#AND IT’S A VITAL NINJA SKILL

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo being put into a situation where there is absolutely no fighting, just verbal manipulation and perception games, would be amazing to witness. We see a lot in the series how good he is at subterfuge and how he uses his perception to manipulate to great effect, so it’d be so cool to really see it put to the test even more.

Manipulation is one of the most effective tactical strategies of all time, so just imagine Leo putting this skillset of his to the full test. Imagine the boys slowly get up to busting bigger and more powerful criminals, including those with networks of crime under their belt, and a simple fight isn’t enough to take them down. For criminals like this, Leo’s skills in subterfuge would be deadly.

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leo #rottmnt headcanons #me back to talking about Leo’s incredibly high affinity for subterfuge #genuinely think it’s one of if not his best and most honed skill #AND IT’S A VITAL NINJA SKILL #above fighting battle tactics and the like #it’s verbal blindspots #Sun Tzu’s The Art of War literally states that “the greatest victory is won without battle’’ #and idk I think Leo would be so good at this and we see him do it in the show quite a bit but not to the amount I yearn for #but yeah like just think Leo getting sent in and his bros standing guard #of course he wouldn’t be the ONLY one involved but 100% he’d be the main player #man idk I just really really love when their specific skill sets that ARENT the fighting ones are used it’s so interesting to me #like we already know Leo can easily take in a whole room’s worth of people and know exactly how to avoid them all #we know he can manipulate manipulators into his schemes #we know he’s good at improv which is essential to the games of speech high end criminals like to play #it would be SO INTERESTING #OKAY HEAR ME OUT- #he’s asked by Big Mama to join her at a criminal ball of sorts #she needs to regain power and he needs to take down big name criminals #thus a deal #no but really it’s so cool seeing Leo specifically do his best tactics through thinking like his enemy and predicting how they’d act

[phoenixcatch7]

Love how every zelda has a special interest and that special interest saves the world.

#Like whether it's piracy or history of light magic or ninjas or technology or art zelda ALWAYS gets super interested in the one thing #That'll save her and the kingdom down the line. Like oot zelda 100% idolised impa and demanded to be taught shiekah techniques #And disguise only for those skills to become vital during the 7 years link was gone. #Tp zelda had the most knowledge of light magic it's history and applications and spirits by FAR and all of those enabled her to save midna #And summon light arrows #If ww zelda was sitting pretty on an island instead of roaming the seas with a loyal crew and several cannons link would have been screwed. #If botw zelda had been allowed to pursue her fascination with shiekah tech or even science as a whole who knows what they might have manage #Ganon might not have been able to take them over at all. She might have learned to channel her power through artifacts or learned to mimic #The energy flow of the shiekah magic which is directly derived from hylia/the tf of wisdom! She wouldn't have been stranded at the mountain #When ganon attacked if she hadn't been forced up there on her birthday. She could have outfitted the champions with better weapons that #Would have been more effective against the blights. She might have unlocked the slate or the shrines. She would have been more confident #And thus less abrasive with link. They would have been able to bond sooner and faster. Link would have been more relaxed and ready. #The shiekah might have been able to rework teleportation instead of 106 years late. #I am salty about rhoam banning her. It never would have worked out well. #Never keep a zelda from her special interest okay!!!! #Like as soon as she and link got to do whatever they wanted the problem got solved within a few months. #Never tell a link to behave or a zelda she can't research #loz #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #Totk #loz totk #loz tears of the kingdom #Botw #loz botw #breath of the wild #Zelda #princess zelda #loz zelda #loz link

[mixelation]

tori: i am not dangerous, i am practically a civilian!!! I dont get in “fights”! OR win fights! i get in *situations* with *violent murderers* and I *survive them(through violent murders)*. I could never fight someone! … but I can *prevent* most people from being physically capable of fighting me! its easy and cheating so its not real strength/capacity for violence. full stop doesn’t count. some people might say neutralizing your enemy is the same as winning the fight. i won’t accept that though because thinking of myself as capable of winning fights would shatter the last clinging pieces of my identity/self concept and I Can’t Lose That :). I am HARMELESS and am only surviving (barely) through cheating with magic reality coding (easy and fun so doesn’t count as effort/skill/strength), the ol’ “Fastest Escalation Wins” strategy (a vital tool for the weak and untrained), and “fake it til ya make it” cons (also easy and fun so doesn’t count.) i am not scary, or powerful?? or god forbid hard to approach??? i am a completely normal standard woman making completely understandable, obvious choices?? I Am Normal. I Am. I am NORMAL.

*random chuunin* : “oh my god she’s one of the deadliest most sadistic ninja alive. she’s friends with extremely powerful ninja which is just more confirmation she’s in that class of power. she gets away with extremely offputting, rude, menacing behavior with people of high station, which further confirms she’s either an asset or too hard to get rid of… cuz she’s so so scary and powerful. i heard she traps people in unbreakable barriers and then kills them slowly (for fun??) after tormenting them for days or forces them to kill themselves to escape her…. she melts people alive. she will boil your eyeballs. she will skin you with her pinky fingernail. she will boil your skin and make you *WISH* she would skin you with her pinky fingernail. she will turn you inside out and not realize you’re still alive, just slowly suffocating/dying in agony, and leave you there to die by yourself. or she realizes and gets frustrated because you are irritating her by having survived so now she has to figure out how to kill you faster because… mercy is good i guess? idk it feels immoral to just leave you like this and she feels (like she should feel) bad for you and she tries a couple other experimental seals but they all just make things worse for you instead of killing you and eventually she remembers she has a knife and then does an extremely slow and sloppy hacking stabbing job trying to hit something vital getting more and more disgruntled with how much effort this is taking because she used an experimental seal instead of something reliable. ”

Tori:

#toriverse

[maagicmushies]

Naruto is a bad ninja. That's like baby’s first Naruto criticism. This is supposed to be a manga about ninja, yet its main character is a loudmouth clad in bright orange who has never even heard of the word subtlety. There are even large stretches of the manga where he is one of the weakest main characters, so he’s even failing at the manga’s specific definition of a ninja. He is just horrible at it. But one thing that I never hear a lot of people mention is that Naruto is a bad ninja by design, he needs to be.

The Land of Waves Arc serves two main functions. The first is easing the reader or viewer into the world of shinobi on a very “scientific” level. You learn what chakra is, what the three main types of jutsu are, what chakra control is, how ninja rank works, what kekkei genkai is and so on and so forth. Everything that would be in a textbook to be studied by entry level ninja is in this arc. The second function is a look into the world of shinobi on a more “ideological” level in the second half. Ninja take on jobs, but rarely do they take on jobs for other ninja. They mainly take on jobs for local feudal lords or crime lords who wish to use these strengths for political purposes. In this way, Naruto’s ninja are sorta like mercenaries. Ninja are expected to kill the people who they have culture and shared experiences with for the sake of people who really couldn't care less about them. Their intelligence is their most valued aspect and emotions can compromise that so a trained ninja can’t even cry. As Zabuza says, a ninja is just a tool to be used by their employer and anyone who cannot do that, is a bad ninja.

One of the most genius things about this arc is that almost every named ninja we see ends up breaking a vital rule of the ninja code. Haku and Sasuke sacrifice their lives for loved ones, compromising their mission in the process while Sakura, Naruto and Zabuza are reduced to blubbering crying messes by the end. They all failed at being ninja because to be a ninja is to cast away your humanity, something that isn’t really possible. By the end of the first arc, the series has planted the idea that being a ninja isn’t something to be desired. Ninjutsu and throwing stars are cool, but this ideal of a “real” ninja is so cynical and cold that anyone who could pull it off perfectly would be as miserable as they are abhorrent. Trust me, we’ll get back into that. The arc ends with Naruto deciding that he’ll find his own ninja way. A way to be a ninja that is not synonymous with pain and cruelty.

Following the Land of Waves we go to the Chunin Exams, the stock tournament arc of the series. One thing that sets Naruto’s tournament arc apart from a more standard one is that winning isn’t the primary goal. Anyone who has watched the show or read the manga might say “Of course winning isn’t the primary goal, Shikamaru lost, yet was the only Konoha genin to promote”, but becoming Chunin isn’t even the main goal of the Chunin exams. The main goal of the Chunin Exams is to show off a nation’s talent, both as an advertisement to would-be employers and as a flex to rival villages to show what they have in store for them if they try to start a war. It was created as a form of deterrence, a ninja equivalent to broadcasting a video of your nation’s rocket capabilities. Ironically, this “mock war” ends up turning into a real war as Orochimaru uses it as a smoke screen for his real invasion. Naruto comes into the exams pretty unprepared as a fighter, but very prepared emotionally. He speaks to the demons inside of Neji and Gaara, desperately wanting to ease the pain that they’re going through. He can’t stand the idea of losing them, just like he lost haku so he talks to them like they’re people and not weapons and it resonates. The two would end up becoming lifelong friends with Naruto as a result and it had jack shit to do with his skill as a ninja. He succeeded with them because he was a person to them.

The Search for Tsunade arc is not too important for this analysis, but does introduce an idea that will become important later where Jiraiya purports that a real ninja is “one who endures”. This isn’t just fancy waffling but how the literal kanji for the word “ninja” can be broken down. That’s why, in Jiraiya’s eyes, being a ninja is not about being the most efficient or knowing the most jutsu. It’s about never giving up even when everyone else wants you to. It is what he has done his entire life and what he teaches Naruto to do. However, this is far from the only interpretation of “one who endures”. Sasuke’s flashbacks of how he remembers Itachi is massively important to our understanding of ninja because Itachi is the perfect ninja. Remember that “One Who Endures” thing? Yeah, Itachi takes that to the extreme because he thinks that it is a viable path for a shinobi to be hated by all. If that lets them do their job to the best of their ability, so be it. That’s why he handles the Uchiha coup like he does. He becomes hated by his entire village, the entire world and hated most of all by the person he loved the most. But Itachi got his job done. He did it so well that no one ever knew he was doing a job at all.

If Itachi is what lies at the end of all shinobi, if all of them got to be "perfect", we’d have entire clans and communities getting slaughtered by well meaning people just wishing to prolong the existence of the village by a couple of years. Itachi’s partner Kisame has a very similar backstory. In fact, you could argue that all of the Akatsuki are perfect shinobi. All young prodigies who were allowed to exercise cruelty because that’s what their job called for and simply got cut off by the people who weren’t able to handle the monsters that they created. It’s no coincidence that this group of ninja who were all able to be better ninja at the cost of their humanity all show some form of body horror or inhumanity in their design.

