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so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site · 1 year

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Signs of Life:

Season of Mists, “Augustus,” and a Hopeful Interpretation of The Sandman

In my previous essay, “I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it didn’t even matter”: The Awkward Meta-Tragedy of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, I discussed the issues with the common fandom interpretation of The Sandman’s ending as both a tragedy and a suicide. I highly recommend you read that before this, if you haven’t already, as this is mostly an extension of that essay.

Near the end of that work, I mentioned how, in searching for an interpretation of the ending that could be construed as hopeful rather than incredibly pessimistic, I came across a significant amount of evidence in the volume Season of Mists. Quite a bit of this “evidence” I’ve usually seen used by fans to construe Morpheus’ actions as an intentional elaborate suicide, claiming that he was in fact orchestrating his own demise as far back as at least this volume. However, I believe that it is also entirely possible to construe these same events as showing that he was NOT planning a suicide.

In this essay, I will go over each piece of evidence I collected, and how I believe it can be interpreted in alternate ways.

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It is in Season of Mists that Morpheus first goes back to check on Daniel Hall, for the first time after warning Daniel’s mother Lyta that he will return one day to collect the child for unspecified purposes. What purposes those are remain a mystery at that point; those who support the suicide interpretation insist that he planned for Daniel to be his successor upon his suicide. I think this visit makes clear that Morpheus did intend for Daniel to be his successor, but not necessarily specifically for a suicide attempt. In Season of Mists, Morpheus goes to visit Daniel after explaining to his subjects that he fears he may not survive his attempt to rescue Nada from Hell.

Since it is repeatedly emphasized just how dangerous he believes the rescue mission to be, especially after pissing off Lucifer the last time they met, it seems just as clear to me that Morpheus might want to have a successor lined up in general. He saw how horrible things got when he was captured and there was nobody in charge of the Dreaming; having a second in line is just the responsible thing to do. It doesn’t mean he was specifically planning his death, he could just have been planning what could happen in case of his death. There is a difference. Likewise, Morpheus also briefly visits Hob to potentially say goodbye before the trip to Hell. Once again, this emphasizes how dangerous he believes the mission to be, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s planning on dying.

Some especially pessimistic fans try to paint the Nada mission in general as Morpheus’ first suicide attempt, before the Kindly Ones plot succeeded, but I don’t think the Nada mission is quite as easy to construe as suicide. The Kindly Ones plot had a certain intentional air about it; Morpheus knew that finally granting death to his son would provoke the deities in charge of blood debts and in the depths of his depression did little to avert what effects he knew would happen. By contrast, he actually prepared to battle into Hell to save Nada, righting a wrong from long ago. Though he expected to have to fight Lucifer, he actually made preparations to do so with clear intent for a successful mission, and made the point of preparing his subjects beforehand. This is in contrast to the sudden slaughter from The Kindly Ones where he didn’t do anything to avert the furies’ rampage through the Dreaming until the only thing that could stop them was his own apparent death.

Likewise, Lucifer and his arc are important to how one might interpret Morpheus’ fate. Alongside Destruction, Lucifer is the other example Morpheus has seen of a major universal figure deciding to finally quit the job that wears them down. In their conversation, which Lucifer explicitly refers to during The Wake, he compares his situation to Dream’s. Lucifer notes he was also fated to be stuck with his crappy job forever, assigned by a force greater than him that he couldn’t defy. But then, he realized, he could quit after all. He just kicked everyone out, closed up shop, and walked away.

His choice to quit, and especially driving everyone out of Hell before doing so, causes a TON of issues, to put it mildly; Dream’s responsibility of solving them is one of the two main storylines of the arc, with the other being the Nada plot. The fact that Lucifer’s sudden quit creates such problems, however, does not go unnoticed by Dream. In a pessimistic interpretation, Morpheus takes this as a sign that he indeed can never quit, because doing so would create far too many problems for reality. His sense of responsibility to the universe is arguably the “higher power” he believes forces him to do the job. In an optimistic interpretation, though, it might simply convince Morpheus that he needs to be smarter about his retirement.

After all, it was Lucifer’s lack of a clear successor that led to the whole ordeal of Dream having to assign someone new the key to Hell, and it was the fact that Lucifer kicked everyone out that caused chaos across the dimensions. Perhaps Morpheus realized that the best way to quit might be to make sure there was somebody to take over for him, so that operation of the Dreaming could continue without interruption and without having to unleash any residents upon other dimensions. He’d conveniently already prepared a successor in case anything should happen to him when confronting Lucifer! Likewise, choosing a successor who is eager to actually do the job averts the frustration and angst he witnesses in the angels who end up having to take the key—God basically forces them to stay there; they aren’t fallen so much as shoved.

While we’re on the subject of other entities successfully quitting, Morpheus also took note of Destruction’s path. At first glance, it seems he is as blind to Destruction’s successes as he is to Lucifer’s, only seeing him as behaving irresponsibly. However, as I mentioned in my initial essay on the subject, it’s possible that, after his own quest to find his brother in Brief Lives, Morpheus simply realizes he needs to quit smarter. If he can go pester his wayward brother, other entities could pester him.

Lucifer says that Morpheus has changed from when they met before. Whether or not that means “changed enough to realize that he can change his lot in life” or “changed to feel so guilty and depressed over his condition that he now wants to die” is up in the air—or perhaps up to reader interpretation.

At the end of Season of Mists, Nada finally gets to confront Morpheus after being freed from her multiple-millennia-long imprisonment, and the reader finally gets to learn part of why Morpheus was so incredibly harsh in her punishment. She not only refused Morpheus’ offer to become his immortal queen, but she’d counter-offered that he should become a mortal man to be her king. Not only had she, a human, refused a request from an Endless, but in asking him to abandon his responsibilities she’d unknowingly asked what he’d probably considered the most insulting thing possible. Now, having been freed, Nada points out that it’s been 10,000 years; he can still change his mind and leave the job that’s clearly wearing him down. Morpheus insists he hasn’t changed—possibly even refuses to believe it’s possible—despite the very obvious evidence standing in front of him. If he hadn’t changed, hadn’t realized his wrongdoings and taken action to correct them, Nada would still be rotting away in that cell! Instead, he risked his life to free her!

Notably, right after this is when Morpheus cuts some sort of ambiguous deal with the illusion-god Loki. Did he decide to die, contracting Loki then and there for the plot that would eventually incite Lyta to send The Kindly Ones after Morpheus? Or, instead, did Morpheus employ a master of shape-changing and illusion to help facilitate an equally elaborate plot that would allow him to change while only appearing completely dead?

There also seems thematic significance to the new “redemptive” approach to Hell the angels take. The sinners find the redemption more painful, difficult, and overall worse than just the punishment. Perhaps it is because redemption is a change, it requires effort, while punishment requires no change. Regarding Morpheus’ tendency to blame himself for so many problems in the universe (only a small percentage of which he’s caused), one is left to wonder if the finale is Morpheus punishing himself with death—or, if instead, he endures redemption and changes. Does he take the easy way out—the coward’s way out, as suicide is sometimes (somewhat insensitively, depending on the circumstances) called—or take the challenge?

The rewarding happy ending for the rest of the universe takes on a very different sheen depending on which view you choose. Either it rewards the protagonist giving up, choosing suicide, and choosing mere punishment, or it rewards a change, however hidden from the rest of the characters, and choosing redemption.

Now, the following point I have to make is not from Season of Mists but instead the collection of short stories after it, Distant Mirrors/Fables and Reflections. However, I was unsure where else to put this point, so I may as well include it here.

Much like the point I made about “Façade” in my previous essay, I believe “Augustus” is another odd, seemingly unconnected story that may have deeper meaning to the overall plot. At first glance, the only connection to the greater lore seems to be confirming that Dream is sometimes confused for the Greco-Roman god Apollo, in a reference to Orpheus’ parentage in the original Greek myths. However, at its core, “Augustus” is about a powerful, duty bound king (well, emperor) who suffers from hidden emotional pain, who has to plan an unorthodox way out of his situation without any divine figures finding out. Sound like anyone else? This could either be symbolic of Morpheus trying to plan his suicide before any of his loved ones could intervene, or it could be symbolic of his plan to fake his death (or, possibly, kill off only the part of him that is bound to his duties), thus leaving him free with nobody else to try and drag him back!

“Augustus” also includes the idea of two contradictory prophecy books that are both equally true until Augustus decides which book to act upon. This theme actually reappears in the main plot near the end of The Sandman, with there being multiple Destinies—eventually narrowed down to two—who only whittle down to one once Morpheus’ fate is sealed. This reinforces my suspicion that this short story is thematically significant. The fact that Augustus succeeds in his own plot, asserting his own agency and defying the unjust divine will of his abusive uncle, suggests that Morpheus also succeeds in his plan. What Morpheus’ plan is, of course, is once again up to the reader’s interpretation and optimism level.

There is one last potentially-overlooked point I would like to address. Season of Mists concludes with what appears to be a quote from author G. K. Chesterton, upon whom Fiddler’s Green’s human form is based. However, the book quoted does not actually exist; the notation states that it exists in the Library of Dreams, which holds every book both written and, in this case, unwritten. This adds layers of meaning to the quote. Neil Gaiman is not deciding to end the arc on a specific passage he found meaningful and relevant; rather, he specifically wrote the passage and the attribution in question. It’s very carefully crafted. The quote is as follows:

October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter or of shutting a book, did not end a tale.

Having admitted that, he would also avow that happy endings were never difficult to find: “It is simply a matter,” he explained to April, “of finding a sunny place in a garden, where the light is golden and the grass is soft, somewhere to rest, to stop reading, and to be content.”

--G.K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was October

Hmm, what’s that about the ending of a book not necessarily being the ending of a tale? Also, happy endings not being hard to find if you know where and how to look?

Of course the part about a sunny garden with soft grass is a reference to Fiddler’s Green’s landscape form too, but that’s going off-topic.

As I mentioned, the book “quoted” does not actually exist. Upon searching, it seems that the title is a parody of the actual Chesterton work The Man Who was Thursday: a Nightmare (hey, look at that subtitle!). Now, unfortunately, I am not currently familiar with Chesterton’s work and have not read this book. A quick glance at the Wikipedia page, however, reveals some interesting, potentially relevant details. It is very symbolic and dense…and there is apparently a debate over how pessimistic the book is supposed to be! Apparently Chesterton himself attributed the work’s dark tone to the bout of depression he was suffering in college and later tried to explain a more positive spin on it, while at least one other analyst continued to insist it followed a pessimistic philosophy regardless of Chesterton’s later statements. Gee, does that sound like any other literary works we know? Like, perhaps, the very one this essay is interpreting?

That allusion may have ended up far more relevant than Gaiman ever intended.

Tagging those who might be interested: @serenityspiral @duckland @roguelov @ambercoloredfox @notallsandmen @lizajane2 @onehundredandeleventropicalfish

#the sandman #the sandman comics #the sandman comics spoilers #neil gaiman's sandman #season of mists #the sandman season of mists #the sandman essay #the sandman meta #the sandman analysis #the sandman comics meta #the sandman comics analysis #my writing #original post

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scripturiends · 3 years

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law school episode 9 musings

warning: very very long post ahead. i have a lot of thoughts.

hey folks — how we feeling about episode 9?

given that there are so many plotlines in the show, i’m afraid i won’t be able to extend my analysis of the episode as far as i would like, but there are three characters who stood out to me the most last night that i’d like to talk about for now:

kang dan

there’s a lot that we got to uncover about her thanks to professor yang’s trial. if i’m piecing it all together right, the basic summary of what led to her disappearance goes like this:

she was a volunteer for assemblyman ko’s campaign, but upon discovering that he was spreading fake news about his opposition, dan reported him to the authorities (i’m guessing not just the police but also the media) and became a whistleblower. assemblyman ko tried to buy her off with money, but she refused, so he attacked her where she’s most vulnerable instead — by using her family.

i’m not completely sure about this (please feel free to correct me!) but it’s either byeol is (1) the twins’ half-sister, or (2) their stepsister? it’s so hard to tell, especially since korean terms can get lost in translation in the process (i watch on netflix, if that helps). but anyway, sol and dan’s mom married someone who was abusing her, and in exchange for dan’s silence (and her fleeing), the husband signs a contract that he would stop hurting his wife.

so that’s the backbone of dan’s story. however, this still doesn’t answer a lot of things, like where seo byungju or lee manho fits into the equation, the whereabouts of their mom’s ex-husband, or why dan was sent into boston in the first place.

i usually don’t like theorizing, but i do have one: there is an ivy league school located just outside of boston — harvard. (it’s technically in cambridge but you know, i’m taking liberties here.) professor yang said in passing one episode that he thought he saw dan when he went to the school for a seminar or a talk or something. could it be that assemblyman ko offered her an education at a top school in exchange for her silence? it could explain why she gave it up all so easily. what if she took that topnotch education as a chance to prepare, so that when she came back, she had much stronger leverage to take assemblyman ko down, given the knowledge and network of connections she’ll have earned in that school?

the theory’s plausible but i might be overestimating assemblyman ko’s kindness — unless he’s insanely desperate, he might not give a damn about dan’s education. it actually benefits him more if she stayed uninformed, but still. let me know what you think about it.

yoo seungjae

in this episode, we learned a little bit more about how yoo seungjae was able to hack into the professors’ laptops, and they also confirmed some of our previous speculations about him: that his wife yujeong was an ob gyn, and so was he, and that they were trying for a baby. unfortunately, i find it all to be a bit lacking in substance. i was hoping we could get down to the nitty-gritty of why he did what he did.

i say this for one important reason: i don’t know about you guys, but i would never make such a stupid mistake in undergrad, let alone in law school. seungjae has gone to med school, so we know that he knows the repercussions of his actions. why would he go to such lengths? sure, he found an opening, he was tempted, and he took it. but he didn’t just do it once, he did it multiple times, and those offenses add up (hacking, stealing exam papers, and cheating). surely he must know that something like this can ruin careers even before they even start, and not only would he get kicked out of the school, he would also get blacklisted from the industry once he implicates himself. so we understand why he’s so hesitant to testify (especially now that his wife is pregnant).

but why did he do that in the first place? we could say he’s insecure about his skills, but he’s survived med school. how much harder could law school be for him? i just don’t think that the payoff is worth the risk. what must be so important for yoo seungjae to do all of this for? what does he get in return if he successfully pulls it off and gets straight As during his entire time in law school? who is he doing for?

i hope it runs deeper than just wanting a ‘good future’ for him and his wife and their baby or something — because he could just as easily do that as a doctor. there must be another reason he went into law.

still, though, and this is just a personal opinion, even if i did find out his entire backstory, there’s no way i could ever defend him. we see in the show how his guilt builds up (from observing how kang sol A studies so well, to his conversation with jeon yeseul in the hospital), but at this point there is no more excusing what he did. not that i ever condoned it in the first place.

we’re still in the dark about a lot of things regarding yoo seungjae. hopefully by the next episode, we get something. but until then, he is still a shady, shady man to me.

kang sol B

her screen time in this episode was short, but i still wanted to highlight her because she is pretty much a ticking time bomb.

she’s in a tight spot right now because even if she testifies about having seen the sugar packet, the prosecutor will just twist the argument by saying she colluded with a murderer just to cover up her plagiarism.

and now, seo jiho needs her help, probably for something related to his case with prosecutor jin. in exchange, she puts pressure on him to ‘confirm’ that she didn’t plagiarize in middle school, since they were schoolmates and rivals.

there may be more to this plagiarism issue than meets the eye. who knows, we might find out later on that she actually didn’t plagiarize? but given what i know now, i have no reason to believe that she didn’t. i don’t blame her specifically for that, seeing as she has to pay for the consequences for something that her awful mom forced her to do. but now that the mess has been made, i want to see how she cleans it up.

kang sol B is a very elusive character to me. the scary thing about her is that she’s on no one’s side but her own. and that’s why i think she’s a ticking time bomb.

bonus: han joonhwi

so that’s all i have for the serious stuff. as a bonus, i’d like to talk about han joonhwi and his four (4) children jeon yeseul, seo jiho, kang byeol, and min bokgi.

one of my friends brought up how it’s so funny how he’s somehow just at the right place at the right time all the time. this happened when he ran into kang sol A when she was looking for yeseul (i still think they were on the phone with each other beforehand but this is just my shipper self talking — truthfully, if the focus was shifted towards that phone call without divulging who it was, i have a feeling it might be more important later on), and when seo jiho confronted prosecutor jin. adding his elevator conversation with kang sol B, i think it just solidified what we already know: han joonhwi is a very compassionate person. but he doesn’t sacrifice his own personality just to appease them — he recognizes that these individuals have agency, and he’s just giving them the little push they need to make them realize what they need to do.

i also felt the need to bring up kang byeol. the show does such a good job of ensuring that all the solhwi scenes that we get, no matter how indulgent and “fanservice-y” they might seem, actually have a deeper purpose. again, i could go on and on about what each solhwi scene has actually contributed to the development of the plot, which is exactly why i love them so much! because all of their scenes are so meaningful. but anyway, it’s nice to see han joonhwi care so much for his, ehem, future sister-in-law.

and for min bokgi — this scene was so short, but i absolutely loved it so much (i tend to pay attention to the throwaway scenes): min bokgi is going off about how yoo seungjae is acting weird, and he says to joonhwi, “hyung, you should call him.” and joonhwi responds with, “sure. eat your food.” it’s such a fatherly thing to do and it’s such a great contrast to bokgi’s dynamic with sol A, with whom he’s so loud and vibrant, moods that both match their personalities, but with joonhwi, who is more subdued, he’s like a little kid in need of rescue from an older brother, or even a dad. ah, i love it so much. min bokgi is such an underrated character. i wish he had more screen time. (if he doesn’t get a central ep, well, you guys know where i’m going with this, right? it means i’ll give it to him myself.)

so that’s it for now! i’m sorry i went on rambling again, but if there’s anything noteworthy in this post that you think is worth discussing, please do tell! if there’s anything that you found thought-provoking in the episode that i didn’t get to touch up on, let me know as well!

i personally don’t make any theories about the overarching plot myself, seeing as by the time the new episode comes out, we get fed information that renders the theory useless. still, that doesn’t mean we should stop coming up with our own ideas. sometimes, the theories are more interesting than the canon itself.

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pain-somnia · 3 years

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A Rhythm That Guides

Rated: M Pairing: SasuSaku Disclaimer Day’s Notes: This fic is an exclusive on Patreon. At least Part 2 and the soon to be posted Part 3 are. I wanted to surprise everyone by releasing the first part if Biden won the election. A Rhythm That Guides is my Incubus AU which has art created by ceejss that you can find in this links: part 1 & part 2 Part 2 is only a sneak peek but you can find the High Res versions on her Patreon and also in PDFs on mine for special tiers.

I hope you enjoy my Incubus AU. Part 1 can be read as is with no continuation if you like...but there are more parts of it if you want to follow Sakura and Incubus!Sasuke’s journey.

Part One

It was happening again.

Lately, in his afternoon lecture class, he was getting a painful empty feeling in his lower stomach. He wasn’t eating as much as he used to during his lunch break so that could have explained the empty feeling.

But the throbbing between his legs was making Sasuke consider that perhaps, something else was going on.

The lecture would barely be halfway through the hour and Sasuke was finding himself adjusting himself in his seat to discreetly hide the rising tent in his pants.

Luckily he sat in the back row, but it was getting ridiculous how often it was happening.

Nearing twenty and in the beginning stages of adulthood, Sasuke realized—a little later than he should have considering how obvious it was—what exactly was to blame for his predicament.

Or more specifically, who.

Turning in his seat, Sasuke created more space between himself and the girl sitting just a single space down the row from him.

Sasuke had been affectionately labeled a late bloomer by his mother when his father had expressed concern in his disinterest in humans of either gender.

“He’s going to have to feed eventually,” his father had grunted, not at all pleased when his mother pointed out the decrease in his consumption of human food she regularly made to feed him and herself.

“Meal times will be lonely once I’m the only one that needs to eat,” she had grumbled, taking his half eaten dishes away.

Sasuke wished he took after his human lineage instead. It would have been so much easier if he didn’t have to worry about how he was going to be getting his meals for the rest of his life on top of all of his course work.

Sighing to himself, he turned a page in his notebook and continued taking notes. He would just have to suffer through the ache.

Bending over slightly, Sasuke picked up his sports drink from the bottom of the vending machine. He could do without the sweetness of it but he desperately needed to replenish his electrolytes.

As soon as his class had ended he fled the lecture hall and put as much distance as possible between him and the source of his problems. He knew he would start to hunger for a different energy source but it made it all the worse that temptation sat with only a space between them.

When the new semester had started, Sasuke did what he always did: he found the seat farthest away from other students. It wasn’t that he disliked other people. He just didn’t want any distractions.

