#without the whole world ending mass murder

[deadsetobsessions]

Danny used to be a vigilante, firmly on the side of good. Like, illegally, but morally good.

Danny’s 100% sure that whatever he is now, it’s not good.

Is Gotham’s influence just Like That?

He was homeless when he got to this thrice damned city (literally, because Lady Gotham was so cursed) and now he’s… here? In a mid-level penthouse with a rotation of homeless kids going in and out of his kitchen and eating out his pantry??

Danny adjusted the cuffs of his dress shirt, making the conscious decision to ditch the tie. He’s a tall 6ft 4 now, taking after his Dad. His head smarted all of the time, hitting doorframes when he was being a bit clumsier than the normal ghost-like grace he had learned to channel as The Phantom.

The Phantom instead of just Phantom. Why? Because Phantom was the name of a teenage vigilante in another dimension. The Phantom, on the other hand, is an intimidatingly tall, deceptively kind, extremely dangerous kingpin.

Honestly? Danny didn’t even want this life. Like, he had no idea it would snowball like this??

He supposed that it all started when the Penguin was trying to snatch kids off of his block on Crime Alley. Not officially his block, of course, because Danny didn’t actually enter this city to be a crime-shadow thing. But he hadn’t lost enough of Phantom the Vigilante to ignore kids getting hurt. He still hasn’t, if he’s being honest. He flew into a frantic search, tracking down the missing kids to Penguin’s bar. The Iceberg Lounge. Apparently, he wanted the kids to do some menial tasks and what not. Danny, rage flickering through his core, intangibly went in and robbed Penguin of every coin and secret the man kept.

Then? Danny blackmailed the Penguin to guarantee his kids a measure of safety from the Rogue. That began the slippery slope into whatever it is he does now. Penguin was being kept in line by Danny’s threats, the grip he had on the Rogue’s weak points, and a wonderful bit of intimidation.

——

“What, you stinking phantom? I’m stickin’ to yer rules!” Penguin snarled, forced to his knees by invisible blob ghosts.

Danny, salty and pissy from the lack of sleep he’d experienced trying to keep Penguin’s men in line as a result of Penguin trying to test where Danny’s lines were, dropped the temperature to the point where Penguin started shivering. Considering the place was already cold- the Iceberg lounge lived up to its name- it meant that Danny was standing nonchalantly in a room that was negative twenty five degree Celsius in a sweatshirt, Danny was already making good on his natural intimidation factor.

“It’s The Phantom to you, Oswald.” Danny said, in the tone of someone saying “it’s the shit, to you.”

Danny narrowed his blue eyes, letting a tiny tint of ectoplasm make his eyes glow a bit in the suddenly icing over room.

“Your people have been getting on my nerves, Oswald. Roughing up kids is so… uncultured. Are you sure you’re a Cobblepot?”

Penguin snarled, the effect of which was rendered ineffective due to his increasingly violent shivers. Plus, Danny loomed over him without even trying.

Danny, annoyed and asking himself “What Would Dan Do To Intimidate This Guy?”, gripped Penguin’s shoulder and hauled him up one handed. He dragged the mob boss over to one of the booths, avoiding the bodies he’d dropped (non-lethally) when Danny first walked in to ruin Penguin’s night. He shoved Penguin in chair he iced over, because Danny’s petty and if he saw one more bruise on his kids at Penguin’s hands, Danny was gonna go full Dan the Murderer.

He at least allowed to room to warm up before laying into Penguin, though. He stayed standing. Hey, he had the height advantage to use. He could have kept Penguin kneeling, but it was probably god the best that the mob boss got some sense of pride back.

(Danny had no idea that sitting as someone loomed over you to lecture and threaten you was even worse than kneeling. At least with kneeling, you knew where you stood. But sitting? It leaves you horribly off kilter.)

“I told you to keep your people in line. Kids are off limits, Oswald.”

“I kept them in line!”

Never let it be said that Oswald Cobblepot had a normal functioning sense of self preservation.

“Really?” Danny jabbed his pointer finger lightly on top of Penguin’s trachea and allowed his fingernails to sharpen into Phantom’s sharper digits. Penguin tried to lean away. “Then why did they start a gun fight when there were kids visible on the street? Why did I see one of my kids get hit by one of your poor excuses of a bouncer?”

“I-”

“Don’t care much for your excuses, if I’m being honest. I let you mess around with the little projects you have, without even breathing a whisper of your secrets. Sionis would love to know how you double crossed him the last deal, yeah?”

“I- I’ll keep them in line!” Penguin stuttered.

“Well, I believe in second chances,” Danny bullshitted. Ancients, how was this even working? “So I suggest you make an example of the guy that smacked Hailey around before I make an example out of you, Oswald.”

“Fine! Fine!”

——

And with that, he got access to Penguin’s resources and men and more importantly, the corrupt police officers. He made Penguin “boot out” the pedophilic ones (in a very violent way) and kept the rest.

Then? Mr. Freeze froze over the god damn pipes and Danny had to intimidate and make a deal with the Rogue so he and his increasing roster of orphans had access to warm water.

In exchange for Danny’s restorative and, more importantly, unmelting ice, Mr. Freeze was now Danny’s… on-call enforcer?? When he’s not researching cures for his frozen in a pod wife, that is.

Danny was satisfied with that. He was! But then Black Mask happened, with the man trying to engage in a battle of wits with Danny over the control of Crime Alley which, at that point, was firmly Danny’s territory.

The thing is, Danny doesn’t play nice anymore. Why bother with pointless mind games when he could just…

——

“So, you’re The Phantom.”

“And you’re Sionis.”

Black Mask twitched at the name, gloved hands pulling out his guns. Danny sat on the counter, head touching mid cabinet, and sipped out of Sionis’ favorite mug.

Because Danny broke into Black Mask’s safe house and stole his quality coffee. The man’s eyes were wary.

“How did you get in here?”

Danny shrugged. “Walked.”

Danny held the coffee out of the way as Sionis unloaded a clip into his chest and lunged forward to slap a mask onto Danny’s face. After waiting a bit, as Black Mask’s smug triumph bled into shock, Danny laughed and, using a bit of his natural strength, tossed the guy off of him. He casually took the mask off of his face.

“Jeez, I’m trying to be nice, here.”

“So, you’re a Meta.”

Danny grinned. “Eh. And you’re a cult leader with a mask fetish.”

Danny tuned out the rant about the “true face of Gotham” or whatever, already bored, and sipped at Sionis’ coffee. The ass might be a psycho, but his coffee tastes were wonderful. Danny stood up, rinsed his mug, and turned back to Black Mask.

“You’re trafficking people. Kids.” He said, cutting through Sionis’ chatter. He was sly about it too, committing violence and torture in a way that would ensure obedience and fear. Danny probably would have never caught on, Black Mask’s schemes being so ingeniously created and executed, had he not kept a hawk’s eyes on the more vulnerable members of Crime Alley’s community. And the rest of Gotham’s vulnerable communities, of course.

“My, a wonderfully obvious conclusion. Now, Phantom, I have a proposition for you.”

Sionis seemed to have gotten his bearings back. Danny tilted his head at him, looking down.

“You can work for me,” Sionis said, before opening a laptop with video feed to one of his masked men or whatever holding a knife to one of Danny’s more fearless kids. Danny snarled.

“Or, refuse, and your kid will lose a finger for every instance of your defiance.”

“I told you not to touch the kids, Sionis. I don’t allow trafficking either.”

Black Mask chuckled. “Cut off a finger, Sadness.”

“Yes, bos- ARGHHHH!”

Danny watched as Mr. Freeze froze the goon’s arms before breaking them.

“I’ve got her, Phantom.”

Danny nodded at Freeze, keeping an eye on Sionis in case the fool bolts.

“So, what are your cards now, Sionis? You’ve sure pissed me off with nothing to show for it.”

And that was the last night anyone heard from the one that was supposed to be the King of Crime.

But Gotham knew the head mounted on a pike at one of Black Mask’s hastily abandoned bases was a warning, that The Phantom was watching.

——

Then he somehow got a gaggle of more orphans that were undead zombie “Talons?”

From there, he just obtained influence over the crime bosses of Gotham. Because his Talons kept bringing him heads and blackmail and his crime alley kids and Gotham orphans kept bringing him information for food and safety?

But like, Danny never wanted anything in exchange for the safety he provided. His core could give less of a shit whether he got anything in return. But he couldn’t convince his kids of that! They’re putting themselves in danger and ugh-!

Danny checked himself once more in the mirror. Ready, he stepped out into the night to wait for the Bats at his new favorite VIP spots.

On the way, he passed Ivy and Harley, who he waved to. Pamela worked under him because he controlled Gotham’s criminal underground (which also mean the official parts of the city considering the sheer amount of corruption) and influenced them into more plant friendly methods. His dominion over Undergrowth also helped immensely.

Harley? They’re friends. He beat up and crippled her abusive ex. She gave him therapy and stopped torturing people for fun.

Danny stepped into the back door of the Iceberg Lounge. No one stopped him. No one dared to.

He settled onto a velvet couch, nodding respectfully at the server that had immediately and nervously set down his mai tai. He glanced around for cameras and wire taps, before giving up and upping his ectoplasmic output to short any recording devices out.

He sipped his drink as he waited.

“Batman.”

“Phantom.”

“Oh, good. You didn’t bring Robin,” Danny said, watching Batman tense. “Kids shouldn’t be in places like these.”

Batman stayed silent.

“Come on, sit.” Danny gestured to the couch across from him.

“This isn’t a social call. I’ll stop whatever you’re scheming-” Batman growled.

“Oh my god, you’re so dramatic. Is this where Nightwing gets it from?”

Batman snarled.

“Sit, sit.” Danny rolled his eyes.

Batman stayed stubbornly looming. Danny sighed, allowing his voice to slip into velvet danger.

“I told you to sit, Bruce Wayne.”

“You-”

“I won’t repeat myself again, Bruce. You’re testing my patience.”

Bruce sat, wary and hyper vigilant. Danny sighed, settling back in his chair.

“You’ve heard of Red Hood, yes? Don’t answer that, it was hypothetical. I know you’ve heard of him.” Danny waved a hand impatiently. “I don’t really care why he’s setting up shop in my Alley, but he’s upsetting the other crime lords. They’re asking me to interfere.”

“I don’t work for you.”

“No,” Danny acknowledged with a nod. “But I could make you, if you push it. Politeness would serve you much better right now, Bruce, seeing as I am doing you a… favor. And since I’m not shouting to the world who you are under the cowl.”

Danny gave Batman a pointed, patented, mom glare.

“… Apologies.”

“Now, you might be wondering what that favor is.” Danny watched Batman’s cowled face carefully. “I thought you should know that the Red Hood is your “Jason Todd.’”

Batman was still. And then Batman leapt at him, snarling, “How dare you-!”

Danny caught the vigilante by the throat and squeezed.

Batman’s flurry of punches- which, mildly ow, those gauntlets kind of hurt- quickly changed to clawing and maneuvers to get out of the choke hold. Danny held steady, cutting off the vigilante’s air supply until he began to go limp. He’s not Superman. Danny will bruise and kill, if he had to.

“Are you going to listen to me now?” Danny asked mildly, emulating both Black Mask’s drawl and Dan’s effortless psychosis.

Batman gave a weak nod. Danny plopped him unceremoniously back onto his couch. He sipped on his drink once more as he waited for Batman to cough some sweet air back into his lungs.

“I’m telling you to get your little birds in line before I have to go hunting, yeah? Keep your kids out of danger, Bruce, and I won’t have to step in.”

“He- how do you know..?” The growl isn’t there anymore, and Danny felt a smug sense of vindication of having smothered it out of the guy. Woah, no, that thought was too Dan and too little Danny. Danny handed him a cup of water, which Batman didn’t drink.

Danny rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “Drink. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now. And as for how I know…”

Danny held up a beat up copy of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, filled with Jason’s writing. He tossed it to Batman, who caught it with blank eyes.

“Water,” Danny reminded him firmly, feeling like a mother hen. Batman gulped down his water, eyes flicking between the pages of Jason’s annotated book. Ancients, Danny couldn’t believe he annotated his book. A crime lord, like that? Well, it’s not like Danny could say anything.

Batman looked up at him, a silent demand- no, plea, because he’s not in a position to make demands- for an answer.

“Broke into his safe house. You should contact your fling, Talia. Seems like she dunked him into these “Lazarus pits” and told him you replaced him with the current Robin.”

Danny could see Batman’s emotional gears hard at work and honestly, he doesn’t have time for that.

“Now, we’re done here. You owe me one for the information. I’ll collect later.” Danny grabbed the Dark Knight, who stayed oddly unresisting (shock, maybe?) , and hauled him up.

“Tell Tim Drake to eat more. He looks too skinny.” With that, Danny dragged the Dark Knight to the window and punted him out. His kids were waiting on hot chocolate night and Danny had to go shopping for quality ingredients.

——

“YOU COULDN’T HAVE TOLD ME THE BIGGEST CRIME LORD OF YOUR CITY WAS THE FUCKING HIGH KING OF THE INFINITE REALMS?!”

“Hn.”

“BLOODY HELL, DON’T YOU GRUNT AT ME, YOU BROODY BASTARD!”

Constantine let out a scream. Shite, the king who held his soul contract was a crime lord. Great.

——

The reason intelligence and convoluted schemes and genius doesn’t work against Danny is because he’s got weird standards of what he’ll tolerate and the fact is that his normal dumbassery and mother hen tendencies cancels out and coherent thoughts or plans he might have had.