This pertains most to Sasori, one of the main villains of the Kazekage Rescue Arc. Sasori was clearly traumatized but no one in the sand cared because he was able to channel that trauma into his incredible skill with puppet ninjutsu. And then when he became more and more broken over time, creating human puppets and assassinating Kazekage, they tried to act as if they had no hand in that. However, just like Zabuza and Gaara before him, Sasori could not fully discard his humanity. He tried to replace so much of his human body with puppetry but he was never able to get rid of his heart, poetically. The same goes for Sai in the next arc, who has been trained from birth to kill off all individuality. Even before his big turn, Sai constantly laments over the fact that despite trying so hard, he can never get anyone to truly like him. It’s natural that as humans we crave connection and want to love. The more you try to act like this is a lie, the more you end up like a Sai. And no one likes Sai.

A similarly unlikable character would be Kakashi during the events of Kakashi Gaiden. Another ninja capable of putting the job above all his personal connections and he constantly disrespects his friends and own father. Sakumo Hatake was incredibly strong, but far from the perfect ninja I’ve been describing. He decided to abandon a mission partway, which saved his allies but inconvenienced his employer. The derision he faced was enough for him to commit suicide. In Kakashi’s eyes, his father was a coward, but to Kakashi’s best friend Obito? Sakumo was a hero. He might have been a bad ninja, but if caring about people you love makes you a bad ninja, then good ninja do not need to exist. Obito holds this opinion not as a villain, but as a rather heroic child with shocking similarities to Naruto. When he later fights Naruto, Naruto ends up appealing to Obito by empathizing with his beliefs about the ninja world. It sucks! His best friend’s life was ruined by a “perfect” ninja, he spent his entire life being hated and used because the ninja code for Jinchuriki was to roll them out as weapons during war time and then shamefully hide them during peacetime. Naruto knows why Obito would want to tear it down because he also wants to. They just have differing methods of how to.

The same goes for Sasuke when he rises up to become the final villain of the series. Sasuke recognizes the poison on the ninja world, what it does to people like him, his brother his best friend, Hashirama and Madara, every ninja in existence. That is why he wishes to forge a new path, killing off the ruling class and uniting all against him. It’s essentially what Itachi did, but on a global scale. Sasuke’s plan is bad and fails because it relies on embracing a ninja truth and the antithesis of the series - severing one’s bonds. Every single arc time and time again we come to learn that this idea of “severing bonds” does not work, it cannot work. The pit of loneliness you’re left in will kill you or warp you to a point where you’re no longer human. Naruto’s answer is forming an unbreakable bond between all people. Disrespecting and blurring the artificial line between class, between village, between civilian and ninja. The Great Naruto Bridge from the Land of Waves is a little cheesy, but emblematic of his final role in the story. Through his kindness he becomes able to link all together and he didn’t do this by being a good ninja. He did it by being a pretty bad one.

#long post #mucho texto #naruto #naruto analysis #i could probably spend ages talking about what it means to be a ninja in naruto #and how every character interprets that differently #a character like itachi weaponizes deception to influence the world around him #but the same could be said about a character like sakura who frequently lies to naruto under the guise of protecting him #and as much as people want to act like that's a sakura exclusive flaw it isnt #its just what ninja are pushed to do #emotions are just another tool to be used in this system

[oh-lordy-lord-save-me]

Hello, I just wanted to let you know that I am really fascinated by your version of Usagi and wanted to know more about him. What are the similarities and differences between your version and the comic version of Usagi? And well the other characters of Usagi Yojimbo appear as well, like Kitsune, Gen, and Tomoe, and if so how are they like in your version?

hi!!! thank you for taking interest in my iteration, its means a lot. in my au usagi is a teen(around 16-17) who traveled from japan to new york because he “wanted to travel more.” in reality he is trying to avoid another encounter with jei, as the last one kinda scarred him a bit. the thought of jei being in any town he’s visiting took away the possibility of a peaceful night for him. 

gonna cut it off here since i just noticed how long this is haha

ayway, he definitely still sticks his nose into other people’s business and gets involved into things that were 100% avoidable.He would still be incredibly good with kids as well as helping anyone who needs it no matter how difficult the task is. Either way he still has a shit ton of warrants on his head!!!

Another thing that is absolutely vital to him is his inability to commit to anything🙏 he likes his life of wandering and it feels wrong to him to stay put in one place. he does not want his life to change and that doesn’t really help if he ever wants a relationship. to make it worse he will not speak about his feelings, i think he’d rather be struck by lightning.

the way he acted before moving to the hidden city was very different. he was much more carefree and always got into situations without much of a plan. he’d throw in some jokes in the middle of fights and hype himself up sometimes. i based off this phase of his life off of his younger self in the comics. but after this he tries to take things more seriously, keeping to himself and not breaking rules as often and acts like a dick sometimes . he gets better tho after hating leo for a while and gets to know him better.

i did change some characters a bit like katsuichi. he still lives as a hermit but took usagi in when he was much younger due to his dad passing. he takes on a more fatherly role than just a sensei for usagi. i dont see him calling him a cockroach or a head lice knowing this poor kid just lost his dad😭

kitsune, gen, and tomoe are living their lives back in japan. kitsune still lives as a street performer and a thief and shes having a good life rn honestly. shes knowledgeable in some mystic items as they’re usually a part of her performances. she’d be active on social media platforms, she’d have very organized posts. she’s also the one who reaches out the most to usagi; she pokes fun at him but she does it as a way to check in on him since the last time she really saw him he wasn’t in the best shape. i haven’t really gotten to gen yet, but he’s still a bounty hunter. he’d still be a bit of an ass when it comes to money or usagi. 

dont have much on tomoe, which is honestly a crime, but i have the idea that she is a student at her father’s school. i think she’d be entirely dedicated to her skills and wouldn’t have much time for anything else. she’d only ever see usagi if he’s visiting the geishu province. i plan on them leaving eachother on strained terms when he left japan, they’d eventually sort it out in the future though. there’s also chizu, who usagi has worked with in the past but eventually stopped. She’s completely dedicated to the neko ninja, willing to do everything she has to for their cause. she ended their friendship by deceiving him since “friendship is a weapon that is used by the ninja, but it can be much worse if the ninja develops feelings of friendship.”

 chizu is honestly a big reason who usagi heavily distrusted leo at first; his experience with ninja isn’t very pleasant 

#ask #dear lord this is long sorry :’D #also happy holidays

[owlsbride]

One shot: Kakashi x Sakura.

Secret trainings lead to secret conversations to secret feelings, Will Sakura win this time?

You can't always win.

"This..." Sakura said, trying to catch her breath, "this has to stop, Sensei."

"What?" Kakashi asked in his dumbfounded bored tone, "What does have to stop, Sa Ku Ra?" he finished rising on his elbows, looking at Sakura from his position under her.

"Sensei, please," she was already sitting next to him, recovering some of her personal space lost moments ago, "you know what I'm talking about, and it has to stop."

"Sakura, let me remind you that you came to me asking for this. I only please your wishes." A close-eyed smile was painted under his mask, and Sakura hated that idiot expression.

"Oh, come on, Kakashi, don't tell me you don't enjoy it too." She was again losing the train of the conversation, and she knew she would lose her point too.

"I've never said I didn't; on the contrary..." Kakashi said, lifting his chin in a very arrogant Hokage way, "but is you the one complaining and asking me to stop what you asked for."

"Because it's unfair!" Sakura pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ok... Now I'm not following you." Kakashi said, looking straight at her.

"You are impossible, Sensei..." Sakura spoke, looking tenderly at him. "It's unfair that every single night we train you let me win." There, she finally said it.

"Oooh..." Kakashi said, full of surprise, "Wow... Do you...Do you really think I let you win?"

"Yes, I do!" Sakura said, looking at the sky. To look at him at this moment was too hurtful because she was not only feeling frustrated about her skills but because she wasn't capable of making him see her as a woman who was hopelessly in love with her former teacher.

Sakura had to recognise that it was true that she never told him anything nor made any insinuation about her feelings. Even if, with time, they became close friends and shared a special kind of intimate relationship, nothing seemed to evolve into a romantic dynamic between them, and she felt that it was all her fault.

"Maaa~ Sakura, you can't think that I let you win." He seemed confused, caught off guard, like a little boy discovered doing some mischieve, disarming Sakura to her bones.

"Yes!" She began making eye contact for the first time in what seemed a lifetime.

"Ok, tell me, how do I do it, how do I let you win?"

"Let's seee..." Sakura started, "First you are the great Copy Ninja..."

"Ex." Sakura was sure he would make this problematic.

"Ok, ex, but you know, like thousands of jutsus, you mastered the Sharingan, and you are not even an Uchiha. You are the Hokage, you have years of training and fights, and were a prodigy. And your name is like a dead sentence to our enemies."

"That's all in the past, Sakura. You are talking about ages ago." Kakashi said with longing in his eyes.

"Ok, but what about now? Ah?" Sakura attacked again, "I do your medical exams, and you are more vital than ever for the results. Without the Sharingan draining your Chakra, you are stronger, faster and more robust than any young shinobi."

"I guess what you mean by robust is fatter, right?" How was he capable of making her blush like when she was thirteen.

"Sensei!"

"Easy... If I din't know you better I could say you are in love." And again, that infamous smile.

"What? No... I mean..." She was in serious trouble now and was giving away too much about her feelings in a conversation that was supposed to have nothing to do with feelings.

"Sakura..." Kakashi began turning serious again, "why can't you praise yourself for once? Suppose everything you said is true, but I'm not in my twenties anymore, and you are not thirteen, either." Was he noticing her? "You are a young woman full of strength with the same training I once had. You are Tsunade's direct disciple. Your chakra control is outstanding. You are a great doctor. I really don't understand how you can doubt so much about yourself." He looked so intensely into her eyes that she felt like flying or dying. What if she kissed him right there?

Would it be that bad if she kissed Kakashi? Of course, it was out of all limits and boundaries. He was not only the Hokage, but for God's sake, he was him, Hatake Kakashi, and she was just she, after all, the always tiny and invisible Sakura. She was abandoning the conversation once more. Daydreaming about the possibilities of one little forbidden kiss, not realising that, in truth, she was bothered about not losing a training fight combat against Kakashi, which was very ridiculous. He was right. Instead of being proud of herself, she felt her victories as undeserved gifts.

"Sakura... Sakura?" Kakashi said, waving his hand in front of her face. "Are you still here?"

"I'm sorry, what...What were you saying?" Sakura returned to reality and had to remind herself that she was not thirteen anymore.

"I was saying that everything you say about me it's true, and even if it hurts, losing the Sharingan maybe it was a kind of a blessing, but you are the new generation now, and you are better than anyone of us, the old ones."

"Do you really think that, Sensei?" Sakura knew her voice was trembling, and she didn't care. "So you don't cheat on me and let me win?"

"Sakura... I thought you know me better by now..." Kakashi said in his beautiful soft tone, and Sakura was melting right there, "I hate losing. I wouldn't even do it on pourpuse."