Sasuke had always been like that, studious to a fault. At first it was to impress his father, but he learned later on that he quite enjoyed having his name at the top of the board with all of the exam scores. He moved away from trying to make his father pay more attention to him and worked to make himself happy.

And his road to happiness required a degree in engineering.

He knew he could have picked another school, one that catered more to those of his kind, but he didn’t want to go to just any school he wanted to go to the school. Even if that meant attending a school with a high human population.

I have so many regrets now, he thought as he took a big swig of his sports drink.

Sasuke wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed. He was going to have to stop by a canteen for snacks if he was going to survive the rest of his day.

Eating usually sustained him for a few hours. It did nothing to fill the empty feeling in stomach but it allowed him to focus more on his lectures and labs until he could get home and try to sleep away the ache.

At least that’s what he hoped would happen. It was getting harder and harder to quell the hunger.

Sakura buried her nose into her textbook, pretending to be deep into her reading. Peering over the top she caught hold of heated dark brown eyes and quickly averted her gaze back to her textbook.

What did I do? She wailed inwardly and mentally flipped through the past few days searching for the offensive thing she may have done.

She couldn’t recall a single moment that she had even spoken to her classmate. Why was he so angry with her?

He probably figured me out…

Although she had never spoken to him, Sakura couldn’t help how smitten she had become over her classmate.

Uchiha Sasuke was a quiet boy. He didn’t seem to be a part of any of the circles and mostly kept to himself and his studies. If she didn’t see him in class, she would usually find him in the library or in the computer labs.

Sakura mostly made her own lunches and snuck them into her bag when she went to the library but when she visited the cafeteria she would find him grabbing some onigiri to go. She wondered how he kept going with their long days if he only ate rice and snacks. Humans couldn’t live off of sports drinks.

Sakura had been considering joining a study group but had been procrastinating. She had started to drift from a circle she had joined in a previous semester because of an extremely flirtatious upperclassman.

He was too touchy for her comfort but it was mostly the fact that he took any opportunity he could to complain about Uchiha Sasuke.

I guess an incubus wouldn’t like to share the attention.

Sakura shrugged off his comments and made sure there were at least two of her human upperclassmen in the same room. They were already used to the circle hopping incubi and succubi that used the campus as their hunting grounds and usually helped the underclassmen steer clear of them when they weren’t interested.

She guessed, in a way, it made sense why the incubus upperclassman felt threatened.

Uchiha Sasuke was quiet and polite but mostly he was really attractive. And it helped that he didn’t flirt with anything that moved.

An herbivore maybe? Sakura had joked to herself once.

Well now her quiet classmate was glaring daggers at her and she had no idea why.

And yet he is still beautiful while angry. The gods are so unfair.

Sakura kept her head down and she waited for the professor to arrive. She hoped he got there soon.

It was irritating how dangerous a blush could be.

Haruno Sakura was fair in coloring with pale skin that colored easily.

Sasuke had wondered if she was a regional dryad when he first saw her hair and eye color. Humans had a tendency to dye their hair but her eyebrows and pale, untouched lashes proved her to be a natural rose gold haired person. There was a chance of her being descended from a cherry blossom tree nymph.

But she was obviously human—or at least too far down the family tree from any possible nymph—without him having to ask.

“Is this computer taken?” Sakura asked, pink dusting the apples of her cheeks.

Glittering sea foam green eyes cast to the side shyly and the biting of a plump lower lip was just a reminder that Haruno Sakura was an above average beauty, even when compared to incubus standards.

It would be difficult to find a tastier looking meal.

What the fuck?

Disregarding that passing thought, Sasuke looked around the room for an available computer station. Even if there wasn’t one she could still switch computers with someone that wasn’t working yet.

“You should find a different computer,” he snapped when she reached for the chair. He gripped the top of the seat’s back and attempted to stare her down.

Pale green eyes went wide and the trembling of her lower lip made Sasuke’s stomach drop. He instantly regretted his behavior despite the fact that he needed her as far away from him as possible. Sasuke opened his mouth to ease the situation when, with more strength than he had expected, Sakura yanked the chair out from under his hand.

“Unfortunately for the both of us, this is the only available computer station,” she said hotly, face flushing red. She sat down and propped her textbook up so that she could reference it for notes.

A side effect of his awakening incubus nature was a heightened awareness of the emotions of different creatures. Sasuke could feel her irritation and her anger rolling off of her in hot waves. Her anger did nothing to quell the ache in his lower abdomen. Instead, heat pooled lower and a familiar twitching had him exhaling deeply through his nose.

“Shisui likes to get Izumi angry on purpose,” Itachi━who had lucked out and had taken after their human mother━━had explained once when he and his spouses were visiting. “Something about more flavoring. He never gets me angry like that but then again, I’m more likely to withhold if angered. It affects him more.”

It was something that he had absolutely no interest in knowing about his older brother and his in-laws but it had explained a lot about Shisui’s behavior on certain days. Shisui was like his father, faithful. It was a strange trait for an incubus but it was one that ran in the Uchiha family. They married their partner━or partners like in Shisui’s case━and fed from them exclusively. It was interesting to watch how Shisui and his spouses functioned in comparison to his more traditional father.

But at the moment he was just irritated to know he shared a similarity with Shisui of all people.

The sound of fingers pounding down on the keyboard next to him lightened to a steady stream of light tapping. Sasuke chanced a glance from his peripheral vision at his neighbor.

Something glittery caught his eye when Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The shorter strand curled around her ear and revealed a trio of silver studs along her lobe. His eyes trailed from her ears to her cheeks, the color had faded out as her temper cooled.

Her eyes squinted, a crease forming between pale brows as she contemplated her next keyboard strokes. Eyes drifting from the wrinkle between her eyebrows, Sasuke eyed the way she bit her lower lip at the right corner.

As she worked the scent of desire had diminished from her direction. Her anger hadn’t quelled it but her focus on her assignment had overcome the secondary feeling. It drifted to a quiet buzz, the way a few humans got when they were near someone they were innocently attracted to.

Sakura continued to work, not bothering to try and chat with him, like she always did in their shared lectures. That was the part Sasuke never understood. She never bothered him outside of handing him the exit slip for their lectures or to get around his seat.

And yet her existence was hard to ignore.

She wasn’t the only human at their university that was attracted to him. He wasn’t oblivious to the stares and to what people assumed was subtle brushing against his body.

So why exactly was she such a problem?

Sakura sighed and pushed her keyboard away from her. The action caused her propped textbook to slide upwards against the monitor and system unit and fold in on itself.

“Oh, shoot!” Sakura hissed under her breath as the book began to fall. She fumbled with it as it slipped off of the desk.

He hadn’t intended to reach for the textbook. It was mostly reflex that had him making a grab for it. It hadn’t even occurred to him until after it was safely in his hands that catching the book would give away the fact that he had been paying far more attention than he should have been. He shouldn’t have been paying any attention at all.

“Thank you,” Sakura murmured as he handed back the book. Her face did the thing again where it colored easily, pink spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

Great.

Sasuke sucked in some air to try and distract himself from the heat pooling in his groin. It wouldn’t do for his hunger to manifest itself as a lump in his jeans.

Quickly logging out, Sasuke grabbed his belongings and made a swift exit.

He needed to get as far away from her and her dangerous blushes as possible.

It was odd. He could still taste the slices of tomatoes his mother had chopped up. They slid across his tongue, still tangy and cool from having just been taken out from the refrigerator, every bit as tasty as it always was but it didn’t hit his stomach the same way.

“Is everything alright?” Mikoto stopped in her stirring as she eyed the way Sasuke’s mouth twisted and he pushed away the plate of his favorite fruit.

“I ate like three tomatoes worth of slices and I’m still hungry.”

“Oh.” Mikoto looked down at the pot on the stove and frowned. “Should I make more or…?”

“I don’t think it would matter if I ate more or not at this point.”

Sasuke’s jaw clenched as the ache in his stomach stung sharply. He was running out of time.

He had hoped he would never have to deal with this problem. His older brother Itachi never did—he turned out to be human, no matter the fact that he was almost perfect in everything he did, he was human through and through.

Sasuke had figured if his brother ended up being human then he would get passed over as well. Unfortunately, genetics weren’t on his side on this one.

Clearing his bowl and wiping down his spot at the kitchen table Sasuke bid his mother goodnight, calling it in for the night.

Without bothering to turn on the lights for his bedroom he peeled off his shirt and kicked off his house slippers before collapsing onto his bed. He yanked his duvet out from under him and pulled it over his head.

“I don’t even want to touch anyone like that,” he sighed.

As soon as he had the thought, his mind flashed him an image of pink hair and red blushes clashing with jade colored eyes.

I’m not entertaining that.

Sasuke curled into a ball and clutched a pillow to his chest. Maybe tomorrow he would be less hungry.

It was like he hadn’t eaten in days.

There was nothing that could have distracted him from the pain in his lower stomach. It was pride that had him struggling to get to class. That and an exam later on in the day that he couldn’t afford to miss.

Traveling by train was a hassle due to the amount of attention he was attracting.

“Never let yourself starve,” Shisui had warned him weeks ago when the signs of transition were revealing themselves. “Your body will go into starvation mode and release pheromones that attract nearby humans that you can feed on. That may sound helpful, but it gets chaotic in public spaces.”

Sasuke was forced to exit the train five stations away from the university station and call a taxi company that specialized in otherworldly patrons. A pair of high school girls were inching closer and one middle aged man had already brushed his back against Sasuke’s chest much too often to be blamed on the rocking of the train car.

He wouldn’t survive the rush of travelers that would hop on the train at the central station.

“You don’t look good, kid.” A single horned demon cab driver turned in his seat to look back at him. “I could drop you off somewhere you can get easy prey.”

What, did he have a sign on his forehead that read “Starving Incubus?”

“Take me to K Uni,” Sasuke growled out more forcefully.

Incubus physiological issues weren’t going to get in his way of passing the semester with top marks.

The demon gave him a disapproving look before pulling away from the curb. He muttered something derogatory that Sasuke chose to ignore.

Sasuke was dropped off as close as possible to the building he needed to get to but it still wasn’t enough. He weaved through campus, taking the least crowded hallways to get to his destination.

“Fuck.”

Sasuke ducked under a stairwell and slid down against the wall to the floor. The hunger pains were getting worse.

Exhaling deeply through his nose, Sasuke resigned himself to missing his two lectures for the day and then braving his way to his exam. He would just have to hide out. Luckily he was in a part of the building no one used, choosing instead to use the staircase and elevators on the opposite side of the building than the ones that faced the cafeteria.

Unzipping his jeans to make more room for himself without actually whipping his penis out Sasuke sighed out, grateful for the few centimeters of relief.

Sasuke rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. Unlike erections from his youth, he was having difficulty willing his current predicament away with meditation. It wasn’t arousal, it was hunger. And it wasn’t going to be going away just because he wanted it to.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke leaned his head back and tried to focus on the cool cement wall behind him.

“Uchiha-kun?”

Oh, no. No. No. No!

“Uchiha-kun are you, okay?”

Of course Haruno Sakura would be the one person that chose to walk in a secluded part of the building. Of course it would be the last person he wanted to see him in such a state.

“Do you...need assistance?”

Or maybe...she was the perfect person to find him?

“Uchiha-kun, do you need me to get someone? Or something?”

Her voice was warm and full of concern and just so inviting. The tone promised she would do anything to help him. Anything.

Opening his eyes, Sasuke let out a groan. This just wasn’t his day.

Sakura squatted so that she was eye level with him and tossed her bag on the ground. The hem of her blue button down shirt dress rode up her thigh, revealing more of her legs than he had seen before.

“You look a bit feverish…” she mumbled, placing a cool hand against his forehead before sliding the back of it against his cheek. “You’re really—“

Her sentence was caught off when she gasped. Her skin was so cool and he was so hot that he had leaned into her touch and pressed a kiss to her wrist.

“Um, Uchiha-kun?” Sakura squeaked and Sasuke took advantage of her shock to take hold of her hand and press an open mouthed kiss to the inside of her wrist and dragged his lips up her palm.

He wasn’t sure of what he was doing, but something inside him was telling him to take her slim fingers into his mouth and nibble at the tips.

“Uchiha-kun…?”

Already in his presence for too long, Sakura’s green eyes glazed over and she was beginning to pant. Sliding his left hand up her thigh over her dress, Sasuke gripped her hip gently and tugged her so that she would fall on to his lap.

Sakura’s breath hitched when Sasuke pressed his forehead to hers. His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose and lightly tapped against her face. Nudging her nose with his, Sasuke pressed his lips against hers, guiding her into opening up for him with hesitant movements. Sakura returned his kiss, running her tongue along the seam of his mouth.

Every sigh and moan lightened the ache in his stomach. Sasuke rolled his tongue against Sakura’s and brushed the underside of her right breast, gently strumming his fingers against her ribs.

“Mmh!” Sakura made a sound of surprise as he gave a small breast an experimental squeeze.

Sasuke groped around with his thumb, circling a hardened peak through the cloth of her dress. Sakura grunted in frustration as he avoided the places she longed for him to touch.

Irritation rolled off of her in waves as she bit down on Sasuke’s lip, tugging it as she pulled away from him. Sasuke couldn’t help the upturn of his lips as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and puffed out an exhale to blow hair out of her face.

The more frustrated she got the more her arousal spiked. Her body was demanding release and as much as Sasuke’s hunger clouded mind wanted to give it to her, there was another part that wanted to prolong the moment.

Since the start of the semester, Haruno Sakura had been a nuisance. Every shared lecture she would distract him with her not so subtle glances and the smell of fresh linens and apples whenever she passed him to get to her seat.

So he wasn’t in any particular mood to just get it over with.

Slowly, as not to frighten her off, he slid his hand up her thigh under her dress. He pulled her in closer by cupping the back of her neck and thumbed smoothing circles along her jaw.

Sasuke was sure lack of experience would cause him to stumble, but apparently being an incubus did have its perks. His heightened senses guided him and he was sure he was moving exactly the way Sakura wanted him to. Not a single intake of air or moan was hidden from him.

“Oh!” Sakura buried her face in the crook of his neck as his fingers slipped into the front of her cotton boy shorts.

With two fingers he lightly traced the velvet soft nether lips and hummed in delight at the way Sakura trembled at the slight touch. He wondered how much of it was the exposure to his incubus pheromones and how much of it was her own sensitivity.

Stroking inward, Sasuke groaned at the moisture pooling between her legs. His stomach clenched, cramping with a sudden pang of pain. He slipped his middle finger inside and curled it, feeling her walls and stretching her a bit. He pumped slowly, keeping alert for any signs of distress, and then with his thumb circled around a curious, knobby bit of flesh right above her entrance.

It was almost instant the reaction he got out of Sakura. She gasped and curled inward on herself, clutching his shoulders.

“Please…” she begged, swiveling her hips hesitantly. “Please, oh, please!”

Sasuke gave in and pressed his thumb directly on her clit, massaging it and rubbing circles, adding pressure to it and listening to the change in pitches of Sakura’s moans. Slipping in his ring finger as well had Sakura letting out a strangled cry. Sasuke paused, worried that he had hurt her when she whimpered.

But then Sakura grinded her hips against his hand and he resumed pumping his fingers and twirling his thumb in the way she seemed to enjoy.

“Hm!”

Sakura caught him off guard by taking his face in her hands and lifting his face up to hers. Their teeth clanged together from her eagerness, but Sasuke allowed her to relax and settle into a languid meshing of lips all on her own.

A moan rolled into his mouth and it caused a delightful shiver to run down his spine. Sasuke increased the pace of his pumping fingers and the rubbing of his thumb, coaxing more of Sakura’s little moans. He shuddered when one particular moan of hers hit at the same time the walls of her core fluttered and clenched around his fingers.

That was good…

Sasuke pulled his fingers out, smirking at the dejected whimper that fell from Sakura’s lips. He slipped the fingers that had just been inside of her gathering her fluids and sucked on them. His stomach growled, needing more.

Sasuke laid Sakura down on the linoleum floor and tugged on her panties, dragging them down from her legs. He kept an eye on her face for any signs of protest but instead what he got was Sakura shimmying her hips to assist in helping him peel away her undergarments.

“Huh?” Sakura blinked her unfocused eyes as Sasuke adjusted their positions so that her upper body was lying on the ground and her legs were lifted onto his shoulders. “What are you━?”

She cried out in shock as he cupped the pert rounds of her backside and pulled her up to his mouth. Sasuke let out a breathy chuckle before flattening his tongue against her core and giving it one long lick upwards, flicking her clit at the end of the stroke.

Sasuke groaned, pressing open mouthed kisses to her core as Sakura covered her mouth with her hands to reign in her moans.

No matter how hard she tried to keep quiet and hide her reactions, Sasuke felt them all as they warmed his lower stomach, easing the ache he had been suffering through for weeks.

I wouldn’t have been avoiding this if I knew how good it felt to feed.

Sasuke wrapped his lips around the bundle of nerves that caused the most delight and sucked on it. He adjusted his hold on her to slide his right hand around so he could slip his fingers back inside and thrust them in and out in tandem with the oral attention he was giving her clit.

It didn’t take long for Sakura to tense up, thighs squeezing together around Sasuke’s head as she held on tight to her orgasm. Sasuke licked languidly at her core, letting her ride it out as long as possible.

The better she felt the less empty his stomach felt. The only problem was the throbbing between his legs.

Sasuke laid Sakura back down on the floor. Her dress bunched up around her hips, showing off her bare pale legs and the tuft of glistening pink curls at the peak of her thighs.

She was so pink everywhere. Her hair, her flushed face, even down below she was just so pink.

Sakura peered up at him from beneath wet, pale lashes. Her chest rose with each harsh pant as she tried to settle down her breathing. Sasuke was just about to call it off—perhaps he had reached the limit as to how much Sakura could take at once—when she lifted the hem of her dress further up, dragging it to bunch up at the cinched section below her breasts.

Swallowing hard, Sasuke sat up on his knees and tugged his jeans lower on his hips.

“Holy…” Sakura shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “That’s not going to fit.”

It was a part of the incubus anatomy that Sasuke hadn’t considered causing him any issues before. Sakura was petite, much smaller than he was. The size difference would be a challenge.

Especially considering incubi had much, much larger members than humans.

“It’s going to be fine,” he assured her, kneeling in front of her.

He spread her legs wider and pulled her up so that she was propped on his lap. It was a move that had his cock brushing the entrance of her core and he groaned at the heat radiating from her.

Sasuke pressed the head of his cock and watched Sakura’s eyes as they widened when he inched further in.

Sakura whimpered as he stretched her further. Even with all of the foreplay earlier, Sasuke was still much too big for comfort. Sasuke soothed her by stroking her thigh. Sakura reached up and took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers.

“Keep,” She panted, “going.”

Gripping her hip with his other hand, Sasuke steadied her as he pulled out and thrust back in. He kept his thrusts shallow, hoping to get her accustomed to having him inside of her.

“Oh!” Sakura tightened her hold on his hand when he sank further in, finally able to slip past the tight passage of her core.

It’s still not much inside though…

Sakura arched her back, clearly ecstatic at the new sensation as Sasuke picked up the pace. Her face was no longer pinched in discomfort, much to Sasuke’s relief.

But maybe it would be better if I…

Sasuke slipped out and Sakura sobbed at the loss of his girth inside of her. He knew that his pheromones and body fluids acted as an aphrodisiac but he didn’t realize that humans could become so desperate once they came in contact.

Sasuke turned Sakura over so that she was lying down on her stomach. Realizing what he was up to, Sakura braced herself on her forearms and arched her back so that her ass was in the air.

Sitting up on his knees, Sasuke took his cock in his hand and guided himself back into Sakura’s wet heat.

He groaned aloud at the feeling as he sank even deeper than he was able to before. He waited for a moment as Sakura got used to the new position. A high pitched cry had gotten caught in her throat as he had stretched her out once more but it had turned into a moan as he slipped further inside.

Using a two handed grip on her hips to anchor himself, Sasuke pulled out and drove back in. His pace was slow but the thrusts were harsh and deep as he soaked in the blissful energy radiating from Sakura.

Sasuke began to increase his pace when a door opened up from a floor above them. A loud set of girls had flung the door open and were giggling to each other as they made their way down the stairs.

He instantly halted his movements and strained to listen to where the people were heading. He was reluctant to pull out; partially because he was almost well fed, partially because Sakura had turned her head to look back at him, face scrunched up in a pout, silently pleading for another release.

He was pleased to hear their voices carrying upwards, going in the opposite direction of where he and Sakura were hiding on the first level.

A sigh of relief caught in his throat and choked him as Sakura began to push back against him, grinding her hips.

