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mitchywitchythings · 2 years

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Death Is Always Inevitable

Summary: Life is unfair. That’s what you’ve always known, so you fought back against it. Which leads you to where you are now, on a battlefield with people you’ve only known for a while. Will you be able to save everyone or will it all end in a massacre?

Warnings: Blood, Violence, Language, Gore, Angst, Death, and Timeline is messed up

Paring: Todoroki Shoto X Fem! Reader

Word Count: 10,898 Words

Chapter 2 : | Series Masterlist

How many years has it been since then? Since I've signed away my life and dedicated it to protecting humanity and fighting against the titans. It's a bit of a blurry memory, signing up for the cadets at only 12 years old because of the breach of Wall Maria. I had nowhere to go and I was all alone. I had no family and friends, they had all died either from debris thrown at them when the wall was kicked down or either eaten by the titans.

I remember the gruesome training that I received, but I did make some good friends there and for a while, I was truly happy, but of course, that was all before they were all slaughtered and eaten in front of me by the titans. The titans… I hate them, it's only natural as everyone else does. They took our homes, families, friends, and pride. I joined the survey corps to fight against the titans in hopes of taking revenge against them.

It was pointless of me to think of that. I realized that no matter what I sacrifice or how hard I work, they’ll just keep coming back to take more and more innocent lives. I could only watch as my friends kept on dying in front of my eyes in every fight against them, whilst I could only stare and fight other titans because I was also trying to save myself.

We were fighting to survive and to live another day. Day by day we began to lose our will and sanity. But when we finally discovered that there was a world beyond the walls, that there were other people outside, that we weren’t alone. I was happy… There was hope.

But then again we’d have to fight for it just like everything, we weren’t only fighting monsters now, we were turning into ones. Titans were also once human, but since they've turned and no way to reverse it unless you eat a titan shifter of course. I feel bad for the person trapped inside the titan of course. Knowing the truth about titans, knowing that they don’t understand what they’re doing, knowing that they're trapped in a nightmare.

Yet I still can't find it in my heart to forgive them. The hatred that grows in my heart towards them only keeps on growing with every human they mercilessly slaughter. But they're not the only ones who kill humans, we too do that as well, but of course, they were our enemies, and day by day, I was slowly beginning to lose the hope that I newly obtained.

That was all before, now everything's changed. I was given a mission by Commander Hange to infiltrate a high school. I was entrusted with this mission because only I could fulfill the spot. They needed a 15-year-old and being the only 15-year-old and youngest among the scouts, the job was already mine from the start. It’s a mission for a maniac if I’m being honest.

But I took it anyway as it's my duty. What's interesting about this mission was that the school I would infiltrate wasn't any regular school. No, it was a school for heroes. Children from the age of 15 who are gifted with great power called quirks enter here and for 3 years they train to become heroes. Heroes… I see them as a joke, there is no such thing as a hero. Not anymore at least.

"Ackerman! Don't fall behind." A man named Aizawa yelled at me from the front of the class.

Snapping out of my thoughts I quickly caught up with the group, "Yes sensei, I apologize!"

The class I was put in was class 1-A. I entered the school around 6 months after its opening. It was after the fall of their supposed number 1 hero, All Might. And because of that, it made everyone suspicious of me being a villain. I can tell that everyone doesn't fully trust me, especially Todoroki Shoto. I needed to earn all of their trust because that's the main point of my mission.

I'm currently wearing my old uniform minus the cape. We're walking towards this big hero agency that's located on the topmost floor of this tall building. The class around me conversed excitedly around me. I tried to join in with them, some politely let me while others looked at me with disgust as though I was a villain. In the end, I ended up having a one-sided conversation with the boy who distrust me the most, Todoroki. He looked at me with suspicious eyes as I conversed with him regarding the place we were going to.

"Isn't it exciting? I can't wait till we arrive at the agency." I smiled and talked excitedly

"Yeah…" He replied practically annoyed with my voice

He practically deemed I was a villain without any sort of proof. His eyes silently glared at me as I talked. I wanted to yell at him that I'm truly not a villain, but that would make a scene, which would lead to me becoming more suspicious of being a villain and the U.A. traitor. So I fucking suck it up and let him continue to silently glare and look at me in disgust.

He kept on making rude glances my way and I so wanted to slap him in the face for it. But then again if you were in his shoes then you’d understand why he was doing that. Almost everyone in school firmly believes that I’m a villain and that I deserve to be expelled. However, despite how everyone treated me, I needed to ignore those comments and rumors because the mission required it. That’s why when this mission is finally over I will smack everyone who comments on me, hard in the face without holding back or having any hesitation.

~~~

We hid in an abandoned warehouse for about 2 weeks since we first arrived here in Japan after getting information out from Yelena. She told us about how every nation that knew about titans and such were all afraid of the nations who had quirks.

They called those nations, Oddity, because of their quirks. All of the other nations hid from the Oddities because of how advanced their technology was compared to everyone and also if we were to attack them, the Oddities would have an advantage because a lot of their people have quirks and they could use those quirks to their advantage to defeat the titans.

But word reached Yelena that within a few months the Marleyans would begin their attacks on the Oddities because based on a recent experiment they did, quirks no longer have effects on titans and if they were it didn't have that great of an effect. There was no proof to back this up of course since it was a rumor. But at the moment all we had going for us was that rumor.

We had no hopes of defeating the Marleys who were already determined to defeat us. So we came up with a plan, we had no other choice but to somehow manage to form an alliance with the Oddities so that we could find a way to defeat the Marleys. This is where I come in, I was offered a big mission.

I was to gain the trust of the Oddities by enrolling in their topmost school and getting connections with the heroes there. And when the time comes, that the Marleys would attack the Oddities, starting with Japan, we would help Japan survive and defeat the titans. After that, we would form an alliance.

"Ackerman, do you fully understand your mission? Do you accept it? " Commander Hange asked me in our private meeting.

"I accept."

"Good. You'll be enrolled in U.A. High within a week. Leave the rest to us, for now, train with Levi to pass the entrance exam. I want you to get to the top. I know that's hard since you don't have a quirk but I'm sure you can use your Ackerman skills to help you." She said seriously as put both hands on the desk.

"Yes, Commander." I replied just as seriously as she was.

"Hey brat, your training begins now." I turned around only to see Captain Levi leaning on the door frame, his hands tucked in front of his chest.

"Levi! Right on time! Don't be too harsh on (Y/n) here." Hange quickly joined in as her old self.

I remembered how Captain put me on endless training to improve my combat skills, we also focused on mastering different sorts of weapons. I was somewhat glad that I could improve on my skills outside of killing titans but now I wasn't allowed to use the ODM gear anymore since I wouldn't be using it in U.A. which sucks a lot. I loved using the ODM because of the thrill it gives me every time I use it and now to have it taken away really does suck.

~~~

We now entered the building and headed towards the elevator, we would go up by batches and meet the pro hero who would teach us new lessons for hero stuff. I was included in the last batch of students. When we arrived at the top floor, I was amazed by the view I was met with. It overlooked the city and the weather was just perfect, the sunlight hit the city perfectly too. I ignored what the hero who was showing us around his agency had said and instead enjoyed the sight in front of me.

We were to spend the rest of the day learning the way a hero should run their agency, but I don't care about learning that. I wasn't Midoriya who would take notes of everything that could help you become a great hero. I'm me.

A while had passed and it was a miracle that the League of Villains hadn't popped out yet to terrorize us. I've met them a few times during my short stay here in class 1-A and believe me when I say this. It gets annoying how many times they try to attack us and then proceed to fall back because they lost.

It was now around 3:30 PM, 30 more minutes and we could go home. Well more like going back to the abandoned warehouse. We were now heading to the stairs that lead to the rooftop. The pro hero of this agency said that we could use the rest of the 30 minutes to watch the view of the city from the rooftop. I was in front of everyone and I was excited to see the view more than anyone else, who knew? Maybe this will be the last time I get to see a city like this. Little did I know, that was the truth.

I was mesmerized as I pushed the door open excitedly and a soft cold wind blew through me. Walking towards the edge of the building, I gripped tightly to the rails as I leaned forward to get a better view of the city. I could hear the bustling that went down on the streets below us as I felt the slight shiver of goosebumps run through my arms and the hair at my nape stood on its ends.

"Ackerman! Please don't lean on the railings you might fall!" Iida yelled at me, which I ignored.

"I know you're excited, Ackerman. But listen to your class representative." Aizawa-sensei came up from behind Iida.

"Alright, fine." I pouted and I let go of the railings and walked back towards the group gathered at the center.

We spent around 15 minutes conversing and enjoying the calm breeze blowing in the air. When Aizawa-sensei thought that since there was nothing for us to do, he could let us go home around 15 minutes earlier. So he made his way to the front of the class and began to make the announcement.

"Alright, class. Since there's nothing left for us to do. I-" Aizawa-sensei was cut off by the sudden sound of grappling hooks unsheathing themselves and wrapping themselves around the steel railings behind him. The loud 'clanking' and 'screeches' it left made everyone's ears cringe and hurt, but I was used to it so I guess it didn't bother me much. Immediately Aizawa-sensei turned around only to be stunned by the sight of more grappling hooks wrapping themselves around the railing.

"Prepare, they could be villains!" Aizawa-sensei yelled out to the whole class.

The only thing that ran through the class' mind except for (Y/n), was 'Is this another attack by the LOV?!'. Instead of thinking the same thing as everyone else is, I instead thought about what and why they are here. Everyone immediately prepared themselves for a fight that they thought was about to occur and before (Y/n) could say that those weren't villains. People with green cloaks and a strange device wrapped around their hips flew in the air only to land on the rooftop with the class. Aizawa-sensei was about to wrap his weird scarf around the one right in front of him, but then the supposed villain asked a question that shocked everyone.

"Is (Y/n) Ackerman here?" A woman with a black eye patch around her eye and was wearing glasses over it asked very calmly as though what she just did was an everyday thing for her, which was true.

All the while this was happening, (Y/n) who was at the back of the class started to panic and run towards the front, ending up shoving a lot of people off in her way the front. 'Shit! This is it, isn't it?!' I practically screamed in my mind in panic as my heart began to beat even faster than before as adrenaline was beginning to pump through my blood

"Commander! I'm here!" I yelled out as I shoved through everyone, not caring at the moment that I was being rude.

"Oi, bitch! Don't shove me or I'll shove your ass off of this building!" A very angry Bakugo was yelling at me as I shoved him, but I didn't care.

Saluting in respect for Commander Hange in front of everyone, "(Y/n) Ackerman, reporting!" I yelled as I finished saluting and put my hands on my back.

Everyone stared at me with confusion written on their faces. Hundreds of questions ran through their minds

"(Y/n), please give me a report of the class." Commander said seriously, which made me more nervous than before.

“Ackerman, I'm warning you! Step away from the villains now!" Aizawa-sensei yelled at me, his suspicions of me being a villain growing even further.

"As of now, nobody in class 1-A, or any class in U.A. High for that matter, including teachers, don't trust me enough. They all believe I am a villain sent by the League of Villains to infiltrate them from within."

"Ackerman! You're the U.A. traitor, aren't you?!" Aizawa-sensei's suspicions were rising through the roofs, he really didn't want to have a student who was a villain. No one would.

Aizawa-sensei was heard by them but ignored, which made him annoyed and so he took a fighting stance at his student. Prepared if he must use his quirk to stop Ackerman if she finally decides to reveal what quirk she has. He's rationalizing his thoughts and preparing multiple strategies in his head, but he can't pull out any moves until they move first. So he decides to motion to his students to just watch, listen, and prepare for a fight.

~~~

"Shit! We need to contact the pro hero running this agency for backup!" Todoroki whisper-yell to Midoriya who was right beside him.

"I know, but the villains are blocking the exit! They must have planned this in advance!" Midoriya replied to the dual-haired male.

"Deku-kun! My phone has no signal, I can't contact anyone!" Uraraka showed her phone to him

"It's probably because of how high we are, the signal can't reach us!" Midoriya replied to her

"What do we do now?!" Kaminari said out loud in exasperation, "C'mon! These villains really don't give us a break!"

"I'll make a radio to contact the heroes downstairs!" Yaoyorozou whispered

Everyone quickly huddled around her to cover up her using her quirk to contact the heroes below. But unbeknownst to them, the scouts had already surrounded the whole building and were busy having a battle. The scouts weren't trying to create a fight with the heroes, in fact, they were trying to warn them of the fact that enemies are heading their way here. But of course, they didn't believe them, because why would they?

They had nothing credible to back them up. All that the heroes could see were crazy maniac people, who claimed that creatures called titans were going to devour this city. However, things took a quick change when the heroes finally noticed that under their cloaks were in fact swords and missiles. The scouts below were winning the fight, only because they were moving more quickly and efficiently than the heroes with the help of their ODM gear.

Yaoyorozou, who had just finished making the radio, quickly tried to contact the heroes below them. Everyone surrounding her was creating distractions in order for her to contact the heroes by asking questions to the apparent villains.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out

"Cr-Creati?! Is that-that… You?" A voice yelled out from the radio and in the background, they could hear a lot of yelling

"Yes, we're in desperate need of backup! Villains are surrounding us!" She yelled back to the radio that keeps on cutting

"You…! Own-! Fi-Fighting! Ca-n't help-p!" The voice yelled back before it finally became too distorted and no one could understand them until it fully stopped and static was the only thing that could be heard.

"We're on our own. We can't rely on the pros to help us out this time." She looked nervously at Jirou who was beside her.

"Don't worry, we'll get through this. We always do." Jirou whispered reassuringly to the girl beside her and kissed her on the lips.

~~~

"I see, (Y/n). Do you think that you could still convince them to evacuate the city?" Commander asked me

"I can." I replied a bit nervously

"Evacuate the city?! What is going on Ackerman?!" Aizawa-sensei was now really on edge.

"Is this it?" I questioned calmly but inside I was panicking.

"Unfortunately yes, we intercepted Reiner from the radio, saying that they are already heading here." Hange said

"How much time do we have left?" I asked

"We’re not sure, but we'd give an hour at most." Captain intervened

"I'll do my best then." I replied

"What the hell is going on?!" Bakugo being the attention seeker he was, yelled out

"Ackerman, are you a villain?!" Kirishima-kun looked at me in hopes that I'd say no.

"You're the U.A. traitor aren't you, Ackerman?!" Aizawa-sensei yelled out, making everyone's head turn at me.

'U.A. traitor?!' Everyone stared in disbelief at me. Although they had already predicted that I was. Ignoring everyone behind me and tuning all of their questions, I began to ask the commander for orders.

"We'll need you to contact the mayor of this city and convince him to evacuate it." Hange spoke

"Alright, I understand commander." I replied professionally

"One more thing, (Y/n). I need you to look out for this class and help then evacuate the civilians. There are ships at the pier, we'll use those to bring them back." Captain Levi said

"What?! With all due respect captain, but I could be more of use if I was in the field helping everyone fight instead of babysitting." I rationalized

"What the fuck do you mean by babysitting, you shitty idiot?! I don't need anybody looking out for me!" Bakugo screamed to which Kirishima had to hold him back to avoid Bakugo from starting a fight.

"It needs to be you. You're the one who's their classmate. They trust you the most so we need you to protect them and help them evacuate as many people as possible." Armin cut in

"Fine, I'll do it." I complied in a somewhat understanding but annoyed tone.

"Alright, then that's it. We just now need to convince the mayor to evacuate the civilians." Hange said as she looked behind me to look at my teacher.

Walking over to Aizawa, Hange smiled and offered a handshake to him, "You're Aizawa Shouta, right? Our (Y/n)'s adviser?"

He took a fighting stance in front of her and ignored her offering, "What do you want, villain?! Why do you want to evacuate this city?!"

"An enemy of ours is heading this way to destroy Japan, starting with this city. We're offering you a proposition, we'd like to help you escape and defeat the titans. In return, we form an alliance."