#danny phantom #batman #dc x dp #bruce wayne #jason todd #red hood #bamf danny phantom #danny the accidental crime lord #danny took over Gotham by adoption and intimidation #morally grey danny phantom #Gotham #scary danny phantom #tw: choking #not in the nasty way #in the intimidation tactic way #danny is losing it #a bit #nightwing #tbh I just wanted to write dark! Danny lol #without the whole world ending mass murder

[probablyasocialecologist]

The context of the Hamas attack on Israelis, however, is completely different from the context of the attack on Jews during the Holocaust. And without the historical context of Israeli settler colonialism since the 1948 Nakba, we cannot explain how we got here, nor imagine different futures; Biden offered us, instead, the decontextualized image of “pure, unadulterated evil.” This weaponization of Holocaust memory by Israeli politicians runs deep. In 1982, for instance, in the context of Israel’s attack on Lebanon, the Israeli PM, Menachem Begin, compared the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Beirut to Adolf Hitler in his bunker in Berlin at the end of the war. Three decades later, in October 2015, Benjamin Netanyahu took this weaponization to new levels when he asserted in a speech to the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem that the Palestinian grand mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini planted the idea to murder Jews in Hitler’s mind. And last Tuesday, Netanyahu described Hamas in a press conference, together with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, as the “new Nazis”. The Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant said: “Gaza will not return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.” Nissim Vaturi, a member of the Israeli parliament for the ruling Likud party, to take another example, called for “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth”. There are many other such expressions by Israeli politicians and senior army officers in the last few weeks. The fantasy of “fighting Nazis” drives such explicit language, because the image of Nazis is one of “pure, unadulterated evil”, which removes all laws and restrictions in the fight against it. Perpetrators of genocide always see their victims as evil and themselves as righteous. This is, indeed, how Nazis saw Jews. Biden’s words constitute therefore a textbook use of the Holocaust not in order to stand with powerless people facing the prospect of genocidal violence, but to support and justify an extremely violent attack by a powerful state and, at the same time, distort this reality. But we see the reality in front of our eyes: since the start of Israeli mass violence on 7 October, the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has surpassed 4,650, a third of them children, with more than 15,000 injured and over a million people displaced. Israel has also escalated the violence against Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank, including the killing of more than 95 people and an intensification of expulsions, including the destruction of whole communities. Hamas wields no power in the West Bank, but the reality that we can all see means little for Israelis fighting, in their minds, Nazis.

#israel #palestine #holocaust #gaza #antisemitism #emphasis added

[nat-20s]

God GOD okay okay okay okay okay I'm having thoughts I'm having FEELINGS im having a Moment SO

I waanna talk about Ten and Donna (shocker I know) but SPECIFCALLY I wanna talk about like. Them and being besties and soulmatism and red string of fates and what not. Also this post is long as rambly as hell so I'm putting it under a readmore for my non-tendonna girlies <3

So like. The Runaway Bride really does establish them as future besties so so well and some of it is the writing but I do think that some of it is that Catherine Tate and David Tennant, by all available accounts, ALSO immediately got on like a house on fire. Like genuinely i know Acting TM is a thing but I think them getting on is part of why their on screen chemistry is SO electric and dazzling to the point where Donna went from a one off one episode character to *checks notes* a character that came back TWICE and also fundamentally changed the structure and DNA of Doctor Who as a whole so. You know. Pretty impressive. Plus Donna gets to have her first adventure with The Doctor as their absolute worst: Ten is grieving from a FRESH wound of losing Rose, he's incredibly cruel and incredibly cold and straight up murders the Racknoss without a flinch or hint of remorse, and even before that he accidentally kidnaps her and then insults her as someone to dismiss. That's not to say that she doesn't also see The Doctor at their brightest: he ends up treating her with incredible kindness, and he's dazzling and brilliant and cares so much and shows her the creation of the earth itself to provide comfort. However it IS to say that because of the nature of his first interaction with Donna he CAN'T put up a facade she already knows the truth!! She is walking into their dynamic with completely open eyes and at first it fucking scares her! She doesn't dislike him in fact they already are friends after less than a day but

Then partners in crime happens. And she's realized okay no actually I CAN take the bad with the good and I WANT to participate in all of it and I DO want this friendship. The Red Strings of Fate (or maybe the TARDIS being like lmaoo you need this girlie <3) bring them back together and they are Officially Tethered from that point on which is so so so delicious. It's also so so so delicious that Ten's still at an incredibly low point and she's still going into this friendship without any ruses in place. Like oh shit yeah they are Bound together even if they did separate now they would almost certainly find each other again.

AND THEN AND THEN!!! We've already established The Doctor and Donna as fast best friends but holllllyyyy shit I think Fires of Pompeii is what establishes them as forever Soulmates. I meant canonically the ending of Fires of Pompeii where she has him save the family fundamentally changed The Doctor for the rest of their lives and gave them a guiding moral compass long after she wasn't there so yeah that's pretty fuckin soulmates of them. But I actually think them as a concept of two people sharing one soul (for the better!!) happens earlier in the episode. The exact moment in fact is THIS ONE:

The Doctor has to make a choice. There are no good options: both are mass destruction and death. And it's SUCH a Doctor choice to have to make: actively destroy Pompeii and everyone in it, or allow the entire world to be destroyed. Not only that but it will likely kill both him and Donna as well. It's a mix of self sacrifice and other sacrifice to save the world and it's a horrific situation to be in.

It is a narrative that parallels the choice he made in the Time War. It is an archetypical Burden of the Doctor.

And then she looks into his eyes, sees his fear and hesitation and remorse and guilt, and wordlessly puts her hands on his. They push the lever to destroy Pompeii together. And it becomes the burden of the DoctorDonna.

#tennant doctor #tenth doctor #donna noble #doctor who #THEY'RE SOULMATES THEY'RE SOULMATES THEY'RE SOULMATES #im OBSESSED with how intricate of an understanding she has of him LONG before she gets his mind. #the way that they experience and process and react to things is sooo similar in some ways and SOOO perfectly counterbalanced in others im #*chews glass*

[jomamaofficial]

An Empty Vessel pt.3 (Dabi x Fem!Reader Dark Angst)

A/N: As promised, I have come with Part 3. I can’t lie, I did not expect to have so many parts to this series (me personally, I thought it would be a oneshot), but guys, seeing all the love y’alls are giving to this series is just AHHH. It fills my heart with joy <3. I urge you all to read the TWs and CWs because this series as a whole is just dark. As always, my Ask Box is open for any requests or just a conversation. Please remember to take care of yourselves, and enjoy. As always, I would love to see your thoughts in the comments :). TW: Substance abuse (alcohol, smoking), small mention of mass murder and a reunion with abusive lover. CW: swearing. Taglist: @marlenemckinnonsleftfoot @sukunasleftkneecap @istoleyourmanho3 @witherfag @porusuniverse @iluvoaldmen @genshinsimpforlif @shadowmoonlight0604 @simpsimpson2023 @crybab7 @kaeyastittysucker @jennieyeager @an-ever-angry-bi @gyarukitti Masterlist Word Count: 2207. Summary: Saira Uchiyama. His past had caught up to him in the form of a family– Touya Todoroki had no family but Dabi could not deny the existence of his. The existence of a family that had driven him to search for a name he had never even heard of. Dabi's fragile world unravelled; every single thread forced him to confront the consequences of his actions. Was it even her? The one he had beat and shut out of his life? Dabi’s mind hurt, because it finally intertwined with the realisation of the irreparable damage he had caused.

——————————————————————————————————

Dabi has had his overcoat for a long time. 

It was the first thing that was ever made for him, and only him. 

He never had to share it. 

The material was light; he could move quickly without the weight dragging him down. 

The material was heat-resistant, so he didn’t have to worry about incinerating his clothes during a fight. 

His clothes allowed him to let go. Dabi could explore the forbidden fruits of his full potential because the material allowed heat to escape– because of the fabric’s ‘enhanced breathability’ or something. He never paid attention. But it worked, so he always had it on. 

Dabi made his way up to the roof, ignoring the small cries of his name from the distance. It wasn’t on purpose though– he couldn’t concentrate on anything else. His mind had to work hard to think about nothing. Because if his conscience took over, his chest would collapse. 

There wasn’t anything left inside of him anymore. That’s what he had recited every waking day of his life as Dabi. But God, he needed a cigarette– to fill that hollow feeling inside of him. 

A few long puffs always did the trick. Although it felt best when he was on the roof, legs hanging off the ledge. 

One of his favourite hobbies was to look at the city under the glistering stars. 

Yokohama never slept. The little toy cars had small people that were always going somewhere. Their blinking red lights mirrored the sea of stars on the bumpy road. At such a distance, where cars disappeared from one end to the other, that journey seemed so mindless. Yet still, everything felt like… like it was still in place. As if everything about this world was truly intentional. 

Dabi dragged a longer puff, throwing his head back, succumbing to the gentle breeze and his thoughts. 

But in the end, you couldn’t make out any face, let alone their identity. Everything became insignificant. All that mattered was the action. 

Dabi could distinguish between a walking figure and a jogging figure. Whether they were alone or with others. 

But in the end, everything else was insignificant when he was above them all. 

So far up, that if he fell– right now– he wouldn’t come back. 

Anyone could push him off.  

“There you are!” 

Dabi grimaced. His soothing bubble had been forcefully broken, and he was dragged back to reality. He had his suspicions on who it was. 

“I thought we could use a drink or two.”

His eyes glowered at the approaching figure. He could never be left alone. But when the bottle of scotch was handed to him, the interruption wasn’t too bad after all. Dabi jerked his head towards the empty space beside him. 

He could hear careful steps approaching, then cautious shuffling beside him. 

Had he stolen a glance in his peripheral vision, he could watch the gentle breeze tease her hair, sweeping it left and right. 

He felt a chaste glance on his face. 

There was a thin, yet strong wall between them. It was thin enough to talk through– although it left no room for subtlety. It was thin enough for them to warm each other. But if they tried to cross it, they’d have to break it down, and crush the other under the weight of the wall. 

There was a lingering sense of emptiness that filled the night sky. 

Empty smiles, empty vessels. 

She drew in a breath, but no words followed, as though she had forgotten how to speak.

“Today was…” she started, only to falter off into silence, her hands rubbing at her arms. 

Dabi had his overcoat for a very long time. 

It was the first thing that was ever made for him. And only him. 

He never had to share it. 

But it felt way too heavy today. And despite the gale tightening its frosty clutch, Dabi could feel his body heating up. 

“The plan was successful”, Dabi replied flatly, “that’s all we need to care about”. 

He pushed his discarded jacket towards her. She slipped it around her shoulders.

The League’s attack on downtown Esuha was broadcasted globally, and they had finally reached the headlines of every news article. 

‘Bloodshed Strikes Downtown Esuha as Villains Unleashed Devastating Attacks’

After years of failed plans, the League of Villains had finally succeeded. 

No man, no woman, no child was left. But it was all worth it. 

Wasn’t it? 

Their plan was the highlight of every media discussion.

Dabi took a larger sip of his drink, bathing under the serene wave which washed over his inhibitions. 

And the wall between them felt thinner and weaker. 

“D’ya think your mom would ever sacrifice herself for you?” 

The vivid images of fresh blood and visceral screams haunted their mind.  

“What did that woman say again?” Dabi asked, his voice cracking, “‘take me, but please, leave my baby alone’... That’s what she said right?” 

Both of their eyes lowered. The alcohol and the little food he had consumed was kicking against his stomach lining, irritating his abdominal grafts. 

“‘She has a long life ahead of her. Please, please, don’t kill her please’”, Dabi heard a sniffle. “That’s what she said before we…”  

He felt sick. 

“That’s what we do, doll.”

He met the pain in her eyes. They were a mirror. 

Dabi clenched his jaw before looking away. 

She did too.

Dabi began biting his fingernails, and her hands fidgeted with the glass. 

And then they looked at each other again, somehow closer than they were in the beginning. 

“I don’t know if my mom would ever do that for me… But, I-hm…”

A dry chuckle followed in a feeble attempt to humour the situation. 

But Dabi finished her unspoken sentence. 

“But you would, right? For your child,” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows and squinted, trying to make out some of the writing on the tall buildings afar. 

“Any mom would do that for her child.” 

“Didn’t you just say th-”

“Any good mom would”. 

No one spoke. But they shared a knowing look, before averting them back to the vastness of Yokohama. 

“But to be honest…” She took another sip of her drink. “If I had a baby, I’d never live in Musutafu.” 

Dabi let out a snort, thus earning a playful shove in return. 

“Oh yeah? Then where would you live, fucking Minato City?”

It was her turn to snort. 

“You think I’d live in a rich neighbourhood to avoid being a target of criminals and villains?” She scoffed, slurring out her words. “I know I’m the newbie but you have to give me some credit, Dabi.”

He rolled his eyes, yet they still urged her to continue. 

She thought for a moment, her gaze wandering off into the distance, before she continued again. 

“There’s this place, just outside of here. It’s called Yosai. It’s this remote residential area. And, um. It takes around 30 minutes minimum, to find any markets, or- or any offices or clubs, and you know, all that stuff. I think, for most people, it’s like- really boring. And that’s why it’s so isolated. No one even thinks of going there because there’s literally nothing. There’s a park, and a local school– I think, but there’s no one. Nothing. There’s these houses- a lot of them! A bunch of houses with no one to live in them”. 

It was weird, to be talking, uninterrupted, for this long. 

“I guess”, she shrugged a bit, blinking a few times. “Recently, people have started building roads and stuff for cars now. So they can actually do something. But yeah. Zero reported crimes and it’s been there for a few decades. So yeah, if I had a family, I’d go there”. 

She looked intently at Dabi, who didn’t say anything. 

But he moved closer, leaning forward, sitting upright. He scanned her jittering hands before searching in his pant pocket. He raised his eyebrows at the cigarette in his hands. She nodded. So he lit it, pressed the ends to his lips and inhaled before giving it to her. 

He watched her lips touch the cigarette. Where his lips were. 

“There’s actually this property under her maiden name- my mom’s. There’s still some legal stuff I need to sort out before it actually becomes mine. It’s like this, it’s so stupid, because it’s like obviously none of us use that maiden name anymore. But because of that they can’t give it to us. I don’t even know… But I guess it’s nothing too difficult”. 

“Ah”. That was all he could say. But when he peered into her expectant eyes, there was a sudden need to elaborate. Anything better than ‘ah’ at least.

Dabi felt dizzy. 

“Umm… What's your mom’s maiden name?” 

“It’s Uchiyama.” 

When his delayed voice finally caught up to him, Dabi winced.

