#specifically she keeps jumping method to method

[shummthechumm]

wish me luck people i have a test on factoring polynomials and am only 70% sure of what im doing!!!

[heliosunny]

Yandere! Xavier x reader

Twisted sleeping beauty.

English is not my first language, please excuse me for that.

Some definitions are different from the ones in the game.

Have fun reading!

Once upon a time, there was once a peaceful country. No one knows what exactly happened as the civilians who live there were under a spell. The spell made them forget everything, including memories related to the royal family. Not a single soul remembers they once had a kind-hearted king and prince.

Y/n, a time traveler, got separated from her crew and landed her space ship on this foreign land. Her food already ran out, so she had to leave the ship behind and search for food. She stumbled across an abandoned castle. 'What is this place?' She wondered. The girl got inside, the place was left in such bad condition. Carefully, Y/n avoided the cracks on the stairs, thinking there might be food somewhere in this place, anything would do. Rather than risking her life hunting those weird-looking creatures for meat without a proper weapon in her hand, searching for left-overs in this castle had a higher chance for succeed. Speaking of the 'monsters' outside, the second she landed here, she knew something was definitely off. Y/n used up all her bullets on those surrounded her ship to prevent them from damaging the ship further.

'Where are all the people?' To think Y/n is the only one left makes her scared. She hates the thought of dying alone in a foreign land. Despite having checked every single room, no sign of life was found. That is, until she entered a room filled of strange flowers with white petals and star-like pistils. In the centre of the room lies a bed.

"Is that.... a man?" Y/n dashed through the plants, she had a feeling not to touch these things. The moment she got near the bedside, a scroll suddenly appeared in front of her. An invisible force made her grabbed the scroll, it lighted up and opened. Among the strokes on the surface of the paper, Y/n can only understand some of those which are [...... help ....... the ... prince..... curse...]. If only she had brought some translate device from the ship. The scroll burnt itself, leaving no trace of dust. "The hell? What am I supposed to do next?" Y/n sighed, the sound of her growling stomach signal her to keep looking for food or she might die of starving. She turned around only to find the door in which she entered was blocked by those flowers, now grown thorns on its stem. "Damn it, should've brought a knife.."

She sat on the bed and bumped into something. "What is it this time?" Y/n turned her head, she almost jumped after finding out there's about a man lying on the bed which was once empty. 'Is he dead?' She poked the man, once, twice.. no sign of moving. She placed her index finger under his nose, he's still breathing. 'Oh... so he's the prince?' She thought. Although she tried every methods possible to wake him up, nothing works so far. 'Could it be...' Her brain travelled to that one fairy tale she read 'Nope, not gonna happen.' She isn't going to kiss a strange man just to.. escape the place and possibly get some food.. Oh well, maybe she should try before finally giving up. "Here goes.."

It works. The man opened his eyes. "Y/n?" Y/n backed up, how does he know her name. "It's me, Xavier!" 'Who's Xavier?' It's all over her face, Xavier knew he made a mistake. He apologized, saying she looks exactly like a childhood friend of him. Still, that doesn't explain how that specific friend shared the same name as her. The growling sound coming from her stomach breaks the awkward silence. "You must've been hungry, come with me". The man named Xavier stood up from his bed, he made some weird gestures with his hands, the flowers opened a path for them both. 'That was cool.' Y/n thought to herself. Without facing her, Xavier smiled, he knew exactly what's going on inside her mind.

The moment they stepped outside, Y/n coudn't believe in her eyes. The castle which once cold and bleak now look like it's new. No vines, aged rocks, nothing, just brand new. The guards and maids are everywhere, they bowed the moment Xavier walks towards them. 'This is what will happen when I help the prince?' Y/n lost in her thoughts, so many things are coming up all at once. She tripped over his long coat without noticing and was caught by Xavier.

Xavier: You alright? Y/n: Y-yeah... Xavier then called a maid over to guide Y/n to the dining room, he said that he had other plans to do. Y/n nodded and simply went with the maid.

Night falls, Xavier hasn't returned. Y/n had a bath, a lavish meal, changed into a night robe. This literally is the best day since the moment she crashed here. Those monsters were still roaming outside, maybe Xavier is handling them. Eventually, Y/n got bored and sneaked outside. She changed into a more comfortable outfit and got to the top of the castle on her own. She was surprised she encounters no guards on the way here. The wind was blowing strongly, reminding Y/n of her home planet, sadly she couldn't return due to its destruction. A big howl woke her from the thoughts, followed by a bright ray of light.

"Couldn't sleep?" Xavier asked. His steps were quiet, so Y/n didn't notice him standing behind her.

"I want to see you." Y/n turned around to face the young looking man. She didn't know much about him, but he treated her kindly. That raises a lot of questions. "Is that blood?!" Now that she took a good look at him, not only some part of his clothes was torn, blood splashed almost everywhere. He's not even trying to hide the fact that he's cleaning the bloody sword on his hand.

"This? Yeah." Xavier answered nonchalantly, didn't even bother to look up to see the reaction on Y/n's face.

Y/n: Does it related to whatever is going on downthere? The monster and..

Xavier: What monster?

Y/n: The crouching thingy with claws? They're right... there?

She looked down, from where she is, there were plenty of them, but they vanished.

Xavier: You should go to bed.

Y/n: But..

Xavier: I'll answer your question in the morning.

After a restless night, Y/n sat on her bed as she couldn't stop herself from thinking of the eerie things she encountered the moment she got into the castle. A knocking sound, following by a female voice from outside told her to have breakfast.

Xavier: Y/n? You in there?

Y/n: Yeah, coming.

'Why is he rushing?' Y/n brushed her hair and changed into more proper clothes. She couldn't hide the tiredness from her eyes, but maybe he won't notice anyway. As expected from Xavier, one moment he was here calling out her name, the next moment he was already gone somewhere else. Y/n followed a maid, she's carrying some sort of tray with something covered in cloth. Xavier stood up when he saw Y/n entered the room. He ordered the maid to put the tray on the table and leave. "Come, sit next to me." Xavier pulled out the chair next to where he was sitting and gestured her to sit. Before she could ask, Xavier insisted Y/n to finish her breakfast first. Y/n was only able to eat half of what's on the plate. Her eyes wandered all over the place and stumbled upon some portraits on the wall with the face scratched off.

Xavier: That used to be the portrait of my father. I can no longer remember what he looks like. He loved himself and his family, so whenever he had the chance, he would hire artists to draw those.

Y/n: I see..

Xavier: As for the.. monsters.

Xavier seemed hesitate. He walked over to where the tray is and took off the cloth covering it. On the golden tray are some shiny crystals vary in different shapes and colors.

Xavier: They are called protocores. They are used commonly by soldiers to improve their combat abilities.

Y/n reached out her hand to grab one but was stopped by Xavier.

Xavier: They are also known as the core of the monsters you saw.

Y/n: Which mean the monsters are the people of your kingdom?

Xavier: You could put it that way. But, a protocore simply is harmless if it undergoes certain procedures.

Y/n: Then..

Xavier paused for a moment before continued: It's hard to admit, but my father's greed was the cause to the downfall of the kingdom.

The story of a king who loved his people and the greed for power lead him to foolish decisions. One important decision was to ask for the help of a witch. The king requested her to make his army the greatest of all, so the witch gave them mighty strength. The hearts of the soldiers were no longer human, they no longer experience pain or have the ability to express sympathy. They were bold, ruthless, everything to ask from a perfect army. But in return, they have to pay for a heavy price. Those who couldn't endure the strength coming from the protocore, which is now their hearts, turned in to monsters.

Y/n: So that's what happened..

Xavier: My mother sacrificed herself to put me under a sleeping spell, hoping one day someone would wake me up.

Xavier looked at Y/n tenderly.

Xavier: I took a stroll and found your ship. It's..

Y/n: I know... I don't think I'll be able to fix it without the necessary supplies.

Xavier: Then stay.. I believe you can fix it, of course, with my help.

There's no reason not to, Y/n doesn't know where to stay aside from this place. Xavier expressed himself sincerely and succeeded in gaining Y/n's trust. A week passed. Y/n adapted to the life here faster than she thought. Xavier and the others was kind to Y/n, but something feels off. She noticed the way the castle would change during the day compared to night time. How the maid and guards disappeared at certain times of the day. Aside from that, Y/n had a feeling of being watched all the time.

One day, while Y/n was digging up some 'scrap' around the castle, she found a path lead to the underground basement. She hates the dark but also hates to stay at this planet as much, she'd try anything to find materials to fix the damn ship. She misses her friends and probably so are they. Y/n doesn't hate the people here, they are more than kind to her. It's just the loneliness and the odd feeling this place brought her. 'What are those chains?' It was daytime but without the only source of light in her hand, she definitely wouldn't see a thing.

She stepped on something and it cracked, Y/n moved the light down to her foot to see some sort of skulls. Luckily, Y/n managed to cover her mouth before making any sound. 'The fuck?' Just as she was about to retreat, she heard a voice coming from inside.

"You came to draw my blood again?"

Y/n walked over to the owner of the voice, an old lady with both hands chained to the wall, surrounded by weird looking texts on the ground which seem to be drawn by blood.

"Who are you?" The lady's iris lighted up as if she'd found a savior.

Y/n: My name is Y/n.. You are.. the witch?

Y/n took a guess, maybe she was right, judging from the expression on the person's face.

Y/n: What do you mean by draw your blood? Did someone do this to you.

She let out a wicked laugh. "Dear, you don't know a thing. The monster you keep by your side.. he's-" Without letting the lady finished, a sword flew passed Y/n's head and sliced the witch's throat. Y/n dropped the light in her hand and almost tripped over. Rather than the pain from felling down onto the ground, she felt warmth surrounding her. "Xavier?" He nodded, he created a light orb inside his palm.

Xavier: What are you doing here?

Y/n: I'm just trying to find something that can fix my ship... Sorry.

Y/n didn't understand why she had to apologize. Maybe she was scared. 'Scared of what?' Y/n questioned herself but couldn't help but tremble in Xavier's arm. The two didn't speak a word after returning back to the castle. That night, before going to bed, Xavier decided to pay Y/n a visit.

Xavier: May I come in?

Y/n didn't answer.

Xavier: Y/n?

He had this uneasy feeling, Xavier kicked open the door to find Y/n not in her room. He looked out of the opened window, there's a vine lead all the way down to the ground, she must've glide down using it.

Xavier let out a sigh, he knew this day would come, but not expecting it'd be this quick. It wasn't a matter of time before Y/n discovered the whole truth he's been hiding.

Meanwhile, Y/n, who is at the basement, is trying to find more clues relating to the witch. The bodies was removed, no chains, no magic circles, no blood, no nothing. Just as she was about to give up, a wind suddenly blows her way. "Wind? At such place?" She turned back, some glowing texts appeared on the rock wall. There, she discovered the ugly truth, hiding from her. "That explains eveything."

Xavier: Had fun?

Y/n: Xavier!?

Xavier: Judging from the look on your face... how much did you know?

Y/n: You're the one who asked for the help of the witch?

Xavier: Well.. yeah.

Xavier took a step, two step, til he was able to corner Y/n, leaving no way out.

Xavier: Don't you want to know why?

Y/n: The witch left a message, saying that it was for your love. Why did you even blame it on the king?

Xavier: Y/n, my love..

His hand caress her cheek, but Y/n moved her face away.

Xavier: He is the man who ordered to kill her. I simply took my revenge.

Y/n: On the whole kingdom? Have you gone mad?

Xavier: YES! I can do anything for my Y/n. He and his beloved people must pay for taking away what I care most.

Once upon a time, there was a prince who fell in love with a peasant. He dreamt of building a strong kingdom for her to live in peace and devoted his life for her. Soon his father, the king, found out about this thwarted love. He ordered guards to get the girl, tied her to a post and burned her alive. "Such witch dares to charm my son shall receive the worst death". Witch? Xavier thought. Thanks to his father, he had such great idea. He went into the woods where the greatest witch live. "Are you sure about this? You'll have to pay a heavy prince, young man" She said. Xavier smirked, he had lost her, what could be worse? He gained an immortal body, an invincible power and one powerful curse to turn the people he want into the monsters called wanderers. Leaving only a small number of people alive, blessing them with immortal and erased their memories.