"Escape? Back then when you talked to Ackerman, you mentioned evacuating the civilians to the pier. We can evacuate the civilians to our evacuation centers all over this city. But I don't understand why you would want us to go to the pier to evacuate unless you want us to leave this city for good. And I'm saying this as though, we trust you, villain. We don't! So give it up and tell us what's going on!"

~~~

All the while when Hange was talking to Aizawa-sensei to try and explain to them the situation, Levi motioned me to go over to them. 'Shit, I don't have my gear with me. How would I fight without it? Maybe that's what the captain wants to talk to me about?' I thought.

"Captain, is this regarding my ODM gear?" I questioned

"Yeah, 4 eyes assigned Sasha and Connie to grab them back at the base since they forgot to grab it when we headed here." The captain spoke in a somewhat dead voice, but at the same time annoyed.

I nodded in reply, "Speak of the devil-" I began as both Sasha and Connie, who just arrived, were carrying a large suitcase.

Immediately dropping the suitcase on the hard concrete, it made a rather loud sound. "Sasha! Next time we're not taking a break to buy fries at Macdonald's!" Connie yelled at Sasha as he tried to grab a piece of fries from her to which she almost bit off his fingers in retaliation.

"Don't touch my fries!" She screamed at him as she began to shove more fries into her mouth.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Connie began to speak, "Anyways (Y/n), here's your equipment." He groaned in annoyance as he stared at Sasha as she ate away her fries in peace after he gave up trying to grab a piece from her.

"Tch…" Levi started as he looked at them in both annoyance and disappointment, but now soon after he looked at me in expectation, "Hey brat, we don't have time. Put on your equipment right here and now." Captain said

I quickly replied with a hum and moved my way toward my equipment. Not wasting any more seconds, opening the chest and examining my ODM gear for any defects. Luckily there seemed to be none, so with a huge blush adorning my face. I took off my crop jacket, skirt, and boots. Putting on all of the leather straps around my body wasn't easy, especially when you needed it on right away. You needed to make sure it was put on properly and such because if not then you'll have a malfunction in the midst of battle and die.

It'd be such a pathetic way to die honestly and I'd rather die the most gruesome and horrible death than that. Putting it on in front of all my classmates was extremely embarrassing, but I didn't have time to be embarrassed. We needed to go now and help evacuate the civilians. After putting on the straps I quickly put on my skirt, jacket, and boots. Finally, I attached the ODM gear to it and on both of my arms I put on the thunder spears. Then Armin, who brought my wings of freedom cape, handed it to me. I stared at it for a second before smiling and reaching to take it from his hand.

"Thanks…" I mumbled out quietly enough for him to hear.

"Isn't that part of Ackerman's hero costume? Didn't she always wear it before Bakubro almost burnt it?" Kirishima said in curiosity

"Hah!" Bakubitch shouted in amusement at Kirishima, "How can you say it's a costume for a hero when she is so clearly a villain!" He smirks

"I've had enough of everyone's bullshit!" I yelled, making everyone pause and look at me in surprise, "You think of me as nothing but a villain!" Pausing for a moment, I turned my body to face them properly, "First off, I'm not your classmate!" Looking at my adviser, I continued, "I'm not your student." And finishing, "I'm not a villain either, nor am I a hero." Placing my right clenched fist on the left side of my chest with my other hand behind my back, giving them a salute, "I'm a soldier, a scout… and I dedicate my heart and I'll fight until the end."

"Soldier? What do you mean by that?! You're only 15. Well, unless you lied about your age." Todoroki stepped forward

"I didn't lie about my age, I started to train when I was 10, I graduated when I was 13 and since then, I have been a part of the scouts. We're here to save humanity and slay the titans."

"Save humanity?! What kind of bullshit is this?" Bakugo rudely cut in

"Titan are giant humanoid creatures that eat humans for sport." I responded

"What kind of idiot do you think we are?! Giant humanoid creatures, that eat humans for fun? Eat shit you, lying villain! I don't care if we were classmates, you're still a villain!" Bakugo yelled out

"God, you're giving me a headache with all those screaming." I said rubbing the temples on my forehead.

"I didn't even think you had a head, to begin with!" He smirked as he let out little sparks of explosions on both of his palms.

Rolling my eyes at him, I turned around and exposed my ODM gear to everyone. Everyone stared at me in amazement at the weapon I was holding 4 thunder spears on each arm. Taking out both of my swords on each arm just to get a feel.

"Are those swords, villain?!" Iida yelled at me in shock.

"Not giving into the thought that I'm not a villain, I see." I eyed him teasingly

Rolling my eyes, I walked toward my teacher. Their breaths hitched in their throats as they saw the expression I was making, I was dead serious. We need to move fast or the lives of thousands we'll be lost in less than a few hours.

Standing beside Commander Hange and in front of the pro hero, Eraserhead, I began to speak, "Look, we don't have much time. It may be hard to believe but, I need you to contact the mayor or hell! Even the commission! We just need to evacuate the civilians right now. We can't stay here! If you go hide in the evacuation centers here, it'll still be destroyed by the titans. No one is safe from them! The only chance of survival we have is to kill them! And we, the scouts, are the only ones most capable enough to kill them!" I yelled seriously in his face

"And how do we know that you're not the enemy! That you're not the ones who have these things you call, titans!" To my surprise, it wasn't sensei who replied, but instead the dual-haired boy.

"I have a simple answer for that!" He eyes me suspiciously, "I wouldn't even be here! I'd be attacking you right now with not a single hesitation! Why would I waste my time making things complicated and trying to gain your trust when I could just wipe out almost your entire population in a few hours. I’d surprise you! We could just attack you and be done with it!" Everyone who’s a part of U.A. was taken back by my words and any form of retaliation from before disappeared as they stayed silent, trying their best to decide whether or not they should trust us, "Give it up. We're not villains. We're just trying to help you."

Surprisingly enough it was Todoroki who stepped forward and spoke up first, "How do we know we can trust you?"

"You don't. I have no proof, whatsoever, to back up my words. I can only ask for your blind trust. But then again, do you have anything to lose?" A smirk suddenly formed on my face, silently telling everyone that I had a devious plan cooked up in my mind, "How about we form some sort of deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Aizawa questioned as he pushed Todoroki back into the crowd behind him.

Captain Levi glared at me and began to protest about making a deal with the Oddities, "Oi brat, don't go making deals without us discuss-"

Getting annoyed at his voice, I immediately cut him off rudely, "If we're wrong and our enemies are not headed here, you can arrest us! Or even execute us and we'll also provide you with whatever information you want."

Aizawa-sensei nodded in understanding, "But if our enemies are here. You'll form an alliance with us and we’ll help you evacuate and defeat the titans." I spoke bluntly with a hint of interest in my tone.

He paused and looked at his students for a moment before turning back to us, "Alright, we have a deal."

I looked at Captain Levi and gave him a proud smirk to which he just rolled his eyes and scoffed as he walked towards Commander Hange to discuss something which I assume to be regarding our small change in plans. I look back at Aizawa who’s having trouble contacting their mayor/commission because of the signal problem. I can see him yelling into the phone in exasperation. Walking over to Todoroki, who seems to be the only one who has come to his senses and somewhat put a little trust in me.

“Thank you for trusting me. Don’t worry I won’t betray you guys.” I started first

He gave me a sharp look making me bite my tongue in regret of telling him thanks, “Don’t think that I trust you for a second, Ackerman. I still don’t trust you, but I’ll follow along with whatever’s going on.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at him and looked behind him to the crowd that had their eyes looking at me intensely, “I suggest that you try to contact your family to prepare for the evacuation. We can’t save everyone. But of course, we’ll do our best as the survey scouts.”

“Are you still on that survey scouts stuff?” Sasha spoke out

“That’s what we are, aren’t we?” I questioned

“Yeah, it’s just a bit weird.” She said

“Ackerman, where will our families meet us up here?!” He yelled out as he held the phone away from his mouth so as for it not to pick up on what he was yelling.

“Can they move fast to meet us at the pier? We are going to have our hands full battling the titans and evacuating the citizens.”

“Alright, thank you!” He did a little bow which made me let out a little giggle.

‘A second ago you were calling me a villain and now you're telling me thank you. You guys are really weird.’ I thought

In less than a few seconds, loud chatters can be heard coming from the class. Everyone is trying to contact their loved ones in order to warn and evacuate them from the incoming attacks.

“Ackerman, alright other pro heroes are beginning the evacuation protocol. Now, what do you need?” Aizawa asked

“We need to leave and help with the evacuation immediately.” I said to which he nodded in understanding.

“Got it, then let’s move quickly.” He said, making his way to the stairs.

‘It’s weird he’s agreeing to this without much of a fight. He’s a bit ahead of himself though, it’s like he’s trying his best to get us out of this building as soon as possible.’ I thought to myself curiously, “No that’s not it. He’s a hero, he just probably wants us to move and act as efficiently as we can.’

“Wait!” I said to make everyone stop and I walked over to Mikasa to get the signal flares from her, also receiving the bag full of the different colored ammos. “Thanks, Mikasa.” She nodded in my direction, “Alright so I need to explain the use of the flares before we go.” I looked at the Commander for permission to explain to them.

“Go ahead, (Y/n)!” She said

“(Y/n), fire the signal.” Captain Levi said to me to which I nodded.

Loading the signal flare with the green flare ammo and putting my left hand over my left ear as I raised my right hand, holding the signal flare and pointing it straight to the air. Pressing my right ear to my arm in order to protect it. Everyone got the message to do the same, quickly following behind me in order to protect their eardrums from damage.

Scanning over my fellow classmates in order to make sure they were covering their ears, I rolled my eyes at them. Firing the signal flare, a green gas that was somewhat like a cloud of smoke was left behind as it shot into the air. Signaling that the mission of convincing the Oddities to evacuate the citizens was a success and the evacuation plans that we had set up beforehand were a go, that we were to proceed to the next missions.

I dropped both of my hands down and I heard a slight ringing in my ear. I looked at the signal flare in my right hand, a bit of green smoke that was left from the fire was still evident on it as it was still steaming out from the device. Raising the device to let my apparent classmates and teacher, to let them look at it in curiosity.

“We use these signal flares to signal and communicate to others. We use color codings to make it easier.”

“Yeah! And what the hell are the colors?” Bakugo yelled at me.

“Well, how are you gonna know if you won’t let me explain?!” I yelled out angrily

“Then please explain it, Ackerman.” Midoriya started trying to defuse the situation

“Red is used for when you spot a titan. Black is for abnormal titans. Purple is an emergency of some kind. (Someone is grabbed, etc.) Blue is used in order to retreat. Green is for mission success and change direction of the formation: Fired by the commander in one direction to indicate a change in the direction, and then repeated by the relay soldiers. And lastly, yellow lets everyone know that the mission has been terminated, be it successfully or failed.” I explained quickly

“Damn that’s too much information to process in one setting.” Kaminari-kun said in exasperation.

“Not really, only for your brain cuz, you fry it too much!” Jirou, who stood next to him with Yozyorozou’s hand wrapped around hers, snickered.

“I expect you all to memorize it. Not only will your lives depend on it, but others as well. So memorize it by heart.” I said seriously

“Alright, with that being said then we’ll get going, (Y/n).” Armin, who I didn’t know was standing beside me, suddenly appeared, which startled me a bit, “Sorry, didn’t mean it.” He put his hand on my shoulder in order to calm me down, it worked and I gave him a genuine smile.

“Thanks, and it’s alright.” I continued smiling

“If you say so, well then we’ll be leaving now then.” He said and immediately shot out the grappling hook from his ODM gear, into the building in front of us to quickly follow behind the others who left him and were ahead of him.

“We’ll follow behind them, we need to evacuate the citizens now. There’s no time.”

Not caring to listen to anyone’s complaints or protest about jumping off the building. I quickly ran. I stood upon the railings and turned to face everyone before I leaned most of my body weight towards my back. I lost my footing and began to fall. The thrill of falling and the cold air that ran through me were exhilarating.

Everyone ran to the edge of the building, leaning on the railing, they eagerly and curiously looked at me falling. So as I looked at the building where class 1-A and their teacher stood, I let the grappling hooks at both of my sides unsheath themselves to shoot out and stick themselves into another building close by.

Doing a single backflip in the air before landing safely with this sort of cool position. I might have been showing off I'll admit but I wanted my class not to look down on me. Since they look down on me because I haven't shown my quirk. It’s not like I did have a quirk. Using my hands to motion for them to follow my lead and come down the building they stared at me with wide eyes. Nevertheless, they followed through.

Using their quirks to safely go down the building, I watch them in amazement. ‘Quirks seriously are really unique and cool…’ I thought to myself in astonishment. Since I’m now down, I looked at the building where I was just in. Looks like the plan to convince the pro heroes in this agency was a complete fail.

The building’s windows were broken and the lights inside were flickering on and off. I could smell the disgusting scent of metallic, there was a lot of blood splattered. A fight broke out, no one was there anymore. But there doesn’t seem to be anyone dead though at least. They might have escaped and brought the heroes with them. We’ll no matter what happens the plan must continue.

If anything happens we’ll just have to find a way to solve it somehow, no matter the sacrifice. ‘Shit! Why did I just realize it now?! There are no people in the street! It’s just fucking empty! There’s no sign of life and there are no blood trails! Which only either means one thing, they betrayed us!’ My eyes widened in realization. Unsheathing both of my swords, I took a fighting stance. Class 1-A along with their teacher came down from the building and surrounded me. Like a pack of hungry wolves circling their helpless prey.

“You're backing up on our deal aren’t you?! This is a trap isn’t it!” I screamed angrily at Aizawa

“Yes, did you really think we’d trust you?! now you're going to rot in prison!” Aizawa yelled at me

Suddenly police and pro heroes came out, pointing their guns and activating their quirks at me. ‘Shit! What am I going to do?! I can’t escape with this many people surrounding me! And even if I do escape, what’s next? The plan failed!’ I screamed in my head and gritted my teeth in anger. Then a rationalized thought ran through my head.

Glaring at all of them, I began to scream, “No matter what happens, the plan will continue! No matter what we have to sacrifice or what we have to do!” I screamed at them, charging at them with both swords in my hands.

Running to the first person in front of me to charge stupidly at them, which just so happens to be Todoroki. I jumped high in the air and pointed my swords at them. Perhaps I could use him as a hostage? His father’s the number 1 hero, isn’t he? It meant he has a high value.

Perhaps I could use that to my advantage. I could see that ice was beginning to form under the dual-haired boy’s right foot. I could also see that the other students were also charging at me using their quirks, but the fastest to move among those students were Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Iida.

It was like they were next to me in less than a second. I could see the guns from the police around me being loaded, but before we could hear the triggers being pulled and the ammos being released a deafening roar was heard. A titan’s roar to be specific. It was the beast titan’s roar I recognized, it was Zeke.

All of a sudden all the police surrounding us and pro heroes as well were glowing. It was like everything was in slow motion, I lifted my head to get a glimpse of what was going on. Everyone’s eyes followed as well. We stopped charging at each other and they looked in horror at what was going on. While I moved quickly to kill them before they fully turned.

~~~

“Captain? What if they turn the citizens into titans? We’ll have a hard time controlling the situation if that happens.” My breath hitched as I barely missed the knife that almost cut my throat.

“We’ll just have to hope that doesn’t happen. If it does happen then we’ll just have to do our best to kill them. We’ll also use the signal flares to alarm the others from where the titans are already. We’ll need to know how deep the enemies have already penetrated the city. And also, if the civilians are as good as dead, we won't help them anymore. Got it? We can’t be carrying around dead weight this time.” He managed to pin me to the floor with the knife pressing onto my neck, making crimson red drip down from it and stain my white shirt.

And with a huff, I kicked his balls and used his moment in pain to grab the knife from him, “I get it.”

