake--as if the world hadn’t fought for three years to get rid of the original.

The treacherous snake who cuddled up to others to steal their warmth and yet bit to kill at the first sign of movement. He acted like that warmth was his due and he had no choice but to bite. Surely the actions of others would either do him harm or leave him cold! He tricked Wen RuoHan into believing their scales meant they were similar, but he only ever dreamed of being a pig in that golden pigsty. (There is a connotation of mischief and charm with “sneaky fox” that does not fit Jin GuangYao in my mind lol)

The rabid dog who was used to being beaten and yet would accept a warm bed and a dish of food from any kind hand. He won’t bite the hand that feeds him but he will absolutely maul anyone who threatens that warm bed and new home he found--or anyone who looks like an easy target for some fun and games.

And then there is the mighty dragon!

I've been trying to respond to this ask for a few days because I agree and yet I also kind of disagree on that last point. I find it hard to say Wen RuoHan’s potential was wasted because it’s his potential to do harm that kept the Sunshot Campaign alive but also his lesser-discussed potential to be influenced towards doing good that could have prevented a lot of grief. Although he didn’t get a lot of page time, his importance to the story is practically on par with Wei WuXian himself and he continues to exist as a specter of evil even after he is dead.

This quote comes to mind during empathy:

On Koi Tower, people came and went. Before Nie MingJue's high viewpoint, the crowd parted again and again, with both sides nodding at him in respect, calling him "ChiFeng-Zun." Wei WuXian thought, Such a show of extravagance is going to reach even the heavens. All these people both fear and respect Nie MingJue. There's quite a few people who fear me, though not a lot who respect me. (Ch. 49 ERS)

One of the major conflicts in MDZS is based on one question: who gets to be the next Wen RuoHan after the Sunshot Campaign? And the sane answer is that it should be nobody. The Sects are independent entities who should take care of themselves and work in cooperation without controlling each other. The Wen Sect was never actually in charge of the other sects so it’s quite twisted for the Chief Cultivator position to be created in the wake of Wen RuoHan’s death. Wen RuoHan is still a catalyst for events even after he is murdered!

More so, when people were saying they hoped Wen Qing would one day take over as Sect Leader Wen because she had a normal way of doing things, it’s because Wen RuoHan calling the former Sect Leader Nie over to passive-aggressively slap his saber a few times and tell him it is a good saber is just bizarre. Of course Wen Qing’s ways of doing things are normal!

Compare Wen Qing being angry:

"If you really are grateful then put in some effort! What [the] hell kind of medicine did you just make? Brew it again!" (Ch. 60 ERS)

To Wen RuoHan:

And, thus, Wen RuoHan wasn't pleased anymore...

Wen RuoHan laughed after he heard. “Are you sure about that? Well, I want to see.” (Ch. 49, ERS)

But back to the scene at Koi Tower, it’s funny that the one closest to becoming Wen RuoHan is quite possibly Nie MingJue, the one now respected and feared, the one who fought the most against Jin GuangShan creating the Chief Cultivator seat. Why did Jin GuangShan create the Chief Cultivator seat? Because no one was ever going to respect him or to listen to him, much less respect him and fear his power to let him do whatever he pleased. But even then, Nie MingJue had to travel to Koi Tower to point Baxia while he made his demands. Jin GuangShan and Jin GuangYao had to murder and lie and scheme to get what they wanted. Wei WuXian had to figuratively set himself on fire. Wen RuoHan simply had to call his target of his ire over and he came, and then he let fate run its course.

Wei WuXian, Nie MingJue, Jin GuangShan, Jin GuangYao--none of them ever held even a fraction of the power wielded by Wen RuoHan. A power shown when Lan XiChen and a bunch of other juniors looked at the waterborne abyss and didn’t even dare to speak the name of the Qishan Wen aloud. Our spoiled pig and even rabid dog look to demonic cultivation to gain that fear element since they lack the wow factors of a powerful cultivator. Wei WuXian and Nie MingJue end up dead because a spoiled pig and a treacherous snake want their golden pigsty to go uncontested.

So it’s hard to speak of Wen RuoHan not meeting his potential when all the Sects left in his wake never achieve a fraction of what Wen RuoHan had. And even then, at no point in the story does Wen RuoHan ever wake up in the morning and pick murder, although the same cannot be said for the likes of Wen Chao, Jin GuangYao, Xue Yang, and even Wei WuXian.

So what I’m getting at here is that despite Wen RuoHan’s lack of appearances, we learn a lot about him through other characters trying to either work for or against him or emulate him. And he does face off against one of our protagonists: Nie MingJue! Although that we don’t get to see their first fight in Yangquan when Nie MingJue was fresh is truly frustrating!

Because even though we do get a Wen RuoHan face-off with a protagonist, it’s his assassination that gets all the attention--and it’s because Nie MingJue avoids talking about traumatic experiences and Jin GuangYao already got what he wanted from that event. The mural at Koi Tower immortalizing the assassination of Wen RuoHan is a snapshot of the heroic Jin GuangYao taking out the Big Bad in a glorious moment. It was also, however, a huge red flag that Jin GuangYao is willing to murder someone who gave him respect, protection, and empowerment so long as he could use their blood to pave his road ahead.

I do have to wonder on the degree of Wen RuoHan’s villainy when he didn’t even bother to take the life of his son’s killer and he passed on the opportunity to torture him, too. But no one in the story talks about Wen RuoHan as a person. They talk about Sect Leader Wen as a symbol, and he becomes a symbol of evil.

Everyone becomes so focused on Wen RuoHan as the Big Bad that for all the crimes the spoiled pig and the treacherous snake perpetrate, the majority of the cultivation world responds with, “If this [evil act and/or abuse of power] was done by the Wen Sect, we would be really concerned. Since the people doing it are not-Wens, it can’t be evil and thus we can allow it to happen.”

And thus the Jin get away with doing a lot of evil. Lan XiChen can look at Jin GuangYao and say, “he has his reasons,” because Lan XiChen has been victimized by the Wens and Jin GuangYao murdered Wen RuoHan so surely there is a divide there between good and evil, right and wrong. This is a very convenient way for letting the Jin get away with doing a lot of bad things! Wei WuXian rescuing the Wen Remants, meanwhile, places him conveniently within the Wen-Sect-Is-Bad camp, and we all know how that goes.

So I do agree that Wen RuoHan had all the potential to become a great villain, not just because he has all the power and followers that let him do whatever he wanted but also because the cultivation world sold us the story of him being a monstrous villain who loved blood and torture. But when the other sects create an uprising against the Wen Sect and label it the Sunshot Campaign, not once does Wen RuoHan try to subdue them. Not once does Wen RuoHan ever turn to violence and punishment or slaughter. He had the potential to be a great villain and stomp on all of them! But he doesn’t.

And I don’t think that’s because his potential went unmet. That’s just his character. He is an antagonist with the potential to become a great villain and yet he stays his hand. His power instead draws villains to him like flies to honey. There’s a reason people wear their time spent as a guest cultivator of the Wen Sect with pride! Wen RuoHan is good to his Sect. The perks and benefits cannot be matched.

But it’s not only the dregs of society that come to the Wen Sect and abuse its power. Wen RuoHan has three morally distinct people closest to him that reveal that he has the potential to be well-rounded:

Wen Qing: speaks her mind, a doctor, refuses to kill, intelligent, talented in the liberal arts, accompanies Wen RuoHan to discussion conferences, pays her debts, won’t die for the main branch which is just an alternative of her don’t-kill policy which is don’t-die-for-stupid-shit-customs policy

Wen ZhuLiu: loyal to a fault, dedicated, obedient, was told to protect Wen Chao and does his job incredibly well because this is how he pays his debt to Wen RuoHan for saving him, doesn’t do anything unnecessary, doesn’t speak unnecessary words

Meng Yao: loyal only to himself at the end of the day, prideful, hardworking, scheming, ambitious, supports petty revenge, pro-murder, stabs as a warning, will sell you to satan for one corn chip, does not acknowledge owing debts to anyone but has the receipts on what others owe him

All three characters are respected for their talents and effectively do as Wen RuoHan tells them. Wen Qing leaves for the Yiling Supervisory Office and takes her rational mind with her. Wen ZhuLiu leaves to protect Wen Chao and leaves Wen RuoHan undefended. Meng Yao makes himself useful in Nightless City and thus stays closest to Wen RuoHan’s side. So who is the one speaking in Wen RuoHan’s ear the most? The one saying murder is OK so take revenge.

And even then Wen RuoHan still doesn’t take his revenge, I’m just saying.

But what I’m trying to get at on this scenic route is that Wen RuoHan is left with all this wonderful potential for a reason. Not only do we see his potential but other characters see it, too. His potential is turned into someone else’s profit. Nie MingJue claims that Wen Qing should have spoken up more, which implies Wen RuoHan has the potential for change or even to do good. The majority, however, persist on not just his potential but his status as a great evil. The characters in the story make Wen RuoHan into the penultimate evil by a post-war consensuses. With that, the ceiling is pushed so high that other evils are able to bloom in the glass house they’ve made.

“Whatever we do can never be as bad as what Wen RuoHan and the Wen Sect did,” the cultivation world says as they let a mass murderer run rampant, as people are used for demonic cultivation test subjects, as prisoners of war are beaten and killed, as a dozen women are raped and murdered for petty revenge, as brother betrays brother, as a father murders his innocent son for political gain, as juniors are kidnapped and used as bait...

So absolutely Wen RuoHan was a catalyst for many events because people either wanted to be him, have him in their fighting corner, or kill him. He perpetuated events by wanting to correct the cultivation world as he saw fit by indoctrinating juniors in the Wen Sect ways or by setting up supervisory offices to prevent rebellious behavior. He delegated these tasks which put people in positions of power that they only saw fit to abuse.

But Wen RuoHan’s potential to be a great villain competes with his inherent lack of interest in causing death and destruction. I think that makes him not just a compelling antagonist compared to all the others but a fascinating character in general. Considering MDZS gets praised for all its morally grey characters, I don’t think Wen RuoHan should be left out of the conversation.

#this is so long and it probably doesn't make any sense lol #but since anon sent the ask again i shall give you this~!#how does one talk about wrh idk idk idk!#i just think he's neat #wrh is responsible for everything that happened while he was sect leader #just stating that here in case it didn't come across well enough in the post #but i do think wrh delegated a lot and he trusted a lot #and the fact his sect had many incompetent ppl and meng yao #means there is a disconnect between what wrh wanted and implementation #wen ruohan #asked from above #anon #mdzs thoughts

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vespertine-legacy · 3 years

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Stealthing SoloStory Spirit of Vengeance

Because you want to get some toons through all of the current content, but you’re fkn tired of SoV and Rass Ordo, but maybe you’ve got some sneaky-sneaks in your stable of idiots.

1. No one on the Varad ship has a Stealth Detect buff. Hooray! However, the Varad Hounds will smell you if you stand by them for too long, and that breaks your stealth (at least I assume that’s basically the mechanic they’re going for, because they’re the only enemies on that ship that ever broke my stealth). I’d still recommend not hanging out in the middle of a mob just to mock them and not using a movement ability to get past them, as those are things that lower your passive stealth and will get you the “huh?” from an enemy that means they’re about to spot you.

1a. Gorga Brak. Gotta fight him. Watch as Rass stands in stupid. If you’re feeling fiesty and you’re on a Scoundrel or Operative, set him to dps so that you can work on your heals instead of getting frustrated by running out of energy trying to do the dps work.

2. Dar’manda Enforcers on the second ship have Stealth Detect. You either need to sleep them before they can see you (you’ll notice an orange-ish target on your head that means they’ve started to twig that something is not right), gtfo before they can finish the “cast” of their detect (the target has a little circle that ticks around it, if it makes it all the way around, congration, they saw you!), or, get to a spot where you’re only gonna trigger the one mob, let them pull you out of stealth, move to where you can line-of-sight the one who saw you, then use your combat stealth, and voila, they forget you were ever there (this option allows them the chance to sense you again though, so be ready to book it past them, without using a movement ability). Additionally, the Enforcers tend to travel in groups of two, so unless you’re on a Shadow or Assassin with the two sleeps tactical, you won’t be able to sleep them both.

2a. Bask Sunn. Again, gotta fight him. Rass will do stupid things, but it’s fine. At least Bask can’t yeet you off into space any more.

3. Ashad Pilgrims have “Super Stealth Detect,” because of course they do. You can try to beat it by yeeting yourself to one and sleeping them before they notice you, but that only works if there’s only one Pilgrim in the group (if there are two, the other one will likely notice you before you can sleep them both, if you’ve got the ability to sleep multiple enemies). (One of the times that I did successfully yeet-and-sleep, Rass did his “you play a dangerous game” line, so I was just like “please shut up sir, you have been effectively useless, but you are tiny and cute so I will allow you to tag along with me”).

3a. The Ashad Snipers in the Trap room don’t have a buff for stealth detect, but like... why? bother? You go into combat as soon as you enter the room, and if you use your combat stealth, you’re immediately pulled back into combat (even if you’re not pulled out of stealth).

3b. Troya Ajak. Gotta fight her, just put your back to the yellow fence she puts up so that she can’t knock you back very far (that also positions Rass decently so that he stays out of your way). If you’re on a healer, you ;-; because the fight takes longer than it ought to, whereas when I did this on my PT she didn’t even get to do the first Songbird’s Volley.

4. Congration, you made it to the Spirit of Vengeance II. You can sneak past the trash mob here, but tbh, you might want to just kill them since the mobs that Heta Kol calls like to have ~features~ on where they spawn and whether they’ll actually come into the room, so having an extra mob to fight would just be extra spicy.

4a. Now go fight Heta. If you’re on a healer, probably cry a little, but you did this to yourself. Put Rass on dps and do the job you actually know how to do, or respec to dps so that it doesn’t take you twice as long to kill her.

Hooray, you stealthed through SoV and made it not take an hour.