“Oi,” Sasuke chastised, tightening his hold on her hips to still her grinding. They still weren’t in the clear until he heard them exit the stairwell through one of the doors.

Sakura whined low in her throat but settled when he leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her nape. She sighed dreamily as he continued to lavish her with sweet attention. He trailed more down her spine until he heard the clanging of a door shutting.

As soon as they were alone again, he pulled out and rammed back in. He couldn’t drag it out any longer or he would risk them almost getting caught again.

Snaking a hand around Sakura’s hip and down between her thighs, he reached for her clit and pinched it. Sakura squealed and the walls of her core clamped down on his cock. He rubbed it in a pace to match his thrusting.

Sakura mewled in delight as he swiveled his hips, grinding deeply. One good thrust and she came undone once again. Reluctantly, Sasuke pulled out at the last possible moment, ejaculating on the back of her thighs.

He could only compare the decision to pull out to the feeling of someone swiping away the last bite of one’s favorite dish before they could get to it but it would have been unwise to come inside of her without knowing if she were on any birth control.

He moaned softly as the last drops of cum oozed from the slit of his cock’s head. The act was so messy despite how pleasurable it was. It wasn’t going to be fun trying to clean up.

“Haruno,” Sasuke tried to get Sakura’s attention. She was face down on the linoleum, arms having finally given out from under her. “Haruno?”

Sasuke shook her shoulder and when he got no reaction he flipped her over onto her back. Her eyes were shut and her chest rose slowly with each breath she took.

Haruno Sakura had passed out right after her climax. Considering his starved state, he had drained her of more life force than was necessary.

Sighing to himself, Sasuke took out his handkerchief and got to work on wiping his ejaculant from where it was dripping on her legs.

So fucking messy.

Blinking her eyes open, Sakura yawned before turning her face into the comforting warmth she was leaning against.

A small cough drew her attention up to the face of her classmate Uchiha Sasuke.

“You missed two lecture blocks.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. He had just fucked her until she was unconscious and that was what he wanted to inform her of?

“You’re an incubus.”

If the abnormally large size of his penis wasn’t a dead giveaway, his eyes had shifted colors and glowed red when he had sucked his fingers clean of her fluids. When had they shifted back to dark brown? She had no clue. She had been knocked out by the sudden draining of energy he had consumed.

Sasuke glared at her before averting his gaze. He stared at the wall and muttered, “Unfortunately.”

Sakura took note of how he cradled her in his lap, his cardigan sweater covering her. She watched as he avoided looking at her even as his ears burned hot pink.

He was still Uchiha Sasuke despite everything.

“This might be a weird time to mention it, but I like you. A lot.” The pink on his ears spread down his neck. “And I usually have more stamina than that. I’m not kidding, Uchiha-kun. I was in my high school’s track club.”

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply.

“How about you start with calling me by my first name and we’ll work from there?”

“I can do that.” Sakura squirmed in his lap, making herself comfortable. She was still exhausted from earlier despite taking almost a three hour nap.

Ah, shit.

“I had an exam during one of those blocks.”

“Shit. I have one in half an hour.”

Sakura burst out laughing as the color drained from his face. He really was still the same Uchiha Sasuke she had been sitting next to all semester.

“At least you won’t be hungry, huh?”

“Real funny…”

#sasusaku #ss fanfiction #day!fics

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hirazuki · 4 years

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I read on your latest art post that you see parallels between Orochimaru and Sakura. That's interesting; usually he's linked to Sasuke. Please elaborate on your thoughts. Also, fantastic art! You are a gift to the world! Thanks for sharing!

Aaah anon, you are so sweet!! Thank you so much, I’m glad you liked the art! 💜 And sure! I’m sticking it under a cut because, well, I can never be brief :D

So, I’ve always felt like, even though Sakura has obvious parallels with Tsunade (her temper, super strength, etc.), a lot of those are only surface level. And a bunch of them, in my opinion, were actually instilled by Tsunade herself (the super strength, for instance; if Sakura had trained under someone else, she wouldn’t necessarily have developed that ability. It’s not necessarily an innate quality of hers, though to have taken to it so wholeheartedly, the potential was obviously there). If you look a bit deeper into her circumstances and how she responds to adversity, she’s actually a lot more similar to Orochimaru:

Both were the ones left behind by their teammates: The timeline is a little unclear as usual XD as to the order of things during the Second War, but generally speaking Jiraiya left his team and Konoha for 3 years to teach the Ame orphans, and it’s strongly implied that he only ever stayed at the village for brief stints after that; primarily, he’s shown to be busy travelling, establishing his spy network and searching for the child of prophecy. Likewise, ever since meeting Jiraiya during the Chunin Exams, Naruto was mostly out of the village training and travelling with him, even before he officially left on his long three year absence. Tsunade left Konoha permanently after Dan’s death; and I’m fairly certain the only reasons she wasn’t branded a missing nin were Hiruzen being the Hokage at the time and her lineage, because she essentially walked out and vanished. It’s either stated or strongly implied, I believe by the village elders, that they repeatedly sent out people to track her down and failed? I’d have to go back and double check, but I’m pretty sure something like this is mentioned when Homura and Koharu talk to Jiraiya about becoming Hokage, right after Orochimaru’s attempt to destroy the village. Likewise, Sasuke left Konoha permanently for training with Orochimaru, and also had people repeatedly trying to track him down. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was left behind still working for the village -- training Anko, working as ANBU/Root, working with Danzo who, despite what anyone thinks of him, still counts as village leadership. Everything Orochi did while in Konoha was actually endorsed by the government (regardless of whether it also lined up with his personal interests or not), whether directly by Danzo’s orders or indirectly through Hiruzen refusal to acknowledge or examine anything Danzo was doing. Sakura was left behind, also still working for the village; in her case, this took the form of pursuing her own training, developing new skills, joining up with other teams to run missions, etc.

Both of them reacted to loss by fixating on getting stronger and throwing themselves into their work: Orochimaru, after losing Jiraiya and Tsunade (and Dan and Nawaki, and seeing how their deaths broke Tsunade -- I think that was really the last straw for him), started pursuing his goal of learning all jutsu and attaining immortality with a single-mindedness that had not been there before. His fixation on these, at least to me, comes across as the simple desire to build himself up in such a way that he’ll never be affected by loss again. Similarly, after Naruto and Sasuke both left, Sakura approached Tsunade and essentially demanded of her to train her up. She also threw herself into learning and excelling in medical ninjutsu, building up her taijutsu skills and attaining incredible physical strength -- again, in an effort to ensure that she’d be strong enough to face whatever life threw at her next. Specifically in this case, she bears no similarity to Tsunade, whose reaction to loss was to cut ties and run, hiding indefinitely while giving in to her bad habits. (No judgement on Tsunade here, I totally understand and support her reacting to the events in her life like this, I’m just pointing out that she’s basically the opposite to Sakura in this regard). Both Orochi and Sakura reacted to loss by taking the strength equals survival mentality to heart, and being more driven than ever in terms of improving themselves.

Both have an interest in the human body: For Orochimaru, this interest manifests more in terms of genetics, biology, pushing the limits of what is possible, experimentation, etc. It is the darker side of science that, occasionally, intersects with what Tsunade practices. For Sakura, it’s the medical field, specifically with a mind towards healing. However, given what we saw of her behaviors, thought processes, and abilities during the arc with Sasori and Chiyo, I personally can see Sakura having the affinity to specialize in things like poisons. Had it not been Tsunade that was available to train under when Sakura was at her lowest and darkest point and it had been someone like, say, Kabuto? I definitely think Sakura could have easily gone down a darker path in medial ninjutsu; one that still incorporated healing, of course (Kabuto is still extremely adept at being a healer), but possessing a large repertoire of how to cause damage to the body as well. This is my own interpretation, obviously, but I do think that the benign nature of Sakura’s medical training has more to do with who her teacher was than with Sakura herself; I have no doubt that she has the capacity of being as devastating as Kabuto within the medical field, and that could have been quite easily nurtured back when she was freshly abandoned by her teammates and left to pull herself back together, determined to catch up to them.

Neither comes from a prestigious shinobi lineage: We have no clue who Orochimaru’s parents were. A popular fan theory is that they were ninja who were killed in the line of duty, but unless I’m forgetting something, we’re never actually given canon confirmation of that. All we know is that they died while he was very young, which is what started him on his path of questioning life, death, mortality, etc. Sakura’s parents, as we know, are civilians and, from all appearances, don’t really seem to have any clue as to what life as a ninja is about. Unlike Sasuke (an Uchiha and Indra’s incarnation), Tsunade (a Senju and granddaughter of the First Hokage), Naruto (the Kyuubi jinchuriki, son of the Fourth Hokage and the previous Kyuubi jinchuriki, an Uzumaki, and Ashura’s incarnation), Orochi and Sakura didn’t really have anything going for them in terms of bloodline. (We know nothing of Jiraiya’s parents other than the implication that they didn’t die while he was young, so he falls in this category too). That’s not to say that Sasuke, Tsunade, and Naruto didn’t also work their asses off to get to where they did; they absolutely did. But Orochimaru and Sakura (and Jiraiya) had less to work with, even if Orochi was naturally gifted with things like ninjutsu and hailed as a genius. Also, that kind of division -- between clan kids and non-clan kids -- isn’t really explored that much in the series, but it’s something that would definitely affect a shinobi’s mentality and outlook on things growing up. (Obviously, this last part doesn’t apply to Naruto -- he grew up a clan-less orphan, for all intents and purposes, but you get the idea).

That’s what I can think of off the top of my head for now! If anything else occurs to me, I’ll reblog this and add to it ^^ Hope that was a satisfactory answer!

#first thing i see this morning is sweet anon in my inbox in response to my art #and asking me to talk about my faves?#i'm gonna be like :D :D :D all day now #thanks so much for dropping by!#Anonymous #orochimaru #sakura

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matt-eldritch · 4 years

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Mortal Kombat Akademy

In between my work on the 31 Days of Original Characters challenge, I've begun to revisit my plans for the big Mortal Kombat story I'd wanted to do for awhile; Mortal Kombat Akademy. I've done a lot of character busts with backstory info and I did a sort of "season one" plots but this is something I'm not really satisfied with anymore. I'm gonna spend the new year trying to readjust and rework the overall story and characters to something more workable. Here's a few odds and ends of what I've planned so far;

Story Outline

Shaolin Monks, Lui Kang and Kung Lao, are recruited into the Mortal Kombat Akademy, the secret fighting school located on the island paradise of international crimelord, Shang Tsung. But those who step foot on the island are subjected to terrors beyond comprehension once they learn the true purpose of the school; a training ground for the soldiers of an interdimensional tyrant who conquers by use of a fighting tournaments ordained by the gods themselves. But one of the gods, Raiden, is willing to give Earth a fighting chance by training as many chosen Earthlings as he can so they may finally defeat the forces of evil in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Kinda bare bones but for plot synopsis go, it helps me sort of make a launching pad for the ideas. Like my original idea, the story is still primarily about Lui Kang and Kung Lao going to the school and meeting/befriending the typical heroes of the Mortal Kombat world, Raiden being their mentor and Shang Tsung being the big bad to overcome.

But the story ideas I had just don’t really cut it for me now. I feel as though I was sort of putting the cart before the horse by putting so much time making elaborate details instead of snowballing one idea to make a big bright idea. I’ve made some titles for them;

Start the Semester!

Tour the Akademy!

Prepare for the First Exams!

Bond Like Your Lives Depend On It!

Learn the Fatalities!

Wills and Testaments!

Survive the Detetionrealm!

Survive the First Round of Exams!

Survive the Second Round of Exams!

Survive the Last Round of Exams!

Party Your Asses Off!

Mortal Kombat Akademy V. The DC Universe: Dawn of Pain!

To give some context to them, I had a storyarc planned; Early on, Raiden would want the Earthrealm class (the class would have Kang, Lao, Johnny, Sonya, Jax, Stryker and Nightwolf) to be friends and allies in order to survive the matches and save the world. Easier said than done when so many personalities were clashing together. And once they learn about fatalities, the class goes through some mental anguish over having to kill or be killed, Kang being the only one vowing to never kill anyone, to the disbelief of everyone else. Things start looking up once the class starts to trust and respect one another and become stronger fighters.

But Kano, on the behalf of Goro’s Class (Mileena, Kitana, Jade, Baraka, Sheeva, Skarlet, Reptile, Tanya and Kano himself) frames Sonya and Johnny for a crime, leading to Professor Quan Chi to exile them to the “Detention Realm” where his goons, Drahmin and Moloch, deal out the punishments. My idea for them that they’d be bumbling and dim so Johnny and Sonya could escape them, bonding while trying to make it to the final exams. Everyone but Kang and Lao have been defeated and since Sonya and Johnny were late, it’d all be up to them to beat Goro. Once Goro beast Lao half to death, Kang faces his fears and manages to defeat Goro without killing him, but not without making him suffer for all the pain he’s caused.

The class’ reward for passing the exams is an-all expense paid vacation to Edenia, which is basically a hellhole built to Shao Kahn’s pleasure. Here, Kang and Kitana get some alone time to romantically connect to one another during the celebratory feast hosted by Kitana and Mileena’s parents, Shao Kahn and Sindel. But really, the feast is for the Kahns to asses the threat that Raiden’s students hold to their long term plans. And finally, the DCU story is just a fun breather where I have the mid-1990s versions of their heroes (Superman with a mullet, Batman Forever styled Batman and the two Wonder Women, Artemis and Diana, for example).

And after rereading what I had for plots, I noticed how little the Lin Keui featured into the stories since I designed a lot of them for the series. Should try to fix that somehow.

Overall Art Style

As I stated in previous MKA concept art, I based the art style on the look of Steven Universe. I still intend for the project to be written fanfiction, but I do wish to have some elements of it to be drawn by myself. Not a full adaptation but maybe a full page illustration of each chapter, along with the general character/environment sketches, or like the ending credits of The Mandalorian series.

But back to the art style, I wish to change it. I can’t really go further on the style of Steven Universe if this story is going to be about such heavy violence and gore. It wouldn’t really look right, might cross over into unintentional hilarity or into the uncanny valley. I’m looking at something like the artist One, the man behind One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 whose style is really unique, fast, sketchy and frenetic, all attributes I think will work well. I also love the anime aesthetic of the 1990s so that’s definitely a goal to achieve since I’m setting the story in 1995.

Story Ideas To Keep

* Koins: My idea for an in-canon reason for the koins you win in matches (at least in Mks 9-11, IDK how far back they go) to unlock Krypt stuff will be used as a way for the students to buy things like food, clothing and resurrections due to being killed by another student’s fatalities since its primarily a learning facility instead of a battlefield. Though if you’re broke, you’re not gonna be saved. Koins, like in the games, will be given for performing a fatality and a moral choice comes up when you think “do I do good and be paid less, or do something terrible but get more chances of being resurrected if I die?”

*Profiles: I’ve got to do some rewrites for the characters. Nothing too too major since I do like a lot of what I wrote, but its more to streamline it to fit in the new direction I’m doing. Like, having Sonya, Jax and Stryker being Hall Monitors, I don’t think something like that is gonna be part of my story since I’m trying to take it a tad more seriously. The idea of Detention Realm and having Dharmin and Moloch as lovable henchmen is still canon, as far as I’m concerned. Think the two mice henchmen from the film “Flushed Away”. And on a final note, the newly retconned origin for Sindel...that shit isn’t gonna be part of my story.

Overall, whatever backstories that’ll be changed will likely be on a case by case basis. No telling who or what will be changed right now, but I’ve now thought of some parts to start with.

Diversity and Inclusion

This one is probably gonna be one of the hardest to accomplish since I really want to make the series really diverse with body types, genders and sexuality, race, neurodiversity, that type of subject matter. Inclusion is really important to me, and I’m scared how I might screw it up like how Disney, JK Rowling, SNL, Simpsons, Big Mouth, Voltron so many more screw it all up since they all serve the needs of the capitalist, neoliberal status quo over the voices of the marginalised.

And with that, brings up some more challenges. Will I make so many diverse original characters that they take time away from the canon characters? Should I make more canon MK characters differently diverse?

I'm also planning on having the characters display prejudices and bigotries but I'm scared I'll go in too much of "Bright" territory, if you know what I mean.

Tackling Mature Content

I mean, it goes without saying that the series is going to be full of violence and gore since that’s basically in the DNA of Mortal Kombat in the first place. But there’s much more serious topics I want to try to write. Like the effects of abuse, queer rights, the above themes about diversity and inclusion, the seemingly never ending war and the ideas of the long defeat. Of course, my chapters will be marked with as clear as possible content warnings, those are important.

A Shared Universe

A month ago, I watched a video about Midway trying to recreate the success of Mortal Kombat into other fighting games. The video, “Remember when Midway tried to copy Mortal Kombat?” talked about three would-be franchises of Midway fighting games; Mace: The Dark Age, War Gods and Bio FREAKS. After watching the video and reading about the games, I think it’d be good for lore if they were integrated into my story. Mace and War Gods could be used as part of the backstory of the series. Like the idea of the Earthrealm Kombatants being the descendants of the characters of Mace and War Gods, maybe Raiden was involved with the later, I’m not sure. Bio FREAKS could be latter used if I go into a time travel story. Maybe a mix of the game and the story/characters of Mortal Kombat X. As for Midway’s other successful but overlooked franchise, Killer Instinct, that is probably going to be the most recurring element in the shared universe. UltraTech, the main villains of the series would be the people behind such things as Kano’s cyborg eye, the Lin Keui’s Cyber Initiative and being the rulers of Neo-Amerika in the Bio FREAKS timeline. I also wrote in the profiles of Nightwolf and Sub-Zero that the Killer Instinct universe is linked to my story (one of his divorced parents is dating one of the parents of KI’s Black Eagle and Thunder while Glacius was an alien that helped give Cryomancers their powers).

And on a side note, there is another Midway MK clone called Primal Rage, which I swear I had one of the toys based on it and saw a parody of it on an episode of Dexter’s Laboratory. Its pretty gruesome, its a bunch of savage Kaiju in a post-apocalyptic earth that resembles the stone age. Probably an alternate timeline/dimension if I use it in my series. Who knows, maybe elements of the worlds of Street Fighter and or God of War could make an appearance...

Writing the Damned Thing

Probably the absolute hardest part of this entire thing. I struggle with actually keeping attention to writing since I’m primarily a visual artist and it feels terrible to not even follow through on any idea I have and it just kinda sits and collects dust in my brain. If its sketching and rendering, I can do it. If its writing shit down, I just have executive dysfunction when it comes to it. I never know where to start writing it, how to continue writing it, how to finish it or how to put it all together cohesively.

I can’t do this without at least writing the complete first season, if I do it on a semi-regular basis, nothing is going to be done. Even like, less than a week of non-recurring writing is like a poison to me. I don’t know how, but if I make room for an hour or two of writing a day every day might help me get more prepared for longer writing.

In Conclusion

When will the first chapter be done? I don’t know. When will I start writing? Hopefully as soon as I can. I can try to post updates or work in progresses, but that’s still a pipe dream, in my honest opinion. But I want to make progress in 2020, I need to make a difference and to actually make this coming year worthwhile.

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sagara-megumi · 5 years

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SasuSaku Month 2019 - Day 4: City Lights || [Fanfic] Family Ties - Chapter 2

Sorry for the long delay in posting this chapter but health and relatives visits made it a bit difficult (having nephews and nieces around asking you to play with them isn’t the best way to get inspired). Also, Sasuke made things a bit difficult XD

Title: Family Ties: Chapter 2

Rating: T/PG-13

Words: 3470

Notes: Well, as I stated in the previous chapter, there are going to be vampires in this story ^^ I don’t know if you’ve read manga about vampires before but just in case you haven’t, I’m going to tell you a little about them because Japanese vampires are different from Western ones.

It’s important to know that depending on the manga/anime they’re represented with some characteristics or others but what I think it’s the main difference is that vampires are more supernatural beings rather than undead creatures. Therefore, we can find vampires who can walk freely during the day, have superpowers, procreate, work… however, I think that one of the most important things is that they don’t have the pressing need of drinking blood to survive. I don’t want to elaborate too much on this topic because then, the notes would be too long and also, I want to uncover things as they happen in the story ^^ But if you want to check some more info, you can go here.

English isn’t my first language so if you spot any mistakes, please tell me. I hope that you enjoy it, and thank you for the notes and follows :)

CHAPTER 2

Expectations.

Uchiha Sasuke closed the door of his father’s office and walked along the corridor on the ground floor of the duplex house which had been his home for years, heaving a barely audible sigh. More and more expectations kept on mounting on his shoulders every single time he visited him and showed him his results, either academic, sports or social. However, it was never enough. Every single time, his brother’s name came into the conversation comparing their grades and their merits.