“Fuck”, he muttered. It was a stupid question, but he wanted to make sure that she knew he was listening. 

They were closer, breaths intertwining with each other under the watchful eye of the moon. 

-

There weren’t any buses that travelled from Musutafu to Yosai. Dabi made his journey by foot. 

Thus, during this four day journey, Dabi became well acquainted with people.

And he noticed that a lot of people in Japan had blue eyes. After the emergence of quirks, blue became a common colour for many. The truly rare ones were pink, or purple now.  

But Dabi’s eyes… they were different. 

His eyes. 

They were handpicked from the colours in the cerulean depths of the stormy sea. Whispers of secrets remained untold– that’s why no one could have the eyes that he had. 

Never. 

They were gleaming– echoing the beauty of the lights in the North. Depending on how you looked at them, they were teal, or sapphire. One thing was indisputable– the arctic chill they’d give when he’d pierce into your soul was breathtaking. 

His eyes. 

They were simply breath-taking. 

So when he towered over a small frame, gaze lowered, he could not explain the way his heart forgot to beat when he stared into a perfect replica of his eyes. 

With each beat, lost time unfolded in front of him. 

And he noticed the slight difference in the silent expanse that he had gazed into. 

There was an innocent reflection of the North Star twinkling in their genuine, rolling waves. Dabi’s eyes were an abandoned lighthouse. 

But, what alarmed him the most, was when those flawless replications turned frozen. Dark. 

Petrified. 

Dabi's heart ached as those eyes formed fog and mist, obstructing him from reaching the truth that was hidden beyond the plane of sight. 

His knees surrendered under the accumulating guilt of his past. And so his tears fell, trying to escape the grief and strain his weak body had repressed for so long. 

“Honey, are you okay? Who’s at the door?”

Icy tendrils spiked through him, and his breath was captured without a fight. In the wake of realisation, his body signalled all the alarms they could, telling him– no, begging him to run, but, his blood had turned to ice, and he succumbed in the paralysing grip of his inevitable fate. 

“Sana, are you okay…” 

He heard the voice taper away, followed by a sharp clink of a metal spoon. His laden head fixed itself downwards in shame, guilt, fear…  

“Dabi…?” Those words drifted out in a hushed tone. As if they were trying to protect the young girl, who now hid behind her mother. 

He braced himself for the hardest task he would ever have to face.

And in that split second, his breath had returned, and he let out a short exhale when he finally saw that face materialise from his past. 

Y/N. 

It was you. Saira Uchiyama. 

After 6 years, 8 months, and 19 days of navigating through the circular journey of denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, Dabi finally had the chance to reach the beacon of acceptance. 

His shoulders slumped, as short breaths hiccuped through the dark caverns of his chest. 

He had finally found you. 

And he had finally found the end to his coveted quench, which yearned for a solace, only to be found in your longing embrace. 

Softly, a bewildered whisper escaped his lips, barely denting the silence around them.

“Doll…?” 

Dabi watched as the maturer skin scrunched together, deep lines frowned at him. As the tenderness in your heart had to be locked away inside an untouchable crevice in your body. 

“Sweetie, I need you to go upstairs okay”, you ordered sternly. 

You pushed your daughter behind you, blocking Dabi’s protesting hands before they touched her.

“Mommy, he’s scaring m-” 

“Sana. You need to go upstairs. Lock the door and close your windows.” 

Sana.  

Her name was a painful reminder of the blank pages he had failed to fill as her father. How could he have written anything? 

He didn’t even know what the title was. 

“Never fucking come near my family again”. 

Those blank pages began to rip. 

“You disgusting freak”. 

The blank pages had burned to ashes, and Dabi was left outside on the suburban patio of a perfect neighbourhood. 

Maybe, if he found a place to wash his face, he could blend in with the garbage. 

#dabi x reader #dabi angst #dabi headcanons #dabi x you #touya todoroki x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #todoroki touya x you #dabi imagine #mha imagines #mha headcanons #my hero academia #mha angst #todoroki touya #mha dabi #dark content #pregnancy #pregnant reader #tw abuse #angst no comfort #dark angst #dabi x female reader #todoroki family #bnha dabi #dabi my hero academia #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero fic #boku no hero x reader #boku no hero academia #dabi bnha

[dadzawa-adopt-dabi]

Kisame on Itachi Uchiha. No one asked.

When Kisame thinks about Itachi, because no one ever ask and so there is no reason to lie, he does not know where to begin. Itachi was, Itachi. A young mass murder and quite possibly the only friend Kisame has ever had.

No one asks about Itachi. Not his brother, not their leader, not snake man. No one. It leaves Kisame feeling, lonely. It makes him feel small and alone in the world after his death. Like a shark in the ocean, with no food, no friends and just empty blue surrounding him.

Ninja Die. They are Shinobi. Dieing for each other against each other. itachi would have called it murder.

but Sasuke Uchiha did not Murder Itachi Uchiha. That - what happened was not murder. Nor was it a sibling fight. Sasuke did not murder Itachi, because you cannot murder someone who does not want to live.

Kisame has never been one who would npt think about the hard questions in his life. who gives the orders and weather or not he should obey them.

Itachi was the smartest man he ever knew. They were both stupid fools. From the moment their lips touched. Or maybe from the moment Kisame confessed he couldn't see himself with any other partner.

Itachi looking at him with horrified eyes. The whispered confession that Kisame was a distraction. that Itachi was going to die. In mere months. The invitation to watch him death. Kisame's resolute acceptance.

Who is Kisame to tell another Shinobi how to end their life? It's not like he had any grandeur plans like Itachi. Had he looked that young and lost when he left Hakugure? as young as Itachi looked pacing around the empty space waiting for Sasuke.

Kisame cupped Itachi's cheek and gave him a full grin full of sharp teeth. Itachi looked blankly back at him. Maybe due to being blind. Maybe do to him not knowing what to say.

Kisame had taught him how to shave with the same vaguly threatening grin. A whole hearted laugh when Itachi asked if he was supposed to be alarmed as Kisame took a kunai to the scratchy patches of skin.

Itachi should have been scared. Kisame would have been. If A giant animal towered over him with a kunai pressed to his exposed jugular.

Itachi had just looked vaguely tired, and curious.

Kisame was not one to think about the great unknown. He had enough to deal with here. He had to pick up his partners dead body before Zetsu could get his grubby paws on it. He had to figure out his next move without the tiny spark of life standing unshakingly beside him.

Would have to enter fights without the Uchiha's tiny barely there laugh as their enemies ran scared as soon as he placed himself beside Itachi. No more reason to laugh as they watched small fry flee from the wrong threat.

Kisame may have loved Itachi, he might have just respected him.

Nobody asked him.

No one asked what the slim silent Uchiha was like.

No one asked if he had known Itachi was to be, killed? can you kill the willing?

Itachi left Kisame with a lot of questions, and for once, a unwillingness to tell them.

Itachi was a secret. His life a mystery. One lie on top of another with red eyes and small smiles. Overlayed with blank looks and a plan to die for someone who wanted to kill him.

it's a good thing no one asked about Itachi. Kisame didn't know if he could have laughed off the questions or lied about the only Shinobi who earned his loyalty. Without even trying.

#Naruto #kisame x itachi #kisame hoshigaki #itachi uchiha #KisaIta #thedarkonewrites

[dragynkeep]

i don't really understand the argument that aang should've killed ozai. n1. from a realistic pov, its a kids show, it's not gonna be game of thrones. but from a writing perspective he is the last air nomad, not just the last airbender. being a nomad is different to being an airbender as its the cultural aspect of it- aang carries the weight of being the last of both. he doesn't want to kill ozai because the monks believe all life is sacred, and by killing ozai, there will be no nomads left, as he felt he would've abandoned his culture.

i don't know what would've happened if he hadn't discovered a way to remove ozais bending, but i do know that it literally doesn't matter if he killed him or not. ozai loses either way, he suffers either way. the people of the other nations, including the ones from the air temples who were murdered, still get their justice because he is still being held to what he did and punished. arguably, being stripped of his bending and locked in a cell to rot is more of a punishment than death. and also, then zuko becomes fire lord. meaning if he wants, he could have ozai executed and nobody could do anything about it. the end circumstances were the same either way. aang not killing ozai was not bad, the people still got their justice, arguably more because ozai was sentenced to suffer like he inflicted on them.

the entire issue with this is twofold in that aang is not only responsible for himself & without the magical lion turtles, the earth kingdom would've been destroyed.

"we don't know what would've happened if he hadn't discovered a way to remove ozai's bending" but we do, ozai was in the process of it. ozai would've razed the earth kingdom to the ground in pursuit of his new world & continued further on with mass genocides & oppressions of non fire nation folk as he blatantly said on screen. he was doing this while aang was still quibbling with his nonviolence ethos.

& the nonviolence isn't even reflective of the air nomads in the show: we literally see in the first book that monk gyatso murked at least 20 - 30 fire nation soldiers in order to preserve his own life & the life of other air nomads fleeing.

& monk gyatso isn't the only airbender nomad to choose violence as a defensive measure, avatar yangchen also does. she straight up tells aang that while he has these cultural ethos, he isn't just responsible for himself anymore. he is responsible for the entire world & with that comes having to make hard choices even if he doesn't personally agree with them because that's his job.

here we see aang being confronted with the fact that his idealized caricature of his own culture is not the truthful representation through both monk gyatso & yangchen setting it straight: the air nomads were not devoted, peaceful spirits willing to follow a non violence ethos straight to their death, they would protect themselves. aang is responsible for protecting the world, even when he's confronted with that he accepts it.

it's only through sheer bullshittery that we get the lion turtles who show him the ability to remove bending — which then came with it's own host of ethical issues further in the series so it's not like this is a null harm issue — & even then it took a specific plot rock to the back to get him to put this into action. aang was losing, he was going to die & it's delusional to think that him following his non violence ethos to his death at the expense of a kingdom dependent on him is the "correct" choice.

especially because we've also seen aang kill before in self defense. while in the avatar spirit yes but what was to stop him from doing the same to ozai while in that same avatar spirit state. this whole devotion to a bastardization of a marginalized culture irl written by white men who have never had to face a racialized violence as the basis of aang's decision "not to kill" is borderline insulting.

also in respect to "this isn't game of thrones": people have died on screen. even as early as book 1 we were featuring on screen deaths & if a child affected by the brutality of war like jet can die violently on screen, then so can the imperialistic, genocidal dictator hellbent on again, burning an entire kingdom & not stopping there.

this whole argument hinges on the plot saving aang's ass by not letting him make that hard decision, instead offering up a last moment's holy grace which was never foreshadowed & ended up only hurting aang as a character. especially when not killing ozai only left the world in further instability as cults & secret factions devoted to wanting him to return as fire lord sprung up in the wake of zuko's coronation & put the fire nation in further turmoil when it was incredibly sensitive post war. so aang didn't even help in that regard & only caused further harm instead of helping.

#atla #atla critical #atla salt #aang #aang critical #aang salt #ais.txt #answered

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

Something I wish was shown more is that like, while Viktor is undeniably more dangerous than his siblings in a unique way, his siblings are... most definitely deadly in a way he isn’t. Like...

Viktor’s violence comes from suppression. We can argue about if him killing the nannies as a kid means he’s sociopathic or whatever, but the fact remains most of his danger comes from the fact he has absolutely no fucking clue how to process things, be it his powers or his emotions. He’s so used to just not having them that they wind up bursting out in the most deadly way possible, like world-ending apocalypses, just because that’s how his powers work. It’s unintentional.

But every single one of his siblings has one key difference: their deadliness, their violence, was intentional. It was taught to them. Right from age 11 we see them killing the bank robbers in their debut in S1, and that gets us a clear idea of what their childhood was like. They were taught to direct their powers, taught to control them to a degree, taught to be desensitized to all that. Of course there’s exceptions - Five also has his assassin training that did the same thing just to a more extreme degree and Klaus definitely doesn’t have the control over his powers the others do, but still.

The other Umbrellas, 1-6, were raised with violence. It was always present in their lives and the only thing they could do was control it. They are comfortable with it in a way I’d argue Viktor really doesn’t seem to be because again, his violence is uncontrolled. If he can or can’t stop when his powers cause the end of the world doesn’t matter, because even if he doesn’t he still has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. All he knows is ‘he was wronged, suppress the anger and the powers that come with it, let them all burst out and hurt’. I doubt he even really comprehends just how much hurt it causes.

But with the others, they all know what they’re doing!! They know they can knife someone in the chest or cut off their finger; the know they can smash people through walls or just hit them hard enough for a public fight. They know how to massacre entire hit squads or rooms of robbers. They can rumor someone to eat broccoli or to kill their brother. There’s a line they all very knowingly walk between violence and death, just how much control they need. And that’s it’s own type of deadliness! Like, we don’t typically think of Diego or Luther as controlled in the way we do Allison or Five but the fact remains they all are! They’ve all been raised with violence as a given and have only learned to moderate it. They have all been raised to kill and have had to draw their own lines in the sand, learn to live with that in a way Viktor never has.

But it’s never gone. It’s still there. They are all able to kill and they can all get through torture without saying anything worthwhile even without a motivation (Klaus in S1). They can also make the conscious choice not to. But then...

Then they can hurt anyway. They can manipulate entire groups of people into destroying their lives on a whim (Klaus’s cult); they can make a man burn themselves and smile (Allison), they can fight and live violence all over again even if it isn’t deadly because it’s what they recognize (Diego S1, Luther S2).

That type of smaller, controlled violence is something we don’t see from Viktor. From him it’s always all or nothing; mass murder or Just A Normal Person. And the existence of that, of that ability to dish out smaller but just as damaging bits of the killing they’d been raised with their whole lives, is a really interesting thing I wish was explored more.

#umbrella academy #meta #analysis #umbrella academy analysis #viktor hargreeves #allison hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #reginald hargreeves

[see-arcane]

At least maybe in this world Alucard can get the ending he wants? Sure Jonathan might not be 100% human physically anymore but he’s still human, you know? And very ready to get some Alucard murdering done.