#swtor #swtor spirit of vengeance #stealth my beloved

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chayacat · 3 years

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Devil’s Sweet Star (18)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut

***

Life is like an endless road. Sprinkled with pitfalls, choices, regrets, happiness, doubts... so many things that could keep you going... or to end the journey permanently. At every important moment, two paths are open to you. and every path you take will have consequences. This is called the butterfly effect.

But when you look at Danny's life, you quickly notice that he continues on his way even though it should have stopped. Already just during his childhood, he escaped death twice. The violence he suffered because of his "father" almost cost him his life. then when he lost Carla. At first, our dear assassin wanted to end his life before changing his mind at the last moment, feeling unable to do so. That's when the truth came out. That's when his life took a whole different path. And the rest you know.

And there... there is another way opens up. The path you've opened. But how far will this path go? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: Jed will have to disappear. Danny still can't believe you prefer Jed to him. Such a boring life is almost unbearable! While a life with him... exciting, dangerous is what makes him feel alive! We're going to have to really work on that. As for McKellan.... his time is running out now.

It's all set. All that remains is to wait. Once the discord between him and Hoggins gets to a certain point.... He will strike. It is not in his style or in his habit to blame someone else. But he has to admit that it was fun to make Wilhelm go around in circles. He couldn't wait to see his face when he found out that Danny had put him on a false trail.

“A little romantic dinner, huh? I knew that under those glasses and that nerd look there was a romantic boy.” said Melinda suddenly, bringing Danny out of his thoughts.

Oh, that's right. Have dinner. With you. He sent you a message to see if you'd prefer a restaurant or a meal at his house. And your answer was not long in coming, with a nice touch of humour, you told him that you would like to taste his cooking. He is not a great Michelin-starred chef but for you he will be able to make a meal worthy of the greatest restaurants. And with a little luck... he will be able to enjoy the softness and warmth of your body for the night... what? Don't forget that he is a man, above all! A man with needs... important carnal needs.

“I may be a nerd, but I'm not an idiot either. And then it was you who told me that I had to think more often about my personal life than professional, right?” said Danny scratching his head.

“that’s true, but I didn't think you'd listen to me. And also, at home. this story could end well ... If you know what I mean.”

“Not on the first night. That's not her style. Plus, we're not really ... Together. Maybe tonight will be the beginning of a relationship but... It can also be an embarrassing misunderstanding. I'm not sure it's reciprocal. She can always change her mind...

“Don't start telling you that the war is lost if you haven't fought in one battle! You don't know anything and that's normal! tonight it will be the perfect opportunity for both of you to be sure that it is reciprocal. And if that's the case... then this may be the best night of your life.” replied Melina seriously.

“Yeah, you’re right. I'll see what happens tonight. the boss's plan seems to be working. Apparently Hoggins is going to press charges against the Georgia newspaper. And he's not even aware that we've published it.” said Danny, re-placing his glasses properly.

“The most amazing thing about all this is that Hoggins has a tooth against McKellan! Apparently, he thinks he was the one who sold the wick to the journalist. it's going to create tension...” said Mattew, stretching his arms.

“That's going to spice things up. It can only be beneficial to us. Now don't make mistakes. If hoggins learn that it is us and that in addition they were stolen from his home ... we can say goodbye to life.” said Melina.

Jed nod while Danny smiled slyly. He will be dead long before he tries anything. Because of course Hoggins is going to die. When and how Danny doesn't know, but one thing's for sure: he'll kill him. Then maybe he will consider living somewhere else... You never know. and if he could take you with him... that would be the icing on the cake. He can't wait to see you tonight. More than ever. He wonders what you're going to wear... something soft for sure.

But it won't be the most interesting... the most interesting will be how the evening will end... He took the opportunity to bite into one of your pastries, since your reopening, you provide the newspaper with pastries and coffee. and everyone appreciates it! But Hembrook is the greediest. His personal order was rather.... Long. the latter passed through the offices, a brownie in hand before stopping in front of our trio.

“Don't forget you have a Ghostface article to write! I'm counting on you my little Jed to get a quality article!” He said with a proud smile.

“Of course, sir. You can count on me, I'm on my way.” respond Danny with a smile.

“This little bandit of Wilhelm does not give us much info. Did you find anything on your side?”

“Well... I shouldn't talk to you about it but... I found pictures... really horrible pictures... I didn't think he could do that. I... I dropped them off at your office.. So, you can see it for yourself. But I don't mean to offend you... you had a criminal among your employees.” replied Danny, holding back from smiling.

Two actually, but that, old man, you don't know. Because compared to Mike, Danny is a real cover-up pro.

“Yes... I can imagine the worst. Even though he was a drug addict, I can't even imagine what kind of crap he was doing. I'll be in my office. By the way, you'll tell your friend that I love her cakes! I'll pay for it at the end of the month. At work little kids!

Danny and the others resumed their work, the latter working to catch his article about the drug dealer they recently found. With Mike's murder, it's a big job but it doesn't scare our young reporter. All he cares about is your little face-to-face tonight. Just him and you... both in the same room. The little rabbit trapped by the big bad wolf.

The day passed quickly, the lunch break allowing everyone to take a breather, Danny took the opportunity to watch what he could cook you tonight. A Milanese cutlet with spaghetti was his final choice. He has everything at home to do them. What? Did you expect him to have only sandwiches and ready meals? Danny is a fine mouth and he likes to cook despite his ...bloody inclination. and you're going to be able to see his culinary skills tonight. Actually, Jed's skills from your point of view.

He has to make his alter ego disappear. once and for all. He was tired of being the nice little Jed Olsen. He wanted to be himself. He left his job and came to pick you up as usual. You were exhausted but delighted with this little meal between you. The way home was a laughing as usual and you separated in front of your apartment doors. Danny had three hours in front of him to prepare dinner. He's got plenty of time.

He put his things in his office, took a change, and went to take a good shower. hey he must be presentable tonight! no glasses, no hair tied, it's a very different "Jed" that you're going to see tonight. He left the bathroom, wearing a short-sleeved black T-shirt, black jeans, and grey sneakers. Well, they were white at the base but ... let's say that time has done its work. He was handsome, he knew how to showcase himself, without any artifice. Natural beauty is all that attracted him and made him attractive.

He began to prepare the meal, being careful not to be wrong. He has to make a good impression! if he has calculated his shot correctly, he will have to cook everything when you are there. He'll have a good half hour of conversation with you before he gets to the table. everything was calculated, like his murders. I told you, Danny is meticulously meticulous. Once the meal was ready, just waiting to be baked, Danny prepared the table, simple, sober, but effective. He opened a bottle of wine and tasted it before he smiled. A quality wine for a quality meal.

He placed the bottle on the table and checked that everything was in place and once that was done, made sure that the door of his office was locked. We never know, curiosity is a nasty flaw, and nothing says you won't try to get into it. He barely had time to return to the drawing-room, when he heard knocking at the door. A sneaky smile came to his lips. It's time.

He opened the door, and what he saw left him speechless. You had styled your hair in a beautiful bun, leaving two thin strands of your hair on either side of your face. You had very slightly made-up, very discreet that it does not even seem that you have any. You were dressed in a white and blue striped dress, flesh-colored tights and small navy-blue ballerinas. An angel, you were an angel. And visibly, Danny didn't leave you indifferent either.

“You’re...you’re beautiful.” said Danny, regaining his spirits.

“So are you. I wonder if I'm at the right address. What did you do with the real Jed Olsen?” You said laughing, making Danny laugh at the same time.

“Oh, let's say that when night comes, the little nerd I am is giving way to a perfect gentleman. Especially when I'm in perfect and charming company. But come in, please. The evening will be more pleasant inside than in front of my doormat.”

“Thank you, my dear little gentleman.” you replied, coming in while Danny smiles slyly, closing the door behind you.

“dinner is practically ready, but I'm saying we could... chat a little bit. Unless you're really hungry and then I better cook everything before you become a little demonic creature.”

“Really Funny Jed, don’t worry I'm not like Mattew. By the way, everyone enjoyed my cakes?”

“Yeah, especially Mr Hembrook, he's a real glutton, you would have seen him he wouldn't have stopped if you'd brought him more. But keep it to yourself, he's supposed to be watching his line. In fact, his wife does it for him. I met her once and I can confirm that these two there was meant to be together, they are literally day and night. But as they say, opposites attract each other, don't they?”

“It’s true. Melina told me that... that we were all connected to our soulmate in one way or another. and that all our lives we were guided to him or her. After that is it true ... In a sense when I think of my parents, or the Lawsons, I tell myself that it's true. But when I see some couple separating after years of married life.... I tell myself that it doesn't necessarily work every time. Or that we wanted to thwart fate and it put us back on the right path.” You answer shrugging your shoulders, looking at him.

“Sure...Well, Can I have a drink for you? If I remember correctly, you are not very friendly with alcohol then... Can I buy you a cup of tea? You'll still drink wine at least? just have a drink if you really don't want to, to make me happy.” He asks smiling.

“Yes, for the tea, and just one glass of wine, to make you happy.” You respond, smiling in return.

Danny serves you a small cup of tea and then give it to you before serving himself and sitting on the couch. You join him and talk for a good half hour. You discuss everything, Danny of his work, you of yours, recalling your little feat of yesterday. Danny smiled, the thought of you mastering this poor fool made him laugh inwardly. Who would have thought that this fragile little body was capable of such a thing? After this half hour of discussions, he got up and put the cutlets into the oven. He pulled out a jug of water that he had put in the fridge, to place it on the table on your side. He then turned on the pan where the spaghetti has cooked to warm them up a little before serving on the plate. Once the cutlets were cooked, he placed them gently on the plate and took them to serve on the table.

“I'm not a great Michelin-starred chef but... I hope you like it.” He said scratching his head.

“Oh, come on! I'm sure it's very good! Don't underestimate yourself like that! and at worst... You'll be my guinea pig for the next three months.” You respond laughing.

“Well, if it means free cakes...Why not?”

You start eating and he's taking only a bite to congratulate Danny, or rather Jed on his meal. Jed smiled as Danny smiled more widely, of course his cooking was good. He told you, you would be treated like a queen if you preferred him to Jed. The meal went in good spirits, from the dish to the dessert.

“It was really delicious Jed. Thank you. It's been a long time since I've had a... one-on-one with someone. If we ignore the meal, we made at the Chinese restaurant of course. And in the end, you do very well in the kitchen ... Carla was really lucky to have you.” you said smiling.

“Carla taught me everything. If she hadn't helped me with cooking, I would have been a great instant noodle addict.” Danny responds.

“... There's something I'd like to talk to you about. It's... It's about the two of us. I... I know you can't turn the page since... I mean, you know. But lately, we've both shown signs of affection...”

“We kissed. Twice. The first time was you and the second time was me. And you wonder if... if it's reciprocal on my side. You want to know for sure.” Replied Danny rising from his chair to stand beside you, his eyes staring at yours. He laughs slightly, seeing you nodding, blushing. “It's true that... I'm having a hard time moving on. Carla... was everything to me. She was the only one who didn't treat me like... someone different. And since we've known each other, I've felt that way again. So, if that can answer your question...”

He kissed you, without warning, and this time the kiss lasted longer. The softness of her lips added to the softness of his... It's a double feeling of silk touch, both for him and for you. As he was about to release you, Danny was surprised when, against all odds, you kissed him again, not wanting to let go of his lips for a second. Both eventually backed off and a smile was exchanged between the two of you.

“Is that okay with that answer?” he simply asks.

“Yes. You know I don't promise to be the perfect girlfriend...”

“I don’t promise to be the perfect boyfriend too. We're probably going to fight one day. For anything and everything. But know that if you have problems ... I'll be there. I won't let anyone near you. To hurt you, of course.”

“Me too. I... I’m started to be tired. I'm going to go to bed.” you replied, rising up and starting to walk you to the door. Danny hugged you and kissed you one last time.

“Good night my love. Have sweet dreams.” He simply said.

He let you go and addressed his angelic smile when you close the door. He cleared it all, wash the dishes, changed and went to bed. Looking at the ceiling he let himself be dragged by sleep. No stalking tonight. But in his mind one thing was clear:

When it all ends. When no one is on his way, whether it's McKellan, Hoggins, or those who will approach you... He'll have to be the only one in your eyes. Jed will have to disappear.

FOREVER.

***

(Done! well I took my time and start writing only since Wednesday, but I did it! I hope you’ll like it like the others! time for me to rest this week-end! have a good week-end everyone! See ya!)

#dbd fanfic #dbd #dead by daylight #ghostface #danny johnson #jed olsen

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dangan-meme-palace · 4 years

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PokeV3 AU – Girls!

Kaede

Normal Type

Musical theme

She's a status effect master for sure and the queen of double battles because her support is really great.

She's a famous performer but can be roped into an adventure if you ask nicely enough + she's not busy + you're her friend, but only really short ones because she wants to keep practicing.

She's really good at staying calm in serious/dangerous encounters.

Kirumi

Psychic Type

Her theme is pokemon that are elegant

Kirumi is a maid in a certain mansion that helps people in trouble when she can.

Goes out when shes off the clock and looks for wild pokemon that have fainted. Really good friends with the nurse at the nearby poke center because she brings them hurt pokemon all the time.

Mansion owner is really nice and so he asks Kirumi to help trainers that have been defeated by the people in the mansion by healing their pokemon.

Angie

Water Type

Theme this time is tropical pokemon she could find in the wild, with the exception of golduck who isn't really tropical but whatever.

Angie isn't really a trainer so much as she just hangs out with wild pokemon. Doesn't like to fight and would rather just chill, but she has sneaky ways of making people leave her and the pokemon alone.

She's like N so she can talk to pokemon but doesn't like to catch them, if they come to her and help her it's fine though

Her team doesn't have any pokeballs, these are just the ones that follow her around the most.

Tenko

Fighting Type

Her theme was cute pokemon but then they all evolved. She still loves them though!

When she was younger she tried to pick out cute ones so that more girls will talk to her and because she likes cute things too. The only exception is throh, which she caught because it reminded her of the people at her dojo.

Tenko is a dojo girl with a black belt.

Always helps people in trouble and is VERY enthusiastic about training people.