He revenged them. Now what. The witch came to collect the price she deserved. What she didn't expect, is that the prince had already prepare for a thing to encounter her spells. "Like what you see? I had to kill a dragon to get this sword. I won't kill you, yet." So the prince locked her down the basement. As he couldn't endure using such power in a long time, Xavier felt sleepier than ever. Each time he sleeps, the amount of time he spent in his dream was more than the previous one. He travelled the planet to find a cure, until he found an oracle in a dungeon. The one said that he'd fall asleep and woke up when the right person arrive. Searching for a clairvoyant is his next step. In the far future, Y/n will land on this planet. That's all he needed to know. He returned to his kingdom, met the witch. He controlled her to put a sleeping spell on him, while he himself wrote the scroll for the future Y/n to come and read. Everything was according to plan.

Y/n: You.. but I'm not the same girl, Xavier.

Xavier: You are.. you are just denying. I'll give you anything you want...

Y/n: I want to go home!

Xavier: This is your home!

Y/n: But I don't want th-

Before she could finish, Xavier moved in, his hand gripping her chin firmly. His touch was insistent, his eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that left no room for escape. Y/n’s heart raced as he leaned in, his lips brushing hers with a force that silenced her protest. The kiss was demanding, taking more than it gave. Her body tensed, a mix of resistance and shock coursing through her. When he finally pulled away, Y/n’s eyes were wide, her chest heaving with the aftermath of the unwanted contact.

“Stay....” he murmured, his voice softer now, but still charged with the weight of his actions. Y/n shook her head. "Then that leaves me no other choice.. I'm sorry.. But you can't escape from me." Y/n felt a strange power flowing inside of her, the next moment, she collapsed in his hands. "Let's start with making you forget this... then.. I'll give you an immortal life." He hugged her tightly "What's next, Y/n? How about I'll make you my queen?"

[tlbodine]

Stuck? Try junebugging.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but we're 5 days into nanowrimo so maybe this will be helpful.

Do you want the safety and surety of knowing what happens next in your story but can't stick to an outline? Does knowing in advance what will happen suck the joy out of discovery writing? Do you try to wing it through plots but get tangled in plot holes or have a story that runs out of steam because you can't figure out what went wrong? Are you at your most creative when you have a little bit of guidance? Do you tend to under-write? Do you get ideas in your head for random scenes and snippets that drop from the sky without context?

If any of these apply to you, junebugging a draft might be for you!

What Is Junebugging?

Since you're on Tumblr, you might already be familiar with the concept of junebugging as it relates to cleaning. If not -- I think the idea was first introduced to me by @jumpingjacktrash.

The basic idea is that you tackle cleaning by way of controlled chaos. You pick a specific area you want to focus on, like your kitchen sink, and then wander off to deal with other things as they occur to you, but always returning back to that area. You end up cleaning a little bit at a time in an order that may not make sense to an outsider but which keeps you from getting overwhelmed and discouraged.

How Does Junebugging Work in Writing?

OK, so that's great, but how does this work with writing? Well. In my case, the general idea is to jump between writing linearly, outlining, and writing out of order. It usually looks something like:

Start free-writing a scene, feeling my way through it and enjoying the discovery process.

Thinking, ok, now I have this scene, did anything need to happen to lead up to it? Do I need to go back and add some foreshadowing? Does this scene set anything up that needs to be paid off? And then jump forward/back to make those adjustments.

I'll usually have a bunch of disconnected ideas of ideas that have popped into my head, so I'll write those down in a list somewhere and then try to figure out what goes in between them and what order it goes in.

I'll write what I call "micro-scenes" which is where I'll just sketch out a few essential elements of what's going on without worrying too much about details, description, etc. -- just he did this, she said that, the setting was this, real bare-bones script. Then I can come back through and flesh out each of those microscenes into an actual scene later.

Got a story that has a complex structure? No problem. Write through each storyline one at a time and then chop them up and weave them together afterward. Write all the B plot scenes first then come back through to do A plot and C plot. Move the pieces around like legos. No one ever has to know.

This method works for me because I can't "decide" story elements in advance. I have never been able to just sit down and "figure out" what happens in a story beyond a couple steps ahead -- I have to discovery-write my way forward. But at the same time, that gets really daunting. So I zoom forward with micro-scenes, roughing out the beats in the most bare-bones way possible, then when I run out of clear vision for what happens next I backtrack, flesh out those scenes, build in connective tissue, etc. and by then I will probably find more inspiration to jump forward.

It's basically folding drafting, outlining, and revising all together into a single phase of writing, which is chaotic and goes against everything people teach you, but if it works? then it fuckin works.

Anyway, sorry for the jumbled-up post, I'm dashing this off quickly while I heat up a pizza and I'm about to dive back into my WIP -- but I hope this was a little helpful. If nothing else, take this as my blanket permission that it's 100% OK to jump around, write out of order, write messy, outline sometimes, pants sometimes, and do whatever else it takes just to get through the story. You've got this. Good luck.

[junosmindpalace]

I'm assuming this is where requests go- Idk for sure since I've never done this before 🙈

Erm, May I request Dr. Stone Headcanons (your choice of character?s?) on how they would calm down an angery uh- reader? Could be friend or s/o, How would they calm them down? (Or a reader with anger issues)

a couple of headcanons because, as always, writing inspo for tumblr has been slow </3 + some new characters to add to the masterlist !

TAIJU OKI 

One of the first people I thought up, because you know his method of trying to calm you down is incredibly straightforward, but effective. 

He’s incredibly real and honest; it tends to make him blunt sometimes, but it might often be just what you need for you to snap out of the frustration or sadness or fear that motivates that anger. 

Because Taiju is a person who despises violence of any kind and has a strong sense of justice, he’s quick to step in if your anger gets destructive, whether to others or yourself. He’ll never blame you for it, of course, because he’s sure to sympathize. But sometimes just a comment acknowledging your brashness and reassuring you that things are alright can be enough to ground your emotions. 

If your anger happens to keep flaring-- maybe the subject upsetting you is a deeply personal or offensive one--and no matter what, you can’t seem to shake off the horrid feelings that come with it, Taiju can’t help but step in as a shield. It’s just in his nature. 

He’ll take on the brunt of your frustration with everything he can. He’ll talk with you, he’ll scream with you, he’ll acknowledge that everything you feel is valid and understandable. Yet regardless, allowing yourself to be consumed by anger isn't going to help anything. 

He’ll attempt to reassure you with things that personally motivate him. That he has a community, his ideas of a better future: these are all things that support him when he’s feeling awful.

He’ll also do his best to help you direct your anger into productive action that helps prevent sources of stress. Working to do some good, unwind around people you care about. And of course, Taiju himself will always be there to motivate you when you find yourself struggling with your emotions. 

RURI:

Ruri handles the emotions of others with a similar self-sacrificial mindset as Taiju. She does her best to minimize the sufferings of others by keeping it to herself. 

It’s typically her kind voice and earnestness as she speaks to you that helps calm you when your anger gets to you. Her words are genuine, a hand on your arm or shoulder and smile on her face gentle as she attempts to steady you. For smaller outbursts, this is typically all that is needed.

When your anger is more passionate, however, she might try to give the two of you some privacy so your emotions aren’t anymore agitated by whatever it is that’s fuelling your stress. She’s most sympathetic in these moments, and wants to do whatever she can to help you.

She might ask occasionally if she can play any specific role to help you calm down, but like usual, her kind but firm words are usually all that is required for you to relax.

At your worst, she’ll probably just give you the space and grace needed for you to cool off on your own. If you need the company, she’ll let you vent to her without much input from herself, simply nodding her head, but jumping in wherever she believes is not so sensitive. 

Genuinely just the sweetest; she wants the best for you, and so she’ll always offer herself up to you: as a listening ear, as a form of counsel, and as a grounding presence when the world threatens to erupt your emotions. 

TSUKASA SHISHIO 

If there is anyone who can understand anger, and the sadness and hopelessness that fuels it, it's Tsukasa. 

So much of his life was built on frustrating experience after frustrating experience. At the very least, his career as a fighter helped physically wear out his anger until it was reduced to something weaker and less devastating to the people around him for a while.

So when it comes to trying to help you blow off steam, it might be one of the things he recommends you try, even helping you out by offering to spar or hunt, depending on the era. 

His first means of trying to help you defuse, however, is attempting to understand where your anger is coming from. He encourages you to open up about whatever it is that upsets you, and everything you do share he is completely understanding over. He can resonate with anger of every kind on every level, from microaggressions to heavy emotions to flat out physical abuse. If simple active listening from his end and ranting about the weight on your heart and head isn’t enough, then he’ll probably suggest the physical exertion to sweat out the hard feelings. 

If it's something you find therapeutic, he’s more than happy joining you in relieving your tension if and whenever you ask for him to accompany you. 

Tsukasa knows better than anyone how anger can corrupt a person's conscience, leave them abusive and prone to push people away. Never does he want the same to come out of your anger, and so he does his best to calm you down by attempting to convey just how much he resonates with your feelings. 

It's not always a long winded rant, but rather a melancholic, yet firm, acknowledgement of your feelings, and his very best attempts at advice on coping with it.

Though occasionally he can come off awkward about his means of attempting to help you through your anger, he takes it completely serious as someone who understands the pain it brings, and never would he want someone he cares about experiencing the same if he could do even a little to help push past it.

return to masterlist.

[vickyvicarious]

Ooh any thoughts on the pairs chosen and their tasks, for the final hunt?

I actually think I have a half-written post about exactly this lurking in my drafts from last year, though I will warn you that it contains spoilers for the journeys. Let me see if I can find it and finish it/clean it up a smidge... Ah. Yes. Here it is:

So, let's take a look at our travel arrangements. The team almost (but not quite) split up into the exact three options Mina listed for Dracula to follow. The only difference being that instead of "by road" we have "along the river." But still it's pretty close.

Each group has a sort of designated scribe who has historically been one of the main writers of the novel (more a meta necessity this, but given the heroes making such use of records it is still helpful to them if they wish to compile an account afterwards as well) as well as someone who will probably take the lead on vampire hunting, though where they can everyone will surely assist. They also have at least one person per group who can presumably make themselves understood by locals. I also added a 'caretaker' category because they're all running low on steam and it is an important consideration character-wise.

Basically this is just me taking a look at how each team is divvied up and why/what meta we could get out of it.

By Rail: Van Helsing and Mina

Scribe: Mina

Fighter: Van Helsing

Languages: Van Helsing

Caretaker: alternating

The two leaders. The brains if you will. They are heading straight to the castle. Van Helsing wants to kill the vampire women, and if he can get the jump on them/ambush them in their coffins it makes sense for him to do so rather than the younger men, whose strength is better saved for a possible direct confrontation with Dracula. And if anyone dies doing this, Van Helsing basically says better the old man who has already lived a long life. Keeping Mina further away from Dracula for as long as possible makes sense too in order to minimize what influence he can have upon her. Having her along to help find the castle as well will be useful, though it does mean she'll be brought in closer contact with his seat of operations and other vampires. But they've planned not to bring her into the castle itself.

The mode of transport is fitting for both of them. Mina of course IS the train fiend and so it's perfect for her to ride a train there. But Van Helsing too has spent a lot of time riding trains back and forth in the book to acquire information that can save a woman from becoming a vampire. Now his last train journey is in an effort to put that information into practice as he tries to save Mina from becoming a vampire/stop the spread by killing the other vampires. Not to mention of course Mina isn't really well and he is older so letting them take the relatively less taxing forms of transportation (train then carriage) makes sense. They both express concern for one another and work together to make sure the other is doing as well as they can throughout the journey as well.

Mina specifically traveling this way makes for a really cool transition from her utilizing the ultra-modern method to then traveling into the past almost as she echoes Jonathan's journey from the beginning of the book and also becomes more and more connected to vampirism/the vampire ladies (and by extent the ancient opposite of the modern civilization that the train represents). This rush to get there first also could reflect the two of them, but especially Mina, outthinking Dracula as they are ready to ambush him upon arrival.

Finally, Van Helsing was the most concerned over Mina's fate and was the one she put most in charge of deciding when she be killed... but he was meant to ensure Jonathan did the deed. So it makes for a really interesting pairing to put him there to make that final judgement but his own promise inclines him to put off action even if he thinks she's passed the point of no return. That said he still is trying really hard to have faith in her despite his doubts and fears, not just because of the promise.

By Land: Quincey and Jack

Scribe: Jack

Fighter: Quincey

Languages: Jack

Caretaker: none

Quincey volunteers early for this job. And Jack speaks up to join him because they work well together and have done things like this before. This actually makes them the only team to both do that, as Van Helsing argued for where Jonathan and Mina should both go. They are also the only pair who already know one another well pre-vampire hunting together.

