#focus ninja debate

[invisiblequeen]

For @jonquilyst 's Total Drama Sims Season 2: Willabelle Lowes!

Name: Willabelle Lowes

Pronouns: She/Her

Orientation: Heterosexual

Traits: Tinker, Competitive, Arrogant

Aspiration: Goal-Oriented

Skills:

Likes: Pink, Purple, Green, Focus Music, World Music, RnB Music, Writing, Research and DEbate, Handiness, Fitness, Media Production

Dislikes: Gray, Kids Radio Music, Dancing, Video gaming, Mixology

Willabelle Lowes is a straight A 'd, punctual, organized student with her eyes set on the prize, no matter what it is. Her mom complains she "wins" too often, for fear that it'll go to her head. Well, mom, that ship has sailed. If you ask Willabelle (aka Willa or Belle) how much she thinks she knows, she'll give you the cutest smile and say, "You haven't heard? I'm a know-it-all!" telling you at once that she's heard this all through her childhood (from relatives and bullies) and no longer cries at the title.

She's on the road to valedictorian, has been accepted to two colleges, and still has time to practice parkour, stating, "One day I'll get on Simlish Ninja Warrior and win." Ironically, watching SNW is how she learned about the casting for THIS show.

High stakes? Check. Prizes? Check. A chance to endure the unendurable? This is her *dream.* No one will be winning this but her.

And when she does, every single asshole who ever attacked her will finally have to admit: "she *does* know it all."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[scholastic-dragon]

Hii!!!

I was wondering if you could do a platonic Rottmnt Leo with the prompt "good morning/good night texts". Like he's busy with the gang and reader texts him throughout the day?

Tysm if ur able too!!!!! ^0^ love your work!!!

I spent about 30 minutes debating if I should write this cause I've never written for the Rise! Boys but I'm going to give it a shot!

Also thank you!! That means a lot!! 🥺

Rise!Leo x Gn!reader

Shellphone

Word count: 1k

Warnings: spelling mistakes, Leo being Leo

Summary: no what what he's doing or where he is, Leo always texts you back and it's starting to annoy Raph

Raph regretted it the second he made the suggestion for you two to swamp numbers.

It was all Leo ever did.

Constant buzzing, beeping, text messages.

Beep!

Raph slowly bit into his breakfast burrito, not moving his eyes from the plate.

Buzz! Buzz!

"Can I be honest with you guys?" Mikey leaned into Raph's side, whispering to him and Donnie.

"When are you not?" Donnie mumbled, have a burrito in his mouth, eyes on his own phone and typing furiously.

"I'm getting kinda upset with Leo's texting, it's all he ever does! I mean, yesterday I asked him if he wanted to skateboard with me and he said no!" Tears welled in his big eyes, almost spilling onto Raphs breakfast.

He quickly swallowed the rest and glanced behind him at Leo, leaning against the kitchen counter staring at his phone.

"I'm sure they'll get over it in a few days,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later....

Leo laughed heartily at your message, you always sended the funniest things. It was one of the reasons you guys were best friends, you had the same sense of humor.

"Leo! We are in the middle of a fight here!" Raph yelled, smashing another paper ninja, the confetti flying away in the breeze.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on, they just sent the funniest cat meme," Leo shoved his sword into the ground, using it as an armrest as he texted back.

"Ooooh, cat meme!" Mikey laughed, rushing over and peering at Leo's phone. "Awe, he's in a boat!'

A paper ninja snuck up behind them, grabbing Mikey by the waist and throwing him over the docs and into the ocean.

Raph smashed him into confetti as well, jaw agape seeing Leo completely unbothered.

"Leo!" He hit his brothers shell, coming to stand beside him. "Did you miss the part where your brother just got thrown into the sea?"

Leo scoffed. "Don't worry he's fine. You're fine, right Mikey!" Not looking away from his phone, Leo yelled over the railing.

"I'm good!" Came Mikeys eager voice.

"Donnie, save Mikey from drowning, I need to have a word with Leo," Raph grumbled.

"We're turtles we can breathe underwater for-" Donnie started, raising a pointed finger.

"Help! SAVE ME! I can't swim!" Mikey flalled about, splashing and screaming.

"And I stand corrected," Donnie groaned, activating the jetpack on his battle shell and grabbing Mikey.

"Leo, you got put your phone away and focus," Raph snatched the phone from his brothers hand.

"Hey, come on, give it back!" Leo tried to pry Raph's hand open but it wouldn't budge.

"Why are you so obsessed with texting them?"

Leo sighed. "It's just... it's nice to have someone else to talk to. Don't get me wrong I love you guys, but they're funny and have been so many fun places and do so many cool things, it's-"

"It's a nice change of pace from everything," Raph smiled down at Leo, who had stopped trying to open his hand. "I'll give this back, but you have to promise me you're gonna put it away when we're on missions, alright? No mission texting,"

Raph held his hand out and opened it, Leo quickly snatched his phone.

"Deal, no mission texting!" Leo saluted him, his classic smirk on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So anyway, now we're here at an abandoned warehouse fighting these foot jerks again!" Leo laughed into the phone, one hand holding his sword and fighting more paper ninjas and the other holding his phone, video chatting you.

"What idiots, who hides out at a place 5 minutes away from your last spot?" You laugh, relaxing back in your desk chair.

"Right! That's exactly what I said!" Leo sliced another ninja in half.

"Leo, I thought we talked about this!" Raph yelled from a balcony above him. Donnie peered over the railing looking down as well.

"We did, you said no mission texting, were video chatting, it's completely different," Leo waved his hand dismissively at Raph.

"Oh, is it Y/n? Tell them I say 'hi'!" Mikey yelled from across the room, taking out three ninjas with one chain pull, the confetti immediately going into his face causing him to cough.

"Don't encourage him, Mikey!" Raph gripped the railing so tight it left hand imprints. "Leo, hang up, were in the middle of a mission!"

"We're fine!" He dismissed again.

"HANG UP THE PHONE OR YOURE NOT GOING TO THE JUPITER JIM COMIC FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND!" Raph screamed, the sound echoing off the old metal walls.

Donnie and Mikey collectively gasped, heads moving back and forth between the two like a tennis match.

"You wouldn't dare," Leo finally turned to face Raph, eyes squinted.

"Hang. Up. The. Phone."

"Ugh! Fine!" Leo rolled his eyes. "Alright, Y/n I gotta go but we'll talk later, M'kay?"

"Alrighty, I'll be here," You waved and smiled sweetly before hanging up. Leo tucked his phone into his belt, looking back up at Raph.

"Happy now?"

"It's a start," Raph grumbled, finally letting go of the metal railing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo chewed anxiously on his nails, staring at his phone. Sweat rolled down his brow, he quickly wiped it away, not daring to look away from the screen.

"Leo?" Raph yawned, walking into the kitchen, seeing Leo shaking in the corner. "What're you doing up this late?"

"I can't sleep, I'm worried about Y/n," Leo started to pace around the kitchen.

"Oh no, are they okay? Do they need anything? Should I wake the others?" Raph rambled, feeling worried. While you were best friends with Leo you were all their friend as well. They all cared deeply for you.

Beep!

"Oh, nevermind there it is," Leo chucked, fingers typing rapidly.

"There what is?"

"Their 'good night' text, they were working late tonight." Leo yawned, stretching his arms and heading out of the kitchen toward his room. "Well I'm beat, I'll see you in the morning, Raph,"

Raph's eye twitched. "I'm gonna smash that phone,"

[destiny-in-the-universe]

remember that angst idea? yeah- I decided to share it anyway!

So, because I made a c.AI bot for my own personal uses- I was hit with a very wild idea of my own design… it’s sort of, well, set in the past using an alternate universe. The starring main duo are the First Ninja who will be getting a name soon and Human! Nomicon (for the sake of the au, they’re brothers! whether this is ‘canon’ to my lore is up for debate) - there is also an alternative version with Rei Izumi but we’ll talk about that one separately!

Here’s honestly my thoughts for the entire AU- (buckle in and hold on to your seatbelt, y’all! This one’s going to be a doozy-)

🗡️ The First Ninja and Nomi are the sole survivors of the Norisu Clan. Ever since the demise of their siblings- they have attempted to continue tradition. The First Ninja is now the sole protector of Norrisville (even though the Sorcerer has been dealt with, he can’t find it in himself to stop-). On the other hand, Nomi is still young and becomes a scribe but he also has ninja training

🗡️ Nomi becomes more reserved than he was previously. He can’t bring himself not to focus on his own studies

🗡️ The First Ninja also begins to act differently- (he still remembers the destruction and the fire, the screams as he was forced to helplessly watch)

🗡️ Somewhere down the line, Finja and Nomi decide to begin working on the NinjaNomicon - to create a tome to store the teachings and wisdom of the Ninja; for the future holder of the mantle

🗡️ Unfortunately- someone else becomes power-hungry and Finja is sent out to deal with the problem, undergoing a mission while Nomi continues staying in Norrisville but things inevitably… go south

🗡️ Due to still cartoon-based logic- and because this is angst- the Sorcerer manages to be freed from his prison and captures the First Ninja. He holds him hostage inside the depths of an underground cave, determined to make him suffer before killing him

🗡️ One of Finja’s allies manages to report to Nomi who immediately jumps ship at rescuing his brother- no matter what happens, Nomi is not about to let his brother die at the hands of the Sorcerer

🗡️ After a lot of searching- Nomi manages to find the cave and sneaks inside, startled to see his older brother weakened and bound by enchanted chains. (He does not take this well, at all-)

🗡️ Having learned magic, Nomi is desperate to cast a counter-spell but before he can fully free his brother- the Sorcerer and Nomi are now locked in a duel. The problem is Nomi’s not mastered his abilities yet- as he is a teenager and still learning

🗡️ Nomi is slowly weakening against the Sorcerer but he’s fueled by the determination to protect his brother and in a sudden act of rage- he manages to knock the Sorcerer back and due to the power of ‘I said so’ - the Sorcerer is sealed away back in his prison but Nomi is exhausted and barely manages to stay upright

🗡️ Unfortunately, Finja is also immensely weak- bruised and battered- and they hardly have the energy to do much. I’m going to ignore what actually happened with the c.AI and say either Rei shows up to get them out of there before they inevitably pass out or Nomi uses the last bit of his strength to escape the cave with Finja

🗡️ I’m not entirely sure what happens after this but let’s just say that the recovery period happens and eventually they manage to complete the NinjaNomicon and well, I do have a bad ending version for this because I’m mean but at the same time, if things play out well, everything goes back to normal

This is still being fleshed out! Nothing is concrete for the time being! I might honestly turn this into yet another fanfiction- I have constant brainrot and far too many WIP’s this is a problem, holy shit

This is for my own angst reasons

[destinygoldenstar]

Little Preview Of A ‘Kai Deserved Better’ Essay

I have a very interesting history with this character in particular. I watched Ninjago all the time as a kid, I jumped on the train about when Rebooted was premiering. (That's CRAZY to think about, that kids who grew up with the show are now in their high school and college years, me and my sister being examples.) (It's even crazier that now of all times is when Ninjago becomes trending for reaction channels on the Internet. I love it, personally.) And I distinctly remember my opinion on Kai back then.