Tenko doesn't hate men in this AU because she's been hanging out with all the men in the dojo since she was little, but she has been warned against this universe's antagonist team and evil doers so I imagine she wouldnt like or trust Maki much after she found out her true job.

Shes really good friends with everyone in the dojo and has practically become everyone's little sister or niece.

Unofficially adopted by the master of the dojo because her parents are rich and lavish people that sent her away to the dojo because they couldnt get her to act like a proper lady and havent written her any letters or checked up on her since.

The dojo master doesn't say anything about it to Tenko because he thinks she still doesnt know. She figured it out a little while ago and was pretty down about it, but considers the dojo to be her family now and has accepted it. (found family trope time fuck yeah)

Conflicted about traveling because she doesnt want to leave the dojo behind, but she also wants to travel with her friends. Dojo master would encourage her to leave if she wanted and if he knew he could trust the people she was leaving with. Tenko never thought about leaving until she was asked, and she was surprised by how much she liked the idea.

Less drooly, more enthusiastic. She's trying really hard to learn to regulate her emotions and impulsiveness!!!! Its not working out so well!!!!

Miu

Electric Type

Her theme is pokemon that kinda look man made. The exceptions being the plusle and minun she caught as a kid. They were her first pokemon!

The Meta reason as to why she has them is because Miu is said to have an innocent side to her, and bunnies strike me as innocent. Them being her first pokemon means that she used to be open with her innocent side, but how she covers it up with her genius persona, which is why she has has a different theme now.

Miu is an inventor that works for a certain company and is damn good at what she does. Lots of her inventions are on the market in this AU. She's made different types pokeballs, sensors for finding pokemon, etc.

Lowkey really cherishes her friendship with Kiibo.

Tsumugi

Normal Type with the exception of her Cosplay Pikachu, which is a real thing in the canon pokemon universe for some reason.

All of her pokemon fit the theme of changing whether through branch evolutions, moves like transformation, weather changes, seasons, etc.

Tsumugi is a contest girl for sure and is super famous for it. She doesn't really have much of a schedule for it, she kind of just shows up to ones she wants.

She travels a lot but doesn't really like exploring or fighting. The reason she travels is because she's really into costume design and pokemon fashion.

The reason she enters competitions in the first place is because it's a great chance to put her pokemon in costumes she's made and to see other original costumes to help her get inspiration. Doesn't care if she wins or loses, she just wants to get out of her creative funk.

After she's done traveling and winning competitions she'll probably move on to clothing design, but that's way, wayyyy into the future.

Himiko

Fairy Type

Only has Mime Jr. and nothing else.

Himiko is a magician and that's quite literally it.

She hates battling because she can't handle the stress and prefers to stick to what she knows (which is also why she only has one pokemon).

She wouldn't travel outside of what's required of a performer. In the future I imagine she would retire in her home town and entertain the little kids there with small shows.

Wants a hattrem so fucking badly but if she ever went near one it would probably beat the shit out of her because they don't like strong emotions.

Her Mime Jr. was a gift from her teacher.

Maki

Dark Type

Her theme is anything that looks cold/mean and has red eyes.

Maki is part of the antagonist team. They kill elite trainers and steal their pokemon. They usually get jobs because of 2 reasons: 1. someone was jealous of the trainer and wanted to take their place even if they had to hire assassins to do it or 2. someone wanted strong pokemon but didnt want to train them and is completely fine with a kidnapped team.

Her greninja was her first pokemon and her bisharp isn't actually hers, it was a "gift". It was trained to watch her and make sure she didnt betray the organization because bisharp canonly hate traitors.

Maki doesn't use pokemon she's stolen –even though she's allowed to to a degree– as a part of her own personal code, so she just hands them over to her boss.

She goes undercover as pokemon day care worker and uses that facility to harbor the pokemon she's stolen until her boss sends people to pick them up.

#i hope this post stays out of the p0k3m0n tags but who knows at this point tumblr is so broken #PokeV3 AU #if some of the teams look janky its because the thing i use to make teams doesnt include the newest game so i had to add some by hand

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norbah · 4 years

Text

Tezcatlipoca

-Caster (5*)

Some Servants enjoy the height of their power with the sun at its zenith, but Tezcatlipoca works best in the shadows. He is one of the four creator gods in the Aztec pantheon, and ruler of the north. A deity with an impressive portfolio, he has a variety of skills to ensure his Master’s victory over the other Grail War participants. The god of night, sorcery, obsidian, treachery, the north, divination, jaguars, and beauty, he is certainly a capable and intelligent ally to have. But if there has ever existed a Servant you must never trust, it is Tezcatlipoca.

His many abilities make him a terror outside combat, and he favors underhanded tactics worthy of an Assassin. If it is up to him, he will never enter open combat. Poison, daggers in the night, seduction, kidnapping, and misdirection are all tools in his arsenal, which he is far from afraid of using. Not only can he turn invisible, he is an accomplished shapeshifter, good enough to even fool the other gods, and his list of misdemeanors is extensive. Perhaps most famously, he drugged Quetzalcoatl and tricked them into sleeping with their own sister, but that was far from the most terrible thing he’s managed. Tezcatlipoca is indirectly responsible for each of the last 4 worlds’ ends. He relishes throwing wrenches into others’ plans and happiness, and poisonous, deceitful words come as naturally to him as breathing does to mortals. Whether it be charming a beautiful woman to his side or convincing somebody an utter falsehood is true about themselves, his silver tongue is something to be reckoned with.

To trust Tezcatlipoca is to lose the War. At some point, perhaps several, he will attempt to betray his Master. Not out of any real malice, but simply because that’s who he is. The last time he cooperated successfully with somebody, the world was still being shaped. “No hard feelings” may as well be this being’s catchphrase. However, paradoxically, he may also demonstrate an extreme protectiveness over his Master. All mages and sorcerers are under his protection, after all, and this one in particular moreso. If anybody will screw them over, it will be him. Nobody else.

This is not to say he’s unapproachable. Quite the contrary; Tezcatlipoca is charming by nature, and is relatively easy to get along with, so long as a modicum of respect is shown. But his Master would be wise to remember that tolerance is not the same thing as friendship, and most assuredly not the same thing as loyalty, and Tezcatlipoca WILL betray even his most favorite human on a whim. It’s also recommended to avoid insults, even playful ones. Under his easy smile, he has quite the temper, and will not forget a slight easily, if at all.

Although he was a skilled diviner, the nature of the War is chaotic enough that his Clairvoyance is impeded. Although he finds this disappointing, the chaos and unpredictability of it all are also exciting for him, and he intends to make the most of this experience.

Much like Huitzilopochtli, he demands sacrifice from his Master in order to restore his mana. But unlike the former, he does not require someone’s death. He is content enough to drink some of his Master’s blood every day, but in a dark twist, he wants his Master to let the blood out themselves so he can drink it. In his own words, “I want not just your blood. I want you to offer up your pain to me as well.”

In the context of the Grand Order, he is still an untrustworthy figure, but being surrounded by other schemers such as Moriarty, he can find ways to pass the time that don’t directly involve screwing over the last Master of Chaldea. Though he does not truly respect them the way Huitzilopochtli does, he finds them intriguing and curious, which is reason enough for him to follow along with their lead. They are, after all, perhaps the single worst mage he has ever come across, and yet have accomplished things that far more experienced magi would have fallen short of.

Tezcatlipoca was the protector god of slaves (known as the “Beloved of Tezcatlipoca”), sorcerers, and social pariahs. In other words, he rooted for the underdog. And in the plan for the Restoration of Humanity, there is no greater underdog than Gudao\Gudako.

This does not mean that he won’t attempt to mess with them, of course, but it does mean that his pranks and plots are considerably less vicious than they’d otherwise have been. Food and drink offered by him are always to be refused all the same. He is banned from entering the kitchen at Quetzalcoatl’s suggestion, but unfortunately the prohibition has only made him more eager to sneak in and perform some mischief.

As he delights in all carnal pleasures, it is also not uncommon to find Tezcatlipoca attempting to seduce the female Servants, and even some of the male ones. Despite his untrustworthy reputation, he has an easy charm about him, unlike the brusque nature of Huitzilopochtli. Marital status means nothing to him. Thankfully, his success has been impeded by the efforts of individuals concerned for the public morals of Chaldea, but he is nothing if not tenacious.

All in all, Tezcatlipoca is untrustworthy, sneaky, and capable of great cruelty for no other reason than simple boredom. However, he is also charming, knows how to have a good time, and gets the job done, no matter what it takes to do it. He is a lot more involved with the general antics of Chaldea than Huitzilopochtli is, but this is not necessarily a good thing.

PASSIVE SKILLS

Presence Concealment C

He is a skilled shapeshifter, and can fool even gods when transformed. The other gods were unaware for a very long time that Tezcatlipoca and the jaguar god Tepeyollotl were one and the same. Among his favored forms are a feeble old man, a jaguar, a turkey, a large spider, or a small black dog. While in animal form, he is not detectable by other Servants unless they are specifically looking for something non-humanoid. If so, he is as visible as any other Servant in plain sight would be.

Territory Creation B-/EX

Unlike other Casters, he can’t create a Bounded Field easily. He must have a temple, or even a shrine, in order to properly create one. This is a time-consuming and demanding task, but if managed, Tezcatlipoca’s Field becomes stronger than most. Within this area, his Clairvoyance is fully powered, and nothing can escape his sight. What’s more, any intruders are much more vulnerable to suggestion, or even subjugation of their will. He is, after all, Titlacauan, “He Whose Slaves We All Are”. The larger the shrine, the more pronounced the effects. As civilians wander into the area, he may draw them in as worshipers, as laborers at the temple... or as sacrifices.

Clairvoyance A- (Unusable in FGO except as a plot point, due to the impracticality of building a temple to him before every battle)

By looking into the hearts of humanity, Tezcatlipoca can see their darkest desires, as well as which of those desires they’re most likely to act on. This gives him a rather decent chance to predict how somebody will act in a given situation.

ACTIVE SKILLS Self-Modification B

Tezcatlipoca can take on many strange and terrible forms, and delights in using each of them to perform his mischief.

——— Increase C. star gather rate

The First Sun

Tezcatlipoca volunteered to be the first world’s Sun. But for some reason, perhaps his status as a night god, or the recent loss of his leg, he could only become half a sun. After an argument with Quetzalcoatl turned ugly, the latter knocked Tezcatlipoca out of the sky with a huge club. In his rage, Tezcatlipoca unleashed a rain of jaguars which devoured every living thing on Earth. This is considered by some to be the beginning of their rivalry, though some records indicate their feud had been going on long before this event.

——— Decrease NP Gauge (Demerit) (10%)

——— Greatly increase own Atk (3 turns)

——— Increase Critical strength

Necoc Yaotl

“The Enemy to Both Sides” is an apt descriptor for this tricky god. To fight alongside him is to play with fire, and even if he is on your side, you can never fully drop your guard. He is a true friend to nobody, and is simply looking for an excuse to either reward or punish others, as the fancy takes him. It is simply who he is.

——— 50% chance to greatly increase allies’ Def and Atk (not own) (3 turns)

——— If effect is not activated, lower allies’ Def (not own) (3 turns)

——— (increasing buff chance highly recommended) NOBLE PHANTASM

Name: The Smoking Mirror

Rank: A

Class: Quick

Type: Anti-Personnel

“Heh... Heh heh. Run. Hide, if you wish. The Smoking Mirror reveals you. The Night Wind will carry your screams. Do me a favor and cry out my name... Yohualli Ehecatl. Tepeyollotl. Ome Acatl. ... Tezcatlipoca. Ah... I FOUND YOU.”

Among his many titles, none is more well-known than this one. The obsidian mirror hanging from his chest allowed him to look into both this world and the spiritual one. No enemy was beyond Tezcatlipoca’s reach. Of all the gods, he relished retaliation the most. When at last he struck, he left no room open for a counterattack. Now, as a Servant, he can follow and assault his foe even if they take spirit form. This is the combination of Clairvoyance and his sadistic desire to bestow suffering upon another. This is the true essence of Tezcatlipoca.

——— Apply Evade (1 turn)

——— Apply Sure Hit (1 turn)

——— Remove Guts buff from 1 enemy, if applicable

——— Deal very heavy damage to 1 enemy

——— Deal special damage to Earth and Star Servants, or ghost type enemies.(effect increases with Overcharge) Name: Hurakan (unusable in FGO)

Rank: EX

Class: N/A

Type: Anti-Fortress/Anti-World

The Aztec gods were as much a natural phenomenon as they were sentient deities. The Nahua people’s greatest fear regarding Tezcatlipoca was their belief that he could destroy and pull down the sky, killing all living things in the process. It would not be the first time that he wiped the Earth of life, having personally done so twice before. Thankfully, as a Servant, his power is greatly reduced, and such a feat is beyond him. That does not mean he is defenseless, and is still capable of leveling a small city as a last resort, albeit at a great mana cost. The name Hurakan, one of his Mayan identities, is the root for the word “hurricane”. Some believe Tezcatlipoca may be the mightiest deity in Mesoamerica.

Additional quotes for other Servants Quetzalcoatl: “Oooh, what have we here... Hiya, “KuKu”! How’re you doing? Aww, no smile for old Tezca? Don’t tell me Quetzalpetatl is here too! Eh heh heh!”

Tezcatlipoca’s most assholeish of traits can best be seen when he interacts with Quetz. He can’t seem to resist rubbing the time he humiliated her in her face, and goads her every chance he gets. His verbal barbs are much sharper than hers, and so she often resorts to trying to beat him senseless with her macahuitl while he runs away cackling. In other words, they act as dysfunctional siblings.

Jaguar Warrior: “Hey, hey! I remember you! Wow, you’ve really made a name for yourself. ... Eh? Hold a grudge? Why would I? You kicked my ass pretty good that last time. Glad I didn’t make you a Saber, that could have been much worse...”