While this is perhaps the least likely route to meet vampires (second-likeliest route to encounter Dracula, but the other group will almost certainly meet the vampire ladies) it is probably the most physically taxing. They're riding all day. Jack could theoretically be the caretaker here, as he is the doctor, but in reality they both are pressing on really hard and neither one is shown to be making sure the other gets enough rest or whatever. It kind of seems like they're setting a pace where they're both tired enough to just drop off when they get a chance.

Quincey is the leader among the two of them. He's the first to volunteer, and he seems very comfortable with horses and leading a hunt. However, in the larger context of his role in the group as a whole, he is very much the support, and while Jack has had a much larger role, when in the group he's generally support as well (though his trust with Van Helsing means he is usually more involved in discussions than Quincey). So it is fitting that these two are taking the "just in case" route - especially Quincey, who often does this sort of filling in where needed. Also fitting that they are bringing along horses for the others should they be needed. They're being the support team.

One more kind of interesting detail... this is the only group to actually travel with other people for a while, but also the group who talks to locals least. No meta point to this, just noticed it.

By Water: Arthur and Jonathan

Scribe: Jonathan

Fighter: Jonathan

Languages: Jonathan

Caretaker: Arthur

This list of roles makes it sound like Arthur isn't doing much. But that's far from true. It's quite possible he can communicate with locals as well (I just put Jonathan down as we know for a fact he can, though stiltedly) and he's proven himself in defeating a vampire in the past. Jonathan however is the main fighter, shown multiple times not to hesitate to attack Dracula. In fact though, Arthur's most important role here is as the caretaker and transport. He ensures that Jonathan gets the rest he needs, and he's the one not only to acquire the boat but the one who knows how to operate it. Not flawlessly, as we are told when there's a crash, but he's still essential in getting them up the river.

These two men following what seems to be the specific route Dracula took makes for some really interesting continuation of Jonathan's book-long acquisition/mimicry of Dracula's traits. The boat in the first place and then their impersonation of Romanian officials also is another instance of the repeated contrast of Arthur as the good (vis)count using his money and status to help, as opposed to Count Dracula or his alias De Ville using his status and money for evil.

It also is really fitting to pair Jonathan and Arthur together as the two husbands of the women Dracula has attacked. Arthur's reality could become Jonathan's future if they don't succeed here. There's some psychopomp imagery that got talked about a few years ago which can add another fun layer. The linked post there is focused mostly on Greek mythology, and talks more about this, but these two being the ones to travel up a river into a symbolic land of the dead (Dracula's land) is fitting in a couple ways too.

When convincing him to go with Arthur, Van Helsing invokes Jonathan's right to revenge as well. Mina aside, both of these two are the ones who have the most 'right' in that sense, as they've been most personally harmed by the Count. Arthur has gotten some measure of closure when staking Lucy at least, but Jonathan hasn't had anything of the sort. They're both "young and strong" and highly motivated.

.

Not to be reductive, but there's kind of a fun thing going on with head/hand/heart here if you want. Mina and Van Helsing are the new/old brains and each leaders in their own right. Quincey and Jack are both more supportive characters at least by this point in the book and one is shown to be a protector physically while the other is literally a doctor. Jonathan and Arthur are the lovers of the women attacked by Dracula, and also represent two different approaches to the idea of said love becoming a vampire (though again it's never fully realized in Jonathan's case, so presumably he could have gone either way should he be forced to actually make the choice).

Another fun detail when comparing all three... In each case, one person or another takes the lead at least some of the time. Mina and Van Helsing are the ones who alternate that role most. They both take turns looking after one another, driving the horses, and we even get written accounts from both of them. Jonathan and Arthur both take turns on watch but Arthur is the one who knows what he's doing on the ship and looking after Jonathan who is totally focused on leading the hunt. We don't hear much from the other two on their journey, but presumably Quincey is mostly in the lead - I say this because he historically has been in such circumstances (which Jack specifically mentioned when agreeing to go with him).

[savvyscribbleswriting]

Pairing: Logan Howlett/Wolverine (specifically worst!Wolverine) x fem!Reader with a bit of Wade thrown in

Summary: You’re a theatre actress who got passed on a role in a local production of Beetlejuice: The Musical. However, when the tide turns in your favor, Logan is there for you every step of the way.

Word Count: 3.2k

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: mentions of a theatre diva doing theatre diva things; some crude language and suggestive situations; no use of (Y/N)

Author’s Note: This is for all the theatre girls out there.

P.S. I intended this to be a sequel to my previous story, “Everything Happens for a Reason.” However, it could also be read by itself.

P.P.S. I DO NOT OWN BEETLEJUICE: THE MUSICAL!!! I ALSO DO NOT OWN ANY PERSON/PLACE/THING THAT IS WITTILY REFERENCED, PARTICULARLY BY WADE WILSON!!!

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It had been about three weeks since you were rejected for a part in a local production of Beetlejuice: The Musical. In that time, you auditioned for dinner theatre (which you didn’t hear back from) and participated in a staged reading of a new play by a kid fresh out of college who thought he was really contributing something to the conversation surrounding sexism. You couldn’t complain too much, though. Theatre was still your passion and any experience was better than none at all. Plus, there was Logan.

Logan always gave his full support when it came to your theatre work. He went over lines with you until they were perfect. He patiently waited as you stalked the library’s drama section for the perfect audition piece. He even sat in the front row of the staged reading without a glass of alcohol touching his lips, even though he definitely could’ve used it because “this kid can’t write for sh-,” just so he could be sober and pay close attention to you giving it your all. He loved you that much, and you loved him for it.

After a long night of expressing your love, you found yourselves sleeping in on a Saturday. Suddenly, your phone began to ring. You tried to reach it but found yourself getting pulled back by Logan, who held you firmly against his chest as he tried to keep his eyes closed and return to sleep. You tried again, managing to break free long enough to reach for your phone on your nightstand. As soon as you had it, you melted back into Logan.

“Hello?” you answered groggily. You suddenly shot up, which surprised Logan. He slowly made himself sit up next to you. His brain was still waking up, though, so he couldn’t pick up much of your conversation with his super-hearing. All he could gather was the random “yes” and “okay” and “thank you” from you. You eventually hung up.

“What is it, sweetheart?” he asked.

You then squealed so loud it fully woke Logan up. It took him a full minute to recover, during which time you jumped out of bed and fished for something to wear, first from the floor and then your closet. You were mumbling to yourself all the while about schedules and memorization methods. Logan could only stare at you in shock. What the hell?

He finally got up and slowly approached you.  You had finally found an outfit but were now worried about matching accessories. “Hey, hey, hey!” he said, getting louder each time to make sure he was getting through to you. It worked - you stopped in your tracks and looked up at him with wide eyes. “What?” you asked innocently.

“What’s got you so worked up?”

“Nothing!” you said, then backtracked. “Well, I mean, not nothing. But nothing bad! Good! Really good! Actually, honestly, probably the best thing ever!” You moved again, this time going to your dresser for your jewelry box. You didn’t stop to see if Logan was following you before you continued.

“You know that audition for Beetlejuice I did a while back?” you spoke rapidly as you tried on this and that. “Well, turns out the woman they chose to play Delia is a total diva! They said she was late, not paying attention during rehearsals, not taking constructive criticism, and being rude to the other cast members. She even threatened to have the woman playing Barbara recast! Can you believe that?! They finally decided to fire her this morning. The director and stage manager remembered me from auditions and they called to ask if I would step in! They want me at the theater today to start rehearsing. They go up in a month and said that even though they can’t have any extra rehearsals for me, they’re pretty confident I can- damn this necklace!” In your haste to tell your story, you were finding it difficult to clasp one of your favorite necklaces.

“Sweetheart? Sweetheart?” Logan’s voice finally broke through as he slowly turned you around to face him. “Breathe.” You did as you were told, feeling so much better afterwards. Logan was right, you really were worked up.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he assured you. He then took the necklace out of your hands. “Here, let me.” He took it back around you and clasped it with ease. He stood behind you and looked at you in the dresser mirror. “You are so beautiful,” he said against your head, giving it a kiss. “And I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you,” you replied, taking in the moment. You then asked, “Do you think I can do this?”

“Of course! You are so talented. You’re going to be great at this.”

You nodded to yourself. “You’re right.” You craned your head backwards to give him a soft kiss.

“Now, let me find my own clothes and I’ll drive you to the theater.”

“Okay,” you said, making your way out of the bedroom. “I’ll heat us up some PopTarts.”

“You’re gonna need way more energy than that. I figure we can stop by and pick up some of those breakfast sandwiches from that cafe you like so much.”

“You treat me like such a queen, Logan!”

Logan chuckled. You were his queen. And soon, you were going to be gracing the stage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Logan dropped you off with a quick kiss and “all the best” (he knew by now to careful with the words ‘good luck’), you braced yourself and stepped inside the theater. The director and stage manager reintroduced themselves and quickly went around showing you off to all the cast members and most of the tech people. At this point in the process, all the staging had been done and most of the musical numbers were choreographed. The director said that the best course of action was to go through the show from start to finish that day, add you into as many scenes as possible/necessary, and then teach you the music and choreography within the next few rehearsals. He also asked you to stay behind afterwards so the costumer and makeup artist could go over outfits and looks.

You were so concentrated on saying the lines right, taking down direction, and asking/answering quick questions to the best of your ability that it was time to go home before you knew it. It felt like you had been there all day rather than a few hours. Logan was parked right outside when you stepped out into the real world.

“So, how’d it go?” he asked as you got in.

“I think it went well,” you answered. “Honestly it all went by so fast that I didn’t have that much time to really get to know everyone and everything, or even enjoy the moment, you know?”

“Don’t worry. I know you. You’ll settle in and be fine.”

“I hope so,” you mumbled under your breath.

Fortunately, you had nothing to worry about.

After a few rehearsals, you finally found your place amongst the company. You quickly memorized your lines, music, and choreography, and performed it all close to perfection. The cast was so amazed at your progress, and they were all the sweetest of people. It didn’t take long for you to be chatting and laughing with them in-between scenes and even meeting up after rehearsals for drinks and karaoke every now and then.

You couldn’t have gotten here, though, without some help from your boyfriend and his ADHD-coded roommate, Wade Wilson. Every night, they would meet with you to go over lines, music, and dancing. Logan was so patient when you forgot a line and stayed with you until you got it all right five times in a row. Wade was a great DJ when you needed to practice your singing and dancing, although more than once he would play something else on purpose to see if it would sync up (“Like the Macarena or Dark Side of the Moon!”). They would trade off giving you rides to the theater and back. They made sure you had plenty of snacks during rehearsal breaks. They just wanted to see you happy and succeed. You were so lucky to have them by your side.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wade and Logan arrived at the theater about 30 minutes before showtime. Wade fiddled with the black-and-white striped tie he got for the occasion while Logan held tightly to the big bouquet of flowers he got you. No matter how many performances they saw in support of you, they often felt out of place amongst the other patrons, a lot of whom had way more experience in theatre than the two of them did put together.

Once they got their complimentary tickets from the box office (courtesy of you), they took a good look around the big theater space. It was obvious that the company was doing pretty well for itself since the lobby had all sorts of spooky decorations strewn about the place to get people excited for the show. There were cobwebs, insects, skeleton bones, fake copies of The Handbook for the Recently Deceased, and even a life-sized coffin that people could step in and take pictures with. Of course, Wade immediately dragged Logan towards it and took plenty of pictures to send to you.

You were backstage putting on the finishing touches to your makeup when you received a plethora of pictures from Wade. He was doing every kind of pose he could possibly fit into the coffin. Most of Logan’s pictures featured a scowl and half-hearted attempts at the same poses. However, the last photo featured Wade and Logan giving genuine smiles. You didn’t want to spoil them with what you looked like for your first scene, so you simply texted back, “You two make such a cute couple! I hope you enjoy the show! 😊”

The doors of the theater soon opened. Wade insisted on getting a show-themed cocktail before entering, though. “For the ‘gram!” he exclaimed, quickly getting in line to the concession stand that doubled as a bar. Logan just rolled his eyes and followed everyone else inside. He stayed back for a moment for Wade, taking in the stage as he waited. It was fixed to look like a cemetery with tombstones, flat wooden trees in the back, a bit of fog coming from either side, and the iconic “Betelgeuse” sign shining brightly from above.