I hated him. I did not like this guy. I thought he was very egotistical and uncaring and unwilling to see the others perspectives and was a detriment to the team. He was one of my least favorite characters in the show as a kid as a result. 

But my classmates in school (who were boys that I didn't approach or let anyone know I was into this show, because 'this show is for babies' and 'you're a girl why are you watching a boys show') had a debate that I didn't participate in about the show and who their favorite ninja was. They all said Kai. (Except for one guy who was a Zane stan, like me. Maybe I'll do a Zane post too.) I did not understand the Kai appeal at all. Like, what was there to enjoy about a character with very blatant flaws and shortcomings and wasn't a neurodivergent cinnamon roll?

And then I fell out of the show because of the Rebooted finale, and then came back two years later where Tournament of Elements and Possession were already out, and I watched them, and I loved them. And what those seasons did with Kai, where he actually got character development, became less of a jerk to the others, and became oh so relatable all of a sudden to me... I understood the appeal. It REALLY won me over on him.

Looking back at it NOW, I seriously question why I even hated him in the first place, because now everything I hated about him is everything I love about him. 

Iconic 🔥 Fire 👑 King

So you can imagine my stance with his character and what he has become now that the show is over. (The main show, I mean) I still love him. But I do think there's a lot of missed potential with what he could've been. And I know I'm not the only one.

Starting in the Pilots of the show, as a newbie to the realm of Elementals and ninja, Kai was an audience surrogate. We are welcomed into this world of Ninjago along with him, watching as he trained in the monastery to harness his fire, befriending his teammates, and routing for him in his journey to save his sister and later become a hero. Kai was the surrogate character that you would experience the journey of throughout the show, see him grow and change, face hardships and victories, become more competent and capable as the story went on, and embrace the destiny casted upon him as the next Master of Fire.

Except you don’t. 

Turns out the Pilots focus character, the session that started it all, and the ninja that's figure is plastered on so much merch, almost as much as Lloyd, was the one that arguably got the least amount of care and huzzah in the show.

Outside of the Pilots, he’s the only ninja to never be the center character of a season. ALL of his supposed focus seasons are more team season related or tied to someone else. While the other ninja grow and develop and expand their heroism and powers, Kai never grows out of his klutz status. He's the only ninja to never defeat a villain. Every villain he does get, someone else defeats them while Kai is basically useless in these fights. He's the only ninja to never get any sort of alternate form. (If you count Jay becoming a snake that one episode) And... the movie version of this character absolutely rubbed off on him post movie, to the point where it's kind of jarring of the difference. And then, as I said jokingly in another post, he gets sidelined in nearly everything he's ever been involved with. This character is given no moments to shine. Every moment he does get is either overshadowed by someone or something else, or his shining moment becomes useless and undone by the plot. 

I wouldn’t have a problem with this if it wasn’t ONLY Kai getting this treatment. 

But then this post wouldn’t be titled what it is. 

And that's a shame. It's also why many fans of the show, and especially Kai stans, want to see Kai take the spotlight (just like the other ninja did). Because whenever the story IS focused on Kai, he becomes the most interesting and compelling character in the room!

And in case you're wondering, NO, I DON'T blame Lloyd for this. Kai was never supposed to be the long term protagonist, and I think Lloyd getting that role instead was a lot better for the show's story in the long run. Kai does not need to be the protagonist of the show to be an awesome character. But if the other ninja can get their focus seasons that are solely about them, and get W's throughout the show, so can Kai. 

He is not a dumb jock who is a klutz with everything he touches. He is a hardworking loving older brother that you do not want to tick off.

That's the Kai in old fans' hearts, anyway. That's OUR Kai. 

So I wanted to take a deep dive into Kai's character, what made him so compelling in the first place, and how I think the later seasons could've done him justice they did not deliver. 

Cause we got 210 episodes of ranting to utilize. 

(Why I Love Kai)

(Arsenal Klutz Status)

(The Lack Of Backstory)

(That One Soot Filled Twist)

(The Fire Chapter (And Ice to a degree))

(Motivation Out The Window)

(What Now?)

So I said I’d write this, and I will deliver. You guys wanted this from a poll I did. I can revive my character analysis posts! (I did one for Petra MCSM) I call myself AnalyzGolden online because I never shut up. So I can’t promise when the full thing is out, cause I have a LOT I want to say, but other POVs definitely help. The GF who has now finished the show mostly agrees with me.

[kwxnnxn]

I've seen so many people debate how to do Psylocke in the mcu and most opinions stress me out so I might as well share mine. While I really do not like the idea of Kwannon in the mcu if they want to do Psylocke she has to be Psylocke, not Betsy. Lots of people saying just make Betsy half-Japanese and ignore Kwannon but that just continues the shittiness of the bodyswap by giving everything to Betsy and ignoring Kwannon once again which will screw her over in the comics and cause confusion for new comic readers when it's already confusing enough.

Kwannon has to be Psylocke from the beginning, and honestly, I would prefer if the two characters really had no connection to each other and would be perfectly fine if we never see them interact. Although, if they had to have a history with each other they could have some sort of feud from when Kwannon was part of The Hand and Betsy was part of S.T.R.I.K.E , which can lead to an explanation on why they have similar powers.

I've seen a few people suggest that they should make Kwannon Psylocke but just give her all of Betsy's storylines when Betsy was Ninja Psylocke, such as Uncanny X-Force and the 90s X-Men. While this is better than completely ignoring Kwannon, I would prefer to see her as herself, not as another person just with her name. Also, Betsy can still have all of her storylines just without the ninja aspect.

I would introduce Kwannon in a Wolverine movie as either Nyoirin's prime assassin or as a solo assassin who escaped The Hand. Since Logan and Matsu'o have a history in the comics, it would be easy to have both Kwannon and Logan meet through hunting down Matsu'o. Give Kwannon and Matsu'o a backstory that they were in love but Matsu'o betrayed her, causing her to despise him. Matsu'o could have a connection to the loss of her daughter or knows how to find the remains of her daughter, which can lead to her alliance with Sinister or her joining the X-Men, or both.

I do not trust the mcu to do Kwannon any justice, really the bare minimum is giving Kwannon her own storyline and personality, which even that is unlikely. Also, Psylocke had never been a character that people seem interested in adapting. In every single adaption she's never a character that's focused on so there's a high chance the mcu will only have her there as a background character that wont get any depth or focus. This isn't really a bad thing and they can just keep it vague on whether it's Kwannon or Betsy like past live-action adaptions have done.

[canadiangold]

another thing that's fucking getting me about Ass Creed Shadows is

why a samurai?

No, seriously. Fuck being a black samurai (i ain't touching that fucking debate) in the game series built on being a blade in the crowd, being a nobody, killing your target without their guards even knowing you were there. I know that that hasn't really been AC's actual gameplay loop since Brotherhood, but like... Ninja. A ninja would be perfect, could so easily gel with the AC fantasy. Sneaky without being weak, using special tools to overcome enemies that outnumber or outgun you, espionage, blending into a crowd (because, lest we forget, the iconic black costume was never a thing historically). It would open a wide door for a fictional protagonist thrust into historical situations, give a new more historically authentic portrayal of a classic archetype...

Especially now that I'm playing Ghost of Tsushima, which does everything the AC RPGs do but better. It's a better samurai game than Valhalla was a viking game, with better combat and more interesting side content and a more beautiful world and no RPG mechanics ruining combat balance or discouraging exploration and a framing device that feels more like a handicap than an interesting part of the narrative...

Ubisoft has been backsliding for years, and it feels like they're squandering AC after shitcanning Watch Dogs and fumbling Skull and Bones. AC is such a good IP, has so much potential that has never quite been nailed down in writing or mechanics, and it's only been getting worse as the Animus is getting less attention, as the historical accuracy is being supplanted by stereotypes and historical fantasy, stealth and parkour--once staples of the game--are becoming secondary to the mediocre hack n slash combat.

Mirage was a step in the right direction, putting more focus on being sneaky and maneuverable, but it's still a weaker stealth experience than Tsushima or Hitman or even Shadow of Mordor.

i dunno man i'm just sad that a franchise i used to love has turned into something i find so......... not worth my money. Again.

[blursed-ninjago-ideas]

Whumptober 2

Decided to let myself have some Kairro. It's been ages since I touched that AU and every time I do it feels self indulgent. Don't know why, a lot of people seem to really like it.

Prompt: "They don't care about you."

Randomly Selected Whumpee: Kai

Selection method: Asked a student I passed in the halls to choose a number.

TW: Blood mention, manipulation

--

“How many times do I have to beat you over the head with it!? They. Don’t. Care. About. You.” Morro snarled.

Kai raised his bloodied face and debated what comeback to use.

“I don’t know. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not going to let you use your paranoia against me?” Kai said, his lip dripping wine red drops onto the concrete.

“They’re your abandonment issues.” Morro countered.

He was calming down and changing tactics. Probably realized that Kai’s temper had gotten the best of him again.

Morro made an excellent mirror to show Kai how ugly his anger could get if he didn’t control it.

“As if you didn’t have any of those yourself.” Kai laughed, wincing from the pain it caused him.

He just had to buy enough time for the others to find him. Nya was going to turn the whole room into a water park as soon as she saw Morro.

The trick was holding the line against the emotional manipulation. Hard to do when the manipulator lived in you head so long he left some of his things in the guest room.

“I left Wu, remember?” Morro said.

His smirk had Kai convinced he was looking at a mirror for a moment. It was to be expected. It went both ways after all.

Kai knew why Nya looked at him like a stranger sometimes. She never said anything about it, but Kai saw her every time she did it.

It had an effect.

Kai had slowly stopped bragging after Lloyd was forced to admit that he sounded more like Morro when he did it. When all of your friends get noticeably uncomfortable every time you get excited that you won a video game, you stop commenting on it.

Kai wondered how he used to sound when he would brag. How was it different? Did Morro get that trait, or did it disappear? Which one of them had “stronger” bragging mannerisms? If Morro got his way and they fuse, who would they sound like?