The questions to consider:

Can Jonathan's kukri do the job of putting him down permanently?

I'm sure something could be cooked up about him and the blade having potency from back home, having successfully slain the Original Dracula and carried over supernatural juice. That or some plot rule about it being further magically honed to the point where the combo of weapon and wielder make the slaying possible. There'd be a requisite ~Thou Art Not Worthy~ moment in which some villain makes a wrong assumption, snatches up the kukri and goes for the kill--only for Alucard to once again pop back up, all smiles. No Jonathan = No potency. RIPieces.

Is Jonathan allowed the narrative opportunity to slay Alucard?

Remember, Jonathan is used to biting increasingly horrifying and/or infuriating bullets for the sake of a Greater Good (up until it involves Mina, who overrules everything). The fact that Alucard is technically Dracula doesn't automatically allow him to override the Greater Good needs just because there's an innate urge to carve the bastard up.

Because Alucard is

1) Insanely overpowered to the point that he has such a puny weak point that it takes THE ENTIRE HELL-MESS OF THE SERIES to allow Millennium the one (1) window of opportunity to poison his power well and temporarily un-exist him and

2) Unfortunately very necessary for Hellsing's whole vampire hunting mission. Seras' presence at least proves they aren't in full 'all vampires are automatically evil and need slaying!!!' mentality, which helps. But even with Hellsing's forces and Seras and (for the foreseeable future) Jonathan's own cryptid strengths in the field, Alucard is THE major player on their side. If Jonathan just up and slew him, where would that leave the heroes? Or the world?*

(*Aside, it would be hilarious if Jonathan just lopped his head off, full dust dissolve, and Walter and Millennium and Anderson all simultaneously dropped dead of a mass rage aneurysm because THEY didn't get to have their special grisly shounen battle pissing match.)

Anyway.

It boils down to Jonathan having to extremely grudgingly play placid with Alucard's presence. Which Alucard would happily take advantage of in two directions.

First, the obvious baiting to try and wheedle fights out of him. Both when he'd wipe the floor with Jonathan and when he's juiced up enough by the plot to take him on in full.

Second, the likewise obvious wheedling about his liminal relationship with humanity and pulling a 'we're not so different' with the whole acknowledgment of God's less than sterling record when it comes to their histories, no matter how many amens are thrown around. Alucard would be bothering this dude like a cat who's found the one person in the room who wants less than nothing to do with him.

...and then.

Then would come the slaughter in the hotel.

Even if Jonathan wasn't there, he'd see the footage. He'd know Integra technically gave the order and allowed Alucard to go wild. Soldiers slaughtered over a lie they were fed. Innocent bystanders caught in needless crossfire. Bodies speared on flagpoles. For the pageantry of it. All when it's glaringly obvious that Alucard, being Alucard, could've swatted the whole problem without killing a single one of them. (Just like he never had to shoot Seras over the vampire in the little village.)

Because Jonathan Harker, the real one, not the flimsy blotted-out stand-in Alucard likely knew in his universe, is not meant to be here. He's not meant to swallow all this aggro horror bullshit and keep trucking without issue. The fact that Seras seemingly gets over it within the night (or at least successfully represses it) also has to be a blow. All that being said, I think that arc would be the absolute closest Jonathan would come to snapping and trying to put Alucard down once he was in reach.

I imagine Walter, Pip or Seras might try to stop him. (For the first time, Alucard pulls one of his guns on Pip and Walter pre-betrayal and commands Seras to stand down.)

I imagine Integra might be on the edge of 'ordering' Alucard to stop him, whatever that might entail. (Alucard communicates, verbally or otherwise, that if she makes him kill this man, there will be such swift Hell to pay that she won't have time to articulate a single syllable in time to stop him.)

I imagine there being a surprisingly close fight. And an even more grief-inducing close to said fight when, of course, Jonathan still can't kill him--if not due to ability, then due to the Needs of the Many Outweigh the Lives of Collateral Damage. It's not allowed. Alucard is almost sickeningly sincere in his condolences. (I picture him treasuring his first and only wound in centuries--a clean red scar, just above his brow, where a shovel spade once cut him in another unlife. It never goes away. He loves it.)

Time would have to pass. The big ugly climax comes along. Jonathan has to watch the bloody purging of Alucard's internal army to put down Millennium and Iscariot's forces in the midst of an already-insane slaughter of the country. Anderson happens. Walter happens. The blimp happens. And I think, for a perfectly bittersweet irony?

Jonathan saves Alucard's life.

Specifically, by using his special kukri on Schrodinger the False Child, who was meant to poison Alucard at his core.

There's something vicious in how once upon a time Jonathan was willing to get himself killed to save a stolen child from Castle Dracula's bloodsuckers, and was unable to, only to arrive at slaying a monster in the shape of a smiling young boy to protect a version of Dracula himself. Bonus points if Schrodinger gets a full ??? reaction upon realizing, oh, wait, this blade has genuinely killed him and he won't be coming back--the cat is no longer in the box, the cat is out and he is dead--before he could taint Alucard and vanish him.

Alucard is both a little huffy and over-the-moon fucking insufferable about the revelation.

For mercy's sake, we'll say that maybe killing Schrodinger had some delayed magic effect that finally FINALLY allows Jonathan to zap back home to Mina in his proper universe before he has to put up with Alucard forcing a friendship necklace on him or something.

(No, he does not want to talk about where all this blood and evil catboy gristle came from, darling. He would like a very long nap. Wake him in a few days, please.)

#sorry Anon but I had a ramble locked and loaded I guess #jonathan harker #dracula #alucard #hellsing

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

4 Reasons Why Disability Pride Month Should be in March

(And 3 Reasons Why Disability Pride Month Should Stay in July)

(with links)

Reasons for March:

The First: March 1 is the International Disability Day of Mourning (Website: Content warning for lists murder victims and information about their cases). This day is for commemorating and mourning Disabled people who've died at the hands of their family members and caregivers because of their disability.

(This, BTW, is why the main field of the Disability Pride Flag is Black)

The Second: March 12 is the anniversary of the mass protest led by ADAPT (website), which included "The Capital Crawl" (YouTube short; proper closed captions, eye contact), which finally spurred the Senate to pass the American With Disabilities Act, after it had been stalled and delayed for years.

The Third: March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day (Website) recognized by the U.N. -- for what that's worth -- since 2012.

The Fourth: Having our own Pride Month immediately before Autism $peaks's month-long propaganda campaign might just take some wind out of their sails (or should that be "money out of their sales"?).

Reasons for July:

The First: July 26, 1990 is the day when George H. W. Bush actually signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law (Transcript of his remarks to the gathered audience at that ceremony). And it's important to remind people that the law actually exists.

The Second: Overall, there is a deep and strong current of ableism/disablism that runs through heteronormativity, such that any sexual/romantic, or queerplatonic, relationship between an abled person and disabled person is treated as "kinky," regardless of the sexual and romantic orientations of the people involved. So there's potential for a natural alliance between the Disability and Queer Communities, and it makes sense that our pride months are side by side. According to this 2019 PDF infographic from the Movement Advancement Project, 40% of trans adults, 40% of bisexual men, 36% of lesbians, and 36% of bisexual women report having a disability, compared to 27% of the "general population" having a disability. And those of us in the broad overlap of that Venn Diagram deserve two whole months of celebration.

The Third: It's already established as Disability Pride Month, and moving it now might result in loss of whatever recognition it's garnered so far.

[Image description (for those without screen readers): the Disability Pride Flag: A charcoal grey flag with a diagonal band from  the top left to bottom right corner, made up of five parallel stripes (going from bottom up; left to right) in  red, gold, pale grey, blue, and green. Description ends]

#Disability Pride #Disability History #holidays and observances #Disability Pride Month #Queer Pride Month #queer #disabled #intersectionality #disability pride flag #image description in alt #image described

[hiraethblack22]

Fire and Ice

(Bucky x ofc) series.

MASTERLIST OF THE SERIES: here.

SUMMARY: Thirteen is a HYDRA pawn, a soldier, a spy and an assassin. A wraith. Chosen because of her powers and transformed into the perfect weapon. (enchanted!reader) What happens when her mission becomes locating and eliminating The Winter Soldier?

IMPORTANT: I won't use Y\n but the lead character will be given a name and will be a fully formed character. Set in a time where everyone is still alive and Bucky is free of the hydra. Warnings: violence, blood, torture, and manipulation. Vulgar language. The story will contain adult content. Probably a whole lot of Smut.

CHAPTER TWO: US AND THEM.

Peace is an abstract concept made by powerful people to install faith in the institutions of the world that claim to keep crime and danger at bay. In all the years I’d been living, I quickly realised that it was indeed a false concept, a lie, considering that the same people who claimed to protect the world were installing the danger in it. The idea of peace is nothing but a facade that is used to manipulate the masses.

Hydra was claiming to cleanse the world from evil, but how could they pretend to act for world peace when they were responsible of the death of millions? Couldn’t they see the blood tinting their white vest of morality? How could they profess goodness when they were keeping dozens of slaves under their polished boots?

The Avengers were painted as heroes. Flying around to beat up the evil—that, yes, when they weren’t busy fighting among themselves.

There had been a time when I had hoped for them to come and rescue us, me, from Hydra. But, it soon faded; hope was dangerous, it only led to disappointment and despair. Instead, I focused on survival. I had waited, spending days laying facedown on the filthy floor of the cells and weeks silently witnessing the deaths of my cellmates one after the other. The years I had passed, fed with injections of syringes, and pumped up with synthetic drugs to accomplish assignments that were impossible for anybody else, had helped me to give up all hope, not just in the Avengers but also in the rest of the world.

I ingenuously thought they weren't saving us because they were fighting each moment to defend their values, as we fought every day for a cup of water or a bit of sleep, but no; here they were, drinking champagne in fancy dresses, dancing, as the world outside cried their names.

The fair of peace for the future was another clown show created by the government to show the citizens that the future was safe. The secretary of state had delivered a very long sermon on heroes and peace, licking the avengers' arses every two sentences, and delivering sexist remarks about the heroines of the team—that made my fingers tickle the trigger of my rifle more eagerly than I should have—but in between inaugurations and philosophical peace speeches, the secretary of state made sure he got an exclusive on the prostitution trade every single month, and on the remaining days he accepted bribes from Hydra. So, he would end up murdered, one way or another, but killing him wasn't allowed in my future.

I guessed I couldn’t even proclaim myself as a white knight of peace, not when I was currently waiting to bomb the shit out of it.

“I have eyes on the target.” I murmured into the radio, lowering the binoculars to eye the building where the fair was taking place.

My body moved without me telling it what to do. It checked the ammo, fastened a couple of guns to my legs, secured the daggers around the belt, and lowered the rifle behind my back.

"I hope you mean this horrible building," Marya's voice said in reply. The radio cracked with her voice.

The building was indeed quite horrible—a white oval with an awful lot of windows. It was not a safe place, not even with the dozens of security guards standing outside the building. The others had by now removed the guards and placed the explosives.

The orders had been made clear that it had to be set to trap everyone inside, and us inside with them. The roof was the way out. A soldier had infiltrated the rooftop guards to take control of the chopper when the time was right.

I lowered my hand, and as I willed it, a light flared beneath the skin, producing a flame on the palm of my hand. It swirled on itself, hissing like a wild animal. I allowed it to dance around my fingers with a smile. “It will burn down with the lot of them.”

Marya had been with us for what I imagined was a couple of weeks; sharing a wall of bars had quite made us close. It wasn’t friendship; I didn’t even remember what friendship was supposed to feel like, but we were accompanying each other on long missions and on the dark, cold nights at the headquarters—holding my hand in hers like a loving mother and whispering funny stories of her childhood, telling me how her family had always been loving and caring for her and the rest of her siblings. She often cried, remembering them, thinking about what they thought when they remembered her—I cried with her most of the time, thinking about my brother and the life we had lost.

I knotted the rope to my body, crawling down the side of the building in the silent shadows of the night.

As the other soldiers would trap them all inside, and I would be focused on The Winter Soldier.

The programme they implanted in his head was nearly perfect, certainly better than the one in my head; ours was injected with syringes and would fade away after some weeks, leaving us begging for more. I didn't know why these people wanted the soldier, but I was in charge of bringing his body back with me to the base. I wasn't in a position to care about the reason; the only thing I needed was for my brother to be safe.

I nodded to the other soldiers when I crossed the doors. As soon as I was inside, they all disappeared.

The people were all gathered in the big hall on the second floor, watching the performance. And I was going to give them the most beautiful spectacle—the one they were going to pay with their lives to watch. I distantly heard the noise of the bombs going off behind me.

I smirked.

The game was finally on.

The door of the big hall flew open. The people inside began rushing out, scarfs and clothes over their mouths, to block the smoke from entering their lungs.

I rolled my eyes—people really didn’t know how to save themselves. Running straight into the arms of danger.

I grabbed my rifle and fired shots against the walls. They all dropped in an instant, moving out of the way, and clearing the way for us.

He was in the back of the room. Beautifully swinging punches and kicks at the soldiers surrounding him, ducking out of the flashes of knives. I walked to him, taking my sweet time to extract my favourite dagger from the belt.

The soldiers didn’t waste any time, shooting and punching their way to the Avengers. I recognised a couple of them—I saw the widow jump straight for one of us, leaving him at her feet an instant later. The Captain was, as usual, throwing his shield at the enemies and shouting orders. An arrow flashed past me, grazing my cheek, but I paid no mind; somebody else would take care of that. I saw out of the corner of my eye the soldiers shooting in the direction of the Hawke without breaking the protective circle they had me in—if I didn’t grab a hold of the Winter Soldier, none of us would go unpunished. And then, finally, I saw him

One of the soldiers, S-32 was his number, was attacking too roughly, advancing too closely. He swung a powerful punch at the Winter Soldier, making his head shoot sideways. I saw his blood spraying the floor. Another soldier came, locking his arms behind him. S-32 raised a knife, arching down straight for the Winter Soldier’s throat. The knife flashed closer and closer and brushed the skin of his neck before it stopped.