You had managed to snag some good spots in one of the center rows next to an aisle opening - Logan was pretty big and Wade was fidgety so they appreciated the space. They soon got settled in and flipped through the program. They immediately went to your picture and profile, which gave the usual spiel about your experience in theatre and any thanks you wanted to give. Towards the end, you wrote, “Wade, your energy and carefree nature inspired my version of Delia. Logan, I love you with all of my heart.”

You were still backstage during this time, not needing to be anywhere near the stage for a good while. You found yourself doing anything while you waited – double-checking your makeup, hair, and costume, going through your props in your head, going over certain pages in your script, and even fiddling with all the stuff laid out before you in your tiny corner of the women’s dressing room. The woman playing Barbara, Teresa, could sense your nervousness and sat herself down next to you.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Honestly? My stomach is tied up in knots. I’ve done this so many times before with so many other shows, you’d think I’d be used to the feeling.”

“I think it’d be a problem if you weren’t feeling this way. It means you care and want to do a good job, which you totally will! You are so awesome!”

You found your smile matching hers. “Thanks. You’ll be great, too. You and Blake are so cute together!”

Teresa blushed and you shot her a knowing look.

Soon, the lights began to dim and the big sign was raised until it disappeared. The show was about to start, which made everyone clap with excitement. The voice of Beetlejuice boomed out of the speakers to remind everyone to silence their phones, not take any pictures or videos, walk to the nearest exit in case of an emergency, and enjoy the show.

“Oh, I hope they play ‘HOT TO GO!’” Wade whispered to Logan.

“Shut up,” Logan responded through a gritted smile. Wade tsk’ed in response before taking a sip of his cocktail.

After another round of applause, the lights went down completely.

It was finally showtime.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once you came out for curtain call, Logan and Wade jumped out of their seats.

“Way to go, baby!” Wade yelled before giving a great big wolf whistle. Logan didn’t even bother scolding him for his etiquette; he just paid attention to you taking your bow and blowing a big kiss in his direction. You held hands with Teresa and Blake and took one last bow as a company.

Tonight was a good show, and you played your part perfectly. Logan wasn’t surprised.

As you made your way backstage to take the long way around to the lobby, Wade and Logan slowly made their way outside where everyone else was waiting. After some of the ensemble came out, you made your entrance and were immediately bombarded with various people congratulating you and telling you how much they loved the show and/or you. You smiled politely and thanked them before scanning the room for your boys.

“MS. DELIA!!!” you suddenly heard. You whipped your head around to see Wade waving his hands wildly over his head on the opposite side of the room. “MS. DELIA!!! OVER HERE!!! COME GRACE YOUE BIGGEST FANS WITH YOUR PRESENCE!!!”

You shook your head at the same time as Logan, him from embarrassment and you from amusement. You slowly made your way over to them, still getting congratulations every now and then. When you finally made it over, you were pounced on by Wade. He lifted you off the ground and began squealing in your ear. “There she is! My little starlet! You were amazing! And all your outfits ‘ate and left no crumbs,’ as my fellow Gen Z’ers say.”

“Thank you,” you said as best as you could. It was pretty hard to talk when Wade was pressing your face so hard into his chest. You eventually broke free and turned to Logan, who had the loveliest bouquet of flowers extended towards you. “Oh, Logan, thank you!” you exclaimed. Now it was your turn to wrap someone in an impossibly tight hug. Logan welcomed it and whispered in your ear, “You deserve it and more. You were great up there.” You granted him big, deep kiss for that compliment.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Wade said, gently splitting you two up. “Easy there, love birds. Let’s make sure we stick to what the intimacy coordinator laid out for us.”

Logan’s middle finger to Wade was short-lived when he heard someone calling your name. It was Teresa, who was beckoning you over to get a photo with her, Blake, and some other people who looked like family members.

“I’ll be right back,” you said. “Please try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”

“No worries, pumpkin,” Wade assured you. “The fight choreographer didn’t plan for this part of the story.”

You shot one last look to Wade and gave a parting kiss to Logan before trotting over to the group with your flowers. As soon as you got by her side, Teresa whispered, “Is that Logan? THE Logan?” You nodded, and she shot you a suggestive look that made you giggle. You two quickly turned to focus on the cameras in front you. Wade and Logan watched you in awe. You looked so happy and in your element amongst your castmates.

“She’s great, isn’t she?” they heard someone ask. They turned to see that it was Beetlejuice… or rather Robbie, the guy who played Beetlejuice. He continued as he looked on at you with a smile, “I mean, some of us weren’t sure about her, but your girl really stepped up to the plate. She’s so talented. And she’s just the sweetest, cutest thing!”

Logan cocked an eyebrow at this kid who seemed to be ogling his girl. “I know,” he said, moving in front of Wade to stick out his hand. “I’m Logan. Her boyfriend.”

Robbie’s smile remained as he shook it without a care in the world. “Oh, I know all about you! She mentioned one night how she couldn’t join us for drinks because her wonderful, supportive, strong, rugged boyfriend was going to treat her to Chinese dinner and trash TV.”

Logan’s jaw hung open in shock. Yes, he did do that for you. But why did Robbie know that? And what did he sound excited about that?

“She talks about you almost all the time,” Robbie went on. “She says that you were a big part of why she was able to memorize everything so quickly. You are just the best to her, and I can see why. You seem like a cool dude.”

Logan was stunned. You really meant that much to him, and other people saw it, acknowledged it, even accepted it. What could he say to that? “Umm… thank you.”

Robbie nodded before averting his gaze to Wade. He gasped. “You must be Wade! She’s talked a lot about you, too!”

“All bad things, I bet,” Wade said, stepping in front of Logan to take the spotlight. Logan would never admit it out loud, but he was honestly grateful. He took a few steps back to lean against the wall.

In the blink of an eye, you were back by his side.

“Hey, you alright?”

Logan regained himself. “Yeah. Met Beetlejuice.”

“Oh, Robbie! I thought that’s who that was. He’s such a great guy. And he’s gay.”

Logan whipped his head around. You smirked. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you getting all territorial a moment ago. Besides, even if I was a guy, I don’t think I’m his personality type. He tends to go for the weird ones.”

You both looked back at Wade and Robbie, the former blushing at the latter’s laughter at some stupid, probably highly inappropriate, joke. You giggled at the sight as Logan shook his head in surprise.

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

“I forgive you,” you assured him. You quickly turned away. “Besides, you’re pretty hot when you’re jealous.”

“Is that right?” he asked, pulling you back by your chin and giving you that look that made you go weak in the knees. Logan didn’t even wait for you to respond before pulling you in for another deep kiss.

“Seriously?!” Wade exclaimed. “Am I going to have to call HR on you two?”

You shooed Wade away, never taking your lips away from Logan.

It was one of many kisses you two shared that night.

You kissed on the way to the bar for the after party.

You kissed in-between bites of wings and fries.

You kissed after doing some karaoke with Teresa and Blake.

You kissed as you watched Wade and Robbie sing “What is This Feeling?”

You kissed in-between turns at pool.

You kissed on the way back home.

You kissed as you tumbled into bed together.

You kissed before you went to sleep.

And you kissed after every Beetlejuice performance.

Of course Logan was going to attend every show. After all, he loved you and was your biggest fan… next to Wade.

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Author’s Note 2: Electric Boogaloo:  Thank you so much for making it to the end! I ask that you NOT post this story as your own, please. Instead, give it a like/review/bookmark/reblog/all of the above wherever you read it.

Archive of Our Own

[yellowocaballero]

“I’m afraid I must call you out of retirement for a final mission.”

Cold ice shot through Tobi’s chest. Fuck.

Did he know? He couldn’t. If he knew, he wouldn’t show it like this. His visit with T&I would be a lot less cheerful, that’s for sure. Was he prodding Tobi, watching for his reaction? Did Sarutobi honestly think he’d slip up? Tobi was incapable of slipping up. He couldn’t tell the truth with a kunai to his throat at this point.

“What sort of mission is it?” Tobi asked excitedly, ripping open the folder. He held the paper up and slowly mouthed the words on the page, fighting to get through the page. Look at him, he filled out his mission reports in crayon and could barely read. “Mission report…assignment duration, promotion or release…pay…oh, ew…assignment…jounin sensei…”

Tobi trailed off.

Distantly, he heard himself say, “Um. Maybe this is a mistake?”

As promised in last post. Kakashi & Obito roleswap. Barely. It's complicated. Please pay no attention to how many roleswaps I have written. Just ignore it. Do me a favor and do not think about it. OK? Thank you.

Snippet from a much longer, much messier document. This part was the very first part writiten and very much a proof of concept. I'm trying to figure out if I should overhaul the thing and turn this into an actual story, so let me know.

Short beginning scene of Tobito's Wild Ride under the cut.

“Tobi. Thank you for coming.”

Obviously, Tobi didn’t bow or kneel. That wasn’t the sort of person Tobi was. He just grinned broadly, waving so broadly that his body swayed with the motion. “Gramps! Hello! Wow, you’ve gotten old since I’ve seen you!”

Sarutobi chuckled, raising a pipe to his mouth. The pipe - either ‘I’m thinking hard’, ‘I want to pretend I’m thinking hard and giving due consideration to your idea when I don’t really care’, or ‘I’ve already decided and I’m pretending that you have a say in this’. What was the point of the last one? This was a literal military dictatorship. Tobi forgot how exhausting this man could be. 

“It has been a while,” Sarutobi said indulgently. “Since…the T&I incident, I believe?”

Tobi giggled, high and childish. “Inoichi-san got sooo mad. But Tobi said he was real, real, real sorry, so I hope he’s not still mad…oh, no.” Tobi gasped, face falling in desolation. “Is Inoichi-san still mad at me? Oh, Tobi can go apologize again -”

“It’s water under the bridge.” Tobi exhaled gustily, wiping the back of his hand against his brow. It wasn’t his fault Inoichi hated him. Apparently his mind was absolutely impenetrable. Something about constant children’s lullabies just playing full blast in his head. Or songs regarding a specific time of day someplace in the world. “I have to apologize, Tobi. I always feel as if I should keep a better eye on you. There’s never enough time in the day for all of the people we care about. Please forgive me for my inattention to you.”

Manipulative old fuck. Tobi panicked, embarrassed by the attention and affection. He waved his hands quickly, almost jumping up and down. “Gramps! It’s okay! Tobi’s not lonely or sad! He still has Sasuke-chan! Sasuke-chan wasn’t brutally murdered, so Tobi’s A-OK!” Tobi had to tell himself that a lot. Every morning after a nightmare, which meant every morning period. “And I met a really nice old lady yesterday and helped her down the street. She gave me an apple sweet. It was delicious! So there’s nothing to forgive, Gramps!”

“I’m glad,” Sarutobi said warmly. Ugh. Tobi knew objectively that Minato-sensei had tried to imitate that tone, but he still liked to convince himself that Sarutobi was mimicking Minato-sensei. That was a good one, he’d have to use it. “Sasuke-kun is actually why I called you here today.” 

That kid. Tobi sighed. “Tobi is sorry that Tobi cannot control Sasuke-chan. I’ve told him that punching Naruto-kun is bad, but he just doesn’t listen…”

“I’m sure you’ll find a method somehow.” Sarutobi pushed a thin file folder across the desk, and Tobi curiously stepped forward and picked it up. He’d know a file like that anywhere. It was a mission assignment folder. “I’m afraid I must call you out of retirement for a final mission.”

Cold ice shot through Tobi’s chest. Fuck.

Did he know? He couldn’t. If he knew, he wouldn’t show it like this. His visit with T&I would be a lot less cheerful, that’s for sure. Was he prodding Tobi, watching for his reaction? Did Sarutobi honestly think he’d slip up? Tobi was incapable of slipping up. He couldn’t tell the truth with a kunai to his throat at this point.

How did Tobi feel about this? Tobi sure as hell knew how Obito felt - desperately wondering if a T&I visit was in his future. Tobi was scared of the missions, sure. But he was a five year old. How would a five year old react to these things? 

Well. Tobi knew how he would have reacted. He would have sighed and rolled his eyes about yet another mission. Pretty impressive when you were burned out of your career at five years old. He blamed the two month graduation for years before he learned of Rin and Kakashi’s hell and eventually concluded that it could have been worse. At least Tobi was paid for his war zone. 