“We can’t save them all, so we’ll just salvage what we can.” Commander Hange said from the sidelines

“How many lives are we expecting to save and lose?” I questioned nervously

None of them replied.

Getting pissed and anxious because they didn’t reply I angrily managed to pin down Captain Levi for the first time after weeks of constant combating with him, “I said how many?!”

“Our best would be 5,000 but we doubt that, we think we’d only be able to evacuate 1,000 and that doesn’t guarantee that they're not injured or in a near-death situation.” Hange said uncomfortably

Getting off Captain quickly, I looked at them in shock. Musutafu’s population is nearly 2 million people. And yet we can only guarantee that we can only have around 1,000 people?! Shit… I knew there’d be a lot of deaths, but I didn’t expect a fucking massacre. It’s going to be the same as back then. Damnit! I’ve trained so hard to fight back for humanity, but this is the best I can do!

“I’ll continue training on my own for today, Captain. If that’s alright with you, of course?” He replied with an irritated nod, “We’ll continue this tomorrow.” I finished, giving him a very dejected look.

“Go and train hard, brat. I also want you to clean the kitchen before you continue training. Sasha snuck in there last night and made a big mess.” He casually took a sip of tea which Hange carefully handed to him.

Staring at him in disbelief, “What?! No way am I cleaning that! Sasha should clean it herself!”

“It's part of your training.” He took another sip

“Fine.” I grumbled out annoyingly as I headed towards the kitchen with a broom in one hand and a mop in the other.