"Oh... Ok." She didn't manage to say anything else.

"Besides, as Hokage if I have to put my life in somebody's hands, undoubtedly it would be yours," Sakura noted the soft movement but did nothing about it. Kakashi was tugging a revel strand of pink hair behind her ear. "I bet not even Naruto or Sasuke are competition against you."

"Yeah... them..." She let the phrase hang in the air.

"What about them?" His neutral tone suddenly sounded overly uninterested, even for Kakashi.

And Sakura knew that that was the question, 'what about them'. Especially about Sasuke Uchiha. But should she tell Kakashi her feelings? The truth was that she was spending more and more time with Sasuke, but nothing was coming out of it. Once, it used to be her teenage dream, but now it was her adult nightmare, it was obvious that they were not meant to be, but they were forcing this kind of frozen relationship in which they only walked together for hours in silence without even holding hands.

"Well..."Sakura started looking anywhere but in Kakashi's direction, "you know Naruto, he is doing it fine. He is thrilled with Hinata, I think there is a future there..." Sakura spoke with truth and hope in her words. She loved Naruto and his bright, and she knew he deserved his happy ending.

"Yes, I see that too." Kakashi said with what Sakura understood as longing, but he immediately shifted his position, and everything in him changed, "and Sasuke? I heard you two were dating."

Sakura choked on her words.

"You don't need to answer me, Sa Ku Ra. I just want to be prepared if a Chidori comes flying straight to me if he discovered our little secret." Kakashi joked, and she blushed as if secret training was the equal of a sin.

"I don't think the Chidori is his worst attack right now." She smugly answered.

"Yeah... I thought so." And he didn't say anything else.

The soft summer breeze was hypnotic during the summers in Konoha. Even if it was hot enough, like to swear once or twice, the weather was enjoyable, even more if Sakura was seated by night side by side with his secret love, Hatake Kakashi. Even now, that losing a battle was not the worst thing, but speaking about Sasuke was.

"We..." she started, "We are not dating dating, Sensei."

"What do you mean with dating dating? I'm older than you but not that much, Sakura... I don't think things had changed so much since..." But She interrupted him.

"Don't play smart with me, Sensei," Sakura said exasperated, "I mean that we are not... together, like, you know...like..." she was biting her lower lip to the point of almost bleeding. "We are only knowing each other."

"Don't you already know each other a lot?" Kakashi was doing this so on purpose that it almost felt innocent, but she knew better: pestering her was one of his favourite things.

"Of course we know each other a lot..." It was becoming impossible for her to speak. Where were all her eloquent words when she needed them the most?

"We know as comarades, as friends, as team mates, even as enemies, but..."

"But love and romance are something completely different, right?" And for the first time in a while, she observed his face trying to avoid thinking in the moon reflected in his eyes. "I mean..." He continued, "relationships are something else."

Sakura didn't answer. She only sighed in frustration, wrinkling her nose and forehead like she did when trying to solve something. Sasuke was a puzzle, she was a puzzle, for the love of God, they were a puzzle, and she wasn't even trying half her best to do something about it.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked in a whisper. "Do you love him?"

"Of course I care for him, Sensei! Why? Why are you laughing at me?" Sakura was already towering over Kakashi, still sitting easily on the fresh green grass. Arms crossed over her chest, angry red face and her foot tapping the floor beneath her.

"Did you hear my question, Sakura? Smile in his voice.

"Yes, and I answered you." Sakura replied stubbornly.

"Yeah... I think you need another round."

And in just one soft movement, Sakura was pinned to the grass below Kakashi's body. Arms over her head entangled painfully delighted with his. Too close to avoid his eyes and cologne but too far and questionable to madly kiss him there. Kakashi got closer to her. His mouth to her ear and the soft fabric of his mask over her neck drove her crazy.

"Care is not love, Sa Ku Ra." He began teasingly, "I didn't think I have to teach you that." And he went back to look into her eyes. "And you were right... You can't always win."

"What?" She retorted, to what statement she didn't know.

"Ma~ Sa Ku Ra! You were right... Maybe sometimes I just let you win."

And in a puff of air, he disappeared, letting Sakura lying down on the grass with her heart beating uncontrollably out of her chest. She was mad. Mad about being cheated, mad about her and Sasuke, mad about her lack of answers and most of all, she was profoundly and crazy mad about Kakashi.

#fandom #fanfiction #love #follow 👑 share ❤️ enjoy 🍑 #fan #kakashi fanfiction #kakashi hatake #share #review #naruto verse #haruno sakura #kakasaku #kakashi sensei #sakura #sakura hatake #literature #kakashi hokage #sakura fanfiction #kakashi fanart #sakura centric #kakashi fluff #kakashi #supportwriters #artisrs on tumblr #writters on tumblr

[woodblxssomcrowned]

Em having another incoherent rant about the WS era and the Senju

I'm trying to put down as much info about the strengths and weaknesses of the Senju vs the Uchiha that I can find and I can't help but be, once again, infinitely frustrated with Kishi because

how the fu** could the Senju rival the Uchiha for so long? The Uchiha are perfectly designed murder machines With the sharingan they can see through, anticipate, intercept or copy almost any technique they can see, even from distances. They have highly potent chakra and lots of it. They are natural fighters and innately skilled with most all ninja arts

Pretty much any description of them note their unique skills and strengths as a clan and how exceptional and deadly they were with those skills and strengths (even if frequently mixed with their weaknesses + prejudices)

Entry about the Uchiha from the 3rd databook:

“The one clan who could rival the so called invincible Senju. In addition to possessing enormous chakra, the Uchiha wielded the powerful sharingan […]”

Even an average 1T sharingan using Uchiha have an overwhelming advantage over the Senju who have...what? “Feared as the clan with a thousand arms, this was a clan made up of shinobi with expertise in ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. [..]” -3rd Databook Another entry about the Senju from the 3rd databook: “During the great age of shinobi war, one clan was known far and wide for their unrivalled strength. They were called the Mori no Senju clan, which means “the thousand hands of the forest”. [..]" .... Ok? Most shinobi get good at many different areas to have a well-rounded skillset? Or was it far more common in general to specialize on just one thing during this era? Were the Senju just really good and fast learners in comparison? Could they become incredibly skilled, experts even (as "expertise" suggests), in a very short amount of time? Faster than even Uchiha who were also incredibly skilled in such fields? Not needing half a lifetime to reach very advanced levels in more than one skill? Levels of skill that the Uchiha couldn't physically keep up with even with their eyes allowing them to see them? Sure the Senju were also descendants from Asura and the sage of six paths, and inherited his 'physical energy/body', compared to the Uchiha who inherited his mind/spiritual energy and his chakra through Indra which goes with what we already know ...but like...what does that mean for the Senju VS the Uchiha?? We know that for the Uzumaki, as descendants of Asura as well, had physical vitality, tenacious life-force and are very resilient. Are the Senju much of the same minus the obsession with fuinjutsu?

Are their strengths great stamina? Were they much more physically strong? Did they have an unspecific possible knack for learning? Are they possibly hard to finish off because of their life-force allowing them to cling to life so they just end up surviving wounds sustained in combat more often than the Uchiha?

What actually allowed them to rival a clan as clearly formidable as the Uchiha? There's little to no proper information about it, what exists is infuriatingly vague and the rest can only be theorized through looking at the handful of Senju we do have info on and exclude the stuff that makes these individuals exceptional! The Senju are so tragically undeveloped in what actually made them formidable and 'invincible'?? They just sort of...are?? Because Kishi said so???

Their established strengths are hardly anything that unique to them compared to any other shinobi. In a prolonged fight or a game of endurance sure the Senju might have a higher chance of winning as Uchiha aren't known for their physical stamina... MAYBE. But against the sharingan? Not even the Senju's apparently impressive stamina would really hold a candle against a sharingan user who can end the fight quickly with swift precision thanks to their eyes before they have start worrying about keeping up with their Senju-opponents stamina.

We never actually see a semi-average Senju fight a Semi-average Uchiha. We don't know what skills and strengths the average Senju had, the ones who made up the bulk of the clan for generations and held up against the Uchiha before Hashirama came and flipped the script on everything. (I don't count the Tajima/Butsuma confrontation because that action obviously had to take a backseat for the drama and intervention of Hashirama and Madara) They are all exceptionally strong individuals of their time we see facing each other. Madara wasn't average. Hashirama wasn't average. Izuna wasn't average. Tobirama wasn't average. They all possessed skills and abilities that were exceptionally rare and/or exclusive to them and them alone at the time. Fight any of them as an average member of either clan and you were without a doubt going to end up losing. (Tsunade came in later, but she also wasn't average.) The one other we do see is five adult Uchiha vs one Senju child, and that can't even be called a fight.

Ugh.

Well.

If you for some reason read through all this...thank you and I'm sorry because I have no real point or conclusion for this post.

It was just a rant and brainstorm.

Thanks for sticking around tho, and if you have thoughts or opinions or notes on things I might have missed feel free to share!

#;;ooc #;;brain storming #;;Senju #;;uchiha #senju clan #uchiha clan #naruto rant

[sins-and-wins-with-vix]

Everything Right/Wrong with Ninjago “Rebooted” E3: Blackout

Disclaimers: Show owned by LEGO. This is not a professional review/critique - it’s mainly intended for comedy.

Reblog, comment, and/or like! And make sure to tell me your thoughts!