Despite this, he was not angry or unhappy, or hated his brother. Being a child, he had felt neglected in favour of him but Itachi had always tried to be there for him, even though he was busy himself, helping him with his studies and giving him advice. And even though he still had to deal with judgements, his views had changed as he grew. He had become aware that his father did that because Itachi was his successor as the clan head and also, because he wanted Sasuke to keep growing and be better, so nobody could say anything about any of his sons. Especially at that moment, in his situation.

He went up the stairs, heading to his bedroom. After his parents’ divorce, Itachi had stayed with this father while he, as a minor, had been taken in by his mother when she left the family clan. He now led a “normal” life that he did not want, living in a small rented apartment outside the family’s influence area, surrounded by people he did not have any interest to know and having to do things he was not used to, like doing the shopping or the washing-up.

He entered the room and, after looking through the window for a moment, at the city which was starting to come to life as night approached and buildings, street lamps and neon signs were lit, he took off his dark green uniform jacket, the striped tie around his neck and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, sitting on the bed, feeling slightly tired. He only had to wait a year and a half more to abandon all that, to be back to his origins and carve his own future, with his own kind. And he had to use that time wisely to harden himself so when he came back, people could see this strength and success over his mistakes.

He leant back, letting himself fall on the mattress and closed his eyes. His mistakes, his weaknesses… They were so many that sometimes, he doubted the clan could overlook them one day. Some were small, things that a child did carelessly and were frowned upon but others… He clenched his jaw. Others…

He buried his face in his pillow but nothing, not even his own scent, came from it. He opened his eyes and propped himself on one elbow, glaring at the fabric and pressing his lips together. The maid had changed the sheets again as if they were dirty after just one night. Maybe they feared that he brought any human odour with him. He half-closed his black eyes. It was true that the place where he lived on weekdays was full of smells he had never perceived before, like food being cooked, cars passing by, perfumes mixed in the air from men and women who passed along the corridor on the street or the sheets of his own bed which smelled of the floral fragrance of the fabric softener that his mother used when doing the laundry. At the beginning, it had annoyed him, especially for his sensitivity for smells, but after a while, he had got used to it. His thoughts went to her and the last time he had seen her, the previous morning during breakfast. She had been paler than usual, and it was as if she had lost her energy. She had said that she was tired, as Christmas was approaching and she had become busier with work, but he did not know whether to believe her or not. A part of him wanted to call her to see how she was, but another one berated him for having such feelings. That was exactly what his father and everyone around him wanted him to fight.

Breathing deeply, he stood up and finished changing his clothes. Then, he took out some books from the bookcase next to his desk and sat down, ready to study some more before dinner.

Minutes later, he stood up to take one more, a novel, for his Classic Literature homework but another one attracted his attention, and he picked it up. It was a copy of ‘Beauty and Sadness’ by Kawabata Yasunori which probably belonged to Itachi, as he did not usually read those types of books. He swallowed. And it was the same book the girl on the train was reading the day before. He had seen it in one of the glimpses he had caught of her.

In the beginning, he had not been more interested in her than in other humans who surrounded him on his way to school in that uncomfortable train carriage. She was one of the hundreds of students he crossed paths with during his day. And by the looks she sneaked at him, another one infatuated by his appearance. He had felt so annoyed that the following day, as he saw her enter the car, he had ignored her during the whole journey.

However, as he had sensed her attention gradually shift from him to the books that she brought to read during the ride, he had started to get curious about her, not so much as to steal glances at her like an idiot in love, but enough to wonder about her taste in literature or find out her school. It was not a bad one, but not the best for a bright mind as he supposed by the curiosity he had seen in her green eyes and her seriousness while reading when she carried advanced textbooks with her instead of novels.

And then, it was that aroma that she sometimes gave out. It was subtle and slightly sweet, like a summer breeze bringing the smell of ripe fruit. Now and then, it was mixed with recently applied cologne and it became a walk through a garden in spring. Even though he had already known that all humans had their own fragrance, hers had always been comforting, inviting but not tempting.

Until a few mornings ago, when she had given her seat to an old woman and she had taken a grab handle, her back to him. Maybe it was because she had been nearer him or because there had been any kind of disturbance in her feelings, or just because he was more sensitive that day, but her scent had surrounded him, intense and enthralling. His heart had thundered in his chest and goose pimples had formed on his skin, his pupils prickling slightly as his hunger-

“Sasuke?”

He jumped and turned suddenly, seeing his brother just behind him, his hand barely touching his shoulder. He had not heard him enter.

“I knocked but you didn’t answer…”

He breathed deeply, noticing that his fingers hurt, and he realised that his hold on the book had tightened until his knuckles had become white. Strange energy, like a low electrical current, fluttered in his veins, making him oddly upset.

“Sorry” he replied, clenching his jaw and trying to regain his composure. “Did you want something?”

Itachi furrowed his brow slightly. It was not like Sasuke to show his feelings openly, and to his eyes, it was obvious that something had been bothering him. When he had entered his bedroom and seen him stood there, immobile, his breath slightly agitated and his mind really far away from there. However, he was showing him a composed expression now, regarding him calmly, as always. He opened his mouth go ask but his little brother interrupted him.

“I found this here” he said, showing him the book.

“Oh, that’s mine, thank you” he replied, taking it. “Shisui lent it to me, I probably left it somewhere and one of the maids thought it was yours.”

Sasuke nodded and then, put his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“And? What did you want?” he repeated.

“Oh, they called us for dinner and I thought we could go downstairs together” the younger man spared a glance at his homework and then, took a step towards Itachi. “But, are you sure you’re alright? You look a bit pale…”

“Yes,” he straightened himself and looked at his brother. “I just need to go out tonight.”

Sakura started to go down the stairs from the school library in the building next to the sports facilities with a loud sigh, as the librarian closed the door behind her. She had lost track of the time while studying for her exams and now it was almost dark. A chill ran down her spine as a cold gust of wind passed her and she shrugged under her thick uniform coat.

Being a third-year student was not being easy at all, but she had thoroughly organised herself to be able to get to everything. At the beginning of the school year, her father and she had split the housework in a different way so she could have much more time to study and she had left her club too; also, she had a study group with Neji and Tenten, the only ones of her friends who were the same age as her, and they met every week to review the lessons and solve questions. She sometimes felt envious of the others, who, being in second year, still could afford to go to a café or the karaoke after class. In many occasions, Sakura had wondered why she had been in such a hurry to be born. If she had only waited for three more days…

“Sakura-chan!”

She was crossing the terrace in front of the main building, which had a fountain in the centre and led into a promenade lined by rows of leafless trees, when she had heard her name. Turning, she saw Naruto running towards her, waving. There were few times now when they could walk back home together and at that moment she was grateful for his company to avoid thinking about everything which was happening in her life, at such frantic speed that she barely felt strong enough to deal with all.

He reached her and smiled widely, his cheeks red for the effort and the cold, and he bent over a bit, putting his hands on his knees to recover his breath. A moment later, he started coughing and she sighed.

“What am I going to do with you…” she said pressing a hand on his back and rubbing vigorously to get through the different layers of cloth. “If you get ill, your mum’s going to be mad at you.”

“I just…” he replied, his smile still intact, as he lifted his head to her. “… saw you and I had to catch you” he straightened and inhaled deeply again. “I wanted to ask you about your dad and his girlfriend.”

If Ino was her best friend, Naruto was like a brother to her. They had met as babies when his parents had moved to their neighbourhood, three houses down the street from hers. They had been together in each of their school stages, she helping him to study when they had important exams and Kushina was exasperated because her son preferred to disappear to play football with other boys, during the summer holidays when they went to each other’s houses and played in their paddling pools until they did not fit in them anymore, and even when Naruto confessed to her when he was fourteen and she rejected him. They had overcome bad moments, fights and bumps in the road, and after sixteen years, they were still as close. He was the only one who knew about his father’s relationship and the change that was about to happen in her life, and even though he was not trustworthy in some kinds of secrets, she knew that he would take to his grave those things that she had talked to him about in the privacy of their bedrooms and that nobody else knew.

“Nothing happened.”

Naruto looked at her curiously and scratched his head as they started walking again.

“But you said he was going to drop the bomb last Sunday, right?”

“He said it wasn’t the right moment, so he decided to wait” Sakura bit her lower lip. “However, there’s something I don’t understand… When I saw him the following morning, he looked worried, as if something… unexpected… had happened. He tried to play it off but I think he lied to me…”

“A fight?”

She shrugged trying to appear nonchalant, but he could clearly see that it was quite the opposite, so he decided to change the topic.

“Hey, do you want to have dinner at home? You said your dad was working overtime and it’s depressing to eat alone. Besides, today mum’s making stew. Gramps’s come for a few days and he’s brought some delicious mushrooms from the village.”

She smiled at him, thankful.

“Alright. But first, I’ll go home to change clothes.”

“I’ll go with you, It’s just a couple of houses away…”

Jiraiya was a friendly happy old man who only had a fault, he was a real pervert. Sakura had discovered it when she had started showing curves, but by then, she already knew how to deal with that side of Naruto’s grandfather.

She was overjoyed inwardly when, upon entering his best friend’s house dining room and greet the family, the wide grin on the old man’s face turned into a disappointed pout when he saw that she was wearing straight jeans and a loose thick cardigan which reached past her hips over her black jumper. Also, she realised he did not drop anything under the table during the dinner, as it had happened at other times, and she made a mental note to warn Hinata, Naruto’s girlfriend, about that when she visited the house while his grandfather was there, or she would have a hard time.

And it was really lucky that neither Minato nor Naruto had inherited that trait.

Her smartphone rang while she was enjoying some tea that Kushina had served after dinner and, when she picked it up, she saw it was her father, to whom she had left a message saying where she would be.

“Naruto, take Sakura home” his mother asked him while she bid farewell.

He made a face

“But, there’re only two houses between ours and she can manage… I’d prefer to stay here” he complained while moving forward under the kotatsu covers to make his point. “Moreover, the baseball match’s going to start.”

Kushina put her hands on her hips as Sakura chuckled, knowing what was coming. The woman started ranting about her son’s lack of manners and how Hinata could get tired of him one day if he treated her like that. In the end, Naruto stood up with a sour face.

“You shouldn’t have…” Sakura whispered to Kushina when he left to retrieve his coat. “Now I feel pity for him.”

“He has to learn that he can’t treat girls as his football teammates and that it doesn’t matter if you’ve grown up together, you’re not one either” she glanced at Minato and a soft smile appeared on her mouth. “His father was clumsy and dense for these things too, but he was more considerate.”

Both left the house and stayed in the doorstep for a moment. A cold breeze blew past them, leaving their noses freezing, and Naruto started shivering while he shrugged to emphasize the fact that he had left the comfort of the kotatsu to see her home, and she laughed.

“I got it” she took a few steps ahead and turned, walking backwards. “Tomorrow, I’ll invite you to hot chocolate so you can forgive me” his eyes glinted as they went through the gate and started walking up the street; he was too predictable. “So, why don’t you wait here till I reach my house?”

“Are you crazy? My mum’ll have my head if she sees me through the kitchen window, and be assured she’ll be watching by now.”

Both started walking up the street with their hands in their pockets. The street was empty and only their steps and breaths broke the silence. Their shadows danced back and forth as they entered and exited the beams of light of the street lamps which bordered the street.

“Hey, how are you doing with History? Remember that the exam is next week and you need to pass it or you’ll get suspended of your club activities until the end of the year.”

He hid his face in the neck of his anorak and Sakura furrowed her brow.

“I’m really trying, but you know I’m not good at memory things…”

She sighed.

“I could help you, you know” he lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes wide. “I could make you some timelines and a summary with the most important points, and you can come home to review at the weekend.”

“Really?!” he threw his arms around her. “You’re the best!” he seemed to think about it for a moment. “After Hinata, of course.”

He let go with a big smile and kept on walking, his steps longer and with a small happy gait. However, he stopped just before reaching her door.

“But, what about your entrance exams, Sakura-chan? You start them in February, right?”

She smiled and punched him lightly on the arm.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m a very diligent girl and I’m ahead of my study plan.”

He seemed relieved.

“And? Are you going to tell me which university are you aiming at?”

Sakura frowned and marched to the gate.

“No. I don’t want you to laugh at me if I can’t enter in my first option.”

“Oh, come on. You know I wouldn’t do that” she shook her head stubbornly. “Okay, but it’s not as if you’re aiming for Todai, you know…”

She turned her face away to avoid him seeing the blush that warmed her face despite the cold.

“You can go now to see your match” she opened the door. “And if your mum asks, you walked me to the door.”

“Yes!” he turned around and ran down the street, waving at her.

Sakura moved her head, chuckling as she heard the loud noise his fence made when he slammed it shut, and then, she entered. She was quite often surprised by the sharp intuition her friend possessed, even though sometimes he said things without thinking. And he was right once again, as Todai University was one of the two options she had written on her career survey before the summer holidays. Years before, she had made the decision of being a doctor, when her mother had taken her by the hand, they had walked to a park and there, sitting on a bench, she had told her that one day soon she would not be with her anymore, that she had to be a good girl so her father would not worry, and that she had to become a beautiful strong woman who knew how to face what awaited her in life.

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment so she could ease the pain in her heart. She was trying hard to accomplish all that. She had learnt not to cry in front of her father, and to make him smile when he was sad. She had kept her lifelong friends and she had made some more along the way. She had hidden her hurt when her father had started talking about the woman he had met when he was in the department store while he was looking for a present for her sixteenth birthday, when she thought that he would love her mother till the end of his life… She had been a brilliant student, earning merits, getting the best marks in all the subjects, and she had chosen the best public university so his father had not had to pay the expensive fee of a private one. Though she had chosen Keio University as a second option at her homeroom teacher’s insistence, her only aim was Todai.

Just in front of the door of the house, she breathed deeply once again, trying to calm herself so her father would not guess any of her thoughts. After all, she had to be a good girl until the end.

TO BE CONTINUED

#Naruto #fanfic #ssm19 #ssm19d4 #sasusakumonth #Uchiha Sasuke #Haruno Sakura #SasuSaku #OTP

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nie7027 · 5 years

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DadReigenweek 6: Tea | Hobbies

Again, sorry for not posting anything yesterday but i had another exam to study for (someone free me from this)

Heres day 6: tea? hobbies? A little bit of both again with Tome this time.

I’ll post tomorrow day 7: free day and if you have followed my stories so far you know it’s Ritsu’s turn (so if someone has any idea what should i write hit me up because i have no idea what to do for it)

I hope you enjoy it and please ignore the fact i know nothing about correctly preparing tea (i literally failed my japanese exams not because i dint understand them but because i had no idea of how tto prepare tead and there was a concerning amount of question related to that)

Tea and Hobbies

“TOME” Reigen shrieked from the kitchenette where he was searching for a towel to move the keetle to the counter without burning himself

“What?” she replied from her spot n the couch, not taking her eyes off her handheld videogame.

“YOU FORGOT TO TURN THE STOVE OFF AGAIN””

“What??” she said finally standing and poking her head through the doorframe “I did not-uuhh”

Reigen, after finally finding a towel, was holding an empty keetle. The tea had long evaporated.

“What are we going to serve our clients now?” Reigen lamented pinching the bridge of his nose

“We can make more…” Tome said carefully. she didn’t undertand why Reigen was making such a big deal out of this.

“Tome, this is the fourth time this week” he then pointed to the black stains that were starting to form at the kettles sides “at this rate it’ll become useless and we can’t afford to buy a new one every week. Why did you even use the highest flame?”

“I didn’t know…” Tome admitted and it was true, actually this was the first time she had to prepare tea “and you said you wanted to preserve the tea hot for any customer that might walk in”

“I said hot, not scalding! and for that you just need to heat it with a small flame” he turned to the stove and showed her how to adjust the flame until he seemed it appropriately “Like this”

“And you don’t even have to leave it like that all day! You could raise the flames a little, leave it there some minutes while I talk with the customers and with that would be enough”

Tome firmly nodded actually payin attention to Reigen’s words “I’ll make sure to do that next time”

“You better do” Reigen grimaced when a dark thought crossed his mind “I just hope the bills don’t come too high this month”

Tome actually gulped at that “You can take it from my pay…”

Reigen looked away keenly aware of how little he paid her “Yeah...it won’t be enough” he said without thinking.

He wasn’t expecting to see troubled expression on Tome’s face when he turned to face her again “Hey! What’s wrong?”

“I...It’s wasn’t my intention to cause you this much trouble.” she muttered “ You probably would prefer Mob being here, I bet he knows how to make some dumb tea”

Reigen sighed “Mod has done this for years, of course he knows how to make tea..but that’s the least of the problems. It’s really dangerous to leave the stove on unsupervised, specially with the highest flame and while you are alone. Haven’t your parents told you this?”

Tome shaked her head and Reigen had to sigh again. Between Teru, Shou, himself and now Tome he was starting to believe the Kageyamas were the only good parents in this world.

“Well now you know” He grabbed Tome by her shoulder and making sure the keetle had cooled down he handed it to Tome "Now go wash it while i do some actual work here. and make sure you get all the burnt leaves off from it. We don't want to serve that tastes bad to our future clients"

He left Tome to wash her mess in the kitchenette and headed to office main room where he caught sight of Tome’s forgotten videogame.

She probably forgot the tea playing that thing. Reigen couldn't understood how she could get so immersed in that thing.

Actually, he thought grabbing the small device and looking at it, he had never understood what was so entertaining of these things.

Except for his brief involvement while trying to beat that one spirit, he had never played videogames. He was more of a outdoors type of guy.

While his classmates and everyone got excited talking about ‘The legend of Mario’ and ‘the pokey men’ he...actually now that he thought about it it was probably because he didn’t have friends who invited him over to play…STILL Serizawa semed to like them too and Reigen doubted he had some else to play with.

What was so interesting about these things??

Reigen had no idea and he was about to leave the game when suddenly it slipped of his hands (damn sweaty hands) and in his haste to catch it he accidentally pressed a button.

The game returned to life, its lively sounds and colourful animations contrasting with the horror Reigen felt when he saw the character Tome was playing fall of a platform to his absolute demise and the message “Game Over” appearing on the screen while a sad music played.

Tome was going to kill him

As quickly as he could he selected the “play again” option but everything was wrong. Reigen could swore the landscape where the character appeared didn’t look like the one Tome had been and if he noticed then she absolutely would.

Reigen didn’t have another choice. He would have to play it and return the character to where it had been before Tome finished washing the dishes.

He had beaten that videogame’s spirit. How difficult could it be?

Very apparently.

Figuring the mechanics of the game and each button’s function hadn’t been difficult, the problem arised when the first enemy showed and in a quick movement killed Reigen’s character, the game over screen appearing again.

Reigen selected the “play again” option played one more time. He died.

By the fifth time he was able to defeat the enemy with the help of some green potion he found but it wan’t enough for the wave of enemy that approached him near the bridge.

He was starting to get used to “Game over” screen but that wouldn’t do, he was nowhere near the scenery Tome had previously been.

Reigen frowned, if he was going to do this he needed to find more of those useful green potions and once he decided he had enough he marched back to bridge and fough the swarm of enemies, barely surviving.

There was another wave but from the previous victory Reigen had learned a new move and gained some ‘experience points’ which greatly helped him this time.

He kept advancing, crossing towns and climbing mountains, fighting off nastier enemies and talking with the random villagers he found, some of them giving him good tips.

It had been a while since he died but he didn’t notice until he entered a castle that vaguely looked familiar and defeated the monster thus gaining the the holier sword, and enhanced version of the one he had.

Reigen celebrated, pumping a fist on the air but was interrumpting by someone clearing their throat.

“I thought you said you had work to do” a smug Tome said watching him from above her handheld game.

With a whiplash Reigen returned to reality.

Now it was Reigen’s turn to clear his throat “Of course I am working! THis was just...uhh- err”

Reigen didn’t have to think in what to say because Tome’s eyes fell to the screen and lightened “You won the Holy Sword??” she said pointing at the game “Wow, I am impressed! Have you already rescued your friend?”

“My friend?!”

“Yeah, the one who was kidnapped! “she said excitedly “With that sword you can go to the Dead’s forest now”

“I don’t know where the Dead Forest is”

“Duh, you have to go and ask the old wise man”

“The old wise man?”

“Yeah! You had to have encountered him already? Big beard? Lives at the side of the second town-”

“Oh! the one who sold me 10 potions?”

“10 potions?? No, he sells you-YOU CHOSE THE POTIONS INSTEAD OF THE SHIELD? “ Tome shaked her head and pinched the bridge of her nose “Alright, we can work with that. You at least asked him to teach you how to use a bow”

“Of course I did! Who do you take me for?”

“Good”

Reigen wasn’t expecting to learn more from Tome than she did from him that day. But at least they had something to talk about with Serizawa the next day.