S-32 stared at me in shock, his eyes wide. His mouth opened, but only a pained groan escaped his trembling lips. He shot his eyes where my hand was closed around his wrist, my skin glowing and his flesh fuming away through my fingers.

“He is mine.”

I kicked him in the chest, watching his body tumble to the ground amid the fight.

I nodded to the other to release him, and his hands couldn’t have dropped faster.

I stared at the Winter Soldier, bending my head to the side to study him better. He was panting in pain, but I couldn't feel any remorse. The power coursing through my veins was too intoxicating to resist. The first thing I noticed were his blue and intense eyes. They reminded me of the ocean, but with a dangerous edge that made me shiver.

I threw another knife from my holster, imbedding it on the floor between the Winter Soldier's feet. He stared at it, then at me.

I winked. "I'd hate for this to be boring."

The Winter Soldier's eyes narrowed, sizing me up and trying to figure out if it was a scam or not. I took a step forward, keeping my eyes locked on his.

"You know," I said, "I've heard a lot about you. The things you've done... they're pretty impressive." He didn't react, remaining frozen in the little bubble that had formed around us. I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Recognition? Regret? It was hard to tell.

"I don't do that anymore."

"It's cute you think you can escape this," I mocked him.

I quickly turned around to face him, my heart racing as I braced myself for his next move. He lunged at me with the knife. I bent sideways, avoiding that flash of silver.

I didn't wait any longer and lashed out in attack. As I lunged forward, I felt a rush of adrenaline. My foot collided with his stomach, making him stumble backward. He doubled over, escaping from my attack like intangible smoke. He rolled out of the way, rising on his feet behind me, knife in hand and ready.

"Let's dance, doll."

In a flash, the Winter Soldier was on his feet, behind my back, immobilising my arms against my torso with his metal arm. He pressed me against his hard chest. The knife angled beneath my chin, and his breath caressed my ear as he bent down and whispered, "It's cute you think you can beat me."

I took a step back, my eyes locked on his, searching for any sign of weakness. He was quick and agile. Hydra had definitely wasted their time training this man, but they had done it with me too. With a sudden burst of energy, he charged at me again, his knife glinting in the light. I sidestepped his attack and landed a swift kick to his side. He stumbled backward.

The Winter soldier grabbed his side, slightly hunched on his side. I dove forward, sending my knife to slice the air towards his forehead. But the bastard grabbed my wrist, like I had done with S-32 minutes prior. His metal hand crushed it so hard that I felt my bones' wishes to snap. He twisted my wrist until my fingers spasmed open, and the blade clattered awkwardly to the floor. If any of my trainers had been watching, they would have whipped me into unconsciousness.

There was something in his voice that made my blood roar violently in my veins. I involuntarily licked my lips.

"If you're done flirting with me, soldat,” I hardly recognised my own voice, and that mocking smile that could be heard in it. “I'd like to kill you now."

I concentrated on my back, making the skin flare up with fire. He hissed. At first, he tried to hold on to me, but he stumbled back, surrendering to the pain. The knife fell, and I kicked it to let it disappear in the crowd.

As soon as there was space between us, I elbowed him in the groin. I laughed as he groaned in pain, finally rolling away, free from his hold.

With a quick movement, he lunged at me again, his metal arm glinting in the dim light. I dodged his attack and countered with a swift kick to his side. He grunted in pain but didn't back down.

We continued to exchange blows, each one more powerful than the last. As the fight dragged on, I could feel my energy waning, but I refused to give up.

The winter soldier's punch came straight for my mouth. The hit almost knocked me to the ground, but I managed to stay on my feet. I could feel the blood trickling down from my lip. The winter soldier smirked at me, his intense eyes now filled with a hint of amusement.

I knew that this fight was far from over.

I wiped the blood off with the back of my hand. My lips curled in a small smirk of their own.

"I hoped I didn't have to use this," I told him, showing him my hand, the fire rolling on my fingers, "Hydra won't be happy if I burn you to fucking ashes, but hey!" I shot a wave of fire, making it more solid than hot, sending him backward. I shrugged. "Accidents do happen."

I knocked him down twice, sending him further and further into the back of the room, right where I saw Marya keeping the door open for me. She was leaning against the door, using a small knife to clean the underside of her nails, unbothered by the chaos and destruction that was going on around us.

The Winter Soldier stumbled on his feet again, and finally, sending a last blast of power against his chest, he stumbled out of the room.

I nodded to Marya, and she moved to grab her two guns, diving into the room and locking the door behind her.

I took my rifle from my back, and pointed it straight for his heart. “It’s just you and me now, soldat.”

“You don’t have to do this,” he spoke, holding up his hands to show submission.

“Don’t I?” I asked, my voice rougher than I intended. “Are you going to appeal to my sense of pity? Because I have none.”

None I could feel; not at the moment. Not when whatever they shot in my veins was making my heart hammer so loud in my ears that my head felt like it was about to explode; not when I knew what would happen to me and the others if I failed.

“I can help you.”

His eyes were kind, almost sweet, but it was pointless. I didn't know how long I could resist the urge to give in to the voice screaming at me to complete my mission.

“Help me?” I laughed bitterly. “It is a bit late for that.”

I pressed my finger on the trigger. I didn’t know why I was entertaining his idiotic desire to speak with me. I didn’t know why I yet had to shoot a bullet in his heart—heart, not head—because, for whatever reason, my orders prevented me from performing my regular schedule.

“I know they control your mind. I can help you get out of their control. Let me help you. I have connections," he said, "people who can protect you and your loved ones.”

I shook my head.

I opened my mouth to speak again, to scream at him to shut up, to stop messing with my time.

“Nobody can save us,” I said. I heard the sound of the chopper igniting and taking off and the noise of screaming in the distance. The sinister whispers of the serum in my ears and the roaring of the fire.

“The building is on fire. You will die one way," I raised my rifle to aim at his heart, "or the other. Goodbye, soldat. Hydra sends its regards.”

Then everything exploded.

I felt my body flying, smashing against the wall. Then everything turned black.

“Thirt-” a voice broke the surface of the fog clouding my mind. “Thirteen…are you—”

My throat felt like sandpaper, it was aching, and it burned. I brought a hand to my head, as if to find out if I could feel something other than the loud ringing in my ears.

The hand came away stained with blood. I coughed, groaning in pain.

I couldn't understand where I was, couldn't understand why I was in pain. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, making the tears that had been stuck in my eyes fall, and tried to bring my surroundings into focus.

Everything was tinted in red, smoke was filling the room. The flames were slowly consuming the area around me, but my powers had squeezed me into the familiar protective shield, allowing me to breathe. The fire would not burn me, would not kill me—the scientists had tested it in any way they could think; they burned every part of my body, shoved burning iron on my body, in my eyes, in my throat, but nothing; the smoke would kill me, with time, and those damn powers didn't even give me the joy of an unexpected death.

My throat felt like sandpaper; it was aching, and it burned.

I lifted myself onto my knees, bracing myself with my hands when the world wobbled violently.

The screams in the distance were now drowned out by the crackling of the fire. I knew I had to get out of there, but my mind was still reeling from what had just happened. The sinister whispers of the serum echoed in my head, getting quieter and quieter. And for the first time since I had woken up, my head wasn’t heavy and my mind wasn’t blank.

"What the fuck is going on?"

For the first time in years, I was out of the base, and I didn't feel the black mask of the drug pushing me down. There was no constant pain that clutched my heart and mind, no voice in my head making me do things I hated. The world around me seemed brighter and more vibrant than ever, as if I were seeing it for the first time.

Tears rolled out of my eyes. I stared at the door, and I gathered myself to run out of it. Maybe I'd reach those mountains I had seen on the mission to Norway a few years back. I could finally escape and hide. I would be free. Free.

But then I saw him—the sergeant, the soldat, the Winter Soldier slumped on the ground, eyes closed and still as a corpse.

And I remembered the mission. The headquarters. The other soldiers. The fucking microchip they had implanted in my body, prevented me, even in my clearest moments, from escaping.

The rifle was lying somewhere in the room, but retrieving it was the least of my thoughts. I remembered all those words the scientists had shouted in my face, as they beat, whipped, and carved my body according to their pleasure. Michael. Michael would die if I disappeared like that.

I sobbed, mourning for the life I didn't get to live, for the things I wasn't allowed to feel. I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears. I couldn't let my emotions consume me, not now. Michael would be safe, and I would need to sacrifice my life for him. It was a small price to pay for the life of my only family. I had to get up and go back, no matter how hard it was.

But I had a choice to change things. To make them better.

I crawled to the soldier as blood began to trickle from my nose. I groaned with pain as I rolled him onto his back, placing my fingers on his neck. He was alive.

His words echoed in my head.

I can help you. I can help you.

I eyed the exit; it was engulfed in fire, and an escape through the windows was unlikely. "Soldat." I shook him from his shoulders roughly, but nothing. "Soldat. Wake up! Come on."

His eyes stayed closed. Shit.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I had to think fast.

"Thirteen! Thirteen! Report now." I nearly ripped my belt off in my haste to grab the radio. Marya's voice came through, screaming at me to inform her whether the mission had been successful. "Is the target dead?" I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

And I could make no other decision.

My heart was pounding as I took a deep breath and replied, "Affirmative, target eliminated."

"Meet us at the rendezvous point in ten minutes.”

I knew what her words actually meant, if I was not there in time, a squad would track down my microchip—whatever that thing was—and execute me for desertion. Mission accomplished or not. I had to move fast.

"Copy that."

I took another moment to stare at the man before me, looking so peaceful despite everything. He was strong enough to have survived that long in the smoke, in that moment, I had to be strong and pull us both out of this hell. "I hope you're worth it."

I wrapped my arms around the soldier and began to pull, nearly screaming from the pain in my muscles, but I had no time to find an alternative. I couldn't do anything else.

"Damn it, you're heavy." I yanked him with me, stretching the shield around both of us. “If we both die because you want to pull a Sleeping Beauty on me, my ghost will torture yours for eternity.”

The crossing was excruciating.

I dragged him through the big chamber, and then, kicking open the doors, I hauled him up the fire escape to the roof.

I collapsed on the floor beside him, desperately gasping for air. The soldier was still unconscious and unmoving, but he was breathing, and his pulse was steady. And that was enough. Enough to hope.

I lifted the sleeve of his jacket, exposing his arm. And being the only thing at my disposal, I began to write on his arm with my blood.

"You said you could help us." I gave him one last look. "Please do it."

I jumped down the stairs again, submerging into the fire and disappearing.

For the first time in years, the familiar bite of hope came back to haunt me, I only hoped not to be absolutely devastated by the consequences of my actions.

Please, Let me know what you think and if you would like to be tagged in later parts!

Disclaimer: all of my chapters will have a title with the name of a song. This chapter has the title 'Us and them', a song by Pink Floyd. It has no correlation with the story, but I thought it was nice to let you all know.

@mori1b2bpad @lady-bellyn  @thefandomplace @bonkyandsteebluver @billihill - let me know if you still wish to be tagged to the next parts or deleted from the tag list.

#bucky angst #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x yn #bucky fanfic #bucky imagine #bucky x oc #bucky x female reader #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #buky x avenger!reader #james bucky buchanan barnes #bucky #james bucky barnes #bucky series #bucky fic #bucky fluff #the winter soldier #james buchanan barnes #winter soldier #bucky smut #zemo #avengers series #avengers fic #bucky x ofc

[yakool-foolio]

Okay, now on the other end of things

Morality wise, what about the NDA? Like they're the "good guys" in the story but who's the morally best and worst in your opinion? Also Kurumi as well if you want, because she kind of counts as am honorary NDA member ig?

Ooooooooh man this is a whole other can of worms, isn't it? Ranking the peacekeepers on their morality is much more cut n dry, but there's a whole lot more to think about when discussing the much more nuanced ethics each detective has. So to not devolve into too much chaos, I'll once again only be basing my ranking off of what is seen in canon in the game, so no talk of Number One Yuma (though that is definitely its own decisive topic, which will become evident soon). And as usual the list will go from best to worst, so we'll ease ourselves in before really diving into the nuance.

To start us off is the lovely Fubuki! Oh, you sweet summer child. The most morally sound out of all the detectives. Not a single bad bone in her body. She may be uneducated about many things in the world, but that doesn't stop her from being inherently kind and sweet, even with her unconventional compliments.

Next in line is Halara! I was honestly a little conflicted on whether they would be placed above or below Desuhiko, but I after some thinking, I believe Halara has the moral high ground. Obviously their stinginess and greed lowers their score, but the road is paved with good intentions. The reason they ask for so much money is so they can put it toward a program to help save cats! Even though they have trust issues with people, they care deeply about animals. And once they do gain some trust in human allies like Fubuki and Desuhiko, they say that their companionship is considered enough payment for the time being when partaking in casual investigations.

Climbing down to the next rung is Desuhiko. He's definitely got some issues with his ethics regarding his flirtatiousness. He is not afraid to flirt with any woman he meets and that is not good. Thankfully, he doesn't necessarily force any interaction and does back off when scolded or ignored enough, but that doesn't make his words any less uncomfortable. He needs to learn some self control or else he's gonna get a boot to the head.

Now here's where things get really interesting. Vivia takes third place in moral deviance. This is without going into the possible meanings of the teardrop tattoo, god forbid I bring up the idea of him murdering someone or being part of a gang; things would get much worse if I did. Even then, Vivia's overreaction to Yuma's determination to expose the truth definitely sits him firmly on the lower end of the ranking. He threatened to kill Yuma just so they could go back to living in blissful ignorance of Yakou's involvement in the case. He only resigned from his murderous intentions after hearing Yakou's spirit, calming him down and making him realize that he can't turn away from the truth and has to believe in his heart (kinda gay ngl). Vivia as a whole is harder to exactly pin down with his moral grayness regarding honesty, but ya can't really ignore the intention to slit someone's throat open, can ya?