- At least the theme hasn’t been tainted by the love triangle ✅

- Given the angle that Lloyd is holding these rocks at, Garmadon must have glued them together to make them not fall ❌

- “I’m already the golden ninja. How much more power do I need?” That’d be a great argument… IF it had anything to do with Garmadon’s monologue, but it didn’t. All he was saying was that people grew too reliant on tech and it backfired. He makes the same point about Lloyd and golden power later this ep, but that has little to do with how much of his power Lloyd needs to tap into ❌

- Garmadon is standing on a tall, narrow pillar of rock. Where in the hell did he get this massive boulder from?? ❌

- The “cloaked figure’s” purple and black belt is actually pretty good foreshadowing ✅

- Triple foreshadowing points for the way he moves around (his hips swaying like the serpentine do when they slither), and his voice breaking in and out (almost making him sound out of breath at times) hinting he’s sick/injured ✅

- “You are vital to the mission! And you are vital to me.” Zane the rizz-droid✅

- “Judging from Perfect Match CompatibilityTM, perhaps Nya and Cole would be a better comparison?” Yeah, I’m gonna need a full MLA-formatted research paper with a works’ cited page in order to believe that one, Pix ❌

- Ed is in such shock from hearing about Cole and Nya that while his son loses his mind, Ed just stands there. Smiling. menacingly. ❌

- “Quiet in here. What’d I miss? Another signature Jay gut-buster?😇” This line isn’t even meant to be the punchline but the timing of it alone is so perfect that I don’t even care about the rest of the joke ✅

- But also, since when does Cole ever admit to Jay being funny? ❌

- “You rely too much on your golden power - let this be a lesson. Center yourself and move the mountain with your mind.” Being able to move mountains IS a part of his golden power - we know this because there is never any attempt to learn how to do it after he gives the golden power up, implying that he physically can’t. If Garmadon wants Lloyd to learn not to rely so much on his golden power, he should be telling him to find a way across the mountain w/o using any powers - just his own wits and combat skill. ❌

- I know I’ve been bashing on Garm’s goal this ep, but he does have a point about Lloyd needing to learn to rely on something other than his powers. After all, you can learn all the new skills ya want Green Bean, but ya never know when a group of writers are just gonna retcon half of em away… not that that would ever happen 🙂 /s ❌

- “I’m not the FSM, and I never wanted to be!” This line. This should be talked about more. ✅

- “I know… I was once like this too…” So should this! But this one’s counting as a sin because, unlike above, the writers actually had several perfect opportunities to talk about it and still never did. Seriously, how much more engaging and gut-wrenching could Lloyd’s fears of being like his father during the Wildbrain seasons have been if there had been more scenes/references showing us how similar they are? How much more character could’ve been added to their dynamic if we had seen them give the exact same snarky, one-line reply to something Wu said? How much better could we have understood Lloyd’s fears if we had heard just one or two lines like “your father used to say stuff like that.” How much more interesting could Lloyd be if we had seen just one scene of Wu or Misako watching Lloyd and Garm fight alongside each other, said watcher’s eyes glancing between the two and maybe shifting in concern as they note how similar the two’s fighting styles are. Not even just Lloyd! How much more could we understand Garmadon if we had seen scenes of him as a kid struggling to sit still and meditate, like we see from Lloyd in S11? One of my favorite things about Lloyd and Garmadon is that, when you really look at it, they are so similar. When you really look at the two as they play their roles as hero and villain (not their characters’ as a whole but their version of themselves they display to outside people), Lloyd is all the best parts of Garmadon and Garmadon is all the worst parts of Lloyd. Lloyd is wise, strategic, and reasonable. Garmadon is stubborn, untrusting, and easy to anger. All of the traits that one puts out to the world, the other locks behind closed doors. It puts the two in a perfect position to help each other accept and embrace the parts of themselves behind those doors, and it just makes me sad that we haven’t seen that utilized in the show❌

- “Well what’s the point in being a blue ninja? Unless you’re trying to hide out in some goofy clown college!” If they’re going to force this stupid love triangle plot onto us they could’ve at least made the insults good ❌

- Also, Cole has no reason to start throwing insults at Jay because we have seen nothing showing that he has any feelings for Nya. It makes it come off as though Cole only starts trying to win her over out of spite because he’s pissed off at Jay for attacking him and treating him like it’s his fault in the first place ❌

- That in mind, how much funnier would this subplot be if, instead of Cole and Jay fighting for Nya’s affection, Jay was constantly competing/picking fights with Cole, behaving as if there’s some rivalry between them based on the grounds that they’re both into the same girl, all while Cole just exasperatedly repeats “DUDE, I SWEAR I’m not trying to date Nya! I don’t even like her!!” Only for Jay to reply, “Tryin’ to make me let my guard down huh? Well it won’t work!”

- “There are reputable entertainers that attend clown college!” At least the unfunny insult led into a slightly funny joke ig? ✅

- Show tries to gaslight us into thinking that this fist fight is equally matched despite it being a guy with super strength vs. fucking Jay ❌

- “I don’t see why you wanted to settle this arm wrestling. You know I have super strength!” Show even acknowledges previous sin but still acts as if it’s just a minor detail ❌

- Wu revives the nindroids using some eels on a staff and I was gonna sin it because I didn’t think they could survive more than a few minutes out of water, but apparently eels can actually survive several hours on land due to the thickness of their skin. So, to save me from the shame I feel whenever one of my sins backfires on me, I’m just gonna say this is the third edition to our newest segment: “Fun facts with Vix!”

- I get that a lot’s going on right now but did NONE of them hear the massive car that Wu threw across the junkyard? Really? ❌

- “This macho stuff is making you both look like fools!” Show’s rating prevents Nya from saying dumbasses ❌

- “Maybe you belong together!” Nya introduces an entire generation of kids to the concept of gay. Good for her good for her ✅

- “The machines haven’t worked since the outage. What’s powering them?” “Nindroids!” No, the nindroids are controlling them, but they aren’t the power source ❌

- “They are after the technoblades.” For context, everyone is in Ed and Edna’s trailer, which is being thrown around in circles by one of those massive construction magnets. Everyone is pinned to the walls, screaming for their lives, and Pixal- beloved Pixal- literally from on top of Zane, says that line in the most casual, steady, normal voice I have ever heard. How can people not love her? ✅

- “Yeah well they almost hit MY MOTHER” Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing - stop. Go to Netflix, Ninjago s3e3, time stamp: 08:58, and listen to this line. Then look me in the eye and tell me that between the timing, the voice acting, the set-up, and everything else, this isn’t the BEST line in the season. You can’t. You can’t! Because it is. Hands down. I will fight about this ✅

- “Did ya make [a jetpack] for me?” “Uh, sorry honey. You hardly ever come to visit!” Get fucking wrecked Jay ✅

- “Your heart… splitting it must’ve inhibited your fighting abilities.” At least it does until it becomes inconvenient to the plot. At that point they’re fine again ❌

- In some clips, Wu’s forehead wrinkles transfer over to the metal plate covering his face ❌

- Mindroid is alive again by the way, so I’m pretty sure the writers genuinely forgot they killed him… and don’t give me the “he can be rebuilt” because my guy was fucking VAPORIZED in that beam ❌

- Teaching kids that it’s okay to punch glass ❌

- “It’s like we were made…” “… to fight together!” Inaccurate considering the only reason it’s like this is because of the very recent event of splitting Zane’s power source, but I see what they’re going for and it’s wholesome so I guess they can take their win ✅

- “Which color did you choose?” “Like I’ll ever tell!” Seriously?! All that and we never figure out which wire she cut? I’m genuinely convinced this entire subplot exists only to piss everyone off ❌

- Also, that line brings me back to the point of why Cole cares about what color she picked in the first place. He’s shown NO signs of liking Nya. He only starts acting like this because the writers wanted to force the love triangle ❌

- How is evil Wu THIS bad at fighting? It’s painful to watch ❌

- I heard somewhere that the writers regret having wasted the evil Wu arc and wish they could’ve redone it to make it better. I 100% agree with this. For example, instead of having him freed from the Overlord’s control, I simply would’ve made one of the ninja kill him. Ya know. For the plot.

- “More like Tech Wu!” Was this supposed to be a pun? I- huh?? ❌

- “Who the heck was that guy?” “Or gal!” Nya supports feminism!…. But fuck the enbies, demigenders, agenders, bigenders, genderfluids, and anyone else who’s under the nonbinary umbrella I guess? ❌ /lh

- “Whoever it is, they turned our Sensei against us!” At least Kai supports trans rights ✅

- Climbing a mountain this steep is dangerous enough, but climbing it with LEGO HANDS has to be a death wish ❌

- “Wish you still had 4 hands? It would’ve come in handy!” It took me an embarrassingly long number of years to figure out that this was a pun. Idek who this sin is on anymore ❌

- “Your potential is great. NOT your sense of humor.” Imagine getting told your jokes suck by a literal dad ✅

- “Still won’t let me use the golden dreagon?” My biggest regret in life is not winning every single instance of “draegon” in the previous two seasons ✅

- “It’s going to know someone has touched its young!” “It? Who?” “Daddy.” Please, for all that is good in this world, do NOT let the Garmadon simps know that this line exists ❌

- “You’re not gonna fall on my watch😇🥰😉” “Your compassion is NOT helping!😡🤬” These two have such a good dynamic, and the show does a really good job of portraying it, and even post-evil Garmadon in general - which I’ll get into more during ToE ✅

- “You just moved a mountain son…” I can FEEL the proud DadTM energy coming from this line ✅

- “Whoever you are… I like you.” Gay ✅

Sentence: Watching the love triangle scenes on repeat

#ninjago sins/wins #ninjago #lloyd garmadon #ninjago cole #ninjago jay #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ninjago zane #ninjago pixal

[wolferetic]

ʏᴏꜱʜɪ - ᴛᴍɴᴛ (2012) - Original Character 

Name: Yoshi Hamato 

Age: 14 years old 

Race: Male Mutant Turtle

Eyes: Gold 

Bandana: Black 

Appearance: Petite, short, slim build, freckles on body 

Weapon: Recurve Bow that converts into a Bo Staff, Regular and Trimmed Arrows, Shurikens, Recon Drone 

Skills: Ninjitsu, long distance fighter, keen eyesight, great agility, eidetic memory 

Likes: His big brothers, rock music, archery, reading, strawberries, cats, collecting insects 

Hates: Meditation, injustice, meat, winter

Orientation: Bisex

Bonus info: Yoshi was created in the lab using mutagen, he was part of an experiment to create mutant soldiers. He is mutated from a turtle egg, but his reptilian DNA is stronger, he can't stand the cold and is at risk of going into hibernation in winter. He is called Yoshi to honor Splinter's memory. Yoshi calls his brothers Raphie, Dee and Mike, but refers to Leonardo as Leo sensei, sometime father. The boys see Yoshi as a little brother, but Leonardo sees him as a son. He has been trained since the age of three, learning to use different weapons but his talent is in the bow. He doesn't like Casey Jones because he hurt himself playing with him when he was little. April is his teacher, Yoshi loves studying and would like to attend school. On his fourteenth birthday, each member of the family gives him special gifts: Donnie builds a recurve bow that he can transform into a Bo stick when he runs out of arrows, Mikey an orange lucky charm bracelet, Raph a long red scarf to protect himself from the cold and Leo a special archer's gauntlet modified for his mutant hands. He chooses black as the color for his bandana because he thinks it's much more ninja. He is only allowed to follow his brothers on surface patrols since his fourteenth birthday, he has had to live in the sewers until then. He is very intelligent and likes to build weapons with Donatello, together they build a reconnaissance drone that Yoshi names Shellwing. Of the four boys, Raph gives in first if Yoshi begs him to do something, especially if he goes against Leo's orders. Leonardo is very strict with Yoshi during training, but they spend their free time watching old cartoon series like Space Heroes. Yoshi is afraid of Karai, but when he argues with Leo he always runs away to his Foot Clan lair. Mikey is the one he confides in the most when he has a problem. When Yoshi was just born he was full of vitality, in the first months he didn't let the boys sleep. Raph was the only one who could rock him to sleep, while Donnie had wasted a lot of time adjusting hundreds of diapers to fit his shell. Mikey had to learn how to cook baby turtle food, and when he learns that Yoshi loves strawberries, he invents many dishes for him. Leo spent a lot (too much) money on adorable Kigurumi pajamas for Yoshi after he went into hibernation during a very cold winter as a two-year-old. Yoshi develops a spiritual connection with Splinter, occasionally seeing and talking to him just like Leonardo has since the day of his death.  Donnie is the first to discover that Yoshi is bisexual.