#dadreigenweek2019 #mob psycho 100 #reigen arataka #kurata tome #you cant tell me reigen wont fall for the false sense of archievement games give you #tome strikes me as the kind of person who doesnt know everyday stuff you are supposed to know like cooking #she is a kid so it makes sense but she should know something #i dont think she has bad parents just either they leave her alone too much time or enable her a little too much #mp100 #nie's writing

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darkpetal16 · 5 years

Text

Pride & Humility - Chapter One

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Fanfiction

Genres: Gen, Friendship, Family, Adventure, Hurt, Comfort

Summary: “Friends look the other way. Best friends eat the body.” -Selim B. The story about an innocent and disturbing friendship between homunculus and human. Old soul OC. Surprisingly wholesome.

Warnings: Violence, gore, death, excessive child abuse, profanity

Beta: Taintedletter

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Elizabeth belongs to Midnightwishes, but I will be borrowing her for this journey.

Next Chapter

This will be my only beginning A/N.

This is a tribute story to Midnightwishes. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world, and hope you’re able to enjoy your next great adventure. Rest in peace, sweetheart.

This story was originally going to be my very first fanfiction, but I lost motivation when I lost my friend. I made a hard switch to the Naruto/Pokemon fandom, and found it difficult to return to FMA.

When I clearing out my drop box, I found this old story again, and… well, here we are.

This story is a slow build up.

This is NOT an EdOC, AlOC, or RoyOC story. I am perfectly happy with their canonical pairings.

Note about canon / AU: This is to clarify the established canon in my story.

In the manga / wiki it’s stated that Pride is able to adjust the age range of his container by around 5ish years. I’m going to go ahead and AU it so that he can freely adjust the age of his container to whatever he wants it to be.

Did you know that Bradley’s first name is King? I did not until I checked the wiki, so führer Bradley is named King Bradley here.

Mrs. Bradley will also get a lovely first name, because she very much deserves it: Katherine.

Lastly, King Bradley genuinely loves his wife.

Smart!OC, so if you don’t like reading about OCs with high levels of book-smart intelligence, this won’t be your cup of tea.

This story will eventually be posted on Fanfiction.net and Wattpad, but for the moment it will remain on tumblr until I write enough of it.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Death was not the end, nor the beginning. It was a bump in the road, an interlude in the story.

Dying did not mean one ceased to exist, but rather, one’s existence changed.

Memories are not meant to survive the transformation, but there are always exceptions. When taking the first breath in a new body, one can usually remember the last breath in the old body.

But too soon what defined the previous life will fade away, and the new life will be given a (mostly) blank slate.

They’ll likely still retain some knowledge, some experiences, or information too vital to forget. Maybe they’ll remember the face of their lover, or their talent for music. Maybe they’ll be drawn to an old friend, or they’ll retain unexplainable fear over a past lives trauma.

Someone terrified of the ocean might have drowned in their previous life.

A man or women overcome with unshakable insecurities might have been cruelly hurt before.

Regardless, death and birth did not mark the end or beginning for one’s existence.

It simply meant a change in scenery for that soul.

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This is the journey of one such soul being born in a world it was not meant to be a part of.

It, like all the others, knew it had been reborn at first.

But unlike the others, memories of its past lives did not flee right away.

No.

Oddly enough, they stayed for a solid three years. And even when those cherished memories of dear friends and family left the soul, knowledge remained.

Knowledge of math and science.

Of medicine.

And of an undeniable, insatiable thirst for more.

More knowledge.

More adventures.

More everything.

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Elizabeth Luxanna was born to the estranged daughter of a retired general. The daughter, Hannah Luxanna, had eloped with a simple farmer after a bitter argument between her father—Crow Luxanna—and mother—Isabella Luxanna.

Hannah enjoyed over a decade of blissful marriage before her husband tragically died from an unknown illness. To make matters worse, Hannah was pregnant, and they had lost their home in a terrible fire.

With nowhere else to go, Hannah returned home to find her mother already dead, and her father consumed with bitterness and regret.

Crow accepted his daughter back with great reluctance, and the time leading up to Elizabeth’s birth was filled with despair and grief for Hannah.

The young woman’s heart gave out after birth, and she left her only daughter orphaned.

Crow Luxanna adopted his granddaughter, but he did so with a thoroughly broken and blackened heart.

He did not know how to handle her.

He did not want to handle her.

So he hired plenty of servants to take care of her for the first year of her life, and dismissed them shortly afterward.

Next came tutors.

So soon? Some might ask.

But Crow Luxanna did not want to raise a granddaughter. No, he wanted to force her to grow up as soon as possible and send her out.

Ideally into the military.

And when Elizabeth Luxanna began to show exemplary intelligence, and whispers of a prodigy started to arise, Crow Luxanna finally took an interest in his granddaughter.

And what a shame, that was.

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Grandfather Crow was a short, well-dressed man. He was a proud retired general, and had high expectations for all those around him. Rules were meant to be strictly adhered to, and when boundaries were pushed too much he enforced harsh punishments.

He wasn’t one for social visits. Not even for his last living family.

Elizabeth was quiet, well-behaved, and completely devoted to her studies. It became blatantly apparent early on that she had difficulty connecting to her peers, and after enough incidents her grandfather forbade other children from entering their home.

She rarely saw anyone aside from her tutors.

Especially Grandfather.

Which was why when Grandfather told her to eat dinner with him, she was surprised.

Thankfully, he cut straight to the chase and explained why he was there.

“The exam you did yesterday, do you remember it?” Grandfather inquired stiffly, his well-groomed mustache quivering as he tried out a smile. It looked terribly awkward on him.

The young girl nodded at his question. After months of completely devouring her lessons, and answering all of her tutors’ questions they had come together and devised an extensive exam for the heiress. It took Elizabeth six hours to complete, and the trio (one for science & math, one for history & English, and one for etiquette) watched her intensely the entire time.

Grandfather tapped his fingers on the table, his dark eyes staring straight through her. “Mm. Yes, well, you’ve exceeded expectations. Your intelligence is remarkable for someone your age, a true prodigy.” Again Grandfather tapped his fingers, and his gaze didn’t seem to notice her anymore. “The military will want your mind, do you understand?”

Elizabeth mutely shook her head.

“They will want you,” Grandfather repeated. “I am a loyal soldier, so I will not refuse them.”

Her brow furrowed as she tried to follow the conversation. “I’m going to be enlisted?”

Grandfather blinked once, now focusing on Elizabeth. “Yes, and no. You are too young, but… But they will claim you one way or another. I want to make sure you survive, and do our family proud.”

“Why would they claim me?”

“You are a talented child, and I am a loyal soldier,” Grandfather repeated. “Retired or not, I would sacrifice everything for my country, for my führer.”

Including you, went unsaid.

“Your mind… yes. It will be good for the military. For Central. You will serve our führer well,” Grandfather Crow said.

There was no permission to be sought out.

There was no debating, or discussion.

Elizabeth knew in her heart that there was no fighting this.

She was a single little girl, who just so happened to be a little good at math and science.

She had no power to refuse.

No confidence to say no.

Even a hint of disobedience would land Elizabeth locked away in her room, with no lights, or food for however long her grandfather wanted.

She had nowhere to go, and no one to turn to.

So Elizabeth swallowed back her nerves and tried out a wobbly (fake) smile. “Yes, Grandfather.”

The retired general smiled. It was disturbing to see. “A mind like yours… They need State Alchemists. Yes, you will do well there. I will hire a new tutor for you.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

And that was that.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

“I am Lisa Delve,” introduced a middle-aged woman. Her graying hair was swept up in a tight bun, and she dressed very modestly. Her dark blue eyes narrowed when she looked at Elizabeth, and a sneer curled back on her lips. “You are my student?”

“I am,” Elizabeth answered quietly, her green eyes lowering when she saw the plain scorn in the women’s eyes.

She knew then that Mrs. Delve would not be any companion to Elizabeth.

“A big game was talked up about you. Do not disappoint,” Mrs. Delve said, her voice clipped. She turned her back to young curly-haired brunette, and began to draw on the blackboard.

All tutoring was done in the small library, where not a window could be seen. It was dark, dreary, and stuffy.

Elizabeth wished she was anywhere but there.

“This,” Mrs. Delve said as she finished her drawing, “is a basic transmutation circle. Memorize it. I am told you already know your periodic table?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Recite it.”

Elizabeth did as ordered, and the alchemist scoffed. “Speak up, girl. You are the heiress of the prestigious Luxanna family, and the granddaughter of one of our greatest generals. Have you not taken any etiquette classes?”

“I have, ma’am,” Elizabeth said, sitting up straighter in her uncomfortable wooden seat. “Sorry, ma’am.”

“It’s not me you be apologizing to, but your family,” Mrs. Delve snapped. “Have you done any reading into alchemy before this session?”

“Only that human transmutation is illegal, and dangerous,” Elizabeth softly responded. She only knew that because it was mentioned offhandedly in a biology textbook.

But that was fine.

Elizabeth had no interest in human transmutation.

No, what drew her focus was botany and how alchemy could be applied there.

She couldn’t find any concrete information on alchemists who worked with plants. She knew it had to be a difficult science since alchemy applied to any living organism was tricky, but she didn’t think it would be that hard.

Plants didn’t have nervous systems, after all.

And if she could find a way to create hybrid plants, she might be able to invent new species of plants that were more effective than modern medicine.

At least, that was her initial hope.

“Rudimentary. Very well, let us begin. Do keep up, as I will not be repeating myself.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

✧✧♡��✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Elizabeth Luxanna was largely left alone.

At first, when she was mentally a grown adult who enjoyed her solitude just fine, she had no complaints.

She was an unusually obedient and quiet child, and as long as she was given enough books to read, she didn’t complain.

If she did complain, she’d be immediately locked in her bedroom and forced into isolation for however many days her Grandfather saw fit. Food would be shoved through the slot in the door, and not a single peep was allowed to be heard.

Since Elizabeth was an adult (a very, very old one at that), she was able to comply with these rules without much fuss.

But when her adult memories slipped away from her one night, and she was suddenly left a child without any companionship, being alone started to bother her.

Grandfather Crow was a stern man, and had no patience to raise a granddaughter. All the servants that worked for the Luxanna family were veterans who had to retire premature, and were uncomfortable dealing with Elizabeth.

While she no longer had all the memories that made Elizabeth an old adult, she retained her knowledge of math, science, and other similar topics. She couldn’t explain how she knew what she knew, either, which gave others the wrong impression about her.

At first glances Elizabeth was a child with a seemingly high intellect.

From the Grandfather’s Crow point of view this was to be taken advantage of for the betterment of his country, of his führer. It was an asset to be used to its maximum potential.

But from Elizabeth’s point of view it simply made it that much harder to connect with others.

Children her age didn’t even understand what an electron was, let alone wanted to talk about it.

Adults either didn’t take her seriously, or only saw her as someone to be used.

There was no way for Elizabeth to form any kind of positive bond, let alone a friendship.

For five years she was confined to a bitter home without a single person to care for her.

This made for a terribly lonely little girl.

So painfully lonely she would wish for any kind of friendship.

For anyone to show her even an iota of warmth.

And then came the day that person showed up.

Her only friend.

Selim Bradley.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Welcome back to my loyal readers, and hello to new ones!

Cover by @cantrona.

Question: Would you open the gates to Truth? What for, and what would you sacrifice?

Reviews are love!

Next Chapter

#Pride & Humility #Pride and Humility #Elizabeth Luxanna #Selim Bradley #Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood #Pride #Humility #OC #Fanfiction #Elizabeth #Selim

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createdtogetbored · 5 years

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Riverdale 3×10

So writing these long ass text posts is actually really fun for me and if you actually read it thank youuuuu 😚 (this one is veryyyy long sorry)

Soooo i was expecting a follow up from the previous episode but they most likely couldn’t find a logical explanation as to how he survived.

Hiram and Archie’s relationship remind of me and my ex’s relationship like what Archie thinks of Hiram is exactly how i feel about my exes is it fucked up in their part or my part? Well who knows?

VARCHIE

Veronica is worried about Archie’s hair the second she saw him is so character for her.

I was screaming DO NOT KISS the entire time, and i’m sorry but i will always be bitter and angry to Veronica that she kissed Archie. You may not agree but i wouldn’t do that. Ohhh nevermind they literally had sex? Ohh that is just great Veronica wow. I’m disappointed.

I am starting to believe they have a unhealthy relationship like Dawson and Joey if you watched Dawson’s Creek. It’s like they need each other so much that they can’t survive individually. And i am one of those people who think that’s not romantic but toxic. They had to kiss or had sex because it’s like necessity for their life. Doesn’t matter the consequence which is hurting someone (Reggie)

“What did i miss when i was gone?”

Betty’s look sums it up lol 😕🙄😅

HONEY

They really did throw him a party huh?

“Take a seat lover, let me entertain you”

meanwhile

*Reggie dies internally while watching them*

Veronica wtf

Bughead was so cringe at the party they look so unnatural 🤢

Someone singing for you and looking into your eyes in front of a lot of people while your best friend is dying of jealousy hmmm love that

I watched Reggie the whole scene he literally try to act like he didn’t care offf

And Archie PTSD from the whole thing someone help him pls this town need a psychiatrist more than a sheriff

Archie you don’t study the SAT’s for a day or two it’s a processes you can take it again it’s okay

Archie is me taking an exam

Archie is not okay someone fucking do something

I was never tired of Varchie having sex too much but they really think ‘will you stay with me?’ means sex i-

Ras wtf? Veronica crying while taking her shirt off?

Thay act like a rebound relationship?

Varchie has been dead for a WHILE

JERONICA

THE POP’S SCENE

People say it’s a core four scene but i say it’s a Jeronica scene and you know it sis

“ two chocolate, one vanilla...” TWO BEING JUGHEAD AND VERONICA. These kind of subtle things make me wanna believe they know our existences and they are teasing us for a possible romance help

“Thankfully i hired the Serpents as my full time protecters”

JUGHEAD’S LOOK AFTER THAT SENTENCE IS EVERYTHING LADYS AND GENTLEMAN WE DID IT

it’s like gratitude.

“Sorry Veronica”

“Don’t be”

I-

HE FUCKING CARES ABOUT HER EMOTIONS AND RESPECTS HER NOW AGAIN IT’S OVER YOU BIETCHHES

VEGGIE

MY HEART BROKEN INTO MILLION PIECES CAN YOU HEAR IT????

“I get it. Archie’s back enough said” that is just i- And his voice is so sad like he is about to cry or something

I AM INCREDIBLY ANGRY TO VERONICA SHE COULD’VE HANDLE THE SITUATION WAAAAY BETTER

Don’t get me wrong i still love her very much but am i wrong on this? Maybe getting with Reggie while Archie was gone is way worse but idk i don’t think this as a character regression but she could’ve handled it better

The secret meetings they are doing idk maaan

Reggie is pissed and i’m alllll for it

While he was shouting at Archie his voice cracked and i died at that point. ‘Like a little bitch’ that did it for me

“Love doesn’t come easily to me these days” I’m a Reggie stan now, okay? The damage has been done

That scene where they talked about cheating. WHY IS IT SO UNDERRATED? I love it, cause it was a whole misunderstanding and then it was too late to fix it’s such Reggie and Archie thing too

That hug at the hospital is 💗💞💘💝💕💕💖 “come here”

COOPERS

I AM SORRY I DON’T LIKE BETTY BUT UMMMM ALICE YOU ARE BEING A HOE STOP IT.

When she said collage found i lost it and she fucking gave it to the farm offffff when did she become a dumb person? When?

I actually felt bad for Betty i have a heart god dammit

I’m still not buying Hal as blackhood sue me

you know this whole messed up dad thing could’ve work if they didn’t make him so submissive at the very start

Celebrating with milk seems oddly psychotic to me

Betty talking to a serial killer aka her dad as if he is therapist killed me

BARCHIE

Omfg when Betty holds Archie’s hand Jughead’s look was sus

Barchie’s relationship is all about trust and if you ask me that’s one big thing bughead doesn’t have so Barchie has a strong foundation sissies you heard it from here first lol

DADDIES (Omg sorry)

Frad and FP

THAT’S HOT (insert will smith voice)

FRED WENT OF HE SNAPPED ON HIRAM and i support it fully and FP’s smile is fucking everything he is like “yes he is my boyfriend how are ya?”

“Sheriff Jones now boy” best part of the episode fight me

ACTUAL PLOT lol

I’m calling it now FANGS IS NOT SAVE SOMETHING’S GONNA HAPPEN TO HIM AND I WILL SUE JUGHEAD

And the most fucked up thing is that Jughead doesn’t even care he puts Fangs life into danger??? Wtf

You’re saying no one knows who Fangs Fogarty is or didn’t look him up? They don’t think a former Serpent member wanting to be in their inner circle sus?

The reaction of Fangs and Sweet Pea when they heard that he killed Joaquin 💖💕💘💗💓💞💖💗💘

So is THE GARGOYLE KING is really tall boy?

Okay hold on hold on JUGHEAD, wtf??? Baiting Archie to Hiram is so messed up? And you’re talking about it like it is a fucking marvelous of a plan

No, you obviously have some PTSD Archie omg

Sweet Pea and Fangs killing someone accidentally is the funniest dumbest shit ever i love them

That scene was really good

Oh btw Jughead ‘no crimes’ Jones how do they have a gun honey?

“We’re gonna throw a party”

“Okay”

AND THAT’S HOW WE FIX EVERYTHING IN RIVERDALE

Jughead being calm like that worries me you are 16 year old boy trying to cover up a murder AGAIN like that’s his friday night plansWe’re welcoming Fangs but not Choni love that for you guys heheheh

HERMIONE AND HIRAM

“Hiram no”

“Hmmmm”

Damnnnn sis i’m surprised Hermione

Hermione will have an alliance with FP/Fred (they are one) and

Veronica will have an alliance with Jughead/ Serpents

“That’s how i stay alive” ashhsjskskskal

Hermione and FP love that ally

NO CHONI THIS EPISODE :(

Share your comments if you want cause idk what to think about the whole Reggie-Veronica- Archie thing

#riverdale #jeronica #varchie #veggie #jughead jones #veronica lodge #archie andrews #betty cooper #hiram lodge #fp jones #fred andrews #sweet pea #fangs fogarty #southside serpents #alice cooper #riverdale 3×10

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fangirl--of-everything · 5 years

Text

Everything They’ve Built (Warren Worthington III x Reader) Part 3

Word Count: 5020

Request: nope

Chapter Warning: swearing, blood, gore, violence, death, a crazy teenager

Series Warning: violence, blood, occasional descriptions of gore, swearing, emotionally abused Warren (I will give specific chapter warnings for when each of these things occur in specific chapters)

A/N. Warren’s first cage match! I loved writing this series, but at the same time I hate doing this to him, poor bean. Also, this chapter is twice as long as the last one! Yay! I think this is the goriest chapter, just so everyone knows, and it’s not horrible, but there is blood and violence, just be prepared. Please please please give me a comment and let me know what you think of the series so far, I'm interested in hearing what you guys think.

(the masterlist and previous chapters are available on my blog under the tag “everything they’ve built”, because this site is being stupid and won’t let my posts show up in the tags if they have links embedded in them)

Alright, enjoy :)

When Warren woke up he was in a cell. It was small, basically a box, with the left wall made of concrete and the right being a mesh grate, revealing another, empty cell beside his. It smelled like rust, and static, and sweat and blood, and the floor felt gritty again this cheek. He expected his head to hurt, but it didn't, and neither did his wings. The second he realized they weren't tied to his back anymore he shifted onto the balls of his feet and prepared to take off.

"Don't!"

He froze, wings half open.

"Don't."

He looked up to see the lizard girl in the cell across from him.

"Why?" He snapped. He was getting really tired of being told what to do, and for the first time since this had all started he was actually in a position to do something about it so why the hell not?

"It's electrified." She explained. "You can try it, but those feathers look really flammable."

He glared at her suspiciously. His wings rustled and he pulled them tight against his back before reaching out and poking the mesh cage in front of him. A jolt of electricity shot up his arm and he jerked back, shaking out the pins and needles in his hand. "Son of a bitch!"

She laughed. "Told you so."

He growled at her, pacing around the small cell. She arched an eyebrow and walked to the back of her own cell, settling against the concrete wall.

"I need to get out of here." He said, more to himself then to her. "I don't belong here."

She threw her head back and barked a laugh. "Do you think any of us belong here?"

"You don't understand." He shook his head. "I'm not like you okay. This--" he gestured around the room. "This isn't me. This isn't my life."

"Tell that to the wings growing out of your back." She rolled her eyes.