“Oh and tomorrow, I’m doubling your training.” He gave me an amused smile, to which I wanted to punch his face for

~~~

Not giving anyone a chance to stop me, I sprinted as quickly as I could and with the help of the ODM gear, I managed to slice off one person's head before they could turn. Their eyes widened as they let out an agonized scream at the pain, their head flew behind me, towards Todoroki, fortunately for him, he dodged it, but the person behind him didn’t.

The unlucky person was Uraraka and she fell on her butt as she held the head in both of her hands, she let out a traumatizing scream at the sight, and she stared at it in both horror and disbelief. Lots of blood that was spilling from the head stained her hero costume, it was almost everywhere on her, including her face. There was a splatter of blood on her once innocent face, now covered in a dirty shade of crimson red blood.

Uraraka wasn’t the only one who was covered in blood, Todoroki also happened to have some blood spilled on him from when I sliced the police officer's head off. And of course, I as well had blood splattered on my face, nevertheless, I didn’t care. We had more important things to care about right now than a bit of blood, besides it wasn’t like I wasn’t used to it.

Todoroki stared at the head with wide eyes as his breath hitched. He had never seen someone getting killed right in front of him, and he was disgusted by the sight of it. By the sight of you, a villain who killed an innocent police officer. Moving faster than everyone, it even shocked Iida about how fast he moved. He almost managed to grab your wrist and pin you down before you could kill another innocent life.

However, the tables turned when suddenly, a blinding bright light appeared from where the police officer and some of the pro heroes stood. A hard wind flew so suddenly and so harshly that you flew back, the same goes for Todoroki as well. Your back hits Todoroki’s chest as you both fly back and you let out a groan at the collision.

Todoroki, being smart, moved quickly to wrap both of his arms around you and used his ice to make a barrier behind him to stop the both of you from flying. He quickly pinned you to the ice behind him and immediately encased both your arms and legs using his unforgivable ice. He glared at me.

I whimpered in pain from the merciless ice, it was even harsher than the one I saw on YouTube, the one where he was fighting with Sero at the U.A. festival. Your breath hitched in fear, ‘I’ve seen Todoroki look at me in disgust and anger but never have I seen him look at me like this! God, it’s scary!’ I try to cower away from him, ‘I’ve seen scarier shit but why is the way he’s looking at me so terrifying!’ I let out a shocked gasp as I felt both the cold and temperature rise from Todoroki. A wisp of fire and mist of ice escaped from him.

“Y-You don’t u-unders-stand!” My teeth chatter at the ice. “The- ti-titans! He-Here! Right n-now!”

“Shut the hell up villain, you just killed an innocent man and yet you still follow through with your lies!” He screamed angrily at me, making me whimper and cower even more.

Booming roars and screeches coming from multiple titans came from behind us, followed by the ugly screams of fear coming from class 1-A. Todoroki stared at the titan in both fear and shock. So you weren’t lying. Those were definitely giant humanoid creatures that looked like they could eat you up. You didn’t mention that it was naked though and had no genitals. Although people would find it funny usually, nobody, however, found it funny in this situation. It looked like something that came out of a horror movie. It looked so terrifying that everyone stopped in their tracks and froze.

“To-Todoroki! Please unfreeze me! They're all going to die i-if you don’t!” You forced your voice to scream it out loud without stuttering too much from the cold.

He gave you no response as he was frozen still just like the others. You were a bit far from the others and the titans since it was only you and Todoroki who was too close to the transformation that you guys flew back farther from everyone else. Means you guys were less of a target for the titans. Meaning that the rest of class 1-A that was surrounded by the center by all the titans would become titan food. They would be slaughtered without any mercy. Bakugo was the first to move before anyone else, he flew using his quirk to charge at the titans. Aizawa-sensei, Midoriya, Kirishima, and Iida screamed at him in protest of what he was doing.

“Kacchan! Don’t hurt them too much it might affect their original bodies once the quirk wears off!” Hero Deku yelled at the explosive boy.

“Bakugo! Don’t do anything yet without Aizawa-sensei’s permission!” Iida tried to pull Bakugo back but ultimately failed

“Bakugo, get back with the others! We can’t make the first move!” Aizawa screamed at his student in both an irritated and angry tone.

“Bakubro! Wait for me!” Kirishima tried to follow after Bakugo but was unsuccessful because his teacher pulled him back using his combat scarf.

But of course, Bakugo being Bakugo didn’t listen to them and instead, stupidly charged at the titan head-on and fired one of his biggest explosions at the titan in front of him causing a large black smoke to veil in front of him. Bakugo gave a large smirk at the sight, believing that he defeated the monster. To everyone’s shock except for mine, a giant hand stuck out of the smoke not a moment later and attempted to grab him, luckily he managed to maneuver around it. The titan stepped out of the smoke with almost no damage, the only proof that Bakugo had blasted a bomb at the monster was a few scratches and dirt that decorated the monster’s skin. But their supposed scratches suddenly disappeared in less than a second in front of their eyes.

“Are you guys part of the LOV?! Is this a new version of Nomu’s?!” Bakugo screamed at me in frustration and if you listened closely, in fear as well.

“Of co-course not!” I yelled back as hard as I could so that my voice could reach them, “Hero Shoto! Fuck- fucking unfreeze me now!” I quickly glared back at Shoto, trying to hide my fear.

He never answered me but instead was about to run to the others to help them. But he stopped as he watched the others activate their quirks to protect themselves. He contemplated leaving me to help the others, he was mostly concerned about what would happen if I managed to escape his ice. So he stayed by my side and even from this far, he used both of his quirks to help the fight.

They stared in frustration at the titans, none of their quirks were working against them except for Yaoyozorou. Soon blood will be spilled and I can’t do anything about it because I’m being frozen and even if I did manage to escape I’d have to deal with Todoroki. ‘This isn’t a good position! I need to escape right now or someone will die!’ I began to keep on struggling, a bit of blood dripped down from my wrist and more scratches began to appear. To my horror, I was too late, one of the titans that Yaoyozorou didn’t manage to hit with her cannon, grabbed Mineta.

“Oh, it’s just Mineta. We can let him die. His death wouldn’t have any meaning, especially after he acts in perverted ways around me.” I said out loud to myself in a bored manner, effectively stopping my struggling, Todoroki noticed my words and gave a harsh glare because of it to which replied with a sick smirk.

As though in slow motion everyone's jaw dropped at the sight of Mineta being grabbed by the titans. He wailed and pleaded for someone to do something to help him, save him. Everyone used their quirks to charge at the particular titan, but it had no effects. Their quirks don’t do shit to defeat the titan. They failed in trying to rescue the pervert which costs more complications. As they focused their quirks on that particular titan. It gave the other titans an open spot to grab the other students. Now everything was in complete chaos.

Todoroki gritted his teeth harshly as he watched the situation unfold. He realized that the only shot of defeating these so-called ‘titans’ was to let you go and have you defeat them.

“Damn it! Fine! I’ll let you go, but you need to defeat them!” He screamed at me as he unfreezes the ice around my wrist and legs.

‘Shit, it’s freezing, but thank God that Todoroki is literally hot! I can feel the coldness already melting from my body.’ I let out a little sigh of happiness at the warmth. I can feel a bit of blood trickling down from my wrist but the pain was numbed because of the ice. And right now I can feel adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins, twisting both of the swords in my hand to get a better grip. I charged at the titans with only one thought running through my head. And that was to save everyone I can save.

Even Mineta, even if he was a big pervert, even deserved to live. But of course, I’m only saying this because of the adrenaline. If it wasn’t for that, then I would have left Mineta to die happily. I shook my head, ‘There’s no time to think! I just need to move fast to kill the titans before they kill everyone!’ I screamed in my head to try and snap myself out of my thoughts.

As I ran towards the titan I activated my ODM gear in order to hurry my actions. But I was too late… The titan had put the damn pervert in its mouth, his head facing the titan's throat while his legs were sticking out of its mouth, pathetically wriggling and squirming. Not a second later I had almost reached the titan. It had already bit into him.

The titan threw its head back to finally finish its meal. I could hear everyone screaming and fighting for their lives as they stared helplessly at their dead classmate. I stared at it in disgust. ‘I’m too late…’ I was so disappointed in myself. I should have moved faster to kill the titans.

“Fuck!” I screamed in frustration

Burning anger and adrenaline pumped even harsher through my veins and it was beginning to hurt. My heart clenched in pain and for a second I had to resist the urge to clench my fist over my heart as though it would relieve the pain. I flew using my ODM gear and stabbed the titan in both of its eyes. I managed to avoid the blood that splatters, but not my fellow classmates. They stared in horror at what I had just done. Everyone realized what I was going to do. I am going to kill the titans with no mercy nor remorse.

“Ackerman! Don’t you dare kill them! We need to find a way to reverse the effects of the quirk!” Aizawa screamed at me, running at me in an attempt to stop me

“I said defeat! Not kill!” Todoroki who follow close behind me using his ice screamed

“This is not the work of a quirk! I have to kill them! There’s no other way or else they’ll kill others! Once they’ve become a titan you can’t turn them back! We can’t do anything else but this!”

I dodged all 3 of the attackers trying to grab me. My wrist almost got caught by Todoroki if it wasn’t for the titan that intervened at the last minute. Forced Todoroki to back off and dodge the titan's attempt at grabbing him. The titan was twisting and turning around in an attempt to try and grab us. Making it almost impossible to get a clean cut at its nape. More screams reached my ear and I turned my head towards the loud noise.

“Someone help me!” Ashido cried as she was held upside down by the titan, just right above its mouth that was wide open.

It was ready to devour her in one drop. I need to kill that titan first or we’ll suffer more losses.

“Shit! Shoto!” I used his hero name to get his attention which worked, “Distract this titan! I need to kill the others first! And don’t die on me!” He turned his head to Ashido and he got what I was doing, he muttered a curse under my breath and did as I told him, he knew that I was completely serious so he also turned even more serious than before if that was even possible?

“Hurry!” He screamed at me, using his ice to freeze the titan entirely, which didn’t last long because almost in an instant, it broke out as though the ice was nothing.

Using the ODM gear, I released more gas than I should have to go even faster. A trick up my sleeve that I learned from Mikasa not that long ago. I still wasn’t that used to the amazing speed that I blazed through me. Making my flying unstable, but despite that, I forced myself to get used to it quickly. People's lives were at stake, I needed to push myself or they’ll die. Flying up to the titan, I quickly cut off the hand that was holding Ashido and pushed her off the side. She screamed and groaned when her body hit the ground harshly. I didn’t look back to check up on her, the others could do it for me. I continue to fly and maneuver expertly in the air, doing a backflip over it in the air, and using both of the grappling hooks on either side of my waist.

I directed it to shoot out and stick on either side of the titan's nape. And using Levi’s signature kill move. My grip on both swords tightened and I drew them behind my back. And spinning in the air at such a very fast pace that anyone looking at me would also feel dizzy. I effectively and efficiently killed the titan in 1 single, powerful slash at its nape. Everyone saw my kill and stopped fighting the titan, noticing how Shoto was distracting the titan instead of killing it. They followed after his lead, while I instead used my skills to kill more of them as efficiently as I could.

Flying to the next titan who had managed to grab a fried brain Kaminari, and put him in its mouth. If I make one wrong, slow move then Chargebolt will die. He threw thumbs up in the air as his body was already halfway in the titan's mouth, it closed its teeth around him and before the titan could make its next move, I quickly intervened and sliced open both sides of its jaws.

Forced the titan to let Kaminari-kun slide out of his mouth and drop to the ground. Iida, using his quirk, immediately ran to Kaminari’s side and pulled him out of harm's way, dragging him to the center where everyone was huddled at. Taking care of the titan who tried to eat our cheap version of Pikachu as quickly as I could, I moved on to the next who grabbed another one of my classmates, Koda.

He had screamed in pure terror and used his quirk to call the birds in the distance to help him. Not all of the birds that he had summoned were there on time, the birds tried to peck out the titan’s eyes, but it was no use. With a few sway of the titan’s hand that was holding Koda, the birds flew away in fear.

Unfortunately, just like how the birds weren’t fast enough, I too wasn't fast enough to save Koda as an abnormal titan suddenly jumped in my face and I almost wasn’t fast enough to react. I had only barely managed to dodge in time. Doing a backflip, I quickly jumped behind it and killed the abnormal titan first, before killing the titan that was holding Koda, which unbeknownst to me, the boy was already dead at that moment. I had maneuvered behind the titan and even with no special technique, I had still managed to kill the titan. When I turned around to face the titan, it was already trying to pick up Uraraka, who Midoriya was trying to protect.

“Get away from her!” He screamed out in anger.

They both tried to use their quirks on the titan but nothing seemed to work. I could tell that Deku was getting more frustrated and tired of trying to defeat the titan, only to keep on failing. It was stupid for them to try and defeat the titans using their quirks. They’ve surely realized that by now.

I wondered if they noticed that the only person besides me that the titans are taking damage from is Yaoyorozou. And so I decided to speak up, maybe this was a terrible idea, but maybe, it could also lessen my work and create distractions from the titans.

“Creati!” I screamed at her

“What do you want, villain?! Can’t you see I’m a little busy!” She screamed back at me as she fired her cannon at the titan.

“Create as many guns as you can! Then pass them around! Aim for their eyes!” I screamed as I finished killing another titan.

“You're kidding me right?! I’m not making any guns! Someone could get hurt!” She screamed with wide eyes.

“If you won’t do it then the blood of our classmates is on your hands! I’m giving you a choice to help save them! Fucking take it now! It’s not like a cannon you made is any deadlier than a gun!” I said the last part in a very sarcastic voice as I finished killing another titan by first going for the heels in its legs, forcing it to fall to its knees, and seeing a perfect opening to kill the titan, I took it without hesitation.

The blood from the titans I had killed was dripping from my uniform, its stench was repulsive and I wanted nothing more than to wash myself and be ridden from the horrid stench. But alas, I couldn’t do that, there were still more people I had to save. Although I was quite used to this doesn’t mean I don’t hate it. Looking back at everything that happened, that led up to this moment. I’m not even sure if what I was doing was right at this point. The only thing I know I’m doing right is by killing the titans and letting the innocent souls trapped in them be free. Ending their suffering and nightmare.

“Shit! Create the damn guns already, Creati!” I screamed at Yaoyorozou as I saw Todoroki being grabbed by a 20-meter titan.

He stared in horror as he neared the titan's mouth. It didn’t matter if he activated his ice or fire to force the titan to release him. It didn’t matter because it didn’t affect the titan. Aizawa-sensei was trying his best to free one of his top students from the titan's clutches.

“Sensei! What should I do?!” Creati screamed in tears, watching as her classmates were being slaughtered in front of her, still shooting cannonballs at the titans in hopes it would stop the nightmare from playing in front of her.

“In the name of Eraserhead! I give you the permission to create guns and use them against the titans!” Truth be told sensei also had no idea what to do anymore, all he knew was that Ackerman was the only one who knew the titans better than anyone else so he decided that it’d be best to kill the titans first before they kill anyone else, thinking that he could deal with his consequences after this battle.

Not thinking twice, I quickly launched my hooks next to Yaoyorozou, she gasped in shock as I grabbed the gun that was coming out of her stomach, forcing her to finish it making it more quickly as there was no more time left.

Todoroki neared the titan's mouth, struggling desperately in its grasp, it was like everything was in slow motion, “I won’t let you die like the others!” I screamed, throwing one of my blades into the titan’s eyes.

Bullseye! I hit its right eye! It cried out in pain, releasing one hand on Todoroki, but still not letting go of him. No time to waste, I lifted the shotgun to my shoulder, hoping that it had some ammo in it already. Aiming at the beast’s eye, I took a deep breath and hoped for the best.

Bang!

#todoroki shoto #bnha #mha #mha fanfic #bnha fanfic #mitchywitchythings #attack on titans au #attack on titan #todoroki shoto x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #shoto todoroki x reader #bnha shoto todoroki #shoto todoroki x you #todoroki shoto x you

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gakkubi · 3 years

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Ame Trio Analysis: Konan

I want to share some thoughts on the Ame Trio/Ame Orphans because I do think they have one of the most complex, interesting and beautiful arcs in the Narutoverse. I will discuss their personalities and thoughts. This post is about Konan, there are also Yahiko and Nagato. (3/3): I'll end with Konan because she's the one who lives the longer and is impacted by both Yahiko and Nagato's death.

KONAN:

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Konan is possibly the hardest character to analyse because her stand-alone arc is the last one to appear, and the story doesn't dwell on her ideals and motivations until the very end - despite that, it's my personal belief she's one of the best female characters developed in the series. With a few exceptions, female characters in the Narutoverse will usually take the position of supporting the male characters - but unlike most of the other women, Konan's position of support actually makes sense with her character.

A person not being the "original creator" of the philosophy they follow or joining other characters to achieve a common goal does not mean they don't have a mind or will of their own; Konan is just as free to make her own decisions as the other characters.

While Yahiko takes the role of "fallen hero" and Nagato is the "unwilling protagonist", Konan is the ever-present observer; she's the last one to take the spotlight in the Ame Trio storyline, and with her, the last open ends are closed. Konan is the element which endured throughout all of the Ame Trio's different phases, from their start to their brightest and darkest points until the very end. She's the Angel, the one who will carry and reinforce the will she has received.

Konan has a moral trait which makes her strikingly different from Yahiko and Nagato; she is not loyal to abstract ideals, but rather concrete ones. Even though Yahiko and Nagato eventually digress on their philosophies, both dedicate their lives to the pursuit of peace and give up their lives to guarantee the survival of their goal, as abstract as it may be.

Konan, on the other hand, is loyal to people; of course she had beliefs of her own, but they mostly come from a local perspective, not a universal one. She's loyal to Amegakure; to her country, to her people, her citizens, her friends.

It's heavily implied in the story (more in the anime than the manga) that the people of Amegakure held her in high esteem (perhaps even more than they held Pain himself). This shines a new light on Konan, who early on the story was just an unknown villain of the Akatsuki - in fact, we come to learn most of the important aspects of her personality lie outside of the classic, evil Akatsuki.

To understand Konan it's important to understand the Ame Trio's dynamic as a whole; it's fundamental to consider that, just like Nagato, Konan owes her life to Yahiko's fierce will of surviving- her backstory alone with Yahiko is never shown but it's heavily implied that she was just as dependent on him as Nagato was. Like Nagato, her personality is much more passive and quiet until provoked.

Both Konan and Nagato were Yahiko's followers, and they were happy that way - they believed in his dream and his philosophy and found in the Akatsuki the meaning of their lives. It's important to understand that Yahiko's goals are also her goals, regardless if she was the one who created them or not; it's better to say he first inspired her into creating such dreams for herself.

Many other (very popular and loved) characters in the Naruto universe follow dreams and philosophies not originally created by themselves and are not perceived as mere "followers without opinion" like Konan sometimes is.

A common reason for the misunderstanding of Konan's character to claim she has no will of her own is that she continued to support Nagato even though he suffers an immense personality and philosophical shift after Yahiko's death. It's often wondered why Konan decided to stay by Nagato's side after Yahiko's death despite his radical change, and it's often associated with her having no ideas of her own. This is not true; the story builds a very logical and realistic reason for her to continue supporting him regardless of her truly agreeing with his new peace philosophy.