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #TMNT 2012 #original character #tmnt raphael #tmnt leonardo #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt donatello #tmnt april 2012 #tmnt casey jones 2012 #tmnt splinter #tmnt oc #tmnt family #character study

[pollylynn]

Lookout—A Caskett One-Shot Insert for Love Me Dead (2 x 09)

This is in response to an anonymous prompt, which I've included at the end so as not to spoil. Thank you for the prompt, Anon! This is in place of a chapter of Fabrications tonight; I had a pile of other people's failures dropped on my head tonight and I just didn't make it to the dreadmill.

Title: Lookout WC: 1400

He follows her from the perfect distance. He draws close, then falls back, skirting the edge of danger, because he can. He’s confident. He uses the comparatively thin, post–rush hour crowds to his advantage. Even when she darts suddenly ahead to eat up the last few blinking milliseconds of the little, white Walk man—to beat the red Don’t Walk palm to the punch—the distance he maintains is absolutely perfect at all times. 

He has skills. No, seriously. He is impressing even himself with how good he turns out to be at maintaining a tail. He supposes that she, ironically, deserves some credit for those skills. He’s picked up a thing or two in the last eight months, despite her total unwillingness to provide him hands-on instruction with the more vitally necessary—and coincidentally exciting—aspects of police work, like wheel work during high-speed pursuits, a place in the line-up for those cool, coordinated, weapons-drawn roll-outs when they’re clearing a room a suspect might be lurking in, or anything to do with the car radio. 

The joke’s on her, though, because he’s learned a thing or two anyway. Clearly. He never loses sight of her black leather trench. He has line of sight to its skirts as they whip behind her trying to keep up with her bad-ass stride. Or he has eyes on the tangerine streetlights sweeping over its shoulders. He can tell from the sharp clack of her heels against the pavement whether she’s going to slow suddenly to avoid a collision with some clueless pedestrian or pick up the pace to perfectly time her fluid movement between the slow-moving cars that are trying and failing to escape gridlock. 

He is crushing this tail so hard that he has some headspace to contemplate how, exactly, he’s going to continue surveillance once she actually hits Sutton’s. He’s not worried about her seeing him. No, he’s practically a ninja. There’s not a doubt in his mind that he can slip through the door undetected, fade into the woodwork, get close but not too close. 

But it’s the not-too-close that could—only could, mind you—present a problem. Close enough to eavesdrop is the goal. As entertaining as it is to tail her with the greatest of ease, it’s not actually an end in itself. He needs to know why his daughter is seeking her counsel instead of his. It’s an outrage, given that he is not just an expert in clandestine pursuit, but also the coolest of cool dads. It can and will not stand, so he needs to be within eavesdropping distance. Or not necessarily.  

He’s picturing payoffs. Or maybe a drinking glass to the high back of an adjacent booth. Or if there’s a spy shop along the way, he’s pretty sure he could nip in for bug-and-receiver set up, nip back out, and still not have lost her. Or he could lip read, right? Like, how hard can that even be, given all that he has discovered just tonight about the innate skills he has for intelligence gathering?

He’s hemming and hawing. He’s on his phone surfing for spy gear, though he’s grumpily aware that realistically speaking, toys worthy of a certain British secret agent will probably have to wait for some future op. He’s weighing the pros and cons of paying off a waitress or a bus boy versus flexing his lip-reading muscles when he nearly experiences internal decapitation courtesy of someone grabbing him quite literally by the collar. 

Courtesy of her grabbing him quite literally by the collar. 

“How long are you planning to keep this up,” she hisses. She seems to think his collar belongs to her now. She makes a compelling case, having him yanked down to eye level as she does.  Despite the fact that this is no great distance, given the height of those informatively clacking heels, it’s painful. It’s almost as painful as that very first memorable ear grab on the campus of Redding Prep. 

“Beckett! What are you . . . I mean. Wow! Running into each other like . . .crazy, right?”  His ability to feign surprise is definitely not in the same league as his mad surveil and tail skills. Or maybe it’s in exactly that league, given that she has him by the collar. Still, he soldiers on. “I mean . . . crazy!”

She ignores his stammering amateur theater. He’s not sure if that’s mercy or contempt. “What is wrong with you?”

“I have a right to know!” he blurts. The declaration loses something, given the involuntary yodel that creeps into his voice. “She’s a child, and if she’s in deep to the mob for thirty large, I need to know.” 

“Just how big an idiot are you trying to be, Castle? Is there like . . a contest?” She releases his collar—finally—thrusting him away from her in a gesture of disgust. “You think your kid—the child of a millionaire—is going to come to me to solve her mob payoffs?”

“Maybe she wants to turn state’s evidence!” He makes a show of setting his shirt and overcoat to rights. “Maybe she’s worried about her loved ones’ kneecaps!” 

She’s working on an artisanally crafted look that will convey precisely how unlikely she finds this concept. He’s bracing for it when he spies a glint of red-gold hair in the not-nearly-distant-enough distance. He catches a glimpse of pale cheek. He sees her lifting on her toes and ducking around people’s shoulders trying to get a look at the interior of the cafe to see if her confidant—her practically-a-stranger confidant—is already at the meet. 

He panics. That is the explanation he will carry to his grave. And given that he’s kissing her—he is suddenly kissing Beckett—he might be carrying it to that grave in hurry. He has her by the lapels of her trench coat. As he turns their two bodies to present his back to the general area containing his daughter, a desperate part of his brain wonders if the fact that he doesn’t have his hands on her actual person will, in any way, save him. 

But the desperate part of his brain falls quiet. All parts of his brain fall quiet, because he is kissing her, and she is . . . kind of kissing him back. No. Strike that. She is completely kissing him back for the span of many Mississippis. He knows this instinctively. It's not like his quiet brain can count. But he knows it's been a lot of Mississippis before they jolt apart, shocked in equal measure. 

“She’s here.” It’s a high-quality stage whisper, facilitated, no doubt, by the fact that every part of his body is stock still, frozen with terror. “Alexis . . . she is . . . is she behind me?” 

“What?” The word is breathy. It’s ragged and she’s blinking a mile a minute. “Where?” 

“She was going to . . . see.” It’s the worst justification in the world. He wishes he hadn’t said it before the sibilant vibrates his already-vibrating lips. It invites the question of what his daughter was going to see before his super-spy move and what she very well could have seen just now. 

She has accepted the question’s invitation. Or vice versa. Whatever. She is thinking about what his daughter very well may have seen, and her eyes are wide. She claws her way past him. 

“She’s sitting down,” she says. Relief rolls right off her. “She’s on her phone.” 

“Does she look—“ 

The rest of the question is lost as she shoves at his shoulder to keep him from turning around. He wants to protest, but against all odds, he’s survived the last forty-five seconds. It’d be a shame to die now. 

“Go,” she says through her teeth. He’d like to oblige. Kind of. But she has his collar again. “Get out of here.” She’s hissing again, right in his ear this time, her front pressed into his back, and it’s difficult. “Go, Castle.” 

“I . . .” He tries not to squirm, but it’s fairly impossible. “I’m going, if you’ll . . . You’ve kind of got my . . .” 

She makes a sound. It’s a small, surprised thing, and he imagines her mouth in the shape of an O. He imagines a sudden multitude of things about her mouth as her fingers violently untangle themselves from his collar, and she is gone. 

He is rooted to the spot. He is picturing monuments right here. He kissed her. 

A/N: I know it's not quite the prompt you gave, Anon, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

Prompt: prompt: they’re arguing and character a shuts up character b with a kiss

#Castle #Caskett #CastleABC #Castle: Season 2 #Castle: Love Me Dead #Castle: 2 x 09 #Kate Beckett #Richard Castle #Alexis Castle #Fic #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Fan Fic #Fan Fiction #Writing #writing prompt #Anonymous prompt

[team7-headquarter]

I think Hinata and Neji becoming medic nins together would have been an amazing plot point. Neji did try to kill Hinata for something that was not her fault. After what happened in the Chunnin Exams, after what he learned, I think it'd be very Neji of him to try and get closer to her somehow.

And why not learn medical ninjutsu? He's the only one in his team that can and he is a protector by nature. Lee almost died on the Chunnin Exams too and his ninja career would be over, if it wasn't for Tsunade. Isn't he a prodigy? A little genius? You mean to tell me it wouldn't be the type of challenge he would embrace? The sacrifice he'd make if that guaranteed he could not only defend his family and friends, but also heal them when the time came?

Besides, I think it'd add a heavier meaning to the skill level of characters like Sakura and Shizune. It'd not make Neji look ridiculous if he admitted that being a good medic nin takes great effort. It'd not make him a disservice if he admitted Sakura had better chakra control when it comes to medic ninjutsus. You want to show how out of this world is Tsunade Senju? Had a Hyuuga prodigy saying it out loud by experience. Give the medic nins the recognition they deserve.

Or who knows? Give the kid the Byakugo too and make him survive the Fourth Ninja War. You know when Zetsu pretended to be Neji to sneak on the medic wards? It has heavy implications now that Neji is meant to be there. Let him be a vital piece for Konoha, let him work to find a chakra control solution to erase the caged bird mark, let a man of the Konoha 12 be an unapologetic medic nin.

#Neji hyuga #Neji hyuuga #neji hyūga #naruto #naruto shippuden

[wildstar25]

Which jobs (incl DoH/DoL) are lore-canon for Arsay? Are there any you play a lot that aren't?

Arsay’s canon jobs are the following:

- Ninja (though she calls herself a rogue first and foremost! She is incredibly duty driven as a ninja is described to be within the quest line. Her duty is to her friends and family.)