“A mission?” Tobi gushed. He clenched on the folder far too tightly, like a child clutching a wheezing frog. “I’m going on missions again?” He jumped a little, his usual little show of excitement. Kept his energy up. “Does that mean Gramps isn’t mad at me anymore?”

Tobi carefully snuck a glance up from the folder, checking Sarutobi’s expression. Sarutobi’s face was impassive stone, as usual, but he looked a little worn too. “We were never angry with you.”

Tobi fully looked up, tilting his head and frowning. “Nuh-uh. Tobi remembers. Everybody was so mad at Tobi. Just because his hand slipped…it wasn’t Tobi’s fault.”

“We know,” Sarutobi said gently. “Minato didn’t retire you because he was angry with you. He was only looking out for you.”

Well, Tobi didn’t want to be out of fucking retirement. It was objectively insane to put him on any mission. Tobi had gotten sabotaging every attempt to make him a useful member of society down to a fucking art. He had a shitton of inheritance to blow and a nice long civilian life to blow it on. Maybe he was too stubborn about it - Iruka was definitely convinced that he was the second laziest person in the village and sabotaged his assigned jobs on purpose, which Tobi would have resented if it wasn’t absolutely true - but spite was important. Spite woke him up in the morning. 

The only thing that helped him tolerate this stupid village was his hate for it. Ain’t that just the way.

“What sort of mission is it?” Tobi asked excitedly, ripping open the folder. He held the paper up and slowly mouthed the words on the page, fighting to get through the page. Look at him, he filled out his mission reports in crayon and could barely read. “Mission report…assignment duration, promotion or release…pay…oh, ew…assignment…jounin sensei…”

Tobi trailed off.

Distantly, he heard himself say, “Um. Maybe this is a mistake?”

“Trust me. You’re hardly our first choice.” Finally, they agreed on something. “But you’re the only one in this village with a Sharingan, Tobi. You’re the only one who can teach Sasuke how to use his power.”

“Nuh-uh. Um. This is a mistake. Ha ha.” Tobi ripped the paper from the folder, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it over his shoulder. “Because, um, I can’t use my Sharingan. Did Gramps maybe forget that? Ha ha?”

“But you still remember how to use it. Even if you can’t use it yourself, you can still walk Sasuke-kun through using his.” Sarutobi eyed Tobi knowingly, the dim glowing embers of his pipe reflecting a soft light in his eyes. “You were once a genius with the Sharingan, Tobi. They said you were the best since Madara.”

Yeah! Yeah, they did say that, old man! That was the whole fucking problem!

Mention of the Sharingan or Tobi’s old talents always upset him, so this was a great springboard into nipping this in the bud. He’d throw a hissy fit if he had to. Tobi had killer hissy fits. That was how Sasuke was given a seat as head of house in the Clan Council. Tobi’s wail could pierce eardrums and Sasuke had deserved that fucking seat. 

“Tobi doesn’t like the Sharingan anymore!” Tobi exclaimed. “Tobi wants to help Sasuke-chan, Gramps, cross Tobi’s heart! But Tobi doesn’t like the Sharingan and the Sharingan don’t like Tobi. And that’s just the truth.” Tobi crossed his arms, sniffling and scrunching his nose. “And don’t say what you’re gonna say. Tobi knows what’s up. Minato-sensei’s little boy is on that team too, isn’t he?”

He absolutely was. Tobi had speed-read the entire document while he was reading it out loud. But even the remnant of Obito’s genius was still considerable, and Tobi’s moments of keen insight were useful for pushing the enemy into a corner. 

“I thought you might appreciate the chance to look after your sensei’s son,” Sarutobi said mildly, removing a silver lighter from his pocket. Engraved, a gift from Biwako. Was that on purpose? A mind game on Tobi, an unconscious memory on his part, or a purposeful evocation of a memory just for him? Was he trying to remind Tobi of something or corner Obito? Damn this man. “Help him like your sensei helped you.”

The really great thing about Tobi was that he could get away with saying this. It was only to the left of cathartic, but at least it was in the zone. “I’m not stupid, Gramps!” Tobi yelled. The ANBU in the corners twitched, but when Sarutobi’s fingernail clicked on the silver lighter they subsided. “You’re giving Minato-sensei and Kushina-neechan’s little baby and his fox to the last Sharingan because you want the Sharingan to eat the Fox! Why are you doing what you want when you know it won’t work? Tobi’s tried, he can’t - he can’t, Gramps.”

It wasn’t the sort of thing any self-respecting Uchiha would admit. Half of them would kill themselves if they lost their Sharingan. Uchiha Obito, whose Sharingan was the pride and joy of the clan - who was the Uchiha’s Uchiha before Itachi-kun was even a twinkle in his mother’s eye - would never abandon his one point of value. 

And everybody knew how prideful the Uchiha were. There was no Uchiha alive who would pretend to be Tobi. Could you imagine? What Uchiha would humiliate themselves like this with a goofy smile on their face? A regular human being could barely do it. An Uchiha? Forget it. Impossible.

But Kushina-neechan’s favorite shinobi was always the most surprising of all. And Obito cared about that more than all the rest. 

The only ninja who would have ferreted him out was Kakashi. Kakashi and his dopey, stupid smile. His ridiculous porn books and his clumsy pratfalls. His laziness, lateness, and utter underachiever lifestyle. Only Kakashi ever said those words, with a wink and a smile: a true shinobi looked underneath the underneath. So save your energy and watch the clouds with me, Uchiha-kun. No? Maybe next time…

The next time never came. Being a good Uchiha had always meant something, and the useless son of a disgraced clan meant nothing at all. Nothing to anybody but Minato and Kushina and Rin and Obito.

“You’re better than nothing.” In that second, Sarutobi really did look very tired. He didn’t look like he was lying at all. “You’re the best we have, Tobi.”

Tobi was silent. Sarutobi knew it wasn’t much of a compliment. Even somebody like Tobi would know that. 

“As a favor to Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun,” Sarutobi said, “and as a favor to me. Please give these children the help you can. Don’t worry - I’ll ask the other jounin to pitch in and help.” 

Tobi lowered his voice, and he allowed his tone to grow a little more serious. “I’m not strong. I’m not good at molding chakra and I haven’t really fought anyone in a long time. I can’t protect the children.” 

“We’ll be careful,” Sarutobi allowed. But there was something in his eye… “You may be rusty, but I doubt you’re out of the ring yet. Have a little faith in yourself.” The look in his eyes glinted and grew, and for the first time he stared right at Tobi. “You did hold your own against Uchiha Itachi.”

They stared at each other for a long second, two. A little too late, Tobi laughed and scrubbed the back of his neck. “Silly Gramps! I said a billion times. Tobi hid. I don’t think Itachi-kun thought it was worth it to kill me…I don’t think Itachi-kun ever thought I was a real Uchiha. But we’ve showed him, huh?” Tobi grinned, jabbing a finger at his chest. “Now there’s three whole Uchiha in the whole wide world! One third’s a serial killer, one third’s twelve, and one third is…drumroll please…Tobi! Konoha’s in good hands, ne?”

Tobi smiled at the man who ordered Uchiha Itachi to kill their entire family.

Sarutobi smiled back at the man who was currently pulling the most intricate and improbable lying campaign in a village of ninjas. In Obito’s defense, it was to save his own life. Sarutobi had murdered his family to - well, save the village, but Tobi didn’t have to like it. 

“Thank you for accepting the mission. I trust you’ll do splendidly.”

“Uh. Tobi didn’t -”

“The children ought to be waiting for you in the schoolroom at 1000 hours. You ought to head over - I expect you’re already late.”

Tobi squealed, looking at the unwound watch on his wrist and slapping his head. “Oh no! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! Bye, Gramps! You promise-promise to get back-up for Tobi, right?”

Pleasantly, Sarutobi said, “I would not trust you alone with those children, no.”

“Yay! Okay, gotta goooo!”

When he left Sarutobi’s office, he was about ten minutes late to his meeting with the children. By the time he arrived at the school he was over an hour late. Lost on the road of life and all that. It didn’t matter - venting about this ridiculousness to Kakashi was way more important than meeting the brats on time.

This would be a disaster. There was no way this would end well. Tobi was a brain damaged, traumatized moron who couldn’t use his one skill and who hadn’t been on active duty since he whoopsie-daisy’d his sword into his best friend’s heart. If Sarutobi didn’t keep up his promise and drag in the other jounin to take up his slack then he’d riot. Did he want Tobi to do work? Tobi? He had resigned from capitalism and the military industrial complex. Pulling him into this shit again - as if he hadn’t suffered enough -

As if Sasuke and Naruto hadn’t. Maybe one of Sarutobi’s stupid-ass motivations was because he knew that only Tobi would be nice to Sasuke and Naruto. Damn Naruto especially. For that, at least…if only as a favor to Minato-sensei…

To make up for it…maybe a little bit of real work would be the least he could do.

Ugh. Hopefully not that much.

Tobi finally touched down at the school, following the Academy hallways to Sasuke’s classroom by route memory. He dropped off Sasuke’s lunch a lot. It embarrassed him so much. It was classic.

Tobi walked into the classroom and allowed a large basket of glitter to fall on top of his head.

A peal of laughter squealed throughout the room, and Tobi opened his eyes to see Uzumaki Naruto clutching his sides and laughing his ass off. Quite rudely, Sasuke had his feet propped up on a desk. That third girl was sitting primly in her seat, terrified. 

“What an idiot! Our new sensei actually fell for - wait.” Naruto straightened, squinting at Tobi. He yelled, jabbing a finger at him. “Hey! Number Two Ramen Fan! What the hell are you doing here?”

Sasuke almost fell out of his seat. He scrambled to his feet, panicked in his special Sasuke way - that was, eyes a little wider than usual. “Tobi? Did I forget my lunch?”

“Um?” Sakura Haruno hunched her shoulders in her seat, picking at the corner of a scroll. “Uchiha Obito’s our sensei. I thought you knew. Did you…not know?”

“Is this a joke?” Sasuke cried. “Who the hell thought this was funny? Tobi couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag! If they’re bullying us again, I swear to god I’ll strangle whoever -”

“Whoah,” Naruto cried, impressed. “Violent!”

“Everybody’s always bullying Tobi,” Sasuke snapped. “I’m an Uchiha. What sort of Uchiha would I be if I tolerated that?”

Glitter dripped down Tobi’s hair and sprinkled onto his clothing. He smiled, big and bright, and clapped his hands together. Sasuke was groaning, but Naruto and Sakura just leaned in closer - caught in a morbid curiosity, desperate to meet their own fate. Signed and sealed. “Tobi’s first impression of you all is…you’re so funny! Tobi likes you!”

The kids paled. 

[dykedvonte]

Silly ask incoming: what video games would the crew enjoy, in your opinion? Especialy, multiplayer games they can play together on their rare breaks? I think Anya eats everyone up in mario cart (she is picking princess peach probably)

-💀

Okay so I know everyone always tries to do cop out answers with saying "They wouldn't play video games yadda yadda" but I'm giving everyone something:

Curly

I think he likes those mindless sort of games. Not like easy but ones where they are a bit methodical.

Likes games with options but also set rules/restrictions. Endless creativity would overwhelm him and make him frustrated as he wouldn't know what to do and when

Honestly? Sims, minecraft, stardew, terria, games where there's options but at the end its like an inverted funnel. Start the same each time but you make it what you want in the end.

I also think he'd love VR type games like Super Hot and Beat saber just for the physicalness and kinda not having to be in reality.

Not into multiplayer too much mainly cause he's actually not that competitive but because he always drags out matches by being the worst

Will happily join a server or world in the games he does play even if it gets abandoned. He's the type to log on for notalgia

Daisuke

We know he's a gamer already. QnA said he likes to go to the arcade and waste time losing.

Also has his little handheld so I think he's into retro games, no specific type just likes how creative they are for how simple they tend to look

Def likes management games. I see him as being into figuring out pro strats and gamer shit like that.

Pikmin, Katamari, Resident Evil, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, etc... He likes the older stuff with a challenge, but proponent in wanting games to be mean to you again.

Gamer rage but in a sulky way like he misses a jump and just turns off the entire TV

A Mario Party instead of Mario Kart guy. Like the random chance of it all and to get aggressive and hype over like line tracing the mini game

Anya

And if I said Anya is like a strict multiplayer competitive like COD lobby girl then what?

Honestly I think she likes games with a lot of story and depth but has guilty pleasures in FPS and competitive games.