Very much like Nagato, Konan saw the people she loved and her reasons to live be taken away from her twice. The first time, it was Yahiko who gave both of them meaning and direction; the second time Nagato and Konan found themselves having nothing again - all they had was the legacy Jiraiya and Yahiko left behind.

Konan's life was saved by Yahiko twice; first when he helped her survive and second when he sacrificed himself so she could escape Hanzo's trap. It's important to realize the reason why Hanzo could trap Yahiko and Nagato is that they captured her first; although we have no evidence for this, it's possible Konan also felt guilt for "giving" the enemy a token to which they could manipulate Yahiko into obedience.

Yahiko being a key factor on her survival (both physical and mental) and her feeling responsible for his death are both factors that could result in her feeling immense guilt and a sense of debt with him. Like Nagato, Konan couldn't just let Yahiko's death be pointless after giving up his life for them.

Any reasonable person would have their hope shaken after seeing Yahiko get killed after his "non-violence, mutual understanding" philosophy failed. It would take an enormous endurance and faith to lose a person who she loved and keep on trying the same thing with the hope that "next time things will work as intended." Perhaps, things would never work as Yahiko imagined - perhaps his original plan needed adaptations.

However, unlike Nagato, Konan hadn't been conditioned by either Jiraiya or Yahiko to think that she was the one who would find the key to peace; she didn't spend her life pressured by the responsibility of coming up with a plan. Nagato was the one who the former leaders trusted would find the answer to end all the wars - and he stepped up to continue the "plan to peace" with his new ideas of how to get there.

And there's yet another important factor in all this; Yahiko had left her with a mission - the mission of supporting Nagato. The conversation where Yahiko entitles her with the responsibility of being by Nagato's side is highlighted in her fight against Obito to tell us, the audience, why Konan is so determined to help Naruto now - her mission of protecting the "savior of the world", originally given by Yahiko, had been transferred from supporting Nagato to Naruto.

Once we see the perspective of her feeling like she was in debt with Yahiko for saving her life twice - and adding love and guilt to the mixture, which makes it much harder for reason to overpower emotion -, it's easy to see why it could be hard to nearly impossible for her to dismiss the last mission she could actually complete; following Yahiko's will was a way of still being connected to him after he was gone.

Both Nagato and Konan nearly lost the meaning of their lives when Yahiko was killed and the original Akatsuki destroyed - both clinged to what they had left. Neither ever had a proper environment to deal with the grief they felt, a grief that echoed a childhood trauma that shaped all of their lives.

All of these factors are reasons why it would be hard for Konan to look objectively at what she was doing by supporting Nagato's new philosophy; however, Konan wasn't just guilt trapped into being by his side.

Konan, as I stated before, is much more pragmatic than her counterparts; she's loyal to what is hers - her friends, her nation. Even if we ignore the guilt or the "mission", it's safe to assume she would have stayed by his side anyway; Nagato was all the family she had left, and she was loyal to what was hers above all else.

Perhaps, if the mental conditions weren't so harsh, Konan could have resisted or opposed some of Nagato's new radical ideas more than she already did - debated with him, perhaps they could have convinced each other to stay in Yahiko's path. In the anime, Obito even says he relied on Konan for "calming" Nagato, which tells us that she reasoned with him to some extent - however, neither of them were able to keep their pain from overriding the morals they previously had.

Konan has a mind of her own, and it's shown to us in the moments where she disagrees either visually or verbally with Nagato's actions; Jiraiya's death, Konoha's destruction and the conversation with Naruto are moments where she confronts him. She is shown disagreeing with Nagato on multiple instances, which is proof that she felt she could voice her discontent with him - that she didn't feel completely trapped by guilt or that all she had to do was simply obey him; she was not just a voiceless "Angel" obeying her "God." We're also shown that Nagato disregards many of her opinions - by the time he becomes a villain, he is extremely narcissistic and confident in his hability to make the right choice - but that doesn't keep her from voicing her disagreement anyway.

It's not clear to us, the audience, how much Konan was hurt by Nagato's disregard (we're shown she is uncomfortable to some extent); it's the combination of her guilt, Yahiko's "mission" and her own faith in Nagato's plan that keeps her following their goal.

All the members of the Ame Trio value the search for peace above everything else, each in their own particular way.

Unlike Nagato, Konan has a much clear and objective way of thinking, interested only in what will serve them to achieve their goal and dismissing everything else that will not be useful.

Konan is never shown having any interest whatsoever in the other members of the Akatsuki (she never engages in the conversations they have), in the people of Konoha (which is why she condones wasting energy on being violent with them) or even in what Naruto has to say. All that she cares about is what is hers - her nation, her family; she's completely indifferent to everything else.

(That being said, I must note we don't know how her relationships with the other Akatsuki work as it would be impossible for her to spend almost 20 years without interacting with the other members. One of Konan's most important traits is her kindness, so it's "in character" to assume she would treat them respectfully and kindly, being fond of them to some extent; it's also safe to assume she didn't care about them at all, given her behavior in the manga. I think both interpretations are equally canonical because they lean on different aspects of her personality to fill a backstory we're never shown).

Although Konan is never shown being especially inclined to violence, her indifference and disergard for everything that is not hers - together with her own belief on Nagato's plan and the suffering which she endured - allows her to be the cold-blooded leader and killer she eventually becomes.

Konan believed in Nagato - like both Jiraiya and Yahiko did - while recognizing his flaws. When Naruto received recognition and acceptance from Nagato, he was incorporated to Konan's definition of what is "hers"; she aligns him in a sequence of "saviors" who she believed, a sequence that began with Yahiko and continued with Nagato. She makes the conscious decision of giving up her life for her dream of peace as Yahiko and Nagato have done before her.

Obito is the example of a person who Konan never incorporated on what is "hers" - this is clear on their fight where she says she studied his moves and his powers all the years they have worked together, and also clear on the passive-aggressive conversation they have after Jiraiya's death (Chapter 407). The way their relationship works - especially considering that she spent approximately half of her life working with him - also shows that Konan doesn't blindly support other characters for the sake of supporting them; for all we know, she trusted him much less than Nagato did.

It's also in Konan's fight with him that we see her analytical intelligence at full bloom - I dare say she is the most intelligent of the trio when it comes to strategy; first, for not ever truly trusting Obito to begin with (possibly because Yahiko also didn't), and second for being able to set a strategy that effectively killed him (hence why he used Izanagi - he was killed by her) with information based on her own observations.

Konan is extremely careful and precise; she pays incredible attention to detail, being able to draw accurate conclusions after analyzing just a little information.

Konan isn't ever shown to be hateful or angry, with the exception of her encounter with Jiraiya, where she treats him with spite, taunting him with the idea that following Orochimaru's suggestion could have avoided all the trouble he was going through with the Akatsuki. It's one of the few times we see Konan treating anyone in a way that is not kind or neutral, as if she held some type of resentment against Jiraiya - I like to think she blamed him, in a way or another, for not preparing them well enough for the cruelty of the world; for letting them be so naïve that Yahiko could be killed in a trap easily avoidable. It's obvious that Konan still held Jiraiya in some regard as it's easier for people to lash out on those who they like the most - after many years interacting with people to whom she was completely indifferent (outside of Nagato), Konan was finally talking to a person she had feelings for.

She is also - as described by Jiraiya and also viewed on the characters memories - a very kind, gentle, caring person; the very fact that she chose to save Nagato by sharing food with him shows her predisposition to helping others. Her kindness wasn't lost after Yahiko's death, but mostly replaced by the indifference she felt at everything that did not contemplate her goals, her family or her nation. After she accepts Naruto as being "one of her own" and sharing goals with him, she's quick to display kindness towards him and indirectly make amends with Jiraiya in the process.

As quiet, introspective person, Konan is very self-sufficient; although she is a member of the Akatsuki, she only interacts with them when necessary, probably spending most of her time alone or caring for Amegakure's business (as she shared both Akatsuki and Amegakure's leadership with Nagato and he was more active with the Akatsuki, it's safe to assume she cared for the other half). Her quiet, calmer nature matches that of Nagato; they could find understanding by having similar thought processes and also having a harder time processing their feelings, finding sympathy and comfort in each other.

Although I have mentioned that Konan might have felt a sense of debt towards Yahiko for saving her life, I want to highlight I see this feelings as possible only after his death because of its traumatizing circumstances; I don't think she felt she owed him anything while they were all alive, especially because it's never shown that he ever demanded such recognition. Yahiko and Konan have very distinct energies and personalities that complete each other, their relationship has a strong foundation because they share the same core beliefs and traits; loyalty and faith. I can see her falling in love with him for many reasons and one of them being by her admiring how hard he works to achieve the goal of peace.

Konan is a person that feels gentle and kind towards life as a whole; she doesn't seem to need much to be happy - as a child she made origami to pass time and have fun (and eventually used her intelligence to turn her passion into power); as an adult, the anime dedicates a scene to show her smiling to the rain while thinking of happy memories - happy for the sake of being in peace with the new direction she was taking her life after she and Nagato found someone to believe in again.

(Edit: Unfortunately I could not add another image to the post to illustrate this comment, but I wanted to talk about one aspect of Konan's personality that I like a lot and also forgot to mention. Despite her collected and serious demeanor, she also has a tendency to taunt people, a bit similar to Nagato's taste for ironic jokes. This is shown just a few times. In chapter 373, when Yahiko says he will save Nagato the next time something happens, Konan makes fun of him by remarking that Nagato is actually stronger than him, and she laughs when he gets annoyed. As I showed before, she also provokes Jiraiya with the hypothesis of things being better if Orochimaru had killed them. In her fight with Obito, despite his clear disinterest in what she was saying, Konan goes on to explain why Nagato and her betrayed him, and why he will never win. During the Water on a Frog's Face Training with Jiraiya she's also shown laughing at Yahiko's clumsiness. In my opinion, the way she evidently enjoys herself when she mocks people is strikingly contrasting to her generally unaffected personality, and personally I like that most of those times Yahiko was involved. Both in the anime, because of the animation, and in the manga because of Yahiko's surprise, I'm also under the impression that she was the one to initiate their kiss).

All of the Rain Trio's characters have very distinct and interesting psychologies; personally, I find Konan to be the most complex one because of the extreme discrepancies she displays, sometimes warm and kind, sometimes extremely cold and indifferent. I think the way she seems to only care about a very limited aspect of things is very attractive, as it shows how focused she is on her goals - as a nonviolent person, the most cruel act of Konan as a villain comes from her apathy to everyone else that is not part of what is "hers." Unlike Nagato and most of the other members of the Akatsuki who actively indulge in vile acts, she simply pursues her goals, removing anything and anyone on her way.

When he watch Konan's childhood, we see a child that is kind and light-hearted despite of all the pain she has endured, and only after being inflicted by yet another wave of suffering Konan's empathy and hope are shaken to the core; however, we learn her feelings were not dead but rather dormant, and it's by reconnecting to her core traits and beliefs that she finally finds peace in the very end.

#konan #meta #mymeta #naruto #naruto meta #character study #character analysis #analysis #amegakure

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all-hallows-evie · 3 years

Text

Chapter 1: Marooned

Rating: T, for language, Canon Typical Violence/Action. Honestly, this chapter isn't that bad, the T rating is just in case I forgot about something lol

Wordcount: 3,776

Warnings: Canon typical violence and adventure, female OC with name × Tech slowburn, but not too slow lol, NOT BETA'D, because if I have to stare at this first chapter again I'm not going to post it.

A/N: HAPPY TECH TUESDAY, LOOK I'M FINALLY POSTING SOMETHING, WHEEEEEEEEEEE

There were bad ideas, really bad ideas and then there was this.

The ship hums under her feet as it trudges through the far corner of the mid rim, chugging along on it’s route without any sign of trouble or disruption from it’s preplanned course.

It should have been a routine pillaging, something she had placed firmly in the ‘great ideas’ list but instead it had turned into a routine mutiny and finished the day as a routine marooning. She sighs as she lays her head back against the seamless panel behind her.

Fucking pirates.

She has been stranded on the old freighter for at least two moons, but it was hard to say with certainty. The droids that man the ship have no need to eat so more often than not they forget to pass along anything to keep her mounting hunger at bay, adding along to the lack of any kind of panel to the outside world, getting her bearings is proving to be more difficult than usual.

She hisses a swear to drown out the low growl of her belly and focuses her gaze on the far corner of the room. Another day, another chance to count the diamond shaped tiles above her cell, she swears the number changes every other time she counts. She doesn’t get farther than eighteen when the door of the maintenance room blows open.

The dust fills the room, hiding everything under its grimy shadow. The grit in the air crackles as it’s pushed against the red of the electron walls that keep her prisoner with the ships cooling coils and a water filtration unit that has calcified and has never been fixed.

"Well look at that, we found it! Lucky break!"

"Luck had nothing to do with it, if you had studied the schematics of this cruiser like I had asked-"

"Yeah yeah yeah." The first figure, a hulking shadow in the doorway brushes off the smaller one as he stomps into the suddenly too tiny room.

"The memory core should be at the end of the-" the smaller of the two figures stops in front of her cell as the big one charges towards the end of the room without stopping. They launch themselves into the piles of junk thrown haphazardly inside, "That's concerning."

"Concerning? You see someone in a cage and you go with ‘concerning’?" She replies as she pulls herself up to standing. She takes in his armor, modified clone armor from the looks of it painted pale with a bright red stripe down his chest, his eyes slightly magnified by the goggles on his face, the rest hidden by the elongated helmet.

"According to the intel we were provided there weren't supposed to be life forms aboard." He seems irritated to see her.

"Good old Republic intel, still living up to its reputation."

The other clone approaches, he rips open the metal box in his hands and yanks out the core as if the casing was made of thick flimsy and nothing more, "I've got the thing, time to go!"

She watches, dumbstruck for a moment as her ticket out starts to head for the gaping maw that used to be a door, "Wait, you're taking the old database?" The two of them stop and turn, "It's not complete! It's missing pieces of the coordinates!" Firefek she didn't want to sound desperate but she was.

"Likely story-" The big one chuckles.

"I was trying to steal it too, I almost got all of it before my crew turned on me!"

"A mercenary or a pirate? No matter, I trust you even less now."

She had never wanted to punch anyone's face as hard as she wanted to punch his, "Check the core Goggles, I swear to you! It's missing pieces!" He hesitates and in that baited pause she knows she has him, "Please, just let me out and drop me off wherever you dock next. You can have my data chip. No harm, no foul, just get me out."

The one with the goggles glares at her, the yellow tinted transparisteel of his visor snapping downl before he turns to the bigger man. Klaxons ring all around as he scans the core with a handheld device, but it's taking up time they do not have.

The two clones share a look, silently deciding her fate.

The bigger one caves first, "Aww c'mon Tech, we can't leave her! You saw what's on this ship, she'll be a goner on some mining planet!"

"Under normal circumstances I might agree but she's caged for a purpose, and I'm disinclined to put any trust in her."

"How much damage can she do? She’s smaller than you are!"

Tech, the one in the goggles, sighs before he turns back around to face her, "If we spring you, you play by our rules. You follow our orders, no complaints, no rebuttals and if you put one toe out of line-"

"Out the airlock, understood." She nods furiously, hands pressed against the panel as she watches Tech short out the electron wall holding her hostage, the panel shudders and then it spews sparks on to the ground as the red fades and she's finally able to step through.

"Lets go shortie!"

"Wait, let me just grab-" She scrambles to the other side of the wall, trying to pull at something from the top of a shelf. The bigger clone reaches over and tosses the crate to the floor. She throws open the top and snatches out a bantha leather bag and a helmet.

"Run!"

Tech doesn't have to tell her twice, the three of them bolt out of the door and into the corridor, the lights above flash in time with the klaxons. There is a low rumble that joins the hum of the hyperspace engine, as whatever security droids are on board begin to activate.

"Back to the ship, short stuff!"

The three of them book it down the darkened halls, ducking behind walls and crates as the first cluster of security droids pass through.

She tosses her bag across her shoulder, slinging it against one side of her hip, clipping it into place with snaps sewn into her jacket. They watch three more droids pass them by before she speaks again, "My name's Nox, by the way."

"Doesn't sound like a girl's name." The big one chuckles, so deep and rumbling it almost feels like a growl.

"Well it's the only name I've got. My parents named me a bit of a mouthful, Nox just works better."

"Clear." Tech calls out and they continue on their way heading to the service hangar where their ship hopefully was waiting for them.

"How'd you end up out here?" The big one asks, with every flash of light above them she can see more of the large scary face painted roughly on his helmet, lines thrown on haphazardly only to be scraped away by carbon scoring.

She is about to answer when she is shoved back into a corner by Tech. He slaps a hand over her mouth before she can yelp, the leather slightly singed, it smells of electricity and grease.

“Wait.”

"I'm getting tired of all this sneaking around, I say we blow our way outta here!" The big one growls.

"We’re almost there Wrecker, it would be pointless to try now."

She shoves Tech's Hand away, "Blow your way out of here, are you insane? With the amount of baby on board you'd blow us into the next dimension!"

There are a few beats of silence before both helmets turn towards her.

"Baby?" Wrecker repeats but is shushed by Tech.

"You don't mean baradium-"

"Bisulfate? I absolutely do! There were containers of the stuff in the holding bay."

"This Imperial ship is headed somewhere to mine thorilide?" He repeats, tone stressed over every syllable in the word ‘Imperial’.

"That or some unlucky planet is about to be wiped from existence."

"The location of the Republic thorilide mines have been kept under the utmost security for ages, not even the Jedi Council was ever advised of its location."

"Can’t say I blame them, I barely trust them with those glowy sticks of death." She murmurs, making lightsaber sounds with her mouth as Wrecker snickers.

"Stop that. Do you know where this ship was heading? Do you have a copy of the manifest?"

"What, your amazing Republic recce didn't get you that information shiny?" He glares back at her, brows pinching together behind the dark frames of his goggles, "Maker! Did those cloners take your sense of humor? Yes, I know where this ship is going."

"Bet Cid’s contact would pay more for that bit of info." Wrecker’s grin can be heard even through the plastoid of his helmet.

Tech meanwhile has typed something to a com on his wrist, "Hunter, there's been a complication."

"What kind of complication?"

"There is more on board this ship than just the republic database-"

"What do you mean?"

"This ship is a mining vessel, out to mine thorilide."

Tech’s wrist comm goes silent, just quiet static while the voice on the other line thinks, "Ordinance?"

Both clones look at her, she nods emphatically, "Ordinance, med supplies, if there was coaxium on board I wouldn't be surprised, this place is the motherlode."

"Quite a bit of supplies on board, it would seem."