- Summoner (she loves to baha blast! Her carbuncle is named Couscous)

- Dragoon ( in name only, in my canon she is not given the title of azure dragoon nor did she go through the lv1-60 lancer/dragoon story. She got Estinien to show her pole arm basics and developed her own style from there. Her draconian abilities stem more from her connection to Midgardsormr and her demi-bahamut. She only pulls this job out for hunting or other non wol stuff! Only exception was the steps of faith trail cause it’s more dramatic to be a drg on that fight)

- Astrologian (this was her post ARR patch and heavensward trauma response class. She heard that there were people in ishgard that knew how to predict the future and thought it would be a good skill to pick up for herself. She was really taken by surprised by everything that happened during the bloody banquet! And again with what happened after the vault. She wanted something, anything, in her pocket that could maybe prevent her from putting her friends in bad situations. After going through all the rigmarole of learning the stars and aligning her aether to them she soon found out that the cards aren’t nearly as forthcoming with information as she hoped them to be. She does keep up with the job in her spare time, just in case! Though urianger is much more suited to it than she is. )

- machinist ( Cid showed her this sick looking gun one time and she thought it was really cool so she got a job stone from the skysteel factory and signed herself up for eorzean e-sports (crystalline conflict and front lines) pvp is her main hobby and her primary way of de-stressing. )

- gunbreaker (soft canon atm. Essentially, it would make sense that she could pick this up as it’s quite functionally a combo of knife (ninja) and gun (machinists). It’s also a zippy enough class that it makes sense for need for speed. But I haven’t figured out a lore reason for why she would have picked it up aside from wanting to show thancred up in front of ryne for fun )

- fisher (she’s not patient enough to wait around for fish but she definitely knows how and its a vital survival skill for her to have)

—————-

All the other jobs that I have for her right now are more “jobs that would be canon if xyz were true”

Monk is the only other dps I have at 90, it’s the job she would have instead of ninja if she had decided to head for thanalan in search of her father’s family at the very beginning of her adventures.

I also technically have scholar at 90 but haven’t done a single job quest beyond getting the stone. Scholar would only be canon to arsay if Emrara had decided to pass on their scholar jobstone off to arsay before arsay left for limsa.

Other classes I have are:

Warrior (would be canon if she wanted to be like her mom and also had way more pent up rage about her parent related trauma )

Red mage, black mage ( au where arsay has a larger store of her own aether to pull from and also went to thanalan first)

Bard (au where Arsay could carry a tune and went to gridania in search of her mothers side of the family. Also wasn’t immediately put off by the many micro aggressions and full racism moments she had to deal with in the archers guild)

Samurai( au where she wanted to fight fire with fire against zenos in storm blood. That or during the ralgars reach he broke one of her knives and instead of just buying a new set she was like “I will shrimply adapt” )

#Arsay Nun #WOL posting #arsay nun lore #ffxiv wol #light stormblood spoilers #heavensward spoilers

[sublime82]

Part 1: academy/ Basic training

Naruto Military System Breakdown

Disclaimer

As a Naruto fan and a former member of the Armed forces the way the Ninja military is handled makes no sense. Now I understand that Kishimoto has no experience with the military and that it would slow the story a lot by having it be like a real military and not a village of mercenaries.

______________________________________________________________

(Note Before reaching the age of 12 it is illegal to teach children the ninja arts) 

Children at the age of 6 are required to go to school until they reach the age of 16,  During their time as  students they will be learning the civilian curriculum until they reach age of 12, at which time they will be able to join the Ninja academy. 

In order to graduate from the ninja academy, They must complete the 4 academy years and complete  three categories with passing marks, in order to advance  to the next stage of training.

Academics

Math

Science

History

Physical

Ninja arts

Genin Basic Training (GBT)

After graduating from the Ninja academy they will then be shipped to their Genin basic training Camp where they will have to complete (24 weeks) of intensive Physical and mental conditioning and discipline.this is required as this is a vital point in their ninja careers as it is to set the foundation for the rest of their careers. And as such they must have their civilian mindset beaten out of them. It is also important they follow the military dress code to learn and maintain basic discipline. 

Once they reach GBT they will be met with other graduates from across the shinobi nation.

They will start GBT with intense S.E.B Screening evaluation and Background Checks in order for them to weed out criminals and potential spies from the ranks before starting their training.

Basic training will teach the young ninja recruits their L.S.C skills which will be vital for their life ahead.

1. P.M.S Conditioning ( Physical/ Mental/ Spiritual) 

2.       C.C.E (chakra control exercise)

-Leaf sticking exercise

- tree walking

- water walking

3. combat   

-hand to hand combat

-Shuriken/ kunai

-Sword fighting

Archery

4. Basic living skills (cooking, cleaning, etc) 

5. .Survival Training

Navigating

Hunting/foraging

Sentry duty

Trap setting

First aid

8. Military law 

9. Military dress 

10. Teamwork

During this point in time they will be living with each other as a unit away from the village to get them away from any form of entitlement and privilege. The first evening in Basic Training they will have all belongings confiscated and will be given military issued clothing both standard ninja uniform and nightwear.

#naruto series #naruto #naruto shippuden #boruto naruto next generations #naruto worldbuilding #ninjamilitary

[fallensnowfan]

Chapter 1079 is out. Long post below the cut.

A crushing defeat for the Kidd Pirates.

Kidd's mistake here was being too much of a reckless hot head. Luffy failed in the same way at the end of Act One. Oden failed in the same way when he went to fight Kaido. Though unlike Kidd, Luffy had allies from outside to bail help him out, unlike Oden, Luffy never turned his back on his group and again, had outside allies to rely on. Goes back to a favorite older scene of mine, Vivi helping Luffy to earn the citizens' trust, when Nami was very sick on Drum Island and Luffy was about to make a huge mistake.

Wano gave Kidd multiple chances to gain new allies, tact/social skills, work on his planning, etc. He should have learned these things by the time he faced Shanks in this chapter. It's what the Straw Hats and Akazaya spent all of Acts One and Two doing. I have respect for Kidd's crew for making an effort to settle the situation in the way offered to them, but it was too late at that point.

I like Kidd, though in the grand scheme, he is a side character. His defeat is entirely on him for making no efforts in seeking new allies or reflecting on the success of the alliance during Wano, and his crew paid the price along with him.

Unable to see beyond one alliance falling through, Kidd was shocked that the Straw Hats gained a new ally, Jinbei, just before the raid, often turned down help from others, and repeatedly refused to help anyone beyond his own crew.

The Straw Hats and Akazaya have been continuously putting in great efforts to make allies in Fishman Island and the New World/past 20 years. Or in the case of the Grand Fleet, the Straw Hats gained them anyway:

-The Straw Hats really got to know the people and histories of Fishman Island and Wano, and both countries are flying their flag.

-They allied with Law and Kin'emon on Punk Hazard.

-The Grand Fleet was formed in Dressrosa.

-They worked together with the Fire Tank Pirates in Big Mom’s territory.

-The Ninja Pirate Mink Samurai Alliance was formed in Zou.

-Luffy worked with Tsuru and Kiku during Act One. Though both Zoro and Law put up some resistance to Kiku at first, they'd later come around to the Akazaya as a whole.

-Various combos of Luffy, Chopper, Kiku, Tama, Momo, Hyogoro, Raizo, Kawamatsu, Olin teamed up during Act Two.

-Zoro got his own side story about learning to respect and be better at working with others during Act Two. Yasu, Hiyori and Toko.

An example of how important gathering allies I love is how Usopp’s, Tama’s, Kiku’s, and Hamlet’s stories intertwine - Luffy, Zoro, and Kiku rescue Tama early on. Kiku and Tama later helped to rescue Luffy from the prison in Udon, then take it over. And finally, Tama would go on to bring the Gifters, and specifically Hamlet, to the side of the alliance, who would become vital due to him being the one who carried Kin and Kiku to safety. Kaido reaped what he sewed by being disloyal to his own crew.

Law is slow to trust allies, though he will enter alliances. Him and his crew are ultimately open to teamwork and they all worked well with the Straw Hats and the Samurai.

Even after having an argument about betrayal with Shinobu, the Heart Pirates and Shinobu were able to work together when Luffy needed help, after he was abruptly removed from Onigashima and tossed into the sea. Law was also somehow able to get Kidd to agree to a temporary alliance to defeat Big Mom.

Even after everything he went through with Doffy, Law still was on board with the alliance to defeat Kaido.

At the end of Wano, Law said he will be enemies with the Straw Hats, should they meet again. Let's be honest though, we know he didn't mean it. I think he's probably going to be fine for now, just captured or hurt.

All the more reasons why Kiku showing up soon feels inevitable from where I stand. Apart from Tama, Kiku is the Wano ally who spends the most time with the crew during the arc by far. After everything the Straw Hats and Law did for Wano and the Akazaya and Kozuki clan as a whole, there is absolutely no way that a group as well mannered overall as them would be content with only throwing a party and saying thanks to the two pirate crews.

During Wano, there is precedent for members of the cast disappearing for a while, then showing back up again right as they are needed. Very theatrical. Think Hiyori healing the Akazaya, and later her shamisen music resonating with her father’s blade during Zoro’s duel with King. Or Denjiro arriving just in time to sever Orochi’s final head, at the most dramatic moment. He and Hiyori definitely planed that, maximum theatrics.

The Straw Hats are in a tricky situation on Egghead, Law was likely captured by Blackbeard, who now seems to be en route to Egghead. All that and the first teases of Neko and Izo arriving in Wano being almost 100 chapters ago(981 & 982,) make the next chapters feel like the right time to start hinting at Kiku or start filling in the gaps from the end of Wano.

#one piece #post-wano arc #chapter 1079 #ninja pirate mink samurai alliance #akazaya nine #wano #luffy #okiku #trafalgar law #eustass kidd

[thezestyone]

Here are the results!

Here are the final results of the Best Of Poll! -Commentary to be provided in blue by the Ikesen Guys!

Best Smile:

*Keiji actually ranked higher than Mitsuhide by one more answer, but the chart did not give me a percentage for him, hence the ??? because it doesn’t make any sense-

Mitsunari: Wow, you all think I have the best smile? Thank you all so much! *gives angelic smile*

Hideyoshi: A-A lot of you voted me for best smile… thank you… *smile with a blushy face*

Ranmaru: Thank you so much for thinking I have a great smile! I try my very best! *gleeful grin*

Keiji: Haha, the great Keiji Maeda has been voted for having a great smile! Thanks!

Mitsuhide: *chuckles* I am quite honored to be in the running for best smiles, I am truly grateful.

Best Eyelashes and Best Fashion Sense:

Mitsuhide: Oh my, you little ones have voted me for having the best lashes by a great margin. Guess I must bat them more often.~

Kicho: …Thank you for the votes. I never took much heed to my eyelashes before this survey…

Mitsunari: Thank you for voting me in for having great eyelashes! *another angelic smile*

Yoshimoto: I am beyond humbled to have been nominated as having the best fashion sense of all. Thank you so much! *waves his fan at himself a bit more quicker than usual*

Kenshin: Hmph. Why am I second place? I should kill Yoshimoto for besting me… Thank you for the votes.

Nobunaga: *flourishes haori dramatically* All of you who have voted me for having a great fashion sense have my praises.~

Motonari: *places hand on hip confidently* Thanks for yer votes. I do look good, don’t I?~

Best hair and Best Eyes:

*Yoshimoto scored higher than Kenshin and Mitsuhide in the Best Hair category, but no percentage was given

Motonari: Oi, why am I tied with that loud louco for first place?! I clearly have the best hair!