Would they sound like Kai when they told jokes? Would they keep that smirk, or would it disappear?

“And I never trusted anyone else long enough to get left behind.” Morro finished, yanking Kai from his thoughts.

He couldn’t think of a good retort. It had only been half a second, but Kai’s mind had wandered miles away from the conversation. It must’ve shown on his face, because Morro snarled again.

“I see you don’t have my focus.” Morro said sarcastically.

It wasn’t Kai’s sarcasm. It was a difference they still had.

Morro grabbed Kai’s face and dragged him up.

“Listen to me. They are waiting for the chance to get rid of you. You serve them now, but what happens when you get annoying? Too angry?”

Morro leaned in so close, Kai could smell the strange ghostly scent his spirit had.

“They will leave you.” he whispered.

“Like my parents?” Kai said with an eye roll.

He saw where Morro was going with it and he was sick of the line of thought.

“If the people biologically programmed to love you couldn’t manage it, why do you think they can?” Morro said as he dropped Kai.

Kai scrapped himself off the ground.

“Because they’re good people.”

“And your parents weren’t?” Morro said with a predatory grin.

Kai shivered and looked away, but he had thoroughly been caught off guard and didn’t have a response.

Just when he thought he had control of the conversation; that he had everything guarded, Morro came at him from an angle he didn’t think of and crawled under his armor. It was how it work from the very beginning.

“So, we agree he doesn’t ‘deserve’ to be the Green Ninja?”

Kai shook his head clear.

“So you don’t think your parents were good people?” Morro asked in a mocking voice.

“I-” Kai could only make the one sound.

“Because you’ve always defended them to Nya. You wanted to be a blacksmith and continue their legacy. You honor them every year on the Day of The Departed.” Morro continued.

“I do.” Kai whispered.

“That doesn’t sound like you hate them.” Morro said.

He was leading Kai to something. Kai didn’t like it, but he didn’t know how to break out of it.

“I don’t.” he confessed.

“But you should.” Morro pointed out.

He sounded so much like Kai’s therapist when he said it. It make Kai’s breath shake. He didn’t like the conversation. He wanted Morro to go back to trying to convince him the other ninja didn’t care about him.

“You should, but you don’t. Is that right?”

Morro didn’t give Kai a chance to answer.

“Then wouldn’t it be a good thing if I could hate them for you? If I could be angry for you? Then you can hate them like you should!”

Kai covered his ears. He knew what he was feeling. It was the same thing as the first time.

“He didn’t ask to be the Green Ninja. We did! Destiny passed up not one, but two perfectly good options to force the responsibility onto a child. That doesn't seem fair. You’re right, he doesn’t ‘deserve’ that! We could not only take what we worked so hard for, but relieve Lloyd of all that pain. That’s a good thing, right? We could work together and fix it!”

That sinking feeling that Morro was making sense. Scrambling for an argument, but nothing making as much sense as Morro’s words. Desperate to not agree, but finding no other thought in his mind.

Kai could only bite his lip and hope his friends were just around the corner. He wasn’t holding out for much longer.

--

That was just pure fun to write. I'm glad I did this.

-Ivy

[wicked-elfie]

Time Swap (ROTMNT)

Time Swap AU created by @teetlezhere

Chapter 2

TW: Minor action violence, mentions of death

Beginning / Previous / Next

~*~*~*~*~

“Donnie!”

Leonardo reached for his brother before a large metal tail swung into him, smacking him like a fly out of the air. He crashed into the wall of what was once a great skyscraper. Slumped down, he held his abdomen in excruciating pain; He felt so small. He tried to steady himself, and after a moment of grinding his teeth together, he was able to stand again. He cradled the back of his head as his eyes tried to focus through the blinding whiteness in front of him. He thought to himself, ‘Purple, purple, purple. Where is he?!’ He scanned the field desperately for any sign of Donatello.

Commander O’Neil - April - gripped his arm. “Leon, we have to go!” Her free hand snapped her goggles over her eyes as she tried to tug him towards their tank.

He shook her off of his bicep. “I’m not leaving, April! I need to go back for him!” She bit the inside of her lip and looked back at the tank, then back to the field. Hesitantly, she nodded and picked up her staff, letting Leonardo go and standing defensively towards the onslaught to give her friend some time. “Thank you, April. I’ll hurry.”

“I don’t want to lose him either, Leo…” She scrunched her brow and fixed her jaw, preparing for a fast-approaching wave of Krang zombies, “He’s always been there for me…” Leonardo gulped dryly and stiffly set his chin down in response. He turned back to the wasteland of debris, ignoring the rattling of gravel as the ground shook from the bombardment nearby. Frantically, he climbed through the rubble of the building that had just been demolished. Don had to be out there, he just had to.

—

The ceiling was a greyish green. His eyesight was still hazy from being thrown earlier. Leonardo clenched his jaw, debating whether or not he should move. He was, admittedly, scared to confront his situation. “Donnie…,” he whispered to himself.

He tried to feel his surroundings. He was laid somewhere soft: a bed. He chuckled like a child, I haven’t laid in a bed in decades. The war-torn mutant ran his fingertips along the sheets. They were a soft material, probably jersey-knit, if he remembered correctly. He closed his eyes and reached his hand over the edge of the mattress. Cold metal, this is a makeshift bed on the floor, this isn't a bedroom. His relief dissipated a bit at that revelation. He let his mind steady itself for a moment before opening his eyes again. Hesitantly, Leonardo rotated his head to the side, trying to gather in his surroundings, though he was sure he knew where he had been taken.

Purple lights illuminated the steel-plate walls. He could make out a computer monitor perched on top of a desk. His desk. His lab.

His thoughts came to a halt as he heard heavy footsteps steadily approaching. He watched a large shadow loom in the light that pooled out from the door. A tall, muscular snapping turtle mutant stepped through: a red bandana tied around his eyes and holding an average sized glass of water that seemed to vanish in comparison to the thickness of his hands. “Y’er up.,” the large mutant spoke flatly.

“Raph.,” Leonardo felt ridiculous only speaking his brothers’ names. He couldn’t complete his thoughts, let alone a spoken sentence. His fingers dug into the blanket as he tried to relax himself. This isn’t the time to be emotional.

The red-clad ninja approached slowly and crouched down to set the water on the ground next to Leonardo. Up close, Leo could read the anxiety on his brother’s - were they brothers? - face. Raph grunted and shook his head, returning his gaze with a questioning scowl. “Who are you?”

You know me, lug (affectionately). They stared for a moment before Raph sighed and squeezed his fists together. He looked fixedly at the ground as he continued with a tone that wavered between threatening and fearful, “You came through that portal and my brotha returned instead of you. Where is he? Why are you here? And why do you-” His large clawed fist unwrapped and pointedly motioned to the older mutant’s whole self, snarling as he threw his hand over his face, seemingly to calm down.

“Look like him?” Leonardo finally completed a sentence, though not his own. He watched Raph’s fingers slip down his now opened jaw and his face sink incredulously. Leo fixated on his own hands as he formulated an explanation. “I’m not an imposter or an intruder.” His sad eyes lifted to meet Raph’s. “I… Am Leonardo. Just not-,” he returned the hand motion that the snapping turtle had given him earlier, though his was much softer, “-just not your Leonardo.”

Raphael shut his mouth and fell back slowly onto his butt. He held his head and stared at the steel below him, trying to cool his anxiety. Leonardo gave him a moment before continuing. Better just rip it off like a band-aid. I can’t sugar-coat this.

“I’m from a future where an alien race known as the Krang have invaded earth after being released from a prison dimension. We have been fighting these monsters and their horrible creations for decades.” He bit his lip and turned to look at his upper arm, where a purple bandana had been tied. Raphael’s eyes followed the gaze and he gasped quietly. He continued, keeping his voice as steady as he could manage, “And in this future, Raph: We’re the last brothers standing right now… April and a Mikey-sized handful of our friends are the only ones left.” 

The spiked-shell turtle shook his head in disbelief, “How- Why did ya come back?”

Leonardo sighed and wrung his hands, “Our resistance failed. Mikey had become this badass mystic warrior, so he- he opened the portal so I could send a student of mine back in time to stop the key to the prison dimension from being used. I wasn’t supposed to come through, but a blast sent me flying on my ass.” He chuckled spitefully, “I’m not supposed to be here. Mikey sacrificed himself for this cause, and now I need to complete the mission in place of my student.” He squeezed his eyes shut, avoiding Raph’s reaction. He only opened them again when he heard his brother’s heavy steps retreating to the doorway. “Raph, don’t tell them all of it.,” he pleaded dejectedly.

Raphael’s hand laid gently on the doorframe. His head lowered, but he didn’t turn back. “Only what they need ta know.,” the snapping turtle swallowed and sighed. “Nothin’ else.”

With that, Leonardo was left in the laboratory with the glass of water; What was he going to do now?

[yellowhollyhock]

Leo and Donnie

I recently got an ask about Leo and Raph and it was very fun to write about their dynamic. So I decided to do it with all of them. Here's Leo and Donnie

Part of why I headcanon 2003 Leo as a middle child is the way he and Donnie act with each other. These two are peers in a way that the other guys aren't. They both show more awareness and concern about the general familiy dynamics and their personal position than Raph or Mikey ever do. Donnie will fall in line because Leo is the leader and the best ninja (or at least takes ninjitsu the most seriously), but Leo also defers to Donnie's judgment when the problem is tech-related. This is fun to watch and probably something they appreciate about each other, but it's also heartbreaking that almost all of their close interactions are either all business, or when one of them is badly hurt or absent.

Like when Leo leaves for training, and in his return episode Donnie gets the intro narration, so we hear about how worried he's been, and as the episode starts it's clear he misses him a lot. Then they see each other, shake hands, and get right back to business. And yeah this might just be that they aren't huggers, they were raised by a literal rat, but Donnie is always putting a hand on someone's shoulder, he hugs Raph and Mikey when he sees them again after SAINW, we even see him go for a hug with Raph later in this exact episode. It just seems like these two don't express affection with each other the way they do with the other guys.

It's super interesting to me how competitive Donnie is with Leo. Leo is a competitive guy, it's a very positive thing for him. We see this a lot with Raph and in some of his most positive moments with Mikey and April. Donnie doesn't generally do that. When April comes along and also has tech skills he just rolls his chair aside to make room, coaches her when she needs it and encourages her as much as he can. The most competitive we ever see him is with Leo, like when he complains during training that Leo always makes the rest of them look bad. Which isn't exactly a "let's bring out the best in each other" kind of competitive spirit.