"No, you don't understand. My name is Warren Worthington, my father owns Worthington Industries. I go-- I went to a private school. I'm not like you, I'm not a runaway. I'm not-- I don't fight other mutants. Yeah I listen to loud music, and yeah I-- maybe I liked to get into fights at school, but this-- this--" he takes his hands through his hair. He became aware of the fact that his face didn't hurt anymore. "This is insane! I don't--"

"Look angel boy, do you think anyone wants to be here?" She interrupted. "Do you think I wanted to get grabbed off the street and dragged across two countries to have people gawk at me? And I'm sorry, what makes you think I'm a runaway?" Her eyes were burning with anger. "Fuck you Warren Worthington."

Warren's eyes widened. "Look, that's not--"

She collapsed, twitching and seizing, on the floor.

"Woah, hey! Hey! Someone help!" Warren grabbed the front of the cage, then hit the ground as electricity jolted through him. He clenched his jaw as his body spasmed out of his control, breathing a sigh when it finally stopped. He groaned, rolling onto his side, and froze when he saw two armed guards staring down at him.

"W-what are you doing?" He asked, eyes darting between the two of them. "Help her!"

"Shut up." One of the men snapped. He pressed a button on the side of the cage, and the door slid to the side. Before Warren could move the other guard lifted his gun and fired. Pain ripped through his side and he bent double, arms curling around himself as fiery pain started to spread from the wound. The guards closed the door to the cell and walked away without looking back.

"H-hey!" He stammered, blood starting to slip through his fingers. "Hey wait! Come back, don't--!" The heavy doors at the end of the hall slammed shut.

"It's a flesh wound." (Y/n) said weakly from her place on the floor. "They do it to everyone." She lifted the hem of her tank top to show a shiny scar on her side, leaving a gap in her scales. "It's to show they're in control, and you're only alive because they want you to be."

"Why-why didn't you warn me?" He snapped, hysteria slipping into his voice.

"If I warned you they would have shot you twice." She moved closer to the door of her own cage and leaned against the concrete wall. "And they would have hurt Alina. Sorry, but you're not worth that. Take your shirt off and hold it against the wound."

He glared at her and winced as he tugged the shirt over his head, bunching it up and holding it against his stomach. "This is fucking insane." He groaned as he put pressure on the wound, causing pain to radiate through his side. "Are they going to leave me like this?"

She shook her head. "It's a test to see if you heal. They'll come get you tomorrow and Alina will fix you up. Then they'll do your exam, and if they like you you'll go in the ring. If not…" she trailed off, and he figured the bleeding wound in his stomach was an indication of what he had to look forward to if he didn't impress them. Whoever they were. He slumped against the wall, eyes closed. This was too much.

"Hey!" she snapped her fingers.

He cracked one eye open to glare at her. "What?"

She matched his glare head on. "Don't close your eyes. If you go into shock you could die. Talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to you." He snapped. And then quietly, to himself, he added, "I just want to go home."

"Yeah, me too."

He looked up at her. "Really?"

"Are you serious?" She snapped. "Of course I want to go home. Do you think I enjoy being in a cage?"

"That's not-- I didn't mean--" he groaned. "Fuck! I'm too tired for this. I assumed you were a runaway. Sorry."

"It's because I'm green isn't it?" She asked.

Warren raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Shut up." She didn't seem mad though. She leaned her head back against the wall and wrapped her jacket more tightly around herself. "I'm not a runaway. My parents didn't care that me and Alina were mutants. My mom was a mutant."

"Oh." Warren shifted so he could lean against the wall, and he grimaced when a twinge of pain shot through his stomach. "Sorry, I just assumed-- wait, Alina the nurse kid?"

"Yeah."

"She's your sister?"

"Yup." She smiled. "I know, we look just like each other."

He sat back, thinking that over. "So you guys got caught together?"

"Yeah." Her voice had gotten quiet. "They killed our dad, and our mom didn't survive the exam. Alina's too young to do any fighting, and she doesn't have an offensive mutation anyway, but she's a healer, and they realized keeping her around meant keeping the rest of us around a lot longer too. And they didn't have to be gentle with us anymore." She trailed off, getting lost in her own head.

"That sucks." Warren said sympathetically. He felt like it was only fair to share one of his shitty stories now. "My dad tried to rip off my wings."

"Really?" She sat and turned to look at him. "That's crazy! Why would he do that?"

Warren shrugged. "He's just always been like that. He never really accepted that they were a part of me you know? He always thought I could get rid of them if I really tried."

He proceeded to tell her his life story. He told her about how his father was never around when he was growing up, and how he used to get into fights just so he would get to spend some time with him. He talked about how his dad had figured it out and started sending a bodyguard to pick him up instead, but not before he taught Warren how to throw a proper punch. And how the first, and only time, his father had ever visited him at boarding school was when his wings grew. To this day, no matter how many times he had gotten into fights and come home bruised and bloody, he had never seen his father look as ashamed of him as he did when Warren stood up, tearstained and looking for comfort, with wings growing out of his back.

He told her all about how his father had dragged him to dozens of doctors, and how as each one said there was nothing they could do his father got more and more angry. And how one day when he was fifteen some crazy doctor had said that he could get rid of the wings.

She called Warren Worthington Jr. a stream of words so foul they made him blush when he told her about the procedure.

He'd locked himself in his room for two days and begged his father not to make him go, and he'd cried and begged more then he'd ever cried before. The procedure itself had happened in one of his father's facilities, where he'd been strapped down to a table face down. Laura had held his hand. The man who claimed he was a doctor had dug into Warren's back, cutting into his flesh with almost no anaesthetic, and hadn't stopped, or been stopped by Warren's father, no matter how much he'd screamed.

The doctor hadn't stopped until his father had made him, and that was only because Laura had threatened to shoot him if he didn't. The man had already done serious damage to the muscles in his back by that point, and Laura told him later that of she hadn't been able to heal him he wouldn't have been able to use his wings, or his left arm, again.

"Wow." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Your dad's a dick."

She then proceeded to tell him all about her. It was only fair. He learned that she'd been here for six months. They were from Poland, and had gotten caught when Alina had used her powers to save someone after a car accident. Their small town was actually very accepting of mutants, and no one had a problem with her scales, or the fact that she occasionally set things on fire. Purely by accident of course. She explained that her father was a doctor, and her mother was a healer like her sister. She had no idea where her mutation came from.

She also told him what it was she could do. Besides the tail and the green, scale covered skin, she was inhumanly strong and her palms could catch fire. Warren didn't believe her, and she was forced to prove it. His eyes widened when orange flames leapt from her palm and danced up her arm.

"So you're literally a dragon." He laughed. It wasn't a real laugh, but it was better than nothing.

"Yeah." She smiled. "I can find gold too if you ever wanna go looking for it."

She told him about how when she was younger she used to always accidentally set things on fire, and how when she was six and it really dawned on her that she looked different her dad had sat her down and made her feel better about it. In their family, he had explained, he was the freak. How was he supposed to fit in with a family full of mutants? It made her feel a lot better. She had learned that it was all about perspective. And even here, she had explained, the more of a freak you were the more the crowd loved you.

They talked all night, and Warren almost forgot about the bleeding wound in his side, and the fact that he was trapped in a cage in Germany, far from anything he knew. -----/--/----- Then next morning-- or what he assumed was morning-- two guards came in, guns raised.

"Don't resist." (Y/n) warned, backing up against the wall. "And feel free to scream. They won't care."

They bound his wings tightly to his back, and then his hands, and dragged him out of the cell, one landing a solid punch to the wound in his stomach. He bit his cheek, hard, causing blood to fill his mouth. They dragged him to his feet, and one of the guards hit him in the face with the butt of his gun and he hit the ground hard. They dragged him out of the room, and when he shot one look over his shoulder to see (y/n) watching him from her cell, palms burning, jaw clenched tightly.

The exam was the worst thing he had ever experienced. They dragged him into a different room then before, one with tables lined with medical instruments, and chained him to a metal table with his wings spread wide. They did everything possible to him, from taking his temperature to sawing into bone and extracting bone marrow. He learned then that his bones were hollow, like a bird’s. They even cut off one of his fingers and had Alina reattach it. They cut into his wings, plucked feathers, and dug into his back to get to the root of his wings. Every time he blacked out they woke him back up before continuing. By the time they were done his throat was hoarse from screaming.

"I'm sorry." Alina said quietly, brushing her fingers over his forehead. "Are you okay?"

He was barely conscious, but he gave a small nod. She was only thirteen, and he felt a compulsive need to protect her, and make it seem like things weren't as bad as they seemed. It seemed bizarre, considering she had reattached his finger and repaired almost all the bones in his body over the past few hours. She didn't have much innocence left to protect. He groaned as the bones in his chest started to knit themselves back together, the skin resealing over top of his repaired ribs.

"You know," Alina said quietly, hands ghosting over his chest, "they sometimes let you go. If you bring them enough money."

"Really?" Warren asked, sitting up and looking at her with wide eyes.

She nodded. Then she bit her lip and shook her head. "No. No they don't. It's a lie (y/n) told me to make me feel better. I thought it might help you too. Just at first. Roll over please."

Warren groaned as he rolled over onto his side. "I figured as much. These people don't seem like the type to let money go. My dad's the same way."

"Your dad runs a mutant fight ring too?" She asked, eyes widening in surprise.

"No. No, nothing like that. He owns a big company. And assets, you know, things that are making him money, he holds onto those tight. It's the things that don't make money that he lets go."

She nodded thoughtfully. "They don't let anyone go here. If you don't make them money they kill you."

Warren nodded. "Yeah, my dad does that too." Her eyes widened again, but only slightly. "He kills a project instead of selling it. That way no one else can make money on it either."

"Oh. So American business is a lot like this then?"

"No." Warren shook his head. "This is much worse. But it does make you rich and powerful in America."

Her eyes lit up. "Will your father come looking for you? Maybe if he's so powerful he can find us and rescue us."

Warren opened his mouth to tell her that, no, his father wouldn't be looking for him, he was most certainly glad his embarrassment of a son was out of his life, but her face was glowing with excitement and it was the first time he'd seen the skinny girl look anything but somber, and too old for her years. So he said nothing, looking down at his hands as she finished knitting his ribs back together. She worked in silence for a minute, content in her fantasy of rescue, until she paused.

"Can you tell (y/n) something for me?" She whispered.

"Yeah." Warren nodded.

She gave him a small smile. "Just tell her I love her okay?"

His heart actually hurt for her. She was just a kid, she didn't belong here. He nodded. "Yeah of course."

Once she was finished repairing all the damage they had done, she gave him a small smile and two guards led him from the room. He expected them to lead him back to the cells, but instead they dragged him down a long, dark hallway. As the neared two large heavy doors he heard noises from the other side. (Y/n) was leaning against the doorway, three guards standing around her.

"Stop." One of the guards tugged him to a stop and spun him around.

"What are you--"

"Shut up." The butt of a gun slammed into his gut and he bent double, wheezing.

"Hey!" (Y/n) snapped, taking a step forward. One of the men pressed a button on his belt and she seized up immediately, jaw locking.

One of the guards grabbed Warren by the hair and yanked his head back, and other clicked something around his neck before shoving him away. He stumbled forward, balance thrown off by his bound wings and hands. The guard held up a small device. "See this?" Warren nodded warily. "It does that." He pointed to (y/n), who was seizing on the floor. "Push me and I'll use it on you got it?" Warren nodded again.

The guard who was shocking (y/n) released the button, and she went limp on the floor with a gasp. "One day Monroe." She growled, still breathing heavily. He pressed the button one more time, just a quick zap. She twitched, shooting him one more glare but keeping her mouth shut.

"Go on Dragon." One of the guards nudged her side in heavily accented English. "Tell the kid what's about to go down."

She pushed herself to her feet, still glaring, before meeting Warren's gaze. "This is the cage. Remember I was telling you about it yesterday?"

"Yeah, I remember." Warren said quietly. He remembered the horror stories she had told him about what mutants had to do in there, and how the humans bet money on it. It was sick.

"Okay, good." She nodded. "Well, here are the rules. You fight, or you die. If you refuse to fight, these lovely gentlemen," she gestured to the guards, "will kill both you and your opponent. It isn't necessary to kill your opponent, and in fact it's encouraged not to, as we are very fond of recycling." The words were bitter and sarcastic as she spit them out. "If they tell you to stop, you stop. If they tell you to kill your opponent, you do it. Trust me, it's better for everyone. There are fifteen matches a night. If you win, you fight again until you lose. The more money you make, the more perks you get. Got it?"

He nodded again.

"Alright angel boy." She gave him a small smile. "We've shared a lot of person information with each other the last couple days, and I'm gonna consider us friends, so I'm gonna give you a hug, sound good?"

She pulled his head down before he could protest, her chin resting on his shoulder. He tensed-- her scales were cold and he still wasn't wearing a shirt.

"What are you--"

"Shut up and listen." She hissed in his ear. "Puppet Master only has an attack radius of about six feet, and if he can't see you he can't get you. Stay out of his reach, and strike fast. Got it?" He nodded against her shoulder. "Good." She pulled away, studying his face. "Don't die."

"Okay." He said shakily. She nodded again, taking a step back.

"Hey wait." She froze, turning to look at him and raising an eyebrow. "I have a message from your sister. She said she loves you."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks Angel."

He gave her a small smile back, and then they shoved him forward hard, and he stumbled through the heavy doors. He flinched immediately when the noise reached him-- hundreds of screaming people, cheering and swearing. Over the noise he could hear someone saying something in German, but he couldn't tell what it was. When he saw that the guards were dragging him towards a large metal cage in the middle of the room he tensed, struggling to pull away. His wings strained against the ropes binding them to his back, but all that did was make his shoulders scream. He dug in his heels and tried to jerk his arms free. All that got him was a punch in the face. The crowd screamed with pleasure.

His arms and wings were released, and before he could do anything about it he was shoved into the cage. He stumbled and hit the ground hard, the metal floor cold against his skin. His wings had snapped out immediately, and he felt a tingle of static against the very edges of his feathers as they almost brushed the edges of the cage. He heard movement, different from the shouting outside of the cage. This was in here with him.

"Puppenspieler gegen Engel!” The announcer shouted. The crowd cheered.

Warren scrambled to his feet, making sure to keep away from the wall, and caught sight of his opponent on the other side of the cage. Puppet Master was a lean boy, no older then fifteen, but that didn't mean he wasn't scary as fuck. All angles and bones, he looked like a puppet himself, with jerky movements and a head that lolled eerily to one side. He had dark smudges of something around his eyes, and his face was flecked with dried blood. Now that Warren looked closer he saw that even his dark hair was wet with it, matted and tangled with dried blood in some places. Those dark smudges around his eyes, those were blood too. When he grinned even his teeth were stained with it.

"Such a pretty angel." The boy giggled. "Show the crowd your wings pretty angel." He took a jerky step forward and Warren took a step back, hissing when his foot brushed the wall of the cage, sending a painful jolt of electricity through his leg. He stumbled forward, away from the wall, and the other boy lunged.

Warren jumped, wings flapping twice, and he grabbed one of the rafters about ten feet off the ground, dragging himself up. He tried to stand, but his balance was off and he settled for crouching, both hands on the beam, wings spread wide for balance. The crowd was screaming, cheering at the sight of his wings. He felt the urge to curl them around himself and disappear. He'd always wanted people to accept his wings, but this seemed more like mocking then acceptance.

"Come down pretty angel." Puppet Master called, looking up at him. "The people want to see you dance."

Warren shifted but didn't move. Looking up, he saw (y/n) standing in a small hole in the wall, separated from the crowd by a metal cage. She was watching him intently, biting her bottom lip. When she met his gaze she gestured with her head, directing his attention to the guards below, who were shifting with their hands on their guns. Warren bit the inside of his cheek, took a deep breath, and gave her a small nod.

"Come down pretty angel." Puppet Master pouted. "Our friends don't like waiting. They get bored so fast."

Warren took a deep breath, shifting on his perch. "Come get it freak."

He jumped, landing on the skinny boy's shoulders, causing them both to hit the ground. He landed on top, not that it did anything, as they ended up in a tangle of limbs, but he was able to scramble free first. He stumbled back, remembering what (y/n) had said, and jumped back up into the air. By the time the other boy had scrambled to his feet Warren was comfortable back on his perch in the rafters. The crowd was screaming, but the tone had shifted.

"Engel!" They were chanting. "Engel! Engel!"

Warren looked over at (y/n), and she gave him a thumbs up. She watched him shift back and forth on the rafter, watching Puppet Master.

"Okay." (Y/n) mumbled to herself, running her thumb over her bottom lip. "Okay, good. Don't get too close."

"Ouch." Puppet Master said quietly. "Alright pretty angel. I see how it is." He tilted his head, still smiling.

God she hated that kid. He was absolutely crazy, one of the worst ones here. He liked this. He enjoyed fighting, he enjoyed playing with his victims. They had to keep him in a private room because he had gotten in the habit of torturing and killing other mutants in the cells. They didn’t make any money that way. Warren dropped again, this time landing right in front of the boy. He punched the kid in the face before Puppet Master could move.

"Okay," she mumbled, "okay now pull back."

But he didn't. Warren grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and hit him in the face again.

"Do you like that?" He shouted over the screaming crowd. "Do you like that you freak?" He punched him again.

"No," she breathed. "No Angel stop."

"You like hurting people?" He punched him again. Puppet Master raised his hands, flinching back.

"Warren move!" (Y/n) screamed over the crowd. A guard slammed the butt of his gun into the back of her head.

Too late. His gaze snapped up to meet hers and he jumped back, remembering her advice. He beat his wings once, rising off the ground.

"Too late." Puppet Master grinned. "Now freeze pretty angel."

Warren did. His body went still, wings mid stroke. Puppet Master jerked his hands down, and Warren hit the ground hard.

"Fuck." (Y/n) swore.

"Come here beautiful." Puppet Master lifted his hands, and Warren stood jerkily. His jaw worked and his eyes darted around, panic evident on his face, but he walked forward slowly, coming to a stop right in front of the smaller boy. Puppet Master tilted his head to the side, fingers twitching. Warren's wings rustled in response.

"So dass sie wollen, dass ich den Engel tanzen zu machen?" Puppet Master shouted to the crowd, who screamed in response. "Do you want me to make the Angel dance for you?" The crowd cheered. He raised one fist and roared, Warren's arm rising to mimic it.

"Tanzen!” The crowd shouted. "Tanzen!"

Puppet Master turned, grinning, hands twitching. Warren screamed as his arm twisted behind his back. (Y/n) squeezed her eyes shut. Warren screamed again, and her palms started to itch and burn.

"Do you like that pretty angel?" Puppet Master cooed. "Let me look at you."

Warren's body moved on its own, wings stretching to their full length. He gritted his teeth, struggling to force them back down, but his body wasn't listening. His arms lowered to his sides, and he screamed as pain shot through his injured shoulder. He was frozen, chest heaving, arms wide, wings spread. Puppet Master looked him over, as did the crowd.

"I think we'll start here." Puppet Master trailed a long, thin finger over Warren's chest. "Was denken sie?"

The crowd cheered, shouting things, and Warren was glad he hadn't taken German in school. Puppet Master pulled out a long, rusty, bloodstained knife, and Warren tensed. There wasn't anything he could do though. The younger boy met his gaze and gestured that he should come closer. Warren gritted his teeth as he leaned forward against his will.

"Will you scream for me pretty angel?" Puppet Master asked quietly. "Not for them. They don't care about you. Will you scream for me?"

"No." Warren growled through his teeth.

The other boy frowned. "Oh. I think you're wrong." He stroked Warren's hair, and Warren suppressed a shudder. "I think you will."

He jammed the knife into Warren's stomach.

Warren bit the inside of his cheek, causing blood to flood into his mouth, but it did the trick. He didn't scream, only let out a loud groan as the serrated knife dug into his stomach. The other boy pulled the knife out, and he groaned again. The crowd was screaming.

"Mehr?" Puppet Master shouted, turning to the crowd. "Do you want more?" The crowd cheered in response.

The boy turned with a grin, sliding the knife down Warren's stomach, leaving a shallow cut. Warren gritted his teeth, breathing heavily, but this time he didn't make a noise. He just glared.

"I'm gonna kill you you little freak." He growled.

Puppet Master's smile fell, and he looked serious. "Do it."

Warren blinked in surprise, and then the manic grin was back. He couldn't hold back a scream as the knife dug deep, right below his collarbone, and dragged down his chest. He groaned as Puppet Master pulled out the knife, looking smug.

"I told you you would scream for me." The younger boy said smugly, turning back to the crowd.

Warren sagged, chest heaving, wings drooping. Then he froze, ruffling the feathers of his wings. His body was still locked, completely outside of his control, but his wings...