Keiji: *chuckles* No, we have the best hair! Thanks for the votes!

Yoshimoto: Thank you for the votes for having grand hair! I take great pride in my appearance! *continues to wave fan at himself quite quickly*

Mitsuhide: Thank you for the votes for having great hair, little ones.~

Kenshin: Thank you for the votes for having great hair, though I believe I should be in first place.

Kenshin: *smiles widely* Finally, I am victorious. Thank you all for voting me for having best eyes.~

Mitsuhide: Dearest me, I am in a lot of these categories. Thank you for the continuous support.~

Kicho: Thank you for voting for me for having great eyes. *rare smile*

Masamune: *smiles widely* Thanks kittens for the votes! Though I have just one eye, I appreciate being voted in this category!

Motonari: Urgh, another tie! I clearly have the better eyes!… Thanks fer the votes, though…

Funniest Guy and One With The Best Attitude

*Mitsuhide scored higher than Yukimura and Keiji in the Funniest Guy category

Sasuke: *tears in eyes* I knew I had a great sense of humor. Thank you all for voting me as the most funniest guy, I am overwhelmed with emotion.

Masamune: So you kittens think I am funny? Time to tickle you with laughter even more.~

Mitsuhide: So you believe I have a great sense of humor? Oh my, you all have quite the dark sense of humor.~

Yukimura: W-Why was I voted as being funny?! I-I am not funny!… Though I guess I like that you all were thinking of me…

Keiji: The amazing Keiji Maeda is more than happy to be voted as a funny guy! I will have more laughs to give you!

Mitsunari: Thank you for voting me as having the best attitude! I am so honored! Masamune: Thanks for voting me having a great attitude! *chuckles happily*

Ranmaru: Thank you so much for thinking I have a great attitude! Thank you soooo much!~

Hideyoshi: *smiles* I try my best to have a great attitude for everyone! Sasuke: Thank you for voting me for having an exceptional attitude. *small smile*

Most Level headed and One With Best Perspective:

Sasuke: Thank you for voting me as being the most level-headed. It is a vital skill to have as a moderately awesome ninja.

Hideyoshi: I do have to be quite level-headed when reining in these troublemakers. Thank you for noticing!~ Mitsuhide: Thank you for voting me as level-headed.~ *snickers*

Shingen: Thank you for voting me as being level-headed, my beautiful goddesses.~ *flirtatious wink*

Mitsuhide: *chuckles* I seem to be quite the fan favorite. How well do you know me, little mice?~

Sasuke: Indeed he does. Thank you for thinking I have great perspectives. I never considered myself to be that much of a philosopher.

Nobunaga: I am glad everyone can see that unification is a grand perspective.~

Shingen: Not everyone since we are tied, devil king. Thank you for voting that I have great perspectives, my sweet angels.~ *another flirtatious wink*

Mitsunari: I am tied with you two as well! Thank you for the votes!~ *too innocent for drama*

The Best Conversationalist and The Most Fun To Be Around:

Sasuke: And I yet again take home the gold. Thank you for thinking I have great conversational skills. Masamune: So you kittens enjoy talking with me? I feel flattered!

Shingen: Thank you for the votes. We can chat as much as you like at the teahouse.~

Mitsunari: Thank you for voting me as a great conversationalist! Let’s talk some more!~

Ranmaru: I always enjoy talking with you all, so thank you sooo much!~

Hideyoshi: I am honored to be voted in this category! Perhaps we can chat over some tea?

Masamune: Wow, voted most fun to be around by so much! *chuckles happily* Thanks, kittens! You lasses are a lot of fun, too!

Keiji: Haha, of course I was voted in this category! Let’s have some more fun, then! Ranmaru: You think I am a lot of fun to be around? *blushes bashfully* Thank you so much! Let’s take a trip around town sometime!

The Hardest To Win An Argument against and The Most Fun To One Up:

Mitsuhide: *chuckles in amusement* Goodness me, a lot of you think that!… You thought correct.~

Nobunaga: Indeed I am.~ *laughs pridefully* You have my praises for noticing that.

Kicho: I am only hard to argue against because I am correct. Kenshin: I merely do not tolerate fools, that is all.

Mitsuhide: You are playing with fire, little ones, especially since I am tied with Masamune.

Masamune: Good luck trying to one up me, fiesty kittens.~

Yukimura: R-Right, of course I was voted in this category… I am just going to keep my distance from you all, then… *nervous sweatdrop*

Ieyasu: Looks like we agree on something for once. *also has a nervous sweatdrop* I am not fun, period…

Best Voice and Best Color Palette:

Mitsuhide: So I have the best voice. *chuckles* Perhaps I shall never speak again.~

Shingen: I will never be cruel like the silver kitsune. Come closer, my pretty princesses, and you can hear my voice as many times as you like.~

Nobunaga: *laughs in amusement* Tied with the God of War for having a great voice? I believe someone has forgotten to vote for me.

Kenshin: I will strike you all down where you stand. I clearly have the superior voice.

Kanetsugu: To be voted in this category… *becomes a flustered blushing mess* T-Thank you for the votes…

Hideyoshi: I am tied with some of our greatest enemies! My voice is far more nicer than theirs!

Motonari: More brotherly, ya mean. Thanks fer the votes.~ *Purrs this last sentence out*

Kenshin: I yet again reign victorious once again.~ Of course I have the best color palette, I strive for perfection.~ *poses proudly with a big grin*

Mitsuhide: Not by much of a margin. *smirks* Thank you for the votes.~

Kicho: Dressing accordingly with flattering colors is a vital skill to have. I appreciate your discerning eyes. *gives another rare smile*

Ranmaru: Hey, we maay be tied for our color palettes, but my aura is much more brighter than youurs!~ Thanks for the votes!~

Nobunaga: It appears we are tied for our color palettes, Mitsunari. *does not know how to feel about this*

Mitsunari: It is an honor to be tied with you for this category, my lord! Thank you for the votes!~

Annnnd last, but certainly not least…

The Best Lowkey Sweetheart and The Best Highkey Sweetheart:

Ieyasu: *blushes in embarassment* …Thanks for the votes… *Can not hide the soft smile at being thought as being the best lowkey sweetheart*

Mitsuhide: Deary me, I am thought as sweet? Perish the thought, little ones. Perhaps I am merely misguiding you?

Motonari: Damn, just take the compliment! Appreciate being thought of as sweet, m’ladies. I can show you how much more sweet I can be if ya let me.~

Mitsunari: I am beyond happy for you all voting me as the best high key sweetheart!… Though I am afraid I possess no keys up high…

Hideyoshi: I believe it is a future term, Mitsunari… Thank you for the votes! I try my best to spoil you all rotten because you deserve it!

Shingen: I second the Oda’s mother hen! Perhaps I can treat you goddesses to a nice shopping excursion? My treat.~

Ranmaru: Thank you so much for voting me as being suupper sweet!~ I think you all are suppper sweet, too!~

Kenshin: …Hmph. I am not sweet. I am the ruler of Echigo, lord of Kasugayama castle… *fails to stop the blush at being thought of in such a light* …Thanks for the votes…

Annnd that is all, folks! Thank you to everyone who voted, these results have been very interesting! Until the next poll!~

#man this took forever to edit- #Definitely going to try another format that is not so time-consuming- #But I just had to be fancy with it this one time- #ikesen #ikemen sengoku #lets play a game #ikemen series #ikesen kicho #ikesen hideyoshi #ikesen motonari #ikesen shingen #ikesen sasuke #ikesen kenshin #ikesen yoshimoto #ikesen yukimura #ikesen nobunaga #ikesen ieyasu #ikesen ranmaru #ikesen kanetsugu #ikesen mitsuhide #ikesen masamune #ikesen mitsunari #ikesen keiji

[ajentmm]

Alear and the Arts

Emblem Engage!

I’m doing it! Not only will I theorycraft male Alear, I’m gonna theorycraft martial arts into the game. Click the Read More to find out how I'd implement it.

Martial arts (Arts for short) in Fire Emblem Engage are close range “brave weapons”, with low Might but low Weight as well. They use the unit’s combined Str/Mag too, meaning a true Fighter, nor a true Mage, can pack that big of a punch, so a balance of the two is needed. They ignore the Sword/Axe/Lance triangle and are effective against tomes, bows, and daggers, which means ranged units get broken when the art users initiate. Of course, Fire Emblem Three Houses had gauntlets as their hand-to-hand combat weapon, and these would fall into this category. They also had low might, lower than some Arts, likely because Death Blow was a common inheritable skill. The Grappler class also gained Tome Breaker as their mastery skill, making it easier to dodge and hit tome users, who could counterattack. Bows could not counterattack unless a skill was equipped and many enemies didn’t have it. And of course, there was no daggers.

So, in FEH, how would it work. The would be a colorless 1 range weapon and would look like the following:

Silver-Spirit Art+: Mt. 11 If unit initiates combat, unit attacks twice, and also, if foe's Range = 2, unit deals damage = 20% of unit's Atk,and foe cannot counterattack.

Iron-Boday Art would be 2 Mt. Steel-Hand Art would be 5. Silver-Spirit Art would be 8. The above description would be the same for all. With this, they would be a player phase counter to ranged units and low-Def melee units, like how dragons are an enemy phase counter to ranged units and low-Res melee units. You get two tap, you don’t have the –5 Spd penalty, so you’re gonna quad attack, and range foe can’t counterattack and will receive extra damage, incase they do have high Def. Of course, for any melee unit with a brave weapon, you are killing the ranged foe easy, and how many ranged foes do you see with close counter? Well, in a new meta, where bow and dagger infantry and armors compete with the other omni tanks, or we get more ninja Camilia, that vantage tank, these would be the guys you call. The Silver-Spirit Art+ can also be refined, but it only gives 1 Mt. when picking the Atk variant, then follows the melee standards. While I’m here, we just got some summer units with Brave weapons that grant +5 Spd and have no Def/Res penalties. These two Shezs are mounted sword and lance units, so they do have a lower BTS to contend with and they are at the mercy weapon triangle, so I’m keeping this in mind.

There are other rules that weapons have. The BST will match that of melee units, meaning Infantry Arts users have 183-185 BST, and Armor Arts users have 193-195 BST. In Engage, only infantry units had Arts, and in Three Houses, Armor units can wield gauntlets. What’s a Flying or Calvary Art user? I don’t know. They would be the best at initiating with their extra movement and Canto, but other melee fliers and calvaries are already the best at initiating. I can imagine an engaged Alear, with the dragon fists, could be a flier. A calvary art user would need to be something like an equestrian vaulter, would isn’t as crazy of an idea as snake goddess or steam-punk centaur Mech suit. But let's not deal with that yet (or ever likely).