On a more positive note, they have so much confidence in each other. When Donnie's trying to figure out how to help their friends from deeper underground that he made a promise to, Leo says he's got one of those "no matter what it takes looks." They all see it, but Leo seems to understand it best. And Donnie's trust in Leo as a leader is so inherent in every interaction I don't even know how to talk about it. They also understand each other's total focus when they get into something. I can imagine them staying up late getting into debates about everything from 'is cereal a soup' to 'is enlightenment truly a detachment from the world or a well-balanced connection to it'.

Anyway basically I care them a lot, here are a couple of quick favorite moments from the show

Donnie (about a train): Can I keep it, Leo?

Leo: Uh... sure. If you can find a way to bring it home.

the little story Donnie tells while Leo's hurt about him saving Donnie's life when they were like six... but not saving the remote control car XD

[binaural-histolog]

Hypnosis Book Reviews by Cosmic Pancakes

Cosmic Pancakes is a website by Kev Sheldrake and his wife, Amy Ellingham. Kev Sheldrake is most well known for his partnership with Anthony Jacquin, but the real meat of the website is in the reviews.

They tend to focus on different things. Ellingham has a real taste for the obscure deep cuts.

Also, she's funny.

Sheldrake tends to dig into the academic history of hypnosis. This is probably not surprising considering his background, but this does mean that he assumes you're going to be fascinated by the state/non-state debate.

Interestingly, neither of them are afraid of discussing sex and hypnosis.

And even the occasional hypnokink fiction!

I've been digging through these for most of the day. They are consistently full of anecdotes and personal opinions that make the review fun even when the book itself is a stinker.

If you're interested in checking out the books themselves, you can find a surprising number on archive.org.

For example, Hypnosis, imagination, and human potentialities is here.

The same applies to the papers, which you can usually find on scihub, i.e.

can be found at https://sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.1002/acp.3730

[demonsfate]

Victor's design is cool AF but my god is the sword a bit too much for Tekken, and I LOVE sword/katana wielders. Like I can see why people are saying he's a Noctis replacement, and let's not even talk about his teleporting deal. Some people on 4ch are debating whether Reina will be a Heihachi/Kazumi hybrid without electrics. I also feel like people are expecting too much from her character, but who knows. We will see her soon either way

I actually LOVE Victor's design. I dunno why, but I just have a feeling he's gonna be the best designed Tek8 newcomer. (I have no hopes for Reina LOL) But while I'll get into the "anime" stuff soon into Tekken. I wanna note the reason why it's throwing you off is because when you look at characters like Azazel, you're not surprised by its abilities because it matches its stupid purple chicken design. Victor looks like almost a relatively normal guy, so seeing HIM pull off these crazy cybernetic moves is unpredictable and doesn't match the design. Which may have been intentionally, they may have wanted to subvert expectations. But I'm personally not the biggest fan of it.

And I think I'll take this opportunity to really talk about Tekken and its story, how it changed. Because I'd rather just make one post rather than making a short response agreeing with you, and then doing a follow up! So feel free to read beyond this point or not. :) See... most fans do agree that Tekken 6 is when the game took a turn and became Very Anime. That was the start, and that's another reason why many people are critical of Tek6 beyond its depiction of certain characters. Hence why Azazel came to your mind.

But I actually think Tekken 5 is when the game began developing theses symptoms. Jinpachi was leaning toward "too much," characters that didn't have joke endings before now had joke endings (see Lei and Heihachi) Xiao's awful characterization, and despite Jin still being relatively in character, it did set up Jin's ""villain arc"".

And before I get into how Tekken 6 took this to a whole new level. I just wanted to explain that there is absolutely nothing wrong with anime. When I (and many critical fans) state that we don't like it being "anime," we don't mean in general. Yes, we acknowledge Tekken has always been anime. It's always had anime tropes, designs with spikey hair, and nonhuman characters such as bears, space ninjas, and devils. But the problem lies in when the game began implementing predictable, overused tropes as well as bad writing. People try to use Kuma or the devils as proof the game has always had "wacky" characters that aren't grounded in reality. But if you were to take Kuma's moveset and give it to a large human character, it would still be semi-realistic fighting, and nobody would think much beyond the biting LOL. Kuma may be in the form of a bear, but he doesn't whip out a flashy cybernetic sword, or does he throw his head at people and it explodes. And the devils also practice semi-realistic martial arts, too. The only thing is that they sometimes use a laser and sometimes fly up. Sometimes you can fight a Devil Kazuya or Devil Jin without them even using their devil moves. They don't constantly teleport with flashy effects to the point where you can't even process what's going on. And if you watch Jin in Tekken 4, he's just a traditional karate user. That's it. If you watch Jin in Tekken 8, he now has all these flashy moves and it just takes away from him practicing real karate. HELL, Tekken 4 would have Jin calmly practice karate techniques in a dojo with no background music. It showcased that the game really had a focus on real martial arts. It didn't have to contain flashy effects and images, and Jin screaming while going Super Saiyan, and loud music playing while a war is going on and all that shit.

Tekken before was anime. Tekken now is poorly written anime with no sense of direction.

Back on to Tekken 6. Tekken 6 took the "anime" tropes to a whole new level with both design and writing. First off with what it did to the story of Tekken. Tekken's story was still relatively simple prior 6. It mostly had a focus on the Mishimas familial rivalry and their corrupt business. Because of their corrupt business practices as well as their selfish desire for power, they tend to hurt a handful of people. (Such as Michelle whose father was killed because of these criminal practices.) And with the introduction of Jin Kazama's character, we have a good Mishima whose main story becomes wanting to kill his family because of their corruption. There's also the whole devil gene ordeal Kazuya and Jin struggle with, and how it affects their morals and decisions. That's it.

However, Tekken 6 is when the series' story took a nosedive and became convoluted and over the top. The game is no longer just about a dispute between family, it's now about a MOTHERFUCKING WAR that a 21 year old started and somehow managed to devastate most countries and conquer them without even a nation of his own, just a corporate business. All of this done in less than a year btw. So instead of a handful of people being burned because their family was involved with a company that's comparable to a criminal organization, or people who are investigating the corrupt company because of their not so legal practices... we now have characters who are mad at the Mishimas because they're literally bombing cities, taking over nations, and killing people in the masses. And if that wasn't crazy enough, it turns out this war started because Jin started hearing "voices" in his head of an ancient demon who threatens to destroy the world and Jin thinks his only way to save everyone is by... killing millions of innocents...? Oh and there's the whole maybe getting rid of the Devil Gene, and Government Bad.

See? That plot is just so fucking bizarre, and not in a good way. It's to the point where it's actually incomprehensible. Because even to this day, fans cannot understand Jin's motives due to his wild (un)characterization and motives. 14 years later, fans still discuss whether Jin was the evilest Mishima and was only doing this for selfish reasons (muh devil gene bad) or if Jin was genuinely a good guy who was forced to do Bad Things for Good Reasons. Though, Jin's behavior as a character doesn't help him appear like a good guy who was forced with a tragic dilemma. But you see, the game does nothing to help the case that Jin is actually "good." For no reason, he acts uncharacteristically cruel. In fact, Jin was given opportunities to have the "Save The Cat" moment in 6. What's Save The Cat? It's a method utilized when writing a character with mostly unlikeable traits. It got its name from the trope of a not so good person feeding a stray, or saving a cat from getting hit by traffic. This means to give an "unlikeable character" a moment to show they do have a heart of gold deep down inside. This makes them more sympathetic and likeable to the viewer and helps balance their overwhelming negative traits. Jin never has this moment in 6 despite being written as an anti-hero. There were moments when Jin could've; notably Alisa's death and Miguel's grief could've been Jin's "Save The Cat" moments. He could've felt genuinely sorry that Alisa died for him. But what did he do instead? Call her a worthless piece of junk and act GRATEFUL that she died all while mocking her FRIEND'S pain. And then him giving Miguel the cold shoulder, and even showing no remorse for killing his sister. There is nothing in Tekken 6 indicating Jin is a "good guy" or has any redeemable qualities. Despite not acting like it, Jin just tells us he's good.

Anyway, I don't wanna dwell too much on Jin's characterization as I've made countless posts and have already proven how Jin in Tekken 6 might as well be a totally different character from Jin in the previous games. But I just wanted to bring that up real quick as it is an important part on why the story is so messy and I will bring it up later when talking about the game now being "over the top anime." Other than the overall plot which is too wild, the game also suffered other bad anime tropes that fans didn't like. Such as plot beats like Secret Child we've never heard of, as well as Lars' amnesiac plot. Jin's own story might've been heavily influenced by Code Geass itself, as that was a new and popular anime at the time. Except, whilst I never watched it, I'm gonna assume he developed naturally and had real reason and emotion behind his actions that make sense to the viewers as opposed to Jin whose development wasn't natural, his personality completely changed with little explanation, and his motives didn't make sense no matter how people look into it. But the fact they were heavily inspired by Code Geass but with poor execution is more example of this feeling like a bad anime. Alisa's addition was also heavily criticized by fans due to her appearance. Up until now, despite some characters having spikey hair, we never had any character with unnatural bright colored hair - which that's a HUGE anime trope. Every character had natural hair colors and eye colors (with the exception of Kazuya's one red eye. And Hwoarang's orange hair... but he's a punk who dyes it) So to see a girl with bright pink hair was alarming to some fans. And then her whole moveset... we've had robots like Jack before, but Alisa is a new extreme with how she can shoot her fists, pull off her arms, and throw her head like it's a bomb and somehow regenerate another head. People believed her to be too far fetched, and actually clashing with the Tekken aesthetic up until now. Alisa also felt a bit waifu bait at the time with her polite and usually compliant personality. Lars was also often criticized mostly due to his over the top hair. But Alisa was the start of these "flashier" anime characters.

Even though I actually thought Tekken 7 had a better story than Tekken 6 (but that's not saying much) and I felt it wasn't as generic. But... Tekken 6 was such an open sore that it left a scar on the entire series. Even though I felt Tekken 7 had some improvements in design over Tekken 6, it still continues the predictable anime trends such as Lucky Chloe being a Neko cosplayer. And what's worse is that, aside from main story, now almost every character is a joke. The majority of the endings in Tekken 7 were joke endings. This makes the writing even worse than before.

And finally... I wanted to talk about Tekken 8's story. Despite people's complaints about it being "too anime," there are many that SERIOUSLY believe Jin's gonna be a plot twist villain and Kazuya will be the one to turn around just because Jin was "very bad". These people are trying to form these theories without considering the following. 1) the anime tropes they criticize the modern games for having, and 2) the writers mindset and intentions.