The comm goes quiet again for a few moments, "We don't have time for this, it's only a matter of time before they realize that your cruiser is stolen. Grab what you went in for and leave."

Tech shakes his head, it's so tiny and quick that if she wasn't looking at him in that moment she would have missed it, "Where is it being kept?"

"Up, five or so floors unless I've miscounted."

"Tech, Wrecker, Get out of there, now!" The voice on the other end grows more and more irritable as they stand around in silence.

"We'll be out as soon as possible." Tech replies curtly as he cuts the comm. He makes it sound so easy like they were stopping by the nearest market to pick up fruit, instead of about to hijack high quality explosives from Imperial custody, "Lead the way."

"What? Just like that?"

"Are there, or are there not these items on board?"

"Yes."

"You swear?" Wrecker leans in close, hovering over her.

"Yeah."

Tech nods, "Vital signs are stable, no signs of heightened stress-"

"What if I'm just a really good liar?"

"You can try all you want my dear, but the data doesn't lie."

"Does he do this to you too? I'm finding it a bit creepy-" She asks Wrecker as her eyebrow raises.

"You get used to it."

"Weird, so weird…" she mutters to herself as she turns and peeks around the corner. She looks around for anything that is familiar, when she sees a maintenance lift at the very end of the hall to the right. She motions them forward, and silently they sneak their way closer to the lift. She turns her attention to her side as she digs in her bag, her fingers grasp at the odd collection of junk in her pockets until her hand finally wraps around the cool metal of her code cylinder and she can finally stop holding her breath.

Tech's hand on her shoulder pulls her back to the task on hand as he drags her back a few steps. The catwalk above them from here to the lift is no more than a shoddy looking set of grates that creak as a group of security droids march along their patrol, oblivious to the three of them below.

“The maintenance lift?" Tech sniffs as they come to a stop at its doors. He raises hand to push his goggles back into place, "Perhaps you have failed to notice but none of us are maintenance droids, the moment you try to access that panel they will -”

“They’ll what?” She asks as she jams the cylinder into the port, the lift clicks open silently and she steps inside.

“The alarms-”

“What alarms? According to this," she snaps her code cylinder from the panel and drops it back into her bag, lost again to the chaos of the random junk held within, "I'm a maintenance droid doing routine inspections. How stupid do you think I am?”

"Hey hey, this one's pretty smart huh Tech?!" Wrecker is thrilled.

"Pirate." She reminds, "You don't see many my age that aren't intelligent and I'll give you one guess as to why."

The doors silently click open and before they can step out a team of at least half a dozen well armed sentry droids roll past.

They all leap from the inside of the lift and fall into a crouch behind a stack of supply crates. They wait for a few moments before Tech quickly peeks over, "They don't seem to have spotted us."

"Fuck, there weren't this many when we tried this the first time." She swears a few more times under her breath.

"We should do this my way." Wrecker offers.

"What's that mean, what does he mean?!" Nox looks nervously over to Tech, "He doesn't mean-?"

"Explosives and violence? He absolutely does," Tech sighs, “ and I'm afraid we are running low on options and even lower on time. Wrecker, what does your ordinance look like?"

“But you said I couldn't bring any?”

“Yes, and when was the last time you actually listened?”

Wrecker, the fun if not absolutely homicidal one, pulls out a couple of detonators, a roll of plastic tape, a half dozen hand grenades and three droid poppers.

“Great, nice to know you could have turned us into a small sun if I hadn't told you about the baby on board.”

"Everything save for the poppers is far too dangerous to use around those crates." Tech hisses, "Any more of those brilliant pirate ideas floating around in your head?"

She chews on her lip for a moment, wracking her brain for anything else that might be useful as she ignores Tech's sarcastic tone. Apart from the crates on this floor littered with treasure, there didn't seem to be anything of any use...except for the busted water filter. “How big of a distraction do you think it would take to get all those sentries away from the haul?”

“It would need to be something quite large or destructive enough to threaten the integrity of the ship.”

“The water filtration system on board is completely calcified, I don't think it was ever fixed since there are only droids on board. If you could flood that with enough pressure the entire pipe should burst-”

“And flood the entire floor, along with the engine room, that might just do it.” He’s on his data pad before the words are even out of his mouth, he scans the room all around and matches it with the wireframe schematics on his screen. He stalks his way backwards until he finds the panel he is looking for. He pops it open easily and then begins to slice into the mainframe of the ship, “On my count, take Wrecker to wherever the baby is, let him handle it. You get your hands on as much of the medical supplies as you can, the security onboard is a little tighter than I would have preferred so I will have to stay here and continue to flood the filter.”

“Oh, easy.”

“Think you can handle all that tiny?” Wrecker’s thundering chuckle threatens to give away their location even with the steady moan of the alarms overhead.

She grins, Wrecker is back to being the fun one, “Try and keep up.”

There is a sound of roaring water all around them as tech funnels every liquid on the ship into the filter, then a sound like an explosion a couple of feet below them rocks the ship like a lightning strike.

The sound of the alarm overhead changes as every droid on the floor turns away and heads to a lowering platform, all instructed to assist with the burst pipe.

“That’s our cue!”

She shoves Wrecker forward playfully before they both break into a sprint toward the storage rooms where their bounty is being held. She points to one of the rooms as they approach, "This one's your big boy!"

The door is sealed shut, but not for long. Wrecker doesn't slow, instead he hunches low, bringing his shoulders down and tucking his chin into the collar of his armor before he barrels straight through, punching a hole through the doors with enough force to make even her teeth rattle.

She dips into the storage room across the hall, thanking the stars that her haul wasn't locked away like his was. She rips open any crate within arms reach, tossing open the tops and letting them scatter around the room wherever they land. She snatches bacta patches and hypos by the handful and packs the crate as full as she can, slamming her entire body weight against it to get it to close. She drags it out into the hall, placing it by the door before she bolts into the room right beside the one Wrecker is standing in.

Wrecker watches her disappear into the room, the four small crates of explosives tucked carefully under his arms, “Wait, where are you-”

His question is answered as another crate hits the floor beside him. She comes running out of the room, grabbing this second crate by the handle and yanking it along, “Perfect! Not a single explosion! Love that for me!”

Wrecker bends down to offer her a hand but she has already snatched up the first trunk and is flying down the hall with them. She's faster than Wrecker would have believed she would be capable of with the two crates almost her height. She almost trips over herself as she stops and with a swift kick, the second crate lands at Tech's feet, “Come on 20/20, cut her loose, let's go!”

“What’s in that- I specifically ordered you to only carry medical supplies.”

“Yeah well, it sounds like you are used to not being listened to so, ship. Now!”

Wrecker races past, hopping off of the side and down to the level below, the halls are empty as all hands are called to help with the floor that is flooding.

Nox peeks over the side, she watches as Wrecker sets the small boxes of baby down beside him, "Toss your crate!" He calls up. She nods and yanks the crates handle, flipping it up and off of the edge with a nudge from Tech.

She helps him in turn, as they gingerly haul the crate full of ordinance over the edge before tossing it below.

Wrecker sets the crates to one side before turning back to catch Nox, but she's already climbing down. Her fingers dig into spots on the wall where she should not be able to have any grip. She finds her own way down and with a little hop, lands right beside Wrecker as Tech lands beside her. The clang of his boots echoes down the empty hallway. "We'll need to make our way through the flooded floor of the ship in order to get back to the hangar." Tech types away at his data pad again before picking up the side of his crate.

Nox follows close beside the two clones, tossing the crate up onto her back to avoid making any unnecessary scraping sounds as they get closer to the flooded area, the sound of pouring water gets louder and louder with every floor. The next floor they walk through has the water barely deep enough to wash over the toes of their boots, but it rises rapidly after that. By the time they are on the same floor as the hangar, the water has risen up to their knees and Nox has a harder time trying to distract her mind from where all of this stagnant water has been hiding this whole time.

“Holding out ok over there tiny?” Wrecker chuckles.

She turns to answer, when everything becomes...not alright. Her next step slips out from under her and she goes flying forward, crashing face first into the dark disgusting water, the crate on her back keeping her under the surface as she struggles to pull herself back up to standing.

A hand at the back of her collar pulls her back up into fresh air, slimy water pours from her mouth and nose as she gags. She doesn't need to clear the water from her eyes to know what the dark figures that are starting to line the hallway are. Tech and Wrecker are on either side of her, blasters raised as the sentry droids file in.

“I'm hoping you can fight better than you can swim.” Tech calls over as Wrecker leaps over them both and charges straight into one of the sentries. Tech keeps a few of the others at bay, clipping them with bright bolts from his twin deecees, but it's not enough. She rubs the slime from her face and charges right behind Wrecker, using her entire body to check a droid in her path, she grabs the blaster from its hands as it goes tumbling backwards and into the water. Techs shots ring out around her as he stays behind, watching over the crates behind him. Wrecker tears through any droids that get within reach, sparks flying on to the water before they sizzle and die. She concentrates her fire on any droids Tech misses until the hall is clear.

"There'll be a second platoon on their way, we better get a move on." Tech calls back to them, she tosses the almost empty blaster into the water beside her.

"Are you always just, you know?" She makes growling and ripping sounds at Wrecker.

He laughs, "Not often enough."

She stifles her laughter behind her hand as she walks back to where Tech is to retrieve the case of medical supplies, for a brief moment the last couple of days are forgotten and even the slime on her skin is the last thing on her mind. For a brief moment she was back with her men, waiting for that score of a lifetime, but when she grabs the handle of the crate and looks back it’s the clone armor that reminds her she is in fact alone. The sudden quiet of sadness doesnt last long as the doors behind them open and a new series of drods begin their march towards them.

“Incoming!”

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Tag list: @themarvelbunch @agentwhiskeysdarlin @pascalisthepunkest @ashotofspotchka

#tbb #tech #the bad batch #Tech Tuesday #the bad batch x oc #the bad batch fic #tech x oc #evie struggles with writing #star wars fanfiction #tbb tech

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tortilla-of-courage · 3 years

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Alright, I have all my thoughts together, so here's that ask I mentioned for the LU SU AU that's just 100% Fi.

So, Fi is a pearl. Specifically, she's a replacement pearl.

Spoilers for SU after this point for anyone who cares about not getting spoiled for this show still.

So, Sky eventually gets outed as the 'renegade pearl' fighting alongside the 'rebel jasper' and 'rouge (whatever we decide Twi is, currently I'm leaning towards citrine)', and so he needs to flee. With some help from FD/Time, he makes it away and becomes a rebel full time. Which is annoying, but workable.

And then FD gets a new pearl.

See, Ganondorf/White Diamond is worried that Sky was using his place at FD's side to try and sway him towards the rebels. And so this new pearl of FD's was specifically designed to 'fix' whatever damage Sky caused.

Enter Fi: factual, logical, emotionless, and completely dedicated to her role. She was designed this way and meant solely to keep FD on track with the war and colony. (This can play a bit into how, in LU canon, Time sees the Master Sword as a burden, because that's what Fi is here, a burden.)

Except, Fi was placed with the most caring and benevolent of the Diamonds. Even playing the role of being against what he's fighting for, Time still loves his gems, both the Homeworld gems and his rebels. He loves them all deeply. And Fi sees this. She sees him break down after high casualty reports where no one can see him, sees him stressed and breaking down over the deaths. Hears him asking himself when it will end, lamenting that none of the other Diamonds are even willing to consider negotiating, much less a treaty or peaceful retreat. She sees this, and she learns.

Eventually, Time realizes the only way to end the war is to shatter FD, and so he makes a plan with the only two in the know. Twilight, using a device that Four and Legend built, would disguise himself as Time so Time could be FD, and they'd stage the shattering. Meanwhile, Sky had a different job.

Time did not like Fi, and he resented what she represented, but he didn't hate her. And he knew she cared about FD in that detached way she was capable of. He didn't want her to be there when FD died. So he asks Sky to get her out of the way.

So Sky kidnaps Fi, and takes her somewhere far away from the shattering. He doesn't question this at all, because he knows Time, and he knows how much Time cared about all of his gems. And so he follows his orders without question, and makes sure Fi is safe and out of the way while it happens.

And Fi does not like or trust this other pearl at first. He betrayed their Diamond, waged war on Homeworld. What kind of pearl would do that?! But, she was also curious. What kind of pearl did do that? What would possess a gem, a pearl, to turn their back on their Diamond? This gem was just like her, a pearl to FD, and yet he turned rogue and betrayed him. She wanted to know why.

And Sky answered all of her questions as best he could, because he'd already been bound to silence about FD being Time (I'll go into more detail for this later). And so they talk. And they talk. And Fi learns a lot, but mostly she learns about 'love'.

She learns Sky left Homeworld to join the rebels because he loved this planet, and he loved Time and Twilight, and he loved all of the rebels. He loved his Diamond too, deeply, but he couldn't stand by while others he loved died while doing nothing. He had to join the fight, no matter how much he'd loved FD.

And Fi learns that love is powerful. She hears Sky speak, and she thinks of FD, sobbing alone where no one will see as he grieved the gems killed in this pointless war. She thinks of the kindness he showed every gem he met, regardless of rank. She thinks of the hours and hours spent pouring over battle plans with the only goal to make sure as many gems left the fight alive.

Fi hears Sky speak about how much he does love their Diamond, and she remembers when FD finally snapped at her that she couldn't tell him what to do because she wasn't Sky. She hears Sky speak about love, and thinks of how much FD loved all of his gems, and she realizes something. Emotions are not bad like she was made to believe. Because love is what made their Diamond strong, and what gave Sky the strength to leave, and she thinks maybe it wouldn't be so bad to learn to feel.

Maybe, just maybe, their Diamond would stop looking at her like she wasn't supposed to be there if she learned to love him, with real love and not the emotionless substitute she was programmed with. Maybe he would warm up to her and offer her that same kindness as others if she could love him like Sky did.

And then she learns that FD was shattered, and for the very first time, she feels something.

She's angry, and sad, and shocked, and disbelieving. She learns that FD was shattered, and she screams.

And Sky is there, and he holds her, and he lets her cry. And she does cry, and she feels, and he lets her.

She goes back to Homeworld, unable to remain with the rebels who killed the only gem she'd really cared for, and they let her go. Sky sees her off, and tells her she's always welcome if she chooses to return. She thanks him, tells him she won't be taking him up on his offer, and leaves.

And eventually Fi is given a new Diamond to serve, Hylia (Sun). And she's still grieving FD and does not want a new Diamond yet. And she suddenly realizes why FD never warmed up to her, never showed her that same kindness and love that he did other gems. She was replacing someone he loved when their absence was still fresh.

And now her Diamond has been replaced while she's still grieving, and she gets it. Because Hylia is not FD. Hylia is a replacement for the gem that Fi was still grieving. And she understands why FD was cold to her.

But she's not cold to Hylia. It is not Hylia's fault that she is a replacement anymore than it was Fi's. And Fi remembers what it was like, desperately trying to appeal to FD, to get him to notice her as her. No, she wasn't Sky, and she knew the betrayal was still fresh, but even so the resentment hurt. She wasn't going to hurt Hylia because she was still grieving.

So instead she told Hylia stories. Hylia was young, and new, and curious, and Fi had a lot of information to give. And so she told Hylia stories about anything and everything.

The stories about FD were always Hylia's favorite. Fi had known him personally, known him and loved him, and whenever she told those stories it was in the way of someone who had lost the most important person in the world to them. Fi told Hylia stories about the sides of FD that no one else had ever seen. She spoke of the tears shed over gems he'd never met, of his unwavering kindness, about how much he cared. She spoke about his love, his gentleness, his pain at the betrayal of the pearl he loved so much.

These are the stories Hylia grew up on, and she would often compare the FD Fi told her about with the one she'd heard from everyone else, and the one the other Diamonds told her of. She liked Fi's version of him the most.

And Fi told her about Sky too. The renegade pearl who betrayed the Diamond he loved so much because he loved something else more, but who never stopped loving his Diamond. About how he abandoned everything he knew for love. About how he showed he kindness, and what he taught her.

And Hylia would think about this brave pearl. She would imagine him too, and she fell a bit in love with this mystery pearl who was forced to chose between what he loved and chose the rebels over his Diamond. She admired how brave he must have been.

And so when she arrives on the plant to learn about her predecessor, this is why she doesn't outright attack or kill the Chain. This is why she asked them questions instead. Because in all of Fi's stories the rebels weren't evil, they just loved the planet and were very brave. And Hylia wanted to learn more.

And when Sky showed up, Fi was not surprised that she was happy to see him. He taught her how to feel, and so she loved him too.

Some days she does wonder what it would be like if she had stayed when Sky offered the first time, what it would be like living with the rebels. But then Hylia laughs or asks her to tell a story, and Fi knows she made the right choice. She is a pearl, and she was made to serve her Diamond.

Hylia was not FD, nor would she ever take his place, but she is Fi's Diamond, and Fi loves her.

-Attllhak

i am speechless. this is SO good Att omg??? I've known LU SU AU Fi for 5 minutes but if anything happened to her id destroy everyone on tumblr and then myself

#just.... fi learning emotions from sky no matter the setting kills me #and it all lines up so well #lu su au #tortilla asks #attllhak #tortilla's lu tag #long post

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encosy · 3 years

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Eren Yaeger: A theory why the person devoted to freedom is in fact the least free character of all. (up to ch. 136)

Questions that lead me to this theory: Why did Eren behave so strangely? Why did he isolate himself from the rest? Why the hell did he decide to end the world? And why did he never really try to find another way?

“What about you is free?” - Chapter 134

So, despite the flood of possible theories people came up with, I couldn’t find any that provided satisfying answers for several contradicting moments. It had me reading the manga after all and musing three days and nights until I settled with a surprisingly simple approach that I haven’t yet found among the common theories. The short answer for Eren’s weird behaviour and decision for apocalypse remains the same: “Because I was born into this world”. But, in a different way of interpretation. If you don't want to read the long version, there's a summary at the end as well ;)

So far, this quote had been mostly interpreted as justification for the freedom to live, and the freedom to fight for survival. It’s the ultimate justification for Erens decisions, no matter how despisable they are, since he's fighting for their own survival. Yet, it sounds somewhat odd from Eren Yaeger, who had always been anything but a philosopher to begin with. Why wouldn’t he justify his decision with “because they will never leave Eldia in peace”, “because it’s the only way to end the war”, “because they had taken everything from me” or simply “because we have to keep on fighting”. That would have sounded much more like him, but not such a cryptic statement.

With the latest chapters, it became apparent that Eren was indeed severely suffering under the guilt and notion of destroying the world. So why would he not think of a different way? Why don’t we see him talk to his friends and discuss alternatives? Why does he never even try to find a solution? If anyone, it would be Eren to fight against a future he didn’t want to accept, no matter how small the chance of success. But all he does is to refer to the inevitable, unchanging future. The only spark of rebellion shown is in the pathetic attempt to safe one boy, which again end in him stating that "the future doesn't change"