Puppet Master shrieked when Warren's wing caught him like a club across his back, sending him flying into the fence. Warren's muscles went limp immediately, and he collapsed, but he forced himself to his feet and grabbed the younger boy, throwing him to the ground. Warren jumped on top of him, using his knees to pin the other other boy's hands to the ground. He didn't know if it would help, but he did remember what (y/n) had said. If he can't see you he can't get you. His fingers went for the younger boy's eyes, and soon Puppet Master was the one screaming, and the crowd was cheering Warren's name.

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sol1056 · 6 years

Text

character arcs as questions, followup

I’m going to quote only some of the responses (and break a few up to separate out the topics), since a lot of them overlap.

a note about Yuuri on Ice

truth and lies character arcs

the difference in the midpoint

learning lessons: Yuri, Hunk, Lance

the need for agency

Behind the cut.

a note about Yuuri on Ice

@jeannettegray @cristak and the anon who sent me the two-parter about Yuuri all had various observations: Yuuri didn’t need the gold, his story isn’t over yet, his anxiety was secondary to his romance. For a more thorough meta on Yuuri’s arc, I’ll send you to @caramelcheese. Her meta goes deep, and maps pretty close to how I see that story.

I used YoI as an example because structurally, Yuuri’s story is not a change arc. He’s not all that much different at the end from who he was at the start; he began as one of the top six in the world, and ended there (unreliable narrator issues aside). As someone raised in a loving and supportive family, he's new to romance but love itself is not a wholly unfamiliar experience.

You can debate the exact nature of his question, if you like. Structurally, his story still isn’t a change arc, and that was my point.

truth and lies in character arcs

another anon:

...you gotta think of your characters stories from a want vs. need perspective as well. Maybe. Our character wants to win something, but importantly, needs to learn something and the external validation/reward is less important than self-validation/growth...

If you’re writing a change arc, then yes. That type centers on the conflict between the lie the character believes (influencing what they want), and the truth they must learn (what they need to do or be).

That lie is really just a coping mechanism. It’s something they learned would keep them safe, and it did --- until the instigating event pushes them into new world. Now, what once helped becomes their greatest harm.

The longer they cling to those lies, the greater the narrative punishes them (the try/fail cycle). Their dark night of the soul is when they must let go of their lies and face their truth. Doing so will change them, often radically, as they become their authentic selves.

But that’s not the only kind of arc you can write.

I’ve talked about the different kinds of character arcs before. I didn’t go that much into flat arcs, but I did call out two:

In a maturity arc, external factors force the character to overcome doubts or disadvantages, which in turn are the key to victory. Wonder Woman being temporarily overwhelmed at the magnitude of the fight she’s taken on is a midpoint of a flat arc. She fights her demons, reaffirms her truth, and gets back in the fight.

In an alteration arc, the character has a change of perspective. A corporate successful attorney sees the damage they helped cause, and their midpoint is a re-evaluation. The second half of their story, they’ll fight using the same tools, but now in a different direction. Other than that shift in their view, they’re still mostly the same.

Any arc can be posed as a question, of course. A maturity arc is just the easiest, because it really is a yes/no question: can the character do X? With their truth already in hand, the try/fail cycle doesn’t punish the character for clinging to a lie. It punishes the character for refusing to let go of that truth.

Yoon-Hee has to get through the civil exams undiscovered, survive dorm life among boys, and evade a professor who knew her father. Yuuri has to run a gauntlet of competitions to re-establish himself, effectively starting from scratch all over again. Shiro is tortured, tormented, forcibly ejected from his lion, brutally wounded, and loses potential allies too soon; even his own lion seems to be working against him.

None of these three ever really question whether their goal is good; instead, they doubt their ability or worthiness to achieve the goal. They ask: how much longer can I keep this up? What if I’m not up to this? Can I really do this?

Kim Weiland describes it as: “In short, they have a Doubt—and it keeps them seeking throughout the story, even as the undeniable power of their conviction in the Truth transforms other characters around them.”

The character holds their truth in defiance of the world’s lies, and in the end, the character doesn’t change all that much. Instead, they change the world.

Unless, of course, the answer is no.

the difference in the midpoint

If the dark night is resolved with the realization they’ve been going about this all wrong-headed and need to try something new, it’s a change arc. If the dark night pivots on self-doubt over whether they’re able or enough, it’s a flat arc.

If Yoon-Hee had hit the midpoint and realized she’d been believing a lie that said education is the only measure of worth, and then threw herself into finding a husband, that’d signal a change arc. When she picks herself up, determined to work harder towards her goal, that confirms she’s got a flat arc.

If we say Yuuri’s midpoint is his breakdown in the parking garage, a change arc would dictate he must realize he’s been believing a lie. That doesn’t happen; his midpoint revolves around believing in his own ability, and his need for Victor to be there when Yuuri falters. It’s a high-stakes and intense moment, not a brooding midpoint like Captain America often gets. But it’s still a clear flat-arc style of midpoint.

Shiro’s midpoint is more complex than the other two examples, as he arguably goes through it twice. One dark night begins at the end of S1 and continues to the middle of S2; the other covers S3 to the end of S6. In at least the first case, Shiro’s choice is to double down, fight Zarkon, and end up bonded stronger with Black. In S2, Shiro regains his certainty, confident that his answer will be yes, as long as he stays true to himself.

learning lessons: Yuri, Hunk, Lance

from another anon:

let’s say ... the main character is very self-centered but needs to learn to become part of a team ... what’s more satisfying, getting the gold medal in the end or getting a strong team/friends and seeing that external rewards don’t matter as much as personal/interpersonal ones?

Any arc can create a satisfying story, so long as the arc is brought to its natural conclusion. It really depends on the character, and what kind of story the writer wants that character to experience.

In YoI, the younger Yuri has a classic change arc. He believes a lie in which a gold medal would validate his self-worth. The best instigating events are ones that appear to satisfy the lie so thoroughly that the character simply cannot refuse, but at the same time, sets the character on a path towards that midpoint realization.

A chance to use Victor’s routine is exactly that, wrapped up in one gold-medal package. But like every good instigating event, there’s a stinger in the tale: the routine assigned requires Yuri be true to himself --- expressing selfless agape --- rather than cling to the persona he desperately wishes were true. In that, Yuri’s arc is also a failure: he doesn’t change. He clings to the lie he believes, and the story hands him a gold for the effort.

on the previous question-arc post, @speakswords commented:

Lance and Hunk have questions, they've just been abandoned by the storyline. Hunk’s was something like 'can he step up to plate to do a job that must be done even if he doesn't want to?' Lance's was something like 'can he prove his worth.' ... Lance's question has answered with a resounding no, despite the narrative setting up and providing all the necessary pieces to give Lance's arc a yes answer.

Hmm. I think what muddies those examples is that fear (Hunk) and insecurity (Lance) can also be expressions of self-doubt. After pondering it, I can’t actually tell. If either ever got a clear outline for their development, that outline got tossed or watered down. I won’t say bad writing so much as... well, an ensemble’s tough to write well. Sometimes characters get handed shortcuts instead of actual arcs.

What I’m thinking happened to their arcs is they got switched mid-stream from a change arc to a flat arc. That would take as many words to explain as I’ve already written, so if you want me to keep going on that, send an ask. I’ll put it on the list and tackle it as its own post.

the need for agency

on my post about Shiro’s arc, @gundamgirl17 commented:

While I disagree that withholding agency for Shiro is inherently wrong ... [I want] him to grow and complete his arc and have a happy ending as much as the next person, I don't see anything inherently wrong with the writers making him a tragic character instead.

I respectfully disagree in the strongest possible terms: withholding agency is absolutely wrong by every storytelling measure.

Chuck Wendig (as usual) puts it best:

Character agency is, to me, a demonstration of the character’s ability to make decisions and affect the story. This character has motivations all her own. She is active more than she is reactive. She pushes on the plot more than the plot pushes on her. Even better, the plot exists as a direct result of the character’s actions.

A story that negates a character's choice, or blocks the character from acting on that choice, is a bad story. I don’t mean bad/good in the sense of message or morals. I mean bad writing, plain and simple.

We never saw the crucial decision points onscreen: when and why did Keith accept his role after so long being reluctant? When and why did Shiro stop being a paladin? When and why did Allura decide she returns Lance’s feelings? When and why did Lance set aside his easy-going perspective and turn so grim? The one time we saw a character grapple with anything --- when Hunk decided to rescue his family --- the story never let him follow through. If he had anything to do with his family’s rescue, we never saw it.

I am totally sympathetic with those fans who seek the silver lining, who say Shiro’s pride in Atlas is a sign he’s moved on, has a new place, and will do well there. But I never saw him choose that.

Shiro’s arc began as a question. At the end of S2, the story answered, and said no. Shiro had fought and struggled and tried, and in the end, he paid for his convictions with his life.

Whatever he’d learned in the time since, the story didn’t let him act upon it. Whatever he might’ve seen as his options, the story didn’t give him a chance to consider or decide. Whatever he might’ve felt in regret or hope, the story refused to show. The story required he fill a specific space, the plot required that he be happy about it, and the writing hollowed him out to make it so.

The most common complaint I’ve gotten post-S7 --- beyond representation, plot logic, or shipping --- has been about S7′s lack of heart. Some of S7′s lingering hurt comes from a sense of those broken arcs, and the way that brokenness turns every win into a loss from another angle.

What broke those arcs, though, was the story reducing the characters to puppets, pushed around by the story. It turned a complicated narrative into a recitation of events, play-acted by empty characters. I have my theories on what sent everything in this direction, but I’ll leave that for another post.

#vld #voltron #character arcs #writing #analysis #yuuri on ice #sungkyunkwan scandal #sol thinks about stuff

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calliecat93 · 5 years

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RWBY V6 CH8 Review: Dead End

Last week, Kerry revealed that the finale would take place on January 26th, which since this week was a holiday, totals to a 13 episode season. It's one episode short from last year, but hey 13 is a standard number for an anime season, so fair enough. Also sorry that this took so long, I had... stuff happen with the blog the past few days. But it's fixed now, I posted Chapter 7 yesterday, and now it's time to cover Chapter 8! Lets get to it!

Overview

Team RWBY, Qrow, and Maria at at Argus' military base, but are denied access by the... bizarre twin guards. I think that they may be based on The Cards form Alice in Wonderland, and it'll be more clear why in a bit. The heroes are forced to play the Weiss Schnee card, and it gets the guards to agree to fetch their commanding officer. But to the ire of all the Winter fans out there... it's not her. Maria thinks that she knows who it is though, and they happen to be enemies because said CO put Maria on the advanced screening list for life for taking cashews on a flight. Sheesh. But hey, maybe Maria's right and she's dead! Funniest moment of the episode BTW.

The CO of the Argus base is an egotistical elderly woman known as Caroline Cordovan. She displays much of the attitude that we expect from Atlas characters. Egotistical, boastful, authoritarian, and sees Atlas as the greatest kingdom of all. She had already refused to help JNR, who are also there, and it's pretty clear that she's not going to help the group still. They try to reason with her by explaining that they know that Atlas isn't at fault for Beacon, but it only makes it worst. Cordovan DOES offer to take Weiss home if she's come to her senses... but isn't going to do the same for her friends of 'questionable nature' while looking at Blake. Wow, she's a racist. Lovely. When Weiss questions this, Cordovan slams the gates int heir faces. I agree with Maria's previous sentiment, she's a she-devil. I'm pretty sure that she's supposed to be the Queen of Hearts considering her personality, which would explain the guards being the Cards.

With the plan reaching... well, a dead end, Qrow calls it quits and goes to drink. So he obviously learned nothing form Brunswick! JNR just suggests coming up with a plan without him, pointing out that they still have Ozpin. Que an awkward beat and we cut to later... where Jaune punches a hole in his sister's wall. I hope she has home insurance. So yeah... JNR doesn't take the truth well. Even Nora is pissed off. I'm... mixed about this. It's very understandable for them to be angry and upset, especially considering they lost Pyrrha due to this. But it does bring up a minor critique I have. The response to Salem being un-killable and Ozpin not having a true plan have all ha done reaction: anger and giving up. Some took ti worst than others, but it's still the same. The only one who hasn't is Ruby, which helps but it makes the fact that no one is wondering 'well maybe we can win without killing Salem' or 'maybe we can ask Jinn if there's a way to defeat Salem and not destroy her' hasn't been brought up once. It gets annoying when, even though you understand why everyone is reacting the way that they are, no one has had any logical thought since and continue to spew in their negativity, like Qrow is. All I'm saying is let the reactions be a bit more diverse, if only to keep this from getting either predictable or just irritating.

Oscar tries to calm everyone down, pointing out that they aren't the bad guys in this. Jaune questions this however before storming over to Oscar, wanting to know if he had known about this the whole time. Even when Weiss tries to say he didn't, Jaune grabs the farmboy and slams him into the wall, questioning where his loyalties stand and even if it's even Oscar that they're talking to. Throughout, Oscar is clearly terrified and it only ends when Ruby calls out Jaune. To the paladin's credit, this get shim to realize what he's doing and is clearly horrified. He backs away before going upstairs, Nora and Ren soon following and wanting to be left alone. The RWBY girls also scatter, leaving a clearly distraught Oscar. Great for none of you to check if he's okay or not. Doing a bang up job ladies.

As the others go to get food, Ruby goes outside to an absolutely beautiful butterfly garden. She's trying to call Qrow to find out where he is, but she gets nothing and throws her Scroll in frustration. It's clear that all of this is beginning to get to Ruby, something that Maria, who had gone back there to avoid the yelling, sees as well. Ruby explains how with everything happening, she's at a loss of what to do. Maria can't help with that, or at least she can't without it defeating the purpose, but she does offer to help Ruby feel better if she's sick of not knowing about things. Yes my friends, we are FINALLY going to talk about the Silver Eyes! I have waited for this for so long!!!

When Ruby explains what she does know, aka more or less nothing Maria explains that there isn't much known about the bloodline. She was lucky as she was trained by her father, who we can assume was also a Silver Eyed Warrior. He taught Maria all that she knew and it led her to scoring higher on the Huntress Exam than any other applicant without having to even attend one of the academies. But if the Silver Eyes are so powerful, why are they so rare? Simple, they were hunted down and killed by Salem. This is why Maria took on a masked persona and hid things such as her name, to hide her powers and not be a target. Of course, we all know how that ended, and Maria credits her survival to both her training and her Semblance. The latter is revealed to be what she dubs Preflexes, which is more or less Spider Man's Spidey Sense. She can sense things before they happen and can be one move ahead of her opponent due to it. Awesome!

Ruby is all set to learn to vaporize monsters with her eyeballs... which earns her a bonk on the head. I guess Maria attended the Rafiki School of Mentorship. The Silver Eyes aren't fueled by the desire to destroy Grimm, it is powered by the desire to protect people. On every case where Ruby used the powers thus far (Pyrrha's death, Jaune facing Cinder, The Apathy), she did so because she was trying to save someone and it allowed her to freeze the Wythern and vaporize the Apathy. Maria goes on to explain that where the Grimm were created by the God of Darkness, the light of the Silver Eyes comes form his brother, the God of Creation. How does Maria know this? Well remember in Jinn's vision when the God turned into the dragon for the first time? We saw a burst of light that vaporized the Grimm. I thought that was just the effects of the transformation.. wow I feel stupid! That is an awesome detail!

Now since the light only effects Grimm, any training that Ruby can get is going to be a trial by fire. But Maria does suggest that the young huntress can work to create a mindset that she can turn to in order to unleash the power when she needs to. But Ruby is confused by something. The light on works on Grimm, right? Well if you recall, Ruby was able to use it on Cinder back in Haven... IDK how she remembers this since Emerald knocked her out immediately, but still. Now we all know why that is, but Ruby doesn't. Which has Maria suggest that maybe there's something that the huntress isn't seeing. But anymore talk comes to an end as Ruby and JNR are informed that Oscar has gone missing. Well... shit.

Review

Of the episodes so far, it's safe to say that this may be the weakest. But only in terms of it being an exposition/build-up episode instead of an action episode or something along those lines. I can't call it bad though as a lot of good came out of this episode. The first half was pretty dang funny. Caroline is terrible, but her boastful personality makes her entertaining to watch at the very least. Maria was comedy gold here with her rant about the cashews and the 'Maybe she's dead!” line. Again, funniest moment in the episode. It's nice that we got to have a couple of laughs before the heavy stuff came back in because... haha, IDT we're going to be having many more light-heated moments in these last five episodes. Call it a hunch.

As I said, while I would like for the group to have some cold hard logic hit them already, Team JNR's reactions are completely understandable. Jaune especially. Really, he's got the most reason out of everyone aside form maybe Qrow to be angry. Remember, Pyrrha got killed because of this and even she wasn't aware of all the details when the whole Fall Maiden thing happened. We can argue about the circumstances all that we want, Pyrrha still died trying to do what was right, and ever since everything that Jaune has done has been to not let her death be in vain. So finding out that all of that was for nothing? I can't blame him for being angry or how he reacted. Am I defending him? Hell no. Oscar did NOTHING wrong. The way that Jaune manhandled him was horrifying and seeing this young kid clearly terrified was just wrong. But it still makes sense hwy Jaune reacted that way all things considered, and to his credit he DID realize what he was doing and stopped. And we find out that Oscar is gone, it is very clear that Jaune feels remorseful for taking his anger out on Oscar and of what could happen to him now. Out of everyone so far aside from Oscar, I sympathize with Jaune the most.

Who I have lost my sympathy for however is Qrow. He is just...a mess. Brunswick was bad enough, but now? Look, I know how hard it is to let go of addiction, especially considering how bad of a mental state that Qrow is in. But after how his drinking caused him to be so out of it that he failed to realize that the kids that he's responsible for to get killed, it's becoming more and more difficult to feel bad for him. He SAW what his carelessness could have led to, and even now he hasn't learned. Because of it, Ruby has to be the adult trying to keep everyone going despite all the circumstances, and she has to try and find him on top of everything else. It's at the point where this can't go unaddressed anymore. Ruby or someone needs to give Qrow an intervention and outright tell him to stop. I imagine that it'll get ugly, but if something isn't done soon, then most likely Qrow is going to get either himself or someone else killed. It's time for him to stop the self-loathing.

Okay, lets try to talk about something more positive, like the Silver Eyes! First, I need to say this again. Maria has been a delight as a character and has just fit right in with the cast. Funny, sassy, practical, she's been a great addition and is the kind of character that Ruby needs to mentor her. I loved hearing some details about her past, like her relationship with her father and how she became a Huntress. It's exposition, sure, but it's used to show Maria's experience and wisdom. We learn more about a character that so far the fandom really loves, and it serves a purpose. We also see her intelligence as she pieced together about the source of the Silver Eyes powers just form Jinn's vision. She is very much what Ruby needs. She's an optimistic character, but also firm and wise. She can push Ruby in the right direction without being too harsh or too nice. Hopefully she sticks around after this season because she's such a welcome addition.

As for Ruby, she continues to be a bright spot in the season. She's trying so hard, but the weight is really beginning to get to her. She had to stop Jaune from physically hurting someone, is being ignored by Qrow and his unreliableness is clearly upsetting her, and she feels like she's letting everyone down due to how hopeless everything seems. She is meant to be an inspiring, hopeful figure and she is trying her damnest to be this way. After the initial plan went up in smoke, her first response is to comfort Weiss and again assure her that they won't leave her side. She's stepped up as a leader, but she's till a 16, maybe 17 if Lindsay can be believed, year old girl in a very difficult situation and with Qrow intoxicated and Oz gone, she has to be the adult. She has to look after everyone and keep them on track. She has to try and encourage them and not give up, and so far that doesn't seem to be working. This girl has so much pressure on her because everyone else has given up, and it's starting to weigh on her. Will this be the season where she breaks down? It's hard to say, but I do think that before the volume is over, we're going to see some kind of reaction out of her.

On the upside however, after so long, Ruby is finally learning about the Silver Eyes. She's asking questions. She's excited to learn to use this power. She actively WANTS to learn about it. This is what I have been hoping for ever since the end of V3. This is the moment where we are seeing Ruby beginning to go from a rookie fresh out of Beacon long before she was ready, to taking the steps to becoming the Huntress that she has always wanted to be. In light of everything and even with her doubts, Ruby has stepped up as a leader, has yet to give up despite how hopeless it looks, and is still determined to do what's right. Now she has a mentor to teach her to use her gift, something unique to her, and hopefully that can help ignite the will to continue on. Ruby's goal has always been to be a Huntress to help people, and overtime that has gone form naive ambition to seeing how dark the world can be, and wanting to do whatever is possible to do good because it's the right thing to do. Ozpin was right about what he said in V5, she truly is an inspiring figure, and this is why. Even in face of the hopelessness and everyone around her giving up, she hasn't. Will she? It's hard to say, but there is no doubt that no matter what tries to keep Ruby down, she'll face it and she will somehow pull everyone up with her. This volume, more than any other, has made that clear and I love it.