First the anime tropes; this is something that people commonly joke about anime. The guy who killed many innocent people suddenly says he's "sorry" and somehow the main characters forgive him and he's now apart of the Friend Group despite his atrocious crimes. IF Jin's actions from 6 do not get retconned, then this is definitely the route they're taking. Just because Jin's "sorry" and is now trying to do "good", he's forgiven. Yes, the game's still pointing out his sins and Jin's like "I must make amends!111!!111" but it doesn't change the fact that Lars is now clearly buddies with Jin. And yes, I do see Lars maybe having it in his heart to forgive Jin, as many people faced with trauma tend to forgive the ones who hurt them as a healing process. But I don't see Lars becoming friends with Jin... or at the very least, being this friendly toward him. Jin had devastated the world, and caused millions pain... but he's also personally hurt Lars time and time again. It's weird for Lars to be "I'M PROUD OF YOU. :)" to Jin but then all scowling towards Kazuya. Which yes, Kazuya isn't doing anything to redeem himself. But... Jin still personally traumatized Lars more than Kazuya has.

Secondly, the writers intentions. Jin isn't good because of his actions and Kazuya isn't bad because of his actions. They're morality depends on the writers' intentions. The writers want Kazuya to be bad, therefore he's bad. The writers want Jin to be the hero, therefore he's good. It doesn't matter what their actions were, you can't create theories for what direction Tekken 8 goes without considering the writers. Jin ISN'T gonna be a plot twist villain because his actions in 6 appeared villainous. This is because the writers don't view them as villainous. YES, Tekken 8 is definitely acknowledging Jin's actions as "bad". But in the end, the writers are trying to depict it as a necessary evil. You can tell because not only have the game been emphasizing Jin as the "hero" now, but the writers have said in many interviews that this story is about unshackling yourself from the chains that hold you and finding freedom; redeeming yourself and learning to accept yourself. That is Jin's story. They've also made this apparent when they [Harada specifically] referred to Jin as an "almost villain" in Tekken 6 from an interview from last year. This shows that the writers themselves do not view Jin as a "bad guy" despite what the fans think, therefore they wouldn't make him a plot twist villain. In the eyes of the writers, Jin is good because his intentions were to ""save the world,"" and Kazuya is bad because his intentions are "selfish" as he's taking over the world because he wants the "power."

Also stop saying Kazuya should be redeemed but not Jin. Sorry but Kazuya is literally just as a bad as Jin. If you want to say "OH JIN DID DO ALL THOSE ACTIONS LETS IGNORE BAD WRITING YADA YADA" Then you can't go around and say "JIN SHOULD BE MAIN VILLAIN AND KAZUYA SHOULD BE REDEEMED AND DEFEAT HIM IN THE END." Kazuya is just as bad as Jin. Some fans don't think so because Kazuya "didn't start" the war. Which is so silly. It'd be like if a serial killer kills 25 people, and then another serial killer gets inspired and kills 25 people as well. Nobody is gonna say the former is "more evil" because he "started it." They're both gonna be deemed terrible people. Kazuya is perpetuating the war and striving for world domination. People try to say "but Kazuya isn't raining missiles on people like Jin did!!1" and it's like how do you know? Because the game hasn't quite shown that yet? Kazuya has been demonstrated in Tekken 7 to kill many innocent people to get what he wants. Even if it's as petty as making Heihachi look bad. If Kazuya is taking over the world, devastating it, and has all this expensive equipment... I can guarantee he's likely using the same methods Jin did in Tekken 6. Either Jin is also worthy of redemption or neither of them are.

Which brings back my point of how jacked the writing of Tekken 8 may be. The concept is something I highly enjoy; learning to accept yourself and not being afraid to take on your demons. But the issue is... this concept can ONLY work for Tekken 4 Jin or even Tekken 2 Kazuya. It CANNOT work for Tekken 8 Jin or Kazuya. It's why Tek8 Jin NEEDS to be retconned in order for the story and its message to work! There are some things you and other people should never forgive yourself for. Mass murder and war crimes are one of those things. If Jin, however, was just brainwashed (or a devil was in control) to do these actions... then it would fit the story better as Jin has to learn to accept himself, and learn to accept that just because his body was the one to make those choices, doesn't mean he himself was and that he's not responsible. It's guilt he has to learn to let go.

But at this point, I really do fear that the writing just isn't gonna be as competent to do that or pull off a convincing redemption for the character. I think it's highly likely they're just gonna have Jin say "Sorryyyy :(......" and the other characters going "cool." I fear it's gonna suffer the bad mistakes of most recent games' writing. Which is a shame, because Tekken has AMAZING concepts, but it keeps getting wasted and wasted.

And to finish this, I'll also return to something you stated about Victor being "over the top." You've seen Victor's trailer and how he just teleports everywhere and slashes his sword then does a rage art.

Here's a Tekken 3 clip if Jin versus Xiao. Xiao nearly defeats Jin, but Jin makes a major comeback... but not without cheap power moves or weapons but with genuine skill. He chooses the best moves and dodges rather than just pressing a trigger panic button. The fight flows really well too, and there's never any interruptions with a cinematic or rage/heart trigger. And the success of both characters don't feel cheap, they feel genuinely earned. This feels like watching an old martial arts movie. Modern Tekken games feel like you're watching a fight scene from an MCU film. It just feels way more gimmicky with all those bright and flashing effects.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 7

"Look, I just need you to help me keep an eye on them. Gato will find out today and be pissed. I just don't know what he'll do."

There was an unhappy grunt.

"But this works for us. If someone else is doing the visible work of opposing Gato, we can stay hidden," Aiko cajoled.

"Yes," Utakata agreed unhappily. "I see that. If another team receives credit for our work, how are we to be paid?"

Aiko waved that off. "We will be. Anyway, the team is harmless right now. Their Jounin is unconscious. The remainder is three genin."

Outrage fled over her partner's face. His spine straightened. "Konoha sent inexperienced children against Momochi Zabuza." His voice dropped from flat to subzero.

'Of course not! Konoha is merely incompetent enough to have no idea he's operating in the area.'

She made a queasy expression that wasn't quite a smile. Hmm. She abandoned the expression. "Maa, they're probably not trying to kill the kids off."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"You owe me." Utakata bit that out like it was a statement of fact and not up for debate.

Aiko didn't quite have the energy to smile at how crotchety he was. She pursed her lips and nodded. "Fine. Just don't let the kids die while I'm gone."

Her partner huffed in disgust. "I'm not incompetent." Utakata tapped the book in his hand against his thigh. "It will be no challenge to turn aside whatever troubles genin might encounter."

"That's the spirit." She rubbed at her face with the back of a hand. "I'll hurry."

Aiko left without another word, en route for the town closest to Tazuna-san's home. There was so much to do that she felt a little nauseous.

She wasn't with team seven. Not only that, but Naruto didn't appear to know she existed.

The best response she could think of that was a sort of internal screaming peppered by question marks, so it was best not to linger.

There was no longer any internal debate. She had to get into Konoha, because there was nowhere else she could get answers.

'Danzou. I wouldn't put it past Danzou to snatch up a Hokage's kid if she was left alone. Or Orochimaru- he was still in Konoha when I was an infant. He's brazen.'

Actually, there was any number of terrifying things that could happen to an orphan in Konoha.

'This isn't a productive line of thought,' Aiko told herself, keeping an eye out for a likely looking store. One appeared: a nearly deserted building that was at least thirty years old. She spotted the proprietor reading behind the counter. Perfect. 'Focus on what I can affect in the near future.'

So. She had to get into Konoha. Her earlier thought still rang true: she would receive far too much scrutiny if she petitioned for entry. They would find that incredibly suspicious and conduct an exhaustive review of her background and psychological profile. Unacceptable.

That meant she had to force Konoha to approach her, so that they would believe she had no agenda and make concessions to persuade her into the fold. She had to be appealing and relatively nonthreatening. And she had to use the resources she had to do it: team seven.

'At least I know Kakashi. I know how he works and thinks. I'll let him discover a shinobi is lurking about, investigate me, and then miraculously find out I am an Uzumaki. He'll leave, but he'll take that information to the Sandaime along with whatever impressions he has of me. So they have to be the right impressions.'

She wasn't going to lie to him any more than she had to. He was too good for that.

When she walked in, the proprietor was attentive and smiling. "Welcome! Can I help you find anything?"

\Aiko demurred. "I'm just looking, shopkeep-san. How long have you been here?" She ran her fingers up a display, watching his reaction out of her peripheral.

He closed his book on a finger. "Well, I've been running the shop by myself for the last fifteen years, since my wife passed."

'That's a long time. Works for me.'

"Oh. I see." She turned to face him directly. Aiko blinked open the Rinnegan and caught the poor man in a spell. "You remember me. My mother and I bought our groceries from you for years, but you haven't seen either of us in a while. She came to this island when she was a teenager, but you never really knew her. When pressed, you will be somewhat certain that her name is Kagome or Kaoru."

The elderly man was frozen stock still. Aiko dug a few coins out of her pocket and put them on the counter, feeling a little regretful. He didn't move.

'Kind of a shame I don't know a gentler way to weave a long term genjutsu.'

Well. He'd be fine. She left him to digest his new impression.

Establishing a cover was the first step to getting scouted by Konoha. They'd want to know where she'd come from- powerful shinobi didn't pop out of another dimension fully formed.

She caught several key people around town the same way, seeding vague impressions of generally uninteresting encounters with the woman who lived out in the country with her daughter and no husband. She didn't have a house out in the country to fit that story, but she couldn't Rinnegan one of those out of nothing. She'd work around it. Somehow.

'Fuck. Well. There's a stupid dimension full of large, angry kittens. Maybe there is a summoning dimension with houses.'

Aiko snorted, rubbing at her headache.

Okay, so that was a pretty big loose end and it was not going to be solved in any way she could think of off the top of her head.

Aiko gritted her teeth and tried to think her cover through. Maybe she'd missed something. She was an unaffiliated shinobi because her mother had fled Uzushiogakure at- Aiko counted quickly- fourteen and hid in Wave Country. Her mother had been deeply paranoid and only sought out missions when prompted by outright desperation. She had been reclusive- she had no strong friendships in town. Her mother- she'd call her Kagome, Aiko decided, Kagome had started taking Hikari out on missions at about twelve. Before that, she'd left Hikari with Tsunami-san when Kagome had to take missions or starve. That was why Tsunami-san was so familiar with her cover, despite the five year age difference.

'I need to get to Tazuna as well. Today, preferably, before he has too much opportunity to think about how strange my presence is or ask Tsunami-chan any questions.'

There was no one else who she absolutely had to put under genjutsu immediately, she thought.