Like those RPG maker games a lot Mermaids Swamp, The Crooked Man, Ai Oni. Not for the horror, its a bit cliche but often time its the real people monsters or tragedy that captivates her.

Me thinks she's the type to scroll like Itchio or Game Jolt and plays whatever's free and looks interesting, gamer in the way she's just played games.

Ofc she's competitive, likes any game where she can show off or win, so she's always upset during chance games. Sorry girl, Daisuke won the draw no mario kart for you

Though I think her favorite would be like fighting games just to have subtle shit talk like "Are you sure you're not just button mashing?" Tekken Girlie

Swansea

This was hard cause like I genuinely think he wouldn't care about games and just plays them in the way like parents beat levels for their kids.

Platformers. Idk why but I think its just like its good hand eye coordination, keeps him feeling spry mentally.

Rhythm games honestly but in the sense of like how like piano tiles is a rhythm game.

He's like basic older man who plays like bejweled, solitaire, maybe even penguin diner.

I know this is almost a cop out but like I can't imagine him like being into gaming even if he was young, like I think he'd like card games, jacks and dice.

Honestly he plays online dominos vs the computer online and complains to his family or the crew (depends on where he is) about it cheating whenever he loses.

Jimmy

For real he's harder than Swansea's cause man doesn't even have hobbies like I don't know what he would actually like and it scares me

I think he's somewhat elitist with his gaming views because he just always thinks he's write but I know he plays everything the bad way

Honestly I think he likes games like Borderlands for the humor and the like fantasy power. Like Handsome Jack's humor a bit too much

Played Halo and Cod but either is so mid it's just not enjoyable enough for him to continue. Like he needs the instant gratification from gaming or he's not playing it anymore

Maybe GTA but again he annoys too many people and gets banned from servers and doesn't care about story mode.

LIkes the sims but in the fucked up girl way where he makes all the sims like live in his basement and paint for him while he get mad over storylines he made up.

I like think they all play monopoly like my family where it takes days because we treat it like real investments and alliances are formed and relationships ruined.

[lizzybeeee]

It's just a minor thing, but I'm annoyed at how during those missives about the South falling they start pretending like Skyhold is the only safe place that any of the population can stay in, but like--Chateau Haine was also designed to hold a huge population of people in case of the Blight! This, and a method of getting large quantities of people there using makeshift "aravels", is something that was detailed in Last Flight! The book they heavily referenced for Davrin's mission! If they were going to treat Isseya the Way They Did, they could have at least referenced her ingenuity that rescued so many people before she went mad. It wouldn't have fixed all of it but it would have at least been a nice touch. Hell if they had let us say Hawke survived, they could be responsible for leading people there because they visited Chateau Haine and know about this. It could be another of those "South repelling the Blight" counter things I saw in one of your replies, like how it makes no sense for Orlais to not ally with Ferelden out of "paranoia" in a worldstate where Celene is in charge.

Isseya & Chateau Haine

Loving the idea of Hawke (or maybe even Talis if you didn't anger her!) leading survivors to Chateau Haine!!! That's what the retreat was built for, after all! Since it's connected to Isseya it would provide an in-game reason for the Chateau Haine/aravels to be brought up as well?

I would have loved for their to be more mentions of (pre-mad) Isseya and Garahel in the game - what we see and hear of Isseya is so limited beyond her being the 'griffon boogeyman'' which really does her no justice. While we do get some humanizing moments/dialogue with Davrin, the whole time I was wondering why she was here? Bringing her back just to make her relive her greatest regret - I can get why they chose her, 'thematically', but I thought she had such a satisfying conclusion in the Last Flight. :(

(Also what happened to her when you defeat her? She just lays down and dies? lmao.)

If anything, the entire 'Blighted Weisshaupt' feels like it would better suit the Architect/Awakened darkspawn as some dark reflection of the Grey Wardens? Which was what the Architect was doing in Awakening: the inverse joining ritual, darkspawn consuming blood of the wardens, etc... That entire area looked like it could have been part of Awakening.

2. Skyhold

I was also really puzzled about how Skyhold seems to be the only fortress capable of withholding the darkspawn according to datv? The moment I read that they had brought refugees to Skyhold - as some final refuge from the blight (since Redcliffe and Denerim have both fallen by the last missive) my heart dropped because Skyhold is, comparatively, tiny.

Obviously, BioWare had limitations with their resources/engine and made a Keep that was limited in scope - I know that logically. But Skyhold is no Theirinfall Redoubt, Redcliffe, or Chateu Haine! A new player won't know it's size - but I do! I jumped off every staircase and walkway - I know that place!!! Even in cutscenes it's not shown to be much bigger!

(It's a nitpick, I know, I'm sure there's some logistics/retconning that make this less fatalistic - but how grim is it to imagine that Skyhold, of all places, is somehow large enough to house Ferelden's remaining refugees?)

3. Celene & World States

Like you said about Celene, the idea that she suddenly had such a radical turnaround in her position on foreign relations/policies (for no reason provided outside of paranoia!) was genuinely baffling. I can see it happening for Gaspard or for a world state where all three were forced into a truce - but Celene alone???

In trying to be as vague as possible about the south, they only managed to make it more noticeable that they were avoiding mentioning specific people: 'The leaders of Ferelden' and 'Orlais' rulers'. At the same time they canonize events/people like Harding talking about Blackwall/Thom Ranier and Sera? Two characters you can not recruit?

Losing the DA Keep in this game was a damn shame. It could have been a great way to have past decisions we made come back meaningfully in showing how the south of Thedas can defend itself against the double blight. It's not even a new idea! The comment I made about a 'south repelling the blight' counter was based off of Mass Effect 3 and how they used the galactic readiness meter.

You got a series of messages/cameos relating to quests you did in previous games, with people pledging to help you in taking back earth...it was genuinely heartwarming and rewarding to see how a person I helped two games back came to help Shepard. Certain decisions also could really bite you in the ass and I loved seeing that! It could have been a great way to provide closure for what choices we made through letters/missives/dialogue - showing that our Warden, Hawke, and Inquisitor did made a difference.

(It would also be an incentive to play and buy earlier games - to get a better ending! Unlike datv which really gives no incentive to play previous entries in the series.)

Just off the top of my head:

Bhelen is King -> he allows casteless dwarves to fight the Blight and support the warriors.

Harrowmont is King -> he refuses to let casteless dwarves fight and half the warrior caste dies.

If the warden is a dwarf commoner -> you can have Rica lead a coup and depose Harrowmont, becoming Queen.

If the warden is a dwarf noble -> they kick Harrowmont out and install Gorim as King.

If Branka was left alive -> she goes crazy from the blight and creates red lyrium golems or something else horrifying. To stop the golems the dwarves have to abandon Ortan Thaig.

A Dagna who was supported in her studies manages to create some newfangled rune that helps hold the tide back and she becomes a paragon.

(I recently just finished a dwarf commoner playthrough so i have a lot of dwarven thoughts at the moment lmao)

Thanks for the ask! You got my brain going with this one! :)

[mizuki-foreshadowing]

What Lies Behind / What Lies Ahead, Episode 8

Ena corners Mizuki on the rooftop. Mizuki running away from her feelings, and herself, has been killing her, and Ena needs Mizuki to know that she's there for her, no matter what, and no matter how long it takes. Mizuki, ashamed, takes advantage of her vow.

At the end of Episode 7, Ena exclaims how hard it was to find Mizuki. She had to go to Mizuki's class during the daytime to get it out of An where Mizuki could be running away to, since Mizuki wouldn't answer her phone or Nightcord messages. Mizuki, in her despair, dreads that Ena found out her secret, either from An who may disclose it if Mizuki is in danger, or from talking about Mizuki in front of her classmates, and that Ena may have come to the rooftop to confront her about her being trans. It isn't the case that Ena knows, and Mizuki puts her mask back on, if Ena is still in the dark.

Ena is sick of Mizuki's shameless excuses to throw her off track or distract her. Mizuki is causing her real distress at this point, and can no longer avoid a serious conversation.

Ena dredges back up the moment in Secret Distance, where she woke up on the train and caught a glimpse of Mizuki in deep emotional distress. Mizuki has tried to sweep that moment under the rug; it is her choice to self-destructively keep her Nightcord friends at an emotional distance, to live in a brief, happy world where people interact with her having no idea she's trans, a world she's content to lose eventually if that's the cost.

Mizuki retorts that whatever was going on that day does not concern Ena specifically, and to let it rest. But that's where Mizuki's wrong; she's is an important part of Ena's life whether either of them want her to be or not. Mizuki hurting herself is now something that hurts Ena, so Ena can't let it lie.

Mizuki doesn't want to be responsible for Ena wanting to help her, but Ena tells Mizuki that Ena has seen the same behavior from Mizuki. Mizuki gets involved with Mafuyu's and Kanade's lives; she wants to help them and there's no trouble as long as she's able to maintain her own distance while doing it, so the connection is comfortably one-way. Whether Mizuki teaching Miku cat's cradle had anything to do with Miku cutting the strings off the marionette, Mizuki also helps Mafuyu reach her breakthrough in Mirage of Light, and Mizuki jumps to sincerely help Kanade out of her low point in Carnation Recollection. Ena is telling Mizuki that Mizuki is a part of this now, whether she wants to be or not, and that this today is Mizuki being in danger and Ena being moved to help her. Mizuki may want to stay distant, but she failed. The true feelings she's been afraid to face since Secret Distance is that she wants lifelong friends.

Mizuki stumbles on Ena's word 'friend' said with complete conviction, finally revealing Mizuki indeed does not consider Ena close enough to be a friend. There are two dimensions to this; Mizuki is faced with the truth that Ena is attached to her even if she isn't, and that Ena is certain they're friends despite having knowing that she has no idea who Mizuki really is. Ena knows now that she has a different picture of who Mizuki is because of how much of herself she hides, but she still believes she knows enough about her to say with conviction that they're friends. This doubles back to Episode 3, where Mizuki hates herself feeling like she's deceiving people who she could be having deep bonds with; she is deceiving Ena but Ena wants to have a deep bond regardless.

Mizuki has risked confiding to people her secret before, and Ena has, finally, proven to Mizuki that she is someone who wants to be her friend no matter what her secret is. She's ready.

However, what stops her is her counterpart in SEKAI, Meiko, who suffers from the same paralyzing indecision and worry that Mizuki does. Despite Meiko reflecting in Episode 6 that her methods won't be able to save Mizuki, and instead trying out Luka's approach, sending Ena with no information to recklessly try to get something else to happen, Meiko's own advice she still saw fit to give, ends up sabotaging her.

"Sometimes, talking can make things worse." is the worst thing that Mizuki could hear right now. She needs to do what Meiko and herself are fundamentally opposed to do: take a leap of faith and to risk the unknowable consequences. But sometimes, talking can make things worse. Mizuki shies away from the moment, and doesn't tell Ena her secret.

Ena makes, perhaps knowingly, the same promise Kanade made to Mafuyu, to never give up on Mizuki and to wait for her to be ready to confide her secret to her when she's finally ready to. Like Kanade, Ena is terrified Mizuki will disappear if she doesn't do something drastic.

Does this narratively highlight that Mizuki and Mafuyu have different needs emotionally and that what saves one harms the other? Or does Mizuki's reaction to Ena's promise draw a parallel to the much more elusive thought pattern in Mafuyu? I can't say, but it's always been in the back of my mind whether Mafuyu would finally say it when a new song Kanade wrote for her saves her.

Ena shows Mizuki she does not make that kind of promise lightly, and Mizuki believes her. But the promise Ena made was wrong for Mizuki; being promised time, for Mizuki, will only feed into her doubts and freeze her in indecision. Mizuki is once more, precisely where she was five episodes ago in Episode 3: she knows in her heart that Ena will accept her but the next step is one that only she can decide to take.

And the result is precisely the same.

The promise was wrong for Ena as well. She meant it when she made it, but waiting for Mizuki to open up is what's been causing Ena so much pain. I don't know whether Ena expected her promise to be what got Mizuki to confide the secret to her, but when Mizuki finally refuses to give it then, it's Ena who runs away.

The promise was wrong, because, Mizuki lies to Ena's face that she'll confide her secret once she's finally ready to. Ena's promise, which Mizuki knows Ena is serious about and willing to honor, means the same as the promise Kanade made to Mafuyu: until Mafuyu tells Kanade that a song has saved her, Kanade will never give up on trying to reach through to her.