Surprisingly, he’s not lying. Tezcatlipoca appreciates a good turnaround more than most, and he thinks Taiga pulling one over him was a thing of beauty. He still does his best to play mean jokes on her, but they seem to be in a different spirit than with others. Almost like a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails... That said, he has locked her out of her room on several occasions, to, as he said, “See how she likes getting kicked out”. So, perhaps he’s not as over it as he says...

Nero: “Eh heh heh... I know what you are. Don’t give me that look. I can see into the hearts of men as easily as you look through a window. Smile, and laugh, and sing all you want. What you did is written in blood. My favorite type of ink.”

The Smoking Mirror allowed Tezcatlipoca to look inside of people. Hiding your guilt from him is near impossible, and he will never let you forget it. Nero is a particular source of delight for him, as her desperate attempts to hide who she was in life are the exact sort of thing he likes holding over people’s heads. He may never actually act on it, but the possibility exists. And knowing that they know he knows is more than enough for him.

Jack: “... I was not there for you. For this, I am sorry. You are, all of you, my Beloved, yet you were alone. ... Mommy takes care of you, you say? Then I’ll take care of Mommy for you. Does that sound good?”

Orphans, while technically under the wing of another god, are close enough to the spurned that Tezcatlipoca might feel sympathy or even concern for them. Of course, he is far from fit as a guardian, but the fact that Gudao/Gudako takes care of any and all who seek it, Tezca looks on a little more favorably in their direction. Jack is one of the few people he abstains from messing with.

Arachne: “Hm? Why the glare, little miss? Is there something in my teeth? Ah, it’s that pesky mortal blood I had earlier, isn’t it? I can never seem to get it out... Eee hee hee, no need to look so scary! It’s just a joke, a joke! ... Well, maybe it’s a joke.”

It’s clear to anybody with eyes in their head that Arachne dislikes gods and divinities in general. Perhaps the clarity of the situation is what makes Tezcatlipoca so determined to provoke her every time he sees her. When asked about the wisdom of antagonizing a specialized anti-Divine Servant so persistently, he simply said he finds Arachne to be fun.

#fgo #fanservant #tezcatlipoca #oc #i had a lot more trouble with this one than with Huitz #buster memes are fairly easy #but i have no clue how to design a balanced Quick/Arts Servant #any advice on how to modify him would be much much appreciated

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lazydoodlesandfanfic · 6 years

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Sneaky Kiss (Natasha Romanoff X Male!Reader)

Characters: Natasha Romanoff x Male!Reader

Universe: Marvel, Avengers

Warnings: Mention of death

Request: Could you do a male reader x natasha romanoff where the reader is very shy working with avenger and Natasha has a crush so she tease him and finally one day she kiss him

Her red hair bobbing into the room had the same reaction in you as when a criminal saw police lights, but to be fair she had that effect on everyone- she was Natasha Romanoff after all, infamous assassin and Avenger. However, seeing her was especially troubling for you.

She liked to pick on you in a way. She could go up to anyone, but she always chose you to strut up to with a smug smile, ask how your day was, then make you red in the face with witty comebacks and flirtatious remarks before smirking, and walking out. She had become infamous for doing it to you. What made it worse was that you couldn’t deny not liking having her attention.

You’d always had a soft spot for the red head, but your lower ranking in SHIELD, bad timing and your own awkwardness had always cock blocked you from talking to her, and any time you had just gathered enough courage, even being pushed to ask her to coffee by your peers and even the Avengers themselves, something always went wrong. Like, you know, the world being took over or whatever.

Today was another day working the job you both loved and hated, depending on your job for the day. Today was a hate day, because instead of rushing around helping prepare for missions or going on one- hell, even briefings were interesting. But today you were stuck behind a computer doing paperwork, updating files, doing reports and writing instructions for returning KIA agents from other countries… when you had to do them, it always bummed you out.

Natasha had strode into the room, feeling more confident than usual when thinking of teasing you, but came to a halt, seeing you slumped at your computer, head in hand, a frown on your face. She had a good idea of your task today, and it made her sigh. She knew if she tried to mess with you today, your shyness might not play a role and you might snap at her, and she wouldn’t blame you… how could she show you affection and also brighten your day a little?

She knew about your crush on her, and that was the best thing since she liked you back. It was why the avengers were always trying to set you up with her. However, she liked teasing you to try and get you out of your shell, though it only made her think you were even cuter when you hid your face in your hands at her compliments. Today was no different, but she knew that she couldn’t go about it the same way, and one of these days she was going to have to make an actual move. It clicked, and a smirk covered her lips, before she started striding over to her favourite guy.

You kept your eyes on the computer, not noticing the woman coming up to the side of your desk. She leant down, putting her hand under your chin and lifting it, giving you a genuine, full on kiss on the lips, before pulling away, looking you in the eye and going “Coffee at 6?” Before walking off.

You stood there frozen for a few seconds, eyes widening each second as realisation settled in of who had come up and kissed you. She stood in the edge of the room, watching you eventually swivel around in your chair, seeing you quickly become really flustered, and Natasha knew she’d succeeded.

Hope you like it! If you have any questions, please send them in!

*Not my gif

TAGS: @imbuckypositive @ari-the-meme-queen @abbybills22 @waywardemo @httpmcrvel @mutantjediavenger @theoraekensnotsosecretlover @gayasfridge @courtneychicken @graysonmalfoy @bellero @captain-peanut-at-your-service @likiyoshi-lijie @aesthetjic @originalpottervengerlock @supernatural-pan @esoltis280 @lena-stan-xavier @lady-of-lies @sebstanismylife

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drkandraz · 6 years

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Why Hirohiko Araki Is a Great Writer

Note: add writing saying “I am only going to be addressing JoJo because 1) I have not read his older works, 2) His works before and including Phantom Blood lack what I am talking about here and 3) I include JoJo spin-off manga under the “JoJo” moniker”

As the man behind one of the most influential manga of all time, Hirohiko Araki is already a highly praised writer and artist. However, I believe what lies at the heart of Araki-sensei’s writing style is not explored often enough. What I think are the most important factors in the writing of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are the extremes to which the author takes his creative freedom and his skill in writing relationships between people.

Phantom Blood is the most conventional part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It has a structure very similar to other shounen manga at the time: hero has a rivalry, rival becomes obscenely powerful, hero learns martial art to defeat rival, ally dies, other ally narrates, hero wins etc. Phantom Blood’s writing only succeeds in the outlandish concepts introduced throughout: vampires appearing as a consequence of mayan blood rituals with magical stone masks, vampires somehow sucking blood by introducing their fingers inside a human’s skin, the power of the sun channeled (or created) by breathing, medieval warrior zombies, people being cleft in half by chains… frog punching. What also comes out here is a hint of the strategic battles the series will come to be known for, with Dio’s defeat at the hands of a burning sword.

A lot of the quality of the writing comes in the relationship between Jonathan and Dio, two characters who could not be more polar opposites who supposedly die together. While Jonathan is a typical nice guy shounen protagonist, Dio is a somewhat complex villain; he is irredeemably evil, but not unjustifiably so.

The decision to change protagonists was in itself an unheard of prospect at the time, each part bringing its own atmosphere and self-contained storyline, facts which allow Araki-sensei to explore all of them at length.

In comparison, Battle Tendency goes completely off the rails. If Phantom Blood is a cautious dip into the water, then Battle Tendency is a cannonball jump right into the deep end. This is where JoJo starts going from typical shounen manga to a manga characterized by battles of wits and skill rather than of pure brawn; and this change is reflected in its protagonist. Where Jonathan was the perfect gentleman who would never face his enemy anything less than head-on, Joseph likes to screw with his opponents’ heads. To show this change in character, his first major fight is against an enemy comparable to Dio, who is taken out a lot more easily thanks to Joseph’s fighting style. The insanity present in Phantom Blood is taken up to 11: the vampires are mere distractions to the new Pillar Men, Nazis are turned into Cyborgs and Hamon now apparently works on bubbles.

The relationship built between Joseph and Caesar is perhaps the most natural growth displayed in the series until this point. Their friendship grows gradually and culminates not with perfect teamwork, but with a realistic ideological fight between the two, one that Joseph would come to regret for many years to come. Caesar’s death is one of the most natural and powerful scenes in manga history, from the desperate dedication he displays even in his final moments, to Wamuu’s respect for him and to Joseph’s desperate cry for his best friend.

Stardust Crusaders is the start of Araki-sensei’s complete creative control. Stands now allow him to explore any fun and interesting idea he has in battles and to make stands that fit with their characters. The change of the format from single story to monster of the week supports the author’s writing style of throwing ideas at the wall and expanding them to his heart’s content. However, the clunkiness of his inexperience with such creative control is obvious. He is obviously pressured to come up with cool designs and powers for the stands (some of which he will later forget). In the second half of Part 3, getting used to the concept of stands, he starts writing interesting and fun ideas for his battles, like the D’Arby Brothers and Vanilla Ice. The insanity is punctuated by the increasing number of musical references (from Captain Tennille to Oingo Boingo).

Sadly, the characters take a backseat for the duration of this Part. Except for certain minor moments between the Crusaders, the characters don’t really have arcs (except for perhaps Iggy and Polnareff). For this reason, Jotaro, Kakyoin and Avdol are often criticized for having little to no character, which is a fair point. Jotaro himself is more of a superpowered version of the most barebone characteristics of Sherlock Holmes.

Dio’s return recontextualizes Part One as a tragedy rather than a story of sacrifice for the greater good, as well as making Part Three more of a culmination of generations of fighting rather than another story about saving the world. Jotaro vs Dio is still one of the best battles in shounen history because of the weight behind every single action the characters take feeling like the climax of the story.

Diamond is Unbreakable, in contrast to its predecessor, is not in the least an epic story about cleansing evil. It is, for the most Part, a slice of life. Therefore, its stand users have abilities more suited to everyday life (Bad Company notwithstanding), or rather their own special needs. The town of Morioh truly feels like a real (albeit bizarre) place, with a community comprised of people with their own personal goals. The advantage of Part 4 in Araki-sensei’s writing style consists of the fact that the author is no longer chained by the needs of the lengthy story structure that plagued Part 3. He himself pointed out in an interview that he could always go back to continue Part 4 if he wanted to (I could not find the interview again, sorry. If you can find it or correct me, it would be most appreciated).

The character’s relationships in DiU are quite evidently better defined than in Part 3. The main crew of Part 4 is smaller and it never feels restrained to keep everyone around at every point in the story (like Part 3 was somewhat forced to). In this way, characterization and character relationships are better crafted within stories that emphasize only those characters and relationships. Jousuke is never forced to be the main character of an episode; rather, he only is when the story demands it, making for a much better experience. Of note are Koichi, whose growth is signaled within his stand’s abilities, Rohan, whose growth is exhibited throughout the series and within his spin-off series, Joseph, whose appearance is bittersweet to old fans, as the sneaky and crafty Joseph becomes senile and unable to do anything worthwhile and Kira, whose chillingly normal demeanor doesn’t betray his dark tendencies.

After Part 4’s gleeful atmosphere, Part 5 dives right back into the horror-inspired roots of JoJo. Giorno Giovanna, Dio’s son, is a far more dark and cunning figure than Jousuke. Indeed, Giorno and the rebellious cell of Passione he becomes part of are a reflexion of past characters painted in a new, more sinister light, fitting with the new Mafia theme. They are a family, led by Bruno Bucciarati just as the Part 4 gang was led by Jotaro, but because of their jobs, they live in a world almost completely devoid of the fun antics of DiU. However, their relationships are just as well developed: Abbachio and Giorno’s one-sided rivalry is resolved organically, Bucciarati and Giorno’s hatred of immorality is what binds them together and Fugo’s “betrayal” is completely in character for him etc. As a villain, Diavolo is well written insofar as we recognize that his main attribute is his megalomania and his relationship with Doppio is magnificently fucked up in the best way possible.

The fights in Part 5 are brutal bouts for survival. The enemy stand users are trained assassins who will stop at nothing to get their revenge on The Boss. What makes this change even more effective is their motive for chasing the gang, the murder of their “family members” at the hands of Diavolo. Therefore, each ability is more valuable than each of the ones in Stardust Crusaders, since there are just a lot less of them. Each stand is that much more developed and consistent in its use (with the exception of King Crimson, but I’m not going on that rant right now) On the other hand, the concepts introduced for them are just that much more insane: a turtle in which one can enter by putting a key in a hole in its back, a stand that dehydrates everything at long range, a stand that can put zippers on anything etc.

Part 6 is a much more plot focused arc. The whole part focuses on Jolyne’s search for her father’s memory and stand discs with the help of Stone Ocean’s gang of reluctant helpers. This gang feels less like a pseudo-family, more like a bunch of people chasing their own goals and helping each other along the way. This, by the end of the story, is what will bring their demise at the hands of Pucci, Dio’s best friend. Despite this, I can’t say they are not well-written characters. Foo Fighters’, Weather Report’s and Pucci’s characters and arcs particularly are very compelling.

Within this story driven part, the villain of the week format just does not fit anymore. This is why, despite their great ideas and executions, a lot of villains from Stone Ocean are made forgettable especially by the ending, which left almost no hope for a direct continuation to be made. In many ways, it can be said that one of Araki-sensei’s strong points eclipsed the other one completely. The creative freedom which used to be a leading factor in why the series was so great was now taken to too many extremes (Looking at you, Heavy Weather and Bohemian Rhapsody) which detracted from the story more than they added.

On the other hand, the reboot Part 7 brought was exactly what JoJo needed, in my opinion. Now that stands had been grounded as more akin to abilities than the ghosts they were originally, there was no need to keep them as anything more than representations of the user’s skills. The bizarre nature of JoJo was also given almost complete freedom with the abolishment of continuity and concepts like stand arrows. Instead, Araki-sensei introduces pseudo-scientific and pseudo-philosophical concepts that fit in perfectly with JoJo. To explain the level of insanity, I will summarize the premise of SBR in one sentence: two men, one crippled and the other with the power of ball hamon, compete in a cross-country horse race in 1880s USA, while fighting dinosaurs and the president using powers granted by Jesus Christ. While the stand battles in the middle section are almost as forgettable as Part 6’s, it matters less because the most important aspect is the development of our two main characters.