What would Kakashi look into first?

He'd want to meet the fictional mother from Uzushiogakure. Pity, she'd passed away- Aiko squinted at the sun- a year ago. Hikari'd only started taking missions again after a few months of mourning. Konoha could check that work history if they really wanted and verify that a couple of brokers would recognize her.

'I need to genjutsu at least one or two job contacts so that they will indicate I have a longer operational history in the area,' Aiko decided.

She ended up flicking around the eastern coast of the continent, tracking down semi-plausible employers and convincing them that they'd met before. Those stories didn't need to be complex or complete: no one would willingly give out too much mission information.

'If my mother was from Uzushiogakure, I'd know a lot more about it.' Aiko stopped for late lunch at a roadside stall and ordered karaage. Maybe food would do something to settle the odd flip-flipping sensation in her head. 'I don't see how I can resolve that, exactly. I've never been there. Would looking around give me a little more legitimacy?'

The chicken was a little too salty, but Aiko ate it anyway. She waved down the shopowner for more tea, frowning darkly at the counter in thought.

'Tomorrow. I can try that first thing tomorrow. I'm tempted to take Utakata with me. The whirlpools are supposed to be really dangerous out there. But I can't quite justify leaving the kids without Jounin supervision.'

She paid her tab with a sigh and stretched.

'I'll just have to be careful. As long as I don't hit my head and pass out, I can always Hiraishin out of trouble.'

She'd made a lot of progress for one day. But there was one more errand she absolutely could not put off. Sakura-chan seemed surprised to see her back in the same day, but Tsunami-chan let her in without comment.

"Are you here for your laundry?" Tsunami-chan dried her hands on her apron, bustling through the kitchen. "I'm afraid I haven't had time to fold it-" She sat the full basket on the kitchen table.

"That's fine," Aiko assured. She eyed the clean laundry with intense satisfaction. The choice between re-wearing dirty clothes or stealing a new outfit everyday was untenable. Why hadn't she truly appreciated laundry facilities before? "Really, thank you so much. I'm afraid I'm having problems with the plumbing at home," she half-explained to Sakura. The girl made a polite sound of comprehension. Aiko fussed, smiling at Tsunami-chan. "I appreciate the help. Please, is there anything I can do?" She gestured to the house. "I know that you have a lot of work right now. I could take Tazuna-san's refreshments down, for example."

Tsunami-chan caught on to the prompting and nodded. "Of course, I'd nearly forgotten!" She pulled open the freezer. "I have a cooler that I could use. Sakura-san, do you think your teammates would like a treat? It's so hot out."

The pink-haired girl made a rude sound. Then she flushed, apparently shocked her mind-to-mouth filter was malfunctioning. "They'll love a treat, Tsunami-san!" Sakura flapped her hands. "They'll eat anything and everything."

Aiko made herself useful enough that Sakura wouldn't think anything was odd. In less than an hour, she hefted the cooler of sweetened strawberry treats on her hip. "Ja mata!" She beamed back at the house in the moments before Tsunami-chan let the door slip shut.

She took the walk at a civilian pace. She tried not to scowl too much at the dust and burrs that caught on her shoes. She shifted the cooler around when her arms began to ache.

The sounds of men at work reached her before sight. Hammering, clanking, and distant shouts painted the air.

Aiko closed her eyes and stopped for just a moment. She focused.

"-that right there"

"Watch it!"

"and me that would you-"

'Sounds a lot busier than I remember.'

She started forward decisively, a bright smile plastered on her face. "Hello!" Aiko waved at the first men she passed, noting a rather alarming amount of sweat. Ew. She kept her distance.

The workers exchanged glances. "Uh, hello." A younger man nodded in response, not quite making eye contact. He attempted to surreptitiously pull down the sleeves he had rolled up his shoulders.

Aiko stifled a snort. Tazuna was at the edge of the bay, directing work with a fierce attitude and a rolled up set of drawings. Naruto and Sasuke were harder to spot- she didn't manage to pick them out without looking too obviously. They were here somewhere. Had to be.

Tazuna-san's eyebrows shot up when she got his attention. He waved away the man he'd been speaking to, a thunderous scowl pulling his lips down.

"Who the hell are you now, lady?"

Aiko's eyes darted to either side. No one was positioned well enough to have a direct view of her face. She turned her body a little bit more and blinked on the Rinnegan for the nth time that day, feeling strain pull on her shoulders and neck muscles. "You remember me! Tazuna-san, I used to play with Tsunami-chan when my mother went off to work. I'm Hikari, Kagome's daughter."

His eyes glazed over. His face reddened. But he nodded in response. "That's right, isn't it? My wife always watched the two of you. I spent too much time working even then."

Aiko blinked off the Rinnegan. The world moved sideways, colors blurring. There was a hand reaching for her upper arm- she twisted away with a jerk.

"Watch it now!" Tazuna-san let his hand drop, grey brows drawn in concern.

She wasn't holding the cooler anymore-

'What the hell?'

Sasuke had her cooler, she realized. He was stepping backwards, dark eyes warily assessing but not terribly suspicious of her.

"Oh! I'm sorry." Aiko managed something that probably resembled a smile. "Just- suddenly felt lightheaded, that was all!"

'I must have overused the Rinnegan. Casting genjutsu is a much higher drain than just having it on.'

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, shoulders pulling up defensively.

There was a loud, victorious crowing. "Snacks for me? Share, teme!" And then Naruto was there, tugging violently on Sasuke's burden.

"Naruto!" Aiko snapped, appalled. His spine zinged into a straight line, along with that of the closest workman. "That was rude and I know you can do better. I don't want to hear that from you again."

Sasuke looked at her. Naruto looked at her, eyes wide with shock.

What?

Tazuna-san chuckled. "You sound like someone's mom, Hikari-chan." He ruffled her hair. "I think these two are a little old to be adopted. They're grown up ninja, after all!"

'They're children. They are immature and do not have the technical skills to operate without their Jounin sensei.'

She narrowed her eyes. She let her silence speak for her.

Tazuna-san kind of looked sideways and down, as if re-remembering just how short team seven was on average.

Sasuke looked down at his feet, scowling fiercely.

"Eat your snacks, boys," Aiko ordered, feeling powerful and adult. "You too, Tazuna-san." She shook a finger at him. "Tsunami-san is doing a lot of work at home. And so is your teammate." Her hand re-oriented on an alarmed looking twelve year old. "Thank them both. Someone else is going to stay home with Tsunami-san tomorrow to help around the house and with your sensei." Her tone left no room for disagreement.

Naruto nodded wordlessly, big blue eyes focused on her.

Sasuke was averting eye contact and his shoulders were pulling up towards his neck. But his body was facing directly towards her and he was clearly paying attention.

Aiko leveled them both with one last stern look and then nodded. "Well, I'm heading back. Have a good day at work."

The weird thing was that more than three cowed-sounding voices replied, 'Yes, ma'am'.

'Huh.'

The day was getting late enough that she should check in on Utakata and possibly relieve his watch. But… tomorrow. Tomorrow she'd go poke around Uzushiogakure to add some validity to her backstory. She had plenty of time before Kakashi would be waking up, but it would be best to get that out of the way.

His dreams were always the same when he had chakra exhaustion: a loop of great gasping sobs and Minato-sensei's putting his head in his hands and Kushina-san screaming at the Uchiha clan head and the horrible little gasp that Rin had made when his fist had gone through the back of her rib cage.

Kakashi woke with an aching back and the feeling that something was wrong.

He pushed off someone's soft futon and sat up.

Two unfamiliar scents in the room, plus all those of his students. A personal home, not an inn or safehouse. Late daylight. One two three unfamiliar chakra signatures in the vicinity and one of his students.

'Where are the other two?'

He used the wall to stand up. His muscles were in a pathetic state no med-nin would have allowed- sore and stiff. He patiently and precisely went through the motions of the shortest stretching regimen he knew. The exercises loosened his body enough that walking without giving away weakness was no great difficulty.

'I must not have been out as long as expected.'

The stairs were easily found. A female voice filtered up the stairs, diverted and muffled by hallways and paper screens.

"un, why don't you try the other worksheet first?"

He couldn't understand the response, but it was a childish whine.

Naruto laughed, boisterous and light.

Something in his spine relaxed at the sound of his student's voice. He sounded fine. Happy. Safe.

Kakashi frowned, gripping the doorway at the bottom of the stairs. The wooden frame creaked under his fingers. Safe? Why was he worried about that? Zabuza had been killed and then taken away by that hunter-nin. His students could handle interference from civilians. Civilians didn't operate like shinobi or anticipate-

He let go of the doorway before he caused property damage. Painful spasms ran up the muscle group connecting his fingers and forearm.

Of course. Shinobi operations were on his mind because what he'd seen had been a blatant failure in procedure. That hunter nin had taken Zabuza's body away. And he had been alone. Hunter nin worked in teams.

Kakashi slouched in pursuit of Naruto's voice as fast as possible.

"Sensei!" Naruto twisted to beam relief up at him without dropping the knife he held to a red chopping board. "Hey, hey, we were starting to think you were never going to wake up! You slept for almost two weeks, old man!"

The woman who was standing watch over something bubbling on the stove made a vague approving sound without turning around. The other woman in the room, a brunette, was leaning over a wide-cheeked toddler seated at the kitchen table. The brunette gave him a friendly smile.

"It's good to see you up and about, shinobi-san!" She stepped away from the boy who had to be her son to give him a bow. Kakashi reciprocated automatically. "Your team has been working very hard while you recovered."

Naruto ducked his chin into her chest and appeared very interested in her work. He was grinning into his collar.

"I see."

The woman blinked. "Oh!" She turned pink. "Excuse me. My name is Tsunami. I am Tazuna's daughter, and this is his grandson, Inari." The child did not wave or acknowledge him. "My father is out working on the bridge. The rest of your team is with him."

That still left one person unintroduced. Kakashi gave her back a pointed nod, maintaining pleasant eye contact with Tsunami-san.

She smiled back and then went back to helping Inari-kun practice what appeared to be katakana. Odd.

"Yo." The redheaded woman spoke, holding a hand up for an instant. The gesture did not fit the well-manicured nails and heavily braceleted wrist that made it.

Kakashi gave the space between her shoulderblades a surprised look. "Naruto-kun. Who is your other friend?"

His loudest student blinked and then gestured at the stranger. "Hikari-san, this old dude is my sensei. Sensei, Hikari-san is Tsunami-san's friend. She has been helping around the house since…" Naruto paused, face scrunched in thought. "Since we got here."

'Naruto still didn't give my name. Does that mean the kids were attempting information control?'