Now, with this bonus in all weapons, there should be restrictions. I originally thought of making Art units unable to inherit Distant Counter and it’s family of skills, since there is no 2 range gauntlets or art (with one exception). That said, beast also didn’t have 2 ranged options, but they get Distant Counter, no problem. So, to differed it from Dragons, who are the best at counterattacking ranged units, these arts only get the benefits when initiating. Can they also inherit Dodge C skills, like other Melee Infantry units? Sure. Special Spiral? Can they inherit Vital Astra or God-Like Speed? NOPE. That’s a bit too much Dodge and Spd-based True damage for them to handle.

Now, let’s get to our heroes.

Pic from allison

Alear: The Divine Child

Art – Infantry – Fire Emblem: Engage – 5 Star

40/45/44/31/28

Divine Fist Art: Mt. 12. If unit initiates combat, unit attacks twice, and also, if foe's Range = 2, unit deals damage = 20% of unit's Atk,and foe cannot counterattack. At start of turn, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants [Charge] to unit and support partners within 3 spaces of unit for 1 turn. At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+5 to unit during combat and inflicts Spd/Def-X on foe during combat (X = the number of allies from distinct titles within 3 spaces of unit × 4, + 4; max 12), and also, if unit's Spd > foe's Spd, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = difference between stats × 4; (max 40%).

So, I’m taking all the benefits from Female Alear’s Liberation Sword, to Male Alear’s Divine Fist. The [Charge] effect is really good at initiating, and with your support ally joining you, they can benefit from any smoke skills. Now the rest of his kit.

Dragon Aura – Flashing Surge – Dodge Null-Follow – Def/Res Smoke 3

Flashing Surge: If unit initiates combat, grants Spd+5 during combat. If unit's Spd > foe's Spd, grants Special cooldown charge +1 per attack, and also, if unit deals damage to foe using a Special, restores HP = X% of unit's max HP (X = unit's max Special cooldown count value × 10 + 10; max 50). (Triggers even if 0 damage is dealt.) (Only highest value applied. Does not stack.)

This was a theorycrafted skill I’ve done before. It Flashing Blade mixed with Surge Sparrow. The self-healing that Alear gets can be a reference to Marth’s skill, and it’s going to be 40% of his max HP, or 16 hit points. The advantage to brave weapons is that you can quickly charge a Special while skill having a high Special Cooldown for these kinds of skills. You can also use this to neutralize Guard.

Dodge Null-Follow: Inflict Spd/Def - 4 on foe. Neutralizes effects that guarantee foe's follow-up attacks and effects that prevent unit's follow-up attacks during combat. If unit's Spd > foe's Spd, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = difference between stats × 5 (max 50%).

With the new Null-Follow-Up skill, we are bound to get a version with Dodge in it. You have the 50% damage reduction is you outspeed by 10 (6 really, thanks to the Spd/Def penalty on foe), but doesn’t have Phantom Spd from the other dodge skills, not that Alear and the other God-Swords mind.

Now that’s a top tier unit. But it’s not the best representation of the Art users in Enage. In fact, the Divine Fist Art is a S rank Art and Alear can’t use it in his Divine Dragon Class. You need to be a Martial Master for that.

Pic from allison (Wish i got a background less version)

Framme: Eager Steward

Art – Infantry – Fire Emblem: Engage – 5 Star

39/35/42/34/37

Presenting, the 33rd steward to the Divine Dragon, and president of the Divine Dragon Fanclub, Framme. With a striking design and shrieking fangirling personality, I couldn’t think of a better character to introduce this new aspect of the healer architype. At the least, she the first female character in a martial arts class, since the classes that best wield gauntlets were locked to men. Now, is she that good stat wise? We does have similar Str/Mag growth, but it’s not a lot. She is mostly used for healing and a new ability. And I think I will give her this skill as an Arts exclusive inheritable skill.

Dual Guard: Grant [Dual Guard] to unit for 1 turn. [Dual Guard] Once per enemy phase, if a foe initiate combat against an adjacent ally, reduce damage of foe's first attack equal to percentage of this unit's remaining HP. (ie. if unit's HP = 80%, reduce damage by 80%, if unit's HP=100%, reduce damage to 0, doesn’t trigger when ally uses save skill)

Yep, this is an assist skill that grants the user a bonus, not the target. This status functions like the Dual Guard that Qi-Adapts have. They block one attack on an ally when foe initiate when the unit is at 100% HP. The difference is that it doesn’t deal self-damage, it can trigger when below 100% but it reduces damage in that case. Ideally, this would be an alternate to save skills. You will be able to trade off your turn to delete a mage in punching range, with making anyone a tank (for one combat encounter). Additionaly, those allies that are tanking can have Bulwark or just Obsctruct, making it impossible to pass them to hit Framme or another back line ally. There is a chance I will have to say “This skill can’t trigger is ally has Bulwark skills” in addition to save skills. I might also increase the range of the skill to 2 tile radius, but make it 50% of the percentage of this unit’s HP, to make it comparable to save skills.

Flashing Fist Art+: Mt. 11 Grants Spd+5. Inflicts Def/Res-5. If unit initiates combat, unit attacks twice, and also, if foe's Range = 2, unit deals damage = 20% of unit's Atk, and foe cannot counterattack. If unit's HP >= 25%, grant Atk/Spd+5 during combat, and also, if unit's Spd > foe's Spd, deals damage = 50% of difference between stats (Maximum bonus of +5 damage.)

And for another skill to inherit, Flashing Fist is an inheritable skill that can boost her speed and grant her true damage with her speed check, at the cost of Def/Res. This is a combination of the 1st and 2nd year inheritable ninja weapons. It should make up for the fact this isn’t a personal weapon, which makes her score lower in arena. At least Dual Guard is high scoring.

Dual Guard – Def/Res Bond 4 – Joint Fortify Res

Here’s the rest of her skills. Because Framme will be standing next to her ally, the usual Bond skills make for a great defensive skill, while Joint Fortify Res is there to buff both units afterwards. Joint Fortify Res is only on Ballroom! Sigurd BTW.

Jean: Budding Doc

Art – Infantry – Fire Emblem: Engage – 3-4 Star

45/40/35/35/37

As a change, here is a 3-4 star Art user who wouldn’t be that strong, but would make better use of the Dual Guard Assist. Jean is the trainee of Engage and his ability to heal along with deal damage, makes him easier to train than the other trainee characters though out the franchise. As a trainee, he also gets higher BST than other units, but I put that extra in HP. To make his healer identity relevant, here’s another art exclusive skill.

Qi Transfer: Restores 40% of Unit's HP to target ally (Min 10). Unit loses 10 HP but cannot go below 1.

This is an upgraded version of Adrent Sacrifice. It will heal the target ally of more HP if the unit is fully healthy. At 40 HP, a unit would heal 16 HP. Jean heals 18 with his HP. And by refining an Art, he would get another +5 for 20 healing. That said, it still drains your HP by 10%, so he would go down to 16 on second heal, and 12 the third time. It stops at 10 when he’s at 20 HP, making it a normal Adrent Sacrifice at that point. Of course, it that’s too good of an inheritable skill for a 3-4 star, even if it’s functionally a perf skill until we get a bunch more Art users without assist skills, replace it with Ardent Sacrifice.

Shielding Art+: Mt. 11 Grants Def/Res+5. Inflicts Spd-5. If unit initiates combat, unit attacks twice, and also, if foe's Range = 2, unit deals damage = 20% of unit's Atk, and foe cannot counterattack. If unit's HP >= 25%, grant Def/Res+5 during combat and reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by 30%.

The Shielding Art was another useful tool to keep your healers alive, but they lose their brave effect. I decided to keep it on, and add some more defensive capability.

Qi Transfer - Close Def 3 - Def Opening 3

For the other skills, I just grabbed to Def related skills that we don’t have access to in 3-4 star pool. Def Opening is fine, but Close Def is, again, going to help him take as little damage as possible, so he can stay heal as much as possible.

Seadall: Mystic Dancer

Art – Infantry – Fire Emblem: Engage – 5 Star

40/32/40/32/32

And the final unit we will theroycraft. Seadall is the third and final recruitable unit in Engage that starts in a class with Arts, and if you are smart, you will live him in that class. Seadall is a dancer, making him the best unit in the game, hands down. If he was to come to heroes however, he will be competing with a bunch of fairies. So, what weapon will he have?

Typhoon Ki-Blast Art + Mt. 11 Inflicts Spd-4. If unit initiates combat, unit attacks twice, and also, if foe's Range = 2, unit deals damage = 20% of unit's Atk,and foe cannot counterattack. After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Atk/Spd/Def/Res - 6 and [Gravity] on target and foes adjacent to target through their next actions.

Oh, so this is a debuffing art? Yep. During Seadall’s recruitment chapter, he starts with the Emblem Corrin. This weapon copies the effects when you engage with her. You prevent the foe from moving, and you debuff them with Draconic Hex. The only thing I couldn’t do was change the terrain tiles underneath into puddles, cuz duh. If you combined with Windsweep, or just punch a range unit, you can debuff the foe’s team, without receiving counterattack. Of course, you would rather be dancing, so inheriting Shield Art from Jean would help.

Dance – Atk/Spd Unity - Deluge Dance 3 - Atk/Def Gap 3

Did I go over Deluge Dance 3? I must have in my support skill blog. I’ll mention it again.

Deluge Dance 3: If a skill like Sing or Dance is used, enables [Canto (1)] and grants Spd/Res+6 and [Null Follow-Up] to target for 1 turn.

You know, while we are at it. Atk/Def Gap was just givin to a 3-4 star, Etie. Can I make Atk/Def Gap 4 right now?

Atk/Def Gap 4: At start of player phase or enemy phase, grants Atk/Def+6 and "neutralizes unit's penalties during combat" to ally with the highest Atk+Def total for 1 turn. (Excludes unit.) If unit is within a 2 tile radius of the ally with the highest Atk+Def total, grant that unit Atk/Def +3 during combat.

Yep, this grants more buffs and the bonus status that “neutralizes unit's penalties during combat". This mean, if they get hit with Chill Atk, Chill Def, or Chill Atk/Def, it won’t do anything. I would make a status that just removes Atk/Def penalties, but that would mean we would need 5 more status that would do overlapping things and Brave!Chrom loves unnecessary [Bonuses]. I also just added drive Atk/Def +3 for that unit, just because.

Okay, that’s all. Now what do you think. Do you want Arts? Do Arts need that extra advantage with instating? Should I remove any reduce stats since Shez blew open the door? Would you rather have every Art to be a perf weapon cuz you weren’t going to inherit weapons anyway?

#fire emblem heroes #game design #theorycrafting #fire emblem engage