In other words, Ena has promised to give Mizuki the deeper bond she's been yearning for without requiring her to give up her secret; in Mizuki's own words she'll stay her friend forever if she never tells her. Mizuki would never need to risk the idea of rejection or to ever leave her comfort zone.

Mizuki knows she can't stop herself from taking advantage of that, and she wishes, for Ena's sake, that somebody else reveal her secret for her.

[paceywittters]

What do you make of Tim's behavior in the last few episodes? I feel like he's a totally different person and it's making me sad to see him disrespecting Lucy so much.

just up front: it feels v clear to me that we do not share an opinion on this storyline from the tone of this ask, and so i am going to discuss this but would just like to preface that this is only my opinion and i respect that you/anyone else engaging with this post may have a different one. i am allowed to feel the way i feel, as are you. i am not trying to change or discredit anyone's opinions just because they're different than mine.

that being said - i will be honest with you, i don't really see where he's disrespected lucy. before you (and whoever else is reading this) jump me, let me explain myself.

tim went through something very difficult and traumatic with the resurgence of his wartime trauma and he made the decision not to involve lucy as he navigated said trauma. while it may not have been the best choice for their relationship, tim made the choice he felt was right in the moment. though we may not agree with it as viewers and lucy may not agree with it as tim's partner, he had the right to do that, and he explained to the best of his ability in the moment that he was keeping her out of the situation to ensure she didn't get hurt/her career wasn't impacted.

to me, that didn't feel disrespectful - it felt like tim relying on his tried and true methods of keeping the people he loves safe from him/the potential danger surrounding him. he was working with the tools he had available, even if they may not be the "right" tools for the job.

like, was it fucked that he ignored her for 36 hours? absolutely! that was disrespectful in some ways - but i think if you zoom out a little, it's not right, but it's understandable.

in the end of 5x07, lucy stops tim in the hallway at the station and asks him to talk to her - and i have seen a bunch of people who are really angry about the way tim handled that convo, so i wonder if that's what you mean by disrespect. generally, a few thoughts about that scene:

lucy approached tim hot - which, let me be clear: she had every right to. she was in her feels all day, she had something she wanted to say to him, and she was already a bit revved up coming to him. but she came into that conversation already looking for something specific, where tim was just...guard down, a little goofily happy to see her, probably a little nervous to talk to her at all.

tim wasn't given the opportunity to say much of anything. lucy asked if they could have "an adult conversation" (patronizing, but i don't blame her for it - he deserved that) and when tim explained he "couldn't give her what she wanted", lucy snapped. i understand the snap - i would've done the same - but tim had no space to continue talking there. that wasn't a conversation. lucy got her opportunity to unload on him a bit, which i think she needed. think about the breakup - lucy didn't get the chance to argue a side there, and tim didn't get the chance to argue a side here. they're equal on that kind of convo now, which i find fascinating.

so, is tim being honest with her and saying he can't give her what she needs right now disrespectful? i don't really think so. i think lucy is looking for something that tim can't give her right now - himself. tim has to sort through all his shit before he can be the best version of himself for lucy - in his tim brain, he doesn't think he can support her fully without working on himself first...and honestly? i think that's noble. lucy is far too close to the picture to see that tim has some really big issues he needs to work on outside of the scope of their relationship. i don't blame her for that, but it's just...true.

she can't be the person to help tim find himself at this point in his life. that's not fair to her or their relationship - so i think he's made the right choice here, as much as it hurts both of them.

i would also be remiss if i didn't mention that i think there's a huge part of this situation that lucy still needs to realize is on her. she has problems of her own, too! girl knows she's not perfect - but she has yet to address her own problems, and i think that's such an issue. tim is taking initiative to resolve his problems, even if it's not in a way that she agrees with. lucy isn't. just like their relationship already had issues, lucy has her own set. this wasn't the defining problem - this was just the straw that broke the camel's back in a lot of ways.

i hope this answers your question tbh bc i feel like i just rambled a bunch - but i'm always up to chat about this kind of stuff, so feel free to come back to me with more if i haven't annoyed you too much 😂

[evilbihan]

Debunking ridiculous arguments from Bi-Han haters

Bi-Han's one and only mistake was breaking his oath to protect Earthrealm. A lot of people like to jump to conclusions about him and make up the silliest excuses to justify hating on him, so I'm here to provide some much needed facts in these trying times.

"But he wanted to benefit from the soul stealer's magic that would have killed millions!"

Yes, because his loyalty is to the Lin Kuei, not Earthrealm. In his mind, he's doing what needs to be done to protect his own clan and make it stronger, even if that demands sacrifices. A good leader puts his own people first and that is essentially what he does. For Bi-Han, the end justifies the means. His cause in and of itself is not a malicious one. He cares about his clan. Part of the reason why he wants power is to protect the Lin Kuei from other threats.

Think about it, they defended Earthrealm for generations, not a single Lin Kuei has ever lived a normal life. They begin their training as children and are forced to live secluded and lonely lives. No one even acknowledges that and shows them gratitude or respect. All Bi-Han wants is for them to receive recognition for everything the clan has done. He wants the Lin Kuei to be independent, for his own people to benefit from the sacrifices they made for once. He's not some tyrant obsessed with power, he doesn't want to conquer all of Earthrealm, only for the Lin Kuei to be recognized as one of its nations as stated in his official bio.

Spoilers ahead: According to story dlc leaks, even Liu Kang admits that there's nothing wrong with Bi-Han's ambitions, just the methods he chooses to achieve his goals. What more do you need than the literal creator of the timeline confirming that Bi-Han is not "evil"?

At the end of the day, Bi-Han himself would not have killed anyone. The soul stealers belonged to Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. He never even made use of them to begin with.

If this is where the bar for being evil is at, we would have to start calling other characters evil too.

I don't know how many residents Vaeternus has, but I don't see anyone faulting Ashrah for making it her mission to kill all Vaeternians for her own purification. Absolutely no hate towards Ashrah, she's one of my favorite characters in the game, but she's using questionable methods to achieve her goals too, yet she's perceived as a "good" character because she's protecting Earthrealm. Are Earthrealmers somehow worth more than Vaeternians? I don't think so. What about Rain who flooeded an entire realm and doesn't face nearly as much backlash? Make it make sense.

"Bi-Han hates Smoke and tried to kill him."

Wrong. I already wrote an in depth analysis of the brothers' relationship here and I'm not going to repeat myself in this post, but I will add upon what we previously established. Bi-Han never once said he doesn't consider Smoke his brother, just that he doesn't consider him Lin Kuei, which is a subtle, but huge difference. In any of their intros, whenever Smoke refers to Bi-Han's biological parents as "mother" and "father", Bi-Han never tells him they are not his parents or that Tomas has no right to call them that. Yes, he doesn't call Smoke brother directly, but that's because they seemed to never have been close. Bi-Han's distrust towards Tomas is entirely justified, considering that Smoke's family died at the hands of Lin Kuei warriors. As grandmaster, it's his duty to keep an eye out for outside as well as inside threats and he might have considered Smoke one.

Additionally, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Bi-Han disliking Tomas. He doesn't owe him anything. People are allowed to dislike each other. He was a young boy when Smoke was taken in by his parents. Maybe he saw Tomas as another competitor for their attention, specifically his father's attention. Bi-Han being cold with Tomas doesn't make him toxic or abusive. He might have just never felt comfortable around Smoke, given the circumstances of how he became part of the Lin Kuei and that's why he was cold and kept his guard up around him. Every individual also has a different definition of family.

Family are the people you feel safe around, the people you trust and get along with, the people you want to surround yourself with. Siblings don't always get along and that's okay. Some don't talk in years after moving out of their family home. I'm fairly sure we all have that one relative we just don't vibe with or even cut ties with entirely. Two people just not getting along and therefore being distant with each other isn't toxic, forcing people to like someone because "they're supposed to be your family" is toxic.

As for the rock scene, I already talked about it in the post I linked above. I will just briefly say, Bi-Han did NOT kick that rock onto Smoke, it would have been impossible for him to do so and he was just as concerned in that moment as Kuai Liang was. I included the slow-motion gif of the scene here too, so you can see the proof for yourself.

See that surprise and shock in his eyes? He did not kick that rock intentionally.

"Bi-Han let his father die!"

I elaborated on this here but I will add a second explanation that is less headcanon territory.

Smoke lost his family due to Lin Kuei members not following orders, a mistake that was ultimately the fault of Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father. Even if the old grandmaster took responsibility for it and adopted Tomas, he is still at fault for Smoke being orphaned. Bi-Han witnessed his father's mistake and saw it as "weak leadership" on his father's side, weakness that caused the death of innocent people and a stain of shame on the clan. His mind about his father was probably already made up at that point. However, if he was truly evil and wanted his father dead, he could have killed the old grandmaster himself. We've seen how impatient Bi-Han is, he wouldn't have waited for his father to have an accident or succumb to old age. I think there's a part of him that lives with guilt and regret over letting his father die. The scene where he says "... and I was right to let him die." sounds like he's trying to justify his actions to himself, not to Kuai Liang. He also sounds hurt and angry when Johnny mentions his father in one of their intros together. I think there's a lot to unpack here but the story mode and intros don't really tell us enough.

Surely, part of the reason why Bi-Han didn't save his father was because he wanted to take control of the clan himself, but not for the selfish reasons people accuse him of. Bi-Han has the Lin Kuei's best interests at heart. He's certainly not entirely selfless but he was willing to share his power with Kuai Liang and in his taunts it's always "Kneel before us" not "before me". He always emphasizes on how the Lin Kuei will rule part of Earthrealm, not just him. His motivations are far deeper than just wanting power and so were his reasons to not help his father.

"He started the Cyber initiative!"

I don't see how the cyber initiative is a negative thing in the new timeline, given that they're just suits of armor made by Sektor that the Lin Kuei put on when they fight. No one is being cyberized against their will or otherwise tortured. No one has to die for the cyber initiative. I guess people have a negative association with it due to the old lore but that no longer applies.

I keep seeing people say "They turned him into Sektor" but that is far from true. Sektor was much more ruthless, going as far as to force his own clan members to become cyborgs and killing his own father to become grandmaster himself.

That is how a man who only cares about power would act and it's not how Bi-Han is acting.

"He scarred Kuai Liang."

Again, something I wrote a detailed analysis of already in the post I've linked above. He did scar his brother, but Kuai Liang was not only the first one to draw blood, but also attempted to kill Bi-Han in his rage.

No matter which brother's side you're on, you can't argue with the fact that they both have hit their lowest low the second they decided to shed each other's blood. Both are willing to kill each other. One brother wanted to violently beat the other's face in and the other one scarred his brother for life. You can't fault one for his actions and not the other. It would be wrong and hypocritical. I'd call them even.

In conclusion, the majority of reasons that people claim to dislike Bi-Han for don't even make sense and are absolutely baseless. They contradict any existing canon material and it's embarrassing how desperately people want to dehumanize Bi-Han and make him into some sort of horrible villian, which he canonically isn't and never was. At the end of the day, you can try and twist the narrative to match your opinions, but that doesn't change canon facts. You can claim that grass isn't green. That's not going to make the grass any less green though.

I see other Bi-Han fans trying to defend Bi-Han and argue back to those hating on him, but honestly, his actions don't even need defending. His reasons and motivations and the depth of his character are obvious enough in my opinion. People who call him a "joke villain" didn't understand his character at all and you can't reason with someone if they're being ignorant and refuse to see past their own bias.

To those who dislike him, here's an idea. Block the "Bi-Han" tag instead of flooding it with bad takes. Why bring unnecessary negativity to the community all while being wrong at the same time? No one needs that.

I might make a part 2, but I think all that needed saying was said in this post and the one I've pinned at the top of my blog already.

[lunarsilkscreen]

Kingdom Hearts (Kairi and Aqua)

Most Japanese Media, Games, Cartoons, Comics, what have you are heavily inspired by [Studio Ghibli]s approach to help children understand depressing subjects..

Today, some of the older cartoons stand the test of time despite not having any of the context of yesteryear. Which can really mess with ones understanding of an art piece for sure.

In the Opening Sequence we see Two of our Main characters, one of whom doesn't get mentioned until the sequel.

Both of them are falling into the [Sea] {maybe star sea} through opposite directions. Roxas falls from the Dark side into the light and Sora the opposite; meeting in the middle.