The characterization in Part 7 is the best it’s ever been in JoJo. Johnny’s hopeful nihilism contrasts perfectly with Gyro’s playful jackassery. The main cast – now smaller than any that came before it – only consists of two characters (if we don’t include the very well written reccuring side characters). Every character gives a feeling of having their own agenda, while also each contributing to one side of the battle between Johnny and Gyro and President Valentine. Interestingly, Funny Valentine is probably right from an ideological stand point, which is an unexpected turn out from a mostly childish manga up to this point.

Part 8 brings Steel Ball Run’s ideological musings into the 21st century with a return to Morioh. Araki’s style has retained its mature edge, but shifted them into science-fiction territory. The characters retain the moral ambiguity found in Part 7. Jousuke would do anything for Yasuho, even torture somebody. Yet the familial aspect that had long been missing from JoJo returned in full force with the Higashikatas and their rival pseudo-family, the divided Rock Humans. This makes Joubin a perfect antagonist despite his seemingly underpowered ability.

The bizarre atmosphere of JoJo’s fourth part returns with the Shakedown Road and the Milagro Man arcs which have almost nothing to do with the overarching plot of the series, but enhance the sense of a world existing beyond the characters. The battles in JoJolion are realistic and brutal to the extent not even Vento Aureo was willing to go, despite the relative bizarreness of the enemies’ stands.

This is how Hirohiko Araki’s writing style changed over the years from simple and restrained to bold, philosophical, dark and bizarre. The overall mundanity of Hamon was slowly replaced by stands and other special abilities, allowing the author to indulge in outlandish ideas that complimented the intelligent, consistent and thoughtful structure of his battles. To conclude, I believe Hirohiko Araki is a great writer because of the balance between his strange, out there ideas and his calm and logical understanding of his concepts (with a few exceptions), combined with his ability for writing strong and believable arcs and relationships for characters.

Edit: If you want more details about the first four parts of JoJo, I wholeheartedly recommend Super Eyepatch Wolf’s videos on the subject, as he can go into much more detail in those.

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nintendotreehouse · 7 years

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Exploring Skyrim Part IV: Sneaks, ‘Sins, and Schmoozers of Skyrim

I remember walking into Solitude for the first time, agog at how big and fancy everything was. I was still wearing some bandit furs and had a bit of coin, so I walked over to the local clothing shop…and had to sit through the shop keep berating my dress and acting generally like a stuffy nit. I didn’t feel like getting my hands dirty (that much), so instead of starting a fight I decided to clean her place dry. I waited for her to pass, crouched down, and snuck my way into her bedroom. There I found a chest with some nice items and proceeded to line my pockets. Boy, did it feel good.

Even the strongest fortresses are an open book for a great Thief.

In general, the stealthy skills in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim can be broken down into four skill trees:

Sneak

Lockpicking

Pickpocket

Speech

Sneak: Probably just a mouse, right, Tim? …Tim?

There are a lot of problems that can be solved in Skyrim by running in and Shouting your head off, but for everything else there’s Sneak. This skill lets you skirt an enemy’s vision silently and deliver a critical strike to unwary opponents.

When I was playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, sneaking about the Yiga Clan Hideout, I jumped off a rafter and landed a sneak attack at the last second to take out a tough-looking guard and duck into the hallway with a sigh of relief. When I watched the guard’s death animation, I recalled my Norse rogue Skyrim character’s close call in a large bandit stronghold. The last room with the chieftain was filled with tough-looking outlaws at all angles, but I had quite a few pillars and heaps of broken stone around to work with. I crouched down and, with a few quick rolls between debris, snuck around to the chieftain and stabbed him right in the kidneys, removing the biggest threat in the room. I then looted his war chest in the corner and ran away like a ninny.

Sneak attacks also work with bows for a long-range sniper feel, with one of the most satisfying THUD sound-effects I’ve ever heard in gaming. If you want to be the silent assassin type, you’ll want to skill this up, and the only way to learn is by doing—so get to stabbing things! Did I mention that, though not as effective as daggers, this works with battleaxes and bows too?

This poor lowlife is poisoning himself already… I’m just here to finish the job.

Lockpicking: Safe? What safe? You mean this conveniently placed gold dispenser?

Lockpicking as a skill that’ll get you into the most lucrative safes and coffers much easier. It also can open some interesting options and alternate pathways in dungeons, so it’s always a good idea to have a decent supply of lockpicks in your inventory.

I can’t help myself when I see something shiny in a display case…

I got a chance to try picking locks using the motion controls and HD rumble built into the Joy-Con controllers. Picking a lock in Skyrim while putting my ear up to the system and feeling the lock out really put me in that sneaky, thief-y mood, and using my left hand to slowly adjust the pick angle while pressing the right analog stick to open the lock felt pretty smooth. You can use motion controls or analog sticks for either action, but a mix of the two felt natural to me. I recommend trying them out in a dark room. Have someone come up, tap your shoulder, and ask, “What’re you up to?!” for maximum effect.

Pickpocket: What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours…is also mine!

The Pickpocket skill is used by sneaking up to an NPC and pressing the “use” button to steal directly from their person. You can place items back into their inventory as well…which has certain interesting effects like gifting someone a nice poison in the pocket. Guards won’t be happy to catch you in the act though, so you need to be careful where and when you decide to steal. Also worth mentioning is that one of the perks of this skill tree increases your carrying capacity by 100, which is a great quality-of-life boost.

The Jarl really did trust me too much.

Speech: a silver tongue can open doors as well as any key

The Speech skill could be one of the more overlooked skills in Skyrim, but you can really feel the benefit even if you’re not playing the aristocrat. Depending on your skill’s level and perks, options to intimidate or persuade people in dialogue add interesting twists to quests, and it never hurts to talk your way out of a hefty fine when caught committing a crime. Otherwise, Speech lends itself to selling items at better prices and potentially convincing wary merchants to take your stolen wares.

Riften here is a den of thieves and con-artists, but a Dragonborn with a quick tongue could talk their way into the city instead of paying the customary ‘fee’.

That about wraps up the non-combat skills of Skyrim, though this only scratches the surface of what you can do when you really start to use these skills in combination with one another. The types of lives you can play out are nearly endless, which is exactly why I enjoy spending my time at the crafting bench or around town just as much as I do bashing enemies in the face.

Now how about you put your skills to work?

—James M.

#Elder Scrolls V #Skyrim #Nintendo Switch #Nintendo #Treehouse

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hcpelessluck · 6 years

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♤ + Ultimate Assassin!

another way to ultimate despair / accepting.

murder is an art – that’s what the assassin believed.

art has its intricacies, and it’s no easy thing to master. one can use a wide variety of tools for their art as well, all of which give a different effect, and using the right tools for the right job was always important. anyone can do art, of course, but a first - time piece is obvious in its lack of quality. murder, and by extension assassination, was no different.

but… everyone has a first time. his first ? a neighbours pet. nothing too incredible, honestly he barely considered it noteworthy, but it did spark the interest in him.

with time, he learned there were ways to get paid for his work. the deep web was a popular choice, and soon, he became known on the site as one of the most productive assassins on the site. it was kind of incredible, getting the rush of ending a poor soul’s life while getting paid – it was like a dream !! oh, he wished he would never wake up !

a woman cleared her throat, and the assassin’s deceivingly innocent eyes fall back on her. ah, right, he had also taken in - person commissions – as he likes to call them – and this woman was one of the clients. he knew zoning out wasn’t a good way to ensure the client was making a good purchase, but every now and then… you just had to look back and be proud of yourself ! charming smile forms on his lips as he straightens his back.

“ ahaha, my bad, miss ! now, as i was saying, i promise i’ll make sure your husband never knows what hit him. of course, anything including marriages or relations in general will cost a little extra. it’s easier to track it to you if your own husband dies, after all. gotta make sure it’s as sneaky as possible ! ”

#starts fuckign choking #ahogedetective #// IC. →✘ ⸢ obey my demands. ⸥#// INBOX. →✘ ⸢ i just reflect what you expect. ⸥#q.

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howtofightwrite · 5 years

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Q&a: Weapon of Choice

Is it possible to have a character using the sling and knives as their weapon of choice and trains for their one hundred year life because it’s more inconspicuous, even though they could use a spear and/or a sword decently? Idk, the character I’m writing is strange, but I don’t want to make it too overboard.

That sounds like someone who’s more of an ambush fighter, or assassin, rather than someone who trained for direct combat. Within that context, the sling seems a little strange, but it does make sense. The daggers and sling are both easy to conceal, so a character could carry both of them on their person, and have access to a ranged and melee weapon. Again, that’s more of an assassin or infiltrator’s approach to combat, rather than a straight up fighter.

Your weapon of choice is more about how you approach combat, rather than a preferred style, or aesthetic choice. Multiple weapons would further refine, or plug holes in that selection.

If your character is supposed to be a sneaky, backstabbing type, then a sling isn’t the weirdest ranged option. If they’re supposed to be a fighter that goes toe to toe with their foes, instead of someone shanking people in a back alley, then you’re probably going to want to trade the dagger for a sword. It’s still possible they’d carry both, and use the daggers clandestinely, while using the sword for open combat. That’s more in the range of plugging weaknesses.

If you have a character who operates clandestinely, (like a spy or assassin), it’s entirely plausible they’ve developed proficiency with a lot of weapons they don’t normally carry. This is also true for any character who has extensive combat training, but aren’t using it currently. Ex: Former soldiers or mercenaries.

Weapons are tools. You bring the tools you need for the job at hand. You may know how to use a much wider array of tools. Weapons of choice tell you how a character prefers to approach a problem. It doesn’t tell you everything about what that character can do. Your character could, very well, be proficient with swords and spears in addition to knives, but they’re only carrying a knife because they’re planning to do something specific, and openly carrying weapons would give them away. Especially if your character is more experienced, that’s not “over the top.”

The trade-off with a more experienced character is, they’re more likely to encounter people who know them, or know of them. If your character spent years training with a sword and developed a reputation as an excellent duelist, then that reputation would precede them. This isn’t over the top, it’s a natural side effect of having a character who’s been active for years, or even decades.

If your character is an assassin, having a reputation, and being recognized is a serious problem. Even if that reputation is for something other than being an assassin. It means, people will remember who your character is after the bodies are found, and remember that you were there. This can easily spiral into a complex problem for your character.

Spies have it worse, because being recognized is an immediate threat, and jeopardizes whatever they’re working towards.

Now, if you have a character who’s working as a thief or spy, and they need to infiltrate a situation where they can’t openly carry a weapon, they might choose not to carry any weapon. This is a complicated decision. The short reason is: If they’re caught carrying a weapon when they shouldn’t, it’s an immediate tip-off that they’re not who they say they are. Combine this with the part where a dagger isn’t going to do much good going up against a guard with a spear, however, a smart operator may be able to talk their way out of situation like that, if they’re found. (Obviously, this is contextual. A character who’s someplace they could have reasonably gotten lost can do this. Someone found on in a secret base under a volcano’s going to have a hard time saying they got lost looking for the bathroom.)

The basic concept is only strange if you say they intrinsically know how to use a sword and spear. If they train on a wide variety of weapons, they’d still be proficient with them, but they might only carry weapons that work for their current goals. That’s normal.

-Starke

This blog is supported through Patreon. If you enjoy our content, please consider becoming a Patron. Every contribution helps keep us online, and writing. If you already are a Patron, thank you.

Q&a: Weapon of Choice was originally published on How to Fight Write.

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choombata · 4 years

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Part 8 - High Rolling with Lowlifes

Sunday, June 21, 2020 - Our crew, now one boat richer, were enjoying their usual Sunday brunch at Millies. Nothing like bootleg alcohol and scop waffles to start your morning. The brunch was interrupted by an urgent call to meet Badger in person.

Badger had good news and bad news: the good news was the evidence the party gathered of the nature of the equipment in the NCART tunnels (i.e. a tank) was enough to start an investigation, effectively throwing a legal wrench into the mob’s operations down there. The bad news: that laptop the crew lifted phoned home. It was likely that Apex Security had a rough indication of where the laptop traveled, so the players were in danger.

Badger suggested an assassination might be a good enough distraction to throw them off. Rather than investigate underboss Jordan Giambra any further, he suggested our crew go take him out. His removal would send a message to the mob and throw Apex into chaos, as a dead executive always churns up a power grab within a corporation.

He informed the players that Jordan can be found on Sunday nights at the Hacienda Casino, rolling the bones and threatening schmoozing the owner. Jordan loves to gamble, and the casino has been a target for the mob for years. To help the players, he gave them a one-shot spike that could be plugged into the casino’s security system to scramble the cameras and erase the taps.

Ackbar had an in: a former associate of hers, a cardshark named Johnny “Fiveaces”, attempted to kill her years ago, and still thinks that she’s dead. She figures that if the crew pays a visit to Johnny, she can haunt his ass until he agrees to help raid the casino.

They headed over to Cafe Chrome and found Johnny. Johnny was sufficiently spooked the moment he saw Ackbar. He tried to play it cool when faced with her new friends, but quickly crumbled. Johnny was banned from the Hacienda Casino for cheating, but he was able to cheat because he knew the vulnerabilities in its surveillance system. He agreed to help with the raid as long as he was allowed to come along, in disguise, and win a few rounds at the tables.

Once he agreed to cooperate, Heavy and Ivy took this as the cue to strong-arm him, blindfold and tied him up, and throw him in the trunk of their station wagon. They drove him to the casino, the same casino he knew he was going to and knew how to get to. He was unbound once they arrived, a bit confused and a little uncomfortable.

Inside the casino, the crew took a good look around. After a few minutes of getting completely distracted by a bunch of gambling minigames, they figured out that Jordan was likely inside a VIP section, since he was not on the main floor. They also spotted secured doors to the basement, and with Johnny’s help, figured out how to fool the cameras.