The idea that Eren is in fact not free to choose their future first struck me during his conversation with Rainer, where he claims they were both the same. Yes, they had both believed to do the right thing, to be a hero, but ended up with nothing but guilt, the wish to be judged upon and to finally put an end to it all. But in that moment, Eren had yet the chance to decide. It would have been so easy to accept Rainer as scapegoat for his revenge, but he only acts as if his decision was already set in stone. He never looked angry with Rainer to begin with. So it clearly wasn’t revenge he had in mind when attacking Liberio. In fact, he was simply moving forward and carrying out Zeke’s plan which would eventually lead him to his true goal: To eliminate the enemy.

Who or what exactly is the enemy/ enemies? (As far as I know, there’s no difference in Japanese language) First, it’s the titans, then the Marleyans, but now it seems to be cycle of life, death and hatred itself. Rainer, Zeke and Eren all came to this conclusion and even the last season’s opening song suggests this true motive: “Destruction, regeneration, you are the real enemy” (-My war-).

“Because I was born into this world” - reinvented

Chapter 121 underlines yet again that this phrase contains the central key to Eren’s motives. After all, it’s all it needs to thwart the great plan of Zeke – the most sharp-witted character that had been fooling everyone else throughout the whole story. Zeke’s demise came from assuming that Eren had been brainwashed by his father, hence believing it was possible to change his mind. And that’s totally legit since no normal person would be born “like this”, showing such hatred and craving for freedom from birth. In fact, the story shows no other character than Eren who despises the walls, even though he’d been living a fairly comfortable life.

Zeke probably realized in that moment: Eren was never a normal child (Carla: “He’s already great because he’s born into this world). That doesn’t only refer to his character traits and motives, but he even proves that when opposing Zeke in the other world. First, by freeing himself from his shackles, and later when he stops Ymir (Zeke: “It’s pointless, Eren. Once Ymir, the founder begins to move, nothing in this world can stop her.”). This gives two options: Either, Ymir is not the founder, or Eren is not of this world (or both). And since the idea of Eren being the true founder for whatever time-wrecking reason is far too screwed for me to grasp, I’ll stick with the latter option. It could be what Carla refers to as well, and a reason why his titan looks a lot more devilish than any other shifter before.

What does Eren really want?

When chapter 122 “From you, 2.000 years ago” responds to the very first chapter’s title, it seems very likely, that the original message was from Ymir to the present. When Eren finds her, he already knows that she had been suffering and waiting there for someone – most probably him – (“Is it you who led me here? You must have been waiting. All this time.”) and shows deep empathy by going as far as to hug her by choice (at this moment, I can’t remember him showing such affection to anyone else before, but feel free to correct me). It looks as if his intrinsic will to fight for freedom has led him to this single moment of importance, where he frees Ymir from her curse to serve the power of titans.

Interestingly enough, even though everyone knows that she gained back then, no one knows yet what the devil wanted in return. Seeing that Ymir is not at all the almighty deity, but not more than a slave, it’s likely that this was not her wish at all, but part of the bargain she now has to endure “into eternity” (as determined by the first king). Perhaps Eren symbolizes the in-time reincarnation of the devil to fulfil the bargain. But more likely, Eren was created ‘like this’ because he was the first chance in the timeline to enable her liberation (my wild guess is that Ymir herself sent him, but it could as well be the devil, the true founder, a twisted part of a past Eren or all of them at once. I don't think it doesn’t really matter who exactly started the whole ordeal.)

In chapter 122 he finally reveals he wants to “put an end to this world” to do so. He repeatedly says that he will destroy the world, but he never once said he wanted to do it, or that he wanted to kill all the people. As I see it, “putting an end” refers more to breaking the cycle than to committing omnicide.

So. What if Eren had never been in a position to make decisions, but Ymir? It looks like her motives are surprisingly simple, not more than a ‘normal person’s’. All she ever wanted is to be loved. She sacrificed everything, her life, and her humanity – even her freedom to die. But no matter what she did, she was only used for humanity’s (Fritz’s) greed. Over the course of the millennia, she gathered the hatred to destroy the world, but Eren is in no position to stop her because it goes against his destiny. In fact, Eren is quite graphically displayed as a puppet on strings. I think that’s also why Eren acted so strangely around his friends. Ever since seeing the entire future, he had been well-aware that he can’t do anything about Ymir and the apocalypse, but he hopes they are capable of ending him, and he went as far as to insult them only to make their job easier. Already back in ch. 84 when they had to decide between the life of Armin and Erwin, Eren claims to know it will be Armin to safe humanity, not him. This suggest again that Eren does not think of himself to be acting for the right cause, but rather as the (literally) spineless key for Ymir.

To summarize: Seeing just how tormented Eren was by what would happen, how he tried to subtly encourage his friends to judge and stop him, and how he didn't show any semblance of his defining will to fight a future he didn't want, I now believe that Eren has never been the one to make decisions in the first place, but a key destined from birth to only serve one purpose: To free Ymir and end the era of titans. The quote "I was born into this world" thus doesn't act as justification for his decision, but as reference to his key role for the inevitable.

Soo, feel free to prove me wrong or correct mistakes. After all, there’s only so many quotes I remember and it’s natural to see the world with a subjective filter once you have an idea in mind. There are still several details that don’t seem to quite fit, but this is the best conclusion I could draw.

Also, taking this theory further to the present plot of chapter 136 and possible endings, my suspicions are much more vague. But there's one more detail I picked up and would like to share:

Just before Ymir is about to die in her tale, someone says “You’re free”. It would fit Isayama’s sense for loops that Ymir, who had escaped death (= freedom) from being hunted down, now finally ends her prolongued life by being killed (= freed) by Eren Jäger. I think it would give more credit to his name than the usual reference to hunting (more specifically, eradicating) titans.

#Eren yaeger theory #Eren yaeger #Eren Jäger #Snk theory #Aot theory #Attack on Titan #shingeki no kyoujin #Snk spoilers #Manga spoilers

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nerexchan666 · 4 years

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Why Tlou2 isn’t a good game

First I want to start with rants and opinions of gameplay channels (I had to type all these down while listening. They’re not in any way manipulated,if u want, u can watch the videos urself)

pewdiepie:

''everything was a mess''

''the game had a lot of potential to be good''

''would i play it again? no i wouldn’t.''

''they tried something different and i don’t think it really worked.''

''it didn’t fit the last of us''

''half the game was abby...its fucking crazy''

''give it a rating? uhhh...probably like a 6 out of 10. I’m not really passionate about this shit''

tyler1:

''joel's not stupid''

''okay i understand Ellie not killing Abby cuz she was in such a shitty spot,but why would the devs even do that?''

''no body gets a moment except for Abby''

''this entire game was such a waste of fucking time, don’t even make the third one.''

''this shit was so sad to play''

''there was no progress made anywhere,you’re just running back and forth''

''why did we play as abby for so long''

''why was i forced to beat the shit out of Ellie as Abby''

''this whole game is a fucking message''

''sex scenes were out of place,you just added it to add it''

''you should be ashamed of yourselves,devs''

''i don’t like how stupid the characters were, you develop characters and in the end they do something the opposite''

''(the part in aquarium when they forgot the map) you’re telling me TOMMY,okay i understand ellie might forget cuz it was her first time killing a pregnant woman, she MIGHT forget,lets give it a benefit of the doubt,Tommy is not a dumbass, never in the million years would he forget it (the map) and it was right by her feet''

''they’re not stupid''

''joel is almost 60 years old,he survived for 40+ or 30+ years,and he's that dumb? oh get the fuck out of here''

''same way when earlier in the game,when joel and tommy,again they were apparently biggest fucking idiots in the game, followed two random people into a trap, and joel dies. bullshit''

''you’re gonna throw all that away and have joel be a fucking r*t*rd?''

''and then tommy,who is his equal? absolutely not.''

''a second game in the series, from how good the first one was,to this game right here,this might be actually the worst game i ever played.''

''1 out of 10, simply because it ran''

''they literally shit all over ellie for no reason''

''(while playing as abby) literally fucked up my mood''

sodapoppin:

''the beginning of the game was god tier,because we had joel and ellie and other characters''

''and then we play as the fridge. Nothing in those 12 hours had anything to do with ellie or joel''

''it was just a bunch of i don’t give a fuck about whos and side quests''

''i really don’t give a fuck i’m sorry''

''they started with a 10 out of 10 game and converted to 2 out of 10''

''ellie and fridge have a fight,hype as fuck,NO ONE DIES,tommy who is a badass,,,THEY SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD''

''playing as fridge i cared so little,i literally tried to speedrun it''

''the ending was good,but i would’ve changed it a lot. Made it more about ellie''

theradbrad:

''i didn’t like when she was holding dina down,ellie told her she was pregnant and she said good,if lev wasn’t there..

i feel like,,,i don’t want a good ending for abby at all''

''i still feel no attachment to abby like i do with ellie''

''I feel like they were trying to make you feel bad for her (like manipulation)''

''we didn’t know Joel was going to die hours into the game in such a way that’s so unlike him''

''i felt like they wanted to make abby's portions of the game more memorable, by making them better. Doesn't mean the character's better''

''they put a lot of the most exciting parts of the game,the haven being burned down,the horse ride out of there,that alone was more exciting

than anything in ellie's portion''

''i personally didn’t like abby's character,i like some stuff she did besides killing joel''

''and i didn’t like any of her friends. I didn't care when owen died,i hated when pregnant girl had to die''

''i cared for jesse,he was probably the most underrated character in the entire game''

''i don’t like what happened to any character. One character i didn't feel bad for was abby's dad,like joel killing her dad.. good. And ellie should've at least appreciated that and i think she slowly realized towards the end of the game: Joel did this for me''

''but after everything is over,she let her (abby) live. We all wanted her to die,but i had a feeling something like that wasn't going to be the case''

''but i think she beat her down good''

''did i like it? i did like some events of the game,i didn’t like some characters,i didn't like abby, i liked her story,i didn't like the fact that she killed joel,like i didn't like her from the jump,but over time i like that she helped lev''

''how joel died was so uncharacteristic. He didn't trust anyone in the first game,he wouldn't even give out his name,he was driving over people with a truck''

''the game wanted me to feel bad for abby but i don't care about her. I cared more about what happened to lev''

''the game wasn't bad''

now, here are some videos that are worth watching:

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also,AngryJoe has a good video about the last of us 2, check that out as well. My point is, people blatantly defending this game are in denial. ‘’You are manipulated to like joel!!!!’’ no. What they gave showed us about Joel in the first game served as a backstory as to why is Joel the way he is. He doesn’t trust anyone, isn’t attached to anyone simply because if they die and he cared about them,it would once again destroy him. The only person he trusted the most was Tess (and tommy),yet we see Tess sacrifice herself and we clearly see how upset Joel is over her death. It’s basic storytelling.The giraffe part of the game served as a small break from the dark stuff that keeps happening. It was a small moment of joy and peace for both Ellie and Joel (The giraffe symbolizes grace, peace, individuality, protection, communication). I’d say they’re manipulating us to like Abby,a very disliked character because of her actions. They’re showing her in a better light than Ellie (example below):

‘‘But that’s just some gaming channels, only the minority dislike the game!!!’‘ Nope.

these are just some comments out of thousands and thousands of other that voice their displeasure (last one was about the vaccine and how killing Ellie is pointless).

The sales have dropped by 80%, many MANY people are selling their copies on various sites,because they realized the leaks were true and the story is a complete mess. (It’s mostly japanese players that are selling their copies, so u could say they’re least satisfied).

Is the game bad? yes, in some ways. Is it complete trash? no. The graphics are out of this world, voice acting is absolutely amazing.

This is not an attack to people who enjoyed this game, this serves as an example and explanation as to why people dislike this game.

It’s definitely not a 10/10 game. It has a lot of flaws. It’s more like 5/10 or weak 6/10. I personally didn’t enjoy 90% of the game. I was p stoked when it got announced. After i found out about the leaks (which was just joel’s death, nothing else) i still gave this game and the devs a benefit of the doubt.

p.s. review bombing this game with positive scores doesn’t make u any better than those who review bombed it with negative scores. And don’t attack actors because of this game, especially Laura Bailey (Abby’s actor).

(if i made any mistakes, my bad, i’m not a native english speaker)

#the last of us #the last of us 2 #joel miller #ellie williams #dina #tlou part 2 #abby anderson #video games #gaming #the last of us part two #tlou2 #tlou part ii

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lostinaseaoffictionalbliss · 6 years

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Tattooed Love

Summary: Soulmate AU. You have a small tattoo of your soulmates first initial and while you know him as soon as you see him it takes time to tell him how you feel.

A/N: this is for @thatfanficstuff 500 follower challenge. I also want to thank @mirandaaustin93 for being my beta. She isn't even into The Hobbit, but she watched it just for me and read over this. I can't thank her enough.

If you like this post and can Buy Me a Coffee

Warnings: none. I actually even made sure the boys lived because I can't handle their deaths.

Word count: 2203

Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. Those were the things Thorin looked for in a person, the things he respected. It was also something you had to offer. You were at the meeting in Ered Luin. You heard about his quest to reclaim Erebor and while Dain and the others told him it was the company's quest and theirs alone you refused to sit back and do nothing. The desire to help, to prove yourself, and to do the right thing burned deep in your soul and coursed through your veins hotter than a forge’s fire. That was how you found yourself riding with Thorin to the Shire to meet the rest of the company and meet the burglar Gandalf had chosen to assist on the quest.

But truth be told those weren't the only reasons you had for joining such a dangerous quest. Even though they were the main ones. In the back of your mind and somewhere in your heart you hoped to meet your soulmate as well. Ever since you were old enough to understand what the little D rune tattooed on your ankle meant you had been looking for him. Everyone was born with a similar mark. For dwarves or in your case half dwarves the letter was a rune, but it was always the first letter of your soulmates name. It always looked like a tattoo, but the markings weren't always located in the same spot.

As soon as you met the stoic warrior with tattoos on his head and forearms you knew it had to be him. Just his rough voice sent a tingle down your spine and while most found his gaze and the way he held himself intimidating you didn't. It made you feel protected and if you were being honest a little bit aroused. However you kept this to yourself. For one you had just met him and wanted to get to know him before you blurted out you thought he was your soulmate. For two you were about to embark on a dangerous mission and more important things needed to be discussed.

You sat listening intently to Thorin as he spoke of the mountain and seizing the chance to take back Erebor with a smile. You were proud to call him king, but then talk of the front door being sealed began and arguments once again broke out because no one thought Bilbo could survive the wild. It made you sigh. Dwalin looked over at you with a raised brow. “What seems to be the matter lass?” You shook your head. “Pointless arguing. Gandalf clearly chose the hobbit for a reason. So what if he's gentle and doesn't know how to defend himself. There's thirteen and a half dwarves here we can defend him if need be until we reach the mountain.”

Dwalin let out a gruff laugh. “Thirteen and a half. You're funny lass.” After that moment you wanted to hear him laugh more and so you made it your personal mission to make him do so. Even if you weren't sure how to do it. That night everyone of the dwarves sang and you joined in, but your eyes were locked on Dwalin the entire time. His deep voice, the glint in his eyes that said he was a fierce warrior, and the way he held himself all drew you in. Like a moth to the flame or a dwarf to gold. There was no doubt in your mind he was your soulmate.

As you left the Shire and traveled over rolling hills and across little rivers you talked to all the company getting to know them better. You made friends with Fili and Kili easy enough. They were sweet and could easily make you laugh. You also talked to Balin enjoying the stories he told you, but your favorite talks were with Dwalin. You could listen to his voice all day. He told you stories of battles he had fought in, mischief he had caused as a dwarfling, becoming best friends with Thorin and many more. In return you told him stories of your childhood, how you learned to fight because you wanted to honor your father who had died in battle, how people put you down for being a halfbreed, and anything else you could think of.

The more you talked to him the more you fell in love. Dwalin was everything you could hope for in a soulmate. He was brave, strong, protective, loyal. Most importantly he had a soft side that not many got to see, but you did. One night while most of the company slept you and him sat up talking long into the night. “There was this little fawn it had gotten separated from its ma, ya see. Well it was so tiny it was gonna die on its own. So I smuggled it into the house, fed it milk until it was big enough to survive in the wild and let it go.” He told you. It was the sweetest thing you had ever heard. This big tough dwarf who could easily crack skulls with his bare hands had taken care of something as gentle and precious as a lost fawn.

Getting to see that side of him made you realize there was more to him than meets the eye. And so you spent every night you could listening to his tales whether they be of gruesome fights or of helping someone in need by escorting them home safely, stories of boys’ night and getting plastered or of buying a single mother food for a week. Yes, Dwalin was a tough seasoned warrior, but he was also a soft kind soul once you got to know him. It warmed your heart that he allowed you to see the deeper part of him. You even had to stop yourself from telling him you loved him a few times.

Things seemed to be going great between you and Dwalin as well as for the company until one night you made camp near what used to be a farmer's home. Gandalf and Thorin argued and the wizard took off. That was just the beginning of the trouble that would ensue that night. Just as you were about to take the last bite of the stew Bombur had made Fili came running toward camp saying trolls had Bilbo. You dropped the bowl grabbed your sword and followed after him like all the other dwarves. The battle was going in your favor until one of the trolls caught you and threw you into a tree. You landed on your leg funny and felt your ankle roll painfully. There was no doubt it was sprained.

Bilbo was captured and the dwarves dropped their weapons. Some were put on a spit over the fire while the rest of you were put in sacks. You closed your eyes and held back the whimper that was in the back of your throat. If you were going to die you would do it bravely. You wouldn't let the others know you were hurting as bad as you were. You were a warrior and you would die being strong like a warrior. You watched the spit looking at Dwalin sadly wishing you had told him how you felt. Now you would never get the chance to tell him, he was your soulmate and you loved him. Or so you thought.

The hobbit had managed to play for time. While his plan was a bit strange it had worked and Gandalf had showed up in time to turn the trolls to stone. All of you were released from your bags and off the spit. While some of the company went to look for a cave you sat there letting your ankle rest. You poked it and let out a hiss. “Let me have a look at it lass. You took a pretty hard hit.” You looked up at Dwalin and nodded not even thinking about the little soulmate tattoo he would find. You just wanted to make sure it wasn't broke as you didn't want to be a burden the rest of the journey.

Dwalin knelt next to you and pulled the leg of your trousers up, untied your boot and pulled it off. He lifted your leg and went to examine it. When he spotted the little D rune he took pause. The stoic warrior had felt himself falling for you more and more as you grew to know one another. He also remembered the rune on his right shoulder that was the first letter of your name. Deep inside he had prayed that you were his soulmate, but you were so soft, so gentle, so sweet, and perfect. He was none of that. He didn't want to get his hopes up in case he was wrong, but now he had a reason to have hope. For the first time in a long time he felt his heartbeat pick up and was honestly a little nervous.