And now we reach the actual murderer: heyo Yakou. Despite all the manipulation pulled by Yomi and Makoto, Yakou didn't have to kill Huesca. He did it for vengeance and atonement, leading all his detectives into the lion's den in order to execute his plan. Despite taking advantage of his allies, he undoubtedly had good intentions and is a very good soul overall. He wanted to bring justice to his wife who died because of an absolutely awful man and make up for not being able to save her. But murder is still murder, regardless of motive (I would say to put a pin in this, but I don't need to when the topic is coming up again right around the corner).

And here's the actual mass-murderer: Yuma! Now I know this may come as a shocker (or not depending on how much this game has been rotating in your brain like it has with mine), but Yuma is far from innocent, as much as we love to call him 'baby.' With the help of Shinigami, Yuma has killed many culprits. It can be argued that the very first reaping of Hitman Zilch doesn't fall under the same umbrella of awareness of his crime, but he still killed him! And afterward, Yuma made the decision to enter the labyrinth knowing that the culprits would die. He didn't have to use the labyrinths. It's especially egregious in chapter 3 when help was already on the way and would've put a stop to Dominic smashing Yuma to bits since they had the culprit with them! A death could've been avoided, but hindsight is not Yuma's Forte. And like I said, this isn't even talking about the corrupt fuckery of the WDO and what Yuma might've done as Number One.

#gotta love our devious detectives #just a bundle of loveable misfits #i just realized i forgot to mention kurumi but uh she's tied with fubuki #not much going on with her and its not at all her fault she ate people as much as that would add some spice to her ranking #rain code #rain code spoilers #fubuki clockford #halara nightmare #desuhiko thunderbolt #vivia twilight #yakou furio #yuma kokohead

[lira456]

sasuke shinden star pupil

what jun easaka thinking without no indication of clan other members especially children and babies but she did mention in naruto retsuden that sasuke took sakura and sarada to uchiha clan graveyard, but here how vaguely she tried to put it, in canon sasuke did admit he can forgive itachi not konoha especially he held hokage responsible for the damage to his clan, then how can easaka just refuted any indication of other uchiha clan members lives being sacrificed and how they were treated, this sasuke is oof, sasuke forgotten about his clan's sacrifice? and easily agree what his brother did was right? but sasuke was talking about in end punishing culprits and judged and how he is only member of the clan, now that sacrifice is okay as long it's for village sake, sasuke would never sacrificed children for village, this is not canon sasuke, what the hack easka itachi did only sacrificed himself but many children as young as 3 to 4 who has no knowledge of coup( itachi shinden),

Isn't it morally questionable to portray a mass murderer in positive light without not mention of how his clan was butchered narratively? Also why shouldn't new generation feel remorse about dirty past of the village and know the whole truth, that's how naruto came to understand sasuke after knowing the dirty past of the village then why should not next generation and otherwise they would glorify a imperial japan like figures hiruzen and tobirama and hashirama, would follow another cycle of hatred in the name of the village

new generation getting taught only the bright not the dark side, that's why orchimaru can exploit mitsuki like children bc he is great importance to konoha similar to usa used imperal japan genocidal doctor and nazi's ngel of death for their own benefit, then there konohamaru manipulated team 7 to do hard b rank which would death by telling gaara's b rank mission but not telling the whole truth how gaara was forced by his father and village authority to do using a monster since his birth so much teaching for younger generation!

so sasuke agreed that war that madara obito created was not in vain lol then madara and obito did not do any wrong by sacrificing so many shinobi life!!!!! they are hero, that's make shinobi villages hypocrites but yet there is 5th shinobi war at the door in shikimaru shinden novel!!!! yea itachi did that by committing genocide he did not really passed anything what he passed was a fascist belief of WOF

Canon Sasuke would never something like he felt satisfaction that that everything his brother kept safe without indicating his clan or his parents sacrifice and how Konoha wronged them plus in shinden sunrise novel sasuke admitted that uchiha was discriminated:

and he said the hopeful heart like naruto only connected him to konoha, ssuke care about peace of the shinobi world not konoha not about passing this to next generation, sasuke never agreed with konoha's method regarding itachi then how can he bluntly prasing without mentioning uchiha's injustice and konoha's dark side, how awful it was and how they conned itachi to do dirty bid, esaka did not canon manga other novels with overlooking many issues conneted to itachi and sasuke which shaped who sasuke is today, even boruto manga has dignity to tell future should be better meaning not how past was but the way easka openly showing itachi's method was great without uchiha clan's mention or konoha's dark past seems she ignored many parts of the history even shikimaru shinden remembered dirty past of the village how itachi used as sacrifice for vilage and wrong, here esaka very proud of it? without giving many viewpoints from sasuke's side, she is indirectly supporting genocide narratively! so apparently genocide and discrimination is good for the sake of the village and authority LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BONUS: SASUKE SHINDEN SUNRISE:

Here is difference bc before village creation ninja were hired to do various kinds of works bc that's how they survived bc it's their job and trained like it as life mission even die for it uchiha senju killed each other children but the uchiha persecution was horrible bc they were cofounder clan of the village, they also lost their lives for the village in the wars and calling it home and they have every right to be free like other clan but they did not treated equally and betrayed again and again by the 2nd hokage, hiruzen, hashirama, danzo and even by their own kin itachi and shisui when they were innocent, what uchiha did to chinoike was normal bc it was warring state period where killing children was normal which why village was created so that children don't need to die yet tsunade's brother nawaki and uchiha children had to die, after village creation all clans formed their own village there every clan should be safe and treated equally, really author sucks by having analogy like that with ignoring how konoha authority get unpunished for the persecution and genocide of the Uchiha clan, author tried to make sasuke feels guilty for what uchiha did to chinoike which was mission as it happened before village creation but konoha was uchiha's home so persecution to their own people is unjustified that's why naruto never reveals the whole truth, analogy here should be:

Uchiha harmed chinoike as a ninja mission how Konoha harmed amegakure for ninja missions being provided by land of fire daimyo but konoha persecuted and harmed uchiha were evil and unjustified as uchiha were comrades and loyal clan who fought for konoha in great shinobi wars and protected the village even with being persecuted

#anti naruto ending #anti naruto uzumaki #anti naruto #anti hashirama #anti hiruzen #anti konoha #anti shinobi system #pro sasuke uchiha #pro uchiha #pro uchiha clan #pro sasuke #anti tobirama

[fictional-character-fight-poll]

Wen Kexing vs. Lil Hal

Propaganda under the cut:

Wen Kexing:

Literally fought and killed his way to the top of what is basically the mafia in fantasy ancient China at a young age. is brutal and vicious in the ways that he kills and literally had like a reign of terror for eight years in a place where everyone wanted to kill him to take his place. even without weapons, he's a highly trained martial artist. killed a guy who spent like over a decade in isolation in training and was considered one of the best in the martial arts world He also has the biggest doe eyes in the world and knows how to bat his eyelashes and be pretty. His favorite thing is to talk about how he's so harmless and weak, especially to his husband who knows full well that he is lying through his teeth. The only reason his reign of terror lasted only 8 years was because he decided to retire and become a housewife with his husband (who is also a retired mass murderer) and raise their adopted son together

Lil Hal:

Last minute submission WOO well. He's a robot so it would probably hurt to hit him. Also he's a smartass so he'd be sending out insults and pop culture references the whole time, annoying his opponent to no end. I never actually read homestuck maybe other homestucks will have propaganda

Reasons as to why one or the other would win are encouraged in the notes. Send in additional propaganda and I'll add it to the post!

#wen kexing #word of honor #lil hal #homestuck #poll #fight poll #blood tw

[sincerelyamee]

✨ Villain Sashisu AU because the world needs this - aka what happens when Gojo and Shoko run away with their mass-murderer boyfriend ✨

With a sizable stack of new identities and paperwork secured, the trio decides a celebratory round of drinks out on the balcony is well in order. Shoko and Geto happily pass a bottle of top-shelf vodka back and forth between them, savoring the slow burn as it travels down their throats.

Meanwhile, Gojo gleefully takes up his usual perch beside them, knees pulled up to his chest as he chugs away at an obnoxiously colorful fruity soda. Because for as powerful and seemingly indestructible as the great Gojo Satoru may be, the man has one fatal, crippling flaw:

He cannot have even a single sip of alcohol without immediately passing out in a listless, drooling heap – only to awaken hours later with a horrendous migraine rivaled only by the sheer devastation he inevitably unleashes upon those unfortunate enough to be near him in that fragile state.

Needless to say, nothing positive has ever come from witnessing Gojo attempt the hard stuff. A harsh lesson Geto and Shoko learned far too many times over the years.

Though despite his inability to partake in the debauched vice, Gojo seems perfectly content to alternate between shoveling down fistfuls of salty chips and taking noisy slurps from his radioactive-bright beverage. He never quite understood the allure of cigarettes and liquor anyway – those were always more of Shoko and Geto’s things than his.

What does trouble Gojo, however, is the mere prospect of being separated from his two closest people, even for a short while. In his simple yet stubborn psyche, he, Shoko, and Geto are a singular, unbreakable package deal.

So even if he can’t directly partake in their chosen indulgences, Gojo makes sure to indelibly insert himself into the mix regardless. Be it wedging his wiry frame between them on the couch, casually draping an arm around whichever set of shoulders is nearest, or pelting them both with a relentless stream of nonsensical jokes and conversation just for the sake of hearing his own voice.

He is present, dammit – an undeniable part of their dynamic whether the other two want him there or not… at least until they inevitably attempt to retreat to the sanctity of the restroom. Gojo learned the hard way that certain sacred thresholds simply cannot be breached without invoking the demonic, blinding fury of Shoko’s wrath.

But outside of that incredibly specific scenario, he remains their dedicated third wheel, as inseparable from their sides as his very shadows. The ridiculously boyish slurps and crunches from his collection of treats are only occasionally drowned out by a bark of sharp laughter or exaggerated imitation as Shoko and Geto slip further into warm inebriation over the balcony’s edge.

That is, until one or both of them inevitably tries to push away from the railing with flushed cheeks, undoubtedly intending to stumble off towards their respective bed for the evening… only to find resistance in the form of Gojo staunchly clinging to their arm or pant leg like a petulant toddler.

“Whoa, where d’you two think you’re goin, huh?” he whines around a mouthful of chips, otherworldly eyes comically wide with faux-hurt. “The fun’s just getting started!”

Whether they shove him off with good-natured exasperation or simply concede, allowing Gojo to trail behind them with a sulking slouch, the end result is ultimately the same. Tomorrow morning will inevitably find all three of them tangled in an unholy sprawl upon the largest available sleeping surface, hangovers be damned.

They are a packaged deal, after all – the three greatest villains against the world. And if Gojo has any say in it whatsoever, that’s exactly how they’ll remain until the bitter, punch-drunk end.

Read the whole fic on Ao3: A Family of Villains - A wacky villain origin story/Kinda a slice-of-life fic exploring the logistics of sashisu being the greatest villains in the jujutsu world while being 18, on the run, and raising 4 kids. Mostly fluff and humor of course.

#sashisu #sss trio #gojo x geto x shoko #gojo x shoko #gojo x geto #geto x shoko #satosugu #satoshoko #sugushoko #jjk fanfic #jjk fluff #jjk fanfiction

[frostiifae]

So, I dunno, thoughts about Witch from Mercury (including spoilers under readmore, so, y'know), because it seems like it's a cool thing to do, i guess. Maybe made more or less interesting because this is the first Gundam series I've actually paid full attention to.

In short, it's good! It's very good. But, I dunno, can't give it top marks as an alltime favorite. There are lots of superficial problems that probably mattered much more to me than they would to the average viewer, and like, you could argue that they just aren't even problems, I guess.

The biggest thing I can criticize without spoiling much of anything is that it dangles a lot over your head and then waits a long time to resolve almost any of it. It's tough for people who get anxiety, like me : ). No, that's not why I'm writing this post. This isn't a coping mechanism. Fuck off.

To reiterate, though, on the whole: good. Good show. Good stuff. Don't click "keep reading" unless you want to read a fucking novel, OK?

I have to say I think the strongest character of the show bar none is Prospera, but at the same time, she showcases the recurring problems I have with the show: firstly, that they spend way too long making Prospera sound sinister without you understanding at all why, and secondly, that it's a real shame we didn't get to learn more about her feelings and why (and how?) she'd gone to all of this trouble. I understand her goal in the abstract is to "create a world where Eri can exist", but it's not clear how exactly she intends to do that, and maybe it's just me, but those practical details can be really important in selling me on an idea.

Even so, I adore her. I adore the way she possesses so much influence over the plot despite having very little economic or political power herself - she just understands people, she understands what's at stake, and she understands how to manipulate things to get what she wants. I was so delighted to learn about her true motivation, imagine a girl kicking her feet and squealing as Prospera taunts Miorine about hearing the voices of her past that are urging her to seek vengeance. I wish she could have done more. I also wish she looked better. That helmet fucking sucked, dudes. C'mon.

I really want to say kind things about Suletta and Miorine, too - they had lovely character arcs in both seasons, Miorine in particular was a joy to have on screen at all times - but, ultimately, I also found them both very frustrating. The most engaging members of the cast by and large were side characters, my personal favorites being Chuchu, Nika, and Norea. (I guess Guel turned out pretty okay too.) It was a joy watching Norea go off the fucking deep end, even if her portrayal was a little shallow until it was a smidge too late; her final fight was beautiful and touching, especially the part where she went on a massive rampage and killed a lot of innocent people. I love me a hot girl who's a violent mass murderer.

Jokes aside; I found both of the main characters frustrating, but for different reasons. Suletta was the less frustrating of the two. Throughout season 1 I kept cringing at her total powerlessness within the narrative, which I know is kind of the point, but that doesn't mean I have to like it; at least in season 2 she develops a thin veneer of agency, and more to the point, the writers demonstrate that her lack of actual agency is in fact horrifying and not some kind of endearing country-bumpkin quirk, but it feels like it takes a long time before she can finally actually engage in the world she lives in.