The plan was made: get into the VIP section, and use a biotoxin that Tic Tac whipped up to poison Jordan’s drink. Meanwhile, a team would get into the secure area and spike the cameras. Ivy and Frog were on sneaky camera duty, while everyone else gathered VIP passes by swindling a bridal party. Once in the VIP lounge, the party spotted their target hanging out with the owner and his entourage. Meanwhile, Johnny snuck off to gamble.

Ivy and Frog deftly navigated through a grid of laser detectors, snuck past employees and cameras, deep in the basement. Meanwhile, up in the VIP section, Heavy became an impromptu stripper for the bridal party. The basement sneak team radioed that they made their way to a security terminal and were about to activate the spike.

V borrowed the biotoxin, and sweet-talked one of the waitresses serving Jordan to find out which drink was his. She convinced the waitress to look the other way while she spiked the drink. The poisoned drink made its way into Jordan’s hands, and he imbibed. Mission complete, but the biotoxin would take a few minutes to kick in.

The party heard over comms that Johnny was in trouble. His disguise failed, and he was caught cheating by security again. Ivy and Frogs, still in the basement, witnessed Johnny being dragged down there, into room. Fearing that Johnny would spill the beans about the raid, Ivy snuck over to the room where Johnny was in order to eavesdrop. She quietly opened the door and leveled her silenced pistol to take him out, but once she got a good look at the situation, realized that if she was caught she would probably die, so decided to run.

Her escape was blocked by the hotel owner, his entourage, and Jordan, who were coming down to the basement to see what the commotion was about. Jordan broke off from the group, visibly intoxicated and seeking a place to puke, while the rest went into the room with Johnny. Rather than wait for the biotoxin to do its job, Frogs decided to sneak up and strangle Jordan. So he did. He also stole his flashy, gold-plated pistol, because it was cool.

With their target asphyxiated and full of biotoxin, and the cameras scrambled, the party decided it was time to go. They decided to flee. They almost made it out cleanly, but Ivy ended her lucky streak and tripped over a plant, alerting a guard. The guard proved to be little more than a delay, because he was quickly dispatched by Ivy’s katana. Covered in blood, she fled via the main floor and jumped in the station wagon with the rest of our players. They sped off into the night.

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#cyberpunk 2020 #ww campaign #tabletop #rpg

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kalinara · 7 years

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Rip - temptation. Rip - subjugation. Rip - truth. Rip - lies. Rip - sublimation. Rip - destruction. Rip - sneakiness. Rip - mother. Rip - warmth. Rip - torture. Rip - music. Rip - alcohol. Rip - home. Rip - adrift. Rip - anchored. Rip - support.

So I’ve been sitting on these headcanon prompts for ages, sorry anon-friend! (You know who you are. :-P)

Rip - temptation

One of my biggest criticisms for season two (which I enjoyed a lot, don’t get me wrong) was that we ended up getting an admittedly fun but ultimately pointless filler episode like Doomworld, when we had the set up for a much more interesting episode.

Our crew had the Spear of Destiny. A legendary device that would allow them to rewrite reality. It tempted all of them, and we know that each of these characters had regrets or desires. But we never actually hear about it.

Amaya was tempted to change the future. Mick heard his parents’ voices. What about Ray? Did it offer him Anna back? Or superpowers? Or a greater chance to make a difference?

Did it offer Martin Lily? Or specifically a way to keep her safe despite being a time aberration?

Did it offer Sara Laurel? Or the ability to stop her enemies before they ever could hurt anyone? (I lean toward the latter because it seemed like Sara was more afraid of what she might do with the spear than the spear itself.)

So, anyway, I’ve thought a lot about what it might offer Rip. On one hand, there’s Miranda and Jonas. It’s obvious, but that’s for a good reason. What parent of a dead child could possibly pass up the chance to have them back? There are other possibilities though.

Perhaps it offered him the chance to undo all of his bad decisions, and particularly the ones that led to his time as Evil Rip. What if it offered him the chance to bring back the people he had killed? Like Doctor Mid-Nite?

Or a chance to bring back the Time Masters as they should have been, instead of the indoctrinating time-space cult that they were?

And now I’m resentful again, because there is so much that could have been explored with this concept for each character, but we’ll never know.

Rip - subjugation.

It interests me, how much of Rip’s plotlines with the major villains of his series (so far) involve some element of domination.

I don’t mean that in a kinky way (or do I? :-P) but rather: Savage was obsessed with Rip to the point where, after one failed encounter and escape, he’d made Rip the Satan figure in his religion. He kept the pen that Rip had used to escape for two thousand years!

I’ve said this before, I know, but I often think that Savage’s obsession comes from the way that Rip completely violates Savage’s sense of the rightful order of the world. The strong survive, thrive, and claw their way to the top. The weak submit or die. it’s the natural order.

But then there’s Rip. Savage wouldn’t have known the details when they first met, but seeing as how he wasn’t a nice guy even then, he probably assumed that Rip had been a previous victim, or a family member of one. Rip was strong enough to survive, to hunt Savage down, and even beat him.

But Rip was weak in the end. He couldn’t overcome his own compassion and kill an unarmed man. Thus, rightfully, Savage was victorious after all and threw him in a cell.

That should have been the end of it. Rip, having now proven himself weak, should be made to submit…but he won’t. Savage has him tortured, starves him, keeps him from water for who knows how long. And the guy is still defiant. Still refuses to give him what he wants. And ultimately he escapes.

And Rip keeps going after Savage. He won’t stop no matter what Savage does to him. But at the same time, he keeps his human weakness: compassion, sympathy, kindness.

It’s no wonder Rip is the Gareeb. He’s a violation of Savage’s entire view of the natural order. That’s why he gets so obsessed with defeating him. It’s not quite as important as winning Kendra of course. But it’s still something he has to do to prove himself right.

But it’s funny that Eobard, in his own way, seems to want the same thing. He doesn’t just want Rip Hunter dead. If that was the case, he could have killed him ages ago. Rip is more formidable than we tend to give him credit for, but he’s not superhuman. Instead, he reprograms his mind. (Amusingly, reprogrammed Rip is about as good as regular Rip when it comes to following orders.) And when that doesn’t work, he turns him into a toy on his desk.

That’s about more than killing an enemy. That’s about domination and subjugation.

It does make me wonder who will be the ultimate villain of season 3, and if that person will want to subjugate Rip Hunter as well.

Rip - truth. Rip - lies.

Okay, so I’m combining these into one, because they’re basically the same thing. And because, as I’ve mentioned before, I find the dichotomy fascinating.

Rip is simultaneously a seemingly pathological liar who is incredibly bad at it, while at the same time being the most successful secret keeper in the Flarrowverse.

He lies. A lot. And not just about things that make sense to lie about (such as whether or not there’s an armory on the ship) but also when the truth would be a lot more effective (i.e. “Vandal Savage killed my family.”) It seems almost like a compulsion.

At the same time, his outright lies are terrible. He’s transparent as glass. And as soon as he’s even remotely pressed about any of these lies, he folds like a paper airplane. He’s yet to successfully hold onto an outright lie for more than half of an episode!

But at the same time, when there is something he really doesn’t want anyone to know, he clams up hard and effective. Rip Hunter had one piece of the spear of destiny for an entire season without even GIDEON knowing about it. He knew about Laurel (he probably knows about all of them, honestly. The same way they knew about Amaya), he had secret warnings from future Barry Allen, and so on and so forth.

The crew is so used to his asshole secret keeping that no one blinked when Jax gets the weapons from the armory. It’s like “Of course he has a secret armory.” And I’m pretty sure that whatever Rip SAYS is his reason for creating this Time Bureau, there’s going to be at least one other secret reason behind that. And I bet it’s stupid, self-sacrificing, and when the crew finally finds out about it, they’ll be all “…of course that’s why.”

Rip - sublimation

So, anyway, wikipedia defines “sublimation” as “a mature type of defense mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are unconsciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse.”

I think Rip is very good at sublimation. Though there’s an interesting complicating factor that what is “socially unacceptable” and “socially acceptable” to Rip Hunter, Time Master, may not match what would be “socially unacceptable” and “socially acceptable” to us.

For example, caring about his team, heroic impulses, romantic impulses, pain, grief, sorrow, worry, doubt, those would all “socially unacceptable” traits to the time masters.

Focus on the mission, on getting the job done, on dealing with threats, pathological lying and pedagogical lectures would all probably be “socially acceptable”.

so…yeah, there we go. :-)

Rip - destruction

A headcanon: when it comes to individual missions, Rip Hunter has two modes: ridiculously and cleanly effective…a quick in and out, like a scapel, getting things done without ever being noticed.

And blowing things the fuck up. (See: a good chunk of season 1, Out of Time, et cetera.) This last probably explains why he was drawn to the team to begin with.

Rip - sneakiness

I think sneakiness is one of Rip’s lesser appreciated traits. I mean, let’s look at Left Behind for a moment. Sure, he was eventually captured by the League of Assassins, but before that, he managed to make his way all the way to the bedroom of one of their top assassins.

That’s kind of crazy.

But that does tie into something funny that I’ve noticed a long time ago. Which is that the crew really never seems to be in a position to witness Rip at his most badass.

Like, in Blood Ties, we see Rip fight Savage and WIN. TWICE. But the first time was before he recruited the team. The second time was when the crew was extracting Carter’s body, and Sara was fighting her own enemies (and her bloodlust).

In Out of Time, Rip takes on a room full of Nazis, but only once the others had kidnapped Einstein and were leaving.

That is of course what made Turncoat so effective. Evil Rip, in very little time, manages to neutralize the entire team.

I’m still not sure they know entirely what he’s capable of.

Rip - mother

One of the most amusing parts of being a fan of Rip Hunter in both his comics and tv incarnations is that I get to appreciate some really fun juxtapositions.

Take comics Rip, for example. Much has been made thus far about the fact that he is secretly mentoring his own, future, father. We know that he has a mother. But to this date, we’ve never seen her, we don’t know her name, and there aren’t really any majorly obvious candidates in the Booster Gold comic book.

(Booster’s had a few girlfriends over the years, but no Iris West or Lois Lane.)

On Legends though, Rip’s primary influence is maternal. Mary Xavier is pretty clearly the only positive adult figure he’s ever had in his life, between a childhood on the streets and an adulthood in a scary time-cult.

I’d even argue that Gideon’s demeanor toward Rip also frequently takes on a maternal tone. (…whether or not Rip may have an oedipal complex might be fun to analyze one day.)

His father figures are either lacking (we have reason to believe that Booster Gold likely exists somewhere in this universe, I think, but how and why he managed to lose track of a child will be an interesting question) or evil (Druce.)

…There might be a really interesting analysis in the fact that Martin was the first Legend that he became close to, or how Jonah has thirteen years on him, and likely even more than that when they’d originally met in Calvert (as it was three years before Magnificent Eight for Jonah, but would have been prior to Rip’s marriage

…basically, I think a whole series could be written on Rip’s parental issues.

Rip - warmth

Rip strikes me as the sort of guy who is always cold. He’s about 100 lbs, and wears like five layers.

It’s possible that one of the reasons I like Time Hex so much is that Jonah looks like he’d be a walking furnace.

Rip - torture

Headcanon: at some point when all this is resolved, Rip is relaxed enough to get drunk around other people and starts mocking the Legion of Doom’s torture abilities.

Because, let’s face it, in his career, he’s been tortured by the best. He’s experienced all sorts of interesting torture methods. Malcolm and Damien are just sloppy.

Rip - music

Rip strikes me as someone who originally was very interested in music, and has very eclectic tastes. I bet he even plays an instrument or a few. But I doubt he’s touched any of them since his family died.

Maybe at some point, he’ll be able to do it again.

Rip - alcohol

Okay, I’m pretty sure Rip’s functional alcoholism is canon at this point. Fortunately, Gideon knows how to rejuvenate a liver.

Rip - home

One of the MANY sad things about Rip is that, for all intents and purposes, he doesn’t really have a home.

We don’t know where he originally came from, but it didn’t sound like there was any real shelter or support there. The Refuge served as home during his adolescence, but it seems clear that it’s not an option for him anymore unless he wants to keep crossing his timeline.

Whitechapel is rubble. Whatever home he and Miranda had there would have went the way of the second London Blitz. (Let’s be honest, even if it was somehow still standing, Savage would have seen to that.)

He’s turned the Waverider, his actual home for at least a decade, over to the team and doesn’t seem inclined to stay.

What does that leave? Vanishing Point? We’ve seen that some of it survived the Oculus explosion, I suppose. But that doesn’t seem to be a psychologically ideal place to reside. I mean, it’s the home base of the organization that sacrificed his family to Vandal Savage. It’s ALSO the place where Phil Gasmer was tortured and murdered, and where Rip’s mind was violated.

I hope and I pray that Rip’s Time Bureau picks another location to call home. But we are talking about Rip here…

Rip - adrift, Rip - anchored.

These seem connected too. It is interesting to think about where he is, right at this point in time. In his entire life, Rip Hunter’s been a Time Master (but the Time Masters are gone), a husband and father (…same), an avenger (Savage is resolved, for better or worse), and a Guardian of the Spear (also resolved.)

For all that he put the Legends together, he’s always been a bit separate. And he seems to have resolved himself to the idea that that’s how things will always be.

So at this point in time, he doesn’t have a mission to keep him going. He seems unwilling or unable to get what he needs from the team. It’s probably no wonder that he went slinking off into the night.

Rip - support.

Ultimately the sad thing about Rip is that he does have the potential to have a strong support system if he’d just reach for it. Sara, Ray, Martin and Jax have all made it clear that they like and respect Rip. And would welcome him back in a heartbeat. Nate and Amaya are understandably a bit more cautious because they don’t know him. They seem open to the idea. And even Mick has, in his own way, evidenced concern and care about the man.

But for whatever reason, Rip doesn’t seem to be able to utilize this. It will be interesting to see what changes and develops, moving forward.

#rip hunter #legends of tomorrow #another set of headcanons #there are still prompts in my inbox <3

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donewithjeon · 7 years

Text

Downfall [13]

Characters: Jungkook x Reader

Word Count: 6,510

Genre: Assassin AU

Before you can raise hell on your enemies, you first need to gain permission. As unbelievable as it may sound, there’s an order to the havoc you wreak.