“Y/N, lass.” He looked up at you his eyes more serious than you had ever seen. You could see the different emotions playing in his eyes. Nervousness, happiness, pride, love, and a little fear. All of it made you very nervous, but you didn't take your eyes off his for a second. “I think it's time I showed you something.” He shrugged his fur coat off and moved his tunic showing you his mark. There it was for you to see. A little rune depicting the first letter of your name. Honestly you didn't know how to react. This whole time you had been afraid to tell him how you felt when you had nothing to fear.

You smiled at him, the pain in your ankle completely forgotten and pulled him down for a kiss. His lips were chapped and rough just like he was, but having them pressed to yours was the sweetest feeling in the world. Tingles ran down your spine, your heart picked up pace and you felt like nothing bad could happen as long as he kept holding you like he was. Dwalin’s hands had come to rest of your hips and despite his tough exterior he held you gently, like a butterfly he was afraid to crush. When he pulled away he rested his forehead against yours. “I love you, Dwalin,” you whispered knowing he would hear you.

“I love you too, Y/N. And I swear to protect you to the end of my days.” He promised. And no matter the hardships you endured on the quest he kept that promise. He made sure the orcs didn't get you as you ran, he protected you during the thunderbattle, in the goblin tunnels he hit any one of the nasty creatures that dared touch you, hanging from a tree he protected you then too. A skinchanger, spiders, elves, and a dragon. He watched over you through it all. He even kept you safe during the battle of the five armies. There was nothing he wouldn't keep you safe from. You thanked Mahal for giving you such a perfect soulmate. Without Dwalin you just knew you would be lost.

When the day finally came for your wedding you couldn't be happier. The smile on your face was more stunning than even the Arkenstone. What made the day better was the fact your best friends, Fili and Kili were walking you down the aisle while Thorin was officiating. It had been a miracle they had survived the battle, but they had and here they were to experience the happiest day of your life with you. You fussed with your hair one last time before opening the door and smiling at the boys. “Time to get you married,” Fili said. Kili had a cheeky grin. “I know you're excited for what comes after.” The young prince wiggled his brows. You smacked him, but accepted his and his brother's arm as they were offered.

Dwalin blinked rapidly. He couldn't believe how beautiful you were. The stoic warrior felt he was looking at an angel as he watched Fili and Kili bring you closer to him. As soon as you were standing across from him he held your hands in his and smiled. For anyone that didn't know how he was with you it was a strange sight, but for the company they expected nothing less. You stood there barely hearing a thing Thorin said as you gazed at your soulmate with all the love and adoration your small body could muster. If someone asked you what was said during the ceremony you wouldn't be able to tell them.

The only thing you remembered was promising to always love Dwalin and him promising you the same. Of course Kili then yelled from the crowd, “Kiss already.” Dwalin let out a growl, but did just that. Normally he wasn't one for public displays of affection, but today he made an exception as he kissed you with everything he had. “Your mine and I'm yours for now and until the end of our days,” he whispered. “I wouldn't have it any other way,” you whispered back.

#dwalin #dwalin x reader #the hobbit #the hobbit fanfiction #soulmate au #happy ending for all #thatfanficstuff's favorite things #dwalin fanfiction #the hobbit reader insert

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2017-anthea-aloha-blog · 6 years

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Book Report - The Reason For God By Timothy Keller

Please respond to the questions below.

Introduction: a paragraph Early on, Timothy Keller states that non-believers are not people without beliefs, they are people whose beliefs vary from orthodox Christian teaching. Summarize your basic beliefs as they relate to God, spirituality, and faith.

When I was a very young Christian, my faith to God is base on the personal encounter with Jesus and the power of holy spirit, I know God is real and he is love because I know God is real, so this fact let me know I can trust and believe God. Later when I learn the bible I know more about the truth of God. I believe that Jesus redeems man by his death and make man righteousness by the resurrection. The man who receive Jesus as his savior, he will be justification by faith. No one can redeem by good behavior.

In the Introduction, the author endorses the importance of doubt, saying one‟s doubts “should only be discarded after long reflection” (xvii). Would you agree that a loosely held doubt is as pointless as loosely held religious faith? Keller continues: “Every doubt....is based on a leap of faith” (xvii). How do you feel about his implication that even doubt is a type of faith?

Because God wants to have a relationship based on love and trust with the man, he doesn't want the man to follow him by fear, if the man only could say yes and agree with whatever happened in their life, and whatever they learn, it will be no meaning with that obey or following. God wants friend, not slave. When we have doubt we can ask God question with no fear, and this doubt will let us find more of God. And when the man has doubt, sometimes it means the man do have a belief and worldview.

Addressing the argument that all religions are equal and there can't be just one true faith, Keller asks: “ Do we really want to say that the Branch Davidians or religious requiring child sacrifice is not inferior to any other faith?” (p.7). How would you respond to this question?

Do you agree that most people rank religions qualitatively, even if outwardly they insist that all religions are equal? Write your response.

I think religions might become equal some day, because religions are made by man, with time the man can make it better. But the faith is based on the true God, just like each person only has one true father, the true God is only one then the true faith can’t be more than one.

In chapter 2. Keller responds to the contention that a loving God would not allow suffering. He states: “Just because you can’t see or imagine a good reason why God might allow something to happen doesn’t mean there can’t be one” (p.23).

Do you buy the argument that the absence of a clear answer doesn't‟t rule out the possibility that a plausible-but hidden explanation exists?  

I think as the man, we can’t see or understand many things. And God doesn't need to apply his plan for man’s agreement, he is God he has the right and most time people can’t understand.

Why or why not? Do you feel that claiming God has reasons for his actions that are beyond human reasoning is an excuse? Or is this a valid argument when the topic is God and his transcendent ways of doing things?  

It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact. Yes. Sometimes it’s hard to understand and accept it before we see the fruits. But we can see what happened at before, God allow the persecution happened to his people, as the three friends of Daniel and the persecution to Daniel. It looks like these king and idol rule over the place, but in fact, God always rules over the place and people’s life. And after the persecution, these people who trust and faithful to God, their suffering honor God and bring the life and transforming to that place.

As he continues to examine the problem of pain, Keller writes: “.....though Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, it provides deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair” (p.27).  

Have you ever experienced the hope and/or courage that he refers to? If so, describe your experience to others in the group.

Yes, I’m walking on this journey now. As John 10:10 says, the enemy has a plan for me, God has a plan for me as well. It’s really hard for me to see and waiting for a bright future when the broken and depress overwhelm the life and mind. But because I know God is real and he is faithful, I can’t deny what happened before, even I feel so confused why God allows these damage thing happened, I still have a hope in there, it even deeper than the depress and darkness in my heart. For a while I feel my mind is pulled into the maelstrom, I can’t go to the surface and only feel powerless of my life. But I still could feel there is a tiny light up above where outside of the waves. It’s really painful to think about future, much time I feel I don’t want any future just need an end of the darkness. But there is a power in me, I even don’t know it a lot, but the power keeps me alive and keeps a hope for a totally different, new and good way to go. It’s not easy because this power of hope can bring me run out from the dark place, but the hope, not immediate drive the belief of hopeless away until I aware of it and learn how to drive it away.

It’s not a fairy tale, it’s more like a construction work.

Paraphrasing C.S. Lewis, the author states: “...modern objections to God are based on a sense of fair-play and justice. People, we believe, ought not to suffer, be excluded, die of hunger or oppression. But the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection depends on death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak-these things are all perfectly natural. On what basis, then, does the atheist judge the natural world to be horribly wrong, unfair, and unjust” (p.26).

How would you respond to Keller‟s question?  

People think of God is a God as they guess, and should be perfect as man’s mind. In man’s eyes God allowed the bad thing happened, then God is wrong. They don’t understand the truth and they define what God should to do.

The natural just natural, each one relies on themselves. Natural Selection, the natural don’t need to take responsibility and no one does something wrong.

Does an allegiance to the laws of natural selection and survival of the  fittest contradict human values that oppose suffering, discrimination, and the victimization of the poor and the powerless? Why or why not?  

It does contradict human values. In the mankind and human society, there is a value of justice and love.

In chapter 3, Keller responds to criticism of absolute truth. He contends that in opposing the validity of a claim of absolute truth, the critic is necessarily making a truth claim of his own. As an example, Keller points to democratic values. “ Western society is based on shared commitments to reason, rights, and justice even though there is no universally recognized definition of....any of these” (p.39).

Do you agree that the values of Western democracy constitute a type of secular absolute truth and that adhering to the rightness of those values is no different than a Christian holding to the truth claims of Scripture?  

Yes, I think they did it. But the Bible is always the premise, no one can instead it.

Why or why not?  

Bible is God’s word and everything in Bible is from God. Democratic or Monarchy these are man-made.

In chapter 4, the author looks at Christian hypocrisy and the problem it creates for that outside of the church. The author agrees that people who do not claim to be Christians are often more ethical and moral than those who attend church. Then he proposes an interesting explanation: churches might have a higher concentration of broken people, compared to the constituencies of other organizations, because people in need realize their condition and seek out assistance (see p.53-54).

Do you feel this explanation is too close to saying “don't judge Christianity by its weakest representatives”?  

A little bit, but no, I don’t think so.

Do you agree with the criticism that if Christianity really does transform lives, that the behavior of Christians surpasses that of the average human?  

So they are saying that Christian not change and have no difference with nonchristian.

What about the Bible's portrayal of a God of love who also judges his enemies? In chapter 5, Keller defends belief in a God of love who is a God of wrath and judgment. If God loves his creation, it's understandable that God would oppose anything that does harm to his creation (see p.73).

Do you agree that God is big enough to encompass mercy and love, as well as judgment and wrath? What‟s your response?

I agree God is big enough to do anything. But God has the boundary and structure.

On the question of a loving God sending people to hell, Keller writes that God gives people free choice in the matter. ”In short, hell is simply one‟s freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity” (p.78). In other words, those who end up in hell chose that destination by rejecting God.

How do you respond to such an assertion?

God gave free will, God gives us the right to do the choice. But God also merciful to us, God not only gives free will, he also gives people many chances to know Him. As a Christian, I felt so painful when someone rejects the salvation of God.

In chapter 6, Keller looks at the argument that science has disproven such things as a creator, an afterlife, and supernatural intervention in the universe. To counter this argument, he writes: “ When evolution is turned into an all-encompassing theory explaining absolutely everything we believe, feel, and do as the product of natural selection, then we are not in the arena of science, but of philosophy” (p.87). In other words, believing that evolution rules out God and his intervention in the universe is a departure from science, and instead a decision to substitute one belief (evolution) for another (faith in God).

How do you respond to this argument?

I think of it’s not a conflicting, science and philosophy could not instead of God and his creation. Science and philosophy is a part of God’s creation.

The Bible is said to defend violence, to mandate puritanical sexual morality, and to maintain an anti-scientific bias. Why, then, would anyone in the 21st century take it seriously? In chapter 7, Keller responds. “ To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible's teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he would‟t have any views that upset you. Does that belief make sense?” (p.112).

Do you agree that we should expect God in that he is not a mere human to take stands and enforce rules that run counter to our sense of how things should be done? Why or why not?

I don’t agree we should expect God as we think so. God give us the standard He made for us not mean God ask man do the very high level of the morality as himself. God know people could never able to reach his perfect and his way, what God ask man do, is let us could understand his kingdom and his character, and these standard is for leading us to have a life follow him and always return to him. If some one feel upset by God’s command or standard to man, maybe he don’t know God’s heart.

Keller now begins to examine the primary bases for belief in God. In chapter 8, he refers to St. Augustine's argument that human desires and especially, desires that cannot be completely fulfilled are clues to the reality of God. For example, he states: “....while hunger doesn't prove that the particular meal (such as a steak dinner) will be procured, does‟t the appetite for food in us mean that food exists? Isn't it true that innate desires correspond to real objects that can satisfy them, such as sexual desire (corresponding to sex) ....and relational desires (corresponding to friendship)” (pp.134-135). He goes on to argue that the human longing for meaning, love, and beauty are strong indicators that God exists.

Do you agree that universal human desires point to God, or might there be other explanations? Write your response.

I agree that universal human desires point to God because human is God made in his own image. So human’s desires are originally come from God and only God can really encounter the desire. But the sin makes the desires running in a sick way, warp. People need love and relationship as nature, but because of the sin, people searching the love and relationship by the way of fall. So man never gets satisfied but hurt, and fall in an infernal circle.

In chapter 9, the author states that the real challenge is not to prove that God exists, but to recognize that people already suspect that God exists. He points to the human sense that certain things are right and others are wrong. For example, protecting children from harm is right; ethnic cleansing is wrong. In light of these understandings, Keller writes: Doesn't that mean you do believe that there is some kind of moral standard that people should abide by regardless of their individual convictions?” (p.146). He continues: “ We can't know that nature is broken in some way unless there is some super-natural standard of normalcy apart from nature by which we can judge right and wrong” (p.155-156).

Do you agree that a shared sense of right and wrong is an indication of God’s existence? Write your response.

Yes I agree. Why we say north is up and south is the bottom, because God made it so and we can find it in the bible. And without the standard of God, this world will become a messy with different standards. Without God’s standard people can say “I can do anything to my child because they are mine” or say”I can kill myself or change my gender, because the life and body are mines” and some people could say”I’m a good person and I don’t need to take my responsible for someone get hurt from my behavior, because I already buy a lot of fish, birds from the market and set them free, I did some good thing to cancel my debt and mistake.”

In chapter 10, Keller delves into the issue of sin and its consequences. He begins by positing that we already know sin exists: “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that there is something fundamentally wrong with the world” (p.159).

Do you agree that it‟s valid to define what is broken in the world as sin? Why or why not?  

I agree. because before the sin of the world, everything is in is going well. God made everything in harmony and balance. After sin, God allows the broken by sin and he redeems everything if people return to him.

And given all the things that are broken in the world, what questions does that raise in your mind about God?

Why some people believing they are Christian and Missionary, still doing a lot of selfish and evil thing in the hide and safe place. Why some of them working so hard for their own advantages and then says they are serving God’s calling, same time bring a lot of hurts and lie to some people, even let this thing happened to hurt other or kill the person’s relationship with God. Why God know everything and allow it happen, and keep silence.

In chapter 11, the author contrasts religion with the message of the Christian gospel. He points out that religion is a set of rules and standards that determine what a person must do to obtain divine approval and enter heaven. In contrast, he states, the gospel makes it clear that no human can measure up to God's standard which is perfection. That explains why God sent Jesus, his Son, to earth to die for the sins of humanity. The perfect God, in human flesh, was sacrificed for imperfect humanity. Keller writes: “The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued....that Jesus was glad to die for me” (p.181).

How do you respond to Keller‟s characterization of religion in contrast to the message of the gospel?  

Yes I agree, last few years I see how fool and evil and crazy people can be, some of Christians even not better than the nonbeliever a little bit. But God really has mercy, for God, all of the people are far away to the holy, but he receives each of us. But the sin and evil made a price, it does not just say some nice words, God pays the price for Jesus life. We just like a dead body, God die for us then let we alive.

How do you react to his summary of the meaning of the gospel?

Surrender. Accept the facts and focus my eyes on God’s faithful and promise. Perceive who God is.

In chapter 12, the author responds to the critique that “The Christian God sounds like the vengeful gods of primitive times who needed to be appeased by human sacrifice. Why can't God just accept everyone or at least those who are sorry for their wrongdoings?” (p.187). To answer this question, Keller compares God to a person who has been wronged by another person. The injured party can exact revenge by making the offender suffer, or the wronged party can instead take the difficult path of forgiveness. When you forgive, you choose not to make the wrongdoers suffer for what or she has done. The person who was wronged suffers instead. By forgiving the wrongdoer, Keller states, “you are absorbing the debt, taking the cost of it completely on yourself instead of taking it out on the other person. It hurts terribly. Many people would say it feels like a kind of death” (p.189). Thus, God suffered the pain of his Son‟s death in order to forgive the sins of humanity. And because he did so, the wrongdoers (humanity) are freed from the debt of their wrongdoing.  

How do you feel about Keller comparing the pain of human forgiveness to God‟s act of sacrificing his son to redeem humanity?

Follow Jesus, do what God did. Then we live out the life Jesus gave us. If we really have a new life and new mind from God, we will be easier to stop struggle with the self-center about feel unfair, and willing to pay the price of love, do what God does for us.

Near the end of the book, the author concludes: “ I believe that Christianity makes sense out of our individual life stories and out of what we see in the world‟s history” (p.213). Thus, he does not present watertight proof of God’s existence but offers the message of Christianity as the most plausible explanation for the human condition and what we observe in the world around us.

Do you feel Keller has made a compelling case? Why or why not?

Yes. Because this is pretty honest and based on the bible. And God is truth he doesn't need to prove himself, he already shows himself and his creation to everyone, if we seeking we will find Him if we choose to blind God gave freewill, no one can wake up the person who pretends to asleep.

Conclusion:

Which of your views has changed as a result of reading The Reason for God?

I start to think of and understand a little bit of why God always keep silence to the unfair or injustice thing. 1.Be a person suffer from love and following God’s heat or 2. be a person doing the bad thing then return to God enjoy the forgiveness and the unconditional love of God. It looks very fault, but it is for one person. Hope one day I can fully be the 1.

Are you more confident now in what you believe? Write your personal conclusion of “The Reason For God”.  

We can keep our doubt and question to God when we honest to ask God the question without Judge, God will answer and the question could help people closer to God. God gives free will to people to reject him, God gives people right to question too. Just be honest and humble in front of God.

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