Excellent. That had been the right decision to make while he had been out of commission.

"Call me Kakashi." He aimed a calculated eye-smile at the strangers.

Inari-kun still didn't look up. Hikari-san didn't turn around. Tsunami-san turned magenta and starry-eyed.

He slouched a little more to look harmless.

"Eh." Hikari-san was rudely disinterested in his introduction. Or maybe just focused on her task.

His eye twitched.

'I'm not used to being so openly disregarded.'

Hikari-san tossed a handful of carrot into the pot and turned around. His chest seized up.

'She looks far too familiar.'

"-ad you're up," Hikari-san blathered, smiling like she had a secret, Minato's eyes half-mast. "Naruto-kun won't admit it, but your team has been very worried for you." She rinsed her hands, mercifully turning her face away enough that he could think again. But he could see Kushina in the curve of her jaw in profile and the long line of her neck.

'Impossible.'

He had to be overreacting. Kakashi managed the focus to dredge up an eyesmile, despite the fact that his heart was struggling against his ribs. "Yes, well, they're good kids." He ignored Naruto's flailing and protestations that he wasn't a kid.

He watched Hikari-san's mouth move in a daze. He saw ghosts every day but they weren't usually a hellish blend of dead people he loved. What did this say about his psyche?

'It doesn't even make sense. She can't remind me of both of them.'

Kakashi had missed what she'd said. He gave a nervous laugh.

'What did I miss?'

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't really even registered her actual features as a whole. When Hikari-san turned back around, Kakashi catalogued it.

Her hair wasn't Uzumaki red. But it was still red. Her face was average in shape, but some of her features had a sharp look to them. Really, that wasn't so much like either Kushina-san or Minato-sensei. Kushina-san had possessed a beautiful, wide-set facial structure that Naruto had inherited, but Minato-sensei had a narrow face. It was ridiculous, really, to see parallels where there weren't any. Even though her eyes really did remind him of sensei's in shape. They were black, not blue. It wasn't the same. It wasn't.

Naruto was staring at him, fingers loose around his chopping knife. The twelve year old looked deeply suspicious.

He gave his genin an intentionally dopey smile.

"I see that I've missed out on quite a lot while I was out."

Now that he was actually paying attention to Hikari-san, something didn't seem right. She wasn't dressed anything at all like her supposed friend. She had turned her back to him carelessly, but her feet were always in a ready stance. He narrowed his eye at the woman- there wasn't an ounce of unnecessary fat on her. The loose clothes gathered at the waist gave the impression of dramatic curves, but he suspected there was muscle hidden there instead.

'Kunoichi.'

"I ought to get going." Hikari-san gave a stretch. "It was nice to meet you, Kakashi-san."

Tsunami-san's brows twitched together. "Well, I suppose I will see you in the morning?" she tried.

Hikari-san gave the young mother a smile. But her gaze was boring into Kakashi. "Probably not. Have a good night, everyone!"

"Let me walk you home." Kakashi kept his tone pleasant for the civilians in the room. "I need to stretch my legs."

Naruto's mouth dropped open in outrage, but Kakashi didn't have time to linger on what perverted assumptions his genin might be reaching.

The kunoichi's face tightened. "Of course." She flashed a smile at him. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I won't wear him out."

Naruto's offending squalling followed the adults out. Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched even further to disguise how tense and ready his muscles were. Hikari-san shot him an amused expression through her eyelashes as she slipped on little blue shoes that matched her jacket.

He clenched his jaw. He held the door open. He considered how he would confirm his suspicions.

She walked out in front of him, heading away from the well-beaten path that must lead to what passed for civilization around Wave.

Kakashi checked the skyline automatically. They were headed southeast, away from the coast.

"I'm not a missing nin, nor do I have village affiliations."

He stumbled over his tired feet. "That's honest," Kakashi said uncertainly. Possibly, anyway. He definitely hadn't expected her to admit that she wasn't a civilian.

Hikari-san shrugged, looking over at him again. The amusement was gone from her face. The friendly openness she'd directed at Naruto was gone as well in favor of cold disinterest. "I don't believe in wasting time, Kakashi-san. I merely wish to make clear that we do not need to have conflict. I have no interest in fighting you or your children."

"What interest do you have?" Kakashi bit back, irritation rising at how dismissive she sounded.

She made a rude huffing sound. "Nothing to do with you or your little flock, so you can mind your own business," Hikari-san informed, condescension painting her voice. "Tsunami-san is a good friend of mine. I thought it would be needlessly distressing for her to have to find a way to bury the worst babysitter in the world and three preteens."

'She's right. I could have died.'

"Those three are capable shinobi," Kakashi interrupted, hackles raised at her insinuations.

"They're puppies," Hikari-san dismissed.

He registered the unusual phrasing at the same time that she did, a muscle ticking in her jaw. So that hadn't been deliberate? He filed the oddity away without letting on that he'd noticed. "I suppose I should thank you." There was nothing thankful in his tone.

The smile Hikari-san gave him was absolutely wicked. He recoiled from it before he knew why.

"You should, unless you enjoy bedsores."

Kakashi stood frozen for a step. He felt his cheeks heat. "Well. Ah, thank you, nurse?" he tried. When he started moving again, his legs felt even heavier.

"Oh no, I'm not a medic of any kind." Hikari-san snorted. "Fuck no. But I was a little less clueless than your genin. Anyway, you're welcome. Nice freckles, by the way."

"I don't have freckles," Kakashi retorted, feeling his shoulders hunch up towards his chin.

She shrugged in response. She stopped walking and turned to face him fully. "Obviously, we are not walking to my house. I'm not taking you there. Look, can we just call it even and move on?" Hikari-san raised an eyebrow. "I helped you out, now you can help me out."

"No," Kakashi rejected. "I'm not making any deals. I don't know whose agent you are."

She rolled her eyes. "Moron. No, I mean that your mission to connect Wave to the mainland will benefit me. I would have taken care of it if I'd known Tazuna-san needed protection, but this is better." Hikari-san eyed him up and down. "This way, everyone knows Konoha took care of things and not me. Gato won't be harassing you when you go back to Konoha. But I live here."

That motive was blatantly pragmatic self-preservation. He relaxed instantly.

'It fits. Tsunami-san did seem to know her relatively well, although she believes Hikari-san is a civilian.'

But-

"Why did you allow the situation to reach this point?" His voice had an edge. What he'd heard about Wave didn't imply good things about anyone who could have fought Gato and chose not to.

Hikari-san's eyes tightened. "I've been away from home." That sounded like the truth. "My mother died. I took her ashes back to where she grew up." She looked away. That could be a tactic to hide a lie or a fidget indicating discomfort at saying such an uncomfortable thing. "Then I took missions. I was out of funds. I think you can imagine why it is not my habit to seek work from people who know me."

"Did your mother train you?" Kakashi prodded, trying to figure this woman out. Her story almost fit, but it didn't feel right. It was possible to grow up shinobi outside of a village system, but it didn't happen often. There was a reason that shinobi worked together in as large a group as possible.

He could see the moment she shut down, putting up a sneer like armor. Oddly, the expression helped. He'd never seen Kushina or Minato with an expression that openly sour.

"No, you did. Don't ask stupid questions. You'll be seeing me around, Kakashi-san." Hikari-san flipped her braid over her shoulder. She crossed her arms. "Unless, of course, you insist on being a brute. If you mind your own business and do your job, we'll be fine."

If his legs weren't shaking, he would have considered a fight. He didn't want an unknown quantity around, especially since he suspected Zabuza and an associate were in the area.

'She could have been that hunter nin impersonator,' Kakashi thought, eyeing the woman's short stature. 'I had assessed that person as male and young, however. And I believe the voice is different.'

"Are you working with Zabuza?"

Bluntness seemed to be the order of the day.

Hikari-san rubbed at her temple with the base of her thumb. "No." Her voice was short. "I fought him once, actually. He believes he ran me off. So you're aware that he's alive?" She shot him a wry look over her fingers. "I don't like him much. I think I would prefer that you kill him over the reverse."

He looked up at the sky, watching the sun creep towards the skyline. "My sentiments are similar."

'It's too convenient. But I don't think she's working with Zabuza. If he'd had two associates, the hunter nin act would have been much more convincing. It follows that even a capable shinobi without a village or backup would retreat when faced with someone like Zabuza.'

When he looked back, Hikari-san was gone. But the uneasy feeling in his gut remained.

'I don't like this. But it might be best to keep an eye on her.'

He frowned slightly.

'This might be a good time for a lesson on counter infiltration. I don't like that my team had no idea there was a shinobi in the house.'

He couldn't move very well, but he didn't have to in order to accelerate their training. They wouldn't learn heavy combat skills in a matter of days, but he could give them the skills to have a chance of staying out of the thick of things.

[basicallyjaywalker]

School has kept me from being able to fully focus on sitting down and writing (plus I've been more social) but I wanted to give a little update on my writing endeavors

NSM AU

The first one I wanna write is Curse of the Anacondrai. I wanna characterize Chen very specifically as just your very odd eccentric noodle man and Clouse is his shadier financials guy. Also his wife is going to be in this bc it's my AU and I get to choose the canon. Skylor is here too to help and provide me with fun character interactions.

I am unsure of how long I want it to be but I feel like 1-2 chapters should suffice, with one being an exposition and the other being solving the mystery. I am trying not to overcomplicate it in my head and keep it to the vision of very classic Scooby Doo mystery shows. The hardest thing to choreograph will probably be the normal visual gags esp the chase scenes. I wanna somehow give Cole and Jay the same goofy visuals that Shaggy and Scooby get but I don't have any SFX to work with

And I do know who's behind the mask ;)

Monster Living AU

"Thissss reeksss of cultural appropriation" <- Skales at some point he will be helping the Ninja

So I definitely want there to be a lot of these monster themed areas, the main one being Serpentine Square, which is the grandest endeavor built out near the (now destroyed) City of Ouroborus. I also want Oni, Sea Monster, Skeleton, and Ghost themed areas. I have an idea for the conflict but I'm not sure how it will be resolved. Kruncha and Knuckle are definitely living in the Skeleton one.

I'm also trying to figure out how the ninja get wrapped into this, with part of me almost wondering if someone reaches out to them to sponsor or promote the villages and when they go to visit alarm bells start ringing.

Patty Keys will be making an appearance as the real estate agent helping people move in and buy these hot new properties

Finally, I'm debating on if this place should be marketed more towards the "Monster Adults" of Ninjago (probably alt kids in their 20s-30s) or more towards families. The branding of MMAP kinda gives more kid friendly vibes but also the aesthetic is very alt core and the main conflict might work better with that vibe going on.