Although Jin is your supervising officer, he still needs to take any and all developments and run them by the people who sit even higher up on the chain of command. Especially with the valuable information Taehyung was able to salvage on such a sensitive and active case like this one, it’s crucial to request an audience with the correct higher-ups in order to make the necessary moves more effectively.

In this case, the audience is Mr. Shin.

As usual, your presence isn’t required for this scintillating briefing—it’s such a shame—so while Jin is busy with his part of the preparations, the rest of the team is fulfilling their roles as well.

Namjoon, reprising his part, is given the task of putting together a strategy. There are quite a few locations to choose from and only so much time, which means every decision counts. This is why he’s in charge of planning the best way to start, carry out, and complete the mission. His brain works better than his fists, in your opinion, so you trust him to come up with a good plan—everyone does.

Whether you guys choose to follow it or not is a different story.

Before Jin left the office, he took notice of Taehyung’s right hand; there was a swollen, red patch on his skin surrounding the knuckle of his thumb. Taehyung managed to somehow remain avidly unaware of the fact that his hand was inflamed, but after a moment of inspection, he casually explained that the injury was from his flawless escape method. Nevertheless, Jin sent him off to the infirmary upstairs just to make sure he didn’t tear a ligament or have any other hidden injuries that needed to be identified.

While Taehyung is taking care of that, Jungkook is taking care of rounding up the essentials for the night. Since the previous scouting mission at Wolmido didn’t require any weapons, none of you are currently fully armed. It’s highly unlikely that the upcoming missions will be as friendly—your team will be the ones to see to it— so you need to make sure you’re well equipped for the job.

A quick word with Hoseok will take care of everything.

Usually, Yoongi is the one who visits the armory for the round-up, but he was long gone by the time you guys decided to get ready. He was given another contract that required his expertise, and it forced him to step out of the building again almost as soon as he set foot in it. You’re positive that the only reason he even volunteers for this role is due to the unmistakable fact that he doesn’t like other people handling his wares. You have no complaints about this whatsoever, since you don’t want to go anywhere near his possessions in the first place.

You don’t need to give him an excuse to hate you even more.

Instead, you’re given the task of going down to the basement to fill Jimin in on the situation so that he can join you as soon as possible. With the preparatory duties you’re typically assigned, you sometimes feel like you’re in charge of gathering the ducks in a row in a more literal term while the “adults” take care of business. Still, seeing how readying up isn’t necessarily the most exciting part of the day no matter what role you have, as long as you have something to do in the meantime, you don’t have any objections.

You’ve never really been inside Jimin’s room much—more specifically, the dungeon, as he and the others like to call it. The name is pretty fitting, considering it is an underground prison, in a way. The only chance you have of seeing the contents within the room is whenever you’re there to personally drop off new clients, and even then, nothing is quite set up yet.

Lifting your hand up to the metal door you stood in front of only a couple days ago, you strike it a couple times with the side of your fist and take a step back. You don’t have to wait long before the door swings open and a very accomplished-looking Jimin walks forward into the hallway. Peeping over his shoulder, you see a large, black plastic bag lying in the middle of the fairly empty room. You assume that whatever is within that bulky mass is the remainder of his handiwork, but it hardly matters.

It’s all trash at this point.

“Jin sent me to see if you were all wrapped up down here.”

Jimin shuts the door behind him before giving you a chipper nod. “All done.”

“Just in time.” You gesture with a wave of your hand towards the direction of the elevators, and he takes the hint to start walking with you.

“Are we off to see the Wizard?” he asks in a sing-song voice, apparently in a good mood. You can’t believe that this is the same person from when you first learned of Taehyung’s disappearance, but you can probably guess why he’s so cheerful now.

“More like the Wicked Witch,” you reply, playing along with the reference.

“Suits me. It’s about time the wanted man shows his real face instead of sending his flying monkeys to do the work.”

Walking next to you, he tilts his head to the side to flash you a sneaky grin. Jimin is a man of many smiles, but you recognize this one far too well. It’s similar to the smile he dons after emerging as the winner of your frequent friendly competitions within the team, the same smile he has plastered on his face after coming out of a successful interrogation.

It’s one of pride.

Judging by the way Jimin barged back into the dungeon after you guys fell for the trap the false informant set, you knew immediately what the outcome would be. Deceit is one of the highest offenses in this business, believe it or not, and your “wanted man” was caught in a lie. Paired with the minor detail that his lie put one of your teammates in immediate danger, you knew the chances of him seeing the light of day again were slim to none.

Forgiveness isn’t Jimin’s strong suit, but you’re not surprised. That sentiment is shared throughout the organization, sort of like a learned trait.

By the time the two of you make it back to the office, everything else is in order.

Jin relays to the rest of the team that Mr. Shin has given you his stamp of approval to go forth with this line of missions. Not only that, but he has also given all of you the objective for the night—termination—which basically is his way of green-lighting any and all potential casualties, to a certain degree. If something is out of place or if you are threatened, you have every right to respond with force if so inclined.

It’s a bit strange how rash Mr. Shin’s orders have been for these past few days. You can’t even begin to understand his intentions fully since he rarely shares his plans with anyone less than a supervisor. This restriction of information is understandable and vital to keep things running smoothly with a company as precarious as this one, but recently, you feel like you’re running into missions more blindly than you usually are. It’s not ideal, but whatever is happening, you figure that he has his reasons for each move he makes.

All you can do is hope that things go according to plan.

Taehyung’s speedy act of memorizing the map rather than stealing it is a praiseworthy decision on his part. That way, the enemy is less suspecting of the attacks about to take place and in fact may be completely unaware that your organization now has the information under your belt.

You have the element of surprise in this current state of matters, but there’s only a limited amount of time until that becomes null. In order to make the best of what you have, you must strike quickly but tactically.

The first destination circled on the map is in an area to the south of Gangnam. It’s the closest point from headquarters—the perfect place to test the waters and measure the difficulty before setting out on the rest of the marked buildings. The majority of the drive to the location is silent minus a few cases of bickering to fill in the space. The five of you assigned to this job are all in one van since it’s both a convenience and a necessity for most missions to do so, this being one of them. It often leads to many instances of carpool karaoke—most of which you don’t partake in—but on this particular evening, there isn’t a song to be heard.

Whenever Namjoon is in the car, whether by himself or with someone else, he always refuses to turn on the radio or play any type of music, no matter how much other people request it—by other people, you mostly mean Taehyung. Namjoon’s excuse for his resistance to road tunes is that it’s too distracting, which would make a good argument if he were the one driving.

Needless to say, you’re relieved that the drive lasts only half an hour.

The sky has been dark for some time when you arrive, and the streetlamps have been turned on to spotlight the motionless streets in intervals. The targeted location is a dance studio in the more rural outskirts of the town. From the outside, it looks exceedingly unassuming with its fading exterior and clean-cut walls that rise up to indicate that there is only one story. The only light you can see from within the building is through the glass door, and it’s emanating from what seems to be the main lobby of the establishment where a lone man is sitting behind a standard front desk.

The neighborhood is peaceful with the only movement coming from the occasional car that passes through. It’s a wonder how a place like this exists at such a short distance from the big city, and you want to take a moment to appreciate how it almost feels like time has stopped in this part of the world.

But time waits for no one, especially not with your tight schedule.

After a brisk survey around the perimeter by Jimin and Namjoon, you learn that there are no other points of entry aside from the main entrance, the one you have been keeping your eye on with Jungkook and Taehyung from a shadowed vantage point across the street. The man inside seems none the wiser of the plotting taking place just outside his doorstep, but one of you is going to have to change that very soon.

“I’ll go,” Taehyung volunteers confidently to the rest of the team, sounding like he already has an idea formulating in his mind.

“What if he recognizes you?” you remind him. In any other situation, it makes the most sense to let Taehyung handle doing what he does best, but this is different. If the enemy knew his face well enough to kidnap him before, they may certainly be on the look-out for it now that he’s escaped.

“Then that just proves we need to take him in.” Namjoon’s voice enters through your earpiece, and that alone is enough permission for Taehyung to go ahead and implement whatever plan he has.

“Glad it’s settled then. Just wait for my signal!”

With that declaration and a chirpy thumbs-up directed towards both you and Jungkook, Taehyung starts his way across the street, making a beeline to the dance studio. You watch him casually stroll down the opposite sidewalk before pausing in front of the entrance and pulling the door open to let himself in.

“It’s showtime,” Jungkook speaks up beside you, and you glance over at him to see an anticipatory smile growing on his face. You look back over to the building and see Taehyung through the glass pane, standing in front of the desk as the man looks up to meet his gaze.

“Hi!” Taehyung’s greeting shines brightly even through the comms. “Do you guys have any jazz lessons here?”

That seems like a harmless question, if not with just a tad of an eager execution, but you suppose that it’s one of Taehyung’s charming qualities. The receptionist seems taken aback for a second but recovers to respond in a professional manner.

“No, I’m afraid we don’t.” His voice is a bit softer, but the microphone picks up on the conversation well enough.

“That’s a shame,” Taehyung continues, sighing into his words. “Is there a class in progress right now?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Oh, what is it?” You see him step forward to lean onto the counter curiously. Taehyung’s habit of maintaining eye contact can’t have been more spot on, but the man looks to be more interested in the paperwork below him to notice.

“Traditional folk dancing.”

“Great!” he exclaims without missing a beat. “I would like to sign up, please,” he says boisterously, ignoring the fact that he isn’t dressed for the occasion in the slightest.

From the corner of your eye, you see Jungkook’s shoulders bounce up as he snorts silently at the older boy’s supposed tactic. The conversation seems to be going nowhere fast, but all you can do is observe and wait for the signal.

“I’m sorry, but the class is full tonight. You’re going to have to come back another time,” the man replies dully, not sounding the least bit sorry.

“Really? I see an opening right there.”

Taehyung points with his left hand to a spot on the desk to the right of the receptionist. His eyes automatically move to focus on whatever Taehyung is referring to, but before he’s able to realize that he’s the one presenting the opening by turning away, Taehyung’s right fist jolts forward in a rapid motion and connects with the man’s jaw. His head abruptly lurches to the side from the startling blow, and before you know it, he’s slumped across his desk from the expertly-placed strike.

You have to admit, that was actually pretty smooth.

“Oww,” Taehyung draws out suddenly, shaking off his right hand before hovering his other palm over the bandaged fist containing his inflamed thumb.

Well, it was almost smooth.

“Nice work,” you hear Jimin commend, although you can never tell if he’s being genuine with his praises or not.

When you see the signal, a thumbs-up from Taehyung’s good hand, you make your way to the building along with your other teammates. Once inside, you hear the telltale sounds of high occupancy: everything from the pitter-patter of feet to the murmurs of the owners. As mentioned by the unconscious receptionist, there are other people here, and you can already confirm that it’s not just a small handful.

The outer walls of the establishment appear to be soundproof, which is the sensible thing to have for a dance studio in a neighborhood such as this one. You’re sure that the feature was installed to avoid receiving noise complaints from the loud music. There’s none playing at this moment, but your sole focus is on how your team can make the best of this advantageous solitude.

Namjoon is the last one to trail into the building, and he locks the glass door behind him with a soft clink before joining everyone else in the middle of the room.

“Let’s keep him alive,” Taehyung brings up as soon as all of you are present. “He definitely knows something, and I’m pretty sure we want to find out what it is.”

You peek over at the receptionist he’s indicating to and see an older fellow sitting in his seat with his upper body spilled over on top of his desk, completely knocked out cold.

“If you say so.” Namjoon nods, and it’s left at that.

You guys all trust Taehyung’s judgment no matter how vague it seems at the moment—at least, for the most part. Besides, Jimin needs a new tenant for his dungeon after his last visitor found a new and more permanent home.

With the role of the hostage being imposed upon the man, this sets the fate for the rest of the inhabitants within the studio as well, for there is only one vacancy in the dungeon.

Namjoon scans the surroundings briefly before locking eyes with you. Forming his right hand almost like a pistol, he gestures curtly towards the west hallway, one of only two paths available. There’s another hall on the opposite side of the room, and both of these options lead to doors on either end that open up to what you assume are the practice studios—there’s one room on the left and two on the right. The scale of this business is very modest in comparison to others you have seen, but you have learned not to judge anything by its size.

Underestimating the enemy is one of the worst mistakes you can make.

With light footsteps, you tread towards the hall Namjoon pointed out, and Jungkook follows closely behind while the rest take to the other hallway. There are no windows in this place whatsoever, something you noticed during the scouting of the outer perimeter, and even the view into the practice room you’re walking up to is obscured by a fully solid door.

“In position?” you hear Namjoon ask through your earpiece. You halt a little before reaching the entry and pivot your body to look back at Jungkook. He passes you in a swift motion to stand directly in front of the wooden door, confirming with the other team by providing a low “ready”.

“How do we know that they’re the bad guys?” you bring to light, not particularly expecting to be given a straight answer. Most of the missions you are given are detailed contracts with specified orders. Very rarely do you ever go off the books to complete a job with no identified goal or incentive. But of course, it’s all logistics—none of it matters as long as the results are the same.

Before anyone can answer your question, the door at your end of the hallway suddenly opens. It swings away from you to reveal a tall, lean man substantially younger than the receptionist you saw earlier. He was in the process of exiting the room, but the initial glimpse of Jungkook blocking the hallway stops him dead in his tracks. For a split second, a look of confusion blossoms on his face, but when his eyes dart over to you, you can see that something clicks in his mind by the way his expression changes.

Turning his attention back onto Jungkook, the man leaps forward unexpectedly, lowering his posture to gain more balance. He tackles Jungkook with a head-on collision to his torso, one that would have knocked Jungkook off of his feet if not for his acute reflexes. He’s able to side-step the attack just enough to redirect the force with strained effort, and his back crashes onto the wall behind him as he wrangles with the man, but it’s not to escape his clutch. Jungkook has turned the tables and is clenching the man in a headlock, firmly keeping him in the position of the attempted tackle and leaving his back wide open—for you.