To be clear, I don't just mean "she can decide for herself what she wants to do", that's her final arc, I know, I get it; more what I mean is, it feels like Suletta exists in a totally different show, an entirely different setting, for 75% of the show's runtime. She's not just clueless about all of the business politics and Earth vs Space racism; she's immune to it, it simply doesn't affect her, even when it badly hurts people she cares about, because she's unable to comprehend it, and can abstract away any threat behind Aerial's cockpit and duel herself to safety without ever understanding what was even at stake.

It's like Ender's Game but Ender himself never actually participates in any of the school politics, he just kinda is a prodigy in his own corner while the real story happens around him. If you're going to create a character who is powerless in the narrative, don't then shield her in the cockpit of a Gundam for the entire show, you know? If you're going to threaten me with her inability to understand what is going on, make good on that threat!! It just felt wasteful. She spent 16 episodes being a joke that we keep hoping will make Miorine smile, 2 episodes being depressed, and then the last 6 episodes being an actual character, and the tragedy is that I really liked that character and wish she'd been around for longer.

Miorine was much more fun, but also, much more frustrating. I wasn't especially into her character early in season 1, but she was at least a bitch in a fun (and highly sympathetic) way, and unlike Suletta she grew into a real character very fast, and got to spend the whole show actually having a meaningful impact on events around her. It was great! I have a few very small gripes about things she does - like the way she chooses to cut Suletta loose. I understand she's doing it for Suletta's safety, and I understand she's doing it because she believes Suletta won't be able to comprehend that reasoning - after all, their whole arc in season 1 was about depending on each other, and Miorine is being pressured into going back on her promise.

On the one hand, though, I feel like it was weird of her not even to try. At least try to explain to Suletta, listen, things are getting worse, you are going to get hurt, I don't want that, I need you to stop being Holder for your sake. You could even twist the knife further by having Suletta react with heartbreak but willingly agree when Prospera doubles down and tells her to do as Miorine says - imagine how betrayed and disgusted with herself Miorine would feel! For them to leave her completely in the dark, for her to fully betray Suletta with no warning and no attempted justification at all - and especially for Suletta to not question that - it just felt weird.

On the other hand, though, I'm really shocked and disappointed that Miorine didn't express more guilt over that decision. Given that her arc in season 1 revolves around recognizing that relying on Suletta is what makes Suletta happy, and she cares enough about Suletta to give her that kind of trust, you can't tell me that - even if she really believes it's necessary - she can just turn around and betray Suletta like she does and feel no remorse over it.

Overall this is a larger problem I have with Miorine; we don't get enough time with her feelings, so when everything finally collapses and she has a meltdown, it doesn't sell very well. I wanna be clear: I'll open the door myself is one of my favorite moments in the whole show, and that's why I'm sad. It could have been so much more, if we had had more time to see Miorine's heartache over what she did to her best friend, not to mention how tense and uncertain she must have been handing her full trust to Prospera, or leading a negotiation to Earth with the weight of Gundam's history resting squarely on her shoulders. I love cool, calm, reserved characters who can handle tense interpersonal conflict with a stern decisiveness. Miorine should be a slam dunk for me. But the best part about those characters is seeing behind the mask, even if only for little bits at a time, and there's just not enough.

Honestly, though, it's hard for me to hold anything against season 2 especially, because I think most of what frustrates me comes down to there not being enough time, and holy fuck, does that season go hard. I'm very ready to believe that there was all kinds of stuff cut from S2 because the sheer volume of things happening was so much. It's a shame to think that it's let down by its own density, that there was just too much happening to fit all of it into 12 episodes without a few things being left behind. There wasn't time for Miorine to introspect, there wasn't time for Miorine and Suletta to develop their relationship, there wasn't time for Prospera to get even more unhinged and weird, there wasn't time to examine how we could actually improve the world and its troubles, we just had too much to do. It's an unenviable position to be in, and I think it's fair to say the show does a great job with what it has.

Umm. Is there anything else? I could talk about the dudes. I could gush about Norea and Sophie, I guess, but I doubt I have anything particularly interesting to add there, I'm sure the takes "Norea is hot" and "I wish they could have been more toxic yuri on screen" are lukewarm at best. I could talk about Eri, I suppose, but I don't feel really strongly about her - I think she's weird, her presence as a character is very strange, the fact that she was a protagonist is weird, and just like with everything else, I think it comes down to a lack of time to be able to really get into understanding her. I can't say it's a mistake, really, so that'll just stay a mystery, and it's one I don't especially care to solve anyway. She can stay a weirdo for all I care.

Uh, I think that's kinda all? Oh, what, robot designs? Uh, Aerial over Calibarn, don't @ me. They're both sick tho.

#gundam #mobile suit gundam #witch from mercury #it's really funny how ellie couldn't wait like ONE day to reblog that srw wfm theories post. like really honey #it's okay though with full context yeah that's all pretty accurate #and like. realistically. what was spoiled even. like she said; the big space laser had to show up eventually #OH shit there was one other thing! Uhh I think it's a fucking crime everyone wants to make Suletta kinda masc coded. #Hyperfemme Suletta from the ED animation was a fucking goddess. I love her #Suletta and Miorine should both wear dresses to prom. Mio wears enough suits for work

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS DARK FATE Yoyaku Tokuten Drama CD ”Urgent ★ The Vampires Ran Out of Money”

Original title: 切実に★お金がないヴァンパイアたち

Source: Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE Yoyaku Tokuten Drama CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke, Katsuyuki Konishi, Midorikawa Hikaru, Kaji Yuki, Hirakawa Daisuke, Takashi Kondou, Takahiro Sakurai, Kimura Ryouhei, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Kishio Daisuke, Morikawa Toshiyuki & Morikubo Shoutaro

Translator’s note: This CD felt really nostalgic for some reason because it offers some quality REIJI SUFFERING HOURS. If there’s one thing which has stuck with me from the early era (HDB/MB) drama CDs, it’s that Reiji almost always got the short end of the stick, haha. While it’s no different here, I can’t help but feel like it’s kind of his own fault. For someone who prides himself over being oh-so smart, maybe it wasn’t clever to mention having savings around 11 Vampires who are clearly desperate for that sweet, sweet cash. 

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Shin: Haah…

*Flip*

Shin: Damn…This is looking pretty bad…Haah…Ugh. At this rate, we’ll…

Carla: Shin. …What have you been mumbling about this whole time?

Shin: Ahー Nii-san. You see, we’ve run into some trouble you see…

Carla: Trouble? Is your heart aching because I haven’t been attempting to murder you as of late? 

Shin: No. I’m definitely not complaining about that part…

Carla: Then what is it? Tell me. I might just offer you my advice. 

Shin: Eh? Eeeh…But I feel like you’re not the right person to ask in this case…

Carla: Who do you think I am? 

Shin: Who? I mean…The King of Founders…and my older brother.

Carla: Exactly. It is your duty to report everything to me, without hiding any details. Now, ell me. 

Shin: Hm…Actuallyーー We’ve run out.

Carla: Run out of what? Be more specific.

Shin: Money! We’re all out of money!

Carla: Money? 

Shin: Here, take a look at this bill. It displays all of our spendings for this month. They’re through the roof because you keep on buying things like whole legs of cured ham or weird abstract paintings behind my back!

Carla: No need to get so upset, Shin. I needed all of those things.

Shin: Necessary? I don’t believe that. I’ll give you a pass on the cured ham, but can you truly say the same about that painting which looks like a child went ham with their crayons doodled a bunch of pasta noodles on a blank canvas!? 

Carla: If I deem it necessary, then it is. 

Shin: Ugh…I figured you’d say that, hence why I didn’t want to bring it up. Anyway, we’ll need to come up with a way to make money. 

Carla: Can’t we have the masses donate to us? Have you tried asking Mertz to hand some over?

Shin: I’ve long tried that. I’m not sure if he knows I’m trying to ask for money, but he’s been completely ignoring my messages.

Carla: Then why don’t we make it easy on ourselves and just take it from random people around these parts? 

Shin: But if we choose the criminal path, we won’t be able to move freely around in the human world, will we? …Oh, right! I guess those guys would be an option!

Carla: The Sakamaki and Mukami family? If I recall correctly, Karlheinz has infiltrated this world and has been dabbling in politics alongside his connection with the Church. 

Shin: Yup, exactly. I heard he’s pretty stacked. …Heh. It shouldn’t be an issue then. It’s settled then. Let’s have those guys provide us with money. 

Shin gets up. 

Shin: Time is money! I’ll go give them a visit right away. 

Carla: I shall come with you as well.

Shin: Eh? No need to bother, really…

Carla: I cannot imagine they will simply hand over the money. If I am there as well, it should have at least somewhat of an impact. It is for the sake of my cured ham and paintings, therefore I have no other choice. 

Shin: Seems like you don’t want to give those up, no matter what, Nii-san…

*TIMESKIP*

*Flip flip* 

Reiji: Haahー … We’re cutting it close again this month as well. I suppose we spent a little too much. No, that’s not the problem. It’s all because of all the unnecessary repair costs we had to pay to have the manor fixed. Good grief…

Ayato: Reiji. 

Reiji: The answer is no. 

Ayato: But I haven’t even asked anything yet!? 

Reiji: I know exactly what you’ll ask of me. I bet you’re here to pester me for cash, correct? Either way, the answer stays no. …Well, I suppose it would be more accurate to say I cannot.

Ayato: Che…You stingy Four-Eyes!

Reiji: Oh my, are you sure you can afford to throw such insults at my head? May I remind you that I am the one who monitors the money of this family? 

Ayato: Che…What’s your problem!? I’m all out of money to buy takoyaki tomorrow. Can’t you lend me a lil’? 

Reiji: What part of ‘no’ do you not comprehend? Or rather, I cannot give you something which I do not have. 

Kanato: Reiji! Do you have a second? 

Reiji: Kanato, you too…Wha!? 

Laito: Nfu~ Actually, I’m here too!

Subaru: You can’t blame us, can you!? 

Shuu: If you’re handing out money, I’ll take some as well. 

Reiji: How do you guys think the economy works!? I gave all of you pocket money a mere three days ago, didn’t I!? 

Laito: The amount you gave us wasn’t nearly enough! I went on a couple of days with some girls and poof, it’s all gone!

Kanato: Exactly. I could barely buy any sweets with it.

Subaru: It was clearly too little. 

Shuu: Yes, exactly. You should just hand us the goods already. Hurry up. 

Reiji: No. ーー Or rather, we’re all out of money for this month. 

Ayato: Aah…!? Don’t be lyin’ to us! We know that you’re still hidin’ some!

Reiji: That would be my personal money. I’ve been setting some of my gainings aside each month and I shall not be sharing any of it with you guys, obviously. 

Subaru: Haah!? Fuck off! You’re tryin’ to live the good life all by yourself, aren’t you!? 

Reiji: You can try and threaten me all you want. If you want money that badly, why not ask Father for some instead of me? 

Shuu: Haah…The Old Man, huh?

Ayato: …!! 

Kanato: Laito. You go and ask Father for money. 

Laito: Haah!? Why me!? …As my older brother, it’s your duty to do that, isn’t it?

Kanato: …!! I-I don’t want to! As if I ever could!

Subaru: Just so you know, I’m not doin’ it either!

Reiji: Well, there you have it, so why not simply give up? If you upset Father, he might just send you to Mars for real this time. 

*Ding・dong* 

Reiji: Hm? A visitor? Was someone coming over today?

*TIMESKIP*

Shin: …And there you have it. Now give us the money. 

Reiji: You are catching me quite by surprise but…I do not see why we would need to lend you money? 

Subaru: Exactly. I mean, if we could go and hand it out for free, we wouldn’t be strugglin’ so much ourselves. 

Carla: What do you mean by that? 

Laito: Haah…In short, our family is just as short on cash as yours is. 

Ayato: Exactly! You can’t get noodles from a stone!

Kanato: Ayato, you idiot. It’s ‘soda’, not ‘noodles’. (1)

Carla: What a bunch of fools… 

Shin: Honestly, I don’t care but maybe you shouldn’t be telling lies? Who do you think you’re dealing with, huh? We’re respectable Founders, remember? Do you understand that? 

Reiji: They’re not lying. It’s the truth. Our current savings are non-existent. I almost want to show you our bank extracts, honestly. 

Carla: Sakamaki Tougo is portrayed as a wealthy individual, is he not? It does not take a genius to figure that one out. Don’t underestimate us. 

Shuu: You’re the one making a big mistake by assuming that we’re rich just because the Old Man is. 

Ayato: Yeah! That Shitty Old Man…He’s makin’ that sweet, sweet cash but he won’t even share a single penny with us! 

Kanato: Exactly…! I’ve heard that children from other wealthy families sometimes get up to one million yen for New Year’s. Yet we still have to do with only three thousand! Uuu…Uuuu~  (2)

Shin: …A-Are you…for real? 

Subaru: Dead serious. 

Carla: …!

Shin: Nii-san, what now? We’ve barked up the wrong tree. I feel like we shouldn’t expect too much from the Mukami family either at this rate…

Carla: We cannot know for sure until we ask. They were born and raised as humans, so perhaps they are skilled at saving money. 

Ruki: …What is this about us? 

The Mukami’s arrive to the scene. 

Kou: Hey there, my fellow Vampire comrades~

Subaru: The fuck’s you guys’ problem…? Whatcha all flockin’ together here for!? 

Yuma: Let’s say we’ve got a serious situation goin’ on.  

Azusa: We didn’t actually want to but…Ruki said that we have no other choice but to come and ask for it all together…

Laito: Heeh~? You’re here to ask something from us? How unusual. 

Ruki: Kou had the glorious idea to burn through our family’s entire budget.

Kou: I didn’t have any ill will! There just so happened to be a couple of things I really wanted…Whoopsie~

Yuma: ‘Whoopsie’, my ass! Ya better don’t believe that’ll get ya away with it!

Reiji: …! Don’t tell me…You guys are having money issues as well? 

Ruki: ‘As well’, you say? Don’t tell me…Are the two Tsukinami’s here to beg you for money as well? 

Carla: Do not put it in such a vulgar way. We are Founders. In other words, you Vampires are obligated to submit to us. We came here to have you bow down to us and offer everything you have. 

Azusa: So in other words…You’re trying to blackmail them? 