What helps that entire scene, of course, is both the setting and the music. The garden is absolutely beautiful, having a very calming atmosphere, which after the blowup was very much needed. The butterflies also added to the beauty and calmness. Apparently blue butterflies can symbolize change, and butterflies in general can symbolize life. You see it in anime all the time. It's perfect symbolism here as Ruby seeks to change herself and become a Silver Eyed Warrior, so it's a very welcome touch. And the music... gosh the music is so beautiful and serene. Jeff and Alex once more killed it, especially with the new renditions of Red Like Roses and This Will be the Day. Very nostalgic and it added to this being about Ruby taking that next step forward. Very well done!

Then of course we have the ending. Oscar is missing. For the moment, we will assume that he has left of his own volition due to the manhandling and the questioning of his identity, which was already a problem for him. And... is anyone surprised? I mean Jaune shoving him alone would be enough reason to leave. But the way everyone keeps seeing him as Ozpin, directing the anger at him even if unintentionally, and how no one seemed to care about how he's felt about all of this. Only Ruby ever did, and Qrow made sure to kill that. Of course he would leave. No one trusts him and now even he's questioning who he is and what to do now that it looks like they will inevitably lose. Hopefully he will be found safe and sound and will come back. And hopefully everyone will apologize, or Jaune will at the very least. For now, all that we can do is worry about his safety until Saturday roles around.

Final Thoughts

This may not have been the heaviest chapter, but it was still enjoyable. The first half was entertaining and did a good job of setting up the next obstacle for our heroes. The second half was very much emotional and Jaune's reaction was pretty much what we were expected. The exposition was welcomed and added to the scene instead of dragging it down. And of course we're left on a cliffhanger that is mean, but not 'Weiss just got stabbed' levels of mean. Overall, while it may be the weakest episode of the volume so far, I still give it two thumbs up! Great work!

#rwby #rwby6 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

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luucarii · 6 years

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With a Dash of Gin - Ch9

Ehh, its not too late to post a chapter... right??

Read on Ao3

Finals week came in full swing and despite how stressful Shuichi was making it out to be, Kokichi wasn’t worried. Sure, the study session from last night helped but he was confident enough without it. What Kokichi was, at both the mornings and afternoons of each day of the week, was flustered. It was becoming a regular occurrence and he hated it. It wasn’t like him at all.

Damn that Rantaro.

Kokichi woke every morning of that week greeted to an encouraging text message from the curly haired smug boy. They all had the slight teasing Rantaro was known for yet also the sort of “big brother” feel which made sense considering he was the older brother in his family.

“Good morning! Hope you slept well. Time for your first exam, are you ready? I’m sure you’ll do great. You’ve got this sort of smart—albeit a little arrogant—sort of look to you. I can’t really explain it but I like it a lot. Good luck, text me when you get out!”

Waking up to a message from Rantaro was sure to put a smile on Kokichi’s face no doubt, but when it was both making him smile and flustered enough to have Shuichi asking what was wrong, that’s when Kokichi drew the line. It made his heart do cartwheels in his chest and the unfamiliar feeling left his head spinning.

If anything, Rantaro’s messages made focusing on finals difficult. Kokichi couldn’t stop thinking about them and he made sure to loudly voice his opinions to Rantaro after he got out of class through a loud phone call with a few snarky comments and fake annoyances.

Rantaro would respond with a chuckle and say he would make it up to him once finals were over.

(“Yeah, you owe me a whoooole bunch of drinks for distracting me during testing!”)

It was strange to Kokichi, having someone as supportive as he was. If not for him, Kokichi would’ve ended up hanging out with Rantaro to ignore the group’s study session that Sunday. Granted they were still getting to know each other so Kokichi figured for the first few weeks Rantaro would just try to be overly nice. The sweet messages were just an added bonus it seemed.

Rantaro caught Kokichi’s attention much longer than his previous crushes, no doubt about it.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Kokichi was mentally exhausted and he really hoped Rantaro would actually consider buying him a few drinks. Not only as an excuse for another date but just to taste it again and maybe get tipsy (not drunk, oh hell no after last time) enough to just have Rantaro take him home and sleep it off. When Rantaro texted him that night, asking him to come after the crowd was thinning out, unfortunately at two in the morning, Kokichi couldn’t say no.

Shuichi had drowsily questioned Kokichi for going out so late but Kokichi reassured him with a chuckle. Shuichi was too tired to argue with him and Kokichi could swear he passed out after a half-assed mumble.

The summer air was cool against Kokichi’s skin as he made his way down the sidewalk. The streets were somewhat empty save for the few cars passing by every once and a while and each house seemed to have their lights off for the night.

One thing he liked about Rantaro’s job was that the bar he tended was close to a ten (fifteen if he was feeling particularly slow with the nice weather) minute walk from campus. Although there was a curfew in place, Kokichi had already made mental notes of the cameras and security officers around the school. Getting out was virtually no problem for him and he always had Shuichi, god forbid anything happened. Most of the security guards took a quick liking to Shuichi after learning of his major in criminology (and how he’d commonly talk to a few of them for random tidbits and tips for his future as a detective) so they typically turned a blind eye to anything bad he happened to involve him in, which was rare in it of itself. Kokichi found it downright hilarious how the guards would talk of upholding honor and bunch of other stupid shit and yet they’d let some nerdy kid and his friends get away with petty things that would usually earn them a warning at best.

It was just one of those perks Shuichi had that Kokichi would sometimes leech onto. He knew he shouldn’t but at the point where Kokichi was at the moment he really didn’t have much of a choice. The dorm room they shared was because of Shuichi, the small part-time job Kokichi typically had during the autumn and winter months was because of Shuichi, half the things Kokichi owned and cherished were because of Shuichi. Shuichi provided basically everything Kokichi needed to survive somewhat on his own after what happened with his mom and sister.

Although Kokichi always said it jokingly around him, Shuichi was his savior.

It was always annoying for Kokichi’s mind to grace the subject, especially when he was in the midst of walking to meet with Rantaro. It left him with the guilt of his debt to Shuichi settled in his stomach and he didn’t want to start off a date with a sour attitude. With a quick exhale and stretch of his back, Kokichi turned the corner to stop in front of the bar.

Through the windows he could see it was beginning to clean out. The tables were empty and only less than a dozen people sat at the bar finishing up whatever they were drinking. From the inside, Kokichi saw Rantaro and the same white haired tender from last time writing off checks before they began to slowly clean up the place.

Kokichi stepped inside and was greeted with a smile from Rantaro while the white haired bartender raised his eyebrows and seemed to remember him from last week. Kokichi took an empty seat and tapped lightly at the table with his fingers. He watched Rantaro work, skillfully taking empty glasses off the table and leaving them in the sink to wash while also managing to finish scribbling down bills and collecting payments from tipsy customers. The white haired tender, which Kokichi wasn’t bothered to pay too much attention to listen in for his name, was somewhat clumsy but he served his customers with the friendliest of smiles.

It didn’t take long for the few stragglers to finally pay for their drinks, stumble out of the bar and Kokichi was left alone in the bar with the two boys. The white haired boy was working on wiping down the tables and chairs while Rantaro was washing the dishes and making small conversation with Kokichi.

“Sorry for calling you so late. I hope I didn’t wake you.” Rantaro turned his head eyeing Kokichi’s expression. He was trying to find any hint of drowsiness, Kokichi could tell. Maybe it was just his default as the older brother but Kokichi noticed Rantaro would always try looking for the little cues to see if something was off.

That was a problem, but nothing Kokichi couldn’t handle.

Kokichi shook his head and grinned, “nah, it’s fine. I was wiiide awake. And I can’t say no to someone who owes me!”

“I didn’t think my messages would affect you that much.” Rantaro grabbed a nearby rag to wipe his hands dry and turned around. He chuckled, “I was just being honest.”

Kokichi pouted and stretched out his arms, “no what you were being was an insufferable tease. Praising me like I’m some little kid.”

“But you did do good on your exams, right?”

“Grades don’t come out until after the semester ends. Get off my back Ranty.” Kokichi rolled his eyes and sighed.

“I’m used to ‘Taro’ but ‘Ranty’s’ a new one. Since when did you have a nickname for me anyway?” Rantaro snickered and heard his coworker chuckle in the background.

“Whaat? You don’t have one for me? Aww, I thought you liked me Ranty!” Kokichi dragged out his sentence with a whine.

Rantaro smiled but couldn’t bring himself to argue with him. Kokichi giggled to himself in satisfaction seeing as he won the conversation. Rantaro walked to the back room and came out a few seconds later with a broom and dustpan. The chairs were raised up onto the tables leaving the floor open for a cleaning. The white haired worker seemed to be distracted as he stared aimlessly out the window until Rantaro called out to him.

“No need to stay in longer than you have to. Go home, I’ll clean up.”

He turned back and his eyes lit up a bit, “are you sure, Rantaro?”

Rantaro reassured him with a smile and the boy nodded before rushing to the back room to grab his stuff. He thanked Rantaro once more before stepping out of the bar, the lingering jingle of the bell being the last trace of him. He turned the corner and Kokichi lost sight of him.

“Oh I see your plan.” Kokichi hummed to himself and narrowed his eyes, “you just wanted to be alone with little ‘ol me.”

“Can you blame me? We haven’t had a one on one date yet. With no one around I mean.” Rantaro shrugged his shoulders but could tell Kokichi was already thinking of a million different endings to tonight.

As Kokichi leaned forward hands forming a bridge under his chin, his voice dropped low and laughed teasingly. “So what’s Rantaro planning on doing with me?”

#aarisfics #With a Dash of Gin #oumami #danganronpa v3 #kokichi ouma #amami rantarou

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dipulb3 · 3 years

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A former student sues the University of Evansville over sexual assault allegations against former basketball coach

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/a-former-student-sues-the-university-of-evansville-over-sexual-assault-allegations-against-former-basketball-coach/

A former student sues the University of Evansville over sexual assault allegations against former basketball coach

The suit alleges that McCarty, a former NBA player, pressured the unnamed plaintiff, dubbed Jane Doe, into visiting him in his home in December 2019, where he allegedly assaulted her, and that the University of Evansville knew of McCarty’s “insidious” pattern of sexually harassing and assaulting other women at the university but failed to act appropriately.

McCarty is not a defendant in the lawsuit against the school.

Michelle Simpson Tuegel, one of the attorneys representing the former athletic trainer told Appradab that her client did not want to be named in the lawsuit due to the sensitive nature of the allegations.

The harassment and the university’s action, the lawsuit claims, violates Title IX protections for students against gender discrimination and violence. Because of the alleged assault and continued harassment, the lawsuit says, the unnamed victim suffered PTSD and for the first time saw a decline in her academic performance.

The University of Evansville “disputes the legal claims from Jane Doe and her attorney,” according to a statement.

“The University is confident it responded appropriately to all reports of misconduct regarding Mr. McCarty based on information it actually knew at the time,” university spokesperson Holly Smith said. “UE looks forward to addressing the specific allegations in court, not in the media.”

When reached by email, McCarty told Appradab, “I’ve never assaulted anyone in my 47 years on this earth.”

“I am certain my name and reputation will be restored when it’s our time to do so and present the truth,” McCarty added. “I fully support the #metoo movement and the woman who have survived sexual violence. It’s disheartening that someone would make up such a vicious lie to gain financial rewards.”

Tuegel told Appradab that her client has also filed a civil claim against McCarty in Massachusetts, where he resides. Court records indicate she has filed a proof of claim and sent his counsel a demand letter, and, on Tuesday, the court granted her an extension until June to file a complaint.

‘I told u I wanted to stop’

McCarty was hired as head coach in March of 2018. His previous basketball career made him an influential figure in the school and the community, the complaint said.

But quickly, reports were made of inappropriate behavior, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit notes at least seven times before the victim’s report that the University was made aware of behavior ranging from uncomfortable attention paid to a student to persistent, harassing text and social media messages.

The unnamed victim was unaware of these incidents when she became the student athletic trainer for the basketball team, the lawsuit alleges. She had never interacted with the coaches very much on the other teams she had worked with, but McCarty often spoke with the student athletic trainers and did special handshakes, according to the complaint.

Then, during final exams in December 2019, McCarty sent the student multiple messages asking her to come to his home, saying “I’m gonna kidnap you one of these times lol have u come hang with me,” the complaint alleges.

“Feeling pressured, while out picking up fast food, Jane Doe agreed to eat her food at McCarty’s house for five minutes,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit then alleges that McCarty sexually assaulted the student, and that at 5’1″ tall, she was afraid to run from the 6’9″ coach.

In the following days, McCarty continued to contact her, and the student confronted him, the lawsuit alleges.

“Why did u do what u did to me . . . I told u I wanted to stop and u kept goin,” she texted, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit alleges that the victim informed her roommate about what had transpired immediately after the incident took place. Three days later, she says that she spoke to a counselor and filed an anonymous report online with the university through Crime Stoppers that same day.

According to the Evansville Courier & Press, police say they had not received any reports regarding McCarty’s behavior during his coaching tenure.

After speaking with a counselor, the unnamed victim reported the incident to the university, according to the documents.

McCarty attended high school in Evansville and won a national championship as a player for Kentucky in 1996, before being drafted by the New York Knicks. He spent most of his 10 years in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. He also played for the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers before turning to coaching.

McCarty was placed on administrative leave by the school about two weeks after the incident allegedly took place. And after the school hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation, he was fired in January 2020.

At the time the university said it had received additional reports of alleged misconduct by McCarty. The school said it had issued warnings to him in 2019, regarding inappropriate off-court behavior with members of our campus community and that he had also participated in Title IX behavioral training.

“There is no place at UE for any behavior by any University employee or student that jeopardizes the safety and security of others,” reads the school’s statement.

‘They sat on their hands and did nothing’

The university was made aware of several acts of misconduct before McCarty is alleged to have assaulted the student, but he was not monitored or followed up with after verbal admonishment, according to a release from the lawyers representing the victim, Michelle Simpson Tuegel and Jeff Gibson.

Tuegel said it was “stunning” that the university had “shrugged off” multiple complaints about McCarty.

“It was no secret to university officials that McCarty was a predator, and they sat on their hands and did nothing,” she said.

Tuegel has worked on other cases involving sexual abuse in team sports, including those involving disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.

“It is a perfect combination and a perfect storm of vulnerability,” Tuegel said of the age and gender disparity between the alleged victim and McCarty. “It’s about Walter McCarty and his abuse, yes. It’s also about the failed institutional response and how they could have prevented this.”

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inbetweenactuality-blog · 3 years

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Looking back on my 4th semester

This was the semester with 12 weeks of clinicals and no theory classes. I was looking forward to this because so many weeks of clinicals back-to-back would be like actually working. Looking back on it, I realize that that was only half true, because each week or two weeks, the clinical setting changed as we were moving from ward to ward, so it was like starting at a new place all over again.

We started the semester in the beginning of 2020, just innocent second years not knowing what was in store for us. Three weeks in, covid happened in our city, so our clinicals were delayed until further notice. Thus began my journey of staying home for 7 months. I had a personal goal to stay home for 1 year lol but 7 months later, the semester restarted again. During those 7 months, we did our 5th semester online since it was only theory subjects.

I did 3 subjects this semester.

1. Medical and surgical nursing practice I: This subject consisted of 2 weeks of ICU postings and 2 weeks of OT postings. The first postings of the semester was in ICU AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. I wish to work there after I graduate. The environment was so lovely and organized, and the 1:2 nurse patient ratio made it possible to actually give good quality care. And the best thing was, I had a great mentor (who I found out was only 2 or 3 year older than me CRAZY) who let me do everything. She let me do the complete care for one patient every day, and she actually taught me stuff about drugs and calculations and, well, everything. This was the first mentor I had who actually cared enough to teach me. The others usually treated me like their servant or assistant, who was just there to observe and bring them things from the stock when they forget to bring something to the bedside. I saw my first dead body here. It was a baby with downs syndrome. I saw another body of a girl who was close to my age. I do wish I saw more critical things happen like codes and giving cpr, but overall it was the nicest clinicals I’ve done and I learned more here than all my previous clinicals combined. These 2 weeks, however, were also extremely anxiety-inducing. I think it was because my mentor was very strict and always nudged me to do things faster. It was like being back in the cadet camp from school days. She was amazing but never said anything positive so I felt stupid and like I didn’t know anything. I was extremely burnt out by the end of those 2 weeks, and right after that, I had my OT postings. Which was the worst place I’d clinicals in. It started off great, with a long-ass orientation by a sweet young nurse. And then I was assigned to the worst mentor ever, ‘H’, who had the perception that all students are terrible and don’t try to learn and idek. Almost made me cry. She talked crap about students to the other nurses when I was right there, as if I didn’t exist. Anywayy, most of the nurses there were like that. The only way I survived was because there was a lot of down-time after the initial surgeries in the morning, which I got to spend with my friends in the OT. There were 5 of us in each shift, and they were the sweetest funniest people, so things were more bearable. The place also had a lot of similarity to grey’s anatomy because there was this hallway with stretchers, where we and some of the nurses lounged around after surgeries. On the last day of that week, covid happened. I was completely burnt out then, so I took it as a huge blessing. Covid was terrible, but I kept going with positive thoughts. I’m a big introvert so I didn’t really have any trouble staying home for so long. I ended up having to do the remaining week of OT clinicals in another hospital a year later. This place was nicer with nice nurses and more surgeries, but my God were the surgeons rude. They treated the nurses worse than animals, most of them. Their usual behavior included shouting, cursing, a lot of ef bombs, throwing things including expensive equipment, ungratefulness, no patience whatsoever. Yeah... Most of the nurses quit so the place was extremely understaffed too. I wish they all quit at the same time. Let’s see the surgeons do surgeries by themselves.

2. Reproductive health nursing practice: This consisted of 3 weeks of postings in an obg ward, and 1 week in a reproductive health center. I had the first 3 weeks in a hospital in another island, so I had to cross a bridge everyday on the bus. It was actually quite nice. Just a lot of time wasted on traveling. But it was the second week I’d been out since covid, so the fresh air made me realize going outside was a huge serotonin boost and great for my mental health. I’d never realized this before. The mentor I had there was the sweetest lady ever. I bathed a baby for the first time (it was the baby’s first bath of his life too!) and got comfortable with holding newborns, which I’d always been scared of. I would’ve seen a delivery had it not been for covid. I saw a lot of blood that came out of one patient, which was a strange experience. I realized what gynecologists not to go to (lol). I also had to stay over at my aunt’s house some days because covid curfew meant I couldn’t travel back home after evening shifts. The other week I did in a closer hospital in the reproductive health center. The nurse in-charge was very sweet and she ended up being the examiner of 2 of my hospital exams of the semester. This place was where pregnant ladies came for their antepartum visits. We had to do abdominal palpations of 10 patients. I was able to do only 9, but they accepted it because covid meant there were very few patients. I also did an extra week of clinicals here because the clinicals schedule was made very messily from uni. RHC posting was fun because all the students were able to lounge around in the baby feeding room until patients came. We also went to the OBG ER on alternating days, so that was a fun experience too. All the nurses I met in these areas were very sweet.

3. Pediatric nursing practice: This consisted of 1 week of postings in a baby vaccinating place + a thalassemia center, 1 week in a NICU and 2 weeks in a pediatric ward. I did only 1 week in pediatric ward because, again, messy clinicals schedule. Baby vaccinating place was useless because we weren’t allowed to give vaccines to any babies. The nurses there didn’t care about us either and didn’t bother to answer our questions well. We did check a bunch of heights and weights, though. That was cute. NICU was lovely. I wouldn’t mind working there in the future. I grew quite attached to one of the babies, who was actually from a druggie family and was under the care of the government. Poor thing. I also saw a DNR premature baby dying (from very far away though, I couldn’t muster up the courage to go closer), and the parents holding the baby as it died in their arms. It was very heartbreaking. Pediatric ward posting was crap. The place was extremely unorganized. The nurses didn’t bother to teach us anything, and we just had to check vitals of aaallll the kids there every shift, which took about 2 hours every time. And not an ounce of gratefulness from the nurses. In fact, they criticized us for taking too much time. I’ve learned not to take things too personally at this point. There was one adorable little boy I got to care for for a few minutes when he was first admitted. I was the first nurse-figure to go to him, so I made sure to make it fun and not scary. I took his vitals and applied all my pediatric tricks into it. The baby insisted on getting a second hug from the bp cuff afterwards.

I just got the results for this semester, and I did pretty well. Yay. I wish I’d done more, honestly, but I was very stressed and burned out pretty much the whole time. But my upcoming semester is also 12 weeks of clinicals, so I’ll try to make the most of my experience then.

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