God AU

This is just self-indulgent. What if when EMs die they ascended? That's this AU and it's just the EMs immortal lives in a cloud kingdom (not the one from the show). This is the only AU so far I'm definitely including my OCs in although they'll probably make guest appearances in the others

Some thoughts I've had so far include

* Lloyd and Luna rule over the Light and Dark parts, also acting as Order and Chaos. Each has a team of EMs who fulfill similar duties in each realm

* Jasmine is called "The Alchemist" and is part of Luna's realm. She has this castle dungeon lab of sorts where she basically does unethical experimentation and occasionally goes to visit Nya on the beach at night

* The previous generation of EMs are there and enjoy causing havoc bc they do not have to be responsible. Lily and Duke host concerts every morning to herald the sunrise

* Kyle, Jonathan, PIXAL, Ronin, and all other mortal, non EMs who were family, aids, friends, or lovers get to join the party when they die too. Jonathan is Jasmine's kind of assistant and is pretty jaded after a Tragic Backstory. Kyle is like a page for the entire light realm and spends a lot of his free time with Jay

* Jackie and Lloyd wife and husband ruling this kingdom and basically having to keep their friends from petty, world ending squabbles, that is all

[fallensnowfan]

The episode(s) which will adapt chapter 1030 are to be airing fairly soon so I thought now a good time to put my own thoughts about a specific part and of it and more to text.

The return of Kin'emon's severed legs, aka Ashimaro, was about the last thing I was expecting, though I'm actually really glad that it happened. It was a good reminder to not take things so seriously, a return to form for the story, and far FAR from the silliest or most questionable thing to happen in the series, let alone during the battle. I think those ancient dinosaur techniques or earlobe combat take that award. The raid was getting more than a little depressing at the time and needed some nonsense asap. That shit with Kanjuro, just why Oda? He already had the perfect end at the back of Onigashima. No one wanted the equivalent of a scene of a Shanks illusion stabbing Luffy.

As for Kin, killing off a character who is so important to so many others, or Kiku, the youngest of the group who quickly became the most focused on new ally of the arc and would go onto be for the second act, and much of the third, in about a fourth of a chapter each? Felt far too sudden to really believe. When reading those chapters, both look not much different from Doffy wounding Law outside the coliseum in Dressrosa, or Robin being wounded by Crocodile in the chambers of Alabasta’s underground, from where I stand at least.

Tsuru waited for and remained faithful to her husband and the Kozuki Clan for twenty years. After Oden's death, the Akazaya gained a new leader through Kin and he became Momo's second father, soon after the group arrived from the past.

Ashura Doji, the ever reliable rock of the group, had about a full chapter of focus given to his sacrifice, and it continued to be respected beyond the chapter, and was absolutely meaningful. He ensured that his fellow samurai, those he lived alongside for twenty years, were able to see past the illusion and keep moving forward. Adding on to that, the hole in the castle’s roof caused by the explosion allowed the moonlight to reach Inu once more. How's that for tricks of fate at play/adding more meaning to Ashura's sacrifice? He will be remembered as the ever reliable and grounded samurai he was.

The real battle was media literacy vs. hype. Now no one, including myself, is completely immune to getting caught up in hype at times. And there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the hype when events start heating up, in moderation.

Pair that hype with various and common enough reader expectations that Wano(the arc that was always going to be about the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai alliance,) was going to be hyper Straw Hat-centric, that all or most of the samurai would die, the Oden/Whitebeard/Roger hype, Zoro hype, and the often pointless Carrot vs Yamato debates getting out of hand, and it's easy to see how much of the depth of the arc's story and of the individual members of the Akazaya may have been overlooked upon first go through. Their commitment and loyalty to Oden and to each other isn't always clear at first glance, or directly spelled out at points, though is more than worth the time and energy it takes to understand, even if just that little bit more.

[kinomiakai]

Hi! Do you think making Sasuke stay in Konoha is ooc? Why or why not because there are so many fanfics that go like Naruto brings Sasuke back in the village he's either imprisoned or rendered unable to use his powers and somehow persuaded to stay in the village and not enough Naruto and Sasuke leave the village together exploring the world trying to help other villages and connect with people that share similar experiences with them while also developing their own relationship together. I don't know this feels more true to their characters. Also would this be something you'd like to explore in your future stories? Love your writing!

Hey anon!! I love this phrasing like an essay question hahaha okay okay lemmie get some brainstorming started

So first off, I’ve written both of these! Not the imprisonment scenario specifically, but I do have some fics with Sasuke in Konoha. So I don’t think it’s ooc, necessarily. I definitely think of the two choices, it’s the tougher one to write - you really have to work on justifying it in Sasuke’s head. Sasuke staying in Konoha, to me, relies on probably one of two things: (1) the world can’t change without his help, and he’s ready to help it again, and/or (2) Konoha is unrecognizable as what it once was, and now Sasuke sees it as another place entirely. I did a mix of those in Rebuilding; [SPOILERS if you haven’t read it] they do go travelling at the end, but they also have a house in Konoha, and Sasuke reconnects to the Uchiha compound. Naruto also really needs his help, as the person leading the charge—and Sasuke not only sees that he’s trying & struggling, but he knows Naruto can do it. In the fic, anyway. So that’s a way I think it can work; Sasuke hates Konoha but I don’t think his desire to change the ninja system is gone or anything. I think he’d either want to be 100% out of the loop, or find it really, really hard not to get involved, because anything that stalled Naruto’s efforts or what have you would infuriate him.

And I think this debate/choice is especially tough for them as a pairing, because either Sasuke needs manage to be okay with Konoha (which, in canon, he really really isn’t), or Naruto needs to be able to detangle himself from Konoha (which, in canon, he really really can’t). This is part of the reason my canonverse fics end up being so long lmao. It takes so much development to get anywhere!!!

But yeah, I’ve done both and I think both can work. It’s a really interesting challenge to try to tackle, too. Right now I’m tackling more of them being out, travelling together in Two is a Crowd - I feel like I’ve being going that route a lot recently, but it does still involve exploring Sasuke’s relationship with Konoha a lot. Especially because Naruto tends to be the Hokage, or getting ready to be, etc etc. It’s pretty hard to try and write Sasuke healing without dealing with the absolute hatred & fury he’s carrying around in some shape or form. And it’s not that much of a jump for the next step to be him being able to go there as part of the healing process, and maybe he's just thrown in head first by being imprisoned and is forced to confront his hatred all at once - that could happen. It'd be a really intense bit of time for him and probably involve a lot of breaking down, but if something could convince him to breathe for a little while and focus on the parts of his life that aren't bringing back trauma long enough to prove that Konoha is changing or something like that - yeah, I could see that. And you know, now that I think about it, I did start writing something like that years ago! It's in my notebook somewhere. It's basically just the start where Sasuke is absolutely furious & lashing out at everything hahaha. Can't blame him! I never finished it though. It'd be a much more intense & less peaceful sort of process for sure, but it could work.

This is a bit of a wishy-washy answer hahaha, but I'm a big believer in being able to make almost anything work with enough justification & development within the story. I think that's part of the fun. So something really tough, like making Sasuke okay enough with Konoha to happily live there, is totally a challenge I'd love to see tackled. Does that make sense? Does this all make sense? I'm rambling at you now.

But thank you for this, and thank you so much! I’m really glad you like my writing!! <3 <3 I hope this answered your question!

[kyriolex]

Hello Sunny-Pandas here! Firstly, I wanted to say Thank you for the Follow! 😊 (If you're wondering why I'm on Anon it's because my Naruto account is just a Side Blog lol)

Well I looked at the newest chapter, and it seems like a problem I had with Himawari's portrayal in the Manga seems to have been subdued a bit. While I believe that panel was almost certainly put in there because of the current anime arc, it still helps

I like Himawari's motivation for wanting to be a Ninja in the Manga a lot moreso than in the Anime

But either way, I'm just happy that she's going to become a Ninja in both the Anime and the Manga... Even if the way it happens is a very different way...?

You see, there's been a lot of debate upon whether or not the Anime and the Manga are now at odds with each other. (I mean they ALWAYS have been but this is now possibly the most egregious case that they have ever done)

However, Unlike everyone else, I personally don't really see the current Anime Arc as being too contradictory to the Manga panel? At least not YET anyways.

Firstly we aren't certain how this Anime Arc will end, but I get the feeling Himawari will still remain in the Academy by the time it's over. And if she does then they could very easily just make it so that Himawari just hasn't become a Genin yet by the time she sees the conversation between Hinata and Boruto in the Manga.

Or alternatively, like I said, that panel could just be Ikemoto (or whoever's writing) giving the current Anime Arc a shout out.

I mean there's no way them having Himawari decide to be a Ninja in the Manga at the exact same time as the Anime doing aHimawari Academy Arc is just a coincidence. I refuse to believe that so. Like I HIGHLY suspect that Himawari probably wouldn't have even appeared in this Chapter if it weren't the current Anime Arc going on right now. But you know, that's just me...

But I do have wonder, what's the Anime's reasoning for skipping so far ahead to get to Himawari's Academy days, when they could've waited for the Code Arc to come to pass (or hell even put it somewhere in the middle of the Code Arc)? That Arc is more or less right around the corner in the Anime anyways. 🤔

I've actually got a theory.

I get the strong feeling that the Timeskip is coming in the Manga soon, and if it is, then the Anime rushing to show Himawari joining the Academy might make more sense at least. Because by that point Himawari will be a lot older and a full fledged Ninja

Plus Code is currently releasing an Army of discount Freeza's and starting a War on Konoha, so maybe the Anime Team thought that it would be better if they did the Hima Arc sooner as there would be no time or place for Himawari focus during or after the Code Arc? 🤔

Anyways I am REALLY sorry for this long ass rambling. I got way more caught up into the subject than I ever intended to 😅 I just have a really bad habit of getting my thoughts across, especially if it pertains to Himawari! If you take one good look at my blog, you'll immediately know that I adore that little ball of sunshine! Lol

Hi Sunny-Pandas!

You're right, I don't think the manga and anime are THAT inconsistent. Academy usually lasts a whole year, right? I doubt Kawaki will be at school that long for his mission. This may just take place later in Himawari's school days.

I definitely think her manga motivation for being a ninja is much better than her anime one. Her attitude in the manga has the "wise-beyond-her-years" vibe that I love about Himawari. The anime's reason, however, is "I think being a ninja is fun (and no one in my life has bothered to tell me otherwise because they really want the prodigy Hyuuga to fight)."

That said, I think we all better enjoy the Himawari academy fluff while we can before the discount Friezas destroy everything.