Shin: We’re not! We’ve already made our point!

Ruki: Who cares about that. Reiji. You get the gist of the situation now so…Would you be so kind to share some money with us? 

Reiji: Good grief…As I already explained to the two gentlemen over there earlier, I am afraid that we cannot offer something we do not have. 

Ruki: You don’t? Is that true? Don’t you guys get showered in money by Karlheinz-sama? 

Ayato: No way. 

Laito: I guess you could say it’s part of his educational approach, but he believes that children should learn how to be mindful with money. (3)

Shin: Nii-san, what are we gonna do now? Seems like the Mukami’s are all out of money too. 

Carla: …

Yuma: Ahー Guess we’ve got no other no other choice but to work, huh? 

Reiji: Exactly. If we get a daytime job, we should be able to save up enough money to get through our everyday lives. Speaking of which…Kou, you have a job, don’t you? 

Shuu: Now that you mention it. You’re an idol, aren’t you? 

Carla: An idol…Which means you’re actually fairly rich? 

Kou: J-Just so we’re all on the same page on this, but like what was mentioned, I blew through all my money so I no longer have anything!

Subaru: Smells fishy to me. I bet this guy is actually loaded on cash despite what he’s sayin’. 

Kou: S-Subaru-kun! Don’t put weird ideas into everyone’s head! Besides, if I did have secret savings, I would have long revealed them! It’s pure humiliation to have to bow our heads to you guys like this! 

Ayato: Which means we’ve really got no other choice but to work, huh? 

Kanato: I’m against the idea! Not in a million years will I work!

Shin: You say that but you’ve got no other choice, do you? We’ll wait, so you guys hurry up and go make us some money through working, okay?

Subaru: Ah? I think you’re gettin’ the wrong idea here. Even if we do earn some money through workin’, we’re not gonna lend it to you fuckers.

Carla: Like I previously stated, it is your duty to hand over your money to us.

Ayato: Idiot! Like we give a damn ‘bout that!

Carla gets upset.

Ayato: …Y-You don’t have to get that angry, do you?

Carla: You fiend…Try repeating yourself one more time. What was that you said just now?

Ayato: W-Well…

Shin: …!! A-Ayato! Take your statement back right now! Or do you want this manor to get blown to bits!? 

Reiji: Blown to bits!? Excuse me, Ayato! Do you have any idea how much it’ll cost to have the manor rebuilt from scratch!? Apologize at once!

Ayato: Ugh…My bad…

Carla: …Oh well, I suppose I can let it slide. In return, come and bring us the money at once. Do you understand? 

Shuu: Good grief…This is what we have to deal with, huh? So, what are we gonna do now? Just so you don’t, I don’t want to work. 

Subaru: I’m not workin’ either.

Laito: I mean, me neither but what are we gonna do about our money issues? 

Kanato: Can’t Reiji just hand over his savings? 

Reiji: I figured you’d say that. However, like I mentioned earlieーー

Ruki: If you have any savings left, give them to us. 

Yuma: Anyway, why would ya first claim to be all out when you’ve actually got some savings put aside? If ya the money to us, it’ll solve all problems. 

Kou: Ahー Geez, I actually was seriously worried for nothing.£

Azusa: Hey, Reiji-san…You’ll give us the money, right? 

Everyone stares at Reiji intensely

Reiji: …!? Excuse me…? Why are you staring at me like that!? …Let me inform you just in case, but trying to force me to pay will not work. I will not give in to your threats. 

Carla: Then we simply do not resort to coercion, correctly? All we need to do is make it so you will gladly hand us the money. 

Ruki: I see. I suppose we have that option. What a genius idea. 

Reiji: D-Do not be ridiculous! What on earth makes you believe I will want to do that?

Shin: I wonder? We won’t know until you try, right? 

Reiji: …W-What are you planning to do!? 

*Rustle* 

Shuu: …Reiji, let me give you a shoulder massage. 

Reiji: …!? 

Shuu: Don’t be modest now. 

Ayato: Reiji! I’ll feed you this takoyaki I’ve got over here! Come on, open wide! ‘Aaahn!’

Reiji: …N-No thank you!

Kou: Hmm~ In that case, I rarely ever give someone such a treat but I’ll perform the currently number-one popular idol song live for you! 

Reiji: No, no, no! Please don’t sing!

Yuma: Geez…Ya give me no other choice. Ya can have as many of the summer vegetables from my field as ya want. Totally free!

Reiji: That does sound tempting…No, no, if anything, you should sell those vegetables to make money yourself. 

Yuma: Nah, I’ll only get some small change for it.

Ruki: Then how does this sound? I shall cook for you using Yuma’s vegetables. 

Reiji: I prefer cooking myself rather than eating!

Laito: Then how about this? I’ll wash your back for you~!

Reiji: Please don’t even suggest something so creepy! …Ah, god!

*Thud* 

Reiji: You guys can say whatever you want, but I’m not giving you any of my savings! End of the story!

Kanato: E-Excuse me!? Where are you going!? 

Reiji: Away from you lot. 

Azusa: No…You can’t. 

Reiji: Mukami Azusa…Move aside at once. 

Azusa: No, I won’t move. Hey…Please listen to my request? If you do, you can hit me all you want. Okay? 

Reiji: Wha…!? Y-Your request…? I bet you also want to ask for money, correct? Besides, I fail to see what I would gain from this deal. Isn’t getting hit basically your hobby?

Azusa: It isn’t.

Reiji: …!? Then what is it!? 

Azusa: My life? 

Shin: That suddenly got deep. 

Reiji: Whatever. Just please step aside. Iーー

Carla puts his hand on Reiji’s shoulder. 

Carla: You are not getting away. 

Reiji: …!! What do you want, Carla? Get your hand off me. 

Carla: I am afraid you will have to sacrifice you for the sake of my cured ham and painting collection! …Shin!

Shin: Roger~! 

*Rustle* 

Shin: Now behave, okay? 

*Rustle* 

Reiji: …!? W-What are you going to do!? 

Carla: Of course, I would have loved to be able to refrain from resorting to such extreme measures. However, none of this would have happened if you would have simply given us the money right away. 

Reiji: Hah? 

Carla: Oi, you lot! Do not stand there spacing out but help out!

Shuu: Haah…What a drag. But I guess it can’t be helped. It’s for the greater good…I don’t want to have to give up on my CDs either. 

Ayato: Yeah. …Reiji. Don’t take it personally, ‘kay? 

*Thud* 

Kanato: It’s for my sweets, so I’m sure you can understand, right? 

*Thud* 

Laito: I’ve got a couple of dates planned out already as well, so you leave me no other choice~ 

*Thud* 

Subaru: Maybe you shouldn’t have been so stingy, huh? 

*Thud* 

Reiji: …!? Y-You guys…! Aren’t you embarrassed, letting those Founders order you around like that!? 

Ruki: We haven’t become their loyal servants, really. We simply…Right.

*Thud* 

Ruki: Share a mutual interest right now. 

Reiji: …!! Ruki, even you…

Kou: Don’t worry~! We won’t hurt you…!

*Thud* 

Yuma: Hehehe…Now we’re talkin’...

*Thud* 

Azusa: Reiji-san…Are you ready…?

*Thud* 

Reiji: …! Kuh…C-Cut it out!

Carla: It is not too late to change your mind just yet. Well then, will you give us the money? 

Reiji: …Y-You’re playing it dirty! I am not the type of guy who will give in to these kinds of threats! Please do not underestimate me!

Shin: I guess our negotiations end here then. 

Carla: You leave me no other choice…You lot! Do it!

Reiji: …! S-Stop…!

They all start tickling Reiji simultaneously. 

Reiji: Excuse me…W-What are you…? Ahahahaha…!

Shuu: It’s your own fault for not simply giving us the money right away.

They continue tickling him. 

Reiji: Wait…Stoーー...! It tickles…! Hahaha…Ahahaha…! …I can’t…! I swear…!

Subaru: Ah, damnit! Just throw in the towel already!

Reiji: My god…I really can’t…Ahahaha! …You lot! I can’t believe you’d resort to this…!

Kou: Ah~ Come on, just say you give up already~ 

Reiji: …Fine! I understand! Please, just stop already! I’m begging you!

Yuma: What do you mean? …Take this!

Reiji: I’ll share the money…That’s all you want from me, right!? 

Carla: Good grief…Was that truly worth all the trouble? You should have simply given it to us from the very start. 

Reiji: Haah, haah…I never thought it’d come to this…Good grief…You lot are unbelievable… 

Shin: Well then. You better hurry up and show us the money. You don’t want a repeat of that, do you? 

Reiji: Che…

Reiji goes to fetch the money. 

*Rustle rustle* 

*Cling* 

*Clunk* 

*Creaaaak* 

*Rustle* 

He returns. 

*THUD*

Reiji: …Now you have no more complaints, correct? 

Ayato: Woah! You’re stacked…! When did you save up all of this money? 

Reiji: …I’ve been carefully setting some money aside each time, while all of you were too busy spending it recklessly. Good grief. This is horrible. It’s always the honest people who get the short end of the stick. 

…Oh well, I suppose it’s fine. I suppose you are all in debt with me right now, so please, go ahead and use this money as you see fit. 

Shuu: Is that sarcasm I smell there? …Oh well, guess I’ll borrow some. 

Carla: …!

*Smack* 

Shuu: Ah…

Carla: Who gave you permission to take some of that money? 

Shuu: What do you mean? 

Shin: This amount of money will barely even cut it to buy Nii-san’s cured ham, so we’ll be taking all of it. 

Ruki: Excuse me? 

Carla: If you have a problem with that, I shall gladly be your opponent. 

Ayato: Haah!? 

Subaru: So you wanna throw fists, huh!? 

Ruki: Yuma. It’s time for plan B.

Yuma: Roger! …Oi, Azusa. 

Azusa: Mmh. I know. 

*Rustle* 

Azusa: Carla-san. Shin-san. We won’t let you do with that money as you please. Well then, Kou, Yuma, Ruki…Hurry up and take the money!

Azusa becomes a shield for them.

*Rustle* 

Shin: E-Excuse me…!? What are you doing? 

*Rustle* 

Ruki: My bad, but we’re taking this cash. 

Carla: Che. Seems like you four do not value your own life. 

*BZZZZT*

Azusa takes the hit. 

Azusa: …Ugh! Uu…Haah, haah…

Carla: Excuse me!? He withstood my attack…!? 

Ruki: My bad, Azusa! We’ll see each other at the meeting place later!

Kou: Don’t push yourself too much, okay, Azusa-kun!? 

Yuma: See ya!

The other three Mukami’s run away.

Azusa: Don’t…worry…I love…the pain after all…Haah…~  …Come on, Carla-san. More…! Fire more of those at me…!!

Carla: …!!

Kanato: …H-Hold up!! The money…!! They took all of it with them!

Reiji: …Come again!? When did they…!? I didn’t notice because I was too busy looking at Carla. 

Shuu: Haah…What a drag. Why did it turn out like this? Don’t you think it’s because you guys were trying to be too greedy? 

Carla: Hmph! That money was mine from the very start, so this isn’t an issue of being greedy or not. 

Ayato: It’s a lost case. There’s no talkin’ with this dude. 

Carla: Oi, Shin! Chase after them!

Shin: Yeah, yeah, I know. Or rather, if you would simply give up on your cured ham and those weird paintings, we wouldn’t even need money…

Azusa attempts to stop him. 

*Thud* 

Azusa: Wait, Shin-san! You have to defeat me first…!

Shin: Ah, god! You better stay away from me, you freaky masochist! 

Shin runs away. 

Laito: Hey, what are we gonna do now? 

Kanato: I’m exhausted…I’ll simply content myself with the sweets I still have in the cupboard. I can’t picture myself chasing after them. 

Laito: Right? When I think about it…It’s not like I’m that desperate to go on a date with girls other than Bitch-chan. 

Ayato: Me too. I can just have Chichinashi make me free takoyaki instead, right? 

Shuu: Haah…I guess it’s obvious the same goes for me. Pwaah…I’m sleepy. 

*Thud* 

Subaru: Damnit…! The fuck’s this shit…

Ayato: By the way, Subaru…Why did you even want money to begin with? 

Subaru: W-Well…You know…I figured I’d upgrade my coffin a lil’ here and there…

Reiji: Good grief…I suppose your situations weren’t nearly as pressing as the Mukami family’s. Haah…Oh well. You lot try to abstain from your luxuries for once, understood? …Oh. 

Carla: …

Reiji: You are still here? 

Carla: Hmph. You have some nerve to say that, you commoner. I shall stay here until Shin returns. 

*Rustle* 

Reiji: Good grief, you truly are unbelievable…Why not simply give up on your cured ham and painting collection? 

Carla: I shall give up on the latter. I could never buy them with that little money anyway. 

Reiji: Hmph. But it seems that the cured ham is something you cannot give up? 

Carla: It is my favorite food after all. 

Reiji: Ahー Well…If that’s the case, I suppose you really need the money just as badly as the Mukami family does. 

Carla: Hmph. 

Reiji: Ahーah…I suppose I will have to start saving up again. This time, I suppose I will not mention it to anyone and keep it my own little secret. 

ーー THE END ーー 

Translation notes

(1) This short back-and-forth between Ayato and Kanato is all based on a language pun around the Japanese proverb: ない袖は振れない’ which literally means ‘you can’t shake a sleeve you don’t have’ and refers to being unable to give what one does not have themselves. Ayato gets things mixed up and says そば (soba / soba noodles) instead of 袖 (sode / sleeve). Kanato then promptly ‘corrects’ him by stating that it’s ソーダ (soda) instead. Of course, both of them are equally incorrect. I struggled to translate this part quite a bit, but I eventually settled with the English provide ‘you can’t get blood from a stone’ since it was the easiest to replace one noun for another in that one. 

(2) ¥1,000,000 and ¥3,000 are approximately 10,000 and 30 USD respectively. 

(3) Laito refers to the concept of ‘Honorable poverty’ (清貧), coined by the Japanese philosophist Suzume, who believes in the dangers of excess consumption and waste.

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