We never get any clarification on what this *should* mean. It's an abstraction from the [jump]. And it's only ever extrapolated on in KH:BirthBySleep, when we actually deal with the three protagonists from that game, that were technically always around I guess. Doing stuff.

Here's where it starts getting dark and abstracted to the point where you're not supposed to understand it *until* [it] makes sense to you.

What that [it] might be? Take it up with Stephen King. I disassociated myself with all things [it] after having watched the original movie.

Id deep dive into [My Neighbor Totoro] which is supposed to help an audience with a sibling or family member who just [isn't] anymore.

Some soul taken into the catbus for their next trip through reincarnation.

Why is this Important ?

When we Get to Aquas Story in BBS which doesn't complete until KH:3, Aqua is the one who fell through into the [dark sea] where [Sora] and his [best soul friend ever][Ventus] caught each other in their riptide.

I ask because in these kinds of series, you start wondering why certain characters are relevant to the plot at all. Because, at a certain point, Kingdom Hearts *stops* being about trying to defeat the darkness [Game 1s Premise] and more about... Just existing.

How certain people take certain paths because they're uncertain about who or what they should be or should be doing. And you can't immediately tell which side is right and wrong despite having two clear sides at war.

This question frequently asked in Shonen, Action and Adventure Games, and [whatever else]; Are we doing the right thing? Are we fighting for the right reasons? Do we actually want to be fighting at all?

The Older Cast in Kingdom hearts games, missing from KH3 cast from other SQEX games, and ectra; really take the form of a good method of teaching children what to expect from life.

KH3 specifically presents our [Hero on his own for Once] Sora. (Isn't Sora always alone?) No. And yes..but mostly no

All his friends see him as the pink pillow princess he really is.

Stories like these take great lengths to ask players "Who is the company you keep?" And "Which company would keep you?"

We started fighting against the organization and yet were always portrayed alongside them.

Entwined, interconnected in a way that no non-combatant, could ever hope to be.

And here sits Aqua, at the bottom of the Dark Heartless Sea, lost alone, and for all intents and purposes... [not alive.]

And she faces off against her own self trying her hardest not to succumb to just jumping in and letting go of everything else.

The end of KH3 depicts [The Emperor] and [Luke Skywalker] playing with the souls of the protagonists like a chess set.

It turns out... Perhaps it was only ever a game.l played between two masters of opposing aspects, and getting so enraptured into *that* [Game] that nothing else matters...

It's just that... The Console Game; Kingdom Hearts; ends. Each entry has a conclusion. It's not the [Infinite Game] that the key blade masters are playing.

All of these souls entrapped, like In Jumanji, on opposing sides, but only because their leaders are putting them against each other.

If you ever just find yourself craving some of that delicious looking blue salt-water Ice cream that Uncle Scrooge shills ... This is why. I think.

[familyofpaladins]

What are some of your favorite character relationships/dynamics in TMNT, and why? Is there anything that you particularly like seeing explored with them in fan works (art, writing, comics, etc)?

Thanks for the ask! Great question!

Oh man, theres so many dynamics I like!

Let's see...

Well. I guess first off, I love the dynamics between all four brothers as a whole! When one gets separated off, both sides work so hard to get back to the other(s). Doesnt matter who it is, its "gotta get back to them" "gotta bring him home". They love each other so much and would do anything for any one of them. Any one of them would probably sacrifice himself to save the rest of his brothers of he thought it was the only way (some more likely to do that than others *coughleocough*), meanwhile the rest of the brothers would be like "uh no. Stop that shit right now. You're not allowed to die". I just love how dedicated they all are to each other and the ends they're willing to go to to keep each other safe.

A little more specifically, I like Leo and Raph's dynamic/relationship. They're like two sides of the same coin. They're so similar, but their methods/approaches to situations are a little different so they end up clashing a lot. But like I said before, they love each other would do anything for each other. No matter the iteration, and how big/bad of a fight they've had, they're always gonna have each other's backs.

Like, for example, in the 2003 series, one of the few times they actually clashed angrily (and not just momentary sibling bickering) was in season 2, the 3 part episode arc "City at War". During that time they've defeated(or so they think) the shredder, and differnt gangs are fighting over who gets control of the parts of the city that the foot used to control. Leo and Raph argue about whether or not they have a responsibility to stop the gangs from taking over the city.

At one point during their arguing (and fighting other gangs) Raph crashes a bus and gets trapped in it, and fire is about to light the leaked-all-over fuel. Leo immediately jumps into the over turned bus to get his brother out while they're still arguing!

Like!!! Its truly a moment showing their dynamic. It's one of the few times they're really pissed at each other because they cant agree on what they should be doing, and they're pissed at the actions the other is taking, but when there's danger, they're going to run in and save the other! It's not even a question. Saving each other/having the other's back is such a part of who they are, that not even their biggest fight can (which is still going!) can stop them from helping each other.

(And sometimes the dynamic between Leo and raph kinda feels like the relationship me and my sister have. We annoy each other and can get on each others nerves. Or one of us assumes the other is mad and gets upset when it was actually fine. Sometimes my sister is in a mood and I have to be careful how I approach her or ask her a question otherwise she snaps. And I can see it being like that for Leo when Raph is in a mood. ((And that goes vice versa)) Its common across many iterations for Raph to think Leo is too rule-abiding, and Leo thinks Raph is too impulsive/hot-headed, and that feels like very familar arguments between me and my sister lol)

I also like the dynamics between April and the turtles, and how she's their friend/sister. And how she'll do just about anything for them and vice versa just like how the brothers are to each other.

As for fanworks, I guess I like anything that really shows how close and important they all are to each other. Whether that's whump fics where they rescue/take care of each other, or art of them in a sleepy turtle pile.

Honestly anything that just shows how much they all love each other, whether is mundane or high stakes situations, is really nice. :)

[dreamofmetoday]

HAECHAN AND RYUJIN RELATIONSHIP READING - DID IT EVEN REALLY HAPPEN?

this reading was a paid request, a big thank you to the buyer!

cards included with some explanation since it was requested, keep in mind descriptions are brief (since i think reading cards be quite individual to the person). deck used: silver witchcraft tarot.

did haechan and ryujin really ever date?

10 of pentacles, lovers, 6 of wands.

yes.

how did their relationship begin?

lovers, chariot, 9 of wands, the sun, the emperor.

haechan pursued ryujin with obvious flirting and intentions (the sun) which ryujin initially rejected, a lot. essentially, it seems haechan love-bombed ryujin and kept trying until she said yes and she accepted his offer.*

*the chariot represents taking charge and fighting against odds, 9 of wands represents fighting until you can’t any longer and strong resilience, and the emperor, male, jumped out and landed on top of the chariot so the pursuer was haechan.

more information (how did haechan pursue her specifically): ace of wands, 8 of wands, knight of cups.

so initially he moved quite quickly. he might have been quite forward with how he wanted to sleep with her, acting quite boldly*. he backed away and then approached her more gently, romantically and methodically - likely became friends with her first to win her over slowly (knight of cups).

*8 of wands can represent a confession and ace of wands can be sexual, so a confession of a specifically sexual nature.

are haechan and ryujin still together now?

ace of cups, the emperor, knight of cups, king of wands, death. song: clean by taylor swift.

no and if they are, it’s not romantic and much more casual in this moment but more likely, haechan is going to propose a friends with benefits relationship to ryujin.

how does haechan feel about ryujin now?

lovers rx, 8 of swords rx, 2 of swords rx, 5 of pentacles.

he sees her as a crazy ex - thinks she lies, deceived him, has betrayed him, is cold and not giving etc. (he sees her as someone with a lot of personalities). he feels pretty victimised and hurt by her. along with the 5 of pentacles representing poverty and lack, this deck portrays a naked woman so i get the sense he feels he’s “seen it all” now so there’s no more novelty and she’s no longer exciting the same way she was in the beginning. at the same time, he feels pretty regretful and blames himself too and hopes they’re not really ever going to be over (his personality itself seems pretty self-pitying and dramatic which explains some of these "conflicting" thoughts).

how does ryujin feel about haechan now?

ace of swords, hanged man, page of wands rx, 2 of wands, 8 of wands rx. song: my tears ricochet by taylor swift.

she feels she finally sees him for who he is (ace of swords, hanged man) and that this truth is both painful and liberating - she thinks he’s immature, can’t see when he’s the problem and that he manipulated her. she also thinks his flattery was fake, that he told her what she wanted to hear and didn’t mean it and sometimes even switched up on her - he would do things like compliment her on something but then get mad about the same thing later (from “i love that you don’t wear make up, i like natural girls.” to things like, “you never try to look nice for me.”), and this really hurt and confused her. he was jealous and possessive which she interpreted as him just really loving her but she doesn’t think that anymore because repeatedly he would not support her when she felt it really counted. however, there is a part of her that wonders if the timing was just off and she worries about being forgotten or that she was nothing to him (because she loved him a lot).

bonus question: is the rumour about their relationship beginning around wannabe era (beginning of the pandemic) true?

ace of wands, ace of cups, ace of swords, six of wands, ten of cups

yes (all these cards are yeses and aces represent beginnings too).

[bubblecat-co]

Rook Origins - De Riva

you can find the og ask lists here

thank you to @i-creatied-au @larknnightingale @lunammoon @booksncatsworld @knowlsey @so--whoonos @alliminoobers for the asks!

Hey!! I actually sat down and did them!! instead of letting them rot and get lost!

3. How did Rook end up with the Crows? Did they join willingly? Were they sold to the Crows? How old were they when this happened?

Aria’s father was an antivan crow with house Arainai, he and her mother did not want Aria to become a crow. Viago was trained under her father until her became a full crow and would often visit the house when he was in Antiva City. during one of these trips when Aria was 8 her parents were killed in the middle of the night by crows from house Arainai. Viago ended up visiting the house and found Aria’s barely alive father who told him where she was hidden. He then picked her up and took her to Salle where he became training her. To him he was fulfilling his mentor’s dying wish, protecting her by teaching her to be an assassin.

4. How did Rook handle their training? Did they ever try to run away? Did they ever lash out at their trainer(s), or did they try to hide from them? Or were they more likely to try to impress their trainers to escape any potential punishment?

Aria wasn’t one to really run, she would lash out especially during her early to later teen years. For the most part she handled it, especially after Viago showed her what happens to crows who fail. She was determined not to fail and to keep up. Aria would try to be more on the impressive side though it depended on the thing.

8. For rogue/warrior Rooks, what drew them to their preferred method of fighting? Did they discover it early? Do they like fighting?

Aria’s a rouge and it’s more so because it’s what assassins typically tended to be, also using her height to an advantage of sticking low and staying quick. She does enjoy fighting but it depends on what she’s fighting for the most part. 

9. Does Rook specialise in any type of assassination? Why? Did they choose this, or was it chosen for them? Are they naturally good at it, or do they have to work hard to become skilled at it?

Aria tended to lean more towards being a poisoner mainly due to Viago raising her but also her natural affinity to it especially herbs that can be poisonous. 

10. When does Rook take their first contract? Does Viago give it to them, or was it the prior Fifth Talon? How do they feel about it? Are they successful/do they complete it?

Aria took her first official contract around 16, Viago was the one to give it to her and he watched over her as she did it (she wasn't aware). She did end up completing it, it was a simple job, killing a traveling merchant.

11. How does Rook end up in Treviso? How do they feel about recently becoming a fully-fledged Crow? What about the Antaam invasion/that specific patrol exactly makes them act without permission? Is this typical of Rook or is this the first time they’ve acted like this?

Aria gets taken to Treviso once Viago decides to stay in the city to deal with the Antam crisis (and be closer to Teia) by that time she was already a crow for 9 years, she was 25 when she traveled to Treviso and became a crow at 16. 

When she did become a fully fledge crow she was elated. All the training and working paid off and now she just had to focus on not disappointing Viago on the field now instead of infront of his face. 

The antam patrol where she acts out, was typical for her at that time. She had been pulling reckless moves for at least a year by that point (she wasn’t in a good state of mind). When she jumped in she did it to 1. Saved the prisoners and 2. Was hoping it might end in her death in some way.

13. Was Varric one of the prisoners Rook saved? If not, how do they meet him? Do they become part of the team to stop Solas right away, or does it take some time for Varric & Harding to fill them in?

Varric was one of the prisoners, but Aria didn’t know that till later. Aria gets kinda forced into going with Varric and Harding to stop Solas by Viago. So it wasn’t that much of a choice and when she officially met him it was when they were leaving Treviso.