With one glance from Jungkook, your hand flies to the back of your belt to remove your knife from its sheathe. Tightening the reverse grip on your preferred weapon, you bound forward and aim the blade accordingly before striking down on the back of the man’s vulnerable neck, just below Jungkook’s firm clutch. Taking your other hand, you apply pressure at the end of the hilt, angling the sharp edge in order to dig deep in between his cervical vertebrae. You feel some resistance at first, but as you put your weight into it, the knife pierces through with a rugged and deliberate push, successfully severing the spinal cord.

The stab is effective, as per usual, and you yank the blade out of his flesh just as Jungkook releases his choke-hold on the man. He immediately crumples onto the floor, no longer showing signs of the vigor he pounced with just moments prior. You meet eyes with Jungkook, and you see a smirk start to appear on his lips as he wastes no time reaching behind him to remove his own weapon from his holster.

“That’s how we know,” he says with amusement, answering the question you presented just before the rude interruption as he slickly cocks his pistol.

Lifting his gun up in front of him with both hands, Jungkook shifts his body back towards the door left wide open by the man now lying by your feet. A shot rings out, and you turn your head just in time to see the recipient of the bullet fall to her knees in the midst of charging into the hallway, the wound oozing freshly on her forehead.

With the doorway finally granting a clear view, you’re able to gaze into the modest-sized practice studio. If the scene inside wasn’t turbulent before, the sole gunshot definitely shook it up even more. There are men and women scattering across the room like ants, some dashing away into the corners whereas some approach you two with malicious intent. There’s too much movement to get an accurate headcount, but it’s nowhere near a number you two need to worry about.

Keeping his handgun extended in his grasp, Jungkook paces forward and enters the room, letting a few bullets fly here and there—you can adequately pinpoint the location of each hit target by the screams and grunts that rise from their throats. You follow behind him until you find yourself in the room, and you make sure to shut the door behind you just in case someone tries to flee.

You watch Jungkook rinse the nearest corner before strafing towards it, emptying his current magazine on some of the bolder targets rushing towards him before reloading the pistol with only a few seconds downtime. He already took care of this side of the room for the most part and is busy at work on the other, so the best you can do is stand guard and use the time to examine your surroundings.

At first glance, you notice that these people have no weapons on them—nothing to fight back with but their bare hands. This is basically a slaughter, which is more or less the unspoken objective that Mr. Shin enacted and the best case scenario for a surprise attack. This isn’t the first time you guys caught an enemy with their pants down, and it certainly won’t be the last if the marks Taehyung left on the map account for anything.

From your peripheral vision, you see a body rise up from the floor with speed and start closing in on you. He’s most likely one of the few who was able to dodge a fatal hit, someone others may consider lucky.

He’s far from it, though, because now he has the pleasure of dealing with you.

You wait for him to reach your position as he accelerates clumsily—the leaking hole in his shoulder is a valid excuse for his lack of grace—and when he stumbles forward with something that resembles a tackle, you greet him with the tip your knife. You jolt backwards at the collision of him basically throwing his entire body weight onto you, but your grip stays strong, pushing the blade up into his thorax. It doesn’t take long until the man’s body goes limp and you feel him start to slip away. Removing the weapon from his heart, you let him fall back into the heap he was before, but this time, with the knowledge that he will not rise again.

With that taken care of, you look back over at Jungkook to see how he is fairing—not that you have to check. He has taken a few steps forward to take care of the targets in the far corner of the room, but his pace of bullets and the smirk on his lips have not let up.

Jungkook doesn’t just excel at his job, as proven by the bodies already accumulating on the glossy wooden floor, but he likes it.

A smile was never far from his face whenever he adeptly completed a job or received high marks on his evaluations in the past, but these days, you’ve been noticing that smile creeping in ever so steadily during the process of carrying out your missions together. You’re not sure what it means, if it means anything, but the conclusion you decided to draw from this observation is that you’ve been staring at Jungkook far too often and intently—kind of like what you’re doing right now.

Perhaps you should limit your focus to your enemies instead.

Between the booming shots and the surging cries filling the air, the rising chaos is effective in numbing your eardrums. But the chaos always hits a ceiling where it can’t go any higher, and at that point, the noises start to dwindle. The amount of bullets soaring to their final destination diminishes, and the number of targets with a breath able to cry out decreases as well.

Until there is nothing left but silence.

Jungkook is still holding his gun up when the last body falls, and only when the dust seems to settle and the shots stop resonating in the other group’s room does he lower his weapon and replace it back into its holster. He tilts his head in your direction and studies you with raised eyebrows.

“Were you just standing there the whole time?” he asks accusingly.

“You didn’t seem like you needed my help,” you answer with a shrug. “But no, I took that guy out.” You point your bloodied blade at the man on the floor, his face already blurring in your memory along with the rest of the fallen.

“Congrats.”

Jungkook breaks out into a cheeky grin that only grows into laughter at the glare you provide as appreciation of his shining praise.

“Let’s just sweep the area,” you state, averting your attention to look at the bodies closest to you. You crouch down next to one of them and reach over to wipe both sides of your blade onto a particularly absorbent-looking sweater a man is wearing. You sheathe your knife as Jungkook starts on the opposite corner of the rectangular room, and the both of you rummage through the area to do a thorough check, both to inspect the corpses for information, and to confirm that the corpses are indeed corpses—all 13 of them.

“We’re clear,” you speak into your comms once the room and its subjects are deemed passable.

“Still working over here,” Namjoon replies back.

“Some more than others,” you hear Jimin’s voice add on.

A sharp “shh” is all you catch as a comeback to the accusation, and you can only assume that it’s Taehyung.

“We’ll review the lobby,” you speak up promptly to save your ears from another bout of bickering. Motioning at Jungkook to head towards the main entrance, you walk into the hallway, stepping over the man and woman occupying the narrow space, both of whom you took the time to inspect already.

“All those people and not a single clue linking them to the wanted man,” you sigh.

Jungkook walks past you, making his way to the front once you reach the primary room of the establishment. “Maybe we’re just not looking for the right thing,” he suggests, turning his head to examine that the door is still locked.

You pause in the middle of the room and look before you; it’s almost as bare as the interior of the dance studios themselves, and other than the front desk where the incapacitated man from before remains untouched, there isn’t anything else of interest. You turn away to gaze at Jungkook as he paces off to the side to pick a magazine off of the rack that is placed next to the half-full water dispenser and a droopy potted plant.

“It would help if we knew what we were looking for,” you rebuke, watching him place the magazine back onto the shelf only to see that it’s not a magazine but a worn-out comic book. You applaud him for refraining from flipping through it on the job, but you wouldn’t be surprised if you find out that he has already seen that volume. Jungkook turns his body to face you once again, his mouth opening with the start of a response, but his eyes rapidly dart away to lock onto something behind you.

Then, you hear a click.

You spin around to set your eyes on the source of the noise. The receptionist has regained consciousness, and not only that, but he now has a black revolver in his hand.

The possible moves you can make flash in an instant inside your mind; with the way he’s already lifting the gun up to shoot, it’s much too late to pull out a weapon to counter, let alone your knife. Your best bet is to try leaping across the room in hopes of dodging the incoming shots, but even that would take too long.

Before your body can react to the choice you need to make, you see Jungkook appear beside you, already bolting forward. For a second, it looks like he’s rushing straight past you to get to the armed man, but instead, you see him spin on his heel before you sense the sudden impact of his body hit yours, almost feeling like a bullet of its own kind.

You’re thrown backwards off of your feet just as you hear the deafeningly clear shot from the handgun.

As you hit the floor below, you expect Jungkook’s weight to come crashing onto you—but somehow, it doesn’t. His body is still above you, but you don’t question it for now. Thinking fast this time, your hand reaches out for the gun tucked away in the back of Jungkook’s waistband and hastily pull it out of its holster. Clearing your mind of the other thoughts about what just happened or what the repercussions are, you steady your outstretched arm, peering over Jungkook’s shoulder to shoot at the offender from below.

When you look past your sights at the man, your eyebrows crease in confusion and your finger freezes on the trigger. He’s slumped over on his desk again, almost as if he never even got up in the first place.

“What the hell?” you whisper, lowering your weapon to get a better look. He’s definitely fallen over—not even moving, in fact—and you can see a significant crater on the side of his temple, something you immediately recognize to be an exit wound from a point-blank shot.

“What was that?!” you hear Namjoon call out, the hushed tone he attempted to use barely lowering the volume of his voice.

“Our hostage just shot himself in the head,” you inform.

Just like that, you’re back to square one.

“Great,” Jimin replies in annoyance.

“Aw man!”

The last comment would have sounded sarcastic if it didn’t come from Taehyung. He must have really seen potential information in the man, but now you’ll never know what it could have been. These are still such lackluster reactions to someone committing suicide and thus ruining the plans to keep him alive, but alas, this isn’t your team’s first rodeo.

You let out an exhale, both of relief and disbelief, and you drop your hand so that your knuckles and the tip of the gun land with a thud the floor.

That’s when you realize that Jungkook is still very much hovering above you.

His arms are on either side of your body, helping to prop him up in a way that leaves him floating on top of you; this is likely the reason, one you’re very thankful for, that he didn’t body slam you when you both fell to the floor.

“Jungkook, you can get up now,” you prompt him, letting him know that the threat no longer exists.

“I know.”

You quirk your eyebrow and glance up at him when he doesn’t show signs of moving. You’re only able to meet his eyes for a fraction of a second before you look away, trying to push away the odd feeling that arose from the sly expression you just witnessed.

Maybe this is another one of his ploys to show off his ever-growing strength, since he’s still holding himself up as if he can do this all day. You really don’t want to challenge him on that, especially not when you can feel his gaze scorching the side of your face.

You lift up your free hand and go on to deliver a mild jab to his side of his torso. Never minding the fact that you feel like you just tried to poke a statue, you watch him flinch off of you at an amazing speed, it’s almost comical. He rolls over to the side before sitting back upright, shooting you an offended look that makes a chuckle rise from your chest.

It’s nice to know that even Jungkook is ticklish.

“How about you put those arms to good use and go get the accelerant,” you advise almost as soon as you lift yourself back up, suddenly feeling the need to change the subject.

You make sure to hand him the weapon you borrowed in the process, and he holsters the gun before grinning slightly, staring at you like he still has something he wants to say. There’s a notable pause, and you’re just about to throw out an eloquently-placed “what?” when he turns around before you can, heading towards the glass door to unlock it and exiting to probably go see to the task you mentioned.

You can’t figure Jungkook out sometimes, even after the numerous and eventful years of working closely with him—that impression holds true to many others within the organization and even the team, but for some reason, it bothers you most when it comes to Jungkook. Perhaps that’s what’s seeking your attention and encouraging your inclination to keep observing him: pure curiosity.

Yes, that seems like the most plausible explanation.

Just then, you hear footsteps approaching from the across the way. When you glance over, you see Taehyung appear from the east hall. His eyes are set on the front desk as his measured strides carry him over to the man bleeding all over his work station.

You watch Taehyung from across the room as he pries the suicide weapon out of the man’s hand and slides it into the back of his waistband for safekeeping. From there, he pulls the body up from the desk by the shoulders until it’s leaning back into the seat. He then swivels the chair around and continues to search through the dead man’s pockets, taking anything that piques his interest, regardless of whether it’s beneficial to the mission or not.

Taehyung has sticky fingers when it comes to dead and unconscious bodies alike. While some clients do request to be brought a souvenir as proof of the job being complete, he makes it a common practice to do it each time. “I’m just leaving less for them to find,” was the reasoning he gave you when you scrutinized him in the past. There was no beating that logic, so you didn’t bother to ask him about it again.

His kleptomaniacal habit admittedly would be more of a problem if not for your organization particular way of handling evidence. He never worries about leaving fingerprints or traces—in fact, none of you do. There’s no need to concern yourself with trivial matters such as hiding the identity you don’t have or avoiding getting caught in a system you’re not a part of. He takes advantage of those circumstances, and your team just allows him to salvage what he can for the very same reason.

Everything will be destroyed anyway.

“Are we all done here?” Namjoon asks the team once you’re all gathered in the main lobby. He waits for everyone’s input of either a nod or confirmative response before he asserts his next, albeit predictable instruction. “Alright then, light it up.”

Three of the boys each pick up large gas cans, the accelerant Jungkook brought in earlier by your request, and spread out to empty the contents throughout the four rooms. On the other hand, you and Namjoon exit the premises first, walking to the van while keeping a lookout to make sure no one disturbs the final step.

Fire—your calling card.

This is the most standard procedure used by your organization for destroying evidence and in this case, for smoking out the enemy from hiding. Although it doesn’t necessarily burn up everything in the building entirely, the fire acts as a literal smoke signal for the clean-up crew.

Incidentally, it’s the law enforcement.

Running a business like this one—successfully, you may add—is nearly impossible without a few moles inside the justice system. Some of the officers and inspectors have been bribed into this partnership while others were trained into their positions, much like the assassins themselves. Their own standard procedures are quite simple: when they catch wind of a structural fire, they know to respond to the dispatch call and arrive on scene straightaway. From there, they use their resources and authority to cover up the tracks and whatever else remains in the ashes once the flames are extinguished.

This secret alliance is set up to be fool-proof, and it has been that way for decades. When you fully grasp an understanding of that, it hardly seems like an exaggeration when you say that the organization has eyes and ears everywhere.

Under Mr. Shin’s decree, this is your city.

The door of the van opens as two of your teammates file into the backseat next to you, tossing the empty gas cans carelessly behind them. It only takes a couple more minutes until Jimin opens the door and plops himself into the driver’s seat. The van is parked in a discreet spot farther away from the targeted area, but even from this position, you can see the glow of the growing inferno in the distance and the first wisps of smoke start to rise from the burning building.

Namjoon turns from the passenger’s seat to address the rest of the team, and Jimin automatically starts the engine, knowing full-well what he needs to do before even having to hear the words leave your brother’s mouth.

“Let’s move on.”

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